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LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
469
Membership in American Trade-Unions
HE BUREAU has made no first-hand inquiry into the member
ship of American trade-unions since 1926. The results of this
inquiry were published in full in bulletin form (Bui. No. 420, Hand
book of American Trade-Unions) and summarized in the former
handbook (Bui. No. 439). The study covered all bona fide labor
organizations functioning nationally, a bona fide labor organization
being defined as “ a group of wage or salaried workers organized for
the purpose of employing economic or political pressure to improve
the material condition of its members.”
In the investigation referred to, 156 organizations coming within
the defined scope, which have national entity and significance, were
found. Of these, 197 were affiliated to the American Federation of
Labor and 49 functioned entirely outside the federation.
The aggregate membership of all organizations covered by the
study was 4,443,523—3,383,997 in the American Federation of Labor
and 1,059,526 in the independent organizations.
According to the reports of the executive council of the American
Federation of Labor for 1927 and 1928, the average membership of
the organization for these two fiscal years respectively was 2,812,526
and 2,896,063. These figures include only members for whom dues
were paid, and thus do not include members for whom because of
strikes and unemployment the per capita tax was not paid to the
American Federation of Labor. The federation estimates this latter
number as being at least 500,000.
The following table shows the subdivisions of the Federation's
organization for the last two fiscal years:
T
Departments___________________________________
Local department councils________________________
National and international unions________________
Local trade and Federal labor unions____________
State Federations_________________________________
City central bodies_______________________________
Local unions______________________________________ 29,
1927
1928
4
742
106
365
49
794
394
4
753
107
373
49
792
29, 128
Trade Agreements
OR a number of years the Bureau of Labor Statistics has sought
to secure copies of important trade agreements entered into be
tween employers and employees, and compilations of these agree
ments have been published from time to time, the latest being published
in 1928 and dealing with agreements entered into in the preceding
year. The following is a brief analysis of some of the principal features
of trade agreements in the United States.
F
472
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
Methods of Negotiating Agreements
T here is no uniform method of making agreements between
employers and employees. In some cases they are drawn up by a
local union in open meeting; more often by the officers, a business
agent, or a committee of the local, or a group of locals or a district
council; and occasionally by a committee representing the national
organization or even by the officers themselves. In some instances
aid in drawing up the agreement is given by a representative of the
national or international organization. Several national organizations
require their locals to submit new demands to them for consideration
and approval before presenting them to their employers.
The demand, after formulation, is given to the employer, or to
a committee of employers when the agreement is to be made with
several, for approval or rejection. Ordinarily a conference follows
and a modification of the suggested form of agreement is finally agreed
upon. In most cases this ends the bargaining, especially when the con
ference has resulted in no material change in the suggested terms of
the agreement.
In cases, however, where material changes have been suggested by
the conference committee the draft is returned to the local and to
the individual employers or representatives for consideration with a
view to approval. A failure by either side to approve the sugges
tions of the committee, results in the return of the agreement for
further bargaining and its final wording is often a compromise
between the parties. The agreement is then signed by the repre
sentatives of the local and by individual employers, or some one
designated by them if they act collectively, often with the approval of
the central trades and labor council of the city, and indorsed by
the general executive board of the international organization.
As a matter of fact, the new agreement is generally a slightly
revised copy of the old and the bargaining is over the insertion or
revision of a few items. Indeed, some agreements remain practically
unchanged from year to year. As a rule, a union makes the same
agreement with all employers wiien it is signed by the latter collec
tively or individually. When different agreements are made, it is
customary to insert a clause forbidding the insertion of any clause
giving one employer any advantage over another and employers
agree not to enter into individual agreements with their employees.
The constitution, by-laws, and rules of a union, local or national,
frequently are expressly stated to be considered as a part of the
agreement.
Duplicate copies of the agreement are generally made and a third
is frequently filed with and signed by the national organization. At
times, copies are printed and given to each member of the local and
employer and often are posted on the walls of the shop.
A few national unions, such as the retail clerks, the elevator con
structors, and the stage employees, issue general forms of contract
with blank spaces for hours of work, wages, and a few other items
that naturally vary with the different locals. Such forms also serve
as models for locals that prepare their own agreements.
The jurisdiction of a union is always stated in its constitution, and
is occasionally repeated in the agreement. The territory covered
by a local is frequently stated and often extends over several miles.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
473
Thus the local of steam engineers in Des Moines, in 1926, covered a
radius of 100 miles from that city, and Local No. 33 of Asbestos
Workers covered that portion of the State of Connecticut west of
the Connecticut River, and also the county of Westchester, N. Ys;
outside a radius of 30 miles from New York City Hall.
Agreements are generally made for one year. In agreements for
more than a year there is sometimes a provision allowing the wage
section to be revised annually.
Some agreements are indeterminate in duration and may be revised
at any time, others may be revised at the close of yearly periods
or continue from year to year until either party notifies the other of a
desire to terminate or change the same. The methods of revising
agreements are at times carefully described. Often revisions are
made through the arbitration machinery.
Union Membership
M ost agreements provide for a union shop, one where all or nearly
all the workers are members of the union, or in good standing with
it, or join it within a few days—a month at the latest—after being
given employment. A few provide for a preferential union shop,
one where union men are preferred to nonunion men, in which case
the unions a^ree not to force the nonunion workers into the union.
Membership in the union is evidenced by the possession of a member
ship card properly filled out, and in union shops foremen or employers
are forbidden to employ anyone not in possession of such a card. Mem
bers of the union are not to do work outside their jurisdiction or for
any employer who refuses or neglects to sign the agreement. The
union of brick and clay workers at Danville, 111., in 1925, agreed not
to accept into membership anyone not satisfactory to the employer.
In many cases employers are required to hire their employees
through the union office direct and frequently to take any capable
skilled workmen sent them. As a general rule, however, an employer
is allowed to give employment to anyone and either personally or
through a foreman or shop steward select his employees or determine
their competency, in which case it is his duty to hire only such persons
as show the union card. In Chicago, the employers of fur workers in
1926, agreed to give the union written notice of all employees as
employed. In the Pittsburgh brewery workers agreement of 1927
is the clause, “ No man shall be given employment on recommendation
of a customer.”
To provide employers with employees many locals maintain a
regular employment office open at stated hours where members out
of employment may register and employers may call for help. If an
employer needs help at any time when all members of the union are
employed he is generally permitted to obtain such additional help
from any available source until the union is able to furnish the men
desired. Generally the employees thus hired must secure permit cards
from the union before going to work and must join the local immedi
ately or within a few days or a month at most.
If such employee neglects or refuses to join the union within the
time specified or is deemed unsatisfactory by the union his services
are to be dispensed with by the employer as soon as a union man can
be found to take his place. Furthermore, an employee expelled
from a local or otherwise objectionable to it is to be dismissed by his
474
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
employer. The brewery workers require their members to be Amer
ican citizens.
Discrimination against union employees by employers because of
union activities, or against nonunion men by union employees, is gener
ally expressly forbidden. Employees are directed to aid their em
ployers in every way and not to interfere with proper discipline and
management. They quite generally are granted leave of absence for
the performance of necessary committee work in the interest of the
union.
Limitation of the product is very generally forbidden. There is
no restrictipn on the use of raw or manufactured material or generally
on the introduction or use of machinery or labor-saving devices.
Occasionally, however, overspeeding of machines is forbidden as
well as the use of paint spraying machines in painting, or of the hand
surfacer in granite cutting. Moreover, no one is required to work
on prison-made material, or on material coming from or going to
an unfair shop, or do work ordinarily performed by porters or servants
or to trespass upon work claimed by another union, or use the tools
used especially by another union. Laborers are generally forbidden
to do the work of skilled labor, but small tasks may generally be
done by workmen of other trades when mechanics of the trade are
not at work on the job and the same will not be of longer duration
than a half hour or so.
Work is generally forbidden to be given out to be done at home.
Employees generally have to pay for uniforms, but rubber boots,
coats, hats, and gloves required to be worn are generally furnished
by the employer. Employees are often forbidden to loan their tools
to others. Generally they are not compelled to pay for damaged
work, nor do they pay for tools injured or lost, if properly cared for.
Several agreements forbid employees to use their own automobiles to
convey themselves, their tools, or material of the employer from shop
to job or from job to job, though others allow such proceeding when
paid for by the employer. When employees are obliged to drive trucks
for their employer the latter always pays for any license required.
Often it is expressly stated that women doing the work of men shall
receive men’s pay.
Care is often taken to avoid unwarranted and hasty discharges.
New employees may generally be discharged within a probationary
period of one or two weeks. In the case of old employees, however,
from one to two weeks7notice is required before a discharge is made,
and in several trades discharges are allowed for cause alone, and in
several cases only after notice to the union, or after a hearing. The
propriety of such discharge may be questioned and an appeal to an
arbitration board allowed, and if such discharge or suspension is
found to be improper the employee may be reinstated to his former
position with pajr for the time he has lost. The employer is similarly
protected, and withdrawals from a job are forbidden without a notice
of one or two weeks. In the case of railroads and in a few other
occupations a service letter is given an employee on request showing
his length of service and cause of leaving his job.
On the other hand, many agreements expressly permit an employer
to discharge any employee whose services he deems to be no longer
needed or with whom he is dissatisfied for any reason. Likewise
workmen may sever business relations with their employers at will.
•TRADE AGREEMENTS
475
Leave of absence for a limited period is frequently provided for and on
return from a prolonged sickness a man can often demand restora
tion to his former position.
To see that the various regulations in a shop are observed, to hear
and inquire into complaints from employees, to examine all due books
and working cards of new employees, to collect dues, initiation fees,
and assessments, to look after the interests of the local and to perform
such duties as maybe imposed upon him and report thereon at meetings
of the union, a shop representative, known variously as the shop
steward or shop chairman, or shop committee, is elected by the em
ployees in each shop or appointed by the business agent or other
union official. This steward is to perform his duties in such a way,
and generally out of working hours as not to interfere with shop dis
cipline and efficiency. Such an official is not to be discriminated
against nor to be laid off or discharged for performing his duties and
in the case of a reduction of the force is to be the last one laid off and
later the first one to be reemployed.
In cities many of the shop chairman’s duties as above described
are performed by the business agent who is in charge of the office of
the local or often of several locals. In addition he generally has the
right to enter a shop at any time to see that the terms of the agreement
are being properly observed, and that the sanitation and safety rules
as laid down in the agreement are carried out, to confer with the union
representatives, or to settle differences, to receive reports from the shop
stewards, and in the clothing industries to examine the books of the
employers and inspect their pay rolls.
Foremen and superintendents are generally required to be practical
workmen, though often forbidden to do the work of journeymen.
Since they are supervisory officials, representing the contractor or
employers, with the right to hire and discharge employees, they
frequently are not required to be members of the union. But when
such requirement is made, they are usually not held amenable to union
discipline for acts done as foremen.
Outside the clothing industry an employer is allowed to determine
the number of employees needed, to allocate them to their work, and
to judge of their competency.
Members of a firm or corporation are frequently forbidden to work
as journeymen in their own establishments unless members of the
union and observing union rules. Occasionally, however, one such
member of a firm is excused from this requirement, and among a few
bakers, two such members. The painters’ agreement for Bergen and
Passaic Counties, N. J., in 1927, required employers who suspend
business and become journeymen to remain such for a year, while the
agreement of the plumbers of Memphis requires such employers to
surrender their license to the city. Moreover, the members of a
proprietor’s family are generally required to become members of the
union if they work.
Employers are frequently forbidden to sublet or subcontract their
work to any firm not in contractual relations with the union unless
such contractor complies with the conditions specified in the agree
ment. Arrangements of this character with employees are forbidden.
Union members are frequently forbidden to contract for work.
When allowed so to do they must withdraw from the union or join
the masters’ association, or observe the latter’s rules and rates.
476
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
The carpenters’ agreement of La Crosse, Wis., in 1925, required
journeymen who acted as contractors to remain such for a year.
The painters’ agreement at Memphis for the same year required a
journeyman to take a permit from his business agent before con
tracting for work.
Hours
T he hours of work are usually stated in the agreement which also
frequently specifies the exact minute of beginning and ending work
and the period to be allowed for the noonday meal. Men are to be
at work at the stated time, but generally are not to report for work
more than 10 or 15 minutes before the time of beginning work, or to
remain in the shop for more than 15 minutes after the time of closing.
Though the 12-hour day is not extinct and the 10-hour day is
found in a few agreements, the 9-hour day in several, especially among
teamsters and street railway employees, and the 8-hour day in
many, the general tendency is in the direction of shorter working
hours. The 44-hour week is practically the rule in several trades,
notably the building, clothing, longshore, metal, and job shops in the
printing trade. The 40-hour week, worked generally in five days, is
becoming increasingly common. The 7-hour day is found in many
agreements, especially those in the printing and moving-picture
industries, and the 6-hour day is by no means a rarity, while
hours has been a night’s work among the Jewish printers in Chicago
and New York for several years.
There are a few instances of the 7-day week, as among stage hands,
but a week almost always consists of six days. Sunday is generally
observed as the weekly day of rest, though in railroad work, and in
continuous operations any day may be so observed.
In several instances, notably painting and broom making, the men
are allowed 5 to 10 minutes at the close of each half day’s work to
change clothes, wash up, clean up around the machines, and pick up
and put away tools and materials.
State and municipal holidays are frequently observed by unions
as rest days. Some unions observe every holiday; others but a few.
Unions composed largely of Jews frequently observe the Jewish
holidays. Work on Labor Day is frequently forbidden except to
protect life and property. As a rule men are not paid for a holiday
when no work is performed. In some cases, however, all holidays
are paid for; in others some.
Vacations with pay are provided for in some agreements. Gen
erally 1 week is given after 1 year of service and 10 days or 2 weeks
after a longer period.
Work performed before the regular opening or after the regular
closing hour or during the lunch period is considered overtime and is
generally paid for at an increased rate, usually at time and a half,
though in most of the building trades and in several others the over
time rate is double time. Work done on Sundays and holidays is
generally paid the double-time rate.
A few cases exist where all overtime work is performed at the
straight rate or at a stated rate. In some unions the time-and-a-half
rate prevails as the overtime, Sunday, and holiday rate; in other
unions the double-time rate; in a few cases the triple rate for work
on Sunday exists. Sometimes the provisions are time and a half
TRADE AGREEMENTS
477
for the first 2, 3, 4, or 12 hours of overtime and double time there
after or before or after a stated hour.
The overtime rate is variously charged, on the minute, 5, 10, or
30 minute basis, or at a specified rate. In continuous operations
and in trades where night work exists regularly or the employees
work in shifts, overtime rates do not apply. Instead there is often
a separate scale prepared calling for either a slight increase in wages
over the day scale or a decrease in the number of hours worked per
shift.
Overtime work is generally opposed by the unions and many
provisions have been adopted to reduce its amount. Night work,
Sunday work, and overtime work on Saturday or during the slack
season or where any member of the union is unemployed, are occasion
ally forbidden or allowed only after permission has been secured
from the union, unless the factory is working full time or has no vacant
accommodations for additional workers. Sometimes the amount of
overtime is limited to 8 or 10 hours per week or 1 or 2 hours per day.
Overtime is always permitted, of course, in case of emergency to
save life or property.
Wages
N early every agreement contains some articles relating to wages,
always considered as a minimum, however, and generally forbidding
the lowering of existing higher wages to the minimum rate, but per
mitting higher wages to be paid foremen, superior workmen, for work
on high buildings or on sweepers or snowplows, for handling explo
sives, painting high signs, and breaking in new men. Lower rates
are authorized to workers handicapped by age or infirmity. Anyone
working for less than the scale is liable to fine or explusion from the
union.
Free transportation is always granted employees of electric and
steam roads, a privilege frequently extended to members of their
families. Members of musicians' and theatrical stage employees'
unions are often forbidden to donate their services for any benefit of
any kind.
The aim seems to be to grant a fair day's wage for a fair day's work,
which is often based on the cost of living, or the wage paid by cometitors or in allied industries and occupations, and often to be
etermined by arbitration. An increase in wages by an employer is
seldom objected to, but a demand for an increase by employees
during the life of an agreement is forbidden unless, as frequently
happens in agreements for two years or more, a clause is inserted
calling for a periodic revision of the wage clause. Placing a limit
upon earnings is discountenanced. Furnishing board as a part of
wages is frowned upon and by bakers frequently forbidden, but when
such is furnished it is to be wholesome and palatable.
Wages generally are paid in cash, weekly, monthly, semimonthly, or
biweekly, often at a stated hour on a specified day with waiting time
allowed where the payments are not punctually made. Payment by
check is occasionally allowed, though generally expressly forbidden.
The giving of a bonus or premium is frequently forbidden as is also
the adoption of a piecework system, outside of a few occupations.
Where a piecework system exists, as in the clothing industries, the
prices are generally settled by a committee representing both the
employer and the employees.
S
478
LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
As a rule, no pay is given when no work has been performed, but
in many trades, especially in building and longshore work, men who
report for work and find none, except in bad weather or because of
other unavoidable circumstances, are paid, for two, three, or four
hours and in a few cases for a full day.1 Waiting for work when on the
job is similarly treated.
When work is done at a distance from the shop, employees are
generally allowed to consider the time spent in traveling between job
and job as a part of the day’s work, and car fare is paid where the
distance is more than a mile to the job or between jobs. When work
is done out of the city employees receive transportation and generally
board and lodging. Travel to and from an out-of-town job is some
times done as a part of the day’s work and sometimes done as over
time.
Security for the faithful performance by the employer of the terms
of the agreement is occasionally demanded by the employees. When
a cash deposit is required from an employee as security, the employer
is always required to pay interest upon it. The employer is obliged
to pay for bonds required to be deposited by employees.
Conciliation and Arbitration
M any agreements contain detailed methods of settling grievances
that may arise between employees and their employers. Grievances
are generally handled in the first place by the employee affected,
or his shop chairman, and his foreman with appeals to succeeding
higher officials or committees of the union and representatives of the
employer. Frequently a grievance committee or adjustment board,
consisting of an equal number of employers and employees, is pro
vided to adjust disputes which can not be settled by the individual
employer and employee. Where such committee is unable to agree,
it either adds another member to its number or refers the matter to
an individual umpire or to a board of arbitration organized in
accordance with the terms of the agreement.
An arbitration board generally consists of an equal number of
representatives from each side, with a chairman appointed by the
other members of the board. Sometimes these boards are permanent
and meet at stated times. Sometimes they are selected to consider
individual cases as they arise. Frequently public officials, lawyers,
and officers of the union or association are forbidden to act on the
boards and occasionally it is provided that the arbitrator is not to be
taken from anyone connected with the industry. When the parties
are unable to decide upon the arbitrator, the right of appointment
is vested in some judge or a secretary of labor. The building trades
have referred cases to the National Board of Jurisdictional Awards
or boards formed by the individual industry. Railroad cases are
taken before the United States Board of Mediation. The boot
and shoe workers in Massachusetts bring their cases before the State
Board of Mediation. Several national and international unions
maintain boards to hear cases brought before them. The United
States Department of Labor, as well as similar bureaus in several
of the States, maintains a board of mediators who act as umpires or
conciliators or arbitrators as opportunities present themselves.
i A special analysis of building-trade agreements as regards reporting time and minimum pay is given on
p. 480.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
479
In some of the clothing unions there has been adopted the plan
known as the impartial chairman system where a man appointed by
the union and employers jointly settles, with the aicf of helpers
appointed by each organization, all controversies arising between
the parties relative to wages, hours, and conditions as determined by
the agreement.
Strikes and lockouts during the life of the agreement are generally
forbidden. However, a national organization or a business agent
may call a strike for proper reasons. Union men may refuse to work
with nonunion men, or on an unfair job, or on nonunion material,
or on work destined for an unfair employer, because the employer
supplies work or goods to one whose employees are on a strike or is in
arrears in the payment of wages, or in other words, to protect union
principles, and the act is not considered to be a breach of the agree
ment.
Sympathetic strikes are sometimes allowed when ordered by the
proper officials. In other cases they are not. Jurisdictional strikes
are generally forbidden.
Apprenticeship
M any agreements contain apprenticeship provisions. According
to these an apprentice is articled to a certain employer, is registered
with the union, serves a stated length of time, and after examination
is admitted into the union as a journeyman. The apprenticeship
period varies with the occupation. In most trades it is three or
four years, occasionally five, frequently one or two, or even less.
Apprentices are generally between 16 and 22 years of age at time of
articling.
Employers are generally limited as to the number of apprentices
they may employ. In some cases employers are allowed to have
as many apprentices as they have journeymen, while in other occu
pations they may hire but one apprentice for each 12 journeymen
employed. The wages of apprentices vary from year to year.
A part of the training of apprentices is done in school in some
instances. In other cases apprentices are obliged to attend con
tinuation schools. Frequently they are required to have had a
common-school education before articling. They are frequently
forbidden to be employed upon the night force or to work overtime
except with a journeyman or in case of emergency. The whole
matter of apprenticeship is often placed under the care of a joint
apprenticeship committee.
Unemployment
V arious attempts have been made to tide over the slack season
of employment. The usual method has been to discharge the super
fluous help and to keep at work only as many persons as are needed,
in which case the agreement generally provides that the older employ
ees shall be retained and those with shorter term of service shall be
discharged first; when the force is again increased the men are to be
taken back according to their seniority.
Another method is to distribute the work as equally as possible
among all employees, or to lay off the men in rotation, or to shorten
the length of the working week. A third method is a system of
unemployment insurance, adopted by a few unions especially those
connected with the clothing industry.
480
LAB03$ ORGANIZATIONS
Safety and Sanitation
V arious provisions are inserted in the agreements relative to the
safety and comfort of employees. Suitable fire protection is to be
provided. Proper scaffolding is to be erected. Safety codes are
to be observed. Automobiles must be kept clean and in repair.
Provision must be made against lead poisoning and other industrial
diseases. Workmen’s compensation laws are to be followed.
Sickness and accident insurance are often to be carried.
Satisfactory sanitary arrangements are demanded, with lunch
room, dressing room, wash room, locker, toilet, and cold drinking
water provided. Establishments are to be kept in a clean and
sanitary condition, with sufficient heat, light, and ventilation. Air
used in pneumatic tools in winter is to be heated. Dust-raising
machines are to be provided with suction devices. Sweeping is to
be done out of working hours.
Miscellaneous Provisions
In those trades where a union label exists, which can be placed
on products, its use is often compulsory. In places where service
exists, the use of a shop or union card is frequently required.
Senority is provided for in all railroad agreements, many street
railway agreements, and some others. The check-off is used in
mining and some other industries; while in many industries its use
is expressly forbidden.
Reporting-Tim e and M inim um Pay in Building-Trade
Agreements
AY for reporting-time where employee reports and no work is
given and for minimum time paid where but a fraction of a day’s
work is given has been provided for in many of the building-trade
agreements.
The loss of time in either case may not be foreseen by the employer
and claim for this loss is not made by the employee when bad
weather makes work impossible. The employees contend, however,
when weather will permit of work and they are ordered to report,
or are not notified at the close of the previous day not to report,
that work should be provided or if work is not provided time should
be paid for the loss and inconvenience.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has made an examination of the
wage agreements and working rules, so far as printed copies are
available, for 544 local building-trades unions located in many of the
principal industrial cities. It was found that sometimes the state
ments are ambiguous and that different agreements may have different
ways of stating the same thing. Frequently it is not clear whether
a provision applies to men newly hired and told to report, or to old
employees, or both: There is also doubt in some cases as to whether
the agreement applies when no work is afforded or to employees given
only a fractional part of a day’s work. In some instances there is a
provision applying to a second or third shift in the day, no provision
being made as to the first shift. In a few cases the provision seems to
P
481
REPORTING-TIME AND MINIMUM PAY
apply to a discharged man rather than to a man not given work for
the day.
That the employer has reciprocal rights is evidenced in five agree
ments which provide for a fine in cases where a man who is ordered to
report for work fails to do so. In four of the agreements this fine
appears to be a matter of union discipline rather than of compensa
tion to the employer, as nothing is said of turning over any of this
fine to him. In one case it is specified that the full amount of the
fine shall be turned over to the employer to reimburse him for any
loss incurred by failure of the employee to report.
There seems to be a quite general provision that two hours shall
be paid for when a worlonan reports for duty but no work is fur
nished. The minimum pay for any work done on a day is usually
for either two or four hours.
The table below shows the number of locals having and those not
having provisions relating to reporting time and minimum pay, by
trades.
NUMBER OF LOCAL BUILDING-TRADES UNIONS HAVING UNION AGREEMENT AS
TO REPORTING-TIME AND MINIMUM PAY
Trade
Of agreements
examined for
provisions as
to reporting
time and
minimum pay,
number hav
ing—
Trade
Some No pro
pro
vision vision
Asbestos workers______________
23
Bricklayers____________________
12
Building laborers........ .................
22
Carpenters____________________
1
Millmen........................ ............ .
1
Parquetry-floor layers__________
Wharf and bridge carpenters____
4
Cement finishers.____ _________
17
Composition roofers......................
4
Elevator constructors...... ........
Engineers, portable and hoisting. ....... 32'
Glaziers_______________________
10
Hod carriers___________________
Inside wiremen........... ..................
21
1
Fixture hangers
Lathers_______________________
5
15
11
7
24
1
3
5
11
4
2
8
12
10
Of agreements
examined for
provisions as
to reporting
time and
minimum pay,
number hav
ing—
Some No pro
pro
vision vision
Marble setters________________
Mosaic and terrazzo workers____
Painters................................... .
Painters, sign_____________ ___
Plasterers.............. ......................
Plasterers* laborers_____________
Plumbers and gas fitters
Plumbers* laborers_____________
Sheet-metal workers.....................
Slate tile roofers..........................
Steam and sprinkler fitters..........
Stone and marble masons..
Structural-iron workers___
Tile layers.............. ......................
Total..........................
1
1
20
4
19
1
29
2
a
3
25
18
29
11
2
1
28
13
8
322
222
6
1
14
4
9
7
12
4
From this table it will be seen that 322 local trade-unions had
some provision in their agreements or rules for payment for reporting,
or for minimum hours worked, while 222 did not. It is thought
that the number of agreements examined is large enough to constitute
a satisfactory representative group.
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
39142°— 29------- 32
483
General Results of Labor-Management Cooperation
HE idea of securing the cooperation of the worker with the
employer on a general scale first appeared during the war, when
the universal and whole-hearted efforts of everyone were necessary
in the production of war materials. Shop committees were established
in a great many plants, though in many of these the trade-union
was not a factor, nonunion as well as union plants having adopted
the idea. The value of the voluntary cooperation of the employees
and of their good will received widespread recognition.
Much of this spirit disappeared after the cessation of the war,
due partly to the industrial depression, partly to the reaction from
the war-time tension, and partly to the wave of antiunion and openshop activities that swept over the country. In some cases, however,
cooperative efforts continued, while what is probably the best-known
of all cooperative schemes, the so-called “ B. & O. plan,” was inaugu
rated after the close of the war. It had been conceived much earlier
but it was felt that war conditions might militate against the suc
cess of the plan and the putting into actual practice was therefore
postponed.
The new spirit has manifested itself in different ways and along
various lines. To-day there are instances in which unions and man
agement are cooperating to improve the operating efficiency of the
plant or the industry; to introduce new methods or machinery or to
improve the old ones; to reduce operating costs by eliminating
wastes, introducing economies, etc.; to improve the quality of work
produced; to bring up the total production; to raise the general
level of sanitation and safety in the plant; and to increase the skill
and efficiency of the workers. In these and other ways employers
and workers are demonstrating what can be done when the welfare
of the industry is the first concern.
It is not true, of course, that all that is being accomplished through
cooperative effort is done for purely altruistic reasons. Each party
expects to benefit by the cooperative arrangement. The employer
expects greater returns through the increased economy of production,
the greater output, the reduction of amount of imperfect work, etc.
The union expects, by demonstrating the increased value of the
services rendered by its members, to gain for them increases in wage
rates and greater stability of employment. But the great accomplish
ment of union-management cooperation is the change of mental atti
tude thus brought about and the fact that the results are secured by
mutual effort instead of by antagonism, through peace instead of war.
T
Improvement in Operating Efficiency
P erhaps the greatest amount of cooperative effort has been
directed toward the improvement of operating efficiency through
such means as improved methods of work, reorganization of the
system of distribution of work, transfers of workers, introduction
485
486
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
of economies, and elimination of sources of waste. So great is the
interest of organized labor in the question of reducing cost of pro
duction through the elimination of waste and unnecessary expense
that a conference, sponsored by labor, was held in the spring of 1927
to consider the problem and its solution.
The most outstanding and best-known example of union-management cooperation for improved operation is that of the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad and its shop employees.1 There are, however, numerous
other cases that are not so well known.
Printing Trades
One of the most significant instances along this line is the newspaper
engineering service of the International Printing Pressmen and
Assistants’ Union, which it has been carrying on since 1924.
Some 500 newspapers from all parts of the country are received
daily at the union headquarters. These are examined for any
defects of appearance or workmanship over a period of several days or
a week. If the defect continues to appear a letter is written to the
foreman, pointing out the defect and suggesting ways of overcoming
it. Where necessary an engineering expert is sent to the plant. He
makes a careful study of conditions in the pressroom. If the defect
is due to the work of some other department the matter is taken
up with the publisher, the engineer going from department to depart
ment until the cause is located and corrected. The service also offers
personal assistance, when new plants are being opened, in the proper
construction and layout of the plant, even providing blue prints. It
will also supervise the installation of equipment and the overhauling
of old machinery, constantly taking into consideration the news
paper’s need for speed and the necessity of continuing publication
while the changes are being made.
All this is done without cost to the publisher, the union bearing all
the expense. At first the union’s new service was regarded with
some suspicion. Gradually, however, it has won the cordial accept
ance of both the publishers and the other newspaper printing trades,
so that to-day its services are voluntarily sought when troubles
develop.
Upholstery Industry
T he U pholsterers’ International Union is firmly committed to the
cooperative policy. Although originally forced into its concern for
the industry by the indifference of employers to defects and sources of
waste, its activities have gradually increased and it “ is to-day solving
many of the problems of shop efficiency through its own committees
and through its own methods of handling apprentices.” And,
furthermore, in one local, “ one of the union’s most important com
mittees every season goes to a class organized by itself, under the
auspices of the labor college of Philadelphia, to study the economics of
its industry and how to meet its problems in a scientific manner,”
New workers in the shop are shown the best methods of work, as the
union feels “ responsible for the workmanship and efficiency of all our
men and women members of the upholstery union, so we can not
afford to have anyone in our midst who either does not understand
our standards or who does not desire to maintain them.”
1For a description of the plan, see p. 491.
RESULTS OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
487
Cloth Hat and Cap Industry
T he collective agreement between employers and union in the
New York market of the cloth hat, cap, and millinery industry provides
that a worker indispensable to the factory must notify the union if he
intends to quit his job, and may not leave until the union can replace
him with some other worker. “ The union pledges strict enforcement
of this provision.”
Clothing Industry
A nother union in quite a different field which has been quick to
perceive and adapt itself to changing conditions is the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers. “ The union realized from the outset that it
could not close its eyes to technical improvements and retain its
power and influence. Directly and indirectly it participated in the
technical revolution which the industry has undergone since 1920.”
The union has been active in trying to reduce unnecessary costs in
the industry and thus decrease the overhead expense. To this end
it has participated with the manufacturers in both the Cincinnati
and the New York markets in investigations to discover sources of
waste, always insisting that “ unnecessary overhead, exorbitantly
high salaries, undue selling expenses, excessive cost of supervision,
unnecessary clerical expense, must be found and reduced. The
savings from these sources have in the past few years been enormous.”
In a recent address President Hillman made the following state
ment:
The labor cost in our industry has gone up much less than that in any other
industry. By working out our problems with the employers we have produced
efficient methods of work. While we can point to over 300 per cent increase in
wages since the beginning of the organization, there has been less than 80 per
cent increase in labor cost. I can say that there is no important change in the
manufacturing process in the shop for which the union is not at least 50 per cent
responsible.
Other Industries
O ther unions which are cooperating for the improvement of the
industry are the street-railway employees’ union and that of the sleep
ing-car conductors.
Shop Sanitation and Safety
T he outstanding example of cooperation between employers and
union for the raising of the sanitary and safety standards in the in
dustry is the joint board of sanitary control in the women’s garment
industry of New York City. This board was set up in 1910 and has
been the greatest factor in raising the level of sanitation in the shops.
It drew up a set of sanitary standards to which all shops under its
jurisdiction were required to conform, and by means of periodic in
spections saw to it that this was done. It has helped to establish firstaid services, fire drills, published bulletins on general health questions,
etc. Although the “ protocol” under which the board was established
was abrogated in 1916, the employers and the International Ladies’
Garment Workers’ Union have continued to cooperate on this board
even during times of strike or lockout. So satisfactory were the
results of its work that a similar board has been set up in the industry
in Rochester,
488
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
The same machinery has been accepted in the pocketbook industry,
and the agreement in the industry in New York, running until May
1, 1929, provides for the establishment of a joint board of sanitary
control, but no steps have as yet been taken to put this provision
into actual effect.
Cooperation to reduce accidents is reported by the maintenance
of way employees and the street and electric railway employees’
locals in St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and “ on various other transportation
properties.”
Production and Quality of Work
Clothing Industry
I n its 1920 convention the Amalgamated Clothing ^ Workers
adopted by a large majority the policy of favoring production stand
ards. Not only has the union favored a standard of output; it has
also cooperated with the employer in raising the quality of the product.
The A. Nash Co. of Cincinnati became unionized in 1925. It had
had “ such a phenomenal growth” that the company was having
difficulty in keeping the quality of the product up to the standard
which it desired. Apprised of the situation, the union took steps
to meet it. The president of the company, in an article published
in the fall of 1927, stated that “ the Amalgamated brought experts
from various markets and have rendered a service which can never
be figured in dollars and cents in raising to a high quality and stand
ardizing the production of this company.”
Production standards were adopted in the Cleveland women’s
garment industry in 1921. The agreement providing for the setting
up of such standards stipulated that the wages paid should be based
upon “ the productive value of the individual worker based upon
fair and accurate standards, which standards shall be under the joint
control of the association and the union and subject to review by
the referees.” Standards were set up in each shop. The agreement
by which this step was taken is a continuing one and is still in force.
Hosiery Industry
In the full-fashioned hosiery industry the price of the article is
secondary to quality. Labor costs are of secondary importance,
therefore, as the skill of the worker is a prime requisite. It is pointed
out that for this reason the main avenue of elimination of unneces
sary expense in production is that of the reduction of imperfect
product. The union therefore urges the reduction of imperfect
product by limiting hours, but also urges its members to do their
utmost in the way of producing “ perfect work and lots of it” during
these hours.
Textile Industry
T he T extile Worker, in its issue of May, 1927, contains an in
teresting report on an instance of practical union cooperation. A
certain textile mill had recently been organized, and the union “ had
promised the management better production and better relationship
between employers and employees.” In spite of this, however, the
ftESTXLTS OF LABOB-MANAGlMlNf COOPERATION
489
mill was turning out only some 35 per cent of its normal production.
The management declared that this was due to the fact of the em
ployees' being organized, while the union representative was equally
convinced that the fault lay with the management. The firm there
upon invited him to take over the management of the plant and prove
his contention. He did so, and at the end of the first four weeks had
increased production 60 per cent; the workers were satisfied with the
new arrangement, and the firm was so pleased that it offered him a
permanent position as manager.
Increasing Workers’ Trade Knowledge and Efficiency
T here seems to be a quite general desire on the part of labor organ
izations to improve their members' skill and knowledge of the trade.
A great many labor periodicals carry a regular section devoted to tech
nical problems related to the trade, or to setting forth best methods of
performing certain processes. The effort is made to enable the reader
to keep posted on the results of research, the newest methods, descrip
tions of improved or new machines, etc. Among the unions which
devote much space to articles on trade subjects are those of the flintglass workers, marine engineers, photo-engravers, printers, printing
pressmen, pharmacists, locomotive firemen, locomotive engineers,
carpenters, bookbinders, steam engineers, molders, barbers, lithog
raphers, lathers, machinists, plasterers, painters, paper makers,
potters, railroad trainmen, railway clerks, railway conductors, etc.
*The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen has established a trade edu
cation bureau with the three-fold purpose of developing books for the
organization, arousing interest in trade literature, and conducting a
trade department in the monthly magazine.
Some unions have gone so far as to inaugurate courses for members,
journeymen as well as apprentices, others are doing such work jointly
with the employers, and still others have enlisted the help of other
unions or of the school authorities. The work done by labor unions
along educational lines, in their attempt to raise the level of skill in
the trade, is very extensive.
The union and the employers' association in the photo-engraving
industry in 1919 formed what was known as the Photo-Engravers'
Joint Industrial Council, whose purpose was the formulation of gen
eral trade policies, the consideration of “ industrial experiments with
special reference to cooperation in carrying new ideas into effect,"
the undertaking of industrial research along technical trade lines,
studying methods of training apprentices, safeguarding the health of
employees, settling disputes, and “ considering any and all matters
of general interest to the trade."
Though the union officers have complained that the employers
“ manifested no practical desire to join with us in the development
of a technical research department," this attitude is being gradually
overcome as indicated by the fact, reported to the 1927 convention,
that joint industrial committees have been formed with employers
in 31 local unions, and in 35 locals cost-accounting systems have
been adopted,
490
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
Increasing the Sale of Product
The labor organizations in what are known as the “ union-Iabel
trades”—i. e., trades in which the use of a label indicating manu
facture under union conditions is practicable—carry on a more or
less continuous effort to increase the sale of the goods so produced.
Through the columns of their own and other labor periodicals they
urge fellow trade-unionists to carry their principles into practical
effect by confining their purchases as much as possible to union-made
goods bearing the label.
The United Garment Workers and the United Textile Workers
carry on such work almost constantly. Indeed the latter, in its
label agreement with the manufacturers, specifically pledges itself
to “ do all in its province as a labor organization to advertise the
goods and otherwise benefit the business” of the employer. It is
stated that the efforts of the union in the case of one sheeting mill
“ have been in a large measure responsible for the------mill’s ability
to work steady, night and day, producing a volume of yardage far
ahead of its competitors.”
The shop employees of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and of the
other railroads which have adopted the “ B. & O. plan” have on more
than one occasion paid for advertisements soliciting patronage of
the road, and in 1916 the brick and clay workers’ union aided the
employers in the Chicago district in an advertising campaign to
increase the sale of bricks.
Handling of Grievances and Disputes
T he report of the executive committee to the 1927 American
Federation of Labor convention pointed out that “ practically every
establishment operating under a collective agreement has developed
some kind of continuous cooperation.”
Inquiry by the Bureau of Labor Statistics elicited the fact that in
38 international unions some or all of the locals have made provision
for joint settlement of disputes or grievances by either written or
verbal agreements. In 18 of these all the agreements contain such
provision.
Arbitration is less frequently provided for in agreements than is
the conciliation of disputes. Of the 86 international unions of which
inquiry was made, in only some 23 cases do some or all of the local
unions have agreements providing for local arbitration in case of
failure of the parties to settle any dispute. All the local agreements
of the bookbinders, brewery and soft-drink workers, bricklayers,
cloth hat, cap, and millinery workers, United Garment Workers,
plumbers and steam fitters, printing pressmen, stereotypers and elec
trotypers, and street-railway employees make such provision, as do
also 90 per cent of the hod carriers’ agreements, 77 per cent of the
local marble and tile setters’ agreements, 70 per cent of the local
lathers’ agreements, 52 per cent of those of the paper makers, twothirds of those of the pocketbook makers, about 27 per cent of those
of the printers’ unions, about 11 per cent of those of the coopers’
unions, and about 9 per cent of those of the textile workers.
On the railroads, disputes over working rules, conditions, and other
matters go to regional boards of adjustment. Major disputes between
carriers and men may be taken before the United States Board of
BALTIMORE & OHIO PLAN
491
Mediation, which was established by a law of 1926 as the result
of the efforts of both carriers and the organizations of the railroad
workers.
In some industries the agreement provides that all means of
conciliation must be exhausted before calling in an impartial member
and constituting an arbitration board. But in most instances the
decision of arbitrators, once resorted to, is final.
Some industries, notably the printing and street-railway industries,
have a long and honorable record of peaceful settlement of disputes.
Even those unions which have made the most use of arbitration,
however, resort to it only when absolutely impossible to reach a
settlement through conciliation or other peaceful means, because of
the expense involved.
Baltimore & Ohio Plan of Cooperation
NION-MANAGEMENT cooperation definitely developed in the
railway industry during the existence of the United States Rail
road Administration. At that time “ the standard railroad labor unions
were universally recognized as the exclusive agencies of the employees
in their relations with the Federal Railroad Administration.” Indeed,
it was proposed to the director general by practically all of the recog
nized railroad unions that a cooperative program be arranged between
the railway unions and the managements for the improvement of
public service for mutual benefit.
Some steps were actually taken toward carrying out this proposal.
The problem of transferring the railroads to private control, however,
crowded out this program of cooperation. The period from the Gov
ernment’s relinquishment of the railroads up to the end of the shop
men’s strike of 1922 was a trying one for both the railroads and their
employees, but long before the 1922 strike railway managements
were approached by the standard shopmen’s unions with an offer of
cooperation.
In the spring of 1922, Daniel Willard, president of the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad, agreed that “ the consummation of an understanding
along cooperative lines between management and the standard shopcraft unions of the Baltimore & Ohio was a feasible matter and de
served careful trial.” The scheme, however, was delayed because of
the shopmen’s strike and was not started until February, 1923, after
the employees at a mass meeting had expressed their willingness to
enter whole-heartedly on this experiment.
The scheme was intended (1) to provide for “ the utilization of the
facilities of the railroad company to the fullest possible extent for
the maintenance, rebuilding, and remodeling of locomotives and car
equipment, as well as for the manufacture of supplies and material
needed for mechanical and other purposes” ; and (2) “ to help the
stabilization of employment on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad,
thereby producing a situation of satisfied and contented personnel
with improved morale, and consequently improvement in the service
and production by greater efficiency and better quality of work.”
The plan was inaugurated in the shop where conditions were most
adverse—the repair shop at Pittsburgh. The men employed were of
many nationalities and had always been more or less dissatisfied;
U
492
LABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
employment was not always steady; and bitterness had been engen
dered between the old and the new men during the course of the strike.
The experiment was tried out at this shop for nearly a year but
the results were unsatisfactory and the shop was closed. Later when
some of the grievances and misunderstandings had been cleared up,
the same shop was opened again and this time, with the same tools,
the same wages, and the same working conditions, the plan was
successful. Mr. Willard states: “ I have tried to analyze it and it
seemed to me that the only thing that had happened was a change
in the attitude of the men and of the management; there had been
brought about a different state of mind, and, after all, as I look at it,
that is about the essence of the whole movement. We have, I believe,
succeeded in bringing about a different point of view between our
managers and our men.”
It was understood that the benefits derived from the new plan were
to be shared with the men. The management promised to do all in
•its power to stabilize employment, provided the men would contrib
ute to raising the morale of the shop. Mr. Beyer, the engineer who
first conceived the plan and has supervised its working, states:
To this they readily agreed. And the management, in keeping with its promise,
sent a new line of work to Pittsburgh in the form of cars and locomotives to be
rebuilt in order to help stabilize employment. The men appreciated this action
for it gave tangible significance to the cooperative idea. The first locomotive,
No. 1003, turned out under this program of “ Baltimore & Ohio work in Balti
more & Ohio shops” thus became a monument to cooperation. Here was living
evidence of how cooperation was helping the men to steadier jobs and hence
greater wage income.
The men “ became very active in observing opportunities for im
provements, working out practical suggestions and presenting them
at their local union meetings and to their representatives for submis
sion to the shop management.” A committee system was developed,
a committee of the men meeting with representatives of the manage
ment, at first irregularly, but later at stated intervals. It was soon
decided to keep written records of subjects discussed and action taken.
After the scheme had been in operation for six months it was for
mally ratified by a convention of the shopmen of the railroad, and its
inauguration at each of the 45 shops of the system was provided for
by agreement with the railroad in February, 1924.
The plan is now in operation not only in all the shops of the Balti
more & Ohio Railroad but has also been adopted on three other rail
road systems—The Canadian National Railways, the Chicago &
North Western Railway Co., and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway Co.
Essentials of the plan.—Under the scheme each shop has its own
machinery and its work is reviewed every three months by a “ joint
system cooperative committee” which meets also for the purpose of
considering and acting upon propositions applicable to the road as a
whole. No grievances are considered at either local or joint meetings,
The essentials to the success of the scheme are listed by Mr. Bey^er
as follows:
1. Full and cordial recognition of the standard labor unions as the properly
accredited organizations of the employees.
2. Acceptance by the management of these unions as helpful, necessary, and
constructive in the conduct of industry,
BALTIMORE & OHIO PLAN
493
3. Development between unions and managements of written agreements
governing wages, working conditions, and the prompt and orderly adjustment of
disputes.
4. Systematic cooperation between unions and managements for improved
service, increased efficiency, and the elimination of waste.
5. Willingness on the part of managements to help the unions solve some of
their problems in return for the constructive help rendered by the unions in the
solution of some of managements’ problems.
6. Stabilization of employment.
7. Measuring and sharing the gains of cooperation.
8. Provision of definite joint union and management machinery to promote
and maintain cooperative effort.
The sixth and seventh requirements, namely, stabilization of employment and
sharing the gains of cooperation, are reasons why the employees through their
unions are warranted whole-heartedly in supporting the cooperative policy.
Even should a railroad or industrial plant be run better from either the public’s
or management’s point of view, the union employee’s interest in cooperation
will not endure if he does not himself get direct and tangible benefits from cooper
ation. These benefits must take the form, first, of steady employment; second,
better working conditions; third, greater yearly wage income; and fourth, better
wage rates. Above all else the workers in industry must be assured that manage
ment will do everything within its power to stabilize employment; for obviously
if as a result of greater efficiency they are apt to work themselves out of a job,
they will soon lose any enthusiasm they might otherwise have had for cooperation.
Results of the plan.—In the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio road
many thousands of suggestions have been brought forward by the
men for consideration, of which some 83 per cent have been accepted.
A small number of others are good but too expensive to adopt, and
less than 10 per cent have been rejected as impracticable.
The management makes a special effort to see merit in the sugges
tions wherever possible, but Mr. Willard points out that rejections
do not result in bad feeling:
A lot of the 1,600 men [whose suggestions were rejected] perhaps, had ideas
in their minds that they thought were practical; they found the company was
not following those ideas and they thought the company was inefficient because
it didn’t do 1,600 things that they thought ought to be done. After a full dis
cussion they themselves discovered that those 1,600 things were impracticable,
and to the extent that that had seemed to reflect inefficiency on the part of the
management they were cleaned up, and that led to a better understanding.
About one-third of the suggestions do not benefit the carrier
directly but deal with conditions that the men desire to see improved.
The scope of the scheme has been enlarged so that it includes not
only the shopmen but also practically all the men in the service of
the road.
The plan has, according to Mr. Beyer, resulted in the following
benefits to the men:
1. Reduction in grievances—i. e., fairer application of working
rules. It is estimated that the number of grievances has been re
duced approximately 75 per cent since the inauguration of the
cooperative plan. In the year preceding the adoption of the plan
there was one case of grievance appeal for every 58 men; in 1925,
one case for every 131 men; and in 1926 the number was still further
reduced.
2. Quicker adjustment of grievances.
3. Improvements in apprentice training.
4. Better working conditions.
5. Better tools and methods for doing work.
6. Higher standards of workmanship.
494
IABOR-MANAGEMENT COOPERATION
7. Stabilization of employment. From 1924 to 1925 the period of
employment of shopmen on the Baltimore & Ohio was increased on
an average two weeks. This is equivalent to an increase of $44
per year for each man or 2}4 cents per hour. On the Canadian
National Railways similar progress has been made, while the Chicago
& North Western road, by virtue of the more systematic distribution
of work throughout the year plus the policy of doing railroad work
in railroad shops, has been able to tide over several declines in traffic
without reductions in staff.
8. Financial participation in the gains of cooperation.
Among the advantages accruing to the management are listed the
following:
1. Better shop discipline.
2. Reduced labor turnover.
3. Improvements in employee training.
4. Better grade of employees secured.
5. Conservation of materials.
6. Reduction of defects and failures.
7. Better workmanship.
8. Increased output.
9. New business.
10. Better morale.
11. Improved public good will. “ It has become more and more
evident that the reputation enjoyed by railroads in respect to their
ability to get along well with their employees and secure their sys
tematic cooperation for good service has been a big feature in pro
moting the sympathy and interest of the public toward such
railroads.”
The general results are summed up by President Willard as having
been “ eminently satisfactory up to date.’7
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH
SERVICE
495
Medical and Hospital Service for Industrial Employees
NDUSTRIAL medical work has had a very definite development
during recent years, as shown by a study by the Bureau of Labor
IStatistics
of the personnel activities carried on in various types of
manufacturing industries and in commercial and transportation enter
prises. Comparison of the results of this study (1926) with one made 10
years before shows that the provision of adequate hospital facilities
is much more general now than at the time the previous study was
made. Workmen's compensation laws have undoubtedly been an
important factor in the development of industrial hospital service,
since in a hazardous industry it is necessary to provide immediate
and efficient care if the results of accidents are to be minimized.
On the other hand, the benefits of this care have been so obvious that
in many instances it has been carried far beyond the immediate needs
of the industry, and the work has been extended to the supervision
of the general health of the workmen. In nonhazardous industries
this has been especially true. Undernourished employees are given
special attention; the dangers of approaching old age are guarded
against; the periodic examination is either required or employees are
urged to report for it; and chronic conditions are treated or employees
are referred to the proper specialists or hospitals for the needed care.
The results of special research have also benefited those employed
in industry, although sometimes not until a new process or sub
stance has taken its toll of the lives or health of the workmen. The
use of poisonous substances in industry is widespread. The dangers
of many of these are known and guarded against but the introduction
of new substances very often involves serious consequences to the
workmen which are not foreseen by the industry or which have not
been sufficiently investigated before the new process was installed
or the new product developed. Recent examples of such processes,
the introduction of which has been attended by loss of life and great
suffering on the part of the injured employees, are the manufacture
of tetraethyl lead gasoline, the use of radioactive paints in the paint
ing of watch and clock dials, and the use of phosphorus in the manu
facture of fireworks. Numerous cases of benzol poisoning occurred
following the greatly increased use of benzol after the war before its
effects were thoroughly investigated, and although the dangers of
lead poisoning are well known and its early recognition is now pos
sible, many cases of lead poisoning which might be prevented still
occur. Nor do these things occur only in the small plants which are
unable to afford an adequate medical service; even organizations
with ample resources have failed to take the necessary measures to
prevent such occurrences.
The World War taught much in regard to the care of wounds
which has been utilized in industry, while the last decade has seen
developments in the field of public health which have been reflected
in the care which is being taken of the health of the workers. Health
497
498
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
has been and is being popularized in this country. The tuberculosis
and cancer campaigns have had an educational effect and there has
been something of a movement on the part of medical organizations
to teach the public the value of prevention—a movement in which
the industrial physician has had a share. The trade-union organiza
tions, too, are beginning to realize that they can do something to
improve the physical condition of their members as witnessed by the
accomplishments of the Union Health Center and of the more recently
organized Workers’ Health Bureau in New York. Altogether it
may be said that the past 10 years have seen a decided extension in
the medical service maintained for industrial workers.
Plant Hospitals and Medical Service
F irst- aid or emergency hospitals are found in all types of indus
tries, as it is quite generally recognized wherever any considerable
number of persons is employed, that they are necessary to the satis
factory operation of the business. While the necessity for caring for
the health of employees is just as urgent in smaller establishments,
there is frequently either complete lack of first-aid provisions or the
care extended is of a very superficial character. This is necessarily
so as far as the individual plant is concerned, as the costs of really
satisfactory medical service are prohibitive for small concerns. The
provision of adequate medical service in such establishments presents,
therefore, a real problem, about the only solution of which seems to be
the organization of a medical service by a group of industries whose
plants are near enough together to make feasible the sharing of the
services of an industrial physician or the provision of a central hospital.
The establishments scheduled by the bureau in the recent study
were in the main large ones, only a
"
1 r having fewer
than 300 employees, while many
thousands of
workers. A total of 430 compani
>e carrying on
enough personnel work of various kinds to warrant securing a schedule.
In some cases a large number of plants of one company or corporation
have been counted but once since the information in these cases has
been given by the company for the plants as a whole without regard
to their location or distance from each other or the varying conditions
they have to meet.
Nearly 2,000,000 workers were employed by the 407 companies
listed as providing medical service and the progress which has been
made during the past 10 years in the quality of the service rendered
is shown by the fact that of the 375 plants which were reported in
the 1916 study as having some sort of provision for treatment of
their employees, 110 had first-aid equipment only, consisting of firstaid cabinets and sometimes cots, stretchers, and pulmotors, while in
the present study 373 had one or more treatment rooms and only
34 the limited first-aid equipment.
Table 1 shows the number of establishments reporting the various
medical facilities and the number and class of medical attendants, by
industries.
Table 2 shows by industries the number of accidents and medical
cases reported by the 98 companies which had records on this point.
SERVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
499
T a b l e 1 .— NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS HAVING EMERGENCY HOSPITALS AND
FIRST-AID EQUIPMENT AND NUMBER AND CLASS OF MEDICAL ATTENDANTS,
BY INDUSTRIES
Number of establishments
reporting—
Employees
Industry
Num
ber of
estab
lish
ments
Automobiles_______________
Boots and shofts ... ......
Chemicals and allied pro
ducts....................................
Clothing and furnishings___
Electrical supplies.................
Fine machines and instru
ments___________________
Food products........................
Foundries and machine
shops___________________
Iron and steel_____________
Mining—coal.........................
Mining, other........................
Offices.....................................
Ore reduction and smelting—
Paper and paper goods..........
Printing and publishing.......
Public utilities (gas, electric
light and power, and tele
phones)...............................
Railroads, steam and electric.
Rubber and composition
goods___________________
Stores.....................................
Textiles..................................
Other industries.....................
Total.............................
Male
Female
Total
19
5
239,006
14,959
8,933
10,081
247,939
25,040
7
16
18
9,245
8,367
61,578
4,660
19,100
18,259
13,905
27,467
79,837
13
12
38,774
11,826
14,418
8,711
53,192
20,537
49
11
7
16
18
6
10
5
112,116
1277,905
i 26,183
23,219
16,513
8,593
8,605
4,854
13,091
115,479
U02
60
23,350
152
3,264
3,781
17
13
88,423
1113,387
33,658
16,360
Firstaidequipment
only
Hos
1 Atpital
tendor
Doc Nurse1 ants
emer tor
trained
gency
in first
rooms
aid
19
5
16
4
18
5
7
2
8
1
5
8
17
5
7
15
5
7
16
2
6
3
1
13
11
12
8
13
8
125,207
302,384
126,285
23,279
39,863
8,745
11,869
8,635
2
1
2
49
11
5
15
16
6
8
5
44
11
7
14
15
4
8
1
40
9
2
14
16
4
8
4
13
4
6
4
2
1
2
122,081
352,145
3
14
13
15
12
11
10
3
2
11
65,418
13,685
51,733
136,850
51
246,602 284,685
34,921
74,135
39,214
43
143,075
60 »100,028 129,309
407 31,301,130 3346,059 11,907,888
1
3
8
34
11
50
40
52
373
8
39
33
33
311
11
49
38
44
332
2
6
10
75
2
2
1 Not including employees of 1 establishment not reported.
2 Not including employees of 3 establishments not reported.
*Not including employees of 7 establishments not reported.
T a b l e 2.—NUMBER OF COMPANIES REPORTING CASES TREATED AND AVERAGE
NUMBER OF ACCIDENT AND MEDICAL CASES AND RETREATMENTS PER MONTH,
BY INDUSTRIES
Average number of cases treated per month
Industry
Automobiles............................................
Clothing and furnishings........................
Electrical supplies...................................
Fine machines and instruments.........
Food products.........................................
Foundries and machine shops................
Gold and silver ware..............................
Iron and steel..........................................
Oil refining..............................................
Offices......................................................
Ore reduction and smelting....................
Paper and p a w goods...........................
Printing and publishing.........................
Public utilities (gas, electric light and
power, telephones)...............................
Railroads, electric...................................
Rubber and composition goods..............
Slaughtering and meat packing..... ........
Stores.......................................................
Textiles....................................................
Other industries......................................
Total..............................................
Num Num
ber of
of
estab ber
em
lish ployees
ments
12 190,989
2 4,860
7 39,516
5 15,826
3 10,554
117 38,638
2 3,605
23 18,200
1 13,738
2 10,593
1 2,600
5 5,412
2
5,511
Accident
New
Total,
includ
ing retreatments
70,999 162,884
480
607
6,498 18,890
2,721
8,288
2,836
3,903
6,995 16,465
503
1,239
1,926 10,648
4,671
1,139
1,004
2,596
702
1,979
1,365
579
1,211
425
New
Total,
includ
ing re
treat
ments
Total accident
and medical
New
Total,
includ
ing re
treat
ments
43,814 44,823 114,813 207,707
1,027
1,244
1,507 1,851
9,332 15,091 28,222
8,593
5,850 12,047
3,129
3,759
3,091
5,927 7,113
3,210
8,157 16,437 15,152 32,902
514
514
1,017 1,753
711
204
2,130 11,359
3,814
2,776 8,485
1,637
2,162
4,152
3,166 6,748
185
887 2,164
185
2,058
2,087 3,423
1,508
2,404
3,404
2,829 4,615
7,440 15,868 12,966 14,312 20,406 30,180
3 51,918
1 12,000
300
1,035
260
495
560 1,530
7,879 16,037
8,443 13,421 16,322 29,458
6 33,489
2,000
400
900 3,000
1 7,700
500
1,000
4 14,850
943
1,240
3,370
4,854
4,313 6,094
3,062 10,884
12 32,255
6,343
7,958
9,405 18,842
8,634
4,936
8,571 17,065
3,635
8,431
9 16,254
898 528,508 120,566 290,444 113,143 144,114 233,709 434,558
i Including 1 establishment in which no medical cases are treated.
3Including 2 establishments in which no medical cases are treated,
s Including 3 establishments in which uo medical cases are treated.
39142°— 29------- 33
Medical
500
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
Special Medical Services
I n t h e mining operations in different sections of the country the
medical work is in the main carried on through company hospitals,
both because of the hazardous nature of the work and also because
of the fact that these properties are usually isolated and general
hospital facilities are otherwise not available. For the latter reason,
also, the families of the mine employees are usually cared for, though
in most cases a fee is charged for major and sometimes for minor
operations. In all the mining companies visited where such services
are maintained, a medical fee, varying from $1 to $2.50 per month
in the different mines, is deducted from the pay of the men. The
fee may be from 25 to 75 cents less in the case of single men, but in
no case was it less than $1. A few other instances were found of
fixed deductions from the pay of employees for medical service—by
iron and steel companies in the South, in many of the textile mills,
and by two steamship companies, and one street-railway company.
In some cases the medical work is in the charge of the mutual benefit
association and the members’ dues cover this work.
In nearly all cases where a fee is deducted from the pay, the service
rendered the employees includes not only care of industrial accidents
but also of sickness and nonindustrial accidents both at the hospital
and in the homes. In many cases, ordinary medical service and
medicine are provided for members of the employee’s family and
in some instances no charge, other than the monthly deductions, is
made, even for major operations. If fees for operations are charged
they are usually much below the usual rates. In sbme cases the
medical fee is not deducted from the pay unless the employee author
izes the company to do so; but more frequently the employee has
no choice in the matter but becomes liable for the fee upon employ
ment, and the amount is taken out of his first pay envelope.
The scope of the health work carried on by a number of companies
is very extensive. One large manufacturing concern whose plants
are located in two adjoining towns provides complete medical service
for all workers and the dependent members of their families without
charge. As the number of employees is approximately 17,000, it is
estimated this service is available to at least 50,000 people. There
are three main medical centers and one smaller dispensary, besides
an isolation hospital and a rest home for convalescent women.
Ambulance service is available day and night. On the staff are 29
doctors, 60 nurses, and about 60 other attendants, clerical workers,
ambulance drivers, etc. The medical staff includes in addition to
the general physicians, 3 surgeons, 4 dentists, 1 oculist, 2 ear, nose,
and throat specialists, and 1 pediatrist. There is one central X-ray
outfit and each center has its own laboratory. A trained masseur
gives treatments for stiff joints and fractures and in cases of paraly
sis. The medical centers are equipped for minor surgical work only,
major surgical cases being taken care of by the company surgeons and
at the company’s expense in the local hospital. Each medical cen
ter is equipped, however, to take care of maternity cases, all supplies
for the mother and baby being furnished by the company. The con
valescent home in the country, under the supervision of a trained
nurse, accommodates 18 woman patients, who are allowed to stay
there as long as necessary if convalescing from illness or in need of a
SERVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
501
rest. Cases which require special treatment not available there are
taken to the large cities in the care of a trained nurse and all expenses
are paid by the company. During 1925 the records show there were
more than 122,000 office calls and 73,000 house calls in addition to
the large amount of special work. The total cost of the medical
service for the year was nearly $708,000.
An example of outstanding health work which is confined to the
employees of the company is that of an organization having a large
force of clerical employees. The medical service provided, in addi
tion to medical and surgical treatment, includes an eye clinic, dental
treatment, and the services of a psychiatrist. The dental work is
confined to examination, prophylaxis, and the taking of X rays, but
all employees are required to report twice a year for examination.
In addition to entrance examinations for all employees, including
mental test for all applicants not college graduates, all employees
are given a physical examination each year, these examinations being
called for by the medical division as the employees' anniversaries are
reached. The company also maintains one of the finest sanatoriums
in the country in which both tubercular and other cases are treated.
First-Aid Equipment and Training
O wing to the hazardous nature of the work, first-aid stations and
rescue rooms are maintained in most mines and first-aid kits are
usually placed throughout the mine workings. Systematic training
in first aid is carried on in practically all the mining operations
scheduled. The first-aid teams are usually made up of four men
each. It is the policy of most companies to add new men to the
team each year or at regular intervals, so that a large proportion of
the employees have this training. A few companies, however,
train as nearly as possible the same men each year, as they believe
they get more efficient work from the old men and they feel also that
it is not fair to a man who has done good work to replace him with
a new man. The first-aid course usually consists of 12 lessons and
the men are paid for the time spent in classes. A smaller number of
men are trained in the use of the mine-rescue apparatus. One
company reports that in case of accident the patient is cared for
in the majority of cases before the doctor arrives and that the chief
surgeon says that in almost every case the work has been done as
well as he could do it himself.
First-aid contests are usually held in the summer and are made the
occasion for a general picnic and good time for the employees and their
families. In the competitive meet held by the mines of one company
not only the workmen but the women and children take part as well,
as, through the efforts of the employees, first aid is taught in the
schools adjacent to the camps. The prizes given by one company
to the teams winning the different contests amount to about $1,000
annually.
Scope of the Work of the Medical Departments
T he emergency hospital equipment often is very elaborate, in
cluding the latest appliances of all kinds, operating rooms equipped
for both major and minor operations, various special treatment
rooms, physical examination rooms with cubicles to be used as dress
ing rooms* X-ray rooms, etc. Ninety-four of the establishments
602
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
employ surgeons or physicians who are qualified to do all the necessary
surgical work, so that accidents, however serious, may be cared
for without the loss of time which is so important a factor in surgical
cases. Most of the physicians lay great stress upon the prompt
reporting of even slight injuries, in order that the risk of infection
may be kept to a minimum. Most companies with adequate medi
cal departments do not have any people trained in first aid in the
plants, and frequently severe penalties are imposed for any attempt
to remove foreign particles from the eyes of fellow workmen or to
bind up cuts or scratches. This policy of prompt and efficient
care has resulted, in many instances, in a very marked reduction
in the number of serious infections.
Although in many of the companies the care of accidents is the
primary cause for the maintenance of emergency hospitals, many
give medical attention also, while in the nonhazardous industries a
good deal of constructive work along medical lines has been done.
About 300 of the companies visited give free medical service to the
employees, ranging from care of acute cases only to general health
supervision. Of the 373 establishments which have emergency hos
pital equipment of varying degrees of completeness, 311 employ
either full-time or part-time doctors, 30 have doctors on call, and the
remainder do not employ any physician but employ trained nurses
to give the first-aid treatments. Fifty-five establishments employ 1
full-time doctor, while 118 have the services of a physician for part
of each day or for certain days in the week; 63 employ 2 doctors for
all or part of the time; 21 employ 3; 49 employ numbers varying
from 4 to 12, and 5 employ more than 12. In most cases where more
than 7 or 8 physicians are employed either a number of plants of the
same company are included in the work of the physicians or the
plant is located in a company town and the medical work includes
the families of the employees. Trained nurses are employed by 332
of the companies, and of this number 149 have 1 trained nurse each,
82 have 2 nurses, 29 have 3 nurses, 57 have from 4 to 8, while 15 have
8 or more. These figures include those companies which have a
company hospital which takes care of the general medical work for
the employees and their families as well as the accidents.
Both the number of physicians and the nurses employed may be
contrasted with the extent of this service in 1916-17 when, of the
375 establishments reporting as having some sort of medical service,
only 171 employed doctors, and 181 had trained nurses.
The emergency hospital work is, in a few instances, carried on in
connection with the mutual benefit association, the employer giving
the space and the equipment and usually making a contribution to
the association funds. In the majority of cases, however, the employer
pays for and controls the hospital work, and the medical work for
the benefit association is incidental to the regular work of the hospital.
Dental and Other Special Treatment
T he recognition, within recent years, of the importance of care of
the teeth in the maintenance of good health has been reflected in
the extension of dental service among industrial firms. At the time
of the previous study only 19 of the firms scheduled employed full
time or part-time dentists, while at the present time 83 of the com
panies visited furnish such service to the employees. A similar
SERVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
503
improvement has taken place in regard to provisions for the examina
tion and treatment of the eyes, 32 companies reporting that a full
time or part-time oculist is employed, as compared with 5 companies
furnishing such service 10 years ago.
Full dental service including all kinds of fillings, extractions, bridge
work, X rays, etc., is furnished in some instances, while in others the
work covers only examination and prophylactic treatment, the
employees being referred to their own dentist for further care. The
work is done in all cases on company time but in many instances a
moderate charge is made covering, usually, only the cost of the
materials.
In all but a few cases the oculists employed are on a part-time
basis and where this service is provided for employees it is usual for
the company to arrange for purchase of glasses at a reduced rate.
Among other specialists employed are physicians specializing in
diseases of the ear, nose, and throat and in two cases psychiatrists
are employed for the adjustment of cases in which the basic trouble is
mental. A large rubber company employs a dermatologist for parttime work, because of the occupational hazards present in the
industry; and a considerable number of firms have X-ray technicians
on their medical staff. Several companies employ a masseur and a
number of stores provide the services of a chiropodist owing to the
prevalence of foot troubles in this industry caused by the strain of
long standing. One company has employed a nutrition specialist
for more than four years who works in cooperation with the medical
department. This work was introduced primarily to reduce absen
teeism, as there were many cases of short absences lasting from one
to three days which were the result of digestive disturbances the
number of which it was thought could be reduced by correcting the
diet.
Visiting-Nurse Service
In about 70 cases the companies employ one or more nurses to
do home visiting or one of the emergency hospital nurses puts in
part of the time visiting employees who are ill. This visit is made
usually within three davs, but in some instances the nurse visits the
home on the first day of the report of illness. Usually the call by the
nurse is made for the purpose of seeing that the employee has proper
care, and only such bedside care is given by her as she finds neces
sary. A number of companies, however, provide free home nursing
service, several giving such care after an employee has been with the
firm one year. In several of the manufacturing companies and com
mercial enterprises, the services of the physician are also available to
sick employees. In one case the doctor calls once only to see if the
patient is getting proper care, while in another he will call if requested
to do so and with the consent of the attending physician. Frequently
the company provides the visiting nurse with an automobile. In
one case the firm pays the hospital expenses if an employee has to
have an operation, while a large taxicab company provides treat
ment, including nursing and medical care, for both employees and
their families.
504
m e d ic a l a n d g e n e r a l h e a l t h s e r v ic e
Treatment of Tuberculosis
O nly one company visited in the 1926 survey maintains a
sanatorium. This was established for the care of employees suffering
from tuberculosis, but its facilities have been extended to admit
those suffering from other diseases or those needing convalescent
care. The treatment at the sanitorium is given only to employees
and is free. About 80 per cent of the employees admitted because
of tuberculosis have been discharged with the disease arrested or
quiescent and have been able to return immediately to their work.
The medical department of another company with a total of nearly
60,000 employees keeps in touch constantly with tuberculosis and
other sanatoriums so that the placing of employees requiring special
treatment is facilitated. A special visiting nurse visits employees
who are receiving sanatorium treatment regularly. In addition to
this care the company maintains a home in the country where girls
who are recuperating from illness or who are in need of rest are sent,
admissions being in the charge of the medical department.
Seven companies report that they; will pay all expenses of employees
with a reasonable length of service who contract tuberculosis; 2
report that there is no limit to the amount of help extended, including
payment of full salary and other financial assistance; 10 give full
salary in many cases; 11 pay part or all expenses, according to the
necessities of the case; 6 give financial help and also look after the
family when necessary; and 1 company contributes to the upkeep
of a sanatorium, so that no fees are charged its employees. In several
cases employees and employers contribute jointly to a tuberculosis
fund which is used to finance such cases.
Entrance and Periodic Physical Examinations
Two hundred and twelve of the firms scheduled give more or less
complete physical examinations to applicants for employment, 17
examine all male employees, and 18 examine part of the employees,
in such cases usually because those examined have to do heavy lift
ing or extrahazardous work of various kinds.
The examination varies greatly in completeness with the different
companies, ranging from only a few general questions to a thorough
physical test. Although physical examinations were much opposed
by the workers when they were first introduced, much of this opposi
tion seems to have disappeared with the realization that they are not
used as a basis for discrimination and that frequently much benefit
is derived from them. Not much information was secured as to the
length of time given to the entrance examination. One company
which examines all new employees and also provides for an annual
reexamination stated that the examination has been so systematized
that a very complete one, including a urinalysis, can be made in from
5 to 7 minutes. The usual time given to each employee ranges from
5 to 15 minutes, although in special cases more time may be taken.
The defects which most frequently cause the rejection of an appli
cant are hernia, active tuberculosis, various infectious diseases, and
heart disease, although of course the qualifications particularly needed
in the industry determine the question of acceptance or rejection to
a large extent. Many companies divide the applicants into different
classes, as for example, those who are physically fit for any job, those
SERVICE FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
505
who, while having some physical defect, are able to perform certain
kinds of work, and those who are totally unfit for employment.
The percentage of rejections as the result of the entrance examina
tion is reported by 55 companies to be less than 1 per cent, while 29
report that it is “ very small.” Fifty-six report that the rejections
average from 2 to 5 per cent of those examined, 14, from 6 to 10 per
cent, and 31 that it is over 10 per cent. In part of these cases the
nature of the industry is such that certain physical conditions
entirely disqualify for employment. On the other hand, some com
panies make a special effort to employ handicapped persons when
the particular defect does not make them a menace to themselves or
to their fellow employees.
Among the companies giving periodic examinations, 26 reexamine
all employees each year. Two companies reported that all the
employees are examined every six months, while 14 reexamine at
periods varying from 18 months to 3 years, 42 at various intervals
because of occupational hazards, 4 in case of transfer, 3 before
returning to work in all cases of sickness, 1 examines all men over
40 years every six months, and another all over 48 to 50 years annually,
while 20 do not require reexamination but urge employees to be
examined at regular intervals. One company allows all employees
who have been with the firm two years or more an examination at
the Life Extension Institute.
Follow-up Work as a Result of Physical Examinations
I f the physical examination on entrance reveals some remediable
physical defect or condition, a number of companies follow a con
sistent policy of providing treatment for such cases, and patients are
called back to the hospital regularly for a check-up on their physical
condition. This usually includes observation for a certain length of
time of employees who have been absent because of sickness. In
cases of slight cardiac disease, hernia, infected tonsils, or teeth, and
other potentially disabling conditions, employees may be examined at
intervals, and frequently the job is carefully selected so that the condi
tion will not be aggravated by the work.
It is the practice in quite a number of industries to give under
nourished employees milk twice a day. This is usually done under
the supervision of a nurse and changes in the physical condition of
such employees are noted. The milk is sometimes furnished free but
quite often a small charge is made. One company which has a milk
room where about 350 employees who are suffering from malnutrition
or the effects of illness are given special raw milk daily, also has a basal
metabolism clinic for research work on thyroid and endocrine cases
and overweight cases. Particular attention is paid to the examina
tion and treatment of employees who are overweight and the clinic
has special equipment for the study of disorders of the gastrointestinal
tract.
Conclusion
T here can be no question that industrial medical service offers
an opportunity for really constructive work. If the service rendered
is that of mere “ finger-wrapping” its usefulness is strictly limited,
but if the opportunity is utilized to study conditions which
develop among large groups of people closely associated in their
506
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
daily work or to learn what are the effects of potentially harmful
substances, many of which have not yet been fully investigated, the
service can result not only in a distinct contribution to the well
being of a particular group but may add also to the sum total of
scientific knowledge. Whether or not the possibilities of the service
are realized, however, depends both upon the qualifications of the
physicians in charge and upon the degree of encouragement given by
the employer.
General Health Work of Labor Organizations 1
HE TRADE-UNION approaches the problem of the health
of its members either indirectly through the avenue of improve
ment of the places in which they spend their working life, or directly by
adopting measures designed to benefit the individual member.
Attempts by the unions to improve the health of the membership
generally by raising the standards of sanitation and cleanliness in the
workrooms have been very widespread indeed. Usually this is done
through the incorporation in collective agreements of clauses guaran
teeing safe and sanitary conditions in the plants where the union
members are employed, the enforcement of these being left to the
workers themselves, to a shop chairman or union representative, or
to some machinery set up within the industry.
Individual health service has been extended to members by only a
few unions. In a number of instances, however, unions which furnish
no direct medical services to members, nevertheless make financial
contributions to private institutions with the understanding that their
members may receive treatment when necessary.
T
Efforts to Improve Shop Conditions
I n t h e attempt to do away with shop conditions tending to be
haraiful to the health of the workers in them, trade-unions have
quite generally incorporated into their collective agreements with
employers provisions relating to sanitation. These may be either
general provisions requiring that the employer “ keep his shop in a
sanitary condition,” or may specify particular features desired, such
as suitable and sanitary toilets, washing facilities, cool drinking water
in the summer, heat in the working place in the winter, etc. Or they
may require specific safeguards.
Agreements quite generally provide that the representative of the
union shall be allowed access to the work place at any time to see
that all the provisions of the agreement are being carried out and that
the sanitary and other working conditions are all that they should be.
The stereotypers, painters, and photo-engravers have all been
active along this line.
Ladies7 garment industry.—The unions in the garment industries,
which have learned from experience the ill effects of insanitary shop
conditions, have been prominent in their health work. Especially is
this true of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
Organized in 1900 in an industry where sweatshop conditions were
general, with long hours and insanitary surroundings almost universal,
i For a general report containing these and additional data see Bulletin No. 465 of this bureau. Ch. V,
HEALTH WORK OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
507
the union was from the first confronted with the problem of improv
ing the sanitary conditions under which its members worked.
A general strike in the cloak and suit industry in New York City in
1910 was settled by the signing of what was called “ the protocol of
peace,” one of the provisions of which called for the establishment
of a board composed of representatives of the employers, the union,
and the public. The joint board of sanitary control was the outcome,
and was formed of two representatives each of the employers, the
union, and the public.
The work of this board has been notable. Its efforts have resulted
in great improvement in safety, working conditions, and in the general
raising of the sanitary standards in the industry. It was the joint
board of sanitary control which established the health center later
taken over by locals of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’
Union and now open to all workers in New York City. (See p. 508.)
The “ protocol” was abandoned in 1916, but the joint board of
sanitary control was retained and has been continued even in times
of strike or lockout.
The example set by the industry in New York City was followed
in Boston in April, 1926, by the setting up of a similar joint board.
A “ sanitary label” (a guaranty that the garment to which attached
iiad been produced under “ enlightened sanitary and labor condi
tions” ) was adopted in 1924. In order to be granted the use of the
label the employer must see to it that the sanitary conditions in his
shop conform to the joint-board standard, and he must have an
active agreement with the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’
Union.
During the period of disorganization in the international union,
the label fell into disuse to some extent, but active steps are now
being taken to revive its general use. It is now being introduced into
the women’s garment industry of Boston.
Pocketbook industry.—The agreement between the International
Pocketbook Workers’ Union and the Associated Leather Goods Man
ufacturers, effective from July 21, 1926, to May 1, 1929, provides for
the establishment in the industry of a joint board of sanitary control
composed of four members, two representing the employers and two
the union. Thus far, however, no steps have been taken to establish
the board, due, the manager of the union states, “ probably to the
fact that with very few exceptions the sanitary conditions in our shops
are pretty good, particularly so in the shops of the members of the
association.”
Printing trades.—Conditions have greatly improved in the printing
trades. Due to unsanitary conditions in the shop, the incidence of
tuberculosis and of lead poisoning among workers in these trades was
formerly very high. As a result of long years of effort, however,
great improvement has been made in lighting conditions, ventilation,
and cleanliness, much of the credit for which must be given to the
printing-trades unions.
A study made by Dr. Frederick L. Hoffman in 1923 and 1924,
with the cooperation of the employers and unions in the printing
trades and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed
general health conditions unexpectedly satisfactory. Sanitary in
spections revealed only minor defects, mainly in old plants. Tuber
culosis, the returns indicated, “ is no longer a menace of serious
508
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
proportions in the industry,” and lead poisoning occurred far less
frequently than had been anticipated.2
Efforts to Safeguard Members’ Health
M easures taken along the line of general health work for members
include specific medical service of various sorts to the members,
educational work along health or medical lines, and the encourage
ment of sports and outdoor recreational activities by the locals.
Many unions either have a regular health or medical section in their
official magazine or run occasional articles either of general interest
or on some specific phase of medicine; these include the periodicals
of the flint-glass workers, the photo-engravers, the locomotive engi
neers, the broom and whisk makers, and the stonecutters.
Ladies’ garment industry.—The results of a dental examination of
3,110 workers carried on by the United States Public Health Service
in the offices of the joint board of sanitary control in 1914, disclosed
such need for dental care that, with the cooperation of the local
unions of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, a
medical and (later) a dental division were created in the joint board,
for the benefit of workers in the industry.
Early in 1919, however, the locals which were supporting the medical
and dental clinics decided to separate them from the board and formed
them into an association, the Union Health Center Association. A
building was purchased and remodeled at a total cost of more than
$80,000, and into this the medical and dental departments were
moved.
As at present organized the Union Health Center is a cooperative
association of the nine local unions of the international in New York
City. These unions, with a membership given as approximately
45,000, own the building in which the medical center is housed and
the equipment. The center is managed by a board of nine directors.
The purpose of the center is stated to be (1) to give information on
health matters, (2) to give physical examinations to applicants for
membership in the union and to members claiming sick benefits, and
(3) to give such treatment as may be necessary. Originally the
services of the center were restricted to members of the international
union. Lately, however, the center has been thrown open to all
members of labor unions.
To aid in the dissemination of health education, a health informa
tion bureau has been established, and workers are encouraged to seek
information on all questions relating to disease and general health
matters. There is also the life-extension branch of the center which
arranges for physical examinations to be given by a number of phy
sicians to groups desiring such service. The medical department not
only gives general medical examinations of patients but will also
arrange for special examinations and treatments by specialists along
various lines. The center has a well-equipped X-ray department,
laboratory, physiotherapeutic department, and a drug store at which
patients may have their prescriptions filled at nominal rates. General
clinics are held five days a week and in addition there are special
clinics, including surgical, nose and throat, gastric, gynecological, eye,
skin, nerves, orthopedic, and proctological clinics, specialists in each
aU. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Buis. Nos. 392,426, and 427.
HEALTH WORK OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
509
branch being engaged for the purpose. New services include analyt
ical laboratory work and a clinic for the treatment of diabetes, kidney
trouble, goiter, and overweight.
The dental clinic which occupies an entire floor in another building,
has 4 dental units and employs 4 full-time dentists at hourly rates,
and 18 others on a part-time basis, the latter coming in for the rush
period in the evenings.
Under the present plan a union desiring to affiliate pays a fee
varying according to its membership. For an organization of from
300 to 500 members the fee is $100 a year; above this membership
the fee increases $50 for every 500 members, subject to a maximum
of $500. These fees entitle the members of the affiliating union to
medical attention at nominal rates and the union to representation
on the board of directors of the Union Health Center. A great
many unions of various trades have affiliated to the center under
this arrangement. It is hoped also to make the center the recognized
examining agency for various unions in New York City which require
such examination in order to receive benefits, tuberculosis treat
ment, etc.
Men’s clothing industry.—The Cincinnati locals of the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers have since 1926 had a health service whereby
members may receive a careful medical examination and advice on
health matters either at the doctor’s office, at the shop, or at the
union office. Treatment is given in certain cases, but others are
referred to specialists or to the family physician for further or special
treatment. #Whenever a case is referred to a specialist arrangements
are made with him for a nominal fee only to be charged.
Announcement was made in the October 12, 1928, issue of The
Advance that these Cincinnati unions have decided to install a
dental clinic in the headquarters of the joint board.
No definite health work has been undertaken in New York City,
but members needing medical attention are referred to the Union
Health Center of the International Ladies Garment Workers'
Union.
In Chicago the local unions have recently erected a new building
which contains not only offices but also many community features,
including a dental clinic with room for 10 chairs and a department
for an X-ray laboratory.
Locomotive engineers.—The insurance department of the Brother
hood of Locomotive Engineers found that a large number of the death
claims presented to the department were for deaths from preventable
diseases which could have been discovered by periodical examination.
As many of these diseases were those which could have been detected
by urinalysis, the brotherhood made arrangements with an established
health service to supply periodic examinations.
Acceptance of the service is voluntary. Each participating
member pays $5 a year, receiving for this fee a urinalysis every three
months. (His family may also have the benefit of such service,
children under 18 being charged for at the rate of $2.50 for semi
annual examinations.) Each time the examination is made a report
is sent to the member stating whether his condition is normal or
abnormal and, if the latter, what should be done to correct the
condition
510
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
The brotherhood reports that a large percentage of the membership
is taking advantage of this service.
A regular health department has been established in the Locomotive
Engineers’ Journal to which members desiring medical information
on specific points may write, the answer being printed so that all
may have the benefit of it.
Treatment of Tuberculosis
T uberculosis is a disease which has received considerable attention
from labor organizations. There are three union-owned tuberculosis
sanatoriums, besides a number of unions which pay tuberculosis
benefits.
Costello Home,—The locals of the International Stereotypers and
Electrotypers’ Union of North America own a modern 6-room bunga
low on the outskirts of Denver with five 1-room cottages facmg
the north side of the main cottage, to which members may go for
tuberculosis treatment.
Each little cottage is equipped with an adjustable hospital bed,
dresser, straight-backed chair, rocker, medicine table, rug, and
fiat-topped stove, also a reading lamp adjustable from the bed.
The matron can be summoned by an electric push button communi
cating with the main cottage.
The main building contains the general living room, dining room
(where all the patients who are able assemble for meals), and kitchen,
as well as three bedrooms.
The rules of the association provide that only cases which appear
to be capable of improvement shall be admitted to the home. #
There is no resident physician, but the home association has
engaged the services of a Denver physician, who visits the home
once a week, examines all the residents, and prescribes the necessary
treatment. He is also on call at any time for emergency treatment.
The general care of the patients is given by the resident matron,
under the direction of the physician.
The food for each patient is prescribed by the physician, as well
as any exercise that is to be permitted, ana certain rest hours are
enforced.
^All clothing needed by the patient is furnished by the home associa
tion and each resident receives, for pocket money, $2.50 each week.
After a patient has been in residence for a year and if the home
physician and the patient’s local union consent, the home committee
may give him leave of absence to pay a visit to his home city. In such
cases the association furnishes transportation (including berth) and
money for his expenses during the trip.
Tuberculosis sanatorium of printing pressmen.—The tuberculosis
sanatorium of the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants7
Union is located at Pressmen’s Home, Tenn. It is a white frame
building constructed in the shape of a cross so that each room receives
the sunlight at some time in the day.
Each bedroom opens onto its individual screened porch, the wall
of the room on that side being formed of windows, so that the patient
can be in the open air and in his room at the same time.
The sanatorium is equipped with an up-to-date kitchen and has
its own refrigeration plant. There are separate dining rooms for the
patients, for the nurses, and for the white and the colored employees.
HEALTH WORK OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
511
The number of patients varies form 15 to 35. At the time of the
agent’s visit, 17 were in residence.
Patients at the sanatorium receives not only tuberculosis treatment
but any other medical attention necessary. This includes minor
operations, X-ray work, dental care, and treatment for affections of
eyes, ears, nose, and throat.
In case of death of a patient or of a resident at the home it is pro
vided that, if the body is unclaimed by friends or the local lodge,
burial expenses will be borne by the home,
The sanatorium has a resident physician. The medical director
resides at Rogersville, some 12 miles away, but visits at the sanato
rium several times a week. There are three resident nurses.
Applicants for admission must have been members of the pressmen’s
union for four years. While the rule is that only incipient cases
shall be admitted, it was stated that in practice many advanced cases
are sent to the sanatorium and “ they can’t be turned away.”
Special attention is given to the menu of the patients, to insure a
diet rich in protein. A large flock of chickens and a herd of cattle
owned by the home association provide the eggs and milk consumed at
the sanatorium.
No monetary benefits are provided, but all necessaries are furnished
including clothing and transportation to and from the sanatorium
and the patient’s home.
Hospital and tuberculosis sanatorium of printers.—The hospital of
the International Typographical Union occupies the south wing of the
main building of Union Printers’ Home, at Colorado Springs, Colo.
It provides accommodations for 54 patients. The tower room on each
floor (except that on which the offices of the medical department are
located) is used as a recreation and lounging room for the patients.
In addition, there are 20 octagonal tents grouped at the south end
of the main building. These tents are mounted on cement bases
and are securely anchored to withstand the most severe winds. The
walls are of the best Army canvas, impervious to snow or rain. A
system of ventilators is provided in the floor on four sides of the tent,
as well as in the peak of the roof; these can be opened or closed at
will. Each tent is electric lighted and steam heated and is provided
with an electric call bell. If a patient needs attention he presses the
bell, which rings in the nurses’ room in the hospital and at the same
time causes a light over the tent door to glow. This remains lighted
until his call is answered.
To supply a central place for the use of the tuberculosis patients,
a solarium was built in 1907. Still more space was found necessary,
and an open-air pavillion was then constructed, supplying accomoda
tions for 30 additional patients.
In August, 1927, there were 140 patients in the hospital and sana
torium.
Persons suffering from tuberculosis may be admitted after 18
months’ continuous membership, except in cases where it appears
that the applicant joined the union for the sole purpose of securing
admission to the sanatorium.
Within 48 hours after admission to the home or sanatorium the
resident is given a thorough physical examination, and during his
period of residence he receives all necessary medical care, including
512
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
operations. In case of death, the home bears the burial expenses if the
body is unclaimed by friends or the local union.
The institution’s medical staff consists of a medical director, two
resident physicians, a consulting neurologist, a consulting ear, nose,
and throat specialist, a consulting eye specialist, a consulting surgeon,
and a dentist. In addition, when occasion demands, a specialist in
genito-urinary diseases is also called in. Major operations are pro
vided for by arrangement with a local hospital.
The equipment of the medical department cost more than $10,000,
and includes an up-to-date X-ray machine, ultra-violet lamp, dental
outfit, etc. The home has an arrangement with a local laboratory
clinical company whereby laboratory-test work is done by the com
pany, which also has supervision of the X-ray department of the
home. The home employs a technician, who is also a nurse, to do
the X-ray work.
Other Trade-Union Provision for Tuberculosis Treatment
T uberculosis^treatment is often one of the benefit features of
those trade-unions whose trade involves factors or conditions pre
disposing to that disease. In addition to the unions already mentioned
which have established their own sanitoriums, a number of organi
zations either pay a tuberculosis benefit directly to the member or
pay his expenses in some private sanatorium. These organizations
include those of the headgear workers, the locomotive firemen and
enginemen, the photo-engravers, the potters, and the railroad trainmen.
A. member of the Brotherhood of Firemen and Enginemen afflicted
with tuberculosis may have his choice between benefits of $75^ per
month if he remains at home or treatment at the nearest sanatorium,
with treatment paid for and cash benefits of $15 per month paid to
him to cover his personal expenses while there.
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen pays no pecuniary bene
fits to members who contract tuberculosis. It does, however, pro
vide for treatment, unlimited as to time, in any sanatorium to which
the patient wishes to go. During his residence there the brotherhood
supplies him with everything he needs, or, as it was stated at the
headquarters of the brotherhood, “ everything from cigarettes to shoe
laces.” The report of the tuberculosis fund as of January, 1928,
showed a total of 847 members given sanatorium treatment since
this benefit was inaugurated in 1923. During 1927, 544 persons were
cared for at a total cost of $546,195. The total cost of tuberculosis
treatment since 1923 has amounted to $1,929, 294.
The Union of Cloth Hat, Cap, and Millinery workers pays a tuber
culosis benefit of a flat sum of $75, the payment of which relieves
the union from any further payments for this purpose to the afflicted
member. ^ The International Photo-Engravers Union allows $10 for
the physical examination of any member suspected of being tuber
culous. If found to have the disease he becomes eligible to benefits
of °$15 per week, continuing as long as he is affected with the disease.
The secretary-treasurer of the union reports that “ the treatment of
these cases is not limited to any specific form or care, it being optional
with a member whether treatment is received at home, at a sanar
torium, or any other place selected by the member himself.”
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS IN INDUSTRY
51S
The National Brotherhood of Operative Potters provides for treat
ment, in a sanatorium selected by the patient, at a cost not to exceed
$12 per week, except in “ extreme cases” when the executive board may
authorize a higher rate. No more than 50 patients may receive such
treatment at any one time. If the patient fails to show improvement
in six months the brotherhood reserves the right to discontinue the
treatment.
The provision of care for tubercular members has twice come up for
consideration in the annual meetings of the Brotherhood of Railway
and Steamship Clerks, but no action has thus far been taken. Study
of the causes of mortality and sickness among its members has shown
that tuberculosis constitutes a real hazard among them. The lodges
affiliated to the board of adjustment for the Southern Railway sys
tem have erected on land donated to them a mountain home near
Saluda, N. C. This will be maintained primarily as a vacation place
for members, but will also be used as a tuberculosis home for persons
in the first stages of that disease.
In the majority of cases receipt of tuberculosis treatment is not
limited to a specified period but is left to the discretion of the general
executive board or continues for whatever time is necessary.
A number of other unions give^ financial support to certain private
tuberculosis sanatoriums. This is true of a tuberculosis sanatorium
located at Duarte, Calif. The Bakers’ Journal3 is authority for the
statement that “ Every single structure on the ground was put there
by some organization, labor group, or community organization. The
Amalgamated Clothing Workers put up the dining hall; the medical
building was put up by the International Fur Workers' Union; one of
the men’s cottages was put up by the Workmen’s Circle; another
building was put up by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers*
Union. Upon the initiative of the Los Angeles Bakers’ Union, a
fund was raised and a “ Bakers’ Building” has been erected on the
grounds. The building is said to have cost $30,000.
Another tuberculosis sanatorium which has received considerable
support from organized labor is the Ex-Patients’ Tubercular Home
of Denver, Colo.
Through the efforts of the Central Labor Union of Brooklyn and
Queens, the Medford Sanatorium, for working men, women, and their
families, was incorporated early in 1912 and the sanatorium was
opened to the public in 1913.
The sanatorium is located on 70 acres of rolling woodland on Long
Island. It is free to the public, treatment being given without cost.
Thus far the institution is equipped only for handling incipient cases.
It is supported by voluntary contributions from individuals, from
labor organizations, etc.
Value of Physical Examinations in Industry 5
PAPER read before the Fifteenth Safety Congress, held at
Detroit in October, 1926, brought out the value of physical
examination in industry by citing the experience in some detail of
the plants which the speaker represented. He emphasized the
A
* The Bakers’ Journal, Chicago, Nov. 19, 1927, p. 2.
»National Safety Council. Transactions of the Fifteenth Annual Safety Congress, Detroit, Oct. 25 to
29, 1926. Vol. II. The Value of Physical Examinations in Industry, by F. A. Robinson [Chicago], 1926,
pp. 368-378.
. 514
MEDICAL AND GENERAL HEALTH SERVICE
apparent tendency of industry to pay more attention to the cost
of the mechanical machine than to the cost of the “ human machine,”
whereas it is the latter which represents the greater proportionate
cost of operation. In support of this he cited a statement which
has been made that the wages paid to industrial workers in an
average plant, over a period of four years, equals the cost of the
plant itself. It is therefore vitally necessary that methods be
employed to conserve this element in the operation of any plant,
and to this end the policy of subjecting employees to physical exami
nations was urged. It would appear wise, he suggested, to prevent,
as far as possible, loss from physical disabilities, actual or latent, by
a system that will determine in advance whether an employee is
physically fit for the work assigned him or even in condition to
continue on the pay roll. Losses occurring because of accidents or
physical infirmities not actually incapacitating for work represent a
severe drain upon industry, and these losses may be materially
reduced, in the opinion of the speaker, by competent physical exami
nations of all workers. The employee himself benefits by such
medical service, for his physical defects may be corrected in time to
avoid future loss of time through sickness or other disability.
Several objectives of physical examinations were pointed out, as
follows:
1. To ascertain the exact physical condition of employees at time of hiring.
2. To prevent contagious diseases from getting into the factory and being
spread among the present force.
3. To place workers in jobs for which they are physically fitted.
4. To prevent workers in poor physical condition from entering the factory,
where they would be a danger to themselves, others, and property.
5. To use the information learned through the examination for future follow-up
to better his physical condition and make better material for promotion.
6. To prevent workers being transferred to jobs for which they are not physi
cally fitted.
At one of the factories of the company represented by the speaker
the employees are classified by the medical examiner as (a) those
physically fitted for any employment; (6) those fitted for any employ
ment, but who have minor defects; (c) those having more important
physical defects which would permit them to work only in certain
occupations; and (d) those physically unfit for any employment.
A follow-up system on the part of the employer, by whicn physical
defects are corrected, was urged as important. This, in the plants
represented by the speaker, is accomplished by a mutual benefit
association, which employees under 50 years of age may join at a
nominal cost, receiving benefits after six months' membership.
The scheme is financed by the association in an amount equal to from
50 to 90 per cent.
The plan of physical examinations in these plants appears to be
resulting in the employment of workers who are in better health than
the old employees and in keeping the number of permanent rejections
at a minimum—only 5.3 per cent in 1926. Rejections among women
were fewer than among male applicants for positions.
In 1925, examinations were made of 273 girls and among these 209
defects were found, of which 133, or 64 per cent, were afterwards cor
rected. Of the defects noted, 93 per cent were those of the teeth and
35.7 per cent were those of the nose, with throat, skin, and eye affec
tions following in minor proportions. Reexaminations are recom
mended.
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS IN INDUSTRY
515
Attention was called to the low cost of physical examinations in
industrial plants generally, figures quoted showing that in 501 plants
employing more than a million workers, the cost per employee
amounts to but little over $5. It was also stated that plants which
have introduced the entrance examination of applicants are getting
the physically fit, while other plants are getting the physically unfit.
The discussion of the paper by delegates from other companies
disclosed that in the plants represented by them, while applicants for
positions must undergo a medical examination, reexamination is
optional. It is the experience in these plants that the older em
ployees are about equally divided in their attitude toward the plan
of medical examinations. A refusal to be examined, however, does
not prejudice the employee's standing with his employer.
It is the opinion of these delegates that the employment of a
doctor for part time (four hours a day) is feasible in a plant employ
ing as many as 1,250 workers. Employment of a doctor for full time
is not advised, as the effect is better upon the employees with a parttime doctor.
About 3.5 per cent of all rejections are on account of hernia.
Workers* Attitude Toward Physical Examinations
Physical examination of workers in hazardous employ for their
own protection has been advocated but has met antagonism on the
part of many workers, who fear that in some way the weaker framed
or less fortunate physically would be discriminated against, disre
garding the fact of their economic need for remunerative employ
ment. On this subject the views of Frank C. MacDonald, president
of the California State Building Trades Council, are of interest:
To the average workman Ms job is in a sense synonymous to life. He must
work to live. He views with suspicion the activities of employers with regard to
medical examinations and safety rules. He thinks that medical examinations
are held for the purpose of eliminating him from his job. He imagines that
inost safety rules are promulgated for the purpose of speeding him up in his
work. Because of this suspicion and misunderstanding, the Nation is subjected
to great loss and the workman to grave danger.
Millions of workmen are doing heavy work which they are physically unfit to
perform, such as men whose hearts have become injured through years of
laborious effort. Such workmen are frequently required to do heavy lifting,
and other strenuous work that jeopardizes their lives because of this weakened
heart condition of which they are in ignorance. Countless workmen have other
impaired or diseased physical conditions which make them liable to attacks of
dizziness or fainting, yet such workmen are sent to work in highly dangerous
places.
Then again there are numerous workmen with defective vision who, because
of such impaired eyesight, are barely able to do their work. If these workmen
were examined by competent oculists they could be furnished with corrective
glasses. This would make them more efficient workmen and less liable to
accidents.
It might be possible for arrangements to be made through the United States
Department of Labor whereby doctors in the Federal, State, and municipal
employ would examine such workmen who would voluntarily submit to exami
nation. Such a procedure would obviate the fear that the workman has, that
if the doctor representing the company for whom he works were to examine
him he might cause his discharge because of some physical disability. Unques
tionably if the doctors in the employ of the Federal, State, and municipal gov
ernments were to make such examinations they would discover physical defects
in thousands of cases, and would be able to advise workmen as to the proper
corrective treatment. In many other cases they could warn the physically
defective worker against that particular character of work which jeopardizes
his life.
39142°— 29-------34
MINIMUM WAGE
517
M inim um Wage Laws in the United States
SEVERAL countries legislation has been enacted to fix a mini
mum rate below which employers may not go in the payment of
INwages
to their employees. In the United States such legislation has
been limited to the employment of women and children. Since the
passage of the first minimum wage law in the United States by Massa
chusetts in 1912, 16 States have enacted wage legislation. The
origin, development, constitutionality, and operation of these laws
were made the subject of an investigation by the Women’s Bureau
of the United States Department of Labor in 1927, and the results
were published as Bulletin No. 61 of the Women’s Bureau. The
following extracts from the first chapter of that bulletin give a brief
description of the development and present status of minimum-wage
legislation in the United States:
Origin and Extent of Minimum-Wage Activity
F or the past 15 years an experiment in wage regulation has been
carried on in widely varying sections of the United States. Seven
teen States 1—Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, the District
of Columbia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Oregon, Porto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington,
and Wisconsin—have passed laws with the idea of guaranteeing to
working women, in return for their labor, a sum adequate for selfsupport. Though this method of State supervision of wages for
women and minors alone has been tried to any extent only in this
country and in Canada, it is a direct outgrowth of the system of
wage regulation for all workers in specified industries that developed
in New Zealand and Australia at the end of the nineteenth century.
History of Legislation in the United States
T he year 1913 was really the beginning of the American experi
ment. Several things contributed to bring about the burst of senti
ment for wage regulation. The first decade of the twentieth century
saw a growing wave of interest in women workers. The United States
awoke to the fact that it was a great industrial community, not a
pioneer State. The country began to be concerned about the condi
tions under which thousands of its citizens labored for wages. To the
amazement of many it was discovered that millions of women were
employed in store and factory. This growing interest is reflected in
the reports published by the State departments of labor. In State
after State these reports change from lists of the State’s natural
resources and development to tables on rates and earnings. Private
organizations, too, began studying phases of industrial life and printing
their findings. Starting with modest beginnings at just about the bei For the purpose of brevity, the District of Columbia and Porto Rico are referred to as States throughout
this report.
519
520
MINIMUM WAGE
ginning of the century, the tide grew, culminating in a great study made
by the Federal Government in 1907-1910— “ Woman and child wage
earners in the United States.” The rates and earnings disclosed by
these studies were shockingly low in the majority of cases. Public
opinion was aroused. The Progressive Party in its 1912 platform
had a plank advocating minimum wage laws for women and children.
That the United States should have turned toward this effort
which the other English-speaking nations were making to correct
bad conditions, when it awoke to the need of putting its own house
in order, was but natural. The laws of Australia, New Zealand, and
Great Britain were well known to large groups of people who were
disturbed about the exceedingly low rates of pay that so many of the
woman wage earners were receiving. These laws seemed to have
been successful in alleviating to some extent the distress among the
lowest paid groups. They did not seem to have hurt industry. They
had been adopted not only by the frontier States of Australia and
New Zealand but by highly industrialized Great Britain. It was
true they applied to both men and women, and that their administra
tion ana enforcement in many cases was tied up to compulsory
arbitration. To the American mind State regulation of men’s wages
and compulsory arbitration were repugnant. Both these smacked
too much of the interference of government in everyday life which
it is the American inheritance to fear. Moreover, at this particular
moment the especial concern was the low wages paid to women. It
was proposed, therefore, to adapt the plan to American needs and
desires.
By 1912-13 the question of some sort of wage regulation was so
prominent in people’s minds that Massachusetts and Michigan appro
priated money for special investigations of the conditions surround
ing woman wage earners. These investigations once more produced
startlingly low rates and earnings figures. Massachusetts promptly
passed a minimum wage law for women and minors. Almost at
once eight other States joined Massachusetts in putting such laws on
their statute books. After this the movement slowed down, but by
1923, when South Dakota enacted a minimum-wage law, eight more
States—Arizona, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Kansas, North
Dakota, Porto Rico, South Dakota, and Texas—had enacted mini
mum-wage legislation.
During the years in which the laws have been on the statute books
they have undergone many changes. In the first place, most legisla
tures have modified the body of the law by amendments, in some
States time and again. Usually these amendments have been the re
sult of the activity of friends of the different laws who urged that
they be strengthened, so that their good effects would be extended,
but in some cases they were brought about by persons who thought
the laws harmful and who urged that they be so modified as to
mitigate their bad results. In the second place, the laws have been
subjected to constant court attacks, which have limited their scope
and in some cases have resulted in nullification.
In Nebraska and Texas the laws have been repealed by the legis
latures (1919 and 1921, respectively). In the District of Columbia,
Arkansas, and Arizona the United States Supreme Court has de
clared the law unconstitutional. In Porto Rico and Kansas the State
supreme courts have declared the law unconstitutional, basing their
LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES
521
decision solely on the decision of the United States Supreme Court
in the District of Columbia case. The attorney general of Minnesota
has ruled (1925) that the provisions of the law of that State apply
ing to adult women were unconstitutional on the basis of the District
of Columbia decision, and Wisconsin, since its law was held uncon
stitutional by a Federal district court, has passed an entirely new law
for adult woman workers from which are possible such wide exemp
tions as to make any rates set hardly more than standards. The
close of the period sees minimum-wage legislation not only nullified
in several States by the attacks upon it but subject elsewhere to
constant pressure that has influenced the actual powers and duties
specified in the laws and the way in which those powers and duties
have been carried out from day to day.
It is apparent that to-day many States have finished their experi
ment in setting minimum rates for adult women. The status of
minors under most of these laws still is undetermined, but in most of
the States where the provisions for adult women have been held un
constitutional little or no effort is being made to enforce the pro
visions relating to minors and no new decrees are being issued.
Among the States that have had their laws declared unconstitu
tional, Wisconsin alone has sought to find some other legislative
means of controlling the rates paid to adult women. Instead of
enacting a law based on that of Massachusetts, which provided no
penalty beyond publication, the Wisconsin Legislature passed an
entirely new sort of law. Its great difference from the old law is
that while the first law set up the positive principle that the mini
mum rate must provide the necessary cost of proper living, the new
law makes the negative rule that “ no wage paid * * * shall be
oppressive.” An oppressive wage is defined as “ any wage lower
than a reasonable and adequate compensation for the services ren
dered.” Difficult as it has been to determine the cost-of-living basis
for setting minimum rates, this seems a much more ambiguous state
ment on which to base a rate. The industrial commission is given
the power to issue orders setting forth what rates are oppressive and
unjust. In the two years the law has been in force no new orders
have been issued, though the orders for pea canning and for cherry,
bean, corn, and tomato canning have been reissued each year. The
commission has gone on enforcing the minimum rate set on the costof-living basis on the theory that any lower rate is oppressive. The
difference in wording therefore has had no significance in practice
up to this time.
In addition to changing the method of expressing the principle on
which wage rates were to be set, Wisconsin’s second law introduces
another new feature. It allows an employer to be given a license to
pay all his employees less than the rate set by the commission if he
can satisfactorily establish that he is unable to pay such rate. This is
based on the same theory as the clause in the Massachusetts and
Nebraska laws, which permits the courts to grant exemption to any
employer who proves that he can not pay the minimum rate and con
tinue to operate his business. The Wisconsin law, however, simplifies
the procedure for obtaining these exemptions by allowing the com
mission to issue special licenses. Whether the two departures from
the standards set up by the earlier law are fundamental enough to
convince the courts that the new law does not interfere with freedom
522
MINIMUM WAGE
of contract between employer and employee thus far has not been
tested in the courts.
This brief resume of the changes made by legislative and court
action during the time that minimum wage laws have been in exist
ence indicates some of the difficulties encountered in studying the de
velopment of administration and enforcement when the status of the
laws themselves was so insecure and changing. In this report the
laws and their administration and enforcement have been studied
just as completely in those States where they have been repealed or
declared unconstitutional as in those States where enforcement still is
going on. In some States where the laws now are dead letters they
were in operation over a considerable part of the 15-year period that
has included all minimum wage activity. Particularly in the District
of Columbia and Kansas, valuable records of the work accomplished are
available. To leave out the laws of these States would be leaving out
an important phase of minimum wage development. To treat them in
a separate section would isolate them from the other laws to which
they are closely akin. They are, therefore, treated exactly like the
“ active” laws in all cases where their provisions are similar. Even
among the active laws a further exception must be noted. Though
the Colorado law is active in the sense that it is still on the statute
books with no adverse court decisions to hamper its enforcement, it
has never been put into operation by the issuance of a decree. Its
legal aspect may be discussed carefully, but it naturally drops from
sight when the discussion of practice under the laws is taken up.
Distinction Between Flexible and Inflexible Types of Laws
T h e p urpose of all the minimum wage laws enacted in the United
States has been stated, with some variation of wording, in each act.
It is that woman wage earners shall not be paid so low a wage that
they can not support themselves in a proper and healthful manner.
It has long been recognized that if large groups of the population
are paid such low wages that they can not provide for themselves
decent food, shelter, and clothing, their resulting ill health and often
ultimate dependency are inimical to the best interests of society in
general. Moreover, many studies of women's wages have brought
out time and again that large groups of women were receiving wages
below the cost of subsistence. Some one—the woman's family, the
employer who pays an adequate wage to other workers in the family,
the general public, or the woman herself—must make up this dif
ference. Since the State usually must step in and help such workers
in misfortune, illness, or old age, and since the general depletion
of the woman's health and strength is against the interest of society,
it has seemed to many people that the State, for the good of its
citizens, should interest itself in seeing that all women who do a
full day's work get a wage adequate for their own support.
The question of how the State shall guarantee this wage to its
woman wage earners has found almost as many different answers
as there are States with minimum wage laws. Roughly divided, the
guaranty has taken two main forms: In one group are those laws
which establish a fixed minimum sum below which women's wages
may not fall; in the other group are the laws which create the ad
ministrative machinery for setting such a minimum sum, The main
LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES
523
feature of this latter group, or the flexible minimum wage laws, is
the wide powers given to an administrative body so that the de
cisions of this body have the force of law. In the States which have
the inflexible laws the legislatures have delegated no powers what
soever and have made no provision for having the minimum wage
law so administered that it changes with varying economic condi
tions. The minimum wage rate itself is a law and stands until it
is changed by another act of the legislature. The opinion is com
monly held, after more than 10 years’ experience with minimum
wage laws, that establishing a rate by law and making no provision
to alter this rate to meet new conditions—except the long and un
certain process of enacting a new law or amending the old one—does
not achieve the purpose desired; that is, providing woman wage
earners with a living wage, not only at one given date but over a
period of time.
Dividing the States into groups according to the method of setting
wage rates shows that much the greater number of States have en
acted flexible laws. Only Arizona, Porto Rico, South Dakota, and
Utah belong in the group first described. The larger group includes
the laws passed by California, Colorado, the District of Columbia
(the Federal Congress), Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Ar
kansas establishes a fixed minimum and also creates the machinery
for adjusting this sum as conditions change. In States where the
minimum wage rate is set by legislative enactment the payment of
such rate of course is compulsory, and anyone who fails to pay this
rate violates a law of the State. On the other hand, in States where
an administrative body is created to establish minimum rates two
types of law exist. In the majority of cases the rates set by these
regulatory bodies have the force of law. In Massachusetts and Ne
braska, however, the regulatory body can only recommend rates and
trust that public opinion will force their payment. Both of these
differences are in the fundamentals of minimum wage legislation.
The manner of establishing the wage rate has been the cause of wide
divergencies in practice so the laws will be considered * * *
in two sections, one section on the flexible group and one on the
inflexible. The great difference in the adaptability of these two
groups of laws and the somewhat more limited field usually included
in the inflexible group has meant that this type of law has not been
studied with the detail accorded the more effective flexible laws.
Procedure and Problems Involved in Setting Rates Under the
Flexible Laws
Since it is the flexible laws that usually are thought of in connec
tion with any discussion of minimum wage, and it is on the basis of
their work that statements are made as to its effects, it is on the actual
record made by the 13 States having such laws that minimum wage
should be judged. In these States the laws, though varying in
some of their provisions, all create the machinery for establishing
minimum rates for women and minors in practically all the industries
and occupations in the State, and for varying these rates as the cost
of living changes. The principle of having the legislature create an
administering body to set the actual amount of the minimum wage
has been accepted both in the United States and in foreign countries
524
MINIMUM WAGE
as the most effective method of handling legislation that regulates
wages. The process in all cases is roughly the same. The commis
sion investigates to ascertain whether the wages paid to a consid
erable number of woman workers are less than the sum which the
commission feels is necessary to maintain the women in health and to
promote their welfare. In order to find out what this sum is, a costof-living study usually has been considered necessary. If any con
siderable number of women are earning wages below this level, the
commission itself or a wage board appointed by the commission holds
a series of meetings to determine what the minimum wage shall be,
and after a wage rate is decided upon the commission holds a public
hearing before announcing its decree. The sum so determined and
announced becomes the lowest sum it is lawful to pay to a full-time
woman or minor worker. The commission thus decides when an in
vestigation shall be started, how many women shall be included, in
investigation and under decree, what the wage rate shall be, when it
shall go into effect, and when it shall be changed. The way in which
this work is carried out determines the efficacy of minimum-wage
legislation.
To form an accurate opinion of minimum-wage legislation it is
vital to know as much as possible about the following things, at
least: How many women, in how many different occupations or in
dustries, have had their wages regulated by law? Have the wage
rates really represented the cost of living at the time they were
issued, and have they been changed as the cost of living has changed?
Have the rates increased the earnings of the lower-paid groups
of women without injuring the position of those somewhat better
paid? Have trade and industry in the specific States been injured
by haying to pay minimum-wage rates? And all this must be
considered in the light of the previous questions: Have these laws
covered a large enough territory, and have they been in action over
a sufficiently long period of time, for their effect to be unmistakable?
Length of Time that Flexible Laws Have Been Functioning
Minimum-wage legislation in the States with powerful laws has
had at the most only 14 years’ trial, for all these laws were passed
in the seven-year period from 1912 to 1919, and the law passed in
1912 did not become effective until 1913. The larger number of
laws were enacted early in the period. Massachusetts passed its law
in 1912 (effective July 1,1913). Seven States—California, Colorado.
Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin—passed
laws in 1913. In 1915 Arkansas and Kansas passed similar laws.
In 1918 the District of Columbia law was enacted. The period closed
by the passing of laws by North Dakota and Texas in 1919. It is
not a true picture of the situation, however, to depict the laws as
having had from 8 to 14 years each to prove that they were good
or bad, effective or ineffective. These flexible laws had no possible
relation to the actual conditions under which business was carried
on until the commissions had acted to set rates for specific industries
or occupations. In several cases this was not done until some years
after the passage of the law. The fact is that actual experience with
minimum-wage rates has covered a much shorter period of time
than that since the date of the laws’ enactment. Several factors
LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES
525
have united to limit the time during which the rates have been in
operation. In almost all instances the commissions, slowness of
action has been the first factor. The process required in all these
States, of investigation of wages, of wage-board meetings, and of
public hearings before any decree could be promulgated, necessarily
was slow; but there were striking differences among the States in the
amount of time consumed. The State which accomplished this work
in the shortest time was Oregon, where the first decree was set nine
months after the law was enacted. Four States set their first decrees
in a year to a year and a half, while some States allowed as much
as three or four years to elapse.
TIME ELAPSED BETWEEN PASSAGE OF LAW AND GOING INTO EFFECT OF FIRST
DECREE, BY STATE
Date first
award went
into effect
Time elapsed be
tween passage of
Industry or occupation affected law
and date decree
became effective
Arkansas *.................. Mar. 20,1915
Sept. 1,1920
California................... Aug. 10,1913
Apr. 14,1916
Mercantile industry in Fort
Smith.
Fruit and vegetable canning
industry.
State
Date law was
enacted
Colorado___________ May 14,1913
District of Columbia. Sept. 19,1918
Aug. 13,1919 Printing, publishing, and
allied industries.
Kansas....................... Mar. 6,1915 Mar. 18,1918 Merchantile establishments—
Massachusetts........
June 4,19122 Aug. 15, 1914 Brush occupation___________
Minnesota_________ Apr. 26,1913 2 Nov. 23,1914 3 Mercantile, office, waitress,
hairdressing occupations.
Nebraska__________ Apr. 21, 1913
North Dakota........... Mar. 6,1919 Aug. 16,1920 3 Public house-keeping occupa
tion.
Oregon........................ Feb. 17,1913 < Nov. 10,1913 Manufacturing establishments
in Portland.
Texas......................... Apr. 3 ,1919« Feb. 7, 1921 Telephone or telegraph office...
Washington............... Mar. 24,1913 • Apr. 28, 1914 Mercantile establishments___
Wisconsin.................. July 31, 1913 June 1, 1917 Pea canning industry________
5 years, 5 months.
2 years, 8 months.
.11 months.
3 years.
2 years, 2 months.
1 year, 7 months.
1 year, 5 months.
9 months.
1 year, 10 months.
1 year, 1 month
3 years, 10 months.
1 A rate for most of the industries and occupations in the State was set by the Arkansas legislature in
the minimum wage law itself (1915).
2 Effective July 1,1913.
* Effective June 17,1919.
3 See text following.
• Effective June 12,1913.
« Effective June 3,1913.
This table shows that minimum wage as an active force should be
considered as beginning its work not at the passage of the first law
but at a date a year or more later, when the first decree became
effective. In several States—Wisconsin, for example—the specific
period of minimum-wage activity is reduced by considerable time.
Moreover, in Minnesota and North Dakota this period of activity
has been further shortened by injunctions restraining the commis
sions from enforcing the decrees they had issued, so that no Minne
sota decree was legal until March 9, 1918, and no North Dakota
decree was legal until April 4, 1921. The actual periods of time in
which any wage rates have been in effect are as follows:
Arkansas________________________Between 6 and 7 years.
California_______________________ _11 years.
District of Columbia___________ Under 4 years (to 1923.2)
Kansas___________________________Between 7 and 8 years (to 1925.8)
Massachusetts__________________ Under 13 years.
Minnesota______________________ 9 years.
North Dakota__________________ 6 years.
Oregon__________________________ Between 13 and 14 years.
Washington_____________________13 years.
Wisconsin_______________________ _10 years.
8 District of Columbia law was declared unconstitutional in April, 1923.
* Kansas law was declared unconstitutional in July, 1925.
526
MINIMUM WAGE
Colorado and Nebraksa never have entered any wage decrees, and
Texas entered a series of decrees that never were effective, as they
were suspended by the commission pending action by the legislature
which repealed the law. Consequently, while there are 13 State
laws to study, there are decrees in but 10 States. Not only is the
geographic field a narrow one, but the 133^ years of decrees in Ore
gon represent the extreme period possible for this study; an average
for all the States of about 9 years is the period which must be con
sidered in proving the effects on mimimum-wage laws as carried out
by decrees. Moreover, it must be remembered that after 1925 all
minimum-wage activity, except in Massachusetts, was very much
slowed down as a result of adverse court decisions. Whether this
is long enough for a fair valuation of such important legislation is
a point usually overlooked in discussions of minimum wage.
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
527
Care of the Aged in the United States
TUDIES of various phases of the care of aged wage earners in the
United States have been made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 1923 and 1924 a survey was made, jointly with certain fraternal
agencies, of the almshouses in the various States. The results of
this study (published as Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 386)
were summarized in the former handbook (Bui. No. 439). In the
same issue was also given a survey of the progress of State old-age
pension legislation up to the close of 1926. Two studies have been
made of pension plans of private employers. The first was made in
1916 and the second in 1925. This last-mentioned phase—industrial
old-age pensions—has been the subject of numerous studies by other
agencies and for that reason no recent survey of the subject has been
made by the bureau.
Because of the widespread and growing interest in the subject of
the care of the dependent aged in the United States, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics has recently been making studies of other less wellknown means by which wage earners and others are provided for in
their old age. One of these has dealt with the retirement systems of
public employees of various classes (Federal and State employees
and employees of municipalities of 400,000 population or over);
the results of this study are summarized in the present issue (p. 542).
Data showing the experience under the State-county old-age
pension laws now in force have been collected, showing the situation
as of the end of 1928, and this phase of the subject is also included
in the present handbook.
In addition to the above, the bureau is now carrying on a study of
homes for the aged maintained by various agencies. As is well
known the Federal Government operates a number of homes for dis
abled soldiers in various parts of the country, part of whose inmates
are aged. Also, the majority of the States have established homes
for soldiers of the Civil War (admitting also, in some cases, their
wives and widows); a number of these have also begun to admit
soldiers of the later wars. There are still, however, many residents
of these homes who come properly within this study of the aged.
A number of the fraternal organizations maintain old people's homes.
A very large number of churches and other religious organizations
also do so, and a third group of homes is run by private philanthropy.
Also, it was discovered that there are a number of homes for the aged
supported by groups of various nationalities—German, Scandinavian,
English, Scottish, etc.—for the benefit of their fellow countrymen.
There are altogether more than 1,200 homes for the aged in this
country which the bureau has been able to locate. Thus far, the
bureau has obtained data for 988. These include 9 Federal soldiers'
or sailors' homes, 46 State homes, 101 fraternal homes, 408 homes
maintained by religious organizations of various sorts, 35 homes of
miscellaneous organizations, 34 homes^ol nationality groups, 5 tradeunion homes, and 350 private homesf
S
530
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
These will be described in a report expected to appear some time
during the year 1929. In order to give a well-rounded presenta
tion of the whole subject of care of the aged, the results of earlier
studies of other phases will also be included in summary form.
Public Pensions for Aged Dependent Citizens1
HERE appears to be a growing tendency by commissions appoint
ed to study the subject of old-age dependency to recommend some
form of public pension which will be regarded not as charity but rather as
a recognition of service, to be paid under careful supervision, but to be
sufficient to enable the recipient to remain with his family or friends
instead of obliging him to become a resident in an institution.
Up to the end of 1928 six States (and Alaska) had adopted some
form of pension legislation designed to provide for aged dependents,
and measures on the subject are pending or being studied in many
other States and in the Congress of the United States. The six States
which have old-age pension laws in effect are Colorado, Kentucky,
Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
AH of these pension laws provide for an optional county system.
Any county may adopt the plan and after one year’s trial may dis
continue it. In general, applicants for the pension must be at least
70 years of age (65 years in Nevada and in Maryland), be citizens of
the United States for 15 years, and residents of the State or county
at least 15 years (10 years in Nevada).
Montana limits the benefits payable to $25 per month, Kentucky
to $250 per year, while in the other States, the total income of a
person aided with a pension may not exceed $1 per day from all
sources (including pension).
The laws exclude from benefit anyone who has been imprisoned
for a specified period, who has within the past 10 years deserted his or
her family, who is a professional beggar or tramp, or who has rela
tives responsible for ms support.
The cost of the plan in all the States except Wisconsin is borne
by the individual county. In Wisconsin one-third of the cost of the
plan, up to a total of $200,000 per year, is borne by the State. If this
amount is not sufficient it is pro rated among them according to the
amounts paid out.
Massachusetts has an act (Acts of 1928, ch. 383), which, however,
can hardly be termed an old-age pension act, as it provides merely
for the creation of a public bequest commission consisting of the
secretary of state, the State treasurer, and the commissioner of
State*aid and pensions. No additional compensation shall be allowed
the officials for their service on the commission. A “ public bequest
fund” is provided for, to be under the control of the commissioners.
It is to be made up of gifts to the fund or to the commission for the
use of the fund. (No State contribution was provided for.) The
State treasurer is to be the custodian of the fund. When, and so
long as, the principal of the fund amounts to $500,000 the commission,
with the approval of the governor and council, may distribute, in
accordance with its rules and regulations relative thereto, the income
from said fund to such worthy citizens of the Commonwealth as, in
T
*The data in this article are as of Jan. 1, 1929.
531
PUBLIC PENSIONS FOR DEPENDENT CITIZENS
its opinion, by reason of old age and need, are entitled thereto. No
man under 65 and no woman under 60 is entitled to assistance from
such fund. The commission, subject to the approval of the governor
and council, may make, and from time to time may alter and amend,
rules and regulations governing payments.
Old-Age Pension Laws in Operation
In the attempt to ascertain to what extent the counties were
availing themselves of these old-age pension laws and how many
aged were actuaUy being assisted under their provisions, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics addressed an inquiry to each of the 280 counties
of Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, and Nevada, and to the
State Board of Control in Wisconsin (reporting for 71 counties).1
The replies covering 261 counties in these States show that only 52 of
the counties reporting have adopted the pension system provided by
the law. The greatest proportion of adopting counties was found in
Montana, as would be expected, since this was the first State to pass
old-age pension legislation which is still in effect. The replies from
some of the counties which have not yet adopted the plan indicate
that they would have done so, but were financially unable. Others
replied that they already had a considerable amount of money invested
in a county infirmary or almshouse and therefore felt that operation
of the almshouse should be continued.
Only two of the counties reporting in Nevada have adopted the
county pension plan. Since its adoption in one of these, the county
commissioner reports, the tax income has been insufficient to pay any
pensions, though some poor relief has been given.
The table below shows, for each State, the status of pensions for
aged dependents and the actual cost to the counties.
NUMBER OF PENSIONERS AND COST OF PENSION PLANS IN SIX STATES
State
Year
Colorado___________________
Kentucky___________________
Maryland___________________
Montana____________________
Nevada_____________________
Wisconsin
_________....
1927
1926
1927
1923
1925
1925
Total__________________
Num
ber of
coun
ties
63
Pensions
Num Num
ber
ber re with
port pension Num Average
Average
cost per
ing system ber re pension
per
ceiving month
month
Total
cost per
year
52
62
1
1
3
« 30
»672
«12
$120
b 8,064
51
13
71
0
$10.00
° 20 .00
$10
« 24
56
17
71
666
<*11
16.59
d 15.00
11,048
2
•4
295
19.20
5,515
132,575
d1,680
/ 66,185
351
261
52
1,003
17.37
17,420
208,624
120
42
« 1 county only; 1 has system but has paid no pensions; 1 did not report on this point.
*>2 counties only.
d 175
« Including Baltimore City.
d 1 county only; the other has made no payments as yet.
« 1 additional county has adopted system since report was made.
/ One-third paid by State.
i No inquiry was addressed to Massachusetts, for it will be some time before any pensions will be payable
in that State. In fact, press reports from that State, dated Feb. 8,1929, state that up to the present only
$1,000 has been given to the fund.
39142°— 29------- 35
532
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
As the above table shows, 1,003 aged persons are being cared for
through the old-age pension plans of 52 counties, an average of about
20 per county. (Many of these counties also have aged people at
the county poor farm or infirmary.) The largest average pension is
being paid in, Kentucky. A greater number of persons per county are
receiving pensions in Wisconsin than in any of the other States, and
in its four counties nearly half as much is being spent for pensions as
in the 42 counties of Montana,which has the largest total annual
expenditure. In Wisconsin, however, as already stated, one-third of
the expense is borne by the State.
Criticisms of Old-Age Pension Systems Now in Force
T he opponents of old-age pension legislation base their objections
upon several grounds. They claim that a noncontributory sys
tem, the only land which has been adopted in this country, decreases
self-reliance, discourages thrift and energy, and promotes pauperism
by relieving it of some of its more unpleasant features. They object
because of the expense, and because pensions act to weaken the sense
of responsibility for their own aged relatives which decent people
should feel. They fear a tendency toward increasing reliance upon
Government aid rather than on private resources, and they claim that
wherever the system has been tried there has been a disposition to
make pensions increasingly large, and the conditions of granting them
increasingly easy.
The friends of such legislation look with apprehension upon the
present situation from entirely different motives. The real purpose
of old-age pensions, they say, is to make it possible for those reduced
to poverty by age to spend their declining years in self-respecting
privacy, free from the anxieties of want and the stigma of pauperism,
living independently in their own surroundings instead of being
massed together in an institution. The mere substitution of outdoor
for indoor relief, although perhaps a step in the right direction, is far
from accomplishing this end. At present, they say, the pension is
not sufficiently differentiated from poor relief, and the laws are
usually administered by the same authorities who have charge of the
poor relief. Consequently their tendency is to look upon the pension
merely as an extension of the principle of poor relief.
Appraisal of Pension System by Counties
I n each case in the present study inquiry was made as to the
opinion of the administering officer as to the relative value of the
pension system as compared with the old almshouse system (though
in many instances the two systems are being practiced jointly).
The replies indicate that, in general, those counties which have
adopted the pension plan like it and feel that it is superior to the
almshouse as a means of caring for aged poor. As would be expected,
the majority of counties which have not accepted the pension plan
cling to the almshouse as preferable.
The main objections raised against the county old-age pensions by
those who are administering them are:
(1)
That they are inadequate for full support and are feasible only
where the pensioner has some means of his own or where friends or
PUBLIC PENSIONS FOB DEPENDENT CITIZENS
533
relatives are willing to receive him into their homes or contribute to
his support.
(2) That pensions are too expensive to be considered by counties
which cover poor districts or which are only sparsely settled.
(3) That dependent aged people find themselves in a position in
which assistance is necessary mainly because of mismanagement in
money matters, lack of thrift, etc.
(4) That persons apply for pensions who would not apply for relief
if this meant being sent to the poorhouse, and the cost to the county
is therefore greater under the pension system.
It is seen that these objections are based upon purely utilitarian
reasons—mainly financial. ^ In only two replies was the matter given
consideration from the point of view of the pensioner, i. e., whether
considering the self-respect and human feelings of the aged applicant
for public assistance, the pension is preferable to the almshouse.
The Colorado law is very recent, having been passed only in 1927,
and the reports thus far received from counties of that State indicate
that only one county has availed itself of the pension law; and that
county reports that it does not believe the system to be any improve
ment of the almshouse system. Thirteen other counties reporting
are flatly opposed to the pension system, while five believe the pension
to be preferable to the poorhouse. Several replies indicate that while
they have no general criticism to make of the idea of old-age pensions,
they can see no advantage in the adoption of the present law.
In Kentucky, where only 3 of the 120 counties have adopted the
pension system, the county judge (who administers the system) in
one prefers the almshouse system but without giving reasons, one
prefers the pension system, and one failed to reply on this point. Of
the remaining counties the majority who expressed an opinion were
unfavorable to it, quite generally on the ground of expense.
The Maryland act is also a recent one and none of the counties have
adopted it, although opinion seems to be quite favorable to the theory
of old-age assistance, among those counties which reported. Many
of them have for years had a plan of their own under which allowances
(really poor relief) are granted to the needy aged of the county.
In Montana, among the auditors of the counties which have the
pension system, 21 are unqualifiedly favorable to it, and 7 unquali
fiedly opposed.
Only two counties reporting in Nevada have formally adopted the
>ension plan and in one of these it is as yet inoperative because of
ack of funds. Several counties have a system of outdoor relief.
In the three years’ operation of the Wisconsin law, five counties
have put the pension plan into effect. Taking advantage of the pro
vision of the law which permits a county to discontinue the pension plan
after it has been in effect one year, Wood County, which had adopted
the plan in 1925, discontinued it a year and a half afterward, but six
months later adopted it again. *Another of the original five counties
revoked its acceptance, but its place was taken by another county
which has recently accepted the plan but is not covered by the table
on page 531.
{
534
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
Trade-Union Pensions and Homes for the Aged
Old-Age and Disability Pensions
SURVEY conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statisticsin 1927-282
disclosed the fact that 10 national or international unions—those
of the bridge and structural-iron workers, bricklayers, electrical
workers, granite cutters, printing pressmen and assistants, streetrailway employees, printers, locomotive firemen and enginemen,
locomotive engineers, and railroad trainmen—had adopted an
old-age pension plan for those of their members who fulfill certain
requirements as to age, union membership, and physical or financial
condition.3 Since that time the carpenters have also adopted a
pension scheme. Of these unions, six also operate a home for aged
or disabled members, there being a choice between receipt of the
pension and residence at the home. The Order of Railway Conductors
has established a home but has discontinued its pension. In addition
to these unions, several others provide some sort of old-age benefit.
Thus the quarry workers pay to their members who reach the age
of 60 and have had 10 years’ continuous membership in the union,
$50, which is deducted from the funeral benefit. The oil field and
gas well workers exempt aged members from the payment of union
dues, while in the paving cutters’ union the dues of a superannuated
member are reduced to 25 cents a month. Federal employees—
postal clerks, letter carriers, railway mail clerks, and other Govern
ment employees—are covered by the Federal retirement law, thus
relieving their respective unions of the task of providing old-age
benefits.
Of the 11 unions which pay an old-age pension, the Granite Cutters
International Association of America was the pioneer, establishing
its pension in 1905. The street-railway employees’ organization
had, prior to 1912, an old-age benefit of from $1 to $3 per week.
In 1912 the system was changed, the benefit being commuted to a
lump sum upon the member’s reaching 65 years of age. This was
done in order to enable a retired member to engage in some new
business. Payment of benefits under the new scheme began in 1915.
The International Typographical Union inaugurated its pension
system in 1907 and began payment of such pensions in 1909, and the
locomotive engineers followed suit in 1913 and the bricklayers in
1915. The year 1920 saw the establishment of old-age pensions by
the bridge and structural-iron workers and the locomotive firemen
and enginemen. Two pension schemes were adopted in 1925—those
of the printing pressmen and the railroad trainmen. The Broth
erhood of Electrical Workers in its 1927 convention adopted an oldage pension plan, and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners did so at its convention in 1928.
A
2 See Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 465: Beneficial Activities of American Trade-unions, Chs. Ill
and IV.
8 Some local unions also pay old-age benefits,but as the study was confined to the organizations of national
scope, no attempt was made to gather local data. The International Fur Workers’ Union has adopted an
old-age pension scheme under which members who reach 65 and retire from work in the fur or any other
industry, will be entitled to receive benefits of $8 per week. A member 65 years and over who retired from
work after Jan. 1, 1926, may also apply for benefits, which will be granted if, after investigation by a special
committee, he is found to be in need. Members who had retired before Jan. 1, 1926, are not entitled to
the pension. The pension may also be paid in cases of permanent total disability.
TRADE-TJNION PENSIONS AND HOMES FOR AGED
535
Requirements for Receipt of Pension
T he age and membership requirements of the unions which have
established old-age pensions have undergone modification from time
to time. At present, however, the age at which the member becomes
eligible to the pension is set at 60 by the bricklayers, the bridge and
structural-iron workers, the printing pressmen, and the printers;4 at
62 by the granite cutters; at 65 by the electrical workers, the loco
motive engineers, the street-railway employees, and the locomotive
firemen and enginemen, and at 70 years by the carpenters. The
locomotive firemen also pay pensions for disability (1) to active mem
bers disabled for engine service, and (2) to retired members disabled for
any occupation; in these cases there is no age requirement.
Requirements as to membership in the union vary considerably.
One year’s membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
entitles to the receipt of the old-age pension;5 membership of 2 years
is required by the locomotive firemen and enginemen and the rail
road trainmen, of 20 years by the bricklayers, the bridge and structural-iron workers, the electrical workers, the printing pressmen, and
the street-railway employees, of 25 years by the granite cutters and the
printers, and of 30 years by the carpenters. The bricklayers, the bridge
and structural-iron workers, the printing pressmen, and the streetrailway employees require also that the specified membership must
have been continuous.
Applicants for the pension in the bricklayers’ and the bridge and
structural-iron workers’ unions must show that they are unable to
secure employment in any industry, because of bodily infirmity, and
that they are without other means of support. Members of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen who have been
retired from active service by reason of age or who attain the age of
65 and retire voluntarily become eligible for the pension of the broth
erhood without fulfilling any requirement as to their physical or
financial condition. To receive the pension for disability, however,
a member must show that he is permanently and totally disabled—
for engine service, if he is still in active service at the time of
becoming disabled;6 if he is not in active service, for any kind of
employment in which his earnings are sufficient to support him.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers makes practically the
same provision, but adds two other classes of pensioners—members
who resign or are dismissed or lose their positions and those who
were not in active service at the time of joining the brotherhood.
In the former case, the member becomes eligible for pension only
after a membership of 12 years and upon reaching the age of 60
years, except in cases where it is shown that the member is “ physi
cally and mentally unable to perform remunerative employment,”
in which event he becomes entitled to benefits on the same terms as
active members. In the latter case the member must reach 70 years
before attaining a pensionable status and must show inability, from
physical, mental, or other causes, to secure remunerative employ
ment. Only members incapacitated for employment in the trade
4 By action of 1927 convention; formerly 65 years. In cases of incapacitated members with continuous
membership of 20 years whom the Union Printers’ Home is unable to accommodate the age limit required
for the pension may be waived.
5 Except in the case of members who resign or lose their positions or are dismissed, in which case 12 years'
membership is required.
6 If he ever becomes able to resume engine service he ceases to receive the pension.
536
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
are entitled to the old-age pension paid by the printing pressmen's
and the printers' unions, while the railroad trainmen require proof
of permanent total disqualification for work from physical or mental
causes or old age.
The bridge and structural-iron workers provide also that a dis
ability pension is payable to any member in continuous good standing
for 15 years who is disabled by an injury sustained in the course of
his employment, provided (1) that the injury “ was not contributed
to or brought about by his own improper conduct," (2) that the mem
ber is unable to secure sustaining employment at any occupation, and
(3) that he has no other means of support.
The locomotive firemen and enginemen and the railroad train
men specifically provide that “ no member will be entitled to a pen
sion on account of disability caused while under the influence of
intoxicants or narcotics or while participating in war, riots, dis
reputable or unlawful acts," and the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Engineers bars pensions for disability caused by the use of intoxicants
or by unlawful acts.
Return to active work causes a forfeiture of the pension paid by
the railroad trainmen, while the bridge and structural-iron workers
provide that a pensioner loses his pension for any month in which
his income from other sources than the pension reaches $60, the
pensioner being “ deemed to have secured sustaining employment for
that month." The locomotive engineers cease payment upon return
to active engine duty; the pensioner may, however, perform remu
nerative labor other than that of his trade and still retain his pension;
this provision is made also by the firemen and enginemen. The
International Typographical Union formerly provided that any annu
itant who received pay for two days' work in any week should forfeit
his pension for that week. The 1927 convention made a change in
this provision, taking the view that pensioners should be encouraged,
as an aid to preserving self-respect, to do whatever work they are
able to perform without being penalized by the loss of the pension.
Hereafter pensioners may perform not more than two days' paid work
per week and still receive the pension. The Printing Pressmen and
Assistants' Union has the same provision.
Amounts of Annuity, and Expenditure for Pensions
The following table shows, for each of the unions which pay old-age
pensions, the number of annuitants, the size of the pension, and the
amounts paid in pensions during the fiscal year 7 and during the
whole penod since the plan has been in operation. As the table
indicates, several of the unions continue payment of the pension to
the widow as long as she remains unmarried, or if she has reached a
specified age and has no means of support.
7 Falling during 1927 or 1928 in most cases.
TRADE-TJNION PENSIONS AND HOMES FOR AGED
537
NUMBER OF PENSIONERS, AMOUNT OF PENSION, AND AMOUNTS DISBURSED
THEREFOR IN LAST FISCAL YEAR AND WHOLE PERIOD, BY UNIONS
Union
Bricklayers.......................................
Bridge and structural-iron workers.
Carpenters........................................
Electrical workers............................
Granite cutters.................................
Locomotive engineers......................
Locomotive firemen and enginemen.
Printers................. - ..........................
Printing pressmen. ............ ............
Quarry workers................................
Railroad trainmen...........................
Street-railway employees.................
Total-
Number
at pres
ent in
Amount of pension per member
receipt of
pension
1 2,954
$7 per week................
$25 per month..............
$15 per month..............
$40 per month.............
405 $60 per year *...............
*4,467 $25 to $65 per month«.
230 $30 to $70 per month 7_,
331
(3)
2,430
244
*18
« 110
$8 per week................
$7 per week8..............
$5010...........................
$35 to $70 per month.
$800 in lump sum___
11,269
Amount paid in
pensions in—
Latest
fiscal
year
$1,021,858
86,300
(3)
Whole
period of
operation
$7,160,205
<*)
(*
)
241,044
16,335
988,519
73,855
4,832,567
141,447
990,360
60,974
500
31,080
64,000
8,740,939
71,349
6,350
78,330
384,000
3,333,781
21,656,231
I Includes 76 persons receiving “ disability ” relief and 823 widows.
aNo data.
3 No payments being made as yet. System adopted in 1927.
* $10 per month for 6 months of each year.
6 Includes 1,523 widows.
6 From this, union dues of about $4 per month are deducted.
7 Widows receive pensions of $35 per month.
8 Nominally; funds have not yet permitted the payment of the full amount.
• Received the lump sum in 1926.
i®Flat sum, deducted from death benefit.
II Includes 13 widows.
The amount disbursed in trade-union pensions varies with* the size
of the pension, the number of annuitants, the size of the union, and
the time during which the plan has been in force; in some cases the
total amounts are quite impressive, especially in the case of those
unions whose plans have been in effect for some years. The Brother
hood of Railroad Trainmen has been paying pensions only since 1925
and therefore, although it is a large organization with about 180,000
members, its pension roll is small, the disbursements for 1926 amount
ing to only $31,080. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers,
an organization with some 88,000 members, has been paying pensions
since 1914, its pension roll having passed the 4,000 mark and its
expenditure for this purpose amounting to nearly a million dollars in
1926 and to more than four and three-quarter millions in the 13 years*
operation of the pension department. The granite cutters, who were
the first to pay this type of benefit, have had a very modest outlay
for pensions, having paid slightly less than a quarter of a million
dollars during the 23 years’ life of the fund. Theirs, however, is a small
organization of some 8,500 members, and the pension amounts to
only $10 per month and is payable for only six months of each year.
The International Typographical Union, which has a membership of
some 78,000, leads the fist with an expenditure of nearly a million
dollars during the year ending May 31, 1927, and a whole-time
expenditure of $8,740,939.
Sources of Revenue
Several of the unions make the old-age pension one of the benefits
to which all members are eligible upon reaching the age designated.
Others, however, make membership in the pension department elec
538
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
tive. In the former case a flat amount of dues is collected for pension
purposes from all members regardless of age, making slight increases
from time to time, if this becomes necessary. In the latter case,
pension assessments vary with the age of entrance into the plan.
Payments to Wife, Widow, or Other Beneficiaries
Wife.— The laws of the International Typographical Union provide
that if a member “ is admitted to an eleemosynary institution, whether
publicly or privately maintained, and such member has a wife depen
dent upon him, the secretary-treasurer is authorized to make the
pension payable to the wife.”
Widow.—The widow of a pensioner of the bricklayers’ union may
receive his pension provided she is 60 years of age and has no other
means of support. A railroad trainman’s widow in entitled to receive
his pension as long as she remains unmarried and keeps his union
dues paid.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers both provide pensions for
widows of members, through a special department operated inde
pendently of the members’ pension department. The Brotherhood
of Locomotive Engineers also operates a widows’ and mothers’
pension department. Men who are in good standing and have not
reached a specified age (40 for firemen, 50 for engineers) may make
provision for their widows through the widows’ pension department.
The medical examination taken for membership in the men’s pension
department suffices also for this. Upon the member’s death the
widow of a fireman is entitled to a pension of $35 per month during
her life or until she remarries. The engineers provide pensions of $25
and $30 a month until remarriage for widows of engineers who took
out membership in the widows’ pension department, and of $30 per
month for the mother if covered by the beneficiary certificate. An
engineer is permitted to take out two beneficiary certificates, thus
doubling the above benefits.
Assessments for the widows’ pension offered by the firemen’s
organization vary from $1 to $3.50 per month, according to the hus
band’s age when he entered the scheme. The engineers require
monthly dues of $2 for each certificate in the widows’ pension and
dues ranging from $2 to $3 per month, according to the husband’s
age at entrance, for the “ widows’ and mothers’ pension.”
Other beneficiaries.—The bridge and structural-iron workers’ rules
governing old-age and disability pensions provide that any pensioner
who becomes an inmate of an institution which makes a charge for
residence there may direct that his pension be paid to the institution.
In such cases the officers of the local union “ must visit such member
and see that he is properly cared for.”
Homes for the Aged and Disabled
T here are five homes for the aged and disabled which are owned
and operated by labor organizations for the benefit of the membership.
One of these—-the Home for Aged and Disabled Railroad Employees
of America—is owned and operated jointly by three train-service
brotherhoods. Two institutions, those of the International Typo
graphical Union and the International Printing Pressmen and Assist
’TRADE-TTNION PENSIONS AND HOMES FOR AGED
539
ftnts’ Union, also have a tuberculosis sanatorium in connection with
the home.8
Carpenters* Home
On a t r a c t of 1,826 acres near Lakeland, Fla., costing $750,000,
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America has
erected a home for its aged and infirm members and their wives.
The building, which stands on an incline facing the east and over
looking Lake Gibson, is three stories in height, cost $875,000, and
will accommodate 400 persons.
The candidate for admission must be 65 years of age and have had
a continuous membership in the union of 30 years. * He must also
show that he is unable to provide a livelihood for himself.
Printing Pressmen's Home
T he International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of
North America has acquired a large tract of land in northeastern
Tennessee, where it has established a number of projects, including a
home for aged pressmen, a tuberculosis sanatorium, a hotel, a tech
nical trade school, etc. This group of projects forms what is known
as Pressmen’s Home. Situated in a valley in the mountains, and
covering an area of some 1,800 acres, Pressmen’s Home has become
a self-contained community.
The union has built at the foot of the mountain a building of 240
rooms, as a home for “ aged, invalid, or infirm” members. It is a
white frame building with broad verandas across the front and sides.
From the front of the home the lawn slopes down in broad terraces
to the foot of the valley.
To become a resident of the home the applicant must have reached
the age of 60 years and have been a member in continuous good stand
ing in the umon for 20 years. He must also show that^ he is “ inca
pacitated for employment under the jurisdiction of the international
union.”
An aged member eligible for the benefit may choose between the
old-age pension or residence at the home. If he chooses the latter
he is entitled to receive the difference between the pension and the
cost of his maintenance at the home. A member obtaining a fur
lough from the home begins to draw his pension upon leaving, relin
quishing it again when he returns.
Home for Aged and Disabled Railroad Employees
T he Home for Aged and Disabled Railroad Employees of America
was established in Chicago in 1891, but was moved to Highland Park
in 1903. It is the property of three train-service brotherhoods—the
locomotive engineers, the firemen and enginemen, and the trainmen.
The home building is a 3-story brick structure. Each floor has a
sun porch 10 feet wide and 50 feet long. The building contains 64
single and 30 double rooms and can accommodate as many as 150
at a pinch, although the normal capacity is 135. At the time of the
agent’s visit, in October, 1927, there were 84 members of the three
brotherhoods in residence.
8 For an account of these and of other health work of trade-unions, see p. 506.
540
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
The home is surrounded by lawns comprising altogether some 2 ^
acres, and buildings and grounds are valued at nearly $350,000.
To gain admission to the institution it is necessary that the appli
cant be a member in good standing in one of the three brotherhoods
and that he be eligible for insurance therein. A certificate from a
physician showing that he is “ permanently incapacitated for rail
road work” must accompany his application. The home does not
accept “ insane or dangerous persons, or persons afflicted with any
contagious or infectious disease or addicted to the use of liquor,”
nor any person otherwise eligible “ if suffering from a disabling incur
able affliction or a progressive disease which is liable to result in
death within a reasonably short time after admission to the home, or
which requires at time of admission or is liable to require shortly
thereafter continuous hospital treatment or other constant medical
attention.”
All the necessaries required by the men are provided. When ill
they are cared for in the home hospital, which consists of two wards
and a diet kitchen. The two wards usually contain eight beds, but
on occasion can accommodate 16. In serious cases or for surgical
operations the patient is removed to an outside hospital, where he
is treated at the expense of the home.
A trained nurse is in attendance at the home hospital and a local
physician visits the home and gives any necessary treatment. The
services of dentist and oculist are also provided by the home as
needed.
In addition to meals and lodging, each inmate is given clothing,
laundry, and barber service; tobacco, stamps, and numerous small
comforts are also provided.
The home contains, for the recreational use of its inmates, a fine
library, smoking rooms, reading rooms, lounging rooms, billiard room,
and sun room. The institution has its own motion-picture machine,
donated by the ladies' auxiliary of the locomotive engineers, and
pictures are shown in the chapel once a week during the year (except
during very hot weather). Cards, checkers, and a radio also furnish
amusement.
In 1923 the same ladies' auxiliary presented the home with a
7-passenger automobile, and since that time automobile rides have
been a regular recreational feature for the old men at the home.
This was an especially welcome addition to the recreational facili
ties, since there are usually in residence men confined to wheel chairs
or on crutches who would otherwise be unable to leave the home
grounds.
Railway Conductors’ Home
T he Order of Railway Conductors until November, 1927, maintained
its superannuated and disabled members at the Brotherhood Home
owned by the other three train-service brotherhoods—those of the
engineers, firemen and enginemen, and trainmen. In 1927, however,
a home owned by the order itself was erected on Oatland Island,
near Savannah, Ga., at a cost of $366,684.
The home is a 2-story building of reinforced concrete and brick,
with 75 bedrooms, 21 of which are on the first floor. The living room
is stated to be a large, attractive room, with paneled walls and a
large fireplace. The kitchen is completely equipped with electric
TRADE-TJNION PENSIONS AND HOMES FOR AGED
541
appliances. The second floor contains bedrooms, linen rooms, and
sewing rooms.
Union Printers' Home
T he Union Printers' Home was opened May 12,1892, at Colorado
Springs, Colo. This first building cost approximately $60,000.
Successive additions have been built, and the present edifice has
a frontage of some 300 feet. Building and grounds are now valued
at approximately $3,000,000.
The grounds of the home now cover some 300 acres, situated on
an eminence overlooking the city of Colorado Springs and facing the
Rocky Mountains.
In August, 1927, there were 140 aged members in residence in
the home, of whom 6 were women. A dormer wing on the third
floor has been set aside for the use of these women. The home has
a hospital and tujberculosis sanatorium in connection.
Applicants for admission to the home must have been members of
the International Typographical Union for not less than 10 years,
at least 3 of which must immediately antedate the date of application
for admission. Persons suffering from tuberculosis, however, may
be admitted after 18 months' continuous membership except in cases
where it appears that the applicant joined the union for the sole
purpose of securing admission to the sanatorium.
No persons afflicted with any mental disease are admitted.
Upon admission to the home or sanatorium the resident is given
a thorough physical examination, and during his period of residence
he receives all necessary medical care, including operations. In case
of death, the home bears the burial expenses if the body is unclaimed
by friends or the local union.
Each resident receives not only food, lodging, clothing, and laundry,
but also 50 cents a week. This sum is granted to those whose local
unions are unable to make any allowance to their members who are
at the home; if the local union supplies pocket money the home does
not. As the funds of the home warrant, the amount will be increased
to $1 a week. Additional payment is made to those residents who
perform tasks on the grounds or in the buildings.
A room in the main building is equipped with tables for cards, chess,
or checkers for use of the residents. From this room an arched door
way leads into a library which contains between 9,000 and 10,000
volumes. More than 100 newspapers are received, as well as maga
zines and several religious publications. A number of the magazines
are donated by the publishers and the home subscribes for two copies
of each of the other leading monthlies.
The archway between the card room and library is so arranged that
it can be converted into a stage. Here motion pictures are shown
once a week from October 1 to April 1 each year. A 6-piece orches
tra furnishes the music accompanying the pictures. On this stage
the local lodge of Elks gives a performance of its minstrel show every
winter and various other entertainments are given. The library
will seat 300 persons.
A bilhard room with two tables furnishes recreation for those who
care for this type of amusement, while piano and victrola provide for
those musically inclined. Usually several dances are given during
the winter, those on St. Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day being
542
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
costume affairs. As the inmates consist only of elderly or sick people
outside amusements are few. There are, however, two croquet
grounds which seem to be well patronized. Tournaments are held
and prizes are given to the most successful players.
During the year ending May 31, 1927, $1,792 was expended to
provide amusement of various sorts for the residents.
Public Service Retirement Systems in the United
States
THE summer of 1927 the Bureau of Labor Statistics under
took an inquiry into retirement systems for public-service em
INployees
in the United States, supplemented by a brief survey of
retirement systems for Government employees in Hawaii, in Canada,
and in European countries. The data concerning foreign systems
were secured through the courtesy of the State Department from the
Governments concerned. For the United States a field survey was
carried on during the summer and early fall^ of 1927, information
being obtained through personal interviews with the administrative
officers, through consultation of official records, and from published
reports. Only the systems in the United States are covered by the
present summary; but these and the foreign plans are covered in
detail in Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 477*
State and Municipal Retirement Systems
C onsiderations of time and expense forbade an exhaustive
study of the systems of the United States. Taking the country as a
whole, there are literally hundreds of these. Police and firemen’s
pension plans are found in almost every city; retirement schemes for
teachers, while not quite so general, are still very common; and numer
ous other groups of public employees have their own pension plans.
Naturally these systems are very much alike, and any attempt to
make a complete survey would involve endless duplication of detail
with no compensating advantage. The study was therefore confined
to the state-wide systems and the municipal systems in cities having
a population of 400,000, as these include practically all types of pension
plans, and also give some idea of the relative advantage of the dif
ferent kinds of systems.
At the time the study was undertaken six States (Connecticut,
Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)
had retirement plans applying to all employees not included In some
recognized pension system. Twenty-one States and the District of
Columbia had plans which included—or might include—all teachers
in the public employ. Eighteen cities, according to the estimate of
the Census Bureau, had in 1927 a population of 400,000 and over.
The survey therefore included plans maintained by 46 agencies,
covering employees ranging from laborers to high administrative,
executive, and professional officers—a sufficiently wide inquiry to
cover all significant variations of the plans now in use.
An attempt was made to learn for each system such facts as the.
kind of employees covered; the differences made between different,
classes; the source of funds and the division of cost between employers
PUBLIC-SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
543
and employees; the conditions under which retirement on pension or
allowance is permitted; what provision, if any, is made for dependents
of deceased employees; the practice in regard to pensions for dis
ability; the average age and years of service of those retiring; the
income and expenditures of the system for the latest year reported
upon; and such other matters as might throw light upon the advan
tages or disadvantages of a given plan. In practice it was not pos
sible to secure all these data for all systems. In fact, in very few
cases were records so kept that reliable information could be gained on
all the points desired; attention was therefore concentrated upon the
most important items.
Basic Classification of Retirement Plans
T here are two particulars in which retirement plans differ funda
mentally—the source of the funds by which they are maintained
and the method by which provision is made for meeting the liabilities
incurred. As to the first, plans may be contributory or noncontribu
tory; as to the second, they may be managed upon either the cash
disbursement or the actuarial reserve plan.
Under the joint contributory system each employee contributes
regularly, usually by means of a deduction from Ins salary or wages,
a fixed amount or a specified percentage of his compensation, while
the employing agency either makes fiied regular contributions or
undertakes to appropriate sufficient funds, as needed, to keep the
system in operation; under the noncontributory system the whole
cost is borne by one side, usually the employer. Noncontributory
plans are unusual, and do not seem to be gaining in favor. Among
the approximately 70 systems described in detail in the following
pages there are only 7 in which the employees do not contribute to
the funds of the system and only 2 in which the employing agency
makes no contribution. The Maine and Connecticut State em
ployees’ systems, the Khode Island State teachers’ system, the Detroit
system for municipal employees, and the Detroit, New York, and
San Francisco systems for firemen are noncontributory systems so
far as employees are concerned, while the Michigan and Montana
State retirement systems for teachers are the only ones in which the
employing agencies do not contribute toward the maintenance of the
plans.
Cash Disbursement and Actuarial Reserve Systems
U nder the cash disbursement system benefits are paid from what
ever funds are in hand, without much reference to the future. During
the early years of a system’s operation the employees’ contributions
are often more than sufficient to meet all needs, but gradually the
growing pension roll demands heavier and heavier annual payments,
the contributions of the employees are progressively inadequate to
the situation, and the employing agency is called upon for rapidly
increasing annual contributions.
Under the actuarial reserve system a fund is established, and the
employer, like the employee, pays into this regular contributions.
The rate of contribution is so calculated for both sides that the fund
receives annually an amount which, put at compound interest, will be
sufficient to pay each employee when his time for retirement comes
the share of the retirement allowance due for one year’s services, and
544
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
also to pay one year’s share of such other benefits as the system may
provide. The employing agency usually assumes responsibility for
benefits due for services given before the plan was adopted and makes
regular contributions to liquidate this accrued liability. Ordinarily
such plans provide for an actuarial review of the situation at stated
intervals, with a stipulation that, if the review shows a need for it, the
rate of contribution may be revised.
The actuarial reserve plan is a comparatively recent development
and is still far from general. There is a good deal of opposition to it
in many places, for which it is rather difficult to find a definite reason.
Probably part of the objection is due to the fact that such systems
require careful and systematic operation, while the cash disburse
ment systems may be installed and operated for some time with little
consideration of any kind. Naturally, those which are so installed
and operated are likely to come to grief, and examples of this were
found during the investigation. If, however, the employing agency
has undertaken to make what appropriations are needed, it may be a
long while before the increasing demands create active dissatisfaction
ana lead to a recasting of the system, and meanwhile the plan may be
held up as an example of the success of a cash disbursement system,
free from the red tape and tiresome formality of an actuarial reserve
sytem.
In some cases the objection is due to a belief that the actuarial
reserve systems are less favorable to the employees than the other
form. In one city the charge was definitely brought that under these
systems the employee contributes too much and receives too little.
The argument ran that contributions are based on the life expecta
tion at the age fixed for retirement, and that this life expectation is
calculated from the mortality tables of insurance companies, which
in turn are based upon the experience of the companies. But insur
ance companies deal only with selected cases; applicants are subjected
to a rigid physical examination and rejected if they fall below a pre
scribed standard. Naturally, among such a selected group the life
expectation at any given age would be greater than in a miscellaneous
groups, such as the retirants of a teachers’ or municipal employees’
system, so that contributions based upon insurance experience are
unduly high; that is, the average retirant dies before he has received
the actuarial equivalent of the contributions to his credit. As yet
the actuarial systems are rather too new for this objection to have
been either disproved or verified; it seems, however, as if the provi
sions for reviewing the system at stated intervals with the possibilty
of revising the rates of contribution, if desirable, should meet the
difficulty, provided it exists.
Inclusiveness of Systems
A nother point of difference is in the inclusiveness of retirement
systems. Originally such plans were formed only for a particular
group, whose risks were the same, and for whom uniform provisions
could easily be adopted. As the desirability of having retirement
systems became apparent, the number of such groups increased until
there might be 9 or 10 systems among the employees of one muni
cipality or as many different teachers’ systems as there were cities in
a State. Unfortunately, even this duplication of systems did not
provide for all employees, and in the same city some groups might
PUBLIC-SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
545
be enjoying a prosperous retirement plan, others might have no such
protection at all, and still others be covered by an expensive and illmanaged system. In an effort to meet this situation the inclusive
plans were formed, designed to cover all the employees of a State
or a city, thus avoiding duplication of effort and unnecessary expense
and insuring to all employees the protection of a strong, well-planned
and thoroughly solvent system. When such an inclusive system is
introduced, usually groups already covered by a retirement system
are given their choice of coming in or remaining under their own
plan, and there is a good deal of diversity in the attitude of the
groups toward such an offer. Generally, the police and firemen
cling to their own systems; in Baltimore the firemen and in Boston
both police and firemen have been brought into the general systembut elsewhere they have remained outside. The teachers vary from
place to place, but on the whole seem to prefer their separate organi
zations. The Chicago teachers present an interesting argument in
favor of this. The municipal employees, they point out, are largely
men, and the municipal system has been planned with a view to
their needs, but the teachers are largely women. Men’s dependents
are usually younger than themselves while women’s dependents are
apt to belong to a generation older than themselves. The provision
for dependents, therefore, which is attractive to men is wholly unin'
teresting to women. Of what use is a “ child’s annuity ” to an unmar
ried woman, supporting an aged aunt or an invalid parent? If the
teachers should go into the general system, they would be helping
to support a plan which is not adapted to their peculiar needs, as their
own system is; therefore they prefer to remain under their own.
On the whole, however, where a well-planned State or municipal
system has been inaugurated, there seems an increasing tendency for
it to become all-inclusive. Sometimes an outside group comes in as
a whole, bringing with it the funds of its own system as well as its
liabilities; sometimes it is arranged that those in the service at a
given time shall remain under their own system, the benefits it pro
vides being guaranteed to them, but that all newcomers shall enter
the general system. Thus, in most cities in which a municipal
system has been installed, there are a number of dying systems;
they will remain more or less in force until those who were in the
service when the municipal system came into being have passed out,
while their successors are covered by the general plan.
Benefits
A retirement allowance or pension, usually based on age and
length of service, but sometimes on only one of these factors, is of
course common to all the systems. There is a good deal of diversity
as to these qualifications. Among the police and firemen, where full
physical strength and agility may be required for good service, there
are obvious reasons for setting an early age for optional retirement,
but the situation is different where clerical and administrative groups
are concerned. Practically all the systems made retirement com
pulsory by 70, though some of them provided for extensions in the
case of unusually well qualified employees. An age for optional
retirement was common, ranging in the different systems from 50 or
under to 65. Among 41 systems, not including police and firemen’s
plans, 14 had only a service requirement, with no reference to age;
546
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
in 3 the age for optional retirement was set at from 50 to 58, in 16
at 60, in 5 at 62, and in 3 at 65; in several of these an earlier age was
set for women. Few of these systems kept any record of age at
retirement, but in general the officials believed that employees
tended to hold on to their jobs as long as possible, and that unless
physical incapacity intervened they remained in the service con
siderably beyond the age for optional retirement.
The service qualification also presents considerable variation. In
some of the actuarial reserve systems there was neither age nor
service requirement; the amount of the allowance to be drawn by
the employee depended partly upon his length of service and partly
upon his age at retirement, and he might use his own discretion
about withdrawing, unless he should become incapacitated for service,
when retirement would become compulsory. Where a service require
ment was imposed, it varied from 10 to 40 years, 25 years being the
commonest period, and 30 the next in order.
Other benefits are allowances for disability directly due to the
performance of duty, allowances for ordinary disability, refund of
contributions in case of separation from the service before reaching
pensionable status, provision for dependents in case of the death of
an active member or pensioner, and, in a few cases, a separation
allowance for those who, after a certain length of service, are dis
missed for some cause not involving their own fault or delinquency.
1
1 1
11 11
1 fits, the particular ones included
employees covered. In police
leath or serious injury resulting
from the performance of duty is a constant possibility, and disability
allowances and provision for dependents are of almost as much impor
tance to a man as the normal retirement allowance. These benefits,
therefore, are found in nearly all the police and fire systems, and
sometimes they are worked out very elaborately. In some cases the
employee's contribution is calculated to cover his own risk of ordi
nary disability and part of the allowance to his widow, if he dies
from natural causes, while the employing agency provides the whole
of the special allowance for duty disability and for the widows and
children of those dying as a result of injuries received in the service.
Among teachers and clerical employees, on the other hand, the
service involves little or no risk of this character, and the systems are
less likely to include such benefits. It is unusual for teachers' sys
tems, for instance, to make provision for dependents, and when they
do it is apt to be confined to a choice given the retirant upon with
drawal between taking the full allowance to which he is entitled,
with the understanding that at his death the whole matter is closed,
or of taking a reduced allowance which, in case of his death, is to be
continued to some beneficiary he has named.
On the whole, the tendency among the newer systems is to include
more benefits than are found in the early systems, and especially to
make some provision for dependents. The return of contributions,
commonly with interest and sometimes with compound interest, is
frequent among the newer systems. The omission of this provision
is sometimes defended on the ground that the worker in making his
contributions is really paying for insurance. If he should be injured
or die during his service, he would receive an allowance, or his depend
ents would receive some compensation. He has this protection so
PUBLIC-SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
547
long as he remains in the service, and if he retires before the time
when he would receive a retirement allowance, he has no claim for
anything further. The separation allowance is not common, but
seems to have grown in favor recently. It is intended to prevent
hardship in cases where a faithful and competent employee finds,
after he has served for years, that a reorganization of the service has
abolished his position, or that a reduction of the force has become
necessary and that he is laid off in consequence, or that some other
cause for which he has no responsibility has left him without a position.
Federal Employees’ Retirement System
The retirem ent system applying to the employees of the Federal
Government is a compulsory contributory system, the employees
contributing a percentage of their salaries, and there being an implied
assumed responsibility by the Government for the difference between
what the employees pay and the actual cost of the benefits, and also
for the cost of benefits allowed to annuitants or pensioners for service
rendered prior to the inauguration of the system.
The system covers all civil-service employees and certain other
specified classes of employees of the Federal Government and regular
annual employees of the District of Columbia municipal government.
Contributions.—The employees contribute
per cent of their
basic salaries, this being deducted from their salaries.
Retirement benefits.—The annuity for old age and for disability re
tirement is computed by multiplying the average annual basic salary
(not to exceed $1,500) for the last 10 years of service by the number of
years of service (not to exceed 30) and dividing the product by 45.
The maximum allowance specified in the law is $1,000, but the actual
maximum is $999.96, as the law also specifies that the annuity shall
be fixed at the nearest multiple of 12.
In case of separation from service before becoming eligible for
retirement, the employee’s contributions are returned to him, with
interest. Special provision is made for employees involuntarily sep
arated from the service under certain conditions.
Conditions of retirement.—Employees must have reached the age of
70 and have rendered at least 15 years’ service to be eligible to retire
ment with annuity, except that letter carriers, post-office clerks,
sea-post clerks, laborers, and mechanics may retire at age 65, and
railway postal clerks and employees in extrahazardous occupations
and those employed in the Tropics may retire at age 62. Retirement
is compulsory at these ages but 2-year extensions may be granted by
the head of the department; after August 20,1930, no employee may
be continued in the civil service more than four years beyond the
age of retirement. For a disability retirement annuity, the employee
must have had 15 or more years oi service and be totally disabled for
useful or efficient service by reason of disease or injury.
For retirement benefits on being involuntarily separated from the
service employees must be 45 years of age or over and have had at
least 15 years’ service, and the separation must not be by reason of
misconduct or delinquency.
There is no provision in the law for dependents of employees.
Administration.—The administration of the retirement system is in
the Commissioner of Pensions under the direction of the Secretary of
the Interior.
39142°— 29------- 36
54 8
OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND RELIEF
Retirement System of the Territory of Hawaii
T he retirem ent system of the Territory of Hawaii, established
January 1, 1926, is a joint contributory system, established upon an
actuarial basis. It applies to all the employees, including teachers,
of the Territorial government, and is open to county and city em
ployees also, membership being compulsory for all except those in
the service when the act establishing the system was passed, with
whom it was optional.
Contributions.—The employees contribute a percentage of their
salaries, determined by sex, occupational group, and age at en
trance. For general employees, the rates for men range from 4.06 to
7.15 per cent and those for women from 4.58 to 8.06 per cent, while for
teachers the rates for men range from 3.76 to 6.23 per cent and those
for women from 4.50 to 7.73 per per cent.
The government’s contribution, calculated as a percentage of the
aggregate pay roll, consists of a normal contribution to cover its
share of the cost of benefits earned by that year’s service and a de
ficiency contribution to meet the accrued liability, the contributions
fixed for the first two years of operation being 3.05 and 2.91 per cent,
respectively, of the pay roll.
Retirement benefits.—The normal service-retirement allowance is
one-seventieth of the average annual salary for the last 10 years of
service multiplied by the number of years of service. For those em
ployed after January 1, 1926, the employee’s contributions, it is ex
pected, will pay half of this and the Territory will pay the other half;
for those in the service before that date the government pays the
whole cost of the years of prior service.
The ordinary disability benefit is nine-tenths of what the service
allowance would be for the same period of service, the minimum
being 25 per cent of the average final salary, unless the retirant en
tered the service after age 40, when it is nine-tenths of what he
would have received had he remained in the service till age 60.
The accidental or duty disability benefit consists of an annuity
bought by retirants’ accumulated contributions and an allowance
from the government equal to two-thirds of his average final salary.
In case of death from ordinary causes the decedent’s contributions
are returned with interest and the government pays the beneficiaries
a lump simi equal to 50 per cent of the decedent’s last year’s salary.
If death is from an accident occurring in the discharge of duty the
widow, children under 18, or dependent parents receive a pension of
50 per cent of the decedent’s average final salary in addition to
return of decedent’s contributions.
If an employee leaves the service for any cause other than death or
retirement his contributions are returned with interest. If he should
be dropped from the service without his fault, after 20 years’ service,
he is entitled to a discontinued-service allowance, payable at age 60,
equal to a service-retirement allowance based on years of service ren
dered and salary at the time of being dropped. Several options are
offered at time of retirement, allowing a smaller personal allowance
and certain benefits to designated beneficaries.
Conditions for retirement.—Service retirement is permitted at the
age of 60 and is compulsory at 70. An ordinary disability benefit is
granted after a minimum of 10 years’ service. There is no age or
PTJBLIC-SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
549
service requirement for the accidental or duty disability benefit and
the accidental-death benefit, but for the ordinary death benefit one
or more years of service is required.
Administration.—The retirement system is administered by a board
of trustees, consisting of the treasurer and the auditor of the Terri
tory of Hawaii, ex officio, a member elected by the membership of
the system, and two citizens of Hawaii, not employees, one of whom
shall be a responsible officer of a bank in the Territory or shall have
had similar experience.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS—LABOR CONDITIONS
551
General Survey of Labor Conditions in the Philippine
Islands
GENERAL report on industrial conditions in the Philippine
Islands was published by the United States Department of
Commerce in 1927.1 Extracts from sections of this report dealing
with labor conditions are given below:
The labor supply of the Philippines has been classified into groups,
of which the six most important are the Yisayan, Tagalog, Ilocano,
Bicolano, Pangasinan, and Pampangan groups. These are all of
Malajr blend with traces of the Indonesian type and a later addition
of Chinese, Spanish, or American blood in some instances. There
is frequently a resemblance between the dialects spoken by the various
groups, although they are distinct from each other. The Tagalog
dialect is more or less widespread, probably because it is the language
spoken in and around the city of Manila, which is the center of com
merce and learning and the gathering place for people from the dif
ferent Provinces. Manila is populated chiefly by Tagalogs, but
considerable numbers of the other groups are to be found there, as
well as Chinese, Europeans, Americans. Japanese, and representatives
of various other nationalities.
A
Occupational Groups
T he n u m b e r of laborers in principal occupational groups has been
estimated by the bureau of labor at 2,857,401, of which 1,594,360 are
adult males, 619,290 adult females, and 643,751 minors of both
sexes. Agriculture employs the largest number of laborers and
accounts for about 2,547,572 of the total. The laborers engaged in
commerce and transportation, of which there are 118,178, make up
the second largest group. The various trades and industries com
prise the third largest group and employ about 113,171 laborers,
followed by the fishing industry, in which 5,830 laborers are em
ployed. This last figure, however, includes only those working for
others and takes no account of the far greater number of fishermen
working on their own account and who furnish the bulk of the fish
caught in the Philippines. The insular government employees, in
cluding skilled and unskilled laborers, rank next, with a total of
12,850, closely followed by these engaged in forestry, who number
11,763. The mining industry, with a total of 3,037, employs the
smallest number of laborers among the principal occupational groups.
Asiatic Immigration
Chinese.—The Asiatic immigrants to the Philippines are principally
Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, Turks, and Syrians, and of these the
Chinese are the most numerous. Long before the arrival of the Span
iards Chinese traders had access to the Philippines, and many of
them remained in the islands.
i Extracts from U. S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce report. Trade promotion series No.
52: The Philippine Islands—A Commercial Survey, by O. M. Butler. Washington, 1927.
553
554
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
In 1898, however, the Chinese exclusion act in force in the United
States was made applicable to the Philippines, and in 1903, when
the first census of the islands under the American sovereignty was
taken, there were 41,035 Chinese residents. This number had in
creased to 43,802 in the census of 1918, and at present it is estimated
that there are 44,239 Chinese residents in the Philippines.
The Chinese in the Philippines are not inclined to agricultural
pursuits, although a number engage in gardening and ordinarily do
not long remain as manual workers. They are found in all the
Provinces except the Batanes^Islands and the sub-Provinces of
Apayao, Bontoc, Ifugao, and Kalinga of the Mountain Province.
The great majority of the Chinese residents are engaged in commer
cial pursuits, and it is estimated that they handle between 65 and 75
per cent of the merchandise distribution in the Philippines. The
remainder of the Chinese residents are employed as carpenters,
shipwrights, molders, and cobblers. They often intermarry with
the natives.
Japanese.—Japanese began to settle in the Philippines about the
end of the sixteenth century, and in the census of 1918 there were
about 7,806 Japanese residents in the Philippines. The present
estimate is placed at 8,294. The Japanese immigrants have of recent
years settled chiefly in Davao, on the island of Mindanao, and more
than half of the present number may be found in that Province. The
Japanese engage in agriculture, fishing, gardening, carpentry, and
cabinetmaking. A few have refreshment parlors in the principal
towns, and a considerable number of Japanese dry-goods stores have
also been established, chiefly in Manila. Unlike the Chinese, the
Japanese seldom intermarry with the Filipinos.
Hindus, Syrians, and Turks.—The Hindus are for the most part
engaged as night watchmen, although some have established dry-goods
stores. The Syrians and Turks are generally merchants located in
Manila, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Cebu.
Labor Supply
A bout six years ago there was an agitation among a number of the
planters for the liberalization of the laws which restrict the entrance
of Asiatic laborers into the Philippine Islands. This movement was
the result of the difficulties encountered by the planters in recruiting
laborers for their needs, and it was then their general belief that the
local supply of labor was not sufficient to meet the demands of the
various industries. The insular bureau of labor contends, however, that
the supply of labor is more than ample and that the difficulties encoun
tered were the results of various factors, among which were the lack
of method and organization in recruitment, the low standard of wages
offered, and the unsatisfactory terms and conditions imposed by
landowners upon the laboring class. According to the census of 1918
there were registered 3,893,544 laborers, of which only an average
of 2,098,741 were regularly employed in agricultural, commercial,
transportation, and manufacturing pursuits, and the bureau of labor
reports that there is at present a total of 2,857,401 wage earners in
the islands.
The most prominent factors that determine the supply of labor are
the following: (1) The inequality of the distribution of population;
(2) the methods of recruitment; (3) the character of crops raised in
GENERAL SURVEY OF CONDITIONS
555
the areas which constitute the source of labor supply and in the
regions where the demand exists; (4) the distance between the demand
and the source of supply and the availability of cheap and speedy
transportation facilities; (5) the rates of compensation offered.
The densely populated Provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and
Cebu furnish the highest percentage of labor moving to other places,
not only for temporary but also for permanent employment.
Seasonal Movement of Labor
T he P hilippines are essentially agricultural and various kinds of
seasonal crops are raised, of which the most important are sugar
cane, abaca or manila hemp, rice, tobacco, and coconuts.
The planting and milling seasons in Negros Occidental, the center
of the sugar industry, draw thousands of laborers from the neigh
boring Provinces of Antique, Iloilo, and Cebu. These laborers work
in the sugar mills and on the plantations, ordinarily remaining there
during the milling season, which usually lasts from November to
April, or longer. About 11,000 laborers are needed during this season
and the scarcity of work hands which is sometimes felt is explained
by the bureau of labor as the result of unorganized recruitment.
Employment of laborers in the coconut and abaca regions is fairly
steady and there is very little seasonal movement of labor to these
regions, particularly southern Luzon and the eastern Visayas.
During the dry season considerable numbers of laborers move from
the islands of Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor of the Visayas to Mindanao
to work in the coconut and abaca plantations there. The sugar
plantations in Mindoro draw their supply from Capiz and in part
from Pampanga. The rice region of central Luzon needs temporary
labor during the planting and harvesting seasons, which is supplied
chiefly from the Ilocos Provinces and the Province of La Union in
northern Luzon. About 5,000 additional laborers are obtained in
this way. The rice crop in the Ilocos Provinces matures early and
enables the Ilococano laborers to move as far south as Pampanga and
Laguna in time to work there during the sugar-milling season. The
tobacco region in northern Luzon also draws an additional supply
of labor from the Ilocos Provinces for the planting and harvesting
season, which lasts from January to May. About 2,000 laborers
move from the Ilocos Provinces to the tobacco regions for this work.
Filipino Emigration
Emigration to Hawaii2.—The Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Associa
tion established an office in Manila during the year 1909, with a
branch at Cebu, for the purpose of recruiting Filipino laborers for
Hawaiian sugar plantations. Systematic recruitment was at first
begun in Manila and the Visayas and later was extended to the
Provinces of northern Luzon. In 1915 the Philippine government
thought it expedient to regulate this drain on the labor supply, and
legislation was approved requiring that the bureau of labor supervise
all such contracts, prevent the employment of minors, and take such
action as might be necessary to insure the health of the laborers during
2 A full account of the practice of recruiting Filipino laborers for work in Hawaii was contained in the
Labor Review for October, 1926 (pp. 4-9).
556
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
transit. During the years 1909 to 1914, both inclusive, 19,039 Fili
pino laborers emigrated to Hawaii and only 159 returned to the
islands. By the end of 1925 a total of 74,666 Filipinos had emigrated
to Hawaii, and of this number 15,517 returned to the Philippines.
A considerable number of Filipino laborers have also emigrated to
the United States, some of them direct and others through Hawaii,
while still others have gone to other foreign countries.
Interisland migration.—Interisland migration has been in progress
in the Philippines for many years. The general trend of this migra
tion has varied somewhat with the different groups. The Visayans
ordinarily move from the densely populated regions of Bohol, Cebu,
and Panay and settle in Mindanao, Samar, Leyte, and Negros. The
Ilocanos migrate from the western coast of Luzon to the Cagayan
Valley and the Mountain Province in northern Luzon and to the
Provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales, of
central and western Luzon. The Tagalogs migrate to neighbor
ing territories in the interior which are unoccupied and also to the
Provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales, in Luzon, and to
the island of Mindoro. The Bicolanos settle in the unoccupied regions
of the Bicol Provinces and the islands of Masbate and Samar.
Agricultural colonization.—Legislation was enacted during the early
part of 1914 designed to bring about a better redistribution of the
population, in order to encourage small land holdings among the
people and increase the production of foodstuffs and other agricul
tural products. This legislation provided for the establishment and
maintenance of agricultural colonies and the recruitment of home
seekers, and facilitated the migration of colonists from densely popu
lated to sparsely settled regions.
Recruitment of colonists for the different agricultural colonies of
the government, however, was abandoned in 1917 as a result of the
refusal of the legislature to appropriate the necessary funds. The
colonists carried on the work that had been begun under the direc
tion of the government and have to-day attained a fair degree of
success in their ventures, aside from the benefit derived by the people
from the cultivation of hitherto idle and unproductive lands.
Home seekers and contract laborers.—A further appropriation was
made in 1918 for the encouragement of intermigration by the
recruitment of home seekers in densely populated regions for ship
ment to sparsely populated areas. A number of recruiting districts
were established, but actual recruitment was limited to the more
densely populated Provinces, and in Provinces where the industrial
and agricultural activities demanded a great number of workers cer
tain restrictions were made. Contract laborers were also recruited
to supply the seasonal demand on the plantations and in industry.
During the years 1918 to 1925, both inclusive, 13,983 home seekers
were recruited and shipped and 8,708 laborers were contracted for
and furnished.
Working Conditions
Wages.—The greater part of the manufacturing in the Philippine
Islands before industrial activities were introduced consisted of home
industries. There were only a few industrial establishments, such as
a rice mill, a number of small sugar mills, a sugar refinery, and several
plants producing lumbang (candlenut) oil. Aside from these estab
lishments and the farms, laborers ordinarily worked under some form
557
GENERAL SURVEY OF CONDITIONS
of profit sharing. The current rates of daily wages paid to unskilled
laborers ranged from 12 to 15 cents, and skilled laborers received
from 18 to 30 cents. The standard rates were raised as a result of
the sudden increase of the foreign trade of the islands shortly before
the American occupation, and unskilled laborers were paid an average
of 18 cents a day. Since American occupation the general tendency
has been to demand the highest wages obtainable, as a result of the
constant advance in the cost of the prime necessities and the reduced
purchasing power of money. The standard of living and the wage
scale in the Philippines is now so high, compared with other parts
of the Far East, that several industries, otherwise practicable, can
not be made profitable in competition with similar industries in near
by countries, because of the greater labor costs in the islands.
Working hours.—There are no laws in the Philippines regulating the
working hours of wage earners other than an act limiting the labor of
persons below the age of 16 years to 7 hours daily or to a total of 42
hours weekly, to be served between 6 a. m. and 6 p. m. The Administrative Code of 1917 requires not less than six and one-half hours of
work daily in the government offices, but at present the government
bureaus work seven hours a day except Saturday and three months
during the hot season, when the offices are closed every day at 1
o’clock. Court sessions are regularly held during five hours each
working day except Saturday, when sessions last for three hours
only. Pubnc-school teachers are required to devote a total of five
hours a day to school work during five days of each school week*
The majority of the business houses are open from 7 a. m. until 5
p. m., with a noon recess of two hours. In the trades and industries
working hours range from 8 to 10 hours a day.
Living costs.—The census taken in 1918 reported that the cost of
living had increased by 59 per cent compared with 1910, and in 1920
the increase was 104 per cent on the same basis, chiefly as a result of
the abnormal situation created by the World War. Living costs in
1925 were generally lower than the 1920 figure bv 13 per cent, but
higher than that for 1918 by 12 per cent. The different items of a
budget of daily expenses for a family of two adults and three minors in
Manila for the year 1926 have been placed by the bureau of labor as
follows:
Rent_____________________________ _________________________ $0. 13
Food_______________________________________________________
. 645
Clothing___________________________________________________
. 08
Light and fuel_____________________________________________
. 065
Primary school_____________________________________________
. 055
Miscellaneous______________________________________________
. 135
Total________________________________________________
1.16
The daily expenses of a single laborer were estimated to amount
to half of the estimate above listed. Expenses in other towns of the
Philippines during 1925 were given as 91 cents for a family of five
and as 42 cents for a single laborer. ^This budget purports to cover
only actual necessities, with the exception of the school allowance, but
is perhaps somewhat above the minimum amount on which a family
can live.
The range between the prices of actual necessities, as understood
by the native laborer, and the refinements of life is much greater in
558
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
the Philippines than in the United States. Apart from the native
food products and a few minor articles, little is produced in the
islands and all other commodities must be imported. More than
half of these imports (including such items as textiles for clothes,
leather for shoes, iron and steel products, paper, toilet preparations,
and novelties, as well as large quantities of canned fish) are brought
in from the United States and pay no duty, but the original price is
nevertheless increased by the freight charges from the point of origin
to the Philippines and by miscellaneous incidental charges, including
the commissions of various middlemen and high interest charges on
the capital invested while the shipment is in transit.
Labor Organizations
T here were no labor organizations in the Philippines during the
early days of Spanish occupation. Two societies of laborers were
formed in the city of Manila at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, but these were organized more for religious purposes than
for the material betterment of their members, and somewhat later
a few mutual-aid societies were organized with the object of protect
ing members in case of sickness or death. Labor associations for
defense, resistance, or positive action, such as strikes or lockouts,
or labor syndicates and trade-unions as were known in the United
States were completely unknown in the Philippines. Radical changes
were made after the occupation of the islands by the Americans, and
the first of the modern labor unions was organized in 1902, but was
dissolved in 1903. A labor corporation was organized in 1908 to
engage in the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes. This corpora
tion has been successful and its present capital is placed at $250,000,
of which $165,000 has been subscribed and paid in. The first labor
congress was held in Manila on May 1, 1913, and representatives from
all labor unions and mutual-benefit societies attended the congress.
Three years later the forerunner of the present “ Labor Federation
of the Philippines" was organized. There are at present 114 labor
organizations in the islands, 51 of which are located in Manila and
the remainder scattered throughout the Provinces. There is also in
existence at present an association of tenants and farm laborers under
the name “ National Confederation of Tenants and Farm Laborers
of the Philippines." A number of fraternal orders have also been
organized recently among the laboring classes, of which the more
important are the “ Legionarios del Trabajo" and the “ Katipunan
Mipanampun," with a total of about 30,000 members each.
With the exception of an unsuccessful strike of cigar makers in
1902, organized-labor disturbances were not recorded until July, 1909.
From that date to and including the year 1925 there was a total of
430 strikes and lockouts in the Philippines, involving 115,557 workers,
of which 383 were declared by labor organizations and 107 by nonunionists. The wage scale was the cause of the dispute in 333 in
stances, and in 315 strikes the workmen won. The greatest number
of disagreements occurred between 1917 and 1921, and since that
period there has been an average of less than 25 strikes annually.
LABOR STATISTICS FOR 1927
559
Agrarian Disputes
T he tenancy system in the Philippines is an institution which
dates back for centuries. The system is more or less common in the
rice-producing regions, where the land owner allows a number of indi
viduals to till portions of his land and furnishes them with the money
necessary for raising and harvesting crops, which when harvested
are then divided between landowner and tenants, after deducting the
portion allotted for the payment of the money advanced. The atti
tude of the landowners to the tenants has been more or less paternal,
and relations are ordinarily harmonious. Disputes have arisen, how
ever, from time to time because of usurious practices on the part of
the landowners that resulted in the abandonment of farms and crops.
These disputes have assumed such serious proportions during recent
years that the government intervened and m most instances brought
about an acceptable adjustment of the differences.
Recommendations made by the bureau of labor for the betterment
of the labor supply and conditions in the Philippine Islands consist
mainly in suggested legislation tending to protect the laborers further
from unfair treatment, fix better standards of wages, regulate the num
ber of hours of service for designated laborers, amplify the present
powers of that bureau, and establish a labor insurance and pension
fund.
Labor Statistics for the Philippine Islands, 1927
HE following data are taken from the Statistical Bulletin of the
Philippine Islands, 1927, issued by the Philippine Bureau of
Commerce and Industry, and from the annual report of the Governor
General of the Philippine Islands for 1927. (H. Doc. No. 325, 70th
Cong., 1st sess.)3 Amounts of money are shown in pesos, a peso being
equivalent to 50 cents in United States currency.
T
Wages in Manila
I n T able 1 the average daily and monthly wages in various occu
pations in the city of Manila are presented for 1926 and 1927.
8 Statistical Bulletin: Wages in Manila, Hours of Labor, Cost of Living, and Agricultural Cooperative
Associations; Governor General’s report (pp. 299-303): Adjustment of Wage Claims, Free Employment
Agencies, Industrial Accidents, Industrial Disputes, Labor Organizations, and Migration of Philippine
Labor to and from Hawaii.
560
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
T a b l e 1 .— AVERAGE WAGES OF LABORERS IN VARIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE
CITY OF MANILA, 1926 AND 1927
1926
Establishment
Per
day
Aerated water, brewery and distillery:
Machinists
....
.........
, ,
Machine tenders........
Temperers____ _____ ___ _____ _____________________________
Labellers__________________________________________________
Firemen___________________________ _____ _________________
Bottle nleaners
,
__ . ... . ____
Automobile repairing and carriage shops:
Mechanics
_
_
Blacksmiths. .
................ .........
.................... ,,....
.... ................. ............
........ .
Painters..™.
Carpenters______________________________ ____ ____________
Carriage makers
Electricians ,
_
Vulcanizers____ _______ _____________ _____ ____________ ___
Solderers__________________________________________________
Welders_________________ _______ ______ ____________ ______
Bakeries and confectioneries:
Bakers
...
.
Ovenmen_________________________________________________
Kneaders_________________________________________________
Confectioners_____________________________________________
Laborers__________________________________________________
Grinders________________ ____ _____________________________
Haramel ciltters
.
_ _ _
Packers___________________________________________________
Beds, trunks, furniture and carpentry shops:
Carpenters______________________________________________
Varnishers______________________________________________
Rattan weavers__________________________________________
Carvers_________________________________________________
Turners.............................. ........................... - ............................. .
Designers_________________________________________________
Glass workers_____________________________________________
Sawyers__________________________________________________
Painters________________________________________________
Mechanics________________________________________________
Bicycles, nickel plating, typewriting, and repairing shops:
Nickel platers_____________________________________________
Mechanics________________________________________________
Bottle and mirror factory:
Drivers__ ______________________________________________
Cutters__ ________________________________________________
Building construction and electrical installation:
Carpenters________________________________________________
Masons___________________________________________________
Laborers
__ ___________________________________
Tinsmiths. _
_________________________________________
Electrical installers________________________________________
Chauffeurs________________________________________________
Blacksmithing and horseshoeing:
Blacksmiths______________________________________________
Hammerers
_
_________ _________________________
Cigar and cigarette factories:
Cigar makers______________________________________________
Cigarette makers__________________________________________
Wrappers.
__
__
________ ________________________
Strappers_________________________________________________
Packers. * _____________________________________________
Stem strippers
_______ ___ ____ ____________________
Machinists________________________________________________
Ring makers
_ ___ _____ ________________________
Cutters (tobacco)_______________________ ____ _____________
__ ___________________________________
Choosers_ __
Driers____________________________________________________
Labellers— ______________________________________________
Cold storage:
Machinists.._____________________________________________
Chauffeurs................................................................ .....................
_ __________________
Ice cutters
_ _ _
Drydocks and stevedoring:
Machinists .
__ _____________________
Mechanics________________________________________________
Carpenters_______________________________________________
Boiler makers_____________________________________________
Blacksmiths
______________________
Pipe fitters.......................................................................................
* Free food and lodging.
2 Women only,
Pesos
2.50
.75
1927
Per
month
Per
day
Per
month
Pesos
Pesos
Pesos
63.44
149.50
102.50
2.48
1.95
.73
50.67
133.50
.69
2.64
1.95
122.48
3.23
81.00
2.18
2.45
2.41
2.87
2.02
2.61
2.09
2.36
1.46
2.75
1.30
1.06
1.46
97.00
57.50
2.22
1.2 0
1.74
2.86
2.13
1.94
120.00
37.00
79.71
65.00
11.61
1 .91
126.72
123.70
116.40
48.75
25.00
114.00
125.67
1 1 .0 0
120 .00
2.31
1.89
1.31
2.40
2.26
145.36
33.40
1.00
29.00
1. 51
1.83
2.13
2.83
2.25
142.00
60.00
93.88
3.19
27.46
31.27
21.38
36.95
23.56
2.90
2 .2 1
120.09
38.75
131.87
115.00
55.62
24.00
30.66
30.81
20.00
65.00
52.50
.90
25.00
1.66
i 22.67
32.00
56.00
1.79
2.49
70.00
2.70
50.00
140.00
2.32
2.00
2.20
1.50
2.13
1.78
73.33
45.00
1.00
93."65
46.00
1.63
.93
37.29
1.94
1.54
42.27
11.26
140.25
29.00
2 1.36
1.26
1 .2 1
29.00
3 1.40
33.29
60.00
.71
103.75
3.75
8 .93
.78 *” 32. 55"
23.00
1.67
62.03
1.531
2.02
1.73
1.32
2.95
3.02
2.97
2.83
3.61
2.98
1.28
2 1.00
1.26
1 .2 1
42.50
1.46
2.66
4.00
*1.34
2 1.06
129.38
1 .2 2
1.1 0
21.68
147.22
56.40
41.67
3.38
1.61
1.39
175.33
57.14
74.48
3.63
2.56
2.93
100.00
200.00
.75
2.68
5 By the piece.
561
LABOR STATISTICS FOR 1927
T a b l e 1 .— AVERAGE WAGES OF LABORERS IN VARIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE
CITY OF MANILA, 1926 AND 1927—Continued
1926
1927
Establishment
Embroider
Embroiderers.
Ironers...........................................................................................
Cutters.................................. ........................................................
Ribboners....................................................................................
Hemstitching................................................................................
Gas works:
Clinkers.................................... ....................................................
Gas makers....................................................................................
Fitters............................................................................................
Hat making and repairing:
Hat makers........................ ..........................................................
Molders.........................................................................................
Ribboners........................................__.........................................
Hemp pressing:
Pressers........................................ ...... ......... — ............................
Classifiers......................................................................................
Hemp cleaners...............................................................................
Laborers.........................................................................................
Jewelry, silversmithing, and watch repairing:
Goldsmiths..................... ......................... - ..................................
Silversmiths................ ............................................................... Watch repairers............................................................................
Engravers......................................... ............................................
Lumber yards and mills:
Laborers.........................................................................................
Sawyers................................................................................... ......
Carpenters....................................................................................
Machinery and foundry shops:
Turners..........................................................................................
Apprentices...................................................................................
Mechanics.....................................................................................
Foundrymen.................................................................................
Blacksmiths............................. ....................................................
Musical instruments manufacturing and repairing:
Compositors..................................................................................
Carpenters.............. ......................................................................
Newspaper publishing, printing, lithographing, and bookbinding:
Compositors..................................................................................
Minerva operators........................................................................
Bookbinders..................................................................................
Linotypists...................................................................................
Machinists......................................................................................
Engravers.................... .................... ............................................
Printers____________ ______ ___________ _____ _____________
Folders......... ..................................... ................. .........................
Pressmen........................ ............... ......... ......... ......................... .
Lithographers....... ........................................................................
Oil factory:
Machinists............... .................................. - ............................... .
Oilers............................................................................................. .
Expellermen................................................................................. .
Boilers.......................................... - ............................................... .
Feeders.......................................................................................... .
Painting shops and photo studios:
Painters......................................................................................... .
Developers............... .................... ................................................
Photographers................................................................................
Retouchers.................................................................................... .
Rope factory:
Machine tenders.......................................................................... .
Laborers..................................... .................................................. .
Railway and tramway transportation:
Boiler makers.................................................................................
Machinists............... ......................................................................
Firemen........ ...... ...........................................................................
Electricians...................................... - ............................................
Carpenters....... ..............................................................................
Rivetters.........................................................................................
Motormen......................................................................................
Conductors.....................................................................................
Inspectors............. .........................................................................
Tickets sellers............................................................................ .
Sculptures, marble works, and engraving:
Sculptors........................................................................................
Engravers— .................................................................................
Marble workers................................................................. - ...........
Masons...................... -...................................................................
8 Women only.
i Free food and lodging.
Per
day
Per
month
day
Per
month
Pesos
Pesos
Pesos
Pesos
0.92
1.10
1.13
1.00
19.00
33.00
30.25
18.00
1.78
1.67
1.79
84.00
1.65
1.41
.91
44.10
50.00
20.50
1.40
1.63
1.00
1.00
32.00
48.00
2.29
78.24
"1.85
60.36
92.40
U.50
2.02
2.84
33.47
47.64
2.73
.45
2.52
2.54
2.80
1.12
1.01
1.00
2.00
1.55
1.16
1.23
I."12"
1.92
U.34
2.26
2.48
130.00
52.77
3.44
.76
2.77
3.03
3.61
18.24
158.99
150.00
12.00
~37.'l9
2.44
57.58
50.00
39.07
126.69
168.80
62.50
56.17
30.00
43.71
90.00
2.04
90.72
3.13
1.75
1.30
2.12
1.67
25.00
93.25
41.47
71.74
106.00
93.33
45.00
1.70
3.60
4.02
2.75
2.71
1.50
2.52
3.96
41.79
36.20
* 35.64
2.25
1.87
1.46
4.10
2.27
2.07
2.11
17.22
26.29
24.67
1.56
2.26
2.05
1.01
5.45
3.40
2.52
71.92
53.42
37.82
166.27
135.88
112.66
1.03
2.88
33.17
99.67
12.0 0
130.00
2.00
65.00
'"l¥
73.35
173.00
50.00
26.40
74.17
45.00
62.49
57.05
1.20
1.56
2.60
2.74
2.00
2.35
3.34
2.75
2.43
1.86
2.74
2.93
2.58
2.40
45.00
52.00
285.00
60.00
87.00
170.00
105.00
2.62
2.70
1.79
2.72
2.44
70.00
4.29
130.00
70.00
3.48
2.18
2.52
2.65
* Per hour.
562
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
T a b l e 1 .— AVERAGE WAGES OP LABORERS IN VARIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE
CITY OF MANILA, 1926 AND 1927—Continued
1926
1927
Establishment
Per
day
Per
month
Per
day
Shoes and slippers and other leather goods:
Pesos
Pesos
Pesos
Shnfvmakftrs
2.51
32.57
2.32
Slipper makers
_
...........
1.79
33.19
1.98
Harness makers
1.65
33.00
1.42
15.00
Sewers___________________________________________________
1.63
Braziers__________________________________________________
1.56
Soap factory:
48.63
Soap makers_________________ ___________ ____________ ____
L50
__ __ ____________________________________
Cutters___
2.50
25.00
Tailoring and shirt making:
Tailors.................... ................................. ....................................
1.74
1.85
38.68
2.72
1.83
Cutters___________________________________________________
72.66
1.76
1.35
Sewers____________________________________________________
27.62
Tannery:
Cutters___________________________________________________
1.50
53.75
Driers____________________________________________________
42.50
Telephone and telegraph and radio corporations:
Cable splicers_____________________________________________
3.56
1.62
Ground men______________________________________________
2.63
Installers_________________________________________________
2.45
Line men__ ______________________________________________
57.84
Operators2_______________________________________________
Miscellaneous:
25.00
____________________________________________
.84
Bag sewers
1.25
22.04
2.65
Candle makers____________________________________________
Dairymen _ _____________________________________________
1.80
U.60
41.00
2.65
Plumbers_________________________________________________
1.34
33.33
Rice cleaners2_____________________________________________
.80
Rubber stamp makers_____________________________________
68.00
1.69
Tile makers_______________________________________________
2.50
1.44
Umbrella makers__________________________________________
1.42
i Free food and lodging.
Per
month
Pesos
65.68
28.50
44.74
120 .00
130.80
48.30
81.52
28.55
28.33
19
* Women only.
Table 2 gives the minimum, maximum, and average wages per day
in 1927 for male and female agricultural workers in the Philippines.
T a b l e 2 .— DAILY WAGES OF AGRICULTURAL LABORERS, 1927
Wages per day
Class of worker
Minimum Maximum
Adults:
Male. - __________________________________________________
Female.__________________________________________________
Minors:
Male
- __________________________________________
Female
- - _______ ____ _____ _____________________
Pesos
0.45
.25
.25
.20
Pesos
1.60
1.05
.90
.65
Average
Pesos
0.98
.65
.59
.43
Hours of Labor
E x c e p t f o r a c t N o. 3,071 with reference to minors under 16 years,
there is no legislation in the Philippines regulating working hours.
The prevailing working hours per day in various industries, including
mining, are from 8 to 10; in lumber mills from 9 to 10 ; and in dry goods
stores and agriculture from 9 to 12.
Table 3 shows a trend in certain groups of industries toward a
reduction of the hours of labor in 1927 as compared with 1926;
563
LABOR STATISTICS FOR 1927
T a b l e 3 .— HOURS OF LABOR
IN VARIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE
MANILA, 1926 AND 1927, BY INDUSTRIAL GROUPS
1926
Num
ber of
estab
lish
ments
1927
Hours
of
labor
per
day
Num
ber of
laborers
Food and kindred products.... .............................
207
10
...................
Textiles...........
and clothing..............
402
9
9
Metal, mechanical, and electrical.................. ......
138
Home construction and furniture making-........
208
9
Leather and allied products.... .............................
177 9-10
9
Printing and allied industries .............................
7
Liquors, beverages, and tobacco_ ........................
9
70
Chemical and allied products. .............................
37
10
9
Clay, stone and glass products________________
42
Cars and carriages and allied industries. ............
64
9
Works of art.... .....................................................
108
8.5
Lumber and wood manufactures.........................
79
9
Transportation and communication___________
i9
73
Miscellaneous.........................................................
252
*9
3,762
3,799
1,670
2,713
1,240
1,290
10,758
1,106
492
955
351
894
8,008
5,390
50
31
87
62
440
42,428
2,259
Industrial group
Total..........................................................__
1,854
CITY OF
Num
ber of
estab
lish
ments
Hours
of
labor
per
day
Num
ber of
laborers
169
435
265
261
217
7.5-12
8- 9
8-14
9
8- 9
S- 9
9
9
9-10
9
8 .5-9
9
7.5-15
8.5-13
2,306
3,782
4,060
4,454
1,189
2,047
11,030
371
173
1,013
232
1,481
4,126
2,919
121
52
59
10
39,183
1 Garages and stables, and fishing industries have no fixed hours.
Cost of Living
As t h e r e s u l t of the low price of rice in 1927, the cost of living
among wage earners was slightly less in that year than in the
preceding year. The cost of the other items in the family budget,
however, was practically the same. The cost of living per day of
skilled and common laborers in 1927, as estimated by the bureau
of labor, is as follows:
T a b l e 4 .— COST OF LIVING PER DAY IN 1927, BY CLASS OF LABOR
Average cost of liv
ing per day—
Class of labor
In
Manila
Skilled workers:
Single..........................................................................................................................
Married1 _____________________________________ _____ ______________________
Common laborers:
Single.......................................................... ..............................................................
Married 1 _______________________________________________________________
Pesos
1.33
2.43
1.00
1.93
In typi
cal towns
Pesos
1 .1 2
2.42
.80
1.69
i With wife and 3 children.
Adjustment of Wage Claims, 1923 to 1927
T able 5 shows the claims and complaints adjusted by the Phil
ippine Bureau of Labor during the five years 1923 to 1927. These
cases involved payment of wages, money advanced by employers to
workers and sometimes the recovery of personal belongings. Through
the activities of the bureau in this connection, workers are saved
considerable expense by not having to employ outside lawyers to
take up their grievances.
39142°— 29-------37
564
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS— LABOR CONDITIONS
T a b l e 5 .— ADJUSTMENTS OF CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS BY PHILIPPINE BUREAU OF
LABOR, 1923 TO 1927
Adjustments
Number of Number of
claims and
complaints claimants
Year
1923................................................................
1924-__..........................................................
1925..............................................................
1926................................................................
1927.......................... ......... ............................
Total_________ ___________ _______
Unfavor
able
Favorable
Amount
collected
Pesos
615
766
728
1,652
1,155
1,371
1,697
1,418
379
431
365
447
493
390
257
250
319
235
21,371.54
30,339.09
19,209,63
23,575.26
18,171 91
3,566
7,293
2,115
1,451
112,667.43
769
688
Free Employment Agencies
T h e p la c e m e n t w o r k of the free employment agencies of the
bureau of labor for a 5-year period is reported below:
Registrations
192
192
192
192
192
Placements
__5, 809
__4, 673
__5, 106
_____________3,879
__2, 549
3
4
5
6
7
5, 326
4, 246
4, 469
3,208
2, 064
Total________________________________ 22,016
19,313
Industrial Accidents, 1923 to 1927
T a b l e 6 is a record of the industrial accidents in the Philippines,
from 1923 to 1927.
T a b l e 6 .— INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1923 TO 1927
Number of injuries
Adjustments
Num
ber of
acci Tem Per
In Unin
dents po
ma Fatal Total demni demni Amount
rary nent
fied
fied collected
Year
Pesos
1923 ............................................................
1924..............................................................
1925..............................................................
1926..............................................................
1927..............................................................
343
500
430
447
452
298
437
390
390
355
5
31
15
19
34
86
61
48
104
143
389
529
453
513
532
196
214
247
375
264
193
315
206
138
120
12,471.46
11,404.81
21,706.03
25,053.48
28,010.89
Total___________________________
2,172
1,870
104
442
2,416
1,296
972
98,646.67
Industrial Disputes, 1923 to 1927
S t a t i s t i c s on strikes and other industrial disputes in the Philip
pines from 1923 to 1927 are summarized in Table 7.
565
LABOR STATISTICS FOR 1927
T a b l e 7 .— INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES IN THE PHILIPPINES, 1923 TO 1927
Number
of strikes Number
and other
of
indus
workers
trial dis involved
putes
Year
Adjustments in
favor of—
Causes of conflicts
Wages
Other
Workers
1923............................................................
1924............................................................
1925............................................................
1926............................................................
1927............................................................
23
27
53
8,331
6,784
9,936
7,279
8,567
18
33
20
19
16
39
Total............................. .................
149
40,897
94
55
100
26
20
18
13
8
12
11
Em
ployers
14
7
12
8
12
9
4
11
14
49
Labor Organizations
A ccording to the report of the Governor General of the Philip
pines for 1927, there are 103 labor organizations in the Islands
with a membership of 63,814 of whom 32,304 are in Manila and
31,510 in 21 Provinces. Returns received from 60 labor unions with
41,448 members showed that 5,478 (13 per cent) were unemployed.
Migration of Philippine Labor to and from Hawaii, 1923 to 1927
D uring 1927 the number of Filipino emigrants to Hawaii, was
10,074—an increase of 200 per cent, compared with 1926.
Among these emigrants there were 9,784 men, 120 women, and
170 minors as compared with 2,977 men, 160 women, and 219 minors
in 1926. All but five of the emigrants in 1927 paid their own trans
portation to the Territory. Approximately 800 emigrants who char
tered the steamer Consuelo from the Philippines to Hawaii are included
in the above figures.
The number of Filipino emigrants returning from Hawaii in 1927
was 3,565, an increase of only 5.16 per cent as compared with 1926.
The following figures show Filipino migration to and from Hawaii
for five years, 1923 to 1927.
T a b l e 8 .—FILIPINO EMIGRANTS GOING TO AND RETURNING FROM HAWAII,
1923 TO 1927
Going to Hawaii
Returning from Hawaii
Year
Men
Women Minors Total
4,520
8,171
6,104
2,977
9,784
1,797
1,116
256
160
Total_________________ ______ 31,556
1923.......................................................
1924.......................................................
1925.......................................................
1926.......................................................
1927.......................................................
Men
Women Minors Total
7,261
9,869
6,519
3,356
10,074
1,226
1,730
2,183
2,562
2,410
112
120
944
582
159
219
170
204
264
348
510
158
261
307
480
645
1,496
2,195
2,754
3,390
3,565
3,449
2,074
37,079
10, 1 1 1
1,438
1,851
13,400
Agricultural Cooperative Associations
T he activities of rural agricultural cooperative societies are of
considerable importance as indicated in Table 9.
566
P h ilip p in e i s l a n d s — l a b o r c o n d i t i o n s
T abib &— o p e r a t i o n s o f r u r a l a g r i c u l t u r a l c r e d i t c o o p e r a t i v e a s s o CIATIONS, 1923-1927
Year
Number
of
associa
tions
Total
number
of
members
547
546
543
544
545
77,479
81,791
84,002
87,535
Paid-in
capital
stock
Pesos
1923...................................................................
1924...................................................................
1925...................................................................
1926........................................................- ..........
1927 1 ___________________________________
i Estimated only, subject to correction.
88,000
872,668
890,621
905,204
928,248
930,000
Total re
sources,
including
loans, in
terest, and
deposits
Pesos
2,605,043
2,653,784
2,549,306
2,570,588
2,600,000
Loans
to
members
Pesos
2,488,836
2,531,997
2,408,261
2,429,994
2,400,000
PORTO RICO-LABOR CONDITIONS
567
Labor Conditions in Porto Rico
O first-hand investigation of labor conditions in Porto Rico
has been made by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
since the surveys embodied, respectively, in its Bulletin No. 34
(1901) and Bulletin No. 61 (1905). In 1919, however, the United
States Employment Service issued a report on labor conditions in
Porto Rico, and in 1923 the United States Children’s Bureau a report
entitled “ Child Welfare in the Insular Possessions of the United
States: Part I, Porto Rico.” In 1924, Public Health Bulletin No.
138 (Tuberculosis Survey of the Island of Porto Rico, October 11,
1922 to April 18,1923) was issued by the United States Public Health
Service.
The annual reports of the Governor of Porto Rico and of the bureau
of labor of the department of agriculture and labor contain important
current information.
According to the 1920 census the population of Porto Rico was
1,299,809. A table showing the industrial distribution in that year
of gainfully employed persons 10 years of age and oyer is given in the
previous handbook (Bui. No. 439). The information which follows
is taken from the twelfth annual report of the bureau of labor
to the Legislative Assembly of Porto Rico, dated March 21, 1928,
this being the latest report available.
N
Wages
Sugar industry.—The pay rolls of the sugar-cane factories and the
tributary plantations indicate that there are more than 100,000
workers in this industry. Except for the small increase of 5 to 15
cents per day for the most skilled and industrious workers on the
sugar-cane plantations there was no change in 1927 in the level of
wages, which ranged from 75 cents to $1.25 for eight hours.
Of 671 laborers interviewed by agents of the bureau of labor 333
were receiving up to 75 cents per day; 334 from 76 cents to $1.25;
and 4 over $1.25.
Coffee workers.—The wages of laborers on coffee plantations were
from 50 to 75 cents per day for the nine months of the dull season;
in the harvesting season the earnings on piecework were 50 cents to
$1.50 per day, and the regular wage per day was 60 cents. In coffee
picking the men were helped by their wives and small children.
Tobacco industry.—During harvest time men were paid from 75
cents to $1.50 per day for cultivating tobacco and women generally
from 40 to 60 cents. In the dull season the daily wage for men is
from 50 to 75 cents and for women from 30 to 50 cents. The few
tobacco growers who employ their laborers after the harvest of the
crop retam only about half of the number required in the busy season.
The bureau of labor reports that the lack of work in the tobacco dis
tricts was so great during the year under review that the laborers
had to migrate to the sugar-cane districts to get jobs.
569
570
PORTO RICO— LABOR CONDITIONS
Cigar makers.—Based on reports by 274 cigar makers, which were
corroborated by pay rolls, the wage rates per day varied from $1 to $3.
Only workers in large cigar factories producing special brands of cigars
were being paid more than $2 a day.
Building trades.—The prevailing wage for carpenters in the larger
municipalities was between $2 and $3 per day of eight and nine hours.
There is no strong association or union among carpenters, and the
ease with which unskilled laborers secure construction jobs will be,
the bureau of labor declares, “ a menace to the stability of wages unless
carpenters organize to safeguard their trade."
Of the 157 masons investigated only 15 skilled masons, who were
overseers, were being paid $6 per day ; about one-half received from
$2 to $3 per day, and more than a third $3 but under $5 in munici
palities of the first and second class.
Less than a third of the plumbers interviewed received under $3
per day during the year; the daily average wage was over $3. The
records of 45 electrical workers showed daily earnings of from $1 to $3.
The longest period of continuous employment among a group of
painters investigated was not over 100 days, and there was a reported
surplus of approximately 1,000 painters. The highest wage per day
was $4; one-half of the painters questioned were earning from $1 to
$1.50 per day.
Bakers.—The average daily wage for bakers ranged from $1 to $3
for ten hours of work.
Barbers.—One-half of the barbers investigated received under $1
per day.
Longshoremen.—The pay rolls of the Porto Rican ports showed
large numbers of workers, who were heads of families, earning only
from $2 to $3 a day and employed from 1 to 10 days in the month.
According to the report of the bureau “ there is not a single employer
in the loading and unloading of vessels, or any owner of a vessel having
shown any mterest or desire of bettering the conditions of their
workers. Laborers in these occupations are chosen by the foremen
and very seldom they are given steady work. The use of hoists and
other mechanical implements in loading, unloading and hauling of
cargo is becoming general. This brings the gradual elimination of
human labor, with greater profits to the employer."
Embroidery and needlework.—This industry furnishes employ
ment to over 40,000 females (including home workers) and about
900 men. The home workers, many of whom are from 8 to 12 years
of age, number about 36,000. Many violations of the law regulating
woman and child labor occurred in 1927.
Over 4,300 women and 234 men engaged in this industry were
investigated and the bureau reports that “ all of them were earning
wages insufficient to meet life’s most urgent needs." The prevailing
wage among 144 female workers in the shops who were heads of
families was $4 per week. The prevailing wage among 553 women
who were home workers was $1 for a week of from 60 to 72 hours.
Furthermore, they spent half a day a week (without pay) going to the
town shop or central office where the raw material is distributed and
the finished work is examined before being paid for.
■UNEMPLOYMENT
571
Cost of Living
B a n a n a s , codfish, rice, beans, com meal, and coffee without milk
still constitute the diet of the coffee-district laborer. The rural
dwellers, the bureau of labor reports, rarely have pork or beef, and
bread is a luxury. Thirty years ago laborers received bananas free
or could buy them for 5 cents per hundred, whereas at present they
are sold at five for a cent. One child usually eats five bananas at a
meal and an adult double that number. Rice, beans, pigeon peas,
and kidney beans are the principal foods of rural workers. The
present price of rice is 7 cents per pound and of beans from 10 to 12
cents per pound. The bureau also notes that low-grade codfish—
frequently so bad as to be seized by the health officers—is sold at
12 cents per pound.
Laborers in the sugar-cane, tobacco, and fruit-growing sections, where also
minor fruits are raised, consume similar foodstuffs as those of the coffee section,
with the sole difference that the former consume also some of the commodities
bought by urban workers, such as beef, pork, bread, and imported and home
made candy. The banana, the most common eatable in the coffee zone, is
substituted in the sections above mentioned with plantains, sweet potatoes,
dasheens (yautias), and yams which are sold at a price from two to ten times
higher than the former. Plantains are sold at an average price of 4 cents, yams
at 3 cents a pound, and sweet potatoes and dasheens ( yautfas) at
cents a
pound. Beef costs an average price of 24 cents a pound, and pork 30 cents.
According to the bureau’s report, clothes and shoes of the most
inferior kind are purchased on credit, the price of fabrics used by the
workers being double that of a decade ago. Probably about 90 per
cent of the rural workers pay no house rent.
Housing of Laborers
F o r m an y years, the chief of the Porto Rican Bureau of Labor
reports, the bureau has been trying to induce employers to improve
the housing conditions of their workers, but up to the present the
majority of them have not acted upon the bureau’s recommendations.
Both in the rural sections and on the outskirts of the small towns
old unsanitary huts constructed of palm leaves, old boards, and oil
cans are still to be seen. The homestead commission, however, has
accomplished much in providing better housing for the wage earners
in the cities.
On the other hand, builders engaged in the construction of houses to be sold
to workers on the installment plan, with usurious purposes, have done nothing
but harm to many poor workers who have put up all their savings in acquiring
a house under such terms, losing house and all when unable to meet the obliga
tions this kind of transactions entail.
Unemployment
T h e b u r e a u of labor’s efforts to get new industries established in
Porto Rico and to induce landowners to grant land to laborers under
a crop-sharing plan have not been successful. A special commissioner
was sent to the United States by the economic commission for the
purpose of interesting American capitalists in investing their money
m industrial enterprises in Porto Rico. The bureau is still hoping
for results from this promotion plan. The estimates of the number
of unemployed in the island range from 200,000 to 400,000, the lower
. estimate being that of the chief of the bureau of labor.
572
PORTO RICO— LABOR CONDITIONS
Child Labor
C h il d r e n under 16 years of age and in some cases even under 12
were found working on sugar-cane, tobacco, and other kinds of plan
tations. Among the tasks done by them were tilling, sowing, ferti
lizing, harvesting, driving oxen, and loading trucks and wagons.
The reports state that, in order to evade the law regulating the
employment of minors and providing for compulsory school attend
ance, employers do not keep the names of illegally employed children
on their pay rolls. When the labor inspector discovers these children,
they say they have come to the plantations to bring lunch or coffee
to their parents or guardians, who later support these allegations.
In consequence, numerous cases brought before the court have been
dismissed.
Wage Claims
D u r in g 1927, 537 claims for wages were filed at the Porto Rican
Bureau of Labor, the sums involved totaling $19,448.64, of which
$9,807.45 was collected. One hundred and eighty-six claims, involving
$6,818.82, “ were dismissed for lack of evidence,” 73 were dropped by
the claimants, and 35 were pending at the time the report was made.
The number of claims increases every day. These must be investigated,
witnesses summoned, documents examined, and the official in charge of this
work is at times unable to attend in the right manner to all cases brought for
his consideration. Good results can not be expected unless the personnel of this
service is increased. The benefits of this service should be enjoyed by all salaried
people, be they farm laborers, artisans, office clerks, or any other kind of employees.
As presently organized, and with its limited personnel, this service protects only
those living in San Juan, something really unfair to workers residing out in the
island.
PRICES—WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
573
Retail Prices in the United States
Retail Prices of Food in 1928
ETAIL prices of food in general averaged somewhat lower in
1928 than in the preceding year. This was particularly true of
fresh pork, bacon, ham, lard, flour and bread, rice, potatoes, and sugar.
Fresh beef, milk, butter, cheese, eggs, corn meal, and coffee, on the
other hand, were higher than in 1927.
Prices of fresh beef, including sirloin and round steak, rib and chuck
roast, and plate beef, steadily increased in the first nine months of the
year, but declined in the closing months. Pork chops declined from
January to March, increased steadily to September, and again declined
thereafter. Bacon and ham also were highest in September, followed by
weakening prices in the remaining months. Hens showed only minor
price fluctuations in the year. Prices of all kinds of fresh beef were
considerably higher at the end than at the beginning of the year,
while ham and hens were somewhat higher. Bacon and lard, on the
contrary, were somewhat cheaper. An abrupt drop in prices of pork
chops brought the December level on a par with that of January.
Butter, cheese, and milk prices decreased in spring and summer and
increased in fall and winter months. Eggs showed strong seasonal
variations, declining sharply from January to April, increasing stead
ily to November and weakening in December. November prices
were 65 per cent higher than those of April. Prices of bread weakened
somewhat in spring months, advanced in summer, and declined in
fall and winter. Flour prices advanced in the first half and declined
in the second half of the year, while prices of corn meal were constant
after increasing in April. Rice showed little price variation, but with
a downward tendency. Potato prices increased from January to
April and declined sharply thereafter, but were stationary in the last
five months of the year.
Sugar increased slightly in price in the first six months and decreased
to December. Tea showed only negligible price fluctuations, while
coffee prices tended upward. All commodities, as measured by the
weighted food index, declined from Januaiy to March, increased in
April and May, declined again in June, and advanced to September.
In the last three months of the year the general level of retail prices
was slightly higher than in January. The December level was practi
cally on a par with that of December, 1927.
Table 1 shows for the United States average retail prices of speci
fied articles of food for the years 1913 and 1928 and for each month
of 1928.
R
575
576
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 1 .— AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF SPECIFIED FOOD ARTICLES IN THE
UNITED STATES, BY YEARS, 1913 AND 1928, AND BY MONTHS FOR 1928
1928
Av
er
age
for
Oct. Nov. Dec.
year Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug.
15 15
15
15
15
15 15
1913 15 15 15 15 15
Article
Unit
Sirloin steak___
Round steak_____
Rib roast...............
Chuck roast......... .
Plate beef..............
Pound.
—do— .
...do....
...do....
...do....
25.4
22.3
19.8
16.0
Pork chops______
Bacon, sliced.........
Ham, sliced. - ___
Lamb................... .
Hens......................
...do....
...do__
...do....
...do....
...do....
Salmon, canned,
red......................
Milk, fresh............
Milk, evaporated..
Butter...................
Oleomargarine (all
butter s u b sti
tutes).................
...d o ...
Cheese...................
Lard......................
Vegetable lard
substitute..........
Eggs, strictly fresh.
Eggs, storage.........
as.
Os. Os.
12.1
44.4
38.6
32.7
25.4
17.2
44.8
38.9
33.1
25.7
17.5
44.9
39.1
33.1
25.8
17.7
Clis.
45.3
39.6
33.4
26.1
17.9
21.0
27.0
26.9
18.9
21.3
31.3
44.6
51.7
37.4
36.8
29.5
43.7
51.2
37.5
37.2
28.6
43.0
50.5
38.2
37.2
31.3 35.4
42.9 43.1
50. 51.2
39.7 41.5
37.7r 37.7
Cis.
Os.
46.1
40.4
34.1
26.6
18.2
as. as.
49.7
43.9
36.0
28.9
19.1
Os.
47.4
41.
34.7
27.
18.5
34.8
43.2
51.71
42.2,
37.11
37.3
43.9
53.4
41.1
36.7
44.8
55.0
40.2
36.81
51.0
45.1
36.6
29.6
19.6
as. as. as.
51.8
45.8
37.4
30.4
20.6
50.3
44.6
36.8
30.2
20.8
49.1
43.4
36.3
29.7
44.3
45.4
56.0
40.
37.9
37.6
45.3
55.6
38.8
37.9
35.7
44.5
54.6
38.0
38.0
Os.
48.2
42.7
35.7
29.1
20.8 20.4
31.3
43.3
53.4
37.6
37.9
Av
er
age
for
year
1928
as.
47.8
42.0
35.0
27.9
19.0
34.8
44.0
52.9
39.4
37.4
35.3 35.4 35.4 35.4 35.4 35.3 35.3 34.2 33.3 32.6 32.3 31.9 34.3
Quart— 8.9 14.3 14.3 14.2 14.1 14.1 14.0 14.1 14.1 14.2 14.2 14.3 14.3 14.2
11.5 11.5 11.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 1 1. 1 11.2 11.3 11.3 11.4 11.4 11.3
57.8 56.3 57.3 55.1 54.6 53.9 54.3 55.4 57.6 57.5 58.3 59.3 56.5
Pound.
27.6 27.6 27.4 27.2 27.3 27.3 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.6 27.6 27.5 27.4
...d o___
38.5 38.5 38.5
38.1 38.3 38.4 38.7
—do.... 22.1 39.2 39.2 38.5 38.2
. . do___. 15.8 18.9 18. 17.8 17.8 18.1 18.2 18.4 18.7 19.3 19.5 19.1 18.7 18.6
24.9
— do__
25.0 24.9 24.9 24.9 24.8 24.9 24.9 24.8 24.9 24.9 24.8
Dozen.. 34.5 55.9 43.1 37.0 35.8 37.5 38.8 41.6 45.0 50.4 54.3 59.3 58.4 46.4
43.8 44.0 43.7
...do__
44.7 41.4
Bread................... . Pound.
Flour.................... . ...do....
Corn meal............ .
Rolled oats............ ..do— .
Corn flakes............ (2)......
9.2
5.3
5.2
9.0
9.7
9.1
5.3
5.2
9.0
9.7
9.1
5.4
5.3
8.9
9.6
Wheat cereal_____ (8) .... 25.6 25.6
Macaroni............... Pound.
20.0 20.0 19.9
Rice...................... . ...do.... 8.7 10.2 10.2 10.1
Beans, navy.......... —do....
9.5 10.1 10.7
Potatoes............... . ...do.... ”1.7 3.0 3.0 3.4
25.6
19.8
10.0
11.5
3.5
5.6
3.3
3.0
9.2
5.3
5.2
9.0
9.7
9.1
5.6
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.2
5.7
5.3
8.
9.5
9.2
5.6
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.2
5.4
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.1
5.3
5.3
9.0
9.5
9.1
5.2
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.1
5.1
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.0
5.1
5.3
8.9
9.5
9.1
5.4
5.3
8.9
25.6 25.5 25.6 25.6 25.6 25.6 25.5 25.5 25.6
19.9 19.8 19.8 19.8 19.8 19.7 19.7 19.7 19.8
10.0 9.9 10.0 9.9 10.0 9.9 9.8 9.9 10.0
12. 01 12.3 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.5 12.5 12.8 11.8
3.3 2.9 2.3
2.7
2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2
6.2
6.1
Onions................... ...do....
Cabbage............... . .do.
Beans, baked....... .
Corn, canned____
Peas, canned.........
7.4 7.
6.5 7.1
5.1 5.2
5.4 5.8
6.4 5.
4.2 4.5 5.2
5.5 4.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.3 4.7 5.0
11.4 11.3 11.4 11.4 11.4 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.7 11.5
15.8 15.8 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9 15.9
16.8 16.8 16.7 16.7 16.8 16.9 16.8 16.7 16.8 16.7 16.7 16.7 16.8
Tomatoes, canned.
Sugar, granulated.. Pound
Tea....................... . __do.__
Coffee................... . — do__
11.7 1 1.1 11.7 11.7 11.6 11. 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.8 11.9 12.0 11.7
7.1 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.
7.1 7.0 6.9
5.5 7.1 7.
6.7 7.1
54.4 77.4 77.: 77.4 77.2 77.2 77.3 77.4 77.4 77.4 77.5 77.4 77.3 77.4
48.5 48.1 48.8 48.9| 49.0 49.2 49.2 49.4 49.5 49.6 49.7 49.7 49.2
C^-
Prunes................... ...do...
Raisins................. . ...do—
Bananas............... . Dozen
Oranges................. —do__
116-ounce can.
6.8 8.2
6.8
13.6
13.7
34.6
51.0
13.1
13.1
34.!
51.1
13.5
13.6
33.8
52.9
2 8-ounce package.
13.6* 13.6
13.6| 13.6!
33.01 32.7!
55.2,, 61.9
13.
13.6
32.5
62.6
13.8
13.6
32.1
62.6
13.8
13.5
31.6
64.2
8 28-ounce package.
13.8 13.8 14.0 14.1
13.0 12.4 12.0 11.8
32.7 33.1 33.7 33.5
66.1 64.2 56.5 47.6
13.7
13.2
33.2
58.0
* No. 2 can.
The figures in Table 2 show the per cent of increase in the average
retail price of each of 22 important food articles in 1928 compared
with the pre-war year 1913, arranged according to increase.
577
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD
T a b l e 2 .—PER CENT OF INCREASE IN RETAIL PRICES OF 22 ARTICLES OF FOOD IN
1928 COMPARED WITH 1913
Per cent
of increase
in 1928
compared
with 1913
Article
Ham............. ..............
Round steak................
Sirloin steak- _.........
Rib roast.....................
Corn meal.... ......... ....
Hens............................
Chuck roast____ ____
Cheese.........................
96.7
88.3
88.2
76.8
76.7
75.6
74.4
74.2
Per cent
of increase
in 1928
compared
with 1913
Article
Pork chops__________
Coffee..........................
Flour...........................
Bacon______________
Bread.............._.........
Milk............................
Potatoes____________
Plate beef....................
65.7
65.1
63.6
63.0
62.5
59.6
58.2
57.0
Article
Butter______________
Tea..............................
Eggs________________
Sugar_______________
Lard________________
Rice...... .......................
Per cent
of increase
in 1928
compared
with 1913
47.5
42.3
34.5
29.1
17.7
14.9
Trend of Retail Prices of Food, 1890 to 1928
T a b l e 3 shows by index numbers the trend in the retail cost of food
in the United States from 1890 to 1928. The percentage increase in
the cost from 1890 to 1928 was 121.7. From 1920 to 1928 there was
a decrease of 24.1 per cent. Prices in 1928 averaged 0.7 of 1 per cent
lower than in 1927.
T a b l e 3 .— INDEX NUMBERS SHOWING TREND IN THE RETAIL COST OF FOOD IN
THE UNITED STATES, BY YEARS, 1890 TO 19281
[Average for year 1913—100.0]
Year
1890...................
1891....... ...........
1892_....... .........
1893...................
1894...................
1895.................
1896__________
1897..................
1898...................
1899...................
Index
number
69.6
70.6
69.3
71.0
67.8
66.5
64.9
65.4
67.1
67.7
Year
1900................
1901...............
1902................
1903................
1904...............
1905...............
1906...............
1907...............
1908...............
1909................
Index
number
68.7
71.5
75.4
75.0
76.0
76.4
78.7
82.0
84.3
88.7
Year
1910................
1911................
1912................
1913................
1914................
1915................
1916................
1917................
1918................
1919...............
Index
number
93.0
92.0
97.6
100.0
102.4
101.3
113.7
146.4
168.3
185.9
Year
1920................
1921................
1922................
1923................
1924................
1925................
1926................
1927................
1928................
Index
number
203.4
153.3
141.6
146.2
145.9
157.4
160.6
155.4
154.3
i The number of articles included in the above index numbers has not been the same throughout the
period of years, but a sufficient number has been used to represent fairly food as a whole. From 1890 to
1907,30 articles were used; from 1907 to 1913,15 articles; from 1913 to 1920, 22 articles; and from 1921 to 1928,
43 articles. The index numbers have been so computed as to be comparable with one another.
Monthly Price Changes of Food, 1919 to 1928
R e t a i l price movements during the period 1919 to 1928 for the
United States as a whole are shown in Table 4.1 The year 1913
forms the base period, and average prices in all years and months
are measured in terms of average prices in that year. To aid in the
comparison there is also shown the per cent of increase or decrease
in prices for each year or month as compared with the preceding
year or month. As will be seen, the retail cost of food reached the
peak in July, 1920, when prices were 119.2 per cent above the 1913
level. In March, 1922, prices had fallen to 38.7 per cent above the
1913 level, but they increased to 64.3 per cent above that level in
January, 1926, subsiding to 51.4 per cent above the 1913 level in
i Comparable information for the months of 1913 to 1918 inclusive, will be found in Bulletin
No. 396, p. 1 2 .
578
PRICES---- WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
March, 1928, and again increasing to 57.8 per cent above that level
in September of the later year.
The accompanying chart shows the trend of retail food prices by
months for the years 1926 to 1928.
T a b l e 4.—INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL COST AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DE
CREASE IN ALL ARTICLES OF FOOD COMBINED FOR THE UNITED STATES,
JANUARY, 1919, TO DECEMBER, 1928
Year and month
1913: Average for year.
1919: Average for year.
January--------------February.. .............
March_____ ______
April________ ____
May_____________
June_____________
July.........................
August....................
September...............
October...................
November...............
December....... .......
1920: Average for year.
January...................
February.................
March.....................
April.......................
May........ ...............
June.........................
July.........................
August....................
September...............
October...................
November...............
December...............
1921: Average for year.
January..................
February.................
March..................
April....... ...............
May........................
June______ _______
July.........................
August...................
September...............
October...................
November...............
December...............
*No change.
Per cent of in
crease (+) or
decrease (—)
Index
each specified
number
year as
(average compared
with
cost for
preceding
1913=100) year
and month
with month
preceding
100.0
185.9
185.2
172.0
175.3
181.7
184.9
184.0
190.0
191.8
188.3
188.6
192.2
196.6
203.4
201.2
200.0
200.0
210.6
215.5
218.7
219.2
206.7
203.7
198.4
193.3
177.9
153.3
172.4
157.7
156.1
152.1
144.7
144.4
148.4
154.7
153.1
152.6
151.7
149.9
+10.4
-.8
-7 .1
+1.9
+3.6
+1.8
-.5
+3.3
+1.0
-
1.8
+•1
+1.9
+2.3
+9.4
+2.4
-.6
0)
+5.3
+2.3
+1.5
+2
-5 .7
-1 .4
-
2.6
-
2.6
8.0
-
-24.6
-3 .1
-8 .5
-
1.0
-
2.6
-4 .8
-.3
+2.8
+4.3
-
1 .1
-.3
-.5
-1 .3
Year and month
1922: Average for year.
January...................
February.................
March.....................
April............ ..........
May....................... .
June.........................
July........................ .
August................... .
September...............
October.................. .
November...............
December...............
1993: Average for year.
January...................
February.................
March.................... .
April...................... .
May....................... .
June.........................
July......... ...............
August................... .
September...............
October.................. .
November...............
December.............. .
1924: Average for year.
January..............
February............
March.................
April...................
May....................
June....................
July.....................
August............ .
September..........
October.............
November..........
December...........
Per cent of in
crease (+) or
decrease (—)
Index
each
specified
number
year as
(average compared
with
cost for
preceding
1913=100) year
and month
with month
preceding
141.6
142.0
141.6
138.7
138.9
139.2
140.7
142.1
138.7
139.7
142.6
144.9
146.6
146.2
144.4
142.3
141.9
143.1
143.4
144.3
147.2
146.4
149.3
149.8
151.1
150.3
145.9
149.1
147.3
143.7
141.3
141.0
142.4
143.3
144.2
146.8
148.7
150.1
151.5
-7 .6
-5 .3
-.3
- 2.0
+• 1
+ .2
+ 1 .1
+ 1.0
-2 .4
+ .7
+ 2 .1
+ 1.6
+ 1 .2
+3.3
-1 .5
-1 .5
-.2
+ .8
+ .2
+• 6
+ 2.0
-.5
+ 2.0
+. 4
+ .8
+ .5
-.2
-.8
- 1 .2
-2 .5
- 1.6
-.2
+ 1.0
+ .6
+ .6
+ 1.8
+1.3
+ .9
+ 1.0
579
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD
T a b l e 4 . — INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL COST AND PER CENT OF INCREASE OR DE
CREASE IN ALL ARTICLES OF FOOD COMBINED FOR THE UNITED STATES,
JANUARY, 1919, TO DECEMBER, 1928—Continued
Year and month
Per cent of in
crease (+) or
decrease (—)
Index
each
specified
number
year as
(average compared
with
cost for
preceding
1913=100) year
and month
with month
preceding
157.4
154.3
151.4
151.1
150.8
151.6
155.0
159.9
160.4
159.0
161.6
167.1
165.5
160.6
164.3
161.5
159.9
162.4
161.1
159.7
157.0
155.7
158.5
160.0
161.6
161.8
1925: Average for year.
January..............
February............
March.................
April...................
May....................
June....................
July.....................
August-..............
September..........
October...............
November..........
December...........
1926: Average for year.
January..............
February............
March.................
April...................
May....................
June....................
July......................
August.................
September.......... .
October...... .........
November.......... .
December............
+7.9
+1.8
-1 .9
—. 2
-.2
+.5
+2.2
+3.2
+ .3
—.9
+1.6
+3.4
-
1.0
+2.0
-.7
-1 .7
-
1.0
+1.6
-1 .7
-.8
+1.8
Per cent of in
crease (+) or
decrease (—)
Index
each
specified
number
year as
(average compared
with
cost for
preceding
1913=100) year
and month
with month
preceding
Year and month
1927: Average for year.
January...................
February................
March......................
April........................
May.........................
June.........................
July.........................
August....................
September..... .........
October...................
November...............
December................
1938: Average for year.
January...................
February.................
March......................
April........................
May.........................
June.........................
July.........................
August....................
September...............
October....................
November...............
December................
155.4
159.3
156.0
153.8
153.6
155.4
158.5
153.4
152.4
154.0
156.1
156.5
155.9
154.3
155.1
151.6
151.4
152.1
153.8
152.6
152.8
154.2
157.8
156.8
157.3
155.8
-3 .3
-1 .5
2.1
-
-1 .4
-.1
+1.2
+2.0
3.2
-
-.6
+1.0
+1.4
+ .2
-.4
-.7
-.5
2.3
-
-.1
+ .5
+1.1
-.8
+ .1
+.9
+
2.3
+.9
-.6
+ .3
+.1
1 .0
Index numbers showing changes in the retail prices of 22 impor
tant food articles for the years 1920 to 1928 are contained in Table 5.
All index numbers are based on average prices in 1913 as 100.
+1.0
-
T able 5.—INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL PRICES OF PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD,
BY YEARS, 1913, 1920 TO 1928, AND BY MONTHS FOR 1927 AND 1928
[Average for year 1913=100.0]
Year and
month
1913...................
1920...................
1921...................
1922...................
1923...................
1924...................
1925...................
1926...................
1927....... ...........
1928......... ..........
1927: January—
February- _
March.......
April_____
May...........
June...........
July______
August----September.
October___
November .
December..
1928: January. .
February- _
March.......
April_____
May...........
June___ . . .
July______
August___
September.
October___
November.
December..
Sirloin Round Rib Chuck Plate Pork Bacon Ham
steak steak roast roast beef chops
100.0
172.1
152.8
147.2
153.9
155.9
159.8
162.6
167.7
188.2
160.0
161.0
161.8
164.6
166.5
166.9
171.7
172.0
172.4
172.0
171.3
172.8
174.8
176.4
176.8
178.3
181.5
186.6
195.7
200.8
203.9
198.0'
193.3
189.8
100.0
177.1
154.3
144.8
150.2
151.6
155.6
159.6
166.4
188.3
158.3
158.7
159.6
163.2
165.5
165.9
170.0
170.9
170.9
170.0
169.5
171.3
173.1
174.4
175.3
177.6
181.2
186.5
196.9
202.2
205.4
200.0
194.6
191.5
100.0
167.7
147.0
139.4
143.4
145.5
149.5
153.0
158.1
176.8
153.0
153.5
153.5
156.1
157.6
157.1
160.1
160.1
160.6
161.1
161.1
163.6
165.2
167.2
167.2
168.7
172.2
175.3
181.8
184.8
188.9
185.9
183.3
180.3
39142°— 29------- 38
100.0
163.8
132.5
123.1
126.3
130.0
135.0
140.6
148.1
174.4
141.9
141.9
142.5
145.6
146.9
146.9
149.4
149.4
150.0
151.9
153.1
156.9
158.8
160.6
161.3
163.1
166.3
172.5
180.6
185.0
190.0
188.8
185.6
181.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
151.2 201.4 193.7 206.3
118.2 166.2 158.2 181.4
105.8 157.1 147.4 181.4
106.6 144.8 144 8 169.1
109.1 146.7 139.6 168.4
114.1 174.3 173.0 195.5
120.7 188.1 186.3 213.4
127.3 175.2 174.8 204.5
157.0 165.7 163.0 196.7
124.0 174.3 181.1 2 1 1 .2
123.1 171.0 179.6 210.8
123.1 174.3 179.3 210.0
125.6 175.7 178.2 210.8
125.6 173.3 176.3 209.3
125.6 165.2 174.4 206.3
126.4 166.2 172.6 203.0
126.4 179.5 172.2 201.9
128.1 193.8 172.2 200.0
130.6 197.6 172.6 199.3
133.9 172.9 171.5 197.0
138.0 156.2 167.8 192.9
142.1 149.0 165.2 192.2
144.6 140.5 161.9 190.3
146.3 136.2 159.3 187.7
147.9 149.0 158.9 .188.1
150.4 168.6 159.6 190.3
152.9 165.7 160.0 192.2
157.9 177.6 162.6 198.5
162.0 190.0 165.9 204.5
170.2 211.0 168.1 208.2
171.9 179.0 167.8 206.7
171.9 170.0 164.8 203.0
168.6 149.0 160.4 198.5
Hens
Milk Butter Cheese
100.0
100.0
209.9 187.6
186.4 164.0
169.0 147.2
164.3 155.1
165.7 155.1
171.8 157.3
182.2 157.3
173.2 158.4
175.6 159.6
180.8 158.4
180.8 158.4
181.7 158.4
182.6 157.3
180.3 156.2
170.4 156.2
167.1 157.3
166.2 158.4
166.2 158.4
167.6 159.6
167.1 159.6
167.6 160.7
172.8 160.7
174.6 160.7
174.6 159.6
177.0 158.4
177.0 158.4
174.2 157.3
172.3 158.4
172.8 158.4
177.9 159.6
177.9 159.6
178.4 160.7
177.9 160.7
100.0
183.0
135.0
125.1
144.7
135.0
143.1
138.6
145.2
147.5
152.5
153.-5
154.6
152.5
139.4
135.2
134.2
134.2
139.4
145.4
147.3
152.5
150.9
147.0
149.6
143.9
142.6
140.7
141.8
144.7
150.4
150.1
152.2
154.8
100.0
188.2
153.9
148.9
167.0
159.7
166.1
165.6
170.1
174.2
170.1
170.1
168.8
167.9
167.4
167.4
167.0
167.4
170.6
173.3
174.7
176.5
177.4
177.4
174.2
172.9
172.4
172.4
173.3
173.8
175.1
175.6
174.2
174.2
580
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 5 .— INDEX NUMBERS OF RETAIL PRICES OF PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD,
BY YEARS, 1913, 1920 TO 1928, AND BY MONTHS FOR 1927 AND 1928—Continued
Year and month
Lard
Eggs Bread Flour Corn
meal
1913...............................
1920...............................
1921.............................
1922...............................
1923...............................
1924...............................
1925..............................
1926.--.................... —
1927.__.........................
1928.--.........................
100.0
100.0
186.7
113.9
107.6
100.0
117.7
197.4
147.5
128.7
134.8
138.6
151.0
140.6
131.0
134.5
205.4
176.8
155.4
155.4
157.1
167.9
167.9
166.1
162.5
1927: January............
February...............
March...... .............
April......................
May.......................
June.......................
July........................
August...................
September_______
October.................
November_______
December..............
126.6
124.1
162.0
128.1
122.8
102.6
1928: January...............
February................
M arch.................
April......................
M a y .....................
June.....................
July........................
August...................
September.............
October--..............
November..............
December..............
119.6
115.8
112.7
112.7
114.6
115.2
116.5
118.4
1 12 0
120.3
147.5
138.6
12 2 .2
120.9
120.3
119.0
119.0
119.6
121.5
124.1
123.4
121.5
12 2 .2
123.4
120.9
118.4
98.3
97.4
97.1
107.0
121.7
141.2
164.1
178.8
172.8
162.0
124.9
107.2
103.8
108.7
112.5
120.6
130.4
146.1
157.4
171.9
169.3
100.0
100.0
Rice
100.0
200.0
245.5
175.8
154.5
142.4
148.5
184.8
181.8
166.7
163.6
216.7
150.0
130.0
136.7
156.7
180.0
170.0
173.3
176.7
167.9
167.9
167.9
167.9
167.9
166.1
166.1
166.1
166.1
166.1
166.1
164.3
169.7
169.7
166.7
166.7
166.7
166.7
166.7
169.7
166.7
166.7
163.6
163.6
170.0
170.0
170.0
170.0
170.0
173.3
173.3
173.3
173.3
173.3
173.3
173.3
126.4
124.1
124.1
123.0
164.3
164.3
162.5
162.5
162.5
164.3
1C4.3
164.3
162.5
162.5
162.5
160.7
160.6
160.6
160.6
163.6
169.7
172.7
169.7
163.6
160.6
157.6
154.5
154.5
173.3
173.3
173.3
176.7
176.7
176.7
176.7
176.7
176 7
176.7
176.7
176.7
117.2
117.2
116.1
114.9
114.9
113.8
114.9
113.8
114.9
113.8
109.2
109.2
109.2
116.1
127.6
133.3
123.0
114.9
121.8
123.0
123.0
123.0
12 1.8
120.7
119.5
118.4
112 .6
113.8
Pota Sugar
toes
Tea
Coffee
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
370.6
182.4
164.7
170.6
158.8
211.8
288.2
223.5
158.8
235.3
223.5
217.6
217.6
264.7
352.9
247.1
200.0
188.2
176.5
176.5
176.5
176.5
176.5
200.0
205.9
194.1
170.6
135.3
129.4
129.4
129.4
129.4
129.4
352.7
145.5
132.7
183.6
167.3
130.9
125.5
132.7
129.1
134.7
128.1
125.2
127.8
131.4
138.8
141.0
142.5
142.3
157.7
All
arti
cles1
100.0
126.5
145.3
172.8
171.1
162.1
165.1
203.4
153.3
141.6
146.2
145.9
157.4
160.6
155.4
154.3
1 2 1.8
1 2 1 .1
136.4
136.4
134.5
132.7
132.7
132.7
134.5
132.7
130.9
130.9
130.9
129 1
142.5
142.3
142.6
142.6
142.3
142.1
142.5
142.6
141.9
142.5
142.5
142.1
168.5
167.4
165.4
163.8
161.7
160.7
159.7
159.1
158.7
159.1
160.4
161.4
159.3
156.0
153.8
153.6
155.4
158.5
153.4
152.4
154.0
156.1
156.5
155.9
129.1
129 1
129.1
129.1
130.9
132.7
132.7
129.1
127.3
125.5
123.6
142.3
142.1
142.3
141.9
141.9
142.1
142.3
142.3
142.3
142.5
142.3
142.1
162.8
163.1
163.8
164.1
164.4
165.1
165.1
165.8
166.1
166.4
166.8
166.8
155.1
151.6
151.4
152.1
153.8
152.6
152.8
154.2
157.8
156.8
157.3
155.8
12 1.8
122 articles in 1913-1920; 43 articles in 1921-1928.
Food Prices, by Cities
C h a n g e s in the retail prices of food in each of the 51 cities cov
ered by the bureau's reports are shown in Table 6. Comparisons
for each month of 1928 are made with the base year 1913, with the
corresponding month of 1927, and with, the last preceding month.
Increases are denoted by the plus sign ( + ) and decreases by the
minus sign (—).
T a b l e 6 . — CHANGES IN THE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913, IN 12 MONTHS, AND
IN 1 MONTH, BY CITIES AND BY MONTHS, 1928
Per cent of change in specified city and period i n City and period
Jan.
Atlanta:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Baltimore:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Birmingham:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
+58.5 +54.8 +53.6 +56.6 +58.9 +56. fi +55.5 +57.6 +59.7 +61.0 +62.3 +62.6
-3 .3 - 2.6 -2 .4 - . 9 + . 6 -4 .9 - 1.8 + .3 + .4 - . 5 + .9 + 1.6
- . 9 -2 .4 - . 7 +1.9 +1.5 -1 .5 - . 6 +1.3 +1.4 + 8 + . 8 + . 2
+60.7 +58.0 +55.0 +56.3 +60.2 +58.4 +58.4 +60.6 +64.9 +60.8 +59.5 +57.3
-3 .7 -2 .4 -2 .5 -1 .5 - 1.2 -2 .4 + 1 .2 + 2 .1 +3.5 - 1.6 -2 .3 -3 .0
- 1.0 -1 .7 -1 .9 + . 8 +2.5 - 1 . 1
0
+1.4 + 2.6 -2 .5 - . 8 -1 .4
+60.9 +56.4 +54.7 +55.2 +59.8 +57.2 +57.9 +59.6 +61.6 +62.1 +61.1 +61.3
-3 .5 —3.8 -3 .5 -3 .0 + . 2 - 1.6 - 1 .2 + . 6 +1.4 + .4 - . 5
-.9
- 1 . 1 - 2.8 - L I + .3 +3.0 -1 .7 + .5 + 1 . 1 + 1 .2 + .3 - . 6
+ 1
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD
581
T a b l e 6 .—CHANGES IN THE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913, IN 12 MONTHS, AND
IN 1 MONTH, BY CITIES AND BY MONTHS, 1928—Continued
Per cent of change in specified city and period in—
City and period
Jan.
Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Boston:
Since 1913...................... +57.7 +55.3 +55.0 +53.0 +53.8 +51.6 +54.1 +56.2 +61.2 +59.2 +60.4 +57.3
- . 2 -2 .7
In 12 months................. - 1.6 -1 .3 + . 6 - . 8 -1 .5 -3 .7 + . 2 + 1.6 +2.4 - . 7
In 1 rpionth.................... -2 .5 -1 .5 - . 2 -1 .3 + .5 -1 .4 + 1.6 +1.3 +3.3 -1 .3 + . 8 -1 .9
Bridgeport:
In 12 months................. -1 .7 - 1 .2 - . 4
+ 2.0 +2.5 +• 5 + . 1 - 1 .2
0
- . 7 - 1 . 1 -4 .1
In 1 month.................... -1 .4 -2 .5 - . 1
- . 7 + . 8 - . 9 + 1 . 1 + 2.0 +2.3 - . 2
+ . 1 -1 .7
Buffalo:
Since 1913...................... +58.9 +56.2 +56.8 +56.7 +56.8 +56.7 +54.9 +57.8 +62.4 +62.3 +62.7 +60.0
In 12 months................. -4 .1 - 2.8 + . 2 + .4 - 1 .7 -3 .3 + . 2 + 2 .1 +3.3 +1.3 + . 6 - . 6
In 1 month.................... -1 .4 -1 .7 + .4 - . 1
0
+ . 2 - 1.6
+ - 1 - . 1 - 1 .2 +1.9 +2.9
Butte:
In 12 months................. -2 .4 -2 .9 -3 .2 - 2.0 - 2 .2 -4 .8 - 2.0 +1.7 +2.4 +3.0 +1.7 + .9
In 1 month.................. . - . 3
-.1
- . 7 - 2.6 + .4 +1.3 + . 2 +2.7 + .3 - . 3
+ .1
+ .1
Charleston, S. C.:
Since 1913...................... +55.3 +52.8 +52.9 +55.6 +56.6 +53.3 +53.0 +53.7 +58.1 +59.2 +58.4 +58.0
In 12 months................. -5 .0 -4 .3 - 2.6 - . 6 + 1 .2 - 1 .2 - 1.6 - . 3 +1.5 + 2 . 1 + 1 .2 +1.3
In 1 month.................... - . 4 - 1.6
+ 1.8 + .7 - 2 .2 - . 2
+ .5 +2.9 + .7 - . 5
0
-.3
Chicago:
Since 1913...................... +65.5 +62.0 +60.9 +62.0 +64.7 +63.5 +64.6 + 66.8 +70.2 +67.4 +67.4 + 66.6
In 12 months....... .......... -3 .5 -3 .5 - 2 .2 - . 5 - 1 .2 -5 .3 - . 1 + 1.8 +3.3 + .7 + .9
0
In 1 month.................... - . 7 - 2 .1 - . 7 + .7 + 1.6 - . 7 + .7 +1.3 + 2.0 -1 .7
0
-.5
Cincinnati:
Since 1913......... ............. +57.7 +52.3 +52.6 +53.6 +58.9 +57.2 +57.3 +58.6 +62.3 +60.6 +60.8 +58.6
In 12 months................. -1 .7 -2 .5 -1 .4 - . 9 +1.5 -4 .2 + 1 . 1 +2.7 +4.7 + 1.6 + 2.0 +1.4
In 1 month.................... + .9 -3 .4 + . 2 + .7 +3.5 - 1 . 1 + . 1 + .9 +2.3 - 1 . 1 + . 1 -1 .4
Cleveland:
Since 1913...................... +52.7 +49.5 +50.8 +52.2 +55.8 +54.3 +53.5 +55.4 +57.5 +54.2 +53.7 +52.1
- . 8 -3 .8 + . 8 + 2.8 + 2 .1
In 12 months................. -4 .2 -4 .2 -1 .4
-.9
- . 6 -1 .7
0
In 1 month.................... -1 .3 - 2 .1 + . 8 + .9 +2.4 - 1.0 - . 5 + 1 .2 +1.4 - 2 .1 - . 3 - 1 . 1
Columbus:
In 12 months....... ......... -4 .7 -4 .4 -3 .3 -3 .7 -4 .6 -7 .6 -2 .7 + .3 +1.7 + . 6 + 1 . 1 - . 1
In 1 month.................... -1 .9 -2 .9 - . 4 + .4 +1.7 + . 6 - 1 .2 + 2.0 +2.4 - . 5
+ .6
-.7
Dallas:
Since 1913...................... +56.9 +51.3 +51.5 +51.8 +53.8 +52.7 +52.1 +54.3 +57.4 +57.9 +59.9 +60.3
In 12 months................. + .9 - . 9
+ 2 .1 + .7 —. 5 + 1 .2 +2.5 +1.7 +2.4 +1.3
0
0
In 1 month.................... - . 8 -3 .6 + . 2 + . 2 +1.4 - . 7
- . 4 +1.5 + 2.0 + .3 +1.3 + . 2
Denver:
Since 1913...................... +40.7 +34.6 +35.5 +37.2 +38.8 +39.1 +4.3 +39.1 +40.7 +41.6 +42.8 +42.6
In 12 months................. -2 .3 -3 .4 - 2 .1 - 1 .2 - 1.6 - 6.0 + .3 +2.3 +3.3 + 2.0 + 2.0 + 1 .2
In 1 month-.......... ........ - . 2 -4 .4 + .7 + 1 .2 + 1 .2 + • 2 + .9 - . 9 + 1 .2 + . 6 + .9 - . 1
Detroit:
Since 1913...................... +61.1 +56.3 +57.7 +58.0 +60.0 +58.3 +60.0 +62.7 +65.0 +62.1 +62.2 +6C.2
In 12 months_________ -3 .3 -4 .0 - 1.6 -1 .4 -2 .9 -7 .1 - 1.0 + 1.6 + 1 . 1 - . 8
- . 3 -1 .9
In 1 month................... - . 8 -3 .0 + .9 + . 2 + 1 .2 - 1 . 1 + 1 . 1 +1.7 +1.4 -1 .7 + . 1 -1 .5
Fall River:
Since 1913...................... +55.9 +52.6 +51.1 +51.1 +51.8 +48.8 +50.6 +54.4 +57.6 +58.8 +57.6 +56.6
In 12 months................. - 1 . 1 - 1.0 - . 2 + 1 . 1 - . 5 -4 .8 - . 4 +1.7 +1.9 + . 8 - . 6 - 2.0
In 1 month.................... -2 .4 - 2 .1 - 1.0
0
+ .4 -1 .9 + 1 .2 + 2.6 + 2 .1 + .7 - . 8
-.6
Houston:
In 12 months................. - 1.6 -4 .8 -2 .7 - 1 .2 + .4 -3 .2 -2 .5 -1 .4 + . 3 + .5 + .3 - . 7
+ 1 .2 +2.3 + .3
In 1 month.................... + .9 -5 .1 - . 1 + 1.0 + .3 -1 .4
0
0
+ .2
Indianapolis:
Since 1913...................... +50.0 +44.9 +47.2 +48.9 +52.1 +50.4 +51.7 +52.4 +55.1 +51.5 +52.6 +52.7
In 12 months................. -3 .1 -3 .4 - . 1 + 1 . 1 - . 2 -5 .1 + 1.0 +3.1 +4.2 - . 2
+ . 8 + 1 .2
In 1 month.................... - . 6 -3 .4 + 1.6 + 1 .2 + 2 .1 - 1 . 1 + .9 + .4 + 1.8 -2 .3 + . 8 + . 1
Jacksonville:
Since 1918.................... +46.0 +40.6 +41.0 +41.2 +41.3 +41.7 +44.5 +46.2 +50.4 +49.1 +48.0 +45.4
-.2
-.9
In 12 months................. - 6 .1 -7 .9 -5 .4 -4 .9 -4 .3 -5 .9 - 2.6 -1 .3 + .4 - . 3
In 1 month.................... - . 5 -3 .7 + .3 + . 1 + . 1 + .3 + 2.0 + 1 .2 + 2.8 - . 9
- . 7 -1 .7
Kansas City:
Since 1913...................... +49.9 +46.6 +49.1 +49.8 +51.9 +51.1 +47.9 +48.2 +52.4 +50.5 +51.6 +50.1
In 12 months................. -3 .5 -3 .9 - . 5 + . 1 + .3 -3 .3 +1.7 +2.9 +4.1 - . 3 +1.4 + .9
In 1 month.................... + . 8 - 2 .2 +1.7 + .5 +1.4 - . 5 - 2 .1 + . 2 +2.9 -1 .3 + .7 - 1 .0
Little Rock:
Since 1913—.............. . +48.4 +43.4 +44.5 +46.7 +48.4 +46.0 +44.1 +45.7 +48.6 +48.8 +49.8 +50.9
-.7
- . 4 + 2 .2 + . 2 +1.9 + 1 .8
0
In 12 months............. . -3 .2 -3 .8 - 1.6 - . 1
+. 6
In 1 month.................... + . 1 -3 .4 + .7 + 1.6 + 1 .2 - 1.6 -1 .3 + 1 . 1 + 2.0 + . 1 + .7 + .7
Los Angeles:
Since 1913...................... +41.8 +37.6 +39.2 +39.7 +39.7 +37.8 +39.9 +42.4 +48.2 +49.7 +49.0 +47.8
- . 6 -3 .9 + . 1 +1.3 +3.7 +3.8 +2.4 +3.1
In 12 months................. -3 .4 -3 .9 - 2 .2 - . 9
-1 .4 +1.5 + 1.8 +4.1 + 1.0 - . 5 - . 8
In 1 month.................... - 1 . 1 -3 .0 + 1 . 1 + .4
0
Louisville:
+50.2
+49.3
+50.8
+56.4
+53.9
+52.8 +51.7 +56.0 +55.5 +55.1 +56.4
+53.5
Since 1913......................
-.1
+ .4 +3.1 - 2.0 +3.8 +3.5 +4.2 +1.7 +1.4 + 2 .2
-.6
In 12 months............... . - . 9
- . 7 + 2.8 - . 3
- .3 + .8
In 1 month.................... + .3 - 2 .1 - . 6 + 1.0 +3.7 - 1.6 - . 7
Manchester:
+50.0
+54.0
+55.9
+58.7
+56.1
+55.7
+55.3
Since 1913...................... +51.9 +51.0 +51.1 +50.7 +52.5
In 12 months................. -2 .5 -1 .7 + .7 + . 5 + . 1 -2 .3 +1.9 + 2.8 +2.9 + 1 .0 - . 1 + 1.0
.
2
<
-.3
In 1 month.................... - 1 .2 - . 6
0
—,2 + 1 .2 -1 .7 +2.7 +1.3 + 1.8 - 1.6
582
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e e.—CHANGES IN THE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913, IN 1 2 MONTHS, AND
IN 1 MONTH, BY CITIES AND BY MONTHS, 1928—Continued
Per cent of change in specified city and period i n City and period
Jan.
Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Memphis:
Since 1913...................... +46.1 +42.2 +43.8 +45.5 +47.6 +46.3 +47.5 +48.5 +51.2 +51.6 +51.6 +51.5
In 12 months................. - 2 .2 - 2.0 + . 8 + 1 . 1 + 1 . 1 - 1 . 1 +2.4 + 1 .2 +3.4 +3.2 +3.8 +3.3
0
-.1
In 1 month.......... ......... - . 4 -2 .7 + 1 .2 + 1 . 1 +1.5 - . 9 + . 8 + .7 + 1.8 + .3
Milwaukee:
Since 1913...................... +55.1 +52.3 +53.0 +53.7 +56.0 +54.8 +55.3 +56.5 +59.9 +57.2 +57.3 +56.2
- . 5 -1 .4
-3 .9 -3 .0 + . 2 + .7 - . 4 -4 .2 +• 1 + 1 .2 + 2 .2 - . 5
In 12 months.............
-.7
+ .3 + . 8 + 2 .1 -1 .7 + . 1
In 1 month.................. . - 2 .1 - 1.8 + .5 + .5 +1.5 - . 8
Minneapolis:
Since 1913...................... +52.4 +50.3 +52.5 +53.9 +56.1 +55.6 +52.3 +51.8 +53.6 +53.0 +53.8 +54.3
In 12 months................. - 2 .1 - 1.8 +1.5 + 1.6 + 1 .1 -2 .4 - . 7 +3.3 +4.4 + 1.0 +1.7 + .7
- . 3 + 1 .2 - . 4 + .5 + .3
In 1 month............... .
- . 6 -1 .4 +1.5 + 1.0 +1.4 - . 3 - 2 .1
Mobile:
In 12 months....... ......... - 2.8 - 2.8 - 1.8 -1 .3 - . 4 -4 .3 -4 .0 -1 .4 + . 8 + 1 . 1 + . 8 - 1 .0
0
+1.3 + 2 .4 + .7 + . 2 - 1.6
In 1 month.................... - . 2 - 2.8 + . 8 + . 2 + . 2 - 2.0
Newark:
Since 1913.................... +51.2 +48.9 +47.8 +47.8 +49.3 +47.2 +48.1 +49.4 +53.4 +52.8 +53.1 +51.0
0
- . 9 - 2 .1 +1.4 +3.3 + 2.0 - . 6
- . 7 + .3
- .9 - 1 .1
In 12 months................. - . 8
+ 1.0 -1 .4 + . 6 + .9 +2.7 - . 4 + . 2 -1 .4
In 1 month.................... - . 9 -1 .5 - . 7
0
New Haven:
Since 1913...................... +56.6 +55.4 +53.5 +53.2 +54.8 +53.9 +54.4 +56.4 +60.6 +60.8 +60.9 +60.7
- . 7 + .4 - . 2 -3 .2 + . 2 +2.4 +3.5 +1.4 + . 8 + .7
In 12 months................. - 2.8 - . 9
In 1 month.................... -1 .9 - . 7 - 1 .2 - . 2 + 1.0 - . 6
-.1
+ .3 +1.3 +2.7 + . 1 + . 1
New Orleans:
Since 1913...................... +54.5 +49.5 +49.7 +51.5 +52.5 +50.2 +51.9 +53.7 +55.9 +55.9 +55.7 +55.8
In 12 months................. - 1.6 -3 .4 -3 .2 - 1 .2 + .9 -2 .9 - . 5 + .9 +1.5 + 1 .2 + 2 .2 + 1.8
In 1 month.................... + 1.0 -3 .2 + . 1 + 1 .2 + .7 -1 .5 + 1 . 1 + 1 .2 +1.4
-.1
0
0
New York:
Since 1913...................... +61.1 +57.6 +55.1 +56.3 +57.6 +54.0 +54.1 +56.9 +60. 5 +60.6 +61.5 +59.7
In 12 months—..........
- . 3 - 1.0 -1 .3 - 1 .1 - . 8 -4 .2 - . 9
+ . 9 + . 2 - 2.8 -2 .7 - 2.8
In 1 month.................... - 2.0 . - 2 .2 - 1.6 + . 8 + .9 -2 .3 + . 1 + 1.8 +2.3 + . 1 + .5 - 1 . 1
Norfolk:
In 12 months................. -3 .0 - . 8
- . 6 - 1 .2 - 1.6 -2 .9 + .4 + .5 + 1 .2
+ .5 - . 3
-.6
+ .9 + 2 .2 + .5 + .4 - . 7
-.1
In 1 month.................... - 1.6 - 1 .2 -1 .4 + . 6 + .9 - . 7
Omaha:
Since 1913...................... +46.8 +43.5 +42.5 +44.3 +46.4 +46.1 +46.7 +47.3 +50.5 +49.5 +49.0 +48.9
In 12 months.......... ...... -5 .8 -6 .4 - 6.2 -4 .2 -4 .6 -8 .5 - 1 . 1 + .9 +2.4 + . 8 + 1 .1 + .3
In 1 month.................... - 1 . 1 - 2 .2 - . 7 +1.3 +1.5 - . 2
+ .4 + .4 + 2 .2 - . 7
-.3
-.1
Peoria:
In 12 months................. -5 .9 -6 .3 -3 .5 -2 .3 -2 .7 -7 .0 -1 .9 - . 7 + 1 .2
- . 7 -1 .5
0
In 1 month.................... -2 .5 -2 .5 + .9 +1.4 + 1 .2 —.7 + . 2 - . 7 + 1.8 - 1 .0 + .3 + . 2
Philadelphia:
Since 1913...................... +61.2 +57.3 +56.4 +56.8 +60.3 +58.2 +56.9 +58.1 +60.9 +59.6 +58.9 +58.5
-.4
In 12 months................. - 2 .2 - 1.8 - . 5
- . 8 - 1.6 + .4 + 2.6 + 2.0 - 1 . 1 -1 .7
2.7
In 1 month.................... - 1 . 1 -2 .5 - . 6
+ .3 + 2 .2 -1 .3 - . 8
+ . 8 +1.7 - . 8
-.4 -.3
Pittsburgh:
Since 1913...................... +58.0 +53.4 +53.4 +51.6 +53.5 +51.8 +51.9 +56.7 +60.2 +60.6 +60.7 +61.2
-3 .5 -4 .2 -2 .3 -2 .4 -2 .4 -5 .9 -1 .9 +2.4 +2.7 + .4 +1.5 + . 8
In 12 months........... .
In 1 month.................... - 1 .2 -2 .9
0
- 1 .2 + 1 .2 - 1 . 1
+3.2 +2.3 + . 2 + . 1 + .3
0
Portland, Me.:
+ .9 +1.3 - . 5 -3 .3 + . 8 + 2.6 +4.3 + 1.6 + 1 . 1 - 1 .8
In 12 months................. -1 .9 - . 3
In 1 month.................... - 2 .2 - . 1 - 1 . 1 + . 1 + . 6 - . 9 + 1.6 +2.5 + 1.8 - 1 . 1 - . 2 -2 .7
Portland, Oreg.:
Since 1913...................... +42.0 +38.0 +36.8 +36.9 +36.6 +38.1 +39.7 +39.4 +43.9 +44.4 +44.7 +43.3
In 12 months................. +1.9 - . 9 + . 2 - . 1 -1 .5 - 1.8 +• 1 +1.9 +3.2 +2.3 +2.5 +3.1
In 1 month.................... + 2 .2 - 2.8 - . 9 + . 1
- . 2 + 1 .1 . + 1 .1
- . 2 +3.2 + .3 + . 2 —1 .0
Providence:
+54.2
+54.7
+54.5
+51
8
+55.3
+53.6
+54.0 +56.9 +60.5 +61.2 +61.1 +57.6
Since 1913......................
In 12 months................. - 2.0 - . 8 + 1.0 + .4 -1 .4 -3 .8 + . 6 +1.3 +1.9 + .9 + .5 + .5
In 1 month.................... - 1.0 - . 7 + .3 - . 1
—.6 - 1 . 1 +1.5 +1.9 +2.3 + .5
- . 1 “ 2 .?
Richmond:
Since 1913...................... +61.7 +60.1 +57.3 +58.7 +61.2 +61.2 +59.0 +60.3 +64.4 +64.0 +63.6 +62.4
In 12 months................. -3 .3 - 2 .1 .- 1 .9 - 1.8 - 1 .2 -2 .5 + .5 + 1 .2 + 2 .1 + . 6 - . 1
-.2
-1 .4 + .9 +2.5 - . 3
In 1 month...... ............. - . 7 - 1.0 -1 .7 + .9 + 1.6
0
-.3 —. 7
Rochester:
In 12 months................. - 1 .2 - . 2 +3.0 +3.2 - . 1 -3 .2 + 1 . 1 +4.1 +4.0 + 1.0 + . 3 - . 1
-.1
In 1 month.................... - 1 .2 -1 .9 + 1.0 - . 5
-.7
- . 1 + 2 .1 + 2.6 + .4 - . 2 -1 .4
St. Louis:
Since 1913...................... +57.3 +54.2 +54.1 +55.0 +56.6 +56.4 +55.6 +55.8 +58.4 +57.3 +58.5 +58.4
In 12 months................. -3 .3 -3 .2 - 2 .1 -1 .4 - 2 .1 -4 .6 - . 7 + . 1 + . 6 - 1 . 1 + . 1 +• 1
In 1 month..................
- . 5 + . 2 +1.7 - . 7 + .7
- . 6 - 2.0 - . 1
-.2
0
+ .6 + 1 .1
St. Paul:
In 12 months................. -3 .1 -3 .3 : —.9 - . 7
- . 8 -4 .9
- . 7 + 1 . 1 +3.9 - . 4
+.7 -1 .7
In 1 month.................... - 1.2 ! -1 .5 i + 1.0 + . 6 i +2.4: - 2 .1 + .4 : - . 9 + 1.8 -1 .9 + .6
-.7
Salt Lake City:
Since 1913...................... +31.8I+29.3i+27.7 +28.01+29.9•+32. C1+31.7 +32.3 +35.4 +36.2 +36.2 +36.0
In 12 months................. - 2.2 ! -2 .3 : -3 .3 ; -3 .3 i -4 .5 . -7 .1 - 1 .2 ! + .9 +2.7 + 1.6 + 1.2 + 1 .8
In i month................... , -1 .4 t - 2.Ci - 1 .2 i + * 2 ! +1.5 1 + 1.61 - , 3 i + .5 +2,4 + . 6
0
-.1
583
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD
T a b l e 6 . —CHANGES IN THE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD SINCE 1913, IN 12 MONTHS, AND
IN 1 MONTH, BY CITIES AND BY MONTHS, 1928—Continued
Per cent of change in specified city and period in—
uiiy ana penoa
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
San Francisco:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Savannah:
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Scranton:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Seattle:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Springfield, 111.:
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
Washington:
Since 1913......................
In 12 months.................
In 1 month....................
+51.0 +47.5 +48.0 +47.9 +47.5 +47.7 +48.4 +49.1 +54.3 +55.5 +55.8 +54.5
- . 8 -2 .7
+ .4 +2.7 +1.3 +1.4 +1.3
-.6
-1 .5 -2 .3 -1 .3 - . 6
-.2
+ .5 + .5 +3.5 + . 8 + . 1 - 8
- 1.0 -2 .4 + .4 - . 1
+ .1
-3 .1 -4 .3 - 2.6 - 1 . 1
- 1.0 -4 .0 + 1.0 + 1.6
+ .5 -3 .2
- 1 .2
+ .6
-.8
+ .3
0
+ .6
+ 1 .1 + 1 .2
+ 2 .2 + . 8
+ .6
-.2
-.2
-.8
+63.5 +61.0 +59.5 +59.5 +62.2 +61.2 +60.5 +63.1 +65.8 +64.9 +64.9 +64.2
-1 .5 - 1 .2 + .4 + . 6 + 1.0 - 1.8 + 1.8 +4.2 +4.5 + 1.8 + .9 - . 7
- . 4 + 1.6 +1.7 - . 5
- 1 . 1 -1 .5 - . 9
+ 1.6 - . 6
0
- 4
0
+44.6 +42.1 +42.1 +41.9 +42.3 +42.4 +43.2 +45.3 +50.5 +49.2 +49.0 +46.5
- . 8 -3 .2 -4 .2 - 2 .1 +1.7 +5.1 +3 .6 +3.4 + 2 .2
-1 .4 - 1.8 - . 7
- . 2 - 1.6
+ . 8 -1 .7
-.2
0
+• 3 + . 1 + . 6 +1.5 +3 .6 - . 9
-4 .7 -5 .2 -1 .9 - . 5
- . 2 - 2.8
- . 5 -2 .5 + 1 . 1 +1.5 +1.7 - . 7
-.1
+ .3
+ 2 .2 +2.7 - . 5
- . 3 + 1.0 - 1.8
-.3
+ .1
-.9
-.4
+62.9 +59.4 +58.2 +60.1 +62.6 +61.3 +62.2 + 66.2 +69.9 + 68.6 +66.9 +64.1
+ .3 + 2.8 +4.8 +3.7 +1.9 + 2.0 + . 2
0
-3 .2 - 1.6 - 1 . 1
0
+ . 6 +2.5 + 2 .2 - . 8 - 1 .0 —1.7
- . 5 - 2 .1 - . 8 + 1 .2 + 1.6 - . 8
How Food Prices are Obtained
R etail prices of food are collected from retail- dealers through
monthly reports of actual selling prices on the 15th of each montn.
The stores are selected by agents of the bureau from those patronized
largely by wage earners. Prices are secured from every type of store
—the neighborhood store, the downtown store, the department store,
and the chain store—provided a large part of the patronage comes
from wage earners. Some of the stores are credit and delivery, some
are cash and carry, and some are cash and delivery. No “ fancy”
stores are included.
The number of firms is apportioned according to the industrial
importance of each city. For the larger cities reports are obtained
from 25 to 30 stores and for the smaller cities from 10 to 15 stores.
The total number of firms furnishing prices on one or more articles
of food each month is now approximately 1,800. Quite naturally
firms are not constant, but when one firm drops out permanently
another firm, similar in kind, is selected to replace it. Moreover, as
the wage-earning population of a city shifts, stores are selected in
the new localities to preserve the representative character of the
prices.
584
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
Cities Included
A t the beginning of the year 1913 retail prices of food were being
collected by the bureau from 39 cities, as follows:
Atlanta, Ga.
Baltimore, Md.
Birmingham, Ala.
Boston, Mass.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Charleston, S. C.
Chicago, 111.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dallas, Tex.
Denver, Colo.
Detroit, Mich.
Fall River, Mass.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Kansas City, Mo.
Little Rock, Ark.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Louisville, Ky.
Manchester, N. H.
Memphis, Tenn.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Newark, N. J.
New Haven, Conn.
New Orleans, La.
New York, N. Y .
Omaha, Nebr.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Portland, Oreg.
Providence, R. I.
Richmond, Ya.
St. Louis, Mo.
Salt Lake City, Utah.
San Francisco, Calif.
Scranton, Pa.
Seattle, Wash.
Washington, D. C.
The following cities were added to the list on the dates named:
St. Paul, Minn., June, 1913.
Springfield, 111., May, 1914.
Butte, Mont., January, 1915.
Rochester, N. Y ., May, 1916.
Columbus, Ohio, June, 1916.
Bridgeport, Conn., October, 1916.
Mobile, Ala., April, 1918.
Norfolk, Ya., April, 1918.
Houston, Tex., May, 1918.
Peoria, 111., May, 1918.
Portland, Me., June 1918.
Savannah, Ga., January, 1920.
Retail prices are shown, therefore, for 39 cities from the beginning
of 1913 and for the remaining 12 cities from the dates given above.
For most of the cities retail prices of certain articles from 1890 to
1903 were published in the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Com
missioner of Labor and were continued in subsequent bulletins.
Effort is made to secure quotations on similar grades of commodi
ties in the different cities. There are, however, some local customs
which must be considered when any comparison is made of the prices
in the different cities. For example, the method of cutting sirloin
steak in Boston, Mass., Manchester, N. H., Philadelphia, Pa.,
Providence, R. I., and Portland, Me., differs from that in other cities.
The cut known as “ sirloin" in these five cities would be known in
other cities as “ porterhouse." There is in these cities, owing to the
methods of dividing the round from the loin, no cut that corresponds
to that of sirloin in the other cities. There is also a greater amount
of trimming demanded by the retail trade in these cities than in
others. This is particularly true of Providence, R. I. In any com
parison of prices in one city with those in another due consideration
should be given to the following facts:
1. The trade demands and is furnished more expensive grades of
articles in some cities than in others.
2. The cities for which prices are shown in this report are widely
separated; some are in localities near the source of supply, while
others are a considerable distance from it, making it necessary to
include in the prices a greater charge for transportation.
3. Methods and costs of doing business vary greatly in different
localities, due to the demands of customers and to rents, wages,
and other fixed charges or expenses.
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD
585
Method of Constructing Index Numbers of Food Prices
I n c o n s t r u c t in g the index numbers of retail food prices issued
by the bureau average annual prices for the United States have
been computed for each of 43 articles by dividing the sum of all
prices for an article in the 51 cities by the total number of reporting
firms. The average price of each article was then multiplied by a
figure denoting the average annual family consumption of that article
in the United States as shown by an investigation conducted by the
bureau in 1918.2 The products for the several articles thus obtained
were next added, giving the cost of a year’s supply of these foods
when purchased by a family at the retail prices shown. The result
was then reduced to a percentage of the corresponding result for the
year 1913, taken as the base. Monthly index numbers have been
constructed in the same manner as the yearly index numbers by using
average monthly prices instead of average yearly prices, the year
1913 being the base period in all cases.
For the years 1913 to 1920 the index numbers were uniformly com
puted from the prices of 22 food articles.3 In 1921, when the number
of articles was increased to 43,4 the following plan was adopted: It
was assumed that the total cost of the 43 articles, if this information
had been obtained, would have shown the same percentage of change
from 1913 to December, 1920, as was shown by the 22 articles. There
fore the index number for the 22 articles in December, 1920, which
was found to be 177.85, was accepted as the index number for the 43
articles. The money cost of the 43 articles in December, 1920, was
found to be $461.51. The ratio of the money cost to the relative cost
in December, 1920, was therefore 461.51 to 177.85, or 1 to 0.3854. For
each month since December, 1920, the index number has been obtained
by multiplying the money cost of the 43 articles by 0.3854. The
resulting index numbers are comparable with the index numbers for
years and months prior to January, 1921, on 22 articles.
The average annual family consumption of the 43 articles is here
given for geographical sections and for the United States as a whole,
as shown by the bureau’s cost of living study of 1918.
8 See United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 357.
3 These are sirloin steak, round steak, rib roast, chuck roast, plate beef, pork chops, bacon, ham, lard,
hens, flour, corn meal, eggs, butter, milk, bread, potatoes, sugar, cheese, rice, coffee, and tea.
4 Articles added in 1921 are lamb, canned salmon, evaporated milk, oleomargarine, nut margarine, vege
table lard substitute, rolled oats, corn flakes, wheat cereal, macaroni, navy beans, onions, cabbage, baked
beans, canned corn, canned peas, canned tomatoes, prunes, raisins, bananas, and oranges.
586
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 7 .— FOOD WEIGHTS: ANNUAL CONSUMPTION PEE FAMILY
Article
Unit
Sirloin steak............................ Pound___
Round steak. .......................... — do..........
Rib roast.... ............................. __ do_____
Chuck roast...... ....................... — do..........
Plate beef...... .......................... — do_____
Pork chops............................... __ do_____
Bacon______________________ __ do_____
Ham......................................... ...d o _____
Lamb....................................... — do_____
Hens
____ ...d o_____
Salmon, f»annfld ,
__ do_____
Milk, fresh____ ,
Quart.......
Milk, evaporated.................... Pound___
Butter...................................... ...d o..........
Oleomargarine......................... ...d o _____
Nut margarine......................... — do..........
Cheese_____________________ ...d o_____
Lard_______________________ — do_____
Vegetable lard substitute........ — do..........
Eggs, strictly fresh.................. Dozen___
Bread....................................... Pound___
Flour___________ ________ __ __ do_____
Corn meal............................... ...d o........ .
Rolled oats............................... ___do..........
Corn flakes___________ _____ __ do_____
Wheat cereal.................... ...... — do_____
Macaroni................................ — do..........
Rice________ ______________ __ do_____
Beans, navy............................. — do_____
Potatoes..............^___________ __ do_____
Onions___ _____ ___________ __ do..........
Cabbage___________________ __ do_____
Beans, baked........................... — do_____
Corn, canned........................... ...d o _____
Peas, canned.......................... ...d o _____
Tomatoes, canned...... ............. — do..........
Sugar______________ ______ _ __ do_____
Tea........................................... __.do_____
Coffee....................................... — do_____
Prunes_____________________ ...d o _____
Raisins..................................... ...d o _____
Bananas....................... ........... Dozen i_. _
Oranges.................................... — do..........
United
States
32
32
31
31
23
36
17
22
8
23
9
337
77
66
16
6
12
34
9
61
531
264
54
41
7
7
23
35
22
704
66
65
7
10
10
16
147
8
40
11
9
11
7
North
South
Atlantic Atlantic
27
27
30
30
25
29
13
26
14
25
10
412
95
75
8
4
12
27
6
68
642
224
29
45
35
35
24
24
17
43
20
43
2
24
9
155
73
56
9
5
13
38
10
57
417
313
108
31
6
7
25
32
23
746
72
62
6
2
15
55
17
514
52
61
8
8
10
10
15
140
13
33
14
9
21
9
9
145
11
6
6
42
9
4
8
9
North
Central
South
Central
34
34
32
32
23
45
18
14
38
38
24
24
16
42
17
19
39
39
39
39
27
25
19
2
1
22
13
19
23
9
364
48
53
30
11
12
45
5
53
521
263
39
39
6
6
20
26
25
810
62
70
6
13
13
9
177
85
60
16
3
11
38
22
55
450
318
140
38
13
3
29
56
10
6
377
92
89
8
2
15
18
16
70
438
280
34
45
5
12
5
27
28
19
706
64
61
4
10
10
21
485
82
66
154
5
45
9
35
133
3
52
11
11
11
6
7
13
9
10
Western
8
9
12
161
6
35
10
12
9
8
i In cities where most of the sales on bananas are by the pound rather than by the dozen, the weightings
as given in the above table have been multiplied by 3 and have then been applied to the prices on the pound.
By giving to each article a weighting equal to its relative importance
in the consumption of the average family, the total expenditure for
food on a given date forms a proper basis of comparison with the ex
penditure for the same articles of food on any other date. For the
purpose of showing the movement in retail prices it is assumed that
this relative importance remained the same through the whole period
under review. The average family expenditure in each city in the
year 1913 has therefore been taken as the base for that city and
mdex numbers have been computed for each year from 1913 to 1928
following the same method used for the United States as a whole.
These index numbers show the trend in the retail cost of all foods
combined in each individual city as compared with the average cost
in that city in the year 1913.
Retail Prices of Coal
T he following table shows for the United States both average
and relative retail prices of Pennsylvania white-ash anthracite, stove
and chestnut sizes, and of bituminous coal in January and July, 1913
to 1926, and for each month of 1927 and 1928. An average price
587
RETAIL PRICES OF COAL
for the year 1913 has been made from the averages for January and
July of that year. The average price for each month has been divided
by this average price for the year 1913 to obtain the relative price.
T a b l e 8 .— AVERAGE AND RELATIVE PRICES OF COAL FOR THE UNITED STATES IN
SPECIFIED MONTHS FROM JANUARY, 1913, TO DECEMBER, 1928
Pennsylvania anthracite, white ash—
Stove
Year and month
Average
price
1913Average for year__............
January..............................
July..................................
1914—
January................... .........
July.--...............................
1915—
January.............................
J u ly .......... ......................
1916—
January........................ .
July...... .............................
1917—
January..............................
July...... ................ .............
1918—
January..............................
J u ly --...............................
1919—
January—.................... ......
J u ly ---....... - ____ ______
1920—
January—...........................
July........... ........................
1921—
January________________
July____________________
1922—
January------------------------July........................ .........
1923—
January—______ ________
July........ ...........................
1924—
January_________ _______
July____________________
1925—
January------------------------July....................................
1926—
January..... ........................
July____________________
1927—
January—...........................
February_______ ____ ___
March_____ ____________
April___________________
May_____________ ____
June____________________
July.—------- --------- ------ A ugust...______________
September.............. ...........
October._______________
November______________
December________ ______
1928—
January_________ _______
February_______________
March__________________
April_____ ____ ____ ____
May___________ ________
June...................... .............
July....................................
August...............................
September....... .................
October..............................
November.........................
December...........................
i Insufficient data.
Bituminous
Chestnut
Relative
price
Average
price
Relative
price
Average
price
Relative
price
$7.73
7.99
7.46
103.4
96.6
100.0
$7.91
8.15
7.68
100.0
103.0
97.0
$5.43
5.48
5.39
100.0
100.8
7.80
7.60
100.9
98.3
8.00
10 1.0
98.3
5.97
5.46
109.9
7.83
7.54
101.4
97.6
7.99
7.73
10 1.0
97.7
5.71
5.44
105.2
7.93
102.7
105.2
8.13
8.28
102.7
104.6
5.69
5.52
104.8
101.6
8 .12
7.78
99.2
100.6
100.1
9.29
9.08
120 .2
117.5
9.40
9.16
118.8
115.7
6.96
7.21
128.1
132.7
9.88
9.96
127.9
128.9
10.03
10.07
126.7
127.3
7.68
7.92
141.3
145.8
11.51
12.14
149.0
157.2
11.61
12.17
146.7
153.8
7.90
8 .10
145.3
149.1
12.59
14.28
162.9
184.9
12.77
14.33
161.3
181.1
8.81
10.55
162.1
194.1
15.99
14.90
207.0
192.8
16.13
14.95
203.8
188.9
11.82
10.47
217.6
192.7
14.98
14.87
193.9
192.4
15.02
14.92
189.8
188.5
9.89
9.49
182.0
174.6
15.43
15.10
199.7
195.5
15.46
15.05
195.3
190.1
11.18
10.04
205.7
184.7
15.77
15.24
204.1
197.2
15.76
15.10
. 199.1
190.7
9.75
8.94
179.5
164.5
15.45
15.14
200.0
15.37
14.93
194.2
188.6
. 9.24
8.61
170.0
158.5
9.74
8.70
179.3
160.1
0)
15.43
196.0
(0
199.7
C1)
15.19
(0
191.9
15.66
15.65
15.60
14.94
14.88
15.06
15.15
15.15
15.38
15.42
15.44
15.45
202.7
201.9
193.4
192.6
194.9
196.1
196.1
199.1
199.6
199.9
199.9
15.42
15.44
15.36
14.61
14.53
14.70
14.81
14.80
15.03
15.07
15.07
15.08
194.8
195.0
194.0
184.6
183.6
185.7
187.1
187.0
189.9
190.4
190.5
190.6
9.96
9.86
9.74
8.95
8.89
8.91
8.99
9.20
9.33
9.32
9.31
183.3
181.4
179.3
164.7
163.4
163.6
163.9
165.4
169.3
171.7
171.5
171.3
15.44
15.44
15.43
14.95
14.74
14.89
14.91
14.95
15.21
15.26
15.38
15.40
199.8
199.9
199.8
193.4
190.8
192.7
192.9
193.5
196.9
197.6
199.1
199.3
15.08
15.09
15.08
14.64
14.46
14.61
14.63
14.76
14.93
14.98
15.06
15.07
190.6
190.6
190.5
185.0
182.7
184.6
184.9
186.5
188.7
189.3
190.3
190.4
9.30
9.28
9.26
8.94
8.69
8.72
8.69
8.74
8.84
8.96
9.07
9.11
171.1
170.8
170.4
164.6
159.9
160.4
159.9
160.9
162.6
164.8
166.9
167.6
202.6
8.88
588
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
In view of the marked difference between high volatile and low
volatile bituminous coal, with respect both to price and heating
qualities, retail prices for these two kinds of coal are shown separately
for the following cities, in which both kinds are used to a considerable
extent by home owners. The figures have been compiled from reports
furnished to the bureau by retail dealers.
T a b l e 9 .— AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF HIGH AND
LOW VOLATILE BITUMINOUS
COAL IN JANUARY, APRIL, JULY, AND OCTOBER, 1927 AND 1928, BY CITIES
[Per ton of 2,000 pounds]
1928
1927
City, and kind of coal
Jan
uary
Chicago, HI.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—run of mine____
Cincinnati, Ohio:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes. .
Cleveland, Ohio:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes..
Columbus, Ohio:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes.
Detroit, Mich.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes._
Low volatile—run of mine............
Indianapolis, Ind.:
High volatile—prepared sizes.......
Low volatile—prepared sizes._
Low volatile—run of mine____
Louisville, Ky.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes. _
Milwaukee, Wis.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes. .
Minneapolis, Minn.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes. 1
Norfolk, Va.:
High volatile—prepares sizes._
Low volatile—prepared sizes____
Low volatile—run of mine____
Richmond, Va.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—run of mine.......
St. Paul., Minn.:
High volatile—prepared sizes..
Low volatile—prepared sizes..
Washington, D. C.:
High volatile—prepared sizes *___
Low volatile—prepared sizes i.
Mixed—run of mine1...............
April
July
Octo
ber
Jan
uary
$9.07
12.58
9.72
$8.74
$8.78
10.90
8.13
$8.79
11.85
8.25
$8.66
11.85
8.25
$8.65
11.85
8.25
$7.96
10.35
7.50
$8.53
11.85
8.25
7.10
6.45
7.31
6.45
7.81
6.50
7.85
6.50
7.81
5.70
7.56
5.60
7.50
5.50
7.69
8.37
10.72
7.79
9.29
7.87
9.86
7.83
9.81
7.79
9.81
7.49
9.17
7.38
9.12
7.28
9.81
7.37
9.00
6.43
7.50
6.66
8.00
6.93
8.25
6.88
5.93
7.38
5.95
7.25
5.93
7.94
9.19
11.63
9.00
8.81
10.59
8.33
8.46
10.06
7.83
8.62
10.31
8.54
10.22
8.00
7.83
8.54
10.06
7.83
8.23
10.13
7.67
8.31
9.91
7.67
6.98
9.75
7.96
6.45
8.00
6.51
7.17
6.89
9.04
7.42
6.54
9.04
7.38
6.26
8.07
6.79
6.25
8.39
8 .1 1
6.92
6.38
9.00
7.00
5.66
6.15
8.75
6.62
9.25
8.88
10 .10
8.00
7.08
8.38
April
July
Octo
ber
7.92
5.72
11.0 0
8.00
6.15
9.00
7.14
9.50
7.13
9.40
8.00
8.92
13.54
8.41
10.15
8.17
10.80
7.98
1 1 .1 2
8.00
1 1 .1 2
10.38
8.00
7.80
10.46
7.80
10.63
10.41
14.72
10.41
12.03
10.35
12.97
10.81
13.75
10.96
13.75
10.98
13.75
10.94
13.50
10.94
13.53
8.50
11.0 0
8.00
7.75
9.00
7.00
7.81
9.50
7.00
7.88
10.50
7.00
7.81
10.50
7.00
7.81
10.50
7.00
7.81
9.50
7.00
7.81
9.50
7.00
9.88
12.74
9.00
8.75
11.32
7.90
8.88
10 .2 1
8.00
10.29
8.88
9.00
10.29
8.00
8.00
7.75
8.92
6.75
7.75
8.61
6.75
8.13
9.17
7.25
10.30
14.75
10.29
12.25
10.25
12.75
10.68
10.71
13.75
10.71
13.75
10.71
13.50
10.68
9.75
8.75
10.33
7.78
9.00
10.67
7.78
9.00
11.08
7.88
8.75
8.63
10.50
7.60
8.63
10.33
7.60
8.63
10.92
7.60
12.00
8.31
13.75
11.0 0
7.88
13.50
i Per ton of 2,240 pounds.
Retail Prices of Gas
T he net price per 1,000 cubic feet of gas for household use in each
of 51 cities is shown in the following table. In Table 10 the average
family consumption of manufactured gas is assumed to be 3,000
cubic feet per month. In cities where a service charge or a sliding
scale is in operation, families using less than 3,000 cubic feet per
month pay a somewhat higher rate than here shown, while those
consuming more than this amount pay a lower rate. The figures
here given are believed to represent quite closely the actual monthly
589
RETAIL PRICES OF GAS
cost of gas per 1,000 cubic feet to the average wage-earners’ family.
Prices for natural gas and for manufactured and natural mixed gas
are shown in Table 11 for those cities where it is in general use. These
prices are based on an estimated average family consumption of
5,000 cubic feet per month.
T a b l e 10.—NET PRICE PER 1,000 CUBIC FEET OF MANUFACTURED GAS BASED ON A
FAMILY CONSUMPTION OF 3,000 CUBIC FEET, IN SPECIFIED MONTHS FROM APRIL,
1913, TO DECEMBER, 1928, BY CITIES
Apr.
15,
1913
Apr.
15,
1918
June
15,
1923
June
15,
1924
June
15,
1925
June
15,
1926
June
15,
1927
Dec.
15,
1927
June
15,
1928
Atlanta..................................... $1.00
.90
Baltimore..................................
Birmingham............................. 1.00
.81
Boston.................... ..................
Bridgeport................................ 1.00
$1.00
.75
.95
$1.65
.92
.80
1.25
1.50
$1.55
.85
.80
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
$1.55
.85
.80
1.18
1.45
2.10
2 .10
2 .10
2.10
2.10
2 .10
2.10
2.10
1.0 2
1.0 2
1.0 2
1.0 2
1.0 2
.79
1.15
City
Butte......................... ..............
Charleston, S. C......................
Chicago.................... ..............Cleveland.................................
.86
1.00
1.00
1.00
1 .10
1 .10
1.49
.80
.80
1.49
.72
.80
1.55
1.07
.80
1.20
1.55
1.55
1.25
1.25
1.25
.95
.79
1.15
1.09
1.15
.95
.82
1.15
1.09
1.15
.95
.82
1.15
1.05
.95
.79
1.15
.90
.79
1.15
.90
.79
1.15
.90
.79
1.15
1 .1 0
1.05
1.05
.95
.95
.95
1.65
1.48
1.97
1.38
1.97
1.38
1.97
1.38
1.92
1.38
1.92
1.38
1.92
1.34
1.20
1.20
1.2 0
1.2 0
1.2 0
1.92
1.34
1.2 0
1.2 0
1.00
Jacksonville.......... ...................
Manchester....................... ......
Memphis..................................
Milwaukee............. ...... ...........
Minneapolis________________
1.20
1.10
1.00
1.25
Mobile_____ ______________ Newark____________________
New Haven.------- ---------------New Orleans________________
New York--------- ------------------
1.10
1.00
1.10
1.00
1.00
Norfolk___________ _________
Omaha____ ________ ________
Peoria,.
... .... ...........
Philadelphia...... .......................
Pittsburgh:_________________
1.00
1.20
Portland, Me_______________
Portland, Oreg............... .........
Providence—------ --------- -------Richmond.................................
Rochester....... .........................
1.10
.95
.85
.90
.95
.80
.95
1.30
1.05
1.00
1.00
St. Louis...................................
St. Paul................................... .
Salt Lake C ity........................
San Francisco..................... .
Savannah___________________
.80
.95
.87
.75
.75
.85
.87
.85
1.0 0
1.00
1.00
1.45
.85
1.54
1.05
1.45
Scranton.............. .....................
Seattle_________ ___________
Springfield, 111______________
Washington, D. C...... .............
.95
1.15
1.00
1.00
1.2 0
1.00
1.60
1.45
1.35
1.05
1.50
1.45
1.35
1.50
1.45
1.35
1.00
1.00
.75
.85
.90
.84
1.15
90
1.00
1.00
.93
1.00
.93
.75
.77
1.2 0
.86
1.05
.82
1 .0 1
.82
.95
.82
.97
1.80
1.80
1.80
1.2 0
1.20
.82
.90
1.76
1.76
1.76
1.2 0
1.13
1.30
1.24
1.2 0
1.76
1.13
1.30
1.23
1.13
1.30
1.24
1.2 0
1.2 0
1.40
1.18
1.40
1.08
1.33
1.08
1.33
1.08
1.33
1.2 0
1.00
1.20
1.00
1.20
1.00
1.20
1.00
1.2 0
1.00
1.00
1.2 0
1.00
1.33
1.00
1.2 0
1.00
1.00
1.2 0
1.00
1.00
.95
1.55
1.16
1.55
1.16
1.0 0
1 .2 2
1.55
1.16
1.17
1.30
1.50
1.19
1.17
1.29
1.42
1.17
1.13
1.29
1.42
1.17
1.13
1.29
1.42
1.17
1.13
1.29
1.42
1.17
1.13
1.29
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
.90
1.52
.95
1.45
1.0 0
.90
1.52
.95
1.45
1.0 0
1.00
1.50
1.45
1.25
1.40
1.45
1.25
1.40
1.45
1.25
1.40
1.45
1.25
1.40
1.45
1.25
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
.83
1.15
.85
1 . 00.
1.00
.90
1.40
1.18
.82
.94
1.20
.97
1.18
1.30
1.23
.94
1.55
.98
1.25
1.13
1.30
1.23
1 .10
1.80
1.25
1.18
1.30
1.23
.82
.96
00
1.25
1.00
.55
1.55
1.25
.85
.75
.95
.60
1.55
1.55
.98
1.25
.85
.75
.80
Denver_____________________
Detroit........... ...... ...................
Fall River.................................
Houston____________________
Indianapolis...... ......................
1.55
Dec.
15,
1928
.85
1.57
.92
1.45
1.2 2
1.30
.85
1.57
1.00
.90
1.53
.95
1.45
1.13
1.30
1.25
.90
1.51
.94
1.45
1.13
L 25
1.33
.90
1.51
.94
1.45
590
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 1 1 .— NET PRICE PER 1,000 CUBIC FEET OF GAS BASED ON A FAMILY CONSUMP
TION OF 5,000 CUBIC FEET IN SPECIFIED MONTHS FROM APRIL, 1913, TO DECEM
BER, 1928, BY CITIES
Natural gas
Apr.
15,
1913
Apr.
15,
1918
June
15,
1923
June
15,
1924
June
15,
1925
June
15,
1926
June
15,
1927
Dec.
15,
1927
June
15,
1928
Buffalo...................................... $0.30
Cincinnati................................
.30
Cleveland............... .................
.30
Columbus................................
.30
Dallas............................ ...........
.45
Denver......................................
Houston...... .............................
Kansas City__________ _____
.27
Little Rock...............................
.40
Los Angeles...............................
Louisville......... ........................
New Orleans. ...........................
Pittsburgh................................
.28
$0.30
.35
.30
.30
.45
$0.50
.55
.45
$0.50
.55
.45
.68
.68
$0.75
.55
.55
.74
$0.75
.60
.55
.74
$0.75
.60
.48
.79
$0.75
.60
.48
.79
$0.75
.60
.48
.79
.60
.40
.95
.45
.95
.65
.95
.65
.75
.95
.65
.45
.45
.45
.45
.45
.75
.95
.65
.91
.45
.75
.95
.65
.91
.45
.75
.95
.65
.91
.45
.28
.50
.53
.60
.60
.60
.60
.60
$0.75
.60
.48
.79
.99
.75
.95
.65
.84
.45
.95
.60
$0.65
$0.65
$0.65
$0.65
City
Dec.
15,
1928
Manufactured and natural gas mixed
Buffalo____________________________
Los Angeles...... .................................... $0.68
$0.62
$0.60
$0.60
$0.65
.68
.68
.68
.68
From the prices quoted on manufactured gas, average prices have
been computed for all of the cities combined and are shown in the
next table for April 15 of each year from 1913 to 1920, and for May
15, September 15, and December 15, 1921; March 15, June 15, Sep
tember 15, and December 15, 1922, 1923, and 1924; and June 15 and
December 15, 1925, 1926, 1927, and 1928. These prices are based
on an estimated average family consumption of 3,000 cubic feet.
Relative prices have been computed by dividing the price in each
year by the price in April, 1913.
The price of manufactured gas in December, 1928, showed an
increase of 28.4 per cent since April; 1913. From June, 1928, to
December, 1928, there was an increase of eight-tenths of 1 per cent
in the price of gas.
T a b l e 1 2 .— AVERAGE AND RELATIVE NET PRICE PER 1,000 CUBIC FEET OF MANU
FACTURED GAS IN UNITED STATES, BASED ON A FAMILY CONSUMPTION OF 3,000
CUBIC FEET IN SPECIFIED MONTHS OF EACH YEAR, 1913 TO 1928
Date
Apr. 15,1913......... ...................
Apr. 15,1914.............................
Apr. 15,1915............. ..............
Apr. 15,1916............................
Apr. 15,1917......... ...................
Apr. 15,1918................. ...........
Apr. 15,1919________________
Apr. 15, 1920.............................
May 15,1921..................... ......
Sept. 15,1921...........................
Dec. 15,1921....... .......... .........
Mar. 15. 1922________________
1
«c
c
0
l“S
Sept. 15, 1922............................
Dec. 15, 1922.............. ..............
Mar. 15, 1923.............................
Average Relative
price
net price
$0.95
.94
.93
.92
.91
.95
1.04
1.09
1.32
1.31
1.30
1.29
1.27
1.26
1.25
1.25
100.0
98.9
97.9
96.8
95.8
100.0
109.5
114.7
138.9
137.9
136.8
135.8
133.7
132.6
131.6
131.6
Date
June 15, 1923Sept. 15, 1923.
Dec. 15, 1923.
Mar. 15, 1924.
June 15, 1924.
Sept. 15, 1924.
Dec. 15,1924.
June 15, 1925Dec. 15, 1925.
June 15, 1926.
Dec. 15, 1926.
June 15,1927Dec. 15, 1927.
June 15, 1928.
Dec. 15, 1928.
Average Relative
net price
price
$1.24
1.24
1.25
1.24
1.24
1.24
1.24
1.23
1.23
1.23
1.2 2
1.2 2
1.2 2
1 .2 1
1.2 2
130.5
130.5
131.6
130.5
130.5
130.5
130.5
129.5
129.5
129.5
128.4
128.4
128.4
127.4
128.4
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
591
Retail Prices of Electricity
Explanation of Prices
T h e fo l lo w in g table shows for 51 cities the net rates per kilowatthour of electricity used for household purposes for specified months
in 1913, 1927, and 1928. For the cities having more than one
tariff for domestic consumers the rates are shown for the schedule
under which most of the residences are served.
Several cities have sliding scales based on a variable number of
kilowatt-hours payable at each rate. The number of kilowatt-hours
payable at each rate in these cities is determined for each customer
according to the watts of installation, either in whole or in part, in
the individual home. The number of watts so determined is called
the customer’s “ demand.”
In Baltimore the demand is the maximum normal rate of use of
electricity in any half-hour period of time. It may be estimated or
determined by the company from time to time according to the cus
tomer’s normal use of electricity and may equal the total installation
reduced to kilowatts.
In Buffalo the demand consists of two parts—lighting, 25 per cent
of the total installation, but never less than 250 watts; and power,
2 M Per cent of the capacity of any electric range, water heater, or
other appliance of 1,000 watts or over and 25 per cent of the rated
capacity of motors exceeding one-half horsepower but less than 1
horsepower. The installation is determined by inspection of premises.
In Chicago the equivalent in kilowatt-hours to 30 hours* use of
demand has been estimated as follows: For a rated capacity of 475
to 574 watts, 11 kilowatt-hours; 575 to 674 watts, 12 kilowatt-hours;
675 to 774 watts, 13 kilowatt-hours; and 775 to 874 watts, 14 kilo
watt-hours. Although the equivalent in kilowatt-hours to 30 hours’
use of demand of from 1 to 1,500 watts is given on the printed tariff,
the equivalent is here shown only for installations of from 475 to 874
watts, the connected load of the average home being as a rule within
this range.
In Cincinnati the demand has been estimated as being 70 per cent
of the connected load, excluding appliances.
In Cleveland, Company A determined the demand by inspection
as being 40 per cent of the connected load.
In Houston the demand is estimated as 50 per cent of the con
nected load, each socket opening being rated at 50 watts.
In New Orleans the demand in 1913 was the full connected load.
In New York the demand for Company C, when not determined
by meter, has been computed at 50 per cent of total installation in
residences, each standard socket being rated at 50 watts and all
other outlets being rated at their actual kilowatt capacity.
In Omaha the demand in 1913 was the full connected load.
In Pittsburgh the demand has been determined by inspection, the
first 10 outlets being rated at 30 watts each, the next 20 outlets at
20 watts each, and each additional outlet at 10 watts. Household
utensils and appliances of not over 660 watts each have been excluded.
In Portland, Oreg., the demand for Company A has been esti
mated as one-third of the connected lighting load. Ranges, heating
devices, and small power up to a rated capacity of 2 kilowatts are
not included.
592
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
For Company B the demand, when not based on actual measure
ment, has been estimated at one-third of the connected load, no
demand being established at less than 233 watts.
In Springfield, 111., the demand for Company A in December,
1913, was the active load predetermined as follows: 80 per cent of
the first 500 watts of connected load plus 60 per cent of that part
of the connected load in excess of the first 500 watts—minimum
active load, 150 watts.
In Washington, D. C., the demand is determined by inspection and
consists of 100 per cent of the connected load, excluding small fans
and heating and cooking appliances when not permanently connected.
T a b l e 1 3 .— N E T PRICE PER KILOWATT-HOUR FOR ELECTRICITY FOR HOUSEHOLD
USE IN DECEMBER, 1913, AND JUNE AND DECEMBER, 1927 AND 1928, FOR 51 CITIES
City
Measure of consumption, per month
De
cem
ber,
1913
Cents
AtlaTita
■RaltfTnorft
Birmingham
Boston___________
Bridgeport________
Buffalo___________
Butte____________
Charleston, S. C___
Chicago__________
Cincinnati________
First Iftft kilowatt-hours . , u
i 7.0
First 20 hours’ use of demand 2
38.5
Next kilowatt-hours up to 800....................
First 100 kilowatt-hours.............................
* 8.5
First 2 kilowatt-hours per 100 square feet « 10.0
of floor area.
Next 70 kilowatt-hours.............................. .
Excess...........................................................
All current......................................... .........
9.0
First 60 hours' use of demand 2__________
7.0
Next 120 hours use of demand 2..... .............
5.0
Excess_____ _____ _____________________
1.5
79 .5
First 25 kilowatt-hours...............................
Next 25 kilowatt-hours................................
First 50 kilowatt-hours.............. .................. 8 10.0
Next 50 kilowatt-hours......... ......... ........... .
8.0
First 3 kilowatt-hours per room......... ........ •10.0
Next 3 kilowatt-hours per room__________ 105 .O
4.0
Excess_________________________________
9 9.5
First 6 kilowatt-hours per room; mini
mum, 4 rooms.
Next 60 kilowatt-hours.... ............................ 10 6.7
Excess.......................................... ................
3.8
Service charge per room............................ .
Cleveland:
Company A ___ First 80 kilowatt-hours__________________
Excess________ ____ ____________________
Company B___ All current____________________________
Next 690 kilowatt-hours. ________ ________
Service charge__________________________
Columbus________ First 75 kilowatt-hours___________ ______
Dallas____________ All current____________________________
Denver___________ First 15 kilowatt-hours__________________
Next 30 kilowatt-hours__________________
Excess_____ _____ _____ _____ _______ ___
Detroit___________ First 3 kilowatt-hours per active room;
minimum 3 rooms.
Next 50 kilowatt-hours__________________
Excess................................... .......................
Fall River________ First 25 kilowatt-hours____________ ____ _
Next 75 kilowatt-hours............ ...................
Houston__________ First 30 hours’ use of demand 2__............
Excess_______________________ _________
Indianapolis______ First 50 kilowatt-hours............ ...................
Next 50 kilowatt-hours__________________
Jacksonville______ All current........... ........... ...........................
Kansas City______ First 5 kilowatt-hours per active room;
minimum, 3 rooms.
Next 5 kilowatt-hours per room__________
Excess____ _____ ___________ _______ ___
Little Rock _ ___ First 200 kilowatt-hours..............................
Los Angeles __ First 50 kilowatt-hours...............................
Louisville................ 1 to 149 kilowatt-hours.................................
For footnotes see end of table.
12 10.0
5.0
H8.0
5.0
*7.0
1« 10.0
5 8.0
i« 12.6
3.6
179.5
if 12 .4
7.0
20 7.5
7.0
2i9.9
4.5
«13.5
75.5
7.6
June
1927
De
cem
ber,
1927
June,
1928
De
cem
ber,
1928
Cents
8 .1
Cents
8 .1
Cents
8 .1
Cents
8 .1
6.0
6.0
5.0
3.0
5.5
5.0
4.0
1.5
7.0
4.0
7.7
6 8.5
6.5
5.0
4.0
1.5
8.0
7.0
4.0
7.7
6 8.5
5.0
4.0
1.5
5.0
4.0
1.5
7.0
4.0
7.7
8.5
4.0
4.0
8.0
8.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
* 8.0
10 5.0
7.0
5.0
3.0
5.0
4.0
8.0
7.0
4.0
7.7
68.5
3.0
»8.5
#8.0
10 5.0
3.0
11 7.5
7.0
5.0
3.0
H7.5
106.5
3.5
5.0
3.5
5.0
3.5
4.0
3.0
10.0
135.0
135.0
5.0
5.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
30.0
7.0
156.0
7.0
30.0
7.0
i* 6.0
7.0
30.0
7.0
30.0
7.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
7.0
7.0
5.0
9.0
5.0
9.0
5.0
9.0
5.0
9.0
3.6
8.5
W7.5
7.2
4.5
6.5
3.6
8.5
18 7.5
7.2
4.5
6.5
3.6
3.6
2.3
8.0
8.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.0
2.5
7.0
7.5
7.0
7.0
5.0
7.2
4.5
6.5
7.0
7.0
5.0
2.5
5.0
2.5
5.0
2.5
10.0
10.0
10.0
75.6
7.6
5.0
7.6
5.0
7.6
5.0
7.2
4.5
6.5
7.0
7.0
1 .0
5.0
7.6
593
RETAIL PRICES OF ELECTRICITY
T a b l e 1 3 .— NET PRICE PER KILOWATT-HOUR FOR ELECTRICITY FOR HOUSEHOLD
USE IN DECEMBER, 1913, AND JUNE AND DECEMBER, 1927 AND 1928, FOR 51 CITIES—
Continued
City
Measure of consumption, per month
De
cem
ber,
1913
Cents
Manchester_______ First step: 3 rooms, 15 kilowatt-hours;
4 rooms, 18 kilowatt-hours; 5 rooms,
21 kilowatt-hours; 6 rooms, 24 kilo
watt-hours; 7 rooms, 27 kilowatthours; 8 rooms, 30 kilowatt-hours.
Next step: number of kilowatt-hours
equal to the first step.
_ _ ___
___ ... First fi Irilowatt-hoiirs par room
Memphis
Excess________________________________
MjlwAnlrftft
First 9 kilowatt-hours for each of the first
6 active rooms and the first 7 kilowatthours for each active room in addition
to the first 6.
*11.4
» 10.0
23 1 1 .4
2*4.8
3.8
Excess_________________ _______________
8.6
First 3 kilowatt-hours per active room;
minimum, 2 rooms.
Next 3 kilowatt-hours per active room....... 2« 5.7
7.0
Mobile.................... First 50 kilowatt-hours................................
Newark__________ First 20 kilowatt-hours__________________ w 10.0
........
Na*t 30 kilow att-h ours
9.0
New Haven .. ____ All current
..... .. ..........
June
1927
De
cem
ber,
1927
June,
1928
De
cem
ber,
1928
Cents
U 2.0
Cents
8 12.0
Cents
1 1 .0
Cents
1 1 .0
226.0
226.0
7.0
7.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
2.9
9.5
2.9
9.5
2.9
9.5
8.6
7.1
9.0
9.0
7.1
9.0
9.0
7.1
9.0
9.0
7.1
9.0
9.0
8.0
6.5
8.0
6.0
8.0
6.0
8.0
9.1
7.8
25.0
9.1
7.8
25.0
9.1
7.8
25.0
9.1
7.8
25.0
7.3
9.5
7.3
8.5
5.5
7.3
9.5
7.3
8.5
5.5
7.3
9.5
7.3
8.5
5.5
7.0
9.5
7.0
8.5
5.5
9.0
9.0
9.0
9.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
5.0
6.7
5.0
6.7
5.0
6.7
N «* t kilow att-h on rs n p to 300
M innp.apolis
New Orleans______ First 20 kilowatt-hours__________________ 913.0
Next 30 kilowatt-hours__________________ 2* 6.0
Service charge......... ........... ........... „ ^
New York:
Company A ___ First 1,000 kilowatt-hours__________ ____ 27 10.0
9.5
Company B___ A ll current _
______________________
Company C___ First 60 hours’ use of demand 2__________
11.0
Norfolk................... First 100 kilowatt-hours_________________
9.0
Omaha___________ All current____________________________ 9 11.4
2*5.7
Next 125 kilowatt-hours
28 9.9
Peoria____________ First 5 kilowatt-hours for each of the first
2 rooms, and 4 kilowatt-hours for each
additional active room.
Second 5 kilowatt-hours for each of the
first 2 rooms, and 4 kilowatt-hours for
each additional active room.
Philadelphia:
Company A___ First 12 kilowatt-hours_________________
* 10.0
Next 36 kilowatt-hours__________________
Company B___ First 20 kilowatt-hours. __........................... 1310.0
Next 30 kilowatt-hours_________________
Pittsburgh________ First 10 kilowatt-hours_________________
* 10.0
Next 20 kilowatt-hours
_____
*9.0
Portland, Me_____ First 3 rooms, 15 kilowatt-hours; 4 rooms,
18 kilowatt-hours; 5 rooms, 21 kilowatthours; 6 rooms, 24 kilowatt-hours; 7
rooms, 27 kilowatt-hours; 8 rooms, 30
kilowatt-hours.
Next 3 rooms, 35 kilowatt-hours; 4 rooms,
42 kilowatt-hours; 5 rooms, 49 kilowatthours; 6 rooms, 56 kilowatt-hours; 7
rooms, 63 kilowatt-hours; 8 rooms, 70
kilowatt-hours.
Portland, Oreg.:
7.6
First
9 kilowatt-hours....... ..........................
Company A ___
3«6.7
Next kilowatt-hours in excess of the first
9 kilowatt-hours until 100 use of demand
has been reached.2
315.7
Next 50 kilowatt-hours_________________
Company B___ First 13 kilowatt-hours___________ ______ 329.0
Next kilowatt-hours: For an installation
3*7.0
of 600 watts or less 7 kilowatt-hours will
apply. For each 30 watts of installation
in excess of 600 watts 1 additional kilowatt-hour will apply.
Next 50 kilowatt-hours_______ ____ _____ 2*4.0
10.0
All current____________________________
Providence
Service charge _
_________________
9.0
First 100 kilowatt-hours...................... ........
Richmond
All current____________________________
8.0
Rochester
St. Louis:
Company A ___ First 9 kilowatt-hours per active room....... 239.5
5.7
Excess...........................................................
For footnotes see end of table.
8.0
7.0
9.0
8.0
®8.0
2®5.5
* 8.0
7.6
6.7
8.0
7.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
9.0
8.0
8.0
5.0
6.7
2.9
1.9
5.5
8.0
7.0
9.0
8.0
9 8.0
29 5.5
“ 8.0
H8.0
8.0
80 5.0
W5.0
5.0
7.6
6.7
7.6
6.7
7.6
6.7
5.5
8.0
8.0
5.5
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.9
7.3
6.7
7.3
6.7
7.3
6.7
7.3
6.7
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.9
50.0
8.5
6.8
6.5
50.0
8.5
6.5
50.0
8.5
6.5
50.0
8.5
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
6.7
6.7
2.4
2.4
6.7
2.4
6.7
2.4
594
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 1 3 .— NET PRICE PER KILOWATT-HOUR FOR ELECTRICITY FOR HOUSEHOLD
USE IN DECEMBER, 1913, AND JUNE AND DECEMBER, 1927 AND 1928, FOR 51 CITIES—
Continued
City
Measure of consumption, per month
De
cem
ber,
1913
St. Louis—Contd.
Cents
Company B___ First 4 rooms or less, 18 kilowatt-hours;
8*9.0
5 or 6 rooms, 27 kilowatt-hours; 7 or 8
rooms, 36 kilowatt-hours.
Excess...........................................................
5.7
St. Paul.................. First 3 kilowatt-hours per room................. n 9.9
Next 3 kilowatt-hours per room_________
Excess........................... ..............................
6.6
Salt Lake City____ First 250 kilowatt-hours..............................
9.0
San Francisco:
Company A___ First 200 kilowatt-hours..............................
7 7.0
Next 800 kilowatt-hours............................
Service charge____________________ _____
Company B___ First 200 kilowatt-hours.............................
7 7.0
Next 800 kilowatt-hours....... ......................
Service charge.......... ......................... .........
Savannah............... First 100 kilowatt-hours.............................. i* 12.0
Excess................... .......................................
6.0
Scranton................. First 150 kilowatt-hours___..........................
8 9.0
Seattle:
Company A___ First 40 kilowatt-hours......... ...................... 37 6.0
Next 200 kilowatt-hours...................... ........ 28 4.0
Company B___ First 40 kilowatt-hours............................... 37 6.0
Next 200 kilowatt-hours...................... ........ 28 4.0
Springfield, 111.:
Company A___ First 30 kilowatt-hours....... ........................ 9 10.0
Next 70 kilowatt-hours................................ io 7.0
Company B___ First 30 kilowatt-hours_________________
Next 70 kilowatt-hours...................... .........
Washington, D. C . First 120 hours’ use of demand 2.................
10.0
1 First 150 kilowatt-hours.
2 For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
3 First 50 kilowatt-hours.
June
1927
De
cem
ber,
1927
June,
1928
De
cem
ber,
1928
Cents
Cents
6.7
6.7
Cents
Cents
2.4
9.5
7.1
2.9
2.4
9.5
7.1
2.9
2.4
9.5
7. 1
2.9
8.6
8 .1
8 .1
8 .1
8 .1
“ 9.0
3 5.0
5.0
4.0
40.0
5.0
4.0
40.0
9.0
9.0
6.7
6.7
2.4
7.1
2.9
9.0
9.0
5.0
4.0
40.0
5.0
4.0
40.0
9.0
10.0
10.0
10.0
5.5
5.5
5.5
2.0
2.0
5.5
5.5
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
6.0
88 6.0
36 2.5
1*9.0
i<9.0
38 6.0
38 6.0
5.5
3.0
6.0
3.0
6.3
3.0
6.0
3.0
6.3
2.0
3.0
6.0
3.0
5.9
5.5
2.0
5.5
3.0
6.0
3.0
5.9
* The gross rate is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, with discounts of 10 per cent for a monthly consumption
of 1 to 25 kilowatt-hours and 15 per cent for a monthly consumption of 25 to 150 kilowatt-hours. The aver
age family used 25 or m ore k ilow att-h ours per m o n th .
* All current.
* First 1,000 kilowatt-hours.
7 First 100 kilowatt-hours.
8 First 25 kilowatt-hours.
8 First 30 hours’ use of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
i° Next 30 hours’ use of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
11 First 30 kilowatt-hours.
12 First 36 hours’ use of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
13 First 500 kilowatt-hours.
14 First 10 kilowatt-hours.
15 First 800 kilowatt-hours.
i®First 2 kilowatt-hours per active room.
17 First 200 kilowatt-hours.
« Next 975 kilowatt-hours.
19 First 2 kilowatt-hours per 16 candlepower of installation.
20 All current. This rate applies to a 5-year contract, with a minimum charge of $1 per month. For
1 -year contract the rates per kilowatt-hour are 10 cents without a minimum charge, or 9% cents with a
minimum of $1 per month.
21 First 3 kilowatt-hours per active room; minimum, 3 rooms.
22 Next 50 kilowatt-hours.
23 First 4 kilowatt-hours for each of the first 4 active rooms and the first 2X
A kilowatt-hours for each addi
tional active room.
21 Additional energy up to 100 kilowatt-hours.
25 Excess.
27 First 250 kilowatt-hours.
281 to 200 kilowatt-hours.
29 Next 60 hours’ use of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
80 Next 70 kilowatt-hours.
Next 100 kilowatt-hours.
32 First 6 per cent of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
83 Next 6 per cent of demand. For determination of demand, see explanation of prices.
8<For a house of 6 rooms or less, 15 kilowatt-hours; for a house of 7 or 8 rooms, 20 kilowatt-hours.
« Next 40 kilowatt-hours.
38 Next 125 kilowatt-hours.
87 First 60 kilowatt-hours.
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
595
Wholesale Prices in the United States
Wholesale Prices in 1928
HOLESALE prices, considered as a whole, were fairly stable
in 1928. In the first three months only minor changes were
recorded. Small advances took place in April and May, followed
by a decline in June and by further advances from July to September,
when prices averaged 4 per cent higher than in January. Weaken
ing prices in the last three months brought the general level down to
a point only slightly above that prevailing at the beginning of the
year. The average for 1928 was, however, well above the average
for 1927.
Farm products declined in the first three months of the year, but
reached their highest level in May. Prices in November were lower
than in any other month. The year’s average was 6 per cent above
the average for 1927. Grains as a group advanced 21 per cent in
price from January to May, but declined 26 per cent in the next
seven months. Beef-steer prices decreased in the first five months,
rose to high levels in summer and early autumn, and declined again
thereafter. Cows were lowest in March and highest in September.
Hog prices also were erratic, falling in the first three months, rising
steeply to September, and falling again in the last three months of
the year. Prices of sheep and lambs also varied widely during the
year, the average being well above that of 1927. Live poultry like
wise averaged higher than in the year before, as did cotton, hay,
tobacco, and, particularly, wool. Onions and potatoes, on the other
hand, were cheaper than in 1927.
Among food products there were marked variations during the
year in the prices of butter, eggs, fresh and cured meats, fish, coffee,
flour, lard, corn meal, oatmeal, and sugar. Prices in this group
averaged about 5 per cent higher than m 1927. Hides and skins
reached high levels in the first half of the year, but declined rapidly
thereafter. Leather also rose steeply, but to a less extent than hides
and skins. Prices of boots and shoes and other leather products
were relatively quite stable. Textile products showed little change
from prices of the preceding year, cotton goods and worsted and
woolen goods averaging higher and silk and other textiles lower than
in 1927.
In the fuel and lighting group prices were fairly steady, anthracite
and bituminous coal declining slightly in spring and summer and
advancing in fall and winter months. Coke and manufactured gas
showed only small price fluctuations, but with a downward tendency
toward the end of the year, while petroleum products rose steadily
from January to September and declined thereafter. The year’s
average for the group was below the 1927 average.
Iron and steel prices also averaged slightly lower than in the year
before, while nonferrous metals were higher. Automobile prices
showed advances over 1927 figures. The group of metal products
as a whole registered a net increase over the preceding year. Lumber
prices increased slowly during 1928, but the year’s average was below
that of 1927. Brick, cement, and paint materials showed minor
price fluctuations. Chemicals and drugs likewise varied little in
W
39142°— 29-------39
596
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
price in the year. House-furnishing goods, including furniture,
were slightly cheaper than in 1927. In the group of miscellaneous
commodities, cattle-feed prices showed large increases over 1927,
reaching a high level in May of 60 per cent above the 1926 level
and 36 per cent above the level of 1927. Prices of paper and pulp
averaged slightly lower than in the preceding year, while rubber
and automobile tires were much lower.
Comparing prices in 1928 with those of the base year 1926, it is
seen that hides and leather products showed the largest increase,
viz 21.7 per cent. Farm products increased 5.9 per cent and foods
1 per cent over the 1926 level. In all other groups there were de
creases, ranging from only 0.2 of 1 per cent in the case of metals and
metal products to 17.2 per cent in the case of fuel and lighting. All
commodities on an average were 2.3 per cent lower in 1928 than in
1926.
The table which follows shows for each of the 10 groups the number
of commodities or separate commodity units for which comparable
wholesale prices for 1927 and 1928 were obtained, and the number
that increased or decreased in 1928 as compared with the year
previous:
T a b l e 1.—CHANGES IN AVERAGE PRICES FROM 1927 TO 1928, BY GROUPS OF
COMMODITIES
Change
Hides
and
Farm
prod Foods leath
er
ucts
prod
ucts
Increases____________
Decreases___________
No change___________
52
15
Total__________
67
76
43
38
2
2
i 121
40
All com
modities
Metals
House
Tex Fuel and Build Chem fur Mis
ing
tile and
nish cella With With
mate icals
prod light metal
and
ing neous dupli out
ucts ing prod
rials
ucts
drugs goods
ca dupli
ca
tions tions
46
22
7
16
75
23
7
25
29
19
73
21
29
7
2 57
41
22
10
14
23
5
5
15
5
321
214
61
292
197
61
3 77
<38
25
596
550
1 Includes 22 commodities classified also with farm products.
2 Includes 10 commodities classified also with metals and metal products.
8 Includes 4 commodities classified also with foods.
<Includes 5 commodities classified also with textile products and 5 commodities classified also with
metals and metal products.
From this table it will be seen that, of the 550 commodities or price
series included in the weighted index for 1927 and 1928, increases in
average price were reported for 292 series and decreases for 197 series.
In the case of 61 series no change in average prices was shown.
597
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
W holesale Prices, 1913 to 1928
T he figures in the table which follows furnish a comparison of
wholesale price fluctuations of different groups of commodities since
1913. Similar information for each month of the period from Janu-
JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP. OCT. MOV. DEC*
ary, 1913, to June, 1928, has been published in Bulletin No. 473
(pp. 10-41).
T a b l e 2 .—INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES, 1913-1928
[1926=100.0]
Farm products
Year and month
1913....... ..................................
1914..........................................
1915..........................................
1916............ .............................
1917..........................................
1918..........................................
1919..........................................
1920..........................................
1921..........................................
1922..........................................
1923..........................................
1924....... __...............................
1926..........................................
1926
Average for year. .................
January.............................
February. ........................
March.............................
April.................................
May..................................
June..................................
July...................................
August..............................
September........................
October.............................
November........................
December.........................
1927
Average for year.....................
January.............................
February-........................
March...............................
April.................................
May..................................
June..................................
July...................................
August..............................
September........................
October.............................
November........................
December.........................
Grains
71.1
77.1
93.8
99.6
170.4
168.6
177.4
176.4
89.1
85.0
88.0
100.6
118.3
100.0
112 .6
108.2
10 1.8
102.9
100.3
97.6
100.7
95.7
95.3
97.4
93.6
96.9
100.9
95.9
95.3
93.0
93.2
104.3
109.7
107.0
108.3
102.9
99.2
99.6
102.0
Foods
Live
stock
and
poultry
Other
farm
prod
ucts
73.2
74.6
70.8
66.7
63.3
78.4
116.2
142.1
153.0
155.3
93.8
103.4
116.7
114.2
114.5
71.5
71.2
71.5
84.4
129.0
148.0
157.6
150.7
88.4
93.8
98.6
109.8
100.0
11 1 .6
100.0
68.8
82.8
119.4
141.0
148.7
125.1
78.2
83.2
77.7
79.3
98.9
100.0
98.8
100.4
99.8
98.6
103.8
106.7
102.2
98.3
103.7
102.2
93.3
93.5
98.9
98.5
99.4
100.6
10 1.2
93.9
90.6
95.3
98.2
104.9
105.5
100.8
97.9
107.3
103.0
105.6
All
farm
prod
ucts
100.0
107.4
105.1
101.7
102.8
98.0
95.3
97.1
97.7
95.1
96.2
95.2
102.4
100.9
98.6
97.2
99.3
97.9
94.7
94.9
99.2
95.4
92.6
90.2
89.8
95.1
95.9
95.9
99.4
96.5
95.4
94.2
94.3
96.3
96.5
97.6
102.8
102.2
102.2
107.6
106.7
108.3
109.7
105.9
105.0
104.3
104.4
Butter,
cheese,
and
milk
Meats
Other
foods
65.9
62.9
62.4
69.7
91.5
110.3
125.1
125.2
97.5
91.4
103.4
94.5
65.9
1 0 1 .1
59.8
62.6
57.6
66.4
92.9
115.2
117.6
108.0
77.4
76.6
76.2
75.7
93.3
100.0
100.0
102.3
101.6
100.3
97.8
98.0
99.3
99.5
97.2
96.0
95.4
95.5
97.3
102.3
101.4
99.9
1 0 1 .1
10 1.6
102.9
104.5
107.4
104.0
105.4
107.1
106.1
105.2
98.9
97.7
97.9
98.8
105.6
107.2
108.3
110 .0
100.2
101.3
99.0
98.4
92.7
89.4
89.6
89.9
90.9
89.8
88.6
90.5
90.3
92.2
100.0
100.9
99.6
66.0
71.0
83.3
116.1
123.8
138.0
157.9
94.3
93.6
99.6
100.0
All
foods
64.2
64.7
65.4
75.7
104.5
119.1
129.5
137.4
90.6
87.6
92.7
91.0
104.5
100.2
100.0
100.0
102.6
104.2
101.9
99.7
102.5
101.7
101.3
98.2
95.9
98.0
99.7
99.9
99.6
96.2
98.8
95.7
93.0
93.0
95.7
97.1
94.7
95.0
95.8
97.2
99.1
97.7
100.5
99.1
100.4
100.1
100.5
98.8
97.5
99.8
100.8
100.5
100.7
96.5
96.9
95.9
94.5
94.6
94.4
94.4
93.9
94.2
96.5
100.0
101.5
100.7
598
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T able 2.— INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES,_1913-1928—Continued
Farm products
Year and month
Grains
1928
Average for year.
January.......
February___
March.........
April............
May............
June.............
July.............
August_____
September..
October.......
November..
December__
107.3
104.7
108.4
113.6
121.6
127.0
119.9
111.6
€5.4
€7.5
96.6
94.6
94.3
Live
stock
and
poultry
105.4
100.2
100.1
96.3
102.3
103.9
104.7
112.1
116.7
124.0
106.4
100.6
99.1
Foods
Other
farm
prod
ucts
All
farm
prod
ucts
105.8
110.7
106.1
105.0
106.4
107.9
103.4
102.1
104.2
102.3
103.9
104.8
110.0
Butter,
105.9
106.1
104.5
103.5
107.6
109.8
106.7
107.1
107.0
108.8
103.5
105.6
108.6
106.4
104.2
103.6
110.0
101.0
100.1
101.6
Hides and leather products
Year and month
Meats
and
milk
99.8
103.3
107.3
109.3
108.4
109.7
107.0
91.6
97.8
94.7
99.2
103.2
104.0
112.7
119.3
126.5
116.4
108.7
102.3
Other
foods
95.5
99.0
96.2
97.7
99.1
100.3
98.1
95.5
93.5
94.0
91.2
91.0
90.8
All
foods
101.0
98.5
98.7
98.0
99.5
101.2
100.3
102.3
104.1
106.9
102.3
100.1
98.0
Textile products
All
Other hides
Woolen
Boots leather
Hides
and
Cotton Silk
and
Other
All
and Leather and
prod
leather
textiles
textiles
worsted textiles textiles
sirins
shoes
ucts
prod
textiles
ucts
1913..
1914..
1915..
1916..
1917_.
1918..
1919_.
1920-
106.8
113.4
126.2
151.5
201.3
194.2
287.4
206 7
69.1
72.5
75.8
107.2
141.9
135.3
187.5
188.2
54.5
56.3
58.6
59.1
91.5
97.9
134.7
151.1
50.8
51.4
55.3
64.5
85.3
97.2
133.1
140.8
68 1
70.9
75.5
93.4
123.8
125.7
174.1
171.3
58.0
56.0
52.3
68.7
98.7
146.6
147.5
190.7
71.8
71.3
68.3
87.1
98.8
116.4
145.5
152.7
53.7
50.5
55.0
70.4
101.7
138.6
124.3
153.7
62.7
55.0
60.3
81.9
132.2
169.7
124.2
104.5
57.3
54.6
54.1
70.4
98.7
137.2
135.3
164.8
1921.............. ....
1922........... .
1923..................
192 4
192 5
89.5
115.8
117.6
111.7
105.2
104.1
99.8
104.8
111.5
98.1
99.1
98.4
100.5
118.6
113.5
103.7
103.7
109.2
104.6
104.2
101.5
105.3
99.5
104.3
116.9
114.7
110.5
91.9
95.7
107.5
106.8
63.1
70.8
77.4
87.1
104.1
111.3
106.7
108.3
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
104.1
107.9
10 1.2
10 1.2
10 1.2
10 1.2
10 1.2
10 1.2
101.6
101.0
100.2
1926
Average for year..
January_____
February........
March............
April..... .........
May...............
June...............
July................
August______
September___
October..........
November___
December___
1927
Average for year..
January_____
February.......
March............
April..............
May...............
Junec..............
July................
August...........
September___
October..........
November___
December___
110 .2
118.7
100.0
112 .8
104.1
98.0
91.6
94.8
94.6
97.5
100.5
95.8
106.2
103.2
103.3
120.4
105.5
101.5
102.3
108.2
114 2
123.8
133.5
131.3
128.4
128.0
131.6
136.4
100.0
10 1.8
10 1.8
10 1.8
101.4
99.6
99.2
98.6
98.7
99.1
99.2
99.4
99.4
109.2
99.6
99.7
100.2
100.2
103.3
107.6
113.5
114.3
115.4
116.5
117.1
122.4
100.5
100.5
100.5
100.4
100.4
100.3
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
102.5
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.9
101.0
103.0
103.3
105.6
105.6
106.3
107.1
102.8
103.3
104.9
108.9
109.2
109.4
103.3
101.4
100.1
98.7
98.9
98.8
99.0
99.7
98.8
10 1.0
100.4
100.4
100.5
101.7
103.7
107.3
111.7
111.7
112.5
113.0
114.3
116.9
110 .0
105.8
104.8
103.5
102.3
100.5
99.1
98.6
99.5
100.0
97.3
95.4
93.3
12 1.0
129.5
103.1
104.5
10.0
108.2
107.6
104.0
100.5
100.1
100.3
98.0
97.6
99.0
97.6
94.7
92.4
97.9
92.1
92.6
92.7
92.5
93.8
95.1
96.1
88.1
100.2
86.6
86.6
106.1
106.0
104.6
103.3
90.1
90.9
90.6
91.8
90.7
90.3
87.4
85.4
83.6
83.2
1 10 .2
100.0
94.5
100.2
106.7
105.3
103.1
101.4
100.5
100.3
99.3
98.7
98.4
98.3
98.5
98.4
106.2
104.9
101.7
99.3
98.3
98.4
97.7
98.5
99.2
98.1
99.7
100.1
'97.6
98.2
98.9
98.8
98.7
97.4
97.1
97.2
97.3
97.3
98.0
98.1
98.4
95.4
99.9
97.9
93.5
94.5
92.5
93.0
93.9
95.7
95.9
95.7
94.9
96 7
95.7
94.3
94.6
94.0
94.2
93.9
94.3
94.3
96.2
98.5
98.4
97.5
97.2
10 1.0
106.3
105.2
103.0
101.3
99.4
98.5
98.5
98.9
97.7
96.3
95.2
599
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
T a b l e 3 .— INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES 1913-1928—Continued
Hides and leather products
Year and month
1928
Average for year___
January.............
February______
March................
April____ _____
M ay.................
June...................
July....................
August..... .........
September.........
October..............
November.........
December..........
Textile products
All
Woolen
Boots Other hides
Hides
and Cotton Silk
and
Other
All
and Leather and leather
prod
textiles
leather
textiles
worsted
textiles textiles
shoes
skins
ucts
prod
textiles
ucts
148.6
151.4
158.7
157.3
167.3
164.5
155.0
155.8
140.6
141.9
129.9
130.0
131.0
126.3
123.8
129.3
129.3
129.8
130.2
127.3
128.5
128.5
126.2
124.2
118.8
119.3
109.9
108.4
109.2
109.5
110.4
110.5
110.8
110 .8
110.8
110.8
110.4
108.9
108.4
108.5
108.4
108 4
108.4
108.4
108 4
108.4
108.6
108.6
109.0
109.0
108.4
108.4
121.7
12 1.0
124.1
124.0
126.7
126.3
123.7
124.2
12 1.0
120.7
117.5
115.6
115.7
10 1.2
102.3
101.4
100.9
100.7
101.3
10 1.1
102.0
101.4
100.1
100.7
10 1.2
101.3
83.6
83.7
84.8
84.7
85.5
84.8
82.6
81.7
81.7
82.7
84.4
83.7
83.7
100.4
99.0
99.9
100.6
100.5
100.9
10 1.2
101.5
10 1.0
100.1
100.0
99.9
100.0
86.9
90.4
88.2
88.6
86.2
84.5
85.9
89.6
89.1
86.5
86.1
85.8
84.9
96.3
96.7
96.6
96.5
96.5
96.6
96.3
96.8
96.3
95.6
96.1
96.1
96.1
Fuel and lighting
Year and month
1913.....................................................
1914..................................................1915.....................................................
1916.....................................................
1917...................... ..............................
1918.....................................................
1919.................................... ...............
1920......................................................
1921................................................... .
1922.............................................. ......
1923-.................................................1924.....................................................
1925......................................................
1925
Average for year__________________
January______________________
February_____________________
March.. ____________________
April_________________________
May_________________________
June_________________________
July_________________________
August_______________________
September___________________
October______________________
November____________________
December____________________
1927
Average for year__________________
January__________ ___________
February ___________________
March_______________________
April.— ..................................... May_________________________
June_________________________
July_________________________
August_______________________
September___________________
October______________________
November...... ..................... ........
December____________________
1928
Average for year__________________
January______________________
February_____________________
March_____ _______________ __
April_________________________
May_________________________
June_________________________
Juny_________________________
August_______________________
September___________________
October_______________ _______
November____________________
December_____ ____ __________
Bitumi
Anthracite
nous
coal
98.6
99.7
38.1
34.8
33.9
55.5
98.4
81.4
79.8
165.4
77.7
113.1
113.4
99.7
96.5
100.0
100.0
58.9
59.6
59.5
63.9
72.4
82 3
75.8
92.5
92.5
95.3
100.8
113.7
102.0
10 1.2
98.1
97.6
97.3
97.4
98.1
98.4
98.4
98.8
98.8
96.3
99.1
98.9
96.8
93.8
93.6
94.8
95.2
95.7
96.5
96.9
96.9
96.8
91.7
94.8
95.3
94.8
90.2
89.8
90.3
90.5
90.3
91.2
91.2
91.2
91.2
98.9
99.0
97.2
95.0
95.2
95.2
95.4
96.6
98.2
104.3
116.8
107.9
100.4
103.9
101.5
Coke
46.3
37.5
37.8
52.0
106.6
100.9
84.4
162.3
90.6
119.1
118.8
97.2
97.7
100.0
114.0
115.3
102.2
93.6
92.6
94.0
93.8
94.3
95.3
96.3
106.2
103.3
Gas
135.3
128.0
183.5
104 4
102.9
82.6
83.5
95.0
61.3
56.6
51.8
74.3
105.4
109.2
104.3
163.7
96.8
107.3
97.3
92.0
96.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
101.9
10 1.0
101.9
101.9
101.0
101.0
10 1.0
100.0
99.0
99.0
99.0
98.1
101.9
102.4
99.6
97.8
97.4
97.9
99.0
99.0
98.1
98.1
99.0
99.0
99.6
99.6
98.2
97.5
97.2
96.2
93.6
94.9
94.7
93.8
92.2
92.0
91.8
91.4
92.5
93.2
93.9
93.6
93.2
84.6
84.4
84.4
82.8
84.1
84.7
84.6
84.9
84.9
85.0
84.9
84.5
94.9
95.9
95.9
95.8
95.2
94.6
95.2
94.8
95.0
94.6
94.3
93.5
93.3
99.9
99.8
100.3
100.0
86.0
73.3
65.8
54.1
87.3
All fuel
and
lighting
78.1
78.4
78.3
78.0
76.5
79.4
86.4
98.2
115.6
110.3
104.8
102.9
101.9
94.4
97.4
96.1
96.0
95.4
94.0
94.2
93.7
93.8
94.0
93.9
92.7
91.9
100.1
Petroleum
products
1 1 2 .1
92.3
96.3
96.9
99.4
106.3
106.6
103.3
104.6
105.4
100.9
94.1
93.7
72.7
93.0
90.9
80.0
70.0
68.0
68.0
68.1
66.5
66.4
67.5
66.6
66.2
72.0
65.6
66.6
66.6
69.0
71.2
71.9
73.5
76.8’
77.1
76.3
75.5
73.9
98.7
99.1
98.1
97.7
100.8
101.0
99.5
100.6
101.5
101.3
102.5
99.4
86.5
97.7
95.8
90.0
84.9
83.9
84.2
84.2
84.1
84.2
83.8
82.9
82.5
82.8
80.8
81.2
80.8
80.8
81.8
82.1
82.8
84.6
85.1
84.9
84.4
83.5
600
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T able 2.—INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES, 1913-1928—Continued
Metals and metal products
Year and month
Iron and
steel
Nonferrous
metals
Agricul
tural im
plements
Auto
mobiles
Other
All metals
metal
and metal
products products ,
1913................................................................
1914................................................................
1915................................................................
1916................................................................
1917................................................................
1918................................................................
1919................................................................
1920................................................................
70.9
61.4
64.7
109.7
176.7
147.0
130.0
157.1
88.9
76.3
108.6
160.2
165.7
144.4
118.9
118.3
72.9
73.1
71.2
71.0
86.3
114.0
113.8
111.9
147.5
125.0
115.5
107.6
110.4
121.0
142.5
160.7
53.7
53.8
54.2
56. B
62.3
74.2
81.5
100.9
00.8
80.2
86.3
116.5
150.6
136.5
130.9
149.4
3921................................................................
1922................................................................
1923................................................................
1924................................................................
1925................................................................
109.4
98.1
117.3
109.4
102.2
78.3
83.5
95.3
93.0
101.4
111.4
88.2
98.8
105.7
100.4
143.4
116.6
108.7
107.5
105.3
97.6
94.7
103.3
101.7
100.5
117.5
102.9
109.3
106.3
103.2
100.0
101.3
100.7
100.7
100.3
99.4
98.9
99.5
99.4
99.8
99.9
100.2
100.0
100.0
102.7
102.6
100.6
98.5
97.3
97.8
100.2
102.2
102.2
100.5
98.8
96.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
97.3
97.3
97.3
97.4
97.4
99.7
102.1
102.3
102.3
102.3
102.3
102.3
100.0
101.1
101.1
100.4
100.4
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.8
99.4
99.4
99.4
100.0
99.9
99.6
99.3
98.8
98.3
99.1
100.7
101.0
101.2
101.0
100.8
100.4
95.9
99.2
97.7
97.4
97.2
96.8
96.1
95.5
95.1
94.7
94.0
93.5
93.7
91.8
94.8
93.6
95.1
93.2
91.0
90.0
89.3
92.5
90.7
89.9
90.3
92.3
99.2
99.4
99.4
99.4
99.4
99.4
99.4
99.4
99.3
99.3
98.9
98.9
98.8
102.5
99.9
99.9
99.8
99.8
102.9
102.9
102.6
102.2
102.2
102.2
102.2
104.6
100.2
99.5
99.5
99.5
99.5
99.5
100.6
100.6
100.7
100.7
100.7
100.7
100.7
98.2
98.8
98.0
98.2
97.8
98.6
98.2
97.7
98.0
97.6
97.1
97.0
98.4
94.9
93.9
94.9
93.3
91.7
90.5
90.4
98.8
98.8
98.8
106.9
104.3
104.3
104.3
104.3
104.7
105.1
105.1
108.9
108.7
108.7
108.7
97.2
98.2
97.9
99.8
98.1
98.3
98.4
98.4
1926
Average for year.................................
January........................................
February....................................
March..........................................
April........ ...................................
May...................................... ......
June.............................................
July..............................................
August.........................................
September....................................
October........................................
November....................................
December.....................................
1927
Average for year................................
January............... .......................
February. ...................................
March.............. ...........................
April........... .......... ........... .........
M a y .-............ —______ _______
June_____ ______ ____ _________
July............. ................................
August...... ........................ .........
September...... ................ .............
October_________ ____________
November......... .........................
December......................... ..........
1928
Average for year-........................... .
January........................................
February.....................................
March........................................
April..................... ......................
May.............................................
June... ..........................................
J u ly ...........................................
August.........................................
September...................................
October.....................................
November...................................
December.................................. ..
95.2
95.1
94.8
94.2
94.0
94.5
94.7
95.1
96.1
96.6
91.3
92.0
92.8
92.6
92.9
93.8
95.8
97.9
98.0
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
98.8
1 1 1 .2
97.9
96.9
96.9
96.9
96.9
96.8
96.9
96.9
96.9
96.9
98.6
98.7
98.6
100.4
100.5
10 1.0
101.7
102.9
601
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
T able 2 . —INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES, 1913-1928—Continued
Building materials
Year and month
Lumber
Brick
Cement
Steel
Other All build
Paint
building ing mate
materials materials
rials
1913..............................................
1914..............................................
1915..............................................
1916..............................................
1917..............................................
1918..............................................
1919..............................................
1920..............................................
54.0
49.9
48.7
55.1
72.2
83.5
113.0
165.2
38.9
38.8
39.1
42.4
50.2
66.7
91.9
118.4
59.6
55.0
51.0
65.4
80.3
94.6
102.3
117.2
77.1
60.0
65.3
128.9
190.8
153.2
128.7
144.4
50.8
50.7
54.8
77.1
95.3
121.9
140.3
148.1
1921..............................................
1922..............................................
1923..............................................
1924..............................................
1925..............................................
88.9
99.1
99.3
105.7
99.4
103.6
103.4
110 .8
1 11.8
103.5
107.9
105.7
104.4
88.5
123.7
114.2
100.6
100.1
102.6
10 2.2
83.9
93.8
101.3
99.7
109.3
100.0
100.0
10 1.0
100.0
100.0
1926
Average for year..........................
January.................................
February...............................
March...................................
April.....................................
May......................................
June.......................................
July.......................................
August................................
September.............................
October.................................
November.............................
December...... .......................
1927
Average for year..........................
January.................................
February...............................
March—................................
April.....................................
M ay....... .............................
June......................................
July.......................................
August..................................
September.............................
October...............................
November________________
December...... .......................
1928
Average for year..........................
January.................................
February...............................
March...................................
April.....................................
May......................................
June......................................
July............ ..........................
August..................................
September.............................
October.................................
November.............................
December.............................
103.3
103.0
102.5
100.9
99.9
99.2
98.4
98.1
98.5
98.2
100.2
98.9
92.5
96.7
96.0
95.0
95.0
95.2
94.9
93.9
92.2
91.0
91.2
89.2
88.0
90.1
88.5
88.9
88.9
87.8
88.1
88.7
89.5
90.3
91.3
91.7
92.7
93.6
101.4
101.4
99.5
97.7
97.7
97.5
97.5
100.4
100.4
100.4
100.4
100.4
100.4
100.4
99.9
99.4
99.4
99i4
99.4
93.2
98.3
96.0
93.6
93.5
93.5
93.4
93.3
93.2
93.2
93.3
91.3
92.2
96.7
98.3
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
92.7
92.4
92.5
92.3
92.9
92 7
93.2
93.2
92.7
92.4
92.4
92.3
93.6
95.9
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
96.5
94.6
94.6
94.6
94.6
101.7
101.7
101.6
101.6
99.6
99.6
99.6
99.6
99.6
94.5
99.6
99.6
10 2.1
10 2.1
10 2.1
10 2.1
94.7
10 2.1
99.6
97.0
97.0
97.0
94.5
90.7
91.9
93.2
91.9
89.4
91.9
95.2
91.9
94.5
97.0
87.0
95.8
94.5
94.5
94.5
94.5
94.5
97.0
97.0
100.0
107.7
103.4
99.0
95.4
91.5
96.3
1 0 1.1
103.7
102.7
10 1.1
63.1
59.7
65.1
87.8
114.0
56.7
52.7
53.5
67.6
12 1.0
98.6
115.6
150.1
1 1 1 .1
95.3
105.5
104.0
100.4
97.4
97.3
108.7
102.3
101.7
100.0
100.0
100.2
101.8
1 0 1 .1
100.0
116.8
135.0
100.3
100.4
99.8
99.5
99.3
99.5
99.8
99.8
88.2
102.3
99.1
98.9
99.4
99.5
99.5
99.5
100.5
97.6
100.8
100.6
100.1
100.1
91.0
96.0
94.5
92.5
91.0
, 93.9
1 92.7
91.5
92.5
90.0
87.0
85.7
86.5
94.1
97.7
96.6
96.4
95.9
95.2
94.5
94.0
93.0
91.9
91.7
91.2
92.5
93.3
97.5
96.2
95.3
95.0
95.1
94.6
93.7
92.9
92.1
91.6
90.2
90.4
86.6
88.0
101.3
92.7
93.2
92.7
93.7
90.8
91.0
91.0
92.5
93.5
93.9
94.4
94.6
94.7
95.0
96.0
96.8
85.9
85.5
85.0
85.7
87.1
87.6
86.2
85.8
87.2
88.2
87.7
100.2
103.5
104.0
104.1
104.4
104.2
104.3
105.8
107.0
99.2
602
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T a b l e 2 .—IN D E X NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, B Y GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES, 1913-1928—Continued
Chemicals and drugs
Year and month
Chemi
cals
1913..........................................
1914..........................................
1915..........................................
1916..........................................
1917....... ..................................
1918..........................................
1919..........................................
1920..........................................
89.4
91.0
127.8
196.9
187.6
187.3
145.8
166.5
1921..........................................
1922..........................................
1923..................................... —
1924........................................ .
1925..........................................
108.9
97.2
1926
Average for year_ ...................
January............................
February....................... .
March............................ .
April............................
May..................................
June................... ..............
July................................ .
August.............................
September........................
October........................... .
November........................
December....... ................ .
1927
Average for year. ...................
January............................
February---------------------March.............................
April................................
May.............................. .
June________ ______ ___
July............................. .
August.............................
September........................
October.............................
November........................
December.........................
1928
Average for year. ...................
January............................
February. ........................
March...............................
April.................................
May..................................
June..................................
July__..............................
August.............................
September........................
October.............................
November........................
December.........................
100.6
102.2
104.1
100.0
102.2
100.5
99.3
99.4
100.2
101.7
10 1.1
100.3
101.0
99.3
97.9
97.7
100.0
98.0
98.2
97.4
99.1
99.8
99.9
Drugs
and
Mixed
Ferti
phar lizer ma ferti
maceu terials
lizers
ticals
56.6
60.8
82.9
88.8
108.3
130.2
113.7
119.8
96.2
93.3
95.7
95.8
97.7
100.0
99.6
99.2
98.0
97.6
98.5
100.2
101.6
10 1.1
10 1.1
10 1.1
101.0
10 1.2
87.3
91.3
90.2
88.7
86.2
100.4
100.2
100.5
10 1.1
101.8
102.3
102.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
102.9
104.0
105.0
103.6
10 1.6
99.4
97.4
96.7
97.0
95.8
98.0
99.3
96.2
99.1
99.6
100.1
94.6
94.8
94.0
96.5
97.4
95.5
94.0
93.0
93.4
93.5
93.8
94.1
94.1
101.8
10 2.1
101.0
10 1.1
100.8
162.5
119.0
107.4
95.9
100.4
70.8
72.6
71.7
71.1
70.6
70.4
70.3
70.4
70.3
70.1
70.7
70.9
70.8
101.4
101.3
102.4
117.9
102.3
102.5
92.6
98.8
85.2
81.9
100.0
100.2
102.2
211.6
84.3
85.5
92.0
142.2
137.7
195.0
221.7
177.1
99.3
98.0
98.3
93.8
91.2
92.1
94.1
94.9
95.0
88.2
88.0
87.7
86.9
86.7
86.7
102.3
85.5
78.3
133.7
205.2
228.0
236.9
191.8
House-fumishings goods
All
All
chemi Furni Furnish housefurnishcals and
ture
ings
ing
drugs
goods
80.2
81.4
112.0
160.7
165.0
182.3
157.0
164.7
115.0
100.3
10 1.1
98.9
101.8
100.0
101.6
100.8
100.2
99.9
100.2
100.9
100.4
99.8
70.7
70.6
70.9
72.8
81.7
93.3
114.7
165.6
47.9
48.7
47.1
54.8
70.3
94.5
101.4
128.5
56.3
56.8
56.0
61.4
74.2
93.3
105.9
141.8
129.9
114.6
116.7
107.9
104.6
103.3
97.0
104.8
103.4
102.2
113.0
106.5
108.9
104.9
103.1
100.0
101.8
100.0
10 1.2
100.0
100.8
100.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.8
100.2
100.0
98.6
98.8
98.9
98.8
98.8
98.8
99.0
99.1
99.8
98.2
97.9
97.9
97.8
97.8
97.8
98.0
98.0
98.6
98.6
98.5
98.9
98.8
97.5
98.8
98.7
98.6
97.9
97.8
96.5
96.6
96.9
97.0
97.1
97.1
97.1
97.4
98.6
98.4
98.3
97.9
97.8
97.0
97.0
97.2
97.2
96.5
96.4
96.4
101.3
101.0
100.7
100.1
100.0
100.2
99.1
98.6
98.8
99.9
99.5
99.5
99.5
99.5
99.5
89.7
91.7
92.5
92.9
95.2
96.6
97.6
97.6
97.1
97.8
95.4
95.8
95.3
95.4
96.4
97.1
97.4
97.2
97.6
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.8
97.6
97.0
97.2
97.1
97.3
97.0
96.5
96.8
97.0
97.6
98.1
97.5
97.4
97.5
97.5
97.6
97.8
95.5
96.3
95.8
95.6
95.8
95.3
94.9
94.5
94.7
95.1
95.6
96.0
96.1
97.2
98.2
98.0
97.9
97.8
97.8
97.7
97.4
97.7
97.5
95.5
95.3
95.3
93.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
82.1
84.8
86.6
100.9
100.9
99.4
99.3
98.9
98.4
100.0
99.3
99.4
100.0
101.4
10 1.0
100.9
99.9
99.8
99.5
99.4
99.1
98.8
603
WHOLESALE IBICES IN THE TJNITED STATES
T a b l e 3.—INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES, BY GROUPS AND SUBGROUPS
OF COMMODITIES, 1913-1928—Continued
Miscellaneous
Year and month
Cattle
feed
Rubber, Automo
Paper
bile tires
and pulp crude
Other
miscel
laneous
All
miscel
laneous
93.1
89.9
86.9
1913............. — ..........................
1914. ................................. .........
1915_ _____ _______ _____ ______
1916-............ ................. .............
1917_ ________________________
1918........................ ........... .........
1919_ _____ ____ ____ __________
1920_________________________
82.2
87.6
89.1
95.5
140.2
146.2
185.7
184.3
59.4
58.2
56.7
89.0
112.7
106.7
115.1
181.8
170.2
135.2
135.4
150.0
149.2
124.4
100.7
72.6
207.2
173.1
155.1
160.4
198.0
129.2
209.2
232.5
64.4
64.5
64.3
68.5
78.6
107.6
120.5
150.2
1921_ _______ _________________
1922_________________________
1923-.........— ____ ___________
1924. ________________________
1925..................... ............ ...........
89.2
107.3
118.5
107.6
91.6
34.4
36.0
61.3
54.3
149.9
179.0
115.4
109.5
92.6
98.6
107.5
100.4
100.0
100.0
1926
Average for year.........................
January................................
February..............................
March..................................
April.....................................
M a y ....................................
June......................................
July.......................................
August................... ..............
September.........................
October................................
November...........................
December............................
1927
Average for year.........................
January................................
February............... ..............
March..................... .............
April......... ............... ...........
M a y ..________ __________
June.......................... ..........
July____ ______________ _
August....... .............. ..........
September............................
October...... .........................
November________________
December.............................
1928
Average for year...................... .
January........... ....................
February.............................
March................................ .
April.....................................
May.......................... ..........
June......................................
July.......................................
August..................................
September................ ...........
October. ..............................
November_______________
December.............. ..............
110 .2
112.7
100.0
1 1 1 .1
10 1.1
98.0
104.8
99.1
96.2
100.3
99.3
95.6
93.5
97.6
105.3
117.8
110 .0
115.8
110.9
113.2
117.7
117.8
115.4
125.4
117.7
116.7
122.4
128.9
138.1
133.1
139.1
154.4
153.3
160.4
148.8
132.4
111.5
1 2 1 .1
128.2
137.8
137.0
102.8
100.7
105.2
100.0
100.7
100.3
99.5
95.7
92.1
92.1
93.7
164.1
128.3
120.9
105.2
99.7
89.2
85.6
80.7
85.1
87.7
82.0
78.1
92.2
93.0
92.9
92.8
93.4
92.2
92.0
92.0
92.0
92.4
91.6
91.3
90.9
77.9
80.7
78.3
84.1
83.8
84.1
76.1
72.0
71.9
69.2
70.5
77.8
84.2
76.3
78.6
78.7
78.7
78.7
78.7
78.3
77.9
77.9
77.4
74.9
71.2
69.9
89.4
90.9
90.9
90.5
90.2
89.8
89.2
89.2
46.4
82.2
64.7
55.0
41.5
39.0
40.1
39.8
39.7
38.1
38.8
37.9
37.0
64.5
69.7
69.8
69.8
69.8
69.8
62.2
61.6
61.6
61.6
60.9
58.1
58.1
106.5
109.4
105.8
102.6
10 1.6
88.8
88.8
89.0
88.8
88.6
123.3
110.8
108.8
108.3
108.3
108.3
97.2
92.8
91.4
91.4
83.6
78.6
100.6
1 2 2 .1
134.4
139.1
167.5
All com
modities
69.8
68.1
69.5
85.5
117.5
131.3
138.6
154.4
99.6
109.2
92.8
99.7
93.6
109.0
98.1
103.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
102.0
100.8
99.9
99.5
99.7
99.9
99.8
100.8
100.4
100.3
100.0
99.8
99.6
99.7
99.9
99.6
100.3
100.0
100.2
100.3
100.6
100.0
100.0
100.2
99.9
99.1
98.6
98.6
98.8
99.2
98.3
98.4
98.8
98.4
98.4
98.1
98.0
98.5
98.5
99.7
116.8
109.0
106.3
103.9
102.5
97.6
96.7
100.6
103.6
10 2.1
100.4
100.1
97.5
95.4
94.2
93.4
90.8
89.9
100.5
100.5
99.5
99.0
99.7
99.4
98.4
97.9
89.9
90.3
90.6
90.9
91.3
91.3
90.2
89.3
89.9
89.2
88.3
88.3
89.0
95.4
96.6
95.9
94.5
93.7
93.7
93.8
94.1
95.2
96.5
97.0
96.7
96.8
83.0
89.0
87.3
97.7
96.3
96.4
96.0
97.4
98.6
97.6
98.3
98.9
10 1.0
86.8
84.9
85.1
82.2
80.8
79.3
79.7
80.3
80.0
80.1
10 0 .1
97.8
96.7
96.7
604
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
Wholesale Prices of Farm Products and Nonagricultural
Commodities
I n T able 3 the price trend of farm products since 1913 is contrasted
with the trend of all other commodities combined into one group and
designated as “ nonagricultural.”
T a b l e 3 .— INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS, NONAGRI
CULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND ALL COMMODITIES, 1913-1928
[1926=100.0]
Year and month
Farm
prod
ucts
Nonagricultural
All
com
modi
ties
Farm
prod
ucts
1913
Average for year....................
January..................................
February.........................
March........................... April------------------------- May--------------- -------June__________________
July------ ---------------------August..............- ...........
September.......................
October..-------- ----------November........................
December.......................-
71.5
69.6
69.4
69.7
69.5
69.1
69.8
71.6
72.3
74.5
74.6
75.0
73.4
69.0
70.4
69.8
69.9
69.6
68.7
68.6
68.7
68.6
69.1
68.7
68.2
67.4
84.4
76.9
77.0
76.9
77.9
78.5
78.2
80.4
86.1
89.5
93.9
100.3
99.0
85.3
76.6
78.5
81.1
82.4
83.3
83.9
83.9
84.4
85.7
89.7
95.9
98.7
69.8
70.3
69.8
69.9
69.7
68.9
69.0
69.5
69.7
70.6
70.4
70.1
69.1
71.2
73.0
72.5
72.1
71.5
71.4
71.6
71.4
72.5
71.2
68.3
69.8
69.0
157.6
154.0
148.5
152.4
158.4
162.0
156.9
164.5
131.6
127.3
123.0
123.8
124.0
125.9
127.9
132.7
163.4
153.2
137.2
136.4
137.1
138.8
144.7
152.8
159.5
165.5
Farm
prod
ucts
66.8
66.9
66.7
66.4
66.0
65.8
65.8
65.7
68.4
69.5
67.5
66.4
66.4
85.5
77.0
78.5
80.4
81.7
82.5
82.9
83.4
85.1
86.9
91.1
97.4
99.2
129.0
103.9
107.7
113.3
125.1
133.4
134.0
134.9
137.1
135.9
139.5
142.7
141.0
113.1
101.0
102.9
105.3
109.9
115.8
117.4
118.4
120.1
118.7
115.9
115.6
116.3
68.1
68.6
68.3
68.0
67.6
67.4
67.4
67.3
69.6
70.2
68.0
67.5
67.3
71.5
71.6
72.8
71.3
72.0
72.3
70.3
71.7
71.0
69.2
71.8
71.5
73.1
150.7
170.2
163.3
164.5
168.7
169.8
167.4
160.4
144.3
141.1
141.6
144.5
150.5
149.9
143.9
127.8
118.7
104.6
154.8
152.7
154.2
155.8
163.5
165.4
165.2
166.6
164.1
157.9
148.6
137.3
125.2
All
com
modi
ties
68.5
66.6
66.9
66.8
67.3
67.6
67.3
68.2
67.5
67.6
69.3
71.3
73.9
69.5
68.1
68.6
68.2
68.7
69.0
68.3
69.3
68.6
68.3
70.2
71.7
74.0
1918
117.5
102.1
104.5
107.7
114.1
120.7
122.0
123.0
124.8
123.5
122.2
122.8
122.9
148.0
146.7
147.2
147.5
145.0
140.2
140.2
146.6
153.0
157.0
151.4
150.3
151.1
1920
138.6
134.4
129.8
131.3
133.0
135.3
135.6
141.1
Nonagricultural
1915
1917
1919
Average for year................... .
January......... .................
February.........................
March—....... ___..............
April............ ...................
M a y ...............................
June.................- ..............
July..________________
August........................
September........................
October.-.......................
November.......................
December........................
All
com
modi
ties
1914
1916
Average for year.....................
January------ ---------------February______________
March_____ __________
April--------- -----------------May---------------------------June— ------ -----------------July---------------------------August________________
September.......... .............
October........ ....................
November........................
December........................
Nonagricultural
125.1
117.2
114.0
118.7
122.2
123.4
124.6
126.5
127.5
130.4
130.7
131.0
130.7
131.3
125.0
122.7
126.4
128.3
128.1
129.0
132.0
134.3
137.5
136.3
136.3
136.3
1921
154.4
157.7
157.1
158.6
165.5
167.2
166.5
165.8
161.4
155.2
144.2
133.4
120.7
88.4
101.6
92.7
89.9
82.8
83.1
80.6
86.5
100.1
117.4
108.3
105.8
103.4
99.9
96.9
95.2
88.9
97.6
114.0
104.9
102.4
98.9
96.2
93.4
93.4
94.6
94.3
95.3
96.0
94.2
93.5
93.4
94.1
94.2
92.9
89.7
89.7
87.6
87.9
605
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
T able 3 .— IN D E X NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS, NONAGRI-
CULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND ALL COMMODITIES, 1913-1928—Continued
Year and month
Farm
prod-
Nonagricultural
All
com
modi
ties
Farm
prod
ucts
1922
Average for year.
January____
February__
March_____
April............
May_______
June.............
July............ .
August....... .
September...
October.......
November...
December...
93.8
88.0
95.1
93.4
92.6
94.3
92.8
95.6
91.2
92.4
94.2
97.8
99.2
97.3
92.1
92.0
92.5
93.2
96.5
97.1
100.3
100.6
101.0
101.0
101.0
100.9
All
com
modi
ties
Farm
prod
ucts
1923
96.7
91.4
92.9
92.8
93.2
96.1
96.3
99.4
98.6
99.3
99.6
100.5
100.7
98.6
99.6
100.0
100.2
98.5
96.7
96.0
94.0
95.8
100.0
100.6
101.8
101.0
1925
Average for year.
January-----February__
March..........
April............
May---------June.............
July............ .
August____
September...
October.......
November...
December...
Nonagricultural
100.9
102.4
103.9
105.4
105.1
103.1
101.2
99.4
98.1
99.4
98.9
97.2
97.1
100.6 100.0
102.0 101.4
103.3
104.5
103.9
101.9
100.3
98.4
97.8
99.7
99.4
98.4
98.1
98.8
95.7
97.3
95.1
94.3
98.6
102.0
100.4
103.2
103.6
108.3
107.0
108.1
105.4
103.5
102.9
104.0
104.2
101.9
102.4
103.2
103.6
104.5
103.4
102.6
97.9
94.7
94.9
99.8
99.4
98.7
97.1
98.9
99.8
99.0
97.1
96.0
94.8
94.5
95.5
95.9
96.6
97.5
99.5
98.1
99.6
99.7
98.5
97.3
95.9
94.9
95.6
97.0
97.1
98.2
99.1
101.5
1927
1926
101.4
99.7
101.4
101.7
All
com
modi
ties
1924
100.0 100.0 100.0 99.4
107.4
102.6 103.6 96.5
102.1 95.4
101.3
105.1
112.8
101.7
100.1 100.4 94.2
99.4
1
0
0
.1
1
0
2
.8
1
00.1 94.3
107.6
99.9
107.3
101.6 102.4 100.0 100.5 96.3
109.3
101.0 103.0 100.9 100.4 100.5 96.5
112.1 101.9 104.3 98.6 99.8 99.5 97.6
111.6 101.4 103.9 97.2 99.5 99.0 102.2
110.0 101.4 103.4 99.3 99.8 99.7 105.9
109.8
113.8
112.4
Nonagricultural
99.4
98.4
97.9
105.0
104.3
104.4
Month
Average for year_________________ ________________________________________
January_________________ ____________________________________________
February____________________ ________________________________________
March_________ ____ ___ __
________ ____________________________
April_________________________________________________________________
May________________________________________________ ________________
June_________________________________________________ _______________
July... ______ ________________ _______ ____ ______________________ ____
August_______________________________________________________________
______ _
__ __ ____________________________________
September _
October _____________________________________________________________
November____________________________________________________________
December___ ___ ______________ _____________________________________
94.4
96.6
96.1
94.6
93.6
93.2
93.1
93.2
93.3
94.0
94.8
94.6
94.8
95.4
96.6
95.9
94.5
93.7
93.7
93.8
94.1
95.2
96.5
97.0
96.7
96.8
1928
105.9
106.1
104.5
103.5
107.6
109.8
106.7
107.1
107.0
108.8
103.5
10 1.6
103.6
95.5
93.7
94.2
94.0
94.7
95.6
95.2
95.9
96.7
97.8
96.4
95.4
94.8
97.7
96.3
96.4
96.0
97.4
98.6
97.6
98.3
98.9
10 0 .1
97.8
96.7
96.7
Wholesale Prices of Raw Materials, Semimanufactured Articles,
and Finished Products
A c o m p a r is o n of price trends of raw materials, semimanufactured
articles, and finished products is afforded by the figures in Table 4,
The commodities included under the three designations are as follows:
Raw materials.— Barley, corn (2 quotations), oats, rye, wheat (6 quotations),
calves, cows (2 quotations), steers (2 quotations), hogs (2 quotations), sheep
606
PRICES— WHOLESALE
and
r e t a il
(3 quotations), poultry (2 quotations), beans, cotton (3 quotations), eggs (7
quotations), apples (3 quotations), lemons, oranges, hay (3 quotations), hops,
fluid milk (3 quotations), peanuts, alfalfa seed, clover seed, flaxseed, timothy
seed, tobacco, onions, potatoes (4 quotations), sweet potatoes, wool (9 quota
tions), cocoa beans, coffee (2 quotations), copra, bananas, pepper, hides and
skins (7 quotations), raw silk (4 quotations), hemp, jute, sisal, anthracite coal
(3 quotations), bituminous coal (3 quotations), crude petroleum (3 quotations),
scrap steel, iron ore (2 quotations), crushed* stone, gravel, sand, crude sulphur,
phosphate rock, nitrate of soda, tankage, rubber (2 quotations). Total, 108
commodities.
Semimanufactured articles.— Oleo oil, raw sugar, vegetable oil (4 quotations),
leather (7 quotations), print cloth (2 quotations), cotton yarns (5 quotations),
rayon (4 quotations), spun silk (3 quotations), worsted yarns (3 quotations), pig
iron (6 quotations), bar iron (2 quotations), skelp, steel billets (2 quotations),
merchant steel bars, aluminum, antimony, electrolytic copper, pig lead, nickel,
quicksilver, silver, pig tin, slab zinc, barytes, copal gum, linseed oil, rosin, tur
pentine, vegetable oils (2 quotations), opium, camphor, wood pulp (2 quotations).
Total, 62 commodities.
Finished products.— Butter (18 quotations), cheese (3 quotations), milk (2
quotations), fresh beef (2 quotations), cured beef, fresh lamb, fresh mutton,
cured pork (5 quotations), fresh pork, poultry (2 quotations), fresh veal, bread
(5 quotations), fish (5 quotations), flour (11 quotations), canned fruit (2 quota
tions), dried fruit (4 quotations), glucose, hominy grits, lard, meal (2 quotations),
molasses, oatmeal, oleomargarine, rice (2 quotations), salt (2 quotations), granu
lated sugar, tallow, tea, canned vegetables (4 quotations), vegetable oil (2 quota
tions), vinegar, soda crackers, shoes (21 quotations), gloves (2 quotations),
harness, suitcases, traveling bags, cotton blankets, denims, drills (2 quotations),
duck (2 quotations), flannel (2 quotations), gingham (2 quotations), hosiery (2
quotations), muslin (4 quotations), percale, sheeting (5 quotations), thread,
ticking, cotton underwear (2 quotations), silk hosiery (3 quotations), wool
blankets, flannel, overcoating (2 quotations), serge suiting (5 quotations),
trousering, wool underwear (2 quotations), dress goods (6 quotations), binder
twine, burlap, linen shoe thread, rope, coke (4 quotations), manufactured gas,
fuel oil (2 quotations), motor gasoline (4 quotations), natural gasoline, kerosene
(2 quotations), reinforcing bars, nails, cast-iron pipe, steel plates, steel rails,
steel sheets, structural steel, terneplate, tin plate, wire (4 quotations), black
steel pipe, brass sheets, sheet copper, copper wire, lead pipe, zinc sheets, agri
cultural implements (20 quotations), automobiles (6 quotations), sewing ma
chines (2 quotations), cooking stoves (3 quotations), lumber (12 quotations),
lath (2 quotations), shingles (2 quotations), brick (4 quotations), cement, bone
black, lampblack, litharge, putty, red lead, shellac, lithopone, white lead, zinc
oxide, asphalt, plate glass (2 quotations), window glass (2 quotations), hollow
tile, lime (2 quotations), slate, acid (8 quotations), alcohol (2 quotations),
aluminum sulphate, anhydrous ammonia, bleaching powder, borax, copper
sulphite, formaldehyde, sal soda, soda ash, soda bicarbonate, caustic soda,
sodium silicate, inedible tallow, calcium arsenate, benzine, toluol, naphthalene
flake, anilin oil, white arsenic, ’salicylic acid, cresote oil, copperas, coal-tar
colors (4 quotations), caustic potash, calcium chloride, lime acetate, salt cake,
citric acid, tartaric acid, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, glycerin, peroxide of
hydrogen, quinine, castor oil, menthol, soda phosphate, zinc chloride, phenol,
ethyl alcohol, manure salts, muriate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, ground
bones, acid phosphate, sulphate of potash, kainit, mixed fertilizers (6 quota
tions), furniture (14 quotations), carpets (3 quotations), cutlery (2 quotations),
pails, tableware sets (2 quotations), glass nappies, glass pitchers, glass tumblers,
plates, teacups and saucers, tubs, cattle feed (4 quotations), box board (3 quota
tions), paper (2 quotations), automobile tires (3 quotations), cylinder oil (2 quo
tations), neutral oil (2 quotations), soap (2 quotations), starch, tobacco (2 quo
tations), Total. 380 commodities,
607
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
T able 4 ,— INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES OF RAW MATERIALS, SEMI
MANUFACTURED ARTICLES, AND FINISHED PRODUCTS, 1913-1928
[1926*100.0]
SemiAll
Fin
Raw manufac- ished com
mate tured
modi
prod
rials arti ucts
ties
cles
Year and month
1913
Average for year. _
January..........
February-----March............
April...............
May................
June................
July................
August...........
September______
October...........
November___
December____
69.1
71.0
71.2
71.6
70.0
1914
Average for year____
January..........
February____
March............
April...............
May................
June..............
July..........;......
August...........
September___
October...........
November___
December.......
67.6
69.5
69.1
68.9
68.4
67.7
67.6
67.3
67.8
67.4
64.6
65.4
65.8
68.8
68.7
67.8
67.4
67.1
66.5
66.9
68.1
1915
Average for year.
January.........
February___
March______
April.............
May..............
June..............
July..............
August..........
September. . .
October.........
November...
December___
1917
Average for year.
January_____
February___
March...........
April.............
May..............
June..............
July...............
August..........
September...
October.........
November...
December... _
68.6
69.8
70.3
69.8
69.9
69.7
68.9
69.0
69.5
69.7
70.6
70.4
70.1
69.1
67.8
67.4
67.2
67.0
66.7
68.1
68.6
68.0
68.3
68.0
67.6
67.4
67.4
67.3
69.6
70.2
67.8
68.6
67.5
67.3
81.2
69.0
73.5
75.3
76.8
80.4
83.5
84.7
82.3
81.7
83.0
88.5
94.6
68.9
67.6
67.9
67.7
68.1
68.6
68.2
82.6
75.5
75.4
75.9
76.3
76.6
76.3
77.6
81.5
84.1
90.0
118.3
98.7
104.7
114.0
118.3
122.3
118.3
114.9
112.5
115.8
125.1
132.4
142.2
82.3
74.5
76.3
78.2
79.6
80.2
81.6
82.2
83.1
84.3
122.6
107.1
110.6
150.4
138.1
141.4
148.5
153.4
154.1
160.9
164.3
162.9
155.1
143.0
141.8
141.2
68.0
66.7
67.0
66.8
65.4
66.4
66.3
65.5
67.7
68.1
70.9
101.2
102.1
113.0
118.8
128.5
128.6
126.7
128.3
124.1
126.2
130.3
129.2
70.0
70.1
70.5
69.4
69.8
69.7
70.3
70.3
69.4
69.5
69.7
69.2
69.5
68.9
68.3
66.8
66.8
67.2
67.9
1916
Average for year.
January.........
February___
March______
April.............
May________
June________
July...............
August..........
September...
October.........
November. _.
December... _
74.9
79.0
77.7
77.0
76.0
749
73.5
73.1
73.9
75.2
74.5
73.9
70.4
68.4
68.5
68.4
67.8
75.7
77.1
70.3
66.7
68.4
66.9
69.5
70.6
69.3
68.0
Year and month
SemiFin
All
Raw manufac- ished com
mate tured
prod
modi
rials arti- ucts
ties
clies
1918
Average for year------January...............
February...........
March..................
April....................
May.....................
June.....................
July.....................
August................
September______
October...............
November...........
December............
135.8
133.2
133.3
133.9
133.7
131.5
131.5
136.0
139.8
142.7
139.0
138.8
139.9
153.8
141.7
142.9
144.8
149.3
151.9
153.6
156.8
158.6
164.1
165.8
162.7
156.2
123.4
125.5
126.9
130.0
130.0
130.4
130.7
131.3
125.0
122.7
126.4
128.3
128.1
129.0
132.0
134.3
137.5
136.3
136.3
136.3
1919
Average for year____
January...............
February. ..........
March.................
April.................. .
May...... .............
June...................
July.....................
August................
September______
October.............. .
November...........
December............
145.9
140.2
136.1
138.4
143.1
147.1
145.2
152.2
152.5
145.5
146.4
150.2
154.6
157.9
145.8
139.4
136.0
135.7
140.9
151.1
162.8
171.0
170.7
172.1
177.8
192.9
130.6
128.5
123.8
125.5
125.4
126.2
126.6
130.3
134.7
133.8
133.8
135.8
141.6
138.6
134.4
129.8
131.3
133.0
135.3
135.6
141.1
144.3
141.1
141.6
144.5
150.5
151.8
159.8
155.1
155.7
161.8
163.4
166.0
166.1
160.6
154.4
140.6
127.4
111.4
198.2
212.4
211.7
216.3
241.9
253.0
238.6
149.8
148.5
150.5
152.3
157.2
157.8
156.7
157.7
156.5
152.1
144.3
136.2
126.5
154.4
157.7
157.1
158.6
165.5
167.2
166.5
165.8
161.4
155.2
144.2
133.4
120.7
103.3
119.2
111.7
107.4
103.1
100.7
99.4
98.7
97.9
97.8
97.5
95.2
97.6
114.0
104.9
102.4
98.9
96.2
93.4
93.4
93.5
93.4
94.1
94.2
92.9
96.5
92.4
92.6
93.6
94.3
96.2
97.5
97.9
96.7
98.0
99.4
99.7
99.6
96.7
91.4
92.9
92.8
93.2
96.1
96.3
99.4
98.6
99.3
99.6
100.5
100.7
68.5
67.6
68.7
69.0
68.3
69.3
67.8
67.8
69.5
71.2
72.8
68.3
70.2
71.7
74.0
1920
Average for year____
January...............
February. ..........
March..............
April....................
May.....................
June.... ................
July.....................
August................
September______
October................
November...........
December—.........
85.5
77.0
78.5
80.4
81.7
82.5
82.9
83.4
85.1
86.9
91.1
97.4
99.2
1921
Average for year____ 88.3
January............... 105.4
February. .......... 93.5
March.. .............. 89.6
April.................... 85.0
May..................... 84.6
June..................... 81.2
July..................... 83.6
August—. ........... 85.1
September........... 85.8
October................ 87.9
November........... 88.9
89.3
December______
109.2 117.5
93.5 10 2.1
94.9 104.5
98.2 107.7
105.1 114.1
110.5 120.7
111.7 122.0
114.3 123.0
116.7 124.8
118.3 123.5
116.3 12 2 .2
114.8 122.8
115.8 122.9
1922
Average for year____ 96.0
January............... 89.3
February_______ 93.3
March.................. 91.7
April.................... 91.6
May..................... 95.9
June..................... 93.5
J u ly .................. 10 1.2
August................ 100.4
September........... 99.8
October............... 97.8
November........... 99.2
December............ 99.9
68.2
68.6
86.6
89.7
90.9
69.5
68.6
2 2 1 .1
197.0
177.1
155.8
136.1
117.8
96.1
1 1 1 .6
104.6
100.9
96.5
96.5
93.3
91.4
90.6
92.7
93.6
91.9
90.3
98.9
90.5
89.8
89.5
90.5
93.7
97.5
99.9
10 2.2
103.7
108.1
110 .2
110.7
124.7
117.0
112.7
118.4
121.5
122.0
1 1 0 .1
608
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
T able 4 .—INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES OF RAW MATERIALS, SEMI
MANUFACTURED ARTICLES, AND FINISHED PRODUCTS, 1913-1928-Continued
Year and month
SemiAll
Fin
Raw manufac- ished com
mate tured
prod
modi
rials arti ucts
ties
cles
1923
Average for year.
January.......
February—
March.........
April............
May............
June............
July.............
August_____
September-.
October.......
November-..
December-
98.5
102.3
103.2
102.8
100.7
98.1
96.5
94.5
95.2
98.0
97.7
97.0
99.2 100.6
111.6 100.1 102.0
117.3 101.1 103.3
118.6
125.8
128.3
125.2
120.6
116.3
112.2
116.0
117.0
116.5
117.3
102.4
102.4
101.0
99.7
98.2
97.2
98.3
97.8
96.5
96.2
104.5
103.9
101.9
100.3
98.4
97.8
99.7
99.4
98.4
98.1
1924
Average for year.
January.......
February—
March.........
April...........
May............
June.—.......
July.............
August........
September. _
October.......
November...
December__
97.6
97.9
98.2
96.5
96.3
94.4
93.3
95.9
97.9
97.1
99.3
100.1
103.2
108.7
115.1
115.6
114.3
102.4
105.5
106.0
107.3
108.9
109.7
97.3
95.9
95.2
94.5
94.1
95.0
95.5
95.9
96.8
99.0
105.3
100.6
110.6
106.3
102.8
1925
Average for year.
January.......
February—
March.........
April______
May............
June.............
July.............
August_____
September. .
October....... .
November.-,
December-
106.7
106.9
107.8
108.0
103.9
104.1
106.3
109.0
108.0
107.3
106.3
107.4
105.7
96.3
110.1
109.3
108.0
104.5
102.5
102.6
102.9
104.4
105.0
104.5
105.3
104.3
99.1
100.4
100.9
99.8
99.6
100.5
101.1
100.8
100.3
101.3
102.1
101.5
98.1
99.6
99.7
98.5
97.3
95.9
94.9
95.6
97.0
97.1
9a2
99.1
101.5
103.5
102.9
104.0
104.2
101.9
101.6
103.0
104.3
103.9
103.4
103.6
104.5
103.4
Year and month
Average for yearJanuary.........
February___
March...........
April.............
May..............
June..............
July...............
August_____
September__
October.........
November-—
December___
1927
Average for year_
January.........
February___
March...........
April.............
May..............
June..............
July...............
August_____
September__
October.........
November-_December___
1928
Average for yearJanuary.........
February___
March...........
April_______
May..............
June..............
July...............
August_____
September.-_
October.........
November. _December___
SemiAll
Fin
Raw manufac- ished commate tured
prod modirials arti- ucts
ties
clies
100.0
105.9
103.7
100.9
100.0
104.0
103.1
10 1.0
98.5
97.8
99.3
99.5
98.2
96.9
99.4
98.3
98.5
98.7
99.6
100.4
99.1
98.9
98.9
96.5
97.3
96.0
94.0
92.7
93.9
94.1
94.7
97.5
99.9
99.5
99.0
99.2
99.1
100.6
100.6
100.0
100.2
99.1
97.9
100.1
101.4
99.3
99.5
99.2
100.5
97.4
96.2
97.4
100.0
10 2.1
10 1.0
10 0 .1
99.9
100.7
100.0
103.6
10 2 .1
100.4
10 0 .1
99.6
99.9
99.3
98.4
98.4
100.5
100.5
99.5
99.0
99.7
99.4
98.4
97.9
96.9
97.8
96.6
96.6
95.9
96.0
95.6
95.7
97.3
98.6
97.6
97.0
97.7
94.5
95.9
95.8
94.6
94.1
93.6
93.4
93.5
93.4
94.0
95.5
95.3
95.3
95.4
96.6
95.9
94.5
93.7
93.7
93.8
94.1
95.2
96.5
97.0
96.7
96.8
97.4
97.7
97.1
97.8
97.9
98.6
97.8
97.8
97.3
96.9
96.9
96.9
97.2
97.0
93.9
94.8
94.8
95.9
97.1
96.7
97.8
99.1
100.5
98.5
97.2
96.4
97.7
96.3
96.4
96.0
97.4
98.6
97.6
98.3
98.9
10 1 .1
100.2
10 0 .1
97.8
96.7
96.7
Method of Computing Index Numbers
I n c o n s t r u c t i n g the revised index numbers of wholesale prices
the year 1926 was selected as the base period. This choice was made
because of the fact that 1926 was the last completed year when the
work of revising its series of wholesale price index numbers was
undertaken by the bureau in the summer of 1927, and it therefore
furnished the most dependable standard for measuring price changes.
Moreover, taken as a whole, market conditions in 1926 were regarded
as fairly close to normal for the postwar period.
For individual commodities mdex numbers were obtained in all
cases by dividing the monthly or yearly average prices by the average
price in 1926 and multiplying the result by 100. For groups of com
modities index numbers were calculated as follows: The average
price in 1926 of each article in the group was first multiplied by the
average of the estimated quantities of that article marketed in the
years 1923 and 1925, these years being the latest for which complete
census information was available. For farm products the average
609
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
of 1923, 1924, and 1925 was used, since dependable information for
all three years was obtainable. The products of prices times quantities
marketed were then added to give the approximate value in exchange
in 1926 of all articles in the group. Similar weighted aggregates
of prices were made for all other years and for all months of
the period in the manner described above. These group aggregates
were then converted into index numbers by dividing the aggregate
for each year or month by the aggregate for 1926 and multiplying
the result by 100. The index numbers for any group are thus seen
to be percentages of the 1926 aggregate for that group.
If, during the period of 16 years covered by these index numbers,
there had been no changes in the list of commodities, or their relative
importance, the percentage changes in the cost of the different com
modity groups would be accurately measured by dividing the aggre
gates for all years and months by the corresponding aggregates for
1926. However, articles have been added or dropped from time to
time as circumstances demanded, while substitution of one article for
another at a different price has been necessary in numerous instances.
Also, many commodities have greatly increased or decreased in impor
tance within the period. Therefore a method had to be adopted that
would allow for variations in the number and importance of com
modities. This method consists in computing two separate aggregates
for any year or month in which a change occurs, the first aggregate
being made strictly comparable with the aggregate for the preceding
year or month and the second aggregate strictly comparable with the
succeeding year or month. In this way comparison between any
two consecutive years or months is limited to aggregates made up
of identical articles and weighting factors.
The following statement relative to grains in the group of farm
products will serve to illustrate the method employed, two sets of
weighting factors having been used for the year 1923.
T a b l e 5.—ESTIMATED VALUES OF GRAINS MARKETED, AND RESULTING IN D E X
NUMBERS, 1922, 1923, AND 1924
Approximate value (000 omitted)
Commodity
1922
(weight:
average
quantity
sold in
1921-1923)
1923
(weight:
quantity
soid in
1921-1923)
1923
(weight:
average
quantity
sold in
1923-1925)
1924
(weight:
average
quantity
sold in
1923-1925)
Barley, feeding, Chicago......................................
Com:
Contract grades, Chicago..............................
No. 3, mixed, Chicago...................................
Oats, No. 2 , white, Chicago................................
Rye, No. 2 , Chicago.............................................
wheat:
No. 2, red, Chicago........ ..............................
No. 2, hard, Kansas City...... .......................
No. 1, northern, spring, Minneapolis-.........
No. 2, dark northern, spring, Minneapolis...
No. 2, hard white, Portland..........................
No. 2 , red, St. Louis. ...................................
$40,219
$41,889
$46,506
$57,610
141,822
209,693
117,425
41,696
187,000
277,154
130,277
35,527
174,898
259,215
164,785
29,462
206.908
305,857
193,019
35,890
160,652
233,591
53,106
187,541
100,395
122,218
151,891
214,101
46,616
165,568
89,447
117,923
141,798
182,804
55,962
168,184
76,074
111,052
155,054
202,536
61,080
189,892
83,222
121,689
Total............................................................
1,408,358
1,457,393
1,410,740
1,612,757
Ratio 1922 to 1923 and 1923 to 1924...........................
Index numbers, 1926 equals 100................................
100.00
85.0
103.48
88.0
100.00
88.0
114.32
100.6
610
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
In the foregoing illustration the index number for 1924, with 1926
as the base period, was found by direct comparison of similar weighted
price aggregates to be 100.6. The ratio of the aggregate for 1923 with
1923-1925 weights ($1,410,740,000) to the aggregate for 1924 with
1923-1925 weights ($1,612,757,000) is 100 to 114.32. Therefore the
index number for 1923 on 1924 as the base period is 100 divided by
114.32, or 87.5. Multiplying 87.5 by 100.6 (the index number for
1924 on 1926 as the base period) gives 88.0 as the index number
for 1923 on the 1926 base.
Turning next to the years 1922 and 1923 in comparison, with
1921-1923 weights, we find the ratio is 100 to 103.48. Therefore the
index number for 1922 on 1923 as the base period is 100 divided by
103.48, or 96.6. Multiplying 96.6 by 88.0 (established as the index
number for 1923 on 1926 as the base period) gives 85.0 as the index
number for 1922 on the 1926 base. Index numbers for all other years
of the period have been computed in like manner as the above example.
The weighting factors used in computing the present series of
index numbers back to 1913 are as follows: For the year 1913 the
mean of 1909 and 1914 data; for 1914 to 1919, inclusive, the mean of
1914 and 1919 data; for 1919 to 1921, inclusive, the mean of 1919
and 1921 data; for 1921 to 1923, inclusive, the mean of 1921 and
1923 data; and for 1923 to 1928, inclusive, the mean of 1923 and 1925
data. In certain cases, where census or other reliable data were
lacking, estimates based on the best information available have been
resorted to. While the figures used must in many cases be regarded
as mere approximations, they are believed sufficient to insure to each
commodity its proper influence during the period covered. Cases of
change in the list of commodities have been handled in the same man
ner as changes in weighting factors.
To ascertain the quantities of the various commodities marketed
during the years covered by the index numbers, every available source
of information, official and private, was drawn upon. In the case of
articles consumed to a large extent by the producer, as corn, oats,
hay, etc., only the portion actually marketed, as near as could be
determined, was taken. A similar plan was followed with regard to
semimanufactured articles, such as cotton and worsted yarns, pig
iron, and steel billets, which often are carried into further processes
of manufacture in establishments where produced. The quantity
of the article sold was ascertained as nearly as posibble and used to
weight the prices. A statement showing the weights used for the
years 1923 to 1928, also the relative importance of the various com
modities in the base year 1926, will be found in Bulletin No. 473
(pp. 239-262).
In some instances the prices shown in the bulletins on^wholesale
prices are composites made by averaging several quotations. Ex
amples of such composites are leather harness, suit cases and traveling
bags, anthracite and bituminous coal, manufactured gas, plows,
automobiles, sewing machines, cookstoves, brick, Portland cement,
prepared fertilizers, furniture, and automobile tires. In such cases
simple averages of the prices obtained from different sources were
made. Except for automobiles no attempt to weight the different
elements entering into any composite price was made, since in most
cases it would be a physical impossibility to ascertain the quantity of
the article sold at the reported price. In a few instances, where the
611
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
reported prices were regarded as truly representative, the composite
price was made from only three quotations, but in no case from less
than three. To preserve the continuity of the information, care was
taken that the quotations for any month be obtained from the same
sources and on articles of the same description as the month before.
These composite prices are believed to furnish a more accurate
barometer of price changes than would prices based on a single source
of information.
In the selection of commodities for inclusion in the bureau’s reports
on wholesale prices it has been the aim to choose only important and
representative articles in each group. To this end, in addition to
utilizing all available information from official sources, careful inquiry
has been made in the principal market centers to determine which
articles within the general class or group enter to the largest extent
into exchange from year to year. In the case of butter and several
other articles the quotations have been enlarged in recent years by
the addition of lower priced grades that were found to constitute
a considerable part of the volume of sales. In the case of commodities
classed as chemicals or drugs, where a range of prices was found, the
lower quotations were selected because these quotations are believed
to represent the prices of larger lots, while the higher quotations
represent the prices of smaller lots. The sources from which the 550
price quotations used in the weighted index for the past two years
have been drawn are as follows:
T a b l e 6 .—SOURCES OF PRICE QUOTATIONS, 1927 AND 1928
Source
Standard trade jour
nals______________
Manufacturers
or
sales agents_______
Boards of trade, asso
ciations, etc_______
Federal or State
bureaus__________
Total.......... —
Hides
and Tex Fuel Metals Build Chem HousefurFarm
ing
icals
tile and and
prod Foods leath
mate and nisher prod light metal
ing
ucts
prod
prod ucts ing ucts rials drugs goods
ucts
52
91
14
12
16
36
35
71
4
14
26
57
7
36
19
6
7
11
4
5
67
i 121
38
All com
modities
Miscellane- With With
ous dupli out
ca dupli
ca
tions tions
13
340
314
12
219
205
27
23
3
6
1
40
75
23
73
257
377
<38
25
10
8
596
550
* Includes 22 commodities classified also with farm products.
2 Includes 10 commodities classified also with metals and metal products.
* Includes 4 commodities classified also with foods.
* Includes 5 commodities classified also with textile products and 5 commodities classified also with
metals and metal products.
So far as possible the quotations for the various commodities have
been secured in their primary markets. For example, the prices
quoted for livestock and most animal products, as well as for most
grains, are for Chicago; cotton prices are for Galveston and New
Orleans; wool prices are for Boston; flour prices are mainly for Kansas
City and Minneapolis; iron and steel prices are for Pittsburgh, etc.
The prices are, in all instances where this information could be
obtained, based on first-hand transactions. Thus the cattle and
39142°— 29------- 40
612
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
other livestock prices used are those paid by slaughterhouses to the
commission man acting for the producer. Grain prices are those
ruling on the floor of the exchange for grain shipped in by country
elevators. Cotton and wool prices are for sales made to manufac
turers. Cotton and woolen goods prices are in most instances those
quoted by manufacturers to wholesalers, jobbers, and manufacturers
of wearing apparel. Butter and egg prices are for consignments to the
wholesale trade. Fluid milk prices are those to producers for milk
delivered on city platform. Flour prices are those made by millers
to large wholesale dealers, jobbers, and bakers. Leather prices are
those from tanners to manufacturers. Pig iron prices are those to
foundry operators and large steel makers. Steel prices are those to
jobbers or large manufacturing consumers.
For commodities of great importance more than one price series
has been included in the present bulletin. In no case, however, is
an article of a particular description represented by more than one
series of quotations for the same market. For most articles weekly
prices have been secured. In a large number of instances, particu
larly since the beginning of 1918, it has been possible to obtain
average monthly prices from daily quotations. For those commodi
ties whose prices are quite stable, such as certain textiles and building
materials, only first-of-the-month prices have been taken. For
commodities included in the weighted index numbers these details
are summarized for 1927 and 1928 as follows:
T a b l e 7 .— NUMBER OF COMMODITIES, OR SERIES OF QUOTATIONS, CLASSIFIED AS
TO FREQUENCY, 1927 AND 1928
Frequency
Hides
and Tex Fuel Metals
Chem
Farm
and Build
tile and metal
ing
icals
prod Foods leath
prod
er
mate
and
light
ucts
prod ucts ing prod
drugs
rials
ucts
ucts
Weekly____________
Biweekly___________
Monthly....................
Average for month.__
56
Total................
14
6
38
1
11
202
324
9
32
185
2 57
8 77
<38
25
596
550
2
6
6
10
4
52
1
37
67
1121
40
75
23
73
22
13
8
12
5
27
All com
modities
Miscellane- With With
out
ous dupli dupli
ca
ca
tions tions
71
23
8
4
19
34
105
1
House
fur
nish
ing
goods
351
9
34
1 Includes 22 commodities classified also with farm products.
* Includes 10 commodities classified also with metals and metal products.
* Includes 4 commodities classified also with foods.
* Includes 5 commodities classified also with textile products and 5 commodities classified also with
metals and metal products.
It is obvious that in order to arrive at a strictly scientific average
price for any period one must know the precise quantity marketed
and the price at which each unit of the quantity was sold. It is
manifestly impossible to obtain such detail, and even if it were possible
the labor cost involved in such a compilation would be prohibitive.
The method employed here, which is the one usually employed in
computing average prices, is believed to yield results quite satis
factory for all practical purposes.
613
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
Wholesale Prices in the United States and in Foreign
Countries, 1923-1928
THE following table the more important index numbers of
I Nwholesale
prices in foreign countries and those of the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics have been brought together in
order that the trend of prices in the several countries may be com
pared. The base periods here shown are those appearing in the
sources from which the information has been drawn, in most cases
being the year 1913. Only general comparisons can be made from
these figures, since, in addition to differences in the base periods,
there are important differences in the composition of the index
nunibers themselves.
INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CERTAIN
FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Country___
United
States
Bureau
Labor
Computing ofStatis
agency___
tics
(revised)
Czecho Den
Canada Belgium Bulgaria slovakia
mark
Finland France
Ger
many
Italy
Domin Minis Director Central
RicBureau Statis Central General Federal cardo
ion Bu try of
of Sta
tical Bureau Statisti Statisti Bachi
reau of Indus General
tistics Depart of Sta cal Bu cal Bu
Sta
Statis try and of
(re
tistics
reau
reau
tistics (revised ment
Labor
tics
vised)
index)
Base period.
1926
1913
April,
1914
1913
July,
1914
1913
1913
1913
1913
1913
Commodi
ties______
550
1238
128
38
69
118
135
45
400
100
100.6
153.0
155.2
160.3
156.2
151.6
149.7
497
573
558
744
847
843
2525
2823
977
997
1008
954
979
977
103.9
98.4
99.4
151.4
156.9
153.5
153.1
434
480
504
515
2657
2757
2408
2263
1012
949
960
387
415
407
421
516.1
525.7
503.9
499.6
99.6
97.3
95.9
98.2
156.9
151.1
153.9
157.0
580
555
566
555
2711
2798
2737
2988
974
1008
953
999
494
450
481
497
504.4
510.3
497.4
522.0
102.9
104.0
104.2
101.9
165.5
164.7
161.6
156.5
158.8
158.6
158.1
158.9
156.2
156.0
161.2
163.5
559
551
546
538
537
552
559
567
577
575
569
565
3275
3309
3272
3244
3177
3225
3041
2870
2834
2823
2822
2913
1045
1048
1034
514
515
514
513
520
543
557
557
556
572
605
633
568.2
571.1
571.2
570.1
571.2
590.9
612.0
630.6
621.5
617.1
612.3
613.8
Year and
month
1923..............
1924..............
1925.............
1926..............
1927..............
1928.............
1923
January____
April______
July_______
October____
1924
January____
April______
July_______
October____
1925
January___
February___
March_____
April______
May_______
i * — -----June_______
July_______
August____
September..
October___
Noember___
December__
98.1
103.5
100.0
95.4
97.7
102.0
10 1.6
103.0
104.3
103.9
103.4
103.6
104.5
103.4
163
153
153
991
1020
1006
998
1009
993
996
989
977
977
1 236 commodities since April, 1924.
210
243
240
236
230
227
223
212
197
186
179
176
176
144
147
142
145
145
419
488
550
703
617
621
2July.
137.3
141.8
134.4
137.6
140.0
>503.9
2 497.4
2 612.0
2 618.2
2 466.7
* 453.1
614
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CERTAIN
FOREIGN COUNTRIES—Continued
Country----- United
States
Bureau
Labor
Computing ofStatis
agency___
tics
(revised)
Czecho Den
Canada Belgium Bulgaria slovakia
mark
Finland France
Ger
many
Italy
Domin Minis Director Central
RioBureau Statis Central General Federal cardo
ion Bu try of
of Sta
tical Bureau Statisti Statisti Bachi
reau of Indus General
of
Sta
cal
Bu
tistics
of
Sta
cal
Bu
Depart
Statis try and tistics (revised
(re
reau
reau
ment
tistics
tics
Labor
vised)
index)
Base period.
1926
1913
Commodi
ties...........
550
238
April,
1914
1913
July,
1914
1913
1913
1913
1913
1913
128
38
C9
118
135
45
400
100
608.0
603.5
592.3
590.0
595.8
604.9
618.2
632.5
622.0
596.7
594.2
573.6
Year and
month
1926
January.......
February___
March.........
April............
May—.........
June............
July.........
August____
September..
October
November __
December__
1927
January___
February___
March.........
April______
May............
June.............
July........ .
August........
September. _
October.......
November. _
December__
1928
January___
February__
March.........
April............
M ay...........
June............
July.............
August........
September..
October.......
November..
December__
103.6
100.5
100.5
99.5
99.0
99.7
99.4
98.4
97.9
163.8
162.0
160.0
160.2
156.8
155.6
155.9
154.0
152.5
151.3
151.4
151.5
560
556
583
621
692
761
876
836
859
856
865
860
2901
2899
2844
2774
2938
2842
2838
2759
2723
2716
2739
2718
966
950
938
923
928
926
948
963
973
972
978
978
172
165
158
157
158
157
158
162
162
178
170
158
143
142
141
141
140
141
141
143
143
143
143
144
634
636
632
650
738
836
769
787
751
684
627
135.8
134.3
133.1
132.7
132.3
131.9
133.1
134.0
134.9
136.2
137.1
137.1
96.6
95.9
94.5
93.7
93.7
93.8
94.1
95.2
96.5
97.0
96.7
96.8
150.9
150.3
149.1
148.9
152.1
153.5
152.4
152.7
151.3
152.6
152.2
151.8
856
854
858
846
848
851
845
850
837
839
838
841
2706
2688
2649
2592
2751
2823
2775
2745
2736
2747
2707
2739
979
975
976
979
988
990
992
983
975
966
967
975
157
156
153
152
152
152
152
153
153
154
154
154
144
144
143
143
142
144
144
147
148
148
149
148
622
632
641
636
628
622
621
618
600
587
594
604
135.9
135.6
135.0
134.8
137.1
137.9
137.6
137.9
139.7
139.8
140.1
139.6
558.2
555.8
544.7
521.3
496.2
473.4
466.7
465.4
465.4
467.5
466.0
462.9
96.3
96.4
96.0
97.4
98.6
97.6
98.3
98.9
151.3
150.8
152.8
153.2
152.9
150.2
149.6
149.1
149.7
150.2
148.6
146.7
851
848
848
847
844
844
841
831
830
835
847
855
2782
2826
2839
2891
2906
2866
2911
2790
2805
2644
2875
2865
982
985
978
984
987
986
979
996
986
971
957
955
153
152
153
154
155
155
155
154
151
150
151
151
144
143
144
145
143
145
145
147
146
146
145
144
607
609
623
624
632
626
624
616
620
617
626
624
138.7
137.9
138.5
139.5
141.2
141.3
141.6
141.5
139.9
140.1
140.3
139.9
463.5
461.3
463.9
464.4
464.9
461.7
453.1
456.2
457.8
463.3
465.6
464.4
10 2.1
100.4
100.1
100.1
97.8
96.7
96.7
688
615
WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES
INDEX NUMBERS OP WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CERTAIN
FOREIGN COUNTRIES—Continued
Country___
Neth
er
lands
Computing
agency-----
Cen Cen
tral
tral
Bu
Bu
reau reau
of
of
Sta
Sta
tistics tistics
Nor
way
Spain Swe
den
Insti
tute
of
Geog
raphy
and
Sta
tistics
Swit United
zer
King
dom
land
Aus
tralia
New
Zea
land
South
Africa Japan China India
Bu
reau of
Cen Office
Mar
Bureau sus
Fed
kets,
of
and
Cham eral Board
of
Cen Bank
Treas
of
ber of Labor
Census Sta
of
sus
Com De Trade
and tistics and Japan, ury
De
Tokyo part
Sta Office Sta
merce part
(re
ment
tistics
ment,
vised) tistics
Shang
hai
Base period.
1913
1913
1913
1913
Commodi
ties...........
348
174
74
160
July,
1914
1913
July,
1914
92
78
1913
1913
1913
1913
180
187
56
<117
Labor
Office,
Bom
bay
July,
1914
42
Year and
month
1928
3
4
5
6
7
8
151
156
155
145
148
149
232
268
253
198
167
161
172
183
188
181
172
1923
January___
April_____
July..........
October___
157
156
145
148
223
229
231
235
170
174
170
171
1924
January___
April..........
July---------October___
156
154
151
161
251
263
265
273
178
184
1925
January___
February__
March.........
April............
May_______
June............
July—..........
August........
September. _
October.......
November. _
December__
160
158
155
151
151
153
155
155
155
154
154
155
279
281
279
273
262
260
254
249
237
223
1926
January.......
February...
March.........
April.......
May............
June.............
July.............
August........
September..
October.......
November..
December__
153
149
145
143
143
144
141
139
140
143
147
147
214
192
192
192
192
192
192
220
220
211
205
199
197
194
192
193
193
198
199
184
181
182
163
149
147
152.7
157.7
155.4
156.1
181
180
178
181
155.8
153.7
151.5
152.8
188
184
184
181
210
204
202
199
200
198
200
201
200
198
194
159.9
159.2
160.3
159.3
157.8
157.3
162.8
160.3
160.2
159.0
158.4
158.1
173
173
171
165
164
160
158
160
157
158
160
154
192
188
184
181
177
177
179
177
176
174
171
170
164.0
163.0
164.4
162.8
159.7
155.8
156.9
160.5
164.2
171.1
174.4
172.0
154
151
150
151
151
150
149
148
149
147
146
146
170
165
162
161
159
157
168
162
161
157.0
162.0
156.5
158.1
163
167
180
171
131
126
124
125
186
161
161
157
167
165.4
164.7
162.6
170.0
174
166
163
163
131
126
125
133
207
195
213
191
192
193
190
191
187
188
184
185
187
186
187
169
169
168
163
162
161
161
159
157
154
155
156
171.1
168.9
166.3
161.9
158.6
157.2
156.9
156.2
155.1
153.9
152.7
152.1
163
162
160
158
159
162
162
162
162
163
165
160
166
162
162
162
162
162
161
161
160
162
161
160
130
214
186
186
183
179
179
177
178
180
178
179
185
186
153
152
149
150
151
150
148
147
146
148
148
150
151.3
148.8
144.4
143.6
144.9
146.4
148.7
149.1
150.9
152.1
152.4
146.1
161
160
163
168
167
163
162
162
158
154
155
155
159
157
156
156
155
156
154
153
153
151
153
145
142
145
153
147
146
145
143
143
145
142
142
144
142
142
158
165
161
154
147
148
127
129
128
123
124
121
130
127
124
120
122
427
s $2 commodities in 1920; 53 commodities from August, 1920 to December, 1921.
156.4
153.9
159.4
164.1
170.4
160.7
158.9
166.2
159.1
148.1
141.4
140.3
163
162
161
149
146
148
199
179
170
171
184
196
192
212
211
*
147 items.
616
PRICES— WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
IN D E X NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN CERTAIN
FOREIGN COUNTRIES—Continued
Neth
er
lands
Swit United
King
zer
dom
land
New
Zea
land
Nor
way
Spain Swe
den
Cen
tral
Bu
Computing reau
agency........ of
Sta
tistics
Cen
tral
Bu
reau
of
Sta
tistics
Insti
tute
of
Geog
raphy
and
Sta
tistics
Base period. 1913
1913
1913
1913
July,
1914
1913
July,
1914
1913
1913
1913
1913
July,
1914
Commodi
ties.............
174
74
160
78
150
92
180
187
56
117
42
Country___
48
Aus
tralia
South
Africa Japan China India
Bu
reau of
Cen Office
Mar
Bureau sus
Fed
of
kets, Labor
Cham eral
of
and
Cen Bank
ber of Labor Board
of Treas
Census Sta
sus Japan,
ury Office,
of
Com De
and
tistics
De Bom
merce part Trade
Sta Office and
Tokyo
Sta
part bay
tistics
(re
ment
ment,
vised) tistics
Shang
hai
Year and
month
1927
January____
February. . ,
March_____
April............
May_______
June_______
July......... .
August____
September..
October.......
November..
December—
145
146
144
143
145
149
151
149
150
150
151
151
174
172
167
164
162
166
165
167
167
165
166
166
184
180
179
177
172
171
168
168
169
169
168
169
146
146
145
143
145
146
146
146
148
147
148
148
141
141
141
140
141
140
140
142
144
145
147
146
143.6
142.6
140.6
139.8
141.1
141.8
141.1
140.9
142.1
141.4
141.1
140.4
154
153
150
151
152
155
161
165
170
173
166
162
151
147
147
147
145
146
146
146
146
146
147
148
1928
January.......
February.. .
March_____
April............
May............
June_______
July.............
August____
September..
October.......
November..
December__
153
150
152
153
152
153
148
144
145
146
148
148
164
163
164
162
162
161
162
162
158
157
157
157
166
166
165
166
164
164
164
166
168
174
176
175
148
147
149
151
152
151
150
149
146
145
145
145
145
144
145
146
145
145
144
144
144
145
145
144
141.1
140.3
140.8
142.9
143.6
142.6
141.1
139.3
137.6
137.9
137.9
138.3
163
160
160
162
159
158
157
154
153
152
152
154
150
147
147
147
148
148
148
147
148
149
150
149
128
126
120
122
123
121
119
120
170
171
171
170
171
172
170
167
169
170
168
168
172.8
172.0
174.7
173.1
171.3
169.3
171.0
170.8
171.8
168.7
165.7
163.5
146
148
146
145
146
147
147
148
148
146
144
143
169
169
169
170
171
169
169
170
174
174
173
174
163.1
164.3
163 4
163.1
164.5
160.0
159.2
157.2
156.2
158.8
159.2
159.9
141
142
140
142
145
149
147
146
148
150
149
145
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
617
Significance of Labor Productivity
of labor is meant the output of a worker
B YinPRODUCTIVITY
a given time. It is best expressed in the form of output
per hour, but in the absence of an hourly record of time, may be
stated as output per day, per crew, per week, or even in larger time
units.
The subject has come into particular prominence during the past
few years, owing to the rapidity with which labor-saving machinery
and methods have been, and are being, introduced into almost all
forms of modern industry. The results have been striking, directly
in the great increase in output per worker and indirectly in the dis
placement of workers whose services have been rendered unnecessary.
In the former handbook (Bui. No. 439) summaries were presented
of various studies of labor productivity which had been made by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics prior to 1927. These studies fell into
two groups. The first group included statistical analyses of the
actual volume of physical output in the following industries: Coal
mining, common brick, cotton textile, paper box-board, and pottery.
The second group dealt with several industries for which index num
bers of labor productivity could be constructed for a series of years,
but for which complete data on employment and output were not
available; namely, iron and steel, boots and shoes, leather tanning,
slaughtering and meat packing, petroleum refining, paper and pulp,
cement manufacturing, automobiles, rubber tires, flour milling, and
cane sugar refining.
In the following pages are given summaries of such studies of labor
productivity as have been made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
since the compilation of the former handbook. Digests are also given
of certain other important studies recently made on the general sub
ject of industrial and labor productivity.
Increase in Labor Productivity, 1898 to 1927
of the increase in total productivity and in
C OMPUTATIONS
output per worker during the 30 years from 1898 to 1927 in the
principal branches of American industry are contained in the annual
report of the Secretary of Commerce for the fiscal year ended June 30,
1928. The following extracts from the report summarize the principal
findings of the study:
Since the final results of the census of 1927 have not yet been com
piled, calculation of the increase in efficiency of the factories down
to that year must rest upon the less complete but fairly representa
tive indexes of production of manufactured commodities issued by
the Department of Commerce and the less complete index of the
number employed in factories issued by the Department of Labor.
619
620
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
In the case of agriculture, moreover, it has been necessary to assume
a continuance of the decrease in the number of workers on farms
revealed by the agricultural census of 1925. While, therefore, the
accompanying table is somewhat less nearly precise than that pub
lished in the previous annual report it is entirely certain that between
1925 and 1927 there was a further increase in production per worker
in both manufacturing and agricultural industry. The table, which
even in years covered by census statistics necessarily involves a con
siderable resort to estimation, nevertheless shows within a reasonable
margin the true tendency of American industry since the beginning
of the century and since the close of the World War.
It will be seen that as compared with the annual average for the
period 1898 to 1900 the average for the two calendar years 1926
and 1927 shows an increase of approximately 55 per cent in the out
put of farm products, 280 per cent in the output of minerals (an
exceptionally large figure, owing particularly to the immense ex
pansion in petroleum production), about 180 per cent in factory out
put, and over 200 per cent in the volume of rail transportation.
These remarkable figures compare with an addition of about 55 per
cent of the population of the country. It is obvious that there is
produced for each person in the population a far greater volume
of goods and services than at the beginning of the century, which
means, of course, a great advance in living standards.
In the case of every one of these four major branches of industry
the increase in output since 1898 and 1900 has been far greater than
that in the number of workers. In agriculture, manufactures, and
railways the product of goods or services per worker engaged has
increased from 50 to 60 per cent. For mining the increase per
worker is much higher, the difference, however, being due to the
fact that the production of petroleum has multiplied several times,
and that, in the petroleum industry, output per worker, on account
of great investment of capital and the generosity of natural resources,
is much higher than in other mining industries.
INDEXES OF GAIN IN EFFICIENCY OF INDUSTRY
[Data for manufactures refer to 1899, 1919, and 1927. Other data are averages for the periods 1898-1900,
1918-1920, and 1926-27]
Number of workers
Industry
1898-1900
1926-27
Indexes on base 1898-1900=100
Value of
output,
1898-1900,
used
for
Number of Quantita
weighting
tive out Output per (millions
workers
of
worker
put
dollars)
Agriculture_________________ 10,700,000 10.500.000
______ ______________
Mining
600,000
1.050.000
Manufactures___ ___________ 5,300,000 19.880.000
Rail transportation..._______
975,000
1.865.000
98
176
186^
191H
155
379
279
308
23,295,000
»132.5
8 246
Total or average_______
17,575,000
<208*4
157
215
149H
161
3,500
600
1S5H
10,230
157
1 Estimated, including small plants formerly but not now covered by the returns; for this reason the
figure is larger than that shown below for the same period.
1 Actual change in number of workers.
8 Weighted by value.
* Weighted by workers.
621
INCREASE— 1898 TO 1927
INDEXES OF GAIN IN EFFICIENCY OF INDUSTRY—Continued
Number of workers
Industry
1918-1920
1926-27
indexes on base 1918-1920=100
Value of
output,
1918-1920,
used
for
Number of Quantita
per weighting
tive out Output
workers
worker
(millions
of
put
dollars)
93
Agriculture_________________ 11.300.000
Milling_____________________ 1,060,000
Manufactures_______________ 10.675.000
Bail transportation__________ 2,035,000
10,500,000
1.050.000
9.725.000
1.865.000
100
25,060,000
23,140,000
%92.3
Total or average_______
* Actual change in number of workers.
91
91H
3 Weighted by value.
118
138
130*3
102H
«124
<123
127
138
143
11 2
134H
133
15,700
3,175
24,750
4,725
48,350
<Weighted by workers.
In the table two averages for increase in output of these four major
branches of industry combined are presented. One is obtained by
giving to each industry a weight corresponding to the number of
persons employed in it. vThis shows an increase of 108 per cent in
actual output and of 57 per cent in average output per worker since
the beginning of the century. The other average is computed by
weighting the changes in production for the individual branches
according to the value of their product. The increase here is much
higher on account of the relative shift of workers from agriculture
to industries, in which, at least according to the published statistics,
the average value of output per worker is greater than on the farms.
There are, however, so many intricacies involved in a calculation of
the values produced in the different branches of industry that this
second average is in some respects less significant than that based on
a weighting according to the number of workers. To whatever
extent there actually exist differences in the value of output per
worker in the several branches of industry, a relative shift of workers
from a branch producing less to a branch producing more per man
is, of course, a gain to the community. Such differences among
branches of industry as respects the value of output per worker must
not be taken as reflecting variations in efficiency of the workers, but
are chiefly due to differences in the quantity of capital and mechanical
(or animal) power used to aid the workers.
It will be observed that the increase in the aggregate number of
workers in these four major branches of industry since the beginning
of the century, about 32% per cent, is decidedly less than the in
crease in total population, which has been about 55 per cent. Just
as there has been throughout American history a relative shift from
the oldest of all industries—agriculture—into mining, manufactures,
and rail transportation, so since 1900 there has been a shift, espe
cially during recent years, both from agriculture and from these
other three branches into the mercantile, professional, and personalservice pursuits. The numbers employed in these have Increased
much more rapidly than the total population.
The most conspicuous illustration of this shift in the work of the
people is the immense increase, particularly during the last decade, in
the number engaged in occupations connected with motor cars, apart
from those manufacturing the vehicles themselves. It is probable
that in the neighborhood of 3,000,000 of persons are to-day engaged
622
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
in selling automobiles and supplies for them, repairing them, build
ing roads, driving trucks, taxicabs, and busses, and in other related
fields.
Another reason why the increase since 1900 in the number em
ployed on farms and railways and in mines and factories is less than
that in population is found in the great addition to the number of
young persons in the high schools, colleges, and universities. Many,
if not most of these, were formerly at work. The movement reflects
advancing standards of living and a better citizenship and is at the
same time one of the causes of the greater efficiency of the working
population. In the short period from 1920 to 1926 the number of
students in institutions of intermediate (not including elementary)
and higher education rose from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 or by 60 per
cent.
An analysis of the statistics of production by decades brings out
certain noteworthy changes as regards output per worker in agricul
ture, mining, manufactures, and railways. During the first decade
of the century, and doubtless down to the outbreak of the war, there
was an increase in this respect in each of the four branches. On the
other hand, during the war great numbers of workers and great
quantities of capital were shifted to new jobs, and there was a
general dislocation of industry, especially of manufacturing industry.
Consequently, a temporary recession occurred in the efficiency of
production, particularly in the factories. With the return of peace
conditions, the normal progress was resumed and apparently at a
more rapid pace than ever before, although part of the extremely
large increase in production per worker since 1918 to 1920 is attribu
table to the relatively low war-time efficiency of industry.
The table shows the comparative figures for these postwar years.
Between 1918-1920 and 1926-27 (calendar years), as against an
addition of about 12 per cent to the population, the farms increased
their production approximately 18 per cent, the mines about 38 per
cent, and the factories over 30 per cent; since the volume of rail
transportation had been especially expanded by war conditions the
railways show only a relatively small increase in amount of service.
In agriculture, manufactures, and on the railways (perhaps also in
the mines, for which only very rough estimates are available) there
has been a considerable decrease in the number of workers employed
during recent years. Consequently, the advance in output per worker
has been decidedly greater than the absolute increase in production.
Combining the figures for the four branches (in this case it makes
little difference whether the indexes for the separate branches are
weighted according to number of workers or according to value of
output) there has been since 1918-1920 an increase of nearly onefourth in the quantity of goods and services produced and of one-third
in the average output per worker. The latter ratio of one-third
reflects more closely the advance in living standards resulting from
increased efficiency of industry than does the former, for it may be
assumed that the workers who have gone from the farms, the factories,
and the railways into other occupations are there producing services
of at least approximately the same value as are produced by those
who have remained in the other branches of industry.
The increase in production per worker which has taken place since
the beginning of the century is the more noteworthy in view of the
OUTPUT PER EMPLOYEE— 1919 TO 1925
6 23
reduction in working hours. There has been no great change in
prevailing working time, at least in manufacturing industries, since
the close of the war, but before that time hours had been materially
shortened. JSetween 1909 and 1923 the average working time per
week in factories was reduced by 11 per cent, and it is probable that
the reduction as compared with the beginning of the century was
at least 15 per cent. In other words, production per man has
increased materially more per hour than per day or per year, and the
increased amount of leisure has been one of the important factors
in advancing the welfare of the people.
Output per Employee in Manufacturing Industries,
1919 to 1925
PON completion of the 1925 Census of Manufactures the United
States Department of Commerce compiled a table showing, by
census years from 1899 to 1925 and by principal industries, index
numbers of the total number of persons engaged in manufacturing
industries and of the physical volume of production. This table, with
accompanying statement by the Department of Commerce, is repro
duced below, the only change being the addition of the line show
ing “ production per person engaged” in each industry group, these
figures having been computed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from
the basic data given in the original statement. In comparing these
figures, with somewhat similar ones published in studies by the Bureau
oi Labor Statistics, it is to be noted that these figures relate to all
6‘persons employed” and not merely to wage earners, and thus in
clude office and supervisory employees.1
U
Increased Output of Manufactures Per Worker
A ccording to a study of figures from the censuses of manu
factures, the quantity or physical volume of manufactures
produced per person engaged in manufacturing increased nearly
50 per cent from 1899 to 1925, reflecting a growth of nearly 180 per
cent in quantity of production and of less than 90 per cent in total
number of persons engaged.
Expansion in output per person has been particularly large during
recent years, amounting to 10 per cent in the two years froml923 to
1925 and to 40 per cent in the six years from 1919 to 1925. From 1899
to 1909 there was an increase of 10 per cent in production per person,
but from 1909 to 1919 the output per person decreased. Com
parisons with 1914 and 1921 are affected by the industrial depressions
which prevailed in those years, as in times of depression curtailment
in production generally exceeds reduction in employment, and there
fore output per person is small. Because of the postwar readjust
ments under way in 1919 the efficiency of industry in that year,
likewise, was lowered, with a consequent reduction in output per
i Previous studies by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of productivity of labor in particular industries
(see Labor Reviews July, 1926 (pp. 1-19), September, 1926 (pp. 7-18), October, 1926 (pp. 10-21), November,
1926 (pp. 30-40), and January, 1927 (pp. 35-49)) show results similar to although not identical with those
presented in the Department of Commerce report. The differences are in large part accounted for by
differences in industry classifications and by the fact that the bureau’s studies have been concerned with
output per man-hour, whereas the Department of Commerce report deals merely with “ persons engaged.”
irrespective of hours worked.
624
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
person. For this and other reasons the increase noted since 1919 is
abnormal.
Growth in output per person may be attributed to two sets of
factors: The first relates to changes within individual industries and
plants, and the second to shifts among industries composing the
industrial structure as a whole. The first set of changes includes the
increasing utilization of machinery and power, the introduction of
various sorts of labor-saving devices and methods, the growth of
mass production of standardized articles, the elimination of waste,
the planning of production in relation to general business conditions,
and other economies resulting from improvements in methods and
management. The rapid increase in the rated horsepower of in
stalled prime movers shown by the accompanying table is an evidence
of the growing utilization of machinery and power.
For industry as a whole and for large groups of industries, however,
a part of the increase in output per person is due to the shifting of
production from industries dependent in a large degree upon labor
to industries more susceptible of mechanization and of mass produc
tion. This is evidenced by the rise of such industries as the manu
facture of motor vehicles and the producing and refining of petroleum
as well as by the substitution of new products for old, as in the case
of cement for lumber, brick, and stone; by-product coke for beehive
coke; cigarettes for cigars; and baker’s bread and factory-canned goods
for the products of the housewife.
The accompanying table gives index numbers, by census years
from 1899 through 1925, of quantity of manufactures produced,
number of persons engaged in manufacturing, and rated horsepower
of installed prime movers. The physical-volume index is made up
of those products for which quantity figures are reported by the
census of manufactures and was compiled for use in a census mono
graph, The Growth of Manufactures, prepared by Prof. Edmund E.
Day, of the University of Michigan, and Mr. Woodlief Thomas, of
the Federal Reserve Board.
625
OUTPUT PER EMPLOYEE— 1919 TO 1925
IN D E X NUMBERS SHOWING
GROWTH OF MANUFACTURES, BY INDUSTRIAL
GROUPS, 1899 TO 1925
[The data for “ All industries” given in this table for number of persons engaged and primary horsepower
are based upon complete census totals, but those for the individual groups are derived from figures cov
ering only those industries directly represented in the index; i. e., those industries for which statistics
are available showing the physical volume of output of their principal products. Such industries com
prise about 50 per cent of all industries, as measured by number of persons engaged, primary horsepower,
or value added by manufacture, but among the several groups this proportion varies from about 20 per
cent for paper and printing to practically 100 per cent for tobacco products. Although the index is prob
ably a reliable measure of changes in output for manufactures as a whole and for a number of individual
groups, yet for a few groups, owing to limitations of data, the index is not typical of the entire groups
represented. For this reason the three sets of data have been made to cover the same industries in each
group, and are to that extent comparable]
[1919*100.01
Index numbers
Per
cent of
in-
Industry group
All industries:
Physical volume of production__
Number of persons engaged.........
Primary horsepower.....................
Production per person engaged. _
Food and kindred products:
Physical volume of production...
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower.....................
Production per person engagedTextiles and their products:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower______ _____ _
Production per person engaged...
Iron and steel and their products:
Physical volume of production.
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engagedLumber:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower................... .
Production per person engaged-..
Leather and its remanufactures:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......... ............
Production per person engaged...
Paper and printing and related in
dustries:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engaged-..
Chemicals and allied products:
Physical volume of production__
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower....................
Production per person engagedStone, clay, and glass products:
Physical volume of production__
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engaged.
Metals and metal products other than
iron and steel:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engaged.
Tobacco manufactures:
Physical volume of production....
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engaged...
Vehicles for land transportation:
Physical volume of production__
Number of persons engaged..........
Primary horsepower......................
Production per person engaged1 Decrease,
1925
1923
128.6
91.4
121.8
140.7
96.2
112.8
126.9
116.4
81.3
115.8
143.2
122.1
111.6
83.5
107.6
133.7
1921
1919
1914
1909
1904
1899
79.3
77.3
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
78.1
76.4
76.0
102.2
73.5
71.0
63.3
103.5
56.4
57.5
45.7
98.1
46.2
48.9
34.2
94.5
172.4
86.9
256.1
49.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
80.8
71.1
81.5
113.6
74.8
62.7
70.4
119.3
65.1
53.8
60.7
121.0
53.0
49.2
49.1
107.7
119.6
65.2
135.8
33.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
96.8
89.3
83.7
108.4
91.9
85.2
70.0
107.9
71.9
71.7
53.9
100.3
60.7
63.9
43.6
95.0
96.5
63.5
190.4
20.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
71.1
71.1
104.3
75.3
58.3
59.1
129.2
51.8
46.3
43.0
111.9
43.2
38.9
28.0
111.1
204.4
145.8
307.5
102.6
93.5
76.1
122.9
119.3
104.5
126.6
114.2
122.9
110.6
101.9
131.5
95.6
114.1
137.6
131.2
56.6
65.5
113.6
94.1
86.9
120.7
110.1
98.9
81.9
111.3
93.4
90.6
106.9
105.6
99.8
105.9
111.1
116.7
102.1
110.3
128.5
96.8
95.0
79.9
73.9
108.1
85.2
81.8
137.1
106.5
117.7
128.7
140.6
91.8
147.1
153.2
125.1
95.7
134.8
130.7
179.1
115.1
151.5
155.6
155.6
115.7
124.7
134.5
132.4
81.2
114.0
163.1
125.7
91.2
117.5
137.8
124.4
79.9
97.0
155.7
109.8
91.2
100.3
120.4
238.3
108.3
182.5
220.0
199.5
114.8
148.9
173.8
100.0
100.0
100.0
103.1 105.8
152.8
108.8
131.1
140.4
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
93.4
92.4
101.1
94.5
77.6
121.8
84.1
110.9
66.5
53.6
124.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
95.3
93.4
100.0
100.0
102.0
100.0
100.0
76.8
65.2
100.0
117,8
100.0
100.0
100.0
68.2
18991925
110.6
99.5
92.9
111.2
137.3
113.9
98.2
120.6
104.0
83.0
63.2
125.3
106.4
87.4
58.3
121.7
6.8
7.7
49.1
87.4
85.7
80.5
87.7
84.7
69.1
81.5
70.1
51.2
69.8
65.4
40.8
33.8
38.5
162.0
102.0
103.5 116.3 106.7 13.4
87.5
76.5
87.6
114.4
65.2
70.5
107.1
51.9
56.1
59.1
92.5
36.6
42.4
41.2
86.3
317.5
156.6
218.2
62.8
70.7
70.3
72.6
100.6
58.8
60.5
49.6
97.2
42.9
49.5
35.0
86.7
30.2
42.3
21.9
71.4
365.6
117.0
571.7
114.6
113.5
110.4
98.4
102.8
104.3
95.4
74.9
109.3
78.9
81.8
44.6
96.5
67.3
68.4
28.0
98.4
166.1
68.3
441.1
58.1
64.9
66.4
53.8
97.7
60.6
61.2
44.1
99.0
44.5
51.6
28.3
31.4
43.3
19.8
72.5
321.7
87.5
475.8
125.0
76.4
116.3
80.5
65.7
66.6
46.3
108.9
65.7
61.2
57.8
103.4
56.7
55.9
168.7
17.7
88.7
191.0
36.0
54.9
51.2
65.6
17.8
42.5
35.6
41.9
9.3
29.9
19.5
31.1
86.2
86.6
51.4
53.5
1.8
5.0 4,666.0
25.4
326.4
13.4 1,261.9
19.7 1,016.8
626
INDEX
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
NUMBERS
SHOWING GROWTH OF MANUFACTURES, BY
GROUPS, 1899 TO 1925—Continued
INDUSTRIAL
Index numbers
Industry group
1925
Ship and boat building:
Physical volume of production___
7.0
Number of persons engaged..........
13.5
Primary horsepower............ ......... 54.8
Production per person engaged--. 51.9
Rubber:
Physical volume of production___ 158.8
Number of persons engaged.......... 79.7
Primary horsepower...................... 152.8
Production per person engaged__ 199.3
1923
1921
7.9
65.4
57.4
30.7 100.0
27.8 •100.0
1919
100.0
1 2 .1 'IlO.T 100.0
130.8
80.5
140.9
162.5
80.0
62.7
127.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1914
1909
7.3
7.2
10.9
15.9
11 .8
20.8
61.9
66.1
32.3
41.5
46.4
77.8
2 1.0
Per
cent of
in
crease
18991925
1904
1899
10.0
9.0 i 2 2 .2
18.4
11.9
389.3
75.6 131.3
13.2
14.1
75.8
1 1 .2
25.2 ~2L9~ ~"I8.~7 ‘ ’ m 2
28.5
20.2
16.6
820.5
83.3
* Decrease.
Growth in Use of Power Equipment in the United
States, 1849 to 1923
HE substitution of mechanical for hand power is, of course, the
main factor responsible for the very great increase in the pro
ductivity of American industry. A study published by the United
States Geological Survey attempts to measure, as precisely as existing
statistics permit, the development of power equipment over a period
of years in each of the major fields of industrial activity.1
Inasmuch as it was impracticable to make a census of the machines
themselves, it was felt that a study of horsepower equipment would
furnish an index to the installation of machinery, as “ the amount of
mechanization of industry as a whole or of any one industry over a
period of time may be judged by the horsepower capacity of the
engines installed to drive the machinery in relation to the number
of employees.” It is pointed out that although improvements in
the technique of production or in transmission mechanism may
increase the amount of machinery which can be operated by the
same amount of horsepower, “ it is believed that this difference is
not large enough to impair the use of total horsepower as an index
of the relative amounts of machinery in use over a period of years.”
Every effort was made to include in the survey all the horsepower
equipment in the country. However, it is stated that there were
some activities for which no data were available but on which esti
mates could be based, as, for instance, building and construction,
hotels, office buildings, and public buildings. On the other hand,
some of the statistics obtained were for items of little or no importance
in production and consequently were omitted from the tabulations.
The aggregate equipment was figured only on engines properly
designated as prime movers, a prime mover being defined as “ an
engine that utilizes the potential energy from some natural source
(such as coal, wood, petroleum, or water) and converts it into the
energy of motion.” Electric motors are not classified as prime
movers because they do not utilize the original source of energy. It
is also emphasized that the statistics “ show horsepower equipment,
T
i United States. Department of the Interior. Geological Survey. Water-Supply Paper 579: Power
Capacity and Production in the United States. Washington, 1928.
627
GROWTH IN USE OF POWER EQUIPMENT
not horsepower produced—that is, they show capacity, not use.”
In arriving at the results presented, the author apportioned the
equipment among the different types of prime movers—steam
engines, internal-combustion engines, water wheels, windmills, and
work animals not on farms, and the amounts were then added to
form totals for the country as a whole.
It is important to note also that over a period of years the capacity factor for
a certain field or for a certain industry may change— that is, the installed equip
ment may be used to a greater or less extent. It is entirely possible for capacity
to increase and for actual use to decrease at the same time. This is an element
worthy of consideration when an index of power equipment is compared with
an index of volume of production. If the former outstrips the latter, the reason
may be partly that the use factor has decreased over the period. In almost all
manufacturing industries some of the equipment included in the census is used
only during times of exceptional business activity. For example, there are
many blast furnaces of antiquated type in the country, which were used only
during the recent war. Similarly, there are many cotton spindles and flourmilling machines which have been idle for some time; but the engines which
drive them have been included in the census. Mere horsepower capacity in
itself, then, falls short of presenting a complete picture of the actual conditions
in any field and at any one time.
Table 1 shows the horsepower of prime movers installed per inhabi
tant and per wage earner, inclusive and exclusive of pleasure auto
mobiles, at 10-year periods, 1849 to 1919, and for 1923. Table 2
shows the equipment utilized per wage earner, in different activity
groups, for the same years. It will be seen that during the past 25
years, namely from 1899 to 1923, the horsepower equipment utilized
per wage earner increased from 1.40 to 3.76 in manufactures, from 3.36
to 6.52 in mines and quarries, and from 2.32 to 4.74 in agriculture.
T a b l e 1 .— HORSEPOWER OF PRIME MOVERS INSTALLED PER INHABITANT AND
PER WAGE EARNER, 1849 TO 1923
Horsepower
Year
1849................
1859................
1869................
1879................
1889................
1899................
1909................
1919................
1923................
Per in
habitant
0.43
.50
.50
.58
.76
.85
1.31
3.75
6 .2 1
Per inhab
itant, ex
Per wage clusive of
earner
pleasure
automo
biles
1.44
1.50
1.53
1.66
2.05
2 .2 1
3.16
9.52
15.70
39142°— 29-------11
Index numbers (1899=100)
0.43
.50
.50
.58
.76
.85
1.23
1.67
2 .10
Per wage
earner, ex
clusive of
Per in
pleasure habitant
automo
biles
1.44
1.50
1.53
51
59
59
1.66
68
2.05
2 .2 1
2.96
4.25
5.31
89
100
154
441
731
Per inhab
itant, ex
Per wage clusive of
pleasure
earner
automo
biles
65
68
69
75
93
100
143
431
710
51
59
59
Per wage
earner, ex
clusive of
pleasure
automo
biles
65
68
68
89
69
75
93
100
100
145
196
247
134
192
240
628
T a b le
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
3.—HORSEPOWER OF PRIME MOVERS UTILIZED i PER WAGE EARNER IN
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES AND GROUPS, 1849 TO 1923
Horsepower
Year
1849.
1859.
1869.
1879.
1889.
1899.
1909.
1919.
1923
Manu
fac
tures
0.92
1.07
1.14
1.25
1.40
1.90
2.82
3.26
3.76
Mines
and
quar
ries
0.61
.95
2.11
2.61
3.36
4.63
4.77
6.17
6.52
Agri
cul
ture
Elec
tric
cen
tral
sta
tions
1.32
1.72
1.63
1.80
2.32
2.29
2.52
4.10
4.74
Elec
tric
rail
roads
Steam
rail
roads
2.4
7.8
10.2
24.0
48.0
95.0
127.5
157.0
14.0
1.97
8.18
14.87
21.40
22.25
21.8
22.5
30.2
37.8
40.3
“ Man Mate
Ships ufac “rials”
3
tures” 2
7.0
11.2
12.1
12.5
18.8
24.3
25.8
38.1
51.3
0.92
1.07
1.14
1.25
1.40
2.02
3.13
3.32
3.85
1.31
1.70
1.65
1.82
2.39
2.44
2.70
4.37
5.05
46
53
56
62
69
54
70
100
100
111
“ Man
“Heavy ufac
trans tures”
and
porta
tion” 4 “ mate
rials”
4.1
8.8
10.6
13.8
19.9
21.0
27.9
35.8
37.4
1.23
1.58
1.52
1.68
2.08
2.30
2.85
3.90
4.51
Index numbers (1899=100)
1849_______
1859.............
1869.............
1879.............
1889.......... .
1899.............
1909............
1919-...........
1923-...........
48
56
60
66
74
100
148
172
198
13
21
46
56
73
100
103
133
141
58
75
71
79
101
100
110
179
207
11
50
100
198
266
327
24
100
182
262
272
35
45
62
97
100
134
168
179
29
46
50
51
77
100
106
157
211
155
164
190
68
75
98
179
207
20
53
69
66
73
90
42
50
95
100
133
• 170
178
66
100
124
170
196
1 Horsepower purchased or rented is counted in the field of activity using it and also where it is installed;
therefore there is some duplication in figures in this table.
2 Based on 50 commodities, and including prime movers installed in manufactures and electric central
stations minus the estimated prime movers of central stations utilized in mines and quarries, agriculture,
and electric railroads.
3 Includes prime movers utilized in mines and quarries, agriculture, and irrigation and drainage.
4 Includes prim e m overs u tilized in electric railroads, steam railroads, and ships.
As regards the use factor of horsepower equipment in different
fields, the lowest (about 4 per cent) was that of agriculture. The
figure for manufactures, the author states, has been estimated by
one authority as about 13.7 per cent. In mines and quarries it has
been variously estimated from about 14.3 per cent for all mines to 24
per cent for anthracite mines and 12 per cent for all other mines and
quarries. In 1922 the use factor of electric central stations was
found to be 30.9 per cent and that of electric railroads 24 per cent.
The use factor of steam railroad equipment has been estimated as
6.8 per cent. Ships arc engaged in productive work about 50 per
cent of the time, although many types of vessels it is said have a use
factor as high as 70 per cent and others as low as 30 per cent. The
use factor of automobiles has been estimated as about 3 per cent.
Productivity of Labor in Merchant Blast Furnaces,
1912-1926
HE productivity of labor in the merchant blast-furnace industry
was more than twice as great in 1926 as in the pre-war period
1912-1914, according to an investigation made by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics.1 A summary of the plants covered by
T
*For complete study see Bulletin 474.
629
MERCHANT BLAST FURNACES
this investigation shows that the average output of pig iron per manhour of labor in the period 1912 to 1914 was 0.141 gross ton, while
for the year 1926 the output was 0.296 gross ton. Or to state it
another way, it required slightly more than 7 hours of labor time to
produce a gross ton of pig iron in the pre-war period as against 3 hours
and 23 minutes in 1926.
# Further details regarding the changes in labor productivity are
given in Table 1, which presents annual averages for the years 1912
to 1926 in so far as the material was available.
T a b le
1.—AVERAGE LABOR PRODUCTIVITY IN ALL MERCHANT BLAST-FURNACE
PLANTS COVERED, BY SELECTED PERIODS AND YEARS, 1912 TO 1926
Year
Average productivity
Average
number
of
Total
Total
number number full-time
stacks
Output per Man-hours
of plants of stacks active
gross ton
dur man-hour per
pig iron
ing year (gross ton) of
produced
1926_
1925.
19241923_
19221921.
L______ ______________ _______ _____ ____
1920_
i
1919.
1918}
19171
1914V
19131912-
49
43
49
60
40
36
57
50
78
67
76
88
66
68
90
79
56
37
50.3
43.1
42.2
i 60.3
27.1
1 15.4
2 63.1
145.7
0.296
.285
.244
.213
.232
.178
.157
.144
3.379
3.511
4.095
4.693
4.302
5.614
6.367
6.948
86
3 70.8
.143
7.013
60
» 44.6
.141
7.087
1 Not including 1 plant for which days operated were not reported.
2 Not including 3 plants for which days operated were not reported.
* Not including 2 plants for which days operated were not reported.
As indicated by the table, the increase in productivity has taken
place almost entirely since the war. The great expansion in pig-iron
production, which began in 1915 and continued almost without inter
ruption until the summer of 1920, was accompanied by a compara
tively small increase in output per man-hour of labor. The summary
averages indicate that the output per man-hour in the merchantfumace industry remained fairly constant from 1912 until after the
war. In 1920 the output was 0.157 gross ton per man-hour, which
means that it required 6 hours and 22 minutes of labor time to produce
a ton of pig iron, only a slight increase in productivity as compared
with the pre-war period. Beginning with 1921 the productivity
averages turn sharply upward and continue in that direction in every
succeeding year except one—that is, the increase in productivity
during the period covered by this study has been due almost entirely
to the rapid improvement in the industry during the last six years.
One of the most important causes of the great improvement in out
put per man-hour has been the abandonment of many of the ineffi
cient low-productivity plants. In 1921 the average output per manhour in merchant blast furnaces was very much higher than in the
previous year because the depression forced out many of the weaker
plants, leaving mostly high-productivity plants in operation. During
the prosperity of 1923 many low-productivity plants came back into
the industry, but the keener competition of the steel works blast
furnaces since then has driven a great number of them out of business.
630
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
Less than three-fourths of the merchant plants operating in 1923
remained active until 1926, and the high-productivity average of the
later year is due in no small degree to the closing down of inefficient
plants.
Prosperity and depression, however, exert a second influence on
productivity which directly counteracts the effect of the one men
tioned above. It is usual to find that the productivity of a single
plant is highest in years of full and complete operation and lowest
in times of depression. For general purposes the labor required to
operate a blast furnace can be divided into two parts—the direct
producing labor which is essential to the operation of the stack itself
and the indirect auxiliary labor required for repairs, transportation,
power, etc. The man-hours of the first type of labor will ordinarily
vary directly with the number of stacks and the length of time
operated; but the indirect labor is not so flexible in amount, being
quite out of proportion when only one stack of a 2-stack plant is
operating or when one stack operates only a short time during the
year. Applying this to the industry as a whole, it is evident that the
decline in productivity brought about by the influx of low-productivity plants in prosperous years is partly counteracted by the output
per man-hour which will be attained by those plants which have been
operating at full capacity all along.
Another important factor causing the increase in productivity
has been the improvement of blast furnaces and the technical im
provements in operation, both of which are reflected in greater daily
production per furnace. Prior to the war the average daily output
of a merchant blast furnace was about 260 gross tons, while in 1926
the average was 369 tons, about 40 per cent higher. This does not
mean, of course, that the general run of stacks had their capacity
enlarged to this extent; the increased average for the industry* has
been due in part to the abandonment of many small stacks and the
construction of a few large ones. An increase in the daily output
of a blast furnace does not require a proportionate increase in labor
per ton; therefore, one method of improving productivity in a plant
is to enlarge the furnace or to operate it more efficiently. In fact,
a considerable part of the increase in productivity from 1911 to
1927 was due to the high output per stack-day of the average blast
furnace.
Substitution of Machinery for Hand Labor
Productivity has also been influenced by the substitution of
machinery for hand labor. The most important labor-saving
devices have been (a) mechanical charging and (&) machine casting,
which have eliminated large numbers of hand laborers engaged in
charging materials into the stack and in handling the pig iron after
it has been cast. Of the 37 plants furnishing data for the pre-war
years 1911-1914, 15 were both hand filled and sand cast, while only
8 were mechanically filled and machine cast. But in 1926, of 49
plants furnishing data, only 3 were both hand filled and sand cast,
while 34 were both mechanically filled and machine cast.
Another development in recent years, which has had an important
effect on the number of men required to operate a blast furnace, is
the substitution of the 8-hour day for the 12-hour day. Although
three crews were required where two had been used before, the labor
BLAST FURNACES— 1850 TO 1926
631
force was so reorganized in a majority of plants that very few more
men were employed, while the total man-hours were actually reduced.
Shorter hours have lessened the strain on the workers, so that the
men can be kept more continuously at work. This has frequently
led to the combination or elimination of occupations formerly essen
tial. Thus shorter hours have furnished added incentive to more
efficient production, resulting in higher productivity of labor. The
effect of the 8-hour day on the productivity averages for the industry
has been limited because the 12-hour day still persists in a consider
able number of plants, but the influence of the shorter day can be
measured in the productivity of individual plants.
The above analysis does not by any means exhaust the list of causes
affecting productivity. It is impossible to take account statistically
of the increased good will existing between the management and the
workers because of shorter hours and higher wages, or of the increased
skill and efficiency of the workers, or of improved management of
labor. These have contributed to the remarkable advance in the
productive efficiency of the industry, but nothing more can be done
in this study than to indicate their presence in the total mass of
factors which have brought about the change.
Blast-Furnace Productivity in the United States, 1850
to 1926
HE study just reviewed dealt with labor productivity in merchant-blast furnaces from 1912 to 1926, and was based on a
comprehensive investigation of plant records. In addition, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the year 1928, published a review
of labor productivity in all blast furnaces from 1850 to 1926, the
data being derived from existing publications.
There are comparatively few well-defined industries for which
there are definite figures both as to the number of employees and
as to the total volume of production over a long series of years.
Pig iron, or the product of blast furnaces, is one of the few cases in
pomt. The details for this industry are brought out in the accom
panying table. The number of people employed in census years,
except 1880, is taken from the census reports. The census of 1880
classified this group in such a way that the employees shown include
those in foundries and a number of other industries, which make
the figures for blast furnaces for that year unusable. However,
in 1890, the census returned to its old classification.
T
632
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN AND PRODUCTION OF BLAST FURNACES IN THE
UNITED STATES AND INDEX NUMBERS THEREOF, 1850 to 1926
[Number of employees from census reports of year specified, except for 1919, which is an estimate; produc
tion from census reports 1850 to 1890, and reports of American Iron and Steel Association, 1899 to 1926]
Year
Index
number
(1850=
100)
Number
1850............................................
I860........ ..................................
1870............................................
1880 ........................................
1890............ ...............................
1899............ ............................ .
1900____ ___________ ________
1901.............. ..........................
1902............ ...............................
1903___________ _____ _______
1904___________ ______ ____
1905....... ....................... ...........
1906________________________
1907________________________
1908______________________
1909______________________
1910________________________
1911________________________
1912______*___ .
1913_______ ______ __________
1914............................................
1915....... .......................... .........
1916__.............................. .........
1917......................... .................
1918....... ...................................
1919________________________
1920.... .......................__.............
1921________________ ________
1922............ ........... ...................
1923___________ _________
1924...........................................
1925...........................................
1926_________ _____ ____ ____
20,298
15,927
27,554
78
136
33,415
39,241
165
193
35,078
172
38,429
189
29,356
145
,41,660
205
18,698
92
36,712
181
i 29,188
144
Tons (2,240
lbs.)
504,245
881,749
1,832,876
3,375,911
8,845,185
13,620,703
13,789, 242
15,878,354
17,821,307
18,009,252
16,497,033
22,992,380
25,307,191
25,781,361
15,936,018
25,795,471
27,303,567
23,649, 547
29,726,937
30,966,152
23,332,244
29,916, 213
39,434,797
38,647,397
39,054,644
31,015,364
36,925,987
16,688,126
27,219,904
40,361,146
31,405,790
36,700,566
39,372,729
100
!
Production per
man per year
Total production
Employees
Index
number
(1850=
100)
Tons
(2,240
lbs.)
Index
number
(1850=
100)
100
220
175
363
669
1754
2701
25
55
67
268
265
347
1060
1388
3272
470
1880
5116
671
2684
4627
795
3180
100
6151
744
2976
3310
893
3572
8004
1,099
4396
7278
1,257
5028
1
1 Relining labor included by some plants in preceding years is eliminated in 1925.
Productivity of Labor in the Glass Industry 1
NO other industry has the introduction of machinery had a more
dramatic effect upon labor productivity than in the glass industry.
INThus,
to take an extreme example, in the blowing of 4-ounce prescrip
tion bottles, the average Output per man is more than forty-one times
as great with the automatic machine as with the hand processes which
were in general use up to less than 20 years ago. This means a great
reduction in the number of workers necessary to turn out a given
quantity of product. It also means a great change in the character
of the labor force. Instead of a group of very highly skilled glass
blowers, assisted by a group of unskilled “ boys,” the automatic
machine employs mechanics and machine operators, with little or no
demand for child labon
These revolutionary changes in the glass industry have taken place
within a period of 25 years. The advent of the twentieth century
found the glass industry in the United States still in the stage of hand
production. With the exception of a few experimental semiautomatic
machines used for the making of vaseline jars, the process of blowing
1 For complete study see Bulletin No. 441.
633
GLASS INDUSTRY
bottles and other glassware was essentially the same as that used in
Egypt some 3,500 years ago. In 1925, hand production had all but
disappeared from the field. Its place was taken first by the semi
automatic and more recently by the automatic machines.
• The glass industry is composed of a number of branches whose
only common characteristic is the molten glass from which the
respective commodities are made. The nature of the ware made
and the methods of production, whether by hand or by machine, are
entirely different in the separate branches. The development of
machinery also has not been uniform and simultaneous in all the
branches. To all intents and purposes, therefore, the five separate
branches may be considered as independent industries manufactur
ing, respectively: Bottles and jars, pressed ware, blown ware, window
glass, and plate glass.
Concrete illustrations of the effect of machine production in the
several branches of the industry are given in Table 1, which shows
the index numbers of labor productivity and labor cost by various*
articles and processes. The old hand-production method is here made
the basis of the index. In other words, the hand process equals 100,
and the table should be read as follows: 2-ounce prescription ovals,
where one man produced 100 by the old hand process he would
produce 3,906.4 with a machine, the percentage of increase being
3,806.4. Assuming the labor cost under the hand process to be $1,
the machine labor cost would be $0.0274, the per cent of decrease in
labor cost being 97.26.
T a b le
1.—INDEX NUMBERS OF LABOR PRODUCTIVITY AND LABOR COST IN THE
GLASS INDUSTRY, BY ARTICLE AND PROCESS
Labor productivity
Article
Bottles:
2 -ounce prescription ovals_________________
4-ounce prescription ovals_________________
2 -ounce extract panels____________________
^-pint sodas____________ ________________
1 -pint whisky dandies____________________
1 -quart milk bottles______________________
6-gallon water carboys____________________
Pressed ware:
8-9-ounce table tumblers...............................
10 -ounce table tumblers._____ ____________
4J^-5-inch nappies________________________
6-7-inch nappies____ ______ ____ ___________
3^-ounce sherbets____________________ ___
4^-5-ounce sherbets--------------------------------Blown ware:
Lamp chimneys............... ..............................
25-watt electric bulbs_____________________
40-watt electric bulbs_____________________
9-10-ounce punch tumblers________________
Glass tubing, sizes 19-21__________________
Glass tubing, sizes 32-34__________________
Window glass:
Single strength______________________ ____
Double strength........................................ .
Plate glass:
Rough plate....................................................
Polished plate.................................................
Labor cost
cent Hand
Per cent
.Hand Machine Per
of in
Machine of de
process
crease process
crease
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
3,906.4
4,109.8
2,511.6
1,642.0
742.1
1,449.3
994.0
3,806.4
4,009.8
2,411.6
1,542.0
642.1
1,349.3
894.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
2.74
2.70
4.20
6.70
10.30
5.10
17.10
97.26
97.30
95.80
93.30
89.70
94.90
82.90
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1,228.1
1,240.0
759.6
491.0
817.0
630.5
1,128.1
1,140.0
659.6
391.0
717.0
530.5
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
6.70
6.65
8.62
13.26
8.97
12.62
93.30
93.35
91.38
86.74
91.03
87.38
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
142.3
3,126.2
3,142.6
1,419.1
591.9
746.7
42.3
3,026.2
3,042.6
1,319.1
491.9
646.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
62.50
3.39
3.39
7.00
18.55
14.70
37.50
96.61
96.61
93.00
81.45
85.30
100.0
100.0
261.1
228.4
161.1
128.4
100.0
100.0
31.30
32.80
68.70
67.20
100.0
100.0
145.0
160.5
45.0
60.5
100.0
100.0
74.90
66.70
25.10
33.30
634
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
Effects of Automatic Machinery on the Industry as a Whole
In v i e w of the tremendous changes in man-hour output and labor
cost due to automatic machinery, it may be worth while to examine
more or less in detail the effects of the introduction of machinery o»
the industry as a whole. Table 2, compiled from census reports,
shows the growth of the industry from 1899 to 1925 (the period during
which the change from hand production to semiautomatic and auto
matic machinery took place) for the industry as a whole, and also,
where available, for the four principal branches whose combined
output constitutes more than 90 per cent of that of the industry.
T a b l e 2 . —DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLASS INDUSTRY, IN SPECIFIED YEARS, 1899 TO 1925
Item
1899
Total number of establish
m
ments........................................
Bottles and jars.....................
147
Pressed and blown ware
84
Window glass..........................
100
Plate glass___ .'.......................
16
Total number of wage earn
ers............................................... 53,818
Bottles and jars__................... 28,370
Pressed and blown ware____ 12,546
Window glass.......................... 8.682
Plate glass............................... 3,220
Output:
Bottles and jars
................. thousand gross. _ 7,780
Pressed and blown ware
____ ______million pieces..
360
Window glass
................thousand boxes.. 4,341
Plate glass..thousand sq. ft__ 16,884
Value of output (000 omitted). $56,540
Bottles and jars..................... 21,677
Pressed and blown ware
17,076
Window glass.......................... 10,879
Plate glass............................... 5,159
Wages (000 omitted)............. .
37,084
1904
1909
1914
1919
1921
1923
1925
399
158
103
103
17
363
166
114
0)
0)
348
150
107
64
19
371
145
130
79
17
339
(l)
(i)
(l)
(l)
333
117
127
65
17
310
63,969
0)
(9
0)
C1)
68,911
(;)
74,503
0)
0)
77,530
(J)
54,748
0)
(i)
(i)
0)
0)
73,335
24,010
27,196
8,826
9,961
69,371
21,704
21,507
8,346
11,124
12,005
12,316
19,290
22,295
0)
28,393
26,044
428
532
701
1,080
(9
(i)
(i)
0)
(0
120
123
42
19
1,963
6,922
4,852
8,020
7,380
5,201
10,204
11,343
27,293 47,370
60,384
56,823
56,239
94,470 117,369
$79,608 $93,095 $133,085 $361,884 $313,471 $309,353 $395,959
33,631 36,018
51,959
94,670
107,231 100,301
0)
21,956 27,398
30,279
70,749
77,279
72,085
0)
11,611 11,743
17,495
41,101
24,026
42,623
37,525
7,978 12,205
14,774
33,348
37,261
66,103
57,207
37,388 39,300
48,656
87,537
68,334
89,898
86,736
1 Not reported.
As shown in the table, the glass industry in 1899 comprised 355
establishments, employing 52,818 wage earners, an average of 149
wage earners per establishment; in 1925 there were only 310 establish
ments, but these employed 69,371 wage earners, an average of 224
wage earners per establishment. In the course of the 25 years, the
number of establishments decreased 12.7 per cent, while the number
of wage earners increased 31.3 per cent, and the average number
of wage earners per establishment increased 50.3 per cent.
The figures for the industry as a whole, however, do not tell the
story of what happened in the separate branches. In the bottle
and jar branch, the general adoption of the automatic machines
resulted not only in a diminution of the number of plants and wage
earners in the industry, but also in a decrease of the average number
of wage earners per establishment. Fewer workers are seen in a
large up-to-date machine bottle plant than in a small hand plant.
In the pressed and blown ware branch the automatic machines have
so far invaded only a small part of the industry, and this branch
has an increased number of plants and wage earners, as well as an
increase in the average number of workers per establishment. In
the window-glass branch, the predominance of the cylinder-machine
635
GLASS INDUSTRY
process has cut the number of establishments over half, somewhat
diminished the total number of wage earners, and increased the aver
age number of wage earners per plant nearly one and one-third
times. In the plate-glass industry, which until very recently wit
nessed no revolutionary changes, the growth of industry more than
tripled the number of wage earners and nearly tripled the average
number of workers per establishment.
Output and Productivity
F rom the labor standpoint, the most important change directly
connected with the introduction of machinery in the glass industry
has been increase in output per wage earner employed. Table 3
shows a comparison of output per man in the 4 principal branches
of the glass industry in 1899 and 1925. As there shown the increase
in 1925 over 1899 was greatest in the case of bottles and jars, 338 per
cent, and lowest in the case of plate glass, 101.3 per cent.
T a b le
3.—YEARLY OUTPUT PER MAN IN SPECIFIED BRANCHES OF THE GLASS
INDUSTRY, 1899 AND 1925
1925
Branch of industry
Unit
1899
Quantity
Bottles and jars________________________________
Pressed and blown ware. _ ___________________
Window glass.................................................. ...........
Plate glass...................................................................
Gross________
Pieces_______
Boxes.... .........
Square feet___
274
28,694
500
5,240
1,200
91,272
1,359
10,551
Per cent
of increase
over 1899
338.0
218.1
171.8
101.3
In the figures for the separate branches of the industry there exists
a slight error, due to the fact that the hours worked per day in 1899
and 1925 are not strictly comparable. For instance, in the bottle
industry the regular hours of work were eight and one-half in 1899
and only eight in 1925. On the other hand, in 1899 nearly all the
plants, following a long-established custom, suspended production
for a period of two months, while in 1925 only a few plants stopped
producing for a month or more, because of repairs or the usual recon
struction of tanks, which must be done every 12 to 18 months.
Similar or somewhat different discrepancies in the hours worked
also exist in the other branches of the industry, but their general
effect on the output was so slight as to exert very little, if any, influence
on the validity of the figures of productivity given.
Effect of Machines on Child Labor
Prior to the introduction of machinery, the glass industry was
one of the greatest exploiters of child labor. This was particularly
true of the bottle and pressed and blown ware branches, for very few
children had ever been employed in the making of window glass and
none in plate glass.
With the introduction of machinery the child-labor situation
changed. The mold boys, the cleaning-off boys, and the snapping-up
boys were at once dispensed with, even in the case of the cruder ana
636
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
semiautomatic machines. The job of the carry-in boys was retained
for some time, but the introduction of the Owens automatic machine,
with its automatic conveyor, eliminated all the work formerly done
by child labor. Even where no conveyors have been installed and the
job of the carry-in boys has been retained, the output of the machines
has proved to be too large to be handled by minors, and the job,
though retaining the name of “ carry-in boy,” is actually performed
by an adult unskilled man or woman.
Table 4 gives the total number of wage earners and of children
under 16 years employed in the industry from 1880 to 1919, the last
year for which figures are available from the census reports:
T a b l e 4 .— NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS AND OF MINORS UNDER 16 YEARS EM
PLOYED IN THE GLASS INDUSTRY, BY SPECIFIED YEARS, 1880 TO 1919
Minors under 16 years
Year
Number of
wage earners
Number
1880.
1890.
1899.
1904.
1909.
1914.
1919.
24,177
44,892
52,818
63,969
68,911
74,502
77,520
Per cent of total
wage earners
15,658
16,943
7,116
6,435
3,561
1,992
1,413
23.4
15.5
13.5
10.1
5.2
2.7
1.8
i Males under 16 years and females under 15 years.
Beginning with 1904, both the actual number and the percentage
minors formed of the total decreased, while the total number of
wage earners continued to rise rapidly. In 1919, the last year for
which official figures are available, there were 1,413 minors, only 1.8
per cent of the 77,520 wage earners in the industry. Child labor in
the glass industry has now become almost a matter of the past.
Productivity in Newspaper Printing, 1916 and 1926
STUDY of productivity of labor in newspaper printing,1
made by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, was
limited to the three principal mechanical processes, common to all
modem newspaper plants—composition, stereotyping, and presswork. Data were obtained by a field survey direct from the pay rolls
and production records of representative establishments for 1926, and,
in certain cases, for 1916. As data of a similar character were avail
able for the year 1896 from the earlier study of cost production in
various industries made by the original United States Department
of Labor, comparison of productivity and labor costs could be made
over a 30-year period.
The analysis of the material obtained as above described shows that
there has been a very considerable increase in the productivity of
labor in newspaper printing during recent years, although the changes
were by no means uniform for the several processes. Moreover, there
has been constantly in operation a factor which tends to check the
A
i For complete study see Bulletin No. 475.
637
NEWSPAPER PRINTING
cheapening of time and labor costs, namely, the emphasis placed by
modern newspapers upon rapidity of issuing the completed papers.
Methods are utilized which mean the greatest possible saving in
what is called “ clock time” and these are not necessarily the most
economical methods.
Trend of 'productivity in a representative plant, 1916-1926.—As an
example of increased productivity in newspaper printing the ex
perience of a representative paper, for which complete data were
obtainable for 1916 and for 1926, may be cited. In making com
parison between these two years, an arbitrary unit of measurement
had to be used in order to allow for a change in the size of the page
during the period covered. The unit adopted was an issue of 10,000
copies of a four-page paper, each page containing the equivalent of
59,200 ems of 5K-point type.
In 1916 the production of a unit as just described required 215
man-hours, while in 1926 only 158 man-hours were required. In 1916
the money cost per unit was $135.77, while in 1926, owing to the in
creased output per man-hour the money cost had advanced to only
$200, or barely 47 per cent, in spite of the fact that average hourly
wage rates had risen approximately 85 per cent.
The comparative cost of a single unit at different periods, however,
does not tell the whole story, as, in the printing of newspapers, both
time and money cost are strongly affected by the total number of
copies produced. Thus, the cost of composition, which may repre
sent more than 90 per cent of the total expense of the combined pro
cesses, does not vary with the number of copies issued, as the type has
to be set only once. Nor does the cost of stereotyping vary with the
number of imprints. The cost of presswork, however, advances
directly with the number of copies printed. The following table
shows how these several factors affect the time cost of printing vary
ing numbers of copies of the newspaper published by the establish
ment now being considered:
Number of man-hours
worked i n Number of 4-page papers produced
1916
___________ - ____________ ________ ________
__________________________________________
_________________________________________
500,000 _______________ ____ ______________ _______
1 ,000,000
______________ _________________________
10,000
50,000
100,000
215.1
222.3
231.2
303.0
392.6
1926
157.5
164.1
172.5
m o
322.2
Number of papers pro
duced per man-hour
in—
1916
46.5
225.0
432.5
1,650.3
2,546.8
1926
63.5
304.6
579.9
2,092.0
3,103.9
The labor costs for varying numbers of copies printed may be shown
in similar manner, as follows:
Total labor cost i n -
Labor cost per 10,000
papers i n -
Number of 4-page papers produced
10,000 ...............................................................................
60,000...... ............................................................................
100,000.................................................................................
600,000
......................................................................
1 , 000,000..............................................................................
1916
1926
1916
$135.77
140.55
146.52
194.25
253.92
$200.00
208.23
218.52
300.85
403.76
$135.77
28.11
14.65
3.89
2.54
1926
$200.00
41.65
21.85
6.02
4.04
638
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
Other comparisons.—The complete study affords many other com
parisons of time and labor costs in the newspaper printing industry.
Thus, with the hand methods of production used in some plants in
1896, the time cost of turning out a unit (as above described) was
635 man-hours. In 1926, the same unit was produced by machine
methods in an average of 146.3 man-hours. The money cost per unit
rose during this period from $116.07 to $229.16, but the cost of
reproducing the units by the use of rapid presses, etc., had so decreased
that the labor cost of printing 50,000 four-page papers by hand in
1896 was $1 higher than the labor cost of 80,000 four-page papers
in 1926.
Tim e and Labor Cost of Production in the Woolen
and Worsted Industry: United States, England,
France, Germany
URING the summer of 1927 the Bureau of Labor Statistics
undertook a study of productivity of labor in the woolen and
worsted manufacturing industry. The purpose was to make a com
parison of the man-hour production in the woolen and worsted
manufacturing establishments of the United States with the man-hour
production in similar establishments in foreign countries.
At the outset it was known that the study could not be a measure
of the efficiency of labor alone, as the output per man-hour is neces
sarily influenced very largely by the equipment, layout, and manage
ment of the establishment. The output per man-hour of the small,
primitive establishment with its antiquated machinery and oldfashioned methods and management could not be fairly compared,
on the basis of human labor alone, with that of a large modern estab
lishment, with its up-to-date machinery and equipment so arranged
as to obtain the greatest economy of time, and its scientific manage
ment with the purpose of securing the largest possible output with
the smallest number of employees.
The data obtained therefore represent comparisons of the output
per employee in the various establishments, with the machinery and
equipment with which he had to work and under the management
of the particular plant in which he was employed.
The first step in the study was to obtain information that would
represent the productivity of establishments in the United States.
To accomplish this a large number of different kinds of woolen and
worsted cloths were procured as samples from which to obtain pro
ductivity costs. These were selected with the view of bringing to
gether a sufficient number of different kinds and grades of woolen
and worsted cloths to be fairly representative of the cloths manu
factured in the United States. Each kind of cloth was accurately
described, the description showing its weight per yard (in ounces),
width (in inches), number of warp ends per inch, number of picks
per inch, and the sizes and qualities of woolen and worsted yams
used, so that the sample could be definitely identified.
A large number of woolen and worsted cloth manufacturers in the
United States—the ones who manufactured the various cloths
selected as samples—were induced to furnish facts as to the time and
wage costs of producing each of such cloths; that is, the man-hours
D
WOOLEN AND WORSTED INDUSTRY
639
consumed and the cost on the basis of wages paid per yard of cloth,
covering all the operations from sorting the wool to packing the
finished cloth ready for shipment. These costs were verified as far
as possible, so that the figures presented could be accepted as accurate
statements of the time and labor costs of producing each kind of
cloth.
The procedure in securing foreign time and labor costs was similar
to that followed in this country. The representative of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics who had charge of the work took the samples of
cloths to the woolen and worsted manufacturing centers in certain
foreign countries and attempted, first, to find establishments in
which the same kinds of cloths were made, and, second, to obtain
from the officials of those establishments the man-hour cost per
yard of producing the identical kinds of cloth in those foreign
countries.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in each country in finding
establishments that manufactured the identical kinds and qualities
of cloths, as no industrial directories could be found that contained
descriptions of the products of establishments sufficiently definite
to identify them. It was necessary, therefore, to visit the various
establishments and to compare the samples with the cloths being
manufactured therein until like cloths could be found. This was
found to be quite difficult, because while similar qualities of cloths
could readily be found it was hard and in some cases impossible to
find samples of exactly the same descriptions as the American samples.
The samples selected, therefore, were the same, or nearly enough
like the American-made cloths to be fairly comparable.
The full report was published in the Monthly Labor Review for
September, 1928. The following is a very brief summary of the
findings as regards the weaving process.
Weavers’ Rates Per Yard and Productivity of Looms
I t w a s f o u n d that there was a wide variation in the rate per yard
paid to the weavers for weaving the cloth and also a considerable
difference in the number of looms tended by each weaver, as well as a
difference in the speed of the looms. In the United States it is quite
common for weavers on worsted cloth operating automatic looms to
attend 4, 6, 8, and in some instance as many as 12 looms. In Euro
pean countries the automatic loom is installed to only a very limited
extent, and it is seldom that a weaver attends more than two looms.
In many instances the weaver attends only one loom. The table
following shows for each sample procured in each of the countries the
weaver’s wage rate per yard, the number of looms tended by each
weaver, and the speed of the looms.
640
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
WAGE RATE OF WEAVERS, LOOMS TENDED, AND SPEED OF LOOMS.
Establishment
number
United States:
No. 1..... ...........
No. 2 ..... ...........
No. 3— ............
No. 4..... ...........
No. 5..... ...........
No. 6_ „ ............
No. 7..... ...........
No. 8..... ...........
No. 9..... ...........
No. 10..... .........
No. 11__..........
No. 12..... .........
No. 13..... .........
No. 14..... .........
No. 15..... .........
No. 16— ..........
No. 17..... .........
No. 18..... .........
No. 19___ ____
No. 20— ..........
No. 2 1 — ..........
No. 22 ..... .........
No. 23..... .........
No. 24„............
No. 25..... .........
No. 26___ ____
No. 27..... .........
England:
No. 1..... ...........
No. 2 _________
No. 3___ ____ _
No. 4_________
No. 5..... ...........
No. 6..... ...........
No. 7..... ...........
. No: 8................
No. 9................
No. 10— ..........
No. 11„...........
Speed of
Weavers’ Number looms
in
wage rate of looms picks
per
per yard tended
minute
$0.0457
.0431
.1236
.0922
.1144
.1078
.0462
.0328
.0154
.1300
.0830
.1026
.1520
.12 10
.1080
.1250
.1140
.1220
.1515
.1480
.1215
.0737
.0401
.0521
.1803
.1336
.1694
.0466
.0412
.0918
.0390
.0445
.0654
.0419
.0459
.6299
.1096
.0834
6
6
2
2
2
2
6
6
12
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
4
6
6
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
Establishment
number
England—Contd.
No. 1 2 ..... .........
No. 13..... .........
No. 17..... .........
125
No. 19________
120
No. 20..... .........
125
No. 23..... .........
125
No. 25..... .........
120
No. 26..... .........
120
No. 27— ..........
145
No. 28..... .........
108
No. 29— ..........
100 1
Germany:
100
No. 1..... ...........
115
No. 2 ..... ...........
112
No. 3..... ...........
100
No. 7..... ...........
100
No. 8_...............
100
No. 10..... .........
112
No. 13..... .........
112
No. 14..... .........
120
No. 18..... .........
112
No. 19— ..........
120
No. 2 1 ..... .........
120
No. 22..... .........
120
No. 23_.__.........
125
No. 24..... .........
125
No. 25— ..........
125
No. 26..... .........
No. 27..... .........
120
No. 28..... .........
120
No. 29..... .........
110
130 France
No. 1 _...............
130
No. 2 „ ..............
108
No. 4_._............
130
No. 7_„............
100
No. 1 1 ___
142
No. 12 ..... .........
100
96
120
120
Speed of
Weavers’ Number looms
in
wage rate of looms picks
per
per yard tended
minute
$0.0928
.0936
.0623
.0711
.1235
.0690
.0426
.0445
.0934
.0457
.0556
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
.0411
.0405
.0566
.0506
.0422
.0466
.0834
.0802
.0537
.0500
.0738
.0595
.0869
.0619
.0524
.0619
.0643
.0643
.0833
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
90
90
105
.0580
.0495
.0440
.0530
.0422
.0496
2
2
2
2
1
1
120
120
120
120
96
106
96
80
98
80
120
120
120
120
120
120
75
75
88
100
80
120
103
120
80
120
120
120
120
120
120
96
96
Mechanical Loading in Bituminous Coal Mines
1926 a total of 10,022,195 tons of bituminous coal was loaded
mechanically by 455 machines in 131 mines, according to the
INUnited
States Bureau of Mines.1 In addition, there were 33 other
mines reporting 43 loading machines in which the use of the machine
was still in the experimental stage. These figures do not include
machines that have been abandoned or a few machines that were
used in 1925 and will be used again but which loaded no coal in 1926.
There is in use in the coal industry a wide variety of mechanical
devices designed to reduce the labor of hand shoveling into mine
cars and to facilitate the work of transporting the coal from the
point where it is shot down to the place of delivery to the rail trans
portation system of the mine.
The table below includes only those devices which make possible
loading most of the coal handled without hand shoveling. The
table therefore covers loading machines; combined cutting and
loading machines; scraper loaders; shaking trough conveyors,
equipped with a shovel attachment at the front end such as the
so-called “ duckbill” ; conveyors equipped with a cutting device;
and also certain “ self-loading” conveyors designed to receive the
* From weekly coal report of U. S. Bureau of Mines, Apr. 21,1928.
BITUMINOUS COAL MINING
641
coal as shot down. Strictly speaking, “ self-loading” conveyors are
not loading machines, but they are stated to load out from one-third
to a half or even two-thirds of the coal without hand shoveling, and
they have therefore been included in the table. The figures in the
table do not cover other face conveyors and mine-car loaders on
which practically all the coal has to be shoveled by hand, although
such devices, by reducing the height to which the coal has to be
lifted by the miner, greatly reduce the labor of hand shoveling.
Complete statistics covering the use of hand-loaded face conveyors
in 1926 are not available, but the information at hand indicates a
considerable number of installations of this type, particularly in
central Pennsylvania. Statistics of mine-car loaders, of which the
Jeffrey pit-car loader is the principal type, have been collected by
the bureau for 1926, but can not be published without disclosing the
business of individual manufacturers. It may be said, however,
that the mine-car loader has been widely introduced, especially in
Illinois. From the information available it appears that the total
quantity of coal handled by mine-car loaders and hand-loaded face
conveyors in 1926 was over a million tons. Added to the 10,022,195
tons loaded by machines, this gives a grand total of more than
11,000,000 tons produced by “ mechanized” mining in 1926. In
its statistical report for 1927 the bureau plans to include a complete
analysis of the use of conveyors.
The figures in the table relate only to deep mines. In connection
with the growing mechanization of underground operations, how
ever, it is of interest to refer to the development of surface stripping.
In 1926 there were 237 strip pits in the bituminous coal fields which
employed 410 power shovels and produced 16,922,695 tons of coal.
Of the 131 mines that used mechanical loaders in 1926 there were
13 in which the process of mechanization had so far advanced that
90 per cent or more of the mine output was loaded mechanically.
In 55 of the mines, on the other hand, the proportion loaded mechani
cally was still less than 10 per cent. For the entire group of 131
mines the proportion loaded mechanically was 24.9 per cent, the
total output of these mines, including coal loaded in workings still
operated by hand, being 40,329,133 tons. In certain States the
proportion was much higher. The seven machine-loading mines of
Wyoming loaded 63.6 per cent of their production mechanically,
and the 13 mines of Indiana loaded 89.4 per cent mechanically.
Indiana led all other States in tonnage mechanically loaded in
1926 with a total of 2,166,737 tons, followed by Illinois with 2,035,521
tons, West Virginia with 2,000,636 tons, Wyoming with 1,142,304
tons, and Virginia with 1,086,480 tons. (The greater part of the
total for Virginia was loaded in the extension of the Pocahontas
field in Tazewell County, Va.) Pennsylvania reported 855,578 tons,
a large part of which was handled by “ self-loading” conveyors.
Eleven other States loaded by machine, but the quantity was rela
tively small.
The coal mechanically loaded in 1926 was 1.8 per cent of the total
production of all bituminous mines in the country. In some States,
however, a considerable part of the output was loaded by machine.
Thus in Utah the proportion was 2.6 per cent of the State production;
in Illinois it was 2.9 per cent; in Virginia, 7.7 per cent; m Indiana,
642
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
9.3 per cent; and in Wyoming, 17.6 per cent. Wyoming thus leads
all other States in percentage of total output loaded by machine.
MECHANICAL LOADING UNDERGROUND IN BITUMINOUS COAL MINES IN THE
UNITED STATES IN 1926
[The table covers all devices by which most of coal handled is loaded without hand shoveling. It does not
cover mine-car loaders and conveyers on which all the coal has to be shoveled by hand, although it should
be remembered that such devices, by reducing the height to which the miner must lift the coal, greatly
reduce the labor of hand shoveling]
Mines that reported loading by machine in 1926
Total production
of these mines
Num
of Net tons
Num ber
loaded by
ber of load
ing
mines ma
machine
chines
State
Alabama..... ...................... ...............
Colorado........................
_ _ _
Illinois__________________________
Indiana_________ _______________
Iowa_________ ________ _______
Kentucky_______________________
Maryland............. ........................ .
Michigan................... ...... ................
New Mexico____ _________
____
North Dakota___________________
Ohio__________ ____ ________ ____
Pennsylvania___________________
Tennessee________ _____ ___ _
.
Utah_____________________ ____
Virginia_________________________
West Virginia___________________
Wyoming_______________________
Undistributed____ _______ ______ _
Total_____ ____ _______
.
Recapitulation:
Scraper loaders..........................
Shaking-shovel and “ self-loading” conveyers 3___________
Other loaders4_______________
Total.......................................
3
3
18
13
30
(2)
107
87
6
10
1
2
1
1
0
8
20
(2)
(-')
Per
cent
load
ed by
ma
chine
458,455
(2)
8,050,665
2,423,681
949,732
4,288,921
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
1,303,590
5,512,447
(2)
1,214,530
3,391,417
9,354,888
1,796,396
1,584,411
24.4
(2)
25.3
89.4
8.9
4.2
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
9.4
15.5
(2)
9.4
32.0
21.4
63.6
7.6
7.7
1.4
17.6
.5
40,329,133
24.9
1.8
33
43
1,554,372 )
[40,329,133
681,463
7,786,360
24.9
) 1.4.i
.3
13
16
20
27
24.9
1.8
33
43
111,803
(2)
2,035,521
2,166,737
84,325
181,763
(2)
0
29
7
17
57
44
19
131
455
10,022,195
50
133
10
27
295
3
20
2
6
6
71
131
10
48
(2)
8
Per
cent
of
State
output
that
was
load Mines Ma
chines
ed by
ma
chines
Net tons,
including
hand
loading
(2)
(2)
122,576
855,578
(2)
114,619
1,086,480
2,000,636
1,142,304
119,853
0
Other mines
reporting
loading ma
chines but
not tonnage1
455 I 10,022,195
40,329,133
0.5
(2)
2.9
9.3
1.8
.3
(2)
1
2
1
0
0
1
(2)
5
(2)
5
0
(2)
(2)
.4
2
(2)
2
1
2
12
0
0
0
4
.6
(2)
2.6
}
5
18
15
1 In practically all of these the use of loading machines was in the experimental stage only.
2 Included in “ Undistributed” to avoid disclosing individual operations.
8 Includes conveyers equipped with shovel attachment on front end (so-called “ duckbills”), on which
reports indicated 60 to 90 per cent loaded without hand shoveling, and also 2 makes of long-face conveyers
designed to receive coal as shot down, on which a large part of the coal (sometimes more than half) is
loaded without hand shoveling. These types can not be shown separately without disclosing individual
operations.
* Includes mobile digging and loading machines and cutting and loading machines.
The Use of Machinery in Cotton Harvesting
NTIL very recently cotton harvesting, which gives employment
to a very large amount of labor in the cotton-growing States,
had been regarded as strictly a hand process. Constant
efforts, however, have been directed toward the devising of mechani
cal appliances to do this work, and recent reports indicate that con
siderable success is being met with. The United States Depart
ment of Agriculture has stated that the mechanical harvesting of
cotton is now well established on farms in northwestern Texas. A
description of the labor costs and requirements of both the hand and
U
643
MACHINERY IN COTTON HARVESTING
machine methods is given in considerable detail in a study made by
that department in the Lubbock district of Texas and in the Hobart,
Chickasha, and Stillwater districts of Oklahoma.
Labor Costs and Requirements in Cotton Harvesting1
It w a s f o u n d that on the average about 50 hours of labor were
required to pick enough cotton to make a 500-pound bale of lint in
the Lubbock district; about 70 hours in the Hobart and the Chickasha
districts and about 80 hours in the Stillwater district. The amount
of labor necessary to snap enough seed cotton for a bale of 500 pounds
of lint varied from about 33 to 55 hours in the districts studied. To
sled enough cotton for a 500-pound bale of lint required an average
of 5.3 hours of man labor in the Lubbock district and 8.5 hours in the
Hobart district. Table 1 gives the detailed figures of the hours of
labor required for harvesting a 500-pound bale of cotton by the dif
ferent methods.
T a b l e 1 .— HOURS OF M AN LABOR REQUIRED FOR HARVESTING A SOO-POUND BALE
OF COTTON
Picked cotton
State and producing district
Oklahoma:
Chickasha
____ _________________
Hobart...................................................
Stillwater_________________________
Texas: Lubbock..........................................
Usual
range
60- 80
60- 80
75-100
43- 56
Average
72.8
68.2
80.4
48.7
Snapped cotton
Usual
range
40-52
33-52
50-73
26-44
Average
47.1
43.6
55.1
33.7
Sledded cotton
Usual
range
Average
5-16
8.5
4- 7
5.3
It is stated that usually from 1,500 to 1,600 pounds of picked seed
cotton and from 2,000 to 2,200 pounds of either snapped or sledded
cotton are required for a 500-pound bale of lint in the Oklahoma
districts. In the Texas district, due to more extensive growing of
varieties of cotton having a relatively high turnout, the requirements
for a 500-pound bale of lmt are less, being from 1,300 to 1,400 pounds
of picked, from 1,800 to 2,200 pounds of snapped, and from 1,800 to
2,100 pounds of sledded cotton. The quantity of snapped or sledded
cotton required for a 500-pound bale of lint is influenced by the
percentage of open bolls included and the quantity of foreign matter
gathered.
It is reported that in a given time an average hand can usually
snap enough seed cotton to make about 50 per cent more lint cotton
than he can pick, while one man and a team of horses can sled enough
cotton to make between six and seven times as much lint as an average
hand can snap.
In figuring the cost of harvesting by the sledding method, labor was
charged in all districts at the rate of $3 per day for a man and $1 per
day for a horse. The average cost for picking 100 pounds of seed
cotton varied from $1.17 in the Lubbock district to $1.44 in the Chick
asha district. The cost of snapping this quantity was 72 cents in the
i United States. Department of Agriculture. Requirements and Costs for Picking, Snapping, and
Sledding Cotton in western Texas and Oklahoma. A preliminary report by A. P. Brodell and M. R.
Cooper. Washington, June, 1927.
39142°— 29-------12
644
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
Lubbock and the Chickasha districts and 75 and 78 cents, respec
tively, in the Stillwater and the Hobart districts.
All ginning costs were cash expenses, as the cotton was custom
ginned. For ginning picked cotton in 1926 the Oklahoma gins
charged 30 cents per 100 pounds of seed cotton, and 45 cents for
snapped and sledded cotton, with $1.90 additional for bagging and
ties. In Texas, ginning costs varied considerably, declining with the
decline in cotton prices. At the beginning of 1926, 30 cents per 100
pounds for picked cotton and 40 cents for snapped and sledded cotton,
with $2 per bale for bagging and ties, were representative charges.
The average cash expenses for harvesting and ginning picked cotton
varied in the four districts from about $14 to $25 per bale. The
cash cost of harvesting and ginning snapped cotton was somewhat
higher than for picked cotton. No cash expenses were reported for
harvesting sledded cotton; the cost of ginning averaged $9.84 per
bale in the Lubbock district and $11.70 in the Hobart district, no
figures being given for the other two Oklahoma districts.
The total cost of harvesting and ginning a bale of picked, snapped,
or sledded cotton is shown in Table 2.
T
able
2.—COST OF HARVESTING AND GINNING A BALE OF COTTON—PICKED,
SNAPPED, OR SLEDDED
Harvesting cost
State and produc
ing district
Oklahoma:
Chickasha_____
Hobart..............
Stillwater_____
Texas: Lubbock___
Ginning cost
Total
Picked Snapped Sledded Picked Snapped Sledded Picked Snapped Sledded
cotton cotton cotton cotton cotton cotton cotton cotton cotton
$22.00
21.67
22.50
16.18
$14.58
16.19
15.69
14.04
$3.61
2.55~
$6.48
6.54
6.56
6.15
$11.0 2
11.24
11.31
9.80
$11.70
9.84~
$28.48'
28.21
29.06
22.33
$25.60
27.43
27.00
23.84
$15.31
12.39
Productivity of Coal-Mine Labor, by States
HE accompanying table shows, among other significant facts
regarding coal production, the average output per man per day
in each of the coal-producing States in the year 1926. The table is
compiled from a report of the United States Bureau of Mines, entitled
“ Bituminous Coal Tables, 1926.”
The distribution of the 573,366,985 net tons of bituminous coal
mined, by method of mining, is reported to have been as follows:
Tonnage undercut by hand, 90,772,894; shot.off the solid, 52,439,914;
cut by machine, 410,912,680; stripping, 16,922,695; not specified,
2,318,802,
T
645
COPPER REFINING
PRODUCTION AND VALUE PER TON, MEN EMPLOYED, DAYS WOREiED, AND OUT
PUT PER M AN PER DAY AT COAL MINES IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1926
[Exclusive of product of wagon mines producing less than 1,000 tons]
Number of employees
Aver
Total pro
age
duction (net value
tons)
per ton
State
Alabama _
Alaska
Arizona . . ....................... ........
Under
ground
Surface
23,024
79
4,321
52
21,000,962
87,300
624
Arkansas _ _
1,459,017
California, Idaho, and Oregon___
18,708
10,637,225
Colorado______________________
Georgia________________________
59,869
69,366,923
Illinois________________________
Indiana_______________________
23,186,006
4,625,487
Iowa__________________________
4,416,480
Kansas________________________
62,924,462
Kentucky_____________________
Maryland_____________________
3,078,353
Michigan______________________
686,707
Missouri ____________________
3,008,495
2,797,760
Montana..________ ______ _____
New Mexico___________________
2,817,923
North Carolina.......................... .
57,939
1,370,244
North Dakota.......................... ....
27,872,488
Ohio..... ..................................... ....
Oklahoma.............................. ........ * 2,842,673
Pennsylvania, bituminous______
153,041,638
South Dakota__________________
14,428
5,788,741
Tennessee_____________________
Tp.xas
,
_
_ _ 1,091,158
4,373,793
Utah..............................................
14,133,386
Virginia................................ .........
Washington____________________
2,586,568
West Virginia.......... ..................... 143,509,340
W y o m in g __________________________
6,512,288
$2.29
5.26
1.60
3.77
3.74
2.78
2.89
2.14
1.98
3.07
2.84
1.74
4.12
2.98
2.46
3.16
4.19
1.74
1.96
3.18
2.13
2.91
1.90
1.60
2.37
1.92
3.61
1.84
2.74
2,660
130
858
33,852
4,268
135,959
52
6,750
1,414
2,943
11,567
2,860
99,952
4,903
Total bituminous_________ 2 573,366,985
84,437,452
Pennsylvania anthracite________
2.06
5.62
2.52
Grand total
.
„
657,804,437
2 .2 1
1
2,856
71
10,854
Aver
Aver
age
age
tons
num
pro
ber of duced
days
per
worked man
per day
Total
27,345
131
1
266
221
90
135
103
2.89
3.02
6.93
3.00
1.99
14. 1 1
1,198
236
602
2,197
749
18,774
959
3,589
91
12,815
127
75,870
23,404
8,869
8,172
60,578
3,681
1,573
5,270
2,419
3,167
155
1,288
38,547
5,400
155,999
52
7,948
1,650
3,545
13,764
3,609
118,726
5,862
253
172
173
183
158
230
235
171
174
162
251
292
162
159
183
224
127
234
195
186
263
198
247
181
4.37
2.19
3.11
3.39
16.65
3.91
3.62
4.90
6.15
510,824
126,231
82,823
39,155
593,647
165,386
215
244
4.50
2.09
637,055
121,978
759,033
221
3.92
68,288
20,041
8,192
6,831
51,664
3,207
1,444
4,102
2,002
733
20
1,961
127
7,582
3,363
677
1,341
8,914
474
129
1,168
417
507
25
430
4,695
1,132
20,040
202
1.86
5.31
5.72
2.85
3.43
4.52
3.56
2.55
3.27
7.14
3.54
1.28
6.56
4.56
2.88
1 Probably too high because of practice common in some districts of men going into mines to shoot coal
and load mine cars on days when tipples or mines as a whole are not in operation.
2 Figures relate only to active mines of commercial size that produced bituminous coal in 1926. The num
ber of such mines in the United States was 7,177 in 1926, 7,144 in 1925, and 7,586 in 1924.
Labor Productivity in Copper Refining
ATA regarding output per man per day has been furnished the
Bureau of Labor Statistics by one of the large copper refining
companies. These data give comparative employment and output
in January, 1918, which was the peak employment period, and
August, 1927, which is reported to have been a fairly average month.
The figures show that during this period of nine years the number of
men employed was reduced from 578 to 233, with a coincident increase
of about 10 per cent in total output. The company further states
that with contemplated improvements completed not more than 100
men should be needed. The detailed figures for 1918 and 1927 are
as follows:
D
January, 1918
Pounds refined copper produced_______ 9, 165, 628
Tons concentrates smelted per man per
day__________________________________
0.43
Tons total material smelted per man per
day__________________________________
0.7 8
Pounds refined copper per man per day.
610
August, 1927
10, 142, 766
1.30
1.67
1, 612
646
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
The reduction in personnel, it is stated, included both skilled and
unskilled labor.
Increased Labor Productivity in Large Steel Plant
Between 1902 and 1926
ETAILED figures showing the great increase in the productivity
of labor in the iron and steel industry in recent years were
cited by Mr. Theodore W. Robinson, of the Illinois Steel Co., in an
address before the Iron and Steel Institute of London, England, in
September, 1927. Mr. Robinson presented data giving the output
in tons per man-hour in certain large departments of the Illinois
Steel Co. for the years 1902 and 1926. The figures are as follows:
D
TONS PRODUCED PER MAN-HOUR IN SPECIFIED DEPARTMENTS OF A LARGE
STEEL MILL, 1902 AND 1926, AND PER CENT OF INCREASE
l'Department
Ore unloading.............................................. .......................................... .......
Blast furnaces...................... ................... .......................................................
Bessemer ingots______________________ ___________ __________________
All open-hearth ingots................. ...............................................................
Rail mill:
South Works, 1902.....................................................................................
Gary Works, 1926......................................................................................
1902
2.087
.185
.421
.252
.189
1926
Per cent
of in
crease,
1926 over
1902
16.835
.698
.841
.418
.416 }
706.7
277.3
99.8
66.0
12 0 .1
Commenting on these figures, Mr. Robinson said:
This table shows that the average man in a modern iron and steel plant is
producing from one and a half to eight times as much as he did 25 years ago.
If translated into yearly volume, these figures indicate that at South Chicago
the average workman has increased his ore-handling capacity since 1902 from
6,000 to 48,000 tons, his pig-iron output from 675 to 2,405 tons, his Bessemer
ingot production from 1,761 to 3,730 tons, his open-hearth ingot production from
1,049 to 1,842 tons, and his rolling capacity from 603 to 1,240 tons of rails.
Labor Requirements for Principal Farm Crops 1
ARM crops may be divided into three broad groups with reference
to the amount of man labor used in producing them. Tob&cco,
cotton, sugar beets, potatoes, fruit, and truck crops absorb relatively
large quantities of labor. Corn, the grain sorghums, peanuts, and
like crops need less labor than the more intensely cultivated crops,
but more than most hay and small-grain crops which are usually
produced with the least labor. This classification with respect to
labor used is only relative. More labor may be used on a particular
crop in some sections than is usually needed to produce some other
crop of a more intensive nature in another part of the country.
Ordinarily, tobacco requires more labor per acre than any other
major crop. Requirements for producing different types of tobacco
F
* Reprinted from U. S. Department of Agriculture, Yearbook of Agriculture, 1926: “ Labor require
ments measured for principal crops,” by A, P. Brodell, Washington, 1927, pp. 466, 467.
LABOR REQUIREMENTS— FARM CROPS
647
differ, largely because of the different methods of harvesting, curing,
and preparing the leaf for market. An acre of burley tobacco
yielding from 800 to 1,000 pounds requires for growing, preparing for
market, and marketing from 350 to 400 hours of labor. An acre of
bright tobacco, the principal cigarette type, as grown in south-central
Virginia and yielding 600 to 700 pounds requires about 400 to 500
hours of labor. In the same district 300 to 350 hours of labor will
produce an acre of Virginia dark fire-cured tobacco yielding 800 to
900 pounds, and 250 to 275 hours of labor will produce an acre of
Kentucky dark tobacco of the same yield. Labor required for produc
ing a pound of tobacco of these types ranges from about 0.7 hour
for Virginia bright to about 0.3 hour for Kentucky dark tobacco.
Cotton’s Labor Requirements
I n the eastern cotton States (the old Cotton Belt), on farms where
the yield of lint is 150 to 200 pounds per acre, 100 to 125 hours of
labor are usually necessary to prepare, cultivate, harvest, and market
an acre of cotton. In the black belt of Texas, 50 to 60 hours of labor
are utilized in producing an acre of cotton yielding 140 to 160 pounds
of lint, while in the western district of the same State, growers with
similar yields normally expend only 35 to 40 hours of labor per acre.
Requirements for producing a pound of lint cotton for the above
districts range from about 0.7 hour of man labor in the Eastern
States to about 0.2 hour in the western district of Texas.
Large level fields which permit the use of larger machinery for
preparing the land and for cultivating the crop, together with sea
sonal conditions which make control of weeds easier, are the chief
reasons why western cotton growers produce cotton with less labor
than do the growers in other districts.
The use of large machines also makes it possible to grow more
cotton per man. In parts of Texas and Oklahoma growers frequently
plant as much as 100 acres of cotton per man with extra labor for
hoeing, thinning, and harvesting. Growers in the eastern cotton
States usually plant from 10 to 20 acres per man.
From 65 to 100 hours of labor are normally used in producing an
acre of potatoes. Average requirements for producing a bushel of
late potatoes are about 0.4 hour in the Northern States, while 0.6
to 0.7 hour of labor is usually needed in producing a bushel of early
potatoes in southern districts. In the New England States more
labor is used on an acre of potatoes than in other late-potato dis
tricts, but the higher yields make it possible to produce a bushel of
potatoes with about the same quantity of labor as is used in some
of the other late-potato districts.
Much Variation on Corn
I n the production of corn, requirements in various districts
differ largely because of different methods of harvesting, size of
machines used, and yield per acre. In the Com Belt where goodsized implements are used for preparing the land and cultivating the
crop, and where the crop is harvested by hand from the standing
stalk, from 15 to 20 hours of labor per acre are usually adequate with
yields of 35 to 45 bushels. In some of the Southern States from 50
648
PRODUCTIVITY OF LABOR
to 70 hours of labor per acre are ordinarily required for corn yielding
20 to 30 bushels when the stalks are cut and shocked and the ears
are harvested by hand from the shock. In the North Atlantic States
com is usually harvested in this way and the requirements per acre
are similar, though yields are higher.
Requirements for producing a bushel of corn in the various dis
tricts differ even more than do requirements per acre. Usually
about 2.5 hours of labor are required for producing a bushel of com
and caring for the stover in certain Southern States as compared
with about 0.5 hour in the Com Belt when the ears are husked from
the standing stalk and large level fields and large machines make it
possible for one man to grow more acres of com than in other pro
ducing districts.
Small-grain crops require relatively little labor. Size of machines
used, size of fields, lay of land, and climatic conditions affect labor
requirements for producing these crops to a greater extent than does
yield. Requirements for producing a bushel of wheat range from
about 2.5 hours in the Southern States to about 0.3 hours in the
Pacific Northwest. In the Western States combines are frequently
used for harvesting and large teams or tractors are utilized for pre
paring land and for seeding, whereas in the southern and eastern
districts relatively small machines and crews are used for all opera
tions.
But little labor is usually required for producing an acre of most
hay crops and practically all of this labor is required during the har
vesting season. Requirements on a ton basis vary from 4.5 hours
for clover hay to 7.2 hours for alfalfa on irrigated land. For annuals,
such as cowpeas or soy beans, which are seeded for hay and culti
vated during the growing season, requirements are much higher than
for other hay crops.
RECREATION FACILITIES FOR
INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
649
Recreational Opportunities Provided by City Park
Systems
LOSELY connected with the movement toward city dwelling,
which has accompanied the industrial expansion of the past
few decades in the United States, is the problem of adequate space
and facilities for the recreation of both children and adults. The
concentration of large populations in comparatively restricted
localities has nearly always resulted in the absorption of areas which
might otherwise have been available for recreation. In order to meet
the recreation needs of the people, therefore, a movement for the
preservation and the development of park and recreation areas has
been in progress for some time and a recent survey of the county and
municipal park systems throughout the country, the results of which
have been published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,1shows some
thing of the recreational needs of the people as well as what has been
accomplished by the different communities in the provision of parks
and recreation centers.
The social problems connected with the concentration of large
numbers of people in small areas have to do with both living and
working conditions. These problems often include, as a result of the
overcrowding, a more or less acute housing problem and also problems
concerning the physical safety and health of children and the oppor
tunities for healthy and wholesome exercise for young people and
adults. Leaders of commerce and industry as well as labor leaders
have been keenly alive to the recreation problem in industrial centers
both in relation to health and working efficiency. Various reso
lutions on the subject of recreation have been passed in the conven
tions of the American Federation of Labor, and in 1925 the committee
on education was directed to study the problem from the standpoint
of the immediate recreational opportunities necessary to counteract
the effects of the modern city and also in relation to future develop
ments of community life. The facts gathered in the present study,
therefore, are of vital significance to the workers of the United States
as well as to other community groups, since they show the extent to
which our local governments are attempting to correct some of the
mistakes made in their earlier history and to plan so that such mis
takes will not be repeated in their further development.
C
Development of the Park Movement
T he park movement in the United States has developed since the
middle of the last century, as prior to 1850 no laws had been enacted
which provided for park and other recreation systems and not a
single municipal department had been specifically created to handle
parks and recreation. At the present time there is a multiplicity
i Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 462: Park Recreation Areas in the United States. Washington,
1928. This study was made by the Playground and Recreation Association of America with the editorial
assistance of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
651
652
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
of agencies throughout the country which are dealing with the ques
tion. In the first 25 cities in size, for example, there are 62 different
agencies dealing with public parks and public recreation.
The early idea of a park among park builders and planners was that
of “ a place where urban inhabitants could obtain the recreation
coming from the peaceful enjoyment of its rural, sylvan, and natural
scenery and character.” The type of recreation advocated at that
time was of a passive or semiactive kind and the dominant ideal was
that of peaceful enjoyment amid beautiful surroundings. This con
cept has changed and widened, however, and provision for a wide
range of active forms of recreation have come to be included. The
new movement toward the use of parks for active recreation began
with the playground movement for children about 1880 and in the
following two decades expanded into the general recreation move
ment for persons of all ages. In addition to changing the functional
uses of many park properties, the new movement brought into
existence a number of new types, such as areas devoted more or less
exclusively to playgrounds, playfields, athletic parks, stadiums,
neighborhood recreation parks, swimming and boating centers,
golf courses, and boulevards and parkways. The growth in the
scope of park activities added to the services of park administration
agencies a series of complex and difficult social problems involved in
organizing for the people a wide range of recreational activities of a
physical, cultural, social, and civic nature which necessitate coopera
tive relationships with other public and private agencies.
At the end, therefore, of nearly three-quarters of a century of park
development in the United States, the term “ park” has come to
mean “ any area of land or water set aside for outdoor recreational
purposes, whether it be recreation of a passive or an active nature or of
any of the degrees between those two extremes, and that ‘ the recrea
tion is expected to come in part at least from beauty of appearance.999
Extent of Park Planning
G rowth of city planning in this country has been rapid in the
past 20 years. During this time 176 cities, representing about onefifth of the total population of the country, have had general plans
made, including comprehensive park plans. Altogether about 390
cities have legally constituted planning boards which are organized
to direct the development of the cities along the best lines. Regional
park plans are also either actually in effect or are being worked out
in many large cities, and there are 525 cities which have zoning
ordinances. The matter of zoning is of fundamental importance in
securing the permanency and stability of the properties set aside for
parks and recreation centers.
Prior to 1900 there was only one organization dealing with the
subject of parks which was national in scope. This association was
made up of the executives in charge of the comparatively few park
systems in existence at that time. About 1917 the society was
reorganized into the American Institute of Park Executives and
American Park Society. The Playground and Recreation Associa
tion of America was formed about 1905.
The provision of special courses in schools and colleges for the
training of park executives and recreation leaders is comparatively
OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY CITY PARKS
653
recent, although at the present time there are more than 60 colleges
and universities giving special courses for park executives, with special
attention to landscape design and the propagation of trees, flowers,
etc., while there are about 140 educational institutions providing
courses for the training of playground leaders, and there is one
national graduate school for the training of recreation executives.
Present Park Areas
I t was not until about 1890 that the real movement toward the pro
vision of parks by municipalities began. Between 1852, when there
was not a single municipal park in the country, and 1892, provision
for municipal parks was made by only 100 cities; while in 1925 and
and 1926, approximately 1,680 cities had provided nearly 250,000
acres of recreation spaces.
Although this would seem to indicate that rather remarkable
progress in park planning had been made, in reality the situation is
not so satisfactory as it appears.
New York City, with nearly 6,000,000 people, has only about
10,000 acres set aside for play, sports, and all other forms of outdoor
recreation for children and young people and for adults. Practically
the same thing is true, also, of Chicago, which, with approximately
3,000,000 inhabitants, has less than 5,000 acres of public property
set aside for the recreation of the residents. A great outlying section,
however, has been developed which can be reached by trolley and
automobiles. This is the Cook County Forest Preserve which con
tains about 31,600 acres, the development of which represents one
of the most notable civic achievements of any American city, exceed
ing, probably, anything done in any city of the world in recent times.
In the vicinity of New York City, other agencies than the city
have provided areas which can easily be used by the residents. The
most important of these is the great Westchester County Park
System which was not started until 1922 but for which an expendi
ture of nearly $37,000,000 had been authorized by the end of 1926.
The park now comprises more than 16,000 acres. Residents of New
York City also have access to the Palisades Interstate Park in the
States of New York and New Jersey which totals 37,190 acres and
extends for several miles along the Hudson River. This park pro
vides facilities for bathing, boating, camping, hiking, etc., and has
been developed with the sole object of making it readily accessible
for the people of the near-by cities.
Among the largest cities of the country, Philadelphia has the best
showing as to the ratio of park acreage to population, as with a popu
lation of less than 2,000,000 it has almost 8,000 acres of park proper
ties, practically all of which are within the city limits. Some of the
smaller cities, as might be expected, have a larger ratio of park
acreage to population than the large cities, but in all these cities
there is a lack of children’s playgrounds and neighborhood playfield
parks, which is due to the failure to plan for such spaces before the
residential sections were built up. A comparison of the cities of the
country, grouped according to the United States census population
figures, with the reports received of the park acreage in these cities
shows that all these groups of cities are still far from being adequately
provided with parks.
654
RECREATION FACILITIES---- INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
The ratio of park acreage to population which has been used as the
simplest measure of the extent to which the cities are providing
recreation areas does not furnish an accurate measurement, however,
as the park system may be inadequate if most of the total acreage
is in one large park, if the parks are so distributed that they are not
readily accessible, or if they do not provide a variety of recreation
facilities.
The limited number of communities under 5,000 population report
ing parks is indicative of the lack of play facilities in numerous small
towns, villages, and rural districts. Millions of people living in these
localities have no park or playground facilities. Space is not lacking,
as there are always open fields and vacant lots, but these are entirely
inadequate for recreation without proper equipment and competent
leadership. Twenty per cent of the communities in the population
group 5,000 to 10,000 reported no parks. The total park acreage of
50 typical cities of the population group 10,000 to 25,000 is several
times as great as that of Baltimore, Boston, or St. Louis, each of
which has a population equivalent to that of this group of smaller
places. There are 324 park properties in these cities as compared
with 66 in Baltimore, 99 in Boston, and 96 in St. Louis.
One hundred and thirty-three of the cities in the group of 25,000
to 50,000 population reported parks, but 20 of these cities had 45 per
cent of the total park acreage. In these 20 there is an average of 1
acre of park to every 53 inhabitants. There is the same inequality
in park development found among the cities ranging in population
from 50,000 to 100,000.
In the large cities, those having 250,000 inhabitants or more there
seems to be no special relation between park planning and city growth
while in the nine cities which have from 500,000 to 1,000,000 inhabi
tants there is decidedly less park acreage in proportion to the popula
tion than in most of the smaller cities. These cities are especially
lacking in children’s playgrounds and neighborhood parks. The area
in. parks in the three largest cities—New York, Chicago, and Phila
delphia—is smaller in proportion to the population than any one of
the groups of cities from 25,000 inhabitants upward.
Municipal Parks Outside City Limits and County Park Systems
T he extension of the park systems beyond the limits of the city has
been made possible by the widespread ownership of the automobile.
Through this improvement in the means of transportation a city
recreation system may be extended many miles into the country
and still be used by large numbers of people. Park properties have
been acquired outside the city limits by about 100 cities. The pur
chase of park areas outside the city limits is a wise procedure, more
over, because of the p r o b a b ility that such areas will be greatly
needed as the city develops.
The first county park system to be established was that of Essex
County, N. J., which was started in 1895. Although the plan was
extremely successful the idea spread slowly and few such systems
were started before 1020. Since that time, however, a number of
county park systems have been started in different sections of the
country and there are now 33 counties which have one or more county
parks with a total area of 67,464.71 acres.
OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY CITY PARKS
655
Under certain conditions, the report states, counties are “ admirably
adapted to park planning and they offer an undeveloped field of
tremendous importance in the general outdoor recreation movement.
Although many of the outstanding county park systems have been
designed as units for handling metropolitan park problems, it is con
ceivable that the greatest field of usefulness of this type of system will
be in providing recreation opportunities for the rural districts and
the people in the thousands of small municipalities throughout the
country.”
Recreation Facilities in Parks
T he most significant trend in the municipal park movement in
the last 25 years has been the use of parks for active recreation.
While the use of parks for active games and sports was opposed at
first by most park executives and commissioners, to-day at least 90
per cent of those in charge of parks favor their use for active recrea
tion, as well as rest and reflection.
The place of children's playgrounds in a park system is indicated
by the fact that 309 cities reported 4,819 playgrounds located in
parks. The park recreation facilities reported most frequently were
areas for baseball, football, soccer, playground ball, horseshoe pitch
ing, basket ball, field hockey, track, field events, volley ball, hand
ball, and croquet. Ninety-eight cities reported golf courses in parks.
Among the other sports for which facilities are provided are bowling,
roque, polo, archery, and shooting. Wading and swimming pools,
bathing beaches, and boating facilities are common, and in the north
ern sections of the country the various winter sports are provided for.
The municipal parks are also the centers for a wide range of social,
recreational, and educational features; many of them contain club
houses, gymnasiums, and field houses and thus serve as community
centers. Art galleries, museums, outdoor theaters, band stands, and
conservatories located in the parks add to the cultural and educa
tional life of the people, while purely recreational buildings and
structures include boathouses, grand stands, bathhouses, and dancing
pavilions. Zoological gardens were reported by 99 cities. Facilities
for picnics reported by 117 cities are part of the movement to encour
age outdoor activities on the part of families and community groups.
Park Finances
C onsiderably over $1,000,000,000 is the estimated amount of
capital invested in parks at the present time, while the operation
and maintenance expense of these parks is in excess of $100,000,000
per year.
The financing of park systems falls into two distinct divisions,
covering the acquisition and permanent improvement of properties
and the operation and maintenance of the parks. Various methods
are followed in financing the purchase and permanent improvement
of these properties. These include: Use of current funds of the park
and recreation department or by direct appropriation of a municipal
or county government; the sale of bonds secured by general taxa
tion, by special assessments, or by a combination of these methods;
installment payments out of the net proceeds obtained from the
operation of the particular project itself; proceeds from gifts, be
quests, etc.; and the acquisition of properties through use of the
656
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
principle of excess condemnation or excess purchase. Acquisition
and improvement may also be financed out of current revenues,
although on the whole this has been found to be an undesirable
method. The revenues from the operation of recreation facilities
include the lump sums which may be paid for concessions or the fees
paid for* the use of certain types of recreation facilities.
Obstacles to Town Planning
One of the principal causes of the failure to follow a consistent
policy in the development of American towns and cities has been
the difficulty in democratically governed communities of secur
ing unity of mind upon a given policy or plan. Another reason was
the rapidity with which the population of the country changed from
a rural to a predominantly urban population and the general failure
to understand the significance of the change which was taking place
or to plan wisely for the changing living conditions, while a further
obstacle to the development of a proper park policy has been the
prevalence of rural ideas and ideals under urban conditions and in
urban communities. In spite of the fact that more than half of the
population is located in the cities rural individualism still controls
to a large extent, because the “ peculiar political condition whereby
State governments exercise considerable control over laws affecting
cities tends to perpetuate rural control even in cities located in
States that are largely industrial.”
Com m unity Recreation in the United States in 1927
T
HE COMMUNITY recreation movement made substantial
progress during 1927, according to reports 2 from 815 cities
throughout the country which maintain community recreation plans
under trained leadership. The number of cities reporting recreation
programs for the community had increased from 505 in 1922 to 815 in
1927, and the number of trained workers from approximately 11,000
to nearly 20,000. In addition to these paid workers, 203 cities
reported that 7,025 trained volunteers assisted in carrying out the
recreation programs. The number of cities employing workers
throughout the year had increased from 215 in 1922 to 321 in 1927.
Training classes for paid workers were maintained by 146 cities and
for volunteer workers by 82 cities.
Separate play areas in charge of recreation leaders numbered
10,770, an increase of 647 over those reported in 1926. The facilities
provided include 6,301 outdoor playgrounds, 2,156 indoor recreation
centers, and 349 community houses, part of these facilities being
provided for colored residents. The outdoor playgrounds had an
average daily attendance of more than 1,400,000 persons, including
both participants in the sports or games and spectators. The indoor
* The Playground, New York, June, 1928, pp. 113-121.
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
657
recreation centers had an average daily attendance of nearly 300,000
and the community houses an average attendance of 46,000.
Other recreation facilities reported include 403 bathing beaches in
214 cities, 840 swimming pools in 364 cities, 227 streets closed for play
in 31 cities, 263 golf courses in 180 cities, 231 summer camps in 82
cities, and 694 play areas which do not come under the foregoing
classifications in 52 cities. In addition a large proportion of the cities
report tennis courts, baseball fields, and athletic fields.
The majority of the recreation programs are under the direction of
municipal recreation commissions, departments, or boards, and in a
number of cities municipal and private departments are combined in
the management of playgrounds and community centers. About
280 cities report that private organizations maintain part or all of
the recreation facilities.
Of 658 cities reporting on the sources of support for community
recreation, 394 were carried on by means of municipal funds, 97 by
private funds, and the remainder by a combination of municipal and
private funds and appropriations from the county or State. The
total expenditure for public recreation in 1927 as reported by these
cities amounted to $32,191,763.
Recreational Activities for Industrial Employees
HE GENERAL movement for shortening the hours of labor
which gained momentum, following the war, both in European
countries and in the United States has brought with it the question
of the use to be made by the workers of the leisure time secured
through the shorter workday. Investigations have been made in
many of these countries of the way in which the workers’ spare hours
are or may be occupied, with a view to providing the educational
and recreational facilities needed to secure the most benefit from
the added leisure.
In this country many organizations and individuals are concerned
with the provision of suitable occupation for leisure hours, and the
importance of outdoor recreation to the well-being of the people
has been particularly emphasized by the President of the United
States in the call for a general conference on outdoor recreation,
issued in the spring of 1924, in which the need for bringing the chance
for out-of-door pleasure within the reach of all was pointed out.
Many employers endeavor to provide their employees with oppor
tunities for outdoor recreation and, to supply, where this is desired
or needed, the means for entertainment of various kinds, to develop
the capacity for social leadership, and to promote social contacts
among their employees. The accessibility of plants to the homes of
the workers, the existence of a community of interests among the
employees, and a desire or willingness to carry over the association
of working hours into their leisure time are the factors which deter
mine to a large extent how much the employer may offer in the line
of sport and entertainment or of cultural activities,
T
658
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
Indoor Recreation
I n a s u r v e y 3 by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the personnel activities carried on by employers, schedules were
secured from 430 establishments with approximately 1,977,000 em
ployees. Of this number, 235 provide clubhouses, club or recreation
rooms, rooms for different games, such as billiards or pool, bowling
alleys, and gymnasiums, while 316 companies provide lectures, mov
ing pictures, and concerts, or assist in the maintenance of bands,
orchestras, or glee clubs.
These features of industrial life are not uniformly successful,
however, as about 100 companies reported that one or more of these
activities had been given up because of lack of interest on the part of
the employees, because the cost was too great, or the results were
not considered to justify the expenditure.
Rest and Recreation Rooms
I n a l a r g e number of plants, rooms of varying degrees of attrac
tiveness are furnished for the use of employees for purposes of recre
ation or relaxation. These rooms are used by employees for rest, if
the work processes are sufficiently fatiguing to warrant giving rest
periods to all or part of the employees, for rest and recreation at the
lunch period, and frequently for social affairs after working hours.
Sometimes the lunch room or rooms serve for noontime gatherings of
various kinds, for dances, and for other social affiairs. About onethird of the firms visited provide special recreation or club rooms,
while in many other cases these rooms are found in the clubhouse.
In general, the recreation rooms are provided for the factory as
well as the office force, and, although in a few instances there are
separate rooms, in the majority of cases the same rooms are used by
both classes of employees. Separate rooms for men and women are
the rule, although a few establishments have one room used by both,
and where the lunch rooms are used for recreational purposes it is
customary for them to be used by the men and women alike.
The following table shows, by industries, the number of establish
ments having clubhouses, rest and recreation rooms, gymnasiums,
and various special game rooms:
* See Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 458: Health and Recreation Activities in Industrial Establish
ments, 1926, pp. 31-58.
659
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
T a b l e 1 . —NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS PROVIDING SPECIFIED TYPES OF
FACILITIES FOR INDOOR RECREATION
Establish
ments having
recreational
facilities
Establishments reporting—
Industry
Number-
Manufacturing:
Automobiles and airplanes..............
4
5
7
Em
ployees
Club
houses
1
Rec
rea
tion
or
club**
rooms
Bil
liard Bowl Gym Game
or
ing
na
pool alleys siums rooms
rooms
13
32,007
25,040
13,905
9,843
80,595
38,375
9,649
67,066
1,960
6,605
3,975
23,518
6,145
8,179
4,135
34,924
3,900
61,764
3,100
30,684
Total. .................... ......................
166
465,369
61
81
65
60
48
74
Logging and sawmills__________ ______
Mining and quarrying...... .......................
16
35,087
1 ,1 1 2
1
10
3
9
8
1
2
9
3
276,620
52,259
3
3
10
3
4
3
1
3
5
"Roots fvn<1 shops
Chemicals, soap and allied products.
n io th in g find fnrni.shings
Electrical supplies______________
Fine machines and instruments__
Food products__________________ 1
Machine shops___________________
Furniture................. ..........................
Gold and silver........... ......................
Hats....... ............................................
Iron and steel-............... ...................
Ore reduction......... ............................
Paper__________ __________ ______
Printing and publishing............. ......
Rubber goods............................. ......
Slaughtering and meat packing____
Textiles......... ..................... ................
Tin and enamel ware_______ ______
Miscellaneous....... .......................... .
6
18
8
9
23
2
3
1
5
5
' 7
4
7
1
37
1
1
•2
3
3
1
1
5
2
2
3
4
4
14
2
5
13
1
1
1
4
5
3
1
3
3
2
3
3
1
1
6
1
3
1
1
7
3
15
4
13
1
1
3
3
5
5
5
5
1
2
1
1
1
1
•1
3
1
3
U
1
1
1
5
4
1
2
2
1
3
13
5
3
10
1
2
1
5
5
4
2
2
3
21
15
9
9
7
5
3
1
6
5
3
2
1
8
1
2
1
1
1
1
5
1
Public utilities:
Steam railroads.............. ...................
Electric railroads....... ........................
Gas, electric light, and power, tele
phone and telegraph____________
13
105,879
5
7
3
6
4
6
Total...............................................
24
434,758
6
20
10
10
9
14
11
3
2
1
1
2
3
9
89
80
8
Offices...... ................................................. !
Stores.. ..................................................... i
Other industries______________________I
16
1
19,922
51,461
450
2
2
27
Grand total................... .................. 1
235
1,008,159
82
142
10
1
1
2
5
67 |
1
111
Clubhouses
A s e p a r a t e clubhouse has been provided for part or all of their
employees by 82 of the companies visited. This figure includes some
companies—notably the railroads and the southern cotton mills—
which carried on this work through the Y . M . C. A . or Y . W . C. A .
In most of these cases the company had built or purchased the
buildings used and sometimes they served one or more industries,
but in the mode of operation and in the service rendered to employees
they take the place of the regular clubhouse and fulfill the same
purpose.
39142°— 29-------43
660
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
Although many of the clubhouses offer a wide range of activities
and give their members surroundings and opportunities similar to
those offered by any well-ordered club, they need not be elaborate
in order to serve a very useful purpose. In a number of cases quite
simple buildings and furnishings are much used and appreciated by
employees.
Due to the nature of the industry, the large railroad companies
handle these activities somewhat differently from other companies.
Some of them have clubhouses for small groups and there are many
clubs throughout the organizations, but much of the social and
recreational work is turned over to the branches of the Y. M. C. A.,
and these organizations provide the facilities and supervise this work
at the different division points. They provide game rooms, clubrooms, libraries, gymnasiums, dormitories, and lunch rooms, as well
as classes, concerts, lectures, and social affairs; and they often organize
orchestras and glee clubs.
In the majority of the southern cotton mills the club work is part
of a general community program which is centralized in a commu
nity house, frequently with a staff of paid workers. In other cases
it is carried on by the Y. M. C. A. or Y. W. C. A. or directly by the
employer. Whatever the medium throiigh which the work is organ
ized, however, it usually includes the provision of kindergartens
and nurseries, clinics, home visiting, and nursing, clubs for wives
and children of employees, classes in sewing and cooking, play
grounds and gymnasiums, and in fact all phases of the home life
are touched.
Management, dues, and membership.—;No special inquiry into the
subject of club management was made in the course of the bureau’s
study, but this information was furnished in 56 cases. In general,
the companies maintain a certain amount of supervision over the
clubhouse, which varies from entire control by the company to direct
charge of the club affairs by an employees’ committee, but with
some degree of oversight by the company. The extent of the activ
ities centered in the clubhouse determines the number of persons
required for its successful management. Thirty-nine clubhouses
are managed by a staff of paid workers under the supervision of the
company, this number including most of those in which the club
house is the center of the social and recreational life of the workers
and of the community. The affairs of most of the other clubhouses
are in the hands of an employees’ committee or are managed by a
board of directors which in several cases acts under the direction of
the industrial relations department.
Many of the companies did not report whether there were any
restrictions as to club membership, but of those reporting on this
point, in about 100 cases membership was open to all and frequently
to members of employees’ families as well.
The membership dues in the clubhouses range from 25 cents to
$50 a year. One club has an initiation fee of from $5 to $10 and
yearly dues of $5 to $20, according to the grade of membership.
In another club of 500 members the dues are $33.50 yearly, but these
high fees are exceptional and the majority range from $1 to $6 a year.
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
661
Bowling Alleys or Game Rooms
B owling seems to be the most popular form of indoor sport and
large numbers of employees are interested in the game. Bowling
alleys were provided by the company in 80 cases, but this is not a
true index of the popularity of the game, as many companies have
organized teams which play on rented alleys or use the community
facilities when such are available. Tables for billiards or pool are
provided both in clubhouses and in clubrooms in the plants by 89
companies, while 111 companies reported that rooms were available
for their employees in which a variety of games, such as cards, check
ers, and chess, could be played.
Swimming Pools
I ndoor or outdoor swimming pools were reported by 48 com
panies and several of these firms have both. Fifteen other com
panies rent either Y. M. C. A. or Y. W. C. A. or high-school pools
for the use of their employees and in a number of cases pay a swim
ming instructor. In addition to this, several companies have built
bathhouses and dressing rooms at near-by lakes or at the beaches
for the use of employees.
Gymnasiums
Sixty - seven firms visited provide gymnasiums, which in 60 cases
are open to all employees, while in the other 7 they are for the use
of club members only. Eighteen additional firms engaged the use
of outside gymnasiums, paying part or all of the fees.
Basket-ball teams are maintained by 129 firms, and 66 of these
have gymnasiums or recreation rooms where games are played.
Twenty firms report that Y. M. C. A. or high-school gymnasiums
are rented for games, in 2 cases the employees’ lunch room is used,
and 41 did not report where games are played. In most cases it
was found that the company supported the team in some way, either
furnishing the members’ suits or prizes or paying transportation
when games are played out of town.
Social Gatherings
T here were 316 companies with about 1,350,000 employees that
reported social affairs among their employees, such as dances or card
parties, banquets or parties on special occasions such as Halloween
or Christmas, while a considerable number each report lectures,
moving pictures, or concerts given for their employees, or organized
bands, orchestras, or glee clubs. The following table shows the
number of establishments having each of these activities, by indus
tries:
662
T
RECREATION FACILITIES---- INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
able
2.—NUMBER
OF
ESTABLISHMENTS REPORTING
GATHERING, BY INDUSTRY
EACH TYPE OF
SOCIAL
Establishments reporting—
Industry
Dances
and
other
social
affairs
Mov
Lec
Glee
ing
Bands Orches
tures pictures
tras
clubs
Manufacturing:
Automobiles and airplanes..................
Boots and shoes......... .........................
Chemicals, soap, and allied products..
Clothing and furnishings.....................
Electrical supplies................................
Fine machines and instruments_____
Food products......................... ............
Foundries and machine shops.............
Furniture..............................................
Gold and silver.....................................
Hats......................................................
Iron and steel.......................................
Oil refining...........................................
Ore reduction......................................
Paper...................................................
Printing and publishing......................
Rubber goods......................... ............
Slaughtering and meat packing_____
Textiles....................................... ........
Tin and enamel ware...........................
Miscellaneous.......................................
T o t a l ..
Con
certs
6
2
4
4
10
3
8
12
1
1
1
4
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
22
45
220
45
cogging and sawmills........ ..............................
Mining and quarrying......................................
Public utilities:
Steam railroads...........................................
Electric railroads........................................
Gas, electric light and power, telephone
and telegraph...........................................
12
Total..
*21
Offices..........
Grand total....................... .............ili_
23
316
65
103
154
The social affairs are usually conducted by the employees’ club,
the athletic association, or the mutual benefit association, and are
financed in various ways. A few firms reported that they have only
one social gathering a year, this usually being a banquet given by
the company to the whole force, but a large number reported that
there are social gatherings throughout the year. Social affairs are
often handled in groups because of the diversity of interests and the
large numbers to be entertained, which make their handling often
something of a problem. Dancing, being the easiest and most popular
form of amusement, of course, predominates. Occasionally it is
found that social affairs are conducted by the club and are for club
members only, but this is not generally true, and if the club
confines its affairs to members only, there is often provision made
for the entertainment of the other employees.
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
663
Lectures, Moving Pictures, Etc.
Sixty - five companies report that lectures or talks are given for
employees. These talks cover a variety of subjects, such as health,
hygiene, travel, and other topics of general interest, and are often
illustrated with moving pictures.
Moving pictures are shown for employees by 61 companies either
in the clubhouse, the Y. M. C. A., or the theater or auditorium.
When pictures are shown at the clubhouse they are usually for mem
bers only and are free, but when the theater or auditorium is used
they are open to all employees and usually to the whole community
ana a small fee is charged, the chief advantage being that better
pictures are seen for moderate prices.
Sixty-seven companies provide an auditorium to be used for various
performances and entertainments, the seating capacity ranging
from a few hundred to several thousand. These rooms usually have
an adequate stage, occasionally special lighting apparatus, and often
removable seats so that they can be used for dancing or as a gym
nasium.
In many cases the employees’ dining room is used not only for
social affairs but as an assembly hall as well, and there is often a
stage in one end of the lunch room, a piano or Victrola or both.
Musical Organizations
B ands, orchestras, and glee clubs which are organized on a com
pany basis and which receive substantial assistance from the company
are numerous. Organizations of this kind require much time if they
accomplish anything worth while and a considerable amount of money
is spent on them by the different firms. Many of the companies fur
nish the larger instruments, uniforms for members of the bands, and
the music, and frequently they hire leaders and pay the players for
the time spent in rehearsals and sometimes for their services when
furnishing the music for company affairs.
One hundred and three of the firms visited reported bands, 86 have
orchestras, 66 glee clubs, and a number have a fife and drum corps,
while often an impromptu orchestra is made up from the band mem
bers who play orchestral instruments.
Some of these organizations which received help in the beginning
have become entirely self-supporting through concerts given outside,
while others play for company affairs only, such as dances, banquets,
exhibitions, games, and noon-hour concerts. Twelve bands give
regular noon-hour concerts each week through the year and play for
many special occasions besides, and 25 bands give outdoor concerts
through the summer. Orchestras often play during the noon hour
for dancing.
Other Clubs
T he active organizations among employees are not confined to
those having a social aim, but there are clubs formed for study or for
philanthropic purposes. Among these groups there are besides the
musical organizations and those doing dramatic work, those interested
in sewing, millinery, cooking, basketry, gymnasium work, and study
664
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
of various sorts. There are also many clubs doing welfare and relief
work* The company often helps to finance this work even though
it is not confined to families concerned with the industry.
Financing Clubs and Social Affairs
No s p e c ia l information was secured in regard to financing clubs
and social affairs, but it was found that in the majority of cases the
clubhouse, auditorium, or other facilities for indoor recreation are
provided by the company, and the company usually pays overhead
expenses and upkeep of these places. In a few cases the entire expense
is borne by the company, but this policy is not a general one and in
many cases the running expenses are borne jointly by the company
and the employees, the company often paying into the treasury an
amount equal to the dues of members. Occasionally clubs and social
affairs are financed entirely by dues and by admission fees for enter
tainments. A number of firms stated that clubs were supposed to be
self-supporting, but that it was understood that any deficit would
be paid by the company.
Outdoor Recreation
V a r i o u s f a c t o r s enter into the problem of providing outdoor recre
ation for the employees of an establishment, some of which were not
operative 10 years ago when a similar study was made by the bureau.
The most important of these are the increase in the extent of auto
mobile ownership among industrial employees and the rather definite
movement toward home ownership in the suburbs of many of the
important industrial centers. Both of these factors militate against
the development of outdoor sports in the vicinity of the plants. In
addition, there is the fact that space for outdoor sports is often at a
premium, since many industrial establishments are in highly congested
areas. In a growing number of cities, too, the development of munici
pal recreation under trained leadership has become a feature of civic
life, and this may often prove to be a solution of the problem of the
employer who wishes to provide such facilities but is unable to do so
because of lack of space or who has found a tendency toward pro
fessionalism growing up in the plant. In cases where the city provides
a trained recreation director, frequently groups of industries con
tribute a stated amount annually toward the cost of this service, and
the different teams are usually organized according to their industrial
affiliations.
In developing plant-recreation programs there seems to be a quite
definite tendency on the part of the management to let the demand
for any particular activity come from the workers, the company
offering any encouragement or assistance which the employees need
or are willing to accept.
Extent of Outdoor Recreation Activities
In t h is s t u d y 319 of the companies, with approximately 1,300,000
employees, were reported as providing facilities for various forms of
athletics or other lands of outdoor recreation.
665
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
The following table shows the number of companies maintaining
country clubs or summer camps, having annual picnics or other
outings, or providing facilities for the different sports:
T
3.—NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS HAVING ATHLETIC CLUBS, OUTDOOR
RECREATION FACILITIES, AND OUTINGS FOR EMPLOYEES, BY INDUSTRIES
able
Establishments
reporting
Industry
Num
ber
Manufacturing:
Automobiles____________
14
Boots and shoes.................
3
Chemicals, soap, and al
lied products__________
6
Clothing and furnishings..
10
Electrical supplies_______
16
Fine machines and instru
11
ments_________________
Food products...................
8
Foundries and machine
shops_________________
40
Furniture
_______________
3
Gold and silver ware_____
3
Iron and steel___________
8
Oil refining______________
3
Ore reduction___________
3
Paper__________________
10
Printing and publishing- 4
Rubber_________________
8
Textiles..............................
36
Miscellaneous___________
27
Total.............. ............ .
Em
ployees
Number of establishments having—
Base
An
ball
Foot nual
Ath dia Tennis Golf Base ball picnic Sum
letic monds
ball
or
or
mer
clubs or ath courts courses teams soccer other camps
letic
teams out
fields
ings
126,031
3
22,000
1
10,610
17,693
81,503
6
3
2
1
4
3
4
9
6
1
1
42,790
8,805
3
11
1
5
4
101,784
3,170
6,605
38,728
22,078
5,395
11,954
3,225
50,359
63,927
61,860
5
15
2
1
1
1
2
3
4
1
3
2
8
6
1
10
6
3
6
4
2
9
1
1
29
3
28
3
3
4
3
1
4
3
3
1
1
3
4
6
42
126
29
3
2
10
2
3
7
2
4
1
1
1
2
9
6
7
5
3
5
31
13
1
1
9
7
1
2
6
11
2
2
7
3
3
9
3
6
32 .
15
1
2
2
1
2
7
4
18
3
36
118
10
2
3
7
7
1
1
1
10
2
10
213
678,517
Logging and sawmills________
Mining and quarrying_______
Offices........................... .........
3
15
13
3,376
34,996
32,942
Public utilities:
Steam and electric rail
road__________________
Gas, electricity, tele
phone and telegraph___
19
337,416
3
7
2
2
12
18
122,286
4
8
4
1
13
1
10
Total. __..........................
37
459,702
,7
15
6
3
25
1
20
11
Stores______________________
Other industries_____________
34
4
96,860
3,409
6
2
5
1
18
2
18
4
9
319
1,309,802
59
157
50
41
177
33
Grand total____ _____ __
1
160
5
2
11
6
7
3
1
13
223
9
Baseball.—Among the different outdoor sports baseball may still be
said to be the most popular game, as 223 companies reported that
there were one or more organized baseball teams in their plants. The
tendency, however, for sport of this type to become professional
has been in evidence in numerous cases among the plant teams, and a
number of companies reported that they had withdrawn their support
from the teams because of the fact that men were being hired solely
for their ability to play baseball. Such employees frequently make
unsatisfactory workers and also often prove to be a disturbing element
in the plant. Thirty-eight companies reported that baseball had
been given up, and of these about one-third stated that it was on
account of professionalism. In one of these cases, in which there
666
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
was a baseball league among different companies of the same industry,
it was said that in addition to the tendency toward professionalism
there was an undesirable rivalry created between the different com
panies associated in the league. About a third of the firms reported
that the game had been given up on account of lack of interest,
while -various reasons, such as lack of space or the cost, were given by
the others.
Among the companies which foster baseball, however, many of
those having more than one plant have a series of games between the
teams of the different plants during the season, while in large plants
there are usually many inter-departmental games. In cases where
there are a number of teams in one plant, one or more of the teams
often belong to a minor or semiprofessional league or to an industrial
league.
The firms contribute in various ways toward the maintenance of
the ball teams. In a large number of cases the company provides
uniforms and equipment, and it may also pay the umpire and other
costs connected with the games.
Nearly 100 companies have more than one baseball team, and it is
somewhat surprising to find that a large number of these have as
many as 8 or 10 teams or even more. Regularly organized teams
among the women employees, while not common, were found in a
number of instances.
Although baseball is the most popular game, diamond ball, hand
ball, speed ball, kitten ball, and volley ball also enjoy considerable
popularity. Several girls’ diamond-ball teams were reported. Vol
ley ball seems to have an increasing degree of popularity, as 28 of the
companies visited provided volley-ba]] courts, the number of courts
in the different plants ranging from 1 to 12. Where volley-ball
courts are provided a relatively large number of employees, both
men and women, seem to be interested in playing.
FootbaU or soccer.—Forty-one companies maintain one or more
soccer or football teams. While soccer has not been so well known
as other forms of athletic sport in this country, it is the national game
in many of the European countries and is rapidly gaining in popu
larity here. It would seem from the reports to be a much more
popular game now than football among plant employees, and indus
trial soccer leagues have been formed in many localities.
Outdoor basket baM.—Basket ball appears to be much less popular
as an outdoor game than when played indoors, but in several cases
outdoor courts were provided by the company and in these cases were
well patronized by the employees. In a number of instances there
was more than one court provided and a few teams were members
of a league.
Rifle teams.—Considerable interest seems to be manifested in the
gun clubs, for which an outdoor rifle range is usually provided, as
there were 19 gun clubs or rifle teams reported. The membership
in these clubs ranges from 12 to 300.
Quoits or horseshoes.—A game which provides good exercise and
offers thfe opportunity for active participation to a comparatively
large number, and which does not require much outlay beyond the
necessary space, is the game of quoits or horseshoes. Between 40
and 50 of the companies visited provide courts for this game, the
ACTIVITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES
667
number of courts in individual establishments running up as high as
15 in several eases.
Tennis and golf.—Tennis and golf are games which were formerly
played chiefly by the office forces, but with the opening of municipal
golf links and tennis courts in many cities these sports have become
somewhat popularized. About 50 companies reported the provision
of tennis courts, the number of courts, where reported, ranging from
one to eight, and in more than half of the cases they were used by
both factory and office employees. In a few instances the employers
rent outside courts for the employees and one company buys the
balls for the girls who play on public courts and gives them a banquet
at the end of the season.
Thirteen firms provide golf courses, generally a 9-hole course, and
several companies have a putting green only. Usually the golf
courses are used by both factory and office workers. An annual golf
tournament is quite often held and frequently there are a large number
of entrants. Although the golf clubs are usually not very large, one
is reported with 1,200 members and two others have 400 and 500
members respectively.
Other sports.—Among the other sports reported were cricket,
squash, and bowling on the green, and there were two boat clubs, a
camera club, and an automobile club.
Employees' Athletic Clubs or Associations and Athletic Fields
T he various athletic features are managed in the plants of 59
companies through an athletic club or association, composed usually
of a large proportion of the employees, and in many other companies
an athletic committee has charge of the different sports. In cases
where there is an organized club there are usually moderate dues
charged, while frequently the proceeds of various social affairs during
the year go to the athletic association. The dues of the athletic
association, where it is an entirely distinct organization, range usually
from $1 to $3 per year, but where the fee covers social and other
activities as well as athletics it may be considerably higher. In
the larger plants these associations often have thousands of members
and their work is thoroughly organized under competent directors.
Annual Picnics and Other Outings
M ore than 170 companies report that an annual picnic or field
day is held for all the employees, while in many of the plants of these
ana other companies various outings are held either by departments
or by special groups. The annual picnic is frequently a very elaborate
affair and is attended by practically the entire working force and
the families as well, the plant usually being shut down for the entire
day. The numbers attending many of these annual outings are
very large.
While many companies pay the entire costs of the outing, others
pay for certain features only or make a cash donation toward the
expenses. Many companies call their annual outing a field day,
which is rather an elastic term, as it covers a variety of forms of
entertainment and sometimes safety contests as well as athletic
events.
668
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
Country Clubs or Summer Camps
F irm s which provide country clubs or camps for their employees
do so for the purpose of furnishing either a place where employees
may spend their vacations or where they may go for week ends, or
holidays, or daily to take part in the various sports. These country
places are often situated where there are many of the natural advanages for outdoor recreation, but, if not, such facilities are provided.
In addition to the 33 companies which provide clubhouses for
these purposes, several maintain a home in the country where
employees or members of their families who are convalescing from
illness or who are in need of a rest can go to recuperate.
Community Recreation
O n e o f t h e outstanding developments in the recreation move
ment during the past decade has been the organization of adult
recreation along community lines. The movement is an outgrowth
of the children’s playground movement which started nearly 40
years ago, and a growing number of cities and industrial commu
nities have realized the advantages resulting from the provision of
recreational facilities under trained leadership which are shared by
all members of the community. In many cities and towns where
this service has been put into effect the industries of the locality have
cooperated with the community organization, while in some cases
the industries first combined to provide the recreation and it was
afterwards taken over by the city. More than 20 industrial and
community organizations were visited in connection with this study,
and in most cases their activities included both outdoor and indoor
sports. In some cities the employees of the different industries are
organized in teams according to the particular plant in which they
work, while in others the emphasis is on the community and teams
are organized on this basis, with a frequent regrouping, so that
interest will not be lost through knowledge of the relative capability
of the teams and the probable outcome of the games. In a number
of instances the provision for the recreation of the workers is through
the industrial Y. M. C. A. or Y. W. C. A., to which the individual
employers subscribe.
Recreational Activities of Labor Organizations
N INQUIRY made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of
its trade-union study4disclosed quite a remarkable activity along
recreational and social lines by labor organizations. The value of
social gatherings from the organization viewpoint—as promoters of
fraternal spirit—is quite generally recognized by the international
unions. Others, mainly in “ confined” trades—where the members
are employed in sedentary work or under more or less unhealthful
conditions—encourage recreation and athletics, especially because
of their bearing upon the health of the workers. Thus the printingtrades unions have urged their locals to participate in outdoor ac
tivities and sports as a means of counteracting the conditions of
printing plants having dust and lead fumes. The unions of the cloth
A
<See Bui, No. 465: Beneficial Activities of American Trade-Unions, Ch. V I.
ACTIVITIES OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
669
ing trades, for the same reasons, have also been active in the promo
tion of recreational activities which would provide the healthful
exercise which their confining work makes desirable. That this is
no new development for certain trade-unions is shown by the fact
that in 1927 the printers held their seventeenth annual baseball
tournament and their third golf tournament, while the printingtrades locals of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky have for the past 13
years held an annual bowling tournament.
Perhaps the majority of local unions hold at least one social event
during the year, and a number have a regular social and recreational
calendar, prepared by a regular committee or club formed for the
purpose. Thus the Detroit local of the automobile and aircraft
workers has formed a club for the promotion of sports and the appren
tices of the Chicago electrical workers’ local have formed a club which
carries on a varied program of sports and entertainments, besides
issuing a periodical. One New York local of headgear workers has
formed a club which directs the social and recreational activities
of the union,1the aim being to make this work “ both attractive to
the members and constructive to the organization.” In the various
men’s clothing centers the social and recreational work of the locals
is directed by the joint boards of the union, the Amalgamated Cloth
ing Workers. In New York City this work is done in the ladies’
garment industry by the educational department of the International
Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
The social events and indoor recreation of the locals include dances,
card parties, concerts, entertainments, banquets, an occasional play,
etc. Of these, dances and dinners appear to be the most popular.
In some cases the music (whether at concerts, entertainments, dances,
or dinners) is furnished by the union band, orchestra, or glee club,
of which there was found to be a rather surprising number.
Among the sports, baseball and bowling easily hold first place,
although other forms of athletics are less frequently found. These
include tennis, golf, basket ball, hockey, football, boxing, hikes,
swimming, and even a team of sharpshooters.
A great many instances were found where the local arranges at
least one picnic, moonlight excursion, or short trip for its members
during the summer, while other locals have regular programs of such
affairs. Other outings arranged for by locals for their members
include automobile rides, trips to points of interest, etc. One local
runs an amusement park, equipped with all sorts of amusement
devices. Several union groups have summer camps; in other in
stances camps have been held for children which have received
trade-union support; about 10 per cent of the locals of the meat
cutters are reported to have summer camps; and the Women’s
Trade-Union League at Chicago has had such a camp since 1917.
The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union owns and operates
a most extensive and well-equipped summer resort.
In the main the recreational and social features appear to be carried
on independently by each local. In some cases, however, neighboring
locals of the same union or the various locals in a locality may com
bine their activities. Thus, adjacent locals of the meat cutters and
butcher workmen hold bowling matches and baseball games, as do
also adjoining locals of the hosiery workers and printing-trades
unions. In some sections of the country some of the railroad brother
670
r e c r e a t io n f a c il it ie s —
INDUSTRIAL
w orkers
hoods hold joint socials, picnics, etc. In the men’s clothing centers,
as already stated, the joint board composed of representatives of all
the locals of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in the city directs
the recreational and social work and acts as a coordinating agency
between locals. The local unions of the printing trades in Ohio, In
diana, and Kentucky cooperate in an annual bowling tournament.
A good deal of interlocal activity along social or recreational lines
may take place where there is a central labor temple, as it was found
that provision for social gatherings is made in a good many labor
temples. Of the temples from which data were obtained, half or
more contained clubrooms, assembly halls, reading rooms, and facili
ties for serving refreshments; about two-fifths had billiard or pool
tables; about the same proportion a fully equipped kitchen; and
nearly one-third had classrooms. Smaller numbers contained pro
vision for the showing of motion pictures, for radio, or special rooms
for card parties, dances, banquets, etc.
Extent of Activities
M o r e or less social and recreational activity of one sort or another
is undertaken by locals of 43 international union organizations.5
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers reported that many of its
lodges have recreational and social features but the brotherhood has
no data concerning the extent of the work. Eight internationals6
reported that their locals may do recreational work but the central
organization has no information; the paving cutters' union reported
that there is “ little if any” social or recreational activity in its locals;
and seven internationals7 stated that nothing is done by their locals
along recreational or social lines.
General Social Events and Indoor Recreation
An a n n u a l dinner or banquet is the most common social affair
among the local unions but other popular activities include dances,
dramatics, card parties, motion pictures, smokers, concerts, and
entertainments of various sorts. In many cases such affairs are
regular annual events, which are looked forward to with interest and
of which much is made.
Musical Organizations
O r c h e s t r a s , bands, or glee clubs seem to be fairly numerous
among the local trade-umon organizations. Thus, the Chicago
printers’ local has a band, as have also a number of the letter carriers’
local unions. The latter have been in existence for some years.
6 Automobile and aircraft workers; Amalgamated Clothing Workers; Amalgamated Metal Workers;
bookbinders, bricklayers, bridge and structural-iron workers, carpenters, cloth hat, cap, and millinery
workers, electrical workers, fire fighters, glass-bottle blowers, hod carriers, hosiery workers, hotel and res
taurant employees, iron, steel, and tin workers, lathers, ladies’ garment workers, letter carriers, lithog
raphers, locomotive firemen and enginemen, meat cutters and butcher workmen, metal engravers, mine,
mill, and smelter workers, paper makers, pattern makers, photo-engravers, plumbers and steam fitters,
postal clerks, potters, printing pressmen, printers, quarry workers, railroad station employees, railroad
telegraphers, railway clerks, retail clerks, stereotypers and electrotypers, street-railway employees, tobacco
workers, United Garment Workers, upholsterers, wall-paper crafts, and Window Glass Cutters’ League.
# Blacksmiths and drop forgers, boiler makers, brewery and soft-drink workers, coopers, leather workers,
Operative Plasterers and Cement Finishers, stove mounters, and textile workers.
7 Foundry workers, granite cutters, maintenance-of-way employees. National Window Glass Workers,
train dispatchers, trainmen, an4 window-glass cutters and flatteners.
ACTIVITIES OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
671
A singing club has been formed by members of the Dover, N. J.,
branch of the hosiery workers, and one stereotypers’ local has a glee
club. Other internationals some of whose locals have formed some
sort of musical organizations include those of the bricklayers, hodcarriers, iron, steel, and tin workers, marine engineers, photo-engravers,
printers, tobacco workers, and upholsterers. About one-tenth of the
meat cutters and butcher workmen’s locals are reported to have
bands or orchestras.
Sports and Athletics
B aseball and bowling appear to be the sports most popular
among trade-unionists.
Baseball.—The Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric
Railway Employees reports that all of its large locals have baseball
teams. On large systems each station has a team, and a league is
formed, the teams of which compete with each other during the
season. Practically all of the 101 locals of the Glass Bottle Blowers’
Association have ball teams. Among the metal engravers two-thirds
of the locals have teams, among the locals of the Window Glass
Cutters’ League 30 per cent, among the paper makers 20 per cent,
and among the iron, steel, and tin workers and the hosiery workers 5
per cent.
The Cincinnati joint board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers
of America early in 1927 organized a league for the four teams of the
men’s clothing workers in that city, and interest was reported as
being keen. The joint board in Rochester, N. Y., has for several
years had a baseball team.
The teams of the New Jersey-New York district of the American
Federation of Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers have formed a league
for the district. There are 7 such teams in the league—2 from
Brooklyn, 2 from Paterson, and 1 each from Passaic, Newark, and
Dover.
The local baseball teams of the International Typographical
Union have since 1908 had a league called the Union Printers’ Inter
national Baseball League which holds a yearly tournament in con
nection with the annual convention of the International Typographi
cal Union. The tournament is made the occasion for a time of general
jollification, the evenings being devoted to social affairs, while in the
mornings lectures, open to anyone who cares to attend, are given
on such subjects as sanitation, hygiene, athletics, and general recrea
tional subjects.
The baseball teams, it is stated, have been of benefit in interesting
the younger members in outdoor sports and in improving their
physical condition. The games also tend to promote greater social
intercourse between the members and the families of members.
The students of the Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union
technical trade school at Pressman’s Home, Tenn., have had a base
ball team since 1912. Some of the locals of the union also have
teams. Among these is that of the Indianapolis press assistants’
local, which, it is stated, “ has done more to put the press assistants’
union before the public of Indianapolis than anything we have ever
tried.”
Each of the local unions of railway clerks in Cincinnati has a
baseball team and these have formed a league with a schedule of
games between teams in the league.
672
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
Organized activity in bowling is also a feature in some of the
locals of the bricklayers, masons and plasterers, hod carriers, lithog
raphers, meat cutters, and plumbers and steam fitters.
Other sports and athletics.—The other forms of athletic sports are
less frequently found. The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen reports that some 60 per cent of its locals have organized
activity in “ other sports,” but does not specify what these are.
Several of the paper makers’ locals encourage tennis, as do also a
few of the stereotypers and electrotypers’ locals, and the Amalga
mated Clothing Workers of Rochester, N. Y., has a tennis club,
the members of which play on the public courts.
A few of the stereotypers* locals whose membership includes golfers
have matches for them, as do also about 15 per cent of the hosiery
workers’ locals.
So successful was the printers’ baseball league that in 1924 the
Union Printers’ International Golf League was formed, being pro
moted by the baseball league as an adjunct to it. It was thought
that members who considered baseball too vigorous might be inter
ested in golf. A golf tournament is held each year in connection
with the baseball tournament.
There are also a few union basket-ball teams. These include electri
cal workers, men’s garment workers, hosiery workers, postal clerks, etc.
One or two of the paper makers’ locals have a hockey-playing
group, and the Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association reports that prac
tically all of its locals have football teams.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers states that
60 per cent of its locals carry on athletics or sports of various kinds,
boxing and basket ball being the most popular. Boxing matches
are also a feature of the activities of some of the hod carriers’ and
postal clerks’ locals. Many of the hod carriers’ locals and some of
those of the hotel and restaurant employees have pool-playing
groups.
The Chicago bricklayers’ local has a very successful soccer team.
The Portland, Me., local of post-office clerks has a team of sharp
shooters composed of five young women unionists.
Summer Outings
S u m m e r outings are arranged by many local unions. Thus,
nearly all of the locals of the railway clerks and of the plumbers
and steam fitters’ organizations have one or more picnics during the
summer, all of the hosiery workers and automobile and aircraft
workers’ unions do so, 75 per cent of the meat cutters’ organizations,
two-thirds of the metal engravers’ locals, 10 per cent of the iron and
steel workers’ unions, a few locals of the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers, bricklayers, bookbinders, electrical workers, hotel and
restaurant employees, locomotive firemen and enginemen, metal
workers, paper makers, pattern makers, quarry workers, stereo
typers, and upholsterers, and one local of the wall-paper crafts.
The lathers’ union reports that 80 per cent of its locals hold at least
one picnic or other social event during the year.
Excursions or short trips of various sorts are arranged by all of the
hosiery workers’ locals, by nearly all of the unions of railway clerks,
by about half of the meat cutters’ unions, about 10 per cent of the
a c t iv it ie s o f x a b o r o r g a n iz a t io n s
673
iron, steel, and tin workers' unions, by a few of the locals of the
bookbinders, bricklayers, electrical workers, hotel and restaurant
employees, stereotypers, and upholsterers, and by one local of the
automobile and aircraft workers.
The two large dressmakers’ locals in New York City, belonging
to the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, have excur
sions on the Hudson River, chartering a steamer for the purpose.
The Philadelphia dressmakers’ local has formed an educational,
social, and recreational circle, which has given automobile trips to
Unity House, Valley Forge, and other points of beauty and interest
fairly near to the city. The members of the Philadelphia hosiery
workers’ local in 1927 took a railroad trip to Atlantic City; during
the affair prizes and souvenirs were distributed to those participating.
The Rochester organization of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers
is very active in the promotion of week-end outings, railroad excursion
trips, and picnics throughout the summer.
The St. Louis Bakers’ Local No. 4 is unique in its recreational
work, as far as the knowledge of the Bureau of Labor Statistics goes,
for it owns and operates an amusement park. The local owns a
triangular block of land facing three streets, with a frontage of 543
feet on one, 300 feet on the second, and 631 feet on the third. On
one corner of the land stands the headquarters building of the local.
The amusement park is equipped with Ferris wheel, merry-go-round,
fairy swing, shooting gallery, fish pond, hoop-la, open-air dancing
pavilion, refreshment stands, shelters, picnic facilities, etc. The
place will accommodate as many as 4,000 persons at a time.
Summer Camps and Vacation Homes
T
he International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union owns and
operates a 750-acre summer resort which can accommodate 500
guests at a time, and which provides both indoor and outdoor
recreation of all sorts.
A year-round camp is run by a group of union workers in New
York. Starting in a modest way the project has grown until it
now has 75 bungalows and 500 tents, and a dining room which can
seat 900 persons at a time. A similar camp has been started by the
Union of Technical Men in New York, by the Women’s TradeUnion League of Chicago, and by some of the railway clerks’ unions.
A group of unionists in Chicago have incorporated a club, which
will carry on a “ summer home colony,” to which only members of
organized labor will be eligible, and has acquired for this purpose a
tract of 100 acres on the shore of a lake 58 miles from the center of
Chicago.
The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of America
reports that about 10 per cent of its locals have summer camps.
Vacation Travel
T
he Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, through its bank at
Cleveland, formerly maintained a travel bureau for those of its mem
bers who wished to take vacation trips. The service has been dis
continued, but a similar service was started by the New York bank
of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, under whose auspices four
674
RECREATION FACILITIES— INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
parties of tourists visited Russia during 1928. The union reports
that this service “ bids fair to become an important activity of the
bank.”
Recreational Features of Labor Buildings
A g r e a t many of the labor temples as well as the headquarters
buildings of the various unions also make more or less provision for
recreation and social affairs. Noteworthy among these are the
Portland (Oreg.) and Los Angeles labor temples, the headquarters
building of the street-railway employees (surface lines) in Chicago,
and the headquarters building of the Chicago locals of the Amal
gamated Clothing Workers.
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
39142°-— 29
------ 44
675
Strikes and Lockouts in the United States, 1916 to 1928
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics has been compiling statistics of
strikes and lockouts since 1916. As there is no legal requirement
for the reporting of strikes and lockouts, the bureau must rely largely
for its initial reports upon secondary sources, such as newspapers and
trade papers, supplemented by information supplied by the con
ciliation service of the Department of Labor. As a result, certain
disputes of minor importance undoubtedly escape the bureau’s
attention, but it is believed that all the larger and more important
strikes and lockouts are duly recorded.
In following up the preliminary reports of disputes, the bureau
sends letters and questionnaires to the parties concerned and, when
necessary, also to interested third parties in the communities affected.
Moreover, during the past two years, representatives of the Depart
ment of Labor have checked up and completed the detailed reports
desired where correspondence did not produce satisfactory results.
The statistics of industrial disputes compiled by the bureau are
now published monthly in the Labor Review. In addition a summary
for each calendar year is prepared and published.
The following tables present the available statistics for 1928, with
comparable data for earlier years. Disputes involving fewer than six
persons or lasting less than one day are not included.
T
T a b l e 1 .— NUMBER OF DISPUTES, 1916 TO 1928
Disputes in the
United States re
corded by the bureau
Disputes in the
United States re
corded by the bureau
Year
Year
Actual
number
1916......................................
1917......................................
1918...... .................................
1919...... .................................
1920...... .................................
1921........................................
1922.......................................
3,789
4,450
3,353
3,630
3,411
2,385
1 ,1 1 2
Relative
number
100
117
88
96
90
63
29
Actual
number
1923_ ....................................
1924......................................
1925................... ...................
1926......................................
1927___..................................
1928______________________
Relative
number
1,553
1,249
1,301
1,035
734
629
41
33
34
27
19
17
The following statement shows the number of disputes beginning
in 1927 and in 1928, the number of workers involved in those dis
putes, and the number of man-days lost:
Number
Number
Number
Number
Number
Number
of
of
of
of
of
of
disputes beginning in 1927________________
disputes beginning in 1928________________
workers involved in 1927__________________
349,
workers involved in 1928__________________
357,
man-days lost in 1927_____________________ 37, 799,
man-days lost in 1928...................................... 31, 556,
734
629
434
145
394
947
677
678
STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
T a b l e 3 .— INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES BEGINNING IN AND IN EFFECT AT END OF EACH
MONTH, JANUARY, 1927, TO DECEMBER, 1928
Number of workers
involved in dis
putes
Number of
man-days
lost during
month
In effect Begin In effect
at end of ning in at end of
month
month
month
Number of disputes
Month and year
Begin
ning in
month
1927
January.......................................................................
February......................... ..........................................
March.........................................................................
April...........................................................................
May...........................................................................
June............................. ...........................................
July...................... ......... .................... ......................
August........................... ................. .........................
September—...............................................................
October.......................... ...........................................
November..................................................................
December...................................................................
37
65
74
87
107
80
65
57
57
50
27
28
1928
January......................................................................
February................. ......... ................. ......................
March................... ...................................................
April..........................................................................
May................................................. ..........................
June—......................... ................................ ..............
July.......................................... ................................
August.......................................... .............................
September—........................ ......... ...........................
October_______ ________________________________
N o v e m b e r ........ ...................................................
December-...................... ..........................................
48
52
41
71
80
44
54
59
52
61
44
23
18
45
67
88
63
53
58
58
51
54
5,915
9,756
13,142
202,406
22,245
18,957
33,994
8,150
12,282
13,024
5,282
4,281
2,287
5,717
8,182
199,701
200,702
196,323
199,287
198,444
196,829
82,095
82,607
81,229
58,125
115,229
214,283
5,265,420
5,136,006
4,863,345
5,308,123
4,999,751
4,945,702
2,724,117
2,040,140
2,129,153
63
58
47
48
56
46
42
42
34
42
38
29
18,850
33,441
7,459
143,700
15,640
31,381
18,012
8,887
8,897
27,866
37,840
5,172
81,880
103,496
76,069
129,708
133,546
143,137
132,187
105,760
62,862
41,474
38,745
35,842
2,128,028
2,145,342
2,291,337
4,806,232
3,455,499
3,670,878
3,337,386
3,553,750
2,571,982
1,304,913
1,300,362
991,238
88
116
T a b l e 3.—NUMBER OF DISPUTES AND NUMBER OF WORKERS INVOLVED IN THE
YEARS 1927 AND 1928 CLASSIFIED BY SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES
1927
Industry
Auto, carriage, and wagon workers__________ _______________
Bakers__________________________________________________
Barbers____________________ ____ _____________ ______ _____
Building trades.................................. ....................................... .
Chauffeurs and teamsters_________________ _________________
Clothing................................ .......................................... ..............
Furniture__________________________________ ______________
Glass workers_______________________ _____ __________ ____ _
Leather workers________________ ____ __ _______ ___________
Lumber and timber workers_______________________________
Metal trades....... ................................... - .....................................
Miners________________________ ____________ ________ _____
Motion-picture operators, actors, and theatrical workers______
Oil and chemical__________________________________________
Printing and publishing___________________________________
Stone workers..... ...........................................................................
Textile............ ................................ ...................- ................ - ........
Other industries............................... ...... ..................... ..................
Total.....................................................................................
1928
Number
Number Number
of work Number
of work
of dis
of dis
ers in
ers in
putes
putes
volved
volved
7
4
80
73
1,016
534
4,837
56,249
11,422
14,262
1,906
2,256
974
1,046
1,152
225,921
1,636
330
1,247
227
9,328
15,091
734
349,434
8
12
194
25
129
41
10
12
3
19
60
29
6
22
65
73
52
416
5,074
19,965
1,631
65,686
618
611
196
598
1,266
195,876
2,314
1,479
487
2,103
35,284
23,489
629
357,145
1
10
12
134
16
124
25
4
5
7
28
83
23
1
10
8
UNITED STATES, 1927 AND 1928
679
Principal Strikes and Lockouts in 1927 and 1928
Bituminous coal strike.—A suspension of bituminous coal mining,
involving directly about 175,000 workers, exclusive of 15,000 men in
central Pennsylvania who suspended work July 1, began on April 1,
1927, and affected more or less severely mining operations in the
States of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, and West Virginia. The strike resulted
from the failure of the miners and operators to reach an agreement
that would follow the old contract which expired at midnight March
31. The miners demanded the maintenance of the old wage scale,
otherwise called the “ Jacksonville scale” while the operators con
tended for a lower scale.
No general change in the situation occurred until October 1, 1927,
when the operators and miners of Illinois reached an agreement which
was to expire April 1, 1928, and under which the mines in that State
were to resume operations as soon as possible, paying the old wage
scale, while a study was being made of the Illinois mine situation by
a commission of four members, two representing the operators and
two representing the miners.
Settlements on a similar basis were also made in October for Iowa,
Indiana, and the southwestern district, embracing Kansas, Missouri,
Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
The joint commission for Illinois arrived at a temporary agreement
on October 27, respecting wage rates to loading-machine crews in
that State, and an agreement was reached in Indiana on March 28,
1928, covering about 1,500 strip miners in that State, but other
wise the conferences to effect a general settlement by April 1, 1928,
were unsuccessful, and on that date a suspension again occurred in
the States covered by the temporary settlements in October preceding.
By October 1, 1928, the second phase of the major suspension of
April 1, 1927, had terminated through district settlements, the
United Mine Workers having receded on July 18, 1928, from their
contention for the maintenance of the Jacksonville scale and extended
to each of its districts the right to effect settlements with coal
operators upon a basis mutually satisfactory. The strike of April 1,
1927, was still in effect in part at the end of 1928 in Ohio and
Pennsylvania. West Virginia was never seriously affected by the
suspension.
Tank-wagon drivers and filling-station attendants, Chicago, IU.—
Following unsuccessful negotiations with the Sinclair Refining Co.
for a $15 per month wage increase for tank-wagon drivers and a $10
per. month increase for filling-station attendants, their employees
were called out on strike by Chauffeurs, Teamsters, and Drivers’
Union No. 705, on the morning of July 8, 1927.
On the afternoon of the same day the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana,
Texas Co., Roxana Petroleum Co., Apex Motor Fuel Co., and several
other smaller companies locked out their employees, thus making
almost a complete tie-up of both filling-station and tank-supply service,
and affecting about 3,000 employees throughout the city ana suburban
districts. A compromise agreement of $7.50 per month increase
for tank-wagon drivers and $5 per month for filling-station attendants
was effected on July 9 and by 4 o'clock of that date conditions began
to become normal.
680
s t r ik e s
and
lockouts
The wage scales agreed to were: Tank-wagon drivers, $182.50;
station attendants, first month $120, second and third months, $130,
and thereafter, $145.
Teamsters and truckmen, New York.—Approximately 6,000 team
sters and truckmen in New York City went out on strike September
7,1927, to enforce their demands for a wage of $45 per week instead
of $40, $1.20 per hour for overtime instead of $1, and a working day
of eight hours instead of nine. The strike was called by Locals Nos.
282 and 807 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauf
feurs, Stablemen, and Helpers of America.
This strike caused considerable inconvenience in the trucking of
merchandise throughout the city and partially tied up shipping,
warehouses, etc.
A compromise agreement was reached on September 10, subject to
ratification, which allowed a wage increase of $5 per week, but retained
the 9-hour day with no increase in overtime pay. The strike was
officially settled by signed agreement on September 15, 1927. Some
of the men returned to work on September 10 and some on September
12, by which date most of them had resumed work and the strike
was practically over.
Coal miners, Colorado.—In response to the call of the Industrial
Workers of the World about 4,000 miners in Colorado struck on
October 18, 1927, for a “ flat scale of $8.50 a day for all classes of mine
workers, a 6-hour day and a 5-day week.” The demands put forth
at Aguilar, Colo., by the miners’ conference held September 4 were
for a 6-hour day and a 5-day week with the Jacksonville scale. Sub
sequently, however (October 30), at a convention at Lafayette, 22
demands on coal operators of the State were drawn up and adopted.
The total number of miners out of work on account of the disturbance
was probably much larger than the figure named. The strike was
attended by considerable disorder and a number of arrests were made
for picketing. On November 21 a demonstration against the Colum
bine mine was attended by fatal consequences. Following this
clash the governor sent State troops to the scene.
On December 29 it was announced that effective January 1, the
Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., operating in the southern fields, would
increase the basic wage of miners to $6.52 per day.
It was also announced on December 31 that the new year would
bring a wage increase of 50 cents per day to the men employed by
10 coal operators in northern Colorado, thus bringing the day rate
in these mines up to $6.77.
The strike was abandoned on February 19, 1928, when 88 per cent
of the striking miners voted to return to work.
Textile workers, Massachusetts.—The strike of the textile operatives
in New Bedford, Mass., which began on April 16, 1928, was against a
proposed wage reduction of 10 per cent. This proved to be one of
the largest and longest strikes the textile industry has ever faced,
involving as it did 26 plants and approximately 25,000 workers of
both sexes. An unusual feature of the strike was the fact that only
about one-third of the strikers were organized. On October 6 the
unions involved voted to accept a compromise proposal suggested
by the local citizens’ mediation committee and the State board of
conciliation and arbitration providing for a 5 per cent wage cut,
UNITED STATES, 1927 AND 1928
681
coupled with the assurance that in the future 30 days’ notice of any
wage change would be given the operatives.
Cleaners and dyers, New York.—A strike was begun on February
20, 1928, fostered by the allied council of cleaners and dyers. This
centered principally in the five boroughs of New York City, but
also included some adjacent districts. About 25,000 workers of
both sexes were involved. The strike was inaugurated for purposes
of “ organization, to end cutthroat competition, and stabilize the
industry.”
Peaceful relations were restored and the strike was about over by
March 10, through the signing of an agreement by several large
groups in the cleaners’ and dyers' trade, establishing conditions
satisfactory to the workers.
Express workers, New York.—An unannounced “ outlaw” strike
of approximately 7,000 employees (platform men, clerks, teamsters,
and chauffeurs) of the American Railway Express Co., began in New
York City and vicinity shortly before midnight of October 9 and
ended on the night of October 11,1928, having lasted about two days.
The demand was for recognition of the Brotherhood of Railway and
Steamship Clerks as the representative of the workers named. The
men resumed work pending the outcome of conferences between
representatives of the union and the company, which were successful
from the union standpoint.
TURNOVER OF LABOR
683
Labor Turnover in American Factories
INCE 1925, owners of certain American manufacturing enter
prises have been furnishing labor turnover data to the Policy
holders Service Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
Beginning with a small number of employers, the list has grown until
now more than 300 factories are furnishing such data each month.
The form circulated each month calls for the following six items:
S
1. Total accessions.
2. Total separations:
(a) Voluntary quits.
(b) Lay offs.
(c) Discharges.
3. Average number on pay roll.
The bureau then figures, for each reporting manufacturer, the
ratio of each of the first five items to the average number on the pay
roll. Each of the five resulting sets of rates is then arrayed in order of
magnitude. After considerable experimental study of the distri
bution thus formed, the central or median item was decided upon as
the most reliable and significant form of average for the purpose at
hand. The median rate successfully controls the influence of ex
tremely high or low rates, and that of companies having unusually
large work forces; it tends to approximate the mode or “ normal” ,
it is easily determined; and it seems to avoid some of the difficulties
arising from a changing size of sample (number of reporting com
panies). The median was therefore adopted for all but the total
separation rate, which is the sum of the medians for the three com
ponent rates above specified.
The table below shows for each month of 1927 and 1928 the rates
of turnover in the factories reporting. It will be noted that as com
pared with the first half of 1927, the first six months of 1928 showed
less industrial activity, as indicated by lower accession and quit rates.
Beginning with July, 1928, both of these rates have been higher,
month by month, than in the corresponding portions of 1927. It is
also noteworthy that in 1928, for the first time since 1922, the
October accession rate, 57.1 per cent (equivalent annual basis),
exceeded that of September, when the rate was 56.9 per cent. In
1927 it dropped from 43.6 per cent in September to 40.8 per cent the
following month. Discharges in recent months have been fairly
constant, amounting to 5.3 per cent during August, September, and
October and 4.9 per cent in November.
685
686
T
TURNOVER OF LABOR
able
1.—AVERAGE TURNOVER RATES DURING 1927 AND 1928 IN SELECTED AMERI*
CAN FACTORIES»
[Each month’s rates are stated on an equivalent annual basis]
Accession
rate
Month
1927
January.....................................
February..................................
March.......................................
April.........................................
May—.......................................
June..........................................
July...........................................
August......................................
September................................
October.....................................
November................................
December.................................
36.3
41.7
43.2
47.5
48.0
45.0
37.8
39.6
43.6
40.8
31.6
23.7
Total separa ! Voluntary
tion rate2
quit rate
1928
1927
1928
1927
33.4
31.6
35.9
40.0
47.2
41.3
46.9
55.7
56.9
57.1
50.1
38.1
40.8
36.9
42.5
48.3
44.7
43.9
35.7
36.4
46.2
39.6
31.5
27.2
27.8
27.6
32.8
38.2
41.5
39.5
38.0
42.3
50.6
41.9
35.3
29.2
29.8
32.4
31.9
29.1
24.4
23.0
33.8
25.3
18.0
14.8
23.1
21.8
Discharge
rate
Lay-off rate
1928
1927
1928
1927
15.7
15.1
12.3
9.6
6.4
9.7
7.6
8.5
7.9
8.4
7.1
8.3
7.5
5.9
5.1
5.0
4.7
4.8
4.7
5.4
5.5
6.3
20 .1
26.0
28.2
27.1
27.2
31.9
40.3
31.9
25.6
20 .1
8.0
6.0
8.5
6.4
8.5
9.3
8.6
6.2
5.2
6.8
5.3
4.9
6.0
5.8
4.2
3.8
1928
3.6
4.6
4.3
5.1
5.0
4.9
4.9
5.3
5.3
5.3
4.9
4.4
1 Now numbering over 300. The form of average used is the unweighted median of company rates, ex
cept for the total separation rate, which is the sum of the median rates for voluntary quits, lay offs, and
discharges.
2 Arithmetic sum of quit, lay-off, and discharge rates.
Table 2 shows the results of a recent length-of-service census
made by the Policyholders Service Bureau of the Metropolitan" Life
Insurance Co.
The length-of-service composition of industrial work forces is im
portant not only as a guide to the interpretation of labor-turnover
records, but also because of its bearing upon certain general economic
>roblems, such as the productivity of industry. In the sample
ength-of-service census cited in the table below, about 1,000 establish
ments were covered. The agencies which cooperated to make this
census were (1) Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., (2) Bridgeport
(Conn.) Manufacturers' Association, (3) Associated Industries of
Massachusetts, (4) Bureau of Business Research, University of Mich
igan, (5) New Jersey State Department of Labor, and (6) Wisconsin
Industrial Commission.
Inequalities in geographical distribution of the manufacturers
making the returns were remedied, in so far as possible, by using for
the final combination (last line of Table 2) weights based upon the
1925 Census of Manufactures. Certain further details, showing, for
example, the percentage for industries, for localities, and for a finer
classification of the length-of-service groupings, may be obtained
from the cooperating agencies mentioned above.
f
T
able
2 -LENGTH-OF-SERVICE CLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES
Mean percentage of work
force in service
Group or locality
Less
than
lyear
1 year
and un
der 5
years
5 years
and over
Metropolitan Life Co.'s sample......................................................................
Bridgeport, Conn _ .________ ___ __________________ ___________________
Massachusetts______ ____ ____ ______ _________________________ ______
Michigan............................. .................................................... .....................
New Jersey._____________________________________ ___________________
W isconsin..................................... ...................................... ..........................
21.5
24.3
15.7
25.4
22.3
26.8
40.8
43.1
38.8
47.5
42.0
38.7
37.9
32.8
45.5
27.1
35.7
34.5
W eighted composite____________ ____ ______ _____ ______________
21.5
41.2
37.3
687
TURNOVER OF LABOR
Comparative Stability of Male and Female Employees
STUDY recently made of the labor turnover in two large com
panies in Chicago, covering the years 1926 and 1927,1revealed
A some
interesting data regarding the relative turnover among the men
and women employed.
Because of the approximate equality of the total number of men
and women employed by these concerns, and because of the conditions
already noted, a comparison of the turnover rates of the two sexes
can be made upon a fairly equitable basis. The following table
shows the average total number of men and women employed by
these two concerns, the number leaving, and the rate of turnover,2
for the years 1926 and 1927:
T
able
1 .—AVERAGE NUMBER ON PAY ROLL, NUMBER OF SEPARATIONS, AND RATE
OF TURNOVER, 1926 AND 1927, BY SEX
1926
Sex
1927
Average Number
•Average
number of sepa Rate of number Number Rate of
of sepa turnover
on pay rations turnover on pay
rations
roll
roll
Percent
Men__________________________________
Women........................................................
28,268
27,730
11,556
14,616
40.88
52.70
26,970
26,176
8,460
11,950
Total..................................................
55,998
26,172
46.74
53,146
20,410
Percent
31.36
45.65
38.40
These findings are in conflict with the results of two previous
studies. One of these,3 covering the employees of a large financial
house in New York City for the three years, 1923, 1924, and 1925,
showed a larger percentage of resignations and a distinctly shorter
period of service among the women than among the men the first
year. The next year the women still showed a greater percentage
of resignations, but their average term of service was nearly twice
that of the men. The third year the resignations were less among
the women than among the men, while their average term of service
was materially longer.
Discussing the diminishing percentage of resignation among the
women during this period, the writer gives the following reasons as
probably influential:
An explanation of this increase of steadiness on the part of the women employees
might be found in the fact that better methods of personnel administration were
developed, which constituted improvements in the status of the women workers.
The developments include a greater centralization of the functional control of
personnel activities, the standardization of psychological tests for the occupations
of which the vast majority of women employees are incumbents, an improvement
in the method of job analysis for these occupations, and an organized attempt to
eliminate prejudices against women employees, with a view to increasing the
lines of promotion open to them.
These changes may have made their positions more attractive to them, so
that they tended to hold them longer. It should be pointed out, however,
that conditions similarly favorable to the men have prevailed for some time.
Accordingly, it would seem that when men and women are placed on the same
* Article in Labor Review for January, 1929, by Thomas W. Rogers, Drake University.
8 The author of this article has used turnover rate as equivalent to separation rate (i. e., the number of
separations divided by the average number on the pay roll).
* Personnel Journal, July, 1926.
688
TURNOVER OP LABOB
status in this type of organization the women resign less frequently than the
men.
The second study4covered an office force of 635 workers during the
4-year period, 1920 to 1923. Of those who were employed in 1920, a
larger proportion of men than of women were still with the company
at the end of 1923. As regards those taken on in each of the three
succeeding years, however, the situation was reversed. Taking the
total number employed during the four years, the percentage of
women remaining exceeded that of the men by one point, and the
author observed: “ The argument so often used against the hiring of
women, that they are not permanent, is probably fallacious.”
Data presented as to the length of service of those who left showed
that in each of the three years, 1921, 1922, and 1923, the average
length of service of the women who withdrew was greater than that
of the men and sometimes the difference was considerable. The
author suggests that this was probably due to the fact that women
make up their minds less readily than men to leave, and that in
general department heads are more lenient with women than with
men, “ and take longer before deciding [that] their efficiency is such
that they can not stay.” In every case, it is stated, the percentage
of men leaving within one year of their engagement is greater than
that of women. Whether this difference has any bearing on the rela
tive desirability of men and women as employees, the author is
doubtful:
The fact clearly brought out by the figures covering six years, namely, that
women who eventually leave the company tend to stay longer before leaving
than men, is probably no argument for or against the hiring of women. If a
person is to leave within about a year’s time it is perhaps better that he leave
quickly before a great deal of time has been put into his training. However,
if he tends to stay over a year, probably there is a gain with every month that he
stays. This naturally does not apply to jobs where only a few weeks’ training
is necessary to reach efficiency on the job, but rather to jobs which are more
difficult in themselves of which should lead to promotion.
Problem of Labor Turnover in Hospitals
HE high rate of labor turnover in industry is equaled, if not
exceeded, by the labor turnover in hospitals, according to the
findings of a study made in 1927 of 54 hospitals in Greater New
York.5
The 54 institutions studied had a total bed capacity of 34,810, or
an average of 645 beds each, and the number of unskilled workers
included in the study was 6,411, or an average of 120 in each hospital.
The distribution of these workers according to occupation was as
follows: Orderlies, 1,520; porters, 1,076; pantrymen, 398; kitchenmen, 643; waiters, 494; maids, 1,388; and laborers, 892.
Great variation was found between the different hospitals in the
wages paid for similar positions. The range for orderlies, who had
the highest rate of turnover, was from $35 to $55 per month with
full maintenance, with an average of $47 per month when living in
the hospital, while the rates for those living out of the institution
ranged from $60 to $75 per month. The rate of turnover among
T
4 Personnel Journal, February, 1927.
* Modern Hospital, Chicago, September, 1927, pp. 57-60.
689
PROBLEM IN HOSPITALS
the first group was 37 per cent per month and among the second
only 12 per cent. The lower turnover rate among those who were
furnished no maintenance other than the noon meal is considered
to account for the growing tendency to employ these workers on this
basis.
The second highest turnover rate, 34 per cent per month, was
found among waiters. Their average wage was $42 per month,
with maintenance, while porters received an average wage of $47
per month and maintenance. The rate of turnover among the latter
group was 28 per cent. In institutions employing waitresses the
turnover rate was lower for this class of labor than in those employ
ing waiters and the rate among ward maids whose wages averaged
$45 per month was only 17 per cent.
The following figures show the annual rate of turnover in three
groups of hospitals of varying bed capacities:
ANNUAL RATE OF TURNOVER AMONG UNSKILLED LABOR IN HOSPITALS >
Per cent of turnover for year
in hospitals of—
Occupation
300 to 1,000 beds
150 beds
and less 400 beds or over
Orderlies.................................................
Porters....................................................
Pantrymen.............................................
Kitchenmen...........................................
Waiters...................................................
Maids......................................................
192
144
240
228
96
120
228
264
288
204
156
156
624
420
516
624
660
264
Average, all occupations.................
168
216
516
The turnover rates which are given on a monthly basis in the report have been recomputed on an annual
basis by multiplying the monthly rate by 12 .
The fact that there is more opportunity for personal supervision
by the executives in the smaller institutions and for a more personal
interest in the employees makes for a lower rate of turnover in these
establishments, it is said, than in the large hospitals.
The principal causes of the large number of changes in hospital
personnel were found to be the wages, unsuitable living conditions,
length of the working-day, holidays and vacations, location of the
hospital, and unsatisfactory working conditions and food. In
addition to these definite causes for dissatisfaction many of these
employees come within the class of “ drifters” and others leave out
of sympathy for friends who have left either on account of discharge
or for other reasons.
Wages appeared to be on a generally unsatisfactory basis; and
opportunity for advancement for these workers was insufficient.
The writer was of the opinion that every effort should be made to
work out definite lines of promotion so that employees will realize
they have an opportunity to increase their income and advance in
position.
In dealing with the question of turnover in hospitals it is not enough
to remedy conditions which make for dissatisfaction but it is also
necessary to keep out undesirable employees. Theft, either of hospi
tal property or the property of patients or employees, is usually
accepted as one of the necessary hospital evils and is often traceable
690
TURNOVER OF LABOR
to the class of employees who drift from place to place. One of the
essentials in reducing turnover, therefore, is keeping out these unde
sirables, and a careful interview before employment, requiring refer
ences from former employers, and careful record-keeping help to
attain this object.
Steps to remedy the situation were taken subsequently at a meeting
of hospital executives, representing 45 of the leading mstitutions in
New York City, which was held for the special purpose of devising
ways and means of reducing the labor turnover. At this meeting a
committee was appointed to create a reference bureau or clearing
house of the hospital help in the city, under which employees would
be hired directly by the individual institutions but would be registered
at a central office, so that records of the services of the employees in
all the hospitals would be available. It was also proposed, at a later
meeting, to establish an employment agency under the direction of
some recognized communal organization such as the United Hospital
Fund of New York.
Further evidence of the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing among
hospital workers was contained in a statement6 by the commissioner
of the Department of Public Welfare of New York City, ascribing the
high labor turnover in the institutions in his department to the low
wages paid in the city hospitals. He stated that of the 5,200 employees
in his department, 2,012 were getting $40 a month or less and that
the changes in personnel were almost entirely among these low-paid
workers. As a result, the work of the department was said to be
seriously handicapped.
The “ Exit” Interview
HE practice of conducting interviews with employees who are
leaving the service of a company is discussed in a leaflet en
titled “ The Exit Interview,” published in 1927 by the Policyholders
Service Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., the study be
ing based on the experience of 60 companies.
Practically all of the companies conducting these exit interviews
are said to indorse the idea, and the data obtained indicate that such
interviews are practical from the standpoint of time, cost, and results.
When an employee leaves with a grievance he is a company liability
just as much as a dissatisfied customer, and his grievance may be one
that affects the morale of the organization. Not only does the exit
interview afford a chance to learn the reasons for the employee’s
seeking work elsewhere, but useful information may also be obtained
regarding undesirable working conditions, foremen’s attitudes, and
so on, and the employee may be given pertinent information about
the policies of the company, as wen as the opportunities it offers and
ways of taking advantage of them. The interview may also show
the reaction of certain types of employees to certain jobs, which helps
the company in determining the types of individuals suitable for
different kinds of work.
Most companies having 5,000 or more employees assign the duty of
conducting exit interviews to the regular employment interviewers or
to the employment manager or his assistant. In plants employing
T
6 American Federation of Labor, Weekly News Service, Washington, Sept, 17,1927,
THE “ E X IT ” INTERVIEW
691
between 200 and 5,000 the practice was found to be somewhat
different. In five-sixths of these plants the matter was handled by
the official corresponding to the employment manager or his chief
assistant; in the remaining one-sixth, by the foreman, paymaster,
employment clerk, interviewer, or nurse. In the majority of instances
the interviewer has authority to take action, but in unusual cases
he reports the matter to his superior.
Although it is pointed out that the questions asked in the exit
interview may naturally be expected to vary with the individual case,
the following were found to be typical of those asked:
1. What’s the trouble?
2. What’s the matter, John, taking a rest?
3. Is it a matter of money?
4. Didn’t you like your job?
5. How did you get along with your foreman?
6. How did you like the other employees in your department?
7. Are you leaving with a clear understanding of the advantages of your pres
ent job?
8. Have you any remarks or complaints to make regarding working conditions
or treatment while on the job?
9. What incentive does your new place of employment offer?
10. Have you considered the expense of moving, etc.?
11. Are you improving yourself by leaving?
12. Why do you think you will advance more quickly in another organization?
13. Would you like to work for the same foreman again if you came back to us?
14. What can you tell us that will better the service or be a good thing for our
employees?
15. How long have you considered leaving?
16. Do you care to transfer to another department?
17. Don’t you like this town?
18. Has your address changed since you entered our employ?
19. Have you another job?
20. Can we help you get other work?
The time and cost of these interviews will, of course, also vary in
the different cases. It was estimated by one large company that the
time taken in interviewing 4,600 discharged, laid-off, and quitting
employees during the first 11 months of 1926 averaged one hour a
day of two men’s time, or an average of about six and three-fourths
minutes to a case, with an interviewer’s salary cost of 10 cents a case.
Of these 4,600 employees, 195, or 4.2 per cent, remained in the com
pany’s employment as a result of the interview.
39142°— 29-------15
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
AND RELIEF
693
Unemployment Insurance and Relief
EASURES for the relief of the evils of unemployment are of three
general classes: Employment exchanges, unemployment insur
ance plans, and plans for stabilizing or regularizing business under
takings.
Employment exchanges have for their primary object the finding
of jobs for idle workers. In addition, h.owever, some labor exchange
systems, especially in certain European countries, serve as starting
points for various unemployment relief measures, such as public
relief works, the migration and emigration of idle surplus labor, and
the training of unemployed persons for new kinds of work.
Unemployment insurance under State direction and control has
been established for many years in various European countries. In
the United States such insurance has not been made a matter of
legislation in any of the States, although in some of them State laws
on the subject have been urged similar in principle to that of the
accident compensation laws now in effect almost universally in the
United States.
The insurance principle in the matter of unemployment has been
applied, however, in various establishments and by various tradeunions in the United States. As a rule, these plans are directed
primarily to the stabilization of employment, but involve resort to
insurance in a number of cases.
Brief description is given below of various plans and methods in
effect in this country for the relief and prevention of unemployment,
and short accounts are given of the foreign unemployment insurance
plans and of the work of European public labor exchanges.
Attention may also be called to the fact that the former handbook
(Bui. No. 439) contained (pp. 601-607) descriptions of a number of
interesting establishment plans, which are not reprinted in the present
bulletin as no later data regarding them are available.
M
Activities of United States Employment Service
URING the calendar years 1927 and 1928 the United States Em
ployment Service in cooperation with the several States placed
in employment 2,934,081. The following table shows registration,
opportunities for employment, and placements made during these
D
695
696
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
two years, by State and municipal employment services in from 38
to 43 States cooperating with the United States Employment Service:
ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN VARIOUS STATES AND THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE, 1927 AND 1928
1927
Month
Num
ber of
weeks
Registra
tions
Opportu
nities for
employ
ment
1928
Place
ments
Num
ber of
weeks
Registra
tions
Opportu
nities for
employ
ment
Place
ments
January............
February.........
March..............
April.................
May.................
June......... ........
July..................
August.............
September.......
October............
November.......
December.........
4
4
5
4
4
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
184,217
164,425
212,114
192,668
199,379
208,003
215,741
188,491
217,664
198,356
170,719
163,447
114,013
102,933
151,794
161,548
166,559
350,795
155,940
142,992
182,994
162,286
122,736
108,474
99,183
90,398
131,105
137,721
143,987
131,699
135,874
125,110
155,954
143,394
109,092
97,265
4
4
5
4
5
4
4
5
4
5
4
4
162,062
155,667
193,830
178,906
218,844
195,368
190,563
208,742
198,791
225,314
161,281
151,483
92,086
86,570
118,767
128,200
168,583
137,716
141,113
173,688
180,994
188,339
118,537
109,298
82,128
76,627
104,968
111, 737
148,256
122,240
124,265
146,266
149,902
165,038
105,778
96,094
Total___
52
2,315,224
1,722,064
1,500,782
52
2,240,851
1,628,391
1,433,299
The major portion of the expense of maintaining the public em
ployment service is borne by the several States and municipalities.
The Federal Government, however, makes a small financial contribu
tion to assist the several States, as well as provides forms to conduct
its work, and renders other valuable assistance. The United States
Employment Service acts as a medium for the clearance of labor.
Junior Division
As n o c l e a r a n c e of labor is involved in conducting junior place
ment offices, it is regarded as a local problem and responsibility.
Following is a summary of activities of the 29 junior cooperating
offices during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1928:
Registrations______________________________________________
Referrals__________________________________________________
Placements________________________________________________
Jobs registered (calls for help)____________________________
Office interviews__________________________________________
56, 116
36, 741
26, 037
29, 117
152, 875
Industrial Employment Information Division
T h is d iv i s io n is charged with the collection of information con
cerning the industrial employment situation existing throughout the
country from month to month. To facilitate this the country is
divided into nine districts with a director in each. Contacts have been
established by these directors in the leading industrial centers of their
districts. The information is supplied by industrial leaders, business
men, labor union officials, chambers of commerce, and other reliable
sources. Through these contacts the district directors are able to
keep in constant touch with the industrial and employment trends
in their respective districts. The information supplied is compared
and* hecked by the district directors before submitting their reports
to the administrative office, where they are carefully reedited and
ACTIVITIES OF tJ. S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
697
published in the Industrial Employment Information Bulletin. A
special edition is prepared for the press, so that the information con
tained therein may be released to the public as early as possible.
The information contained in this bulletin is developed from reports
each month on conditions in approximately 590 centers.
Farm Labor Division
T h e f a r m l a b o r d i v i s i o n undertakes to recruit systematically
and to distribute labor to harvest the seasonal crops. This activity
of the United States Employment Service extends to more than onehalf of the area of the United States, being confined largely to the
territory west of the Mississippi River. As most of the labor to
harvest the seasonal crops is recruited from outside territory, it is
important that careful surveys be made to ascertain the labor require
ments in each territory in order that a surplus of harvest laborers in
any particular section be obviated, and at the same time that the
demand for laborers be fully met. These surveys are published from
time to time in bulletin form and sent to all recruiting points.
A daily reporting system has been established by which the cen
tral office or field headquarters obtains a record of the daily activi
ties, together with reports of shortages, surpluses, labor needs, wages,
and all facts necessary to the intelligent handling of men in the har
vesting of the crops. If the available supply of labor is not ade
quate to meet approaching needs, this information is developed suf
ficiently in advance to enable the Employment Service to recruit
such additional labor as may be required.
In the last few years revolutionary changes have taken place in the
invention of labor-saving devices for the harvesting of seasonal
crops, and in no branch of agriculture have the newer methods been
more felt than in wheat harvesting, the new machine being able to
harvest approximately 50 acres per day and reducing the number of
men formerly required for wheat harvest. The wide introduction of
this machine has at times complicated the placement work of the
farm labor division. Seasonal conditions which occasionally arise
render the use of this machine impracticable. At such times the
division is pressed to the utmost to supply harvesters for the
emergency.
Following is a summary of the number of seasonal farm laborers
and general farm hands directed to employment by the farm labor
division during the calendar year ended December 31, 1927:
Cotton picking__________________________________ 227, 900
Cotton chopping________________________________
1, 430
Land clearing (mesquite grubbing)______________
9, 650
Wheat and small grain harvesting______________
90, 631
Berry picking____________________________________ 56, 629
Fruit picking_____ ______________________________
12,734
Other seasonal labor_____________________________ 16, 822
-------------- 415, 796
General farm workers_____________________________________
18, 058
Total___________________ _________ ____ _____________ 433,854
698
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
State and Municipal Em ployment Offices
HE following table, reproduced from the December, 1928, issue
of the American Labor Legislation Review, shows the number
of public employment offices in 35 States and the District of Columbia
ana the funds available for their operation:
T
FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE OPERATION OF 170 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN
THE FISCAL YEAR 1927-28, BY STATES
State
Arizona_____________________
Arkansas___________________
California___________________
Connecticut_________________
Delaware2__________________
District of Columbia_________
Georgia_____________________
Illinois______________________
Indiana_____________________
Iowa __ _____ ___________
Kansas_____________________
Kentucky___________________
Louisiana___________________
Maine.
_________________
Maryland___________________
Massachusetts_______________
Michigan _
Minnesota__________________
Num
Funds
ber of
officers available»
1
4
12
7
1
1
1
17
5
3
5
1
3
1
1
4
11
6
$4,960
5,880
85,894
51,020
14,615
2,100
231,360
21,200
6,600
15,240
1,560
1,140
1,420
4,100
68,810
35,397
43,127
State
Missouri____________________
Nevada____ ________________
New Hampshire_____________
New Jersey_________________
New York__________________
North Carolina______________
Ohio............................ ............
Oklahoma..................................
Oregon.......................................
Pennsylvania_______________
Rhode Island......... ............ .
South Dakota_______________
Tennessee___________________
Vermont______________ _____
Virginia____________________
West Virginia_______________
Wisconsin.................................
Wyoming___________________
Num
Funds
ber of
officers available1
4
1
2
6
11
6
11
4
5
14
1
3
1
1
5
1
10
1
$32,640
3,070
4,760
83,496
195,502
21,600
145,600
9,780
13,495
81,360
4,900
1,260
1,560
1,238
11,720
1,640
67,960
900
1 Report of funds for 3 months of fiscal year not available; includes cash allotted from Federal Government
to various States but not the parts of the Federal appropriation allotted to the farm labor division, the
information division for supplies, rent, and other items furnished to cooperating offices by the Federal
Government. In several cases municipalities were reported to have cooperated in furnishing offices, but no
cash figures were given.
2 Opened 3 months before close of fiscal year.
Establishment Insurance and Guaranty Plans
Guaranteed Time in the Meat-Packing Industry
THE course of its 1927 study of wages and hours in the slaughter
ing and meat-packing industry, the Bureau of Labor Statistics col
INlected
certain data regarding the prevalence of the practice of guaran
teeing to some or all of the employees pay for a specified number of
hours each week.
This assures to these employees pay at their regular rate for the
specified number of hours whenever the hours of work are less than the
guaranteed hours of pay. To be entitled to pay, it is necessary for the
employee to report for duty and to work all the hours of operation on
each day or in each week.
This plan, which was put into effect in the packing industry prior to
the war, had its origin in the uncertainty of livestock receipts and the
consequent variation of hours in the service of the butcher gangs, and
the desirability of keeping the skilled force intact in order that there
might be present, as wanted, experts on the various jobs and the work
might be carried on without a break. The guaranty is not applicable
to weeks or proportions of wTeeks during which the men are not called
for work. The fact that an employee begins a week gives him a
guaranty of 40 hours’ employement for that week provided he reports
for duty and does such work as is offered him. The right of lay off is
ESTABLISHMENT INSURANCE AND GUARANTY PLANS
699
always present. If an employee voluntarily does not work a com
plete day when work is offered, the guaranteed minimum wage is
reduced by an amount equal to pay for the uncompleted portion of
the day.
The bureau's 1927 wage study of this industry covered 86 plants. Of
these all but 26 make such guaranties to some or all of their employees.
Of the remainder, 48 plants guarantee 40 hours' pay per week to all
employees except luggers; the luggers' guaranty is 44 or 40 hours' pay,
generally 44. The workers in certain departments in 8 plants are
guaranteed 40 hours' pay. One company makes a guaranty of 48
hours pay per week to some of its employees who live at some dis
tance from the plant, another guarantees pay for 45 hours to 9 butch
ers, another 37 hours' pay to 2 splitters, and a fourth 35 hours'
pay to all employees except the roustabouts and the workers employed
in the power house.
In some cases the 40 hours' guaranty means a guaranty of 6 ^ hours'
pay for each day upon which the employee reports for duty and accepts
such work as is offered.
Unemployment Fund of a Manufacturing Company 1
A n a c c o u n t of the operation of the unemployment fund estab
lished by the Leeds & Northrup Co., Philadelphia, is given in the May,
1927, issue of Factory. The establishment of this fund was the result
of the depression of 1920, in which the company was obliged to lay
off men without being able to make any provision for them which
would help them meet the emergency.
In addition to the emergency fund set up by the company, a con
sistent effort is also made to secure steady operation through fore
casting, better selling methods, and manufacturing for stock; fluctua
tions in the manufacturing department are met in large measure
by the flexible working week and by the use to some extent of pro
duction employees on expense work, maintenance, and the like when
it has been necessary to cut down production.
The product manufactured by the company is staple in character
so that there is little danger of depreciation or obsolescence if manu
facturing is carried ahead of orders. Experiments have been made
in forecasting, based on study of the cyclical depressions in the indus
try as compared with general business cycles, but they have not
yet reached a stage where absolute reliance can be placed on the
predictions.
As a further effort toward stabilization, the firm follows a definite
policy of putting increased energy into selling when sales come
hardest, the increased selling cost being more than offset by the
saving in the overhead account through continued production.
Along with this policy new outlets for production are being con
stantly sought and extensive research is carried on. A flexible
working week is an important part of the policy of stabilization,
however. In order to avoid lay offs and maintain the normal pay
roll in times of depression it is necessary in busy periods to make
the number of workers on the pay roll equal as nearly as possible
the number required in normal periods. To do this the number of
i Factory, May, 1927, pp. 876 et seq.: We Stick by Our Workers—And They Stick by Us, by Charles S.
Redding.
700
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
men needed to meet production requirements are determined, based
on the standard working week and the output in an average month,
and by shortening or lengthening the work periods production re
quirements can be met without either hiring or firing or the alter
native practice of maintaining too large a force for ordinary periods
in order to have it available for peak loads.
In all this work the assumption has been that the 1920 experience
was the most violent depression in a lifetime and therefore its force
measures the maximum depression which will have to be met. As
the firm sells its product largely to industrial establishments, the
slump in 1920 was felt very keenly. From this experience the man
agement developed the plan of an unemployment fund which guar
antees the employees against part of the losses of unemployment
or decreased activity in the plant.
The length of time for which employees may receive compensation
is graded according to length of service, employees of 3 months’
service being entitled to 3 weeks’ compensation in a year, 1 year’s
service to compensation for 5 weeks, increasing to 26 weeks’ compen
sation for employees of 5 years’ service or over. Employees with
dependents receive 75 per cent of their wages for these periods and
those with no dependents receive half pay. Study of the pay roll
and employment records for 1920 showed that a comparatively small
sum would take care of the compensation at these rates and for these
periods, largely because the most highly skilled workers and those
with the longest periods of service are naturally the last to be laid
off in times of depression.
The fund was started, therefore, with a fund of $5,000, which
represented approximately 2 per cent of the pay roll for the first 7
months of the year, and each week 2 per cent of the weekly pay roll
was added until the fund reached the specified amount of twice the
maximum weekly pay roll of the preceding 12 months. The unem
ployment benefits paid from the fund in the period it has been in
operation have amounted to not more than $400, as on the few occassions when it has been necessary to cut down on production it has
been possible to put the employees on other work in the plant.
If a period of extra volume of work is prolonged so that it seems
there is a permanent increase in the business, it is the policy of the
firm to increase the working force and get rid of the overtime before
it becomes a habit.
The unemployment fund is maintained entirely by the firm, as it
is considered that the provision of steady employment is a definite
responsibility of the company which is in no way shared by the
employees. They do not, however, plan to make it profitable for
an employee to loaf and beneficiaries of the fund agree to make every
effort to secure other employment.
The various stabilization policies followed by the firm are summed
up as follows:
Study and experiment to perfect business forecasting; apply extra sales energy
when sales are most needed; study new outlets, to get broader distribution;
maintain intensive research for product improvement; make financial provision
for manufacturing standard products to stock; adjust hours to business volume,
to prevent unnecessary hiring. If, in spite of all this, lay offs become necessary,
be prepared with an emergency fund to carry regular employees till business
picks up.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
701
Insurance Plans and Guaranteed Employment
Through Collective Agreements
a result of collective agreements between employers and unions
of unemployment insurance have been set up in vari
A Sousschemes
industries. The underlying idea has been to make each industry
responsible for the employment of its regular workers.
Men’s Clothing Industry
A p r e l i m i n a r y c o n t r a c t between the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers and the employers in the Chicago market was signed early
in 1923, providing for the creation of a fund to which each employer
should contribute 1 ^ per cent of his weekly pay roll, the employees
in the shop contributing a similar amount. Changes in the rates of
benefit, administration, and other conditions have been made from
time to time,2 as conditions revealed the necessity for revision. The
new agreement, signed early in April, 1928, by the union and the
Chicago Clothing Manufacturers’ Association, provides that, begin
ning May 1, 1928, the employers will contribute to the fund at the
rate of 3 instead of 1 per cent of their weekly pay roll, the workers
still continuing their contribution of 1J^> per cent.
Unemployment benefits are paid at the rate of 30 per cent of full
time wages. Unemployment is calculated on the basis of the total
hours of unemployment of each worker, and the payments are regu
lated by the size of the fund available for benefits, but no worker is
eligible for unemployment benefit for more than two and one-half
weeks in each half year. Benefits are paid half-yearly, at the end
of each season, for the unemployment during that season. Only
“ involuntary unemployment resulting from lack of work” is com
pensated.
From the inauguration of the fund, May 1, 1923, to December 15,
1928, contributions to the fund have amounted to $4,957,133, and
benefits have been paid in the amount of $4,025,336.
Although the fund has been very successful in alleviating the
effects of unemployment on the workers, in the opinion of the chair
man of the fund the scheme has had no tendency to decrease unem
ployment. The union, however, has repeatedly expressed its satis
faction with the plan and its results, and has announced its intention
of endeavoring to extend the plan to the other men’s clothing markets.
The union has been successful in winning unemployment insurance
in Rochester, N. Y. The agreement for 1928 for that market provided
for a system similar to that in Chicago, with contributions of 1% per
cent of pay roll from both employers and employees. The employers’
contributions began May 1,1928, but those of the employees do not
begin until May 1, 1929. Under the 1928 agreement, the New
York provision went into force and employers’ contributions became
payable September 1, 1928.
aFor detailed descriptions of the plan and its operation see Labor Review, issues of July, 1924 (pp. 22-30);
and November, 1925 (pp. 133, 134); International Labor Review (Geneva), March, 1925 (pp. 318-328);
and Bulletin of the Taylor Society, August, 1927 (pp. 471-477).
702
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Women’s Garment Industry
A d e c i s i o n of a board of referees in 1921 set up in the women’s
garment industry of Cleveland, Ohio, a plan by which each employer
guaranteed to his employees, members of the International Ladies’
Garment Workers’ Union, 41 weeks’ employment each year. Under
the plan each employer, while making no actual cash payment to a
fund, as in the men’s clothing industry, gave a surety bond for an
amount equal to 73^ per cent of his direct labor pay roll. His workers
who had more than 11 weeks of idleness during the year were entitled
to benefits, from this amount, of two-thirds of the weekly minimum
rate for all unemployment in excess of the 11 weeks. There was no
provision for a continuing fund; any amount not required to be
paid out in unemployment benefit could be retained by the employer.
Some dissatisfaction developed with the working of the plan even
as early as in the fall of the year of its adoption, and resulted in
reducing the benefits to 40 weeks’ guaranteed employment and onehalf the weekly wage. This guaranty, however, is still in force.
On the whole the plan is stated to have worked out satisfactorily
and only a small percentage of the employers were required to make
payments of out-of-work benefits.
A system of unemployment insurance in New York City was won
by the union in 1924. Dissension resulting in the disorganization
of the union, led to the loss, temporarily at least, of the system.
Practically the same thing happened in Chicago.
Fur Industry
T h e I n t e r n a t io n a l Fur Workers’ Union also succeeded in obtain
ing, for the New York market, an unemployment insurance plan as
part of its agreement of 1924. The plan was to go into effect early
in 1926. In the meantime factional trouble had broken out within
the union, and for a time the “ Lefts” were in control. During this
time the agreement with the employers expired, and as no terms could
be reached a strike was called which lasted from February to June,
1926. When an agreement was finally signed the unemployment
insurance provisions had been eliminated.
Cloth Hat and Cap Industry
An u n e m p l o y m e n t insurance plan was secured in St. Paul in
October, 1923, by the cap branch of the Cloth Hat, Cap, and Mil
linery Workers’ International Union by a collective agreement with
one firm* subsequently agreements were made with other firms of
the city. A similar fund was established in the New York, Chicago,
and Philadelphia markets in 1924; in Boston, Baltimore, and Scran
ton in February, 1925; and in Milwaukee in August, 1925.
Under the plan all of the cost is paid by the manufacturers in.the
cap industry with whom the headgear workers’ union has contracts.
Each employer pays over to the union each week 3 per cent of his
ay roll for that week, to be used for the payment of unemployment
enefits “ and for no other purpose.” The employer loses all title
to the sums paid into the fund by him.
E
t r a d e - u n io n
m easures
703
In most cases the benefits were paid at the rate of $10 a week for
men and $7 a week for women for a period not to exceed seven
weeks during the year and after a waiting period of two weeks.
The condition of the New York City fund after the first year of pay
ment was so prosperous that the benefits were increased to $13 and
$10, respectively; the wisdom of this increase was questioned, how
ever, at the 1927 convention, where it was stated that although the
increased benefits had been in effect only some eight months, the
reserve was “ already dwindling very fast.” During the two years
•ending March 1, 1927, 3,900 members in the eight manufacturing
centers received $175,907 in benefits, and reserves in the fund at the
end of the period amounted to $142,721.
The last two conventions of the union have authorized the general
executive board to formulate plans by which a national fund admin
istered through the international union could be substituted for the
present local plans. As a preliminary step the benefits and systems
of the various local plans are to be equalized, and the next con
vention will then take up the question of a national fund.
Felt Hat Industry
A p l a n s i m i l a r to that of the cap industry has been obtained by
New York City locals Nos. 3 and 45 of the United Hatters of North
America. In this plan also the employers pay the whole cost of the
insurance, contributing 3 per cent of the pay roll. The fund is dis
bursed by a union committee of six members.
Benefits amount to $10 per week, after a member has been idle for
two weeks, but no member may draw more than six weeks' benefit
in any one year.
The fund was started in 1925 but no payments were made until
July 1,1926. Local No. 3 has since that time paid in benefits $15,980.
Wall Paper Industry
T h e n a t i o n a l a g r e e m e n t of the United Wall Paper Crafts,
which runs to July 15, 1929, provides for a guaranty of 50 weeks'
employment per year for print cutters; there is the same guaranty
for machine printers and color mixers, but in this case there is a
proviso that 45 weeks shall be at full pay and that half rates shall
be paid for any idle time over 45 weeks and up to 50 weeks, but
“ the 5 weeks at half pay to be optional with the manufacturers.”
Trade-Union Measures Relating to U nem ploym ent3
HE PROBLEM of unemployment is one with which labor
organizations are continually confronted in varying degree. In
well-organized trades where the flow of work is more or less even,
unemployment may be a very minor factor. In seasonal industries,
however, especially in trades or industries where the average labor
force exceeds the average supply of work, the matter is one for serious
T
3 For a more detailed discussion see Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui, No. 465: Beneficial activities of
American trade-uoions; Ob, VIH .
704
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
consideration. The mining industry and the clothing trades are
well-known examples of the latter situation.
Measures which may be taken to solve the problem are (1) those
tending to prevent the occurrence of unemployment, and (2) those
taken to alleviate the effects of unemployment when it occurs.
As to the prevention of unemployment, labor organizations are
handicapped by the fact that unemployment is largely the result of
of conditions quite outside the control of the workers. They have,
however, attacked the problem as best they could by various means,
largely from the point of view that the supply of work is a fixed
amount. They have endeavored, therefore, to conserve and
“ stretch” this work supply in some or all of the following ways:
By limiting the number among whom the work must be divided
(i. e., by limiting the number of new members admitted to member
ship in the union and by limiting the number of apprentices); by
insisting on the principle of the “ worker’s right to his job” and
requiring an indemnity in case of his dismissal; by demanding the
“ rationing” of the work available among the full working force,
instead of permitting the dismissal of unneeded workers and allowing
the remainder to work full time; by limiting or prohibiting the work
ing of overtime.
When, nevertheless, a union member finds himself out of a job he
can rely upon his union to do its best to find him another. Only
a small number of international unions maintain regular employment
offices, but there is hardly a local which does not have some person in
touch with conditions and opportunities in the trade. In some cases
also a regular office is maintained whose sole business is to find work
for its jobless members. Many unions, indeed, specify in their agree
ments with the employers that the latter must apply to the union for
men to fill any labor requirements.
(N*For persons out of employment through no fault of their own their
organizations make provision in several ways, such as the payment of
out-of-work benefits, loans, or “ relief.” Only three international
unions are known to be paying unemployment benefits at present,
though a great many have done so at one time or another and many
local unions still pay such benefits. A great many unions exempt
jobless members from the payment of dues during the period of
idleness, the sum so “ excused” amounting to many thousands of
dollars a year. Loans to needy unemployed members are made by
at least two national labor organizations.
The unions in some industries especially subject to the evil of
unemployment have realized their inability to cope with the situation
alone and have succeeded in obtaining, by collective bargaining with
the employers, an unemployment insurance system, with the idea,
first, of making the industry responsible for the unemployment of the
regular workers within it, and, second, of providing employers with an
incentive for stabilizing the employment in their plants. Plans
providing either for unemployment insurance or a guaranteed period of
employment have been tried in one or more markets of the women’s
garment industry, the men’s clothing industry, the cloth hat and cap
industry, the felt-hat industry, and the wall-paper industry. Only
a few such plans are now in operation, but where such schemes have
been suspended this has not been because of dissatisfaction with the
plan but because of factional difficulties within the union. The
TRADE-UNION MEASURES
705
consensus as regards these plans appears to be that while unemploy
ment insurance has not resulted in decreasing unemployment, it has
been of incalculable benefit in alleviating the distress attendant
upon it.
Measures for the Prevention of Unemployment
Restriction of Membership
O n e o f t h e w a y s by which trade-unions have tried to prevent
unemployment among their members is the restriction of the member
ship of the union, on the theory that the work available in the
industry should be secured to the worK^rs already in membership.
In trades where seasonal fluctuation of demand for the product
has made necessary the creation of a reserve labor force sufficient to
handle the orders at their peak, in trades where business depression has
resulted in the lay off of numbers of workers, and in trades where
increased use of machinery or the introduction of improved machinery
or methods is steadily reducing the number of men necessary to turn
out the product—in those trades the unions at such times often take
the stand that there is no use aggravating, by the admission of addi
tional workers, a labor situation already bad.
Indemnity for Loss of Job
C a s e s are even on record where workers already in membership
with the union have been given inducements to leave an industry
which was overmanned. This has occurred in three instances in the
men's clothing industry. Three firms, one in Chicago and two in
New York City, found it necessary to cut their regular force. The
Chicago firm had introduced new methods which, by increasing the
output per man, did away with the jobs of 150 cutters. Representa
tions by the union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, resulted in
the firm's conceding the justice of remunerating the workers who
thus found themselves out of work through no fault of their own.
The firm contributed $50,000, and $25,000 was added from the unem
ployment insurance fund of the industry. From the money so
obtained each man who was dismissed received an “indemnity" for
the loss of his job amounting to $500, with the understanding that he
was to leave the industry altogether and go into some other line of
work.
In New York City, one firm found it could give full-time employ
ment to only 300 of its regular force of 380. The firm advanced
$3,000 and the workers still in employment in the shop each contrib
uted two days' earnings. A committee was chosen, from among the
men who were dismissed, to decide how the indemnity money should
be distributed. It was decided that the distribution should be upon
the basis of the financial need of each, but within the limits of $50 as
a minimum and $200 as a maximum.
The second New York firm had to dismiss 25 employees. It
donated $500; the workers who remained also contributed, and the
discharged workers received an indemnity of $120.58 apiece.
706
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Finding Jobs for Members
M
ost local unions regard as one of their accepted duties that of
finding employment for members who are out of work. Where the
closed shop or preferential union shop has been secured, agreements
with union employers usually specify that in cases where additional
workers are needed, application for these must first be made to the
union. If it is unable to supply workers, help may be obtained
elsewhere. Generally the union has no formal machinery for this
service, as the business agent, familiar with the capabilities of the
men and the requirements of the various shops, can supply the
workers.
Regular employment bureaus have been set up by some 17 national
or international unions, including the railroad trainmen, the railroad
telegraphers, the pocketbook workers, the printing pressmen, loco
motive engineers, locomotive firemen and enginemen, Amalgamated
Clothing Workers, brewery and soft-drink workers, granite cutters,
lithographers, paper makers, photo-engravers, potters, quarry workers,
stove mounters, tunnel and subway workers, and wire weavers.
Opening New Markets and Increasing Business
T
he Amalgamated Clothing Workers has not stopped with endeav
oring to find jobs for the jobless. It has gone farther and has
endeavored to increase the demand for the product of the industry.
In Chicago the union has even organized new shops to make ready
made clothes for special-order firms. This it has done “ to increase
the business of the firm and to lengthen the period of employment
for the members of the union.” It is stated that the entire project
was carried through by the union alone and that the cost of promoting
and starting the new shop was reduced to a minimum. New units
have also been organized to produce “ the so-called cheaper lines,
which have brought increased business and greater employment to
all the union markets.”
Unions in the trades which have adopted the union label try to
increase the sales in the trades by constantly urging unionists to buy
only union-label goods. This they do through the columns of their
own magazine and those of other labor organizations, through holding
“ union-label meetings,” etc. Thus, a number of months ago the
union employees of a New England firm manufacturing sheetings
advertised throughout the labor press the fact that the product of
this factory was made under the very best union conditions and as
such was deserving of the patronage of organized labor. Similar
action was recently taken with regard to the collars produced by a
unionized collar factory. Indeed, stores handling only union-label
products have been established by unionists in St. Louis, Chicago,
and Brooklyn to further the sale of such goods.
Under the plan of imion-management cooperation adopted on the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, through operating economies, improved
methods, the elimination of the practice of contracting out of work,
etc., the period of employment of the shop crafts which are affected
by the arrangement is reported to have been increased by an average of
two weeks per year. Also, attempts have been made to increase the
business of the road, the employees, it is stated, having “ on more than
TRADE-UNION MEASURES
707
one occasion * * * out of their own pockets paid for advertise
ments soliciting traffic for their railroads.”
Somewhat similar action was taken in the Chicago district by the
Brick and Clay Workers Union in 1916, when it aided the employers
in a widespread advertising campaign by which the sale of bricks
was increased by 150,000,000 bricks in that year.
Measures for the Relief of Unemployment
A l t h o u g h t r a d e - u n i o n s make every effort to prevent unem
ployment among their members, there are many factors causing
unemployment over which the unions have no control. Seasonal
depressions, general economic conditions, bad management, lack of
orders, etc., can not be overcome by labor organizations alone.
Unemployment Benefits
M a n y unions have at some time or other made some provision for
extending assistance to members who are out of .work, generally
through regular unemployment benefits, loans, or “ relief.” Although
regular unemployment benefits are paid by many local unions, the
only unions of national scope which the Bureau of Labor Statistics
knows to be paying direct unemployment benefits at present are the
International Pocketbook Workers’ Union, the Diamond Workers’
Protective Union, and the International Association of Siderographers. Smelser, in his study, states that although few national unions
have adopted a system of direct unemployment benefits, “ there is
scarcely a union in which there has not been a more or less continuous
agitation” for the establishment of such benefits. He expresses the
opinion that the scarcity of such benefits is due to (1) the unwill
ingness of members to pay the increased dues which would be neces
sary, and (2) “ the apparent inadequacy of the administrative agencies
of the union to secure a just distribution of the benefit.” 4
The diamond workers’ union pays benefits after three weeks of un
employment. A diamond cutter who is unemployed receives a
benefit of $12 for the fourth week of his unemployment and thereafter
$2 a day until he has drawn benefit for 13 weeks, when the benefit
ceases. During 1927 out-of-work benefits paid amounted to $1,742.
Since this benefit was established, in 1912, $139,087 has been dis
bursed. The secretary states, however, that the pavment of unem
ployment benefits is “ a losing game.” Because of heavy deficits,
the fund has twice had to suspend payments until funds could be
accumulated.
The siderographers, a small union of about 80 members, pay a
benefit of $5 a week for 26 weeks a year. Nothing was paid out in
out-of-work benefits in 1926, but since this benefit was established, in
1913, payments have aggregated $1,125.
No separate figures are available for unemployment relief paid by
the International Pocketbook Workers’ Union; in 1926 payments for
unemployment and sickness relief amounted to $4,046.
* Smelser, D. P.: Unemployment and American Trade-Unions. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1919.
pp. 139, 146.
39142°— 29-------46
708
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Some of the locals of the international unions of bakery workers,
wood carvers, photo-engravers, stereotypers, and lithographers pay
unemployment benefits. One local of the lithographers is reported
to have disbursed $145,000 in unemployment benefits in the last 4 ^
years; during the period 1923 to 1927 eight locals of photo-engravers
have paid in such benefits a total of $434,808, and from 1924 to 1927
seven bakers’ locals paid out $17,701 in benefits.
The Western Brokers’ Division of the Commercial Telegraphers’
Union of America, by referendum vote of its members, in the spring
of 1927 adopted a plan providing for the assessment upon every
member employed at full time of $1 per week for a period of five
weeks, to provide funds for the relief of unemployed members. This
applied only to the city of Chicago for the reasons that outside of
that city unemployment was not so serious and the scale of wages
was “ far below the standard wage paid to Chicago members, who
are practically 100 per cent organized.”
Exemption from Dues
A n i n d i r e c t form of unemployment benefits is that of excusing
an unemployed member from the payment of trade-union dues during
the time he is out of a job. This keeps the member in good standing
in his union and retains for him his right to any other benefits paid
by the organization. Small though this benefit seems, quite con
siderable sums have been disbursed by international unions in pay
ing unemployed members’ dues. Out-of-work stamps issued by the
Cigar Makers’ International Union in 1927 amounted to $7,036
and since 1890, when the practice was inaugurated, to $1,820,777.
The International Molders’ Union began to issue out-of-work stamps
as far back as 1897. Its payments for out-of-work stamps from
October 1, 1897, to September 30, 1927, have aggregated $1,447,474.
Other organizations which exempt unemployed members from the
payment of dues are those of the blacksmiths, boiler makers, railway
carmen, coopers, draftsmen, electrical workers, leather workers,
machinists, maintenance-of-way employees, oil-field workers, paper
makers, pattern makers, metal polishers, stove mounters, and textile
workers.
Loans to Members
A n u m b e r of organizations have at some time or other made a
practice of extending loans to members out of work. These were
either in the nature of relief or for the purpose of enabling members
to go to some other locality where there was a prospect of finding
work. Most of such plans have proved unsuccessful and have been
abandoned, mainly because of the difficulty of collection of unpaid
loans, abuse of the borrowing privilege, illegal loans, etc.
The Cigar Makers’ International Union has granted traveling
loans to unemployed members since 1890. Loans for this purpose
in 1926 amounted to $10,223, and since this practice was inaugurated
such loans have aggregated $1,633,699. No data are available
to show to what extent these loans have been repaid. The loan
privilege was abolished in 1927.
The International Pocketbook Workers’ Union in 1926 made loans
to the amount of $3,761. It is expected that only about 25 per cent
709
PUBLIC LABOR EXCHANGES IN EUROPE
of this will be repaid. “ In fact, most of the loans in 1926 were given
to people as loans merely because we did not wrant to humiliate
them and make them feel that they are getting charity.”
The Work of Public Labor Exchanges in Europe 5
HE INADEQUACY of the private labor exchanges has led
almost all European countries to establish public labor exchanges
—community or municipal, provincial, and State. These are usually
in a national system, which permits the coordination of the several
units into one centralized system.
The following table shows the present distribution of public labor
exchanges in 15 European countries:
T
DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC LABOR EXCHANGES IN 15 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN 1927
Country
Czechoslovakia. ______________________________________________
Denmark_____________________________________________________
Estonia______________________________________________________
Finland____________________________________ ____ _____________
Germany____________________________________________________
Great Britain_________________________________________________
Hungary__________________ ____________________________________
Netherlands___
_ ______ ______________________________
Norway_______ __ __________________________________________
Poland_______________________________________________________
Rumania__ _ _ _ ____ __________________________________________
Serb-Croat-Slovene Ki ng d o m. . . .
_
......
...
Soviet Russia_______ ____________ _____________________________
Sweden_______________________________________________________
Switzerland____________________ _____________________________
Number of Population Population
(in thou
public
(in thou sands) per
labor ex
sands)
public labor
changes i
exchange
437
89
9
24
1,293
1,162
8
40
48
20
37
7
281
36
35
13,613
3,419
1,114
3,526
62,349
42,768
8,368
7,416
2,650
29,160
17,393
12,017
146,305
6,524
3,936
31
38
124
143
48
37
1,046
185
55
1,458
470
1,716
521
168
112
i For some countries those private labor exchanges which are attached to the system of public labor
exchanges by certain public regulations are included.
Administrative Machinery
Cooperation of employees and employers.—In general, the Euro
pean labor exchange systems are built on the principle of coopera
tion, good will, and sympathy of employees, employers, and general
public, on the principle of complete neutrality in the case of trade
disputes, and on the absence of politics and bureaucratic methods
and spirit in the activities of public labor exchanges.
The cooperation of the employees, employers, and general public
is secured through labor and employers’ associations, with the Govern
ment representing the public at large. Also, the employees and
employers have a joint nonpartisan committee attached to every
important office of the system, for advice, guidance, and quite often
for judicial decisions.
* Abstract from article entitled “ The work of European Labor Exchanges” in the Labor Review for
December, 1928. The sources of that article were as follows: Ministry of Labor Gazette, London, monthly
issues fromJanuary, 1926, to date; Reichsarbeitsblatt, Berlin, January, 1925, to date; Seymour, John Barton:
The British Employment Exchange, London, P. S. King & Son (Ltd.), 1928. Studies and material relating
to labor exchanges in various countries, published by the International Labor Office, at Geneva, from
January, 1922, to date, and an unpublished list of laws and the number of labor exchanges in various foreign
countries were obtained from the Washington Branch of the International Labor Office.
710
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
To keep politics out of the system the appointments are usually
made under the civil-service rules. A rigid examination and a certain
amount of experience are required from the candidates.
To keep bureaucratic methods and spirit out of the system a
certain amount of autonomy is granted to it by the law. Yet, at the
same time, to exercise public authority, control, and general direction
over the policies of the system in order that the nation as a whole
will be well served and expenditures properly made and justified,
the system is usually subordinated and attached directly to the
ministry concerned with labor and employment.
Central office.—The central office or headquarters of the system is
usually presided over by an assistant minister (assistant secretary)
of the corresponding ministry. This office exercises general control
by supervising and directing the national system.
Regional offices.—Next come the divisional, State, provincial or
regional offices, which have direct control, supervision, and direction
of local labor exchange offices within their jurisdiction and serve as
clearing houses for equitable distribution of available jobs and work
ers between various industries and areas of the country. These
offices are usually in the charge of a divisional comptroller.
Labor exchanges.—Finally come the local labor exchanges with their
main and branch offices, each in the charge of a manager or superin
tendent. In case of large offices there is also an assistant manager,
besides numerous other staff members, such as registration clerks,
bookkeepers, investigators, interviewers, statisticians, and others.
Specialization.—Large exchanges usually maintain departmental
divisions, with separate departments for women and men, for juveniles
and apprentices, for skilled and unskilled, and, as a later development
for principal occupations and industries, such as agriculture, domestic
service, seamen, mechanics, carpenters, and others. Experience has
shown that such departmental divisions greatly facilitate the work
of labor exchanges and that a system consisting entirely of special
labor exchanges—that is, exchanges devoted only to a definite occupa
tion or industry or group of industries—is still more efficient than a
system of mixed labor exchanges—that is, exchanges doing employ
ment business for a number of occupations, industries, and groups of
unrelated industries at the same time. This tendency toward devel
opment of special labor exchanges is noticeable in Great Britian, Ger
many, the Scandinavian, and other industrial countries during late
years. The principal cause of such a tendency lies in the fact that
the officials and workers of a special labor exchange have a better
opportunity to acquire a broad knowledge of a single occupation and
a wide experience in dealing with it than when they deal with many
occupations and industries; for each occupation requires different
approaches and methods in handling. Then, too, workers of various
occupations and callings, for instances, teachers, theatrical artists,
engineers, day laborers, nurses, domestic servants, odd-job workers,
etc., do not mix well with one another and even do not want to be
in the same waiting crowd on the premises of the labor exchange.
Joint committees.—To each labor exchange, as already mentioned,
is attached a joint committee consisting of equal representatives of
employees and employers under a chairman appointed by the Govern
ment or by the members of the committee, while the manager of the.
exchange serves as the secretary to the committee.
PUBLIC LABOR EXCHANGES IN EUROPE
711
The purpose of such a committee is to assist, advise, and direct the
activities of the exchange and to secure the confidence of the employees
and employers, the users of the services of the exchange. It is,
therefore necessary that the committee members be thoroughly repre
sentative of the parties concerned.
Usually the members are appointed in consultation with the local
employers7 and workers’ organizations (as in Belgium and Great
Britain) or from the list of candidates submitted by both groups of
organizations (as in Denmark, Finland, and Norway). In case there
is a disagreement among various organizations of either party or sev
eral organizations want to be represented, then a proportional repre
sentation is secured (as in Denmark). In Rumania the representation
of unorganized workers and employers is also provided for.
In Great Britain all cases of disputes connected with the activities
of the exchange are referred to a sort of court or board of referees,
attached to the exchange or a group of exchanges, and consisting of
one representative of employees and one of employers, under a chair
man appointed by the Government. If a party is not satisfied with
the decision of this court or board, he may appeal his case to the
umpire appointed by the Central Government, whose decision is
final. Practically the same procedure is followed in a number of
other countries in cases of disputes connected with labor exchange
activities.
Placing Methods
The
of labor exchanges consists in bringing together
the employers wanting workers and the workers wanting jobs and
in assisting to fit the worker to the job and the job to the worker
by a careful selection.
p r in c ip a l w o r k
Experience in the European countries has shown that the old type
of labor exchanges rendering service in a passive way (that is, when
the exchange officials merely register the applications for jobs and
for workers and inform the parties of available vacancies and candi
dates) is next to useless, almost a waste of money, energy, and time.
In a well-functioning modern labor exchange up-to-date business
methods are applied, such as soliciting business by canvassing, adver
tising, and publicity, personally visiting employers for the purpose
of getting first-hand information in regard to their working methods,
conditions, needs, etc. At the same time the applicants for work are
studied very closely, their training and experience, their health and
character. The information supplied by an applicant himself is
verified and supplemented by outside inquiries, usually from his last
employer, and from the labor union if he belongs to one. The col
lected information is recorded on the registration card, which is cor
respondingly indexed. Such detailed information greatly facili
tates a successful selection of candidates and vacancies to suit each
other.
When an employer applies for help he has to state the qualifica
tions of the workers he wants to engage, the pay, hours, and other
conditions of work.
If there is a trade dispute, the employer has to state its existence
and give his reasons for the dispute. At the same time the labor
exchange has to secure a similar statement from the other party to the
dispute, namely, the employees, and secure a statement of their
712
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
reasons for the dispute. A candidate has to be informed of the
existence of the trade dispute and of its causes as stated by both
sides or be given whatever information the labor exchange has been
able to secure about the causes of the dispute. If the employer does
not accept the candidate or the latter does not accept the offered job, in
case of dispute, such refusal does not disqualify either the candidate
or the employer from further service or benefits from the labor
exchange.
The underlying principle of such methods is that the labor exchange
should not take sides in the dispute in any manner and that the
candidate should know the existence of the dispute and the causes of
it as stated by both parties to the dispute. The information is
usually conveyed to the candidate in writing. Either the statements
of both sides are shown or read to him or his attention is called to a
poster in the office containing the statements.
Training of the Unemployed
A l m o s t all European countries have turned their attention to the
fact that the unemployed workers are largely unskilled. Over 50
per cent of these workers are not established in any particular trade
or occupation, and most of them never had any apprenticeship or
proper training.
In Great Britain a committee was appointed on July 23, 1924, “ to
inquire into and report upon the conditions and prospects of British
industry and commerce.” This committee investigated the personal
circumstances and industrial history of nearly 11,000 claimants to
unemployment benefit. In regard to apprenticeship and training
of these claimants the committee reported as follows: Among the
male unemployed only 23.7 per cent had been apprenticed, 24.6 per
cent had been trained, and 57.7 per cent had been neither apprenticed
nor trained; among the female unemployed workers only 11.1 per
cent had been apprenticed; 53.3 per cent claimed to have had some
kind of training, and 35.6 per cent had been neither apprenticed nor
trained.
Experiencing difficulty in finding jobs for the untrained unem
ployed workers, the labor exchanges in practically all European coun
tries have become interested in the training of the unskilled unem
ployed workers. As a result, the vocational guidance and training
work has been legally linked with the public labor exchange system
in a number of the countries. However, the labor exchanges do not
actually train the unemployed on their registry; they see that they
get training. They select “ trainees,” watch their progress, and at
the end of training try to find suitable jobs for them.
British experience.—Great Britain has given considerable attention
to the training of the unemployed. After the close of the war crip
pled ex-service men were taught trades for which they were still
fitted. For the young ex-service men whose apprenticeship was
interrupted by the war opportunities were arranged to complete
their apprenticeship. Nearly 100,000 ex-service men were assisted
in training and in the completion of their apprenticeship under direc
tion of the public labor exchanges.
In regard to juvenile workers, boys and girls from 14 to 18 years
of age, it was found that, after graduating from the schools, vocational
guidance alone was not enough; they needed industrial training in
PUBLIC LABOR EXCHANGES IN EUROPE
713
addition. Accordingly the training of the juvenile unemployed
workers was taken up in practically all important industrial centers
as early as 1918, after the armistice. Daytime education centers
were opened for those unemployed juvenile workers who were receiv
ing unemployment benefits. The actual training is done under the
direction of the board of education, with the public labor exchanges
and private organizations, such as the Young Men’s Christian
Association, cooperating.
The unemployed juvenile workers drawing unemployment benefits
are trained in practical handicrafts, such as dressmaking, patching
and darning, dyeing, housewifery, cooking, and even domestic
carpentry, for girls; and household carpentry, cabinetmaking, wood
and leather work, picture framing, bookbinding, etc., for boys.
The program also includes general education, such as English,
arithmetic, history, singing, dancing, and various games and sports.
A number of such training centers attained substantial success.
Money advanced by the board of education made it possible to
open about 200 training centers in 1918 and 1919, but in 1920 the
money support was withdrawn. This was later renewed, during the
winter of 1922-23, on the basis of 75 per cent by the State and 25 per
cent by local governments, and about 100 training centers were
reopened. At the end of 1923 there were 76 centers in operation,
with an attendance of 7,539 unemployed juvenile workers drawing
unemployment benefit. In 1924 there were 112 centers, with about
7,000 attendants; in 1925 there were 115 centers; and in 1926, 97
centers with a weekly attendance of nearly 7,000.
These centers have been operating only in the winter and only as
an emergency measure, but the labor exchange authorities are now
recommending that the centers operate throughout the year and be
incorporated as a permanent feature into the system of public instruc
tion in Great Britain.
As to adult women workers, in 1920 a grant of £500,000 ($1,832,135) to the central committee on women’s training and employ
ment was made by the vac-ational unemployment relief fund for the
specific purpose of training women whose earning capacity was
greatly reduced by the unemployment situation. The training—
principally in handicraft, teaching, massage, nursing, midwifery,
cooking, and other domestic and outside work—is given at so-called
home-craft centers for unemployed female workers between 16 and
35 years of age. Up to the end of 1926 over 34,000 women had
received training in home craft, nearly 500 had received industrial
vocational training, and 352 had taken the clerical course.
Some training was also provided for adult male workers. At the
end of 1925 four training centers were opened for unemployed casual
workers under age 30 drawing unemployment benefits. The courses
lasting six months, consist of training in industrial handicrafts and in
agriculture. At the end of November, 1927, there were 4,658 un
employed casual workers who had completed their training in agri
culture for employment in agriculture overseas.
When a labor exchange finds an unemployed worker who is handi
capped by a lack of training but is otherwise promising, he is turned
over to a technical committee attached to the exchange. This
committee places the worker in training after which the exchange
tries to find a suitable job for him.
714
unem ploym ent
in s u r a n c e
and
r e l ie f
According to the reports of the labor exchanges the training of the
unskilled unemployed workers greatly facilitates the finding of jobs
for them.
Training in other countries.—Following the lead of Great Britain,
the Union of South Africa has undertaken an extensive scheme of
agricultural training of the unemployed unskilled workers on the
registry of labor exchanges. Public labor exchanges in all European
countries are promoting training of the unemployed unskilled workers
on their registry in a number of ways.
There is a tendency to link up vocational guidance services with
the system of public labor exchanges and to make these responsible
for the training of the unemployed juvenile workers who lack voca
tional training. In Germany the act of July 16, 1927, makes public
labor exchanges responsible for vocational guidance.
The unemployed lacking training in any trade are often referred
to some private training class or to some employer who would be
willing to accept such workers as apprentices. The labor exchange
is always on the lookout for opportunities of training for unskilled
unemployed in the employers’ establishments. Then, too, the public
works for the unemployed are often so organized and conducted
that the unemployed engaged could learn a trade on them. For
instance, in Estonia the best specialists obtainable are hired to con
duct handicraft “ stations” to train the unemployed workers engaged
in the stations. In the evenings lectures or courses, often of a
technical nature, are held for the unemployed on the public works.
Compulsory Registration
T h e p u b l i c labor exchange systems in practically all countries
have started on the basis of voluntary registration by the unem
ployed workers seeking jobs and by the employers seeking help.
However, certain inducements were applied. First, no fee was charged
for registry and service; second, any unemployment benefits either
in the form of unemployment insurance benefits, normal and ex
tended, or in the form of relief payments and relief work, training,
advancement of transportation expenses, etc., were granted only to
those unemployed workers who were on the registry of the public
labor exchanges.
The latest tendency in the development of the public labor ex
change systems consists in the introduction of compulsory registra
tion by both employees seeking work and employers seeking help.
A certain amount of compulsion was applied during the demobili
zation period. For instance, in Germany an order of February 17,
1919, required that employers seeking the help of not less than five
workers must report vacancies to the public employment exchange.
In Poland it was made compuslory for employers seeking workers for
employment abroad to do so through the public labor exchange.
In Switzerland it was made compulsory for employers to report with
out delay their vacancies to the canton labor exchange.
Almost all countries now have a law requiring that hiring of workers
for employment abroad should be done through public labor ex
changes,, in order to have a better control over transfer of workers
from one country to another.
PUBLIC LABOR EXCHANGES IN EUROPE
715
Soviet Russia started out with a compulsory registration at the
Soviet labor exchanges, but, owing to the “ new economic policy”
and principally to the lack of appropriations, the compulsion ceased
to operate. Still, the Soviet labor unions are required to include in
their collective labor contracts a clause providing that a certain pro
portion of workers are to be hired through Soviet labor exchanges.
The following more recent steps in the direction of compulsory
registry might be cited:
In Poland an order of October, 1926, requires that in certain dis
tricts or in the case of certain classes of establishments defined by the
ministry of labor employers are required, under a penalty for refusal,
to register their vacancies and to hire workers for these through public
labor exchanges.
In Czechoslovakia the ministry of social welfare issued an order
on August 18, 1926, requiring that in case of dismissal of more than
20 workers at a time the employer must inform the labor exchange
of his intention at least a week in advance.
In Italy the public labor exchanges were reorganized by the labor
charter of April 21, 1927, according to which the registration for jobs
and help and actual hiring through public labor exchanges is made
compulsory.
To make sure that all workers are hired through public employ
ment exchanges, under royal decree of March 29, 1928,6 the ministry
of corporations may prohibit any private person from serving as an
intermediary for placing workers, even if he does not get any com
pensation for his service, under penalty of fine or imprisonment.
Employers are prohibited, on pain of fine, to use the services of
any intermediary or to hire workers who are not registered in the
public employment exchange. However the employers are at
liberty to select employees from among registered unemployed work
ers, giving preference to those who are members of the Fascist Party
and of the Fascist trade-unions.
After the experiment at compulsory registration in Soviet Russia,
Italy appears to be the first country to introduce a country-wide com
pulsory registration and hiring through the public labor exchanges.
Recent reports on the activities of public labor exchanges in a
number of the European countries recommend compulsory registra
tion for jobs and help and actual hiring through the public labor
exchanges. Such measures, it is argued, will result in a complete
organization of the employment field and in a complete public control
over the latter. Then, too, the actual extent of unemployment at
any given time and in any given countiy could be exactly deter
mined, which, in turn would greatly facilitate the effectiveness of
the measures applied to combat unemployment.
Fees
A r t i c l e 2 of the draft convention of the International Labor Con
ference of 1919 requires that no fee should be charged by the pub
lic labor exchanges to employees seeking jobs or to employers seeking
help. This policy has been followed by practically all countries.
• Gazetta Ufficiale, Rome, May’ 18, 1928,
716
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Conciliation of Disputes
In s o m e of the countries of Europe the public labor exchanges,
usually through joint committees attached to them, act to con
ciliate industrial disputes. This is the case, for instance, in Belgium,
Denmark, and Spain.
Outfitting the Unemployed for a Job
It h a s b e c o m e a practice of the public labor exchanges in a
number of the European States to give material assistance in the
form of loans for outfitting the unemployed for a prospective job.
Transportation to a distant job is provided either free of charge or
at a reduced rate, or the money for traveling expenses is advanced
as a loan by the public labor exchange. In a case of need, tools and
clothing are either given out of the store kept at the labor exchange
for this purpose, or the necessary expenses for tools and clothing are
advanced in the form of a loan. In some cases money is advanced
even for living expenses till the first pay day.
These money and outfit advances are later gradually recovered by
deductions from the wages in agreement with the employer. As a
matter of fact, comparatively small losses are sustained on these
money advances by the public labor exchanges. In many cases the
employers are induced to make the necessary advances, which is
much the better way, as it simplifies the recovery of the advances.
In Great Britain about 400 outfits of clothing were advanced by
the public labor exchanges to those women who had completed train
ing in home-craft centers and could get jobs as domestic servants if
they had proper clothing. In some countries the public labor ex
changes secure clothing from military stores free of charge to the
unemployed (as in Estonia).
Office Location and Furnishings
I t u s e d to be customary in almost all countries to rent cheap
office rooms in some back street in the city for a public labor exchange.
The rooms were rather small, with poor office furniture, dark, and
untidy. Such “ economy” was found by experience to be a gross
mistake, an extravagant waste of money. For self-respecting
applicants, employees and employers, avoided visiting such labor
exchanges as much as they could. The untidy appearance of these
exchanges led to the impression that they were some sort of charity
makeshift affair for “ hoboes” and “ tramps.” As there was not
enough space in the office, the waiting crowd of unemployed workers,
usually poorly clad, with anxious and downcast faces, surged back
and forth on the street in front of the exchange.
As a result of these experiences attempts are now being made to
locate the exchange in the business section on an important thorough
fare and to erect a large, imposing building for it. Several such
buildings are already in existence in Great Britain. They contain
large, adequate waiting halls, a reading room, meeting halls for
employees’ and employers7 associations, a restaurant, and even
storage rooms for tools and clothing to be given to the unemployed
in cases of need. The registration is done and interviews conducted
in rooms separate from the waiting and other rooms. Specialized
EMPLOYABILITY OF THE UNEMPLOYED
717
sections, such as for women, juveniles, or for certain occupations,
have their own offices, usually with separate entrances. The rooms
are well furnished and lighted, and are kept scrupulously clean and
in order. The applicants feel themselves at ease and at home.
It has been found that the outlay of money for such buildings and
furnishings pays, and there is a tendency toward improvement in
this direction in practically all countries.
Employability of the Unemployed
HE extent to which the ranks of the unemployed may be made
up of persons who are not capable of efficient work has a direct
bearing upon the whole problem of unemployment, but very few
studies of the subject have been made. One of the most recent
and comprehensive was published by the Ministry of Labor of Great
Britain in 1928, and presented the results of an investigation made into
the circumstances of 9,748 persons who claimed unemployment
benefit in the period April 4 to 9, 1927.7 The purpose was to secure
reliable information concerning the whole body of benefit claimants,
particularly as to age, degree of employability, personal circum
stances, and record as to employment and unemployment. The
investigation was carried out in the same manner as earlier studies
of the kind. (See Labor Review, April, 1927, p. 45.) The group
studied consisted of 8,280 men, 124 boys, 1,261 women, and 83 girls.
“ This gave a ratio of 1 in 100 for each class within the sample.”
T
Age and Unemployment Rates
T
he age distribution of the whole body of insured workers is known,
and by relating to this information the numbers shown by the inquiry
to be unemployed in each age group, the percentage rate of unem
ployment among insured persons in the different age groups has
been found. Among males, these rates fall into three well-defined
groups. First come those aged 16 to 19, inclusive, whose unemploy
ment rate is only about half that of the whole body—4.9 per cent as
against 9.8 per cent. The second group, aged 20 to 44, inclusive,
has a rate, 9.7 per cent, slightly below the average for the whole body.
The third group, however, those aged 45 to 69, has an average rate
of 12.6 per cent, and within the group the rate rises rapidly from 10.8
per cent for those aged 45 to 49 up to 17.4 per cent for those aged 65
to 69. The rates for females showed much less variation than those
for males, ranging from 2.1 per cent for those aged 16 and 17 to 5.9
per cent for those aged 65 to 69. The two striking features of the
situation were the low rate of unemployment among minors, and the
rapid increase in the rate after age 45. Had the rate in this older
group been the same as among those aged 20 to 44, “ the claims to
benefit by male insured persons aged 45 to 69 would have been fewer
in number by approximately 69,000 and this may probably be taken
as representing roughly the measure of the influence of the age factor
in the problem of unemployment among males at the present time.”
7 Great Britain. Ministry of Labor. Report on an investigation into the personal circumstances and
industrial history of 9,748 claimants to unemployment benefit, Apr. 4 to 9, 1927. London, 1928.
718
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND BELIEF
Degree of Employability
T
he group studied was divided, as to employability, into five
classes, as follows:
A. Persons who, in normal times, would usually be in steady employment.
B. Persons who, though not usually in steady employment, would, in normal
times, obtain a fair amount of employment.
C. Persons who would not, in normal times, obtain a fair amount of employ
ment, but who were not considered to be “ verging on the unemployable.”
D. Persons who were considered to be ‘ Verging on the unemployable.”
E. Persons who could not be placed in any of the above categories.
Persons were deemed unemployable if their industrial value was so
low that an employer would never engage them unless no other appli
cants were available and a job had to be done at once. On the basis
of the above classification, the adult applicants were thus grouped:
NUMBER AND PER CENT OF ADULTS IN EACH SPECIFIED CLASS OF EMPLOY
ABILITY, BY SEX
Women
Men
Class
A
B
C
D
E
Number
Per cent
5,359
1,956
448
175
342
64.8
23.6
5.4
2 .1
4.1
Number
1,015
158
30
16
42
Per cent
80.5
12.5
2.4
1.3
3.3
It is pointed out that among both men and women those classed
as “ verging on the unemployable” consist mainly of elderly
persons.
Training Received
A s t u d y of the training received by the members of the group
showed that the majority had had no systematic introduction to their
trade or industry.
Of the male claimants in the sample, 22.9 per cent had been apprenticed,
24.3 per cent had been “ trained,” and 52.8 per cent had been neither apprenticed
nor trained.”
There is marked uniformity in the percentages for ages 20 to 69; but below
20 years of age, there is a marked decline in the percentage who had been appren
ticed, while none of the boys aged 16 and 17 had received “ training” other than
apprenticeship. Among females, only 10.3 per cent claimed to have been appren
ticed, while 52.6 per cent were reported as having been “ trained” and 37.1 per
cent neither apprenticed nor “trained.”
General Character of Claimants for Benefit
A c a r e f u l and elaborate analysis is made of the number of con
tributions each person studied had paid into the insurance fund,
the duration of the period for which benefit was drawn, the number
of times benefit was applied for, and the like. As a result of these
analyses, the following conclusions are reached:
*
* * The general body of claimants for benefit at a given date is made up of
individuals with widely varying fortunes as regards employment and unemploy
ment. * * * There is among males a nucleus of individuals who have been on
benefit for long periods. These are mainly individuals over 45 years of age, and
the nucleus is well below 10 per cent of the total males in the sample, and is
AUSTRALIA— QUEENSLAND
719
probably less than 7 per cent. The nucleus among females, if any, is very
small. Among the remainder of the individuals on benefit the personnel is con
stantly changing, and on the average these individuals are at work for probably
not less than 75 to 80 per cent of their time.
Unemployment Insurance in Foreign Countries
HE first national unemployment insurance act enacted in any
country was put into effect in Great Britain in 1911. Prior to
that time the trade-unions of Great Britain and certain continental
countries had established the policy of paying regular allowances
to members who were out of work, and later unemployment relief
was granted by the public authorities of municipalities or communes
of several countries, or the trade-unions’ unemployment funds
were subsidized from the public funds. France in 1905, Norway in
1906, and Denmark in 1907 introduced the latter system, known as
the Ghent system, on a State, as opposed to a communal basis,
but with certain important modifications, and these systems were
the forerunners of the establishment of compulsory unemployment
insurance on a national scale.
At the present time 18 countries in Europe, and Queensland in
Australia have either voluntary or compulsory insurance schemes
fostered and aided by the State, which are designed for the imme
diate relief of unemployment, and which in some instances utilize
the period of enforced idleness in training workers for jobs in which
there is a better prospect of securing employment, or organize needed
public works for the employment of the surplus workers.
T
Australia—Queensland
U n e m p l o y m e n t insurance in Queensland was established on a com
pulsory basis by the act of October 18, 1922. The act applies to
all wage earners 18 years of age or over, whose wages are fixed under
collective agreements or by arbitration decisions and also includes
public officials.
The act established a fund which is supported by equal payments
made by the Government, the employers, and the workers. The
weekly payments for each employed worker were fixed in April, 1928,
at 18d. (36.5 cents), the government, the employer, and the worker
each contributing 6d. (12.2 cents) .
A worker who has contributed to the fund for six months or more
is entitled, if unemployed, to a weekly payment known as a suste
nance allowance, varying in amount according to locality and as
between married and unmarried workers. Additional benefits are
paid for each child under 16, but not to exceed four.
Benefits are payable, after a waiting period of 14 days, for a max
imum of 15 weeks in one year. The act provides that if a worker
becomes unemployed solely through his own fault he shall not be
entitled to the sustenance allowances for a maximum period of two
months, while if a worker leaves his employment voluntarily, pay
ment of the sustenance allowance shall be deferred for a period
varying according to circumstances.
720
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Austria
T
he Austrian unemployment insurance law, enacted March 24,
1920, has been the subject of numerous amendments owing to the
continued economic depression. The insurance is in theory com
pulsory for all wage earners, but certain classes, such as agricultural
and forestry workers and domestic servants, are excluded.
The costs of the insurance system are divided among employers,
employees, and the State and communes, the State paying 12 per
cent, the communes 4 per cent, and employers and employees each
paying 42 per cent.#
Insured persons, in order to have a claim to unemployment benefit,
must have been employed for at least 20 weeks within the previous
12 months in an occupation subject to insurance, but in necessitous
cases this period may be fixed at 20 weeks in the previous 24 months.
The benefit varies according to whether the worker is married or
single or has other dependents, but it may not exceed 80 per cent
of the last week’s earnings.
The payment of benefit begins on the eighth day of unemploy
ment. The normal benefit period was fixed by the act of December
17,1927, at 30 weeks in a period of 12 months, but in periods of
crisis this may be extended, the special allowance amounting to 80
per cent of the statutory benefit. There is a four weeks’ period of
suspension of benefit imposed on workers who give up their work
without justifiable cause.
The act provides for “ productive unemployment relief,” financial
assistance being granted by the State for the carrying on of public
works which furnish employment for persons who would otherwise
receive benefit. During periods of serious industrial depression the
State may compensate employers to the amount of the unemploy
ment benefit if they retain in their employment workers whom they
are entitled to discharge.
Belgium
T
he various decrees relating to unemployment insurance funds in
Belgium, the first of which was issued December 30, 1920, were
coordinated and amended by the orders of May 15 and December
10, 1924. The system of insurance is voluntary and applies in prin
ciple to the workers in all trades. The subsidy paid by the State to
the funds was increased by a decree of March 21, 1927, from 50 per
cent of the fees paid by the members of the funds to two-thirds of that
amount. In addition, many of the communes voluntarily grant
subsidies proportionate to the benefits paid by the funds. The con
tributions of members vary in the different funds and there is a corre
sponding variation in the amount of benefits paid, but the amount of
benefits paid to the unemployed from all sources combined may not
exceed, in any case, two-thirds of the wages paid to workers in the
same category as the unemployed worker. Additional benefits are
paid for children under 14 years of age and for those between the ages
of 14 and 16 who are attending school or are physically incapable of
working.
In order to receive unemployment relief, membership for at least
one year prior to the payment of benefits is required, during which
time the regular fees must have been paid.
721
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Individuals excluded from unemployment relief include those who
are incapacitated for work, those unemployed as a result of a strike
or lockout, and persons who have been discharged from their former
employment and who refuse to accept employment for which they
are qualified.
Bulgaria
C
in
ompulsory unemployment insurance was established
Bul
garia by the act of May 5, 1925, effective January 1, 1926. The
act applies to wage earners generally, between the ages of 15 and 60,
with the exception of domestic servants and such workers and em
ployees in the public services as are entitled to special benefits.
Seamen are included, and those agricultural workers who are engaged
in undertakings which are recognized in a special legislative act as
“ model” enterprises.
Benefits are paid from an unemployment fund established in con
nection with the social insurance funds and supported by contribu
tions from the workers, the employers, and the State, at the rate of
1 leva (0.72 cent) per insured person per week. The State as an
employer pays 1 per cent of the credits allowed for wages into the
unemployment fund.
Benefits are paid for a maximum period of 12 weeks per annum,
on condition that the insured person has been paying contributions
for at least 52 weeks over a period of two years. The benefits are
payable after the eighth day of unemployment and amount to 16
leva (11.5 cents) per day for heads of families, and 10 leva (7.2 cents)
per day for unmarried persons.
In order to deal with acute unemployment the Minister of Com
merce, Industry, and Labor and the Minister of Finance are author
ized, on the advice of the Superior Labor Council and the Social
Insurance Council, to organize public works for the unemployed and
to order the reduction of hours of work and of wages in order to allow
private undertakings to continue work. If an unemployed person is
unable to secure work because of the inadequacy of his qualifications,
he may be sent to a school by the employment exchange or may be
compelled to take courses, but the period of study may not exceed
the period for which unemployment allowance is paid.
Czechoslovakia
T
he voluntary insurance system in Czechoslovakia, established
by the act of July 19, 1921, applies in principle to wage earners in
all trades, provided they are compulsorily insured against siclmess.
The employees’ contributions vary from fund to fund and the State
contribution is equal to one-half the benefits paid to unmarried
workers, this amount being increased to two-thirds in the case of
insured married persons who have been members of a trade-union for
one year, or unmarried persons who have been members for five years,
with a maximum contribution by the State, per person, of 12 crowns
(35.5 cents) per day. Employers do not contribute.
Benefits amount to two-thirds of the normal wages of the insured
person and may be paid for three months uninterruptedly or four
months including interruptions.
722
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Denmark
T
here is no State system of unemployment insurance in Denmark
but by the act of December 22, 1921, the voluntary insurance funds
attached to the trade-unions are recognized by the State and receive
subsidies from the State and the communes.
Membership in the funds receiving Government grants is restricted
to wage earners between the ages of 16 and 60 whose resources do not
exceed 15,000 crowns ($4,000).
The State subsidy amounts to 35 per cent of contribution and the
communal subsidy is optional, with a maximum of 30 per cent.
Employers do not contribute to the primary funds but employers
participating in compulsory industrial accident insurance are required
to contribute 5 kroner ($1.33) annually per worker to the reserve fund.
In the case of agricultural and forestry workers the contribution is 2
kroner (53.3 cents). The contributions of workers vary from one
fund to another.
The benefit may not exceed two-thirds of the normal wages pro
vided it does not fall below 1 crown (26.7 cents) per day or exceed
3}/2 crowns (93.3 cents) for unmarried workers and 4 crowns ($1.07)
for workers maintaining a family. There is a supplementary allow
ance for each dependent child, paid from the central unemployment
fund. The length of the benefit period varies in the different funds
but may not be less in any case than 70 days in a period of 12 con
secutive months.
An act which came into force October 1, 1927, abolished the special
and emergency benefits which were allowed during the period of
depression. The State unemployment fund, from which subsidies
were granted for this purpose, was greatly reduced as a result, and
the employers’ contributions were also reduced and will eventually
be abolished altogether.
Finland
T
here is a voluntary insurance system in Finland established by
an order of November 2, 1917, amended May 8, 1920. Persons
between the ages of 15 and 60 are eligible for insurance.
Benefits are paid for 90 days in a period of 12 consecutive months,
but after the maximum amount has been paid during 36 months, the
payment of benefits is suspended for one year. The State subsidy
varies from one-third to one-half of the benefit paid, the employers
do not contribute and the employees’ contributions vary according
to the fund. The benefits paid range from 1 mark to 10 marks
(2.5 cents to 25.2 cents) per day.
France
T
here is no State system of unemployment insurance in France,
but the voluntary unemployment insurance funds have been sub
sidized by the State since 1905. The amount of the Government
subsidy has been changed at various times according to employment
conditions. In 1927 the total payment by the Government to the
departmental and municipal funds amounted to 60 per cent of the
allowances granted by the funds but these subsidies applied only to
60 days’ benefit in a period of 12 months. Membership in the funds.
GERMANY
723
is open, in principle, to all wage earners. The contributions of the
workers and the benefits vary according to the individual fund
Germany
T
he German system of unemployment relief out of public funds was
replaced by a system of compulsory insurance of workers and employ
ees through the act of July 16,1927, which came into force October 1,
1927. The insurance applies to all classes of workers liable to com
pulsory health insurance (the wage limit being 3,600 reichsmarks
($857.83) per year), to employees covered by compulsory old-age
and sickness insurance (limited to persons earning not more than
8,400 reichsmarks ($2,001.61) annually), and to crews of vessels.
Seasonal workers are also included. The number of wage earners
insured against unemployment is approximately 18,200,000. Exemp
tions are made in respect of persons employed in forestry or fishing
who live on the proceeds of their work and are in the employ of
other persons less than six months a year, workers subject to long
term contracts, and apprentices serving an apprenticeship of not less
than two years. The contributions, which are fixed by the execu
tive board of the Federal Bureau for Employment and Unemploy
ment Insurance, may not exceed 3 per cent of the wages or salaries
forming the basis of calculation. The States and the Reich also
contribute, the Government contributions being used to cover
deficits in State labor districts and to create an emergency fund
which may not fall below a stated amount.
The benefit includes the benefit proper and a family allowance
amounting to 5 per cent of the wages or salaries received by the
unemployed. The wages or salaries are divided into 11 classes, and
in each wage class a standard wage or salary is set, a certain per
centage of which constitutes the benefit. These standard wage rates
range from 8 reichsmarks ($1.91) per week for the lowest grade to
63 reichsmarks ($15.01) for the highest, and the average benefit,
including family allowance, ranges from 80 per cent of the standard
wage for the lowest group to 60 per cent for the highest.
Benefits are payable for 26 weeks, beginning with the eighth day
of unemployment, but in times of economic crises persons who have
exhausted their right to unemployment benefit are taken care of by
the emergency relief fund. A resolution adopted by the Reichstag
August 21, 1928, extended this additional benefit from 26 weeks to
39 weeks and for the unemployed over 40 years of age to a maxi
mum of 52 weeks. The emergency fund is also used for the payment
of benefits to unemployed persons who are deserving but who have
not yet acquired a full claim to benefit. Such persons and young
persons under 21 years of age are obliged to accept any work offered
to them; the same requirement is made of other recipients of unem
ployment relief who have received benefits for nine weeks. Shorttime workers receiving insufficient or irregular wages are granted a
supplementary benefit out of the Federal bureau’s funds. The bene
fit is not granted during strikes and lockouts except in case of indirect
participation to avoid special hardship.
The duties of the authorities include the institution of special
measures for the prevention of unemployment. Aside from finding
£9142°— 29------- ¥1
724
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
work for the unemployed, traveling expenses may be paid to work
men and employees being transferred to other places out of funds of
the Federal bureau, also working equipment may be furnished and
eventually there may be a limited contribution to the wages or
salaries.
Great Britain
T
B
he ritish national insurance act of 1911 introduced a compul
sory unemployment insurance system in Great Britain which, as it
was of an experimental nature, was applied only to workers in the
building, engineering, and shipbuilding industries since these workers
were particularly subject to unemployment. The law was gradually
extended to cover other groups of workers through a series of amend
ments and in December, 1927, a new law was passed recasting and
consolidating all the legislation dealing with unemployment insurance.
The unemployment insurance acts provide, subject to certain
exceptions, for compulsory insurance against unemployment of sub
stantially all employed persons. The principal classes of persons
who are excepted from such compulsory insurance are juveniles under
16 years of age, and (since January 2, 1928) persons aged 65 and over,
persons employed otherwise than by way of manual labor at a rate
of remuneration exceeding in value £250 ($1,212.63) per annum, per
sons employed in agriculture and private domestic service, and out
workers. Persons employed by local public authorities, railways,
and certain other public-utility undertakings, members of the police
forces, and persons with rights under a statutory superannuation
scheme, may in certain circumstances also be excepted.
Contributions are paid by the employers, employees, and the
State, the weekly rates of contribution being as follows:
W EEK LY RATES OF CONTRIBUTION UNDER BRITISH UNEMPLOYMENT INSUR
ANCE ACT
Sex and age
Employ
er’s con. tribution
d.i
Men aged 21 to 65 years________________________________________
Women aged 21 to 65 years_____________________________________
Young men aged 18,19, and 20 years____________________________
Young women aged 18,19, and 20 years__ ______ ________ _________
Boys aged 16 and 17 years______________________________________
Girls aged 16 and 17 years______________________________________
Employ
ee’s con
tribution
d.
8
7
7
6
4
3K
Govern
ment’s con
tribution
d.
7
6
6
5
3H
3
6
4H
5H
m.
3
2lA
i Penny=2.03 cents.
Benefits are graduated according to the scale of contributions.
Men and women between the ages of 21 and 65 receive 17s. ($4.12)
and 15s. ($3.64) per week, respectively; young men aged 18, 19, and
20 receive a benefit of 10, 12, and 14 shillings ($2.43, $2.91, and $3.40),
respectively, while the benefits for young women of the corresponding
ages are 8, 10, and 12 shillings ($1.94, $2.43, and $2.91); and boys
aged 16 and 17 receive 6s. ($1.46) and girls 5s. (1.21) per week. A
weekly benefit amounting to 7s. ($1.70) is allowed for one adult de
pendent and one of 2s. (48.5 cents) for each child under 14 who is main
tained wholly or mainly by the claimant as well as for any child aged
14 or 15 who is under full-time instruction in a day school and is
ITALY
725
wholly or mainly maintained by the claimant. A claimant is not
entitled to benefit unless he has paid into the fund at least 30 con
tributions (or in the case of disabled ex-service men, 15 contributions)
within two years preceding the date of his claim. There is a waiting
period of six days for which no benefit is payable. If a claimant
satisfies the conditions governing the receipt of benefit, he is entitled
to this benefit as long as he is genuinely unemployed, but after the
lapse of a reasonable interval he is required to accept any suitable
work which may be offered him or further benefit will be withheld.
The law provides that grants may be made out of the unemploy
ment fund toward the cost of approved courses of instruction for
boys and girls of the ages of 16 and 17 who are insured or who are
normally employed or likely to be employed in an insurable occu
pation.
There are certain causes which disqualify an insured contributor
for the receipt of unemployment benefit for varying periods. These
include loss of employment as a result of a strike, loss of employment
through misconduct or voluntarily leaving employment without just
cause, and imprisonment or confinement in a workhouse or other
institution supported by public funds.
All claims for unemployment benefit and questions arising in con
nection with claims are determined by statutory officers known as
insurance officers, and appeals from decisions are carried before a
court of referees composed of a chairman appointed by the Minister
of Labor and an equal number of representatives of employers and
of the insured contributors.
Irish Free State
T B
he ritish unemployment insurance act of 1920 is still in force
in the Irish Free State as the fundamental unemployment insur
ance act. The insurance is compulsory and the exemptions are
similar to those specified in the British act. The maximum dura
tion of benefit is 26 weeks, and the benefit for males aged 18 and
over is 15s. ($3.64), for females 12s. ($2.91), and for those under 18
years of age, half of the above rates. Extra allowances are also
paid for dependent children. The weekly contributions vary for men,
women, young persons, and boys and girls
Italy
T
I
a
he talian unemployment insurance system established by
decree of October 19, 1919, was reorganized by a decree issued
December 30, 1923. By the terms of this decree a special insurance
fund was created for each Province and for groups of Provinces but
the general management was vested in the National Social Insurance
Fund, thereby combining the administration of unemployment
insurance with that of other branches of social insurance.
Unemployment insurance is compulsory for all wage earners of
both sexes, 15 to 65 years of age, with the exception of agricultural
workers; employees earning more than 800 lire ($41.84) per month;
employees in public or private establishments which guarantee steady
employment; home workers; domestic servants; theatrical and
moving-picture artists; employees of the State, the royal household,
726
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Provinces and communes; and employees of charitable institutions
and of State railroads and public transportation enterprises; and
casual workers.
The insurance funds are supported solely by the contributions of
the workers and employers. The contributions are fixed at 0.70,
1.40, or 2.10 lire (3.7, 7.3, and 11 cents) fortnightly, according to
the wage earned by the insured person. The lowest contribution is
paid for persons earning 4 lire (20.9 cents) or less per day and the
highest contribution for those earning over 8 lire (41.8 cents). The
employers are entirely responsible for the payment of these contri
butions, one-half of which is charged to the workers.
Benefits amount to 1.25, 2.50, and 3.75 lire (6.5, 13.1, and 19.6
cents) per day according to the amount of the contribution. These
rates are payable only on condition that 24 contributions have been
paid in to the credit of the claimant during the preceding two years.
They may be paid for a period of 90 days, which may be increased to
120 days if 36 contributions have been made to the fund.
There is a national unemployment fund which assists provincial or
interprovincial funds which are unable to meet the demands for
unemployment relief. This fund receives part of the contributions
paid to the provincial funds, the only contribution of the State being
one-half of the fines received for contraventions of the legal provisions
on unemployment insurance.
As a preventive measure against unemployment, the carriers of
unemployment insurance may organize vocational courses, attendance
at which may be made compulsory for unemployed persons in receipt
of relief. The National Social Insurance Fund may advance money
from the unemployment fund equal to one-fifth of the resources of the
funds for the carrying out of general or local public-utility work.
Luxemburg
U
nemployment allowances in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg
are regulated under an act of August 6, 1921. The State advances
the funds necessary for the payment of benefits, thereafter recovering
one-quarter from the municipalities and one-half from the emdloyers
and workers.
A decree of February 9, 1927, amending the rate of allowance,
advanced the maximum benefit from 3 franc (8.3 cents) per day to
9 francs (25 cents). The family allowances were also increased so
that the maximum allowance of a skilled worker is now 15 francs
(41.7 cents) per day.
The right to benefit begins on the third day of unemployment and
if unemployment exceeds eight days it is retroactive to the first day.
Netherlands
V
oluntary unemployment insurance in the Netherlands was
established by an order of December 2, 1916, which has been the
subject of various amendments since that time. It applies in prin
ciple to wage earners in all trades.
The State contributions vary from an amount equal to that paid
by the insured persons to twice that amount. Half of the amount
paid by the State is recovered from the communes. The employees1
POLAND
727
contributions vary between the different funds and employers do not
contribute.
The normal benefit period is 60 days per year for persons regularly
employed and 36 days for seasonal workers.
Norway
V
oluntary unemployment insurance funds in Norway are subdized by the State, the Government paying 50 per cent and in excep
tional cases two-thirds of the benefit. Two-thirds of these amounts,
however, are recovered from the communes. Membership in insur
ance funds is open in general to all workers. The benefits amount
to 50 per cent of the normal salary. The regular benefit is for a
period of 90 days per year, and in exceptional cases may be increased
to 120 days.
Poland
An unemployment insurance law was passed in Poland July 31,
1924, which provided for compulsory insurance of all wage earners
over 18 years of age who are under contract in industrial, mining,
metallurgical, or commercial undertakings, in transport undertakings,
or in all other enterprises which although not conducted for profit
are managed on the same principles as industrial undertakings, pro
vided more than five workers are employed. Intellectual workers
were included in a decree of May 1, 1927.
The funds are maintained by contributions by the State, the
employers and the employees, amounting to 3 per cent of the wages
paid to the insured workers. Of this amount, the State pays 1 per
cent, the employers 1% per cent, and the employees one-half per
cent. The State is entitled to recover from the communes one-half
of the amount it contributes.
In order to be eligible for unemployment benefit it is required that
a claimant shall have been employed for at least 20 weeks during the
year preceding the declaration of unemployment in an undertaking
liable to compulsory unemployment insurance.
Allowances for unmarried workers amount to 30 per cent of the
wage last received; for those with from one to two dependents, 35
per cent; for families with from three to five dependents, 40 per cent;
and for families over five, 50 per cent. In computing these allow
ances, however, any part of the wage in excess of 5 zlotys (56 cents)
per day is not taken into account. There is a waiting period of 10
days before benefits are paid.
The normal benefit period is 13 weeks but in exceptional cases
may be extended to 17 weeks. The right to unemployment allow
ance is forfeited if suitable employment at a normal wage offered
by the State employment office is refused, an exception being made
of employment in an establishment involved in a strike. Employ
ment will be considered suitable if it does not endanger health and if
it does not involve the worker in any difficulty in resuming his ordinary
occupation. It is permissible to refuse an offer of employment if
housing accommodations can not be secured in the neighborhood of
the place of employment.
728
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Russia
T
he payment of unemployment benefit in. Russia is based on the
labor code adopted November 9, 1922. Insurance is compulsory
but the employers bear the entire cost. As a large number of the
undertakings are nationalized, however, this amounts to a State
contribution in the case of these industries.
The maximum benefit period is fixed at nine months for each year
of unemployment.
Benefits were fixed by a regulation dated December 14, 1927, as
follows: The workers are divided into three classes, of which members
of the first class receive benefits varying from 11 chervonetz rubles
($5.67) per month in the zone where the cost of living is lowest, to
26 rubles ($13.39) in the zone where it is highest. Workers in the
second class receive benefits varying from 8 to 19 chervonetz rubles
($4.12 to $9.79), according to the cost of living, and members of the
third class receive benefits varying from 6 to 15 rubles ($3.09 to $7.73)
per month. Additional allowances are granted for dependents. In
addition to the regular benefit, trade-union members are entitled to
a special benefit varying in amount according to their length of
membership.
Benefit is payable to unemployed persons in the first class irre
spective of the period during which they have been employed as
wage earners. This applies also to industrial workers who are tradeunionists who come within the second class; to young persons under
18; to soldiers of ali ranks who have been definitely or temporarily
demobilized or transferred to the reserve; and to persons disabled in
industry who have recovered their ability to work. Workers in the
third class belonging to trade-unions are not entitled to benefit unless
they have worked as wage earners for six consecutive months before
becoming unemployed; for salaried employees who are members of
trade-unions the qualification period is 12 consecutive months, and
for all other classes of unemployed, 36 consecutive months. Unem
ployed persons must have been registered at an employment office or
trade-union within three months of loss of employment.
Emergency relief works are organized by the unemployment relief
institutions and a bimonthly system of rotation on these works is
used so as to benefit as large a number of the unemployed as possible.
Refusal to work without good reason or failure to register regularly
at the employment exchange will deprive workers of benefit for one
month and a second offense will result in being permanently dropped
from the rolls.
Spain
T
S
he panish insurance system is voluntary but is subsidized by
the State, the decrees governing the operation of the system having
been issued March 18, 1919, and April 27, 1923. The insurance
applies to wage earners between the ages of 18 and 65 whose annual
earnings do not exceed 4,000 pesetas ($661.30).
Benefits may not exceed 60 per cent of the daily wages and the
maximum benefit period during which funds may pay unemployment
benefits is 90 days per annum, subject to the penalty, if this is ex
ceeded, of the loss of Government subsidies. Locai, provincial, or
national unemployment insurance associations may receive the State
subsidies.
ABOLISHING AGE LIMIT IN EMPLOYMENT
729
Switzerland
A l a w was passed in Switzerland October 17, 1924, which, placed
on a permanent basis the system of subsidizing the voluutary un
employment insurance funds. The law fixed the amount of the
subsidy paid by the Federal Government at 40 per cent of the benefits
paid out in the case of public and private unemployment funds
administered by joint bodies of employers and workers, and at 30
per cent in the case of funds established by trade-unions. These rates
may be temporarily increased 10 per cent by the Federal Assembly.
The daily unemployment benefit may not exceed 60 per cent of
the insured person’s daily normal earnings if he has dependents and
50 per cent in the case of persons without dependents.
The normal duration of benefit is 90 days in a period of 360 days,
but this may be prolonged in exceptional circumstances. The pay
ment of unemployment benefit may not begin until three days after
registration of the unemployed insured person at a public employ
ment exchange.
Persons are excluded from receiving benefits if they are out of
work as a result of a strike or if they are incapacitated for work.
Benefits are forfeited if an insured person refuses to accept suitable
work, if he does not comply with the regulations of the fund, or for
fraudulent attempts to obtain benefit.
In cases of partial unemployment (part-time or short-time work)
unemployment benefit may be paid but the benefit plus wages may not
exceed 80 per cent of the normal earnings of persons with dependents,
and 70 per cent in the case of those without dependents.
Abolishing a Definite Age Limit in Employment
INTEBESTING attempt is being made in Pennsylvania to
induce employers to agree to lift the age limit in the employ
AN,ment
of workers. The campaign is being conducted by the bureau
of employment of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and
Industry, which has secured the registration of about 2,000 firms
that will not bar men from employment on account of age when they
are “ physically and mentally able to meet the requirements of the
positions for which their services may be required.” The bureau
states that many of these firms have never had an age limit, while
others “ have lifted the age ban since the installation by the bureau
of employment of a survey letter to the business men of Pennsylvania.”
The following representative companies in different industries are
among those registered:8
American Steel Foundries.
Carnegie Steel Co.
Duplan Silk Corporation.
H. C. Frick Coke Co.
General Baking Co.
H. J. Heinz Co. (baked beans, pickles, etc.)
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation.
Lackawanna Mills (knit underwear).
Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co.
• Pennsylvania. Department of Labor and Industry. Bureau of Employment. Pennsylvania Indus
tries and Corporations Having No Age Limit, Harrisburg, 1928. 29 pp.
730
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AND RELIEF
Lit Bros, (department store).
Magee Carpet Co.
H. R. Mallinson & Co. (Inc.) (silk).
National Radiator Corporation.
Republic Iron & Steel Co.
Schwarzenbach Huber Co. (silk).
United States Radiator Corporation.
S. S. White Dental Manufacturing Co.
In its monthly survey letter for November 1, 1928, the bureau of
employment reports that each day the names of additional employers
are being received from all parts of Pennsylvania, giving assurance
that they “ will not bar men from employment on account of age but
will hire men solely upon the basis of physical and mental fitness.”
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR
731
The Work o f The United States Department of Labor
HE PURPOSE of the Department of Labor is, in the terms of the
creative act, “ to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the
wage earners of the United States, to improve their working con
ditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employ
ment.”
From the administrative standpoint the department is divided
into the eight major divisions listed below. The titles of the divi
sions indicate fairly well their respective fields of activity. The
housing corporation was created primarily as a war measure to
operate certain special classes of property necessary to the Govern
ment service, and since the war it has been liquidating its holdings
as rapidly as possible. Its activities have had little or no direct
relation to labor matters.
A brief description of the work of each of the divisions of the
department (other than the housing corporation) is given in this
volume, the page references being as follows:
T
Bureau of Labor Statistics, see article following.
Bureau of Immigration, p. 229.
Children's Bureau, p. 43.
Women's Bureau, p. 857.
Bureau of Naturalization, p. 247.
Conciliation Service, p. 39.
Employment Service, p. 695.
Statistical and Research Work of the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics
RIMARILY the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a fact-finding
agency. Its duty as set forth in the act creating it is to “ collect
information upon the subject of labor * * * and the means of
promoting the material, social, intellectual, and moral prosperity ”
of the wage earners of this country. The function of the bureau is
thus somewhat broader than is commonly understood by the word
“ statistics.” Its field of work not only covers purely statistical
data, but also includes other subjects of vital human welfare, such
as accident prevention, housing, labor legislation, and social insurance
in all its phases.
The recent and current activities of the bureau are outlined below.
P
Wages and Hours of Labor, by Industries
F o b many years the principal activity of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics has been that of gathering and publishing data on wages
and hours of labor in the various industries. It would be highly
desirable, of course, if the bureau’s wage studies could cover all
important industries at least once a year. Limitation of funds makes
733
734
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
this impossible, and the bureau’s present policy is to cover the larger
industries once every two years.
Most of the wage data are collected through personal visits by
special agents of the bureau. The following table shows the wage
studies of the bureau published in 1927 and 1928 and the scope of
the studies. It will be noticed that besides continuing the periodical
studies heretofore undertaken the bureau has made studies of the
newer industries. Publication of the summary results of these
studies have been made in the Labor Review.
WAGE STUDIES COMPLETED BY THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS IN 1927 AND 1928
Num
ber of Number
estab
of em
ployees
lish
ments covered
covered
Industry
Aluminum, brass, and copper
utensils and wares, manu
facture of__________________
Batteries and small motors,
manufacture of:
Dry-cell batteries_________
Storage batteries..................
Fractional hor s epower
motors. ______________
Bituminous-coal mining_______
Boots and shoes______________
Brass and copper sheet, rod,
tube, wire, and shape mills__
Common labor_______________
Cotton gins, compresses, and oil
mills:
Cotton gins______________
Cotton compresses________
Cottonseed-oil mills. ...........
32
7,811
25
25
6,349
4,512
24
556
157
5,358
148,155
48,658
20
76
67
67
13,639
157,673
Industry
Cotton goods manufacturing—
Foundries and machine shops:
Foundries____ ___________
Machine shops___________
Men’s clothing_______________
Radio receiving sets, speakers,
and tubes:
Radio receiving sets_______
Radio speakers.... ......... ......
Radio tubes................. ........
Sawmills. ......... ........................
Slaughtering and meat packing.
Woolen and worsted goods man
ufacturing................................
Union scales of wages for time
workers____________________
Num
ber of Number
estab
of em
lish
ployees
ments covered
covered
158
88,006
417
526
38,943
,779
35,873
23
18
18
319
10,070
2,428
2,213
58,007
57,352
200
86
92
86
38,850
863,922
459
4,177
4,598
Strikes and Lockouts
S
ince 1916 the bureau has been compiling statistics of industrial
disputes and publishing condensed statements thereof in the Labor
Review. Such publication was at first made quarterly and annually
but beginning with November, 1926, has been made monthly. The
reporting of strikes and lockouts to the Federal Government is not
compulsory and the bureau must rely for the initial reports of disputes
upon newspapers and other publications supplemented by informa
tion supplied by the conciliation service of the Department of Labor.
As a result the bureau’s records can not be regarded as complete, but
it is believed that all the larger and more important strikes are re
corded.
Until recently preliminary reports of disputes were followed up
solely by correspondence, but since the latter part of 1927 repre
sentatives of the department have been used to check up and com
plete the detailed reports desired.
Collective Agreements and Arbitration Awards
C
opies of new collective agreements and arbitration awards are
secured by the bureau from unions and employers whenever possible,
and a careful search of the newspapers, trade-union journals, and
labor papers is made to keep in touch with developments along this
line.
WORK OF BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS
735
After the agreements have been received, study is made of their
contents and any new features or peculiarities or changes in condi
tions, or any items deemed for any reason to be worthy of mention
are noted and printed in the Labor Review. Similarly, changes in
wages or hours are also stated and printed in the Review.
At the end of the year representative agreements made during the
year are analyzed for publication in bulletin form. Bulletin No. 468
dealt with the year 1927.
Arbitration awards are similarly treated. Significant ones are
printed, in whole or in part, in the Review, as are also decisions of
impartial chairmen in various branches of the clothing industry
in cities where impartial machinery has been set up, and decisions
of the train service boards of adjustment.
Employment in Selected Industries
T
he bureau publishes monthly reports on employment in selected
manufacturing industries, based on returns obtained by correspond
ence from some 12,000 establishments. These reports show the
number of people employed and the total amount of their earnings
in one week in 54 of the most important manufacturing industries.
Additional facts are given as to changes in rates of wages, changes in
per capita earnings, and changes in operating time, and the per
centage of full-time and part-time operation for the plants as a
whole. Index numbers and graphic charts of employment and pay
rolls over a series of months are included.
Approximately three-fourths of the 12,000 establishments make
reports directly to the bureau each month. In seven States (Cali
fornia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York,
and Wisconsin) the establishments make reports to the State bureau
of labor, these bureaus in turn furnishing the Bureau of Labor Statistics
with a copy of the data, thereby saving a duplication of reports on
the part of the establishments.
The bureau has recently expanded its employment data to include,
besides figures for manufacturing industries, similar data for coal
mining, metalliferous mining, public utilities, wholesale and retail
trade, and hotels, the data being secured in the same way as for
manufacturing industries and published therewith.
A mimeographed summary of the data for each month is released
on or about the 15th of the succeeding month and a printed pamphlet
containing all details is issued about a week later. The data are also
published each month in the Labor Review.
Wholesale Prices
W
holesale prices in representative markets of the country are
collected each month by the bureau for 550 commodities. In some
instances prices for a particular grade or quality of an article of special
importance are obtained in several different localities. In other
instances prices for several different grades of an important article are
obtained in the same locality.
A majority of the price quotations are taken from standard trade
journals. About one-third are furnished directly by manufacturers
or sales agents. In a number of instances prices are furnished by
736
U . S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
officials of boards of trade and similar bodies. As far as possible the
quotations for the various commodities are secured in their primary
markets.
The information collected by the bureau is published annually in
bulletin form, each bulletin containing monthly data for the last two
years and yearly data back to 1890. Bulletin No. 473 contains data
for 1927. Detailed data are also published monthly in pamphlet
form and in the Labor Review.
Retail Prices
F
or a number of years the bureau has collected and published data
relating to retail prices of food. Prices are now secured for 43 articles
in 51 cities. The information is furnished, on blanks supplied by the
bureau, by approximately 1,000 retail dealers. Reports are also
received from about 240 bakeries, 225 retail coal dealers, 80 gas com
panies, and 70 electric-light companies. The dealers who furnish the
information as to food are selected through personal visits of agents of
the bureau.
Coal, gas, and electricity prices are secured in each of the 51 cities
for which food prices are collected. Gas and electricity prices are
collected twice a year, viz, June 15 and December 15.
The information relating to retail prices is published annually in a
bulletin, together with summaries back to 1890, and much informa
tion is published also in the Labor Review. The prices are pub
lished in the form both of averages and index numbers, the year 1913
being used as the base. Bulletin No. 464 contains prices for 1927.
Cost of Living
S
ince 1918 the bureau has been publishing changes in the cost of
living, though the tables bearing on this subject start from December,
1914, as prices were secured in a number of cities back to that date.
It is impracticable to get prices at frequent intervals on all the
articles the average family buys, so the bureau has selected a number
of the more important and representative articles of each of the six
groups and secures prices on these articles. It is believed that the
articles so selected fairly represent all the articles in the respective
groups, and that changes in the cost of living, based on changes in the
cost of these articles, are very close to the actual changes experienced
by the average family.
Prices of coal, gas, and electricity are secured and computed in the
same way as those for the retail price series. All other prices are
secured periodically by special agents of the bureau. The prices of
each article or group of articles is weighted so that it will have its
proper effect on the cost of living as a whole.
Data as to changes in the cost of living are published every six
months, in the February and August issues of the Labor Review.
Need for a new family budget study.—The family budget survey
upon which the bureau is depending for its weights was made in
1918-19 and is therefore practically 10 years old. That survey
covered 12,096 families. These families were fairly well scattered,
but as the information was wanted primarily for the United States
WORK OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
737
Shipping Board, shipbuilding centers received possibly more consid
eration than they would in a budgetary survey intended to furnish
a cross-section view of the entire industrial population of the United
States.
There can be little doubt in the mind of anyone who has had even
casual contact with the workers of the United States that their
standard of living has greatly improved since 1918, and that there
has been a redistribution of expenditures along lines other than
those found to be true in 1918; therefore, the collection of present
prices on articles consumed in 1918 and the application of these
prices to the volume and distribution of consumption as found in
1918 do not give a 1927 cost-of-living picture.
Family budget studies are too expensive to be made from the
bureau’s ordinary funds, and a special appropriation for this purpose
is highly desirable. Such survey should cover a better selection
of industrial centers according to the proportion of our working
population engaged in the various industries. A larger number of
smaller cities should be included. The survey should include a
larger number of families and the income limit of families to be
budgeted should be increased. More stress should be laid upon
quantity consumption per family and a more careful study of
installment-plan purchases should be made.
Productivity of Labor
In t h e earlier years of its existence the bureau devoted a large
proportion of its time to the collection of data on wages, or what
the worker is paid for his time, and subsequently to the subjects
of costs of living, food prices, and so on, to determine what it costs
the worker to live, and this in relation to his wages. That the
other point of the triangle should be ascertained to make the picture
complete, the bureau during the last few years has studied what
the worker does for the wages he receives. The bureau in these
studies makes no attempt to determine the relative importance
of such factors in increased man-hour output as more skillful and
efficient labor, new inventions, improved machinery, superior man
agement, etc.
The productivity studies of the bureau have been along two lines:
(1) To develop, from existing data, indexes of productivity showing
lor various industries the changes in the output per man-hour over
a period of years, and (2) special field studies of selected industries.
Among recent field studies which have been completed are those
of woolen and worsted goods and merchant blast furnaces, published
in the September and December, 1928, issues, respectively, of the
Labor Review, and of the newspaper printing industry (now in
press).
Longshore work.—A study of productivity of labor in longshore
work—that is to say, in the loading and unloading of vessels—
was started in the early part of 1927. In recent years many new
methods and many new mechanical devices have been introduced
in this work, and the present study should develop valuable infor
mation as to the relative efficiency of hand and machine methods
as well as to the changes in labor productivity which have occurred.
738
XT. S. DEPARTMENT OP LABOR
Industrial Accidents
T
he industrial accident division of the bureau had its origin in a
special investigation authorized by resolution of the United States
Senate in 1910. That investigation covered hours, wages, labor
conditions, and accidents in the iron and steel industry. The inquiry
into accidents in the iron and steel industry has been continued
annually. Its purpose, as well as the purpose of all accident inquiries
carried on by the bureau, has been as follows:
1. To set up the average experience as a standard by which a
given section of the industry might determine its relative standing
in the matter of accident occurrence.
2. To determine by year-to-year presentation whether the trend
of accidents is in the direction of increase of decrease.
3. To show by suitable examples the possibilities of accident pre
vention when the problem is attacked with intelligence and vigor.
4. To afford illustrative material for use in the prosecution of accident-prevention campaigns.
The data used in the accident bulletins of the bureau have been
derived from two sources—namely, from the concerns involved and
from the records of State compensation commissions.
For the past four years the bureau has been gathering information
regarding the experience of the State jurisdictions dealing with
industrial accidents in order to determine accident rates for indus
trial groups other than iron and steel. For 1927 reports were secured
regarding 30 industries located in 26 States, operating 2,676 plants
and employing the equivalent of 1,075,282 full-year workers. This
information in part was furnished by the State bureaus and in part
was secured by a representative of the bureau in cooperation with
the State officials. Detailed data to the end of 1927, the most com
prehensive so far obtainable, are contained in a bulletin now in press.
A compilation of the accident experience of the iron and steel indus
try to the end of 1926 was published in the Labor Review and also a
compilation showing the accident experience in various American
industries to the end of 1927. In addition there was published a
bulletin (No. 425) which brought together accident statistics for the
United States as a whole, so far as such statistics were available.
Industrial Safety Codes
T
'
he bureau s activities in cooperation with the American Stan
dards Association in the development of industrial safety codes are
closely connected with the work of the industrial accident division
of this bureau.
Some years ago at the instance of the bureau the International
Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions organ
ized a statistical committee. This committee gave prolonged atten
tion to the problem of standardizing accident statistics, the result of
its study being finally embodied in Bulletin 276.
As very considerable changes have occurred since the preparation
of Bulletin 276 it was agreed by the international association, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the accident-prevention conference
of July, 1926, to undertake a revision according to the procedure of
the American Standards Association. A regular sectional com
mittee has been organized and revision is now in progress.
WORK OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
739
The bureau is the authorized represtntative of the Department of
Labor on the executive and main committees of the American Stand
ards Association, and as such is delegated to furnish representatives
on all sectional committees having to do with industrial safety codes
from the ranks of the workers actually employed to use the tools and
machines to which the codes refer. The bureau publishes the safety
codes as they are developed and also undertakes to urge upon the
States the adoption thereof.
Some 40 codes have been projected, on most of which some work
has been done. Of these, 18 have been completed and approved.
Settlements for Accidents to American Seamen
D
uring the past year the Bureau of Labor Statistics completed a
study of settlements for accidents to American seamen. The study
compares the actual settlements with the probable amounts payable
had each accident case been studied adjudicated under the provisions
of the longshoremen’s and harbor worker’s compensation act, the sea
men at the same time retaining their right to wages to the end of the
voyage and also to maintenance and cure. The study was of sufficient
scope to indicate whether the seamen would have benefited had
they been covered by the provisions of the longshoremen’s act as
contemplated in the original bill S. 3170. A summary of the study
was published in the June, 1928, number of the Labor Review and the
study in detail is published as Bulletin No. 466.
Industrial Hygiene
T
he work of the bureau in the field of industrial hygiene includes
the publication of occasional bulletins dealing with industrial poisons
or diseases; a review of current medical literature as it relates to
occupational hazards, which is published each month in the Labor
Review; and replies to the many inquiries regarding specific poisons
or the hazards from gases, dusts, and fumes, which are addressed
to the bureau either directly by the persons requesting the information
or by other Government offices which have referred the inquiries
to this bureau.
Among the recent bulletins dealing with the health of workers
which have been published is Bulletin No. 460, a special study made
for the bureau by Dr. Carey P. McCord, dealing with the effects
of lead absorption and presenting a new test by which the effects
of exposure to lead may be detected before actual clinical lead poison
ing takes place.
A special study of the cost of medical service among employees of
the bureau, published in the Labor Review, shows something of the
burden of sickness among persons of small or moderate incomes.
In the review of current medical literature relating to industrial
hygiene and occupational diseases published in the Review, digests
are given of articles appearing in the American and foreign medical
journals and of special reports prepared by the Government bureaus
or other investigating agencies.
Requests for information in regard to specific hazards come to the
bureau from employers who suspect that some substance or process
39142°— 29-------48
740
tJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
in use in their plants may be hazardous or who have had suspicious
cases of illness arise and from employees who fear their working
conditions may be harmful to health. During the past year infor
mation sought from the bureau has covered a considerable number of
dangerous substances and of diseases resulting from specific occupa
tions.
At the end of 1928 the bureau had under way two very important
studies in the field of industrial health, namely, the use of radium
and radioactive substances in the manufacture of clock dials and
other articles; and the use of the spray method in the painting of
automobiles, furniture, and other objects.
Health and Recreation Activities in Industrial Establishments
T
he nature and scope of the various personnel features contribu
ting to the health and general welfare of employees which are found in
various types of industries formed the subject of a survey by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics published during 1928 as Bulletin No. 458:
Health and recreation activities in industrial establishments. The
survey involved visits to establishments in different sections of the
country, information being secured from 430 companies which were
doing enough along personnel lines to warrant inclusion. As a
similar study was made in 1916-17 covering practically the same
number of companies, many of them identical, the present study
affords a comparison of industrial personnel activities then and now.
The most decided changes were found in the extent of the provisions
for the care of health, the extension of the vacation movement, and
the increase in the number of companies carrying group insurance.
Labor Legislation and Decisions of Courts Affecting Labor
T
he legal division of the bureau compiles bulletins reproducing
the labor laws of the various States and the Federal Government and
presenting selected court decisions of interest to labor, the bulletins
being usually issued annually. The labor laws published are taken
from the official codes, compiled statutes, and session laws of the
various States. For the court decisions the national reporter system
of the West Publishing Co. is the chief reliance.
A separate series on the subject of workmen’s compensation and
insurance is also published. An occasional complete presentation
of all workmen’s compensation laws and an annual review of new
legislation make up this series.
Occasional bulletins are also prepared on subjects of current im
portance, such as the minimum wage laws, labor laws declared uncon
stitutional, and wage payment laws.
The most recent bulletins on the above-mentioned subjects are:
Decisions of Courts and Opinions Affecting Labor, 1926 (Bui. No.
444); Labor Legislation of 1927 (Bui. No. 470); and Workmen’s
Compensation Legislation of the United States and Canada (Bui. No.
423).
In the Labor Review articles are published on subjects of current
economic and legal interest or on outstanding decisions, and also
digests of reports of the State compensation commissions. A con
siderable amount of research is involved in answers to inquiries reach
ing the department on subjects of interest involving the legal aspect
WORK OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
741
of labor problems. Various incidental activities were also engaged
in on requests, such as data for the drafting of bills and brief discussions
of specific points of legal interest.
Labor laws of Latm-American countries—The bureau has been
engaged for some time in the preparation of a complete compilation in
English of the labor laws of all Latin-American countries. Through
the cooperation of the Department of State, original copies of most of
these laws have been secured, and the work of translating is now under
way.
Workmen’s Compensation
T
he Bureau of Labor Statistics has by general agreement become
the clearing house for information concerning the activities of the
various State boards and commissions administering the workmen's
compensation laws of the various States.
In addition to the publication annually of workmen’s compensa
tion laws as amended in the various States, a section devoted to
this topic is carried in the Labor Review. The bureau also publishes
the proceedings of the annual conventions of the International Asso
ciation of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, which is an
organization composed of the various State workmen’s compensation
boards and commissions. During 1928 the proceedings of the four
teenth annual meeting of the International Association of Industrial
Accident Boards and Commissions were published as Bulletin No. 456.
State and Municipal Pensions
T
he public interest in pension systems appears to be growing and
the bureau is continually receiving requests for information as to
where such systems are in use, how effective they are, and what are
their most important features. To meet these inquiries the bureau
undertook a study covering state-wide pension systems, and munic
ipal pension systems in cities having a population in 1926 of at
least 400,000. The intention was to find what classes of employees
are brought under such systems; what is the general practice as to
requiring contributions from employees; how the retirement allow
ance is calculated; what are its minimum and maximum amounts;
what conditions as to age and years of service must be fulfilled before
a pension can be claimed; at what age retirement is permitted; at what
age, if any, it is compulsory; whether pensions are given to disabled
employees and, if so, under what conditions; what is the custom as
to refund of contributions in case of death or withdrawal before a
pension is gained; what is the cost of the system; how expenses of
administration are met—in brief, to learn all the attainable facts
which may be of use to those contemplating the establishment or the
reorganization of a retirement system.
By personal interviews schedules were obtained covering between
70 and 80 systems, including systems maintained by States for their
employees, systems embracing practically all the employees of the
cities supporting them, and systems for the benefit of special
groups, such as teachers or the members of police or fire depart
ments. The report of the survey, to be published as a bulletin,
is now in press. The bulletin will also contain, as a measure of com
parison, a study of the principal retirement systems of Europe, the
material for which was secured, through a special investigator, from
742
U . S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
original laws and reports, from unpublished material of the Depart
ment of State, and by personal inquiry from representatives of the
countries concerned.
Cooperation
T
he Bureau of Labor Statistics has for nearly a decade been fol
lowing the development of the consumers’ cooperative movement
not only in the United States but throughout the world. An attempt
is made to sketch for the public all new developments by means
of the Labor Review, in which a regular section on cooperation
is carried month by month. As the cooperative activities in the
agricultural field have long been covered by the Department of
Agriculture, the bureau has confined itself to the other phases of the
movement—those in which the working people are especially inter
ested. In 1920 the bureau made the first comprehensive statistical
study of the consumers’ societies made in this country.
In 1927 a second and even broader study of the cooperative move
ment was completed and published which covered all phases of the
movement except the cooperative marketing of agricultural products.
Building Operations in Principal Cities of the United States
T
he Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data concerning build
ing permits issued, annually from cities having a population of 25,000
or over, and semiannually from cities having a population of 100,000
or over. Summary figures are given in the Labor Review and de
tailed figures are published in bulletin form.
Reports were received from 302 cities for the year 1927, about 90
per cent being received by mail either direct from the local building
officials or from State bureaus cooperating with the bureau in this
work. The State bureaus of Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massa
chusetts, and Pennsylvania are cooperating with the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
The primary purpose of the bureau in collecting information con
cerning building permits issued is to show the housing facilities pro
vided in the different cities of the country, both as to the number of
families provided for and the kind of dwelling provided. In addition
the bureau also shows the amount expended for building in the dif
ferent cities and the changes in the amounts spent for the different
kinds of buildings, thus in a general way indicating the amount of
employment in the building trades.
A presentation is made in the November, 1928, Labor Review of
the average construction cost of the different kinds of dwellings in
14 cities of 500,000 population or over, which brings out the great
variance in the cost of construction in the various cities.
Beneficial Activities of Trade-Unions
D
uring the past year the bureau has been gathering data relative
to the various fields of activity of trade-unions, the results of which
are incorporated in Bulletin No. 465.
The great majority of labor organizations make provision to assist
their members in meeting the calamities of death, illness, or accident,
either through insurance or what are known as trade-union “ bene
fits.” Provision is, of course, usually made first for the necessities
WORK OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
743
arising from a strike or lockout, but after that the union may furnish
relief in case of the death of the member or his wife, or in case he
becomes incapacitated from illness or accident.
Many of the unions also provide for their members healthful recre
ation, sport, athletics, etc. Some have engaged in business ventures,
such as labor banks, life insurance, stores, etc. Another field in
which unions have engaged h that of financing or of actual construc
tion of homes for members.
Park Recreation Areas
A r e p o r t on park recreation areas in the United States published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as Bulletin No. 462 describes the
recent developments in the park recreation movement and also sets
forth the problems in regard to the provision of recreation facilities
which have resulted from the industrial expansion of the past few
decades. The study was made by the Playground and Recreation
Association of America with the editorial assistance of the bureau.
Apprenticeship in the Building Trades
R
ecent building activity throughout the country emphasized some
unwholesome and unprofitable conditions in the building industry
and led to a renewed interest in the question of apprentice training.
To determine to what extent apprenticeship is a factor in the indus
try and what effect the agitation for a revival of the apprentice
system is having the Bureau of Labor Statistics began an investi
gation in June, 1926, in several cities. The bureau limited its study
to actual apprenticeship; that is, actual contract or some equivalent
obligation extending over a stipulated period of years. Helpers who
are hired and dismissed according to the needs of the moment were
not considered, even thougn tiiey might be boys of apprentice age
who may eventually become journeymen.
The survey covered 19 cities of the East, South, and Middle West,
and the report thereof was published as Bulletin No. 459.
Labor Turnover
T
he Bureau of Labor Statistics was the pioneer in research work
as to the extent, causes, and cost of what has now become generally
known as the labor turnover. These studies had to be dropped in
1920, when the first severe reduction in the bureau’s appropriations
was made. During the past year efforts were made to resume this
work through the cooperation of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Co., which undertook to do the field work necessary. The results
of this field work are published quarterly in the Labor Review.
It is now planned to have this study include also a labor-stability
index; that is to say, to show not only the number of workers who
quit, die, or are discharged but also those w h o remain in tne employ
of the same company or corporation for a period of 12 months or
longer. It is beginning to be realized that a study of the “ stays”
is quite as valuable as a study of the “ quits.” Besides it brings out
the fact that labor turnover is frequently confined to a very small
percentage of the total employees,
744
TT. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Convict Labor
T
he bureau has made five surveys of convict labor. The reports
of the bureau on this subject are published in the Second Annual
Report of the Commissioner of Labor (1885); Bulletin No. 5 of the
Department of Labor (1896); Twentieth Annual Report of the Com
missioner of Labor (1905); Senate Document No. 494, Sixty-third
Congress, second session, 1914; and Bulletin No. 372 of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (1925).
Bulletin No. 372 contained three sections, the first covering statis
tics collected from prisons and prison contractors; the second, evi
dence given by free-labor employers concerning the effect of convictlabor production on their business; and the third, a compilation of
convict labor laws. The inquiry included State and Federal prisons
for civilian adults only and covered 104 institutions. Detailed data
from this study appeared in the former handbook (Bui. No. 439).
In the May, 1928, Labor Review there were printed recent refer
ences on convict labor, supplementing a bibliography in the October,
1925, Labor Review. Articles on the legal aspect of the subject are
printed from time to time in the Labor Review.
Family Allowances and Child Endowment
M
,
In arch 1926, the bureau published a comprehensive survey of
these subjects in its Bulletin No. 401, and while it has since made no
extensive study thereof, an effort has been made to keep in touch
with the latest developments of the movement for the establishment
of these benefits. Articles from foreign reports have been adapted
and published in the Labor Review.
Care of the Aged in the United States
T
he bureau is now carrying on a study of homes for the aged
maintained by various agencies, such as Federal and State homes for
disabled and aged soldiers, fraternal organizations, churches, and
other religious organizations, philanthropic bodies, groups of various
nationalities, trade unions, etc. These will be described in a report
expected to appear some time during the present fiscal year. In
order to give a well-rounded presentation of the whole subject of the
care of the aged, the results of earlier studies of other phases, such as
almshouses, old-age pension and retirement plans, both public and
and private, etc., and experience under the State and county old-age
pension laws now in force will also be included in summary form.
Foreign Investigations and Studies
O
ccasionally the bureau has felt it necessary to send its own repre
sentatives to Europe to secure information of particular difficulty and
importance. Supplementing special investigations by its own repre
sentatives, the bureau also obtains and publishes the results of studies
made by foreign investigators of recognized standing. In general,
however, the bureau must depend for its foreign information on the
cooperation of other agencies and upon published reports and studies.
The cooperation of the State Department has been particularly
helpful.
WORK OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
745
Besides the many articles in the Labor Review each month con
taining valuable data and information on labor conditions in foreign
countries, the bureau published, in 1928, a bulletin (No. 461) dealing
with the labor movement in Chile, written by Moists Poblete Troncoso, of Chile, which describes the various labor organizations in
that country, giving their date of organization, objects, trade juris
diction, government, qualifications for membership, benefits, head
quarters, and membership.
Publications
D
uring recent years the bureau has placed increasing emphasis
upon the prompt publication of the results of its work. For this
purpose the Labor Review is of primary importance.
Labor Review.—The Labor Review is issued on the 16th of each
month. In it are published the monthly compilations of retail and
wholesale prices, employment statistics, and statistics of strikes and
lockouts; the semiannual surveys of changes in cost of living; summa
ries of all wage surveys as soon as completed; and the results of special
studies, either in whole or in part, most of such studies representing
original work on the part of the bureau’s staff, a few, however,
being contributed by outside students and investigators. In addition,
the Labor Review seeks to follow the work of other agencies engaged
in activities affecting labor and to present the results of studies and
reports in the labor field both in the United States and foreign coun
tries. The Labor Review averages about 225 pages each month.
Monthly releases.—For the use of those particularly concerned,
mimeographed or printed releases of the monthly studies of employ
ment and prices and of the semiannual cost-of-living surveys are
prepared and made public as soon as the data are assembled.
Bulletins.—With few exceptions the bulletin method of publication
is reserved for the more extended studies, which are too long for
complete publication in the Labor Review. While summary accounts
of most studies appear earlier in the Labor Review, the bulletins
contain the detailed data which are essential for intensive analysis
of a subject.
Handbook.—During 1927 the bureau compiled and published its
first Handbook of Labor Statistics (Bui. No. 439), in which an effort
was made to bring together, in convenient form for reference pur
poses, digests of all the material published by the bureau of sufficiently
late date to be of present-day interest and value. It is proposed to
issue similar handbooks from time to time in future years.
VACATIONS WITH PAY
747
Vacation With Pay as Result of Trade Agreements
ACATIONS with pay are provided for in 71 of the trade agree
ments received by the bureau since 1926. The length of service
usually required in order to be eligible for a vacation with pay is
one year, and the length of vacation varies from 6 to 15 days.
These agreements cover locals of bakers; brewery workers; com
mercial telegraphers; electrical workers; hotel and restaurant employ
ees; marine firemen, oilers, and water tenders; meat cutters; railway
clerks; retail clerks; sailors; stenographers, bookkeepers, and typists;
street-railway employees; telephone operators; teamsters and chauf
feurs; train dispatchers; typographical workers; and yardmasters.
Teamsters and chauffeurs.—The agreements of 22 locals of teamsters
and chauffeurs provide for vacations with pay. Ten of these agree
ments provide for a vacation of one week after one year’s employment
with the same firm. One of these provides that if the employee
resigns at end of year without having taken his vacation he shall be
paid for one week and commissions; one stipulates that the employee
is to reciprocate by giving the employer the equivalent of one week
of 54 hours by working overtime, either on week days at time and
one-half or on Sundays at double time; two further provide that
employees with less than one year’s service may take one day’s
vacation for each month, not exceeding six days. Ten agreements
provide for two weeks’ vacation with pay after one year’s employ
ment with the same employer. Six of these agreements provide that
if the employee is discharged or resigns before he takes his vacation
he shall be paid two weeks’ wages; two of these also pay the commis
sion that they would be entitled to on their routes; one provides for
the payment of $110 to the employee when his vacation begins and,
also that loss of time through sickness or injury shall not be considered
an interruption to continuous employment, nor shall men lose their
right to a vacation through the amalgamation of two or more firms.
Two other agreements have the following provisions:
V
At the end of 52 weeks’ continuous service, employee shall be granted 10 days’
vacation with pay. If employee quits or is discharged or employer can not give
the vacation he shall be paid for the 10 days.
After six months’ employment, eight day’s vacation; after one year, 15 days’
vacation. Employee will be paid when beginning vacation full amount due
at rate of one day’s pay for each day’s vacation. No one shall be excused from
taking vacation. Time from October to April.
Railway clerks.—The provisions for vacations with pay in the agree
ments of the railway clerks with four railroads differ as to length of
service required and in period for which vacations are granted and
are as follows:
Those in employ of company one year to have 6 working days’ vacation; in
service two years, 9 working days; in the service five years, 12 working days.
Heads of departments granting vacations will give clerks who on January 1
have been in the service continuously one year and less than two years, 1 week or
6 working days; those in the service two years and less than three years, 10
749
750
VACATIONS WITH PAY
days or 9 working days; those in the service three years and over, 2 weeks or
12 working days.
At offices where three or more clerks are employed, employees who have been
continuously in the service for one year shall be allowed 10 working days per
annum with pay. When in the judgment of the management it is not practical
to allow vacations to an employee, said employee shall, in lieu of his vacation,
be paid in addition to his regular compensation, the equivalent to 10 days’ pay
at his regular rate.
When it is practicable to allow vacations without extra expense to the rail
road and keep up current work, vacations with pay will be granted— one year
and less than three years, 6 days; three years and less then five years, 10 days;
five years or over, 12 days.
Yardmasters.—Agreements of yardmasters with three railroads pro
vide as follows:
Yardmasters who have been in that capacity for one year or more will be
allowed 14 days' vacation each year, with pay, in addition to the two rest days
per month without loss of pay.
Train dispatchers.—Train dispatchers’ agreements with 12 rail
roads have the following provision:
Trick, relief, and extra train dispatchers who have held regular assignments
of six days per week for one year or more will be entitled to 12 working days'
vacation with pay, annually.
Street-railway employees.—Agreements with seven street-railway
companies provide for vacations with pay. One company grants 7
days’ vacation at full pay for each year to the platform men after
six months of continuous service, and 14 days’ vacation with pay
each year to transfer men; another company grants two weeks’
vacation with pay to clerks after one year’s service, and if for any
reason the vacation can not be granted, two weeks’ pay in lieu of vaca
tion; another grants one week’s vacation with pay in addition to one
day off a week, to substation men. Two other companies grant 10
days’ vacation to all members in the service of the company over one
year. Two other companies have the following provisions:
Billing clerks, cashiers, and bookkeepers shall be given one week's vacation
with pay. It is understood that these employees will double up to allow
vacations.
All members of association in employ of company one year shall be granted one
week’s vacation each year, beginning January 1, 1929, with pay at flat rate of
their regular classification. Time of vacation to be arranged without detriment
to service. All collectors shall be given two weeks' vacation with pay.
Electrical workers:—Agreements of electrical workers with three
power companies have the following provisions:
Employees under these rules on monthly salaries without overtime pay shall
be entitled to a week's vacation with pay each year, provided they have been
employed by the company for a period of at least one year, and two weeks if
employed two years or more.
All men in employ of company January 1 of any year who regularly work
seven days a week shall be entitled to 14 continuous days' vacation with pay.
Time to be between May 1 and December 1.
Storage-battery men and trouble dispatchers allowed 15 continuous days'
vacation with pay each year.
Nine hours shall constitute a day's work for all foremen providing weather
and running conditions of the cars permit, also a 10-day vacation with pay,
yearly, and two days off each month.
Typographical workers.—Agreements of typographical workers
with three newspapeis provide for vacations; one provides for one
week’s vacation during the summer with full pay, providing the
remaining force will use every effort to get out the edition regularly,
result of trade agreem ents
751
while two provide for two weeks’ vacation each year with pay.
Many typographical workers, although not having a provision for
vacations in their agreements, are granted one or two weeks’ vacation
with pay each year, through verbal agreements with the newspaper
publishers.
Stenographers, bookkeepers, and typists.—Three agreements of
stenographers, bookkeepers, and typists provide for vacations, one
of which provides for two weeks’ vacation with pay each year. The
following provisions appear in the other two agreements:
Any person taking employment six months previous to the beginning of the
vacation period shall be entitled to two weeks' vacation with pay; those taking
employment three months previous to the beginning of the vacation period shall
be entitled to one week's vacation with pay.
One week's vacation with pay after six months' employment. Two weeks'
vacation with pay after one year's employment. Any employee discharged after
May 1 to receive salary in lieu of vacation. Notice of discharge can not be given
during vacation or during the two weeks preceding the vacation.
Retail clerks.—The agreements of three locals of retail clerks provide
for a vacation of one week with pay after being in the employ of the
same employer for one year.
Brewery workers.—Agreements of two locals of brewery workers
provide for vacation with pay for a part of their employees. One
provides that watchmen shall receive one week’s vacation with pay
during the year. The other local provides that engineers shall work
seven days per week with every alternate Sunday off and shall have
either one day per month or one week per year without deduction in
pay. Stablemen shall be given a vacation of one day per month
or two weeks per year without reduction in pay.
Meat cutters.—Three agreements of meat cutters covering five locals
provide for one week’s vacation with pay after one year’s employ
ment with the same firm.
Telephone operators.—The agreement of the telephone operators
provides that all operators in the employ of the company for one
year shall be granted a vacation of one week with full pay, and after
two years or more in the employ of the company shall be granted
vacation of two weeks with full pay.
Telegraphers.—The commercial telegraphers’ agreement with the
United States Press Associations contains the following provision:
Two weeks' vacation with full pay, to be taken between May 1 and October
1, shall be granted annually to all leased-wire and machine operators, except
Saturday night operators, of one year's continuous service. All vacations shall
be taken at the time allotted by chief operators, or operator to secure his own
competent substitute acceptable to the district chief operator.
Car-jerry workers.—The agreement of the Sailors’ Union of the
Great Lakes and the Marine Firemen, Oilers, and Water-tenders
Union of the Great Lakes provides that members of these unions
employed on car ferries operating on the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers,
who are regularly assigned, will be allowed 15 days off each year
without deduction in pay.
Ice cream, hotel, and restaurant workers.—Two agreements, one of
ice-cream workers, meiflbers of the bakery workers’ union, and one
of hotel and restaurant employees, grant 10 days’ vacation with
pay after having been employed one year or longer.
752
VACATIONS WITH PAY
Vacations W ith Pay for Industrial Workers in Various
Countries
SURVEY of the vacation movement in the United States and
European countries, by Charles M. Mills,1 shows the general
growth of this movement in recent years both here and abroad.
In this country the study included a survey of vacation plans
instituted by company initiative, civil-service regulations granting
vacations to public employees, and vacation provisions in tradeunion agreements. Information was secured relative to the vaca
tion policies of 494 firms. Of this number, 199 were found to have
active vacation plans, while 13 had had such a plan but had dis
continued it. No plan adopted since 1920, however, had been
abandoned and the present tendency is toward liberalizing the ones
in force.
Only about half of all the employees in the plants having these
plans receive vacations owing to the fact that a service period, varying
in the different establishments, is generally required before a vacation
is given while nearly all of the 175 trade-union agreements providing
for vacations known to exist in the United States are local, and each
affects a relatively small number of persons. On the other hand it
is estimated that 2,000,000 public employees are receiving vacations
under civil-service regulations.
Vacation provisions are included in nearly all collective agreements
in many of the European countries but are a feature of relatively
few of the agreements in this country. “ The lack of a national
policy," the writer says, “ on the part of the various unions in the
United States is indicated by the fact that for the most part only a
few locals in each industry have obtained vacations. The two
unions of which this is not true are the International Typographical
Union and the firefighters. The unions represented by fewer locals
are the butchers, teamsters, telegraphers, street and railway em
ployees, and electrical workers. In contrast with the many import
ant European industries which have vacations with pay, through
collective agreements, it will be noticed that only one of the unions
listed above represents any large industrial group. Certain of the
organized groups are employees of municipalities."
Approximately two-thirds of the company plans covered in this
survey had been established since 1918. Seventy per cent were of
the continuous-operation type, while in the other cases vacations
were given during factory shutdown or inventory periods. Vacation
wages were usually paid on the full-rate straight-time basis, exclusive
of overtime, prior to the vacation period. More than three-fourths
of the plans make no provision for the payment of wages on legal
and national holidays. The vacation wages paid as reported by
one-half of the 178 companies for which data were available were
less than 1.5 per cent of the total annual pay roll.
A
i Mills, Charles M .: Vacations for Industrial Workers. New York, Ronald Press Co., 1927. 328 pp.
(Research series of Industrial Relations Counselors (Inc.).)
VACATIONS WITH PAY
753
Vacation Practices for Salaried Workers in New York
City
SURVEY of the vacation policies of NewYork City business
concerns by the industrial bureau of the Merchants’ Association
of New York covered 110 firms, members of the association, and nine
different types of business—manufacturing, finance, wholesale, retail,
insurance, publishing, advertising, real estate, and public utilities—
were represented.
The usual vacation allowance is two weeks. One hundred firms re
ported that the majority of their salaried employees are given two weeks’
vacation; 3 firms give three weeks; 3, one week; 2, one week after one
year and, two weeks after two years; 1, from one to three weeks, depend
ing on the type of work; and 1, two weeks and four days. For employees
with less than one year’s service in the organization there are a variety
of provisions in force. Twenty firms give one week after six months;
14 give two weeks if employed prior to a certain date and one week
if employed between that date and some other fixed date; 11 give one
day for each month; while in the other cases the vacations vary from
a few days to two weeks, but with some special provisions as to the
number of months of employment in each case.
Officers and executives are allowed the same vacation as other em
ployees in 42 cases, in 24 there is no rule, and in most of the others
the length of the vacation is three or four weeks, while in a few cases
the officers receive a longer vacation than other executives and two
companies give those in executive positions two weeks and other
employees one week.
Twenty-five companies allow additional time for long service, usually
an extra week, the length of service necessary to secure this extra
week’s vacation varying from 5 to 25 years. In other cases one day
is allowed for each year over a stated number, two days for each five
years of service, or there is some similar provision governing this point.
Extra time is allowed by 32 companies for legal holidays falling
within an employee’s vacation period, 73 do not make any allowance
for such holidays, 4 sometimes do, and 1 company has no rule.
Employees are allowed the Saturday preceding their vacation
period by 57 firms, 5 companies close all day Saturday during the
vacation period, 38 definitely do not give the day, and the others
may in special cases.
The majority of companies pay their employees their vacation
salaries in advance, but in 8 cases it is optional; 3 pay on the regular
pay day; 3 pay half in advance and half on return; 2 pay in advance
if pay day falls in the vacation period; and only 1 firm waits until
the vacation is finished before paying.
The customary practice is to require the vacation to be taken
within certain months, usually from June to September, but 17 com
panies have no rule on this point, and in one case the time for the
vacation is decided by department heads.
Thirty-one companies allow extra time without pay when desired,
26 do not, and the others may allow it in exceptional cases, or for
health reasons. Vacations must be for a continuous period in 41
cases, usually so in 22, and preferably but not necessarily so in 22,
while 21 do not require the vacation to be taken all at one time, and
4 allow one week to be taken at a time.
A
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
39142°— 29-------19
755
Wage Studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics devotes a very large part of
its resources to compiling information on the subject of wages
and hours of labor, as is indicated by the wage material pre
sented in this volume, and also by the list of wage publications of
the bureau. In the very important field of union wage scales a
study is made each year. The organized workers in the various
trades usually have a standard minimum rate which is the prevail
ing rate for the trade in the locality. In the most important manu
facturing industries and in coal mining a wage study is made about
every two years. It is recognized that a yearly study should be
made in all of the most important industries, but funds are not avail
able for this purpose.
Wage statistics are difficult to collect. To be of the greatest serv
ice they must be assembled by occupations. Establishments seldom
compile wage statistics for their own purposes. They know their
own wage rates, of course, but do not put them in tabular form.
Further, very few employers’ organizations collect and compile figures
from their membership.
It is not often that wage data can be obtained from employers by
correspondence. The questionnaire method is satisfactory in some
lines of inquiry, but is not very successful in the collection of w&ge
data. Except in rare instances, it has been found that the only
satisfactory method is to send special agents to compile the statistics
from the employer’s pay rolls, and this is the usual method pursued
by the bureau. In many industries a large proportion of the
employees are paid at piece rates and no record is kept of the time
worked by them. In such industries it is necessary to arrange with
the employers, and sometimes with the employees as well, to keep a
special record of the hours worked during the pay period studied.
A complete census of wages in all establishments in an industry
in the United States is prohibitive because of cost. Hence the sam
pling method must be used. Selection is first made of typical
representative plants from which to request wage data. These must
be selected with care, so as to insure a geographical representation,
as well as a wage representation for the locality. All employees are
included in the report obtained from a plant, except in the case of
a very few large plants, where to cover all employees would distort
the representative character of the total data collected in the locality.
A sufficient number of plants is taken to insure a fair cross section of
the country as a whole. In some instances 20 per cent of all wage
earners in the industry in the county may be covered. In other
instances as high as 30 or 40 per cent.
As soon as possible after the data, are collected summary figures
are prepared and published in the Labor Review. Later the infor
mation is published in greater detail in bulletin form.
T
757
758
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
Not only is a complete wage census of all establishments prohibi
tive because of cost but a compilation of wage data for a full year,
even in the representative plants taken, is prohibitive for the same
reason.
In the following pages of this section there are presented summaries
of all the wage studies made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics during
the years 1927 and 1928. There are also added summaries of wage
studies made by other official agencies for certain industries not
covered by the bureau’s studies.
For certain industries—such as the iron and steel industry—for
which wage surveys were not made by the bureau during 1927 and
1928, summaries of the latest investigation will be found in the former
handbook (Bui. No. 439).
The following table presents a list of the wage studies of the bureau
completed during 1927 and 1928 and the principal data regarding
average wage, earnings, and hours of labor for each industry:
AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN INDUSTRIES COVERED BY WAGE STUDIES
OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPLETED IN 1927 AND 1928
Males
Average hours
Industry
Aluminum, brass, and copper utensils and wares,
manufacture of_____________________ - ___ ________
Batteries and small motors, manufacture of:
Dry-cell batteries______________________________
Storage batteries______________________________
Fractional-horsepower motors__________________
Bituminous coal mining:
Miners and loaders____________________________
Other employees______________________________
Boots and shoes___________________________________
Brass and copper sheet, rod, tube, wire, and shape
mills________________•_________ j.________________
Cotton gins, compresses, and oil mills:
Cotton gins___________________________________
Cotton compresses_____________________________
Cottonseed-oil mills____________________________
Cotton-goods manufacturing_________________ ______
Foundries and machine shops:
Foundries—. _______________________ __________
Machine shops_________________________ _______
Men’s clothing____________________________________
Radio receiving sets, speakers, and tubes:
Radio receiving sets..... ............................. ..............
Radio speakers______________________________
Radio tubes___________________________________
Sawmills_________________________________________
Slaughtering and meat packing......................................
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing__________
Common labor (entrance rates).....................................
Date of Full
Actu
survey time,
ally
worked
per
in 1
week week
s Based on time in mine; data are for half month.
Per
hour
Full
time,
per
week
Actual
in 1
week
1927
52.2
50.5
$0,579
$30.22
$29.24
1927
1927
1927
49.5
48.6
48.9
49.2
45.3
45.8
.541
.698
.642
26.78
33.92
31.39
26.66
31.61
29.43
/175.4
\ 382.2
2 91.7
1.817 \
3.749 J...........
2 61.61
2 .664
1926
1926
1928
49.0
.625
30.63
260.87
1927
53.8
51.1
.556
29.91
28.37
1927
1927
1927
1928
66.2
56.2
70.9
53.9
64.5
49.6
64.6
.293
.316
.240
.345
19.40
17.76
17.02
18.60
18.94
15.70
15.53
1927
1927
1928
51.1
50.1
44.1
.626
.629
.924
31.99
31.51
40.75
1927
1927
1927
1928
1927
1928
1928
48.5
48.4
48.9
56.6
49.3
49.4
.590
.555
.602
.371
.520
.568
.449
28.62
26.86
29.44
1Based on time at face including lunch; data are for half month.
2 Data are for half month.
Average earnings
47.5
47.1
50.9
21.00
25.64
28.06
28.05
26.15
30.62
759
STUDIES OF BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN INDUSTRIES COVERED BY WAGE STUDIES
OF THE BUREAU OF~LABOR STATISTICS COMPLETED IN 1927 AND 1928—Con.
Females
Average hours
Date of
survey
Industry
Aluminum, brass, and copper utensils and wares,
manufacture of................................................ ........... .
Batteries and small motors, manufacture of:
Dry-cell batteries.....................................................
Storage batteries..................................................... .
Fractional-horsepower motors................................ .
Boots and shoes........................................ . . ...................
Brass and copper sheet, rod, tube, wire and shape mills.
Cotton gins, compresses, and oil mills:
Cotton compresses.........................................
Cottonseed-oil mills........................................
Cotton-goods manufacturing................................
Foundries and machine shops:
Foundries.........................................................
Machine shops................................................
Men’s clothing.......................................................
Radio receiving sets, speakers, and tubes:
Radio receiving sets........................................
Radio speakers......... .....................................
Radio tubes.................... ............ ............... .
Slaughtering and meat packing............................
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing_____
Actu
FuU
ally
time, worked
per
in 1
week week
Average earnings
Per
hour
Full
time,
per
week
Actual
in 1
week
1927
f-2.6
49.1
$0,355
$18.67
$17.44
1927
1927
1927
1928
1927
49.3
49.2
48.0
49.2
54.7
44.6
41.3
42.7
.416
.392
.429
.397
.348
20.51
19.29
20.59
19.53
19.04
18.56
16.22
18.34
1927
1927
1928
55.9
70.0
52.9
48.9
61.8
.132
.114
.296
7.38
7.98
15.66
6.47
7.04
1927
1927
1928
49.0
48.9
43.9
.459
.403
.534
22.49
19.71
23.44
1927
1927
1927
1927
1928
43.3
45.8
43.5
49.1
49.2
43.3
42.7
44.8
.384
.399
.407
.364
.438
18.55
18.67
19.74
17.87
21.55
16.62
17.07
18.27
50.1
17.43
Males and females
Aluminum, brass, and copper utensils and wares,
manufacture of__________________________________
Batteries and small motors, manufacture of:
Dry-cell batteries______________________________
Storage-batteries......................................................
Fractional-horsepower motors__________________
Bituminous COal m in in g ____________ ______________ ______
Boots and shoes___________________________________
Brass and copper sheet, rod, tube, wire, and shapemills.
Cotton gins, compresses, and oil mills:
Cotton gins___________________________________
Cotton compresses_____________________________
Cottonseed-oil mills____________________________
Cotton-goods manufacturing_______________________
Foundries and machine shops:
Foundries_____________________________ _______
Machine shops________________________________
Men’s clothing____________________________________
Radio receiving sets, speakers, and tubes:
Radio receiving sets____________________________
Radio speakers________________________________
Radio tubes___________________________________
1927
5:1.3
50.0
$0.513
$26.83
$25.68
1927
1927
1927
1926
1928
1927
49.4
48.6
48.6
47.3
45.1
45.0
(4)
.492
.691
.586
(4)
.530
.552
24.30
33.58
28.48
23.28
31.20
26.36
(4)
” 49.1
5:5.8
(4>
1927
1927
1927
1928
(5)
58.4
1927
1927
1928
51.1
50.1
44.0
1927
1927
1927
S aw m ills___
_
__ _____________________________________
1928
Slaughtering
_____________________
and meat packing 1927
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing___________ 1928
Common labor (entrance rates)_____________________ 1928
Union scales of wages for
______________
time workers 1928
48.4
47.8
48.6
(4)
49.3
49.3
(5|
51.0
(4)
26.02
29.70
(4)
(5)
(5)
.324
(5)
17.30
.624
.625
.731
31.89
31.31
32.16
.508
.502
.444
(4)
.501
.514
(4)
•44.9 • 1.195
24.59
24.00
21.58
(4)
24.70
25.34
(5)
(5)
45.8
45.5
45.9
(4)
(5)
* Data are for males only; see above.
5 Data reported separately for males and females, but not combined; see above.
• Motormen and conductors and bus drivers not included, as their hours were not reported.
28.16
m
(«)
23.25
22.87
20.36
760
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
General Index of Hourly Wages, 1840 to 1926
ABLE 1 gives index numbers of wages per hour from 1840 to 1926
for all industry in general in the United States other than agri
culture, an agricultural wage index being separately presented.
These index numbers have been computed by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics from all the wage material available. There never has been
a wage-rate census in the United States. Satisfactory wage-rate
data have been collected in many of the major industries, but there
are other industries for which wage figures have not been compiled.
T
T
able
1 —INDEX NUMBERS OF WAGES PER HOUR, 1840 TO 1926 (EXCLUSIVE OF
AGRICULTURE)
[Currency basis 1861-1865. 1913=100]
Year
1840 ...................
1841.....................
1842.....................
1843 ...................
1844.....................
1845 . ________
1846 ...................
1847 ...................
1848 .................
1849 ...................
1850 ...................
1851...................
1852 ...................
1853 ...................
1854 _
.......
1855
.........
1856 ...................
1857 ...................
1858....................
1859 ...................
1860_...................
1861.....................
Index
number
33
34
33
33
32
33
34
34
35
36
35
34
35
35
37
38
39
40
39
39
39
40
Year
1862.................
1863.................
1864.................
1865.................
1866.................
1867 ................
1868 ................
1869 ................
1870 ................
1871................
1872 ................
1873 ____ ____
1874....... ..........
1875 ................
1876 ____ ____
1877 ________
1878 ................
1879 ..............
1880_________
1881________
1882.................
1883.................
Index
number
41
44
50
58
61
63
65
66
67
68
69
69
67
67
64
61
60
59
60
62
63
64
Year
1884.................
1885.................
1886.................
1887.................
1888_................
1889....... .........
1890.................
1891_________
1892.................
1893.................
1894_________
1895.................
1896...............
1897.................
1898....... ..........
1899.................
1900.................
1901.................
1902.................
1903 ________
1904__..............
1905.................
Index
number
64
64
64
67
67
68
69
69
69
69
67
68
69
69
69
70
73
74
77
80
80
82
Year
1906.................
1907.................
1908.................
1909.................
1910_................
1911.................
1912.................
1913.................
1914.................
1915.................
1916.................
1917.................
1918.................
1919.................
1920.................
1921.................
1922.................
1923.................
1924.................
1925.................
1926.................
Index
number
85
89
89
90
93
95
97
100
102
103
111
128
162
184
234
218
208
217
223
226
229
The early part of 1920 was a period of great industrial activity, and
in this period imployment and hourly earnings reached their highest
point. A sharp downward trend of employment occurred in the
latter part of the year. There was a great reduction in employment
in the depressed year, 1921, accompanied, as might be expected, by
a reduction in wage rates. The slump continued in 1922. As busi
ness conditions improved in 1923 there was a gain in wage rates which
has been augmented each succeeding year.
It must not be assumed that changes have been alike in all lines of.
employment. Heavy factors in the upward trend since 1922 are the
trades engaged in baking, building, stonework, auto driving, freight
handling, and printing. All of these trades were particularly active
during recent years and they have had very substantial wage increases.
The building trades and all of these trades collectively had a wage
rate 26 per cent higher in 1926 than in 1920. Anthracite-coal workers
had an increase of 10 per cent in the latter part of 1923. On the other
hand, earnings per hour in many lines were considerably lower in
1926 than in 1920. To illustrate, there was a decrease of 32 per cent
in hourly earnings in cotton manufacturing, of 22 per cent in woolen
manufacturing, of 15 per cent in the iron and steel industry, and of 6
per cent in railroad wages, all as between 1920 and 1926.
761
ALUMINUM, BRASS, AND COPPER WARES
Farm Wage Index, 1866-1928
F
-
arm wage rates are collected by the Department of Agriculture,
and that department has computed index numbers therefor.
The index numbers as computed by the Department of Agriculture
have the average for the five years 1910 to 1914 as the base or 100.
In the following table the index numbers are printed in their original
form on the 1910-1914 base. In addition these index numbers have
been converted to a 1913 base to permit a comparison with the general
industrial index in the preceding section.
T
able
2 *—INDEX NUMBERS OF FARM-WAGE RATES, 1866 TO 1928
(Years 1866 to 1878 in gold)
Index numbers of
farm wage rata?
on basis of—
Index numbers of
farm wage rates
on basis of—
Year
Year
Year
Average,
1910-1914 1913=100
=100
Average,
1910-1914 1913=100
=100
1866.
1874 or 1875..
1877 or 1879..
1879 or 1880..
1880 or 1881..
1881 or 1882..
1884 or 1885..
1887 or 1888..
1889 or 1890..
1891 or 1892..
1894-
Index numbers of
farm wage rates
on basis of—
1895.
1898.
1899.
1902.
1906.
1909.
1910.
1911.
1912.
1913.
1914.
1915.
1916.
62
65
68
76
92
96
97
97
101
104
101
102
112
60
63
65
73
88
92
93
93
97
100
97
<«
108
Average,
1910-1914 1913=100
=100
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
140
176
206
239
150
146
166
166
168
171
170
169
135
169
198
230
144
140
160
160
162
164
163
163
Alum inum , Brass, and Copper Utensils and Wares,
Manufacture o f: Wages and Hours of Labor, 1927
HE DATA used in this presentation were collected by agents
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the latter part of 1927 from
representative establishments using aluminum, both sheet and cast,
in the manufacture, mainly, of pans, kettles, pots, and other general
kitchen and household utensils, and from establishments engaged
in the production of brass and copper articles such as boxes, butts,
burners, clamps, eyelets, canopies, cases, fasteners, ferrules, flanges,
grommets, automobile parts, name plates, radio parts, rivets, ash
trays, lipstick holders, electric-light shells, flash-light parts, cigar and
cigarette cases, lighting fixtures, and lighting-fixture parts, bathroom
fixtures, switch plates, bottles, pencil tips, cigar lighters, humidor
covers, cuspidors, kettles, percolators, boilers, measurers, funnels,
teapots, lamps, etc.
Some establishments use aluminum mainly, but also use brass and
copper. No plants were included which are generally known to the
trade as brass and aluminum foundries. Incidentally, some of the
establishments using brass and copper chiefly also use quantities of
nickel-silver, Monel-metal, or other alloys, but since the same em
ployees, the same machines, and the same operations are involved in
working these metals, separation was impossible.
T
762
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
The establishments from which data were collected have varying
lengths of pay-roll periods— 1 week, 10 days, 2 weeks, and one-half
month. In order to present data for all establishments and employees
on the same basis, the days, hours, and earnings were compiled for a
one-week period for the establishments that have a longer pay period;
thus the table represents a sample week.
A full report of this study was published in the August, 1928,
Labor Review. The processes of manufacture of a few typical articles
were briefly described in the report, together with descriptions of the
occupations.
Considering male employees, the table on page 763 shows that the
average full-time hours per week were 52.2, and full-time earnings,
$30.22 per week. The average rate per hour was 57.9 cents, with a
range in average rates for specified occupations of from 30.2 cents
for wrappers to 81.2 cents for pattern makers.
Considering female employees, the average full-time hours per
week were 52.6. Full-time weekly earnings were $18.67. The aver
age rate per hour was 35.5 cents, with a range in average rates among
the listed occupations of from 29.5 cents for laborers to 39.1 cents for
knurlers.
For all occupations, both sexes combined, the average earnings per
hour were 51.3 cents; the average full-time hours, 52.3 per week;
and full-time earnings, $26.83 per week.
The employees actually worked an average of 50 hours per week,
and worked in whole or in part an average of 5.6 days per week.
Overtime Rates and Bonuses
O f the 32 establishments covered in this study,
form of extra pay for overtime.
15
had some
Of these, six paid time and a half, and two time and a quarter after
normal daily hours, while one paid time and a half to mechanical
employees and time and a quarter to other employees. One establish
ment paid time and a half after 9 hours per day, one paid time and a
quarter after 10 hours per day, and one paid time and a quarter and
one time and a half after 48 hours per week. One plant paid time and
a half after 10 hours per day to maintenance men only and one paid
time and a half after normal hours to tool-room employees, yard
gang, and electricians.
Eleven establishments reported bonus systems. Two of these were
based on service and nine on production. Of the two establishments
reporting a service bonus, one paid 5 per cent of the yearly earnings
after one year's service and one-half per cent additional for each year
thereafter. The other gave 3 per cent of yearly earnings for an entire
year's service and a small Christmas bonus according to age.
All of the production bonuses are based on some arbitrary standard
which is usually set by time^ studies of the various occupations.
The efficiency^ standard or minimum acceptable production varies
in each establishment, as does also the scale or rate. This scale or
rate is usually graduated, beginning at the minimum standard of
efficiency and gradually increasing as the production increases.
In three of the nine establishments which reported production
bonuses only certain employees participated. In one establishment
only the coppersmiths were entitled to a bonus, in another only
763
BATTERIES AND SMALL MOTORS
packers and shippers, while in the third only the permanent molders
received the bonus.
The following table shows full time and actual hours and earnings
in each of the occupations:
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MANUFACTURE OF UTENSILS AND WARES,
BY OCCUPATION AND SEX, 1927
Sex
Occupation
Average
Average
hours—
number
of days
on which
Ac
em
Full
tually time,
ployees worked
per
worked
in 1
week
ini week week
Average earnings—
Full
Per Actual
time,
in 1
hour week
per
week
T o o l and dift mn.lrp.rs___
Male____
Die, tool, and machine setters.......................... ...d o____
Blanking-press operators. ...................... ...... — do____
Draw-press operators................. .............. ........ — do____
Female. _
Trim and bead operators___________________ Male____
Female. _
Annealers___________________ _______ ______ Male____
Punch-press operators__ _____ _____________ ...d o........
Female. .
Spinning-lathe operators___________________ Male.......
Riveters__________________________________ ...d o ........
Female. _
Solderers_________________________________ Male____
Female. _
Coppersmiths ................. ......... ................ ........ Male
Welders........................ ...................... .............. — do........
Bench hands______________________________ ...d o ........
Female. _
Knurlers_________________________________ ...d o ........
Polishers and buffers______________________ Male____
Satin finishers_____________________________ — do........
Platers, nickel_____________________________ ...d o ........
Pattern makers____________________________ ...d o ____
Molders__________________________________ __ do____
Melters, furnace men, and crucible men......... — do____
Inspectors__________________________ ______ __ do____
Female. _
Wrappers...... .................................................... Male.......
Female. _
Packers and craters........................................... Male.......
Female. _
Laborers............................................................. Male.......
Female. .
Other employees................................................ Male____
Female. _
5.7
5.7
5.8
5.5
5.1
5.5
5.7
5.8
5.4
5.5
5.5
5.8
5.0
5.9
5.8
5.5
5.3
5.7
5.7
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.8
5.5
5.0
5.0
5.8
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.6
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.6
5.6
49.9
52.5
51.5
50.4
43.9
49.8
48.1
56.4
48.6
49.3
49.1
54.0
42.8
51.5
52.3
49.3
46.9
51.1
52.0
47.7
49.2
51.4
54.0
51.7
47.7
48.6
51.7
48.0
49.0
47.7
50.5
47.1
50.6
45.1
50.8
49.8
51.6 $0,755 $37.70
53.3
.617 32.34
52.7
.574 29.55
51.6
.570 28.74
53.0
.380 16.66
52.5
.545 27.14
.343 16.48
51.6
56.3
.524 29.56
51.5
.486 23.62
52.9
.356 17.58
.632 31.01
51.6
52.3
.499 26.92
50.8
.344 14.75
50.6
.618 31.84
54.0
.389 20.31
51.1
.793 39.11
51.9
.691 32.39
53.2
.502 25.61
54.4
.349 18.15
53.6
.391 18.66
51.6
.684 33.64
52.6
.589 30.29
51.5
.657 35.49
.812 41.94
49.0
53.8
.769 36.72
.532 25.83
55.4
51.4
.526 27.22
52.4
.360 17.30
.302 14.79
50.7
50.0
.320 15.23
51.4
.469 23.70
51.5
.315 14.84
.444 22.49
52.9
49.8
.295 13.29
52.3
.573 29.11
53.0
.373 18.60
$38.96
32.89
30.25
29.41
20.14
28.61
17.70
29.50
25.03
18.83
32.61
26.10
17.48
31.27
Male____
Female. _
5.6
5.6
50.5
49.1
52.2
52.6
.579
.355
29.24
17.44
30.22
18.67
Male and
female.
5.6
50.0
52.3
.513
25.68
26.83
All employees.............................................
21.0 1
40.52
35.86
26.71
18.99
20.96
35.29
30.98
33.84
39.79
41.37
29.47
27.04
18.86
15.31
16.00
24.11
16.22
23.49
14.69
29.97
19.77
Anthracite Mining
See Hours and earnings in anthracite mining, 1924.
book (Bui. No. 439), pages 710-718.
Former hand
Batteries and Small Motors, Manufacture o f: Hours
and Earnings, 1927
THE latter part of 1927 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
United States Department of Labor made a study of the manu
INfacture
of certain electrical articles used in the home. Among this
class of articles which have come into general use in recent years are
dry-cell and storage batteries, and small motors.
764
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
The full report of the results of this stud} was shown in the Novem
ber, 1928, Labor Review. A description of the occupations was
given in that issue.
Dry-cell batteries are used in the home to operate doorbells, electro
therapy sets, flash lights, radios, etc. Storage batteries are used for
radios, automobiles, lighting farm buildings, etc. Small motors are
used extensively in the home on vacuum cleaners, washing machines,
sewing machines, electric fans, electric refrigerators, oil furnaces,
water systems, etc.
To obtain the data on which the results of this study were based,
agents of the bureau visited representative establishments located in
11 States,1and secured data from 25 plants (in 7 States) manufactur
ing dry-cell batteries, 25 plants (in 9 States) manufacturing storage
batteries, and 24 plants (in 10 States) manufacturing fractionalhorsepower motors.
The establishments from which data were collected had varying
lengths of pay-roll periods—1 week, 10 days, 2 weeks, and one-half
month. In order to present data for all establishments and employees
on the same basis, the days, hours, and eanings were compiled for
a 1-week period for the establishments that have a longer pay period
and thus the tables represent a sample normal week. All data were
obtained by agents of this bureau directly from the pay rolls and other
records of the establishments.
Dry-Cell Batteries
I n t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of dry-cell batteries data were obtained for
6,349 employees—3,701 males and 2,648 females. Seventeen of the
most important occupations were selected for separate presentation
in Table 1. The 17 occupations include 2,906 males and 2,463
females, a total of 5,369, or 84.6 per cent of all the employees covered
in the study. Approximately 38 per cent of the total number of em
ployees fell under three groups—assemblers (1,153), solderers (643),
and bobbin wrappers (642).
The average number of days on which employees worked in one
week ranged from 4.8 for female makers of inner and outer nests,
to 5.9 for male workers in the same occupation. The average for
all males was 5.5, for all females 5.3, and for all employees, both
male and female, 5.4.
The same occupation showed both the lowest and highest hours
actually worked per week, ranging from 39. 8 for women to 55. 6 for
men. The average for all males employed in the manufacture of
dry-cell batteries was 49.2, for all females 44.6, and for both sexes
combined 47.3. The average full-time hours per week ranged
from 46.2 for paper-tube operators (males) to 52.2 for can examiners
(males). The average for all males was 49.5, for all females 49.3,
and for all employees, both male and female, 49.4 hours.
The average earnings per hour ranged from 37.1 cents paid to
women employed as testers of cells and batteries, to 66.3 cents paid
to men employed as cell cookers. The average for all males was 54.1
cents, for all females 41.6 cents, and for all employees 49.2 cents.
The average actual earnings in one week ranged from $16.02 for
i Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, ana Wisconsin.
765
BATTERIES AND SMALL MOTORS
women testing cells and batteries to $31.23 for men cooking cells.
The average for all males was $26.66, for all females $18.56, and for
all employees $23.28. The average full-time earnings per week
ranged from $18.18 for women testing cells and batteries, to $31.49
for men cooking cells. The average for all males was $26.78, for all
females $20.51, and for all employees $24.30.
T
able
1.—WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MANUFACTURE OF DRY-CELL BAT
TERIES, 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX
Occupation
Sex
Assemblers________________________________ Male____
Female. _
Can examiners____________________________ Male____
Female. _
Can operators.................................................. Male.......
Female. _
Cappers, cells_____________________________ Male____
Female. _
Checkers and inspectors................................... Male.......
Female. _
Cookers, cells_____________________________ Male____
Female. _
Laborers, general__________________________ Male____
Makers, inner and outer nests................. ........ ...d o ____
Female __
Packers and wrappers....................................... Male____
Female __
Paper-tube operators______________________ Male____
Pourers (also called makers)-----------------------do------Preparers, mix------------------------------------------- — do........
Sealers, cells and batteries................................ — do____
Female. _
Male____
Solderers___________________________ ____
Female __
Stampers, bobbins__ _
_________
_
Male
Testers, cells and batteries................................ — do____
Female. _
Wrappers, bobbins____________ ___________ __ do_____
Other employees__________________________ Male____
Female. _
All employees.......................................... Male.......
Female. _
Male and
female.
Average
Average
hours—
number
of days
on which Ac
em
tually Full
ployees worked time,
per
worked
in 1
in 1 week week week
5.3
5.2
5.1
5.2
5.4
5.7
5.4
5.6
5.5
5.2
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.9
4.8
5.5
5.5
5.2
5.8
5.7
5.4
5.4
5.3
5.5
5.5
5.3
5.1
5.2
5.6
5.3
5.5
5.3
5.4
48.1
44.0
48.3
44.5
50.8
45.1
47.2
46.1
48.7
44.7
47.1
41.6
49.0
55.6
39.8
48.1
46.0
42.8
52.9
51.6
50.7
46.6
47.8
47.2
48.3
47.6
43.2
44.6
51.1
45.4
49.2
44.6
47.3
Average earnings—
Per
hour
Ac
tual
in 1
week
50.5 $0,487 $23.42
.412 18.11
49.7
52.2
.427 20.62
.418 18.62
48.6
50.8
.516 26.22
51.1
.397 17.90
48.7
.484 22.83
49.9
.395 18.18
49.0
.519 25.28
49.8
.375 16.76
.663 31.23
47.5
48.4
.444 18.48
.451 2 2 .12
49.9
.410 22.76
49.8
49.7
.418 16.64
.502 24.17
48.9
49.1
.377 17.34
46.2
.609 26.09
49.2
.516 27.31
49.5
.548 28.31
.542 27.47
50.2
.427 19.91
50.6
49.3
.588 28.07
50.5
.440 20.78
49.2
.582 28.09
49.8
.456 21. 72
49.0
.371 16.02
.446 19.90
49.8
49.1
.606 30.96
.363 16.46
49.9
.541 26.66
49.5
49.3
.416 18.56
.492 23.28
49.4
Full
time,
per
week
$24.59
20.48
22.29
20.31
26.22
20.29
23.57
19.71
25.43
18.68
31.49
21.49
22.50
20.42
20.77
24.55
18. 51
28.14
25.39
27.13
27.21
21.61
28.99
22.22
28.63
22.71
18.18
22 .2 1
29.75
18.11
26.78
20.51
24.30
Of the 25 dry-cell manufacturing plants covered in this study, 7
paid an extra rate for overtime work; in all cases at the rate of time
and a half. Of these, 5 paid overtime rates for work performed
after the completion of the normal or basic day, but in one case
only to time workers, in two cases only to the mechanical force
(one of these also paid overtime to other employees for work after
7.30 p. m.), and in another only to the mechanical force and foremen.
In one establishment overtime rates were paid after 9 hours’ work
Monday to Friday and 5 hours’ work on Saturday, while in one
plant extra rates were paid only for Simday and holiday work.
Storage Batteries
I n t h e m a n u f a c t u r e of storage batteries data were obtained for
4,512 employees—4,392 males and 120 females. Sixteen of the most
important occupations were selected for separate presentation in Table
2. These 16 occupations included 3,207 males and 63 females, a total
of 3,270, or 72.5 per cent of all the employees covered in the study.
766
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
It will be noted that in the manufacture of dry-cell batteries the sexes
were rather evenly divided, there being 58.3 per cent of males and 41.7
per cent of females, but in the manufacture of storage batteries the
female employees represented only 2.7 per cent of the total number of
employees.
In the selected occupations the largest number of employees fell
under assemblers, 630, the next largest group being grid casters, hav
ing 400, while pasters were close behind with 327.
The average number of days on which employees worked in one
week ranged from 4.8 for grid trimmers, to 5.6 for plate formers, both
being occupations in which only males are employed. The average
for all males was 5.3, for all females, 4.9, and for all employees, both
male and female, 5.3 days.
Average hours actually worked in one week ranged from 40.3 for
grid trimmers, to 51.6 for plate formers. The average for all males
was 45.3, for all females, 41.3, and for all employees, 45.1 hours.
Average full-time hours per week ranged from 46.6 for grid trimmers
to 49.7 for battery men. The average for all males was 48.6, for all
females, 49.2, ana for all employees, 48.6 hours.
Average earnings per hour ranged from 35.5 cents for inspectors
(females) to 82 cents for grid casters (males). The average for all
males was 69.8 cents, for all females, 39.2 cents, and for both sexes,
69.1 cents. Average actual earnings in one week ranged from $15.67
for inspectors (females), to $37.48 for pasters (males). The average
for all males was $31.61, for all females, $16.22, and for all employees,
$31.20. Average full-time earnings per week ranged from $16.93 for
inspectors (females) to $39.85 for grid casters (males). The average
for all males was $33.92, for all females, $19.29, and for all em
ployees, $33.58.
T
able
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STORAGE
BATTERIES, 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX
Occupation
Sex
Assemblers......................................................... Male___
Female. _
Battery men...... ............................................... Male____
Burners__________________. . . _______ ______
do........
Casters, small parts____ _______ _____ . . ____ __ do____
Casters, grid..... ................................................ __ do........
Fillers................................ ............ .................... __ do........
Inspectors__________ _____ ________________ . . . d o ___
Female. _
Laborers, general________________________
Male
Mixers_____________ ____ ______ ___________ __ do........
Packers........ .................... ................................. __ do____
Pasters................................. .............. ............... __ do____
Plate formers....... ................... ........................ „ d o ___
Separators..................... ......... ......................... ...d o ........
Testers............................................................... ...d o ........
Trimmers, grid................................................... ...d o ........
Trimmers, lugs................................................... ...d o ........
Other employees................................................ ...d o ........
Female. _
All employees...... .................................... Male___
Female. _
Male and
female..
Aver
Average
age
hours—
number
of days
on
which
Ac
em
tually Full
ployees worked time,
per
worked
in 1
ini
week week
week
Average earnings—
Full
Ac time,
Per
in per
hour tual
lweek week
5.2
5.0
5.5
5.5
5.4
5.4
5.0
5.2
5.1
5.4
5.4
5.3
5.2
5.6
5.2
5.3
4.8
5.1
5.3
4.6
5.3
4.9
44.1
44.4
49.6
46.1
46.2
45.2
43.9
43.6
44.2
47.2
46.5
45.2
45.9
51.6
43.0
45.3
40.3
44.1
44.8
38.1
45.3
41.3
48.6 $0,723 $31.93
49.3
.378 16.80
49.7
.594 29.49
49.6
.733 33.79
49.3
.680 31.40
48.6
.820 37.11
48.0
.630 27.65
48.0
.648 28.29
47.7
.355 15.67
49.4
.507 23.95
49.1
683 31.75
49.3
‘.633 28.64
48.6
.817 37.48
692 35.70
49.0
! 740 31.78
48.3
.721 32.69
46.9
46.6
.707 28.46
49.0
.604 26.65
48.4
.687 30.74
50.3
.429 16.35
48.6
698 31.61
49.2
.392 16.22
5.3
45.1
48.6
.691
31.20
$35.14
18.64
29.52
36.36
33.52
39.85
30.24
31.10
16.93
25.05
33.54
31.21
39.71
33.91
35.74
33.81
32.95
29.60
33.25
21.58
33.92
19.29
33.58
BATTERIES AND SMALL MOTORS
767
Of the 25 establishments covered in this study, 12 paid an extra
rate for overtime work. In 9 cases overtime was compensated at the
rate of time and a half—in 6, after normal daily hours (in 2 to time
workers only); in 1, after 10 hours; in 1 after 8 hours and for all
Sunday and holiday work; and in 1 the overtime paid was based on
the guaranteed rate. One plant paid time and one-fourth after
normal daily hours and time and one-half on Sunday; 1 paid time
and one-fourth after the regular 48 hours per week except to the
plating department; and 1 paid time and one-fourth after 5 p. m. and
time and one-half for Sunday and holiday work to time workers only.
Of the 25 establishments, only 1 reported a bonus system, and this
applied only to the employees in the casting department and color
room. This bonus was based on production. An additional percent
age was paid for excess production over a set standard per day vary
ing with the amount of excess.
Fractional-Horsepower Motors
T h is s t u d y primarily was intended to include only such estab
lishments as were engaged in the manufacture of fractional horse
power motors. In the 24 establishments from which data were
secured, at least 90 per cent of the motors manufactured were those
of 1 horsepower or less, although some few plants, on special orders,
manufactured motors up to 10 horsepower. Only 4 of the establish
ments maintained foundries, the others finding it more economical to
buy their castings. The machine shops included in the study were
engaged in the machining of parts which were later assembled in the
motor assembly department.
Data were obtained for 5,358 employees—3,872 males and 1,486
females. The data are presented under four headings—assembling
department, foundry, machine shop, and unclassified. In the unclas
sified division have been placed laborers and also “ other employees”
who may be peculiar to any one of the three general divisions named
or common to all of them. The occupations included under other
employees did not appear important enough to show separately with
the other divisions and have therefore been grouped under this head
ing. In the assembling department, 7 of the most important occu
pations were selected for separate presentation. These 7 occupations
included 1,353 males and 1,167 females, a total of 2,520 employees.
In the several occupations subassemblers have by far the largest
number of employees, totaling 991. In the foundry, 5 of the most
important occupations were selected for separate presentation.
These 5 occupations cover only 114 employees, all of whom are males.
In the machine shop 14 of the most important occupations are shown.
These include 1,485 males and 69 females, a total of 1,554.
The average number of days on which employees worked in one
week ranged from 4.8 for chippers and molders (males), to 5.9 for
punch-press hands and operators (females), the average for all males
being 5.5, for all females 5.2, and for all employees, both male and
female, 5.4 days.
The average hours actually worked in one week ranged from
41.4 for hydraulic press riveters (males) to 50.2 for pattern makers
(males). The average for all males was 45.8, for all females 42.7,
and for all employees, 45 hours. The average full-time hours per
week ranged from 46.3 for core makers (males) to 53 for cupola
768
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
tenders (males), the average for all males being 48.9, for all females
48, and for all employees, 48.6.
The average earnings per hour ranged from 36.2 cents for packers
(females) to 93.6 cents for pattern makers (males), the average for
all males being 64.2 cents, for all females, 42.9 cents, and for all
employees, 58.6 cents. The average actual earnings in one week
ranged from $15.58 for packers (females), to $46.99 for pattern
makers (males), the average for all males being $29.43, for all females
$18.34, and for all employees, $26.36. The average full-time earnings
per week ranged from $18.17 for packers (females), to $45.68 for
pattern makers (males), the average for all males being $31.39, for
all females $20.59, and for all employees, $28.48.
T
able
3.—WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FRACTIONALHORSEPOWER MOTORS, 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX
Occupation
Sex
Average
Aver
hours—
age
number
of days
on
which
Ac
em
tually Full
ployees worked time,
per
in 1
worked
in 1
week week
week
Average earnings
Full
Per Actual,
time,
in 1
hour week
per
week
Assembling
5.8
5.0
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.3
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.0
5.5
47.6
42.2
45.9
45.5
45.7
43.5
44.8
44.1
43.5
45.4
47.4
43.0
43.6
49.0 $0,568 $27.03
47.8
.426 18.01
.644 29.58
48.8
.374 17.01
49.1
49.0
.586 26.79
.428 18.63
47.9
.421 18.84
49.3
48.2
.430 18.95
.657 28.56
49.2
48.1
.456 20.69
48.5
.540 25.58
50.2
.362 15.58
49.2
.569 24.80
$27.83
20.36
31.43
18.36
28. 71
20.50
20. 76
20. 73
32.32
21.93
26.19
18.17
27.99
Male.......
...d o ____
..d o
...d o ____
...d o ___
4.8
5. C
5.0
4.8
5.7
45.0
46.3
47.1
41.7
50.2
47.2
46.3
53.0
47! 4
48.8
.547
.874
. 729
.885
.936
24.62
40.41
34.30
36! 89
46.99
25. 82
40.41
38.64
4l! 95
45.68
Boring-mill hands and operators..................... Male.......
Drill-press hands and operators....................... ...d o ____
Female...
Grinding-machine hands and operators.......... Male.......
Lathe hands and operators. ............................. ---do........
Machine hands and operators, general............ !!__do____
Machine setters. ............................................... ...d o ___
Machinists.... ................................................... ...d o __
Milling-machine hands and operators—. ......... ...d o ........
Polishers and buffers......................................... ...d o ____
Punch-press hands and operators..................... ...d o ____
FemaleRiveters (hydraulic press)................................ Male.......
Screw-machine hands and operators................ ...d o ........
Toolmakers........................................................ ...d o ........
Welders........................ ................................... ...d o ____
5.6
5.3
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.5
5.6
5.2
5.0
5.2
5.9
5.0
5.5
5.6
5.3
49.0
50.0
45.0
48.8
43.6
47.2
45.1
48.4
48.7
45.6
47.5
49.5
46.7
48.6
47.9
49. 2
44.3
48.8
43.4
50. 2
44.7
49.2
47.7
48.2
41.4
48.3
47.5 ! 49.0
48.1 i 49.4
43.8 ! 47.8
.730
.596
.431
.703
.709
.564
.703
.684
.658
.749
.621
.374
.739
.678
.807
. 595
35. 79
26.85
18. 78
31.67
32.37
26.82
32. 84
32. 77
29.11
32. 53
27. 72
17.84
30. 57
32.22
38.81
26.04
36. 50
29.08
20.34
34 03
34.53
27.92
34.17
33 65
32! 11
37.60
30. 55
18.03
35. 69
33. 22
39.87
28.44
5.5
5.6
4.5
46.9
46.7
37.8
48. 7
48. 7
48,0
.493
.632
.448
23.14
29.54
16! 94
24.01
5.5
5.2
45.8
42.7
48.9
48.0
.642
, 429
29.43
18.34
31.39
. 20.59
5.4 | 45.0
48.6
.586
26.36
28.48
Armature winders, hand and machine............ Male.......
Female. .
Assemblers, final__________________________ Male.......
Female...
Assemblers, sub................................................. Male.......
Female...
Coil winders....................................................... Male___
Female...
Inspectors and testers........................................ Male___
Female...
Packers............. ................................................. Male
Female...
Repairers.......................................................... Male.......
Foundry
Chippers.........................................................
Core makers.....................................................
Cupola tenders.......
Molders..................................................... ......
Pattern makers.............................................
Machine shop
Unclassified
Laborers, general............................................... Male.. ..
Other employees. ............................................. __do___
FemaleAll employees..........................................
Male.......
FemaleMale and
female.
3o! 78
2l! 50
BITUMINOUS COAL MINING
769
Of the 24 establishments covered in this study, 8 had some form of
extra pay for overtime. Three establishments paid time and onehalf after normal daily hours and double time for Sunday and holiday
work; 1 paid time and one-half after normal daily hours; 1 plant in
which normal hours were 8% Monday to Fridaj^ and 434 on Saturday
paid time and one-half after 9 hours per day; 1 in which normal
hours were 9 per day Monday to Friday and 43^ on Saturday for
males and
and 4 for females paid time and one-half after 9J^
hours Monday to Friday and 4 ^ hours Saturday for males and for
any overtime for females; 1 paid time and one-half for work over 50
hours per week; and 1 paid time and one-half for Sunday and holi
day work only.
Five establishments reported bonus systems. One of these was
based on attendance and four on production. The establishment
reporting attendance bonus added 5 per cent to the earnings if time
lost amounted to less than 30 minutes per week. All of the produc
tion bonuses were based on arbitrary standards set by a time study
of the various occupations. The efficiency standard or minimum
acceptable production and also the scale or rate varies in each estab
lishment. The scale or rate is usually graduated, beginning at the
minimum standard of efficiency and gradually increasing as the
production increases.
Bituminous CoalJMining: Hours and Earnings,
1924-19262
HE BUREAU made a study of hours and earnings of employees in
bituminous coal mines in the winter of 1926-27. like studies
were made in 1922 and in the winter of 1924-25.
The data were taken directly from the pay rolls and other records of
556 representative mines of coal companies in Alabama, Colorado,
Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,
Virginia, and West Virginia.
Employees in all occupations inside and outside the mines, except
loaders and miners, are usually paid time rates—that is, rates per
hour, day, or week. Loaders and miners are usually paid tonnage
rates instead of a time rate. In order to arrive at average hourly
earnings for tonnage workers it was necessary to make arrangements
with officials of the mines to have a special day-by-day record kept
of the hours of all tonnage men for a half-month pay period.
As a result of the coal strike in England in 1926 there was an
unusual demand for coal from bituminous coal mining companies in
the United States. This demand resulted in temporary increases in
wage rates between October 15 and December 31, 1926, at 289 of the
556 mines for which data are presented in this report. The increases
in nearly all cases continued in effect for only a short time, when the
rates were reduced to those in effect prior to the increase. The in
creases by mines and States range from 5 to 40 per cent at 58 mines
in Kentucky, 15 to 25 percent at 3 in Ohio, 20 to 50 per cent at 86
in Pennsylvania, 20 or 25 per cent at 12 in Tennessee, 10, 20, 25, or
30 per cent at 21 in Virginia, and from 10 to 50 per cent at 109 mines
in West Virginia.
T
* For detailed data see Bulletin No. 454.
770
WAGES AND HOURS OB' LABOR
Wage rates were not increased during this period at 36 mines in
Alabama, 17 in Colorado, 39 in Illinois, 17 in Indiana, 11 in Kansas,
28 in Kentucky, 42 in Ohio, 65 in Pennsylvania, 2 in Tennessee, 1 in
Virginia, and 9 in West Virginia.
The earnings in this report are based on the rates in effect prior to
the temporary increases between October 15 and December 31.
Earnings from mines for a period later than the date of the increases
were adjusted so as to show equivalent earnings prior to the increases.
This action was taken so as to put all mines on a comparable basis
and to show earnings for the rates that were in effect the greater
part of 1926.
The three basic occupations in bituminous-coal mining are those of
hand or pick miners, machine miners, and hand loaders. They
represent approximately 63 per cent of all wage earners in bituminouscoal mining and are usually paid a rate per ton of 2,000 pounds,
run of mine—that is, of coal as mined, including “ slack.”
Machine miners undercut the coal by machine. Hand loaders
shovel the coal into mine cars from the floor of the mine after it has
been undercut and blasted from the seam by loaders or shot firers.
Hand or pick miners undercut the coal with a pick, blast it from the
seam, and shovel it from the floor of the mine into mine cars. Con
tract loaders, machine loaders, gang miners, and machine miners’
helpers are of much less importance in numbers than other loaders
and miners.
The 1926 data are for 132,949 underground or “ inside” wage
earners and for 15,206 surface or “ outside” employees—a total of
148,155, or 25 per cent of the 588,493 mine workers reported in
bituminous coal mining in 1925 by the United States Bureau of
Mines.
Table 1 shows for each State and for all States combined, for 1924
and for 1926, the average number of days in which employees worked
in a half-month pay period and the average hours and earnings for the
miners and the loaders—that is, for employees who actually do the
digging and the loading of coal into mine cars. Average hours and
earnings for each of seven specified occupations are presented based on
(1) time at the face, including time for lunch, and (2) total time in
the mine, including time for lunch and time of travel in mine from its
opening to the face and return. The term “ face” means the perpen
dicular surface of the seam of coal on which the men are working or,
broadly, their place of work in the mine. The time for lunch, as re
ported, was usually about 30 minutes; and the time of travel in the
different mines ranged from 10 minutes per day for the mine with the
shortest time of travel to 2 hours for the one with the longest time of
travel. The average was about 48 minutes per day or 24 minutes
each way.
In Table 1 are presented 1926 data for 66,414 hand loaders, 20,594
pick or hand miners, 6,055 machine miners (cutters), 882 machine
miners’ helpers, 694 contract loaders, 306 machine loaders, and 1,065
gang miners. No 1924 data are shown for machine miners’ (cutters)
helpers as data for these employees and for machine miners (cutters)
were combined in that year.
Average hours worked in the half month and per start in these
occupations were greater in 1926 than in 1924. Average earnings in
the half month were greater in 5 occupations and less in 1 occupa
BITOMINOtrS COAL MINING
771
tion in 1926 than in 1924. Average hours per day or per start based
on time in mine were more in 5 occupations and less in 1 occupation
in 1926 than in 1924, and average earnings per start were greater in
3 occupations and less in 3 occupations in 1926 than in 1924.
In the half-month pay period in 1926, hand loaders worked an
average of 9.4 starts or days. The averages in the different States
range from 8.3 in Tennessee to 10.3 in Indiana. Based on time at the
face, including time for lunch, loaders worked an average of 73.7
hours in 1926. The averages in different States range from 63.5 in
Tennessee to 81.2 in Colorado. They earned an average of 77.9
cents per hour based on time at the face, including time for lunch,
and the averages by States range from 43.6 cents in Tennessee to
$1,116 in Indiana. They earned an average of $6.12 per start or
day, the average by States ranging from $3.35 in Tennessee to $8.80
in Illinois. The figures for other occupations may be read in like
manner.
T a b l e 1 . —AVERAGE NUMBER OF STARTS (DAYS OR PARTS OF DAYS) AND AVERAGE
HOURS AND EARNINGS OF LOADERS AND MINERS, 1924 AND 1926, BY SPECIFIED
OCCUPATION
Occupation and State
Average hours—
Average eamingsAver
age
In half
Per start,
Per hour,
num month, based
based on—
based on—
ber of
on—
In
starts
Year (days)
half
Time
Time
month Per
in half Time
pay start
month at face, Time at face, Time at face, Time
period
in includ in includ
in
pay includ
ing
ing
mine
ing
mine
mine
period
lunch
lunch
lunch
Loaders, contract
Alabama............................. 1924
1926
8 .3
9 .4
70.3
83.5
73.8
91.8
Colorado............................. 1926
Kentucky. ......................... 1924
0
)
10.2
0
)
85.4
0
)
90.5
1926
1928
1924
1926
1924
1926
10.8
88.5
94.3
10.5
11.8
9.9
90.3
86.2
100.4
75.0
93.8
92.9
106.5
82.1
1924
1926
9.5
10.1
79.9
85.3
84.3
92.4
Alabama............................. 1924
7 .6
8 .5
8 .0
10.0
7.6
9 .4
6 .0
10.3
8.1
9 .0
70.4
81.4
66.8
88.3
9 .4
64.8
74.2
62.3
81.2
60.8
77.0
45.3
72.8
63.2
69.7
59.1
71.6
72.3
78.7
56.5
63.5
61.6
70.9
56.4
67.1
85.1
47.4
78.1
67.8
74.2
64.3
77.8
78.7
85.9
60.1
68.2
65.4
76.1
61.4
73.3
8.1
9 .4
63.3
73.7
68.6
80.3
Tennessee...........................
Virginia..............................
West Virginia.............
Total........................
(0
10.5
0)
8 .4
8 .8
8 .8
9.7
0)
$0,954
.717
$0,909
.652
$67.06
59.89
0)
0)
(*)
0
)
7.36
(»)
0)
$8.03
6.35
.828
.828
74.94
78.11
8 .9
9 .0
8.3
1.129
.988
1.127
1.210
1.087
.917
1.063
1.106
101.88
85.17
113.14
90.83
9.70
8.11
9.61
9.20
8 .4
8 .4
8 .9
9.1
.929
.849
.881
.784
74.26
72.43
7.82
7.16
8.5
9.3
9 .6
7.9
7.5
7.8
6 .8
7.1
8.1
8.3
8 .0
8.4
7 .4
7.8
.492
.478
.858
.789
1.092
1.078
1.083
1.116
.693
.167
.860
.817
.743
.711
.508
.436
.604
.597
.831
.776
.454
.436
.799
.726
1.003
.976
1.034
1.040
.646
.579
.791
.752
.682
.651
.478
.406
.569
.556
.764
.710
31.93
35.47
53.41
64.07
66.40
83.07
49.05
81.25
43.78
42.98
50.87
58.48
53.68
55.94
28.73
27.68
37.24
42.33
46.91
52.05
4.20
4.16
6.65
6.39
8.76
8.80
8.17
7.90
5.40
4.78
6.63
6.35
6.05
5.75
3.85
3.35
4.53
4.68
5.69
5.51
7 .8
7.8
8 .5
8.6
.811
.779
.748
.715
51.29
57.48
6 .12
(h
8 .2
0)
8 .6
8 .2
8 .5
7.6
8 .9
8 .8
08).9
.878
.883
0;
0)
7.25
Loaders, hand
1926
Colorado............................. 1924
1926
Illinois................................ 1924
1926
Indiana............................... 1924
1926
Kentucky........................... 1924
1926
Ohio........................ ........... 1924
1926
Pennsylvania..................... 1924
1926
Tennessee........................... 1924
1926
Virginia.............................. 1924
1926
West Virginia.................... 1924
1926
Total......................... 1924
1926
7.7
9.2
8 .9
9 .7
7.5
8.3
8 .2
9.0
8 .2
66.2
8 .7
7.8
8.1
8 .0
8 .2
7.5
7.1
7.8
7.8
7.7
7.8
8.1
8.1
7.6
7.7
8.8
8 .7
9 .0
7.9
7.6
8 .4
8.3
8.4
8.4
8 .9
8.8
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
39142 °'— 29------ 50
6.32
772
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 1.—AVERAGE NUMBER OF STARTS (DAYS OR PARTS OF DAYS) AND AVERAGE
HOURS AND EARNINGS OF LOADERS AND MINERS, 1924 AND 1926, BY SPECIFIED
OCCUPATION—Continued
Average hours—
Average earnings—
Aver
age
In half
num
Per hour,
Per start,
based
ber of month,
based on—
based on—
on—
starts
Year (days)
in half
Time
Time
month Time
pay at face, Time at face, Time at face, Time
in
includ in includ
in
period includ
minft
ing
ing
mine
ing
lunch
lunch
lunch
Occupation and State
In
half
Per
month start
pay
period
Loaders, machine
1924
1926
1926
1926
1924
1926
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
Alabama......................
Illinois.........................
Indiana........................
Kentucky....................
Ohio.............................
Pennsylvania..............
Virginia...........
West Virginia..
1924
1926
Total.
0)
9.9
0)
8.8
1 1.6
0)
0)
84.9
0)
88.6
98.1
0)
10.5
0)
88.5
0)
8
8
8.2
10.8
10 .2
9.4
9.9
0)
92.6
(»)
93.9
102.4
(0
97.7
(0
0)
0)
82.9
99.1
89.8
87.9
106.7
95.8
84.3
87.3
90.4
93.7
0)
0)
8.6
0)
10 .1
10.7
0)
0)
8.5
8.5
0)
9.4
0)
8.8
9.3
0)
0)
(9
(9
0)
$0,957
$88.57
.686
.647
1.130
60.81
115.75
.638
62.32
1.179
0)
.704
0)
(9
(9
(9
(9
(9
0)
0)
10 .1
10.7
9.9
9.3
8
.551
.681
.717
8
9.2
8.7
.519
.633
.671
45.68
67.48
64.32
9.0
9.6
9.5
.690
.788
.644
.735
58.20
68.80
8
8.8
0)
(9
(9
$1,043
(9
$8.96
0)
6.92
9.98
0)
5.96
0)
8
5.57
6.23
6.26
6.20
6.96
Miners, gang
1926
1924
1924
1926
1924
1926
1926
1924
1926
1924
1924
Alabama...................
Colorado...................
Illinois......................
Indiana.....................
Kentucky................
Ohio..........................
Pennsylvania______
West Virginia..........
Total.............
0)
7.7
9.6
7.0
9.4
9.1
(*>
1 1 .2
9.2
10 .1
0)
(*>
63.4
79.6
53.7
71.2
75.0
0)
0)
76.2
70.9
68.4
87.1
55.8
75.8
82.9
0)
97.9
83.5
76.6
0)
88.8
1924
1926
8 .1
65.6
78.7
86.0
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
8.3
9.7
7.9
69.5
81.8
57.4
77.4
62.9
77.4
49.9
65.4
64.0
67.4
70.9
85.0
38.9
73.5
70.7
81.2
62.1
69.6
75.7
90.8
62.9
86.4
67.6
84.1
53.5
70.7
69.6
71.7
77.8
91.5
44.6
79.6
76.9
89.6
67.0
75.6
8.5
9.8
61.6
69.5
67.4
75.7
8.5
9.8
65.6
77.0
71.2
84.3
9.5
71.1
0)
0)
8.3
8.3
7.7
7.6
8.3
0)
7.9
8.3
7.0
0)
0)
9.0
9.1
8.0
8 .1
9.1
0)
8.8
9.1
7.6
0)
0)
8
1.361
1.411
1.318
1.335
.685
0)
1.084
.865
1.031
1.254
1.289
1.269
1.254
.619
(9
8
1.000
86.23
112.28
70.82
95.11
51.34
0)
96.22
65.90
79.00
11.25
11.73
10.15
10.14
5.66
0)
8.61
7.16
7.81
(9
.982
.789
8 .1
8 .2
8.8
1.187
1.377
1.094
1.260
77.79
108.33
9.66
11.36
8.4
8.4
7.3
7.6
7.8
7.9
7.0
7.3
6.5
7.2
8.3
8.5
7.1
7.4
9.2
.577
9.3
.540
810
.929
8.4 J .787
8.4
.912
8.6
.923
7.5
1.087
7.9
1.047
7.1
.901
7.7
.809
9.1
.776
9.1
.647
8 .2
1.041
8.0
.879
8.8
.777
9.0
.768
8.3
.541
8.7
.436
.529
.486
.847
.705
.849
.850
1.014
.969
.829
.761
.707
.601
.910
.813
.714
.696
.502
.402
40.07
44.12
53.31
60.95
57.38
71.47
54.28
68.50
57.70
54.53
55.00
54.99
40.54
64.67
54.91
62.39
33.60
30.37
4.84
4.53
6.76
5.95
7.12
7.32
7.60
7.68
5.90
5.83
6.45
5.47
7.42
6.54
6.31
6.27
4.18
3.49
9.0
Miners, hand or pick
Alabama.........................
Colorado.................... .
Illinois.............................
Indiana........................... .
.
Kentucky.......
.
Ohio..............
.
Pennsylvania.
Virginia..........
West VirginiaTotal___
1924
1926
10 .2
8 .1
9.8
7.1
8.9
9.8
9.4
8.5
10 .2
5.5
9.9
8.7
9.9
8.0
8.7
8
(0
0)
8
8 .1
8 .2
7.7
8.0
0)
0)
7.2
7.1
7.7
7.9
8
7.9
7.7
8.4
8.6
0)
0)
(9
(9
.760
.730
51.18
55.21
.809
.783
.745
.715
53.06
60.31
.831
.794
* Figures omitted'to[avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
8
8
5.99
5.65
6.27
6.18
773
BITUMINOUS COAL MINING
T a b l e 1 . —AVERAGE NUMBER OF STARTS (DAYS OR PARTS OF DAYS) AND AVERAGE
HOURS AND EARNINGS OF LOADERS AND MINERS, 1924 AND 1926, BY SPECIFIED
OCCUPATION—Continued
Average hours—
Occupation and State
Alabama-....... .
Colorado..........
Illinois............ .
Indiana............
Kentucky____
Ohio.............. .
Pennsylvania..
Tennnessee___
Virginia.......... .
West VirginiaTotal.
Average earnings—
Aver
age
In half
num
Per start,
Per hour,
based
ber of month,
based on—
based on—
on—
starts
Year (days)
in half
Time
Time
month Time
pay at face, Time at face, Time at face, Time
in
includ
includ
in
in
includ
penod
ing
ing
ing
mine
mine
mine
lunch
lunch
lunch
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
8.4
10 .2
8.8
10.5
7.8
9.7
6.5
9.6
75.8
91.8
72.3
88.8
9.8
9.9
10.9
9.0
10.7
60.0
74.5
49.4
74.8
78.5
84.6
71.1
83.6
81.4
94.2
68.5
85.3
92.2
99.4
73.3
89.5
8.8
72.9
8.8
9.7
8.8
10.5
9.7
10.9
8.2
10.3
86.0
8 .1
72.0
89.2
74.7
94.8
60.8
83.6
81.6
100.5
77.5
95.4
65.5
82.4
51.7
79.7
83.3
89.3
77.1
90.7
88.3
102.5
73.1
91.8
96.7
105.3
78.7
96.9
78.6
93.3
9.0
9.0
9.7
9.8
8.2
8.8
8.4
7.7
7.7
7.7
7.8
8.9
8.7
8 .1
7.9
8.4
8.3
9.4
9.2
8.7
$0,836
.911
1.336
1.071
1.500
1.501
1.684
1.614
.927
.956
1.274
8.6
1.20 2
9.1
8.4
8.5
8.0
$0,775
.832
1.246
.997
1.376
1.358
1.609
1.514
.874
.905
1.175
1.108
1.053
1.041
.514
.482
.626
.775
1.055
1.108
In
half
month Per
pay start
period
$63.29
83.61
96.56
95.12
90.10
111. 89
83.15
$7.56
8.17
1 1 .0 1
9.03
11.57
11.57
12.88
72.79
80.83
90.62
100.49
92.95
106.70
37.56
44.20
60.53
81.60
83.09
107.39
12.53
8.25
8.34
10.27
9.55
9.61
9.75
4.58
4.49
6.14
7.49
9.20
10.05
120.68
1.142
1.133
.549
.518
.657
.821
1.134
8.4
9.1
9.4
8.9
9.3
9.8
9.7
8.7
9.1
8.3
8.3
8.9
9.0
1.163
1.195
1.079
84.79
1 .1 0 1
102.68
9.65
9.93
8.8
9.7
9.3
9.4
9.6 '
9.8
.597
.939
.718
.839
.371
.489
.620
.541
.843
.679
.778
.351
.465
.586
42.96
83.70
53.64
79.54
22.55
40.87
53.30
5.28
7.85
6.41
7.47
3.50
4.77
5.73
9.6
.681
.637
53.77
6.14
8.6
8.3
8.7
9.4
9.1
8 .1
1.200
Miners, machine (cutters),
helpers
Alabama..........................
Colorado...........................
Kentucky............ ............
Pennsylvania...................
10.6
Virginia...........
West Virginia-
1926
1926
1926
1926
1926
1926
1926
9.3
Total___
1926
8.8
10.7
8.4
6.4
8.6
79.4
99.3
79.0
10 2.2
86.0
64.2
87.8
90.9
8.4
8.9
8.9
9.4
9.8
9.3
79.0
84.5
9.0
10.0
10 .2
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
Table 2 presents for 1924 and 1926 the average number of starts
(days) and average hours and earnings for inside and outside occu
pations in which the employees are usually time workers—that is,
paid at rates per hour, day or week. The averages are based on
hours actually worked.
The table shows that engineers and pumpmen worked more starts
(days) and hours in the half month than did the employees in any
of the other occupations. A large percentage of the employees in
these occupations work overtime and on Sundays and holidays. The
average earnings per hour in 1926 for inside occupations, exclusive
of trappers (boys), range from 62 cents for laborers to 81.1 cents for
cagers, and for outside occupations range from 54.6 cents for laborers
to 76.2 cents for engineers.
774
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 2 .—AVERAGE NUMBER OF STARTS (DAYS OR PARTS OP DAYS) AND AVERAGE
HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1924 AND 1926, BY OCCUPATION
[The data in this table are for employees of all inside and outside occupations, except loaders and miners]
Occupation
Year
Average
number
of starts
(days)
made
in half
month
pay
period
Average hours
worked—
In half
month
pay
period
Per start
(day)
Average earnings—
In half
month
pay
period
Per start Per hour
(day)
Inside work
Brakemen.......................................
Bratticemen and timbermen.........
Cagers.............................................
Drivers...........................................
Laborers.........................................
Motormen......................................
Pumpmen......................... ............
Trackmen......................... ............
Trappers (boys).............................
Other employees............................
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1934
1926
1924
1926
8.9
9.9
9.8
10.8
9.6
1 1 .1
8.8
10 .2
8.9
9.4
9.7
10.8
11.7
12.7
9.7
10.8
8.3
9.9
10.5
11.3
75.0
83.8
81.1
89.2
83.2
99.5
72.3
84.4
74.2
78.7
83.6
94.7
103.4
118.3
81.2
91.0
66.7
79.7
89.7
98.0
8.4
8.5
8.3
8.3
8.7
9.0
8 .2
8.3
8.3
8.4
8.6
8.7
8.8
9.3
8.3
8.4
8.0
8.0
8.5
8.7
$53.25
57.61
63.04
66.20
71.53
80.73
54.08
59.80
48.74
48.82
62.89
67.97
70.38
74.04
59.83
64.15
27.24
30.17
73.32
75.96
$5.96
5.82
6.44
6.16
7.46
7.29
5.84
6.14
5.92
3.27
3.04
6.97
6.71
$0,710
.687
.778
.742
.860
.811
.748
.708
.657
.620
.752
.718
.681
.626
.737
.705
.408
.379
.817
.775
6.72
6.56
5.93
5.64
7.09
6.83
4.93
4.74
5.64
5.41
.780
.743
.691
.654
.801
.762
.575
.546
.633
.604
6 .12
5.88
5.47
5.18
6.46
6.27
6.02
Outside work
Blacksmiths...................................
Carpenters and car-repair men___
Engineers.......................................
Laborers.........................................
Other employees..........................
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
1924
1926
10.7
11.9
10.4
11.4
12.9
13.3
9.5
10.7
1 1 .1
1 2 .1
92.0
104.8
89.6
98.3
114.4
119.6
81.2
92.6
99.1
108.1
8.6
8.8
8.6
8.6
8.9
9.0
8.6
8.7
8.9
8.9
71.75
77.94
61.96
62.28
91.56
91.17
46.73
50.53
62.73
65.31
Table 3 shows for 1926 the number of the 66,414 hand loaders,
20,594 hand or pick miners, and 6,055 machine miners in each classified
earnings group based on (1) the actual hours at the face or seam of
coal, including time for lunch, and (2) the actual hours in the mine
including time of travel from the opening of the mine to the face and
return, the working hours, and the time for lunch. It will be seen
that the difference per day between hours at the face (7.8) and the
hours in the mine (8.6), as shown in Table 1 for hand loaders, is eighttenths of an hour or 48 minutes, representing the average time of
travel inside the mine from the entrance to the place of work and
return.
Average earnings per hour computed on the basis of hours at the
face (induding time for lunch) are greater than when computed on
the basis of hours in the mine (including time of travel and time for
lunch) because the latter includes 48 minutes per day of nonproductive
time spent in travel.
775
BITUMINOUS COAL MINING
T a b l e 3.—NUMBER OP HAND LOADERS, HAND OR PICK MINERS, AND MACHINE
MINERS EARNING EACH CLASSIFIED AMOUNT PER HOtjR, 1926
Number of hand or
pick miners based
on—
Number of hand
loaders based on—
Classified earnings per hour
Number of machine
miners based on—
Time
Time
Time
Time
Time
Time
in mine,
in mine,
in mine,
at face
at face,
at face,
including
including
including
including lunch and including
lunch and including lunch and
lunch time travel
time lunch time travel time lunch time travel time
Under $0.30...............................
$0.30 and under $0.40________
$0.40 and under $0.50.... ...........
$0.50 and under $0.60.............. .
$0.60 and under $0.70...............
$0.70 and under $0.80............
$0.80 and under $.90.................
$0.90 and under $1....................
$1 and under $1 . 10 . ...................
$1.10 and under $1.20 ................
$1.20 and under $1.30................
$1.30 and under $1.40________
$1.40 and under $1.50...............
$1.50 and under $1.60................
$1.60 and under $1.70................
$1.70 and under $1.80...............
$1.80 and under $1.90................
$1.90 and under $2....................
$2 and under $2.50....................
$2.50 and under $3....................
$3 and over_________________
1,704
4,021
7,088
8,461
8,867
8,146
7,302
6,103
5,006
3,801
2,555
1,548
856
438
224
107
61
43
63
15
5
2,452
5,535
8,345
9,678
9,539
8,343
6,952
5,361
4,177
2,726
1,642
864
420
159
83
50
27
18
37
6
46
26
16
19
4
Total............................. -
66,414
66,414
20,594
482
939
1,858
2,552
2,965
2,790
2,595
2,129
1,477
1,034
688
477
261
150
86
676
1,317
2,463
3,100
3,089
2,960
2,428
1,695
1,151
742
457
227
144
65
44
13
12
1
5
31
78
309
308
435
471
485
565
587
574
423
351
307
285
197
164
138
297
33
12
6
20,594
6,055
6,055
6
4
8
43
160
366
430
454
528
656
557
652
469
384
318
277
215
161
129
96
128
18
Averages for Miners and Loaders, by States
A
verage starts, or calendar days, in the half month, average hours
in half month and per start, average earnings per hour, per start, and
in the half month, average days of operation in 1926, and estimated
possible average annual earnings are presented in Table 4 for miners
and loaders of each of the 11 States included in the 1926 study and for
all of the 11 States combined.
Miners and loaders, as here used, include 66,414 hand loaders,
20,594 hand or pick miners, 6,055 machine miners, 1,065 gang
miners, 882 machine miners’ (cutters’) helpers, 694 contract loaders,
and 306 machine loaders, or a total of 96,010.
The days of operation in the calendar year 1926 for all mines in
each State are the days as reported by the United States Bureau of
Mines for that year, weighted by the total number of employees in
all occupations of each mine. The 11 States combined average 214
days in the calendar year. The averages for the States range from 158
days for Kansas to 266 days for Alabama. The method of computing
the aggregate average (214 days) is explained in footnote 3 to Table 4.
The average for all bituminous mines in the United States as reported
by the Bureau of Mines for the calendar year 1926 is 215 days.
The estimated possible average annual earnings of miners and
loaders based on average earnings per start and average days of
operation in 1926, for the 96,010 miners and loaders of the 556 mines
in the 11 States included in this report are $1,382, and the averages
by States range from $817 for Tennessee to $1,531 for Illinois.
776
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 4 . — AVERAGE STARTS, AVERAGE HOURS IN HALF MONTH AND PER START,
AVERAGE EARNINGS, PER HOUR, PER START, AND PER HALF MONTH PAY
PERIOD, DAYS OF OPERATION OF ALL MINES, AND ESTIMATED POSSIBLE
ANNUAL EARNINGS, 1926, BY STATES
Average hours—
State
Alabama...................
Colorado...................
Illinois.......................
Indiana..... ................
Kansas......................
Kentucky..................
Ohio...........................
Pennsylvania............
Tennessee..................
Virginia.....................
West Virginia...........
Total...............
Average earnings—
Esti
mated
pos
Aver sible
In half
Per hour,
age
Per start,
aver
month,
days
based on—
based on—
Aver based on—
age
of op yearly
age
eration
starts
In
earn
in
inhalf
half
ings of
month
month Per year, min
all ers and
cov Time
Time
Time
pay start
mines load
ered at face, Time at face, Time at face, Time peri
in
in
includ
od
includ in includ in
all
State1 ers,
ing
ing mine
ing mine
mine
mines
lunch
lunch
lunch
in
State2
77.2
79.8
77.1
70.2
67.4
71.8
72.9
80.4
67.2
73.6
69.1
85.1
87.8
84.8
75.4
71.7
76.5
79.1
8.6
9.5
9.7
9.4
9.1
9.4
9.9
8.5
9.2
9.6
88.1
8 .2
9.5
75.4
82.2
9.0
10 .2
72.5
78.9
75.3
7.9
9.5
8.6
$0,530
.804
7.9
8.9
7.8
7.7
8.4
8.5
8.9
8.5
8.0
8.6
7.9
1.134
.809
.656
.861
.759
.441
.629
.811
7.9
8.6
.817
8 .1
7.2
7.2
7.9
7.8
7.2
1.10 0
$0,481 $40.92
.730 64.12
.999 84.76
1.055 79.61
.761 54.53
.616 47.09
.793 62.77
.693 61.03
.409 29.63
.587 46.30
.743 56.00
.749
61.61
$4.57
6.31
8.90
5.83
5.18
6.71
6.18
3.49
5.04
5.85
172
173
158
230
159
224
234
263
247
$1,216
1,275
1,531
1,419
921
1,191
1,067
1,384
817
1,326
1,445
6.46
3 214
1,382
8.20
266
202
1 The figures for each State are as reported by the United States Bureau of Mines.
2 Computed by multiplying the average earnings per start by the average days of operation.
3 This average is for the States included in this table, with the average days of operation in each State
weighted by the number of miners and loaders shown in the table.
Boot and Shoe Industry: Wages and Hours, 1928 3
N THE summer of 1928 the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a
study of wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry
covering 28,312 male and 20,346 female wage earners in 157 estabishments in 14 States.
The 1928 survey, like those of former years, covered representative
establishments in each State, and was limited to establishments
whose principal products were men’s, women’s, or children’s shoes
made by the welt, McKay, or turn process. Data were not included
from establishments whose main or entire product was nailed or
pegged shoes, or specialties such as slippers, leggings, felt or rubber
footwear, etc. Wherever possible the data were obtained from the
same establishments in 1928 as in 1926.
The 1928 industry averages of full-time hours per week, earnings
per hour, and full-time earnings per week are presented at the end of
Table 2 and show that wages changed very little between 1926 and
1928. Average earnings per hour, all occupations combined, increased
from 52.8 cents per hour in 1926 to 53 cents in 1928. Average full
time hours increased from 49 to 49.1. Average full-time earnings
per week increased from $25.87 in 1926 to $26.02 in 1928.
Table 1 shows by index numbers the changes in average full-time
hours per week, in average earnings per hour, and in average full-time
earnings per week for each of the years in which the bureau made
studies of the industry from 1910 to 1928, inclusive. The averages
for 1913 are used as the base or 100.
I
8 For full report see forthcoming bulletin.
777
BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY
Average full-time hours per week decreased gradually from an index
of 102.7 in 1910 to 88.2 in 1920, then increased to 88.9 in 1924 and
1926, and to 89.2 in 1928. The decrease between 1913 and 1920 was
11.8 per cent. The increase between 1920 and 1928 was 1.1 per cent.
Average earnings per hour increased from an index of 92 in 1910
to 232 in 1920; decreased to 207.9 in 1922; increased to 214.1 in 1924,
to 219.1 in 1926, and to 220.3 in 1928. The increase between 1913
and 1920 was 132 per cent, and the decrease between 1920 and 1928
was 5 per cent.
Average full-time earnings per week increased from an index of
94.1 in 1910 to 95.8 in 1911; decreased to 93.2 in 1912; increased to
203.7 in 1920; decreased to 184.7 in 1922; and increased to 196.6 in
1928. The increase between 1913 and 1920 was 103.7 per cent, and
the net decrease between 1920 and 1928 was 3.5 per cent. The
difference in the trend as between average full-time earnings per week
and average earnings per hour was due to the changes from year to
year in average full-time hours per week.
T a b l e 1.—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, AND INDEX NUMBERS THEREOF, IN
THE BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY, ALL OCCUPATIONS COMBINED, 1910 TO 1928
Year
Average
Average
full
full*
Average
time
earnings
time
per
hours
earnings
per
per
hour
week
week
Index numbers (1913=100)
of—
Full
time
hours
per
week
Earn
ings per
hour
Full
time
earnings
per
week
Selected occupations only:
1910.....................................................................
1911....................................................................
1912....................................................................
1913....................................................................
1914 i _ _ _ ...........................................................
66.5
56.3
55.5
55.0
54.6
$0,286
.292
.288
.311
.314
$16.07
16.37
15.91
17.08
17.11
102.7
102.4
100.9
100.0
99.3
92.0
93.9
92.6
100.0
101.0
94.1
95.8
93.2
100.0
100.2
54.7
54.6
52.3
48.6
48.7
49.0
49.0
49.1
.243
.259
.336
13.26
14.11
17.54
26.97
99.3
99.1
94.9
24.45
25.28
88.2
.501
.516
.530
25.87
26.02
88.4
88.9
88.9
89.2
100.8
107.5
139.7
232.0
207.9
214.1
219.1
220.3
100.2
106.6
132.5
203.7
184.7
190.9
195.4
196.6
All occupations:
19141............................................................... .
1916.................................................... ...............
1918...................................................................
1920......................................................... .........
1922.....................................................................
1924....................................................................
1926...................................................................
1928...................................................................
.559
.528
*2 sets of averages are shown for 1914 for the industry—1 for selected occupations and the other for all
occupations in the industry. The 1910 to 1914 averages for selected occupations only are comparable 1
year with another, as are those for all occupations 1 year with another from 1914 to 1928.
Table 2 shows 1926 and 1928 average full-time hours per week,
earnings per hour, and full-time earnings per week for all males and
all females separately in each of the selected major occupations in
the industry and for both sexes combined in all occupations.
Referring to the totals at the end of the table it is seen that the
average full-time hours of males in all occupations combined were
49 in 1926 and 1928 and that those of females increased from 49 in
1926 to 49.2 in 1928. During the same period, average earnings per
hour for males increased from 62.2 to 62.5 cents and those for females
decreased from 40.1 to 39.7 cents per hour. Average full-time earn
ings per week of males increased from $30.48 to $30.63 and those of
females decreased from $19.65 to $19.53
In 1926 average full-time hours per week of males in the various
occupations ranged from 45 for folders to 50.8 for cementers and
778
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
doublers, and those of females from 48.2 for machine heel builders,
to 52.5 for outsole or insole rounders. The 1928 averages for males
range from 45.4 for folders to 52 for machine turn lasters and of
females from 48.1 for machine heel builders to 52 for hand heel
builders.
Average earnings per hour in 1926 of males in the various occupa
tions ranged from 35.1 cents for lacers (before packing) to 95.7 cents
for folders, and of females from 29.8 cents for tack pullers to 59.2
cents for outsole or insole rounders. In 1928 these averages of males
ranged from 37.8 cents for lacers (before packing) to 89 cents for
Goodyear welters, and of females from 31.8 cents for table workers
to 50.5 cents per hour for vampers.
Average full-time earnings per week of males in 1926 ranged from
$17.09 for lacers (before packing) to $45.68 for Goodyear welters,
and of females from $14.60 for tack pullers to $31.08 for outsole or
insole rounders. In 1928 these averages of males ranged from $18.22
for lacers (before packing) to $43.61 for Goodyear welters, and of
females from $15.36 for table workers to $25.00 for assemblers for
the pulling-over machine.
T a b l e 2 .— AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1926 AND 1928, BY OCCUPATIONS
Average
full-time
hours
per week
Department and occupation
Average
earnings
per hour
1928
Average
full-time
earnings
per week
1926
1928
1926
Cutters, vamp and whole shoe, hand................. ...... Male....... 48.9
Cutters, vamp and whole shoe, machine................. . Male...... 49.4
Female_ 49.9
Cutters, trimmings, hand (including dinkers and Male...... 49.3
blockers).
Female- 49.2
Cutters, trimmings, machine..................................... Male...... 49.8
Female... 49.0
Male...... 48.4
Skivers, upper.......................................
Female- 48.9
Male...... 49.1
Cutters, linings, hand.......................... .
Female- 48.9
Male...... 49.0
Cutters, linings, machine.....................
Female-
48.6
48.7
50.3
48.9
49.7
49.9
49.4
48.1
49.1
48.7
49.7
49.2
49.7
►.808 $0,824 $39.51 $40.05
.658
.669 32.51 32.58
.501
.471 25.00 23.69
.516
.530 25.44 25.92
.404
.363 19.88 18.04
.439
.436 21.86 21.76
.378
.372 18.52 18.38
.668
.653 32.33 31. 41
.486
.458 23.77 22.49
.642
.649 31.52 31.61
.307
.416 15.01 20.68
.523
.566 25.63 27.85
16.60
.334
.716
.640
.629
.592
.709
.515
.483
.500
.527
1926
1928
Cutting department
Sole leather department
Cutters, outsole. .................
Cutters, insole......................
Rounders, outsole or insole .
Channelers, outsole or insole.............
Cutters, top and heel lifts, machine..
Heel builders, hand............................
Heel builders, machine..............................
Male.......
Male.......
Male.......
FemaleMale.......
Male......
Male.......
FemaleMale......
Female...
48.6
48.8
49.1
52.5
48.9
48.5
49.8
50.0
48.7
48.2
49.3
49.2
49.8
Male.......
Female__
Male.......
Female__
Male____
Female__
Male.......
Female__
Female__
Male.......
Female__
Male.......
Female__
49.2
48.8
50.8
49.3
45.0
48 7
48.2
49.5
48.7
47.9
49.3
48.1
48.9
48.0
48.9
46.2
49.3
45.4
48.8
48.3
49.4
48.8
47.8
49.5
48.0
49.3
0)
49.5
48.4
51.6
52.0
48.7
48.1
Fitting or stitching department
Stampers, linings or uppers........................
Cementers and doublers, hand and machine (includ
ing reinforcers, pasters, and fitters).
Folders, hand ana machine........................................
Perforators...................................................................
Tip stitchers..........
Closers or seamers.
Seam rubbers, hand and machine..
1 Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
.434
.386
.374
.340
.957
.453
.614
.441
.480
.633
.403
.481
.341
35.30
31.68
31.22
.681
.517
.388
.403
.498
.453
34.80
31.23
30.88
31.08
34.67
24.98
24.05
25.00
25.66
22.46
.621
.400
.636
.330
.808
.416
.648
.424
.440
.624
.407
.408
.346
21.35
18.84
19.00
16.76
43.07
22.06
29.59
21.83
23.38
30.32
19.87
23.14
16.67
29.81
19.56
29.38
16.27
36.68
20.30
31.30
20.95
21.47
29.83
20.15
19.58
17.06
.716
.644
.627
0)
0)
33.71
25.02
20.02
20.96
24.25
21.79
BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY
779
T a b l e 2 .— AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1926 AND 1928, BY OCCUPATIONS—Contd.
Department and occupation
Sex
Average
full-time
hours
per week
1926
1928
Average
earnings
per hour
1926
1928
Average
full-time
earnings
per week
1926
1928
Fitting and stitching department— Continued
Lining makers (including lining closers, side and top
facing stitchers)
Closers-on................................................................... .
Top stitchers (including undertrimmers and barber
trimmers).
Binders (including top banders).............................. .
Buttonhole makers.................................................... .
Button fasteners..........................................................
Eyeleters (including hookers)....................................
Female__ 49.3
49.2 $0,413 $0,398 $20.36 $19.58
50.3
47.1
49.3
49.2
49.1
50.0
49.0
48.7
48.2
49.1
49.5
48.8
47.4
49.4
48.8
48.4
48.6
48.9
49.1
47.9
49.4
49.2
49.2
49.8
48.8
49.7
48.2
49.3
49.5
49.0
47.2
49.4
49.1
48.3
49.7
49.3
.336
.773
.486
.560
.444
.389
.557
.473
.741
.531
.389
.401
.763
.452
.433
.303
.356
.386
.382
.830
.451
.492
.401
.352
.588
.435
.727
.505
.393
.386
.778
.423
.419
.318
.428
.373
16.90
36.41
23.96
27.55
21.80
19.45
27.29
23.04
35.72
26.07
19.26
19.57
36.17
22.33
21.13
14.67
17.30
18.88
18.76
39.76
22.28
24.21
19.73
17.53
28.69
21.62
35.04
24 90
19.45
18.91
36.72
20.90
20.57
15.36
21.27
18.39
Male
Male ,
Female__
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male.......
Male-----Male.......
Male.......
Male.......
Female. -
49.2
49.1
49.6
47.5
49.2
47.8
49.5
49.1
48.9
47.4
48.3
48.9
49.3
49.0
49.3
49.0
49.9
48.4
49.2
48.2
49.3
49.2
47.2
47.9
52.0
49.6
49.2
.477
.577
.501
.710
.740
.690
.661
.682
.856
.831
.575
.873
.448
(0
24.16
29.26
20.93
39.33
37.69
35.37
33.41
34.37
34.23
41.50
40.33
41.91
22.78
14.60
23.52
28.27
25.00
34.36
36.41
33.26
32.59
33.55
40.40
39.80
29.90
43.30
22.04
0
.491
.596
.422
.828
.766
.740
.675
.700
.700
.870
.835
.857
.462
.298
Male____
Male.. ...
Male... .
Male___
Female..
Male.. ...
Male.......
Male
Female..
Male
Male...
Male.......
Male___
Male... .
Male___
Male
Male
Male
Male.......
48.7
48.8
49.2
48.9
48.4
49.1
48.8
49.4
48.9
48.9
50.1
48.8
49.4
49.1
48.8
49.2
49.1
49.2
49.0
49.1
49.9
49.3
49.1
50.8
49.0
48.7
49.4
48.8
48.9
49.4
49.1
49.3
49.0
49.4
49.3
48.8
49.1
49.1
.938
.569
.507
.456
.317
.636
.825
.508
.444
.776
.687
.528
.655
.729
.823
.736
.631
.785
.582
.890
.508
.512
.425
.342
.656
.815
.512
.417
.766
.755
.533
.648
.764
*829
*716
.618
.764
.618
45.68
27.77
24.94
22.30
15.34
31.23
40.26
25.10
21.71
37.95
34.42
25.77
32.36
35.79
40.16
36.21
30.98
38.62
28.52
43.61
25.35
25.24
20.87
17.37
32.14
39.69
25.29
20.35
37.46
37.30
26.17
31.95
37.44
40.95
35.30
30.16
37.51
30.34
Male.......
Male... ,
Male.......
Male.......
49.4
49.1
49.2
49.3
49.5
49.1
49.1
49.3
.640
.766
.623
.607
.651
.755
.589
.581
31.62
37.61
30.65
29.93
32.22
37.07
28.92
28.64
Male.. ...
Female..
Male.......
Female..
Male.......
Female..
Male .
Male
Female..
(2)
(2)
49.2
50.1
48.3
48.6
49.5
49.2
49.0
48.9
48.0
49.4
49.5
48 3
49.0
49.2
49.2
49.3
(2)
(2)
.450
.416
.526
.338
.494
.611
.419
.632
.553
.454
.336
.493
.334
.510
.624
.386
(2)
(2)
22.14
20.84
25.41
16.43
24.45
30.06
20.53
30.90
26.54
22.43
16.63
23.81
16.37
25.09
30.70
19,03
Female__
Male ...
Female__
Female__
FemaleFemale__
Male
Female__
Vampers__................................................................. . Male
Female__
Barrers (including tackers)....................................... . Female__
Tongue stitchers.......................................................... Female__
Fancy stitchers............................................................ Male
Female__
Back-stay stitchers (including back strappers) .
Female__
Table workers......................................................
Female__
Male
Lacers (before lasting)........................................
Female__
Lading department
Last pickers or sorters (including last cascrs)_
Assemblers, for pulling-over machine............
Pullers-over, hand......................................................
Pullers-over, machine....................................... .........
Side lasters, hand........................................................
Side lasters, machine...............................................
Bed machine operators...............................................
Hand-method lasting machine operators__________
Turn lasters, hand (including first and second lasters).
Turn lasters, machine.................................................
Turn sewers.................................................................
Tack pullers.................................................................
Bottoming department
Goodyear welters (including inseamers)...............
Welt beaters and slashers.......................................
Bottom fillers, hand and machine........ ................
Sole cementers, hand and machine (including bottom
cementers)..... ....... ..................................................
Sole layers, hand and machine...................................
Rough rounders..........................................................
Channel oponers and closers (including channel lay
ers, channel turners, channel cementers, lip turners).
Goodyear stitchers......................................................
McKay sewers............................................................
Stitch separators (including stitch wheelers)............
Levelers......................................................................
Heelers, leather............................................................
Heelers, wood...... .......................................................
Heel trimmers or shavers...........................................
Heel breasters..............................................................
Edge trimmers............................................................
0
Finishing department
Buffers (including bottom scourers)..........................
Edge setters.................................................................
Heel scourers (including first and second scourers)..
Heel burnishers (including stovers, expeditors, heel
slickers)
Bottom finishers (including bottom slickers)............
Brushers..
Shoe cleaners................................
Last pullers, hand and machine..
Treers, hand and machine..........
* Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total,
* Data included with “ Other employees,”
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
780
T
able
3 .—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1926 AND 1928, BY OCCUPATIONS—Contd.
Sex
Department and occupation
Average
full-time
hours
per week
Average
full-time
earnings
per week
Average
earnings
per hour
1926
1928
Male___
Female.
Male___
Female.
Male___
Female.
Male___
Female .
Male___
Female .
48.2
49.0
49.0
49.1
50.1
48.9
48.7
48.9
49.4
48.7
48.5 $0,594 $0,569 $28.63 $27.60
49.4
.377 19.01 18.62
.388
48.5
.428
.487 20.97 23.62
49.3
.377
.375 18.51 18.49
.433 19.04 21.52
49.7
.380
.389 18.48 19.06
.378
49.0
48.2
.378 17.09 18.22
.351
.320 15.94 15.74
49.2
.326
.443 21.39 21.97
49.6
.433
48.7
.377
18.36 18.90
Other employees......................................
Male___
Female.
49.0
48.8
49.0
49.2
.501
.335
.513
.361
24.55
16.35
25.14
17.76
All occupations...............................
Male___
Female.
49.0
49.0
49.0
49.2
.401
.397
30.48
19.65
30.63
19.53
49.0
49.1
.528
.530
25.87
26.02
1926
1928
1926
1928
Finishing department—Continued
Repairers, not cobblers (including tip fixers and
scourers)
Sock liners (including heel-lining, heel-pad or heelpin pasters).
Lacers (before packing).............................................
Packers.
All departments
All occupations, male and female.
Table 3 presents, for each State, 1928 average full-time hours per
week, earnings per hour, and full-time earnings per week of employees
in 11 selected occupations for which data are presented in Table 2.
Of the 11 occupations for which data are shown 1 includes both sexes.
In the first occupation shown, for instance, that of cutters, average
full-time hours ranged in the different States from 46.7 to 53.3 per
week. The average for all States was 48.6 per week. Average
earnings per hour ranged from 57.0 to 97.4 cents, while the average for
all States was 82.4 cents per hour. Average full-time earnings per
week ranged by States from $27.76 to $45.68 and the average for all
States was $40.05 per week.
T
able
3 . — AVERAGE
HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR 14 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, 1928,
BY SEX AND STATE
State
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
fuHtime
earn
ings
per
week
Cutters, vamp and
whole shoe, hand,
male
$0,845
.662
.570
.895
(9
.616
.950
.699
.755
.974
Pennsylvania..............................
Wisconsin....................................
48.6
53.3
48.7
48.0
0)
48.9
48.0
49.1
46.7
46.9
49.9
50.1
49.3
Total..................................
48.6
Illinois.........................................
Maine..........................................
Maryland and Virginia..............
Massachusetts............................
Michigan.....................................
Minnesota...................................
Missouri. ...................................
New Hampshire.........................
New Jersey..................................
New York..... .............................
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
earn
ings
per
week
Skivers, upper, female
49.0
52.2
48.8
47.9
49.7
49.9
50.5
49.0
46.0
48.5
49.9
50.4
48.9
$0,499
.508
.358
.542
.298
.358
.391
.417
.518
.474
.414
.448
.414
$24.45
26.52
17.47
25.96
14.81
17.86
19.75
20.43
23.83
22.99
.597
.697
$41.67
35.22
27.76
42.96
0)
30.12
45.60
34.32
35.26
45.68
43.21
29.91
34.36
.824
40.05
49.1
.458
.866
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
earn
ings
per
week
Cementers, and doub
lers, hand and ma
chine, female
22.58
20.24
50.6
53.6
48.7
48.0
49.4
49.6
49.9
49.4
44.8
48.8
49.8
49.8
48.9
$0,296
.286
.199
.397
.286
.256
.307
.311
.499
.338
.328
.292
.330
$14.98
15.33
9.69
19.06
14.13
12.70
15.32
15.36
22.36
16.49
16.33
14.54
16.14
22.49
49.3
.330
16.27
20.66
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
781
BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY
T a b l e 3 . — AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR 14 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, 1928,
BY SEX AND STATDE—Continued
State
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
earn
ings
per
week
Lining makers (in
cluding lining clo
sers, side and top
facing stitchers), fe
male
Illinois__ __ _________________
Maine.........................................
Maryland and Virginia..............
Massachusetts.............................
Michigan...................... ..........
Minnesota________ _____ _____
Missouri.....................................
New Hampshire..... ...................
New Jersey.................................
New York............... ...................
Ohio......................................... .
Pennsylvania..............................
Wisconsin............ .......................
60.1
53.1
49.2
47.9
49.7
50.3
50.4
49.4
47.1
48.3
49.9
49.8
48.4
$0,378
.360
.268
.470
.329
.316
.296
.385
.484
.435
.392
.348
.466
$18.94
19.12
13.19
22.51
16.35
15.89
14.92
19.02
22.80
Total..................................
49.2
.398
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
earn
ings
per
week
Top stitchers (includ
ing undertrimmers
and barber trim
mers), female
$0,393
.450
.263
.552
.371
.351
.362
.440
.510
.499
.403
.453
.519
$19.85
24.03
12.76
26.44
18.36
17.34
18.35
21.74
24.63
24.25
19.56
17.33
22.55
50.5
53.4
48.5
47.9
49.5
49.4
50.7
49.4
48.3
48.6
49.9
50.0
48.7
19.58
49.4
.451
21.0 1
Vampers, female
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
earn
ings
per
week
Vampers, male
48.0
53.2
50.4
48.0
8
$0,845
.557
.636
.736
$40.56
29.63
32.05
35.33
(0
0)
50.1
44.0
46.8
.497
.859
.743
22.65
25.28
48.0
49.3
.887
.643
42.58
31.70
22.28
48.2
.727
35.04
20 .11
24.90
37.80
34.77
Assemblers for pulling- Bed machine operators,
over machine, male
male
Illinois-.......................................
Maine..........................................
Maryland and Virginia..............
Massachusetts............................
Michigan.....................................
Minnesota..... ............................
Missouri............................ .........
New Hampshire.........................
New Jersey.................................
New York..... .............................
Ohio............................................
Pennsylvania...........................
Wisconsin__________ _________
49.6
52.3
48.7
48.0
49.7
49.7
50.6
49.2
48.1
48.4
49.9
51.0
48.9
$0,517
.519
.369
.628
.403
.415
.406
.502
.562
.534
.428
.442
.545
$25.64
27.14
17.97
30.14
20.03
20.63
20.54
24.70
27.03
25.85
21.36
22.54
26.65
49.6
52.8
49.0
48.2
50.0
50.2
50.2
49.6
46.3
47.5
49.9
51.1
49.4
$0,572
.531
.460
.647
.490
.661
.477
.582
.499
.643
.640
.498
.550
$28.37
28.04
22.54
31.19
24.50
33.18
23.95
28.87
23.10
30.54
31.94
25.45
27.17
49.7
52.7
48.6
48.1
49.5
49.7
50.3
49.5
45.5
48.2
49.9
50.7
49.7
$0,675
.576
.558
.731
.699
.678
.612
.655
.758
.714
.749
.639
.725
$33.55
30.36
27.12
35.16
34.60
33.70
30.78
32.42
34.49
34.41
37.38
32.40
36.03
Total..................................
49.3
.505
24.90
49.0
.577
28.27
49.2
.682
33.55
Goodyear stitchers,
male
Edge trimmers, male
Illinois-......................................
Maine..........................................
Maryland and Virginia..............
Massachusetts........................... .
Michigan.....................................
Minnesota..... .............................
Missouri....................................
New Hampshire.........................
New Jersey..................................
New York.................... ..............
Ohio.............................................
Pennsylvania..............................
Wisconsin—................................
48.4
51.3
48.8
48.0
49.7
49.7
51.5
48.5
46.6
48.a
49.9
51.0
49.8
$0,986
.679
.666
.711
.882
.800
.794
.629
.755
$47.72
34.83
33.57
36.58
34.49
39.76
34.30
34.48
41.10
38.64
39.62
32.08
37.60
49.6
53.0
48.9
48.1
49.7
49.8
50.1
49.4
47.9
48.2
49.9
50.3
49.5
$0,766
.612
.568
.875
.719
.643
.656
.696
.747
.834
.720
.677
.783
$37.99
32.44
27.78
42.09
35.73
32.02
32.87
34.38
35.78
40.20
35.93
34.05
38.76
50.3
53.2
48.7
48.2
49.8
48.7
50.3
49.7
47.1
48.1
50.0
49.9
49.9
$0,513
.518
.483
.722
.517
.535
.555
.567
.632
.685
.468
.513
.613
$25.80
27.56
23.52
34.80
25.75
26.05
27.92
28.18
29.77
32.95
23.40
25.60
30.59
Total.................................
48.9
.766
37.46
49.1
.764
37.51
49.2
.624
30.70
.688
.762
.694
.800
Treers, hand and ma
chine, male
* Figures omitted ta avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
Table 4 shows for each sex and for both sexes combined the average
full-time hours per week, earnings per hour, and full-time earnings
per week for all wage earners covered in each State in 1926 and in
1928.
782
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
Average full-time hours per week of males in 1926 ranged by States
from 46 to 53.4 and of females from 46.6 to 53.4. In 1928 the averages
for males ranged from 46.8 to 53.1 and for females from 47.6 to 53.2.
The averages for all males and females combined, or for the industry,
ranged from 46.2 to 53.4 in 1926 and from 47.1 to 53.1 in 1928.
Average earnings per hour of males in 1926 ranged by States from
47.3 to 70.1 cents, of females from 31.8 to 48.1 cents, and for both
sexes combined from 39.8 to 61.2 cents per hour. The 1928 averages
for males ranged from 51.1 to 72.3 cents, for females from 30.3 to
47.3 cents, and for both sexes combined from 41.4 to 62.6 cents per
hour. Average full-time earnings per week of males in 1926 ranged
by States from $23.74 to $33.72, of females from $15.66 to $22.99,
and for both sexes combined from $21.25 to $28.83 per week. The
1928 averages for males ranged from $25.04 to $34.78, for females
from $14.08 to $22.66, and for both sexes combined from $20.70 to
$30.11 per week.
Average full-time
hours per week
Average earnings
per hour
Average full-time
earnings per week
Sex and Gtate
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
Males
Illinois_________ ______________________
Maine______________ __________________
Maryland and Virginia_________________
Massachusetts_________________________
Michigan______________________________
Minnesota_____________________________
Missouri______________________________
New Hampshire_______________________
New Jersey______________ _____________
New York_____________________________
Ohio.............................. ......... .............. ......
Pennsylvania__________________________
Wisconsin__________ ____ ______________
48.6
63.4
49.0
48.1
49.7
60.2
49.3
49.3
46.0
47.7
50.0
50.3
49.1
49.5
53.1
49.0
48.1
49.6
50.1
49.6
49.2
46.8
47.9
49.9
50.0
49.4
$0,642
.486
.534
.701
.532
.473
.546
.560
.671
.694
.649
.538
.598
$0.613
.516
.511
.723
.558
.506
.549
.575
.657
.670
.607
.542
.597
$31.20
25.95
26.17
33.72
26.44
23.74
26.92
27.61
30.87
33.10
32.45
27.06
29.36
$30.34
27.40
25.04
34.78
27.68
25.35
27.23
28.29
30.75
32.09
30. 29
27.10
29.49
Total...................................................
49.0
49.0
.622
.625
30.48
30.63
Illinois......................... ..............................
Maine_________________________________
Maryland and Virginia_________________
M assachusetts_________________________
Michigan______________________________
Minnesota_____________________________
Missouri. ____________________________
New Hampshire...... ....................................
New Jersey_____________ ______________
New York_____________________________
Ohio..............................................................
Pennsylvania__________________________
Wisconsin_____________________________
48.1
63.4
48.8
47.8
49.7
60.5
49.2
49.5
46.6
48.3
49.5
50.1
48.7
50.1
53.2
48.9
47.9
49.6
50.0
49.8
49.3
47.6
48.5
49.8
49.7
48.7
.410
.349
.321
.481
.318
.366
.340
.378
.433
.436
.372
.335
.399
.367
.375
.288
.473
.325
.303
.336
.393
.439
.430
.355
.343
.412
19.72
18.64
15.66
22.99
15.80
18.48
16.73
18.71
20.18
21.06
18.41
16.78
19.43
18.39
19.95
14.08
Total...................................................
49.0
49.2
.401
.397
19.65
19.53
Illinois________________________________
Maine_________________________________
Maryland and Virginia_________________
Massachusetts_________________________
Michigan______________________________
Minnesota__________ _____ ____________
Missouri____________ _____ ____________
New Hampshire_______________________
New Jersey___________ ____ ___________
New York___________ _________________
Ohio.............................................................
Pennsylvania__________________________
Wisconsin........ ...........................................
48.4
53.4
48.9
47.1
49.7
50.4
49.3
49.4
46.2
48.0
49.8
50.2
48.9
49.8
53.1
48.9
48.1
49.6
60.0
49.7
49.2
47.1
48.1
49.8
49.9
49.1
.526
.398
.452
.612
.437
.424
.456
.481
.573
.593
.517
.458
.604
.491
.455
.428
.626
.469
.414
.462
.498
.579
.575
.489
.465
.514
25.46
21.25
28.83
21.72
21.37
22.48
23.76
26.47
28.46
25.75
22.99
24.65
24.45
24.16
20.93
30.11
23.26
20.70
22.96
24.50
27.27
27.66
24.35
23.20
25.24
Total...................................................
49.0
49.1
.528
.530
25.87
26.02
Females
22.66
16.12
15.15
16.73
19.37
20.90
20.86
17.68
17.05
20.06
Males and females
22.10
WAGES AND HOTOS OP LABOB
783
Brass and Copper Sheet, Rod, Tube, Wire, and Shape
Mills: Wages and Hours of Labor, 1927
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study in 1927 of the wages
and hours of labor of employees in mills making brass or copper
sheets, rods, tubes, wire, and shapes. Data were obtained from 20
representative establishments employing 13,639 persons. The full
report was made in the August, 1928, Labor Review, in which a
description of the occupations was given.
Both male and female employees are found in some occupations,
but in only two (inspectors and laborers) can figures be shown for the
women. In the other cases, where the woman workers are too few to
be shown separately, they are shown only in “ Other employees,
female.” The report does not cover executives nor employees in the
following departments: Clerical, either office or factory; power house;
engineering, drafting, or experimental; construction and mainten
ance of buildings; transportation of material to and from the plants;
watchmen and gatemen.
As shown in Table 1, the industry as a whole had an average full
time week of 53.8 hours, and average earnings of 55.2 cents per hour
and $29.70 per full-time week.
The earnings per hour ranged from 30 cents for laborers, female, to
94.3 cents for pot casters, male.
The employees actually worked an average of 51 hours per week, and
worked in whole or in part an average of 5.5 days per week.
Of the 20 establishments covered in this study, 14 reported some
form of extra pay for overtime.
Of the 14 establishments, 5 paid time and a half and 1 paid time
and a third after normal daily hours. One plant paid time and
a half after normal daily hours to day workers and time and a half
after 11 hours to night workers. One paid time and a half after
normal daily hours to maintenance crew only. One paid time
and a third after 10 hours per day, one after 50 hours per week,
one after 55 hours per week, and one after 48 hours per week (except
to casters and tenders). One establishment paid time and a half after
8 p. m. and on Sunday, and one after 50 hours per week to productive
employees and after 48 hours to employees in the mechanical depart
ment.
Thirteen establishments reported bonus systems, all of which
were based on production. These bonus systems were based on
some arbitrary standard which is usually set by time studies of the
various occupations. The efficiency standard or minimum accept
able production varies in each establishment, as does also the scale
or rate. This scale or rate is usually graduated, beginning at the
minimum standard of efficiency and gradually increasing as the
production increases.
T
784
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
Data as to the full-time and actual working hours and the full
time and actual earnings in these plants, by occupations, are shown
below:
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR, 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX
Occupation
Sex
Aver
age num
ber of
days on
which
em
ployees
worked
in 1
week
Average hours
Average earnings
Actu FuU
ally
time
worked per
in 1
week
week
FuU
Per Actual
time
in 1
hour week
per
week
5.4
5.0
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.5
37.4
37.3
45.3
45.0
51.7
49.6
40.3 $0,943 $35.26
42.4
.756 28.18
48.8
.833 37.79
49.3
.804 36.14
54.2
.557 28.81
53.3
.476 23.60
5.5
5.7
5.5
5.4
5.6
5.4
5.4
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.4
5.3
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.4
5.6
5.8
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.3
5.3
5.2
5.7
5.4
5.0
5.8
5.6
5.6
5.2
5.3
5.9
5.7
5.5
5.4
5.6
5.5
52.3
56.3
50.8
53.5
51.7
50.3
50.8
50.3
50.7
56.9
54.2
48.6
50.7
51.9
52.2
49.5
53.0
51.9
54.8
5J5.0
50.7
52.2
51.6
50.2
52.2
48.7
54.7
49.0
48.1
54.0
55.5
55.3
50.2
50.9
53.9
53.0
53.1
50.8
53.8
52.3
50.1
53.9
57.0
54.8
54.7
53.4
53.9
54.1
54.2
54.1
58.3
57.3
53.7
53.7
53.7
54.2
54.8
54.6
53.8
53.6
53.3
52.2
54.0
53.4
54.8
56.0
55.0
54.7
54.6
55.2
54.8
55.0
56.1
54.4
53.8
51.1
55.0
52.9
53.9
54.0
54.2
54.7
.530 27.71
.678 38.20
.485 24.65
.736 39.41
.683 35.33
.728 36.65
.551 28.03
.543 27.32
.508 25.76
.569 32.36
.484 26.24
.543 26.36
.526 26.66
.515 26.75
.511 26.67
.318 15.71
.561 29.70
.510 26.47
.590 32.37
.505 28.29
.582 29.53
.552 28.83
.497 25. 65
.662 33.23
.602 31.47
.552 26.88
.531 29.04
.575 28.20
.575 27.68
.658 35.52
.753 41.76
.543 30.03
.521 26.12
.533 27.10
.590 31.81
.596 31.60
.492 26.12
.481 24.47
.300 16.14
.583 30.49
.354 17.74
28.57
38.65
26.58
40.26
36.47
39.24
29.81
29.43
27.48
33.17
27.73
29.16
28.25
27.66
27.70
17.43
30.63
27.44
31.62
26.92
30.38
29.81
26.54
36.28
33.71
30.36
29.04
31.40
31.74
36.06
41.42
30.46
28.34
2 a 68
30.15
32.78
26.03
25.93
16.20
31.60
19.36
All employees_____________________________ Male____
Female__
5.5
5.5
51.1
50.1
53.8
54.7
.556
.348
28.37
17.43
29.91
19.04
Male and
female- -
5.5
51.0
53.8
.552
28.16
29.70
Pot casters.
____________________________ Male.......
Pot tenders_______________________________ ...d o........
Eleotrie-furnacecasters
..... ____ ______ ...d o ........
__ do........
Electne-fnnmce tenders
Gate shear and saw operators........................... ...d o........
Scrap separators___________________________ __ do........
Scrap winders and cabbage-machine opera
tors_____ _______________________________ ...d o........
...d o........
Core TTialrprs
Crusher and washer operators........ ........... ...... ...do........
Rollers, breakdown________________________ ...d o____
■Rnllfirs, running dnwn
...d o____
Rollers, finishing_______________________ ___ _______ ...do........
Stickers _________________________________ ...d o........
Blockers_________________________________ ...do.........
Rollers’ helpers____________________________ __ do.......
Annealers_______________ ______ . __________ ...do........
Annealers’ helpers____________ _____ _______ __ do_____
Overhaulers or scalpers____________________ ...d o........
Picklers__________________________________ ...d o........
Slitters, shearers and sawyers_______________ ...d o........
Inspectors_______________________ ____ ____ ...d o........
Female...
Crane operators___________________________ Male____
Crane followers___________________________ ...d o ........
Polishers____________________________ _____ ...d o ____
Circling-machine operators____________ ____ ...d o ____
Tinners (not wire)_________________________ __ do_____
Weighers_________________________________ ...d o_____
Packers and markers______________________ ...d o__
Extrusion operators..................... .................... ...d o ____
Heaters................................................. ............. ...d o ____
Brass rod rollers (cold)......................... ............ — do........
Hand straighteners....................... . .............. .. ...d o ____
Bull block operators...................................... .. — do........
Wire drawers, coarse and fine...... .................... ...d o____
Die makers_______________________________ __ do_____
Piercing-machine operators....... ...................... — do........
Piercing-machine helpers___________________ __ do_____
Pointers__________________________________ __ do_____
Draw-bench operators...................... ................ — do.........
Forming-machine operators, brazed tube........ ...d o____
Brazers___________________________________ ...d o.........
Air and water testers______________________ __ do_____
Laborers__________________________________ ...d o ........
Female...
Other employees__________________________ Male____
Female-
6.0
$38.00
32.05
40.65
39.64
30.19
25.37
C om m on Labor: Entrance Rates, July 1, 1928
ERIODIC surveys of the wage rates being paid common labor are
made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The surveys are made
by correspondence, questionnaires being sent to employers in 13 im
portant industries which require considerable numbers of common
laborers.
P
785
COMMON LABOR— ENTRANCE RATES
The term “ common labor” has many interpretations among differ
ent industries, and even among different localities or plants in the
same industry. Also, many employers make a practice of increasing
the rate of pay of a laborer after a stated length of service, provided
a sufficient degree of fitness for the job has been developed; otherwise
the employee is dropped. Owing to these difficulties in the way of
securing comparable data as to wage rates for common labor, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics has confined these statistics to entrance
rates alone.
Some establishments have reported two rates—for example, one for
the 10-hour day and one for the 8-hour day, or one for white and one
for colored or Mexican workers; these distinctions have not been
maintained in the tabulated data, although it is apparent that the
lowest rates are shown for those geographic divisions where there are
large numbers of colored or Mexican workers, while the highest rates
are shown for localities where an 8-hour day is more or less prevalent.
The industries included in this survey and the number of common
laborers employed at entrance rates in the establishments reporting
in each specified industry, on July 1, 1928, are as follows:
Automobiles______________________________________________
Brick, tile, and terra cotta________________________________
Cement___________________________________________________
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies____________
Foundry and machine-shop products_____________________
Iron and steel_____________________________________________
Leather___________________________________________________
Lumber (sawmills)________________________________________
Paper and pulp_______________________ ____________________
Petroleum refining________________________________________
Slaughtering and meat packing___________________________
Public utilities____________________________________________
General contracting_______________________________________
22, 857
3, 675
1, 679
2, 856
9, 084
18, 465
3, 503
12, 813
8,749
4, 045
11, 935
16,167
41, 845
Total.______________________________________________ 157,673
The number of common laborers employed at entrance rates in
the establishment reporting in each of the nine geographic divisions
of the United States, on July 1, 1928, was:
New England_____________________________________________
Middle Atlantic_________________________________ _________
East North Central_______________________________________
West North Central____________________ _________________
South Atlantic------------------------------------------------------------------East South Central_______________________________________
West South Central_______________________________________
Mountain_________________________________________________
Pacific____________________________________________________
Total______________________________________________
8, 508
30, 702
54, 688
16, 279
13, 346
6, 669
9, 681
4, 760
13, 040
157,673
The weighted average hourly common-labor entrance rate for the
several industries combined, on July 1, 1928, was 44.9 cents. The
general-contracting industry reported the highest rate, $1.12j^, in
the Middle Atlantic division, while the lowest rate, 16 cents, was paid
in the sawmill industry, in the South Atlantic division.
The highest average rate per hour for any industry, 57.2 cents,
appears in the automobile industry, followed by 47.4 cents in general
contracting, 46 cents in electrical machinery, and 45.4 cents in
petroleum refining; the lowest average rate, 31.7 cents, appears in the
sawmill industry.
786
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
The highest average rate in the nine geographic divisions, 51.6
cents, appears in the East North Central division. The New England
Middle Atlantic, and Pacific divisions show average rates ranging
between 46.9 cents and 48.2 cents. The lowest average rate, 26
cents, appears in the East South Central division.
The weighted average entrance rates per hour for all industries
represented in this study, including general contracting, have been as
follows: July 1, 1926, 42.8 cents; October 1, 1926, 43.4 cents; January
1,1927, 43.2 cents; July 1, 1927, 42.6 cents; January 1, 1928, 43 cents;
July 1,1928,44.9 cents.
Omitting data for general contracting which industry was first
included in these compilations on July 1, 1926, average entrance rates
per hour for the periods studied have been: January 1, 1926, 40.2
cents; April 1, 1926, 40.5 cents; July 1, 1926, 40.9 cents: October 1,
1926, 40.9 cents; January 1, 1927, 41 cents; July 1, 1927, 40.4 cents;
January 1, 1928, 41.1 cents; July 1,1928, 44.1 cents.
The rather pronounced increase in the average rate for July 1,
1928, as compared with average rates for previous periods, is due to
the great activities of certain very large plants during the preceding
few months. These plants have high entrance rates, and recent activ
ities have necessitated the taking on of vast numbers of common
laborers.
The table following shows, for each industry included, the high,
low, and average common-labor entrance rates per hour in each
geographic division and the United States as a whole.
HOURLY WAGE RATES PAID FOR COMMON LABOR, JULY 1,1928
[The rates on which this table is based are entrance rates paid for adult male common laborj
Geographic division
Industry
Automobiles:
Low__......................................
High..........................................
Average....................................
Brick, tile and terra cotta:
Low__......................................
High.........................................
Average....................................
Cement:
Low..........................................
High..........................................
Average.....................................
Electrical machinery, apparatus,
and supplies:
Low..........................................
High..........................................
Average....................................
Foundry and machine-shop prod
ucts:
Low__......................................
High..........................................
Average.....................................
Iron and steel:
Low__.......................................
High..........................................
Average.....................................
Leather:
Low__......................................
High..........................................
Average................................... .
United
Mid East West
East West
States New dle North North South South
Eng At Cen Cen At Cen South Moun Pa
Cen tain cific
land lantic tral
lantic
tral
tral tral
Cents
33.3
62.5
57.2
17.5
54.0
39.4
Cents Cents Cents
40 0
50.0
48.2
25.0
56.0
37.2
Cents Cents Cents Cents Cents
33.3
62.5
51.6
35.0
62.5
42.7
35.0
62.5
57.9
36.0
54.0
47.6
30.0
47.5
38.9
27.0
37.5
32.7
35.0
45.0
42.6
35.0
44.0
39.0
33.0
43.5
35.4
17.5
40.0
27.1
17.5
37.0
25.0
25.0
37.5
27.8
26.0
40.0
28.7
25.0
28.0
27.2
20.0
22.5
37.5
31.0
22.5
31.3
28.4
20.0
23.5
31.0
27.8
31.0
55.0
46.0
35.0
48.0
43.8
38.0
51.0
44.1
40.0
55.0
50.0
31.0
40.0
36.3
40.0
45.0
42.5
20.0
55.0
38.4
33.0
45.0
39.0
30.0
51.0
40.4
35.0
55.0
42.2
33.0
50.0
39.4
43.8
27.8
20.0
50.0
42.5
40.0
45.0
41.8
30.0
50.0
42.6
35.0
50.0
43.9
35.0
40.0
37.4
44.0
36.4
22.5
62.5
42,3
47.9
54.2
50.3
33.0
50.0
45.1
30.0
60.0
42.3
22.5
40.0
33,3
25.0
33.0
31.0
38.5
40.0
39.2
Cents
50.0
55.0
51.3
42.5
53.0
47.1
34.0
56.0
49.5
40.0
40.0
40.0
44.0
55.0
51.1
41.0
49.0
48.8
42.5
45.0
43.8
43.8
62.5
§Q*7
787
COMMON LABOR— EARNINGS
HOURLY WAGE KATES PAID JOE COMMON LABOR, JULY 1, 1928—Continued
Geographic division
United
East West
East West
States New Mid
South Moun Pa
dle North North South
At South
Eng At
Cen Cen tain cific
Cen lantic
land lantic Cen
tral tral
tral
tral
Industry
Lumber (sawmills)................. .
Low_...................... ..............
High..................................... .
Average............... .................
Paper and pulp:
Low__........................ ..........
High.....................................
Average.................................
Petroleum refining
Low.......................................
High..................................... .
Average................................ .
Slaughtering and meat packing:
Low__...................................
High......................................
Average.................................
Public utilities: 1
L ow .....................................
High.................................... .
Average.................................
General contracting: 2
Low_-.................... .............
High..................................
Average...................... ..........
Cents
Total: L o w .....................
High.......................
Average..................
Cents Cents Cents
16.0
62.5
31.7
33.3
36.0
34.4
30.0
40.0
37.6
30.0
62.5
35.6
25.0
55.0
44.3
33.3
50.0
47.6
32.0
50.0
41.7
30.0
62.0
45.4
Cents ICents Cents Cents Cents Cents
30.0
37.5
34.5
16.0
35.0
21.5
17.5
25.0
21.0
20.0
25.0
22.8
32.5
55.0
45.8
35.0
45.0
39.5
30.0
38.3
36.4
25.0
28.0
25.9
25.0
30.0
26.8
45.0
53.0
46.7
50.0
50.0
50.0
50.0
50.0
50.0
30.0
50.0
44.2
30.0
51.0
41.6
45.0
60.0
54.0
53.0
62.0
57.7
37.5
42.5
41.9
40.0
40.0
40.0
40.0
42.5
42.0
25.0
40.0
29.7
25.0
50.0
30.2
35.0
42.0
36.3
33.0
58.3
50.7
25.0
42.5
37.4
29.0
50.0
42.0
40.0
51.3
42.1
37.5
50.0
42.2
38.0
50.0
43.2
40.0
45.0
41.7
37.5
45.0
42.1
37.5
45.0
42.3
40.0
40.0
40.0
20.0
75.0
42.9
35.0
59.5
44.6
40.0
56.3
44.9
32.5
75.0
51.5
30.0
40.0
34.0
45.0
31.7
17.5
112.5
47.4
35.0 30.0
79.0 112.5
56.9 57.5
25.0
90.0
56.4
30.0
75.0
41.4
75.0
28.4
17.5
40.0
27.3
20.0
50.0
34.7
35.0
62.5
47.2
37.5
75.0
50.3
16.0
112. 5
44.9
33.0 30.0
79.0 112.5
48.2 47.8
25.0
90.0
51.6
27.0
75.0
41.3
16.0
75.0
29.4
17.5
40.0
26.0
51.0
33.8
20.0
25.0
62.5
44.0
29.0
75.0
46.9
20.0
20.0
1Includes street railways, gas works, waterworks, and electric power and light plants.
2 Includes building, highway, public works, and railroad construction.
Com m on Labor: Earnings
O COMPLETE data exist regarding the actual earnings of un
skilled labor of all classes. For certain industries, however,
studies by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other authoritative
agencies give a reasonably accurate picture of the earning capacity of
their unskilled employees. These data are summarized in the table
below. This table was prepared in 1927 (see Labor Review, August,
1927), but it is known that since that time there have been no very
significant increases in wages of the classes of workers here referred to.
Except in the case of coal mining and railroads, the earnings are
expressed in terms of full-time weekly earnings; that is to say, the
amount the average laborer would earn in a week if his employing
establishment was operating full time and he lost no time at all
through unemployment, sickness, accident, or other causes. The
figures, therefore, may be taken as extremely conservative, repre
senting maximum possible earnings and thus being in excess of the
actual amount which the average worker receives and must live upon.
In the case of coal mining and the railroads the information is reported
only in the form of actual earnings.
The data given relate solely to males, and, while age classification
is not available, it is known that common labor work is almost
invariably of a type to demand an adult’s strength. Moreover, the
term “ common labor” or “ unskilled labor” is rather elastic. In
general, it implies work requiring little or no previous training, but
N
99J42°—29----- 3JL
788
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
very often the work does demand considerable intelligence and often
involves a high degree of responsibility. Not infrequently, indeed,
the term “ common labor” means nothing more than the lowest-paid
labor in the particular establishment or industry.
The sources of the figures in the table are the wage surveys of the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics and, for railroad labor, the
reports of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The weekly earnings
are shown, where data are available, for the industry as a whole and
also for the lowest and highest district or department, as given in
the original report.
AVERAGE W EEKLY EARNINGS OF MALE COMMON LABORERS IN VARIOUS INDUS
TRIES AND DISTRICTS
Average full-time earnings
per week 1
Average
full-time
hours per
week 1
Lowest Highest
All
district district districts
Industry
Lumber (1925)____ ________________________________ _______
Slaughtering and meat packing: All departments (1925)............
Woolen and worsted goods manufacturing (1926)...... ..................
Machine shops (1925)_____________________________ ______ __
Paper box-board manufacturing (1925).........................................
Blast furnaces (1926)................. ................ ..................................
Foundries (1925)__________________________________________
Motor vehicle manufacturing (1925)................................... ..........
Bituminous coal mining (1926): 2
Inside laborers_______________________ _____ ____ ______ Outside laborers_______________________________________
Anthracite coal mining (1924): a
Inside laborers............................. ............................................
Outside laborers. ....................................................................
Metalliferous mines, underground (1924)_____ _______________
Railroads: Track laborers (1926) 3................. ................................
57.5
50.2
49.4
50.6
56.7
62.4
52.5
50.4
52.1
47.5
$10.48
17.04
20.77
11.78
13.37
16.14
14.37
24.02
$25.27
25.34
27.82
25.32
28.05
27.72
28.67
30.26
$17.77
21.35
21.98
23.07
23.99
24.34
25.25
28.73
10.34
11.03
33.90
37.69
22.78
23.58
19.80
27.73
29.42
29.45
22.04
17.00
1 Except in the case of coal mining and railroads, where the only available data are for actual earnings
and actual hours.
2 The weekly earnings are computed as equal to seven-fifteenths of the half-month earnings reported.
3 Weekly earnings are computed as equal to one fifty-second of the annual earnings reported by the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
Cotton Gins, Cotton Compresses, and CottonseedOil Mills: Wages and Hours of Labor, 1927 4
N THE fall of 1927 the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a study
of wages, hours, and employment conditions in these three
Iclosely
correlated industries, comparatively little information having
heretofore been published concerning them. These industries are
located in the South in or near the cotton-growing districts, and
all three are highly seasonal, being active in the cotton picking and
marketing months of the year.
Cotton Gins
T
echnically the cotton gin is the machine which separates the
cotton fiber from the seed. In a broader sense a cotton gin is a plant
wherein cotton as it comes from the field is seeded and baled.
* For full reports see following numbers of Labor Review: For cotton gins. May, 1928; for cptton com*
presses, June, 1928; for cottonseed-oil mills, July, 1928,
COTTON GINS AND COTTONSEED-OIL MILLS
789
The extreme limit of operation for a gin may be as much as five
months, starting in the late summer, the dates varying from year to
year, according to the early or late maturity of the cotton plant. At
the beginning of the season the gins operate part time, according to
the supply of cotton received. As the supply increases the operating
time lengthens until the gins operate at full capacity and for long hours.
Work is done on Sundays only during the busiest part of the season or
when cleaning up and repairs may be necessary on that day. If the
cotton is received in great quantity, the gin may operate late into the
night, or may operate a night shift. After the busy season operation
gradually declines, with shorter hours and fewer days' work, until
the season closes.
During the closed season the men find work on farms, on the roads,
in fertilizer plants, or at odd jobs around town. Many of the gins are
operated in connection with other industries, such as cottonseed-oil
mills, cotton mills, coal yards, plantations, etc., and when such is the
case the gin employees may be shifted to other work when there is no
cotton to gin.
The study made by the bureau extended into 10 States, from North
Carolina to Texas, data being obtained from 76 representative
establishments. No bonuses were paid, and extra pay for overtime
was given only in one establishment, in which the ginner was given a
20 per cent and other employees about a 37 per cent higher rate for
Sunday work or any time over 12 hours per day. The nominal or
usual full time of 35 establishments was 12 hours per day and 72
hours per week; of 33 establishments, 10 hours per day and 60 hours
per week; of the other 8 gins, various hours. Regular hours are more
nominal than real. In most of the gins the workers ate their lunch
during slack periods but while the machinery was running, no deduc
tion from pay being made for the time spent in eating. Other gins
usually shut down an hour for lunch. Veiy little absenteeism was
reported and very little difficulty was found in obtaining all the help
needed.
Four principal occupations—feeders, ginners, balers, and weighers—
were selected for which separate figures are shown and the remaining
occupations were grouped under the heading “ Other employees.”
Table 1 shows by occupation, by State, and by race, the number of
establishments canvassed, number of employees, average number of
days on which employees worked in one week, average full-time
hours and actual hours worked in one week, average earnings per hour,
and average full-time and actual earnings in one week.
The figures for all States, all occupations, and all races show that
the 459 employees worked an average of 5.8 days per week, their
average full-time hours per week being 66.2, and their average actual
hours worked per week 64.5, and earned 29.3 cents per hour and
$18.94 per week, their full-time earnings per week being $19.40.
It will be noted that figures for all occupations are not reported for
all establishments. The explanation is that while the operations in
all the plants are the same, most of the plants are small and require
few employees and an employee reported as working at one occupa
tion may also do the work m two or more occupations, thus elimi
nating employees in some occupations.
790
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 1 .— HOURS AND EARNINGS IN COTTON GINS, 1927, BY OCCUPATION, STATE,
AND RACE
Average
Average hours
Average earnings
number
of days
on which
em
Nominal Actually
Nominal
ployees full time, worked Per hour full time, inActual
1 week
worked per week in 1 week
per week
in lweek
Occupation, State, and race
Occupation
66.8
5.8
65.6
65.5
65.1
66.9
64.4
$0,254
.352
.244
.380
.322
$16.61
23.41
16.30
24.93
21.09
$15.16
23.46
15.91
25.43
20.73
5.8
66.2
64.5
.293
19.40
18.94
5.8
5.6
69.2
64.7
71.2
67.8
64.6
65.5
60.2
71.7
63.6
67.7
68.5
60.0
71.4
66.5
58.7
66.4
61.1
63.4
59.9
68.5
.245
.279
.232
.284
.252
.269
.379
.207
.302
.348
16.95
18.05
16.52
19.26
16.28
17.62
22.82
14.84
19.21
23.56
16.81
16.73
16.61
18.88
14.80
17.83
23.14
13.09
18.10
23.86
65.7
66.7
69.6
60.0
65.7
62.6
69.6
76.0
.351
.224
.284
.330
23.05
14.94
19.80
19.80
23.05
14.04
19.80
25.11
Feeders....____________________________
Ginners_______________________________
Balers_________________________________
Weighers______________________________
Other employees. _____________________
5.5
5.9
5.8
Total, all occupations_____________
State
Alabama______________________________
Arkansas__
________________________
Georgia_______________________________
Louisiana.. _ _______________ _________
Mississippi
_________________________
North Carolina________________________
Oklahoma_____________________________
South Carolina_________________________
Tennessee..___________________________
Texas................... .........................................
Race
White............................................................
Colored_________ _____ ________________
Mexican__ ____________________________
Not reported___________________________
6.0
6.0
5.9
5.6
6.0
5.8
5.4
5.4
6.0
5.9
5.7
6.0
6.0
65.4
66.5
59.8
66.6
Cotton Compresses
To s a v e space and thus obtain lower freight rates on cotton for
export or for shipment from the gins to distant localities the bales of
cotton made in cotton gins are reduced by pressure in cotton com
presses to about one-half the original size. Generally compresses
are operated in conjunction with cotton warehouses.
Cotton compressmg in establishments independent of other work
is largely seasonal, following closely the season of picking and ginning
of cotton. In warehouses, however, the work is done only on orders
for export or for shipment.
The warehouses are generally open the entire year, but the presses
are operated only intermittently. They may rim steadily all day
or for only an hour or two, and the employees who run the press
part of the day may work in the warehouse the remainder of the day.
In many plants the compress is seldom in operation a full day at a
time, the work generally being done in small lots. It is the practice
in most of the plants to keep a regular compress crew for use when
needed. When not compressing cotton members of the crew work
around the press and warehouse, carrying, straightening, and cutting
bands, keeping the machinery in repair, and moving cotton from one
place to another. Extra helpers are let go when the press is not in
operation, but are usually ready to return when needed.
The agents of the bureau were sent into 10 cotton States—Alabama,
Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Okla
homa, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—and collected wage
data from the pay rolls of 67 establishments for a 1-week pay period
in September, October, or November. Data were obtained for a
total of 4,071 male and 106 female employees, divided as follows:
279 white males, 38 Mexican males, 2,783 colored males, and 106
791
COTTON GINS AND COTTONSEED-OIL MILLS
colored females; and 971 for whom information regarding race was
not available.
Overtime work was paid for at the regular rate of pay by 37 com
presses; at the rate of time and a half by 17; time and a quarter by 1
compress; and time and a half under certain conditions by 12 com
presses. Bonuses were not reported for any of the employees of any
plants.
# The regular or customary full-time hours, based on the regular
time of beginning and quitting work each day of the week when
working under normal conditions, were 60 per week for 43 establish
ments, 48 for 12 establishments, 54 for 5 establishments, and 44 for 4
establishments; for 3 establishments the hours per week were 50. 55,
and 57, respectively.
The averages shown in Table 2 include hours and earnings for
work in compresses and in warehouses in establishments in which
compresses were operated in conjunction with warehouses, as it was
not possible to separate the work. This table shows that 4,071 males
for whom averages are shown worked on an average of 5.4 days in
one week, their average full-time hours being 56.2. They actually
worked 49.6 hours in one week and earned an average of 31.6 cents
per hour and $15.70 in one week. Their full-time earnings in one
week based on their average hourly earnings and average weekly
full-time hours were $17.76. The 106 females for whom averages are
shown worked an average of 5.8 days in one week and had an average
full-time week of 55.9 hours. They actually worked 48.9 hours in
one week and earned an average of 13.2 cents per hour and $6.47
in one week. Their full-time earnings per week based on their
average full-time hours and average earnings per hour were $7.38.
While the operations are the same in all establishments, the small
establishments have only a few employees, who consequently have to
work at more than one occupation. Under such conditions it was
necessary to show some employees in the occupation at which they
worked most during the weekly pay period covered.
T
able
2 . — DAYS, HOURS, AND EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES IN COTTON COMPRESSES,
1927, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, STATE, AND RACE
Sex and occupation, sex and State, and
sex and race
Average
Average hours
Average earnings
number
of days
on which
Full
employ
Actually
FuH
ees work time, per worked Per hour time, per Actual
in 1 week
week in 1 week
ed in 1
week
week
Sex and occupation
Males:
Markers___________________________
Weighers and checkers______________
Openers, hand______________________
Openers, dinky press________________
Band removers_____________________
Band cutters and splicers____________
Feeders, compress....... ........................ .
Lever men...................... ......................
Head sewers...........................................
Tiers....... ......... .....................................
Reefers..... ..............................................
Truckers. ...............................................
Car loaders________________________
Samplers................................................
Headers___________________________
Engineers__________________________
Firemen___________________________
Other employees___________________
Total, males.......................................
5.9
6.0
5.8
5.7
5.5
5.7
5.7
6.0
5.7
5.8
5.8
5.1
5.8
5.9
5.8
6.0
6.0
5.8
5.4
55.1
57.1
57.8
54.4
54.9
55.8
55.6
60.2
56.0
55.8
55.6
54.8
55.7
56.5
55.3
54.8
60.5
61.6
56.2
54.6
56.1
54.1
51.8
49.8
51.6
51.5
59.5
51.5
53.2
52.8
45.0
51.4
54.6
52.1
55.2
59.6
55.9
49.6
$0,316
.473
.327
333
.313
.322
.323
.427
.332
.376
.327
.286
.316
.357
.323
.642
.359
.303
.316
$17.41
27.01
18.90
18.12
17.18
17.97
17.96
25.71
18.59
20.98
18.18
15.67
17.60
20.17
17.86
35.18
21.72
18.66
17.76
$17.27
26.56
17.70
17.24
15.58
16.63
16.63
25.41
17.09
20.04
17.23
12.86
16.25
19.52
16.87
35.46
21.37
16.96
15.70
792
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 2, — DAYS, HOURS, AND EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES IN COTTON COMPRESSES.
1927, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, STATE, AND RACE—Continued
Sex and occupation, sex and State, and
sex and race
Average
Average hours
Average earnings
number
of days
on which
employ
Full
Actually
Full
ees work time, per worked Per hour time, per Actual
in 1 week
week
ed in 1
in 1 week
week
week
Sex and occupation—Continued
Females:
Sweepers................................................
Other employees...................................
6.0
55.2
57.2
48.8
49.2
$0,116
.159
$6.40
9.09
$5.64
7.84
Total, females.....................................
5.8
55.9
48.9
.132
7.38
6.47
Males:
Alabama.................................................
Arkansas— .........................................
Georgia....................................... ........
Louisiana..............................................
Mississippi.................. - -------------------North Carolina..................... - ..............
Oklahoma......................................... .
South Carolina......................................
Tennessee..............................................
Texas.......................................- .............
5.4
5.2
5.1
5.4
5.5
5.8
5.5
5.1
5.4
5.7
56.2
61.0
53.0
60.4
60.6
54.9
51.1
58.0
53.0
57.3
49.2
49.7
42.4
49.7
53.5
52.1
52.4
43.4
45.6
51.9
.268
.282
.285
.313
.245
.299
.375
.271
.261
.355
15.06
17.20
15.11
18.91
14.85
16.42
19.16
15.72
13.83
20.34
13.18
14.03
12.09
15.56
13.11
15.59
19.68
11.74
11.91
18.41
Females:
Alabama.................................................
Georgia...................................................
Louisiana...............................................
Mississippi..... .......................................
North Carolina......................................
Other States..........................................
5.8
5.7
5.8
5.6
55.0
54.2
54.6
58.9
55.8
60.0
51.6
47.0
45.7
52.5
56.6
49.6
.098
.119
.183
.132
.140
.138
5.39
6.45
9.99
7.77
7.81
8.28
5.04
5.61
8.37
6.93
7.94
6.82
63.9
56.9
60.3
52.1
55.9
60.5
47.7
54.6
51.8
48.9
.389
.289
.288
.366
.132
24.86
16.44
17.37
19.07
7.38
23.52
13.78
15.70
18.94
6.47
5.7
Sex and State
6.0
5.9
Sex and race
Males:
White................................................ .
Colored..................................................
Mexican.................................................
Race not reported..................................
Female: Colored..... ................ ...................
U
6.0
5.3
5.4
5.6
5.8
Cottonseed-Oil Mills
ntil a comparatively few years ago cotton seed was considered
of little or no value and in many localities was thrown away. It
was then learned that the cottonseed meal and hulls were valuable as
stock feed and fertilizer, and that the oil in the seed could be used for
various purposes, resulting in the development and rapid growth of
the cottonseed-oil industry.
This industry, like cotton gins and cotton compresses, is seasonal,
the mills operating full time or nearly so during the cotton picking
and ginning season and closing down entirely part of each year. In
1927 the 67 mills covered in the study were in operation an average
of 33 weeks, the operating time ranging from 20 to 52 weeks. While
the mills are closed employees, except a small number who are usually
kept for repairs and cleaning, get work on farms or at odd jobs.
The regular or customary full-time hours on day work or shifts,
when the mills are working under normal conditions were 72 per
week in 61 of the 67 included in the study, 71 per week in 3 mills,
and 69, 66, and 60 per week, respectively, in 3 mills. The regular
hours on night shifts were 60 per week.
Overtime was paid for at the regular rate of pay in 64 mills. One
mill paid time and half for Sunday work, at the option of the over
seer. One paid a full daily rate for any part of a day's work on Sun
day, and one paid 50 cents extra for Sunday work.
793
COTTON GINS AND COTTONSEED-OIL MILLS
All occupations are not found in each mill. While the operations
are the same in all, the small establishments have only a few employees
thus making it necessary for some to work at more than one occupa
tion. It was therefore necessary in this study to present the data
for some employees under the occupations at which they worked
most during the weekly pay period covered.
Table 3 shows that the 4,586 males for whom averages are shown
worked on an average of 5.4 days in one week, their average full
time hours being 70.9. They actually worked 64.6 hours in one
week, or 6.3 hours per week less than their average full-time hours,,
and earned an average of 24 cents per hour and $15.53 in one week
Their average full-time earnings per week based on their average full
time hours and average earnings per hour were $17.02. Of the 12
females, 6 were press-cloth sewers, 4 were sweepers, 1 was a hull
feeder, and 1 was a sack sewer. They worked an average of 5.4
days and 61.8 hours in one week, and earned an average of 11.4 cents
per hour and $7.04 in one week. The full-time hours of 11 were 72
per week and of 1, 48 per week, or an average of 70, and their full
time earnings per week were $7.98.
T
able
3.—HOURS AND EARNINGS IN COTTONSEED-OIL MILLS, 1927, BY OCCUPATION,
STATE, AND RACE
Occupation, State, and race
Average hours
Average earnings
Average
number
of days
on which
Full
Full
employ
Actually
Actual
ees work time,
worked Per hour
time,
ed in i per week ini week
per week in 1 week
week
Occupation
Seed handlers__________________________
Seed-cleaner operators________ __________
Lintermen_____________________________
Linter helpers..... .........................................
Lint balers. .................................................
Saw filers......................................................
Huller and separator tenders____________
Meal cooks
___________________________
Cake formers—_________________________
Press chargers________ _________________
Cake knocker outs____________________
Cake pullers___________ ____ _____ ____
Cake strippers____ ____ ________________
Cake breakers and feeders______________
Meal mill operators.....................................
Sackers_______________________________
Sack sewers____________________________
Truckers and laborers__________________
Sweepers.—............ ........... ..........................
Firemen_____ _____________ ____ _______
Oilers............................................................
Machinists and millwrights........................
Engineers__________________________ _
Other employees..........................................
Total..................................................
4.8
5.7
56.7
67.4
71.5
64.9
68.3
69.3
74.5
74 1
67.7
66.5
61.1
61.2
62.2
61.4
67.9
63.6
65.1
57.9
64.2
72.7
72.0
70.7
76.9
69.9
$0,197
6.4
5.9
70.6
70.9
70.2
69.8
70.5
71.5
71.3
70.3
70.9
70.5
68.9
70.9
70.5
69.6
70.7
70.2
70.6
70.7
70.7
72.2
71.0
70.9
74.8
72.4
5.4
70.9
64.6
.240
5.5
5.6
5.2
70.4
71.8
68.9
65.5
66.4
61.5
.230
.250
.191
5.7
5.8
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.0
5.5
71.5
72.4
68.5
72.1
.229
.244
.253
72.0
72.1
66.9
69.1
65.4
65.2
65.1
59.6
64.9
5.8
5 .4
72.4
70.6
72.0
69.3
63.8
64.9
6.0
5.5
5.8
5.8
6.2
6.2
5.7
5.6
5.2 '
5.2
5.2
5.3
5.9
5.4
5.5
4.9
5.4
6 .1
6.0
6.0
$13.91
14.89
22.32
14.38
15.09
18.23
16.97
20.74
18.86
18.33
15.57
17.73
16.78
13.85
16.33
14.18
15.67
14.35
13.79
18.92
16.54
28.93
24.31
$11.1414.13
22.72
13.39
14.62
17.67
17.76
21.84
18.04
17.31
13.84
15.29
14.82
12.24
15.68
12.84
14.48
11.74
12.55
19.01
16.77
28.84
24.99
21.86
2 1.10
17.02
15.53
.203
. 2*9
.262
16.19
17.95
13.16
16.37
17.67
17.33
18.60
13.97
17.93
18.89
15.06
16.58
11.72
15.30
16.87
16.54
16.79
13.25
14.83
17.03
.329
.225
.217
23.82
15.89
15.62
22.84
14.32
14.09
.210
.318
.206
.214
.255
.238
.295
.266
.260
.226
.250
.238
.199
.231
.202
.222
.203
.195
.262
.233
.408
.325
.302
State
Alabama__________ _____ ____ ____ _____
Arkansas__________ ______________ _____
Georgia.......................................... .......... .
Louisiana_____________________________
Mississippi.......... .........................................
North Carolina............................... .............
Oklahoma....................................................
South Caorlina..... .......................................
Tennessee_____________________________
Texas............................................................
68.8
. 2 d8
Race
White............................................................
Colored___________ ______ _____________
Mexican.......................................................
5.5
794
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
Cotton-Goods Industry: Wages and Hours of Labor,
19285
URING March, April, May, and June, 1928, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics made a study of wages and hours of labor
of wage earners in the cotton-goods manufacturing industry in the
United States. Data were collected from the pay rolls and other
records of 158 representative cotton mills in 11 States6®for 49,861
males and 38,145 females.
Index numbers of average full-time hours per week, earnings per hour,
and full-time earnings per week are presented in Table 1 for the industry
as a whole for each year from 1910 to 1928, for which the bureau has
made studies of the industry, with the 1913 average taken as the base
or 100. Index numbers are not shown for 1915 nor for subsequent
odd-numbered years because data were not collected in such years.
D
Average full-time hours per week decreased each year from 1910 to
1920 ana then gradually increased again up to 1928, the decrease
between 1913 and 1920 amounting to 10.3 per cent and the increase
between 1920 and 1928 to 3.1 per cent.
^Average earnings per hour increased greatly from 1910 to 1920,
rising from an index of 87.5 to one of 323.5; they dropped, however,
to 222.4 in 1922, increased again to 250.7 in 1924, and then decreased
to 221 in 1926 and 218.3 in 1928. The increase between 1913 and
1920 was 223.5 per cent and the decrease between 1920 and 1928
was 32.5 per cent. Average full-time earnings per week followed
somewhat the same course as earnings per hour, increasing from an
index of 89.5 in 1910 to 291.8 in 1920, decreasing to 204.5 in 1922,
increasing again to 231.5 in 1924 and then falling to 205.2 in 1926
and to 203.1 in 1928. The increase between 1913 and 1920 was 191.8
per cent and the decrease between 1920 and 1928 was 30.4 per cent.
The changes which were taking place in average full-time hours per
week were responsible for the fact that average earnings per week did
not increase or decrease as markedly as the average earnings per hour.
T a b l e 1 .— AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS WITH IN D E X NUMBERS, 1910 TO 1928
fl913 average=100]
Year
Index numbers of—
Average
Average
full-time Average
full-time
Average
Average
earnings
earnings full-time Average full-time
hours
earnings
per week per hour per week hours
earnings
per
hour
per week
per week
Selected occupations:
1 9 1 0 ..................................................................
1911....................................................................
1912....................................................................
1913 ................................................................
1914 «.................................................................
68.5
58.4
57.4
57.3
56.4
$0,140
.144
.158
.160
.165
$8.16
8.36
9.00
9.12
9.24
102.1
101.9
100.2
100.0
98.4
87.5
90.0
98.8
100.0
103.1
89.5
91.7
98.7
100.0
101.3
56.8
56.9
56.0
51.8
52.8
53.0
53.3
53.4
.153
.179
.267
.480
.330
.372
.328
.324
8.63
10.08
14.95
24.86
17.42
19.72
17.48
17.30
98.6
97.0
89.7
91.5
91.8
92.3
92.5
120.6
179.9
323.5
222.4
250.7
221.0
218.3
118.3
175.5
291.8
204.5
231.5
205.2
203.1
All occupations:
1914 « .................................................................
1916....................................................................
1 9 1 8 ..................................................................
1920....................................................................
1922....................................................................
1924 .................................................................
1 9 2 6 ...................................... ....... ...................
1928 ............................................ - .................
® 2 sets of averages are shown for 1914 for the industry—1 for selected occupations and the other for all
occupations in the industry. The 1910 to 1914 averages for selected occupations only are comparable 1
year with another, as are those for all occupations 1 year with another from 1914 to 1928.
* For full report see forthcoming Bulletin No. 492.
Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia.
795
COTTON-GOODS INDUSTRY
Table 2 presents for 1926 and 1928 the average full-time hours
per week, earnings per hour, and full-time earnings per week for all
males and for all females, separately, in each of the selected occupa
tions in the cotton-goods manufacturing industry and for all other
employees combined, together with averages for the industry as a
whole, including all employees, male and female, covered in this study.
The averages for the industry as a whole show but slight changes
compared with 1926. The average hours per full-time week increased
from 53.3 in 1926 to 53.4 hours in 1928; the average earnings per
hour decreased from 32.8 cents in 1926 to 32.4 in 1928 and the earnings
per full-time week decreased from $17.48 in 1926 to $17.30 per week
in 1928.
Average full-time hours per week of males in 1926 in the various
occupations ranged from 48.4 for mule spinners to 59.2 for spooler
tenders, and of females from 49.8 for beamer tenders to 53.7 for
creelers or tiers-in. The 1928 averages for males ranged from 48.3
for mule spinners to 57.8 for frame spinners, and for females from
49.6 for slubber tenders to 54 for creelers or tiers-in.
^Average earnings per hour of males in 1926 in the various occupa
tions ranged from 19 cents for spooler tenders to 65.6 cents for mule
spinners, and of females from 24.6 cents for spooler tenders and trim
mers or inspectors to 41.1 cents for beamer tenders. The 1928 aver
ages for males ranged from 22.4 cents per hour for spooler tenders
to 62.7 cents for mule spinners, and for females from 23.9 cents for
creelers or tiers-in to 44.2 cents for beamer tenders.
Average full-time earnings per week of males in 1926 ranged from
$11.25 for spooler tenders to $31.75 for mule spinners, and of females
from $12.94 for trimmers or inspectors to $20.47 for beamer tenders.
The 1928 averages for males ranged from $12.30 per week for spooler
tenders to $30.28 for mule spinners, and for females from $12.72 for
trimmers or inspectors to $22.67 for beamer tenders.
T a b l b 2 .— AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1926 AND 1928, BY OCCUPATION
Occupation
Picker tenders______________________
__________
Sex
Year
M ale.___
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
Card tenders and strippers________________________ __ do_____
Card grinders______________________ _____________ __ do_____
Drawing-frame tenders___________________________ ...d o ..........
Female-- Slubber tenders_____________________________ ____ Male_____
Female__
Speeder tenders____ _____ _________________ ____
Male_____
Female__
Spinners, mule- ............................................................ Male_____
Spinners, frame.............................................................. ...d o ..........
Female...
Doflers......... ................................. «,............................. Male_____
Female- _ _
Average Average Average
full-time earnings
full-time
hours
earnings
per week per hour per week
54.1
54.5
54.1
54.2
53.7
53.9
55.0
54.9
51.9
52.5
54.3
54.5
50.1
49.6
55.1
55.1
51.0
51.2
48.4
48.3
55.1
57.8
53.5
52.9
54.2
54.6
51.4
51.4
$0,297
.282
.322
„ 314
.414
.407
.279
.282
.281
.272
.377
.365
.398
.403
.343
.345
.368
.359
.656
.627
.289
.339
.282
.276
.307
.311
.344
.325
$16 07
15! 37
17.42
17.02
22.23
21.94
15.35
15.48
14.58
14.28
20.47
19.89
19.94
19.99
18.90
19.01
18.77
18.38
31.75
30.28
15.92
19.59
15.09
14.60
16 64
16.98
17.68
16.71
*796
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
table
2.—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS, 1926 AND 1928, B Y OCCUPATION—Contd.
Occupation
Year
Male_____
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1928
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
1926
1928
59.2
54.9
53.6
53.7
55.1
55.2
53.7
54.0
55.3
55.4
52.6
52.8
53.0
54.7
49.8
51.3
53.3
53.7
55.1
55.2
52.1
52.5
53.3
52.7
54.0
54.1
53.5
53.7
53.2
53.4
51.9
52.2
53.0
54.7
52.6
52.8
53.8
53.7
53.1
52.5
$0,190
.224
.246
.243
.274
.298
.249
.239
.348
.332
.347
.329
.493
.441
.411
.442
.411
.396
.330
.299
.357
.359
.441
.414
.422
.407
.489
.482
.396
.392
.375
.371
.295
.278
.246
.241
.308
.302
.252
.256
$11.25
12.30
13.19
13.05
15.10
16.45
13.37
12.91
19.24
18.39
18.25
17.37
26.13
24.12
20.47
22.67
21.91
21.27
18.18
16.50
18.60
18.85
23.51
21.82
22 79
Female-__
1926
1928
1926
1928
53.8
53.9
52.8
52.9
.347
.345
.301
.296
18.67
18.60
15.89
15.66
Male and
female.
1926
1928
53.3
53.4
.328
.324
17.48
17.30
Female__
Male___ _
Female—
Male_____
Female—
Male_
Female__
Slasher tenders__ ________________________________ Male_____
Drawers-in, hand________________________________ ...d o _____
Female-__
Drawing-in machine tenders______________________
W arp-tying machine tenders _
_
_______
Male____
Female-__
Male____
Loom fixers.____________________________________ ___do_____
Weavers________________________________________ ...d o _____
Female__
T rim m ers or inspectors___________________________
Average Average Average
full-time earnings
full-time
hours
earnings
per week per hour per week
Sex
Male____
Female. __
Other employees_________________________________ Male____
Female—
All employees______________________________ Male____
22.02
26.16
25.88
21.07
20.93
19.46
19.37
15.64
15.21
12.94
12.72
16.57
16.22
13.38
13.44
Table 3 presents for each State, for 1928, the average full-time hours
per week, earnings per hour, and full-time earnings per week of em
ployees in four of the selected occupations in the cotton-goods manu
facturing industry.
In the occupation of speeder tenders, the average full-time hours
per week of males ranged in the various States from 48.5 to 56.2 and
those of females from 48 to 56.3. The average for all males in this
occupation was 55.1 and for all females 51.2 per week. Average earn
ings per hour of males, by States, ranged from 27.6 to 48.8 cents, and
those of females from 25.8 to 42.1 cents, while the average for all males
was 34.5 cents and for all females 35.9 cents. Average full-time earn
ings per week of males ranged from $15.18 to $25.88 and of females
from $14.19 to $22.04. The average for all males in the occupation
in all States was $19,01 and for all females $18.38,
797
FACTORY WORKERS— NEW YORK STATE
T a b l e 3 .— AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR FOUR SELECTED OCCUPATIONS,
1928, BY SEX AND STATE
AverOccupation, sex, and
State
Speeder tenders, male:
Alabama.................
Connecticut...........
Georgia...................
Maine. ...................
Massachusetts.......
New Hampshire
New Y ork _............
North Carolina___
Rhode Island.........
South Carolina___
Virginia...................
Total-.................
Speeder tenders, female:
Alabama....................
Connecticut..............
Georgia......................
Maine. ......................
Massachusetts..........
New Hampshire.......
New York.................
North Carolina_____
Rhode Island............
South Carolina.........
Virginia......................
Total. ....................
Spinners, frame, male:
Connecticut...........
Massachusetts____
New Hampshire. ~
New York..............
North Carolina___
South Carolina___
Other States___r.
T otal..................
Spinners, frame, female:
Alabama....................
Connecticut............. .
Georgia....................
Maine. ......................
Massachusetts..........
New Hampshire____
New York...............
North Carolina_____
Rhode Island............
time
hours
per
week
55.0
5 0 .7
5 5 .9
5 5 .0
5 2 .7
5 3 .8
48.5
56.2
52.7
55.0
55.2
55.1
55.0
50.2
56.3
54.0
48.0
53.1
48.4
55.7
52.0
55.0
55.3
51.2
55.0
59.9
53.6
48.0
58.0
55.0
54J
57.8
55.0
51.2
56.1
54.0
48.0
53.6
48.3
55.9
52.5
Aver
Aver
age age full
time
earn
per
ings per
week
hour
$0,276
.453
.307
.390
.461
.481
.476
.296
.385
.345
$15.18
22.97
17.16
21.45
24.29
25.88
23.09
18.71
25.72
16.28
21.25
19.01
.359
14.19
19.58
16.55
17.01
17.57
22.04
19.02
16.99
21.89
15.07
18.69
18.38
.408
.466
.451
.219
20.30
24.44
24.98
21.65
12.70
.200
11.00
.258
.390
.294
.315
.366
.415
.393
.305
.421
.274
.272
14.80
19.59
.215
.350
11.83
17.92
12.45
16.79
16.80
21.82
18.89
13.53
19.27
.222
.311
.350
.407
.391
.242
.367
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
Occupation, sex, and
State
Spinners, frame, female—
Continued.
South Carolina______
Virginia-......................
Total.........................
Loom fixers, male:
Alabama____________
Connecticut_________
Georgia_____________
Maine______________
Massachusetts_______
New Hampshire_____
New York...................
North Carolina______
Rhode Island________
South Carolina______
Virginia_____________
Total........................
Weavers, male:
Alabama.__________
Connecticut_________
Georgia_____________
Maine______________
Massachusetts_______
New Hampshire_____
New York__________
North Carolina______
Rhode Island..............
South Carolina______
Virginia........................
Total........................
Weavers, female:
Alabama____________
Connecticut_________
Georgia_____________
Maine______________
Massachusetts.... ........
New Hampshire_____
New York.-............ .
North Carolina______
Rhode Island________
South Carolina______
Virginia_____________
Total..................... .
Aver Aver
age age full
earn
time
ings
earn
per ings per
week
hour
55.0
55.1
52.9
$0,215
.286
.276
$11.83
15.76
14.60
55.0
51.4
56.2
54.0
49.4
53.7
48.5
56.1
51.9
55.0
55.2
53.7
.395
.589
.379
.548
.592
.647
.606
.418
.615
.377
.481
.482
21.73
30.27
21.30
29.59
29.24
34.74
29.39
23.45
31.92
20.74
26.55
25.88
55.0
50.7
56.1
54.0
50.0
54.3
48.6
55.9
52.2
55.0
55.1
53.4
.311
.446
.309
.424
.431
.501
.538
.370
.498
.313
.406
.392
17.11
22.61
17.33
22.90
21.55
27.20
26.15
55.0
50.2
56.0
54.0
48.0
52.5
48.5
55.9
52.0
55.0
55.2
.299
.405
.292
.397
.405
.493
.458
.333
.469
.277
.349
18.61
24.39
15.24
19.26
52.2
.371
19.37
20.68
26.00
17.22
22.37
20.93
16.45
20.33
16.35
21.44
19.44
25.88
22 .2 1
Factory Workers: Average Weekly Earnings in New
York State, 1914 to 1928
T
HE following data on average weekly earnings in New York State
factories were taken from the January, 1928 and 1929 numbers of
the Industrial Bulletin, Albany, N. Y.
AVERAGE W EEKLY EARNINGS IN REPRESENTATIVE NEW YORK STATE FAC
TORIES, 1914 TO 1928
[Includes all employees in both office and shop. The average weekly earnings are obtained by dividing'
the total weekly pay roll by the total number of employees on the pay roll for the given week. Reports
______________________
cover the week including the 15th of the month]
Month
Jan___
F eb ....
Mar___
Apr___
May....
June....
July___
Aug—
Sept.:..
Oct......
Nov___
Dec___
Av__.
1914
$12.70
12.54
12.53
12.48
12.26
12.32
12.56
12.48
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
>12.44 $13.53 $15.28 $16.81
03 $26.52 $27.61 $24.43 $26.21 $27.81 $28.30 $29.05
12.41 13.77 15.31 17.66
07 26.47 26.77 24.17 25.87 27.73 27.96 28.61
15.79
18.71
20 27.87 26.97 24.57 26.92 28.16 28.45 29.04
12.65 13.96
11 27.80 26.20 24.15 27.00 28.70 27.67 28.85
12.54 14.15 15.50 19.25
12.74 14.24 16.08 19.91
23 28.45 25.86 24.59 27.63 27.56 28.07 28.69
12.81 14.41 16.20 20.44
51 28.77 25.71 24.91 27.87 27.21 27.94 28.99
10 28.49 25.26 24.77 27.54 27.06 27.98 28.81
12.66 14.11 16.17 20.78
85 28.71 25.43 25.10 27.12 27.40 28.16 28.86
12.89 14.44 16.44 21.23
83 28.73 25.07 25.71 27.41 28.05 28.33 29.31
12.86 14.87 16.97 22.31
41 28.93 24.53 25.61 27.72 27.53 28.57 29.35
13.30 14.95 17.33 22.34
13.45 15.16 17.69 21.60
37 28.70 24.32 26.04 27.64 27.66 28.67 29.15
13.49 15.51 17.71 23.18 ___32 28.35 24.91 26.39 27.98 28.25 29.05 29.47
12.85 14.43 16.37 20.35 23.50 28.15 25.72 25.04 27.24 27.68 28.26 29.02
1927
1928
$29.52 $29.21
29.39 29.16
29.78 29.64
29.17 28.79
29.18 29.19
29.17 29.48
28.95 29.15
29.29 29.38
29.57 29.72
29.28 29.78
28.75 29.62
29.57 30.12
29.30 29.44
798
WAGES AND HOTJRS OF LABOR
Farm Wages, 1923 to 1928
HE wage rates of hired farm labor are published quarterly by
the United States Department of Agriculture. Data are com
piled separately for workers employed by the month and by the day
and separation is also made between wage rates which include board
and those which do not include board. Wage rates by the day, with
out board, are of course the more nearly comparable with the wage
rates of industrial workers.
Table 1 shows, for the United States as a whole, by years, average
farm wage rates and index numbers thereof, with board and without
board, from 1923 to 1927. Details for the months of January, April,
July, and October are given for the years 1923 to October, 1928.
Table 2 gives the average daily and monthly wage rates, with board
and without board, by States, for October, 1927, and October, 1928.
T
T able
1.—AVERAGE FARM WAGE RATES AND INDEX NUMBERS, 1923 TO OCTO
BER, 1928
Average yearly farm wage *
Year or month
Per month
With
board
1923-................................ ................... ........- ..............
..................... ...........
1924.
1926................................................................................
1926-______________ ________________________ ____
1927...................................................- .............. ...........
1923: January.-____ ______________ ____ __________
A pril..___________ ____ - ____ _____________
July____ __________________________________
October.___________________ ______ _________
1924: January__________________________ _______
April................... ................ ................................
July................. .............. ................... .................
October________ ___________ _______________
1926: January________ ______________________ ____
April________________
__________________
July_____________ _______________ __________
October................................................................
............ .
.................... .............
1926: January.....
April_______________ ______ ________________
July_______________ _______________ _______
October___________ ____ _____________ ______
1927: January___ ________________________________
April____________________________ _____ ____
July____________ __________________________
October_______________ ____________ ______
1928: January.....
....... ..................... .......... .............
April. ................. .......... ...... .............. ...............
July................................................................. October____________________________________
$33.09
33.34
33.88
34.86
34.68
27.87
30.90
34.64
34.56
31.55
33.57
34.34
34.38
31.07
33.86
34.94
34.91
31.82
34.38
36.10
36.00
32.94
34.53
35.59
35.68
32.50
34.46
35.39
35.75
Without
board
$46.74
47.22
47.80
48.86
48.63
40.50
44.41
48.61
48.42
45.53
47.38
48.02
48.46
45.04
47.40
48.55
48.99
46.26
48.40
49.89
50.10
47.07
48.47
49.52
49.77
46.75
48.44
49.32
49.60
Index
numDers
of
farm
Per day
wages
(19101914=
With
Without
100)
board
board
$1.91
1.88
1.89
1.91
1.90
1.46
1.55
1.84
2.02
1.79
1.77
1.87
1.93
1.74
1.77
1.89
1.95
1.76
1.78
1.91
1.97
1.79
1.78
1.89
1.96
1.76
1.78
1.84
1.96
$2.45
2.44
2.46
2.49
2.46
1.97
2.09
2.44
2.58
2.38
2.34
2.43
2.51
2.31
2.33
2.44
2.53
2.33
2.35
2.48
2.55
2.36
2.37
2.44
2.51
2.34
2.34
2.39
2.51
166
166
168
171
170
137
148
169
174
159
163
168
171
156
163
170
173
159
166
174
176
162
166
172
175
161
166
170
175
i Yearly averages are from reports by crop reporters, giving average wages for the year in their localities,
except for 1924-1927, when the wage rates per month are a straight average of quarterly rates, April, July,
October, of the current year, and January of the following year; and the wage rates per day are a weighted
average of quarterly rates.
7 99
FARM WAGES— 1923 TO 1928
T a b l e 2.—AVERAG E W AGES PAID TO HIRED FA RM LABOR, B Y STATES, OCTOBER,
1927 AND 1928
Per month,
with board
Per month,
Per day,
without board with board
Per day,
without board
State and division
1927
Maine___________________________________
New Hampshire__________________________
Vermont_________________________________
Massachusetts.. ..... ....... ....
... ....... ....
Rhodft Island
Connecticut______________________________
New York________________________________
New Jersey_______________________________
Pennsylvania...............
1928
1927
1928
1927
1928
1927
1928
$45.00 $47.00 $66.00 $65.00
49.00 49.00 71.00 74.00
47.00 48.00 69.00 72.00
52.00 49.00 83.00 80.00
52.00 54.00 82.00 80.00
54.00 53.00 82.00 81.00
49.75 49.75 69.50 70.75
47.00 47.00 72.00 70.00
41.00 39.75 61.50 59.75
$2.75
2.70
2.55
2.90
2.70
2.90
3.05
2.90
2.60
$2.60
2.55
2.60
2.90
3.00
2.80
3.00
2.85
2.55
$3.30
3.45
3.35
3.75
3.70
3.85
3.80
3.80
3.40
$3.30
3.65
3.40
3.75
3.80
3.75
3.80
3.55
3.30
North Atlftntfe. „_______ . . . ____
47.01
46.58
69.03
68.71
2.83
2.78
3.62
3.58
Ohio..................... - ...........................................
Indiana...... .....
Illinois .
Michigan
__
Wisconsin________________________________
Minnesota
Iowa. _________________________________
Missouri _______________________________
North Dakota
South Dakota________________ ___________
Nebraska________________________________
Kansas__ ____ _____________ ____ _________
39.25
37.00
42.50
42.50
49.00
47.25
46.75
33.00
53.25
48.25
43.00
37.75
38.75
37.00
43.25
43.00
48.75
47.00
47.75
33.00
54.25
48.25
43.00
39.25
54.50
50.00
55.00
59.25
67.25
63.75
55.00
45.00
72.00
66.50
55.75
52.25
53.75
49.00
55.00
60.00
65.25
63.75
58.50
44.00
75.75
2.45
3.25
2.90
2.95
3.35
3.10
3.50
3.15
3.10
2.75
2.95
3.40
3.10
3.55
3.20
2.20
2.20
58.00
54.25
2.50
2.25
2.25
2.70
2.55
2.75
2.55
1.65
4.20
2.95
2.55
2.40
42.47
42.73
56.67
56.96
2.47
33.00
36.75
31.00
34.00
27.50
20.50
20.25
24.25
32.00
36.00
30.00
33.25
27.75
46.00
51.25
42.00
48.00
39.25
28.00
27.25
37.00
2.50
19.50
24.00
50.00
52.25
43.00
48.75
38.00
29.25
28.75
36.75
25.43
36.44
27.25
24.50
North Central________________________
Delaware_________________________________
Maryland_______________________________ _
Virginia__________________________________
West Virginia____________________________
North Carolina___________________________
South Carolina___________________________
Georgia__________________________________
Florida........................ ......... ..................... ......
South Atlantic........................................ 25.77
21.00
66.00
3.14
3.14
1.65
1.75
1.40
1.00
1.00
3.15
2.90
2.15
2.40
1.75
1.35
1.40
1.70
3.05
2.90
2.15
2.45
1.90
1.25
1.35
1.70
2.20
1.05
1.35
1.38
1.78
1.78
38.00
33.25
30.00
31.25
35.75
35.25
43.25
42.50
1.35
1.15
1.40
1.20
1.20
1.30
1.25
1.75
1.55
1.15
1.15
1.75
1.55
1.45
1.60
1.70
1.60
1.80
1.50
1.50
1.55
1.60
1.55
2.25
25.57
26.57
36.85
36.74
Montana_________________________________ 60.25
Idaho_______________________________ ____ 58.25
Wyoming_______________ _____ ___________ 51.75
Colorado______________ ___________________ 43.00
New Mexico______________________________ 35.25
Arizona___________ ________ ______ ________ 50.50
Utah____________ _____________ ___________ I 59.75
Nevada__________________________________ 63.25
Washington______________________________ 53.75
Oregon______ ____ _______________________ 53.25
California. ______ __ _______ _______________ 65.00
60.50
55.50
53.00
40.50
36.25
52.00
53.50
62.00
52.75
49.00
62.00
South Central_____ _____ ___________
21.00
2.48
2.35
2.30
1.65
1.75
1.50
35.78
21.75
26.00
25.75
31.25
31.25
22.00
5.05
3.80
3.30
3.20
1.05
1.25
23.50
25.50
23.50
30.25
26.50
27.50
25.75
4.90
3.70
3.30
3.10
1.20
38.25
33.50
27.00
32.00
36.00
33.00
47.25
43.25
Kentucky________________ ____ _____ _____
Tennessee..._______ ______________ ____ _
Alabama________________________________
Mississippi_______________ ____ ___________
Arkansas_________________________________
Louisiana____________________ __________
Oklahoma________________________________
Texas____________________________________
2.20
2.30
2.75
2.50
2.80
2.55
1.70
4.15
3.00
2.45
2.50
1.2 0
1.2 0
1.25
1.80
1.60
2.20
2.00
1.36
1.37
1.75
1.74
77.50 83.25
79.50 77.75
73.25 77.00
65.00 60.50
49.75 49.25
69.00 72.00
80.75 74.00
89.00 80.00
77.75 78.00
72.00 69.75
90.00 90.00
3.65
3.05
2.65
2.40
1.75
2.05
2.70
2.85
3.05
2.70
2.65
3.70
3.00
2.65
2.35
1.85
2.40
2.65
2.85
2.75
2.70
4.40
3.75
3.55
3.20
2.15
2.75
3.30
3.50
3.70
3.45
3.60
4.35
3.75
3.55
3.15
2.30
2.70
3.15
3.50
3.70
3.25
3.65
2.20
2.00
Far Western__________ ____ _________ 56.39
54.21
78.33
77.68
2.67
2.66
3.45
3.44
United States.......................................... 35.68
35.75
49.77
49.60
1.96
1.96
2.51
2.51
800
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
Foundries and Machine Shops—Wages and Hours of
Labor, 19276
A N EXTENSIVE study was made by the Bureau of Labor StatisjC Jl tics in the summer of 1927 of wages and hours of labor of the
wage earners in representative foundries and machine shops. Be
cause of the close correlation between these two industries the bureau
deemed it expedient to consider them at the same time, although
separate statements are made for each. Similar studies were made
in 1923 and 1925.
Owing to the almost unlimited variety of products manufactured
in machine shops and the special machinery necessary in the manu
facture of a large number of those products, the bureau has limited the
study to those plants in which the machinery was fairly comparable.
The machine shops covered in this article were engaged in machining
parts for, and assembling or constructing engines and machinery used
in various kinds of factories, mills, mines, construction operations,
etc. While the machine tools used in the establishments covered
vary in size with the product manufactured, they are similar in type
and their operation is essentially the same. The foundries included
were mainly engaged in casting parts for the same class of product.
In a large number of cases a foundry and a machine shop were in the
same plant. The previous studies were likewise limited.
The data are for one representative pay-roll period each year.
The 1927 data were obtained from 417 foundries and 526 machine
shops in 28 States.
Table 1 shows average earnings per hour, average full-time hours
per week, and average full-time weekly earnings for 12 of the princi
pal foundry occupations and for a group of “ other employees ” which
includes all foundry occupations not shown separately; and for 25
machine-shop occupations, including two groups of miscellaneous
employees, namely, “ other skilled machine shop occupations” and
“ other employees.” Averages for all fo u n d r y employees combined
are also shown. The averages are brought into comparison with
those for 1925 for all occupations for which information is available.
Comparing the 1927 average for employees in foundries, for both
sexes and all occupations, with that for 1925, as shown by Table 1,
a decrease of four-tenths of an hour is noted while the rate per hour
increased 1.4 cents per hour and the full-time earnings increased 47
cents per week.
An examination of the occupations comparable with 1925 discloses
that three showed a slight increase in hours while the others decreased
in hours per week, the largest decrease being 1.7 hours for “ other
employees.”
Only one occupation showed a decrease in the rate of wages per
hour. Cupola tenders decreased 1.5 cents per hour. The rest of the
occupations showed increases, ranging from 1.0 cents to 4.7 cents per
hour, the largest increase shown is for core makers, female.
The earnings per full-time week showed decreases in two instances,
84 cents for cupola tenders and 42 cents per week for “ other em
ployees.” The rest of the occupations increased in earnings per full
time week up to $2.38 for female core makers.
6 For full report see Bulletin No. 471.
801
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS
The general average for all employees in machine shops shows a
slight decrease of three-tenths of an hour per week, an increase of 2.3
cents per hour and an increase of 97 cents per full-time week.
Considering the individual occupations comparable with 1925, of
the 20 male occupations 6 increased in full-time hours per week, 11
decreased, while 3 did not change. Of the 8 female occupations
comparable with 1925, 5 decreased and 3 increased in hours per full
time week.
All the male occupations increased in rate per hour except laborers,
whose rate did not change. Of the female occupations, three in
creased and five decreased in rate per hour.
In earnings per full-time week all male occupations showed an in
crease except three, which decreased very slightly, while the female
occupations showed decreases in five, and increases in only three
occupations.
T a b l e 1.—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS
1926 AND 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX
Foundries
! Occupation
Chippers and rough grinders.
Core makers............................
Crane operators.
Cupola tenders..
Laborers_______
Molders, hand, bench..
Molders, hand, floor__
Molders, machine.........
Molders’ helpers, floor..
Pattern makers_______
Rough carpenters_____
Sand blasters 2. . .
Other employees.
All occupations..
Sex
Year
Aver
age
earn
ings
per
hour
Aver
age
full
time
weekly
earn
ings
Male___
...do___
Female..
Male----—do___
Female..
__do----Male___
...d o ----do____
...d o ____
...do-----—do____
Female..
Male___
„d o ____
__ do____
— do____
do____
...d o ____
...do____
...do____
...do____
...do____
__do____
..do____
-d o ____
—do____
—do____
Female-_
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1927
Male____
„d o........ .
Female...
—do.........
1925
1927
1925
1927
Male and
female,
—do_____
1925
51.5
.610
31.42
1927
51.1
.624
31.89
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total,
aIncluded with “ Other employees” in 1925.
Aver
age
full
time
hours
per
week
51.5
51.1
$26.83
27.44
0)
36.92
38.05
52.1
50.2
50.2
50.5
50.4
49.9
50.1
50.4
51.8
51.2
50.4
50.3
51.1
50.8
51.7
52.7
51.0
60.6
$0,521
.537
0)
.734
.755
.444
.491
.562
.575
.635
.620
.481
.491
.382
.768
.789
.802
.820
.733
.753
.460
.484
.804
.830
.591
.609
.591
.576
.587
.380
51.5
51.1
49.0
49.0
.612
.626
.427
.459
31.52
31.99
20.92
22.49
0)
5Q.3
50.4
48.6
48.4
52.7
52.6
51.9
51.8
52.5
21.68
23.76
29.62
30.25
32.96
32.12
25.25
25.58
19.18
38.56
39.84
40.42
40.92
36.72
37.95
23.83
24.78
40.52
41.75
30.20
30.94
30.55
30.36
29.94
19.23
802
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
T a b l e 1.—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS IN FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS,
1925 AND 1927, BY OCCUPATION AND SEX—Continued
Machine shops
Occupation
Assemblers.
Blacksmiths...................................
Blacksmith’s helpers....................
Boring-mill hands and operators..
Buffers and polishers 8..................
Crane operators.............................
Drill-press hands and operators..
Fitters and bench hands.
Grinding-machine hands and operators.
Laborers................................................................
Lathe hands and operators, engine.......... ..........
Lathe hands and operators, turret......................
Machinists...........................................................
Machinists’ and toolmakers’ helpers................
Milling-machine hands and operators________
Packers and craters.............................................
Pattern makers *...................
Planer hands and operators..
Screw-machine hands and operators.
Sheet-metal machine operators3...................... .
Toolmakers....................................................... .
Other machine hands and operators................ .
Other precision machine hands and operators8
Other skilled employees.....................................
Other employees..
All occupations..
Sex
Year
Male____
...d o _____
Female__
...d o _____
Male........
— do_____
— do_____
...d o _____
...d o _____
...d o ..........
...d o _____
Female—
Male____
...d o ..........
Female__
Male____
...d o ..........
Female__
...d o _____
Male____
_._do_____
Female...
— do..........
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1927
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1927
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1925
1927
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
1927
1925
— do..........
Female 2_.
Male____
...d o _____
...d o..........
...d o..........
Female___
...d o..........
...d o _____
Female___
...d o _____
Male
_..do_____
— do........ .
...d o_____
-..do_____
...d o_____
Female___
-.-do_____
Male_____
...d o _____
Female___
...d o..........
Male.........
-.-do........ .
— do........ .
...d o ..........
-.-do..........
Female___
Male.........
Female___
Male.........
...d o ..........
— do..........
Female___
Male.........
Female___
Male.........
...d o ..........
Female___
— do..........
Male.........
...d o ..........
Female___
— do..........
Male.........
— do..........
Female___
...d o........ .
Male and
female.
...d o ..........
2 Included with “ Other employees” in 1925.
* Included with “ Other machine hands and operators” in 1925.
4 Included with “ Other skilled employees” in 1925.
1927
Average Average Average
full-time earnings
full-time
hours
weekly
per week per hour earnings
49.6
$0,634
$31.45
50.1
.653
32.72
50.7
.444
22.51
49.5
.423
20.94
50.2
.717
35.99
50.2
.726
36.45
50.5
.504
25.45
50.2
.525
26.36
50.4
.688
34.68
50.7
.727
36.86
49.4
.699
34.53
49.0
.450
22.05
50.7
.524
26.57
51.2
.540
27.65
51.3
.431
2 2 .1 1
50.4
.579
29.18
50.1
.605
30.31
49.0
.477
23.37
49.4
.448
22.13
49.8
.643
32.02
49.5
.662
32.77
49.3
.468
23.07
49.0
.411
20.14
50.3
.637
32.04
50.1
.668
33.47
48.6
.444
21.58
50.6
.456
23.07
50.4
.456
22.98
50.3
.663
33.35
50.2
.695
34.89
48.4
.385
18.63
50.2
.647
32.48
50.0
.675
33.75
49.9
.488
24.35
50.0
.549
27.45
49.9
.702
35.03
49.5
.728
36.04
49.8
.494
24.60
50.1
.510
25.55
49.7
.653
32.45
49.7
.685
34.04
49.4
.497
24.55
48.8
.489
23.86
50.5
.520
26.26
50.1
.537
26.90
49.7
.354
17.59
49.5
.389
19.26
49.6
.841
41.71
50.2
.705
35.39
50.5
.742
37.47
49.8
.643
32.02
49.8
.664
33.07
48.7
.435
21.18
50.2
.603
30.27
48.7
.420
20.45
50.0
.727
36.35
49.7
.756
37.57
50.5
.630
31.82
48.8
.441
21.52
50.5
.659
33.28
49.3
.330
16.27
50.4
.647
32.61
50.1
.650
32.57
48.9
.372
18.19
47.7
.401
19.13
52.5
.514
26.99
50.3
.526
26.46
49.2
.352
17.32
49.3
.309
15.23
50.4
.604
30.44
50.1
.629
31.51
49.3
.420
20.71
48.9
.403
19.71
50.4
.602
30.34
50.1
.625
31.31
803
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS
While Table 1 is valuable in showing hours and earnings for the
industry in the United States as a whole, it does not show the varia
tion within the occupations among the several States. Space does
not permit a showing by States for all occupations, but four typical
foundry occupations and four typical machine-shop occupations have
been selected to illustrate the variation. The same kind of averages
are shown by States in Table 2 for these eight occupations as are
shown for aU occupations in the preceding table, except that they
are shown for 1927 only.
Taking the occupation of male laborers in foundries, for example,
the average for the 11,019 employees covered in the study are 52.1
hours per week, 49.1 cents per hour, and $25.58 per full-time week.
When the averages for the occupation in the various States are con
sidered, however, wide differences in hours and earnings are noted.
Laborers in Oregon averaged the shortest full-time week, namely,
45.3 hours; while laborers in Minnesota averaged the longest full
time week, with 54.3 hours. Five of the 28 States listed had a full
time week of less than 50 hours. Laborers in Georgia averaged only
25.6 cents per hour, while those in Washington received more than
twice that amount, or an average of 56 cents per hour. Eight States
had an average of less that 40 cents per hour, and eight States had
an average of 50 cents or over. Full-time earnings per week of
laborers ranged from $13.70 in Georgia to $28.84 in Wisconsin. The
seven other occupations show similar variations.
T
2 .—AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR EIGHT SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS IN
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS, 1927, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, AND STATE
able
Foundries
[Stated
Average
full-time
hours per
week
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Laborers, male
64.0
48.4
61.7
63.4
63.6
60.6
61.6
64 1
63.7
47.6
61.6
63.0
63.1
60.7
62.3
64.3
61.8
47.4
63.2
52.0
64.2
46.3
61.3
62.2
60.0
61.4
47.1
63.6
$0,306
.667
.438
.478
.266
.649
.477
.473
.393
.380
.353
.476
.381
.501
.529
.491
.445
.466
.468
.526
.475
.514
.497
.487
.296
.333
.560
.539
$16.52
26.96
22.64
25.53
13.70
27.72
24.57
26.59
Total...............................
62.1
.491
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Molders, hand, floor, male
Alabama...................................
California..................................
Colorado..................................
Connecticut..............................
Georgia.....................................
Illinois.......................................
Tn<jiq.nft____________________
Iowa..........................................
Kansas......................................
Kentucky.................................
Louisiana..................................
Maine.......................................
Maryland.................................
Massachusetts..........................
Michigan..................................
Minnesota................................
Missouri...................................
New Hampshire.......................
New Jersey...............................
New York.................................
Ohio..........................................
Oregon......................................
Pennsylvania............................
Rhode Island............................
Tennessee..................................
Texas.......................................
Washington..............................
Wisconsin.................................
39142°— 29------ 52
Average
full-time
hours per
week
18.05
18.21
25.23
20.23
25.40
27.67
26.66
23.05
22.09
24.90
27.30
25.75
23.28
25.60
26.42
14.80
17.12
26.38
28.84
54.1
45.5
45.5
49.4
53.4
47.3
50.9
52.4
53.8
49.3
50.3
47.8
50.2
48.4
51.2
52.4
50.5
49.1
50.4
49.2
50.7
45.6
50.6
50.7
49.4
50.3
46.9
49.9
$0,714
.960
.805
.811
.720
.831
.709
.816
.623
.657
.703
.667
.773
.971
.789
.667
.817
.735
.832
.848
.865
.817
.759
.696
.732
.843
.800
$38.63
43.68
36.63
40.06
38.45
39.31
36.09
42.76
33.52
32.39
35.36
31.88
38.80
47.00
40.40
34.95
41.26
36.09
44.76
40.93
42.99
39.44
41.34
38.48
34.38
36.82
39.54
39.92
25.58
49.9
.820
40.92
2 1.10
.888
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
804
AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR EIGHT SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS IN
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS, 1927, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, AND STATE—Con.
T able
Foundries— Continued
State
Average
full-time
hours per
week
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Molders, machine, male
n^lifnrnia ™
...
Colorado___________________
Connecticut_______ ______ __
Georgia____________________
Illinois_____________________
Tnriliana____________________
Iowa_______________________
Kftnsfts_____________________
Kentucky__________________
Louisiana___________________
Maine______________________
Maryland____________ ____ _
Massachusetts______________
Michigan___________________
Minnesota__________________
Missouri_______ ___________
New Hampshire____________
New Jersey_________________
New York_______________ __
Ohio____ ___________________
Oregon_____________________
Pennsylvania_______________
Rhode Island................. .........
Tennessee__________________
Texas................. ......................
.
Washington____ ^, .
W i s c o n s i n ^ ,.^
49.7
45.0
54.5
54.1
50.5
50.1
50.6
54.0
44.6
(i)
(l)
53.6
48.5
51.0
53.1
54.0
49.9
52.5
47.5
50.1
$0,955
.638
.648
.706
.787
.724
.691
.584
.569
0)
49.7
51.8
49.4
50.2
.705
.772
.444
.708
(i)
.639
.836
.730
.666
.657
.793
.757
.787
.765
® .m
Total_________________
50.4
Average
full-time
hours per
week
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Pattern makers, male
54.0
45.7
44.0
55.6
57.6
48.8
50.1
51.6
52.9
$0,785
1.003
.899
.651
.669
.891
.932
.685
.722
34.79
39.99
21.93
35.54
0)
39.60
47.9
48.9
48.8
51.4
49.7
46.5
50.0
50.1
50.0
50.8
46.5
51.0
51.0
49.5
51. g
45.1
52.3
.629
.741
.752
.846
.730
1.070
.773
.862
.815
.836
.912
.836
.662
.876
.713
.902
.780
$42.39
45.84
39.56
36.20
38.53
43.48
46.69
35.35
38.19
0)
37.42
30.13
36.23
36.70
43.48
36.28
49.76
38.65
43.19
40.75
42.47
42.41
42.64
33.76
43.36
36.58
40.68
40.79
37.95
50.3
.830
41.75
$47.46
28.71
35.32
38.19
39.74
36.27
34.96
31.54
25.38
(*)
0)
34.25
40.55
37.23
35.36
35.48
39.57
39.74
37.38
38.33
.753
Machine shops
Fitters and bench hands, male
Alabama..........
California.........
Connecticut___
Georgia.............
Illinois..............
Indiana............
Iowa.................
Kansas.............
Kentucky_____
Louisiana.........
Maine. ............
Maryland.........
Massachusetts..
0
54.6
45.3
50.9
59.7
49.3
48.8
52.9
54.2
47.5
$0,593
.796
.651
.267
.721
.638
.422
.496
.580
$32.38
36.06
33.14
15.94
35.55
31.13
22.32
26.88
27.55
44.8
.502
<9
.660
.651
0)
Minnesota...........
Missouri..............
New HampshireNew Jersey_____
New York...........
Ohio.....................
Oregon.................
Pennsylvania___
Rhode Island___
Tennessee............
Texas...................
Washington.........
Wisconsin............
47.4
50.7
49.5
53.3
48.2
49.3
48.4
50.0
44.5
51.7
50.4
49.0
53.0
47.5
52.6
Total.
49.5
Laborers, male
.545
.723
.641
.716
.650
.708
.633
.595
.511
.522
.775
.635
31.28
33.01
33.07
29.05
34.85
31.60
34.65
32.50
31.51
32.73
29.99
25.04
27.67
36.81
33.40
54.5
45.9
50.9
53.5
49.9
51.2
53.5
53.6
46.1
54.9
48.4
49.6
49.7
51.3
49.8
52.2
50.3
49.8
48.6
50.6
46.2
51.6
51.0
49.3
50.4
47.5
52.3
$0,304
.535
.471
.226
.498
.437
.395
.362
.406
.329
.419
.430
.459
.490
.447
.409
.469
.471
.460
.453
.490
.444
.443
.316
.349
.485
.471
$16.57
24.56
23.97
12.09
24.85
22.37
21.13
19.40
18,72
18.06
20.28
21.33
22.81
25.14
22.26
21.35
23.59
23.46
22.36
22.92
22.64
22.91
22.59
15.58
17.59
23.04
24.63
.662
32.77
50.4
.456
22.98
.668
22.49
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
805
MEN’S CLOTHING INDUSTRY
T a b l e 2 . —AVERAGE HOURS AND EARNINGS FOR EIGHT SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS IN
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS, 1627, BY OCCUPATION, SEX, AND STATE—Con.
Machine shops— Continued
Average
full-time
hours per
week
State
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Average
full-time
hours per
week
Lathe hands and operators, engine,
male
Aiftbama...,______ _____ _____
n^ lifornia
Connecticut________________
Georgia____________________
Illinois_____________________
Indiana____________________
Iowa_______________________
Kansas_____ _______________
Kentucky__________________
Louisiana__________________
Maine______________________
Maryland— ................. ..........
Massachusetts.........................
Michigan___________________
Minnesota__________________
Missouri..................................
New Hampshire.___________
New Jersey__ ______________
New York..
......... * ___ Ohio..........................................
Oregon______ _____
Pennsylvania_______________
Rhode Island_______________
Tennessee.*._________________
Texas........................................
Washington________________
Wisconsin__________________
Total........................... .
Average
earnings
per hour
Average
full-time
weekly
earnings
Toolmakers, male
54.6
45.5
51.1
53.7
49.9
49.7
52.4
50.3
47.7
56.7
47.4
48.3
49.2
51.5
51.4
51.0
50.6
49.5
49.2
50.7
45.4
51.4
50.4
48.8
49.3
47.1
53.5
$0,668
.848
.678
.547
.767
.643.
.585
.659
.612
.630
.604
.586
.638
.643
.647
.657
.641
.723
.724
.694
.772
.687
.607
.608
.679
.779
.695
$36.47
38.58
34.65
29.37
38.27
31.96
30.65
33.15
29.19
35.72
28.63
28.30
31.39
33.11
33.26
33.51
32.43
35.79
35.62
35.19
35.05
35.31
30.59
29.67
33:47
36.69
37.18
54.9
46.0
50.4
53.3
50.2
50.5
51.7
52.0
46.6
48.0
48.8
50.8
50.5
50.4
49.2
49.3
48.2
49.4
44.0
51.2
50.4
49.1
49.4
47.2
52.5
.614
.701
.723
.809
.668
.744
.805
.789
.818
.726
.876
.722
.708
.723
.712
.837
.702
50.2
.695
34.89
49.7
.756
$0,746
.867
.735
.717
.818
.703
.642
.642
.706
0)
$40.96
39.88
37.04
38.22
41.06
35.50
33.19
33.38
32.90
0)
29.53
33.65
35.28
41.10
33.73
37.50
39.61
38.90
39.43
35.86
38.54
36.97
35.68
35.50
35.17
39.51
36.86
37.57
i Figures omitted to avoid identification of establishment; included in total.
Hosiery and Underwear Industry
See Wages and hours of labor in the hosiery and underwear industry,
1926. Former handbook (Bui. No. 439), pages 745-749. See also
Labor Review, April, 1929 (pp. 143-153), for summary of 1928 survey.
Iron and Steel Industry
See Wages and hours of labor in the iron and steel industry, 1926.
Former handbook (Bui. No. 439), pages 750-758.
M en’s Clothing Industry: Hours and Earnings, 19283
STUDY of the wages and hours of labor in factories making
men’s ready-made clothing was made by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics in the summer of 1928. Similar studies were made by the
bureau at intervals since 1911.
The 1928 study covered 200 representative establishments operating
369 cutting, coat, pants, and vest shops and employing 35,873 workers
(17,626 males and 18,247 females), while the 1926 study covered 198
establishments operating 359 shops and employing 33,659 persons
(17,048 males and 16,611 females). Earnings per hour, all employees
A
8For full report see forthcoming bulletin.
806
WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR
combined, averaged 73.1 cents in 1928 as compared with 75 cents
two years before. Males earned an average of 92.4 cents per hour in
1928 and 93.7 cents in 1926, and females earned an average of 53.4
cents per hour in 1928 and 54.8 cents per hour in 1926.
Average full-time hours per week of all employees covered in the
industry were 44 in 1928 and 44.3 in 1926; those of males were 44.1
in 1928 and 44.3 in 1926, and those of females were 43.9 hours per
week in 1928 and 44.3 in 1926.
The full-time earnings per week of all employees averaged $32.16 in
1928 and $33.23 in 1926; those of males averaged $40.75 in 1928 and
$41.51 in 1926, and those of females $23.44 in 1928 and $24.28 in 1926.
In Table 1 average full-time hours per week, average earnings per
hour, and average full-time earnings per week are shown for employees
in the “ selected occupations” in the industry for each of the years,
1911 to 1914, and for employees in “ all occupations” in the industry
for certain specified years, 1914 to 1928, inclusive. The averages
for the employees in the selected occupations from 1911 to 1914 are
directly comparable, one year with another, as are the averages for
the employees in all occupations from 1914 to 1928. Comparison of
the averages for employees in the selected occupations with those for
employees in all occupations should not be made inasmuch as the
two sets of averages for 1914 differ. One set covers the employees
in selected occupations in 153 establishments and the other the em
ployees in all occupations in the same establishments.
Index numbers of the averages (using the 1913 average as the base
or 100 per cent) are also given in the table in order to have continuous
and comparable data, one year with another over the entire period
from 1911 to 1928. The indexes for each of the years 1911 to 1914
are simple percentages. Those for 1919 and for each of the succeed
ing years were computed by increasing or decreasing the 1914 index
for selected occupations in proportion to the i
@FedFRASER