Full text of Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, Nos. 1 - 100 : January 1902 : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, No. 38, Volume VII

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57th C o n g r e s s , ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Doc. No. 377,

1st Session,

j

(

Part 1.

BULLETIN

OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

NO.




38—JANUARY, 1902.
ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1902.

EDITOR,

CARROLL D. W R IG H T ,
COMMISSIONER.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS,

G. W . W . H AN G E R ,
CHAS. H . VE R R IL L , STEPH EN D. FESSENDEN, G. A . W E B E R .




CONTENTS.
Page.

Labor conditions in Mexico, by Walter E. W eyl, Ph. D ., of the University of
Pennsylvania.....................................................................................................................
1-94
The Negroes of Cinelare Central Factory and Calumet Plantation, Louisiana,
by J. Bradford L a w s ......................................................................................................
95-120
Charts exhibited at the Pan-American Exposition.................................................... 121-126
The Quebec trade disputes act.......................................................................................... 127-133
Digest of recent reports of State bureaus of labor statistics:
K an sas.............................................................................................................................. 134-136
Rhode Isla n d ................................................................................................................. 136-138
Virginia ........................................................................................................................... 138,139
Digest of recent foreign statistical publications.......................................................... 140-159
Decisions of courts affecting la b o r ................................................................................. 160-184
Laws of various States relating to labor enacted since January 1, 1896........... 185-194




in




B U L L E T IN
OF THE

DEPARTMENT
No. 38.

OF LABOR,

WASHINGTON.

January,

1902.

LABOB CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.
BY WALTER E. WEYL, PH. D.

To comprehend the labor conditions of a country, a consideration
of the national characteristics, especially in their relation to labor
efficiency, must of necessity be regarded as preliminary. In no
country is this more true than in Mexico, where practically all the
conditions of labor differ from those prevailing in the United States
and western Europe, and where the existing conditions can not be
understood without a knowledge of the character of the country and
of the economic nature and industrial characteristics of the laboring
population. It is necessary to know the conditions under which the
work is performed and, above all, to obtain the racial and national
equation of the workers before the statistics of employment or those
of remuneration are presented.
POPULATION.
The total population of Mexico has more than doubled during the
last one hundred years. In 1795 there were in the country, according
to a census made by the Viceroy Revillagigedo, 5,200,000 inhabitants;
in 1810, according to Don Fernando Navarro y Noriega, 6,122,354; in
1824, according to the estimate of Mr. Poinsett, the American minister,
6,500,000, while the Government census returns showed the population
to be 7,044,140 in 1839, 7,853,395 in 1854, 8,743,614 in 1869,9,384,193
in 1878, 10,791,685 in 1886, 12,632,427 in 1895, and 13,545,462 (a) in
a Preliminary figures, subject to future correction.




1

2

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

1900. The population in each State in 1895 and 1900 and the increase
or decrease are shown in the following table:
POPULATION OF MEXICO AT THE CENSUSES OF 1895 AND 1900. (a)

State.

Aguas Calientes .
Lower California
Campeche...........
C oah u ila.............
Colima...................
Chiapas.................
Chihuahua ..........
Federal District.
Durango...............
G uanajuato........
Guerrero .............
Hidalgo.................
Jalisco...................
M e x ic o .................
Michoacan...........
Morelos.................
Nuevo L e o n ........
Oaxaca .................
Puebla .................
Queretaro ...........
San Luis Poto3i. .
Sinaloa.................
Sonora...................
Tabasco.................
Tamaulipas. ___
Tepic ...................
Tlascala ...............
Vera Cruz.............
Y u c a ta n ...............
Zacatecas .............
Total...........

Census of
1895.

Census of
1900. (6)

104,615
42,245
88,121
241,026
' 55,752
319,599
262,771
476,413
295,105
1,062,554
420,339
558,769
1,107,227
841,618
896,495
159,355
309,252
884,909
984,413
228,551
568,449
268,865
191,281
134,839
206,502
148,776
166,803
866,355
298,850
452,578

101,910
47,082
84,281
280,899
65,026
363,607
327,004
540,478
371,274
1,065,317
474,594
603,074
1,137,311
924,457
935,849
161,697
326,940
947,910
1,024,446
228,489
582,486
296,109
220,553
158,107
218,948
149,677
172,217
960,570
812,264
462,886

12,632,427

13,545,462

Increase Decrease
in 1900
in 1900
since
since
1895.
1895.
2,705
4,837
3,840
39,873
9,274
44,008
64,233
64,065
76,169
2,763
54,255
44,305
30,084
82,839
39,354
2,342
17,688
63,001
40,033
62
14,037
37,244
29,272
23,268
12,446
901
5,414
94,215
13,414
10,308
913,035

aCenso de 1900. Resultado del censo de habitantes que se verified el 28 de Octubre de 1900.
M&xico, 1901.
b Preliminary figures, subject to future correction.

According to Senor Romero (a) the true population in 1895 was not
less than 15,000,000. He attributes the incompleteness of the returns
to the imperfect machinery for taking the census and the evasion of
many Indians, who feared that the census was a premonition of
increased taxes and military drafts. The broken character of the
country and the imperfect means of communication also lend credi­
bility to the opinion that the census returns are considerably below
the true population.
Of this population the greater number live in what may be said to
be a temperate if not a cold climate. The greater part of Mexico
consists of a high plateau rising from the Rio Grande to the City of
Mexico and situated between two ranges of mountains. This central
plateau, despite its tropical and subtropical location, is comparatively
cool, owing to its great elevation, and it is on this plateau that the
Mexican population is chiefly massed, about 75 per cent of the people
living here. All the States in this region have a considerable density
aMatias Romero, Geographical and Statistical Notes on Mexico, page 89.
York and London, 1898.




New

LABOE CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

3

of population, but the greatest number reside in the southern part of
the plateau. Of the remaining population about two-thirds live on the
slopes of the plateau, in what is called the temperate zone, while the
hot lands of the coast, with an elevation of less than 3,000 feet, are
but thinly populated. This preponderance of the population on the
plateau, which has prevailed since even before the conquest, has been
vitally important in the industrial history of Mexico.
The economic effect of the preponderance of Indian blood in the
population of Mexico can more clearly be discerned after the discus­
sion upon the characteristics of the Indian. In her racial constitution,
however, Mexico differs very greatly from Anglo-America—that is*
the United States and Canada—and from various nations of Latin
America. While the North American Indians have been swept away
or driven back into reservations, those of Mexico and South America
have shown greater vitality, and have, with the possible exception of
those of Argentina, survived in large numbers and still make up a
considerable element in the population. The mixture of the races has
gone on rapidly in the Andean regions and “ may even be regarded as
completed in all the more populous districts of Venezuela and Colom­
bia, in certain parts of Peru, in north and central Chile, as well as in
Uruguay and along the banks of the Plata River,” (a) although along
the eastern slopes of the Cordilleras and in the Amazonian forests, as
in a great many of the remoter parts of Mexico, the’Indian type has
kept its purity. Going from west to east, along the seaboard of South
America, the Negro type and the mixed Negro-Caucasian and NegroIndian type increases, and even predominates in the Brazilian provinces
which jut out toward the African Continent. In Mexico, however,
this race is so feebly represented that it may be practically disregarded.
It was the opinion of Baron Humboldt, at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, that the Indians would increase at the expense of
the other elements of the Mexican population; but this development
has not taken place, at all events not in a strictly literal sense. In
1810 the population, according to the census made in 1810 by Don
Fernando Navarro y Noriega, and which appears in Humboldt’s Politi­
cal Essay on New Spain, amounted to 6,122,354, of which 1,107,367
(including 9,439 secular and regular ecclesiastics and nuns) were
American and European Spaniards (Spaniards and creoles), 3,676,281
Indians, and 1,338,706 persons of mixed blood. In other words the
white population formed 18 per cent, the Indians 60 per cent, and the
mixed races 22 per cent of the total number of inhabitants. Accord­
ing to the census of 1875, however, the total population was 9,495,157,
of which the whites numbered 1,899,031, or 20 per cent; the native
Indians, 3,513,208, or 37 per cent, and the mixed races, 4,082,918,
aElisee Reclus, The Earth and its Inhabitants.
42. New York, 1894.




South America, Volume I, page

4

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

or 43 per cent. According to this comparison, therefore, the white
race had increased 791,664, and the mixed race 2,744,212, while the
Indians of pure blood had actually decreased to the extent of 163,073
members, (a)
There have been many reasons assigned for the apparent decrease,
both absolute and relative, in the number of Indians. It has been
stated with truth that the Indians, despite their early marriages and
the fact that they are very prolific, are subject to an exceedingly high
rate of mortality, owing to malnutrition, insufficient shelter, lack of
suitable medical attendance, drunkenness, and vulnerability, through
carelessness, to smallpox and other diseases. That these conditions
exist is undoubted, the mortality, especially of infants, being very
high among the poorer classes. The Indian population appears to be
diminishing also by intermarriage with the whites and the half-breeds,
thus becoming merged in the great mixed mestizo or European-Indian
race, which is becoming more and more the dominant factor in Mexican
life. Viewing the question of race from this standpoint, it will be
seen that from 1810 to 1875 the proportion of whites had increased
from 18 to 20 per cent of the population, while that of mixed and
native Indian races had decreased only from 82 to 80 per cent, although
absolutely increasing 51 per cent during that period.
Data regarding race are no longer given in Mexican statistics, such
differences having ceased to be recognized since the adoption of the
Federal constitution of 1857. The mixed race, however, appears to be
rapidly gaining at the expense of both the Indians and the pure whites,
and intermarriage is creating a well-endowed race which is preponder­
ating^ Indian, (b) This is an important fact, and one which makes any
study of labor as well as of political and economic conditions in
Mexico of especial interest to the sociologist. The history of the last
few centuries has been almost entirely a relation of the doings of the
a Probably by far the greater number of persons who escaped the census were
Indians of pure blood, who represent the poorest and most ignorant members of the
population. This, however, was probably also the case in former enumerations.
bIt is the opinion of the author, founded merely upon observation and contact,
and given with due reserve, that the Indian and mixed race is very much in excess
of 80 per cent of the population. It seems probable that over 90 per cent of the pop­
ulation have at least one-eighth Indian blood, and not incredible that over 95 per cent
of the native population will have an equal or greater proportion of Indian blood,
while the proportion of Mexicans having absolutely no Indian blood must be very
slight indeed. This statement is made, however, without exact statistical proof, but
rather as a personal impression and as an argument based upon what is known of
Spanish immigration during the three centuries ending in 1821. On the other hand,
according to the excellent report on Mexico made by the Bureau of the American
Republics, it is stated that it appears that 22 per cent of the population are white, 31
per cent Indians, and 47 per cent mixed. The report continues, *‘ The custom of tribal
intermarriage and improper methods of caring for the young in the matter of nutri­
ment and clothing, as well as other causes, is rapidly decreasing the Indian race.”




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

5

white race, and much doubt is cast upon the ability of the colored
races to maintain the severe competitive struggle of modern times.
The labor problem in Mexico, however, is one which must be faced by
a nation preponderatingly Indian, (a)
The present population of Mexico is almost exclusively of native
birth. Of the total of 12,491,573 persons classified as present (presentes) at the census of 1895, only 51,095, or less than one-half of 1 per
cent were of foreign birth. (b) Of these, moreover, 13,962, or over
27 per cent were Guatemalans, of whom 13,705, or over 98 per cent
lived in the neighboring State of Chiapas, just across the Guatemalan
border. There thus remained a total of 37,133 persons of foreign birth
(other than Guatemalans), or less than 3 per thousand. Of these
37,133 there were 12,859, or 35 per cent, from Spain and her colonies;
11,331, or 30 per cent, from the United States of America; 3,599 from
France and her colonies; 2,450 from England and her colonies; 2,155
from German}7; and 1,932 from Italy. The immigration appears,
therefore, to have been too small to have exerted any considerable
influence racially, although its economic effect has been very marked.
Of the total foreign population of 51,095 resident in Mexico and
present at the census of 1895, 14,029, or over 27 per cent, resided in
Chiapas; 9,003, or 18 per cent, in the Federal District of Mexico, includ­
ing the City of Mexico; 4,662 in Vera Cruz; 2,800 in Chihuahua, and
the greater part of the remainder in the northern tier of States border­
ing on the United States. The large percentage of foreigners in
Chiapas was due entirely to the large migration of Guatemalans who
flock across the border. The Spaniards are distributed quite evenly
over the whole country, although over one-half of them were to be
found in the Federal District and the State of Vera Cruz. The Ameri­
cans were to be found chiefly in the northern tier of States bordering on
a A very interesting phenomenon in the development of a racial and national con­
sciousness appears to be the Indian cult which may perhaps be said to prevail in
Mexico. There are very many members of the mixed race who claim to be much
prouder of their Indian than of their Spanish ancestry, and one frequently hears promi­
nent Mexicans deplore certain weaknesses of the national character and attribute them
to the heritage from the Spaniards. A well-known Mexican author goes so far as to
state that the premature death of Columbus would have been one of the greatest pos­
sible benefits to the world and especially to Latin America, while among great masses
of the population Spain and everything Spanish are most cordially detested. Occa­
sionally children are given unpronounceable Indian instead of beautiful Spanish
names, and it can not for a moment be doubted that in the eyes of the great mass of
the people Cuahtemoc is much more of a hero than Cortez. All this seems to be an
indication of the growth of a healthy national and racial consciousness.
b In the United States the percentage of foreign born in the population was in 1900,
13.71; in 1890, 14.77; in 1880, 13.32; in 1870, 14.44; in 1860, 13.16; in 1850, 9.68; in
France, in 1891, there were 709,369 foreigners of European (other than French) birth,
this number not including naturalized persons of French birth, while in Germany
there were, in 1890, 433,254, and in 1895, 486,190 foreign-born residents.




6

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

their own country and in the States devoted to mining. Thus the Amer­
ican population, which in 1895 formed only 22.2 per cent of the total
resident foreign population of the country, and only 15.2 per cent of
the foreign population resident in the Federal District, made up 39.6
per cent in Zacatecas, 47 per cent in Durango, 48.4 per cent in Aguas
Calientes, 63.7 per cent in Coahuila, 67 peT cent in Nuevo Leon, 67.9
per cent in Tamaulipas, 76 per cent in Chihuahua, 54.4 per cent in
Lower California, and 54.9 per cent in Sonora. Of the French popu­
lation over 45 per cent were to be found in ^the Federal District and
the rest were scattered throughout the country. Germans were more
evenly distributed, as may also be said of the English.
Religiously the population is as homogeneous as it is by birth. Out
of a total population of 12,491,573 present at the census, 12,380,245, or
99.1 per cent, o f the total were Roman Catholics; 61,911, or 0.5 per
cent, were without cult or religion, and 6,685 did not know what their
religion was, if any. There thus remained 42,732 of other faiths,
of whom the great majority (40,445) were Protestants. Taken all in
all, only about one three-hundredth of the population professed any
religion other than the Roman Catholic, and of these a large proportion
were foreigners! Practically speaking, the country is entirely Roman
Catholic, and the influence of this church is, among certain classes of the
population, extremely potent.
The population of Mexico shows an excess of females over males,
and this excess is still increasing. For instance, in 1895, there were
6,351,921 females to 6,280,506 males, a proportion of 101.1 to 100.
According to the preliminary figures for 1900, there were 6,829,455
females to 6,716,007 males, or in a ratio of 101.7 females to 100
males. In this respect the population of Mexico differs from that of
the United States and other countries to which immigration is attracted,
and resembles more closely the countries of stable population and the
conditions which exist in western Europe. Of the males enumerated
in the census of 1895 whose marital status was known, 37.4 per cent
were minors below the age of marriage, 27 per cent were single,
31.5 per cent were married, and 4.1 per cent were widowed. Of the
females only 33 per cent were below the age of marriage (which is
lower for women than for men), 26.8 per cent were single, 30.6 per
cent were married, and 9.6 per cent were widowed. Of those of mar­
riageable age, 43 per cent of the men and 40 per cent of the women
were single, 50.3 per cent of the male and 45.7 per cent of the women
were married, and 6.7 per cent of the men and 14.3 per cent of the
women were widowed. The excess of widows over widowers results
from the lower age at which the women are married and their lesser
mortality.
This preponderance of females is more marked in the City of Mexico
than anywhere else, the number of females to each 100 males in 1900



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

7

amounting to 109 in th,e Federal District, as compared with 107 in
Campeche, 108 in Puebla, 106 in Hidalgo, 101 in Tlascala and Coahuila,
etc., while in several States there is a preponderance of males. Thus,
in Vera Cruz, there are but 99 females per 100 males; in Sonora and
Chihuahua, 95; in Durango, 96; in Tamaulipas, 97; in Nuevo Leon,
92, and in Lower California only 87.
In the distribution of the population, according to age, the Mexican
people approach very nearly to the standard of the American Negro,
although in this respect it may be said that they differ from him in
somewhat the same way that the Negro differs from the whites of the
United States and of various nations of Europe. The statistics show,
on the whole, a shifting of the population toward the lower age classes
and give the impression of an extremely high birth and death rate.
Thus, of the total population in 1895, 31 per cent were 10 years of age
or less; 21.3 per cent between 11 and 20; 18.6 per cent between 21 and
30; 12.8 per cent between 31 and 10; 8 per cent between 11 and 50;
5 per cent between 51 and 60; 2.3 per cent between 61 and 70, and
1 per cent above 70. (a)
An indication of the small extent to which great masses of the Mex­
ican population have been affected by outside influence is furnished by
the statistics of language throughout the Republic. Although at pres­
ent (1901) it is 380 years since the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards,
there are still over 2,000,000 inhabitants whose mother tongue is not
Spanish, but some Indian language. Thus, for example, the Nahuatl
or 'Mexican language is the mother tongue of 650,000 persons,(5) of
whom 211,000 are in the State of Puebla, 107,000 in Vera Cruz,
71,000 in Guerrero, and some in almost all the States of the Republic.
There were almost 219,000 individuals (210,000 in Yucatan, 39,000 in
Campeche) whose mother tongue was Maya, and 230,000 individuals,
almost all in the State of Oaxaca, whose mother tongue was Zapoteco.
Other languages, not merely spoken, but spoken as the mother tongue
and to the almost or entire exclusion of Spanish, were Otomi, 187,000;
Mixteco, 115,000; Totonaco, 77,000, and many others. In several
States the bulk of the population is actualfy not conversant with
Spanish and claims an Indian language as its mother tongue. Thus,
while in the Federal District 96 per cent, in Tamaulipas 99.1 per cent,
and in Tabasco 92.7 per cent of the population present claimed Spanish
as their mother tongue, the number of persons whose mother tongue
was Spanish was only 79.2 per cent in Vera Cruz, 76.7 per cent in
Tlascala, 62 per cent in Chiapas, 55 per cent in Campeche, 16.3 per cent
a The statistics give 7,320 persons between the ages of 91 and 100, which is prob­
ably a gross exaggeration, and 711 centenarians, which is undoubtedly very much
above the truth.
b Censo General de la-Republica Mexicana.




Mexico, 1895.

8

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

in Oaxaca, and only 29.4 per cent in Yucatan. Even in Yucatan the
number of Spanish-speaking persons was largely restricted to the capi­
tal (Merida) and the coast city of Progreso, and the islands, where the
majority were of Spanish tongue. In the remaining fourteen districts
of the State only 16.3 per cent of the inhabitants claimed Spanish and
83.7 per cent of the population claimed Maya as their native language.
The hindering effect of this great body of Indians clinging tenaciously
to their native tongue and remaining outside the current of thought
and progress can well be appreciated.
It is rather difficult to obtain an exact idea of the birth rate in Mex­
ico, owing to defective registration. Thus, in the year 1898, there
were registered in the country by the civil authorities 489,933 births,
and by the ministers of religious denominations— in other words, by the
priests of the Roman Catholic Church—256,474. Many of these reg­
istrations were apparently duplications, the larger proportion of those
registered by the religious authorities being counted as well by the civil
authorities. In some cases, however, as in the States of Durango and
Michoacan, there were more persons registered by the priests than by
the civil authorities. It is thus impossible to obtain any accurate figure
for the birth rate, but from such statistics as we possess it appears to be
high, (a) In the State of Yucatan the birth rate of those who were reg­
istered by the civil authorities alone amounted to 51.4 per thousand,
without taking into account those whose birth was inscribed by the
priests. In Mexico, as in other parts of the world, the male births
exceeded those of females, the proportion, including stillborn, being
108.3 males to 100 females, for those registered by the civil authorities.
The percentage of illegitimate births in Mexico is exceedingly high,
averaging in 1898 42.5 per cent of the total births registered by the
law. Probably the great majority of those who have not been regis­
tered by the courts are illegitimate. (5) In some States the percentage
is much higher, amounting to nearly 54 per cent in Guanajuato and to
a The truest index obtainable for the number of births in the Republic is to be found
in the statistics of deaths and population. The number of births registered by the
civil authorities is much smaller than the registry of deaths, but the reason for this
low registration of infants is evident, and the rapid increase in the population and
the small extent to which this increase is due to immigration shows clearly that the
birth rate is greatly in excess of the death rate. If the increase in population of
913,035, as shown by the preliminary report of the census, is correct (and is not due
merely to more effective methods of enumeration) and if the annual excess of immi­
grants be taken at 8,000 per year, the number of births for the country would appear
to be annually about 175,000 in excess of the deaths, or about 627,000 for the year
J898, instead of 489,933, as given in the civil registry. Apparently the great majority
of those whose names are not registered by the civil authorities are illegitimate,
because their parents have had either a church wedding only or none at all.
bFrom such data as are accessible it would appear to be safe to assume a ratio of
illegitimacy of over 50 and perhaps as high as 55 per cent.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

9

almost 70 per cent in Hidalgo. In the State of Chiapas there were 285
illegitimate to 100 legitimate births, while in Michoacan the relation
was 302 to 100. In the district of Zamora, in the last-mentioned State,
the illegitimate births made up 93.6 per cent of the total births regis­
tered by law and if those not registered are included probably over 96
per cent of the total number of births.
The illegitimacy in Mexico, however, must not be ascribed to any
widespread immorality or to a universal disregard of the marriage tie.
It is probable that in great masses of the population such conditions
actually do exist, and unions are maintained which are not sanctioned by
either church or state. The main cause of the high figures of illegiti­
macy^ is to be found in the fact that, although a state marriage is absolutety necessary in order to establish the legitimacy of offspring, such
a precaution is frequently omitted, and persons are married simply by
the priests alone. As a result the illegitimacy is in a large measure
“ technical,” and furnishes an indication of the strong hold of the
church and of an apathy and small power of adaptation on the part of
the population, rather than of any large measure of sexual license.
The same difficulty encountered in the statistics of births is to be
met with in those of marriages, since many persons are married
both by church and state, and not a few Mexicans are married by the
church alone. I f we adhere to the strictly legal definition, howrever,
and consider only those marriages registered by the civil authorities,
the statistics will show a marriage rate considerably less than that pre­
vailing in most European countries. Thus in 1898 there were 61,687
marriages, which amounted to 4.88 marriages, or 9.76 persons married
per thousand of the population, while in 1897 the number of marriages
amounted to only 4.04, and the number of persons married to only
8.08 per thousand of the population, (a)
One of the most significant facts with regard to marriages consum­
mated in Mexico is the very early age at which they are solemnized.
The statistics of ages of brides and grooms in Mexico refer exclu­
sively to those marriages which are registered by the civil authorities,
and consequently to those persons only who may be considered to be
somewhat more provident and more advanced than those who do not
thus legalize their union. It can not be assumed that the ages of those
persons who unite themselves without obtaining the sanction of the
State will be greater than those who register, and the ages of persons
contracting unions of less permanency are, in all probability, rather
a Compare with this an annual marriage rate, during the period 1871-1890, of 16.7
persons married per year per thousand of the population in Prussia, 16.4 in the entire
German Empire, 16.3 in Austria, 15.6 in England and Wales, 15.6 in Italy, 15.4 in
France, 15.2 in Denmark, 15.1 in Holland, 14.7 in Switzerland, 14.4 in the United
Kingdom, 14.2 in Belgium, 13.9 in Scotland, 13.7 in Norway, 13.1 in Sweden, 9 in
Ireland, and (for the period 1876-1890) 19.1 in Hungary.




10

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

less than greater than those for whom statistics are available. The mar­
riage age afforded by the statistics, however, is extremely low and
appears indicative of the very general improvidence and disregard of
future responsibilities with which the sexual union is entered upon.
It must, of course, be borne in mind that the age at which marriage is
physically possible is earlier in Mexico than in this country, this
being especially the case in the hot lands. The influence of the church
also appears to be in the direction of favoring early marriages, although
no attempt is here made to trace this influence statistically^. Over and
above the differences due to climate and training, however, the age at
which marriages are entered upon, the frequency with which civil regis­
tration is dispensed with, and the general laxity of the sexual tie, espe­
cially in the large cities, are all indications of an apathetic indifference
to obvious economic requirements. The average age of marriage is
from 26 to 27 years for men and about 20 to 21 years for women, (a)
Roughty speaking, five-eighths of all men and five-sixths of all women
in Mexico marry before their twenty-sixth year. In 1898, of all
women, including widows, who registered their marriage, 25.1 per
cent were from 12 to 16 years of age; in 1897, the proportion was
26.3; in 1896, 27.8; in 1895, 23.8.(5) Of the entire number contract­
ing marriages, including, as before, second or subsequent marriages,
the proportion between the ages of 17 and 19, inclusive, was 29.6 per
cent in 1898, 30 per cent in 1897, 28.9 in 1896, 25.9 in 1895, so that, on
an average, over five-ninths of the total number of women marrying
civilty, including those remarrying, were of the age of 19 or less. Of
all marriages, 82.5 per cent were consummated by women of the age of
25 or under in the year 1898, 83.7 per cent in 1897, 82.9 per cent in
1896, and 73.4 per cent in 1895. O f women marrying in 1898, 9 per
cent were between the ages of 26 and 30; 3.5 per cent between 31 and
35 years; 2.7 per cent between 36 and 40 years; 1 per cent between
41 and 45 years, and 1.3 per cent over 45 years. O f all men marrying
in 1898, according to the civil registers, 3.3 per cent were between the
ages of 14 and 16,14.5 between 17 and 19 years, 45.2 between 20 and 25
a The average age of grooms and brides in Prussia is 29.56 and 26.52, respectively;
in England 28.37 and 26.08, respectively; in Norway 30.66 and 27.83, respectively.
(In England the spinster brides marry at 24.87 and the widows at 40.43.)
bOf women marrying between the ages of 12 and 16, in the State of Vera Cruz, the
percentage in 1898 was 31.8, or over one-fourth in excess of the proportion for the whole
country. The age of marriage in Yucatan was even lower, 40.9 per cent of all marri­
ages registered by the civil authorities being consummated by brides who were between
the ages of 12 and 16. The very early age of marriage in Yucatan seems to be in
part traceable to the conditions of labor there existing and to the fact that the Yucatecan commences work by borrowing sufficient money to get married. In the city
of Mexico, on the other hand, the proportion of women marrying at the age of 16
or under, was only 6.8 per cent, and the percentage of women marrying under the
age of 26 was only 54, as compared with 82.5 for the whole country.




11

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

years, 16.8 between 26 and 30 years, 7.2 between 31 and 35 years, 5.7
between 36 and 40 years, 2.6 between 41 and 45 years, and 4.7 over 45
years of age.
The following table shows the number of births, marriages, and
deaths in each State in 1897, and the population at the census of 1895:
BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES IN MEXICO IN 1897.
Births registered by civil
authorities.
State.

Aguas Calientes...................
Campeche..............................
Coahuila................................
Colim a...................................
Chiapas.................................
Chihuahua............................
Federal District...................
Durango.................................
Guanajuato..........................
Guerrero...............................
H idalgo.................................
Jalisco.....................................
Mexico .................................
Michoacan............................
Morelos...................................
Nuevo Leon..........................
Oaxaca...................................
Puebla...................................
Queretaro..............................
San Luis Potosi.....................
Sinaloa...................................
Sonora...................................
Tabasco.................................
Tamaulipas..........................
Tlascala.................................
Vera Cruz..............................
Yucatan.................................
Zacatecas...............................
Lower California.................
Tepic.......................................
Total

Legiti­
mate.

Illegiti­
mate.

1,037
2,481
6,076
1,207
3,543
8,108
2,572
6,728
10,606
14,199
6,870
42,272
15,345
5,810
2,742
7,347
11,613
12,841
2,150
10,214
2,559
1,631
3,015
3,029
4,934
10,158
12,783
15,893
403
2,286

128
748
550
599
9,563
1,509
2,046
2,612
10,345
3,869
10,243
5,729.
4,298
19,057
1,994
648
21,629
10,702
704
2,286
6,394
1,029

230,452

Total.

1,129
821
16,316
2,833
2,692
295
1,468

1,165
3,229
6,626
1,806
13,106
9.617
4.618
9,340
20,951
18,068
17,113
48,001
19,643
24,867
4,736
7,995
33,242
23,543
2,854
12,500
8,953
2,660
5,703
4,158
5,755
26,474
15,616
18,585
698
3,754

144,924

375,376

2,688

Marriages registere*dby—
Births
Population,
regis­
Deaths. census of
tered by Civil
1895.
author­
Priests.
priests.
ities.

3,192
4,533
1,576
6,031
10,674
25,245
6,896
18,449
41,521
23,664
32,126
4,120
5,011
23,451

2,434
5,755
20,314
9,115
13,160
321
257,588

389
609
2,116
183
1,018
1,859
1,207
1,684
1,906
2,813
1,366
9,717
3,243
1,460
576
2,118
1,451
2,031
574
2,232
853
682
668
995
934
2,283
2,458
2,911
173
491
51,000

259
1,178
247
517
1,648
3,827
958
1,426
9,475
3,264
6,311
486
922
1,701

228
934
1,876
1,600
2,260
47
39,164

5,488
2,517
7,910
2,277
7,174
5,927
24,733
7,072
43,837
14,379
20,777
34,024
32,493
30,614
8,833
11,631
34,214
41,576
9,023
21,481
5,795
3,431
2,825
7,127
6,638
28,208
12,641
16,218
701
5,445

241,026
55,752
319,599
262,771
476.413
295,105
1,062,554
420,339
558,769
1,107,187
841,618
896,495
159,704
309,252
884,909
984.413
228,551
568,543
258,865
191,281
134,839
206,502
165,813
866,355
298,850
452,578
42,245
148,776

455,009

12,631,840

104,615

88,121

The rate of mortality in Mexico is very high. According to the offi­
cial statistics for the year 1898, the death rate was 35.8 persons per thou­
sand of the population, which is very much in excess of the average
rate in most countries of Europe, (a) This death rate is extremely high
in certain portions of the country. Thus, while in Chiapas it was only
27.1; in Campeche, 30.2; in Tamaulipas, 32.7, and in Yera Cruz, 32.2,
it amounted in Guanajuato to 45.6, in the Federal District to 52.1, and
in Yucatan to 52.8. The figures for Yucatan are astoundingly high,
a For instance the death rate in 1893 was 31.1 per thousand in Hungary, 28.8 in
Austria (1892), 25.3 in Italy, 24.6 in Germany, 24.2 in Prussia, 22.6 in France (1892),
19.2 in Holland, 20.5 in Switzerland, 20.3 in Belgium, 19.4 in Scotland, 19.2 in Eng­
land and Wales, 19.1 in the United Kingdom, 18.9 in Denmark, 17.9 in Ireland, 17.9
in Sweden (1892), 16.4 in Norway. The death rate in Mexico is based upon a popu­
lation which is probably less than the real, but it can not be assumed with any
great probability that the real death rate is less than the one given above, as the reg­
istration of deaths is probably no more complete than the enumeration of inhabitants.




12

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

which appears to be due in part to the fearful infant mortality, caused
by excessively early marriages and in part to lack of sufficient nourish­
ment and proper medical care. It is interesting to note that Yucatan,
which has so high a death rate and so great a percentage of child mar­
riages, is also a State in which the pure Indian predominates and in
which the Indian language (Maya) is the mother tongue of the majority
of the inhabitants. The extremely high rate of mortality in the Fed­
eral District arises largely from the insanitary conditions which have
prevailed there and which are only now being done away with, and the
malnutrition and inebriety of great masses of the population, etc., but
it seems also probable that the statistical figures are larger than the
true ones, since the population of the city is probably greater than
that returned by the census. The number of deaths in the City of
Mexico from 1868 to 1898, according to the reports of the government
of the Federal District, are given in the following table:
DEATHS IN THE CITY OF MEXICO FROM 1868 TO 1898.

Year.
1868.. . . .
I 8 6 0 .....
1870.. . . .
1871.. . . .
1872.........
1873.........
1874..........

Deaths.
5,844
7,109
8,086
7,529
8,157
7,465
8,753

Year.
1875........
1876........
1877........
1878........
1879........
1880........
1881........

Deaths.
9,343
10,403
12,232
10,162
10,207
9,489
9,720

Year.
1882........
1883........
1884........
1885........
1886........
1887........
1888........

Deaths.
11,577
12,236
12,920
13,170
13,183
13,247
13,272

Year.
1889........
1890........
1891........
1892........
1893........
1894........
1895........

Deaths.
15,475
16,855
15,343
17,359
20,494
15,994
14,538

Year.
1896........
1897........
18Q8........

Deaths.
16,842
17,866
18,025

Considered as a whole, the Mexican population possesses certain
qualities which aid and certain others which hinder it in adapting
itself to modern industrial conditions, and which affect its labor effi­
ciency. These qualities are the result partly of climatic, partly of
racial, and partly of economic conditions. So important, so vital are
these characteristics, however, that no discussion of labor conditions
can be intelligently made or correctly understood without their pre­
vious consideration.
The most salient characteristic of native labor is apathy. This
differs in degree in various parts of the country and in different classes
of the population, but on the whole it is sufficiently general to be con­
sidered as a national characteristic of great importance in everything
pertaining to labor.
In both the hot lands on the coast and the highlands of the central
plateau the population is marked by an almost constitutional indolence.
This natural indolence of the Mexican has been attributed to a number
of causes. In the hot lands it differs slightly from what is observed
in other countries having the same temperature and humidity, while
on the central plateau the bad effect of the great elevation on the
muscular power and the nervous energy of the population has been
well established.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

13

The average elevation of the plateau is about 6,600 feet above the
level of the sea, Mexico itself being at a height of 7,444 and Toluca at
an elevation of 8,763 feet. At this elevation the barometric pressure
is very much reduced, the air is quite rarefied, and the amount of
ox}^gen contained in a given measure of air is considerably reduced.
The effect of this reduced breathing-in of oxygen, in the case of
both men and the lower animals, is to be observed.in a lessened activity
and a reduction in the ability to perform work of any sort. The
amount of oxygen in the air also varies greatly with the temperature,
and such changes in temperature are very sudden and serious in Mex­
ico. This does not refer to seasonal changes in temperature, which,
on the high-lands of Mexico, are not great, but merely diurnal changes
or such as are effected during the twenty-four hours of the day. The
high altitude renders it very cool in the shade, while the tropical sun
causes it to be hot wherever it is unshaded. During the night there
is a general cooling off of the plateau, but the warmth of the sun
rapidly raises the temperature during the morning, and, by expand­
ing the air, further decreases the amount of oxygen, thus producing a
feeling of lassitude and inertia among the inhabitants of the plateau, {a)
The effect of the high altitude in creating an indisposition to exert
oneself is far from imaginary. The effect of the high altitude is
immediately observed both in man and in the lower animals, neither
of whom are able to perform the same amount of work as at sea level,
and the effect of the climate is reflected in many indolent habits of
the native population. Jourdanet goes so far as to speak of an anox­
aemia and an organic indolence of the Mexican, due to the rarefaction
of the air and its dryness during the heated portion of the day.
Without discussing further, however, the exact extent to which the
corporal powers are lessened by the reduced amount of oxygen in the
air, it suffices to state that the effect of this condition in producing
indolence is very great, and is felt by the foreigners who go to Mexico
to live, as well as those to the manor born.
Another climatic influence resulting in indolence and improvidence
upon the part of great masses of the Mexican population is the
absence of severe winters. The seasons in Mexico are divided into
the wet and dry, rather than into summer and winter, the chief dis­
tinction being in the amount of the rainfall rather than in changes of
temperature. The absence of snow and severe cold has the effect of
relieving the community of the necessity of preparing in advance for
the exigencies of a winter season, and reduces the standard of life by
obviating the necessity of improving the houses, clothing, and diet
a For a discussion of this subject see D. Jourdanet, Le M£xiqueet l’ Am^rique tropicale. Paris, 1864. See also Julio Guerrero, La Genesis del Crimen en Mexico. Paris
and Mexico, 1901.

1110—No. 38—02-----2



14

BULLETIN OF THE DEPAETMENT OF LABOB.

of the community. The influence of severe winters is felt in many
countries in the stimulation of the population to increased indus­
trial activity, and in the raising of the general standard of providence
by a gradual weeding out of those who do not prepare for the cold
season. But in Mexico this condition can not be said to exist, and the
equable climate fails to render any great degree of foresight neces­
sary. The absence of cold winters is merely one phase of the general
equability of the climate, which allows the survival of a low order
of wants and a very low standard of life.
The indolence of the Mexican laboring population, as a whole, and
its apathy toward anything like progress, are to be attributed, how­
ever, as much to social and economic conditions as to the effect of the
climate. Three hundred years of despotism under the Spaniards have
not had the effect of creating a type of man to whom labor of any sort
is a pleasure. As will later be seen, the working population of the
country was exploited in the harshest possible manner, and the whole
industrial system of the Spaniards rested, for two centuries at least,
upon the principle of forced labor with insufficient remuneration.
The social division of the inhabitants of the country and the separation
of the castes also led to the degradation of the great bulk of the popu­
lation. The principle of survival became one of mere endurance rather
than of any positive industrial quality. Just to what extent the Indians
were industrially endowed before the conquest is Still a matter of con­
troversy, but there seems to be little doubt that the three hundred years
of Spanish rule failed to create in them a good industrial type. “ The
wars of the conquest, the work of the mines, the former system of
encomiendas and repartimientos, the plagues and the civil conflicts, his
rude labors, * * * as well as his incorporation into the mixed
race, constitute the principal causes,” according to one author, of the
decadence of the indigenous r^ce.(^)
During the revolutionary times which followed Mexican independ­
ence, the industrial conditions of the country became so vitiated and
industry was so interrupted that little, if any, progress could be made
a Antonio Garcia Cubas, Discurso acerca de la decadencia de la raza indfgena.
Mexico, 1880. The signs of the decadence of the Indian, Cubas finds in his dissimu­
lation and lack of confidence, his indolence, and the resignation and fatalism which
prevent him from making any effort in his own behalf. Another writer, Carlo Benf,
Notizie sopra gli indigeni di Mexico, in the Archivio per Antropologia e laetnologia,
Florence, 1882, states that “ the Indian of Mexico is the type par excellence of a
decadent race,” and bases his opinion apparently upon the relatively greater progress
of the white, the extraordinary tenacity with which the Indian holds to his ancient
customs, his indolence, his low standard of life, his patient endurance of wrong, and,
as far as appearance goes, his uniformly sad and reflective expression. It appears to
the author, however, that it is far too early to pass any final judgment upon the capa­
bilities of the pure Indian race, to say nothing of the result of the mixture between
Spaniards and Indians.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

15

toward the creation of an energetic and intelligent labor class. t For
over half a century the powers o f misrule were in the ascendant, and
it paid better to prey upon society than to work for it. With the
government changing with the greatest frequency, with revolutions,
proclamations, and pronunciamientos a constant occurrence, with the
roads infested with brigands, with arbitrary taxation and confiscations,
with heavy interstate taxes and large import duties, tempered by an
extensive system of smuggling, the opportunities for any great prog­
ress o f the working population were extremely restricted. During
this epoch there seems to have been considerable growth in the pop­
ulation o f the cities, a growth, however, resulting from a fear of the
country rather than from the greater industrial opportunities of the
city, and resembling therein less the natural increase of a modern city
than the growth of the mediaeval towns during the more troublous
periods of the Middle Ages. With the growth o f the city population,
there appears to have occurred a simultaneous decrease in the amount
o f capital devoted to industry (owing to the frequent wars) and an
over-population in relation to the opportunities for earning a living.
The resulting unemployment and partial employment, and the depres­
sing effect upon wages that marked the first half century o f independ­
ence, can still be traced in their influence upon the rate of wages in
the city and in the industrial character of great masses of the urban
populations.
To a certain extent the indolent manner of working of many Mexi­
can laborers, and the consequent small productivity o f labor, are the
result of malnutrition. As will be shown later,, the diet o f the Mexi­
cans is extremely restricted, both in quantity and variety, and is not
rich in nutritive qualities. The Mexican suffers largely from anaemia,
and his work is rendered less productive from this cause.
A still more important influence, however, is the tendency toward
drunkenness. The consumption of alcoholic liquors is not only great
but constant throughout the day, and the interruptions to work, as a
consequence, are frequent. The payment of wages is freqiiently a pre­
text and an opportunity for drunkenness, which, in the great cities,
at all events, is alarmingly prevalent. It can not be proved that the
confirmed tendency to drink in Mexico is the result o f the improved
conditions o f the last generation. The drunkenness of the Indian has
always been the cause of frequent attempts at remedial legislation by
viceroys. Humboldt (a) stated that 46the Indians would undoubtedly
attain a very great longevity if their constitutions were not weakened
by drunkenness.” Even in those days drunkenness was extremely
prevalent all over the country, and especially in the States of Mexico,
Puebla, and Tlascala, where the maguey was cultivated on a large
a Humboldt, Political Essay on New Spain, Volume I, page 111:




16

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

scale, (a) In 1898 there were in the City of Mexico 604 establishments
for the sale of wines, liquors, and beers, and 883 pulquerias or places
where the fermented juice of the maguey is sold. The drinking of the
population has an extremely evil effect on their working capacity,
since they imbibe not only after but during the day’s work. Many
laborers quit work from time to time in order to take a capita, and
drunkenness is not infrequently the cause, consequence, and solace of
nonemployment.
Another stimulant in which Mexicans indulge to a very great extent
is tobacco, which is consumed almost entirely in the shape of cigar­
ettes. During the latter half of the year 1898 there were produced
in Mexico, according to the report of the secretary of finance,
162,689,604 packages of cigarettes (usually with 18 or 20 to the pack­
age), of a total weight of 2,461,886 kilograms (5,427,524 pounds), and
55,608,488 cigars, of a weight of 315,040 kilograms (694,544 pounds),
the consumption being very slightly less than the production and the
actual production being probabty greater than that indicated by the
statistics. The consumption of tobacco in other forms, such as snuff,
chewing tobacco, etc., is infinitesimal.
One o f the clearest indications of the general apathy of the Mexican
laborer of the lower classes, and one which unfits him, more than any
other cause, for industrial progress and higher wages, is his content
with his present state. As a general rule the lower classes of the
Mexican population respond but feebly to any attempt to increase
their wants, although this may, at least partially, be due to the high
silver prices o f many articles of desirable consumption. As a conse­
quence there is little demand for higher wages and no class conscious­
ness that could enforce such demands. (5)
a In the City of Mexico, in the vice-regal days, tumbrels were constantly sent out
by the police to collect the drunken Indians who lay stretched out like dead in all
public places. They were then forced to work upon the streets for three days, with
iron rings around their ankles, but many of them were caught again immediately
after their release. The more lenient methods of the police of the present day do
not seem to come any nearer to solving the problem. The criminality, and more
especially the attacks on persons, are very largely the result of the proneness to
drunkenness on the part of great masses of the population. In the year 1897,
according to the report of the procurator of justice, there were, in the Federal Dis­
trict, 9,763 persons accused of wounding ( lesiones) of whom 5,833 were condemned
and sentenced. Of the total number of persons sentenced, almost three-fourths were
convicted of such assaults on persons (lesiones) and many of these were committed by
drunken persons.
b This absence of class consciousness and of any articulate representation of the
demands of the working classes is very marked in Mexico. A n article in E l Correo
de Sotaventa of Tlacotalpan, reproduced in E l Economista Mexicano, May 19, 1900,
pages 186,187, entitled “ A Problem,” is one of the very few instances of a statement
of labor conditions from the point of view of the laborer. The writer of this article
believes that all classes are benefiting by the progress now going on except the
workingmen ( jomaleros), who receive just enough, ‘ ‘ mathematically calculated,”




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

17

Most of the characteristics which unfit large sections of the Mexican
population for labor of a high degree of efficiency, such as indolence,
drunkenness, unreliability, etc., might be summed up in the one word
66improvidence. ”
There are few people in the* world who take less thought of the
morrow, or promise more for it, than the Mexican. The Mexican
workman of the unskilled class appears to have absolutely no dread of
nonemployment and will accept a discharge with courteous equanimity,
although absolutely unprovided with means of sustenance. There is
very little saving of wages on the part of the poorer classes and but
little tendency to lay by for a season of stress, while the system of
insuring lives has not yet penetrated to the laboring population. This
improvidence of the Mexican poorer classes and, above all, of the
Indians, is shown by the manner in which they will sacrifice permanent
and material benefits for passing pleasures, and will risk many days’
wages on the result of a cock fight or the toss of a coin. The propen­
sity for gambling is especially strong and strikes the observer as
being one of the most characteristic features of Mexican life. Gam­
bling, which is regulated by the State, is indulged in by all classes,
and in the gambling houses, the clubs, in the pelota games, and else­
where, large wagers are made, while the demand for lottery tickets,
both by rich and poor, is enormous. There is perhaps no single factor
more favorable to the creation of habits of general improvidence than
the manner in which the gambling propensities of the Mexicans of the
poorer classes are tolerated and even encouraged.
The labor of the population is very largely reduced by feast days
and holidays, although their number is now diminishing. On such
days it is very difficult to obtain labor, since the ambitions of the
workman are not greatly stimulated by a promise of higher wages, and
because, although there is no active class consciousness, there is a cer­
tain collective tenacious clinging to traditions which resents any change
of the conditions of work as an unwarranted aggression.
Upon the whole the greatest drawback to the value of labor of
Mexicans is its unreliability. W ork will be interrupted upon the most
trivial of pretexts and will be postponed despite solemn promises to the
contrary. The quality of procrastination which has been said to be a
national characteristic in the country called u the land of manana ” is also
found among workmen, and has the effect of greatly reducing their
efficiency. Another great drawback to the efficiency of the ordinary
to satisfy hunger; who are merely hands ( brazos, arms), leaving an inheritance of
slavery for several generations to their debt-laden descendants, and who have hardly
enough to live upon and nothing left to them but brutal pleasures and drunkenness.
This article is quoted from, not for its intrinsic merit, but as being one of the very few
evidences of anything like a class consciousness.




18

BULLETIN OF THE BEPABTMENT OF LABOB.

workman is the leniency, if not favor, with which petty stealing is
regarded and tolerated by these classes. It would not be fair to say that
the Mexican population, as a whole, is worse than that of any other
country, but the economic conditions incline large masses of the popu­
lation to petty stealing and make comiliercial honesty in small transac­
tions a quality rarer than might be desirable. The petty thieving of an
immense number of men and women, employed wholly or partially,
prevents the successful operation of man}^ enterprises. This prone­
ness to petty thieving is due to a lack of industrial training, the long­
time subjection of great masses of the population, and the consequent
necessity of combating force with deceit. It is also due to the low
wages and the very low standard of life, and it reaches its acme in
plantations where peons are caught stealing corn intended for the
cattle and using it for their own consumption. In the capital, where
extremes of wealth and poverty meet, and where, despite the increase
in wages, petty larceny appears to be more profitable than unskilled
labor, the thieving propensities of certain classes of the population
amount to a veritable plague. In the year 1897 there were 2,343
persons (among these 469 women) accused of petty thieving, of whom
over half, or 1,230, were sentenced. The condemnations for this
offense amounted to over 15 per cent of the total for the Federal Dis­
trict, but, large as these figures are, they are of course very much
below the actual number of petty thefts committed. The chief
result of this proneness to steal on a small scale is to be found in a
lessened confidence, and increased cost of supervision, a frequent loss
of tools and materials, a great diversion of human force from produc­
tive labor, and a withdrawal of capital from enterprises which might
otherwise be successful, (a) The Federal Government, however, is
handling this problem with all the vigor and intelligence which pre­
eminently distinguish it and by the deportation o f the rateros (petty
thieves) and the gradual improvement of labor conditions a partial
solution of the problem is likely to be found.
One of the clearest indexes of the character, efficiency, and status of
the laboring classes in Mexico is to be found in the lack of education
and training of the population. The policy of the Spanish Govern­
ment did not favor an extension of education; on the contrary, many
measures were taken to prevent a wider spread of knowledge and the
introduction of liberalizing ideas from foreign lands. The church, it
is true, devoted considerable attention to education, and continued its
work after independence was obtained, but until the firm establish­
ment of the Liberal party, after the French intervention, small prog­
ress was made in spreading any form of education among the masses.
a One of the greatest drawbacks to the cultivation of rubber is claimed to be the
strong probability of losing one’ s crop by the spoliations of the natives.




19

LABOB CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

The statistics of illiteracy in each State in 1895 are shown in the
following table:
ILLITERACY OF THE MEXICAN POPULATION IN 1895.

State.

Popula­
tion, 1895.

Knowing Knowing
how to
hq*v to Illiterates.
read and
read
write.
only.

Illiterates
owing to
youth.

Literacy
un­
known.

C E N T R A L STATES.

Federal District..............................
Aguas Calientes..............................
San Luis Potosi................................
Guanajuato.....................................
Queretaro.........................................
Hidalgo.............................................
M exico..............................................
Morelos.............................................
Tlascala.............................................
Puebla..............................................
Durango............................................
Zacatecas .........................................

468,705
102,378
562,195
1,047,817
224,848
551,817
837,981
156,786
163,244
973,876
292,549
447,265

175,592
14,807
63,944
106,205
25,787
57,727
113,772
23,470
45,052
117,761
46,446
73,647

21,984
3,050
12,071
41,394
8,752
6,692
24,082
6,733
7,917
22,218
7,491
9,848

196,242
69,791
375,048
711,991
145,190
378,607
515,770
100,864
80,596
657,112
190,646
292,844

6S, 338
13,824
105,658
188,128
38,992
108,586
183,182
25,713
29,641
176,764
47,966
70,588

1,728
5,200
3,542
7,773

112,986
157,570
149,861
166,940

31,731
46,779
42,821
53,617

1,697

170

6,549
906
5,474
99
6,127
205
1,175
6
38
21
338

N O R T H E R N STATES.

Sonora..............................................
Chihuahua.......................................
Coahuila...........................................
Nuevo Leon.....................................

189,158
260,008
237,815
307,856

42,713 I1
48,762
41,591
73,179

6,347

G U LF STATES.

Tamaulipas.....................................
Vera Cruz.........................................
Tabasco.....................*......................
Campeche.........................................
Yucatan.............................................

203,245
853,892
133,926
87,264
297,088

40,874
101,091
18,158
15,441
41,212

2,274
9,413
2,246
1,577
2,341

92,194
576,727
86,739
53,177
197,299

67,903
166,661
26,613
17,069
56,236

Michoacan.......................................
Colim a..............................................
Guerrero............................................
Jalisco................................................
Sinaloa..............................................
Chiapas............................................
Oaxaca..............................................
Tepic..................................................
Lower California............................

887,008
55,264
417,886
1,094,569
256,858
318,730
872,902
146,805
41,838

92,426
15,758
24,949
196,664
50,056
21,993
58,873
22,098
12,774

26,212
757
8,625
45,982
3,170
3,273
21,952
4,354
685

597,937
30,874
307,547
650,116
160,072
217,280
619,703
94,660
21,082

169,897
7,875
76,765
197,185
43,370
75,343
169,384
24,508
7,297

T o ta l.......................................

12,491,573

1,782,822

323,336

8,007,465

2,338,434

P A C I F IC S T A T E S .

536
4,622
190
841
2,990
1,185
39,516

As will be seen, the lack of education and of general preparedness
for intelligent work on the part of the great mass of the population is
still tremendous, despite the great progress which is being made in
education at the present time. Thus of a population of 12,491,573
counted as present in 1895, there were 8,007,465 persons, or 64.1 per
cent o f the total population, who were returned as illiterates within
reading age (being unable either to read or write), while 323,336, or
2.6 per cent, could read but not write, 2,338,434, or 18.7 per cent,
were illiterates owing to youth, while only 1,782,822 persons, or but
14.3 per cent of the population, could both read and write. Of 39,516,
or 0.3 per cent, the literacy was unknown. If we exclude from the
statistics those who were too young to be considered and those, as
well, whose literacy or illiteracy was unknown, it results that only
17.6 per cent were complete literates, 3.2 per cent could read but
not write, while 79.2 per cent could neither read nor write. The




20

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

manual workers would naturally furnish a larger percentage of illit­
erates than the leisure and wealthier classes, but, on the other hand, the
figures include, over and above those who are engaged in some regular
occupation, a large number of persons whose work is so irregular,
sporadic, and limited as to be almost outside the industrial economy
of the country, (a)
The low percentage of literacy for the whole country is considerably
higher than that which prevails in certain parts of the country. Thus,
while in the Federal District 37.5 per cent of the total population can
both read and write, and while the proportion in Tlascala is 27.6 per
cent, the percentage for the whole country, 14.3, is not everywhere
maintained. Thus, in San Luis Potosi the ratio of persons able to read
and write to the whole population is only 11.4 per cent; in Guana­
juato only 10.1 per cent; in Oaxaca only 6.7 per cent; in Guerrero
only 6 per cent, etc. The percentage of illiteracy among the feminine
portion of the community is also smaller than the average, there being
only 11.4 per cent of the females able to read and write, 2.8 per cent
able to read, while 67.2 per cent are wholly illiterate, 18.3 per cent illit­
erate owing to age, and 0.3 per cent with literacy unknown. Includ­
ing those whose literacy is unknown, but excluding those below age,
the male illiterates in 1895 represented 75.8 per cent of the total male
population within the age limits assumed, the female illiterates 82.6
per cent of the total female population, and the total illiterates 79 per
cent of the total population, (b)
a The percentage of illiteracy here given, great as it appears, is, in' all probability,
however, considerably underestimated. A large number of mestizos, and above all,
pure Indians, evade the census, owing to an ignorant and undefined fear of this exer­
cise of Federal power. The persons who thus escape enumeration, however, have a
much greater percentage of illiteracy than those who are counted, and, in all proba­
bility, are almost all illiterates. Even without this deduction, however, the diffi­
culties in the way of improving the labor conditions in a country in which four-fifths
of the total population above school age are illiterates, and in which only one-sixth
can both read and write, must appear formidable.
bA comparison of the statistics of Mexican illiteracy with those of a few European
countries will illustrate the extent of the burden of ignorance under which the
masses in the former country labor. In Austria, in 1890, out of a total population of
23,895,413, but 9,605,337, or 40.2 per cent, were illiterates (as compared with 83.1 per
cent in Mexico, including 0.3 per cent with literacy unknown), while 1,031,624, or
4.3 per cent (in Mexico 2.6 per cent), could read only, and 13,258,452, or 55.5 per
cent (in Mexico 14.3), could both read and write. In Hungary, where the percent­
age of illiteracy is very high, amounting to 54.6 per cent, it is still much lower than
in Mexico, while the statistics of other countries, such as Germany, France, England,
Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, etc., present so favorable a position in education
that comparison with Mexican conditions is less valuable. However, the progress
that Mexico has to make has been made by all these countries. Thus the total per­
centage of illiterates, both under and over school age, diminished in Austria from
44.6 per cent in 1880 to 40.2 per cent in 1890, and in Hungary from 65.6 per cent in 1869
to 59.7 per cent in 1880 and to 54.6 per cent in 1890. The immensely high percentage of




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

21

The deficient instruction of the Mexican working classes, however,
is being rapidly improved by the present Government, which during
the last twenty-five years has dedicated itself to an active propagation
of instruction. The number of schools is being rapidly increased, and
both male and female education is being carried on in a great number
of private and public schools. The demand for education is quite
strong, (a) and the number of scholars in the schools is rapidly increasing.
In 1876(5) there were in the public schools 8,770 teachers and employees
of all sorts, and 285,509 scholars, of whom 79,350 were females.
According to the report of the minister of public works, in 1881 there
were 321,026 male and 111,917 female, or in all 135,973 scholars, (c)
which number increased to 541,000 within the same decade. In
another part of this work the progress in the education of the
laboring classes and of the total population of Mexico will be con­
sidered. At present, however, it may suffice to say that in the year
1898 there were 702,685 scholars in the public and 125,393 scholars in
the private schools, making a total of 828,078 scholars for the country.
While the Mexican possesses certain characteristics which unfit him
for complete success as a workman, there are other qualities, charac­
teristic o f the nation, which aid him. Although the average Mexican
is not of great physique, the endurance of large masses of the popu­
lation is remarkable. Humboldt, in describing the mines, has given
many examples of the great powers of endurance of the Mexicans,
and in everything which pertains to walking or carrying they are
more particularly efficient, (rf) When on the march the Mexican sol­
diers frequently make over 30 miles a day, and marches of 4:5 miles
for infantry and 55 miles for cavalry are not rare. The Indians who
illiterates in Italy has also diminished very greatly, the proportion of illiterates over
5 years of age amounting in 1861 to 68.09 per cent for the males and 81.27 per cent
for the females, while in 1881 the proportion of illiterates over 6 years of age amounted
to only 54.56 per cent and 69.32 per cent for the males and females, respectively; in
the same period (1861-1881) the percentage of male illiterates over 20 years decreased
from 65.47 per cent to 53.89 per cent, and that of female illiterates over 20 years from
81.52 per cent to 72.93 percent. The illiteracy in Mexico and other parts of Latin
America might perhaps best be compared with that existing in Italy and certain
other portions of southern Europe; but general education, after all, is everywhere
extremely modern. In 1898, 3.1 per cent of the grooms and 3.6 per cent of the brides
in England and Wales signed the marriage register by mark; in 1863 the percentage
wTas 23.8 and 33.1 per cent, and in 1843, 32.7 and 49 per cent, respectively, of the
grooms and brides.
a Charles F. Lummis, in The Awakening of a Nation, New York and London, 1898,
speaks of the “ perfect mania’ ’ for schools. “ There is now in Mexico no hamlet
of 100 Indians which has not its free public school.”
bAntoine Garcia Cubas, The Republic of Mexico in 1876. Mexico, 1876.
c Antoine Garcfa Cubas, fitude Geographique, Statistique et Historique des Etats
Unis Mexicains. Mexico, 1889.
dThis power has been attributed, perhaps rather fantastically, to the fact that
before the Spanish conquest there were no beasts of burden in Mexico.




22

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

come into the city with butter, eggs, and chickens for sale make
remarkable distances on foot, and in ability to hold out for an indefi­
nite time in walking, carrying, digging, or other simple mechanical
operations the Mexican peon is unexcelled.
Another quality possessed by the Mexican population as a whole is
a high degree o f patience, as well as great docility. This patience
is observed in a number of household manufactures, such as the
making of drawn work, in which also is shown a very high degree of
artistic ability. The artistic quality of the Mexican is beyond all
question, and while hitherto there has been little industrial use made
o f it, it is a characteristic of the population which may be of great
industrial benefit in the future. Closely allied to this is an extraordi­
nary gift of imitation, which is possessed to a surprising degree by
Mexicans at an early age, and which renders them particularly adept
at learning new trades when afforded an opportunity. A t the time of
the conquest Spaniards were frequently astounded at the rapidity
with which the yarious industries introduced by them were learned
by the natives, and this quality has survived to this day. Owing to this
national characteristic Mexicans w'ho work under the guidance of
foreigners rapidly acquire a knowledge of the industry, and by rea­
son of their willingness to work for lower wages soon displace the
imported employees. The power of imitation and the general sus­
ceptibility to new impressions or ideas of any sort are, of course,
greatly lessened in that portion of the population which is prone to
drunkenness, but on the whole there are very few people in whom
quickness of perception and accuracy of imitation are so closely allied
and so universally common as in the population of Mexico.
OCCUPATIONS.
In the following table are presented the statistics of employment for
Mexico in the year 1895. These statistics have been obtained from
the industrial census of that year, which was taken in conjunction with
the statistics of population. As a result, the figures are based upon
the returns made by individuals employed and not by industrial estab­
lishments. This naturally prevents certain groupings of employees
under the general industry in which they are engaged, and throws
them in a class determined by the special work which they do. Thus,
for instance, there are no returns for railroad employees, such per­
sons being returned as machinists, engineers, mechanics, blacksmiths,
carpenters, day laborers, etc.
This census, which appears to be the first industrial enumeration
ever undertaken for the whole country, is by no means perfect. Many
of the classifications are indeterminate and are very far from being
mutually exclusive. There are also many occupations given which




23

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO,

appear of questionable utility, such as, to take & single illustration,
Jilarmonicas, which appears to indicate music lovers as well as, if not
rather than, professional musicians.
The most salient feature of the statistics is the disproportionately
large percentage of persons, and especially males, engaged in agricul­
ture, and the particularly large percentage of farm hands or peones
de campo. Especially is this proportion of agricultural laborers large
in comparison with those engaged in mining, commerce, the profes­
sions, and the industries and fine arts. With regard to industrial
employees, the most striking fact about the statistics herewith pre­
sented seems to be the very large percentage of workmen in occupa­
tions that require no great division of labor but are carried on for a
limited market and in small establishments. The statistics of brick­
layers, carpenters, seamstresses, palm-mat makers, blacksmiths, horti­
culturists, laundresses, bakers, cigar makers, tailors, and shoemakers,
as compared with the other categories, point to a large percentage of
persons employed in industries conducted on a small scale. The table
follows:
CLASSIFICATION OF MEXICAN POPULATION ACCORDING TO OCCUPATIONS, 1895.
Occupation.

Number.

PROFESSIONAL, ETC.

Number.

COMMERCE.

Architects............... . .......... .....................
Building foremen ...................................
Business agents and representatives.
Dentists........................................................
Druggists....................................................
Engineers (general)...............................
L aw yers......................................................
Mechanics (mecdnicos) ............................
Midwives (a )..............................................
Ministers........................ ............................
N otaries_________ _________________ . _
Physieians (allopathic)..........................
Physicians (homeopathic)....................
Roman Cat.nolie priests ......................
Sailors__________ _____________________
Seholars......................................................
Students...... .................. ......................... __
Teaehers............... .....................................
Veterinary surgeons............... ...............
PUBLIC SERVICE.
Army officers and chiefs........................
Civil service employees..........................
Navv officers and chiefs ........................
Police..........*...............................................
Soldiers..................................... ..................
AGRICULTURE.
Administrators, overseers, and assist­
ants ......................................... ...............
F arm ers.....................................................
Field laborers {peones)...........................
Live-stock hands.......................................
MINING.
Administrators-and assistants.............
Employees in smelters and reduction
w orks.......................................................
Miners {mineros, barreteros, and pepanadores)..............................................




Occupation.

228 Agents, brokers.........................................
311 Bankers........................................................
651 Clerks..................................... .....................
224 Hawkers and peddlers..........................
1,539 Merchants..................................................
1,797
Proprietors {proprietaHos)....................
3,222
INDUSTRIES, FINE ARTS, ETC.
5,319
2,079
177 Acrobats......................................................
411 Actors...........................................................
Artificial flower m akers........................
2,136
189 Artists (pictorial).....................................
3,267 i Authors......................................................
Bakers.........................................................
1,625
604,513 Barbers and hairdressers........................
27,999 Basket makers...........................................
12,583 Belt makers................................................
245 Biscuit makers and sellers....................
Blacksmiths..............................................
Braziers........................................................
Bookbinders .............................................
2,953
Brewers........................................................
25,846 Bricklayers................................................
23 Brickmakers.......................... ...................
5,412 Bull fighters..............................................
21,922 Butchers......................................................
Cabinetmakers .........................................
Calkers.........................................................
Carpenters..................................................
Charcoal makers.......................................
46,940 Cigar makers (pureros) ..........................
282,906 Cigarette makers ................................... ..
2,555,316 Coachmen.............................................. .
5,829 Coopers........................................................
Coppersmiths.............................................
Designers, draftsmen..............................
Divers...........................................................
763 Drivers . . r .................... - ...................- ...........................
D yers...........................................................
5,755 Embroiderers............... ...............
Engravers......... .........................................
72,687
Farriers........................................................

a And men .employed at parturition.

1,379
42
17,318
9,766
167,161
37,556

224
337
1,663
840
472
26,611
6,143
33
8,178
730
20,132
544
1,403
306
41,473
3,574
132
13,251
314
1
54,110
2,737
5,957
10,397
3,702
302
810
257
56
2,296
512
750
235
1,120

24

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

CLASSIFICATION OF MEXICAN POPULATION ACCORDING TO OCCUPATIONS, 1S93—Conc’d.
Occupation.

Number.

INDUSTRIES, FINE ARTS, ETC.—COIlt’d.
Fishermen, fishmongers........................
Founders (general) T...............................
Gardeners ............"...................................
Gilders.........................................................
Glaziers.......................................................
Glove makers............................................
Gypsum workers.......................................
Hackmen, wagoners................................
Hatters and hat makers..........................
Horticulturists..........................................
Hunters.......................................................
.Tareieros (u) __ ................"........................
Knife grinders..........................................
Lace makers, etc. (galoneros y tiradorea)..................................... ........... .....
Lace makers (pctsamcineros) ..................
Lace workers (empuntadoras) ...............
Lapidaries..................................................
Last makers................................................
Launderers and laundresses.................
Lime burners............................................
Lithographers............................................
Matchmakers............................................
Milliners......................................................
Musicians (ft).................................._.........
Oil venders................................................
Overseers and employees in industrial
establishments.......................................
Palm mat (petcite) makers......................
Palm weavers............................................
Pastrv c ooks..............................................
Pastry makers and venders...................
Photographers...........................................
Plumbers................................................. .
Potters.........................................................
Salt and saltpeter workers....................
Sculptors......................................................
Seamstresses..............................................
Shoemakers................................................

Occupation.

Number.

INDUSTRIES, FINE ARTS, ETC.—COnc’d.
3,351
4,438
956
861
372
372
33
224
167
5,287
18,628
9,437
1,355
202
478
222
213
510
972
174
411
49,460
359
488
459
2,738
13,456
208
3,147
11,518
7,039
1,049
4,322
539
486
19,587
1,064
2,000
483
578
70,125
46,662

Sign painters and decorators.................
Silversmiths...................... : .....................
Singers.........................................................
Soap boilers................................................
Starch m akers...........................................
Stonecutters..............................................
Tailors.........................................................
Tall adores de fibra...................................
Tallow chandlers.....................................
Tanners........................................................
Tapestry and mattress makers.............
Telegraphers.......................... ...................
Tinsmiths....................................................
Turners........................................................
Turners, lathe makers, etc.....................
Typographers.............................................
Watchmakers............................................
W ax chandlers.........................................
Weavers....................................... ...............
Wood carriers.............................................
Wool carders.............................................
Workmen (day laborers in industrial
establishments).....................................

4,590
4,539
206
1,819
52
6,722
24,254
1,669
3,506
10,273
843
1,557
4,891
927
551
3,148
785
1,049
58,172
1,309
35
44,874

MISCELLANEOUS.
Canoe makers............................................
Corn cake (tortilla) m akers...................
Day laborers (c).........................................
Domestic servants...................................
Dried brick (adobe) makers.................
Household workers.................................
Janitors.......................................................
Mesalinas....................................................
Millers.........................................................
Muleteers..................................... .............
Private servants.......................................
Ticket sellers.............................................
Water carriers............; .............................
Miscellaneous.............................................
Without occupation................................
Without occupation owing to minority
Occupation unknown..............................

53
33,315
23,766
269,336
2,086
925,965
3,061
2,581
210,319
31,943
22,262
422
3,129
9,821
2,806,945
3,237,015
305,535

a Possibly men employed in manufacture and sale of ship’s tackle, rigging, cordage, etc.
b Filarmdnicos; therefore apparently not, or not entirely professional musicians.
c In State of Vera Cruz only.

These statistics of occupation throw considerable light upon the
industrial and labor conditions of the country, when considered terri­
torially. The most important group is, of course, that of agricul­
turists, including proprietors, small owners, and farm hands. This
group makes up 2,890,991 persons, or 23.2 per cent of the total pop­
ulation, male and female, reported as present in the census. This
proportion varies, of course, in the different States, and is much larger
in some than in others. Thus in Guanajuato 28 per cent of all the
inhabitants included in the industrial census were classed as agricul­
turists, while in Yucatan the proportion was 27.8 per cent; in Queretaro, 27.7 per cent; in Tlascala, 17 per cent; in Oaxaca, 27 per cent;
in Morelos, 26.7 per cent, and in Campeche, 21.4 per cent. In San
Luis Potosi the proportion, however, was only 17,8 per cent, and in
the Federal District, the population of which is chiefly industrial, only
6.2 per cent. In most occupations of an industrial nature the Federal




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

25

District has naturallv a much larger percentage than the rest of the
country.
Almost one-fifth of all Mexican lawyers reside in the City of Mexico,
the proportion there making up 1.4 thousandths of the population,
instead of one-fourth of one-thousandth for the whole country. The
same holds true of druggists, over one-fifth of whom are in the dis­
trict; of physicians, of whom over one-sixth are in the district, and of
engineers, almost one-third of whom are in the district and the propor­
tion of whom in the latter place is about ten times as great as for the
whole country. The priesthood, however, is represented more widely
through the country, and of these the Federal District has only about
one-twelfth of the total; In professors and teachers of schools the City
of Mexico has also a considerable preponderance, furnishing almost
one-sixth of the total and having a proportion of 4 per thousand of the
population, as compared with 1 per thousand of population for the
whole country.
There are also other occupations which are largely associated with
labor, in which the States with a large urban population show a greater
proportion. In the matter of domestic and private services the City
of Mexico shows a great preponderance. Thus of those engaged in
domestic service more than one-seventh resided in the City of Mexico
and the domestic servants there made up 8.4 per cent of the total popu­
lation, as compared with 2.2 per cent of the population for the whole
country. These figures show in a general way the vast amount of
hired domestic service in the capital, although it is probable that in
many portions of the country taken as a whole the statistics do not
very exactly distinguish between domestic service which is hired and
domestic service within a family itself, (a)
In the matter of private servants (emjpleados jparticulares) the City
of Mexico contains almost one-third of the whole number in the coun­
try. In quite a number of other employments the concentration in
the City of Mexico or in the Federal District is extremely great. Thus,
of the total number of persons present at the census and returned as
coachmen, 46 per cent resided in the Federal District. In other words,
while there were 4 coachmen in the city per thousand of the popula­
tion, in the rest of the country there was only one-sixth of 1 coachman
per thousand of the population. The employment of barbers is more
widely and evenly distributed, though in the City of Mexico there are
2 per thousand of the population, and in the whole country only 1 for
every two thousand of the population. In the City of Mexico there
a In confirmation of this, see the statistics of domestic service in Sinaloa, Sonora,
and Chiapas, which give 6.3, 5.4, and 5.5 per cent, respectively, as the proportion
between the number of domestic servants and the total population, male and female,
adults and minors, present at the census of those States. The amount of wealth and
its distribution in the latter States would preclude the possibility of so large a pro­
portion of the population being devoted to hired domestic service.



26

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

were about 13 carpenters per thousand of the population; in Nuevo
Leon, Jalisco, and Yucatan, 6; in Aguas Calientes, Tabasco, Tlascala,
Lower California, Tepic, and Colima, 5 each, and for the whole
country, 4 per thousand. In employees in the manufacture of ciga­
rettes, the Federal District shows about 4 per thousand, as compared
to 0.8 per thousand for the whole country.
With regard to the persons who are unemployed, although over 14
years of age, the statistics are, unfortunately, very*faulty. Accord­
ing to these statistics, 2,806,945 persons were given as without occu­
pation, although over 14 years of age, of whom 249,516 were men and
2,557,429 were women. In a number of States, however, persons
were returned as with occupations, although in all probability they
were without any, and persons returned as household workers in one
State were given as without employment in another. Thus, although
out of the total population of the country given as present and includ­
ing both males and females, adults and minors, 22.5 per cent were
given as persons over 14 years of age without occupation, this pro­
portion for the State of Oaxaca is given at only 4.5 per cent; that of
Lower California, 4.3; that of Campeche, 3.2; that of Guerrero, 1.8;
that of Aguas Calientes, 1.4; that of Tabasco, 0.1; that of Yera Cruz,
0.05, and that of Puebla, 0.03. On the other hand, the proportion
which the total number of persons over 14 years of age and unem­
ployed bears to the total population present, amounted to 32.5 per
cent in Jalisco, to 32.8 in Morelos, to 35.6 in Guanajuato, to 38.5 in
Hildago, and to 46.8 in Michoacan. These differences are clearly
traceable to no other cause than to the difference in the method of
returning persons of indefinite employment, all persons engaged in
household work or supported at home, or with irregular and not easily
determined employment. There is nothing in the industrial condi­
tions of the State o f Puebla that would account for only 246 persons
over 14 years of age and out of school being without employment,
while the proportion of 46.8 per cent for the State of Michoacan is
manifestly impossible. The results of the latter States are manifestly
due to defective registration, and it is probable that a great many
persons whose occupation had not been determined by the census taker*
were simply put down as without occupation, (a)
The figures of persons without occupation should therefore be taken
in connection with those of domestic service and household workers.
a A n indication of the inexactness of the statistics of Michoacan is to be found in
the fact that the returns give, for the persons employed in agriculture and for per­
sons of 14 years or over without occupation, a considerably larger figure than the
total number of males and females of the age of 14 or over in the whole State. It is
interesting to note that the same State of Michoacan is the one in which the civil
registration of marriage is most defective, and in which the proportion of technically
illegitimate births, largely from this cause, is greatest.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

27

With regard to the 250,000 men included in the statistics of persons
without occupation, it is probable that these figures are of more or
less questionable value, as, in certain States, notably Michoacan, the
figures are unduly swelled, whereas in other States even the adult
males who belong to the dependent classes do not seem to be returned
as without occupation.
THE SYSTEM OF PEONAGE.
The agricultural labor system in Mexico, as it exists to-day, is the
result of an evolution from the earliest times of the conquest. This
development has been as different from that in the Northern free
States of the United States as could well be imagined, and the char­
acter of land tenure and of land tillage to-day is directly traceable to
the conditions arising out of the first contact of the Spaniards with the
natives.
The agricultural system of the Spaniards was based upon the forced
labor of Indians, The conquerors and the colonists in New Spain did
not venture their lives for the sake of tilling the soil by the sweat of
their brows, but chose adventure as a direct means to wealth and idle­
ness.^) Nor was their lot cast amid nations of warlike natives, roam­
ing over an extensive country and living ehiefty by fishing and hunting,
but amid a comparatively docile and tractable race, long accustomed
to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. The conditions for forced
native labor for the benefit of the conquering whites were therefore
given.
Nor is it quite evident that any other system than that of forced
labor was possible under the then existing circumstances, especially in
view of the fiscal demands of the Crown and the necessities of the colo­
nists. The soldiers of Cortes had been cruelly disappointed in their
hopes of obtaining large amounts of gold and silver, and any grant of
land was illusory without the right to force natives to work upon it.
Of what value were mines or plantations, however rich or extensive,
unless there were also granted the right to obtain labor under favor­
able terms to exploit these natural resources?
The creation of the labor system in Mexico, or New Spain, as it was
formerly called, was not due to a consciously adopted policy on the
a “ All the labor of mining, of tillage, of stock raising, and of household drudgery
was performed by the natives. There is no evidence that any Spaniard during that
[the sixteenth] or the following century, made a nearer approach to manual labor
than superintending from his saddle the movements of native workmen.” — H . Ban­
croft, History of Mexico, Volume II, pp. 538, 539. Speaking of somewhat similar
though worse conditions in Hayti, Fiske (Discovery of America, Volume II, p. 443)
says: “ Many of the wretches [Spanish colonists] were the offscourings of camps, the
vile refuse of European wars; some of them were criminals, sent out here to disencum­
ber Spanish jails. Of course they had no notion of working with their own hands,
or of wielding any implement of industry except the lash.”




28

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

part of the Crown of Spain, but arose out of the necessities and greed
of the resident Spaniards and despite the opposition of the home gov­
ernment. The orders of the King and his instructions to his viceroys
breathe a spirit of humanitarianism toward the copper-colored converts
to Catholicism, and there seems to have been a real desire on the part
of the King and his advisers to mitigate the onerous conditions of
native labor on the farm and in the mine. The Emperor (Charles V)
feared that if any damage resulted to the Indians it would be at the
peril of his own soul, and His Majesty was very anxious to save his
soul, provided that no diminution of the royal revenue resulted as a
consequence.
At the beginning of the Spanish era a certain amount of labor upon
the farms was carried on by Indian slaves. The Aztecs had held slaves,
conquered in war with other tribes and sold in the public mart at
Tenochtitlan (City of Mexico), and the Spaniards followed in their
footsteps. The Indian chiefs were obliged to surrender their slaves,
captives were taken in the numerous raids and forays into hostile ter­
ritory, peaceable natives were forcibly enslaved, others enticed into
slavery by means of incurring debt or liability for petty offenses, and
thus the body of Indian slaves grew with the demand for labor. These
slaves were branded, treated with great harshness, and overworked to
the point of exhaustion and premature death, despite the humane laws
enacted at Madrid. The chief use of the slaves, however, appears to
have been in the mines and on the highways, while for the needs of
agriculture a sort of serfdom or mitigated slavery grew up under the
rights o f repartimiento and encomienda.
By repartimiento was meant the original distribution of natives
among the conquerors; by encomienda the second or subsequent grant
or redistribution of the natives upon the death or disability of their
first master. The system was one of practical slavery, although theo­
retically conceived in a more humane spirit, as a means of caring for
and protecting the Indians and hastening their conversion to Chris­
tianity. (a) It had been in vogue for a score of years in the West Indies,
and the abuses to which it had there led resulted in the rapid depopu­
lation o f the islands and in the almost complete extermination of the
native race.
a According to Fiske (Discovery of America, Volume II, p. 443) ‘ ‘ the system of

encomiendas was unmitigated slavery,” while that “ of repartimientos was in effect serf­
dom or villenage. ’ ’ Originally the word signified ‘ ‘ commandery ” or “ preceptory ’ ’
in the Catholic religion, and as the system was introduced into Cuba by the governor,
Ovando, it was with a deed worded thus: “ To you, such a one, is given an encomi­
enda of so many Indians, and you are to teach them the things of our holy Catholic
faith.” The theory was at the widest possible variance with the facts, but the truly
horrible conditions that prevailed in Cuba and Guatemala seem to have been con­
siderably mitigated in Mexico.




LABOK CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

29

In Mexico, Cortes, owing to the superior intelligence of the natives
of New Spain, rebelled, or affected to rebel, at the inauguration of
such a policy, but finally ceded to the strong and violent pressure of
soldiers and officeholders and granted provisionally, and subject to
confirmation by Madrid, great eiicomiendas to the conquerors, to newer
and more recently arrived favorites, to certain Indian caciques, and
finally to himself. The church also shared in this wholesale dis­
tribution of the population of native villages, the whole European
population of the country thus becoming interested in the maintenance
of the institution.
The first impulse of the court was praiseworthy and was immediately
acted upon. By royal order of June 26,1523, the repartimientos were
revoked and the institution abolished. Cortes, however, with his usual
suave audacity, suppressed the order and represented to his august
sovereign that its enforcement would result in the impoverishment and
ruin of the settlers. He further claimed that immigration would
cease, the royal revenues decrease, apostolic conversion be crippled,
discontent ensue, and finally even that the newly won territory might
be lost to the crown of Spain. Remonstrances against the prohibitions
of repartimientos flowed in from all sources and the crown receded
from its position.
By this distribution of the natives the labor system of the country
was once for all settled upon a definite basis, and one not unduly
favorable to the natives. Side by side with legally established slavery
there came to exist this vast system of serfdom, and natives were dis­
tributed in great blocks, and even sold and exchanged for a money
consideration. Despite several laws passed in order to create a respon­
sibility upon the part of the master, or encomendero, the natives were
transferred or sold; in some cases whole villages going for from $500
to $1,000. Great numbers of natives were held by a single individual;
in 1564 it was discovered that Don Martin Cortes, the son of the
conqueror, had upward of 60,000 natives in the towns assigned to him.
The adoption of serfdom under the encomienda system exerted a
tremendous influence upon the whole subsequent labor development of
Mexico, and prevented the growth of independent holdings of small
properties, while it favored extensive and not economically managed
plantations. The actual condition of the serfs, perhaps, was not as
unfortunate as might be supposed. The encomendero, or master, was
obliged to furnish food as well as merchandise to the value of half a
dollar per year, a sum not exorbitant, even in view of the Indian’s
modest requirements for clothing. He was also supposed to provide
educational and religious facilities for the natives, and not to allow
them to work for a longer time than from sunrise to an hour before sun­
set, with an hour at noon for rest. It was also prohibited to carry the

1110—No. 38—02-----3



80

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

encomienda Indians to the mines (where slaves were employed) or to
force them to work at places very distant from their native villages.
The encomiendas were at first granted only for a short time, with
the idea that they should revert to the Crown at the death of the
recipient. They were usually regranted, however, to his descendants,
to whom they were confirmed during good behavior. They were sub­
sequently entailed for one or more generations, and in the case of cer­
tain families, granted in perpetuity, on the theory that this would
result in the growth of a feeling of responsibility toward the vassals
so distributed.
Despite humane laws, however, the greed of resident Spaniards and
the venality or carelessness of royal officials permitted abuses to spring
up, and in 1548 the court of Spain, incited by the eloquence of Las
Casas, the noble protector of the Indians, endeavored gradually to
abolish encomiendas. A special representative of the King (called a
visitador) was sent to Mexico to proclaim a royal order by which those
who held too many vassals were to surrender the excess; no new
encomiendas were to be created under any circumstances, while those
who illtreated their Indians were to surrender them to the Crown forth­
with. A ll ecclesiastical and civil officials and all religious bodies were
to be deprived of their vassals immediately, and special officers were to
be appointed for the proper care and protection of the Indians, (a)
The opposition on the part of all influential classes, and especially of
the clergy, was, however, so resolute that the viceroy succeeded in
delaying action until, by decree of October 20, 1545, the sharpness of
these decrees was lessened and the prohibition restricted to the further
extension o f the system. Thus while in a manner the u new laws,” as
amended, give almost a legal sanction to the system of encomiendas,
it tended somewhat to prevent their worst abuses and provided by an
ultimate reversion to the Crown for the gradual emancipation of the
natives. As the encomenderos died without legitimate issue, their
rights escheated to the Crown. The impoverishment of many whites,
moreover, and their industrial and sexual union with natives, gradually
raised the standard of the peons from the low state it occupied at the
beginning of the conquest.
The institution of rejxirtimientos and encomiendas in Mexico has
been of profound and lasting influence on the economic status of the
workman, and especially of the agricultural laborer. The former wide,
deep gulf between the Spaniard and the native, the ownership of the
land by the former, and the forced labor by the latter, have perpetu­
ated a certain form of labor organization and have inbred certain now
scarcely eradicable faults. There was nothing in the climate or other
a For the history of this attempt, see Bancroft’ s History of Mexico, Volume II,
pages 516-529.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

31

natural conditions on the great central plateau that presaged the evolu­
tion of the plantation system and the degradation and incompetence of
the tillers of the soil. It was by foi'ce of the authority of the State
and not by that of natural conditions that the peon was held from the
ownership of land, and even since the successful revolution of the Mex­
icans against the mother country (Spain) the fundamental relations
between landed proprietor and serf have not been entirely changed, (a)
AG RICU LTU RAL LABOR.
In the popular conception Mexico is always regarded as a country
the main industry of which is mining. Ever since the days of the con­
quest the main exports have consisted of silver, and from that day until
this the country has paid off its foreign creditors in metal. During the
days of the colonial regime the cargoes taken from the country by the
galleons of Spain consisted chiefly of a thin stream of the white metal,
and, even in Humboldt’s time, the preponderance of the export of silver
was very great. In 1882-83 the exports of precious and other metals
amounted to $29,628,657.69 in silver, out of a total exportation of
$41,807,596.25; in 1885-86 to $29,906,400.83 out of a total of $43,647,717.30; in 1888-89 to $38,785,274.99 out of a total of $60,158,423.02, and
in 1891-92 to $49,137,303.98 out of a total of $75,467,714.95. (5) During
this period of ten years the export of the metals averaged from 57 to 72
per cent of the total. Even in the year 1898-99 the export of metals
and minerals amounted to $96,233,548, or 64.9 per cent of the total,
while that of the precious metals and ores alone made up $86,171,354,
or 58 per cent. The value of the precious metals and ores exported
was 213 per cent as great as that of vegetable products, and 194 per
cent as great as that of both vegetable and animal, products exported. (<?)
a “ A student of the conditions of rural life in the Middle Ages would find great
enlightenment in a few weeks on one of these great estates (of from 15,000 to over
300,000 acres on the central plateau of Mexico). In the residence of the proprietor he
would find himself walled about in a manner to suggest the stronghold of the medi­
aeval baron. The extent of the estate he would find not less than that of the barony,
and the authority of the later lord equal to that of the earlier. H e would find the
peons who live on the estate as dependent as were the serfs, and their method of
working quite as crude. Contemporary illustrations show the mediaeval serf working
with a rude hoe, but the Mexican serf, in completing the work of cultivating the
corn after the plow, often uses only his hands. The desire of the modern fuedal lord,
moreover, to preserve his estate entire for his descendants, regardless of economic
considerations, appears to be as strong as it was in his European predecessor; and it
is that which stands as the chief hindrance to a speedy revolutionizing of rural life
and cultivation in the especially fertile parts of the country, such as the region about
Guadalajara or on the eastern slope between Tampico and San Luis Potosi.” —
B. Moses, The Railway Revolution in Mexico, page 61. San Francisco, 1895.
frMatias Romero, Geographical and Statistical Notes on Mexico, page 167.
cComercio Exterior y Navegacion. Ano fiscal de 1898-99. Mexico, 1901.




32

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

While the exportation of metals has always exceeded that of agri­
culture the actual production in agriculture has been greater. From
the statistics of the various crops, published by the Federal Govern­
ment, which, however, are probably somewhat below the truth, it
would appear that the agricultural product for the year 1898 equaled
in value about $248,000,000, or over two and one-half times as great as
the value of the mineral production. Of this total sum of $248,000,000
there was $98,200,000, or 39.6 per cent of the total agricultural pro­
duction, obtained from cereals, and $72,800,000, or 29.3 per cent of
the total, from corn alone.
While agriculture brings in the largest proportion of the total annual
income of the country, the proportion of men employed in that branch
of industry is very far in excess of that employed in all other industrial
enterprises in the Republic. According to the statistics of occupations
for the year 1895, published in the census by the department of public
promotion (.Fomento), the number of males employed in agriculture was
2,880,842 out of an active body of 3,779,953 engaged in gainful occu­
pations other than employment in household or domestic service, or
in other words 76.2 per cent of the whole. Including those engaged in
domestic service, the total number of males employed in gainful occu­
pations would amount to 3,861,425, of which 74.6 per cent were engaged
in agriculture.
In order to show the extreme preponderance of agriculture in Mexico,
a comparison is here made between the proportion of population
engaged in,agriculture in Mexico and that which is similarly,engaged
in other countries. This comparison is not in all respects perfect, as
the basis of classification in the different countries is not exactly the
same, but it will at all events suffice to show the vast preponderance
of agricultural labor in Mexico. According to the industrial census
of 1895 (included in the quinquennial enumeration of that year) the
number of males present in Mexico was 6,190,311. O f these, however,
1,639,025 were unemployed, owing to minority; 366,205, in school or
college; 249,516, without occupation; 74,140, with occupation unknown,
and 81,472, engaged in household or domestic service. As a conse­
quence there remained only 3,779,953 males engaged in known occu­
pations other than that of domestic service, of which number 2,880,842,
or 76.2 per cent, were engaged in agriculture. In Germany, on the
other hand, according to the census of 1895 (June 14), there were
18,068,663 persons employed in agriculture, or dependent upon per­
sons employed in agriculture, out of a total population of 51,770,284,
or out of a total of 48,443,215 persons with a gainful occupation or
dependent upon persons with a gainful occupation. In other words,
of the total population dependent upon gainful occupations, only 37.3
per cent were directly dependent upon agriculture, while 41.8 per cent
were dependent on mining, metal works, and other industries. O f the
remainder, 12.3 per cent were engaged in commerce and trade, 5.9 per



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

33

cent in the professions and the military and civil service, 1.8 per
cent in domestic service, and 0.9 per cent in forestry and fisheries.
In Prussia the proportion of persons dependent upon agriculture
amounted to 38.6 per cent of those depending on gainful occupations;
in Bavaria to 49.5 per cent; in Saxony, however, only to 16.1 per cent.
The percentage of persons actually employed in agriculture would be
considerably less, since the number of persons dependent upon each
agricultural laborer is larger than in the other occupations; in other
words, the number of habitual workmen per 100 persons dependent
upon a given occupation is less in agriculture than in other industries.
In the United States in 1890 the number of male persons employed
in agriculture (including agricultural laborers, apiarists, dairymen and
dairywomen, farmers, planters, and overseers, stock raisers, herders
and drovers, wood choppers, and others engaged in agricultural pur­
suits) was 7,751,018. In other words, of the total number of males
engaged in active service only 41.2 per cent were employed in the
Various agricultural pursuits.
In France, a representative agricultural country, out of a total pop­
ulation in 1891 of 34,659,385-dependent upon a known gainful occu­
pation, 17,435,888, or 50.3 per cent, were dependent upon agriculture,
either as employers, employees, clerks, overseers, workmen, depend­
ents in the household, or domestic servants. If domestics engaged by
families occupied in agriculture be excluded from this class, the per­
centage of persons dependent on agriculture will amount to only 48.3
per cent of the total persons dependent upon gainful occupations.
Excluding both domestic servants and dependents in the household,
there were directly engaged in agriculture 6,535,599, which equal 41.7
per cent of all persons directly engaged in all occupations except
domestic service, and 37.8 per cent of all persons directly employed in
all occupations, including domestic service.
The statistics of the distribution of persons engaged in agriculture
among employers, clerks, administrators, and independent agricultur­
ists, as compared with farm laborers, throw light upon the character
of land tenure and cultivation. In France, for example, according to
the census of 1891, of the total number of persons engaged in agricul­
ture 54.6 per cent were counted as employers or independent farmers,
1.2 per cent as employees, clerks, and overseers, and only 44.2 per cent as
workmen or hands. In Mexico, on the contrary, of the total number
of persons employed in 1895 only 1.7 per cent were included in adminis­
trators, overseers, and assistants, and only 9.7 per cent as farmers
(<agricultores), while 88.4 per cent or, if the live-stock hands be included,
88.6 per cent were farm hands or day laborers (peones) (a). It is quite
a The word “ peon” is now used in the sense of agricultural worker of a low,
unskilled type, although in former times it signified approximately what is under­
stood by the word serf.




34

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

possible that a number of persons classed as farmers were really farm
laborers, but even upon the face of the statistics the proportion which
the agricultural farm laborer bore to persons engaged in agriculture
and to the total population engaged in industry was very great indeed.
The following table shows the number of persons, engaged in agricul­
ture, distributed by classes, in the States of the Republic:
PERSONS ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE, BY STATES, 1895.

State.

Admin­
istrators
Farmers.
and as­
sistants.

Live
stock
hands.

Farm
hands
(peons),

C E N T R A L STATES.

615
38
2,455
362
24
5,814
3,172

Federal District.
Aguas Calientes
San Luis Potosi.
Guanajuato........
Queretaro...........
Hidalgo...............
Mexico.................
Morelos...............
Tlascala .............
Puebla.................
Durango.............
Zacatecas...........
NORTH ERN

3,210
12,385

111

1,575
1,393

696
125
115
1,799

15,849
1,645
4,246

1,097
123

33,804 -

115

28,517
19,928
97,561
293,041
49,811
108,598
189,172
40,267
27,068
204,570
72,161
. 85,958

STATES.

Sonora.........
Chihuahua.
Coahuila___
Nuevo Leon

2

22

’45*705’

2,858

23
12,023
46
88
666

2,397
25,493
13,303
682

514

45,306
29,418
53,029
20,873

G U L F STATE S.

Tamaulipas
Vera Cruz..
Tabasco —
Campeche..
Yucatan . . .

44,562
185,389
4,058
5,277
81,136

P A C I F IC S T A T E S .

Michoacan...........
Colima..................
Guerrero...............
Jalisco..................
Sinaloa.................
Chiapas.................
Oaxaca .................
Tepic......................
Lower California.

6,527
22
3
1,996
2,584
47
6,319
14

Total...........

12

3,669
12,631
9,539
13,659
53,409
26,026
973
1,313

2,302

199,817
9,375
93,324
260,165
* 49,555
21,632
203,767
27,589
4,592

46,940

282,906

5,829

2,555,316

40

According to the crop statistics of the Mexican Government, the
total value of all agricultural products for the year 1898 was less than
$250,000,000 silver, while according to the census of occupations the
number of males engaged in agriculture was 2,880,842. It is possible
that the number of persons engaged is somewhat exaggerated; it is
probable that the value of the crops is considerably underestimated.
Assuming the figures, however, to be correct, the total receipts from
agriculture, per male employed, amounted to only $86.78 silver per
year, or, on the assumption of a silver dollar being worth 50 cents gold,
to a value expressed in gold equal only to a little over 83 cents per week
per male employed. However great a margin of error may reasonably
be assumed, the returns from agriculture must appear abnormally small



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

35

in proportion to the number of persons employed, and even by these
crude figures, a striking indication is furnished of the extremely
unproductive employment of the agricultural population.
Another indication of the extremely unproductive character of
Mexican agricultural labor is furnished by the fact that this great
body of men produces no exportable effects. The total exportation of
vegetable and animal products amounts to only $49,576,789 or less than
$25,000,000 gold. It would appear that, at least on the great plateau,
the total employment of by far the vast majority of the population
hardly suffices to sustain the actual workers and their families and the
small urban and mining and industrial population. Despite the great
number of men employed in the raising of corn, there has never been
any considerable exportation of that product; in fact, the importation
of that cereal is considerably in excess of its exportation.
If we except from this exportation the sisal grass, which is pro­
duced in Yucatan, we find that the total exportation of all the other
States amounts to less than $15,000,000 silver, or to less than
$7,500,000 gold. Despite the immense amount of labor applied to
it, the production of corn does not even suffice for the meager require­
ments of the Mexican population, to say nothing of a possible expor%tation. The United States has always been called upon to furnish its
quota to Mexico, the exportation averaging about 120,000 bushels per
year from 1858 to 1883, while from 1891 to 1900 the total quantity
exported was 20,300,000 bushels, amounting in value to $9,800,000
gold,(&) only 43,000 bushels being received in return. While the United
States in 1900 retained for domestic consumption 24.44 bushels per head
of population, the consumption in Mexico is, according to official sta­
tistics, only about 7 bushels, although this forms the main staple of
consumption. Despite this vastly smaller consumption of corn and
the great army employed in its production, there is no exportable
surplus.
The low productivity of Mexican agricultural labor is partly a con­
sequence and partly a cause of the extremely low agricultural wages.
AGRICULTURAL WAGES.

The agricultural wages in Mexico can not*be given with any approach
toward the accuracy observable in the statistics of some other coun­
tries, owing to the fact that there has never been any exact data pro­
cured by the Government upon a thorough and accurate basis. Instead
of the total number of agricultural laborers of Mexico, divided into
a The exact figures for the decade ending June 30, 1900, were 20,303,452 bushels,
of a value of $9,808,543 United States currency. The years of greatest exportation
of corn to Mexico were 1893, when 6,960,356 bushels, and 1897, when 8,825,860 bush­
els were exported. The smallest exportation was in the year 1898, amounting to
only 125,310 bushels.




36

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

classes, according to their daily wages and with allowance made for
rations or other advantages, there is only a series of normal or average
rates prevailing in various parts of the country. These rates, however,
are the more to be relied upon, as the wages paid are usually based on
certain norms, and do not vary greatly between different plantations
within the same district.
The statistics which are here presented in order to be understood,
must be brought into relation with the actual condition o f . labor,
regarding what is known of the hours of labor, the legal and actual
nature of the contract between the employer and his workman, and
the character of the duties performed.
The wages which are here given are in all cases expressed in silver,
unless the contrary is expressly stated. In considering wages, prices,
and other statistics of Mexico, it must not be lost sight of that every­
thing is calculated upon a silver basis, and that this metal has, during
the last quarter of a century, greatly depreciated in value. A t the
present time the value of the silver dollar fluctuates around a point
somewhat below 50 cents expressed in gold, and with every change in
its selling price in the markets of New York or London, the actual
wages of Mexican laborers and the prices of Mexican products, as
expressed in silver, become of less value when expressed in gold, which
is the international medium of exchange.
The wages of Mexican labor are expressed in silver, and have not,
as a general rule, been translated into gold. In the eyes of the Mexi­
can laborer a silver standard is something absolute, and the value of
silver in the world’s market does not enter into his calculations. The
effect of the silver standard in decreasing the purchasing power of his
money is considerably less than might perhaps be supposed, and the
tendency for his wages to increase in silver with every decrease in
the value of the silver dollar is very much less than what might be
true in a more intelligent and less tradition-bound laboring population.
In the treatment of the subject of prices the question of the silver
standard will be briefly considered. A t the present it suffices to state
that, from the point of view of the laborer and from that also of the
Mexican manufacturer or agriculturist producing for the home market
only, the silver standard is alone of importance. It is only in the case
of persons manufacturing for a foreign market, or depending in large
measure on foreign raw materials or foreign-made machines, that the
question of the fluctuation between silver and gold enters largely into
calculation, {a)
a For example, in the case of the railroads, which are owned, as a rule, by foreign
capital, and with bonds the interest on which is payable in gold, any depreciation
in the value of silver works obvious and great hardship, since freight and passenger
rates are in silver and can not readily be increased with every fall in the value of
silver. On the other hand, the production of sisal grass would be apt to flourish all




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

37

According to the report made by the treasury department in the
year 1880 the wages of agricultural labor in the various parts of the
country were very low. {a) From this report it is possible to show how
wages vary in different parts of the country owing to differences in
density of population and climate. In the States which are densely
populated, but which up to the present time have not largely developed
their manufacturing industries, wages rank lowest of all. In these
regions there is usually an excess of population over and above the
needs of the industry and an extremely wasteful expenditure of human
labor in everything which relates to agriculture. Where the popula­
tion is dense, however, and manufacturing industries are. commencing,
wages rise to a higher level, and this is more especially observed in
the neighborhood of great cities, where the beginnings of manufac­
turing permit a partial diversion of labor from agriculture. Wages
are highest of all in those States which are hot, where the climate is
unhealthy, and in which, as a result of these conditions, population
is sparse. Generally speaking, wages are high in proportion to the
sparseness of the agricultural population, to the heat and unhealthi­
ness of the region, to the presence of large industrial establishments
in the neighborhood, and by reason of the proximity to great cities.
According to the report before mentioned, agricultural wages (silver)
in Aguas Calientes averaged in the year 1878 from 12\ to 18 and even 25
cents per day, according to the age and capability of the man employed,
or with rations from $2 to $4 per month. This State is perhaps one of
the best illustrations of those with a dense population and consequent low
wages. In Guanaj uato similar conditions existed for similar reasons, the
wages there also ranging between 12£ and 25 cents per day, together with
rations of corn. The conditions were slightly better in the State of Mex­
ico, where wages averaged from 18 to 25 cents, according to age, with­
out rations, or from $4 to $5 per month with rations. In that State the
improvement in the conditions was due to the advances already made at
that time in manufacturing, especially in the city of Toluca, and these
favorable conditions are observed to a still greater degree in the
populous State of Puebla, where the cotton industry, then in rapid
growth, caused the wages of agricultural labor to rise to from 25 to
31 cents per day, together with land to till. In Queretaro, on the
other hand, wages were extremely low, averaging 18 cents per day
without and from $3 to $4 per month with rations.
the more with every decrease in the value of silver, since the cost of labor in pro­
portion to the price of the product, measured in silver, would become less with
every depreciation in the value of silver. The prices of most articles of home pro­
duction are only partially, if at all, influenced by fluctuations in the value of the
standard; those of imported articles reflect immediately every change in the market
value of silver.
aEstadfstica de la Republica Mexican a. Resumen y Analisis de los Informes
Rendidos & la Secretarfa de Hacienda, por Emiliano Busto. 3 vols. Mexico, 1880.




38

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In the hot country the wages were considerably higher. Thus, in
Campeche the average wage paid was 25 to 37 cents per day, while
stewards were paid $15 to $20 per month. In Colima 25 cents per
day were paid, or with rations of corn, meat, salt, and beans, from $2
to $1 per month, while in Sinaloa the wages were 50 cents per day,
and in Lower California it was claimed that the wages of agricultural
labor ranged from 75 cents to $1 (silver) per day, or with rations to
from $15 to $20 per month.
Since the period stated the increase in the amount of wages paid to
peons in the highlands has increased somewhat, and that paid in the
lowlands has increased considerably. An analysis of the wages of
agricultural labor, made in 1893 by the Government of Mexico, {a)
presents the statistics of wages for the various classes of agricultural
labor in the different States. According to this it appears that the
minimum wages of peons in Guerrero and Aguas Calientes were 12 and
13 cents; those of Mexico, Hidalgo, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Guana­
juato, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Vera Cruz, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi
were 18 cents; those of Campeche, Jalisco, Coahuila, Durango, Oaxaca,
and Yucatan were 25 cents, and those of Sonora, Tabasco, Colima,
Chihuahua, Federal District, and Morelos, 37 cents. The following
table shows agricultural wages in detail from the report referred to:
DAILY WAGES (SILVER) OF MEN ENGAGED IN AGRICULTURE IN 1893, BY STATES.

State.

Majordomos.

Aguas Calientes............ $0.25-fO. 37
Campeche.......................
.50- 1.50
M exico............................
.37- 1.00
Guerrero........................
.75- 1.00
H idalgo..........................
.37- 1.00
Jalisco..............................
.37- 1.00
Michoacan.....................
.50- 2.00
Sonora............................
.62- 1.00
Tabasco..........................
.75- 1.00
Coahuila........................
.50- .75
Colim a............................
1.00
Tam aulipas...................
.50
Chihuahua.....................
D urango........................
.50- 1.00
Guanajuato...................
.37- 1.00
Nuevo Leon...................
.75- 1.00
Oaxaca............................
.5 0 -1 .0 0
P uebla............................
.50- 1.00
Vera Cruz.......................
.50- 1.25
Yucatan..........................
1.00- 1.25
Zacatecas........................
.37- .75
Federal District...........
1.00- 1.50
San Luis Potosi.............
.50- .83
M orelos..........................
1.00- 2.00

Overseers.

Herders.

80.25-S0.37
.25- .31
.25- .50
.50
.18- .50
.25- .50
.25- .50
.50- 1.75
.50- .75
.37- .50

SO. 13-SO. 20
.25- .75
.18- .50
.37- .50
.18- .50
.25- .50
.25- .50
.37- 1.00
.25- .50
.37- .50

.18^ .25
. 50- . 75
.31- .62
.37- .62
.25- 1.00
.37- .50
.37- .50
.37- 1.00
.25- 1.00
.50
.40
.50

.18.50.31.25.25.25.37.50.25-

.25
.75
.50
.37
.75
.50
.60
1.00
. 75
.75
.50
.20
.50

Shepherds.

SO. 25
SO. 18- .25
.18- .31
.25- .50
.18- .37
. 37- 1.00
.25- . 50
.25
.25- .37
.25.18.18-

.37
.25
.50

.18- .31
. 37- 1.00
.25- . 50
.37- .50
.37- .50
.18- .20

Pulque
hands.

SO. 28-SO. 37

.18-

.37
.37
.50
.37

...............
.18.37-

.25
.50

.25-

.66

.18.37.18-

.50
.50
.25

Peons.
SO. 13-SO. 25
.25- .50
.18- .50
.12- .31
.18- .50
.25- .50
.18- .75
.37- 1.00
.37- 1.00
.25- .37
.37- . 75
.18- .25
. 37- . 62
.25- .37
.18- .25
.18- .50
.25- .50
.18- .50
.18- .37
.25- .75
.18- .50
.37- .40
.18- .25
.37- 1.00

An analysis of this table shows that since the development of trop­
ical agriculture and the opening of the foreign market for the trop­
ical products of Mexico the increase in the wages of peons, measured
in silver, appears much greater than those paid to the peon in the
a Reproduced in the report of Mr. Matthew M. Ransom, United States minister to
the Republic of Mexico and ascribed to official sources.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

39

temperate regions. Further proof of this is furnished later in this
article, where the wages of labor in various agricultural industries in
Vera Cruz, Yucatan, Tabasco, Chiapas, etc., are furnished. It does
not follow from this that the conditions of labor in the hot countries
are more favorable than those where wages are lower; on the contrary,
the general condition of agricultural labor in Mexico is probably less
favorable where wages are at their highest. The wages, however, of
the various States are almost in direct proportion to the sparseness of
population, as is shown in the following table:
STATES IN WHICH THE MINIMUM WAGES OF PEONS ARE 18 CENTS OR LESS, 25 CENTS,
AND 37 CENTS, W ITH DENSITY OF POPULATION.
Minimum wages 18 Population
per square
cents or less.
mile.

Minimum wages
25 cents.

Population ^
per square
mile.

Minimum wages
37 cents.

Population
per square
mile.

Aguas Calientes........
M exico.......................
H idalgd......................
Michoacan.................
Tam aulipas...............
Guanajuato...............
Nuevo L eon ...............
P u eb la........................
Vera Cruz...................
Zacatecas.....................
San Luis Potosi.........
Guerrero....................

35.1
90.7
61.6
38.8
6.3
92.1
13.1
80.2
29.3
18.2
22.5
16.7

Campeche.................
Jalisco........................
Coahuila...................
D urango...................
Oaxaca......................
Yucatan......... ..........

5.0
34.8
3.7
7.7
24.9
8.4

Sonora......................
Tabasco.....................
Colim a......................
Chihuahua...............
M orelos.....................
Federal District. . . .

2.4
13.3
24.5
3.0
57.6

Arithmetical mean

42.1

Arithmetical mean

14.1

Arithmetical mean

20.2

Of the twelve States in which the minimum wages of peons are 18
cents or less almost all are situated on the great central plateau and
are those which, in the main, furnish the great bulk of population.
They are also the States in which the mining industry is prevalent,
and with a cold climate and a fertility of the soil less than elsewhere,
Vera Cruz and Guerrero may perhaps be considered as partial excep­
tions and Tamaulipas as a complete exception to this rule.
In the second group the population is much sparser. No State in
the second group has a density of population as great as the mean for
the whole first group. This group includes the States of Campeche,
Oaxaca, and Yucatan, with a tropical climate, and four States,
Coahuila, Campeche, Durango, and Yucatan, with a density of popu­
lation very much smaller than the mean for the whole of Mexico.
The whole group is very much less densely settled than the first, and
the population here is sparser than the average of Mexico, including
all States and Territories. The higher wages of the State of Jalisco
are probably to be ascribed to the effect of its large city, Guadalajara,
on agricultural wages.
The third group consists of States with a very sparse population,
other States which are hot and unhealthy, and, finally, the Federal
District itself. The population of Sonora and Chihuahua is only 2.4
and 3 per square mile, respectively, while the States of Colima and




40

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

Tabasco are in the very center of the hot regions. Agricultural
wages in the Federal District are higher, owing to the demand in the
City of Mexico for labor of all sorts.
The maximum wages of peons in the various States bear out the
same general result, although these statistics are not very valuable, owing
to its being undetermined in each case whether the wages include
rations or not. In three States, namely, Sonora, Tabasco, and Morelos,
the maximum wages of peons are given at $1; in Yucatan, Colima, and
-Michoacan at 75 cents; in Chihuahua at 62 cents, and in eight other
States at 50 cents; in the Federal District at 40 cents; in three States at
37 cents, in one at 31 cents, and in four States, Aguas Calientes, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosi, at 25 cents. The wages of
pulque hands are low on the whole, owing to the fact that the maguey,
which produces this beverage, is raised on the high plateau where
wages are low. In most of the States where it is raised the wages
are about the same as those paid to peons, although in some cases they
fall somewhat below and in others they rise somewhat above that of
peons. Wages of shepherds, on the other hand, are usually below
those paid to the peon, which is owing to the nature of the work. If
the arithmetical mean between minimum and maximum wages be taken
it will be found that in Campeche, Mexico, Hidalgo, Michoacan,
Tabasco, Coahuila, Colima, Puebla, Yucatan, and San Luis Potosi the
wages range somewhat higher for ordinary peons than for shepherds,
although in three States the exact reverse is observable. Wages of
herders, on the other hand, usually appear to be higher than those of
peons, which is, of course, more especially true of overseers and
major-domos. Even the wages of the latter, however, are small, the
minimum wages amounting in only three States to $1 per day silver,
though in only five States are the maximum wages less than $1.
The lowness of wages, even at the present time, in certain parts of the
central plateau is shown by the official reports of the department of pub­
lic promotion (Fomento) on agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. (a)
Thus in the State of Zacatecas the wages on a number of plantations
amounted to only 18 cents silver for men and to only 9 cents for boys per
day. As a rule the administrators received from $15 a month to $300 a
year, while the stewards or major-domos received $8 per month. On
one hacienda in the same State the wages of peons ranged from 15 to
18 cents for men and from 5 to 9 cents for boys., while on another they
fluctuated between 12 and 18 cents for men and between 3 and 9 cents
for boys. Even lower wages are to be found on certain other planta­
tions. In the pages which follow the normal wages current in various
States of the countiy are given in connection with the condition of
agriculture in those regions.
a Boletfn de Agricultura, Mineria 6 Industrias.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

41

If we take the arithmetical mean of the wages of peons of the
different States the minimum wages will average 1.96 reals (of 12£
cents silver each) and the maximum 4.24 reals or from 24i to 53 cents
per day. The arithmetical mean, again, of these two averages will
amount to 3.1 reals or to almost 39 cents. This very rough figure is
probably greater than the average wages with rations, and perhaps
somewhat less than the average wages without rations. Roughly
speaking, the wages appear to be about one-third of those of farm
laborers in the northern part of the United States, assuming the Mex­
ican dollar and the American dollar to be equal, or about one-sixth of
the wages of farm labor in the Northern States if we put both wages
upon a gold standard. This result is, of course, not exact, but it
shows roughly the very wide discrepancy between wages paid in
Mexico and in the United States.
There are no statistics' of the hours of labor in Mexico. The work­
day varies in the different parts of the country, and the length of the
day depends on the character of the work and the special exigencies
of the season. This, as well as other conditions of labor, is of course
largely determined by the custom of the place, but differences exist
between different ranches or plantations located within the same dis­
trict. In the past there were frequent cases of unduly long hours and
overwork, against which the peon was less able to defend himself as
he was so frequently indebted to his master. It is the general testi­
mony that at the present time the tendency, on the better-managed
plantations at least, is toward a lessening of the hours of labor, but,
although this appears probable, no statistical proof can be adduced in
support of the assertion.
The agricultural laborers are to a large extent pure Indians or
Indians with a feeble admixture of European blood. They are, for the
greater part, illiterate, ambitionless, and passive, if not opposed, as
a general rule, toward the introduction of new machinery or to prog­
ress of any kind. Their relation to their employer differs in various
parts of the co u n ty and on various plantations, and in many places it
is more like the conditions existing on the plantations in the southern
part of the United States before the war than like the position of farm
hands in the Northern States at the present time. The conditions,
however, appear to be improving; schools are being established and
agricultural machinery introduced, and the extension of railroads gives
to the peon the advantage of legal redress in case of unwarranted
aggression. The evils of absentee ownership, however, can hardly be
said to be completely done away with.
AGRICULTURAL LABOR IN TROPICAL MEXICO.

The wages of agricultural labor in the tropical portions of Mexico
show merely one phase of the situation, and when compared with
wages on the plateau give perhaps a somewhat too flattering view of



42

BULLETIN CF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

actual conditions. The conditions existing in the States of Oaxaca,
Yera Cruz, Tabasco, Yucatan, and Chiapas have been the subject of
much a d v e rs e criticism and considerable invective, and have been
defended quite as vigorously. The purpose of the present paper is
not, however, to pass judgment upon these conditions, but to give as
true an account of their nature as can be obtained from the material
at hand.
In the tropical portions of Mexico land is extraordinarily fertile,
and labor is both scarce and ineffective. As in all other hot countries,
the inhabitant of tropical Mexico is able to subsist with very little
exertion, and his requirements in the way of food, clothing, and shel­
ter cost but little labor. The people of the uplands, moreover, prefer
the higher altitudes and do not care to live permanently in the low
hot lands, which they consider unhealthy. The large market for
tropical productions, however, causes the planter to feel the constant
need of labor, and the character of the crops renders it imperious
that this labor should not only be sufficiently abundant, but reliable
and more or less permanent. In consequence of these conditions and
o f the improvidence and very low standard of life of the peons, there
has grown up in tropical America a system of more or less compul­
sory labor, existing side by side with a freer system of labor. In a
great many of the States where tropical products are raised the native
residents are employed under a contract which is compulsory on their
part, owing to their being in debt to the planter, while at the same
time additional laborers imported from a distance are working under
freer, if not more favorable, conditions. The nature of the forced
labor and the exact amount of compulsion used depends upon the
legal status of the contracted labor in the various States and upon the
rigor or leniency with which the laws are enforced.
The system of enforced labor is carried out to its logical sequence
in the sisal-grass plantations of Yucatan. There on each large planta­
tion is to be found a body of peons, called criados or sirvientes (serv­
ants), who, with their families, live on the plantations, and in many
cases have been born there. These criados are bound to the soil by
indebtedness, for although a mere contract to perform certain services
does not impose specific performance, it is held in Yucatan that where
an advance payment has been made either the repayment of the money
or, in default thereof, the specific performance may be exacted.
This theory works itself out in the following manner; Upon reach­
ing early manhood, at 18 or 20, the young Yucatecan, in order to be
enabled to marry, borrows from $100 to $200 from his patron. It is
not expected that he will ever repay this debt, and no effort is made
either to repay or reduce it. On the contrary, it is usually increased
from time to time through occasional misfortunes which befall the
peon or his family, or through additional advances made by the



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

43

planter. The amount of the debt thus represents the cost of an
emancipation, which is not desired or attempted, especially as it may
represent the gross wages of several years. The peons on the sisalgrass plantations receive, as a rule, about 50 cents a day and rations
worth perhaps 25 cents a day, together with a certain amount of land,
which they may till on their free days. They also receive, as a rule,
medicine and medical attendance in case of illness and clothing
amounting to about 15 yards of some common cotton cloth for each
adult member of the family. In the large plantations the pay is
usually by the day, but in the smaller and, on the whole, less profitable,
haciendas the work is usually by task or tarea, the task being calcu­
lated on a reasonable amount of work per day. On the whole, the
conditions of labor on the small plantations are not as favorable as on
the large ones. The tasks are frequently graduated m such a manner
that the remuneration increases more than, proportionately with the
work done, without, however, having any very decided effect in stimu­
lating the peon to increased activity.
The system of labor enforced by indebtedness seems to work in
Yucatan to the satisfaction of the planter. The peon is compelled to
work unless he is able to pay off his constantly increasing debt, and
any attempt at flight or evasion is followed by penal retribution.
The peon rarely, if ever, achieves independence, and a transference
of a workman from one employer to another is only effected by means
of the new employer paying to the former one the amount of the
debt contracted. The system thus resembles slavery, not only in the
compulsion under which the peon works, but in the large initial
expense required of the planter when making his first investment in
labor.
Side by side with this development of unfree home labor there
exists the custom of importing labor for short periods from other
parts of the country. The development of the sisal-grass industry
was so rapid, especially during the war with Spain and the insurrec­
tion in the Philippines, that the resident supply of labor was unequal
to the demand, and workmen were imported from other States. The
foreign laborers,.called huastecos, occasionally go to Yucatan of their
own accord, but are more frequently taken there by agents, who
oversee them and receive payment equal to 6 per cent of their wages.
The diversion of labor in Yucatan from all other crops to sisal grass
has caused the price of corn to increase, with the result that the money
wages of huastecos who are obliged to find themselves have increased
from 75 cents to $1 a day, although the former rate of pay is also
found in the peninsula.
The foreign laborers working in Yucatan are recruited very largely
in the northern part of the State of Vera Cruz, but are obtained also
from other States. That there is not entire satisfaction among the



44

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

huastecos with the conditions under which they work in that State is
evidenced by the fact that on November 15, 1899, the legislature of
the State of Aguas Calientes passed a law (No. 988) taxing all agents
who employed laborers for work outside the State the sum of $10
per man so employed and $5 for every member of his family taken
with him, the tax to be doubled in case the laborer was taken to a
foreign country, the money to be paid to the municipal treasuries.
Provision was made in the law for the regulation of the traffic, and
violation was to be punished by a fine of from $100 to $500, or, in
default thereof, by imprisonment. The tax was to be remitted when,
in the judgment of the governor of the State of Aguas Calientes, the
laborers were intended for a work of public utility.
This decree was founded upon the idea that in Yucatan great harsh­
ness was used toward the men imported. This was denied by El Eco
de Comercio, of Merida (Yucatan), in an article headed u Un decreto
inoportuno,” as well as by the Economista Mexicano (March 24,1900).
The latter journal stated that the Aguas Calientes law was obviously
unconstitutional and cited various cases in which employees from other
States were alleged to have been more than satisfied with their treat­
ment in Yucatan.
In the State of Tabasco the conditions of forced labor are somewhat
different and the difficulty of the labor problem, especially from the
point of view of the planter, is exceedingly aggravated. In Tabasco
the law does not permit the same remedy as in Yucatan, namely, the
enforcement of the specific performance of a contract upon which an
advance payment has been made, but this drawback is more apparent
than real, since the governmental authority is vested in the hands of
the landowning planting classes, and the obligation of contracted
peons to work for the planters is virtually enforced, (a)
The land in Tabasco is wonderfully fertile, but only a small part is
tilled, owing to the inadequate labor supply. Land is also very cheap,
so that it is quite possible for a provident workman to obtain it if he
does not prefer to enslave himself by becoming indebted.
The tobacco plantations of Tabasco are extremely large and employ
great numbers o f workmen. Of these, a small number live on the
estate, where they are given land and 50 cents a day, without rations.
For the use of the corn lands which they cultivate they are supposed
to return 10 per cent of the crop. There are also workmen from other
parts of Mexico, usually from the plateau, who work from September
a This statement is made on the authority of Prof. Dr. Karl Kaerger, Landwirtschaft und Kolonien im Spanischen Amerika. Leipsic (Dunker and H um boldt), 1901.
This book is a reproduction of the reports of Dr. Kaerger to his Government upon
the conditions of agriculture, and appears, upon the whole, to give as accurate
accounts of labor conditions in certain portions of tropical Mexico as are to be found
anywhere. For agricultural labor conditions in tropical Mexico these reports have
been extensively drawn upon.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

45

until the end of February and receive from 37-J to 50 cents a day,
silver, and rations, which cost from 18 to 22 cents. These workmen
are virtually free, but receive, in the plantations near San Andres
Tuxtla, an advance of about $20 before commencing work and of $6 to
defray the expenses of their trip. There are also employed free peons
from the town, who receive from 50 to 62i cents a day, silver, without
rations.
The labor problem in Tabasco is more particularly acute, owing to
the great lack of laborers, and for this reason only a small portion of
the land can be cultivated. The planter in that region constantly com­
plains of the lack of labor, especially of suitable labor, and the present
arrangements seem to be satisfactory to neither party. The system
works itself out in such a manner that the peon, once indebted, is fre­
quently at the mercy of an unscrupulous planter, while, at the same
time, the planter may incur heavy loss through the thieving propensi­
ties or the evasion of his laborers. The problem seems to be one of
potential tyranny, tempered by the possibility of flight, and at the
same time of insufficient labor insufficiently paid.
The labor problem in Tabasco has been seriously considered by the
agricultural congresses of the State. The congress which met in 1900,
for example, came to the conclusion that there was a great scarcity o f
labor arising from the rapid development which had taken place in
agriculture, and that the present system of serfdom should be changed
or done away with by some expedient which would not threaten dan­
ger to the State’s agriculture. In order to improve the actual condi­
tion of the labor contract as it exists to-day, and to protect the peon
in his rights, the proprietors of rural estates were advised to keep a
record of the liquidation of the accounts of indebted servants in the
books of the plantation, to give to each servant a small book showing
the resulting balance of his debt, and to pay to each peon the wages which
he should have according to contract, to accord to him, moreover, a
premium of 25 per cent of his daily wages, which premium, however,
should not be paid in cash, but be devoted to the settlement of his
debt, and to be paid only for full years and not for fractions thereof.
The peon, moreover, should be entitled to devote such other portion
of his wages as he desired to the repayment of his indebtedness, and
all such sums paid should be recorded by the proprietor in the booklet
of the peon.
It was also urged by the agricultural congress of Tabasco that the
proprietors or planters who would introduce this system on their
estates should agree to observe its regulations by inscribing their names
in the register kept by the chamber of agriculture, which was to be
published by the periodical of that chamber, or by the independent or
official press of the State. It was also urged that some public authority

1110—No. 38—02-----4



46

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

should intervene in the liquidation of the accounts of the indebted
peons, legalizing the booklets which were presented, (a) The congress
also passed resolutions upon the subject of immigration, which subject
is treated in another portion of this paper.
These resolutions were evidently made in the interest of the peons,
who, by their ignorance and illiteracy, are at the mercy of the more
unscrupulous planters.
In the hot lands of the State of Vera Cruz somewhat similar condi­
tions prevail as in other portions of tropical Mexico, but in this case
the larger population renders wages somewhat smaller than on the
isthmus, in Yucatan, or in Tabasco. According to the “ Beport on
the condition of the agricultural laborers m the State of Vera Cruz,”
made in 1887 by the English consul, (b) the state of agriculture at that
time was not flourishing. The number of agricultural laborers was
estimated at 100,000, of which 15,000 were unmarried men and lads,
60,000 married men, 7,000 widowers, and 18,000 women and girls.
Here, as elsewhere, in agriculture, the Indian blood predominates, 42
per cent being pure-blooded aboriginal Indians and 58 per cent IndoMexicans, with a greater or less percentage of Indian blood. Statistics
of wages were obtained from 105 different labor centers, and the returns,
without food, were as follows: In 5 centers near the city of Vera
Cruz the wages were 4£ to 5 reals (56 to 63 cents silver); of the others,
39 centers paid 3 reals (38 cents), 26 paid 2\ reals (31 cents), 22 paid 2
reals (25 cents), 9 paid 4 reals (50 cents), 2 paid 3£ reals (44 cents), and
2 paid 1\ reals (19 cents). The average pay for the whole State thus
appears to have been a trifle less than 3 reals (38 cents), or, according
to the calculation of the English consul, 13Jd. (27 cents) per workman.
The cost of food was about 1 real (12£ cents), which is set down as 5d.
(10 cents), leaving only about 8£d. (17 cents) to the family for hut and
clothing. Of course, at that time, as at present, the demands of the
laborer in the hot country were not great, since no fuel was required
for warmth and what was needed for cooking was obtained by the
Indians themselves, while the native tallow candle sufficed for occa­
sional lighting. The peon, then, as now, lived in a hut “ little better
than a pigsty and not much larger,” and consumed little else in manu­
factured products than a few yards of cotton cloth.
Despite the large population of Vera Cruz, there have always been
complaints about the scarcity of labor. There, as elsewhere, however,
the problem seems to be as much one of adjustment and improvement
of labor as an increase in the number of laborers. According to a report
of the British consul in 1894, (c) the Indian labor was of a low class and
a See resolutions of the Tabascan Agricultural Congress (Congreso Agricola de

Tabasco). E l Economista Mexicano, February 23, 1901.
b British Foreign Office, Miscellaneous Series No. 51, 1887.
c British Foreign'Office, Annual Series No. 1342, 1894.




LABOB CONDITIONS IN MEXICO,

47

46adverse to the employment of other methods of cultivation than
those to which it is accustomed.” The wages by this time, 1894, had
risen somewhat, to an average of from 25 to 63 cents silver, but there
was little immigration. The peons worked as little as possible. The
natives of the interior refused to be attracted in large numbers to the
coast, where they did not thrive, and the system of indebtedness was
rendered almost necessary. In a later report, made in 1895, (a) the labor
problem was still declared to be unsolved and native labor arraigned
as scarce, unstable, and of low quality. Desertions of contracted
laborers were frequent, and while free labor was of better quality and
obtained higher wages, it was difficult to procure.
In the report made in November, 1900, on the 44 Trade and com­
merce of Vera Cruz,” (5) it was declared that, despite the low wages paid
in silver, the results of native labor were so poor as to be dear even at
that price. Labor was very scarce; there was not sufficient supply for
the growing demand and 44no legal redress for breach of contract nor
means to enforce the fulfillment of contracts.” The importation of
Chinese had not been successful, as they could not be legalty controlled
as the natives were, and, upon the whole, the British representative
came to the conclusion that the lack of labor in the tropical coast lands
of Vera Cruz was particularly acute. A recent experiment of import­
ing Italian labor for the construction of the Vera Cruz and Pacific Rail­
way was unsuccessful, owing to the discontent and evasion of the con­
tracted laborers.
It may be broadly stated that, taking tropical Mexico by and large,
neither to the employers nor to the employees are the conditions of
labor entirely satisfactory. The S3rstem of indebtedness and practical
serfdom is not without its bad effects upon labor; it involves the planter
also in great risk and large expenditure. The system results in the
destruction of any desire on the part of the peon to be independent or to
think for himself, and seems to lead to improvidence of all sorts. The
debt incurred by the planter is frequently very large and may proba­
bly be many times in excess of the value of his land. It also necessi­
tates a complicated and expensive system of labor agents and assistants
to obtain new contract laborers, to prevent their flight, and to return
them in the event of their running away.
As a general rule, the labor cost to the planter in tropical Mexico
is considerably greater than the money wages received by the peons.
This cost includes the price or labor paid for the rations, the cost
of obtaining the workingmen or of bringing them back in case of
flight, together with the interest on the money advanced in loans and
the occasional loss of the capital so advanced, as a result of the death
or successful flight of the debtor.
a British Foreign Office, Annual Series No. 1509, 1895.
b British Foreign Office, Annual Series No. 2539, 1900.




48

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The low wages, however, appear to be largely the result of the igno­
rance and improvidence of the natives, and it is somewhat question­
able whether higher daily wages would permanently benefit the peon,
unless at the same time his standard of life rose. The experience of
railroad companies and other employers of labor in Mexico has been
that higher daily wages increase idleness, and that, if the wages for a
day’s work be doubled, the number of working days will be halved.
It is also a fact confirmed by the experience and observation of many
employers that the amount of labor performed bears no direct relation
to the wages, and that even where work is done by the task instead
of by the day the promise of additional remuneration will seldom
result in an increased output.
Another feature of the labor situation in Mexico, and above all, in
tropical Mexico, which proves the inertness and ignorance of the labor­
ing population, is the tenacity with which conventional rates of wages
and conventional methods of payment are adhered to. The amount of
land or the amount of cotton cloth given to the workman remains con­
stantly the same for long periods, and the amount of work which
makes up a day’s task remains the same, although the conditions them­
selves may have changed. The depreciation of the currency appears
to have little effect upon the rate of wages of the agricultural popula­
tion, although, in view of the fact that the articles consumed by the
workmen are so few and so exclusively of home production, the effect
of such a depreciation upon prices may perhaps be exaggerated. The
quiesence and inertia of the population, in view of the depreciated
currency, may be witnessed, however, in the district of Soconusco, in
the State of Chiapas, where wages both of the free and of the indebted
laborers are paid in Guatemalan currency called cachuco, which is
about 25 per cent less in value than the Mexican silver.
In the same district the indebted workmen are obliged to buy from
their wages, which usually amount to 50 cents Guatemalan, equal to
about 19 cents gold, their food and that of their family. This food,
however, is sold at entirely traditional prices, and while considerable
profit, averaging from 50 to 100 per cent, is made upon certain articles
such as beans and meat, the chief article of consumption, corn, is
always sold at a slight, or occasionally even at a very considerable,
loss to the plantation. Another proof of the conventional character
of the labor contract is the fact that small sums of money must be paid
to the peon at each fortnightly or monthly settlement day, even though
the payment is in excess of actual wages. As a rule the peons appear
to desire no other arrangement than that which is actually in force,
and while they occasionally evade the contract by flight, it is only for
the purpose of incurring another considerable debt which will again
place them in the position from which they sought to escape. The
labor problem in tropical Mexico is more likely to find its solution on



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

49

the Isthmus than in any other place, owing to the settlement in that
place of American planters with ample capital and considerable initia­
tive. The temporary work of preparing the land for cultivation, how­
ever, has been performed through conventions with contractors of
labor, on an agreement for the payment of a stated sum per acre
prepared for planting.
AGRICULTURAL LABOR IN TEMPERATE MEXICO.

In the temperate parts of Mexico the question of agricultural labor,
from the point of view of the employer, is not nearly so difficult as in
the more tropical portions of the country. The population in the
temperate regions, as before stated, is considerably denser and wages
are lower. The chief advantage, however, from the point of view of
the employer, is to be found not so much in the cheapness of labor as
in its greater steadiness and reliability.
The clearest idea of the state of labor on the Mexican plantations
situated in the temperate climate is to be found on the large haciendas
where corn is raised. The production of grain is carried on b}^ small
farmers to a certain extent, but it is chiefly raised on large plantations,
which are usually owned by absentee Mexican or Spanish proprietors
and operated by an administrator. The corn is raised, however, not
so much by employing farm laborers as by letting out certain portions
of the land to be worked on the metayer system. On these plantations
a large proportion of the hands live on the haciendas in huts assigned
to them. They are usually paid from 25 to 37 cents Mexican currency
per day or per task, which is calculated on the basis of a day’s work.
They are attached to the soil either by an advance of money, by an
assignment of land, or by an offer of joint cultivation on the metayer
system.
In the States of Jalisco and Guanajuato, where, in the year 1898,
9,777,484 hectoliters (27,745,566 bushels) or almost one-fourth of the
total corn in the country was raised, the system of cultivation is chiefly
on the metayer contract based on the indebtedness of the peon. A
cultivator receives from a planter a portion of land, as well as seed,
oxen, necessary implements, and a certain advance in corn, amounting
to about 7| bushels per yoke of oxen. This seed is not returned until
after the harvesting of the crop, when it is paid for either in money or
kind. The cultivator performs all the work of the farm excepting
that of harvesting, which is divided between him and the planter, or,
where it is performed entirely by the employees of the latter, one-half
of the expense is charged to the cultivator. Sometimes this charge is
a fixed conventional sum and not the actual cost of the work or in defi­
nite proportion thereto.
The conditions described above may be considered as typical for the




50

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

States, although in some eases, such as that mentioned by Kaerger, (a)
the proportion received by the cultivator is only 40 per cent, and the
general conditions more onerqus.
The same form of contract exists, with slight changes, for the culti­
vation of beans, though in this case no advance is made excepting for
seed. The money wages of such farm hands in the States of Puebla
and Mexico as are indebted are less than those who are free. The
former receive 18 cents in the vicinity of Toluca, in the State of Mex­
ico, instead of 25 cents paid to free workmen, while in Puebla, where
wages are higher, owing to the demand for laborers in the cotton and
other factories, the remuneration of the resident workers (called acasilados) average about 25 cents, while those of the free workmen range
between 37 and 50 cents. The resident workers sometimes receive
countervailing advantages—as in the neighborhood of Toluca, for
instance, a hut, fuel, the use of a piece of land and that of oxen and
implements.
In some cases, however, no such advantage is granted, and on some
plantations the peon who can not resist aggression, owing to the
fact of his being indebted, is obliged to buy from his landlord the corn
which he consumes at a fixed price of $4 per fanega, or about '$1.56
Mexican currency per bushel. In such cases as the latter, the farm
hand appears to be absolutely at the mercy of the hacendado, or
planter, who, by means of low wages and high charges for food, is
able to constantly increase the indebtedness of the peon, while giving
him barely sufficient food to keep him alive. It is not known to what
extent the power of the planter is thus abused, but the conditions are
such as to render a most intolerable cruelty, at least occasionally,
possible.
MINING LABOR.
The early history of Mexican labor under the Spaniards was closely
associated with the work in the mines, and no one can truly appreciate
the history of the Indians of Mexico without taking into account the
metal hunger of the Spaniards. During the middle ages the supply
of silver in western Europe had been diminishing, and at the beginning
of the era of the conquest of America the demand for silver had reached
an unexampled intensity. The prevailing trade theory of the times,
moreover, laid a great and perhaps not entirely unjustifiable stress
upon the importance of obtaining specie, while the ease of transporting
the metal was an added reason for an extension of mining. Finally,
it seems probable that the industry of mining, which, with its high
chances and occasionally enormous returns, has always attracted adven­
turers, appealed with unexampled force to the imaginative conquerors.
a Landwirtschaft und Kolonization, etc., quoted on page 41.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

51

Be that as it may, the immediate result of the conquest was a transfer­
ence of a vast body of labor from agriculture to mining, and, in a great
measure, a removal of Indians from the hot lowlands and the temperate
mountain slopes to the colder lands of the plateau.
Unlike in Peru, where the mines were chiefly found near the region
of perpetual snow, the principal Mexican mines known to the Span­
iards were on the great central table-land at an elevation of from 5,600
to 6,600 feet. The region of the mines was thus habitable, but it would
have been difficult to obtain laborers of their own accord, and recourse
was necessarily had to force. Accordingly, the Indians were taken
from their farms and obliged to work in the mines, where the excessive
labor under, the most trying conditions and with insufficient food and
sleep caused a tremendously high death rate. To this was added the
effect of the new employment and of the colder climate upon the
Indians, whose u flexibility of organization” was probably less than
that o f the European race. In Peru, where the mines were situated at
a greater altitude, this policy resulted in a depopulation of vast sec­
tions of the country and the survival of the policy, although with no
great output of the mines. In Mexico, on the other hand, there grew
up towns and villages in the fertile lands about the mines, the severity
of the “ mita ” was lessened, and the mines became established and
prospered on the foundation of free and well-paid labor, (a)
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the conditions of labor
had vastly improved in Mexican mines and the miners formed a body
o f free, highly remunerated laborers. But even then the conditions
under which they worked were extraordinarily hard, owing to the ter­
rible heat and the bad ventilation o f the mines, as well as the onerous
and exacting nature of the labor. A t that time the tenateros, or Indians
and half-breeds who carry minerals on their back, frequently remained
“ continuously loaded for six hours with a weight of from 225 to 350
pounds, and constantly exposed to a very high temperature, ascending
eight or ten times successively, without intermission, stairs of 1,800
steps.” Yet, despite their very excessive work, the men appeared to
do well, and, according to Humboldt, the mortality among the miners
was not much greater than among other classes. This is no doubt to
a There is some conflict of opinion among authorities as to the exact knowledge
possessed by the ancient Mexicans of the art of mining. Prescott goes so far as to say
that they opened extensive galleries into veins wrought in the solid rock, and that
the early Spanish miners obtained indications from traces of their labor. On the
other hand, other authorities, basing their views on the language of Bernal Diaz,
Sahagun, and other contemporaries of the conquerors, believe that they obtained
their metals entirely by gathering detached masses found on the surface of the ground
or in river beds. A t all events, the small amount of silver obtained as booty by the
conquerors and the small necessity for silver by the Indians show' rather conclusively
that if there were subterranean mining it was on a very small scale.




52

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

bo partly attributed to the fact that they did not, as a rule, work many
days in a week. The tenateros found it dangerous to work more than
three days a week, while in the case of harrenadores, or men who blew
up the rock with powder, it was discovered that the great majority who
labored the whole week died before attaining the age of 35. Even
with the reduced working week, however, it was found expedient not
to spend more than five or six years at this dangerous and exacting
employment, but to change at the end of that period. The terrible
severity of labor conditions at the close of the Spanish regime, when
labor was free, may give some idea, however, of the murderous
exploitation of the enslaved natives *in the earlier decades of the
conquest.
There is perhaps another reason to assign for the fair health of the
miners under the terrible conditions prevailing until recent times.
The high wages no doubt extracted the most sturdy and vigorous of
the population. Humboldt speaks of th e“ robust and laborious men”
employed, and despite a low run of ore and a most wasteful and
unscientific exploitation, the body of ore in many of the mines was so
enormous as to permit the payment of wages sufficient to attract the
most muscular and hardy men. There were, at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, from 5,000 to 6,000 persons employed in the amal­
gamation of the minerals and in the preparatory labor, but, although a
great many of these spent their lives in walking barefooted over the
brayed metal, mixed with muriate of soda, sulphate of iron, and oxide
of mercury, the universal testimony of the resident physicians was to
the effect that they were peculiarly exempt from the nervous affections
that might naturally have accompanied the absorption of oxide of
mercury. Children were at that time and are at present employed at
this dangerous labor.
During the nineteenth century, and notably during the past genera­
tion, the mining industry in Mexico has advanced at a very rapid rate.
The immense mineral resources of this country, in which are found
gold, silver, lead, sulphur, mercury, copper, iron, antimony, tin,
manganese, zinc, and other minerals, were largely exploited under the
colonial regime, but, although there was a falling off in the mining
industry during the revolutionary epoch and the troubled years which
immediately followed it, there has been a very rapid extension in the
industry since that period. The building of railroads has permitted
the opening of mines which were inaccessible in earlier days, or which
were not sufficiently rich to permit of exploitation where the ore had
to be carried upon the backs of burros. The influx of American and
other- foreign capital has also contributed to this result, and at the
present time the mining industry of Mexico is very rapidly increasing
and shows every promise of becoming greater in the future.




53

LABOK CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

The immediate result of this extension of mining has been the
growth of an enlarged demand for mining labor. Although the mines
were developed to a large extent during the time of the Spanish regime,
the number of persons engaged in the industry at present is from two
and one-half to three times as great as that employed at the beginning
of the century. A t that time there were engaged in all subterranean
operations, including ~barrenadore$, faeneros, tenateros, and harreteros
from 28,000 to 30,000 persons, or only five persons per thousand of
the population. If to these figures we add the 5,000 or 6,000 persons
employed in the amalgamation of the metals and in the preparatory
work, admitting these amended figures to be correct, it would seem
that the demands made upon the forces of the laboring population
had increased more rapidly than the population itself, since the
number of persons employed in the mines was 89,072 in 1898 and
106,536 in 1899, while those engaged in the reduction of metals num­
bered 24,811 in 1898 and 29,192 in 1899. Thus, while the population
has doubled, the number of miners has more than trebled, and where
formerly one-half of 1 per cent of the population was engaged in min­
ing, that proportion has now risen to three-fourths of l.per cent. The
following table shows by States the number of persons employed in
the mines in the year 1899 together with the weight and value of metal
extracted:
MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN EMPLOYED IN MINES IN 1899, W ITH WEIGHT AND VALUE
OF METAL EXTRACTED, BY STATES.
Number employed.
State.

Men.

Aguas Calientes...............................
Lower California..............................
Coahuila............................................
Chiapas..............................................
Chihuahua.........................................
D urango............................................
Guanajuato.......................................
Guerrero............................................
Hidalgo..............................................
Jalisco..................................................
M exico................................................
Michoacan.........................................
M orelos..............................................
Nuevo Leon.......................................
Oaxaca................................................
P uebla................................................
Queretaro..........................................
San Luis Potosi.................................
Sinaloa................................................
Sonora................................................
Tamfl/nlipaS
............................
Tepic....................................................
Zacatecas...........................................

684
2,513
7,121
260
8,805
7,689
11,278
3,247
9,221
2,197
1,470
2,102
100
8,731
2,304
901
578
3,441
4,003
5,014
185
1,061
8
16,483

T otal.........................................

99,396

Vera C r u z ...............................................

Women. Children.

45
61
78

78
40
125
30
849
616
166
143
185
162
257
206
20
255
183
29
21
429
201
427

5

95

115
38
5
442
15
92
30
133
172
38
19

1,335
1,288

5,852

Total.

Weight of
metal
(pounds).

762
2,553
7,361
290
9,692
8,310
11,886
3,405
9,498
2,359
1,757
2,441
120
9,158
2,525
949
599
3,915
4,265
5,519
185
1,161
8
17,818

10,869,368
588,264,548
458,195,906
55,115,510
867,808,590
570,463,883
297,070,547
68,265,933
311,531,267
119,932,634
71,734,860
42,848,466
15,873,284
128,453,089
35,187,346
24,444,827
9,275,611
188,353,892
436,882,140
516,586,963
14,230,833
27,207,805
55,116
353,451,047

$552,192
1,664,952
5,306,539
193,000
22,374,294
13,856,753
3,335,541
350,142
7,328,110
2,380,345
1,758,765
505,957
144,000
1,053,224
740.566
902,840
85,799
4,558,568
5,559,266
8,256,932
64,775
660,801
2,000
7,409,545

106,536 a5,212,103,466

589,044,906

a In 1898, 5,675,159.621; in 1897, 3,802,220,525 pounds.
5 In 1898, $65,129,840; in 1897, $53,755,695.




Value of
metal (Mex­
ican).

54

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In the following table the statistics are given of men, women, and
children employed in Mexican smelters and reduction works during
the year 1899:
MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN EMPLOYED IN SMELTERS AND REDUCTION WORKS IN
1899, BY STATES.
State.
Aguas Calientes.
Lower California
Coahuila.............
Chiapas...............
Chihuahua..........
Durango...............
Guanajuato........
Guerrero.............
H id algo...............
Jalisco...................
M exico.................
M ichoacan..........
M orelos...............

Men.

Wom­
en.

10

864
687
58
3,667
1,621
2,412
1,513
3,673
1,076
976
94
30

Chil­
dren.

15

is
30

159
83
58
153
145
126
85
5
5

Total.
874
687
58
3,841
1,704
2,470
1,666
3,833
1,202
1,091
99
35

State.
Nuevo Leon___
Oaxaca...............
Puebla...............
Queretaro..........
San Luis Potosi.
Sinaloa...............
Sonora...............
Tam aulipas___
Tepic...................
Vera Cruz..........
Zacatecas...........

Men.

Wom­
en.

Chil­
dren.

2

45

12

44
30
71

1,406
917
452
987
1,517
1,146
350
299

2

4,032

T o ta l........ 27,777

76

35

Total.
1,406
964
452
1,031
1,547
1,229
350
336

285

4,317

1,339

29,192

In Mexico miners have always been paid considerably more than
agricultural laborers. Thus, in the beginning of the nineteenth cen­
tury, according to the testimony of Humboldt, the Mexican miner
received from 25 to 30 francs ($4.82J- to $5.79) per week of six days,
while the wages of farm laborers at that time amounted to only 7
francs 16 sous ($1.50^) on the central table-land, and 9 francs 12 sous
($1.85i) near the coast. Thus, while the daily wages of the farm
laborers, counting only six days per week, amounted to but 25 cents
on the plateau and to 81 cents on the coast, that of the miner averaged
from 80 to 96i cents per day. The miners occupied in transporting
the minerals in the mines {tenateros and faeneros) frequently gained
as much as 6 francs ($1.16) per day of six hours; in fact, according to
the judgment of Humboldt, the Mexican miner was, at that time, u the
best paid of all miners.”
Since independence, conditions of mining labor have fluctuated
greatly, but on the whole it would appear that the wages of the
employees have been less during the period of independence than they
were at the close of the Spanish regime. When measured in gold, the
same may be said of the wages to-day. According to an official
report (a) there were employed in 1881 in the district of Guanajuato,
State of Guanajuato, from 7,000 to 8,000 men and 500 women, who
actually received $2,000,000 a year, or, on the assumption of 8,000
employees, a payment of $250 per person. According to this report,
wages of miners in several mines in the State of Zacatecas were
placed at $1.50, while in Guanajuato wages were about 75 cents for
the drillers and pickmen; 50 cents for the ore carriers; from 75 cents to
$1.50 for smiths; and 37 cents for the women employed. The wages
aAnales del Ministerio de Fomento de la Repiiblica Mexicana.
Tomo Y . Mexico, 1881.




Ano de 1881.

55

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

since this period, according to later reports, appear to have risen
considerably, although they vary according to the density of the
population. Thus, in the Santa Juliana mine of the Sabinal Mining
and Smelting Company, Sabinal district, State of Chihuahua, the
superintendent receives $200 per month; th&pobladores receive $2 per
day; the barreteros $1.50, while the ordinary peons receive $1.25. In
the reduction works the superintendent receives $10 per day, the
machinists $3, and the peons $1.50 per day. (a) According to another
report upon the wages of miners in the various States the wages
appear to fluctuate greatly in the various States. Thus the minimum
wages of peons are placed at 18 cents in Guanajuato; 25 cents in
Hidalgo, Mexico, Oaxaca, and Queretaro; 37 cents in Durango,
Michoacan, and Zacatecas; 45 cents in Sonora, and 50 cents in Nuevo
Leon, while in Chihuahua the minimum wages are $1 and the maxi­
mum $1.50.
Following is a table showing the daily wages of miners, by States:
DAILY WAGES OF MINERS, BY -STATES.
State.
Coahuila...................................................................
Chihuahua..............................................................
Durango....................................................................
Guanajuato.............................................................
Guerrero..................................................................
H idalgo....................................................................
M ichoacan...............................................................
M exico......................................................................
Nuevo L eon.............................................................
Oaxaca......................................................................
Queretaro................................................................
San Luis Potosi.......................................................
Sonora........................................................................
Zacatecas..................................................................

State.

Coahuila...................................................................
Chihuahua...............................................................
Durango.....................................................................
Guanajuato...............................................................
Guerrero...................................................................
H id algo....................................................................
Michoacan...............................................................
M exico......................................................................
Nuevo L e on .............................................................
O axaca......................................................................
Queretaro..................................................................
San Luis Potosi........................................................
Sonora........................................................................
Zacatecas.......................... .......................................

Ore breakers. Timbermen.
*0.75
1.50
$0.50- 1.50
.18- .50
.37
. 31- .75
.50- 1.00
.50- . 75
.50- 1.00
;25- .75
.50
.25- .66
1.00- 2.00
.50- 1.75

Quicksilver
miners.

$2.00-$3.00
1.00- 2.00

.5 0 -1 .0 0
2.00- 3.00
1.00- 2.00
1.75
1.00- 3.00
1.00- 3.00

$0.75
$1,00- 1.50
.4 0 -1 .0 0
.50
.37
.31- . 75
.37- . 75
.50
.75- 1.00
.25- .50
1.20
.50- 1.75

Watchmen.
$0.75-$1.00
1.00- 1.50
.37- 1.00
.37- .50
.50- 1.00
.25- .75
.50
.75- T. 00
.25- .31
.66
1.00- 2.00
.37- .72

Drillers and Furnaeemen
pickmen.
(horneros).
$0.75-&1.00
. 51- 2.50
.40- 1.50
.50
.50- . 75
.31- 1.00
.50- 1.00
.50- .75
.66- 1.00
.25- 1.00
.50- 1.00
1.00- 1.60
.45- 1.00
.70- 1.00

$0.75
1.50
$0.75- 1.00
.37
.37- 1.00
1.00
.75- 1.00
.50
.50
1.00- 2.00
. 70- 1.50

Peons.
$0.50-$0.75
1.00- 1.50
.37- 1.00
.18- .37
.37
.25- .50
. 37- . 75
. 25- . 50
. 50- . 75
.25- .50
.25- .37
.25- . 50
.45- 2.00
.37- .50

Trowel
workers.
$0.75-$l. 00
1.50- 2.00
1.00- 2.50
.50
.50
.31- 1.00
.50- 1.18
1.00
.75- 1.00
.75- 1.00
.50
1.00
.75- 2.00
.66- 1.20

It may be seen from these wages that on the whole the peons
employed in mining receive somewhat larger remuneration than those
devoted to agriculture, although this difference is not very great. In
mining also, as in agriculture, the wages are greater as the population
becomes less dense, being much higher in Coahuila and Chihuahua than
aBoletin de Agricultura, Minerfa e Industrias.




Mexico, June, 1899.

56

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

in the southern part of the plateau, owing first to the sparseness of
population and secondly to the recent rapid development of mining in
these regions through the incoming of American capital. The lowest
wages are in Guanajuato, for several centuries the best and richest
mining region in the country, and perhaps the greatest silver region
in the world, where the present population appears to be in excess of
the demands for labor. The effect of the Tropics is less clearly seen,
as most of the mining States are on the central plateau. The maxi­
mum wages of peons show the same tendency as the minimum wages,
with regard to the effect of location and density of population, upon
labor remuneration.
INDUSTRIAL LABOR.
The employment of labor in manufacturing industries in Mexico is
quite restricted, owing to the small extent to which manufacturing
has been developed in that country. Although possessing immense
natural resources, which would supply most of the raw materials of
great industries, Mexico, which has not progressed very rapidly even
in agriculture, is very far from occupying an important position in
manufacturing. The progress which has recently been made is great
m proportion to what had been accomplished previously, but small
when considered absolutely or in relation to manufacturing in more
advanced countries.
Speaking generally, manufacturing in Mexico is conducted on a
small scale, in a primitive manner, and for an almost purely local
market. The country is full of small distilleries and small tobacco
factories, although in the latter industry there are also larger agglom­
erations of labor and capital. There are numerous small flour mills
in the country, although not sufficient to satisfy the demand. A large
amount of pottery is made by persons working singly or in small
groups, and lace and drawn work are manufactured in the same manner.
Felt and particularly straw hats are made in all parts of the country,
and a number of other small industries exist on the same primitive
scale.
There are in Mexico few industries conducted on a large scale
or for an extensive market, but the tendency is entirely in that direction.
The policy of the Government favors the protection of manufactur­
ing, both directly, in the form of tariff, and indirectly, by the main­
tenance of the silver standard in the face of the depreciation of that
metal. The depreciation in the value of silver has had the effect of
adding to the protective tariff, since the price of imported articles has
increased with every decrease in the value of the silver dollar, while
the increase in the cost has not been so observable in the articles of
home manufacture. The maintenance of the silver standard has




57

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

enabled many of the manufacturers to economize in the matter of
wages and the raw materials produced within the country, since neither
wages nor home prices have entirely maintained their gold-price level,
and this protection is still very effective in the case of manufacturers
catering to a foreign market. Cotton mills have sprung up in all
parts of the country, and while, at the present time, there is a certain
depression in that industry, due to the overproduction in the cheaper
grades of goods, the tendency in this and other industries is toward
extension and toward the development of industry.
The number of persons engaged in cotton manufacturing is rapidly
increasing. According to the report for the year ending June, 1899,
the number of operatives so employed was 21,960, or a total of some­
what less than two persons per thousand of the population. These
persons were employed in 118 mills, with 13,944 looms and 468,547
spindles, the cotton consumed amounting during the year 1898-99 to
26,518 metric tons (of 2,204 pounds) and the value of the finished prod­
uct to almost $30,000,000. These facts are shown in the table
following:
COTTON FACTORIES, LOOMS, SPINDLES, AND OPERATIVES, AND VALUE OF PRODUCT
SOLD, IN MEXICO IN 1898-99.

Fac­
tories.

State.

Pounds of
cotton con­
sumed.

Spindles.

Looms.

Opera­
tives.

Value of
product sold
(Mexican
dollars).

Chiapas...........................................
Chihuahua.....................................
Coahuila.........................................
Colima............................................
Federal District............................
Durango.........................................
Guanajuato...................................
Guerrero.........................................
Hidalgo...........................................
Jalisco.............................................
Mexico............................................
Michoacan.....................................
Nuevo Leon...................................
Oaxaca............................................
Puebla............................................
Queretaro.......................................
San Luis Potosi............................
Sinaloa...........................................
Sonora............................................
T e p ic ..............................................
Tlascala .........................................
Vera Cruz.......................................

1
3
9
3
13
9
4
2
2
5
6
5
4
3
20
4
1
. 3
1
4
7
9

252,118
67,969
3,527,417
511,245
4,872,969
2,602,151
3,740,256
442,908
516,084
2,526,137
4,665,289
1,679,568
1,990,811
1,803,004
8,011,024
2,785,277
579,665
729,618
381,188
2,070,958
3,940,566
10,766,056

1,500
900
34,030
2,392
44,978
15,248
21,404
3,318
5,176
24,545
33,156
14,940
16,746
18,754
67,464
25,972
4,640
6,152
2,774
12,176
31,244
81,038

60
21
1,041
46
1,166
653
500
131
190
498
1,160
343
517
566
2,359
706
138
210
94
359
893
2,293

100
52
1,548
170
1,863
923
994
242
318
990
2,012
689
742
785
3,037
1,230
266
398
150
590
1,324
3,537

$100,397.54
28,525.50
1,692,435.66
119,180.00
2,812,511.82
1,168,436.24
1,381,364.44
122,184.66
220,783.44
1,019,089.81
2,285,645.32
701,362.57
892,855.03
740,530.87
3,931,724.14
2,254,651.59
203,131.18
348,069.48
195,912.49
802,110.78
2,067,527.73
6,664,983.82

Total.....................................

a 118

58,462,278

468,547

13,944

21,960

29,753,414.11

a Of this number 6 are reported as not in operation.

The wages paid to operatives in cotton factories are considerably
less than what is usually paid in the United States. Thus, in fourteen
States, for which there is a record, the wages of the foremen amounted
in five to only $1, while in only three States were the minimum wages
of foremen over $1. The wages of spinners vary from 25 cents in San
Luis Potosi to from 50 cents to $2 in Oaxaca, while the wages for spin­
ners, carders, washers, and weavers range between 50 cents and $1 in




58

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

the Federal District and from 50 cents to $1.12 in Puebla; the mini­
mum wages of hands range from 18 cents in Hidalgo to 50 cents in
Guerrero, and the maximum from 25 cents in Michoacan to 75 cents
in the Federal District and several of the States. The wages of these
classes of employees are presented in detail in the following table:
DAILY WAGES OF M EXICAN COTTON-FACTORY OPERATIVES IN 1896, BY STATES.

State.
Aguas Calientes............................
M exico............................................
Oaxaca............................................
P uebla............................................
San Luis Potosi..............................
Sinaloa............................................
Nuevo Leon...................................
Coahuila.........................................
Chihuahua.....................................
Durango..........................................
Guanajuato...................................
Guerrero.........................................
H idalgo..........................................
Jalisco...................... *......................
M ichoacan.....................................
Federal District............................

State.
Aguas Calientes..............................
M e x ic o ............................................
Oaxaca ............................................
Puebla..............................................
San Luis Potosi..............................
S in aloa............................................
Nuevo L e o n ...................................
Coahuila..........................................
Chihuahua .....................................
Durango..........................................
Guanajuato.....................................
Guerrero...........................................
Hidalgo............................................
Jalisco..............................................
Michoacan.......................................
Federal D istrict............................

Foremen.

$i.50
$1.00- 5.00
1.00- 3.00
2.00- 3.00
1.00
1.00- 2.00
1.00
1.00- 3.00
.62- 3.00
1.00
1.12
1.00
1.00
2.00- 3.00

Spinners.

Carders.

$0.50
$0.50- .75
.50- 2.00
.50- 1.12
.25
.62- 1.50
.75
.50- .75
.5 0 - .75
.37- 1.00
.37- 1.00
.75
.18- .75
.31- 1.00
.50
.50- 1.00

$0.50
$0.37- .50
.50- 1.00
.50- 1.12
.25
.62- 1.00
. 37- 1.00
.50- 1.00
.5 0 - .75
.37- 1.00
.37- 1.00
.50
.1 8 - .75
.25- .75
.50
.50- 1.00

Dyers.

Machinists.

Washers.
$0.50
$0.37- .50
.50- .75'
.50- 1.12
.25
.62
.37- . 75
.75
.50- .75
.37- 1.00
.37- .75
.75
.18- .75
.37- .50
.37
.50- 1.00

Firemen.

$1.00

$0.50

1.00- 2.00

$2.00- 3.00

$0.75- 1.00

.50- 2.00
.50- .75
.37- 1.00
.37- 2.00
.75
.50- .75

1.50

.75
1.00- 1.50

.50
.75
.37

2.00- 3.00

$0.50
$0.37- .50
.50- .75
.37- 1.00
.25
.62- 1.00
.50- 1.00
.5 0 - .75
.37- 1.00
.75
.18- .50
.37- 1.00
.50
.50- 1.00

Hands.

$0.50
$0.50- .75
1.00- 2.00
.37- 1.00

.50-

Weavers.

.50
.75- 1.00

$0.25-$0.37
.50- .75
.50
.25
.62
.37- .50
.37- .50
.37- .50
.37- .75
.37
.50- .75
.1 8 - .50
.25- .31
.25
.50- .75

There has never been, in Mexico, any official investigation of the
statistics of wages of workmen in industrial establishments. These
data, however, are obtainable in a crude form from some of the official
publications. According to a report made by the secretary of the treas­
ury, in 1880, (a) the daily wages in the City of Mexico of persons engaged
in the manufacture of acids and chemical products range from 50 cents
to $1.50 silver, there being 50 men and 10 children so employed. In
biscuit factories there were 100 men and 8 children employed, the
average wage being 62 cents; in drug stores, 92 men were paid an
average of $1.50; in establishments for the manufacture and sale of
shirts and linens there were 210 women employed, receiving an average
of 25 cents. In ordinary carpenter work there were 300 men and 100
a Estadfstica de la Republica Mexicana. Resumen y Analisis de los Informes Rendidos a la Seeretarfa de Hacienda, por Emiliano Busto. 3 vols. Mexico, 1880.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

59

boys employed, at an average remuneration of 75 cents, which was
also the average paid for 70 men and 70 women employed in the man­
ufacture of matches. The wages of 152 employees of the mint range
from 50 cents to $4, but the true average for such employees was not
given. The 60 men and 10 women employed in the manufacture of
beer were paid an average of 62 cents, and the wages in the manufacture
o f cigars and cigarettes, which employed 357 men, 2,100 women, and
250 boys and girls, ranged all the way from 18 cents to $1.25. In the
tanning industry, employing 600 men and 40 boys, the wages were given
at $1.50; while in bookbinding, employing 100 men and 50 boys, and
in foundries, employing 80 men and 20 boys, the prevailing rate of
wages of 75 cents was given. The same rate of wages was stated to
apply in wheat-flour mills, employing 320 men, and in bakeries, employ­
ing 765 men. The average pay of 513 tailors was given at $1, as was
also that of 400 hat makers, while the average pay of 75 female hat
makers was given at 37 cents. The average rate of remuneration of
shoemakers, of whom there were 980 men, 290 women, and 580 boys
and girls, was given at 50 cents. These wage statistics are very crude
indeed, but they are the best obtainable for the period. Since then
somewhat more exact figures have been collected, but none of these is
satisfactory from every point of view. The wages of employees in
the City of Mexico are presented in the report on money and prices
in Mexico, given in Mr. Ransom’s report before quoted, and still better
and more recent statistics, not only for Mexico, but also for Guadalajara,
Monterey, Puebla, and Yera Cruz are furnished by a report of the
Italian minister in Mexico. According to this latter report, the
wages of the shoemakers vary from 50 cents to $2 in Mexico and
Guadalajara; from 75 cents to $1.50 in Monterey and Puebla; and
from $1.50 to $2 in Yera Cruz. The mean of the average wages for
the five cities (arithmetical mean) amounts to $1.15, as compared
with the wages of from $1 to $1.25 for the City of Mexico, presented
in Mr. Ransom’s report. The wages of tanners range from 75 cents
to $2 in Mexico and Monterey, but are somewhat lower in Guadala­
jara and somewhat higher in Puebla and Yera Cruz. The wages of
electricians range from $1 to $3 in Mexico and from $1 to $5 in Mon­
terey, and from $2 to $5 in Yera Cruz, while those of blacksmiths
are stated to range from $1 to $3 in Mexico and to average $1.75 in
that city. The wages for the 27 industries herein included appear to
be,, for the most part, less, and in many cases considerably less, in silver
than wages in the same industries would be in gold in American cities.
The following table shows the maximum, minimum, and medium rate
of wages for these industries in the five cities of Mexico, Guadalajara,
Monterey, Puebla, and Yera Cruz, as well as the hours of labor pre­
vailing in the industries:




60

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

DAILY WAGES (MAXIMUM, MEDIUM, AND MINIMUM) AND HOURS OF LABOR IN VARIOUS
OCCUPATIONS.
Mexico.

Guadalajara.

Monterey.

Daily wages.
Daily wages.
Daily wages.
Hours
Hours
Hours
of la­ Maxi­ Medi­ Mini­ of la­ Maxi­
of la­ Maxi­ Medi­ Mini­
Mini­
Medi­
bor.
mum. um. mum. bor. mum. um. mum. bor. mum. um. mum.

Occupation.

Shoemakers...................
Tanners..........................
Electricians...................
Blacksmiths...................
Carpenters....................
Metal engravers...........
Bookbinders.................
Lithographers...............
Engineers......................
Mechanicians...............
M iners............................
Master m asons.............
Masons, apprentice—
Painters and varnishers.................................
Coppersmiths and bra­
ziers ..............................
T ailors............................
Stonecutters...................
Marble-cutters.............
Saddlers..........................
Tinsmiths.......................
Plasterers .......................
Earthworkers...............
Weavers..........................
Dyers................................
Typographers...............
Turners..........................
Glaziers..........................

10 $2.00 $1.00 $0.o0
11 2.00 1.50
.75
10 3.00 2.00 1.00
10 3.00 1.75 1.00
10 2.50 1.50 1.00
10 3.00 2.00 1.00
9 1.25
.90
.50
10 3.00 2.00 1.00
10 5.00 2.50 1.00
10 6.00 3.00 1.50
12 2.00 1.50 1.00
10 4.00 3.00 1.50
10
.60
.75
.40

10 $2.00 $1.00 $0.50
11 1.50 1.25
.80
10 3.50 2.25 2.00
11 1.50 1.12
.75
10 2.50 2.00 1.50
10 2.50 2.00 1.50
10 1.50 1.00
.50
10 3.00 1.50 1.00
10 5.00 4.00 2.00
10 4.00 3.00 2.00
12 2.00 1.50 1.00
10 2.50 1.25 1.00
10
.75
.60
.40

10 $1.50 $1.00
10 2.00 1.25
12 5.00 2.00
10 2.00 1.00
10 2.00 1.50
10 3.00 1.50
10 1.50
.75
10 3.00 2.00
12 5.00 3.00
12 5.00 3.00
10 3.00 2.00
10 5.00 3.00
10 3.00 1.50

$0.75
.75
1.00
.75
1.00
1.00
.50
.75
1.50
1.50
1.00
2.00
1.00

10

2.00

1.50

1.00

10

3.00

2.00

1.00

10

4.00

2.00

1.00

11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
12
11
10
10
10

2.00
3.50
1.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
5.00
1.00
2.00
1.50
2.00
2.00
1.50

1.50
2.00
1.00
1.50
1.00
.90
3.00
.80
1.50
1.00
1.50
1.50
1.25

1.00
1.00
.75
1.00
.75
.50
1.50
.50
1.00
.80
.90
1.00
.80

11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
12
10
11
11
10

2.00
3.00
1.50
2.00
1.25
1.50
4.00
1.00
2.50
2.00
2.00
2.50
1.50

1.50
2.00
1.25
1.50
1.00
1.00
3.00
.85
1.50
1.50
1.00
1.75
1.25

1.00
1.00
.75
1.00
.75
.50
1.50
.40
1.00
.80
.60
1.00
.80

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
12

2.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
7.00
.75
1.50
1.50
3.00
2.00
2.00

1.50
1.00
2.00
2.00
1.50
1.50
4.00
.62
1.00
1.25
2.00
1.50
1.50

1.00
.75
1.00
1.00
1.00
.75
1.00
.50
.75
1.00
1.00
.75
1.00

Vera Cruz.

Puebla.
Occupation.

Shoemakers . .•.................................................................
Tanners....................................................*......................
Electricians....................................................................
Blacksmiths....................................................................
Carpenters......................................................................
Metal engravers.............................................................
Bookbinders...................................................................
Lithographers................................................................
Engineers........................................................................
Mechanicians................................................................
M in ers..........................................................................
Master m asons...............................................................
Masons, apprentice.......................................................
Painters and varnishers..............................................
Coppersmiths and braziers.........................................
Tailors................................................................. ...........
Stonecutters....................................................................
Marble-cutters...............................................................
Saddlers............................................................................
Tinsmiths........................................................................
Plasterers ........................................................................
Earthworkers.................................................................
Weavers............................................................................
Dyers.................................................................................
Typographers.................................................................
Turners............................................................................
Glaziers............................................................................

Daily wages.
Hours
Hours
of la­ Maxi­ Medi­ Mini­ of la­ Maxi­ Medi­ Mini­
bor. mum. um. mum. bor. mum. um. mum.
Daily wages.

10 $1.50 $1.00 $0.75
11 2.50 2.00 1.50
10 3.00 2.00 1.50
11 2.00 1.50 1.00
10 2.50 2.00 1.50
10 2.00 1.50 1.00
10 1.00
.75
.50
10 3.00 2.'50 2.00
10 4.00 3.00 2.00
10 5.00 3.00 2.00

10 $2.00 $1.75
10 2.00 1.50
9 5.00 3.50
9 2.50 2.00
9 3.00 2.50
10
10
10
10

2.00
3.00
5.50
4.00

1.50
2.25
4.00
3.00

1.00
1.50
2.50
2.00

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

1.00
.50
1.50
1.50
2.00
1.25
3.25
1.50
1.00
3.00

.75
.37
1.00
1.00
1.50
1.00
1.50
1.00
.90
2.00

.50
.25
.75
.75
1.00
.75
1.00
.75
.50
1.50

9
9
9
10
10
10
10
10
10

3.50
2.50
3.00
1.50
1.50
2.50
2.50
3.00
2.00

3.50
2.25
2.00
1.25
1.25
2.25
2.25
2.25
1.50

2.80
2.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
2.00
2.00
1.50
1.00

9

1.60

1.35

1.10

12
10
10
10
10

1.50
1.50
1.50
2.50
1.25

1.00
1.00
1.00
2.00
1.00

.75
.75
.75
1.50
.75

10
10
9

2.00
3.00
2.50

1.75
2.00
2.00

1.50
1.00
1.00

$1.50
1.00
2.00
1.50
2.00

The daily cost of living, that is, food and lodging, varies widely,
according to this rough estimate. In Mexico it ranges from 50 cents
to $1.25, and the mean is about 90 cents. In Guadalajara the maxi-




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

61

mum, medium, and minimum are respectively 75, 50, and 37 cents;,
in Monterey, $1.50, 75 cents and 50 cents; in Puebla, $1.25, 90 cents>
and 50 cents, and in Vera Cruz, $1, 85 cents and 70 cents.
LABO R OF TRANSPORTATION.
In Aztec times there was small need for transportation, since the.
division of labor had not advanced to a point where there was any
great need for the interchange of products. What transportation,
existed was carried on, in the absence of beasts of burden, by human
carriers. It was the age of “ the apotheosis of human backs and
limbs. ” (a) Passengers were carried in frames, and for the rapid trans­
fer of intelligence and of perishable goods relays of swift runners
were used. By means of these runners communication was kept up
with distant portions of the country, and couriers, trained from child­
hood, carried dispatches from 100 to 200 miles a day. On the author­
ity of Prescott,(i) “ fresh fish was frequently served at Montezuma’s
table in twenty-four hours from the time it had been taken in the
Gulf of Mexico, 200 miles from the capital.”
The amount o f labor demanded by transportation increased vastly
when from a small principality Mexico evolved into an integral and
important part of a vast empire, upon which the sun never set.
Mexico became the center of the vast Spanish empire, the great high­
way between Europe and the Orient and western South America.
Beasts of burden were introduced, and many thousands of men spent
their lives carrying a great commerce along the high roads from Vera
Cruz on the Gulf to the City of Mexico, and thence to Acapulco, on
the Pacific, or north to Durango and south to Oaxaca. Thousands of
carriers were employed to take the goods from Vera Cruz to the high­
land, as at Jalapa, and to distribute them to the country. The immense
commercial development of Mexico in the eighteenth century, the
absence of navigable rivers, as well as the broken nature of the country *
necessitated a vast army of carriers for its numerous exchanges.
After the achievement of independence it is probable that the num­
ber of men employed in transportation greatly decreased. Importa­
tion fell off; the industrial structure of the Spaniards was shattered,,
and the prevalence of contending armies and the growing pest of brig­
andage caused the internal commerce to shrink considerably. The
character of the industry, however, remained the same, as well as the
methods of carrying it on, and the “ burro” and his driver remained
typical of Mexico.
a Mexico, a Geographical Sketch, compiled by the Bureau of American Repub­
lics, page 35. Washington, 1900. •
bConquest of Mexico, Volume I, page 44.

1110—No. 38—02-----5



62

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.

Daring the last quarter of a century, and notably since 1881, the
industry of transportation has undergone an entire change, and has
advanced from carriage by man and beast to haulage by the steam
locomotive. The consequence has been that an entirely different and
much more highly developed labor force has been called into requisi­
tion. The completion of the Mexican Railway from the capital to the
seacoast at Yera Cruz, the subsequent paralleling of that line by a road
running through Jalapa, the building of three railroads giving com­
munication from the capital to the American border, and the extension
of those lines in many directions, has necessitated a greater use being
made of railway employees.
In the higher branches of the railroad service it has been found
necessary in the past to obtain men from the United States, and in
consequence the wages in these parts of the service compare favor­
ably with those of the country from which the employees are recruited.
On the Mexican International Railway, according to the rates of pay at
present in force (November, 1901) the passenger engineers receive 6
cents, Mexican currency, per mile, and the freight engineers 6 i cents
per mile. In the work and construction service engineers are paid $6.50
per day of twelve hours, and 55 cents per hour for overtime. In the
switching service the day’s work also consists of twelve hours, and
the pay is $125 per month, and 35 cents is paid for each hour after
thirty minutes over twelve hours. In some of the minor branches a
fixed sum is paid to engineers where the mileage is not sufficient to
constitute a fair return. On the Cuatro Cienegas branch the rate of
$6 per day of one round trip is paid, overtime being paid at passenger
rates; on the San Pedro branch 100 miles per day at passenger rate
for one round trip—in other words, $6; and for more than one round
trip mileage is paid at passenger rates, as is also overtime. In cal­
culating overtime the freight engineer is paid at the rate of 60 cents
per hour, all time over thirty minutes being counted as an hour and all
time under thirty minutes being disregarded. Overtime for passen­
ger engineers is paid at the rate of 55 cents per hour. Overtime for
extra freight trains is based on the running time of 13 miles per hour,
and for extra passenger trains on their regular schedule time. The
passenger rate per day is paid for attending courts under orders from
the company, together with $2 per day for expenses when away from
the home station. In cases of suspension and investigation, where
charges are not proven, 100 miles a day at passenger rate—in other
words, $6—is paid to engineers held for investigation, including the
time of going to and returning from the investigation.
The basis of remuneration for firemen is similar but lower. In the
passenger service firemen are paid 3£ cents per mile, in the freight serv­
ice 4 cents per mile, and in the work and construction service $3.75 per
day of twelve hours and 32 cents per hour for all time in excess thereof.
Switch firemen receive $70 per calendar month, for a day of twelve



LABOK CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

63

hours, and 20 cents per hour for all time after thirty minutes oyer twelve
hours. Overtime for freight firemen is paid at the rate of 35 cents
per hour and for passenger firemen at the rate of 30 cents per hour,
the overtime being counted in the same manner as for engineers.
Firemen watching engines are paid $2 per night. The same rules regu­
lating the attendance of engineers at court or their remuneration in
case of being acquitted on charges apply to firemen, except that the
remuneration is based upon the normal wages of the fireman and not
upon those of engineers. Twelve hours constitute a day’s work for
hostlers, and the pay is $115 per month, with 32 cents per hour for all
time over thirty minutes after twelve hours. When required to do
switching, hostlers are paid at the rate of 35 cents per hour.
W A G E S OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.
The wages of Government employees furnish a fair index to those
prevailing in similar skilled and unskilled occupations outside of the
Government service. In the following statement an attempt has been
made to give the wages for a large number of classes of employees
controlled by the Government. In this selection the aim has been to
give the wages paid in occupations in which are employed a large
number of persons and in which wages are typical of those of large
bodies of men both in and out of public service. The wages here
given are based on the annual income upon the basis of three hundred
and sixty-five days to the year. All wages herein given, as all others
mentioned in this report, when not specifically stated to the contrary,
are in silver or Mexican currency of a fluctuating value, at present
approximately worth somewhat less than 50 cents American per dollar
o f Mexican money.
in the police service of the Federal District the general inspector
receives $4,500 per }7ear, and his secretary $3,000, or $8.22 per day.
The assistants receive $2.47, and the interpreter $2.20. The chief of
section in each department receives $3.29; the clerks of the first class
$1.65, and of the second class $1. In the police service the secretaries
receive $3?29; officials, $2.20, and clerks, $1.50. There are eight com­
panies of unmounted policemen, each with a commander receiving
$3.29, a clerk receiving $1, and nine officers receiving $2.31 per day.
The pay of the unmounted policemen of the first class is $1.50, and of
the second class, of which there are 1,720, or about 96 per cent of the
total, $1 per day, or $365 per year. The wages of the auxiliary guards
amount to 50 cents per day. The same wages apply to the higher
officials of the mounted police, but the policemen themselves, of whom
there are 360, receive only 75 cents per day.
The wages of firemen also amount to $1, but sergeants in this serv­
ice are paid $1.25, officers $2, and the first and second chief or com­
mander $4.94 and $2.64, respectively. The policemen in the Territory
of Lower California receive higher wages as a rule than those in the



64

BULLETIN OF THE DEPAETMENT OF LABOE.

City of Mexico, the gendarmes in the central district receiving $1.37
and those in the northern district $1.50 per man. In the Territory of
Tepic the wages of the police or gendarmes amount to $361.35 per
year, or to 99 cents per day. The mounted and unmounted men of
the auxiliary police force of the Federation receive 50 cents per day.
The rural guard receive $1.11 per day.
The wages of teachers and other persons engaged in the public schools
are also paid by the Government. These wages vary slightly with the
location. Thus, in the 110 schools for elementary education in the
capital, the wages of the directors or chief instructors amount to $2.14
per day, or $781.10 per year, while those of the assistants are $1.32
per day, or $481.80 per year. In the mixed schools the wages paid
are lower, averaging $1.81 per day for the directors and $1.16 for the
assistants, while in the night schools the wages are $1.65 and 99 cents,
respectively. Teachers of drawing and English receive 99 cents per
day and the janitors 17 cents per day. In the other cities of the dis­
trict the wages for the instruction of children range somewhat lower;
thus, in the primary schools of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the wages of
directors amount to $1.32, and of assistants to 82 cents per day, which
are also the rates of wages in Tacubaya, Tlalpan, and Xochimilco, all
of which are situated in the Federal District. In the mixed schools in
these minor towns of the Federal District the directors receive $1.16
and the assistants 66 cents per day, while the laborers employed in the
schools receive 27 cents and in the night schools 17 cents per day. In
Lower California the directors receive $1.65, and the assistants 83
cents in the boys’ and girls’ schools, and $1.32 and 83 cents, respec­
tively, in the mixed schools. The same rate of pay also prevails in
Tepic.
The following table shows the average annual wages of teachers in
each State. These averages have been obtained by dividing the total
sum paid to teachers by the total number of teachers employed.
AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGES OF TEACHERS (MALE AND FEMALE) IN THE MEXICAN
PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 1898.
[These wages have been obtained by dividing the total sum paid to teachers by their number.]

State.

Aguas Calientes...........................................
Campeche.................................................. .
Coahuila........................................................
Colima...........................................................
Chiapas.........................................................
Chihuahua....................................................
Durango.......................................................
Federal District...........................................
Guanajuato..................................................
Guerrero........................................................
Hidalgo.........................................................
Jalisco...........................................................
Mftyifift__ T
................................
Michoacan....................................................
Nuevo Leon..................................................




Average
annual
wages.
$252
570
632
300
390
456
370
731
568
356
504
440
402
408
390

State.

Average
annual
wages.

Puebla.........................................................
Queretaro..............................
San Luis Potosi...........................................
Sinaloa.........................................................
Son ora.......................................................
Tabasco........................................................
Tlascala........................................................
Vera Cruz....................................................
Yucatan........................................................
Zacatecas......................................................
Tepic.............................................................
Lower California......................................

$487
364
306
254
408
452
451
558

Average for country........................

434

120

460
341
442

65

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

The wages of instruction in the secondary and professional schools
are higher; thus in the normal school for teachers in the City of
Mexico the teachers of Spanish, grammar, of general and national
history, of constitutional right and political economy, of mathemat­
ics, of physics, chemistry, natural history, geography, physiology,
hygiene, etc., receive $1,200 per year, or $3.29 per day. Another set
of teachers receives $800, others $600, while several assistants receive
only $300 per year. The same rates of pay prevail for the normal
school for female teachers. The wages of the servants of the school
range between 66 and 83 cents per day, while those in the National
Preparatory School average about 75 cents per day. The range of
remuneration in the high schools seems to be between $600 and $1,200
per year, not including the directors.
The wages of servants at the National Palace also furnish a certain
index of the rate of wages prevailing in the capital. Coachmen there
receive $1.65 per day (in this case, as in all others, for every day in
the year), the lackeys 99 cents, the watchmen 66 cents, and the gar­
deners from 50 to 81 cents, while the ordinary laborers receive 50
cents. The electrician receives $1.02 per day. In the castle of Chapultepee the wages are 50 cents for the ordinary laborers, 75 cents for
the watchmen, 59 cents for the workmen who clean up the place, 66
cents for the porter, and $1 for the gardener.
In the general administration of the post-office the chiefs of section
receive $3,000 per year, or $8.22 per day, and the chiefs of department
$2,401.70, or $6.58 per day. Of the officials, 2 of the first class receive
$5.48 per day, six of the second $4.94 per day, 14 of the third $4.11
per day, 21 of the fourth $3.29 per day, 22 of the fifth $2.74 per day,
2 of the seventh $2.20 per day, and 11 of the eighth $1.98 per day.
Of the clerks, 62 receive $1.65 per day, 3 of the second $1.37 per day,
3 of the fourth $1 per day, and 17 of the sixth 66 cents per day. The
laborers o f the first class receive $1 and of the second 83 cents per day.
The number in each wage class and the daily wages paid to admin­
istrators, clerks, letter carriers, laborers, and messengers in the local
administration of the post-office, are shown in the following table:
DAILY WAGES OF EMPLOYEES IN GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF POST-OFFICE.
Administrators.
Number.

Daily
wages.

26
27

89.59
6.58
4.94
4.11
3.29
2.74
2.47
2 20
L98
1.65
l! 60
1.25

102

1*00

288

^83

2

3
7
4
16
14
5
2

14
21

Letter carriers.

Clerks.
Number.




63
87
9
44
36
51
27
4

Daily
wages.
81.65
1.37
1 .1 0
1 00

.83
.6 6

.50
[33

Number.

Daily
wages.

Number.

7
98
69
62
39
54
26
32
14

81.65
1.37

23
9
25
40
25
9

1 .0 0

.83
.6 6

.50
.33
.25
.2 0

Messengers.

Laborers.
Daily
wages.
81.00
.83
.6 6

.50
.33
.2 0

Number.

Daily
wages.

7
14
34
48
141
62
71

81.10

22

.2 0

25

.17

1 .0 0

.83
.6 6

.50
.33
.25

66

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In the telegraph service the wages of the officials range from $1,000
in the fifth to $2,000 per year in the first class. There is 1 telegraph
operator of the third class receiving $4.11 per day, or $1,500 per year;
2 of the fifth class are receiving $3.29, or $1,200 per year; 4 of the
sixth receiving $2.74, or $1,000 per year; 1 of the seventh receiving
$2.64. The majority of the telegraph operators, however, receive less,
there being 28 in the eighth class receiving $2.47 per day; 3 in the
ninth receiving $2.31 per day, 25 in the tenth receiving $1.98 per day,
and 1 in the eleventh receiving $1.50 per day. Of the messengers, 4
of the first class receive 99 cents, 24 of the second 75 cents, 2 of the
fifth 33 cents, 2 of the sixth 27 cents per day. The wages of purely
manual labor range here as in the other departments.
In the artillery service of the army colonels are paid at the rate of
$7.75 per day, lieutenant-colonels $4.96, majors $4.28, first captains
$3.13, second captains $2.64, lieutenants $2.14, sergeants 95 cents,
artillerymen of the first class 59 cents, and of the second 48 cents. In
the same service the stewards receive $2.96, the nurses 53 cents, veter­
inarians 83 cents, cooks from 53 to 83 cents, and the scullerymen from
30 to 40 cents; the janitor receives 60 cents and laborers 40 cents.
In the infantry service the colonels are paid at the rate of $6.76,
lieutenants $4.53, majors $4.03, first captains $2.64, second captains
$2.31. The soldiers in the infantry receive 30 cents per day, or $109.50
per year. In the artillery the soldiers receive 37 cents per day.
In the preparation of stamps the engravers of the first class receive
$3,000 per year, of the second $1,800, third $1,500, fourth $1,200
(fractions of a dollar being here omitted), while the assistants receive
$1,000 in the first and $803 in the second class. The pressmen receive
from $2.74 to $3.29, or from $1,000 to $1,200 per year, and their
assistants from $1.65 to $1.92 per day, or from $600 to $700 per year.
DIET OF THE LABORING CLASSES.
The diet of the Mexican of the working classes is very restricted
and very low. O f meat, eggs, milk, and other animal products but
small quantities are consumed. The range of vegetables is also lim­
ited, especially among the peon classes.
The great article of diet is maize or Indian corn. This has been the
chief product of Mexico since long before the conquest, and to-day it
still retains an unchallenged precedence among the food staples of the
country. The corn is consumed in different shapes and forms, from
the green and half ripe ear to the grits and meal.
According to one authority half of the food of the Mexican consists
of tortillas, or flat corn cakes. The corn is allowed to soak in hot
water, weakly diluted with lime, in which state it is called nixtamal.
It is then crushed on a flat stone, called a metate, by means of a roller



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

67

of the same material, and from the resulting mass the flat, thin cakes
are rolled and patted by hand, and then baked on a flat dish, called a
comal. There is a vast consumption of corn in this form (itortillas),
but tamales are also eaten in great quantities. Tamales are made by
mixing lard, butter, red pepper, and meats with the boiled corn meal,
which is then enveloped in corn husks and boiled. These are sold on
the dusty streets and at railway stations, but to the elsewhere edu­
cated palate they appear, in this condition at least, less seductive than
to the Mexican peon. In certain parts of the coast region a mixture
of corn meal and brown sugar, called pinole, is eaten with zest.
Some o f the indigenous plants eaten by the natives are enumerated
in a paper by F. Semeleder, M. D., of Vera Cruz, presented at the
1897 (Philadelphia) meeting of the American Medical Association, and
reproduced in its journal January 29,1898. He includes “ the sprouts
of a Smilacea, eaten like asparagus; the buds and flower of the palm
Chameedorea tepejilote (called metepehuiles); the sprout of a large palm,
which is eaten like cabbage; the j^oung and tender leaves of the Opuntia
(nopal, prickly pear), called nopalitos; the leaves of a Pipercicea, tlalnepaquelitl/ the flower of the Yucca gloriosa/ the gombo, Hibiscus gornbo;
the flowers of a Papilionacea, Erythrina coralloides, called quimites and
gasparitos; the red and green pepper (Capsicum annuum); tomatoes,
red and green (Lycopersicum and other solaneas); the pumpkin, when
young and tender, or when fully developed; the pumpkin flower; melon
and watermelon (introduced from Europe); the flower of the quaunzontle
(blitus bonus Henricus). In the northern States the prickly pear (tuna,
in Spanish) forms a great item in the subsistence of poor people. ” By
far the greatest consumption of the people, however, is made up of
corn and beans, corn being the only cereal product consumed in great
quantities by the masses of the people.
After corn the great article of diet among Mexicans of the poorer
classes is beans. This may almost be called the characteristically
Mexican food, since corn is the main article of diet in many nations.
Even in the higher social ranks, where European, and more especially
French, cooking seems to prevail, the frijoles or beans appear to hold
a disproportionate place in the menu. Among the common people the
consumption is very great. Thus, according to the crop statistics for
1898, which, however, are probably considerably too low, there were
raised and consumed in that year 4,395,380 hectoliters (12,472,984
bushels), which were valued at $17,768,890. The crop was raised in
every State and Territory of the country, although principally in Vera
Cruz, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Puebla, Jalisco, and Mexico, in the order
named, and the consumption was equally widespread and universal.
The consumption of meat, eggs, milk, butter, fresh vegetables, and
fruits, on the other hand, appears to be small on the plateau. The
commerce in perishable food seems to be quite undeveloped, and the




68

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

absence of large cold-storage plants renders it difficult even for the
richer classes to obtain vegetables or fruits grown at a distance, while
the prices of such articles render their use impossible for the poorer
people. The quality of meat used by the poorer people is very poor;
the cattle are inferior to American animals, and little care is used in
breeding. For animal food recourse is often had in the large cities
to meats in such condition and of such a nature as to be neither appe­
tizing nor wholesome; but, while the consumption of meat among the
better-to-do classes is extraordinarily great, especially in view of the
climate, the meat consumption o f the working classes is extremely
limited. Some indication of the consumption of meat in the Federal
District and in the country at large is afforded by the tables showing
the number and weight of animals slaughtered, and their value, which
follows:
NUMBER, NET WEIGHT, AND VALUE OF CATTLE SLAUGHTERED IN THE CITY OF MEXICO,
1878 TO 1898.
Cattle.
Year.

1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1888.
1884.
1885.
1886.
1887.
1888.
1889.
1890.
1891.
1892.
1893.
1894.
1895.
1896.
1897.
1898.

Number.
59,751
63,836
66,494
69,519
69,562
69,916,
70,163
73,020
76,624
78,598
83,228
86,898
83,878
87,505
89,160
84,904
81,291
85,870
89,469
94,304
95,957

Pounds of
meat.

Sheep.
Value.

18,185,457 $1,135,269
19,279,603 1,203,384
20,246,878 1,263,766
21,161,717 1.320.856
21,174,807 1,321,278
21,282,565 1,328,404
21,357,754 1,333,097
22,227,405 1,387,380
23,324,464 1.455.856
23,925,358 1,493,362
25,334,734 1,581,332
26,451,886 1,651,062
25,532,596 1,593,682
26,636,662 1,662,595
27,140,447 1,694,040
25,844,912 1,613,176
24,744,679 1.544.529
26,115,016 1.631.530
27,234,034 1,699,911
28.898.733 1,791,776
29.193.734 1,919,140

Hogs.

Num­
ber.

Pounds of
meat.

Value.

Number.

Pounds of
meat.

92,031
100,661
110,728
102,824
114,322
122,643
122,197
115,967
124,021
120,622
130,263
130,425
129,157
131,892
130,760
132,697
107,383
108,578
90,971
99,289
106,708

2,427,906
2,655,551
2,921,193
2,712,701
3,015,987
3,235,508
3.223.733
3,059,368
3,271,893
3,179,579
3,436,516
3,440,807
3,407,343
3,479,513
3,449,682
3,500,720
2,832,891
2,864,315
2,399,859
2.626.734
2,823,007

$219,033
239,573
263,532
244,721
272,086
291,890
290,828
276,001
295,169
286,842
310,025
310,411
307,393
313,902
311,208
315,818
255,571
258,415
216,510
236,307
266,770

49,935
42,549
45,010
52,167
51,202
39,885
26,126
39,476
50,538
52,548
61,129
67,048

12,666,921
10,793,333
11,417,605
13,233,109
12,988,319
10,117,555
6,627,338
10,013,635
12,568,207
13,329,526
15,632,901
16,998,789

Value.

$1,188,453

,

1 012,666

1,071,238
1,241,674
1,218,607
949,263
621,798
939,528
1,202,804
1,250,642
1,454,727
1,609,152

The crude, tasteless, and monotonous diet of the Mexican of the
laboring classes is rendered tolerable by an excessive use of condi­
ments, namely, of red and green pepper (which dulls the taste), and a
frequently enormous consumption of intoxicating drinks. Chief among
Mexican drinks is pulque, which is made by fermenting the juice o f
the maguey plant. It is a white liquid with an acrid smell and a
slightly sour taste, the liking for which must generally be acquired*
It is carried to the city every day from the great pulque farms, in the
valley of Mexico, where it is a very profitable crop, and is drunk
within a few days after it is made. To the uninitiated it is pleasanter
before fermentation; but to the peons, who drink it in enormous quan­
tities, it must be far advanced in fermentation before it is palatable*
It is insidious and quite intoxicating, especially when taken in large




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

69

quantities. Pure, and in small quantities, it is held by native physi­
cians to be an aid to digestion and to possess excellent nutritive quali­
ties, but in the city it is diluted with dirty water (bautizado, accord­
ing to the phrase of the city), and is adulterated beyond the point of
facile recognition. In the pulque shops of the streets it is drunk
under indescribably filthy conditions, where every canon of decency is
defied in all the arrangements. Most of the murderous quarrels in the
city originate in these hovels; but apart from the many murders that
occur there, it is probable that the “ pulque joints” of the capital
present a lower spectacle of the brute man and a more unfavorable
view of Mexican civilization than can be obtained in any other place
in that well-governed city.(^)
In the lowlands of the coast brandy made from sugar cane takes the
place of pulque, and in other places, notably in Guadalajara and other
places in Jalisco, the consumption of alcoholic liquors is chiefly diverted
to mescal or tequila, a brandy which is very much in favor. In the
neighborhood of the capital, however, pulque must be considered not
only as a stimulant, but as a staple of consumption, important, though
deleterious. (5)
The diet of the Mexican laborer, or, speaking more generally, of the
great bulk of the Mexican people, is restricted, not only in variety,
but equally in quantity. While there are no statistics available to
prove this other than the crop statistics of the Mexican Government,
these figures and all other indications point to a very limited consump­
tion. As a rule the Mexican peon (using this word in its most general
sense) is very poorly fed, so much so that in many cases his inefficiency
as a workman is largely traceable to malnutrition. The statistics of
mortality in the City of Mexico show an inordinately large proportion
of persons dying from diseases of the stomach and digestive organs,
and the generally high mortality throughout the country, especially in
the cases of infants, is supposed to be largely attributable to the same
cause. Large masses of the population suffer from anemia, partly as
a result of the small amount and small nutritive value of the food con­
sumed. The meager diet of the native population of the poorer classes,
and especially of the Indians, is not, it is true, without its advocates.
a The appalling amount of drunkenness, especially in the capital, and its effect upon
the efficiency of labor, are elsewhere treated.
b In 1898 there were produced (and consumed), according to the report of agricul­
tural statistics (see Anuario Estadfstico), 15,780,723 gallons of sugar-cane brandy, of
a value of $7,605,266 (Mexican currency); 11,565,521 gallons of mescal or tequila,
valued at $8,958,981; 64,869,585 gallons of pulque, valued at $4,637,531; 97,000,873
gallons of tlacliique, valued at $5,391,301; and 705,598 gallons of brandy made from
pulque/ valued at $537,139. Nearly five-sixths of the mescal was produced in Jalisco
and Zacatecas, a large part going to Guadalajara, while almost half of the pulque was
raised in the little State of Tlascala.




70

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In an article published as early as 1875(&) a Mexican physician of repu­
tation goes so far as to defend the frugal fare of the Indian, consisting
of corn, chili, and pulque, and states that both the Indian and the Span­
iard were perfectly healthy, both physically and mentally, before the
introduction of foreign customs. In this article and in another pub­
lished in 1874(5) the author, in a treatment which occasionally savors
of the idyl, appears to deprecate the increasing consumption of wheat,
and ascribes the ills of the population entirely to alcoholism, coffeeism (el cafeismo), and to the cerebral excitability caused by foreign
habits and imported vices rather than to the low standard of life. It
must be admitted that the endurance of the Mexican laborer, in view
of his insufficient nutrition, is astoundipg, but the vast majority of.
authorities agree that the capacity and desire for work of the Mexican
laborer can not increase very materially unless there is at the same
time an increase in the amount and a greater variety in the kinds of
food consumed.
COST OF LIVING.
In explanation of the low wages prevailing in Mexico it has been
frequently stated that the cost of living in that country is very much
cheaper than in the United States, and that as a consequence wages
tend to equalize themselves to a certain extent. This, however, appears
to be based on a false assumption. The wages received by Mexican
employees, whether agricultural or industrial, actually suffice for the
bare maintenance of life and for a real increase in the population. It
is therefore self-evident that the cost of living is less than the wages
received. The conclusion to be deduced from this fact, however, is
merely that the Mexican laborer consumes very much less, and not, as
has been too frequently assumed, that the individual article of con­
sumption costs less. There have been several tables published bearing
on the cost of living in M exico,(c) and from such information as is
obtainable it appears that for the great staples of consumption the
price in silver is considerably greater in Mexico than the price in the
United States in gold, and that on the whole the cost of the staples of
consumption is still actually greater in Mexico, when prices are reduced
to a common gold standard. Thus the greatest staple of consumption
in all Mexico, corn, which is consumed to a far larger extent than any
a Jos6 G. Lobato, De la alimentation de las razas indfgenas de Mexico, comparada
con la alimentacion adoptada por las razas criolla y extranjera, in E l Observador
Medico Mexicano, 1875, January to April, 170-174, 187-191, 205-207, 221-222.
bJ. G. Lobato, Meteorologfa de Mexico, in El Observador Medico Mexicano, April,
1874.
c Bee report represented by Romero, Mexico and United States, pages 532, 533,
and 534, from official sources and relative to the year 1891. See report of Mr. Ransom
on Money and Prices in Mexico, and report of Mr. Crittenden, also other state­
ments of Mexican prices, both retail and wholesale, of which a resume is made in
Romero, Labor and Wages in Mexico, reprinted in Mexico and United States: New
York, 1898.



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

71

other single commodity, although its price fluctuates greatly, fre­
quently costs more than it does in the United States. There is no
exportation of corn from Mexico to compete with the American corn,
and the whole trend is in the opposite direction. On September 13,
1901, this commodity was selling in the City of Mexico at from $2 to
$2.18 silver per bushel, and during the whole year, from January on,
the prices fluctuated around $1.50 silver per bushel, (a) Another article
o f great consumption, cotton, which is exclusively used by the great
masses of the laboring population, is also much more expensive in
Mexico than in the United States. The price of the raw product,
which is at present (September 13, 1901) from 20 to 24 cents silver
per pound, is always higher in gold than the price of the American
product in New York, since a great part of the cotton manufactured
for the consumption of the Mexican people is of American growth.
The price of the finished product, consisting of the roughest grades of
cotton cloth, is very much in excess of prices paid in the United States.
The price of meat varies in the different parts of the country, and no
definite rule can be established for these prices, while the same is true
of beans, chili, and some other agricultural products which are usually
cheap in the place of their actual production, but much dearer at any
distance. Fuel is extremely dear wherever there is no great wood
supply, but the consumption of fuel for domestic purposes is almost
entirely restricted to cooking and is of far less importance in Mexico
than in the United States.
The question whether a person of wealth can live more cheaply in
Mexico than in the United States is not here under discussion. The
question whether the American workman, with his present gold wages
converted into silver, could enjoy more of the comforts and luxuries
of life in Mexico with it than in the United States, is also not pertinent.
The question appears to resolve itself chiefly into one whether the aver­
age Mexican laborer, and therefore the laborer of a low type, with low
wages and with small wants, can secure a greater amount of corn,
beans, chili, and cotton cloth in Mexico than he could if living in the
United States. The prices annexed seem to indicate that, upon the
whole, the price of these articles exceeds their price in the United
States in a greater ratio than the value of the gold dollar exceeds the
value of the silver dollar.
The following table shows the prices of various staple commodities
in the Mexican market at various times during the current year:
a This high price is somewhat abnormal, there being a deficient crop followed, by
cornering, and as a consequence the Government has taken the duty off corn to pro­
mote the introduction of the American product. The result has been that its price
has fallen to a lower level, ranging from $1.09 to $1.27, silver, per bushel in the City
of Mexico on Friday, January 10, 1902. The considerable importation of corn from
the United States, however, shows very clearly that the price of the commodity in
the latter country is less than that in Mexico, even when the silver price prevailing
in Mexico is reduced to a gold basis.



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
ES (SILVER)

lar»inal
STo.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46

OF STAPLE COMMODITIES IN THE CITY OF MEXICO
CERTAIN DATES IN 1901.

Commodity.

January 4, jFebruary 1,
1901.
1901.

March 1,
1901.

April 12,
1901.

i
Brandy (in barrels of 68.68 quarts),
per quart.
Cotton, Laguna (in lots of 101.4
pounds), per pound.
Cotton, Vera Cruz (in lots of 101.4
pounds), per pound.
Anise seed, per pound......................
Canary seed, per p ou nd...................
Indigo, best quality, per pound___
Rice, las Villas (in lots of 101.4
pounds), per pound.
Rice, Jojutla (in lots of 101.4
pounds), per pound.
Rice, Michoacan (in lots of 101.4
pounds), per pound.
Sugar, loaf (in lots of 25.35 pounds),
per pound.
Sugar, powdered (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Sugar, mixed, entreverado (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Sugar, ordinary (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Sugar, medium (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Sugar, brown (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Cacao, Tabasco, per pound...............
Coffee, las Villas, per pound...........
Coffee, La Sierra, per pou n d ...........
Barley, per bushel..............................
W ax, Sierra, per pound.....................
Chili, dried broad (ancho), per
pound.
Chili, dried thin (pasilla), per
pound.
Chili, mulato, per p ou n d .................
Beans, French or kidney, brown,
per bushel.
Beans, French or kidney, parralefio, per bushel.
Beans, French or kidney, black,
per bushel.
Beans, French or kidney, garbancillo, per bushel.
Flour, superfine (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Wool, uncombed (in lots of 25.35
pounds), per pound.
Corn, per bushel.................................
Lard (in lots of 25.35 pounds), per
pound.
Mescal, Tequila (in barrels of 68.68
quarts), per quart.
Mescal, Chorrera (in barrels of
68.68 quarts), per quart.
Salt, sea (in lots of 220.46 pounds),
per pound.
Salt, San Luis (in lots of 220.46
pounds), per pound.
Tallow (in lots of 25.35 pounds),
per pound.
Tobacco, Tlapacoyan, 1st (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, Tlapacoyan, 2d (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, Tlapacoyan, 3d (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, compostela plana (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, compostela punta (in
lots of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, Cdrdoba- principal (in
lots of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, Cdrdoba congo (m lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Tobacco, C6 rdoba punta (in lots
of 25.35 pounds), per pound.
Wheat, valley of Toluca (in lots
of 5.92 bushels), per bushel.
Wheat, interior (in lots of 5.92
bushels), per bushel.




80.201-0.23! 80.215-0.245 80.25!-0.275 $0.25!-0.275

•0. 251-0.27$

.245- .255

.255- .265

.255- .265

.235- .245

. 23^ - . 24f

.205- .215

.205- .215

.205- .215

.205- .215

. 205-

.071- .08! .071- .08! .09 - .10
.09 - .10
.081- .09
.081- .09
.065- .07! .06 - .065
1.36 -1.70 1.36 -1.70 1.36 -1.585 1.36 -1.585
.079- .089 .079- .089 .079- .089 .079- .089

.215

.09 - .10
. 061- .065
.36 - 1.585
. 079- .089
.052- .054

.052- .057

.052- .054

.052- .054

.052- .054

.047- .052

.047- .049

.047- .049

.047- .049

. 047-

.049

.099- .108

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

. 089-

.099

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

. 079-

.089

.099- .108

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

. 089-

.099

.093- .099 . .084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

. 084-

.089

.091- .096

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

. 081-

.086

.089- .093

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

. 079-

.081

' .50 - .505 -.4 5 1 - .47! .451- .471 .405- .43
.19 - .19! .19 - .191 .165- .17! .165- .17!
.181- .19
.181- . 19
.161- .165 .161- .16}
1.055-1.14! 1.055-1.14! .8 8 - .97
.8 8 - .97
.815. 86 ! .815- . 86 !
.815- . 86 ! .815- . 86 !
2.04 -2.265 2.04 -2.265 1.585-1.81! 1.585-1.81!

, 405- .43
. 165- .171
. 161- •165
.88 - .97
815- .861
585- 1.811

1.36 -2.49! 1.36 -2.49! 1.36 -2.49! 1.36 -2.49!

36 -2.491

2.265-2.72! 2.265-2.72! 2 . 265- 2 .72! 2 . 265- 2 .72!
1.581-2.11! 1.58!-2.11! 1.584-2.11 ! 1.581-2.11!

265-2.72!
581-2. Ill

1.581-2.11! 1.581-2.11! 1.584-2.11! 1.581-2.11!

581-2. Ill

1.761-1.85

1.761-1.935 1.761-1.935

935-2.11!

1.761-2.11! 1.761-2.11! 1.761-2.11! 1.761-2.11!

761-2.11!

1.761-1.85

.049- .053

.049- .053

.056- .059

.056- .059

.056- .059

.235- .31!

.235- .31!

.235- .31!

.235- .31!

.

1.231-1.41 1.231-1.41 1.231-1.41 1.231-1.41
.215- .235 .215- .235 .215- .235 . 215- .235

235-

. 31!

. 231. 215-

1.41
.235

.261- .32

.261- -32

.2 6 i- .32

.261- .32

.261- .32

.231- .26!

.231- .26!

.231- .261

.231- -261

.231- -261

.022- .023

.022- .023

.022- .023

.022- .023

.022- .023

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .0 2 2

.0 2

-

.02 2

.135- .14}

.135- .145

.135- .145

.135- .145

. 135-

.145

.195- .215

.195- .215

.195- .215

.195- .215

. 195-

.215

.175- .195

.175- .195

.175- .195

.175- .195

. 175- •195

.115- .135

.115- .135

.115- .135

.115- .135

. 115-

.135

.095- .115

.095- .115

.095- .115

.095- .115

. 095-

.115

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04

.05

.175- .195

.175- .195

.175- .195

.175- .195

. 175-

.155- .175

.155- .175

.155- .175

.155- .175

. 155-

.175

.08 - .095

.08 - .095

.08 - .095

.08 - .095

.08

.095

2 . 025 - 2 . 11 !

2 . 025- 2 . 11 !

2 . 025 - 2 . 11 !

2 . 025- 2 . 11 !

i. 025- 2 . 11 !

2 .19i-2.28

2.19!-2.28

2.19!-2.28

2.19!-2.28

>. 191-2.28

-

-

.195

73

LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

PRICES (SILVER) OF STAPLE COMMODITIES IN THE CITY OF MEXICO MARKET AT
CERTAIN DATES IN 1901.

June 7,
1901.

July 5,
1901.

August 2,
1901.

Mar­
September September September October 11, October 18, gin­
13,1901.
27,1901.
20,1901.
1901.
1901.
al
No.

#0.25?-0.27? $0.22?-0.23? $0.22?-0.24 $0.25?-0.26? $0.25?-0.26? $0.25?-0.26? $0.25?-0.26? $0.25?-0.26?

1

.23?- .24?

.22?- .23?

.22?- .23?

. 22 ? - .23?

.22?- .23? - .22?- .23?

.22?- .23?

.22?- .23?

. 20 ? - . 21 ?

.19?- .20?

.19?- .20?

.19?- .20?

.19?- .20?

.19?- .20?

.19?- .20?

3

.09 - .10
.09 - .10
.09 - .10
.09 - .10
.0 9 -.1 0
.09 - .10
.09 - .10
.09 - .10
.06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06? .06?- .06?
1.36
-1.58? 1.36 -1.58? 1.36 -1.58? 1.36 -1.58? 1.36 -1.58? 1.36 -1.58? 1.36 -1.58?
1.36 -1.58?
.079- .089 .079- .089 .079- .089 .099- .118 .099- .118 .099- .118 .099- .118 .099- .118

4
5

.19?- .20?

2

6

7

.052- .054

.052- .054

.052- .054

.057- .059

.057- .059

.057- .059

. 057.- .059

.057- .059

.047- .049

.052- .054

.052- .054 . .047- .049

.047- .049

.047- .049

.047- .049

.047- .049

9

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

10

.079- .089

.079- . 089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

.079- .089

11

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

.089- .099

12

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

.084- .089

13

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

.081- .086

14

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

.079- .081

15

.38?- .40? .36?- .40? .43 - .45? .43 - .45? .43 - .45? .43 - .45? .43 - .45? .43 - .45?
16?- .17? .17?- .18? .17?- .18? .17?- .18? .17?- .18? .17?- .18? .17?- .18? .17?- .18?
.16?- .16? .17?- .17? .17?- .17? .17?- .17? .17?- .17? .17?- .17? .17?- .17? .17?- .17?
.8 8 - .97
1.051-1.14? .8 8 -1.14? .8 8 -1.14? .8 8 -1.14? .8 8 -1.14? .8 8 - .97
.8 8 - .97
.81?- . 86 ? .81?- 86 ? .81?- . 86 ? .81?- . 86 ? .81?- . 86 ? .81?- . 86 ? .81?- . 86 ? .81?- . 86 ?
1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .58?-l. 81? 1 .5 8?-l.70

16
17
18
19

8

20
21

1.36 -2.49? 1.36 -2.26? 1.36 -2.26? 1 .58?-2.49? 1 .58?-2.49? 1 .58?-2.49? 1 .58?-2.49? 1 .58?-2.49?

22

2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72? 2 .26?-2.72?
1 .58?-2.11? 1 .93?-2.29 2 .ll? -2 .46? 2 .46?-2.82 2 .46?-2.82 2 .46?-2.82 2.82 -3.17? 2 .ll? -2 .46?

23
24

1 .58?-2.11? 1 .93?-2.29

2.111-2.46? 2 .46?-2.82

2 .46?-2.82

2 .46?-2.82

2 .46?-2.82

1 .76?-2.11?

25

1.93?-2.11? 1 .76?-l. 93? 2 .46?-2.64? 3 .52?-4.23

3-52?-4.23

3 .52?-4.23

3 .52?-4.23

1 .76?-2.46?

26

1 .76?-2.11? 2.29 -2.46? 2.82 -3.17? 2.82 -3.17? 2.82 -3.17? 2.82 -3.17? 2.82 -3.17? 2.82 -3.17?

27

.056- .059

.059- .063

.059- .063

.059- .063

.059- .063

.059- .063

.059- .063

.059- .063

28

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.23?- .31?

.19?- .27?

29

1 .23?-l. 32 1.41 -1.58? 1 .49?-l. 58? 1 .93?-2.11? 1.85 -1.93? 1.85 -1.93? 1.85 -1.93? 1.85 -1.93?
.21?- .23? .23?- .24? .23?- .24? .27?- .31? .27?- .31? .27?- .31? .27?- .31? .27?- .31?

30
31

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

.26?- .32

32

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

.23?- .26?

33

.022- .023

.022- .023

.022- .023

.022- .023

. 022 - .023

.022- .023

. 022- .023

.022- .023

34

- .022

35

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2 • .0 2 - .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

- .02 2

.0 2

.13?- .14?

.13?- .14?

.13?- .14?

.13?- .14?

.13?- .14?

.13?- . 14?

36

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

.19?- .21?

37

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

38

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

.11?- .13?

39

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

.09?- .11?

40

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

.04 - .05

41

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

.17?- .19?

42

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

.15?- .17?

43

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

.08 - .09?

44

2.19?-2.23? 2 .19?-2.23? 2 .19?-2.23? 2 .19?-2.23? 2 .19?-2.23? 2 .36?-2.40?

45

2.28 -2.36? 2.28 -2.36? 2.28 -2.36? 2.28 -2.36? 2.28 -2.36? 2 .53?-2.57?

46

.13?- .14?

.13?- .14?

.19?- .21?
.17?- .19?

2 . 02 ?- 2 . 11 ? 2 . 02 ?- 2 . 11 ?

2 .19?-2.28

2 .19?-2.28




74

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

LABOR OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
Boys are not admitted into workshops until 12 years of age, or until
they shall have received a primary education. The employer is held
responsible for the character of labor given to such minors, and a boy
is not supposed to undertake an adult’s work until he shall have passed
*his sixteenth year. In agriculture, however, it is not uncommon to
see boys under 12 years of age employed, in consequence of the scarcity
of suitable labor. The authorities are supposed to insist that such
boys under 12 years of age shall have the advantage of several hours
a day at school, and that the work of all minors shall be regulated so
as not to prevent their healthy physical development.
In the mining industries there are frequent violations of the rule
that children under 12 years of age shall not be employed. In some
cases the work assigned to them is easy and adapted to their age, but
they are also employed in the reduction of the ores by the patio
process, which exposes them constantly to the ill effects of mercury,
and is extremely deleterious.
Girls usually begin to work in their thirteenth or fourteenth year,
either in workshops or in household service. There is a greater
demand for them in domestic service than in workshops or in the fac­
tory, since there is a strong prejudice against the employment of the
sex in industrial enterprises. They are extensively employed in the
manufacture of cigars and cigarettes, however, although the general
rule is not to accept them under the age of 13.
The employment of women in the mines is a rare occurrence. Thus,
out of a total of 89,072 persons working in the mines in 1898, only 812,
or less than 1 per cent, were women. In the reduction of the ores
there is a still smaller percentage of women employed. Out of a total
of 24,811 persons employed in this work, only 145 were women, or, in
other words, there were employed less than 6 women per 1,000, Of
these 145 women, 90 were employed in the reduction works in the
State of Chihuahua, where they formed 8.9 per cent of .the total
employees. In the remaining portions of the Republic there was only
1 woman per 400 persons employed in the reduction of metals.
In agriculture, also, the employment of women is, as shown by the
official statistics, extremely restricted, there being only 10,149 women
given as employed in agriculture out of a total of 2,890,991, or, in
other words, less than 0.4 of 1 per cent of all engaged in the industry.
These figures, however, do not appear to take into account the women
who are occasionally engaged at harvesting or other work of a tem­
porary and pressing nature, nor does it include those women who are
engaged in subsidiary agricultural occupations. These are usually
given as women without occupation, or engaged in household work,




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

75

although, apart from keeping their huts in order and preparing food
for their husbands, their labor may occasionally be called into requisi­
tion.
In the professions the percentage of women employed is also small,
if we except the occupation of teaching, in which 6,463 out of a total
of 12,583 were women. There were also 2,076 midwives and about a
score of female dentists, druggists, and physicians. In commerce,
however, women are more strongly represented, there being 55,062
women or almost 24 per cent of the total of 233,222 persons so employed.
This includes agents, brokers, merchants, clerks, hawkers, peddlers,
and proprietors of large or small industries.
In industrial pursuits, the women of Mexico have not as yet engaged
as extensively as in other countries. Such occupations as sewing and
laundering are, of course, monopolized by them, there being 70,125
seamstresses and 48,923 laundresses, as compared to 537 launderers.
There are also 2,738 milliners, 229 female lace makers (pasamaneros)
and a number of others engaged in sewing. In the making of palm
mats the labor of women is also chiefly used, there being 9,727 women
so employed, as against 1,791 men. In the making of artificial flowers
and in palm weaving they are also in preponderance. In the making
of cigarettes the cheaper female labor is used to a very large extent,
there being 8,930 women so employed, as against 1,467 men. In the
making of cigars, on the other hand, the labor of men is chiefly relied
upon to the almost entire exclusion of women, the female hands form­
ing less than 8 per cent of the total.
On the whole, however, the number of women employed in gainful
occupations of any kind, exclusive of domestic service or other house­
hold work, is extremely small. This will be evident from a consideration
o f the statistics of employment. Of a grand total of 6,301,262 females
in 1895 in Mexico, 266,307, or 4.2 per cent, were in school or college;
1,597,990, or 25.3 per cent, were without occupation, being too young;
231,395, or 3.7 per cent, were with occupation unknown, while 2,557,429,
or 40.6 per cent, were classed as without occupation. Of the remain­
der almost two-thirds were engaged in household work, there being
925,965, or 14.7 per cent, of the total number of females in the Repub­
lic classified as household workers, and 187,864, or 3 per cent, classified
as domestic servants. Making these deductions, there would remain
only 534,312, or 8.5 per cent, of women engaged in all gainful pursuits
other than household labor, and even of this small balance many are
engaged in work which is really domestic, but which is not so classified
in the official statistics.
The small employment of women in occupations other than house­
hold labors is due, in large measure, to the imperfect development of
Mexican industry, which, as yet, has not made great demands upon




76

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

the female labor supply, as well as to a popular prejudice against the
labor of women. In Mexico the continental, and above all the Latin,
ideal of woman prevails, which notoriously unfits her for the struggle
for life and makes her dependent upon man. While these conditions
are changing, and a different ideal of the relation of the sexes and of
the relative position and responsibility of woman is slowly gaining
ground, the preparation of the feminine part of the community for
any active share in competitive work has not yet made great
advances. An evidence of this is shown in the statistics of education.
In 1898 there were registered in the public schools 461,929 male and
240,756 female pupils. In other words, there were but 52 female per
100 male pupils. In the private schools, the relation, as might be
expected, is somewhat more favorable, there being 53,051 female as
against 72,342 male pupils, or 73 female per 100 male pupils. In­
cluding schools of all sorts, the proportion of female to male pupils is
as 55 to 100. This, moreover, represents a future, rather than the
present, generation of workers, and is an advance over the conditions
existing a score or even a dozen years ago.
As a result of the dependence of Mexican women and of the prej­
udice against their employment, (a) the choice of occupation to those
who are obliged to earn their living is extremely restricted, and their
remuneration, as a consequence, is very low. Even when they com­
pete with men, their wages, here as elsewhere, are lower, and fre­
quently barely exceed what is indispensably necessary to support life.
Thus, in the cotton mills the ordinary female hands are paid, as a rule,
from 25 to 50 cents a day in Mexican currency, or from 12£ to 25
cents per day in American money, which is only about 50 or 60 per
cent of what is paid to the men. The wages run higher in certain
cases and 75 cents per day have been paid to women, but there are also
cases where the wages are not over 12£ cents Mexican, or 6i cents
American, currency per day.
a Hitherto public opinion in Mexico has almost absolutely prohibited any respect­
able female from engaging in any professional or personal occupation, for any occu­
pation or profession which would draw a woman from the seclusion of her domestic
circle would entail upon her loss of caste and the general reprobation of her sex.
An educated lady may devote herself to teaching the poor from motives of religious
zeal, or exhibit her talents in public at a charity concert, but professionally never.
Pressed by poverty, a Mexican lady will work in lace, embroidery, or other artistic
labor, and sell her productions privately, or even give private lessons in music, etc.;
but all the female professional teachers, artists, boarding-house keepers, etc., are
foreigners; or nearly all, for of late years foreign travel, foreign education, and con­
tact with foreigners at home, combined with the liberalizing tendency of reform
laws, have somewhat modified the strictness of Mexican society in that regard.
Among the Indians and lower classes in Mexico, however, the women take part
promiscuously in all the labors, occupations, interests, and amusements incident to
their condition in life and are neither secluded nor oppressed.— United States Con­
sul Strother, 1885.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

7?

L E G A L STATUS OF LABOR.
The legal status of the workman in Mexico is determined by the civil
codes of the various States, Territories, and the Federal District, and
the statutes passed in conformity therewith, in so far as these codes o r
laws are not in conflict with the rights guaranteed to the individual
by the Federal constitution and the constitutions of the various
States. Thus, theoretically at least, each State, by virtue of its pre­
sumptive sovereignty, is able to fix the laws which determine tho
relation between the employer and employee. Except in the cases
where special circumstances have rendered divergencies necessary, tho
general legal framework is similar to that adopted by the Federal
Government for the Federal District and the Territories.
The civil code of the Federal District and of the Territory of Lower
California (a) proclaims the general bases regulating labor conditions in
those regions, and the civil codes of the various States are in close
conformity with the provisions of this code. The code takes up the
relations of domestic service, day labor, task labor, apprenticeship, etc.
According to the civil code, domestic service is that which is ren­
dered for remuneration to one person by another living with him.
The period must be limited, since perpetual contracts are null. The
contract of service is supposed to end with the completion of the
purpose which is its object, so that, in the case of the hiring of wetnurses, the contract lasts during the whole period of lactation. In
case there is no express agreement as to remuneration or wages, the
custom o f the place determines, account being taken of the class o f
work and the age, sex, and aptitude of the employee. I f the agree­
ment does not relate to a certain determined service, the servant is
obliged to do everything compatible with his health, state, power,
aptitude, or condition. If the contract is made without fixed time,
either party may conclude it at will, it being understood, however,
that one week’s notice shall be given by either party, although it is also
understood that the employer can discharge the servant immediately
by paying him one week’s wages. If, on the other hand, the servant
enters into an agreement to work for a certain specified time, he can
not leave the service, without just cause, before the completion o f
the period so agreed upon.
By just causes are here understood the necessity to comply with
legal obligations or obligations contracted before the present agree­
ment, the manifest danger of some considerable harm or evil, tho
failure of the employer to comply with his obligations, the sickness o f
the servant or impossibility for him to perform the service, or, finally*
aCodigo Civil del Distrito Federal yTerritorio de la Baja California Reformado en
virtud de la autorizacion concedida al Ejecutivo por decreto de 14 de Diciembre do
1883, Mexico, 1899.

1110—No. 38—02-----6



78

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

the change of residence of the employer to a place which does not suit
the servant. If the servant leaves with just cause, he may claim all
wages already earned and still due him; if he leaves without just cause,
he loses the right'to recover such wages, and is, moreover, liable for
such damage or prejudice as may result to his employer by his illegal
separation.
The employer of the domestic servant is also prohibited from dis­
charging him without just cause, provided the agreement is for a cer­
tain specified time. By just causes are here meant the inability of the
servant to perform the work agreed upon, the vice, malady, or bad
deportment of the servant, or, finally, the insolvency of the employer.
If the employer discharges his servant before the time contracted for,
and without just cause, he is obliged to pay the wages for the whole
period o f the contract.
The servant is obliged to treat his employer with respect and to
obey him in everything which is not illegal or not contrary to the
conditions of the contract, to perform his work with loyalty and with
all the diligence in his power, to take care of the things which he
receives for his service and to avoid any injury to which they may be
exposed, as well as to pay for the injury and prejudice which results
to the employer through his (the servant’s) fault. The employer, on
the other hand, is obliged to pay the wages of the servant with rigorous
exactitude, to refrain from imposing upon him work which will injure
his health or threaten his life or which is not included in the contract,
to point out his failings and, if the servant is a minor, to correct him
as though he were his tutor, to indemnify him for the losses or inju­
ries which he may suffer in his (the employer’s) cause or through his
(the employer’s) fault, and to succor him and to cause him to be cured,
at the servant’s own expense, in case of any sickness, where the servant
can not attend to himself or has no family or other recourse.
The contract for domestic service terminates with the death of the
employer or of the servant, and neither the servant nor his heirs have
a right to recover more than the wages earned. The employer may
deduct from the wages of the employee such sum as shall be reasona­
ble for injuries sustained by him through the fault of the servant, but
if he fails to do so at the time of making the payment he will not have
any subsequent legal action against the servant. Beyond the provi­
sions o f the civil code, the relations governing servant and master are
subject to the police regulations of the particular district.
The day worker (jom alero)—that is, one who performs labor for
another day by day in return for a certain daily remuneration which is
called day wages—is obliged to perform the work for which he contracts,
according to the orders and under the direction of his employer, and,
in default thereof, he may be discharged before the day concludes,
being paid for the time he has worked. The employer is obliged to



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

79

pay by the day or week, according to the terms of the contract; and,
in case no time is specified, according to the custom of the place. I f
the workman is employed for a specific service, or for a definite
period of time, he can not be discharged or give up service without
just cause. In case the agreement is dissolved without just cause by
the workman, he loses the wages which are due to him; and if by the
employer, he is liable for the whole sum contracted for. If the work
is interrupted by the act of God or the enemies of the State {casofortuito 6 fu erza mayor), the workman may receive pay for the work
actually done, or for the time actually in service. The workman is
responsible for the value of the tools, instruments, or other objects
which are confided to his care, and which he has lost or spoiled, unless
he can prove that the loss was through no fault of his.
The contract o f apprenticeship made between adults, or with minors
represented by adults, must be signed before two witnesses. In case
the principals can not sign, it must be done for them, in their presence,
by some person other than the two witnesses. The contract is null
unless it fixes the term for apprenticeship.
The contract must, state the time at which, and the circumstances
under which, the apprentice shall commence to receive remuneration,
unless the claim for remuneration shall be considered satisfied by the
instruction received. The master who discharges his apprentice
without just cause, before the time agreed upon, must indemnify him;
if the apprentice already receives wages, he must be paid for the full
unexpired term. I f he has not yet received remuneration, he may be
indemnified according to the decree of the court. Just causes for dis­
charging apprentices are the same as those for discharging domestic
servants. The same rule applies to the apprentice who is responsible,
either directly or in the persons of those who contract for him, for
any dissolution of the contract, without just cause, the causes being
here the same as those which permit a domestic servant to dissolve his
contract. I f the apprentice is a minor and is not legally represented,
his master has none other than criminal action against him.
IM MIGRATION AND COLONIZATION.
From the very inception of Mexican independence there has been
cherished the constant ideal of increasing population by means of immi­
gration. During the colonial regime the Spanish Government pro­
hibited entrance to America to persons o f other nationalities and to
certain classes among the Spanish population itself. A t the conclusion
of the war of independence in 1821, however, Mexico had an insuf­
ficient population for its then enormous area, and steps were taken
as early as 1827 in the direction of encouraging immigration. The
experiment m Texas did not result to the entire advantage of the




80

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

Mexican Government, but in 1846 a bill was again presented by the
secretary of foreign relations, Jos6 M. Lafragua, to encourage col­
onization by foreigners, which, however, resulted in nothing.
The character of the attempts to encourage immigration and the
reasons for their failure may be seen from an examination of the
pamphlet published by the imperial governor of Mexico during the
short and tragic career of Maximilian. In this pamphlet, which is
called Mexico, Information for the Benefit of those desiring to Emi­
grate to that Country, January, 1866, signed by M. F. Maury, imperial
commissioner of emigration, it is stated that “ the doors of the Empire
are wide open,” and that the Government is offering land under the
most favorable terms and private citizens are offering it for nothing,
in order to secure immigrants. Though even then in its last stages
it was declared that “ the Empire is daily gaining ground, strength,
and support,” and the immigrant was assured of the 64dawn of a happy
era o f peace.” A t the same time he was informed that agricultural
labor was very poorly paid, and that the rate of wages averaged only
25 to 37 cents per day. It was exactly these two factors, the very
low wages of Mexican labor, and above all the unsettled character of
the Mexican Government, that prevented any immigration on a large
scale. The law passed by Maximilian’s government on September
15, 1865, was very liberal. It provided (article 1) that each immigrant
should receive a duly executed title of his landed estate and a certifi­
cate that it is free of mortgage; that (article 3) such property was to
be free from taxes for the first year; that (article 4) immigrants might
be naturalized as soon as they were settled, and (article 5) might bring
with them laborers of any race whatsoever and in whatever numbers
desired, although these laborers were to be subject to special protective
enactments. It also provided (article 6) that the effects of immigrants,
their animals, seed, agricultural implements, machines, and tools
should be free from transit duties, and (article 7) that the immigrants
should be exempt from military service for five years, but should form
a stationary militia for their own protection. The law also confirmed
the organic law of the Empire to the effect that liberty of worship
should be secured to all immigrants. As will be seen later, the law of
Maximilian was in many respects similar to that which is now enforced.
The cause of the failure of these attempts to incite immigration and
colonization are not far to seek. Until the latter part of the nineteenth
century conditions in Mexico were by no means stable, and property
and even life were not always safe. The fear of confiscation by tech­
nically legal or frankly illegal means, the disturbed political conditions,
and the consequent low state of industry acted as a powerful deter­
rent to immigration. Moreover, wages were very low, the standard
of living lower, the opportunities for education or for the free exer­
cise of a heterodox religion restricted, while at the same time the



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

81

means of communication were so bad as to place any comparison
between the attractiveness of Mexico and of the United States beyond
the pale of reasonable consideration. Under such circumstances the
then prevailing ignorance of Mexican resources and conditions can
hardly be alleged as a contributing cause to the apathy with which the
country was regarded by prospective colonists.
The most earnest and effective effort yet made to colonize the coun­
try dates from a law passed in the year 1885 and still in force. This
law bases the prospect of colonists upon the public lands. It has in
view not only immigration, but colonization by native Mexicans, and
thus contemplates in part an increase, in part merely a displacement of
the population. The law bears a resemblance to the homestead laws
o f the American Federal Government, inasmuch as it is based upon
the cession of portions of the public domain to actual cultivators of
the soil.
The law provides for the exploration, measurement, and division of
the vacant public lands (terrenos baldios) for the benefit of colonists
or settlers (whether native or foreign) who solicit the land from the
Government or its representatives. I f the petitioners have the neces­
sary desirable qualities they are ceded a tract of 247 acres (100 hec­
tares). This cession is at first in the nature of a loan or deposit, but
the legal title vests in the settler if he can show that he has cultivated
the land, and if within a certain specified time he does not abandon the
property or permit it to fall back into its native state. The petition
to obtain lands is secured in Mexico from the department of public
promotion (Fomento), and in foreign countries from the diplomatic or
consular representatives or persons or companies authorized by them.
Settlers or colonists enjoy for the period o f ten years exemption
from military service, from all imposts except municipal taxes on real
estate, and from the payment of all customs duties on the necessary
utensils, agricultural machinery, etc., which are not produced in the
country, as well as on animals devoted to breeding or labor. They
are also exempt from export duties on the articles of their production,
and in certain cases they may receive a special premium or bonus for
the production of especially excellent articles or for the introduction
to cultivation of new and valuable products before unknown in Mexico.
For the planting o f trees on the land, the privileges and exemptions
before mentioned may be extended for an additional year beyond ten
years for every tenth of the area devoted to such planting.
Colonizing companies may also be formed for the measurement of
hitherto unsurveyed lands, and in return for this labor they are granted
one-third of the land so surveyed. It is forbidden them, however, to
sell the land in larger lots than 6,177 acres (2,500 hectares) or to per­
sons not legally qualified to receive them. I f a colonizing company is
authorized by the Government to throw open a considerable tract of



82

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

land for settlement and fails to commence operations within three
months, it must surrender all its rights. The executive may make
contracts with colonizing companies or corporations, under the condi­
tion that the companies obtain a number of settlers within a given
period, but the contracts between such companies and the actual set­
tlers are subject to approbation and confirmation by the department
of public promotion {Fomento).
The total result of the attempt to promote immigration has been
inconsiderable. No great movement of labor from Europe has taken
place, and the agriculture, mining, and other industries of the country
have been compelled to rely practically upon the native labor force.
The demand for labor, however, has rapidly increased with the
increased activity in all branches of industry, and this demand for
labor and the small result attained by attempting to stimulate the
Indian to increased effort have caused the need for immigrants to
become particularly acute and urgent. This state of affairs is keenly
felt and clearly recognized by almost all of the large employers of
labor, and particularly by the proprietors of estates. Representatives
o f this class state that the Indian population, great as it is, is by no
means sufficient for the needs of agriculture, owing to the fact that a
large number of Indians withdraw themselves from any regular labor
and prefer to wander in the fields, forests, and mountains, obtaining
a bare livelihood by the collection of various raw materials for small
industries. The labor o f the Indian is claimed to be more like that of
a machine than like that of an intelligent man. The majority of the
agricultural workers are too ignorant for the use of machines, and
even the overseers and proprietors of the haciendas are not sufficiently
intelligent to break their long established routine of bad methods and
to profitably employ labor of a high quality.
“ The four million Indians,” says a representative of the planting
class, (a) a who exist in the Mexican territory, are hardly producers.
* * * The Indians,” he continues, “ are a burden which the Mexi­
cans must carry; without education of any kind, they are a hindrance
to progress, an obstacle to our advance. O f another part of our pop­
ulation it may be said that, though not in the same state of ignorance
as the Indians, it is still not a productive class.” He further states
that the territory of Mexico could contain four or five times the present
population, and that the example of the United States, Argentina, and
Brazil should stimulate Mexico to obtain intelligent workmen, in order
to educate the natives, and that no time should be lost in this effort.
“ We can not become great by .ourselves;” he concludes, “ in order to
produce more, we require the colonizing element.”
a See an article in the Boletm de la Sociedad Agricola Mexicana, entitled Las
Necesidades de Nuestra Agricultura, reproduced in El Economista Mexicano, 1900,
June 22 and 29 and July 6.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

83

The problem of inducing immigration from Europe, with which
Mexico is now confronted, is one of the greatest difficulty. The
would-be immigrant, unless he belongs to the class of skilled work­
men, is confronted with the prospect of competition with a population
with a lower standard of life than his own, and earning wages which
(expressed in gold at least) are considerably below what he can earn
in the home country. The wages paid to agricultural laborers in
Mexico are not apt to be much of an incentive to the prospective
immigrant from Germany or Italy. In a conference with a committee
sent to him some months ago by the Mexican Agricultural Society,
the Italian minister in Mexico stated that of the two classes of Italians
who might come to Mexico—the Sicilians and the Calabrians—the first
would come for a smaller salary, but would add little to the intelli­
gence and general standard of life of the country, while the other
would not come unless the agricultural wages were much higher than
at piresent, as at certain periods of the year they earned in their own
country an equivalent of $2.50 Mexican currency per day. With
regard to the solution of the labor problem in tropical Mexico, he
stated that in no case could the Italian immigrant be considered as
available, as the experience in Brazil had clearly shown that the Italian
would not work efficiently in such climes at an altitude of less than
1,000 meters 4(3,281 feet) above the level of the sea. (a)
Mexico has a greater probability of obtaining immigrants from
Italy, however, than from any other European country. That coun­
try, with its prolific population, is turning out immense numbers of
emigrants and is peopling, to a considerable extent, the available ter­
ritory in Latin America. Thus, in 1899, there was a total of 106,846
persons over 14 years of age permanently emigrating, and of these
65,206 were agriculturists or engaged in agricultural labor. What
has been done in Argentina it is hoped to do in Mexico, and the chief
reliance of those who desire immigration appears to be Italy. O f the
total emigration from Italy, however, only a very small percentage
has gone to Mexico or Central America. In 1899 the.emigration to
Mexico and Central America (including Guatemala, San Salvador,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica) was only 606, of whom 500
were permanent. O f these 606, 316 came from Campania (281 from
Salerno and 35 from Naples), 11 from Abruzzi, 25 from Piedmont,
and 53 from Lombardy. In 1898 the emigration amounted to but 568
permanent and 66 temporary emigrants. O f this total of 634 (both
permanent and temporary), 461 came from Campania (of whom 256
were from Naples and 204 from . Salerno), 52 from Abruzzi, 44 from
Piedmont, and 20 from Lombardy, (b)
a See El Economists Mexicano, Mexico, July 13, 1901, pages 279, 280, as repro­
duced from the Boletfn de la Sociedad Agrfcola Mexicans.
b Statistics della Emigrazione Italians, avvenutanegli anni 1898 e 1899, Roma 1900.
Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio, Direzione Generale della Statistics.



84

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In order that there should be a large emigration to Mexico from
any country, such as Italy, it would be necessary not only to establish
a superiority in Mexican conditions over those of Italy, but equally to
establish the same superiority over all other countries which are equally
accessible to the Italian emigrant. This, at the present time, it seems
impossible to do. The great bulk of Italian emigration to Latin
America has gone to Argentina, which offers great attractions to
prospective emigrants. Thus during the period from 185t to 1899,
inclusive, there was a total immigration to Argentina (first-class pas­
sengers excluded) of 2,564,391 persons, and a total emigration (firstclass passengers excluded) of 882,596, leaving a total net immigra­
tion for the forty-three years of 1,681,795. O f the 1,850,226 who
arrived in Argentina directly from ‘over sea, disregarding 714,165 per­
sons who came by way of Montevideo, 1,146,407, or about five-eighths,
were Italians, 340,696 Spaniards, 159,476 French, 33,610 English, 29,674
Austrian, 24,518 Swiss, 27,074 Germans, 18,965 Belgians, and 69,806
from other countries, (a) The net immigration during this period was
almost as great (97 per cent) as the total population of the country in
1869, and was about 43 per cent as great as the entire population in
1895. The attraction of Argentina consists in its very large area,
which is about two and one-third times that of Mexico, and its sparse
population, which is less than one-third that of Mexico, and the
great demands both for skilled and for unskilled labor, which the grow­
ing industry of that country requires. The advantage of Argentina
also consists in its almost exclusively European population and in the
absence of large masses of Indians with a low standard of life and an
apathy to progress; (5) while the density o f population in Mexico is
probably over 20 (officially 16.4 in 1895), that of Argentina is but 2.2,
and the population of the latter country could be multiplied nine-fold
before it attained the density of population of Mexico. In consequence,
Argentina affords the immense advantage “ in that the immigrant
immediately finds a good and secure position, no matter where, since
all parts of the republic are about equal and for some time have main­
tained a normal level.” (c) “ As a matter of fact, agricultural labor
engaged during the whole year (in Argentina) is paid 72 francs ($13.90)
gold per month and keep; the casual workers receive higher wages,
according to circumstances, either with or without keep.” (c) It may
easily be seen that these wages are far in excess of what are paid in
Mexico.
a Anuario de Estadfstica, 1899, Volume II, pages 155-157. Buenos Ayres, 1900.
b See Emilio Daireux, Vida y Costumbres en el Plata. Buenos Ayres and Paris, 1888.
See particularly chapter on Las Razas Destruidas. Also La Republique Argentine,
Wiener (Chas.), Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres. Paris, 1899.
c See report of the Mexican consul-general at Genoa, Italy, on La Emigration de
Italia, reproduced in El Economista Mexicano, Mexico, June 2, 1900.




LABOB .CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

85

In view of the small immigration of Europeans, to Mexico and the
imperious demands of tropical agriculture, the planters, constructors
of railways, and other employers of labor in Mexico have turned their
attention to China as the best source for obtaining large numbers of
unskilled laborers. Hitherto the immigration of Chinese has not been
very extensive or entirely successful, and it was particularly with the
object of facilitating immigration that a “ treaty of amity, trade, and
navigation between Mexico and China” was concluded in Washington,
December 14,1899, between the representatives of the Chinese and
Mexican governments in that city.(^) This treaty declared (article 4)
that “ the Chinese subjects shall be at liberty to travel through all the
territory of Mexico as long as they conduct themselves peaceably and
do not violate the laws and regulations of the country,” but that the
high contracting parties (article 5) “ disapprove of every act of violence
or trickery which might be committed in the ports of China, or any­
where else, for the purpose of expatriating Chinese subjects against
their will.” It also provided (article 12) that the engagement by con­
tract o f citizens or subjects of one country as laborers, servants, or the
like, in plantations, mills, shops, business establishments, or private
families in the other country, shall be subject to rules to be established
by mutual agreement between both high contracting parties. Accord­
ing to the same treaty Chinese subjects were granted the protection
of the Mexican courts on the same terms as Mexicans themselves, or
the subjects or citizens of the most favored foreign nation.
While the Mexican Government is thus clearing the way for a pos­
sible immigration of Chinese, there is, on the whole, a well-marked
tendency in certain quarters to deprecate a yellow invasion. “ To
populate our country with Chinese or with a larger number of Indians
would be of little value” (poco fruetuoso) says one author, on the
ground that the immigrants which come should be intelligent and
should act as a spur to the native workmen. (5) In another article from
La Re vista Economica y Financiera, published in La Paz, Bolivia,
and quoted in Mexico with apparent approbation, the question of
Chinese immigration is also treated in no favorable manner, (e) The effiaPublished in the Diario Oficial, July 24, 1900, and in the Boletfn Oficial de la
Secretarfa de Belaciones Exteriores, Volume X , No. 4, August 15, 1900. The treaty
was drawn up in Spanish, Chinese, and English.
bLas Necesidades de Nuestra Agricultura, cited on page 82.
c La Inmigracion Asiatica en America, El Economista Mexicano, Mexico, Febru­
ary 3, 1900, page 46. The author states that the need of hands in the departments of
Santa Cruz and Beni, in Bolivia, resulted in arbitrary measures to secure laborers for
the rubber plantations, and that since then the first colony of Japanese was intro­
duced. The Japanese colonists were held to be good, although proud ( altivo) but
rather dear, demanding £3 ($14.60) per month, with board and clothing. The
Chinese, on the other hand, are cheaper. The problem of Chinese immigration is
similar, in Mexico, to that which exists in Bolivia.




86

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

ciency of the Chinaman as a workman is not called into question in
these discussions, but it is generally considered that he will form an
undesirable element in the population, and that the native Indians will
be unable to compete with him. It is also feared, in certain quarters,
that the occasional flight of the Chinese from Mexico across the Rio
Grande might possibly lead to somewhat less cordial relations between
the United States and Mexico, owing to the fact that the immigration
of Chinese is prohibited in the United States, while the doors of
Mexico have been open to them. While not desiring to hazard a pre­
diction, evidences are not wanting which point to a larger emigration
of Chinese to the hot lands of Mexico in order to take over the work
of cultivating the soil.
A t all events, Asiatic emigration on a large scale will more likely
occur than will immigration from Europe, unless special inducements
are offered the latter. Despite the large demand for labor wages in
Mexico are very low, and the increasing demand for labor does not
seem to have had a proportional effect in increasing the remuneration
o f labor, when expressed in gold. The Mexican people appear to be
on the horns of a dilemma, since it appears that the large body of labor
can not improve until immigration takes place, and that immigration
can not take place until the condition of labor is improved, (a) What
may occur within twenty or thirty years can not now be foreseen, but
if it is desired, at the present time or in the immediate future, to attract
great bodies of European emigrants, it will be necessary to offer induce­
ments far more attractive than at present. To effect such a displace­
ment of labor it would be necessary for the Government to make free
gifts of land or else for the Government to defray the expense, or part
thereof, of the passage, and it would, above all, be necessary to estab­
lish a general agency and emigration bureau in various parts of Europe,
as is done by Chile, (i) The immigration to Chile is yet small, but
large sums are being expended with the idea of encouraging it.
While, however, no great immigration of unskilled labor may be
anticipated, it is probable that a certain number of foreign workmen
will always be in demand for the more skilled occupations. In the
Republic there is quite a number of Americans, Spaniards, French­
men, Germans, and Italians employed in occupations which require a
a This dilemma is somewhat similar to that which confronted the Mexican Govern­
ment a generation ago, when the railroads leading to the United States could not be
built without the country being richer and more peaceable and when the wealth
and security of the country could not be advanced without the railroads. In this
case the Government obviated the wThole difficulty by itself assuming the risks of the
operation in the form of a railroad guaranty. The analogy in the present case is
not difficult to find.
5For the Chilean attempts to induce immigration see Nicolas Vega, La Inmigracion
Europea en Chile, 1882 to 1895. Agencia General de Colonizacion del Gobierno de
Chile, Paris, 1896.



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

87

certain degree of skill, and the demand for such labor as can not
well be done by Mexicans, while not great, is at all events intense.
According to the reports of the Italian minister in Mexico, the field
fo r employment of comparatively cheap Italian labor is very good,
especially if the persons who go there, whether agriculturists, horti­
culturists, miners, railway employees, or persons engaged in trade, are
good workmen and specialists. The field, however, is not entirely
attractive, since the wages at start are not very high, and all reports
agree that no one should be encouraged to go to Mexico unless he is
satisfied to commence with a small salary and to endure discomforts, if
not privations, to which he may not have been accustomed at home.
There is demand, however, for mechanical operatives— blacksmiths,
masons, stonecutters, electricians, and other persons engaged in skilled
work of any sort.
The opportunities for skilled labor in Mexico are treated in a num­
ber of books, publications, and official reports. The most recent and
probably the best statement, however, is to be found in the excellent
reports o f the Italian minister in Mexico. He says that in order to
find work in Mexico it is advisable that every immigrant provide him­
self with a legal certificate of his good conduct. He especially warns
recent inmates o f prisons or poorhouses, or persons who are too old,
or who suffer from chronic diseases, from entering into a life which
will be full of fatigues, since such persons will probably be repatriated,
and become thereby a greater burden to the mother country. uAs a
result o f special circumstances, relating to recent events, the Italian
emigration has here lost much of the esteem” which it formerly
enjoyed. In Mexico the preference is for workmen from Venice,
Lombardy, and Piedmont. He warns intending emigrants o f the
necessary privations and troubles at first, and states specifically that
wine is dear, and that it is not easy to get it good and wholesome. I f
the intending emigrant is married, and his wife is a good housekeeper,
it will be an advantage to have her, especially if she is adept at wash­
ing, ironing, and sewing. Finally, he points out the success that will
attend immigrants who are honest, patient, industrious, economical,
and persevering, (a)
There can be no question as to the inadvisability o f Americans emi­
grating to Mexico in large numbers. All authorities agree that there
is no field in Mexico under present conditions for great numbers
o f Americans, and the consular representatives of the United States
have repeatedly warned Americans against going to Mexico without
money, without knowledge o f the country, and without the prospect
of a permanent and well-paid position. The difficulties presented by
a See Bolletino del Ministero degli Affari Esteri Parte Amministrativa e Notiziario.
Rome, January, 1899, August, 1900, January, 1901. See also Gli Italiani nel Messico, November, 1900.



88

BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

difference in language, race, traditions, and training may be overcome
by intelligent Americans, and where the competition is one of industry
and skill and not merely of wages the American is usually able to more
than hold his own with the native employee. While there are oppor­
tunities, however, for specially trained workmen, particularly where
they can obtain positions in advance, the opportunities for unskilled
labor are practically nil. The danger of going to Mexico without any
definite plans and merely with the desire to obtain unskilled work of
any sort can hardly be exaggerated.
CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY.
Generally speaking, labor in Mexico is cheap, inefficient, unintelli­
gent, and untrustworthy. Wages of labor are considerably lower
than those prevailing in western Europe, and very much lower than
those current in the United States. The natural aptitude of the Mexi­
can and even of the pure Indian is far from despicable, but the mass
of the population is untrained to economic thought or industrial action,
and there is a general apathy and disinclination to take thought of the
morrow and a general satisfaction with the prevailing low standard o f
life. The diet of the workman in Mexico is greatly restricted, both
in variety and amount, and in great masses of the population is so
deficient as to cause malnutrition and chronic anaemia. The agricul­
tural laborer is more particularly lacking in energy, and while his
endurance is great, his disposition is so lethargic, and there is so
studied a slowness about his movements, as to render his labor inef­
fective and consequently dear.
As a general rule, the Mexican workman is not skillful in the use
o f machinery, and although the race possesses great aptitude, it does
not seem to be preeminently successful in the invention or adoption
o f modern industrial methods. The intelligence of the laborer is in
many places at so low an ebb that work which could be more economic­
ally performed by machinery is frequently carried on expensively by
low-priced human labor. In some cases machinery has been intro­
duced and subsequently abandoned owing to the lack of skill of the
employees and the difficulties and delays in the way of having the
machines repaired. Even in purely manual labor, except in certain
special branches where they possess extraordinary skill, the workmen
are far from adept, and uneconomical methods are frequently con­
tinued in use owing to the traditional hold which they have upon the
population. The greatest drawback to Mexican labor, however, is
the low standard of life in the lower classes of the population. This,
although apparently improving at a slow rate, is not advancing with
sufficient rapidity to render comparison with conditions in western
Europe and the United States admissible. The food, clothing, and



LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

89

shelter absolutely required for the maintenance of life form, in many
parts of the country, no sufficient incentive for continued and strenu­
ous effort, and in some other portions of the country the food of the
human laborers is practically identical with that of the live stock, and
their shelter inferior. The influence of three centuries of Spanish
rule, during a large portion of which the native population was greatly
oppressed, has been in the direction of preventing the growth of a
Well-equipped industrial type and of ingraining into the Indian char­
acter certain defects, such as improvidence, proneness to drunkenness,
dissimulation, and petty thieving, which render them more or less
unfit as effective laborers.
The improvidence of a great proportion of Mexican labor is to be
observed more particularly in the tropical portions of that country,
and the unsteadiness of the labor there and the difficulty of obtaining
an adequate and regular supply have led to the existence of a system
of labor based upon the principle of indebtedness. This system, which
works to the complete satisfaction of neither peon nor planter, has not
been done away with owing to the difficulty of satisfying the demand
for labor in any other way. The result of this system is in some
respects similar to that of the adoption of legal slavery, since it rests
upon the principle of forced labor, requires a large expenditure of
money as an initial labor cost, robs the workman of initiative and
providence, and is quite expensive in the item of supervision.
The conditions which have been herein described are, however, now
changing. There was a gradual improvement during the Spanish
regime from the intolerable conditions existing immediately after the
conquest, and considerable progress had been, made by the beginning
of the nineteenth century. The acquisition of independence by the
Mexicans laid the basis for a still better condition of affairs, but little,
if any, direct benefit resulted immediately. The marked improvement
in the condition of the laboring class actually dates from the victory
of the Liberal party, and more particularly from the accession to the
Presidency of the present incumbent, Gen. Porfirio Diaz. Within the
last twenty-five years peace has been established on a stable basis,
security has been maintained, brigandage eradicated, interstate taxes
abolished, finances reformed, railroads constructed, and industry,
agriculture, and mining established on a stable, permanent basis.
Coincidentally with this material progress there has occurred in
Mexico a great advance in education and in everything pertaining to
the moral and intellectual advance of the people, and as a result of
this progress the condition of the laboring population throughout the
country has improved in security, in legal protection, in opportunities
for labor, in regularity of employment, and in the amount of wages.
Perhaps the most potent single factor in improving the condition of
labor has been the introduction of railways. The influence so exerted



90

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

has been manifold: First, in stimulating mining, agriculture, and manu­
facturing by establishing foreign markets and thus creating a demand
fo r labor; second, by strengthening the central government and secur­
ing to the laborer in greater measure the protection of the law; third,
by permitting the employee to change his place of residence, and con­
sequently his master, whenever a better opportunity presents itself to
him. The introduction of railways has still further influenced work­
men by spreading information o f the outer world and breaking up the
narrow provincialism of small rural centers, and, lastly, by creating an
immediate demand for labor throughout the regions traversed. The
wages of agricultural labor are higher in sections of the country
reached by railroads, both on these accounts and on account of the
higher price o f food products which prevail. In consequence of the
railroad there has grown to be, in many parts o f the plateau, so
great a demand for labor that wages have risen accordingly and the
condition of the laborer has been improved.
The general bettering of the condition of labor has been twofold:
First, the gradual, almost imperceptible, raising of the general level;
second, the change from unskilled to skilled labor and the selection o f
persons for the higher grade and higher class occupations. Just to
what extent the general level has risen it is somewhat difficult to state.
It is claimed by one authority that u the peon or Mexican day laborer
has advanced much more than the same class in various European
countries from the French Revolution until the middle of our (the
nineteenth) century,” and he mentions Ireland, Italy, and Spain as the
most patent examples. On the other hand, the American minister,
Mr. M. W . Ransom, stated that, as compared with ten years before, it
might “ safely be stated that, as regards skilled labor, there has been
a slight increase both in the amount paid and in the demand, while, as
regards unskilled labor, the conditions may be said to be substantially
the same.” (a)
From such statistics as we possess, faulty as they are, it would
appear that the money wages o f even the lowest paid employees have
advanced during the last twenty years, when expressed in silver. If
expressed in gold, the wages would show an absolute decrease for the
whole country; but it must be remembered that prices have not by
any means fully reacted to the depreciation o f silver and that gold
wages are therefore not determinate. The increase of wages, how­
ever, when reduced to a silver basis, is not decisive, although there
are many portions of the country in which such an advance has been
perfectly clear.
The second method by which laboring conditions have been improved
is by the change from unskilled to skilled labor and by the attraction
a See Money and Prices in Foreign Countries, etc., Volume X I I I , Washington, 1896.
Report by M. W . Ransom, United States minister, on Mexico, pages 111-150.




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

91

o f labor to manufacturing. This has been almost in the nature of a
capillary attraction, since the number of persons who have engaged
in more or less skilled occupations is small in proportion to the total
population of the country. The cardinal feature of labor is still its
great and undue preponderance of unskilled labor, which is a sign of
a low industrial development. The displacement of this unskilled by
skilled labor, however, as a result of the introduction of machinery,
can be shown in both a positive and a negative manner—positively, in
the increase of skilled labor; negatively, in the partial or complete
cessation of various forms of socially unprofitable labor. The growth
of manufacture is an evidence of this evolution and is, in turn, aiding
that development. Every year new industries spring up, including
cotton mills, workshops and foundries of all sorts, breweries, etc., to
say nothing of railways themselves, which call into requisition large
numbers of skilled employees, while other occupations formerly requir­
ing large bodies of men are now falling into desuetude. The occupa­
tion of carriers between different States still employs many men, but
the demand is not comparable with that of former years, especially in
view of the immense increase in internal commerce. The burro, or
donkey, still competes with the railroads on short distances, but for a
long haul the steam horse easily outruns its humble competitor, and
the muleteer is now relegated to a lesser sphere of activity and a lower
position in the national economy. The driver of the mule car is slowly
giving way to the trained motorman, and before long the vast army
o f cargadores, or porters, will go the way which in other cities has
been trod by the lenadores and aguadores—the “ hewers of wood and
drawers of water.”
While this displacement of unskilled by skilled laborers is necessary
to the economic and political progress of Mexico, and an indispensable
condition of its future healthful evolution, it is naturally a matter of
public policy not to permit the development to proceed too rapidly,
since the powers of adaptation of the great uneducated masses are
small, and the sudden displacement and enforced nonemployment of
great bodies of men would work social harm and might possibly evoke
political disturbances. The administration, however, is steadily pro­
moting a gradual change in this direction, and an intelligent body of
skilled laborers is growing up and contending with foreigners for the
better paid positions. This development can be clearly perceived
working itself out in wage contests. While at their inception most
new enterprises import their skilled labor or draw it from the resi­
dent population o f foreign birth, it is not a long while before the
high-priced foreigner is displaced by the native workman. The
natives are frequently considered less reliable in ordinary times, but
are usually more docile and subordinate, not unintelligent, and are
willing to work for less pay than that demanded by foreign workmen.



92

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In Mexico it may be said that the improvement in the conditions
and remuneration of labor have been a result rather of outside influ­
ences than of any agitation or combined effort on the part of the
employees, and the indications for the immediate future point to
the same influences working in the same .direction. A class con­
sciousness on the part of the great mass of workers, whether agricul­
tural or industrial, can hardly be said to exist in the Republic, and no
representation of such a class is sought in the arbitration of wages or
in the councils of the nation. There is no conflict between labor and
capital, no wage contest on a large scale between organized employees
and employers of large masses of labor. Both wages and other con­
ditions of labor are still largely a matter of tradition, and the improve­
ment that is taking place appears to be due almost entirely to forces
outside the great masses of workmen themselves.
The great levers by which the labor of the country can be raised to
a higher level are universal education, both academic and industrial,
European immigration, and the introduction of machinery. The
national government has already made great sacrifices in the cause
of education and has devoted much time and money to the furtherance
of this aim. Laws making education compulsory have been passed
and schools established in all parts of the country, and, while free
compulsory education has not yet been rigorously carried into effect,
progress in this line has been very great. The number of scholars is
rapidly increasing, and the effect, both on the literacy of the popula­
tion and its general adaptability for work of a high grade, is being
increasingly felt.
The introduction of machinery is also effecting a change in the
character of labor by supplanting the unskilled workman by one pos­
sessing greater skill. The importance of such a change must be felt
to a greater extent in agriculture than in any other industry, since at
the present time Mexico is, and probably for an indefinite period to
come mulst continue to be, a country preponderatingly engaged in the
cultivation of the soil. The peon, frequently of pure Indian blood,
shows a surprising tenacity in his adherence to old and bad methods
of cultivating, and it is a common complaint that the administrators
and representatives of absentee owners of haciendas do not take up
with modern improvements as rapidly as might be desired. While
the crude methods, however, still prevail, the importation of agricul­
tural machinery, especially of American make, is increasing by leaps
and bounds, and the substitution of machinery for hand labor is mak­
ing progress. Its introduction, however, is largely handicapped by
the high price of fuel, which has hindered, to an extent which is hard
to appreciate, a rapid improvement in labor conditions. With labor
at its present cost and with fuel at a very high price, the advantage of




LABOR CONDITIONS IN MEXICO.

93

using machinery is not so great as it would otherwise be. (a) In Mexico
the question is frequently one of coal versus corn, or, in other words,
of food for machines or of food for men, and in a vast number of cases
where machinery would be used in the United States the work is still
performed by human labor. The result of this state of affairs, as is
evidenced by the rate of wages, is a tremendous waste and misapplica­
tion of human labor. The tendency, however, is evidently in the
direction of an increase in machinery, both in agricultural and indus­
trial pursuits, and the substitution of fuel-driven machines for the
work of muscles, while, at the same time, industry is becoming organ­
ized on a larger and consequently more economical scale.
The industrial progress of Mexico, which it is here impossible to
sketch, is so marked that the demand for new and more efficient labor,
which is already increasing, will inevitably continue to grow. The
progress of the laboring class would appear to be far better assured
by an increasing demand for labor of a high degree of efficiency than
by mere insufficiency of labor of a low grade, such as exists in certain
tropical agricultural regions of the country.
The question of European immigration is rendered somewhat diffi­
cult by the low rate of wages now prevailing. Until these wages
increase, or until special advantages are offered to prospective emi­
grants sufficiently attractive to cause them to prefer Mexico to other
portions of Latin America, immigration from Europe will not be great.
With the advance in industry, however, a slow and gradual progress
will be made in this direction, and immigration of skilled workmen
and the building up of a body of efficient workers at home will take
place; and this development, although slow at first, will be increas­
ingly rapid. No great immigration of Europeans can be expected,
however, until wages have advanced to a higher point. The question
of Asiatic immigration is one of an entirely different nature, and if
immigration of this nature takes place on a large scale it will be for
the purpose of increasing the labor supply rather than with the idea
of improving it. The conditions are very different in Mexico from
those existing in the United States, and it is somewhat difficult to pre­
dict the exact result of the importation of coolies to the hot lands of
Mexico. The problem of Asiatic immigration is one of race inter­
mixture or race contests, but it seems probable that unless the tropical
labor problem becomes easier in the future there will be a strong
a In the City of Mexico the price of bituminous coal of good quality averages
about $20 per ton, or about 9 mills per pound. The wages of unskilled labor such as
that, for instance, employed in digging sewers, amount to 62J cents, so that taking
the single item of fuel alone, the daily wages of one man are equal to the price of
only about 70 pounds of coal. In a Northern city of the United States the wages of
an unskilled laborer would amount, roughly speaking, to the wholesale price of over
1,000 pounds of bituminous coal. This comparison is rough, but perhaps suggestive.

1110—No. 38—02----- 7



M

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

demand on the part of many planters to introduce vast bodies o f Asiatic
workmen.
Upon the whole the most encouraging view of Mexican labor is to
be obtained by considering not the actual conditions, but the probable
effect o f tendencies now at work. These tendencies appear to be almost
entirely in the direction of an improvement in the conditions of the
laboring population, and while the progress which has been made has
been exaggerated by many writers, and while the real wages of the
population have not increased as rapidly as many persons have stated,
there can be no doubt that all the tendencies at work are favoring the
growth of an independent and intelligent working class. The indis­
pensable condition to its future progress is peace and a strong, intel­
ligent government. The progress which has been made has been
achieved in less than a generation, and although the work of uplifting
the whole population to the standard of western Europe is a herculean
task, the progress already made renders it not improbable that the
result will be achieved.




THE NEGROES OF CINCLARE CENTRAL FACTORY AND CALUMET
PLANTATION, LOUISIANA.
BY J. BRADFORD LAWS.

The present study was suggested by those made under the direction
of the United States Commissioner of Labor, 44A series of investiga­
tions of small, well-defined groups of Negroes, In various parts of the
country,” as set forth in Bulletin No. 14 of the Department of Labor,
January, 1898.
The localities chosen for study were Cinclare Central Factory and
Calumet Plantation. They are regarded as representative of the con­
ditions on all the sugar plantations in Louisiana. The two places are,
however, quite differently situated both as to geographical position and
conditions. In order to understand better the local conditions a brief
sketch of each neighborhood is desirable.
CINCLARE CENTRAL FACTORY.
Cinclare Central Factory is located at Cinclare, West Baton Rouge
Parish, La., on the west bank of the Mississippi River and about 5
miles below Baton Rouge, the capital of the State. The cultivation of
sugar cane, cotton, and some rice, and a little stock raising, are the
only occupations of the inhabitants of West Baton Rouge Parish.
The plantation has about 1 mile frontage on the river and is about
4 miles in depth. About two-thirds of this land is in cultivation.
Besides Cinclare plantation proper there are two plantations, known
as Cinclare additions, which together are about one-half the size of
Cinclare plantation and about 1 mile distant, are owned by the same
proprietor, and are under the same management. These two places
are included in all cases in this investigation as part of Cinclare Central
Factory and its plantation. Silvery plantation, about 7 miles farther
up the river and about 5 miles inland, is also included as part of
Cinclare Central Factory and its plantation unless otherwise stated.
All these places are sugar plantations and all send their sugar cane,
when cut, to the factory at Cinclare, where it is ground and manu­
factured into sugar.
Cinclare Central Factory, as its name implies, is a central factory,
only one-fifth of the cane which is ground there being raised on the
place, the rest coming from different plantations within a radius of
about 75 miles by the Texas and Pacific Railroad, which runs through
Cinclare. The factory is one of the largest and best-equipped modern



95

96

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

sugar factories in the State. This somewhat changes the character of
the population, as there are more men working in or about the factory
than if it were a plantation factory and not a central factory. About
80 per cent of the population of Cinclare are Negroes, the manager,
overseers, engineers, and skilled workmen and their families being the
only white persons on the place.
CALUMET PLANTATION.
Calumet plantation is in Parish St. Mary, La., on Bayou Teche,
about 4 miles from Patterson. Patterson is the chief city of the par­
ish and the center of the lumbering industry for that district. Lum­
bering and the cultivation of sugar cane are the chief occupations of
the inhabitants of the parish.
Calumet is a true plantation, all the cane that is ground in the sugarhouse being raised on the place, except in exceptional cases, so that
here there are more field hands and fewer factory hands employed
than at Cinclare.
The character of the Negroes, who compose about 90 per cent of the
total population o f Calumet plantation, is also different from that of
the Negroes of Cinclare. At Calumet a few of the old French Negroes
and some of their descendants are still found. It is .said that the dan­
gerous Negroes from all parts of the South were brought to the Teche
and sold there during slavery times, as such constituted Jhe low-priced
Negroes demanded by the Teche planters, whose overseers were a
peculiarly fearless lot. I f this be so, it means that a large proportion
of the present Negroes there are from bad stock, and this must be
taken into account when comparing them with the population of the
rest of the State. There have been no great number of colored people
permanently imported since the civil war—only a few each from Ten­
nessee, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
The Negroes of Cinclare, on the other hand, are of the ordinary run
of Negro stock and not descendants of a particularly vicious lot.
Migration is easier, also, on the Mississippi River, and the Negroes are
not so confined to one district as on the Teche, where about the only
means of communication with the rest of the State is by the Southern
Pacific Railroad.
For purposes of comparison and because of the excellence of the plan,
this study follows as nearly as possible the order o f the study of The
Negroes o f Farmville, Va., by Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, Department of
Labor Bulletin, No. 14; that of The Negroes of Sandy Spring, M d.,by
Dr. W . T. Thom, Department of Labor Bulletin, No. 32, and that of
The Negroes of Litwalton, Va., by Dr. W . T. Thom, Department of
Labor Bulletin, No. 37.
The materials for this study were collected by the writer in July and
August, 1900, and are supplemented and corrected by some data
obtained in April, 1901. Having special advantages and being known



NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

97

to the Negroes, he had no trouble in collecting the necessary data,
except that the Negroes were a little shy at first, not knowing to what
use the data were intended to be put.
The following questions were asked each Negro:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Head of family (name) ?
Number in family?
Relation to head of family?
Sex?
Race?
Age (nearest birthday)?
Conjugal condition?
Place of birth?

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Able to read or write?
Occupation?
Wages per day?
Mother of how many children?
Number of children now living?
First child?
Whereabouts of children?
Defective?

There was little difficulty in obtaining answers to all the questions
except the fifth, which many were unable to answer, partly for the reason
that some of them had been slaves and, for purposes of trade, had not
been allowed to know their age. Still it is thought that they answered
as well as a body of whites could who were equally illiterate. The
ninth and tenth questions were obtained from the books of the
employers, so those results are perfectly accurate.
There are no special exceptions to make so as to put the figures on
the same basis as those for Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and Farmville.
AGE, SEX, AND BIRTHPLACE OF NEGRO POPULATION.
The total number of Negroes of whom record was taken was 301,
located as follows:
Cinclare and additions.................................................................................
Silvery...............................................................................................................................................
Calumet.............................................................................................................................................

57
99

T o ta l........................................................................................................................................ 301

Quite a number of those who were working on the plantations at
the time did not live there and they are not included in this investigation.
Taking the Negroes of Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet as shown in the
following table, we find that there are 181 males and 120 females—a pro­
portion of 663 females to 1,000 males. This is 147.2 females per 1,000
males, or over 18 per cent, less than the showing for Litwalton, where
the proportion of 810.2 females to every 1,000 males was considered
remarkable. It likewise shows a very different order of things as
compared with Sandy Spring, where there were 1,053 females to every
1.000 males, and Farmville, where there were 1,048 females to every
1.000 males, and is very much below the general average for the United
States, 952.8 females to every 1,000 males.
It must, however, be remembered that these observations were
taken at the time of year when the number of laborers employed is
the smallest, and that the families usually on the places were not all
there. The figures indicate a large immigration of males, and this is



98

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

only natural, for they are the only ones who can find work on the
plantations in the months of July and August, which are near the end
of the cultivating season and before the grinding season. The Negroes
are migrating or cultivating their own little patches of ground during
that season also. The women are at their homes in other parts of the
State, and in fact migrate almost as much as the men, moving from
place to place at their own pleasure, for few of them have very bind­
ing ties. This migration of both sexes is becoming more and more
noticeable, and will undoubtedly play a large part in the future of the
race.
The following is a table of the number of Negroes, by sex and age
periods:
NUMBER OF NEGROES ON CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET PLANTATIONS, FROM
WHOM REPORTS WERE OBTAINED, BY AGE PERIODS AND SEX, 1900.
Males.

Age periods.
Under 1 ye a r...........
1 to 9 years...............
10 to 19 years............
20 to 29 years...........
Srt +r> SQ voara
40 to 49 years...........

Females.

Total.
4
52

3
28
26
32
4
5

1

24
40
53
25
13

Age periods.

66

85
29
18

Males.

50 to 59 years..........
60 to 69 years.. . . . .
70 to 79 years..........
Age not reported..
Total...............

Total.

Females.
2
1

4

16

19

35

181

120

301

2

5

6
2

2

Over 10 per cent of the Negroes did not report their age, which is a
much larger percentage than in either Litwalton, Sandy Spring, or
Farmville. A good many of these were undoubtedly over 50 years of
age. Some who had been slaves were never allowed to know their
age and others could not remember. There are 116 males of voting
age. For sake of comparison the tables for Litwalton, Sandy Spring,
and Farmville are added:
NEGROES ON CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET PLANTATIONS, AND IN LITWALTON,
V A., SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE, V A., FROM WHOM REPORTS WERE OB­
TAINED, BY AGE PERIODS AND SEX.
[This table does not include 65 persons at Sandy Spring and 75 at Farmville, mostly women in
domestic service.]
Cinclare, Silvery,
and Calumet, 1900.

Litwalton, 1901.

Sandy Spring, 1899.

Farmville, 1897.

Age periods.
Males.
Under 1 year..
1 to 9 years.. . .
10 to 19 years..
20 to 29 years..
30 to 39 years..
40 to 49 years..
50 to 59 years..
60 to 69 years..
70 to 79 years..
80 to 89 years..
90 to 100 years.
100 years or
over...............
Age not re­
ported ..........
T o ta l....

Fe­ Total.
Fe­
Males.
Males. Fe­ Total. Males. Fe­ Total.
males.
males. Total.
males.
males.
3
28
26
32
4
5

1

24
40
53
25
13
2

2
1

5
2

4
52
66

85
29
18
4
6
2

2

43
52
42
20
21
12
10

3

4
45
42
23
21

16
9
3
4

2

6
88

8

21

125
107
47
41
40
27

13
7

21
8

94
65
41
37

2

3
1

17
124
112

61
45
34
22

17
8
8
1

25
249
219
108

12

12

150
147

74
49
38
16

127
182
87
53
47
44
23
14

11
2

8
1

86

101

67
55
52
24
15
3

1

24
277
329
188
120
102

96
47
29
6
1
1

16

19

35

9

8

17

8

10

18

4

1

5

181

120

301

216

175

391

436

459

895

598

627

1,225




NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

99

From this table the percentages in different age periods are com­
puted and an opportunity is given to compare these with the ones
obtained for Litwalton, Sandy Spring, Farmville, the Negro popula­
tion of the United States, the whole population of the .United States,
and the populations of three foreign countries:
PER CENT IN DIFFERENT AGE PERIODS OF NEGROES ON CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND
CALUMET PLANTATIONS, IN LITWALTON, VA., SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE,
V A., AND OF TOTAL POPULATION IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES.
Colored Total
Negroes
of Cin- Negroes Negroes Negroes popula­ popula­
of
clare,
of Farm­ tion of tion of
Silvery, of Lit­ Sandy
the
the
ville.
and Cal­ walton. Spring.
United United
umet.
States.a States.

Age periods.

Under 10 years —
10 to 19 years..........
20 to 29 years.........
30 to 39 years..........
40 to 49 years..........
50 to 59 years..........
60 to 69 years..........
70 years or over___

21.05
24.81
31.96
10.90
6.77
1.50
2.26
.75

26.37
25.07
16.97
10.71
9.66
5.48
3.39
2.35

31.24
24.97
12.31
9.81
8.44
5.59
4.33
3.31

24.57
26.86
15.35
9.79
8.32
7.84
3.84
3.43

28.22
25.18
17.40
11.26
7.89
4.92

10 0.00

1 0 0.00

10 0.00

100.00

Population of—
Ger­
many.

Ireland. France.

24.2
20.7
16.2
12.7
10.4
7.8
5.2

2.25

24.28
21.70
18.25
13.48
9.45
6.38
3.94
2.52

2 .8

4.5

7.6
5.0

10 0.00

10 0.00

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .0

1 0 0 .0

2 .8 8

2 0 .8

23.4
16.2
1 0 .8

9.8
8.5
6 .0

17.5
17.4
16.3
13.8
12.3
1 0 .1

a Persons of Negro descent, Chinese, Japanese, and civilized Indians.

Here again is a very clear example of the immigration of Negroes,
especially between the ages of 20 and 40, the most active part of life
and the most desirable age on plantations. As in Sandy Spring and
Farmville, the number of children under 15 years of age is increased
by the habit parents or widowed persons have of going off and leaving
their children with grandparents or relatives, to be taken care of while
they roam around to their heart’s desire.
The following statistics as to place of birth show that 248 were born
within the State and 53, or 17.6 per cent, without the State:
Louisiana...................................................... 248
Mississippi.................................................. 23
V irgin ia......................................................
8
T e x a s ..........................................................
5
Kentucky....................................................
4
Tennessee....................................................
3
Georgia........................................................
3
Alabama......................................................
2

North Carolina. . .
South Carolina . . .
Maryland...............
United States of
A m erica.............

...................................
...................................
...................................
Colombia, South
......... .........................

2
1
1
1

T o ta l........... ................................... 301

During the grinding season, when more labor is employed, the pro­
portion of those born outside the State is greatly increased by the
immigration of extra laborers from the neighboring States and even
from greater distances.
CONJUGAL CONDITION, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS.
In the following table of the 137 males over 15 years of age who
reported, 38, or 27.74 per cent, were single; 89, or 64.96 per cent,
were married, and 6, or 4.38 per cent, were widowed. The remaining
4, or 2.92 per cent, reported themselves as permanently separated from



100

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,

their wives. There were 80 women over 15 years of age reported,
of whom 18, or 22.50 per cent, were single; 50, or 62.50 per cent,
were married; 5, or 6.25 per cent, were widowed, and 7, or 8.75 per
cent, were permanently separated. Of the males and females reported
as separated there was not a single case of legal divorce.
CONJUGAL CONDITION, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, OF THE NEGROES OF CINCLARE,
SILVERY, AND CALUMET, 1900.
Males.
Age periods.
Single. Married.
15 to 19 years..........
20 to 29 years..........
30 to 89 years..........
40 to 49 years.........
50 to 59 years..........
60 to 69 years.........
70 to 79 years..........
Age not reported. .

21

T otal.............

14
1

Females.

Wid­
owed.

35
23

Sepa­
rated.

2

Wid­
owed.

Single. Married.

2
1

11

6

5

23
4
5

12
2

1

3

2

2

2
12

1

1

2

11

38

89

6

4

18

50

Total.

Sepa­
rated.

1

38
85
29
18
4

4

2

35

5

7

217

4
.

1
1

6
2

CONJUGAL CONDITION, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, OF THE NEGROES OF LITWALTON, V A.,
SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE, VA.
1901.

L IT W A L T O N ,

Males.
Age periods.

Wid­
owed.

33

8

1

1
2
1

16
17
9

3

Single.
15 to 19 years..........................
20 to 29 years..........................
30 to 39 years..........................
40 to 49 years..........................
50 to 59 years..........................
60 to 69 years..........................
70 to 79 years..........................
80 to 89 years..........................
90 years or o v e r .....................
Age not reported...................

22

T otal..............................

59

Sepa­
rated.

2
2

1
1

1
1

64

5
2

1

24
34
37
24
16
6
2

7

2

S P R IN G ,

1
2

3
1

Total..............................

*77

to 19 years _........................
20 to 29 years..........................
30 to 89 years _........................
40 to 49 years » ___________
50 to 59 year’s _____ _________
60 fo 69 years_______ _______
70 to 79 years - _____ _____80 to 89 years
.... ........OOvoflrs nr over
Age not reported . , __ __

79
55

1
1

1

1

T otal..............................

147

178

14

8

P A R M Y IL L E ,

3
2
1

2

2

Total.

41
65
41
37
21

13
7

2

3

2

.

2

2

24

65

30

3
40
39
28
16

4
8

2

1

1
1
2

231

1899.

1
2

20

1
2
1

2

5

11
2
1

4
4
5

1

6

7

7

2

3

59

143

71
44

3
51
49
30
32
9
4

81
108
86

74
49
38
16
11
2

1

2

6

1

1

1

145

Sepa­
rated.

19
1
1

48
21

1
20

Wid­
owed.

9

3
1

Mar­
ried.

12

10

A g e r i o t r e p o r t e d ......... ...................




Single.
18

SANDY

15 to 19 years..........................
20 to 29 years..........................
30 to 39 years..........................
40 to 49 years..........................
50 to 59 years..........................
60 to 69 years..........................
70 to 79 years..........................
80 to 89 years..........................
90 years or o v e r .....................

Females.

Mar­
ried.

7
28

5

472

3

3

153
187

6
22

2

1897.

3

28
46
37
30

3
7

3
4

20
12

2
1

i

1

10

3

17
14

3
3
1

11

3

126

178

76

95
47
29
6
2
8

1
12

120
101

12

743

NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

101

For comparison, the following table of the conjugal condition of the
Negroes of Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet, of Litwalton, Sandy
Spring, and Farmville, and of several foreign countries is inserted.
The table includes persons of 15 years of age or over.
CONJUGAL CONDITION OF THE NEGROES OF CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET, OF
LITWALTON, VA., SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE, VA., AND OF THE POPULA­
TIONS OF VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES, BY SEX.
[The per cents for Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet, and for Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and Farmville
are computed from schedules; those for foreign countries are taken from Mayo-Smith’s statistics and
sociology. The figures for divorced are not shown for the foreign countries. This table does not
include 65 persons at Sandy Spring and 75 at Farmville, mostly women in domestic service.]
Per cent of males 15 years of
age or over.

Per cent of females 15 years
of age or over.

Civil division.

Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet.................
Tilt,wait,on.......................................................
Sandy Spring..................................................
Efl.rmyillfi.................................................. .....
Erfl.nc.ft............... ........... ...............................
frcrrirmny......................................................
Great Britain .......................... .....................
Hungary ...............................- .......................
Ireland...................................................... .
Ttfl.ly r....................................................'..........

Single.

Married.

27.7
44.7
32.5
41.9
36.0
40.9
39.5
31.5
49.3
40.9

65.0
48.5
61.2
50.7
56.5
53.7
54.9
63.7
44.8
53.1

o Also 2.9 per cent separated.
Also 8 .8 per cent separated.
c Also 1.5 per cent separated.
d Also 2 per cent separated.

Wid­
owed.

Single.

Married.

22.5
24.2
25.1
32.1
30.0
36.5
37.3

62.5
65.7
60.9
45.4
55.3
50.8
50.9
62.8
42.1
53.2

ft4.4
c5.3
aSA
/4 .0
7.5
5.3
5.6
4.7
5.9
6 .0

2 2 .0

43.5
33.2

Wid­
owed.
6 6 .2

d 8 .1
e ll. 9
919 A
14.7
12.4
1 1 .8

15.0
14.4
13.6

e Also 2.1 per cent separated.
/A ls o 3.4 per cent separated.
g Also 3.1 per cent separated.

6

In the following table the conjugal condition of the Negroes of
Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet is compared with that of the Negroes
of Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and Farmville, and with that of the
entire population of the United States. Only persons of 20 years of
age or over are included.
CONJUGAL CONDITION OF THE NEGROES OF CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET, OF
LITWALTON, VA ., SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE, V A., AND OF THE POPULA­
TION OF THE UNITED STATES, BY SEX.
[The per cents for Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet, and for Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and Farmville
are computed from schedules; those foi the United States are taken from the United States census of
1890. This table does not include 65 persons at Sandy Spring and 75 at Farmville, mostly women in
domestic service.]
Per cent of males 20 years of age
or over.

Per cent of females 20 years of age
or over.

Civil division.
Single. Married.
Cinclare, Silvery, and Calu­
met .........................................
Litwalton.................................
Sandy Spring..........................
Farmville.................................

14.66
33.64
15.35
25.00

United States:
Native whites, native
parents..........................
Native whites, foreign
parents..........................
Foreign whites.................
Negroes..............................
Total United States. . .

30.95

a Separated.




Wid­
owed.

Di­
vorced.

a 3.45
a 1.82
a 3.70
o4.41

Single. Married.

76.72
58.18
76.72
65.44

5.17
6.36
4.23
5.15

28.54

66.08

4.74

6.64

48.82
28. Ofe
25.01

48.65
65.93
69.02

2.25
5.51
5.40

6.28
6.50
6.57

63.83

4.65

6.57

19.92

Wid­
owed.

Di­
vorced.

69.84
80.00
69.31
55.03

13.86
23.90

18.75

67.88

12.79

6.58

34.83
15.39
15.71

58.76
68.05
65.02

6 .0 2

16.21
18.41

6.39
6.35
6 .8 6

66.35

13.19

6.54

11 .1 1

7.50
14.36
17.30

b Including unknown.

7.94
1 0 .0 0

o i l. 11
02.50
02.47
a 3.77

102

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

As seen in these last few tables the conjugal condition of the Negroes
of Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet presents some very marked contrasts
to that of the Negroes of Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and Farmville. The
number of single men and women of Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet
over 15 years of age is very much less in proportion than of either Lit­
walton, Sandy Spring, or Farmville. In Litwalton the number of
single men between 20 and 30 was nearly four times the number in the
same age period who were or had been married; in Farmville the num­
ber of single men in this age period was not far from double the
number of those who were or had been married; in Sandy Spring the
number of single and married in the same period was about equal;
while at Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet the number of single men
was less than one-half the number of men in the same age period who
were married. The influences of city life being absent, we would
expect to find this the case. Of those whose age was reported there
was but one unmarried person 30 years of age or over. But while the
per cent of single males and females is less it does not by any means
follow that illicit sexual intercourse is any the less. In fact the con­
ditions were found to be very much worse than those reported from
either Sandy Spring or Farmville. There is no aspiration for social
position to raise them and to have the good effect that the writer of
the Farmville article thinks it is having on the Negroes of that place.
He says 64no black girl of the town can have an illegitimate child
without being shut off from the best class of people and looked at
askance by ordinary folks. ” {a) This is not at all the case at Cinclare
or Calumet, where there are numerous children, known by all to be
illegitimate, and yet this condition of affairs is considered and spoken
of as a matter of course. To compute the per cent of illegitimacy
would, however, be practically impossible. Legal marriage is not con­
sidered absolutely necessary. Of 40 couples at Cinclare who reported
themselves as married, and who were known well by the head over­
seer, only 20 were legally married in the church or by the civil author­
ities. This would indicate that only 50 per cent of the married per­
sons, so reported, were legally married. Those who have had long
experience with the Negroes of the plantation state that even this figure
is too high. Cohabitation is the rule. Even when they are legally
married (and this is generally done after a period of cohabitation and
under religious excitement), they soon forget their vows and, if the
impulse strikes them, they separate and live with someone more to
their liking. Numerous cases are seen of two persons legally mar­
ried and yet each living with a different person and reporting as being
married to the second. A legal divorce is practically unknown
among the plantation Negroes. For all these reasons too much stress
must not be laid on the figures on the conjugal condition of the Negroes
a See Department of Labor Bulletin No. 14, page 38.



103

NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

of Cinclareand Calumet; and yet they are thought to be representative
of the plantation Negroes of the far South.
The following table shows the number of children born to each o f
the 80 females who returned answers, and the number of children still
living;
NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH FEMALE 15 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER REPORTING AT
CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET,, AND NUMBER STILL LIVING, 1900.
Females 15 to 19 Females 20 to 29 Females 30 to 39 Females 40 years Females, age not
years of age.
years of age.
of age or over.
years of age.
reported.
Children of
Chil­
Chil­
Chil­
Chil­
Chil­
•each
Fe­ Chil­ dren Fe­ Chil­ dren Fe­ Chil­ dren Fe­ Chil­ dren Fe­ Chil­ dren
female. males dren. liv­ males dren. liv­ males dren.; liv­ males dren.
liv­ males dren. liv­
ing.
ing.
ing.
ing.
ing.
N on e..
1 ..........
2 .........
3 . . ___
4..........
5..........
6 .........
7..........
8 ..........
9..........
10 ..........
1 1 .........
12 ..........
13.........
14..........
15..........
16.........

11
2

4

7
2
8

1

5

11
6

4
2
1
1

1
11
12
12
8

5
6

9
9
6
6
2
6

1

1
2

1
1

6

9 .

5

1

4

2

6
8

3
5

5

3

15

6

7

3

1
1

8

$
7

3

30

15

1
1

12

1

13

5

3
1

1

2
1
2
2
2

2

8

5
1
1

1
2

11
12

15
32

10
10

6

17

Of these 80 women 58 have had children, These 58 have had 268
children, or an average of 1.62 per woman, of which 151, or 57.5 per
cent, are still living. In 31 cases out o f the 58, or 59 per cent, the first
child is living. A ll those who were questioned on this subject, and
who have lived with the Negroes all their lives, stated that the birth
rate is diminishing rapidly and that stillbirths and miscarriages are
becoming much more common.
As in the case o f Sandy Spring, no facts were brought out in the
investigation which indicated an actual miscegenation in progress
between the two races, but concubinage is not so unknown.
The proportion of the Negroes of mixed blood is of course very
difficult to determine. A record was kept o f the personal appearance
of all the Negroes recorded, and, as nearly as could be judged, 261
were apparently o f unmixed Negro blood, while 10, or 13.3 per cent,
showed traces of white blood. This percentage is very small in com­
parison with the figures for Litwalton, where the percentage of mixed
blood was estimated to be not less than 75 per cent; for Sandy Spring,
where it was estimated at from 30 to 60 per cent; and for Farmville,
where it was estimated at from 30 to 50 per cent. But on the other
hand it must be remembered that Cinclare is very much farther South,
nearer the “ Black Belt,” and also that the overseers prefer a Negro
o f unmixed blood for work on the plantations, and that this influences




104

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

their choice of hands. The figure is moreover at best only an estimate,
and undoubtedly would show a large error if the real facts could be
known.
SCHOOLS AND ILLITERACY.
Cinclare has no school of its own for the Negroes, but they can
attend the parish public school about 1 mile from Cinclare. Only
about 30 children, or considerably less than 25 per cent, do attend
from Cinclare, as there is no compulsory attendance. School is open
eight months in the year.
A t Calumet the facilities are little better. The school is held in the
church building, which is at the geographical center of the place. The
teacher (colored female) was educated in New Orleans, and seems
interested in her work, and up to date in methods. She receives $20
per month, whereas the teacher in the white public school receives $40
per month. The school is free except that each family represented
there must pay $1 per annum for the purpose of defraying incidental
expenses. The parish superintendent requires the teacher to drop all
in arrears, but this rule is ignored in the white school. Only about 20
children, or less than 10 per cent, attend, the small attendance being
chiefly due to indifference to the advantages of education and to the
required payment of the dollar. The colored school is open four and
the white eight months in the year. As at Cinclare, there is no compul­
sory attendance. The opportunities for education at both places are
far better than they used to be, }ret very few take advantage of them.
The following table shows the literates and illiterates by age periods.
There was a little difficulty in getting answers to the question whether
they were able to read or write, or both. For this reason, those 44able
to read and write a little” have been enumerated as distinct from
those able to read and write as the terms are commonly used. Those
who are put down as being able to read and write a little, can read a
few well-known signs, advertisements, and the like. They simply
read by remembering the shape of the sign or advertisement, and can
not spell it out. In the same way they can write their names and a
few figures, but nothing more. They are not wholly illiterate, how­
ever, and so have been given separately.
LITERATES AND ILLITERATES, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND
CALUMET, 1900.

Sex and age periods.

Able to
read and
write.

Able to
Able to Illiterate. read and
read.
write a
little.

Able to
read a
little.

Total.

MALES.

to 20 vears....................................................
to 30 years....................................................
81 to 40 years....................................................
41 years or over.............................................
Age not reported............................................

10
21

Total.......................................................




3
3
1
1
1

30
38
13
15
14

4

5
3

24

.9

110

9

6
10

1
2
2

1
1

44
53

1

22
21

1

16

4

156

NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

105

LITERATES AND ILLITERATES; BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND
CALUMET, 1900—Concluded.

Sex and age periods.

Able to
read and
write.

Able to Able to
Able to
and read a
Illiterate. read
read.
write a
little.
little.

Total.

FEM ALES.

to 20 years....................................................
21 to 30 years....................................................
31 to 40 years....................................................
41 years or oyer..............................................
Age not reported............................................
10

Total.......................................................
BOTH

6

5

3
3

22
2

1
2
1

16
3
4
18

31
27
4

1

2

8

19

15

2

63

8

1

89

12

3
5

2

1
2
1

1

52
54
16
19
32

7
4

1
1
1

i

75
80
26
29
35

39

11

173

17

5

245

SEXES.

10 to 20 years....................................................
21 to 30 years....................................................
31 to 40 years....................................................
41 y e a r s o r o v e r .................... .. ..............................................
Age not reported............................................

Total both sexes.................................

15
6

5

4

This table presents a very different state of affairs from that found
in either Litwalton, Sandy Spring, or Farmville, as shown by the tables
which follow:
LITERATES AND ILLITERATES, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, LITWALTON, VA.,1901.(a)

Sex and age periods.

Able to
read and
write.

Able to Illiterate.
read.

Not re­
ported.

Total.

M ALES.

to 20 years .........................................................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
10

81 t o 4 0 y e a r s .........................................................................................................
41 y e a r s o r o v e r ................................................................................................

28
24
13

5
4

14

3

58
40
26
38
4

18

166

5
9

7

45
24

10

1

11
11
12

1
2

1

24

Age not reported...............................................................

12
1

Total males...............................................................

78

12

58

32
13
9

1
2
1

FEM ALES.

10

to 20 years......................................................................

21 t o 3 0 y e a r s .........................................................................................................

31 to 40 years......................................................................
41 years or o v e r .................................................................

27

1

Total females...........................................................
BOTH

21

28

2

A g e rio t, r e p o r t e d ................. ............................................................................

2

55

4

53

8

120

60
37

6
6
2
2

16
20
22

21
1
1

103
64
47

2

3

66
6

111

26

286

SEXES.

to 20 years .........................................................................................................
21 to 30 years .........................................................................................................
31 to 40 years .........................................................................................................
41 years or o v e r .................................................................
Age not reported...............................................................
10

Total both se x e s....................................................

22

13

51

1

133

16

a See D epartm ent o f Labor B ulletin No. 37, page 1146.




106

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

LITERATES AND ILLITERATES, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, SANDY SPRING, MD., 1899. (o)

Sex and age periods.

Able to
read and
write.

Able to
Illiterate.
read.

Not re­
ported.

Total.

M ALES.

to 20 years......................................................................
21 t o 30 years......................................................................
31 t o 40 VAflTS , ...................................................................
41 years'or over.............................................- ...................
Age not reported...............................................................

91
36
34
36
2

T o ta l..........................................................................

199

10

6
1

109
47
45
94

10
10
8

2

8
1

46
2

4
3

19

76

9

303

4

3

118
54
47
89

3

8

FEM ALES.

to 20 years......................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
31 to 40 years................................... . ................................
41 years or over..................................................................
10

102

1

9
5

4

2

8

37

3

1

6

.1 0

A g e n o t r e p o r t e d ....................................... ......................................................

47
41
41
4

T otal..........................................................................

235

17

54

12

318

193
83
75
77 :

10
2

19
15

5

227

1

101

7
16

10

7

BOTH

1

SEXES.

to 20 years......................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
31 to 40 years......................................................................
41 years or over..................................................................
Age not reported...............................................................
10

Total both sexes......................................................

6

434

1

83
3

8

92
183
18

36

130

21

621

a See Department of Labor Bulletin No. 32, pages 68 and 69.
LITERATES AND ILLITERATES, BY SEX AND AGE PERIODS, FARMYILLE, VA., 1897. (a)
Able to
read and
write.

Able to
read.

to 20 years......................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
31 to 40 years............... . . ..................................................
41 years or over..................................................................
Age not reported..............................................................

97
38
30
34

49
16
7
13

45
26

1

1

1

1

195
81
47
132
4

T otal..........................................................................

200

86

162

11

459

10 to 20 years......................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
31 to 40 vears......................................................................
41 years or over..................................................................
Age not reported.......................... ..................................

96
52
28

21
21

34
23
28
116

3

154
97
73
140

T otal..........................................................................

186

73

201

to 20 years......................................................................
21 to 30 years......................................................................
31 to 40 vears.....................................................................
41 years'or over..................................................................
Age not reported........................................................... .

193
90
58
44

70
37
24
27

79
49
38
196

1

1

1

2

272
5

T otal..........................................................................

386

159

363

16

924

Sex and age periods.

Illiter­
ate.

Not re­
ported.

Total.

M ALES.

10

4
1

10

80

5

FEM ALES.

10

17
14

1

1

1

5

465

BOTH SEXES.

10

7
2

349
178
120

5

a See Department of Labor Bulletin No. 14, page 14.

Of the 245 persons reported, 173 or 70.6 per cent were illiterate,
39 or 15.9 per cent could read and write, 11 or 4.5 per cent could
read but not write, 17 or 6.9 per cent could read and write a “ little,”
and 5 or 2.1 per cent could read a “ little” but not write.
O f those reporting as to literacy in Litwalton 51.2 per cent could
read and write, 6.1 per cent could read but not write, and 42.7 per
cent were illiterate; in Sandy Spring 72.3 per cent could read and



NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

107

write, 6 per cent could read but not write, while 21.7 per cent were
illiterate; and in Farmville 42.5 per cent could read and write, 17.5
per cent could read but not write, and 40 per cent were illiterate.
The illiteracy of the youth from 10 to 20 years of age on Cinclare
and Calumet plantations is 69.3 per cent as compared with 19.5 per
cent of those reporting as to literacy at Litwalton, 8.6 per cent at Sandy
Spring, and 23.1 per cent at Farmville.
If, as in the case of Farmville, the population is divided into four
classes, («) according to the circumstances under which they were reared,
instead of decreasing illiteracy the opposite result is shown, viz, an
increasing per cent of illiteracy from war times (40 to 31 years), when
it was 61.5 per cent, through the next decade where it was 67.5 per
cent, to the present youth whose rate is 69.3 per cent. The only
explanation for this is that the rate of school attendance has been
steadily declining. I f the race is to be elevated the first change must
be made here, and some system by which more will attend school must
be instituted, either by lowering the expense or making attendance com­
pulsory. These figures do not represent an exceptional case but are
representative of plantation Negro labor.
OCCUPATIONS AND W AGES.
The occupations of the Negroes of Cinclare and Calumet are those
characteristic o f a plantation community. Every able-bodied man on
the place is supposed to work there, and if for any length of time he
does not do so, he is not allowed to remain. All the members of their
families live with the men on the plantations, and the women are given
employment if they want it and their labor is needed. Old persons
who can not earn their living are discouraged from staying on the
plantation and eventually becoming a care to the owner, and they must
move off in order to make room for those who can do the work well.
For these obvious reasons the occupations of these Negroes can not be
compared with those of either Litwalton, Sandy Spring, or Farmville.
It is almost impossible to give statistics on the number employed in
each kind of work on the plantations, for not only do the occupations
change with the seasons of the year, but on no two days are the num­
ber in each subdivision the same, for the laborer is put at the work that
is necessary to be done each day.
' The year’s work on a plantation may be divided into two parts, the
cultivating season, when the cane is planted and cultivated, and the
grinding season, vrhen it is cut and manufactured into sugar. The
month of March may be taken as representative of the cultivating
season, for it presents a mean of the months January to September,
inclusive, which constitute the cultivating season. The month of
November may be taken as presenting the mean of the months October
to December, inclusive, which constitute the grinding season.
a See Department of Labor Bulletin, No. 14, page 14.



108

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

In March, 1901, there were 90 hands employed at Cinclare, and of
this number 27 were women. The able-bodied men were used for
plowing, although some of them, with the old men, women, and boys
under 21, were used for hoeing.
They were divided very much as follows:
Plowing (m en )..................................................................................................................................... 32
Hoeing (men, women, and b oy s)................................................................................................. 38
Ditching (m e n )................................................................................................................................
8
Ode jobs in the field, such as quarter draining, weeding ditch banks, water boys,
e t c ...................................................................................................................................................... 12

In grinding season a great deal of extra labor has to be hired, and
Negroes come and live on the place during the months of October,
November, and December, returning home at the end of grinding,
which is generally about the 1st of January. In November, 1900, 217
hands were employed at Cinclare, of which number 90 were women. It
is impossible to divide them into different occupations as they are used
for whatever work is necessary to be done. By far the largest per­
centage of the men, and all the women, are employed at cutting cane.
The rest of the men, or as many as are needed, are employed at load­
ing and hauling cane, a few in the cane shed, and a number at differ­
ent jobs around the factory, such as firemen, assistants for mechanics,
handling barrels, loading cars, etc.
There is practically no Negro skilled labor on the place, except one
blacksmith, and two or three carpenters5 assistants, who can scarcely
be called skilled laborers. For quite a number of years it so hap­
pened that the preacher for the Negro church lived and worked on the
place. He was the only one who had any claim whatever to repre­
senting the professions, and his claim lay in his name only.
The figures for Calumet are very much the same as those given for
Cinclare, but are for an average of six years (1896 to 1901, inclusive)
for the cultivating season, and for an average of five years (1896 to
1900, inclusive) for the grinding season.
During the month of March an average of 135 Negroes were employed
on Calumet plantation, of whom 22 were boys under 21 years, 10 were
women (15 to 50 years), and 103 were men. These laborers were
divided as follows:
Plow m en................................................................................................................................ ; ____
Teaming and other work with m u le s ....................................................................................
Water b o y s .......................................................................................................................................
Cross drain m en.............................................................. *...............................................................
Hoe hands (m e n )..........................................................................................................................
Hoe hands (women) ....................................................................................................................
Ditchers.............................................................................................................................................
Jobbers...............................................................................................................................................

43
1
4
6
36
10
20
15

T o t a l....* ............................................................................................................................... 135




NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

109

Besides the field laborers enumerated above there are hostlers,
bridge tenders, and whitewashes, and a number doing odd jobs
about the factory. There are also two blacksmiths and two or three
carpenters on the place.
It has so happened that nearly all of the ditching during the six
years involved has been done in February, March, and April, these
men not being employed the rest of the year. Most of them are from
neighboring towns and do not reside on the place. The jobbers
referred to are workers upon the railroad, the levees, or the major
canals, wood choppers, and the like. Some years there have been a
good many of these and other years very few, according as they have
been cleaning canals, clearing land, or doing similar work. The pres­
ent season but three women have been in the fields, whereas some years
the number has reached 30 in the early part of the cultivating season,
while the weather was yet cool. This only shows how very difficult it
is to get any average for the occupations of the Negroes.
In grinding season the average number of Negroes employed on
Calumet plantation is 165, of which number 63 are women. A ll the
women and as many men as are needed are put to work at cutting
cane. O f the rest of the men some are engaged in hauling cane, a
good many work in the cane shed, while others work around the fac­
tory as firemen, coal rollers, centrifugal men, etc. The rotation of
work of able-bodied men on Cmclare and Calumet plantations from
the beginning to the end of the year is as follows: Plowmen begin
the year with spring plowing, harrowing, etc. Numbers of them
then haul seed cane for planting or running meal distributors. The
crop once planted, many are put to operating stubble shavers, stubble
diggers, fertilizer distributors, cultivators, corn planters, and other
draft implements, very rarely being given a few days in the hoe gang
or, after great rains, in the cross drains. They also haul filter-press
cake and manure, repair bridges, and in the late summer shovel out
ditches. In the autumn they assist in pulling and hauling corn and
hay, mow turn rows, and finally all get to four-mule fall plowing.
During grinding as many as are required are employed at hauling
cane to the railroad or cane shed and the balance at cutting cane.
Hoe men do little until the grinding season but hoe, clean levees,
ditch banks, fence rows, etc., drop and thin corn, pull and house corn,
turn, load, and stow hay, and attend to all miscellaneous work. In
the late summer they shovel grass out of ditches. During grinding
their principal work is cutting cane.
Ditchers are usually employed to assist in planting. They then fol­
low their peculiar work for two months or so. Along in May they
are put in the hoe gang, when they disappear from the place, one by
one, in quick order.

1110—No. 38—02---- 8



110

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

Jobbers can never be induced to do a n y field work, except during
grinding, when most of them cut cane or work about the sugar house
as firemen, coal rollers, centrifugal men, etc. They are generally of
little account, but there are notable exceptions.
Women drop, hoe, and thin corn, and in the grinding season cut
cane. Except for a few among the older ones, the women make only
about one-half time. During the cultivating season practically none
work on Saturdays and very few on Mondays. They do not work
in bad weather. During grinding they lay off on Saturdays, but gen­
erally work on Mondays. They average well as cane cutters, but are
otherwise very unsatisfactory. Whereas few of them work during
the cultivating season, not only all the women living on the places,
but also those from neighboring plantations and villages turn out to
cut cane in the grinding season.
A ll of the Negro laborers except the ditchers and jobbers are paid
by the day. A t Cinelare the wages are as follows:
Cultivating season:
M en......................................................................................
$0.75
W o m e n ....................................................
60
Old men and boys......... ........................................................................
.5 0
Grinding season:
M en ......................................................................................................................................... 1.00

Women _____

75

Old men and boys.....................

65

Each family is furnished with a cabin or portion of one, as the case
may be, free o f charge. Negro laborers do not work on Saturday
afternoons during the cultivating season. They are assigned a garden
spot, and allowed the use of a mule on Saturday afternoons, and also
the use of a wagon to haul wood, for which no charge is made. Some­
times wood is furnished free during the grinding season, as the laborers
are needed for plantation work, and it is more profitable to have their
labor and give them wood rather than lose their labor while they
are cutting wood themselves. Some, however, prefer to buy their
wood and seek to occupy their time in working their gardens; others
are too lazy to work gardens.
The laborer is given a ticket each day with the amount o f his wage
on it in divisions of 5 cents each. These tickets are good at the store
at Cinelare, which is run by the owner of the place. A t the end of
each month the laborers are paid in cash for all the uncanceled tickets
they have.
Cinelare being located on the Mississippi River, there is no difficulty
in securing the kind of labor that is wanted, and therefore very few,
if any, Italians are employed, Negro labor alone being preferred, as
the two do not mix well together. In grinding season, when a large
amount of extra labor is required for a few months only, the Negroes



NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

Ill

of Mississippi come of their own free will and accord, attracted by
the higher cash wages during grinding, being about the only cash
money they secure during the year. They are mostly small cotton
croppers, and by the time grinding begins their crop is harvested.
There being no other work for them to do in the cotton section, they
seek the‘sugar section for the balance of the winter, remaining some­
times until March, when cotton planting begins.
At Calumet the conditions are different in this respect. The aver­
age wages for the cultivating season for the past six years (1896 to
1901, inclusive), and for the grinding season for the past five years
(1896 to 1900, inclusive), were as follows:
Cultivating season:
M en.................................................................................................................................. $0.70
W o m e n ......... ...............................................................................................................................46
Grinding season:
M en................................................................................................................................. 1.19
W om en........................................................................................................................................... 84

For the past two years(1899-1900
been:

and1900-1901) the wages

have

Cultivating season:
M en......................................................................................................................................... $0. 75
W o m e n ................... .....................................................................................................................50
Grinding season:
M en................................................................................................................................. 1.25
W o m e n ........................................................................................................................
1.00

A t the present time (April 21, 1901) women
are receiving $0.50 a
day, but an increase to $0.55 isexpected.Boys, girls, and old people
are paid proportionately less, according to circumstances.
The laborer is furnished with a house just the same as at Cinclare.
Plowmen are induced to work on Saturday afternoons at least two or
three times per month. No effort is made to get them to work on pay
days. Each family has a garden about its house, but the people are
discouraged from taking any land in the field, as they never raise any­
thing upon it. Very few cultivate even the house gardens, though
many of them spade and prepare the land. They rarely have enter­
prise enough to buy seed. These gardens are too small to warrant
plowing. The owner does not permit the people to haul their own
wood or to use the teams for any purpose except to do plantation work.
After they have cut their wood it is hauled in for them by a special
teamster at a charge of 15 cents per load if the wood comes from the
plantation on which the people live, and 75 cents if they go to one of
the owners of adjoining properties or to any of the neighbors. W ood
is never furnished free, but it is sometimes sold to the Negroes at cost.
The factory hands work every Saturday afternoon and buy all their
wood the year around. The laborers are paid in cash. Two stores are



112

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

on the plantation, both rented out, which have to meet outside com­
petition. The plantation also has a ration room. From this, dry
salt shoulders, flour, and meal are issued on account to those who
have neither money nor credit with which to buy at the stores of the
neighborhood.
From the figures given it is seen that the wages in grinding season
are 25 cents higher at Calumet than at Cinclare. This is due to the
location o f Calumet, which is off the line of travel of the migrating
Negroes and rather far away for the cotton croppers to go. The extra
laborers at Calumet for the grinding season come from points along
the Illinois Central Kailroad, notably Amite City and Kentwood, in
Louisiana, and Osyka, Magnolia, Brookhaven, Hazlehurst, Crystal
Springs, Jackson, and Madison, in Mississippi. Some are brought in
by neighbors from New Orleans and Mobile. The city people are
mostly “ bounty jumpers ” and “ gentlemen,55who prove unsatisfactory.
Many Teche planters procure their extra labor from parishes above
them— St. Martin’s, St. Landry, Rapides, Avoyelles, Lafayette, and
Acadia. These are mostly “ French ” darkies, noisy but good workers,
who return to the same plantation managers each year.
This extra labor is secured principally through colored labor agents
residing at the points named, who have spent numerous grindings at
Calumet as cooks, foremen at cane hoists, and the like. Several white
men (cane weighers, cane-yard bosses, etc.), have brought colored help
also from their homes in Mississippi. In every case the results are
unsatisfactory. Very few whose homes are at a distance apply on the
place, and those who do are mostly those who have u jumped” other
planters, leaving debts behind. It is not known why the people from
Mississippi go to Calumet. Those who have gone are mainly lazy,
ragged, half-fed town boys, 18 to 25 years old, and not cotton hands.
Some go, no doubt, for the journey and lark, their expenses being
paid, others because their friends go, and others to spend a few weeks
where food is plentiful; a few go for what they can earn. Store­
keepers at their homes say that none of them bring any money home.
People brought in later in the season, when labor is hardest to get,
are generally of a better class—often, no doubt, cotton pickers out of
a job.
Italians are taken as well as Negroes at Calumet. In fact during
the six years 1896 to 1901, inclusive, there has been a steady decrease
in the number of Negroes and an increase in the number of Italians
employed. The majority of Italians are new arrivals from Italy and
are single men. Six years ago there was not an Italian plowman on
the place. The present year there are 12. The growth of an immense
lumber industry in the neighborhood and the attractions of town life
seem to explain the decreasing number of Negroes on the plantation.
The Negroes belong to a social race, do not like the steady work exacted



NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

113

by the overseers, and, being imitative, like to buy such small proper­
ties as they can afford, all of which leads them into towns. Higher
wages in the swamps and at sawmills induce some of them into the
lumber industry, notwithstanding the work there is just as exacting as
in the fields. A t both Cinclare and Calumet the laborer is paid for the
time he actually works. Field laborers work the year round from sun­
rise to sunset. They are always given a half hour for breakfast, from
8 to 8.30 a. m., and at least an hour for dinner, from 12 m. to 1 p. m.
When the days are very long and hot they are given more time in the
middle of the day, often from 11 a. m. to 2 p. m. This matter is
entirely at the discretion of the local overseer, as is the question of the
days on which they shall work, for if it is raining or too wet to do the
work the hands are not called out. The field laborers average about
twenty days in the month, but the plowmen lose more time than any
other kind of laborers.
So far only field labor has been mentioned. It would be impossible
to enumerate the wages paid to each workman about the factory, as
they differ from time to time as the man changes from one job to
another, but suffice it to say that they average about the same as field .
laborers. Factory laborers, however, generally make full time, not
being laid off by the weather, as are the field laborers. The hands in
the factory work six hours on and six hours off duty, twelve hours
out of every twenty-four, night and day, Sundays and all, during
grinding season. The hands that work in the factory out of the
grinding season work the same time as the field laborers. One of the
characteristics of Negro laborers is that they never provide for nor
look ahead to the future. As soon as they make money they become
indifferent, and frequently it is difficult to get them to work when they
have money, for they claim to be sick and give various other excuses
for staying away from work until they can spend their money. For
this reason some planters think it is a benefit to have Italian or other
classes of laborers, who are always ready to work for their pay, as
an incentive to get the Negroes to work. On Calumet plantation,
where there have been a good many Italians, the example of industry
set by them has as yet not produced much effect upon the Negroes.
The Negro is, however, so far a creature of habit and so readily con­
forms to the necessities which surround him that, with good manage­
ment, prompt u turning out” may be made second nature to him.
ECONOMICS OF THE FAM ILY .
The statistics on the size of the families of the Negroes at Cinclare
and Calumet who returned answers are for the real family only, i. e., the
parents and all children living at present. It would be nearly impos­
sible to get anywhere near the size of the possible, and the economic,



114

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

families. The economic family changes continually both by the shift­
ing of the Negroes of their own accord and also by the overseers who
assign the Negroes to the houses. In grinding season the number
per house is greatly increased. At one time there were 22 single
men and 2 families all living in an old building of two rooms, where
ordinarily no one lives. Even the size of the real family will apply
only to the time that the report was taken, on account of the constant
swapping of women and children among the men. The extent to
which this is carried on by the plantation Negroes is not realized any­
where but on the spot. It is safe to say that by far a large majority
o f them are married (mated) several times during their lifetime, and
of those marriages which are contracted early in life few last more
than two years. From this it will be seen how difficult it is to judge
even by the real family, for sometimes they take their children by a
previous marriage with them and sometimes they do not. The follow­
ing is the table:
NUMBER OF CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET NEGRO REAL FAMILIES, BY SIZE.
The real family.

The real family.
Size of family.

Size of family.

1
2

"member............................... .
m e m b e r s _______________ __________ _

a m e m b e r s . ...............................................
4 m e m b e r s ________ ___________________
fvm Ambers
6 members_______ ___________
7 members.................................
8 members.................................

Families.

Persons.

26
29
33

26
58
99
84
90

21

18
11
8

4

Families.
9 members............................. .
m e m b e r s .................... ..
members................................
members...............................

6
2
1

3

36

T o ta l.................................
Average............................

162

632
3.90

10
11
12

66

56
32

Persons.
54
20
11

A table showing the real families of Litwalton, Sandy Spring, and
Farmville is also inserted for sake of comparison:
NUMBER OF LITWALTON, SANDY SPRING, AND FARMVILLE NEGRO FAMILIES, BY SIZE, (a)
The real family.
Size of family.

Sandy Spring, Md.

Litwalton, Va.

Farmville, Va.

Families. Persons. Families. Persons. Families. Persons.
m ember......................................................
members______________ ______ ________
3 members.....................................................
4 members______________ _______________
5 members.......................................... . . . .
6 members_______________ ______________
7 members......................................................
ft m e m b e r s _____________________________
9 members......................................................
10 members......................................................
11 members.....................................................
12 members..................................... .
13 members......................................................
14 members......................................................
15 members
17 members
1
2

T o ta l....
Average

8

8

13
13

26
39
32
70
42
70

8

14
7
10
11
2
1

88

18
10

3

33

2

26

92

462
5 02

7
17
24
17
20

7
34
72
68
100

18
16

108

20
11
11
10
6
1
1
2

160
99

181
____

112

110
110

72
13
14
30
1,109
6.13

42
39
48
33
25
16
19

84
117
192
165
150

112

11

152
99
70
55

2

26
14

7
5

1
1

17

249

1,253
5.03

a See Departm ent o f L abor B ulletins No. 37, page 1158; No. 32, pages 87 an d 88, an d No. 14, page 24.




NEGEOES OF CINCLAEE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

115

The number of real families of one member each is absolutely larger
at Cinclare and Calumet than at either Litwalton, Sandy Spring, or
Farmville, although fewer families are considered than in the case of
Sandy Spring and Farmville. This is due in a large part to the pres­
ence of a good many young persons who have been deserted by their
parents and left to earn their own living. The number of large fam­
ilies is relatively veiy much less than at either Sandy Spring or Farm­
ville. The average number of persons to each real family at Cinclare,
Silvery, and Calumet is 3.90, while at litwalton it is 5.02, at Sandy
Spring 6.13, and at Farmville 5.03.
The small size o f the average real family at Cinclare, Silvery, and
Calumet may be partly explained by the fact that the Negroes there
are of a lower average age than those either at Farmville or Sandy
Spring. The families are all broken up by the continual swapping of
women going on among the men. The Negroes do not seem to want
children, and use all manner of means to prevent birth. Stillbirths and
miscarriages are becoming more common all the time. The head over­
seer states that the number of births this year has been very small
and that nearly all of them were stillbirths. Further than this, the
reason for the small size of the families is not known, unless it is a
fact that the Negro families are actually diminishing in size, though we
would expect to find in a purely rural population like this larger fam­
ilies than in semiurban communities like Sandy Spring and Farmville.
As has been explained, it was impossible to obtain accurate figures
for the economic family at Cinclare, Silvery, and Calumet, figures for
the real family only being given. In the following table percentages
of the real families as to size, based on these figures, are brought into
comparison with similar percentages of the real families at Litwalton,
Sandy Spring, and Farmville, and tend to bring out more forcibly the
diminishing in size of the plantation Negro families. No comparison
can be made with the census figures for the United States and the
North Atlantic States, as the census gives data for the economic family
only.
PER CENT OF NEGRO REAL FAMILIES OF CINCLARE, SILVERY, AND CALUMET, AND OF
LITWALTON, VA., SANDY SPRING, MD., AND FARMVILLE, V A , BY SIZE OF FAMILY.
Per cent of Negro real families of—
Size of family.

t member

_________ - ____________________________________

<Xto fi members___________________________________________

7 to 10 members.............................................•...............................
11 members or over.......................................................................

Cinclare,
Silvery,
Lftwalton.
and
Calumet.

Sandy
Spring.

8.70
59.78
26.09
5.43

3.87
53.04
32.04
11.05

16.05
60.14
12.34
2.47

Farm­
ville.

75.10
21.29
3.61

The Negroes on both places still live in the “ quartersv as in the
times of slavery. They live a little separated from the other buildings.



116

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

A street runs down the middle, and the cabins are on each side. On
Cinclare plantation there are 34 cabins, 17 on each side of the street.
There are two or three families, or from four to ten persons, in each
cabin. The cabins have four rooms, and some families sleep all in one
room, using extra room for cooking; others use both of the rooms
allotted to them for sleeping and cooking.
On Calumet plantation there are 90 double houses in the quarters,
arranged on each side of the street, each with four rooms, and each being
counted as two houses when occupied by two families. Except for those
with three rooms, all built of recent years, and a few old ones, on Grandwoods plantation, erected by other parties just after the war, which
have but one room, all the houses have two rooms, or, if double cabins,
four rooms. Some families also use the space above the ceiling and
rafters in the peak of the roof for boys’ sleeping apartments. Entire
families do not as a rule sleep in one room at Calumet. If any houses
are without occupants, they are those with a single room each. The
maximum number of persons in one house is 13, the minimum number
3, and the average 6.11 persons to each house.
The Negroes as a rule do not work any harder than is necessary to
keep their families alive. Boys of 12 to 13 years are made to work,
but not all of them. The position of water boy is much sought after.
Even boys such as mentioned are not forced into hard work by their
parents and are not made to work regularly. More Italian than col­
ored children are worked and at harder labor, such as hoeing. As a
rule Negro parents who make their children work retain most, if not
all, their wages. The result of this is that the boys run away from
home and become independent very early in life. Girls do not often
work before they are 15 or 16, and these retain their wages. Those
boys who are forced to work cease giving up their wages as a rale
when they become independent enough to run away from home, say at
the age of 14 or 15. A few, who are permitted to spend a part of
their earnings themselves and who are well treated, remain at home.
These are given their independence by the time they are 15, probably
from fear that otherwise they will leave. Many o f the latter are fairly
good boys, whose fathers are dead or gone off, but whose mothers,
sisters, or others remain. They generally marry (mate) very early
and usually separate from their women within a year or two after.
Fathers, more often than mothers, are the cause of the boys leaving
home at an early age. Few, if any, boys are supported, even in part,
after they are from 16 to 16£ years of age. Cinclare differs a little in
this respect, for there the children are more or less supported until
18 to 21 years of age.
Parents do not charge board even for grown children, though some
families take single men (ditchers, jobbers, and even field hands) to
board. Girls are cared for by parents until mated—boys until about



NEGROES OF C1NCLARE AND C^LTJMET, LOUISIANA.

117

15, if they remain at home. Some of the girls cut cane in grinding
season and buy clothes with the proceeds. If wages are high they
hoe, off and on, during the cultivating season, but spend their earn­
ings themselves. They begin very early to get money from the men.
Boys, instead of paying cash board, purchase a portion of the provi­
sions, dress themselves, cut wood, etc. Both boys and girls mate
early, take houses, and set up for themselves.
Children are rarely a charge upon the parents after the fifteenth
year, and never after they are from 16 to 16|, except in the case of
young married girls, who return home after abandonment by their
husbands.
The Negroes as a rule never save any money, although there are a
very few exceptions. They do not know what economy is, and will buy
anything that anyone will sell them on credit. They never think of
the morrow, and spend their money foolishly. The men buy liquor
and delicacies and the women gay garments and trinkets. No thought
is given to durability or appropriateness in the purchase of dress or
other articles, but only to showiness. They will not provide wood for
cold weather, nor rain-proof shoes or garments for wet weather. They
will not prepare in advance for any contingency. They are poor
traders and do not know the intrinsic value to themselves or the
exchangeable value of any article, or the relative value of different
articles. They lack ambition, and prefer idleness and want to exer­
tion and plenty. They are careless and will not care for even that
which they have. They have an unfortunate notion of generosity,
which enables the more worthless to borrow fuel, food, and what not
on all hands from the more thrifty. They have an inborn love of
gambling, which keeps the best workers among them idle much of the
time and poor all the time; but worst of all, they have an unfortu­
nate notion of freedom, which leads them to desire most those things
which they could not possess as slaves—guns, ponies, and the priv­
ilege of moving about— none of which things bi’ings them profit of
any sort.
GROUP LIFE.
The only expression of group life to be found among the Negroes of
Cinclare and Calumet is that most characteristic of the Negroes through­
out the United States—the Negro church. “ The church is, among
American Negroes, the primitive social group of the slaves on Ameri­
can soil, replacing the tribal life roughly disorganized by the slave
ship, and in many respects antedating the establishment of the Negro
monogamic home. The church is much more than a religious organ­
ization; it is the chief organ of social and intellectual intercourse. As
such it naturally finds the free democratic organizations of the Baptists
and Methodists better suited to its purpose than the stricter bonds of



118

BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OP LABOR.

the Presbyterians or the more aristocratic and ceremonious Episco­
palians.” ^ ) Thus we find that the churches o f both Cinclare and Cal­
umet are well attended. Both are of the Baptist denomination, although
the one at Cinclare uses the Episcopal prayer book. The church which
the Negroes of Cinclare attend is about one-quarter of a mile from the
plantation in Brusly. It is attended not only by all the Negroes of
Cinclare, but by those of the neighboring plantations as well. Church
is generally held at night, even on Sunday, being a relic of slavery
times, when slaves were only allowed to attend church at night. The
church is supported by voluntary contributions and by assessments.
If the members do not pay their dues they are read out of church.
Assessments are made at the rate of 10 cents per capita monthly, and
every quarter pound meetings are held, each member giving 1 pound
of some kind o f provision to the support of the preacher. The past
few preachers that the church has had have been poor choices, and
uneducated men whose private life was as bad if not worse than that
of any o f the other Negroes of the congregation. They claimed to be
gifted by Grod to read the Bible, and so were accepted by the people.
The church at Calumet is better off in a good many respects. It is
situated at the geographical center of Calumet plantation and is a part
o f the latter. There are a good many Methodists also, but they affil­
iate with the Baptists on perfect equality. The church has 80 com­
municants. About one-half of the entire Negro population, including
children, attend services with considerable regularity. There has
been no “ revival” for a number of years. The executive board, con­
sisting o f seven deacons, decides upon the assessment, which is 25
cents for each member of the church per month for the pastor’s salary.
A general assessment of $30 per annum is also made for mission work.
Occasional collections are taken for the incidentals, viz, oil, fuel, etc.
The church was built by the owner of the plantation. The members
wish to “ beautify” it. The male members are taxed $1 each, the
female members are asked for voluntary contributions of 75 cents, and
the “ sinner gentlemen” are requested to give as liberally as possible.
The owner of the church also helps generously with the “ beautify­
ing” by resetting the glass and whitewashing.
The preacher is fairly good looking, well proportioned, pleasant
mannered, and perhaps 35 years of age. After having had charge
for several years of two churches (Oaklawn and Calumet), he spent
six years at a Methodist boarding school at Baldwin, La., grad­
uating in the English course. While studying he kept on with his
pastoral work and the two charges paid the expense of his schooling,
viz, $6 per month. The people seem much attached to their pastor,
who is called “ elder,” feel very proud of his education, and expect him
a See Department of Labor Bulletin No. 14, page 34.




NEGROES OF CINCLARE AND CALUMET, LOUISIANA.

119

to remain permanently with them. He preaches at Calumet every
other Sunday morning and alternate Sunday nights. The preaching
is very characteristic. The elder usually prefaces his sermon with
the remark that he is not feeling very well, sticks more or less
closely to the text, speaking very quietly for a few minutes, but
gradually drifts into a vivid description of various thrilling Biblical
scenes, as that of Daniel in the lion’s den, or of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego in the fiery furnace, etc., reaching a climax in seeing
the New Jerusalem with the four and twenty elders, or something
akin. He moves rapidly from one side of the platform to the other,
goes through various facial contortions, perspires freely, “ hollers,”
and when the whole audience is swaying, moaning, surging, and
shouting under intense excitement, the preacher drops his voice for
a sentence and sits down exhausted.
The Negroes are naturally a social race and the large attendance at
church at both places is easily explained aside from the religious
attraction, as it is the only place where they get together and talk
things over. The Negroes o f Cinclare and Calumet have naturally
not so elaborated a social system as is found in communities like
Sandy Spring and Farmville, for they are too constantly changing,
and all being engaged in the same kind of work, few have any economic
advantages over the others. For this reason there are, as far as could
be learned, no societies or clubs among them. Their one great diver­
sion is picnics, which are generally given under the auspices of the
church.
CONCLUSIONS.
After what has been said it will be seen in what a terrible state the
plantation Negroes are and what a problem they present for this
country to deal with, for the conditions have improved but little, if
any, since freedom was given them. The light-hearted hopefulness or
the absence of care which so agreeably characterized the race a couple
o f generations ago seems to be disappearing. “ The struggle for
existence in the midst of economically competitive and socially antago­
nistic surroundings has had its saddening—perhaps its hardening—
effect upon these people. The younger generations are not on as good
terms with the whites as their elders, and they know it and show it.” (a)
They very much dislike the gang system of labor and roam all over the
country seeking job work, when they can work as they please.
The Negro character, aside from purely racial traits, differs between
various individuals as widely, proportioned to intellectual and moral
capacity, as among the whites. Every extreme is met with among them.
As a race they are strong and healthy, but as they abuse themselves
a See Department of Labor Bulletin No. 32, page 101.



1 2 0

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

they are not, as a general thing, long lived. In trouble they are help­
less. They lack confidence in themselves and are not ingenious in
finding expedients. They are not the petty chicken thieves painted at
the North. They are not bold, nor yet cunning enough to be success­
ful thieves. They are not physically brave with the odds all against
them, more than are the members of other races, but are desperately
so at evens. Very few of them appear capable of deep emotion; sor­
row over the dead dies with the sun; resentment passes with the night;
o f gratitude and local attachment they know nothing. Yet they are
often faithful servants, and in advancing years seemingly much
attached to those whom they have served. This may be from long
habit and may be more apparent than real. The young children seem
bright, but progress ceases at an early age. They appear to have little
intellectual and little moral capacity. Few ever care to ask the real
reasons for things. Superstition answers most questions to their sat­
isfaction. Their notions of the marriage relations are too vague to
have much influence on the conduct of either sex. They are grossly
animal in their sexual relations, both in and out of their families.
How far the conditions given here for Cinclare and Calumet typify
the condition of all the Negroes of Louisiana is not known. The two
places were chosen as typifying the rest of the State, the conditions
being normal as far as known. How near this has come to the condi­
tion of the plantation Negro of Louisiana can only be determined by
further study.




CHARTS EXHIBITED AT THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.
In connection with the exhibit o f the United States Department of
Labor at the Pan-American Exposition a number of charts were pre­
pared, showing in graphic form certain data taken from its various
reports. These data consisted chiefly of statistics relating to the aver­
age daily wages in certain cities of the United States, Great Britain,
France, and Belgium, from 1870 to 1896, inclusive, in selected occupa­
tions, published in Bulletins 18 and 22 of the Department; those relat­
ing to the number of strikes from 1881 to 1900, inclusive, number of
establishments involved, number of employees thrown out of employ­
ment by reason of the same, amount of wage loss of employees, amount
o f assistance rendered them by labor organizations, and amount of the
employers’ losses, published in the Sixteenth Annual Report of the
Commissioner of Labor; those relating to relative money wages, hours
of labor, wholesale prices, and relative real wages (that is, wages
measured by wholesale prices), from 1840 to 1899, as compared with
the same in 1860, these data (except those for relative real wages which
were computed for the chart) being based on figures collected by the
Department and published in a report of the Senate Finance Commit­
tee, entitled “ Wholesale Prices, Wages, and Transportation,” and on
the figures relating to prices and wages, published in Bulletins 27 and
80 of the Department; and those relating to the statistics of cities of
the United States of 30,000 population and over, published in Bulletin
30 of the Department.
The Department has been in receipt of many inquiries relating to
these charts and of many requests for copies of the same. In order
to supply this demand and because of the interesting character of the
charts and o f the data covered, it has been determined to reproduce
the most important of them here. A ll of the charts described above,
therefore, are given herewith, with the exception of those relating to
the statistics of the cities of the United States o f 30,000 population and
over, these latter having been omitted because of the fact that a later
compilation of such statistics has already appeared in Bulletin 36 of the
Department.
It has been thought well to furnish, in connection with the charts,
the figures upon which they have been based. The following tables
are therefore presented, with such explanation as is deemed necessary
to a complete understanding of the same. The titles of these tables,



121

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

122

which immediately follow, and each of which bears a number corre­
sponding to the number of the chart to which it pertains, are—
Table I.—Strikes ordered by labor organizations and others, estab­
lishments involved, and employees thrown out of work, 1881 to 1900.
Table II.—Wage loss of employees, assistance to employees by labor
organizations, and employers’ loss in strikes, 1881 to 1900.
Table III.—Relative money wages, hours of labor, and wholesale
prices, and relative real wages (wages measured by wholesale prices),
1840 to 1899, as compared with the same in 1860.
Table IV .—Average daily wages (gold) in certain cities of the United
States, Great Britain, France, and Belgium, 1870 to 1896.
The charts follow immediately after the tables and in the same
numerical order.
T able I.—STRIKES ORDERED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHERS, ESTABLISH­
MENTS INVOLVED, AND EMPLOYEES THROWN OUT OP WORK, 1881 TO 1900.
Strikes.
Not or­
Ordered
dered by
by labor labor
ororgani­
ganizazations.
tionSv

Yea*.

222

1884.........................................................................................
1885........................................................................................ i
1886.................................................. . ....................................
1887........................................................................................
1888............................ ............................................................
1889........................................................................................
1890.........................................................................................
1891.............................................%.........................................
1892.........................................................................................
1893................................................ ........................................
1894........................................................................................ 1
1895........................................................................................
1898........................ ................................................................
1900................. ............................................. .........................

218
271
239
361
760
952
616
724
1,306 i
1,284
918 ;
906
847
658
662
596
638
1,1151,164

249
236
207
204
284
672
483
288
351
525
432
380
399
501
555
363
482
418
682
615

T otal

1

Em­
Estab­
ployees
lish­
thrown
ments inout of
rolved.
work.

471
2,928
454 * 2,105
478
2,759
443
2,367
645 !
2,284
1,432
10,053
1,436
6,589
906
3,506
1,075
3,786
1,833
9,424
1,717
8,116
1,298
5,540
1,305
4,555
1,349
8,196
1,215
6,973
1,026
5,462
1,078
8,492
1,056
3,809
1,797
11,317
1,779
9,248

129,521
154,671
149,763
147,054
242,705
508,044
379,676
147,704
2 # , 559
351,944
298,939
206,671
265,914
660,425
392,403
241,170
408,391
a 249,002
417,072
506,066

a Not including the number in 33 establishments for which these data were not obtainable.
T

a b l e

IL—WAGE LOSS OP EMPLOYEES, ASSISTANCE TO EMPLOYEES BY LABOR ORGANI­
ZATIONS, AND EMPLOYERS’ LOSS IN STRIKES, 1881 TO 1900.
Assistance to
Wage loss of employees Employers’
employees, by labor or­
loss.
ganizations.

Year.

.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.

!.
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
—
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................

-

1881............ .
1882............
1883
1884
1885
1 886
1887............
1 8 8 8 ......
1889
1890
1891
18192............ .
1893
1 894
1895
1896
1 897
1898
1899
1900




A

83,372,578
9,864,228
6,274,480
7,666,717
10,663,248
14,992,453
16,560,534
6,377,749
10,409,686
13,875,338
14,801,505
10,772,622
9,938,048
37,145,532
13,044,830
11,098,207
17,468,904
10,037,284
15,157,965
18,341,570

&Z07,
734,339
461,233
407,871
465,827
1,122,130
1,121,554
1,752,668
592,017
910,285
1,132,557
833,874
563,183
931,052
559.165
462.165
721,164
585,228
1,096,030
1,434,452

81,919,483
4,269,094
4,696,027
3,393,073
4,388,893
12,357,808
6,698,495
6,509,017
2,936,752
5,135,404
6,176,688
5,145,691
3,406,195
18,982,129
5,072,282
5,304,235
4,868,687
4,596,462
7,443,407
9,431,299

CHARTS EXHIBITED AT THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.
T

123

III.—RELATIVE MONEY WAGES, HOURS OF LABOR, AND WHOLESALE PRICES, AND
RELATIVE REAL WAGES (WAGES MEASURED BY WHOLESALE PRICES), 1840 TO 1899, AS
COMPARED WITH THE SAME IN 1860.

a b l e

[Data (except relative real wages) for 1840 to 1891 are from statistical data collected by the Depart­
ment of Labor and published in “ Wholesale Prices, Wages, and Transportation,’ ’ a report of the
United States Senate Finance Committee; those for 1892 to 1899 are from Bulletin of the Depart­
ment of Labor, Nos. 27 and 30. Relative real wages were computed for this table. Wages, hours of
labor, and wholesale prices in 1860=100.]

Year.

1840..............................................................................................
1841.................................................................... .......................
1842..............................................................................................
1848........................... ................................................................
1844...............................................................................................
1845.............................................................................................
1846......................................................... : ...................................
1847..,...................... .......................................... ......................
1848..............................................................................................
1849....... ......................................................................................
1850..............................................................................................
1851..............................................................................................
1852..............................................................................................
1853..............................................................................................
1854............................................................................... ..............
1855..............................................................................................
1856..............................................................................................
1857..............................................................................................
1858..............................................................................................
1859................................................... .........................................
1860..............................................................................................
1861..............................................................................................
1862................................................................ .............................
1863..............................................................................................
1864..............................................................................................
1865..............................................................................................
1866..............................................................................................
1867..............................................................................................
1868................. %...........................................................................
1869..............................................................................................
1870..............................................................................................
1871..............................................................................................
1872................................................................ .............................
1873...............................................................................................
1874..............................................................................................
1875..............................................................................................
1876...............................................................................................
1877...............................................................................................
1878...............................................................................................
1879..............................................................................................
1880...............................................................................................
1881...............................................................................................
1882..............................................................................................
1883..............................................................................................
1884..............................................................................................
1885..............................................................................................
1886..............................................................................................
1887.............................................................................................
1888.............................. ...............................................................
1889..............................................................................................
1890..............................................................................................
1891............................................................................ .................
1892..............................................................................................
1893...............................................................................................
1894..............................................................................................
1895..............................................................................................
1896.......................................... ...................................................
1897........................... ...................................................................
1898..............................................................................................
1899.............................................................................................

Relative Relative
Relative Relative
wages
hours of money
wholesale real
(wages
wages,
labor (21 gold (21 prices,
measured
gold (90 by whole­
indus­
indusr articles).
tries).
sale prices).
tries).
103.6
95.5
103.6
104.5
105.5
104.5
103.6
104.5
102.7
101.8
104.5
103.6
101.8
102.7
100.9
100.9
100.0
99.1
100.0
100.9
100.0
99.1
98.2
98.2
98.2
97.3
98.2
98.2
96.4
96.4
95.5
95.5
95.5
95.5
95.5
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
93.6
92.7
90.9
90.9
90.9
90.9
90.9

87.7
88.0
87.1
86.6
86.5
86.8
89.3
90.8
91.4
92.5
92.7
90.4
90.8
91.8
95.8
98.0
99.2
99.9
98.5
99.1
100.0
100.8
100.4
76.2
80.8
66.2
108.8
117.1
114.9
119.5
133.7
147.8
152.2
148.3
145.0
140.8
135.2
136.4
140.5
139.9
141.5
146.5
149.9
152.7
152.7
150.7
150.9
153.7
155.4
156.7
158.9
160.7
161.2
159.6
157.6
157.3
157.4
159.0
158.8
163.2

116.2
114.6
107.7
100.3
100.9
103.4
109.4
106.4
102.2
100.4
103.7
102.7
99.0
108.1
113.5
114.8
115.4
115.1
102.0
100.5
100.0
99.6
122.3
112.2
138.1
117.8
152.9
140.7
126.4
124.6
128.5
131.3
134.8
130.9
127.3
121.4
111.3
112.9
106.2
103.4
115.4
113.5
119.0
114.2
105.2
96.9
95.8
96.3
98.2
98.9
96.3
96.6
92.4
93.2
86.1
81.5
81.5
78.6
80.4
83.6

75.5
76.8
80.9
86.3
85.7
83.9
81.6
85.3
89.4
92.1
89.4
88.0
91.7
84.9
84.4
85.4
86.0
86.8
96.6
98.0
100.0
101.2
82.1
67.9
58.5
56.2
71.2
83.2
90.9
95.9
104.0
112.6
112.9
113.3
113.9
116.0
121.5
120.8
132.3
135.3
122.6
129.1
126.0
133.7
145.2
155.5
157.5
159.6
158.2
158.4
165.0
166.4
174.5
171.2
183.0
193.0
193.1
202.3
197.5
195.2

According to the above table, relative money wages in 1860 were
100 and in 1861 were 100.8; relative prices, which in 1860 were 100,
in 1861 were 09.6. As with the advance in wages there was a slight
fall in prices, in order to understand thoroughly the meaning of these
figures it is necessary to determine how much of a gain in purchasing



124

BULLETIN" OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,

power in the average wage this gain of money wages and the small
decline in prices represent.
I f wages had remained unchanged and prices had fallen to 99.6 the
purchasing power of wages would be represented by 100 divided by
99.6, or 1.004. That is to say, every dollar of wages that in 1860
would have purchased a dollar’s worth of articles would in 1861 pur­
chase $1,004 worth, as compared with 1860. But in 1861 relative
money wages advanced to 100.8, a gain of eight-tenths of 1 per cent.
Their relative purchasing power would then be represented by 100.8
(the relative wages) multiplied by 1.004 (the purchasing power of each
1 ) = 101.2032. That is to say, the average of 1861 would purchase
1.2032 per cent more than that of 1860, and may therefore be regarded
as the real gain in wages over 1860. The other figures of the column
66Relative real wages” were obtained in the same manner and may be
interpreted in the same way.
T

a b l e

IV.—AVERAGE DAILY WAGES (GOLD) IN CERTAIN CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES,
GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM, 1870 TO 1896,
Year and locality.

1870:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1871:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1872:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1873:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1874:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1875:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1876:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium
1877:
United States..
Great Britain..
Paris, France..
Lyon, France..
Liege, Belgium




Black­
smiths.

Brick­
layers.

Carpen­ Composi­ Painters,
ters.
tors.
house.

$2.43
1.19f
1.19*
1.25*
.68*

$3.15*
1.44
1.06*
.86*

$2.36*
1.33*
1.20*
.83*

$2.52*
1.26*
1.15*
.96*
.64

$2.22*
1.30*
1.06*

2.65*
1.28*
1.19*
1.25*
.80

3.61
1.44
1.06*
.86*

2.57*
1.33*
1.20*
.80

2.76*
1.29*
1.15*
.96*
.65*

2.40*
1.30*
1.06*

2.70
1.28*
1.19*
1.25*
.81

3.67
1.46
1.15*
.86*

2.60
1.35*
1.20*
1.06*

2.77*
1.33*
1.15*
.96*
.64*

2.52*
1.34*
1.06*
.91*
.56*

2.60f
1.29*
1.19*
1.25*
.90

3.35
1.46
1.15*
.86*

2.47*
1.45*
1.20*
1.07*

2.72
1.33*
1.15*
.96*
..67*

2.35*
1.36*
1.15*
.91*
.56

2.59
1.31*
1.19*
1.35
.88

3.14*
1.51*
1.15*
.86*

2.45
1.48*
1.20*
1.07*

2.74
1.36*
1.15*
.96*
.69

2.33*
1.37*
1.15*
.91*
.56*

2.47
1.31*
1.23
1.35
.80*

3.11
1.64*
1.15*
.86*

2.37*
1.52
1.24*
1.26*

2.71*
1.36*
1.15*
1.06*
.67*

2.23*
1.41
1.15*
.96*
.56*

2.43*
1.34
1.23
3.35
.76*

3.00
1.66*
1.15*
.86*

2.30*
1.54*
1.38
1.28

2.64*
1.36*
1.15*
1.06*
.64*

2.16
1.41
1.15*
1.01*
.56*

2.51*
1.35*
1.23
1.35
.76*

3.07*
1.66*
1.44*
.86*

2.31*
1.54*
1.37*
1.28*

2.74
1.40
1.15*
1.06*
.66*

2.25*
1.44
1.25*
1.01*
.57*

.55

.56

CHARTS EXHIBITED AT THE PAH-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.

125

TABLE IV .-A V E R A G E DAILY WAGES (GOLD) IN CERTAIN CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES,
GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM, 1870 TO 1896—Continued.

Year and locality.
1878:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France....................................................... ..
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1879:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1880:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1881:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1882:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1883:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1884:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium ...........................................................
1885:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, B e lg iu m .........................................................
1886:
United States.............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1887:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F ran ce.............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, B e lg iu m .........................................................
1888:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F rance.............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, B e lg iu m .........................................................
1889:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F rance.............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1890:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F ran ce.............................................................
Lyon, France.............................................................
Liege, Belgium............................ ..............................

1110—No. 38—02----- 9




Black­
smiths.

Brick­
layers.

Carpen­ Composi­ Painters,
ters.
tors.
house.

2.59?
1.34
1.23
1.35
.70

3.15
1.60*
1.44*
. 86 *

2.28
1.48*
1.37*
1.26

2.74*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.71*.

2.34*
1.44
1.25*
1 . 01 *
.58*

2.59?
1.34
1.23
1.35
.74

3.14*
1.49
1.44*
. 86 *

2.34*
1.40
1.37*
1.23*

2.76*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.72

2.31*
1.37*
1.25*
1 . 01 *
.55*

2.59*
1.38
1 .30£
1.35
.75*

3.18|
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.37*
1.40
1.37*
1.35*

2.77*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.72*

2.41*
1.34*
1.25*
1.06*
.62

2.64*
1.36*
1.30*
1.35
.85*

3.46*
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.49*
1.42*
1.37*
1.37*

2.78*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.74*

2.47*
1.37*
1.25*
1.06*
.63

2.64*
1.38
1.30*
1.35
.87

3.72
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.55
1.42*
1.55*
1.40*

2.81
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.73*

2.51
1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.62*

2.64*
1.38
1.30*
1.35
.79*

3.89
1.51*
1.64
1.06*

2.58*
1.45*
1.55*
1.35
.78*

2.80*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.75*

2.61*
1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.62*

2 . 66 *

3.95
1.51*
1.64
1.06*

2.60*
1.45*
1.55*
1.34*
.78

2.82*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.75*

1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.64*

2.62
1.38
1.30*
1.35
.78*

3.99*
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.57*
1.45*
1.55*
1.35
.78

2.82*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.82

2.64
1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.65*

2.64*
1.36*
1.38*
1.35
.78*

3.93
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.55*
1.45*
1.55*
1.33*
.77*

2.80*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.76*

2.63*
1.37*
1.35
1.06*

2 . 66 *

4.01*
1.46
1.64
1.06*

2.52*
1.45*
1.55*
1.34*
.78*

2.81*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.77*

2.63*
1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.64*

2.65
1.38
1.41*
1.40
.81

4.03
1.48*
1.64
1.06*

2.56
1.45*
1.55*
1.35
.77*

2.80*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.77*

2.64
1.37*
1.35
1.06*

2.64*
1.36*
1.41*
1.40
.78*

4.13
1.51*
1.64
1.06*

2.54
1.48*
1.55*
1.35
.78

2.80
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.75*

2.61*
1.37*
1.35
1.06*
.65*

2.63*
1.39
1.56*
1.40
.78*

4.13
1.54*
1.64
1.06*

2.59*
1.49*
1.55*
1.36*
. 78*

2.79*
1.40
1.25*
1.15*
.78*

2.59*
1.37*
1.35

1.38
1.30*
1.35
.80*

1.36*
1.39*
1.40
.79*

2 .6 6

.6 6

.6 6

1 .1 1
. 66*

126
T

a b l e

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
IV.—AVERAGE DAILY WAGES (GOLD) IN CERTAIN CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES,
GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND BELGIUM, 1870 TO 1896—Concluded.
Year and locality.

1891:
United States..................... .......................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F ran ce.....................- .....................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1892:
United States............................................................. .
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F rance.............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, B e lg iu m ................. ...................................... 1893:
United States...............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, F rance.............................................................
Lyon, France............................................................. Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1894:
United States.............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France...............................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1895:
United States............................. ...............................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France..........- ..................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, Belgium...........................................................
1896:
United States............................................................
Great Britain...............................................................
Paris, France............. ................................................
Lyon, France...............................................................
Liege, B e lg iu m .......................................................




Black­
smiths.

Brick­
layers.

Carpen­ Composi­ Painters,
ters.
tors.
house.

2.58
1.43*
1.56*
1.40
.84*

4.28*
1.60*
1.64
1.06*

2.64*
1.50*
1.55*
1.33*
.78*

2.76*
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.75*

2.61*
1.41*
1.35

2.59*
1.44*
1.56*
1.40
.87

4.23*
1.60*
1.64
1.06*

2.65
1.52*
1.55*
1.35*
.78*

2.78*
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.77*

2 . 68 *

2.59*
1.47
1.56*
1.40
.87*

4.12*
1.60*
1.64
1.06*

2.67
1.52*
1.55*
1.34
.79*

2.77*
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.76*

2.69
1.41
1.35
1.15*
. 66 *

2.49*
1.45*
1.71*
1.44*
.89*

4.12*
1.63*
1.64
1.06*

2.62*
1.52*
1.55*
1.35
.80*

2.79*
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.79

2.67*
1.41
1.35
1.27*
. 66 *

2.47
1.48
1.71*
1.44*
.82*

4.02*
1.63*
1.64
1.06*

2.55*
1.52*
1.55*
1.34
.79

2.81
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.79*

2.60*
1.41
1.35
1.15*
. 66 *

2.44*
1.52
1.71*
1.44*
.89*

3.82*
1.69*
1.64
1.06*

2.52
1.58*
1.55*
1.35*
.81

2.82*
1.44*
1.25*
1.15*
.79*

2.58*
1.42*
1.35
1.15*
.64

1 .1 1
. 66 *

1.38
1.35
1 .1 1
. 66 *




T a b l e I,

Strikes Ordered by L abor Organizations and Others , E stablishm ents I nvolved ,
and E mployees T hrown Out of Work , 1881 to 1 9 0 0 .

From

the

Forthcoming S ix t e en t h A nnual R eport

of t he

D epartment

of

L abor .

T a b l e II,

Wage L oss of E m plo yees , A ssistance to E mployees by L abor Org a n iza tio n s ,
and E m plo yers * L o ss , in St r ik e s , 1 8 8 1 to 1 8 0 0 .
WAGE

*5.ooo.cxx) *10.000.000

LOSS

*15.000,000

OF

EMPLOYEES.

*20.000.000 *25.000.000 *80000.000

*85.000.000

E MPL C ) Y
* 5.0 00 ,O
CK>

E RS ’
*K1.000000

LOSS.

'

*15.000.000
_J
1
_J
1
„l

18611
18821
18891
18841
18851
18861
18871
18881
18891
18901
18911

|-

1

|

__l
-1
_
-J

\

18991
18941
18951

1—

L

18971

- ~ - - - -- - - - -- -

19001




--

rr-

From

the

Forthcoming S ixteenth Annual Report

of the

Department

of

L abor .




T able

III.

Rela tive M oney W a g e s , Hours of L a b o r , and W holesale Prices , and R e l a t iv e Re a l Wa g e s

DATA (EXCEPT RELATIVE REALWAGES)F0RI840T01891 ARE FROM STATISTICAL DATA COLLECTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, AND
PUBLISHED IN'WHOLESALE PRICES. WACES.V»TRANSPORTATIOIl'.’A REPORT OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
a r e f r o m b u l l e t in s of t h e

D e p a r t m e n t of L a b o r . Nos .2F»-* 30.

THOSEFOR I892TOI899

R e l a t iv e R e a l Wa g e s w e r e C o m p u t e d fo r t h i s C h a r t .

T a b l e IV .

A verage Da il y W ages (G o ld ) in C e r t a in C it ie s of t h e Un ited S tate ®, Great B r it a in , F r a n c e , an d B elgium ,
1870 - 1896.

« NOT REPORTED.




From Bulletins of to Department ofLabor,NosJ8>^Z2.

THE QUEBEC TRADE DISPUTES ACT.
The following act respecting councils of conciliation and of arbitra­
tion for the settling of industrial disputes in the Province of Quebec,
Canada, was assented to and became a law March 28, 1901:
W hereas the establishment of councils of conciliation and arbitra­
tion for the friendly settlement of disputes between employers and
employees will conduce to the cultivation and maintenance of better
relations and more active sympathies between employers and their
employees, and would be in the public interest by providing simple
methods for the prevention of strikes and lockouts;

Therefore His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the
legislature of Quebec, enacts as follows:
S ection I .— General provisions.

1. This act may be cited as “ The Quebec Trade Disputes A ct.”
2. In this act the word “ employer55 means any person or body of
persons incorporated or unincorporated, employing not less than ten
workmen in the same business; the word “ employee ” means any per­
son in the employment of an employer, as defined by this act.
3. (1) A claim or dispute under this act shall include any of the
matters following as to which there is a disagreement between any
employer and his employees:
(a)
The price to be paid for work done, or in course of being done,
whether such disagreement shall have arisen with respect to wages, or
to the hours or times of working;
(5)
Damage done to work, delay in finishing the same, not finishing
the same in a good and workmanlike manner or according to agree­
ment; or the nature and quality of materials supplied to employees;
(o)
The price to be paid for extracting an}7 mineral or other sub­
stance from a mine, or quarry, or the allowances, if any, to be made
for bands, refuse, faults or other causes whereby the extraction
thereof is impeded;
(d) The performance or nonperformance of any written or verbal
stipulation or agreement;
(e) Insufficient or unwholesome food or stores supplied to employees,
where there is an agreement to victual them or to supply them with
provisions or stores of any kind;
( f ) Ill-ventilated or dangerous places in mines, or insanitary rooms
in which work is being performed, or want of necessary conveniences
in connection with such rooms or places;

(g) The dismissal or employment under agreement of any employee
or number of employees;
(h) The dismissal of an employee or employees for his or their con­
nection with any trade or labor organization.




127

128

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,

'(2) No claim or dispute shall be the subject of conciliation or arbi­
tration under this act in any case in which there are less than ten
employees interested in such claim or dispute.
4. The lieutenant-governor may appoint a “ Registrar of Councils
of Conciliation and of Arbitration ” for the settlement of industrial
disputes, chosen from among the persons performing other duties in
the public service.
5. The registrar shall:
(1) Receive and register all applications by employers or employees
or on their behalf for reference to a council of conciliation, or to a
council of arbitration, of any dispute or claim within the meaning of
this act;
(2) Convene such councils for the purpose of taking into considera­
tion and deciding any dispute or claim;
(3) Keep a register in which shall be entered the particulars of all
disputes and claims made to either of these councils, a summary of
their proceedings and the original of their decision;
(4) Issue all notices in connection with the sittings of each such
council;
(5) Do all such things as may be required to carry this act into exe­
cution, and perform all other duties defined by the commissioner of
public works.
6. The registrar may issue all summonses to compel witnesses to
attend to give evidence before a council of conciliation or a council of
arbitration, or to produce any document in their possession or for
both purposes at the same time.
S ection II.— Council o f conciliation.

7. (1) A council of conciliation for the purposes of any dispute or
claim, shall consist of four conciliators, two to be nominated by each
of the parties to the dispute.
(2) The nomination shall be by writing lodged with the registrar.
(3) Either party may lodge the nomination paper with the registrar
at any time after the dispute has arisen; and, if only one of the par­
ties has notified the registrar of the nomination of his conciliators,
that officer shall give notice to such other party of the nomination
which he has received.
(4) Any vacancy in a council of conciliation shall be filled by any
person nominated by the party who nominated the conciliator to be
replaced.
8. The dispute or claim may be referred to a council of conciliation
in the two following cases:
(1) If the parties to the dispute lodge an application therefor with
the registrar;
(2) If only one of the parties lodge the application.
9. The registrar on receipt of any such application from the parties
or from one of them, shall lay the same before the council constituted
in the prescribed manner; and he shall carry out all directions of the
council given him to effect a settlement of the dispute or claim.
10. Either party to the dispute or claim may be represented by one
or more persons not exceeding three.
Such party shall be bound by the acts of such representative or
lepresentatives.
11. Where the party numbers fewer than twenty, the manager or



THE QUEBEC TRADE DISPUTES ACT.

129

managers must be authorized to act b}r a writing signed by all such
persons and handed to the registrar.
Where the party numbers twenty or more, the manager or managers
may be appointed or elected in such manner as such persons think
proper.
A copy of the resolution (if any) electing the managers, together
with a declaration by the chairman of the meeting (if any) stating it
to have been carried, shall be given to the registrar and be kept as a
record of the election.
12. The parties to the dispute shall, if possible, draw up a joint
written statement of their case; but if they do not agree thereupon,
a statement in writing from each party shall be made.
The statement or statements shall be forwarded to the registrar
before the meeting of the council.
13. When the parties have named their conciliators, the registrar
shall by notice writing convene a meeting of the conciliators at such
time and place as he determines.
14. (1) After taking cognizance of the dispute and of the facts,
hearing the parties and endeavoring to conciliate them, the council of
conciliation shall transmit to the registrar a report setting forth the
result of its operations.
(2) In case such report is to the effect that the council has failed to
bring about any settlement of the dispute, the registrar, on receipt of
the report, shall transmit a copy, certified by him, to each party
to the dispute; whereupon either party may require the registrar to
refer the dispute to the council of arbitration for settlement.
S ection III.— Council o f arbitration.

15. (1) There shall be two councils of arbitration: a council of arbi­
tration for the settlement of disputes other than between railway
(including street railway) companies and wage-earners employed in
respect of railway construction or traffic on railways; and a council of
arbitration for the settlement of disputes between such railway com­
panies and wage-earners so employed in respect of railway construc­
tion or traffic on railways.
(2) Each council of arbitration shall consist of three members,
British subjects, appointed by the lieutenant-governor in council.
(3) One member is appointed on the recommendation of the
employees, and another on the recommendation of the employers;
such two members may, within twenty-one days after their appoint­
ment, submit to the lieutenant-governor in council the name of some
impartial person to be the third member, and president of the council.
(4) In case of the said two members failing so to do, the lieutenantgovernor in council shall appoint as president an experienced impartial
person not personally connected with or interested in any trade or
industry, or likely by reason of his former occupation, business voca­
tion, or other influence, to be biased in favor of or against employers
or employees.
(5) The same person may be president of both councils.
(6) As soon as practicable after the council has been completed, the
names of the members of the council shall be published by the regis­
trar in the Quebec Official Gazette.
(7) The lieutenant-governor in council may, on the recommendation
of the recommending authority, cancel the appointment of any mem­
ber appointed on the recommendation of such authority.



130

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

(8) The term of office of a member of each council shall be two years;
at the end of which term and of every successive term of two years, a
fresh appointment of members shall be made in manner aforesaid.
(9) Every member retiring from office shall be reeligibie.
(10) If the president of a council becomes insolvent, or makes a
composition with his creditors, or makes an assignment of his property
or salary for the benefit of his creditors, or if any member or a coun­
cil is convicted of any criminal offense, he thereby vacates his office of
a member.
(11) Any vacancy in a council arising from death, resignation or
other cause, is filled by a person nominated by the lieutenant-governor
in council for the term ot office, or the residue of such term (as the
case may be), in accordance with the methods prescribed by this act.
(12) In case the president of a council is temporarily unable to act
as such from illness, absence from the Province, or other cause, the
lieutenant-governor in council may appoint a person to be acting
president of the council in his place; and such acting president shall
perform all the duties imposed by this act upon the president.
(13) I f any member of a council, other than the president, shall
from illness or from any other disability howsoever arising, be unable
to perform the duties of his office in respect to any dispute, the par­
ties may consent, in writing under their hands, to the appointment,
by the lieutenant-governor in council, of a member named in such
disability; and if either of the parties refuses such consent, then the
judge of the superior court for the district in which the dispute has
arisen may, on the application to him of the other party after notice
given to the party refusing its consent, designate a person to be the
appointed member as aforesaid, and the lieutenant-governor in council
may appoint the person so designated, who shall thereupon be deemed
a member of such council for all purposes relating to the hearing and
determination of such dispute.
(14) The members of each council of arbitration shall be remunerated
for their services in such manner and according to such rate of pay­
ment as the lieutenant-governor in council shall appoint, from and out
o f the consolidated revenue fund of this Province.
16.
The recommendation of employers and employees as to the per­
sons to be appointed as members of the councils of arbitration respec­
tively is ascertained as follows:
(a) For the selection of the person to be recommended by the
employers, every employer in the Province having at least ten persons
in nis employment is entitled to one vote; every organization in the
Province, whether incorporated or unincorporated, representing the
interests of employers, each member of which has at least ten persons
in his employment, is entitled to one vote; every board of trade in the
Province legally constituted is entitled to one vote.
(b) For the selection of the person to be recommended by employ­
ees as a member of the council of arbitration in matters foreign to rail­
ways, every trade and labor council, every district assembly of the
knights of labor, every federated council of building trades, every law­
fully incorporated trade union, every organization of wage-earners of
an industrial calling primarily constituted, and actually and bona fide
operated for the regulation of the wages and hours of labor, is entitled
to one vote.
(c) For the selection of the person to be recommended by employees
of railway companies as a member of the council of arbitration in mat­



THE QUEBEC TBADE DISPUTES ACT.

131

ters connected with railways, every organization in the Province,
whether incorporated or unincorporated, exclusively representing the
interest of wage-earners employed in respect of railway construction
or traffic on railways, is entitled, to one vote.
(d) For the selection of the person to be recommended by railway
companies as a member of the council of arbitration in matters refer­
ring to railways, every railway company controlling or running a line
of railway in this Province is entitled to one vote.
(e) The registrar shall give notice in the Quebec Official Gazette,
calling on all organizations and persons entitled to vote for the selec­
tion of a member to be recommended to either council, or claiming to
be so entitled, to communicate with him on or before the 1st of August,
1901, and every second year thereafter. Such notice is to be inserted
for at least four weeks before the said day in each of the said years.
( f ) The registrar shall, after the 1st of August aforesaid, prepare
a list of the persons and organizations appearing to be entitled to vote,
and may refer any doubtful claim to the commissioner of public works
for his advice or direction.
(g) Such list shall give the last known post office address of every
person and organization entered thereon; shall be published in the
Quebec Official Gazette, and shall be open to inspection at any time
by any person, without fee, in the office of the registrar during office
hours.
(h) Between the first and thirtieth days of September next, and
between the same days of every second year thereafter, the registrar
shall transmit by post to the address of each person and organization
entitled to vote, a voting paper in the Form M, of this act.
(i) The voting paper of any person entitled to vote under this act
as an employer shall be signed by himself or some person duly author­
ized in writing in that behalf; and the voting paper of any organiza­
tion entitled to vote shall be signed by the president or vice-president
of the organization, or, in the absence of such president or vicepresident, by any office bearer of the organization other than the sec­
retary thereof, and shall be countersigned by the secretary or acting
secretary, or in the absence of such secretary or acting secretary by
any two members not being office bearers. The voting papers of a
board of trade shall be under the corporate seal of the board.
( j ) The voting paper shall be forwarded in a stamped envelope
addressed to the Registrar of Councils of Conciliation and Arbitration,
Quebec, and endorsed “ Voting paper under The Quebec Trade Disputes
A ct.”
(k) Every voting paper shall be forwarded by mail or otherwise to
the registrar, so as to be received by him on or before the fifteenth
day of October in the year 1901, and every subsequent second fifteenth
of October thereafter.
(l) Every voting paper received by the registrar after the time lim­
ited for the receipt of voting papers by the preceding paragraph is null.
(m) The registrar shall forthwith after the fifteenth of October,
count the recommendations by or on behalf of employees or by or on
behalf of employers for each council, and shall forward the same to
the commissioner of public works, together with his report thereon;
and the commissioner of public works, upon being satisfied of the
accuracy of such report, shall publish in the Quebec Official Gazette
the result of such recommendations, and the names of the persons
appointed by the lieutenant-governor in council, to be members of the



132

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

councils u j l arbitration, and also the names of, and number of recom­
mendations in favor of the five persons who have received the greater
number o f recommendations for each council on behalf of employers
and employees respectively.
17. Any dispute may be referred to the appropriate council of arbi­
tration for its nearing and determination in any of the following cases:
(a) On application to the registrar by either party to a dispute or
claim which, having been referred to a council of conciliation, has not
been settled or adjustable [adjusted] by such council;
(1) On application to the registrar by both parties to the dispute or
claim within the meaning of this act, which has not been so referred
to a council of conciliation.
18. If, in either case mentioned in the preceding article, the award
of the council o f arbitration is not complied with and carried out by
the parties, or for any reason proves abortive, the parties to the
reference or either of them shall not thereby be precluded from again
referring the dispute to a council of conciliation.
19. Whenever a party to a dispute has lodged an application with
the registrar requesting that the dispute be referred to a council of
conciliation, and has appointed conciliators, and notice of the applica­
tion and of the appointment of conciliators has been given to the other
party, if such other party has not within a reasonable period appointed
conciliators, and if the party lodging the application has not proceeded
to a strike or lockout, as the case may be, the council of arbitration,
if it thinks fit, may proceed as in case of an abortive reference to a
council of conciliation, and such council may report its decision as to
the settlement o f the dispute in question.
20. In every case referred to a council of arbitration, the council
shall have power to require, either of each party to the claim or dis­
pute to name not more than three persons who upon their consent
m writing being lodged with the registrar, shall for all purposes of
the reference be taken to represent such party in the proceedings
before the council.
21. The meetings of the council of arbitration are public.
The president shall, for the purpose of preserving order during any
sitting of the council, have all the powers of a judge of the superior
court save that he shall not have the power of committing for contempt.
The council of arbitration shall decide the disputes according to
equity and good conscience.
22. (1) The award of the council of arbitration shall be made within
one month after the council has completed its hearing of the reference;
it shall be given by and under the hands of a majority of the members
of the council.
(2) At the request of either party, and if the council of arbitration
approves, a copy of the award is published by the registrar in the
Quebec Official Gazette.
(3) The award, or a copy certified under the hand of the president
of the council, is deposited in the office of the registrar, and shall be
open to inspection without charge during office hours.
23. Either party to a dispute referred to either council of arbitra­
tion, may at any time before award made, by writing under the hands
of such party, agree to be bound by the award of the council, in the
same manner as parties are bound upon an award made pursuant to a
submission under Chapter L X X I I I of the Code of Civil Procedure
agreeing to be bound by an award.



THE QUEBEC TRADE DISPUTES ACT.

133

Every agreement of that nature made by one party shall be com­
municated to the other party by the registrar, and, if such other party
also agree in like manner to be bound by the award, then the award
becomes executory in accordance with article 1413 of the said Code.
S e c t i o n I Y . —Miscellaneous provisions.

24. For the purposes of this act, councils of conciliation and arbi­
tration have power:
(a) To visit the locality where the dispute has arisen, and to hear
all persons interested who may come before them;
(o) To summon any person to attend as a witness before the council,
and in the case of any person summoned refusing to attend, applica­
tion may be made in summary way to a justice of the peace having
jurisdiction in the city, town or county wherein the council may be
sitting for an order compelling such attendance; and such justice of
the peace is hereby empowered to make such order as might be made
in any case wherein such justice has power to compel appearance before
the council, as he might compel such witness to appear before himself
in matters governed by Part L V III of the Criminal Code, 1892;
(<?) To administer an oath or to take the affirmation of any person
attending as a witness before the council, and to examine any such
person on oath or affirmation.
25. No party to any dispute referred to a council of conciliation or
a council of arbitration shall be represented by an advocate, or by any
paid agent or agents other than one or more of the persons between
whom the dispute or claim as [has] arisen.
26. No fees shall be paid to the registrar by any party in respect of
any proceeding under this act.
27. Each member of any council of conciliation shall for his services
be remunerated, out of the consolidated revenue fund of the Province,
according to the following tariff:
Preliminary m eetin g ...............................................................................................................$3.00
W hole day sittings, subsequent meetings......................................................................... 4.00
Half-day sittings,
“
“
......................................................................... 2.00

28. Witnesses before councils of conciliation and of arbitration shall
be entitled to the same fees as in the superior court, payable out of
the consolidated revenue fund of the Province.
29. The lieutenant-governor in council may make regulations for
fixing the place where the councils of conciliation and arbitration shall
sit, and for the purpose of giving effect to any of the provisions of
this act.
Such regulations come into force on publication in the Quebec
Official Gazette.
Such regulations shall be laid before the legislative council and
before the legislative assembly within fourteen days after being pub­
lished in the Quebec Official Gazette, if the legislature is then in ses­
sion; and if not, within fourteen days from the date of the first day of
the ensuing session.
30. No proceeding under this act shall be deemed invalid by reason
of any detect or form of irregularity.
31. This act shall come into force on the day of its sanction.




RECENT REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS.

KANSAS.
Sixteenth Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Labor and Industry fo r
1900. W. L. A. Johnson, Commissioner, vi, 365, pp.
The contents of the present report are as follows: Wage-earner
statistics, 144 pages; railway employees, 10 pages; labor organizations,
17 pages; flour-milling industry, 53 pages; lead, zinc, and gas statis­
tics, 6 pages; factory inspection, 18 pages; strikes and labor difficul­
ties, 22 pages; enforcement of labor laws, 45 pages; court decisions
affecting labor, 3 pages; appendix, 40 pages.
Statistics of W age -E arners . —The usual investigation was made
with regard to the condition of wage-earners. Details are presented
showing earnings, cost of living, hours of labor, conjugal condition,
etc. The information was obtained directly from the wage earners.
The following table shows, by occupation groups, the more important
data presented:
STATISTICS OF WAGE-EARNERS, BY OCCUPATION GROUPS, 1900.

Average yearly
wages.

Average yearly in­
yearly cost Days unemployed
come from all Average
of living.
during year.
sources.

Occupation groups.
Number
Number
Number
Number
report­ Amount. report­ Amount. report­ Amount. report­
ing.
ing.
ing.
ing.

Days
unem­
ployed.

Railway trainmen..
Other railway em­
ployees ...................
Building trades........
Miscellaneous trades
Farm la b o r...............

105

$947.13

105

$980.08

94

$688.49

72

95.0

105
74
175
35

602.70
487.52
519.54
205.81

105
74
175
35

641.27
520.64
559.47
218.95

94
65
143
33

456.51
375.14
414.29
122.35

62
71
127
28

49.6
93.7
65.3
51.0

All occupations

494

601.07

494

636.32

429

455.23

360

73.0

Of 472 wage-earners making returns, 268 reported increased oppor­
tunities for employment as compared with 1899, 53 reported decreased
opportunities, and 151 reported conditions about the same. O f 446
returns, 156 reported increased wages, 37 reported decreased wages,
and 252 reported no change in wages as compared with the preceding
year. O f 467 returns, 86 reported increased hours of labor, 98
reported decreased hours, and 283 reported no change in the hours of
labor as compared with the preceding year. The average hours of
labor reported in 458 cases were 10.3 per day.
134




135

REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR---- KANSAS.

The returns are also classified by age periods, and in some occupa­
tions comparative data for a series of years ending with 1900 are given.
R ailw ay E mployees . —Statistics are given showing for 8 railroads
in the State the number of employees, the total number of days they
worked, and their average daily wages and yearly earnings.
L abor O rganizations . —The following table shows the number and
membership of 116 labor organizations on December 31,1900:
NUMBER AND MEMBERSHIP OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, DECEMBER 31, 1900.

Labor organizations.

Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America........................
Amalgamated Wood Workers’ International Union of North America........................
American Railway U n io n ...........................................................................................................
Bricklayers and Masons’ International Union......................................................................
Brotherhood of Boiler Makers and Iron Shipbuilders of America.................................
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers...................................................................................
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen......................................................................................
Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers............................ .•..................
Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America........................................................................
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen..........................................................................................
Brotherhood of Railway Trackmen of Am erica..................................................................
Building Laborers’ International Protective U n ion ...........................................................
Cigar Makers’ International Union..........................................................................................
Coopers’ International Union of North A m erica................................................................
Federal Labor Union......................................................................................................................
International Association of Machinists.................................................................................
International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths..........................................................................
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...............................................................
International Brotherhood of Stationary F irem en.............................................................
International Typographical U nion........................................................................................
International Union of Stationary Engineers of America . . ...........................................
Iron Molders’ U nion......................................................................................................................
Kansas State Barbers’ Association............................................................................................
Order of Railway Conductors.....................................................................................................
Retail Clerks’ International Protective Association...........................................................
Switchmen’s Union of North America.....................................................................................
United Association of Journevmen Plumbers......................................................................
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America..............................................
U n ite d Brotherhood of Le athe r W orkers on Horse Goods................................................
United Mine Workers of America..............................................................................................
Total........................................................................................................................................

Local un­
Mem­
ions or
branches. bers.
3
1
1
1

3
10

9
4
3
11
1
1
6
1
8

3
3
1
2

5
2
1
1
8

3
3

95
18
10

37
72
420
406
114
72
576
5
75
156
32
271
116
78
11
21
200

43
20

31
389
161
72

1

20

5
1
12
2

324
18
2,433
45

116

6,341

Returns from 121 labor organizations were tabulated, but of these 5
did not report membership. The other 116 reported a total of 6,341
members on December 31, 1900. Fifty unions reported an aggregate
increase of 680 members, and 25 reported a total decrease of 695 mem­
bers. Of 117 unions reporting, 80 had agreements, schedules, or con­
tracts with employers. The annual fees, aside from insurance, charged
for membership in 112 unions reporting ranged from $1 to $20, the
average cost per member per year being $7.06. Returns from 112
unions showed that an average of 69.4 per cent of labor in the local­
ities of these unions was organized. The members of 114 unions report­
ing were employed an average of 10.8 months during the year. The
average working day .of members of 102 unions was 9.4 hours. O f
121 unions, 78 reported increased opportunities for employment as
compared with 1899, 16 reported decreased opportunities, and 27
reported no change. Of 107 unions, 38 reported increased wages, 1
decreased wages, and 68 reported no change as compared with 1899.



136

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

T he M illing I ndustry . —This investigation covers returns from
200 flour mills and 77 elevators in the State. Tables are given show­
ing, for each establishment reporting, the amount of capital invested,
cost of production, quantity and value of product, persons employed,
wages paid, and months in operation during the year 1900. The returns
published were largely incomplete. There was an average of 1,524 per­
sons employed during the year in 169 mills reporting. In 139 mills mil­
lers received an average of $2.32 per day; other skilled laborers in 95
mills received an average of $2.13 per day; and unskilled laborers in
158 mills received an average of $1.26 per day. The average time in
operation of 170 mills reporting was 9.6 months during the year.
The 77 elevators reported a total invested capital of $817,546.40.
There was an average of 173 persons employed during the year in
55 elevators reporting. The average daily wages paid skilled labor
were $1.66 per day in 15 establishments, and for unskilled labor, $1.07
per day in 40 establishments.
Fifty-one establishments reporting
were in operation an average of 10.2 months during the year.
T he L ead and Z inc I ndustry . —This part of the report contains
statistics of the output and value of the mine products in the State
during the year 1900. Returns from 146 plants show an output of
10,868,317 pounds of lead, valued at $271,140.65, and 103,520,258
pounds of zinc, valued at $1,394,019.10. These figures show’ a decided
decrease when compared with the preceding year.
N atural G as. —An account is given of the development of the gas
production in the State and of its effect upon the manufacturing
industries.
S trikes and L abor D ifficulties . —Accounts are given of some
of the more important strikes and other labor difficulties occurring in
the State during the year, showing the causes, results, and other cir­
cumstances connected with the same.

RHODE ISLAND.
Thirteenth Annual R eport o f the Commissioner o f Industrial Statis­
tics, made to the general assembly at its January session, 1900. Henry
E. Tiepke, Commissioner, vii, 479 pp.
The present report treats of the following subjects: Professions,
trades, and occupations o f the qualified electors of the city of Paw­
tucket, 12 pages; commercial statistics of the port of Providence, 18941898,4 pages; statistics of textile manufactures, 52 pages; jewelry and
silverware manufactures, 48 pages; decisions of courts affecting labor,
309 pages; directory of jewelry manufacturers, 46 pages.
P rofessions, etc ., in P aw tucket . —This chapter consists of a statis­
tical table showing by wards and voting districts the number of quali­




137

REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR— RHODE ISLAND.

fied electors engaged in each of the various professions, trades, and
other occupations in Pawtucket in 1899.
C ommercial Statistics. —Tables are given showing quantity of
commodities arriving and leaving the port of Providence by water
during the years 1891 to 1898 and the vessels entering and leaving in
1897 and 1898.
T e xtile M anufactures . —Comparative statistics are given, based
upon returns made in the years 1897 and 1898 by 151 establishments
engaged in textile industries. Of the establishments reporting, 76 were
engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, 9 in hosiery and knit
goods, 11 in bleaching, dyeing, and printing, 3 in silk goods, and 19 in
woolen goods.
Following is a summary of the figures presented:
STATISTICS OF 151 TEXTILE MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS, 1897 AND 1898.
Increase.
Items.

1897.

1898.
Amount.

Firm s............................................................................................
Corporations...............................................................................
Partners and stockholders.....................................................
Capital invested........................................................................
Value of material u se d ...........................................................
Value of goods made and work done.................................
Aggregate wages p a id .............................................................
Average days in operation.....................................................
Employees:
Average number................................................................
Greatest number................................................................
Smallest num ber...............................................................
Average yearly earnings..................................................

59
92
1,545
$54,883,565
$29,952,521
$49,471,309
$12,398,056
282.17

al
58
1
93
1,588
43
$54,802,955
a $80,610
$28,750,609 <*$1,201,912
$49,903,267
$431,958
$12,219,058 a $178,998
282.66
0.49

36,885
39,348
32,736
$336.13

37,114
39,982
33,053
$329.23

229
634
317
a$6.90

Per cent.
a 1.69
1.09
2.78
a . 15
a 4.01
-.87
a 1.44
.17
.62
1.61
.97
a 2.05

a Decrease.

J ew elry and S ilverware M anufactures . — Statistics are given
of the capital invested, value of materials used and of goods made and
work done, wages and salaries paid, persons employed, etc., in each of
the various branches of the jewelry and silverware manufacturing
industries in the State for 1899.
Following is a genera] summary of the statistics given:
STATISTICS OF JEWELRY AND SILVERWARE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, 1899.

Industries.

Estab­
lish­
in­
ments Capital
vested.
report­
ing.

$3,644,929
1,418,258
1,220,252
3,000,760
61,560
8,885

6

$5,874,134
3,180,048
975,494
444,429
53,970
33,725
12,625
39,050
41,752

249

10,655,227

9,382,331

Jewelry..............................
Silverware........................
Jewelers’ findings...........
Refining.............................
Electroplating.................
Enameling........................
Engravingand chasing..
Die-sinking........................
Lapidaries..........................

142
9
27

T otal........................




Value of
material
used.

11
12
12

17
13

13,890
13,797

Value
of goods
made and
work
done.

Wages
and
salaries
paid.

$9,640,485 $2,945,564
4,111,750 1,103,291
265,324
1,827,791
3,354,922
70,331
145,194
44,887
60,663
113,904
21,855
52,060
39,333
84,280
51,641
114,941
19,445,327

4,602,889

Other
expendi­
tures.

Persons
em­
ployed.

$698,133
542,350
93,472
94,941
21,690
7,252
5,578
7,440
18,313

5,927
1,710
517
92
116
181
43
61

1,489,169

8,767

120

138

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

D ecisions oF Courts A ffecting L abor . —This chapter is devoted
to a reproduction of the decisions published in the bulletins of the
United States Department of Labor during the year 1899.

VIRGINIA.
Third Annual Report o f the Bureau o f Labor and Industrial /Statis­
tics fo r the State o f Virginia, 1900. James B. Doherty, Com­
missioner. 287 pp.
This is the second report published by the bureau since its creation,
but as it is issued for the third year of the bureau’s existence, it is
designated as the third annual report. Its contents may be grouped
as follows: Gas plants, waterworks, and electric light and power
plants, 44 pages; manufactures, 118 pages; railroads, 12 pages; coal
industry, 3 pages; liability of employers, 28 pages; labor bills, 12
pages; the New Zealand industrial conciliation and arbitration act,
1894, 23 pages; trade unions, 37 pages; trade notes, 5 pages; reform­
atories, 3 pages.
G as P lants , W aterworks , and E lectric L ight and P ower
P lants . —The information given in this part of the report relates to

the character of ownership, whether municipal or private, the char­
acter of the service, equipment, systems of distribution, cost of
service, taxation, legislative conditions under which plants are oper­
ated, number and wages of employees, etc., of all gas, water, and
electric lighting plants for which information could be obtained.
M anufactures . — Statistical tables and analyses are given for each
of 16 industries in the State. The data relate to the value of goods
made, capital invested, cost of material used, value of stock on hand
at the close of the year, days in operation, persons employed, total
wages paid, average daily wages and hours of labor, etc., during the
year 1899. The statistics cover the following industries: Artificial
ice, baking powders, boxes, breweries, cigarettes and cigars, cotton
mills, fish oil, iron foundries, knitting mills, paper and pulp mills,
pickles, printing and engraving, shirts and underwear, staves and
cooperage, and tobacco and woolen mills.
R ailroads . —Tables are given showing the number of employees,
days worked, and wages paid by each of the 23 steam railroads operat­
ing in the State. Statistics of accidents on these railroads are also
given.
Coal I ndustry . —The statistics given under this head were compiled
from United States Government reports.
L iability of E mployers . —This chapter consists of a reproduction
of an article published in Bulletin No. 31 of this Department.
L abor B ills .— Under this head are reproduced a number of the
most important bills affecting labor that were presented at the last
session of the State legislature.



REPORTS OF STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR-----VIRGINIA.

139

O rganized L abor . —Inquiries were sent to 182 trade unions in the
State, but of. these only 121 responded. The following table shows
the number and membership of these organizations and the number
of members employed on November 1, 1900:
NUMBER AND MEMBERSHIP OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERS EMPLOYED ON
NOVEMBER 1, 1900, BY OCCUPATIONS.
Members
Local
em­
unions Member­ ployed
or
Novem­
branch­ ship.
ber 1 ,
es.
1900.

Occupations.

Bakers..........................
Barbers..........................
Bartenders...................
Blacksmiths.................
Blacksmiths’ helpers.
Boiler makers.............
Boiler makers’ helpers
Brakemen.....................
Brewery workers........
Bricklayers...................
Car builders and re­
pairers ......................
Carpenters and mill
m en ............................
Cigar makers...............
Clerks, retail...............
Conductors,
train­
men, and switch­
men ............................
Core makers.................
Electrical workers . . .
Engineers....................
Federal union (a) —
Firemen........................
Glass blowers...............
Granite cutters...........
Laborers......................
Lathers, wood and
metal..........................

1
1
1

36

36

22

22

3
3
4

27
148
25
467
41
206
108
260

27
148
25
467
41
203
108
244

3

273

273

3
1
2
1

9
3
3

986
140
178

969
138
144

5

249
43
113
616
40
386
45

249
39
113
596
40
5 354
45

12

10

2
2
11
1

7
2
1
1
1

13

13

20

20

Occupations.

Members
Local
em­
unions Member­ ployed
or
ship.
Novem­
branch­
ber 1 ,
es.
1900.

Leather workers___
Letter carriers.........
Longshoremen.........
Machinists.................
Molders......................
Musicians...................
Overall makers........
Painters and deco­
rators ......................
Pattern makers........
Plasterers...................
Plumbers...................
Printers......................
Seamen......................
Slate and tin roofers.
Stove mounters........
Tailors........................
Textile workers........
Theatrical employ­
ees ........................ ..
Tinsmiths...................
Tobacco workers___
Trunk
and
bag
makers....................

1
1
1

1

30

30

Total...................

121

10,105

d% 773

25
46

25
46

100

100

2
2
1

609
196
60
18

603
193

4

326

298

1
2
2

22

22

74
72
321
1,300

74
72
282
1,300

9

7
1
1
1
2
1
1

3
6

a Including various occupations.
5 One trade union, with a membership of 22, not reporting.
c Not reported.
d Three trade unions, with a membership of 82, not reporting.




(c)
18

10

10

14
79
800

14
79
800

27
124
1,398

1,334

27
122

RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS.
AUSTRIA.
Systematisches Yerzeichnis der Gewerbe und anderer gewerbemassig
ausgmbter Besehdftigungen fu r statistisehe Zhoecke dev Handels- und
Gewerbekammern in den im Reichsrathe vertretenen Konigreichen
und Lwidern. Zweite revidierte A ullage. 1900. 147 pp.
The present volume, which is intended as a reference book for the
use of the chambers of commerce and industry, is a revised edition of
a publication issued in 1896. It contains a classified list not only of
all occupations in the countries represented in the Austrian Parlia­
ment which come within the scope of the industrial code (Gewerbeordnung), as in the case of the first edition, but also of all other
enterprises and branches of industry which are subject to the provi­
sions of the income-tax law. The present report contains 10,267 quo­
tations of occupations and industries. These are classified into two
general divisions, the first covering 6,571 quotations relating to the
production of raw materials and manufacturing, and the second con­
taining 3,696 quotations relating to commerce, transportation, and
other industries. The industries in the first division are subdivided
into 19 and those in the second division into 6 principal groups.
These principal groups are again subdivided into minor groups. In
a second list the individual quotations of occupations and industries
are arranged alphabetically.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Eighth Annual R eport on Changes in Rates o f Wages and Hours o f
Labor in the United Kingdom. 1900. xciv, 273 pp. (Published
by the Labor Department of the British Board of Trade.)
This is the eighth of a series of annual reports dealing with the
changes in the market rates of wages and recognized hours of labor of
working people in the United Kingdom for a full week’s work, exclu­
sive of overtime. The changes of this character are shown in detailed
tables and in summaries showing the facts with regard to each trade
and group of trades classified in various ways. The report also con­
tains piece-price statements and sliding-wage scales agreed upon in
1900 and the principal amendments to similar statements which were
140




141

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

in operation before the beginning of that year. The changes recorded
in the present report are based upon returns from employees’ and
employers’ associations, trade unions, local correspondents of the
department, and official sources. These returns show that at the end
of the year 1900 the general level of wages in the United Kingdom
stood higher than in any other year for which statistics exist and that
the rate of increase during the year 1900 was unprecedentedly high.
The year as a whole was characterized by good trade, steady employ­
ment, and freedom from disputes of any considerable magnitude,
although some signs of decline in the labor market were observable
toward the end of the year.
The tables following summarize the principal data contained in the
returns for the years 1893 to 1900:
CHANGES IN RATES OF WAGES, AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, 1893 TO 1900.
Separate individuals affected by—
Changes
Changes
leaving
in rates of Increases Decreases
wages
same
in rates of in rates of
wages.
at end as
wages.
wages.
at beginning
of year.

Year.

1893.......................................
1894.......................................
1895.......................................
1896.......................................
1897.......................................
1898.......................................
1899.......................................
1900.......................................

706
779
804
1,607
1,518
1,406
1,593
1,418

142,364
175,615
79,867
382,225
560,707
1,003,290
1,174,444
1,112,684

256,473
488.357
351,895
167.357
13,855
11,865
1,132
23,010

151,140
6,414
4,956
58,072
22,882
14
92

Total indi­
viduals
affected by
changes
in rates of
wages.

Average
weekly in­
crease in
rates of
wages.

549,977
670,386
436,718
607,654
597,444
1,015,169
1,175,576
1,135,786

$0.1 1 2
a . 330
a . 314
.213
.259
.385
.375
.897

a Decrease.
CHANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, 1893 TO 1900.

Year.

Separate individuals
affected by—
Changes
in hours of Increases Decreases
labor.
in hours of in hours of
labor.
labor.

1893..................................................................
1894...................................................................
1895..................................................................
1896..................................................................
1897..................................................................
1898..................................................................
1899..................................................................
1900..................................................................

155
221

141
245
254
202

209
158

1,530
128
1,287
73,616
1,060
1,277
2,600
869

33,119
77,030
21,448
34,655
69,572
37,772
33,349
56,857

Total indi­
viduals
affected by
changes
in hours of
labor.
34,649
77,158
22,735
108,271
70,632
39,049
35,949
57,726

Average
weekly re­
duction in
hours of
labor.
1.99
4.04
1.94
.73
4.03
2 .1 0

3.54
4.12

The data shown in the above tables, as well as in the detailed tables,
do not include returns regarding agricultural laborers, seamen, and
railroad employees, which are separately treated in the report.
Changes in K ates of W ages. —The unit adopted for comparison
is the rate of wages for a full week’s workr exclusive of overtime, at
the end of 1900, compared with a similar week at the end of 1899.
During the year 1900 1,135,786 persons were affected by wage
changes, of whom 1,112,684, or 97.97 per cent, had their wages

1110—No. 38—02---- 10



142

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

increased; 23,010, or 2.02 per cent, suffered a reduction, and 92, or
0.01 per cent, were affected by changes leaving the wages the same at
the end as at the beginning of the year. The net result of these
changes was an aggregate rise of £209,873 ($1,018,914) per week,
compared with a rise of £90,905 ($442,389) in 1899, and a rise of £80,815
($393,286) in 1898. The net increase per week per employee affected by
changes in wages was 3s. 8id. ($0,897) in 1900, compared with Is.
6*d. ($0,375) in 1899 and Is. 7d. ($0,385) in 1898.
The following table shows, by industries, the number of changes in
the rates of wages in 1900, and the number of employees affected:
CHANGES IN RATES OF WAGES AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, BY INDUSTRIES, 1900.
Separate individuals affected
by—

Industries.

Building....................................................
Mining and quarrying..........................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding
Textile.......................................................
Clothing....................................................
Miscellaneous...................... 1................
Employees of public authorities........
Total

Total indi­
Average
viduals
Changes
Changes affected by weekly in­
in rates
Deleaving
crease
in
Increases 1creases wages same changes in
of
rates of
wages. in rates of'in rates at end as at rates of
wages.
wages.
wages.
of
wages. beginning
of year.
350
175
399
68
42
195
189

69,863
701,419
88,196
125,089
8,481
87,902
31,734

1,418

1, 112,684

8,697
40
4,018 ....................
7,037
52
3,249
9

78,600
705,437
95,285
125,089
8,481
91,151
31,743

$0.411
1.161
.831
.233
.527
.456
.395

23,010

1,135,786

.897

As in previous years the most prominent feature of the changes in
rates of wages in 1900 was the rise of miners’ wages, the group of
mining and quarrying showing a total of 701,419 individual employees
whose wages were increased, and but 4,018 whose wages were reduced.
In the textile industry 125,089 employees had their wages increased,
and nOne suffered a reduction.
The net results of these changes in rates of wages during a period
of eight years are shown by industries in the following table:
AVERAGE INCREASE IN RATES OF WAGES, BY INDUSTRIES, 1893 to 1900.
Average increase per employee per week.
Industries.
1893.
Building.........................................................
Mining and quarrying.......................................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding...........
Textile....................................................................
Clothing................. ..............................................
Miscellaneous........................................................
Employees of public authorities .....................
Total.............................................................

1894.

1895.

1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.

SO.360 10.345 10.411 SO. 502 $0,517 $0,502 $0,487
.132
.228 a. 421 a. 461 a. 127
.416
.395
a. 218 a. 157
.005
.370
.269
.279
.634
.1 1 2
.046
a. 086
.02 0
.1 2 2
.041 a. 086
.502
.385
.335
.314
.476
.091
.274
a. 020 a. 076 a. 127
.416
.507
.390
.390
.360
.380
.390
.294
.350
.345
.284
.112

a. 330

a. 314

.213

.259

.385

.375

1900.
$0,411
1.161
.831
.233
.527
.456
.395
.897

a Decrease.

The net increase in 1900 was more than twice as great as the increase
in any other year of the eight-year period. The industry group of
mining and quarrying shows the greatest increase per employee, namely,
4s. 9£d. ($1,161). The slightest net increase per employee occurred



FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

143

in the group of textiles, namely, ll£d. ($0,233). The groups of build­
ing trades, clothing, and employees of public authorities show an
unbroken succession of net increases in rates of wages for each year
of the period.
The groups of agricultural laborers, railway employees, and seamen
have been separately considered in the report, owing to the difficulty
in obtaining returns of the precise number of persons affected by
changes in wage rates in these industries.
Information regarding the wages of agricultural laborers in England
and Wales was obtained mainly from the chairmen of rural district
councils. In the report the current rates of weekly cash wages in
January and June, 1900, are compared with those returned for corre­
sponding dates in 1899. The returns received were exclusive of piece­
work earnings and extra payments and allowances of any kind.
Figures presented for a series of years show that the improvement in
the rates of wages of agricultural laborers has continued steadily since
1896. The districts in which an increase in wages was reported for
1900 contained 281,262 laborers, or 86,071 more than the corresponding
number for 1899. No decreases were reported in 1900, the number
affected by decreases in wages having fallen .off year by year since
1895. The total effect of these changes was an increase of £9,939
($48,368.14) per week, or 8jd. ($0,172) per employee of those affected,
or id. ($0.01) more than in 1899. Calculated on the total number of
agricultural laborers in England and Wales, the rise per employee in
1900 amounted to 3id. ($0,066) per week. The returns for Scotland
were based on information obtained from hiring fairs, and also from a
number of representative employers. A t the yearly and half-yearly
hiring fairs held in the spring or early summer of 1900, the wages of
men frequently rose at the rate of about 20s. ($4.87) to 50s. ($12.17)
and sometimes as much as 60s. ($14.60) per annum. The wages of
women and boys also generally increased. A t the hiring fairs held
between August and December the old rates were maintained in most
cases, and where changes took place increases were more numerous
than decreases. Reports from Ireland show a slight upward tendency
in the wages of farm laborers.
The rates of wages of seamen are based upon returns furnished by
superintendents of the mercantile marine in the various ports of the
Kingdom. The monthly wages on steamships show the following
changes: Able seamen, from 82s. 8d. ($20.11) in 1899 to 82s. 5d. ($20.05)
in 1900, a decrease of 3d. ($0,061); firemen and trimmers, from 87s. 2d.
($21.21) in 1899 to 87s. Id. ($21.19) in 1900, a decrease of Id. ($0.02).
The monthly wages of able seamen on sailing vessels increased from
59s. lOd. ($14.56) in 1899 to 60s. 7d. ($14.74) in 1900, or 9d. ($0,183).
The rates of wages given are in addition to food.
In determining the wages of railway servants a different method has
been followed than that adopted for other groups of trades, the actual
earnings being considered instead of the wage rates, because in the



144

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

British railway service the remuneration is usually regulated by grad­
uated scales of pay rather than by fixed wage rates. It is intended to
indicate the total effect of all changes in the earnings of railway
employees, whether arising out of real changes in the scale of pay,
ordinary advances under existing scales, or overtime or short time.
Returns are published from 29 companies, employing together over
90 per cent of the railway employees in the United Kingdom. The
returns summarized in the following table cover the number of
employees and the average wages for the first week in December
of each year from 1896 to 1900 in the passenger, freight, locomotive,
and machinery construction departments:
AVERAGE WAGES PAID R AILW AY EMPLOYEES IN 29 COMPANIES, FIRST WEEK IN
DECEMBER, 1896 TO 1900.
Total em­
ployees.

Year.
1896..............................................................................................................
1897..............................................................................................................
1898..............................................................................................................
1899...............................................................................................................
1900..............................................................................................................

380,114
398,108
412,304
431,858
440,347

Total wages.
$2,220,973.27
2,362,539.76
2,471,753.75
2,653,556.46
2,686,025.74

Average
wages.
$5.84
5.94

6.00
6.10

6.14

These figures show that while there was a gradual rise in average
earnings during the four-year period from 1896 to 1899, the average
earnings of railway servants during the first week of December, 1900,
included in the returns, were 2£d. ($0,046) less than in the first week
of December, 1899. This does not necessarily show a decline in actual
wage rates, as earnings may be affected by other causes, such as amount
of overtime, etc.
Changes in H ours of L abor .—During the year 1900 a net reduc­
tion, averaging 4.12 hours, took place in the weekly hours of labor of
57,726 employees, of whom 869 had their hours increased an average
of 1.64 per week, and 56,857 had their hours decreased by 4.21 per
week.
The following table shows for the years 1893 to 1900 the number of
employees affected by changes in hours of labor, classified according to
the extent per week of such changes:
EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY CHANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR, BY EXTENT OF CHANGE PER
WEEK, 1893 TO 1900.
Employees whose hours per week were—
Increased.

Decreased.

Year.

1or

2or

4 or
6or 8hours
Under 1 1hour Under 1
hour. or over. hour. under 2 under 4 under 6 under 8 or over.
hours.
hours.
hours.
hours.
1893............................
1894............................
1895............................
1896............................
1897............................
1898............................
1899............................
1900............................

480
71,899
705
944
2,050
585




1,050
128
1,287
1,717
355
333
550
284

5,538

2,686

2,961
4,871
9,468
10,213
4,203
6,185

9,800
4,141
9,675
10,695
30,636
8,553
9,662
7,393

15,058
37,535
5,235
11,939
11,534
13,871
9,557
13,514

1,491
9,536
1,926

2,200
6,303
2,710
3,733
582

1,011

20,504
1,229
3,301
5,658
2,260
1,885
28,149

221

2,628
422
1,649
5,973
165
4,309
1,034

Total.

34,649
77,158
22,735
108,271
70,632
39,049
35,949
57,726

145

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

The number of persons obtaining an eight-hour day during 1900,
27,708, was greater than in any year since 1894. There were no
reversions from an eight-hour day to longer hours of labor.
The following table shows, by industries, the number of changes in
the hours of labor and the number of employees affected during the
year 1900:
CHANGES IN HOURS OF LABOR AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED, BY INDUSTRIES, 1900.

Changes
in hours of
labor.

Industries.

Separate individuals
affected by—
Increases Decreases
in hours of in hours of
labor.
labor.

B u ilding.......................................................
Mining and quarrying..............................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding..
T extile...........................................................
Clothing.........................................................
Miscellaneous..............................................
Employees of public authorities...........

37
18

134

T otal....................................................

158

869

64

6

735

24
3

6

Total indi­
viduals
affected by
changes in
hours of
labor.

Average
weekly re­
duction in
hours of
labor.

0.88
6.00

8,376
27,610
3,792
79
2,306
12,153
2,541

9, 111
27,610
3,792
79
2,306
12,287
2,541

4.06
2.50
2.67
2.45
4.93

56,857

57,726

4.12

It will be observed that nearly one-half the persons affected by
changes in hours of labor in 1900 were employees in the group of
mining and quarrying industries. This is due to an average reduction
of six hours per week in the case of 26,500 coal miners and surface
workers in Lanarkshire, Scotland, made on May 14, 1900.
M ethods of A rrangement of C hanges . —The changes in the wages
and hours of labor reported in 1900 were arranged by mutual agree­
ment of the parties concerned or their representatives, by conciliation
or mediation, by arbitration, and in the case of wage change.s only, by
the sliding wage scales.
The following table shows the number of persons affected by changes
in wages and hours of labor during each year from 1896 to 1900, clas­
sified according to the agencies by which the changes were arranged:
METHODS BY WHICH CHANGES IN WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR WERE ARRANGED,
1896 TO 1900.
Separate individuals affected by changes
arranged without strikes.
Year.

By mu­
By con­
tual ar­
Under ciliation
By
arbi­
range­
sliding
or me­ tration. ment or
scale. diation.
other­
wise.

Total.

Separate individuals affected by
changes arranged after strikes.
By mu­
By con­
tual ar­
ciliation Byarbi- range­
or me- tration. ment or
diation.
other­
wise.

Total.

C H A N G ES IN W A G E S.

1896............................
1897............................
1898............................
1899............................
1900............................

136,288
135,618
169,003
178,018
183,889

43,601
11,796
25,659
364,616
469,520

4,920
307
3,850
11,636
5,827

300

1,500
712
3,570

367,124 551,933
405,492 553,213
764,622 963,134
587,033 1,141,303
421,590 1,080,826

11,559
1,460
1,015
1,581
1,030

1,959
2,050
1,452
3,780

43,988
40,812
48,970
31,240
50,150

55,721
44,231
52,035
34,273
54,960

36
2,050
34
285

18,239
6,234
1,959
6,116
2,801

20,997
6,316
4,459
6,250
3,086

CH A N G ES IN H OURS.

1896............................
1897............................
1898............................
1899............................
1900............................




1,200
4,427
65
1,440

1,100
626

85,474
62,404
26,593
28,534
52.574

87,274
64,316
34,590
29,699
54,640

2,758
46
450

100

146

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The increase in the number of empk^ees whose wage changes were
arranged by conciliation or mediation and arbitration in recent years
is largely accounted for by the formation of conciliation boards in the
coal industry, every important coal-mining district, with the excep­
tion of one where a sliding wage scale exists, having established a
board consisting of representatives of the organized employers and the
organized employees.
Changes in piece-price lists were made during 1900 in the metal,
textile, boot and shoe, clog making, tailoring, hat, printing, coopering,
glass bottle, basket making, leather, and transportation industries.
Only one new sliding scale, which was for blast-furnace men, was
reported in 1900. Of the entire number of persons whose wages were
changed during the year 1900, 183,889, or 16.2 per cent, had them
changed by operation of the sliding wage scale. Of these employees
125,000 were coal miners, and 58,889 were blast-furnace men, iron and
steel workers, iron miners, and quarrymen.
Most of the changes in rates of wages and hours of labor in 1900
were arranged without disputes involving a cessation of work, only
4.8 per cent of the persons affected by wage changes, and 5.3 per cent
of those affected by changes in hours of labor, having resorted to
strikes before obtaining the change.
Report o f the C hief Labor Correspondent on the Strikes and Lockouts
o f 1900, with Statistical Tables. 1901. xciii, 120 pp. (Published
by the Labor Department of the British Board of Trade.)
This is the thirteenth annual report on strikes and lockouts in the
United Kingdom, prepared by the chief labor correspondent of the
Labor Department of the British Board of Trade. The report contains
a detailed statement, showing for each dispute beginning in 1900 the
locality, the number of establishments involved, the number and occu­
pations of employees thrown out of work, the cause or object of the
dispute, the date of beginning and ending, and the result; also detailed
statements o f the work of boards of conciliation and arbitration and
of certain agreements and awards terminating trade disputes. The
detailed statements are preceded by summary tables, comparative data
for recent years, and an analysis of the statistics of strikes and lock­
outs and of conciliation and arbitration. The general method of
inquiry pursued and the plan of presentation have been the same as
during the past few years. Disputes involving less than 10 employees
and those which lasted less than one day have been omitted from the
tabulations, except when the aggregate duration exceeded 100 working
days.
S trikes and L ookouts in 1900.—The number of strikes and lock­
outs in 1900 shows a considerable falling off when compared with 1899
or any other of the years for which statistics ;for comparison are avail­



FOEEIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS

147

GEEAT BEIT AIN.

able. The number of employees thrown out of work and the aggre­
gate days of duration, however, were greater than in 1899, though
much less than in 1897 and 1898. There were, in 1900, 648 strikes
and lockouts, involving 185,145 strikers and employees locked out and
53,398 other employees thrown out of work, and causing an aggregate
loss of 3,152,694 working days.
The disputes in 1900, as in previous years, were mostly due to wages,
438 out of a total of 648 strikes and lockouts resulting chiefly from this
cause. Of the total of 135,145 strikers and employees locked out in
disputes from all causes, 82,903, or 61.3 per cent, were involved in wage
disputes; 19,573, or 14.5 per cent, in disputes due to questions of trade
unionism; 18,956, or 14.0 per cent, in disputes relating to working
arrangements, rules, and discipline; 10,427, or 7.7 percent, in dispute)
relating to employment of particular classes or persons; 1,018, or 0.8
per cent, in sympathetic disputes; 718, or 0.5 per cent, in disputes
relating to hours of labor, and 1,550, or 1.2 per cent, in disputes due
to other causes.
The following tables show the number of strikes and lockouts and
the number of employees involved in 1900, classified according to the
principal causes, and the results:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, BY CAUSES AND RESULTS, AND WORKING DAYS LOST, 1900.
[Under “ Aggregate working days lost by all employees thrown out of work” is included the num­
ber of days lost on account of strikes and lockouts ending in 1900, regardless of time of beginning.]
Strikes and lockouts the results
of which were—

Aggregate
working
Total
days lost
strikes by
all em­
and
In fa­ In fa­ Com­ Indefi­
ployees
vor of vor of
nite or lock­
thrown
pro­
em­
em­
mised. unset­ outs.
out of
ployees. ployers.
tled.
work.

Principal cause or object.

Wages............. ........................ .........................................
Hours of labor................................................................
Employment of particular classes or persons........
Working arrangements, rules, and discipline___
Trade unionism..............................................................
Sympathetic disputes....................................................
Other causes....................................................................
Total........................................................................

128

137

29
16
24

30

1

1
8
202

2
21

17
4

211

164
3
32
18
3

1
221

9

438

2
2
1

93
57
45
5
4

2,387,096
55,444
272,479
244,665
162,195
18,160
12,655

14

648

3,152,694

6

STRIKERS AND EMPLOYEES LOCKED OUT, BY CAUSES AND RESULTS, 1900.
Strikers and employees locked out
in disputes, the results of which
were—

Principal cause or object.

W a g e s............. ...........................................................

Honrs of la b o r....... _........_...................................

Other
Total
strikers employ­
and em­
ees
Indefi­
In favor In favor Compro­ nite or ployees thrown
locked
out
of
of em­ mised.
of em­
unset­
out.
work.
ployees. ployers.
tled.
16,886
69
3,523

Employment of particular classes or persons..
Working arrangements, rules, and discipline..
Trade unionism.........................................................
Sympathetic disputes..............................................
Other causes ...... ....................................................

17,241
323
350

Total..................................................................

40,612




2,220

20,360
75
1,976
9,284
1,107
695
33,497

44,197
574
4,892
4,352
1,175

1,460
36
3,100
50

1,200
56,390

4,646

82,903
718
10,427
18,956
19,573
1,018
1,550

34,648
7,140
3,488
3,882
1,515

135,145

53,393

20

2,700

148

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

Of the 648 disputes, 202 resulted in favor of the employees, 211 in
favor of the employers, 221 were compromised, and 14 remained
indefinite or unsettled. Of the 185,145 strikers and employees locked
out, 40,612, or 80.1 per cent, were engaged in disputes which resulted
in favor of employees; 88,497, or 24.8 per cent, in disputes which
resulted in favor of employers; 56,890, or 41.7 per cent, in dis­
putes that were compromised, and 4,646, or 8.4 per cent, in disputes
which remained indefinite or unsettled at the close of the year.
Employees involved in sympathetic disputes were mostly unsuccess­
ful, and nearly half of those engaged in disputes due to working
arrangements, rules, and discipline were unsuccessful, while a majority
of those engaged in disputes for the other principal causes were either
wholly or partly successful.
In 1900, as in previous years, the great majority of disputes affected
comparatively few working people. This is shown in the following
table:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, BY GROUPS OF EMPLOYEES THROWN OUT OF WORK, 1900.
[Under “ Aggregate working days lost by all employees thrown out of work” is included the num­
ber of days lost on account of strikes and lockouts beginning in 1900, regardless of time of ending.

Groups of employees thrown out of work.

5,000 or over....................................................................
2,500 or under 5,000.......................................................
1,000 or under 2,500.......................................................
500 or under 1,000...........................................................
250 or under 500 ................................... : .......................
100 or under 250 .............................................................
50 or under 100...............................................................
25 or under 5 0 .................................................................
Under 2 5 ..........................................................................
T otal......................................................................

Strikes
and
lockouts.

4
5
31
43
82
148
98

Employees thrown
out of work.

Aggregate working
days lost by all em­
ployees thrown out
of work.

Number. Per cent.

Number.

126

36,470
16,536
44,044
27,845
27,250
23,902
6,708
3,858
1,925

648

188,538

111

19.3

8.8

23.4
14.8
14.4
12.7
3.6

2.0
1.0
100.0

714,000
593,835
472,813
700,860
480,119
388,578
114,005
81,925
39,400
3,585,535

Per cent.
19.9
16.6
13.2
19.5
13.4

10.8
3.2
2.3

1.1
100.0

Thus, out of 648 disputes, 885, or 52 per cent, involved less than
100 employees each, or only 6.6 per cent of all the employees thrown
out of work, and about the same percentage of the time lost in all the
disputes of the year; while, on the other hand, the four largest dis­
putes involved 86,470, or 19.8 per cent of the employees thrown out
of work, and 19.9 per cent of the time lost in all the disputes of the
year. In 1900, as in the previous year, there was no single dispute
of any great magnitude.




149

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

The following table shows the extent to which each of the various
groups of industries was involved in the strikes and lockouts in 1900
and the results of the disputes in each case:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, BY INDUSTRIES AND RESULTS, AND WORKING DAYS LOST, 1900.
[Under “ Aggregate working days lost by all employees thrown out of work” is included the
number of days lost on account of strikes and lockouts ending in 1900, regardless of time of
beginning.]
Strikes and lockouts the results of
which were—

Industries.

Aggregate
working
Total
days lost
strikes
by all
and
In favor In favor
Indefinite
lockouts. employees
of em­
oi em­ Compro­
or un­
thrown out
mised.
ployees. ployers.
settled.
of work.

Building trades.........................................
Mining and quarrying............................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding.
Textile.........................................................
Clothing.....................................................
Transportation..........................................
Miscellaneous............................................
Employees of local authorities.............

50
49
23
36
14
9
17
4

47
25
49
25
14
23
25
3

18
17
3

Total..................................................

202

211

221

46
59
37
33

8

146
136

3
3

2
2
2
1
1

111
96
38
50
60

11

14

648

726,626
552,932
349,130
411,368
60,121
803,780
740,272
8,465
3,152,694

STRIKERS AND EMPLOYEES LOCKED OUT, BY INDUSTRIES AND RESULTS, 1900.
Strikers and employees locked out in
disputes the results of which were—

Industries.

Total
strikers
and em­
In favor In favor
Indefinite ployees
of em­
of em­ Compro­
or un­
locked
mised.
ployees. ployers.
settled.
out.

Building trades..............................................
Mining and quarrying.................................
Metal, engineering, and shipbuilding—
Textile..............................................................
Clothing...........................................................
Transportation..............................................
Miscellaneous................................................
Employees of public authorities...............

4,660
24,682
2,072
5,571
821
1,575
1,071
160

6,549
4,273
3,374
4,647
393
12,460
1,265
536

4,790
13,378
4,814
5,030
151
6,258
21,887
82

274
3,122
140
323
760

Total.......................................................

40,612

33,497

56,390

4,646

7

20

Other
employ­
ees
thrown
outol
work.

16,273
45,455
10,400
15,571
2,125
20,293
24,230
798

2,905
28,909
9,410
8,572
29
2,733
738
97

135,145

53,393

The group of building trades shows the largest number of disputes,
although the largest number of employees thrown out of work is
found in the group of mining and quarrying. The largest measure of
success on the part of employees was attained in the mining and quar­
rying industry, 24,682, or 54.3 per cent of the entire number of
strikers and employees locked out having been entirely successful. A
large majority of the employees engaged in disputes in the transporta­
tion service and in the public service failed completely.
S trikes and L ockouts D uring F iv e Y ears . —During the period
from 1896 to 1900 there was a yearly average of 774 strikes and lock­
outs, in which there was an average of 157,875 strikers and employees
locked out.




150

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,

The figures for 1900 are much below these yearly averages. The
following table gives some of the principal strike statistics for each
year from 1896 to 1900, inclusive:
STATISTICS OF STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, 1896 TO 1900.
[Under “ Aggregate working days lost by all employees thrown out of work” is included the
number of days lost on account of strikes and lockouts ending during the specified year, regardless
of time of beginning.]
Strikers
Strikes and em­
and
ployees
lockouts. locked
out.

Year.

926
864
711
719
648

1896.....................................................................................
1897.....................................................................................
1898.....................................................................................
1899.....................................................................................
1900.....................................................................................

147,950
167,453
200,769
138,058
135,145

Other
employ­
ees
thrown
out of
work.
50,240
62,814
58,138
42,159
53,393

Aggregate
Total
wrorking
employ­ days lost
ees
thrown by all em­
ployees
out of throwT
n out
work.
of work.
198,190
230,267
253,907
180,217
188,538

3,746,368
10,345,523
15,289,478
2,516,416
3,152,694

The following table shows the number of strikes and lockouts and
the employees thrown out of work during each year from 1896 to
1900, by industries:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS AND EMPLOYEES THROWN OUT OF WORK, BY INDUSTRIES,
1896 TO 1900.
Strikes and lockouts.

Employees thrown out of work.

Industries.
1896. 1897.

1898. 1899.

1900.

1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.

1900.

Building.....................................
Mining and quarrying...........
Metal, engineering, and ship­
building .................................
Textile.................................
Clothing.....................................
Transportation........................
Miscellaneous............................
Employees of public author­
ities ...........................................

171
171

193
127

183
129

180
109

146
136

33,312
67,197

15,047 16,684
49,392 177,029

30,524
46,831

19,178
74,364

266
153
48
25
87

229
108
56
48
95

152
99
53

140
124
37
47
71

111
96
38
50
60

48,137
33,656
3,969
3,312
8,070

97,189
37,001
7,016
12,523
11,734

21,432
24,978
3,561
3,478
6,261

21,119
61,499
2,258
12,611
4,212

19,810
24,143
2,154
23,026
24,968

5

8

11

537

365

484

1,163

895

Total..................................

926

864

648 198,190 230,267 253,907 j1180,217

188,538

22
67

6
711

11
719

This table shows that in each year except 1897 and 1899 the mining
and quarrying industry supplied the largest number of employees
involved in disputes. In 1897 the great dispute of the year was in the
engineering trade, while in 1899 a large number of employees were
effected by a dispute in the jute industry.
The following table shows the principal causes of strikes and lock­
outs, and the number of disputes and employees directly involved in
each cause, from 1896 to 1900:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, AND STRIKERS AND EMPLOYEES LOCKED OUT, BY PRINCIPAL
CAUSES, 1896 TO 1900.
Strikes and lockouts.

Strikers and employees locked out.

Principal cause or object.
1896.

1897. 1898.

1900.

449
19

460
17

438

6

95,975
2,355

73,906 176,392
39,227
777

87

102
68

93

22,745

14,840

9,203

8,187

10,427

57
45
5
4

17,533
5,279
3,864
199

29,068
6,327
3,796
289

11,742
2,215
345
95

17,895
5,130
8,233
105

18,956
19,573
1,018
1,550

648 147,950 167,453 200,769 138,058

135,145

W a g e s.........................................
Hours of labor..........................
Employment of particular
classes or persons.................
Working
arrangements,
rules, and discipline...........
Trade unionism........................
Sympathetic disputes.............
Other causes..............................

579

96
64
16
5

119
49

94
51

3

Total.................................

926

864




22

144

532

1899.

20
121
20

8

46
24

3

2

711

719

1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.
94,651
3,857

1900.
82,903
718

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- GREAT BRITAIN.

151

During this five-year period 63.5 per cent of all the strikes and lock­
outs were due to wages.
Next in the order of importance were dis­
putes relating to the employment of particular classes of persons,
to working arrangements, rules, and discipline, to trade unionism, and
to hours of labor.
The following table shows the number of strikes and lockouts and
the strikers and employees locked out each year from 1896 to 1900,
classified according to results:
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, AND STRIKERS AND EMPLOYEES LOCKED OUT, BY RESULTS,
1896 TO 1900.
Strikes and lockouts.

Strikers and employees locked out.

Result.
1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.

1900.

In favor of employees.............
In favor of employers.............
Compromised............................
Indefinite or unsettled...........

378
302
243
3

331
307
215

11

238
227
243
3

230
245
236

202
211
221

40,464 45,490 36,808
68,159 120,667 60,275
56,897 34,501 40,237
111
738
1,933

40,612
33,497
56,890
4,646

Total..................................

926

864

711

719

648 147,950 167,453 200,769 138,058

135,145

8

14

1896.
64,355
41,431
41,905
259

1897.

1898.

1899.

1900.

Of the 3,868 disputes reported during the five-year period, 1,379, or
35.7 per cent, resulted in favor of the employees; 1,292, or 33.1 per cent,
resulted in favor of employers; 1,158, or 29.9 per cent, were compro­
mised, and 39, or 1 per cent, remained indefinite or unsettled. Of
789,375 strikers and employees locked out during the period, 227,729,
or 28.9 per cent, were engaged in disputes resulting in favor of em­
ployees; 321,029, or 11 per cent, in disputes resulting in favor of
employers; 229,930, or 29.1 per cent, in disputes which were com­
promised, and 7,687, or 1 per cent, in disputes which remained indefi­
nite or unsettled.
In the following table the disputes beginning in each of the years
1896 to 1900 and the employees thrown out of work are classified
according to the various methods of settlement: .
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS AND EMPLOYEES THROWN OUT OF WORK, BY METHOD OF
SETTLEMENT, 1896 TO 1900.
Employees thrown out of work.

Strikes and lockouts.
Method of settlement.
1896.

1897.

1898.

19
30

14
27

13
30

624
76
105
7

495
71
96

Indefinite or unsettled...........

633
114
107
19
4

Total.................................

926

864

711

Arbitration...............................
Conciliation and mediation..
Direct negotiation or ar­
rangement between the
parties.....................................
Submission of employees —
Replacement of employees ..
C lo s in g o f w o r k s _

..................

11

6

1896.

1897.

1898.

1899.

10,276
10,472

9,756
9,544

3,350
16,167

3,319
8,386

7,118
8,593

562

22
88
3
6

487 136,307 187,048 206,926 156,743
45 30,587 15,207 17,590
7,054
9,616
7,250
4; 307
3,980
71
1,673
4
3,159
95
2,732
258
139
640
9

155,025
8,895
4,918
300
3,689

719

648 198,190 230,267 253,907 180,217

188,538

1899. 1900.
16

22

19
13

1900.

The great bulk of strikes and lockouts was settled by direct nego­
tiation of the parties or their representatives during each of the five



152

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

years mentioned. While the number of disputes settled by arbitra­
tion and conciliation shows a decrease during the period, account must
be taken of numerous instances where strikes and lockouts were pre­
vented by this means.
Second Abstract o f Foreign Labor Statistics. 1901. xi, 325 pp. (Pub­
lished by the Labor Department of the British Board of Trade.)
This abstract is the second of a series intended to be supplementary
to the Statistical Abstract for the Principal and Other Foreign Coun­
tries, and also as a companion series to the Annual Abstract of Labor
Statistics of the United Kingdom.
In addition to the statistics of wages, hours of labor, trade disputes,
and cooperation, treated in the first abstract, the present volume also
covers statistics of conciliation and arbitration, trade unions, and work­
ingmen’s insurance. The figures in the first volume have, as far as
practicable, been revised and brought to date, and a large number of
new tables have been added. The statistics reproduced in the abstract
relate to 11 leading countries of Europe and to the United States.
A table is also given showing wages in various occupations in Japan.
In the compilation of the figures no attempt has been made to present
comparative tables, but each country and each original report is sepa­
rately considered, the figures in the tables being rearranged, however,
as far as possible on the lines adopted in the reports relating to the
labor statistics of the United Kingdom. The source of the informa­
tion is stated at the foot of each table.
VICTORIA.
Report o f the C hief Inspector o f Factories, Workrooms, and Shops, fo r
the year ended 31st December, 1900. 61 pp.
This report, while the regular report of the chief factory inspector,
deals with the following subjects: The state of trade in factories and
workrooms, statistics of wages, and hours of labor in registered fac­
tories and workrooms, the operation of the factories and shops acts
with particular reference to the special boards, accidents, sanitary
condition of factories, limitation of working hours in shops, minimum
wages fixed by special boards and prosecutions under the factories
and shops acts.
The report has a special interest from the fact that it is the chief
factory inspector who is charged directly with the registration of fac­
tories and workrooms and the observance and enforcement therein of
the factories and shops acts. It is of these acts that this official says:
UI do not think that any country in the world has attempted such farreaching legislation. It is true that in New Zealand there are courts
of conciliation and arbitration, but it must be remembered that the
courts deal with firms and not trades, as in Victoria, and that the



FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- VICTORIA.

153

enforcement of the awards of the courts is left to the unions, whereas
in this State the determinations of the boards are enforced by the
inspectors of factories.”
The factories and shops acts, the law which has led the chief inspec­
tor to thus speak, are six in number, the first having come into opera­
tion August 1, 1890, and the latest of the five amending acts being
that in effect May 1, 1900. These acts provide in effect a method of
regulation for all matters relating to wages, hours of labor, and the
employment of apprentices and learners. For certain industries spec­
ified by the law and for such additional ones as may be named by a
resolution of either house of Parliament, the governor in council,
upon the election of the employers and employees, may appoint spe­
cial boards, which are empowered among other things to determine
within the industry for which they are chosen the minimum rates of
wages in each occupation, taking into consideration the nature, kind,
and class of work, the mode and manner in which the work is to be
done, and the age and sex of the workers, the maximum hours of labor
which may be exacted for such wages, the rates for overtime, and the
proportional number of apprentices and learners to fully paid employ­
ees who may be employed. The law itself fixes a minimum rate for
all factories and workrooms by providing that no person unless in
receipt of a weekly wage of at least 2s. 6d. (61 cents) shall be em­
ployed in any factory or workroom or in wholly or partly preparing
or manufacturing any article for trade or sale.
These determinations may be suspended not exceeding six months,
when the proper special board must receive and examine evidence, and
may thereupon either reaffirm or amend such determination, as it may
deem proper. The validity of a determination of a special board can
be questioned only before the supreme court. The wages thus fixed
by a special board may be sued for by an employee, any agreement to
the contrary notwithstanding.
The following is a short summary statement of the more important
provisions of the law, as given by the chief factory inspector:
Provisions o f the factories and shops acts.
1. The acts apply only to cities, towns, and boroughs; they may be
extended to shires by the governor in council.
2. Factories and workrooms must be registered. Fees ranging from
2s. 6d. to £3 3s. [$0.61 to $15.33] are charged for registration.
3. A factory or workroom is any place where goods are prepared
for trade or sale, and in which—
a. Four or more persons are working;
5. Steam, water, gas, oil, or electric power is used;
c. One or more Chinese are working;
d. Furniture is made, or bread or pastry is baked for sale.




154

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

4. Nothing in the acts applies to creameries, butter or cheese or con­
centrated or condensed milk factories or to dairying or agricultural
operations outside the metropolitan district.
5. Factories and workrooms must be approved by the local munici­
pal council or the chief inspector before being registered. Regula­
tions are made by the board of public health for the guidance of the
councils and the chief inspector in granting such approval.
6. Inspectors of factories have power to enter and inspect factories
and to question employees either alone or in the presence of the
employer or his agent.
7. Occupiers of factories who give out work must keep a record of
same in prescribed forms.
8. The chief inspector must prepare an annual report, and occupiers
of factories must furnish statistics for that purpose.
9. Persons preparing articles of clothing or wearing apparel for sale
outside factories must register their names and addresses with the chief
inspector.
10. Special boards may be appointed to fix wages and piecework
rates for persons employed either inside or outside factories in making
clothing or wearing apparel or furniture, or in bread making or bak­
ing, or in the process, trade, or business of a butcher or seller of meat
or maker of small goods.
11. Special boards may be appointed for any process, trade, or busi­
ness usually or frequently carried on in a factory or workroom, pro­
vided a resolution has been passed by either House declaring it is
expedient to appoint such a board.
12. Special boards may consist of not less than four or more than
ten members and a chairman.
13. Half the members (elected as prescribed) shall be representatives
of employers and half of employees.
14. I f the employers’ or employees’ representatives are not elected,
the governor in council may appoint representatives.
15. The members of a board may elect a chairman (not being one
of such members); if they do not elect a chairman, the governor in
council may appoint one.
16. In the case of the furniture trade, the board is appointed by the
governor in council without election. Note.—This was provided to
prevent the Chinese in the trade electing the board.
17. A member of a board is appointed for two years.
18. The governor in council may fill vacancies in a board without
election.
19. A majority of a board may exercise all the powers of a board.
20. A board may fix either wages rates or piecework rates or both.
25. A board must also fix the hours for which the rate of wages is
fixed, and the rate of pay for overtime.
26. In fixing wages, a board may take into consideration the nature,
kind, and class of the work, and "the mode and manner in which the
work is to be done, and the age and sex of the workers, and any mat­
ter which may be prescribed by regulation.
27. A board may fix the proportion of apprentices or improvers to
be employed in any process, trade, or business, and the wages to be
paid to same. In fixing such wages the board may consider age, sex,
and experience.
28. The determination of a special board applies to every city and



FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- VICTORIA.

155

town, and may be extended by the governor in council to any borough
or shire or part of a shire.
29. A board may determine that manufacturers may be allowed to fix
piecework rates based on the minimum wage.
30. The chief inspector may grant a license to any aged or infirm
worker to work at less than the minimum wage fixed by a board.
31. The governor in council may suspend a determination for six
months, and the board must then receive and examine evidence as to
such determination, and may amend same.
31. The validity of a determination can only be questioned before
the supreme court.
32. Regulations may be made fixing the rates of payment to mem­
bers of special boards. Note.—The regulations in force provide £1
[$4.86i] for a full day for the chairman, and 10s. [$2.43£] for other
members, and half rates for half days. A traveling allowance of 10s.
[$2.43i] per day is paid to members residing more than 40 miles from
Melbourne. Railway fare is also repaid.
33. Employees must not be paid any part of a wage (fixed by a special
board) in goods.
34. An employee may sue for his wages (if fixed by a special board);
any agreement to the contrary notwithstanding.
34. Any person employed in a factory must be paid at least 2s. 6d.
[$0.61] per week.
35. No premium or bonus can directly or indirectly be charged for
engaging or employing any female apprentice or improver in making
articles of clothing or wearing apparel.
36. Every factory must be kept in a cleanly state, and be provided
with proper ventilation and sufficient air space. Note.—Great powers
are given to the department to enable it to enforce these provisions.
37. Provision is made for the compulsory lime washing or painting
factories and workrooms.
38. No person under 16 years of age, and no woman or girl can be
employed for more than forty-eight hours [in any one week] in a
factory or workroom, provided that on not more than ten days in a year
and on not more than one day in any week overtime to the extent of
three hours may be worked, subject to payment for overtime at pro
rata rates and 6d. [12 cents] tea money. Notice of having worked the
overtime must be given to the chief inspector, and the reasons for
working must also be stated.
39. The minister may also grant overtime not exceeding two months
to any manufacturer if satisfied that the exigencies of trade require
that overtime shall be worked.
The suspension is granted subject to following conditions, amongst
others:
That 6d. [12 cents] tea money is paid each evening overtime is
worked.
That employees are not compelled to work without their consent.
That no employee receiving less than 8s. [$1.94£] per week is worked
more than 48 hours, and that overtime at the rate of time and a half
is paid.
40. Chinese and European furniture manufacturers must not work
before 7.30 a. m., or after 5 p.m., or after 2 p. m. on Saturdays. All
other factories in which Chinese are employed are subject to the same
regulation.



156

BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

41. No person under 13 years of age can be employed in a factory
or workroom.
42. Boys and girls under 16 years of age must have medical certifi­
cates in certain classes of factories.
43. No boy under 14 and no girl under 16 can work in a factory
after 6 p. m., or before 6 a. m.
44. Persons in charge of steam engines and of boilers used to ope­
rate a steam engine must hold certificates from the board of examiners
appointed under the Mines Act.
45. Dangerous machinery must be securely protected where possible,
so that employees may not be injured.
46. Occupiers of factories may appeal to arbitration if they disagree
with the inspector of factories’ orders as regards the guards to be
provided.
47. Accidents causing loss of life and other serious accidents (defined
by the act) which occur in factories must be reported to the inspector
of factories.
48. With the view to prevention of such accidents the minister may
order an inquiry by an expert into the cause of any accident.
48. All furniture whether imported or manufactured must be
stamped.
49. Furniture manufactured in Victoria must be stamped with the
maker’s name and address, and such stamp must indicate whether the
furniture was made by Europeans or Chinese labor.
Shops provisions.
50. All shops, except fourth schedule shops, viz., chemists’ shops,
coffeehouses, confectioners’ shops, eating houses, fish and oyster shops,
fruit and vegetable shops, restaurants, tobacconists’ shops, and book­
sellers’ and news agents’ shops, must be closed at 7 p. m. ordinary
nights and 10 p. m. on Saturdays. If a shop be closed for the whole of
a public holiday it may be kept open till 10 p. m. the preceding night.
51. If a majority of the shopkeepers of any class in any municipal
district desire to keep their shops open after 7 p. m. they can petition
the governor in council to make a regulation for any hour they please,
or they can petition in favor of closing before 7 p. m. A majority of
the shopkeepers of any class or all classes (other than fourth schedule)
can also petition the governor in council to fix a day for the closing of
all shops or any class of shops for a half holiday from 1 p. m. on any
specified day in the week. A majority of the shopkeepers in the
metropolitan district or any two or more contiguous municipal districts
may unite for similar purposes.
52. A shopkeeper who closes for the whole of a public holiday need
not close for the usual weekly half holiday.
53. Milk can not be delivered after 12 o’clock noon on Sundays.
54. By regulation the hours of work of women, girls, and of males
under 16 years of age in fourth schedule shops are limited to 60 per
week, and a half holiday must be given from 2 o’clock on some week
day. The regulation also applies to billiard markers, waiters and
waitresses.
54. Every employee in a shop (except fourth schedule shops in cities,
towns, and boroughs) must be given a half holiday from 1 p. m. on
some week day. Bv special enactment this provision applies to the
whole State.



157

FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS---- VICTORIA.

55. Persons employed in delivering meat or milk must be given a
half holiday from 1 p. m. on some week day.
56. Persons employed in delivering bread must be given a whole
holiday on the third Wednesday in every month.
56. In the metropolitan district no person employed in or in connec­
tion with a shop (except porters or watchmen and persons employed
in fourth schedule shops) can be employed for more than 52 hours
in a week.
57. The chief inspector may allow persons employed in shops to be
worked overtime on not more than 40 days in a year.
58. The working hours of carters and carriers employed in the met­
ropolitan district in carrying goods to or from a factory, workroom,
or shop are limited to 60 per week, and they must be given a holiday
on some week day either for the whole morning till 2 o’clock, in the
afternoon or from 2 o’clock in the afternoon for the rest of the day.
59. Suitable sitting accommodation must be provided in all shops,
and employees must be allowed to make use of same at all reasonable
times during the day.
60. Penalties are provided for offenses against the acts, and the onus
of proof of compliance with the law is in a few cases on the defendant.
Under the act of 1896 six special boards were appointed for factories
and workrooms making bread, boots, clothing, furniture, shirts, and
underclothing. Under the act of 1900 twenty-one other special boards
received parliamentary authorization during the year, but of these
only one, the butchers board, had framed a determination. The other
boards authorized were in the following industries: Brick, carriage*,
cigar, confectioners, coopers, engravers, fellmongers, jam, jewelers,
millet broom, pastry cooks, plate glass, printers, pottery, saddlery,
stonecutters, tanners, tinsmiths, woodworkers, and woolen. The wages
paid at various times in those industries which have been carried on
under the determinations of the special boards long enough to show
the results of their application are shown in the following statement.
It is not, of course, to be supposed that the determinations of the
special boards have been the only causes operating to effect an increase
in wages:
AVERAGE W EEKLY WAGES

Industry.

Bread, males................................
Boot:
Males.......................................
Females..................................
Total.......................................
Clothing:
Males.......................................
Females
______ ________
Total
r................................
Furniture:
Males.......................................
Females..................................
T o ta l

IN INDUSTRIES SUBJECT TO THE DETERMINATIONS OF
SPECIAL BOARDS, 1896 TO 1900.

Average
First deter­ wages Average Average Average Average Average
mination
gain
in 1896, wages
wages
wages
wages
since
of
before
determi­ in 1897. in 1898. in 1899. in 1900.
1896.
board.
nation.
Apr. 3,1897

$7.89

Dec. 29,1897
....... d o.........
....... d o.........

6.53
3.24|
5.63s

Nov.15,1897
....... d o.........
....... d o.........

8.57s
3.75
4.865

Apr, 19.1897
....... d o .........

7.20
3.42|
7.07*
3.51

............................................... ....... d o .........

Shirt, females................................ Jan. 20,1898
Underclothing, females.............. June 26,1899

1110—No. 38—02---- 11



2 .7 3 s

$9.06$

8.68
3.81

$9.85*

$10.18

9.61
4.44
8.76
4.62|
8.43*

9.45

$10.70*

$2.82

8.37|
3.55
6.79$

1.84*
.30*
1.16

10.30
4.40
5.47*

1.72*
.65
.61

9.83*
4.44
9.49
3.57
3.06

2.63*
1.01*
2.41*
.06
.33*

158

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The scope of the determinations of these special boards will be indi­
cated to some extent by the following statement, showing the minimum
rates fixed for the various occupations of the brick-making industry.
This is one of the recently created boards:
HOURS OF WORK AND MINIMUM WAGES PER HOUR FIXED BY THE SPECIAL BOARD
FOR THE BRICKMAKING INDUSTRY.

Occupation.

Burners (on patent k iln s)........
Burners (on other than patent
kilns)..........................................
Blacksmiths.................................
Blacksmiths’ strikers.................
Bricklayers...................................
Carpenters.....................................
Clayholemen...............................
Drawers.........................................
Engine drivers, first class.........
Engine drivers, second class...
Facemen.........................................
Firem en.........................................
Hand m olders..............................
L oftm en.........................................
Machine drivers..........................

Hours
of work Minimum
wages
per
week. per hour.
64

10.24*

60
48
48
48
48
48
48
57
57
48
57
48
48
51

.21*
.24*
.18*
.30*
.24*
.21*
.26*
.25*
.23
.23*
.23
.21*
.18*
.23

Occupation.

Machine riggers..........................
Men attending pans and
crushers.....................................
Men clearing waste from brick
machines...................................
Pattern makers............................
Setters............................................
Truckers.......................................
Turners and fitters....................
Wheelers of green bricks.........
Yardmen.......................................
Apprentices and improvers:
Under 18 years of a g e ...........
18 years, but not 19.................
19 years, but not 21.................

Hours
of work Minimum
wages
per
week. per hour.
51

$0.23

51

.22*

48
48
48
48
48
48
48

.18*
.33*
.23
.19*
.27*
.21*
.18*

48
48
48

a. 73
a 1.09*
a 1.34

a Per day.

A ll time worked by male employees over 16 years of age, in excess
o f maximum number of hours fixed by the board, shall be paid for at
the rate of time and a quarter. One apprentice or improver shall be
employed to every 15 persons or fraction of 15 persons employed in
brickmaking.
The report mentions as a beneficial effect of the determinations of
the boards an improvement in the conditions of apprenticeship.
Formerly, says the report—
it did not matter to the employers financially whether the “ improver”
really improved or not. If .they did so they would probably be paid
more, but in some cases “ improvers” were kept for years at work at
which improvement was impossible, since the work only had a certain
value, and for which good wages could never be paid. In fact, if an
improver had fairly good fortune he might learn the trade, if not he
might grow to be a man with a knowledge of only the poorly paid part
of the trade, at which he could not earn enough to keep himself in
manhood. The same conditions applied to the girls. The determina­
tions of the boards changed this. When fixing wages the boards as a
rule took into consideration sex and experience. * * * a boy or
girl’s wages must increase year by year if they continue at the trade.
It is therefore of the utmost importance to the employer that the
employee shall be able to earn the wages fixed by the board. The
employee is compelled to do his best to improve in his work by the
knowledge that he can not obtain employment if he can not earn the
legal wage fixed for a person of his experience. The interests of both
employer and employee are therefore strongly in favor of the employee
increasing in skill and knowledge as he increases in experience. As
the time draws near for the compulsory increase in wage, the employer
or his agent will urge the employee to renewed efforts at improvement,



FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS-----VICTORIA.

159

and the employee has the knowledge that failure to do so will lead to
dismissal. The lad who is not suited to the trade, or who is lazy or
careless, is soon eliminated under such a system, instead of remaining
for some years at a small wage, and then having to leave to swell the
great army of unskilled and half-skilled workers.
The chief factory inspector follows his summary of the important
provisions of the law with a brief statement in regard to the observ­
ance of the law and its effect upon the employer with especial refer­
ence to the determinations of the special boards. The statement is as
follows:
With the exception of the determination of special boards the
majority of the provisions of the Factories and Shops Acts were always
complied with by many of the large employers of labor in factories
and shops. With regard to the determinations of boards it was for­
merly impossible for fair manufacturers to pay a good wage, and yet
compete in a common market with sweating competitors.
After some years’ experience, I am more than ever convinced that
the fair manufacturer and the shopkeeper has little if anything to fear
from the operation of the acts or the determinations of boards brought
into existence by the Factories and Shops Act 1896. There are many
factories in the State subject to all the provisions of the acts, and to
these determinations, into which it is seldom, if ever, necessary for the
inspectors to go, as the proprietors take a pride in keeping them in a
cleanly condition, and always pay the minimum wages, and often a
great deal more.
The operation of the acts appears to compel the sweating and unfair
manufacturer and shopkeeper to carry on his business somewhat on
the lines of the fair employer. If by this means good factories, with
proper sanitary provisions, reasonable hours of labor and a fair wage
can be obtained for the workers of the State, I think it will be gener­
ally admitted that the restrictions imposed by the Factories and Shops
Acts are justified, and work for the good of the employers, workers,
and of the State generally.
I do not for a moment wish it to be understood that I consider the
acts perfect. They will probably require to be amended again and
again before complete protection can be given to the employees with
a minimum of inconvenience to the fair employer. What I wish to
convey is that, considering the numerous restrictions imposed by the
acts, the fair employer is not greatly affected. I venture to hope that
the inquiry now being conducted by the royal commission on the work­
ing of the acts will result in legislation beneficial both to employers
and employees.




DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.
[This subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, has been continued in successive issues.
A ll material parts of the decisions are reproduced in the words of the courts, indi­
cated when short by quotation marks, and when long by being printed solid. In
order to save space, matter needed simply by way of explanation is given in the
words of the editorial reviser.]

DECISIONS UNDER STATUTORY L A W .
Constitutionality and Construction of Statute — E mployers 5
L iability — R ailroad C ompanies —Indianapolis Union Railway Co.

v. Houlihan, Supu'eme Court o f Indiana, 60 Northeastern Reporter,
page 91$.— In this case, which was a suit for damages for injuries,
brought by an employee against his employer, a judgment was ren­
dered in favor of the employee as plaintiff in the circuit court of
Boone County, Ind., and the defendant employer, the above-named
railway company, appealed the case to the supreme court of the State,
which rendered its decision June 6, 1901, and reversed the decision of
the lower court. The negligence alleged to be the cause of the acci­
dent which caused the plaintiff’s injuries was that of a locomotive
engineer, and the further facts in the case are not material for an
understanding of the points of the decision which are to be considered
below. It was admitted that under the facts in the case the railroad
company would not have been liable for the plaintiff’s injuries under
the common law, but the claim was based upon the provisions of the
employers’ liability act (Burns’s Revised Statutes, 1891, sections TOSSTOST; Homer’s Revised Statutes, 189T, sections 5206s-5206v). The
constitutionality of this act, as well as the construction placed upon it
by the plaintiff, was called in question by the defendant, but upon
these points the supreme court decided in favor of the plaintiff’s con­
tention, as is shown by that part of its opinion, which was delivered
by Judge Baker, quoted below. The reversal of the judgment ren­
dered by the lower court in favor of the plaintiff was based upon a
point which will not be considered here. The following is quoted
from the opinion of the supreme court:
The sufficiency of the complaint will be determined alone from the
employers’ liability act. The first section of the act provides: “ That
every railroad * * * corporation, * * * shall be liable for
damages for personal injury suffered by an employee while in its serv­
ice, the employee so injured being in the exercise of due care and
160



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

161

diligence, in the following cases: * * * Fourth. Where such
injury was caused by the negligence of any person in the service of
such corporation who has charge of any signal, telegraph office,
switch yard, shop, roundhouse, locomotive engine or train upon a
railway, or where such injury was caused by the negligence of any
person, coemployee or fellow-servant engaged in the same common
service in any of the several departments of the service of any such
corporation, the said person, coemployee or fellow-se±’vant at the
time acting in the place and performing the duty of the corporation in
that behalf, and the person so injured obejung or conforming to the
order of some superior at the time of such injury having authority to
direct.”
The amended complaint does not aver that appellee was “ obeying
or conforming to the order of some superior at the time of such injury
having authority to direct,” and appellant claims that this omission
leaves the pleading fatally deficient. The fourth subdivision of the
first section of the act [quoted above] is divisible into two parts. A
railroad company is liable for damages for personal injury suffered
by an employee while in its service (that is, while acting within the
scope o f his employment), the employee being free from contributory
negligence, (1) “ where such injury was caused by the negligence of
any person in the service of such corporation (that is, acting within
the scope of his employment) who has charge of any * * * loco­
motive engine or train upon a railway;” or (2) “ where such injury
was caused by the negligence of any person, coemployee or fellowservant * * * , the said person, coemployee or fellow-servant at
the time acting in the place arm perform ing the duty o f the corporation
in that behalf\ and the person so injured obeying or conforming to the
order o f some superior at the time o f such injury having authority to
direct.” From the words used, and the structure and scope of the act,
we are of opinion that the concluding clauses of the fourth subdivision
[those in italics above] limit and qualify only the liability expressed
in the second part of the fourth subdivision [when the injury was
caused by the negligence of any person, coemployee or fellow-servant,
etc.], and that railroad companies are answerable for the negligence
of their servants in charge of signals, telegraph offices, switch yards,
shops, roundhouses, locomotive engines, and trains upon their rail­
ways, to their employees the same as to strangers.
Appellant contends, however, that the construction which limits the
operation of the qualifying clauses in the second part of the fourth
subdivision, and which holds railroad companies liable to their employ­
ees, the same as to strangers, for the negligence of their servants in
charge of signals, and so forth, brings the first part of the fourth sub­
division into conflict with the equality clauses of the Federal and State
constitutions. The argument, briefly, is this: A t common law every
employer is protected by the doctrine that every employee assumes,
as an incident of his employment, the risk arising from the negligence
of his fellow-servants. There is no justification of the withdrawal of
railroad companies from the general class of employers, except the
exercise of the police power for the protection of employees. The
only reasonable basis for a classification in the exercise of the police
power is the protection of employees who are subject to unusual
dangers. A classification that selects for protection only those employ­
ees who are subject to unusual dangers by reason of acting in obedi­



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

ence to the orders of some superior haying authority to direct is
constitutional; but a classification that selects for protection all employ­
ees, without regard to the dangers naturally incident to their work,
and whether they act on their own initiation, or in obedience to the
order of some superior who had authority to direct (as the attorney of
a railroad company and its down-town ticket seller, for example), is a
classification in name only, is arbitrary, has no relation to the object
to be accomplished, discriminates against railroad companies by sub­
jecting them to liability for injuries to a class of employees with respect
to whom employers in other businesses are not made liable by the act,
and is therefore unconstitutional.
Our answer is: It is competent for the legislature, in the exercise of
the police power, to take steps for the protection of the lives and limbs
of all persons who may be exposed to dangerous agencies in the hands
of others. The powerful forces in railroading that are under the
direction and control of those in charge of “ any signal, telegraph
office, switch yard, shop, roundhouse, locomotive engine or train
upon a railway” were proper to be selected as sources of unusual
danger which should be guarded against. The object to be accom­
plished was to incite railroad companies to use the utmost diligence in
the selection and supervision of their servants who are put in charge
of these dangerous agencies, so that fewer lives and limbs of those
who are entitled to claim the protection of our laws would be sacri­
ficed. The legislature evidently considered that strangers and employ­
ees (the attorney and the ticket seller, for example) who were not
fellow-servants of those in charge o f the agencies named were suffi­
ciently protected by the railroad companies’ existing liability to them
for the negligent operation of these dangerous agencies. The legisla­
ture evidently determined to protect all persons who were not already
protected from the negligent use of particular instruments. The
classification is made on the basis of the peculiar hazards in rail­
roading, relates directly to the object to be accomplished, and applies
equally to all employers within the class.
To separate railroading from other businesses was not an unconsti­
tutional discrimination, because the dangers (the basis of the classifi­
cation) do not arise from the same sources; but the claim that a
classification not made on the basis of the dangerous agencies employed
in the business, but founded on the question whether the employee
who was injured without his fault by a fellow-servant’s negligent use
of a dangerous agency was acting at the time on his own initiative in
the line of his duty, or under the orders of a superior, is the only con­
stitutional classification, is unwarranted. A train is wrecked through
the negligence of the engineer. Two brakemen are injured without
fault on their part; one acting at the time in obedience to the conduct­
or’s orders; the other acting on his own initiative, within the line of
his duty. There should be and there is no constitutional limitation
upon the legislature’s exercise of the police power by which a law may
not be enacted to protect both brakemen equally from the negligence
of the engineer. We hold, therefore, that the act is not obnoxious to
the objections urged by appellant.




DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

163

C onstitutionality of Stat u te — F ellow -S ervant A ct — A ppli­
S tatute — R eceivers of R ailroads — Powell v. Sher­

cability of

wood, Supreme Court o f M issouri, 63 Southwestern Reporter, page
485.—Action was brought by Eugenie Powell against Adiel Sherwood,
receiver of the St. Louis, Kansas City and Colorado Railroad, to
recover damages for the death of her husband, who was killed while
in the employ of the defendant and while acting as a brakeman on the
above-named railroad. A judgment was rendered in the circuit court
of Franklin County, Mo., in favor of the plaintiff. The decision was
made upon the theory that the act of the legislature of Missouri,
approved February 9, 1897 (p. 96, Acts of Missouri of 1897), defin­
ing the liabilities of railroad corporations in relation to damages sus­
tained by their employees, and defining who are and who are not
fellow-servants, was controlling in the case. The defendant appealed
the case to the supreme court of the State, claiming (1) that the act
did not apply to railroad companies which were in the hands of receiv­
ers, and (2) that even if it did so apply it was unconstitutional and
void. The case was heard in Division No. 1 of the supreme court, and
a decision was rendered sustaining the judgment of the lower court,
holding that the act was constitutional and did apply in a case where a
railroad was in the hands of a receiver.
The opinion was rendered by Judge Valliant and was adopted as
the opinion of the court in banc. The following language is contained
therein:
It is contended in behalf of appellant that the record proper in this
case shows that the accident which resulted in the death of the plain­
tiff’s husband was caused by the negligence of a fellow-servant, and
that, therefore, the defendant is not liable because—first, the act
entitled “ An act to define the liabilities of railroad corporations in
relation to damages sustained by their employees, and to define who
are fellow-servants and who are not fellow-servants, and to prohibit
contracts limiting liability under this act,” approved February 9,1897
(Laws 1897, p. 96), does not apply to a receiver in charge of a rail­
road; and, second, that the act is unconstitutional.
If we should hold that our statute applies to servants engaged in
operating railway trains in the control of railway corporations, but
that it does not apply to servants engaged in operating trains of a
railway corporation in the control of a receiver, we should thereby
give to the statute that character of inequality before the law and
invidious classification which appellant contends renders it repugnant
to the constitution of this State and that of the United States. It
is one of the canons of construction that, if the statute is susceptible
of two constructions, the one rendering it in harmony, and the other
in discord, with the constitution, we must give it that construction
which will preserve its validity. Section 2666, Revised Statutes 1889,
is: “ The term 4railroad corporation,’ contained in this chapter, shall
be deemed and taken to mean all corporations, companies or individuals
owning or operating, or which may hereafter own or operate, any



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

railroad in this State.” Appellant argues that that statute does not
apply here, because it purports to define the term “ railroad corpora­
tion” contained in that chapter; but the two statutes are pari materia,
and, as that just quoted was in the Revised Statutes when the act of
1897 was enacted, they should be construed together. In Railway Co.
v. Cox, 145 U. S. loc. cit. 601; 12 Sup. Ct., 907; 36 L. Ed., 832, the
United States Supreme Court said: “ In respect of liability such as is
set up here, the receiver stands in the place of the corporation.” In
other words, the receivership is pro hac vice the corporation itself
under the management of one man, instead of that of a board of direct­
ors. To hold, therefore, that the statute applies to corporations of a
certain kind under one management, and not to corporations of the
same kind under another management, would be to create the inequal­
ity before the law to which we have above referred.
The next insistence is that the act of 1897 violates sections 4,10, and
30 of article 2, and section 53 of article. 4, of the constitution of this
State, and the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution of
the United States. The objections to the act in the light of our State
constitution are of the same character as those urged against it in view
of the Federal Constitution, except that it is claimed also to be a
special law, prohibited by section 53, article 4, of the State constitu­
tion, and the reason given for calling it a special law is the same that
is given for calling it an infringement of the Federal Constitution,
that it is class legislation, creating inequality before the law; so that
the objection that the act singles out railroad companies, and imposes
on them a burden not imposed on other employers, is the sum of all
the objections. This court has gone over this ground often in con­
sidering objections like these to similar statutes, and has always arrived
at the same conclusion. In Humes v. Railway Co., 82 Mo. 221, the
constitutionality of section 43, c. 37, p. 310, Wag. St., which imposed on
railroad corporations liability for double damages for killing or injur­
ing horses, cattle, etc., was challenged on the ground, among others,
that it was in violation of section 53, article 4, of the constitution. In
that case the court, per Phillips, C., said: “ It is further alleged
against this statute that it is partial and special, because it is directed
against railroads alone, while no other common carriers are brought
within its operations. Had the legislature deemed it essential to the
protection of human life and private property, they would doubtless
have extended the statute to carriers by coach and water; but as the
class of property and human life protected by this provision of the
statute is not exposed to a like peril incident to coach and water travel,
the occasion and necessity for so extending the statute does not exist.
Class legislation is not necessarily obnoxious to the constitution. It
is a settled construction of similar constitutional provisions that a leg­
islative act which applies to and embraces all persons 4who are or who
may come into like situations and circumstances5is not partial. There
is nothing that can be said against the act of 1897 which could not
have been said, or was not said, against the double-damage statute
above mentioned, and which is not fully answered in the cases above
referred to. W e see nothing in the act of 1897 in conflict with the
constitution of this State.”
As to the contention that the act is in violation of the Constitution
of the United States, we will only refer to decisions of the Supreme
Court of the United States on that subject. The case of Humes v.



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

165

Railway Company, above quoted, was taken on writ of error to that
court, and it was there held that the statute was not obnoxious to the
Federal Constitution. The grounds upon which its invalidity was urged
by the railroad company are the grounds upon which the invalidity
of the statute in question is urged in the case at bar. That court said:
“ And there can be no rational ground for contending that the statute
deprives it [the railroad company] of property without due process of
law.” And in discussing the second ground the court said: 64The
objection that the statute of Missouri violates the clause of the four­
teenth amendment which prohibits a State to deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws is as untenable
as that which we have considered. The statute makes no discidmination
against an}^ railroad company on its requirements. * * * There is
no evasion of the rule of equality where all companies are subject to
the same duties and liabilities under similar circumstances.” (Railway
Co. v. Humes, 115 U. S., 512; 6 Sup. Ct., 110; 29 L. Ed., 463.)
The fourth section of the act of 1897 declares that no contract made
between the railroad company and its employee, limiting the liability
of the corporation for damages under that act, shall be valid, but that
all such agreements shall be null and void. There was no attempt at
a contract of that kind in this case, and therefore we need not discuss
that section; but, as it is said in the brief of appellant that section
renders the whole act unconstitutional, we will call attention to the
fact that a similar provision is contained in the Iowa statute, which the
United States Supreme Court holds to be a valid law. Lest the allusion
here made to section 4 of this act be construed as casting a doubt on
the validity of that section, we will add that no such purpose is intended.
The validity of a similar statute in Ohio was sustained in Pierce v. Van
Dusen [47 U. S. App., 339; 24 C. C. A ., 280; 78 Fed., 693], and that
statute contained also a section to the effect that it should be unlawful
for the railroad company to make any contract with its employee in
contravention of its purpose. And the Supreme Court of the United
States, as late as December 11,1899, sustained the validity of a statute
of Indiana of like effect. (Tullis v. Railroad Co., 20 Sup. Ct., 136;
44 L. Ed., 192.) W e hold, therefore, that the act of 1897 is notin
violation of any of the provisions of the Constitution of the United
States.
C onstitutionality

of

Statute — V iolation

of

L abor C ontract—

State v. Easterlin, Supreme Court o f South Carolina, 39 Southeastern
Reporter, page % 0 .—The defendant, Easter Easterlin, was prosecuted
in a magistrate’s court in Orangeburg County, S. C .,for a violation
of a verbal farm-labor contract, under act No. 286, Acts of South Caro­
lina of 1897, which act reads as follows:
Any laborer working on shares of crop or for wages in money or
other valuable consideration under a verbal or written contract to
labor on farm lands who shall receive advances either in money or
supplies and thereafter willfully and without just cause fail to perform
the reasonable service required of him by the terms of the said con­
tract shall be liable to prosecution for a misdemeanor, and on convic­
tion shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than twenty days



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

nor more than thirty days, or to be fined in the sum of not less than
twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, in the discre­
tion o f the court: Provided, The verbal contract herein referred to
shall be witnessed by at least two disinterested witnesses.
The defendant was found guilty by the jury and sentenced. He
appealed to the general sessions circuit court of Orangeburg County,
which, after a hearing, affirmed the judgment of the magistrate’s
court. He then appealed to the supreme court of the State, claiming,
among other things, as he had claimed from the first, that the act,
under which his conviction was had, was unconstitutional. His claim,
however, was not upheld, and the supreme court in its decision, ren­
dered July 10, 1901, affirmed the judgments of the lower courts.
The opinion of the supreme court, delivered by Judge Jones, con­
tains the following upon the constitutionality of the act in question:
The magistrate refused to charge the jury that the act of 1897,
supra, was void as in conflict with section 24, article 1, of the Consti­
tution, providing that “ No person shall be imprisoned for debt except
in cases of fraud.” This refusal of the magistrate was sustained by
the circuit court, and the question is now sought to be presented here
in the latter part of the second exception. The act is not unconstitu­
tional on the ground presented. This act was sustained as constitu­
tional in the case of State v. Chapman, 56 S. C., 420; 34 S. E., 961,
against the objections there presented; and, in construing the act, the
court, speaking by Mr. Chief Justice M clver, said: “ From the lan­
guage of this act, it will be seen that the offense denounced is not
merely the violation of a contract by a laborer employed to work the
lands of another, but the offense consists in receiving advances either
in money or supplies, and thereafter willfully, and without just cause,
failing to perform the reasonable service required of him by the terms
of the contract.” The statute as thus construed does not provide
imprisonment for debt; but, even if it could be so construed, the offense
made punishable involves an element of fraud. The judgment of the
circuit court is affirmed.
Construction of S tatute — E ight -H our L a w — R ight to P ay for
W orking O vertime —Beard v. Board o f Commissioners, Supreme

Court o f Kansas, 65 Pacific Beporter, page 638.—Action was brought
by James Beard against the board of county commissioners of Sedg­
wick County, Kans., to recover pay for his services as a janitor in
excess of eight hours per day. In the district court of Sedgwick
County a judgment was rendered in favor of the defendants and the
plaintiff appealed the case tp the supreme court of the State, which
rendered its decision July 6, 1901, and sustained the decision of the
lower court.
The opinion of the court, delivered by Chief Justice Doster and
containing a statement of the facts in the case, reads as follows:
James Beard was employed by the county commissioners of Sedg­
wick County as a janitor o f the courthouse building at a salary of



DECISIONS OF COUBTS AFFECTING LABOB.

167

$30 per month. There does not appear to have been any order of
employment at that salary entered upon the commissioners’ records,
or any contract in writing between the parties to that effect, but Beard
admitted that he knew he was to receive a monthly compensation at
the rate stated. Thereafter, and during his employment, he rendered
accounts against the county for the stipulated monthly compensation,
and received payment in accordance with his demands. A t no time did
he make any claim of employment for other than the stipulated monthly
salary, nor make any claim for compensation for services other than or
additional to those which were covered by the stipulated monthly pay­
ments. During the period of his employment he worked from ten to
twelve hours per day, and at the close of his period of service for the
county rendered against it an account for extra hours of labor, basing
his claim upon the provisions of chapter 114, laws 1891, being an act
establishing eight hours as a day’s work for laborers and other work­
men employed by the State and its counties and other political and
municipal divisions, and which act, according to the construction
placed upon it by claimant, provides for payment for time in excess
of eight nours per day, and upon the basis of eight hours as a day’s
work. The board of commissioners rejected Beard’s claim, whereupon
he brought an action against the county. Judgment went against
him in the court below, to reverse which he prosecuted error to this
court.
W e need not undertake to construe the eight-hour law in its appli­
cation to the claim Beard seeks to make. Admitted that the eighthour law would have been applicable to his case, he waived his rights
under the law by demanding and receiving compensation on a basis
other than that upon which he now seeks to stand. As his employ­
ment proceeded, as his work was performed, he demanded and received
compensation for his labor as though it were the only compensation to
which he was or would be entitled, and that claim for compensation
was made in pursuance to his original contract. If he had not claimed
and received pay on the theory of its being full compensation, or if he
had not claimed at all until the close of his period of service, the ques­
tion he now seeks to raise might have been properly in the case, and,
for aught we know, he could have successfully invoked the provisions
of the eight-hour law.
While section 2 of the act in question declares that contracts for the
performance of public work shall be deemed and considered as made
upon the basis of eight hours constituting a day’s work, yet the effect
of that section is not to annul contracts fully executed by the laborer,
and fully paid by the county, as agreed by the laborer, long after the
wTork has been performed and payment has been received. The judg­
ment of the court below is affirmed. All the justices concurring.
E mployees ’ L iability — R ailboad C ompanies — E ffect of R e ­
of Claim fob D amages — L aw G oveening C onteact with
R ailboad R elief D epabtment — N egligence , etc .— C ow en etal.v.
lease

B ay, United States Circuit Court o f Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 108
Federal Reporter, page 3W .—One Robert M. Ray, a fireman in the
employ of the receivers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company,
was killed while in the line of his duty during a collision which took



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

place in the State of Indiana and which was caused by the negligence
of a brakeman who was sent back from a train that was stalled upon
the main track to put torpedoes and lamps upon the track to warn
another train that was about due. Upon his death Ray left a widow
and two minor children and the widow brought suit as administratrix
of his estate against the receivers of the railroad company to recover
damages for his death. In the United States circuit court for the dis­
trict of Indiana, where the suit was brought, the receivers made a
special defense in part as follows: That the railroad company was
operating a relief department, conducted as a part of the business of
the road, its purpose, among other things, being to extend relief in
case of sickness, injury, old age, and death to its employees; that
among the rules of this department was one to the effect that, in the
event of disability, or death from injuries, the benefits should not be
payable until there had been filed with the superintendent, by all per­
sons who might bring suit, a release from all claims for damages by
reason of such injury or death; that Ray was at the time of his death
a member of this department, and had agreed to be bound by its rules;
that in his application Ray agreed that the acceptance of benefits for
injury or death should operate as a release of all claims against the
company; that the superintendent might require as a condition pre­
cedent to the payment of such benefits all acts deemed appropriate to
effect such release; that the bringing of any suit by Ray or his bene­
ficiary or legal representative for such injury or death should operate
as a release of the relief department, and that the contract thus created
should be governed in its construction and effect by the laws of the
State of Maryland; that after the death of Ray his widow elected to
take the benefits provided by the contract with the relief department
and to waive the bringing of any suit for damages, and thereupon the
receivers through the relief department agreed to pay her as 44widow
and administratrix” the sum of $1,000; that she was furnished for
that purpose with a blank release which was signed by her as widow
and beneficiary but not as administratrix; that the release thus signed
by her was returned to her for her signature as administratrix but she
had never so signed it. To this defense a special demurrer was filed
by the widow, and the court sustained it and rendered a judgment in
her favor for the sum of $7,500 and ordered it paid out of the funds
in the hands of the receivers. They then appealed the case to the
United States circuit court of appeals for the seventh circuit, which
rendered its decision April 9, 1901, and sustained the decree of the
lower court.
Circuit Judge Grosscup delivered the opinion of the court, and the
following is quoted therefrom:
The liability in this case is controlled by the following Indiana legis­
lation: Section 7083 of the Revised Statutes of Indiana, which reads
as follows: 44That every railroad or other corporation, except munic


DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

169

ipal, operating in this State, shall be liable for damages for personal
injury suffered by any employee while in its service, the employee so
injured being in the exercise of due care and diligence, in the follow­
ing cases: * * * Fourth: Where such injury was caused by the
negligence of any person in the service of such corporation who has
charge of any signal, telegraph office, switch yard, shop, round-house,
locomotive engine or train upon a railway, or where such injury was
caused by the negligence of any person, coemployee, or fellow-servant
engaged in the same common service of any of the several depart­
ments of the service of such corporation, the said person, coemployee,
or fellow-servant, at the time acting in the place, and performing the
duty of the corporation in that behalf, and the person so injured obey­
ing or conforming to the order of some superior at the time of such
injury, having authority to direct.” Also section 7085 (a part of the
same act) which reads as follows: 64The damages recoverable under
this act, shall be commensurate with the injury sustained unless death
results from such injury; when, in such case, the action shall survive
and be govered in all respects by the law now in force as to such
actions.” The general law in force was section 285, and provides:^
44When the death of one is caused by the wrongful act or omission
of another, the personal representatives of the former may maintain
an action therefor against the latter, if the former might have main-,
tained an action, had he lived, against the latter for an injury for the
same act or omission” ; * * ’* and limits the damages to $10,000.
Though the answer avers that the appellee [the widow] elected to
take the benefits provided for by the contract with the relief depart­
ment, and to waive the bringing of any suit for damages, it shows,
upon further reading, that the appellee refused, as administratrix, to
sign any release. Upon the answer, taken as a whole, it is apparent
that, while willing to accept the $1,000, as widow and beneficiary, she
declined, as administratrix, to waive the right of action arising under
section 285 of the Revised Statutes of Indiana.
But though it has been ruled by the supreme court of Indiana, Rail­
road Company v. Hosea, 152 Ind., 412; 53 N. E., 419, that an accept­
ance of benefits by the beneficial is not a bar to the recovery by the
administratrix for the use of the child of the deceased, under section
285, it is insisted that the case now under consideration is to be deter­
mined, not by this ruling, but by the law of Maryland; and our atten­
tion is called to the fact that, by its own terms, the contract with the
relief department is to be governed, in its construction and effect, by
the laws of the State of Maryland. W e can not concur in this view.
The statute of Indiana, as construed by the supreme court of Indiana,
gives a right of action to the administratrix for the use of the children,
notwithstanding the contract for benefits, or the acceptance of benefits
by the appellee, as beneficiary. The statute differentiates her right,
as administratrix, from her interest, as beneficiary. As administratrix,
she has not consented that her right of action, conferred by the laws
of Indiana, shall be governed by the laws of Maryland; and it is for
the State within whose limits the negligent act is done to prescribe
when, and under what circumstances, a cause of action resulting in
death shall arise against a person or corporation operating within its
limits.
Nor upon the main issue is there, in our opinion, any error in the
decree of the circuit court. There can be no question that, so far as
the record discloses, Ray acted in the exercise of due care and dili­



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

gence. The proof of negligence on the part of the appellants is
equally clear. Although the brakeman may be regarded as a fellowservant of Kay, liability exists, if the brakeman falls within the per­
sons enumerated in paragraph 4 of section 7083 of the Revised Statues
of Indiana. W e are of the opinion that the brakeman was, within the
meaning of that statute, a person in the service of the appellants, hav­
ing charge of a signal. The rule of the company, framed to meet the
emergency^ that came into existence, made it the duty of the fireman,
or in case he was engaged, the brakeman, to go forward the stipulated
distances, place the torpedoes and give the signal. It is not necessary
to inquire why the fireman did not go. The engineer, in command
over the fireman, unquestionably determined that he should not go, and
dispatched instead the brakeman. From that moment, and for that
occasion, the brakeman was in charge of the signal. Upon his discre­
tion and fidelity depended the proper giving of the signal. His negli­
gence, therefore, under the statute, was, constructively, the negligence
of the appellants. The decree will be affirmed.

E mployers ’ L iability — R ailroad Companies — E ffect of Statute
O ne S tate on L iability for I njury I ncurred in A nother
S tate — Williams v. Southern Railway Go., Supreme Court o f North

of

Carolina, 38 Southeasterm Reporter', page 893.—Action was brought
by Robert Williams against the above-named railway company to
recover damages for an injury incurred by him while in its employ
and a judgment in his favor was rendered in the superior court of
Catawba County, N. C., from which the defendant company appealed
to the supreme court of the State. Its decision, affirming the judg­
ment of the lower court, was rendered May 23,1901, and the essential
points of the case and the decision are shown in the following, which
is quoted from the opinion of the supreme court, delivered by Judge
Furches:
At the close of the evidence the defendant moved to nonsuit the
plaintiff for the reason that it appeared from all the evidence that plain­
tiff was injured in the State of Tennessee; u that plaintiff was injured by
the negligence of a fellow-servant, and defendant contended that at
common law he could not recover for an injury caused by the negli­
gence of a fellow-servant; that, to enable him to recover, the burden
was upon him to show the common-law rule applicable to injuries at the
hands of fellow-servants had been abrogated in the State of Tennessee;
that plaintiff had failed to show any statute of the State of Tennessee
which abrogated the common-law rule that one servant was not entitled
to recover for injuries caused by the negligence of a fellow-servant;
and, because' he had so failed, he is not entitled to recover in this
action.” This motion was refused, and the defendant excepted.
This exception presents the only point in the case, as there is no
exception to the evidence or to the charge of the court.. W e do not
think this case depends upon the doctrine of presumption that the com­
mon law prevails in the State of Tennessee. W e are of opinion that
this case is governed by the law of this State, and that the fellow


DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

171

servant act of 1897 [chap. 56, Acts of North Carolina of 1897—Vol.
II— “ Private Laws,” providing that any servant or employee of any
railroad company operating in the State of North Carolina, who suf­
fers injury by the negligence, etc., of any other servant, etc., of the
company, shall be entitled to maintain an action against such company]
applies to it. The act is not limited to injuries received in this State,
but is made to apply to the employee of “ any railroad company operat­
ing in this State, who shall suffer injury to his person,” etc. The
Southern Railway Company operates its road in this State, and, accord­
ing to the terms of this act, is liable to its provisions. O f course,
the courts of Tennessee would not be bound to observe this act, but the
courts of this State are. Indeed, we do not see that the fact that the
injury occurred in Tennessee has any bearing on the case. The plain­
tiff’s action is not in tort ex delicto, but ex contractu, for breach of con­
tract; for, although a tort is alleged, it is based on contract. This
being so, and defendant being a resident of this State, and it not being
shown where the contract was made, or what State should have juris­
diction of its enforcement, it seems to us that it was altogether proper
that the courts of this State should take jurisdiction, and enforce the
contract, by ascertaining damages for its breach. Affirmed.

S eamen — Construction of S tatute — P ayment of W ages in
A dvance — The Eudora, United States D istrict Court fo r the Eastern

D istrict o f Pennsylvania, 110 Federal Reporter, page IflO.—Suit by
seamen B. M. Patterson and others to recover wages. The agreed
statement of facts showed that the bark Eudora was a British vessel;
that when in the port of New York and about to proceed to sea certain
men, one or more of whom were American citizens, shipped on said
vessel as seamen; that at the time the shipping articles were signed
the sum of $20 was paid on account of each of these seamen to the ship­
ping agent through whom they had been employed on account of the
indebtedness of the seamen to the shipping agent for board and goods
sold to them by him. The suit was brought to recover the amount paid
to the agent on the ground that such payment was in violation of sec­
tion 24 of chapter 28 of the acts of Congress of 1898-99, approved
December 21, 1898, amending section 10 of chapter 121 of the acts of
Congress of 1888-84, which reads, in part, as follows:
(a) It shall be, and is hereby, made unlawful in any case to pay any
seaman wages in advance of the time when he has actually earned the
same, or to pay such advance wages to any other person. Any
person paying such advance wages shall be deemed guilty of a mis­
demeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not less
than four times the amount of wages so advanced, and may also be
imprisoned for a period not exceeding six months, at the discretion
of the court. The payment of such advance wages shall in no case,
excepting as herein provided, absolve the vessel or the master or owner
thereof from full payment of wages after the same shall have been
actually earned, and shall be no defense to a libel, suit, or action for



172

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

the recovery of such wages. If any person shall demand or receive,
either directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other person seek­
ing employment as seaman, or from any person on his behalf, any
remuneration whatever for providing him with employment, he shall
for every such offense be liable to a penalty of not more than one
hundred dollars.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

(f) This section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of
the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or agent of any
foreign vessel who has violated its provisions shall be liable to the
same penalty that the master, owner, or agent of a vessel of the United
States would be for similar violation: Provided, That treaties in force
between the United States and foreign nations do not conflict.
For the purposes of the case it was admitted that the advance pay­
ment of wages was contrary to the provisions of the act in question,
and the issue upon which the suit went to trial was upon the question
as to whether the act was applicable and controlling in the case. The
case was heard by the United States district court for the eastern dis­
trict of Pennsylvania, which rendered its decision June 22, 1901, and
decided that the act does not apply to seamen, although American by
birth or naturalization, who regularly ship upon a British vessel and
thereby become, for the time being, British seamen.
The opinion of the court, delivered by District Judge McPherson,
reads as follows:
The purpose of the suit is to obtain a decision upon the scope of
section 24 of the act of December 21, 1898 (30 Stat., 763), which for­
bids the payment of a seaman’s wages in advance to himself or to any
other person, and especially to obtain a decision upon the scope of
clause “ f ” of that section, which declares “ that this section shall
apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of the United States; and
any master, owner, consignee or agent of any foreign vessel, who
has violated its provisions, shall be liable to the same penalty that the
master, owner [consignee], or agent of a vessel of the United States
would be for a similar violation, provided that treaties in force between
the United States and foreign nations do not conflict.”
There is no formal treaty between Great Britain and the United
States upon this subject, and the question must be determined by the
application of general legal principles. In my opinion, suit can not
be maintained, for at least two of the reasons urged at the argument
by counsel for the ship, namety: First, because the act of 1898 does
not apply to the libelants; and, second, because it is not within the
power of Congress to regulate the internal affairs of a vessel sailing
under a foreign flag. I regard both these propositions as established
by the Supreme Court of the United States in Ross v. McIntyre, 140
U. S., 453; 11 Sup. Ct., 897; 35 L. Ed., 581, and for that reason I
shall not discuss them. It is enough, I think, merely to say, in sup­
port of the first proposition that the act of 1898 does not apply to the
libelants, because the statute, as its title declares, is intended to “ amend
the laws relating to American seamen, for the protection of such sea­
men, and promote commerce;” and it can not, therefore, apply to
seamen, even if they are American by birth or naturalization, that



173

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

have regularly shipped upon a British vessel, and have thereby become
British seamen for the time being.
In support of the second proposition, it may be added that a foreign
vessel is a part of the territory of the country to which she belongs,
and that Congress has no inherent power to control or prescribe rules
for her domestic affairs, such as the terms upon which she ships her
crew, or the wages she agrees to pay. In certain respects, a foreign
ship in our ports is, no doubt, subject to the laws of the United States;
but the government and payment and treatment of the crew are mat­
ters that are properly held to concern the ship and the crew alone,
subject to the law of the flag. The libel must be dismissed, but with­
out costs.

Seamen — C onstruction of S tatute — P ayment of W ages in
A dvance — The Kestor, United States D istrict Court fo r the D istrict

o f Delaware, 110 Federal Reporter, page 432.— Suit by a seaman for
the recovery of wages. The libelant, William Chambers, was a Brit­
ish seaman who shipped upon a British vessel in the American port
of Baltimore; part of his wages was paid, in advance, presumably to
some other party than himself, and he brought the suit to recover the
same with interest. By section 21 of the act of Congress of December
21, 1898 (chap. 28 of the acts of Congress of 1898-99), entitled “ An
act to amend the laws relating to American seamen, for protection of
such seamen, and to promote commerce,” section 10 of the act of Con­
gress of June 26, 1884 (chap. 121 of the acts of Congress of 1883-84)
was amended so as to read, so far as material to this case, as follows:
(a) It shall be, and is hereby, made unlawful in any case to pay any
seaman wages in advance of the time when he has actually earned the
same, or to pay such advance wages to any other person. Any person
paying such advance wages shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
ana upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not less than four
times the amount of wages so advanced, and may also be imprisoned
for a period not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court.
The payment of such advance wages shall in no case, excepting as
herein provided, absolve the vessel or the master or owner thereof
from full payment of wages after the same shall have been actually
earned, and shall be no defense to a libel, suit, or action for the recov­
ery of such wages. If any person shall demand or receive, either
directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other person seeking employ­
ment as seaman or from any person on his behalf, any remuneration
whatever for providing him with employment, he shall for every such
offense be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

(f) This section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of
the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or agent of any
foreign vessel who has violated its provisions shall be liable to the
same penalty that the master, owner, or agent of a vessel of the United
States would be for similar violation: Provided, That treaties in force
between the United States and foreign nations do not conflict.

1110—No. 38—02---- 12



174

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The libelant, Chambers, contended that the provisions of the above
section were applicable to the prepayment of the wages of a British
seaman employed to serve on a British merchant vessel, while the
attorneys for the ship contended that the statute was not intended to
apply in such a case, and that, if it was so intended, it was to that
extent beyond the power of Congress to enact—in other words, that
it was unconstitutional. The case was heard by the United States
district court for the district of Delaware, which rendered its decision
August 7, 1901, and upheld the contention of the libelant, holding
that the above statute is a constitutional enactment applying to the
prepayment on American soil or in American waters of the wages of
seamen who are British subjects shipping in American ports on British
merchant vessels.
From the opinion in the case, delivered by District Judge Bradford,
the following is quoted:
I now come to the question whether the statute was intended to
apply to the case of British subjects shipping in the United States on
British vessels, in the absence of any treaty between the United States
and Great Britain inconsistent with such application. In United
States v. Nelson (D. C.), 100 Fed., 125, decided in the district court
for the southern district of Alabama, Judge Toulmin, with reference
to the section in question, said:
64That the statute applies to American seamen,—Americans whose
avocation is that of mariner,—only, is, I think, clear.”
This is all that was said on the subject and seems to have been obiter;
as nothing appears in the case, as reported, from which it can be
inferred that the question of the application of the statute to foreign
seamen shipping on vessels in American ports was involved. In the
Eudora, 110 Fed., 430, [see page 172 ante] in the district court for the
eastern district of Pennsylvania, however, the point under discussion
was directly decided. Judge McPherson said:
44The act of 1898 does not apply to the libelants because the statute,
as its title declares, is intended to 4amend the laws relating to American
seamen, for the protection of such seamen, and to promote commerce.5”
These are the only cases, so far as I am aware, in which it has been
decided or said that the statute applies to American seamen only, and
in both of them the court evidently relied on its title in reaching that
conclusion. It is well settled that the title of a statute may sometimes
be resorted to as tending to throw light upon the legislative intent as
to its scope and operation. But to warrant such a course, its language
must be ambiguous or otherwise doubtful, or being plain, a literal con­
struction would lead to such absurdity, hardship or injustice, as to
render it irrational to impute to the legislature an intent to produce or
permit such a result. The language of the section under consideration
is plain and wholly free from ambiguity or other uncertainty. Except
as therein provided, it is declared unlawful 44in any case "to pay any
seaman wages in advance of the time when he has actually earned the
same, or to pay such advance wages to any other person,” and provides
that 44any person paying such advance wages,” shall be guiltjr of a
misdemeanor. The words 44any seaman” in the absence of restriction



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

175

apply as well to a foreign as to an American seaman. No such restric­
tion is expressed in the statute. Nor would the enforcement of the
provision according to its terms in the case of a foreign seaman work
any hardship or injustice. Protection to seamen is one of the benefi­
cent purposes of the act, and the extension to foreign seamen shipping
in American ports of the same protection as is accorded to American
seamen involves no hardship or injustice to the former.
The section under consideration admittedly was intended to apply
to the prepayment of the wages of an American seaman shipping in
an American port on an American merchant vessel; and no reason is
perceived why the words “ any seaman” as employed in the section
should be so wrested from their “ natural and usual sense” as to
exclude a foreign seaman shipping here on such an American vessel,
or why the application of its provisions in such case would not be
quite as much in harmony with the title of the act as are many of the
other sections which do not discriminate between foreign and Ameri­
can seamen employed on American vessels. The case before the court
is one in which a British seaman shipped in an American port on a
British vessel. It is expressly provided that the section shall apply
“ as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of the United States” provided
“ that treaties in force between the United States and foreign nations
do not conflict.” There is, so far as I am aware, no conflicting treaty
between the United States and Great Britain. It is not controverted
that the section was intended to apply to the case of an American
seaman shipping in an American port on a British vessel; but it is
claimed that it was not intended to apply to a British seaman shipping
here on such a vessel. Certainly the language of the section is broad
enough to cover such a case, and if, as hereafter appears, its applica­
tion to such cases would operate for the protection of American sea­
men, it would accord not only with the title of the act, but with the
plain terms of the section, so to apply it. A review of the legislation
on the subject affords very persuasive evidence that the words “ any
seaman ” as used in the section were the deliberate and well-considered
expressions of Congress, intended to have their usual and natural effect
and consequently to apply to seamen regardless of their nationality.
For the reasons given I am satisfied that the provisions of the section
were intended to apply to the case of foreign seamen shipping in
American ports on foreign merchant vessels.
The next question relates to the constitutionality of the section in
its application to such a case. In Patterson v. The Eudora, already
referred to, it appears that a majority of the libelants were of foreign
nationality and the rest American citizens. They shipped as seamen
on a British vessel in the port of New York, a portion o f their wages
being prepaid to the shipping agent through whom the master em­
ployed them. The court held that the section was intended to apply
only to American seamen; that it has no application to seamen “ even
if they are American by birth or naturalization, that have regularly
shipped upon a British vessel, and have thereby become British sea­
men for the time being;” and that, therefore, all the libelants were
outside o f its provisions. It was further held that it was not in the
}>ower o f Congress to apply the provisions of the section to any of the
ibelants. Reliance was had on Ross v. McIntyre, 140 U. S., 453; 11
Sup. Ct., 897; 35 L. Ed., 581, as supporting the conclusions reached
by the learned district judge. On the other hand, in United States v.



176

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

Nelson (D. C.), 100 Fed., 125, already referred to, the court, while
stating obiter that the section was intended to apply only to American
seamen, said:
“ To construe the statute as applying to those persons only who
ship or engage to ship on American vessels, it seems to me, would
give too narrow a construction to it, too small a field for its operation,
and make the statute inconsistent with itself and inharmonious as a
whole. * * * The statute declares that it is applicable to foreign
vessels, and it provides that any master, owner, agent, or consignee
who violates its provisions shall be liable to the same penalty that the
master, etc., of a vessel of the United States would be, provided that
treaties in force between the United States and foreign nations do not
conflict.” * * *
Here is a clear recognition that in the absence of a treaty to the
contrary the section applies with full force and effect to the prepay­
ment of the wages of American seamen shipping in an American port
on a British merchant vessel. If the section be constitutional as
applied to such a case, it is difficult to perceive why Congress had not
the power to apply the section to the prepayment of wages of British
seamen shipping in American ports on British merchant vessels; for
its application to the latter case would not more than its application to
the former “ regulate the internal affairs of a vessel sailing under a
foreign flag.”
An act of Congress should not be declared void unless its invalidity
clearly appears. Where its language is so general as to apply to cases
not within the legislative power it must if possible be so construed as
to restrict such generality to subjects and objects within that power.
Congress has no authority to declare unlawful or provide for the punish­
ment of acts or offenses wholly done or committed beyond the territory
and jurisdiction of the United States. But with respect to subjects
committed to it by the Constitution it has full power to declare unlaw­
ful and provide for the punishment of acts and offenses done or com­
mitted within the territory or jurisdiction of the United States. The
shipping interests of the country are peculiarly within the province of
Congress and it has full control over the American merchant marine.
That Congress had authority to enact a uniform law declaring unlaw­
ful and providing penalties for the prepayment on the soil or in the
ports of the United States of the wages of seamen of whatever nation­
ality shipping in such ports on vessels of whatever nationality, as
detrimental, for the reasons already given, to seamen and the American
merchant marine, there can be little or no doubt. I do not regard In
re Ross, 140 U. S., 453; 11 Sup. Ct., 897; 35 L. Ed., 581, either in the
points decided or in the language employed by the court, in the least
inconsistent with the views now expressed. I can discover nothing in
any part of the opinion countenancing the idea that it was beyond the
power of Congress to prohibit under a penalty the prepayment on
American soil or in American ports of the wages of seamen shipping
in such ports on foreign vessels. Certainly if such prohibition were
beyond the legislative authority in the case of foreign seamen, it would
be equally so m the case of American seamen, for under the doctrine
o f temporary allegiance, the same argument would apply with equal
force to both cases. The court held that “ the territorial jurisdiction”
of a nation “ includes its ports and navigable waters as well as its
lands,” and that the “ system of law” governing the mercantile service



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

177

“ attaches to the vessel and crew when they leave a national port and
accompanies them round the globe, regulating their lives, protecting
their persons and punishing their offenses; ” but recognized that “ this
law may be suspended while he is in the ports of a foreign nation, but
where such foreign nation grants to the country which he serves the
power to administer its own laws in such foreign territory, then the
law under w7hich he enlisted again becomes supreme.” But the court
did not hold or state that the system of law which accompanies a vessel
when it leaves a port of the country to which she belongs would, while
she is in a port o f a foreign nation, exclude the application of the law
of that nation, passed for the protection of its shipping interests, declar­
ing unlawful and providing punishment for acts done in the latter port
by or on behalf or the master or agent of the vessel. If the prepay­
ment of the libelant’s wages had not been directly or indirectly made
until after the Kestor left the port of Baltimore and was on the high
seas, and thus was not made on the soil or in the waters of the United
States, the case would have presented a totally different aspect. But
the prepayment was made in the port of Baltimore and consequently
within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. To hold that
it was beyond the power of Congress to apply the section to such a
case would involve a clear departure from settled doctrine repeatedly
recognized by the Supreme Court.
In United States v. Diekelman, 92 U. S., 520; 23 L. Ed;, 742, Chief
Justice Waite, delivering the opinion of the court, said:
“ The merchant vessels of one country visiting the ports of another
for the purposes of trade subject themselves to the laws which govern
the port they visit, so long as they remain; and this as well in war as
in peace, unless it is otherwise provided by treaty.”
Full effect must be given to the provision that “ this section shall
apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of the United States,” as
a constitutional enactment applying to the prepayment on our soil or
in our waters of the wages of seamen who are British subjects shipping
in American ports on British vessels.
DECISIONS UNDER COMMON L A W .
C onstruction
ries — S uit

for

of R elease of Claim for D amages for I nju ­
D ischarge from E mployment without Cause —

Rhoades v. Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co., Supreme Court o f
Ayopeals o f West Virginia, 39 Southeastern Reporter, page 309.—An
action in assumpsit upon a contract of employment, alleging damages
resulting from discharge from said employment without good cause,
was brought in the circuit court of Kanawha County, W . Va., by one
G. W . Rhoades against the above-named railroad company. The facts
in the case were substantially as follows: On or about November 7,
1896, Rhoades, then employed as a section hand by the defendant rail­
road company, received an injury, while assisting in replacing on the
track a derailed freight car, which necessitated the amputation of one
of his legs on December 27 following. Soon after he was discharged
from the hospital, negotiations for a settlement with him were com­



178

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

menced by the claim agent of the railway company, which resulted in
the preparation by said agent, and signing by Rhoades, of the follow­
ing instrument:
Coalburg, W . Va., April 27, 1897. 1 hereby agree to accept $600
in full settlement, satisfaction, and discharge of all claims arising from
or growing out of personal injuries received by me on or about Novem­
ber 7, 1896, while working as a laborer at wreck at Dry Branch on
Cabin Creek in the service of Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, said
amount to be paid without delay by voucher through agent at Charles­
ton, W . Va. In addition I am to be giyen a job as watchman or in
other service which I can perform. It being understood that I stand
in same relation to the company as any other employee, injured or not
injured, and will be removed only for cause, and will have a steady
job so long as I give satisfaction to the foreman or superintendent
under whom I work. [Signed.] G. W . Rhoades.
This instrument was left in the possession of Rhoades, and the agent
said he would talk with the superintendent upon his return to Hunt­
ington, and, if he agreed to the terms of the proposed settlement, a
voucher would be sent to Charleston, and the amount paid. He found
the adjustment satisfactory to the superintendent, who directed him to
prepare a voucher for the amount. Not having a copy of the writing
upon which he and Rhoades had agreed, and wishing to embody its
terms in the voucher, the agent relied upon his memory in the prepara­
tion of the voucher, which he claimed Rhoades signed May 1, 1897,
and which is as follows:
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company.
139,634. Claim No. 2,997.
To George W. Rhoades, Dr. Address,
Charleston, W . Va.
1897.
April 26. For amount agreed upon in full settlement, satisfaction, and discharge of
all claims or cause of action arising from or growing out of personal injuries
received by me on or about November 7, 1896, while on duty as laborer at Dry
Branch, at Drainment [derailment], of train 113 on Cabin Creek B ran ch ____$600

0. K.
Charge to
Hun. Div.
C. T. 52.

Amount.
$600.00.

Certified.
J. W . Winget,
Claim Agent.

Approved.

Received, Charleston, W . Va., May 1, 1897, of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railway Company, the sum of $600, in full compromise, satis­
faction, and discharge of all my claims or causes of action, and par­
ticularly of all claims or causes of action arising out of the personal
injuries received by me November 7, 1896, as per above voucher. In
addition to this I am to be given an opportunity to work for the com­
pany under like conditions and circumstances as any other employee,
injured or not injured, so long as I give satisfaction to the foreman or
superintendent under whom I work. George W. Rhoades. [Seal.]
J. W. Winget, L. H. Moseman, witnesses.
The $600 was paid, and about June 1, 1897, Rhoades went to work
for the company and continued in its employ until July, 1898, when



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

179

he was discharged, as he claimed, without good cause. While the
company denied this claim, it also claimed that it had the right to dis­
charge him without cause if it desired to do so. This claim was denied
by the trial court, and the jury haying found that the discharge was
without good cause, a judgment was rendered in favor of Rhoades,
from which the defendant company appealed to the supreme court of
appeals of the State, which rendered its decision June 13, 1901, and
affirmed the judgment of the lower court.
The opinion of the court of appeals was delivered by Judge Poffenbarger, and from the syllabus of the same, which was prepared by the
court, the following is taken:
If a person having received permanent injury in the service of his
employer, and claiming the injury was caused by the negligence of
the latter, in consideration of an agreement on the part of the employer
to give him work so long as he gives satisfaction to the foreman or
superintendent under whom he works releases his claim for damages
for said injury, and is then given employment in pursuance of the
agreement at wages agreed upon between them, there is no lack of
certainty or mutuality in the agreement, for all its terms are settled,
and by releasing his claim for damages the employee has paid in
advance for the option to do such work for his employer as he is able
to do, and he can not be discharged without cause.
If, in such case, the servant be discharged without cause, he may
treat the contract as absolutely broken, by the master, and in action
thereon recover the full value of the contract to him at the time of
the breach, including all that he would have received in the future as
well as in the past if the contract had been kept, less any sum he might
have earned already, or might thereafter earn in other service, as well
as the amount of any loss the defendant sustained by the loss of his
services without the master’s fault.
In the trial of such case the burden is upon the defendant to show
that the discharge was for good cause, and a verdict for the plaintiff
should not be set aside unless it is clearly wrong.
If two writings of different dates, made between the same parties,
and relating to the same subject-matter, are not different from each
other in legal effect, though different in terms, and the latter in date
is, among other things, a receipt for a sum of money,' mentioned in
the other and to be paid, and therefore a voucher, passed between the
parties in performance of the first agreement, such first agreement is
not discharged by the execution of the latter, and resort may be had
to both instruments in ascertaining the rights and liabilities of the
parties.

E mployers’ L iability — D efective M achinery — A ssumption of
R isk by E mployee — Dempsey v. Sawyer, Supreme Judicial Court o f

Maine,
Atlantic Reporter, page 1035.—Action was brought by
Michael Dempsey against John G. Sawyer to recover damages for
personal injuries incurred by him while in the employ of Sawyer. In
the supreme court of Maine, where the trial was had, a verdict was



180

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

rendered for the plaintiff, Dempsey, and the defendant, Sawyer, made
a motion for a new trial. This was argued before the full bench and
the decision was rendered May 29, 1901, the motion for a new trial
being overruled. The case hinged upon the question of the assump­
tion of the risk of a defective machine by which the plaintiff was
injured, and upon this question the court laid down the law in its
opinion, delivered by Judge Emery. The syllabus of the opinion,
which was prepared by the court, reads as follows:
The risk of injury to a servant from defective machinery is prima­
rily upon the master, and remains upon him unless the servant volun­
tarily assumes it. The servant may voluntarily assume such risk, and
relieve the master from it, but such assumption is his voluntary act,
not his legal duty.
Whether the servant has voluntarily assumed such risk is a question
of fact to be determined by the jury. When, however, the servant
knows and appreciates the danger of injury from defective machinery,
and yet enters or continues in the dangerous service without protest,
the necessary inference is that he has voluntarily assumed tne risk.
Although the servant may have once taken such risk upon himself, he
may throw it back upon the master by a notification that he will no
longer carry it. Whether the risk, once assumed, has been thus thrown
off, is a question of fact for the jury. When a servant has thrown off
the risk once assumed, he may voluntarily reassume it, and whether
he has reassumed it is also a question of fact for the jury.
When a servant has notified the master that he will no longer carry
a risk once assumed, and is requested by the master to continue in the
service, with the assurance that the defects shall be speedily remedied,
and the servant thereupon does continue in the service, it is a question
o f fact for the jury whether the servant has thereby reassumed the
risk, pending the removal of the defects, or whether it remains upon
the master. There is no necessary inference either way. In this case
the jury has found for the plaintiff upon all these questions of fact,
and the court is not convinced that the jury was unmistakably wrong
in so doing.

E mployers ’ L iability — D uties of the E mployer — I nspection of
A ppliances, E tc . — Lafayette Bridge Company v. Olsen, United States

Circuit Court o f Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 108 Federal Reporter, page
335.—This suit was brought to recover damages for the death of one
John Olsen, a common laborer in the employ of the bridge company
above named, and who was drowned in the Illinois River by falling
from a temporary bridge or scaffolding during the erection of a bridge
across said river. The fall was caused by the fact that the planks of
which the scaffolding was made were not large or strong enough to bear
the weight imposed upon them, and that one of them broke, causing
Olsen to be precipitated to the river below. The material used was
selected by one Luke, who was in charge of the work and who was




DECISIONS OF COUETS AFFECTING LABOB.

181

the sole representative of the bridge company—hiring, paying, and
discharging the men, and doing all the buying for the bridge company.
The negligence which caused the accident was the selection of poor
material for the scaffolding by Luke, the foreman, and the point upon
which the case hinged was whether the company was responsible for
his negligence. In the United States circuit court for the northern
division o f the northern district of Illinois, in which the trial of the
case was had, a judgment in favor of the plaintiff was rendered and
the defendant bridge company appealed the case to the United States
circuit court of appeals for the seventh circuit. Said court rendered
its decision April 30,1901, and affirmed the decision of the lower court.
Circuit Judge Jenkins delivered the opinion of the court and, in the
the course of the same, he used the following language:
W e have held in Keed v. Stockmeyer, 34 U. S. App., 727; 20 C. C. A .,
381; 74 Fed., 186, that it is the duty of the master, to use ordinary
care to furnish appliances reasonably safe for the use of servants,
such as, with reasonable care on his part, can be used without danger
save such as is incident to the business in which such instrumentalities
are employed; that it is also the duty of the master to use like care to
provide a safe place in which the laborer may perform his work, and
to keep it in a suitable condition. These duties may not be foregone,
and, when delegated to be performed by another, that other is a vice­
principal, and quoad hoc represents the principal, so that his act is the
act of the principal. That other may have a dual character—vice­
principal with respect to the duty due from the master to the servant,
and coservant with respect to his acts as a workman. In case of
injury, the question of the liability of the master turns rather on the
character of the act than on the relations of the servants to each other.
If the act is in the discharge of some positive duty owing by the
master to the servant, then negligence therein is the negligence of the
master; otherwise, there should be personal wrong on the part of
the master to render him liable. These principles we understand to
be established by the ruling of the ultimate tribunal [the United States
Supreme Court].
This duty of the master owing to the servant is not absolute, but
relative, measured by the nature and character of the employment and
the nature of the location and the surroundings. In the case at bar the
work to be done was accompanied by danger arising not only from
location, but from the great weight to be supported. In furnishing
plank to be used for such support, the master owed to the servant the
positive duty of furnishing material reasonably fit for the purposes
of the contemplated use. In the reasonable discharge of his duty he
should ascertain if the plank furnished were reasonably sufficient to
bear the weight to which they were to be subjected. That was matter
of technical knowledge and experience, which could not be left to the
knowledge of a common laborer. It was also the duty of the master
to have proper inspection of the lumber furnished, to ascertain its
soundness, for upon that depended its breaking strength and its ability
to sustain the ordinary working strain to which it would be subjected.
It was incumbent upon the master, under the circumstances of this



182

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

case, and in view of the peculiar defectiveness of the plank that broke
[having a curl in the grain at the point where it broke], to have shown
that such inspection was had before the employment o f the material in
work in which life was at stake if the material was defective. So far
as the record discloses, no such inspection was had.
If the duty of inspection was delegated to the foreman in charge of
the work, it was not performed. He instructed common laborers to
select the plank, and to pick out the best. Such selection, however,
is not the inspection which duty to the servant required. The common
laborer might form some judgment between two sticks of timber, and
select the better one as they appeared to his uninformed and inexpe­
rienced mind; but he could not discover that which required for its
ascertainment technical knowledge of woods and the ripened judgment
of an expert. There is no evidence of inspection by principal or by
vice-principal; and, failing therein, the master is chargeable with
knowledge of such defects as would have been ascertained by proper
inspection by a competent person. The evidence produced by the
master renders it probable that proper inspection would have dis­
covered the defect.
It is not sufficient discharge of the master’s duty that sufficient good
material should be mingled with bad material in a common mass. As
we have pointed out, the duty of inspection could not be put aside or
delegated for performance to ignorant and inexperienced men. I f
the defect were obvious, the master failed in duty in permitting the
use of the defective plank. If proper inspection would have disclosed
the defect, although it was not apparent to the uneducated eye, there
is imputed to the master knowledge of that which a proper inspection
would have furnished. If the defect were latent, and not discoverable
upon proper inspection, the master would not be responsible, for his
failure to inspect worked no harm.
The duty of inspection would seem from the evidence to have been
delegated to the foreman. There is no evidence that that duty was
performed by him. In respect thereof he stood for the master, and
was vice-principal, and was not coservant with those employed upon
the structure.

E mployers’ L iability — V alidity
ages —B urik

of

R elease

of

C laim

for

D am ­

v. Dundee Woolen Co., SiCpreme Court o f New Jersey,
49 Atlantic R eporter, page 442.—In this case suit was brought by
one Martin Burik against the above-named company to recover dam­
ages for injuries incurred by him while in its employ. In the trial
court the defendant company set up as a defense to the suit a release
of all claims for damages which it had received from the plaintiff, but
the court held that the release was not valid and directed that a ver­
dict be rendered for the plaintiff, which was done. Upon the applica­
tion of the defendant company a rule was issued by the supreme court
o f New Jersey to show cause why a new trial should not be granted.
After a hearing the court rendered its decision June 10, 1901, and
denied the application for a new trial, supporting the action of the
trial court. The opinion of the supreme court was delivered by



DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

183

Judge Collins and from the syllabus of the same, which was prepared
by the court and sets out the reasons for the decision, the following is
taken:
In a suit against a corporation to recover damages for personal
injuries received in its service, the defendant relied upon a release
drawn in the English language and executed by the plaintiff, who
understood only Slavonic. The execution of the release was procured
by the English-speaking secretary of the corporation, who knew no
Slavonic. A fellow-countryman of the servant, in the same employ­
ment, was, without objection by the servant, called in to interpret,
and through him the secretary undertook to make known the purport
of the instrument presented for execution. Held, that the interpreter
must be considered the agent of the defendant [the woolen company],
and that, if the purport of the instrument was not adequately imparted
to the plaintiff, it was not a valid release.

Strikes — Conspiracy— I njunction— A llis Chalmers Co. v. RelioMe
lo d g e, United States Circuit Court, Northern D istrict o f Illinois, 111
Federal Reporter, page
—In this case the Allis Chalmers Company
complained that a portion of its workmen, having left their employ­
ment and declared a strike, were using organized efforts to injure the
business of the complainant by establishing patrols or pickets about
its works, and by threats, acts of violence, and otherwise had intimi­
dated those persons who desired to enter or to continue in its service,
to the irreparable damage of the company’s business. The company
asks for relief and an injunction against the continuance of such acts.
The parties complained against denied that the violence and threats
were the acts of themselves or of anyone acting by their direction.
They stated that their pickets were under instructions to notify work­
men seeking employment that a strike was on, but were not to attempt
in any manner to intimidate such workmen.
Judge Kohlsaat, in granting the injunction, said:

Under all the conflict of evidence in this case, it is undeniable that
the defendants, or some of them, and their confederates, have con­
spired to and have greatly intimidated complainant’s workmen, and
thereby have intended to and have done great and irreparable injury
to complainant’s business and property, largely in excess of the neces­
sary jurisdictional amount. It is conceivable, theoretically, that patrols
or pickets could be maintained upon the platonic basis claimed by
defendants; but the evidence, taken as a whole, leaves no doubt in the
mind of the court that the name was not misapplied in this case. Here
a siege exists. Probably to some extent the acts of violence complained
of have been done by persons not members of the union and not con­
nected in any manner with the striking workmen, but in some of the
cases the evidence is so specific that it can not be overlooked. It is
true that at such times, when excitement runs high, the public mind is
inflammable, at least among such persons as usually attach themselves
to strikers. It is also true that the criminal classes take advantage of



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

such occasions to commit, under coyer of honest men, dastardly and
cowardly acts. These facts applied to this case make it apparent that
the conduct of defendants was calculated to work a serious wrong to
complainant. In the judgment of the court, the pickets were in some
case themselves guilty of intimidating complainant’s workmen, and were
the indirect, if not the direct, inspiration of like acts and of violence by
others. It is conceded that these pickets were appointed and directed
by officers and members of defendant lodges. That a conspiracy existed
among a number of these officers and members to stop, and thereby
injure, the business of complainant, by intimidation and violence, is
evident. In a conspiracy of this character, where it is difficult to even
learn the names of the individual members of the lodges, the active
cooperation of the individual members in the conspiracy is difficult to
establish by direct proofs; but their acquiescence in, and connivance at,
the methods pursued by their officers and leaders, is easily established
by the results sought and accomplished.
These being the facts in the case, the law is clear and emphatic.
The jurisdiction of a court of equity to restrain the defendants, under
the circumstances, is too well established to require citations or be
called in question by any one familiar with the decisions. * * *
As now presented, the court must grant the writ in broad and unmis­
takable terms, commensurate with the exigencies of the situation, as
shown by the facts in evidence upon this proceeding. To do so will
work no hardship, nor will it even hamper the actions of any lawabiding person. Indeed, no one without a purpose to commit an
unlawful act would be affected thereby.
It is the undoubted right of workmen to quit work severally or in a
body, so long as the act does not come withm the rule against con­
spiracies to i
*
"
may also use peacecarrying out the
able means
strike, subje
..........
0*hts, however, must
be exercised in such a manner as not to otherwise interfere with the
right of every man to run his own business in his own way, provided
he keeps within the law in so doing, or the right of every man to work
or not to work, to strike or not to strike, to join a union or not, as he
may think best. In other words, a man may decide his own course,
and hold himself to certain rules, but he can not impose those rules or
that course upon the conduct of an}r other man, against his wish, any
more than he can place fetters upon his hands or shackles upon his
feet. And when, as in the case at bar, the attempt is made, through
intimidation and acts of violence, to effect this end, it is tyranny of the
most despotic character; it is civil war; it is treason to the principles
of this and almost every other government. It will not be tolerated.




LAWS OF VARIOUS STATES RELATING TO LABOR ENACTED SINCE
JANUARY 1, 1896.
[The Second Special Report of the Department contains all laws of the various States and Terri­
tories and of the United States relating to labor in force January 1,1896. Later enactments are
reproduced in successive issues of the Bulletin from time to time as published.]

MASSACHUSETTS.
ACTS OF 1901.
C h a p t e r 80.— Sunday

labor— Bootblacks.

S e c t io n 1. It shall be unlawful for bootblacks to carry on their business on Sunday
up to the hour of eleven in the forenoon.
S e c . 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved February 21, 1901.
C h a p t e r 106.—

Convict labor.

S e c t io n 1. Convicts in the State prison may be employed, in the custody of an
officer, on any part of the premises of the prison; and an escape from such premises
shall be deemed an escape from the prison.
S e c . 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved March 5, 1901.
C h a p t e r 113.— Posting

of time tables in mercantile establishments.

S e c t io n 1. Section ten of chapter five hundred and eight of the acts of the year
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, as amended by section one of chapter three hun­
dred and seventy-eight of the acts of the year nineteen hundred, is hereby further
amended * * * so as to read as follow s: Section 10. No minor under eighteen
years of age, and no woman, shall be employed in laboring in any mercantile estab­
lishm ent more than fifty-eight hours in any one week: Provided, That the restrictions
imposed by this section shall not apply during the month of December in each year
to persons em ployed in shops for the sale of goods at retail; and every em ployer
shall post in a conspicuous place in every room where such persons are employed a
printed notice stating the number of hours’ work required of them on each day of
the week, the hours of commencing and stopping such work, and the hour wThen the
tim e or times allowed for dinner or for other meals begin and end. The printed
form of such notice shall be furnished by the chief of the district police and shall be
approved by the attorney-general; and the em ploym ent of any such person for a
longer time in any day than that so stated shall be deemed a violation of this section;
and for the purpose of this act the expression “ mercantile establishm ents” shall have
the following meanings: A ny premises used for the purposes of trade in the purchase
or sale of any goods or merchandise, and any premises used for the purposes of a
restaurant or for publicly providing and serving meals.
S e c . 2. A ny employer, superintendent, overseer or other agent of a mercantile
establishment violating any of the provisions of the foregoing section shall be pun­
ished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and not less than fifty dollars for
each offense.
S ec . 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved March 6, 1901.
C h a p t e r 164.—Employment

of children.

S e c t io n 1. No minor under eighteen years of age shall be employed in the manu­
facture of acids when such employment is dangerous or injurious to the health of
such minor.




185

186

BULLETIN

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

S ec. 2. The State board of health shall upon the application of any citizen of the
Commonwealth determine, after such investigation as said board m ay deem neces­
sary, whether or not the manufacture of a particular acid is dangerous or injurious
to the health of minors under eighteen years of age; and the decision of said board
shall be conclusive evidence whether or not the manufacture of a particular acid is
dangerous or injurious to the health of such minors.
S ec. 3. A ny person who employs a minor under eighteen years of age in the manu­
facture of an acid after the State board of health has decided that such manufacture
is dangerous or injurious'to the health of such minor shall be punished by a fine of
one hundred dollars for each offense.
Approved March 20, 1901.
C h apter 166.—Protection of workmen on bvAldings.
S ection 1. W henever in the erection of an iron or a steel framed building the
spaces betw een.the girders or floor beams of any floor are not filled or covered by
the permanent construction of said floors before another story is added to the build­
ing, then a close plank flooring shall be placed and maintained over such spaces,
from the time when the beams or girders are placed in position until said permanent
construction is applied: Provided, however, That openings may be left through said
floors for the passage of workmen or material, which openings shall be protected by
a stout hand railing not less than four feet high.
S ec. 2. In the construction of any iron or steel framed building having a clear
story of twenty-five feet elevation or more a staging writh a close plank flooring shall
be placed under the whole extent of the beams, girders or. trusses of such story upon
which iron or steel workers are working, and not more than ten feet below the
underside of such beams, girders and trusses.
S ec. 3. It shall be the duty of the inspectors of public buildings attached to the
inspection department of the Massachusetts district police to enforce the provisions
of this act.
S ec. 4. W hoever violates any provision of this act shall be punished by a fine of
not less than fifty dollars for each offense.
Approved March 20, 1901.
C hapter 175.—Bradford Durfee Textile School of Fall Fiver.
S ection 1. The trustees of the Textile School of Fall River, a corporation organ­
ized under chapter two hundred and ninety-nine of the acts of the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby authorized and empowered to change its name
to The Bradford Durfee Textile School of Fall River.
S ec. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved March 21, 1901.
C h atter 370.— Specifications, etc., to be posted in textile factories.
S ection 1. Section one of chapter one hundred and forty-four of the acts of the
year eighteen hundred and ninety-five is hereby amended * * * so as to read as
follow s: Section 1. The occupier or manager of every textile factory shall post in
every room where any employees work by the job, m legible writing or printing,
and in sufficient numbers to be easily accessible to such employees, specifications of
the character of each kind of work to be done by them , and the rate of compensa­
tion. Such specifications in the case of weaving rooms shall state the intended or
m aximum , length or weight of a cut or piece, the count per inch of reed, and the
number of picks per inch, and the price per cut or piece, or per pound; or, if pay­
ment is made per pick or per yard, the price per pick or per yard; and each warp
shall bear a designating ticket or mark of identification. In roving or spinning
rooms the number of roving or yarn and the price per hank for each size of machine
shall be stated; and each machine shall bear a ticket stating the number of the rov­
ing or yarn made upon it. The maximum length of a cut or piece shall not exceed
five per cent of the intended length of the same.
S e c . 2. Section three of said chapter is hereby amended * * * so as to read as
follow s: Section 3. The members of the inspection department of the district police
force shall enforce the provisions of this act; and they shall be authorized to go into
any room, m ill or factory to ascertain the facts relating to any work done therein or
coming from any other room, m ill or factory, and to take the measurements thereof;
and anyone interfering with them shall be liable to the penalties prescribed in sec­
tion two hereof.
Approved M ay 8, 1901.




LABOR LAWS---- MASSACHUSETTS---- ACTS OF 1901.

187

C h a p t e r 428.— Kidnapping.
S e c t io n 1. Section thirty of chapter two hundred and two of the Public Statutes is
hereby amended * * * so as to read as follows: Section SO. Whoever, without
lawful authority, forcibly or secretly confines or imprisons another person within
this State against his w ill, or forcibly carries or sends such person out of this
State, or forcibly seizes and confines or inveigles or kidnaps another person, with
intent either to cause him to be secretly confined or imprisoned in this State against
his w ill, or to cause him to be sent out of this State against his w ill, or in any way
held to service against his w ill, and whoever sells or in any manner transfers for any
term the service of a negro, mulatto, or other person of color, who has been unlaw­
fully seized, taken, inveigled, or kidnapped from this State to any other State, place,
or country, shall be punished by imprisonment in the State prison not exceeding ten
years, or by fine not exceeding" one thousand dollars and imprisonment in the jail
not exceeding two years. W hoever commits any offence described in this section
with the intent to extort money or other valuable thing thereby shall be punished
by imprisonment in the State prison not exceeding twenty-five years.
Approved May 23, 1901.
C h a p t e r 439 .—Factories

and workshops.—Safety appliances on elevators, etc.

S e c t io n 1. Section forty-two of chapter four hundred and eighty-one of the acts of
the year eighteen hundred and ninety-four is hereby amended by striking out the
whole of said section and inserting in place thereof the follow ing: Section 42 . On or
before the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred and two all elevator
cabs or cars, whether used for freight or passengers, shall be provided with some
suitable mechanical device whereby they w ill be securely held in the event of an
accident to the shipper rope or hoisting machinery, or any similar accident, and they
shall be guarded and equipped w ith. some attachment or device fastened to the ele­
vator cab or car, elevator well, or floor of the building, which shall prevent any
person from being caught between the floor of the cab or car and the floor of the
building while attempting to enter or leave the elevator. A ll elevators used for car­
rying freight shall be equipped with some suitable device which shall act as a danger
signal to warn people of the approach of the elevator. A ll elevator wells built after
the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred and two shall be so constructed
that that part of the inside surface of the well which comes in front of the opening
or door of the cab or car shall be flush with the cab or car, and the door opening
from said elevator well into the building shall be placed not more than two inches
back from the face of said well, so as to allow no space for a foothold between the
car and well door of the building. All the above construction work and devices shall
be approved by the inspectors of factories and public buildings, except that in the
city of Boston they shall be approved by the building commissioner, and in other
cities by the inspector of buildings: Provided, however, That upon the approval of said
commissioner, or inspector of buildings, or inspector of factories and public buildings,
any elevator may be used without any or all of such appliances or devices when the
nature of the business is such that the necessity for the same w ill not warrant the
expense.
Approved M ay 28, 1901.
C h a p t e r 452 .— Obstructing

tracks, etc., of street railway companies.

S e c t io n 1. Section thirty-seven of chapter one hundred and thirteen of the Public
Statutes is hereby amended * * * so as to read as follow s: Section 37. W hoever
w illfully and maliciously obstructs a street railway company in the legal use of a rail­
way track, or delays the passing of the cars or railway carriages thereon, or aids in
or abets such detention or delay, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hun­
dred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three months. W hoever commits
any of said acts in such manner as to endanger the life or safety of persons conveyed
in or upon said cars or railway carriages, or aids or assists therein, shall be punished
by imprisonment in the State prison for a term not exceeding ten years, or by fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars.
Approved June 5, 1901.
C h a p t e r 472 .—Free text-books

in public schools.

S e c t io n 1. Section one of chapter one hundred and three of the acts of the year
eighteen hundred and eighty-four is hereby amended * * * so as to read as fol­
low s: Section 1. The school committee of every city and town shall purchase, at the




188

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

expense of such city or town, text-books and other school supplies used in the public
schools; and said text-books and supplies shall be loaned to the pupils of said public
schools free of charge, subject to such rules and regulations as to care and custody as
the school committee may prescribe, in accordance with this act.
S e c . 2. Said chapter one hundred and three is hereby further amended by insert­
ing new sections after section one thereof, to be numbered sections two, three and four,
respectively, as follow s: Section 2. School committees m ay make rules and regula­
tions for the distribution of said text-books, and m ay provide for the continued use
of any text-books by pupils throughout any grades, in such manner as not to conflict
with the provision^ of this act. Section 3. Pupils completing two years in any public
school in grades more advanced than the fourth grade m ay, if the school committee
of a town or city so votes, upon graduating from the grammar schools of any city or
town, and upon application to the school committee of such city or town, be allowed
to retain in permanent ownership such three text-books used during the last year of
their attendance in the school as they may select. Section 4. Pupils in the public
schools m ay, if the school committee of a town or city so votes, be allowed to pur­
chase of such city or town, at such time or place as the school committee may desig­
nate, at not more than the cost price to such city or town, text-books used or to be
used by them in the schools.
S e c . 3. A ll acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
S e c . 4. This act shall take effect in cities upon, and not before, its acceptance by
the board of aldermen, and it shall take effect in towns upon, and not before, its
acceptance by a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon at any annual town
meeting.
Approved June 6, 1901.
C h a p t e r 474.— Construction

offoundries, etc., Boston.

S e c t io n 1. Section forty-six of chapter four hundred and nineteen of the acts of
the year eighteen hundred and ninety-two, as amended by section four of chapter
four hundred* and sixty-four of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and ninetythree, is hereby further amended by adding at the end thereof the words: Provided,
however, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to buildings used only for
foundries or for working in metals, built outside of the building lim its and conform­
ing to the requirements of first class buildings except in having the beams of wood,
supported or not supported by posts of wood, and in having floors of wood laid
directly upon the beams and the floors kept uncovered on their underside between
the beams.
S e c . 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved June 6, 1901.
R e s o l v e s .— C h a p t e r 42 .—New Bedford

Textile School.

Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Common­
wealth to the trustees of the New Bedford Textile School, the sum of eighteen
thousand dollars, to be applied to the purposes of the textile school established and
conducted at New Bedford by the said corporation: Provided, however, That no part
of the sum herein authorized shall be paid until satisfactory evidence has been fur­
nished to the auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth that an additional sum of
seven thousand dollars has been paid to the said trustees by the city of New Bedford,
or received by them from other sources; And provided, further, That the yearly tuition
fee at said institution for day pupils who are nonresidents of the Commonwealth
shall be not less than one hundred and fifty dollars. The city of New Bedford is
hereby authorized to raise by taxation and pay to said trustees such sum of m oney,
not exceeding seven thousand dollars, as may be necessary to secure the amount
provided for by this resolve.
Approved April 2, 1901.
R e s o l v e s . — C h a p t e r 70.—Lowell

Textile School.

Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, to be expended under the direction of the
trustees of the Low ell Textile School in erecting a building or buildings for the use
of said school: Provided, That no part of this sum shall be paid until satisfactory evi­
dence is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth that an additional
‘sum of thirty-five thousand dollars has been paid to said trustees by the city of
Lowell, or received by them from other sources, for the same purpose. The city of



LABOR LAWS— MASSACHUSETTS— ACTS OF 1901.

189

Lowell is hereby authorized to raise by taxation and pay to said trustees such sum
of m oney, not exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars, as may be necessary together
with that received from other sources to obtain the amount provided for by this
resolve.
Approved May 1, 1901.
R e so l v e s . — C h a p t e r 71.— Lowell

Textile School.

Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
to the trustees of the Lowell Textile School the sum of eighteen thousand dollars, to
be applied to the purposes of the school: Provided, That no part of this sum shall be
paid until satisfactory evidence is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Com­
monwealth that an additional sum of seven thousand dollars has been paid to said
trustees by the city of Lowell, or received by them from other sources. The city of
Lowell is hereby authorized to raise by taxation and pay to said trustees such sum
of money, not exceeding seven thousand dollars, as may be necessary together with
that received from other sources to secure the amount provided for by this resolve.
Approved M ay 1, 1901.
R e s o l v e s .— C h a p t e r 8 8 . —Bradford

Durfee Textile School of Fall River.

Resolved, That there be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the Commonwealth
to the Bradford Durfee Textile School of Fall River the sum of thirty-five thousand
dollars, to be expended under the direction of the trustees or directors of the school
for completing the erection and equipment of a building or buildings for the use of
the school: Provided, That no part of this sum shall be paid until satisfactory evidence
is furnished to the auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth that an additional sum
of thirty-five thousand dollars has been paid to said school by the city of Fall River
or has been received by it from other sources for the same purpose, during the year
nineteen hundred and one; And, also provided, That such part of said additional sum
of thirty-five thousand dollars as may be approved by the auditor may be paid by
the conveyance to the school, at a valuation also to be approved by the auditor, of
land in fee, free from incumbrances. The city of Fall River is hereby authorized to
raise by taxation and to pay to said school such sum of money, not exceeding thirtyfive thousand dollars, as may be necessary together with that received from other
sources to secure the amount provided for by this resolve.
Approved June 5,1901.

NEW YORK.
ACTS OF 1901.
C h a p t e r 9.— Department

of Labor, etc.

Section 1. A department of labor and the office of commissioner of labor are hereby
created. W ithin twenty days after this act takes effect, the governor, by and with
the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint a commissioner of labor, who
shall hold his office until January first, nineteen hundred and five. A successor to
such commissioner shall be appointed m like manner and shall hold his office for a
term of four years, beginning on the first day of January of the year in which he is
appointed. Such commissioner shall be the head of such department and receive an
annual salary of three thousand five hundred dollars.
Sec. 2. The offices of commissioner of labor statistics and factory inspector, and
the state board of mediation and arbitration, shall be abolished upon the appoint­
ment and qualification of such commissioner of labor. The commissioner shall have
the powers conferred and perform the duties imposed bylaw upon the commissioner
of labor statistics and factory inspector.
Sec. 3. The commissioner of labor shall forthwith upon entering upon the duties
of his office appoint and may at pleasure remove, two deputy commissioners of
labor to be designated respectively as the first and second deputy commissioners of
labor, each of whom shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred
dollars. Upon the appointment of such deputies the offices of the assistant factory
inspector, deputy commissioner of labor statistics, and chief clerk of the commis­
sioner of labor statistics are abolished.
Sec. 4. The department of labor shall be divided by the commissioner of labor
into three bureaus as follows: factory inspection, labor statistics, and mediation and
arbitration. The bureau of factory inspection shall be under the special charge of

1110—No. 38—02----- 13



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BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

the first deputy commissioner of labor, who, under the supervision and direction
of the commissioner of labor shall have such of the powers conferred, and perform
such of the duties imposed, by law upon the factory inspector, as shall be designated
by the commissioner of labor. The bureau of labor statistics shall be under the
special charge of the second deputy commissioner or labor, who, -subject to the
supervision and direction of the commissioner of labor shall have such of the pow­
ers conferred and perform such of the duties imposed by law upon the commissioner
of labor statistics, as shall be designated by the commissioner of labor. The bureau
of mediation and arbitration shall be under the special charge and supervision of
the commissioner of labor, who, together with the first and second deputy commis­
sioners of labor shall constitute a board, which shall have the powers conferred, and
perform the duties imposed, by law on the State board of mediation and arbitration.
The powers hereby conferred upon the first and second deputy commissioners shall
not include the appointment of officers, clerks or other employes in any of the
bureaus of the department of labor.
Sec. 5. Except as provided by this act, the deputies, officers and employees in the
office of or appointed by the factory inspector, the commissioner of labor statistics,
and the State board of mediation ana arbitration are continued in office until removed
pursuant to law.
Sec. 6. Wherever the terms commissioner of labor statistics, or factory inspector,
occur in any law, they shall be deemed to refer to the commissioner of labor, and
wherever the term State board of mediation and arbitration occurs in any law, it
shall be deemed to refer to the board created by this act.
Sec. 7. This act shall not affect pending actions or proceedings, civil or criminal,
brought by or against the commissioner of labor statistics or factory inspector. A ll
proceedings and matters pending before the State board of mediation and arbitration
when this act takes effect shall be continued and completed before the board hereby
created; and where a grievance or dispute has been submitted to the State board of
mediation and arbitration, prior to the taking effect of this act, the board hereby
created may make such further investigation in relation thereto as it deems necessary.
Sec. 8. A ll acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed.
Sec . 9. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became, a law, February 7, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed,
three-fifths being present.
C h apter 116— Exemption from execution.
Section 1. Section thirteen hundred and ninety-one of the code of civil procedure
is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
§ 1391. In addition to the exemptions allowed by the last section, necessary house­
hold furniture, working tools and team, professional instruments, furniture and
library, not exceeding m value two hundred and fifty dollars, together with the
necessary food for the team for ninety days, are exem pt from levy and sale by virtue
of an execution, when owned by a person, being a householder, or having a fam ily
for which he provides, except where the execution is issued upon a judgment,
recovered wholly upon one or more demands, either for work performed in the
fam ily as a domestic, or for the purchase money of one or more articles exempt as
prescribed in this or the last section.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect September first, nineteen hundred and one.
Became a law, March 15, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C hapter 306.—Factories and workshops— Wash rooms and water-closets.
Section 1. Section eighty-eight of chapter four hundred and fifteen, of the laws of
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor, constitut­
ing chapter thirty-two of the general laws,” is hereby amended so as to read as
follows:
§ 88. Every factory shall contain a suitable, convenient and separate water-closet or
water-closets for each sex, which shall be properly screened, ventilated, and kept clean
and free from all obscene writing or marking; and also, a suitable and convenient
wash room. The water-closets used by women shall have separate approaches.
Inside closets shall be maintained whenever practicable and in all cases when required
by the commissioner of labor. W hen women or girls are employed, a dressing room
snail be provided for them, when required by the commissioner of labor.
S ec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 9,1 901 , with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.




LABOR LAWS— N EW YORK— ACTS OF 1901.
C h a p t e r 418.— Convict

191

labor.

S e c t io n 1. Section one hundred and seven of title two of chapter three of part four
of the revised statutes relating to State prisons, as amended by chapter six hundred
and twenty-three of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, is hereby
amended so as to read as follows:
§ 107. The comptroller, the State commission of prisons and the superintendent of
State prisons and the lunacy commission are hereby constituted a board to be known
as the board of classification. Said board shall fix and determine the prices at which
all labor performed, and all articles manufactured in the charitable institutions man­
aged and controlled by the State and in the penal institutions in this State and fur­
nished to the State, or the political divisions thereof, or to the public institutions
thereof, shall be furnished, which prices shall be uniform to all, except that the
prices for goods or labor furnished by the penitentiaries to or for the county in which
they are located, or the political divisions thereof, shall be fixed by the board of
supervisors of such counties, except New Y ork and Kings counties, in which the prices
shall be fixed by the commissioners of charities and correction, respectively. The
prices shall be as near the usual market price for such labor and supplies as possible.
The State commission of prisons shall devise and furnish to all such institutions a
proper form for such requisition, and the comptroller shall devise and furnish a proper
system of accounts to be kept for all such transactions. It shall also be the duty of
tne board of classification to classify the buildings, offices and institutions owned or
managed and controlled by the State, and it shall fix and determine the styles, pat­
terns, designs and qualities of the articles to be manufactured for such buildings,
offices and public institutions in the charitable and penal institutions in this State.
So far as practicable, all supplies used in such buildings, offices and public institutions
shall be uniform for each class, and of the styles, patterns, designs and qualities that
can be manufactured in the penal institutions in this State.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 18, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 475.—Factories and

workshops—Posting copies of law relating to.

S e c t io n 1. Article seven of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eight­
een hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor, constituting
chapter thirty-two of the general laws,” as amended by chapter one hundred and
ninety-one of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby amended by
adding thereto a new section to be known as section one hundred and six and whicn
shall read as follows:
§ 106. A copy of articles five, six and seven shall be posted in a conspicuous place
in each workroom of every factory where persons are employed who are affected by
the provisions thereof.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 22, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 477.— Laundries.
S e c t io n 1. Article six of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen
hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor constituting chapter
thirty-two of the general laws,” is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof
the following section:
§ 92. A shop, room or building where one or more persons are employed in doing
public laundry work by way of trade or for purposes of gain is a factory within the
meaning of this chapter, and shall be subject to the visitation and inspection of the
factory inspector, and the provisions of this chapter in the same manner as any other
factory. No such public laundry work shall be done in a room used for a sleeping
or living room. A ll such laundries shall be kept in a clean condition and free from
vermin and all impurities of an infectious or contagious nature. This section shall
not apply to any female engaged in doing custom laundry work at her home for a
regular fam ily trade.
S e c . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 22, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
C h a p t e r 478.—Employment of

women and children.

S e c t io n 1. Section ninety-one of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled “ An act in relation to labor, consti­




192

BULLETIN OP THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

tuting chapter thirty-tw o of the general laws,” as added by chapter three hundred
and seventy-five of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, relating to the
employment of women and children at polishing and buffing is hereby made section
ninety-two.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, April 22, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.

Chapter 733.— Examination, licensing, etc., of stationary firemen.
Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any fireman or firemen to operate steam station­
ary boiler or boilers in the city of New York, unless the fireman or firemen so oper­
ating such boiler or boilers are duly licensed as hereinafter provided. Such fireman
or firemen to be under the supervision and direction of a duly licensed engineer or
engineers.
Sec. 2. Should any boiler or boilers be found at any time operated by any person
who is not a duly licensed fireman or engineer as provided by this act, the owner or
lessee thereof shall be notified, and if after one week from such notification the same
boiler or boilers is again found to be operated by a person or persons not duly licensed
under this act, it shall be deemed prima facie evidence of a violation of this act.
Sec. 3. A ny person desiring to act as a fireman shall make application for a license
to so act, to the steam boiler bureau of the police department as now exists for licens­
ing engineers, who shall furnish to each applicant blank forms of application, which
application when filled out, shall be signed by a licensed engineer engaged in work­
ing as an engineer in the city of New York, who shall therein certify that the appli­
cant is of good character, and has been employed as oiler, coalpasser or general
assistant under the instructions of a licensed engineer on a building or buildings in
the city of New Y ork, or on any steamboat, steamship or locomotive for a period of
not less than two years. The applicant shall be given a practical examination by the
board of examiners detailed as such by the police commissioner and if found compe­
tent as to his ability to operate a steam boiler or boilers as specified in section one of
this act shall receive witnin six days after such examination a license as provided by
this act. Such license may be revoked or suspended at any tim e by the police com­
missioner upon the proof of deficiency. Every license issued under this act shall
continue in force for one year from the date of issue unless sooner revoked as above
provided. Every license issued under this act unless revoked as herein provided
shall at the end of one year from date of issue thereof, be renewed by the board of
examiners upon application and without further examination. Every application
for renewal of license must be made within thirty days of the expiration of such
license. W ith every license granted under this act there shall be issued to every
person obtaining such license a certificate, certified by the officers in charge of the
boiler inspection bureau. Such certificate shall be placed in the boiler room of the
plant operated by the holder of such license, so as to be easily read.
Sec. 4. No person shall be eligible to procure a license under this act unless the
said person be a citizen of the United States.
Sec. 5. A ll persons operating boilers in use upon locomotives or in government
buildings, and those used for heating purposes carrying a pressure not exceeding ten
pounds to the square inch, shall be exempt from the provisions of this act. Such
license w ill not permit any person other than a duly licensed engineer to take charge
of any boiler or boilers in the city of New York.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
Became a law, M ay 13, 1901, with the approval of the governor. Passed, threefifths being present.
ACTS OF 1901— VO LU M E 3.

Chapter 466.— A mending

the

Charter

op

Greater N ew Y ork.

Chapter 8.— Inspection of steam boilers, etc.
Section 342. Every owner, agent or lessee of a steam boiler or boilers in use in the
city of New York shall annually, and at such covenient times and in such manner
ana in such form as m ay, by rules and regulations to be made therefor by the police
commissioner be provided, report to the said department the location of each steam
boiler or boilers, and thereupon, and as soon thereafter as practicable, the sanitary
company or such member or members thereof as may be competent for the duty
herein described, and may be detailed for such duty by the police commissioner
shall proceed to inspect such steam boilers, and all apparatus and appliances con­




LABOR LAWS— N E W YORK---- ACTS OF 1901.

193

nected therewith; but no person shall be detailed for such duty except he be a
practical engineer, and the strength and security of each boiler shall be tested by
atmospheric and hydrostatic pressure and the strength and security of each boiler or
boilers so tested shall have, under the control of the said sanitary company, such
attachments, apparatus and appliances as may be necessary for the limitation of
pressure, locked and secured in like manner as may be from time to time adopted by
the United States inspectors of steam boilers or the secretary of the treasury, according
to act of Congress, passed July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six; and they
shall lim it the pressure of steam to be applied to or upon such boiler, certifying eacn
inspection and such lim it of pressure to the owner of the boiler inspected, and also to
the engineer in charge of same, and no greater amount of steam or pressure than
that certified in the case of any boiler shall be applied thereto. In limiting the
amount of pressure, wherever the boiler under test w ill bear the same, the lim it
desired by the owner of the boiler shall be the one certified. Every owner, agent
or lessee of a steam boiler or boilers in use in the city of New York shall, for the
inspection and testing of such or each of such boilers, as provided for in this act, and
upon receiving from the police department a certificate setting forth the location of
the boiler inspected, the date of such inspection, the persons by whom the inspec­
tion was made, and the lim it of steam pressure which shall be applied to or upon
such boiler or each of such boilers pay annually to the police commissioner for each
boiler, for the use of the police pension fund, the sum of two dollars, such certificate
to continue in force for one year from the granting thereof when it shall expire,
unless sooner revoked or suspended. Such certificate may be renewed upon the pay­
ment of a like sum and like conditions, to be applied to a like purpose. It shall not
be lawful for any person or persons, corporation or corporations, to have used or
operated within the city of New York any steam boiler or boilers except for heating
purposes and for railway locomotives, without having first had such boiler or boilers
inspected or tested and procured for such boiler or each of such boilers so used or
operated the certificate herein provided for. The superintendent and inspectors of
boilers, in the employ of the police department, in the city of Brooklyn, and the
boiler inspectors in Long Island City, shall continue to discharge the duties hereto­
fore devolved upon them , subject, however, to removal for cause, or when they are
no longer needed.
Sec. 343. It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to operate or use any
steam boiler to generate steam except for railway locomotive engines, and for heating
purposes in private dwellings, and boilers carrying not over ten pounds of steam and
not over ten horse-power, or to act as engineer for such purposes in the city of New
York without having a certificate of qualification therefor from practical engineers
detailed as such by the police department, such certificate to be countersigned by the
officer in command of the sanitary company of the police department of the city of
New York and to continue in force one year, unless sooner revoked or suspended.
Such certificate m aybe revoked or suspended at any time by the police commissioner
upon the report of any two practical engineers, detailed as provided in this section,
stating the grounds upon which such certificate should be revoked or suspended.
W here such certificate shall have been revoked, as provided in this section, a like
certificate shall not in any case be issued to the same person within six months from
the date of the revocation of the former certificate held by such person.
Sec. 344. A correct record in proper form shall be kept and preserved of all inspec­
tions of steam boilers made under the direction of the police board, and of the amount
of steam or pressure allowed in each case, and in cases where any steam boiler or the
apparatus or appliances connected therewith shall be deemed by the department,
after inspection, to be insecure or dangerous, the department may prescribe such
changes and alterations as may render such boilers, apparatus and appliances secure
and devoid of danger. And in the mean time, and until such changes and altera­
tions are made and such appliances attached, such boiler, apparatus and appliances
may be taken under the control of the police department and all persons prevented
from using the same, and in cases deemed necessary, the appliances, apparatus or
attachment for the limitation of pressure may be taken under the control of the said
police department.
Sec. 345. It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to apply or cause to be
applied to any steam boiler a higher pressure of steam than that limited for the same
in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and any person violating the pro­
visions of the last preceding section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. In case any
owner of any steam boiler in the said city shall fail or omit to have the same reported
for inspection, as provided by law, such boiler may be taken under the control of the
police department and all persons prevented from using the same until it can be sat­
isfactorily tested, as hereinbefore provided for, and the owner shall, in such case, be
charged with the expense of so testing it.




194

BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
C h a p t e r 14.— Convict labor—Inmates

of houses of correction, etc.

Sec. 700. Every inmate of an institution under the charge of the commissioner,
whose age and health w ill permit, shall be employed in quarrying or cutting stone,
or in cultivating land under the control of the commissioner, or in manufacturing
such articles as may be required for ordinary use in the institution under the control
of the commissioner, or for the use of any department of the city of New York, or
in preparing and building sea-walls upon islands or other places belonging to the
city of New Y ork upon which public institutions now are or may hereafter be
erected, or in public works carried on by any department of the city, or at such
mechanical or other labor as shall be found from experience to be suited to the
capacity of the individual. The articles raised or manufactured by such labor shall
be subject to the order of and shall be placed under the control of the commissioner,
and shall be utilized in the institutions under his charge or in some other depart­
ment of the city. A ll the lands under the jurisdiction of the commissioner not
otherwise occupied or utilized, and which are capable of cultivation, shall in the dis­
cretion of the commissioner be used for agricultural purposes.
Sec. 701. A t the request of any of the heads of the administrative departments of
the city of New York (who are hereby empowered to make such request) the com­
missioner of correction may detail and designate any inmate or inmates of any of the
institutions in the department of correction to perform work, labor and services in and
upon the grounds and building or in and upon any public work or improvement
under the charge of such other department. And such inmates when so employed
shall at all times be under the personal oversight and direction of a keeper or keepers
from the department of correction, but no inmate of any correctional institution
shall be employed in any ward of any hospital, except hospitals in penal institutions,
while such ward is being used for hospital purposes. The provisions of this act or of
law requiring advertisement for bids or proposals, or the awarding of contracts, for
work to be done or supplies to be furnished for any of said departments shall not be
applicable to public work which may be done or to the supplies which may be fur­
nished under the provisions of the prison law.
Sec. 702. The hours of labor required of any inmate of any institution under the
charge of the commissioner shall be fixed by the commissioner. In case any person
confined in any institution in the department shall neglect or refuse to perform the
work allotted to him by the officer in charge of such institution, or shall w illfully
violate the rules and regulations established by the commissioner or resist and diso­
bey any lawful command, or in case any such person shall offer violence to any such
officer or to any other prisoner, or shall do or attempt to do any injury to such insti­
tution or the appurtenances thereof or any property therein, or shall attempt to
escape, or shall combine with anyone or more persons for any of the aforesaid purposes,
the officer or officers of such institution shall use all the "suitable means to defend
themselves, to enforce discipline, to secure the persons of the offenders and to pre­
vent any such attempt or escape, and it shall be the duty of the officer in charge of
such institution in which such person or persons is or are confined to punish him or
them by solitary confinement, and by being fed on bread and water only, for such
length of time as may be considered necessary; but no other form of punishment
shall be imposed, and no officer of any such institution shall inflict any blows what­
ever upon any prisoner except in self-defense or to suppress a revolt or insurrection.
In every case the officer imposing such punishment shall forthwith report the same
to the commissioner and notify the physician of the institution. It shall be the duty
of such physician to visit the person so confined and to examine daily into the state
of his health until he shall be released from solitary confinement and return to labor,
and to report to the commissioner and to the officer in charge of such institution
whenever in his judgment the health of the prisoner shall require that he should be
released.




LEADING ARTICLES IN PAST NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN,
No. 1. Private and public debt in the United States, by George K . Holmes.
Employer and employee under the common law, by Y . H . Olmsted and S. D.
Fessenden.
No. 2. The poor colonies of H olland, by J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
The industrial revolution in Japan, by W illiam Eleroy Curtis.
Notes concerning the money of the U . S. and other countries, by W . C. Hunt.
The wealth and receipts ana expenses of the U . S., by W . M . Steuart.
No. 3. Industrial communities: Coal Mining Co. of Anzin, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 4. Industrial communities: Coal Mining Co. of Blanzy, by W . F. W illoughby.
The sweating system, by Henry W hite.
No. 5. Convict labor.
Industrial communities: Krupp Iron and Steel W orks, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 6. Industrial communities: Familistere Society of Guise, by W . F. W illoughby.
Cooperative distribution, by Edward W . Bemis, Ph. D.
No. 7. Industrial communities: Various communities, by W . F. W illoughby.
Rates of wages paid under public and private contract, by Ethelbert Stewart.
No. 8. Conciliation and arbitration in the boot and shoe industry, by T. A . Carroll.
Railway relief departments, by Em ory R. Johnson, Ph. D . No. 9. The padrone system and padrone banks, by John Koren.
The Dutch Society for General W elfare, by J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
No. 10. Condition of the Negro in various cities.
Building and loan associations.
No. 11. Workers atgainful occupations at censuses of 1870,1880,and 1890,byW .C .H u n t.
Public baths in Europe, by Edward Mussey Hartwell, Ph. D ., M . D.
No. 12. The inspection of factories and workshops in the U . S., by W . F. W illoughby.
Mutual rights and duties of parents and children, guardianship, etc., under
the law, by F. J. Stimson.
The municipal or cooperative restaurant of Grenoble, France, by C. 0 . W ard.
No. 13. The anthracite mine laborers, by G . O. Virtue, Ph. D.
No. 14. The Negroes of Farmville, V a .: A social study, by W . E . B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
Incomes, wages, and rents in Montreal, by Herbert Brown Am es, B. A .
No. 15. Boarding homes and clubs for working women, by Mary S. Fergusson.
The trade-union label, by John Graham Brooks.
No. 16. Alaskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, by S. C. Dunham.
No. 17. Brotherhood relief and insurance of railway employees, by E. R. Johnson, Ph.D .
The nations of Antwerp, by J. Howard Gore, Ph. D.
No. 18. W ages in the United States and Europe, 1870 to 1898.
No. 19. Alaskan gold fields and opportunities for capital and labor, by S. C. Dunham.
Mutual relief and benefit associations in the printing trade, by W . S. W audby.
No. 20. Condition of railway labor in Europe, by W alter E. W eyl, Ph. D.
No. 21. Pawnbroking in Europe and the United States, by W . R. Patterson, Ph. D.
No. 22. Benefit features of American trade unions, by Edward W . Bemis, Ph. D.
The Negro in the black belt: Some social sketches, by W . E. B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
W ages m Lyon, France, 1870 to 1896.
No. 23. Attitude of w om ens clubs, etc., toward social economics, by Ellen M . Henrotin.
The production of paper and pulp in the U. S. from Jan. 1 to June 30,1898.
No. 24. Statistics of cities.
No. 25. Foreign labor laws: Great Britain and France, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 26. Protection of workmen in their employment, by Stephen D. Fessenden.
Foreign labor laws: Belgium and Switzerland, by W . F. W illoughby.
No. 27. W holesale prices: 1890 to 1899, by Roland P. Falkner, Ph. D.
Foreign labor laws: Germany, by W . F. W illoughby.
N o. 28. Voluntary conciliation and arbitration in Great Britain, by J. B. McPherson.
System of adjusting wages, etc., in certain rolling m ills, by J. H . Nutt.
Foreign labor laws: Austria, by W , F, W illoughby.




No. 29. Trusts and industrial combinations, by J. W . Jenks, Ph. D.
The Yukon and Nome gold regions, by S. C. Dunham.
Labor Day, by Miss M . C. de Graffenned.
No. 30. Trend of wages from 1891 to 1900.
Statistics of cities.
Foreign labor laws: Various European countries, by W . F . W illoughby.
No. 31. Betterment of industrial conditions, by V . H . Olmsted.
Present status of employers, liability in the U . S ., by S. D . Fessenden.
Condition of railway labor in Italy, by Dr. Luigi Emaudi.
No. 32. Accidents to labor as regulated by law in the U. S ., by W . F. W illoughby.
Prices of commodities and rates of wages in Manila.
The Negroes of Sandy Spring, M d .: A social study, by W . T. Thom, Ph. D.
The British Workm en’ s Compensation A ct and its operation, by A . M . Low.
No. 33. Foreign labor laws: Australasia and Canada, by W . F. W illoughby.
The British Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act and its operation, by
A . M . Low.
No. 34. Labor conditions in Porto Rico, by Azel Am es, M . D.
Social economics at the Paris Exposition, by Prof. N . P. Gilman.
The workmen’s compensation act of Holland.
No. 35. Cooperative communities in the United States, by Rev. Alexander K ent.
The Negro landholder of Georgia, by W . E . B. Du Bois, Ph. D.
No. 36. Statistics of cities.
Statistics of Honolulu, H . I.
No. 37. Railway employees in the United States, by Samuel McCune Lindsay, Ph. D.
The Negroes of Litwalton, V a .: A social study of the “ Oyster Negro,” by
W illiam Taylor Thom, Ph. D.