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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR NO. 79—NOVEMBER, 1908 ISSUED EVERY OTHER MONTH W A SH IN G TO N GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1908 CONTENTS. Mortality from consumption in dusty trades, b y Frederick L. Hoffman: Introduction ........................................................................................................... Statistical data and method of determining the degree of consumption frequency............................................................................................................. Occupation classification of dusty trades......................................................... Occupations with exposure to metallic dust.................................................... Grinders........................................................................................................... P olish ers......................................................................................................... Tool and instrument m akers...................................................................... Jew elers........................................................................................................... Gold-leaf manufacture................................................................................. Brass w orkers................................................................................................. P rin ters........................................................................................................... C om positors................................................................................................... Pressm en......................................................................................................... Engravers......................................................................................................... Summary of conclusions regarding occupations with exposure to metallic d u st............................................................................................... Occupations with exposure to mineral du st.................................................... The stone in d u stry ....................................................................................... Stonew orkers................................................................................................. Marble w ork ers............................................................................................. The glass industry......................................................................................... Glass b low ers................................................................................................. Glass cutters................................................................................................... Diamond cutters............................................................................................. Potters ..................................................................................................- ......... Cement workers............................................................................................. Plasterers......................................................................................................... Paper hangers................................................................................................. Foundrymen and molders........................................................................... Core m a k ers................................................................................................... Lithographers................................................................................................. Summary of conclusions regarding occupations with exposure to mineral d u st............................................................................................... Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber d u s t...................................... Cotton ginn in g................................ Cotton textile manufacture............... Textile spinners............................................................................................. Textile w eavers................. Manufacture of hosiery and knit goods.................................................... Lace manufacture......................................................................................... Flax and linen manufacture........................................................................ H em p and cordage manufacture............................................................... m pa^e633-641 641-643 643,644 644-681 644-649 649-652 652-657 657-660 660,661 661-667 667-673 673-675 676 676-678 678-681 681-726 682-685 685-688 688-691 691-695 695,696 696-699 699-701 701-708 708-711 711-714 714-716 716-718 718,719 719-722 722-726 726-784 727-729 729-737 737-740 740-742 743-746 746-750 750-757 757-762 IV CONTENTS. Mortality from consumption in dusty trades, by Frederick L. Hoffman— Con. Page. Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust— Concluded. Manufacture of jute and jute g o o d s ........................................................... 762-767 Paper and pulp manufacture....................................................................... 768-771 Cabinetmakers................................................................................................ 771-776 W ood turners and carvers............................................................................. 776-780 Summary of conclusions regarding occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust..................................................................................... 780-784 Occupations with exposure to animal and m ixed fiber dust...................... 784-829 Furriers and taxidermists............................................................................. 784-789 Hatters.............................................................................................................. 789-794 Silk manufacture............................................................................................ 794-800 W oolen and worsted manufacture............................................................. 800-808 Carpet and rug manufacture......................................................................... 808-813 Shoddy m anufacture......................................................................................813-817 Rag industry................................................................................................... 817-821 Upholsterers and hair mattress m akers................................................... 821-825 Summary of conclusions regarding occupations with exposure to animal and m ixed fiber d u s t................................................................... 825-829 General summary of results................................................................................. 829-833 Problem of ventilation and dust removal in industry................................... 833-843 Appendix— 17 tables.............................................................................................. 844-859 * List of references on occupation m ortality....................................................... 859-875 Charity relief and wage earnings, b y S. E. Forman: Introduction............................................................................................................ 876-878 Number, nativity, and size of fam ilies............................................................. 879-882 Age and conjugal condition.................................................................................. 882-884 Occupations.............................................................................................................. 885-888 Earnings of charity recipients............................................................................ 888-893 K ind of aid g iv e n .................................................................................................. 893-897 Delinquencies of charity recipients..................................................................... 897-901 Causes of distress of charity recipients.............................................................. 901-918 Immediate causes of d istress....................................................................... 904-910 Contributing or indirect causes of distress................................................ 910-912 Persistent causes of distress..........................................................................913-918 Summary................................................................................................................... 919-922 Digest of recent reports of state bureaus of labor statistics: Maine— Twenty-first Annual Report, 1907: Factories, mills, and shops built—Labor unions—W om en and children in sardine factories— School teachers— Child la b o r ......................................................................... 923-926 Michigan— Twenty-fifth Annual Report, 1908: Beet sugar and Portland cement industries—Coal industry— Furniture, boot and shoe, corset, and refrigerator industries—Free employm ent bureaus— Electric rail w ays— Power used in manufacturing in M ichigan................................... 926-929 New Jersey— Thirteenth Annual Report, 1907: Statistics o f manufac ture— Steam railroads— Cost of living—Fruit and vegetable canning— New Jersey as a manufacturing State— Industrial ch ron olog y ............ 930-933 Ohio—Thirty-first Annual Report, 1907: Manufactures— Coal mining— Free public em ploym ent offices.................................................................... 934,935 Digest of recent foreign statistical publications: Chile: Report on the creation and initiatory work of the office for the collection of labor statistics.............................................................................. 936,937 Italy: Report of the Bureau of Labor on the condition of employees in mines and quarries of I t a l y .................................................................... 937-941 CONTENTS. Digest of recent foreign statistical publications— Concluded. Report of the Bureau of Labor on wages and hours of labor of page. employees on public works......................................................................... ' 941,942 Russia: Report on the number and distribution of wage-workers in Russia, based upon data of the first general census of the Russian Empire in 1897 ............................................................................................... 942-949 Opinions of the Attorney-General on questions affecting labor: Eight-hour law — application to lock tenders............................................ 950,951 951,952 Eight-hour law — application to watchmen, messengers, etc................ Decisions of courts affecting labor: Decisions under statute la w ........................................................................... 953-961 Employers’ liability—employm ent of children—violation of stat ute— defenses— discovering age (Syneszewski v. S chm idt).......... 953-955 Employers’ liability—railroads—bridges over tracks— danger sig nals ( Chesapeake and Ohio R y. Co. v. Rowsey's Administrator)___ 955,956 Public work—protection of laborers and material men— con tractors’ bonds—assignment of claims ( Title Guaranty and Trust Co. v. Puget Sound Engine Works et al.) .......................................... 956-958 Railroads— construction of shelters over repair tracks— constitu tionality and construction of statute (St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Ry. Co. v. State)............................................................. 958-960 Suits for wages—attorneys’ fees—constitutionality of statute ( Chi cago, Rock Island and Pacific Ry. Co. v. Mashore).......................... 960,961 Decisions under common law ......................................................................... 961-967 Injunction— violation— contempt—persons not parties to original bill—notice—nature of proceedings ( Garrigan v. United States) . . 961-965 Strikes—injunction—picketing—interference with employm ent (Jones et al. v. E. Van Winkle Gin and Machine Works)................ 965-967 Laws of various States relating to labor, enacted since January 1, 1904 .......... 968-1003 Cumulative index of labor laws and decisions relating thereto.......................... 1005-1037 BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU No. 79. OF LABOR. W ASH IN G TO N . N ovem ber, 1908. THE M ORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. BY FREDERICK L. HOFFMAN. IN TRODU CTION . The importance o f dust as a factor in occupation mortality has attracted the attention o f every authority on occupation diseases from Ramazzini to Thomas Oliver. It requires no extended considera tion to prove that human health is much influenced by the character o f the air breathed and that its purity is a matter o f very consider able sanitary and economic importance. Aside from the risk of ex posure to so-called air-borne diseases, the pollution of the atmosphere by organic and inorganic dust is unquestionably the cause o f a vast amount o f ill-health and premature mortality, but chiefly among men and women engaged in the many indispensable trades and occupa tions that minister to human needs. The sanitary dangers o f air contaminated by disease-breeding germs are probably not so serious as generally assumed, while the destructive effects o f the dust-laden atmosphere o f factories and workshops are a decidedly serious menace to health and life. While the investigations o f Doctor McFadden and Mr. Lunt seem to prove the paucity of bacteria in very dusty air, the evidence otherwise available is entirely conclusive that the risk to disease infection is much greater indoors than out in the open, where sunlight, rain, and wind in combination go far to purify the atmos phere by destroying the bacterial life contained in minute particles o f suspended matter. Apart, however, from the transmission of disease through a dust-contaminated atmosphere, dust in any form, when inhaled continuously and in considerable quantities, is preju dicial to health because of its inherent mechanical properties, de structive to the delicate membrane o f the respiratory passages and the 633 634 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. lungs. It has long been known that those who live most o f their time out o f doors have a decided advantage over those who, because o f their employment, are compelled to spend their working hours inside the home, the office, the factory, or the workshop, and it is an accepted axiom o f modern sanitary science that measures and methods for the prevention o f dust are a first and preliminary essential consideration in rational methods of sanitary reform. A ll that sanitary science can suggest or that sanitary legislation can regulate and change should be done for humane reasons and as a matter o f governmental concern to mitigate the needless hardships of those who suffer in health and life as the result o f conditions over which they themselves have but a very limited control. The importance of dust as a factor in occupation diseases has been emphasized by all who have written on the subject, but by no one more precisely and clearly than by Sir James Crichton-Browne, in his address on the Dust Problem, read at the Sanitary Congress held at Manchester, England, in 1902, from which the following is quoted: The mortality o f the principal dust-producing occupations, com pared with that o f agriculturists, who live and work in what is practi cally dustless atmosphere, is excessive to a startling degree. It is not suggested that this excess is to be ascribed to dust alone, no doubt various factors contribute to it, but the facts that it is due mainly to respiratory diseases, that it is distributed amongst the several occupa tions pretty much in proportion to their dustiness, and that it has diminished in some instances where dust has been effectually dealt with, justify the conclusion that it is largely dust begotten. Sir Crichton-Browne in continuation o f his remarks pointed out that a detailed examination o f the conditions o f work in each o f the 22 principal dusty trades brought out clearly the fact that the un healthiness was born o f or was primarily due to the dust inhaled by the workmen, and that there was always a well-defined relation between the death rate and the quantity and quality o f dust present in the atmosphere. There is apparently no very material difference in the manner in which the different varieties o f dust act upon the human organism, except where, in addition to mechanically injurious properties, the dust is o f a poisonous character, which leads to diseases such as lead poisoning, phosphorous poisoning, anthrax poisoning, etc. Industrial mineral dust apparently acts with greater rapidity upon the lungs than organic dust, which is slower and more insidious in its operations, but in a general way follows similar lines. A ll varieties o f dust, the immediate result o f occupation, are, therefore, compre hended under the term o f “ industrial dust,” which is specifically defined by Sir Crichton-Browne, as follow s: I select this dust for my further remarks because it is readily recognized and defined, because its pernicious effects are well marked and indisputable, because it is to a large extent, i f not entirely, pre MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 635 veritable or removable, and because the efforts already made to pre vent or remove it have been rewarded with conspicuous benefit. And I still further simplify and abbreviate what I have to say by restrict ing my observations to those varieties o f it which are dust and nothing more, which are injurious by their physical properties and mechanical operations, and not as poisons to the systems, chemical destructives o f the tissues, or bearers o f bacterial invaders. A similar but even more restricted limitation has been adopted for the present purpose, and only such occupations will be considered in detail in the following discussion as expose to the continuous and con siderable inhalation o f metallic, mineral, and vegetable fiber dust, and in which the evidence is at least fairly conclusive that the resulting disease liability and mortality from consumption and other respira tory diseases is above the average for occupied males generally. Preliminary to a discussion in detail o f the mortality from con sumption in dusty trades it may prove o f decided advantage to those who do not have access to the original sources o f information to present a brief summary o f qualified medical opinion regarding dust as a factor in occupation diseases and mortality. In a course of lectures on Unhealthy Trades, delivered before the Society o f Arts, London, in 1876, Dr. B. W . Richardson (a) placed injuries from the inhalation by the lungs o f fine particles o f solid matter, usually defined as dust, at the head o f the causes responsible for industrial diseases, and from his discussion the following is quoted: The term “ dusts,” as I would here apply it, includes all those fine, solid particles which are thrown off from various substances in the processes o f manufacture or treatment o f articles in common use in daily life, such as earthenware utensils, knives, needles, or mechanical instruments, like files or saws; or ornamental things, such as orna ments o f pearl, ivory, and turned w ood; or articles that are worn, of silk, cotton, hemp, fur; or things that are used for food, such as flour; or for creating warmth, such as coal; or for using as a supposed luxury, such as tobacco and snuff. These are only a few illustrations; many others will naturally occur to those who think on the subject. The dusts lyhich inflict injury are o f varied quality, as will be seen from the brief sketch just given. They are also o f varied effect in regard to the specific injuries which they produce. We may profit ably study them divided into different groups, according to their physical characters, as follow s: (a) Cutting dusts, formed o f minute hard, crystallized particles which have sharp, cutting, and pointed edges. These dusts are com posed o f iron or steel, o f stone, of sand or glass, o f dried silicates in earthenware, o f lime, o f j>earl. (&) Irritant dusts, derived from woods, from ivory, from textile fabrics, fluffs o f wool, o f silk, of cotton, of flax, and of hemp, from hair, from clay. (<?) Inorganic poisonous dusts, derived from some poisonous chem ical compounds used for coloring artistic products, or for preserving ° Scientific Am erican Supplements, Numbers 9, 10, 18, 19, and 22, dated, respectively, February 26, M arch 4, A pril 29, M ay 6, and M ay 27, 1876. 636 BULLETIN OF TH E BUBEAU OF LABOR. organic substances, such as furs. These dusts are charged with ar senical salts. (d) Soluble saline dusts, derived from soluble crystalline substances used for dyeing purposes. The sulphate o f iron, copperas, yields a dust o f this class. (e) Organic poisonous dusts, which are thrown off during the making up of tobacco into cigars and snuff. These dusts carry with them particles o f the dried tobacco plant. ( / ) Obstructive and irritating dusts composed o f carbon, o f fine particles o f coal dust, o f scrapings o f carbon or o f soot, o f dust o f rouge, and o f flour. Whatever may be the kind of dust to which the workman is sub jected, to whichever o f the above named he may be exposed, the primary cause o f danger lies in the circumstance that the fine par ticles are borne by the air into the lungs. They pass, wafted by the air, through the mouth and nostrils into the windpipe; they pass along the bronchial tubes; in some instances they reach and traverse the bronchial passages which lie between the larger bronchial tubes and the minute air vesicles, or they even reach the air vesicles them selves. An American authority on occupation diseases has referred to the subject at some length in an article contributed to Buck’s Hygiene and Public Health, printed in 1879. This writer, Dr. Roger S. Tracy, for many years registrar o f vital statistics o f New York City and sanitary inspector o f the board o f health, makes the following state ment with particular reference to the special form or type of disease resulting from the inhalation o f metallic and mineral dusts : The disease comes on very gradually, like the more slowly developed forms o f phthisis pulmonalis, and its duration may be extended over four or five years. It begins with the cough o f irritation, dry and hacking at first, with very scanty expectoration, whitish and stringy in character; there is no haemoptysis, but sometimes nausea and vomiting in the morning. Auscultation at this time reveals puerile respiration, with occasional slight rales. The expectoration grad ually increases in amount and becomes reddish, and soon after this tinge appears there may be haemoptysis. There is dyspnoea on slight exertion, and dullness over the whole chest, with weak respira tion and mucous rales. There is no fever, and the appetite and strength are still good. I f work is abandoned at this time recovery is not only possible, but in most cases probable. I f work is continued, the lung tissue begins to break down, and cavities form near the apices. Expectoration is very profuse, and there may be severe hemorrhages. There is general dullness on percussion, and the last traces o f vesicular respiration give way to sibilant, large mucous and cavernous rales. Fever is continuous, with evening exacerbations, night sweats, emaciation, insomnia, and great dyspnoea, soon followed by death. Very suggestive also are the observations and conclusions o f Dr. John Syer Bristowe, F.R.S., who in an address on industrial diseases, read at the conference on sanitary subjects held in connection with MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 637 the International Health Convention of 1884, discussed the effects of nonpoisonous irritants on the lungs, in part as follow s: Occupations which habitually expose the workmen to the inhala tion o f abundant solid particles that are incapable o f solution or removal by the animal tissues or secretions, in many cases induce chronic diseases o f the lungs, which are known as the asthmas or consumptions o f the several occupations referred to, and tend very materially to shorten life among those engaged in them. Workers in coal mines and in copper mines, grinders, millstone makers, and flax dressers are perhaps especially liable to suffer from such causes. It is marvelous how tolerant the bronchial tubes and lungs are o f for eign particles which are drawn into them with the breath. Wherever smoke impregnates the atmosphere, as in London and other manufac turing towns, its particles are conveyed in greater or less abundance into the lungs; whence some are expelled with the expectoration, which presents, consequently, a slaty or black appearance, while some et absorbed, and becoming deposited in the tissue o f the lungs, prouce in them that black mottling which increases with advancing years, and is well known to pathologists. Yet, as a general rule, the soot-studded organs remain practically healthy, and no clinical evi dences o f pulmonary disease manifest themselves. The same remarks doubtless apply to the inhalation of the siliceous particles of ordinary dust. The effects are different, however, when such matters are in haled in large excess. * * * The symptoms under which the suf ferers labor have some resemblance to those o f chronic phthisis, some to those o f chronic bronchitis and emphysema, for either o f which they may well be mistaken. They consist in gradually increasing shortness o f breath, lividity o f surface, feebleness o f circulation, and cough, with more or less abundant expectoration; to which, at a later period, general dropsy and haemoptysis may be superadded. There is generally a total, or almost total, absence of fever. The only meth ods, so far as I know, by which the irritative diseases o f the lungs, just considered, can be lessened or prevented, are by providing good ven tilation, and (when possible) by adopting methods to prevent the d if fusion o f particles or dust in the atmosphere which the workmen have to breathe. It is obvious, too, that since the diseases are insidious in their progress, and increase in proportion as the inhaled particles accumulate, it would be well for persons who present early traces of them to seek at once some other kind o f employment. S The most qualified and extended discussion o f the entire subject o f the inhalation o f dust, its pathology and symptomatology, with special reference to dusty trades, is by Dr. J. T. Arlidge, who, in 1892, published a treatise on The Hygiene, Diseases, and Mortality o f Occupations. “ Few, indeed,” he argued, “ are the occupations in which dust is not given off,” and “ in none can it be absolutely harm less, for the lung tissue must be just so much the worse, and less efficient fo r its purpose, in proportion to its embarrassment by dust.” And in continuation: W hat occurs to the ordinary citizen becomes magnified ten or a hundredfold to those engaged in dusty occupations, and more espe 638 BULLETIN OF TH E BUKEAU OF LABOR. cially where the dust itself possesses noxious properties. But unless dust has this latter quality, it is remarkable with what indifference its inhalation is treated by the majority o f workmen. In one sense, indeed, it is unfortunate that it does not, for the most part, awaken attention by any immediate tangible consequences. Its disabling action is very slow, but it is ever progressive, and until it has already worked its baneful results upon the smaller bronchial tubes and air cells and caused difficulty o f breathing, with cough and spitting, it is let pass as a matter o f indifference— an inconvenience o f the trade. Arlidge called attention to the fact that bronchitis, asthma, and fibroid and tubercular consumption ranked foremost in the causes o f British mortality, holding that without doubt these maladies were largely attributable to the inhalation o f dust operating per se, or in conjunction with constitutional proclivities and insanitary surround ings. In further continuation he remarked that— Pathologists tell us o f the presence o f bacilli in tubercular disease, and favor the belief that these minute bodies are the cause of it. This notion may represent a whole truth or only a partial one; in my opinion, the latter. For I doubt if these bacilli actually develop phthisis unless there be some antecedent change in the vitality o f the affected tissue; a change wrought by depressing causes connected with the mode o f life, or with constitutional debility and inherited taint, or with the occupation followed; o f which contributory factors two or more may cooperate. And assuredly the breathing or dust may be reckoned as one such o f no light energy. In other words, I look upon a phthisical lung as one prepared for the germination and multipli cation o f bacilli, and not a primary product o f those microscopic organisms, nor o f the products of their organic existence. The conclusions o f Arlidge are summarized in the statement that “ One practical lesson is to be gained by these considerations—namely, that persons predisposed to respiratory diseases and phthisis ought not to engage in dusty occupations.” More recently the entire subject o f occupation diseases in their relation to workmen’s compensation has been considered at length and in much detail by a British departmental committee appointed to consider the pressing and important question o f workmen’s com pensation for industrial diseases. In its observations upon respira tory diseases, and in particular bronchitis, pneumonia, and phthisis, and their relation to occupation exposure, the committee concluded that— Pulmonary disease manifests itself in three kinds or forms— as ordinary tuberculous phthisis, acute or chronic; as “ fibroid phthisis,” and as a mixed form when a tuberculous process is ingrafted sooner or later upon the fibroid. Fibroid phthisis is always a slow disease. It consists in a chronic reactive inflammation around the many minute foci o f dust inhalation, which by coalescence gradually invades large areas, impairing and strangling the proper lung tissues in cor responding measure. Again, a lung so impaired is very apt to har MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 639 bor bacilli, especially the bacillus of tubercle, by the influence of which it may be still further destroyed. Thus both fibroid phthisis uncomplicated and fibroid phthisis with the supervention of tubercle are in their nature occupational disease. (a) The committee, in its final report, describes the typical forms of fibroid phthisis as induced by the inhalation o f industrial dust, hold ing that— The first symptom is a cough which insidiously, and for a while almost imperceptibly, becomes habitual. A t first in the morning only, it gradually becomes more frequent during the day, and expec toration, nominal at the beginning, becomes more marked, though not profuse until the latter stages o f the disease. Leaving out of account the more rapid progress o f the disease in tin and gold miners, these symptoms o f a negative phase o f purely local damage may last for years—ten or fifteen or even more—without advancing to such a degree as to throw the workman out o f employment or even to cause him serious inconvenience. A t some period, however, rarely less than ten years and frequently more than twenty, of continuous em ployment, in a like imperceptible manner the breathing gets shorter and the patient finds himself less and less capable o f exertion. Yet, even when the cough and dyspnoea have reached a considerable degree, there are no signs o f fever, as is the case of pulmonary tuber culosis; the flesh does not fall and the muscles retain their strength and volume. Thus even at a period when the malady is fully estab lished the general health may be but little impaired, and the patient may not be compelled to cease work. Herein fibroid phthisis pre sents a well-marked difference from pulmonary tuberculosis; and even if, as we have said, the disease becomes complicated with tuber cle, yet the rate o f progress may be determined rather by the charac ter o f the primary than of the secondary disease, though usually the supervention o f tubercle hastens the sufferer into a more rapid con sumption.^) The results o f all these researches into an almost neglected field o f preventive hygiene prove that occupation diseases, properly so called, demand the most thoroughly qualified and medical supervision o f factories and workshops and the periodical medical examination and inspection o f persons employed in recognized unhealthy trades. For, as the committee referred to points out, “ I f in the early stage of fibroid phthisis the workman leaves the dusty employment for work in agriculture or in other occupation in air free from irritating parti cles, the disease may be practically arrested; that is, although the part affected may proceed to obliteration, the disease would not ex tend to other parts o f the lung, and the portion destroyed would be negligible as a factor of health and capacity.” (5) a R eport o f the Departmental Committee on Compensation fo r Industrial D is eases, 1906, p. 18. h Report o f the Departm ental Committee on Compensation fo r Industrial D is eases, 1906, p. 14. 640 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The conclusion o f this investigation, the most important official inquiry ever made into the subject o f industrial diseases, fully war rants the view that while ordinary tuberculous phthisis can not be regarded as a disease specific to any occupation, fibroid phthisis in its latter stage, and when the history o f the case is known, can be clearly distinguished from tuberculous phthisis, so that it may be regarded as an established fact that fibroid phthisis is a disease specific to the employment in certain trades, o f which the committee mentions the follow ing: Grinders, continuously using either grindstones or emery for the abrasion o f metals, especially steel; potters engaged in certain processes; stone workers employed on certain kinds of stone, espe cially i f not working in the open a ir; tin miners, in particular such as have previously been exposed to the exceedingly unhealthy condi tions o f the gold mines of the Transvaal; and ganister miners, in cluding men employed in certain processes o f ganister brick making. The committee did not arrive at final conclusions regarding persons employed in the slate industry, nor o f employees in the working o f asbestos, and many other recognized unhealthy trades, partly, no doubt, because o f the limited scope o f the inquiry and the paucity o f conclusive statistical data. It is pointed out by the committee that it was not possible to separate the English death rates from fibroid phthisis from those o f other diseases of the respiratory system, since medical men do not, as a rule, distinguish that disease when certify ing the causes o f death. It is clearly established by the results of the investigation that such a distinction should be made and that medical practitioners should qualify the death returns from tuberculosis in all cases where the death was the result o f fibroid phthisis. The committee, having arrived at the opinion that fibroid phthisis is a specific and distinguishable trade disease, concluded that employers might properly be required to pay compensation to their work people who contract it; but it did not, however, recommend the extension o f the Workmen’s Compensation Act to the disease for two reasons. The first was that owing to the long period o f its development it would not be right to lay the whole burden on the employer under whom the workman had been serving during the twelve months prior to the incapacity. The other and more important reason was that for several years before the nature o f the disease can be definitely diagnosed the patient may suffer from symptoms that while not dis tinctive are sufficient to prevent him from securing employment. In the partly descriptive account o f 42 occupations considered in de tail in this article only the most general facts have been included to emphasize, as far as possible, the industrial processes productive of conditions more or less injurious to health in general and to the development o f tuberculosis in particular. Authorities are referred to only as far as this has seemed necessary to clearly establish in the MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 641 case o f each trade or occupation considered the facts o f a more or less excessive degree o f consumption frequency aside from the statistical sources o f information which form the basis of the subsequent con clusions, except in the case o f a few employments for which neither general vital statistics nor insurance mortality experience are as yet available. The term “ tuberculosis ” is used in a very general sense, and as a rule limited to phthisis pulmonalis, or consumption, unless otherwise stated. A ll of the references to insurance mortality experience are limited to the mortality from phthisis pulmonalis and do not include other forms o f tuberculosis or other forms o f respi ratory diseases unless specifically stated in the text. S T A T IS T IC A L D A T A AND M ETH OD OF D E TE R M IN IN G T H E D E G R E E OF CONSUM PTION FREQ U EN CY . The principal statistical data used in the present discussion are, first, the occupation returns by divisional periods o f life of the United States census for 1900; second, the occupation mortality statistics o f the Twelfth Census, published in 1904; third, the occupa tion mortality statistics of Rhode Island for the decade ending with 1906; fourth, the occupation mortality statistics published decen nially as a supplement to the report o f the Registrar-General of Births, Marriages, and Deaths for England and Wales for the two periods 1890-1892 and 1900-1902; fifth, the corresponding statistics for Scotland; and sixth, the industrial mortality statistics of the Prudential Insurance Company of America for the decade 1897 to 1906, published in connection with the company’s exhibit of the mortality from consumption in dusty trades at the International Congress on Tuberculosis, held in Washington, D. C., in 1908, and presented in a discussion of the same subject before the American Association o f Medical Examiners in September, 1907, and the Medical Society o f the County o f New York in December, 1907. Four different statistical methods are available to determine with approximate accuracy the degree o f consumption frequency in differ ent trades. Absolute accuracy is not obtainable in investigations o f this kind, nor is it necessary for the end in view. The first method is to determine the numbers living at ages 65 or over in different trades, and to compare the same with the correspond ing proportion for occupied males generally. This method is never conclusive by itself, but is useful in conjunction with the use o f other statistical data. It is evident, o f course, that other factors besides mortality determine the proportion o f persons at work in different occupations at ages 65 or over, and the method, therefore, requires to be used with extreme caution. 642 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The second method is to determine the true rate of mortality from all causes, or specific causes such as consumption, by ascertaining the number o f deaths occurring in every thousand persons of any par ticular trade or industry exposed to the risk o f death for a single year. This method is by far the most satisfactory, but it is seldom that accurate information is available regarding the living popula tion, and estimates o f the numbers exposed to risk are likely to be seriously misleading. The chance o f error is increased by the method employed in the Twelfth Census, since the occupation classification o f the census is probably not exactly the same as the occupation classification o f the different boards o f health throughout the country, where the original entries are made as to the occupation of decedent at the time o f death. The third method is to determine the proportion o f deaths from a specified cause, such as consumption, occurring in the mortality from all causes, without reference to ages at death. This method is made necessary in the use o f the Rhode Island statistics, which are not re turned by divisional periods of life. The same is true also of the occupation mortality statistics o f the United States census by specified causes, but when used with extreme caution the proportions thus determined are often extremely suggestive and quite often entirely conclusive. The fourth method is known as the proportionate mortality figure, by which the proportion o f deaths from any particular disease, such as consumption, is calculated as a percentage o f the deaths from all causes occurring during specified periods o f life. This method has been extensively employed in the present discussion, since otherwise the available industrial insurance mortality statistics could not have been utilized. It is, in a measure, the most satisfactory and deter mining o f all the various methods referred to, since it determines with absolute accuracy the actual incidents or degree o f consumption frequency at specified periods o f life. The industrial insurance mortality statistics are derived from the experience o f a large and representative company, which has from time to time given publicity to the facts o f its experience. The re sulting proportionate mortality returns, however, indicate a specific mortality from consumption somewhat below the actual, since the experience is, to a certain extent, affected by medical selection. In other words, the proportionate mortality from consumption, or the true actual loss from the disease at specified periods o f life, would have been somewhat higher if medical selection had not been made use of. In comparing this experience with the adopted standard for the registration area o f the United States the comparison is, there fore, somewhat more favorable to the various trades and occupations considered than would have been the case i f the returns could have MORTALITY PROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 643 been derived from the registration records o f the different States and cities comprehending the experience o f the company referred to. The proportionate mortality figure may be briefly explained as follows: A t ages 25 to 34, out o f every 100 deaths from all causes in the registration area of the United States during the seven years ending 1906, 31.3 deaths were from consumption. The correspond ing proportions o f deaths in the industrial insurance mortality ex perience were 70.8 per cent for grinders, 66.7 per cent for compositors, 58.5 per cent for upholsterers, 52.9 per cent for potters, etc. The dif ference between the normal proportionate consumption mortality for the registration area as a whole and the corresponding proportionate mortality from consumption in the different occupations considered in detail, measure approximately the health-injurious circumstances o f the different employments. O CCU PATIO N C L A S S IF IC A T IO N OF D U S T Y TR A D E S. The following occupation grouping has been adopted to empha size the dust hazard in principal occupations and to facilitate ready reference to the various employments considered in some detail in the subsequent discussion: Group 1.— Exposure to m etallic d u s t: 1. Grinders. 2. ‘Polishers. 3. T ool and instrument makers. 4. Jewelers. 5. Gold leaf manufacture. 6. Brass workers. 7. Printers. 8. Compositors. 9. Pressmen. 10. Engravers. Group 2.— Exposure to mineral d u st: 11. Stone workers. 12. Marble workers. 13. Glass blowers. 14. Glass cutters. 15. D iam ond cutters. 16. Potters. 17. Cement workers. 18. Plasterers. 19. Paper hangers. 20. Molders. 21. Core makers. 22. Lithographers. Group 3.— Exposure to vegetable fiber du st: 23. Cotton ginning. Group 3.— Exposure to vegetable fiber dust— Concluded. 24. Cotton textile manufacture. 25. Spinners. 26. Weavers. 27. Hosiery and knitting mills. 28. Lace making. 29. F lax and linen m anufacture. 30. Hemp and cordage m anufac ture. 31. M anufacture o f ju te and jute goods. 32. Paper m anufacture. 33. Cabinetmakers. 34. W ood turners and carvers. Group 4.— Exposure to animal and m ixed fiber du st: 35. Furriers and taxidermists. 36. Hatters. 37. Silk manufacture. 38. W oolen and worsted m anufac ture. 39. Carpet and rug m anufacture. 40. Shoddy manufacture. 41. Rag industry. 42. Upholsterers and hair-mattress makers. The grouping is necessarily a more or less arbitrary one since all occupations involve exposure to more than one particular kind of 63675— No. 79— 09----- 2 644 BULLETIN OP TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. dust, but it is safe to assume that the predominating character o f a particular dust exposure primarily determines the resulting de parture o f the consumption mortality from the normal for the gen eral population. A ll the groupings o f dusty trades which have been adopted by Hirt, Merkel, Arlidge, Oliver, and others have this limi tation in common. Since no entirely conclusive investigation has been made to afford the material for a final and strictly scientific classification o f dusty trades, the grouping adopted will serve at least the purpose o f a convenient arrangement with a strict regard to the facts as they are known and understood at the present time. O CCU PATION S W IT H E X P O S U R E TO M E T A L L IC DUST. In the group o f occupations exposing to a continuous and consider able inhalation o f metallic dust resulting from industrial processes have been included for the present purpose the following repre sentative employments: Grinders, polishers, tool and instrument makers, jewelers, gold-leaf manufacture, brass workers, printers, compositors, pressmen, and engravers. These occupations are all more or less subject to an excessive death rate from all causes, but in particular to a decided excess in the proportionate mortality from consumption, and in most cases also to a comparatively high degree of frequency in the occurrence o f other respiratory diseases. The details o f labor conditions, as far as they could be conveniently included in the following summary o f observations regarding particular trades, appear to fully confirm the opinion that the degree o f excess in consumption frequency is intimately related and in almost exact pro portion to the degree o f exposure to continuous and considerable inhalation o f metallic dust. GRINDERS. The grinding trade includes a large variety o f employments, o f which metal grinding, by either the dry or wet process, is hygienically as well as industrially the most important. The grinding o f metal involves exposure to decidedly health-injurious conditions, probably as much so i f not more than in any other employment. Chiefly as the result o f the inhalation o f relatively large quantities o f fine metallic dust, and not inconsiderable quantities o f fine mineral dust, the mortality from consumption in this occupation is decidedly above the normal for occupied males generally. While the sanitary and other conditions injuriously affecting the health o f metal grinders never have been so notoriously bad in the United States as in Eng land or in continental Europe, the observed mortality o f this occu pation as carried on in this country fully warrants the most serious conclusions as to the health-injurious effects o f this group o f employments. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 645 The mortality o f metal grinders has been discussed by James H. Lloyd, M. D., in his treatise on “ Diseases o f occupations,” included in the Twentieth Century Practice of Medicine, published in 1895. Lloyd, after calling attention to the well-known fact that the trade o f the grinder is conspicuous above all others for the suffering that is entailed from the inhalation o f metallic dust, describes in detail the different processes o f grinding and their relation to health, from which the following is quoted: Grinding edge tools is of two kinds—wet and dry. The latter method is by far the more injurious, as, naturally, it raises far the greater amount o f dust. For some tools both methods are used— the mixed method. The tools ground are scythes, saws, table knives, machine knives, various other kinds o f edge tools, files, penknives, razors, scissors, forks, needles, etc. A great difference in their bad effects is observed among the branches o f the trade according as the grinders use the wet or dry method and according to the tool ground. The smaller objects are far the most trying and exacting upon health. The worst o f all branches are the fork grinding and needle grinding. This is because in grinding these small objects the workman is obliged to lean close over the stone and therefore inhales large quantities of the dust, and also because the dry grinding is used. The dust raised by grinding is composed largely o f minute bits of steel. According to Hall, 12 razor blades forged in the rough, which weigh 2 pounds and 4 ounces, lose 10 ounces m the process o f grind ing. This loss represents so much fine metallic dust, mingled of course with dust from the stone. This statement gives some idea of the immense amount of dust produced by dry grinding. According to Holland the concrete masses o f this dust formed in needle grinding have almost the specific gravity o f iron. In discussing the symptoms of the diseases typical o f grinders as the result o f their employment, Lloyd points out further that— They are those of a slowly advancing bronchitis with asthma and sometimes with emphysema; later dilated bronchi with excavation are observed; then, consolidation, and breaking down o f lung tissue occur as the terminal processes.^ The exact relationship o f these processes to a tubercular infection in grinders is an interesting and important subject, which, o f course, did not receive much light from the earlier writers. They endeavored, in fact, to draw distinctions between true “ consumption ” and grinder’s “ asthma,” but the state o f patho logical knowledge in their day was not such as to permit them to do otherwise. It is quite evident from reading their reports o f cases that they had to do with a disease that was essentially tubercular, but it would be interesting to have the exact relationship o f this infection to the grinder’s unwholesome occupation investigated by the methods o f modern bacteriology. I do not know whether this has ever been done. There can be no doubt that the influence o f the grinder’s trade is that o f a predisposing cause. The inhalation o f the irritating par ticles o f steel into the lungs causes a constant catarrhal bronchitis and pneumonitis, with increase o f connective tissue; and this prepares the soil for a tubercular infection which characterizes the latter stages of the disease. 646 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The most recent qualified discussion o f the health-injurious cir cumstances o f dry and wet grinding is by Oliver, who, in his Diseases o f Occupation, goes fully into all the details concerning the trade, including a brief account o f the corresponding conditions in the cut lery manufacture o f Germany, at Solingen: So far as the two methods o f grinding cutlery are concerned, the dry method is, from a health point o f view, the more dangerous to the workers. The dust is dry, and is in the form o f a very fine powder, which readily reaches the lungs owing to the attitude o f the men when at work. Steel grinders sit astride the grinding stone on a saddle, and as they lean forward keeping close to their work, they can not but inhale some o f the dust, which is a mixture o f steel and stone. Forks and needles are generally ground by the dry method; knives, scissors, and razors by the wet. Some are ground by both methods, e. g., the backs o f razors and scissors are ground by the dry method and the remainder o f the blade by the wet. It was in 1865 that Dr. T. C. Hall, o f Sheffield, drew attention to the high death rate o f steel grinders from pulmonary phthisis. The average age at death o f steel grinders was at this period only 29 years, but o f late this has improved. Doctor Hall’s statistics referred to dry grinding. In wet grinding the running stone passes through a thin layer of water in a trough below the stone, so that, as its surface is always kept wet, comparatively little dust is given off during the process o f grinding; but while the atmosphere is clearer o f dust, the floors and walls o f the workshop are damp and cold. The grinding is carried on in rooms called “ hulls,” which are bounded by three blank walls; the windows are without glass. Where dry grinding is car ried on there are fans, but these often prove ineffective. It is no uncommon thing to find men engaged in different processes in one large room, so that the dust which is generated affects not only the workman sitting at his own grinding stone, but the other inmates o f the room as well. In Sheffield it has been ascertained that in every 1,000 deaths among steel grinders pulmonary phthisis is the cause o f 345 and other respiratory diseases 295; that is, collectively, pulmonary diseases account for 64 per cent o f the entire mortality, whereas among the adult population o f the country generally phthisis accounts for 144 deaths per 1,000 and other respiratory diseases 182, or collectively 32.6 per cent. Steel grinders die comparatively young. Dr. Sinclair White, in Dangerous Trades, page 414, says that 458 grinders in every 1,000 die between the ages o f 35 and 55, compared with 261 in every 1,000 o f the entire male population o f the country. Only 140 grinders out o f every 1,000 reach the age of 55 and upward, whereas for every 1,000 o f the adult male popula tion 391 reach 55 years and upward. Sinclair White is o f the opinion that phthisis is not so rife among steel grinders as formerly. In Doctor Hall’s time the average age at death from phthisis was 29 years; at present it is 43. (a) With reference to conditions in Germany and the remarkable im provement which has followed the introduction o f sanitary precau 0 Diseases of Occupation, Thomas Oliver, pp. 230, 231, London, 1908. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 647 tions, rational methods o f ventilation, and other means o f dust prevention, Oliver holds: In the town o f Solingen and the neighborhood it is estimated that there are 29,000 persons employed in making cutlery. Here all sorts o f steel goods are made—knives, forks, scissors, and swords. A good deal o f the work is done by the people in their homes, and it is inter esting to know that the home industry is rather encouraged by the local* authority, which provides the men with gas and electric power. So prevalent is pulmonary consumption among the grinders in So lingen that it has attracted the attention o f the Government Factory Department. In the ten years 1885-1895 72.5 per cent o f the deaths among knife grinders in the Solingen district was due to phthisis, against 35.3 per cent for the rest o f the population over 14 years o f age, and an official examination showed that out of 1,250 grinders only 85 men were over 45 years of age. Doctor Shadwell speaks approv ingly o f the methods adopted in some o f the Solingen factories to deal with the removal o f dust. Oldendorf, in writing about the grinders at Solingen, states that 24.7 per cent reached 50 years o f age and 3.3 per cent 70; that at Runsched 33.8 per cent reached 50 years and 8.0 per cent 70; while at Kronenberg the numbers were 32.9 and 8.7, respectively. The mean age at death o f grinders employed in the dry methods was 39.4, of workers in iron 48.3, and o f the rest of the male population 54.4 years. Taking all ages, the deaths from tuberculosis per 100 cases were for grinders 78.3, iron workers 59.0, other per sons 46.0. (a) A very interesting account o f the mortality o f cutlery grinders in Solingen was also included in the Report o f the Chief Inspector o f Factories and Workshops o f England for 1906, from which an abstract is made to emphasize the sanitary and labor conditions necessary to reduce the mortality o f grinders to a minimum: The atmosphere o f Solingen is bright and clear. It is seldom that black smoke is seen escaping from the factory chimneys. This is largely the result o f careful firing and the use o f coal briquettes in stead o f ordinary coal, which avoids the use o f slack coal. The day’s actual work is nine hours; on Saturday work ceases at 5.30 p. m. The factories in Solingen are said to be marvels o f order and cleanli ness ; the floors are o f concrete and the air space for each worker must be at least 565 cubic feet. A ll the grinding stones are protected by uards. The walls o f the workrooms are limewashed every year; the oors are swept every evening and damp-wiped once a week. The “ rasing ” o f grindstones is never undertaken during working hours except under a stream o f water or unless the stone is entirely inclosed in casing except at the working place o f the rasing tool. The floors are kept clean and provision is made for the removal o f the dust during grinding. Cutlery manufacture is recognized as a dangerous trade in Solingen, and in recent years considerable improvement has taken place in the means to prevent dust. In Solingen the grind stones and polishing wheels are run toward the worker; in Shef f ®Diseases of Occupation, Thomas Oliver, p. 232. 648 BU LLETIN OF TH E BUBEAU OF LABOR. field they are run away from the worker, so that the dust has an upward tendency and flies into the room .(a) The subject is also considered in the Report o f the Chief Inspector o f Factories and Workshops for 1907, in which the rules or police regulations governing the trade at Solingen are republished in full. A remarkable improvement in the health of the workmen has followed the introduction o f these rules. The most conclusive mortality data o f metal grinders are for Shef field, England, and from the annual reports of the medical officer o f health are tabulated the deaths of grinders occurring within the period 1889 to 1906, including 2,045 deaths from all causes, o f which 837 were from consumption and 543 from respiratory diseases other than consumption. The data are given in tabular form below, by divisional periods o f life, with the resulting mortality from consump tion and other respiratory diseases at specified ages: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER RESPI RATORY DISEASES COMPARED WITH THAT FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG GRINDERS, IN SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, 1889 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [From annual reports of the Medical Officer of Health, Sheffield, England.] Age at death. Under 25 years............................................................... 25 th 34 years.................................................................. 35 to 44 years.................................................................. 45 to 54 years.................................................................. 55 to 64 years.................................................................. 65 years or over.............................................................. Total.................................................................... Deaths from all causes. 85 246 416 575 452 271 2,045 Deaths from con sumption. Deaths from re spiratory diseases other than con sumption. Number. Per cent. Number. Percent. 36 135 235 263 139 29 837 42.4 54.9 56.5 45.7 30.8 10.7 40.9 20 44 69 151 167 92 543 23.5 17.9 16.6 26.3 36.9 33.9 26.6 According to this table, at ages under 25, o f every 100 deaths from all causes, 42.4 were from consumption, increasing to 56.5 at ages 35 to 44, decreasing subsequently to 30.8 at ages 55 to 64, and to 10.7 at ages 65 or over. The corresponding mortality from respiratory dis eases other than consumption was also excessive at every period of life. There are no similar data for the United States except the indus trial insurance mortality statistics o f grinders, limited to 128 deaths from all causes, o f which 63, or 49.2 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f grinders from respiratory diseases other than con sumption, 15 were from pneumonia, 5 from asthma and bronchitis, and 2 from other respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from con sumption and other respiratory diseases are combined, a total o f 85, or 66.4 per cent o f the mortality o f grinders, was from diseases o f 0 Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, 1906, pp. 107-109. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 649 the lungs and air passages. The excess in the mortality o f grinders from consumption is clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life compared with that o f all males in the registration area of the United States :(a) PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG G RINDERS, 1897 TO * 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for grinders from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] of deaths Deaths of grinders, Perdue cent to consumption 1897 to 1906, due to— among— Age at death. Males in All causes. Consump Grinders. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years.......... :.......................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 7 24 38 30 20 9 128 4 17 24 12 5 1 63 57.1 70.8 63.2 40.0 25.0 11.1 49.2 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 While according to this table the proportionate consumption mor tality o f grinders was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pro nounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes, 70.8 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion of 31.3. The data are unfortunately very limited, but they are at pres ent the only trustworthy source of information regarding the mor tality o f grinders in the United States. The number o f deaths is sufficient, however, to warrant the conclusion that the mortality from consumption in this occupation is very considerably above the normal for the general population. POLISHERS. The polishing o f metal ware is a widely diversified trade, and the term “ polisher ” is one o f general rather than o f special significance. Under the term are included metal polishers and buffers working upon steel, brass, gold, and silverware, but no data are available which would permit o f a proper classification o f polishers according to the metal or material manipulated. The health-injurious effects o f this employment have been recognized by all who have written a The registration area, from w hich m ortality statistics were secured by the Bureau o f the Census, included in 1906 about one-half (48.8 per cent) o f the total estimated population o f continental United States. 650 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. upon the mortality o f dusty trades, and the more important facts are summarized by Arlidge in part as follows: After being shaped and ground to the required dimensions, the next business is to burnish or polish the articles. This is accomlished by wheels covered by leather, and also by a thick bundle o f nen rags cut and bound together in the form o f a wheel, and which, by rapid rotation, assumes the character o f a solid mass, and, at the same time, one so soft as to serve better than any other contrivance for the purpose o f surface polishing. To assist in giving polish to the articles made various powders are employed; for example, emery, whiting, rouge, powdered pumice, etc. The use of these materials adds vastly to the dust o f the trade and to its pernicious results; but no data are in existence to indicate what is its share in the causa tion o f disease as compared with the dust o f the grindstones. Still, no question exists that these polishing powders, differing as they do among themselves in physical qualities, differ likewise m the range o f their effects upon the lungs. E The rather involved circumstances affecting the polisher’s health and mortality are also discussed in The Workers o f the Nation, by Mr. Gilson Willets, whose attention appears to have been attracted by the particularly health-injurious conditions o f the employment, and whose conclusions are decidedly suggestive: Metal polishers who have reached the age of 40 often look like old men. There can hardly be found a trade more deleterious to health, say those who follow it. Among the harmful conditions may be mentioned the liability o f the workmen to get their lungs full of flying and impalpable dust, which is composed o f metal, minerals, and cotton fiber. They are also, in many cases, deprived of the proper supply o f light, and great injury to the eyes thus arises. It is not easy to wear goggles or glasses, as the operator’s sight must be o f the keenest in order to detect blemishes. There are laws for the protection o f this class o f workmen, but they are too seldom employed. New York statutes require that at each polishing lathe there shall be an exhaust fan to carry off the dust, that each operative shall have 250 square feet o f air to breathe, and plenty o f light. It has been claimed that not in 5 per cent o f the shops do these desirable provisions prevail. A buffing wheel, making 2,500 revolutions per minute, has wrecked many constitutions. From it, as the polisher applies the metal, a cloud o f dust arises, made o f particles o f cloth and metal, and that is what the operator breathes. Generally the windows are hermetically sealed. Often the walls and floors are covered with the accumulation o f years. In the process o f brightening silver-plated material there is given forth by the wheel a cloud o f dust o f which crocus is a large constituent, while from the plating room come fumes o f nitric acid. In the process of polishing chandeliers there is much dust set free, which is composed o f particles o f brass, and permeates the air o f the shop. Metal polishers often do not care to complain, because their wages are high. Here is a good field for activity among the factory inspectors, who should force employers to maintain proper conditions in the shops. (®) ° The Workers of the Nation, Vol. I, p. 57. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN BUSTY TRADES. 651 More recent evidence has been presented in the published sickness and mortality experience of the Metal Polishers’ Union, regarding which it has been stated that: The treasury o f this union, in spite o f the fact that the men are steady and have no special temptations to excess, was found to be constantly exhausted. The reason is that the death claims eat up all the funds. An investigation o f these claims showed that many o f the men were dying from pulmonary tuberculosis. There were some deaths from accident, a few suicides, but the rest were all from pul monary diseases— and pneumonia was very rare as compared with phthisis. The statistics for the last four years show that in 1903, 45 metal polishers died, o f whom 43 succumbed to some lung trouble. In 1904 there were but 38 deaths among the metal polishers, o f which only 3 were due to other causes than pulmonary disease. In 1905 there were 70 deaths among the metal polishers, 65 o f which were due to some form o f lung trouble. In New York City a local union having 170 men working exclusively on the precious metals, had 8 death claims in two years, 7 being due directly to tuberculosis, while 400 men employed in all the other branches o f the same industry have had but 3 deaths from this cause in the same space o f time. A medical journal, commenting upon the above-quoted facts at the time o f their publication, argued very pointedly to the effect that— It would seem from these statistics that even the cleanest kinds o f dust, without a trace of infectious material in them, may still prove a source o f the greatest possible danger and be the indirect cause o f tuberculosis. This has been known for some time, but so startling a confirmation o f it is sure to emphasize the necessity for taking every precaution for the avoidance o f dust. Even what might seem to be the most innocuous o f dirt particles may, when inspired, constitute foci o f irritation in which tubercle bacilli may readily find a favor able nidus for implantation and growth. There are, unfortunately, no official vital statistics o f polishers except the recorded mortality for Rhode Island for the period 1897 to 1906, which, however, includes only 42 deaths o f polishers from all causes, but o f this number 14, or 33.3 per cent, were from consump tion. There were 4 deaths from pneumonia and 2 from asthma and bronchitis, a total o f 20 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, or 47.6 per cent of the mortality from all causes. The Rhode Island statistics are fully confirmed by the recorded industrial insurance mortality data of polishers, which includes 279 deaths from all causes, of which 108, or 38.7 per cent, were deaths from consumption. O f the mortality of polishers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 25 were from pneumonia, 5 from asthma and bronchitis, and 5 from other respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 51.2 per cent o f the mortality o f polishers was from 652 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the mortality o f polishers from consumption is clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PO LISH ERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for polishers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] of deaths Deaths of polishers, Perdue cent to consumption 1897 to 1906, due to— among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Polishers. registration All causes. Consump tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 48 75 68 48 19 21 279 22 42 29 11 4 45.8 56.0 42.6 22.9 21.1 108 38.7 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 While according to this table the proportionate consumption mor tality o f polishers was excessive at all ages under 65, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 56 were from consumption, against a normally expected proportion o f 31.3. The number o f deaths o f polishers included in the analysis is sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the mortality from consumption in this occupation is very considerably above the normal for the general population, but below the corresponding averages for grinders. TOOL AND INSTRUMENT MAKERS. The manufacture o f tools and instruments includes a large number o f grinders and polishers, but it is not possible to classify the occupa tions in detail. In the United States census statistics the industry includes cutlery manufacture, while in English mortality statistics the group comprehends tool, file, and saw makers, cutlers and scissors makers, and needle and pin makers. The statistics o f 1900 for the United States return 26,997 males o f known ages 15 or over em ployed in this industry as previously defined, and o f this number 666, or 2.5 per cent, were 65 years of age or over. The proportion attain ing to old age was, therefore, somewhat larger than expected, consider ing the high rate o f mortality o f grinders and polishers, and others employed in the manufacture of tools, instruments, etc. A special investigation into the sanitary conditions of this employment was made by the Massachusetts state board o f health in 1907, and the MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 653 report included a number of very valuable and suggestive references to conditions unfavorable to health and life, from which the follow ing extracts are made: From a sanitary point of view, the one important part o f this in dustry is the reduction o f the surface o f the article in process o f manu facture from the roughness o f the original casting to the smoothness and brilliancy so necessary and desirable in the finished product. This involves successive treatment by wet grinding, dry grinding on emery and corundum wheels, and polishing with rouge on buffing wheels. Each o f these processes, even that o f wet grinding on large, coarse, and finer stones, causes to be cast into the air large amounts o f fine dust, made up o f very fine particles o f steel and of the abrasive substance. In establishments properly equipped and conducted, pro vision is made to reduce the danger of this dust to a minimum by means o f hoods connected with a system of exhaust fans or blowers. In spite o f the precautions taken to protect their health, a very large proportion o f grinders recklessly remove the hoods, and thus expose themselves unnecessarily to this especially dangerous form o f dust. They assert that they prefer freedom o f movement with dust to the protection afforded by hoods. The workmen are not, as a class, long lived; indeed, the nature o f the work is not compatible with longevity, and a person entering upon it in middle life is unlikely to follow it many years. Whatever the age at which the trade is taken up, a man in sound health who has followed it a few years is an acknowledged rarity. A study of the death returns o f the city o f Northampton, which is one o f the centers o f this industry, for the past twelve years, yields facts which can be interpreted in only one way. During this period tuberculosis is given as the cause o f death in no less than 54.5 per cent o f those whose oc cupation is indicated by “ grinder ” or “ polisher,” and in 45.4 per cent o f those designated generally as u cutlers,” and o f the latter 36.4 died o f pneumonia. Taken together, the “ grinders,” “ polish ers ” and “ cutlers ” returns show that, during this period, diseases o f the lungs were responsible for 72.73 per cent o f their mortality. As was shown in the preliminary report on this industry, the tuberculosis death rate for cutlers in Northampton is four times as high as that for the entire adult male population. A serious problem in the cutlery and tool industry is how to se cure effective ventilation, and many of the factories and workshops inspected were found to be seriously defective in this respect. A large proportion o f the workmen, including many young boys, are exposed to considerable dust, chiefly, of course, in the grinding and polishing departments. While much has been done to improve the sanitary conditions by artificial ventilation, there has been but a very languid cooperation on the part of the operatives themselves, and many, in fact, are interfering with the arrangements made for their protection to the extent o f removing the hoods and exhaust pipes installed for the purpose o f removing the dust. The United States census vital statistics do not include the mortal ity o f tool and instrument makers, and the only official statistics are 654 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. those of the state board of health o f Rhode Island. During the decade 1897 to 1906 there were recorded in Rhode Island 44 deaths of tool makers from all causes, and o f this number 9, or 20.5 per cent, were from consumption, and 5, or 11.4 percent, from other respiratory diseases. The total mortality from diseases o f the lungs and air passages was 14, or 31.9 per cent, against an expected percentage of 30.3 for all occupied males in Rhode Island. Fortunately there are more conclusive data regarding this occupation. The most valuable official statistics are those for England and Wales, published at decennial intervals in the supplements to the reports of the registrargeneral o f births, marriages, and deaths. Only two comparatively recent investigations are here referred to. The first o f these, for the three years ending with 1892, included 2,529 deaths from all causes, o f which 505, or 20 per cent, were from consumption. O f diseases o f the respiratory system other than consumption, 384 deaths were from bronchitis, 286 from pneumonia, and 78 from other diseases of this group, a total of 748, or 29.6 per cent, of the mortality from all causes. Combining the mortality from consumption and other res piratory diseases, it is found that 49.5 per cent o f the deaths o f tool and instrument makers, as previously defined, were from diseases of the lungs and air passages. The most recent English mortality statistics of tool and cutlery manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the RegistrarGeneral, in part as follow s: In the occupation as a whole the mortality at ages under 25 is below the standard for occupied and retired males; but among file makers the death rate at these ages exceeds the standard. Beyond age 25 the'mortality in the whole occupation, as well as among cutlers and file makers, considerably exceeds the standard. A t ages 45 to 65 years the death rate among cutlers is 72 per cent and that o f file makers is 84 per cent above the average. Within the main working period o f life the comparative mortality figure for the whole occupa tion is 1,315, or 31 per cent, above the standard. The mortality from lead poisoning is nine times and that from phthisis is nearly double the standard, and these workers suffer excessively from nervous, cir culatory, respiratory, and urinary diseases. On the other hand, the mortality from alcoholism and liver disease and from accident is about half the average. Among cutlers and file makers the compara tive mortality figures considerably exceed the average for the entire occupation, the figure for the former being 56 per cent above the standard for all occupied and retired males, while that for the latter is 69 per cent in excess. Indeed, these two occupations appear to be the most unhealthy in the whole group of workers in metal. It should be mentioned in this place that the occupation o f file maker is one that is specially liable to lead poisoning, the mortality figure for plumbism being no less than 56, whilst among all occupied and retired males the mortality is represented by unity. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 655 File makers experience more than twice the average mortality from nervous diseases and nearly four times the average from Bright’s disease, but cutlers experience comparatively little excess o f mortality from either o f these causes. In both industries the mortality from phthisis is enormous, the figure for cutlers being nearly three times and that for file makers more than twice the standard, and in both occupations the mortality from respiratory diseases approaches double the standard. Both these workers, however, experience a low mortality from influenza, from alcoholism and liver disease, and from accident, while among file makers the mortality from cancer is also less than normal. (a) The English occupation mortality statistics for men employed at tool, instrument, and cutlery making are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effects o f this industry on health. In the table which follows a comparison is made o f the mortality from all causes among men in this group with occupied males generally, and the re-, suit is decidedly suggestive of conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health, but in particular at ages 45 or over, when the general mortality o f this class exceeds the general average by from 8.24 to 12.26 per 1,000. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG TOOL, INSTRUMENT, AND CUTLERY M AKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for tool, instrument, and cutlery makers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................ 20 to 24 Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all less (—) occupied Rate per orthan rate males. 1,000. for all occupied males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.09 3.32 6.32 13.65 25.97 42.05 100.65 - 0.35 - 1.09 + .31 + 3.43 + 8.24 +11.04 +12.26 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. £6 75 105 134 146 136 114 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further com ment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f tool, instrument, and cutlery makers from consump tion and other respiratory diseases is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that at ages 20 or over the mortality a Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-Gen eral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, pp. lxix, lxx. 656 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. from consumption is excessive among tool, instrument, and cutlery makers, but decidedly so at ages 35 to 64, inclusive. The table further shows that the mortality from other respiratory diseases is excessive among men in this class, but decidedly so at ages 45 or over, reaching the highest rate at ages 65 or over, when the excess is 7.69 per 1,000. The two tables, derived from English experience, fully confirm the previous conclusion that the mortality o f tool, instrument, and cutlery makers is excessive when comparison is made with the normal mor tality of occupied males generally and that this excess is largely because o f a high degree o f consumption frequency, particularly at ages 25 to 64, when the excess is from 0.91 to 4.09 per 1,000. The table which follows requires no further comment and is otherwise selfexplanatory : MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RES PIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG TOOL, INSTRUMENT, AND CUTLERY M AK ERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from other diseases of the respi ratory system. Mortality from consumption. Death rate for tool, instrument, and cutlery makers. Death Age at death. rate per Greater (+) Ratio to 1,000 for or less (—) all occupied Rate per than rate rateallfor males. 1,000. for all occupied occupied males. males. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.17 1.57 2.94 5.90 7.13 5.26 1.97 -0.37 + .02 + .91 +3.16 +4.09 +3.10 + .86 31 101 145 215 235 244 177 Death rate for tool, instrument, and cutlery makers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all or less (—) occupied Rate per than rate rateallfor males. 1,000. for all occupied occupied males. males. 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.23 .56 1.14 2.01 5.40 10.42 25.46 -0.01 + .08 + .37 + . 35 +2.08 +3.88 +7.69 96 117 148 121 163 159 143 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f tool and instrument makers include 303 deaths from all causes, o f which 101, or 33.3 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f tool and instrument makers from other respiratory diseases, 25 were from pneumonia, 9 from asthma and bronchitis, and 5 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 46.3 per cent of the mortality o f tool and instrument makers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality of tool and instrument makers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods of life. While the consumption mortality o f MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 657 tool and instrument makers was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 59.3 were from consumption, against a normal expected pro portion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f tool and instrument makers in detail is set forth in the table below: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG TOOL AND INSTRU MENT M AK ERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for tool and instrument makers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of tool and in Per cent of deaths due strument m ak ers, to c o n s u m p t i o n 1897 to 1906, due to— among— Age at death. Tool and All causes. Consump tion. instrument makers. Males in registration area, 1900 to 1906. 32.5 59.3 35.3 37.5 12.5 8.3 33.3 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 40 59 68 56 32 48 303 13 35 24 21 4 4 101 The preceding observations and statistical data fully confirm the conclusion that tool and instrument makers, including under this term many similar employments, but in particular the manufacture o f cut lery inclusive o f grinding and polishing, represent a trade subject to decidedly health-injurious circumstances which are responsible for the comparatively high degree of consumption frequency disclosed by both the general vital statistics of the occupation and the observed mortality o f this class in industrial insurance experience. JEWELERS. The manufacture o f jewelry in all its branches involves a large variety o f manipulations, including the melting and refining o f small quantities o f the precious metals, and the handling, shaping, cutting, and polishing o f precious stones. An important part o f the indus try is engraving and die cutting, which, however, for the present purpose, is separately considered as a well-defined occupation, and although often included with jewelers, it is equally often included with printers and compositors. Most o f the articles made by jewelers are o f small dimensions, such as chains, rings, brooches, pins, and buckles, which require painstaking care in handling and continuous eye-straining attention in shaping and polishing. Aside from the 658 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. use o f gold and silver, many other metals and mineral substances are employed, such as jet, coral, tortoise, bone, ivory, etc. Zinc is also extensively used as an alloy and for coloring purposes. The gems require to be cut with extreme care, and the work o f the diamond polisher and lapidary constitutes, next to the gold and silver smith, important separate branches o f the trade. The manufacture o f artificial gems, made o f a paste, chiefly o f a vitreous substance pre pared from rocks and crystals or flint powder, subsequently treated with nitric acid with lead and borax as a flux, forms another im portant subdivision o f the industry. The work o f the jeweler is naturally an indoor occupation, involv ing a stooping position, much like that o f the engraver. The work shops are generally small and the ventilation is usually poor. The dust generated in the process o f hammering, cutting, shaping, grind ing, polishing, etc., is considerable, but very minute, and not easily observed. The dust accumulations are preserved and sold to refining plants, for remelting and the recovery o f precious substances. The health problem is complicated by the universal use o f blow-pipe apparatus and o f gas for heating purposes. In large factories the use o f machinery is increasing, but chiefly in connection with the manu facture o f imitation jewelry and stones. The unhygienic condition o f many jewelry workshops and the gen eral effect o f this employment on health were discussed at some length in an early treatise by Thackrah, from which is quoted the following: The jewelers’ workrooms are generally crowded, and the atmos phere consequently fouled by respiration, animal effluvia, and the smoke o f lamps, as well as by the specific exhalations o f the manu facture. Its temperature is generally raised, and in summer the heat is excessive. The labor is light, but the confinement to a leaning posture, with the head much depressed, and the elbows generally fixed to the'sides o f the trunk, for ten, fourteen, or sixteen hours a day, is irksome and injurious. Intemperance is general, and dram drinking especially prevalent. The disorders o f which jewelers principally complain are pains and soreness o f the chest, disorders o f the stomach and liver, and plethoric affections of the head. They enter the employ about 13 or 14 years o f age and are obliged to abandon it. generally at 45 to 50. (a) Thackrah continues that “ an old jeweler is seldom to be found, and leaving work, they seem to leave the world as well.” That this rather unfavorable view regarding the health conditions in the jewelers’ trade is not exaggerated is made evident by the fairly trustworthy vital statistics o f the trade. The English mortality data o f jewelers and allied occupations for the three years ending with 1902, include 2,823 deaths from all causes, o f which 598, or 21.2 per cent, were from ®Effects o f Arts, Trades, and Professions on H ealth and Longevity. ner Thackrah, London, 1832, p. 115. 0 . Tur MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 659 consumption. In addition to a high mortality from consumption there were 164 deaths from bronchitis and 247 from other respiratory diseases, a total o f 1,009 deaths, or 35.7 per cent, from diseases o f the lungs and air passages in the mortality from all causes. (a) In Rhode Island the jewelry industry has attained to very large proportions, constituting one o f the most important industries in that State. During the ten years ending with 1906 the number o f deaths o f jewelers recorded was 557 from all causes, and o f this number 173, or 31.1 per cent, were from consumption, and 51, or 9.2 per cent, from other respiratory diseases; o f the total mortality, therefore, 224 deaths, or 40.3 per cent, were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. No corresponding information is available for other States, but in Massachusetts an investigation was made in 1907 into the hygiene o f this trade under the direction o f the state board o f health, the results o f which, however, were rather inconclusive. The opinion arrived at regarding the relation o f this employment to health was a rather favorable one, it being stated that in general the appearance o f the employee “ is healthy and many who have follow ed the industry for twenty or more years speak o f the work as being entirely consistent with good health.” This favorable opinion, how ever, may be called into question in view o f the very high propor tionate m ortality from consumption among jewelers and others employed in the jewelers’ trade. In amplification o f the previous reference to the Rhode Island statistics, it may be stated that during the half century ending with 1902, 1,252 deaths o f jewelers were recorded, o f which 480, or 38.3 per cent, were from consumption. There were also 80 deaths from pneumonia, 18 from asthma and bronchitis, or a total o f 578 deaths, or 46.2 per cent, from diseases o f the lungs and air passages in the mortality from all causes. The recorded mortality o f jewelers in industrial insurance experience includes 403 deaths from all causes, o f which 113, or 28 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f jewelers from other respira tory diseases, 37 were from pneumonia, 10 from asthma and bron chitis, and 2 from other respiratory diseases. The deaths from con sumption and other respiratory diseases combined show that 40.2 per cent o f the m ortality o f jewelers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f jewel ers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mortality o f jewelers was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 25 to 34, when out o f every °T h e E nglish data include w atch and clock m akers, m akers o f scien tific instrum ents, and other m ore or less closely allied trades. F or th is reason the E nglish statistics are n ot strictly com parable w ith other data fo r jew elers and are, not, th erefore, presented here in tabu lar form . 63675— N o. 7 9 -4 )9 ----- 3 660 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. 100 deaths from all causes 59.5 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption m ortality o f jewelers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG JE W E L E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for jewelers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.]’ Deaths of jewelers, 1897 Per cent of deaths due to 1906, due to— to consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in registra Jewelers. tion All causes. Consump area, tion. 1900 to 1906 60 74 50 59 77 83 403 24 44 22 13 7 3 113 40.0 59.5 44.0 22.0 9.1 3.6 28.0 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the con clusion that jewelers as a class are subject to an excessive mortality from consumption, but in particular at ages 25 to 34, and that this excess is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circum stances connected with the employment. MANUFACTURE OF GOLD LEAF. The work o f the gold leaf beater is nearly all hand work, excepting in the operation o f the rolling machines. The trade is carried on to-day in practically the same manner as in ancient times. The weight o f the hammer used w ill average 18 pounds, which is more than that o f the hammer used by the average blacksmith. Girls, as a rule, are employed in connection with the less arduous operations and the final packing o f the gold leaves in boxes and packages. The tissue used in connection with this process is coated with red chalk, the dust o f which, o f course, enters into the atmosphere o f the rooms, usually badly ventilated. One o f the chief difficulties in connection with ventilation is the fact that the slightest draft o f air w ill carry the scrap o f gold leaf from one anvil to another and make packing operations difficult or impossible. Evidence that the fine particles o f gold enter the atmosphere is found in the fact that workmen with beards turn in less waste gold than clean-shaven workmen, and they are now required to wash themselves before leaving the shop, the water being filtered for the recovery o f the metal contained therein. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 661 Thackrah, writing in 1832, held that gold-beating must be con sidered a distinct employment, aside from the metal trade generally. Gold-beaters are about half the day engaged in beating the metal with heavy hammers and the rest in spreading the gold leaf on paper. B y this change in employment the process affords an excellent alter nation o f labor and comparative rest. In his opinion, the men were not exposed to health-injurious conditions and were generally healthy and robust. (a) It is difficult, however, to accept these conclusions in their entirety. The work o f the gold-beater is carried on in rooms the air o f which is more or less contaminated and where proper pro vision for ventilation is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The work is commenced at rather early ages and quite a considerable proportion o f young persons are employed. Whether gold dust is itself injurious has never been scientifically determined, but it is quite probable that it is less injurious than other metallic dust. There are no general vital statistics for this occupation other than the published industrial insurance mortality experience data and these are limited to only 25 deaths from all causes. O f this number 7 were from consumption and 5 from pneumonia and other respiratory diseases. F or all ages 28 per cent o f the deaths were from consump tion, and at 25 to 34 the proportionate mortality from this disease was 50 per cent. The very limited number o f observed cases does not warrant a final conclusion, but the statistical evidence would seem to confirm the view that the consumption m ortality in this occupa tion is above the average. The sanitary problems in this industry are complicated by the fact that the work is, as a rule, carried on in small shops, to which it is most difficult to apply rational principles o f factory legislation. BRASS WORKERS. Brass workers, exclusive o f brass polishers and buffers, who have been separately considered, constitute a large group o f widely diversi fied and often quite unlike employments. Brass casting, founding, and molding are arduous occupations exposing to the inhalation o f considerable quantities o f mineral dust more or less mixed with metallic ingredients. Whether brass dust, as such, is more injurious than the dust o f iron and steel, for illustration, has not been deter mined. In the evidence submitted to the Departmental Committee on Compensation for Industrial Diseases by the National Society o f Am al gamated Brass W orkers,(6) including about 7,000 members, it was a E ffects o f A rts, Trades, and P rofession s on H ealth and L ongevity, by C. T urner Thackrah, 1832, p. 48. 5 M inutes o f Evidence, D epartm ental Com m ittee on Com pensation fo r In dus tria l D iseases, 1906, p. 75 et seq. 662 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. stated that about 2,000 o f these were engaged in casting. The trade was said to be divided into pattern making, chasing, casting, finishing, burnishing, polishing, and putting together. The correspond ing classification o f the trade in the United States follow s practically similar lines. (a) O f the groups mentioned, casting and founding were considered the most injurious to health. Burnishing was held to be less injurious than polishing, but the so-called putting together was stated to be decidedly unhealthful on account o f the use o f white lead. Evidently, in so diversified a trade the degree o f dust exposure must vary widely, and at best the degree o f injury can only be measured approximately upon the basis o f more or less indefinite mortality data. The exposure o f brass workers to dust inhalation is only one o f a number o f specific factors in the trade decidedly injurious to health and life, and o f these mention may be made o f the exposure to fumes and vapors generated in the smelting processes. Brass founder’s ague is a well-defined occupation disease, the symptoms o f which are tightness o f the chest with indefinite nervous sensation, follow ed by fever and previous sweating. Zinc and other fumes in haled are the chief causes o f this ailment, and it is quite probable that the lung injury resulting from the inhalation o f fine particles o f metallic dust is a material contributory cause in brass founder’s ague. Arlidge, in summing up the views o f other authorities on brass workers’ disease, points out that— Besides brass founding, there are other departments in the brass working business that are damaging to health; and chiefly so by reason o f the dust produced. These branches are brass casting, turning, filing, and polishing. The soft nature o f brass is opposed to the development o f very fine and acuminated particles, and its weight to its rising very freely and to its diffusion in the air. Never theless, those turning and filing it show clearly, by their clothes and hair, that it is largely dispersed; the latter getting green, as happens with brass founders. The inhalation o f brass dust operates in simi lar fashion to that seen in connection with other metallic dusts, pro voking bronchial catarrh, which advances to bronchitis and ends in fibrosis. It is reported by some writers that phthisis is unusually prevalent, but no reliable statistics are available to support this statement. More recent investigations in England fully confirm these earlier conclusions. In 1894 a departmental committee was appointed by the secretary o f state to report upon the conditions o f work as affecting the health o f operatives in the manufacture o f brass and kindred amalgams. In its report, which was published in 1896, the commit tee stated as the result o f its investigation, first, that brass workers as a class were extensively liable to diseases o f the respiratory ora The num ber o f brass w orkers in the U nited States in 1900 w as 26,760, but o f th is num ber 890 w ere w om en. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 663 gans, and, second, that brass founder’s ague, so called, was found to result from the inhalation o f fumes given off by the molten brass at the time o f pouring, but in a less degree it was attributed to the contamination o f the workers’ food by the fumes, and that this danger was in proportion to the amount o f zinc used in the alloy. The subject was also reported upon in much detail in the Report o f the Chief Inspector o f Factories and W orkshops for the year 1905. From this report the follow ing suggestive extracts are m ade: Altogether some 500 brass workers were examined, and in addition to the filling in by each one o f them o f the appended form , note was made o f the height, weight, chest measurement, and strength o f grasp; the heart, lungs, gums, and teeth were, whenever practicable, examined; and the condition as to anemia, paresis, general health, and prevalence o f brass founder’s ague was determined. The result o f the replies o f 216 casters and 199 polishers and others to the question, Do you consider that your health has been in any way injured by working in brass? was that 22.7 per cent o f the casters and 11.6 per cent o f the polishers and others said they had suffered. This is perhaps the strongest evidence obtained in the inquiry that the casters are exposed to more trying conditions o f work than are other brass workers. The nature o f the injury was, as a rule, only very vaguely ex pressed; in the case o f the casters it was nearly always either “ fumes ” or “ sulphur,” and in that o f the polishers “ dust.” In one casting shop, where 19 strip casters were examined, o f whom 9 said they suffered, illness or discom fort was attributed in some cases to resin fumes in addition to those ordinarily present. Am ong the casters there were indications that the older the workers were, and also that the earlier the age o f commencement o f work, the more did they say they had suffered, facts which could not be observed in the case o f the polishers. In 8 casters (3.9 per cent) definite physical signs in the lungs were found, and similarly in 3 (1.5 per cent) o f the polishers and others. In two o f the casters these pointed to chronic phthisis, while the remainder pointed to bronchial catarrh. I am not inclined to draw any conclusions from these facts, because (1) the number o f observa tions is too small, (2) the examination in some o f the factories was carried out under great disadvantages, owing to the im possibility o f securing a quiet room, and (3) it is well known that persons who are the subjects o f disease o f the lungs in any marked degree are not likely to be found at work. Very strong evidence o f the beneficial effect o f good exhaust venti lation in connection with all kinds o f polishing operations, and indi rectly o f the lowered state o f health from the nonremoval o f the dust, was obtained at one factory. Here the opinion o f the occupier was that the installation had paid for itself over and over again in the better work which was turned out by the men, and by the im proved tone among them resulting from the absence o f the obnoxious dust. The remarks o f the polishers bore this out. One said, “ W orked for eighteen years before the fan was put in, when the dust used to 664 BULLETIN OF TH E .BUREAU OF LABOR. make him feel sick, but it is not so now.” A second said, “ I prefer this shop to any other.” A third, “ I never worked in a cleaner shop;” and a fourth. “ The fan is a great improvement.” A large amount o i fluff, sand, and lime is given off in the process o f polishing with calico mops. It is not, therefore, difficult to under stand (even although actual injury to health from it may be hard to prove) that removal o f the dust is welcomed as tending to make the work healthier. A sample o f dust taken from under a polishing bob was submitted to Doctor Thorpe, who reported: “ This sample con tains a large proportion o f fiber, the loss on ignition amounting to 37.6 per cent. The metallic portion o f the residue— copper, zinc, lead, and iron— amounts to 10.56 per cent o f the total sample. The lead present equals 0.22 per cent o f the total sample, or 2.1 per cent o f the above metallic constituents, or, excluding the iron, 2.33 per cent. M icroscopically brass dust collected from near an emery wheel showed all the appearances o f an injurious metallic dust—fine particles with irregular jagged edges.” Oliver concludes his observations regarding the hygiene o f this employment with the follow ing statement: The necessity o f personal cleanliness on the part o f workmen and o f well-ventilated workshops is apparent. Means ought to be pro vided for a ready escape o f the fumes and for the removal o f dust. The workshops ought to be cleaned at least once a year and the walls whitewashed. H ot and cold water should be provided for the men to wash in. The workmen themselves have found out by experience that milk is both a prophylactic or preventive as well as a curative agent. W hile the use o f respirators seems called for, the men can not work well in them. Women and persons under 18 years o f age are not allowed to work in the casting shop. The most recent English mortality statistics o f brass workers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the report o f the registrar-general in part, as follow s: The mortality o f these workers is somewhat below the standard at ages 15 to 20 and 25 to 35 years, but above the standard at every other age group. In the main working period o f life their compara tive mortality figure is 1,154, or 15 per cent above the average; the greatest excess o f m ortality occurring under the head o f phthisis, the figure for which disease is above the average by 45 per cent. The mortality from diseases o f the nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and urinary systems as well as from suicide is also above the average. These workers are only slightly liable to fatal influenza, and their mortality from alcoholism and liver disease is also low. They like wise suffer less than the average from fatal accident. (a) The English occupation mortality statistics for brass workers are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effects o f this indus try on health. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f a P art II, Supplem ent to the S ixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the R egistrarG eneral o f B irths, D eaths, and M arriages in E ngland and W ales, p. lx xv . MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 665 the m ortality from all causes o f men in this group with occupied males generally, and the result is quite suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health, but in par ticular at ages 35 to 64, when the general mortality o f this class exceeds the general average by from 3.17 to 5.59 per 1,000. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES OF BRASS W O R K ER S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for brass workers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu Rate per pied males. 1,000. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.22 5.13 5.86 12.79 20.90 36.60 83.78 Greater(+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied males. -0.22 + .72 - .15 +2.57 +3.17 +5.59 -4.61 91 116 98 125 118 118 95 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f brass workers from consumption and respira tory diseases other than consumption is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that at ages 20 to 64, inclusive, the mortality o f brass workers from consumption is excessive by from 0.42 to 1.79 per 1,000, the excess being greatest at ages 35 to 44. The table further shows that the mortality from respiratory diseases other than consumption is excessive among men in this class, but decidedly so at ages 55 and over, when the excess is from 1.29 to 2.88 per 1,000. The two tables derived from English experience fu lly confirm the previous conclusion that the m ortality o f brass workers is excessive when comparison is made with the normal m ortality o f occupied males generally, and that this excess is largely because o f the high degree o f consumption frequency, particularly at ages 25 to 54. The table which follow s requires no further comment, and is otherwise self-explanatory. 666 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RES PIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG BRASS W O R K E R S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years----65 years or over... Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the respiratory system. Death rate for brass workers. Death rate per Greater (+) Ratio to 1,000 for all occu Rate per or less (—) rate for than rate all occu pied males. 1,000. for all occu pied pied males. males. Death rate for brass workers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all occu Rate per or less (—) rate for pied, 1,000. than rate all occu males. for all occu pied pied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.49 2.17 2.93 4.53 4.61 2.58 .44 —0.05 4- .62 + .90 +1.79 +1.57 + .42 - .67 91 140 144 165 152 119 40 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.24 .52 .60 2.05 3.94 9.42 19.06 +0.04 - .17 + .39 + .62 +2.88 +1.29 100 108 78 123 119 144 107 The recorded mortality o f brass workers in industrial insurance ex perience includes 414 deaths from all causes, o f which 161, or 38.9 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f brass workers from respiratory diseases, other than consumption, 36 were from pneumonia, 3 from asthma and bronchitis, and 12 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and other respiratory diseases are combined, 51.2 per cent o f the mortality o f brass workers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption m ortality o f brass workers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 15 to 24, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 59.1 were from consumption, against a normal expected pro portion o f 27.8. The analysis o f the consumption m ortality o f brass workeis in detail is set forth in the follow ing table. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 667 PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG BRASS W O R K E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for brass workers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] of deaths Deaths of brass workers, Perduecent to consumption 1897 to 1906, due to— among— Age at death. Males in Brass registration All causes. Consump tion. workers. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or oyer.................................................................. Total.......................................................................... 66 112 91 58 54 33 414 39 56 41 14 11 59.1 50.0 45.1 24.1 20.4 161 38.9 27.8 31.3 2a 6 15.0 &1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data fully confirm the conclusion that brass workers as a class are subject to decidedly health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment, and resulting in a comparatively high degree o f consumption frequency and a death rate from respiratory diseases in excess o f the normal at ages 35 or over. PRINTERS. The employment o f printers differs in many essentials from most o f the other occupations considered in this discussion, since it is homogeneous and well-defined and common throughout the country. W hile in many o f the modern printing establishments the conditions favoring health and life, with special reference to ventilation and light, are probably satisfactory, in the smaller workshops the sani tary conditions, as a rule, are decidedly to the contrary, and predis pose to tuberculosis. Thackrah early called attention to the diseases o f printers, and in his opinion “ few appear to enjoy good health.” Consumption, according to this writer, was frequent, but apparently caused rather by the confinement or indoor employment than from direct injury to the respiratory organs. The trade is one which has received a considerable amount o f attention because o f its recognized unhygienic features, and, in addition to the general data upon this subject, the m ortality experience o f various typographic associations has been carefully investigated. As Oliver points out, “ Printing houses should be so constructed that free currents o f air can get to them, and not, as is so frequently the case, shut in by other buildings.” But such construction is even to-day the exception rather than the rule. Considering that, as a class, printers probably rank above the average mechanics in intelligence and earnings, it is difficult to un 668 BULLETIN OE TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. derstand why they should so persistently in the past have neglected the important problem o f workshop hygiene. The successful effort to secure to the members o f the craft in illness or old age a home in the mountain region o f the West emphasizes what could be done by concentrated effort in other and even more important directions. In the historical sketch o f the Union Printers’ Home, at Colorado Springs, it is, in fact, pointed out that the place was selected for the location o f the home prim arily because o f the special liability o f printers to all forms o f lung and throat diseases, and in explana tion o f the subsequent necessity for a hospital annex the statement is repeated that “ consumption is one o f the diseases to which the printer is especially liable.” The English vital statistics o f printers for 1890 to 1892 are quite conclusive. Out o f 2,677 deaths o f printers from all causes, 917 were from phthisis, 218 from bronchitis, 186 from pneumonia, and 50 from other diseases o f the respiratory system. In every 100 deaths from all causes there occurred, therefore, 51.2 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. In comparing the mortality rates o f printers with occupied males generally the health-injurious effects o f the occupation, at even very early ages, become very readily ap parent. A t ages 15 to 19 the rate fo r occupied males generally was 2.55 against 3.24 for printers; at 20 to 24 the rates were, respectively, 5.07 and 6.61; at 25 to 34, 7.29 and 9.10; at 35 to 44, 12.43 and 14.40; at 45 to 54, 20.66 and 21.56; at 55 to 64, 36.66 and 43.39; and finally, at ages 65 or over, 102.32 and 102.61. This comparison proves conclusively that the excess in the mortality falls very largely upon ages under 35, and at these ages more than h alf o f the mortality from all causes is from diseases o f the lungs or air passages, or pri m arily from consumption. Tatham, in commenting upon the excessive m ortality o f printers, as disclosed by an analysis o f the English m ortality data, remarks that “ like bookbinders, printers die very rapidly from phthisis, and probably for a similar reason, namely, because o f the excessively unhealthful conditions under which their work is carried on.” (a) Tatham calls attention, however, to the decline in the mortality o f printers during the course o f the last twenty years, due among other causes to the decrease in the deaths from lead poisoning, which had fallen to one-half o f the earlier figure. The frequency o f phthisis among English printers had decreased during the decade by one-sixth o f the form er rate. In the occupation m ortality statistics o f the Tw elfth Census, printers are grouped with compositors and pressmen, which is to be regretted since there are certain important differences in the disease liability o f <*D angerous Trades, p. 151. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 669 these allied employments which are sufficiently distinct to warrant separate consideration, at least in the case o f pressmen, although the number o f the latter is comparatively small. The total number o f persons included in this group in the registration States, aged 15 or over, according to the census, was 54,374, but o f this number only 818, or 1.5 per cent, had attained to the age o f 65 or over.(a) This rather surprising result is confirmed by the statistics o f the New Jersey bureau o f labor for 1891, according to which out o f 462 printers only 2 had attained to the age o f 60 or over. The census mortality statis tics o f this group o f printers, or as stated, compositors, printers, and pressmen, are o f some value though not entirely conclusive on account o f probable defects in the census enumeration. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG COMPOSITORS, PR IN T E R S, AND PRESSM EN, COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE MANUFACTURING AND MECHAN ICAL CLASS AND THE MERCANTILE AND TRADING CLASS IN THE REGISTRA TION STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] Death rate per 1,000 among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Compositors, The manufac The mercantile printers, and turing and me and trading pressmen. chanical class. class. 5.05 12.29 20.01 108.80 4.43 8.35 20.16 105.43 2.60 6.72 19.91 9a 79 According to this table the death rate o f printers at ages 15 to 24 was 5.05 per 1,000, compared with 4.43 for men in the mechanical and manufacturing class, and only 2.60 for the mercantile and trading class. A t ages 25 to 44 the rate was 12.29 for printers, but only 8.35 and 6.72, respectively, for the other two selected groups o f occu pations. A t ages 45 or over the differences in the m ortality o f printers compared with other occupations were very slight, due in all probability to the fact that on the one hand most o f those at all liable to consumption had died, and that on the other many o f the impaired in health had left the trade. In addition, there is also the factor o f a possible defect in the census enumeration. Every investigation which has been made into the m ortality rate o f printers has confirmed these startling facts o f health-injurious circumstances apparently inherent in the trade. In Ehode Island, out o f 81 deaths o f printers recorded during the ten-year period ending with 1906, 21, or 25.9 per cent, were from consumption and 15, or 18.5 per cent, from other respiratory diseases. A t the forty-sixth session o f the International Typographical Union, held at Milwaukee, W is., in 1900, a statistical summary was submitted showing that out o f 419 deaths o f printers, 192, or 45.8 per cent, had been deaths from « R eport o f the B ureau o f the Census on V ital S tatistics, 1900, p. c clx x x ii. 670 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. diseases o f the lungs or air passages, including under this term bron chitis, asthma, pulmonary consumption, pneumonia, and all other res piratory diseases. O f the 411 printers whose ages at death were known, 44, or 10.7 per cent, died at the age o f 65 or over, while the average age at death was only 41.25 years, compared with 52.2 years fo r all males aged 15 or over in the registration area o f the United States in 1900. A thorough and extended investigation into the sanitary condi tions o f the printing trade was published as part o f the report o f the New Y ork state bureau o f labor statistics in 1906, prepared by Mr. George A . Stevens, statistician. This investigation included the en tire m ortality o f the International Typographical Union for the five years ending with 1905, or 2,498 deaths, representing a mean death rate o f 12.63 per 1,000. The rate was highest among the printers o f New Y ork City, or 16.32 per 1,000, and lowest in Chicago, or 10.12 per 1,000. The average age at death for all printers was not quite 45 years. The disease most frequent and severe among compositors was found to be tuberculosis o f the lungs. The average age at death o f compositors dying from tuberculosis was only 36.33 years. Out o f 2,498 deaths from all causes, 660, or 26.4 per cent, were from tuberculosis, equivalent to an annual mean death rate o f 3.34 per 1.000. Pneumonia caused 258 deaths, or 10.3 per cent o f the deaths from all causes, equivalent to an annual mean death rate o f 1.30 per 1.000. In commenting upon the high degree o f consumption fre quency the report points out that 44scarcely any other occupation furnishes so large a quota o f victims from consumption. The domestic life o f printers is parallel to that o f other artisans in equal financial circumstances. They are fairly compensated for their labor, thus enabling them to have homes as healthful as those procured by the best-paid workmen in any community. Neither can it be said that compositors are ill nourished and therefore rendered more susceptible to the tubercle bacilli. The determining cause o f their susceptibility to the harm ful process o f the great white plague lies in a different direction—neglect o f sanitary precautions in composing rooms.” (a) O f the mortality at known ages, from all causes, 18.9 per cent were deaths at 60 years o f age or over. O f the 464 deaths in this group, 321 occurred between the ages o f 60 and 69, 122 between 70 and 79, 19 between 80 and 89,1 at age 90, and 1 at age 96. The statistical data o f the mortality rate among printers for the United States are fu lly confirmed by the corresponding statistics for German printers, which were published in a small treatise on the hygiene o f the printing trade by Doctor Lewitt, o f Berlin, in 1899. According to this authority, out o f 1,390 recorded deaths o f printers, ®R eport o f the New Y ork B ureau o f L abor S tatistics, 1906, pp. cx x i and cx x ii. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 671 798, or nearly 61 per cent, were o f diseases o f the lungs and air pas sages, including 630 deaths from consumption. O f the total number, 243 had attained to the age o f 60 or over, or 17.5 per cent o f the mor tality at known ages. The suggestions made by this writer regarding the prevention o f tuberculosis and other diseases in the printing trade are eminently practical and feasible in most o f the workshops in which printers are employed. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f printers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part as fo l low s: The death rates o f printers were above the standard for occupied and retired males at all ages up to 35 years, but above that age they were below the standard. W ithin the main working period o f life the comparative mortality figure o f printers is 994, which practi cally corresponds to the standard; they show a slightly excessive mor tality from influenza, nervous diseases, and Bright’s disease; and their m ortality from phthisis exceeds the standard by 60 per cent. On the other hand their mortality from circulatory and respiratory diseases is considerably below the average, and they appear to be sub ject to small risk from fatal accident, and to be but little addicted to alcoholism and suicide. Since 1880-1882 there has been a continuous decline in mortality from phthisis, liver disease, and accident. It is also worthy o f notice that the mortality from lead poisoning is now only one-fifth part as high as it was twenty years ago. From the other causes shown in the table the mortality in this occupation has fluctuated considerably. The English occupation mortality statistics for printers are quite conclusive o f the unfavorable effects o f this occupation on health. In the table which follows the mortality from all causes among men in this employment is compared with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health but in particular at the early ages, or 15 to 34, when the excess in mortality is from 1.62 to 0.45 per 1,000. This table is deserving o f particular consideration in that it emphasizes the health-destructive circumstances o f this em ployment at a very early period o f life. Those who survive to age 35 or over do not apparently experience a decidedly unfavorable mortality in comparison with other occupations, and in this respect the English statistics are confirmed by the United States census sta tistics previously quoted. W hile the actual excess in the m ortality o f printers at ages 20 to 24 is only 1.62 per 1,000, this excess is equivalent to nearly 50 per cent o f the normal mortality at this period o f life. 672 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG P R IN T E R S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902. BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Death rate for printers. DeatlTrate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all oc or less (—) Ratio to cupied Rate per than rate rate for all males. 1,000. for all oc occupied cupied males. males. 2.44 ai9 +0.75 131 +1.62 4.41 6.03 137 fiOl 6.46 + .45 107 10.22 10.19 - .03 100 17.73 17.76 + .03 100 - .75 31.01 30.76 99 88.39 87.61 - .78 99 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f printers from consumption and other dis eases o f the respiratory system is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that at all ages the m ortality o f printers from consumption is excessive by from 0.49 to 2.11 per 1,000. The excess is most marked at ages 35 to 44, but the difference is a material one at all ages 20 to 64 inclusive. The corresponding mortality from other respiratory diseases among printers was slightly excessive at ages un der 20 and comparatively high at ages 65 or over, but below the average at ages 20 to 64, inclusive. Apparently the employment does not predispose seriously to respiratory diseases except such as assume the pulmonary form o f true consumption o f a rapidly developing type most destructive to young printers at ages under 45. The table which follow s requires no further comment and is otherwise self-explanatory. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RES PIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG PR IN T E R S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the respiratory system. Death rate for printers. Death rate per Greater Ratio to 1,000 for or less rate for all occu Rate per (+) ( - ) than all pied occu rate for all pied 1,000. males. occupied males. males. Death rate for printers. Death rate per Greater Ratio to 1,000 for or less rate for all occu Rate per (+) (—) than pied occu rate for all allpied males. 1,000. occupied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 a 04 2.16 1.11 1.03 a 41 a65 4.85 4.27 a42 1.60 +0.49 +1.86 +1.62 +2.11 +1.23 +1.26 + .49 191 220 180 177 140 158 144 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.36 .37 .55 1.24 2.17 5.16 20.76 +0.12 - .11 - .22 - .42 -1.15 -1.38 +2.99 150 77 71 75 65 79 117 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 673 The recorded m ortality o f printers in industrial insurance experi ence was exceptionally large and representative o f the trade, includ ing 1,590 deaths from all causes, o f which 613, or 38.6 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f printers from other respira tory diseases, 169 were from pneumonia, 28 from asthma and bron chitis, and 24 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and other respiratory diseases are combined, 52.5 per cent o f the mortality o f printers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f print ers is decidedly suggestive o f a typical indoor employment, where the exposure to the inhalation o f metallic dust in minute particles is continuous and more or less unavoidable. W hile the consumption mortality o f printers was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 56.3 were from consumption against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f printers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PR IN T E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for printers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of printers, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. Males in All causes. Consump Printers. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 344 439 346 211 142 108 1,590 167 247 140 42 13 4 613 48.5 56.3 40.5 19.9 9.2 3.7 38.6 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, derived from both American and foreign sources, fully confirm the conclusions that the printing trade is subject to decidedly unfavorable circumstances more or less responsible for the comparatively high degree o f consumption frequency disclosed by both the general vital statistics o f the occu pation and the observed mortality o f this class o f labor in industrial insurance experience. COMPOSITOBS. Compositors, considered as a distinct occupation (fo r most printers are also com positors), are exposed to practically the same healthinjurious conditions as are persons engaged in the other occupations 674 BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. o f the printing business, and in addition they suffer from eye strain, which may, under given conditions, affect very seriously the disease-resisting capacity o f the system. Stereotyping might have been included here, and its enormous development as a separate branch o f the printing trade would warrant special consideration if any really authenticated observations had been made a matter o f record useful for the present purpose. In stereotyping the liability to lead poisoning is a serious factor, affecting especially the men em ployed in melting the alloy and ladling it into the forms. The same observation applies to operatives on linotype machines, but our present information regarding these employments is too indefinite to warrant the conclusion that the exposure to the risk o f plumbism increases materially the m ortality from tubercular and respiratory diseases. There are no general vital statistics o f compositors separate from those o f printers and pressmen, since in both American and foreign statistics these employments are considered as a group. In the occupation m ortality statistics o f Rhode Island out o f 12 deaths from all causes o f compositors recorded during the ten years ending with 1906, 3, or 25 per cent, were from consumption and 2 from other respiratory diseases, or a total o f 41.7 per cent o f the deaths o f compositors were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. There may be included in this brief reference an extract from a letter by Mr. J. W . Sullivan, a New York City printer, in the T ypo graphical Journal for November, 1903, and reprinted in the annual report o f the New York bureau o f labor statistics for 1906, in part as follow s: Typesetting is exhaustive work. Standing hour by hour brings on backache, and in some men varicose veins and swollen feet. Sitting on the high printing-office stools doubles the typesetter up, constrain ing his arm motions and interfering with his digestion. The lino type operator’s stool is too low, as it throws his legs into cramped positions. From the pot o f molten type metal under his machine comes a trying heat and. offensive gases. He must watch the delicate machinery lest it go wrong. The electric light thrown on his copy often sharply conflicts with the daylight. His keyboard work with wrist and fingers and his handling o f hot slugs sometimes results in numbness that threatens scrivener’s palsy. Whether typesetter or linotype operator, the com positor’s brain is active every moment dur ing the workday. Composition can never be wholly mechanical. Attention must be given to deciphering the copy, to spelling, to capi talizing, punctuating, office style, and correcting the lines as com posed. Each o f these distinct mental acts, on the whole tedious and monotonous, helps to drain the bodily forces. As the brain becomes fatigued its cells shrink. W ith every type a man sets there is a touch o f wear on the cerebral tissue itself, only to be repaired by the restorative operations o f nature— through food, rest, and sleep. The recorded m ortality o f compositors in industrial insurance ex perience affords an opportunity to separately consider this employ MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 675 ment as distinct from that o f printers. The mortality from all causes was 168, o f which 59, or 35.1 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f compositors from other respiratory diseases, 19 were from pneumonia, 1 from asthma, and 5 from less frequent re spiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 50 per cent o f the mortality o f compositors was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f compositors is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortal ity from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the con sumption m ortality was excessive at all ages under 55, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 66.7 were from consumption, against a normal expected pro portion o f 31.3. W hile at this period o f life the proportionate con sumption m ortality o f compositors was higher than the correspond ing mortality o f all printers, the proportions were somewhat less at other divisional periods o f life, and at ages 55 and over the numbers were too small for a safe conclusion. The analysis o f the consump tion mortality o f compositors in detail is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG COMPOSITORS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for compositors from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of compositors, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Composi registration All causes. Consump tion. tors. area, 1900 1 to 1906. 21 54 32 19 33 9 168 6 36 12 3 1 1 59 28.6 66.7 37.5 15.8 3.0 11.1 35.1 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, derived from in dustrial insurance experience, confirm the conclusion that compositors as a class are exceptionally liable to diseases o f the lungs, and that the degree o f consumption frequency is decidedly excessive and appar ently more so than in the printing trade as a whole. 63675— No. 79— 09------ 4 676 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. PRESSMEN. Pressmen in printing plants may be separately considered, although the inform ation regarding this occupation is rather fragmentary and inconclusive. A rlidge comments on the hygienic aspects o f the em ployment in part as follow s: Their old mode o f working has been superseded by the wonderful development o f the modern printing machine, whereby the pressman has become little else than an attendant upon it; and we see the marvelous machine in newspaper offices strike off, fold, and count the sheets by thousands in an hour. B odily strength is consequently at a discount, and the disadvantages o f the occupation limited to the heat o f the press room—caused principally by the heated cylinders o f the press, and to a greater or smaller extent, where coal gas and not electricity is used for lighting, by the gas jets. A dd to these the noise o f the machines, the standing posture, and confinement in the press room and sustained attention to their work, and there remains noth ing else calculated to injure the pressman’s health, barring circum stances within his own control. The occupation o f pressmen does not appear to have attracted the special attention o f American writers on occupation mortality, but it is safe to assume that the disease liability o f this class, and in par ticular the degree o f consumption frequency, do not materially differ from the observed m ortality o f men employed in the printing trade generally. More definite data, however, would supply a much to be desired addition to our at present very limited knowledge regarding the specific occupation m ortality o f this employment. ENGRAVERS. Engravers are not a very numerous, but a widely distributed, class o f workmen, whose occupation is sufficiently well defined to warrant separate consideration. According to the census o f 1900 there were 11,156 engravers in the United States. Engravers upon copper, steel, or other metals are subject to much the same conditions injuriously affecting health and life, and the differentiation o f the employment according to the kind o f metal worked upon is not practicable. The employment decidedly predisposes to consumption, and all the available data indicate an excessive proportion o f deaths from this disease among engravers, at least during the active working period o f life. Aside from health-injurious factors directly resulting from operations and processes inseparable from the employment, there is also the unfavorable effect o f a sedentary occupation demanding a fixed and stooping position. Arlidge has called attention to the fact that there are other accessory conditions unfavorable to health in this employment, such as the frequent use o f strong light, severe tax ing o f the eyes,(°) and the employment o f strong acids. ° F or an extended discussion o f the cause o f eye strain see B iograph ic C linics, V ol. IV , by G eorge M. G ould, M. D ., P hiladelphia, 1906, pp. 61 et seq .; also Popular Science M onthly fo r D ecem ber, 1905. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 677 Some fairly conclusive data are available regarding the mortality o f engravers, with particular reference to consumption, but as an interesting case o f extreme longevity mention may be made o f the death o f a Mr. Charles Harris at the age o f 93, who for more than half a century had been an engraver o f the American Bank Note Company. A somewhat similar case was the death o f a Mr. James P. Mayer, who, at his death at the age o f 83, was considered the oldest American steel engraver on record. These, however, are but illustrations o f exceptions and rather mark the rule o f the comparative infrequency o f extreme longevity among men in this employment. Thackrah held that “ engravers and copperplate printers present few examples o f old age,” but he may have included printers and lithographers and similar employ ments under this term. Tracy, writing with reference to more recent and American conditions, holds that engravers, in common with lapi daries and watchmakers, are very liable to phthisis. It is probably quite true, as pointed out by Sommerfeld, that the amount o f metallic or mineral dust generated in this occupation is comparatively small in quantity, but it is practically certain to be injurious in its effects just because o f the minuteness o f the particles. According to Somm erfeld’s data, 23.6 per cent o f all cases o f sickness o f engravers were diseases o f the lungs and air passages. H e suggests, among other points, as a precaution, extreme care in the physical selection o f engravers’ apprentices to eliminate those already predisposed to con sumption. He further suggests the proper ventilation o f the work shops, which in most cases is almost entirely neglected. The evidence o f such neglect is brought out by the consumption m ortality data o f this employment for the State o f Rhode Island, according to which, out o f 142 deaths o f engravers recorded during the half century ending with 1902, 45, or 31.7 per cent, were from consumption, against a normal mortality from this disease among men in all occu pations in Rhode Island o f 17.8 per cent. The recorded industrial insurance mortality experience o f engravers includes 192 deaths from all causes, o f which 67, or 34.9 per cent, were deaths from consumption. O f the mortality o f engravers from other respiratory diseases, 18 were from pneumonia, 1 from asthma, and 3 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from con sumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 46.4 per cent o f the m ortality o f engravers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption m ortality o f engravers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths 678 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. from all causes 61.7 were from consumption, against a normal ex pected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mor tality o f engravers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG ENGRAVERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for engravers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] of deaths due Deaths of engravers, Per cent co n su m p tion , 1897 to 1906, due to— to among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in registra All causes. Consump tion. Engravers. tion area, 1900 to 1906. 31 47 42 34 19 19 192 12 29 19 5 2 38.7 61.7 45.2 14.7 10.5 67 34.9 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, derived from industrial insurance experience, would seem to warrant the conclusion that engravers are subject to more or less unfavorable effects o f their employment, resulting in a decidedly high degree o f consumption frequency at early ages, but in particular at ages 15 to 44. SUM M ARY OF CONCLUSIONS REGARDING OCCUPATIONS W IT H EXPOSURE TO METALLIC DUST. Ten occupations exposed to metallic dust have been considered in detail. It is not possible in all cases to base conclusions upon iden tical data, since for a number o f occupations no official vital statistics are available. As a method o f indicating with approximate accuracy the possible effect o f health-injurious employment, use may, however, be made o f the statistics exhibiting the age distribution o f persons in this group, and when the employments for which the data are avail able are combined the number o f such persons under observation in the last census year was 219,579. O f this number only 3,544, or 1.6 per cent, had attained to an age o f 65 years or over, against a normal ex pected proportion o f 4.6 per cent. W hile it is quite probable that, to a certain extent, this small number o f persons o f advanced age in occupations exposing to metallic dust is the result o f occupation selec tion, or conditions favorable to the employment o f young persons, the result is, nevertheless, decidedly suggestive o f conditions more or less unfavorable to health and life. The details o f the age distribution MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 679 are given in the follow ing table, by divisional periods o f life, together with the corresponding percentage distribution o f all occupied males, the data for both groups being derived from the census o f 1900. NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES IN EACH AGE GROUP IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO METALLIC DUST, COMPARED WITH NUMBER AND PER CENT IN ALL OCCUPATIONS, 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. 15 to 24 years................................................................ 25 to 34 years................................................................ 35 to 44 years................................................................ 45 to 54 years................................................................ 55 to 64 years................................................................ 65 years or over............................................................ Total................................................................... Males in occupations ex posed to metallic dust. Number. 75,663 69,998 41,246 19,711 9,407 3,554 219,579 Percent. 34.4 31.9 18.8 9.0 4.3 1.6 100.0 All occupied males. Number. 5,933,720 5,993,847 4,704,682 3,250,259 1,856,181 1,063,856 22,802,545 Percent. 26.0 26.3 20.6 14.3 8.1 4.7 100.0 According to this analysis the proportion o f males aged 15 to 34 was unusually large in this group o f occupations, or 66.3 per cent, against 52.3 per cent expected. A t ages 35 to 44 the proportion was 18.8 per cent for the group under consideration, against 20.6 per cent among occupied males generally, while at ages 45 or over the per centage proportion o f males employed in occupations with exposure to metallic dust was only 14.9 per cent, against 27.1 per cent for occupied males generally. Since most o f the trades considered do not involve a very considerable amount o f muscular labor, it would seem safe to assume that the unfavorable age distribution is the result o f a high death rate, rather than because o f occupation selection, more or less favorable to the employment o f persons below the age o f 35 years. It is unfortunately not possible to present a combined summary o f the census vital statistics o f males employed in the occupations included in this group, since it is only for printers and compositors that the census data have been made public. If, however, the mortal ity statistics for printers and compositors are compared with the cor responding statistics for all occupied males, the death rates are above the average and decidedly so at ages 25 to 44. The death rate from consumption was 4.36 per 1,000, against 2.37 for all occupations, while the death rate from other respiratory diseases was slightly below the average, or 1.54 against 1.97 expected. The occupation mortality statistics o f Rhode Island are available for 8 specific occupations with exposure to metallic dust and when combined return 791 deaths from all causes, o f which 229 were from consumption and 99 from other respiratory diseases. The corre sponding percentages were 29 per cent o f deaths from consumption for 680 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. persons employed in occupations with exposure to metallic dust, against 17.8 per cent for occupied males generally in the State o f Rhode Island. The percentage o f deaths from other respiratory diseases was 12.5 per cent, which was exactly the same as for all occupied males in Rhode Island. The English vital statistics for this group o f occupations are avail able for tool and instrument makers, brass workers, and printers and compositors. When the returns for these occupations are com bined, they exhibit excessive death rates at every period o f life, as set forth in tabular form , as follow s: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES, FROM CONSUMPTION, AND FROM OTHER DIS EASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM, IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO METALLIC DUST, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENG LAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death other diseases of the re all causes among— consumption among— spiratory system. All occupied Occupations occupied Occupations exposed to Allmales. exposed to All occupied Occupations exposed to males. metallic dust. metallic dust. males. metallic dust. to 19 years........ to 24 years........ to 34 years........ to 44 years........ 54 y ea rs .......... to 64 years........ years or over... 15 20 25 35 45 t o 55 65 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.73 5.28 6.29 11.68 20.97 36.03 92.52 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.73 2.73 3.33 5.05 5.22 3.91 1.54 0.24 .4 8 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.30 .4 5 .69 1.62 3.55 7.94 22.46 The table shows that the mortality from consumption among men in occupations with exposure to metallic dust was decidedly excess ive at all ages and extremely high throughout life, while the cor responding m ortality rate from respiratory diseases other than con sumption was fairly normal and slightly below the average at ages 20 to 44. The industrial insurance m ortality statistics are available for nine occupations included in this group, returning in the aggregate 3,502 deaths from all causes, and o f this number 1,292, or 36.9 per cent, were from consumption. The deaths from other respiratory diseases numbered 469, or 13.4 per cent. The expected consumption percentage by the standard adopted for the registration area o f the United States was 14.8 per cent for consumption and 11.7 per cent for other respira tory diseases. When the m ortality from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than consumption are combined, the propor tionate number o f deaths among men in occupations with exposure to metallic dust is found to be 50.3 per cent from this group o f causes, against 26.5 per cent expected. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 681 PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO METALLIC DUST, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for occupations exposed to metallic dust from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths in occupations Per cent of deaths exposed to metallic due to consumption dust, 1897 to 1906, among— due to— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Occupa Males in tions ex registration All causes. Consump posed to area, 1900 tion. metallic to 1906. dust. 619 892 739 518 398 336 3,502 288 510 313 121 47 13 a 1,292 46.5 57.2 42.4 23.4 11.8 3.9 «36.9 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 514.8 "There were also 469 deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system, or 13.4 per cent of the deaths from all causes. »The per cent of deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system in the regis tration area was 11.7. It is evident from the foregoing observations and statistical data relating to a sufficient number o f representative employments with exposure to metallic dust, that the health-injurious effects o f such exposure are reflected in the comparatively small proportion o f per sons o f advanced years, a high general death rate, and very high specific death rates from consumption and other respiratory diseases. O CCU PATIO N S W IT H E X P O SU R E TO M IN E R A L DU ST. In the group o f occupations exposing to a continuous and consid erable inhalation o f mineral dust resulting from industrial processes, have been included for the present purpose the follow ing repre sentative employments: Stone workers, marble workers, glass blowers, glass cutters, diamond cutters, potters, cement workers, plasterers, paper hangers, molders, core makers, and lithographers. These occupations are all more or less subject to an excessive death rate from all causes, but in particular to a decided excess in the pro portionate m ortality from consumption, and in most cases also to a comparatively high degree o f frequency in the occurrence o f respira tory diseases. The details o f labor conditions as far as they could be conveniently included in the follow ing summary o f observations regarding particular trades appear to fully confirm the opinion that the degree o f excess in consumption frequency is intimately related and in almost exact proportion to the degree o f exposure to contin uous and considerable inhalation o f mineral dust. 682 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. THE STONE INDUSTRY. The stone industry in the United States is o f considerable extent and wide dispersion over practically the entire country. The number o f males o f known ages 15 or over employed as stone and marble cutters in the United States in 1900, according to the census, was 54,039, but it is quite probable that this total does not include stone polishers, sawyers, and other similar occupations peculiar to the stone industry. The health o f stone and marble cutters has, from earliest times, been held to be notoriously bad, and the hygienic importance o f this trade was recognized by Ramazzini, who, as far back as 1705, discussed the subject in an entire chapter in his work on occupation mortality, stating that “ in hewing marble or stones out o f the rock, in polishing and cutting them, they oftentimes suck in, by inspiration, the sharp, rough, and cornered small splinters or particles that fly o ff; so that they are usually troubled with a cough, and some o f them turn asthmatic and consumptive. * * * Our medical histories give many instances o f stones found in the stomach and lungs o f these workmen, for which we can assign no other material cause but the dusty particles taken in at the mouth and gradually gathered into a heap. * * * W ithal, all possible caution must be used to avoid the sucking in o f these minute particles at the mouth.” From the earliest to the most recent observers upon the health con ditions in this trade, the conclusions have been decidedly unfavorable and suggestive o f circumstances more or less possible o f material improvement. Oliver, in his treatise on Diseases o f Occupation, remarks, with special reference to stone masons: The occupation o f the stone mason and o f the quarryman has for long been regarded as one in which a higher death rate from lung disease occurs than in most occupations. The disease, which usually assumes a chronic character, is slow in its development and progress. As it is attended by the ordinary physical signs and symptoms ob served in other forms o f pneumokoniosis, the malady calls fo r no special description other than this, that in contradistinction to miners’ phthisis, which occurs in men who work underground, stone masons’ phthisis is met with in men who are working in the open air, a circumstance which becomes a strong argument in favor o f the dust origin o f pneumokonioses as against the bacillary. A fter a time the lung disease becomes tuberculous, hence the extraordinary fact o f the death rate from pulmonary tuberculosis among stone masons and marble cutters, who are follow ing an outdoor occupation, being six times that o f bankers and brokers, who are leading an indoor life. This want o f harmony between occupation and m ortality from pul monary phthisis is observed in other outdoor occupations than stone cutting. It would appear, therefore, as if the predisposing causes o f lung disease are often o f greater importance than the exciting—in other words, that the soil is o f as much, if not o f greater, influence than the seed. The irritation o f the lung caused by dust would seem MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 683 in some instances, especially in the early stages o f the disease, to create a favorable soil for the implantation o f the tubercle bacillus, while in the slowly developed forms o f pneumokoniosis the hard and unyielding fibrous tissue does not offer the same attractions to the micro-organism, and as a consequence it is in those parts o f the lung where the structure is least fibrous that the tubercle bacilli exert their greatest power for harm .(a) The remarks o f Oliver are fully sustained by the available statis tical evidence. The secretary o f the Operative Masons’ Society o f London, in his testimony before the committee on industrial diseases, produced the mortality record for Newcastle for the period 1871 to 1896, including an account o f 160 deaths o f stone masons, and o f this number 71, or 44.4 per cent, had died from phthisis, at an average age o f only 42.23 years. It was admitted, however, that conditions had improved, and more recent data resulted in a more favorable showing. Out o f 253 deaths o f stone masons reported in 1905 by the same society, 79, or 31.2 per cent, were deaths from consumption. The same witness stated that the average age at death o f those dying from phthisis during 1905 was 44 years, against 51 years for deaths from all causes. (*6) Conditions are probably somewhat different in this country, due to the more general use o f pneumatic tools, which generate considerable quantities o f fine dust, the complete prevention o f which is always difficult and often is impossible. The degree o f disease liability varies materially according to the specific occupation, and the risk is less in the case o f paving-stone cutters and slate splitters than in the case o f monument or custom work, which requires close atten tion in matters o f minute detail and which is more often carried on indoors. Surfacing and carving and cutting with pneumatic tools are the most dangerous employments, and the risk is less in polishing, grinding, sawing, and lathe work, most o f which is car ried on by the wet process. Large quantities o f dust are stirred up, however, in the brushing off and cleaning up o f the accumulated dust, and in the moving o f materials, dropping o f slabs, etc. There is, therefore, more or less dust exposure in all branches o f the stone industry, but the results o f exposure vary according to the kind o f material, which includes a large variety o f stones, chiefly, however, granite, marble, limestone, sandstone, bluestone, slate, etc. The stonecutter’s trade is one which requires both skill and arduous physical labor. The men as a rule work in the open air, and in very warm or wet weather under shelter; but all are liable to inhale the dust and small particles from the material upon which they operate. This on some kinds o f stone is much more deleterious to health than a D iseases o f O ccupation, London, 1908, p. 305. 6 M inutes o f Evidence, D epartm ental Com m ittee on Com pensation fo r Indus tria l D iseases, p. 322. 684 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. on others, the stone containing the largest proportion o f flints being much more injurious than that which has most lime in it. The re turns show that the present age o f stonecutters is three years less than that o f carpenters or masons, while the average number o f years at work exceeds that o f either by nearly one year. But this is ac counted for by reason o f the difference in the ages at which they began to work, which by 63.9 per cent o f stonecutters was under 15 years o f age; while in the other two trades mentioned it was 13.8 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively. The explanation is that in England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as in other European countries, seven years are the rule for apprenticeship o f stonecutters, and a large proportion are taken when 12 years old, and quite a number under this age. Eightythree and one-half per cent o f the total number were foreign born and but 16.5 per cent American born; and o f the latter but ninetenths o f 1 per cent began to work under 15 years o f age; while 15.4 per cent o f carpenters and 25.6 per cent o f masons began to work at their respective trades after the age o f 20 years and upward, none o f the stonecutters had reached this age. This fully accounts fo r the differences above noted. (a) In his discussion o f the hygiene o f this occupation Lloyd makes the follow ing observations: Stonecutters and quarrymen suffer in various degrees from the in halation o f dust. The extent o f the evil in their cases depends upon, first, the character o f the dust and, second, the circumstances amid which the work is pursued. The quality o f the stone has much to do with the extent o f pulmonary disease among stonecutters. Some stone is much more dusty than others. A sedimentary stone, for instance, that was formed "originally simply by the deposit o f earthy and siliceous particles under water is much more liable to give off a large quantity o f dust than is a stone that was fused in early geological ages—the igneous stones, for instance, like granite. Although the particles from these latter stones are exceedingly hard, yet there is not much true dust, only the particles actually displaced by the contact with the tool being thrown off. These probably do not carry far in the air, and are mostly too large to gain access to the alveoli as dust. This was the explanation given by Hamilton, o f Aberdeen (quoted by A rlid ge), for the fact that the masons and polishers at the Aber deen quarries do not suffer much, i f any, with industrial phthisis. A brief abstract from a special report o f the Massachusetts state board o f health on dangerous occupations, as suggestive evidence particularly applicable to American conditions at the present time, is also included here: It is preeminently a dusty trade, and the workmen are, therefore, exposed to the danger o f inhaling nonabsorbable and irritating par ticles o f mineral matter. Accidents to the eyes from flying chips are also very common, but they are generally less serious than those due to fragments o f steel from the tools employed. O f the various kinds o f stone dust, granite is regarded as more injurious than marble, and ° Fourteenth Annual R eport o f the Bureau o f S tatistics o f L abor and Indus trie s o f New Jersey, 1891, pp. 176, 177. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 685 soapstone the least o f a ll; but different granites vary in this partic ular, some yielding a much finer dust than others, on account o f d if ferences in texture. The greatest amount o f dust comes from the sur facing machines, which are operated with compressed air. The tool is either a large hammer or an instrument which presents four smaller separate faces. Sometimes a bushing hammer, made o f thin, chisel like blades bolted together, is used; this creates the finest dust o f all. The men who operate the surfacing tools rarely wear masks, but many chew tobacco and spit, in the belief that the practice serves to protect them from the effects o f the dust to which they are exposed. Some protect themselves from flying chips by means o f wire screens placed about the hammer; some wear wire masks and some wear glasses. By a union regulation, surfacing is done in the open sheds m the yard. W hile the operation o f smoothing can not be done by the wet process, on account o f clogging o f the tools with the pasty material which would thereby be produced, polishing is conducted with the applica tion o f water, which prevents the evolution o f dust. The sawing o f granite and marble into slabs is conducted ordinarily by the wet proc ess, and is therefore unattended by dust; but soapstone sawing and cutting for joints is frequently done dry, and with the evolution o f much fine dust. Turning in lathes is conducted in the wet way, and is dustless. O f 348 deaths which occurred m the city o f Quincy among stone cutters during a period o f about sixteen years, no fewer than 142 (41.4 per cent) were due to pulmonary tuberculosis, 41 (12 per cent) to other diseases o f the lungs, 44 (12.8 per cent) to diseases o f the heart, 24 (7 per cent) to violence, and 92 (26.8 per cent) to all other causes. Excluding accidents, the percentage due to tuberculosis was 44.5. These statistics show even more strikingly than those quoted in a report submitted two years ago the dangerous character o f this occupation. Therein it appears that, o f a total o f 30,000 deaths among stonecutters, tuberculosis was the cause in 28.57 per cent. It must be said, however, that the average age at death o f the victims o f the disease in this industry, so far at least as the Quincy records show, is somewhat high (47.8 years), but it is to be borne in mind that the calling is one which is not open to the naturally weak, and that many o f those who become incapacitated through injection drift into other lines o f industry in which physical strength is not so essential, and hence at death are not returned as belonging to this class. STONEWORKERS. No very satisfactory data for this country are available to deter mine with accuracy the probable degree o f difference in the healthinjurious conditions resulting from the cutting or manipulation other wise o f the different kinds o f stone, such as granite, sandstone, limestone, bluestone, slate, etc., except marble-cutters, to be sep arately considered as a well-defined branch o f the trade. The term stonecutter is, therefore, practically inclusive o f all branches o f the industry and o f all the different employments necessary in connection therewith. An observer o f conditions in the sandstone industry states that “ stonecutters who work on sandstone seldom live to be 50 years 686 BULLETIN OF TH E BUKEAU OF LABOB. o f age, and nearly all o f them die o f lung disease due to the inhala tion o f mineral dust; ” but how far this is sustained by actual experi ence in the regions where sandstone is quarried and cut can not be stated at present. A physician o f long residence in the New Bedford, Ind., limestone field, states that he has not observed very serious con sequences to result from employment in that branch o f the stone industry, but all such observations are subject to serious error in the absence o f trustworthy statistical data for a period o f years. The Vermont state board o f health has reported the mortality by occupations during the six years ending with 1905, and during that time there were 204 deaths from all causes among the granite and stone cutters and workers in that State. O f those deaths 80, or 39.2 per cent, were from consumption, and 27, or 13.2 per cent, from other respiratory diseases. O f the deaths from all causes among granite and stone cutters and workers in Vermont, 52.4 per cent was due either to consumption or to other respiratory diseases. In the State o f Rhode Island during the period 1897-1906, 125 deaths o f stone and marble cutters and workers were recorded, and o f this number 40, or 32 per cent, were from consumption, compared with the average o f 17.7 per cent for men in all occupations in that State. The census m ortality statistics for 1900 combine marble and stone cutters into one group, including 26,141 males aged 15 years or over in the registration States. O f the number stated, 659, or 2.5 per cent, had attained to 65 years o f age or over, which compares with 3.9 per cent for men in mechanical and manufacturing industries gen erally. In the mortality from all causes the death rate was compara tively low at ages under 25, but high at ages 25 or over, as shown in detail in the table follow ing. The census mortality statistics, how ever, are subject to the criticism that in all probability the facts are understated on account o f defective enumeration, and the table must, therefore, be used with caution. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MARBLE AND STONES CUTTERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE MANUFACTURING AND MECHANICAL CLASS AND THE MERCANTILE AND TRADING CLASS, IN THE REGISTRATION STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] Death rate per 1,000 among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................... The mercan Marble and The manufac and me tile and trad stone cutters. turing chanical class. ing class. 3.35 9.32 24.72 122,91 4.43 8.35 20.16 105.43 2.60 6.72 19.91 93.79 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 687 A further difficulty in connection with the vital statistics o f stone and marble cutters results from the fact that men in this trade are a very mobile element, frequently moving from one place to another in response to better trade conditions, higher wages, etc., in other fields. The most suggestive results o f the census mortality investiga tion is the extraordinary death rate from consumption, which is re turned at 5.41 per 1,000, compared with 2.62 for the mechanical and manufacturing class, and 1.66 for the mercantile and trading class. The statistics o f Rhode Island and the United States census o f 1900 confirm, therefore, the conclusion that consumption among men employed in the stone industry is o f exceptional frequency and in fact by far the most common cause o f death. For reasons unknown, the Report' o f the Registrar-General for England and Wales does not specifically consider stonecutters, but they are combined with quarrymen in stone and slate, which, o f course, precludes the utility o f the resulting averages in an effort to determine the relative degree o f consumption frequency in a welldefined specific occupation such as the stonecutter’s trade. Even when considered as a group, however, quarrymen and stonecutters combined, according to English statistics, show an excessive mortality from consumption and other respiratory diseases, but it is a matter o f regret that the data should not be separately available for men employed in the more important branches o f the stone industry. The recorded industrial insurance mortality experience o f stoneworkers includes 858 deaths from all causes, o f which 302, or 35.2 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f stoneworkers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 95 were from pneumonia, 13 from asthma, 30 from bronchitis, and 24 from less frequent respira tory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than consumption are combined, it is found that 54.1 per cent o f the mortality o f stoneworkers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excessive mortality from lung diseases among stoneworkers is therefore sustained by all o f the numerous investigations which have been made into the health conditions o f this employment. The excess in the consumption m ortality o f stone workers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 35 to 44, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 47.7 were from consumption against an expected normal proportion o f 23.6. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f stoneworkers in detail is set forth in the table follow ing. 688 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG STONEW ORKERS, 1897 TO 1906; COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for stoneworkers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of stonework- Per cent of deaths due to ers, 1897 to 1906, due consumption among— to— Age at death. Males in Stonework registration All causes. Consump tion. ers. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 21 114 172 232 199 120 858 10 60 82 91 52 7 302 47.6 52.6 47.7 39.2 26.1 5.8 35.2 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, including the industrial insurance mortality experience o f this class, fully confirm the conclusion that this occupation is to be classed as decidedly unhealthful and that the degree o f consumption frequency is materially above the normal at all ages, but that the excess is most marked at ages 35 to 44. MARBLE WORKERS. Marble workers constitute a distinctive and well-defined group o f the stone industry, which it has seemed best to consider separately, though most o f the general statistics appertaining to the occupation are included in the stone industry considered as a whole. The Am eri can marble industry is centered chiefly in Vermont, where about 60 per cent o f all the marble produced in the United States is quarried, and most o f it is cut and dressed, sawed, or polished, as the case may be, in the locality where quarried. The Vermont state board o f health has for some six years past reported the m ortality by occupations, and o f the deaths o f marble workers reported in that State, out o f a m ortality o f 42 from all causes, 5 were from consump tion and 5 from other respiratory diseases. The fact that Vermont is an otherwise exceptionally healthful State goes far to mitigate the intrinsic dangers o f the occupation resulting from continuous exposure to the inhalation o f stone dust. Bertillon, in his observations on m orbidity and mortality, refers to stonecutters and workers in marble in Switzerland as being subject to a considerable mortality, principally from phthisis, which rapidly increases with age. Under 20 years o f age, according to this author ity, it is rarer than among the mass o f the population; from 20 to 29 it equals the average, from 30 to 39 it is double, from 40 to 49 it is MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 689 triple, and from 50 to 59 it is four times the average rate o f the Swiss as a nation. He also refers to Italian statistics, which are significant on account o f the remarkable development o f the marble industry at Carrara, stating that stonecutters and pavers average fewer days o f sickness than the whole population up to 45 years, but considerably more above that age. A t Paris the workers in marble are subject to a high death rate at all ages. A very instructive descriptive account o f the machine process as generally employed in the marble industry was included in the re port on the stone industry for 1908, by Mr. W. C. Day, o f the United States,Geological Survey, from which the follow ing extract is made as emphasizing the more or less health-injurious circumstances o f employment in marble manufacture: A fter being sawed the slabs are placed on a “ rubbing bed,” which consists o f a circular cast-iron plate, from 8 to 15 feet in diameter, the older forms having a circular opening from 1 foot to 18 inches in diameter in the center. The plate is planed to a smooth surface and is mounted upon running gear so that it may revolve in a hori zontal plane. Fixed arms, usually four in number, are sustained radi ally about one-fourth o f an inch above the plate, either by an upright passing through the central opening or by a framework overhead (in the case o f the newer solid forms o f bed). The slabs o f stone to be polished are placed upon the bed in front o f the arms, and the bed is revolved slowly beneath them in such a direction as to hold them firmly against the arms. An abrading material, such as sand, some times mixed with “ chilled shot,” or crushed steel, with a constant supply o f water, is fed upon the plate. I f necessary, the stones are weighted to increase the friction. From this rubbing bed the slabs are removed to the emery bed, which is similar to the former, fine emery being used for abrasion. They are then rubbed down by hand with a fine, evenly grained sandstone, commonly called a “ Scotch hone,” with a sufficient supply o f water, and smoothed off with pum ice stone and water. The final polish is put on by rubbing the slabs upon a buffing bed, similar in form to the rubbing bed, but covered with a thick, specially prepared felt, upon which a small amount o f “ putty powder ” (oxide o f tin) is fed, to give a high gloss. The hand process consists in grinding on the rubbing bed as before, and then rubbing down by hand successively with Nova Scotia “ blue stone,” “ red stone,” “ Scotch hone,” and pumice stone, after which it is glossed with putty powder, or, in case o f cheaper “ onyxes ” and com mon marbles, with a mixture o f two parts o f oxalic acid and one part o f tin oxide. In marble cutting, as in the stone industry generally, the intro duction o f pneumatic tools operated by compressed air has brought in a new and decidedly health-injurious factor, since the amount o f dust generated by this process is very much greater than when the work is done entirely by hand with the ordinary chisel and mallet. Portable stone-dressing machines have been invented and quite widely 690 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. adopted, since in part the quality o f the work done by these machines is superior to hand work, while the productive capacity is claimed to be from eight to fifteen times as much as when the work is done entirely by hand. Exhaust air is employed to keep the stone clean at the point o f impact o f the cutting tool, but the clouds o f dust raised by this apparatus are considerable, even though the work is usually done outside o f the shed. Aside from the dust generated in either machine or hand cutting, a vast amount o f dust is produced during cleaning-up operations, and while labor organizations have, in part, provided against this risk by special regulations, the generation o f much dust is practically unavoidable under the existing methods by which the work is carried on. The United States census m ortality statistics combine marble and stone cutters, so that it is impossible to separately consider statistic ally the mortality o f this employment. As has been previously pointed out in discussing stonecutters generally, the evidence is entirely conclusive that the mortality from consumption and other respiratory diseases among this class is decidedly excessive. It is observed in the report on Vital Statistics o f the census o f 1890 (V ol. I, p. 144) that “ it w ill be seen from the preceding table that among marble and stone cutters in the United States the greatest proportion o f deaths was due to consumption, being much greater than the average proportion due to this cause in this class. The proportion o f deaths o f marble and stone cutters in the United States due to diseases o f the respiratory system was greater than the average proportion in this class.” The respective rates per 1,000 living were 3.15 for con sumption against an average o f 2.11 and 1.91 for other respiratory diseases against an average o f 1.54 among occupied males in manu facturing and mechanical industries generally. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f marble cut ters include 200 deaths from all causes, o f which 56, or 28 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f marble workers from re spiratory diseases other than consumption, 26 were from pneumonia, 7 from asthma and bronchitis, and 3 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from respiratory dis eases other than consumption are combined, 46 per cent o f the mor tality o f marble workers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f marble work ers is less than the excess in the consumption mortality o f stoneworkers generally, and this fact is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mor tality was high during the entire active working lifetim e o f marble workers, the excess in the mortality was most pronounced at 25 to MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 691 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 50 were from con sumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analy sis o f the consumption mortality o f marble-cutters in detail is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MARBLE CUT T E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGIS TRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS: [Figures for marble-cutters from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of marble cut Per cent of deaths due to ters, 1897 to 1906, consumption among— due to— Age at death. Males in Marble- registration All causes. Consump cutters. area, 1900 tion. to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................. Total........................................................................ 3 30 40 46 50 31 200 15 16 16 7 2 56 50.0 40.0 34.8 14.0 6.5 28.0 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, derived from indus trial insurance mortality experience, confirm the conclusion that the degree o f dust exposure in this occupation is about the same as among stoneworkers generally and that the degree o f consumption frequency among marble cutters is materially above the average, but decidedly so at ages 25 to 34. THE GLASS INDUSTRY. The glass industry in the United States gives employment to some 50,000 wage-earners, o f whom about 10 per cent are children under 16 years o f age. The industry is a varied one, including among others the manufacture o f blown and pressed ware, o f window glass and plate glass, and finally o f so-called crystal or cut glass, which for the present purpose is considered as a separate industry. The labor division o f the trade includes numerous and well-defined occupations, each o f which is subject to more or less injurious circumstances, but o f these the handling o f materials and the m ixing are the most liable to the risk o f continuous inhalation o f mineral dust. The most im portant employment is that o f the glass blower, but there are few accurate statistics which separate this employment from the industry as a whole. For the present purpose, however, it has seemed best, as far as practicable, to consider the mortality o f glass blowers by itself, although the medical observations subsequently to be quoted refer more or less to glass workers as a class. Changes in manufacturing processes and the introduction o f labor-saving machinery have resulted 63675—No. 79—09---- 5 692 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. in sanitary improvements, which in consequence have had a favorable effect upon the health o f glass blowers, at least in the United States, as far as the rather fragmentary statistical data can be relied upon. Among glass workers as a class, consumption is o f exceptional fre quency, in addition to which there is a comparatiyely high mortality from other respiratory diseases, lead poisoning, and heat prostration. Thackrah, writing in 1832, held that glass workers as a class were liable to catarrh and cough, but not to pleurisy and pneumonia. He commented upon the appearance o f a fine dust at the furnaces which, however, in his opinion did not produce any marked effect on the health o f the operatives. He also mentioned individual cases o f glass workers remaining at their employment at ages 70 to 80, but in the m ajority o f instances failing eyesight at ages 50 to 60 disqualified for the employment. Thackrah’s account o f this occupation was, how ever, very superficial, and some o f his conclusions were not at all in conform ity to the facts as reported by other authorities. Tracy, writ ing in 1879, held that— In the manufacture o f glass the workmen who grind and powder the siliceous material inhale great quantities o f very irritating dust, and suffer from constant hacking cough and conjunctivitis. It is rare to find a sound man among them, and they are not able to con tinue long at the work. According to H irt, they should not be allowed to labor, at a stretch, more than two or three weeks, and should then work at something else, or, at any rate, give up this occupation for at least double the working time. In this way, by the use o f relays, the health o f the men may be sustained. (a) Since the health-injurious effects o f any given industry are, to a certain extent, measured by the proportion o f those who attain to advanced ages, it is o f interest to note that out o f 47,245 glass workers in the United States o f known ages, only 392, or 0.8 per cent, had at tained to age 65 or over. The age distribution o f male glass workers in the United States, according to the census o f 1900, was as follow s: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALE GLASS W O R K ER S IN EACH AGE GROUP, COMPARED WITH NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES IN ALL OCCUPATIONS, 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. 10 to 14 years.............................................................................. 15 to 24 years............................................................................. 25 to 34 years............................................................................. 35 to 44 years............................................................................. 45 to 54 years............................................................................. 55 to 64 years............................................................................. 65 years or over......................................................................... Total................................................................................ aBuck’s Male glass workers. All occupied males. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. 2,849 17,882 13,314 7,625 3,838 1,345 392 47,245 6.0 37.9 28.2 16.1 8.1 2.9 .8 100.0 875,342 5,933,720 5,993,847 4,704,682 3,250,259 1,856,181 1,063,856 23,677,887 Hygiene and Public Health, Vol. II, pp. 36, 37. 3.7 25.1 25.3 19.9 13.7 7.8 4.5 100.0 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 693 The actual numbers, as well as percentages, o f glass workers at advanced ages is surprisingly small. It is evident that the rapid diminution o f the number at work after age 35 must be partly, at least, the result o f a high death rate at the younger ages, and in par ticular an excessive mortality from consumption, which at this period o f life causes from one-third to one-half o f the deaths from all causes. Tatham, in Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, considers this employment at some length, and his observations, based largely upon English m ortality data, are quoted in part as follow s: % The making, blowing, and engraving o f glass occupies a prom i nent place among unhealthy trades for several reasons. In the first place, the workers are exposed to extreme variations o f tempera ture—in some processes, that o f glass blowing especially, the opera tives are constantly exposed to the intense heat o f the furnace, as well as to that which radiates from the pots o f molten glass which they are engaged in blowing. The intense heat and profuse sweating naturally induce painful thirst, which the workmen evidently allay by excessive drinking; this is shown by the fact that their mortality from alcoholism and from nervous disorders is nearly double that experienced by operatives in other trades. * * * The compara tive m ortality figure for glass makers is 1,487, and is, therefore, in excess o f the average by 56 per cent. Phthisis and diseases o f the respiratory system are especially fatal to workmen in this industry, and they suffer more severely than other occupied males from dis eases o f the circulatory, digestive, and urinary systems, as well as from cancer. Since 1881 the mortality o f glass workers has in creased considerably, and this is true o f the younger as well as the older workers in this industry. The English m ortality statistics upon which these conclusions rest include 1,092 deaths o f glass workers, and o f this number 229, or 21 per cent, died from consumption. A t ages 25 to 34, however, out of 177 deaths o f glass workers from all causes, 79, or 44.6 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality from other causes, bronchitis caused 146 deaths, pneumonia 123, and other respiratory diseases 25. These combined with deaths due to consumption make a total o f 523, or 47.9 per cent, from diseases o f the lungs and air passages in the m ortality o f glass workers from all causes. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f glass manufacture are for the three years end ing with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part as follow s: In this occupation the death rates exceed the standard for occuied and retired males at all stages o f life by proportions ranging rom 12 to 32 per cent. In the main working period the comparative m ortality figure is 1,260, or 25 per cent above the standard. The ex cess o f m ortality among these workers is most marked in the case o f plumbism, phthisis, respiratory diseases, and Bright’s disease; they E 694 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. also suffer heavily from influenza and from diseases o f the nervous and circulatory systems. The mortality from alcoholism, accident, and suicide, however, is below the average. The recent English m ortality statistics for glass workers are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effect o f this industry on health. In the table which follow s the m ortality from all causes among men in this group is compared with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. The excess in the general death rate o f glass workers is met with at all ages, but the relative and actual excesses are greatest with advancing years, being 6.41 per 1,000 at ages 45 to 54, 10.83 at 55 to 64, and 30.99 at 65 or over. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG GLASS W O R K E R S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 20 25 35 45 55 65 to 19 years...................................................................... to 24 years...................................................................... to 34 years...................................................................... to 44 years...................................................................... to 54 years...................................................................... to 64 years.;.................................................................. years or over.................................................................. Death rate for glass workers. Death rate Greater(+) per 1,000 or less (—) Ratio to for all occupied Rate per than rate rate for all for all males. 1,000. occupied occupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 3.22 5.09 a 74 13.14 24.14 41.84 119.38 + 0.78 + .68 + .73 + 2.92 + 6.41 +10.83 +30.99 132 115 112 129 136 135 135 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the m ortality o f glass workers from consumption and other respiratory diseases is .compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The com parison shows that the m ortality from consumption is excessive at all ages, 15 to 64 inclusive, the excess being most marked at ages 35 to 54. The table further shows that the m ortality o f glass workers from other respiratory diseases is excessive at all ages, the excess be ing most marked at ages 45 or over. The two tables derived from English experience fully confirm the previous conclusion that the m ortality o f glass workers is excessive when comparison is made with the m ortality o f occupied males generally, and that this excess is largely because o f the high degree o f consumption frequency at MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 695 ages 25 to 54, and a high mortality from other respiratory diseases at ages 35 or over. The table which follow s requires no further com ment and is otherwise self-explanatory. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RES PIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG GLASS W O R K ER S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20to 24years. ... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the re spiratory system. Death rate for glass workers. Death rate per Greater Ratio to 1,000 for or less rate for all occu Rate (+) (—) than all occu pied per 1,000. rate for all pied males. occupied males. males. Death rate for glass workers. Death rate per Greater Ratio to 1,000 for or less all occu Rate (+) for (—) than rate all oc pied per 1,000. rate for all cupied males. occupied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.56 1.81 2.88 4.56 4.87 2.97 +0.02 + .26 + .85 +1.82 +1.83 + .81 104 117 142 166 160 138 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.28 .60 .99 2.43 5.76 10.75 28.68 + 0.04 + .12 + .22 + .77 + 2.44 + 4.21 +10.91 117 125 129 146 173 164 161 GLASS BLOWERS. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f glass blow ers include 282 deaths from all causes, o f which 85, or 30.1 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f glass blowers from re spiratory diseases other than consumption, 17 were from pneumonia, 3 from asthma and bronchitis, and 6 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 39.4 per cent o f the mortality o f glass blowers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f glass blowers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. The consumption mor tality was excessive at all ages under 55, but the numbers at ages 55 or over are too small for a safe generalization. The excess in the mortality was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 56.4 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consump tion mortality o f glass blowers in detail is set forth in the table follow ing. 696 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG GLASS BLO W ERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRA TION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for glass blowers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of glass blow Per cent of deaths ers, 1897 to 1906, due due to consumption among— to— Age at death. Males in Glass blow registration All causes. Consump tion. ers. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Total......................................................................... 24 78 59 55 26 40 282 11 44 15 11 1 3 85 45.8 56.4 25.4 20.0 3.8 7.5 30.1 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the con clusion that glass blowers as a class are subject to an excessive mor tality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. GLASS CUTTERS. Glass cutters, including under this term all who are employed in the manufacture o f crystal or so-called cut glass, constitute a separate and well-defined occupation division in glass manufacture. The most important employments are roughing, smoothing, polishing, and puttying, but o f these the last named is the most injurious, chiefly because o f a specific liability to lead poisoning. The sanitary aspects o f the employment have received the special consideration o f a British committee on dangerous trades, which, in its Third Interim Report, remarked, with special reference to the injurious effects o f putty powder in the form o f dust, that— It w ill thus be seen that all persons employed in places where “ putty pow der” is used, though themselves not handling it, are liable, through inhalation o f the dust, to illness and even death through juxtaposition with those engaged in its use. Under existing circumstances the wet powder splashes onto the clothes not only o f the polisher who uses it, but onto those o f his neighbors; it gets dry after a time, comes off in fine dust, and enters the system either by inhalation through the lungs or by swallowing or through the pores o f the skin. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 697 Am ong other recommendations for the amelioration o f the more or less health-injurious conditions inherent in this employment, the committee suggested that all persons engaged in the department o f glass cutting and powdering, where putty powder, so called, is used, should be examined once a month by the certifying surgeon for the district, who should be empowered to order temporary or permanent suspension o f work. Aside from the exposure to the inhalation o f dust containing lead or other metallic ingredients, there is a further liability to the inhala tion o f considerable quantities o f mineral dust in a large variety o f forms. It would obviously be very difficult to estimate with even approximate accuracy the degree o f lung injury resulting from dust exposure in glass cutting and polishing, but it is the opinion o f quali fied authorities that practically every branch o f the trade is more or less affected, with a resulting excess in the mortality from consump tion. Tracy comments briefly upon the health-injurious aspects o f this occupation in part as follow s: But the most dangerous work is that o f the grinders and polishers o f cut glass. About 35 per cent o f them have chronic pneumonia (phthisis), and their average age at death is variously given at from 30 to 42 years. Putegnat (de Luneville) has described a peculiar form o f gingivitis which he has observed among glass cutters, and which, he says, attacks 95 out o f every 100 workmen. It comes on in about three months after the person begins work, and toward the sixth month is well developed. It attacks by preference the upper jaw, and is accompanied by the same blue line that is found in cases o f lead poisoning. The acid secretion o f the gums destroys the enamel o f the teeth, which soon become pointed, brittle, and break off close to the alveoli, leaving a permanent stump. The gums remain soft and spongy, and the breath is very fetid. A t no time is there any pain or hemorrhage. He supposes it to be caused by malnutri tion, bad air, etc. (Tardieu). These symptoms certainly appear suspiciously like those o f lead poisoning, and the suspicion is ren dered stronger by the fact that French flint glass contains about 20 per cent o f lead, and that other symptoms o f lead poisoning are not uncommon in glass cutters, as colic, constipation, muscular pains, etc. Garrod has noticed the frequency o f gout among them, and brings it forward to support his theory o f a connection between that disease and saturnine poisoning. The grinding or etching o f glass by the sand blast fills the rooms with a dust composed o f particles o f sand and glass mingled. The business is a comparatively new one, and the workmen so far do not appear to be injured by it, with the exception o f a slight tickling cough when they first begin work. The dust is rather coarse and heavy, and I am inclined to think it does not penetrate very far into the lungs, perhaps not even getting beyond the trachea, whence it is easily expectorated. 698 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. Lloyd also considered this employment, holding that— Flint glass contains lead, being chemically a compound o f silicon (silicic acid) with an alkaline and an earthy base, the latter being represented by lead. It is this flint, or lead, glass that is used for cut glass because o f its brilliancy. The glass cutter’s m ill is a revolving disk o f wrought or cast iron on which is fed a mixture o f sand and water, with which the cutting and polishing are accomplished. In this process, which requires the artisan to bend closely over his m ill, dust and fine particles o f glass are given off. Emery and putty pow der also are used, the latter containing lead. These are the noxious agents by which these cutters and polishers o f flint glass acquire lead poisoning. There are, unfortunately, no official vital statistics o f this occupa tion, since the comparatively small group o f cutters o f crystal glass is included in the census vital statistics with glass workers generally. Cutters o f crystal glass are continuously and considerably exposed to the inhalation o f fine particles o f mineral dust, which must indeed disastrously affect the lungs o f the workmen, but in particular such as are otherwise predisposed to consumption. The suggestion o f Oliver and others that crystal glass polishers and cutters should be periodi cally medically examined for cases o f lead poisoning applies equally to the purpose o f discovering incipient cases o f tuberculosis more or less the result o f the employment^®) The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f glass cutters include 116 deaths from all causes, o f which 40, or 34.5 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f glass cutters from respiratory diseases, other than consumption, 12 were from pneumonia, 1 from asthma, and 2 from less frequent respiratory diseases. The numbers are rather small for a safe generalization, but if the deaths from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than consumption are combined 47.4 per cent o f the mortality o f glass cutters was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f glass cutters is more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease by divi sional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages under 55, the numbers being too small for definite conclu sions for older ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 46.7 were from con sumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. ®For additional references to the health-injurious circum stances in glass cutting and polishing, see the Reports o f the Chief Inspector o f F actories and W orkshops fo r 1895, Vol. I, p. 36 ; 1896, p. 25; 1899, pp. 16, 313; 1900, p. 207; 1901, Part I, p. 220. For a descriptive account o f the various m anufacturing processes, see Scientific Am erican fo r A pril 30, 1904. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 699 PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG GLASS CUTTERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for glass cutters from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of glass cut Per cent of deaths ters, 1897 to 1906, due due to consumption to— among— Age at death. Males in Glass cut registration All causes. Consump tion. ters. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Total.......................................................................... 26 30 27 20 8 5 116 7 14 11 5 1 2 40 26.9 46.7 40.7 25.0 12.5 40.0 34.5 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the conclu sion that glass cutters as a class are subject to an excessive mortality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. DIAM OND CUTTERS. Diamond cutting, although an employment o f rather limited extent in the United States, is o f interest and importance as an occu pation with exposure to mineral dust. Hand cutting is very rare and machine cutting is at the present time the general rule in the trade, as carried on under American conditions. There has been a decided improvement as the result o f the active efforts o f the Dia mond Polishers’ Union, which has a membership o f about 400 in New York City alone. The occupation has the advantage o f being well paid, at least in many individual instances, and some o f the cutters are reported to receive as much as $80 and polishers as much as $60 a week. The process o f diamond cutting and polishing consists o f two parts. A fter the stone has been cut it is taken to the polishing room, where the setter selects a suitable sized brass cup, called a dope, fills it with a mixture o f lead and tin and melts it in a gas flame. A fter working the solder to its proper shape, he places the diamond in the center, leaving only a very small part exposed. A mark is made on the solder before it becomes fairly set, and then the stone is passed on to the polisher. By the mark made on the solder the latter knows at once the exact run o f the grain and the way it w ill polish to the best advantage. The polisher uses a circular disk composed o f very 700 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. porous iron, so that as the diamond is polished away in the form o f dust it enters the pores o f the iron, the result being that diamond cuts diamond. According to H irt, the first-mentioned process is exceedingly unhealthful. The bent position o f the workman, the heat, and the dan ger o f lead poisoning all contribute to make the occupation an unhealthful one. The principal bad features o f the second process are the dust inhalation and the straining o f the eyes. W hile very little dust escapes into the air, the little, according to H irt, is very bad in its effects, as the particles are angular, sharp, and, o f course, very hard. Arlidge in his observations upon the diamond cutter’s trade re marks, however, that— From our own observation o f diamond cutting and polishing we can scarcely imagine any definite morbid result from the dust o f the gem. It is far too precious to fritter away into dust by any coarse grinding likely to give off a tangible quantity o f this substance, and we suspect that the recorded ill health o f diamond workers is chiefly attributable to accidental circumstances connected with the charcoal furnaces form erly used; to overheated and badly ventilated work shops, and to dissipated habits among the employees. So far as diamond dust may possibly be thrown off in the polishing process, so far, doubtless, would it be an irritant to the respiratory organs by reason o f the very sharp and angular character o f its atoms. The employment is divided into cutters, splitters, and polishers. In Amsterdam, the chief center o f the industry, some 9,000 persons are employed, according to a report by United States Consul H ill. The hygienic conditions o f the trade in Amsterdam, however, are apparently less satisfactory than in the United States. The princi pal factors detrimental to health result from the use o f tin and lead as an alloy, and a prize has been offered by the Dutch Government for a nonpoisonous composition, but thus far the requirements gov erning the award o f the prize appear not to have been complied with. Tracy comments upon the sanitary aspects o f the employment as follow s: In diamond cutting the amount o f dust created is small, and yet the occupation is a very injurious one. The “ setter ” prepares the diamond for the cutter by soldering it on the end o f a copper rod with an alloy o f 4 parts lead to 1 o f tin. He does this with a char coal fire, and is exposed to great heat, as well as to poisonous gases. The setters suffer from headache, tinnitus aurium, impaired diges tion, and irregularitv o f the bowels. In Coster’s factory, at Amster dam, 73^ per cent o f them were pale and emaciated, 57 per cent had palpitation, giddiness, prsecordial distress, 56 chronic headache, 36 asthma, etc. The use o f solder produces lead poisoning. Out o f 90 examined, 30 showed traces o f poisoning. In general, they are all sick men, and suffer from lung troubles. Nine per cent had phthisis. The cutters or polishers grind the gems on iron wheels covered with MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 701 diamond dust and oil. The dust inhaled by* them, though small in quantity, is enough to cause frequent chronic lung troubles. In Coster’s factory, 52per cent o f them were thin and pale, 40 per cent asthmatic, 33.75 suffered from headaches, etc. No American vital statistics o f this occupation have been published, but the occupation is evidently one which requires to be classified among unhealthy trades and in which the degree o f consumption fre quency is the result, more or less, o f the continuous and considerable inhalation o f mineral dust. POTTERS. The pottery industry includes the manufacture o f earthenware, china, and porcelain. It always has been recognized as one o f the unhealthiest o f trades, but the health-injurious effects vary widely according to particular employments. The most seriously exposed are the dippers, flint-m ill workers, ground layers, mixers, scourers, and sweepers. In all o f these employments except the first the ex posure to health-injurious mineral dust constitutes a serious menace to health. In the case o f dippers the liability to dust inhalation is modified and increased in seriousness by the risk o f lead poisoning. The degree o f dust exposure is also very serious in the case o f kilnmen, mold makers, placers, pug-m ill workers, sagger makers, and slip makers. In the aggregate the industry gives employment in the United States to about 16,000 persons, o f whom one-fifth are women. The sanitary conditions o f the trade have often been investigated, and the most recent evidence is to the effect that there have been material improvements within the last few decades. The most careful and use ful observations o f the industry were made by Arlidge, who for many years lived in the Staffordshire pottery district o f England. Before quoting A rlidge the fact may be briefly referred to that as early as 1705 Ramazzini, in commenting upon the diseases o f potters, pointed out that “ not all who go by the name o f potters are subject to the particular diseases o f the trade,” and that discrimination was neces sary in the medical treatment o f the different classes o f employees. Ramazzini made a curious observation bearing upon the question o f eye strain, which has only received qualified consideration within recent years, stating, with reference to potters, that “ those who sit at the wheel and form the vessels by turning it about with their feet are apt to have a swimming in the head if their eyes are otherwise weak.” Arlidge, in discussing the effects o f mineral dust in the manufac ture o f pottery before the Sanitary Institute in 1893, remarked at the outset that— Scarcely any other manufacture has so strong a claim upon the at tention o f sanitarians as has that o f pottery. It stands nearly at the 702 BULLETIN" OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. head o f the list o f unhealthy occupations, and exercises its pernicious effects almost wholly upon the respiratory organs, by production o f bronchitis and o f consumption. Thus it is found that while workmen engaged m other employments have a m ortality from chest diseases o f 7.86 per cent, potters exhibit one o f 12.29 per cent. Likewise with respect to phthisis—nonpotters present one o f 9.27 and potters one o f 12.90. A fter describing the various processes o f manufacture and their relation to health-injurious circumstances, A rlidge discussed the rela tion o f silica dust and its irritating effects upon the mucous membrane and epithelium o f the lungs, holding the opinion that— Clinical observation abundantly confirms this fact. F or a consid erable time the inhaled dust is arrested in its advance toward the lung tissue proper by the mucous secretion in the bronchial tubes, and by the expulsive energy o f the cilia lining o f those tubes. But at length these resistant forces weaken before the constant entry o f fresh dust, and in course o f time the noxious material passes into the lymph channels, and also along the finer bronchi, until it reaches the intimate structure and the air cells themselves. Here as a foreign substance it sets up inflammatory action; lymph cells spring up, the air vesicles become choked with inflammatory products, the tissue around them gets indurated (lung sclerosis), and useless as breathing tissue. The history o f these pathological changes is reflected in the symp toms exhibited by the sufferers. In the primary stage little incon venience is fe lt; there arises a desire to clear the throat o f some im peding mucus at the end o f the day’s work, or upon transition to the outer air from the warm shop, and especially on rising in the morn ing. This expulsive act soon develops into a cough, and relief is ob tained by the expectoration o f more or less blackish viscid mucus. Presently there is a feeling o f tightness in the chest, and the breath ing grows less free and full. As time goes on these signs o f disturbed lung function become more pronounced, and in the end the patient grows asthmatic— a victim o f potter’s asthma. Until this advanced stage o f disorder is reached, it is singular to notice how little attention and anxiety are bestowed upon the pul monary derangements. This is because the general health is, for the most part, not seriously affected, and inasmuch as while the sufferer breathes a warm air in his workshop or home, his lung trouble is felt as little more than an annoyance; or as something which is to be taken as a matter o f course, and like his wages, as an unavoidable incident o f his calling. As with chronic maladies at large, so with potter’s bronchitis and asthma; the tendency is to grow worse and the lung lesion to extend, and soon the damaged respiration reacts upon the whole fram e; the sufferer can not get proper outdoor exercise, his appetite fails, his sleep is broken, the expectoration augments and grows muco-purulent, the body wastes slowly, while the increased effort to breathe entails strain upon the heart, leading not infrequently to disease o f that or gan, with the after consequences in the shape o f dropsical effusions. W e now have before us the fully developed disease known as pot ter’s consumption or potter’s asthma. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 703 The injurious effects o f silica dust in the pottery industry are mate rially increased by minute particles o f flint, and a further factor in jurious to health is the extensive use o f plaster o f Paris, employed in the making o f molds and models. According to Arlidge, the effects o f plaster o f Paris dust, however, are not apparently as serious as the very destructive effects o f silica dust and small particles o f flint. He draws attention to the necessity o f an efficient system o f ventilation as the only means by which material improvements can be brought about. The health-injurious effects o f lead, extensively used in potteries, which do not properly fall within the present discussion, must here be passed over. It is true, o f course, that a considerable amount o f lead dust is inhaled, but the effects are rather upon the system generally than upon the lungs’. The observations o f Arlidge are so entirely sus tained by other qualified observers that it is not necessary to further enlarge upon the sanitary aspects o f this trade. The evidence, statis tical or otherwise, is conclusive that potters as a class suffer more, per haps, from phthisis and other diseases o f the lungs than employees in any other occupation, and their m ortality from bronchitis and other respiratory diseases is many times as high as the m ortality o f occupied males generally, but it has been pointed out by Tatham, in his contribution to Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, that— Potters succumb to nontubercular disease o f the lungs much more rapidly than they do to tubercular phthisis; and it is certain that much o f the so-called potter’s phthisis ought properly to be termed cirrhosis o f the lung. Deaths from this affection should never be in cluded under the head o f phthisis, which term is now restricted, by universal consent, to the tubercular malady o f that name. It is also necessary to keep in mind, in discussing the pottery in dustry, that it divides itself broadly into two principal departments— that is, first, the making o f the articles from potter’s clay, and, second, their ornamentation by painting, gilding, etc. The latter group is usually defined as decorators, and sometimes as printers, and because o f this fact many errors occur in occupation statistics as the result o f erroneous classification—not based upon the industry as such, but upon the specific title o f the employment. One o f the most health-injurious employments in the industry is that o f the brushing, or dusting off, o f the ware after it is taken from the kilns. Oliver, in discussing at length the sanitary aspects o f china and earthenware manufacture and in particular potter’s asthma and consumption, draws special attention to this process as observed in the porcelain potteries at Limoges. He states that— The brushing off or epoussetage o f the fired or biscuited ware is done both by women and men by means o f soft feather brushes. It 704 BU LLETIN OF TH E BUBEAU OF LABOB. is a very dusty operation, and where there are no fans for its removal, as in some o f the factories I visited, the air was thick with dust. The windows were open at the time, but currents o f air obtained by this means exercised no very appreciable influence upon the dust. It is not this kind o f ventilation that is required under these circumstances. In the matter o f the provision o f artificial means for the removal o f dust and the renewal o f air in the potteries o f Limoges, some o f the manufacturers seemed to me to be rather behind than in advance o f the owners o f large factories in Staffordshire. Accordingly I was not unprepared for the information that among the potters, especially the brushers off or scourers, in Limoges, the m ortality from pulmo nary consumption and chest diseases is high. The harmful operations in porcelain works are the emptying o f the kilns, the removal o f the ware from the saggers and the brushing o f this ware, while the hard dust that rises during the polishing o f the all but finished articles is equally dangerous. The polishing has fo r its object the removal o f any roughness from the edges or surfaces o f the ware, and it is gen erally done on a revolving wheel by means o f a broken piece o f china, the workman using this as a smoothing agent. The men and women employed in these operations are usually well covered with dust, yet it is seldom that they wear respirators. Fans for the removal or the dust were present in only very few o f the factories. The employees objected to them on the ground that they created a strong draft o f cold air. D octor Raymondaud, one o f the professors in the School o f Medicine, Limoges, has made a special study o f the diseases o f porcelain makers, particularly o f pulmonary consumption and chronic bronchitis. He found that the potteries furnished a larger number o f patients suffering from lung diseases than did the other trades o f the district. O f 75 deaths registered in Limoges as occur ring among china makers, 36 were due to phthisis, and o f 30 potters whom Raymondaud examined, 20 were suffering from pulmonary consumption. Pulmonary phthisis, is regarded as the principal dis ease affecting the workers in the Limoges potteries. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f potters are fo r the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part as follow s: Between the ages 20 and 35 years the m ortality o f potters falls below that o f occupied and retired males generally; at every other age, however, it shows an excess which amounts to no less than 74 per cent at ages 45 to 55 years, and to 66 per cent at ages 55* to 65 years. In the main working time o f life the comparative m ortality figure is 1,493, or 49 per cent above the standard. The principal excess falls under the head o f respiratory diseases, for which the m ortality figure is 473, or nearly thrice the standard. There is also a considerable ex cess in the m ortality from phthisis, from nervous and circulatory diseases, and from suicide. These workers are also specially liable to lead poisoning, but from accident as well as from influenza, Bright’s disease, and alcoholism their m ortality is low. In the last decennial supplement the m ortality o f potters was de scribed as enormous. From the present report, however, it w ill be seen that since 1890-1892 their mortality has declined at every stage MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 705 o f life ; and in the main working period the comparative mortality figure has fallen from 1,970 to 1,420, or by no less than 28 per cent. It is satisfactory to note that in the recent period the m ortality o f potters from plumbism has fallen to less than half its form er amount, while there has also been a substantial decline under most other head ings; the m ortality from respiratory and urinary diseases having fallen by about one-third, that from phthisis, nervous and digestive diseases by about one-fourth, and that from circulatory diseases by about one-fifth part. Potters, however, now fall victims in increased proportion to accident, and to suicide, and the m ortality from cancer nas increased by more than half. Since 1860, 61, 71 the death rates o f potters both above and below 45 years o f age have fluctuated some what, but the recent modified m ortality figure is by far the lowest on record. Since 1880-1882 there has been a continuous decline o f mor tality from phthisis, from liver disease, and from diseases o f the nervous and digestive systems. The English statistics for potters are quite conclusive o f the un favorable effects o f this industry on health. In the table which fo l lows the mortality from all causes among potters is compared with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly sugges tive o f conditions more or less unfavorable to life and health, but in particular at ages 35 or over, when the m ortality rate from all causes exceeds by from 4.30 to 29.86 per 1,000 the corresponding mor tality o f occupied males generally. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG PO TTERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate among potters. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) Ratio to for all occu less (—) rate for all per orthan pied males. Rate rate occupied 1,000. for all occu pied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.62 3.68 5.26 14.52 31.64 54.15 118.25 + 0.18 - .73 - .75 -1- 4.30 +13.91 +23.14 +29.86 107 83 88 142 178 175 134 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison, however, is made in the next table, in which the m ortality o f potters from consumption and from other diseases o f the respiratory system is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption among potters is decidedly excessive at ages 35 to 64 by 1.05 to 4.10 per 1,000. S till more marked is the excess in the m ortality from respira 706 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. tory diseases other than consumption among potters at ages 35 or over, which varies from 1.63 to 17.27 per 1,000. The table which fo l lows requires no further comment and is otherwise self-explanatory: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RES PIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG PO TTERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the res piratory system. Death rate for potters. Death rate per Greater Ratio 1,000 for or less all occu Rate per (+) ( - ) than toforrate all pied rate for all 1,000. males. occupied occupied males. mates. Death rate for potters. Death rate per Greater Ratio 1,000 for or less all occu Rate per (+) (—) than toforrate pied all rate for all 1,000. males. occupied occupied mates. mates. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 .1.11 0.62 1.34 2.00 3.79 7.14 4.37 .97 +0.08 - .21 - .03 +1.05 +4.10 +2.21 - .14 115 86 99 138 235 202 87 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.46 .58 .64 3.29 10.78 23.10 35.04 + 0.22 + .10 - .13 + 1.63 + 7.46 +16.56 +17.27 192 121 83 198 325 353 197 W ith further reference, however, to the excessive mortality from respiratory diseases among potters, which, as subsequently to be shown, is confirmed by industrial insurance mortality experience, reference may be made to the discussion o f the occurrence o f potters’ asthma, in the Report o f the Departmental Committee on Industrial Diseases. The evidence submitted to the committee disclosed a decided improvement in the disease liability o f potters to the fibroid form o f phthisis, based upon the records o f the North Staffordshire Infirmary, at Stoke-upon-Trent, covering the period 1873-1906. Upon a basis o f 10,000 patients, the number o f cases o f fibrosis o f the lungs was found to have been 145 during the six years ending with 1878, 107 during the six years ending with 1897, and only 4 during the six years ending with 1906. (a) In the opinion o f a qualified medical witness, the diminution was not the result o f a difference in the practice o f diagnosing, but a real reduction in the prevalence o f the disease. The improvement in the disease liability was attributed ta a betterment in the conditions o f work and a more effective method o f factory supervision, inspection, and control. Aside from these favorable conclusions, however, the general mor tality statistics o f this trade indicate continued unfavorable circum« Minutes o f Evidence, Departm ental Committee on Compensation fo r Indus trial Diseases, p. 60. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 707 stances, reflected in the decidedly excessive degree o f consumption frequency and a correspondingly excessive m ortality from other respiratory diseases in the more advanced years o f life. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f potters in clude 384 deaths from all causes, o f which 127 or 33.1 per cent were deaths from consumption. O f the m ortality o f potters from respira tory diseases other than consumption, 21 were deaths from pneumonia, 18 from asthma, 12 from bronchitis, and 6 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 47.9 per cent o f the m ortality o f potters was found to be from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f potters is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes, 52.9 were from consumption, against an expected normal proportion o f 31.3. The analysis in detail o f the consumption m ortality o f potters is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PO TTER S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for potters from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of potters, 1897 Per cent of deaths due to 1906, due to— to consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... All causes. 46 68 84 78 72 36 384 Males in Consump Potters. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 11 36 37 22 14 7 127 23.9 52.9 44.0 28.2 19.4 19.4 33.1 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 Since potters are liable to an excessive mortality not only from consumption, but also from respiratory diseases generally, the analy sis o f the industrial insurance m ortality experience has been extended to respiratory diseases other than consumption, and the number o f deaths from such diseases, by divisional periods o f life. 63675—No. 79—09---- 6 708 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OTHER THAN CONSUMPTION AMONG PO TTERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. ires for potters from experience of an industrial insurance company: figures for males lregistration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of potters, 1897 to 1906, due to— Ige at death. Per cent of deaths due to respiratory diseases other than consump tion among— Respiratory Males in diseases All causes. other than Potters. registration area, 1900 consump to 1906. tion. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 46 68 84 78 72 36 384 1 8 10 18 17 1 a 57 2.2 11.8 11.9 23.1 23.6 2.8 14.8 9.7 10.9 12.5 12.6 12.2 11.6 11.8 a Including 2, age unknown. W hile respiratory diseases have been grouped for purpose o f con venience, and on account o f the comparatively small number o f deaths under consideration, the returns in detail disclose the fact that it is particularly in the number o f deaths from asthma that potters experi ence a higher m ortality than occupied males generally. In summarizing these rather extended observations and statistical data, including insurance m ortality experience, the conclusion is con firmed that potters as a class are decidedly subject to a high m ortality from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than con sumption. CEMENT WORKERS. The health-injurious conditions o f cement-making processes are quite well understood, being on the one hand the dust, and on the other hand noxious vapors arising through the process o f burning. The vapors are probably more obnoxious than injurious, but the sub ject attracted sufficient attention to suggest an investigation by the Royal Commission on Noxious Vapors, in 1878. As a result o f the vapors and the dust generated during the processes, cement works, as a rule, are located outside o f large cities. The health conditions in cement works have never been fully investigated, but it appears to be the consensus o f opinion that the effects are not as serious as assumed upon the facts o f a casual inspec tion. Fatal accidents have occurred as the result o f asphyxiation by carbon-monoxide gas, but such cases are very rare. Cases o f gassing, so-called, which do not terminate fatally, are comparatively common. A rlidge considered the employment o f cement making at some length, MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 709 pointing out that the workmen are exposed to dust in an intense form , but the experience would seem to prove that the effect on health is not as serious as expected. He states that the raw materials o f cement are clay with flint and lime, and he briefly describes the process o f manufacture as follow s: A fter the materials have been well mixed and ground together in a sort o f mortar m ill to the consistency o f liquid mud, the next busi ness is to drive off the water by heat, and then to subject the dried substance in tins to a still higher temperature. Later all the cement is withdrawn and then ground between rollers to the requisite fineness. The primary m ixing and grinding, being done with a free supply o f water, exhibits no unsanitary conditions. In working the kilns the workmen suffer from great heat and dust, but the most continuous dusty work is in the m ill, the air o f which is clouded with cement. Inquiry among the workmen elicited the fact that after a while they become short o f breath and suffer cough, though not in a high degree, and that on arising in the morning they had to clear their chests by expectorating viscid mucus containing cement dust. The amount o f dust generated in cement-making processes is enormous. The workmen take practically no precaution to avoid this dust, and considerable quantities are o f necessity inhaled. It is very rare to find employees who use a respirator or even a piece o f ordinary cloth to provide some protection against the health-injurious conditions which surround them. The conditions are probably at their worst in the sacking or packing department, where such pre cautions are occasionally adopted. Every department, however, is filled with dust, and the avoidance o f its inhalation by the m ajority o f employees is under present methods practically impossible. The disease problem is complicated by a high degree o f temperature in some o f the departments, in particular at the kilns. W hile many descriptive accounts o f the industry have been published, the hygiene o f the occupation has been practically ignored. Tracy refers to it very briefly, holding that “ the workmen who make Portland cement are greatly troubled by the dust, caused by shoveling the mass into sacks after it has been burned and ground. They have a persistent cough, and expectorate little lumps o f cement. They find it im possible to continue this part o f their labor day after day, and are obliged to take intervals o f rest.” Parry, in his treatise on The Risks and Dangers o f Various Occu pations, refers to cement workers as follow s: Those engaged in the manufacture and use o f Portland cement are very liable to get the dust into their lungs. Portland cement is made from some substance containing carbonate o f lime, such as white chalk, existing in such immense quantities in this country, and some material containing silica and alumina, such as a selected clay, 710 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. or alluvial mud. These are ground together with water to a muddy consistency, which is then dried by heating in chambers. This being a wet process no dust is raised, but during the next stage, the digging out o f the cement, a great deal o f dust is created. The material raised is then calcined, ground between rollers, and finally packed in bags. In the last two operations, the grinding and packing, much dust is also scattered. The particles are o f a sharp, irritating character, and therefore dangerous. In O liver’s Dangerous Trades, the manufacture o f cement from a hygienic point o f view is briefly discussed and illustrated by a m icrophotograph o f cement dust by Migerka. Oliver’s description is as follow s: Under the microscope are seen a few sharp-edged little plates and amorphous masses like small clumps. The particles are not o f them selves so dangerous as might at first sight appear. Although cement workers suffer from pulmonary disease, they do not do so to the great extent that might be expected. Probably the harm ful effects are largely due to the hygroscopic character o f the particles and their alkaline reaction. There are no official vital statistics o f this employment for the United States or for England and Wales. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f cement workers include only 88 deaths from all causes, o f which 17, or 19.8 per cent, were deaths from consumption. O f the m ortality o f cement workers from other respiratory diseases, 5 were from pneumonia and 8 from other dis eases o f that class. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 28.4 per cent o f the mortality o f cement workers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f cement workers is more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the pro portionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG CEMENT WORK ERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRA TION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for cement workers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of cement work Per cent of deaths due ers, 1897 to 1906, due to co n su m p tio n to— among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Cement registration All causes. Consump tion. workers. area, 1900 to 1906. 10 12 19 15 19 13 88 1 3 4 6 3 10.0 25.0 21.1 40.0 15.8 17 19.3 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 711 The foregoing observations confirm the conclusion that cement makers as a class are subject to conditions more or less injurious to health, but the evidence is as yet inconclusive that these conditions predispose to an excessive mortality from consum ption.^) PLASTERERS. The building trades are all more or less exposed to the inhalation o f mineral dust, the injurious effects o f which are probably most severe in the case o f plasterers, masons, and allied occupations. This group o f occupations is not clearly defined, since many plasterers are also masons, or bricklayers, while others are whitewashes or paper hangers. The English vital statistics combine plasterers, whitewashers, and paper hangers. The health conditions in this trade were commented upon by Ramazzini, who, in the quaint language o f the day, states that “ Lime and Plaister are likewise offensive to those who bum them or handle them, or sell them,” and he continues: “ I have frequently observed that those who boil, prepare, grind, sift, or sell it, do usually labor under a difficulty o f breathing.” As a safeguard, Ramazzini points out that: “ Though such workmen have a cover for their mouth, they can not avoid receiving the flying particles at the mouth and nose, upon which these particles enter the passages o f respiration and mix with the lymph, rise up in hard, chalky concretions, or by daubing the winding passages o f the lungs intercept freedom o f breath. I found,” he observes, “ that such as continued in this business did die asthmatic and cachetik.” He refers also to a still earlier author, M or ton, who connected the inhalation o f the dust with consumption o f the lungs. He concludes his observations with the statement that: “ Care must be taken to observe the caution laid down above, with intent to guard the mouth as much as possible from receiving the offensive particles.” A ll this was written more than two hundred years ago. a H ow w idely qualified opinions differ w ith regard to the health-injurious effects o f m ineral dust derived from lime and cement is made evident by the follow in g quotation from the Journal o f the Am erican M edical Association, Decem ber 12, 1908 : Selkirk has investigated a general opinion among lim e w orkers that they are exceptionally free from bronchitis and pulmonary tuberculosis. H e w as unable to find an instance o f phthisis among them, nor could he learn on inquiry o f any w orker in lim ekilns having died from tuberculosis. H e asks whether those w ho inhale and sw allow much lim e are abnormally free from tuberculosis o f the lungs. H e discusses what is known o f the therapeutics o f calcium salts, and says it appears that the continued absorption o f calcium from the lungs and intestines m ight maintain an abnormally high percentage o f it in the blood. H e suggests that the workingman predisposed to tuberculosis m ight turn his attention to lim e and cement w orking as an occupation, and even hints at the organization o f lim e w orks as a curative tuberculosis colony. A rapid increase o f w eight is commonly observed in new workers at the W arren Cement W orks at H artlepool. 712 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. Thackrah, writing in 1832, took a more favorable view o f the em ployment, holding that bricklayers and their laborers, while particu larly exposed to lime dust, suffered from diseases o f the eye and cutaneous eruptions, but not from internal disease, and he quotes an adage common to the workmen in the trade o f the period, that “ brick layers and plasterers’ laborers, like asses, never die.” Regarding plasterers and whitewashes, who are also exposed to lime dust, he states: “ They suffer from no sensible injury,” and that “ they are more pallid and less robust than bricklayers.” Thackrah, however, did not sustain his observations by trustworthy data. In Rhode Island during the ten years ending with 1906, the number o f recorded deaths o f plasterers from all causes was 25, and o f this number 5, or 20 per cent, were from consumption, and 4, or 16 per cent, from other respiratory diseases. O f the total mortality 9, or 36 per cent, were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f plasterers and paper hangers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral, in part as follow s: Between the ages o f 35 and 65 years the death rate in this industry exceeds the standard for occupied and retired males, while at ages outside these limits the rates are below it. In the main working period o f life the comparative mortality figure is 1,018, or within 1 per cent o f the standard. The m ortality from alcoholism and liver disease, from phthisis, from respiratory diseases, and from cancer, slightly exceeds the standard, and except that these workers appear to suffer but little from influenza, the figures for other diseases agree closely with the average. The English occupation m ortality statistics for plasterers are some what impaired in value by the fact that paper hangers and whitewashers are combined with this occupation, but the statistics may safely be accepted as indicating with approximate accuracy the spe cific disease liability o f men in this employment to consumption and respiratory diseases. In the table which follow s the m ortality from all causes among men in this group is compared with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is rather suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. The excess in the general mortality is most marked at ages 35 to 64, when the death rate o f plasterers from all causes exceeds the m ortality o f occupied males generally by from 1.30 to 1.52 per 1,000. The m ortality o f plasterers, however, is below the average at ages under 35, and at 65 years or over. 713 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. , RTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG PLASTERERS, PAPER HANGERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] AND WH1TEWASHBRS, Death rate for plasterers, paper hangers, and whitewashes. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu pied males. Rate per 1,000. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 1.52 3.44 4.07 11.52 19.18 32.53 72.18 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied males. — 0.92 - .97 - 1.94 + 1.30 + 1.45 + 1.52 —16.21 62 78 68 113 108 105 82 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment, except that it confirms the view that the health-injurious effects o f this employment are not as pronounced as in many other dusty trades, but in particular such occupations as stonecutting, pot tery manufacture, glass blowing, etc. In the table which follow s the m ortality o f plasterers from consumption is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from this disease by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the m ortality from con sumption is above the normal at ages 35 or over, but it is only at ages terers is set forth in detail in the table below : MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PLASTERERS, PAPER HANGERS, AND WH1TEWASH1RS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for plasterers, paper hangers, and whitewashes. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu pied males. Rate per 1,000. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.41 1.06 1.22 3.98 3.62 4.01 1.53 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. -0.13 - .49 - .81 +1.24 + .58 +1.85 + .42 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. 76 68 60 145 119 186 138 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f plasterers include 577 deaths from all causes, o f which 136, or 23.6 per cent, were 714 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR, from consumption. O f the m ortality o f plasterers from respirator diseases other than consumption, 67 were from pneumonia, 5 from asthma, 14 from bronchitis, and 7 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respira tory diseases are combined, 39.7 per cent o f the m ortality o f plasterers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f plasterers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages under 65, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 44.9 were from consumption, against a normal expected pro portion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption m ortality o f plas terers is set forth in detail in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PLASTERERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for plasterers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of plasterers, Per cent of deaths due 1897 to 1906, due to— to consumption among— Age at death. Males in registration All causes. Consump tion. Plasterers. area, 1900to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 25 78 107 127 121 119 577 7 35 38 35 16 5 136 28.0 44.9 35.5 27.6 13.2 4.2 23.6 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, including the industrial insurance m ortality experience o f this occupation, would seem to confirm the conclusion that this employment is injurious to health, and that the degree o f consumption frequency is above the average at all ages under 65, and decidedly so at ages 25 to 34. PAPER HANGERS. Paper hangers, equally with plasterers, are exposed to a consider able risk o f mixed-dust inhalation, chiefly o f mineral origin. During the operation o f removing old wall paper from the walls a large amount o f dust is created, against which practically no precautions are taken and no effort is made to reduce the dust to a minimum. Since wall paper often, i f not as a rule, contains colored pigments more or less injurious to health and occasionally poisonous metallic MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 715 substances, such as arsenic, there is an additional risk to health from this source which occasionally has assumed serious proportions. It would seem that a rational health administration should intervene to compel a previous disinfection o f premises in which consumptives have died before the same are permitted to be redecorated by plaster ers or paper hangers. In Ehode Island during the 10 years ending with 1906 the number o f recorded deaths o f paper hangers from all causes was only 14, but o f these 3, or 21.4 per cent, were from consumption, and 3, or 21.4 per cent, from other respiratory diseases. O f the total recorded mortality 6, or 42.8 per cent, were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f paper hangers include 319 deaths from all causes, o f which 107, or 33.5 per cent, were from consumption. O f the deaths o f paper hangers from other respiratory diseases, 30 were from pneumonia and 8 from other diseases o f this class. The m ortality o f paper hangers from consump tion was excessive at ages 15 to 44, but most so at ages 35 to 44, when o f the deaths from all causes 44.6 per cent were from this disease, against a normal expected proportion o f 23.6. The follow ing table analyzes the consumption m ortality o f paper hangers: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG P A P E R H A N G E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for paper hangers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of paper hangers, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 ye a rs o r o v e r .................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Paper registration All causes. Consump tion. hangers. area, 1900 to 1906. 33 96 74 55 34 27 319 14 47 33 8 4 1 107 42.4 49.0 44.6 14.5 11.8 3.7 33.5 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 There are no official vital statistics o f paper hangers as a class separate and distinct from plasterers and similar occupations, and the only source o f accurate information regarding the degree o f consump tion frequency among men in this employment is the industrial insur ance mortality statistics, briefly referred to above. When the insurance mortality statistics o f paper hangers are com pared with those o f plasterers, the statistical evidence appears to be 716 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. conclusive that the degree o f consumption frequency among paper hangers is decidedly higher than the corresponding degree o f con sumption frequency among plasterers. W hile at all ages the propor tion o f deaths from consumption was 23.6 per cent for plasterers, it was 33.5 for paper hangers; at ages 15 to 24 the respective con sumption percentages were 28.0 for plasterers against 42.4 for paper hangers; at 25 to 34, 44.9 per cent for plasterers and 49.0 per cent for paper hangers; at 35 to 44, 35.5 per cent for plasterers against 44.6 per cent for paper hangers. A t ages 45 or over the percentages were more favorable to paper hangers than to plasterers. Summarizing the rather limited amount o f statistical information regarding the m ortality o f paper hangers, the available data would seem to warrant the conclusion that the degree o f consumption fre quency in this occupation is decidedly excessive at ages under 45 when comparison is made with occupied males generally and the occupation o f plasterers in particular. FOUNDRYMEN AND HOLDERS. Foundrymen and molders are to a very considerable degree exposed to the continuous inhalation o f both metallic and mineral dusts. W hile the proportion o f metallic dust is quantitatively small, it is probably the more injurious o f the two, although its effects are m odi fied by the relatively much larger amount o f mineral dust. The in dustry is varied, o f large extent, and widely distributed throughout the country. The conditions affecting health naturally vary, and chiefly so on account o f the metal used in casting, which may be iron, steel, brass, etc. The employments in foundry practice are chiefly those o f molders and clay mixers, o f which molders, again, are subdivided into those who work at a bench, or in the making o f small ware, and those who work on the floor or in the pits in the making o f castings o f larger size. W ithin recent years labor-saving appliances have been extensively introduced into the large foundries, chiefly in con nection with iron and steel works, but corresponding progress has not been made in the smaller establishments. The introduction o f machinery has led to the employment o f much unskilled labor o f low grade, which complicates the value o f the available m ortality re turns. It is also necessary to take into consideration the not incon siderable accident liability o f men employed in foundries, and the occasional or general exposure to extreme heat and the liability to overstrain inseparable from the liftin g o f heavy weights o f metal. An investigation into the sanitary aspects o f this employment made by the state board o f health o f Massachusetts disclosed the fact that at fourteen foundries in which castings o f all kinds were made, in seven the conditions as to light, ventilation, and dust removal were MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 717 very poor. O f nine stove foundries inspected, four presented mod erately bad and one distinctly bad conditions affecting the health o f employees. In the polishing room o f one factory, conducted under almost ideal conditions, the emery wheels were well equipped with hoods and exhaust ventilators, but the report states that “ the men, unmindful o f the protection provided, habitually remove the hoods, and become covered with emery and iron particles.” In reporting in some detail upon the establishments found to be more or less unsatisfactory as to light, ventilation, and dust removal, the report states that one shop “ employs 275 men, in low-studded, poorly lighted, unventilated buildings, in which there is no attempt to remove the dust arising from the processes o f polishing and buf fing by hoods and exhaust ventilation. In the tumbling room the dust is so thick that objects a few feet distant can not clearly be made out. Many men refuse to work in this establishment in the hot months, on account o f the excessive heat and general discom fort.” The vital statistics o f this group o f employments are not conclusive. In Ehode Island 157 deaths o f molders have been recorded during the period 1897 to 1906, and o f this number 81, or 19.7 per cent, were from consumption, 21 were from pneumonia, and 4 were from asthma and bronchitis, a total o f 35.6 per cent o f the m ortality from all causes from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. Respiratory dis eases other than consumption are shown to have been o f about the same degree o f relative frequency as consumption. The high m ortality o f foundrymen and molders from consumption observed to occur at advanced ages is decidedly suggestive. E vi dently the progress o f the disease in these occupations is slow, and often, i f not as a rule, assumes the form o f fibroid phthisis. There can be no question o f doubt that there is in these occupations an intimate connection between the continuous exposure to metallic and mineral dust inhalation and the relative frequency o f the disease. Consider ing the nature o f the dust inhaled, this is what would be expected. The dust being largely mineral, but partly metallic, the proportion o f iron dust, while quite considerable, is not so great in quantity as the iron dust inhaled by men engaged in cutlery grinding or file cut ting. No doubt many o f the dangers o f the employment could be guarded against by attention to safety devices, chiefly respirators, to be worn during the actual mold-making processes. The employment, by its very nature, however, precludes very radical methods o f dust prevention, and the most effective safeguard would be short hours o f labor and a rational use o f spare hours and vacations. There are no official vital statistics o f these occupations either for the United States or for England and Wales. The recorded in dustrial insurance m ortality statistics o f foundrymen and molders are very extensive and include 1,397 deaths from all causes, o f which 311, 718 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. or 22.3 per cent, were from consumption. O f the deaths o f foundrymen and molders from respiratory diseases other than consump tion, 14 were from asthma, 21 from bronchitis, 211 from pneumonia, and 31 from other diseases o f this class. I f the deaths from consump tion and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 42.1 per cent o f the m ortality o f foundrymen and molders was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The m ortality o f foundrymen and molders was excessive at all ages over 25, but the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths o f foundrymen from all causes, 40.4 were from consumption, against a normal expected pro portion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f foun drymen and molders in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG F O U N D R Y IREN A N D jnO L D FR S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGIS TRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for foundrymen and molders from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of foundrymen Per cent of deaths due to and molders, 1897 to consumption among— 1906, due to— Age at death. Males in Foundry- registration All causes. Consump men and area, 1900 tion. molders. to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years..................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 122 228 300 292 239 216 1,397 29 92 82 65 27 16 311 23.8 40.4 27.3 22.3 11.3 7.4 22.3 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data, derived chiefly from industrial insurance m ortality experience, seem to confirm the conclusion that this employment is more or less injurious to health, and that the degree o f consumption frequency is excessive at ages 25 or over. CORE MAKERS. Core making is an essential branch o f foundry practice. The occu pation gives employment to a considerable number o f young persons, mostly boys, but o f late years girls have been drawn into the trade, although it is held that the more arduous duties and surrounding con ditions o f the occupation are unsuited to the female sex. No qualified investigation appears to have been made into the health conditions o f this employment, but in a general way the conditions approximate those o f foundry practice in general. There is a considerable ex posure to both mineral and metallic dust, but the fact that large num bers follow this occupation for only a comparatively short time no MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 719 doubt prevents the more serious results which would follow if the exposure were continued for many years. There are no official vital statistics o f these occupations either for the United States or for England and Wales. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f core makers include 162 deaths from all causes, o f which 48, or 29.6 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f core makers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 24 were from pneumonia and 4 were from other diseases in this group. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respir atory diseases are combined, 46.9 per cent o f the m ortality o f core makers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the m ortality from consumption falls almost exclusively upon ages under 45, since comparatively few deaths have occurred at ages 45 or over. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f core makers is set forth in detail in tabular form below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG CORE M A K E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for core makers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of United States census.] Deaths of core makers, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. Males in Core mak registration All causes. Consump tion. ers. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 66 42 25 9 119 20 17 9 1 1 30.3 40.5 36.0 11.1 11.1 162 48 29.6 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 W hile statistical information regarding persons employed as core makers is very limited, the evidence is entirely conclusive that the degree o f consumption frequency in this occupation is decidedly excessive at ages 15 to 44, inclusive. LITHOGRAPHERS. Lithographers constitute an important branch o f the printing trade. In the census reports lithographers are included in the occupation statistics o f printers and pressmen, so that the actual number o f lithographers in the United States is not known. F or hygienic reasons the employment o f the lithographer requires to be considered separately from printing and engraving, since in the form er the ex posure is chiefly to mineral dust, while the latter are exposed prim arily to the inhalation o f metallic dust. Lithographic stone has 720 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. been defined as a fine, compact homogeneous limestone, practically all o f which is imported from Germany. The small amount o f litho graphic stone quarried in the United States varies in its mineral and metallic constituents from the Bavarian stone, containing nearly 7 per cent o f magnesia. No accurate observations have been made a matter o f record to determine the degree o f possible lung injury resulting in the case o f the lithographer’s occupation, but it is safe to assume that the employment requires to be included in the group o f dusty trades. This conclusion is fully sustained by a knowledge o f the technical processes which constitute the lithographic art. The sanitary conditions o f this employment received consideration by Sir John Simon in his report as medical officer o f the privy council. Simon called attention to the dust resulting from the use o f colors and pigments, against the inhalation o f which only very few o f the workmen had adopted intelligent precautions. The most pernicious o f the mineral colors employed in connection with lithogra phy were emerald green and bronze. Simon did not connect the inhalation o f this dust with the occurrence o f phthisis, but the infer ence would seem warranted that such a connection exists, at least in exceptional cases. Parry, in his treatise on Bisks and Dangers o f Various Occupa tions, confirms this earlier opinion, and holds that in lithographing green arsenical pigments are used, the poisonous dust o f which is inhaled and conveyed to the stomach. It is evident that the poisonous character o f the colors or pigments is a more serious factor than the less injurious dust o f the stone itself, but how far either form o f dust increases the liability to consumption has not been determined. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f lithographers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Keport o f the Kegistrar-General (p. lix ) in part as follow s: A t all ages except 20 to 25 and 45 to 55 the death rates among these workers exceed the standard for all occupied and retired males. These workers experience a lower m ortality than printers up to the age o f 45, but beyond that age the mortality in the two occupations differs but slightly. In the main working period o f life the compara tive mortality figure o f lithographers is 964, or 4 per cent, below the average. Their m ortality from influenza and phthisis considerably exceeds the standard, while that from respiratory diseases is below it by about an equal amount. The English m ortality statistics fo r lithographers are rather incon clusive as to a decidedly unfavorable effect o f this industry on health, and while in the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the mortality from all causes o f men in this group with occupied males generally, the death rates are, as a rule, below the average for oc cupied males generally except at ages 20 to 24 and 45 to 54, inclusive. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 721 MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES OF LITHOGRAPHERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for lithographers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+ ) Ratio to for all occu less (—) rate for all per orthan rate pied males. Rate 1,000. for all occu occupied pied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 1.55 5.36 5.62 8.41 19.94 30.84 82.25 -0.89 + .95 — .39 -1.81 +2.21 - .17 -6.14 64 122 94 82 112 99 93 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment, but a more extended comparison, however, is made in the next table, in which the m ortality o f lithographers from consumption is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from this disease, by divisional periods o f life. This table shows that the mor tality o f lithographers from consumption was above the average at all ages by from 0.23 to 2.17 per 1,000. The excess is not very marked and does not warrant decidedly unfavorable conclusions. The table which follow s requires no further comment and is otherwise selfexplanatory. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MTMOGRAJPHOBRS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Death rsa-te for lithographers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) Ratio to for all occu Rate per or less (—) rate for all pied males. 1,000. than rate occupied for all occu males. pied males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.77 2.68 2.70 3.13 4.27 4.33 1.44 +0.23 +1.13 + .67 + .39 +1.23 +2.17 + .33 143 173 133 114 140 200 130 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f lithog raphers include 160 deaths from all causes, o f which TO, or 43.8 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f lithographers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 3 were from bronchitis, 722 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. 18 from pneumonia, and 1 from another disease o f this class. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 57.5 per cent o f the mortality o f lithographers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The number o f deaths o f lithographers included in this analysis is sufficiently large to warrant a more definite conclusion than the corresponding general vital statis tics o f this occupation for England and Wales. The excess in the con sumption m ortality o f lithographers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages under 65, but decid edly so at ages 15 to 34. A t 15 to 24 the proportion o f deaths from consumption among lithographers was 56.8 per cent against a normal expected proportion o f 27.8, while at ages 25 to 34 the proportionate consumption percentage was 62.2 for lithographers against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mor tality o f lithographers is set forth in detail in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG UTHOGRAPBEBS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for lithographers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of lith o g ra Per cent of deaths duo phers, 1897 to 1906, among— to c o n s u m p t i o n due to— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total........................................, ............................... Males in Lithogra registration All causes. Consump tion. phers. area, 1900 to 1906. 37 45 29 21 18 10 160 21 28 13 5 3 56.8 62.2 44.8 23.8 16.7 70 43.8 27.8 31.3 23.8 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the con clusion that lithographers as a class are subject to an excessive mor tality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. SUM M ARY OF CONCLUSIONS REGARDING OCCUPATIONS W IT H EXPOSURE TO M IN E R AL DUST. In the foregoing observations and statistical data twelve occupa tions, involving exposure to mineral dust, have been considered, in MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 723 detail. As stated in the summary o f conclusions regarding occupa tions with exposure to metallic dust, it is not possible in all cases to base conclusions upon identical data, as official vital statistics are not available for some o f the occupations here considered. The census returns o f 1900 give the age distribution o f marble and stone cutters, glass workers, potters, plasterers, and paper hangers, the aggregate number o f such persons being 168,404. This number is exclusive o f persons under 15 and o f unknown ages. The statistics show that only 4,409, or 2.6 per cent, had attained to an age o f 65 years or over, against a normal expected proportion o f 4.7. This fact in itself is decidedly suggestive o f conditions more or less unfavorable to health and life in occupations exposing to mineral dust. The details o f the age distribution are given in the follow ing table by divisional periods o f life, together with the corresponding distribution o f all occupied males, the data fo r both groups being derived from the census o f 1900. NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES IN EACH AGE GROUP IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO MINERAL DUST, COMPARED WITH NUMBER AND PER CENT IN ALL OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. Males in occupations exposed to mineral All occupied males. dust. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. 15 to 24 years .......................................................................... 25 to 34 years............................................................................. 35 to 44 years............................................................................. 45 to 54 years............................................................................. 55 to 64 years............................................................................. 65 years or over......................................................................... Total................................................................................ 40,454 49,987 38,253 24,784 10,517 4,409 168,404 24.0 29.7 22.7 14.7 6.3 2.6 100.0 5,933,720 5,993,847 4,704,682 3,250,259 1,856,181 1,063,856 22,802,545 26.0 26.3 20.6 14.3 8.1 4.7 100.0 According to this analysis, the proportion o f persons aged 15 to 34 was 53.7, or more than half o f the total, against 52.3 expected. A t ages 35 to 44 the proportion was 22.7 for the group under considera tion, against 20.6 among occupied males generally. A t ages 45 or over the proportion o f persons employed in occupations with ex posure to mineral dust was only 23.6, against 27.1 for occupied males generally. In some o f the trades included in this group a consider able amount o f muscular labor is involved, and this is especially true o f glass blowers and certain occupations in the pottery industry. It is, doubtless, for this reason that the age distribution in this group o f employments conforms somewhat more to that o f all occupied males than was true o f the occupations in the group exposed to metallic dust. It is possible to present a combined summary o f the United States census vital statistics o f persons employed as marble and stone 63675—No. 79—09---- 7 724 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. cutters, glass workers, and plasterers. A comparison o f the death rates in these combined occupations with the corresponding death rates o f occupied males generally is very suggestive o f unfavorable health conditions in occupations exposed to mineral dust. These unfavorable health conditions manifest themselves in an increased m ortality at all ages above 25, while at ages 15 to 24 the mortality rate from all causes is slightly more favorable for the occupations in this group than for occupied males generally. The number o f deaths, however, in the earlier age groups is too small to warrant final conclusions. A t ages 25 to 44 the death rate from all causes in the occupations o f this group was 9.88, against 8.78 expected; at ages 45 to 64 the death rate in the group under consideration was 24.04, against 19.91 expected; and at ages 65 or over the rate was 106.87, against 98.44 expected. The death rate from consumption was 4.87 per 1,000, against 2.37 expected, and the death rate from other respiratory diseases was 1.99, against 1.97 expected. The details o f the m ortality by ages are given in the follow ing table, together with the corresponding death rates for all occupied males, the data for both groups being derived from the census o f 1900: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALES IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO MINERAL OUST IN THE REGISTRATION STATES, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN THOSE STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] Males in occupations exposed to mineral dust. Age. 15 to 24 years......................................... 25 to 44 years.......................................... 45 to 64 years.......................................... 65 years or over...................................... Total............................................. All occupied males. Number per Number ofNumber Rate per Number of deaths Ratefrom deaths 1,000 from employed. from all 1,000 employed. from all all causes. all causes. causes. causes. 8,724 24,506 9,899 1,179 44,308 39 242 238 126 645 4.47 9.88 24.04 106.87 a 14.56 1,259,471 2,680,241 1,282,259 283,310 5,505,281 6,486 23,541 25,532 27,888 83,447 5.15 8.78 19.91 98.44 b 15.16 «From consumption there were 216 deaths, or a rate of 4 .8 7 ; from other diseases of the respiratory system there were 88 deaths, or a rate of 1.99. »The rate of mortality from consumption was 2 .3 7 ; from other diseases of the respiratory system 1.97. The occupation m ortality statistics o f Rhode Island are available for four specific occupations o f this group and when combined re turn 321 deaths from all causes, o f which 79 were from consumption and 53 from respiratory diseases other than consumption. The corresponding percentages were 24.6 o f deaths from consumption for persons employed in occupations with exposure to mineral dust, against 17.8 for occupied males generally in the State o f Rhode Island. The percentage o f deaths from respiratory diseases other MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 725 than consumption was 16.5 for the occupations in this group, against 12.5 expected. The English vital statistics for this group o f occupations are available for glass workers, potters, paper hangers and plasterers, and lithographers. When the returns for these occupations are com bined they exhibit excessive death rates at all ages over 35. The details in tabular form are set forth in the follow ing table: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES, FROM CONSUMPTION, AND FROM OTHER RESPIRATORY DISEASES IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO MINERAL OUST, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. rate per 1.000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death other diseases of the respir consumption among— all causes among— atory system among— Occupations occupied Occupations All occupied Occupations exposed to Allmales. exposed to All occupied exposed to males. mineral mineral dust. males. mineral dust. dust. 15 to 19 years......... 20 to 24 years......... 25 to 34 years......... 35 to 44 years......... 45 to 54 years......... 55 to 64 years......... 65 years or over... 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.35 4.02 5.24 12.46 23.74 40.23 92.60 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.55 1.44 2.01 3.96 4.91 3.94 1.13 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.27 .50 .78 2.12 6.05 12.86 24.50 The table shows that the mortality from consumption among men in occupations with exposure to mineral dust was decidedly excessive at ages 35 to 64, and the m ortality at the other ages was not appre ciably lower than for occupied males generally. The m ortality from respiratory diseases other than consumption was* normal in this group o f employments at ages 15 to 34, but at ages 35 or over the m ortality was considerably in excess o f that for all occupied males. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics are available fo r 11 occupations included in this group, returning in the aggregate 4,543 deaths from all causes. O f this number 1,299, or 28.6 per cent, were from consumption. The deaths from other respiratory diseases numbered 762, or 16.8 per cent. The expected consumption m ortality on the basis o f the m ortality among males in the registration area o f the United States for the seven-year period 1900 to 1906 was 14.8 per cent, and from respiratory diseases other than consumption 11.7 per cent. When the m ortality from consumption and from other respira tory diseases is combined, the proportionate number o f deaths among males in occupations with exposure to mineral dust was 45.4 against 26.5 per cent expected. 726 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSE® TO MINERAL DUST, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for occupations exposed to mineral dust from experience of an industrial insur ance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statis tics of the United States census.] Deaths in occupations exposed to mineral Per cent of deaths due dust, 1897 to 1906, to consumption in— due to— Age at death. All causes. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years..................................................... „.............. 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 413 821 936 950 795 628 4,543 Occupa Males in ex registra Consump tions posed to tion area tion. mineral 1900 to 1906. dust. 131 391 340 265 129 43 ol,299 31.7 47.6 36.3 27.9 16.2 6.8 o28.6 27.8 31.3 2a 6 15.0 8.1 2.7 6 14,8 • There were also 762 deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system, or 16.8 per cent of the deaths from all causes. 6 The per cent of deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system in the regis tration area was 11.7. It is evident from the foregoing observations and statistical data relating to a representative number o f employments with exposure to mineral dust that the health-injurious effects o f such exposure reveal themselves in a high general death rate, especially at ages 35 or over, and with correspondingly high specific death rates from con sumption and from other respiratory diseases at ages 35 or over, by which time the dust inhaled has begun to show its fatal effect. O CCU PATIO N S W IT H E X P O SU R E TO V E G E T A B L E F IB E R DUST. In the group o f occupations exposing to a continuous and consid erable inhalation o f vegetable fiber dust resulting from industrial processes the follow ing representative employments have for the present purpose been included: Cotton ginning, cotton textile man ufacture, spinning, weaving, hosiery and knitting mills, lace mak ing, flax and linen manufacture, hemp and cordage manufacture, manufacture o f jute and jute goods, paper manufacture, cabinetmak ing, wood turning and carving. These occupations are all more or less subject to an excessive death rate from all causes, but in particular to a decided excess in the proportionate m ortality from consumption, and in most cases also to a comparatively high degree o f frequency in the occurrence o f other respiratory diseases. The details o f labor conditions as far as they could be conveniently included in the follow ing summary o f observations regarding particular trades appear to fully confirm the opinion that the degree o f excess in consumption fre MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 727 quency is intimately related and in almost exact proportions to the degree o f exposure to continuous and considerable inhalation o f vege table fiber dust. COTTON GINNING. Cotton ginning is the most important preliminary process in cot ton manufacture, and is carried on extensively as a separate industry throughout the Southern States. The process consists o f “ stripping the fiber o f cotton from the seed” by a most ingenious mechanical device, the best known o f which is the so-called McCarthy machine, in common use throughout the United States. (a) An improvement, however, has been perfected, known as the so-called “ saw gin,” which has the decided advantage o f a material increase in producing capac ity. The object being to secure the largest amount o f lint, or clean cotton, it is remarkable that from every ton o f raw cotton only about 600 pounds reach the spinner. The amount o f dust and dirt gener ated in the ginning process is, o f necessity, very large, and the em ployment is, without question, decidedly detrimental to health. It is mitigated by the fortunate circumstance that it is carried on, as a rule, only for a portion o f the year, and largely because o f this fact the health conditions o f the occupation have not attracted so much attention as would otherwise have been the case. The enormous extent o f the cotton-ginning industry is measured by the number o f bales o f cotton ginned during 1904, when the crop attained to 13,500,000 bales which, at 500 pounds each, represent 6,750,000,000 pounds o f cotton passing through the gins. Most o f the cotton is short staple, only about 1 per cent being Sea Island or long staple variety. The gins are either public or private establishments or merchant gins, all o f which, however, have the essential features in common. They are now practically all run by steam power, the for mer use o f horse or water power having almost disappeared. A ginnery includes three departments; that is, the ginhouse proper, the lint room, and the cotton compress, or screw, as it is usually known. In an early description o f the conditions in the lint room, as a part o f the United States census report on cotton manufacture for 1880, it was stated that— The lint room varies in size from one-third to the fu ll length o f the end o f the ginhouse to which it is attached. The lint cotton is thrown by the brush cylinder o f the gin through a flue into this room. Strange to say, the lint rooms are not brushed or swept out from one season to another, or from one decade to another, for that matter. The dirt may accumulate an inch in depth on the floors and walls, but no broom is ever carried into this room from year to year.(*6) 0 F or an instructive and valuable descriptive account, see the Scientific Am eri can Supplement fo r A pril 1, 1905. See also Census Bulletin No. 97, on Supply and D istribution o f Cotton, fo r the year ending August 31, 1908. 6 R eport o f the Tenth Census, Vol. II, p. 945. 728 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The ginning process itself is well described in an account o f the so-called Gullett cotton-ginning system, which is in general use throughout the Southern States: The seed cotton is elevated by suction from the wagon or storage house, and deposited in feeders over each gin. These machines feed it uniform ly into the roll boxes o f gins, where the lint is separated from the seed. The lint is then blown by the draft from the brush through the flue system into the condenser, which forms it into a bat and deposits it direct in the press, where it is packed by the steam packer and baled, the dust from the condenser passing out through the roof by means o f the dust flues. The seed falls from the roll boxes o f gins into a screw conveyor underneath, through hoppers at each gins, however, the earlier conditions still prevail, and the dust nuis ance during the ginning process constitutes a serious menace to the health o f the employees. The claims for this system are economy o f time and labor and the material reduction o f the dust nuisance. In the large m ajority o f gins, however, the earlier conditions still prevail, and the dust nuisance during the ginning process constitutes a serious menace to the health o f the employees. The hygienic aspects o f the sanitary problems in cotton ginning were early commented upon by Daniel Drake, M. D., in his treatise on the Principal Diseases o f the Interior Valley o f North America, where, in considering the miscellaneous causes o f pulmonary inflam mation, with special reference to the Southern States, he comments upon cotton fuzz and its effects upon the respiratory organs, referring in particular to employment in cotton gins. According to Drake— The gin is a machine o f rapid motion for eliminating the seed from cotton. It throws an immense amount o f broken fibers or fuzz into the atmosphere, which are o f necessity taken into the lungs o f those who conduct the operation, who are generally Negroes. The period o f ginning does not last very long, nor are a great number o f operatives necessary to the management o f a gin. When traveling in the South, I learned that proprietors do what they can to promote ventilation, avoid their ginhouses, and avoid em ploying men who are predisposed to pulmonary disease, and often change them, so that no one shall inhale the fuzz very long. These precautions indicate, as the public opinion, that it may do harm, as indeed it undoubtedly does, but to a less extent than might perhaps be expected. («) The observations o f Drake as to the health-injurious effects o f the cotton-ginning process were confirmed by other practicing physicians o f the period and the earlier view is sustained by present-day medical opinion throughout the South. Since there are no vital statistics o f persons employed in cotton ginning and no published observations o f a Principal Diseases o f the Interior V alley o f North Am erica, by D aniel Drake, Vol. II, p. 799. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 729 medical practitioners at the present time, these brief observations are concluded by quoting the opinion o f Mr. A . E. Thomas, a cotton planter before the war, who, with special reference to the suscepti bility o f the Negro, who continues to constitute the large m ajority o f persons employed in connection with cotton-ginning processes, states that— This subject is one o f great interest with all our intelligent planters, as the effect o f cotton ginning on their Negroes is very deleterious; so injurious, indeed, as to be obvious to the Negroes themselves, who en deavor to avoid the ginhouse. Planters select their oldest and least valuable Negroes for this occupation, knowing that the healthiest and most robust w ill, in a year or two, become diseased. To prevent these bad effects, it is not uncommon to make them wear and breathe through a veil, and give them molasses and water to drink, measures which appear to be generally effective. I f a person not accustomed to breathe the air o f a ginhouse goes into it while the machine is run ning, he is soon seized with a tickling sensation in his nostrils, fo l lowed by sneezing, coughing, and some degree o f hoarseness. Con tinuing awhile in this situation, he begins to feel his nostrils stuffed up. A fter leaving the place he w ill have symptoms o f a cold for sev eral days. Remaining there longer, the stuffing o f his nostrils may become so great as to prevent his breathing through them* The cough attendant on this affection is often dry, or small quantities o f mucus, in which the lint and dust floating in the air have been entangled, w ill be thrown up. A feeling o f soreness pervades the trachea and bron chial tubes. I have known several to have chronic bronchitis. I saw one death preceded by the discharge o f an abscess from the lungs, and another die o f phthisis, follow ing on bronchitis. It is the custom every two or three weeks to stop the hands from field labor to bale the gin and cotton, at which they are commonly occupied two or three days. Before the end o f this period they are apt to become affected with sneezing, coughing, and other catarrhal symptoms, which often continue for several days.(a) It is evident, even in the absence o f conclusive statistical data, that cotton ginning is a decidedly health-injurious employment, and that it would be much more so than actually observed in everyday experi ence but for the fact that the occupation extends over only a compara tively short period o f the year. COTTON TEXTILE MANUFACTURE. In 1905 the manufacture o f cotton textiles in the United States gave employment to 315,874 wage-earners, o f whom 46.6 per cent were adult males, 40.6 per cent women, and 12.8 per cent children. ( *6) The diversity o f the industry is considerable, and the processes o f manu 0 Principal Diseases o f the Interior Valley o f North Am erica, by D aniel Drake, Vol. II, p. 801. 6 Census o f M anufactures, 1905, P art I, p. lxxviii. 730 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. facture require a high degree o f specialized labor. Every process from the so-called “ opening ” o f the cotton in the picker room to the carding, spinning, and weaving involves a more or less considerable degree o f exposure to the inhalation o f vegetable fiber dust, but the exposure varies materially in the different departments. The health aspects o f the industry are complicated by other injurious factors be sides dust, o f which high temperature, excessive humidity, atmos pheric electricity, noise, eye strain, and defective ventilation are the most important. The effects upon health in cotton textile manufac ture, with special reference to dust exposure, have been admirably summed up by Arlidge, who, in his treatise on The Hygiene, Diseases, and M ortality o f Occupations, remarks: T o summarize the incidental causes o f ill health among cotton operatives, they are, dust from the cotton itself in the early processes ox manufacture; heat with more or less watery vapor, combined in the weaving department with dust from the Cornish clay employed fo r sizing; long standing, and a stooping posture in the spinning and doubling department ; monotony o f w ork; continuous strain upon the attention; and excessive noise with vibration o f machinery. To these must be added vitiated air from excessive consumption o f gas, from overcrowding, and general defects o f ventilation. W ith special reference to the frequent occurrence o f lung diseases among cotton workers, Arlidge holds that— The dust o f cotton is an irritant to the pharynx and larynx, where it speedily produces a feeling o f dryness and huskiness. I f inhaled longer, it reaches the bronchi^ and sets up cough with white mucous expectoration. The cough w ill be for years chiefly a morning phe nomenon on first rising, but it is also induced upon leaving the warm workroom. Fine fibers o f cotton are found, on microscopical exami nation, in the sputum, and as these make their way into the pulmonary tissue, they set up morbid action, resulting in increasing density o f it on the one hand, and o f emphysematous expansion on the other. These morbid changes are accompanied by dyspnoea, wastings, and debility, but rarely with haemoptysis; and together constitute a group o f symptoms not inappropriately termed “ industrial phthisis.” More over, intercurrent diseases o f the lungs, such as acute bronchitis and pneumonia, often arise and terminate life ; and true tubercular phthisis is no uncommon cause o f death. The follow ing is an extract from the observations o f Lloyd, who confirms the observations o f Arlidge in the statement that— The dust o f cotton, or “ flue ” as it is called, is composed largely o f cotton fiber, and it has an appreciable taste and smell, especially to a person unused to it. It causes irritation to the nose, throat, larynx, and bronchial tubes. The symptoms are dryness o f the throat, hus kiness o f the voice, cough, and expectoration. The cough is said to be worse in the morning, the expectoration being tenacious and diffi cult to be gotten rid of. Fibers o f cotton have been found in the sputa with the microscope. In time proliferation o f connective tissue MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 731 ensues, as in most cases o f industrial phthisis, and dyspnoea and emaciation occur. In many cases it is evident that a true tubercular infection takes place. Lloyd quotes Dr. F. F. Simpson, o f Spartanburg, S. C., with ref erence to an affection o f the tonsils among cotton operatives in that State, due to the custom o f sucking cotton fiber strongly into the mouth in some processes o f their work, as follow s: These fibers become encysted in the crypts o f the tonsils, thus becoming a source o f constant irritation, and giving rise to what in that section is not inaptly termed “ weavers’ tonsils.” In a report o f the Massachusetts state board o f health on danger ous trades a similar practice is commented upon as follow s: A bad, unhygienic habit, common to all weavers who tend oldfashioned looms, is that o f drawing the filling through the shuttle eye with the mouth. The weaver puts his mouth close to the shuttle, and, by means o f a quick intake o f breath, sucks the end o f the thread through the shuttle eye, thus drawing into his mouth more or less fine lint and dust, which gives rise to spitting, and sooner or later may cause irritation o f the mucous membrane o f the throat. It is explained that the gradual replacement o f old-style looms by the Northrup loom, in which after the drum is filled with shuttles the action is entirely automatic, has eliminated this practice mechanically where persuasion and disinterested advice have been o f no avail. The general dust problem in textile factories is discussed in the same report at considerable length, and since the observations are descriptive o f present-day conditions in the textile centers o f New England, the remarks are quoted almost in their entirety as a most useful contribution to the knowledge o f this important branch o f occupation disease: The presence o f dust in the air o f workrooms is a prominent fea ture in its influence on health. Aside from dirt and other impurities which may be in the stock, it is the opinion o f recognized medical authorities that vegetable dusts are markedly inimical to health. Those operatives in cotton mills who are peculiarly sensitive to un hygienic influences may become seriously affected through the con stant irritation o f cotton dust or “ fly ” in the upper air passages, giving rise first to dryness o f the throat and later to cough and ex pectoration. Flax dust is thought to be even more irritating than cotton, while dust in the woolen and silk mills (animal origin) is considered to be less harmful in its effects. There are many departments in which processes are conducted which expose the employees to dust; but the weaving, spinning, card ing, and waste rooms illustrate the important unhygienic conditions commonly associated with this disturbing element. In estimating the effects o f dust upon health, the follow ing considerations, among others, are to be borne in m ind: 1. Grade o f stock used, e. g., quality o f cotton. 2. Quantity o f dust in a given room. 732 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. 3. Whether the dust is constant. 4. Type o f construction o f the room. 5. System o f management. 6. Number and kinds o f other unhygienic influences present. 7. Means o f ventilation. 8. Health and susceptibility o f the individual. In some weave rooms the air is so filled with minute bits o f dust as to present a hazy or “ smoky ” appearance throughout the room, and parts o f the room are covered with the small particles which have settled thereon; while other weave rooms are practically free from such dust, there being merely a slight amount o f lint or dust o f microscopic fineness. Dust in ring-spinning rooms is more con stant and is greater in amount than in weave rooms. In a fine-goods m ill, in which a high quality o f cotton is used in a properly con structed and well-regulated room, the amount o f dust present is com paratively unimportant, from the point o f view o f health. On the other hand, in a coarse-goods m ill, where waste stock is used in a low-studded and generally neglected room, the amount, constancy and character o f the dust is such as to suggest the probability o f real danger. W hile in both weave and ring-spinning rooms there are many unhygienic factors, the principal features o f the card room are (1) the amount o f dust and (2) lack o f proper ventilation and effective means o f removing the dust. Cotton dust in the card room varies greatly both in quality and quantity. It is always considerable, owing to the carding process o f freeing and cleaning the material. In some mills it is enormous in amount, with considerable dirt as a concomitant. The quantity o f dust is commonly sufficient to cause a distinct cloudiness o f the atmosphere, which, in a room lacking proper ventilation, is a serious menace to the health o f the operatives. It has long been known that work which involves more or less constant confinement in a dusty atmosphere predisposes to the de velopment o f diseases o f the lungs, especially o f pulmonary con sumption ; but only in recent years, through the science o f bacteriol ogy, has the medical profession and the public been enlightened as to the specific cause o f consumption, and the method o f its dis semination among the susceptible. The people o f to-day, therefore, in every walk o f life, have a far greater responsibility thrust upon them with respect to minimizing this source o f danger by the appli cation o f all reasonable sanitary measures. W e have to bear in mind, then, in considering the dust problem, the possibility o f the presence o f “ infectious dust ” from dried sputum in the air o f different m ill rooms. Persons suffering from consumption can not always be de tected in these rooms, and the habit o f indiscriminate spitting in volves the possibility o f infection. A comparison o f the important constant or possible unhygienic influences in the ring-spinning and carding departments, with em phasis upon the dust in these rooms, is as follow s: RING S P IN N IN G . 1. Considerable dust (constant). 2. “ Infectious dust ” (dried sputum). 3. Excessive heat (w ith artificial moisture). MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 733 4. Excessive heat (without artificial moisture in some room s). 5. Lack o f provision for a plentiful supply o f fresh air. 6. Poor light. 7. Carbon monoxide gas, and excessive amounts o f carbon dioxide from respiration and combustion. CARDING. 1. Dust (abundant and continuous). 2. “ Infectious dust ” (dried sputum). 3. Lack o f provision for a plentiful supply o f fresh air. 4. Carbon monoxide gas, and excessive amounts o f carbon dioxide from respiration and combustion. There are, unfortunately, no very satisfactory or trustworthy gen eral vital statistics o f the cotton industry in the United States. The vital statistics o f the census o f 1890 included 1,080 deaths o f male tex tile factory operatives, and o f this number 15.4 per cent had attained to ages 65 or over. The general death rates were slightly above the average for the manufacturing class at ages 15 to 25, below at ages 25 to 65, and slightly above the average at 65 years or over. The con sumption death rate for textile factory operatives was 2.27 per 1,000, or below the general average, but this in all probability was the result o f defective enumeration, partly because o f the crude grouping o f all textile operatives as a class. The vital statistics o f the census o f 1900 included 1,332 deaths o f male textile operatives from all causes, and o f this number 232, or 17.4 per cent, had attained to ages 65 or over. The death rates generally were below the average for males employed in manufacturing and mechanical industries, except at ages o f 65 or over. Out o f the 1,332 deaths from all causes, previously referred to, 313, or 23.5 per cent, were from consumption. The corresponding death rate was 2.08 per 1,000, against 2.62 for the manufacturing and mechanical class. The death rate from other respiratory diseases was 1.07 per 1,000 for tex tile factory operatives, against 1.81 for the manufacturing and me chanical industry class, so that for both consumption and other respir atory diseases the recorded m ortality indicates a lesser liability to these diseases than is met with among occupied males in more or less sim ilar employments. These statistics, however, can not be accepted as entirely accurate or conclusive, and they are here included only to call attention to the necessity o f extreme caution in accepting the vital statistics o f certain occupations where labor conditions materially interfere with the continuity o f employment and where the oppor tunities for change from one occupation to another are rather excep tional. The available occupation mortality statistics o f Rhode Island refer to textile operatives as a class, regardless o f the kind o f fiber manufac 734 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. tured, which hardly warrants entirely safe conclusions, and the same is true o f the corresponding statistics o f the Tw elfth Census o f the United States, which groups m ill and factory operatives under tex tiles, also without distinction o f the kind o f textile manufactured, such as cotton, wool, flax, jute, etc. The Rhode Island statistics for the period 1897 to 1906 include 798 deaths from all causes, and o f this number 218, or 27.3 per cent, were from consumption. In English occupation m ortality statistics cotton textile operatives are combined with persons employed in the manufacture o f flax and linen, which also to a certain degree impairs their value. Since the proportion o f persons employed in linen and flax manufacture is com paratively small, the error is not a very serious one. In the aggregate the English data for 1890 to 1892 include the observed mortality ex perience o f 538,077 occupied males exposed to the risk o f death one year, among whom there occurred 7,471 deaths from all causes. The specific death rates have been calculated by divisional periods o f life, and an instructive comparison is possible with the corresponding m ortality o f occupied males generally. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFAC TURE OF COTTON, FLAX, AND LINEN, COMPARED W ITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1890 TO 1892, B Y AGE GROUPS. [From Supplement to the Fifty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for cotton, flax, and linen employees. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occupied Rate per males. 1,000. 2.55 5.07 7.29 12.43 20.66 36.66 102.32 &55 5.95 7.17 12.83 24.68 52.55 159.08 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. + 1.00 + .88 - .12 + .40 + 4.02 +15.89 +56.76 Ratio to rate for all occu pied males. 139 117 98 103 119 143 155 The mortality o f English cotton-mill operatives, including workers in linen and flax, is shown by the preceding table to have been excessive at all ages, except 25 to 34. This is probably the result o f the very heavy death rate prevailing at ages under 20, and the com paratively high death rate at ages 20*to 24. The excess in the gen eral m ortality o f persons employed in this occupation becomes more apparent at ages 45 to 54, and decidedly pronounced at ages 55 or over. It requires no very extended analysis o f the causes o f death among this class o f operatives to establish the fact that the excess in the general m ortality is prim arily the result o f a high death rate from consumption and other respiratory diseases. The facts, as far as they MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 735 are obtainable from the published reports, are set forth in tabular form below, which shows the m ortality rate by divisional periods o f life from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than con sumption among cotton m ill operatives, including linen and flax, and among occupied males generally, first from consumption and second from other respiratory diseases: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF COTTON, FLAX, AND LINEN, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1890 TO 1892, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Supplement to the Fifty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from other diseases of the respiratory system. Mortality from consumption. Death rate for cotton, flax, and linen employees. Death Age at death. rate per Greater (+) Ratio to 1,000 for or less (—) rate for all occu pied Rate per than rate all oecumales. 1,000. for all oc • pied cupied males. males. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over.. 0.70 1.95 2.63 a 43 a38 2.65 1.50 1.26 2.86 2.91 a 24 4.09 a il 1:2.50 +0.56 + .91 + .28 - .19 + .71 + .46 +1.00 180 147 111 94 121 117 167 Death rate for cotton, flax, and linen employees. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all occu or less (—) for pied Rate per than rate rate all oc males. 1,000. for all oc cupied cupied males. males. 0.26 .61 1.13 2.50 a 15 10.32 2a 9i 0.44 .89 1.24 a41 7.71 ia 19 sa 19 + 0.18 + .28 + .11 + .91 + 2.56 + 7.87 +27.28 169 146 110 136 150 176 205 These earlier statistics have been included, since they w ill prove useful for reference and comparison with the more recently published occupation m ortality data for males employed in this industry, which w ill subsequently be referred to in detail. The preceding table shows that the mortality from consumption among cotton workers was exces sive at all ages except the period 35 to 44, when, however, the rates quite closely approach the average for occupied males generally. More significant are the pronounced differences in the m ortality o f cotton workers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, which is excessive at all ages and which probably includes some deaths from fibroid phthisis recorded as chronic bronchitis or chronic pneumonia, or under some similar term. More trustworthy and conclusive are the corresponding statistics o f cotton manufacture for England which have been recently made public for the three years ending with 1902 and which are referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral, in part as follow s: In the term o f life from the twentieth to the forty-fifth year the death rates o f cotton workers are below the standard for occupied and retired m ales; but at other ages they exceed it. In the main working 736 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. time o f life the comparative mortality figure for the industry is 1,114, or 11 per cent above the standard. Cotton operatives experience an excess o f about one-fourth in the mortality from nervous and re spiratory diseases, and also a slight excess from cancer, phthisis, cir culatory diseases, Bright’s disease, and suicide. Their mortality from influenza is less than the norm al; they appear to be but slightly ad dicted to intemperance, and their m ortality figure from accident is little more than half the standard. The English occupation m ortality statistics for males employed in cotton manufacture during the three-year period 1900 to 1902 in clude 5,710 deaths from all causes. O f this number o f deaths 1,093, or 19.1 per cent, were from consumption, and 1,084, or 19.0 per cent, from respiratory diseases other than consumption; o f the deaths from all causes 2,177, or 38.1 per cent, were therefore from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. In the follow ing table a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men engaged in cotton manufacture with that o f occupied males generally, and the result indicates an excessive m ortality at ages 45 or over, and also a slightly excessive mortality at ages 15 to 19. A t ages 20 to 44 the mortality among cotton workers was somewhat less than for all occupied males. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN COTTON MANU FACTURE, COMPARED W ITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, B Y AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for male cotton workers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu Rate per pied males. 1,000. 2.44 4.41 6.01 1(122 17 73 31.01 88.39 2.68 4.32 5.48 9.61 20.46 41.15 127.31 Greater (+) or less (—) Ratio to than rate rate for all for all oc occupied cupied males. males. + 0.24 - .09 - .53 - .61 + 2.73 +10.14 +38.92 110 98 91 94 115 133 144 In the table which follow s the m ortality from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than consumption among men em ployed in cotton manufacture is compared with the normal mortality for all occupied males from these diseases by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was above the average at all ages except 25 to 34, when the m ortality was practically the same for cotton workers as for all occupied males. The excess in the mortality is quite pronounced at ages 45 or over. The mortality from other respiratory diseases was somewhat ex cessive at all ages except 35 to 44, but the excess was most pronounced at ages 20 to 24 and at 45 or over. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 737 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIRA TORY SYSTEM AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN COTTON MANUFACTURE, COM PARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from other diseases of the Mortality from consumption. respiratory system. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... Death rate for male cotton workers. Death rate for male cotton workers. Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. Ratio to rate for all occu pied males. + 0.01 + .12 + .04 - .15 + .86 + 3.26 +10.73 104 125 105 91 126 150 160 Death rate per 1,000 for all occu pied Rate per males. 1,000. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.82 1.65 2.01 2.89 3.66 2.76 2.13 +0.28 + .10 - .02 + .15 + .62 + .60 +1.02 Death rate per 1,000 for Ratio to all occu rate for pied Rate per all occu males. 1,000. pied males. 152 106 99 105 120 128 192 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.25 .60 .81 1.51 4.18 9.80 28.50 Summarizing these observations and statistical data, they indicate a somewhat excessive mortality, particularly at the more advanced ages, undoubtedly due to the inhalation o f vegetable fiber dust, the health-injurious effects o f which are more slow to reveal themselves than when the inhalation is o f metallic and mineral dusts. The sta tistics available suggest the necessity o f a thorough and qualified in vestigation to determine with more accuracy the facts regarding the m ortality o f cotton workers. T EXTILE SPINNERS. Spinning, in cotton and woolen manufacture, is peculiarly an employment o f women and children, who constitute the large m ajor ity o f persons employed in American and foreign mills. It is true, as pointed out in the census report on cotton manufacture, that in proportion as the speed o f machinery increases women and children are displaced by m en,(a) but even under modem conditions out o f 55,488 frame spinners employed in the manufacture o f cotton tex tiles only 10,709 were men, or 19.3 per cent. O f the remainder, 25,701 were women and 19,078 children. Mule spinners are almost inva riably men, but the number o f mule spinners in the cotton industry is not large, and in 1905 was only 4,866, o f whom 3,691 were employed in the New England States. ( 6) In spinning the amount o f visible dust is not considerable, but large quantities o f fly or flue are pro duced during the spinning, twisting, and drawing operations, which rapidly accumulate on and about the machines, requiring constant cleaning and dust removal, for which practically no effective provi sion is made in most o f the American mills at the present time. The aCensus o f Manufactures, 1905, Part II I , p. 30. 6 Census o f Manufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 50. 738 BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. employment has the serious disadvantage o f a comparatively high and moist temperature, which, according to Arlidge, during the sum mer months induces “ exhaustion, sweating, and debility; results the more felt because spinning entails nearly constant standing, or slight movements to and fro to follow the 4mule frames.5” A rlidge observed, further, th a t44what renders the spinning rooms more insani tary than they would be otherwise, considering their general spacious ness, is that the temperature is maintained night and day, and that all inlets for air are kept carefully closed. In consequence, there is not the necessary renewal o f air for healthy breathing. Moreover, in such close rooms the operatives acquire a particular sensitiveness to currents o f air and to change o f temperature, and are themselves opposed to most attempts at ventilation. H appily, these remarks are not so generally applicable as they were form erly, for the better recog nition o f what constitutes ventilation, together with the skill o f engi neers, has worked a great reform in the sanitary state o f spinning rooms.55 The m ortality from consumption among spinners is known to be high, both among men and women, and, no doubt, in a large measure this is the direct result o f the employment. The degree o f consumption frequency among spinners, however, is possible o f a ma terial reduction under satisfactory conditions o f light, temperature, and ventilation. Modern American cotton mills, especially in the South, are in many respects more hygienic than the old type granite structures typical o f New England. Compared with certain foreign countries, the mortality o f cotton spinners, at least, would appear to be somewhat lower in the United States, due, no doubt, largely to the more recent development o f the industry and the generally more satis factory conditions o f labor and life in this country. The only really trustworthy general m ortality statistics o f spinners are the returns for Blackburn, England, prepared annually under the direction o f Dr. A lfred Greenwood, the medical officer o f health. An admirable analysis o f these returns by Mr. F. S. Crum was pub lished in the New York Medical Kecord for August 11, 1906, and from the tables there presented are extracted the follow ing compara tive death rates o f spinners and weavers, including separately the rates for consumption and for other respiratory diseases: MORTALITY OF SPINNERS AND WEAVERS IN BLACKBURN, ENGLAND, 1889 TO 1905. Age at death. rate per 1,000 rate per 1.000 Death Death rate per 1,000 Deathconsumption from other diseases of the respiratory from all causes of— fromamong— system of— Spinners. Weavers. Spinners. Weavers. Spinners. Weavers. 15 to 24 years................................................ 25 to 34 years................................................ 35to44years................................................ 45 to 54 years................................................ 55 to 64 years................................................ 65 years or over........................................... 5.3 7.7 10.3 25.7 43.7 177.7 3.7 4.8 9.1 149 447 139.5 1.3 2.5 2.8 2.4 .8 1.8 1.1 2.4 1.9 1.8 2.8 .8 0.8 1.9 2.2 7.9 17.8 48.8 0.4 .7 1.8 48 15.1 35.8 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 739 In the State o f Rhode Island, during the five years ending with 1906, there were recorded only 71 deaths o f male spinners, and o f this number 18, or 25.4 per cent, were from consumption, and 5, or 7 per cent, were from other respiratory diseases. It is quite probable, how ever, that the actual mortality was greater than the recorded on ac count o f the difficulty in securing, without special inquiry, accurate information as to decedents’ exact occupation at the time o f death. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f spinners include 189 deaths from all causes, o f which 56, or 29.6 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f spinners from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 17 were from pneumonia, 6 from asthma and bronchitis, and 5 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 44.4 per cent o f the mortality o f spinners was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. Spinners, as grouped fo r the purpose o f this investigation, include spinners o f textiles generally, but chiefly those in the cotton industry. Because o f the fact that the large m ajority o f spinners are women, the mortality experience with this class o f labor is comparatively small. The excess in the con sumption m ortality o f spinners is more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. Although the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages under 55, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 50 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f spinners in detail is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG SPINNERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for spinners from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of spinners, 1897 Per cent of deaths due to to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years............... ....................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 63675—No. 79—09---- 8 Males in All causes. Consump Spinners. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 28 38 36 27 37 23 189 13 19 16 7 1 46.4 50.0 44.4 25.9 2.7 56 29.6 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 740 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. The preceding statistical data, including the industrial insurance mortality experience, confirm the conclusion that the m ortality o f spinners from consumption is considerably above the average through out practically the entire active working period o f life, but in par ticular between the ages o f 15 and 54, inclusive. TEXTILE W EA VE R S. W eaving is a more arduous occupation than spinning, but appar ently the health conditions affecting this employment are more favorable than the corresponding conditions in the spinning rooms. Spinning attracts the less physically strong or those who because o f their frail physique would be predisposed to consumption. This, in part, no doubt, accounts for the difference in the m ortality rates o f the two employments. The census o f 1905 returned the num ber o f weavers o f cotton goods in the United States as 98,807, but o f these 50,559 were women and young persons. (a) Arlidge describes the conditions in weaving rooms, with special reference to healthinjurious circumstances, in part, as follow s: W eaving sheds are o f vast dimensions, and, in some instances, hold 1,000 looms. The noise in the winding and spinning rooms is very great, but in the huge weaving sheds it is almost deafening. A t the same time, the places are excessively h o t; and the air is charged with moisture, and, when there is heavy sizing, with dust o f china clay, the same material as used in making pottery. Added to these insanitary circumstances are bodily exhalations o f the workers— breath and perspiration. The heat and moisture are necessary to prevent the undue breakage o f the yarn in the act o f weaving, and the more so where the yarn is o f inferior quality and is heavily sized, to make it marketable. Conditions in American weaving rooms are probably somewhat better than in England, especially on account o f the fact that the sizing used in the preparation o f the warp is, as a rule, o f common starch, sago, or some similar vegetable compound, instead o f china clay dust, which is in common use in English factories. The weav ing rooms in American mills are usually high-studded but rarely as well ventilated as would be necessary to secure the best conditions favorable to health and life. Effective artificial ventilation is the ex ception rather than the rule. The conditions as to temperature and artificial humidity are probably less favorable in weaving rooms than in spinning rooms, but in the latter a considerable amount o f fly or dust is generated during the spinning processes. English mortality statistics o f weavers indicate a lesser liability to consumption and other respiratory diseases among this class than among spinners, but it must always be taken into account that such statistics are likely to ® Census of Manufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 50. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 741 err seriously with advancing age when it becomes very difficult to ac count for those who have retired from the textile industry to follow other and less arduous employments. It is open to question whether the recent English attempt to account for the entire m ortality o f all the occupied and retired in certain specified trades really has been a success and warrants the conclusions arrived at. In the analysis by Mr. F. S. Crum o f the mortality o f spinners and weavers a comparison is made o f the death rate o f English weavers with the general average death rate in the registration area o f the United States, which is reproduced here to emphasize how even an admittedly im perfect registration o f the mortality o f this trade indi cates a decidedly high death rate among this class: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY OF W E A T E R S FROM CONSUMPTION AND OTHER RESPIRATORY DISEASES, BLACKBURN, ENGLAND, 1899 TO 1905. Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................. of deaths due Per cent of deaths due Pertocent other respiratory to co n su m p tion diseases among weavers in— ers in— among weav United United Blackburn, States reg Blackburn, States reg England. istration England. istration area, 1900. area, 1900. 28.9 50.6 20.8 12.1 6.4 .6 30.9 32.4 22.6 13.3 7.6 2.9 10.8 14.0 19.3 32.0 33.7 25.5 9.5 10.4 12.2 13.4 14.6 14.7 The Rhode Island statistics o f mortality by occupation only record the deaths o f weavers, beginning with the year 1901. During the period 1901 to 1906 the recorded m ortality o f weavers from all causes was 259, and o f this number 67, or 25.9 per cent, were from consump tion and 30, or 11.6 per cent, from other respiratory diseases. O f the total mortality 97, or 37.5 per cent, were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f weavers include 915 deaths from all causes, o f which 254, or 27.8 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f weavers from respiratory dis eases other than consumption 78 were from pneumonia, 10 from asthma, 18 from bronchitis, and 13 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 40.8 per cent o f the mortality o f weavers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The number o f deaths o f weavers under consideration is exceptionally large and strictly repre sentative o f this important occupation. It is difficult, however, to de termine the kind o f dust exposure to which this class o f labor was most 742 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. subject, since the term is a general one, including employments in every branch o f textile manufacture. The excess in the consumption mor tality o f weavers is more clearly brought out in the tabular presenta tion o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 53.4 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. I f the proportionate mortality o f weavers is compared with the corresponding mortality o f spinners, it appears that while for spinners the proportion was 46.4 per cent at ages 15 to 24 it was 39.8 per cent for weavers; at ages 25 to 34 the proportion was 50.0 per cent for spinners, against 53.4 per cent for weavers; at ages 35 to 44 the proportion was 44.4 per cent for spin ners, against 38.1 per cent for weavers, and at ages 45 to 54 the pro portion was 25.9 per cent for spinners, against 25.7 per cent for weavers. A t ages 55 or over the numbers for spinners are too small for an entirely safe conclusion. The comparison would warrant the opinion that the occupation o f spinners is somewhat more exposed to health-injurious conditions, resulting in a somewhat higher pro portionate consumption m ortality from this employment. The analy sis o f the consumption mortality o f weavers in detail is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG W E A V E R S , 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for weavers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of weavers, 1897 Per centof deaths due to to 1906 due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total.......................................................................... Males in All causes. Consump Weavers. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 108 174 155 144 137 197 915 43 93 59 37 15 7 254 39.8 53.4 38.1 25.7 10.9 3.6 27.8 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and m ortality statistics, including the insurance experience, confirm the conclusion that the m ortality o f weavers from consumption is excessive at all ages, but in particular at ages 15 to 64, or throughout the entire period o f the active working lifetim e o f persons employed in this occupation. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 743 M A N U F A C T U R E OF H O S IE R Y A N D K N IT GOODS. The manufacture o f hosiery and knit goods has within recent years attained to very large proportions in the United States, giving em ployment to 103,715 wage-earners in 1905, o f whom 66.4 per cent were women and 9.3 per cent children and young persons under 16 years o f age. The rapid growth o f this industry is illustrated by the fact that during the five years ending with 1905 the number o f wageearners increased 24.4 per cent, while the value o f the product increased 43 per cent. The number o f knitting machines during the same period increased from 69,047 in 1900 to 88,374 in 1905. (a) About one-third o f these are automatic circular hosiery machines, but the amount o f dust generated during knitting processes is practically the same, irrespective o f the kind o f machinery in use. The material used in knitting and hosiery manufacture is chiefly cotton and woolen and worsted yarn, but considerable quantities o f shoddy, jute, hemp, silk, and mohair are also used in an endless variety o f combinations, which vary widely from year to year, according to the demands o f the trade. It has seemed best, however, for the present purpose to include the manufacture o f hosiery and knitted goods under the employments exposing chiefly to the risk o f vegetable dust inhalation, since over one-half o f the material used is cotton or some other vegetable fiber. The health conditions in knitting and hosiery mills conform quite closely to those o f cotton and woolen spinning and weaving rooms. The health-injurious effects o f the industry are probably most pro nounced in the spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing, calendering, and drying rooms, but no qualified investigation has been made to warrant final conclusions. There are no official vital statistics o f hosiery and knit goods manu facture for the United States, and thus far no analysis has been made o f the m ortality o f this class in the cities and towns where the industry is concentrated and where large numbers are employed. The Rhode Island statistics for knitters are not o f determining value, since only 8 deaths o f male knitters have been recorded during the ten years ending with 1906, but o f this small number 5, or 62.5 per cent, were deaths from consumption. The m ortality o f hosiery workers in England and Wales is referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Regis trar-General, as follow s: The death rates o f hosiery workers exceed the standard for occupied and retired males at ages 20 to 25 and 55 years and upward, while at other ages the rates are below the standard. In the main working period o f life the comparative mortality figure is 921, or 8 per cent below the standard. The mortality from phthisis exceeds the average 0 Census of Manufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 68. 744 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. by one-fifth part, and there is also a slight excess from cancer, circu latory diseases, and suicide, whilst from every other cause the mor tality is below the standard; the m ortality from influenza, from alco holism and liver disease, from Bright’s disease, and from accident, shows a marked defect as compared with the average. (a) The English occupation m ortality statistics for persons employed in hosiery manufacture are o f considerable value, since they include 881 deaths from all causes occurring during the three-year period ending with 1902. O f this number o f deaths 97, or 11 per cent, were from consumption, and 161 deaths, or 18.3 per cent, from other respi ratory diseases, which combined give 29.3 per cent o f the mortality from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. In the table which fo l lows a comparison is made o f the mortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the re sult is suggestive o f conditions in this trade decidedly unfavorable to health and life at ages 55 or over: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN HOSIERY MANU FACTURE, COMPARED W ITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, B Y AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for males in hosiery manufacture. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all less (—) Ratio to occupied Rate per orthan rate rate for all males. for all occupied 1,000. occupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 1.00 5.75 5.39 6.71 16.10 35.11 132.12 - 1.44 + 1.34 - .62 - 3.51 - 1.63 + 4.10 +43.73 41 130 90 66 91 113 149 The death rates o f men employed in hosiery manufacture are below the general average at all ages under 55 except at ages 20 to 24, when, however, small numbers are in part responsible for a possibly acci dental fluctuation in the death rate. In the table which follow s the m ortality from consumption and from respiratory diseases other than consumption among men em ployed in hosiery manufacture is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from these diseases by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was above the average at all ages under 65 except at 35 to 44. The re° Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the Registrar-Gen eral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. xc. 745 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. turns are not entirely conclusive and are possibly impaired by the more or less fluctuating character o f the population and the tend ency to leave the manufacture o f hosiery for other branches o f the textile industry. The mortality from other respiratory diseases was below that o f all occupied males at all ages under 65. MORTALITY PROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIR ATORY SYSTEM AMONG MALES EMPLOYED IN HOSIERY MANUFACTURE, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over.. Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other disease!3 of the respiratory system. Death rate for male hosiery workers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all occu or less (—) rate for pied Rate per than rate all occu males. 1,000. for all pied occupied males. males. Death rate for male hosiery workers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+ ) Ratio to all occu or less (—) rate for pied Rate per than rate all occu for all males. 1,000. pied occupied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.60 2.35 2.46 2.48 4.23 3.47 .79 +0.06 + .80 + .43 - .26 +1.19 +1.31 - .32 Ill 152 121 91 139 161 71 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.20 .26 .70 .75 2.93 6.01 27.06 -0.04 - .22 - .07 - .91 - .39 - .53 +9.29 83 54 91 45 88 92 152 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f hosiery and knitting m ill employees include only 65 deaths from all causes, o f which 24, or 36.9 per cent, were deaths from consumption. The excess in the consumption mortality o f hosiery and knitting m ill em ployees is clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the pro portionate m ortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG HOSIERY AND KNITTING MILL EMPLOYEES, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for hosiery and knitting mill employees from experience of an industrial insur ance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Deaths of hosiery and Per cent of deaths due knitting mill em con su m p tion ployees, 1897 to 1906, to among— due to— Hosiery and knit All causes. Consump ting mill tion. employees. Males in registration area, 1900 to 1906. 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 23 22 7 9 31 5 15 2 2 21.7 68.2 28.6 22.2 65 24 36.9 746 BU LLETIN OP T H E BUBEATJ OP LABOB. It is found, in summarizing these observations and statistical data, that they do not warrant final conclusions but suggest the necessity o f a qualified and extended investigation to determine with accuracy the facts regarding the mortality o f this class o f labor. LACE MANUFACTURE. Lace making in the United States has not as yet.attained to con siderable proportions, but the perfection o f machinery fo r lace mak ing gives promise o f a considerable development o f this industry in the United States in the future. The subject has attracted the atten tion o f the Bureau o f Manufactures, and a very interesting descrip tive report on machine-made lace in Europe was recently published by the Department o f Commerce and Labor. According to this re port lace making by machinery is an extremely complicated process, with resulting labor conditions quite closely resembling those o f hosiery and knit-goods manufacture. No very satisfactory account o f the conditions o f labor in this industry has been published, with special reference to the different employments, except lace dressing, which is held to be accompanied by serious health-injurious con sequences, but chiefly on account o f the high temperature under which this process is carried on. In a special report upon lace dressing, by the medical officer o f health o f the city o f Nottingham, Eng land, this process in its relation to health is in part described as follow s: The lace, after having been bleached, and, in some cases, dyed, and then dipped in starch solution, is taken in rough and wet condition to the dressing (or drying) rooms (usually over 100 yards long by 15 to 20 yards wide and 9 to 10 feet high) and there stretched upon horizontal frames to dry. In the case o f some fine silk nets, the un starched fabric is placed upon the drying and stretching frames, and the dressing applied to the stretched material on the frames. The dressing rooms are heated by steam or hot-water pipes, and their temperature usually ranges, in this country, from 75° to 100° F. It is made to vary to suit the requirements o f different materials and according to the condition o f the external air. In very hot and dry weather, all artificial heat is occasionally dispensed with for cotton goods; but for silk goods, which are reputed to require specially quick drying, artificial heat is always employed, and the temperature o f some silk-lace dressing rooms in Lyon (France) is said often to be as high as between 130° and 140° F. The drying rocess is assisted by large revolving fans placed directly over the rying material. The Stenter dressing or drying machine calls fo r special* mention, as its use frequently modifies the distribution o f hot air in the rooms where it is employed. In this machine, which is used principally for lace curtains, the fabric is carried by an endless chain into an atmos phere heated by multitubular boilers (the air being driven through the steam-heated boiler tubes), and the whole mechanism, with its S MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 747 contained lace material, is usually boxed in with wooden casing furnished with ventilating openings. In rooms where this machine is in use, the temperature seldom rises above 80° F., except in the immediate neighborhood o f these openings and at the feeding end o f the machine. The investigation at Nottingham was a thoroughly qualified in quiry, including a careful consideration o f the available vital statis tics referring not only to those who had been continuously employed in lace dressing, but also to those who had been casually em ployed; the number o f the latter was found to be considerable. Many o f the lace factory employees were interviewed and examined, but the opinion was practically unanimous that lace dressing, even if followed for many years, is not dangerous to health. Many o f the employees were found to suffer a good deal from common colds, but such colds did not appear to be o f greater frequency than among factory workers in gen eral. The investigation did not disclose any special tendency to phthisis or to other lung diseases among the women, who alone work continuously in the dressing room, and this in the opinion o f Dr. Philip Boobbyer, the author o f the report, was more remarkable, since the m ajority were o f a very poor class, living in poor houses and poor neighborhoods, and many no doubt led irregular and intemperate lives. The result o f the investigation was summed up in the state ment that— Probably the strongest argument in support o f the contention that lace dressing, as now carried on in Nottingham, is a healthy occupa tion, is to be found in the fact that large numbers o f women have worked at it for very long terms o f years continuously, have had good health while doing so, and have lived to advanced old age, either at work or in retirement. I have alluded elsewhere to the question which naturally arises, as to how far the case o f these women is to be re garded as an illustration o f the survival o f the fittest, but up to this point have answered it only by general statements. Although, as I have said, there are a good many people who have left this work for various causes after having tried it for a time, there are, on the other hand, large groups o f those who have taken it up and adhered to it continuously during the whole period o f their working lives, and the duration o f these has certainly, in the m ajority o f cases, been remarkably long. The only possible inference to be drawn from facts and figures like these is that the work people have established an absolute tolerance o f the abnormal atmospheric conditions which exist in the lace-dressing rooms, and that life, and vigorous life, can be maintained to old age under these conditions. Since lace dressing as carried on in England is practically a woman’s employment, males employed in the lace industry generally did not come within the scope o f the inquiry. Dr. Boobbyer, how ever, pointed out that the death rate from phthisis among the males was found to be high in contrast to the low death rate from phthisis 748 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. among the females, but owing to the smallness o f the number o f men employed, and the continual fluctuation in this number, the expres sion o f their phthisis m ortality by means o f a definite rate would, be cause o f this fact, be seriously misleading. Lace making in its relation to health was considered at some length by Arlidge, who first calls attention to the gradual changes from the rapid displacement o f handmade lace by machine-made lace, and the decay o f the industry in Nottingham, which, in his opinion, from a purely hygienic point o f view was not an unmixed evil on account o f the high ratio o f phthisis and scrofula observed by him to prevail among those who follow ed this occupation. He refers to the occupa tion divisions in machine-made lace, chiefly lace making proper, fin ishing, and mending, the last named process being subdivided into dressing, gauffering, bleaching, and dyeing. The process o f gauffer ing is, in his opinion, a particularly injurious one to health, chiefly on account o f the fact that the machines are heated by gas. He states that— It is a division o f the occupation which is regarded on all hands as very unhealthy, chiefly on account o f the very great heat connected with it and, in less measure, o f a sickly smell evolved. The “ finish ing ” o f cotton lace entails a higher temperature than that o f silk lace. The same fact applies when “ Paris ” dressing is done. The presence o f a large surface o f moist tissue and the elevation o f temperature necessarily im ply a more or less humid atmosphere and free perspira tion. Fortunately the admission o f fresh air is permissible at times from open windows. F or the most part finishing rooms are heated by hot water or steam pipes, though in some factories open fires are found in the making-up departments; the air is dry, and the makingup machines, heated bv gas or by steam pipes, render it very hot, espe cially when several ot them are situated in the same apartment. A summary o f these conclusions o f qualified observers seems to war rant the opinion that dust, in relation to lace manufacture, is reduced to a minimum and apparently is not o f a serious consequence to the employees. This opinion is confirmed by English vital statistics, which indicate that the death rates from phthisis are at least not above the average, and at some divisional periods o f life they are decidedly below the average o f consumption frequency in other branches o f textile manufacture. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f lace manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supple ment to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General in part as follow s: The number o f male lace workers is comparatively small, and it is found that as compared with the standard for all occupied and re tired males, the death rates at the several groups o f ages fluctuate considerably, being below that standard at ages 20 to 25 and 35 to 55, MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 749 and above it at all other ages. In the main working time o f life the comparative mortality figure is 950, or 5 per cent below the standard. Lace workers appear to suffer little from influenza and respiratory diseases, and only half the ordinary fatality from accident. They show, however, a marked excess in the mortality from cancer, and the m ortality from alcoholism and liver disease as well as from phthisis, from nervous and circulatory diseases and from suicide also exceeds the standard. (a) The recent English mortality statistics for lace workers are not quite conclusive and do not warrant an entirely definite opinion as to the health injurious effects o f this employment. In the table which follow s, a comparison is made o f the mortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the com parison shows that the general death rate o f lace workers was above the average at ages 15 to 19, 25 to 34, and 55 to 64. Since the number o f men employed in this industry is comparatively small the statis tical data do not warrant final conclusions. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES OF MALE LACE WORKERS, .COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years.............................. ........................................ 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for male lace workers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) Ratio to for all or less (—) rate for all occupied Rate than rate males. per 1,000. for all occupied occupied males. males. 106 2*44 +0.14 2.58 61 4.41 -1.72 2.69 112 6.01 + .70 6.71 82 10.22 -1.84 8.38 17.73 66 11.68 -6.05 105 31.01 +1.55 32.56 99 88.39 - .83 87.56 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f lace workers from consumption is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males generally, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from con sumption was excessive at the same age periods at which the general death rate was above the normal, but the excess was not very marked and does not warrant a decidedly unfavorable conclusion regarding the possible health-injurious effects o f this industry. 0 Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. lxxxviii. 750 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MALE liACE WORKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mo•rtality from consumption. Death rate for male lace workers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) or less (—) for all occupied Rate per than rate for all males. 1,000. occupied males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 1.13 1.12 2.84 2.39 2.57 2.22 .74 +0.59 - .43 + .81 - .35 - .47 + .06 - .37 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. 209 72 140 87 85 103 67 For a final and entirely conclusive opinion additional information is required, but at present no trustworthy statistical data are avail able for the United States. F LA X AND LINEN MANUFACTURE. The manufacture o f flax, hemp, and jute products in the United States is only gradually assuming large proportions, considering the enormous demand for the finished product. The United States Census o f Manufactures o f 1905 enumerates 24,508 wage-earners employed in this industry, but o f this number only 12,343 were adult males, while 10,072 were women and 2,093 children under 16 years o f age. As pointed out in a report on this industry by Mr. Edward Stanwood, expert special agent o f the census, “ H ardly any general class o f manufactures is more difficult o f treatment, either as a whole or in detail, than that o f flax, hemp, and jute. The mate rials are closely allied, in that they are all vegetable fibers, and in that two and sometimes all three are used in the same establishment and not infrequently introduced into the same fabric. Yet the products are so diverse, ranging from gunny bags and ships’ hawsers to fine toweling and sewing thread, that the propriety o f embracing all these varied industries in a single class, which seems so evident when materials only are considered, practically disappears.” “ A list o f the products includes yarn and twine made from each one o f the three fibers; linen thread; woven fabrics, partly or wholly o f linen; rope and binder twine o f manila or o f sisal, or o f the two m ixed; gunny bagging, jute burlaps, carpets, rugs, and other minor prod ucts.” ^ ) a Census o f M anufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 187. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 751 O f these products the manufacture o f cordage and twine and o f jute and jute goods w ill be separately considered, so that it is only necessary here to refer briefly to linen manufacturers and im por tant processes necessary for the manipulation o f flax. The linen manufacture is a very limited one in the United States, since the census only enumerates 15 establishments, giving employment to 3,811 wage-earners, and o f this number only 1,260, or 33.1 per cent, were adult males. As stated in the census report, “ Relatively little attention is given to the preparation o f the flax fiber for manufacture, and that which is prepared is adapted only to the coarser processes. Imported material is employed almost exclusively in the spinning o f yarns and the weaving o f fabrics in the United States. There has never been a successful attempt in this country to produce fine goods at a profit.” (a) The material used in linen and thread manufacture is the fibrous portion o f the flax plant, which, in this country, fo r reasons which do not require to be discussed, is chiefly cultivated fo r the seed. The preliminary processes are pulling, threshing, and retting, necessary to prepare the flax straw for the breaking and scutching processes. The scutching process, whether by hand or machinery, is an exceed ingly dusty occupation, subject, however, to material modification by effective ventilation stacks which carry off much dust which would otherwise pollute the atmosphere o f the room. W ith the subsequent processes begins the linen manufacture proper, and the first operation is called “ heckling,” which also may be performed either by hand or machinery. Heckling is also an exceedingly dusty process, and the conditions are not much better in the subsequent operation o f sorting. Spreading and drawing are intermediary processes, previous to the sliver being taken to the roving frame, after which the fiber is ready for spinning, which for practical purposes conform s to the mule spinning operations in cotton mills, although the amount o f dust generated during this process is probably greater. Spinning is fo l lowed by reeling, drying, warping, sizing, beaming, and drawing in, previous to the final process o f weaving, all o f which are oper ations practically indentical with the corresponding process in cotton manufacture. Referring to the health-injurious circumstances o f particular em ployments in flax and linen manufacture, Bevan, in his treatise on Industrial Classes and Industrial Statistics o f the United Kingdom , gives a very vivid descriptive account, which is reproduced in part as follow s: Heckling, which is perform ed by girls and boys, is always a very dusty operation, and requires a good deal o f continuous labor. In the 0 Census M anufactures, 1905, P art III, p. 191. 752 BULLETIN OF T H E BUREAU OF LABOR. report o f Bridges and Holmes, it is said that “ the ill effects o f the heckling efforts upon the boys (technically called machine boys) engaged in it are shown in spasmodic attacks o f cough, during which the boy generally holds on to the machine to assist the efforts o f coughing; an effort so fam iliar to workers that a boy who is observed doing so is said to be 6poucey,’ from the ‘ pouce ’ or dust by which the cough is provoked. This dust is both fibrous and granular, but the latter very largely preponderates. It is for the most part a fine, soft, and palpable powder, proceeding evidently in great part from the putrefying process to which the flax plant has been subjected. Mixed with these organic particles there is, doubtless, a considerable portion o f pulverized mud.” This peculiar affection is spoken o f as being very common in the Belfast mills. (a) In the preparation o f the flax a separation is made o f the short and coarse fiber, which is known as tow and which contains the largest quantity o f dust, dirt, and woody fiber. Bevan states that after being sorted tow “ is carded just like cotton, except that it is on a rougher scale, and makes infinitely more dust. The tow-carding room is the worst place in the m ill, and the clothes o f the workers are generally loaded with the dust which floats thickly through the room, notwith standing the adoption o f powerful exhaust fans in the roof or the ex ternal walls. W hat with the dust and the damp from the steam jets, it is the most unhealthy employment in flax spinning; but, though efforts have been repeatedly made to induce the women to wear res pirators, it has been without success.” The dusty condition o f the workrooms in tow manufacture is not, however, the only objectionable feature in this branch o f the industry, for in the practice o f wet spinning the rove o f the tow is drawn through a trough o f warm water, which results not only in an exceed ingly warm atmosphere, but also a very damp one, owing to the spray which is sent off from the spindles. Unless atmospheric conditions are regulated with great care the health o f employees is seriously affected, particularly in the case o f women. The follow ing quotation gives the opinion o f Bevan regarding the injurious conditions in the manu facture o f flax: products: The flax trade is the most unhealthy, and no person should work in it who has any pulmonary weakness. D octor Purdon says, in his evi dence, that “ nearly three-fifths o f those that die annually in this trade are taken off by diseases o f the respiratory organs. In the pre paring rooms, the death rate from chest affections is exceedingly high, being 31 per 1,000, and amongst the hecklers the deaths annu ally amount to 11.1 per 1,000, amongst the weavers to 9 per 1,000. In wet spinning the children often get their clothes wet with the spray that comes off from the spindles, and on coming out o f the hot room with their clothes damp m the evening, it brings on bronchial affec° I n this connection reference m ay be made to the recently published report o f the B elfast H ealth Commission to the L ocal Government B oard o f Ireland, p. 95. Dublin, 1908. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 753 tions.” The same observer states that the average life o f flax carders is 45.7 years, and the average length o f time employed 16.8 years; o f preparers, average o f employment, 28.7; o f dressers, average o f employment, 16.6. From an analysis o f the fiber it seems that 100 parts o f flax contain 13 o f silica. From the preceding facts it would appear that the Belfast mills are not in that state o f sanitary arrangement in which they ought to b e.(a) These statistical references must be used with caution, since they refer to an earlier period, when conditions were less satisfactory than they are at the present time. The unfavorable conclusions o f Bevan regarding the healthinjurious conditions in flax and linen manufacture are fu lly sus tained by numerous investigations which have been made during the last fifty years. The earliest qualified inquiry was made by D octor Greenhow, and was included in the privy council’s medical report for 1860. D octor Greenhow’s report is o f special value in that atten tion is called to the differences in the health-injurious quality o f d if ferent kinds o f flax dust, and from his observations the follow ing extract is m ade: O f the several processes carried on in flax mills, hackling, carding, and line preparing are more or less dusty, so that the atmosphere of the rooms in which they are going on is loaded with dust in propor tion to the quality o f the flax that is being manufactured and the means employed to prevent the dispersion o f the dust into the air and its inhalation by the operatives. Several varieties o f flax, named from the places whence they come, are manufactured in this country. The most common are the Dutch, Baltic, Irish, French, and Flemish, which yield dust in the process o f manufacture in the order in which they have been named, the Dutch being the most, the Flemish the least, dusty. Flax is also imported from America and India, both o f which varieties are said to be very dusty. There are, moreover, several varieties o f each kind o f flax which differ mate rially from one another; and it is said that, independently o f other circumstances, the mode o f preparing the flax causes a difference in the dustiness o f the article when it comes to be manufactured, that which has been prepared by exposure to rain upon the grass being less dusty than such as has been steeped in water. The manufacture o f the refuse from the hackle, called tow, which is spun into coarser material, is likewise attended by much dust. The danger to health w ill differ in different manufactories, according as the least or the most dusty kind o f flax is manufactured. Several operatives asserted that they had not suffered sensibly in health from their occupation until they worked in Dutch flax, when the inhaling o f the dust soon caused bronchial irritation. O f the several above-named proc esses, hand hackling is the most pernicious; this process has now been partially superseded by machine hackling, which, though still often injurious to the health o f the operatives, is decidedly less so than the former. There is likewise a considerable quantity o f dust «B ev a n ’ s The Industrial Classes and Industrial Statistics, Volum e on T ex tiles and Clothing, p. 44. 754 B U LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. given off in the processes o f carding and line preparing, from which the operatives suffer in proportion to its amount. A fter emphasizing the great value o f an effective system o f venti lation, Greenhow includes a discussion o f the pathology o f dust inha lation in flax and linen factories, which is one o f the most valuable references on the subject, and which, in part, reads as follow s: The effects o f exposure to the dust o f flax are manifested upon the mucous membranes. The stomach is very apt to become deranged by the dust swallowed, and hence the flax operatives, more particu larly the hacklers, often suffer from dyspepsia, and are sallow and look sickly; the eyes often become sore, the margins o f the eyelids being swollen and inflamed, and the sight is said occasionally to become impaired. But the most serious effect is produced on the mucous membrane o f the air passages; oppression o f the chest, fo l lowed by dyspnoea, cough, and eventually by expectoration, are ordi nary results o f inhaling air charged with the dust o f flax. Epistaxis is an occasional, and haemoptysis a very frequent consequence o f the same cause. It is remarkable that dyspnoea, sometimes o f an asthmatic character, often long precedes the accession o f cough and expectoration, or perhaps, more properly speaking, the cough and expectoration are in the beginning too slight to attract the notice o f the sufferer, whilst the dyspnoea reminds him o f its presence when ever he attempts brisk locomotion. A s has already been said, many o f the flax operatives forsake the occupation at an early age on account o f the injurious influence it exercises over the health;* but though this is true, the injury to health is commonly very gradual, and constant discom fort and serious disease only become established toward middle life, men employed in any dusty department o f the manufacture rarely attaining the age o f 45 or 50 years without suffer ing more or less severely from bronchial disease. Efforts to induce workmen and women to use respirators had been a failure, although out o f 107 persons medically examined 79 were suffering from some degree o f bronchial irritation, ascribed to the unhealthy nature o f the employment. W hile some had attained to quite advanced age, Greenhow points out that— Notwithstanding that men at ages so advanced as 60 years and upward are sometimes found working as hand hacklers, the attain ment o f this age must, from the all but universal statements o f both employers and operatives, be deemed exceptional. It was stated by manufacturers, foremen, overlookers, and the operatives themselves that working in the more dusty departments o f the manufactory rarely fails to make itself felt toward middle life, few persons being able to work in an atmosphere loaded with the dusty.particles for twenty years continuously without sustaining serious injury to health. The health o f the women employed in the line-preparing room o f another factory was inquired into in the manner adopted with regard to the hacklers, already mentioned. It is always difficult to obtain direct evidence from female operatives; but the inquiry showed that all those who had worked for a considerable length o f time in this branch o f manufacture were asthmatical, and that several o f them had suffered from haemoptysis. The operatives employed in the MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 755 carding rooms, unless the machines be properly protected to prevent the dispersion o f the dust, frequently labor under habitual dyspnoea, cough, and expectoration; and it is especially in the carding rooms that the operatives are accustomed to tie up their mouths to prevent them inhaling the dust. The effect on a healthy stranger o f entering these rooms is most unpleasant; the dust floating in the atmosphere irritates the nasal and bronchial passages, producing sneezing and a sense o f oppression in the chest, which do not cease until some time after the visitor has left the apartment. The manager o f a large factory asserted that remaining for any continuance in one o f the carding rooms invariably produced in him, for a time, all the symp toms and sensations o f catarrh. (a) W hile the observations o f Greenhow pertain to an early period, they apply to present-day conditions, although some improvement has been brought about in the meantime as the result o f rational factory legislation. The continuous observation o f actual conditions and the frequent qualified inspections made by medical inspectors o f flax and linen factories in the United Kingdom have warranted from time to time modifications in the rules governing the condi tions o f employment, and these were finally amended in 1906 with special reference to processes o f spinning and weaving flax and tow and the processes incidental thereto. Am ong other provisions, it is required that “ in every room in which roughing, sorting, or hand hackling is carried on, and in every room in which machine hackling, carding, or preparing is carried on, and in which dust is generated and inhaled in a quantity calculated to cause injury to the health o f the employees, a sufficient exhaust should be provided to insure that the dust is drawn away from the workmen at or as near as possible to the point at which it is generated.” These regulations governing flax and linen manufacture in the United Kingdom at the present time were carried into effect upon the results o f a special investiga tion made by Hamilton P. Smith, one o f H is M ajesty’s superintend ing inspectors o f factories, o f the conditions o f work in flax and linen m ills as affecting the health o f operatives employed therein, and from which, in part, the follow ing is quoted, with special refer ence to the dust problem. In roughing, sorting, and machine and hand hackling rooms, and in all preparing rooms, the source o f danger to health lies chiefly in the fact that large quantities o f dust ox an injurious nature are generated in the processes o f manufacture, and accumulated testi mony shows that the workers suffer in health. The raw material after leaving the scutch m ill is subjected to the process o f combing, laying parallel, and sorting the fibres o f flax. This is done partly by hand and partly by machinery. Taking a rough handful or strick o f rough flax, the operative by a swinging motion dashes the fibers onto the vertical needles form ing the rougher or hackle. The a P rivy Council M edical Report, 1860, pp. 148-152. 63675— No. 79— 00----- 9 756 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. fiber is drawn through these teeth, separating inferior and short fibers from the better ones and leaving “ tow ” as the residual. The subsequent processes o f hand hackling and sorting are, so far as our purposes are concerned, practically the same. The amount o f dust varies according to the condition o f the material, but in all much o f an injurious nature is given o ff.(a) The report calls attention to the fact that even at the present time in not a single instance, either in hand-hackling rooms or in machinehackling rooms, are respirators provided for the use o f workmen, and it is suggested that a special rule be adopted making it mandatory that “ suitable and efficient respirators shall be provided for the use o f the persons employed in roughing, sorting, hand or machine hackling, preparing, and carding.” In the inspector’s opinion, “ Cloth o f open texture, made o f fine yarn o f woolen material, capable o f being easily washed, makes an excellent respirator, which can be worn with ad vantage and without discom fort.” A special investigation into the conditions o f work in flax and linen mills, including a thoroughly qualified scientific analysis o f the air in flax mills, was made by the Pathological Laboratory o f Louvain, the center o f the flax industry in France. This investigation proved that the chief constituent o f flax dust is mineral matter, the pro portionate amount o f which varies with the condition o f the flax in the different processes, being largest during the process o f card ing, where it was found to be about four times as large in flax dust as in the outside atmosphere. In addition, it was ascertained that the number and proportion o f micro-organisms in flax dust were enormously in excess o f the corresponding proportion found in the outside atmosphere, the excess being most pronounced in the dust produced during the hand hackling. The dusty processes in the order o f their importance were determined by this investigation to be, first, carding; second, machine hackling; third, preparing; and fourth, hand hackling. Those containing the largest amount o f m icro-organ isms, in the order o f their importance, were, first, hand hackling; second, carding; third, machine hackling; fourth, preparing; fifth, spinning; and sixth, reeling. The cause o f the injurious nature o f the flax dust previously referred to as being very largely o f mineral origin was ascertained to be the considerable proportion o f silica. The health-injurious conditions in the different rooms were discussed briefly, as follow s: The hackling rooms, both hand and machine, are described as very dusty. Their condition explains the ill health o f the workers and the rapid elimination o f the workers which takes place. As an addi tional cause, reference is made (w ith quotations from the writings o f a Report upon the Conditions o f W ork in F lax and Linen Mills, by Hamilton P. Smith, p. 10. London, 1904. MOBTALITY FBOM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TBADES. 757 the late Dr. C. D. Purdon, o f Belfast, and D octor A rlidge) to the arduous nature o f the work in the machine-hackling rooms, the nature o f the work not admitting o f a moment’s relaxation on the part o f the boys employed. The carding rooms are described as so dusty that the workers ap pear to work constantly in a mist. It is held to be the most unhealthy occupation from which results a rapid elimination o f workers, only those o f strong constitution being able to continue at it. Despite this, the unhealthy nature o f the work leads to illness frequently and causes others to abandon the work. The average duration o f employ ment is the shortest, and yet the sickness among the workers is the greatest. As possibly causing the dust o f the carding rooms to be more injurious than that o f any other, reference is made to the metal particles which must be present in the air from the wearing away by friction o f the numerous teeth on the carding machines. W ork in the preparing rooms is not considered to be comparable as regards injury to health with those described, and it is pointed out that the figures as to the amount o f dust and o f micro-organisms present in the air are to some extent vitiated by the fact that carding and preparing are sometimes carried on in the same room. Reeling is not an injurious occupation; what injury to health there is arises from the humidity o f the atmosphere. A s a subsidiary cause o f ill health in these rooms, is the fact that some o f the machines are only capable o f being kept in motion by the foot being pressed con tinually on a bar underneath the machine. This necessitates con tinuous strain on the muscular system. (a) It is a matter o f regret that there should be no very conclusive statistical data regarding the apparently very serious health-injurious effects o f linen and thread manufacture, and in the absence o f such data, especially fo r the United States, no definite and conclusive opinion would be warranted, although the general observations sus tain the conclusion that the labor conditions in this industry are very far from being what they should be to reduce the health-injurious effects o f the various employments to a minimum. HEMP AND CORDAGE MANUFACTURE. The manufacture o f cordage ranks first in the group o f miscel laneous textile products, but the industry never has attained to as large proportions in the United States as the home market alone would seem to warrant. W ith the introduction o f machinery the earlier ropewalks have nearly disappeared and conditions otherwise a R eport upon the Conditions o f W ork in F lax and Linen Mills, by H am ilton P. Smith, appendix 7, pp. 22, 23. London, 1904. 758 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. in this employment have undergone material changes. In the ropewalks very common to an earlier period it was the practice, according to Clark, for a man to walk forward and backward, spinning from the hemp around his waist, the twist being imparted from a wheel turned by a boy. Occasionally this practice is still follow ed at the present time. That the employment was more or less injurious to health is pointed out by Thackrah, and commented upon in H all’s Journal o f Health in 1832, where it is stated that “ ropewalkers suffer inconvenience from their stooping position.” In the modern rope factory the twist is imparted by rapidly rotating machinery sim ilar to that used in textile mills generally, making it possible, in the words o f Clark, “ to spin a rope several thousand feet in length on an upright apparatus occupying but a few square feet.” The descriptive account o f the processes and circumstances under which the work is carried on fu lly sustains the view that a not incon siderable amount o f dust is generated during practically every im portant process, and without question more or less to the injury o f the health o f the employees. In discussing the hygiene o f this occu pation much emphasis is placed upon the specific processes necessary for the successful preparation o f the hemp, flax, jute, and other fiber. The subject is referred to in a special report o f the Massachusetts state board o f health, which is in fact the only really trustworthy account o f present-day conditions in this employment. Referring to the manufacture o f cordage, twine, carpet yarn, and gunny bags the report states that: The raw material in various form s comes in bales, which are opened and shaken apart, and the contents are then treated according to their nature. Ordinary jute and hemp, after being shaken out, are run through softening machines, in which they are moistened with an emulsion o f oil and water, preparatory to carding. Old rope, gunny bagging and twine are run through machines which pick the fibers apart as a preliminary to other processes. Opening, picking, soften ing and carding are processes which are exceedingly dusty, and the dust is very irritating to the air passages. The machines which straighten and twist the fibers also give rise to much dust. A rlidge reports upon the conditions in this employwment as fo l low s: The manufacture o f rope and other cordage, form erly carried on after a prim itive fashion in “ ropewalks,” to be found in every town, has become greatly transformed by the introduction o f machinery. The great rope-making establishment at Belfast has almost annihi lated every ropewalk m Ireland, and seems in a fair way o f doing the same thing for England. The hemp, Russian or Manila, is worked on the same general lines as flax. It has first to be sorted and picked over by girls, handroughed and heckled, then carded and a sliver form ed, which, after a certain degree o f twisting in the roving frames, is submitted to the spinning machines. Both the wet and dry processes are used, the MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 759 form er principally for the fine yarn. The spun yarn is next taken to large tanks o f boiling tar, through which it is slowly passed; this done, the superfluous tar is pressed out between iron rollers, and the yarn afterwards slowly dried. The next business is the twisting o f the yarn into strands, on the old ropewalk principle, but by the aid o f machines. Cord made from harsh fibers has to undergo a scouring process, prior to sizing and polishing, to fit it for market. This outline o f the processes conveys the general hygienic features o f rope making, and at two points at least, viz, in the sorting and the heckling and preparing rooms, the evil o f dust arises just as in work ing flax fo r linen, in no small degree, with its inevitable consequences to the respiratory organs. Parry also refers to this occupation, and with special reference to health-injurious consequences incidental to the manufacture o f rope or cordage. He points out that— Hemp is used for ropes, cords, and carpets.. The manufacture is much the same as jute. No heckling machines are used. In carpet making the hemp is cut into 12-inch lengths, oiled, and then scutched, carded, and arranged in slivers. The coarse fibers and woody matters are removed, and the rest converted into tow. The slivers are made into large bales, which are again passed through the finishing card, by which fresh tow is separated. W ool is also an important ingredient in this industry. A fter the hempen foundation is made, short-fibered coarse w ool, wound on bobbins, is woven in. A ll these processes pro duce dust o f hemp and w ool; especially is this noticed during the emptying o f the tow box, and also during the dressing process, partic ularly o f hemp imported into this country. The hemp must be sorted and picked over, hand roughed and heckled; then carded and a sliver formed, twisted and spun either by the wet or dry process. In all the early stages, especially sorting and heckling, dust is produced just as it is in linen making. Contrasting present-day conditions in rope manufacture with the earlier and very primitive processes common to all ropewalks, it is somewhat doubtful whether the change to the almost universal use o f machinery has been really a benefit to the occupation. The necessity-of walking forward and backward in the old-fashioned ropewalk no doubt was o f great value as a matter o f mere physical exercise, but no conclusive observations have been made a matter o f record which would warrant a definite opinion as to whether conditions at the pres ent time in ropewalks are better or worse than those prevailing at former periods. The occupation m ortality statistics o f cordage workers are limited to English sources since no data have been made public regarding the mortality o f this occupation in the United States. The number o f male wage-earners employed in this industry in the United States in 1905 was 8,646, a sufficient basis for a safe generalization i f the necessary m ortality data were available. The reference to the mor tality o f rope makers in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual 760 BULLETIN OE TH E BUREAU OE LABOR. Report o f the Registrar-General for the three years ending with 1902 is in part as follow s: The number enumerated in this occupation was only 6,255 at the last census, the number being too small to warrant detailed examina tion. As compared with the standard for occupied and retired males the death rates fluctuate widely. In the main working time o f life the comparative m ortality figure is 910, or 9 per cent less than the standard, and under each heading except phthisis they suffer less than the average mortality. (a) The recent English statistics for this occupation are quite conclusive o f the unfavorable effects o f the employment on health at ages 20 to 34 and at 55 or over. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes o f men in this group with occu pied males generally, and while the differences are not very pro nounced at the earlier ages, they indicate the facts at least with approximate accuracy, and the comparison is, therefore, quite sug gestive. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALE CORDAGE M A K E R S, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [Prom Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for male cordage makers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all or less (—) Ratio to occupied Rate per than rate rate for all for all occupied males. 1,000. occupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.20 5.75 6.47 7.45 13.03 32.49 105.86 - 0.24 + 1.34 + .46 — 2.77 - 4.70 + 1.48 +17.47 90 130 108 73 73 105 120 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison, however, is made in the next table, in which the m ortality o f cordage makers from consumption is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males, by divi sional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the m ortality from consumption is excessive at ages 20 to 34 and 55 or over, or at the same age period at which the general death rate o f cordage makers is in excess o f the normal m ortality o f occupied males. ° P a r t II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. lx xx ix . 761 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MALE C O R D A G E M A K E R S ) COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Death rate for male cordage makers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all less (—) occupied Rate per orthan rate males. for all 1,000. occupied males. Age at death. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. 0.24 2.09 2.59 2.48 1.18 3.77 1.50 -0.30 + .54 + .56 - .26 -1.86 +1.61 + .39 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. 44 135 128 91 39 175 135 The industrial insurance mortality experience o f rope makers is limited to 109 deaths from all causes. O f this number, 28, or 25.7 per cent, were from consumption, and 9, or 8.3 per cent, were from respiratory diseases other than consumption. O f the deaths from other respiratory diseases, 6 were from pneumonia, 1 from asthma, and 2 from bronchitis. The follow ing table gives an extended com parison o f the mortality o f rope makers from consumption with the normal m ortality o f all males in the registration area o f the United States fo r the seven-year period 1900 to 1906. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG R O P E JXKAKEflS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for rope makers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of rope makers, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. Males in Rope registration All causes. Consump tion. makers. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... i 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 1 35 to 44 years...................................................................... i 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 1 55 to 64 years...................................................................... i 65 years or over..................................................................1 Total......................................................................... i 12 18 17 18 24 20 109 6 9 7 6 50.0 50.0 41.2 33.3 28 25.7 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 These statistics show an excessive mortality from consumption among rope makers, and this excess is specially high at the younger ages. One-half o f the total mortality was due to consumption at ages 15 to 24 and 25 to 34, against an expected proportion o f 27.8 762 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. and 31.3, respectively. W hile the statistics are limited to compara tively small numbers, the facts are decidedly suggestive o f healthinjurious conditions in the rope-making industry. The observations and statistical data regarding the mortality o f cordage makers, while not entirely conclusive, indicate with at least approximate accuracy the high degree o f consumption frequency at ages 20 to 34 and at 55 or over. It is quite probable that changes in occupation affect the official vital statistics o f this trade to a suffi cient extent to understate the true effect o f the employment on health. There would therefore appear to be unfavorable conditions in this employment, doubtless largely due to the exposure to vegetable fiber dust, resulting in a comparatively high degree o f consumption frequency among the employees. MANUFACTURE OF JUTE AND JUTE GOODS. The manufacture o f jute and jute goods in 1905 gave employment to 6,083 wage-earners, but o f this number only 2,437 were men, while 3,083 were women, and 563 were children under 16 years o f age.(a) The industry is practically new in the United States, and as yet only a beginning has been made in its development, but it is significant that there has been an increase o f 50 per cent in the number o f wageearners employed in the manufacture o f jute and jute goods during the five years ending with 1905. No vital statistics have been pub lished fo r this industry as it is carried on in the United States, but some reference w ill subsequently be made to the official statistics o f Scotland, where the industry has attained to very considerable pro portions. A brief description o f jute manufacture was included in Bevan’s account o f the manufacturing industries o f the United Kingdom , and while the description is o f somewhat early date it applies to present-day conditions, which in the meantime have not undergone a material change: Form erly jute used to be spun as flax, which it resembles in fiber, though much coarser. It was heckled, so as to get as much as possi ble o f the fine fiber, and separate it from the coarse. The latter, how ever, so greatly predominated that it was found to be a useless expense, and it was, therefore^ treated like tow, and placed at once in the card ing engine. As it is even coarser than tow, one would naturally think that more dust would arise, and that the trade would surpass the flax trade in unhealthiness; but this is not so, owing to the neces sity for saturating the jute with oil, so as to make the coarse and brittle fibers flexible. Its very roughness, therefore, has proved a sanitary safeguard to the workers. Bevan enumerates 20 subdivisions o f labor in jute manufacture, but he does not enlarge upon the health-injurious conditions inci 0 Census o f Manufactures, 1905, Part I I I , p. 190. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 763 dental to the different employments. On the whole, however, the subdivisions o f labor in jute manufacture correspond to those in textile manufacture generally The most serious factor injurious to health in jute manufacture is the dust problem, which under most favorable circumstances, however, is subject to material modifica tion. The dust o f jute under the microscope, according to Oliver, shows “ vegetable fibers which are often torn and ragged and there fore with difficulty detached from the bronchial mucous membrane.” The hygiene o f this employment has been discussed by various authorities, and an excellent account o f the conditions affecting the health o f persons employed in jute manufacture in Dundee, Scot land, was contributed to Oliver’s “ Dangerous Trades,” by Mr. Harry J. W ilson, one o f His M ajesty’s inspectors o f factories, from which in part the follow ing extracts are made, emphasizing the more dusty processes o f this occupation: The first operation in the process o f the manufacture o f jute con sists in cutting the binding ropes o f the bale and opening out the hard, compressed material. This is invariably done by hand, and immediately afterwards the fiber, still in a compressed state, is passed through between four heavy deeply-fluted rollers intersecting each other, which open the material somewhat and facilitate its disen tanglement, before it is placed on the feeding table o f the softener. During these processes, while the fiber is in a dry condition, a con siderable quantity o f dust is shaken out, much o f it being o f a gritty nature and consisting largely o f fine particles o f the sand or mud in which the plant grows. The latter impurities adhere to the rooty portion o f the plant, but becomes dispersed when the fiber is shaken out and disturbed. It is in this dust that tetanus spores have been found in very considerable quantities. * * * A s matters at pres ent stand, the preparing operations in jute factories are much more dusty than subsequent processes, but the particles thrown off in card ing, drawing, and rove spinning are more o f a light, fluffy nature, and prove less irritating to the respiratory organs than the gritty dust evolved in handling the dry jute. A fter the material has been effectively softened, and while in a slightly moist condition, it is fed into the “ breaker ” card. Here, owing to the splitting and combing action o f the rapidly-running card teeth, many rooty particles and other impurities are removed, but the heavier matter falls below the machines, from which it is taken away periodically, so that only the lighter dust rises and is breathed by the operators. The operations subsequent to carding evolve little dust relatively, but owing to the excessive speed o f spinning-frame flyers and the fric tion on the yarn, very light, fluffy particles are continually rising in spinning rooms, so that the atmosphere becomes charged with ex tremely fine portions o f fiber. A ll horizontal surfaces and the cloth ing and hair o f the workers in these departments soon become coated with this dust. The dirtiest and most objectionable processes in the manufacture o f the material are undoubtedly those o f preparing and spinning. The remuneration o f the operatives in these departments is consider 764 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. ably less than that earned by the weavers. Thus a distinctly lower class o f employees engage in the form er processes, the more selfrespecting taking up weaving as a means o f livelihood. Where the finer qualities o f fiber are treated, the amount o f dust evolved is comparatively small, and the factories fairly clean; but in the coarser varieties it becomes excessive and the whole premises assume a dirty and objectionable aspect. It may be o f interest to observe here that many women engaged in the preparing and spinning operations o f jute manufacture habitually snuff, presumably to rid the nostrils o f dust. The custom is rarely observed among women outside Dundee. The prevention o f the dispersal o f dust in carding and spinning is extremely difficult, for it appears to rise, more or less, from the fiber, wherever it is sufficiently disturbed, and from any number o f points, even in one room. Exhaust fans, however, when placed immediately above the softening machines and properly erected, undoubtedly remove much o f the fine, gritty particles shaken out o f the raw ma terial, and where a hood is arranged above the exact seat o f dust pro duction and communicates with a fan, there is little to complain of. This particular dust from the raw material is most irritating to breathe, and is presumably injurious, but fortunately few persons in any one m ill come in contact with it. To quote further, the follow ing remarks refer to the high tempera ture and other conditions injurious to health in jute spinning room s: Unquestionably the high temperatures o f spinning rooms are dis tinctly harmful, perhaps more so than is usually imagined. In fact, the writer, from close observation o f operatives in various parts o f the country and in dissimilar industries exposed persistently to warm atmospheres, is o f opinion that a general lowering o f the health (in certain instances marked) very frequently follow s such employment. The effects o f constantly breathing warm air, quite apart from the liability to chills which such atmospheres engender, are worthy o f closer study and scientific investigation. Certainly exposure to great radiated heat, if the air is not particularly warm, does not affect workmen in a similar manner. The opinion o f W ilson, based upon personal investigation, is to the effect that the weaving o f jute is apparently a healthy occupation, judging from the general appearance o f the operatives. Most o f these operatives are women, including sack sewers, who as a rule present a ruddy and robust appearance. The disease liability o f jute workers employed in spinning and preparing rooms to pulmonary diseases is also discussed by W ilson, who incidentally comments upon other fac tors injurious to health as follow s: Investigations reveal a predisposition among factory workers, and particularly those employed in spinning and preparing rooms, to develop respiratory troubles, broncho-pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, and pulmonary emphysema being the most prominent. There is also a singularly large number o f patients admitted to the local infirmary suffering from lobar pneumonia. Rheumatism is an extremely com mon ailment, and can be partially accounted for by the great varia tions o f temperature which operatives have frequently to withstand. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 765 M ultiple tuberculous lesions are frequently observed in the children o f the poorer operatives, and thus one finds from time to time young persons at work with portions o f the hands amputated on account o f scrofulous or tuberculous diseases o f the bones. Slight deafness is widespread among jute operatives, but other textile workers may be afflicted in a similar degree. The excessive noise o f jute-weaving looms and the persistent loud hum o f spinning frames presumably account fo r much o f this. The looms, owing to their large size and the weight and high speed o f the shuttles, are particularly noisy. The possibility o f the dust inducing the formation o f an obstruction with the waxy secretion o f the ear is not excluded. Indeed, the fine light particles o f fiber readily accumulate in the external auditory canal. A hoarseness or huskiness o f voice is met with frequently, and is especially marked in preparing and spinning operatives. Whether this is due to overstraining o f the voice, shouting above the noise o f the machinery, or to dust irritation o f the vocal chords has never been clearly demonstrated. Anaemia in its commonest form s is a frequent ailment among all the operatives, but doubtless careless and injudicious feeding contributes to this condition o f health. W ilson describes the occurrence o f “ m ill fever,” so called, which no doubt contributes in a measure toward a predisposition to respira tory and tubercular diseases, as follow s: An illness locally known as “ m ill fever ” attacks about one-fourth o f the persons who commence labor in factories for the first time. The symptoms make their appearance a few days after work is started and take the form o f one or more o f the follow in g: Headache, backache, lassitude, thirst, and slight fever. The attack lasts about from three to four days and yields to antifebrile medicines, followed by tonics. It has been observed that the patients are usually young people and are frequently o f weak constitution or badly nourished. In summing up his conclusions this authority calls attention to the difficulty o f differentiating with accuracy between the health-injurious effects properly to be charged to the industry and the effects o f poor feeding and bad housing, which no doubt are o f considerable im por tance in Dundee, since the low physical and social condition o f the operatives in jute factories is admitted to be a marked feature o f the industry. In conclusion, W ilson refers to the health conditions in jute manufacture in East India, where the industry has developed to large proportions, stating th a t:(a) The reports o f the inspectors o f jute mills in East India show that the industry is considered there to have no particularly deleterious effects on health. The mills, however, are built with very high roofs and are largely open to the sky. The climate permits o f this, and accordingly the ventilation gives no trouble. Another fact has to be borne in mind in comparing Indian operatives with those employed at home. The form er are migratory, only remaining a year or two at the industry, and, presumably, insufficient time is given for any ina Mention m ay also be made here o f a recently published report o f the East India F actory Labor Commission, Y ol. I, Parliam entary Paper CI>-4292. Lon don, 1908. 766 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. jurious effects to betray themselves; whereas in Scotland the bulk o f a lifetim e is spent by a worker in a jute factory. The conclusions o f W ilson are fully sustained by other qualified observers, and an account by A rlidge o f this employment is included in this review o f qualified medical opinions regarding the healthinjurious conditions in this industry: In general principle the processes resemble those in use in making linen, but as the fibers o f jute are coarser, longer, and more brittle than those o f flax slight differences exist in the mechanical opera tions. H ackling is, o f recent years, not employed, but the jute is at once sent to the carding machine. But what would be a most dusty and injurious operation is rendered comparatively harmless by the previous profuse sprinkling o f the jute with water and train oil, for the purpose o f rendering the fibers more flexible. This preparatory moistening and softening o f the material is an advantage in the sub sequent operations o f preparing and spinning, by reducing greatly the amount o f dust that this harsh substance would otherwise give off. Nevertheless, I have seen jute in the course o f spinning give off much coarse dust, and should anticipate that could the statistics o f the jute manufacture be got at they would, on the whole, exhibit still more insanitary results than do those o f the linen trade. It is only for Scotland that the vital statistics o f workers in jute have been separately recorded, but it is somewhat doubtful whether employment in the industry is sufficiently permanent to warrant final conclusions. During the three years ending with 1892 there occurred in Scotland 132 deaths o f jute workers ages 25 to 64, and o f this number only 26, or 19.7 per cent, were from consumption. There also occurred 20 deaths from bronchitis, 15 from pneumonia, and 4 from other respiratory diseases, a total o f 65 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, or 49.2 per cent o f the m ortality from all causes. In commenting upon the mortality o f persons employed in the manufacture o f jute, the Supplement to the Thirty-eighth An nual Report o f the Registrar-General o f Scotland states that diseases o f the respiratory system and phthisis are especially prominent as causes o f death, and that to these diseases may be added diseases o f the nervous and circulatory systems. I f, however, the general death rates o f jute workers are compared with the corresponding mortality o f males generally, the rates are rather below than above the average except at ages 15 to 19. This rather unexpected result is no doubt due in part to occupation selection, but as has been pre viously pointed out, the class o f labor employed in jute manufacture in Scotland is o f a decidedly low order. The details o f the mortality for three years ending with 1892 are set forth in the follow ing table, which has been abstracted from the report (p. lxxi) previously referred to; MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 767 MORTALITY OF MALE EMPLOYEES IN JUTE MANUFACTURE IN SCOTLAND, 1890 TO 1892. [From the Supplement to the Thirty-eighth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages of Scotland.] Age. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years..................................................................... 25 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Years of life, (o) 7,077 3,180 5,259 2,568 441 Deaths. 37 25 38 94 37 Rate per Rate per 1,000 for aU, 1,000. employed males. 5.23 7.86 7.23 36.60 83.90 5.72 7.53 9.98 24.34 99.58 «The years of life as used in this table means three times the number of employees in jute manufacture enumerated at the census of 1891. The Supplement to the Forty-eighth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Scotland, published in 1905, comments at greater length upon this employment, and again the statistical data contradict some o f the previously quoted medical conclusions unfavorable to the industry. According to the report, males in jute manufacture experienced death rates at ages 25 to 44 and 45 to 64 below the corresponding death rates o f all males in Scotland. A t ages 25 to 64 there occurred 145 deaths from all causes among jute workers, and o f this number 26, or 17.9 per cent, were from consumption and other tubercular diseases, while 19 were from pneumonia, 12 from bronchitis, and 3 from other respira tory diseases, a total o f 60 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, or 41.4 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. The facts in detail regarding the general m ortality o f jute workers, by divi sional periods o f life, for the three years ending with 1902, are set forth in the table below, which has also been abstracted from the re port (p. cxxvii) previously referred to : MORTALITY OF MALE EMPLOYEES IN JUTE MANUFACTURE IN SCOTLAND, 1900 TO 1902. [From the Supplement to the Forty-eighth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages of Scotland.] Age. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over............................................................... Years of life, (a) 12,213 9,294 4,740 888 Deaths. 57 59 86 61 Rate per Rate per 1,000 for all 1,000. employed males. 4.67 6.35 18.14 68.69 9.32 26.82 a The years of life as used in this table means three times the number of employees in jute manufacture enumerated at the census of 1901. The available statistical data do not warrant a definite conclusion at the present time, but the observed conditions in the industry sug gest that the same may safely be classed among the dusty trades more or less injurious to health and predisposing to consumption. 768 BULLETIN OF TH E BUBEAU OF LABOB. PAPER AND PULP MANUFACTURE. The manufacture o f paper and wood pulp, according to the census o f 1905, gave employment to 65,964 wage-earners, the number o f which had increased 33 per cent during the preceding five years. The industry is concentrated in large plants, in which, broadly speaking, the conditions o f work, with particular reference to disease and ex posure to other health-injurious circumstances, are more satisfactory than in small establishments. The industry has undergone a marked change within recent years, and the predominating material used in manufacture now consists o f wood pulp, in place o f linen rags, which in the past constituted the sole material from which paper was made. Am ong other materials which are at the present time employed in paper manufacture, aside from wood pulp, are chiefly rags, including cotton and flax waste and sweepings, manila stock, including jute, bagging, rope, waste, threads, and straw, which last is being employed to an increasing extent, including the rice straw o f the Southern States. The most important dust-producing material is rags, which, as a rule, however, are subjected to a preliminary sorting process outside o f paper mills. A careful sorting process is necessary to eliminate colored rags, which are not adapted fo r white paper making, all o f which is carried on in the rag and sorting rooms, which form the dustiest section .of a paper m ill. The sorting and the transfer o f the rags to the cylinders in which they are boiled under high pressure with caustic soda are, according to Arlidge, the only important proc esses in which dust is set free except at the tear-up machines and to a lim ited extent in the bleaching department, where there is often a diffusion o f the dust o f bleaching powder, which, however, can be pre vented by previously moistening it, which is often the case. The health-injurious aspects o f the industry are referred to in a re port o f the Massachusetts state board o f health to the effect that— The operatives engaged in certain o f the processes o f paper making are exposed to considerable dust from rags used in the m anufacture; those engaged in other departments are exposed more or less to w et; and those in still others are exposed to no industrial dangers whatever. The most important department o f such a m ill, from a sanitary stand point, is the rag-sorting room. In most o f the m ills visited provision exists for carrying away, by mechanical ventilation, the dust arising from the handling o f the rags; in some, no provision whatever is made. On account o f the nature o f the raw material, it is generally thought that there is some risk o f infection o f those who handle the rags, and smallpox is everywhere looked upon as one o f the most im portant possible dangers o f the paper industry. It would appear, however, from facts obtainable, that cases o f infection traceable to the handling o f rags are not common. In some o f the establishments, it is said, the rag sorters are seldom sick. In the establishments visited the operatives had generally the appearance o f health and strength. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 769 In a subsequent report by the same authority the dust problem in paper manufacture is discussed at greater length, in part as follow s: The materials from which paper is made include rags, burlap, old paper and wood pulp. Eags are derived chiefly from foreign coun tries, from which they are imported in bales compressed by hydraulic power. These are opened at the m ill, and the contents are put into a closed, box-like structure, known as a “ beater ” or “ thresher,” con taining a large wooden roller with iron “ fingers,” which revolve several hundred times per minute. This separates the rags and shakes them thoroughly, giving rise to much dust, which falls between the long strips o f iron grating beneath the roller into a specially constructed receptacle, which may be cleaned out by hand or by means o f an ex haust fan and dust pipe. During this process more or less dust com monly escapes into the room, and m some instances the amount is very great, partly because o f the very dirty character o f the rags handled. From facts gathered with reference to this process in 80 establishments it appears that, with the usual grade o f stock, no matter what kind o f “ duster ” or “ thresher ” is used, and in spite o f exhaust fans and dust pipes, some dust w ill escape. W ith high-grade stock certain dusters work very well, while with low-grade stock the results are far from satisfactory. Some very high-grade clean stock gives off little i f any dust. In some mills the dust from the threshers is collected and baled. This work is exceedingly dusty, and the men who perform it are pro vided with respirators, which they appear to use with far less re luctance than is shown by those to whom they are supplied in other dusty trades. From the duster or thresher the rags are conveyed by hand or through a chute to the sorting room, where they are sorted on tables with box-like tops provided with bottoms o f wire netting, through which dust and fine particles escape to receptacles below. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f paper manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supple ment to the Sixty-fifth Annual Keport o f the Kegistrar-General in part as follow s: A t ages under 20 years paper makers experience a m ortality con siderably above, and at ages over 65 years slightly above, the standard for occupied and retired males; at all other ages it is below the stand ard, the difference being most marked at ages 35 to 55 years. In the main working period o f life the comparative m ortalitv figure is 730, or 27 per cent below the standard. The mortality from influ enza, alcoholism, and liver disease, and accident is in each case less than h alf the standard, and under every other heading except suicide there is also an advantage. (°) The recent English mortality statistics for persons employed in the paper industry do not indicate a very marked effect o f this em ployment on health, but rather to the contrary the general death rate was below the average at ages 20 to 64. In the table which follow s ° P a r t II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. xci. 770 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the comparison shows that it is only at ages 15 to 19, and 65 or over, that the general death rate o f persons employed in paper manufacture exceeds the general average. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG PAPER MAKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.............................................. .................... Death rate for paper makers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater for all (+) or less Ratio to occupied Rate per (—) than rate for all mates. 1,000. rate for all occupied occupied mates. mates. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 3.46 4.01 5.02 6.66 11.05 26.38 94.80 +1.02 - .40 - .99 -3.56 -6.68 -4.63 +6.41 142 91 84 65 62 85 107 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison, however, is made in the next table, in which the m ortality o f paper makers from consumption is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from this disease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was below the average at all ages. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG PAPER MAKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Death rate for paper makers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all or less (—) Ratio to occupied Rate per than rate rate for males. 1,000. for aU all occu occupied pied males. mates. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.54 1.29 1.95 2.13 1.78 1.86 1.02 — .26 — .08 — .61 —1.26 — .30 — .09 100 83 96 78 59 86 92 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 771 The foregoing comparison indicates a degree o f consumption fre quency below the average for paper makers, but the differences are not very pronounced and at certain periods o f life are very slight. It is quite probable that occupation changes affect the accuracy o f the official vital statistics and that the health-injurious effects o f the in dustry are more serious than is disclosed by an analysis o f the available statistical information regarding this employment. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f paper makers are limited to 115 deaths from all causes, o f which 34, or 29.6 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f paper makers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 9 were from pneu monia and 1 was from bronchitis. There were 44 deaths o f paper makers from consumption and from other respiratory diseases com bined, or 38.3 per cent o f the total m ortality was due to diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the mortality o f paper makers from consumption is clearly brought out in the tabular pre sentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this disease, by divi sional periods o f life. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG P A P E R M A K E R S , 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for paper makers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of pi Per cent of deaths due 1897 to 19016, due to— to consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years..................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total............................................................................. All causes. C on su m p 13 28 18 15 23 18 115 6 15 7 2 3 1 34 tion. Males in Paper registration makers. area, 1900 to 1906. 46.2 53.6 38.9 13.3 13.0 5.6 29.6 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 W hile according to this table the consumption mortality o f paper makers was excessive at all ages except 45 to 54, the excess was most pronounced at ages 15 to 44. A t ages 15 to 24, out o f every 100 deaths from all causes, 46.2 were from consumption, against 27.8 expected; at ages 25 to 34 the proportion was 53.6, against 31.3 expected; and at ages 35 to 44 the proportion was 38.9, against 23.6 expected. CABINETMAKERS. The occupation o f the cabinetmaker is a well-defined and separate branch o f carpentry practically limited to the manufacture o f furni ture, and men in this employment are often separately classified as furniture makers and repairers. Occasionally the classification in63675— No. 79—09------ 10 772 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. eludes upholsterers, but since the exposure to health-injurious condi tions is essentially different in the two occupations, such a grouping is not in conform ity to the conditions under which the two employ ments are carried on. The census o f 1900 returns the number o f cabinetmakers at *35,641, but in addition the number o f persons em ployed in furniture manufacture was 23,078. In the vital statistics o f the census o f 1900, however, cabinetmakers and upholsterers are combined into one group, but the mortality returns were limited to the registration States, giving the combined number o f the two em ployments for known ages 15 years or over as 24,695. Am ong this number there occurred during the census year 446 deaths from all causes, or at the rate o f 18.06 per 1,000 per annum, against a general average for all occupations o f only 15.16. The mortality from con sumption among cabinetmakers and upholsterers, according to the census, was excessively high, or 3.59 per 1,000, against 2.37 for all occupations, and 2.62 for the manufacturing and mechanical indus tries class. The consumption m ortality o f cabinetmakers and uphol sterers was also decidedly in excess o f the corresponding mortality o f carpenters and joiners. W hile the consumption m ortality rate for cabinetmakers and upholsterers was 3.59 per 1,000, as previously stated, the corresponding rate for carpenters and joiners was 2.31. It is also o f interest to note that while among cabinetmakers and upholsterers the proportion o f persons o f ages 65 or over was 6 per cent, the corresponding proportion for carpenters and joiners was 7.9 per cent. I f the two employments had been separately returned the value o f the data would have been very materially increased. It is quite safe to assume, however, that o f the two occupations, that o f the upholsterer is more injurious to health than the employment o f the cabinetmaker. Qualified medical opinion is divided as to the health-injurious effects o f the continuous inhalation o f wood dust, but it is generally agreed that the dust o f hard wood is more injurious than the dust o f soft wood, and that the most injurious o f all is the dust o f so-called satinwood, or A frican boxwood, which, however, is used in only very limited quantities for special purposes, which w ill be referred to again under wood turners and other woodworkers subsequently to be mentioned. Ramazzini held the opinion that workers in wood do not suffer any serious inconvenience on account o f their employment, except those working in cypress, which produces headache, an opinion which does not seem to be confirmed by extensive experience in our numer ous cypress shingle mills. A t least no qualified medical opinion has been made a matter o f record, to the effect that employees in cypress mills are subject to particularly injurious conditions. Thackrah, writing in 1832, refers to health-injurious consequences among men MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 773 working in particular kinds o f hard wood, and his opinion is here quoted, since it was fully confirmed by subsequent experience. “ Cabinetmakers suffer from the dust when they saw A frican, cam, rosewood, and Spanish mahogany. The first o f these is most inju rious. Its dust produces sneezing, headache, sickness, and sometimes vomiting. This wood, however, is rarely used.” B. W . Richardson, M. D., also commented upon wood dust as more or less injurious to health and as a substance injurious to the lungs, stating that— The dusts o f some kinds o f wood, to which turners o f wood and fine cutters o f wood are exposed, are causes o f much irritation o f the lungs and o f bronchial cough. The dust is fine and penetrating, and when it is from colored wood it imparts its own peculiar color to the bronchial secretion. I have seen these phenomena, markedly in the case o f mahogany carvers, in those who carve ornaments for couches and other articles o f furniture. The work gives rise to a great quantity o f wood dust, which is constantly inhaled. In carv ing, the artisan has to keep up a blowing process with the lips in order to blow away the small portions o f wood which he removes with the chisel. This process is very wearying, but the chief com plaint made by the worker is o f the dust he draws back in inhalation. The m ischief is greatly increased in the rooms where the ventilation is imperfect. The cough is usually attended with copious secretion from the bronchial tubes, and I have more than once known the loss from this cause so copious as to cause other symptoms o f wasting and exhaustion allied to phthisis pulmonalis and constituting what has been called bronchial phthisis. As a rule, however, those who suffer from this form o f disease recover when they are removed from their occupation and are placed in favorable circumstances for recovery. More recent observations are by Parry, who refers to the employ ment o f cabinetmakers, but who, in particular, considers the process o f sandpapering and the resulting mixture o f mineral with organic dust. In his opinion, “ carpenters, joiners, turners, and cabinet makers are exposed to the risks o f breathing in wood dust; but the lung-disease death rate—337 compared with 402 for all males— does not seem to prove that much harm is caused by its inhalation.” Tracy refers very briefly to the occupation, and after stating that dust o f vegetable origin is on the whole quite harmless, holds, regard ing the effect o f wood dust in particular, as follow s: “ The workmen who inhale vegetable dust do not as a rule suffer in consequence. The dust o f wood, in particular, is so harmless that it seems more appropriate to speak o f cabinetmakers and carpenters under another heading, as their attitude while at work has more to do in bringing on disease than the atmosphere they breathe. The dust o f the hard woods, as mahogany, rosewood, etc., may cause slight irritation o f the larynx and trachea and a tendency to bronchial catarrh.” 774 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU . OF LABOR. The annual reports o f English factory inspectors contain frequent references to the health-injurious effects o f A frican boxwood, or so-called satinwood, rosewood, etc., but since the manufacture o f small articles in which this ‘w ood is used brings the employment more properly within the group o f wood turners and carvers, the peculiar effects o f the dust o f this wood on health w ill there be con sidered in more detail. As previously stated, the United States census returns combine the m ortality o f cabinetmakers with that o f upholsterers; and the only official vital statistics are for the State o f Rhode Island for the decade ending with 1906. The number o f deaths o f cabinetmakers recorded was only 50 from all causes, and o f this number 12, or 24 per cent, were from consumption. The number o f deaths from respira tory diseases other than consumption among men in this occupation was 9, which, combined with the m ortality from consumption, re turned 21 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, or 42 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. The corresponding per centage o f deaths from consumption and from other respiratory dis eases for all males in Rhode Island was 30.3 per cent. The most recent English mortality statistics o f cabinetmakers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supple ment to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part as follow s: Cabinetmakers suffer more severely than all occupied and retired males at ages under 20 and above 65, but at all intermediate ages the death rates are below the standard, while at every stage o f life they exceed those o f carpenters. In the main working period the comparative mortality figure o f cabinetmakers is 956, or 5 per cent, below the standard. They suffer less than the average from in fluenza, alcoholism, and liver disease, as well as from diseases o f the nervous, circulatory, and respiratory systems; the m ortality from accident is also low. On the other hand, among these workers both cancer and phthisis are more fatal than the average, and suicide is more common. (a) The recent English m ortality statistics for cabinetmakers are not quite conclusive as to the generally unfavorable effects o f this industry on health. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occu pied males generally, and while the returns are not entirely conclusive they are suggestive o f more or less unfavorable circumstances con nected with the employment, since at ages 35 to 64 the departure from the normal is very slight and probably to a not inconsiderable extent the result o f occupation changes more or less likely to impair the value o f the available statistical data. a Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. lxxx. 775 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG CABINETMAKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-Genera! of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for cabinetmakers. Death rate Greater per 1,000 for all oc (+) or less Ratio to cupied Rate per (—) than rate for all males. 1,000. rate for all occupied occupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.61 3.73 5.20 9.84 17.34 30.65 82.99 +0.17 — .68 — .81 — .38 — .39 — .36 —5.41 107 85 87 96 98 99 94 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f cabinetmakers from consumption is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from this disease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was excessive at all ages, but in marked contrast to a low general death rate at ages 20 to 64. The corresponding death rates from consumption were excessive for cabinetmakers at all ages 15 or over. W hile the excess was not very marked, the departure from the normal is quite significant at ages 35 to 44. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG CABINETMAKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Death rate for cabinetmakers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occupied Rate per males. 1,000. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.69 1.65 2.18 3.79 3.83 2.71 1.86 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all oc cupied males. +0.15 + .10 + .15 +1.05 + .79 + .55 + .75 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. 128 106 107 138 126 125 168 776 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f cabinet makers include 817 deaths from all causes. O f this number 162, or 19.8 per cent, were from consumption. In the mortality from respira tory diseases other than consumption there were 75 deaths from pneu monia, 14 from asthma, 14 from bronchitis, and 17 from other less frequent respiratory diseases. O f the total m ortality 84.5 per cent was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The mortality from consumption was excessive at all ages, but most so at 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 55.7 were from consumption against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the mortality from consumption in detail is presented in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG C A B IN E T M A K E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for cabinetmakers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of cabinetmakers Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Cabinet registration All causes. Consump tion. makers. area, 1900 to 1906. 39 61 82 136 197 302 817 14 34 40 31 29 14 162 35.9 55.7 48.8 22.8 14.7 4.6 19.8 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.0 The observations and statistical data regarding the mortality o f cabinetmakers confirm the conclusion that the degree o f consumption frequency in this employment is decidedly excessive, and without question directly connected with the health-injurious circumstances o f the trade. The excess in the degree o f consumption frequency is most marked at ages 35 or over, which would make it probable that the type o f the disease as met with in this employment assumes, in many cases, the fibroid form , or that o f a distinct occupation disease. WOOD TURNERS AND CARVERS. W ood turning and carving are industries in which the conditions affecting health and life are much the same as in cabinetmaking and other woodworking industries. The amount o f wood dust in haled is probably larger, but no very conclusive inform ation is availa ble, with the exception o f the health-injurious effects o f working on so-called A frican boxwood, or satinwood, much o f which is used for shuttle making. The effects o f the dust, however, are probably not as serious to the lungs as to the system generally, and the most im MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN .DUSTY TRADES. 777 portant effect o f the dust o f A frican boxwood is paralysis o f the nerves. The whole subject was carefully considered before the com mission on industrial diseases, and rules have been issued prohibiting the use o f this wood, except under certain specified restrictions. The symptoms, as defined by Oliver, are similar to those occurring among cabinetmakers and joiners, who saw, chip, and otherwise manipulate the sequoia wood o f our Pacific coast. It is stated that they resemble those exhibited by persons who are suffering from a bad cold in the head and chest, including irritation in the throat and bronchial tubes, accompanied by cough, labored breathing, and quickened pulse. The symptoms usually last only for a day or two and are usually seen only among men who are working with the wood for the first time. A tolerance seems to be established in regard to it, except in the case o f men who are liable otherwise to bronchi tis and asthma. Oliver enlarges upon the subject and, after pointing out that certain kinds o f wood have a bad reputation among joiners and that some sawdusts are more irritating than others, probably from the large amount o f inorganic matter which they contain, he refers to condi tions in Lancashire, where “ the dust given off during the manufac ture o f shuttles for weaving purposes is a cause o f malaise to the workmen employed. Many o f them suffer from headache, coryza, excessive secretion o f tears, and attacks o f asthma.” “ The men who suffered presented a pale and jaundiced appearance; their breath had a peculiar camphor-like odor. Several o f them had attacks o f difficulty o f breathing and o f precordial pain accompanied by cold sweating. There was also marked slowing o f the heart’s action.” The health-injurious effects o f wood working in hard woods, such as ebony and rosewood, have been recognized by different authorities on occupation diseases, and according to Arlidge o f all woods rose wood produces the most obnoxious dust, emphasizing the fact that physical conform ation and density o f dust particles are not the sole factors governing the health-injurious effects on the human system. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f wood turners and coopers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-Gen eral in part as follow s: A t every group o f ages except 15 to 20 years, the death rate exceeds the standard fo r all occupied and retired males, the excess being greatest in middle life. In the main working period the comparative m ortality figure is 1,181, or 18 per cent above the standard. From all the principal causes, except accident, the mortality exceeds the average. W ood turners and coopers are specially liable to phthisis, as well as to diseases o f the respiratory system and to Bright’s disease. The recent English statistics o f wood turners are quite conclusive o f the unfavorable effects o f this industry on health. In the table 778 BULLETIN OP TH E BUREAU OP LABOR. which follow s a comparison is mad© o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly suggestive o f conditions in the trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. The excess in the general death rate o f wood turners is met with at all ages, but is most pronounced at ages 45 or over. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG WOO® TURNERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate of wood turners. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu Rate per pied males. 1,000. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 1.94 4.46 6.23 11.69 24.98 34.70 92.82 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied males. -0.50 + .05 + .22 +1.47 +7.25 +3.69 +4.43 80 101 104 114 141 112 105 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison, however, is m ade. in the next table, in which the mortality o f wood turners from consumption is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from this disease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the m ortality from consumption was excessive at all ages, but decid edly so at ages 35 to 54, when the excess was 1.05 per 1,000 at ages 35 to 44 and 2.48 per 1,000 at 45 to 54. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG WOO® TURNERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Me•rtality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for wood turners. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) Ratio to for all occu Rate per or less (—) rate for all pied males. 1,000. than rate occupied for all occu males. pied males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.63 1.54 2.89 3.79 5.52 2.96 1.36 +0.09 - .01 + .86 +1.05 +2.48 + .80 + .25 117 99 142 138 182 137 123 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 779 The recorded industrial insurance mortality experience o f wood turners includes 127 deaths from all causes, o f which 25, or 19.7 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f wood turners from other respiratory diseases, 3 were from asthma, 2 from bron chitis, 11 from pneumonia, and 5 from less frequent diseases o f this class. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 36.2 per cent o f the mortality o f wood turners was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The number o f deaths o f wood turners included in this analysis is not quite suffi cient for a final conclusion, but is decidedly suggestive o f healthinjurious circumstances destructive o f life and health at an early period o f life. The excess in the consumption m ortality is more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. The com parison shows that the consumption mortality was decidedly excessive at all ages under 65, but most so at 15 to 34, when the proportionate mortality was 70 per cent at ages 15 to 24, and 62.5 per cent at 25 to 34. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY PROM CONSUMPTION AMONG WOOD TURNERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OP ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for cabinetmakers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of wood turn Per cent of deaths due ers, 1897 to 1906, due to c o n s u m p t i o n to— among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Wood registration All causes. Consump tion. turners. area, 1900 to 1906. 10 8 17 24 33 35 127 7 5 3 4 5 1 25 70.0 62.5 17.6 16.7 15.2 2.9 19.7 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The recorded industrial insurance mortality experience o f wood carvers may be separately considered, and the statistics available include 123 deaths from all causes. O f this number, 27, or 22.0 per cent, were from consumption, and 16, or 13.0 per cent, from respira tory diseases other than consumption. O f the mortality from other respiratory diseases, 9 deaths were from pneumonia, 2 from asthma, 2 from bronchitis, and 3 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, 35 per cent o f the total mortality o f wood carvers is shown to have been from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. 780 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. The follow ing table gives the details o f the comparative mortality o f wood carvers from consumption in the recorded industrial mortality experience: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG WOOD C A R V E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for wood carvers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] of deaths due Deaths of wood carvers, Perto cent consumption 1897 to 1906, due to— among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Wood registration All causes. Consump tion. carvers. area, 1900 to 1906. 11 20 23 31 21 17 123 3 9 9 5 1 27.3 45.0 39.1 16.1 4.8 27 22.0 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The statistics for wood carvers do not show as great an excess in the m ortality from consumption over the normal expected as was true o f wood turners, but the excess is considerable, especially at ages 25 to 34 and 35 to 44. A t ages 25 to 34, out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 45 were from consumption, against 31.3 expected; at ages 35 to 44 the proportion was 39.1 for wood carvers, against 23.6 expected. The observations and statistical data regarding the m ortality o f wood turners and wood carvers confirm the conclusions that the degree o f consumption frequency in this employment is decidedly ex cessive and without question directly connected with the health-in jurious circumstances o f the trade. The excess in the degree o f con sumption frequency is most marked at advanced ages, which would make it probable that the type o f the disease assumes in many cases the fibroid form or that o f a distinct occupation disease. SUM M ARY OE CONCLUSIONS REGARDING OCCUPATIONS W ITH EXPOSURE TO VEGETABLE FIBER DUST. The occupations involving exposure to vegetable fiber dust have been considered in more or less detail. In this group, as in those exposing to metallic and mineral dusts, it has not been possible in all cases to base conclusions upon identical data, but the returns from the various available sources are sufliciently complete to be o f considerable value. The census returns o f 1900 give the age distribution o f cotton-mill operatives, hosiery and knitting-m ill operatives, paper and pulp m ill MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 781 workers, and cabinetmakers, the aggregate number o f such persons being 184,245. This number is exclusive o f males under 15 and o f males o f unknown ages. The statistics show that only 4,342, or 2.4 per cent, had attained to an age o f 65 or over, against a normal expected proportion o f 4.7. This fact is quite suggestive o f conditions unfavorable to health and life in occupations exposing to vegetable fiber dust. The details o f the age distribution are given in the fo l lowing table, by divisional periods o f life, together with the corre sponding percentage distribution o f all occupied males, the data for both groups being derived from the census o f 1900. NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES IN EACH AGE GROUP IN OCCUPATIONS EX POSED TO VEGETABLE FIBER OUST, COMPARED WITH NUMBER AND PER CENT IN ALL OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. Males in occupations exposed to vegetable fiber dust. All occupied males. Number. Percent. Number. Per cent. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................... Total......................................................................... 73,209 47,213 31,584 19,115 8,782 4,342 184,245 39.7 25.6 17.1 10.4 4.8 2.4 100.0 5,933,720 5,993,847 4,704,682 3,250,259 1,856,181 1,063,856 22,802,545 26.0 26.3 20.6 14.3 8.1 4.7 100.0 According to this analysis, the proportion o f persons aged 15 to 34 was 65.3, or nearly two-thirds o f the total, against 52.3 expected. A t ages 45 or over, the proportion was 17.6 for the group under con sideration, against 27.1 for occupied males generally. This favor able age distribution is due to the fact that in the textile industries a considerable proportion o f the employees are comparatively young persons, the work being such that no great amount o f muscular effort is required. It is, unfortunately, not possible to present a combined summary o f the United States census vital statistics o f persons employed in occupations included in this group, since the vital statistics o f the census deal only with cabinetmakers and upholsterers. A comparison o f the rates for cabinetmakers and upholsterers with the m ortality rates o f occupied males generally indicates an excessive m ortality among cabinetmakers at ages 25 to 44 and at ages 65 or over. The death rate from consumption for cabinetmakers and upholsterers was 3.59, against 2.37 expected, and the death rate from other respira tory diseases was 2.54, against 1.97 expected. The details o f the m ortality by ages are given in the follow ing table, together with the corresponding death rates for all occupied males, the data fo r both groups being derived from the census o f 1900: 782 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG CABINETMAKERS AND UPHOL STERERS IN THE REGISTRATION STATES, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN THOSE STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] Cabinetmakers and upholsterers. All occupied males. Age. Number Rate per Number Rate per Number of deaths 1,000 Number of deaths 1,000 employed. from all from all employed. from all from all causes. causes. causes. causes. 6,486 5.15 4.59 1,259,471 19 15 to 24 years.......................................... 4,135 8.78 128 10.46 2,680,241 23,541 12,239 25 to 44 years.......................................... 19.91 45 to 64 years.......................................... 135 19.78 1,282,259 25,532 6,825 98.44 65 years or over...................................... 164 109.63 283,310 27,888 1,496 446 018.06 615.16 Total............................................. 5,505,281 83,447 24,695 ° From consumption there were 89 deaths, or a rate of 3.59. From other diseases of the respiratory system there were 63 deaths, or a rate of 2.54. 6 The rate of mortality from consumption was 2.37; from other diseases of the respir atory system, 1.97. The occupation m ortality statistics o f Ehode Island are available for five specific occupations included in this group, and when com bined returned 927 deaths from all causes, o f which 253 were from consumption and 87 from respiratory diseases other than consump tion. The corresponding percentages were 27.3 o f deaths from con sumption for persons employed in groups with exposure to vegetable fiber dust, against 17.8 for occupied males generally in the State o f Ehode Island. The percentage o f deaths from other respiratory diseases was 9.4 fo r the occupations in this group, against 12.5 expected. The English vital statistics for this group o f occupations include textile operatives generally—hosiery workers, lace workers, cordage workers, paper-m ill employees, cabinetmakers, and wood turners. W hen the statistics for these occupations are combined, they exhibit rather high death rates at all ages over 45. The details in tabular form are set forth in the follow ing table: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES, FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER RE SPIRATORY DISEASES IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO VEGETABLE FIBER DUST, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales. ] rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death other diseases of the res all causes among— consumption among— piratory system. Age at death. 15 to 19 years........ 20 to 24 years........ 25 to 34 years........ 35 to 44 years........ 45 to 54 years........ 55 to 64 years........ 65 years or over... Occupations All occupied exposed to All occupied vegetable males. males. fiber dust. 0.54 2.44 2.59 1.55 4.41 415 2.03 6.01 5.49 2.74 10.22 9.57 304 19.08 17.73 2.16 35.47 31.01 1.11 104 00 8&39 Occupations Occupations exposed to All occupied exposed to vegetable vegetable males. fiber dust. fiber dust. 0.24 0.26 0.75 .54 .48 1.63 .77 .73 2.18 1.46 1.66 3.16 361 3.32 3.80 8.33 6.54 2.79 23.35 17.77 1.63 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 783 The table shows that the mortality from consumption among males with exposure to vegetable fiber dust was excessive at all ages, but particularly so at ages 25 or over. The m ortality from respiratory diseases, other than consumption, was about normal at ages 15 to 44, somewhat excessive at ages 45 to 54, and considerably above the nor mal expected at ages 55 or over. The industrial insurance mortality statistics are available for eight occupations included in this group, returning in the aggregate 2,460 deaths o f males from all causes at ages 15 years or over. O f this number 610, or 24.8 per cent, were from consumption. The deaths from respiratory diseases other than consumption numbered 326, or 13.3 per cent. The expected consumption m ortality, on the basis o f the m ortality o f males in the registration area o f the United States for the seven-year period 1900 to 1906, was 14.8 per cent, and from other respiratory diseases 11.7 per cent. When the m ortality from consumption and from other respiratory diseases is combined, the proportionate percentage o f deaths o f males in occupations with ex posure to vegetable fiber dust was 38.0, against 26.5 per cent expected. The follow ing table gives the summary statistics in detail for the eight occupations in this group for which the industrial insurance mortality experience has been sufficiently large to warrant their inclusion: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO TEOETABLE FIBER OUST, 1897 to 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF. ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 to 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for occupations exposed to vegetable fiber dust from experience of an Industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths in occupations exposed to vegetable Per cent of deaths due fiber dust, 1897 to to consumption in— 1906, due to— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Occupa tions ex All causes. Consump posed to tion. vegetable fiber dust. 244 369 355 404 475 613 2,460 97 199 143 94 54 23 a 610 39.8 53.9 40.3 23.3 11.4 3.8 o24.8 Males in registra tion area, 1900 to 1906. 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 514.8 a There were also 326 deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system, or 13,3 per cent of the deaths from all causes. b The per cent of deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system in the registra tion area was 11.7. 784 BU LLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. It is evident from the foregoing observations and statistical data relating to a representative number o f employments with exposure to vegetable fiber dust that the effects o f such exposure are decidedly health injurious. The summary table shows that the mortality from consumption among employees in this group o f occupations is very much higher at all ages than would normally be expected. O CCU PATIO N S W IT H E X P O SU R E TO A N IM A L AN D M IX E D F IB E R D U ST. In the group o f occupations exposing to a continuous knd consid erable inhalation o f animal and mixed fiber dusts resulting from necessary industrial processes have been included for the present purpose the follow ing representative employments: Furriers, hatters, silk manufacture, woolen and worsted manufacture, carpet and rug manufacture, shoddy manufacture, rag industry, upholsterers and hair-mattress makers. These occupations are all more or less subject to an excessive death rate from all causes, but in particular to a de cided excess in the proportionate mortality from consumption, and in most cases also to a comparatively high degree o f frequency in the occurrence o f respiratory diseases. The details o f labor conditions, as far as they could be conveniently included in the follow ing summary o f observations regarding particular trades, appear to fully confirm the opinion that the degree o f excess in consumption frequency is inti mately related and in almost exact proportion to the degree o f ex posure to continuous and considerable inhalation o f animal and mixed fiber dusts. FURRIERS AND TAXIDERM ISTS. Fur dressing and dyeing are preliminary manipulations o f the fur material for a large variety o f subsequent industrial processes, o f which the most important is the manufacture o f felt hats. W hile the census o f manufactures o f 1905 returns the nujnber o f wage-earners employed in the dressing o f fur at only 1,105, (a) the total is much larger when persons are included who manipulate fur as a prelim inary process in hat manufacture, where the most important opera tions are pulling, blowing, and forming. A ll o f these are employ ments exposing considerably and continuously to the inhalation o f fine fur dust. The material used in felt hat manufacture is almost exclusively the fur o f Belgian hares, which is imported for this pur pose in enormous quantities. The preliminary process o f fur pulling as carried on in Belgium and England is described in considerable detail by Rose E. Squire, one o f H is M ajesty’s inspectors o f factories, whose observations and conclusions are o f exceptional interest and value. Most o f the fur pulling in Belgium is done by women, who ° Census o f Manufactures, 1905, Part I, p. 232. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 785 work under very trying conditions, and the haze o f floating hair, the sickly, disgusting odor o f uncleaned skins, and other unfavorable cir cumstances, attract to this employment only the lowest class o f labor. According to Miss Squire, “ Fur pullers and openers belong to the poorest class o f women. The dirty and repulsive nature o f the work, and the low scale o f wages, attract none but those who, for one reason or another, can get no other employment.” Fortunately, as this observer points out, “ Machines are taking the place o f hand pulling to a certain extent, but the chief part o f the work is done in Belgium, where men do the pulling for a low wage. The manufacturer here finds it cheaper to pay the carriage o f British rabbit skins to Belgium and back than to have them pulled in England. Fur pullers are, as a class, irregular workers, and, being paid by the piece, the employer has no hold upon them.” W hile the circumstances o f labor in fur pulling and kindred employments are apparently very objectionable and in all probability injurious to health, this conclusion has not been established by such investigations as have been made by Miss Squire and others, and in fact the form er observes that “ when the workers in any industry are drawn only from that class whose standard o f life is the very lowest, when insufficient food and clothing and all the other sad accompaniments o f deep poverty have made their mark upon them, it is almost impossible to point to any one physical condition as a result o f their occupation. Hoarseness, cough, and a bronchitic condition are common among fur pullers; such are also observed in the old and middle-aged women o f the same class who are not fur pullers. One would certainly expect to find evidence among them o f suffering caused by inhaling the down present in the air o f the workroom s; but, except for occasional complaints that “ it stuffs up the chest,” most o f the workers consider fur pulling’ a healthy occu pation. It may be that the fur being so fine and light is not inhaled; the danger is probably more to be found in swallowing it, and the symptoms o f ill health arising from this are, from their nature, not easily discoverable, and must be related by the sufferer; but the poor fur pullers look with suspicion on any inquiry touching their health, fearing that they may be deprived o f their work, which, although they say it is not worth the doing, is all they have.” (a) Aside, however, from the question whether the industry is really injurious to health or not, the sanitary conditions can be materially modified to improve the com fort, and with practical certainty the health o f the employees, for, according to Miss Squire, “ Much more than has yet been attempted might be done to improve, by specially applied ventilation, the condition o f fur-pulling rooms in factories and workshops. The drawing away o f the pulled hair from the °S e e article on “ R abbit down,” by Miss Squire, in Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, p. 724. 786 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. worker in a downward direction by means o f a properly constructed flue under the troughs and an extracting fan would seem to be practi cable, and the down could be collected outside in a receptacle for the purpose.” The dressing and dyeing o f aquatic furs has been described at length in a bulletin o f the United States Fish Commission, in which the various processes are illustrated, with special reference to Amer ican conditions. It is evident that in most o f the processes the risk o f dust inhalation is a very considerable one, chiefly, o f course, o f fine particles o f hair, wood, fur (properly so called), and animal down, which is usually a waste product. There is, in addition, a not in considerable risk o f exposure to the inhalation o f other healthinjurious kinds o f dust, o f which arsenic is the most important metallic substance, combining poisonous qualities. From this de scriptive account the follow ing is extracted, as emphasizing the more important circumstances which give rise to the production o f healthinjurious dust and which, no doubt, can be materially modified by improved methods o f dust removal at the point o f origin : “ I f the overhairs are to be removed, that process is next in order, except in the dressing o f muskrat skins, when it is usually postponed until after the dressing. In preparing for plucking, the hair side is dried and warmed by artificial heat, the membrane being kept moist in the meantime. Each skin is placed flesh side down on a flat, hard wood beam, similar to that used in breaking except that it is covered with thick, elastic leather. Chalk is first sprinkled over the hair, and then, using a knife similar to that employed in breaking, a workman rubs or works most o f the overhairs out o f the membrane. Those not removed in this manner are subsequently plucked out with a dull knife o f soft metal. W ith this knife in his right hand and his thumb protected with a rubber cot about 4 inches in length, the picker grasps the hairs between the edge o f the knife and his protected thumb and with a quick, jerking motion pulls them out, going over the entire pelt in this manner. The fur seal is quite difficult to unhair, and the process is more complicated.” The process o f fur manufacture in felt-hat making is, for the pres ent purpose, the most important one. The number o f men employed as fur blowers and cutters in the felt-hat industry is not known with accuracy, but it forms an important branch o f the industry. The processes, in their relation to health-injurious circumstances, have been described in some detail in a special report o f the Massachusetts state board o f health on dangerous occupations, from which the fo l low ing extract is m ade: In the manufacture o f derby and felt hats the essential material is fur, and that used for the best product is from cony and allied spe cies. This comes to the factory clipped from the skin and treated MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 787 with cyanide o f mercury. The different kinds o f fur are mixed to gether in large covered machines, in which the coarse hair is sepa rated from the soft, downy fur, which latter is taken to the felt machine. This consists o f a revolving copper cone, perforated with numerous small holes, through which the air is drawn by suction ap paratus. The cone is inclosed in a barrel-like covering, open at the top, which has a door in the side for the removal o f the felt as made. The fine hairs are blown into the upper part o f the inclosure, and they are attracted toward the perforated cone by the air currents going thereto. They are then deposited in a thin layer on the outside o f the cone, and when the deposit has gone on to a sufficient extent a cloth wrung out in hot water is applied, and the cone and its covering are removed and plunged into hot water for a short time, the heat and moisture causing the individual hairs to become more intimately m atted; then the conical layer is pulled off and sent to the shrinking room. The most recent English mortality statistics o f furriers are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General in part as follow s: The numbers comprised in this occupation are too limited to war rant more than general statements concerning them. Except at the age group 20 to 25 years, the death rates are considerably above the standard for all occupied and retired males, and at every age group their m ortality very. considerably exceeds that o f tanners, being more than double as great at some stages o f life. In the main working period their comparative m ortality figure from all causes is 1,332, or 33 per cent above the standard, and no less than 72 per cent above the corresponding figure for tanners. The mortality from accident and from suicide is less than the standard for all occupied and retired males, and is also less than that for tanners, but from all other causes furriers suffer excessively, the mortality from cancer being three times as great, and that from influenza and phthisis, as well as from nervous and circulatory diseases, being about twice as great as that for tanners. (a) The recent English statistics for furriers are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effect o f this industry on health. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. The excess in the general death rate o f furriers is met with at all ages. The excess in the death rate o f furriers at ages 25 to 54 is between 2.29 and 2.69 per 1,000, increas ing suddenly to astonishing proportions at ages 55 or over. W hile the excess at the age period 55 to 64, or 20.27 per 1,000, may be in part the result o f comparatively small numbers, the comparison is, nevertheless, decidedly suggestive. ° Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-Gen eral o f Births, Deaths, a n d M arriages in England and W ales, p. Ixv. 63675— No. 79—09------11 788 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR, MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG FURRIERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for furriers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all oc or less (—) Ratio to cupied Rate per than rate rate for all 1,000. for all oc occupied males. cupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 a72 4.42 a52 12.91 2fi 02 51.28 107.84 + 1.28 + .01 + 2.51 + 2.69 ++20.27 2.29 +19.45 152 100 142 126 113 165 122 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison, however, is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f furriers from consumption is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from this disease by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was excessive at all ages 20 or over, the excess being most marked at ages 35 to 44 and at ages 55 or over. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG FURRIERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years.............................:...............: ...................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for furriers. per 1,000 for all oc cupied Rate per males. 1,000. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 1.77 &46 4.74 3.86 7.33 5.88 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied males. + .22 +1.43 +2.00 + .82 +5.17 +4.77 114 170 173 127 339 530 The recorded industrial insurance m ortality statistics o f furriers and taxidermists include 105 deaths from all causes, o f which 34, or 32.4 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f furriers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 9 were from pneumonia, 5 from bronchitis, and 3 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 789 are combined, 48.6 per cent o f the mortality o f furriers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consump tion m ortality o f furriers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this dis ease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 35 to 44, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 63.3 were from con sumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 23.6. The num bers are too small for other periods o f life to warrant entirely safe conclusions. The analysis o f the consumption m ortality o f furriers in detail is set forth in the table below : PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG FURRIERS AND TAXIDERMISTS, 1897, TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for furriers and taxidermists from experience of an industrial insurance com pany ; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of furriers and Percent of deaths due to taxidermists, 1897 to consumption among— 1906, due to— Age at death. Furriers Males in All causes. Consump and taxi registration tion. 1900 dermists. area, to 1906. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 years to 64 years...................................................................... 65 or over...........................................................— Total......................................................................... 3 18 30 13 24 17 105 1 7 19 4 2 1 34 33.3 38.9 63.3 30.8 8.3 5.9 32.4 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 &1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data regarding the mor tality o f furriers confirm the conclusion that the degree o f consump tion frequency in this employment is decidedly excessive and without question directly connected with the health-injurious circumstances o f the trade. The excess in the degree o f consumption frequency in England and Wales is. most marked at advanced years, which would make it probable that the type o f the disease assumes in many cases the fibroid form , or that o f a distinct occupation disease. HATTERS. A ll who have written on the diseases o f occupation have included felt hat manufacture among the trades specifically injurious to health and life. The conditions which give rise to a high death rate and the degree o f disease frequency above the normal are prim arily due to the 790 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. continuous and considerable exposure to the inhalation o f irritating dust, which is produced during nearly every important process o f hat manufacture except the sizing, where steam and vapor, combined with high temperature, increase considerably the liability o f the workmen to respiratory diseases. Mercurial poisoning is another serious risk o f the industry, but limited to finishers and a few other departments, and, fortunately, less common at the present time than in former years. The felt hat making industry is concentrated in a few States, chiefly New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The industry, ac cording to the census o f manufactures o f 1905, gave employment to 22,047 wage-earners, and o f this number 15,432 were males 16 years o f age or over.(°) ♦In addition, however, the manufacture o f wool hats gave employment to 1,503 wage-earners, and the manufacture o f hat and cap materials to 2,414. The concentration o f the industry in New Jersey early attracted the attention o f qualified medical observers, and as far back as 1860 Dr. J. A . Freeman, o f Orange, prepared an address on Mercurial Diseases among Hatters for the New Jersey state medical society. In 1878 Dr. L. Dennis, o f Newark, prepared a report on H atting as Affecting the Health o f Operatives, at the request o f the state board o f health, which was published that year in the annual report o f the board. In 1886, by request o f the same authority, Dr. J. W . Stickler, o f ' Orange, prepared an extended account o f the Hygiene o f Hat Manufacture and the Diseases o f Hatters, including the personal examination o f a large number o f workmen for evidences o f phys ical impairment in consequence o f the industry. The medical investi gations were amplified during the years 1889 to 1895 by an elaborate inquiry through the state bureau o f labor statistics into the effects o f the occupation on the trade life o f persons employed in tKe indus try, as part o f a general investigation, including many other danger ous and unhealthy employments. The various investigations all con firm the generally accepted view o f qualified authorities, that the manufacture o f felt hats is attended with more or less health-injuri ous circumstances, but that some departments o f the industry are decidedly more exposed to this risk than others. W hile the investi gations have never been entirely conclusive, in the absence o f thoroughly trustworthy statistics o f mortality for the more im por tant employments, felt cutters, hat makers, and sizers are apparently the most liable to respiratory and pulmonary diseases and subject to a death rate above the average for persons generally employed in felt hat manufacture. Other employments decidedly injurious to health are pouncing, singeing, steaming, drying, hardening, and aCensus o f M anufactures, 1905, P art I, p. 252. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 791 mixing, in all o f which considerable dust or other health-injurious circumstances increase the liability to respiratory and pulmonary diseases. Finishers, dangers, and curlers are important employ ments apparently less liable to these diseases, but the degree o f difference is, in all probability, not great, since these occupations are often carried on under about the same conditions as other employ ments previously enumerated, the three occupations being frequently conducted in the same or in adjoining rooms. The improvements which have been introduced into the industry, including the inclosure o f dust-producing machinery and the more effectual control o f the dust generated during pouncing and finishing at the point o f origin, has, no doubt, resulted in a marked improvement during very recent years. Many o f the hat factories have been rebuilt and the conditions in the modern factories are decidedly better than in those constructed in former years. The general vital statistics regarding hatters are very lim ited but fairly conclusive. According to the vital statistics o f 1890 there were enumerated 14,222 hat and cap makers in the registration States o f the United States, and o f this number 356, or 2.5 per cent, had at tained to the age o f 65 years or over. The number o f deaths from all causes in this group was 277, and o f this number 94, or 33.9 per cent, were from consumption. The m ortality from all causes for hatters was considerably higher in each age group than the corresponding average for this class o f occupations, and at ages 25 to 44, inclusive, the death rate o f hat and cap makers was 19.27 per 1,000, or more than twice the average rate in occupations o f this class, which was returned as 9.18. The specific death rate from consumption was 6.61 per 1,000, and from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 2.95 per 1,000. The rates were high for all diseases except heart disease and suicide. The death rate from consumption was more than twice the average rate and extremely high in the cities o f the registration States only, for which it was returned as 7.8 per 1,000. (a) The vital statistics o f the census o f 1900 included the mortality occurring among 12,680 males o f known ages 15 or over enumerated as being employed in this group o f occupations. The number o f deaths from all causes in this group was 228, and the corresponding death rate 18 per 1,000. The death rates per 1,000 o f population, by divisional periods o f life, were, at ages o f 15 to 24, 5.40; at ages 25 to 44, 13.10; at ages 45 to 64 the rate was 32.96; and at ages 65 or over it was 173.8. The death rates o f hat and cap makers were generally above the average for the manufacturing and mechan ical industries class, being highest from consumption, heart disease, « V ital Statistics, Eleventh Census, P art I, p. 138. 792 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. and pneumonia. (a) F or reasons not stated in the census report, the details regarding the mortality in this occupation were less fully reported in connection with the census o f 1900 than in connection with that o f 1890. F or some years the vital statistics o f the United Hatters o f North America have been published in semiannual reports, and combining their returns for the period June 1, 1898, to November 30, 1901, there occurred 412 deaths from all causes, and o f this number 133, or 32.3 per cent, were from consumption. The number o f deaths from respiratory diseases other than consumption was 52, or 12.6 per cent. Combining the deaths from consumption and from other re spiratory diseases, there were 185 deaths from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, or 44.9 per cent o f the m ortality from all causes. The most recent English mortality statistics o f hatters are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part, as fo l low s: The mortality in this occupation shows an excess at every stage o f life, the excess being most marked at ages 20 to 25 and 65 and up ward. In the main working period the comparative mortality fig ure is 1,137, or above the standard for all occupied and retired males by 13 per cent. Hatters appear to be specially liable to phthisis, the m ortality from that disease exceeding the normal by 50 per cent, and also to other diseases o f the respiratory system and to Bright’s dis ease, the m ortality from which is above the average by 40 per cent. Suicide is also frequent. On the other hand, the m ortality from in fluenza, nervous diseases, and accident is below the average. (*) The recent English m ortality statistics o f hatters are entirely con clusive o f the unfavorable effects o f this industry on health. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males gener ally, and the result is suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. The excess in the general death rate o f hatters is met with at all ages, but the relative and actual excess is most pronounced at ages 45 or over. In this respect the mor tality o f hatters quite closely resembles the corresponding mortality o f furriers and taxidermists. a V ital Statistics, T w elfth Census, Part I, p. cclxxxiv. 6 Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual R eport o f the Registrar-Gem eral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. Ixii. 793 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG HATTERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for hatters. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu Rate per pied males. 1,000. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. 2.90 6.19 6.70 11.44 19.82 35.97 103.42 Ratio to rate for all occupied males. + 0.46 + 1.78 + .69 + 1.22 + 2.09 + 4.96 +15.03 119 140 111 112 112 116 117 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f hatters from consumption and other respira tory diseases is compared with the normal m ortality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The com parison shows that the m ortality from consumption is excessive at all ages, but the excess is most marked at ages 20 to 54. The table fur ther shows that the m ortality o f hatters from other respiratory dis eases is above the average fo r occupied males generally at ages 45 or over, by from 1.60 to 6.10 per 1,000. The two tables derived from English sources fully confirm the previous conclusion that the mor tality o f hatters is excessive when proper comparison is made with the corresponding mortality o f occupied males generally, and that this excess is largely because o f the high degree o f consumption fre quency at ages 20 to 54. The table which follow s requires no further comment and is otherwise self-explanatory: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RE SPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG HATTERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.]*65 Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over.. Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the respiratory system. Death rate for hatters. Death rate per Greater (+) Ratio to 1,000 for less (—) rate for all occu Rate per orthan rate pied occu 1,000. for all allpied males. occupied males. males. Death rate for hatters. i/esia rate per Greater (+) Ratio to 1.000 for less (—) rate for all occu Rate per orthan rate pied occu 1,000. for all allpied males. occupied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.61 3.47 3.70 4.11 4.76 2.17 +0.07 +1.92 +1.67 +1.37 +1.72 + .01 113 224 182 150 157 100 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.30 .77 1.33 4.92 10.85 23.87 -0.18 - .33 +1.60 +4.31 +6.10 63 100 80 148 166 134 794 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f hatters in clude 832 deaths from all causes, o f which 278, or 33.4 per cent, were deaths from consumption. O f the m ortality o f hatters from respira tory diseases other than consumption, 71 were from pneumonia, 4 from asthma, 12 from bronchitis, and 10 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respira tory diseases are combined, 45.1 per cent o f the mortality o f hatters was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f hatters is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate m ortality from this dis ease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 55.4 were from con sumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. Very few deaths from consumption occurred among hatters at ages 65 or over, but the proportionate m ortality was exceptionally high at young ages, having been 53.8 per cent at ages 15 to 24. The analysis o f the con sumption m ortality o f hatters in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG HATTERS) 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for hatters from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census. ] Deaths of hatters, 1897 Per cent of deaths due to to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. Males in All causes. Consump Hatters. registration tion. area, 1900 to 1906. 15 to 24 years...’.................................................................. 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... 78 175 185 127 135 132 832 42 97 84 34 20 1 278 53.8 55.4 45.4 26.7 14.8 .8 33.4 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the con clusion that hatters as a class are subject to an excessive mortality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 64, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. SILK MANUFACTURE. Silk manufacture in the United States is a highly diversified in dustry, giving employment in 1905 to some 79,601 wage-earners, in 624 manufacturing establishments. O f the number employed 27,037 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 795 were adult males, or 34 per cent.(a) A large number o f women, and children under 16 years o f age, are employed in this industry, which offers exceptional opportunities for light and fairly remunerative em ployment particularly adapted to women and children. W hile the number o f persons employed in the industry has materially increased within recent years, the principal increase has been chiefly in the number o f women wage-earners, or to be specific, from about 35,000 in 1900 to a little over 45,000 in 1905. The actual extent o f the silk industry, however, is greater than indicated by these statistics, since the manufacture o f silk hosiery and silk knit goods is included in the hosiery and knitting industries generally. By products, the industry divides itself into the manufacture o f broad silks o f many varieties, ribbons, velvets, plushes, tapestry and upholstery goods, machine twists, floss, etc. How far the conditions affecting health vary in the different branches o f the industry has not yet been determined with the required accuracy to warrant entirely safe conclusions. The most important processes in silk manufacture are winding, reeling, spinning, throwing or twisting, warping, weaving, picking, cleansing, and dyeing. On account o f the very large variety o f goods manufactured and the admixture, according to requirements, o f the silk with other textile materials, chiefly cotton and wool, the degree o f dust exposure in the different employments varies considerably, so much so that no definite rule can be laid down which would clearly differentiate the health-injurious processes from those which are com paratively innocuous. The hygiene o f employment in silk mills was carefully considered by Arlidge, whose opinion was decidedly in favor o f silk manufacture as compared with the corresponding conditions affecting health in the manufacture o f cotton, linen, or wool. In his opinion the silk industry stands lowest in the list o f textile manu factures as a dust-producing and a health-destroying occupation, and is, apart from the general insanitary features surrounding all textile operations, practically devoid o f evils originating in the quality o f the material and its manipulation, excepting in one department, and that is where waste silk is worked or manipulated for subsequent man ufacturing purposes. The processes o f winding, twisting, reeling, and spinning, in the opinion o f Arlidge, are accompanied by little or no dust where the best silk is in use, and he regards all o f these as harmless to health. Since these observations were made a matter o f record, however, it is necessary to keep in mind that the admixture o f other textile fibers in the manufacture o f mixed goods has very considerably increased—so much so that nearly 10,000,000 pounds o f yarn other than silk were used by silk mills, according to the census o f manufactures o f 1905. c Census o f M anufactures, 1905, Part II I , p. 161. 796 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. Regarding the manufacture o f silk waste, A rlidge states that this material is derived either from mills where the best silk is employed, o f which it represents, in a certain sense, the refuse; or else from a certain grade o f cocoons received from abroad and differing widely in quality. Many o f these are so mixed with dirt as to offer, to the uninstructed eye, no semblance o f being silk at all, and it is these im pure cocoons that give rise, in the preparatory stages o f manufacture, to foul smells and dust. A rlidge refers to a report by Redgrave in 1872, to the effect that, “ The dressing o f waste silk is one o f the most nauseous o f occupations,” which, however, may be rendered compara tively inoffensive and harmless by proper ventilating appliances. The preparatory processes after the boiling o f the cocoon are, ac cording to Arlidge, conducted in what are called the dressing rooms, and it is almost exclusively in these rooms that dust is encountered W hile many carding machines are inclosed and only give rise to dust at intervals when opened for any purpose, there are horizontally acting machines not admitting o f inclosure by their present construc tion, which do throw off fine dust traceable on surrounding objects and perceptible as a haze in the atmosphere around. In addition to the dressing process, so-called gassing is decidedly injurious to health, since the burned minute particles o f silk float in the air, producing the smell o f combustion o f animal matter to a perceptible degree and likewise a dust visible as a thin haze. The temperature in these rooms is, as a rule, excessive, while the atmosphere is grossly polluted unless artificial ventilation is provided. These observations o f Arlidge are in marked contrast to the earlier conclusions o f Doctor Greenhow, who conducted an inquiry into the m ortality o f towns in which the silk industry was concentrated during the early sixties. The m ortality from consumption in these towns at that time was extremely high, but during the intervening period vast improvements have taken place and the m ortality from consumption has been reduced to the normal o f English towns generally. No really qualified investigation, how ever, has been made into the actual conditions affecting the health o f workers in silk mills at the present time, and even A rlidge is forced to the conclusion that— A certain amount o f asthmatic breathing and bronchitis is, after long employment, set up by the dust o f the dressing department and by that o f gassing. And judging from the experience or the Maccles field Infirmary, a considerable number o f silk workers break down as age advances with symptoms o f fibroid phthisis. Unfortunately there appears to have been no medical research into the pathology o f such cases, and no statistical record kept. Further, the high tempera ture existing in certain workrooms can not be without effect on health. Indeed, the aspect o f many o f the women, their anaemia and other signs, betray the ills attending their calling. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 797 The very favorable conclusions o f A rlidge are also in contrast to the conclusions o f Dr. Pierre Givre, who in 1890 published a treatise on tuberculosis among silk workers, chiefly in the silk district o f Lyon. According to these researches, among a very considerable number o f deaths o f silk workers during a long period o f years, including both sexes, the m ortality from tuberculosis had equaled 35.6 per cent o f the m ortality from all causes. On contrasting the male with the female workers, the latter exhibited a decidedly higher proportion, while at the same time the deaths occurred at an earlier age. D octor Givre’s opinion was particularly unfavorable to the employments o f winders and carders, compared with other branches o f the industry. A ddi tional statistical evidence regarding the hygiene o f silk manufacture is referred to by Arlidge, who obtained from Dr. Henry Fernie, o f Mac clesfield, the statistics o f 922 persons engaged in the silk trade treated as out-patients at the infirmary. Am ong this number 25 per cent were cases o f either tubercular or respiratory diseases. F or a really conclusive opinion more data are required than thus far have been brought together, with special reference to essential differences in methods o f manufacture according to the kind o f goods manufactured. As previously stated, the industry lends itself pecul iarly to the employment o f women and children, and an examination o f the age distribution proves that there are comparatively few per sons o f advanced ages employed in silk manufacture. The age dis tribution o f 49,422 silk workers, 15 years o f age or over, with distinc tion o f sex, was as follow s: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALE AND OF FEMALE SILK WORKERS IN EACH AGE GROUP, 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Male silk workers. Female silk workers. Number. Percent. Number. Per cent. 9,022 5,301 3,380 1,563 785 250 20*301 44.4 26.1 16.7 7.7 3.9 1.2 100.0 21,884 5,082 1,519 461 127 48 29,121 75.1 17.5 5.2 1.6 .4 .2 100.0 The table emphasizes the concentration o f employments in silk manufacture at the younger ages and the comparative infrequency o f employment at ages over 45. Whether the comparatively small number o f persons employed in old age is the result o f heavy mor tality follow ing the early years o f employment, or whether it is because o f labor requirements more favorable to the employment o f 798 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. young persons, can not be determined at the present time. The table, however, is decidedly suggestive and it probably has some connection with the higher mortality o f silk workers than is normal to the gen eral population, although a large number, no doubt, after suffering a temporary impairment, leave the industry for other employments, and they are thus lost sight o f in the vital statistics o f the trade. W hile no conclusive investigation has been made to determine the health conditions in the different branches o f the industry, it is probably quite safe to assume that employment in plush and velvet mills is a more dusty occupation than that in mills manufacturing sewing silk or the usual grade o f ribbons and broad goods. In the plush mills, employment in the finishing rooms exposes to a con siderable amount o f dust. Also, in the shearing rooms there is con siderable dust, which, however, is reduced by the required hu midity o f the atmosphere. In the brushing rooms there is consider able dust, and there is probably even more dust at the pegging and so-called tagging machines, which are difficult o f exact description. Thus far no thorough investigation has been made, either in this country or abroad, which would warrant final conclusions as to whether the decidedly favorable opinion o f Arlidge is warranted by present-day conditions, but as far as it is possible to judge the mor tality o f silk-m ill workers and their liability to tubercular and respira tory diseases is somewhat below the average for persons employed in cotton and woolen mills. The most recent English mortality statis tics o f silk manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General, in part, as follow s: The mortality o f these workers is below the standard for occupied and retired males at all ages up to the fifty-fifth year, the de fect being especially noticeable at the age group 25-35 years. Above the age o f 55 years the rates exceed the standard. The comparative mortality figure in the main working period o f life is 964, or 4 per cent below the average. These workers are liable to less than onethird o f the standard mortality from accident, to one-half o f that from influenza, and to two-thirds o f that from respiratory diseases, and their m ortality from alcoholism and liver disease, as well as from cancer, is also low. On the other hand, they show excessive mortality from phthisis, nervous diseases, Bright’s disease, and sui cide, especially from the two causes last mentioned. (a) The recent English mortality statistics for silk workers are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effects o f this industry on health as regards the more advanced periods o f life. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes o f men in this group with occupied males generally, and the com parison shows that the death rates o f silk workers were below the av0 P art II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. lxxxvii. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 799 erage at ages 15 to 44, slightly above the average at ages 45 to 54, and decidedly so at 55 years or over, when the excess in the death rate was 5 per 1,000 at ages 55 to 64 and 19.16 at 65 or over. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALE SILK WORKERS COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement of the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate for male silk workers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) for all or less (—) Ratio to ' occupied Rate per than rate rate for all males. 1,000. for all occupied occupied males. males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.30 3.27 4.12 8.56 17.90 36.01 107.55 - 0.14 - 1.14 - 1.89 - 1.66 4* .17 + 5.00 +19.16 94 74 69 84 101 116 122 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f silk workers from consumption is com pared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from this dis ease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the m ortality from consumption is excessive at ages 20 to 84, inclusive, and at ages 45 or over. The exceptions are o f minor importance, but the comparison suggests a degree o f consumption frequency ma terially above the average, or by from 0.27 to 1.53 per 1,000. The table which follow s requires no further comment: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MALE SILK WORKERS COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over............................................................... Death rate for male silk workers. Death rate per 1,000 Greater (+) Ratio to for all less (—) rate for all occupied Rate per orthan males. 1,000. for all rate occu occupied pied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.23 1.82 2.40 2.05 3.95 3.69 2.00 -0.31 + .27 + .37 - .69 + .91 +1.53 + .89 43 117 118 75 130 171 180 800 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f silk workers include 295 deaths from all causes, o f which 106, or 35.9 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f silk workers from respiratory diseases other than consumption 21 were from pneumonia, 5 from asthma and bronchitis, and 7 from less frequent respir atory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other re spiratory diseases are combined, 47.1 per cent o f the mortality o f silk workers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The ex cess in the consumption m ortality o f silk workers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mor tality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 35 to 44, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 60 were from consumption, against a normal expected propor tion o f 23.6. The analysis o f the consumption m ortality o f silk-m ill workers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG SILK WORKERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for silk workers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 4i5 years or over................................................................... Total......................................................................... Deaths of silk work Per cent of deaths due ers, 1897 to 1906, due to c o n su m p tio n among— to— Males in Silk registration All causes. Consump tion. workers. area, 1900 to 1906. 82 61 55 31 37 29 295 28 32 33 7 4 2 106 34.1 52.5 60.0 22.6 10.8 6.9 35.9 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the conclu sion that silk workers as a class are subject to an excessive mortality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large meas ure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. WOOLEN AND WORSTED MANUFACTURE. The manufacture o f woolen and worsted goods has, during recent years, developed into an American industry o f very considerable pro portions, and in 1905 gave employment to 143,458 wage-earners. O f MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 801 this number 75,717 were males, 56,749 females, and 10,992 children and young persons under 16 years o f age. W hile an exact division o f the industry into woolen and worsted manufacture is some what difficult, in approximate numbers there were 72,747 employed in the manufacture o f woolen goods, 69,251 in the manufacture o f worsted goods, in addition to vhich there were enumerated 681 wool pullers and 779 wool scourers. (a) The importance o f the woolen industry is gradually declining, while the manufacture o f worsted goods is taking its place. Although the processes o f manufacture are very much the same as in cotton textiles generally, the worsted indus try is a very much more technical process, including some fifty welldefined subdivisions o f labor. The most important o f these are sort ing, scouring, carding, combing, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and fin ishing. In nearly all o f these processes the exposure to animal fiber dust is quite considerable, being somewhat greater in the manufacture o f woolen than o f worsted goods. The processes o f scouring, dyeing, and fulling are comparatively free from dust, but steam, vapor, and dampness increase the disease liability o f the workmen in these em ployments. W ool sorting is quite a dusty employment, but the risk o f so-called “ wool-sorter’s disease ” is limited to the handling o f certain grades o f foreign wool, chiefly van-mohair, alpaca, East Indian cashmere, and camel’s hair, all o f which are imported from the Far East. Since these wools are usually imported by way o f England they are there, under factory regulations, subjected to a disinfecting process, by which the risk o f anthrax is reduced to a minimum. In no branch o f the woolen industry is artificial ventilation and dust removal o f greater importance than in wool and rag sorting, which, in common with the general risk o f dust injury, has the additional risk o f trans mission o f infectious diseases, chiefly anthrax and smallpox. An effective device for removing the dust in wool sorting has been de scribed by Haldane in his lecture on the removal o f dust and fumes o f factories before the Koyal Society o f Arts. The woolen and worsted industries are o f such great com plexity that only a few o f the more important occupations can be considered at this time. Thackrah, in his comments upon the diseases peculiar to persons employed in the manufacture o f woolen and worsted goods, observes: W ool combers work in apartments which, from the fire employed to heat the combs, are kept at the temperature o f about 80°. The fires are made o f charcoal. From the evolution o f carbonic-acid gas, when the windows are not sufficiently open, the men are occasionally affected with headache. In some or the manufactories an attempt aCensus o f M anufactures, 1905, Part I II, p. 128. 802 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR. has been made to heat the combs by means o f steam, but the workmen complain that by this mode the rooms are made hotter and the combs colder; in other words that the increase o f temperature is more d if fused. A light dust arises from the wool, or rather perhaps from the soap retained by the wool after washing. It annoys the air tube and obliges some persons to leave the employ. The men, however, whom we found in the rooms appeared quite healthy, and we were informed that out o f 100 individuals only 2 or 3 were absent from illness. * * * The heat o f the apartments does not appear to shorten life. W e have repeatedly seen at work men from 60 to 70 years o f age. The same authority says with reference to worsted spinners that— Spinners o f worsted, chiefly young persons, are exposed to consider able heat in rooms traversed by steam pipes and often deficient in ventilation. The thermometer, in November, we have found in the spinning rooms at 65° and 70°, and in the warping rooms, where steam pipes are not introduced, 58°, while in the open air it was 48°. In summer, o f course, the temperature, particularly o f the spinning rooms, is considerably higher. The rooms in most mills, though spacious, are too low. The windows are about the middle o f the walls and no apertures are made above them fo r the admission o f air. The labor is light and the posture varied. * * * The operatives have generally the appearance o f health. Many, however, particu larly at the commencement o f the employ, suffer from headache and siclmess, the result, I conceive, o f the want o f ventilation rather than the temperature o f the rooms. Some can not bear the employ. The m ills are generally in the c o u n t r y or at the o u t s k ir t s o f the t o w n . A t the time, however, when Thackrah reported his observations the worsted industry had developed to only very small proportions, chiefly the manufacture o f worsted handkerchiefs, fancy goods, and worsted stockings. The weavers employed in the manufacture o f these goods were, in the opinion o f Thackrah, subjected to some dust, which affected the respiration and rendered the employment less healthful than the corresponding occupation in cotton manufacture. This opinion has not been sustained by subsequent investigation, which would appear to prove conclusively that the manufacture o f woolen and worsted goods is less injurious than employments in the manufacture o f cotton goods. During recent years the conditions o f labor in the woolen and worsted industries have undergone a material improvement, largely as the result o f the concentration o f the industry in the elimination o f many small factories not built in conform ity to modern sanitary requirements as to air space, light, and ventilation. W hile important improvements have been made, it is still rare, however, to find an effective system o f artificial dust removal, chiefly in the processes generating the largest quantities o f dust—that is, the carding and combing branches o f the industry. The amount o f fly resulting from the various operations is considerable in both woolen and worsted manufacture and continuous cleaning is necessary, and this is practi MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 803 cally all done by means o f the ordinary sweeping process, much o f which results in dust disturbance rather than in dust removal. The woolen and worsted industries were very carefully considered by A rlidge in his treatise on the diseases o f occupation. He calls attention to the fact that most o f the health-injurious processes are those which have to do with the preparatory stages, and he describes these processes in their relation to health, in part, as follow s: In the first place, the bales have to be opened, and their contents being heaped upon large tables have to be sorted in order to separate their different qualities. A long with more or less dirt removed with the fleeces, the wool holds a considerable quantity o f greasy matter. From this last it has to be freed by careiul and repeated washings in alkaline fluids and by specially constructed machines. It has, m the next place, to be subjected to “ w illyin g” (w innow ing), “ scrib bling,” and “ carding machines ” to remove every portion o f dirt and to deliver it, as in the cotton manufacture, in the form o f a “ sliver ” o f fine fibers collected in a loose rope-like form. In the preliminary combing processes considerable dust is thrown off, but by the use o f inclosed machines and o f fans to withdraw it as fast as it is generated little escapes into the apartment to annoy or to injure. W e owe it to the ingenuity o f modern engineers that these preliminary operations have well-nigh ceased to be unhealthy. Arlidge, as the result o f his investigations, held that the dust from wool was more innocuous than that o f cotton, and very much more so than the dust o f flax, because o f the inherent structure o f the wool fiber and the fact that its animal origin makes it less irritating and less foreign to living animal tissue. Moreover, he held that when the woolen fibers reached the spinning frames they had to be lubricated with oil, which materially reduced the amount o f dust generated dur ing the subsequent manipulation. This conclusion, however, is sub ject to material modification in many mills, where the evidence o f a considerable amount o f dust being generated during the spinning process is readily observed by the amount o f dust under and on the machinery and present in the atmosphere. W ith special reference to worsted spinning and weaving, Arlidge observed that— Other advantages attending the worsted spinning are that it is done dry and does not need the same degree o f moist heat required in the other textile trades. Further, in the weaving o f worsted a far lower and less humid temperature is called for than in the case o f cotton weaving; while, what is o f still greater moment, clay sizing and its emitted dust have no place. Arlidge sums up his general conclusions regarding the health o f persons employed in the woolen and worsted industry as follow s: The general conclusion respecting the worsted manufacture is that it is a healthy occupation. The artisans look less anaemic and sallow than cotton operatives, while their social and domestic position 63675— No. 79— 09----- 12 804 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. appears more favorable. They likewise suffer less with respiratory diseases and consumption; but the proportion in which these prevail is in some degree regulated by the quality o f wool used, that from Australia and the Cape being more dusty than English and therefore more provocative o f bronchial irritation. D octor Greenhow could not find that chest diseases and the m ortality therefrom occurred in a higher ratio among the woolen workers o f Bradford than with the general population. Other writers on occupation diseases have given equally extended consideration to the industry, but, on the whole, the conclusions coin cide with those o f Arlidge, that employment in woolen and worsted manufacture, with the resulting exposure to animal fiber dust, is less dangerous to health than the corresponding employment in the manu facture o f cotton and other vegetable fiber textiles. Dr. B. W . Richardson held that the dust or fly o f wool appeared to produce no really deleterious effects on the lungs, and that, in fact, the m ortality o f the workers in wool seemed to warrant the opinion that they were favorably exempted from disease, probably because the soft, oily dust o f the wool protected the bronchial surfaces from irritation rather than that it irritated them. Tatham, writing with a better knowledge o f the m ortality statistics o f the trade, confirms this opin ion in his discussion o f dust-producing occupations in Oliver’s Dan gerous Trades, from which the follow ing is quoted: W ool workers suffer much less severely from their occupation than do cotton operatives. In the weaving o f woolen materials a lower and drier temperature is required than in the case o f cotton weaving, and the m ischief caused by “ sizing ” with china clay and other irritants has no place in woolen manufacture. Nevertheless, in certain o f the processes, especially where inferior foreign wools are manufactured, a good deal o f dust is disengaged, and this produces its ill effect on the lungs o f the workers. It is also in connection with dirty or blood stained foreign wools that the m ajority o f cases o f anthrax or wool sorters’ disease have been observed from time to time which have been the subject o f inquiry in past years by the medical department o f the local government board. It is worthy o f notice that wool sorters are even more careless as regards exposure to cold and drafts than are even cotton workers, and their m ortality from rheumatic fever is much higher, being dou ble that experienced by agriculturists as a class. W ool workers have a comparative m ortality figure from all causes which is somewhat above the average for occupied males generally, but is below that o f other textile trades. Workers in wool appear to be remarkably free from intemperance, their mortality figure being less than one-fourth o f the average. From diseases o f the digestive system other than the liver wool workers die half as fast again as do occupied males gener ally, while from diseases o f the nervous, respiratory, and urinary systems, as well as from cancer, the* m ortality o f these workers is from 10 to 22 per cent in excess o f that standard. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 805 The Rhode Island occupation mortality statistics return specifically only wool sorters. During the ten years 1897 to 1906 there were 37 deaths from all causes recorded in Rhode Island under the title o f wool sorter. O f this number 5, or 13.5 per cent, were from con sumption, and 5, or 13.5 per cent, were from respiratory diseases other than consumption. The combined m ortality from diseases o f the lungs and air passages was 10, or 27 per cent, against 30.3 per cent expected on the basis o f the m ortality o f all occupied males in Rhode Island. The numbers are too small to warrant a final con clusion, but the facts are presented to make the analysis complete. The most recent English m ortality statistics o f woolen and worsted manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral, in part, as follow s: The m ortality among these operatives exceeds the standard for occupied and retired males at ages 20 to 25, and over 55 years, but is below that standard at other ages. In the main working period o f life the comparative mortality figure for wool workers is 984, or less than the standard figure by only 2 per cent. The m ortality from alcoholism and liver disease is less than three-fourths ana that from accident is less than half the standard. The mortality from cancer, phthisis, respiratory diseases, and suicide is also in each case below the average. On the other hand, the m ortality from nerv ous and circulatory diseases slightly exceeds, and that from diabetes mellitus and from Bright’s disease considerably exceeds the stand a rd .^ ) The recent English mortality statistics for persons engaged in woolen and worsted manufacture are fairly conclusive o f the somewhat un favorable effects o f this industry on health, and decidedly so as re gards the more advanced periods o f life. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the mortality from all causes among men in this group with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to life and health. An excess in the general death rate o f woolen and worsted workers is met with at ages 20 to 24, but at all other ages below 55 the m ortality is below the normal, while at ages 55 to 64 the excess in the general death rate o f woolen and worsted workers is 6.09 per 1,000, and at ages 65 or over it is 40.53 per 1,000. a P art II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-Gen eral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. lx xxvii. 806 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALE WOOLEN AND WORSTED WORK ERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate for male woolen and worsted workers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years..................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000, Greater (+) lor all oc less (—) cupied Rate per orthan rate males. 1,000. lor all occupied males. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.19 5.03 5.18 8.90 17.14 37.10 128.92 - 0.25 + .62 - .83 - 1.32 - .59 + 6.09 +40.53 Ratio to rate lor all occupied males. 90 114 86 87 97 120 146 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f woolen and worsted workers from consump tion and other respiratory diseases is compared with the normal mor tality o f occupied males from these diseases, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was excessive at ages 15 to 24 and at 55 years or over. The table further shows that the mortality from other respiratory diseases was excessive at ages 15 to 19 and at 65 years or over. The two tables, derived from English experience, would seem to warrant the conclusion that the woolen and worsted industry as such is not decidedly injurious to health. The data, however, are subject to a word o f caution, in that the woolen and worsted industry includes many employments which permit o f a comparatively easy transfer to other industries and occu pations, so it is quite possible that a fair proportion o f those impaired because o f continuous exposure to animal and fiber dust, leave the em ployment and seek more congenial and healthful occupations in other branches o f industry. This view is in part susceptible o f statistical proof by the comparative mortality data o f occupied and o f occupied and retired males in the woolen industry o f England and Wales, which for the first time were tabulated for the three years ending with 1902. The excess in the death rate o f occupied and retired males employed in this industry over the occupied only was very slight at ages under 35, but 0.32 per 1,000 at ages 35 to 44, 0.86 at 45 to 54, 3.83 at 55 to 64, and 18.19 at 65 years or over. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 807 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AND FROM OTHER DISEASES OF THE RE SPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG WOOLEN AND WORSTED WORKERS, COM PARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over.. Mortality from consumption. Mortality from other diseases of the respir atory system. Death rate for woolen and worsted workers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all occu less (—) rate for pied Rate per orthan rate all occu males. 1,000. for all occu pied pied males. males. Deathrate forwoolen and worsted workers. Death rate per 1,000 for Greater (+) Ratio to all occu (—) rate for pied Rate per or lessrate all occu males. 1,000. forthan all occu pied pied males. males. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.69 2.38 1.81 2.25 2.84 2.27 1.86 +0.15 + .83 - .22 - .49 - .20 + .11 + .75 128 154 89 82 93 105 168 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.31 .23 .75 1.45 3.08 6.46 25.44 +0.07 - .25 - .02 - .21 - .24 - .08 +7.67 129 48 97 87 93 99 143 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f woolen and worsted m ill workers include 106 deaths, o f which 26, or 24.5 per cent, were from consumption. O f the mortality o f woolen-mill workers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 8 were from pneumonia, 7 from asthma and bronchitis, and 2 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 40.5 per cent o f the mortality o f woolen-mill workers was from diseases o f the lungs and air pas sages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f woolen-mill work ers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption m ortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at ages 25 to 34, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes 43.8 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 31.3. The analysis o f the consumption mor tality o f woolen-m ill workers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: 808 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG WOOLEN AND W O R S T E D W O R K E R S , 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for woolen and worsted workers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of woolen and Per cent of deaths due to worsted workers,1897 consumption among— to 1906, due to— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total............................. .......................................... Woolen Males in and registration All causes. Consump tion. worsted area, 1900 workers. to 1906. 20 16 14 19 24 13 106 7 7 5 4 3 35.0 # .8 35.7 21.1 12.5 26 24.5 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the con clusion that woolen and worsted workers in the United States as a class are subject to a high m ortality from consumption, but in par ticular at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f healthinjurious circumstances connected with the employment. CARPET AND RUG MANUFACTURE. Carpet and rug manufacture may properly be considered a branch o f the woolen and worsted industry, but it is only the weaving and finishing processes which require special consideration. The grade o f yarn used probably has some bearing upon the quantity o f dust generated during the process o f manufacture, but it is in the so-called shearing and brushing that atmospheric pollution occurs in excess o f similar conditions in woolen and worsted mills. The report o f the Massachusetts state board o f health on dangerous trades con tains a brief reference to the sanitary aspects o f the industry, from which the follow ing is quoted: The operation o f carpet weaving is accompanied by much dust, and requires constant attention and keen watching for flaws and “ skips ” in the weaving. A fter a carpet or rug is woven it is inspected, sheared, and brushed. The shearing machines cut off all bits o f fiber and other irregularities, and in so doing create considerable dust, much o f which is coarse and heavy and does not long remain sus pended in the air. Five carpet factories visited employ about 6,000 persons, about 10 per cent o f whom are between the ages o f 14 and 16. The largest o f these shows some departments in which poor light, excessive heat, moisture, and dust constitute the objectionable conditions. One large, MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 809 fairly well lighted room, 220 by 120 by 16 feet, and occupied by 33 persons, has so much fine cotton dust and fiber in the air that it is with difficulty one can see across it. This dust is very irritating to the nose and throat. Some o f the rooms are poorly lighted, some are overheated, and some are badly ventilated; and one large basement room, 285 by 60 by 13 feet, occupied by 150 women and girls winding yarns on bob bins, combines all three o f these objectionable conditions. The wool-picking room is well lighted, but the air is heavy with wool fiber, and is at the same time excessively hot. One large dust ing machine is equipped with a fan and exhaust dust pipe which never have been used; indeed, there is no shafting to run the fan. The machine has been in use upward o f five years, and the person who operates it has worn a handkerchief over nose and mouth ever since it was started. The work is exceedingly dusty and dirty. The weaving rooms o f the next largest o f the five factories are large and well lighted, but the air contains a noticeable amount o f dust. Most o f the departments o f this m ill show commendable con ditions. In the third, many o f the children between 14 and 16 are very small and poorly developed for their age, and are far too poorly developed to be allowed to work ten hours and twenty minutes for five days in the week. In many rooms the windows are too far apart, ana the light is barely sufficient even in good clear weather. The older weavers complain o f failing eyesight, due to working with poor light. One o f the mills o f this establishment, although comparatively new, is poorly lighted in the picking, carding, winding, drawing, and roving rooms, but otherwise the conditions are good. In four o f the weave rooms the ventilation is very inadequate, the light is poor, and the air is very dusty. ~ The fourth establishment in order is, in the main, poorly lighted and inadequately ventilated, and the weave rooms are very dusty. In four rooms m which yarns are dressed the steam boxes are so loosely constructed that much steam escapes and causes extreme heat and moisture. About one-tenth o f the employees in this establish ment look sickly. The smallest factory o f all, one which employs ordinarily 500 per sons, has good light, adequate ventilation, and commendable weave rooms. The employees appear to be in good health. The hygiene o f carpet manufacture has not attracted much atten tion, probably because o f the fact that most o f the processes are practically identical with the corresponding processes in woolen and worsted manufacture. The occupation classification in the carpet industry, however, includes a number o f employments peculiar to the trade, o f which mention may be made o f art-square weavers, cutters o f chenille cloth, fringe knotters, jute binders, plush weavers, shearers, steamers, willowers, and wire sharpeners. O f these occupations, em ployment at the willowing machines is probably the most dusty, since it is here that the wool fibers are torn apart and the dust and dirt 810 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. removed. It is also probable that conditions in carpet-weaving rooms are less favorable on account o f the coarser grade o f yarn used and the material differences in loom construction. The weaving process itself is also quite different from the corresponding process o f weaving in woolen and cotton textiles, and as far as it is possible to judge, the amount o f dust generated during the weaving processes is greater in carpet and rug mills than in the corresponding processes o f other branches o f the textile industry. No qualified investigation, however, has been made which would warrant a final conclusion, nor has it been determined whether the amount o f dust in the manu facture varies according to the varieties o f carpets made, o f which the most important are W ilton, Axminster, Kidderminster or ingrain, tapestry Brussels, and Venetian. The manufacture o f matting is a separate industry, with exposure to vegetable fiber and mineral dusts, while in the manufacture o f door mats the principal exposure is to mixed fiber dust. A rlidge sums up his conclusions regarding the hygiene o f carpet making, briefly, as follow s: The wool used for carpet making is o f coarse and short fiber; it is formed into a yarn, which is next wound on bobbins by child labor in readiness for the weavers’ looms. Hand-loom weaving has been, for the most part, supplanted by the power loom, with the ad vantage o f materially lessening the labor o f the weavers. The manu facture o f carpets is attended with considerable dust o f a mixed character o f wool and hemp, but no data are within reach to furnish information as to the extent in which it operates as a cause o f disease. The m ortality o f males employed in carpet manufacture was re ported upon in the Supplement to the F ifty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General o f England and Wales. The number o f men employed was comparatively small, having been only 8,532 at ages 15 or over, hardly warranting definite conclusions in view o f the short period o f three years for which the mortality data were returned. In general terms it was held that the death rates o f carpet makers at the various age groups compared favorably not only with those o f other textile workers but also with those o f other occupied males. The com parative m ortality was 873, which is 8 per cent below the standard. Am ong the causes o f death o f numerical importance consumption was 22 per cent in excess o f the normal, and diseases o f the respiratory system other than consumption were 11 per cent in excess. The m ortality o f carpet makers from diseases o f the nervous, circulatory, digestive, and urinary systems appears to be below the average. One fact which requires to be taken into consideration, however, is that in carpet weaving considerable physical strength is required, which accounts for the comparatively small proportion o f women weavers. This, at least, is true o f the weaving o f Brussels carpet and probably applies to other grades. It is the opinion o f those who are thoroughly fam iliar with the industry that men o f excep MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 811 tional physique are required, and naturally among such a class the death rate should be low unless very abnormally increased by special causes. The most recent English mortality statistics o f carpet and rug manufacture are for the three years ending with 1902, referred to in the Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the Registrar-General in part as follow s: Here again the workers are too few in number to justify more than general examination. It appears that the mortality in this industry is below the standard for occupied and retired males at ages 25-45 years, but above it at all other ages. In the main working time o f life the comparative m ortality figure is 1,044, or 4 per cent above the standard. These workers show a fatality in excess o f the average from cancer and from diseases o f the nervous and circulatory systems, but in defect o f the average from influenza, alcoholism, and liver disease, as well as from accident and suicide. (a) The recent English mortality statistics o f carpet and rug makers are quite conclusive o f the more or less unfavorable effect o f this industry on health. In the table which follow s a comparison is made o f the m ortality from all causes among men in this-group with that o f occupied males generally, and the result is decidedly suggestive o f conditions in this trade more or less unfavorable to health and life, but in particular at very advanced ages, when at 65 years or over the excess in the death rate o f carpet and rug makers was 28.38 per 1,000. MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALE CARPET AND RUG MAKERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Death rate of male carpet and rug workers. Age at death. 15 to 19 years...................................................................... 20 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu pied males. Rate per 1,000. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied males. 2.89 + 0.45 5.19 + .78 5.86 - .15 9.43 ’ - .79 18.30 + .57 33.94 + 2.93 116.77 +28.38 118 118 98 92 103 109 132 The preceding table is self-explanatory and requires no further comment. A more extended comparison is made in the next table, in which the mortality o f carpet and rug makers from consumption is compared with the normal mortality o f occupied males from this dis° P a r t II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral o f Births, Deaths, and M arriages in England and W ales, p. xc. 812 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. ease, by divisional periods o f life. The comparison shows that the mortality from consumption was above the average at ages 15 to 24, 35 to 44, and 55 to 64. Making allowance for the rather small num bers from which this table is derived, it is probably safe to assume that if the numerical basis were larger it would more conclusively indicate a comparatively high degree o f consumption frequency among men in this employment, at least throughout the active work ing period o f life. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MALE CARPET AND RUGMAILERS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1000 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] Mortality from consumption. Age at death. 15 to 19 years....................................................................... 20 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 yea rs..................................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 95 years or over................................................................... Death rate of male carpet and rug makers. Death rate per 1,000 for all occu pied males. Rate for 1,000. 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.743.04 2.16 1.11 0l64 2.59 1.41 3.14 2.94 2.42 1.00 Greater (+) or less (—) than rate for all occu pied males. Ratio to rate for all occupied, males. +0.10 +1.04 — .62 +— .40 .10 + .26 - .11 119 167 69 115 97 112 90 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f carpet and rug makers include 155 deaths from all causes, o f which 37, or 23.9 per cent, were from consumption. O f the m ortality o f carpet and rug makers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, 16 were from pneumonia, 6 from asthma and bronchitis, and 4 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 40.6 per cent o f the m ortality o f carpet and rug makers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption m ortality o f carpet and rug makers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation o f the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods o f life. W hile the consumption mor tality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 15 to 24, when out o f every 100 deaths from all causes, 52.9 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion o f 27.8. The analysis o f the consumption mortality o f carpet and rug makers in detail is set forth in the follow ing table: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 813 PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG CARPET AND RUG M A K E R S, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRA TION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for carpet and rug makers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of carpet and Per cent of deaths due rug makers, 1897 to to c o n s u m p t i o n 1906, due to— among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years....................................................................... 25 to 34 years....................................................................... 35 to 44 years....................................................................... 45 to 54 years....................................................................... 55 to 64 years....................................................................... 65 years or oxer.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Carpet and All causes. Consump tion. rug makers. registration area, 1900 to 1906. 17 22 17 24 34 41 155 9 10 6 5 4 3 37 52.9 45.5 35.3 20.8 11.8 7.3 23.9 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The preceding observations and statistical data confirm the conclu sion that carpet and rug makers in the United States are as a class subject to an excessive m ortality from consumption, but in particu lar at ages 15 to 44, and this excess, in view o f the conditions o f labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result o f health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. SHODDY MANUFACTURE. Shoddy manufacture is an important branch o f the woolen and worsted industry, although the number o f wage-earners employed is comparatively sm all.' In 1905 there were 97 establishments manufac turing shoddy in the United States, em ploying 2,089 wage-earners, compared with 1,926 in 1900, an increase o f 8.5 per cent during the intervening quinquennial period. O f the number o f persons employed, 1,625 were adult males, 458 were women, and 6 were children under 16 years o f age.(a) The materials used in shoddy manufacture are chiefly woolen and worsted rags, including tailors’ clippings and wool extract, which is the wool fiber derived from rags, freed by a process known as carbonizing o f the vegetable material with which it may have been intermixed, such as cotton and other vegetable fiber. Most o f the shoddy made at the present time is all wool, and it is an error to assume that all shoddy goods are really undesirable for wearing purposes, since a very considerable proportion is cloth made wholly o f wool but produced at a price which affords to poor people a satisfac tory article o f wear. It is also an error to assume that through shoddy loathsome diseases are conveyed to the wearer, except possibly in ex ceedingly rare instances, since the process o f shoddy manufacture i « Census o f M anufactures, 1905, Part II I , p. 116. 814 BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOR. such as to insure absolute cleanliness and the destruction o f all active germs whether innocuous or pathogenic. This statement o f facts is derived in part from the special census report on textiles, in which the shoddy industry is considered at some length. It is pointed out in that report that new wool or animal hair is always the basis o f the yarn intermixed with a certain amount o f shoddy, the fiber o f which is too short to be carded and spun alone. W hile the completed cloth is not as durable as the cloth made from new wool, it is by no means lacking in wearing quality, as is commonly supposed, for as pointed out in the census report just referred to, shoddy in fact is one o f the most useful o f modern by-products in manufacture, in which the utili zation o f waste is an important item o f economy. 44Shoddy is not,” in the words o f the report, 44woolen rags ground to powder, but rags that are picked, leaving a good staple suitable for spinning. Some o f the most substantial o f goods that are made, doing service able work for a number o f years, contain a portion o f shoddy mixed with wool.” The process o f converting the rags into wool fiber suitable for carding consists o f a picking process in a ma chine known as a 44shoddy-picker,” and this constitutes a very dusty process which no doubt gives rise to health-injurious circum stances, to which, in part, reference has been made in the discus sion o f the hygiene o f the paper industry, to which subsequent refer ence w ill be made in discussing rag collecting and rag sorting as a separate occupation. An essential difference, however, has to be kept in mind, and that is that only woolen and worsted rags are used in shoddy manufacture, while cotton and linen rags are used in paper manufacture. % In discussing the whole subject o f rags and their products in rela tion to health, Mr. John A . E. Stuart, medical officer o f health, Batley, Yorkshire, refers to the manufacture o f shoddy, in part, as follow s: The dust which rises from rag machines consists o f particles o f wool and also o f filth adherent to the various kinds o f rags. It is highly irritating to all the respiratory passages, especially in those who are novices at the trade, but older hands become inured to it and tolerate it well. A train o f symptoms is developed, called 44shoddy fever.” It is accompanied by high fever, with nasal catarrh and frontal headache, and a certain amount o f bronchial catarrh. It is ushered in by shivering, malaise, and general muscular pain. It is almost indistinguishable from epidemic influenza, and i f treated on similar lines recovery is soon secured. The only difference is that the catarrhal symptoms are the result o f local irritation, and, con sequently, when that is removed, the febrile condition soon subsides. Shoddy fever is easily induced in persons who have been out o f the m ill for a few weeks and return to work, in persons suffering from general catarrh, or in habitual drunkards. A distinction is made by English writers between shoddy and mungo, the form er being made from soft rags and the latter from MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 815 cloth rags, while the commoner kind o f flocks, so called, are manufac tured from a variety o f raw materials, including the refuse o f the shoddy trade, while the superior qualities are manufactured from the better grade o f raw material. The lowest class o f flocks is made from old carpets, with a backing o f hemp or other vegetable fiber, and the product is used for stuffing beds and articles o f furniture. The preliminary methods o f manufacture o f shoddy, mungo, and flocks are practically the same. “ Flock fever” may here be referred to. This is met with in flock manufacture, and upholsterers working with flocks are occasionally sufferers from the dust. According to Stuart, workers in shoddy mills suffer from bronchitis and emphysema o f the lungs, but those who do so are the older men, who* began to work before so much oil was used with the rags as is at present the case, at least in English shoddy factories. The process is known as car bonizing, which is applied to rags which have a certain amount o f cotton in them, and is stated to be occasionally the cause o f bron chitis and emphysema, but men working in carbonizing mills state that it is quite exceptional for men to be off on account o f illness. (a) Arlidge has described the process o f shoddy manufacture in more detail than any other writer on the subject, and his observations and conclusions are quoted, in part, as follow s: The first operation consists in a more careful separation o f the woolen from cotton and linen rags, as received from the rag dealers. It is one attended by the evolution o f much dirty dust obnoxious to the respiratory organs, and now and then charged with animal poisons o f a contagious or infectious nature. As an entirely unskilled operation, bringing small reward, sorting is undertaken by a lower class o f female workers, indifferently careful o f their own sanitary well-being. The sorted rags are next torn up by a machine called a “ d ev il/’ into small fragments. This process is necessarily a most dusty and otherwise objectionable one, but as it is done in an inclosed machine, comparatively little dust escapes into the surrounding air. The heavier particles fall to the bottom, whilst the lighter are driven by a strong blast o f air, blown through the machine by a fan, along a capacious tube or conduit, and disposed o f in an outside place. * * * A further tearing apart, scribbling, or grinding is accomplished by a rough carding process, whereby a disintegrated mass o f finely broken up wool fibers is obtained. A fter the free addition o f vege table oil to this material, it is transferred to “ w illying ” and roving machines, from which it emerges as a filmy sheet, which is immedi ately, by a semirotary action o f the machine, converted into a “ shiver, ready for future spinning and weaving. The addition o f the oil to the carded material has the great sani tary gain o f obviating the emission o f dust in the subsequent opera tions. W hilst in the disintegrated shape, additions o f new wool and*4 6 a F or a technical description o f the process o f carbonizing and the manu factu re o f shoddy, see Principles o f W oolen Spinning, by H ow ard Priestman, p. 46 et seq. New York, 1908. 816 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. o f cotton are made. The wool used for cloth making is what is known as short wool, and is not suitable to the worsted spinners. A fter the cloth is woven it passes through m anifold other opera tions. Those first pursued are intended to remove defects in the tissue, and to fit it for dyeing and pressing. Others that follow are fulling (beating the cloth by heavy w eights), dressing, raising the pile by teazles fixed in revolving frames, drying in hot chambers, shearing or cutting down the pile, and some finishing processes, such as subjecting the cloth to steam in order to remove the gloss con sequent on previous pressure between steam rollers. The only sanitary conditions to be found in these sundry proceed ings requiring notice are the dust given off when the pile is raised in dry d o th ; the elevated temperature o f the drying room, reaching as it does 180° and upward, and the steam generated in the last operation described. Shearing is a comparatively leisurely proceed ing, and the fine shavings cut off have a cohesive nature which opposes their diffusion in, the form o f dust. In the other depart ments enumerated, the work is perform ed by adult men, who are also few in number. These observations are in part not quite applicable to American conditions, but no descriptive account o f shoddy manufacture in this country has been made a matter o f record with special reference to the hygienic circumstances o f the occupation. In a large measure, o f course, the processes subsequent to the preparation o f the material fo r spinning and weaving are identical with those o f woolen and worsted manufacture, but it is quite probable that the amount o f dust generated during these processes is somewhat larger in shoddy manu facture. The investigations o f A rlidge do not confirm similar in quiries as to the frequency o f shoddy fever at the present time, but it is quite probable that there are sufficient variations in the methods o f manufacturing, especially in the grades o f rags handled, which may easily account for the absence o f shoddy fever in one locality and its occurrence in another. These brief observations are concluded by an extract on the manu facture o f shoddy, included in a report on dangerous occupations by the state board o f health o f Massachusetts, published in 1907: Shoddy is made from woolen rags, which come ordinarily to the m ill in the form o f bales. The first process, after the bales are opened, is that o f sorting, which is done by women, who pick out all cotton rags, silk mixtures, buttons, and other foreign matters. The selected rags are treated in a large vat with dilute sulphuric acid, which attacks and destroys all cotton fibers which may be present, and then they are removed from the bath and allowed to drain. Next they are spread on racks over steam pipes, and dried at a temperature o f about 100° F. in a confined space, which, before the dried rags are removed each day, is thoroughly ventilated, by opening the windows and operating a blower, so that the men who do the work may not be exposed to the fumes. The rags are next washed, and then are picked apart by machinery. The product is a pure wool o f short fiber and MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 817 very clean, which is sold either dyed or undyed. Two establishments o f this class were examined, one o f which is poorly lighted, inade quately ventilated, dusty, and ill kept; the other is light, clean, and well ventilated. Some o f the women employed appeared to be in poor physical condition. There are no official vital statistics o f this' occupation, but it is evi dent that while the circumstances o f the employment are apparently decidedly objectionable, and while the dust generated during certain processes is considerable, the evidence that the employment itself is distinctly injurious to health is not a matter o f trustworthy record, nor is it even conclusively evident that there is any particular amount o f disease caused by employment even in the most objection able branches o f the industry which have to do with rag sorting and grinding, which w ill be subsequently considered as a separate occu pation. THE BAG INDUSTBY. Rag collecting, sorting, and grinding, for subsequent use in paper mills, shoddy factories, and for other industrial purposes, include a group o f occupations peculiarly exposed to the risk o f dust inhala tion, but where the dust is o f such a mixed character that it is ex tremely difficult to define with accuracy the quality o f the dust or the character o f its ingredients. The conditions under which this work is carried on vary so widely, according to locality and circumstances, that no definite line can be drawn. The employment has always attracted the attention o f those who have written on the hygiene o f occupations, chiefly because o f the low status o f the persons employed and the high degree o f theoretical risk to infectious diseases, and the probably health-injurious results otherwise due to the continuous and considerable inhalation o f health-injurious dust. Since previous references have been already made to this employment in discussing paper and shoddy manufacture, it is only necessary here to very briefly restate the general facts o f the sanitary aspects o f the industry as they have been presented by the most recent authorities on the subject. Dr. B. W . Richardson, w riting in 1876, referred to an earlier article in the Journal o f Public Health for January, 1859, by Mr. J. J. Murray, o f Edinburgh, who had investigated the health o f those who worked among rags, including such as collected junk and other second-hand materials. According to Richardson, “ Mr. Murray expected, very naturally, that he should find amongst the workers in these tattered and filthy stores some suffering from contagion, others from the products o f decay o f the animal and vegetable constituents o f the rags; others from inhaling and swallowing dust. An inquiry made by him at twenty-three paper mills to which rags were sent and 818 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. o f twenty-three rag collectors in Edinburgh led to the curious return that epidemic or contagious disease from this source was practically unknown amongst workers in rags, that there was no evidence o f disease from the decomposition, but that some workers suffered from bronchial affections, cough, and shortness o f breath from inhaling the dust which is cast off in large quantities from the rags, when they are made to revolve in the wire-cloth cylinder which is used to free them from dirt and dust.” The paper makers o f whom inquiry was made as to diseases met with among workers in rags were o f the opinion that, with the exception o f the effects o f dust, there was no unfavorable circumstance, and they referred to one employer who, during thirty years, with an average o f 10 employees handling 200 tons o f rags a year, reported only one death during a period o f ten years. (°) Many similar investigations made during the intervening period have led to very much the same conclusions. There is no doubt that infectious diseases are conveyed through rags, and the experience in Massachusetts, at least at Holyoke, has been to the effect that outbreaks o f smallpox have been o f greater frequency in that locality than in any other portion o f the State, while according to D ’A rcy Power, writing in Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, “ anthrax or charbon, sometimes known as splenic fever, or malignant postule,” is occasionally conveyed through rags to rag sorters, upholsterers, mattress makers, etc., but cases o f this disease, in this country at least, have been extremely rare. Dr. John A . E. Stuart, in an article on “ Eags and their products in relation to health,” contributed to the same work on dangerous trades, expressed the opinion that people who sorted rags were occasionally bronchitic and asthmatic from the dust which arises from them, but he had seldom met with this condition in rag sorters, although he had known individuals who had been compelled to wear respirators when sorting on account o f the dust met with in the occu pation. He states that— In the case o f very dirty rags derived from dust heaps, rags which have been exposed to rain in many cases, it is probable that after drying the dust would be o f a septic character and might induce sore throat. Eags from surgical hospitals are decidedly dangerous. Most persons who work as sorters are infested with fleas, which simply swarm among the rags, especially the mungo variety. Thomas Oliver, M. D., in his treatise on Diseases o f Occupation, after observing that rag sorters in England are generally women and that the work is anything but pleasant, states that— This is especially the case with woolen rags, for they so fre quently harbor fleas and other pests. A ll bundles o f rags before being opened ought, therefore, to be first disinfected so as to destroy para-* * Scientific A m erican Supplement, No. 10, M arcli 4 ,1 8 7 6 . MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 819 sites, and since rags from the surgical wards o f hospitals and private patients often contain septic material, the importance o f making dis infection obligatory is at once apparent. It is when the bundles are first opened that the danger is greatest. The dust given off is irri tating to the respiratory passages and causes dryness o f the throat. During the grinding o f the rags by machinery considerable quantities o f dust are thrown off, inhalation o f which is extremely trying to new hands, but which has little or no immediate effects on the older work people. Those persons who are new to the trade develop what is known as “ shoddy fever,” the symptoms o f which are a rise o f temperature, severe headache, signs o f bronchial catarrh, and run ning at the nose. The work people shiver as i f they were going to have a severe fever, and they complain o f muscular pains. The symptoms are not unlike those met with in influenza. They rapidly decline on the work people absenting themselves from the factory for a few days, but they are apt, in many people, to recur on their return to work. Kags which contain a good deal o f cotton have to be car bonized by being plunged into a bath o f sulphuric or hydrochloric acid. By this means the cellulose or vegetable part o f the fiber is destroyed and the wool can be thus extracted from cotton fabrics. When the rags are subsequently heated to dryness and are beaten, a considerable quantity of fine dust is evolved, some o f which is inflam mable and may be the cause o f an explosion. In this connection a brief reference may be made to the handling o f old paper received at paper mills for the purpose of being recon verted into new paper, and which in all essentials resembles the handling, sorting, and grinding of cotton and linen rags. Old paper, according to the report of the Massachusetts state board of health, is received in the form of bales, which are opened by men and sorted by women and girls. It is then conveyed to the duster on an endless belt, and in this machine it is freed from dust and torn into pieces by means o f revolving wooden rolls bearing iron pins. The pieces o f paper are then sorted over like rags, but are not put through the choppers, passing immediately from the dusters, so called, to an open cooking tub, subsequent to which the dust factor is reduced to a minimum. The results of the investigations by the Massachusetts state board of health are summed up as follow s: From the above description it will have been noted that from the opening o f the bales of rags or paper to the cooking process the vari ous steps involve exposure to varying quantities o f dust, the greatest amount being given off in the earliest operations. It appears that, no matter how constructed, how carefully inclosed, how well provided with blowers and dust flues, a certain amount o f dust is inevitable in the rooms where the threshers and choppers are installed and operated, excepting when unusually clean materials are being handled. I f the machines are loosely sheathed or are not adequately equipped with dust-removal devices, the amount given off may be considerable to enormous, according to material. Unless the most dusty rooms are tightly partitioned off from other less dusty ones— 63675— No. 79—09---------- 13 820 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. as, for example, a threshing from a sorting room—the amount of dust in the air in the latter must necessarily be augmented. In a number o f the mills visited the air o f the whole rag department was observed to be filled with dust and lint. The character o f the dust brought in with rags varies consid erably, as would naturally be surmised from their many different places o f origin. Some o f the employees state that while at first they suffered from sore throat, cough, and loss o f sleep, after a time they became so habituated that only an occasional bale causes any discom fort. In some mills it was observed that the dust was far more irritating than that met with in others; especially is this true o f those in which burlap is used. Some men assert that the dust from rags o f one color may be worse than that from the same kind o f cloth differently dyed. Some say that some bales are sickening in their effects, even to old hands. O f the threshing rooms visited, a very small number, in which the machines were exceptionally good and where the cleanest grade o f rags were being handled, showed no dust; somewhat more, equipped with the same grade o f machines and working on the same kind o f material, showed but little dust; and the remainder showed consider able to much. About 11 per cent of the sorting rooms were dust less, about 25 per cent were not very dusty, and the balance showed considerable to much. O f the cutting rooms, about 7 per cent showed little or none and the remainder considerable to much. In a num ber o f establishments sorting is conducted in large, airy, welllighted, mechanically ventilated rooms; but in some o f these cutting machines have been installed, and they create considerable dust. Indeed, in the matter o f separation o f the several processes mills vary; in some the duster and cutter machines are installed in sepa rate rooms, in some they are in the same room. In a majority o f the mills visited a portion o f the employees are exposed to an excessive quantity o f dirt, dust, and lint; and in most o f this majority the persons so exposed show not a few who are pale and sickly in appearance. In 19 mills girls under 18 years o f age were noted as being employed, in no great numbers, in rooms which were very dusty. In the department where the paper is actually made there is no dust, but the temperature is sometimes excessive and the air satu rated with moisture. The latter condition is not only promotive o f discomfort, but exposes the paper to damage through condensation and dropping, wherefore exhaust ventilation is commonly resorted to. The paper industry, being one which exposes its followers to every kind o f dust and dirt which can be carried in rags, is naturally looked upon by many as a dangerous trade. It is unfortunate that it is impossible from statistics available to determine in what relation this industry stands to others o f the dusty occupations. The death certificates o f the city o f Holyoke, the center o f the business in this State, were examined; but they proved to be too indefinite for use, since the terms “ paper worker ” and “ mill hand ” are commonly applied to all employees, whether engaged in the dusty or nondusty processes. Comparing, however, the death rates from tuberculosis, pneumonia, and bronchitis during the years 1901-1904 with those of MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 821 the State at large, it was found that the Holyoke rates were under, rather than over, the average. There are"no vital statistics o f this employment nor any published industrial mortality experience, but the foregoing observations, based upon careful inquiry into the actual conditions under which work is carried on in this branch o f industry, would seem to warrant the opinion that there are serious health-injurious circumstances con nected with the employment, but for a definite conclusion there are at present no satisfactory statistical data for the United States. UPHOLSTERERS AND H A IR MATTRESS MAKERS. Upholstering is a well-defined trade, including the making and renovating o f mattresses, but in occupation vital statistics the employ ment is, as a rule, included with other more or less dissimilar occupa tions. In the vital statistics o f the census o f 1890 and that o f 1900, as well as in the occupation mortality statistics for England and Wales, upholsterers are included with cabinetmakers, for which there is but very slight warrant in practical experience. As a result the statistics are not entirely determining for cabinetmakers any more than they are conclusive for upholsterers. Since it is rare that a cabinetmaker also performs the duties o f an upholsterer, and vice versa, it would seem advisable to consider this occupation entirely separate and dis tinct, and more so in view o f the fact that the exposure to healthinjurious dust is chiefly that o f vegetable and animal fiber dust in contrast to the exposure to wood and mineral dusts in the work of the cabinetmaker. It is fortunate that in the occupation statistics o f the census the employment has been kept separate, and it is of both interest and value to note that out o f 28,001 male upholsterers, aged 16 or over, 977, or 3.5 per cent, had attained to ages 65 or over.(a) The work o f the upholsterer consists chiefly in the covering, lining, and stuffing o f upholstered furniture, while mattress making and renovating practically constitutes a separate trade. To a limited extent upholsterers are employed in the renovating o f feather pillows and mattresses, but this practice never has attained to considerable proportions in this country, though it is extensively followed abroad. Mattresses are made chiefly o f curled hair, moss, corn husks, straw, and flock, and the conditions vary so much that it is very difficult, if not next to impossible, to define with accuracy the kind o f dust to which upholsterers are chiefly exposed. Both Arlidge and Oliver have discussed the hygiene o f the upholsterer’s trade. Arlidge points ® Report o f the Tw elfth Census on Occupations, page 18. 822 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. out that the upholsterer’s occupation is one which is concerned with the handling o f feathers, flock, down, hair, etc., each and all being materials laden with dust and almost necessarily productive o f respira tory troubles, particularly in the preparatory operation o f cleansing by means o f beating and washing. Arlidge treats at some length o f flock making, which has been referred to under “ shoddy manufacture.” O f the large number o f miscellaneous materials used by upholsterers, all o f which are more or less productive o f dust during the necessary manipulation, Arlidge mentions horse and cow hair, feathers, wool waste, cotton, flock, refuse o f raw cotton, straw, cocoanut fibers, and seaweed. Most o f these substances, in his opinion, are harmless un less they have been previously used or in some other way have ac quired infectious qualities. Oliver is also o f the opinion that the dust o f feathers, flock, hair, etc., as produced in the upholsterer’s occupation, is provocative o f respiratory troubles. He holds that if the rags, feathers, and hair have not been previously cleansed the dust not only causes bronchial irritation, but may be the means of causing infectious diseases, such as smallpox, erysipelas, and intestinal derange ments, such aswomiting and diarrhea. Oliver refers to the manufacture o f mattresses as an unhealthful occupation on account o f the dust that escapes from wool and horse hair during the operation o f carding, causing cough, difficulty in breathing, and retching, and if the materials have not been prop erly sterilized the dust may, in his opinion, cause blood poisoning. He refers to a well-known reference in the treatise by Ramazzini on the diseases o f the Jews, who were at that time engaged chiefly in the handling or remaking o f old materials, just as at the present time the secondhand trade is practically limited to the Hebrew race. Ramazzini states that in the beating o f the old wool, which had been daubed with filth, a great deal o f dust was inhaled, which disposed the work men to a violent cough and a difficulty o f breathing, and that he him self had observed those who had followed this occupation to have reduced themselves to an incurable consumption. The reference to this aspect of the employment by Oliver is as follow s: Mattresses that have been lain upon by persons who have died of infectious diseases occasionally find their way into third-rate uphol sterers’ shops, where their contents are picked and mattresses are remade. It is very dusty work when the picking is done by hand, and, besides, there escapes an unpleasant, sickening odor which causes headache and a feeling o f malaise. When mattresses have become fouled in places by discharges from patients suffering from infectious diseases, considerable risk is incurred by those who by hand tease the contents o f such bespoiled bedding. In the Southern States large quantities of so-called Spanish moss are gathered and subjected to a process known as moss ginning, to MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 823 prepare the material for mattress making and other purposes in up holstery, either alone or as a mixture with hair or other products. The work is extremely dusty, and the character of the dust inhaled has not been properly determined, consisting, however, chiefly of earthy matter and vegetable fiber. The upholsterer’s employment has been already referred to in the discussion o f the vital statistics o f cabinetmakers, and while the statis tical facts can not be separately stated the employments, as a group, are evidently subject to a decidedly high mortality from consumption. The results o f the census investigation in 1890 were fully confirmed by the subsequent census returns for 1900, proving that the death rate o f cabinetmakers and upholsterers as a group was excessive from con sumption and other diseases o f the respiratory system. Since only the rates for 1900 were referred to under cabinetmakers, the rates for 1890 are here included. The consumption death rates o f cabinet makers and upholsterers during that year were 4.57 per 1,000 in the registration States, and nearly 5 per 1,000 in the registration cities only, while the mortality from other respiratory diseases as a group was 3.03 per 1,000 in the registration States and 3.45 in the registra tion cities. The occupation mortality statistics o f Rhode Island for the decade 1897 to 1906 returned only 25 deaths o f upholsterers from all causes. O f this number, 6, or 24 per cent, were from consumption, against 17.8 per cent expected on the basis o f the mortality o f all occupied males in the State. The mortality from respiratory diseases other than consumption was returned as 3 deaths, or 12 per cent o f the total, against 12.5 per cent expected. O f the total mortality of upholsterers, 9 deaths, or 36 per cent, were from diseases o f the lungs and air passages, against a normal expected proportion of 30.3 per cent for all occupied males in Rhode Island. The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f upholster ers include 381 deaths, of which 118, or 31 per cent, were from con sumption. O f the mortality of upholsterers from respiratory dis eases other than consumption, 33 deaths were from pneumonia, 5 from asthma and bronchitis, and 8 from less frequent respiratory diseases. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respiratory diseases are combined, it is found that 43 per cent o f the mortality of upholsterers was from disease of the lungs and air passages. The excess in the consumption mortality o f upholsterers is still more clearly brought out in the tabular presentation of the proportionate mortality from this disease by divisional periods of life. While the consumption mortality was excessive at all ages, the excess was most pronounced at 25 to 34, when, out of every 100 deaths from all causes, 58.5 were from consumption, against a normal expected proportion 824 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. of 31.3. The analysis of the consumption mortality o f upholsterers in detail is set forth in the following table: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG UPHOLSTERERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for upholsterers from experience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of upholsterers, Per cent of deaths due to 1897 to 1906, due to— consumption among— Age at death. 15 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... All causes. Consump tion. 39 65 79 73 62 63 381 15 38 38 18 3 6 118 Males in Uphol registration sterers. area, 1900 to 1906. 38.5 58.5 48.1 24.7 4.8 9.5 31.0 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The recorded industrial insurance mortality statistics o f mattress makers include 41 deaths, of which 16, or 39 per cent, were from con sumption. There were 6 deaths of mattress makers from respiratory diseases other than consumption, all o f these having been caused by pneumonia. I f the deaths from consumption and from other respir atory diseases are combined, it is found that 53.7 per cent of the total mortality o f mattress makers was from diseases o f the lungs and air passages. While the aggregate number o f deaths o f mattress makers is too small to warrant final conclusions, the statistics are given in detail for the reason that mattress making and upholstering are closely related and the consideration of the two employments may very properly be combined. The consumption mortality o f mattress makers is shown to have been in excess of the normal at all ages and in this respect the statistics confirm those for upholsterers. The analysis o f the mortality o f mattress makers from consumption is set forth in detail in the table below: MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 825 PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION AMONG MATTRESS MAK ERS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRA TION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for mattress makers from experience of an industrial insurance company ^ figures for males in the registration area computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths of mattress Per cent of deaths due to makers, 1897 to 1906, consumption among— due to— Age at death. 16 to 24 years...................................................................... 25 to 34 years...................................................................... 35 to 44 years...................................................................... 45 to 54 years...................................................................... 55 to 64 years...................................................................... 65 years or over.................................................................. Total......................................................................... Males in Mattress registration All causes. Consump tion. makers. area, 1900 to 1906. 9 7 11 5 81 4 3 4 2 3 44.4 42.9 36.4 40.0 37.5 41 16 39.0 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 14.8 The available information confirms the conclusion that upholsterers and mattress makers as a class are subject to an excessive mortality from consumption, but in particular at ages 15 to 54, and this excess, in view of the conditions of labor briefly described, is in a large measure the result of health-injurious circumstances connected with the employment. SUM M AR Y OF CONCLUSIONS REGARDING OCCUPATIONS W IT H EXPOSURE TO A N IM A L AN D M IXED FIBER DUST. In the preceding observations and statistical data nine specific occu pations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dusts have been considered in more or less detail. The data for some of the occupa tions are too meager to warrant final conclusions, but the information here presented is decidedly suggestive of health-injurious conditions in certain of these occupations. The United States census returns o f 1900 give the age distribution o f hat and cap makers, silk operatives, woolen mill operatives, carpet factory operatives, and upholsterers, the aggregate number o f the males o f known ages 15 years o f age or over being 114,485. O f this number only 2,805, or 2.5 per cent, had attained to the age o f 65 years or over, against a normal expected proportion of 4.6. This fact is decidedly suggestive of conditions more or less unfavorable to health and life in occupations exposing to animal and mixed fiber dusts. The details o f the age distribution are given in the following table, by divisional periods o f life, together with the corresponding per 826 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. centage distribution o f all occupied males, the data for both groups being derived from the United States census of 1900: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES IN EACH AGE GROUP IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO ANIMAL AND MIa ED FIBER DUSTS, COMPARED WITH THE NUMBER AND PER CENT IN ALL OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1900. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Age. Males in occupations exposed to animal ' and mixed fiber All occupied males. dusts. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. 65 to 24 years............................................................................ 15 to 34 years.. ............................................................... 25 to 44 yeans........................................................................... 35 to 54 years............................................................................. 45 to 64 years............................................................................. 55 years or over......................................................................... Total................................................................................ 38,748 31,928 22,096 12,532 6,376 2,805 114,485 33.8 27.9 19.3 10.9 5.6 2.5 100.0 5,933,720 5,993,847 4,704,682 3,250,259 1,856,181 1,063,856 22,802,545 26.0 26.3 20.6 14.3 8.1 4.7 100.0 According to this analysis the proportion o f males aged 15 to 34 was 61.7 per cent, or nearly two-thirds o f ths total number in occupa-r tions exposed to animal and mixed fiber dusts, against 52.3 per cent for all occupied males. The percentage o f occupied males in this group o f occupations living at age 35 or over was therefore much less than would be expected on the basis o f all occupied males. The actual age distribution would indicate that the conditions of employment in the various occupations considered predispose more or less to a high mortality largely the result o f exposure to health-injurious dust. It is impossible to present a combined summary o f the United States census vital statistics o f persons employed in the occupations considered in this group. The only occupation for which the facts are given in the census returns is the group entitled hat and cap makers. The vital statistics for this class o f employees, when com pared with those for occupied males generally, are very suggestive of unfavorable health conditions in occupations exposing to animal and mixed fiber dusts. The death rates o f male hat and cap makers are shown to be higher than for all occupied males at all the divisional periods o f life for which the facts are obtainable in the census returns. A t ages 15 to 24 the general death rate per 1,000 o f hat and cap makers was 5.4 against 5.1 expected; at ages 25 to 44 the rate was 13.1 against 8.8 expected; at ages 45 to 64 the rate was 32.9 against 19.9 expected; and at ages 65 or over the death rate o f hat and cap makers was 173.1 against 98.4 expected. The death rate per 1,000 employees from consumption was 4.2 for hat and cap makers, according to the census returns, against 2.4 expected; and the death rate from respir atory diseases other than consumption was 2.6 against 2.0 expected. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 827 The details o f the mortality of male hat and cap makers by age groups are given in the following table, together with the correspond ing death rates for all occupied males, all o f the data being derived from the United States census o f 1900: MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES AMONG MALE BEAT AND CAP MAKERS IN THE REGISTRATION STATES, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES IN THOSE STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From the report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] Male hat and cap makers. Age. 15 to 24 years........................................ 25 to 44 years........................................ 45 to 64 years........................................ 65 years or over.................................... Total........................................... All occupied males. Number Rate per Rate per Number ofNumber deaths 1,000 Number of deaths 1,000 employed. from all from all from all from all employed. (a) causes. causes. causes. causes. 3,148 7,023 2,249 260 12,680 17 92 74 45 228 5.4 13.1 32.9 173.1 618.0 1,259,471 2,680,241 1,282,259 283,310 5,505,281 6,486 23,541 25,532 27,888 83,447 5.1 8.8 19.9 98.4 cl5.2 ° The actual numbers employed in each age group are not given in the census report on irital statistics. The numbers here given are estimated by dividing the number of deaths by the death rate, as shown in the census, and multiplying the quotient by 1,000. 6 From consumption there were 53 deaths, or a rate of 4 .2 ; from other diseases of the respiratory system there were 33 deaths, or a rate of 2.6. c The rate of mortality from consumption was 2 .4 ; from other diseases of the respira tory system, 2.0. The occupation mortality statistics o f Rhode Island are available for only two specific occupations in this group, upholsterers and wool sorters. A considerable number o f persons are employed in woolen and worsted mills in Rhode Island, but they are returned in the mortality statistics under general terms, such as operatives, spin ners, weavers, etc., and the more important o f these groups have been already considered in the discussion of cotton mill employees. In Rhode Island during the decade 1897 to 1906, upholsterers and wool sorters combined returned only 62 deaths from all causes. O f this number 11, or 17.7 per cent, were from consumption, against 17.8 ex pected on the basis of occupied males generally in Rhode Island. The mortality from respiratory diseases other than consumption in the two occupations o f this group was 8, or 12.9 per cent, against 12.5 per cent expected. These numbers are too small to form the basis for a final conclusion, but the facts are presented to make the analysis complete. The English vital statistics for this group o f occupations are available for furriers, hatters, silk mill employees, woolen and worsted mill employees, and carpet and rug makers. When the statistics for these occupations are combined they exhibit high death 828 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. rates from all causes at ages 20 to 24 and at ages 45 or over. details are set forth in the following table: The MORTALITY FROM ALL CAUSES, FROM CONSUMPTION, AND FROM OTHER DIS EASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO ANI MAL AND MIXED FIBER DUSTS, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL OCCUPIED MALES, IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death rate per 1,000 due to Death other diseasesoftheresp irall causes among— consumption among— atory system among— Age at death. 15 to 19 years....... 20 to 24 years....... 25 to 34 years....... 35 to 44 years....... 45 to 54 years....... 55 to 64 years....... 65 years or over... Occupations Occupations Occupations exposed to All occupied All occupied animal All occupied anSnal and and animal and males. males. males. mixed fiber mixed fiber mixed fiber dusts. dusts. dusts. 2.44 4.41 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 2.38 5.07 5.56 9.48 17.78 37.33 120.64 0.54 1.55 2.03 2.74 3.04 2.16 1.11 0.61 2.49 2.20 2.68 3.24 2.65 1.81 0.24 .48 .77 1.66 3.32 6.54 17.77 0.32 .29 .72 1.45 3.13 7.02 25.12 The table shows that the mortality from consumption among men in occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dusts was excessive at all ages except 35 to 44, when the consumption mortality rate was 2.68 for the occupations o f this group, as against 2.74 for all occupied males. The excess in the mortality from consumption was highest at ages 20 to 24, when the rate was 2.49 for the occupations o f this group against 1.55 for all occupied males. The mortality from respiratory diseases other than consumption was somewhat fluctuating when compared with the corresponding rates for all occu pied males; nevertheless the differences were slight, except at ages 65 or over, when the mortality for the combined occupations o f this group was 25.12 per 1,000 against 17.77 for all occupied males. The industrial insurance mortality statistics are available for seven occupations included in this group, returning in the aggregate 1,915 deaths o f males from all causes at ages 15 or over. O f this number 615, or 32.1 per cent, were from consumption. The deaths from re spiratory diseases other than consumption numbered 242, or 12.7 per cent. The expected consumption mortality on the basis o f the mor tality o f males in the registration area of the United States for the seven-year period 1900 to 1906 was 14.8 and the expected mortality from other respiratory diseases was 11.7. When the mortality from consumption and from other respiratory diseases is combined the proportionate percentage o f deaths o f males in occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dusts is found to be 44.8 against 26.5 expected. The following table gives the summary statistics in MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 829 detail for the seven occupations in this group for which the industrial insurance mortality experience is available: PROPORTIONATE MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN OCCUPATIONS EXPOSED TO ANIMAL AND MIXED FIBER OUSTS, 1897 TO 1906, COMPARED WITH THAT OF ALL MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [Figures for deaths in occupations exposed to animal and mixed fiber dusts are from ex perience of an industrial insurance company; figures for males in registration area are computed from mortality statistics of the United States census.] Deaths in occupations exposed to animal Per cent ofdeaths due to and mixed fiber consumption among— dusts, 1897 to 1906, due to— Age at death. 15 to 24 years..................................................................... 25 to 34 years..................................................................... 35 to 44 years..................................................................... 45 to 54 years..................................................................... 55 to 64 years..................................................................... 65 years or over................................................................. Total........................................................................ Occupa tions ex Males in Consump posed to registration All causes. tion. animal and area, 1900 mixed fiber to 1906. dusts. 248 364 391 292 324 296 1,915 106 194 189 74 39 13 a 615 42.7 53.3 48.3 25.3 12.0 4.4 o32.1 27.8 31.3 23.6 15.0 8.1 2.7 614.8 a There were also 242 deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system, or 12.7 per ;ent of the deaths from all causes. b The per cent of deaths from other diseases of the respiratory system in the registra tion area was 11.7. i t is evident from the foregoing observations and statistical data relating to typical employments with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dusts that the effects o f such exposure are injurious to health, and particularly so in early life. The summary table shows that the mortality from consumption o f employees in this group o f occupa tions is from 50 to 100 per cent higher at all ages than would nor mally be expected. G E N E R A L SU M M AR Y OF RESU LTS. A general summary o f the preceding observations and statistical data does not seem necessary for the present purpose, which is to emphasize the degree o f consumption frequency in different occupa tions rather than the differential degree of lung injury resulting from exposure to particular kinds o f dust. In an address on “ Tuberculo sis as an industrial disease,” read before the Sixth International Con gress on Tuberculosis, by the writer, the latter aspect o f the problem was enlarged upon to a certain extent. The discussion was limited, however, to industrial insurance mortality experience, at the same time including occupations exposing also to general organic and mu nicipal or street dust, which it was not feasible to include in the pres 830 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. ent discussion. From the address referred to the following extract is made: When all the occupations for which the information is available, inclusive o f many other than the thirty employments considered in this discussion, are combined, the proportionate mortality from con sumption is 28.0 per cent o f the mortality from all causes at ages 15 and over. In the group o f occupations exposing chiefly to the inhala tion o f metallic dust the proportionate mortality from consumption was 37.4 per cent; in occupations exposing to animal and mixed fiber dust, 32.3 per cent; in occupations exposing to mineral dust, 28.6 per cent; in occupations exposing to municipal or street dust, 27.5 per cent; in occupations exposing to vegetable fiber dust, 27.4 per cent; and in occupations exposing to organic dust, 23.7 per cent. These percentages o f consumption frequency are derived from an analysis o f 22,987 deaths from all causes in the occupations included in the investigation. The analysis may be extended to divisional periods o f life, to em phasize the more immediate effects o f health-injurious dust inhala tion, and beginning with ages 15 to 24 the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhala tion o f animal and mixed fiber dust, or 49.6 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. In occupations exposing to metallic dust it was 47.1 per cent; to organic dust, 40.9 per cent; to municipal or street dust* 39.8 per cent; to vegetable fiber dust, 39.1 per cent; and to mineral dust, 31.7 per cent. A t ages 25 to 34 the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhalation o f metallic dust, or 56.7 per cent of the deaths from all causes. In occupations exposing to the inhalation o f vegetable fiber dust it was 53.3 per cent; o f organic dust, 50.1 per cent; o f animal and mixed fiber dust, 49.7 er cent; o f mineral dust, 47.6 per cent, and of municipal or street ust, 43.5 per cent. A t ages 35 to 44 the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhalation o f metallic dust, or 43.0 per cent o f the deaths from all causes. In occupations exposing to the inhalation o f animal and mixed fiber dust it was 40.4 per cent; o f vegetable fiber dust, 39.8 per cent; o f mineral dust, 36.3 per cent; o f organic dust, 36.2 per cent, and o f municipal or street dust, 34.6 per cent. A t ages 45 to 54 the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhalation of mineral dust, or 27.9 per cent o f the deaths from all causes. In occupations exposing to the inhalation o f metallic dust it was 23.6 per cent; o f animal and mixed fiber dust, 23.2 per cent; o f vegetable fiber dust 22.9 per cent; o f organic dust, 21.9 per cent, and o f municipal or street dust, 14.2 per cent. A t ages 55 to 64 the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhalation of mineral dust, or 16.2 per cent o f the deaths from all causes. In occupations exposing to the inhalation o f vegetable fiber dust it was 11.6 per cent; o f metallic dust, 11.5 per cent; o f organic dust, 11.4 per cent; of animal and mixed fiber dust, 11.2 per cent, and o f municipal or street dust, 10.8 per cent. S MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 831 A t ages 65 and over the proportionate mortality from consumption was highest in occupations exposing to the inhalation o f mineral dust, or 6.8 per cent o f the deaths from all causes. In occupations expos ing to the inhalation o f organic dust it was 4.6 per cent; o f metallic dust, 3.8 per cent; o f animal and mixed fiber dust, 3.7 per cent; o f vegetable fiber dust, 3.7 per cent, and o f municipal or street dust, 2.9 per cent. From the same address is quoted the following concluding portion summarizing the social and economic aspects o f the tuberculosis prob lem in its relation to American industry: The problem o f occupation mortality and tuberculosis, with spe cial reference to that period o f life at which the degree o f consump tion frequency is most excessive, may now be briefly restated as fol lows: The census mortality rate of 1900 for men in gainful occu pations was 15.0 per 1,000 and the consumption death rate 2.4 or 16.0 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. Among men in manufac turing and mechanical industries the general death rate was 13.8 per 1,000, and the consumption death rate 2.6, or 18.8 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. Among men in agricultural, transporta tion, and other outdoor occupations (including, however, a consider able proportion o f persons o f advanced years) the general death rate was 15.8 per 1,000, and the consumption death rate 1.5, or 9.5 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. Contrasting the consumption death rates in these two groups o f employments, the enormous waste of human life in industry becomes readily apparent. I f the consump tion mortality in dusty trades could be reduced to the corresponding proportion for men in outdoor occupations, a very large number of lives would be saved and continue for many years, which are now, to a large extent, needlessly wasted. The problem may be emphasized by a few specific illustrations o f occupations exceptionally exposed to the risk o f dust inhalation. The census mortality rate for marble and stone cutters was 14.9 per 1,000, and the consumption death rate 5.4, or 36.2 per cent of the mortality from all causes. The general death rate o f cigar makers was 18.7 per 1,000, and the consumption death rate 4.8, or 27.7 per cent o f the deaths from all causes. The general death rate o f printers and compositors was 12.1, and the con sumption death rate 4.4, or 36.4 per cent of the mortality from all causes, while for the strictly outdoor labor class, that is, farmers, planters, and farm laborers, the general death rate was 17.6 per 1,000, but the consumption death rate was only 1.1, or 6.25 per cent o f the mortality from all causes. Granting that these rates are not entirely trustworthy, and that the census method of mortality investigation at that time was not as technically perfect as it is at present, and granting further that all occupation mortality data have their in herent defects, when derived from general methods o f population enumeration and the methods in vogue in the registration o f deaths, there is not the slightest reason to question the approximate accuracy o f the foregoing rates and conclusions, which are in strict conformity to the other facts previously presented. Estimating the wage-earning population (males and females) o f the United States at ages 15 or over for 1908 at 31,768,943, and assum ing a consumption death rate among this element of the population 832 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. o f 2.2 per 1,000, (a) the number o f deaths from consumption among wage-earners during 1908 would be approximately 69,892. Since it is possible by intelligent factory inspection and control, and with special regard to ventilation (that is, the removal o f injurious dust particles at the point o f their origin) to almost entirely eliminate the conditions injurious to health and life in factories and workshops and industry generally, it is not going too far to advance it as a funda mental principle o f sanitary legislation that the consumption death rate among wage-earners can be reduced, by intelligent methods, to a ratio as low as 1.5 per 1,000. ( *6) On the above basis such a reduction would result in an annual saving o f approximately 22,238 human lives. Since the average age at death of persons 15 years of age or over dying from consumption in the registration area of the United States is 37.4 years and probably not much more than 32 years for persons employed in strictly dusty trades, and since the normal aver age age at death in the mortality from all causes for persons 15 years o f age or over is 52.8 years, there would be an average expected gain o f at least 15.4 years o f life for every death from consumption avoided by rational conditions of industrial life. Such a gain would represent a total o f 342,465 years o f additional lifetime, and by just so much the industrial efficiency o f the American nation would be increased. I f we place the economic value or net result o f a year’s lifetime at only $200, the total average economic gain to the nation would be $3,080 for every avoidable death o f a wage-earner from con sumption, representing the enormous total o f $68,493,000 as the ag gregate annual financial value in the probable saving in years o f adult human life. With such results clearly within the range of practical attainment, nothing within reason should be left undone as a national, This rate is based upon the number o f gainfully employed persons (m ale and fem ale) 10 years o f age or over in the registration States in 1900 and the number o f deaths am ong that element o f the population during the census year. U nfortunately it has not been possible to calculate the corresponding consump tion death rate fo r persons gainfully employed o f ages 15 or over, as the nec essary data were not included in the census reports. The consumption death rate o f 2.2, however, w ould be raised rather than low ered i f it w ere possible to get at the facts, because the consumption death rate is low er at ages 10 to 14 than at ages 15 or over. The calculations based upon the consumption death rate o f 2.2 per 1,000 o f the gainfully employed are therefore conservative, being in all probability rather an under than an over statement o f the facts. 6 See article on “ M ortality from consumption in sm all cities,” by Frederick S. Crum, in Quarterly Publications o f the Am erican Statistical A ssociation fo r December, 1907, pp. 448-479. In this article, w hich is based on the m ortality statistics o f the United States census, it is shown that the average annual death rate from consumption in 209 small cities in the United States fo r the years 1901 to 1905 w as 1.58 per 1,000, and in 30 o f these cities the rate w as below 1.0 per 1,000. I f nine cities w ith over 15 per cent o f Negro population are dis carded it is shown that the consumption m ortality fo r the remaining 200 small cities w as 1.51 per 1,000. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 833 state, and individual, or social duty to prevent that needless, but now enormous, loss o f human life from consumption due to unfavorable conditions in American industry. T H E PR O B LE M O F V E N T IL A T IO N AN D D U ST R E M O V A L IN IN D U STRY . The statistical evidence presented in the preceding discussion o f dusty trades is entirely conclusive that an excessive degree o f con sumption frequency in any particular occupation depends primarily or largely on the kind and quantity o f dust inhaled by the workmen. A ll who have written upon the subject with authority emphasize the importance o f adequate ventilation and dust reduction or removal by artificial means and methods, but the most conclusive evidence has been presented in two reports o f an English departmental committee ap pointed to inquire into the ventilation o f factories and workshops, the first being published in 1902, the second in 1907. The reports war rant the conclusion that effective ventilation o f factories and work shops and the artificial removal o f dust at the point o f origin is en tirely practicable and possible at moderate expense. Since these re ports are not generally accessible, they are here quoted from at some length. The committee in its first report, in part, said as follows: It is evident that the air breathed by the employees in a factory or workshop can be kept pure in two ways: (1) By constantly renewing from outside the whole o f the air o f the room in which work is carried on; (2) by removing impurities locally, or otherwise preventing them from ever mixing with the air breathed. The former process may be distinguished as general and the latter as local ventilation. As a general rule, dust and fumes can best be dealt with by local ventila tion or by other means, whereas impurities due to the presence o f employees and o f lights burning must be got rid o f by general ven tilation. The first report was limited to considerations o f general ventilation, while the second considered at length the problem o f local ventilation and other means of preventing injury to health by dust and fumes. The committee called attention to the agreement o f authorities that health depends to a large extent on a constant and abundant supply o f air which is uncontaminated by any substances which would cause discomfort or which contain poisonous, infective, or otherwise harm ful material. By section 7 o f the Factory and Warkshop Act, 1901, it was provided that “ in every room in any factory or workshop sufficient means o f ventilation shall be maintained,” and, further, that “ the secretary o f state may, by special order, prescribe a stand ard o f sufficient ventilation for any class o f factories or workshops, and that standard shall be observed in all factories and work shops o f that class.” A large number o f orders have been issued 834 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. under the provisions o f this act, which unquestionably have resulted in a very material improvement in the conditions affecting health and industry. Since the present discussion is limited to dusty trades, the observa tions and recommendations o f the committee with reference to the purity o f the atmosphere in factories and workshops otherwise than by the impairment o f such purity through dust-generating processes as cause or effect inseparable from the conditions under which work is carried on, are passed over. One very suggestive paragraph from the report with reference to the practical difficulties confronting efforts at adequate ventilation in the case o f sedentary occupations is quoted, but the objection on the part o f employees to proper ventilation depends sometimes on the absence o f proper warming arrangements during cold weather. The committee points out that— This often leads to further vitiation o f the air through the lighting o f gas-burners for heating purposes during the day, a wasteful and objectionable plan. The establishment o f a legal maximum limit o f carbonic acid would probably conduce to the provision and use o f proper heating appliances in such cases. W e are o f opinion that heating arrangements capable o f maintaining in case of necessity a temperature at least 25° F. above that o f the outside air, in the absence o f lights and employees, but along with adequate ventilation* should be provided in all factories and workshops where the occu pation is sedentary or involves little muscular exertion, and should be regularly used in the colder weather. In such occupations the temperature should not be less than about 60° F., particularly where the work involves delicate manipulations with the hands. In the evidence appended to the first report the committee in cluded the results o f a scientific examination o f the problem o f ventilation in clothing factories, tailoring workshops, dressmaking and millinery workshops, boot and shoe workshops, laundries, cabi net and upholstery works, in establishments engaged in the making of bread, confectionery, and articles o f food, letterpress printing, book binding, the manufacture o f stationery and cardboard boxes, en gineering and metal trades, file cutting, and the manufacture o f the different varieties o f textiles. The evidence collected was o f a highly scientific and conclusive character, and the methods o f inquiry em ployed are suggestive o f the corresponding methods required for the proper determination o f the circumstances injurious to health and life in all dusty trades. In the second report the committee dealt with the application o f fans to factory ventilation in connection, more particularly, with the removal o f dust, steam, fumes, and other impurities associated with other manufacturing processes, and also with the very important ques tion o f the use of respirators by workmen engaged in occupations which can not be successfully subjected to artificial methods o f ven MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 835 tilation and dust removal. The committee discussed at considerable length the highly technical aspects of ventilating engineering, in cluding the selection of fans and the relative utility o f low and high pressure fans according to particular circumstances inseparable from the conditions under which given industries are carried on. It con sidered the volume of air required for different purposes of ven tilation and the arrangement of inlets and outlets, fully illustrating its observations by a large number o f charts and diagrams which clearly emphasized the strictly scientific manner in which the in vestigations o f the committee were made to secure the practical solution o f the problems which confronted them. From the remarks regarding general ventilation some o f the more important and sug gestive extracts are here quoted: Certain impurities can hardly be prevented from becoming gener ally distributed in the air o f a room, and can thus only be dealt with by general ventilation o f the room. In most cases this is true o f the products o f respiration and o f combustion o f gas, the water evapo rated in wet processes, and the heat given off from moving or artifi cially heated machinery, and in some cases of the production o f dust. In removing these impurities, or sources o f inconvenience, the supply pf air must be sufficient for the particular purpose in view. If, for Instance, heat or dust has to be removed, the ventilation must be suffi cient to effect this removal, and not merely to dilute the products of respiration. The quantity o f air required to remove excessive heat and moisture can not well be calculated in the same way, as the loss o f heat through walls and roof is usually not known, and in any case varies with the weather. The air supply must therefore be regulated with the help o f thermometers. A ir in which the reading by the wet-bulb ther mometer exceeds about 70° begins to cause serious inconvenience with ordinary clothing, and this limit ought not to be exceeded in fac tories or workshops except under exceptional conditions. Experiments show that i f the wet-bulb reading rises beyond about 88° in fairly still air, the body temperature can no longer be pre vented from rising seriously even in persons stripped to the waist and doing no w ork; and with muscular work under the same conditions the body temperature may rise rapidly at a wet-bulb temperature o f 80°. W ith ordinary clothing this effect is considerably greater. A t the upper limits it is not the temperature o f the air, but that o f the wet-bulb thermometer, that matters; and, provided that the air is so dry that the wet-bulb temperature does not exceed the limits specified, air temperatures up to 130° or more can be tolerated without rise of bodily temperature. Much higher wet-bulb temperatures can o f course be borne for short periods, but the body temperature soon rises seriously. In removing steam from rooms it must be borne in mind that cold air is apt to cause condensation o f aqueous vapor. Thus i f air saturated with moisture at 80° is mixed with even ten times its vol ume o f air from outside at 40° condensation will nevertheless usually occur, and will always do so, whatever the dilution, i f the incoming air is saturated with moisture at the outside temperature. If, how ever, the incoming air be warmed to a moderate extent as it enters, 63675—No. 79—09----- 14 836 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. this condensation will be prevented, and the ventilation will serve the double object o f cooling the room and preventing condensation. I f it is only necessary to prevent condensation of vapor and not to remove heat, the object can often be best attained by. providing not extra ventilation, but heating arrangements. In the case of dye works, etc., where the building is often filled with steam from the vats, experience shows that the atmosphere is best cleared and conden sation avoided by blowing in air heated by passing through a coil or other form o f radiator. As regards removal o f dust, the standard o f purity aimed at should always be sufficient to prevent injury to health, and should also be such as to prevent inconvenience and enable those employed to be clean when they leave work, after washing, if necessary. Dust from the disintegration o f hard stone, steel grinding, etc., is extremely deleterious, and the same may be said o f dust containing any poison ous constituent, such as lead. In such cases the dust should, by special means, apart from general ventilation, be entirely prevented from mixing with the general atmosphere of a room ; and the same remark applies to all poisonous gases and fumes. The effect o f ventilation on the temperature o f a working room during cold weather needs careful regulation. For sedentary work and fine manipulations a temperature of not less than about 60° is required. With lower temperatures the working powers o f those present be come impaired; and the effects o f the low temperature are much increased by drafts. On the other hand, if the work implies active exertion, lower temperatures are permissible; and some kinds of work associated with dust, fumes, etc., can best be performed in sheds open to the air. In general, the more nearly open-air conditions can be attained in any class o f work, the better; and, whenever possible, windows should be thrown widely open in summer weather. Commenting upon the dust problem in particular and its relation to health, it is pointed out in a,footnote to the report that it is some times difficult to say whether the inhalation of a given variety o f dust is definitely injurious. The committee, therefore, held that— Dust from any hard stone (such as flint, granite, sandstone, etc.) is undoubtedly very injurious to the lungs, producing a marked pre disposition to phthisis. On the other hand, coal dust, cement dust, and probably many other varieties o f organic and inorganic dust have by no means the same serious effects. During our inquiry many ex periments have been made by Professor Bitchie with a view to find ing a means o f experimentally distinguishing the more injurious from less injurious dusts, but unfortunately no satisfactory results have as yet been reached. In the discussion of the problem o f local ventilation, the com mittee came to the conclusion that— Dust, fumes, steam, and other impurities unavoidably given off into the air should, wherever possible, be removed locally, and thus pre vented from mixing with the general air o f the room. Ventilation with this object in view may be distinguished as “ local ventilation.” Local ventilation is best carried on by means o f exhaust fans, which MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 837 may be o f the propeller type if large ducts and low velocities of air will suffice. In many cases, however, centrifugal fans are essential, and usually they are preferable on account of the liability o f pro peller fans to be interfered with by wind, etc. Fans used for the removal o f corrosive fumes should be efficiently protected from their action. The question o f possible injury to bearings or other parts by gritty material, and o f possible blockage by fibrous material, should also be borne in mind in selecting a fan. I f dust or fumes are allowed to escape in any quantity into the gen eral atmosphere o f a room enormous volumes o f air are required to remove or dilute them sufficiently. Great discomfort from cold or else great expense in heating are thus entailed, so that it is in every way preferable to remove them by local ventilation. The nearer to their points o f production they can be removed the less will be the quantity o f air required, and consequently the less will be the discom fort and expense which they cause. Dusty machines which can not be completely boxed in should, if possible, be provided with an exhaust sufficiently powerful to draw the dust from exposed parts inward through the machine to an ex haust opening. Wheels used in dry grinding, polishing, etc., should, wherever possible, be inclosed and provided with an exhaust from a centrifugal fan capable of giving a current at high velocity around the exposed part of the wheel. The part of the wheel left open should be as small as is consistent with efficient working. Dusty operations, such as the transference and packing o f dry and lusty material, should, if possible, be carried out by mechanical arrangements boxed in so as to prevent the escape o f dust, and com bined, i f necessary, with local exhaust ventilation. This is extremely important where the material contains some poisonous or harmful substance, such as lead, bichromate o f potash, powdered flint, etc. Where such arrangements are not possible thoroughly efficient respirators should be used in the case o f dangerous material. For manipulations by hand in which dust, poisonous spray, or objectionable fumes are given off, working places provided each with a separate exhaust opening can often be arranged. The table at which the work is done should have an exhaust opening cut through it or placed behind it and so arranged that the dust arising from the work is drawn away from the mouth o f the person working and into a duct placed beneath or behind the table. The provision o f a hood, which may be made of glass, so as not to obstruct the light, greatly helps the action o f the exhaust, which must be sufficient to actually prevent the dust from reaching the mouth o f the worker. Where the dust requires to be collected a settling chamber under the exhaust opening can sometimes be provided. O f the important and suggestive remarks o f the committee regard ing matters o f technical detail in the installation o f local ventilation, mention is made only o f those regarding operations in wool sorting and rag sorting. In these occupations the committee thought the best way to manipulate the dusty material was on a flat-wire grating through which air is exhausted from below. It was held that in such a case the rate o f flow at every part o f the grating must be sufficient 838 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. to draw the dust downward, and that the whole arrangement, includ ing inlet ventilation to the room, must be such that this purpose is effected under all conditions, for it was explained that— It often occurs that a large dusty machine can not be sufficiently inclosed for the effective application o f direct-exhaust ventilation, or that dusty work by hand can not be confined to the immediate neigh borhood o f an exhaust opening. In these cases air inlets and outlets should be so arranged as to carry off the dust in such a direction as to contaminate as little as possible the air in positions where persons have to be present. The most generally available plan is to have the exhaust openings in the floor around each dusty machine, or as close as possible to whatever the source of the dust may be, and to allow air to enter in an abundant stream from the roof above, warmed if necessary to prevent impact o f cold draft on workers. As dust tends naturally to fall to the floor, it is best to remove it downward unless a rapid air current, sufficient to draw it in any direction, is available. I f the machine is placed near a wall and no person is required to work between the wall and the machine, the dust may be advantageously exhausted through a fan placed low down in the wall and securely guarded. In the case o f machines which can not be boxed in it will often be found that the dust is produced at some particular point where it ivs capable o f being locally removed. Thus, for illustration, the com mittee stated that i f the dust is produced as the material is passed through rollers, as in the operation performed by a machine known as a spread board in flax spinning, exhaust ventilation applied close to each roller will remove it completely with a minimum of trouble and expense. In continuation o f the discussion the committee pointed out that— With regard to all exhaust openings for extraction o f dust, etc., it must be clearly borne in mind that in whatever direction the opening may point the air feed is from all round; hence the radius within which a perceptible draft is produced toward the opening is extremely limited. The air current toward an exhaust opening can not be directed except by cumbrous air guides, whereas the current from an inlet can be directed just like the water issuing from a fire man’s hose. It is held that hitherto hardly any advantage has been taken of the latter fact in connection with the removal o f dust and fumes, but the committee was confident that many difficult cases can be suc cessfully dealt with by utilizing the momentum o f air issuing from an inlet opening, and i f compressed air in small tubes is available, fine jets of it directed across any source o f dust and fumes toward a large outlet opening would be decidedly effective. It, therefore, suggested as a plan to test the efficiency o f any arrangement for the local removal o f dust or fumes the simple method o f a piece of smoking brown paper or other material held at the place where the dust or fumes are given off. MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 839 In the case o f dust which may not be discharged into the open air on account o f the nuisance or damage which it would cause to the sur rounding locality and which must, therefore, be separated from the discharged air, the “ Cyclone separator ” is often extremely effective, and this separator the committee describes by illustrations in the ap pendix. The invention requires little space and is easily erected at a point either near to or remote from the fan. It was stated, however, that— The dust may also be separated in a settling chamber, taking the form o f a room or an outhouse set apart for the purpose. In this case the addition o f steam from a jet will often greatly facilitate the pre cipitation o f light dust. Heavier metallic particles can be blown into a tank o f water. A common defect in settling chambers is the neglect to provide a sufficient outlet for the spent air, by which means the whole arrangement for exhausting and settling the dust is rendered ineffective. As it is evident that the circumstances under which fan ventilation needs to be applied vary greatly in different rooms and different proc esses o f manufacture, we would, in conclusion, take this opportunity o f pointing out the necessity o f carefully considering the special con ditions requiring to be dealt with in each individual case, and the desirability o f obtaining competent skilled advice in all cases of doubt, or o f employing, in the installation o f fan ventilation, only such firms as are known to have at their disposal the requisite knowl edge and experience. Finally, in concluding its extremely valuable report, the committee considered the use o f respirators, as follow s: The use o f respirators capable o f arresting dust is often recom mended in connection with factory work as a substitute for efficient removal o f dust. Experience has, nowever, shown that it is extremely difficult to enforce the use o f respirators, as they are all more or less uncomfortable and inconvenient, besides being unsightly. It is also very difficult to keep respirators in working order and closely applied to the face. Often enough it is found that most o f the air breathed by a person wearing a respirator leaks in between the face and the respirator, and is consequently unfiltered. This is particularly apt to happen after a respirator has been worn sufficiently long for the filtering material to become damp and clogged with moisture. E x cept, therefore, where dust is definitely dangerous and can not be dealt with by exhaustion, or by using wet processes, or in other ways, we are unable to recommend the use o f respirators as an alternative to keeping the air clear o f dust. For the exceptional cases in which it is necessary for men to work in air containing poisonous or otherwise dangerous dust, the mouth and nose may be kept covered by a sheet o f fresh cotton wool kept closely applied all round by suitable fastenings passing round the neck. This forms a reliable and efficient respirator, and is commonly used by men who have to perform such work as the removal o f arsenic from arsenic flues, or o f white lead from lead chambers. F or cases where work has to be done in an atmosphere containing poisonous gases or fumes, a smoke helmet, with air supplied from 840 BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOB. outside through a pipe, may be used. The air supply should be not less than 2 cubic feet per minute and may be provided either from a bellows worked by hand or from a mechanically driven air pump or high-pressure centrifugal fan. A self-contained breathing apparatus, such as is used in mines, is less convenient for factory work and more expensive. The importance and great practical value o f preventive measures in efforts to reduce the health-injurious circumstances o f different trades has made it seem advisable to make rather extended abstracts from the admirable and thoroughly scientific report of the committee on ventilation o f factories and workshops. The conclusions and recommendations o f the committee were, however, anticipated by Sir James Crichton-Browne, who, in his address on The Dust Problem, held that— In dealing with industrial dust generally the one universal and potent remedy is, o f course, ventilation. In contending with certain special kinds o f dust special appliances and arrangements are neces sary ; but for dust, as a whole, our aim should be to intercept and remove it at its point o f origin and to insure a bounteous supply o f fresh air, and many contrivances for this purpose, more or less efficient^ are already in use. After referring to the then pending report o f the departmental committee on the ventilation o f factories and workshops, Sir CrichtonBrowne summed up his own conclusions in the statement that— What is wanted is a code o f precise instructions to be placed in the hands o f a manufacturer who is required to provide fans, indi cating the number. 'J * speed, and position o f the fans which will most economically secure the desired result, together with directions as to the number and position o f openings into the outer air, and also a judgment on the physiological effects o f existing respirators and proposals for the construction o f one more convenient and trustworthy and less cumbrous than any yet known. English opinion is decidedly in favor o f a clear statement o f the scientific principles that should underlie all methods o f factory ventilation and dust removal, but so framed in clear and specific language for the guidance o f inspectors that the legal requirements can be carried into effect with the least amount o f interference with the industrial methods and conditions o f the present day. Sir Crichton-Browne also expressed the hope that the report o f the departmental committee would offer suggestions to architects for the construction o f factories, since many, if not most of the factories now existing, are so built as to render almost impossible a proper sys tem o f ventilatibn, which should have been a primary consideration in their erection. He was confident in his prediction that rational fac tory legislation, with special reference to ventilation and dust removal, MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 841 would greatly tend to reduce the death rate among many different classes o f operatives, improve their health, and augment their produc tive power. He quoted the evidence o f factory inspectors and managers who had testified to the improvement in health and the increased vigor of the workers subsequent to the improved methods o f ventilation. One leading manufacturer, replying to inquiries o f the inspector o f cotton-cloth factories, expressed the opinion that “ the effect o f improved ventilation on the health o f the workers has been good. We have had less staying away through sickness than before we had artificial humidity and ventilation in our sheds. The earnings have been more regular, but we do not find that they have increased as much as we expected; but the effect o f the change has been advantageous to the manufacturer, the quality o f the work being better and more perfect.” Thus upon both humanitarian and economic grounds the effect of scientific ventilation o f factories and workshops, and in particular the effective removal o f industrial dust, combine to emphasize the need o f more or less radical changes in the conditions as they exist at the present time. The entire subject o f the removal o f dust and fumes in factories, with special reference to the health-injurious circumstances o f dusty trades, has also been presented in an admirable summary account by J. S. Haldane, M. D., F. R. S., in one o f the Shaw lectures on “ Indus trial hygiene,” before the Royal Society of Arts, delivered February 28, 1908. Doctor Haldane was one of the most important members o f the departmental committee on the ventilation o f factories and workshops, and his views, in part, have already been included in the extended account o f the report and recommendations o f the com mittee. The following remarks restating his conclusions as to the causes responsible for more or less health-injurious conditions among factory workers and his recommendations as to the methods most likely to bring about a material improvement in those conditions are important and are quoted from his lecture: Whether or not any variety o f dust is known to cause dangerous effects when habitually inhaled, I think that every kind of dust pro duced in manufacturing process ought, as far as practicable, to be pre vented or removed from the atmosphere in which the work people are present. The reason for this is not only that dusty air is, at the best, unpleasant to breathe, but that when dust is present the clothes, skin, and hair become dirty, untidy, and uncomfortable. This inev itably tends to lower the social status and self-respect o f work people if, at any rate, they have to go back to their homes in the same untidy condition. Where dust and dirt can not be avoided the provision of overalls, or o f means o f washing and changing clothes on leaving work, is extremely desirable. 842 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. O f dusts which are definitely harmful, one very important class is that from the disintegration o f hard stone or other material. As instances o f this we may take the dust from siliceous or other hard stone, which has to be disintegrated in the mining o f gold, tin, lead, and other metals, and the dressing of hard stone, or the ground flint dust used in pottery work, or the dust from dry grinding in the metal trades, or the steel dust produced in file cutting and other work. In many cases the best way o f dealing with dust is to prevent its formation altogether. This can be effected by substituting wet for dry processes, and, fortunately, much o f the most dangerous dust can be dealt with in this way—in particular the dust from disintegration o f hard stone or steel. Thus the use of a jet o f water prevents dust formation in rock-drill and other work in tin and ganister mining, special rules to the effect being now in force. It is to be hoped that in all cases where dust from disintegration o f hard stone, fire-clay bricks, and similar material is apt to be inhaled, wet methods will also be adopted where possible. The substitution o f wet for dry grinding and for dressing o f grindstones is another important step in the right direction, and I have little doubt that in many other dusty processes it would be practicable to use wet methods, though, unfortunately, wet processes are quite out o f the question in very many cases. m ien dust formation can not be avoided, its escape can sometimes be prevented by entirely boxing in the dusty process. Where the dust is itself the product o f the process, as in the grinding or break ing up o f material, efficient boxing in is an advantage to the process itself as well as to the persons employed in it. In most cases it is unfortunately not possible to either prevent the formation o f dust or to box in the dusty process completely, and the only method available is to draw the dust by means o f an air current. There are certain general principles applicable to the removal of dust in this way. In the first place, the dust ought to be removed at, or as near as possible to, the point o f origin. The advantages of this are evident, for by this means the dust is prevented from getting into the general atmosphere o f the room and being inhaled by those pres ent, as well as settling everywhere. A far smaller volume o f air is also sufficient to remove the dust. This is important, not only from the point o f view o f expense, but because drafts and cold are also prevented. When dust is permitted to get into the general atmos phere o f a factory, enormous volumes o f air are required to carry it away, which means that equal volumes have to come in from outside, so that warming or prevention o f drafts may be quite impracti cable. As a good example o f the advantage o f removing dust locally I may instance a device for removing the dust produced by rollers in a process preparatory to flax-spinnmg. The dust produced at the rollers is sucked in by small exhaust openings applied close to the rollers. A quite small air current applied in this way is far more effective than one hundred times as great an air current a few feet off would be. A second general principle is that the air current from the source o f dust to the exhaust opening should, as far as possible, envelop the source o f dust, and be o f sufficient velocity to carry the dust with it in spite o f the ordinary slight drafts existing in the room, or pro duced by the dusty machine. It is unfortunate that in whatever MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 843 direction an exhaust opening may point, the air entering it is sucked in from all sides. Hence the linear velocity o f the draft toward the opening diminishes very rapidly with increasing distance, and at a distance o f 2 or 3 feet an exhaust opening, unless very large, will fail to carry off dust efficiently, particularly from a machine which itself causes drafts. The lecture by Doctor Haldane was fully illustrated to bring its more technical portion within the ready understanding o f the lay man, and the address should be consulted by all who desire to become thoroughly informed as to the most advanced and qualified opinion regarding the effective and practical removal o f dust and fumes in factories and workshops. The remarks and conclusions are decidedly practical, and applicable to American establishments, in which thus far the problem o f scientific ventilation and effective dust removal has been almost entirely neglected. 844 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR* APPEN D IX. T able I . —NUMBER OF MALES EMPLOYED IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [Computed from report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Number of male employees in each age group. Occupation. 15 years or over.. 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. or over. 26,997 7,258 3,261 1,666 666 Tool and cutlery makers........ 8,335 5,811 19,474 3,913 2,009 477 6,493 5,443 1,139 Gold and silver workers......... 1,034 25,557 8,016 8,531 5,188 2,428 360 Brass workers.......................... Printers, lithographers, and pressmen.............................. 136,923 50,669 44,191 24,210 10,993 5,059 1,801 10,628 3,227 3,498 2,124 1,020 509 250 Engravers................................ Total—Occupa t i o n s with exposure to me 3,554 9,407 tallic dust................... 219,579 75,663 69,998 41,246 19,711 1,498 54,039 Marble and stone cutters........ 8,579 16,566 14,555 9,075 3,766 392 7,625 44,396 17,882 13,314 3,838 1,345 Glass workers......................... 208 12,856 4,536 3,825 2,545 1,259 483 Potters..................................... 8,839 7,791 1,899 35,506 3,971 9,205 Plasterers................................. 3,801 412 7,077 4,689 2,821 21,607 1,122 Paper hangers......................... 5,486 Total—Occupa t i o n s with exposure to min 168,404 40,454 49,987 38,253 24,784 10,517 eral dust..................... 4,409 Cotton-mill operatives............ 110,953 53,622 28,129 16,031 8,887 3,346 938 Hosiery and knitting mill operatives............................ 607 111 11,372 1,355 6,350 2,699 250 5,154 8,445 2,764 Paper and pulp makers.......... 26,485 8,747 1,042 333 Cabinetmakers....................... 6,857 4,144 2,960 35,435 4,490 7,940 9,044 Total—Occupa t i o n s with exposure to vege table fiber dust.......... 184,245 73,209 47,213 31,584 19,115 8,782 4,342 Hat and cap makers....... 14,948 4,110 4,655 3,415 1,702 29 768 Silk-mill operatives......... 9,022 5,301 2” 20,301 3,380 1,563 785 Woolen-mill operatives.. 7 40,768 15,042 10,956 7,446 4,340 2,189 4* 10,034 3,180 2,654 Carpet-factory operatives 1,842 1,182 691 28,434 7,394 Upholsterers.................... 8,362 9' 3,745 6,013 1,943 Total—Occupa t i o n s with exposure to ani mal and mixed fiber dust............................. 414,485 38,748 31,928 22,096 12,532 6,376 l All occupied males—Contitinental United States....... 22,802,545 5,933,720 5,933,847 4,704,682 3,250,059 1,856,181 1 ' MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES* T able I I . — 845 PER CENT OF MALES EMPLOYED IN EACH AGE GROUP IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1900. [Computed from report of the Bureau of the Census on Occupations, 1900.] Per cent of male employees in each age group. Occupation. Tool and cutlery makers........... Goldikand silver workers............. M wnrlrArs............................. Printers, lithographers, and pressmen.................................. Engravers.................................... “ otal—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust................................ Mafcble and stone cutters........... Glass workers.............................. Posters....................................... Plasterers..................................... Paper hangers............................. Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust................................ Cotton-mill operatives............... Hosiery and knitting mill operJatives ..........._......................._. Jpaper and ^pulp nmirers............. ' Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust....................... Hat and cap makers................... Silk-mill operatives.................... Woolen-mill operatives.............. Carpet-factory operatives_____ Upholsterers................................ Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............ AH occupied males—Conti nental United States.............. 15 years 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years or over. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 100. .0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 .26.9 33.3 31.4 37.0 30.4 30.9 28.0 33.4 32.3 32.9 21.5 20.1 20.3 17.7 20.0 12.1 10.3 9.5 8.0 9.6 6.2 5.8 4.0 3.7 4.8 2.4 2.5 1.4 1.-3 2.3 100.0^ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 34.4 ‘ 15.9 40.3 35.3 11.2 : 25.4 31.9 30.6 30.0 29.7 25.9 32.7 18.8 26.9 17.2 19.8 24.9 21.7 9.0 16.8 8.6 9.8 21.9 13.1 4.3 7.0 3.0 •3.8 10.7 5.2 1.6 2.8 0.9 1.6 5.4 1.9 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 24.0 48.3 55.9 33.0 12.7 29.7 25.4 23.7' 31.9 22.4 22.7 14.5 11.9 19.5 25.5 14.7 5.3 10.4 19.3 6.3 3.0 2.2 3.9 11.7 2.6 0.8 1.0 1.3 8.4 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 39.7 27.5 44.4 36.9 31.7 26.0 25.0 31.1 26.1 26.9 26.4 29.4 17.1 22.9 17.7 18.3 18.4 21.2 10.4 11.4 7.7 10.6 11.8 13.2 4.8 5.1 3.9 5.4 6.9 6.8 2.4 2.0 1.2 1.9 4.8 3.4 100.0 33.8 27.9 19.3 10.9 5.6 2.5 100.0 26.0: 26.3 20.6 14.3 8.1 4.7 ao 846 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR, NUMBER OF DEATHS IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS IN THE REGISTRATION STATES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] T able I I I — Number of deaths due to— Occupation. Compositors, printers, and pressmen......... Marble and stone cutters............................. Glass blowers and workers.......................... Plasterers and whitewashes....................... Toted—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust............................... Cabinetmakers and upholsterers............... Hat and cap makes.................................... All causes in each age group. Consumption ages 15 to 24 25 to 44 45 to 64 65 yeas 15atyeas yeas. yeas. yeas. or over. or over. Other respira tory diseases at ages 15 yeas or over. 91 13 17 9 333 143 48 51 142 155 29 54 89 81 13 32 237 142 35 39 84 53 10 25 39 19~ 17 242 128 92 238 135 74 126 164 45 216 89 53 88 63 33 DEATH RATE PER 1,000 IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONS IN THE REGISTRATION STATES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900, BY AGE GROUPS. [From report of the Bureau of the Census on Vital Statistics, 1900.] T able I V .— Death rate per 1,000 due to— Occupation. Compositors, printers, and pressmen__ Marble and stone cuttes............................. Glass blowes and workes.......................... Plasteres and white washes...................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust............................... Cabinetmakes and upholsterers,.............. Hat and cap makes.................................... All occupied males—Registration States.. All causes in each age group. Con sump tion at ages 15 15 to 24 25 to 44 45 to 64 65 yeas yeas yeas. yeas. yeas. or over. over.or Other respira tory dis eases at ages 15 yeas or over. 5.0 3.4 4.6 7.8 12.3 9.3 10.9 10.7 20.0 24.7 21.8 23.5 108.8 122.9 82.3 88.4 4.4 5.4 3.7 4.5 1.6 2.0 1.0 2.9 4.5 4.6 5.4 5.1 9.9 10.5 13.1 8.8 24.0 19.8 32.9 19.9 106.9 109.6 173.1 98.4 4.9 3.6 4.2 2.4 2.0 2.6 2.6 2.0 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 847 V .—NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES, FROM CONSUMPTION, AND FROM OTHER RESPIRATORY DISEASES AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN RHODE ISLAND, COMPARED, 1897 TO 1906. [From reports of the Rhode Island state hoard of health.] T able Number of deaths due to— Occupation. Polishers...................................... Tool makers................................. Jewelers....................................... Brass workers.............................. Printers........................................ Compositors................................. Pressmen..................................... Engravers.................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust ;tone cutters and marble work ers............................................. Plasterers..................................... Paper hangers............................. Molders........................................ Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust................................ Operatives................................... Spinners....................................... Weavers....................................... Knitters....................................... Cabinetmakers............................ Wood turners and finishers........ Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust........................ Wool sorters................................ Upholsterers................................ Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............ All occupied males—State of Rhode island........................... All causes. Other Con -respira sump tory tion. eases.dis Per cent of deaths due to— Con Con sumption Other sumption and Con respira and other sump other dis respira respira tion. tory eases. tory dis tory dis eases. eases. 42 44 557 5 81 12 5 45 14 9 173 1 21 3 8 20 .5 51 15 2 2 4 34 14 2241 36 5 2 12 33.3 20.5 31.1 20.0 25.9 25.0 17.8 47.6 11.4 9.2 i8.5 16.7 40.0 8.9 80.9 31.9 40.3 20.0 44.4 41.7 40.0 26.7 791 229 99 328 29.0 12.5 41.5 125 25 14 157 40 5 3 31 21 4 3 25 61 9 6 56 32.0 20.0 21.4 19.7 16.8 16.0 21.4 15.9 48.8 36.0 42.8 35.6 321 798 71 259 8 50 38 79 218 18 67 5 12 5 53 73 5 30 9 10 132 291 23 97 5 21 15 24.6 27.3 25.4 25.9 62.5 24.0 13.2 16.5 9.1 7.0 11.6 18.0 26.3 41.1 36.4 32.4 37.5 62.5 42.0 39.5 1,224 37 25 325 5 6 127 5 3 452 10 9 26.6 13.5 24.0 10.4 13.5 12.0 37.0 27.0 36.0 62 11 8 19 17.7 12.9 30.6 19,314 3,429 2,420 5,849 17.8 12.5 30.3 848 BULLETIN* OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR, —YEABS OF LIFE LIVED BY OCCUPIED MALES IN CEBTAIN OCCUPATIONS, IN ENGLAND AND WALES DUBING THE YEABS 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS.(o) [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able V I . Years of life lived by males in each age group during 1900 to 1902. (a) Occupation. Tool and instrument makers__ Brass workers............................. Printers....................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to .metallic dust............................... Glass workers.............................. Potters......................................... Paper hangersandwhitewashers Lithographers............................. Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust................................ Cotton manufacture................... Hosiery-mill employees............ Lace makers.............................. Cordage makers.......................... Paper makers.............................. Cabinetmakers............................ Wood turners.............................. Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust....................... Furriers....................................... Hatters........................................ Silk workers................................ Woolen and worsted min em ployees..................................... Carpet and rug makers.............. Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............ 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 17,721 28,815 56,076 15,942 23,010 46,080 29,904 33,078 78,153 24,387 21,420 48,465 18,522 13,443 28,542 11,415 6,585 13,752 5,067 2,256 4,383 102,612 17,700 19,455 19,704 5,163 85,032 141,135 11,589 20,166 17,112 29,463 21,786 29,490 4,848 8,898 94,272 13,167 20,043 27,162 6,066 60,507 9,030 12,894 20,181 3,510 31,752 4,374 6,408 10,236 .1,848 11,706 1,290 2,055 3,921 693 62,022 55,335 -88,017 66,438 45,615 107,298 82,881 135,507 98,739 59,079 8,049 3,825 8,541 6,150 4,989 4,461 8,790 8,358 4,281 6,201 1,914 3,093 2,820 2,532 4,095 7,512 5,070 9,237 6,984 10,749 54,741 46,614 72,924 55,869 39,957 15,975 13,008 22,161 19,254 15,774 w■ 202,536 159,687 261,765 200,601 132,843 2,151 2,265 4,341 3,795 6,561 9,006 2,847 6,627 12,981 6,306 5,829 5,373 3,798 4,350 2,751 39,249 30,222 56,322 44,046 33,132 3,114 2,313 4,947 4,134 3,060 22,866 27,948 4,329 2,703 2,124 2,691 22,842 10,806 7,95{ 7,965 3,807 1,359 1,332 981 10,194 4,428 73,443 1,365 3,225 3,249 20,268 1,650 30,066 510 1,257 2,994 8,610 1,002 29,757 14,373 55,425 44,178 84,420 66,354 49,143 a The years of life as used in this table means three times the number of occupied males enumerated at the census of 1901. 849 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. MORTALITY DUE TO ALL CAUSES AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [Prom Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Animal Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, Mid Marriages in England and Wales.] T able V I I — Deaths due to all causes in each age group. Occupation. »1and instrument makers............................ workers..................................................... ,rs.............................................................. Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Ciass workers..........- ......................................... Potters................................................................ Paper hangers and whitewashes................... Lithographers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust.........................-.............. Cotton manufacture..........................-.............. Hosiery-mill employees.................... _.............. Lace makers........................................................ Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers......................................- ............. Cabinetmakers................................................... Wood turners.................................................. Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust............................. Furriers............................................................... Hatters............................................................... Silk workers....................................................... Woolen and worsted mill employees............... C'rpet and rug makers.....................- ...........-. Total—Occupations with exposure to q.nima.1 and mixed fiber dust.-............ 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 37 64 179 53 118 278 189 194 505 480 241 423 510 189 384 280 57 51 30 8 449 59 63 75 26 888 1,101 1,269 1,144 136 173 218 183 155 291 408 347 120 313 387 333 50 70 51 57 1,083 154 243 283 57 146 2885 16 9 32 143 31 223 358 22 12 11 28 174 58 461 742 46 59 20 54 379 138 828 1,083 920 949 1,209 1,150 54 99 152 50 70 88 21 33 69 56 50 71 550 693 700 225 394 375 737 1,014 503 119 141 93 846 411 524 8 19 10 86 9 663 1,438 1,919 2,534 2,605 10 37 49 57 70 41 87 103 125 116 9 24 46 68 117 152 292 392 568 752 12 56 29 39 56 3,127 55 130 322 1,110 117 132 224 1,734 469 333 274 494 629 481 281 507 874 1, 111 850 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR, —MORTALITY DUE TO CONSUMPTION AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CER TAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able V I I I Deaths due to consumption in each age group. Occupation. Tool and instrument makers............................ Brass workers..................................................... Printers............................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Glass workers.................................................... Potters......................................................... Paper hangers and whitewashers..................... Lithographers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... Cotton manufacture........................................... Hosiery-mill employees..................................... Lace makers....................................................... Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers.................................................. Wood turners..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust.............................. Furriers............................................................... Hatters............................................................. Silk workers........................................................ Woolen and worsted mill employees................ Carpet and rug makers...................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust______ _ 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years.' years. years. years. years. years. or over. 3 14 58 25 50 157 88 97 285 144 97 235 132 62 122 60 17 47 101 7 75 10 12 8 4 232 21 23 23 13 470 58 59 36 24 476 60 76 108 19 316 44 92 73 15 124 13 28 41 8 18 34 88 3 17 5 38 10 80 137 9 5 4 9 77 20 177 273 21 25 8 21 159 64 263 285 20 20 7 16 212 73 224 216 26 11 3 9 153 87 90 77 15 6 8 5 62 32 9 17 31 2 1 19 6 152 41 27 2 261 4 23 5 72 6 571 15 48 14 102 7 633 18 37 11 99 13 505 11 30 15 949 205 107 12 464 49 3 6 16 1 34 110 186 178 159 79 26 2 6 1 851 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. I X .—MORTALITY DUE TO OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able Deaths due to other respiratory diseases In each age group. Occupation. Tool and instrument makers............................ Brass workers..................................................... Printers.............................................................. Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Glass workers.................................................... Potters................................................................ Paper hangers and whitewashers..................... Lithographers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... Cotton manufacture.......................................... Hosiery-mill employees..................................... Lace makers....................................................... Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers................................................... Wood turners..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust.............................. Furriers.............................................................. Hatters................................................................ Silk workers........................................................ Woolen and worsted mill employees............... Carpet and rug makers__•................................ Total—Occupations with exposure to animal ana mixed fiber dust.............. 63675—No. 79—09-----15 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 4 7 20 9 12 17 34 20 43 49 44 60 100 53 62 119 62 71 129 43 91 31 5 9 3 38 7 10 101 97 20 19 237 153 32 66 37 6 215 52 139 79 6 252 47 148 91 8 263 37 72 67 19 17 271 3 17 5 28 501 2 33 20 8 69 110 6 33 7 47 16 141 149 6 4 29 72 51 276 247 187 8 14 118 68 294 274 26 21 19 13 166 93 195 227 103 24 39 16 183 110 53 2 3 121 87 3 2 7 1 192 4 10 42 5 293 9 12 7 64 4 480 5 31 9 102 7 612 16 35 12 131 15 702 8 30 75 219 29 18 13 61 96 154 209 361 852 BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OE LABOR, X .—DEATH RATE PER 1,000 DUE TO ALL CAUSES AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able Death rate per 1,000 due to all causes in each age group. Occupation. T o o ! and instrum ent, -plainer??. ............................... Brass workers................................................. Printers............................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mp.ta.llip. dust......................................... Glass workers..................................................... Potters................................................................ Paper hangars and whitewashers..................... L ith og r a p h er s ............................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust.......................................... Cotton manufacture........................................... Hosiery-mill employees..................................... Lace makers....................................................... Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers................................................... Wood turners..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust.............................. Furriers.............................................................. Hatters.............................................................. Silk workers....................................................... Woolen and worsted mill employees................ Carpet and rug makers...................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to anim al ana mixed fiber dust............... All occupied males—England and Wales......... 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 2.09 2.22 3.19 3.32 5.13 6.03 6.32 13.65 25.97 42.05 100.65 5.86 12.79 20.90 36.60 83.78 6.46 10.19 17.76 30.76 87.61 2.73 3.22 2.62 1.52 1.55 5.28 5.09 3.68 3.44 5.36 6.29 6.74 5.26 4 07 5.62 2.35 2.68 1.00 2.58 2.20 3.46 2.61 1.94 4.02 4.32 5.75 2.69 5.75 401 3.73 446 5.24 12.46 23.74 40.23 92.60 5.48 9.61 20.46 41.15 127.31 5.39 6.71 16.10 35.11 132.12 6.71 8.38 11.68 32.56 87.56 6.47 7.45 13.03 32.49 105.86 5.02 6.66 11.05 26.38 94 80 5.20 9.84 17.34 30.65 82.99 6.23 11.69 24 98 34 70 92.82 2.59 a 72 2.90 2.30 2.19 2.89 415 442 6.19 3.27 5.03 5.19 5.49 9.57 19.08 35.47 104 00 8.52 12.91 20.02 51.28 107.84 6.70 11.44 19.82 35.97 103.42 412 8.56 17.90 36.01 107.55 5.18 8.90 17.14 37.10 128.92 5.86 9.43 18.30 33.94 116.77 2.38 2.44 5.07 4 41 5.56 9.48 17.78 37.33 120.64 6.01 10.22 17.73 31.01 88.39 11.68 13.14 14 52 11.52 8.41 20.97 2414 31.64 19.18 19.94 36.03 92.52 41.84 119.38 5415 118.25 32.53 72.18 30.84 82.25 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 853 —DEATH RATE PER 1,000 DUE TO CONSUMPTION AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able X I . Death rate per 1,000 due to consumption in each age group. Occupation. Tool and instrument maters............................ Brass workers..................................................... Printers............................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Glass workers..................................................... Potters................................................................ Paper hangers and whitewashers..................... Lithographers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... Cotton manufacture........................................... Hosiery-mill employees..................................... Lace makers....................................................... Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers................................................... Woodturners...................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust.............................. Furriers............................................................... Hatters................................................................ Silk workers....................................................... Woolen Mid worsted mb! employees............... Carpet and rug makers...................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to anim al and mixed fiber dust.. . . . . . . . All occupied males—England and Wales....... 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 0.17 .49 1.03 1.57 2.17 3.41 2.94 2.93 3.65 5.90 4.53 4.85 7.13 4.61 4.27 5.26 2.58 3.42 1.97 .44 1.60 .73 .56 .62 .41 .77 2.73 1.81 1.34 1.06 2.68 3.33 2.88 2.00 1.22 2.70 5.05 4.56 3.79 3.98 3.13 5.22 4.87 7.14 3.62 4.27 3.91 2.97 4.37 4.01 4.33 1.54 .55 .82 .60 1.13 .24 .54 .69 .63 1.44 1.65 2.35 1.12 2.09 1.29 1.65 1.54 2.01 2.01 2.46 2.84 2.59 1.95 2.18 2.89 3.96 2.89 2.48 2.39 2.48 2.13 3.79 3.79 4.91 3.66 4.23 2.57 1.18 1.78 3.83 5.52 3.94 2.76* 3.47 2.22 3.77 1.86 2.71 2.96 1.13 2.13 .79 ,74 1.50 1.02 1.86 1.36 .75 .61 .23 .69 .64 1.63 1.77 3.47 1.82 2.38 2.59 2.18 3.46 3.70 2.40 1.81 1.41 3.16 4.74 4.11 2.05 2.25 3.14 3.80 3.86 4.76 3.95 2.84 2.94 2.79 7.33 2.17 3.69 2.27 2.42 1.63 5.88 2.00 1.86 1.00 .61 .54 2.49 1.55 2.20 2.03 2.68 2.74 3.24 3.04 2.65 2.16 1.81 1.11 .97 1.53 1.44 854 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR, DEATH RATE PER 1,000 DUE TO OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1900 TO 1902, BY AGE GROUPS. [From Part II, Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England and Wales.] T able XII.— vccupanon. Tool and instrument makers............................ Brass workers..................................................... Printers............................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Glass workers..................................................... Potters................................................................ Paper hangers and whitewashes..................... Lithographers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust.......................................... Onttryn m a n u fa c t u r e ............................. .................... Hosiery-mill employees..................................... Lace makers....................................................... Cordage makers.................................................. Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers................................................... Wood turners..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust.............................. Furriers............ ................................................. Hatters.............................................................. Silk workers....................................................... Woolen and worsted mill employees............... Carpet and rug makers.................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............... All occupied males—England and Wales........ Death rate per 1,000 due to other respiratory diseases In each age group. 15 to 19 20 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years years. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 0.23 .24 .36 0.56 .52 .37 1.14 .60 .55 2.01 2.05 1.24 5.40 10.42 3.94 9.42 2.17 5.16 25.46 19.06 20.76 .30 .28 .46 .15 .45 .60 .58 .46 •21 .69 .99 .64 .78 .79 1.62 3.55 7.94 2.43 5.76 10.75 3.29 10.78 23.10 1.36 3.91 8.89 .99 1.71 433 22.46 28.68 35.04 17.09 27.42 .27 .25 .20 .32 .31 .31 .50 .60 .26 .45 1.57 .43 .43 .62 78 .81 .70 .34 .97 .65 .64 .72 2.12 1.51 .75 .48 .71 1.20 1.29 2.65 6.05 12.86 4.18 9.80 2.93 6.01 1.64 7.77 3.16 a 95 2.76 483 2.95 7.27 4.31 8.61 2450 28.50 27.06 17.66 29.28 16.31 17.95 2484 .26 .93 .69 .31 .32 .54 1.32 .30 .23 .43 .73 .92 .77 .75 1.01 1.46 2.37 1.33 1.30 1.45 .97 3.61 8.33 1.76 11.72 4 92 10.85 2.37 3.69 3.08 6.46 2.29 9.09 23.35 15.69 23.87 25.05 25.44 28.94 .32 .24 .29 .48 .72 .77 1.45 1.66 3.13 3.32 7.02 6.54 25.12 17.77 855 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. —DEATHS DUE TO ALL CAUSES AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1897 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. T able XIII [From the experience of an industrial insurance company.] Deaths due to all causes in each age group. Occupation. G rin d ers.......................................................................... P olish er s ......................................................................... Tnnl and in stru m en t m a k e r s .. ...................... ........ 15 years 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years or over. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 128 279 303 403 25 414 1,590 168 192 Jewelers.............................................................. Gold-leaf makers................................................ Brass workers..................................................... P rin ters ....................................................... ................... Compositors........................................................ Engravers........................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... 3,502 Stone workers.................................................... 858 Marble workers.................................................. 200 Glass blowers..................................................... 282 Glass cutters....................................................... 116 Potters................................................................ 384 88 Cement workers................................................. 577 P lasterers............... ........................................................ Paper h a n g ers............................................................... 319 Foundrymen and molders................................ 1,397 Core makers........................................................ 162 Lithographers.................................................... 160 Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... 4,543 189 Spinners.............................................................. W e a v e r s ......... ................................................................ 915 65 Hosiery and knitting mill employees.............. Rope makers...................................................... 109 115 Paper makers..................................................... 817 Cabinetmakers................................................... Wood turners..................................................... 127 Wood carvers..................................................... 123 Total—Occupations with exposure to V egetable fiber d u s t ....... ............_ _............ 2,460 Furriers and taxidermists................................. 105 Hatters............................................................... 832 Silk-mill employees........................................... 295 Woolen and worsted mill employees............... 106 Carpet and rug m a k e rs ............................................. 155 Upholsterers....................................................... 381 41 Mattress makers................................................. Total—Occupations with exposure to anim al a n d mixed fiber dust............... 1,915 7 48 40 60 2 66 344 21 31 24 75 59 74 8 112 439 54 47 38 68 68 50 4 91 346 32 42 30 48 56 59 3 58 211 19 34 20 19 32 77 2 54 142 * 33 19 9 21 48 83 6 33 108 9 19 619 21 3 24 26 46 10 25 33 122 66 37 892 114 30 78 30 68 12 78 96 228 42 45 739 172 40 59 27 84 19 107 74 300 25 29 518 232 46 55 20 78 15 127 55 292 9 21 398 199 50 26 8 72 19 121 34 239 9 18 336 120 31 40 5 36 13 119 27 216 11 10 413 28 108 23 12 13 39 10 11 821 38 174 22 18 28 61 8 20 936 36 155 7 17 18 82 17 23 950 27 144 9 18 15 136 24 31 795 37 137 3 24 23 197 33 21 628 23 197 1 20 18 302 35 17 244 3 78 82 20 17 39 9 369 18 175 61 16 22 65 7 355 30 185 55 14 17 79 11 404 13 127 31 19 24 73 5 475 24 135 37 24 34 62 8 613 17 132 29 13 41 63 1 248 364 391 292 324 296 856 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. DEATHS DUE TO CONSUMPTION AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1897 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [From the experience of an industrial insurance company.] T able X I V . — Deaths due to consumption in each age group. Occupation. 15 years 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 years or over. years. years. years. years. years. or over. Grinders............................................................. 63 Polishers............................................................. 108 Tool and instrument makers............................ 101 Jewelers.............................................................. 113 Gold-leaf makers................................................ 7 Brass workers.................................................... ' 161 Printers.............................................................. 613 Compositors...................................................... . 59 67 Engravers......................................................... . Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust....................................... . 1,292 Stone workers.................................................... 302 Marble workers.................................................. 56 Glass blowers.................................................... . 85 Glass cutters..................................................... 40 Potters................................................................ 127 17 Cement workers................................................. Plasterers.......................................................... . 136 Paper hangers................................................... 107 Foundrymen and molders................................ 311 Core makers....................................................... 48 Lithographers.................................................... 70 Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... 1,299 Spinners................................................ 56 Weavers................................................ 254 Hosiery and knitting mill employees. 24 Rope makers......................................... 28 Paper makers........................................ 34 Cabinetmakers...................................... 162 Wood turners........................................ 25 Wood carvers........................................ 27 Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust............................. 610 34 Furriers and taxidermists................... Hatters................................................. 278 Silk-mill employees............................. 106 Woolen and worsted mill employees. 26 Carpet and rug makers....................... 37 Upholsterers........................................ 118 Mattress makers.................................. 16 Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............... 615 4 22 13 24 1 39 167 6 12 17 42 35 44 4 56 247 36 29 24 29 24 22 2 41 140 12 19 12 11 21 13 14 42 3 5 5 4 4 7 11 13 1 2 1 4 3 288 10 ii 7 11 1 7 14 29 20 21 510 60 15 44 14 36 3 35 47 92 17 28 313 82 16 15 11 37 4 38 33 82 9 13 121 91 16 11 5 22 6 35 8 65 1 5 47 52 7 1 1 14 3 16 4 27 1 3 13 7 2 3 2 7 131 13 43 65 6 14 7 3 391 19 93 159 15 34 5 9 340 16 59 72 7 40 3 9 265 7 37 26 2 31 4 5 129 1 15 43 3 29 5 1 1 14 1 97 1 42 28 7 9 15 4 199 7 97 32 7 10 38 3 143 19 84 33 5 6 38 4 94 4 34 7 4 5 18 2 54 2 20 4 3 4 3 3 23 1 1 2 3 6 106 194 189 74 39 13 4 1 5 1 16 7 MORTALITY PROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. T abus X V .— 857 PER CENT OF DEATHS DUE TO CONSUMPTION AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS, 1897 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. [From the experience of an industrial insurance company.] Per cent of deaths due to consumption in each age group. Occupation. Grinders.......................................................... . Polishers............................................................. Tool and instrument makers......................... Jewelers.............................................................. Gold-leaf makers................................................ Brass workers..................................................... Printers.............................................................. Compositors........................................................ Engravers.......................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to metallic dust......................................... Stone workers.................................................... Marhle workers................................................... Glass blowers...................................................... Glass cutters....................................................... Potters................................................................ Cement workers................................................. Plasterers............................................................ Paper hangers.................................................... Foundrymen and molders................................ Core makers....................................................... lithographers.................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to mineral dust......................................... Spinners............................................................. Weavers.............................................................. Hosiery and knitting mill employees.............. Rope makers...................................................... Paper makers..................................................... Cabinetmakers .................................................. Wood turners..................................................... Wood carvers..................................................... Total—Occupations with exposure to vegetable fiber dust............................. Furriers and taxidermists................................. Hatters............................................................... Silkmill employees........................................... Woolen and worsted mill employees............... Caipet and rug makers..................................... Upholsterers....................................................... Mattress makers................................................. Total—Occupations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust.............. 15 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or over. years. years. years. years. years. or over. 49.2 38.7 33.3 28.0 28.0 38.9 38.6 35.1 34.9 11.1 8.3 3.6 57.1 45.8 32.5 40.0 50.0 59.1 48.6 28.6 38.7 70.8 56.0 59.3 59.5 50.0 50.0 56.3 66.7 61.7 63.2 42.6 35.3 44.0 50.0 45.1 40.5 37.5 45.2 40.0 22.9 37.5 22.0 24.1 19.9 15.8 14.7 25.0 21.1 12.5 9.1 20.4 9.2 3.0 10.5 36.9 46.5 35.2 47.6 28.0 30.1 45.8 34.5 26.9 33.1 23.9 19.3 10.0 23.6 28.0 33.5 42.4 22.3 . 23.8 29.6 30.3 43.8 56.8 57.2 52.6 50.0 56.4 46.7 52.9 25.0 44.9 49.0 40.4 40.5 62.2 42.4 47.7 40.0 25.4 40.7 44.0 21.1 35.5 44.6 27.3 36.0 44.8 23.4 39.2 34.8 20.0 25.0 28.2 40.0 27.6 14.5 22.3 11.1 23.8 28.-6 29.6 27.8 36.9 25.7 29.6 19.8 19.7 22.0 31.7 46.4 39.8 21.7 50.0 46.2 35.9 70.0 27.3 47.6 50.0 53.4 68.2 50.0 53.6 55.7 62.5 45.0 36.3 44.4 38.1 28.6 41.2 38.9 48.8 17.6 39.1 27.9 25.9 25.7 22.2 33.3 13.3 22.8 16.7 16.1 11.8 3.9 --26.1 6.5 14.0 7.5 3.8 12.5 40.0 19.4 19.4 15.8 4.2 13.2 3.7 11.8 7.4 11.3 11.1 16.7 ............ 6.8 16.2 24.8 32.4 33.4 35.9 24.5 23.9 31.0 39.0 39.8 33.3 53.8 34.1 35.0 52.9 38.5 44.4 53.9 38.9 55.4 52.5 43.8 45.5 58.5 42.9 40.3 63.3 45.4 60.0 35.7 35.3 48.1 36.4 32.1 42.7 53.3 48.3 3.7 1L1 10.9 3.6 13.0 14.7 15.2 4.8 5.6 4.8 2.9 23.3 30.8 26.7 22.6 21.1 20.8 24.7 40.0 11.4 8 jf 14.8 10.8 12.5 11.8 4.8 37.5 3.8 5J0 0.8 6.9 7.3 9.5 25.3 12.0 4.4 858 BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOR, T able X V I.—NUMBER AND PER CENT OF DEATHS DUE TO OTHER DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AMONG OCCUPIED MALES IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS 1897 TO 1906. ’ [From the experience of an industrial insurance company.] Deaths due to respiratory diseases other than consumption. Occupation. Grinders................... Polishers................... Tool and instrument makers................... Jewelers................... Gold leaf makers__ Brass workers.......... Printers.................... Compositors.............. Engravers................. Total —Occu pations with exposure to metallic dust Stone workers.......... Marble workers........ Glass blowers......... 1 Glass cutters............ Potters...................... Cement workers....... Plasterers................. Paper hangers.......... Foundrymen a n d molders................. Core makers.............. Lithographers.......... Total — Occu pations with exposure to mineral dust Spinners................... Weavers................... Hosiery and knitting mill employees__ Rope makers............ Paper makers........... Cabinetmakers......... Wood turners........... Wood carvers........... Total —Occu pations with exposure to vegetable fi ber dust___ Furriers and taxi dermists................ Hatters..................... Silk-mill employees. Woolen and worsted mill employees__ Carpet and r u g makers................... Upholsterers............ Mattress makers....... Total — Occu pations with exposure to animal and mixed fiber dust............. Number due to— Per cent of deaths from all causes. All Other All Other respi respi respi Asth- Bron Pneu respi Bron Pneu ratory ratory Asthratory ratory ma. chitis. monia. chitis. ma. monia. dididisdi15 25 25 37 3 36 169 19 18 22 35 39 49 5 51 221 25 22 162 36 26 15 57 8 93 38 277 28 24 347 26 17 12 21 5 67 30 14 211 24 18 22 762 28 119 60 56 91 526 89 10 120 21 16 326 34 41 206 45 17.2 12.6 12.9 12.2 20.0 12.3 13.9 14.9 11.5 2.3 .7 1.3 .5 13.4 18.9 18.0 9.2 12.9 14.9 9.0 16.1 11.9 19.8 17.3 13.8 .7 1.5 1.5 .4 .9 4.7 1.1 1.0 1.2 2.1 1.1 13.3 27 164 34 12.7 1.1 3.5 2.0 .7 3.1 1.1 2.4 .9 1.5 .6 1.9 2.0 1.1 1.6 1.8 1.7 .5 8.0 2.9 1.5 3.0 9.9 1.7 2.8 1.5 2.1 1.7 1.6 1.1 1.2 1.6 2.2 1.9 11.1 13.0 6.0 10.3 5.5 5.7 11.6 9.4 15.1 14.8 11.3 11.6 1.7 2.4 1.6 1.8 .9 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.7 8.4 4.8 1.5 1.0 1.9 1.9 .5 8.6 8.5 7.1 7.5 10.3 8.7 14.6 1.4 8.6 11.2 17 .2 11.7 9.0 8.2 9.2 12.0 8.7 10.6 11.3 9.4 9.0 8.5 1.5 5.5 7.8 9.2 8.6 7.3 16.2 11.7 242 1.7 2.0 1.2 16.8 14.8 13.0 4.6 8.2 8.7 14.7 16.5 13.0 16.0 16.7 12.1 14.6 1.6 1.1 4.7 1.9 .8 2.0 1.6 .6 2.0 2.6 1.4 3.1 2.1 3.9 2.5 1.8 2.8 1.2 2.4 1.9 2.6 2.1 1.8 MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 859 DEATHS DUE TO ALL CAUSES, TO CONSUMPTION, AND TO OTHER RESPIRATORY DISEASES AMONG MALES IN THE REGISTRATION AREA OF THE UNITED STATES, 1900 TO 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. 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D . : D ust as a Cause o f Occupation Disease (w ith illustra tions o f m icro-photography). A rticle in Dangerous Trades, p. 267. Lon don, 1902. Oliver, Thomas, M. D . : D ust Women. A rticle in Dangerous Trades, 278. London, 1902. Oliver, T h om as: The Etiology and Prevention o f Pneumonokoniosis. British M edical Journal, p. 481, August 22, 1908. Oliver, Thomas, M. D . : L u cifer M atch Making. In Shaw Lectures on Industrial Hygiene, p. 5. London, 1908. 870 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. Oliver, Thomas, M. D . : M etallic Poisons. Transactions Sanitary Institute, Vol. X IV , p. 154. London, 1893. Oliver, Thomas, M. D . : M iscellaneous Occupations. A rticle on Upholsterers, p. 789; Joiners and Carpenters, p. 790; W orkers in Sequoia W ood, p. 790; Glass M anufacture— Glass Blowing, p. 804; M anufacture and Use o f Emery Wheels, p. 813; in Dangerous Trades. London, 1902. Oliver, Thomas, M. D . : Physiology and Pathology o f W ork and Fatigue. A rticle in D angerous Trades, p. 104. London, 1902. One Hundred Years o f Am erican Commerce (1795-1895). 2 vols., edited by Chauncey M. Depew. New York, 1895. Oppenheimer, Seymour, M. D . : Effect o f Certain Occupations on the Pharynx. New Y ork M edical Record, December 16, 1899. Ord, W illiam , M. D . : In Sixth Report o f the M edical Officer o f the Privy Council. A rticle on the Sanitary Circumstances o f Dressmakers and other Needle women, London, p. 362. London, 1864. Order o f the Secretary o f State making Regulations fo r the Protection o f Health in Cotton Cloth Factories. Parliam entary Returns. Dated London, Feb ruary 18, 1898. Parkes, E. A . : Manual o f Practical Hygiene. A rticle on Diseases o f Operatives, Vol. I, pp. 133-136. W illiam W ood & Co., New York, 1883. Parry, Leonard A., M. D . : The R isks and Dangers o f Various Occupations and their Prevention. Scott, Greenwood & Co., London, 1900. Physical and M oral Condition o f the Children and Young Persons Employed in Mines and M anufactures. Parliam entary Report. London, 1843. Polishing and Buffing. A rticle in Annual Report o f the New Y ork State Fac tory Inspector, p. 32. Albany, 1899. Polishing Wheels, Construction of, etc. Scientific Am erican Supplement, No. 1569, pp. 25139, 25140, January 27, 1906. Potter, Alonzo, M. D . : The Principles o f Science Applied to the Domestic and M echanic Arts. Boston, 1841. Pottery Industry and its Relation to Health. T w elfth Annual Report o f the New Jersey Bureau o f Labor, p. 39. Trenton, 1889. Pottery Industry, Diseases and Disease Tendencies o f Industries. In Report o f New Jersey Bureau o f Labor Statistics, p. 107. Trenton, 1908. Pottery Industry, Health Conditions in. A rticle in Tw enty-e.ghth Annual Re port o f New Jersey Bureau o f Labor, p. 175. Trenton, 1905. Printw orks, Bleaching and D yeing W orks Acts. Parliam entary R eport on Conditions in these Trades. 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Russell, A rch ib ald : Principles o f Statistical Inquiry. A rticle on Occupations in W hich the Inhabitants are Engaged, p. 121. New York, 1839. Russell, James B., M. D . : On Certain Cases o f Sickness and Death Occurring Am ong W orkers in H orsehair Factories. In Annual Report o f the Medical Officer o f the L ocal Government Board, 1878, p. 321. London, 1879. Samwer, K a r l: Address on the M ortality in Certain Occupations. Read before the T h ird International A ctuarial Congress, Paris, 1900. (In French.) Samwer, D r. K a r l: D ie Sterblichkeit der Aerzte, Geistlichen und Lehrer nach den Erfahrungen der Gothaer Lebensversicherungs-Bank (R eport on the M ortality o f Physicians, Clergymen, and Teachers in the Experience o f the L ife Insurance Company o f G otha). Address before the Third Inter national Actuarial Congress, Paris, 1900. Sanitary Commission o f Massachusetts. R eference to Influence o f Occupation on Health, pp. 85, 129, and 508. Boston, 1850. 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Article in Oliver’s Danger ous Trades, p. 134. London, 1902. Tatham, John, M. D . : Mortality of Occupations. Article in Oliver’s Danger ous Trades, p. 118. London, 1902. Tatham, John, M. D . : Report on the Mortality o f Males in Certain Occupations, 1890-1892, and on an English Healthy District Life Table for the ten years 1881-1890. Supplement to the Fifty-fifth Annual Report o f the RegistrarGeneral of England and W ales, Vol. II. London, 1S97. Tatham, John, M. D . : Report on the Mortality in Various Occupations in the three years 1900-1902. Supplement to the Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of England and W ales, Part II. London, 1908. Thackrah, C. Turner: The Effects of Arts, Trades, and Professions and the Civic States and Habits of Living on Health and Longevity, with Sugges tions for the Removal of Many of the Agents which Produce Disease and Shorten the Duration o f Life. Second edition. London, 1832. Thomson, J . : H ats and Felting. Philadelphia, 1868. 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MORTALITY FROM CONSUMPTION IN DUSTY TRADES. 875 W hite, Sinclair, M. D . : Metallic Dusts, Cutlery, Tool Making, and Metal Trades. Transactions Sanitary Institute, Yol. X I V , p. 117, 1893. W hite, Sinclair, M. D . : Steel Grinding. Article in Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, p. 408. London, 1902. W hitley, George, M. D . : Report on Industrial D iseases; in Sixth Annual Report of the Medical Officer o f the Privy Council. Article on Occurrence o f Lead Poisoning Among Persons who W ork with Lead or its Prepara tions, p. 3 5 0 ; Occurrence of Mercurial Preparations, p. 358. London, 1864. Wierdema, H . V., M. D . : Article on Visual Acuity in Various Trades. In Jour nal American Medical Association, February 8, 1902. Chicago. Wilbur, Cressy L . : Mortality Statistics of the Eleventh Census. Article, American Economic Association, p. 108. New York, 1899. W illcox, W alter F . : Economic Loss from Tuberculosis in the State of New York. Abstract from address before International Congress on Tuberculo sis, Washington, D. C., 1908. Willcox, W alter F . : Economic Value of Loss of Life from Tuberculosis. Article in Vital Statistics o f New York State in 1907. Albany, 1908. Willets, Gilson, and others: Workers of the Nation. Dodd, Mead & Co. (2 vols.), New York, 1903. W illiam s, C. Theodore, M. D . : Article on Diseases, Accidents, and Occupation, Deaths. In American Exchange and Review, Philadelphia, December, 1904. Wilson, G. B . : Air-Conditioning in Textile Factories, p. 25. John W iley & Sons. New York, 1908. (Reference to Suitable Textile Conditions and Their Relation to Health.) Wilson, H arry J . : Jute Manufacture. Article in Oliver’s Dangerous Trades, p. 650. London, 1902. Winslow, C. E. A .: Sanitary Dangers of Certain Occupations. Bulletin of Massachusetts Association of Boards of Health. Boston, 1904. W ool Sorting and Kindred Trades. Report of the Dangerous Trades (An thrax) Committee; Parliamentary Report, C. 8506. London, 1907. W right, Carroll D . : Report on the Factory System of the United States. Tenth Census. Article on Effect o f the Factory upon Health, p. 26. Washington, D . C., 1882. Wynne, James, M . D . : Report on the Vital Statistics of the United States made to the Mutual Life Insurance Company o f New York, 1857, p. 205. Wynter, A ., M. D . : Curiosities of Civilization. Article on Mortality in Trades and Professions, pp. 499-535. London, 1860. CH ARITY RELIEF AND W AGE EARNINGS. BY S. E. FORMAN. IN TRO D U CTIO N . This article is a study of the relief given by the Associated Chari ties in the city o f Washington, D. C., in 1905. The investigation deals with the cases o f several thousand persons who sought relief at the door o f charity. The aim of the study is to determine the relation which exists between the charity relief and the earnings of the recipients, and to discover to what extent this distress was due to low wages or to a lack o f employment, and to what extent other causes figured in the distress. The result o f the study will be better understood i f consideration is first given to the aims and methods o f the Associated Charities. Those aims and methods have been recently formulated as follow s: 1. To bring about the adequate treatment o f each needy individual or family upon the basis of an adequate understanding of the needs and resources. 2. To promote cooperation between all the philanthropic forces, the public and private charities, the churches, municipal authorities, and benevolent individuals o f the community, in order that the efficiency o f all may be increased and each enabled to do its own best work in its own best way. 3. To obtain and administer material aid where necessary, endeav oring to secure the assistance from appropriate organizations and individuals, and not to interfere with or unnecessarily decrease in any case the responsibility o f agencies or persons from whom the relief should be derived. 4. To enlist, organize, and direct volunteer workers, including division conference members, friendly visitors, savings collectors, conductors o f outing parties, office assistants, and helpers in other lines. 5. To prevent pauperism and dependence, to discourage begging and the giving o f alms without adequate investigation, to expose deliberate imposture or fraud, to not merely palliate distress but to relieve it permanently, and in every case to develop all the possibili ties o f self-help. 6. To improve home life, develop character, and elevate the stand ards o f life, to prevent children from growing up as paupers, and to aid needy families in securing for ruptured and deformed children such treatment as will prevent permanent disabilities and depend ence. 876 CHAEITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 877 7. To aid in the diffusion of knowledge as to conditions o f life in neglected neighborhoods or among needy families and as to the best methods o f philanthropic work. To suggest, stimulate, inaugurate, or undertake such efforts for remedial, preventive, or constructive social service as shall from time to time seem wise. 8. To maintain a careful, thorough system o f confidential records so that all the essential knowledge obtained regarding needy families may be immediately available, in confidence, for the guidance of persons having a legitimate charitable interest. 9. To exclude from every department o f its work all questions as to sectarian religious belief, politics, or nationality, and to allow no representative o f the association to use his or her position for the purpose o f proselytism. From the above official statement it will be seen that an office of the Associated Charities is not primarily a relief station. It is rather a clearing house where various charitable influences are so coordi nated and directed that overlapping, waste, and fraud are either wholly prevented or reduced to a minimum. Relief o f some kind is given to almost every family that applies to the Associated Charities, but it is not always material relief—such as money, food, or clothing. The chief object o f the association is to enable the applicant to help himself, “ Every case is studied carefully, unnecessary relief is re fused, employment is secured, the good influence o f relatives, employ ers, and other natural helpers is enlisted, and every possibility o f self-help is as far as possible discovered and emphasized.” (a) Such a policy reduces the giving of material aid to the lowest point. O f the 4,377 families dealt with in the charity year ending June 30,1906, only 1,050 were given material relief. After such a sifting process a family is not likely to receive material aid unless there is actual distress. A phase o f the society’s work that is of great interest is its system o f gathering and recording all pertinent facts relating to the family applying for aid. This inquiry begins when application for assist ance is made. The investigation is informal and unobtrusive, but thorough and painstaking. Information about the family is sought from the most direct sources. Letters o f applicants and the repre sentations o f proxies may set in motion an investigation, but they will not suffice to place the family upon the roll of recipients. A personal inspection o f home conditions by the charity agent must be made before the merits or demerits o f an application are passed upon. In cases o f emergency or when the work o f the office is heavy this rule is not always strictly followed. A t such times the giving o f aid may precede the investigation; but the general policy and the habitual ®Annual Report of the Associated Charities of the District of Columbia, 1906, p. 6. 878 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. practice o f the society is to furnish aid only in the light o f the fullest knowledge possible. The investigation into the merits o f an application usually begins in the charity office. When a request is made that aid be given to a family, if the person asking for aid is not a member o f the family, or is a child, the agent probably will not entertain the request at all, but will demand that a responsible member o f the family come to the office. I f the wife or husband or grown child comes and makes known the needs o f the family, the agent in a conversational way draws from the applicant everything about the family that may have a bearing upon the subject in hand. Inquiry is made as to the size of the family, the ages o f the children, the conjugal conditions that prevail, the occupations o f the members o f the family, the wages received, the names o f employers and friends, and church affiliations. Having noted these and other relevant facts, the agent, withholding aid for the time being, promises to visit the home o f the applicant at the earliest possible moment. Only in rare instances does the first inter view result in the immediate giving o f doles. As soon as it can be arranged the agent goes to the home o f the applicant, where the in quiry is continued far beyond the point to which it was carried at the office and until sufficient information is obtained regarding the family to make it possible to deal with the case intelligently. The facts brought out by the investigation are arranged in order, typewritten, and placed in a large envelope which becomes the recep tacle for the charity record of the family and for all documents bearing upon that record. In this envelope are found letters apply ing for aid, letters expressing thanks for aid received, letters from friends and relatives o f the family, letters o f recommendation, cor respondence o f charity officials, newspaper clippings containing in formation about the family, ejectment notices, evidences o f chattelmortgage transactions, and notes of promise. ^Every item throwing light upon the charity side o f the family’s history is carefully pre served. In the majority of cases the record is brief and the contents o f the envelope are small, but in many cases where the charity record extends over many years the contents o f the envelope, i f printed, would make a good-sized volume. The conclusions o f this article are based upon a study o f 19,000 envelopes found in the 8 charity offices o f the city o f Washington. Every envelope containing a record of material relief, such as money, food, clothing, or shelter given in 1905 has been examined. The work has been conducted in the charity offices, and in numerous cases when there was perplexity or doubt the writer has been assisted by the charity agents. CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 879 NUM BER, N A T IV IT Y , AND SIZE OF T H E F A M ILIE S. In dealing with charity cases the efforts of the organization are directed toward the family regarded as a social unit. Likewise in studying these charity cases the family has been regarded as a unit, but strictly as an economic rather than as a domestic unit. A man living alone in a shanty or in a single room has been regarded as constituting a family o f one, even though he has children living. Where a husband is serving a term in jail and the wife is left to take care o f herself and several children, the family is regarded as con sisting o f the wife and children, and the husband is not included in the enumeration. In dealing with the subjects o f delinquencies and o f causes, however, it has often been found necessary to look outside the economic group. O f the 1,256 families for which the records showed that material relief was given in 1905, 73 have not been considered in this article. In a number o f cases it was impossible to determine the composition o f the family in 1905. In such cases the record extended over a num ber o f years, but the changes that came with the years were not fully recorded. In other cases, because of a rush o f applications, aid was given without any investigation at all. In a few instances the records were too meager to serve the purposes o f this study. There remained for consideration the charity records o f 1,183 families, 452 o f these being white families and 731 colored. The nativity o f the recipients is shown in the following table. It is seen that nearly all who were assisted were Americans. Only 40 families, or 3.4 per cent o f the total, were o f wholly foreign extrac tion. This element is so small as to be without special significance, yet it is noticeable that whereas the foreign population o f the city is about 7 per cent o f the total population foreign charity recipients constitute a percentage only about half as great. When the number o f white families is compared with the number o f Negro families it is found that the former comprise 38.2 per cent and the latter 61.8 per cent o f all the families receiving aid. In 1900 the white popula tion of the District was 68.7 per cent and the Negro population was 31.1 per cent o f the whole population. 880 BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY NATIVITY OF HEAD OF FAMILY. Nativity of— Husband or male head of family. Wife or female head of family. WHITE. United States.......... United States....... United States.......... United States....... England......... United States Germany............... United States.......... United States_____ Ireland.................. United States........- Italy...................... United States...... Scotland............... United Austria States.......... ., , Sweden................. Austria ...........T Denmark................. Denmark.............. bfinmarlr Sweden..............T England.................. Germany............... England................... Ireland.................. France..................... France................... France..................... Germany................. United States....... Germany................. Germany............... Germany................. ■. Poland.................. Hungary.................. U n ited States Ireland Ireland..................... Ireland.................. I t a ly .. ., Italy............... Italy......................... Norway................... United States....... Number of families. Nativity of— Husband or male head of family. Number of Wife or female families. head of family. white—conc’d. Poland..................... Poland.................. Russia.................... Scotland.................. Turkey.................. United States....... England................ France................... Germany............... Ireland.................. (0 Total white NEGBO. United States.......... United States....... United States.......... United States....... Bahama Islands... Germany............... West Indies............. United States....... 3 Total Negro.. x Grand total... n o236 &20 cl421 2 2x 1 1 x x x 2 X 2 <1 2 7 X «x4 i 1 el ai ffl h i i 4 2 X *3 m2 452 293 390 X X X 73X X,X83 n 45 o P V * Including 2 families in which the husband is white and the wife colored. 6 Comprising 4 widowers, 13 single men, 2 separated men, and 1 man conjugal condition not reported. 9 Comprising 83 widows, 34 separated women, 17 single women, 2 divorced women, 5 married women whose husbands were not at home, and 1 woman conjugal condition not reported. * Widower. * Single man. t Separated man. 9 Wife a Negress. * Comprising 1 widow and 1 woman whose husband was in jail. * Separated woman. J Comprising 2 widows and 2 separated women. * Single women. * Nativity not reported. * Comprising 1 widow and 1 separated woman. n Comprising 24 widowers, 5 men conjugal condition not reported, 4 separated men, 10 single men, and 2 married men whose wives were not at home. 9 Comprising 215 widows, 90 separated women, 64 single women, 13 married women whose husbands were not at home, 2 divorced women, and 6 women conjugal condition not reported. 9 Widow. The number o f persons in the 1,183 families receiving material aid from the Associated Charities in 1905 was 4,365. O f these 1,860 were white persons and 2,505 were colored persons. I f the 73 families which were eliminated on account o f imperfect records had been in cluded the total number o f persons would have approximated 5,000. The number receiving material aid, however, by no means fully meas ures the work o f the organization in Washington. In addition there are thousands who are assisted by the organization but who do not actually receive money, food, or clothing. A very large number of applicants desire free medical treatment, and this they receive at C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N I N G S . 881 public dispensaries upon the recommendation o f the charity agents. A great many seek employment and the charity agents find work for them. Some who seek material aid are shown a way by which they may help themselves and thus avoid being enrolled as objects of charity. It is probable, taking the official reports o f the association as a guide in making an estimate, that 15,000 persons per annum are affected in one way or another by the work o f this organization. The 4,865 recipients o f material aid, it should be clearly understood, are for the most part the floating, unattached poor. In a very true sense they are the derelicts o f society. The ties that morally bind the individual to society have been in a large degree severed. They rarely belong to a union or to a lodge; they have no friends or rela tives to whom they can turn for help; they have no church connec tions. Industrially and socially they are without moorings, and when the hour o f distress overtakes them they drift to the charity office, because they have nowhere else to go. The isolation o f this class of charity recipients is brought out when the subject o f the membership o f the wage-earners in labor organizations and in fraternal and beneficial associations is con sidered. The records are not entirely satisfactory, though efforts are made to secure as much information as possible about the lodges and societies to which the applicants belong. In nineteen cases out of twenty there is nothing to learn. O f 1,775 wage-earners only 81 made any statement as to whether they belonged to labor organizations, and o f these only 23 stated that they were members o f such organizations. In only 40 families was there evidence o f membership in fraternal or beneficial societies. The reason for not belonging to labor organi zations and the result o f nonmembership appear frequently in notes and comments o f the agent like the follow ing: “ He (the wage-earner) does not belong to the union, and for that reason finds it difficult to get work.” “ The husband said he thought X could get him work to do if he ( X ) cared to do so, but the husband does not belong to a union and X does.” (Here X was the father-in-law of the applicant.) “ Man (a carpenter) had gone to a job of work but when the other workmen found he was a nonunion man, they objected. Man made inquiry about union and found he would have to pay $10 to join. This he could not do.” In the table which follows is shown the size o f the families re ceiving relief. The average is 3.7 persons for each family. In 1900 the average size o f the family in the District o f Columbia was 4.9 persons. The charity family is therefore considerably smaller than the normal family. The lower average of the charity family is due to the fact that among the very poor there is an unusually large num 882 B U L L E T IN OF T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O B . ber o f families consisting o f but one or two persons. The father or the mother, or both father and mother, either childless or forsaken by their children, live alone until old age comes on and the earnings become so scant that resort must be made to charity. The table shows that nearly 40 per cent of the families receiving aid were families o f one or two persons. In the District o f Columbia in 1900 not quite 20 per cent of the whole number o f families belonged to this class. I f the families consisting o f one and of two persons are excluded, the average number of persons in the charity family is increased to 5, which is about normal. The figures bearing upon the size o f the family, therefore, contain nothing o f great significance. The poverty-stricken family on the average is about the same size as the prosperous family. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY SIZE OF FAMILY. Size of family. One person.................................................. Two persons................................................. Three persons............................................... Four persons................................................. Five persons................................................. Six persons................................................... Seven persons............................................... Eight persons............................................... Nine persons................................................. Ten persons.................................................. Eleven persons............................................. Fourteen persons.......................................... Total................................................... White. Negro. Total. Families. Persons. Families. Persons. Families. Persons. 67 71 56 72 56 58 34 22 8 7 1 452 67 ol42 cl68 288 <280 348 238 176 72 70 11 <1,860 156 145 139 88 67 67 29 23 9 156 417 352 <*335 402 203 184 81 6 60 1 11 14 1 731 /2,505 6290 d 223 216 195 160 123 125 63 45 17 13 2 1 1,183 223 432 585 640 615 750 441 60 353 130 122 14 4,365 Including 1 Negro, member of white family. 6 Not including 1 Negro, member of white family. Including 4 Negroes, members of white families. Not including 4 Negroes, members of white families. • Including 9 Negroes, members of white families. t Not including 9 Negroes, members of white families. a e d A G E AN D CONJUGAL CONDITION. The following table shows the leading facts in respect to the ages o f the charity recipients and to the conjugal conditions which pre vailed among them. When collecting facts with respect to age the charity agent meets with the same difficulties that perplex the census agent. The ages, particularly of children, are often not known and ages o f very old people must frequently be guessed. Still, taken all in all, the age records, especially those of children, are full and fairly satisfactory. 883 C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO PERSONS OF EACH SEX RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY CONJUGAL CONDITION AND AGE PERIODS. White. Conjugal condition and age period. Single: Under 10 years......... 10 or under 16 years. 16 years or over........ Age not reported___ Total. Married: 16 years or over.. Separated (deserted): 16 years or over.. Age not reported. Total. Widowed: 16 years or over .. Age not reported. Total. Divorced: 16 years or over...................... Conjugal condition not reported: 16 years or over...................... Age not reported.................... Total............ Grand total. Negro. Total. Fe notSexre Male. Fe notSexre Male. Fe notSexre Male. male. male. ported. male. ported. ported. 253 162 91 267 162 93 516 532 10 10 96 291 159 13 561 365 229 187 35 816 544 632 321 391 189 280 23 45 116 1,077 1,348 316 576 171 23 1 17 212 597 136 1 39 137 102 26 102 26 236 2 238 12 804 901 1,482 33 338 33 340 2 15 11 122 1,705 2,442 218 An analysis o f the age periods brings out the fact that there is a much larger percentage o f children under the age of 16 in the charity population than there is in the population at large. In 1900, 26.6 per cent o f the entire population o f the District o f Columbia was under the age o f 16, while in the charity population studied 47.7 per cent was under the age of 16. Analysis further shows that the percent age o f children under 10 years o f age was 30.9 per cent in the charity families, while the percentage o f children under 10 in the entire District was only 16.8 per cent o f the total population. Young children, therefore, are relatively very numerous among charity dependents in the District of Columbia, a fact o f considerable signifi cance. In families where there are many small children much of the time and energy that might be given to breadwinning is of necessity given to the care o f the children. In some o f the families a care taker— usually an old woman who could do nothing else—was provided for the children and all the older persons were thus per mitted to go out and earn something. Not only do children under 10 years of age predominate in these families, but the female children are proportionally more numerous 63675— No. 79— 09------17 884 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . than they are in the average family. In 1900 in the District of Columbia the number of males under 16 years of age was 36,517, and the number o f females 37,683, the excess o f females over males being 3.2 per cent. A comparison o f the figures given in the preceding table shows that the females under 16 years o f age are in excess of the males by 18.3 per cent. I f comparison is made only for the chil dren of 10 or under 16 years it is found that in the District the excess o f females over males is 8.1 per cent, whereas in the charity population the excess is 21.8 per cent. In whatever way they are considered the figures point to a large proportion o f girls in the charity families. In so far, then, as the boy is a better wage-earner than the girl, so far this excess of female children must be regarded as a handicap in the struggle for subsistence. Not the actual number o f children in these families, but the sex o f the children is significant. In respect to the con jugal conditions prevailing among these charity recipients the table gives information regarding separation (deser tion), widowhood, and divorce. It is seen that in the 1,183 families there were 144 deserted persons. In 137 o f these cases the wife was reported as having been deserted and in 7 cases the husband was deserted. I f only those cases are considered in which abandonment was possible, that is, those in which both husband and wife were living, this matter o f desertion may be brought out more plainly. There were in all 736 families in which both husband and wife were living, and in these, as above stated, there were 144 cases o f desertion, or 19.6 per cent. Among the Negroes desertion was much more frequent than among the whites. In the 322 white families which had both husband and wife living there were 42 cases of desertion, or 13.0 per cent; in the 414 Negro families o f this class there were 102 cases o f desertion, or 24.4 per cent. The number o f families in which either the husband or the wife was dead is also strikingly large, nearly 30 per cent of all the families belonging to this class. O f the 452 white families receiving aid 6 had widowers and 89 had widows at the head. O f the 731 colored families 24 had widowers and 218 had widows at the head. In these families there were 923 persons, 256 whites and 667 colored. The figures show that the charity family is very often the fatherless family. There were 307 families in which the husband was dead. Including with these the 137 families that were abandoned by the husband it is found that 444 families, or 37.5 per cent o f the total, were without male supporters at their head. Divorce among the charity families played practically no part at all, there being only 6 divorced people among 4,365. This paucity o f divorce cases is easily explained. The very poor can not afford divorcement. Separation is the cheap substitute for divorce. C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . 885 O CCU PATION S. A study o f the occupations of the charity recipients shows that they are by no means an idle or nonwage-earning class. O f the 2,186 persons reported as being 16 years of age or over, 1,687, or 77.2 per cent, were engaged in some kind o f gainful occupation. O f those over 16 who had no gainful occupation the greater part consisted o f old people and o f women who as wives spent their time in house work. The number of families in which both husband and wife were gainfully employed was very large. O f the 271 white families in which there were both a husband and a wife living at home there were 95 in which both the husband and wife were gainfully employed, while of the 291 colored families having both husband and wife liv ing at home there were 222 in which both the husband and the wife were gainfully employed. In respect to the employment of married women the broad facts o f the charity world resemble the broad facts of the world at large. The white married woman does not expect to work as a wage-earner, while marriage has little effect in reducing the number o f Negro women at work. Extreme poverty, however, drives many white married women into the ranks of wage-earners, for the percentage o f white wives with occupations in the charity families is much greater than the percentage o f white married women gain fully employed in the District at large. Among the children o f the charity recipients 88, or 12 per cent, o f those 10 or under 16 years o f age were gainfully employed. In 1900 o f 27,819 children in the District o f Columbia from 10 to 15 years o f age, 2,144, or 7.8 per cent, were reported as engaged in gain ful occupations. (a) Thus child labor among the charity recipients is seen to be a considerably greater factor than it is among the people at large. But the statements of the charity records bearing on this topic do not tell the whole story. They show merely the number of children who were employed for a definite wage, whereas hundreds o f children in the families receiving charity helped their mothers to do the washing and ironing which was so often the chief source o f income; these have not been included in the enumeration here given, yet plainly they were engaged in gainful occupations. The occupations of the chief wage-earners and o f other wageearners in the families receiving charity relief and the number of persons engaged in each occupation are shown in the two tables which follow : a See Bulletin o f the Bureau o f the Census, No. 68, p. 5. 886 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R , NUMBER OF CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS IN WHITE AND IN NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, AND REGULARITY OF EMPLOY MENT AT NORMAL TIMES. White. Occupation and sex. Negro. Total. Regu Regu Regu larity larity Regu Irreg not To Regu Irreg not To Regu Irreg larity To lar. ular. re tal. lar. ular. re tal. lar. ular. not re tal. port port port ed. ed. ed. MAL£S. Art critic............................ Artists.................................. Ash mnn.............................. Bakers.................................. Barbers................................ Blacksmiths........................ Boatmen.............................. Bookkeeper.......................... Brewers T.............................. Bricklayers.......................... Butchers.............................. Carpenters........................... Caterer................................. Cement worker.................... Cigar maker......................... Chair caner.......................... Clergymen........................... Clerks................................... Clothing cleaners................. f!n-mpr>sitors......................... Conductors......................... Cooks.................................... Coopers................................ Electrician........................... Engineers........................... Expressmen......................... Foreman of laborers............ Gardeners............................ Government clerk............. Government employee Herb doctor....................... Hod carriers....................... Horse trader....................... Hostlers............................... Hucksters............................ Inspectors of lumber........... Ironworkers......................... Janitors................................ Jobbers................................. Junk dealers..................... Laborers............................... Machinists........................... Marble worker..................... Mechanic..................... Merchants............................ Metal worker....................... Missionary............................ Motormen__ T .................... Musicians............................. Newspaper work................. Oyster shucker................. Painters............................... Paper hangers...................... Peddlers............................... Physicians........................... Plasterers............................. Plumbers............................. Rag pickers.......................... Railroad employee.............. Sailors................................... Rn.iesmn.ri.......................... Sawyer................................. Scullion............................. Sexton.................................. Shoemakers.......................... Steam fitter.......................... Stonebreaker....................... Stonecutters........ Stonemason........................ 1 1 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 5 2 26 5 2 26 1 1 1 2 1 1 5 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 13 12 1 6 3 83 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 23 3 5 4 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 7 2 1 1 2 1 1 6 3 51 51 1 1 1 8 1 2 1 1 2 1 7 6 16 183 9 2 2 1 4 7 6 7 206 1 4 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 5 i i ! 1 1 3 1 ____ 2 1 1 3 1 2 2 1 1 5 3 2 2 i 2 2 x 7 2 271 2 1 1 4 6 1 2 1 14 1 6 1 10 6 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 2 2 1 1 5 1 1 2 X 5 7X 2 X X X 9 X 2 14 2 7 6 11 6 303 2 1 1 2 1 1 5 2 1 23 4 93 5 2V 8 2 2 1 1 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 5 5 4 i 1 3 4 1 7 2 271 2 1 10 1 1 2 1 1 29 266 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 3 5 4 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 4 1 1 25 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 12 2 7 2 4 97 1 1 2 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 91 5 1 2 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 25 4 2 2 10 4 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 2 1 C H A R IT Y 887 R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . NUMBER OF CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS IN WHITE AND IN NEGRO FAMILIES RE CEIVING AID IN 1905— Concluded.• White. Occupation and sex. males—concluded. Street sweeper..................... Tailors__ T........................... Teamsters............................ Tinsmiths............................ Traveling salesman............. Typewriter.......................... Waiters................................ Watchmen........................... Occupation not reported... Total males............... Negro. Total. Regu Regu Regu larity larity Regu Irreg not To Regu Irreg larity not To Regu Irreg not To lar. ular. re tal. lar. ular. re tal. lar. ular. re tal. port port port ed. ed. ed. 4 4 1 i 7 5 1 1 1 3 1 49 241 1 1 1 2 11 5 1 1 1 1 8 4 6 13 303 9 18 2 6 2 29 13 8 2 1 * 255 1 1 2 1 272 4 5 17 327 1 1 1 38 4 x 7 3 1 405 2 1 1 9 8 2 1 8 11 87 513 30 630 1 FEMALES. Boarding-house keeper Canvasser............................. Cash girl............................... Caterer.................................. Charwomen.......................... Clerks.................................... Cooks.................................... Domestics............................ Dressmaker...................... .. Factory operators................ Folder, printing office Laborer................................ Laundresses.............................. M illin er....................................... Nurses.................................. Seamstresses........................ Telephone g ir l ....................... Waitresses............................ Occupation not reported Total females............... Total, both sexes.......... Families for which no chief wage-earner was reported T otal fa m ilies................... 1 51 1 31 4 a34 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 15 5 33 1 1 1 1 1 1 19 o96 68 a337 8 1 1 1 3 1 38 1 f 11 161 5 37 13 134 5 1 1 1 1 6156 1 6 173 1 1 11 1 2 1 4 119 17 422 30 452 1 2 26 1 1 6 310 64 6 582 6 153 5 11 31 1 1 15 1901 2 6 14 149 1 6 61 1 1 10 4 44 1 2 406 5 7 1 18 354 45 35 681 132 919 50 731 • Including 1 Negro woman, chief wage-earner in a white family. 6 Not including 1 Negro woman, chief wage-earner in a white family. 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 1 1 3 2 211 1 2 1 1 1691 10 481 1 2 6 8 22 473 52 1,103 80 1,183 B U L L E T IN 888 OF T H E BUEEAU OF LABO E. NUMBER OF WAGE-EARNERS OTHER THAN CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS IN WHITE AND IN NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY SEX AND OCCUPATION. White. Negro. Total. Occupation. MALES. Apprentice......................... Attendants at club............ Barber................................ Bather’s helper.................. Bootblack. T...................... Chair caner......................... Clerks................................. Domestics.......................... Driver................................. Dyer and Meaner............... Errand boys...................... Jobbing............................... Laborers............................. Messengers......................... Musician............................. Naval employee............... Newsboys........................... Painters............................. Painter’s apprentice.......... Plumber’s apprentice....... Porter................................. Teamsters.......................... Not reported...................... Total males............. 1 2 8 8 '1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 13 19 5 26 19 1 4 5 3 1 12 2 1 1 6 74 2 1 9 84 1 2 1 1 1 1 9 2 1 1 8 39 38 7 1 1 9 2 1 1 1 15 15 158 Occupation. White. Negro. Total. FEMALES. 1 Agent................................ 1 Art work.......................... Bookkeeper...................... ‘ l 1 Bundle wrapper............... 2 Canvassers........................ 1 Charwoman...................... Clerks................................ 14 Domestics......................... a561 Dressmaker...................... 1 Errand girl....................... 2 Factory operatives.......... 1 Governess......................... 1 Government employee .. 3 Jobbing............................. Laundresses..................... 26 Messenger......................... 1 Musician........................... 31 Nurses............................... Paper-mill operatives___ 1 Rents rooms..................... Seamstresses..................... 321 Stenographer.................... 2 Telephone WaitrA<5SP.<j operators........ 2 N ot reported.................... 13 Total females.......... 168 Grand total............ a 242 1 1 1 1 2 1 6166 139 1 71 14 222 1 1 2 1 1 3 1651 1 10 2 1 7 391 25 346 6 430 38 514 672 2 2 * Including 2 Negroes, members of white families. 6 Not including 2 Negroes, members of white families. These occupations represent almost every ordinary vocation. In the same list with laborers and domestics are art critics, musicians, physicians, missionaries, newspaper men, and clergymen. A couple, who in their younger days had kept at their own expense what was known as a “ Tramps’ Rest,” where penniless wayfarers might receive food, raiment, and shelter, were in their old age compelled to become the objects o f charity. Although the list o f occupations is long the distress was confined to a very few classes o f people. The occupations o f more than 60 per cent o f the chief wrage-earners were those of laborers, laundresses, and domestics, while among others than chief wage-earners these three classes formed 64 per cent o f the whole. This was a result to be expected, for Washington on its industrial side is above all places a city o f laborers, laundresses, and domestics. (a) While this is true the table shows a number o f charity recipients from the organized and well-paid trades. Twenty-seven carpenters, 25 painters, 10 plas terers, 9 clerks, 7 ironworkers, 5 shoemakers, and 4 plumbers were chief wage-earners in families that were driven to charity. EAR N IN G S O E C H A R IT Y R E C IP IE N T S. The subject o f the earnings o f charity recipients is one o f the most! important connected with the subject o f poverty and at the same time one o f the most difficult to treat satisfactorily. When a family 0 See Bulletin o f the Bureau o f Labor, No. 67, pp. 782-784. 889 C H A R I T Y B E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . applies for aid the earnings are inquired into at the outset. The inquiry as to the amount and source of income is painstaking and thorough, for aid must be given or withheld on the basis of the family income; yet the facts obtained by the inquiry are in most cases such as can not be conveniently tabulated. The period of charity seeking is a period when earnings are either irregular or abnormally low or when there are no earnings at all. The following table gives the number of families in which the earnings o f the chief breadwinner were normal at the time o f the first application in 1905, the number in which the earnings were less than normal, and the number in which the chief wage-earner was earning nothing at all: NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905 IN WHICH THE EARNINGS OF THE CHIEF WAGE-EARNER WERE NORMAL, LESS THAN NORMAL, OR NOTHING, BY SEX OF CHIEF WAGE-EARNER. [This table does not include 80 families for wbicb no chief wage-earner was reported.] Earnings. Normal........................................ Less than normal........................ Nothing....................................... Not reported............................... Total.................................. White families in Negro families in All families in Total which chief wage- which chief wage- which chief wage- families earner was— earner was— earner was— reporting chief wageMale. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. earners. 24 1 243 35 303 14 1 76 «28 oll9 17 1 260 48 326 23 3 220 6109 6 355 41 2 503 83 629 37 4 296 137 474 78 6 799 220 1,103 * Including 1 Negro woman, chief wage-earner in a white family. 6 Not including 1 Negro woman, chief wage-earner in a white family. The above table shows 220 cases as not reported. This does not mean that the records in these cases give no facts at all bearing upon the earnings o f the chief wage-earner. It means that while the rec ords give some kind o f an account o f the earnings they do not state their exact amount. For example, the record may say that the husband, a laborer, was at work with a construction company, but may say nothing whatever about, the amount o f his earnings. In this case it was certain that there were earnings, but it could not be determined whether they were normal or less than normal. Such a case, therefore, had to be classified in the tables “ not reported.” The most significant item in the table is the one showing the number o f families in which the chief wage-earner at the time o f application was earning nothing. In more than two-thirds o f the families the wages of the chief wage-earner had entirely ceased. I f the 80 families in which there was no chief wage-earner at all are included, the proportion o f families deprived of a regular bread winner at the time o f application was three-fourths of the whole number o f families relieved. In the majority o f cases distress was contemporaneous with the cessation o f the earnings o f the chief breadwinner, a fact which indicates prima facie, at least, that the 890 B U L L E T IN OE T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . poverty o f these poor is not chiefly a moral problem, but is chiefly an economic or financial problem. The rates o f wages of the 78 chief wage-earners wThose wages at the time o f application were normal are shown in the following table. This table, like all tables which give merely the rates of wages, shows very little about the living conditions of these families. It is not the wages that a person earns in a day or in a week, or even in a month, that throws light upon living conditions. In order to determine standards o f living from earnings it is necessary to ascer tain the earnings for a long period o f time. An examination of the table produces at least one result, although a negative one; it causes little or no surprise that these families should have applied for charity even though the earnings at the time o f application were flowing in regularly. CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS PAID BY THE DAY, BY THE WEEK, AND BY THE MONTH, WHOSE EARNINGS WERE NORMAL AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION, BY REGU LARITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND SIZE OF FAMILY. Chief wage-earners. Per Per Employ sons Employ Employ sons ment, ment, ment, in Normal earnings. in irregular. fam regular. irregular. fam ily. ily. Fe Male. Fe Fe Male. Fe Male.! male. Male. male. male. male. Employ ment, regular. NEGRO. WHITE. $0.20 per day..................... $1.00 per day.......... 1 $1.00 per day.................... $1.50 per day.......... 1 $1.50 per day......... 1 $1.65 per day.......... 1 $2.00 per day.......... 1 $1.25 per week................... $1.35 per week................... $2.00 per week................... $2.50 per week................... $3.00 per week........ 2 $3.00 per week.................. $3.00 per week....... oi $3.50 per week................... $4.00 per week................... $4.00 per week....... 1 $4.00 per week....... 1 $5.00 per week........ 1 $5.00 per week....... 1 $5.00 per week.................. $5.25 per week........ 1 $6.50 per week........ 1 $9.00 per week................... $9.00 per week....... 1 $9.00 per week....... 1 $9.00 per week....... 1 $10.00 per month.............. $15.00 per month... 1 $20.00 per month.............. $20.00 per month............. $25.00 per month.............. $25.00 per month............. $30.00 per month (6 )........ $40.00 per month... 1 $55.00 per month... 1 $75.00 per month... 1 21 Total, 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13 3 4 $1.00 per day......... 1 ......... 7 $1.25 per day. *— 1 ......... 11 $1.50 per day......... 1 ......... a l ......... 6 $1.75 per day......... 9 $2.00 per day......... 1 ......... 9 $0.50 per week............................ 6 $0.75 per week.................. 1 1 $1.25 per week............................ 1 $1.25 per week................ 1 al 6 $1.50 per week................. 2 $1.50 per week........................... $1.50 per week........................... 2 3 $1.75 per week.................. 1 5 $2.00 per week............................ 5 $2.00 per week................. 2 4 $2.00 per week................ «1 5 $2.50 per week.................. 1 6 $2.50 per week........................... 2 $2.75 per week................. 1 6 $3.00 per week............................ 7 $3.00 per week........................... 3 $3.00 per week__ 1 ......... 5 $3.00 per week................. 1 5 $4.00 per week___ 1 ......... 1 ......... 6 $4.00 per week__ 7 $5.00 per week___ o l ......... 8 $6.00 per week___ 1 ......... 3 $7.50 per week.. . . 1 ......... 5 $7.50 per week__ 1 ......... 3 $8.00 per week............................ 4 $9.00 per week............................ 4 $9.00 per week__ 1 ......... 7 $2.00 per month......................... 1 4 $10.00 per month............. 1 10 $12.00 per month............. «1 6 $12.00 per month............ 2 6 $20.00 per month.. 1 ......... $40.00 per month.. 1 ........ 1 15 14 Total Not reported whether regular or irregular. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 i 9 6 $18.00 at time of application. oot*,cofcoc*i*.-<icc©«o«*a»-'Joooi-a©«i*.c*90io«t*.ooi*k.fcOi4>.<»c*coc*i*.i*.MWfca®cwo« Normal earnings. Chief wage-earners. CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 891 In the following table are shown the normal daily earnings of the chief wage-earner in those families where the normal rate o f wage was in some form or other stated in the record, whether the normal rate was received at time of application or not. This table, like the one preceding it, fails to give a picture of the 269 families to which it relates. Before any comparison can be made, it is necessary to know how much money each family received in a year. Nevertheless the table has one feature that is worthy o f notice. In over two-fifths o f these families the chief wage-earner was a male working at a normal wage ranging from $1 to $2 per day, the wage most often not exceeding $1.50 a day. Nearly all o f these wage-earners were day laborers—men with the pick and shovel. Some of them were work ing for the city, digging the sewers and mains, and sweeping the streets. NORMAL DAILY EARNINGS OF CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS, BY SEX AND SIZE OF FAMILY. Chief wage-earners in— Chief wage-earners in— Per Earnings Per Earnings White families. Negro families. sons in per(a)day. White families. Negro families. sons in per day. family. family. (a) Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. 1 $0.08 2 21 .08 2 21 4 .08 5 .13 4 1 1 1 1 1 .19 1 1 4 .20 1 1 .21 1 2 1 1 3 .21 11 .21 11 4 .21 2 5 1 1 1 .23 1 1 1 .25 .25 1 2 1 1 1 1 .25 3 3 1 .25 1 4 1 1 1 .25 5 1 .29 1 3 1 1 .29 4 1 1 .29 6 1 1 .31 2 1 .31 1 4 1 1 1 .33 1 1 1 2 .33 1 2 3 .33 1 1 1 4 .33 3 1 6 .33 2 1 1 .33 8 1 1 3 .35 1 1 1 2 .38 1 1 1 3 2 .38 1 5 3 .38 1 1 .42 2 1 1 1 .42 2 1 1 .42 3 1 1 4 .42 3 i 1 1 5 .42 .46 2 2 2 2 3 4 2 .46 1 5 3 .46 .46 1 6 i i "Earnings per day shown in this column are computed in some cases weekly earnings by 6 and in other cases by dividing monthly earnings by 26. 6 And board. 1 1 1 1 1 23 $0.50 .50 4 .50 5 .50 7 .50 2 .58 5 .58 6 .58 3 .60 6 .62 3 .63 1 .67 2 .67 3 .67 4 .67 5 .67 6 .67 7 .67 8 .67 8 6.67 3 .75 4 .75 3 .77 4 .77 2 .83 3 .83 4 .83 .83 5 .83 6 7 .83 8 .83 3 .88 4 .96 7 .96 2 1.00 3 1.00 4 1.00 5 1.00 6 1.00 7 1.00 by dividing 892 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . NORMAL DAILY EARNINGS OF CHIEF WAGE-EARNERS, BY SEX AND SIZE OF FAMILY— Concluded. Chief wage-earners in— Per Earnings Per Earnings sons in per(a)day. White families. Negro families. sons in per(a)day. White families. Negro families. family. family. Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Male. Female. Chief wage-earners in— i 1 1 i i l i l 2 1 !............ 1 1 1 1 1 5 3 5 4 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 5 2 3 2 2 1 3 1 1 2 $1.08 1.08 5 1.10 5 4 1.15 5 1.15 6 1.16 5 1 1.17 6 1.17 2 1.25 1.25 3 1.25 4 1.25 5 1.25 6 7 1.25 8 1.25 1.25 9 1.33 3 1.33 5 10 1.33 3 1.35 4 1.35 1 1.50 2 1.50 3 1.50 4 1.50 5 1.50 6 1.50 7 1.50 8 1.50 9 1.50 10 1*50 8 1.52 2 1.54 8 1.54 10 1.54 9 1.65 2 1.67 4 1.67 5 1.67 9 1.67 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 _______ 1_______ 2 3 7 6 7 6 2 3 5 6 7 8 6 7 10 -2 4 5 6 8 5 6 4 5 6 8 11 3 4 5 2 4 5 6 7 4 4 5 10 $1.75 1.75 1.75 1.83 1.85 1.92 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.12 2.31 2.31 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.75 2.88 a a a a a a oo oo oo oo oo 20 3.50 a 50 4.00 4.00 4.00 4 00 400 417 5.00 5.00 5.00 • Earnings per day shown in this column are computed in some cases by dividing weekly earnings by 6 and in other cases by dividing monthly earnings by 26. In 206 o f the families there was evidence o f a normal income addi tional to that derived from the labor of wage-earners. In many cases the reports told o f assistance given by neighbors, in other cases the family could rely upon regular donations from a church, occasionally an absent child or a near relative would regularly pay the rent; upon the whole, however, assistance by relatives and kinsmen was rare— not so frequent perhaps as assistance by friends. In 43 families a monthly pension supplemented the regular earnings. These pensions ranged from $8 to $12 a month and were in a few cases practically the sole income o f the recipient. With the exception of the pensions the element o f additional income constituted but an insignificant factor in the finances o f the families. In a great majority o f cases when the regular earnings o f members o f the family were cut off practically everything was gone. C H A R IT Y R E L IE F A N D 893 W A G E E A R N IN G S . FAMILIES HAYING ADDITIONAL INCOME (OR HELP), AT NORMAL TIMES AND AT TIME OF APPLICATION. At time of application. At normal times. Class. White. Negro. Total. White. Negro. Total. Total families having some income in addition to earn ings................................................................................. Families (included in above) having pensions.............. 91 29 115 14 206 43 99 29 124 14 223 43 K IN D OF A ID GIVEN. The following table, showing the kind of aid received by these families, gives an insight into the pressing needs of the distressed poor: FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY KIND OF AID FIRST GIVEN. Kind of aid first given. Clothing............................................................................................................. Clothing and food............................................................................................. Clothing and fuel....................................................................................... Clothing, food, and fuel.................................................................................... Food................................................................................................................... Food and cash for rent.................................................................................. Food and lodging....................................................................................... Food and fuel.................................................................................................... Food, fuel, and rent........................................................................................ Fuel................................................................................................................ Medicine..................................................................................................... Sanitarium treatment................................................................................... Supplies.......................................................................................................... T r a n s p o r ta tio n ........................................... .................................................................. Transportation and rent.......................................................................... Not reported..................................................................................................... Total........................................................................................................ Families. White. Negro. 1 685 7 3 1751 1 711 981 8 1 9 1 1 452 1 57 134 2 270 164 204 4 i 8 3 731 Total. 2 125 18 11 5 4451 1 2351 3021 121 171 1 4 1,183 This table shows that lack o f food was the most potent factor in driving people to seek charity. In 60 per cent o f all the cases tabu lated food constituted either the whole or a part o f the donation. Next to food, fuel is most frequently sought by charity applicants. In nearly half the cases o f relief given in 1905 fuel was one o f the articles first given. Frequently recourse is made to charity because the usual supply o f fuel is cut off by severe weather. Many very poor families are accustomed to get their fuel in a haphazard way, pick ing coal and cinders from public dumps and private ash heaps and gathering stray pieces o f wood here and there. (*) The charity records bring out this fact. In 40 families it wras the custom to gather fuel wherever it could be secured for nothing, and in a number o f cases ° See Bulletin o f the Bureau o f Labor, No. 64, p. 610. 894 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. distress was due to the fact that cinders could not be picked from the dump because o f the ice and snow. After food and fuel, clothing is most frequently given. A word o f explanation about the frequent giving of clothing is necessary. In a great many instances the clothing consisted of shoes given to children in order that bare feet might not prevent attendance at school. Cases happen where a family that can afford most things can not buy shoes for the children, and without shoes the children can not attend school. In such a case the charity organization comes to the relief o f the family and gives the necessary shoes, even though there be no acute distress. This policy, with respect to the giving of shoes to enable children to attend school, materially increases the number o f times clothing is given and adds to the charity roll quite a number o f families who ordinarily would not belong there. The number o f times rent appeals in the table by no means meas ures the distress that is connected with the arrears o f rent. Next to the food problem the rent problem is unquestionably the one that presses most heavily upon the poor. The charity reports give many instances o f arrears of rent. Notices o f ejectment, costing the tenant $1.85 for service, are constantly appearing. Sometimes a letter from the landlord appears, as follow s: “ You have six days from the 25th o f this month, which was last Tuesday, the day that judgment was rendered against you, to vacate the room you occupy. The constable will be there when the six days are out i f you are not by that time removed.” The records show that the constable knows how to fulfill his duty. The following are from the charity agents’ reports: “ Yesterday woman and her children were set out o f doors. A ll slept on the porch last night.” “ Put out on street on a rainy day.” “ Put out on street in spite o f agent’s protest.” “ The rent not having been paid, the family were set out in the midst o f a heavy snowstorm.” The records, however, do not always show the landlord to be cruel and hard-hearted. “ I have given,” says a landlord in a letter to the agent, “ notice to Mrs. X to move. I wish it could be accomplished in such a way as to avoid the publicity which might hinder her from getting another house.” In this note can be seen the real nature of the hardship o f being turned out o f doors for nonpayment o f rent. Ejectment not only puts a family out on the street, but it also at the same time closes all doors against the family. No landlord wants a freshly ejected tenant. The poor know this and make every effort to avoid ejectment. In the archives o f poverty nothing is sadder than the accounts o f the efforts that are made to meet the rent. “ Said that she had to pay her last cent to-day on her rent and was now out o f food and fuel and would have to wait until she has another week’s work before she could buy food and fuel.” 895 CHARITY BELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. “ Sold feather bed and pillows for enough to pay the rent.” “ Said she was going to pawn her skirt to pay for rent.” “ They had just gotten enough money for rent and i f they could keep that without paying anything for groceries they would be able to pay up rent on the following day.” In the above excerpts can be discerned the policy of the poor in re spect to rent; they will pay the rent money even if it takes every cent they have to do so and they afterwards have to go to charity for food or for fuel. The serious results o f ejectment cause them to do this. This policy goes far in explaining why so few cases o f assistance in rent appear in the table. There is another reason why the table does not show a larger number of rent cases: The charity organization does not make it a practice to pay the rent o f applicants. Only in extreme cases will it undertake to furnish relief o f this kind. An old woman on her deathbed had an ejectment notice served on her. There was nothing to do but pay the rent. In such cases the charity organization will meet the arrears, but in ordinary cases it does not undertake to do this. Since the 12 cases o f rent relief found in the table on page 893 give no idea o f the magnitude o f the rent problem in the lives of these families, a separate study bearing on the subject was made, and the results embodied in the following table. In this table is given the number o f families in which financial pressure, due to rent, figured either directly or indirectly in the distress: NUMBER OF WHITE AND NEGRO FAMILIES HAVING ARREARS OF RENT AND CHATTEL-MORTGAGE LOANS, BY DESCRIPTION OF FAMILIES. Number of families haying— Description of family. Arrears of rent. Chattel-mortgage loans. White. Negro. Total. White. Negro. Total. Husband and Hnshandj wife,wife............................................................ and 1 child............................................. Husband, wife, and 2 children........................................ Husband, wife, and 3 children........................................ Husband, wife, and 4 children....................................... Husband, wife, and 5 children....................................... Husband, wife, and 6 children....................................... Husband, wife, and 7 children....................................... Husband, wife, and 8 children....................................... Husband, wife, 2 children, and sister-in-law................. Husband, wife, 3 children, and mother-in-law.............. Husband, wife, 3 children, son, wife, and child.............. Husband, wife, 6 children, and grandmother................ Husband (separated) and 3 children.............................. Widower........................................................................... Widower and 1 child....................................................... Widower and 4 children and grandmother.................... Widower and 6 children and woman............................. Man (single)..................................................................... Man (single) and mother................................................ Man, woman, and 5 illegitimate children...................... Widow.............................................................................. Widow and 1 child........................................................... W id o w an d 2 c h ild r e n ................................................................ Widow and 3 children..................................................... Widow and 4 children..................................................... 5 10 18 14 18 10 6 3 31 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 i 5 9 2 4 7 7 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 7 5 3 5 4 10 19 1 20 2 18 25 3 10 i 13 1 6 41 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 « 1 1 1 1 1 8 2 68 i1 51 i 5l 1 2 1 1 i 1 2 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 896 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. NUMBER OF WIUTE AND NEGRO FAMILIES HAVING ARREARS OF RENT AND CHATTEL-MORTGAGE LOANS, BY DESCRIPTION OF FAMILIES— Concluded. Number of families having— Description of family. Arrears of rent. Chattel-mortgage loans. White. Negro. Total. White. Negro. Total. Widow and 5 children.................................................... Widow and 6 children..................................................... Widow and 7 children..................................................... Widow and 4 children and dependent........................... Widow, 1 child, and mother........................................... Wife (separated).............................................................. Wife (separated) and 1 child........................................... Wife (separated) and 2 children..................................... Wife (separated) and 3 children..................................... Wife (separated) and 4 children..................................... Wife (separated) and 5 children..................................... Wife (separated) and 6 children..................................... Woman (single)................................................................ Woman (single) and niece............................................... Woman (single) and 2 children...................................... Woman (divorced).......................................................... Total....................................................................... 1 1 4 2 2 1 1 1 115 3 1 1 1 1 4 4 3 31 4 1 1 1 1 1 5 6 6 1 4 1 31 93 208 1 1 1 16 1 1 2 3 i 1 1 1 26 10 O f the 1,183 families, 208 at some time(a) and to some extent found arrears for rent associated with their appeal to charity. Nearly a third o f the families thus distressed were fatherless; that is, they had as heads either widows or wives whose husbands had abandoned them. Arrears o f rent is the most frequent form o f debt among those stricken by poverty,.but there are other forms that are accompanied by acute distress. One kind o f debt frequently met with is the un paid grocery bill. This is sometimes quite as pressing as an unpaid rent bill. Another form o f debt that presses sorely upon these fami lies is the chattel-mortgage loan. This is a debt that constantly threatens to take the furniture out of the house. The charity organi zation helps the poor in many ways with their chattel-mortgage trou bles, but they seldom pay the debt outright. This form o f relief, therefore, does not appear in the table on page 893 showing kind o f aid first given. In the preceding table, however, can be seen the extent to which the chattel mortgage entered into the poverty o f these poor. In 26 families the exactions o f the loan company were felt. The rates o f interest were those usually charged in similar transactions. In one case there was a loan o f $25 to be paid in 18 fortnightly payments o f $2.50—$20 for the use o f $25.00 for nine months. In another case a widow was behind two months in the payment o f a loan. She had all the money except $1, but the company, which had sent a notice o f foreclosure threatening seizure the following day, demanded payment in full. Every cent o f the debt had to be paid or the furniture would This enumeration was not confined to the year 1905. C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D 897 W A G E E A R N IN G S . be taken. In this case the charity agent gave the needed dollar. widow paid $4.40 for the use o f $10 for four months. (a) The D ELIN Q U EN CIES OF C H A R IT Y R E C IPIE N TS. Statistics as to the moral conditions which prevailed in these fami lies and the extent to which vice and crime were associated with the poverty o f these charity recipients are shown in the following table: N UM BER OF W H IT E AND NEGRO F A M IL IE S FOR W HICH S P E C IF IE D MORAL D ELIN Q U EN C IES W ER E REPO RTED. Moral delinquencies. Brutality, by husband....................................................................... Cocaine habit, by husband................................................................ Desertion, by husband....................................................................... Desertion, by son-in-law.................................................................... Desertion, by wife............................................................................. . Desertion, by husband and wife....................................................... Desertion and gambling, by husband............................................... Desertion and intemperance, by husband....................................... Desertion and licentiousness, by husband....................................... Desertion, by husband: licentiousness, by daughter...................... Desertion, by husband; licentiousness, by wife..............-............ Desertion, by husband; lawlessness, by wife................................... Dishonesty, by husband.................................................................... Dishonesty and licentiousness, by husband..................................... Dishonesty and lying, by husband................................................... Disorderly conduct, by husband....................................................... Forgery, by husband.......................................................................... Gambling, by husband...................................................................... Intemperance, by daughter............................................................... Intemperance, by husband................................................................ Intemperance, by man....................................................................... Intemperance, by son......................................................................... Intemperance, by wife....................................................................... Intemperance, by woman.................................................................. Intemperance, by husband and wife................................................. Intemperance and criminality, by husband.................................... Intemperance and lawlessness, by husband..................................... Intemperance and lawlessness, by son.............................................. Intemperance and licentiousness, by husband................................ Intemperance and lying, by husband............................................... Intemperance and neglect of family, by husband............................ Intemperance and neglect of parents, by son................................... Intemperance, by husband; morphine habit, by wife.................... Intemperance, by husband and wife, desertion, by husband........ Intemperance and desertion, by husband; licentiousness, by wife. Intemperance and lawlessness, by husband and son....................... Lawlessness, by husband................................................................... Lawlessness, by man.......................................................................... Lawlessness, by son............................................................................ Lawlessness, by wife.......................................................................... Lawlessness and licentiousness, by children.................................... Licentiousness, by child..................................................................... Licentiousness, by daughter.............................................................. Licentiousness, by granddaughter.................................................... Licentiousness, by husband............................................................... Licentiousness, by niece..................................................................... Licentiousness, by wife...................................................................... Licentiousness, by woman................................................................. Licentiousness, by husband and wife............................................... Licentiousness, by man and woman................................................. Licentiousness, by woman and daughter......................................... Licentiousness, by daughter; lawlessness, by son........................... Licentiousness and mendicancy, by daughter.................................. Licentiousness, by wife; neglect, by husband.................................. Lying, by wife..................................................................................... Mendicancy, by family....................................................................... Families. White. Negro. Total. 20 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 2 6 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 67 23 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 6 4 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 4 1 6 2 3 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 9 4 1 4 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 90 1 8 3 1 1 1 10 1 1 2 9 15 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 5 1 2 7 1 5 2 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 8 2 3 1 1 1 1 14 2 2 15 17 5 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 a For a fu ll account o f the conditions o f borrowing among the poor, see Bulletin o f the Bureau o f Labor, No. 64, pp. 622-633. 898 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. N UM BER OF W H IT E AND NEGRO F A M IL IE S FOR W H ICH S P E C IF IE D MORAL D ELIN Q U EN C IES W ER E REPO RTED — Concluded. Moral delinquencies. Mendicancy, by husband........................................................................................... Mendicancy^ by wife................................................................................................... Mendicancy, by woman............................................................................................. Mendicancy and intemperance, by husband and wife............................................ Murder, by husband................................................................................................... Neglect of parents, by children.................................................................................. Neglect of parents, by daughter................................................................................ Neglect of parents, by son.......................................................................................... Neglect, by mother..................................................................................................... Neglect, by son-in-law................................................................................................ Neglect of mother, by children.................................................................................. Neglect of mother, by son.......................................................................................... Neglect of family, by husband................................................................................... Neglect of family, by husband; mendicancy, by family......................................... Thievery, by husband................................................................................................ Thievery, by sister..................................................................................................... Thievery, by son......................................................................................................... Thievery, by wife....................................................................................................... Thievery and general immorality, by husband....................................................... Total................................................................................................................... Families. White. Negro. Total. 1 21 1 2 2 71 1 3 174 1 1 5 29 1 1 1 2 10 1 1 21 1 220 1 3 11 1 7 2 111 1 1 2 17 .1 2 1 51 1 394 In almost exactly two-thirds o f the families there was no palpable delinquency whatever. This is to say, that a fairly decent standard o f morals prevailed in a very large majority of the families. In almost exactly one-third of the families there was marked delin quency o f some kind. O f the 394 families tainted by delinquency 174 were white and 220 colored, these numbers representing 38 per cent o f the total white families and 30 per cent o f the total colored families, respectively. In charging delinquency against a family its whole charity record was taken into consideration, and in locating a fault it was some times necessary to go outside the economic group. In some cases it was exceedingly difficult to say whether there was delinquency or not. It was difficult to determine, for instance, in a case where the chief wage-earner— a widow—was arrested and incarcerated for stealing bread for her children whether there was delinquency. Because it was lawlessness it was decided that the woman was a delinquent. A man at the age o f 59 married a young woman of 28. After the birth o f several children there was a separation. Then the husband returned, another child was born, and there was another separation. This alternation o f desertion and home-staying continued until the time o f the investigation, when the husband, then at the age o f 72, was a deserter and when there were seven children in the family. The husband was not charged with moral delinquency on account of the desertion, for the reason that at no time had the man been able t.o contribute much to the family support. In another very interest ing case a man and a woman, who had never been legally joined in marriage, were living together and raising a family of children. CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 899* There seemed to be perfect loyalty, and the adulterous relation seemed to have no kind o f effect upon the affairs o f the household. Econom ically it was the same as i f there had been a marriage certificate.. The family was stamped of course with licentiousness, but the action o f the couple contrasts favorably with the many cases where women with illegitimate children were abandoned. The facts bearing upom delinquency, besides being difficult to interpret, are also sometimes: exceedingly difficult to ascertain. In one case, after a certain family had been scheduled as being without delinquency, the information was unearthed that the husband was a drunkard and for several years: had been going on long sprees. During these years the charity agent had been patiently trying to learn the cause of the trouble, but her in quiries had been skillfully eluded. The leading delinquencies as shown by the table are intemperance*, desertion, licentiousness, neglect by natural supporters, lawlessness,,, thievery, and mendicancy. First among the delinquencies stands in temperance. In 128 families, more than 10 per cent o f the wholenumber receiving charity and nearly one-third o f all those in which delinquency was visible, intemperance was present. In the families: afflicted by intemperance the husband was the delinquent in 114 cases*. In not one family in a hundred is a drunken woman found. In 96cases the intemperance was in white families and in 82 cases it was in. colored families. Next to intemperance stands the vice o f desertion. In 144 cases there was wanton abandonment o f the family, and in 187 o f thesecases the offender was the husband. In 102 cases the desertion oc curred in colored families and in 42 cases in white families. After intemperance and wanton abandonment the evil most ap parent was licentiousness. Evidence o f this delinquency was in many cases, o f course, largely a matter o f inference. Sometimes when theevidence was direct and clear it was still hard to brand the family with moral turpitude, as in the case o f an old colored woman of 70 years*' who had never been married and who yet was the mother o f childrenHer error, however, was o f another age and was committed in slavery times. The circumstance that most frequently supported the chargeo f licentiousness was the presence o f illegitimate children. O f these there was an unusually large number— 11 illegitimate white children and 68 illegitimate colored children. O f the 64 cases in which licen tiousness is the principal charge women were the offenders in 61 cases. This disproportion between the sexes is due to the fact that the male offender was most frequently an outsider who could not beincluded in the enumeration. In 17 cases this vice was found in white families and in 47 cases in colored families. 63675— No. 79— 09------18 900 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF LA B O R * O f the 43 cases o f neglect by natural supporters shown in the table more than a third were chargeable to husbands and were therefore similar to cases o f desertion. This neglect very often consisted in staying away from home for several days and nights at a time and spending whatever cash might be on hand. Sometimes the neglect took the form o f intermittent desertion; the husband would go and come, supporting the family when at home and leaving it to shift for itself when away. Next to husbands, the greatest offenders in the way o f neglect were grown sons. In 11 cases sons who were able to help their parents ungratefully withheld the sorely needed aid* Mendicancy can not figure largely among delinquencies o f charity recipients, for the reason that the charity organization withholds aid from mendicants. This evil, however, is one that the charity people have to deal with constantly, and now and then, as the table shows, a family in which there are beggars succeeds in securing doles. This is not surprising when the methods to which mendicants resort are considered. One family succeeded in exploiting fifteen different churches and organizations, the charity organization among the number. There were eight in the family, five being over 15 years o f age, but nobody worked, not even the male head o f the family. Another instance was that o f an oily-tongued person who posed as a preacher and who received aid for several years before he was dis covered to be a beggar and a fraud. In another case a mendicant family was holding membership in three different churches and pass ing under a different name in each church. The ruse was not dis covered until the charity organization had been for some time a victim o f the deception. But more troublesome than mendicancy itself is a certain reliance upon charity, a certain inclination to pauperism, which crops out in many charity recipients. Such a spirit of dependence was visible in 69 families, 40 o f which were white and 29 colored. The reliance upon charity here referred to did not quite assume the form of a posi tive delinquency. The dependence sometimes took on the aspect of faith, as in the case o f an old man who, when asked why he did not go to the poorhouse, said that he relied on God to take care o f him and keep him out of the poorhouse. When applying for charity it seemed to him that he was only falling in with a divine scheme. In some cases it is plain that the feeling of reliance is due to the unwise action o f friends or of churches. “ I fear the family has been too much petted by the church people ” is the impression o f one agent in respect to a family that was accustomed to haunt the charity office. Quite often the person put down as relying upon charity was an old colored woman who was used to getting help here and there from white peo ple and who regarded the charity agent simply as one of her “ white folks.” A remarkable case o f dependence was that o f a woman who relied on an ex-slave to support her. The faithful domestic worked CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 901 only to keep her former mistress from want, and when the earnings were too scant for this it was the ex-slave and not the mistress that visited the charity office. Farther removed from delinquency than reliance on charity is a certain perversity of pride which figures in these cases with sufficient frequency to warrant mention here. In at least a dozen cases the ap plicants went to the charity office because they were too stubborn or too proud to appeal to natural supporters who were able and willing to help them. “ A rich brother would give aid,” is the agent’s note in one case, “ but because she thinks he would give grudgingly she would rather take charity.” In another case a woman applicant had rela tives who would have helped her gladly. The agent wrote to the ap plicant suggesting that she appeal to her relatives for aid. The ap plicant refused, saying in the letter of reply: “ It is very easy for you to advise me to do what Heaven and earth couldn’t make you do if you were in my place.” In a very few cases the delinquency was so comprehensive and mul tifarious as almost to warrant its being classified as total depravity, but that classification was of course not practicable. In such cases poverty and delinquency are indissolubly united. The records in cases o f this kind usually extend over many years—in one case over twenty years—and the account is a long story of crime, licentiousness, intemperance, and mendicancy. CAU SES O F D IST R E SS OF C H A K IT Y R E C IPIE N TS. Consideration is next given to the causes which operated to produce in more than a thousand families a distress so deep that relief could be found only in a charity office. In characterizing the causes o f poverty it is well to use only such terms as the poverty-stricken person himself would understand. In doing this the word “ inefficiency ” should rarely be used. A machine that does not fulfill the purpose for which it was constructed may be said to be inefficient and, by a metaphor, a man who does not do well the work for which he has been trained may be charged with in efficiency, but it is seldom that the charity seeker can justly be called inefficient. The conditions o f life which surround the povertystricken class are incompatible with anything like efficiency. “ It is the bitterest portion o f the lot o f the poor that they are deprived o f the opportunity o f learning to work well. To taunt them with that incapacity and to regard it as the cause o f poverty is nothing else than a piece o f blind insolence. Inefficiency is one o f the worst and most degrading aspects o f poverty; but to regard it as the 902 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. leading cause is an error fatal to a true understanding o f the problem.” (a) The same reasons that dissuade from assigning “ inefficiency ” as a cause o f poverty dissuade from assigning “ ignorance ” as a cause. It is true that large numbers o f charity seekers are ignorant o f the art o f right living, and the poverty o f these might be ascribed to “ ignorance,” meaning that they were ignorant o f the art o f right liv ing, but such a classification would not throw much light on the sub ject o f poverty. Nor would it tell the charity seeker any useful things about himself. I f a man is told that his poverty is due to drunkenness, or licentiousness, or lawlessness, or mendicancy, he will understand and may respond morally to what is said, but if he is told that it is due to ignorance he will not, can not, have the faintest notion o f what is meant. Ignorance, like inefficiency, is one o f the ugly aspects o f poverty, but it can not be usefully regarded as one o f the causes o f poverty. There is a phase o f ignorance that may sometimes be rightly characterized as a cause o f poverty. This is illiteracy. Modern life demands a knowledge o f reading and writing, and a person who is ignorant o f these arts is often as seriously impeded in the race for a livelihood as one who has a lame foot. The matter o f illiteracy was therefore not disregarded in this investigation. As far as the records gave an account o f the literacy o f a family the facts were carefully noted. But the account was in many instances unsatisfac tory and incomplete, and taking them altogether the facts relating to illiteracy were not full enough to tell the whole story. A correct picture o f the literacy of those families was desirable, but even if one had been obtained, the additional knowledge thereby furnished would not have influenced the analysis now being made, for it hap pens that in these charity cases illiteracy, pure and simple, figures hardly at all as a cause of poverty. In one case a boy could not get employment as a messenger because he could not read and write. In another case a delicate man could not get a clerkship in a store for the same reason. Here ignorance in the sense o f illiteracy was unquestionably a cause contributing to the poverty. In neither case, however, did it happen to be a cause o f such weight as to deserve notice in the schedules. “ Irregularity o f employment ” is another expression that has been avoided in the characterization o f the causes o f poverty, although this cause is at the bottom o f so much distress that it might be jus tifiable to call irregularity o f employment the “ causing cause” o f poverty.. But such language is too broad to be useful. Industrial 0 J. A. H u lson : Problem s o f Poverty, p. 167. CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 903 society, especially that segment of it wherein these charity recip ients are comprised, is organized on the basis o f irregularity o f em ployment. Among these workers there is no certainty that employment o f any kind, regular or irregular, will be secured, and even when regular employment has been secured, many things, like sickness, severe weather, accident, fire, flood, panic, dullness of trade, strikes, or lockouts intervene to make it irregular. T o say, therefore, that a man’s poverty is due to irregularity o f employment is hardly more than to say that it is due to the adverse conditions which prevail in the industrial world. But, while irregularity o f employment has not been used as a con venient term in the enumeration o f the causes o f poverty, the subject has nevertheless received careful attention in this study. In every case examined this question was asked: Does the chief wage-earner o f this family seem to have a steady job? In those cases where the employment seemed to be o f a kind that usually continues right along without serious break, the employee was regarded as being regularly employed. In all other cases the employment was put down as irregu lar. The result is seen in the table on pages 886 and 887. O f the 1,051 cases in which it was possible to characterize the employment of the chief wage-earner as regular or irregular, 919 were irregular. That is to say, in about one family in eight the chief wage-earner could feel that he had steady work, while in seven-eighths o f the cases the chief wage-earner was liable to loose his job at any moment. “ The curse o f the American workman,” says Dr. T. S. Adams, “ is irregular employment.” (°) I f this is true of the whole class o f work men, how distressingly true is it o f the workmen among these charity recipients. The expression “ financial element ” is used in this discussion as a comprehensive phrase referring to a certain restricted class o f causes which operate to produce distress. A t first thought “ financial ele ment ” would seem to be at the bottom o f every case o f distress. In a certain sense this is true, but for the purpose o f this analysis a case o f distress can not be so easily disposed of. For instance, there was a man whose wages were $5 a day, whose services were in demand, and who worked quite regularly, but he squandered his money by drinking and gambling, and his wife and children were thrown upon charity. It would not be correct to ascribe this distress to a lack of money, and the case shows that there is a nonfinancial as well as a financial element which operates to produce distress. The financial element, as used here, includes one, or several, or all o f the following causes: Insufficient earnings, lack o f employment, sickness, accident, old age, and severe weather. A ll o f these in the last analysis operate ° T. S. A d a m s: Labor Problems, p. 170. 904 BULLETIN OF TH E BUREAU OF LABOR. like a financial cause in producing distress. In 28 o f the families the “ financial element ” was not visible at all. In these families it was not possible to point to insufficient earnings, nor to lack of employ ment, nor to sickness, nor to accident, nor to old age, nor to severe weather, as contributing to the poverty; the financial element figured neither openly nor in disguise. O f the 28 families in which only the nonfinancial element appeared as the cause o f distress 20 were white and 8 were colored. IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF DISTRESS* Usually a case o f distress acute enough to drive a family to charity is complicated. The following is typical o f many: “ The husband has been out o f work for two months; they are back in their rent and notice has been served and they are likely to be set out on the street. There is nothing in the house to eat, while the wife expects to be con fined in a very short time.” A t first glance it appears that the cause o f distress in this case can be expressed by a single phrase. Lack of employment would seem to account satisfactorily for the distress. If, however, the record went on to show that a prolonged spell of cold weather prevented the husband from following his usual vocation, an indirect or contributing cause, namely, severe weather, would have figured in the account. I f further study of the record showed that the wife was an invalid with tuberculosis and that for years the family had been kept down by reason o f her condition, still another fact would have to be reckoned with, and sickness might have to be set down as the underlying, permanent cause o f the destitution. This typical case, then, foreshadows three classes o f causes, direct or immediate causes, indirect or contributing causes, and dominant or persistent causes. Immediate causes are those catastrophies—the debauch of the father, the confinement o f the mother, the sudden and unexpected loss o f work, the visitation o f death—which overtake the family. The imme diate cause is the one that impinges directly upon the consciousness of the applicant and the one that seems to hurry him to the charity office. It is the cause which the applicant himself is apt to assign as a reason for making an appeal to charity. wWhat brings you here asking for aid P inquires the charity agent o f the applicant. In the answer to this question will usually be found what is here called the immediate cause. The direct causes of distress in all the families are shown in the table which follows: 905 CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF DISTRESS. Immediate cause of distress. Accident................................................. .......................... Blindness..................................................................... ,.. Death in family................................................................ Desertion........................................................................... Incarceration..................................................................... Insufficiency of earnings.................................................. Intemperance................................................................... Lack of employment........................................................ Lack of employment and old age.................................... Lameness.......................................................................... Loss by fire....................................................................... Loss oi horse..................................................................... Loss of income from roomers........................................... Loss of money................................................................... Neglect by natural supporters......................................... Old age.............................................................................. Old age and blindness..................................................... Severe weather................................................................. Sickness............................................................................. No eood ca u s e ................................................................................ Total...................................................... White. Negro. Total Fam Per ilies. sons. Fam Per ilies. sons. Fam Per ilies. sons. 17 85 5 6 26 12 196 1 2 1 21 16 126 77 «821 3 8 4 4 18 9 11 2 10 1701 «659 1 452 «1,860 38 155 55 4 4 15 3 16 3 7 24 12 7 22 13 81 55 241 12 2011 6 831 3971 3 1 3 2 9 5 3 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 11 7 26 53 49 40 •1 1 2 4 6 12 525 355 d 1,081 2 3 7 731 / 2,505 1,183 240 15 16 45 38 367 77 1,652 3 6 17 4 3 2 44 64 2 22 1,740 8 4,365 Including 4 Negroes, members of white families. * Not including 4 Negroes, members of white families. 0 Including 5 Negroes, members of white families. d Not including 5 Negroes, members of white families. • Including 9 Negroes, members of white families. t Not including 9 Negroes, members of white families. a Sickness easily leads the list. In nearly half the families that applied for aid for the first time in 1905 the distress was directly connected with some form of bodily ailment. (°) There was almost every kind o f disease which flesh is heir to, but the greatest distress was caused by rheumatism and tuberculosis, the latter leading by far all the other diseases. Figures can not tell the complete story o f the ravages made by sickness in these families. In one case the whole family was pros trate at one time. In another case a teamster regularly employed at fairly good wages by a great express company was brought to charity by a prolonged illness. In still another case where the regu lar wages o f the husband was $60 a month the sum o f $800 had been saved. Sickness came and remained for many months and before it departed every cent o f the savings was wiped out, and the family a The cases o f sickness include 71 cases o f childbirth. Confinement, physio: logically considered, is not sickness, but its econom ic result is the same as that o f sickness. In the records o f some fam ilies confinement time is the only time when charity is resorted to. The aid given upon the occasion o f confine ment is quite frequently clothing fo r the new-born babe. “ Found woman needed a few articles o f clothing fo r the baby that was to be born,” is the note o f the agent in one case. “ W ould you be w illing to see that the mother has an outfit fo r the baby? I f you do not I fear the little thing w ill have to be wrapped up in rags,” are the w ords o f a letter written to the agent in respect to another case. 906 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. was reduced to charity. Good wages, thrift, and regularity o f employment, all combined, availed not to save the family from the havoc o f a long illness. Next to sickness among the causes o f immediate distress is the lack o f employment, more than one-third of the families having sought relief for this cause. It will be understood that lack o f employment is to be taken here as meaning an entirely different thing from irregularity o f employment. The latter expression as employed in this article has been used to denote a certain unsteadiness in the nature o f the man’s job or a certain insecurity in his tenure o f it. Lack o f employment on the other hand refers to the man’s definite inability to get work during a definite period of time whether his usual vocation is classed as regular or irregular. For example, a man whose occupation is that o f a clerk in a store loses his position and before he can secure another place becomes an object o f charity. Here the man’s employment is classed as “ regular ” but the immediate cause o f his distress is put down as “ lack o f employ ment.” The charity records are constantly referring to the evil resulting from lack o f employment: “ X has been out o f work nine weeks and has used up all he saved.” In this case X was a sober man and a member o f a union, with a wage o f $3.50 per day—when he could get work. “ While the husband was at work his wages, together with those of his wife, were sufficient to support his family, but when the husband lost his job for only a week the family was thrown upon charity.” “ The man earned $4 a day at structural ironwork, but a longcontinued spell o f bad weather exhausted the funds and brought the man to poverty.” “ The father had tramped all over the city looking for work until his feet were sore.” In the last excerpt the reference to feet made sore by tramping in search for work calls attention to one o f the most serious phases o f the distress that is wrought by lack o f employment. I f a period o f enforced idleness were a season o f recuperation and rest there would be a good side to lack o f employment. But enforced idle ness does not bring recuperation and rest. The search for labor is much more fatiguing than labor itself. An applicant sitting in one o f the charity offices waiting for the arrival o f the agent related his experiences while trying to get work. He would rise at 5 o’clock in the morning and walk 3 or 4 miles to some distant point where he had heard work could be had. He went early so as to be ahead o f others, and he walked because he could not afford to pay car fare. Disappointed in securing a job at the first place, he would tramp to an other place miles away, only to meet with disappointment again. Then CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 907 would follow long journeys to other places. After a day consumed in useless tramping he would make his way home, exhausted in body and depressed in spirit. The next day would be a repetition o f the day before, and every day it became more and more difficult to go home to his family without anything to give them. “ It almost grieves a man to death,” he said, 64not to have something to give his wife and children.” As the man told his story he drove home the truth that lack o f employment means far more than simply a loss in dollars and cents; it means a drain upon the vital forces that can not be measured in terms o f money. Next to sickness and lack o f employment in the list, but a long way behind both, stands insufficient wages as a direct cause o f dis tress. Insufficient wages means that the rate o f wages was so low that the family could not live upon the earnings, even though the full wage was being received at the time o f the application. The preceding table shows that 81 families whose wage-earners were regularly employed were compelled to supplement their earnings by doles from the charity office. In determining whether the wage was sufficient for subsistence or not, a calculation was made based upon the supposition that an adult male requires at least $1 per week for food (uncooked ) .( a) In estimating for rent in the calculation, a monthly sum ranging in amount from $5 to $8, according to the size o f the family, was allowed. When these allowances for food and rent consumed all (or practically all) the earnings o f the family visible at the time o f the application, the immediate cause o f the distress was determined to be insufficient wages. A glance at the earnings shown in the tables on pages 890 to 892 will show that the methods o f determination here adopted would very frequently result in finding insufficient wages as the cause o f the distress. But the conclusions embodied in the table on page 905 were not drawn from the preceding tables. In these tables account was taken only o f the wages o f the chief earner, whereas in the later table the earnings o f all the members o f the family were taken into account. In making the table on page 905, very frequently a family was regarded as receiving insufficient earn ings, even though the exact amount o f these earnings was not stated. Thus where the applicant was a widow with 6 small children and her earnings consisted only of what she made at the washtub, the cause o f distress was put down as insufficient earnings, for the reason that the regular work o f one woman at washing and ironing will not bring in enough to support a family o f 7. When forming conclu sions as to whether the wages received were sufficient or not, hard and fast rules were often found to be impracticable. Each case was ® See Bulletin o f the Bureau o f Labor, No. 64, p. 603. The consuming power o f a fam ily w as estimated by the method indicated on page 602 o f Bulletin 64. 908 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. studied in its entirety and judgment was based upon all the facts. A few illustrations will serve to show how this subject was treated in cases where wages were indefinitely stated: 1. A family o f 8 persons. The rate o f wages is not stated, but the records show that when it was a family of 6 persons the husband wars earning $1.52 per day as a laborer and that this was not sufficient at times to keep them from charity. Although the rate of wages at the time o f application in 1905 is not given, the occupation o f the hus band was in that year still that o f a laborer, and since the family had increased to 8 persons there was no hesitation in ascribing the distress to insufficient earnings. 2. A family o f 9 persons. The father is a waiter, the wife a laundress. A girl o f 16 nurses and a boy o f 15 earns a little now and then at jobbing. The young children go to school. When all the wage-earners are at work, there is no need for charity, but when the wages o f a single member o f the family are cut off or interfered with recourse to charity had to be made. For the reason that it was only normal and inevitable that some untoward events should arise, the destitution was put down to insufficient wages. Where the wages are so low that the least ripple o f adversity brings a family to poverty, wages may be fairly regarded as insufficient. 3. A case extending over many years. An aged couple work and make what they can. Their work was irregular and sometimes they earned so little that they were compelled to visit the charity office. Here not insufficient earnings but old age was regarded as the direct cause. 4. A family o f two—man and wife—both quite old. The man served as a watchman at $5 per week, a sum not sufficient to keep himself and wife from charity. The man worked regularly and performed his work well. Not old age, but insufficient wages was here assigned as the direct cause. 5. A family o f 9 persons. Husband’s salary $9 per week. Oldest boy clerks at $3 per week, but his earnings are not regular. Agent states that “ man has regular work, but family is so large that it is not sufficient for their needs.” The distress in this case was determined tube due to insufficient wages, the conclusion being based in part upon the comment o f the agent. In 55 families the immediate cause o f distress was accident. This cause in its economic results is quite like that o f sickness, and viewed in this light the cases of accident might very properly have been class ified with those o f sickness. One phase, however, of the subject o f accidents among the poor requires special notice—the phase bearing upon the question o f the employer’s liability. As the cases are studied one is impressed with the justness o f liberal liability or com C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . 909 pensation laws for workmen. A few of the agents’ notes descriptive o f accidents may suffice to show present conditions: 1. A man was working, helping in the building o f a house. While wheeling a wheelbarrow he stepped aside to let a fellow-workman pass. In passing he was jostled and was caused to lose his balance. He fell and was made a permanent cripple. He received no com pensation. 2. A man was working for a large transportation company, hand ling boxes. A t 3 p. m. he hurt his foot severely. Nothing was al lowed in the way o f liability, and the statement is made that the man was paid for only three-fourths of a day’s work. 3. A man was injured by an explosion while working on a sewer for the city. In this case a small indemnity was allowed, but the au thorities explicitly stated that the city was under no obligations to give anything, although the disability caused by the accident was permanent. 4. A man was working at a freight depot and while in the per formance o f his labors met with an accident which cut off his earnings for several weeks, and which sent him to charity. No compensation. 5. A man was caught in a rope and crushed before the machinery could be stopped. The accident, it was alleged, was due to the fact that there were not proper appliances o f safety to the machine. No compensation. Fifth among the causes that urged these families to seek the charity office was old age. In 49 families the applicant’s earning power had been exhausted by the weight o f years. “ I am worn out,” was the way one applicant, a physician o f four score and seven, expressed it. In many o f the old-age eases there is a record o f but one visit to the charity office. This often meant that the applicant had found a permanent home either in the grave or in the poorhouse. The five leading direct causes that operate to throw the poor upon charity have been pointed out. It is seen that sickness, lack o f em ployment, insufficient wages, accident, and old age constitute nearly 94 per cent o f all the direct causes. This is to say that in nearly nineteen cases out o f twenty the impelling cause o f the application is directly referable to a financial factor; either the rate o f wage is too low for subsistence, or there is a stoppage o f income due to a lack o f employment, to sickness, to accident, or to old age. Most o f the remaining direct causes are so remotely connected with the question o f wages that they may be regarded as nonfinancial. Sudden desertion may plunge a family into temporary distress even when the deserter is receiving high wages. A spree will often cause a resort to charity even though the husband is in receipt o f a fairly good income. A man whose family is subsisting upon charity may be lying in prison for the commission o f a crime, yet his incarceration, the direct cause o f his family’s distress, may have had nothing what ever to do with the question o f wages. The nonfinancial direct 910 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUKEAU OF L A BO R, causes, however, form but an insignificant portion o f all. In only about one case out of twenty can it be said that a financial element did not figure as an immediate cause o f distress. CONTRIBUTING OR INDIRECT CAUSES OF DISTRESS. Usually the story o f a charity case is only begun when the direct cause has been stated. In the following table it is shown that in 854 o f the families a contributing cause might be added to the cause that appears on the surface. In 329 families the direct cause told the whole story. The case was simply due to a temporary loss o f employ ment, to a debauch, to a spell o f cold weather, or to some other isolated and perhaps nonrecurring circumstance. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY CONTRIBUTING CAUSES OF DISTRESS. White. Contributing cause. Accident............................................................................ Affliction of children........................................................ Blindness.......................................................................... Blindness (partial)........................................................... Death in family................................................................ Deformity......................................................................... Desertion........................................................................... Disability.......................................................................... Dullness of trade............................................................. Feeble-mindedness.......................................................... Imbecility........................ 1.............................................. Incarceration of husband................................................. Insanity............................................................................ Insufficient earnings........................................................ Insufficient earnings and neglect.................................... Insufficient earnings and shiftlessness............................ Intemperance................................................................... Intemperance and old age............................................... Lack of employment........................................................ T.rymp.npss.......................................................................... Lawlessness...................................................................... Lawlessness and licentiousness....................................... Licentiousness.................................................................. Loss of money.................................................................. Maltreatment.................................................................... Mendicancy...................................................................... Morphine habit................................................................. Neglect by natural supporters........................................ Old age.............................................................................. Old age and lawlessness................................................... Old age and neglect.......................................................... Old age and sickness........................................................ Severe weather................................................................. Severe weather and old age............................................. Shiftlessness...................................................................... Shiftlessness and intemperance....................................... Shiftlessness and neglect.................................................. Shiftlessness and thievery................................................ Sickness............................................................................. Sickness and intemperance............................................. Sickness and neglect........................................................ Sickness and severe weather........................................... Thievery............................................................................ None apparent.................................................................. Negro. Total. Fam Per Fam Per Fam Per ilies. sons. ilies. sons. ilies. sons. 1 1 1 4 2 1 261 1 4 95 33 11 3 151 1 501 12 1 4 1 1 31 8 361 4 798 9 o251 4 65 1 9 31 15 3 36 601 22 37 1 90 1 106 146 6 c404 7 1 2 126 521 452 «1,860 51 5 2 31 61 18 3 15 8 171 212 2 1 3 37 12 4 16 211 6102 17 29 97 4 10 2 10 20 63 1 4 2 7 24 58 76 140 1 2 1 3 57 188 2 4 18 ‘ 72 1 9 1 2 146 <*601 21 12 2 1 8 4 1 203 590 731 /2,505 • Including 2 Negroes, members of white families. 6 Not including 2 Negroes, members of white families. c Including 7 __egroes, members of white families. d Not including 7 Negroes, members of white families • Including 9 Negroes, members of white families. 1 Not including 9 Negroes, members of white families. 61 6 3 31 871 1 61 3 3 521 1 671 41 4 1 2 24 21 15 32 1121 1 1 79 2 551 1 1 236 31 1 2 329 1,183 223 17 9 171 3073 3 23 4 16 4 2908 9 353 4 162 101 10 72 71 223 94 2001 23 294 4 218 9 26 1,005 19 2 8 6 1,111 4,365 CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. 911 The list o f contributing causes differs essentially from that of immediate causes. Sickness, insufficient earnings, lack o f employ ment, and accident figure very much less than they did in the direct causes, while desertion, intemperance, and neglect by natural sup porters figure very much more. New causes, too, appear. Among these are licentiousness, shiftlessness, mendicancy, and thievery. Plainly none o f these could very well appear as direct causes. The applicant could hardly say that he made the appeal for charity because he was a beggar or because he was a thief. A broad survey of the surface causes o f distress showed that in a vast majority o f cases the trouble was at bottom due to financial adversity. A broad survey o f the contributing causes shows that the undercurrent o f distress is strongly colored with moral delinquency. Desertion, intemperance, licentiousness, neglect by natural supporters, mendicancy, and thievery constitute about 25 per cent o f all these contributing forces. The subject o f contributing causes is therefore closely interwoven with the subject o f moral delinquencies. Among the contributing causes is one which has not been set down as a delinquency but which in quality closely approaches delinquency, namely, shiftlessness. In 55 families this has been given as the con tributing cause. Shiftlessness is here regarded as consisting in a failure to make the best o f opportunities. It is not exactly laziness. Laziness does not appear in any o f the tables as a cause o f distress, for the reason that the charity agents will not give to lazy people. I f the wage-earner is suspected o f being lazy a “ work test” is ap plied. When the industry o f a man is a question o f doubt he is sent to the municipal workhouse where he can earn some money at sawing wood. A woman suspected o f being lazy is given an opportunity to earn something by sweeping or cleaning or scrubbing. I f the appli cant will do the work provided for him he is not regarded, as being lazy. I f he will not do the work he is put down as lazy and relief it withheld. Thus lazy applicants are not enrolled among the recip ients and, theoretically, laziness is not discoverable in the records. Because shiftlessness is not downright laziness it has not been set down in this study among the moral delinquencies, the class in which laziness undoubtedly belongs. But shiftlessness is very simi lar to laziness. For instance, a family comes from the country to live in the city. It can not stir itself to meet the demands o f city life. There are girls in the family old enough to work, but they shrink from work because they have not been accustomed to earn a living and are unable to adjust their notions to urban conditions. Positions are secured for them, but they work in a half-hearted way and soon find themselves out o f employment. The wages o f the father are insufficient to feed all the mouths, and the family finds itself in dis tress. In the records o f such families there is an habitual failure 912 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. to take hold and do the best that can be done, and where such failure is evident it has been characterized as shiftlessness. One other cause contributing greatly to the poverty o f these fami lies must receive notice here. This is severe weather. In 79 fami lies nature itself operated to produce distress. “ Please be kind enough,” said one applicant in a note wrritten to the agent, “ to send me some groceries and fuel, as I am very much in need. It is very hard to get on now with all this family, and my husband has not been working this cold weather when the ground is frozen. Remem ber me, please, and God will remember you.” Lack o f employment was put down in this case as the direct cause, but a cause almost as direct was severe weather. Some of the agents’ notes show the ways in which the cold weather contributes to poverty “ The family was in need of fuel, as they were unable to pick up any cinders on account of snow.” “ It was simply impossible to get out and do work, there was so much snow on the ground.” u He (a blind man) couldn’t stand on the street and; sell shoe strings and peanuts, it was so cold.” “ Impossible to do her washing, as the pipes and hydrants are frozen and she has to walk three squares for water.” “ He (a ragpicker) can not work in the ice and snow.” The connection between severe weather and poverty in Washing ton is brought out in the following table. It is found that in nearly three-fourths o f the cases aid was given for the first time in the months o f December, January,, and February, whether the first aid given for the year 1905s or the first recorded aid for any year is considered. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 19Q5, BY MONTHS IN WHICH THE FIRST AID FOR THAT YEAR WAS GIVEN. Families to which first relief was given in the month of— Not To Race. re tal. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. port ed. White.............. 134 102 Negro................. 266 248 Total........ 400 350 36 41 77 13 20 33 11 8 19 11 9 20 15 5 20 16 12 28 12 6 18 11 10 21 27 64. 26 79 53 143 452 731 I 1,183 ..... NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY MONTHS IN WHICH THE FIRST RECORDED AID FOR ANY YEAR WAS GIVEN. Families to which first relief was given in the month of— Not To Race. re tal. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. port ed. White................ 100 86 Negro................. 223 223 Total........ 323 309 47 49 96 15 10 25 g 11 19 13 10 23 14 5 19 14r 9 23 12 6 18 15 12 27 34 93 36 136 70 229 1 4521 1 731 2 1,183’ 913 CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. P E R S IS T E N T CA U SE S OF D ISTR E SS. When determining what was the underlying or persistent cause or causes o f a family’s distress it was found necessary to reckon with a time element. In the case o f a family where the records showed only one application for aid, or where the distress continued for only a short period o f time, the dominant or persistent cause was o f course not discernible. The records revealed a persistent cause only when the charity history extended through several years. When looking for the persistent cause, therefore, it became necessary to confine the search to those families whose charity career was o f considerable duration. In the following table it is seen that in 683 cases, for which reports were made as to the year in which relief was first given, the record went back o f 1905. In 307 cases the family had been upon charity for five years or more; in 56 cases for ten years or more; in 13 cases for fifteen years or more, and in 3 cases for twenty years or more. In one case the year was not reported. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID IN 1905, BY YEAR IN WHICH AID WAS FIRST RECEIVED. Race. White................. Colored.............. Total......... Number Families receiving relief in 1905 who were first given relief in— of families receiving relief in 1905. 1905. 1904. 1903. 1902. 1901. 1900. 1899. 1898. 1897. 1896. 1895. 1894. 452 183 72 41 731 316 98 63 1,183 499 170 104 20 46 66 16 20 36 11 21 32 16 32 48 24 28 52 18 39 57 23 39 62 12 6 18 5 9 14 Families receiving relief in 1905 who were first given relief in— Race. White.................................. Colored_____ _ _____ . Total__ _. Year not 1893. 1892. 1891. 1890. 1889. 1888. 1887. 1886. 1885. ,1884. 1883. report, ed. 5 3 1 1 1 8 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 It was found convenient to classify the cases as temporary, inter mittent, or permanent. When it is said that a case is temporary, it is meant that the records show no occasion of distress previous to the first application in 1905 and no further recourse to the Associated Charities for aid after the distress of that year was relieved. This does not mean, however, that in a temporary case there was only one act o f relief, for many cases designated as temporary involved records 914 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. extending over several months and showed that numerous doles were given. They were put down as temporary because they covered one definite season o f distress and that not a very long one. Nor must it be thought that because a case wras classified as temporary that the family was no longer a recipient o f charity. In some cases temporary relief marked only a step on the road to the poorhouse. More often, however, it marked only a short period o f misfortune and one that was safely tided over. A tailor with his wife and two small children drifted to Washington to search for work. Employment was not speedily found and the funds were exhausted. The wife applied to charity. Correspondence brought out the fact that the man’s record was excellent. A former employer wrote that the applicant was a first-class workman, upright, sober, and anxious to work. The charity people helped him a little with provisions and secured him suitable employment, and that was the beginning and the end o f his experience with charity. In the temporary case we some times get a glimpse of a family at the lowest ebb o f its fortunes— just when it is in the trough of adversity. For example, a husband works at $5 a week while his wife earns what she can at the washtub. The combined earnings do not meet the demands o f the family, and charity is sought. But at the very time o f distress two boys large enough to work begin to earn something, and the family makes no further appeal for aid. Sometimes the temporary case marks simply a sharp short crisis in domestic affairs. A chief wage-earner de serts his family, leaving it penniless. A t first there is nothing to do but to go to the charity office. When new adjustments have been made, however, and the wife and children have found employment, no further appeal for aid is made. The immediate and contributing causes o f distress in temporary cases are set forth in the following tables. It is seen that o f all the charity cases more than one-third (415) mark only a fleeting period o f adversity. The tables show, too, that the immediate causes o f these temporary appeals to charity are mainly sickness and lack of employment, the distress in more than three-fourths o f the cases being due to these two causes alone. Among the contributing causes o f the temporary cases sickness still holds the lead, although de sertion, intemperance, and licentiousness are much more conspicuous among the contributing than among the direct causes o f temporary distress. 91!> CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID FOR TEMPO RARY DISTRESS IN 1905, BY IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF DISTRESS. White. Immediate cause. Negro. Total. Fam Per Fam Per Fam Per ilies. sons. ilies. sons. ilies. sons. Accident............................................................................ Accident to husband........................................................ Accident to wife............................................................... Desertion by husband..................................................... Incarceration.................................................................... Incarceration of husband................................................. Incarceration of widow.................................................... Insufficient earnings........................................................ Intemperance of husband................................................ Lack of employment........................................................ Lameness of wife............... .............................................. Loss by fire....................................................................... Loss of money................................................................... Neglect by husband......................................................... Neglect of family by husband......................................... Old age.............................................................................. Old age, blindness............................................................ Severe weather................................................................. Sickness............................................................................. Sickness of child, pneumonia.......................................... Sickness of children.......................................................... Sickness of daughter........................................................ Sickness of grandchild..................................................... Sickness of husband......................................................... Sickness of husband and wife......................................... Sickness of mother........................................................... Sickness of mother, heart disease.................................... Sickness of son, tuberculosis........................................... Sickness of sons................................................................ Sickness of wife................................................................ Sickness of wife, la grippe............................................... Sickness of wife, pneumonia........................................... Sickness of woman........................................................... Sickness of woman, tonsilitis.......................................... Total........................................................................ 2 8 20 181 2 30 5 229 8 4 4 1 1 71 60 2 1 1 4 19 2 1 201 21 10 6 96 8 26 1 2 21 16 801 3 1 2 1 9 1 2 381 1 3 1 351 1 1 1 2 511 1 31 136 496 279 4 6 4 3 317 12 2 4 82 2793 9 2 H 3 10 2 8 41 7 7 7 5 118 5 3 4 7 6 155 2 3 10 3 851 3 83 5 123 81 3 1 231 1401 5 1 1 3 1 9 1 2 571 3 4 1 55 2 1 1 1 2 591 1 41 11 517 30 1 4 4 n r & 5083 17 4 2 17 3lfr % r 62 7 17" 135* 214 9‘ 3 4 7 6 181 2 3 12 3 1,347 415 NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FAMILIES RECEIVING AID FOR TEMPO RARY DISTRESS IN 1905, BY CONTRIBUTING CAUSES OF DISTRESS. White. Contributing cause. Fam ilies. Accident.......................................................... Accident to husband.......................................... Affliction of children........................................... Blindness of husband.......................................... Childbirth........................................................ Death in family................................................. Deformity of face............................................... Desertion......................................................... Desertion by husband......................................... D esertion by son -in -la w ....................................... D is a b ility o f w ife ............................................... Feeble-mindedness............................................. Insufficiency of earnings..................................... Intemperance................................................... In tem p er a n ce and nld age .... ............... ........... Intemperance of husband.................................... Lack of employment.......................................... Lack of employment of daughter........................... Lack of employment of wife................................. Lameness of husband......................................... Lameness of sons............................................... Law lessness. ........ ...................................................... Licentiousness.................................................. 1 4 1 1 1 Negro. Per sons. 2 4 1 6 2 15 6 3 1 11 16 4 26 7 1 4 1 1 1 1 i 2 3 L icentiousness o f d a u gh ter....................................................... L icen tiou sn ess o f w ife ............................................................... Licentiousness of woman..................................... 63675— N o. 79— 09------ 19 Total. Fam ilies. Per sons. Fam ilies. 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 15 1 9 3 2 3 6 1 7 49 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 12 60 3 5 1 1 1 1 22 13 3 3 3 3 7 2 1 17 8 2 Per sons. 1 9 3 4 3 6 1 3 7 19 1 1 1 15 4 1 9 7 1 2 1 1 1 8 2 1 1 64 6 3 1 71 16 4 48 20 3 7 3 3 1 18 8 2 2 916 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. NUMBER OF WHITE AND OF NEGRO FxlMILIES RECEIVING AID FOR TEMPO RARY DISTRESS IN 1905, BY CONTRIBUTING CAUSES OF DISTRESS— Concluded. White. Contributing cause. Loss of money...........................................................".___ Maltreatment of employer............................................... Morphine habit of wife'................................................... Neglect by children.......................................................... Neglect by husband....................................................... Old age.............................................................................. Old age and lawlessness................................................... Old age of mother............................................................. Partial blindness of daughter.......................................... Partial blindness of wife.................................................. Severe weather................................................................. Shiftlessness....................... ............................................... Shiftlessness and intemperance....................................... Shiftlessness of sons........................................................ Sickness............................................................................. Sickness and intemperance............................................. Sickness and severe weather........................................... Sickness of aunt.............................................................. Sickness of child............................................................... Sickness of daughter........................................................ Sickness of husband......................................................... Sickness of mother........................................................... Sickness of son.................................................................. Sickness of wife................................................................. Sickness of wife and neglect by son................................ None apparent.................................................................. Not reported..................................................................... Total....................................................................... Negro. Total. Fam Per Fam Per Fam Per ilies. sons. ilies. sons. ilies. sons. 1 1 1 2 1 6 1 3 1 3 10 5 12 1 8 4 1 8 36 13 3 21 1 1 1 15 551 3 4 5 74 2021 136 496 1 8 3 17 2 1 1 19 4 1 3 1 1 1 6 4 1 5 281 1074 279 4 15 9 30 8 5 3 47 15 9 9 6 8 5 18 13 5 21 100 2 293 11 851 2 1 1 10 4 231 2 1 1 27 8 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 6 5 1 6 431 1625 415 7 1 25 14 421 8 5 3 83 28 9 3 30 6 8 5 3 18 17 5 26 174 2 495 12 1,347 3 The intermittent case is where the appeal for aid is made only at intervals, sometimes o f long and sometimes o f short duration. In many a family prosperity alternates with adversity. For example, a large family is mentioned, which, in its whole career, has enjoyed much o f prosperity, but has not been able altogether to keep its name from the charity roll. In 1902 a cold snap drove it to the charity office. In 1904 the husband lost his job for several weeks and appeal for aid had to be made again. In 1905 a prolonged spell of sickness caused a third appeal to be made. The family tried hard to keep its head above water, but once in a long while it was unable to do so unaided. Sometimes an intermittent case shows a strange regularity in the recurrence o f the date of application. In one case application was made and aid was given January 6,1904, January 12, 1905, January 12,1906, January 17,1907. In another family aid was given January 20, 1905, February 51, 1906, February 5, 1907. In these cases coal was given each time, and the periodicity o f the distress gave rise to a suspicion that the applicants were something of frauds, and that the charity office was visited merely because experience had taught that at about a certain time in the year a little fuel could be secured. Sometimes, in the intermittency o f the distress, there can be read the varying fortunes of the family. A widow was left in 1892 with 7 children, the ages of the children being respectively 15, 18, 10, 7, 6, 5, 3. During the years 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1895 her applica 917 CHARITY RELIEF AND WAGE EARNINGS. tions for relief were frequent. In 1896 they became less frequent and by 1899 they had ceased, not to begin again until 1905, when the sick ness and death o f one child and the loss o f the wages o f another brought the family again to charity. In this case it was plain that the applications for charity decreased in number as the children grew older and thus made an increase in the labor resources o f the family. Frequently the charity record ends altogether when the children get large enough to bring in some money. A ll cases that were neither temporary nor intermittent were classi fied as permanent. A permanent case differs from an intermittent case only in the continuity of the relief. Where aid was given right along, week after week for months and years, without serious break, the case was designated as permanent. Where the relief was either permanent or intermittent, some domi nant or persistent cause was usually discoverable. In the fol lowing table, where the persistent causes in both permanent and intermittent cases are given, it is seen that in 768 cases, or in nearly two-thirds o f all, it was possible to assign a persistent or underlying cause o f the poverty. NUM BER OF F A M IL IE S R EC EIV IN G PERM AN EN T OR IN T ER M IT T EN T A ID IN 1905, BY PER SIST EN T CAUSES OF D IST R ESS. Persistent cause Accident....................................................................................................... Accident and sickness.................................................................................. Blindness....................................................................................................... Criminality.................................................................................................... Criminality and shiftlessness....................................................................... Desertion....................................................................................................... Disability....................................................................................................... D ish on esty and licentiousness..................................................................... Incarceration of husband............................................................................. Injured arm................................................................................................... Insanity......................................................................................................... Insufficient wages........................................................................................ Insufficient wages and desertion................................................................. Insufficient wages and intemperance.......................................................... Insufficient wages and licentiousness.......................................................... Insufficient wages and mendicancy............................................................ Insufficient wages and neglect..................................................................... Insufficient wages and old age..................................................................... Insufficient wages and shiftlessness............................................................ Insufficient wages and sickness................................................................... Intemperance................................................................................................ Intemperance and lack of employment...................................................... Intemperance and neglect............................................................................ Intemperance and lawlessness..................................................................... Intemperance and old age............................................................................ Intemperance and shiftlessness................................................................... Intemperance and sickness.......................................................................... Lack of employment.................................................................................... Lack of employment and disability............................................................ Lack of employment and sickness.............................................................. Lameness........................................................................................-•............. Licentiousness....................................................................... ...................... Licentiousness and desertion....................................................................... Lunacy.......................................................................................................... Permanent aid. Intermittent aid. Fam Per ilies. sons. 2 51 2 9 31 3 12 10 4 38 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 9 2 33 9 4 9 8 2 9 51 53 2 2 3 .3 1 10 5 10 13 18 1 38 7 5 Fam Per ilies. sons. 41 1 1 54 4 31 421 1 1 1 10 46 7 1 1 1 2 5 471 43 2 1 1 16 8 4 2 194 15 16 1 244 4 8 5 2 52 252 46 3 3 1 6 28 226 5 216 5 3 1 918 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. N UM BER OF F A M IL IE S R EC EIV IN G PERM AN EN T OR IN T ER M IT T EN T A ID IN 1905, BY PER SIST EN T CAUSES OF D IST R ESS— Concluded. Persistent cense. Mendicancy................................................................................................... Mental weakness........................................................................................... Neglect by natural supporters..................................................................... Neglect and desertion................................................................................... Not discoverable........................................................................................... Old age............................. ............................................................................. Old age and mendicancy............................................................................. Old age and neglect by natural supporters................................................ Old age and shiftlessness.............................................................................. Shiftlessness.................................................................................................. Shiftlessness and desertion.......................................................................... Shiftlessness and feeble-mindedness........................................................... Shiftiessness and lack of employment........................................................ Shiftlessness and lawlessness....................................................................... Shiftlessness and licentiousness................................................................... Shiftlessness and neglect by natural supporters........................................ Sickness......................................................................................................... Sickness and desertion................................................................................. Sickness and neglect..................................................................................... Sickness and old age..................................................................................... Sickness and shiftlessness............................................................................ Thievery........................................................................................................ Unbalanced mind......................................................................................... No good cause shown.................................................................................. Total.................................................................................................... Permanent aid. Intermittent aid. Fam Per Fam Per ilies. sons. ilies. sons. 3 18 2 6 37 1 2 3 19 50 2 4 6 80 1 2 1 4 59 3 238 8 10 2 19 10 1 1 220 796 1 1 10 1 3 64 3 6 43 4 13 113 63 1 262 2 2 19 9 1 88 2 1 18 4 1 1 1 548 5 6 8 287 4 47 16 4 1 2 2,218 In this list o f deep-seated, persistent causes we find the nonfinancial or moral element figuring as it has figured in no previous comparison. It is true that sickness leads, as always, and lack of employment is responsible for much, but shiftlessness, desertion, in temperance, and licentiousness here answer for much more than has elsewhere been charged against them. As direct impelling causes o f distress these moral, or as we might very well say, immoral, ele ments prevailed in hardly 5 per cent o f all the cases; as contributory causes they prevailed in about 25 per cent o f all the cases; but as the underlying cause of prolonged distress they prevail in a third o f all the cases. As knowledge o f a case becomes more comprehensive the greater does the relative importance o f the moral element appear. A consideration, then, of the deeply seated causes o f the poverty o f these 768 families shows that in the final analysis the distress was due in one-third o f the cases to moral elements, and in two-thirds o f the cases to financial elements. (a) The poverty o f charity recipients would therefore seem to present a problem that is something less than onethird moral and something more than two-thirds economic. This at least is the conclusion drawn from the charity records in Washington. a In 49 cases the persistent cause w as o f a m ixed nature containing both the financial and the m oral elements. These were excluded in the above cal culation. C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . 919 SUM M ARY. The results o f the study may be summarized as follow s: Material aid, consisting o f money, food, and clothing, was given in 1905 to 1,256 families in all. The charity records o f 1,183 o f these families were taken as the basis o f this study. The number o f per sons in these 1,183 families was 4,365. These recipients constitute the floating, unattached, isolated poor of the city. This isolation is seen in the fact that o f the 1,775 wage-earners among the recipients only 23 o f the 81 who reported on the subject stated that they belonged to labor organizations, and in only 40 families was there evidence o f membership in fraternal or beneficial societies. The average size of the charity family is 3.7 persons, as against an average o f 4.9 persons o f the District o f Columbia. Excluding that large class o f charity families consisting o f only 1 person or only 2 persons, the average o f the charity family is brought up to 5, a normal average. The charity family therefore is neither much larger nor much smaller than the prosperous family. The number o f children under 16 in the charity families was 47.7 per cent o f the charity population, whereas this class o f children in the District o f Columbia at large constituted only 26.6 per cent of the population. Children under 10 constitute 30.9 per cent o f the population o f the charity families, while o f the total population of the District only 16.8 per cent were under 10 years o f age. In the District the excess o f females over males among children under 16 was 3.2 per cent; in the charity families the excess was 18.3 per cent. Among children 10 or under 16 the excess o f females over males in the charity population was 21.8 per cent, and in the District the excess was only 8.1 per cent. So in the charity families the number o f helpless children was relatively great, and the excess in the number o f female children was strikingly large. In 12 per cent o f all the families there was desertion. Counting only the families in which the husband and wife were both living, there was desertion in nearly 20 per cent o f the cases. Desertion was found in 13 per cent o f the white families in which there were both a husband and wife, and in 24.4 per cent o f the colored families. In nearly 30 per cent o f all the families either the husband or the wife was dead, and in 37.5 per cent of all the cases the family was without a male supporter at its head. The charity family is therefore very often a fatherless family. Divorce does not prevail to any appreciable degree among the charity receiving families. O f all the persons in the charity families 16 years o f age or over, 77.2 per cent were employed in gainful occupations. In the 271 white families in which both husband and wife were at home both husband and wife were gainfully employed in 95 cases, and in the 291 920 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . colored families having both a husband and a wife at home both husband and wife were employed in 222 cases. Extreme poverty has relatively a greater effect in drawing white married women into the ranks of wage-earners than it has in the case of colored married women. O f the children under 16 years of age in the charity families, 12 per cent were gainfully employed, a much larger percentage than obtained in the District at large. On the charity roll many occupations are represented, although laborers, laundresses, and domestics comprised more than 60 per cent o f all the chief wage-earners. Among the wage-earners in the families driven to charity were 27 carpenters, 25 painters, 10 plas terers, 9 clerks, 7 iron workers, 5 shoemakers, and 4 plumbers. The actual earnings o f a family receiving charity is a most difficult matter to determine, for at the time o f charity seeking there is in most cases only financial chaos. In more than two-thirds of the families the wages of the chief wage-earner at the time of application had entirely ceased. In 80 families there was no wage-earner at all. Altogether three-fourths o f the families were deprived o f a regular breadwinner at the time o f the application, a circumstance that prima facie at least indicates that the poverty o f these poor is chiefly an economic or financial and not a moral problem. In 78 families the chief wage-earner was earning the normal rate o f wage at the time o f application. In 269 cases the normal wage o f the chief wage-earner was reported in dollars and cents. This nor mal daily wage varied from 8 cents a day to $5 a day. In over twofifths o f the families in which the normal wages were definitely known the rate o f the male worker ranged from $1 to $2 per day, the wage most often not exceeding $1.50 per day. These workers were for the most part day laborers, some o f them being employed on the streets o f the city. In 206 o f the families there was evidence o f income additional to that derived from labor. In 43 cases pensions were received. W ith the exception o f pensions the element o f additional income was insignificant; when the regular earnings o f the members o f the family were cut off practically everything was gone. Belief in 60 per cent o f the cases consisted in giving food. Next to food, fuel was most frequently given. In nearly half the cases fuel was one o f the articles given. The payment o f rent does not figure largely in the relief extended, for the reason that the charity organiza tion will seldom undertake to meet arrears in rent, and for the further reason that the applicants adopt the policy o f getting tjie rent paid first and then going to the charity office for food and fuel. The real magnitude o f the rent problem in the lives o f these recipients is seen in the fact that 208 o f the 1,183 families at some time and to some extent found arrears o f rent associated with their appeal to charity. The chattel-mortgage loan figured in the distress o f 26 families. C H A R I T Y R E L IE F A N D W A G E E A R N IN G S . 921 In two-thirds o f the families there was no marked delinquency whatever. O f the 394 families tainted with delinquency 174 were white and 220 colored, these numbers representing 38 per cent of the total white families and 30 per cent o f th^ total colored families, respectively. The leading delinquencies were intemperance, deser tion, licentiousness, neglect by natural supporters, lawlessness, thievery, and mendicancy. In nearly one-third of all the families in which delinquency was visible intemperance was the evil. In 96 cases the intemperance was in the white families and in 32 cases in colored families. Next to intemperance is the vice o f desertion. In 102 cases desertion occurred in colored families and in 42 cases in white families. Licentiousness is third on the list o f delinquencies. This vice was discoverable in 17 white families and in 47 colored families. The evidence supporting the charge o f licentiousness con sisted in part o f the presence of illegitimate children, o f whom there were 11 in white families and 68 in colored families. Neglect by natural supporters—not including cases of outright desertion— oc curred in 12 white families and 31 colored families. Akin to delin quency, but not included among the delinquencies, was a certain reliance upon charity, a certain inclination to pauperism. This spirit o f dependence cropped out in 69 families, 40 o f which were white and 29 colored. When considering the causes o f the distress o f the recipients it was found practicable to avoid using the terms “ inefficiency,” “ ignor ance,” and “ irregularity of employment ” to denote causation. The subject o f regularity and irregularity of employment, however, re ceived careful attention, and it was found that of the 1,051 cases in which it was possible to characterize the employment o f the chief wage-earner as regular or irregular, 919 were irregular. In the discussion o f causes the expression “ financial element ” is used to include one or several or all of the following elements of causation: Insufficient earnings, lack o f employment, sickness, acci dent, old age, and severe weather. In 28 families (20 white, 8 colored) the financial element did not enter at all into the explanation o f the causes o f distress. Among the immediate causes o f distress—those that impinged directly on the consciousness o f the applicant and hurried him to the charity office—sickness figured in nearly one-half o f the families, rheumatism and tuberculosis leading all the other diseases. Next to sickness, lack o f employment was the immediate cause o f most dis tress, more than one-third o f all the cases being assigned to this cause. Third in the list of immediate causes stands insufficient wages. In 81 families the wages were so low that the family could not live upon the earnings, even though the full wage was being received at the time o f the application. In 55 cases the immediate cause o f distress was 922 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . due to accident. Illustrations o f the circumstances attending these accidents show plainly enough the need o f a liberal liability law. In 49 cases old age was the direct cause o f the appeal to charity. Sickness, lack o f employment, insufficient wages, accident, and old age constituted 94 per cent o f all direct causes. That is to say, in nineteen cases out o f twenty the impelling cause o f the application is directly referable to a financial factor. In the immediate causes of 329 cases could be seen a full explana tion o f the distress. In 854 the immediate cause was supplemented by a contributory cause. As contributory causes sickness, insufficient earnings, lack o f employment, and accident figure very much less than they did as immediate, causes, while desertion, intemperance, and neglect by natural supporters figured very much more. Among the contributory causes there appear also certain causes that did not ap pear among the direct causes, such as licentiousness, shiftlessness, mendicancy, thievery. While the immediate causes were in the vast majority o f cases due to financial adversity, the undercurrent o f dis tress was strongly colored with moral delinquency— desertion, intem perance, licentiousness, neglect by natural supporters, mendicancy, arid thievery constituting about 25 per cent o f all the contributory forces. In 55 families the controlling cause o f distress was put down as shiftlessness, a fault that was regarded as consisting in a failure to make the best o f opportunities. In 79 cases severe weather oper ated as a contributing cause. When studying the subject o f underlying or persisting causes, it was convenient to classify the cases as temporary, intermittent, or permanent. More than one-third o f the cases were found to be tem porary, and in these, of course, no deep-seated cause was discernible. In 768 cases it was possible to assign a persistent or underlying cause o f the poverty. Here the nonfinancial or moral element figured much more prominently than in any previous comparison. As direct impelling causes shiftlessness, desertion, intemperance, and licentiousness had to answer for hardly 5 per cent o f all the cases. As contributory causes they prevailed in about 25 per cent of all the cases, but as the underlying cause o f prolonged distress they pre vailed in one-third o f all the cases. RECENT REPORTS OE STATE BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS* M AIN E. Twenty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine, 1907, Thomas J. Lyons, Commissioner. 520 pp. The following subjects pertaining to the labor interests of the State are presented in this report: Factories, mills, and shops built during 1907, 4 pages; labor unions, 95 pages; women and children in sardine factories, 17 pages; women wage-workers o f Portland, 30 pages; school-teachers, 121 pages; opportunities for new industries, 172 pages; labor laws, 32 pages; report of the inspector of factories, workshops, mines, and quarries, 5 pages. F actories, M ills , and S hops B uilt .— Returns show that in 1907 in 95 towns 133 buildings were erected or enlarged, remodeled, etc., at a total cost o f $4,140,960. These improvements provided for 3,566 additional employees. A summary o f improvements o f this character is presented for the ten years 1898 to 1907: FACTORIES, MILLS, AND SHOPS BUILT OR ENLARGED, ETC., DURING THE TEN YEARS 1898 TO 1907. Year. 1898 ........................................................................................... 1899............................................................................................ 1900.......................................................................................... 1901............................................................................................ 1902............................................................................................ 1903............................................................................................ 1904............................................................................................ 1905............................................................................................ 1906............................................................................................ 1907............................................................................................ Number Number New em build Aggregate of towns. ofings. cost. ployees. 64 103 114 94 91 96 91 93 104 95 72 138 167 121 129 124 113 114 131 133 $675,100 6,800,700 2,174,825 5,638,200 2,776,930 1,436,990 1.175.500 2,303,410 2.637.500 4,140,960 2,024 4,990 5,539 6,337 5,017 3,343 3,276 3,329 3,674 3,566 L abor U nions .—Under this title is given a list o f all federations and unions reporting, together with the addresses of the secretaries. There were 2 state and 11 central federations and 225 local unions in 68 cities, towns, and plantations. O f the local unions known to exist in 1907, 4 failed to report membership and 5 sent no report. The reports from the unions give, by cities and towns, the date of organization, membership, qualifications for membership, initiation fees, dues, benefits allowed, hours o f labor, rates o f wages, etc. The 215 local unions reporting comprised an aggregate membership o f 16,804. Compared with 1906, a net gain o f 10 unions is shown and 923 924 B U L L E T IN OE T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . a gain in reported membership of 2,032. There were 117 unions which reported that they were working under trade agreements with employers and 100 which were not. To the question, “ What have you accomplished for labor by organi zation?” a wide range of replies was returned by the unions; but a majority o f them asserted that higher wages and a shorter workday, as well as improved working conditions and social benefits, had been gained. To the question, “ Do nonunion men enjoy the same condi tions as to labor, wages, and steady employment as union men?” 172 unions made reply, 69 indicating that nonunion men enjoy equal con ditions with union men and 103 that they do not. Under this chapter is also given historical sketches o f the Granite Cutters’ International Association o f America and the Lobster Fishermen’s National Protective Association (national organizations originating in Maine), together wTith an account of the labor demands and differences occurring in the State during the year. W omen and C hildren in S ardine F actories.—This chapter is devoted to the industrial conditions surrounding the women and chil dren employed in the sardine packing factories of Washington County, the principal center of the industry. The pounds o f sardines packed in the State in 1905 amounted to 86,218,610, or 98.8 per cent of the total pounds for the United States, and were valued at $4,291,324. The report briefly describes the workings o f the various stages of the industry in addition to considering living expenses, wages, and hours o f employment, the irregular nature of the work (as everything de pends upon “ the catch” ), and other employment available when the packing season closes. The 30 sardine factories within the towns o f Eastport and Lubec employed in the canning of fish during the 1906 season over 1,600 women and children. O f this number about two hundred were children of various ages, one-half of whom wrere probably under 14 years o f age. The work is mostly paid for by the piece. W omen W age-workers of P ortland.— The purpose of this report is to present facts pertaining to the lines o f work in which women are numerously employed in the city o f Portland, together with figures showing the average financial returns and the cost of living, and an account o f representative societies which are the outgrowth o f ex isting business and industrial conditions. A ll occupations, both of an industrial and clerical nature, in which women are employed are considered, the number of women finding employment in each, with the weekly wages paid, being given. For most of the industrial occupations hours of labor are also given. According to the United States census o f 1900 there were employed in the city of Portland 5,531 women wage-earners. During the years since then the number has largely increased. Tenement houses, child labor, and night R E P O E T S OF S T A T E B U R E A U S OF L A B O R -----M A I N E . 925 schools are also given consideration in addition to the welfare work o f various establishments of the city and of different societies and organizations. S chool T eachers.—This presentation consists o f letters, arranged by counties, from school superintendents and school teachers through out the State giving personal expression respecting existing condi tions in the public schools and the necessity for higher salaries than are at present paid, especially in the rural and village schools. In addition, there are given compilations o f 1,100 returns from rural and village teachers, out of over 1,600 returns which were received from teachers o f all grades. These 1,100 returns from teachers are grouped, by counties, in four classes—rural schools taught by female teachers with no normal training and with normal training; village schools taught by female teachers with no normal training and with normal training—and give statistics as to salaries, living expenses, length o f school year, number o f years they had been engaged in teaching, number o f years they had attended high schools or acad emies, etc. These returns are summarized in the statement which follow s: STATISTICS OF TEACHERS IN RURAL AND IN VILLAGE SCHOOLS. Items. Female teachers, with no nor Female teachers, with normal mal training, in— training, in— Rural schools. Village schools. Rural schools. Village schools. 464 222 210 204 Number of teachers................................. 1 da. 31 wks., 4 da. 29 wks., $7.21 0 da. 32 wks. 3 da. Average length ofwages............................ school year................ 29 wks., $6.70 $8.94 $9.71 Average weekly $196.21 $284.29 $209.09 $316.55 Average gross salary................................ $2.20 $3.06 $2.31 $3.29 Average weekly cost of board................ $64.24 $97.31 $66.99 $106.25 Average cost of board for school year... $16.81 $25.95 $16.14 $24.56 Average incidental expenses.................. $115.16 $161.03 $125.96 $185.74 Average net salary.................................. Average weekly income on the basis of $4.02 $3.77 $5.47 $6.09 52 weeks in the year............................ O f the 1,100 teachers in rural and village schools, both with and without normal training, 559, or 50.8 per cent, remained at home during vacations, and 541, or 49.2 per cent, supplemented their incomes by other gainful occupations. O f the 541 at work, 283, or 52.3 per cent, were engaged in hotel and house work, and 258, or 47.7 per cent, in other avocations. O pportunities for New I ndustries.— This presentation, which is arranged by counties, towns, and plantations, is designed to show as far as possible the nature and extent of the industrial oppor tunities o f the State as yet undeveloped and the advantages each town has to offer in the way of new business openings. There is also given the number o f towns which contain a good supply o f various specified natural products, together with a list of the industries 926 B U L L E T IN OF T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R . wanted, or those best suited to the several towns, which are named under each industry. L abor L aws .— This section of the report reproduces the labor laws o f the State, compiled from the Revised Statutes for 1903 and from the public laws o f 1905 and 1907. C hild L abor.—In the report on factory inspection a table is pre sented in which it is shown that the number of children working under certificates in certain manufacturing establishments o f the State was 877 in 1906 and 1,111 in 1907. The legislature in 1907 made some changes in the law regulating the employment of children in manufacturing and mechanical establishments, the most important o f which was fixing the age limit at 14 years, with no chances of excuse coming from any source. Also, the form of the employment certificate was changed. M ICH IGAN. Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, including the Fifteenth Annual Report of State In spection of Factories. 1908. Malcolm J. McLeod, Commissioner, xxi, 539 pp. This report contains 19 chapters, o f which Chapters I to I X , 325 pages, are devoted to inspection o f factories, stores, hotels, tenement shops, etc. Labor and industrial statistics are presented in Chapters X to X I X under the following titles: Technical papers, 28 pages; report o f the state commissioner o f labor to the International Asso ciation o f Factory Inspectors, 5 pages; labor disagreements, 1907, 9 pages; statistics o f penal and reformatory institutions, 16 pages; miscellaneous industries, 19 pages; beet-sugar and Portland-cement industries, 13 pages; the coal industry, 21 pages; furniture, boot and shoe, corset, and refrigerator industries, 19 pages; free employment bureaus, 22 pages; statistics of electric railways and of the motive power used in manufacturing in Michigan, 17 pages; laws coming under the jurisdiction o f the state bureau of labor, 30 pages. T echnical P apers—Under this title two papers are presented. The first paper, “ What our labor laws need to make usproud,” dis cusses in reference to the state child labor, legislation affecting work ing women, guarding o f dangerous machinery, mining laws, factory inspectors, employment bureaus, etc. The second paper deals with the subject “ Cost o f living, wages, and rising prices.” Comparisons are made between the years 1907 and 1902, and also between earlier years, o f income and expenditure that enter into the living o f the average workingman’s family. The cause o f rising prices is attrib uted, by the author o f the paper, to the increase in the world’s out put o f gold rather than to the influence o f trusts. R E P O R T S OF S T A T E B U R E A U S OF L A B O R -----M I C H I G A N . 927 L abor D isagreements, 1907.— The report o f the work o f the state court o f mediation and arbitration for the year 1907 in dealing with 11 labor disagreements is given in this chapter. P enal and R eformatory I nstitutions .— Under this title appear the reports o f the wardens and superintendents o f these institutions. Tables are given showing the number o f officials and salary o f each, number o f inmates, cost of clothing, and feeding o f inmates, number o f inmates employed at contract labor, rate per day o f contract labor, and hours o f labor, and number o f inmates employed in systems o f labor other than contract. M iscellaneous I ndustries.— The statistical information contained in this chapter is reproduced from the reports of the United States Census Bureau, and covers 15 industries of the State. In addition to data for 1905, the presentation gives for 10 o f the 15 industries com parative figures for 1900. B eet S ugar and P ortland C ement I ndustries.— In the beetsugar industry 16 factories were in operation during the year 1907, the same number as in 1906. These 16 factories represented a total cost o f $10,700,000. The acreage devoted to beet raising in 1907 was 99,586, an increase over 1906 o f 3,069 acres. The tons o f beets grown in 1907 were estimated at 723,880, and the pounds o f sugar made at 165,074,900. There were 1,495 skilled laborers and 2,306 other labor ers employed in the factories, with an average daily wage of $2.93 for the former, and of $1.86 for the latter. In the cement industry 15 o f the 17 plants in the State were in operation at the time o f the investigation. The aggregate cost o f the plants in operation was $8,320,000, and their aggregate daily capacity 19,160 barrels. The output for 1907 was 3,644,473 barrels. There were on the pay rolls 609 skilled laborers, at an average daily wage of $2.84, and 1,253 other laborers, at an average daily wage o f $1.85. The average daily wage of all employees was $2.17, and the annual wage pay roll amounted to $1,365,960. T he C oal I ndustry.— In this industry there were 34 coal mines in operation during the year 1907, as compared with 38 mines during the year 1906. A condensed summary o f the operations o f the mines for the two years is presented in the following table: COAL MINE STATISTICS, 1906 AND 1907. Items. Year. 1906. Mines in operation....................................................................................................... 38 2,119 Average number of employees................................................................................... Average hours worked per dav.................................................................................. 7.8 22.3 Average days worked per month............................................................................... $2.40 Average daily wages.................................................................................................... Tons of coal mined...................................................................................................... 1,372,854 $1.50 Average cost of mining per ton.................................................................................. 1907. 34 2,881 8 20.4 $3.24 1,898,426 $1.64| 928 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . A personal canvass was made of 2,023 miners, employed in 24 mines, o f which 1,300 were married and 723 were single. There were 1,138 o f the miners who had 5,051 others besides themselves to sup port. The average daily wages o f the miners canvassed was $3.11. As to nationality, 50 per cent o f the miners were American or English born; those foreign born had lived in the United States an average o f 22J years. In 19 mines 54 accidents were reported—7 fatal, 7 serious, 27 se vere, and 13 slight. F urniture , B oot and S hoe, C orset, and R efrigerator I ndus tries.— These four industries were the subjects of a special canvass marde in 1907. In the investigation of the furniture industry 150 establishments (in 40 towns) were visited, the establishments representing an in vested capital o f $13,802,402. They employed 16,310 adult males, at an average daily wage o f $1.92; 513 adult females, at an average daily wage o f $1.40; 542 boys between 14 and 16 years o f age, at an average daily wage* of $1.10; and 61 girls between 14 and 16 years of age, at an average daily wage o f $0.80. The cost of material used by the fac tories aggregated $11,801,370 and the value o f product $26,662,414. Seventeen establishments engaged in the manufacture o f shoes (in 11 towns) were canvassed, the establishments representing an invested capital o f $1,901,400. They employed 1,413 adult males, at an average daily wage o f $1.85; 815 adult females, at an average daily wage o f $1.18; 126 boys between 14 and 16 years o f age, at an average daily wage o f $0.84; and 111 girls between 14 and 16 years of age, at an average daily wage o f $0.67. The cost o f material used aggregated $3,176,945 and the value o f the product $6,176,771. Seven establishments engaged in the manufacture o f corsets (in 4 towns) were canvassed. They employed 257 adult males, at an aver age daily wage o f $2.25, and 1,081 adult females and 176 females under 16 years o f age, at an average daily wage o f $1.10. The cost o f material used aggregated $1,225,500 and the value of product $2,457,880. Ten establishments engaged in the manufacture o f refrigerators (in 9 towns) were canvassed. They employed 1,596 adult males, at an average daily wage o f $1.69, and (in 5 factories) 58 boys under 16 years o f age, at an average daily wage o f $0.92. The cost o f material used aggregated $1,483,126 and the estimated value o f product $2,739,662. F ree E mployment B ureaus.—Under this title is presented a detailed report o f the work done in the four free employment bureaus o f the State. Two o f the bureaus (one at Saginaw and one at Kala mazoo) were opened during 1907. The following table summarizes REPOETS OF S T A T E BUREAUS OF L A B O R -----M I C H I G A N . 929 the work done at the Detroit and Grand Rapids bureaus for the year ending November 30, 1907, at the Saginaw bureau for the period July 19 to November 30, 1907, and at the Kalamazoo bureau for the period August 7 to November 30, 1907: OPERATIONS OF FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES. Situations wanted. City. Help wanted. Positions secured. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Detroit........................................................... Grand Rapids............................................... Saginaw........................................................ Kalamazoo.................................................... Total.................................................... 9,831 4,172 1,234 800 16,037 1,581 2,553 294 259 4,687 10,363 3,933 1,510 452 16,258 2,007 3,202 406 267 5,882 9,831 3,465 878 379 14,553 1,581 2,346 214 140 4,281 E lectric R ailw ays .— In 1907 there were 23 electric railways in Michigan, with a total invested capital of $38,031,000, and paying in wages to 6,534 employees the sum o f $4,692,762. The statement fol lowing gives the number o f employees connected with these railways, together with their average daily wages and daily hours o f w ork: NUMBER, HOURS OF LABOR, AND DAILY WAGES OF ELECTRIC RAILWAY EMPLOYEES, 1907. Occupation. ................................................................................. ....................................................... ....... Foremen...................................................................... ................................... Office employees..............................................................- ............................... Conductors...........................................................- ........................................... Motormen........................................................................................................ Electricians....................................................................................................... Engineers........................................................................................................... Firemen............................................................................................................. Oilers............................................................................................................... Linemen............................................................................................................ Motor inspectors............................................................................................. Machinists..............................- ......................................................................... Carpenters........... ............................................................................................. Painters............................................................................................................. Car-house men................................................................................................ Track laborers................................................................................................... Other employees............................................................................................. D iv ision s u p erin ten d en ts Assistant d ivision su p erin ten d e n ts Number Average Average of em daily daily ployees. ofhours labor. wages. 16 24 71 324 1,405 1,399 90 43 74 44 75 148 38 99 55 210 2,280 139 9 10n 10 10* 10 11 ioi 10 10 9 10 10* 10 10 $3.55 2.59 2.35 1.66| 2.21 2.20| 2.28 2.94 1.96 2.11 2.22 2.07 2.42 2.28 2.15 1.73 1.74* 1.52 P ower U sed in M anufacturing in M ichigan .— O f the 8,335 man ufacturing establishments embraced in this presentation 3,327 used steam power, 1,478 used electric power, 924 used gas or gasoline power, 270 used water power, 372 used rented power (kind not reported), and 1,964 establishments required no power to operate. The total power generated in the 6,371 power-using establishments was 906,979 horsepower. Also, statistics are given o f steam boilers and their equipment and kind o f alarms in use and their condition. The data in detail are presented by counties. 930 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . N EW JE R S E Y . Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries of New Jersey, for the year ending October 31, 190?. Winton C. Garrison, Chief, xiv, 675 pp. This report consists o f 4 parts, in which the following subjects are presented: Statistics o f manufactures, 123 pages; steam rail roads, 12 pages; cost o f living, 17 pages; fruit and vegetable can ning, 10 pages; New Jersey as a manufacturing State, 33 pages; economic changes in the building trades o f Essex County, 60 pages; historical review o f the bureau o f statistics o f labor and industries, 40 pages; industrial chronology, 369 pages. S tatistics of M anufactures.—This presentation o f the statis tics o f manufactures is based on returns for the year 1906, secured from 2,120 establishments, 2,039 representing 88 specified industries and 81 grouped as unclassified. None o f the establishments consid ered employed fewer than 10 persons or had an invested capital o f less than $5,000. The facts are set out in ten tables, which show by industries character o f establishment management (whether corporate or private), amount of capital and the various forms in which it is invested, value o f stock or materials used and of goods produced, number o f wage-earners (men and women, and children under 16 years o f age) and wages and earnings, days in operation during the year and hours worked per day and per week, percentage of business done of total productive capacity, and character and measure o f power used. The returns show that o f the 2,120 establishments reporting 1,326 (in 1,321 of which were 71,876 stockholders) were under the corporate form o f ownership and management and 794 (with 1,407 partners and proprietors) were owned and managed by partnerships and private individuals. Capital invested (by 2,113 establishments) showed an aggregate o f $579,705,607, value of materials or stock used (by 2,115 establishments) an aggregate of $428,030,730, and value o f products or goods made (by 2,111 establishments) an aggregate of $705,489,666. The total paid out in wages amounted to $131,587,332. During the year there was an average o f 260,072 wage-earners employed, 191,208 males 16 years o f age or over, 62,189 females 16 years o f age or over, and 6,675 children under 16 years o f age. Under normal conditions the average number o f hours worked per day in the 2,120 establish ments was 9.58, and the average number of hours worked per week 55.32. The average number o f days in operation during the year was 289.02, and the average proportion o f business done o f total produc tive capacity was 78.22 per cent. The table following presents the number and per cent o f males and females 16 years o f age or over and of children under 16 years R E P O R T S OF S T A T E B U R E A U S O F L A B O R -----N E W JE R SE Y . 931 of age employed in 1906 in all industries (2,120 establishments) at each specified weekly rate of wages: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALES AND FEMALES 16 YEARS OF AGE OR OYER AND OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE IN ALL INDUSTRIES (2,120 ESTABLISHMENTS), RECEIVING EACH CLASSIFIED WEEKLY RATE OF WAGES, 1906. Number. Classified weekly wages. Males 16 years of age or over. Females 16 years of age or over. Under $3........................ 1,212 $3 or under $4............... 3,224 $4 or under $5............... 6,004 $5 or under $6............... 7,183 $6 or under $7................ 8,675 $7 or under $8............... 12,800 18 or under $9............... 18,380 $9 or under $10.............. 31,528 $10 or under $12............ 33,541 $12 or under $15............ 34,838 $15 or under $20............ 38,312 $20 or under $25............ 11,240 $25 or over..................... 6,977 Total.................... 213,914 1,712 4,565 10,146 12,603 12,088 8,761 5,673 4,309 3,917 2,280 564 87 11 66,716 Per cent. Children Males under 16 years 16 years Total. of age of age. or over. 3,952 10,917 18,238 20,517 20,921 21,597 24,063 35,837 37,458 37,118 38,876 11,327 6,938 7,179 287,809 1,028 3,128 2,088 731 158 36 10 0.6 1.5 2.8 3.4 4.0 6.0 8.6 14.7 15.7 16.3 17.9 5.2 3.3 100.0 Females 16 years of age or over. Children under 16 years Total. of age. 2.6 6.8 15.2 18.9 18.1 13.1 8.5 6.5 5.9 3.4 .9 .1 14.3 43.6 29.1 10.2 2.2 .5 .1 100.0 100.0 1.4 3.& 6.3 7.1 7.3 7.58.4 12. 5 13.0 12.9 13.5 3.9 2.4 100.0’ The following comparative table shows for selected industries, fo r the years 1905 and 1906, the average number of persons employed per industry and the average yearly earnings per employee: AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PER INDUSTRY AND AVERAGE YEARLY EARNINGS PER EMPLOYEE, 1905 AND 1906, BY INDUSTRIES. Industry. Average employees per industry. 1905. 1906. Average yearly earnings per employee. 1905. Artisans’ tools................................................................................. 2,037 2,445 $543.17 1,996 472.18 Boilers, steam.................................................................................. 2,249 Brewery products........................................................................... 1,964 2,065 894.37 Brick and terra cotta...................................................................... 6,742 7.419 448.40 Chemical products.......................................................................... 6,546 6,839 487.49 Cigars and tobacco.......................................................................... 7,223 8,376 316.70 1,867 541.00 Drawn wire and wire cloth............................................................ Electrical appliances....................................................................... 5,462 6,739 510.23 Furnaces, ranges, and heaters....................................................... 1,885 1,915 659.50 Glass, window and bottle.............................................................. 6,263 6,190 539.97 5.832 5,563 586.47 Hats, men’s .................................................................................... 3,482 645.97 Jewelry............................................................................................ 3,091 Leather, tanning and finishing...................................................... 5,616 5,722 523.60 Lamps, electric and other.............................................................. 2,042 2,317 401.71 Machinery........................................................................................ 19,154 24,393 599.06 Metal goods...................................................................................... 5,654 6,751 471.95 Oils................................................................................................... 3,683 3,753 635.67 Paper................................................................................................ 2,287 2.419 497.34 Pottery............................................................................................. 4,646 4.833 593.91 Rubber products, hard and soft.................................................... 5,761 6,280 480.11 3,822 568.89 Shipbuilding.................................................................................... 3,523 Silk goods, broad and ribbon......................................................... 22,456 21,543 438.54 3,429 598.08 Steel and iron, structural............................................................... 3,295 2,882 615.10 Steel and iron, forging.................................................................... 2,569 8,965 373.43 Woolen and worsted goods............................................................ 8,531 Twenty-five industries......................................................... 138,242 152,274 511.06 Other industries.............................................................................. 100,871 107,798 456.58 All industries......................................................................... 239,113 260,072 488.49 63675— No. 79— 09------ 20 1906. $585.24 629.14. 898.31 469.02. 513.49 294.7a. 596.21 519.52. 686.32 569.69 581.5J 682.31 617.59 433.75 631.37 450.45' 644.10' 502.27 629.95 489.76 677.56* 434.72. 627.34 649.35* 385.30 534.42 465.76 505.96 932 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUKEAU OF L A B O R . S team R ailroads.— For the year ending June 30, 1907, the 7 railroads in the State employed 45,810 persons for an average o f 292 days per person, each working an average of 10.6 hours per day. The total paid in wages amounted to $28,987,303, the average wages per day being $2.17 and the average yearly earnings per employee $632.99. Five o f the companies reported the number of employees injured during the year as 1,567, the injuries o f 90 resulting in death. C ost of L iving .—This is a continuation of the presentation o f previous years, and shows the retail prices o f 50 items of food and 2 other commodities (common soap and kerosene oil) in the principal markets in all counties o f the State in the month of June, 1907. Comparisons with retail prices in 1906 and in 1898 (the year the investigation was begun) are also given. Taking the list o f com modities together, the prices in 1907 as compared with the prices in 1906 show an increase o f 9.7 per cent, which is the largest increase in the cost o f living shown by the records of any one year since the annual cost o f living inquiry was begun, in 1898. The total net in crease, however, was largely due to advances in the price o f first and second quality flour per 25-pound bag and in the price of new and old potatoes per bushel. Apart from these 4 items the remaining 46 articles o f food show an advance in 1907, as compared with 1906, o f only 2.9 per cent. F ruit and V egetable Canning .— In 1906 there were 44 canneries from which returns were received. Invested capital to the amount of* $920,045 and wages paid to the amount of $341,883 were reported by the canneries. The 44 canneries gave employment to 4,865 wageearners—2,121 males and 2,744 females. The selling value o f the product amounted to $1,581,418. N ew J ersey as a M anufacturing S tate .— A brief historical re view o f the growth o f the manufacturing industries o f the State for the fifty-five-year period 1850 to 1905 is presented in this section. The capital invested in manufactures in 1850 was $22,293,258, as con trasted with $715,060,174 in 1905; the number o f wage-earners in 1850 was 37,830, as contrasted with 266,336 in 1905; the amount paid in wages in 1850 was $9,364,740, as contrasted with $128,168,801 in 1905, and the total value o f the manufactured product in 1850 was $39,851,256, as contrasted with $774,369,025 in 1905. E conomic C hanges in the B uilding T rades.— The purpose of this inquiry was to ascertain what changes had taken place in wages and working hours during the period between the years 1896 and 1906, and incidentally how far rents for the different classes of build ings had been affected thereby. The field o f inquiry was limited to Essex County, and the information presented was derived entirely from statements made by employers who had been in business, with but one exception, for periods ranging from 8 to 40 years. The trades or occupations considered are 15 in number. The questions R E P O R T S O F S T A T E B U R E A U S O F L A B O R -----N E W JERSEY. 933 submitted were designed to bring out the fullest information possible relating to the comparatively new form of business organization that has resulted from the almost complete unionization o f the building trades. Eelative to rents, the inquiry led to the conclusion that, funda mentally, the general advance may be safely said to be due to the general and widely diffused prosperity o f recent years, which has created a desire for better homes, the supply o f which, partly by reason o f large increases in the cost o f land, material, and labor, has not as yet been sufficient to meet the demand. These circumstances, together with a rapidly growing population competing for homes, account fully for the advance in rents. B ureau of S tatistics of L abor and I ndustries.— Under this title is presented a historical review o f the work of the various state bureaus o f labor statistics, with special reference to and detail o f that o f the New Jersey bureau, which has had an organization for thirty years. I ndustrial C hronology.—This record is for the year ending September 30, 1907. During the period there were 581 corporations organized in the State for industrial purposes, having an aggregate capitalization o f $88,750,500; 165 new buildings were erected and equipped for manufacturing purposes and 156 old plants more or less enlarged; 10 manufacturing plants were moved into New Jersey from other States (6 from New York and 4 from Pennsylvania); 18 manu facturing plants were permanently closed and 35 closed for a period ranging from two weeks to one month or over; 117 plants suffered from fire, some being totally destroyed, the losses of 108 reporting that item amounting to $2,217,717, all but a small part o f which was covered by insurance; there were 149 instances in which employees received an increase in wages (ranging from 2| to 15 per cent), and 4 firms reduced the hours o f weekly labor (five hours in 2 cases and three hours in 2 cases); 1,898 wage-earners (440 being railroad em ployees) were injured while at work, of which number 425 (180 being railroad employees) died from the injuries received; 162 strikes of greater or less duration occurred, 84 being for increase in wages, 4 for reduction o f working hours, 12 for increase of wages and reduc tion o f working hours combined, 11 against the employment of non union men, 7 for the reinstatement of discharged union men, and the remainder for various other causes. There were 34 new labor unions organized during the chronological period covered. In addition to these there was 1 organization o f women formed for the purpose of assisting, as far as possible, all labor unions and the members thereof by pledging themselves to buy only such goods as are the products o f union labor and to prevail upon their friends to do likewise. 934 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUREAU OF L A B O R . OHIO. Thirty-'first Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of Ohio, for the year 1907. M. D. Ratchford, Commissioner. 523 pp. This report consists of four parts in which are presented the follow ing subjects: Laws governing the bureau, laws to license and regu late private employment agencies, and recent court decisions, 13 pages; manufactures, 444 pages; coal mining, 20 pages; free public employment offices, 18 pages; chronology of labor bureaus, 3 pages. M anufactures.—Tables are given for 1906, showing, by industries, for each o f the five principal cities, the remaining cities and villages, and totals for the State, the number of establishments reported, cap ital invested, value o f goods manufactured, amount paid for rent, taxes, and insurance, total amount paid in wages, number and monthly pay o f salaried employees, number o f male and o f female wage-earners, number employed by occupations, and average number o f days worked, average daily wages, average yearly earnings, and average hours o f daily labor. Other tables show, by industries, the number in each occupation affected by a change o f wages during the year. The 9,337 establishments from which returns were received for 1906 reported an invested capital o f $494,559,455, and goods pro duced or manufactured to the value o f $1,008,535,149.22. Wages paid 358,292 males and 66,140 females, or a total of 424,432 wage-earners, aggregated $219,039,431.58, and salaries aggregating $44,240,675.16 were paid to 38,878 persons employed as superintendents, office help, etc. During the year 113,014 employees received an average increase in wages of 8.7 per cent, and 8,702 employees suffered an average reduction in wages of 5.2 per cent. The number of establishments reporting in 1906 was 823 more than in 1905, the value o f manufactured products was $134,836,655.62 more than that o f 1905, and the amount paid in wages during the year was increased by $29,062,032.35. The aggregate invested capital exceeded that reported for 1905 by $44,857,267, and the salaries paid superintendents, office help, etc., showed an increase of $5,732,229. C oal M in in g .— Tables are given, by counties, showing number of mines reporting, average number o f employees, capital invested, value o f production, wages and salaries paid, average daily wages, average yearly earnings, average days worked, average hours of daily labor, number in each occupation affected by a change o f wages during the year, etc. The following comparative table presents a summary o f mining statistics for the years 1905 and 1906: 935 R E P O R T S OF S T A T E B U R E A U S OF L A B O R -----O H IO . STATISTICS OF COAL MINING, 1905 AND 1906. 1905. Items. 1906. Increase (+) or decrease (—). 587 574 13 Number of mines reporting............................................... «37,673 b 42,080 + 4,407 Number of employees........................................................ 970 953 Number of salaried employees.......................................... 17 Invested capital.................................................................. $36,630,252.00 $35,761,855.00 - $868,397.00 Value of product................................................................. $24,986,266.90 $26,864,427.70 +$1,878,160.80 Amount paid for rent, taxes, and insurance.................... $610,508.94 $611,116.79 + $607.85 Amount paid in wages....................................................... $18,872,894.72 $19,467,843.63 + $594,948.91 Amount paid in salaries...................................................... $973,388.40 $989,840.76 + $16,452.36 2 Average days worked per employee................................. 171 173 $2/61 + Average daily wages per employee................................... $0.13 $2.48 $446.31 + Average yearly earnings per employee............................. $429.04 $17.27 Average hours of dailv work............................................. 8 8 Number affected by advance in wages............................. 164 40,634 + 40,470 2 Number affected by reduction in wages......................... 2 3.2 Average percent advance in wages.................................. 8.9 5.7 13.2 13.2 Average per cent reduction in wages................................ « Average for the year, taken from monthly returns. b Number for the year, taken from yearly returns. F ree P ublic E mployment O ffices.— In addition to a text report and an itemized statement of the expenses of each o f the five offices for the year ending October 31, 1907, tables are given showing, by years, the results of the operations of each office from date o f organi zation, and for each week of the period October 26, 1906, to October 31, 1907. The following table shows the operations o f the five free public em ployment offices o f the State for the period October 26,1906, to Octo ber 31,1907: OPERATIONS OF FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES, OCTOBER 26, 1906, TO OCTOBER 31, 1907. City. Cleveland...................................................... Columbus...................................................... Cincinnati..................................................... Dayton.......................................................... Toledo........................................................ Total................................................... Situations wanted. Help wanted. Positions secured. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. 4,935 2,462 4,030 4,215 3,223 18,865 3,274 2,442 1,989 2,778 1,782 12,265 6,894 4,863 3,724 4,211 4,850 24,542 4,370 3,605 2,266 5,146 2,220 17,607 4,703 2,353 3,661 3,720 2,767 17,204 3,151 2,364 1,679 2,719 1,425 11,338 Since the organization in 1890 o f the five free public employment offices there has been a total o f 464,109 applications for situations wanted, 434,396 applications for help wanted, and 292,627 positions secured. O f applications for situations 63.1 per cent were filled, and o f applications for help 67.3 per cent were filled. The expenses o f the five offices for the year ending October 31, 1907 (excluding salaries), were $2,292.90, of which the expenses of the Cleveland office were $507.37, the Columbus office $340.78, the Cincinnati office $507.05, the Dayton office $511.67, and the Toledo office $426.03. RECENT FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS. CH ILE. La Oficina de Estadistica del Trabajo. Obras Publicas. Ministerio de Industria i 75 pp. The Chilean ministry o f industry and public works publishes in this report an account o f the creation and initiatory work o f the office for the collection o f labor statistics, which has recently been organized as a branch o f that executive department. The pamphlet comprises three chapters, the first o f which is devoted to a considera tion o f the disturbed economic and industrial conditions resulting from the earthquake o f August 16, 1906, which occasioned a con siderable advance in the cost o f living and a general scarcity of labor due to the greatly increased activity in the building industry following that catastrophe. The chapter also enumerates the various measures employed by the minister o f industry and public works in furtherance o f his plan for the organization o f a bureau o f labor statistics, and includes the draft o f a law providing for such an office, which was submitted to the Chilean Congress on January 16, 1907, but upon which no action was taken. The second chapter gives an account of the creation by ministerial decree o f April 5, 1907, o f a bureau within the ministry o f industry and public works with the following functions, the task o f organiza tion being delegated to the chief of the division o f agricultural statistics: To collect, classify, and publish information relating to labor, par ticularly that employed in industrial establishments; to inquire into the number and class o f operatives employed in each industry and the number and class o f those whom the development of each industry would require; to ascertain the wages paid to workingmen, estimated by the day and by the hour; to collect information in regard to acci dents to labor; to study the length o f the working day and the general condition o f employment; to investigate the cost o f workingmen’s houses; and to undertake such other investigations as the Govern ment may desire to commit to its charge. A circular requesting information concerning the principal sub jects enumerated in the decree was addressed to the chief officials o f the several provinces and departments comprising the Republic, and from returns received tables were prepared which show for those subdivisions the number o f persons employed in industrial estab lishments, the average daily wages paid in various occupations and industries during the months o f November and December, 1906, in 936 937 FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS----CHILE. some instances figures for 1903 being also given by way o f compari son. From the information thus collected the total number of per sons industrially employed is estimated at 43,044. Copies o f the blanks used in the collection o f the data, together with the correspondence relating to that and other matters concerning the work o f the bureau, are reproduced in the report. The last chapter contains a discussion of the organization and functions o f bureaus of labor statistics in other countries and a brief statement o f the usefulness and importance o f the Chilean bureau. IT A L Y . I Lavoratori delle Miniere. Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio. Ufficio del Lavoro. Parte Prima, 287 pp. 1907. This report presents the results o f an investigation into the con dition o f the employees in the mines and quarries o f Italy, under taken in 1906, by the bureau o f labor o f the ministry o f agriculture, industry, and commerce at the request o f the Mine Labor Congress of 1904. The superior council o f labor in the same year expressed its approval o f such a study. The topics discussed are the age, conjugal condition, days lost on account o f sickness, daily wages, and occupa tions o f the workers. According to data published in the annual mineral statistics for 1905, the total number o f persons in the Kingdom in 1905 employed in mining was 63,996 and in quarrying 59,342. The age grouping o f employees in mines and quarries is shown in the following table : PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN MINES AND IN QUARRIES IN EACH AGE GROUP, AT THE BEGINNING OF 1906. Industry. Per cent of employees— Num ber of em 15 years 16 to 21 22 to 30 131 to 40 41 to 50 51 to 60 Over 60 ployees. oforage years years ■ years years years years under. of age. of age. of age. of age. of age. of age. Mining.................................................. 53,795 Quarrying............................................. 11,646 6.1 4.5 22.1 18.5 25.8 23.2 21.1 22.1 15.1 17.2 7.5 10.1 2.3 4.4 The largest percentage o f workers in mining is shown to be between the ages o f 22 and 30, with a rapid decrease in the number o f workers in the higher ages. In quarrying the distribution among the groups is more uniform, but also shows the same general features. 938 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR* The following table shows the results o f the investigation in regard to the conjugal condition o f the workers in the two industries: CONJUGAL CONDITION OF EMPLOYEES IN MINES AND IN QUARRIES, BY AGE GROUPS, AT THE BEGINNING OF 1906. Employees in quarries. Employees in mines. Age group. Num ber. 15 ywars or u n d e r ...................... * 16 to 21 years........................... 22 to 30 years........................... 31 to 40 years........................... 41 to 50 years........................... 51 to 60 years........................... Over 60 years.......................... Total............................. Per cent of— Wid Single. Married. owed. 3,161 100.0 11,116 96-. 6 12,582 60.6 10,375 19.3 7,514 10.0 7.4 3,765 1,182 5.8 49,695 49.5 3.4 39.1 79.4 87.1 87.2 83.5 49.0 0.3 1.3 2.9 5.4 10.7 1.5 Num ber. Per cent of— Wid Single. Married. owed. 572 100.0 2,144 95.2 2,705 47.6 2,579 11.8 2,008 8.1 1,184 6.5 515 5.8 11,707 38.1 4.7 51.6 86.6 88.8 86.9 81.9 59.5 o .i .8 1.6 3.0 6.6 12.2 2.3 The table indicates that there is an apparent tendency for mar riage to occur earlier in life among the quarry workers than among the mine workers. The number o f working days lost on account o f sickness during the year 1905 by the mine and quarry workers is as follow s: AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN MINES AND IN QUARRIES AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF WORKING DAYS LOST PER EMPLOYEE ON ACCOUNT OF SICKNESS, BY AGE GROUPS, 1905. Age group. 15 years or under............................................................................. 16 to 21 years................................................................................... 22 to 30 years.................................................................................... 31 to 40 years.................................................................................... 41 to 50 years.................................................................................... 51 to 60 years.................................................................................... Over 60 years......... ......................................................................... Total....................................................................................... Employees in mines. Employees in quarries. Average Number. Average Number. days lost. days lost. 1,984 7,581 9,114 7,479 5,363 2,577 800 34,898 3.7 4.6 6.0 6.7 6.9 9.5 9.3 6.2 185 705 906 890 765 437 206 4,094 7.9 7.9 7.8 8.6 9.0 13.6 10.2 9.0 While the total number of quarry workers investigated is much smaller than the number of mine workers, the data may, however, be regarded as representative. According to the preceding table, the rate o f sickness is uniformly higher for quarry workers for each o f the age groups. For both the mine and the quarry workers there is a general tendency to a higher sickness rate with increasing age. Both classes o f workers show a lower rate for the ages over 60, but this is probably due to special influences. The two following tables show by age groups the per cent o f workers in mines and in quarries receiving each classified daily rate FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS----ITALY, 939 o f wages at the beginning of the year 1906. The tables are based on data for 53,795 employees in mines and 11,646 employees in quarries. PER CENT OF MINE EMPLOYEES RECEIVING EACH CLASSIFIED DAILY RATE OF WAGES AT BEGINNING OF 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. Per cent of employees in each wage class— Daily wage rate. 15 to 31 to 41 to 51 to Over All years 16 to 3022years 40 years 50 years 60 years 60 years ages. of age or 21ofyears age. of age. of age. of age. of age. of age. under. 0.1 0.2 0.50 lira (10.097) or under................... 0.8 0.1 2.2 .3 0.51 lira (*0.098) to 0.75 lira ($0,145) .. 8.4 .2 0.1 0.1 0.1 7.3 1.0 1.2 0.76 lira (10.147) to 1.00 lira ($0,193) .. 28.1 .8 .9 2.7 1.01 lire ($0,195) to 1.25 lire ($0.241)... 27.1 13.0 1.9 1.0 .9 1.5 2.3 6.2 3.7 3.5 1.26 lire ($0,243) to 1.50 lire ($0.290)... 27.2 28.3 3.6 5.0 7.2 1.51 lire ($0,291) to 1.75 lire ($0.338)... 4.2 16.1 11.8 7.4 9.3 6.8 1.7(Uire ($0,340) to 2.00 lire ($0.386)... 2.4 13.5 19.1 15.9 15.7 17.1 17.8 .6 2.01 lire ($0,388) to 2.25 lire ($0.434)... 9.0 5.7 13.7 12.6 10.6 10.7 6.1 17.1 19.9 18.7 19.1 15.8 2.26 lire ($0,436) to 2.50 lire ($0.483)... .4 5.1 17.0 21.1 22.3 20.9 21.4 2.51 lire ($0,484) to 3.00 lire ($0.579)... .5 7.6 11.8 13.0 11.2 10.7 3.01 lire ($0,581) to 4.00 lire ($0.772)... 1.7 .3 .6 4.1 2.9 5.4 4.2 4.01 lire ($0,774) to 5.50 lire ($1.062)... 5.7 .2 1.1 5.51 lire ($1,063) to 7.00 lire ($1.351)... .8 1.3 1.1 .9 .1 .4 .5 7.01 lire ($1,353) or over....................... .7 .8 .5 Total........................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.1 1.1 4.1 5.6 11.2 10.1 15.4 10.1 14.6 15.4 7.9 3.1 .8 .5 100.0 PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN QUARRIES RECEIVING EACH CLASSIFIED DAILY RATE OF WAGES AT BEGINNING OF 1906, BY AGE GROUPS. Per cent of employees in each wage class— Daily wage rate. 15 years 16 to 22 to 31 to 41 to 51 to Over All of age or 21 years 30 years 40 years 50 years 60 years 60 years ages. under. of age. of age. of age. of age. of age. of age. 0.50 lira ($0,097) or under..................... 11.3 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.51 lira ($0,098) to 0.75 lira ($0.145)... 12.5 2.6 0.2 .8 .3 .3 0.76 lira($0,147) to 1.00 lira ($0.193)... 31.7 2.6 7.1 5.4 1.9 2.0 2.3 1.01 lire ($0,195) to 1.25 lire ($0.241)... 13.0 5.8 1.3 .9 1.2 1.0 3.7 1.26 lire ($0,243) to 1.50 lire ($0.290)... 12.9 11.5 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.9 7.5 1.51 lire ($0,291) to 1.75 lire ($0.338)... 5.9 4.0 2.4 4.2 6.9 4.4 5.7 1.76 lire ($6.34® to 2.00 lire ($0.386)... 4.6 16.2 7.0 7.3 7.1 7.8 12.4 2.01 lire ($0,388) to 2.25 lire ($0.434)... 1.5 8.1 5.8 6.1 5.4 7.5 8.3 2.26 lire ($0,436) to 2.50 lire ($0.483)... 2.5 13.3 12.5 12.1 12.0 12.8 14.5 2.51 lire ($0,484) to 3.00 lire ($0.579)... 2.7 15.7 25.9 21.4 22.0 23.9 21.9 3.01 lire ($0,581) to 4.00 lire ($0.772)... .8 11.6 32.6 35.1 32.3 27.6 18.2 7.2 8.8 2.5 3.5 4.01 lire ($0,774) to 5.50 lire ($1.062)... .4 5.8 .6 5.51 lire ($1,063) to 7.00 lire ($1.351)... .7 1.8 1.1 1.0 .4 .1 .5 7.01 lire ($1,353) or over....................... .1 .3 .5 .3 Total........................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.7 1.2 4.6 2.6 5.5 4.5 9.0 6.3 12.2 20.9 26.6 4.7 .9 .3 100.0 The table for mine workers shows that the most frequent rates for persons 15 years o f age or under are from 0.76 to 1.50 lire (14.7 to 29.0 cents) per day; for persons 16 to 21 years of age the most fre quent rates are from 1.01 to 2.00 lire (19.5 to 38.6 cents) per day; for persons 22 to 30 years of age the most frequent rates are from 1.51 to 3.00 lire (29.1 to 57.9 cents) per day; for persons 31 to 40 years of age the most frequent rates are from 1.76 to 4.00 lire (34.0 to 77.2 cents) per day, and the same rates occur most frequently for persons over 40 years o f age, though there is a tendency to a decrease in the 940 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR, ages over 60. For all mine workers the most frequent rates are from 1.26 to 3.00 lire (24.3 to 57.9 cents) per day. The table for quarry workers shows that the higher wage rates occur more frequently than in the case o f the mine workers. For persons 15 years of age or under the rates from 0.50 lira (9.7 cents) or under to 1.50 lire (29.0 cents) occur for over 80 per cent of the work ers; for persons 16 years to 21 years of age the most frequent rates are from 1.26 to 4.00 lire (24.3 to 77.2 cents) per day; for persons 22 years to 60 years or over there is a tendency for uniformity in rates, 2.26 to 4.00 lire (43.6 to 77.2 cents) per day being the predominating rates. The same rates also predominate for all the quarry workers. The following table shows the distribution o f the mine workers among the various occupations, as well as the number of days worked and the average wages. NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED IN MINING IN EACH OCCUPATION, AVERAGE DAYS WORKED, AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGES RECEIVED IN EACH OCCU PATION, 1905. Average number of persons employed. Occupation. Females. 862 492 95 628 1,564 1,410 15,885 13,391 1,494 25 727 8 36,573 313 306 323 297 314 239 253 268 250 281 265 $0.66 48 160 1,208 342 296 283 285 277 284 287 302 261 269 280 304 278 278 327 283 277 .54 .52 .69 1,075 31 104 1,769 1,237 14,857 682 660 94 707 409 292 26 1,729 6,359 888 2,146 147 295 1,076 31 1,921 17,462 .55 .39 .71 .36 .43 .24 .33 .34 .43 .52 .43 .43 4,093 48,566 160 1,216 54,035 269 .43 37 2,776 43 2,856 2 8 56 28 3 19 740 267 6 3 1 862 492 95 628 1,527 1,410 15,885 10,607 1,494 25 684 33,709 671 652 94 651 381 289 26 1,710 5,473 843 102 202 00 Workers below ground: Overseers, foremen, etc................... Pumpmen....................................... Engineers, firemen, etc................... Timbermen, etc............................... Masons and helpers.......................... Miners, maintenance men, etc....... Miners, pick .men, drill men........... Laborers, carrying boys, trammers. Engine tenders, brakemen, etc....... Sifters................................................ Miscellaneous................................... Total. Workers above ground: Overseers, foremen, watchmen, etc........... Engineers, nremen, pump men................. Machinists, lathe men, etc......................... Blacksmiths, fitters, apprentices............... Masons and helpers..................................... Carpenters and apprentices...................... . Road men, etc............................................. Pick men, drill men.................................... Laborers, carrier boys, trammers, furnace men........................................................... Engine tenders, brakemen, etc................. . Sifters........................................................... Screeners...................................................... Washery workers........................................ Kiln men, etc.............................................. Weigh men................................................. . Miscellaneous............................................... Total. Workers below ’ground and workers above ground............................................................. Aver Average number of days Under 15years Under 15 years Total. worked. 15 years of age 15 years of age of age. or over. of age. or over. Males. 9 13 146 1 133 890 39 89 .33 .55 .52 .37 .43 .32 .43 .37 .42 .44 The largest number of workers was employed as miners, pick men, etc., and as laborers. The average number o f days worked by both 941 FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS--- ITALY. below ground and above ground workers was 269, with a slightly higher number for the above ground workers. The same data are given in the following table for the quarry workers: NUMBER OF PERSONS EMPLOYED IN QUARRIES IN EACH OCCUPATION, AVER AGE DAYS WORKED, AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGES RECEIVED IN EACH OCCUPATION, 1905. Average number of persons employed. Aver- Avernumber of days Under 15 years Under 15 years Total. worked. 15years of age 15 years of age of age. or over. of age. or over. ' Females. Occupation. Superintendents, contractors. Foremen, bosses, etc............... Carpenters................................ Masons...................................... Machinists................................ Blacksmiths, etc...................... Firemen................................... Miners...................................... Quarrymen.............................. Laborers................................... Apprentices.............................. Clearers, diggers, etc................ Chiselers, squarers................... Carters, loaders, etc................. Stone breakers, etc.................. Kiln men.................................. Miscellaneous........................... Total. 26 99 208 23 6 4 71 444 659 37 21 28 64 117 33 1,341 4,169 2,483 287 58 1,878 466 58 40 650 12,389 4 11 15 16 20 26 52 37 21 28 64 124 33 1,341 4,195 2,597 495 58 1,901 487 62 763 12,905 249 266 275 244 253 246 268 243 233 242 243 266 239 243 240 245 209 238 $0.81 .58 .56 .52 .62 .58 .44 .55 .56 .44 .25 .47 .61 .49 .53 .36 .49 .53 The occupations in which the largest number of workers was en gaged were miners, quarrymen, laborers and chiselers, etc. The aver age number o f days worked was 238. Salari ed Orari nei Lavori Edilizi, Stradali, Idraulici e di Bonifica, 1906. Ufficio del Lavoro, Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio. 1907. I l l pp. Since October, 1905, the bureau o f labor o f the Italian department o f agriculture, industry, and commerce has conducted monthly in quiries into the amount, character, and conditions o f labor performed upon the various kinds o f construction and repair work carried on by or on behalf o f the State. This information is collected through the offices o f the government, engineers charged with the direction of the work. The present report shows the wages and hours of labor o f the different classes o f employees for the year 1906. The volume com prises three chapters of descriptive matter, followed by a detailed tabular presentation of the data gathered, the latter being arranged by occupations and localities. The first chapter contains a general account o f the plan and scope of the inquiry and o f the method em ployed in the collection o f the information. The second chapter relates to wages and hours o f labor in general and contains a table 942 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. showing, by months and by localities, the usual length o f the workday in a number o f specified occupations. The third chapter is devoted to a consideration o f the wages paid and working time most generally observed upon public works in each of the 16 principal subdivisions o f the Kingdom. An appendix shows, for the same territorial groups, the aggregate days o f work during each month o f the year 1906, classified by char acter o f the enterprise and occupation o f the persons employed. RU SSIA. Ckislennost i Sostav rabochikh v Rossii na osnovanii clannykh pervoi vseobshehei perepisi naselenia Rossiiskoi Imperii 1897 goda (Num ber and distribution of wage-workers in Russia, based upon the data of the first general census of population of the Russian Empire in 1897). Prepared according to the requests o f the Ministries of Finance and o f Commerce and Industry, and published by the Ministry o f Interior. 2 vols., xx, 300; 600 pp. St. Petersburg, 1906. This report includes a detailed analysis o f the data relating to wage-workers employed in Russian industry and commerce, according to the first Russian census o f 1897, and in less detail to the wage workers employed in agriculture and other branches o f rural indus try, in personal and domestic service, and to unskilled (common) laborers. It represents the results o f an effort to study the wage earning class as distinguished from salaried employees in Russia, and is o f the utmost importance in any study o f labor conditions in that country. The reports o f the first Russian census o f 1897, published in 1905, contain tables showing the distribution o f the population by ^occu pation and also analyzing these data by nationality, religion, age, educational standard, etc. In addition the original schedule also contained the question as to the economic status o f the individual, i. e., whether the person was an independent producer, employer, salaried employee, or wage-worker. It may be added that in view o f the low level o f wages the distinction between a salaried employee and a wage-worker is much more definite in Russia than it is in the United States. The elaboration o f the data showing the distribu tion o f the population according to economic status was not under taken, however, because o f the expense. After the publication of the general census reports, the ministry o f finance, in view o f the growing importance o f the labor problem, suggested the desirability o f a report on the wage-earners in manufacturing, mining, transpor tation, construction, and commerce. The report was prepared through the cooperation o f the ministry o f interior, o f which the central statistical commission (intrusted with the entire work of the first FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONSJ— RUSSIA. 943 census) is a part, the ministry o f finance, and the ministry o f com merce and industry, the latter having been organized in 1905. To this very exhaustive statistical report briefer data were added con cerning the agricultural wage-workers, common laborers, and em ployees in domestic service, thus furnishing material for the study of the entire wage-earning class. This report consists mainly o f three general tables relating to the wage-workers o f the first group (manufactures, mining, transporta tion, commerce, etc.). Table I shows the total number o f wage workers and o f children under 15 years, by sex, for each industry and by the larger geographical divisions and separate provinces (93 pages). Table I I shows the distribution of the wage-workers, by sex, conjugal condition, and size o f family for each o f 28 industrial groups and each geographical division and province (144 pages), Table I I I is the most elaborate, occupying 50 pages in the first volume and the entire 600 pages of the second volume. It shows the wage workers by sex and age groups, and under age and sex groups, the number o f literates for each industry (classified by 28 principal indus tries and by 149 branches of those industries) and for each province. The data for the other wage-earning groups are stated briefly in 12 pages, giving total number and distribution by age, sex, and large geographical division, and using a very simple classification o f 10 groups. The following table shows the number o f wage-earners in Russia by sex, main industry groups, and geographical divisions: NUMBER OF WAGE-EARNERS BY SEX, MAIN INDUSTRY GROUPS, AND GEO G R A P H IC A L D IV IS IO N S , 1897. Industry and sex. Mining, manufacturing, transporta tion, and commerce: Male................................................. Female............................................. Total............................................. Agricultural pursuits: Male................................................. Female............................................. Total............................................. Common laborers: Male................................................. Female............................................. Total............................................. Servants: Male................................................. Female............................................. Total............................................ All occupations: Male................................................. Female............................................. Total............................................ European Russia. Wage-earners in each group in— Total wageCau Siberia. Middle earners. Poland. casus. Asia. 37,484 2,776,503 936 . 445,062 38,420 3,221,565 2,254,099 384,079 2,638,178 259,871 118,390 106,659 4,540 4,328 51,179 311,050 122,930 110,987 1,281,626 554,376 1,836,002 297,711 159,620 124,134 106,362 1,969,453 142,890 21,413 29,911 4,580 753,170 440,601 181,033 154,045 110,942 2,722,623 479,307 206,558 685,865 593,434 1,054,304 1,647,738 4,608,466 2,199,317 6.807.783 103,415 90,491 50,477 12,253 153,892 102,744 55,442 12,415 67,857 80,771 809,426 3,719 285,422 84,490 1,094,848 95,553 177,931 273,484 25,419 44,611 70,030 16,564 776,601 13,639 1,336,034 30,203 2,112,635 45,631 45,549 91,180 756,550 414,132 311,654 241,181 6,331,983 422,477 83,755 91,265 22,874 2,819,688 1.17 9 .0 2 7 497,887 402,919 264,055 9,151,671 1 944 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR. The total number o f wage-earners, as determined by this investiga tion, was 9,151,671, o f whom 69.2 per cent were male and 30.8 per cent female. In the table is shown the distribution of these wage-earners by sex, main industry groups, and geographical divisions. The wageearners engaged in mining, manufacture, transportation, and com merce constituted 35.2 per cent, the agricultural laborers 29.7 per cent, the common or unskilled laborers 12.0 per cent, and the servants 23.1 per cent. The greatest proportion o f wage-earners were in European Eussia, with 74.4 per cent, and Poland, with 12.9 per cent, leaving only 12.7 per cent for the entire expanse o f Asiatic Eussia and the Caucasus. I f the industrial wage-earners alone (those employed in mining, manufacturing, transportation, and commerce) are taken into consideration, a still smaller portion was found in Asiatic Eussia and Caucasus, as European Eussia had 81.9 per cent, Poland 9.7 per cent, Caucasus 3.8 per cent, Siberia 3.4 per cent, and Middle Asia 1.2 per cent. Women constituted a very important element in the wage-earning population o f Eussia, namely, over 30 per cent. Naturally the great est number o f women wage-earners belonged to the servant group, o f which they constituted 63.3 per cent, while of the agricultural laborers 27.7 per cent were women, o f the unskilled laborers 26.1 per cent, and in industrial pursuits 15.8 per cent. The degree o f participation o f women in separate industries is shown in greater detail in the following table, from which the nature o f the wage-work o f women can be better studied: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF WAGE-EARNERS OF EACH SEX, BY INDUSTRIES, 1897. Industry. Total wageearners. Males. Number. Percent. Number. Percent. Mining: Miners............................................................ 163,738 155,020 42,638 40,940 Smelters......................................................... Total........................................................... 206,376 195,960 Manufacturing: Textiles.......................................................... 530,138 310,439 74,270 Animal products........................................... 71,246 Wood working.............................................. 173,043 166,295 Metal working............................................... 370,933 364,720 83,138 Minerals.......................................................... 74,469 61,094 Chemical products........................................ 45,247 Beverages— Alcoholic liquors..................................... 38,723 36,918 Other...................................................... 4,220 4,035 Food products............................................... 194,703 183,941 27,994 Tobacco.......................................................... 10,620 Paper and printing....................................... 52,175 46,550 Instruments................................................... 7,722 8,030Jewelry, etc.................................................... 25,767 25,213 Clothing..........................................................i 326,470 256,889 Building......................................................... 345,724 345,724 Carriages and wooden boats......................... 8,793 8,768 Other............................................................. 65,357 54,029 Total........................................................... 2,390,572 2,012,825 Females. 94.7 96.0 95.0 8,718 1,698 10,416 5.3 4.0 5.0 58.6 95.9 96.1 98.3 89.6 741 95.3 95.6 945 37.9 89.2 96.2 97.8 78.7 100.0 99.7 82.7 84.2 219,699 3,024 6,748 6,213 8,669 15,847 1,805 185 10,762 17,374 5,625 308 554 69,581 25 11,328 377,747 41.4 41 3.9 1.7 10.4 25.9 47 4.4 5.5 62.1 10.8 3.8 2.2 21.3 .3 17.3 15.8 945 FOREIGN STATISTICAL PUBLICATIONS— BUSSIA. NUMBER AND PER CENT OF WAGE-EARNERS OF EACH SEX, BY INDUSTRIES, 1897— Concluded. Industry. Transportation: Post, telegraph, and telephone.................... Water transportation__*............................. Railroads...*.................................................. Carting........................................................... Otherr........................................................... Total........................................................... Commercial pursuits: Commerce...................................................... Hotels, restaurants, etc................................ Liquor trade.................................................. Cleaning, laundry work, etc....................... Total........................................................... Agricultural pursuits, etc.: Agriculture.................................................... Cattle raising................................................. Forestry......................................................... Other rural industries.................................. F ish in g and hunting..................................... Total........................................................... Common (unskilled) laborers............................. Servants: In institutions.............................................. In factories, etc............*............................... House servants (janitors, etc.)..................... Domestic servants......................................... Total........................................................... Grand total................................................ Total wageearners. Males. Females. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. 5,463 44,141 175,246 118,423 25,756 369,029 5,439 43,885 162,784 117,761 25,391 355,260 99.6 99.4 92.9 99.4 98.6 96.3 24 256 12,462 662 365 13,769 7.1 .6 1.4 3.7 118,787 76,970 17,336 42,495 255,588 113,171 72,266 15,270 11,751 212,458 95.3 93.9 88.1 27.7 83.1 5,616 4,704 2,066 30,744 43,130 4.7 6.1 11.9 72.3 16.9 2,132,899 1,467,302 411,817 341,596 83,404 84,714 44,820 57,990 32,331 35,203 2,722,623 1,969,453 1,094,848 809,426 68.8 82.9 98.5 77.3 91.8 72.3 73.9 665,597 70,221 1,310 13,170 2,872 753,170 285,422 31.2 17.1 1.5 22.7 8.2 27.7 26.1 167,240 142,706 226,743 205,720 160,089 162,053 1,556,599 268,086 776,601 2,112,635 6,330,983 9,151,671 24,534 85.3 21,023 90.7 1,964 98.8 17.2 1,288,513 36.7 1,336,034 69.2 2,819,688 14.7 9.3 1.2 82.8 63.3 30.8 .4 .6 O f all the wage-earning women, domestic servants constituted 45.7 per cent, agricultural laborers 23.6 per cent, common laborers 10.1 per cent, textile workers 7.8 per cent, those employed in cattle rais ing 2.5 per cent, in manufacture o f clothing 2.5 per cent, and in all other industries 7.8 per cent, so that in 6 industries were over 90 per cent o f the female wage-earners. Looking at the same facts from the point of view o f the proportion between male and female workers, women were found to predominate in domestic service, comprising 82.8 per cent o f all persons employed in this occupation, while other classes o f servants showed a very small proportion o f women. In cleaning, laundry work, etc., the proportion of women, 72.3 per cent, was almost as great; but somewhat surprising was the very high per cent of women, 62.1 per cent, in the tobacco industry and 41.4 per cent in the textile industry, while in agricultural and other unskilled labor the proportions were lower, being 31.2 per cent and 26.1 per cent, respectively. Female labor was also important in the manu facture of chemical products (soap, candles, matches) and in the clothing industry. It was very limited in mining, in transportation, and in commerce. 946 BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF LABOR. The number of children employed under 15 years o f age of each sex, and the proportion to the total number o f persons employed, are given in the next table: NUMBER OF WAGE-EARNERS UNDER 15 YEARS OF AGE AND PER CENT OF TOTAL WAGE-EARNERS, BY SEX AND INDUSTRIES, 1897. Children under 15 years of age. Industry. Mining: Miners................................................................... Smelters................................................................ Total.................................................................. Manufacturing: Textiles................................................................ Animal products.................................................. Wood working..................................................... Metal working...................................................... Minerals................................................................ Chemical products............................................... Beverages— Alcoholic liquors........................................... Other............................................................. Food products...................................................... Tobacco................................................................ Paper and printing.............................................. Instruments.......................................................... Jewelry, etc.......................................................... Clothing.......................................................... Building............................................................... Carriages and wooden boats............................... Other.................................................................... Total.................................................................. Transportation: Post, telegraph, and telephone........................... Water transportation.......................................... Railroads.............................................................. Carting.................................................................. Other.................................................................... Total.................................................................. Commercial pursuits: Commerce............................................................. Hotels, restaurants, etc....................................... Liquor trade......................................................... Cleaning, laundry work, etc............................... Total.................................................................. Agricultural pursuits, etc.: Agriculture........................................................... Cattle raising........................................................ Forestry................................................................ Other rural industries.......................................... Fishing and hunting............................................ Total.................................................................. Common (unskilled) laborers.................................... Servants: In institutions...................................................... In factories, etc..................................................... House servants (janitors, etc.)........................... Domestic servants................................................ Total.................................................................. Grand total....................................................... Total wageearners. 163,738 42,638 206,376 Males. Females. Total. 1,522 521 2,043 530,138 9,152 74,270 3,444 173,043 9,758 370,933 14,475 83,138 3,435 61,094 920 38,723 268 4,220 80 6,453 194,703 27,994 625 4,650 52,175 1,125 8,030 25,767 3,977 326,470 40,535 345,724 5,197 592 8,793 684 65,357 2,390,572 105,370 238 46 284 Per cent of total wageearners. 1,760 567 2,327 1.1 1.3 1.1 7,835 16,987 236 3,680 501 10,259 327 14,802 792 4,227 658 1,578 41 309 4 84 520 6,973 1,170 1,795 880 5,530 31 1,156 74 4,051 17,606 58,141 5,197 i 593 309 993 30,985 136,355 3.2 4.1 5.9 4.0 5.0 2.6 .8 2.0 3.6 6.4 10.6 14.4 15.7 17.8 1.5 6.7 1.5 5.7 ,7 .3 .2 .7 .3 .4 5,463 44,141 175,246 118,423 25,756 369,029 42 160 273 858 70 1,403 3 55 15 2 75 42 163 328 873 72 1,478 118,787 76,970 17,336 42,495 255,588 18,176 5,362 1,533 1,062 26,133 520 107 77 620 1,324 18,696 5,469 1,610 1,682 27,457 36,705 107,923 30,756 123,271 44 951 1,225 2,428 96 708 68,826 235,281 8,011 23,672 15.7 7.1 9.3 4.0 10.7 ■ 5.1 29.9 1.1 4.2 2.8 8.7 2.2 178 1,289 1,111 167,240 916 3,279 226,743 2,363 98 1,385 162,053 1,287 1,556,599 14,182 154,615 168,797 2,112,635 18,943 155,807 174,750 9,151,671 336,008 265,312 601,320 .8 1.4 .9 10.8 8.3 6.6 2,132,899 71,218 411,817 92,515 84,714 907 57,990 1,203 25,203 612 2,712,623 166,455 1,094,848 15,661 F O R E IG N 947 S T A T IS T IC A L P U B L I C A T I O N S -----R U S S IA , The total number of wage-earning children under 15 years of age was 601,320, or 6'.6 per cent of the total wage-earners. O f this num ber 336,008, or 56 per cent, were boys. The classes o f domestic service, agricultural labor, and cattle raising numbered 399,991, or 66.5 per cent of all the children. Domestic service was the main occupation o f the girls, employing 58.3 per cent, and agriculture and cattle rais ing the main occupation o f the boys, employing 48.7 per cent. In manufactures children constituted 5.7 per cent of the total number o f wage-earners. The principal manufacturing industries employing child labor were clothing, textiles, metal working, wood working, food products, and paper and printing, named in the order of their importance as to the numbers employed. The age distribution o f the industrial workers is shown by sex, con jugal condition, and the educational standard in the following table: NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE WAGE-EARNERS AND PER CENT MARRIED AND LITERATE, BY INDUSTRY AND AGE GROUPS, 1S97. Males. Industry and age. Total. Mining, manufacturing, transporta tion, and commerce: 33,240 12 years or under........................... 13 to 14 years................................... 101,709 15 to 16 years................................... 195,077 17 to 19 years................................... 361,747 20 to 39 years................................... 1,519,096 40 to 59 years................................... 494,506 69,733 60 years or over............................... 1,395 Age unknown.................................. Total............................................. 2,776,503 Agricultural pursuits: 77,400 12 years 13 to 14 yoora under............................ rs................................ .......... 89,055 141,509 15 to 16 years................................... 257,862 17 to 19 years................................... 20 to 39 years................................... 897,103 40 to 59 years................................... 389,495 60 years or over............................... 115,316 1,713 Age unknown.................................. Total............................................. 1,969,453 Common laborers: 6,077 12 years or under........................... 9,584 13 to 14 years................................... 24,523 15 to 16 years................................... 59,611 17 to 19 years................................... 412,992 20 to 39 years................................... 40 to 59 years................................... 227,185 68,344 60 years or over............................... 1,110 Age unknown.................................. 809,426 Total............................................. Servants: 12 years or under........................... 7,606 11,337 13 to 14 years................................... 22,500 15 to 16 years................................... 55,692 17 to 19 years................................... 20 to 39 years................................... 384,763 40 to 59 years................................... 206,452 87,289 60 years or over............................... 962 Age unknown.................................. Total.............................................| 776,601 63675— No. 79— 09------ 21 Females. Per cent Per cent married. literate. Total. Per cent Per cent married. literate. 0.1 4.5 63.6 83.2 68.7 41.4 51.9 54.5 69.5 69.6 65.6 55.4 42.1 33.7 37.9 55.4 9,917 22,761 47,335 81,369 215,685 59,584 8,226 185 445,062 0.9 8.7 54.0 45.8 17.4 41.6 34.3 40.6 56.2 47.5 39.8 25.4 13.3 15.3 23.8 30.5 .2 2.8 54.1 77.1 65.6 30.9 44.1 21.3 28.4 28.6 31.5 25.9 24.5 22.5 18.1 26.3 31,875 36,951 67,394 124,887 309,084 145,306 37,184 489 753,170 .5 5.3 40.6 38.0 19.6 19.0 25.9 22.7 28.1 27.8 31.7 33.2 24.1 23.5 17.4 29.5 .5 3.8 59.8 77.6 69.6 18.6 58.5 13.0 26.1 29.5 34.8 30.8 24.4 17.9 12.9 27.9 2,976 5,035 13,344 26,346 113,155 96,184 28,150 232 285,422 1.0 7.7 43.6 29.2 13.5 22.0 29.3 9.8 15.1 16.4 17.5 15.0 11.2 10.3 12.9* 13.0 .6 4.8 64.9 82.5 66.1 46.6 61.9 27.5 68,840 47.4 86,967 49.6 131,950 50.0 213,943 540,111 51.0 40.9 218,643 74,096 29.7 40.2 1,484 45.5 1,336,034 .3 3.5 30.3 25.9 10.4 16.6 17.7 13.8 21.4 24.1 27.7 27.8 15.4 11.0 17.7 23.3 948 B U L L E T IN OF THE BUREAU OF L A B O R . There is a considerable difference in the age distribution of the two sexes for employees engaged in industrial pursuits (mining, manu facturing, transportation, and commerce). O f the male employees o f known ages 24.9 per cent were under 20 years of age, and of the females 86.3 per cent; 54.8 per cent o f the males, and 48.5 per cent of the females were from 20 to 39 years o ld ; 20.3 per cent of the males, and 15.2 per cent o f the females were 40 years old or over. Hired labor o f aged women is not therefore an unusual occurrence. A com parison o f the number o f married o f each sex shows a large propor tion o f married women as wage-workers; of all female employees 34.3 per cent were married, and of those 15 years o f age or over, 37.0 per cent. O f the female employees 20 to 39 years old, 54.0 per cent were married. This is partly explained by the frequency of husband and wife being employed in the same factories, which furnish lodgings to their married employees. The male employees have a higher educational standard than the female employees, as 55.4 per cent o f all male employees and only 30.5 per cent o f the female employees could read and write. The younger employees show a much higher percentage o f literacy than the older generation, which indicates a marked improvement o f edu cational facilities. Among the male employees of known ages in agriculture and rural industries 28.8 per cent were under 20 years of age, as against 24.9 per cent in industrial pursuits; the unskilled labor group had 12.3 per cent under 20 years o f age; among the male servants the propor tion was 12.5 per cent. It is characteristic that the highest percentage o f literacy is not shown by the youngest age groups, but by the group 17 to 19 years; many o f the agricultural or unskilled laborers evi dently acquired the ability to read and write at a more advanced age than the industrial workers who live in the cities. F O R E IG N 949 S T A T IS T IC A L P U B L I C A T I O N S -----R U S S IA . The following table shows the household relations for the four large groups o f wage-earners: NUMBER AND PER CENT OF WAGE-EARNERS LIVING ALONE, AS MEMBERS OF FAMILIES, AND AS HEADS OF FAMILIES, BY SEX, 1897. Industry and relation to household. Mining, manufacturing, transpor tation, and commerce: Living alone................................. Living as members of a family.. Head of family............................. Total......................................... Agricultural pursuits: Living alone................................. Living as members of a family.. Head of family............................. Total......................................... Common laborers: Living alone................................. Living as members of a family.. Head of family............................. Total.......................................... Servants: Living alone................................. Living as members of a family.. Head of family............................. Total.......................................... All classes: Living alone................................. Living as members of a family.. Head of family............................. Total.......................................... Males. Females. Total. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. 1,622,448 461,005 693,050 2,776,503 58.4 16.6 25.0 100.0 217,488 197,837 29,737 445,062 48.9 1,839,936 44.4 658,842 722,787 6.7 100.0 3,221,565 57.1 20.5 22.4 100.0 1,175,899 275,944 517,610 1,969,453 59.7 14 0 20.3 100.0 419,483 255,893 77,794 753,170 55.7 1,595,382 34.0 531,837 10.3 595,404 100.0 2,722,623 58.6 19.5 21.9 100.0 325,622 143,734 340,070 809,426 40.2 17.8 42.0 100.0 113,518 105,310 66,594 285,422 39.8 439,140 36.9 249,044 23.3 406,664 100.0 1,094,848 40.1 22.8 37.1 100.0 483,106 35,139 258,356 776,601 62.2 1,247,357 72,846 4.5 15,831 33.3 100.0 1,336,034 93.4 1,730,463 5.4 107,985 1.2 274,187 100.0 2,112,635 81.9 5.1 13.0 100.0 3,607,075 915,822 1,809,086 6,331,983 57.0 1,997,846 14.4 631,886 28.6 189,956 100.0 2,819,688 70.9 22.4 6.7 100.0 5,604,921 1,547,708 1,999,042 9,151,671 61.3 16.9 21.8 100.0 The interesting fact brought out by this table is the very large pro portion o f wage-earners living alone, namely, 57 per cent o f the male workers, and 70.9 per cent o f the female workers (the latter figure including all the female servants living in the home o f the em ployer); 14.4 per cent o f the male wage-earners and 22.4 per cent o f the female wage-earners lived at home as members of the family, the latter figure including the working women living with their husbands. The re maining 28.6 per cent o f men and 6.7 per cent o f women were living in their own households as heads of families. Thus the number o f males living as heads of families, 1,809,086, was much smaller than the number o f married men, 3,264,930, indicating a very large number o f married men living apart from their families. This condition is partly explained by the fact that many workingmen’s wives remain in the agricultural villages while their husbands are employed else where; in many such cases the workingmen have not altogether sev ered their connection with their families. An examination o f similar data for each large group o f wage-earners shows this condition to be particularly common among the industrial workers. OPINIONS OP THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL ON QUESTIONS AFFECT ING LABOR. [I t is one o f tlie duties o f the Attorney-General o f the United States to fur nish opinions advising the President and the heads o f the executive departments in relation to their official duties when such advice is requested. Opinions on questions affecting labor w ill be noted from time to time under the above head.] E i g h t - H o u r L a w — A p p l i c a t i o n to L o c k T e n d e r s , e t c .— Advance sheets, 26 Op., page 605.— The Secretary o f War addressed an inquiry to the Attorney-General “ as to whether certain classes of employees, variously designated as lock masters, lock keepers, lock helpers, lockmen, watchmen, firemen, enginemen, stokers, teamsters, etc.,” are mechanics or laborers within the meaning o f the eight-hour law of August 1, 1892. The reply is reproduced practically in fu ll: It seems from the inclosed memorandum that, at certain locks and dams, persons are employed whose duties are performed at irregu lar hours and do not require their attention for eight hours in the calendar day. These employees are liable to be called upon at any hour in the day for a service lasting but a few minutes; but, as a fact, the whole sum o f the time in which they are engaged is but a fraction o f eight hours. The rest o f the day is entirely their own. The question is whether the service and employment o f such persons, under such circumstances, is legal and proper within the limit and restriction o f the statute. As to laborers employed in a similar manner, I refer you to what was said by my predecessor, Attorney-General Moody (26 Op., 6 7 ): “ But I think that the eight-hour day means eight hours o f effective labor, and therefore so far as your questions present the case o f laborers and mechanics who, from the exigencies of the situation, must wait until after the completion o f the regular day to finish their work, I am o f the opinion that the blasting, cleaning o f trucks, repair o f machinery, and all other similar work essential to prompt and continuous service in the regular day may be legally done before and after the regular hours. To be more specific, laborers and mechanics who are called upon to do two hours’ work, for example, before or after the regular day begins or ends have no just cause for complaint that the law is violated if they are only called upon to work six more hours during the regular hours. The law gives no countenance to the conception that the interval between the beginning and end o f the regular day is a controlling convention which excludes labor at any other time and entitles workmen to stand around idle if their services can not be fully availed o f during that interval. The law limits the working day to eight hours, but it does not prescribe in what hours o f the day the work shall be done. Practically, no doubt, there should be a real necessity, as is obviously the case here, 950 O P IN IO N S OF A T T O R N E Y -G E N E R A L O N L A B O R Q U E S T IO N S . 951 for work during other hours than the regular day; and there should be scrutiny and care lest abuses arise which, however, the right o f contract, subject to the law, between laborer and employer ought to prevent.” The cases mentioned in the memorandum o f the Judge-AdvocateGeneral come fully within these principles. Under the Cincinnati office are included locks on the Muskingum, Kentucky, and B ig Sandy rivers. The employees live at the locks, in Government houses, and none is required to work an aggregate time in excess o f eight hours though they are subject to call. A t Milwaukee are included 21 locks at canals o f Fox River; the number o f lockages averaging less than 2 per day and rarely exceed ing 8 for the twenty-four hours. Other localities at which similar conditions prevail were mentioned, and the opinion continues: In these cases to require that a sufficient number o f men should be employed to prevent any o f them from being liable to duty except within a determined and arbitrary period of eight continuous hours would be to put an unreasonable construction upon the statute. It would recognize a favored condition o f employment not intended by the law. A familiar rule is, that where a particular construction o f a statute will occasion great inconvenience or produce inequality and injustice, that view is to be avoided, i f another and more reasonable interpreta tion is present in the statute. Other instances mentioned in the memorandum are upon different footing. A t places under the control o f the Pittsburg office men are sometimes required to work more than eight hours “ when dam is being raised or lowered; ” and the service is one “ requiring skill and training and could not safely be entrusted to inexperienced men.” This does not make a case o f extraordinary emergency. The act includes skilled as well as unskilled workmen. The need is for more men; not for the employment during more hours. At other places, employees are classed as watchmen, dam tenders, custodians, etc. With respect to the legal status o f such employees under the eight-hour law, it is impossible to speak with certainty without very full information as to the nature of their employment. E ig h t -H our L aw —A p p l i c a t i o n to W atchm en, M e s s e n g e r s , e t c .— Advance sheets, 26 Op., page 623.—The Secretary of W ar submitted an inquiry as to the application o f the eight-hour law to employees stationed at Washington, D. C., and engaged in certain described duties, to which inquiry the Attorney-General replied as follows: 1. I am o f opinion that “ a watchman, whose duty is to watch the entrance o f one o f the public buildings occupied by the War Depart ment, executing instructions with regard to admitting persons into the building and permitting public property to be taken out o f the building, reporting to his chief any violation o f law, disturbance o f the peace, etc., that may be brought to his attention, or to guard the 952 B U L L E T IN OF T H E BUKEAU OF LABO R. building and property therein during the night,” is not either a laborer or mechanic within the meaning of the eight-hour law. 2. I am o f opinion that “ a laborer, whose duty is to perform manual labor in the removal of furniture and office fixtures, cutting grass, washing floors and windows, and general office cleaning,” is not a laborer within the meaning of the eight-hour law. The serv ices required seem to be more those of a domestic servant than those of a laborer in the usual meaning o f the term. 3. I am o f opinion that a hostler, “ whose duty is to feed, drive, and care for horses, and to clean carriages, harness, and stables,” is rather a domestic servant than a laborer within the meaning of the eighthour law, and therefore not subject to the provisions of that law. 4. I am o f opinion that a “ messenger, whose duty is to sweep floors and do general office cleaning, attend to fires, and carry mes sages,” is not a laborer or mechanic within the meaning o f the eighthour law. DECISIONS OP COURTS AFFECTING LABOR. [E xcept in cases o f special interest, the decisions here presented are restricted to those rendered by the Federal courts and the higher courts o f the States and Territories. Only material portions o f such decisions are reproduced, introduc tory and explanatory matter being given in the w ords o f the editor. Decisions under statute law are indexed under the proper headings in the cum ulative index, page 1005 et seq.] DECISION S U N D E R STA TU T E L AW . E mployers’ L iability — E mployment of C hildren — V iolation of S tatute— D efenses— D iscovering A ge— Syneszewski v. Schmidt et al., Supreme Court of Michigan, 116 Northwestern Reporter, page 1107.— Czeslau Syneszewski, a minor, sued by his next friend to re cover damages for injuries received while employed in a tannery in violation o f the child labor law o f the State. Judgment was in his favor in the circuit court o f Wayne County, whereupon the defend ants appealed, the appeal resulting in an affirmation o f the decision o f the court below. The law in question prohibits the employment o f children under 14 years o f age in manufacturing establishments, or under 16 years o f age in dangerous employments. It also requires an age certificate to be procured for children under 16 years of age. Syneszewski was less than 14 years o f age at the time of his injury. He was helping his boss clean a machine, when the latter unexpectedly started it and caught the plaintiff’s fingers in some cogs, causing the injury com plained of. The contentions on which the appeal was based were that the employers were not liable, the injury having been caused by the act o f a fellow-servant o f the plaintiff; that the court below had erred in refusing to instruct the jury that i f the plaintiff had repre sented himself, at the time he was hired, as being above 16 years o f age, and his employers in good faith believed him to be so, they were not liable; and that in any case, it was