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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
W . N. DOAK, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ETHELBERT STEWART, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES \
M
£• J 1
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S /................... f l 0 e d 4 1
M I S C E L L A N E O U S
S E R I E S
HANDBOOK OF
LABOR STATISTICS
1931 EDITION
/ y
\
SEPTEMBER* 1931
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON 11931
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents* Washington, D. C.
-
-
Price $1.25
Contents
Page
Introduction___________________________________ - ________ ___________
Arbitration and conciliation:
Work of United States Board of Mediationv _____________________
Railroad arbitration awards, 1929 and 1930_______________________
Emergency boards appointed under railroad labor act_____________
Industrial arbitration awards, 1929 and 1930_____________________
Results of arbitration cases involving wages and hours, 1865 to 1929_
Decisions of Industrial Commission of Colorado, 1929 and 1930____
Conciliation work of United States Department of Labor__________
Child labor:
Trends in employment of children, 1927 to 1929__________________
Children in migratory and agricultural occupations________________
Migratory child workers in California and elsewhere___________
Conference on migratory child labor_________________________
Child workers in Maryland canneries, 1929___________________
Farm labor of children in Colorado__________________________
Employment of Philadelphia children at farm labor..... ...............
Compensation to illegally employed minors for industrial injuries__
Illegally employed minors under workmen’s compensation acts_ _
Additional compensation for minors illegally employed in IllinoisIllegally employed minor covered by compensation act in Massa
chusetts_________________________________________________
Compensation status of illegally employed minors in Pennsyl
vania___________________________________________________
Compensation eases of Wisconsin minors closed in 1929________
Cooperation:
Cooperative movement in the United States in 1929_______________
Consumers' cooperative enterprises__________________________
Workers’ productive associations____________________________
Credit unions______________________________________________
Legislation relating to cooperative societies_______________________
Cooperative congresses in 1930__________________________________
Condition of labor banks as of June 30, 1930_____________________
Development of building and loan associations, .1920 to 1929_______
Cost of living:
Trend of cost of living in the United States_______________________
Cost of living in the United States and in foreign countries—. ..........
Standard of living of employees of Ford Motor Co. in Detroit______
Cost of living of Federal employees______________________________
How a group of skilled workers’ families spent their income________
Living standards on the farm____________________________ ______ _
Incomes and expenditures of village and town families in Minnesota.
Comparison of living standards of farm and city families in Minne
sota_______________ _______________________ ___________ ______
Home ownership and the family b udget................... ..........................
Employment offices:
Public employment offices in the United States___________________
in
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123
125
129
IV
CONTENTS
Employment statistics:
Page
Employment statistics__________________________________________
139
Employment statistics compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics-.
139
Trend of employment in manufacturing industries_________________
141
Trend of employment in nonmanufacturing industries_____________
150
Trend of employment on steam railroads_________________________
152
State employment records_______________________________________
153
Surveys of unemployment--- ------------------------------------------------------158
Federal surveys of unemployment-----------------------------------------159
Unemployment survey of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co_____
165
Surveys of unemployment in Baltimore, 1928, 1929, and 1930-_
172
Surveys of unemployment in Buffalo, N. Y., 1929 and 1930____
176
Unemployment in Bloomington, Ind., February, 1930_________
184
Surveys of unemployment in Cincinnati, 1929 and 1930_______
186
Unemployment surveys of Philadelphia, 1929 and 1930________
186
Fluctuations of employment in Ohio, 1924 to 1929________________
192
Unemployment among organized building-trades workers in Massa
chusetts_____________________________________________________
200
Farm labor supply and demand in October, 1929 and 1930-------------201
202
Labor-absorbing power of American industry.____________________
Absorption of discharged men’s clothing cutters into other trades__
204
Study of unemployed men who applied for work at a Boston agency208
Hawaii—labor conditions:
Labor conditions in the Territory of Hawaii, 1929-1930____________
215
215
Racial distribution of population____________________________
Savings bank accounts, by races_____________________________
216
Living conditions_____________ ' ____________________________
216
Hours and earnings in Hawaiian industries___________________
217
Sugar industry-------------------------------------------------------------------218
Pineapple industry_________________________________________
225
Coffee industry____________________________________________
231
Rice industry______________________________________________
231
Union labor________________________________________________
232
Housing:
Housing activities---------- ------------ ---------------------------- ------- ----------237
Pennsylvania’s model housing ordinance__________________________
237
Housing situation in Philadelphia------------------------------------------------238
Housing needs and housing experiments in New York-------------------241
Housing standards in New York--------------- ------- --------------------------244
Housing in relation to certain social problems in Detroit___________
246
Cooperative housing societies in 1929____________________________
247
An experiment in Negro housing in New York City-------------------- 250
Building statistics in principal cities of the United State's............ —
251
Average construction costs of dwellings, 1930............ ......... ...............250
Comparative cost of dwelling units in St. Louis and Washington,
D. C .......................................... .................... —_____ _____________
264
Immigration and emigration:
Immigration and emigration___________________ ______ __________ _
269
Immigration and emigration, by months, 1929 and 1930___________
269
Immigration into the United States, 1820 to 1930........ ......................
276
Immigration legislation_________________________________________
278
Naturalization of aliens, 1907 to 1930...................................................
282
Labor and social conditions of Mexicans in California.......................283
Increase of Mexican labor in certain industries in the United States..
289
The Filipino in California............................................... ............. .........
290
CONTENTS
Industrial accidents:
Accidents in selected manufacturing industries, 192$ to 1929_______
Accident experience of establishments reporting to National Safety
Council______________________________________________________
Accident record, by industry—
Coal mines_________________ _______________ _______________
Coke ovens________________________________________________
Construction industry, New York— ------- -----------------------------Electric utilities----------------__----------------------------------------------Iron and steel industry---- ---------------------------------------------------Metal mines------------------------------------ ------------- -------------------Metallurgical works________________________________________
Portland cement industry----------------------------------------------------Quarries___________________________________________________
Railways, steam------- ---------------------------------------------------------Cost of industrial accidents to the State, the employer, and the man.
Causes of compensated accidents in New York State, 1926 to 1929__
Effect of eye conservation measures---------- --------- ------------------------Dependents of victims of fatal industrial accidents in Pennsylvania,
1929________ _______ ______________ _________ _______________
Industrial health:
Federal agencies concerned with problems of industrial health______
Recent studies of industrial diseases and poisons__________________
Asbestosis_________________________________________________
Benzol______ _____________ ________ ___________ ______ ______
Cancer caused by coal tar and coal-tar products and mineral oils _
Carbon monoxide: Effects of repeated daily exposure to small
amounts of automobile exhaust gas________________________
Cellosolve: Physiological response of animals to the vapor____
Chrome poisoning_____________________ ________ ____________
Chromium compounds______________________________________
Cyanide poisoning in casehardening__________________________
Dermatitis resulting from occupation________________________
Dioxan gas: Effects of exposure of animals to the gas_________
Dry ice—A new industrial hazard____________________________
Dust______________________________________________________
Ethyl benzene: Acute effects of exposure of animals to the vapors.
Gases and fumes_________________________ _________________
Lead poisoning in the United States_________________________
Lead poisoning_____________________________________________
Methyl chloride poisoning in mechanical refrigeration_________
Physical impairment in clerical occupations_____ _____________
Pulmonary disease caused by asbestos dust___________________
Pulmonary asbestosis_________ ___________________________
Radium: Survey of industrial poisoning from radioactive sub
stances________ _________________________________________
Radium: Occupational poisoning in manufacture of luminous
watch dials...................................... ..................... .............. .......
New treatment for radium poisoning________________________
Respiratory diseases................................. ...................................
Silica dust: Health of workers in the granite industry.................
Silicosis: Acute cases caused by cleaning powder.........................
Silicosis among rock drillers, blasters, and excavators in New
York City......... ....... .................... ....... ......... ................... .........
V
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300
301
302
303
306
307
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311
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313
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325
325
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328
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337
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340
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343
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349
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355
VI
CONTENTS
Industrial health—Continued.
Recent studies of industrial diseases and poisons—Continued.
Page
Silicosis among sandstone workers in Great Britain-----------------357
358
Silicosis________________________ ____________________________
Soap and soap cleansers___________ __________ ___________ —
358
Spray-painting practices and hazards________________________
358
Tuberculosis resulting from the occupation...................................
362
Studies of health and working conditions—
363
Effect of noise upon efficiency_______________________________
Effect of noise on hearing of industrial workers_______________
368
Energy requirements of intense mental effort_________________
369
Effects of monotony in work________________________________
370
Effects of variety and uniformity of work upon output________
372
Effect of rest periods on production__________________________
373
375
Relationship between unemployment and health______________
State regulations regarding spray painting____________________
376
Insurance and benefit plans:
Types of insurance and benefit plans_____________________________
379
Benefits paid by standard national and international unions________
380
Disability benefits, old-age pensions, and life insurance by collective
agreement___________________________________________________
383
Mutual-benefit association plans_________________________________
385
Labor organizations:
Trade-union membership and organization in the United States—
Membership of American Federatiqji of Labor, 1930___________
389
Trade-union membership and organization in 1929____________
389
397
Membership of workers' organizations in various countries_________
Collective agreements in 1929 and 1930__________________________
398
Topical analysis of collective agreements_________________________
400
Holiday observance________________________________________
400
The check-off______________________________________________
402
Time and method of payment of wages______________________
403
Union members doing work on their own account_____________
404
Beneficial activities of American trade-unions_____________________
405
Union-management cooperation at Naumkeag cotton mills................
409
Medical services and costs:
Committee on the Costs of Medical Care_______________________ _
415
Cost of medical care____________________________________________
415
Costs of medical care among different types of families____ ________
417
An estimate of adequate provision for organized care of the sick____
418
Cost of hospital service_________________________________________
420
Employee medical service____________________ __________________
421
Survey of medical facilities of a typical rural community__________
423
Cost of maternity care in Berkeley, Calif_________________________
425
Prevention of sickness in New York City_________________________
426
Medical care for 15,000 workers and their families_____ ___________
427
Hospital service for patients of moderate means___________________
430
Institutional care for convalescents_______________________________
432
Health promotion by employees’ benefit associations______________
433
Medical service furnished by a mutual benefit society______ _____ 435
Industrial medical service in a group of Chicago plants........ ~ ~
437
Industrial health service in small plants................ - .............................
438
Health service for Cincinnati men’s clothing workers.........- - - ...........
439
Medical care for trade-unionists in Los Angeles___________________
440
New Jersey Industrial Disease Investigation Bureau_______________
440
CONTENTS
Minimum wage:
Wage-fixing legislation in the United States_______________________
Public works_______________________________________________
Private employment________________________________________
Negroes: Industrial and social conditions:
Industrial and social conditions of the Negro-------------------------------The Negro in industry and business-------------------------------------------Negro women in industry_______________________________________
The Negro in Richmond, Va____________________________________
Housing of Negroes in Washington, D. C ------- -----------------------------Old-age pensions and relief:
01d-age pensions and relief________________________________ ______
Legislation providing pensions for aged dependent citizens, as of end
of 1930______________________________________________________
Operation of public old-age pension systems in the United States,
1931________________________________________________________
Homes for the aged in the United States--------------------------------------Public service retirement systems________________________________
Federal employees7retirement act of 1930____________________
Establishment old-age retirement plans___________________________
Special retirement adjustments in the steel industry___________
Insurance and pension plan of Standard Oil Co. of New York__
Safeguarding the employees ’ interest- under industrial pension
plans____________________________________________________
Annuity unit plan of a large manufacturing company--------------Financing railroad pension plans_____________________________
Care of the aged by labor organizations---------------------------------------Older worker in industry:
Problem of the older worker_____________________________________
Age limits on employment by American manufacturers------------------Age distribution of industrial workers in the United States, 1923
and 1928____________________________________________________
Age limits in industry in Maryland and California________________
The older worker and the age level in Maryland industries____
The older worker in California_______________________________
Finding wrork for the middle-aged-----------------------------------------------Making the most of the older employee---------------------------------------Philippine Islands—Labor conditions:
Labor conditions in the Philippine Islands________________________
Wages in Manila, 1927 and 1928_____________________________
Salaries in Philippine civil service, 1925 to 1929_______________
Wages of common labor in various Provinces-------------------------Wholesale and retail prices__________________________________
Cost of living in the Philippines, 1929________________________
Factory inspection in the Philippines, 1929___________________
Woman and child labor in Manila, 1929______________________
Adjustment of wage claims by Philippine Bureau of Labor, 1925
to 1929__________________________________________________
Industrial accidents, 1925 to 1929___________________________
Strikes, 1925 to 1929---------- ------- ----------------------------------------Labor organizations________________________________________
Migration of Philippine labor to Hawaii, 1925 to 1929_________
Agricultural cooperative associations_________________________
VII
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VIII
CONTENTS
Porto Rico—labor conditions:
Labor conditions in Porto Rico............................................. .......... .
Wages in Porto Rico, 1928-29................................................................
Retail prices of food in San Juan____________ ______ ______________
Unemployment in Porto Rico, 1929.....................................................
Social conditions in Porto Rico________ ______ ________ _____ ______
Prices, wholesale and retail:
Retail prices in the United States—
Retail prices of food________________________________________
Retail prices of coal________________________________________
Retail prices of gas.. . ____ _________________________________
Retail prices of electricity___________________________________
Wholesale prices in the United States_______ ______ — ....................
Wholesale prices in the United States and in foreign countries, 1923
to December, 1930___________________________________________
Productivity of labor:
Productivity of labor in 11 manufacturing industries____ __________
Productivity of labor in loading and discharging ships_____________
Ratio of value of production to wages and their purchasing power in
manufacturing establishments, 1849 to 1929____________________
Coal-mine labor productivity____________________________________
Labor productivity in boot and shoe making before the invention
of machinery_________________________________________________
Labor cost of producing crops on irrigated farms in Colorado______
Sickness and death statistics:
Deaths from lead poisoning, 1925 to 1927_________________________
Causes of death, by occupation__________________________________
Prevalence of tuberculosis in industry____________________________
Health conditions among American and Canadian industrial popu
lations in 1930_______________________________________________
International Typographical Union mortality, 1929________________
Compensable cases of occupational disease in Illinois______________
Occupational diseases investigated in Massachusetts in 1929_______
Occupational diseases in New Jersey in 1928_____ ________________
Small loans:
Small loans____________________________________________________
Cost of credit to the small borrower______________________________
Economic and social status of borrowers from small-loan companies. .
Occupational analysis of borrowers from small-loan companies_____
Strikes and lockouts:
Strikes and lockouts in the United States, 1916 to 1930____________
Principal strikes and lockouts in 1929 and 1930----------------------------Turnover of labor:
Labor turnover in American factories____________________________
Unemployment insurance and relief:
Unemployment insurance and relief. _____________________________
Unemployment benefits and stabilization policies in the United
States_________ ______________ _______________________________
Trade-union plans__________________________________________
Insurance through collective agreements_____________________
Establishment insurance and guaranty plans...............................
Plans for stabilizing employment__________________________ ______
Employment methods during depression—recommendations of
President’s Emergency Committee_________________________
page
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545
549
550
550
557
571
572
575
578
591
599
607
613
617
621
623
627
628
632
634
636
637
638
639
643
643
648
650
655
656
663
673
673
673
674
675
678
679
CONTENTS
Unemployment insurance and relief—Continued.
Plans for stabilizing employment—Continued.
Cincinnati's employment stabilization plan in operation_______
Ohio program for stabilizing employment.............. .................... Report and recommendations of New York Committee on Sta
bilization of Industry_____________________________________
Report of employers’ organizations on solution of unemploy
ment problem-----------------------------------------------------------------Proposals for dealing with unemployment, by president of Amer
ican Federation of Labor_________________________________
President's conferences for continued industrial progress----------------President's Emergency Committee for Employment----------------------Survey of unemployment relief in industry. ....................... .................
The dismissal wage____ ________________________________________
Report of Senate Committee on Causes and Relief of Unemployment,
1929__________
— _______ ____________________________
Federal law on advance planning of public works for stabilization
of industry___________________________________________________
Provisions in trade agreements for stabilizing employment_________
Unemployment insurance in foreign countries_____________________
Wages and hours of labor:
Wages and hours of labor_______________________________________
Wage studies of the Bureau of Labor Statistics___________________
Wages and hours in various industries and trades—
Airplanes and aircraft engines: Hours and earnings, 1929______
Aluminum, brass, and copper utensils and wares, manufacture of.
Anthracite mining: Hours and earnings______________________
Batteries and small motors: Hours and earnings______________
Bituminous coal mining: Hours and earnings, 1926 and 1929___
Boot and shoe industry: Hours and earnings, 1930____________
Brass and copper sheet, rod, tube, wire, and shape mills_______
Cigarette manufacturing industry: Hours and earnings, 1930__
Common labor: Earnings___________________________________
Common labor: Entrance wage rates, July 1, 1929, and July 1,
______________ ______________
1930________________
Common street laborers: Wages and hours, 1928______________
Cotton gins, cotton compresses, and cottonseed-oil mills______
Cotton-goods industry: Wages and hours of labor, 1930_______
Dyeing and finishing of textiles: Wages and hours of labor, 1930.
Factory workers: Average weekly earnings in New York State,
1917 to 1930__________________________ ________ __________
Farm labor: Wages, 1910 to 1930........ ........................ .................
Farm labor: Perquisites and wages__________________________
Fire and police departments of principal cities: Salaries, 1929-.
Foundries and machine shops: Hours and earnings, 1929______
Furniture industry: Hours and earnings, 1929________________
Hosiery and underwear industries: Wages and hours of labor,
1928 and 1930................ ....... .......................... ............................
Iron and steel industry: Wages and hours of labor, 1929_______
Longshoremen: Earnings___________________________________
Men's clothing industry: Hours and earnings, 1930___________
Motor-vehicle industry: Hours and earnings, 1928-^__________
Naval establishment, United States: Wages of civil employees-,
IX
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688
695
697
699
700
701
703
707
708
710
717
721
721
723
728
729
729
729
736
741
741
744
744
747
749
750
754
756
757
759
761
763
769
772
778
784
789
492
795
X
CONTENTS
Wages and hours of labor—Continued.
Wages and hours in various industries and trades—Continued.
Office workers: Earnings in New York State factories, October,
_...................... .
1930...........
Oil wells and pipe lines: Hours and earnings, 1929______ ______
Paper box-board industry____________________ ______ ________
Portland cement industry: Wages and hours, 1929____________
Pottery industry___ _______ __________________ _______ ______
Radio receiving sets____________________ ______ _______ ______
Rayon and other synthetic textile manufacturing: Wages and
hours, 1930______________________________________________
Sawmills: Wages and hours of labor, 1930____________________
Seamen: Wages, 1930_______________________________________
Silk industry: Hours and earnings in Pennsylvania____________
Slaughtering and meat-packing industry: Hours and earnings,
1929____
_____ ________ J______________________
Steam-railroad employees: Earnings, 1929 and 1930_____ _____
Sugar refining: Wages and hours, 1930_______________________
Union scales of wages and hours of labor_____________________
Woolen and worsted goods: Wages and hours, 1930___________
General wage changes___________________________________________
Index numbers of wages per hour, 1840 to 1929_______________
Trend of real wages per hour, 1913 to 1929___________________
International comparison of real wages, 1930_________________
Extent of the 5-day week in manufacturing industries in 1928______
The shorter work week in 1930__________________________________
History of wages in the United States from colonial times--------------Payment of wages by check_____________________________________
Collection of wage claims by State labor offices___________________
Wages in Alaska, 1929 and 1930_________________________________
Women in industry:
Women in industry_____________________________________________
Cost of living and women’s wages in Texas_______________________
Women in limited-price chain stores______________________________
Woman workers in laundries____________________________________
Part-time jobs for women_______________________________________
Why married women seek employment----------------------------------------Variations in employment trends of male and female workers--------Laws relating to women industrially employed___________________
Workmen’s compensation:
Workmen’s compensation in the United States, as of January 1, 1931.
Progress of legislation---------------------------------------------------------Types of laws______________________________________________
Comparison of compensation and insurance systems---------------Scope or coverage---------------------------------------------------------Occupational diseases___________________________________
Election------ --------- ------------------------------------------------------Suits for damages______________________________________
Waiting time__________________________________________
Compensation scale____________________________________
Medical benefits,,__________________ ___________________
Administration and settlement of claims-------------------------Accident reporting and prevention — w.— ,-------------------Nonresident alien dependents-----------------------------------------
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BULLETIN OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
no.
541
WASHINGTON
Se p t e m b e r , t m
HANDBOOK OF LABOR STATISTICS: 1931 EDITION
Introduction
HIS is the third handbook of labor statistics prepared by the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the first being
published in 1927 (Bui. No. 439) and the second (Bui. No. 491) in
1929. The present handbook follows the same general lines as the
former volumes, and supplements them by presenting a digest of the
material published during the two years since the 1929 Handbook
was prepared.
As in the preceding handbooks, there are necessarily repetitions of
subject titles and some repetition of data, but there is no repetition
of articles for which no important later information is available.
References to the former handbooks are given when the earlier ma
terial seems still to be of particular value, but no attempt has been
made to compile a complete series of cross references, and the reader
interested in a particular topic should consult all three handbooks.
Thus used, the three volumes constitute, it is believed, a convenient
abbreviation of most of the published work of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
As explained in the introduction to the former handbooks, the mate
rial presented in this volume represents in large part the original
work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but this is by no means entirely
the case, as the bureau does not attempt to cover certain fields of interest
to labor which are already adequately covered by other official
agencies. It does attempt, however, in its Monthly Labor Review
to follow such of the activities of other agencies both official and non
official as have a labor interest, and in the preparation of this volume
it has drawn upon their work.
The contents of these several handbooks indicate quite clearly the
scope of, and also the limitations upon, the labor statistics available
for the United States. Certain subjects of primary importance are
covered with reasonable adequacy by various official agencies. There
remain, however, other subjects of possibly equal interest which are
covered very inadequately. These deficiencies are due principally to
the insufficiency of resources on the part of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics and of other agencies. The United States is spread over
such a large territory of such divergent characteristics that the col
lection of satisfactory labor statistics is a difficult and costly matter.
In recent years, however, there has been a marked improvement in
all phases of this work, due in large part to increasing cooperation on
the part of employers, employees, and the various public and private
organizations.
T
1
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Work of United States Board of Mediation
HE United States Board of Mediation was constituted under the
terms of the railroad labor act of 1926, to handle cases of dispute
which the carriers and employees have been unable to settle in con
ference. When disputes between carriers and their employees can
not be settled through mediation proceedings, the law directs that
the Board of Mediation shall endeavor to induce the parties to submit
their controversy to arbitration. The arbitration board shall be
composed of three or six members, as the parties may determine,
one-third of whom shall represent the earners, one-third the em
ployees, and one-third shall be neutral. If the representatives of the
carriers and employees fail to name the neutral member or members
of the board it becomes the duty of the Board of Mediation to appoint
such member or members.
The board began operations in July, 1926, since which time 540
cases involving rates of pay, rules, and working conditions have been
submitted to the board. During this period the board has also
received 291 applications for its services in the adjustment of other
cases which were, for the most part, grievances involving the interest
of employees as affected by the application of rules or of discipline.
During the two years from July 1, 1928, to June 30, 1930, the
board acted upon 194 cases involving rates of pay, rules, and working
conditions. Of these 194 cases, 71 were settled through mediation,
17 were submitted to arbitration, 55 were withdrawn through media
tion, 8 were withdrawn without mediation consideration, and 43 were
retired by action of the board.
During this 2-year period the board also received 259 applications
for its services in the adjustment of cases other than those involving
rates of pay, rules, ana working conditions. Of these 259 cases,
165 were disposed of.
The following table gives the number of cases disposed of, by method
of settlement, for the four years from July 1, 1926, to June 30, 1930.
T
NUM BER
O F C A S E S D IS P O S E D
OF, B Y M E T H O D
YEARS
Settled by—
M ediation agreement,.......... - ......... ................. ..
Arbitration agreement......................................... ..... ...........
W ithdrawal through mediation............................ ...........
W ithdrawal without mediation........................................
Board action........................................................... ...................
Total..................................................................................
1926-27
57
27
15
9
3
111
O F S E T T L E M E N T , F O R G IV E N
1927-28
1928-29
1929-30
84
14
37
$
46
25
7
18
10
2
37
a
30
145
129
Total
212
13
58
107
25
48
65
450
2
5
6
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Railroad Arbitration Awards, 1929 and 1930
UMMARIES of the principal awards resulting from railroad
labor arbitrations held during 1929 and 1930 are given below.
S
Clerks and Station Employees
Kansas City Terminal Co.
T h e Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight
Handlers, Express and Station Employees requested of the Kansas
City Terminal Co. an increase of $1 per day for the mail and baggage
handlers, checkmen, gatemen, and others, which the carrier refused.
Under the railroad labor act, a board of arbitration was created by an
agreement dated May 5, 1928.
The Kansas City Terminal Co. selected W. M. Corbett, and the
Brotherhood of Railway Clerks selected J. H. Sylvester, as arbi
trators. These two being unable to select the third arbitrator, the
United States Board of Mediation appointed F. H. Kreismann as the
neutral arbitrator.
On January 17, 1929, the majority of the board made the following
award:
1. Add to the rates of pay of all daily rated positions 25 cents per day.
2. Add to the rates of all hourly rated positions 3.125 cents per hour.
3. Add to the rates of all monthly rated positions $6,375 per month.
4. The foregoing specified increases shall not apply to those certain twelve
positions designated as assistant foreman and/or mail dispatchers whose rates of
pay were voluntarily increased or readjusted by the carrier on September 1, 1927;
but such increases shall apply to all positions covered by this arbitration occupied
by employees who are now or may hereafter be found to have been in the service
of the carrier for a period of one year or longer.
5. This award shall become effective January 16, 1929; shall continue in force
for the period of one year from the effective date thereof, and thereafter subject
to 30 days’ notice by or to the company.
W. M. Corbett, representing the carrier, dissented from the findings
of the majority of the board.
Boston & Maine Railroad
T h e Boston & Maine Railroad requested permission to decrease
the wages of its railway clerks. Under the provisions of the railroad
labor act, a board of arbitration was created by agreement dated
July 5, 1928, as amended by a supplemental agreement dated Decem
ber 10, 1928.
The carrier selected as its arbitrator W. S. Trowbridge, and the
Brotherhood of Railway Clerks selected H. D. Ulrich. The arbitra
tors so selected having failed to agree upon the neutral member, the
United States Board of Mediation selected Fred L. Williams, of St.
Louis, Mo., as the neutral member of the board.
On February 19, 1929, the board made its award, refusing to make
any change in the existing rate.
Southern Pacific (Pacific Lines)
A b o a r d of arbitration was created by agreement dated Decem
ber 20, 1926, for the purpose of deciding a request for an increase
in wages by the railway clerks, freight handlers, express and station
RAILROAD ARBITRATION AWARDS
7
employees on the Southern Pacific (Pacific Lines). The board con
sisted of W. B. Kirkland, selected by the carrier, J. H. Sylvester,
selected by the employees, and J. O. Davis as the third arbitrator.
The award of the board, issued on April 16, 1927, granted increases
in rates of pay in various amounts to the employees.
Subsequently a dispute arose as to the applicability of the award
to employees m the consolidated yard office and freight station at
El Paso, Tex. The employees requested the United States Board of
Mediation on September 6, 1928, to reconvene the board of arbitra
tion for the purpose of ruling upon the dispute.
The board of arbitration was reconvened on February 18, 1929.
Due to the inability of W. B. Kirkland to serve as a member of the
board, both parties to the dispute agreed that L. R. Smith serve in
his stead.
On March 7, 1929, the board decided that the award of the board
of arbitration issued April 16, 1927, was applicable to the employees
in question.
Chicago & North Western Railway Co.
A b o a r d of arbitration created by agreement of March 21, 1927,
for the purpose of deciding a wage dispute between the Brotherhood
of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and
Station Employees and the Chicago & North Western Railway Co.,
on November 4, 1927, made an award granting increases in rates of
pay of 7 per cent to clerical employees and of 4 per cent to the freight
handlers of the carrier.
Subsequently a dispute arose as to the interpretation of the award
as applied to the freight handlers and check clerks at the Sixteenth
Street and the Fortieth Street stations, who are working on a tonnage
basis. The brotherhood contended that the arbitration award was
intended to apply to the tonnage rates. The carrier took the oppo
site position. The board of arbitration was reconvened in Chicago
on June 24, 1929, and upon a full hearing and consideration of the
questions submitted, agreed upon the following interpretation of the
award:
It was the intent of the decision of the board of arbitration, dated November
4, 1927, to add 7 per cent increase to the tonnage rates of pay of the freight house
checkers employed at Sixteenth and Fortieth Street stations of the carrier in effect
October 31, 1927, * * * and the award of the board shall be so applied.
It was the intent of the decision of the board of arbitration, dated November
4, 1927, to add 4 per cent increase to the tonnage rates of pay of the freight
house callers, loaders, stevedores, and freight handlers employed at Sixteenth
and Fortieth Street stations of the carrier in effect October 31, 1927, * * *
and the award of the board shall be so applied.
The increase in the tonnage rates of pay of the employees was
retroactive to November 1, 1927.
New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
O n J u n e 8,1929, the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad Co.
and the employees in clerical and station service of the Nickel Plate
district and Lake Erie & Western district, members of the Brother
hood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express
and Station Employees, entered into an agreement in conformity
47767°— 31—
2
8
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
with the provisions of the railroad labor act to submit their wage
dispute to the decision of a board of arbitration.
The employees had requested a flat increase of 8 cents per hour
for all classes of employees affected.
The board of arbitration consisting of A. D. Peters, selected by the
carrier; H. F. Baldwin, selected by the employees; and Arthur M.
Millard, appointed by the United States Board of Mediation, made
its award on November 13, 1929. On the basis of pay in effect
October 31, 1929, the rates of certain groups of employees under the
Interstate Commerce Commission were increased as follows:
Per cent of
Employees in—
increase
Group 8_________ _____ ________ ____________________
6
Group 9___________________________________________
4
5)4
Group 10__________________________________________
Groups 11, 13, 14, 18, 33, 86, 100, and 101____________
5
Groups 105 and 106_________________ - ______________
6
The award continues:
6. No change is to be made in the rates of pay for the classes of employees
represented in this hearing coming within groups other than as above designated.
7. It is understood that the percentage rates of increases provided for in this
award shall be applied to all piecework and tonnage rates in effect on October
31, 1929.
8. The provisions of this award shall become effective on November 1, 1929,
and shall continue in force for a period of 1 year from the effective date thereof,
and thereafter be subject to 30 days’ notice by or to the carrier, party of the first
part.
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway
D e c e m b e r 10, 1929, an arbitration award in a dispute between the
Clerical Employees’ Association of the Nashville, Chattanooga &
St. Louis Railway and the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Rail
way Co. was made by a board consisting of A. G. Miller, representing
the carrier, T. Fulcher Jones, representing the employees, and Lee
Brock as neutral member.
The clerical employees had made a request for an increase of 10
per cent in their wages.
The majority of the board rendered the following decision:
After due consideration, a majority of the board decides that said wages shall
be increased 3 per cent per annum, to take effect on April 1, 1929, for services
rendered after that date. The 3 per cent above awarded shall apply to all clerical
employees, except that the minimum and step rate is hereby established as
follows; $60-$65-*$74-$91.50.
A. G. Miller, representing the carrier, dissented from this award.
Engine and Train Service
Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen—Boston & Maine Railroad
An a r b i t r a t i o n board was appointed as a result of an agreement of
July 26, 1929, to arbitrate the dispute between the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and the Boston & Maine Rail
road. The carrier selected William L. O’Keefe and the employees
selected Frank A. Symonds as arbitrators. The United States Board
of Mediation appointed Victor S. Clark as the neutral arbitrator.
The question submitted for arbitration was “ Shall firemen on the
Boston & Maine Railroad be paid while learning to operate mechan
ical stokers; and if so, under what regulations?”
RAILROAD ARBITRATION AWARDS
The award, dated October 2 9 ,
1929,
9
was as follows:
Firemen who have completed one year’s service and who have not previously
qualified on stoker-fired locomotives shall, when first called or assigned to such
locomotives, be accompanied by an instructor, to be selected by the management
at its discretion, for one round trip unless they are earlier certified as qualified
by a representative of the management. Firemen who have qualified on one
type of stoker and who are called or assigned to locomotives equipped with a
different type of stoker which they are not qualified to operate, shall receive
instruction during one leg of a round trip of additional road service unless pre
viously certified as qualified by a representative of the management. In both
instances the learner fireman shall receive the standard rate while under instruc
tion and the instructor, if a fireman, shall receive the regular rate for the loco
motive in question.
This award shall go into effect as of July 26, 1929.
Railroad Trainmen—Erie Railroad
A b o a r d of arbitration composed of J. M. Condon, selected by the
carrier, R. J. Foran, selected by the employees, and Victor S. Clark,
appointed by the United States Board of Mediation, was created
under the railroad labor act and a written agreement dated January 4,
1930, between the Erie Railroad and representatives of the Brother
hood of Railroad Trainmen.
Upon a full hearing and consideration of the questions submitted,
involving approximately 30 runs, the following award was made:
1. In view of the fact that the rates of pay and rules for conductors, trainmen,
and yardmen now in force on the Erie Railroad do not recognize yard work as
a distinct class of service upon the Wyoming division of the Erie Railroad, and
that trainmen employed in mine service on the Wyoming division of that railroad
in certain instances do work identical in character with yard work on other divi
sions of the Erie Railroad, and solely in consideration of this special and excep
tional situation, the following rates shall be paid trainmen employed on the runs
designated in the next succeeding paragraph of this award: Brakemen, $6.62 per
day; overtime, $1.24% per hour.
2. The runs to which these rates apply shall be three crews at Avoca, Pa.?
known as the “ Hump engine,” “ Roustabout,” and “ Shop engine” and three
crews in Dunmore Yard.
3. It should be understood that this award is in no way intended to increase
the recognized standard rates of pay (local freight rates) for mine-run service.
4. This award grants no arbitraries for road service and no other provision
affecting compensation for yard work, as distinguished from mine-run work, upon
the Erie Railroad.
5. This award shall go into effect as of March 1, 1930.
This award was signed by Victor S. Clark, chairman, and J. M.
Condon, representing the carrier. R. J. Foran, representing the
employees, submitted a dissenting opinion.
Shop Crafts
New York Central Railroad
U n d e r an arbitration award of January 18, 1 9 2 9 , the shop em
ployees of the New York Central Railroad were granted increases
of 4 0 cents per day, with the exception of the coach cleaners, who
were awarded a flat increase of 2 cents per hour. The board had been
considering the demands of the employees for a wage increase of $ 1 .4 2
per day since November 2 2 , 1928. The increases became operative
the first day of the next pay period.
10
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
The minimum hourly rates of pay, as established by this award,
are as follows:
Cents
Machinists_____________________________________________ 81
Boilermakers............... .................... ..... .................... ............... 81
Blacksmiths________________________________ ____________81
Sheet-metal workers______ _______ ____________ __________ 81
Electrical workers—(As covered by rule 1 4 0 ) ____ ______________________81
(As covered by rule 141)____________________________ 77
(As covered by rule 142)_____________________________71
(As covered by rule 143)_____________________________64
Carmen now receiving $6.98 per day______________________81
All other carmen________________________________________ 74
Helpers (all crafts)______________________________________ 58
Regular apprentices—
First six months____________________________________ 38
Second six months__________ _______________________ 40%
Third six months___________________________________ 43
Fourth six months__________________________________ 45H
Fifth six months____________________________________ 48
Sixth six months____________________________________ 50H
Seventh six months_________________________________ 55)4
Eighth six months__________________________________ 63
Helper apprentices—
First six months____________________________________ 58
Second six months__________________________________ 60
Third six months___________________________________ 62
Fourth six months__________________________________ 64
Fifth six months____________________________________ 66
Sixth six months____________________________________ 68
Both parties, before submitting their differences to the board of
arbitration, agreed to abide by its decision for one year from date of
award and to give 30 days’ notice of dissatisfaction with the scale
established.
The board of arbitration which was appointed Jxme, 1928, to decide
on the request of the employees for wage increases consisted of H. J.
Carr and F. H. Knight, representing the employees; Walter H.
Ftynn and John G. Walber, representing the New York Central
Railroad; and Julian W. Curtiss and Walter C. Clephane appointed
by the United States Board of Mediation.
Southern Railway
O n J u n e 18, 1929, an arbitration board created by agreement of
April 23, 1929, to handle the wage dispute between the Southern
Railway and allied lines and their shop employees, made the following
award:
A monthly salary of $205 for mechanics and $142 for helpers, to cover all
services performed, is hereby established for employees regularly assigned to
perform road work paid on monthly basis; $6 per month will be added to the
above monthly rates for such mechanics coming under this rule as are required
to perform such work as is specified as differential rate work under the rules of
this agreement. The above proviso shall not apply to traveling boiler makers,
who, if assigned as boiler inspectors, will have $12 per month added to the above
monthly rates.
The regularly assigned road men under the provisions of this rule may be
used, when at home point, to perform shop work in connection with the work of
their regular assignment.
Where meals and lodging are not furnished by the company, or when the
service requirements make the purchase of meals and lodging necessary while
away from home point, employees will be paid necessary expenses.
RAILROAD ARBITRATION AWARDS
11
The following are the minimum hourly wage rates for other classi
fications:
N ew
rate
Machinists__________________________________ _____________ $0.
Boiler makers------------------------- ------------------------------------------Blacksmiths______________________________________________
Sheet-metal workers_______________________________________
Electricians_____ _________________________________________
Linemen__________________________________________________
Groundmen------------------------------- --------------------------------------Coal-pier car dumpers, conveyor-car operators, and coal-pier '
electric hoist or elevator operators________________________
Passenger-car men, engine carpenters, planing-mill men, air
brake men, passenger-car and locomotive painters, up
holsterers, and pattern makers___________________________
Freight-car repairers, car inspectors, and freight-car painters___
Car inspectors—repairmen in train yards____________________
Air-brake inspectors—repairmen in train yards______________
Starting rate for apprentices.______________________________
Helpers___________________________________________________
Old
rate
80
.80
.80
.80
. 80
.76
.68
$0. 75
.71
.63
.61
.56
.80
.73
.73
.73
.35
.56
.75
.67
.68
.68
.30
.50
According to agreement the increase was retroactive to March 1,
1929Homer B. Dibell and Victor S. Clark, appointed by the United
States Board of Mediation; R. B. Pegram and L. F. De Ramus,
representing the carriers; and H. J. Carr and F. H. Knight, repre
senting the employees, composed the board of arbitration. The
carriers, representatives filed a dissenting opinion.
Telegraphers
Southern Railway System
T h e telegraphers on the Southern Railway System were awarded
an increase of 2.2 cents per hour per position, to be distributed as
agreed upon between the management and the telegraphers’ com
mittee. The increase became effective December 15, 1928.
The Order of Railroad Telegraphers had requested an increase of
6 cents per hour per position, which was refused by the carrier. By
agreement, as provided by the railway labor act of 1926, dated July
31, 1928, the dispute was submitted to arbitration. L. M. Eddy,
vice president of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, represented the
employees; J. A. Jones, general superintendent of telegraphs on the
Southern Railway System, represented the carrier; and Edward S.
Bailey, appointed by the United States Board of Mediation, was the
neutral member of the board.
New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
A b o a r d of arbitration consisting of F. J. DeGrief, selected by the
company; B. C, Lewis, selected by the telegraphers; and Arthur M.
Millard, appointed by the United States Board of Mediation, acting
in the dispute between the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad
Co. and its employees in telegraph, station, and tower service, made
the following award on May 15, 1929:
That the rate of pay for the employees shall be increased the equivalent of 3J4
cents per hour per position; that this amount so specified shall not be applied
12
AltBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
flat, but is to be distributed by agreement between the management and com
mittees as specified in said arbitration agreement.
The provisions of this award shall become effective on the beginning of the
pay-roll period the first day of which is nearest to the date of the award and
shall continue in force for a period of one year from the effective date thereof
and thereafter subject to 30 days’ notice by or to the party of the first part.
The telegraphers had requested an increase of 15 cents per hour
per position.
A dispute arose as to the distribution of the award as between the
three lines or districts comprising the New York, Chicago & St. Louis
Railroad. On July 16, 1929, the Order of Railroad Telegraphers
requested the United States Board of Mediation to reconvene the
board for the purpose of interpreting its award of May 15, 1929.
On August 14, 1929, the reconvened board made the following sup
plementary award:
The board of arbitration having been reconvened and having been specifically
requested by both parties of the arbitration proceedings to determine the distri
bution of the equivalent of 3*4 cents per hour per position as specified in its award
of May 15, 1929, we, the undersigned, being a majority of the members of said
reconvened board of arbitration, in pursuance of such request and the authority
conferred upon us by both parties of the agreement to arbitrate, do, without
prejudice, and in accordance with the subject matter considered in our original
deliberations, further reaffirm that the distribution of the equivalent of 3% cents
per hour per position specified in the original award shall not be applied flat, and
in order to more nearly equalize the inequalities and differentials existing between
the three lines, adjudge that the equivalent of 2}i cents per hour per position shall
be applied by the management and committee to the adjustment of the rates of
pay of the employees of the Nickel Plate line or district, 4 ’4 cents per hour per
position to the adjustment of the rates of pay of the employees of the Lake Erie
& Western line or district, and
cents per hour per position to the adjustment
of the rates of pay on the Clover Leaf line or district, and in such manner as ihay
be determined between the management and committee as will establish just and
equitable rates for such positions as are (or were at the time that the award
became effective) in existence on the three lines or districts comprising the New
York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad.
B. C. Lewis, arbitrator for the employees, dissented.
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers
American Railway Express Co.— San Francisco, Calif,
T e a m s t e r s , chauffeurs, stablemen, and helpers, employees of the
American Railway Express Co. at San Francisco, Calif., were
awarded an increase in rates of pay of 7% cents per hour, effective
December 1, 1928, by an arbitration board. The members of the
board were Michael Casey, representing the employees; L, O. Head,
representing the carrier; and A. R. Morrow, the neutral member.
Yardmasters—Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
O n A p r il 30, 1929, the following mediation agreement was signed
by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the Railroad Yardmasters
of America:
1. Effective May 1, 1929, an increase of $8 per month shall be added to the
rates of yardmasters and assistant yardmasters.
2. The question relating to vacations with pay is hereby withdrawn without
prejudice.
This agreement made this 30th day of April, 1929, shall continue in force
and effect for one year from its effective date and thereafter, subject to the usual
30 days’ written notice by either party to the other of its desire for a change.
EMERGENCY BOARDS— RAILROAD LABOR ACT
13
In October, 1928, the yardmasters had made a request for an in
creased rate of pay and the restoration of the two weeks’ annual
vacation with pay.
The increase granted raised the rate of pay for yardmasters and
assistant yardmasters of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad to $245,
$255, and $265 per month, or an average rate for the road of $255.41.
Emergency Boards Appointed Under Railroad Labor
Act
HE Federal railroad labor act of 1926 provides that an emer
gency board may be established by the President if a railroad
labor dispute can not be settled in accordance with the other pro
visions of the law and if, in the judgment of the mediation board,
such dispute threatens “ to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree
such as to deprive any section of the country of essential transporta
tion service.” The findings of this board are not compulsory, but
the act provides that after the creation of the board and for 30 days
after its report has been made “ no change, except by agreement,
shall be made by the parties to the controversy in the conditions out
of which the dispute arose.”
Up to the end of the year 1928 two emergency boards had been
appointed. (See Handbook, 1929 edition (Bui. No. 491), pp.
37-39.) The third emergency board was appointed by the President
of the United States on March 29, 1929, to investigate a dispute
between the Texas & Pacific Railroad and its conductors, trainmen,
engineers, and firemen.
The membership of the board was as follows: James R. Garfield,
Cleveland, Ohio; Chester H. Rowell, Berkeley, Calif.; Walter C.
Clephane, Washington, D. C.; William Rogers Clay, Frankfort, Ky.;
and F. H. Kreismann, St. Louis, Mo.
Of the seven cases presented to the board at the opening of the
session, one was withdrawn by consent of both sides and two were
settled during the hearing by agreement.
The most important of the four remaining cases involved the com
pensation of employees who suffered financial loss by reason of being
compelled to vacate homes owned by them in Longview and Marshall,
Tex., through the removal of the terminals to Mineola, Tex., and
Shreveport, La. In this case the board found that “ the loss should
be borne equally by the carrier and the employees,” and recommended
that the claims should be settled in conference or, in case of a dis
agreement, by arbitration.
Pooling of cabooses in all freight service out of the new terminal
at Mineola was opposed by the employees. The board found that
“ the agreement as claimed by the employees is in force and that the
pooling of cabooses, except in emergencies, should not be made other
than by agreement between the parties.”
In the assignment of passenger-engine crews to run through from
Fort Worth to Texarkana, a distance of 249 miles, eliminating the
break at Longview Junction, the board was convinced “ that the run
is excessive and should be abolished.”
Application of Texas & Pacific wage schedules and the interchange
of seniority rights for men in the train service of the five branch
T
14
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
lines owned by the company was requested by the employees. The
board was of the opinion that all matters in dispute between the em
ployees on the subsidiary lines and the managers of those lines
should be negotiated, using the existing rates and schedules and
operating rules as a basis for any modification or changes that might
be requested by the employees or their representatives or by the man
agers of the subsidiary lines.
The board transmitted its report to the President, April 20. Follow
ing the report of the board both parties were forbidden to change
existing conditions, except by mutual agreement, for a further period
of 30 days.
Industrial Arbitration Awards, 1929 and 1930
UMMARIES are given below of such important arbitration
awards in various industries in 1929 and 1930 as have come to
the attention of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Rail
road arbitration awards are covered in the preceding article.)
S
Journeyman Barbers—Chicago, 111,
T h e Master Barbers’ Association of Chicago requested that the
clause regulating the operating hours of shops be stricken from the
agreement of the association and Journeymen Barbers’ Union, Local
No. 548; that the guaranty be reduced from $32 per week to $30
per week and the overmoney be paid at the rate of 50 per cent on all
amounts taken in over $50.
The agreement between the above parties provides:
There shall be a joint committee of members permanently appointed from each
body, to meet as often as is necessary in order to adjust any differences that may
arise out of this contract, or new conditions that may arise from time to time.
Should there be any disagreement between this joint committee, the committee
so selected shall select a third party who is not interested in the barber profession
or business who shall act as a referee and his decision to be final.
The ioint committee above referred to were unable to agree, and
selected B. M. Squires as arbitrator.
On October 27, 1930, the arbitrator made the following decision
and recommendations:
On the question of opening and closing time, the arbitrator is doubtful whether
a substantial number of master barbers desire a change. Certainly no change in
the number of hours is called for and there is no suggestion of a shift system.
The arbitrator recognizes that it may be somewhat distasteful to be told when to
open and when to close the shop. However, this was a matter of agreement as it
is in many other industrial situations, and should not be lightly set aside. More
pertinent to the situation is the fact that circumstances make it more profitable
to have a later closing hour. The arbitrator rules that for the time being the
operating schedule is to remain unchanged. If at a later date a majority of the
master barbers vote in favor of a change, such vote being subject to inspection
by the journeymen barbed local officials, the change may be made by giving the
journeymen barbers 90 days’ notice in writing.
In the matter of the guaranteed wage, the arbitrator has given much thought
to the contentions of both sides and to data from other centers. He is convinced
that in the present situation the guaranty should not be changed. He rules,
therefore, that the guaranty shall remain at $32 per week.
On the issue of the overmoney there is much to be said in favor of the contention
of the master barbers that increased rentals and cost of materials leave them
with too narrow a margin. The arbitrator does feel that the margin should be
INDUSTRIAL AHBITKATION AWAKDS
15
greater and rules that the amount over which 60 per cent shall be paid shall be
increased from $44 to $47. This will afford some relief to the master barbers and
should serve as an impetus to the journeymen.
Finally, the arbitrator would suggest that the situation calls not so much for
drastic changes in the agreement as for a thoroughgoing analysis of problems
and the utmost cooperation in meeting them.
Mortarmen—Portland, Oreg.
T h e request of the Building Laborers’ Union No. 296 for an
increase in wages for mortarmen was referred by the joint conference
and arbitration board to the umpire of said board for findings of fact
and decision. The findings and decision were as follows:
Findings
1. No agreement to raise wages of mortarmen from $7.20 to $8 exists. The
last-agreed-upon wage was $7.20, being a cut from $8. The union has claimed
a present existing scale of $8, which amount has been paid by some employers
and not by others. It was impossible to determine the proportions of each.
The same union men were working sometimes for $8 and sometimes for $7.20.
2. A rate of $8 per day for mortarmen is considerably higher than that paid
any place in the country with the exception of a few of our largest cities. Seattle,
the nearest comparable city in all respects and with a probably slightly higher
cost of living, pays $6.50 for this class of work.
3. Plasterers’ tenders in Portland receive $9, and this differential between
bricklayers’ tenders and plasterers’ tenders exists with some exceptions through
out the country, plaster work being generally considered harder work. However,
when mortar is mixed by hand and when bricks and mortar are carried by hod
the difficulty of the two tasks is on a parity and no logical reason for such
differential exists.
4. The joint conference and arbitration board with regard to the laborers’
request for an increase, reestablished the 1921 scale.
Decision
Therefore, the rate for mortarmen is fixed at $8 per day except where mortar
is mixed by hand and when material is carried by hod, in which case the rate of
pay shall be $9 per day. This rate to be effective as of January 1, 1930.
Dress Industry—New York, N. Y.
T h e Association of Children’s Dress Manufacturers and the
Children’s Dress and Housedress Makers’ Union, Local No. 91, of
the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, of New York
City, submitted the following matters to arbitration:
First. The demand of the union for a flat increase of $2 for all week workers
and 10 per cent for all pieceworkers.
Second. To determine upon a minimum wage scale in the industry, the estab
lishment of which was agreed upon by both parties to the agreement.
No argument was presented by either party on the subject of a
minimum wage scale; therefore, the decision of the arbitrator deals
only with the requested wage increase.
As an outcome of the first hearing it was agreed that detailed infor
mation be submitted to the arbitrator as to the wages paid in the
association shops and in the independent union shops, which had
recently put into effect an increase of wages of $1 per week for week
workers and of 5 per cent for pieceworkers. A comparison of the wage
rates paid by the association shops with those paid by the independent
shops showed that the wage rates were not far apart.
16
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
The representatives of the association contended that the time
was not opportune for a wage increase when the industry was suffering
from the general business depression, and stressed tne fact of the
steady employment of the workers in some of their shops. On
examination of the annual earnings the arbitrator found employ
ment unusually steady for a needle industry; however, considerable
part-time employment was found, which had the effect of reducing
the average earnings below the weekly rate paid the worker.
The union stated that it had secured an increase of $1 per week for
week workers and 5 per cent for pieceworkers for its members em
ployed in the independent union shops, on condition that the workers
m the association shops would be awarded a similar increase under the
proposed arbitration proceedings.
In making the award, the arbitrator, N. I. Stone, impartial chair
man of the dress industry, under date of October 23, 1930, said in
part as follows:
Had there been no increase in wages granted by the independent manufac
turers, the arbitrator, bearing in mind the present business conditions and the
fact that most of the workers are fairly well paid, although this can not be said
of a considerable minority of the workers in the association shops, would be dis
posed to deny the demand of the union for a general increase in wages. But
with the situation as it is, to deny entirely the union demand for an increase
for the regular employees of the association shops involves an actual reduction
of present wages of more than four times that number of workers employed in
independent shops, 60 per cent of whom are employed in contract shops. The
workers in those shops can ill afford a reduction from their none-too-high earn
ings, particularly in the present state of part-time employment.
A w a rd
In view of these considerations, the arbitrator, while finding it necessary to
deny the demand of the union for an increase of wages of $2 per week for week
workers and 10 per cent for pieceworkers, feels obliged to grant the workers em
ployed in the association shops a flat increase of $1 per week, the increase to apply
equally to workers paid by the week and those paid on a piecework basis. This
decision leaves the present piece rates unchanged and calls for an addition of $1
for a full week of 42 hours to the piecework earnings of the workers.
This award is to take effect this week, that is from Monday, October 20, 1930.
Dyeing and Cleaning Industry—Chicago, 111.
U n d e r the terms of an arbitration agreement entered into by the
Chicago Master Cleaners and Dyers Association and Cleaners, Dyers,
and Pressers Union No. 17742, in January, 1930, B. M. Squires
was appointed impartial chairman with authority to hear and decide
all issues submitted to him, including any items in the proposed
labor agreement on which the parties could not agree.
The union had asked for the wages and conditions set forth in an
agreement negotiated in 1928, which had not been signed but which
was effective in the main until the dispute in the fall of 1929. The
association had asked for a 10 per cent cut in the wage scale, the in
troduction of piecework, the abolition of the guaranty of seven
months’ full-time employment, the elimination of the provision for
unemployment insurance, and a probationary period of four weeks
instead of two weeks for new employees.
The decision of the impartial chairman, effective March 17, 1930,
was in part, as follows:
INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION AWARDS
17
1. On the wage scale the impartial chairman feels that the minimum scales set
forth in the 1928 agreement and which were generally observed in the industry
should be definitely confirmed and reestablished. To reduce scales at this time,
or to countenance reductions made during the recent dispute would be clearly
contrary to the commitments of industry generally during the latter part of 1929.
2. The prohibition of piecework has been a matter of agreement for some time.
It may be that the industry is not adapted to piecework, but the impartial chair
man is of the opinion that the industry must be in a position to determine and
in some measure control unit costs, and that this can be done most effectively if
there is a definite relationship between wages and output. Experience in other
industries has demonstrated that it is possible to establish standards of production
in connection with weekly wages which work out to the benefit of the workers as
well as to the benefit of the employers. The principle of standards of production
is hereby established. The chairman will appoint committees without delay to
study the problem and to aid in the setting of standards wherever practicable.
3. Under the present conditions in the cleaning and dyeing industry the
guaranty of seven months’ full-time employment adds greatly to cost and is
proving harmful to all those connected with the industry. Stabilization of em
ployment and regularity of operation are highly important in any industry, but
these can not be attained by arbitrary rule. The impartial chairman abolishes
this provision, believing that the end desired may be attained without burdensome
increases in unit costs.
4. The impartial chairman continues the provision for an unemployment insur
ance fund amounting to 2 per cent of the pay roll paid by each establishment and
recommends that the union give early consideration to the matching of this
amount by its members. The funds thus collected, together with the pay rolls,
or true copies thereof, are to be sent weekly to the office of the impartial chairman
and will be administered by a board of trustees of which the impartial chairman
shall be chairman. Detailed provisions covering the handling and investment
of the funds, the appointment of trustees, and the payment of benefits will be
embodied in an unemployment insurance agreement.
5. Until the industry becomes more stable, at which time the subject may be
opened for further discussion, new employees may be taken on for a period of
four weeks, instead of two weeks as formerly, during which time their fitness
may be tested and their discharge, except on grounds of discrimination, shall not
be questioned.
Hosiery Workers—Philadelphia, Pa.
A n a r b i t r a t i o n board composed of Benjamin M. Squires, of the
University of Chicago, an umpire in the men’s clothing industry of
that city, Morris E. Leeds, Philadelphia manufacturer, and Morris
L. Cooke, engineer and expert on personnel problems in industry,
rendered a decision, April 14, 1930, in the dispute between the H. C.
Aberle Co. (Inc.), and its hosiery workers. The dispute, which was
over a general wage reduction, resulted in a strike on January 7,1930.
The board met in Philadelphia March 17, 1930. After several
conferences the firm agreed to submit to this board for arbitration the
question of wages and related conditions. The board then requested
the representatives of the workers to make the same submission and
to withdraw the issue of union recognition and the national agree
ment. This was agreed to by the representatives of the workers.
On March 23 the board recommended to both parties that the
workers on strike be returned to work, at the rates of pay in effect at
the time of the strike, as rapidly as business conditions would permit,
and that the decision of the board as to disputed rates be made retro
active. The firm agreed to reinstate immediately such of its former
employees as were not at work at that time. Pending normal busi
ness conditions the staff of workers was divided into two squads
working alternate half-weeks, the work available being divided equally
between the two crews.
18
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
The following was the wage decision of the board:
The adjustment set forth below is believed to place this plant on a competitive
level with other plants in this area in respect to the operations listed.
Operation
Adjustment
Double leggers....................................Full reduction justified.
Legger helpers------- ----------------------- One-half reduction justified.
Footers__________________________- One-third reduction justified.
Footer helpers_____________________
Do.
Toppers________ ________ ______— Reduction not justified.1
Loopers________________ __________
Do.
Do.
Seamers__________________________
End pullers_______________________
Do.
This decision as to wages is effective as of April 14, 1930, and by agreement is
to be made retroactive to March 17, 1930.
An impartial arbiter acceptable to both parties will be chosen and be given the
responsibility and authority to pass on any points of dispute that may arise in the
interpretation of this decision.
The board strongly recommended that the improvement of per
sonnel relations be given immediate consideration, and outlined some
of the conditions of success for a plan of workers’ representation.
Among the conditions outlined were the following:
It must be definitely established and its form of organization have the approval
of the workers and be made a matter of record.
It must be really representative of the workers and have their confidence.
It is well to have established definite procedures by which the representatives
of the management and the workers cooperate to work out their joint problems.
Among the several recommendations made by the board to the
management was the following:
As to wage rate determinations there is ample opportunity to practice job
analysis and time study with profit both to the management and the workers.
As is quite generally the case in this industry, there is a noticeable failure to
classify jobs according to the skill required. An unbalanced wage scale results.
The first essential of a satisfactory scheme of wage payment is that it shall be
easily understood by those affected. Perhaps the most frequent cause of com
plaint of those employed in the knitting department has been the difficulty in
computing earnings. We believe that the present system should be altered so
as to meet these objections.
Photo-Engravers—Cincinnati) Ohio
T h e International Arbitration Board of the American Newspaper
Publishers’ Association and the International Photo-Engraved
Union (Frederick Van Nuys, chairman) made an award on July 1,
1930, in a dispute between the Cincinnati Daily Newspaper Pub
lishers’ Association and Photo-Engravei^Union No. 13.
Complying with the provision in their 3-year agreement made
April 19," 1926, which requires that either party to the agreement
desiring a change at the expiration of the agreement shall give 60
days’ notice to the other party, the union gave such notice on Febru
ary 9, 1929, and proposed a new agreement with a reduction in the
number of hours worked weekly and an increase in the weekly wage.
The newspaper publishers made a counterproposal that the hours
and wages remain the same as in the 1926-1929 agreement. After
the special standing committee of the American Newspaper Pub
lishers’ Association and the International Photo-Engravers’ Union
1 Rate before reduction was low in comparison with other plants, if [earnings and production are
given due weight.
INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION AWARDS
19
failed to come to an agreement, the arbitrable points were referred to
the International Arbitration Board.
The union’s proposals were as follows:
Forty hours shall constitute a week’s work. These hours to be equally divided
into six consecutive days or nights. The hours and days to be designated by
the publishers but must be uniform and regular.
The scale of wages for day men shall be $60 and for night men $65 for six days'
work.
Each office shall have a foreman.
The publishers’ proposals were as follows:
Eight hours shall constitute a day’s or night’s work. Six days in any calendar
week shall constitute a week’s work.
The scale of wages for day men shall be $54 and for night men $57 for six
days’ work.
In offices employing two or more journeymen, one shall act as foreman.
The union’s proposal that each office have a foreman was accepted
by agreement of all members of the board in open session and incor
porated in the award without discussion.
The award of the board was as follows:
Hours.— Forty-four hours shall constitute a week’s work exclusive of lunch
time. These hours shall be equally divided into six consecutive days and nights.
The hours and days to be designated by the publishers must be uniform and
regular.
Wages.— The scale of wages for day men shall be $60 and for night men $63
for six days’ work as hereinbefore defined.
Retroactive.— This award shall be retroactive as to the weekly wage but not as
to the overtime worked since April 19, 1929.
Foreman.— Each office shall have a foreman.
Typographical Workers—Butte and Anaconda, Mont.
T h e International Arbitration Board of the American Newspaper
Publishers’ Association and the International Typographical Union
(Prof. Paul H. Douglas, chairman) sustained a local wage award in a
dispute between the typographical unions of Butte and Anaconda,
Mont., and the newspaper publishers of those two cities. The local
board had awarded an increase of $4.50 per week for a period of
three years, effective July 1, 1927.
Professor Douglas quoted living-cost statistics, issued by the Federal
Government, to uphold the local decision. Extracts from the deci
sion of Professor Douglas follow:
The present increase, as a matter of fact, only brings the money earnings of
the night printers to 48 per cent and of the day printers to 52 per cent above
1913. Even this decision does not therefore restore the pre-war purchasing
power of the printers in these cities, and in view of the fact that the wage earners
in the country as a whole have actually improved their status by from 25 to 30
per cent during this period, I certainly can not regard the increase in remunera
tion granted by the local chairman as unreasonable.
Nor can I disapprove of decision to make the increase retroactive to July 1,
1927. The memorandum under which the striking printers went back to work
in July, 1927, stated that “ any decision which may be made by the arbitration
board or boards shall not be retroactive back of July 1, 1927.
It is therefore
clearly implied by this agreement that the award could be made retroactive to
July 1, 1927, and the local board was within its power in so ruling. In view of
the long delay in the case, the local chairman was justified in declining to make
the printers forego the increase for the period while the dispute was in arbitra
tion. The power to make an award retroactive frequently lubricates the course
of arbitration and in view of all these considerations, I can not believe that it
would be wise to set aside the local award. It is understood, however, that the
retroactive pay shall only be given for the actual time worked.
20
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Typographical Workers—Chattanooga, Tenn.
T h e International Arbitration Board of the American Newspaper
Publishers7Association and International Typographical Union (Prof.
Paul H. Douglas, chairman) made the following decision in the dispute
between the Typographical Union No. 89 and two Chattanooga news
papers. Both the union and the newspapers had appealed from the
decision of the local arbitrator, Judge Nathan L. Bachman.
This is an appeal by both Typographical Union No. 89 and the two Chatta
nooga newspapers from a decision by the local arbitrator, Judge Nathan L.
Bachman, which (1) established a 3-year contract dating from November 2, 1928,
(2) maintained the existing weekly wage scale of $42 for day work and $45 for
night work, but (3) decreased the length of the basic day from V/2 hours or 45
hours per week to 7 hours a day or 42 hours per week, (4) fixed the overtime rate
at one and one-half times the straight time rate, (5) maintained the already exist
ing limited hours for night work on the morning papers, and (6) left unaltered the
already existing standards of competency.
It should be noted that aside from the foreign language press, the printers in
only 8 out of 356 cities have as short a basic working week in the newspaper
industry as that of 42 hours. This decision would therefore reduce the basic
hours of work in Chattanooga far below the existing average for the industry as
a whole.
On the other hand, the present relatively low wage scale of the Chattanooga
compositors, which is now exceeded by 310 out of 366 unions, is not increased by
the decision of the local arbitrator. The Chattanooga scale would therefore be
kept at a point appreciably below the average for the country as a whole, although
of course the difference between it and the average for the South alone would not
be so great.
In the opinion of the chairman, the printers of Chattanooga deserve an increase
in their basic scale more than they do a decrease in the length of the basic week.
The existing basic 7^-hour day or 45-hour week is therefore maintained for the
3-year period beginning November 2, 1928, but the following rates of pay are also
established:
(1) For the period from November 2, 1928, to November 2, 1929, the weekly
basic wage scale for printers on the day shift shall be $43 and for those on the
night shift, $46. The retroactive back pay for this period is to be paid as rapidly
as possible by the newspaper publishers to all those who were employed during
this year.
(2) Beginning with November 2, 1929, and lasting until November 2, 1931,
the weekly wage scale shall be $44.50 for printers on the day shift and $47.50 for
printers on the night shift. The retroactive pay accruing under this provision
shall also be adjusted as speedily as possible by the employers.
Since both publishers and the union have agreed to adjust the wages of foremen
and other employees according to the scale for journeymen on both day and night
work, no ruling is made by the board on this point. The parties in question are,
however, expected to adjust these matters automatically.
The questions of the duration of the contract, the scale of wages, and the length
of the basic week having been decided, there remain the questions of the overtime
rates, the limiting hours for the night shift, and the standard of competency.
On all of these matters, the decision of the local arbitrator is upheld.
The decision of Judge Bachman, local arbitrator, in regard to the
7-hour day, is given below:
I am of the opinion that the demand for a 7-hour day should be granted.
That the trend of the times in our country in most of the skilled vocations is
toward a shorter work week is apparent to anyone paying heed to industrial
conditions; the movement is not, as was said with reference to wages, one depend
ent upon local conditions, but it is the outgrowth of concerted thought and obser
vation of conditions generally affecting the well-being of the great body of skilled
workmen and their employers, from which study is evolved a policy looking
toward that condition which is most wholesome for both employer and employee.
I see no good reason why this policy should not be extended to those in the
printing industry, requiring, as their business does, the coordination of mental
and physical effort to a marked degree. Nor do I see that the 7-hour day will
INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION AWARDS
21
work any undue hardships on the publishers; the execution of normal editions of
their papers can in all probability be done with 7 hours constituting a day’s work,
while the larger editions do and will continue to require extra hours and extra
help. That the curtailment of hours is not a hardship is evidenced by the agreed
reduction from 8 to 7% hours in return for some slight decrease in wages made
between the parties immediately after the arbitration proceedings in 1921.
Typographical Workers—Milwaukee, Wis.
A n a r b i t r a t i o n board with Frank E. Baker, president of the State
Teachers’ College of Wisconsin, acting as chairman, to consider the
dispute between Milwaukee Typographical Union No. 23 and the
newspaper publishers of Milwaukee, on October 1, 1929, granted the
request of the union for a reduction of the weekly working hours from
48 to 45 hours. The award was made effective at 7.30 a. m., October
14, 1929, to permit the publishers and the union to make necessary
arrangements to bring about the change with the least possible friction
and disruption of work.
The union in presenting its request for the shorter hours based its
argument on “ increased efficiency, increased production due to im
provements in machinery, general economic prosperity, hygienic neces
sities, higher standards of living, increased living costs, general tend
encies toward reduction in hours, and comparison with worldng hours
in other cities.” The publishers contradicted all the claims of the
union and based their counterargument mainly on the “ necessities
of manufacture.” The union submitted evidence showing that the
45-hour week was in effect in other cities in which conditions are not
different from those in Milwaukee.
The arbitrator, in considering increased leisure as a factor in eco
nomic prosperity, made the following quotations from an editorial
comment on the proposed 5-day week in the building trades which
appeared in the Milwaukee Journal:
With two days of leisure there also enters in the theory of consumption. That
is, men with two or more full days of time off will use more goods, buy more
necessities or luxuries, become better consumers and so stimulate business all
around. That, too, is something to be considered.
But the most important consideration is broader. It is recognized that as
men become more proficient and as machines replace toilsome hand labor, fewer
men can do the world’s work or else the world’s work can be done in less time.
It will not be wise to allow fewer men to do it, because that only means that the
few who then would work must support the many who do not. Instead it is
better to keep many men employed for shorter periods every week.
All of which really means release from toil; it means*progress; it means that the
world gradually is seeing that its purpose should be not merely to labor for long
hours but rather to do its work in less time and have more left over for wholesome
hobbies, travel, study, gardening, outings, radio concerts, a host of other things.
Rightly developed, the shorter day and week should advance the welfare of labor
and the whole business structure. But it must not mean merely less work, a
slowing down of production, in the building trades or anywhere else where the
task is such that time is not the controlling factor. Otherwise the experiment is
doomed to fail.
The closing paragraph of the decision was as follows:
The arbitrator believes firmly that this shorter work week can be put into opera
tion in the composing rooms of the Milwaukee papers without causing any great
financial loss to the publishers. He has sufficient confidence in the liberality and
progressive spirit of the management of all the papers concerned to believe that
they will welcome the opportunity for leadership in what seems to be a general
economic tendency and in the cooperative morale of the union to justify an ex
pectation that every effort will be put forth by its membership to maintain produc
tion costs at the present level.
22
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Street-Railway Employees—Public Service Co. of St. Louis, Mo.
T he Public Service Commission of the State of Missouri, acting
as a board of arbitration in the wa^e controversy between the Public
Service Co. of St. Louis and Division No. 788 of the Amalgamated
Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees and certain
electrical workers in the power and line department of the company,
handed down an award, May 20, 1929, effective May 20.
On May 23, 1928, the street-railway employees submitted their
differences with the Public Service Co. to the Public Service Com
mission of the State of Missouri for arbitration.
The union had requested an increase of 5 cents an hour for motormen and conductors and 10 cents an hour for trackmen and shop
employees, while the company requested a wage reduction of 5 cents
an hour for motormen and conductors and 7.6 per cent reduction
for other workers.
Under the award of the commission, motormen and conductors
received an increase of 2 cents an hour and bus operators received
an increase of 4 cents an hour, making the wages of motormen and
conductors 52 cents an hour for the first year, 58 cents for the
second year, 64 cents for the third year, and 69 cents for the fourth
year and thereafter. One-man car and bus operators received 7 cents
an hour above the new scale of motormen and conductors. Electrical
workers were denied an increase. Scales for miscellaneous employees
fixed by the arbiters were as follows:
Material yard employees, 41 to 47 cents an hour, with 56 cents an
hour for foremen; reclaim department laborers, 41 to 47 cents an
hour, and foremen, 63 cents; switch cleaners in yards, 41 cents an
hour; crane crews, 70 cents an hour; car cleaners, 44 to 49 cents an
hour; car-house porters and janitors, 42 cents an hour; shop watch
men, 38 cents an hour; and car hostlers, 50 cents an hour.
The award increased overtime pay from time and one-fourth to
time and one-half for all employees.
All repair shop, storeroom, and general shop employees and similar
mechanics who had been working 54 hours per week were placed on
a 48-hour week basis as nearly as practicable in lieu of an increase
in their wages.
Street-Railway Employees—Memphis, Tenn.
E m p l o y e e s of the Memphis Street Railway Co., members of the
Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees,
Division No. 713, were awarded an increase in pay by a board of
arbitration. ^Motormen and conductors and bam and shop men
received an increase of IK cents an hour, and 1-man car operators
received an additional half cent an hour. The new award fixed the
pay as follows:
Motormen and conductors, bam and shop men: 49 cents an hour for the first
year; 54 cents an hour for the second year; 59 cents an hour for the third year and
thereafter.
One-man car operators: 54% cents an hour for the first year; 59^ cents an
hour for the second year; 64% cents an hour for the third year and thereafter.
The men had asked for a 9% cents increase, with an increase of 20
cents an hour for 1-man car operators. The company had requested
a decrease in the rates, with a maximum of 44.7 cents an hour.
INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION AWARDS
23
Street-Railway Employees—Indianapolis, Ind.
T h e Public Service Commission of Indiana, sitting as a board of
arbitration in the matter of a petition by employees of the Indian
apolis Street Railway Co., under date of May 24, 1929, denied the
petitioners’ request for an increase in wages.
On October 24, 1928, employees of the Indianapolis Street Railway
Co. filed with the Public Service Commission of Indiana a petition for
arbitration of certain grievances, among which was the rate of wages
paid. The employees requested an increase of the hourly rate paid
to platform men operating 2-man cars from 45 cents to 60 cents, and
to operators of 1-man cars from 50 cents to 65 cents. Another
grievance was in regard to the extra men who report for runs but do
not receive work. The employees requested that men on the extra
list receive a minimum of five hours’ time when reporting for work.
February 20, 1929, the Indianapolis Street Railway Co. notified
the Public Service Commission of Indiana that it had made an increase
of 4 cents per hour in the wages of its car-service men.
The commission’s statement was, in part, as follows:
After considering all the evidence, the commission is of the opinion that no
further increase in the wages of the car-service men of the Indianapolis Street
Railway Co. can be made at this time. This commission, through the medium
of monthly reports required of the Indianapolis Street Railway Co., is in constant
touch with its revenues. If these reports indicate any improvement in the earn
ings of the company during the year 1929 beyond that required to meet the 4cent per hour increase in wages already ordered, this commission will consider
the same in connection with the existing wage scale of the car-service men.
The commission is of the opinion that some action should be taken in regard
to extra men who show up for runs and do not receive work. There is, however,
no evidence in the record upon which to base a proper award in this matter. It
is the opinion of the commission that the respondent should be directed to keep
a record concerning this matter for a period of 60 days and file a report with the
commission concerning same. This report should show the number of men show
ing up for work who did not receive a run, time spent by such extra men, and
other pertinent information. Upon the filing of this report the commission will
take such action in regard to this matter as the facts warrant.
Street-Railway Employees—Cincinnati, Ohio
A r b it r a t o r s appointed to consider the agreement covering
wages and working conditions of the employees of the Cincinnati
Street Railway Co. consisted of George D. Crabbs, appointed by the
company; James A. Wilson, appointed by Division 627 of the Amal
gamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees;
and Judge Robert S. Marx as neutral arbitrator. The award made
the following changes in the agreement which covered the period
ending June 30, 1929 (the new agreement was for a period of three
years):
The wages of motormen, conductors, 1-man car operators, and
inotor-coach operators were increased 2 cents an hour for a period of
18 months, with a further increase of 1 cent an hour for the second
18 months of the agreement. One-man car operators and motorcoach operators continued to receive the additional 7 cents an hour
over the wage paid to conductors and motormen. The award fixed
wage rates upon the 2-man cars at 55 cents per hour for the first 3
months’ service, 58 cents for the next 9 months, and 60 cents per
hour for more than one year of service,
47767°— 31------ 3
24
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
The working conditions of all employees were improved by a reduc
tion in the number of hours of work each day. The hours to be
worked by motormen and conductors, 1-man car operators, and
motor-coach operators are to be not less than 8 nor more than 9 per
day, with payment for overtime, overtime being defined as time
worked beyond the regular run or beyond 9 hours. The workday
for bam men, curve cleaners, incline gatemen, electric shovel opera
tors, watchmen, and miscellaneous employees was reduced from 10
and 9% hours to 9 hours, with an increase in wages, so that the wage
per day is the same for the shorter day as for the longer one, for the
first 18 months. For the second 18 months the rate was increased 1
cent an hour.
Results of Arbitration Cases Involving Wages and
Hours, 1865 to 1929
THE latter part of 1929 the Bureau of Labor Statistics made a
of all the labor arbitration cases involving wages and hours
INofstudy
which it had record, for the purpose of showing to what extent the
results of such arbitrations had been favorable or unfavorable to the
workers affected. This could be done, of course, only in a very
general way, by showing whether the several awards granted in
creased or decreased wages, increased or decreased hours of labor,
etc. An award resulting, for instance, in a wage increase, or a de
nial of a wage reduction asked for by the employer, is classed as
favorable to the workers. This, of course, is only part of the story,
as a wage increase may be less than was Justified, or may be com
bined with other features that negative its ostensible value to the
workers. The records of most arbitration cases, however, do not give
sufficient information to permit of such intimate analysis.
The term arbitration properly includes only disputes submitted to
an arbitrator or arbitrators with the agreement of both parties to
abide by the result. This interpretation has here been used, with
the exception that in the case of official arbitration boards, such as
the Railroad Labor Board, some decisions have been included where
both parties did not agree to abide by the result. This has been
done partly because the records do not always show whether the cases
passed upon were actual joint submissions or merely ex parte, and
partly because in certain cases the decisions of such official bodies,
by virtue of their official sanction, usually have a compelling force.
The cases here presented cover the period from 1865 to 1929. For
purposes of analysis, it was necessary to treat the period of the war
as entirely separate from preceding and succeeding years, the war
period being roughly described as extending from 1915 to 1920, in
clusive. These were abnormal years in every respect; the cost of
living was steadily and at times frantically rising, and the arbitrations
of this period were almost entirely concerned not with the question
of whether wages should be increased but with the question of the
amount of increase. The resulting decisions were, therefore, not rep
resentative of the attitude of arbitration tribunals under normal
conditions.
ARBITRATION CASES— WAGES AND HOURS
25
The total number of arbitration cases included in this study was
423. This was exclusive of some 2,000 cases decided by various war
time boards. A large number of cases had to be omitted from the
study because the available records, while giving the decision in de
tail, did not furnish the necessary information to determine what
changes from previous conditions were made by the arbitrator.
Decisions of various so-called adjustment boards, as in the clothing
industry, were omitted, as they deal primarily with the interpretation
of existing awards and agreements and not with general changes in
hours or wages. Decisions, mostly ex parte, under the investigation
of disputes act of Colorado and decisions under the short-lived com
pulsory arbitration law of Kansas were also omitted from the main
tabulation, but are discussed in a separate section.
A brief summary of the results of the total of 423 cases is given in
Table 1, the interpretation of the phrases “ in favor of the workers”
and “ in favor of the employers ” being in accordance with the explana
tion above. The column headed “ mixed decisions” refers to those
cases where the decisions were partly in favor of one side and partly
of the other, as where the contentions of both parties were rejected.
For the postwar period the data are given separately for each year.
T a b l e 1 .— D E C IS IO N S I N
LABOR
A R B IT R A T IO N CASES IN
B Y P E R IO D S
In favor of
workers
TH E
U N IT E D
In favor of em
ployers
M ixed decisions
N um
ber
Num
ber
STATES,
Total
Period and year
N um
ber
Pre-war period, 1865 to 1914......... .........
W ar period, 1915 to 1920..........................
Postwar period:
1921..........................................................
1922................................. .......................
1923................................................. ........
1924.............................. ........... ...............
1925.................. ............. .........................
1926..........................................................
1927................ .......................................
1928__________________________ _____
1929..........................................................
43
92
Per
cent
79.6
93.9
Per
cent
9
16.7
6
6 .1
2
20
42
2
17
32
19
21
3
1
1
17
23
5
3
16
3
3
10
6
1
1
20
Per
cent
3.7
N um
ber
54
98
Per
cent
100
100
64
41
38
23
39
3
20
1
1
27
12
7
Total........................... .......................
164
60.5
95
35.1
12
4.4
271
100
A ll periods......................................
299
70.7
110
28.0
14
3.3
423
100
An examination of Table 1 shows that in the pre-war period, 79.6
per cent of the decisions were in favor of the workers; in the war
period, 93.9 per cent; and in the postwar years, 60.5 per cent. It
is also of interest to note the differing results, by years, in the postwar
period. Following the peak of the war “ boom” in 1920, there was a
serious business depression and a sharp reduction in the cost of living.
Thereupon employers demanded wage reductions and in a number of
cases these were granted by arbitration awards. Thereafter, with
improving business conditions and a cessation in the downward
movement of cost of living, there was a decreasing number of requests
by employers for wage reductions.
Table 2 gives a more detailed analysis of the arbitration cases
covered by this study, the results being classified according to whether
26
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
they involved wage increases, reduction in hours, denial of employers’
request for wage decreases, etc. An examination of this table gives
some interesting comparisons.
T a b l e S.— D E C IS IO N I N L A B O R A R B I T R A T I O N C A S E S I N T H E
T Y P E O F D E C IS IO N
Pre-war
period
(1865-1914)
Decision
N um
ber
In favor of workers:
Wages increased (hours not involved )--...............—
W age reduction denied (hours not involved)_____
Wages increased, and hours reduced___________ _
Wages increased, but reduction in hours denied..
Wages increased, and increase in hours denied
Hours reduced (wages not involved)______________
Increase in hours denied (wages not involved)
Hours reduced, but wage increase denied_________
Total____________________________________________
In favor of employers:
Wages reduced (hours not involved)_______ ______
W age increase denied (hours not involved)_______
Wages reduced, but increase in hours denied_____
Wages reduced, but reduction in hours denied
Hours increased (wages not involved)....... ...............
W age increase and reduction in hours, both denied
33
61.1
71
72.4
7
13.0
3.7
13
5
3
13.3
5.1
3.1
128
21
2
A ll periods
47.2
7.7
232
54.8
5.0
6.4
2 .6
21
2 .6
27
1.5
.4
.4
.4
.4
11
1
1
1
1
4
Per
cent
of
grand
total
4
.9
1
1
2
.2
.2
*5
1
1.9
43
79.6
92
93.9
164
60.5
299
70.7
2
3.7
5.6
6
6 .1
58
29
21.4
10.7
.7
.4
60
38
2
1
14.2
9 .0
.5
3
1 .1
3
2
.7
6
.7
1.4
95
35.1
no
26.0
1
11
.4
4.1
2
r
12
2. 8
3
7.4
Total______ ____________ _______________ __________
9
16.7
Mixed:
Wages increased, but hours increased_____________
Requests of both parties denied___________________
1
1
1.9
1.9
2
3 .7
Grand total_____________________ ________ ________
Postwar
period
(1921-1929)
W ar period
(1915-1920)
Per i
Per
Per
cent N um c e n t '
cent
Num
N um
of
of
of
ber
ber
ber
grand
grand
grand
total
total
total
4
Total__________ ________ _________ _________ ______
U N IT E D ST A T E S, B Y
54 100.0
6
6 .1
i
98 100.0
2
1
.2
4.4
14
3.3
271 1100.0
i
423
100.0
12
Review of Principal Arbitrations
Pre-war Period (1865 to 1914)
T h e earliest wage arbitration in the United States of which the
bureau has record was that of the iron puddlers of Pittsburgh in 1865.
This resulted in a fairly substantial increase in wage rates and paved
the way for the peaceable settlement of later disputes.
Including this case, the bureau’s records show that during the pre
war period (prior to 1915) there were 28 arbitrations affecting indus
trial concerns, 4 affecting street railways, and 22 affecting steam rail
roads. The steam railroad cases arose almost entirely under the
Erdman Act of 1898 and the Newlands Act of 1913. These acts
represented the first attempt of the Federal Government to provide
machinery for the settlement of labor disputes. In every one of
these pre-war railroad arbitrations the decision granted some increase
in wages to part or all of the workers concerned. In some instances
the increases were very slight; in others, as in the eastern engineers’
cases of 1912, some employees received increases as high as 52 per
cent, although others received no advances at all. In only 4 of the
ARBITRATION CASES— WAGES AND HOURS
27
railroad arbitrations was the subject of hours a serious point of con
troversy and in all of these some reduction in hours was granted.
Of the pre-war industrial arbitrations the anthracite coal case of
1903 was by far the most important. The board in this case was
appointed by the President of the United States, after a long and
bitter conflict. The decision of the board gave a substantial increase
in wage rates, amounting to 10 per cent in the case of contract miners.
Another interesting development of the early pre-war period was
the establishment in Massachusetts in 1886 of a State board of
conciliation and arbitration. This board had a very successful career
both in conciliating disputes and in prevailing upon disputants
voluntarily to submit to arbitration. Unfortunately the early reports
of the work of this board do not give sufficiently full details of results
in individual cases to permit of inclusion in this study.
War Period (1915 to 1920)
D u r in g the war there was a tremendous growth in the use of arbi
tration in labor disputes. This represented in part a development of
a movement which was already under way before the war. The war
itself, however, naturally accelerated this movement. It was every
where recognized not only that there should be no strikes or lockouts
to interrupt war-time production, but also that with the great in
crease in cost of living, considerable wage increases were essential.
Arbitration was the logical way out of the difficulty, especially as
the point at issue was almost invariably not whether there should be
a wage increase but simply the amount of the increase.
During the war years proper (1917 and 1918) the major industries
were necessarily subjected to a considerable measure of Government
control, and as a result the wage adjustments were largely under the
auspices of various Federal wage adjustment agencies, such as the
National War Labor Board and the Shipbuilding Labor Adjust
ment Board.
These boards rendered some 2,000 decisions of varying importance.
Most of these decisions were not true arbitration awards, but some
were in the class of arbitration awards proper—as for instance, the
cases decided by the National War Labor Board, in which that board
had been agreed upon by both parties as final arbitrator.
The awards and decisions of these boards, as already noted, do
not have much significance as indicating the normal attitude of
arbitrators toward the subject of wages. Practically all decisions
granted wage increases, as there was a tacit understanding that
wages would be increased at least as much as the increase in cost of
living and there was a general increase in cost of living from 1917 to
1920, inclusive.
As regards hours, the decisions and awards of these war-time
boards were much more significant, the principle being early accepted
by practically all the boards that the basic 8-hour day should be
generally granted, but that otherwise, existing conditions should be
maintained. As a result, the 8-hour day in both principle and practice
made verv great strides.
With the close of the war in November, 1918, the Federal agencies
gradually withdrew their control over private industry, but the war
28
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
conditions of high industrial activity, mounting living costs, etc.,
continued until the beginning of 1921. There resulted a series of
labor disputes and labor arbitrations, most of the principal ones
culminating in 1920. In that year there were three arbitration cases
of outstanding importance—the bituminous coal case, the anthracite
coal case, and Decision No. 2 of the United States Railroad Labor
Board.
The award in the bituminous coal case granted substantial increases
in wages, amounting to 24 cents a ton for tonnage workers, $1 a day
for certain other classes of labor, and 20 per cent for still other classes.
The anthracite case also resulted in wage increases but apparently
much less substantial ones than in the bituminous case and much
less satisfactory to the miners concerned.
Decision No. 2 of the Railroad Labor Board, rendered in 1920,
represented the first major activity of that board. The case affected
almost all classes of steam railroad employees and the award of the
board granted increases, roughly, of from 5 to 18 cents per hour.
Postwar Period (1921 to 1929)
W it h the general collapse in business in 1921, prices and the cost
of living also slumped heavily, and labor disputes assumed an entirely
different aspect. Previously, disputes had risen largely on the part
of the employees, who desired better wages or decreased hours.
Now the demand came from the employers for reduced wages and,
to some extent, for increased hours. The employees were, for the
most part, on the defensive and the arbitration cases arising at this
time were chiefly concerned with the questions of reducing wages and
lengthening hours.
Of the 64 arbitration cases of which the bureau has record for 1921,
42 were decided in favor of the employers, and in 1922, 21 out of 41
were in favor of the employers. Thereafter the pendulum swung
the other way, and the great majority of the decisions were in favor of
the workers.
Outstanding cases of wage decreases following the war were various
decisions of the Railroad Labor Board, rendered in 1921 and 1922,
which took away a considerable part of the wage increases granted
in the general wage decision of 1920.
Street-railway cases have been very frequent in the postwar years,
most of the union agreements providing for arbitration as a last resort.
Arbitrations have also been very frequent in the printing trades, in the
electrical trades, and in the men’s garment industry, the unions and
employees concerned having adopted the principle of arbitration on
a fairly general scale.
The most significant development of the postwar period, in the
field of labor arbitration, was probably the passage of the railroad
labor act of 1926. This act abolished the old Railroad Labor Board
and created a new machinery of mediation and arbitration. Under
this act there have been many arbitrations involving wages and hours.
In addition, three cases involving wages and hours have been referred
by the President of the United States to special boards set up by him
for the purpose, as provided in the act of 1926. In one of the three
cases referred to presidential boards the employees were given a wage
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OP COLORADO— DECISIONS
29
increase, while in another a wage increase, higher than that previously
offered by the railroad, was denied. The decisions of these presiden
tial boards are theoretically not binding, but the sanction back of
them is so great that they are not likely to be disregarded. In addi
tion, as the act of 1926 was agreed upon in advance by all the unions
as well as the railroads, a certain moral obligation rests upon all
disputants to accept the decisions arrived at through the machinery
of the act.
A law enacted in 1915 established the Colorado Industrial Com
mission and gave it jurisdiction over labor disputes. The decisions
of the commission since its creation are summarized in the following
article.
The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations was created in the special
session of the Kansas Legislature for 1920. This law required that
all disputes in industries affected by a public interest be referred to
the industrial court for arbitration and absolutely prohibited strikes
and lockouts in such industries. On April 13, 1925, the Supreme
Court of the United States delivered an opinion declaring unconsti
tutional the “ compulsory arbitration” features of the law.
The reports of the Kansas Court of Industrial Relations show that
55 cases had been formally considered by the court to January 1,
1924. Twenty-seven of these cases involved wages and hours. In
5 of these cases an agreement was reached out of court. The remain
ing 22 cases were disposed of as follows:
Cases
Increase of wages granted_________________________________
Increase of wages refused_________________________________
Decrease of wages granted________________________________
Hours decreased....... .......................................... ..... ........... .......
14
2
3
3
Decisions of Industrial Commission of Colorado, 1929
and 1930
1915 a law was passed in Colorado which provides that all
industrial disputes occurring in Colorado and involving four or
INmore
workers must be held in abeyance until the State industrial
commission holds hearings and renders a decision. The Industrial
Commission of Colorado was created to administer the act. The
jurisdiction of the commission continues until after a final hearing
and award or until a prior voluntary termination of the dispute. The
law provides that “ employers and employees shall give to the indus
trial commission and the one to the other at least 30 days’ prior written
notice of an intended change affecting conditions of employment or
with respect to wages or hours.”
The industrial commission has no compulsory powers and its deci
sion is not binding unless both parties to the dispute have previously
selected the commission as arbitrator.
The available reports of the commission are not sufficiently detailed
to permit of a tabulation of the results of all its awards and decisions.
An analysis of the awards and decisions up to December 1, 1924,
however, was made by two students of the subject and published in
the Journal of Political Economy for October, 1927. The following
30
ARBITRATION ANI> CONCILIATION
statement shows the disposition of 1,042 cases handled by the com
mission, as reported in the article mentioned:
Cases
Award or settlement in favor of workers______
Award or settlement in favor of employers____
Mutual agreement (including cases arbitrated)
No record of outcome_______________________
221
190
334
297
Summaries are given below of the findings and awards of the com
mission during 1929 and 1930 which have come to the attention of
the bureau.
Lignite Coal Miners—Centennial Mine, Colorado
On M a y 3, 1929, the Industrial Commission of Colorado rendered
a decision in the case of the coal miners in the lignite fields of Boulder
and Weld Counties of Colorado and the operators of the Centennial
Mine. The decision of the commission granted the miners the right
of collective bargaining, and the same scale of day wages and working
conditions as those in effect and paid by the Rocky Mountain Fuel
Co., which are specified in the 2-year agreement between that com
pany and the United Mine Workers of America. (See Labor Review,
October, 1928, pp. 196-202.)
The following petition signed by employees of the Centennial
Mine was filed with the commission:
We, the undersigned employees working in and about the lignite mines in
Boulder and Weld Counties, in the State of Colorado, for the employing com
panies hereinafter designated opposite our respective names, hereby petition
Haid designated companies and your commission for the same scale of day wages,
tonnage, yardage, and dead-work scales and working conditions as are now in
effect and being paid at the mines in the said field which are now operated by the
Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. and which are specified in that certain agreement
between the Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. and the United Mine Workers of America,
District No. 15, dated August 16, 1928, now on file with and approved by your
commission and hereto attached.
We further petition that said wages, scales of compensation, and conditions of
employment be applied and made effective within 30 days following the filing of
this petition and notice with your commission and service thereof upon said
designated employers.
Further, your commission and said employers are notified that unless com
pliance is made with the foregoing petition and notice within the time fixed by
the law after filing of the same and service thereof, petitioners will exercise their
rights under the law following the expiration of said time.
A hearing was held on the above petition on April 22, 1929, at
Denver, Colo., notices having been sent to the following parties:
The Boulder Valley Coal Co., the Centennial Mine, the Colorado
State Federation of Labor, and District No. 15, United Mine Workers
of America.
At this time petitions were filed by some of the employees of the
Wm. E. Russell Coal Co., the Shamrock Mine, the State Mine, and
the Puritan Mine.
At the request of the commission, the president of the Rocky
Mountain Fuel Co., the president of the Wm. E. Russell Coal Co.,
the general superintendent of the National Fuel Co., the sales manager
of the Boulder Valley Coal Co., and the president of the Clayton
Coal Co. testified at the hearing.
The petitioners contended that they were entitled to the same
scale of wages, tonnage, yardage, and dead work, and the same
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF COLORADO— DECISIONS
31
working conditions as were in force and effect in the mines of the
Rocky Mountain Fuel Co., and to the same system of collective
bargaining as that contained in the agreement made between that
company and the United Mine Workers of America, and also con
tended that such an agreement would help to stabilize the coal
industry.
Testimony was also introduced to show that slack or steam coal
had been sold for as low as 10 cents per ton; and at the time of the
hearing the Rocky Mountain Fuel Co. had a contract for 75 cents a
ton and the National Fuel Co. one for 86 cents a ton. As these prices
are far below the cost of production, the price on the rest of the coal
produced must be increased to meet the loss sustained on the slack and
steam coal.
Merl D. Vincent, president of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Co.,
testified that the agreement between his company and the United
Mine Workers of America was very satisfactory and read the follow
ing statement into the record:
There has been a marked change in the relations between the company and
the men. A better understanding and a spirit of cooperation has developed.
There is a noticeable increase in the efficiency of the men in the mines and our
own organization. Grievances and complaints are quickly settled by the pit
committees and the superintendents with apparent satisfaction and fairness.
Appeals have been taken in two cases only in the more than seven months the
contract has been in force. The pit committees in two of our mines report that
no complaints have been made.
During the first quarter of this year there has been a noticeable increase in
efficiency, reflected in part by an increase in tonnage production per man per day.
There was also a decrease in cost per ton during the first quarter of this year.
The average increase per man per day in all our mines in March this year as
against March in 1928 was 2.7 tons. We find this increased efficiency and morale
extending tnrougn the entire organization. While the men are paid for work at
contract rates, which has increased their earnings, costs have not increased but
show a decrease, due in part to more efficient work and better cooperation.
A stabilized cost is the first step toward a stabilized market. At present no
two operators are on the same labor-cost basis. Some pay more or less than
others for the same class of work. If all were put on the same basis, there would
be greater incentive, and I am sure tendency, to regulate their production to
market demands and mpintain reasonable and uniform prices.
The coal industry in this field can be made to adequately compensate every
one engaged in it and at the same time serve the public at reasonable prices.
The findings and award of the Industrial Commission of Colorado
follow:
Labor is entitled to an adequate wage and the employer to a fair return on his
investment. Labor and capital are necessary for the success of any kind of an
industrial enterprise. One is as necessary as the other. They should work in
harmony if labor is to receive an adequate wage and the employer is to receive a
fair return on the investment. To secure these ends it would seem that a system
of collective bargaining should be used. Experience has shown that it is not to
the best interests of the employees to leave their welfare exclusively in the hands
of the employer. While it is true that many of the employers protect the inter
ests of their employees, there are others who do not. The only safe and sure pro
tection for the employee consists of his ability to bargain collectively.
Labor organizations are as much the product of modern industrial life as the
corporation. There was a time when the individual workman could bargain
with his employer on something like equality. Industrial development has
reached a point where it is impossible in many cases for the employee to deal as
an individual with his employer. In some cases the employer is a corporation
with large amounts of invested capital and thousands of employees. Under
these conditions it is impossible for the individual workman to bargain on an
equal basis. In such a case it is no bargain at all. The individual workman can
accept the conditions named by the employer or look for other employment.
32
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
Very little freedom of contract can exist between a man who has nothing but his
labor to sell and the employer who can do without the labor of any particular
individual. Freedom of contract under such conditions is little more than an
idle dream because of the self-evident inequality.
The right of the miners to bargain collectively should not be denied or abridged
by any employer. It is one of their rights and the one principle that will settle
many industrial controversies. There should be no opposition on the part of
the employers to this principle. It seems to us it is one of the very best and
safest instruments for the attainment of industrial peace and justice.
Capital and labor must cooperate before they can really become efficient and
effective. They should work together in a spirit of friendly cooperation. The
time has passed when any employer or owner of a mine can operate it as he
pleases. Such a policy is opposed to the common good. The employee must
have the right to share in determining what his working conditions shall be if
he is to become satisfied and contented—a contented employee is an asset to
any company.
From the evidence submitted by the president of the Rocky Mountain Fuel
Co. it would seem that the agreement between said company and the United
Mine Workers of America is working in a very efficient and effective manner,
both as to the men and the company. This contract stabilizes the price of labor,
because they have signed up, as we understand it, for a period of two years.
It is the decision of the commission that the application of the employees of
the Centennial Mine of the Boulder Valley Coal Co. be granted, and that the
company shall allow the right of collective bargaining, pay the same wage scale,
and grant the working conditions now in force in the mines of the Rocky Moun
tain Fuel Co.
The commission would suggest that the mine operators in the northern Colorado
coal fields should have some kind of an agreement not to sell slack or steam coal
at less than the cost of production. This would be collective bargaining on the
part of the employer, and if collective bargaining is right on the part of the
employee it is also just on the part of the employer.
Building and Common Laborers—Denver, Colo.
O n t h e 18th of July, 1929, the Industrial Commission of Colorado
gave a decision in the case of the Building and Common Laborers'
Union No. 340, against the contractors of the city iand county of
Denver.
The representative of the union gave notice on June 24, 1929, to
the commission and to the contractors of Denver of a demand for an
increase in wages and a change in working conditions.
At a hearing held in Denver, July 13, 1929, the employees con
tended that they were entitled to a wage of $5 for an 8-hour day,
time and one-half for overtime and double time for Sundays and
holidays, and recognition of their union. The employers who testi
fied did not oppose an increase to $5 per day, but declared that any
increase in wages should not go into effect where contracts had
already been made and let. Some of the employers contended they
did not care to recognize the union.
The findings and award of the Industrial Commission of Colorado
follow:
From the evidence submitted by both sides it appears that common laborers
in the city of Denver receive from 30 to 50 cents per hour and are employed
from 8 to 12 hours per day; that they are employed on an average of only 4 days
per week. In the opinion of the commission this is not a living wage. A large
majority of these employees are unorganized and do not belong to any union.
Therefore, it is the decision and award of the commission that the demands of
the said union for $5 per day and for an 8-hour day are reasonable and should
be granted by the employers, and that the employers should recognize the right
of the employees to organize and bargain collectively. We are also of the opinion
that time and one-half should be allowed for overtime and for Sundays and
holidays. There should be no increase, however, in wages, nor should the tinie
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OP COLORADO— DECISIONS
33
and one-half for overtime be imposed or demanded until the completion of the
contracts that had been let prior to the date the above notice was received by the
commission. We believe that this is only fair to the employer who has taken
and figured a contract under wages and conditions prevailing at that time.
Laborers of Denver, Colo., Refused an Increase in Wages
T he Industrial Commission of Colorado, having been notified by
Local No. 720 of the Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers
Union of a demand upon the employers for an increase in wages,
granted a hearing on January 7,1930. The demand of the employees
was as follows: For work with plasterers, an increase from $7 to $8.50
per day; for mixing and handling brick mortar, an increase from
$6.75 to $8 per day; and for carrying or wheeling bricks, an increase
from $6.50 to $8 per day.
In making its decision the commission called attention to the
following statement by William Green, president of the American
Federation of Labor, under date of November 27, 1929, after the
conference called by the President of the United States, to consider
the industrial situation and discuss methods to promote prosperity.
It might be well to observe in considering the existing industrial situation that
labor has learned from experience that movements for special increases in wages
can not be successfully launched at a time whan the Nation has sustained a severe
shock as a result of the destruction of billions of dollars in values resulting in the
curtailment of the buying power of the millions of victims who may have lost
all they possessed. I am of the opinion that all should be on guard against any
attempt to reduce wages. Local unions should be requested to watch carefully
any attempt which may be made to lower the wage standards. Such an attempt
on the part of any employer would be regarded as an evidence of bad faith and
as being in direct contradiction to the statement made by the employers' group
which met with the President of the United States prior to the conference with
the representatives of labor and pledged themselves individually “ that they will
not initiate any movement for wage reduction and it was their strong recom
mendation that this attitude should be pursued by the country as a whole.”
On January 14, 1930, the commission made the following decision
and award:
The commission has given very careful and serious consideration to the evi
dence introduced at this hearing and has also considered the statement made by
Mr. Green as quoted above.
Therefore, it is the award and decision of the commission that the demand
of the above-named union for an increase in wages be refused and that no increase
in wages be granted to said employees at this time.
Stage Employees and Motion-Picture Machine Operators—
Colorado Springs, Colo.
O n N o v e m b e r 9, 1929, the Industrial Commission of Colorado
gave a decision in the case of the members of Local No. 62, Inter
national Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving-Picture
Machine Operators against the Colorado Springs Theater Corporation.
The hearing was held in Colorado Springs, October 28, 1929, and the
parties to the dispute agreed to accept the award of the Industrial
Commission of Colorado.
The employees contended that they should receive the same con
tract as they now have with two of the other theaters in Colorado
Springs and requested a weekly rate of $56.70 September 1, 1929,
to August 31, 1930, and thereafter $58.35. The employer contended
that under the present condition of his business in Colorado Springs
he could not afford to grant such a wage.
34
ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION
The award of the Industrial Commission of Colorado was as
follows:
The commission, after hearing the evidence in behalf of both the employer
and the employees and giving the matter very careful consideration, is of the
opinion, and it is the decision and award of the commission, that the employees
in the employ of the Colorado Springs Theater Corporation be granted a wage
of $1.35 per hour by the employer and that the hours of employment remain
as at present, effective November 1, 1929.
Iron Workers* Request for Increase in Wages Refused—Denver,
Colo.
T h e International Association of Bridge, Structural, and Orna
mental Iron Workers, Local Union No. 24, of Denver, Colo., notified
the Colorado Industrial Commission of its demand upon employers
for an increase in wages from $1.25 to $1.50 per hour.
The employees contended that they were entitled to the increase
demanded because of the hazards of their occupation and because of
the increase in the cost of living. The employers contended that
the condition of business throughout the country did not justify
an increase in wages.
In making its decision and award, the commission said in part:
The attention of the commission has been called to the fact that on November
21, 1929, President Hoover invited the representatives of labor, agriculture,
business, and transportation to confer with him on the industrial situation to
discuss methods that would promote prosperity and offset the recent slump in
Wall Street. * * * At this conference the President of the United States
requested the representatives of labor present to concur in a statement he pre
pared and read, as follows:
“ The President was authorized by the employers who were present at this
morning’s conference to state on their individual behalf that they will not initiate
any movement for wage reduction, and it was their strong recommendation that
this attitude should be pursued by the country as a whole. They considered
that aside from the human considerations involved, the consuming power of the
country will thereby be maintained.
“ The President was also authorized by the representatives of labor to state
that in their individual views and that as their strong recommendation to the
country as a whole that no movements beyond those already in negotiation
should be initiated for increase of wages and that every cooperation should be
given by labor to industry in the handling of its problems. The purpose of
these declarations is to give assurance that conflicts should not occur during
the present situation which will affect the continuity of work and thus to maintain
stability of employment.”
The award, dated January 28, 1930, follows:
It is the decision and award of the commission that the demand of said em
ployees for an increase in wages be refused and that no increase in wages be
granted the said employees at this time.
Conciliation Work of United States Department of
Labor
HE work of the Conciliation Service of the United States Depart
ment of Labor is, as its title indicates, that of mediation in labor
disputes.
The intention of Congress in creating the Department of Labor
was clearly to the end that such a mediatory policy should be the
basis of the conciliation work. The language of that part of the or
T
CONCILIATION WORK— U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
35
ganic act pertaining to this service simply provides that “ The Secre
tary of Labor is authorized to act as mediator, or to appoint com
missioners of conciliation in industrial disputes whenever in his
judgment the interests of industrial peace may require it to be done.”
In carrying out the intention of Congress it has been the general
policy to respond promptly to any calls for the good offices of the
representatives of the Conciliation Service from either employers or
employees, or from the public affected by any industrial dispute.
In the handling of trade disputes, representatives of the service
cooperate freely with State ^or local agencies or committees. In
many cases Federal commissioners assigned to a trade dispute have
found local committees or agencies using their good offices in an
effort to terminate the controversy. In such instances the commis
sioners of conciliation have,cooperated with the local agencies.
Data supplied to the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Concili
ation Service show that during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1929,
it handled 578 industrial disputes, involving directly and indirectly
approximately 438,000 employees. For the fiscal year ending June
30, 1930, the data supplied show 534 industrial disputes handled,
involving directly and indirectly approximately 352,000 employees.
At the close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1930, 42 cases were pending.
CHILD LABOR
37
Trends in Employment of Children, 1927 to 1929
OR some years the Federal Children’s Bureau has made a
practice of collecting records of the first certificates given children
authorizing their employment—work certificates, as they are usually
called—and in the annual report of the bureau chief for 1929-30,
data are given concerning such certificates issued in 1929. The child
labor laws of most States prescribe that children under certain ages,
differing to some extent with the State, must obtain these permits
before they may be lawfully employed, and also require that the
permits must contain certain definite data as to age, sex, school grade
reached, and the like. Consequently the records of these certificates,
if accurately kept, furnish information bearing upon several aspects
of the child-labor problem. When the bureau began a study of this
matter several years ago, it found that comparatively few places had
recognized the importance of keeping such records of the certificates
issued as would furnish readily the information desired, and that even
where records were kept, the data preserved in one State might be on
a different basis from that of another, so that the figures of different
States could not be combined. Efforts were therefore made both to
encourage the keeping of such records, and to promote uniformity in
the methods of presenting the data, with the result that the field
covered by the records collected is continually widening and the figures
growing in significance. In cases where statistics of this kind can not
be collected on a state-wide basis, the bureau has tried to secure them
from the larger cities of the State. Comment is made on the increas
ing volume and value of the data secured.
F
For 1926, the first year in which personal visits to State and local offices were
made, the bureau received reports from only 12 States, 26 cities in 12 other
States, and the District of Columbia, whereas for 1929 it received reports from
19 States, 65 cities in 15 other States, and the District of Columbia.
It is estimated on the basis of the 1920 census that the number of 14 and 15
year old children receiving certificates in the States and cities from which reports
are now being received represents approximately 70 per cent of the 14 and 15
year old children in the United States going to work in occupations for which
certificates are usually required under the State child labor laws. These records,
of course, do not include the large number of children entering occupations (such
as agricultural pursuits and domestic service) for which certificates are not required
under State laws, nor those going to work illegally. It should be remembered
also that the number of first regular certificates issued does not indicate the
total number of children at work at any given time but only the number beginning
work during a single year. These figures are, however, representative of con
ditions as regards at least the legal employment of children of employmentcertificate age in most industrial and commercial pursuits in the important
child-employing centers.
A tabulation has been made of the figures relating to 137,786
children 14 and 15 years of age and of 82,301 children aged 16 and 17
who received regular certificates for the first time in 1929. The
following table shows the number of those aged 14 and 15 as reported
from 17 States and the District of Columbia, and from cities of 50,000
or over.1 (Two States, Alabama and Oklahoma, are omitted, be! Population according to census estimate of July t, 1928, or where no estimate was made, according io
census of 1920,
47767°-—31—
4
39
CHILD LABOR
40
cause they did not show the number of first regular certificates
separately from the number of reissued certificates.)
N U M B E R O F C H I L D R E N 14 A N D 15 Y E A R S O F A G E R E C E I V I N G T H E I R F I R S T
R E G U L A R E M P L O Y M E N T C E R T I F I C A T E S I N 1928 A N D 1929 A N D P E R C E N T O F
C H A N G E F R O M P R E V IO U S Y E A R , B Y S T A T E A N D C I T Y *
1928
State and city
Number
States reporting:
Connecticut............ .
Bridgeport..............
H a rtfo rd ..-............
N ew Britain......... .
N ew H aven..........
W aterbury............ .
District of Columbia..
Indiana.....................
Fort W ayn e______
Ham m ond..............
Indianapolis...........
South Bend...........
Iowa................................ .
Cedar Rapids------Davenport..............
Des Moines______
Sioux C ity..............
Kansas............................ .
Kansas C ity______
Topeka...................
W ichita...................
Kentucky...................... .
Covington________
Louisville................
M aine............... ...............
P ortland.-..............
Maryland...................... .
Baltimore...............
M innesota.
Minneapolis.
St. Paul............
N ew Hampshire.
Manchester—
N ew Jersey..............
Jersey C ity___
Newark.............
Trenton............
N ew York ...............
Albany____ . . .
Bingham ton..
Buffalo..............
Elmira...............
N ew Y ork ____
Niagara Falls.
Rochester— . . .
Schenectady-.
Syracuse— — T roy...................
Utica..................
Yonkers----------
),649
635
453
274
252
706
46
34
183
75
•707
3 32
U22
128
80
15
24
647
35
390
*98
4 13
5 3,240
*2,961
268
112
# 131
^828
7 240
*16,788
? 1,340
•2.306
3 786
1929
Per cent of
change as
compared
with 1927 *
-11
+9
+11
—2
—28
-2 4
+35
-1 7
-2 1
-1 1
+33
'+ 3 4 '
+3
+11
—IS
-5 2
-1 5
-1 7
-1 4
—9
-9
+9
-2
-7
-1 4
-2
-9
2,414
-7
34,313
266
1,588
—
4
+ 55
-1
Num ber
6,537
915
560
253
884
374
279
822
78
41
209
61
3862
330
«157
3 184
3.112
170
124
21
7
798
47
482
< 170
<29
«3,815
5 3,553
253
93
112
7 1,120
7 411
3 17,385
3 1,371
*2.264
3 824
54,897
361
268
2,783
174
35,934
63
1,476
470
514
Per cent of
change as
compared
with 1928 2
+16
+44
+24
-8
-8
+3
+11
+16
+14
-1 9
+22
+29
+9
+35
+33
+55
+23
+24
+73
’ +18
+20
-6
-1 7
-1 5
+35
+71
+4
+2
-2
+5
+15
+5
-7 6
--7
200
429
-12
671
413
—4
1 D ata are from State or local official sources.
2 Per cent not shown where number of children is less than 50 nor where figures for previous year are not
available.
3 Includes children to whom regular certificates were issued for work outside school hours and during
vacation.
4 Number of 15-year-old children to whom regular certificates were issued; law does not permit the issu
ance of regular certificates to children under 15. In Grand Rapids, M ich., in 1929 a regular certificate
was issued to one child of 14 years for work on a farm; in Hamtramck, M ich., in 1928 regular certificates
were issued to two children of 14 years and in 1929 to three children of 14 years, after investigation dis
closed necessity for employment; in Lansing, M ich., in 1929 regular certificates were issued to one child of
14 years compelled to support himself and to three children o f 14 years enrolled in the high-school indus
trial course and working part time.
8 Exclusive of 211 children in 1928 and 213 children in 1929 to whom **vocational ” certificates were issued.
6 Revised figures supplied b y State.
7 Includes in N ew Hampshire children to whom regular certificates were issued for “ after-school” work,
and in San Diego in 1928 children to whom certificates weie issued for work outside school hours which
were not reported separately.
41
TBENDS IK EMPLOYMENT, 1927 TO 1929
N U M B E R O F C H I L D R E N 14 A N D 16 Y E A R S O F A G E R E C E I V I N G T H E I R F IR S T
R E G U L A R E M P L O Y M E N T C E R T I F I C A T E S I N 1928 A N D 1829 A N D P E R C E N T O F
C H A N G E F R O M P R E V IO U S Y E A R , B Y S T A T E A N D C I T Y — Continued
1928
State and city
Num ber
States reporting— Continued.
Pennsylvania............. - .........
E r ie ..
Harrisburg.................
Philadelphia...................
Pittsburgh.......................
Scranton..........................
Tennessee.............................. Chattanooga.................*
Knoxville.......................*
M em phis......... - .............
Nashville.........................
Vermont...................................
Washington............................
W est Virginia.........................
Charleston...............
Huntington...........- —
Wheeling.........................
W isco n sin ..............................
Milwaukee
Cities in States not reporting:
C aliforn iaLong Beach...............—
Los Angeles.....................
Oakland...........................
P a sa d e n a ......................
Sacramento.....................
San Diego................
San Francisco...........— .
Colorado: D e n v e r ..---------Delaware: W ilmington____
Georgia: Atlanta..................
Illinois—
Chicago.............................
Decatur...............- ........... .
East St. Louis............... .
Oak Park......................... .
Peoria................................
Rockford.......................... .
Springfield........................
Louisiana: N ew O rleans...
Massachusetts—
Boston.............................. .
Fall River.........................
Lawrence..........................
Lowell................................
L ynn...................................
Somerville......... ...............
Springfield........................
Michigan—
Detroit...............................
Grand Rapids.................
Hamtramck.....................
Highland Park________
Kalamazoo............ ...........
Lansing...........................
Saginaw.............................
................
1929
Per cent of
change as
compared
with 1927
127
76
9,715
-5 2
—37
-2
-2 9
2,239
59
87
403
45
61
492
(8)
.A.... .
-22
-8 2
“ +6
2, 162
-1 7
-2 6
1,282
21
701
65
30
39
*204
134
235
285
46
#3,454
3 121
-1 6
-1 7
+39
-1 4
+12
-1 2
(8)
-1 7
Num ber
27,758
138
109
10,455
1,429
757
1,526
97
*172
238
36
77
458
403
35
60
57
1,656
861
11
857
69
19
56
14
145
Per cent of
change as
compared
w ith 1928
+9
+43
+8
+46
+9
—32
+64
+98
-4 1
+26
-7
-2 3
+22
+6
211
+8
-1 0
320
+12
20
3,486
+1
15
72
50
134
+13
-2 4
-4
-2 4
64
* -3
66
140
®1,195
+4
-3 1
307
277
262
+32
+3
-5
‘ 1,003
4 158
<54
+46
+2
-1 1
K»l,100
-8
2,847
1,183
441
467
333
299
427
+20
4 1,033
4 193
* 56
+22
0
<34
+52
+20
+14
+7
+3
+4
<24
4 62
......
-9 3
48
3 Includes children to whom regular certificates were issued for work outside school hours and during
vacation.
* Number of 15-year-old children to whom regular certificates were issued; law does not permit the issu
ance of regular certificates to children under 15. In Grand Rapids, M ich., in 1929 a regular certificate
was issued to one child of 14 years for work on a farm; in Hamtramck, M ien., in 1928 regular certificates
were issued to two children of 14 years and in 1929 to three children of 14 years, after investigation disclosed
necessity for employment; in Lansing, M ich., in 1929 regular certificates were issued to one child of 14
years compelled to support himself and to three children of 14 years enrolled in the high-school industrial
course and working part time.
• Revised figures supplied b y State.
7 Includes in N ew Hampshire children to whom regular certificates were issued for “ after-school” work,
and in San Diego in 1928 children to whom certificates were issued for work outside school hours which
were not reported separately.
8 Less than 1 per cent.
9 M a y include a few children to whom certificates were reissued.
10 Includes children to whom regular certificates were issued for work during vacation.
42
CHILD LABOR
N U M B E R OF C H I L D R E N 14 A N D 15 Y E A R S O F A G E R E C E I V I N G T H E IR F IR S T
R E G U L A R E M P L O Y M E N T C E R T I F I C A T E S I N 1928 A N D 1929 A N D P E R C E N T OF
C H A N G E F R O M P R E V IO U S Y E A R , B Y S T A T E A N D C I T Y — Contiuned
1929
1928
State and city
Number
Cities in States not reporting— Continued.
Missouri—
Kansas C ity................. ......................................... ..........
St. Louis...................... .....................................................
Nebraska—
Lincoln_______________________________ ______ _____
Omaha................ ......................... ....... ................... .........
Ohio—
Akron________ ___________________________________
Cincinnati_______________________________________ i
C le v e la n d .__ - ___________________ ____ __________
Columbus______________ __________ __________ ____
D ayton___________________________________________ i
Springfield_______________________________________ !
1
T oledo.___________ ________ ____________ ______
Youngstown_____________________________________
Oregon: Portland____________________________________ !
Rhode Island: Providence............................................... .
Utah: Salt Lake C ity.................................................. ....... ;
Virginia: Richmond..............- ........................... .................
175
1,773
Per cent of
change as
compared
with 1927
Num ber
- 2
-1 3
3 338
i.................
1,730
3
74
6
09
Per cent of
change as
compared
with 1928
-4 1
11 7
“ 3
>i 3
ii 6
ii 7
+7
0
0
0
115
ii 7
ii 23
1121
0
* 1,704
125
0
265
4-9
+29
4 1,943
:
i.... ................. "I
92
174
+14
—26
Includes children to whom regular certificates were issued for work outside school hours and during
vacation.
* Number of 15-year-old children to whom regular certificates were issued; law does not permit the issu
ance of regular certificates to children under 15. In Grand Rapids, M ich., in 1929 a regular certificate
was issued to one child of 14 years for work on a farm; in Hamtramck, M ich., in 1928 regular certificates
were issued to two children of 14 years and in 1929 to three children of 14 years, after investigation disclosed
necessity for employment; in Lansing, M ich., in 1929 regular certificates were issued to one child of 14
years compelled to support himself and to three children of 14 years enrolled hi the high-school industrial
course and working part time,
ii Children under 16 adjudged incapable of profiting substantially b y further instruction.
3
In 1928, as compared with 1927, of the States reporting 9 showed a
decrease in the number of children receiving first certificates, while 3
States and the District of Columbia showed an increase; the following
year the situation was reversed, 10 States and the District showing
an increase and only 4 showing a decrease. While the percentage
of increase in 1929 was sometimes considerable, the numbers involved
were generally not large; the increase in Vermont showed the smallest
number, 16, and that in Connecticut the largest, 888. Individual
cities sometimes displayed a movement directly contrary to that of
the State, but as a whole, for the area for which reports were received,
1929 showed an increase, while 1928 had shown a decrease as com
pared with the preceding year.
The number of 14 and 15 year old children to whom first regular certificates
were issued increased 5 per cent in 1929 over 1928 in the 14 States and the District
of Columbia and the 49 cities in 15 other States, for which comparable figures are
available. In many of these places— 7 States and 22 cities in other States—the
increases in 1929 followed decreases in 1928 as compared with 1927, but in 3
States, 6 cities, and the District of Columbia both years showed an increase.
In the States and cities for which comparable figures are available for 1927, as
well as 1928 and 1929, the number of 14 and 15 year old children to whom regular
certificates were issued increased 6 per cent in 1929 over 1928, whereas in 1928
there was a decrease of 7 per cent as compared with 1927.
In localities which reported a decrease in the number of permits
issued in 1929 as compared with 1928, it is suggested that changes in
the laws raising educational standards and more rigid enforcement
MIGKATOBY AND AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
48
of the child labor and compulsory school-attendance laws were prob
ably factors in keeping children in school and thereby reducing the
number of 14 and 15 year old children going to work.
Separate figures for white and colored children aged 14 and 15
were given in the reports from 9 States, 43 cities in 18 other States,
and the District of Columbia, showing that colored children were only
1 per cent of the number to whom first regular certificates were issued,
though the percentage of colored children in this age group throughout
the Union is 12. This does not show, however, the actual proportions
of white and colored children going to work, since colored children
are employed perhaps more frequently than white in domestic and
personal service and in agricultural pursuits, for which certificates are
not usually required.
In general, the largest number of the 14 and 15 year old children
entered mechanical and manufacturing occupations, though the
proportion varied as between the sexes.
Of the 21,971 boys 14 and 15 years of age for whom information concerning
occupation was received, 34 per cent were first employed in manufacturing and
mechanical work, 27 per cent entered mercantile establishments, 24 per cent
entered public messenger and delivery service, and the remaining 15 per cent
went into office work, domestic and personal service, and miscellaneous jobs.
A much larger proportion of the 16,444 girls than of the total number of boys
(54 per cent as compared with 34 per cent) started to work in manufacturing and
mechanical occupations; 19 per cent entered mercantile work and 18 per cent
went into domestic and personal service. A slightly larger proportion of girls
than of boys secured jobs in offices, and a very small number of girls were employed
in messenger service.
Children in Migratory and Agricultural Occupations
employment of children in such occupations as canning,
fruit picking and packing, and some forms of agricultural
T HE
labor is now recognized as a more complex problem than was at
first realized, involving questions of school attendance, of health, of
housing, and of social relations, as well as of hours and conditions
of work. In California in 1929, and in Delaware, Maryland, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania in 1930, the subject received special
attention, which, in the case of the Eastern States, led to the creation
by the New Jersey Legislature of a commission to make a survey of
the whole subject. In Maryland, in 1929, the commissioner of labor
and statistics devoted special attention to the enforcement of the
child labor laws in respect to the children employed in canneries
(both those packing sea food and those putting up fruits and vege
tables) and obtained encouraging results. A study of Philadelphia
children in farm work, made in 1928, dealt especially with the effect
on school attendance, with the loss of time from school and the
resultant retardation in the group considered. A study of children
employed in farm labor in Colorado brings out the extent to which
the conditions which led to the regulation of industrial employment
of children are now prevailing in agricultural occupations.
Migratory Child Workers in California and Elsewhere
A m on g the papers presented at the annual conference of the Na
tional Child Labor Committee held in San Francisco in June,
44
CHILD LABOR
1929, were two dealing with migratory child workers.2 One, pre
sented by Dr. G. B. Mangold, handled the subject as a whole. The
roblem, he pointed out, is widespread and increasing in difficulty,
t is found in every part of the country where fruit and vegetables
are raised or canned. Owing to the seasonal character of such
work, an adequate resident labor force can not be obtained; the mi
gratory workers come, cultivate or harvest their particular crop, and
pass on. Owing to the cheap and easy transportation afforded by the
auto and to the establishment of auto camps, it is far easier now than
it used to be for whole families to wander far afield, and thousands of
families with little property other than an automobile drift from one
part of the country to another. Then there are the families trans
ported from large cities to labor camps for work on truck or fruit
farms or in canneries, and in the South and West the influx of Mexicans
to work on the fruit, vegetable, or sugar-beet crops, and in all these
cases children form part and parcel of the movement.
The social and physical effects upon the children are deplorable.
The health conditions of the camps in which they spend much of their
time are often wretched; they are nomads taking no root in the com
munity and receiving no training in skilled or continuous occupations,
practically trained m instability, and often subject to embittering
discriminations. Educationally, they fare badly. In the case of
families which go out from the cities to work on fruit and vegetable
farms, the children often lose a month or more at both ends of the
school year, because the migration takes place before school closes in
the spring, and ends after it opens in the fall. In the case of the
entirely migratory families, the children are apt to have no schooling
at all, or schooling of so poor a character and given under such adverse
circumstances that it can not be effective, and the children are badly
retarded.
Both State and Federal action is needed to deal effectively with the
situation, the help of the Federal Government being necessary because
this is an interstate problem. A far-reaching program should be
adopted, including regulation of labor camps, traveling schools or
special State aid for the education of migratoiy children, and child
labor legislation protecting them from exploitation in the agricultural
labor in which they are generally employed.
{
Education of Migratory Child Workers in California
T h e second paper, by Lillian B. Hill, chief of the bureau of
attendance and migratory schools of the State department of edu
cation of California, gives some particulars of the way in which
that State has attempted a solution of the problem. Owing to
the great^ diversity of its crops and the influx of Mexican labor, the
problem is especially acute m California. According to the school
census of 1927, made in the first week of October, there were 36,891
children who declared that they had no settled home. In the same
census there were reported as part of the school population 102,405
Mexican children, who, for the most part, are migratory.
Eighty-five per cent of these children are engaged in seasonal labor and follow
the crop from place to place for the greater part of the year. They may return
* National Child Labor Committee. Publication N o. 354:
Mangold and Lillian B . Hill, N ew York, 1929.
Migratory child workers, b y George B.
MIGRATORY AND AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
45
to Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino for the month of December or
January for what we are accustomed to speak of as the seasonal lay-over, but for
all the rest of the year they are traveling up and down the length and breadth
of the State.
To protect the educational rights of these children, Act 7494a of the
General Laws of California was passed, providing for the maintenance
of schools for the children of migratory laborers engaged in seasonal
occupations in the rural districts of the State, and creating a revolving
fund of $10,000 for carrying out the work. During the period July 1,
1928, to July 1, 1929, migratory schools established under this act
secured from the State and the county in which they were established
$19,993. A number of school districts have not yet used the fund,
preferring to take care of the children in the regular school, where a
room or two may be added to accommodate them, or a tent set up,
or some other provision made. In such cases the migratory children
are apt to be massed together in seriously overcrowded classes, the
poorest teacher in the school is often assigned to them, and the school
hours may be shortened to their detriment, their day being 240 min
utes, while children in the regular classes are given a day of 360
minutes.
In order to do this the migratory school must start as early as 7.30 in the
morning. It dismisses for the day at 5 minutes to 12. Why do they do this?
In order to adjust the child to the crop.
In place of such unsatisfactory conditions the State is trying to
set up schools for migratory children planned to meet their special
needs. There are serious difficulties in the way. The question of
language is troublesome when so many of the children use English
only under compulsion. The program of physical education must
be modified for children already overworked, undernourished, and
physically tired. Many of the migrants are so seriously retarded
that they are physically out of place among the children with whom,
on an educational basis, they are classed. Also, the continual
change from one school to another breaks up the social adjustment of
the child, even though all the schools were good. Such difficulties
are under consideration, and in its final form California's program
for the education of migratory children is expected to contain these
features:
1. Their legal status under the law clearly defined and their right to an equality
of educational opportunity with all other children of the State established. It
will be of no importance whether one is bora in San Francisco or Los Angeles
or in the prune or cotton regions, educational opportunities will be the same.
2. A simplified curriculum based on minimum State standards which will
give instruction growing out of their own knowledge and experience. * * *
3. Standards which will guarantee sanitary and educationally serviceable
school plants and equipment. * * *
4. Educational opportunity equivalent to the highest standards maintained
by the community. If the regular school of the district is to have a 360-minute
day so will all of the schools, whether migratory or not.
5. A definite health program for the care of these children and the protection
of other children with whom they come in contact.
6. Interest and cooperation of the social and welfare agencies in regulating
the living conditions of migratory families. It is impossible to raise the educa
tional level of the children if the home environment is to remain as it is to-day.
7. Teachers, especially trained, with a broad social outlook; and salaries
which will attract the right type of individual to the service.
8. Lastly and most important, a program of recreation.
46
CHILD LABOR
Conference on Migratory Child Labor
On J a n u a r y 21-22, 1930, a conference was held in Baltimore, Md.,
by representatives of four States—Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania—on the extent, importance, and possible solution of
the problem of seasonal child workers migrating among those States.
The conference, which was under the auspices of the Maryland League
of Women Voters, was attended by State officials representing State
departments of health, education, and labor, and by representatives
of various unofficial social and civic organizations and of the employ
ing interests involved.
The problem as it was presented to the conference is twofold—a
school-attendance and child-welfare problem and a child-labor prob
lem. A migrant child was defined as “ one who goes with his family
to work in the picking fields and the canneries.” The practice is to
cross State lines in these seasonal migrations, thus removing the chil
dren from the operation of the school attendance laws.
It was brought out that Pennsylvania, for example, has a condition
of both influx and exodus of migratory child workers—influx into its
agricultural counties of children from Baltimore, Wilmington, and
other neighboring cities, and exodus of Philadelpliia children to the
truck farms and cranberry bogs of New Jersey. Generally only one
parent, the mother, is involved in these migrations, the father, as a
rule, remaining on his own job in the city.
School authorities reported that lost time from school averages six
weeks at the close of the school term in the spring and as many or more
at the beginning of the school year in the fall. Once removed from
the jurisdiction of the State in which they live, the children can not
be brought under the compulsory school attendance laws of that State,
and the educational facilities of the section to which they migrate can
not practicably be opened to them for the short period of their resi
dence there. The result, of course, is retardation of school work and
the breaking down of the compulsory education laws to the extent of
the numbers involved in the annual migrations.
Evidence that the number of children involved is not inconsiderable
lies in the fact that 2,000 Philadelphia school children were found
working in the cranberry bogs of New Jersey alone and 800 Baltimore
children worked on the truck farms of a single Maryland county.
In its labor aspects the situation involves insanitary and over
crowded living and working quarters and the employment of very
young children for long hours. Many growers and canners declare
that they do not want to employ children, but that they are at the
mercy of the pickers, most of whom are mothers of young children
who can not leave their children behind them in the cities, and who
demand work for the children after they have brought them and
established them in the camps. Even in camps which do not permit
children to work, it was pointed out, the health, morals, and education
of the migrant child living in the labor camps are still jeopardized.
The view was generally expressed that basically the problem is one
growing out of a policy, on the part of the grower and canners, of
employing cheap labor, with all its attendant evils, and that the school
problem is a result which is practically impossible of solution until
the cause is removed.
MIGRATORY AND AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
47
At its closing session the conference authorized the appointment of
a joint legislative committee composed of 4 members "from each of
the four States—1 representing the State department of labor, 1
the State department of education, 1 the social, civic, and welfare
organizations, and 1 the employers interested in the question.
This committee will be instructed by the conference to draft uni
form legislation dealing with migratory child labor and migratory
children, with the specific recommendations that canneries be brought
under the operation of the child labor laws of the States in question
and that consideration be given to the possibility of providing school
attendance during those periods of the school year which coincide
with the picking and canning seasons.
Virginia was invited to attend the conference, but did not send a
representative. It was stated on behalf of the State that since Vir
ginia shares a common problem with the other four States, it may
later cooperate with them in trying to find a solution. The situation
differs somewhat in Virginia, according to its statement, in that there
is less migration, but Virginia’s difficulties with agricultural child
labor and lost school time are as acute as are those of the States now
working toward a means of solving a growing economic and social
problem.
Following this conference the New Jersey Legislature adopted at
its 1930 session a joint resolution (No. 6) creating a commission “ for
the purpose of inquiring into and making a study of the migratory
child labor problem in New Jersey, and the conditions surrounding
the employment of migratory children.” An appropriation of $5,000
was made for the purpose of carrying the survey into effect.
Child Workers in Maryland Canneries, 1929
I n h is annual report for 1929 the Maryland commissioner of labor
and statistics devotes some space to an account of a campaign under
taken by his department to prevent the illegal employment of chil
dren in canneries and to secure the proper legal safeguards for those
who might lawfully be employed. An investigation made during
the previous year had shown that a considerable number of children
were employed in canneries, that the system of bringing migratory
workers to the camps involved the presence of many other children
too young for employment, and that both groups suffered from cer
tain conditions of the camp and work. The report thus sums up
the result of the 1928 investigation, so far as children are concerned:
The following facts discovered about the children under the age of 16 years
found working in these canneries have caused this office very serious concern:
1. The educational handicap, and its very obvious results in the form of
retardation in school, suffered by many of these child workers and probably by
their younger brothers and sisters who, although too young to actually work,
remain in the labor camps with their families until the close of the season.
2. The employment of an appreciable number of children under 14 years of
age.
3. Definite proof that a number of employment certificates had been issued
upon incorrect information to children under 14.
4. The failure of employers to secure in a large number of cases employment
certificates for children under 16 years of age.
To meet this situation, a letter was sent early in May to each
canner whose name appeared on the office records, inclosing a copy
of the child labor law, urging the recipient to make sure that its
48
CHILD LABOli
terms were observed in his establishment, and offering the depart
ment’s cordial cooperation in the effort. The employers were urged
to send the names of their row bosses, if they secured their help
through such an agency, to the department, and also to write them
selves to the bosses, impressing upon them the necessity of seeing
that each child employed presented proper proofs of his age and was
supplied with an employment certificate if under 16. If the employ
ers did the hiring themselves at the camps, they were urged to ob
serve these same points, the address was given of the nearest doctor
empowered to issue certificates, and details were added as to the
kind of proof of age required, methods of securing certificates, and
the like. To make it easier to secure adequate evidence of the chil
dren’s age quickly—for the cannery work is highly seasonal, and there
is little time for looking up such matters when workers apply for
employment at the camp—it was arranged in two or three counties
to have a school record issued to each county child who expected to
work during the summer. A follow-up letter was sent to the em
ployers early in June. Meanwhile, communication was established
with the row bosses whose names and addresses had been sent to the
office, and these, too, were urged and assisted to make sure that no
children were employed below the legal age, and that those who had
reached legal age had the required papers.
Number of Children Found in Canneries
I n a l l , 405 canneries were visited during the season, of which 69
were canning and packing sea food and 336 were canning fruit and
vegetables. In all, 1,276 children under 16 years old were found at
work in these establishments. Of the sea-food canneries only 21
employed children under 16. In these a total of 67 children were
employed; 14 were under 14 years of age and hence could not legally
be employed; 23, between 14 and 16 years old, had no employment
certificates; and 30, between 14 and 16, had the required certificates
on file. Thus there were 37 cases of illegal employment occurring
in 14 plants.
Of the fruit and vegetable canneries, only 298 were in operation
when visited.
In these 298 plants, in 224 of which children under 16 years of age were found
working, there were employed 22,328 persons: 8,620 men, 12,499 women, and
1,209 children under 16 years of age. In 83 plants, 298 children under 16 were
working without employment certificates. Of these children, 107 were under 14
and 191 were between the ages of 14 and 16 years. In 179 canneries 911 children
who had secured employment certificates were found working.
In all, therefore, 335 children were illegally employed, and in the
case of 107 there was a double illegality since they were under age
and without employment certificates. Nevertheless, the department
feels that some progress was made during the year. The number of
certificates issued in the counties was larger by 440 than in 1928,
representing a gain of 27.1 per cent over the 1928 figures. The work
with the row bosses was found to be very satisfactory, the number of
violations found in canneries securing their help through these bosses
being very small. More children were found employed than in 1928,
but there is no reason to suppose that the employment of children is
increasing, and it is suggested that the increased alertness of the
MIGRATORY AND AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
49
inspectors and the efforts of the office have resulted in bringing to
light the real situation.
Most of the work done in connection with the county canneries during 1929
has been purely experimental, and while we feel that there has been some progress
made, without doubt it has been largely along those particular lines which have
served only to establish more clearly the magnitude of the problem which faces
this office.
Farm Labor of Children in Colorado
In t h e spring of 1924 at a meeting, held in Colorado, of various
organizations interested from different standpoints in the question
of working children, it was unanimously agreed that a survey of child
labor and educational conditions should be made in Colorado and
the findings reported back as a basis upon which to recommend such
legislation as they might seem to warrant. As a result, four studies
were made of children working on farms and in beet fields in different
parts of the State, of which the fourth has recently been issued by the
National Child Labor Committee under the title of “ Child Labor in
Agriculture and Farm Life in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado.”
The study, made in the summer and fall of 1924, covered 329
families with a total of 1,141 children under 16. Children aged 6 to
15, inclusive, numbered 819, and of these 658, or 80.3 per cent, had
worked on farms during the current year. The first part of the study
deals with the kind of work, by crops, the children had done, the hours
worked per day and the days per season, the number of seasons
during which they had been employed, and so on. A second part
deals with the children and their families, and a third with the child
workers and the schools. The facts brought out are much the same
as those shown in other studies on the same general lines. The
children in general worked long hours, the average being 9 hours a
day, and the range from 2 to 14.5 hours. The average hours per day
increased with the age of the children, but this varied to some extent
with the economic status of the parents.
The significant fact carried by these figures is that the hours for all children are
high. With the trend toward the 8-hour day for adults, to find children working
on the average 9 and 10 hours a day suggests a serious problem. Nor is this
condition characteristic only of the less secure economic groups such as the
contract and wage laborers. Among the owners and renters equally long hours
are found. The children, moreover, who have the longest working hours (9.8)
belong to the owner and owner-renter groups. Little consideration seems to be
given to the provision of a substantially shorter working-day for the younger
children. Those 6 to 9 years old were found to be working, on the average,
except among the owners and owner-renters, only half an hour less than the
older ones.
The studies of the families and of the relations between the children
and the schools also show familiar conditions. The families fall into
three classes—the owners and owner-renters, the renters, and the
contract and wage laborers. The last group included 155 families,
47 per cent of the total number studied, and here the parents were
almost without exception Mexicans or ^Spanish-Americans. They
represented the lowest economic grade, with unsatisfactory standards
of living, poor housing, and all the disadvantages natural to an
isolated group tolerated mainly because of their industrial usefulness.
As a rule they are the unskilled workers in industry and agriculture, upon
whom, especially since the restriction of foreign immigration, has fallen the
demand for recruits for the supply of manual workers. Their usefulness as
50
CHILD LABOR
workers has obscured consideration of their possibilities and needs as citizens, or
potential citizens. They are looked upon as an inferior race and are usually
found living in groups, more or less isolated from contacts with American life.
This isolation results in keeping them backward and ignorant of American
institutions and the English language. Such backwardness, in turn, is an im
portant factor in perpetuating their isolation, so that a vicious circle is set up
The school study showed much time lost on account of work, with
resultant retardation. The contract laborers, especially the Mexi
cans, are apt to be migratory workers, and previous studies have
dealt with the difficulties in the way of securing to the children of
such families a fair chance for at least the foundations of an education.
The situation is discussed in detail, and mention is made of the
growing realization in the communities affected, of the seriousness of
the problem.
An interesting feature of the report is the parallel drawn between
the conditions of factory and agricultural work so far as the children
of this region are concerned, more especially in some of the specialized
crops, such as beets.
Thus in beets, for instance, the work is in many ways similar to that of children
in industry since the processes consist of a mechanical repetition of minute
tasks. In bunching and thinning and pulling and topping the children are
required to spend their time going through the same motions for hour after hour
and day after day. This work, like that in industry, is highly standardized
since it must be done in certain prescribed and uniform ways, under close super
vision, without opportunity for the exercise of originality or discretion by the
child.
If this work were purely incidental in the life of the child, its mechanical and
repetitive nature would not be of such serious consequences to his future nor tend
to lead him into blind-alley employment. It has been seen, however, that the
children in beet work are likely to continue in it season after season. In other
words, the tendency is for a beet child whose family has once been brought into
the work to remain in it and to become a part of the system as a “ hand,” appre
ciated for his increasing efficiency in.bunching and thinning and pulling and
topping.
Another point of resemblance is found in the rush periods, in which
the worker is required both to speed up and to work for long hours.
This is especially true of the work in beets, with bunching and thinning
taking the lead, both these operations requiring a strained and
fatiguing posture.
Particularly in bunching and thinning is this speeding-up found. Here the
period of work for over half the children ranged from 19 to 30 days, with almost
40 per cent of the children working from 9 to 11 hours per day and over 70 per
cent from 9 to 14 hours. Considering that this work must be completed within
the shortest possible time, the children who bunch and thin are under pressure
to keep going all the time during these long hours. Seven days a week at this
work were not uncommon. It will be remembered that the child crawls along
each row of beets on hands and knees, pulling out the weaker plants in each
bunch. There is thus the strain both of posture and of work at high speed.
When work in a “ fruit orchard, garden, field, or farm” was ex
empted from the list of occupations forbidden by the Colorado law
to children under 14, presumably the legislators had in mind the
kind of work done by a child growing up on a farm, who helps with
the work, undertaking light tasks at first, and gradually being trained
by his own parents in farming skill. There is little or no resem
blance between the child's work under such conditions and the work
of the contract or wage laborer's children, who are in a gainful occu
pation quite as completely as if employed in a factory, mill, or store,
MIGRATORY AND AGRICULTURAL OCCUPATIONS
51
but are wholly without the legal protection which would be thrown
around them in such places.
To all intents and purposes these children are as much engaged in an occupa
tion involving gain as are the children who work for wages in industry. Families
depend upon the work of their children to enable them to undertake a certain
acreage. If they did not use their children they would either have to take on a
smaller acreage or hire outside labor. Thus the use of their children is an impor
tant factor in enabling the families to increase their earnings.
The work in other crops does not involve harmful conditions to
so great an extent as does the work in beets, but it is precisely in
work among beets that the largest proportion is found of children of
contract ana wage laborers; that is, of children who are, owing to the
economic status of their families, in the least fortunate position and
who need most strongly the protection which the laws would give
them were agricultural labor recognized as a fitting subject for restric
tive legislation. While the report itself does not make any formal
recommendations, it is strongly implied that much of the work done
by the children studied needs to be covered by an extension of the
child labor laws.
Employment of Philadelphia Children at Farm Labor
A t t h e beginning of 1928 the Pennsylvania Bureau of Women
and Children made an investigation as to the employment of Phila
delphia children at farm labor during the season of 1927.3 Nearly
two thousand (1,920) elementary school children, it was found, had
entered school late in the fall of 1927 because they or their families
were migratory agricultural workers. Practically all came from school
districts in South Philadelphia, and while they were in the main
native born, in 97.5 per cent of the cases they had foreign-born fathers.
No children under 6 were included, and only a few over 16 were
found. Almost invariably the children were with their parents;
less than 1 per cent were with persons other than members of their
own family.
New Jersey was the field of work for 95 per cent of these children.
To a large extent they were employed on fruit and truck farms.
The city children coming to these farms start with the picking of the early
berries and continue through the season, gathering each succeeding crop of fruit
and vegetables, and occasionally sorting and packing the produce. The season
usually ends with the picking of cranberries * * *. Working in canneries,
the one occupation given which is illegal for minors under 14 years, was reported
as a major occupation by only 31 children, 25 of whom, however, were less than
14 years of age. A few children whose regular job was picking also reported
occasional work in the canneries. A variety of occupations was listed by children
whose work was classified under miscellaneous, such as hoeing, planting, weeding,
driving horses, and carrying water.
More than three-fourths reported that they had worked regularly,
their hours being approximately the same as those worked by their
parents.
Loss of time from school was inevitable for these children. The
work in which they are employed may cover an extended season,
beginning as early as May, and closing late in November.
This means that the children going to the country leave before school closes
in the spring as well as return after the school term is well under way in the fall.
3 Pennsylvania. Department of Labor and Industry. Special Bulletin N o. 26: Migratory child workers
and school attendance, prepared by the Bureau of W om en and Children. Harrisburg, Pa.
52
CHILD LABOR
Practically all of the 1,920 children, who returned late to school in the fall of 1927
because tneir families had been working in the country, had for the same reason
left school before the close of the term the preceding year.
The time thus lost from school, spring and fall, was often consid
erable, as shown by the following statement:
Time loss of—
Under 1 month 4________________ ______________________
1 month and under 2 months__________________________
2 months and under 3 months__________________ _____ ....
3 months and under 4 months_______________________ _
4 months and under 5 months_________________________
5 months and under 6 months_________________________
6 months and over____________________________________
Num ber
Per cent
291
583
353
169
61
26
3
Total reporting------------- ..----------------------------------------- 1, 486
19: 6
39. 2
23. 8
11. 4
4. 1
1. 7
.2
100. 0
Very few of these children had attended school in the country
while absent from Philadelphia, and the natural result of the time
lost from schooling was retardation. Some two-thirds of these
migratory children were over age for their grade, a much larger pro
portion than obtained for all Philadelphia school children. More
over, many of these children had been going to the country for several
years, and the cumulative result of their irregular school attendance
was evident in the extent to which they were behind.
Approximately 90 per cent of the 12 and 13 year old children had not reached
the normal school grade for their age. Of the 230 children 14 and 15 years of
age, 225, or 98 per cent, were over age for their school grade. There were 9
children 16 years of age or over included in this group of migratory children, all
of whom were in the over age class. Most of the older children had been going
to the country for several seasons.
The effect of the irregular attendance of these migratory children is not con
fined to the migrants alone. In the schools in some of the Philadelphia districts
more than half the pupils join this yearly migration to the country. The pupils
who remain in school suffer from the disorganization caused, first, by the exodus
of these children, and even more from their tardy return in the fall. It is mani
festly impossible to organize an entirely new set of classes, and children in regular
attendance are inevitably held back to accommodate late comers. The effect
of migratory farm work on Philadelphia school children can not therefore be
considered in terms of the 2,000 migrant children alone; the children, regular in
school attendance, sustain an educational loss from a situation for which they are
in no wise responsible.
Compensation to Illegally Employed Minors for
Industrial Injuries
HE extent to which minors suffer from industrial accidents, and
their position in regard to compensation for such accidents are
matters which have attracted a good deal of attention during the
biennium, and the status of the minor who is injured while illegally
employed is coming increasingly to the fore. One article in the
following pages deals with the general position under workmen’s
compensation laws of minors thus injured, while others summarize
the reports of different States upon the question.
T
4 20 school days are considered as 1 month.
COMPENSATION TO ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED MINORS
53
Illegally Employed Minors Under Workmen’s Compensation
Acts
T h e Supreme Court of Alabama on October 25, 1928, decided
that in the case of the death of a minor under 16 years of age em
ployed in a mine in violation of the child labor law, the administrator
of the estate could not bring suit for damages under the common
law but was limited to action under the workmen’s compensation
act.6 In view of this decision it is interesting to notice how other
workmen’s compensation States treat children injured while illegally
employed.
From the information available to the bureau Table 1 has been
made, in the first column of which are listed the States having no
compensation law, in the second column those which do not allow
compensation awards to children injured while illegally employed, in
the third column those which allow awards to children injured while
illegally employed on the same basis as legally employed adults, and
in the fourth column those which in addition to allowing awards to
these children on the same basis as legally employed adults the law
also allows a percentage of the ordinary award to the claimant or
to the State as a penalty for the illegal employment. The situation
in the State of Pennsylvania illustrates how settlements may be
agreed to, based on workmen’s compensation acts in States where an
award is not allowed as a matter of right.6
In the absence of a definite statement in the law concerning the
status of illegally employed children under the compensation act or a
decision of a court interpreting the provisions of the law, it has been
necessary to follow the rulings of the workmen’s compensation com
mission of the jurisdiction or to place a construction upon the law
itself pending a ruling or decision. The table is as follows:
T a b l e 1 .— S T A T E P R O V IS IO N A S T O C O M P E N S A T I O N F O R IN J U R IE S T O I L L E G A L L Y
E M P L O Y E D M IN O R S
N o compensation
law
Arkansas.
Florida.
Mississippi.
North Carolina.
South Carolina.
N o compensation allowed
to children illegally em
ployed
Delaware.
Idaho.
Indiana.
Iowa.
Louisiana.
Minnesota.
Nebraska.
Oklahoma.
Pennsylvania.
Rhode Island.
South Dakota.
Tennessee.
Texas.
Utah.
Vermont.
W est Virginia.
Compensation to children
illegally employed same
as to adults but no
penalty
Compensation to children
illegally employed same
as to adults and also
specified penalty
Alabama.
Arizona.
California.
Colorado.
Connecticut.
District of Columbia.
Georgia.
Kansas.
Kentucky.
Maine.
Massachusetts.
Montana.
Nevada.
New Hampshire.
N ew Mexico.
North Dakota.
Ohio.
Virginia.
W yom ing.
United States (longshore
men).
Illinois, 50 per cent.
Maryland, 100 per cent.
Michigan, 100 per cent.
Missouri, 50 per cent.
N ew Jersey, 100 per cent.
New York, 100 per cent.
Oregon, 25 per cent.®
Washington, 50 per cent.
Wisconsin, 100 and 200 per
cent.
° In addition, penalty to State but maximum of $500.
b In addition, penalty to State.
* Ivey v. Railway Fuel Co., 118 So. 583.
• See article “ Injured children excluded from benefits of workmen’s compensation, ” Labor and Industry,
July, 1928, reprinted in part in Labor Review, October, 1928, p. 67.
54
CHILD LA B O R
There are seven States which allow the child injured while illegally
employed an award equal to that which would have been allowed to
an adult and, in addition, a penalty. Two other States allow com
pensation to children illegally employed and in addition a penalty
payable to the State. The penalties "range from 50 per cent to 200
per cent added to the award. As Wisconsin allows the greatest
amount, 100 per cent and 200 per cent, the provisions of that act
and the results of the experience under those provisions are suffi
ciently interesting to be given special notice. Section 102.09 (7) of
the Revised Statutes of Wisconsin provides that (a) if a minor of
permit age is injured while employed without the required permit in
otherwise lawful employment, he shall be entitled to double com
pensation for the injury, (6) if a minor of permit age is injured while
employed without a permit in any place of employment for which
permits may not be issued under written resolution of the industrial
commission, he shall be entitled to treble compensation for the injury,
(c) if a minor of permit age or over is injured in prohibited employ
ment, he shall be entitled to treble compensation for the injury.
Table 2 shows the number of cases in which additional compen
sation was allowed on the above ground in Wisconsin from 1923
to 1927.
T able 3 .— V I O L A T I O N S O F W I S C O N S I N C H I L D L A B O R L A W I N V O L V I N G I N C R E A S E D
C O M P E N S A T I O N , 1923 T O 1927
[Wisconsin Labor Statistics, Bulletin N o. 8 , Apr. 1, 1928, p. 12]
Age
Number of children em
ployed without labor
permit
Num ber of children em
ployed in prohibited
employment
Total number of cases
1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927
14 years________________
15 years________________
16 years________________
17 years________________
18 years________________
19 years________________
20 y ears._____ _________
3
7
53
All ages__________
63
4
6
11
2
10
67
35
37
6
7
17
!
1
2
3
3
4
5
O
7
i
3
2
2
9
3
2
4
4
3
55
3
9
71
12
8
11
46
3
23
3
2
2
1
73
50
49
30 I
<»
14 i
4
6
12
36
3
7 !
17
1
15
69
87 !
57
66
45
i
Table 3 shows the number of cases involving specified amounts
to be paid as indemnity by employers in 1927.
55
COMPENSATION TO ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED MINORS
T a b l e 3 .— N U M B E R O F C A SE S O F I N C R E A S E D I N D E M N I T Y P A I D B Y E M P L O Y E R S
I N C H IL D L A B O R L A W V IO L A T IO N S I N W IS C O N S IN , 1927
Am ount of indemnity
$10 or less.........................................
$11 to $ 2 0 ...................................... .
$21 to $30............................, ...........
$31 to $40..........................................
$41 to $50..........................................
$51 to $60..........................................
$61 to $70............ - .........................
$71 to $80........ .................................
$81 to $90..........................................
$91 to $ 100 „_.................................
$101 to $200................ ................. ..
$201 to $300
$301 to $400_____ _______________
Child
Child
employed
worked
without
in a pro
the stat
hibited
utory
employ
labor
ment
permit
(treble
(double
liability
liability
cases)
cases)
1
4
5
4
3
1
2
1
4
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
Am ount of indemnity
Child
Child
employed
worked
without
in a pro
the stat
hibited
utory
employ
labor
ment
permit
(treble
(double
UabiUty
liability
cases)
cases)
$401 to $500........ ..................... .......
$501 to $600 ........................ ........
$601 to $700________________ ____
$701 to $800 ........................ .......
$801 to $900 _________________
$901 to $1,000___________________
$1,001 to $2,000 _________________
$2,001 to $3,000________________
$3,001 to $4,000______ __________
$4,001 to $5,000........... ...................
$5,001 to $6,000...............................
2
1
1
1
T otal______ ______________
30
1
1
1
1
15
Additional Compensation for Minors Illegally Employed in
Illinois
T he December, 1928, issue of the Labor Bulletin published by the
Illinois Department of Labor, contains an article showing the experi
ence of the State of Illinois in allowing additional compensation to
minors injured while illegally employed. The compensation act
(p. 497 of Acts of 1927) provides that 50 per cent additional com
pensation shall be paid to minors injured while illegally employed.
The article covered the first year in which this law was in effect, July
1, 1927, to June 30, 1928.
The report indicates that industrial accidents occurred to 83
children under 16 years of age. Of this number, 76 lost more than a
week’s time from work or suffered some serious injury and 7 lost
less than one week, the waiting period allowed under the compensa
tion act. Of the 76, 46 children were illegally employed, 27 were
legally employed, and concerning 3 the legality of the employment
had not been determined. Of the 7 children slightly injured 6 were
illegally employed, while 1 was legally employed.
Only 28, or 33.7 per cent, of all the 83 accidents to children (com
pensable and noncompensable) which occurred in the year discussed
are known to have taken place in legal employment.
Of the 28 accidents to children which occurred in legal employment
(both compensable and noncompensable) 17 were engaged in occu
pations regulated by the child labor law and all of the requirements
of that law had been met, while 11 were engaged in occupations not
regulated by the child labor law and were legal because of the absence
of restrictions. Of these 11 children legally employed because not
regulated by the child labor law, 5 were newsboys, 3 were golf caddies,
2 were boys on farms, and 1 was a girl engaged in housework, and 2
of these (newsboys) suffered permanent partial injuries,
47767°— 31------- 5
56
CHILD LABOR
Educational Effects of Penalty Compensation
C oncerning the educational effects of the penalty compensation,
the article contained the following:
Just how far the provisions for 50 per cent additional compensation has deterred
employers from employing children illegally or has made them take more seriously
the responsibility of investigating age is hard to say. That it has had some effect
is beyond dispute, but this has not been determined statistically. Individual
employers who have never troubled themselves particularly to find out about the
child labor law have done so since they have realized that neglect might cost
them money. One employer said cheerfully, after it had been explained why
the additional compensation had been assessed, “ Well, we thought he was under
16 but didn’t pay any attention to it. Next time we'll know.”
One of the best educational uses to which the 50 per cent provision has been put
is in talking with employers who inquire about the application of the child labor
law to their establishments. Many an employer remains unimpressed with the
necessity of securing employment certificates until he is told that in*case of an
accident he will be liable for one and one-half times the regular rate of compensa
tion. At this point he usually sees the light.
Besides its aid in upholding the child labor law, the provision forfadditional
compensation, together with the inclusion under the compensation law of all
minors, makes for far more accurate and more complete knowledge of accidents
to minors. * * * As study points out the need for legislation, so the enforce
ment of the legislation develops both the necessity and opportunity for further
study in the child labor field.
In December, 1929, the department published a similar report,
giving the experience of the second year under the act. The report,
which covers children under 16 years of age injured during the period
from July 1, 1928, to June 30, 1929, inclusive, shows that industrial
accidents occurred to 117 children, of whom 77 were illegally em
ployed, 38 were legally employed, and 2 were in work the legality of
which had not been determined.
Of the 38 accidents to children which occurred in legal employments,
26 were engaged in occupations permitted under the child labor law,
and 12 were engaged in occupations not under the jurisdiction of the
child labor law, and hence were legal. Of these 12 children legally
employed, 5 were golf caddies, 5 were newsboys, 1 was employed in
domestic service, and 1 in farming.
Illegally Employed Minor Covered by Compensation Act in
Massachusetts
T h e Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on June 1, 1929,
handed down an opinion affirming an award of compensation in
favor of the dependents of an illegally employed minor fatally
burned as the result of an accident in the fireworks factory in which
he was employed.
Cecil J. Pierce, a minor under the age of 18 years, at or about 8.30
a. m. on January 30, 1928, while employed by the National Fireworks
Co. and while carrying a tub of sparkler mixture which was to be
reworked in the manufacture of fireworks, had just arrived in the
mixing room when an aluminum-dust explosion occurred in which he
was fatally burned. The father of the boy filed a claim for an award
of compensation on April 16, 1928. The insurer of the employer
contended that the workmen’s compensation act was not intended to
apply to minors illegally employed; and that a parent, whose minor
child—illegally employed—is killed as a result of such employment,
COMPENSATION TO ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED MINORS
57
is not entitled to compensation under the workmen's compensation
act. Chapter 149, section 62, paragraph (11) of the Massachusetts
General Laws, provides that: “ No person shall employ a minor under
18 or permit him to work * * * in or about establishments
wherein gunpowder, nitroglycerin, dynamite, or other high or dan
gerous explosive is manufactured or compounded.” Section 78 pro
vides a penalty for the violation of section 62, as well as for other
sections contained in chapter 149. Section 24 of the rules and regu
lations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety provides
that “ no person under the age of 18 years shall be employed in a
fireworks manufactory unless accompanied at all times by some
authorized adult person.”
An award was made in favor of the father of the deceased and the
case was taken on appeal to the supreme court of the State. That
court affirmed the award. The court pointed out that section 62
does not forbid minors under 18 years of age from engaging in the
employment described in section 62, paragraph 11, above quoted,
but does provide that “ no person shall employ a minor under 18” ;
and that section 78 does not impose a penalty upon a minor so em
ployed or upon the parent of such minor, but does impose a penalty
upon a person who shall employ a minor in violation of section 62.
At common law before the adoption of the workmen's compensation
act in 1911 a minor employed in violation of a statute passed for
his protection, while at work was not acting illegally unless that
statute expressly forbade his undertaking that employment. “ The
violation of such a statute could not be used as a shield to an action
at law by an employee to recover damages for a breach of duty
imposed on the employer by the common law, nor would such illegal
employment be a defense to an action by the minor employee to
enforce a contractual agreement for fixed wages.” The court said
that it could not “ perceive any reason to differentiate between those
who are lawfully employed and those employed as a consequence of
the employer's illegal conduct. In both instances the minors are
free from statutory inhibitions; their contracts as to themselves are
free from the taint of illegality; in each case they are entitled to similar
benefits and to an equivalent amount of protection. The parties
were possessed of capacity to establish the relation of master and
servant notwithstanding the contrary obligation which the statute
imposed upon the employer. The contract is not of that type which
is wholly void and from which no enforceable rights can arise. [Cases
cited.] The violation of the statute subjects the employer to the
penalties mentioned in the statute; but it does not prevent the rela
tion of employee and employer from coming into existence nor affect
the rights incident to that status which accrue to an employee who
himself is free from wrongdoing. The purpose of the statute is to
affect only public obligation and to confer no private rights.”
The court held that the numerous cases cited by the insurer in
support of its contentions in most instances were not applicable for
the reason that the definition of the word “ employee” excludes
minors. The court accepted “ as the better view, because more in
harmony with the broad purpose of the legislature in the enactment
of the compensation law, the reasoning of the judgments in Noreen
v. William Vogel & Bros. (Inc.), 213 N. Y. 317; Humphrees v. Boxley
Bros. Co., 146 Ya. 91; and Eessi v. Howard Mfg. Co., 109 Wash. 524.”
58
CHILD LABOB
Compensation Status of Illegally Employed Minors in
Pennsylvania
T h e December, 1929, issue of Labor and Industry, the monthly
publication of the Department of Labor and Industry of Penn
sylvania, includes an article by Beatrice McConnell, assistant director
of the State bureau of women and children, regarding the exclusion of
illegally employed minors from workmen's compensation benefits.
Reference is made to the decision of the State supreme court (268
Pa. 504), evidently intended to protect the minor by leaving the case
open for a civil suit, with a possibility of greater compensation, but
seemingly having an entirely different result in actual practice.
The 1928 experience of the bureau follows:
“ In 1928 there were 4,760 accidents to minors under 18 years of
age reported to the department of labor and industry. The bureau
of women and children reviewed 3,808 7 of these accident reports,
referring to the bureau of inspection for special investigation all cases
in which illegal employment was indicated. During the year 297 acci
dent cases were turned over to the bureau of inspection for investiga
tion and in 156, or 53 per cent, of the cases investigated some type of
illegal employment was found.
“ Forty-four of the one hundred and fifty-six cases ^ere noncompensable; that is, they were cases where the loss of time caused by the
accident did not exceed seven days. In the remaining 112 cases the
loss of time exceeded seven days and had the employment been legal
would have come automatically under the workmen's compensation
act. The compensation status of these 112 cases is as follows: Com
pensation paid, 95; compensation refused, 17; total, 112.
“ It will be seen that in the majority of the illegal employment cases
not only did the insurance companies accept the liability for compen
sation, although they were not legally required to do so, but the in
jured minors accepted the compensation when offered even though
they had the right to bring suit against the employer for a possible
larger amount. In not one of the 17 cases where compensation was
refused was an agreement offered by the insurance company and
refused by the minor. The number of refused compensation cases was
slightly larger in 1928 than in the preceding year. In 1927, 9 per cent
of the illegally employed minors injured in industrial accidents were
refused compensation, while in 1928,11 per cent were refused. There
seemed to be no relation between the type of violation of the child
labor law or of the extent of disability and the refusal of compensation.
Compensation was paid in cases where the type of violation was
exactly the same as in others where the compensation was refused.
Compensation was paid also in cases where the disability was as great
or greater than in those where compensation was refused.
“ The injured minors figuring in refused compensation cases were all
boys and ranged in age from 11 to 17 years.
“ The refused compensation cases included one fatal accident and
six in which the minor sustained an amputation of some member of
his body. One boy lost his arm at the elbow, and five sustained am
putations of one or more fingers."
7 Accidents occurring in mines are not included, as they are investigated b y the department of mines and
not by the department of labor and industry.
COMPENSATION TO ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED MINORS
59
Nature of Settlement of Refused Compensation Cases
“ T h e evident intent of the court decision, previously referred to,
to provide a greater recompense for the illegally employed minor
injured in the course of his duties and to place an added penalty on
the employer who employed the minor in violation of the law, has not
been realized. Not a single civil suit was brought against the em
ployer in any of these 17 cases in which compensation was refused.
In only two instances did the injured minor receive more than he would
have received under workmen’s compensation, and those cases were
ones where the disability was temporary and the amount of money
involved was very small. In five cases no redress whatever has been
received by the injured minor. The 17 refused cases are listed below
according to the nature of settlement made.”
Nature of settlement made:
N um ber
More than under workmen’s compensation_________________________
2
Approximately the same as under workmen's compensation__________
4
Less than under workmen's compensation__________________________
1
Only medical fees_________________________________________________
2
Only funeral expenses_____________________________________________
1
No redress_______________________________________________________
5
Not determined__________________________________________________
2
Total__________________________________________________________
17
After presenting individual histories of the 17 refused cases, the
following conclusions are given:
“ The present compensation status of illegally employed minors is
far from satisfactory. Their exclusion from workmen’s compensation
benefits apparently has brought them no advantage, and certainly in
some instances has brought great hardships. The theory that the
exclusion of illegally employed minors from compensation would tend
to encourage civil suits in which the injured minor might receive
amounts larger than would be available under the compensation law
has not been realized in practice. If the illegally employed minor
is to receive justice, and if the careless and unscrupulous employer is
to be deterred from similar violations of the law, it is evident that
some remedial legislation should be enacted. Such action does not
lack precedent. Seven States already have legislation which has as
its object the redress of illegally employed minors injured in the course
of their employment. * * * If Pennsylvania is to meet her
obligations to her youthful workers some amendment to the work
men’s compensation law should be enacted which will provide redress
for injuries received by illegally employed minors, and which will act
as a deterrent to employers against future violations of the law.”
Compensation Cases of Wisconsin Minors Closed in 1929
S tatistics of compensable injuries to minors in Wisconsin are
presented in Wisconsin Labor Statistics, April, 1930 (Bulletin No.
23), which is devoted to the subject of child labor in the State during
1929*
Under the employment regulations of Wisconsin, labor permits
may be issued by the industrial commission to children under 17
years of age, allowing them to work (except in certain employments,
which are prohibited because of their hazardous character), and the
employment of such minors without permits is illegal. Permits are
60
CHILD LABOR
not required for minors between 17 and 21 years of age, but their
employment in certain occupations is illegal.
The State compensation act provides that a minor of permit age
who is injured while employed without a labor permit in otherwise
lawful employment is entitled to double indemnity. A minor of
either permit age or over who is injured while employed in a pro
hibited occupation is entitled to treble indemnity.
The increased liability can not be insured, and is consequently
paid by the employer instead of by the insurance carrier. This
provision discourages the illegal employment of minors and also
secures to the claimant practically the amount of the indemnity
which would ordinarily be recovered at common law, but without
contest or delay.
The number of cases in which the increased compensation was
claimed, and the difference in cost to the respective employers, by
calendar years, from 1921 to 1929, are shown in Table 4.
T a b l e 4*— I N C R E A S E D C O M P E N S A T I O N P A I D F O R IN J U R IE S T O M I N O R S I L L E G A L L Y
E M P L O Y E D I N W IS C O N S IN , 1921 T O 1929
Num ber of cases
Em
Em
ployed ployed
with in pro
out
hibited
permit work
Year
Amount of compensation
Total
Normal
Penalty
Total
$24,499.37
1921.
1922.
1923.
1924.
1925.
1926.
1927.
1928.
1929.
$6 , 1 3 5 .0 0
1 2 . 3 87. 4 6
9,781. 79
15,214.44
5,805.76
12,839.17
11, 110. 82
7,593. 86
9,192.85
19.640.24
30,604.58
11,596.39
22.434.24
16,112.49
9,653.91
10,057.61
$18,522.46
29,442.03
55,819.02
17,402.15
35,273.41
27,223.34
17,247.77
19,250.46
Of the 22,360 compensation cases closed in the State during 1929,
there were 2,333 cases, or 10.4 per cent of the total, which involved
injuries to minors. Table 5 shows the number of compensable cases
closed in the year, by extent of injury, time cost, and money cost,
classified according to age of the injured minor.
T a b l e 5 .— C O M P E N S A T I O N C A S E S O F M I N O R S I N W I S C O N S I N C L O S E D D U R I N G 1929,
T I M E L O S T , A N D B E N E F I T S P A ID , B Y A G E O F IN J U R E D
Medical aid in fee
cases
Number of cases
Age
12 years________________
13 years________________
14 y e a r s .______________
15 years................... .........
16 years.............................
17 years.............................
18 years..............................
19 years____ _____ ______
20 years.............................
All ages.................
Fatal,
Perma
and
Tem
perma
nent
porary
partial
nent
dis
total
dis
ability
dis
ability
ability
Total
11
1
1
10
12
112
3
27
52
71
67
197
494
641
620
15
125
226
549
713
690
11
234
2,088
2,333
1
2
3
2
2
3
1
1
2
12
Number
of days
lost
Total
compen
sation
paid
107
594
851
5,591
25,584
23,214
51,406
65,596
71,789
1,493
15,683
22,802
20,654
40,919
77,803
79,677
244,732
260,263
$122
1,110
N um
ber of
cases
1
2
12
Am ount
paid
$201
509
658
620
24
431
1,028
5,352
9,297
19,468
32,020
27,568
2,138
95,389
13
112
211
Funeral
ex
penses
$400
200
600
200
600
2,0 0 0
COOPERATION
61
Cooperative Movement in the United States in 1929
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics made its first statistical study
of the cooperative movement in the United States in 1920. That
study covered only consumers’ societies and the collective buying
activities of the farmers’ marketing organizations. In 1925 another,
but more inclusive, survey was made, covering not only consumers’
societies proper, but also credit, housing, and workers’ productive
societies. A third study was made in 1930, similar to the 1925 survey,
and covering the 1929 operations of the various types of societies ex
cept the marketing associations. Except where otherwise noted,
the data below are taken from the report of that study (Bui. No. 531).1
During the early part of this century a slight revival of interest in
consumers’ cooperation took place. This gradually increased in
strength, reaching its crest during the war years of high prices, when
nearly two-fifths of the consumers’ societies were formed. A large
part of these were short lived however, due to inexperience, inability
to meet the rapidly falling prices in 1920-21, and the general depres
sion which followed. Since the immediate postwar period compara
tively few store societies have been formed. The societies in existence
have very generally found pretty hard sledding. Some have suc
cumbed, while others have had to devote their energies to regaining
the ground lost during the period 1920 to 1923. The whole period
since 1920 has been accompanied by general economic and employ
ment conditions which have made things difficult for cooperative as
well as private businesses. The farmers’ societies have suffered from
the depressed condition of agriculture, the miners’ societies have had
hard times because of slack business in the mining (especially bitumi
nous mining) industry, and the industrial workers’ societies generally
have had to contend with the decreased purchasing power of the
members due to employment conditions.
The year 1920 marked the beginning of a rapid development of the
cooperative credit movement. Since that year, with the passage of
enabling legislation in State after State, the credit phase of the move
ment has spread rapidly and widely, until at the end of 1929 the idea
of cooperative credit had taken root in 39 States and the District of
Columbia.
Beginning about 1924, a new element has developed in the consum
ers’ movement of the Middle West—the cooperative gasoline filling
stations. These are at present the most rapidly expanding section of
the consumers’ movement. They are having much success and are
meeting increasing recognition as a means of substantial savings,
especially in farming sections using motor-driven machinery. An
interesting development in this connection has been the formation in
a number of instances of the oil association owned jointly by the local
cooperative store societies.
The greatest concentration of consumers’ societies is found in the
Middle West, although there is a considerable cooperative develop
ment in the Northeastern States. Although the past few years have
T
i For data on cooperative housing, covered in the same study, see p. 247.
63
64
COOPERATION
witnessed a great spread of cooperative credit societies throughout
the country, the New England States still retain the leadership by a
wide margin, with nearly two-fifths of the societies and well over that
proportion as regards membership.
Consumers’ Cooperative Enterprises
Retail Societies
R e p o r t s were obtain ed fro m 604 consum ers’ distribu tive or service
associations and the store departm ents o f 52 cooperative m arketin g
associations.
The data obtained show that the societies reporting operate 845
establishments of various kinds and employ 4 ,0 4 6 full-time workers.
The combined membership at the end of 1929 was 2 0 4 ,3 6 8 , of which
60 per cent belonged to the store societies and about 20 per cent to the
cooperative oil associations.
The consumers’ societies have an aggregate capital stock of $ 7 ,9 8 7 ,0 9 0 and reserves of $ 4 ,3 2 4 ,3 7 5 . Their business for 1929 amounted to
$ 6 4 ,6 6 5 ,3 6 9 , on which they realized net earnings of $ 2 ,9 8 0 ,4 8 1 .
Patronage dividends and interest on the members’ share capital, for
1929, amounted to $ 1 ,7 4 6 ,4 6 6 ; and for the four years covered by the
bureau’s study (1 9 2 6 -1 9 2 9 ) to $ 5 ,1 0 2 ,5 0 4 . Sixteen societies reported
the manufacture of goods, to the value of $ 1 ,5 8 0 ,1 1 3 , in 1 9 2 9 . Alto
gether the 65 6 associations for which information was obtained run
561 stores, 198 gasoline stations, 20 bakeries, 17 boarding houses, 13
restaurants or cafeterias, 4 food shops, 8 dairies or milk-distributing
plants, 3 laundries, 3 feed mills, 1 tailor shop, 2 coffee roasteries, 1
dance hall, 2 pool or billiard parlors, 1 plant for smoked meats, 1 tea
room, 1 public dock, 3 fuel yards, 1 cheese factory, 1 establishment for
cleaning beans, 1 blacksmith shop and garage for repairing automo
biles, 1 steam bath, and 2 funeral parlors.
Membership and Business
Table 1 shows by type of society the number of members of the
retail societies and the amount of business done in 1929.
T able 1 .— M E M B E R S H I P A N D
B U S IN E S S O F R E T A I L S O C IE T IE S I N
O F S O C IE T Y
Membership
T ype of society
N um
ber of
socie
ties re
porting
Total
m em
bers
Business
Num
Aver
ber of
age per socie
society ties re
porting
Distributive departments of marketing
associations____________________________
Retail store societies.....................................
Gasoline filling stations................................
Bakeries............ ....................................... .........
Creameries_______________________________
Restaurants______________________________
Boarding houses________ _____ ___________
Laundries________________________________
Funeral associations_____________________
52 11,787
407 123,317
118 55,313
2,743
7
4,864
2
4,107
6
1,971
15
2
266
(2)
(2)
227
303
469
392
2,432
685
131
133
Total........................................................
609 204,368
336
Am ount
Average
per
society
51 $10,058,195 $197,219
416 37,697,560
90,619
140 10,782,049
77,015
965,915
8
120,739
2
3,434,527 1,717,264
1,211,236
201,873
6
15
427,293
28,486
2
35,422
17,711
53,172
2
26,586
642
64,665,369
i Based on societies reporting both membership and amount of sales.
1929, B Y T Y P E
100,725
2 N o data.
Aver
age per
m em
ber i
$859
303
171
265
706
295
178
133
(2)
307
65
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
As is seen, the average membership per society, all types combined,
was 336 in 1929; the corresponding figure for 1920 was 269 and for
1925, 310 members.
As the table below shows, “ real” sales per society (i. e., taking into
consideration retail prices of foodstuffs) showed a steady increase up
to 1928, but fell slightly in 1929. “ Real” sales per member showed
a decline in 1929 as compared with 1925.
T a b l e 2 .— M O N E Y A N D “ R E A L ” S A L E S P E R S O C IE T Y A N D P E R M E M B E R , O F R E T A IT ,
S O C IE T IE S , 1920 T O 1929
Average sales of identical retail
societies
Average sales per member
“ Real” sales 1
Year
Money
sales
192 0
______________ ________________
192 1
..................... ....... ............... ...............
1922_____________________________ _____ ______
1923____ _______ _____________________________
1924_________________ _____ __________________
1925__ ______ ..._____________________________
1926___ _____ ________________________________
1927___________ ______ _______________________
1928.........— ................... ....................... .................
1929 ........................................ ............... .................
$115,437
105,642
109,638
135,886
145,494
158,593
162,077
161,253
167,417
165,452
Am ount
Index
numbers
$115,437
140,109
157,526
188,993
202,921
204,901
205,161
211,064
220,576
214,873
“ R eal” sales 1
M oney
sales
Am ount
Index
numbers
100.0
$378
$378
100.0
121.4
136.5
163.7
175.8
177.5
177.7
182.8
191.1
186.1
352
455
120.4
307
399
105.6
i Based on retail prices.
Operating Expenses
The table below shows, for each of the types of societies furnishing
reports, the average rate of operating expenses (figured in per cent of
sales).
T a b l e 3 .— A V E R A G E
O P E R A T I N G E X P E N S E S O F C O N S U M E R S ’ R E T A I L S O C IE T IE S
I N 1929
T y pe of society
Store societies—
General stores_____________________
Grocery stores_____ _____ _________
Grocery and meat stores.................
Coal yards.......................................... ..
Students’ supply stores.................
Num ber of
societies
furnishing
reports
Per cent of
net sales
expended
for opera
tion in 1929
116
32
26
2
4
11.5
11.7
15.2
18.2
14.9
Total...................................................
180
12.3
Gasoline filling stations.______ _______
Bakeries_______________________________
Creameries____________________________
Restaurants................................ ........... .....
Laundries____ _____ ___________________
62
15.2
32.2
31.6
53.2
105.9
6
2
3
2
Net Gain, and Interest and Dividends Paid
Table 4 shows, for each type of society, the net operating gain on
the^ 1929 business and the amount paid to members in interest and
dividends.
Of 613 societies reporting as to net gain or loss on the 1929 opera
tions, 30 had losses aggregating $78,234, while 537 made gains
amounting to $3,058,715, 10 reported a loss but did not state the
amount, and 36 “ came out even.” The advantageous position
occupied by the cooperative gasoline and oil associations is markedly
66
COOPERATION
brought out by Table 4, for it shows that the net profit of 140 stations
was greater than that of the more than twice as many store societies.
The net gain made by the gasoline stations was at the rate of 12 per
cent of the sales, a figure not even remotely approached by any of
the other consumers' societies. Figured on the basis of return on
share capital, the earnings of all groups were good and in two cases
remarkable.
Of the 544 consumers' societies reporting on the subject of dividends,
only 285 actually returned dividends on the 1929 business. There
were various reasons for this. In the first place, 40 societies operated
at a loss and 36 societies just “ broke even"; none of these therefore
had any profits to divide. In 4 cases the store was consumed by
fire, presumably causing a loss, 1 society applied its 1929 profits to
the payment of a mortgage on the store building, 1 is using its profits
for the formation of a fund for the erection of its own building, and
a third is using them to pay for the building it occupies. One society
reports that it has just paid off the deficits incurred during the years
1920 to 1923 and will hereafter be in a position to use its earnings
for the payment of patronage rebates, 5 other societies are still paying
off deficits, while still another had its reserves wiped out as a result
of the failure of a local bank in which its funds were deposited and
is using its profits to build up another reserve fund.
As shown, 285 societies paid patronage rebates on the 1929 busi
ness, in a sum amounting to $1,408,879; 4 other societies returned a
dividend, at rates ranging from 5 to 18 per cent, but failed to state
the amount paid. To these may also be added 12 societies which
operate on a cost-plus basis, and whose members therefore have
already had what amounts to a rebate—in the form of lower prices
T able 4 —N E T
G A IN , P A T R O N A G E R E B A T E S , A N D I N T E R E S T P A I D
C A P I T A L B Y R E T A I L C O N S U M E R S ’ S O C IE T IE S , 1929
Patronage
rebates
Total net gain
Type of society
Distributing departments of market
ing associations--------------------------------Retail store societies---------------------------Gasoline filling stations. ............... ...........
Bakeries........................... ................... ......... .
Creameries----------------- --------------------------Restaurants.......................... ........................
Boarding houses----------- -----------------------Laundries______________________________
T otal........... - --------------------------------
N um
ber
of
socie
ties
344
4 359
140
7
2
C>
8
»1
10 567
Amount
$159,673
1,305,671
1,326,791
16,105
132,931
39,146
1,381
91,217
Rate (per
cent) based
N um
on—
ber
of
socieShare
capi
tal 2
1.7
3.8
14.1
26.8
13
152
12.0 107.1
6 117
1.8
3.9
3.2
31.9
14.1
54.1
5.5
2
1
2,980,481
Amount
$33,051
693,777
• 674,628
459
ON
SH ARE
Interest on
share capital
N um
ber
of
Am ount
socie
ties
30
5 217
< 122
$31,296
5173,217
-71,996
431
56,950
3,119
76
502
1,408,879 11 377
n 337,587
6,964
2
2
1
2
1
1 Based on sales of societies which reported either profit or loss.
2 Based on share capital of societies which reported either profit or loss.
3 N ot including 2 societies which reported a loss but did not state amount.
4 N ot including 7 societies which reported a loss but did not state amount.
• N ot including 7 nonstock associations.
• N ot including 1 society which paid 5 per cent, 1 which paid 6 per cent, 1 which paid 8 per cent, and 1
which paid 18 per cent, but did not state amount.
7 N ot including 2 societies which paid 8 per cent but did not state amount.
8 N ot including 1 society which reported a loss but did not state amount.
• Loss.
to N ot including 10 societies which reported a loss but did not state amount.
*1 N ot including 7 nonstock associations and 2 societies which paid 8 per ceni but did not state amount.
67
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
Funds of Societies
The consumers’ societies reporting as to share capital have an aggre
gate amount of $7,987,090, an average of $13,607 per society, and $45
per member. Reserves amount to $4,324,375, or $7,379 per society.
The data for the various types of societies are shown in Table 5.
T a b l e 5 . — C A P I T A L A N D R E S E R V E S O P V A R IO U S T Y P E S O F C O N S U M E R S ’ S O C IE T IE S
Share capital
N um
ber of
societies Am ount
report
ing
Type of society
Distributive departments of marketing associa
tions____- ________________________________________
Retail store societies................ ........... .............................
Gasoline filling stations........................... ......................
Bakeries____________________________________________
Creameries_________________________________________
Restaurants________________________________________
Boarding houses......................................................... —
Laundries__________________________________________
Funeral associations_______________________________
T o ta l................ ........................... .............................
Num
Aver
Aver
ber of
age per
age per mem societies Am ount
society
report
ber 1
ing
346 $1,043,885 $22,693
3383 4,653,197 12,149
1,182,214
9,164
8
52,260
6,533
2
944,975 472,488
6
72,343 12,057
«1 1
29,126
2,648
2
9,090
4,545
(«5
<*>
* 129
7 687
7,987,090
Reserves
13,607
$112
46
21
17
194
18
16
34
45
49
396
109
8
2
5
16
$334,402
2,875,296
604,940
69,198
261,076
149,989
19,474
1
10,000
586
4,324,375
1 Based on societies reporting both membership and capital.
2 N ot including 3 societies which are nonstock organizations.
8 N ot including 14 societies which are nonstock organizations.
4 N ot including 2 societies which are nonstock organizations.
* N ot including 5 societies which are nonstock organizations.
• N o data.
7 N ot including 24 societies which are nonstock organizations.
Cooperative Housing Societies
See under Housing, page 247.
Central Consumers’ Organizations
Wholesale Societies
D u r in g the past few years a gradual revival of interest in coop
erative wholesaling has taken place. In 1923 the Ohio Farm Bureau
Federation established the Ohio Farm Bureau Service Corporation;
in 1925 the Farmers’ Union of Iowa established the Farmers’ Union
Service Association. The development of local associations selling
gasoline, motor oils, and other petroleum products has led to the
establishment of several wholesale purchasing organizations for that
branch of the movement, among them the Illinois Farm Supply Co.,
the Union Oil Co. (Cooperative)? the Minnesota Co-op Oil Co., and
the Nebraska Farmers’ Union Oil Association.
After the failure of the Central States Cooperative Wholesale
Society, a few of the Illinois societies which were situated in the
same section of the State began in a small way the pooling of their
orders for certain staple commodities such as sugar, coffee, and flour,
and this has been continued in increasing volume ever since. Some
of the societies in the Eastern States also tried this plan, with such
success that in the spring of 1929 they felt that they had an assured
patronage of sufficient amount to justify the formation of a wholesale
society. This new organization, the Eastern States Cooperative
68
COOPERATION
Wholesale, has thus far done only a jobbing business; no warehousing
is done, but this will undoubtedly be undertaken as soon as conditions
warrant.
At a recent board meeting of the Cooperative League of the United
States the question of the advisability of forming a national whole
sale society was discussed. Although the meeting agreed that it
would be a long time before central warehousing would be practicable,
certain advantages of federation were pointed out. Among these
would be the elimination of the duplication involved in the packing
of goods (often by identical manufacturers) for the different district
wholesales, each of which has its own cooperative labels; the possi
bility of valuable research work by a national wholesale; and the
central organization of insurance, publicity, etc. The matter was
brought up for further discussion at the 1930 cooperative congress.
Business operations.—Table 6 shows in detail the status of each of
the wholesales reporting, as of December 31, 1929.
T able 6 .— S T A T U S O F C O O P E R A T I V E W H O L E S A L E
S O C IE T IE S , A S O F D E C E M B E R
31, 1929
Year of
organ
ization
Society
N um
Retail
Num
Unaf
ber of branches
filiated ber of
Share
of
affili
custom employ capital
whole
ated
ees
ers
societies
sale
1917
1929
Cooperative Central Exchange, Superior, W is..............
Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, N ew York, N . Y ___
Farmers’ Union Service Association, Des Moines,
Iowa__________________________ — _____________________
Farmers’ Union State Exchange, Omaha, N ebr______
Grange Cooperative Wholesale, Seattle, W ash..............
Minnesota Co-op Oil Co., Minneapolis, M inn..............
Ohio Farm Bureau Service Co., Columbus, Ohio ....
Union Oil Co. (Cooperative), Kansas City, M o ...........
1925
1914
1919
1927
1923
1929
T otal
90
10
2
10
1
180
6
45
65
(2)
396
34
35
55
2
$83,122
1,700
118
9
38
3
5
25
(2)
323,450
30,040
»
45,000
(2)
137
483,312
8
20
21
(2)
(2)
34
215
0)
i
Reserves
Society
Sales, 1929
N et
profit,
1929
Patron Interest
age divi on share
dends
capital
$15,492 $1,755,627
Cooperative Central Exchange, Superior, W is .................
3 203,756
2,675
Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, N ew York, N . Y .........
549,565
Farmers’ Union Service Association, Des Moines, Iow a.
Farmers’ Union State Exchange, Omaha, N ebr.............. " "40,"619" 2,001,725
116,721
Grange Cooperative Wholesale, Seattle, W ash_________
448,013
Minnesota Co-op Oil Co., Minneapolis, M in n .................
76,522
5,744,189
Ohio Farm Bureau Service Co., Columbus, Ohio...........
* 309,261
Union Oil Co. (Cooperative), Kansas C ity, M o ..............
(2)
$35,798
1,365
822
50,583
1,074
7,798
207,469
4,922
$28,088
$4,710
22,068
(4)
19,454
175,344
(•)
206
2,700
(7)
11,128,857
309,831
225,500
27,070
Total__________ _____ _______________________________
1 Nonstock association.
2 N o data.
3 9 months.
4 5 per cent; amount not reported.
135,308
8 10 months.
• 15 per cent of gross profits; amount not reported.
7 8 per cent; amount not reported.
In 1929 the Cooperative Central Exchange manufactured bakery
goods valued at $101,156.
“ jReal” sales of identical societies.—The table following shows the
trend of sales development of the three societies for which the bureau
has data for all 10 years, giving, first, the actual average money sales
and, second, the “ real” sales, taking into consideration the trend of
wholesale prices.
69
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
T able 7 .— T R E N T ) O F A C T U A L A N D “ R E A L ” S A L E S O F I D E N T I C A L
W HOLESALE
S O C IE T IE S , 1920 T O 1929
Average sales of identical wholesale
societies
Index
numbers
of whole
sale prices
Year
“ Real ” sales
Actual
amount
Am ount
Index
numbers
1920.............................................. .......................................................
1921............................................ ..................................................... .
1922.................................................................................. ...................
1923......................................................................................................
1924.....................................................................................................
100.0
63.2
62.6
65.2
63.5
$950,273
608,245
547,274
658,233
735,639
$950,273
962,413
874,240
1,009,560
1,158,487
101.3
92.0
106.2
121.9
1925......................................................................................................
1926.....................................................................................................
1927.......................................................................................... ...........
1928...................................... ................... .................... .....................
1929................................................................................ ................. .
67.0
64.8
61.8
63.3
62.5
819,840
888,199
993,281
1,172,082
1,291,358
1,223,642
1,370,677
1,607,251
1,851,630
2,066,173
128.8
144.2
169.1
194.9
217.4
100.0
Cooperative Leagues
In 1916 a central educational body was formed, with headquarters
in New York City. This society was incorporated in 1922 as The
Cooperative League of the U. S. A. According to an account of the
league published in its 1930 yearbook, “ for three or four years this
league was little more than a propaganda agency subsidized exclu
sively from private funds.” The consumers’ cooperative move
ment in this country was at that time very weak and the few scat
tered societies had little contact with or knowledge of each other.
As a start toward a national cooperative movement the league
called a convention which was held in Springfield, 111., in 1918, at
which there was a small representation from the local societies.
Since that time congresses have been held every two years and an
increasing number of societies has become interested in federated
action, so that the league may now be said to be really a federation
of the local societies and to be supported by them. The league
admits into membership only consumers' societies, and is gradually
inaugurating a certain set oi cooperative standards to which, even
tually, societies will be required to conform in order to obtain admis
sion to membership.
Member societies pay dues to the national organization on the
basis of their membership. They are represented in the meetings of
the central body by elected delegates, stores and housing societies
being entitled to one vote for each 500 members, and insurance and
credit societies one vote for each 3,500 members.
The league carries on general educational work in the theory and
practice of cooperation, furnishing speakers for meetings of local
societies, lecturers for the cooperative schools and institutes and for
colleges and universities which offer courses in cooperation or econom
ics, and articles for the general press. It also furnishes legal and
auditing services for member societies, besides doing some organiza
tion work. It has issued a number of publications on the various
phases of cooperation, and publishes a monthly magazine.
There are also three district educational leagues, and others will
be formed as cooperative development warrants. If there is no
70
COOPERATION
district league in a given region, a local society may affiliate directly
with the national league, but if there is a district league, local societies
are expected to affiliate with it, becoming members of the national
body through the medium of the district organization.
Table 8 shows the membership of the national and district leagues,
and the combined membership and business of their affiliated societies.
T abus 8 .—M E M B E R S H I P O F C O O P E R A T IV E L E A G U E S A N D C O M B IN E D M E M B E R
S H IP A N D B U S IN E S S OF A F F I L I A T E D S O C IE T IE S
Date to
which
figures
apply
N am e of league
1928
Cooperative League of the U . S. A ............................................
District leagues:
Northern States Cooperative League............................... June, 1929.
Eastern States Cooperative League................................... Beginning
of 1930.
1930
Central States Cooperative League...................................
Membership
of league
Affiliated societies
Indi Socie Member
ship
viduals ties
Annual
business
125,133 $20,343,150
1,000
140
729
40
102
26
50,300
14,000
13,500,000
4.500.000
250
18
6,780
2.600.000
Workers’ Productive Associations
T he n u m b e r of workers’ productive societies in the United States
has decreased in recent years. At the time of the bureau’s coopera
tive study made in 1925 there were 39 associations of this type. One
association was organized later that same year, but so far as the
bureau is aware, none has been formed since that time. On the other
hand, 17 have gone out of business and 2 are no longer cooperative
in any respect. Thus there are only 20 productive associations left.
Table 9 shows the number of shareholders and employees, by kind
of business carried on.
T able 9 .—N U M B E R O F S H A R E H O L D E R S A N D O F E M P L O Y E E S , B Y K I N D O F B U S IN E S S
DONE
Shareholders
K ind of business
Number of
societies
reporting
Number
Number
! employed
in business
Nonshare
holder
employees.
1
Cigar factories____________________________________________
Fish canneries____________________________________________
Laundry _________________________________________________
Shingle mills______________________________________________
Shoe factory___________ _______ ____________________________
Veneer factory____________________________________________
2
2
1
Total........................... ....... ......... ..................... ......... .........
1
1
162
423
65
79
603
73
28
84
24
50
162
73
55;
108;
68 ;
no
1,405
421
236;
3
4'.
1;
*N ot including 1 society which did not report on these points.
All but one of the societies work an 8-hour day; that society has
a working-day of 8 hours and 40 minutes.
In seven of the associations the workers are paid union rates and
two report that the “ current rate” is paid. In one society the men
work on a piece-rate basis.
71
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
Capitalization and Business
T he value of the shares runs higher in the workers’ productive
associations than in the consumers’ societies. Common amounts are
$50 and $100, while one society has shares of $600 each.
Three societies place no limit to the amount of stock that may be
held by any member. One association, however, limits the amount
to 1 share, 1 association to 3 shares, 1 to 12 shares, 1 to 20 shares,
1 to one-fifth of the total stock, and 1 to $10,000. One organization
provides that “ no member of this company shall own more shares
of stock than any other member.”
The working capital and amount of business done by these societies
in 1929 are shown in Table 10.
T able 1 0 .— C A P I T A L IZ A T I O N
AND
1929 B U S IN E S S O F W O R K E R S ’
S O C IE T IE S , B Y K I N D O F B U S IN E S S
Number
of socie
ties re
porting
Kind of business
Paid-in
share
capital
Surplus
and
reserves
$3,220
i 407,349
1
1
$39,463
199,124
56,743
118,100
102,800
292,000
11
808,230
Cigar factories_________________________________
Fish canneries_________________________________
Laundries.. __________________________________
Shingle mills____________________ ______________
Shoe factory___________________________________
Veneer factory_________________________________
2
2
2
Total____________________________________
3
P R O D U C T IV E
Am ount
Average
of business,
business
1929
per society
8,000
$55,106
801,646
160,174
629,425
1,354,818
846,497
$27,553
400,823
80,087
209,808
1,354,818
846,497
800,139
3,847,666
349,788
87,900
293,670
1 1 society only.
The amount of business done by these societies during each of the
10 years, 1920 to 1929, is shown in the table following:
TABLE 1 1 .— B U S IN E S S D O N E B Y W O R K E R S ’ P R O D U C T IV E S O C IE T IE S O F E A C H T Y P E ,
1920 T O 1929
Year
Cigar
factories
(2)
i $17,345
128,231
143,499
151,446
144,998
i 37,170
76,543
81,500
61,282
55,106
1920.
1921.
1922.
1923.
1924.
1925.
1926.
1927.
1928.
.1929.
1 1 society only.
Fish can
neries (2)
Laundries
i $1,019,054
i 601,298
1632,812
1723,043
1650,756
l 749,192
1740,774
869,750
762,531
801,646
i $132,643
196,142
195,729
1111,495
i 146,711
1 145,985
132,955
i 35,689
134,838
160,174
(2)
Shingle
mills (3)
* (2)
i $216,613
3 375,811
3 421,542
a 440,544
3 470,300
538,416
532,691
527,608
629,425
* N o data.
Shoe fac
tory
$175,000
(2)
363.000
451.000
627.000
796.000
1,092,697
1,264,561
1,374,413
1,354,818
Veneer
factory
Total
$1,344,042
942,284
2,047,705
2,683,338
2,622,284
2,942,182
2,481,385
2,784,191
2,760,672
846,497 3,847,666
$536,854
924,812
712,275
743,535
(2)
8
3 2 societies only.
Amount and Division of Profits
I n a d d itio n to the wages paid, the stockholder employees receive
a share of any profits made by the business. The basis of division
of profits varies in the different societies. Of the 11 reporting, 6
divide the profits on the basis of the stock held by the individual,
just as in the ordinary stock company. Two of the organizations
divide the profits equally among the shareholder employees, while
47767°—31-----6
72
COOPERATION
one-half of the profits are so divided in another. A somewhat
different method is used by the two fish canneries. One pays 6 per
cent interest on the capital stock; of the remaining profits 25 per
cent is put into a sinking fund while the remaining 75 per cent is
divided among the fishermen who deliver their catch to the associa
tion. In the other company, 50 per cent of the profits goes into a
surplus fund upon which the shareholders receive interest at the
rate of 3 per cent (this fund being regarded as loan capital), the
other 50 per cent being divided among the fishermen in proportion
to the amount of fish each one has delivered; interest at the rate of
2 per cent is paid on the share capital.
The table below shows the number of societies reporting a profit
or loss on the 1929 business its amount, and the amount returned
to the shareholders.
T able 1 3 .— P R O F IT S A N D
L O SS E S O F W O R K E R S * P R O D U C T I V E
A M O U N T D IV ID E D A M O N G M E M B E R S
Number
reporting
profit or
loss
Kind of business
Cigar factory___________________________________________________________
Fish cannery___________________________________________________________
Laund ries_____________________________________________________________
Shingle m ills._______________________ _____ __________ ____________ _____
Shoe factory____________________________________________________________
Veneer faotorv
Tnfcal
____
I
1
2
3
1
1
9
S O C IE T IE S ,
Am ount of
profit
AND
Amount
divided
among
members
1 $760
$250
30,192
2 2,951 ........."s"2," 915
* 9,711
34,500
47,937
15,420
75,210
25,550
• 166,001
48,635
i Loss.
2 1 society; the other reported a loss of $4,871.
3 1 society.
4 1 society; 1 had a loss of $7,000, and the third a loss the amount of which was not reported.
« Not including losses reported, aggregating $12,631.
Development from 1925 to 1929
T he table below compares the returns in 1925 with those in the
present study. It shows that the sales, share capital, surplus and
reserves, and net profit per society were larger in 1929 than in 1925.
More of the profit was retained in the business in 1929, however, and
a smaller amount was returned to the stockholders.
T able 1 3 .— D E V E L O P M E N T O F W O R K E R S * P R O D U C T I V E S O C IE T IE S , 1925 A N D
Item
1925
Number of societies re
porting.................................
21
Shareholders:
N um ber...........................
2,438
465
Number employed____
Nonshareholder employ
ees...........................................
807
Share capital:
Am ount............................ $1,025,509
Average per society.. .
51,275
Surplus and reserves:
653,590
Am ount............................
Average per society.. .
72,621
1 Net., after deducting losses.
Item
1929
11
1,405
421
236
$808,230
73,475
800,139
100,007
1925
Business:
Amount............................ $4,573,329
Average per society. _ .
238,596
Profits:
1229,458
A m ount...........................
Average per society.._
16,390
Amount returned to
shareholders................
109,470
Average per society.. .
27,368
1929
1929
$3,847,666
349,788
1153,370
30,674
48,635
9,727
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
73
Credit Unions
I n 1925, when the bureau's previous study of cooperative societies
was made, there were only 284 credit unions in existence; by the end
of 1929 the number had risen to 974.
Of the 756 societies for which data are available as to year of
organization, less than 6 per cent were formed prior to 1916. In the
9-year period 1916 to 1924, 153 credit unions (20 per cent) were
started, mainly in the old credit union States of Massachusetts and
New York. In the five years 1925 to 1929, 559 societies (74 per cent
of the total) were formed. In this last period, however, while the
cooperative credit movement continued to grow in Massachusetts
and New York (but especially the former), much of the development
was due to organization in States in which new credit laws had just
been enacted for the first time. Of the 559 societies formed during
the 5-year period, 283 were in States in which cooperative credit was a
new thing. During the same 5-year period the membership has
increased from 107,779 to 264,908. Their resources have more than
doubled—the paid-in share capital has grown from $10,706,099 to
$24,065,407 and the reserves from $973,873 to $2,079,450; the savings
deposited with these societies have increased from $4,700,768 to
$9,017,786. During the year 1929 the loans granted by these societies
to their members reached the sum of more than $54,000,000. The
passage of credit union laws in the various States has given a great
impetus to the movement, but undoubtedly the very simplicity of
the credit union plan has been one of the greatest factors in this
growth.
Membership
R estrictions of some sort upon the membership are very common
among credit unions. In many cases the restriction is imposed by
the credit union law of the State.2 A common provision of the law
is that the membership of a credit union shall be limited to a group
having a common bond of occupation or association, or to persons
residing within a well-defined neighborhood, community, or rural
district. This is done in order that the credit-union group may be
composed of persons of like interests. It is desirable, for the sake of
financial safety, that the members in a credit union know each other
and have common interests, and such membership restrictions are
made to insure this homogeneity.
Some interesting data were collected as regards membership. No
information could be had on this point for the credit unions in the
six States for which data were obtained through the State officials.
The reports for 280 credit unions in the other States show the following:
2 Of the 32 States which have passed credit union legislation, only 15 (California, Georgia, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, N ew Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin) place no limitation upon the field from which the credit union
membership m ay be drawn.
74
COOPERATION
T able 1 4 .— M E M B E R S H I P R E S T R IC T I O N S O F 280 C R E D I T U N IO N S
Membership restricted to—
N um
ber of
societies
Employees of specified company:
M ining companies..................................... .
Railroads....................................................... .
Railroads (shop employees)................. ..
Railroads (office employees)................ ..
Railway-express companies....................
Street railways_________ _______ ________
Telephone and telegraph companies...
Power and light companies.................... .
Department stores......................................
Mail-order com panies..............................
Newspapers................ ....................... ..........
Motion-picture scudio...... ............. ...........
M ilk company.......................................... ..
Insurance company...................................
Manufacturing companies—
Cotton goods........................................ .
O th e r...............................................—
Other companies, business not known
Membership restricted to—
N um
ber of
societies
Members of specified labor organizations:
Railway clerks...........................................
Machinists..................................................
Electrical workers....................................
Street-railway employees......................
22
2
1
1
Total.........................................................
Specified occupations:
Railway-mail employees.......................
Farmers..................... ..................................
Telephone workers...................................
Total....................... .................................
Residents of specified locality.....................
Other, miscellaneous restrictions...............
N o restriction....................................................
280
Grand total.............................................
T otal.........................................................
103
Federal employees.............................................
Municipal employees:
Teachers.................................................. . . .
Firemen.........................................................
Other..............................................................
Total...........................................................
The same data, arranged according to occupational distribution,
as far as known, are shown in the table below.
T able 1 5 .— O C C U P A T I O N A L D IS T R I B U T I O N O F C R E D I T U N I O N M E M B E R S H I P
Membership restricted to—
M ine workers_______________________________
Railroad employees________________________
Railway-express employees________________
Street-railway employees...................... ...........
Telephone and telegraph employees_______
Municipal employees:
Teachers_______________________ ________
Firemen
Other________ ______ ____________________
Federal employees:
Post-office employees (including rail
way-mail employees).......... ...................
Other___________________________________
N um
ber of
societies
4
74
5
4
7
3
4
4
Membership restricted to—
N um
ber of
societies
Mercantile employees_____________________
Newspaper employees____________________
Machinists__________________________ ______
Farmers
____ ________ __________________
Factory employees________________________
Other industrial employees_______________
Miscellaneous employments.......... ............. ..
6
2
2
2
12
10
Total...........................................................
256
4
75
38
The 828 credit unions which gave data as to the number of members
had an aggregate membership of 264,908, an average of 320 members
per society. The data by States are shown in the table following.
It is seen that, of the States haying more than one credit union, the
New Hampshire societies have the largest average membership, those
of Maine and Rhode Island being next in size.
75
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1929
T a b l e 1 6 .— A G G R E G A T E A N D A V E R A G E M E M B E R S H I P O F C R E D I T U N I O N S , D E C E M
B E R 31, 1929, B Y S T A T E S
State
Members
Num
ber of
socie
Aver
ties re
Total
age per
porting number
society
Alabama—...................
Arizona.........................
Arkansas......................
California.................... .
Colorado...................... .
Connecticut................ .
District of Columbia.
Florida_____ _________
Georgia......... ............... .
Illinois.......................... .
Indiana__________ ___
Iowa............................. .
Kansas..........................
K en tu ck y....................
Louisiana......................
M aine............. ............. .
Maryland................ ..
Massachusetts........... .
Michigan..................... .
Minnesota....................
M isso u ri.______ _____
2,263
49
26
3,079
459
277
580
226
7,029
8,230
3,864
2,723
537
1,342
1,215
1,286
831
107,044
3,963
8,943
7,470
49
26
192
459
277
580
226
180
257
203
101
60
168
277
358
198
208
178
Members
Num
ber of
socie
Aver
ties re
Total
age per
porting number
society
State
1
5
2
Montana..............
Nebraska.............
N ew Hampshire.
N ew Jersey.........
New Y o rk...........
North Carolina..
Ohio— ...................
Oregon..................
Pennsylvania___
Rhode Island-_ .
South Carolina..
Tennessee............
Texas.....................
Utah......................
Virginia................
Washington........
W est V irginia...
Wisconsin............
7
125
21
2
150
737
4,042
2,937
70,598
1,136
276
1,120
52
9,062
98
2,407
247
443
5,984
895
1,591
1,697
Total..........
264,908
150
147
2,021
420
565
54
138
373
52
1,007
98
201
62
111
332
149
265
189
320
Table 17 shows the amount of capital, reserves, and deposits at the
end of 1929.
T a b l e 1 7 .— S H A R E C A P IT A L , R E S E R V E S , A N D D E P O S IT S O F C R E D I T U N IO N S I N 1929,
B Y STATES
Share capital
State
Alabama........................
Arizona..........................
Arkansas........................
California.......................
Colorado.........................
Connecticut............... . .
District of Columbia.
Florida............................
Georgia............... ...........
Illinois.............................
Indiana...........................
Iowa................................
Kentucky..............
Louisiana________
Maine_____ ______
Maryland________
Massachusetts.. .
Michigan...............
Minnesota.............
Missouri.................
Montana............ .
Nebraska...............
New Hampshire.
New Jersey...........
N ew York.............
North Carolina..
N um
ber of
socie
ties re
porting
23
1
1
16
1
1
1
1
39
31
19
36
9
8
5
1
3
299
20
43
09
l
2
5
4
125
21
Amount
N um
ber of
socie
ties re
porting
$100,798
6,302
1,588
111, 958
46,970
36,719
13,891
32,500
333,106
430,841
256,836
119,047
6,465
84,700
42,148
28,168
10,261,960
237,258
327,450
(3)
3,000
15,725
43,776
20,500
10,091,638
36,048
Deposits
Guaranty fund
Amount
N um
ber of
socie
ties re
ceiving
$2,222
102
28
47
2,616
11
20
Am ount
of
$4,071
1,232
90
8,001
Aver
age
per de
positor1
$40
112
5
24
619
118
43
43
1
1
6
5
125
19
14,826
11,651
11,451
1,325
48
3,729
1,627
13,253
148
741,772
5,331
11,062
5,285
2,500
449
28,334
4,990
1,094,931
4,355
1 Based on societies reporting both deposits and number of depositors,
2 Covers only sums paid in on purchase of shares.
3 N o data.
N um
ber of
de
posi
tors
22
12
36
22
3
22
1
15
43
(3) 1
5
1
4
125
17
2,055
2 745
983
02 7
34
2447
524
32,455
1,072
2,823
(3)
105
232
4,000
2,625
6,137
671
52,816
2 52
42
41,051
1,402
2 101
5,184
21,395
15,536
2 14
152
4,296,253
40,078
206,991
132
37
73
5,000
20,093
1,504,790
217,877
686,138
77,105
48
87
376
83
(3)
23
30
112
115
76
COOPERATION
T able 1 7 .— S H A R E C A P I T A L , R E S E R V E S , A N D D E P O S IT S O F C R E D I T U N I O N S I N 1929,
B Y S T A T E S — Continued
Share capital
State
Ohio.............................................
Oregon______________________
Pennsylvania______________
Rhode Island_______________
South Carolina_____________
Tennessee__________________
Texas. _____________________
U tah.......... .................................
V irgin ia____________________
W ashington........ ............. ........
West Virginia________ ______
Wisconsin__________________
Total......... .....................
N um
ber of
socie
ties re
porting
Am ount
8
$5,278
47,296
180
567,319
4,851
209,122
4,775
15, 701
207,669
58,700
57,992
160,138
790
24,065,407
2
3
1
9
1
12
4
4
18
6
a
Deposits
Guaranty fund
N um
ber of
socie
Am ount
ties re
porting
2
5
9
$58
875
13
80,134
460
6,133
165
265
10,470
1,751
1,587
14,670
798
2,079,450
3
1
9
1
11
4
4
14
6
Num
ber of
socie
ties re
ceiving
N um
ber of
de
posi
tors
Am ount
of
deposits
Aver
age
per de
positor
1
2
$96
$48
7
7,341
1,443,138
197
1
1
2
2
4
36
1
1
10
2
12
43
5
1,435
1,565
9
138
18, 778
4
<3
15
<710
3,970
* 325,835
265
* 459
654
64, 944
9,017,786
143
12
13
4 Probably covers sums paid in on purchase of shares, as State law does not authorize the receipt of
avings deposits.
Requirements for Loans
O n l y a member of the credit union can be a borrower from it,
and even a member can not secure a loan (1) if he is not in good stand
ing, (2) if he has failed to repay any previous loan or is in arrears
on a current loan, or (3) if his indorsers have ever had to pay any
of his obligations.
Any member desiring to secure a loan must make his application
therefor in writing, stating the purpose for which he intends to use
the money and what security, if any, he can offer. Some societies
also require that the applicant shall certify that “ no consideration
has passed or will pass from the borrower to the indorsers for their
indorsement.”
Practice in regard to security required differs in the various credit
unions. One or two societies have a rule that no loans may be
made without security. In the majority, however, loans on char
acter may be made in amounts up to $25 or $50 (usually $50); for
loans above that amount security must be given. The security
may be a note indorsed by one or more fellow members. A sur
render to the society of the borrower's share capital may also be
required as security.
The loan must have the approval of all the members of the credit
committee present at the meeting to consider the loan and these
usually must constitute at least two-thirds of the full committee. In
many societies, an unsuccessful applicant for a loan may appeal from
the committee to the board of directors or to a meeting of stock
holders.
Loans may be made in many societies “ only for provident pur
poses or urgent needs,” or when they “ promise to be of benefit to
the borrower.”
77
COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 1020
Business Done (Loans Granted) During 1929
T h e follow ing table shows th at during 1929 the credit unions
reporting m ade loans am ounting to $ 5 4 ,0 4 8 ,3 5 3 , and h ad o u tsta n d
ing at the end o f the y ear $ 3 0 ,8 1 1 ,5 8 2 .
T h e average a m o u n t granted
per loan was $ 350 .
T able 1 8 .— L O A N S G R A N T E D B Y C R E D I T U N IO N S D U R I N G 1929, A V E R A G E A M O U N T
OF L O A N , A N D A M O U N T O U T S T A N D IN G A T E N D OF Y E A R
Num
ber of
socie
ties
report
ing
State
Alabama.........................
Arizona............................
Arkansas......... ...............
California.......................
Colorado______________
Connecticut__________
District of Colum bia.
Florida............................
Georgia-.................... —
Illinois..................... ..
Indiana.......... ...........
Iowa............. ................. -
23
1
1
16
1
1
1
1
21
32
19
36
8
8
Kentucky________
Louisiana............
Maine...................
Maryland________
Massachusetts___
Michigan. ..............
Minnesota_______
Missouri_________
M ontana_________
Nebraska________
New Ham pshireN ew Jersey---------N ew York_______
North Carolina—
Ohio.........................
Oregon........... .........
Pennsylvania........
Rhode Island........
South Carolina.—
Tennessee________
Texas.......................
Utah_____________
Virginia............. .
Washington______
W est Virginia____
Wisconsin...........
5
1
3
299
20
43
43
Number
of bor
rowers
in 1929
2 2,615
146
35
1,774
618
340
873
180
4,339
5,555
31,917
1,406
126
931
1,122
762
350
52,853
(«3,896
)
21
10,335
23
463
4,014
7 980
41,792
1,159
3
1,981
1
5
2
7
125
2
10
9
2,918
72
»1,787
93
349
5,498
766
855
880
12
4
4
17
6
6
818 u 153,934
1 Based upon societies reporting both
number of borrowers and loans granted.
2 22 societies.
8 18 societies.
4 27 societies.
Amount
2 $235,234
6,831
4,049
208,520
131,277
150,320
30,252
40,000
537,109
863,306
285,849
* 170,755
7,659
176,696
91,772
104,361
27,888
5 29,500,000
372,392
« Estimated.
« N o data.
7 6 societies.
8 20 societies.
Loans
outstand
Aver
ing at^nd
age loan
of year
per bor
rower i
$90
45
45
118
212
102
14
172
124
155
102
133
61
190
82
137
80
«558 12,
$98,528
6,533
1,578
115,827
80,710
34,677
12,630
32,000
258,988
138,790
93,781
5,871
107,362
38,560
78,253
21,644
628,949
(«)
(6)
472,570
7,500
66,252
144,612
130,194
18,365,000
8 129,395
9,580
107,073
175
679,936
121
1
1
T o ta l-
Loans granted during
year
10,668
476,794
5,257
36,050
510,348
51,488
10 107,442
266,319
12
54,048,353
143
36
119
439
116
79
54
18
233
148
210
57
103
93
67
139
303
3,500
35,906
343,664
52,783
532,531
115,710
5,067
47,654
150
886,364
5,560
237,117
4,088
17,337
263,275
63,370
472,060
350 30,811,582
9 11 societies,
io 5 societies.
u 794 societies.
m 720 societies.
Interest on Loans
T he maximum rate of interest that may be charged on loans is
fixed by the laws of 26 of the 32 States having credit union laws.
The most common rates actually charged are 5.9, 6, 8, and 12 per
cent.
78
COOPERATION
Operating Expenses
The expense of operation of the credit societies as a group is very
small. In many cases, where the credit union membership is com
posed of the employees of a single firm, the company gives quarters
(including, of course, heat and light) and in some cases the services of
an accountant. Often, when the society is small there are no official
headquarters, the business being transacted at the home of the treas
urer, secretary, or some member of the credit committee. Expense
for salaries is at a minimum, for usually the directors and members of
committees receive no compensation, and as a general thing the only
persons receiving any salary are the treasurer or secretary (or both).
The expenses of credit unions for the year 1929 averaged 1.79 per
cent of the year's business, i. e., the loans granted.
Dividends
A fter expenses are paid and provision made for reserve, interest on
deposits, etc., the remainder of the profit is divided among the mem
bers in proportion to the stock held by them.
Of the 820 societies for which reports were received, 387 paid divi
dends on the 1929 business. The amounts returned by these aggre
gated $222,263. It should be borne in mind that a very large
proportion of the societies have been in existence only a short time
and this has undoubtedly influenced the dividend figure. Their
failure or success, however, can not be judged merely in terms of
dividend, for their main benefit lies not m the returns made to de
positors and stockholders but in the savings effected for the borrower
through the lower rates of interest at which loans are given and in
the benefit, which can not be evaluated, growing out of the relief of
the exploited borrower and the lifting of the burden of anxiety from
the shoulders of many a harassed father of a family, enabling him to
regain his financial standing and self-respect.
Development Since 1925
The table below shows the status of the credit unions in 1929,
as compared with 1925 when the previous study was made. An
enormous expansion has taken place, as the figures show.
T ab le 1 9 — D E V E L O P M E N T O F C R E D I T S O C IE T IE S , 1925 A N D 1929
1929
Item
Total number of credit unions..................
Number furnishing reports_____________
Membership:
Number of members............... .............
Average per society...............................
Resources:
Paid-in share capital_____ _____ _____
Reserve......................................................
Deposits.....................................................
Loans:
Number of borrowers during year._
Am ount granted in loans...................
Average per borrower................... .......
Am ount outstanding at end of year
Dividends paid:
Number of societies..............................
Am ount returned. ................................
Average rate of expense (per cent)______
284
176
974
838
107,779
612
264,908
320
$10,706,099
$973,873
$4,700,768
$24,065,407
$2,079,450
$9,017,786
52,836
$20,100,356
$381
$13, 390,423
153,934
$54,048,353
$350
$30,811,582
135
$458,183
1.80
387
$222,263
1.79
LEGISLATION ON COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
79
Legislation Relating to Cooperative Societies
Consumers’ Societies
ONSIDERABLE amendment has been made in the past 10
jrears in the legislation relating to consumers’ cooperative
societies.
Perhaps the most extensive amendments have been made in the
laws of Oregon and Wisconsin, but many changes have also been
made in those of Connecticut, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, and
South Dakota. Arkansas passed an entirely new act in 1921, while
in the same year the North Dakota statute (which had previously
been much amended) was again amended and the whole was reenacted.
There are now on the statute books consumers’ cooperative laws3
of varying completeness in 34 States and Alaska. 4 In Alabama, New
York, and Washington, there are separate enactments for associa
tions organized with capital stock and those without it. The most
complete laws are those of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New
York, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The briefest are those
of Ohio (which consists of two short sections permitting the forma
tion of “ trading associations dealing in articles of merchandise” and
authorizing the distribution of earnings in proportion to purchases),
Tennessee (three sections, permitting associations to buy or sell agri
cultural products and merchandise and setting the number necessary
for incorporation), and Vermont (one section, setting up a definition
and standards to be followed).
It may be said that the amendments made in the past 10 years
have been almost entirety in the direction of liberalizing the laws,
widening the fields of business which may be entered, enlarging the
powers of the associations organized under them, and raising the
requirements or standards from the cooperative point of view.
The laws of 24 States now contain provisions as to the distribution
of earnings, and these provisions always include the payment of
patronage dividends. Only eight States6 leave the distribution of
earnings to be determined by the association in its by-laws, but of
these the laws of Florida, Indiana, and Kansas set up a cooperative
standard (in defining a “ cooperative association” within the meaning
C
3 Some of these, however, also cover agricultural marketing associations.
* Alabama (stock— Code, 1923, secs. 7047-7056; nonstock— Code, 3923, sees. 7057-7061); Alaska (Acts of
1917, ch. 26); Arkansas (Acts of 1921, N o. 632); California (Civil Code, 1906, sec. 653a-l, as amended by
Acts of 1921, ch. 170); Colorado (Comp. Laws, 1921, secs. 2413-2417); Connecticut (Gen’l Stats., 1918, secs.
3600-3609. as amended by Acts of 1919, ch. 96; Acts of 1921, ch. 115; Acts of 1923, ch. 110; and Acts of 1925,
ch. 227); Florida (Comp. Gen’l Laws, 1927, secs. 6385-6390); Illinois (Rev. Stats., 1917, ch. 32, secs. 103-128,
233-259, as amended b y Acts of 1917, pp. 303, 304); Indiana (Burns’ Ann. Stats., 1914, sec. 4359a-4359e);
Iowa (Code, 1927, ch. 389, as amended b y Acts of 1929, chs. 5. 18, 398); Kansas (Rev. Stats., 1923, secs. 171501 to 17-1515); Kentucky (Carroll’s Kentucky Stats. (Baldwin’s R ev.), 1930, secs. 883d-l to 883d-9);
Massachusetts (Gen’l Laws, 1921, ch. 157); Michigan (Comp. Laws, 1922, ch. 175, secs. 9053 (78) -9053 (96));
Minnesota (Gen’l Stats., 1923, cn. 58, secs. 7822-7847); Missouri (Rev. Stats., 1919, socs. 10247-10262, as
amended b y Acts of 1919, p. 270; Acts of 1925, p. 145; Acts of 1929, p. 334); M ontana (Rev. Codes, 1921, ch.
25, secs. 6375-6396); Nebraska (Comp. Stats., 1922, secs. 642-648, as amended by Acts of 1925, ch. 79); Nevada
(Rev. Laws, 1912, secs. 1249-1260); New Jersey (Comp. Stats., 1910, pp. 1580-1584); New York (stock— Acts
of 1913, ch. 454, as amended b y Acts of 1920, chs. 104 and 591; Acts of 1921, ch. 359; Acts of 1926, ch. 231,
art. 7; nonstock—Acts of 1920, ch. 166, art. 21, as amended by Acts of 1926, ch. 231, art. 5); North Carolina
(Consol. Stats., 1919, secs. 5242-5259); North Dakota (Acts of 1921, ch. 43); Ohio (Gen’l Code, 1910, secs.
10185,10186); Oklahoma (Comp. Stats., 1921, secs. 5637-5652); Oregon (Olson’s Oreg. Laws, 1920, secs. 69540981, as amended by Acts of 1929, ch. 412); Pennsylvania (Stats., 1920, secs. 5520-5542, as amended by Acts
of 1923, N o. 404; Acts of 1929, Nos. 211,215); South Carolina (Civil Code, 1922, secs. 4331-4343); South Dakota
(Rev. Code, 1919, secs. 8839-8853, as amended by Acts of 1919, ch. 140; Acts of 1921, ch. 153; Acts of 1923,
chs. 127 and 131; Acts of 1929, ch. 89); Tennessee (Thompson’s Shannon’s Code, 1919, sees. 2186-2188);
Vermont (Gen’l Laws, 1917, title 25, sec. 4897, as amended b y Acts of 1929, N o. 81); Virginia (Ann. Code.
1919, sec. 3855, as amended b y Acts of 1928, ch. 166); Washington (stock— Acts of 1913, ch. 19, as amended
b y Acts of 1925, ch. 99; nonstock— Remington & Ballinger’s Code, secs. 3752-3704); Wisconsin (Wisconsin
Stats., 1923, secs.*185.01-185.23, as amended b y Acts of 1925, ch. 181; Acts of 1928, 1929, ch. 527); and W y o
ming (Comp. Stats., 1920, secs. 5119-5134).
5 California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, N ew Jersey, and Ohio.
80
COOPERATION
of the act) which must be met by all associations organized under
the act, and which in all cases includes the payment of dividends on
the basis of patronage. The laws of five States (Alabama, Arkansas,
Colorado, New York (nonstock), and Washington) are silent as to
distribution of earnings, but in those of Arkansas and Colorado the
association must conform to the cooperative standard of the act.
Thus it may be said that the most characteristic feature of coopera
tive associations—distribution of the earnings of the association on
the basis of patronage and not on capital invested—is now provided
for in more than 80 per cent of the laws.
An increasing number of laws are recognizing the value of the
teaching of the principles of cooperation and are making provision
for the appropriation, from the societies’ net earnings, of a certain
proportion (generally 5 per cent) for this purpose. In only five States,
however, has this provision as yet been made mandatory.
In 1929 the former Pennsylvania provision prohibiting an associa
tion from either giving credit or taking it was repealed.
Provisions unusual, but in the direction of cooperative progress,
are that of Wisconsin allowing the stockholders, at their option, either
to return all of the net earnings to the patrons or to use them “ for
the general welfare of the members of the association” ; that of
Oklahoma and Wyoming holding the directors liable in case they
distribute dividends when the association is bankrupt or on the verge
of insolvency; the Missouri law requiring that the books of the asso
ciation be audited once a year by a “ competent auditor” who is not
a member of the association; and two Wisconsin provisions, one of
which permits a consumers’ association to enter into contracts
binding the member to purchase all of his goods thr ough it or through
facilities created by it, and the other of which forbids discrimination
by other business organizations against cooperative societies on
pain of forfeiture of charter or license to do business.
A few of the changes in the cooperative laws seem to be of rather
dubious value from the cooperative standpoint, as, for instance,
the amendment of the New York and Oregon laws so as to permit
the appointment of persons not connected with the association to
serve as secretary and treasurer, and in the latter State to permit
the directors to reside and hold meetings outside the State. Other
provisions in this class are that of Montana allowing the society
to put the value of its shares as high as $5,000 (though it is specified
that they may be paid for in installments); the Missouri provision
allowing each member, in the election of the directors, to cast as
many votes as he has shares, multiplied by the number of directors to
be elected; and the South Dakota provision specifying that in associa
tions with capital of more than $500,000 voting shall be by shares.
Among the points covered by some or all of the consumers’ co
operative laws are the limitation of the field of business permitted
to such associations, the number necessary for incorporation, the
management of the organization (directors, officers, and terms of
office), the capital stock (total amount, the value of each share,
and the maximum amount that may be owned by any one member),
the method of voting, the distribution of earnings, the purchase of
stock of other cooperative organizations, annual reports, voluntary
dissolution, etc. Bulletin No. 531 gives a general summary of all
of these provisions, and for each State having a cooperative law, a
synopsis of its provisions, as of June, 1930.
LEGISLATION ON COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
81
Workers’ Productive Associations
There is no legislation covering only the organization of workers’
productive societies, but the consumers’ cooperative laws of certain
States are so framed as to permit the formation of cooperative work
shops. Thus, workers’ productive associations can be formed under
the laws of those States which authorize the carrying on by coopera
tive societies of any lawful business,6 those which authorize any
manufacturing or mechanical business,7 and those authorizing in
dustrial enterprises.8 The Illinois law permits the operation of any
general mercantile, manufacturing, or producing business and that
of Montana any branch of industry. The New York law gives
cooperative societies the right to carry on any general producing,
manufacturing, warehousing, merchandising, or processing and
cleansing business in articles of common use.
The laws of six of these States9 go farther and include in the defi
nition of cooperative association given in the law not only those
societies which distribute their earnings on the basis of patronage but
also those which distribute them on the basis of labor performed for
the association. The New York (stock) law includes as a recgonized
cooperative organization one conducted “ primarily for the mutual
help and benefit of its shareholders, employees, and patrons, without
profit, which pays not to exceed 6 per cent on capital and distributes
the remainder on the basis of patronage or of labor performed for the
society.”
The general cooperative laws, however, are usually drafted from
the viewpoint of the consumers’ societies and fail to cover and set
up standards for the peculiar needs of the cooperative workshops—
the general organization of the association, how earnings shall be
divided among the workers, how the management shall be chosen, etc.
It is possible that to this lack may be attributed some of the failure of
the workers’ productive associations to attain a position of im
portance in the cooperative movement of the United States.
Credit and Banking Societies
There are at present laws authorizing the formation of cooper
ative credit societies in 32 States.10 Of these, 22 have been enacted
since 1920; in addition, in 1926, Massachusetts passed an act amending
• California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and Vermont.
7 Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington (stock), Wiscon
sin, and W yom ing.
s Alabama and Alaska.
• Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and North Dakota.
Alabama (Acts of 1927, N o. 597); Arizona (Acts of 1929, ch. 68); California (Acts of 1927, ch. 36); Florida
(Acts of 1929, ch. 14499, p. 978); Georgia (Acts of 1926, N o. 429, p. 166); Illinois (Acts of 1925, p. 255); Indiana,
(Acts of 1923, ch. 114); Iowa (Code, 1927, secs. 9283-bl to 9283-b26 and 9305-al to 9305-a23); Kansas (Acts
of 3929, ch. 141); Kentucky (Carroll’s Kentucky Stats. (Baldwin’s R ev.), 1930, secs. 883g-l to 883g-28);
Louisiana (Acts of 1924, N o . 40, p. 63); Maryland (Acts of 1929, ch. 337); Massachusetts (Gen’l Laws, 1921,
ch. 171, as amended by Acts of 1926, ch. 273, Acts of 1930, ch. 180); Michigan (Acts of 1925, No.285, as amended
by Acts of 1929, N o. 303); Minnesota (Acts of 1925, ch. 206); Mississippi (Acts of 1924, ch. 177); Missouri
(Acts of 1927, p. 164, as amended b y Acts of 1929. p. 50); Montana (Acts of 1929, ch. 105); Nebraska (Comp.
Stats. 1922, secs. 649-670 and 7982-8051); N ew Hampshire (Pub. Laws, 1926, ch. 267, as amended b y Acts
of 1929, ch. 46); N ew Jersey (Acts of 1924, ch. 48, as amended b y Acts of 1929, ch. 266; Acts of 1930, ch. 153);
N ew York (Acts of 1914, ch. 369, arts. 450-479, as amended b y Acts of 1915, ch. 294, Acts of 1923, ch. 701,
Acts of 1929, chs. 323, 324, 325); North Carolina (Consol. Stats., 1919, ch. 93, subch. I l l , sees. 5208-5241,
as amended b y Acts of 1925, ch. 73; Acts of 1929, ch. 47); Oregon (Acts of 1929, ch. 396); Rhode Island (Gen’l
Laws, 1923, secs. 3925-3950); South Carolina (Civil Code, 1922, secs. 4003-4027); Tennessee (Acts of 1923.
ch. 68) ; Texas (Rev. Civil Stats. 1925, arts. 2461-2484, as amended b y Acts of 1929, ch. 17 and 2d spec, sess.,
1929, ch. 85); Utah (Comp. Laws, 1917, secs. 1060-1082, as amended b y Acts of 1929, ch. 40); Virginia (Acts
of 1922, ch. 449, p. 775 as amended b y Acts of 1930, ch. 16); W est Virginia (Acts of 1925, ch. 36): Wisconsin
(Stats. 1923, ch. 186, secs. 186.01-186.18, as amended by Acts of 1929, ch. 323),
82
COOPERATION
the old law throughout, while in 1929 Oregon repealed its former law
and passed a new one.
There is a good deal of similarity in the cooperative credit associa
tion laws, and the wide variation evidenced in the consumers' co
operative laws is absent. This is due mainly to the fact that the
great majority of the cooperative credit laws are based on the standard
bill sponsored by the Credit Union National Extension Bureau of
Boston.
As cooperative credit societies are generally termed “ credit unions"
in this country, most of the laws specify that the societies formed under
them shall be called credit unions and have exclusive title to the
term. In Utah, however, they are known as “ cooperative banks for
personal credit," while in North Carolina the original credit union act
has been amended so as to change the nomenclature of these societies
to “ savings and loan associations." #
The powers granted to the association by the various State laws
generally include the right to buy and hold property, to sue and be
sued, to borrow money, and to lend it. Generally the society is given
the right to receive savings deposits from its members, and a few
States also permit acceptance of deposits from nonmembers.
The widest powers are conferred by the law of Utah, which permits
societies formed under it to conduct a general banking business for
the benefit of the members. It is of interest, in this connection, to
note that the Illinois law expressly prohibits credit unions from doing
a banking business. Two States, however, Iowa and Nebraska, have
each enacted not only a credit union law but also an act providing for
the incorporation of cooperative banks; the Nebraska act was passed
in 1921 and that of Iowa in 1927.11
Among the points covered in the credit union laws are the number
necessary for incorporation, the field from which the organization is
permitted to accept members, the general powers, the management
(including the powers and duties of the credit and supervisory com
mittees), funds, procedure for the granting of loans, rate of interest,
security, amount, etc., reserves, reports required, etc. A general
summary of the provisions on each of these points, as well as a synop
sis of the individual State laws, as of June, 1930, is given in Bulletin
No. 531.
Cooperative Congresses in 193012
HE year 1930 was marked by the holding of the thirteenth con
gress of the International Cooperative Alliance and the seventh
biennial congress of the Cooperative League of the U. S. A.
The congress of the International Cooperative Alliance was held in
Vienna August 25 to 28, 1930, and was attended by 554 delegates
from 35 countries. This congress was regarded as one of the most
significant meetings ever held since the first congress in 1895.
A resolution adopted by the congress directed the appointment of
a special committee “ to inquire into the conditions under which the
T
11 Iowa (Code of Iowa, 1927, secs. 9283-bl to 9283-b26); Nebraska (Comp. Stats., 1922, secs. 7982-8051).
Massachusetts also has a law relating to cooperative banks, but in that State “ cooperative bank” is the
term used to designate building and loan associations.
12 Data are from Review of International Cooperation (London), September, 1930, and Industrial and
Labor Information (Geneva), Sept. 22 , 1930.
COOPERATIVE CONGRESSES IN 1030
83
Rochdale principles are applied in various countries and, if necessary,
to define them.”
One of the principal addresses dealt with the Rochdale principles
and the problem of credit trading in the cooperative movement.
The speaker pointed out a growing laxity as regards adherence to the
fundamental cooperative principles, including the practice of doing
business only for cash. The importance of the cooperative credit
movement was recognized by the delegates. As the credit societies
provide the necessary avenue of credit, a resolution was adopted
favoring the expansion of this phase of the movement, but condemn
ing the assumption of the credit function by the cooperative stores
except where the latter have a special savings department.
As regards credit trading, the resolution urged upon all the move
ments affiliated with the Alliance “ the necessity of safeguarding the
unconditional recognition and observance of the well-tried principle
of cash payments in all consumers' societies, and to do all in their
power to oppose the giving of credit to members of consumers' coopera
tive societies.”
Other action by the congress included the passage of a resolution
urging a study of the international cooperative resources and the
possibility of their use in international trade either by the establish
ment of an international cooperative bank or through the Inter
national Cooperative Wholesale Society or International Cooperative
Assurance Committee; and a resolution indorsing the efforts made by
the Alliance to bring about closer relations between the producers'
and consumers' organizations and urging it to “ do all in its power to
define the essential cooperative basis of the different forms of organi
zation; to promote their establishment; and to recruit them to the
membership of the International Cooperative Alliance.”
The next congress will be held in London in 1933.
The seventh biennial congress of the Cooperative League of the
U. S. A. was held at Superior, Wis., October 20-22, 1930. This
congress was remarkable for presenting by far the greatest unity and
the most constructive action evidenced in any of the cooperative
congresses yet held.
Among the subjects on the agenda of the congress were the coopera
tive press, cooperative wholesaling, employees in the cooperative
movement (their education and training, and their unionization),
and planned cooperative promotion work.
The holding of a general “ cooperative month” each year was
authorized by the congress, this period to be used in a membership
campaign and a concerted attempt by the societies of each locality
to acquaint the public with the aims and principles of cooperation.
October was selected as being the most favorable month for the
campaign.
The subject of cooperative insurance has engaged the attention of
the past three congresses and a committee has been studying the
question. The present congress continued the indorsement of the
New Era Life Association and of the Workmen's Furniture Fire
Insurance Association as the official insurance societies of the con
sumers' cooperative movement, writing life insurance and fire in
surance on furniture, respectively. The congress also authorized the
officers of the league to take steps for the formation of a brokerage
84
COOPERATION
agency to handle the writing of casualty insurance and fire insurance
other than on furniture.
Other resolutions urged that all possible efforts be made to extend
the cooperative women’s guild movement which has already made
considerable headway in the Northern States district, and that
during the next two years a persistent attempt be made to extend the
cooperative movement to new areas and new groups.
Condition of Labor Banks as of June 30, 1930
O
N JUNE 30, 1930, there were in existence 14 banks operating
under labor-union auspices. These banks had combined deposits
of $59,817,392, and total resources amounting to $68,953,855. The
details, by banks, are shown in the following table, supplied by Prof.
J. Douglas Brown, of Princeton University:
T a b l e 1.— C O N D I T I O N O F L A B O R B A N K S A S O F J U N E 30, 1930
Nam e and location of bank
Share
capital
Federation Bank & Trust Co., N ew York, N . Y .............
Amalgamated Bank of N ew York, N ew York, N . Y _ _ .
Telegraphers’ National Bank, St. Louis, M o .....................
Labor National Bank, Paterson, N . J__________ ________
M ount Vernon Savings Bank, Washington, D . C ..........
Union National Bank, Newark, N . J....................................
Labor National Bank, Jersey City, N . J .............................
Amalgamated Trust & Savings Bank, Chicago, 111.........
The American Bank, Toledo, Ohio........ ...............................
Farmers & Workingmen’s Savings Bank, Jackson,
M ich ...............................................................................................
United Labor Bank & Trust Co., Indianapolis, I n d .
Hawkins County Bank, Rogersville, Tenn.i......................
Gary Labor Bank, Gary, Ind .2...................................... ..........
Labor National Bank, Three Forks, M o n t . . ....................
$750,000
650.000
500.000
300.000
400.000
375.000
400.000
112,500
50.000
50.000
25.000
Total (14 banks).................................................................
4,112,500
i As of Dec. 31,1929.
200.000
200,000
100,000
Surplus
and un
divided
profits
Deposits
Total re
sources
$1,189,653 $18,130,880
11,349,764
519,974
210,573
6,659,455
224,453
6,021,853
183, 547
4,112,415
230,022
3,674,030
191,925
2,676,150
159,277
2,526,560
82,423
1,714,226
$20,558,834
12,845,579
7,701,328
6,681,691
4,735,829
4,325,401
3,369,174
3,033,182
2,138,036
16,132
26, 712
50,000
13, 592
7.053,
849,834
702,326
596,627
606,617
196,655
1,070,647
843,572
731,627
670,674
248,281
3,105,336
59,817,392
68,953,855
2 Bank closed Aug. 19, 1930.
Beginning with the establishment of the Locomotive Engineers’
Cooperative Bank in Cleveland in 1920, the labor bank movement
increased, at first quite slowly, then with increasing momentum,
reaching its high point in 1925, when there were 36 such banks, with
deposits of nearly $100,000,000 and total resources of $115,000,000.
A decline began in 1926, which has continued from year to year
since then.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, which at one time
owned an interest (in some cases a controlling interest) in some 15
banks, is no longer represented in the labor-banking field, as the
above table shows.
Table 2 gives the development of the labor banks since the incep
tion of the movement in 1920,
85
BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS
T a b le
D E V E L O P M E N T O F L A B O B B A N K S I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S , 1920 T O 1930 1
N um
ber of
banks
End of D e ce m b e r -
1920........................................... ......................... ............. ..
1921.................... ..................... ............. ..........................
1922................. ..................... ............... ....................... ..
1923_____ __________________ _____ _________________
1924___________ ____________ ____ _________________
19252_______________ _____ _________ ______________
1926___________ ______ — ........... ......... ...................1927_____ _______ _____ ______ - ______ _______ ______
1928......... ....................... ........................... .......................
1929 3___________ _____ ____________________ _______
1930 3_________ _______ ________ ___________ _______
2
4
10
18
26
36
35
32
27
22
14
Share cap
ital
$960,000
1,280,000
2,050,473
4,222,230
6,441,267
9,069,072
8,914,508
8.282.500
7.537.500
6.687.500
4.112.500
Surplus and
undivided
profits
Deposits
$194,446 $2,258,561
255,869
9,970,961
742,689 21,901,641
1,353,022 43,324,820
1,891,757 72,913,180
3,467,829 98,392,592
3,837,377 108,743,550
3,747,176 103,290,219
3,821,205 98, 784,369
3,807,579 92,077,098
3,105,336 59,817,392
Total re
sources
$3,628,867
12,782,173
26,506,723
51,496,524
85,325,884
115.015,273
126,533,542
119,818,416
116,307,256
108,539,894
68,953,855
1 Data are from Princeton University, Industrial Relations Section, Report on Labor Banking M ove
ment in the United States, Princeton, 1929, p. 277, and additional new material furnished b y the university
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2 Amalgamated Bank of Philadelphia not included.
* June 30.
Development of Building and Loan Associations, 1920
to 1929
S BUILDING and loan associations are, in part at least, cooperl
ative in character, summary data concerning them are given
below. These data were compiled from the annual reports of the
secretary of the United States League of Local Building and Loan
Associations.
The following table shows their development, by years, since 1920.
It is seen that while there was a decrease in number of associations
from 1927 to 1928 and from 1928 to 1929, the membership and
assets have shown an unbroken increase year after year.
A
D E V E L O P M E N T OP B U I L D I N G A N D L O A N A S S O C IA T IO N S , 1920 T O 1929
Number
of asso
ciations
Year
1920.
1921.
1922.
1923.
1924.
9,255
10,009
10,744
11,844
12,403
12,626
12,904
1925.
1926.
1927.
1928.
1929.
12,666
12,342
1 N o data.
Assets
Mortgage loans
outstanding
4,962,919
5,809,888
6,864,144
7,202,880
8,554,352
$2,519,914,971
2,890,761,621
3,342,530,953
3,942,939,880
4,765,937,197
2 $900,000,000
21,260,000,000
2 1,460,000,000
9,886,997
10,665,705
11,336,261
11,995,905
12,111,209
5,509,176,154
6,334,103,807
7,178,562,451
8,016,034,327
8,695,154,220
5,085,009,639
5,852,689,591
6,584,818,419
7,336,124,154
7,787,405,383
Membership
* Estimated.
0)
0)
COST OF LIVING
47767°—31------ 7
87
Trend of Cost of Living in the United States
OST-OF-LIVING data are secured from 32 cities in the United
States by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in June
and December of each year. The changes in the cost of living in the
32 cities and in the United States as a whole, as shown by the index
numbers compiled from such data, are published immediately in
pamphlet form and afterwards in the succeeding issue of the Labor
Review.
The original price information used in compiling the cost-of-living
figures is secured from merchants and other dealers in each of the 32
cities. The prices of food and of fuel and light (which include coal,
wood, gas, electricity, and kerosene) are furnished the bureau by
correspondence in accordance with previous arrangements made with
establishments through personal visits of the bureau’s agents. In
each city food prices are secured from 15 to 30 merchants and dealers
and fuel and light prices from 10 to 15 firms, including public utilities.
All other data are secured by representatives of the bureau, who
visit the various merchants, dealers, and agents and secure the figures
in person. Four quotations are secured in each city (except in
Greater New York, where five are obtained) on each of a large num
ber of articles of clothing, furniture and house-furnishing goods, and
miscellaneous items. Rental figures are secured from 400 to 2,500
unfurnished houses, flats, and apartments in each city, according to
its population.
The average price of each article and item is weighted according
to its importance in the average family budget.
The various groups forming the components of the cost of living
are then weighted according to their relative importance. These
“ weights” are derived from the comprehensive cost-of-living and
budgetary survey made by the bureau in 1918-19. This survey cov
ered 12,096 families in 92 localities. The results of this 1918-19
survey were published in detail in Bulletin No. 357. Tables showing
the sources and amounts of family incomes for one year, by income
groups, as determined by this survey, are given in the 1926 Hand
book (Bui. No. 439). It is extremely desirable that a new budget
survey should be made, as there probably have been important
changes in the character of family expenditures since 1918-19; but
the very heavy expense involved has thus far prevented the bureau
from undertaking this task.
C
Changes for Country as a Whole, 1913 to 1930
As a l r e a d y noted, the bureau’s studies of changes in cost of living
cover 32 cities. In the case of 19 of these cities the studies began in
December, 1914, and for the 13 other cities, in December, 1917.
From the figures for these 32 cities a combined index number has
been computed, and this combination is assumed to be fairly repre
sentative for the United States as a whole. It should be noted that
89
90
COST OF LIVING
this index number for the United States has been based on the yeat
1913, inasmuch as that year has been used as the basis for many of
the bureau's index numbers. To bridge the gap between 1913 and
December, 1914, use has been made of the data regarding retail prices
of certain articles and the wholesale prices of other articles. As the
price changes during this period were relatively small, the results are
believed to be substantially accurate.
Table 1 gives the index numbers for changes in the cost of living
for the United States as a whole, for all of the periods for which
surveys have been made by the bureau.
T a b l e 1 .—-I N D E X N U M B E R S O F C O S T OF L I V I N G I N T H E U N I T E D
1913 T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
M onth and year
1913 average....... ...............................
December, 1914................................
December, 1915...................... .........
December, 1916................................
December, 1917_________________
December, 1918................................
June, 1919................. .........................
December, 1919................................
June, 1920............... ....................... ..
December, 1920................................
M ay, 1921_______ _____ __________
September, 1921......... .....................
December, 1921............................ ..
March, 1922............... .......................
June, 1922................. ........................
September, 1922________________
December, 1922......
March, 1923....... ...............................
June. 1923...........................................
September, 1923_______ _______
December, 1923................................
March, 1924....... ...............................
June, 1924_________________ ______
September, 1924...............................
December, 1924................................
June, 1925....... ................................. ..
December, 1925................................
June, 1926....... ...................................
December, 1926...............................
June, 1927...........................................
December, 1927................................
June, 1928...........................................
December, 1928................................
June, 1929....... ...................................
December, 1929............................ ..
June, 1930..................... .....................
December, 1930.................................
Food
100.0
105.0
105.0
126.0
157.0
187.0
184.0
197.0
219.0
178.0
144.7
153.1
149.9
138.7
140.7
139.7
146.6
141.9
144.3
149.3
150.3
143.7
142.4
146.8
151.5
155.0
165.5
159.7
161.8
158.5
155.9
152.6
155.8
154.8
158.0
147.9
137.2
Clothing
Rent
100.0
101.0
100.0
100.0
104.7
101.5
102.3
120.0
149.1
205.3
214.5
268.7
287.5
258.5
222.6
192.1
184.4
175.5
172.3
171.3
171.5
174.4
174.9
176.5
176.3
175.8
174.2
172.3
171.3
170.6
169.4
168.2
166.7
164.9
162.9
162.6
161.9
161.3
160.5
158.9
153.0
100.1
109.2
114.2
125.3
134.9
151.1
159.0
160.0
161.4
160.9
160.9
161.1
161.9
162.4
163.4
164.4
166.5
167.0
168.0
168.0
168.2
167.4
167.1
165.4
164.2
162.1
160.2
157.6
155.9
153.7
151.9
149.6
146.5
Fuel and
light
100.0
101.0
101.0
108.4
124.1
147.9
145.6
156.8
171.9
194.9
181.6
180.9
181.1
175.8
174.2
183.6
186.4
186.2
180.6
181.3
184.0
182.2
177.3
179.1
180.5
176.5
186.9
180.7
188.3
180.8
183.2
177.2
181.3
175.2
178.7
172.8
175.0
STATES FR O M
HouseMiscella
furnish
A ll items
neous
ing goods
100.0
100.0
100.0
104.0
103.0
107.4
113.3
140.5
165.8
173.2
190.2
201.4
208.2
208.8
207,8
206.8
203.3
201.5
103.0
105.1
118.3
142.4
174.4
177.3
199.3
216.5
200.4
180.4
177.3
174.3
166.9
166.4
166.3
169.5
168.8
169.7
172.1
173.2
170.4
169.1
170.6
172.5
173.5
177.9
174.8
175.6
173.4
172.0
170.0
171.3
170.2
171.4
166.6
160.7
110.6
127.8
150.6
213.6
225.1
263.5
292.7
285.4
247.7
224.7
218.0
206.2
202.9
202.9
208.2
217.6
222.2
222.4
222.4
221.3
216.0
214.9
216.0
214.3
214.3
210.4
207.7
205.2
204.6
201.1
199.7
198.5
197.7
195.7
188.3
201.1
200.5
200.3
200.3
201.1
201.7
201.1
201.1
201.1
201.7
202.7
203.5
203.3
203.9
204.5
205.1
205.5
207.1
207.3
207.9
208.5
208.1
Changes in Individual Cities
T able 2 shows index numbers for changes in the cost of living
as a whole (i. e., all items combined), for 19 cities, from December,
1914, to December, 1930. The figures are given for December of
each year up to 1919, and thereafter semiannually. The index
numbers are computed on December, 1914, as the base or 100.
91
TREND IN THE UNITED STATES
T a b l e 2 ,— I N D E X N U M B E R S O F C O S T O F L I V I N G I N 19 C IT IE S F R O M D E C E M B E R ,
1914, T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
M onth and year
December, 1914_____
December, 1915_____
December, 1916. . . .
December, 1917____ _
December, 1918_____
June, 1919___________
December, 1919_____
June, 1920___________
December, 1920_____
M ay, 1921___________
December, 1921_____
June, 1922
_
December, 1922_____
June, 1923
December, 1923_____
June, 1924____ ______
December, 1924_____
June, 1925.....................
December, 1925_____
June, 1926___________
December, 1926_____
Jim p, 1927 December, 1927_____
June, 1928....................
December, 1928_____
Jnnp., 1929
December, 1929_____
June, 1930....................
December, 1930_____
M onth and year
December, 1914_____
December, 1915_____
December, 1916_____
December, 1917_____
December, 1918_____
June, 1919....................
December, 1919_____
June, 1920—................
December, 1920_____
M ay, 1921...... .............
December, 1921_____
June, 1922....................
December, 1922_____
June, 1923............ .......
December, 1923_____
June, 1924....................
December, 1924_____
June, 1925....................
December, 1925_____
June, 1926...................
December, 1926_____
June, 1927___________
December, 1927_____
June, 1928....................
December, 1928_____
June, 1929.....................
December, 1929_____
June, 1930....................
December, 1930_____
Balti
Boston, Buffalo, Chica
more,
Mass.
N .Y .
go, 111.
M d.
100.0
98.6
118.5
151.3
184.7
184.0
198.4
214.3
196.8
177.4
173.2
167.6
170.9
172.0
174.8
171.9
174.8
177.3
181.2
178.4
178.6
175.3
174.5
173.7
173.9
173.8
175.1
171.6
165.8
100.0
101.6
115.7
138.1
170.6
172.8
192.3
210.7
197.4
174.4
170.2
159.6
165.1
163.5
169.4
163.2
167.3
165.8
174.7
169.4
171.9
168.1
169.5
164.8
168.2
165.4
168.4
163.1
159.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
103.5
124.4
151.1
180.9
184.2
202.7
221.5
201.7
180.3
176.8
168.6
173.9
174.1
178.6
173.9
177.8
179.7
184.8
182.8
183.6
179.8
180.2
178.7
179.6
178.8
180.0
176.0
169.4
103.0
119.5
141.8
172.2
174.5
101.4
119.1
142.9
171.4
177.2
198.2
220.3
207.3
187.5
178.8
168.9
172.9
177.1
179.6
175.9
178.1
180.4
182.7
181.9
181.5
180.2
179.0
176.3
175.4
175.7
174.3
173.3
166.2
103.5
122.3
149.9
178.0
184.4
207.9
236.0
218.6
193.3
182.4
175.3
178.2
181.7
184.7
182.8
182.2
184.5
187.8
184.7
184.1
182.7
179.0
176.4
177.4
178.1
177.8
172.3
161.6
99.7
116.4
144.9
175.7
180.2
201.7
101.3
114.7
141.6
171.5
177.5
201.5
216.5
206.2
185.8
175.1
165.7
167.8
167.7
171.9
167.3
170.4
170.9
181.7
181.8
181.3
175.7
173.0
168.3
169.1
166.9
165.8
161.0
156.9
98.1
107.7
128.9
158.0
165.1
185.3
201.7
196.7
178.7
176.4
172.5
174.5
175.1
178.8
175.1
] 75.4
176.9
177.4
171.2
172.2
171.5
170.6
167.4
171.0
168.9
168.7
163.7
158.1
99.6
113.8
143.2
171.4
176.6
194.5
207.0
193.3
170.8
163.6
155.3
158.8
158.6
162.6
158.0
163.9
163.9
168.5
166.2
168.1
165.2
165.5
163.5
165.7
164.0
164.8
160.3
154.4
Nor
folk,
Va.
Phila
del
phia,
Pa.
100.0
102.0
100.0
100.6
100.0
101.2
114.9
144.7
177.3
179.2
203.8
219.2
201.4
181.7
179.3
170.7
174.2
172.6
177.3
172.5
176.5
175.8
183.2
178.6
180.0
177.8
179.1
174.4
176.3
175.5
177.1
171.7
167.5
114.7
145.2
180.7
187.1
207.0
114.7
143.8
173.9
176.2
196.5
213.5
200.7
179.8
174.3
168.2
170.7
172.1
174.7
171.5
176.1
177.6
182.6
180.6
182.3
178.0
178.3
175.3
174.5
173.1
175.0
169.0
164.5
N ew
York,
N. Y.
222.2
209.0
188.1
179.2
169.5
169.9
171.1
172.4
168.4
172.1
171.9
176.4
173.1
174.6
173.9
173.4
171.5
174.1
172.3
173.5
167.9
164.8
i For April, 1919.
Jack
Cleve
Hous
Los
Detroit,
M obile,
land,
ton, sonville, Angeles,
M ich.
Ala.
Ohio
Tex.
Calif.
Fla.
200.6
214.6
193.3
178.4
172.3
165.0
168.0
169.6
173.7
172.6
175.3
177.1
180.6
177.8
179.0
177.1
174.3
171.5
173.1
172.3
173.7
169.1
162.2
San
Fran
cisco,
and
Oak
land,
Calif.
212.2
204.0
179.7
173.6
165.9
168.4
167.2
170.6
165.0
170.5
171.1
174.3
169.2
170.6
166.3
167.9
164.1
166.4
166.1
168.0
162.3
154.7
Savan
W ash
Seattle,
nah,
ington,
W ash.
Ga.
D . C.
Port
land,
M e.
Port
land,
Oreg.
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
99.6
113.8
138.0
172.2
174.3
191.6
207.6
193.1
172.1
169.6
159.7
164.1
163.3
166.9
162.4
166.0
165.3
170.3
167.3
169.?
166.8
167.0
163.8
166.6
164.8
165.8
161.5
157.2
96.9
106.1
131.2
164.2
169.2
183.7
200.4
180.3
162.2
158.3
152.1
156.1
154.6
157.8
152.8
155.8
155.8
156.9
154.6
155.1
153.7
152.8
150.5
152.4
150.7
151.6
149.1
141.5
98.3
108.3
128.6
157.8
165.6
187.8
196.0
185.1
166.7
163.6
156.8
158.8
157.6
162.1
157.3
160.1
162.2
164.7
160.7
161.7
160.5
160.7
158.8
161.7
160.1
160.8
155.9
151.5
99.8
114.6
142.5
175.0
179.8
198.7
209.4
198.7
177.6
166.2
156.8
159.2
157.9
158.2
154.8
156.3
157.9
162.9
160.6
160.5
158.3
158.1
156.6
159.1
157.2
157.2
153.1
148.3
99.0
107.4
131.1
169.9
176.9
197.7
210.5
194.1
180.2
171.5
167.0
166.7
166.4
168.5
166.7
167.8
170.5
171.7
169.4
169.1
169.4
166.9
165.8
167.1
167.7
168.7
165.4
158.4
100.0
101.0
114.6
147.3
173.8
1 171.2
2 187.6
201.3
187.8
167.1
163.0
157.6
159. 5
160.9
163.2
159.2
163.1
164.0
167.3
165.5
166.0
160.5
160.8
159.7
160.2
160.0
159.2
155.5
151.8
3 For November, 1919.
Table 3 gives similar information for the 13 cities for which reports
were begun in December, 1917, this date, therefore, being used as
the base, or 100, in computing the index numbers.
92
COST OF LIVING
T a b l e 3 .— I N D E X N U M B E R S O F C O S T O F L I V I N G I N 13 C IT IE S F R O M D E C E M B E R , 1917,
T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
M onth and year
December, 1917_________________
December, 1918_________________
Jimp., 1919
December, 1919................... ..
,
Jiitia, 192ft
_ _
December, 1920 .................. ......
M ay, 1921_____________________ .
December, 1921_________________
June, 1922...........................................
December, 1922
Jrme, 1923
_ _ .
December, 1923__________________
December, 1 9 2 4 ._______________
_
December, 1925_________________
,
_
_
December, 1926_________________
June, 1927_______________________
December, 1927_______________ .
June, 1928_______________________
December, 1928__________ _______
June, 1929___ . ___ _
_________________
June, 1930_______________________
December, 1930_______________ -
.Tiitia, 1925
.
M onth and year
Atlanta, Birming Cincin
Denver,
ham, Ala. nati, Ohio
Ga.
Colo.
Indian
apolis,
Ind.
Kansas
City,
M o.
Memphis,
Tenn.
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
119.7
123.3
137.9
146.7
138. 5
125.2
118.7
113. 7
115.1
114.2
116.0
113.6
114.9
116. 2
119.0
117. 3
117.4
116.2
114.3
113.9
115.6
113.6
113.5
107. 9
104.5
117.0
119.8
134.3
141.9
133.3
117.3
120.7
125.3
138.2
150.3
138.7
126.9
124.5
118.8
119.1
119.6
118.3
123.3
135.2
146.4
139.3
126.7
123.2
118.2
118.6
119.9
121.0
118.2
120.4
120.5
122.0
119.9
119.9
118.1
117.3
116.4
117.5
116.8
116. 5
114.7
110.4
M inne
apolis,
M inn.
121.1
135.2
147.1
134.7
122.1
121.7
115.3
116.2
110.7
112.7
113.2
113.8
115.5
113.6
116.0
117.7
113.1
116.3
116.8
117.6
116.9
122,1
123.0
119. 2
117.5
122.6
117.8
123.8
114.8
123.3
115.7
121.3
113.7
121.0
114.2
121.2
121.8
112.3
111.8
123.1
December,
1929
108.2
120.1
103.8
116.6
N ew
Orleans,
La.
December, 1917__________________
100.0
100.0
115.8
117.9
December, 1918____ _____________
118.8
120.7
June, 1919_______________________
December, 1919__________________
132.7
133.9
143.4
June, 1920_______ _____ ____ ____ __
141.9
_________ ________ December,
135. 7
1920
136. 7
M ay, 1921......... ..................... ...........
123.7
123.8
December, 1921__________________
120.7
122.7
117.3
118.9
June, 1922_______________________
December, 1922_________________
118.0
118.6
117.4
117.7
June, 1923_______________________
December, 1923_________________
118.8
120.2
116.2
June, 1924_______________________
116.8
December, 1924__________________
117.3
120.6
June, 1925____________________ ___
117.6
120.2
December, 1925___________ ______
120.3
122.7
June, 1926__________ _____________
119.6
120.1
December, 1926__________________
118.2
121.7
June, 1927_______________________
117.2
120.3
December, 1927_________________
115.4
119.9
June, 1928_______________________
115.8
118.2
December, 1928_________________
115.2
119.5
115.4
June, 1929_______________________
117.8
December, 1929.................... ...........
116.2
118.8
June, 1930................... ..................... 114.1
114.8
December, 1930_________________
110.6
110.2
Pitts
burgh,
Pa.
100.0
119.8
121.8
136.2
149 1
139.3
127.7
122.8
117.8
120.1
121.3
122.9
122.4
124.9
126.0
128.5
126.2
127.2
125.4
124.8
122.3
124.4
123.2
123.2
119.9
115. 2
121.6
119.9
122.1
117.8
120.2
121.1
122.5
119.7
120.4
118.4
116.6
114.9
116.3
115.6
116.1
113.0
109.7
Rich
mond,
Va.
100.0
117.9
120.6
132.0
143.8
133.3
120.2
118.3
113.2
114.4
114.9
117.1
113.5
116.5
116.7
120.8
119.7
119.3
117.4
116.4
115.3
115.7
114.2
114.9
112.3
109.3
121.1
120.6
136.5
150.2
137.6
123.9
119.3
116.4
118.8
119.4
120.6
119.3
121.4
121.5
124.2
121.9
122.3
121.4
119.2
118.2
118.5
117.7
118.8
116.1
110.8
138.2
151.0
139.5
127.3
122.5
115.0
116.2
115.3
117.2
114.3
115.3
116.3
118.0
116.6
115.2
114.0
111.9
111.2
111.3
111.0
111.7
109.0
107.7
St. Louis, Scranton,
M o.
Pa.
100.0
116.7
117.9
134.2
148.9
135.4
123.1
118.5
115.1
117.0
117.7
120.6
118.8
120.7
122.4
125.0
124.1
124.5
123.2
121.4
119.9
120.4
120. 5
121.7
118.3
113.9
100.0
121.9
125.0
137.1
151.5
139.1
128.2
126.3
120.9
122.4
122.4
125.8
122.4
125.8
127.0
132.0
129.0
129.8
128.2
128.5
126.9
127.8
126.3
127.3
123. 5
119.5
Cost of Living in the United States and in Foreign
Countries
HE trend of cost of living in the United States and in various
foreign countries since 1913 is shown by the index numbers in the
following table, in so far as data are available from official sources
for the several countries. Only those countries are presented for
which the index numbers include all or most of the items usually
combined under the term “ cost of living.” Details for the items of
food, clothing, fuel and light, and rent in most of the countries were
published in the Labor Review for February, 1931.
Caution should be observed in the use of these figures, since not
only are there differences in the base periods and in the number and
kind of articles included and the number of markets represented,
T
93
UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES
but also there are radical differences of method in the construction
of the index numbers. Moreover, monetary inflations in certain
countries seriously affect, of course, the index numbers.
I N D E X N U M B E R S OF COST OF L IV IN G IN T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S A N D I N F O R E IG N
C O U N T R IE S , 1913 T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
Country. -
United
States
Number of
localities.
32
Canada Belgium
60
59
Czecho
slovakia
Den
mark
Finland
France
Ger
many
Ireland
Italy
Prague
200
21
Paris
71
200
M ilan
Food,
Food,
clothing, Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
clothing,
clothing, clothing, clothing, clothing, clothing,
fuel and clothing, clothing, clothing,
Commod
fuel and
light,
fuel and fuel and fuel ana
fuel,
fuel and fuel and fuel anc fuel and
ities in
light,
light,
light,
rent,
rent,
Ught,
Ught,
light,
light,
Ught,
cluded. _
rent,
rent,
house
rent,
taxes,
rent,
rent,
rent,
rent,
rent,
taxes,
furnish sundries sundries sundries
sundries sundries sundries sundries
etc.
etc.
ings, etc.
Bureau
Comput
Depart
of Labor
ing agen
Statis ment of
cy________
Labor
tics
B ase p e
riod.........
1913.............
1914.............
1915-...........
1916.............
1917.............
1918.............
1919.............
1920.............
1921............
1922.............
1923.............
1924...........
Dec__
1925.............
Dec—
1926.............
Dec___
1927.............
D ec1928:
M ar
June. _
Sept
Dec—
1929:
Jan
Feb
M ar
Apr
M ay
Ju ne..
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
N ov
Dec—
1930:
Jan
Feb
M ar
Apr
Ju ne,.
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
N o v .,..
Dec___
1913
1913
100
100
1 103
i 105
1 118
i 142
i 174
i 199
i 200
1 174
i 170
i 173
1 103
1 107
i 124
1 143
1 162
1 176
1 190
i 161
1 157
i 159
M in
Depart
istry of Office of
ment of
Statis
Labor
Statis
and
tics
tics
Industry
1921
2 100
156
2 90
2109
690
692
707
721
703
710
735
739
734
178
160
176
157
172
157
170
156
155
157
158
203
204
209
216
730
734
749
725
158
157
157
156
156
156
156
159
159
160
160
160
216
217
216
214
214
213
216
225
229
229
228
727
730
736
728
726
726
743
733
717
716
718
7105
160
160
159
157
157
157
156
155
152
152
152
151
226
238
232
226
224
224
227
229
230
22 $
228
223
7 106
7 106
7 104
7103
7103
M ay
7105
7103
7105
7103
7 102
7 101
noi
170
171
167
161
* December.
* July.
* January-June.
2 100
2 211
2 262
2 237
100
137
2 133
143
a 174
199
2 204
207
171
July,
1914
January- JanuaryJune,
1913-14
June,
1914
1914
3 100
221
2199
2 204
2 214
2 2 x9 "
2 184
2 176
1 1172
1 1157
1147
1170
1217
3 100
* 100
3 238
5 341
s 307
5 302
5 334
1 142
6 377
135
July,
1914
1197
1183
1197
1207
1243
1214
1219
1249
1260
173
174
1242
1232
1229
1219
6 421
141
6 545
144
2 182
«498
151
2 171
531
6 507
151
151
152
153
2 100
173
172
170
167
165
162
2 185
1181
1165
1154
1134
1115
1108
1128
1144
1130
1109
2 183
« 519
6 519
6 531
6 547
6 555
6 555
6 565
6 565
6 572
» 592
1101
1083
2 180
2 188
1210
1215
1223
1232
1230
1236
1228
1207
JanuaryJune,
1914
3 100
114
146
197
285
327
442
541
501
494
527
573
611
649
654
657
1212
4 October, 1913; January, April, and June, 1914.
« April-June.
Com
Depart
mission Federal ment of M unici
for
Statis Industry
pal
Study of
tical
and
Adm in
Cost of Bureau
Com istration
Living
merce
2 116
2 136
2 155
2 182
3 125
173
July,
1914
Central
Statis
tical
Office
”* 6~597*i
153
154
157
154
154
153
154
154
154
154
153
153
152
150
149
147
147
148
149
149
147
145
144
142
531
530
526
538
177
173
174
179
179
168
168
168
541
544
561
551
542
544
542
537
540
545
546
549
549
543
538
534
529
531
531
527
522
525
523
508
6 Quarter ending with months
7- In gold.
94
COST OF LIVING
I N D E X N U M B E R S OF C O S T O F L IV IN G IN T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A N D IN F O R E IG N
C O U N T R IE S , 1913 T O D E C E M B E R , 1930-Continued
C ountry..
Nether
Norway
lands
Number of Amster
dam
localities.
Commod
All com
ities in modities
cluded. .
30
Poland
Sweden
Swit
zerland
Warsaw
49
33
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
Food,
clothing, clothing, clothing, clothing, clothing,
fuel,
fuel,
fuel,
fuel,
fuel,
light,
light,
light,
light,
light,
rent,
rent.
rent,
rent,
rent,
sundries sundries sundries sundries sundries
C o m p u t
ing
cy-
Bureau
of
Statis
tics
Central
Statis
tical
Office
B a s e pe
riod____
19111913
July,
January,
1914
1914
191
191
191
191
191
191
191
192
192
192
192
192
United
K ing
dom
1914
Food,
fuel,
light,
rent,
Minis
try of
Labor
Office of
Census
and Sta
tistics
June,
July,
1914
1914
1914
Central
Board Federal
Statis
of Social Labor
tical
Welfare
Office
Office
July,
South
Africa
Austra
lia
Zealand
Bombay
30
25
Food,
clothing,
fuel,
light,
rent
Food,
gro
ceries,
rent
Food,
clothing,
fuel,
light,
rent,
sundries
Labor
Office
July,
1914
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
D ec.
267
177
"236
168
"216
115
170
197
121
168
167
162
161
160
162
151
170
169
168
196
195
187
184
119
122
122
125
160
161
161
162
164
165
165
168
132
132
131
131
145
148
145
148
175
175
173
173
183
183
182
181
181
181
182
184
182
182
182
180
125
128
125
125
125
123
123
123
123
124
125
126
161
161
161
159
160
161
161
162
163
163
162
162
167
165
166
162
161
160
161
163
164
165
167
167
131
131
132
132
132
332
131
131
131
130
130
129
149
149
149
148
147
147
148
149
149
149
150
150
179
179
177
177
176
177
176
177
176
175
175
173
121
118
117
117
116
116
119
117
117
117
119
118
161
160
159
158
158
158
159
159
159
158
157
156
166
164
161
157
155
154
155
157
157
156
157
155
129
129
129
129
129
129
128
128
126
126
126
126
147
145
142
141
141
141
140
137
137
132
128
1222
1 190
i 176
1 178
100
*100
2 100
1 139
9 166
2 219
2 257
2 270
2 236
a 190
2 174
2 171
2 176
'7172
192 7
D e c ..
1911
181
2 142
i 177
1205
»100
8 117
»146
8 190
8 253
8 275
8 302
«302
8 255
8 239
192 5
D ec.
192 6
D ec— .
Bureau
Census
of
and Sta
Census
tistics
and Sta
Office
tistics
108
111
126
130
129
134
148
175
167
156
168
166
165
170
172
176
174
174
177
3
4
5
6
204
222
224
200
164
164
2 100
2 125
2 148
2 180
2 203
2 208
2 252
2 219
2 184
2 169
2 170
181
2 173
177
2 170
179
2 166
New
India
100
105
112
122
131
145
179
162
135
131
133
133
133
131
2 100
129
156
132
154
175
183
173
164
154
157
160
155
155
July,
1914
2 100
107
116
129
143
157
178
177
160
158
160
162
164
163
163
162
161
1928:
M a r ..
J u n e..
Sept. .
D e c ..
1929:
J a n ..
F e b ..
M ar.
A p r ..
M ay.
June.
Ju ly.
A u g ..
S e p t ..
O ct.
Nov.
D e c ...
167
167
170
"In '
170
161
6 180
‘ 161
6 180
161
« 180
’ 161
6 180
1930:
Jan__
F e b ..
M ar.
Ap r_.
M ay.
Ju n e..
July
A u g.
S e p t ..
Oct.
N ov
Dec—
163
~162
~162
*157
167
165
‘ 164
163
0 Quarter ending with month.
122
159
6 173
158
6 171
"157
6 165
”«157
155
COST OF LIVING
95
Standard of Living of Employees of Ford Motor Co.
in Detroit
N MAY, 1929, the Ford Motor Co. requested of the International
Labor Office information as to the minimum wage rates which
that company would need to pay in 17 European cities where the
Ford Co. had or contemplated having automobile plants, in order
that the employees in each of these cities would be able to maintain
the same general standard of living as that of the company’s employees
in Detroit. The 17 cities for which information was desired were:
Manchester, London, Cork, Paris, Marseilles, Berlin, Frankfort,
Antwerp, Rotterdam, Helsingfors, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Trieste,
Genoa, Barcelona, Warsaw, and Istanbul (Constantinople).
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics agreed, upon request,
to make the basic survey in Detroit. The survey was made in the
early part of 1930.
The purpose was to secure detailed data regarding the living condi
tions and expenses of a representative number of Ford Motor Co.
employees in Detroit who were maintaining a family on the company’s
minimum wage of $7 per day. The report gives not only the average
cost of each item in the family budget but also, as far as possible,
gives a description of each item and the quantity purchased, so that
the cost of this budget in each of the foreign cities might be obtained
by “ pricing” each of the quantity items, and totaling the results.
A summary of this report follows:
I
Selection of Families
In m a k in g the study it was believed by the bureau that budgets
from 100 families, covering the full year 1929, would be a sufficiently
representative sample, provided the families selected were of approxi
mately similar type. With this in mind the families canvassed were
restricted to those which met the following requirements:
The husband must have earned approximately $7 per day during the year 1929.
He must have been in the employ of the Ford Motor Co. throughout the year
and have worked at least 225 days.
He must have been the breadwinner in the family, and the family must have
had no material income other than the earnings of the husband.
The family must have consisted of a husband, a wife, and not less tnan two,
nor more than three children. No child must have been more than 16 years of
age on the birthday occurring in 1929.
There must have been no other person living in the family. This excludes
boarders and lodgers and relatives.
There must have been no expenditures for the benefit of persons living outside
the family.
The family must have kept house in a single house, flat, or apartment through
out the year.
Families buying homes could be included when the payment on the home was
fairly comparable to the rental value of a similar house.
The days worked by the husbands ranged from 225, the minimum
set for the study, to 279, and averaged 250 for all husbands.
It was found not to be practicable to adhere absolutely to a $7 daily
rate. It was not until December, 1929, that the $7 minimum was
established in the plant. All of the men for whom the family budget
was obtained received increases in wage rates during the year.
The daily factory earnings of the husbands in these families through
out the year ranged from $6.40 to $7.23 and averaged $6.78 per day.
96
COST OP LIVING
Families who reported an appreciable amount of income other than
the earnings of the husband were eliminated from the study.
Summary of Incomes and Expenditures
T he average earnings of the husband in the families canvassed
was $1,694.63, and the average income from all other sources was
$17.24, making a total average income of $1,711.87. The average
expenditures of the 100 families was $1,719.83. This leaves an
average deficit for all families of $7.96.
Table 1 shows the expenditures of the families during the year,
distributed among the principal classes of items.
T a b l e 1.— A V E R A G E A M O U N T A N D P E R C E N T O F E X P E N D I T U R E F O R E A C H G R O U P
OF IT E M S
[Number of families, 100; average persons per family, 4.5; average equivalent adult males, 3.27; average
income per family, $1,711.87]
Item
Average
yearly
expense
Per
cent of
yearly
Food........ ..................... .
$556.12
32.3
Clothing of—
Husband.............. .
W ife....................... .
Children................
63.59
59.21
87.87
3.7
3.4
5.1
Total, clothing.
Housing_____________
Fuel and light.............
210.67
388.81
103.20
12.2
Item
Average
yearly
expense
Furniture and house furnish
ings..................................................
Life insurance...................... ..........
Street-car and bus fares............. .
Expenses of sickness....................
School expenses________ _______ _
Cleaning supplies______________
Barber............................ ................. .
Miscellaneous expenses.............. .
37.
64.
22.6
6.0
Total expensts................... .
Per^
cent of
yearly
expense
5.2
3.4
6.
16.
12.
2.2
3.8
.4
1.0
.7
175.
10.2
1,719.83
100.0
Table 2 shows the number of families living on, above, or below
their income. Here it is seen that 19 families came out even at the
end of the year. A total of 44 families had living expenses above
their income and closed the year with an average deficit of $130.74.
There were 37 families that lived on less than their income and were
able to make a saving of $133.96 per family. All 100 families con
sidered, the average deficit was $7.96 per family.
T a b l e 2 .— F A M I L I E S L I V I N G O N , A B O V E , A N D B E L O W I N C O M E
Class of family
Number
01 fam
ilies
Families living on income................................
Families living above income......................—
Families living below income...... ...................
19
44
37
All fam ilies...............................................
100
Average
persons
in family
Average
income
Average
expendi
ture
4.5 $1,718.97 $1 718.97
4.5 1,698.28 1,829.01
4.4
1,724.40 1, 590.44
4.5
1,711.87
1,719.83
Average
surplus
Average
deficit
$130.74
$133.96
7.96
Food
D e t a ile d data regarding the quantity and cost of each item of food
purchased during the year were obtained from each of the 100 families
scheduled.
Equivalent adult male.—Food requirements vary according to sex
and age, and in order to secure comparability between families of
97
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EMPLOYEES
different composition it is necessary to ascertain the food requirements
of individuals of different sex and age and convert them into terms of
a common unit of measurement, namely, the equivalent adult male.
Several such scales of equivalents have been proposed, but as there is
no general agreement on any one of them, the bureau has used in this
study the same scale it has used in previous budgetary studies.
This scale, using the food requirements of an adult male, engaged at
moderate muscular labor, as a basis of 1.00, expresses the require
ments of other persons as percentages thereof, as follows: Adult
female, 0.90; child 11 to 14 years, 0.90; child 7 to 10 years, 0.75; child
4 to 6 years, 0.40; child 3 years or under, 0.15.
On this basis the 100 Detroit families covered in the present inquiry
contained an average of 3.27 “ equivalent adult males.” Other tables
of equivalents, when applied to these same families, give averages
ranging from 3.01 to 3.51 equivalent adult males.
As regards the laboriousness of the work done by the husbands in
these families, it is evident that on the average they fall in the class of
those engaged in “ moderate muscular labor.” Many occupations
were represented, but few if any required any unusually hard muscular
work.
Data regarding the average quantity and cost of each of the principal
groups of food articles are given in Table 3:
T a b l e 3 .— A V E R A G E Q U A N T I T Y A N D C O S T O F S P E C IF IE D A R T IC L E S O F F O O D
C O N SU M E D PE R F A M IL Y A N D P E R E Q U IV A L E N T A D U L T M A L E IN O N E Y E A R IN
100 F A M I L I E S
[Average size of family— 4.5 persons, equivalent to 3.27 adult males]
Average quantity con
sumed per—
Average cost per—
Article
M ea t.......................................
Sea food...................... ...........
M ilk and milk products..
Fats and oils.....................
Cereals and starch_______________________ _______________
Sugars.............................................................. ...............................
Fruits, fresh-------------------------------------------------------------------Fruits, dried...................................................... ............... ...........
Fruits, canned and preserved................. ......... ......... ...........
Vegetables, fresh-------------------------------------------------------------Vegetables, dried.........................................................................
Vegetables, canned..................................... ...................... .......
Miscellaneous vegetable foods.............................................. ..
Miscellaneous items:
Gelatin, canned soup, tea, coffee, coffee substitutes.
Other fo o d s .................................................................... ..
Lunches and meals bought............................................ .......
Total, all food..
Average per d a y.........
Ice....................................
Grand total including ice..
Average per day, including ic e ..
Family
Equivalent
adult male
Pounds
Pounds
383.4
33.3
1,306.5
82.1
121.3
993.2
213.5
497.9
117.06
10.20
Fam ily
$114.53
9.50
120.83
15. 52
36.57
86.93
16.21
32.89
3.01
6.40
36.60
3.89
10.71
3.39
Equivalent
adult male
$34.99
2.90
36.91
4.75
11.17
26.56
4.96
10.06
.92
1.95
11.19
1.19
3.26
1.04
31.7
957.2
63.5
99.4
11.9
399.11
25.05
37.07
303.44
65.23
152.10
6.40
9.69
292.36
19.42
30.33
3.66
56.0
15.9
2 93.0
17.11
1 1.80
20.32
6.22
12.20
3.73
2 28.41
19.68
6.01
3 4,970.8
313.6
1,293.0
31,518. 44
3 4.16
395.01
549.18
1.50
6.94
167.81
.46
556.12
1.52
169.93
.47
21 .0
2.12
1 N ot including items for which quantities are not reported and which are not significant.
2 Estimated pounds based on 113.6 lunches and other meals per family.
8 N ot including insignificant items for which quantities are not reported.
The analysis of food content as presented in Table 4, is based on a
table of equivalents, prepared by the Bureau of Home Economics of
98
COST OF LIVING
the Department of Agriculture, giving the number of calories and the
amount of protein, calcium, phosphorous, and iron, in each pound of
each food item.
T a b l e 4 .— A N A L Y S I S O F F O O D C O N T E N T P E R E Q U I V A L E N T A D U L T M A L E , P E R D A Y
Item
Calories
Average of 100 Detroit families........ ................. .
Standard______________________________________
3,236.5
3,000-3,500
Protein
(grams)
96.9
70-101
Calcium
(grams)
Phos
phorous
(grams)
0.957
0.70-1.02
1.58
0.016
1.32-2.75 0 .015-. 023
Iron
(grams)
It would appear from these comparisons that the food consumption
of the Detroit families was, on the average, sufficient in quantity and
well balanced as regards the important constituents of protein, cal
cium, phosphorous, and iron.
Clothing
The average outlay for clothing per year per family was $210.67,
representing 12.2 per cent of the total family expenditures.
The average expenditure for clothing for the 100 husbands, $63.59
for the year, absorbed 3.7 per cent of all the family expenditures. Of
the husbands' clothing expense, 43 per cent was for outer garments,
25 per cent for footwear, 7 per cent for underwear, and 6 per cent for
headgear.
On an average the husband appears to buy a felt hat once in about
every 2 years, a wool suit every 2y2years, an overcoat every 7 years,
and a sweater or “ lumberjack" every 3 years. Five shirts, 2 ties, 2
cotton union suits, 14 pairs of cotton socks and 1 pair of silk or rayon
socks, 1 pair of garters, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of leather work gloves,
and 9 pairs of cotton work gloves were purchased by each husband,
on the average, during the year. The husband usually buys shirts
with collars attached; the replacement on separate collars was only 1
every 2K years.
The men's felt hats cost on an average $3.68 each, the caps $1.41,
the wool suits $27.43, overcoats, $23.75, cotton shirts $1.14, cotton
imion suits $1.34, cotton socks 24 cents, and silk or rayon socks 54
cents a pair. High shoes averaged $4.23 and low shoes averaged
$4.56 a pair, leather work gloves 39 cents, and cotton gloves 21 cents.
The value of clothing for the 100 wives, $59.21 per year, absorbed
3.4 per cent of all expenditures. For the wives, 44 per cent of their
clothing expenditures was for outer garments, 26 per cent for foot
wear, 15 per cent for underwear, and 6 per cent for headgear. From
the standpoint of replacement of the principal articles of clothing, the
wife purchased, on an average, a wool coat every 2% years, 3 hats every
2 years, a pair of cotton gloves every 2 years, and a corset and bras
siere every 2 years. During the year she purchased 2 dresses, 4
pairs of cotton stockings, 4 pairs of silk or rayon stockings, 2 pairs of
shoes, 3 house dresses, 2 petticoats or slips, 2 pairs of bloomers, a
nightgown, and a pair of house slippers.
The wife's wool coat averaged in cost $25.09, the hat $2.55, cotton
gloves $0.89, corset $2.63, and brassiere $0.53. The cotton dress had
an average cost of $1.74 and the silk or rayon dress $7.51, the cotton
99
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EM PLOYEES
stockings $0.35, and the silk or rayon stockings $1.01 a pair. The
shoes averaged $4.27 for the low and $5.25 for the high shoes, the house
dresses $1.04, the cotton petticoats or slips $0.76, and the silk or rayon
petticoats or slips $1.31. The cotton bloomers averaged $0.57 and
the silk or rayon bloomers $0.85, the cotton nightgowns $0.87, and
the house slippers $0.98.
The average expenditure for clothing for children amounted to
$87.87 per year for the 100 families and constituted 5.1 per cent of all
expenditures. This expenditure clothed an average of 2.45 children
per family.
In the detailed analysis of the cost of children’s clothing (as pre
sented in the original report) the data have been divided according
to age groups for each sex. These age groups are arbitrary, but rep
resent the ages at which the demands for clothing tend to change
most markedly. The kind of article, as well as the cost price, changes
with the age. Boys were found in 76 families and girls in 83 families.
Fifty-nine families had both boys and girls. The age groups, together
with the number of children in each age group and the average age of
these children, are given in Table 5.
T a b l e 5 — D IS T R I B U T I O N
OF C H IL D R E N IN
Age group
Under 4 years...............- ........................................................... ..
4 and under 8 years...................... ..................................... .......
8 and under 12 years............................... ...................................
12 and under 15 years................................................................
15 and 16 years..............................................................................
F A M IL IE S
ST U D IE D , B Y
AGE
Boys
Girls
N um N um
ber of ber of
families chil
having
dren
N um N um
ber of
Aver
ber of
age age families chil
having
dren
27
28
34
28
29
38
10
11
3
3
1.9,
5 .1 '
9.5
12.7
15.7
23
40
35
12
8
25
48
40
14
9
GROUP
Aver
age age
1.9
5.4
9.4
13.2
15.6
Housing Expenses
The dwellings occupied by these families were classified into
single houses, flats, and apartments. A single house is a house occu
pied by one family only. A flat is a building in which each family
occupies one whole floor, each flat usually having a separate entrance.
An apartment is a building having living quarters for several families
with two or more families to a floor and usually a common entrance.
The majority of the families covered in the study (61) were living
in 1-family houses, 32 families in flats, and 7 in apartments.
Living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens were counted in the number
of rooms in these homes, but bathrooms, pantries, attics, and cellars
were not. The kitchen was included because this room, in the
homes of the working-class families, often serves as a dining room
and sitting room as well as a room for the preparation of the family
meals. In this study, 22 families had dining room and kitchen com
bined, 3 families had living room and dining room combined, while
another family had living room, dining room, and kitchen combined.
Table 6 presents a picture of the construction and equipment of
the dwellings occupied, both rented and owned.
100
COST OF LIVING
T a b l e 6 .— C O N S T R U C T I O N A N D E Q U I P M E N T O F D W E L L I N G S
Type of dwelling
i.tClLL
House
Number of families
__ __
A vera ge n u m ber o f room.*? per fa m ily ___ .. .
A vera ge nu m ber o f persons per fam ily., .
.
_ _
........
,
Type of construction:
Frame_____ _________________ _________ _____________________________
Brick____________________________________________ _________________
Interior:
Plaster_____________________________ _________________ _______________
W allboard.........................................................................................................
Rooms in addition to living rooms:
Pantry______________________________________ _______________
. „
A ttic________ _______ _____________________________________ _________
Cellar____________________ _____ ___,
................... ........... .. ..........
Bathroom________________________ . .. .................................. ...............
Sanitation:
Running water, inside—_________ ______________________________
Running hot water___________ _____________________ _______ _______
Running water, in yard_____ __
W ater-closetInside............................................ ................... ......... ................... ...........
Privy________________________________________ ________________
Stationary laundry tubs__________ __________ _________________ ____
Sink____________________________________________________ _____ ______
Sewer connection_______________ _________________________________
Flat
Apartment
61
4.8
15
32
4.6
4.4
7
4.1
4.4
59
31
2
2
1
5
49
32
7
12
14
33
27
39
23
26
7
7
58
33
25
32
25
15
7
7
3
49
30
7
12
20
2
12
6
58
51
32
31
7
7
11
8
Table 7 shows the number of families living in rented dwellings,
the average size of the families, the number of rooms per family,
the number of families living in dwellings having a specified number of
rooms, and the average rent paid during the year. For the families
living in apartments and flats, the cost of heat was included in the
rent in 7 cases and the light in 2 instances. In order to include these
families in the housing and the fuel and light tables, it was necessary to
estimate the cost of heat and light and deduct this amount from the
rent. These estimates were based on the cost of heat and light to
other families who occupied flats and apartments of the same number
of rooms and the same type of heating system. The rent of a garage
was included in the house rent of 18 families.
T a b l e 7 .— N U M B E R O F F A M I L I E S L I V I N G I N R E N T E D D W E L L I N G S W I T H S P E C IF IE D
N U M B E R OF R O O M S, A N D A V E R A G E A N N U A L R E N T
Type of dwelling
Total
Item
House
Number of families_______________________________________
Average number of persons per family__________________
Average room s per family________________________________
Number of families occupying dwellings having—
Less than 3 rooms____________________________________
3 rooms_______________________________________________
4 rooms_______________________________________________
5 rooms............... ....................................................... ...............
6 rooms.
__ _ ______________________________________
Bathroom____________________________________________
Inside water-closet___________________________________
Average number of rooms equipped for heating_________
Average rent per year—
Per dwelling................................................. , .........................
Per room_____________________________________________
Per p e rso n ___________________________________________
Flat
29
4.6
4.7
Apartment
32
4.4
4.6
7
4.4
4.1
68
4.5
4.6
1
1
11
3
3
4
26
29
5
26
30
3.8
7
7
3.9
52
60
3.5
$381.64
8S. 08
86.61
$425.76
102.77
96.14
$391.47
85.59
87.57
2
2
9
15
3
19
23
3.1
14
$394.03
84.64
86.57
8
101
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EMPLOYEES
The housing payment for the 32 families purchasing their homes
was $512.10 per family, distributed as follows:
Paid on principal____________________________________ $233. 90
Paid on interest-____________________________________
137. 05
Taxes------ ---------------------------------------------------------------79. 39
Special assessments__________________________________
4. 53
Repairs and improvements____________________ _______
42. 12
Water rent__________________________________________
8. 05
Insurance___________________________________________
7. 06
Total_________________________________________
Rental value of owned home--------------------------------------Payments above rental value of owned home___________
512. 10
375. 31
136. 79
It will be observed that the average rental value of these owned
homes was $375.31, as compared with $391.47—the rent paid by the
families that rented. These families thus not only paid the equivalent
of a rental charge but paid in addition an average of $136.79 on their
homes. This latter sum may be regarded as representing savings and
has been so treated in balancing the several budgets.
The number of persons per family for the home-owning families
averaged 4.4 and the average number of rooms was 4.8, as compared
with an average of 4.6 rooms per family reported by the renting
families. ^Regarding the number of rooms in the owned homes, 13
families lived in dwellings of 5 rooms, 8 in 4 rooms, 7 in 6 rooms, and
3 in 3 rooms, while 1 family lived in a 7-room house. Twenty of
the 32 owned homes had bathrooms and 26 had inside water-closets.
The number of rooms equipped for heating averaged 3.4 for the
families owning their homes.
Housing Characteristics
Preceding tables have shown the average cost and average con
ditions of housing among the 100 families covered by this survey.
The average, however, is to some extent an abstraction, and for
the purpose of visualizing better the housing of these families the
outstanding characteristics of the housing situation have been iso
lated as well as possible, bringing out the fact that the homes of the
great majority of these 100 families tend toward a definite “ type,”
which is fairly representative of the group as a whole and which is
subject to quite precise description.
Thus, the “ typical” house of these 100 families may be described
as having the characteristics listed below:
(1) The family occupies a separate house or a whole floor in a 2family house. Almost all of the buildings, other than the 7 apart
ment buildings included, were detached frame structures (86 detached,
5 semidetached, 2 row), this being the type prevailing in Detroit.
(2) The house has four or five rooms and bath, all plastered. There
were 34 houses with 4 rooms, 42 with 5 rooms; only 16 with more
than 5 rooms and only 8 with less than 4 rooms. Attics, pantries,
and cellars were frequent but not typical.
(3) The house is equipped with bathroom, inside toilet, running
water inside (65 had hot running water), kitchen sink, and sewer
connection (stationary laundry tubs were frequent but not typical).
(4) All rooms have outside exposure and there are no dark rooms.
(5) The house has one room or more per person. (This was the
situation in 77 of the 100 houses.) The usual arrangement of a 4
1 02
COST OF LIVING
or 5 room house for 4 or 5 persons, consisting of husband, wife, and
2 or 3 children, consists of 2 bedrooms, a living room or a living-dining
room, and a kitchen or a kitchen-dining room.
(6) The house faces an improved street, with street lights (only
15 families lived on unimproved streets).
(7) The house has individual stoves, with half of the rooms equipped
for heating. Central heating, all the rooms being heated, is frequent
but in the minority (44 families). The averages for all rented dwell
ings were: Average rooms per family, 4.6; average number of rooms
equipped for heating, 3.5.
(8) The house is rented. Of the 100 families, 68 were renting,
while 32 were acquiring ownership at the time of the study.
Expenditures for Fuel and Light
T he cost of fuel and light depends upon the type of house as well
as the type of heating plant. This class of expense includes coal,
coke, wood, gas, kerosene, electricity, matches, and candles.
A general distribution of the several items of fuel and light over
all of the 100 families regardless of the number of families using these
articles, results in the following averages:
T a b l e 8 .— A V E R A G E C O N S U M P T IO N A N D E X P E N D I T U R E O F F U E L A N D L I G H T F O R
100 F A M I L I E S
Item
Unit
Average Average
con
expendi
sumption
ture
Anthracite coal___________________________________________________________
Bituminous coal__________________________________________________________
C o k e..
. . . - _____________________________________________________
W ood_____________________________________________________________________
Gas_______________________________________________________________________
Electricity _ _ _
__________________________________________________
T o n................
_____do............
_____do........ ..
.........do_______
1,000 cu. f t . .
K ilo w a tthour.
Kerosene.._- ____________________________________________________________ Gallon...........
Matches and candles__________________________________________________ .
0 .6
4.1
1.3
.4
28.6
407.6
15.7
2.90
1.61
103.20
Total_______________________________________________________________
Average number of rooms per family____________________________________
Average ftnnna.1 cost of heat and light per room________________________
$8.59
34.98
10.41
1.59
22.69
20.43
4.7
22.15
The winters in Detroit are usually cold and considerable fuel is
required for heating, but personal family preferences as to the quantity
of heat and light constitute a considerable factor in the cost of fuel.
Some of the families kept their rooms very warm during the winter
months on account of the small children, while others practiced
economy in fuel and light even to the extent of being uncomfortable.
Expenditures for Furniture and House Furnishings
The annual expense for this purpose for all families averaged
$88.55, or 5.2 per cent of all expenditures. In considering this item
it should be remembered that these were established families and
hence not many were buying much new equipment.
Only the amounts paia during the year were reported for furniture
and house furnishings purchased on the installment plan. The value
of these purchases is discussed under “ Installment buying,” page 107.
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EMPLOYEES
103
In 11 families the amounts spent were exceptionally low, being less
than 2 per cent of the total expenditures, and in 6 of these cases less
than 1 per cent.
In 12 families the expenditures represented new investments rather
than replacement of old articles; in these cases the amount spent
ranged from 9 to 23 per cent of the total expenditures of these families.
These investments included stoves, washing machines, radios, and
pianos. In every case except one, these articles were bought on the
installment plan.
Of the 36 families owning radios, 14 purchased them in 1929 and
expended an average of $44.71. Four families expended $105.31
each on pianos, 2 expended $17 each on phonographs, and 17 families
expended an average of $51.90 on washing machines.
Expenditure for Life Insurance
L ife insurance, in various forms, was carried by 87 of the 100 fam
ilies scheduled. The average insurance amounts and costs are shown
in Table 9.
T a b le 9 — L IF E IN S U R A N C E C A R R IE D B Y F A M IL IE S S T U D IE D
Item
Average for
all ( 100)
fcymilifls
Amount of life insurance carried____________________________________________________ 1 $2,076.00
Annual expenditure__ _______________________________________________ _________ _____
59.16
Averagefor
families
carrying
insurance
i $2,386.00
68.01
i These figures are based on detailed reports of 78 families.
There were 6 families which reported 2 or more policies per person.
Three families, with 4 persons in each family, had 8 policies per
family. One family of 4 persons had 10 policies. One family of 5
persons had 12 policies, and another of the same number of persons
had 13 policies. The premiums in these families ranged from $55.20
to $125.62 and the amounts of insurance from $1,873 to $4,555.
One family, consisting of husband, wife, and three small children,
7, 5, and 3 years old, respectively, living on an income of $1,882 spent
12 per cent of their total annual outlay in insurance premiums.
Street-Car and Bus Fares
U n d e r this head are included street-car, bus, and suburban commut
ing fares for the husband to and from work, for the children to and
from school, and for other purposes, such as shopping by the wife.
The large area covered by the city of Detroit and its suburbs made
it necessary for most of the employees to ride to and from work.
Operations carried on at the Highland Park plant of the Ford Motor
Co. were transferred to the River Rouge plant as rapidly as possible
during 1929. Due to this change, the distance to and from work was
materially increased for many of the workingmen.
Considering all families, the distance to the factory averaged 8.2
miles. Thirty-six families lived less than 5 miles from the factory,
47767°— 31-------8
104
COST OF LIVING
25 lived 5 but less than 10 miles, 24 lived 10 but less than 15 miles,
13 lived 15 but less than 20 miles, and 2 families lived 20 miles from
the husband’s working place.
The number of car and bus rides taken by these families over the
period of the year, and the cost thereof, are shown in Table 10. The
regular cash fare for adults on the street cars was 6 cents, or 9 tickets
for 50 cents. Bus fares were variable, ranging from 10 to 25 cents.
T a b l e 1 0 .— E X P E N D I T U R E O F F A M I L I E S F O R S T R E E T C A R A N D B U S F A R E S
All families
Item
Families purchasing
Average
Average
Average
Num ber of
number of expenditure
expenditure
families
per family
per family
rides
Rides to work_________________ _____________ _________ ___
Rides to school___________________________________________
Other rides._____ ___________________ _____ ___________ ____
404.4
21.7
60.4
$32.10
1.26
4.04
All rides____________________________________________
486.5
37.40
89
8
92
$36.07
15.76
4.39
Expenses of Sickness
The cost of sickness includes the cost of physician, surgeon,
oculist, medicine, nurse, hospital, dentist, and eyeglasses. The
average cost of all of these items for the 100 families included in
this study was $64.23, the distribution by items being shown in Table
11, to which is added also the expenditure incident to a death in
one family.
T a b l e 1 1 .— C H A R A C T E R O F E X P E N D I T U R E S I N C I D E N T T O S IC K N E S S A N D D E A T H
Item
Average ex
penditure
per family
(all families)
Physician and surgeon______________________________________________
Medicine_____________________________________________________________
Nurse________________________________________________________________
Hospital______________________________________________________________
Dentist___________________________________ ______ ________ ____________
Eyeglasses_______________ ___________ _____ _________________________
$38.17
8.99
.40
4. .80
10.74
1.18
Total............................................................................................................
64.23
Undertaker— .....................................................................................................
.50
Families having speci
fied expenditure
Num ber
Average ex
penditure
per family
82
99
$46.55
9.08
2
2 0 .00
7
62
12
68.57
17.32
9.41
1
50.00
In addition to the averages shown above, it is of interest to note
that in 19 of these families serious illnesses occurred in which the
cost was over $100 during the year.
The death of a child occurred in one family and the birth of a
child in seven other families. In two of these families doctor bills
were still owing at the end of the year.
Table 12 shows the distribution of health expense for these families.
105
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EMPLOYEES
T a b l e 1 2 .— C L A S S IF IE D E X P E N D I T U R E O F 100 F A M I L I E S F O R P H Y S I C I A N , S U R G E O N ,
M E D I C I N E , N U R S E , H O S P IT A L , D E N T I S T , A N D E Y E G L A S S E S
Average
Number expendi
of families ture per
family
Expenditure class
Under $25....................................
$25 and under $50............. .........
$50 and under $75 _ ...............
$75 and under $100_______ _____
$100 and under $125__________
$125 and under $150
$150 and under $175_ .................
$175 and under $200...................
28
29
13
11
5
5
2
2
$11.67
37.21
60.92
86.81
109.60
139.09
160.00
182.00
Average
N um ber expendi
of families ture per
family
Expenditure class
$200 and
$225 and
$250 and
$275 and
$300 and
under $225.
under $250..... ............
under $275_______
under $300___________
over..... ......................... ..
1
1
$214.00
239.00
1
2
280.00
305.00
T o t a l...................................
100
64.23
School Expenses
M ost of the 100 families scheduled had some school expenses as
shown in some detail in Table 13. It was impracticable to obtain
unit costs for these items.
T a b l e 1 3 .— S C H O O L E X P E N S E S
Item
Average
expenditure
per family
(all families)
Tuition__________________________________________________________
Books___________________________________ - _______________________
Other____________________________________________________________
$2.44
1.50
2.47
T o t a l_____________________________________________________
6.41
Families having specified
expenditure
Number
16
25
74
Average ex
penditure
per family
$15.26
6.0 1
3.34
Expenditures for Cleaning Supplies
A lthough two of the families covered made at home a large part
of the soap used for laundry purposes, household cleaning supplies
may be regarded as an unavoidable form of expenditure. The
expenditures for this purpose are shown in Table 14.
T a b l e 1 4 .— E X P E N D I T U R E F O R C L E A N IN G S U P P L IE S
Item
Soap_______ ______________________________________________________
Soap powder_____________________________________________________
Other cleaning supplies_________________________________________
Total__________________________________ ______ _____________
Average
expenditure
per family
(all families)
$8 .0 0
7.09
1.55
Families having specified
expenditure
Number
99
96
75
Average ex
penditure
per family
$8.08
7.38
2.07
16.64
The number of bars of laundry soap used by the families for whom
this information was reported varied from 52 to 208 per year, the
large majority using 104 bars a year, or 2 per week. The unit cost
ranged from 3% to 8 cents per bar according to weight and kind of
soap, and also according to whether purchases were made in large or
small quantities.
106
COST OF LIVING
Barber Expenses
C lose economy was practiced by several families in the case of
barber work, the children’s hair cutting and at times the father’s
being done at home. All families, however, reported some expendi
ture for this item, the average per family being $12.37 per year.
The usual unit expenditure for the husband’s hair cut was 50 cents.
Most of the husbands shaved themselves, but when done at the barber
shop the customary unit cost was 25 cents. A few wives had their
hair trimmed at barber shops, the customary reported unit cost being
50 cents. Very few wives of the families studied patronized beauty
shops.
Miscellaneous Expenses
W ith few exceptions the items listed here as miscellaneous may
be regarded as the “ optional” items in the family budget. Many of
them are, of course, essential to a well-rounded budget, but no in
dividual item can be so regarded. Thus, recreation of some kind is
highly desirable for every one, but whether this is secured by means
of an automobile, a bicycle, an annual vacation, or playground activi
ties is largely a matter of individual choice. Again, intellectual
stimulus is important, but whether this is obtained through books,
or lectures, or concerts, or evening schools is also largely a matter of
individual choice.
Radios and musical instruments have been included under furni
ture and house furnishings, but might well be considered as being
among the optional miscellaneous items.
The expenditure per family on this group of miscellaneous items
was $175.77 per year, or 10.2 per cent of the total budget. By far
the largest single item was for automobile purchase and upkeep
($76.78). The distribution of these miscellaneous items is shown in
detail in Table 15. For many of the items, information regarding
quantity purchased and unit costs could not be ascertained.
T a b l e 1 5 .— E X P E N D I T U R E P E R F A M I L Y F O R M I S C E L L A N E O U S I T E M S I N O N E Y E A R
Families pur- \
Aver
chasing
age ex
pendi
Aver
ture per
age exfamily N um
pendi(all fam ber
ture per
ilies)
family
Item
Accident insurance...... .........
Personal property insurance
Church and other religious
organizations.................. —
Lodges, clubs, and societies.
Charity....................................._
Gifts outside family— .........
Motion pictures......................
Plays and concerts..............
Dances........................................
Other amusements.................
Excursions................................
Vacation (out of city)...........
Travel (not vacation)...........
Newspapers.
Mag '
Boo]
Postage.
1 Average number
2 Average number
3 Average number
* Average number
$0.48
.7 0
9.62
LOS
1.53
5.66
15.55
2.03
.1 1
.69
.26
2.59
3.32
12.06
3 1.46
4.2 0
1.63
4
8
79
9
63
40
86
2
3
19
9
7
11
100
48
7
99
$12.05
8.75
12.17
11.67
2.43
14.15
6.45
1.50
3.70
3.63
2 .8 6
37.00
30.22
12.06
3 04
Item
M usic lessons........................
Tools....................... ....... ...........
Laundry work sent out____
Toilet articles..........................
Toilet preparations________
Telephone.................................
M oving................................ ..
Bicycle................................—
Automobile, cost...... .............
Automobile, upkeep----------Garage rent..............................
Servant and daywork wages
Other miscellaneous expense
Total
Families pur
Aver
chasing
age ex
pendi
Aver
ture per
age ex
family N um
pendi
(all fam ber
ture per
ilies)
family
$2.61
19.08
1.29
4.23
4.66
9.02
1. 71
2.06
.36
40.11
36.67
1.78
1.08
4.17
175.77
2 .8 8
1.65
of tickets to motion pictures in the 100 families was 33.
of tickets to plays and concerts in the 100 families was 0.1.
of copies of magazines and periodicals in the 100 families was 10.6 .
of books purchased in the 100 families was 0 . 2 .
9
84
21
22
98
99
43
19
1
19
47
6
5
79
$28.97
22.72
6.15
19.23
4.75
9.11
3.97
10.82
35.98
211.13
7& 02
29.67
21.56
5.26
STANDARD OF LIVING— FORD EMPLOYEES
107
Home Conveniences
T h e foUowing data regarding the home conveniences enjoyed by the
100 families covered in the survey, while not presenting a very vivid
picture of the surroundings of these families, do portray in a way
some of the factors that enter into the standard of living:
Families having—
N um ber
Families having—
Num ber
Automobile__________________
47
Piano________________________ 13
Radio set____________________
36
Phonograph__________________ 45
Radio loud speaker___________
35
Washing machine:
Sewing machine:
2
Hand___________________
Foot____________________
75
Electric_________________
49
Electric_________________
5
Electrical appliances:
Vacuum cleaner:
Iron______ ______________
98
Hand___________________
2
Fan_____________________
4
19
Electric_________________
Toaster._______ _________
6
Telephone___________________
5
The following data present some idea of the appearance of the homes
of these workingmen:
Families having—
Number
Screens:
Window_________________ 95
Door____________________ 96
Wall finish:
Living room—
Painted_____________
White plaster________
Papered_____________ 9
Rough plaster_______
Dining room—
Painted_____________
1
White plaster________
Papered-------------------- 8
Rough plaster_______
Rugs:
Living room_____________ 94
Dining room_____________ 90
Families having—
Number
Pictures on wall:
Living room______ ______
83
Dining room______ ______
60
Window shades:
Living room______ ______ 100
Dining room______ ______
99
Window curtains:
Living room_____ ______
99
Dining room______ ______
98
Window draperies:
Living room. _
______
15
Dining room _____ ______
12
Heat:
Stove___________________
56
Hot air.._ ______ ______
28
Steam________
_______
13
Hot water________ ______
3
Installment Buying
T h e term “ installment buying” means the purchase and delivery
of an article for which the price is to be paid in fixed portions, at stated
intervals, and usually with a payment of part of the purchase price at
the time of taking possession of the goods.
Articles were being bought on the installment plan by 59 of the 100
amilies included in this study. The majority of them, 35, were payng on purchases made in 1929. Eleven families were paying install
ments on articles bought in 1928 and 1929, 10 on 1928 purchases only,
1 on 1927 purchases only, 1 on 1927 and 1929 purchases, and 1 family
was still paying on a living-room suite, a dining-room suite, and a
phonograph purchased in 1925.
Furniture (in either suites or separate articles) and house furnish
ings are the commodities most frequently purchased on the install
ment plan. The articles of furniture and house furnishings on which
installment payments were made by 16 families were principally
separate pieces, such as day beds, chairs, refrigerators, dressers, rugs,
mattresses, and bed springs, but 13 families were purchasing suites of
furniture for the living room, dining room, or bedroom.
108
COST OF LIVING
Automobiles were the next most popular article bought on install
ment, 14 families having purchased them; 13 families were making
installment payments on washing machines.
Table 16 shows the articles being bought on the installment plan
divided into 11 classifications. Since 25 of these families bought
more than 1 commodity during the year, the total number of families
appearing in the table is greater than the number of families making
payments. The table also shows averages of income, expenditure,
cost of articles, and amount paid during the year, as well as the
number of families who still owed money for such items at the close
of the year and the average amount remaining due. Unless other
wise noted, the furniture purchased consisted of individual pieces.
Payments made prior to 1929 on articles carried over into 1929
are not shown in the table.
T a b l e 1 6 .— A V E R A G E I N C O M E A N D E X P E N D I T U R E O F F A M I L I E S B U Y I N G O N I N
S T A L L M E N T , A V E R A G E C O S T P R IC E O F A R T I C L E , A N D A V E R A G E A M O U N T P A ID
Families reporting
Item
N um
ber
Furniture (separate pieces) and house
furnishings................. ................. . ...............
Automobiles. ...................................................
Furniture suites __ _ ____________________
Washing machines....................................... .
R a d io s .............................. ................. .............
Stoves_________________ ___________ ______
Sewing machines._______________________
Musical instrum ents._____ ______________
Vacuum cleaners. ..........................................
Bicycle___________________________________
Husband’s suit.................................................
16
14
13
13
12
9
5
5
4
1
1
Average
annual
income
Average
annual
expendi
ture
$1,738.65
1,757.61
1,712.28
1,692.25
1,665.98
1,690.78
1,767.40
1,672.77
1,706.01
1,707.00
1,562.44
$1,810.59
1,859.76
1,741.52
1,745.25
1,732.02
1,800.14
1,813.30
1,722.27
1,733.51
1, 782.50
1,803.91
Article purchased
Owing at end
of year
Average N um
Average amount
ber of Average
cost
paid dur fami amount
price
ing year
lies
$51. .55
427.00
184.78
133.17
146.38
44.01
94.00
232.40
45.00
35.98
45.00
$34.40
244.75
73.97
48.22
44.83
24.64
22.14
89.05
7
9
10.00
2
$14.06
192.62
105.85
76.04
105.59
21.71
75.76
125.15
58.75
35.98
30.00
1
15.00
10
9
11
6
3
5
Cost of Living of Federal Employees
N ACCORDANCE with the arrangements made with the Per
sonnel Classification Board the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1928
Imade
a survey of the income and expenses of the families of 506 Federal
employees in the lower salary groups in the cities of Baltimore, Boston,
New York, Chicago, and New Orleans.
Some of the principal findings of the study were:
The Government salary constituted but 78 per cent of the total
family income in New Orleans. In the other cities it was still lower,
being only 68 per cent in Chicago.
In the several cities from 15 to 33 per cent of the husbands in these
Federal families do outside work to add to the family income.
From 15 to 32 per cent of these Government employees’ wives go
out from the home to work elsewhere for money.
Children work and contribute to the family fund in many families.
A few families take in boarders and lodgers.
Some families are helped by relatives and friends by gifts of food,
clothing, and other things.
In a few families there is an income from interest on savings or from
rents on property owned,
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
1 09
Food is the main item of expense, ranging from 28 to 36 per cent
in the different cities, and the smaller the income the greater the per
cent of the expenditure for food, for people must have food though
clothing be shabby and the house crowded.
Only from 2 to 10 per cent of the families live within the Govern
ment salary of the husband.
From 48 to 69 per cent of the families had expenses above the
entire income from all sources.
Only from 10 to 20 per cent of all families had a Government salary
on ana after July 1, 1928, sufficient to meet expenses equal to those
of the year then ending.
The families living in rented homes range from 41 per cent in Bal
timore to 95 per cent in New York.
The full report of the survey was published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The following is a summary of that report.
Expenses in all the groups of items, food, clothing, housing, etc.,
vary as between cities, but because the average family of one city
spends more for food, for example, than the average family in another
city, conclusions can not be drawn with certainty that the differences
in the amount spent show actual difference in cost of the various
articles consumed as between the cities. There is a difference in the
kind of article consumed in different cities, and in the quantity, and
there is also a decidedly important, though highly intangible, differ
ence in the quality of articles consumed. This intangible element
makes it impossible to give any figures showing a possible differential
as between cost of living in the different cities.
The inquiry included the families of laborers, watchmen, engineers,
inspectors, guards, clerks, and accountants and technical workers of
the lower salaries. A few colored families are included. One class
only was excepted from the study, namely, postal employees. Such
employees are given separate consideration by Congress in fixing
salaries.
The study was limited to the families of male workers who were in
the employ of the Federal Government for a year or longer, who were
married and living with their wives, and who had at least one de
pendent in the family. The study was restricted still further to fami
lies in which the male head had a Government salary not exceeding
$2,500 in the year ending June 30, 1928, without regard to retirement
deductions and without regard to any outside income. Approximately
100 representative families were canvassed in each city.
The word “ dependent” used above is interpreted as a child or other
person supported entirely by the family and contributing all earnings,
if any, to the common family fund.
Although the schedule covers the year ending June 30, 1928, as a
part of the study, inquiry was also made as to the salary of the hus
band on and after July 1, 1928, when many salary increases were
made. The purpose of this inquiry was to determine how nearly the
new salary approximated the cost of living of the preceding year.
Table 1 shows the constituents of. the average family of each city.
As before stated, the families for which schedules were obtained had
a husband, a wife, and at least one dependent. Only dependent
children are tabulated as children. Some families have dependents
other than children and some have boarders and lodgers.
110
COST OF LIVING
The term “ boarder” has a broad application in this table. It
includes any person getting meals and lodging in the family but who
is otherwise independent of the family; it includes persons who are
not related to the family; and it includes children of the family and
other relatives who maintain a separate financial status.
None of the families operated a commercial boarding house. Board
ers are incidental to the family life in the families canvassed. Yet,
the taking of boarders or the placing of children on a boarder basis ap
peared in many instances to be a necessary part of the family economy.
The amount of payment for board varies widely as between fam
ilies, and as between boarders in the same family. This is particu
larly true as to children living in the family as boarders. Ability to
pay, family necessity, and leniency all seem to be factors governing
the amount of the payment. In a few cases there was no payment;
in many cases the payment appears unduly small; and in some cases
it appears unduly large. A person getting board but paying nothing
is classed as a boarder in this table.
“ Boarders” as the term is here used are persons who receive both
board and lodging. Lodgers as used in this table applies only to
persons who get the use of furnished rooms, but do not receive board.
The number of persons in the several classes are averaged under all
families, whether all families in the group have such persons or not.
The table closes with a total of the average number of persons per
family canvassed.
T a b l e 1 .— C O M P O S IT IO N O P F A M I L Y
Balti
more
Composition of family
Number of families____________________________________
Average persons per family:
Husband___________ ___________ ___________ _______
Wife.................. ........................... .........................................
Children............... .............. ........... ............................... ..
Other dependents______________________ _____ _____
Boarders__________________ _____ ______ __________
L o d g e r s --__________ ________ ______ _______________
T o t a l .................... ..................... ..
.. ..
..............
96
1 .0
1 .0
2 .1
Boston
102
1 .0
1 .0
2 .1
New
York
101
1 .0
1 .0
2.3
.03
.4
Chicago
102
New
Orleans
105
1 .0
1 .0
2 .1
.2
1 .0
1 .0
2 .0
.1
.4
.5
.04
.4
.04
.4
.2
.1
.1
.1
4.7
4.6
4.8
4.8
.0 1
4.6
Table 2 shows the average income per family from different sources.
The first item shown is the average salary received by the husband
from the Government. The next item shows the average amount
received per husband from work performed other than for the Govern
ment. Only a part of the husbands had outside work. The average
in the table is the total amount earned by such husbands as worked,
divided by the total number of husbands scheduled. The average
earnings per wife were obtained in like manner. The table shows the
average income per family from the earnings of children living in the
home and dependent on the family for their support. This average
also was obtained by dividing the amount earned by the children in
such families as had children working by the total number of families
scheduled. The same rule of computation applies to other dependents.
Some families had boarders and others did not. The average
shown in the table is the receipts from boarders divided by the total
number of families in the group. Other sources of income cover any
and all income obtained from sources other than those named.
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
111
TABtE S .—A V E R A G E I N C O M E P E E F A M I L Y F R O M D I F F E R E N T S O U R C E S
Source of income
Baltimore
Boston
New York
Chicago
New
Orleans
Number of families.........................................................
96
102
101
102
105
Average income per family from earnings of—
Husband—
Government salary........................................
Other work........................................................
$1,796.86
153.63
$1,809.42
69.13
$1,812.07
189.07
$1,878.96
52.02
$1,704.56
44.84
T o ta l..............................................................
Wife..............................................................................
Children.....................................................................
1,950.49
66.03
25.98
1,878.55
47.27
71.17
2,001.14
103.18
65.63
1,930.98
187.56
121.28
1,749.40
62.36
31.05
Total earnings......................................................
Average income per family from—
Boarders................... .................................................
Lodgers_______________________________________
Other sources............................................................
2,042.50
1,996.99
2,169.95
2,239.82
1 1,854.12
77.64
32.62
184.11
134.61
19.83
259.88
144.39
27.88
141.14
114.61
18.28
373.16
118.86
1.46
219.54
Average income per family (all sources)___
2,336.87
2,411.31
2,483.36
2,745.87
2,193.98
i Includes also $11.31 income from earnings of other dependents.
The Government salary of the husband constituted 77 per cent of
the total family income in Baltimore, 75 per cent in Boston, 68 per
cent in Chicago, 73 per cent in New York, and 78 per cent in New
Orleans.
It is of great interest to note the extent to which the family income
was supplemented by extra work done by the husband and by work
done outside the home by the wife and children.
The number of husbands who supplemented their earnings by doing
outside work is shown in Table 6. In Baltimore 33 per cent of the
husbands did outside work, in Chicago 15 per cent, in Boston 25 per
cent, in New York 33 per cent, and in New Orleans 22 per cent. Table
6 also shows the number of families in which wives and children con
tributed to the family income. The per cent of wives working for
gain was 18 per cent in Baltimore, 15 per cent in Boston, 32 per cent
m Chicago, 21 per cent in New York, and 20 per cent in New Orleans.
The earnings of the husbands at other work was averaged over all
the families canvassed. While this outside earning is quite frequent
the amount is not large. The outside earnings of husbands constitute
8 per cent of the total earnings of all husbands in Baltimore, 4 per
cent in Boston, 3 per cent in Chicago and New Orleans, and 9 per cent
in New York. The average earnings per husband on outside work,
and the average earnings per wife working are stated in Table 6,
in which table the averages apply only to the persons involved. The
husband on outside work earned from such work from an average of
$204.70 in New Orleans to $578.68 in New York. The wives who were
gainfully employed earned from $311.79 in New Orleans to $579.74
in Chicago.
Incomes from quite a number of other sources are consolidated in
the title “ Other sources." In some families there was an income from
interest on money invested or from rental of property owned. Many
of the families had income in the form of gifts from parents, from
children away from home, from relatives, and from various other
sources. A few of the families had an income from a pension and
a few families received inheritances during the year.
112
COST OF LIVING
In Table 3 the families’ year’s expenses are shown for each of the
several groups of items named. The item of housing needs explana
tion. Some of the families lived in rented houses or apartments, and
others lived in houses that they own and on which they are generally
making payments of principal, interest, taxes, etc. In the table the
items of expense are adjusted so as to charge families living in owned
homes with the rental value of such homes. Housing, therefore,
covers rental for families renting, or annual rental value for families
owning homes. This rental value was furnished by the family and
checked by the agent by making comparison with rents on other
buildings in the neighborhood. Any payment on an owned home
above the rental value is considered a saving, and where the payment
is below the rental value the difference is considered an item of deficit.
“ Other items” include health expenses, life, accident, and health
insurance, retirement deductions, and any and all other items of
expense than those stated in preceding lines in the table.
T a b l e 3 .— A V E R A G E E X P E N S E S P E R F A M I L Y
Item
Baltimore
Boston
N ew York
Chicago
New
Orleans
Number of families. ____________________________
96
102
101
102
105
Food....... ................. ......... ................................... .............
$716.69
$812.48
$926.88
$813.96
$779.70
Clothing of—
Husband______________________________________
W ife_______________________________________ __
Children and other dependents_____________
93.56
86.74
121.36
82.87
82.97
116.94
90.06
78.55
136.66
100.08
101.06
137.02
90.08
71.80
97.91
Total______________ _______ _________________
301.66
282.78
305.27
338.16
259.79
Housing__________________________________________
Heating and lighting_____________________________
Furniture and furnishings_______________________
Other items_______________________________________
541.02
144.62
87.72
643.22
500.53
161.50
64.08
676.75
486.18
118.37
49.79
711.96
613.51
165.40
896.70
360.50
85.66
75.49
718.82
Total expenses_____________________________
2,434.93
2,498.12
2,598.45
2, 928.41
2,279.96
100.68
Table 4 shows the relation between the income and the expenses
of the family as presented in preceding tables. The table gives the
average Government salary during the year for which the schedules
were obtained. The next line shows the average family income of
which the Government salary formed a part. The next gives the
average family expenses. The following line shows the extent to
which the total income is above or below the family’s yearly expenses.
This is followed by a statement showing the extent to which the Gov
ernment salary for the year was above or below the family expenses.
The heads of most of the families received an increase in salary on
July 1, 1928. A comparison is made in the last line between the
expenses for the year scheduled and the Government salary as of July
1, the purpose being to determine how nearly the new Government
salary would come to equaling the expenses of the preceding year.
In other words, how nearly would the new Government salary come
to paying living expenses if expenses for the following year were equal
to those of the year closed. As a whole the families were found to
be living beyond their Government salary and even beyond their
income.
113
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
T a b l e 4 .— R E L A T I O N OF A V E R A G E I N C O M E T O A V E R A G E E X P E N S E
Item
Number of families..................................................................
Average Government salary during year................ .......
Average family income..................... .....................................
Average family expenses............................ ........................
Income above ( + ) or below ( —) expenses____________
Government salary above ( + ) or below (—) expenses.
Government salary after July 1,1928...... .........................
Government salary after July 1, 1928, above ( + ) or
below ( —) expenses................................ ........................
Baltimore
96
$1,796.86
2.336.87
2,434.93
-9 8 .0 6
-6 3 8 .0 7
1.915.88
-5 1 9 .0 5
Boston
New
York
Chicago
N ew
Orleans
• 102
105
$1,809.42 $1,812.07 $1,878.96
2,411.31 2,483.36 2,745.87
2,498.12 2, 598.45 2,928.41
-1 8 2 .5 4
-8 6 .8 1
-1 1 5 .0 9
-6 8 8 .6 9
-7 8 6 .3 8 -1,049.45
1,942.11 1,943.76 2,077.06
$1,704.66
2,193.98
2,279.96
- 8 5 .9 8
-5 7 5 .4 0
1,831.05
-8 5 1 .3 5
-4 4 8 .9 1
102
-5 5 6 .0 1
101
-6 5 4 .6 9
Table 5 shows the number of families having expenses above their
income and below their income. Comparing the sum of these two
items with the number of families gives the number of families in
which income and expenses balanced. Table 5 also shows the
number of families which had expenses above or below the Govern
ment salary. In addition the number of families wherein the
yearly expenses were above or below the new salary rate of July 1,
1928, are shown, as well as the average amount per family of ex
penses above the salary rate of July 1, 1928, in families of the first
group, and below the salary of July 1, 1928, in the second group.
T a b l e 5 .— F A M I L I E S H A V I N G E X P E N S E S A B O V E A N D B E L O W I N C O M E
Item
Number of families................................................................ .
Families having expenses—
Above income—................................................................
Below income..................... ............................................. .
Above Government salary.......... ................. ...............
Below Government salary............................................
Above salary after July 1 , 1 9 2 8 Number of families..................................................
Average per family......... ......... ...............................
Below salary after July 1, 1 9 2 8 Number of families................................................ ..
Average per family................................................. -
Baltimore
Boston
New
York
Chicago
96
102
101
102
66
20
57
30
96
3
48
15
94
59
24
86
91
4
85
$605.47
11
$148.64
New
Orleans
1C5
68
2
100
2
23
95
5
$683.49
88
$767.8 8
92
$964.11
84
$606.56
16
$129. 21
10
10
21
$144.99
$186.03
$181.67
Table 2 shows the average earnings of husbands from other than
the regular Government work. In that table the earnings of hus
bands from other work are divided by the entire number of husbands,
regardless of how many of them perform other work. Table 6 differs
from Table 2 in that it shows the number of husbands doing other
work and the average income per husband in only such families as
had husbands doing other than Government work. In Table 2 the
earnings of all wives were divided by the entire number of wives
whether or not all of them worked for gain. In Table 6 the average
is limited to only such families as had wives gainfully employed. In
Table 6 likewise the average income per family from children is the
average limited to such families as had children gainfully employed
and who contributed their earnings to the family fund and received
support therefrom. The table excludes families having children who
earned no money. The income per family from the earnings of other
dependents also is limited to such families as have dependents work
ing, contributing their earnings to the family fund, and receiving
support therefrom.
114
COST OF LIVING
T a b l e 6 .— F A M I L I E S
H A V IN G IN C O M E F R O M E A R N IN G S
M E N T S A L A R Y OF H U S B A N D
Item
Number of fa.mil fas ___________________________________
Families having—
Husbands doing other work—
Number of families___________________________
Average income per fam ily___________________
W ives gainfully employed—
Number of families..................................................
Average income per fam ily____________ _____ _
Children contributing earnings—
Number of families___________________________
Average income per fam ily__________ _____ ___
Other dependents contributing earnings—
Number of families___________________________
Average income per fam ily___________________
Baltimore
Boston
OTHER
New
York
THAN
GOVERN
Chicago
New
Orleans
96
102
101
102
105
32
$460.89
26
$271.20
33
$578.68
15
$353.73
23
$204.70
17
$372.88
15
$321.47
21
$496.26
33
$579.74
$311.79
13
$191.85
16
$453.70
9
$736.56
15
$824.72
$296.40
21
11
4
$297.00
Table 7 shows the number of families that had paying boarders
and lodgers and the average receipts per family in the families that
had receipts from these two sources. It excludes families which had
persons living as boarders or lodgers, but paying nothing. Like
figures are shown for families having an income from sources other
than specified in Tables 6 and 7.
T a b l e 7 .— F A M I L I E S H A V I N G O T H E R S O U R C E S O F I N C O M E
Item
Number of families......................... .......................................
Families having—
Boarders—
Number of families_____________ _____ ________
Average receipt per family....................................
Lodgers—
Number of families___________________________
Average receipt per family-------------------- --------Other income—
Number of fam ilies................. ............... ........... ..
Average per fam ily________ _______ ___________
Baltimore
Boston
New
York
Chicago
New
Orleans
96
102
101
102
105
18
$414.06
25
$549.20
25
$583.32
26
$449.62
25
$499.20
12
7
$289.00
10
6
1
$260.96
$281.60
$310.83
$153.00
73
$235.33
85
$311.85
73
$195.26
82
$464.17
75
$307.36
Table 8 shows the number of families that were renting homes and
the number that were living in their own homes. The average yearly
rental is given for the families renting, and ihe average yearly payment
is given for families owning their homes. In a very few instances
families owned homes part of the year and rented part of the year.
The table closes with a statement as to the extent to which the pay
ment on the owned home was above or below the yearly rental value.
T a b l e 8 .— R E N T A N D O W N E R S H I P O F H O M E
Item
Baltimore
Boston
Number of families....................................... ..........................
Families renting homes...................................... ..................
Average yearly rental.......... ................... ............... ...............
Families owning homes.............. ................................. .........
Average yearly payment on owned home______ _____ _
Average yearly rental value of owned home........ ..........
Payment above ( + ) or below ( —) rental value............
96
39
$421.78
57
$608.24
622.60
-1 4 .3 6
102
67
$460.57
35
$830.36
577.03
+253.33
New
York
Chicago
101
102
68 M 2
$470.88
$576.28
5
33M2
$717.74
780.00
$838.07
689.92
+148.15
- 6 2 .2 6
New
Orleans
105
73
$324.09
$767.91
443.56
+324.35
115
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
It is evident that the Government employees with salaries under
$2,500 were generally unable to maintain their families on the Govern
ment salaries they receive, or at least were unwilling to endure the
deprivation necessary so to live. Even with the addition of other
income derived from outside work of the husband, earnings of the
wife and children, income from boarders and lodgers, and from other
sources, the majority of these families were incurring expenses in
excess of their income. The increase in salary July 1 relieved the
situation only in part.
It cost the 506 families included in this study an average of $112.99,
or $27.42 per capita, for the care of health during the year. This
amount was 4.6 per cent of their average income of $2,433.91 and 6.3
per cent of the average Government salary during the year. These
health expenses include doctors' bills, medicines, hospital expenses,
nurse charges, dentist bills, eyeglasses, etc.
In Baltimore the cost per family was lowest, averaging $75.50 for
the 96 families, or $18.51 per capita, while in Chicago it was highest,
averaging $138.91 for the 102 families included m the study, or
$33.23 per capita. For New York the average cost was $127.98, or
$30.05 per capita; in Boston it was $121.68, or $29.93 per capita;
and in New Orleans the health expense averaged $99.24, or $24.68
per capita.
For the 506 families in the five cities combined, there was a rather
wide range in the cost of maintaining health between the different
income groups, and this cost tends to increase with the increase of
family income. For the families in the income group under $1,500,
an average of $39.18, or $9.82 per capita, was spent during the year
for health. In this group 17 per cent of the families reported no
health expense. This would indicate that the care of health in the
lower income group was neglected or postponed on account of insuffi
cient income to meet such expense.
Using salary spreads of $600, the averages for health expenses were
as follows:
T a b l e 9 .— E X P E N D I T U R E F O R H E A L T H
Average expenditure
Income group
Families
Per family
Under $1,500.............................................................................................................
$1,500 and under $2,100......................... ................... ..........................................
$ 2,100 and under $2,700__.................................. ............. ...................................
$2,700 and under $3,300............. ................. ....... ..................... ...........................
$3,300 and over............................................. ..................................................... ......
A ll incomes______________ __________________ _____ _____ __________
Per capita
47
141
161
95
62
$39.18
93.13
115.55
121.09
195.06
$9.82
23.85
27.64
28.96
43.77
506
112.99
27.42
Details covering food consumption, miscellaneous items, and
installment buying for the 506 families were published in the Sep
tember, October, and November, 1929, issues of the Monthly Labor
Review.
116
COST OF LIVING
How a Group of Skilled Workers’ Families Spent Their
Income
STUDY of the incomes and expenditures of the families of 82
members of the San Francisco Typographical Union, made by
Prof. Jessica B. Peixotto, of the University of California, was pub
lished in 1929.1 The author points out that the budgets of this
particular group have a special value, inasmuch as detailed surveys
of the expenditures of families who have what she considers may be
fairly called a living wage are comparatively few. In the judgment
of the author, the actual budgets of these 82 families constitute a
fair index of the spending tendencies of educated wage earners.
The investigation was made between September 15 and November
15, 1921, and the earnings and expenditures reported were for the
preceding 12 months.
The average amount of the 82 men’s earnings from regular typo
graphical work was $2,486.90, mean, and $2,507.50, median.
A
The average total income was $2,818.59, mean; the median, $2,600. The
average total expenditure was $2,761.42, mean; the median, $2,656.71. The
average discrepancy was thus a surplus of $57.17, mean; or a deficit of $56.71,
median. The mean amount spent for food, $893.30, proves to be almost identical
with the mean amount spent by a group of 96 families from the University of
California faculty, commanding an average income twice as large. The propor
tional expenditure was 32 per cent as compared with 17 per cent for the larger
income group.
The families were living in comfortable houses; two-thirds of
them occupied separate dwellings; one-third owned their homes.
Overcrowding was infrequent. The households of all but 18 families
were run without service and only 3 of these 18 families spent over
$100 for such purpose. The houses were ordinarily small and the
children few. In only a few families did the amounts expended on
clothing allow attention to changes in style. Approximately one-third
of the family income was absorbed by so-called “ miscellaneous”
items, which are commonly regarded as a real index of living levels.
Only 1 of every 5 of these families had an automobile. Approximately
all of them, however, found money for newspapers and magazines.
Three out of four were purchasing life insurance or were saving money.
Each of the union members was, under his trade agreement, entitled
to a two weeks’ vacation with pay, and half of the families had availed
themselves of this privilege. The costs of the vacation, together with
high union dues resulting from additional assessments for strike
benefits, are cited as items of expenditure peculiar to this particular
union.
The following table gives the average amounts allocated for each
item of expenditure in the year covered and the average per cent of
the total budget spent for each item:
i Peixotto, Jessica B . Cost of Living Studies II: H ow workers spend a living wage. Berkeley, Uni
versity of California Press, 1929. (University of California Publication in Economics, vol. 5, N o. 3, pp.
161-245.)
117
LIVING STANDARDS ON THE FARM
A V E R A G E A M O U N T A N D P E R C E N T A L L O C A T E D TO E A C H IT E M OF E X P E N D IT U R E
B Y F A M I L I E S O F T Y P O G R A P H I C A L W O R K E R S I N S A N F R A N C IS C O I N O N E Y E A R
Am ount of expenditure
Items of expenditure
Number
of families
report
ing i
Average spent for
each item
M ean
Per cent of expenditure
Number
of families
report
ing a
Median
Per cent of total
budget spent for
each item
M ean
Food____________ ______ ___ _____ ______ ______
Clothing____________________________________
Shelter______________ __________________ _____
House operation____________________________
Miscellaneous:
Recreation_____________________________
Automobiles___________________________
Education______________________________
Tobacco_____ __________________________
Church___________________ ______ _______
Charity.................... ................. .....................
Medical care___________________________
Union dues_____________________________
Investment_____________________________
Incidentals_____________________________
77
69
80
81
$893.30
350.97
426.92
263.92
$880.00
305.00
428.00
206.00
73
*73
73
73
32.5
77
178.30
401.54
65.11
59.43
22.83
21.90
143.22
148.42
232.38
102.73
140.00
240.00
29.40
52.00
15.00
68
73
57
42
36
74
81
58
73
66
6 .2
1 2 .2
2 .2
Total_________________________________
A ll item s 4____________________________
82
82
886.87
2,761.42
12
U
11 .6
15.3
9 .0
52
40
35
2.3
.9
97.00
149.20
94.30
72.00
68
5.1
5.6
791.04
2,656.71
73
73
10.00
72
53
65
.8
8 .0
3.5
Median
32.4
11.4
14.7
7.3
4.8
7.1
1 .0
1 .8
.6
.4
3.3
5.7
3.0
2.5
31.6
30.9
100,0
100.0
1 These are not the actual number of families who reported expenditures for any given item, but the
number whose estimates were sufficiently complete to be used in computing the average.
2 These are not the actual number of families who reported expenditures for any given item, but the
number whose estimates both for the miscellaneous item in question and for the major items of the budget
were sufficiently complete to warrant a per cent distribution.
3 Several families with partly incomplete clothing reports have been included in this group, because
the reports for other items were complete enough to warrant their use.
* The average total expenditures for the 73 families with the most complete reports are $2,798.19 (mean)
and $2,661.72 (median).
Living Standards on the Farm
United States Department of Agriculture has made several
studies of the standards of living of farmers in the United States.
T HE
The 1929 report of the Secretary of Agriculture, in a section relating
to this subject, states that while the data at hand do not “ permit a
thoroughgoing comparison between farm standards and city stand
ards, much has been learned about the living standards of certain
groups of farmers. It has been demonstrated, for example, that
family-living standards are deficient on a large proportion of the
small farms in the country. That is an important fact necessitating
remedial action, for small farms are relatively more numerous than
is commonly supposed. In 1925, when the average number of acres
per farm in the United States was 145, 38 per cent of all the farms
were under 50 acres and 60 per cent were under 100 acres.”
“ Family-living standards are of course not low on all small farms.
Many small farms devoted to varying types of agriculture produce
net incomes equal to the average on larger places. It is nevertheless
true that a majority of the small farms in the United States are lowincome-producing and low-value farms. Such farms in 1925 were
estimated to be worth, for land and buildings, less than $4,000 on
the average. A considerable proportion had a value of $2,000 or
less. Many small farms have poor soil and difficult surface condi
tions. Probably nearly 40 per cent of the country’s farm population
1 18
COST OF LIVING
lives on small farms of poor and difficult land, on a standard of living
far below what is common on large farms.
“ Farm families belonging to this low-standard group are numerous
in nearly all the States. How to improve their condition is a com
plex problem involving economic, social, and human factors. It is
not primarily a question of tenancy versus ownership, nor a question
of cropper cultivation versus cultivation by hired labor, though these
elements may be present. Land-tenure conditions as a criterion for
high or low standards of living may sometimes be overemphasized
at the expense of more important factors. The first step toward
improvement must be a correct analysis of the problem."
Side Line Occupations Off the Farm
“ O n m a n y small farms only about half the cash income of the farm
family comes from the farm business. The remainder is earned by
the operator or by members of his family in occupations off the farm.
In addition to the cash income obtained from the farm and income
obtained in outside occupations, the small farm itself furnishes food,
fuel, housing, etc. But all these sources combined commonly do not
provide a satisfactory living. Often the difficulty is increased by
the farm operator's pessimism as to the possibility of getting more
income from the farm itself. He is not generally as quick to take
advantage of scientific methods as is the larger farm operator. Yields
per acre, per cow, per hog, or per hen on the small farms of the
United States average lower than on the larger farms, whereas in
certain European countries the opposite is the case. ^Too often,
moreover, the economic efficiency of the farm family is impaired by
lack of adequate opportunities for education, recreation, and the
preservation of health.
“ Further study of the small-farm problem as a whole is urgently
necessaiy. A rough classification of such farms seems practicable
and indicates the application of different remedies in different situa
tions. (1) We may distinguish small farms whose earning power can
not be materially increased through soil improvement or improved
management. (2) There are numerous small tenant or cropper farms
which form parts of a large holding or plantation. Often the soil of
such farms can be improved materially and their production increased
by efficient centralized supervision. (3) There are many small farms
operated by their owners, the soil of which could be materially im
proved and upon which a better farm practice would bring much better
returns. Then there are small farms that furnish a fair living place
and some food, fuel, and other necessities, while permitting members
of the farm family to work at outside jobs."
Different Remedies Required
“ T h e se different kinds of small farms obviously call for different
means of increasing their power to furnish a satisfactory standard of
living. Farm management and marketing methods should be adapted
specifically to each type. It should often be possible to encourage the
development of rural industries adapted to the part-time employment
of the small operator and his family. In certain areas where the
economic operation of small farms is impracticable. State agencies
119
VILLAGE AND TOWN FAMILIES— MINNESOTA
should discourage the small farm. On the other hand, it is well to
recognize that a place exists for the small farm providing a lower all
round income than the larger farm usually produces, since many
families may do better on such small farms than they would anywhere
else.
“ Effective action to raise living standards on our small farms is
necessary, not only in the interest of the farm people immediately
concerned, but in the interest of the Nation. These farms are a
source of population as well as of food supply. They send their sur
plus population to the towns and cities. Hence the entire Nation
suffers when living conditions on the small farm make it difficult to
rear and educate young people adequately there. Not agriculture
alone, but our entire national life stands to benefit from whatever
may be accomplished toward the establishment of a satisfactory
standard of living on the small farms.”
Incomes and Expenditures of Village and Town Fami
lies in Minnesota
STUDY of the economic situation of village and town families
in Minnesota was published by the University of Minnesota
in 1929 as its Bulletin No. 253.2 Eleven representative communities
scattered throughout the State were selected for the study, the
populations ranging from 742 to 7,086. The total number of fam
ilies included was 395, or an average of 36 per community, the number
of persons per family averaging 4.2, with 3.3 adult units. The data
cover the period July, 1926, to July, 1927, and were obtained through
personal visits by the investigators.
For the purposes of the study the families were divided into 10
groups, according to the occupation or social status of their heads,
as shown in Table 1, reproduced from the report. Practically every
group was represented in each community.
A
T able 1.— D I S T R I B U T I O N O F F A M I L I E S B Y O C C U P A T IO N G R O U P
Number
of
families
Number
of
persons
Widows and spinsters_________________________________
Retired farmers________________________________________
Common labor_________________________________________
Semiskilled labor............................................................ .........
Skilled labor —........................................................ ........... .....
Clerical or managerial_________________________________
Lower business............................................................. ...........
Lower professional_____________________________________
Upper business.___________ _______________ ______ ______
Upper professional___________ ______ ___________________
18
32
41
46
41
78
58
25
37
19
61
104
195
218
179
356
247
94
150
73
Total..................................................................................
395
1,677
Status
Average
adult
units per
family
Per cent
of total
families
Average
persons
per
family
5
9
5
3.3
3.2
4.7
4.7
4.3
4.5
4.2
3.7
4.0
3.8
3.5
3.7
3.4
3.G
3.4
3.0
3.2
3.1
100
4.2
3.3
8
10
12
10
20
15
6
2.7
2 .6
Cash receipts were considered as income. Unless garden produce
and other items produced by the family were sold or traded for things
1 Incomes and expenditures of village and town families in Minnesota, b y Carle C. Zimmerman.
47767°—31------ 9
COST OF LIVING
120
that ordinarily would be bought, they were not included as income.
Net receipts from businesses were considered as income and included
amounts reinvested in the business. All items purchased with the
cash incomes, including savings and investments for the future, were
classed as expenditures. Table 2, taken from the report, shows the
average income and expenditure per family and per adult unit by
occupation group.
T able 2 , —A V E R A G E I N C O M E A N D E X P E N D I T U R E P E R F A M I L Y A N D P E R A D U L T
U N I T , B Y O C C U P A T IO N G R O U P
Average per family
Status
Income
Widows and spinsters.
Retired farmers_______
Common labor_______
Semiskilled labor_____
Skilled labor__________
Clerical or managerial.
Lower business_______
Lower professional___
Upper business.............
Upper professional—
Total average - .
Average per adult unit
Difference
between
Expendi
expendi
ture
ture and
income
$1,121
1,318
900
1,496
1,879
2,653
1,949
2,377
5,332
5,698
1,767
961
1,552
1,943
2,910
'1,986
2,499
5,374
5,592
2,347
2,473
-$173
-4 4 9
-6 1
-5 6
-6 4
-2 5 7
-3 7
Income
Difference
between
Expendi
expendi
ture
ture and
income
-4 2
+106
1,688
1,838
$422
671
278
418
571
803
577
840
1,701
1,804
-1 2 6
704
742
-1 2 2
$357
501
261
403
552
732
566
799
-1 7 0
-1 7
-1 5
-1 9
-7 1
-11
-4 1
-1 3
+34
-3 8
In all but one occupation group the expenditure exceeded the
income. The report explains this as follows:
These differences between expenditures and incomes do not mean losses or
gains for the year. Investments and savings were considered as expenditures.
Nearly all families either invested or placed in savings the greater portion of the
funds not spent for present wants. Those in the lower income groups, who
saved relatively little, tended to adjust their living expenses to their incomeproducing ability. The causes of the apparent deficit in most of the groups were
unusually high investments, not met out of present incomes. Some of these
were due to the building of houses or the adding of improvements, which had to
be met out of savings or borrowings; and others were due to unusual circumstances,
as accidents, deaths, or loss of work. There are few permanent-deficit families
in any of these communities, only four of those interviewed receiving public
charity. The surplus amounts were due to incomes not yet invested. * * *
Although the families generally spend about all they make, nevertheless, the com
munities, families, and individuals tend to adjust their expenditures to their
income-producing ability. The same tendency to adjust living conditions to
incomes appears, as far as living conditions are the result of incomes and expend
itures.
There were 216 families which spent more than their incomes.
Fifty-six, or 28 per cent of those reporting the reasons, gave sickness
as the reason; 8, or 4 per cent, old age; 39, or 20 per cent, business or
bank failure or unemployment; 62, or 31 per cent, building a house
or improving the house and other buildings; and 25, or 13 per cent,
buying a car. Eight families, or 4 per cent, gave other reasons
(including starting in business), which are not specified in the report,
while 18 gave no explanation.
Table 3 shows the per cent of the income derived from each
specified source, for the different occupation groups.
121
VILLAGE AND TOWN FAMILIES— MINNESOTA
T able 3 .—P E R C E N T A G E D IS T R I B U T I O N O F S O U R C E S OF F A M I L Y I N C O M E , B Y O C C U
P A T IO N G R O U P
Per cent of income derived from—
Status
W idows and spinsters........... .
Retired farmers______________
Common labor............. .............
Semiskilled labor____________
Skilled labor_________________
Clerical or managerial.............
Lower business______________
Lower professional___________
Upper business...........................
Upper professional................ ..
Total percentage.........
Male
head 1
Town
real
prop
erty 2
0
22
33
32
78
76
1
1
1
88
85
85
81
90
91
5
4
3
5
81
6
6
Farm
prop
erty
Chil
dren
Board
ers 3
6
7
28
6
8
23
4
2
3
13
2
2
2
4
3
Garden
M oth produce
and
ers’
Other 4
dairy
wages
prod
ucts
1
2
6
1
0
1
2
2
1
1
11
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
3
4
2
1
(5)
1
2
3
3
4
16
5
4
Total
0
1
1
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
1
2
100
2
3
2
0
(5)
3
1
(5)
(«)
3
7
h
(8)
1 Wages, salaries, and profits of business.
2 Town real property and all personal property such as bonds, stocks, and interest.
3 Gross amount paid for board and room rent.
4 Legacies, gifts, insurance, etc.
5 Less than one-half of 1 per cent.
It was found that with increasing proportions of|the family income
coming from the head of the household, “ family industry and the
employment of women and children outside the home decline. In
some, cases this might be interpreted as an improvement in living
conditions. In others it meant that the spare time of the women and
children was spent at diversions that did not necessarily improve
either home life or the economic future of the children. The so-called
social struggle, among the upper classes in the towns above 5,000 in
population, was very intense.”
The report states that “ this study, as conducted, shows no tangible
relationship between size of community and size of income.”
Expenditures have been grouped in the report under seven main
heads: Household, food, clothing, health, other living expenses, auto
mobiles, and investments. The average amounts spent under each
of these general heads, together with the proportion each formed of
the total expense, are shown in Table 4.
The household expenses included fuel, light, rent, repairs to build
ings, property insurance, telephone, music (musical instruments,
records, sheet music, radios), domestic help, taxes, operation, and
equipment. The clothing item included laundry bills. “ Other liv
ing” expenses covered expenditures for religion and charity, educa
tion, reading, gifts, travel, tobacco, toilet and barber services, enter
tainment, organization dues (except insurance premiums for mutual
lodges), vacations, and incidentals. Investments included amounts
reinvested in the business, insurance, savings, payments on homes,
personal and real property, debts, interest, taxes other than taxes on
homes or poll taxes, and losses.
122
COST OF LIVIN G
T able 4 .— A V E R A G E E X P E N D I T U R E P E R F A M I L Y F O R E A C H I T E M A N D P E R C E N T A G E E A C H F O R M S OF T H E T O T A L E X P E N D I T U R E , B Y O C C U P A T IO N G R O U P
Amount
Status
Widows and spinsters________________
_______________________
Common labor________________________
Semiskilled labor____ ______ ______ ____
Skilled labor............. ............... ...................
Clerical or managerial________________
Lower business_______ _____ __________
Lower professional..... ................... ............
Upper business_______________________
Upper professional____________________
Total average___________________
House
hold
Food
Cloth
ing
$374
$400
$86
578Retired
342farmers
375
221
397
125
391
486
193
472
230
525
751
575
344
451
241
476
465
283
528
1,091
405
590
1,133
632
729
582
Health
$38
Other
Auto Invest Total
living
mobiles ments expense
expenses
167
$76
162
85
137
169
311
186
383
514
683
267
90
8
10
3
6
13
13
5
4
12
12
12
11
6
3
4
3
11
7
2
13
11
3
10
12
20
11
4
10
606
100
43
66
123
107
72
70
121
314
127
264
468
657
$137
347
60
209
314
508
433
506
2,185
1,591
$ 1,121
1,767
9(>1
1,552
1,943
2,910
1,986
2,499
5,374
5,592
253
201
575
2,473
7
9
9
9
9
1
3
3
5
12
20
6
12
41
29
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
8
23
100
$10
63
30
70
110
Per cent
Widows and spinsters________________
Retired farmers_______________________
Common labor________________________
Semiskilled labor______________________
Skilled labor__________________________
Clerical or managerial________________
Lower business_______________________
Lower professional____________________
Upper business_______________________
Upper professional____________________
Total percentage_______________
33
33
23
25
24
26
23
19
20
20
24
36
19
41
31
27
20
24
21
11
9
15
6
11
6
11
9
13
16
17
22
20
As between the lower and the higher income groups the expendi
tures credited to “ investments” showed the greatest difference of
any of the items shown in Table 4—ranging from 6 per cent of the
total expenditure in the case of common labor to 41 per cent in the
upper business group. The report states that all of this difference
could not be attributed to differences in the size of the incomes.
“ Their [the upper classes] sense of the future is stronger than among
the lower and less successful classes.” However, many of the families
in the lower-income groups were exercising forethought for the future,
while many of those in the higher-income groups were showing con
siderable improvidence.
The expenditures for “ health,” which averaged $90 per family,
included all- bills for doctors, dentists, oculists, hospitals, nursing,
medicines, births, deaths, cemetery dues, etc. Although the average
amounts spent by families in the higher income groups were much
greater than in the lower, the proportion of the total budget going
for this purpose showed a decrease. This proportional decrease in
the professional classes the report ascribes to the number of medical
men in this group whose families were the recipients of professional
courtesy. “ However, the greater decrease in proportion among the
upper business group proves that this is a real decline.” As between
communities, tne total amount spent per adult under the head of
health showed no tendency to increase with the size of the com
munity. Of the total amount ($90) an average of $7 was used for
births, deaths, and cemetery expenses. There were 29 births, one
funeral, and minor cemetery expenses.
COST OF LIVING
123
Comparison of Living Standards of Farm and City
Families in Minnesota
COMPARATIVE study of the incomes and expenditures of farm
. and city families in the retail trade areas of two small cities of
A
Minnesota was published by the University of Minnesota in 1929,
the data being for 1927-28.3 One of the cities selected for the study
had a population of about 15,000 and was located in the southern
dairy section of the State; the population of the other city, which
was located in the small grain and potato section of the north
western part of the State, was about 50,000. In the smaller area
the records of 150 farm families and 151 town families were studied.
In the larger community mformation was secured for only 76 farm
families and 100 town families, as it had been found that “ results did
not change materially after the first 100 urban families were studied
or the first 75 farm families.” The data for the two sections were
combined in the report and presented for farm and city without regard
to community, in order to simplify analysis, and because the com
bined results were thought to be more typical of farm and city
conditions in Minnesota generally than of those in the separate
communities. The report points out, however, that the study is a
comparison of rural-urban conditions in these two communities, and
“ is in no sense an attempt to picture average rural or average urban
conditions for the State.”
Owners, part owners, and tenants were represented in the farm
group and all city occupational and social classes were included in the
city group. Laboring or wage-earning families comprised 40.4 per
cent of the city group and retired farmers and broken families 15.1 per
cent, the remainder, 44.5 per cent, “ receiving mainly salaries, business
profits, or unearned incomes.” The farm families averaged 3.8
adult units and the city families 3.3 adult units.4
The report gives details of the cash receipts and expenditures of
both groups. However, cash receipts can not be used as a basis on
which to compare the total incomes of farm and city families since,
in addition to cash income, farms furnish large amounts of food, some
fuel, house rent, and certain natural advantages which, the report
states, “ it is almost impossible to reduce to a money basis because
quantities are lacking, prices must be chosen almost arbitrarily, and
their production and utilization have little relation to the factors and
forces affecting cash receipts.”
Also, no real comparison can be made between the total expendi
tures of farm and city families, because many of the items of living
expense that must be paid for in the city are obtained on the farm at
little or no cash outlay. For example, as pointed out in the report,
“ the single-family dwelling, with its peace and quietness, its large
lawn and comparative safety for children, is something that may be
purchased in towns only with large sums of money,” and also “ the
greater quantities of food consumed by farm families, as many studies
in America and Europe have shown, are difficult to evaluate.” The
3 University of Minnesota. Agricultural Experiment Station.
Bulletin 255: Incomes and expenditures
of Minnesota farm and city families, 1927-28, b y Carle C. Zimmerman. St. Paul, 1929.
4 The number of adult units was obtained b y reducing all persons to the equivalent number of adults
according to food needs, an adult employed male between 20 and 60 years of age being considered as one unit.
All others were added according to their average food needs as determined by age and sex.
124
COST OP LIVING
author believes that “ the easiest and best all-round comparison seems
to be in the amounts available or spent for savings and nonphysiological living purposes (other than food, clothing, and household
purposes)." The accompanying table, reproduced from the report,
shows the expenditures per family and per adult unit for investment
and nonphysiological purposes, by social class.
E X P E N D IT U R E S P E R F A M IL Y A N D PE R A D U L T U N IT FO R IN V E S T M E N T A N D FO R
N O N P H Y S IO L O G IC A L PU R PO SE S, B Y O C C U P A T IO N G R O U P
Statue
Number
of fam
ilies
Per cent
of total
Adult
u n its 1
Average
expendi
tures for other
than present nec
essaries
Per fam
ily
Per adult
unit
Farmers........................................................................................
226
100.0
3.8
$1,616
$425
Retired farmers.............. — ......................................... .............
Widows and spinsters_____ ______ _____________________
Laborers............................ ........... ......................................... ..
Artisans.............................. ......................... ......... .....................
Clerical and managerial______ _______ ___________ _____
Professional............................................................. ...................
Business................................................................. .....................
11
46
4.4
10.7
23.8
16.6
16.3
9.9
18.3
3.0
3.4
3.5
3.2
3.1
3.4
3.3
2,229
927
613
788
2,137
4,033
5,881
743
243
175
246
690
1,186
1, 782
252
100.0
3.3
2,295
695
Total and average........................................................
27
60
42
41
25
i See footnote 4, p. 123.
The figures in the table indicate that the farmers were considerably
better off than the laborers, artisans, and broken families, which
together constitute 51.1 per cent of the city group, although the
farmers were apparently not so well off as the three upper city classes.
However, the high averages for these upper classes were the result
of the large incomes of a few families. In the managerial group the
incomes ranged from $1,060 to $18,600; in the professional group,
from $1,420 to $26,500; and in the business group, from $1,055 to
$26,550. The data led to the conclusion that “ in spite of the
apparent high average incomes of the city population, farmers are
really better off as to both incomes and standards of living, than the
lower two-thirds of the urban population," which was further sub
stantiated by a comparison of the property accumulated by the
rural and urban groups. However, it should be noted that, accord
ing to the report, the farm communities studied were more prosperous
than the average of the State.
Comparisons of the amounts spent for individual items showed
that the average expenditure per year by the farm families for
clothing was $60 per adult unit, as compared with $99 by the city
families. The difference in the averages is attributed in the report
to the greater clothing expenditures by the three upper city classes
“ who make their living, so to speak, in expensive clothing. The
type of clothing that the farmer and the laborer wear only a few
hours each week is worn all the time by the upper classes. These
differences in themselves do not show differences in standards of
living as much as in methods of living." The amounts spent by the
farm families on automobiles averaged $248 per family and by the
HOME OWNERSHIP AND FAMILY BUDGET
125
city families $279, but the laborers’ families averaged only $71 and
the artisans’ families $91. Health expenditures of the farm families
averaged $108; of the laborers in the city, $101; of the artisans,
$87; of the managerial class, $102; of the professional class, $112;
and of the business class, $167. The comparatively low average for
the professional class, it is said, was probably due to the great amount
of professional courtesy among the physicians included in this group.
The average expenditure for miscellaneous purposes by the farm
families was $202, as compared with $173 by the city laborers, $168
by the artisans, $347 by the managerial class, $1,015 by the profes
sional class, and $672 by the business class.
Home Ownership and the Family Budget
CCORDING to the economic law expounded 50 or more years ago
Lby Professor Engel, the percentage of the family expenditure
spent for housing remains practically the same, regardless of the size of
income. In other words, the more a family makes and spends, pro
portionately, the more it spends on housing. In 1928 the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor made a survey of the
income and expenditure of 506 families of employees of the Federal
Government. Approximately 100 families with an income of not
over $2,500 per year were covered in each of the cities of Boston,
New York, Baltimore, Chicago, and New Orleans. In these families,
on the average 19.3 per cent of the family expenditure was for hous
ing. Some of the families were purchasing houses, but the most of
them were renting. The rental value was obtained for each owned
house and any payment above the rental value was regarded as
investment, so that the figures for housing speak for rent or its equiva
lent. In general, the Engel law stated above was confirmed in this
survey.
The sum of $4,000 will buy only a very modest home, and even
then it will have to be in one of the smaller cities and off the main
street, or in a remote suburb of a large city. Should a family under
take to buy a $4,000 home and pay for it in 20 years in equal annual
installments, there would be an average principal payment of $200
per year. Interest payment would add an average of about $150 a
year, making a round-figure payment of $350 per year, principal and
nterest combined, to amortize the debt in 20 years. Also, there
would be real-estate taxes and insurance of, say, $50 a year. If the
man of the house is handy and can paint the house, replace a broken
windowpane, or patch the roof, the estimate for repairs would be
$30 in cash per year. This, then, will require a payment of $430 a
year for 20 years, but after that the family will own the home, and
housing payments, except for repairs, insurance, and taxes, will be
ended.
If families renting have a housing charge of 19.3 per cent of their
expenditures, then a $430 annual housing charge would call for a
yearly family budget of $2,228. In other words, a family income of
$2,228 warrants the purchase of a $4,000 home spread over 20 pay
ments, which would be just as easy as to pay rent. With the same
A
COST OF LIVING
120
ratio existing, the following incomes warrant the purchase of a home
to cost the amount set opposite such income:
Income
Cost of home
$2,000....... ........... ......... $3,591
$2,500________________ 4, 488
$3,000________________ 5, 386
$3,500________________ 6, 284
Income
Cost of home
$4,000____ ___________ $7,181
$5,000_______________
8, 977
$6,000_______________ 10,772
In connection with the above figures it should be borne in mind
that families paying for a home are much more inclined to be econom
ical and saving than families living in a rented house. They are
willing to pinch on clothing, furniture, amusements, and vacation,
thus permitting a larger part of the income to go toward buying the
home. On the other hand, it is quite common for families starting
to buy a home to buy one that is a little larger, more elaborate, and
more expensive than the rented home. The heart’s desire is to own
a home and live better than before. Without doubt most families
buying homes are paying more in proportion than the figures given
above and many families renting homes are paying therefor more
than 19.3 per cent of their expenditures, because 19.3 per cent is
the average. The percentage varies as between cities, and as between
families in the same city. A larger annual payment for 20 years or
an extension of the time for paying therefor would, of course, finance
a more expensive house.
A payment of $430 a year for 20 years on a $4,000 house by a
family having a budget of $2,228 means an aggregate payment of
$8,600 during the 20 years, but instead of all of it going for rent,
the family has in 20 years a house worth $4,000 less depreciation,
or plus an increase in valuation because of an advance in land values.
In the largest cities the majority of families live in rented houses
or apartments, few own homes or can afford to do so, and further,
there are thousands of families that do not have a yearly income
of $2,228. Such families can buy a house only by more than ordinary
self-denial and thrift, or by buying a very cheap house.
In actual practice it is not likely that a family could get a deed to
a house without an initial payment. There would have to be a con
tract of sale with provision for a deed and mortgage to be executed
after a certain period, or, what is more probable, the family would
have to keep on renting and pinch and save to accumulate money
for a small initial payment.
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES
127
Public Employment Offices in the United States
United States Employment Service
prevalent unemployment throughout 1930
brought about a reorganization and expansion of the United States
INCREASINGLY
Employment Service of the Department of Labor. An appropriation
of approximately $900,000 was made available for the fiscal year end
ing June 30, 1932, to carry out the enlarged program.
The Secretary of Labor appointed a supervising director to organize
the new service and to assume direction and control. The new organi
zation, which began to function about April 1, 1931, consists of an
administrative office in Washington and field representatives in each
State and in the District of Columbia. The supervising director is
the head of the service, responsible to the Secretary of Labor. Special
services operating on a nation-wide basis are the veterans' service and
the farm labor service, each under a director; and industrial divisions
under the direction of superintendents. There are seven of these
industrial divisions dealing, respectively, with building trades, mining
and quarrying, manufacturing and metal trades, transportation, cloth
ing and needle trades, office and mercantile employment, and seamen
and longshoremen. Each industrial superintendent is directed to keep
closely in touch with employment conditions and opportunities in the
industries under his jurisdiction. The superintendent of the building
trades, for example, under the plan and program of the United States
Employment Service as at present organized, will be expected “ to
keep his finger on the pulse of the building industry throughout the
country, making contacts with the Building Trades Department of
the American Federation of Labor, the international unions of building
trades workers, associations of building trades employers and related
agencies, and to keep informed as to where building is going on and
contemplated." In short, superintendents will serve to coordinate the
efforts of the various centralized activities in order to promote dis
tribution and unified action.
A representative of the Federal service appointed by and directly
responsible to the supervising director has been assigned to each State
and the District of Columbia. These officials, who are known as State
directors, have established offices with the necessary administrative
assistants. They have supervisory and executive duties covering the
State as a whole, and they are directed and expected to serve as place
ment agents as well. An executive assistant to the director has been
appointed in some States, and the New York State director has 3 such
aides. A limited staff of field agents directed by the central adminis
trative office is also engaged in an advisory and coordinating capacity.
The practice of delegating a degree of Federal authority to officials
of the State employment services or the State departments of labor
has been retained. These State officials have the title of Federal
director and receive the nominal salary of $1 a year from the United
States Employment Service. They are granted the franking privilege
129
130
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES
in all matters bearing directly upon placement and other official busi
ness connected with the employment service. The Federal office also
supplies State offices with standard record forms. A similar coopera
tive arrangement is made by the Federal service with the local place
ment offices of State employment systems, with municipal employment
bureaus, and with certain unofficial undertakings, such as those oper
ated by chambers of commerce and welfare organizations, where no fee
is charged. The directing heads of these local bureaus have been desig
nated as special agents of the United States Employment Service.
On July 31, 1931, the number of Federal placement offices and of
offices cooperating with the Federal service was 332. The total num
ber of placements reported by these offices for four months, from April
1 to July 31, is 637,689, of which 281,769 are credited directly to the
Federal machinery, without State or local assistance.
To assist in the relief of unemployment among veterans, the United
States Employment Service maintains a special veterans’ service
which is worldng in close cooperation with the United States Veterans’
Administration, and the various veterans’ organizations. Offices to
deal specifically with placement of ex-service men operate in the princi
pal cities in 21 States and in the District of Columbia.
The farm labor section of the United States Employment Service
which was begun when the Federal placement agency was instituted
during the World War has functioned continuously since then as a
placement medium for seasonal farm labor. This service also has
been expanded somewhat under the new program. The headquarters
office is in Kansas City, Mo., and there are now 19 branch offices in 13
States, in localities where the greatest demand exists for mobile labor
to handle large agricultural crops.
Organization and Activities of State Services in 1930
Just half of the States—24 *—maintain public employment offices
permanently as a State service. In all of them the department of
labor or the industrial commission is the responsible administering
medium. The normal number of employment offices which these
States operate is 151.
State offices are located in the principal cities of the State, the
number of such offices being distributed thus: Illinois, 20; Pennsyl
vania and Ohio, 13; California and New York, 11; Michigan and Wis
consin, 10; Connecticut and New Jersey, 8; North Carolina, 6;
Arkansas, Indiana, and Kansas, 5; Massachusetts and Oklahoma, 4;
Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia, 3; Iowa, 2; Maine, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, 1.
Several States have laws directing the establishment of a State
employment system, but have no offices in regular operation. Some
of them have never undertaken the work at all. In some cases the
enabling act has not been accompanied by the necessary appropria
tion. Colorado maintained several offices from 1907 to 1923, but the
legislature of 1923 failed to renew the appropriation for them and
they have never reopened. West Virginia established an office in
February, 1930, although authority to do so has existed for years.
* Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, N ew Hampshire, N ew Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, W est Virginia, Wisconsin.
PUBLIC OFFICES IN THE UNITED STATES
131
State laws of Idaho and Montana declare that it shall be the duty of
the municipality to establish employment offices, but no permanent
organization has been effected in either State. Other States—Ohio
and Wisconsin among them—require that the municipality, the
county, or both, in wnich the State establishes a free employment
office, shall contribute to its maintenance.
In several States the department of labor’s efforts to provide an
employment service are so seriously handicapped by insufficient
money and staff that little is accomplished. The office has to confine
itself to business which can be handled by telephone and correspond
ence, a practice which is sometimes spoken of as the “ mail-order
system ” in the public employment field. In fact, in several instances,
the legislation as well as the appropriation under which placement
work is undertaken makes a more active policy impossible.
On the other hand, other States, by no means confined to those In
the industrial area, are dSing such effective work as materially to
affect the employment situation, even for skilled labor and the
professions.
Control and direction of the employment service throughout the
State are lodged in a special bureau administered by a superintendent
or a director in four States: California, Illinois, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. Administration of the employment service is assigned
to bureaus which have other duties as well in Massachusetts, New
York, and Ohio, while in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin direction
of the State service is assigned to one member of the industrial com
mission. The work of placing women in Indiana has been transferred
to the department of women and children of the industrial board, and
is regulated by the director of that department. In some instances,
Iowa and Oklahoma for example, there is no central direction, and
in others, as Connecticut and Virginia, supervision of the employment
offices comes directly under the office of the commissioner of labor.
The commissioner of labor of Virginia delegates one of his staff to
supervise employment work.
In the small offices the staff consists usually of a director and a
clerk. The offices in Maine and New Hampshire have only a director,
and in other instances the clerk is a part-time worker who has other
duties in the department of labor. Illinois, Massachusetts, and New
York, all of which have large organizations, average eight employees
per office, although Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin,
which also have an extensive system, operate with much smaller staffs.
The table following shows the number of State offices in each of the
24 States operating a State service; the number of employees in the
service and the minimum and maximum salaries paid; the amount
of State funds appropriated for the support of the State employment
service; the amount of other public funds—city, county, and Federal—
available; and the total annual expenditures for the latest completed
fiscal year. Fiscal years are not uniform throughout the various
States. The commissioner of labor of Missouri was unable to report
the total amount of money used in the operation of the three offices
in that State, because expenditures are met out of the general fund
available for the use of the department of labor and industrial inspec
tion, and a detailed statement of the division of the fund for separate
activities can not be given,
132
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES
The amount available for State employment offices through city
and county governments represents in some cases only actual money
appropriated; in other cases it covers money and, in addition, the
estimated value of quarters, telephone service, fight, and other office
maintenance contributed to or shared with the State employment
bureau by the local government.
The total annual expenditure of a little more than one and a quarter
million dollars covers 148 offices in 23 States, as Missouri is not in
cluded in the total. Since the entire appropriation for the Missouri
Department of Labor and Industrial Inspection is less than $52,000
per year, however, the amount available for the State employment
service probably would not increase the total expenditure materially.
The Portland (Me.) office is operated under the supervision of the
State department of labor and industry, but without actual money
expense to the* State, as the salary of the placement clerk is paid by
the United States Employment Service, and office space, light, and
heat are contributed by the State chamber of commerce. The State
department of labor is, however, the responsible directing medium.
N U M B E R O F S T A T E E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S I N E A C H S T A T E , N U M B E R O F E M P L O Y E E S , S A L A R Y R A N G E , A M O U N T O F P U B L IC F U N D S A P P R O P R I A T E D B Y S T A T E ,
C IT Y , C O U N T Y , A N D F E D E R A L G O V E R N M E N T S , A N D T O T A L A N N U A L E X P E N D I
T U R E S , 1930, B Y S T A T E S
Other public funds
N um
ber of
State
N um
ber of
em
in State ploy
ees
service
Arkansas_______
California_______
Connecticut____
Illinois..................
Indiana.................
Iowa.....................
K ansas.................
M aine__________
M assachusetts..
M ichigan_______
Minnesota...........
Missouri________
N evada_________
N ew Hampshire
N ew Jersey.........
New Y o rk...........
North Carolina.
Ohio......................
Oklahoma...........
Pennsylvania _ . .
Rhode Island. . .
Virginia.............
W est Virginia.
Wisconsin______
5
27
16
109
15
4
7
T o ta l.........
557
1
34
15
Salary range
State
funds ap
propriated
$2,400
90,835
48,114
266,080
25,000
3.600
9.600
$1,800-$l, 860
1.500- 3,600
1, 000- 2,500
1.500- 3,300
1.200- 4,000
1,800
1. 200- 1,800
1,400
960- 2,820
1,600
1,620- 2,1 00
72,500
i 32,758
35,350
1,200
2,000
1,500
3,000
4,250
1,800
3,000
1,500
3,800
36,680
166,280
9,140
86,960
9,088
6,0 00
100,000
9609601,5008401. 200 1, 0201. 200-
1,500
< 480- 3,200
C ity
Total
annual
expendi
County Federal
tures
$1,860
$6,050
$600
1,320
2,760
1,800
1,400
4,881
1,620
1,620
$4,260
93,710
50,000
266,080
32,608
6,360
15,116
1,400
72,159
34,378
44,450
638
1,485
960
5,460
5,280
2,580
1,500
1.440
8,300
900
1,680
1.440
2,640
4,123
3,733
95,844
171,560
17,320
156,824
10,566
102,800
4,900
11,780
3 4,440
58,081
50,926
1,262,492
7,479
43,500
2 5,600
68,364
600
4.000
7,600
2,500
3.000
50,000 216,650
1,059,685
157.081
1 Estimated— in general departmental appropriation.
2 C ity and county.
a Estimated— office recently established; maintenance cost not yet available.
* Part time.
Federal Aid to State Services
U nder the plan of cooperation which has been developed between
the United States Employment Service and the various State systems,
the Federal service may, when necessary^ pay, wholly or in part, the
salary of employees needed to carry on its work where State funds
are not sufficient. Thus placement clerks and examiners in offices in
PUBLIC OFFICES IN THE UNITED STATES
133
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Iowa, and other States
are actually on the pay roll of the United States Employment Service
and are engaged in work for both the State and the Federal services.
Iowa affords a good illustration of the cooperative make-up of
many public employment office systems. There are two offices in
the State—one at Des Moines and one at Sioux City. The superin
tendent in each case is appointed and paid by the State. Quarters
for the Des Moines office are furnished by the Polk County commis
sioners; for the Sioux City office, by the city council. Each office is
able to add a special examiner to its staff through the allocation of
funds from the United States Employment Service to pay their
salaries.
Similar financial assistance is given municipal agencies, several of
which are operated jointly as Federal-municipal undertaldngs inde
pendent of the State government. Knoxville, Tenn., Portland and
other Oregon cities, and Atlanta, Ga., are cases in point. In those
States there is no State system. However, Federal cooperation may
be extended to a municipal agency which is not identified with the
organization in its State, as the case of Westfield, Mass., illustrates.
Juvenile Placement
P l a c e m e n t work in its relation to workers between the ages of 14
and 21 years, in so far as it has developed as a separate undertaking,
is closely allied to the vocational guidance movement. For the most
part it is carried on by city school boards through their vocational
guidance departments or their continuation schools. It is, therefore,
a widely scattered movement functioning wholly within the com
munity.
In three States, however—New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin—
juvenile placement is an activity of the State labor body, the Depart
ment of Labor of New Jersey and of New York and the Industrial
Commission of Wisconsin. In New Jersey and New York the divi
sion of employment of the department is the agency doing that
specialized work; in Wisconsin it comes directly under the industrial
commission but is correlated with, the employment service. New
Jersey has only one juvenile placement office, located at Jersey City.
While there are four such organizations in Wisconsin, only one, that
at Milwaukee, is run by the State. The others are municipal enter
prises. New York has five branch offices operating through the con
tinuation schools in Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, and
Syracuse.
Juvenile placement officers are frequently, perhaps generally, voca
tional counselors who use vocational-guidance technique in dealing
with young applicants for work. At the office of the bureau of em
ployment of the New Jersey Department of Labor in Jersey City,
the supervisor of vocational placement of the Jersey City Board of
Education, acting jointly with the employment service, serves as
vocational counselor. kThe department in its annual report for 1929
points particularly to "the fact that through the advice of the Jersey
City office 351 boys and 258 girls who had applied for jobs returned
to school. Moreover:
As against the usual experience of the junior, unaided in his approach to
industry, of changing jobs three or four times in the first year, the bureau was
134
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES
required to find more than one job for only 7 per cent of those placed. Tho
value of this bureau is shown particularly by the record of the vocational choices
of the applicants— 161 had no vocational objective of any kind, 419 had made
some choice but changed on the advice of the counselors, and 290 were placed
at the occupation they had selected.
The Milwaukee office also stresses vocational advisement and seeks
to further the child’s schooling wherever possible.
Equal in importance to determining the child’s bent and guiding
him along the lines indicated by it is knowledge of the nature and
conditions attending the work in which the child is placed. In New
York—
It is the practice of the employment division of the State department of labor
not only to visit every place of employment in which a job has been obtained
for a boy or a girl, but to make a complete report of the visit. The employer's
record card, as it is called, contains all of the information necessary about working
conditions for boys and girls to enable the placement worker to fit the riglit
child to the job. Each juvenile occupation in that particular place of employ
ment is described and analyzed.2
The third phase of employment service to young workers, and one
of the most important, is following up the child after he goes to
work. Follow-up work by the Milwaukee office “ is done through
monthly evening office hours when children who have been placed in
jobs are given an opportunity to report; through visits to employers
and parents, and conferences with representatives of agencies and
schools.” 3
In New York follow-up letters are sent out at regular intervals,
and the child is encouraged to return to the placement office from
time to time for advice and help. Placement officers interview
and visit with the children at the continuation schools on their
school days. If a child complains about his work or working condi
tions, the employer is visited with a view to adjusting the difficulty.
Continued interest in the child after he goes to work is further
promoted by the local junior advisory committees consisting of
representatives of the schools, employees, employers, and childwelfare organizations.
Particular care is taken in selecting jobs for young workers to see
that conditions with regard to accident hazards are satisfactory.
The New York division of employment states that “ more than
25,000 positions are obtained annually for boys and girls, and there
are few, if any, cases in which these children have been injured on
the job which our placement workers have selected for them.” 4
The United States Employment Service carries on cooperative
relations with juvenile placement offices through the State service
in New Jersey and Wisconsin, and through the school board or other
local agency in 14 other States.5 Eleven cities in California conduct
placement offices for young workers; there are two each in Mas
sachusetts and Minnesota, while the work in the other States is
confined to a single city. The Federal service, in the interest of
uniformity, issues record and report forms to be used by the cooper
ating offices. Moreover, it keeps in touch with the m ovem ent
5 Statement of Richard A . Flint). (U, S. Btim m of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 479, p. 108.)
3 Wisconsin Industrial Commission, Biennial report, 1024-1926, p. 29,
4 Statement of Richard A , Flinn, (V, 8, Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui, N o. 471), p. 110,)
s California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois. Indiana, Maryland;IMoPsarhnsot-ts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee.
PUBLIC OFFICES IN THE UNITED STATES
135
throughout the country, disseminates information concerning it, and
tries to stimulate and promote the effort to secure intelligent place
ment of young workers in their first jobs.
Cities other than those with which the United States Employment
Service deals, notably Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and
Gary (Ind.) are doing active work in juvenile placement through
their school systems, as part of their vocational-guidance programs.
Placement in these instances is essentially a part of the vocationalguidance movement and is in reality inseparable from it.
Placement of Handicapped Workers
R e sp o n sib il ity for securing work for the handicapped and disabled,
so far as it is met at all by governmental means, is divided between
the public employment offices and the rehabilitation agencies. “ Re
habilitation by placement” and “ employment training” are two
methods used m the return to industry of both veterans and disabled
civilians under the State and Federal rehabilitation programs. Both
methods, of course, involve securing a job for the trainee. To that
extent the rehabilitation services are employment services.
Then, too, after the beneficiary of the rehabilitation service is de
clared rehabilitated, the responsibility of at least assisting him to find
a job remains. Discharge of this responsibility is attempted in
various ways. The Veterans’ Bureau established an employment
service, but its procedure is largely that of making contacts with
other agencies which do the actual placement. In the civilian re
habilitation field, the task of finding a job for the trainee seems to be
assumed to a large extent by the rehabilitation agent who handled
the case, and hence is largely individual effort. Placement after the
course of training is completed is generally conceded to be the weak
est point in the rehabilitation service at present. That does not, how
ever, apply to placement work where the job secured is itself the
means used to rehabilitate the disabled worker.
Close and effective cooperation exists between the rehabilitation
and the employment services in Pennsylvania, where both agencies
are bureaus of the State department of labor and industry; in New
Jersey, where both occupy the same quarters in the principal indus
trial centers of the State and are to some extent under the same
direction; and in Minnesota, where the placement agent of the State
division of reeducation is assigned to the Minneapolis office of the
State employment service and works directly m conjunction with it.
Through the reciprocation of effort practiced in Pennsylvania, not
only are the rehabilitants placed in employment, but applicants for
work who are in need of rehabilitation may be referred to that bureau
for the help it can give in overcoming their handicaps and making
better employment objectives attainable.
Two States have an employment service for persons with a par
ticular kind of disability. The division for the deaf of the Industrial
Commission of Minnesota, and the bureau of labor for the deaf of the
North Carolina Department of Labor and Printing function primarily
47767°—31-----10
136
EMPLOYMENT OFFICES
as placement agencies for the hard of hearing. Each employs one
full-time worker.
Sections for caring for handicapped applicants are found in the
Chicago and the Milwaukee public employment offices. Generally
speakmg, however, the many semipublic social service organizations
are more active and more successful in securing jobs for disabled
workers than are the governmental agencies.
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
137
Employment Statistics
THE 1929 Handbook an account was given of the status of
statistics, at that time, in the United States and also
INinemployment
foreign countries. Owing to the greatly increased interest in all
phases of the employment problem, following the industrial depres
sion beginning in the latter part of 1929, much has been done to im
prove the scope and accuracy of the statistics of employment and
unemployment in the United States. Some of the activities in this
field are intended to be permanent; others are concerned only with
the period of the present depression. The principal activities have
been:
(1) Inclusion of a questionnaire on unemployment in the decennial
census of 1930.
(2) Supplementary census, by the United States Bureau of the
Census, of unemployment in selected cities in January, 1931.
(3) Unemployment surveys of individual cities carried out by local
agencies.
(4) Extension of the monthly employment statistics of the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics to include a large number of indus
tries not previously covered.
(5) Extension of monthly employment statistics by several State
labor departments to include more industries than formerly.
(6) Appointment by the President in August, 1930, of a committee
known as the Advisory Committee on Employment Statistics, for the
purpose of making recommendations for tne improvement of the
methods of measuring employment and unemployment.
Employment Statistics Compiled by* the Bureau of
Labor Statistics
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics has compiled, for a number of
years, monthly data regarding the volume of employment in
manufacturing industries, and, beginning in the latter part of 1928,
this work was extended to cover other industries—mines, public
utilities, etc.
The following summary shows for each group, including manu
facturing, the number of establishments reporting in December, 1930,
the number of employees covered, and the total pay rolls for one week:
T
139
140
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
S U M M A R Y OF E M P L O Y M E N T A N D PAY -R O L L TO TAL S, D E C E M B E R , 1930
Industrial group
Num ber of
Number
employees
of estab
on pay roll,
lishments;
December,
reporting
1930
Am ount of
pay roll
(1 week),
December,
1930
1. Manufacturing................ ........... ................... ............................................
2. C oalm ining_____________________________________________________
Anthracite________________ ____________ ______ ______________
Bituminous.......................... ........... .................... ..................... .........
3. Metalliferous mining____________________________________________
4. Quarrying and nonmetallic mining......................................... ...........
5. Crude petroleum producing...________________________ _________
0 . Public utilities__________________________________________________
Telephone and telegraph.................................................................
Power, light, and water....................... ...................... ........... .......
Electric railroad operation and maintenance, exclusive of
car shops......... ........................... ......................... ............. ...............
7. Trade____ ______________________ _______ ___________ _____ ________
Wholesale________ _____________________ _________ ___________
Retail______ ______ __________________________________________
8 . Hotels 1 _____________________ _____________________________________
9. Canning and preserving_______________________________ _________
10. Laundries________________________________________________________
11. Dyeing and cleaning_________________ _______ ______ _____ _______
13,908
1,493
159
1,334
339
756
534
12,013
7,934
3,601
2,914,604
353,269
133,745
219,524
45,712
29,641
28,128
726,229
324,014
252,232
$69,333,753
8,581,268
3.915.275
4,665,993
1.182.275
666,169
1,049,454
22,559,765
9,730,635
8,122,113
478
9,759
1,960
7,799
2,018
969
183
149,983
411,969
63,350
348,619
145,076
4,707,017
9,851,472
1,980,307
7,871,165
2,441,910
610, 916
353,482
64,059
T otal__________________ _______________________________ ____
42,041
4,711,937
17,931
116,694,523
1 The amount of pay roll given represents cash payments only; the additional value of board, room,
and tips can not be computed.
The basic material for the indexes of employment and pay rolls
in manufacturing industries is obtained from reports furnished by
manufacturers in every State of the Union, the great majority of the
reports coming direct to the bureau, although 10 States collect
employment data for their own use and furnish the bureau with the
data in detail for each establishment.
Questionnaires are mailed to each establishment on the 15th of
each month requesting information as to the pay-roll period ending
nearest the 15th day of the month. The questionnaire asks for an
enumeration of the concern’s principal products, the date of the ending
of the pay roll, the period covered (one week, two weeks, half-month,
month), the amount of the pay roll, and the total number of persons
who worked any part of the period. Also, for verification purposes,
a request is made for the reason for any marked increase or decrease
in total pay roll or number of employees, and for a statement showing
current operating time, and any change made in rates of wages.
Each report is inspected upon its arrival, and if the pay-roll total is
for a period longer than one week the equivalent pay roll for one week
is computed. Where necessary, reports are returned to the senders
for correction or amendment.
The bureau’s aim has been to secure in each industry a sufficiently
large number of reporting establishments to guarantee for each
report approximately 50 per cent of the employees in the industry in
each State, as recorded by the Census of Manufactures. The con
summation of this design brings the geographical distribution of
employees in the several industries reported to an equitable basis.
In selecting establishments to represent each industry great care
has been exercised to secure in each geographic division a proportion
ate number of concerns with large, small, and medium numbers of
employees, and if there are two or more branches of an industry,
the same care has been exercised to maintain the ratio of representa
tion from each branch.
TREND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
141
The number of employees and the pay-roll total for each estab
lishment are entered on a separate record card which has space for
the 12 months of each of three years. From these record cards totals
for each industry are made of the employees and the pay-roll amounts
in all establishments for both the current month and the month im
mediately preceding. Percentages of change between the totals for
the two months are then computed, and with the per cent of change
the link chain index of the current month for each industry is built
up froin the index of the previous month. The index for each of the
12 classified groups of industries and for all industries combined is
reached by weighting the relatives for each industry according to the
importance of the industry.
Percentages of change in the separate industries and groups between
a current month and the same month of the previous year are arrived
at by comparing the monthly indexes of the two years.
Changes in per capita earnings are computed and tabulated by
industries, comparisons being made between the current month and
the preceding month and between the current month and the corre
sponding month of the previous year; wage changes also are brought
together and tabulated by industries.
From the current operating time reported, and the normal working
time which the bureau has on file, the per cent of full-time operation is
computed for each concern, together with an average of these per
centages for each industry, for each group, and for all industries
combined.
The monthly reports are presented with the industries arranged in
12 groups: Food; textiles; iron and steel; lumber; leather; paper;
chemicals; stone, clay, and glass; metal, other than iron and steel;
tobacco; vehicles; and miscellaneous industries.
Index numbers of employment and pay-roll totals are computed
for 12 nonmanufacturing industries now included in the bureau's
employment study. The indexes for these nonmanufacturing indus
tries are computed in the same manner as are the indexes for the 54
separate manufacturing industries.
Trend of Employment in Manufacturing Industries
HE United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ indexes of employ
ment and pay-roll totals in manufacturing industries are based
on monthly returns from approximately 13,250 establishments in 54
of the principal manufacturing industries of the United States.
These 54 industries normally employ more than 75 per cent of the
wage earners in all manufacturing industries of the United States;
the 13,250 reporting establishments normally employ about 3,600,000
wage earners or nearly 60 per cent of the total number employed in
the 54 manufacturing industries, and 45 per cent of the employees in
all manufacturing industries.
T
142
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Trend of Employment in 1930
T he general trend of employment in manufacturing industries in
1930 was consistently downward, the only variation having been the
increase of 0.1 per cent in February, a very much smaller reaction
from the regular decrease in January than is customary. The total
decrease from December, 1929, to December, 1930, was 18.3 per cent,
and the decline which began in October, 1929, had therefore amounted
to 24.4 per cent by December, 1930.
While the index of pay-roll totals advanced slightly in March and
September in addition to a pronounced increase in February, the total
decrease from December, 1929, to December, 1930, was 26.7 per cent
and the decline from September, 1929, amounted to 33.6 per cent.
Table 1 shows by months the general index of employment in
manufacturing industries and the general index of pay-roll totals
from January, 1923, to December, 1930.
T a b l e 1.— G E N E R A L I N D E X E S O F E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y -R O L L T O T A L S
M A N U F A C T U R I N G I N D U S T R I E S , J A N U A R Y , 1923, T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
IN
[M onthly average, 1926=100]
Employment
Pay-roll totals
M onth
1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1923
January-------February____
M arch.............
April..............
M a y ................
June.................
July..................
August_______
September- _ .
October_____
N ovem ber- _Ji
December___ !
106.6 103.8 97.9 100.4 97.3 91.6 95.2
108.4 105.1 99.7 101.5 99.0 93.0 97.4
110.8 104.9 100.4 102.0 99.5 93.7 98.6
100.8 102.8 100.2 101.0 98.6 93.3 99.1
110.8 98.8 98.9 99.8 97.6 93.0 99.2
110.9
109.2
108.5
108.6
108.1
107.4
105.4
95.6
92.3
92.5
94.3
95.6
95.5
97.3
98.0
97.2
97.8
98.9
100.4
100.7
99.3
97.7
98.7
100.3
100.7
99.5
100.8 98.9
97.0
95.0
95.1
95.8
95.3
93.5
92.6
93.1
92.2
93.6
95.0
95.9
95.4
95.5
98.8
98.2
98.6
99.3
98.3
94.8
91.9
Average . 108.8 98. % 99.2 100.0 96.4 93.8 97.5
1930
90.2
90.3
89.8
89.1
87.7
85.5
81.6
79.9
79.7
78.6
76.5
75.1
1923
1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
95.8 98.6
99.4103.8
104.7 103.3
105.7 101.1
109.4 96.5
109.3 90.8
104.3 84.3
103.7 87.2
104.4 89.8
106.8 92.4
105.4 91.4
103.2 95.7
93.9 98.0 94.9 89.6 94.5
1930
102.3
95.1
92.0
87.6
90.7
90.8
89.8
87.6
84.1
75.9
73.9
74.2
72.7
68.3
67. 4
83.7 104.3 94.6 97.7 100.0 96.5 94.5 100.4
80.3
99.3 102.2 100.6 93.9 101.8
100.8 103.4 102.0 95.2 103.9
98.3 101.5 100.8 93.8 104.6
98.5
95.7
93.5
95.4
94.4
100.4
100.4
99.8
99.7
95.2
98.7
99.3
102.9
99.6
101.6 99.8
99.8
97.4
93.0
95.0
94.1
95.2
91.6
93.2
94.1
94.2
91.2
94.2
95.4
99.0
96.1
97.7
104.8
102.8
98.2
102.1
102.6
The charts (pp. 143 and 144), made from the index numbers of Table 1,
show clearly the trend of employment and pay-roll totals in manu
facturing industries during the period January, 1926, to December,
1930.
Employment by Industries, 1929 and 1930
I n T able 2 are shown for the years 1929 and 1930 the average
general index, the average group indexes, and the average indexes for
each of the 54 component manufacturing industries.
The weights used in combining the various relatives for individual
industries into the 12 group indexes and the final general index are
representative of the importance of the several industries.
TREND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
143
144
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
145
TREND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
T able 3 .—A V E R A G E Y E A R L Y I N D E X E S O F E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y -R O L L T O T A L S
I N M A N U F A C T U R I N G I N D U S T R I E S , 1929 A N D
1930
[M onthly average, 1926=100]
Employment
Pay-roll totals
1929
1929
Industry
fjtoneral in d e x _____
______ ____ . .
1930
1930
...... ...... ...............
97.5
83.7
100.4
F o od a n d kin d red p r o d u c ts .. . .................................................. .......
Slaughtering and meat packing..................... ........... .....................
Confectionery.................................... ................. ......... ......... ............. ..
Tee cream™
. . . - - _______ ___ _
_____________ ..
Flour..........................................................................................................
Taking __
Sugar refining, cane
............ ... ......... ........... ............
99.4
94.5
97.1
85.9
87.6
97.0
96.8
91.6
101.7
103.2
94.1
93.0
105.3
103.5
98.5
83.7
80.6
87.5
86.5
77.7
81.9
93.0
80.4
81.1
94.2
85.1
97.2
94.3
104.3
100.9
96.3
101.4
77.0
73.3
84.6
81.7
72.7
102.2
8 8 .2
87.9
67.9
70.9
87.2
78.4
102.6
99.3
75.5
104.4
108.1
93.7
139.8
78.8
87.3
Textiles a n d their p ro d u c ts_____ _____ . ________ ______________
Cotton goods__________________________________________________
Hosiery and knit gnnda
Silk goods_________________________________________ _______ ____
Woolen and worsted goods___________________________________
Carpets and rugs™........................ ....
_ ........ .
_ ...
Dyeing and finishing textiles.................... ......... ......... ............... .
Clothing, man's
Shirts and collars.. ,
. . .
Clothing, women’s__________ _______ ______ ____ ______ ________
Millinery and lace goods_________________________ _______ ____
101.0
92.3
91.9
102.1
102.1
94.0
97.0
95.5
98.1
98.0
96.0
106.8
101.8
91.9
92.7
105.4
93.1
98.9
94.7
76.1
90.8
105.1
91.1
80.3
97.0
100.2
8 6 .2
87.5
99.9
98.5
94.4
6 6 .0
Iro n a n d steel a n d th eir p r o d u c ts . __________ ________________
Iron and steel,
...............
...
Cast-iron p i p e . . . ____________________________________________
Structural-iron work______________ __________________________
Foundry and machine-shop products________________________
.............. ............... ..............
H a rd w a re ....... ..................... „ .........
Machine tools. ...
Steam fittings and steam and hot-water heating apparatus. _
Stoves_____________________________________ _____ _____________
104.3
91.9
129.8
78.5
90.8
84.8
84.5
67.4
92.2
87.8
78.8
98.7
65.2
74.3
L u m b e r a n d its p ro d u cts____ ______ __________________________
Lumber, sawmills____________________________________________
Lumber, millwork____________________ ________ ______ ______
Furniture____________ ______ __________________________________
87.9
85.9
83.1
95.9
68.9
67.7
63.9
75.2
88.9
86.9
82.8
97.0
6 6 .6
L eather a n d its p ro d u c ts___________ ________ _________ ________
Leather___________ _________ ___________________ _______ _______
Boots and s h o e s ._____________________ ______________________
92.8
92.2
92.9
85.0
85.2
85.0
89.9
93.2
89.0
72.9
83.0
70.1
Paper a n d p r in tin g ______________________________________ _____ _
Paper and pulp_______________________________________________
Paper boxes________________________________________ _____ _____
Printing, book and job_______________ ______ ____ ________ ____
Printing, newspapers_________________________________________
101.3
95.5
96.0
106.0
98.2
103.3
105.8
101.9
89.8
92.9
102.6
108.3
98.3
91.3
89.7
99.5
108.5
112.8
112.3
C h em icals a n d allied p ro d u c ts_______________________________
Chemicals_____________________________________________________
Fertilizers____________________________ _______ __________ _____ _
Petroleum refining___________________________ ______ _________
99.4
103.2
95.2
96.5
92.9
94.3
89.5
92.6
102.3
107.1
94.7
99.1
94.5
94.1
87.5
95.9
Stone, clay# and glass products__________ _____ ____________
8 6 .6
Cement_______________________________________________________
Brick, tile, and terra cotta___________________________________
Potterv_________________________________ - _____________________
G la ss__ ___ ______________________________. . . _______________
81.1
80.5
94.2
94.6
73.1
74.1
63.1
84.7
81.3
85.3
81.0
76.9
91.0
97.3
67.3
71.5
55.3
74.7
78.3
79.1
77.9
79.7
102.8
101.1
91.1
107.4
74.1
71.8
74.9
93.6
89.3
94.2
89.5
89.5
89.5
92.8
89.6
93.2
84.1
87.7
83.7
99.8
116.9
78.6
91.9
8 f>. 1
78.3
83.7
56.7
86.9
72.9
105.2
118.7
84.1
93.9
92.3
75.1
74.6
61.X
87. 6
74.8
121.1
94.1
92.3
118.3
101.6
102.0
6 6 .6
47.4
80.2
77.6
114.9
112.3
125.3
121.5
63.8
99.3
Metal products, other than iron and sterf____
Stamped and enameled ware_____________________________
Brass, bronze, and copper products_________________ ________
Tobacco p ro d u c ts... ______ __________ _____________ ______ ■
Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff___________ ________
Cigars and cigarettes...______________________________________
Vehicles for land transportation......... .. .
........ ............
Automobiles............................................................................................
Carriages and wagons.............................................................. .........
Oar building and repairing, electric-railroad...................... .
Car building and repairing, steam-railroad............................
Miscellaneous industries.............................................. ...............
Agricultural implements.................... ................... ................... .......
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies...... ...................
Pianos and organs___________________________ ___________ _____
Rubber boots and shoes.................. ..................... ............................
Automobile tires.............................. ........... ......... ....................... .......
Shipbuilding-.......................................... ........... ............. .......... .......
102.1
102.6
97.6
90.4
110.7
97.6
104.1
105.3
101.8
108; 1
79.2
79.8
65.9
89.0
81. 5
68.5
90.2
58.7
64.1
64.7
65.0
61.0
n. 7
85. (i
41.1
74.2
73.4
116.4
146
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
In addition to the 54 industries upon which the indexes of employ
ment and pay-roll totals in manufacturing industries are based, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics during 1929 and 1930 began the publication
of employment and pay-roll data for nine additional manufacturing
industries, which are not included in the indexes, data for the indexbase year (1926) not being available.
The magnitude of the bureau's report on employment in selected
manufacturing industries is shown in Table 3, in which the data for
December, 1930, are presented, to illustrate the distribution of estab
lishments, employees, and pay-roll totals among the various industries
and classified groups of industries, with a recapitulation by geographic
divisions.
T a b l e 3 — E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y -R O L L T O T A L S , B Y IN D U S T R I E S A N D G E O G R A P H IC
D IV IS IO N S
Industry
Num ber of Am ount of
employees
pay roll
Establish
on pay roll, (1 week),
ments
December, December,
1930
1930
Food and kindred products_____
1,981
228,498
225
327
342
352
719
16
$5,808,246
Slaughtering and meat packing.
Confectionery...................................
Ice cream............................................
Flour....................................................
Baking................... ............................
Sugar refining, cane______ _____ _
88.044
37,455
12,327
14,872
66,465
9,335
2,292,628
698,376
400,112
385,387
1,763,691
268,052
2,405
523,896
9,374,941
412
123
163,972
90,508
56,871
48,603
14,321
36,017
54,454
16,847
29,464
12,839
2,409,993
1,539,839
1,101,99':
1,000,398
305,375
869,738
952,407
228,042
708,401
258,754
1,964
558,308
13,746,995
199
39
175
1,081
74
149
109
228,494
8,598
26,783
200,433
25,286
24,722
27,332
16,660
5,687,238
184,972
721,770
4,961,085
525,320
607,427
685,085
374,098
Lum ber and its products.
1,301
155,639
2,921,487
Lumber, sawmills......... ..
Lumber, millwork.............
Furniture........ .....................
590
316
395
88,107
24,381
43,151
1,569,493
508,198
843,796
Leather and its products..
444
115,383
2,059,133
Leather..................................
Boots and shoes..............
131
313
22,700
92,683
529,836
1,529,297
Paper and printing...........
1,370
216,880
7,051,905
Paper and pulp................
Paper boxes.......................
Printing, book and job..
Printing, newspapers. . .
208
310
434
418
53,754
25,876
56,590
80,660
1,323,454
563,656
1,908,203
3,256,592
Textiles and their products___
Cotton goods________ _________
H osiery an d k n it g o o d s----------Silk goods................... ....................
Woolen and worsted goods___
Carpets and rugs--------- ----------Dyeing and finishing textiles..
Clothing, m en’s................... ..
Shirts and collars.____________
Clothing, women’s...... ...............
Millinery and lace goods..........
Iron and steel and their products_______ _____ _____ ____
Iron and steel____________ _________ _____ _____ _______________
Cast-iron pipe___________ __________ _________ _______________
Structural-iron work_______ ______ __________ _______________
Foundry and machine-shop products______________________
Hardware................................................. ............. ...............................
Machine tools____ _______ ________ ___________________________
Steam fittings and steam and hot-water heating apparatus.
Stoves...............................: .....................................................................
450
366
267
183
29
117
346
112
Chemicals and allied products.
435
99,034
2,840,901
Chemicals............................. ...........
Fertilizers....................................... ..
Petroleum refining........................
157
180
38,358
9,596
51,080
1,031,662
172,139
1,637,100
104,802
2,363,328
19,372
31.045
17,250
37,135
490,541
625,138
381,239
866,410
Stone, d a y , and glass products..
Cement................................................
Brick, tile, and terra cotta...........
Pottery................................................
Glass....................................................
117
686
122
141
147
TREND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
T a b l e 3 .— E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y -R O L L T O T A L S , B Y I N D U S T R I E S A N D G E O G R A P H IC
D IV IS IO N S — Continued
Industry
Establish
ments
N um ber of Am ount of
employees
pay roll
on pay roll, (1 week),
December, December,
1930
1930
M e ta l products, other than iron and steel.........................................
Stamped and enameled ware.......................................... ....................... ..
Brass, bronze, and copper products______________________________
238
77
161
44,116
16,125
27,991
$1,018,552
344,960*
673,592
Tobacco products..................................... ............ .......................... ........
220
Chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff...... ........................... ...........
Cigars and cigarettes................ ..................... ........................... ...................
26
194
58,235
8,483
49,752
930,838
134,148
796,690
Vehicles for land transportation...................... ......... .........................
1,237
Automobiles................ ....... .................................
.............................
Carriages and wagons.......... ..................... ............. ................. ............... ..
Car building and repairing, electric railroad_____ ________________
Car building and repairing, steam railroad—....................... .............
201
389,343
258,163
815
29,127
101,238
10,253,679
6,439,143
16,554
889,779
2,908,203
40
84
278,265
19,132
162,336
5,813
15,287
38,513
37,184
7,478,878
441,783
4,504,687
155,922
310,265
969,781
1,096,440
13,150
2,772,399
65,848,883
758
16
45
43
176
41
142,205
21,043
31,526
8,307
11,902
12,082
12,843
17,030
8,997
18,475
3,484,870
407,332
642,571
265,879
277,355
329,184
309,730
427,835
275,102
549,882
13,908
2,914,604
69,333,753
53
446
537
Miscellaneous industries............................................................... .........
489
84
207
64
Agricultural implements_____________ _______ _____ _________ ______
Electrical machinery, apparatus, and supplies___________________
Pianos and organs..... ..................... ................... ......................... ................
Rubber boots and shoes................................................... ...........................
Automobile tires and inner tubes__________________________ ______
Shipbuilding............................. ......................... ........................... .................
Total— 54 industries used in computing index numbers of em
ployment and pay roll________________________ _____ __________
10
Industries added in 1929 and 1930, for which data for the indexbase year (1926) are n o t available_____ ______ ____________ ______
Rayon_______________________________________ ________ __________
Radio................. ......... ........................ ..................................... .......................
Aircraft.................. ....................... ....................... ................... ....... .................
Jewelry________________ _____ ______________________________________
Paint and varnish_________________________________________________
Rubber goods, other than boots, shoes, tires, and inner tubes.........
Beet sugar____________________________________ _____ ________________
Beverages__________________________________________________________
Cash registers, adding machines, and calculating machines_______
All industries ........ .............................................................................
112
182
75
68
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION
New England____________________________________________ _______ ______
1,533
323,657
7,094,462
3,587
Middle Atlantic___________________________ ______ ____________________
869,841
22,258,683
3,390
East North Central______ ___________________________________ ________ _
925,040
23,045,247
1,262
West North Central________________________________ ______ ____________
166,932
4,005,456
1,628
South Atlantic______________________________ __________________________
305,598
5,682,368
East South Central_________________________ _________________________
626
102,255
1,801,986
754
W est South Central______ _____________________________________________
81,860
1,846,879
298
Mountain______________________________________________________________
963,128
37,033
830
2,635, 544
Pacific______ ___________________________________________________________
102,388
All divisions____________________________________________ ______ _
13,908
2,914,604
69,333,753
Proportion of Time Worked
T he Bureau of Labor Statistics has collected data as to operating
time in factories, in connection with employment statistics, in manu
facturing industries since July, 1922. The earliest published report,
made in January, 1923, was based on returns from about 3,000 estab
lishments and showed 81 per cent of the establishments operating
full time and 17 per cent part time, while 2 per cent were idle. The
December, 1930, report, based on returns from 11,184 establishments
or over 3.7 times as many as in the first report, showed 58 per cent
operating full time and 40 per cent part time while 2 per cent were
idle.
The first tabulation of the average per cent of full time worked
by the operating establishments was in March, 1924, when the aver
age for 5,000 establishments stood at 94 per cent. During the last two
148
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
months of 1930 the average stood at 90, about 11,000 establishments
having been concerned in the reports for these months.
While no direct comparison of these averages is made between
months, the monthly computations are very largely made on reports
from identical plants, the number varying slightly from month to
month, so that with such a large number of establishments it is likely
that the monthly returns are quite fairly comparable.
These computations are made for each of the 54 industries separately,
and for the same industries classified into 12 groups.
These data as to time worked form an important addition to the
regular presentation of statistics of employment and pay-roll totals
and aid in their interpretation.
Employment by Geographic Divisions
T he general trend of employment in manufacturing industries and
the fluctuations from month to month differ widely between the several
geographic divisions of the United States. To illustrate these differ
ences a chart is presented showing for each of the nine divisions the
course of employment during the years 1929 and 1930. The chart is
based on index numbers computed for each division, using the
monthly average for 1926 as 100. These index numbers are presented
in Table 4.
T able 4 .—I N D E X E S O F E M P L O Y M E N T I N M A N U F A C T U R I N G I N D U S T R I E S I N E A C H
G E O G R A P H IC D IV IS IO N , B Y M O N T H S , J A N U A R Y , 1929, T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
[M onthly average, 1926=100]
Geographic division
Year and month
New
M iddle
England Atlantic
East
North
Central
107.0
W est
East
South
North
South
Atlantic
Central
Central
W est
South
Central
M oun
tain
92.6
89.0
92.2
94.3
97.7
101.7
100.5
103.1
100.3
98.5
98.6
94.4
Pacific
1929
January____________
February___________
M arch____ _________
April_______________
M a y ________________
June................. ...........
July_________________
August_____________
September_____
October ________ .
November_________
December......... .........
91.1
92.2
92.8
92.6
92.2
91.3
91.0
90.8
92.5
92.8
89.8
87.2
90.9
93.1
94.0
94.2
94.7
95.3
95.4
96.0
96.5
96.3
94.2
91.3
111.2
100.6
100.6
110.9
110.7
107.0
98.0
93.8
10114
101.9
100.7
98.0
94.8
Average_____
91.4
94.3
108.8
85.9
85.6
84.4
82.7
80.7
78.8
74.9
74.1
75.0
75.3
73.8
71.6
89.6
89.0
89.0
87.7
78.6
83.9
99.4
97.2
88 .1
88.4
89.6
93.0
94.1
93.3
93.2
95.7
97.3
99.8
99.6
97.8
93.4
98.8
99.8
92.2
94.6
96.9
97.8
94.1
95.8
95.1
95.2
94.7
91.5
93.2
94.9
93.9
93.1
92.2
90.9
95.7
95.8
96.4
96.5
94.0
91.9
85.7
88.3
87.3
85.4
6 8 .6
90.3
89.7
88.4
87.2
84.0
83.4
79.9
77.9
77.0
74.1
71.2
70.2
89.2
86.3
8 3 .1
79.7
77.9
76. 6
74.7
87.5
87.3
80.4
82. 5
81.3
81.0
79.9
70.8
72.5
78.1
81.2
83.5
82.9
111.8
113.4
114.2
114.9
112.3
95.9
97.9
97.3
97.9
98.9
98.0
100.1
101.6
101.5
100.2
100.3
98.8
99.9
100.2
100.2
92.1
92.3
93.1
93.5
90.7
91.8
92.0
93.3
93.9
94.0
91.9
92.7
92.0
94.3
98.2
100.9
101.2
101.8
102.2
100.8
99.9
96.9
92.8
1930
January______
February____ ______
M arch____ _________
April_______________ 1
M a y .................... ..
June____ _____
ii
July___ _____
August........ ..
►September________
October_____ _______
November__________
December__________
Average.........
8 6 .0
84.0
81.3
80.4
81.7
81.7
79.7
77.0
86 .2
88.1
8 8 .6
82.9
81.2
79.1
77.0
76.8
86.4
80. 1
85.0 i!
83.4
81.9 i
86.7
87.3
87.5
89.1
90.6
8 6 .2
85.1
83.5
8 6 .8
84.5
84.5
81.9
78.9
75.0
74.7
73.3
72.7
70.0
8 6 .0
85.5
85.4
8 8 .8
8 6 .6
149
TREND IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS.
AVERAGE. 1926= 100.)
(nOMTHLY
NEW
ENGLAND.
IAA
MIDDLE. ATLANTIC,
---------------- \
19 * 9
Nv
X
90
1930
1930
A0
70
IZO
W. NORTH CENTRAL.
E,. NORTH CENTRAL.
— \
ItO
1 9 2 .9
\
\
'\bzs
1930
100
\
x--\
\
\
V
too
)10
N
N
-^ .1 9 3 0
90
\
90
80
ao
70
r
*o
cc:
5
<
3
W
O
Z
G
O
ui
Q
5
->
of
a
<
3
V-‘
o
O
<->
^
D
150
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
TREND OF EMPLOYMENT.
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS.
( m o n t h ly
MOUNTAIN.
AVERAGE. 132.6 - 100.)
PACIFIC.
110
I9Z3
.
----\
\\
IMS /
X
1930
k
or
CL
<
. »
V-
*3
o
o
Trend of Employment in Nonmanufacturing
Industries
HE trend of employment and pay rolls during 1929 and 1930 in
industries other than manufacturing, which the Bureau of Labor
Statistics has surveyed during 1929 ana 1930, is shown in the table
following. This table gives index numbers for mining, quarrying,
production of crude petroleum, public utilities, trade, hotels, and
canning and preserving. Data for 1929 for laundries and dyeing and
cleaning are not available.
T
Anthracite
mining
Bituminous Metallifer
coal mining ous mining
Year and month
Quarrying
and nonmetallic
mining
Crude
petroleum
producing
Telephone
and tele
graph
Power,
light, and
water
Operation
and main
tenance
of electric
railroads 1
Wholesale
trade
Retail
trade
Hotels
Canning
and pre
serving
E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay E m Pay Em Pay E m Pay
ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll ploy roll
ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals ment totals
April.....................................
M a y .....................................
June....... ..............................
100.7
103.7
92.9
88.3 1 0 0.2
99.0 96.6
80.7 94.7
July....................................... 83.2 64.7
August.................................
91.1
78.4
September________ _____ 101.9 103.8
94.1
95.7
97.2
93.1
94.6
97.0
88 .0
91.6
91.9
96.0
85.9
88.9
95.0
90.0
90.4
89.6
93.1
99.0
97.4
94.3
95.3
96.5
94.5
93.0
98.7
98.7
97.6
98.0
97.7
96.9
97.3
96.7
96.4
98.5
99.2
94.6
96.2
99.0 97.1 98.5
94.5 99.8 102.0
96.1 100.9 103.4
50.8
48.9
49.4
57.3
59.2
54.9
96.7 97.8 98.3 95.9 95.5 98.5 99.5
92.4 100.4 99.4 98.4 98.1 100.4 101.0
99.4 101.5 100.0 100.7 100.4 101.2 101.7
97.9
99.0
99.2
97.8
99.0
98.6
95.5
97.3
97.4
96.0
97.1
98.6
99.7 100.6
98.1 98.9
99.3 98.7
90.6
62.0
76.6
98.9
71.2
71.9
85.6 101.5 99.0 104.7 104.7 106.0 100.7 102.6 104.1 103.2 102.3 102.2 101.9 100.4 100.5
92.8 103.2 100.1 106.7 110.3 113.2 104.7 103.7 101.8 105.4 103.8 102.2 102.0 101.3 100.0
98.6 101.2 102.0 106.6 109.8 108.9 110.7 102.5 100.4 105.5 106.6 101.4 101.5 101.9 103.3
93.6
93.6
97.6
95.9 101.1 99.8 126.8 109.2
95.2 102.6 99.4 184.8 180.1
99.2 102.8 102.2 210.1 207.9
91.8
99.1
89.2 100.6 104.6 99.6 100.5 97.6
91.9 100.8 104.6 104.1 107.1 93.9
90.0 103.8 105.6 106.6 110.5 104.1
92.9
92.6
92.8
91.7
91.8
94.5
99.7
99.1
97.0
October........... ................... 106.1 133.9 98.8 106.8 101.9 103.1 103.6 105.8 107.9 100.1 101.9 105.1 105.7 106.0 100.5 100.0 102.9 102.7 101.7 102.6 100.6 100.2 143.3 134.5
Novem ber.......................... 104.0 100.5 10 1.0 106.0 103.0 102.2 98.6 96.0 101.1 103.8 101.9 101.2 104.7 104.1 99.4 98.4 102.9 101.9 106.7 105.2 100.0 99.8 95.1 91.6
December........................... 107.1 137.2 101.4 108.2 98.5 99.7 90.1 85.4 97.0 102.1 101.8 103.9 102.5 105.8 98.3 99.8 102.6 104.7 126.2 120.6 97.7 98.9 61.3 63.4
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Average................
105.8 102.5 101.4
106.9 121.5 102.4 102.1
82.6 78.5 98.6 86.4
102.1
April..................................
95.7
92.3
90.9
92.7
92.5
90.8
79.6
79.8
83.0
71.9
73.5
80.0
92.7
90.8
89.3
94.0 101.6 105.1
100.2 101.9
99.4 105.8
8 8 .6
91.3
99.6 99.7
98.8 100.4
99.7 102.1
97.1
95.1
94.4
97.8 100.0 100.0
95.7 98.5 98.3
95.4 97.7 99.7
98.9
94.4
93.9
99.7 100.4 100.3
96.0 102.4 103.8
95.5 102.4 104.4
46.1
45.7
49.7
50.3
51.5
50.8
74.8
65.7
83.0
72.6
66.9
81.5
84.1
93.8
90.8
75.0
98.8
94.3
94.4
90.4
88.4
81.7
77.5
75.6
89.3
87.5
84.6
88.3
85.6
81.6
87.4
90.8
90.3
85.4
90.2
90.9
8 6 .8
8 6 .6
M a y ......................................
June......... ............................
89.8
90.2
85.4
87.1
98.9 103.4 100.7 102.6
99.7 103.2 103.4 104.5
99.8 103.4 104.6 107.8
95.2
95.2
94.8
97.1
96.0
97.0
97.3
96.8
96.5
97.9
97.4
98.6
97.3
96.7
93.9
97.5 100.1 100.3
97.3 98.0 98.4
96.8 98.0 98.1
July........ ..............................
August.................................
September..........................
91.6
80.2
93.8
94.0
78.8
91.6
8 8 .0
89.2
90.5
68.9
71.1
74.9
80.5
79.0
78.1
71.9
71.0
69.9
89.9
89.3
87.7
75.5
85.8
82.5
89.9
87.7
85.0
88.5 100.0 106.6 105.9 106.7
8 6 .0
98.8 102.5 106.4 106.6
84.0 96.8 102.2 105.2 106.1
95.3
92.9
91.8
95.6
92.1
90.5
96.0
95.0
94.8
96.0
93.6
93.6
89.0
85.6
92.0
91.7 101.3
87.6 101.5
92.4 100.1
October...............................
Novem ber..........................
December...........................
99.0 117.2
97.2 98.0
99.1 100.0
91.8
92.5
92.5
79.4
79.1
77.7
77.2
72.8
70.1
6 8 .6
84.7
78.3
70.2
79.3
63.4
59.9
85.2
83.6
77.4
82.6
80.0
77.2
94.5 100.9 104.8 105.6
93.0 97.9 103.4 103.7
91.6 101.3 103.2 106.3
91.0
89.3
88.9
87.7
59.9
88 .8
8 8 .6
94.2
92.6
92.0
92.9 95.5 95.1
91.0 98.4 96.8
91.3 115.1 107.7
97.5
95.2
93.5
95.5 164.7 140.0
93.6 96.7 82.9
91.5 61.6 57.4
93,4
81.3
83.%
78.0
84.3
79.3
87.4
85.9
97.9 102.9 103.0 104.3
93.4
93.5
90.0
95.9
99.2
98.5 103.9;
Average............... 1 93.4
!
95.3
66 .8
1 N ot including electric-railroad car building and repairing; see vehicles group, manufacturing industries, p. 145, et seq.
95.9
96.2
99.8 126.3 112.7
98.6 185.7 172.0
97.1 246.6 214.8
!
96.1
INDUSTRIES
1930
January...............................
February............................
M arch..................... ............
NONMANUFACTURING
105.7 100.7 106.4 106.1
106.0 122.1 107.7 116.6
98.0 90.8 106.8 108.6
IN
1929
January...............................
February............................
M arch....... ..........................
TREND
18— ol9Ll*
I N D E X E S O F E M P L O Y M E N T A N D P A Y -R O L L T O T A L S , J A N U A R Y , 1929, T O D E C E M B E R , 1930— M I N I N G , Q U A R R Y I N G , P R O D U C T I O N OF C R U D E
P E T R O L E U M , P U B L I C U T I L I T IE S , T R A D E , H O T E L S , A N D C A N N I N G ( M O N T H L Y A V E R A G E , 1929=100)
152
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Trend of Employment on Steam Railroads
ONTHLY statistics as to the employment on Class I railroads*—
that is, all roads having operating revenues of $1,000,000 or
over—are published by the Interstate Commerce Commission and
presented in summarized form in the Labor Review. Total 1 shows
the movement of employment for all classes of employees over the
year 1930, in comparison with the four preceding years, the year
1926 being taken as a base or 100. Table 2 gives these data, by
principal occupational groups and by months, for the year 1930.
In these tabulations the data for the occupational group reported
by the Interstate Commerce Commission as “ executives, officials,
and staff assistants” are omitted.
M
T a b l e 1.—I N D E X O F E M P L O Y M E N T O N C L A S S I S T E A M R A I L R O A D I N T H E U N I T E D
S T A T E S , J A N U A R Y , 1926, T O D E C E M B E R , 1930
[M onthly average, 1926=100]
M onth
Janaury_____________________________________
February____________________________________
March_______________________________________
April________________________________________
M a y ___________________ ______ _______________
June__________________________ _____________
July.................................................................. .........
August______________________________________
September_____ _______ _______________ ______
October___ __________________________________
November___________________________________
December___________________________________
Average________ ___________________
1920
1927
95.8
96.0
96.7
98.9
1928
95.5
95.3
95.8
97.4
99.4
100.9
1929
1930
88.9
90.1
92.2
94.9
96.1
96.6
97.4
96.8
96.9
93.0
98.2
99.5
99.1
98.9
95.7
91.9
89.3
89.0
89.9
91.7
94.5
95.9
95.6
95.7
95.3
95.3
92.9
89.7
8 8 .8
86.5
84.7
83.7
82.2
80.4
77.0
74.9
100.(1
97.5
92.9
93.3
83.5
100.2
101.6
102.9
102.7
101.0
102.8
103.4
101.2
8 8 .2
86.3
85.4
85.5
87.0
88 .6
T a b l e 2 .— E M P L O Y M E N T O N C L A S S I S T E A M R A IL R O A D S I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S ,
B Y M O N T H S , 1930
[From monthly reports of Interstate Commerce Commission. A s data for only the more important occupa
tions are shown separately, the group totals are not the sum of the items under the respective groups]
Number of employees at middle of month
Occupation
January
Febru
ary
March
April
M ay
June
Professional, clerical, and general.........
265,857
264,199
263,139
261,208
260,033
256,686
Clerks...............................................................
Stenographers and typists.................. —
149,212
24,558
147,815
24,477
147,085
24,364
145,872
24,220
145,221
24,130
142,980
23,811
M aintenance o f way and stru ctu res._
331,292
322,327
337,188
376,604
408,042
394,934
Laborers, extra gang and work train.
Laborers, track and roadway section..
38,971
168,235
38,037
162,558
43,547
171,358
57,173
192,852
69,309
208,997
65,464
201, 585
Maintenance o f equipm ent and stores.
439,317
435,177
429,624
424,049
422,105
410,674
Carmen______________ _____ ____________
Machinists.....................................................
Skilled trades helpers.................................
Laborers (shops, engine houses, power
plants, and stores)___________________
Common laborers (shops, engine
houses, power plants, and stores)___
93,719
53,434
96,883
92,438
53,163
96,117
91,406
52,809
94,914
90,727
52,402
93,287
90,577
52,413
92,808
87,465
51,380
90,382
36,796
36,679
35,834
34,969
34,715
33,703
50,168
49,226
48,201
47,572
47,385
45, 709
186,578
186,853
187,210
185,469
184,906
183,210
29,050
28,965
28,907
28,864
28,855
28,797
22,774
22,609
22,439
22,276
22,101
21,904
28,660
Transportation, other th a n train,
engine, and yard................................... __
Station agents...................................... .........
Telegraphers, telephoners, and towermen.............. ..................................... ...........
Truckers (stations, warehouses, and
platforms)............................ .......................
Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen.......................................................... ..
29,380
30,243
31,065
30,319
30,052
20,116
20,053
20,070
20,031
20,015
19,996
Transportation (yard masters, switch
tenders, and hostlers)............................
Transportation, train and engine........
21,428
299,588
21,293
21,017
20,753
297,537
291,551
387,611
20,622
288,935
20,370
281,683
Road conductors......... ......... ................... —
Road brakemen and flagmen__________
Yard brakemen and yard helpers..........
Road engineers and motormen...............
Road firemen and helpers.........................
33,626
65,564
51,103
40,194
40,809
33,323
64,790
50,871
39,852
40,486
32,760
64,105
49,423
39,070
39,740
32,421
63,100
48,751
38,649
39,163
32,553
63,433
49,101
38,820
39,386
32,140
62,346
47,165
38,146
38,694
Total num ber o f employees......... 1,544,060 1,527,386 1,529,729 1,555,692 1,584,643
1,547,55?
153
STATE EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
TABLE 3 .— E M P L O Y M E N T O N C L A S S I S T E A M R A I L R O A D S I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S
B Y M O N T H S , 1930—Continued
Num ber of employees at middle of month
Occupation
July
August
Septem
ber
October
Novem
ber
Decem
ber
Professional, clerical, and general..........
252,527
Clerks---------------------------------------------------Stenographers and typists.......... .............
140,357
23,363
949,931
138,835
23,070
247,693
137, 595
22,892
245,494
136,315
22,676
242,839
134,521
22,474
239,506
131,874
22,248
M aintenance o f way and structures..
383,985
59,930
198,084
374,499
54,200
195,626
356,484
48,409
186,028
337,056
40,172
177,721
293,534
28,799
151,695
247,479
24,148
141,546
397,588
83,768
50,129
87,168
393,456
83,406
49,682
86,259
387,879
81,727
49,175
85,235
378,794
79,837
47,960
83,159
376,973
79,549
48,046
82,705
375,160
78,647
48,071
82,391
33,120
32,763
32,235
31, 955
31,654
31,558
44,072
43,358
42,681
41,123
40,536
40,251
180,585
28,758
178,521
28,683
178,742
28,580
176,772
28,471
172,791
28,349
168,939
28,298
Laborers, extra gang and work train__
Laborers, track and roadway section. _
M aintenance o f equipm ent and stores
Carmen............................................................
Machinists.............. . . . ......................... .......
Skilled trades h elpers-------- -----------------Laborers (shops, engine houses, power
plants, and stores)----------------------------Common laborers (shops, engine
houses, power plants, and stores)___
Transportation, other than train,
engine, and yard-------------- -----------------Station agents----- -------- -------------------------Telegraphers, telephoners, and towermen---------- -----------------------------------------Truckers (stations, warehouses, and
platforms)---------- --------------------------------Crossing and bridge flagmen and gatemen-------. --------------------------------------------
21,654
21,487
21,345
21,230
20,954
20,737
27,273
26,646
28,236
28,266
27,059
25,151
19,887
19,864
19,830
19,523
19,408
19,226
20,148
20,103
19,849
19,625
19,402
19,027
380,309
32,180
61,929
46,613
38,018
38,598
281,362
32,036
61,821
47,129
38,083
38,757
278,874
31,503
61,424
47,047
37,576
38,286
281,003
31,644
61,962
47,758
37,656
38,239
272,703
30, 734
59,886
46,559
36,541
37,150
263,359
29,707
57,720
44,611
35,344
36,289
Total num ber o f employees-------- 1,515,142 1,497,872 1,469,521 1,438,744 1,378,242
1,340,470
Transportation (yard masters, switch
tenders, and hostlers)-.---------------------Transportation, train and engine ------Road conductors---------------------- ------------Road brakemen and flagmen--------------Yard brakemen and yard helpers..........
Road engineers and motormen.__..........
Road firemen and helpers.........................
State Employment Records
HE following States compile current statistics of volume of
employment and total pay rolls from establishments within their
respective jurisdictions: Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Mary
land, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Okla
homa, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. The industries covered
vary to some extent among the several States. Also, the methods of
presenting the data vary, although the usual practice is to show the
changes (expressed in percentages or in index numbers) during the
month preceding and during the year preceding. These reports, in
so far as they are received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are pub
lished in the Labor Review each month, in summarized form. The
following table, compiled from the State reports, shows the general
character of these reports and the changes in employment and pay roll
reported in December, 1930, and January, 1931, as compared with
corresponding periods in 1929 and 1930.
T
154
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
P E R C E N T OF C U A N G E IN E M P L O Y M E N T A N 1) P A Y R O L L S IN S P E C IF IE D S T A T E S
Monthly period
Per cent of change,
November to D e
cember, 1930
State, and industry group
State, and industry group
Em ploy
ment
.
Em ploy
ment
Pay roll
Arkansas 1
Auto dealers, garages_______
Auto bodies, wood parts___
B^lceriAS and
B everages..,
. _
Brick and tile_______________
Candy and confections-------Cooperage, heading_________
Cotton compresses, gins,
and products_____________
Cnftl miTies , „
Furniture manufacture_____
Flour, grain, feed, fertilizer..
Glass factories______________
Handles, hubs, spokes...........
H otels...________________ ...
T^rmdrifts.
Tjimhor milla
Machinery, foundries, parts.
Newspapers and printers—
Packing houses _
_____ __
Petroleum products________
Sand, gravel, stone_________
Textile mills, garments_____
Public utilities_____ ________
Wholesale and retail,,
Miscellaneous..................... .
Per cent of change,
December, 1930, to
January, 1931
M aryland— Continued
+ 0 .6
—46.6
+ 4 .6
—28.6
+ 13. 6
+ 1 2 .3
+ 7 .0
- 7 .2
- 3 7 .2
+• 8
—25.3
+ 2 6 .3
+ 4 .4
+ 7 .8
-3 .7
+ 4 .4
-3 7 .6
—14.7
+ 4 6 .1
+ 4 .3
+ .4
-4 .4
- 7 .4
+ 1 4 .2
O
Z. K
0
- 2 .1
-4 .0
- 4 .1
-4 .8
-3 .9
+ 4 .2
- 1 .9
-9 .3
+ 1 7 .7
- 4 2 .1
—14.1
+ 3 3 .7
+ 1 3 .1
+ 5 .5
-9 .8
- 6 .6
+ 6 .7
4-1 7
_
-A
- 3 .6
- 2 4 .1
- 4 .6
- 3 .1
-.2
- 3 .2
Iron and steel and t heir
products__________________
Lumber and its product s___
Leather and its products____
Rubber tires—..........................
Paper and printing.................
Chemicals and allied prod
ucts_____ ____ _____ ________
Stone, clay,
and glass
products__________________
M etal products other 1han
iron and s t e e l____________
Tobacco products___________
Transportation equipment.
Car building and repairing—
Miscellaneous______________
Io w a 1
— 1 .6
-8 .9
—.9
—1.4
-5 .6
—3.8
—8 .0
—3.9
+ 2 2 .3
-7 .0
-9 .3
- 1 0 .6
- 10.8
—14.1
- 3 .0
-6 7 .2
- 8 .2
- 8 .3
- 1 .7
—11.9
- 5 0 .8
- 1 2 .0
-1 2 .4
-1 1 .5
All manufacturing___
- 4 .1
-5 .4
Retail establishm ents_____
Wholesale establishments...
Public utilities........... .............
Coal mines__________________
Hotels_______________________
Quarries_____________________
Building construction______
-2 7 .9
- 1 .4
- 1 .7
- 1 .2
- 3 .6
-3 5 .9
- 1 9 .3
- 1& 6
-.9
+ 3 .2
-1 1 .9
-1 .7
-5 0 .9
-2 0 .9
December, 1930, to
January, 1931
Food and kindred products.
Textiles_____________________
Iron and steel works________
Lumber products__ ____ ___
Leather products.................
Paper products, printing
and publishing................... .
Patent medicines, chem
icals, and compounds.........
Stone and clay products___
Tobacco and cigars
- ___
Railway-car shops__________
V arious industries................ -
Pay roll
November to D e
cember, 1930
New Jersey1
- 3 . 1 .......................
-1 0 .4
+ 6 .0
—2 .6
+ 6 .2
All industries_________
- 7 .4
- 6 .8
- 8 .4
- 3 .9
- 1 .0
- 6 .2
- 2 .9
Food and kindred products.
Textiles and their products—
Iron and steel and their
products__________________
Lumber and its products. —
Leather and its product s___
Tobacco products___________
Paper and printing.................
Chemicals and allied prod
ucts___ __________________
Stone, clay,
and glass
products
.
___
M etal products other than
irnn onH ctoal
Vehicles for land transporta-
- 3 .5
-4 .0
-.1
-.0
—2.9
—4.4
-5 .1
—5.3
- 1 .1
—1.4
-2 .4
-3 .8
—8 .9
+. 1
- 1 .7
-5 .6
-1 .5
-.6
-3 .1
- 1 .7
Miscell aneous_______________
+ 2 .0
- 1 4 .1
—.5
-1 6 .9
All industries_________
- 4 .3
-4 .9
M aryland1
Food products.........................
Textiles..................... .................
» Annual figures not available.
- 6 .8
- 2 .4
-6 .3
-.8
155
STATE EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
PE R C E N T
OP CH A N G E
IN
EM PLOYM ENT AND
STATES—Continued
PAY
ROLLS
IN
SPE CIFIED
Yearly period
Em ploym ent— index
n u m b e r s (1 9251927=100)
Per cent of change,
December, 1929, to
December, 1930
State, and industry group
State, and industry group
Em ploy
ment
All industries.............. .
Public utilities. ......................
Wholesale and retail..............
—33.9
-4 1 .2
-1 5 .7
-2 7 .5
-3 3 .7
- 8 .3
-6 .7
-2 9 .2
-2 8 .6
-2 3 .2
-3 8 .7
-9 .2
-1 5 .7
12.1
-1 5 .7
-
-
2 1 .1
- 3 9 .1
- 1 3 .9
-3 9 .5
2 1 .2
-2 9 .5
-
- 7 .5
- 7 .1
-8.0
-
8.0
Employment— index
n u m b e r s (19251927=100)
Decem
ber, 1929
Decem
ber, 1930
Boot and shoe cut stock
and findings...........................
Boots and shoes.......................
Bread and other bakery
products..............................—
Clothing, m en’s .......................
Clothing, women’s . ..............
Confectionery...........................
Cotton goods..........................
Dyeing and finishing tex
tiles...........................................
Electrical machinery, ap
paratus, and supplies.........
Foundry
and
machineshop products......................
Furniture. ................................
Hosiery and knit goods-------Leather, tanned, curried,
and finished______________
Paper and wood pulp______
Printing and publishing___
Rubber footwear. ..................
Rubber goods, tires, and
tubes-...................................—
Silk goods...................................
Textile
machinery
and
parts.........................................
Woolen and worsted goods.
A ll industries............ —
77.3
All industries..
109.1
91.5
106.5
95.6
70.7
103.8
60.5
104.7
98.6
50.0
95.2
89.5
84.1
67.1
111.8
93.6
75.9
59.2
98.2
76.3
101.4
96.4
93.2
83.2
85.5
102.7
78.7
72.8
78.6
53.9
70.7
83.0
70.6
61.2
56.0
83.5
67.2
111.2
79.5
54.5
79.1
81.4
99.3
84.1
70.0
93.3
79.5
78.2
95.0
105.4
79.1
78.4
76.6
98.3
87.6
42.6
82.3
99.3
__________________ ____
Pay roll
Michigan
Paper and printing................
Chemicals and allied prod
ucts..........................................
Stone, d a y , and glass prod
u c t s ........................................
M etal products, not iron
and s t e e l..............................
Iron and steel products____
Lumber and its products. Leather and its products.. .
Food and kindred prod
ucts..........................................
Textiles and their products.
Tobacco products...................
Vehicles for land transpor
t a t io n ....................................
M iscellaneou s.......................
A ll industries__
2 Includes motion pictures.
3 Also publishes monthly per cent of change in employment and pay roll.
79.3
53.5
Em ploy
ment
67.8
108.0
69.7
96.6
98.0
111.9
93.9
84.5
A ll manufacturing— .
Trade, wholesale and re
tail.......................................... .
Public u tilities..................... .
Coal mining............................._
Building and contracting.. .
103.5
69.4
Per cent of change,
December, 1929, to
December, 1930
Illinois*
and
Stone, clay,
products....................
Metals, machinery, and
conveyances................
W ood products-............
Furs and leather goods.
Chemicals, oils, paints, e tc ..
Printing and paper goods. —
Textiles-.................................. .
Clothing and millinery.........
Foods, beverages, and to
bacco...................................... .
Decem
ber, 1930
Massachusetts
California
Stone,
clay,
and glass
products................................ .
M etals, machinery, and
conveyances..........................
W ood manufactures............. .
Leather and rubber goods. . .
Chemicals, oils, paints, etc..
Printing and paper goods...
Textiles................- .....................
Clothing, millinery, and
laundering........ ................. ..
Foods, beverages, and to
bacco........................................
Miscellaneous3. ......................
Decem
ber, 1929
Payroll
-1 3 .0
- 1 7 .1
- 1.1
-5 .8
-4 1 .7
-5 3 .3
-2 1 .7
- 2 1 .6
- 3 7 .1
- 2 .7
- 1 7 .1
-2 7 .7
-4 9 .2
-9 .7
- 1 2 .5
- 11.1
+ 1 .0
-1 5 .8
-1 6 .6
-1 6 .4
- 1 3 .6
+ 3 3 .9
-1 4 .0
+ 2 .0
- 1 4 .2
-1 6 .3
156
PER
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
CENT
OF C H A N G E
IN
EM PLOYM ENT AN D
STATES—Continued
PAY
ROLLS
IN
SPECIFIED
Yearly 'period— Continued
Per cent of change,
January, 1930, to
January, 1931
State, and industry group
State, and industry group
Em ploy
ment
Em ploy
ment
Pay roll
New York
Stone, clay, and glass_______
Miscellaneous s t o n e
and minerals.................
Lime,
cement,
and
plaster-------- ---------------Brick, tile, and pot
tery---------------------------Glass----------------------------Metals and machinery..........
Silver and jewelry_____
Brass, c o p p e r , a n d
aluminum......................
Iron and steel................ ..
Structural and archi
tectural iron__________
Sheet metal and hard
ware--------------------------Firearms, tools, and
cutlery-----------------------Cooking, heating, and
ventilating
appara
tus....... .............................
Machinery, including
electrical apparatus.
Automobiles, carriages,
and airplanes................
Railroad
equipment
and rep air............ .......
Boat and ship building.
Instruments and ap
pliances....................—
W ood manufactures...........
Saw and planing mills
Furniture and cabinet
work............. ........... .......
Pianos and other musi
cal instruments______
Miscellaneous wood___
Furs, leather, and rubber
goods____ _________________
Leather........ ..................... .
Furs and fur goods_____
Shoes...... .............................
Other leather and can
vas goods........................
Rubber and g u 11 a percha___________ _____
Pearl, horn, bone, e t c ...
Chemicals, oils, paints, etc..
Drugs and chemicals. _.
Paints and colors______
Oil products____________
Miscellaneous chemi
cals................ ................. .
Paper_______ _______ ________
Printing and paper goods...
Paper boxes and tubes..
Miscellaneous
paper
goods.............................. .
Printing
and
bookmaking............................
'Textiles................................... ..
Silk and silk goods..........
W ool manufactures........
Cotton goods-..................
K nit goods (excluding
s i l k ) . . . ....................... .
Other textiles.................. .
Per cent of change,
January, 1930, to
January, 1931
Pay roll
New York— Continued
-1 4 .0
-1 9 .2
—11.9
-1 2 .7
-3 .1
-11.2
-2 0 .7
- 1 6 .1
-2 3 .5
-3 0 .5
-22.2
21.2
-3 3 .0
-4 3 .6
-1 6 .6
-2 3 .6
-2 5 .1
-3 1 .2
21.0
-3 0 .1
-1 5 .2
-2 3 .5
-1 7 .4
-2 7 .3
-1 7 .7
-2 6 .2
-2 4 .6
-3 1 .1
-
-
Clothing and millinery___
M en’s clothing...........
M en ’sfum
mishi
ish in gs...
W om en’s clothing______
W om en’s underwear___
W om en’s headwear........
Miscellaneous sewing—
Laundering and clean
ing..................... ...............
Food and tobacco__________
Flour, feed, and cereals.
Canning and preserv
ing_______ ____________
Other groceries......... .......
M eat and dairy prod
ucts......... ........... .............
Bakery products_______
Candy_______ __________
Tobacco-------------------Water, light, and power..
All industries..
—34. 3
-4 2 . 9
- 1 7 .1
-1 4 .6
- 1 4 .3
- 2 7 .5
-2 3 . I
-2 0 .4
-2 3 .4
-3 1 .3
+6.2
-1 2 .7
-12.0
-2 1 .9
+2.2
-8 .9
-1 0 .9
-1 8 .9
-2 5 .9
-
21.0
+.4
- 2 7 .5
-1 9 .8
- 2 4 .9
-2 6 .0
-1 4 .4
- 5 .9
+ .3
- 1 6 .1
- 3 7 .2
-
8.0
- 5 .8
-1 7 .2
- 8 .9
-1 3 .6
-1 0 .7
- 8.0
- 2 7 .4
-21.8
-1 0 .9
- 7 .4
- 1 7 .8
- 9 .8
- 12.6
- 2 7 .9
-
1 1.8
- 2 0 .9
-11.2
-
11.1
- 3 1 .3
- 2 5 .7
- 3 4 .4
- 2 8 .7
-4 0 .2
- 3 0 .9
- 2 4 .0
- 2 8 .4
- 2 9 .9
- 3 3 .6
-22.0
-2 7 .3
-3 6 .7
-3 3 .9
-2 3 .0
-2 2 .7
-2 3 .5
-2 8 .2
-4 .0
-1 5 .2
- 11.1
-7 .2
-1 7 .2
-1 3 .3
- 10.2
- 2 0 .0
-1 9 .8
—2 1 .2
- 8 .3
- 1 0 .4
-1 3 .5
-4 .6
-4 2 .2
- 2 .8
- 11 .2
-1 3 .0
- 2 1 .0
- 8 .4
-3 5 .5
- 2 .5
-1 8 .1
-2 5 .7
Oklahom a
-3 8 .2
- 2 3 .4
- 3 1 .4
- 1 6 .7
-1 9 .9
- 2 3 .6
-1 3 .9
-1 4 .4
-1 5 .8
-1 9 .4
Cottonseed-oil mills________
Food production:
Bakeries.................... .........
Confections.......................
Creameries and dairies.
F lourm ills.................... ..
Ice and ice cream______
M eat and poultry______
Lead and zinc:
Mines and mills.............
Smelters_____ __________
Metals and machinery:
Auto repairs, etc.............
Machine shops and
foundries_____________
Tank construction and
erection...........................
Oil industry:
Producing and gasoline
manufacture_________
Printing: Job work________
Public utilities:
Steam-railway shops...
Street railways_________
Water,
light,
and
pow er.............................
Stone, clay, and glass:
Brick and tile...................
Cement and plaster.......
Crushed stone..................
Glass manufacture.........
Textiles and cleaning:
Textile manufacture___
Laundries, etc..................
Woodworking:
Sawmills.........................
Millwork, etc__________
All industries............
- 10.1
-2 6 . 9
- 8 .6
+ 9 6 .6
+ 2 5 .6
- 1 5 .5
- 10.2
-.9
-1 9 .4
+ 61. 5
+ 2 8 .3
-2 0 .7
- 9 .1
-1 5 .8
-4 0 .4
-5 .9
-3 7 .0
- 4 2 .0
-1 7 .8
-2 3 .8
-4 0 .4
- 5 8 .2
-3 4 .8
-2 3 .8
-2 7 .2
- 2 .7
+ 4 .3
-2 5 .3
- 7 .8
- 6 .9
- 3 1 .6
- 2 4 .3
-3 3 .4
-1 8 .7
-.1
+ .3
-3 0 .2
-5 .6
+ 4 7 .7
+ 1 2 .4
-3 6 .0
- 2 2 .0
+ 6 4 .4
+ 2 1 .3
- 9 .9
- 7 .6
- 3 2 .1
-1 2 .7
-3 4 .5
-2 2 .7
-5 2 .8
-3 1 .6
-1 3 .8
- 1 6 .7
157
STATE EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
PER
CENT
OF
CHANGE
IN
EM PLOYM ENT AND
ST A T E S—C ont inued
PAY
ROLLS IN
SPECIFIED
Yearly period— C ontinued
Index numbers (19231925 = 100) — e m
ployment
State, and industry group
State, and industry group
January,
1930
January,
1931
Pennsylvania
M etal products____________
Transportation equipment.
Textile products____ _______
Foods and tobacco................ .
Stone, clay, and glass prod
ucts..........................................
Lumber products................ .
Chemical products............. ..
Leather and rubber prod
ucts................. ............ ...........
Paper and printing_________
All manufacturing. —
Per cent of change,
J a n u a r y , 1930, to
January, 1931
Em ploy
ment
Pay roll
Te xas-C on tin u ed
103.9
106.0
33.3
76.4
54.7
87.4
97.7
78.5
89.6
95.6
57.5
52.8
86.3
102.1
100.5
90.9
95.1
96.1
78.9
97.4
Furniture manufacture.
Paper-box manufacture.
Cotton textile mills........
Cement plants..............Commercial printing - . .
Newspaper publishing..
Quarrying______________
Public utilities............. . .
Retail stores.................. ..
Wholesale stores________
Hotels..................................
Miscellaneous........... .......
-3 1 .6
-1 .5
-1 8 .9
- 5 .3
- .3
-6.4
- 1 3 .5
+ 7 .5
- 6.6
- 8.8
-5 .7
-2 8 .2
All industries____
-1 6 .4
Pay roll
M etal products............ .........
Transportation equipm ent
Textile products___________
Foods and tobacco................
Stone, clay, and glass prodLumber products__________
Chemical products............. Leather and rubber prod
ucts________ ______________
Paper and printing________
99.8
89.3
104.6
103.6
63.8
40.2
73.6
90.3
77.9
89.7
98.3
39.6
40.8
84.2
103.7
108.7
83.5
96.2
66.2
A ll manufacturing—
Per cent of change,
January, 1930, to
January, 1931
Em ploy
ment
Texas
Auto and body works______
Bakeries_____________________
Confectioneries_____________
Pure-food products......... .......
Ice-cream factories. ...........Flour mills__________________
Ice factories.................... ...........
M eat packing and slaugh
tering.......................................
Cotton-oil mills_____________
Cotton compresses..................
M en’s clothing manufac
ture_______________________
W om en’s clothing manu
facture____________________
Brick, tile, and terra cotta—
Foundries and machine
shops.............. .........................
Structural-iron works........ —
Railroad car shops____ _____
Electric-railway car sh o p s..
Petroleum refining..................
Sawmills........... ................. .......
Lumber mills.......... ........... .. - -
- 2 2 .0
- 1 6 .2
—14.6
-9 .8
-1 3 .8
-1 1 .9
-2 6 .5
Pay roll
Index number (19251 9 2 7 = 1 0 0 ) —em
ployment
Decem
ber, 1929
Wisconsin 3
Manual
Logging.......................................
Mining:
Lead and zinc.................
Stone cru shing and
quarrying_____ _____ ______
Manufacturing:
Stone and allied in
dustries.—......................
M etal______ _____________
W ood _________________
Rubber...... .........................
Leather_________________
Paper......................... ..........
Textiles................................
Foods_____ .»_____________
Printing and publish
ing-------------- -------------- Chemicals
(including
soap, glue, and ex
plosives)........ .................
All manufacturing____
-1 0 .7
—31.7
-f-14.0
—21 .6
-.6
- 2 5 .1
- 3 9 .3
- 1 8 .2
-3 4 .0
- 5 .2
- 2 0 .8
-1 9 .8
- 3 3 .3
Construction:
Building..............................
H ighway.........................—
Railroad..............................
Marine dredging, sewer
digging......................... Communicacion:
Steam railways.............
Electric railways............
Express, telephone, and
telegraph.......................
Light and power_____ ______
Wholesale trade------------------Hotels and restaurants.........
Laundering and dyeing
.-1
3 Also publishes m onthly per cent of change in employment and pay roll.
Decem1930
101.9
61.3
44.1 1
117.4
37.0
8 8 .6
100.5
102. 6
98.3
101.5
92.6
130.5
105.2
106.1
93.2
102.7
8 8 .0
75.6
69.0
93.8
87.4
99.8
81.2
106.3
130.2
128.8
78.7
66.9
101.3
83.1
117.6
138.4
133.1
102.1
260.0
172.7
94.4
67.9
8 8 .2
162.2
135.3
117.4
156.3
120.3
117.0
85.2
106.7
101.8
117.1
137.5
92. 4
61.2
158
PER
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
CENT
OF
CHANGE
IN
EM PLOYM ENT AND
STATES—Continued
PAY
ROLLS IN
SPECIFIED
Yearly period — Continued
Index number (19251927 = 1 0 0 ) — e m
ployment
Index number (19251 9 2 7 * 1 0 0 ) — pay
roll
State, and industry group
State, and industry group
Decem
ber, 1929
Decem
ber, 1930
Decem
ber, 1929
Decem
ber, 1930
Wisconsin— Continued
Wisconsin— Continued
Manual— Continued
Nonmanual
Construction............................
Communication......................
Wholesale trade......................
Retail trade, sales force only.
Miscellaneous professional
services...................................
112.2
Manufacturing:
Chemicals
(including
soap, glue, and ex
plosives)..........................
73.3
60.3
115.5
All manufacturing____
98.5
72.3
135.1
137.0
133.9
101.6
269.9
186.5
99.5
117.9
112.9
115.3
99.0
117.0
104.0
127.6
Pay roll
Manual
Logging.....................................
Mining:
Lead and zinc.................
Iron....................................
Stone crushing and quarry
ing................... - .....................
Manufacturing:
Stone and allied in
dustries.........................
M etal.................................
W ood .................................
Rubber________________
Leather...................... ..
Paper.................................
Textiles.............................
Foods......... .......................
Printing and publish
ing...................................
88.1
38.8
50.8
102.6
30.0
84.2
99.8
95. e
100.9
98.4
81.9
112.5
105.6
107.3
96.3
105.7
86.0
60.0
55.3
60.7
75.8
96.4
81.9
106.9
124.7
123.6
Construction:
Building..
Highway.......................
Highwa:
Railroad.................... .........
Marine dredging, sewer
digging............................
Communication:
Steam railways................
Electric railways.............
Express, telephone, and
telegraph........................
Light and power.....................
Wholesale trade.......................
Hotels and restaurants.........
Laundering and dyeing........
112.0
151.8
93.3
70.7
98.4
66.5
166.8
132.3
113.7
110.9
154.9
121.3
105.9
99.5
104.9
117.4
120.3
116.8
108.1
116.0
113.3
110.4
125.5
104.1
Nonmanual
Construction............................
Communication......................
Wholesale trade.......................
Retail trade, sales force only.
Miscellaneous professional
services...................................
Surveys of Unemployment
HE decennial census of population made in April, 1930, by the
United States Bureau of the Census, included a questionnaire on
employment status, and a supplementary census of unemployment
in 19 cities was made by the Bureau of the Census in January, 1931.
The results of both of these surveys are shown below.
In December, 1930, the Metropolitan Insurance Co., at the request
of the President's Emergency Committee for Employment, made a
survey of the employment conditions among a large group of its
policyholders. The results of this survey are presented in this article.
Surveys of unemployment were made during the years 1929
and 1930 in a number of cities, under municipal or State auspices.
Summaries of the results of such city surveys are given, in the
following pages, for Baltimore, Buffalo, Bloomington, Cincinnati,
and Philadelphia.
T
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
150
Federal Surveys of Unemployment
Estimated Unemployment in the Continental United States, January, 1931
On t h e basis of the special unemployment census made during
the latter half of January, 1931, and covering 19 cities, the Secretary
of Commerce estimated that a total of 6,050,000 able-bodied persons
in the United States were out of jobs, able to work, and seekingwork
at that time.1
The special census of unemployment was undertaken in January,
the month when unemployment normally reaches a seasonal peak,
in order that the maximum unemployment due to the world-wide
business depression might be revealed. For the 19 cities covered in
the special census of unemployment (the details of which are given
later in this article) a 149 per cent increase was reported in the num
ber of persons out of a job, able to work, and looking for a job (class
A) between April, 1930, and January, 1931. By applying this per
centage to the total number of persons out of a job, able to work, and
looking for a job in the United States as a whole as of April, 1930,
or 2,429,062, the total of 6,050,000 is arrived at. This basis of esti
mate of the increase in unemployment between April, 1930, and
January, 1931, presupposes that the percentage increase in unem
ployment since last April has been as great in the rural areas as in
the cities.
In addition to the unemployed falling under class A, the January
census of 19 cities showed that there were 368,149 persons having
jobs but not working and not receiving pay on the day before the
call of the enumerator, excluding those sick or voluntarily idle
(class B). Such tabulations of the census as are complete show that
75 per cent of the workers in class B were employed part time, and
that the remainder had been laid off for more than a week. If this
ratio prevails throughout the 19 cities it would indicate that onefourth of the total of 368,149 persons, or 92,000, had been out of
work for more than a week, although they considered themselves as
having jobs, and that for the country as a whole some 250,000 to
300,000 workers were not working because of lay-off in January, 1931.
The detailed results of the April, 1930, and the January, 1931,
unemployment censuses are given below.
Unemployment Census of April, 1930
T he final unemployment returns by classes for the entire continen
tal United States from the census of April, 1930 are shown in Tables
1 and 2. The census of unemployment was designed to cover all
persons usually working at a gainful occupation who were not at
work the day preceding the enumerator’s call. Returns were tabu
lated by seven major classes depending upon whether the worker was
unemployed involuntarily or voluntarily, unfit to work or fit to work
but unable to find a job, etc.
i Press release of M ar. 21,1931,
160
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Table 1 shows in summary the results for the United States as a
whole. Class A (composed of persons out of a job, able to work,
and looking for a job) includes 2,429,062 persons, or 2 per cent of the
total population of the United States (122,775,046). Class B (persons
having lobs but on lay-off without pay, excluding those sick or volun
tarily idle) accounts for 758,585 persons, or 0.6 per cent of the total
population, while classes C, D, E, F, and G account for relatively
small numbers of the population.
T a b l e 1 —U N E M P L O Y M E N T
R E T U R N S B Y C L A S SE S A N D
A P R IL , 1930
SEX,
U N IT E D
Description of class
Total population_____ ___________ _____ ____________ ___________________________________________
STATES,
April, 1930
122,775,046
Class A . Persons out of a job, able to work, and looking for a job:
M ale__________________________________
_________________ ________________________________
Female____ ________ _______ - ............. ...................................................................................... ................
2,058,738
370,324
Total......................................................................................................................................... ............
2,429,062
Per cent of population............................................ ............... ................... ................... ...............
Class B . Persons having jobs, but on lay-off without pay, excluding those sick or volun
tarily idle:
M ale________________________________________________________________________________________
Female_____________ ________________________________________________________________________
2 .0
627,407
131,178
Total............... ............................... ................. ...................................... ............... ..............................
758,585
Per cent of population_________ __________________ _____ ______________- _______________
Class C . Persons out of a job and unable to work: Total, both sexes______________ _________
Class D . Persons having jobs but idle on account of sickness or disability: Total, both sexesClass E . Persons out of a job and not looking for work: Total, both sex e s................ ............. _
Class F . Persons h av in g jo b s b u t vo lu n ta rily idle, w ith o u t p a y : T o ta l, b o th sexes-------------Class G . Persons having jobs and drawing pay though not at work (on vacation, etc.):
Total, both sexes
___________________________________________________ _____ _________________
0 .6
172,661
273,588
87,988
84,595
82,335
Table 2 shows the returns by States, but in this table the statistics
for classes C to G, inclusive, are combined into one total.
161
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
TABLE 2 ,— U N E M P L O Y M E N T R E T U R N S B Y S T A T E S A N D G E O G R A P H IC D IV IS IO N S ,
A P R IL , 1930
Class A : Persons out of a job, able to work,
and looking for a job
State, and geographic division
Total popu
lation
M ale
United States.........................................................
New England:
Maine.......... ............... ............................. .......
New Hampshire— .................................. .
Vermont..................... ................................. .
M assachusetts. _ ................................ ...........
Rhode Island........ ............................. ...........
Connecticut... ... ......................................
M iddle Atlantic:
N ew York.............. ..................................... ..
N ew Jersey.............. ........................... .........
Pennsylvania......... ............................. .........
East North Central:
Ohio............. ....... ................................... .........
Indiana................... ............................. ...........
Illinois_________________ __________ ______
Michigan.......... .................................... .........
Wisconsin......................................... .............
West North Central:
Minnesota................ ........................... ..........
Iowa______ _________ _________ __________
Missouri-------- --------- ----------- ------------------North Dakota........................................ .......
South Dakota___________ _____ _________
Nebraska_______________ _____ __________
Kansas__________ _______________________
South Atlantic:
Delaware.............. ................... .....................
Maryland________________________ ______
District of C o lu m b ia ______ ______ _____
Virginia________ ___________ _______ _____
W est Virginia......... ......... ............... .............
North Carolina.................................... .........
South Carolina.................................... .........
Georgia-------------------------------------------Florida..............................................................
East South Central:
Kentucky............... ..................................... .
Tennessee..................... ............................... .
Alabama......................... ............................. ..
Mississippi____________ _________________
W est South Central:
Arkansas...................................................... .
Louisiana............................................... .........
Oklahoma............................................ ...........
Texas........ ............................................. .........
Mountain:
M ontana............................................ ...........
Idaho.......... ............. ........................... .............
W yom ing............. ....................... ...................
Colorado_______ ____________ ___________
N ew Mexico................................ ...................
Arizona......................................................... ..
U tah..................................................................
Nevada..............................................................
Pacific:
Washington.....................................................
Oregon...............................................................
California.........................................................
Female
Total
Per cent
of popu
lation
122,775,046
2,058,738
370,324
2,429,062
2 .0
797,423
465,293
359,611
4,249,614
687,497
1,606,903
11,463
4,647
93,579
17,502
32,340
1,956
1,318
646
22,631
4,935
5,890
13,419
8,184
5,293
116,210
22,437
38,230
1.5
2.7
3.3
2.4
12,588,066
4,041,334
9,631,350
298,731
98,518
180,106
55,659
17,787
27,585
354,390
116,305
207,691
6,646,697
3,238,503
7,630,654
4,842, 325
2,939,006
140,697
53,445
195,493
140,653
41,889
19,239
7,269
31,506
17,159
5,093
159,936
60,714
226,999
157,812
46,982
2.4
1.9
3.0
3.3
2,563,953
2,470,939
3,629,367
680,845
692, 849
1,377,963
1,880,999
38,377
19,109
53,136
5,220
3,037
12,322
19,341
6,168
3,231
10,277
762
479
2,456
2,816
44,545
22,340
63,413
5,982
3, 516
14,778
22,157
1.7
.9
1.7
.9
.5
1. 1
238,380
1,631, 526
486,869
2,421,851
1,729,205
3, 170,276
1,738,765
2,908,506
1,468,211
2,636
20,495
6,418
551
3,943
2,581
5,3*9
1.3
1.5
7,774
3,604
8,046
8,387
3,187
24,43,8
8,999
26,461
21,375
28,621
11,950
27,672
33,120
2,614,589
2,616,556
2,646,248
2,009,821
25,038
15,884
17,461
8,124
4,414
4,528
3,980
2,674
29,452
20,412
21,441
10, 798
1.1
.8
.8
1,854, 482
2,101,593
2,396,040
5,824, 715
10,465
25,043
33,131
63,543
2,355
5,823
4,202
12,284
12,820
30,866
37,333
75,827
.7
1.5
537,606
445,032
225,565
1,035,791
423,317
435,573
507,847
91,058
9,886
5,414
3,312
19,595
5,117
7,156
7,755
2,720
1,077
780
407
3,101
537
834
957
168
10,963
6,194
3, 719
22, 696
5,654
7,-990
8,712
2 .0
1,563,396
953,786
5,677,251
31,428
21,356
136,252
5,544
4,126
25,435
36,972
25,482
161,687
6,866
21,112
19,374
20,847
8,346
19,626
24,733
.
2,001
2,888
1.7
1.8
2 .8
2.9
2 .2
1.6
1.2
1.8
1.1
1 .2
.9
.7
1 .0
2.3
.5
1 .6
1.3
1.4
1 .0
2 .2
1.3
1.8
1.7
3.2
2.4
2.7
2 .8
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
102
T ajhle 2 .— U N E M P L O Y M E N T
R ETU R N S B Y STATES A N D
A P R IL , 1930— Continued
G E O G R A P H IC D IV IS IO N S ,
ng jobs but on lay-off withClass B : Persons h a viu
out pay, excluding those
t3
sick or voluntarily
idle
State, and geographic division
M ale
United States......................
New England:
Maine.............................
New Hampshire.........
Vermont.................
Massachusetts.............
Rhode Island...............
Connecticut_________
Middle Atlantic:
N ew York........ ............
N ew Jersey........ ..........
Pennsylvania________
East North Central:
Ohio______ __________
In d ia n a ............. ..........
Illinois____ __________
Michigan...... ................
Wisconsin.....................
W est North Central:
Minnesota...... ..............
Iowa___________ _____
Missouri-------- ----------North Dakota-----South Dakota.............
Nebraska...... ................
Kansas---------------------South Atlantic:
Delaware.......................
Maryland-----------------District of Columbia
Virginia--------------------W est Virginia- - .........
North Carolina______
South Carolina--------Georgia-------- ------------Florida_______________
East South Central:
Kentucky-----------------Tennessee....... ............Alabama_____________
M ississippi__________
W est South Central:
Arkansas.......................
Louisiana.......... - ..........
Oklahoma............. ........
Texas-----------------------Mountain:
Montana......... ..............
Idah o.............................
W yom ing......................
Colorado........................
New Mexico................
A r iz o n a .--1 .................
U tah______ ___________
Nevada........ ..................
Pacific:
Washington.................
Oregon...........................
California....................
Female
Total
Per cent
of popu
lation
0.6
Classes C,
D , E , F,
and G : *
Total
persons
627,407
131,178
758,585
5,756
3,627
2,190
32,347
8,724
9,552
1,885
1,720
719
12,837
4,966
3,027
7,641
5,347
2,909
45,184
13,690
12,579
59,145
18,733
105,160
14,480
5,264
12,641
73,625
23,997
117,801
47,619
22,292
48,922
34,392
14,803
7,011
3,373
6,930
4,784
2,291
54,630
25,665
55,852
39,176
17,094
9,132
8,141
14,341
1,312
895
3,664
5,272
1,536
1,042
3,643
181
10,668
12,133
628
733
9,183
17,984
1,493
996
4,292
6,005
20,449
1,856
1,762
5,918
8,090
581
5,883
1,280
6,899
13,057
10,672
4,109
7,969
4,253
145
1,315
396
1,999
902
4,829
3,188
3,981
1,378
726
7,198
1,676
8,898
13,959
15,501
7,297
11,950
5,631
1,178
8,848
4,193
14,252
12,284
13,294
8,650
18,089
11,224
10,901
7,108
6,873
3,682
1,917
2,665
1,678
1,013
12,818
9,773
8,551
4,695
13,159
11,679
12,508
7,783
4,893
6,602
7,257
16,088
638
1,928
768
3,348
5,531
8,530
8,025
19,436
6,829
10,314
10,811
28,139
3,815
1,097
1,059
6,761
832
1,378
1,955
250
229
178
4,044
1,275
1 ,181
7,502
919
1,533
2,247
276
3,947
2,606
1,430
6,999
2,557
3,595
2,572
856
9,465
5,965
28,172
14,494
9,280
43,535
8,154
4,853
23,127
101
122
741
87
155
292
1,311
1,112
5,045
1.0
1.1
.8
1.1
2.0
.6
.6
1.2
.8
.8
.7
701,167
6,150
3,117
2,573
27,963
5,192
8,897
69,254
21,463
42.957
19.958
46,183
29,202
14,603
10,012
i Persons out of a job and unable to work; having jobs but idle on account of sickness or disability; out
of a job and not looking for work; having jobs but voluntarily idle, without pay; and having jobs and
drawing pay, though not at work (on vacation, etc.).
103
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment Census of January, 1931
T he returns from the special census of unemployment taken in
January, 1931, in 19 cities, are shown in Tables 3 and 4, together with
the statistics of unemployment for the same cities as of April, 1930.
The canvass of January, 1931, was complete, covering the entire
population of Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland,
Dayton, Detroit, Duluth, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New^
Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Fran
cisco, and Seattle, with the exception that in New York it was limited
to Brooklyn, Bronx, and Manhattan boroughs. The summarized
results of this canvass are shown in Table 3. According to the census
of April, 1930, the total population of these areas was 20,638,981.
The total number of persons in these areas reported as out of a job,
able to work, and looking for a job (class A) in April, 1930, was 775,565,
or 3.8 per cent of the total population, and in January, 1931,1,930,666,
or 9.4 per cent of the total population. The total number of persons
returned as having jobs but not working and not receiving pay on the
day before the call of the enumerator, excluding those sick or volun
tarily idle (class B) in April, 1930, was 138,572, or less than 1 per cent
of the total population. In January, 1931, the returns in class B
numbered 368,149, or 1.8 per cent of the total population.
In contrast with the returns in classes A and B, the returns in
January, 1931, in classes C to G, inclusive [which are made up of (c)
persons out of a job and unable to work, (d) persons having jobs but
idle on account of sickness or disability, (e) persons out of a job and
not looking for work, (J) persons having jobs but voluntarily idle
without pay, and (g) persons having jobs and drawing pay though
not at work (on vacation, etc.)], showed a marked decrease as com
pared with the returns for the corresponding classes in the census of
April, 1930. In classes C and D, the sick and disabled, a part of the
decrease is attributed to the fact that in the 1931 enumeration hos
pitals and similar institutions were omitted from the canvass. The
Director of the Census notes that persons properly belonging in any
of the classes C to G can hardly be regarded as involved in the
economic problem of unemployment.
T a b l e 3 .— C O M P A R IS O N O F U N E M P L O Y M E N T R E T U R N S , B Y C L A S S E S , I N 19 C IT I E S ,
A P R IL , 1930, A N D J A N U A R Y , 1931
Description of class
April, 1930
January,
1931
Total population of 19 cities_____________________________________________i __________
20,638,981
0)
Class A . Persons out of a job, able to work, and looking for a job:
Num ber___________________________________________ ______________________________
Per cent of population__________________________________________________________
Class B . Persons having jobs, but on lay-off without pay, excluding those sick or
voluntarily idle:
Number______________ _______ —......................................... ............................. ...................
Per oent of population_______________________________ ______ _________________
Class C . Persons out of a job and unable to work: Num ber______ _____ __________
Class D . Persons having jobs but idle on account of sickness or disability: N u m
ber_______________________________________________________________ ___________
Class E . Persons out of a job and not looking for work: N um ber_________ ______ Class F . Persons having jobs but voluntarily idle, without pay: Num ber___ __
Class G. Persons having jobs and drawing pay though not at work (on vacation,
etc.): N um ber........... ....................... ........................... ....................................... ............. ..........
* N o data.
775,565
3.8
1,930,666
9.4
138,572
.7
41,294
368,149
46,067
18,806
12,905
24,811
3,034
2,387
13,504
4,241
1.8
19,8C0
164
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Table 4 presents the returns from the unemployment censuses
of April, 1930, and of January, 1931, for each city by classes. In
Table 4 classes C to G, inclusive, have been grouped together. These
figures are taken from a preliminary count and are subject to possible
correction:
T a b l e 4 . —U N E M P L O Y M E N T R E T U R N S B Y C L A S S E S , C E N S U S O F A P R IL , 1930, A N D
S P E C IA L U N E M P L O Y M E N T C E N S U S , J A N U A R Y , 1931
[19 cities]
C ity and date
Population,
1930
Class A :
Persons
out of a job, able
to work, and look
ing for a job
Number
Total:
April, 1930....................................... .
January, 1931.....................................
Birmingham:
1930_____________ _________________
1931_______________________________
Boston:
1930______________________ _____ _
1 9 3 1 _________________ _____ _____
Buffalo:
1930_______ _____________^_________
1 9 3 1 ____________________________
Chicago:
1930_______________________________
1931______________________________
Cleveland:
1930.— _________________ _____ _
193 1 _________________________
Dayton:
1930______________________________
1931____________________ _____ _____
Denver:
1930____________ __________________
1931_______________________________
Detroit:
1930.— ...................... ............. ...........
1931_______________________________
D uluth:
1930— __________________________
1931_______ ________________ _______
Houston:
1930________________________ _____ _
1931...................... — ______ _______
Los Angeles:
1930...................... ..................... ...........
1931______________________________
Minneapolis:
1930_________ ________ ______ ______
1931______________________________
N ew Orleans:
1930....................... ................. ........... :
1931____________ _____ ____ _____ _
N ew York City:
B r o o k ly n 1930__________________________
1931_________________________
B ron x1930__________________________
1931 . ________ ______________
Manhattan—
1930.._______ _________ _______
1931 ___________ _____________
Philadelphia:
1930.................................... ................. ..
1931______________ _______ ________
('hiss B : Persons
having jobs but
on lay-off with
out pay, exclud
ing those sick or
voluntarily idle
Per cent
of popu
lation
Number
Per cent
of popu
lation
Classes
C, D ,
E , P,
and G : 1
Number
of persons
20,638,981
(2)
775,565
1,930,666
3.8
9.4
138,572
368,149
0.7
1 .8
132,576
54,363
259,678
5,623
22,930
2 .2
8 .8
1,125
4,940
.4
1.9
2,129
1,070
781,188
26,361
69,682
3.4
8.9
8,653
18,749
1.1
2.4
5,827
3,304
573,076
19,920
50,724
3.5
8.9
2,974
23,077
tj
4* 0
3,663
1,621
3,376,438
147,440
369,990
4.4
20,494
78,749
.6
11 .0
2.3
21,980
10,009
41,184
99,233
11 .0
9,051
25,400
1 .0
2 .8
7,698
2,826
.6
1,483
900,429
200,982
4.6
6,664
17,681
3.3
8 .8
1,108
3,801
1.9
668
287,861
9,331
19,922
3.2
6.9
1,466
2,498
.5
.9
2,263
619
1,568,662
76,018
174,527
4.8
15,979
49,041
1.0
10,022
11.1
3.1
3,625
101,463
5,154
8,130
5.1
8 .0
7,350
29,163
766
1,330
.8
586
1.3
200
1,320
2,940
.5
10.0
1 .0
2,044
1,190
44,480
98,130
3.6
7.9
6,438
7,974
.5
13,968
35,158
3.0
7.6
2,432
3,689
.5
.8
3,403
981
458,762
16,616
42,482
3.6
9.3
3,166
6,274
.7
1.4
3,009
1,039
2,560,401
80,621
205,192
3.1
8 .0
13,919
35,935
.5
1.4
10,428
5,522
1, 265, 258
42,416
97,414
3.4
7.7
7,086
12,334
.6
1 .0
5,915
2,652
1,867,312
79,191
168,322
4.2
9.0
10,416
13,285
.6
.7
12,138
3,665
71,156
212,051
3.6
10.9
13,485
34,673
1 .8
292,352
1,238,048
464,356
1,950,961
2.5
.6
.7
10,411
2,879
9,849
6,195
1 Persons out of a job and unable to work; having jobs but idle on account of sickness or disability; out
of a job and not looking for work; having jobs but voluntarily idle without pay; and having jobs and
drawing pay though not at work (on vacation, etc.).
2 N o data.
165
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
T a b l e 4 ,— U N E M P L O Y M E N T R E T U R N S B Y C L A S S E S , C E N S U S O F A P R IL , 1930, A N D
S P E C IA L U N E M P L O Y M E N T C E N S U S , J A N U A R Y , 1931-Contim ied
C ity and date
Population,
Class A :
Persons
out of a job, able
to work, and look
ing for a job
1930
Number
Class B : Persons
having jobs but
on lay-off with
out pay, exclud
ing those sick or
voluntarily idle
Per cent
of popu
lation
Number
Per cent
of popu
lation
Classes
C, D ,
E, F,
and G:
N um ber
of persons
Pittsburgh:
1930____ ____________ ____ _____
1931 - ..........— .......... ................. —
669,817
20,307
60,026
3.0
9.0
5,885
19,561
0.9
2.9
4,890
2,286
821,960
28,022
77,560
3.4
9.4
7,123
15,065
.9
1.8
5,369
1, 597
634,394
21,448
41,103
3.4
6.5
3,019
4,942
.5
5.161
1,190
12,295
31,246
3.4
8.5
2,667
3,892
St. Louis:
1930_______________________ ____
1931___ ____ ___________________
San Francisco:
1930____________ _______ _______
1931 ___________________________
Seattle:
1930______ _____ _______________
1931____________________________
365,683
.8
.7
1.1
4,308
1,225
Unemployment Survey of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
A t th e r eq u est of the President’s Emergency Committee for
Employment, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in December
1930, made a survey of employment conditions among a group of its
industrial policyholders. The tabulated results of the survey, together
with a text analysis, are presented below.
Analysis of Results of Metropolitan Survey 2
T he survey made by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. shows
employment conditions among 355,759 workers in 213,787 families of
industrial policyholders of the company in 46 of the larger cities of the
United States in the first week of December, 1930. It must be remem
bered that the total of unemployed includes not only persons who were
jobless and looking for work, but also those on temporary furlough or
on lay-off from their regular jobs as well as some workers unemployed
because of sickness and those voluntarily idle and not looking for work
or on vacation. Inasmuch as no distinction was made among the
various classes of unemployed, and since the survey was confined to
the industrial wage-earning classes in the larger cities, where unem
ployment is most severe, the results are not quite comparable with
those of the Federal Census of Unemployment taken in April, 1930.
It will be noted that the survey covered a total of 213,787 families,
in which there were a total of 355,759 wage or salary earners, or an
average of 1.7 workers per family. In the 213,787 families 271,132
workers were employed, and of this number 195,309 were employed
full time and 75,823 part time, while 84,627 were unemployed.
Analyzing these returns, it appears that, on the average, for every
1,000 families there are 1,700 wage or salary earners, of whom 933
were employed full time, 362 were employed part time, and 405 were
wholly unemployed in the first week of December. It is apparent
2
The following analysis was prepared for the President’s Emergency Committee for Employment by
Government statisticians.
166
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
that a large proportion of the families canvassed have more than one
wage earner and therefore that the proportion of families entirely
without wage income is much smaller than the proportion of workers
wholly unemployed. Detailed information as to the incidence of
unemployment in 10,839 of the families canvassed, as related to the
number of persons, and as to the number of wage earners in these
families, is given in five attached tables prepared by the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Co.
The results of the latest Census of Occupation are not yet available
so that we do not know the exact number of industrial workers in
these cities for whom this survey might be considered representative.
However, by making certain reasonable assumptions, it is possible to
arrive at a rough approximation of the probable number of unem
ployed workers in these cities. The number of persons in the fami
lies canvassed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. was 886,929
or 3.1 per cent of the total population of these 46 cities, which was
shown by the census to be 28,296,849. It is estimated that between
5.500.000 and 6,000,000, nearly half of the total number of gainfully
occupied persons in these cities, are of the industrial wage-earning
class, of which the policyholders of this company may be considered
representative. The survey showed that, in the 46 cities as a whole,
84,627 out of the total of 355,759 workers in all families canvassed
by the company, or 23.8 per cent, were unemployed in the first week
of December. It should be remembered that this percentage is an
average or composite of many diverse conditions in the various cities
covered and is therefore not a measure of conditions in the country
as a whole or in any specific locality. Assuming that this percentage
is representative of the estimated total of five and one-half to six
million industrial workers, this would indicate that between 1,310,000
and 1,430,000 of the industrial workers in these cities were unemployed
for various reasons at the time of the survey.
In addition to this total there is, of course, some unemployment
existing among the higher-grade salaried workers not generally
represented among the families of industrial policyholders, although
we know, as Mr. Ecker has indicated in his letter, that unemploy
ment has been more prevalent among industrial wage earners than
among salaried and executive workers. It is estimated that the
number of executives, salaried workers, and other classes of employed
persons (excluding, of course, the independent, professional, and other
self-employed groups) who might be subject to unemployment, is
about half as large as the number of industrial workers in these
cities, or between 2,750,000 and 3,000,000. We do not know the
extent of unemployment among this group, but we have every reason
to believe that it is less severe than among industrial workers. How
ever, even on the assumption that unemployment among the salaried
groups not represented in the Metropolitan survey was as extensive
as among industrial workers, i. e., that 23.8 per cent, or between
650.000 and 710,000, were not employed, the total number of unem
ployed for all causes would amount to between 1,960,000 and
2.140.000 persons.
This total includes, in addition to able-bodied jobless persons and
those on lay-off without pay, a small number of persons not working
on account of sickness or voluntarily idle and not looking for work.
167
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
A recent report of the census shows that in April, 225,000 persons
out of a total population of 42,858,000 in 25 States and 4 large
cities, or 0.53 per cent of the population, were idle because of these
latter causes, i. e., either were not able to work or were not actively
seeking work. If this same proportion of the 28,296,849 persons
residing in the 46 cities covered in the survey were idle for similar
reasons, the total estimated unemployment would be reduced by
about 150,000, giving an estimated maximum of 1,810,000 to 1,990,000
persons able and willing to work, but jobless or on lay-off without
pay during the first week of December, 1930.
The April census showed the same tendency, noted in Mr. Ecker’s
letter, for unemployment to be concentrated in the large cities.
The number of jobless in these 46 cities amounted to 3.49 per cent
of their population, while only 1.61 per cent of the population of the
remainder of the country were reported as jobless. Thus, of the
total number of 2,508,000 jobless persons enumerated by the census,
986,997, or 39 per cent, were located in these 46 cities, the total
population of which is only 23 per cent of that of the entire country.
If the same relation between the number of unemployed in these
cities and the number in the country as a whole now exists, it would
appear that the estimated unemployment of 1,810,000 to 1,990,000 in
these cities is between 39 and 40 per cent of the total unemployment
in the entire United States. Figured on this basis, total unemploy
ment in the first week of December was between 4,600,000 and 5,060,000, but in view of the liberal estimate of unemployment among the
higher-grade salaried workers (who were not included in the Metro
politan survey) it seems probable that the total number of wholly
unemployed persons in the United States in the first week of Decem
ber, 1930, was between 4,500,000 and 5,000,000 or about 10 per cent
of the total number of persons with gainful occupations. It must be
remembered that such a figure is only a very rough approximation,
being based upon a number of assumptions that unfortunately can
not be verified at the present time.
T able 5 .—A N A L Y S I S O F 10,839 F A M I L I E S O F I N D U S T R I A L P O L IC Y H O L D E R S — E M P L O Y
M E N T S U R V E Y O F M E T R O P O L I T A N L IF E I N S U R A N C E C O ., D E C E M B E R 8, 1930
N um ber of families with specified number in family
Number of wage
earners
10
1
1..................... .................
2
_______ ________
3
432
2
3
4
1,343
620
1,492
779
158
1,319
589
320
69
________________
4............ ........................
5 . _________________
6
.
. .
7
731
386
214
114
22
408
259
182
100
48
7
199
121
111
88
35
11
0
432
8
1,903
2,429 |2,297
9
94
75
78
56
16
8
2
j
47767°— 31-------12
6
!
8
.
. . !______
9____________ _______
Total___________
5
36
36
34
36
17
7
3
|
1,467
1,004
571
329
j Total
: families
and
over
2
1
172
12
33
42
34
25
15
8
5
1
6,066
2,898
1,139
497
163
48
19
7
2
175 | 10,839
168
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
T a b l e 5 .— A N A L Y S I S O F 10,839 F A M I L I E S O F I N D U S T R I A L P O L IC Y H O L D E R S — E M
P L O Y M E N T S U R V E Y O F M E T R O P O L I T A N L I F E I N S U R A N C E C O ., D E C E M B E R 8 ,
1930— Continued
One wage earner
Families with 1 wage earner
Num ber in family
Employed
full time
Employed
part time
280
793
934
829
441
218
93
53
85
301
354
328
1 ___________ _____________________________________________
2 .................... ......... ............. ............... ................................... ...........
3 ................................ ................................... ............................... .......
4.................. ....................... - ______ ______ _______ ______________
5___ _______ ___________ _______ - ................................... ...........
6 .......................... ........... ............. .......................................................
7...................................... ............ .......................................................
8 ..................................... ........... ..................................................... .
9 .......................................... ........................... .....................................
10 and over..................................................................................... .
127
69
27
9
6
432
1,343
1,492
1,319
731
408
199
94
36
880
6,066
12
6
3,668
Total..................................... ..............- _______ __________
67
249
204
162
78
63
37
14
212
21
6
Total
families
Unem
ployed
1,518
Two wage earners
Families with 2 wage earners whose employment status
was as specified
Number in family
2 full
time
1 full and
1 part
2 part
time
time
Total
lfu ll
1 part
families
2 unem
time, 1 un time, 1 un
employed
employed ployed
218
268
195
108
135
116
160
100
121
120
70
55
16
9
82
46
23
71
38
20
Total-
259
121
11
75
36
33
6
7
9
10 and over..
620
779
282
507
570
214
378
Three wage earners
Families with 3 wage earners whose employment status was as specified
N um ber in family
2 full
3 full 3 part 3 unem and 1
time time ployed
part
time
3................................
4...................................
5...................................
6 _____ ______________
7___________________
8 ...................................
9 . . ____ _____________
10 and over...............
Total
42
79
38
37
5
15
13
4
20
6
15
r»
6
5
1
1
242
51
6
21
18
14
15
5
5
3
31
31
lfu ll
Total
and 1
2 part
1 part
lfu ll
1 full
2 full
fami
part
time,
time,
and 2 time,
time,
lies
time, 1 unem 2 unem part 2 unem 1 unem
1 unem ployed ployed time ployed ployed
ployed
17
26
10
22
21
11
13
3
16
7
16
15
13
5
4
6
2
1
2
4
3
68
131
103
7
12
22
10
12
11
21
17
17
39
24
6
21
6
11
3
5
5
9
3
7
6
69
86
95
22
13
21
53
31
25
16
12
158
320
214
182
111
78
34
6
4
3
42
129
165
1,139
Four or more wage earners
Number of wage earners—
Number in family
Employed
full time
4_____________
5......................_
-
.
6 ............................... ........... ........... ...........................
7.....................................
...................
9______ ______________________ ______ _________
10 and over...................................... .......................
8 ............................................. ....
Total.................. ................... .......................
151
273
291
313
159
152
Employed
part time
45
Unem
ployed
Total
Totai fami
lies with 4
or more
wage
earners
80
171
229
197
128
96
173
276
566
682
635
366
317
456
69
136
155
140
82
202
162
125
79
69
81
1,541
683
1,074
3,298
736
122
66
88
T a b l e 6 .— E M P L O Y M E N T A N D U N E M P L O Y M E N T I N F A M I L I E S C A N V A S S E D B Y A G E N T S O F T H E M E T R O P O L I T A N L IF E I N S U R A N C E C O . I N 46
C IT IE S , D E C E M B E R 8-9, 1930
Per cent of wage or salary
earners l—
W age or salary earners—
C ity
Number of
Number of Number of
wage or sal
persons
families
ary earners
Em ployed
full time
Employed
part time
568
607
2,766
604
359
651
2,389
480
43.8
62.1
58.5
42.5
34.4
18.3
22.3
32.0
2,230
2,979 /
\
575 /
I
2,008
/
105
72.5
19.6
19.2
25.5
17.8
10.2
60.7
16.8
22.5 }
44
4.5
1.7
25.3
4.2
1 .6
3.8
1 .6
4,636
7,025
29,576
4,998
1,649
3,320
12,421
1,886
722
2,062
7,266
802
B oston..............................................................................
7,783
34,370
13,254
8,045
1,475
6,592
2,453
1,089
789
5,014
425
21,042
1,622
7,925
662
3,954
342
1,963
215
C hicago....................................................................................
26,363
106,957
44,110
23,394
9,130
46,515
17,838
42,604
18,252
25,265
18,824
8,608
16,678
7,729
10,109
10,192
4,604
8,598
4,036
4,786
X
\
3,976
1,583
3,571
2,019
2,851
1,629
1,283
770
9,738
1,483
1,170
1,752
544
6,231
4,667
2,969
42,585
6,490
4,823
6,849
2,035
2,605
1,967
1,091
14,988
2,941
1,676
3,115
883
1,425
1,441
659
5,012
1, 331
767
1,389
605
Kansas C ity, M o _______________________ ____________
2,799
9,688
4,482
2,779
841
Los Angeles............. ..................... .............. ..........................
5,036
18,904
7.637
4,828
1,192
1,873
7,261
3,402
1,560
953
.....................................................
700
242
227
5,455
697
503
808
120
19.9
32. 2
24.8
1.9
1 .6
1.7
12.7
51.6
32.5
15.9
10.5
18.8
20.7
26.3 }
24.7
28.1
27.0
21.7
4.1
3.6
4.2
3.8
1 .6
1 .8
9.4 }
3.9
1 .6
3.8
3.6
3.9
4.4
4.4
4.1
3.9
3.7
1 .6
18.4
21.4
26.1
2,472 /
78. 8
12.8
47.3
54.7
73.3
60.4
33.4
45.3
45.8
44.6
68.5
28.2
26.9
12.3
36.4
23.7
30.0
25.9
13.6
78.7
8.8
862 /
il
1,617 j/
I
1/
889
I
1 .8
76.2
4,656
2,421
4,509
1,674
480
284
205
4,521
913
406
918
158
4.8 }
no
£0. 4a J
1.4
80.8
53.0
54.2
53.5
51.6
52.2
{
Columbus, Ohio....................................................... .
Denver, C o lo „ _ ....................... ........................................
D es M oin es................................. ......................................
Detroit................. ....................................................................
Fall River___________ _____ __________________________
Grand Rapids__________ __________________ _________
Indianapolis________ ______ ____________________ _____
Jacksonville......................... .................................................
Louisville......... ............
11,586 /
76.8
44.4
49.9
4.0
3.9
4.4
4.2
2 1 .8
2 1 .1
2 0 .8
62.0
18.8
*4.6
B4.1
63.2
15.6
59.2
27 7
28.0
45.9
7.0 }
24.5
18.4
14.4
18.8
30.2
31.0
24.2
29.5
17.9
12.5 }
19.2
11.4 }
21 .2
18.1
26.1
}
41
3.5
1.7
1.7
1 .6
1.5
1.4
1.5
2 .0
UNEMPLOYMENT
Bridgeport..............................................................................
Buffalo......... .................................................... ........................
B u tte ......................................................................................
W holly
unem
ployed
OF
W holly
unem
ployed
SURVEYS
Employed
part time
1,152
1,809
6,714
1,177
11,429
4,899
10,035
4,768
6,492
Number
of wage
or salary
earners
per
family
Employed
full time
Akron................... ................................................................
Atlanta.......... .................................................. ........................
Baltimore............................................................... ............
Birmingham......................................................................
North Chicago................. ............................................
East Chicago................................... ..............................
W est and South Chicago______________ _______
Cincinnati...............................................................................
Cleveland................................................................................
Number
of
persons
per
family
1.4
1.8
1 .6
1.6
3.8
1.5
3.9
1 .8
1 Percentages in italic are for Metropolitan survey, 1915.
O
O
T ab le 6 .— E M P L O Y M E N T A N D U N E M P L O Y M E N T I N F A M I L I E S C A N V A S S E D B Y A G E N T S O F T H E M E T R O P O L I T A N L I F E I N S U R A N C E C O . IN 46
C IT IE S , D E C E M B E R 8-9, 1930— Continued
•<!
_ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Per cent of wage or salary
earners *—
Wage or salary earners—
C ity
M anchester, N . H ...............................................................
M em phis..................................................................................
Num ber of Number of Number of
wage or sal
families
persons
ary earners
562
2,125
2,552
7,478
1,044
3,702
Employed
full time
Employed
part time
W holly
unem
ployed
461
1,838
308
772
275
1,092
3,377
14,009
5,129
2,387
1,578
1,164
3,743
16,186
7,117
4,316
1,205
1,596
Employed
part time
W holly
unem
ployed
44.2
49.6
29.5
20.9
26.3
29.5
/
68.2
28.9
7.9
\
46.5
60.7
30.8
16.9
/
4.5
3.5
4.3
1.9
4.3
1 .6
4.2
4.4
4.2
4.1
4.3
1.6
1 .6
1.8
1 .6
1 .6
[98,493
[60,802
14,791
22,900
61.7
15.0
Bronx................................................................................
Brooklyn................................... ....................................
M anhattan.....................................................................
Q u e e n s............................................. ..............................
Richm ond.......................................................................
9,028
23,574
14,984
9,500
2,639
37,914
104,2 6 0
62,691
38,727
11,293
14,178
38,820
26,222
15,076
4,197
9,336
23,006
15,152
10,310
2,998
1,706
6,284
4,097
2,131
573
3,136
9,530
6,973
2,635
626
65.9
59.3
57.8
68.4
71.4
12 .0
22 .1
16.2
15.6
14.1
13.7
24.5
26.6
17.6
14.9
Oakland, C alif......................................................................
1,728
6,958
2,554
1,512
414
628
/
61.1
26.9
12.0
\
498
925
1,770
3,519
701
1,399
515
1,001
103
193
83
205
59.2
73.5
71.5
16.2
14.7
13.8
24.6
Oklahoma C ity.....................................................................
Om aha......................................................................................
Philadelphia..........................................................................
15,073
65,935
27,656
14,131
6,629
6,896
/
70.1
19.6
\
North Philadelphia.....................................................
W est Philadelphia......................................................
South Philadelphia.....................................................
Frankford-Kensington...............................................
5,715
2,739
3,764
2,855
23,767
12,235
17,355
12,578
9,996
4,924
7,361
5,375
5,476
2,982
3,213
2,460
2,325
876
1,915
1,513
2,195
1,066
2,233
1,402
51.1
54.7
43.7
45.8
24.0
23.3
17.8
26.0
28.1
59.9
29.0
11. i
60.8
59.2
24.7
26.3
24.5 }
14.5
62.7
17. 8
20.0
58.5
40.9
59.8
45.3
17.7
32.6
18.9
31.3
23.8
26.5
21.3
23.4
Pittsburgh, P a ......................................................................
5,536
23,475
8,905
4,625
2,196
Portland, M e .........................................................................
752
3,364
1,148
680
302
Portland, Oreg......................................................................
981
3,948
1,544
903
273
Providence, R . I ..................................................................
Richmond, V a ......................................................................
Rochester, N . Y ...................................................................
3,282
1,547
2,912
14,485
6,602
11,914
5,906
2,846
4,795
2,414
1,701
2,173
1,926
538
1,502
1,120
Salt Lake C ity ......................................................................
535
2,323
789
565
96
128
San Francisco, Calif............................................................
2 ,2 20
8,674
3,500
2,317
568
Seattle......................................................................................
1,476
5,613
2,110
1,319
337
St. Louis................................................................................ .
10,890
40,738
18,370
9,794
4,249
\
1,566
607
f
\
/
71.9
17.7
14.7
10. S
1.5
3.6
3.8
1.4
1.5
4.4
1 .8
2 2 .0
2 1 .6
30. 3
4.2
4.5
4.6
4.4
1.7
26.1
}
42
1 .6
1 .6
4.4
4.3
4.1
1 .8
1 .8
1 .6
43
}
3.9
15.6
\
6 6 .2
16.2
17.6
/
\
/
4,327
\
72.5
14.8
12.7
62.5
16.0
21.5
72.7
13.7
IS. 6
53.3
23.1
23.6
1.9
1 .6
4.5
16.2 }
25.4
1 .8
2 .0
4.0
10.4
12.2
59.0
454
4.0
24.9 }
71.6
615
}
1 1 .8
1.5
1 .6
}
3.8
1.4
}
3.7
1.7
STATISTICS
254,875
/
2,184
I
166
/
368
1.5
41
18.0 }
23.3
59,725
6 0 .6
1.9
1.7
22.7 }
22.4
New York C ity ....................................................................
{
Number
of wage
or salary
earners
per
family
EMPLOYMENT
M ilw aukee.............................................................................
New Orleans..........................................................................
Employed
full time
Number
of
persons
per
family
O
4,133
36,605
Colored districts..
Other districts___
T oledo.............................
1,251
9,639
1,669
7,120
2,630
W ichita, K a n s .............
393
1,539
618
2,238
16,132
1,015 1
8,779 j
629
3,698
1,136 1
735
759
327
164
127
Wilkes-Barre.................
882
3,830
1,382
693
W ilm ington, D el.........
Winston-Salem, N . C
1,233
484 ;
5,228
1,967
2 ,2 1 2
904
1,081
424
All cities..............
213,787 j
365,759
195,309
1
594
3,655
/
45.4
54.4
26.5
22.7
28.1
22.9
71.8
17.5
10.7
28.9
\
43.2
52.9
27.9
26.5
J
61.8
32.3
\
37.3
28.2
35.8
12.5
22.9
17.3
21.3 /
IS. 3
516
173
624
324 |
507
156
50.2
48.9
46.9
84,627
54.9
75,823
}
2 0 .6
6.4 }
X
23.8 }
3.3
3.8
1.7
4.3
1 .6
3.9
1 .6
1 .8
4.3
1 .6
4.2
4.0
1 .8
41
1.9
Lf
1 Percentages in italic are for Metropolitan survey, 1915.
SURVEYS
OF UNEMPLOYMENT
<1
172
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Surveys of Unemployment in Baltimore, 1928, 1929, and 1930
I n F ebruary of each of the years 1928, 1929, and 1930, the office
of the Commissioner of Labor and Statistics of Maryland made
inquiry into the actual amount of unemployment existing in the city
of Baltimore.3 In each case, the necessary data were secured by a
house-to-house canvass by members of the Baltimore Police Depart
ment, and in each case the study was designed to include the entire
city. In 1928, according to the instructions given them, the enu
merators were required to visit each family residing within the city
limits but were instructed to submit written reports for only those
families in which actual unemployment was involved. In 1929 and
1930 the officers again were instructed to visit each family residing
within the city, and in addition were required to record on a schedule
provided for the purpose the name and address of each family visited,
with additional data for those families one or more of the members
of which were unemployed at the time of the canvass.
In each case, the canvass was designed to enumerate only those
persons in Baltimore who usually worked for wages or on their own
account in some business and who, at the time of the canvass, were
entirely without gainful employment of any kind and seeking work.
In making these three studies, no effort was made in any case to
obtain information for those persons who were working only part
time, and, in preparing the instructions for the procedure of the can
vass, every possible means was taken to eliminate those individuals
who either could not or would not work if employment were available.
The results of the 1930 survey indicate that during February, the
month selected for the canvass, there were in Baltimore 13,784 men
and women who are usually gainfully employed and who, at the
time of the enumeration, were entirely without work of any kind
and seeking employment. According to the results obtained by the
study in 1929, there were at approximately the same time of the
year, 13,177 such persons, and in 1928, 15,473.
Based on the estimated population of Baltimore, 830,400,4 approxi
mately 1.65 per cent of the total number of persons living in the city
at the time of the enumeration, were entirely without employment
of any kind and were seeking work. This may be compared with 1.58
per cent in 1929 and 1.88 per cent in 1928. And if it may be assumed
that the number of gainfully employed persons in Baltimore has
increased in the same ratio as the estimated population of the city,
approximately 3.6 per cent of these individuals were found to be
without employment of any kind in February, 1930. In February,
1929, the reports indicated that 3.44 per cent of the men and women
who usually work for wages or on their own account were without
work of any kind, and in February, 1928, 4.1 per cent.
Table 7 presents the results by sex and color.
3 The detailed results of the three surveys are published in the Labor Review of the U . S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics for April, 1928, M ay, 1929, and April, 1930.
4 1928; the Census Bureau made no estimate for 1929.
173
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
T a b l e 7 .— D IS T R I B U T I O N OF P E R S O N S U S U A L L Y G A I N F U L L Y E M P L O Y E D B U T
E N T I R E L Y U N E M P L O Y E D I N F E B R U A R Y , 1928, 1929, A N D 1930, B Y C O L O R A N D S E X
February, 1928
February, 1929
February, 1930
Color and sex
Per cent
Number
Per cent
Number
9,152
W om
1,279
en
59.1
8.7
7,956
1,234
60.4
9.4
8,1 20
1,316
58.9
9.6
10,431
67.8
9,190
69.8
9,436
68.5
27.9
3,288
24.9
4,316
5.3
W om
en_________________________________
4.3
699
726
3,560
788
25. 8
5.7
30.2
4,348
31. 5
59.1
60.4
9,152
7,956
Colored_________________________________
27.9
24.9
4,316
3,288
8,1 20
3,560
58.9
25.8
85.3
11,680
84.7
9.4
1,234
1,279
8.7
4.3
699
Colored_________________________________
726
5.3
1,316
788
9.6
5.7
2.104
15.3
Number
COLOR
White:
M en __________________ __________________
_________________________________
Total........................... .................................
Colored:
M en ____________________________________
Total......... ...................................................
5,042
32.2
3,987
Per cent
SEX
M en:
W hite____ ________ _____________________
T otal______ ___________________________
Women:
W hite___________________________________
Total_________________________________
13,468
87.0
2,005
13.0
11,244
1,933
14.7
While fewer than 800 persons reported in 1930 that they had se
cured even pick-up jobs since they had left their regular occupations,
in comparison with approximately 1,000 such persons in 1929, never
theless, consideration of the length of time during which these indi
viduals had been without employment of any kind seems to indicate
some improvement in 1930 over 1929 and 1928. Table 8 indicates
the length of time unemployed.
T a b l e 8 .—-D U R A T I O N O F P E R IO D O F T O T A L U N E M P L O Y M E N T O F P E R S O N S O U T
O F W O R K I N F E B R U A R Y , 1928, 1929, A N D 1930
1928
1929
1930
Period of total unemployment
Number
Less than 1 month..............................................
1 month and under 2 months---------- --------
2 months and under 3 months........................
3 months and under 4 months.................... __
4 months and under 5 months------- ------------5 months and under 6 months-------------------6 months and under 7 months-------------------7 months and under 8 months------- ------------8 months and under 9 months........................
9 months and under 10 months............ .........
10 months and under 11 months___________
11 months and under 12 months.....................
12 months and over................. ......................... ..
Period not reported.............................................
Total..................................... ................ —
1,981
2,373
3,041
2,643
1,657
901
1,229
275
320
Per cent
Number
Per cent
Number
12.8
15.6
12.7
17.8
15.0
9.8
4.3
8.5
1.5
1.9
1.3
.7
2,442
2,340
2,901
2,189
1,106
483
897
135
167
82
42
122
1 .8
2 .1
.8
46
26
778
81
5.0
.5
2,054
1,671
2,343
1,981
1,289
574
1,124
192
247
172
87
31
1,321
91
15,473
100.0
13,177
15.3
19.7
17.1
10.7
5.8
7.9
.3
.2
.2
10 .0
11
Per cent
17.7
17.0
21 .0
15.9
8 .0
3. 5
6. 5
1 .0
1 .2
.6
.3
.1
6.4
.7
882
107
100.0
13,784
100.0
.8
According to the individual reports made by the enumerators, each
of the eight police districts into which the city is divided felt the
direct stress of unemployment. In all, 11,789 families were directly
affected through the unemployment of the 13,784 persons, classified
1 74
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
as follows: Private families, 10,823 persons, boarding houses, 118;
lodging houses, 128; and unclassified families, 720.
Not less than 58,079 persons were included in the 11,789 families,
and of this number 27,751 are usually gainfully employed.
Table 9 presents in detail the persons found unemployed in Balti
more in February, 1930, classified according to the regular occupation
of the unemployed.
T a b l e 9 .— N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S IN B A L T I M O R E U S U A L L Y E N G A G E D I N G A I N F U L
O C C U P A T IO N S B U T E N T I R E L Y U N E M P L O Y E D IN F E B R U A R Y , 1930, C L A S S IF IE D
B Y R E G U L A R O C C U P A T IO N
Males
Total 1
nuni- 1
ber !
Regular occupation
Total W hite
Females
Col
ored
Total W hite
Col
ored
All occupations........................................ . . ......... 13.784 11.680
8,130
3,560
3,104
1,316
788
m ufacturing and mechanical occupations.. 9,539 8,933
Apprentices in building and hand trades________
113 ; 113
Rakers
_ _ _
_ _ __
78
79
26
Blacksmiths....................... ................... ............. .............
26
31
31
Boiler makers_____________________ ________________
129
129
Brick and stone masons 1
BiiilHp.rs and building r>ontrar»tors___
10
10
Cabinetmakers. ,
49
49
649
650
Carpenters l. ............................ ...................... ...............
3
3
Compositors___________ ____________________________
5
5
Coopers____________________________________ ______ Drftssm alrers and seamstresses
2
39
1
1
Dyers _____________________________________________
104
103
Electricians 1__________ ________ __________ ________
89
89
Engineers and cranemen__________________________
65
65
Engineers (stationary)_________ _____________
24
24
Cranemen______________________ _______________
1
1
Engravers__________________ _____ __________________
Factory workers (not otherwise classified)_______ 1,933 1,647
240
284
Food and kindred products____ ______ _______
144
86
Textiles and their products_________ _________
6,033
3,890
606
510
97
76
26
31
120
10
47
634
3
4
2
1
102
84
63
21
1
1,054
157
54
16
2
96
1
1
1
1
37
34
1
1
593
83
32
286
44
58
220
42
48
66
2
10
192
61
8
3
17
26
38
94
39
4
3
1
76
43
19
3
15
3
4
14
7
4
14
7
2
32
5
26
32
9
90
20
310
23
27
19
Iron and steel and their products, not includ
305
ing machinery_______________________________
103
Lumber and allied products__________________
12
Leather and its manufacture_______ _________
6
Rubber products______________________________
32
Paper and printing___________________________
109
Chemicals and allied products_______________
85
Stone, clay, and glass products_______________
M etal and metal products, other than iron
58
and steel_______________ ________ ________ ____
19
Tobacco manufactures
__________ __________
Machinery, not including transportation
51
equipment____ _____ ________________________
11
Musical instruments________________ _____ ___
111
Transportation equipment_______________ ____
21
Railroad repair shops
___________________
582
Other industries and unclassified____________
26
Filers, buffers, polishers____
___________________ j
Firemen (not locomotive or fire department)____ 1
41
Foremen and overseers, manufacturing and
56
mftfthanical................... ....................... - ............... .
.
4
Glass blowers_____________________________________
2
Jewelers (not in factory)
____________________
Laborers (not otherwise classified) 1______________ 3,659
27
Lathers_____________________________________________
19
Lithographers________________ ___________________
164
Machinists, millwrights, toolmakers_____________
151
Machinists _ .
_
______ _____ ___________
4
M illw rights.
___________________
9
Toolmakers, die setters
___ _______________
1
Managers, superintendents (manufacturing)____
111
Mechanics (not otherwise classified)
__________
4
Milliners. _
.
_______________________
63
Molders
___________________
5
Oilers of machinery.............................. ..................... - - m
Painters i . . . . . . . . .............................................................
P»np,r hanffors 1
___
1
I1
1
286
100
12
6
18
102
81
!
1
58
5
51
:
i
!
1
!
9
111
21
461
26
41
49
4
2
3,629
27
19
162
i 149
4
9
i
1
9
2
15
1
I
3
5
2
3
14
14 i'
l
2
21
1
151
3
14
49
4
2
1,535 2,094
1
26
19
158
4
145
4
4 : ______
9
2
2
121
73
1
48
i
7
7
30
23
2
2
2
2
4
4
;V
3
7
1
!
in
101
!
63
5
431
72
59
5
412 *
67
10
4
19
5
Because the reports given (lie enumerators this year carried with them ; n apparent ambiguous use of
* word “ contractor,” it has been decided to discontinue the practice of dividing each of the building
trades in accordance with the procedure of 192S and 1929.
175
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
T able 9 .— N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S I N B A L T I M O R E U S U A L L Y E N G A G E D I N G A I N F U L
O C C U P A T IO N S B U T E N T I R E L Y U N E M P L O Y E D I N F E B R U A R Y , 1930, C L A S S I F I E D
B Y R E G U L A R O C C U P A T IO N — Continued
Males
Regular occupation
Total
num
ber
Total W hite
Females
Col
ored
Total W hite
Col
ored
M anufacturing and mechanical occupations—
Continued.
Pattern makers. . ......... ................................................
Piano tuners.....................................................................
Plasterers and cement workers 1................................
Cement workers.......................................... ............
Plasterers................................................................... .
Plumbers, gas and steam fitters 1........... ................. .
Printers (not otherwise classified)............ ............... .
Roofers and slaters - - .......................................... ......... .
Sawyers............................................................................. .
Semiskilled operatives (not otherwise classified)..
Food and kindred products._________________
Textiles and their products................................ .
Iron and steel and their products, not includ
ing machinery...................................................... .
Lumber and allied products ........................ .......
Leather and its manufacture. ............................
Rubber products......................................................
Paper and p rin tin g ..___________ _____________
Chemicals and allied products_______________
Stone, clay, and glass products______________
M etal and metal products, other than iron
and s t e e l - ..............................................................
Tobacco manufactures— .......................... .........
Machinery, not including transportation
eq u ip m e n t--........................... ................. ...........
Musical instruments - ................................ ...........
Transportation equipment........................... .......
Railroad repair shops____ ____________________
Other industries and unclassified____________
Shoemakers (not in factory)........................................
Stonecutters and marble workers..............................
Structural-iron workers_____________ __________ _
Tailors and tailoresses...................................... .............
Tinsmiths and sheet-metal workers______________
Upholsterers........................ ............. ......... ............. .........
Welders___________________________________________
Public utilities____________________________________
Water tra n sp o rta tio n ___________________________
Sailors and deck hands____ ______ ____________
Stevedores________________ ____________________
O thers.___________________ ____________________
Road and street transportation________ __________
Chauffeurs.___________________________________
Draymen and teamsters______________________
Others................ .............................. ............ .............
Railroad transportation. - ________________________
Brakemen....................................................................
O th e rs-.......................... ....................... .....................
Express, post, telegraph, telephone______________
Telegraph and telephone linemen____________
Telegraph messengers. ______ ________ ________
Telephone operators................................................
Others.............. ............................... .............................
Mercantile trades...........................................................
Insurance agents................................... ......... .................
Retail d e ale rs--................................................................
Others...............................................
Public service................ ........... .
Professional service.......................
Musicians........................................
Teachers-........................................
Others....................................... —
Domestic and personal service..
Barbers, hairdressers. ................
Elevator tenders.........................
Jan itors.-........................................
S e rv a n ts........................................
W a ite rs--........................................
Others............................... ............
2
2
2
3
163
90
73
163
90
73
201
201
69
29
4
732
80
67
29
4
514
1
2
110
68
100
40
70
199
64
25
3
498
65
96
18
61
43
34
3
16
4
17
59
43
32
3
16
4
16
17
47
17
17
21
21
14
18
19
13
16
19
13
16
18
22
22
21
87
60
58
2
2
2
14
44
189
57
56
14
828
14
44
178
57
54
14
803
120
120
36
75
9
604
548
55
36
75
9
603
547
55
13
43
169
57
54
13
533
50
24
17
9
404
370
34
222
72
44
37
3
26
6
1
1
49
18
31
55
49
18
31
31
49
18
31
30
8
8
9
27
9
3
8
8
11
11
478
15
471
14
6
6
6
723
14
3
114
37
443
14
3
85
35
4
46
482
437
14
3
77
28
4
45
156
16
13
3
67
1,277
25
21
39
819
111
262
21
20
34
106
70
231
12
122
11
1
20
23
81
198
20
108
‘Ii
12
9
1
3
10
25
27
24
24
23
1
270
70
12
58
199
177
21
1
3
11
758
15
10
218
23
'278
280
1
326
5
7
31
86
47
150
20
2
6
21
705
4
1
5
713
41
31
278
29
2
0
21
121
4
1
1
674
31
10
62
22
051
9
* Because the reports given the enumerators this year carried with them an apparent ambiguous use of
the word “ contractor,” it has been decided to discontinue the practice of dividing each of the building
trades in accordance with the procedure of 1928 and 1929.
17G
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
T able 9.— N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S I N B A L T I M O R E U S U A L L Y E N G A G E D I N G A I N F U L
O C C U P A T IO N S B U T E N T I R E L Y U N E M P L O Y E D
B Y R E G U L A R O C C U P A T I O N — Continued
IN
F E B R U A R Y , 1930, C L A S S IF IE D
Males
Regular occupation
Total
num
ber
Females
Total W hite
Col
ored
Total W hite
m
5
37
119
119
3
Clerical occupations—.....................................................
716
m
407
17
m
Cashiers, accountants, bookkeepers.................. .......
Clerks (office)_____ _____________ _________________
Stenographers and typists________________________
O th ers...____________ _____________________ _______
90
351
137
138
52
229
17
126
4813
145
337
51
227
15
114
1
2
2
12
122
120
12
440
43
77
12
68
143
297
2
40
41
36
39
29
Other occ u p a tio n s..................... ........................... .
Clerks (unclassified) 2....................................... .............
Other occupations and unclassified............... ...........
559
186
373
38
Col
ored
1
1
9
2
7
2 Unclassified as to whether sales or office clerks.
Surveys of Unemployment in Buffalo, N. Y., 1929 and 1930
A s u r v e y of unemployment in Buffalo, N. Y., was made in Novem
ber, 1929, and a similar survey was made in November, 1930.6 The
present article presents detailed figures for the 1930 study and certain
comparisons with the 1929 study.
The 1929 study was under the auspices of the New York Depart
ment of Labor and the 1930 study was under the joint^ auspices of
that organization and of the Buffalo Foundation. Drawing upon its
knowledge of the various sections of the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo
Foundation selected for enumeration nine areas believed to be reason
ably representative of the city. The data were obtained by house-tohouse visits within these same nine areas in each year and the actual
enumeration was carried on by students of the State Teachers'
College at Buffalo and the University of Buffalo, with the assistance
of a number of trained social workers in 1930 and of students of Canisius College in 1929. The enumerators were given detailed printed
instructions supplemented by oral discussion and their work was
closely supervised. In each year the field work took place during the
first week of November. In 1929 the data were gathered as of Mon
day, November 4, and in 1930 as of Monday, November 3.
Information concerning employment status was requested for all
males 18 years of age or over (except those in school) and for all females
18 years of age or over who were usually employed in gainful occu
pations. Thus all housewives were omitted as were all women who
worked outside the home, on a part-time basis, in addition to their
housework. In 1929 the inquiries for each person were as to relation
to head of household, sex, nativity, present or last industry in which
employed, whether employed full time, part time, or unemployed,
and, for a number of the unemployed, age. For those employed
part time the fraction of usual full time was requested and for those
unemployed the duration and reason for idleness. Data concerning
age were secured for but part of the unemployed in 1929 as that
inquiry was added after the beginning of the enumeration. In 1930
s The first Buffalo study is discussed in Special Bulletin N o. 163, of the Bureau of Statistics ahd Informa
tion of the New York State Department of Labor and in the seventy-second number of the Foundation
Forum of the Buffalo Foundation; the second Buffalo study is treated in Special Bulletin N o. 167, of the
Bureau of Statistics and Information and in a forthcoming number of the Foundation Forum. A compar
ison of the first Buffalo study and the Columbus studies appeared in the Labor Review, February, 1930.
The present article is an abridgement of a report published in the January, 1931, Labor Review.
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
177
the same basic schedule form was used but the age inquiry was added
for all persons enumerated. In addition, for each unemployed person
inquiries were added as to whether he was able to work and whether
willing to work. The two last-mentioned questions were added as
an experiment in the hope that, when taken in conjunction with the
reported reason for idleness, some tentative measure might be forth
coming for (1) those able and willing to work, (2) those temporarily
unable to work, (3) those permanently unable to work, and (4) those
not desiring to work. The answers to the questions as to whether
or not an unemployed person was able and willing to work were
based upon the opinion of the informant, modified by queries from
the enumerator, and, in numerous instances, subject to substantiation
by a second visit by a trained social worker.
Summary of Results
br ie f compass the findings of the two studies in Buffalo are:
1. In 1929 for each thousand males enumerated, 59 were unable
to find work. In 1930, 165 males per thousand enumerated were
unable to find work. The proportion of males unable to find work
was thus over two and one-half times as great in 1930 as in 1929.
2. In 1929 there were 68 males per thousand enumerated who were
on part time. In 1930, 178 males per thousand enumerated were on
part time. The proportion of males employed less than full time
was over two and one-half times as great in 1930 as in 1929.
3. The proportion of females unable to find work and the propor
tion on part time were each over two and one-half times as great in
.1930 as in 1929.
4. In both years the most unemployment and the least full-time
employment were found among the native colored group, while the
least unemployment and the most full-time employment were found
among the native whites.
5. Unemployment had been of decidedly longer duration at the
time of the 1930 study than at the time of the 1929 study.
6. Considering the males by age groups it was found that the least
unemployment was present among those from 35 to 45 years of age,
while the proportion of those unemployed in each group increased
steadily as the groups considered were either younger or older.
7. The greatest proportion of unemployment and underemploy
ment of males was found in the manufacturing and mechanical
industries in both years. Those industry groups which employed
large numbers of males and which showed the most unemployment
and^ underemployment were the building trades; manufacture and
servicing of automobiles, parts, and tires; and manufacture of iron
and steel and their products. The greatest proportion of full-time
employment was found among those males engaged in professional
service, those self-employed (other than building contractors), and
Government employees.
8. In 1930 those males permanently unable to work constituted
1.5 per cent of all males enumerated and those males unwilling to
work were 2.0 per cent of all males enumerated.
In
178
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Scope of Studies
T able 10 presents the number of persons covered in each of the
studies:
T a b l e 1 0 .— N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F P E R S O N S O F E A C H S E X E N U M E R A T E D I N
1929 A N D 1930
Number
Per cent
Year
Males
1929.....................................................
1930.................................................... j
Females
12,331
11,287
Both sexes
Ma)es
15,164
14,002
2,833
2,715
81.3
80.6
Females
Both sexes
18.7
19.4
100.0
100.0
It is altogether likely that the proportionally larger number of
females included in 1930 than in 1929, small though it is, is accounted
for by the entrance into the labor market of a number of women
because of the unemployment of their husbands.
In Table 11 is given the nativity distribution of those enumerated
in the 1930 Buffalo study and of the occupied persons shown in the
census of 1920.6 As would be expected there was a smaller proportion
of foreign born among those enumerated in the Buffalo study. Be
cause of restricted immigration, departure of immigrants, and deaths
especially among the older immigrant groups there undoubtedly has
been a decrease in the proportion of foreign born in most cities of the
United States in the 10 years since 1920. The nativity distributions
of the two Buffalo studies are much alike save that the 1930 study
shows a somewhat larger proportion of native colored females than
does the 1929 study.
T a b l e 1 1 .— N A T I V I T Y O F P E R S O N S E N U M E R A T E D I N 1930 S T U D Y A N D O F O C C U P I E D
P E R S O N S 18 Y E A R S O F A G E A N D O V E R I N B U F F A L O R E P O R T E D B Y U N I T E D
S T A T E S C E N S U S (1920),« B Y S E X
[This table does not indude 31 persons, 24 males and 7 females, not reporting as to nativity]
Number
Males
Females
Both sexes
N ativity
Buffalo
study
Census of
1920
Buffalo
study
Census of
1920
Buffalo
study
Census of
1920
Native white h...............................
Native colored...............................
Foreign bom ...................................
8,492
240
2,531
100,250
56,654
2,366
91
251
35,170
612
8,247
10,858
331
2,782
135,420
2,624
64,901
Total......................................
11,263
158,916
2,708
44,029
13,971
202,945
2,012
Per cent
75.4
Native white__________________
Native colored_________________
Foreign born___________________
22.5
63.1
1.3
35.6
87.4
3.3
9.3
79.9
1.4
18.7
77.7
2.4
19.9
66.7
1.3
32.0
Total......................................
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1 0 0.0
10 0.0
2 .1
• Fourteenth census of the United States, vol. 4 (Occupations), p. 458.
6 Includes 1 male native-born Indian.
• Data of the census of 1930 were not available at that time.
179
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Table 12 shows for each industry group, for the two studies, the
number of persons enumerated and the per cent which such number
was of the total enumerated. The group “ other” under manufac
turing and mechanical pursuits shows a comparatively large number
of persons because of the fact that it includes employees of radio and
aircraft factories. In view of the probable future development of
the aircraft industry, it would doubtless be advisable to segregate
that group if the study is again repeated.
T able 1 3 .— I N D U S T R Y D IS T R I B U T I O N O F P E R S O N S E N U M E R A T E D , 1929 A N D 1930
[This table does not include 138 persons in 1929 and 68 persons in 1930 not reporting as to industry group]
1929
1930
Industry group
Number of
persons
Per cent
of total
Num ber of
persons
3.7
562
116
777
919
4,487
1,693
264
1,757
87
696
6,961
347
884
98
627
1,466
Professional________________________ . _____ ________________
Clerical (not otherwise specified)____________ ______ _____
Domestic and personal service___________________________
Government employees (other than teachers)............ .....
Trade and transportation________________________________
Retail and wholesale trade__________________________
Telephone and telegraph____________________________
Railway, express, gas, electric light_________________
W ater transportation_____________________________
Other_________________________________________________
Manufacturing and mechanical pursuits________________
Building trades, contractors_________________________
Building trades, wage earners_______________________
Clay, glass, ana stone products______________ _______
Food and kindred products_________________________
Iron, steel, and their products_______________________
M etal products, other than iron and steel__________
Paper, printing, and publishing_____________________
Wearing apparel and textiles _______________________
Automobiles, parts, and tires________________________
Other..........................................................................................
Labor (not otherwise specified)__________________________
Self-employed_____________________________________________
Miscellaneous _____________ _______ _____________________
290
522
1,068
1,458
78
1,063
63
4.2
9.7
1.4
1.9
3.5
7.1
9.7
.5
7.1
.4
Total, all industries__ _____________________________
15,026
100.0
533
36
912
913
4,304
1,706
251
1,609
.8
6.1
5.2
29.9
11.3
1.7
11.7
.6
3.8
.3
6. 5
6.6
30.9
12. 2
1.8
11.6
100
4.6
46.3
2.3
5.9
.7
4:6
44.3
638
6,181
309
770
116
594
1,299
193
331
433
950
1,186
42
895
128
.6
211
Per cent
of total
13,944
2.2
5. 5
.8
4.3
9.3
1.4
2.4
3.1
6.8
8.5
.3
6.4
.9
100.0
Employment Status
T able 13 shows for each sex and for the two combined the employ
ment status of all persons enumerated in the 1930 study.
T able 1 3.— E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S OF P E R S O N S E N U M E R A T E D , B Y S E X , 1930
Number
Per cent
Employment status
Males
Employed full tim e.............................................
Employed part tim e...........................................
Two-thirds but less than full time
..
One-half but less than two-thirds tim e.
One-third but less than one-half tim e..
Less than one-third tim e...........................
Fraction not reported.................................
Unemployed...........................................................
Able and willing to work..........................
Temporarily unable to work.................
Permanently unable to work...................
Unwilling to work.......................................
Classification not reported.....................
6,930
2,007
T otal.............................................................
11,287
i Less thanone-tenthof 1percent.
866
764
261
109
17
2,360
1,863
94
166
226
Females
1,968
326
113
139
47
24
3
431
391
18
13
9
1
Both
sexes
Males
8,888
2,333
969
903
308
133
20
2,781
2,254
6 .8
2.3
1 .0
.1
2 0 .8
16.5
112
.8
179
235
1.5
1
2,715
61.4
17.8
7.6
14,002
2 .0
Females
72.1
63.5
16.6
6.9
6.5
12.0
4.2
5.1
1.7
.9
2 .2
.9
.1
.1
15.9
14.4
.7
.5
.3
19.9
16.1
0)
100.0
Both
sexes
.8
1.3
1.7
0)
100.0
100.0
180
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
In Table 14 a comparison of the employment status of the males
enumerated in 1929 and in 1930 is presented. Because of the greater
numerical importance of males nearly all comparisons made in this
report of employment conditions at the time of the two studies are
restricted to that sex.
T a b l e 1 4 — E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S OF M A L E S E N U M E R A T E D , 1929 A N D 1930
[This table does not include 13 males in 1929 and 1 male in 1930 not reporting as to cause of unemployment!
Number
Per cent
Employment status
1929
1930
1929
Employed full tim e___________ . _____ ____________________________
Employed part tim e______________________________________________
Unemployed________________________ _____________________________
Able and willing to work 1________ _________________________ _
Temporarily or permanently sick or injured..— .......................
Aged or retired 2____________________ ______ _____ ______________
Miscellaneous_________________________________________________
10,157
833
1,328
724
282
248
74
6,930
2,007
2,349
1,863
218
251
17
82.4
Total.......................................................................................................
12,318
11,286
6 .8
10 .8
1930
61.4
17.8
20 .8
5.9
2.3
16.5
1.9
2 .0
.6
2 .2
.2
100.0
100.0
1 This is the “ slack w ork” classification of 1929.
2 A very few forcibly retired persons m ay have been included here in 1929.
Table 15 indicates the proportion of employment and the proportion
of unemployment among all persons enumerated in 1929 and in 1930
who were able and willing to work, when part-time employment is
expressed in terms of equivalent full time.
T a b l e 1 5 .— E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S O F P E R S O N S (B O T H S E X E S ) E N U M E R A T E D W H O
W E R E A B L E A N D W IL L IN G T O W O R K , IN T E R M S O F E Q U IV A L E N T F U L L T IM E , i
1929 A N D 1930
Year
1929......................................................
1930. ..............................................
Per cent
of time
em
ployed
92.1
77.1
Per cent
of time
unem
ployed ;
7.9
22.9
Total
100.0
100.0
i
Part time was reduced to full-time equivalent b y considering each group employed part time as concen
trated at the mid-point. Thus all those employed “ two-thirds but less than full tim e” have been consid
ered as employed five-sixths of the time and idle one-sixth of the time; those employed “ one-half but; less
than two-thirds time “ as employed seven-twelfths of the time and idle five-twelfths of the time, etc. The
few who were employed part time but did not report the fractional time worked were not included in this
table. A very few forcibly retired persons m ay have been excluded in 1929.
Table 16 presents a summary of the employment status of those
males able and willing to work, by age groups, and gives the propor
tion in each age group who were employed full time or part time, or
were unemployed.
181
SURVEYS OP UNEMPLOYMENT
T able 1 6 .—E M P L O Y M E N T ST A T U S OF M A L E S A B L E A N D W IL L IN G TO
A G E G R O U P S , 1930
W ORK, BY
[This table does not include 27 males not reporting as to agej
Number
Age (years)
Em
ployed
full
time
Em
ployed
part
time
Under 20.................................. .......
20 and under 25________________
25 and under 30________________
30 and under 35________________
35 and under 40......... ............. ..
40 and under 45................... .........
45 and under 50____ _____ ______
50 and under 55______ _____
55 and under 60......... ...................
60 and under 6 5 ...........................
65 and under 70........................... ..
70 and over....................................
230
737
770
922
991
921
758
640
396
312
158
67
47
216
209
273
294
309
240
180
99
73
44
20
Total.....................................
6,908
2,004
Per cent
Unem
ployed
Total
Em
ployed
full
time
Em
ployed
part
time
Unem
ployed
53.2
57.4
64.1
35.9
25.8
18.7
13.4
12.9
12.9
13.0
15.1
17.1
19.1
23.2
32.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
17.3
100.0
432
1,285
91
61
41
1,380
1,475
1,413
1,147
966
597
476
263
128
66.3
66.3
65.6
60.1
52.4
10.9
16.8
17.2
19.8
19.9
21.9
20.9
18.6
16.6
15.3
16.7
15.6
1,861
10,773
64.1
18.6
155
332
226
185
190
183
149
146
1,211
102
66.8
67.2
65.2
66.1
Total
Cause of Unemployment
T able 17 presents data of the unemployed in 1930, by cause of
unemployment.
T a b l e 1 7 .— C A U S E
OF
U N E M P L O Y M E N T OF U N E M P L O Y E D
A T E D , B Y S E X , 1930 i
PERSONS
ENUM ER
[This table does not include 1 male not reporting as to cause of unemployment]
Number
Per cent
Cause of unemployment
Males
Able and willing to work............................ ..
Slack work........ ........................................
Forced retirement___________________
Miscellaneous.--------- ---------------- --------Temporarily unable to work........... ...........
Sickness____ __________________________
Injury______ _____ _______ ____________
Permanently unable to work...................
Sickness________ __________ __________
Injury......................................... .............. .
Old age.........................................................
Miscellaneous____________ __________
Unwilling to work...........................................
Voluntary retirement.............................
Lazy or indifferent____ _ __________
Miscellaneous................ ...........................
Total....................................... ^________
1,863
1,785
'57
21
94
Females Both sexes
391
375
6
10
18
15
3
13
9
3
112
2
1
81
31
179
105
28
43
3
235
217
15
3
2,349
431
2,780
66
28
166
96
25
42
3
226
209
15
1
9
8
i The 1929 study did not go into such detailed classification.
2,254
2,160
63
31
Males
79.3
76.0
2.4
.9
4.0
2 .8
1.2
7.1
4.1
Females
90.7
87.0
1.4
2.3
4.2
3.5
.7
3.0
2 .1
Both sexes
81.1
77.7
2.3
1. L
4.0
2.9
1.1
6.4
3.8
.7
1 .0
.2
1.5
2 .1
.1
8 .5
1.9
7.8
.6
.1
.2
.6
.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
1 .1
1 .8
.1
9.6
8.9
182
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
A comparison of the unemployed males in 1929 and 1930 is given
in Table 18.
T a b l e 1 8 .—C L A S S I F I C A T I O N O F U N E M P L O Y E D xMALES E N U M E R A T E D , 1929 A N D 1930
[This table does not include 13 males in 1929 and 1 male in 1930 not reporting as to cause of unemployment]
Number
Per cent
Class of the unemployed
1929
1930
Able and willing to work 1______ ____________________ ________ ____
Temporarily or permanently sick or injured__ ______ ___________
Aged or retired 2_____ _______ _________ _____ ______________________
Miscellaneous................................................................ ........... .....................
724
282
248
74
1,863
218
251
17
T otal________________________________________________________
1,328
2,349
1929
1930
54.5
18. 7
5.6
79.3
9.3
10.7
.7
100.0
100.0
2 1 .2
1 This is the “ slack w ork” classification of 1929.
2 A very few forcibly retired persons m ay have been included here in 1929.
In Table 19 the various classes of the unemployed are shown in
relation to persons enumerated. Of the males enumerated those able
and willing to work but unemployed because of slack work constituted
15.8 per cent; those in forced retirement, five-tenths of 1 per cent;
those voluntarily retired, 1.9 per cent.
T a b l e 1 9 .— E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S A N D C A U S E O F U N E M P L O Y M E N T O F P E R S O N S
E N U M E R A T E D , B Y S E X , 1930
[This table does not include 1 male not reporting as to cause of unemployment]
Number
Per cent
Employment status and cause of
unemployment
Males
Employed:
Full time_____________________________
Part time......... ....................................... .
11
<nemployed______________________________
Able and willing to work—.................
Slack work_________________ __
Forced retirement_______________
Miscellaneous__________________
Temporarily unable to work________
Sickness__________________________
Injury____________________________
Permanently unable to w o r k ............
Sickness______ ___________________
I n j u r y .,...........................................
Old age____________ ______________
Miscellaneous____________________
_______ _____ ______
Voluntary retirement___________
Lazy or indifferent...........................
Miscellaneous______________ _____
Total............. ................... ..............
Females
6,930
2,007
2,349
1,863
1,785
57
21
94
66
Both sexes
1,958
326
431
391
375
6
10
18
15
3
13
9
3
11,286 |
Females
Both sexes
Cl. 4
17.8
72.1
20 .8
15.9
14.4
13.8
63.5
16.0
19.9
16.1
15.4
.5
16.5
15.8
.5
112
1
81
31
179
105
28
43
3
235
217
15
3
2,715
14,001
28
166
96
25
42
1
3
9
226
Unwilling
to work
209
8
15
2
8,888
2,333
2,780
2,254
2,160
63
31
Males
12 .0
.2
.2
.8
.6
.2
.4
.7
1.5
.9
.5
.3
.2
.1
.1
.2
.8
.6
.2
.6
.1
.4
(9
.3
.3
2 .0
1.9
1.3
.8
.2
.3
0)
(0
0)
100.0
100.0
1.7
1 .6
.1
.1
(0
100.0
i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
Duration of Unemployment
A com parison of the duration of unemployment of those unem
ployed males who were able and willing to work in 1930 and those
reported as unemployed because of slack work in 1929 is given in
183
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
T a b l e 2 0 .— D U R A T I O N O F U N E M P L O Y M E N T O F U N E M P L O Y E D M A L E S A B L E A N D
W I L L I N G T O W O R K , 1 1929 A N D 1930
[This table does not include 14 males in 1929 and 12 males in 1930 not reporting as to duration of
unemployment]
Per cent
Number
Duration of unemployment
1929
Under 2 weeks..... ................... ....................... ............................. ................
2 and under 4 weeks................................ ............................ ......................
4 and under 10 weeks______________ _________ ______ ______ ________
10 and under 20 weeks...... ............. .................... ................... ......... .........
20 and under 30 weeks...... ................... ................. ................. ...................
30 and under 40 weeks____ ____________ _____ ______ _____ _________
40 and under 52 weeks____ _________ ________________________ _____
52 weeks and over—........................................ ............... ............... .............
Total...................................
— .
- _________________________
1930
1929
22
0
66
79
147
389
331
264
147
103
391
710
1,851
112
158
216
87
44
1930
15.8
2 2 .2
30.4
12.3
0 .2
4.3
7.9
2 1 .0
17.9
14.3
7.9
5.6
3.1
.7
9 .3
21 .1
100.0
100.0
* This is the “ slack w ork” classification of 1929.
Industry and Employment Status
A s u m m a r y of the employment status of males in 1929 and in 1930,
by industry groups, is given in Table 21.
T a b l e 2 1 .— C O M P A R A T I V E S U M M A R Y i O F E M P L O Y M E N T S T A T U S O F M A L E S E N U M
E R A T E D , B Y I N D U S T R Y G R O U P , 1929 A N D 1930
Per cent
1929
Industry group
Professional service.........................
Clerical (not otherwise specified)
Domestic and personal service..
Government employees (other
than teachers)...............................
Trade and transportation_______
Retail and wholesale trade..
Telephone and telegraph. __
Railway, express, gas, elec
tric light----------------------------Water transportation_______
Other_____ __________________
Manufacturing and mechanical
pursuits......................... ........... ..
Building trades, contractors.
Building trades, wage earn
ers.......................... .............. ..
Clay, glass, and stone prod
ucts_______________________
Food and kindred products.
Iron, steel, and their prod
ucts...........................................
M etal products, other than
iron and steel— ...................
Paper, printing, and pub
lishing............ ..........................
Wearing apparel and textiles
Automobiles, parts, and
tires...........................................
Other............................................
Labor (not otherwise specified).
Self-employed...................................
Miscellaneous...................................
Total, all males....................
1930
Em
Em
Unem
ployed ployed ployed,
Total
full
part
all
causes
time
time
90.9
(2)
86.5
4.5
(2)
3.2
89.5
90.2
90.4
94.9
Em
ployed
full
time
Unem
Em
ployed, Unem
ployed,
ployed
able
Total
part
and
all
willing causes
time
to work
10.3
100.0
91.2
(2)
73.5
2.3
(2)
8.4
4.6
(*)
15.8
6.5
(2)
18.1
100.0
7.9
6.9
7.3
5.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
79.1
73.0
75.8
86.4
5.8
2.9
2.3
11.0
8 .1
2.9
7.7
12.3
13.5
9.7
15.1
16.0
16.1
10.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
69.1
54.6
80.2
14.9
16.1
5.9
1 0 .8
29.3
11.3
16.0
29.3
13.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
47.9
39.5
27.1
19.7
21.4
30.1
25.0
40.8
100.0
100.0
2 .6
4.6
0)
1 00.0
(*)
100.0
(*)
90.5
74.4
90.4
2.7
6 .8
12 .2
4.1
13.4
5.5
77.3
63.7
10.3
16.3
2 0 .0
68 .0
9.3
22.7
100.0
44.9
17.1
33.5
38.0
100.0
73.5
86.7
6 .0
100.0
100.0
62.4
72.3
2 0 .8
5.6
20.5
7.7
13.0
11 .8
1 2 .0
16.8
14.7
10 0.0
100.0
79.1
10 .2
10.7
100.0
39.9
38.5
18.1
2 1 .6
100.0
72.5
20.3
7.2
100.0
24.7
53.4
19.0
21.9
100.0
91.2
87.4
3.1
6.9
5.7
5.7
100.0
100.0
68 .2
19.2
31.8 '
11.4
20.4
12.6
44.9
23.3
100.0
100.0
6 6 .6
14.3
9.1
31.2
8.5
25.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
38.2
56.7
(2)
82.6
23.9
32.3
72.2
19.1
5.5
19.5
3.5
1.9
(2)
5 .8
4.4
27.0
17.8
(2)
5.5
54.3
82.4
6.7
10.9
100.0
61.4
17.8
16.5
85.4
49.3
8 8 .0
12.4
2 2 .6
29.5
20.7
(2)
100.0
100.0
1 1 .6
71.7
100.0
100.0
20 .8
100.0
(2)
* This table does not include 327 males in 1929 and 49 males in 1930 not reporting as to industry
group.
2 Percentages not calculated because of small numbers involved.
47767°— 31------- 13
184
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Unemployment in Bloomington, Ind., February, 1930
In t h e latter part of February, 1930, a questionnaire-interview
survey of unemployment was made by the Bloomington Free Em
ployment Bureau, in cooperation with the Indiana University Depart
ment of Economics and the School of Commerce and Finance. A
brief report on this investigation by Thomas W. ’Rogers, assistant
professor of industrial and personnel management of the university,
is summarized below.
The enumeration was done by students of the department of
economics and the College of Commerce and Finance. Every home
in the city was visited and it is estimated that replies were received
from 85 to 90 per cent of the workers of the city.
It was found that 612 persons were not working; 542 of these were
men and 70 were women. There were 608 working part time and
3,670 working full time. The 1930 census figures showed the total
population of Bloomington to be in excess of 18,000. The estimated
population of greater Bloomington is in excess of 20,000.
Period out of work.—Of the unemployed, 124 had been out of
work a month or less, 81 from one to two months, 67 from two to
three months, 55 from three to four months, and 161 for four months
or over. Thus, 283 had been out of work two months or longer.
There were 124 who did not state how long they had been out of
work; of these, also, some may have been unemployed for two months
or longer.
Age distribution.—The age distribution of the unemployed workers
shows that 182 were 45 years of age or older; 67 of those answering
the questionnaire did not give their age. If it is assumed that the
age distribution of this 67 is the same as that of those who answered
this question, 23 of the 67 persons would fall into the classification
of 45 or older. This would make a total of 205 who were 45 years
or older. The number of the unemployed in specified age groups is
given below*
Number
16 to 20 years of age_____________________________________
21 to 25 years of age_____________________________________
26 to 30 years of age_____________________________________
31 to 35 years of age_____________________________________
36 to 40 years of age_____________________________________
41 to 45 years of age_____________________________________
46 to 50 years of age_____________________________________
51 to 55 years of age_____________________________________
56 to 60 years of age_____________________________________
61 to 65 years of age_____________________________________
66 to 70 years of age_____________________________________
71 to 75 years of age_____________________________________
Over 75 years of age______________________________________
No report_______________________________________________
70
78
67
42
64
42
44
38
37
33
22
5
3
67
Total_____________________________________________ 612
Dependents.—A majority of the persons out of work had other
persons depending upon them for their support. The answers reveal
that 102 had one dependent, 114 had two dependents, 92 three
dependents, 38 four dependents, and 75 had five or more dependents.
Of those answering, 75 did not state the number of their dependents,
while 115 stated that they had no dependents.
185
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Causes of unemployment—A study of the causes of unemployment
provides some interesting information. Of those interviewed, 89.2
per cent gave information on this point, as follows:
T a b l e 2 2 .— N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T I D L E O N A C C O U N T O F E A C H S P E C I F I E D C A U S E ,
B Y SEX
N um ber unemployed
Per cent unemployed
M en
M en
Cause of unemployment
W om en Total
Physical disability.................... ....................................... .........
Old age_________________________ _______ _______ _________
Unable to find work_____________________________________
Laid off, bad weather___________________________________
Laid off, no work________________________________________
77
36
167
14
194
5
28
Total reporting_________________ ___________ ______
N ot reporting_______________________ ____________________
Total unemployed................................. ......... .............
W om en
Total
14
87
41
195
15
208
15.8
7.4
34.2
2.9
39.8
48.3
1.7
24.2
15.9
7.5
35.7
2.7
38.1
488
58
546
100.0
100.0
100.0
54
542
12
66
70
612
10
1
17.3
8 .6
The physically disabled were scattered among a large number of
occupational groups. The largest occupational groups among the
77 men physically disabled were those of carpenter (4), farmer (9),
laborer (10), machinist (4), stone worker (11), teacher (3), and rail
road worker (5). Four had no regular occupation. The total
number of physically disabled among these occupations was 50.
The remaining 27 who were unemployed due to physical disability
were scattered among 21 other occupations. The 10 women physi
cally disabled gave their occupations as follows: Bookkeeper (1),
clerk (2), cook (2), housekeeper (3), nurse (1), and saleswoman (1).
No tabulation was made of the ages of those physically disabled.
The principal occupations given by the 36 men unemployed because
of old age were carpenter (7), farmer (8), retired (6), and stone
worker (2)—a total of 23. The other 13 men gave 12 different
occupations. The women unemployed due to old age gave their
occupations as housekeeper (2), and nurse (2); 1 had no occupation.
Occupations.—Among the 612 persons unemployed, 102 different
occupations were listed. The largest industrial groups were the stone
and furniture industries, 128 persons giving the former, and 46 per
sons the latter as the industry in which they usually were employed,
showing the dependency of the local community upon these two
industries.
Of the 128 persons giving occupations in the stone industry, 13
were physically disabled and 2 were out of work because of old age.
Among the woodworking occupations, 2 were physically disabled and
1 was out of work due to old age.
Approximately 25 per cent of those unemployed in the furniture
group said they were laid off because of lack of work, while the other
75 per cent stated they could not find a job. This indicates that
approximately 75 per cent of those out of work in the furniture in
dustry have permanently severed their relations with the old job and
have no promise of being recalled should business conditions improve.
The situation is different in the stone industry. Approximately 70
per cent of those physically able to work said they were laid off
because of lack of work. This indicates that these workers expect to
186
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
return to their fonner jobs when business conditions demand their
return. The other 30 per cent said they could not find a job.
The answers to similar questions asked those working part time
and those working full time were being compiled when the above
data were made public.
Surveys of Unemployment in Cincinnati, 1929 and 1930
A n e m p l o y m e n t survey conducted jointly by the Cincinnati
Department of Public Weifare and the Board of Education showed
that 8.2 per cent of the employable population of the city of Cincinnati
were unemployed during the month of May, 1930. The survey showed
that an additional 9.8 per cent were employed only part time and that
the remaining 82 per cent had steady full-time employment.
A similar survey was conducted in Cincinnati in May, 1929. A
comparison of the two reports shows that the amount of unemploy
ment in May, 1930, was nearly twice as large as for the same
month of 1929, when after deducting the “ unemployables” from the
unemployed it was found that less than 5 per cent of the working
population were unemployed. Comparisons of the figures on those
working part time also showed that the number for May, 1930, was
twice as large as for May, 1929.
t ,
For the purposes of the survey the city was divided into 106 tracts.
The extent of unemployment in each of these tracts was by no means
uniform. It was found, for instance, that in some of the tracts in the
so-called “ bottoms” nearly a third of the working population was
unemployed. On the other extreme was tract No. 81 in College Hill
in which all employable persons were reported as having regular full
time employment. In a number of other tracts less than 2 per cent
of the working population was found to be totally unemployed.
The survey was the result of a house-to-house canvass, and it
covered 108,396 employables, i. e., persons actually working or who
would be working if they could obtain employment.
The most recent figures give the working population of Cincinnati
as 156,000. Using the rate of unemployment shown by the survey
and applying it to this figure gives a total for the city of 12,792 un
employed. This, however, would not include those employed only
part time, of which there would be 15,288 more.
Unemployment Surveys of Philadelphia, 1929 and 1930
A s u r v e y of unemployment in Philadelphia was made in April, 1929,
by attendance officers of the bureau of compulsory education of that
city in cooperation with the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce.
A second survey was made by the same organizations in April, 1930.
1929 Survey
One out of every 10 wage earners in 31,551 Philadelphia families
interviewed by the bureau of compulsory education was found to have%
been unemployed during the latter part of April, 1929. Three-fourths
of the unemployed wage earners reported themselves as unable to
find work. On the basis of this sample covered in the survey of
unemployment, it is estimated that 96,900 of the persons usually
employed were out of work and 72,700 were unemployed because they
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
187
could not find jobs suitable to their qualifications and reasonable expec
tations. As the survey covered families residing in 166 widely dis
tributed school census blocks representing all economic, occupational,
and racial classes, it is believed to provide an accurate cross-section
of unemployment in the city.
There were wide variations in the severity of unemployment in
various parts of the city and among different occupational groups.
A much larger proportion of the workers living in the densely populated
sections of South Philadelphia and in the industrial districts of
Kensington and Frankford were out of work than in the better resi
dential parts of western and northwestern Philadelphia. Unem
ployment was as high as 30 per cent in some of the blocks in the
former sections, whue in a few of the blocks in West Philadelphia
and Chestnut Hill no workers were found to have been unemployed.
Unemployment was considerably more severe among industrial
workers than among those engaged in clerical, mercantile, and
professional occupations. Thus 18.9 per cent of the wage earners
were out of work in district 3 of South Philadelphia, which is over
whelmingly industrial in character, while only 5.3 per cent were
unemployed in district 1 of West Philadelphia, where most persons
are usually engaged in clerical and professional work. That there
was greater unemployment in the manufacturing and building
industries is evident from the fact that, while the census shows less
than one-half of the city’s workers engaged in these industries, over
60 per cent of the unemployed were customarily engaged in these oc
cupations. Less than 10 per cent of the idle workers, on the other
hand, were engaged in personal and professional service, although
the census assigns over 15 per cent of all workers to these occupa
tions. Unemployment among persons engaged in trade and trans
portation likewise appeared to be relatively less severe than the
general average for all occupations. Most of the idle factory
workers were usually employed in the textile and metal industries.
These industries and the food, the clay, stone, and glass, and the
lumber industries
greater number of their
workers idle than di
facturing.
Such evidence as was available indicated marked variations in the
relative severity of unemployment among the various racial groups.
Generally speaking, the native-born white persons fared better than
the foreign bom, while the Negroes suffered the greatest unemploy
ment. Of the 68 blocks classified by enumerators as having a popu
lation predominantly native-born white, 34 showed unemployment of
less than 7.7 per cent, while in 20 of the 40 blocks having a prepon
derance of foreign-born people more than 15 per cent of*the workers
usually employed were idle. A larger proportion of Negroes than of
white persons were unable to find jobs in all but one of the nine
school districts in which this comparison was made. In district 3
of South Philadelphia nearly one-fourth of the Negro workers
enumerated were reported as unable to find work as compared with
only 14 per cent of the white workers. The disparity was even greater
in district 10, where 29.2 per cent of the Negroes, but only 6.3 per
cent of the white workers, could not find jobs. For the city as a
whole, 11.8 per cent of the Negro workers could not find jobs as
compared with 6.8 per cent of the white workers. This greater
extent of idleness among the Negroes was probably due to the fact
188
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
that most of this group are engaged in manual labor and in domestic
work—jobs which are frequently temporary in character.
As might be expected, unemployment was more extensive in the
poor and congested parts of the city than among workers in the more
prosperous residential districts. None of the 10 blocks described
by the investigators as having a population of “ medium to high”
economic character had unemployment above 10 per cent, which was
approximately the city average; the average unemployment in this
group of blocks taken as a whole, however,^was 5.6 per cent. Of the
75 blocks described as lowest in economic status, 45 experienced
greater unemployment than the city average; the average unemploy
ment among these workers was 11.7 per cent.
A comparison of the results of the unemployment survey with the
estimated income in various districts as determined by a survey
recently published by the Philadelphia Public Ledger shows more
clearly that the burden of unemployment falls most heavily upon
those who can least afford it. In school districts 3'and 7, for instance,
where the average per capita income was $441 and $418, respectively,
as compared with $550 for the city, unemployment was 18.9 per cent
and 14.6 per cent, respectively, as compared with the city average of
10.4. Only 5.3 per cent of the workers—a smaller proportion than
for any other district—were idle in district 1, where the per capita
income amounted to $769.
Comparison of figures on family size with unemployment showed
that a relatively greater proportion of the workers in large families
were out of work at the time the survey was made. The average size
of the 4,914 families having unemployment was 5.3 persons, as com
pared with an average of 4.4 persons for the entire group of 31,551
families covered by the survey. With the exception of “ families
of one”—single persons without actual family responsibilities—in
which unemployment amounted to 16.5 per cent, there was a general
tendency for unemployment to increase as the size of the family
increased. Except for this group, 9.3 per cent of the wage earners
were unemployed in all families of five or less, as compared with
the city average of 10.4 per cent. The families with six or more
members, on the other hand, reported 12.5 per cent out of work—an
indication that unemployment was nearly 35 per cent more severe in
the large than in the small families.
Although it was impracticable to obtain detailed facts concerning
the ages of all workers covered in the survey, some information is
available which indicates that unemployment due to inability to
find work was relatively more severe among persons under 21 years
of age than among those 21 years of age and over. According to
estimates based on the census of 1920, about 15 per cent of all persons
reporting gainful occupations were under 21 years of age, while the
unemployment survey showed that 23.1 per cent of all persons
unable to find jobs were in this age group. Unfortunately, detailed
age information was not available to check the widely held belief that
unemployment in recent years was particularly severe among “ older”
workers, i. e., those over 45 years of age.
Comparison of the results of the unemployment survey with
figures from the census of occupations indicates that female workers
experienced less unemployment from inability to find work than
males. Only 23.4 per cent of the persons unable to find work were
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
189
females, while this group, according to the census, constituted
approximately 27 per cent of all persons having gainful occupations.
This discrepancy reflects the fact that there was less unemployment
in clerical and mercantile trades, in which women are chiefly engaged,
than in the manufacturing and construction industries, which are.
large employers of men.
Inability to find work was by far the chief reason for unemploy
ment, accounting for three-fourths or more of the idle workers in
most of the districts and occupations. About 14 per cent of the
unemployed reported sickness as cause of idleness and 5 per cent
were out of work because of old age. The investigators endeavored
to ascertain in each case whether unemployment was due to indif
ference or unwillingness to work, but this reason was found to account
for only 4.3 per cent of the total unemployment. Labor disturbances
were practically negligible; only 5 of the 6,110 unemployed were on
strike.
Further indication of the severity of unemployment is furnished
by a knowledge of the time lost by workers since the last regular
job. Over half of the idle workers reported that they had been
without regular work for more than three months and 11.6 per cent
for more than a year. Assuming that 96,900 persons were out of
work at the time of the enumeration, 49,000 had been without a
regular job for more than three months and over 11,000 for more than
a year. As might be expected, sickness and old age accounted for
much of the long-term unemployment, while the average time lost
since the last regular job was noticeably less in the case of those
unable to find work. Only 5.8 per cent of the latter group had been
without regular work for more than a year, while 26.6 per cent of
those unemployed because of sickness and 55.4 per cent of the super
annuated had been idle for a similar period.
Among the Negro workers, who suffered the greatest unemploy
ment, the average time lost since the last regular work was much
less than in the case of white workers. Only 2.1 per cent of the
former, as compared with 6.6 per cent of the latter, had been out
of a regular job for more than a year. Duration of unemployment
was shorter among women than among men. Only 37.7 per cent of
females unable to find work had been without regular employment
for more than three months, and only 4.1 per cent for more than a
year, as compared with 48.3 per cent and 6.2 per cent, respectively,
for males. A similar relationship between males and females also
held true both for the age group under 21 years and for that 21 years
and over. As would be expected, the average time lost since the last
regular work was much greater among persons 21 years of age and over
than among the younger persons.
190
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
The following tables present in greater detail some of the results of
the 1929 survey:
T able 2 3 . — U N E M P L O Y M E N T A N D I N C O M E I N S C H O O L D IS T R IC T S OF
P H I L A D E L P H IA
AverageNumber
of families
District
N o.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
N o.
N o.
N o.
Number
in family
Family
income
Per capita
Unem
income
ployment
3______ ______
4 ______ _____ _
5_____________
6 ___ __________
7 .......................
8 _____________
9 . . .................. ..
10.....................
2,445
2,738
2.114
3,075
3,248
2,657
3,129
4,922
4,387
2,836
4.2
4.8
5.3
4.5
4.9
4.0
4.6
4.3
3.9
4.4
$3,208
2,035
2,321
2,496
All districts
31,551
4.4
1........................
2 ..................... .
Per cent
2,341
1,939
2,817
2,587
2,166
420
441
r>58
453
.588
418
649
658
498
5.3
11.6
18.9
9.9
9.5
14.8
14.6
6.9
6.3
10.3
2,440
550
10.4
2,210
Unable to
find work
4.1
8.6
14.7
7.2
6.9
11.2
11.8
4.9
4.8
7.4
7.8
T able 2 4 .— U N E M P L O Y M E N T IN F A M I L I E S O F D I F F E R E N T SIZE
Number
of
families
Number in family
Families with un
employment
Number
1 person....................................................................
2 persons.............................................. ......... .........
3 persons________________ ________ ________
4 persons.......................................... .......................
5 persons_______________ _____ _______________
6 persons______________ _____________________
7 persons................................................... .............
8 persons__________________ _________________
9 persons--------------- --------------------------------------10 persons.................. ............. ................... ..........
11 persons.............................. ....................... .........
12 persons........................ ................... ...................
13 persons.......................... ......... ............. .............
14 persons...........—_____ __________ __________
15 persons.................................... ............. .............
Over 15 persons........................................... .......
Total............................................. ; .............
680
4,967
5,868
6,851
4,929
3, 501
2,068
1,248
679
397
185
91
481
692
822
782
701
501
315
224
143
88
35
19
Number Persons unemployed
of
persons
usually
Per cent employed Number Per cent
13.4
9.7
11 .8
1 2 .0
15.9
2 0 .0
12
11
5
5
24.2
25.2
33.0
36.0
46.5
39.8
39.6
63.2
41.7
45.5
31,551
4,914
15.6
48
19
86
12
552
6,149
8,633
11,868
9,716
8,014
5,338
3,530
2,154
1,390
697
381
224
96
67
57
58,866
91
530
797
980
962
16.5
866
10 .8
1 2 .8
684
420
311
195
130
60
40
24
8 .6
9.2
8.3
9.9
12
8
11.9
14.4
14.0
18.7
15.7
17.9
25.0
17.9
14.0
6,110
10.4
T able 3 5 .— T I M E L O S T S IN C E L A S T R E G U L A R JOB B Y P E R S O N S U N E M P L O Y E D F O R
S P E C IF IE D
REASONS
Per cent of persons unemployed for—
Length of time
1 day and over___________ ______ __________________________________
More than—
1 w e e k ............................ ......................... ........... ....................... ...........
2 weeks............... ............. ............. ................. ........... ............................
3 weeks_____________________ _________ ________ ________________
1 month.......... .............. ............... ............. ............. ...............................
2 months__________________________ ________ ___________________
3 m o n th s.._____ ______________________ _________ ________ _____
4 months................ ........................ ............... ........................................
5 months.................. - ................................... ................... ................... __
6 months______________ _______ ___________________ __________ _
7 months.............................. ........... ................. ......... - ...........................
8 m onths,.
..........................
9 m onths................
- ................. ................... ........... ..
10 m o n th s..___________ _________________ ______________ ______
11 months.......................... ............... ............ ............... ......... ...............
1 year.........................................................................................................
All rea
sons
Unable
to find
work
Sickness
Superan
nuation
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
95.8
90.0
85.0
77.0
63.1
50.6
42.0
36.1
28.5
25.9
24.0
95.8
89.7
84.2
75.6
60.2
46.0
36.2
29.7
95.7
90.9
87.0
80.0
68.7
61.2
56.1
52.5
46.3
44.3
42.9
41.3
40.0
39.5
26.6
99.2
98.0
97.2
95.2
93.6
22.1
2 0 .8
20 .6
11.6
21 .8
18.9
16.8
14.7
13.4
13.3
5.8
8 8 .8
85. 7
82.9
79.3
78.9
77 .7
76! 1
76.1
74.9
55.4
191
SURVEYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT
T a b l e 2 6 . —T I M E L O S T B Y P E R S O N S U N A B L E T O F I N D W O R K S IN C E L A S T R E G U L A R
JO B, C L A S S IF IE D B Y S E X A N D R A C E
Per cent of persons unable to find work
Length of time
Total
1 day and over
More than—
1 week........
2 weeks___
3 weeks___
1 m o n th .. .
2 m on th s,.
3 m onths. .
4 m o n th s..
5 m on th s..
6 m on th s..
7 m o n th s..
8 m on th s..
9 m on th s..
10 m onths.
11 m onths.
1 year.........
Males
Females
W hite
persons
Negroes
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
95.8
89.7
84.2
75.6
60.2
46.0
36.2
29.7
96.2
90.7
85.4
77.8
62.5
48.3
38.4
31.7
23.0
19.7
17.2
15.2
14.0
13.8
94.5
86.7
79.9
67.9
52.0
37.7
28.6
95.9
90.0
84.6
76.0
60.6
46.3
36.8
30.6
22.9
95.0
87.8
81.4
71.9
58.0
43.5
33.0
25.1
16.3
13.5
11.9
10.3
9.0
8.9
21.8
18.9
16.8
14.7
13.4
13.3
5.8
6.2
22.6
17.6
16.1
15.0
12.7
11.1
11.0
4.1
20.0
17.7
15.5
14.2
14.0
6.6
2.1
April, 1930, Survey
T he second survey found that unemployment in Philadelphia was
more than 40 per cent heavier in April, 1930, than in the same period
in 1929. Of 71,895 employable persons in these families in April,
1930, 8,377, or 11.7 per cent, were unemployed because of inability
to find work. In addition, 2.7 per cent were out of work because of
sickness or other causes, making a total unemployment of 14.4 per
cent. This compares with 7.8 per cent unable to find work in April,
1929, and total unemployment of 10.4 per cent at that time.
As the recent canvass covered approximately 7.5 per cent of Phila
delphia's families, it was probably representative of the entire working
population. Calculated on this basis for an estimated total of more
than 900,000 workers in Philadelphia, over 105,000 wage earners were
unemployed because of inability to find work in April, 1930, as com
pared with about 73,000 in 1929. The total number unemployed,
including the number unemployed because of sickness and other
causes, amounted to more than 125,000.
The canvass, wThich covered 166 school census blocks in all parts of
the city, revealed that the worst conditions of unemployment existed
in South Philadelphia and in Kensington. School district 3 in South
Philadelphia, east of Broad Street and south of Washington, had 19.7
per cent of the workers unable to find work as compared with 14.5
per cent in 1929.
Unemployment was lightest in district 1, south of Market Street
and west of the Schuylkill, where only 6.2 per cent were jobless because
of lack of available work. In district 2, west of Broad Street and south
of Market Street, 8.8 per cent were out of work, while in district 8,
which includes Chestnut Hill, Manayunk, and northwestern Philadel
phia, 9.5 per cent of the workers were out of a job because no work was
available.
In general the industrial sections along the Delaware River, ex
tending from South Philadelphia to Kensington, Frankford, and
Bridesburg, which had the greatest unemployment in 1929 also re
ported the largest numbers out of work in 1930.
192
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
The largest increases in unemployment between 1929 and 1930
occurred in district 9, which is east of Broad Street and north of Lehigh
and Kensington Avenues, and in district 8 which adjoins it to the west
and includes the Manayunk industrial section. In district 9 more
than twice as many were unable to find jobs in 1930 as in 1929—10
per cent as compared with 4.5 per cent—while district 8 had 9.5 per
cent out of a job in the spring of 1930, as compared with only 4.9
per cent in April, 1929. District 2, the western part of South Phila
delphia, showed the greatest stability of employment, with 8.8 per
cent unable to find work as compared with 8.5 per cent in 1929—an
increase in unemployment of only 4 per cent. In other districts the
number of workers unable to find jobs increased betwreen 1929 and
1930 by percentages ranging approximately from 30 to 85.
Fluctuations of Employment in Ohio, 1924 to 1929
A
STUDY of the monthly fluctuations in employment in Ohio,
from 1924 to 1929, was published in a series of articles in the
Labor Review during 1930. The articles were prepared by Fred C.
Croxton, Department of Industrial Relations, Ohio, and Frederick
E. Croxton, Columbia University. A summary of this study is
presented below.
Statistical information is furnished to the State Department of
Industrial Relations by all establishments in Ohio regularly employing
three or more persons (with only a few failing to report), except those
engaged in interstate transportation and the various governmental
departments and agencies. A number of establishments employing
fewer than three persons report annually, and such reports are included
in the tabulations.
The number of establishments reporting each year, 1924 to 1929,
within each industry group is shown in Table 1.
T a b l e 1.— N U M B E R O F E S T A B L I S H M E N T S R E P O R T I N G F L U C T U A T I O N O F E M P L O Y
M E N T , 1924 T O 1929
Number of establishmen ts reporting each year
Industry group
1924
1925
910
8,407
23
9,502
Agriculture.............................................
Construction......................................
Fisheries.............. ....... ........... ...............
Manufactures........................................
Mining and quarrying:
Coal mining................................... .
Fire-clay m ining......................... .
Gypsum mining----------- -----------Limestone quarrying.................. .
Sandstone quarrying---------------Service............................ ........................ .
Trade, wholesale and retail...............
Transportation and public utilities.
108
3
116
49
4,233
7,689
1,271
108
3
119
43
1 5,971
17,277
1,353
Total............. ................... .............
31,715
34,605
7,364
25
9,125
1,000
1926
1927
1928
1929
1,052
9,145
1,199
9,724
1,329
9,942
22
21
20
21
9,704
9,880
9,937
10,035
879
858
105
3
114
46
7,598
8,526
1,561
714
3
119
44
6,761
7,867
1,453
679
108
3
37,159
39,635
110
112
3
122
42
1,444
10,183
121
8,916
1,625
33
9,335
9,524
1,674
40,972
43,160
8,210
1
A considerable part of the increase in number of establishments in service, and of the decrease in trade,
as compared with the previous year, is due to change of classification of “ offices” from trade to service.
This change of course also allects the number of employees.
193
FLUCTUATIONS IN OHIO, 1924 TO 1929
The returns received do not give a complete picture of agriculture,
as comparatively few farms in Ohio regularly employ as many as
three persons.
Table 2 gives for males, females, and both sexes, the maximum
arid minimum employment in each industry group, 1924 to 1929.
T a b l e 2 .— M A X I M U M A N D M I N I M U M E M P L O Y M E N T I N E A C H I N D U S T R Y G R O U P ,
1924 T O 1929
Males
M aximum
M inimum
Variation
from maxi
mum
Year and industry group
Number
M onth
Number
M onth
N um
ber
Per
cent
im
All industries..........................................
891,731
April..................
833,115
July.................. .
58,616
6 .6
Agriculture...............................................
Construction................................ . .........
Fisheries---------------------- -------------------Manufactures...................................... ..
Mining and quarrying-------------------Service--------------- -----------------------------Trade, wholesale and retail...............
Transportation and public utilities.
6,512
88,318
410
603,049
45,886
52,152
87,368
55,139
July___________
August_______
M a y ...................
M arch...............
February_____
June...................
December____
July___________
3,859
51,634
512,881
35,021
47,487
80,374
49,736
January_______
February_____
January_______
July............. —
J u n e ................
January_______
.........do................
_____do................
2,653
36,684
189
90,168
10,865
4,665
6,994
5,403
40.7
41.5
46.1
15.0
23.7
8.9
All industries..........................................
945,843
October.............
847,398
January............
98,445
10.4
Agriculture...............................................
Construction.............. ........... ......... —
Fisheries....................................................
Manufactures.............................- ...........
Mining and quarrying......... ...............
Service.......................... ............................
Trade, wholesale and retail...............
Transportation and public utilities.
7,097
90,700
397
614,180
39,360
68,305
79,324
56,652
July..................
August_______
M a y —..............
October.............
Jan u ary -.........
September____
December........
September____
4,327 January_______
51,524 .........do................
213 February_____
571,100 January_______
31,086 July___________
61,565 January...........
72,391 February_____
46,567 January............
2,770
39,176
184
43,080
8,274
6,740
6,933
10,085
39.0
43.2
46.3
7.0
September____
898,011
92,372
9.3
7,948
96,523
448
633,794
43,283
74,852
84,522
65,395
July................. .
September____
M a y __________
September____
November____
June__________
December.
July............
3,235
4,713 February_____
52,399 January........... 44,124
262
186 February_____
594,753 December____
39,041
28,881 July__________
14,402
67,554 January_______i
7,298
76,801 February......... I1 7,721
56,387 .............do_______ I 9,008
40.7
45.7
58.5
All industries..........................................
953,784
June...........
869,457
84,327
8 .8
Agriculture..................................... .........
Construction------------------- --------------Fisheries....................................................
Manufactures------- ------------ -------------Mining and quarrying-------------------Service—. ..................................................
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
8,400
100,433
368
613,716
41,505
77,337
87,673
64,735
July............
August___
M a y ...........
April—
.
February.
June______
December.
August___
5,304 February..........
3,096
56,921 January............ 43,512
172 February_____
196
558,384 December
55,332
15,124 M a y __________
26,381
70,541 January_______
6,796
81,112 .........do.............
. . 6,561
7,054
57,681 February_____
36.9
43.3
53.3
9.0
63.6
221
8 .0
9.8
1935
2 1 .0
9.9
8.7
17.8
1936
All industries..........................................
Agriculture—.............................. .............
Construction------------ -----------------------Fisheries. --------------- ---------------------Manufactures----------------------------------Mining and quarrying-........... ...........
Service________________________ ______
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
January.............
6 .2
33.3
9.7
9.1
13.8
mi
December
8 .8
7.5
10.9
im
All industries..........................................
993,705
September____
843,462
Agriculture............................................. .
Construction.................................. .........
Fisheries....................................................
Manufactures.......................... ...............
M ining and quarrying.......................
Service_______________ ____ _____ _____
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
9,464
95,077
CMO
632,655
27,340
83,082
89,394
67,149
Ju ly................. .
August_______
M a y .............
September___
November___
September___
December____
5,777
50,753
174
558,766
15,215
74,929
79,815
I 56,009
January........ ..
150,243
15.1
February..........
.........do............ —
January_______
.........d o . . . . .........
.........do_________
_____do_________
February..........
.........do................
3,687
44,324
168
73,889
12,125
8,153
9,579
11,140
39.0
46.6
49.1
11.7
44.3
9.8
10.7
16.6
194
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
T a b l e 2 .— M A X I M U M A N D M I N I M U M E M P L O Y M E N T I N E A C H I N D U S T R Y G R O U P ,
1924 T O 1929— Continued
Males— Continued
M aximum
M inim um
Variation
from maxi
m um
Year and industry group
Num
ber
Number
Month
Number
1,054,154
July............
921,442
December.
132, 712
10,050 ____ do_____
95,223 ____ do.........
409 April..........
683,544 M a y ...........
29,637 November.
92,127 September.
93,980 December64,680 August____
5,919
49,542
January...
........do.........
December.
-------do____
July______
January...
____ do........
February-
4,131
45,681
149
103,316
3,876
10,037
9,534
7,860
M onih
1929
All industries.
Agriculture....................... - ............... - - J
Construction.......... . ......... .....................
Fisheries.................................................... ;
M a n u fa c tu r e s -------- -------------- --------I
Mining and quarrying.......................J
Service— ___________________________ |
Tiade, wholesale and retail— ...........
Transportation and public utilities.)
260
580,228
25,761
84,446
56,820
Per
cent
12. 6
41.1
48.0
36.4
15.1
13.1
10.9
10.1
12.2
Females
1924
All industries......................... .................
248,713
December..
230,147
July____ _____
18,566
Agriculture........... ........... ......................
Construction............ ............... . . ...........
Manufactures----------------------------------Service______________ __________ _____
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
719
2,044
130,637
36,497
67,753
17,069
July.............
October___
M arch_____
June_______
December..
July..............
436 January______
1,904 ____ do..........
119,032 July____ _____
34,487 January______
54,202 August_______
16,298 November___
283
140
11,605
All industries............... ......... .................
266,861
December..
239,065
January______
27,796
10.4
Agriculture................... - ............. ...........
Construction--------------- --------------------Manufactures. ------------ --------------------Service--------------- -------------- ---------------Trade, wholesale and retail_________
Transportation and public utilities.
792 April............
2,180 August........
138,907 October___
48,381 .........do_____
64,265 December..
17,598 .........do..........
477 .........do........ ..
2,003 ____ do________
125,398 ____ do..............
45,459 ____ do________
49,050 February____
16,023 January______
315
177
13,509
2,922
15,215
1,575
39.8
279,275
December..
253,728
January.......... .
25,547
556
2,256
143,680 October___
54,216 .........do______
66,361 December..
18,629 ____do..........
131,745
50,167
49,642
18,185
____ do.......... .
January
to
February.
January..........
____ do________
August_______
March_______
433
2,468
July.............
November.
11,935
4,049
16,719
444
A ll industries................................. .........
284,664
December..
260,958
January...........
23,706
8.3
Agriculture.......................................... . .
Construction.................... ....... ...............
Manufactures----------------------------------Service................ ......................... .............
Trade, wholesale and retail_________
Transportation and public utilities.
1,060
June.............
N ovember.
October___
June.............
December..
July_______
590 .........do................
. .. d o ........ ..
132,564 .........do.............. .
53,940 .........do________
52,655 February_____
17,987 January______
470
145
12,506
3,016
17,463
1,142
44.3
December..
261,946
2,010
13,551
771
39.4
6.8
8.9
5. 5
20.0
4.5
1935
8.1
6.0
9 .7
23.7
8.9
1926
A ll industries......... ......... .......................
Agriculture------------------------- ------------Construction____ ___________________
Manufactures______________ ________
Service............................ ......................... Trade, wholesale and retail...............
Transportation and public utilities.
212
43.8
8.6
8.3
7. 5
25.2
2.4
1927
145,070
56,956
70,118
19,129
6.1
8.6
5.3
24.9
6.0
1928
All industries............... ........... ...............
301,222
Agriculture.............................. - .............
Construction.................... .......................
Manufactures.................................. .......
Service........ ............. ....... ............. ..........
Trade, wholesale and retail................
Transportation and public utilities.
1,222
2,490
149,132
59,927
73,635
19,581
July..............
N ovem ber..
October____
_____do...........
December..
July..............
January..........
39,276
13.0
652 ____ do.......... ..
2,281 February____
131,008 January_____
56,524 _____do________
52,783 February____
18,127 January..........
570
209
18,124
3,403
20,852
1,454
46.6
8.4
12.2
5.7
28.3
7.4
195
FLUCTUATIONS IN OHIO, 1924 TO 1929
T able 2 . - M A X IM U M A N D M IN IM U M E M P L O Y M E N T IN E A C H IN D U S T R Y G R O U P ,
1924 T O 1929— Continued
Females— Continued
M aximum
M inim um
Variation
from maxi
m um
Year and industry group
Number
M onth
Number
M onth
Num
ber
January............
Per
cent
1929
All industries................................. .........
313,416
October............
287,221
26,195
8.4
Agriculture............................... - ...........
Construction........................ ...................
Fisheries....................................................
1,345
2,646
14
160,879
66,378
74,859
21,481
September___
December____
July...................
727 .........do.................!!
618
2,423 ........ do.................i
223
12 January
to
(0
March.
144,285 December . ..
16,594
(2) ........................
(2)
62,272 February_____
4,106
55,350 .........do.................
19,509
19,647 January............
1,834
45.9
8.4
Manufactures...................................... ..
Mining and quarrying-. . ..................
Service.—..................................................
Trade, wholesale and retail.......... .
Transportation and public utilities.
July...................
October............
M a y to Octo
ber.
September___
(2)
(2)
(l)
10.3
(2)
6 .2
26.1
8.5
Both sexes
f
mi
All industries_____ ______ ___________ 1,134,424
Agriculture............................... ..........
Construction................ ........... .........
Fisheries...............................................
Manufactures.......................... .........
Mining and quarrying..................
Service.................... ............. ...............
Trade, wholesale and retail..........
Transportation and public utilities.
7,231
90,330
411
733,686
46,086
88,649
155,121
72,208
April..
J u ly ............
August____
M ay .............
March........
February—
June.............
December..
July..............
1,063,262
July....................
71,162
6.3
4,295
53,549
January............
February..........
January______
July___________
J u n e ...............
January............
.........do...............
.........do.................
2,936
36,781
189
101,773
10,865
6,675
19,531
5,891
40.6
40.7
46.0
13.9
23.6
7.5
January........ .
119,783
9.9
4,804 .........do------------53,527 .........d o _ _...........
214 February-------696,498 January............
31,244 July........ ...........
107,024 January............
121,441 February_____
62,590 January.............
3,064
39,353
184
56,589
8,274
9,405
22,148
11,179
38.9
42.4
46.2
7.5
20.9
S.1
15.4
15.2
222
631,913
35,221
81,974
135,590
66,317
12.6
8 .2
1925
All industries.
1,206,246
Agriculture- .......................... — ......... Construction.......................... .................
Fisheries............. ............................... —
Manufactures........................................ .
Mining and quarrying.......................
Service.......... ............... —............. .......... i
.........................................
' „
Trade,
wholesale and retail.
Transportation and public utilities.
7,8 6 8
92,880
398
753,087
39,518
116,429
143,589
73,769
1, 086,463
July____
August—
M a y ___
October.
January.
September____
December........
September____
1926
1,259,325
All industries .
Agriculture------------------------ -------------Construction.............. ............... ......... —
Fisheries_______________ ______ ______
Manufactures__________ ________ ____
Mining and quarrying_____________
Service.................................... ...................
Trade, wholesale and retail.......... .
Transportation and public utilities.
8,937
98,970
449
775,597
43,447
127,753
150,883
83,894
September-.
July...................
September___
M a y ..................
September___
Novem ber___
J u n e ................
December........
July...................
1,151,739
5,285 .........do................
54,655 .........d o _ ............
187 February-------731,723 December
29,045 July....................
117,721 January............
126,651 February_____
74,594 .........do-------------
107,586
8.5
3,652
44,315
262
43,874
14,402
10,032
24,232
9,300
40.9
44.8
58.4
5.7
33.1
7.9
16.1
11.1
1927
All industries.
Agriculture-------------------------— .........
Construction--------------- ------------------Fisheries........................ ................... ..
Manufactures................... ....................
Mining and quarrying______ _______
Service...... ......... ............................. .........
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
1,225,049
9,409
102,812
368
751,444
41,669
134,293
157,791
83,749
June.
1,152,874
January............
72,175
5.9
July............
August___
M a y ...........
March____
February..
June______
5,947 .........d o ._ ...........
59,160 _____d o ...............
172 February..........
694,980 December
1 15,288 M a y ...................
1 124,481 January............
133,883 February_____
75,725 .........do................
3,462
43,652
196
56,464
26,381
9,812
23,908
8,024
36.8
42.5
53.3
7.5
63.3
7.3
15.2
9.G
1 N ot computed owing to small number involved.
2 All “ office help” and fluctuation not reported.
196
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
T a b l e 3 .—M A X I M U M A N D M I N I M U M E M P L O Y M E N T I N E A C H I N D U S T R Y G R O U P ,
1924 T O 1929— Continued
Both sexes—Continued
M aximum
M inim um
Variation
from maximum
Year and industry group
Num ber
M onth
Number
M onth
N um
ber
Per
cent
1928
January______
177,176
13.8
6,507
53,034
174
689,774
15,342
131,453
132,598
74,252
February_____
_____do_________
January______
_____dc________
_____dc»_________
_____dc»-_...........
February_____
.........d o _ _ ...........
4,179
44,516
168
89,718
12,125
11,458
30,431
12,158
39.1
45.6
49.1
11.5
44.1
July___________ 1,230,724
December____
125,280
9 .2
4,749
6,646 January_______
51,965 _____do_ .............
45,873
273 February and
149
December.
724,513 December____ 111, 307
25,894 July............ .......
3,876
144,389 January_______
14,116
139,904 _____do_________
28,935
76,538 _____do_________
9,553
41.7
46.9
35.3
A ll industries . . __________________- 1,282,584
October............. 1,105,408
Agriculture_________________________
Construction________________________
Fisheries____________________________
Manufactures
_ __ _________
Mining and quarrying__________ _
Service ____________________________
Trade, wholesale and retail_________
Transportation and public utilities.
July...................
August_______
M a y __________
September____
November____
September____
December____
October_______
10,686
97,550
342
779,492
27,467
142,911
163,029
86,410
8 .0
18.7
14.1
1929
All industries_______________________ 1,356,004
Agriculture_________________________
C onstruction________________________
Fisheries___________ _____ ___________
Manufactures_______________________
Mining and quarrying___________ _
Service _____________________ ______
Trade, wholesale and retail________
Transportation and public utilities.
11,395 _____do................
97,838 .........do................
422 April__________
835,820
29,770
158,505
168,839
86,091
M a y __________
November____
September____
December____
August_______
13.3
13.0
8.9
17.1
11.1
Table 2 shows that in all industries (the total for all industry groups)
males reached the peak of employment in 1929 two months earlier
than in 1928 and 1926 and three months earlier than in 1925. In 1927
the peak was reached one month earlier and in 1924 three months
earlier than in 1929.
In the total for the industry groups, females reached the peak of
employment in 1929 in October. In each of the preceding five years
the peak was reached in December. An important factor in making
December the high month was the large increase in the number em
ployed in trade to take care of the holiday business. In 1929 the
increase in trade was not sufficient to overcome the larger decrease in
employment in manufactures.
Males reached the highest point of employment in construction
during 1929 in July. This was one month earlier than in 1928, 1927,
1925, and 1924 and two months earlier than in 1926. In 1929 males
reached the peak of employment in manufactures in May, which was
four months earlier than in 1928 and 1926 and five months earlier than
in 1925. It was one month later than in 1927 and two months later
than in 1924.
Females in manufactures reached the peak of employment during
1929 in September. This was one month earlier than in each of the
four years 1925 to 1928 and six months later than in 1924.
The peak of employment of both males and females in trade was in
December in each of the six years covered.
Table 3 brings into comparison the percentage of variation from
maximum employment for males and females in general occupation
groups within each year.
197
FLUCTUATIONS IN OHIO, 1924 TO 1929
T able 3.— P E R C E N T OF V A R I A T I O N F R O M M A X I M U M E M P L O Y M E N T I N G E N E R A L
O C C U P A T IO N G R O U P S , B Y S E X , 1924 T O 1928, A L L I N D U S T R I E S
Year and general occupation
group
Variation from
maximum
Males
Females
7.5
7.2
1.0
9.4
1.9
29.2
11.1
10.1
3.9
5.1
1 0 .2
31.2
1 0 .0
8 .4
3.6
9.3
5.1
32.5
Females
W age earners_________________ _
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks. _________ ________
Sales people (not traveling)
10.4
9.0
3.2
8.3
3.1
33.0
W age earners.....................................
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks_____________________
Sales people (not traveling).........
16.5
11.4
5.3
11.5
37.8
14.7
9.0
5.5
11.4
5.3
34.4
6 .2
1929
1926
Wage earners..................... ...............
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks____________________
Sales people (not traveling)____
Males
im
im
Wage earners
________________
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks____________________
Sales people (not traveling)-------
Variation from
maximum
mi
im
Wage earners.. ________________
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks____________________
Sales people (not traveling)-------
Year and general occupation
group
Wage earners.....................................
Bookkeepers, stenographers, and
office clerks________ _____ ______
Sales people (not traveling)_____
Male wage earners show a somewhat greater variation from maxi
mum employment than do females in each of the first four years, and
a much greater variation in 1928 and 1929. It should be borne in
mind that much larger proportions of male than of female wage
earners are in construction and mining and quarrying where variations
from maximum employment are high.
Females in the clerical group show a greater variation from the
maximum employment than do males except in 1927 and 1929,
when the percentage is practically the same for the two sexes.
Saleswomen show a very much greater variation from maximum
employment than do salesmen in each of the years. The difference,
as previously discussed, is accounted for by the large increase in
saleswomen employed in the stores in the peak month of December.
Unemployment of Males in Ohio as Measured by Fluctuation of Employment,
1929
As s h o w n in Table 2, the peak of employment for males in Ohio in
1929in the eight industry groups covered by this report came in July. At
that time the 43,160 establishments reported 1,054,154 males employed.
The same establishments reported 132,712, or 12.6 per cent, fewer
males employed in December.
The reports from the 43,160 establishments cover for each month
all wage earners; bookkeepers, stenographers, office clerks; and sales
men (not traveling).
The opportunities for work for these 132,712 males in December
would seem to come within the following possibilities:
(а) To secure work with the same firms as traveling salesmen,
superintendents, or managers which are occupations not covered in
this report.
(б) To secure work in establishments employing fewer than three
persons. Comparatively few of these small establishments are
included in this report.
198
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
(c) To secure work in interstate transportation which is not covered
by this report.
(d) To secure work in a governmental department or agency which
as a group is not covered by this report.
(e) To go into business on their own account.
(/) To secure work outside of Ohio.
The 'probabilities of securing work in December in the enumerated
lines would be as follows:
(а) The tendency was probably to reduce rather than to increase
the number of traveling salesmen, superintendents, and managers
during the period of the year when the employment of wage earners,
bookkeepers, stenographers, office clerks, and salesmen (not traveling)
was at the lowest point.
(б) The course of employment within establishments employing
fewer than three persons probably follows rather closely the course
in larger establishments; therefore few, if any additional, males could
secure work in these small establishments.
(c) According to monthly reports of the Interstate Commerce
Commission covering Class I steam railroads in the United States,
employment was 8.1 per cent lower in December than in July, 1929.
Only one month in the year, January, shows lower employment.
Interstate transportation by water would be practically closed during
December.
(d) Governmental departments and agencies generally hire their
professional and clerical employees on a more or less permanent basis
and there is seldom any rapid increase during periods of minimum
employment in industry. The number of wage earners on Govern
ment undertakings would probably be at, or near, the minimum in
December.
(e) Comparatively few of the workers covered in this report could
go into business for themselves except in some house to house can
vassing venture.
(/) It is probable that employment generally reaches its minimum
in near-by industrial States at about the same period as it does in
Ohio.
An analysis of the possibilities and of the probabilities of securing
work seems to estabhsh rather conclusively that the great majority
of males who worked in the 43,160 establishments in the eight
industry groups during the busy months of 1929, and who were not
employed by these establishments in December, were unemployed.
Examination of conditions in July (the month of maximum employ
ment during 1929) indicates that probably a considerable number
were unemployed even at that peak. It is impossible, of course, in
this brief report to make any detailed analysis of localities or of
firms. The industry group figures shown in Table 3 give some
indication of conditions. In the industry groups the following
conditions are shown:
(1) In manufactures, 4,845 fewer males were employed in July
than in May; (2) in mining and quarrying, 3,876 fewer males were
employed in July than in November; (3) in service, 880 fewer males
were employed in July than in September; (4) in trade, 4,612 fewer
males were employed in July than in December; (5) in transporta
tion and public utilities, 1,211 fewer males were employed in July
FLUCTUATIONS IN OHIO, 1924 TO 1929
199
than in August; and (6) in fisheries, 72 fewer males were employed
in July than in April.
Only two industry groups, construction and agriculture, reached
their maximum employment in July even though for all industries
it represented the peak of employment for the year. It seems
probable that some of the 15,496 males enumerated above in the
other six industry groups were unemployed at the highest point for
the year, July.
In conclusion wre may omit undetermined factors such as the
number unemployed in December in interstate transportation and
on outside governmental activities and the number unemployed by
reason of inability to shift from one plant to another, from one
industry to another, or from one locality to another, and the number
who were unemployed for one reason or another in July in the eight
industry groups covered by this report.
We have, however, definite reports for the year 1929 from 43,160
establishments which form practically a complete census of all
establishments employing three or more persons in Ohio in manu
factures, construction, mining and quarrying, service, trade (whole
sale and retail), transportation and pubnc utilities, agriculture, and
fisheries. The only groups omitted from this census are establish
ments employing fewer than three persons, interstate transportation,
and governmental departments and agencies.
The definite reports for 1929 and for the five preceding years may
be summarized as follows:
In 1929, 43,160 establishments reported 132,712, or 12.6 per cent,
fewer males employed in December than in July, and an average for
the year which was 49,871, or 4.7 per cent, less than the maximum.
In 1928, 40,972 establishments reported 150,243, or 15.1 per cent,
fewer males employed in January than in September, and an average
for the year which was 54,138, or 5.4 per cent, less than the
maximum.
In 1927, 39,635 establishments reported 84,327, or 8.8 per cent,
fewer males employed in December than in June, and an average for
the year which was 32,031, or 3.4 per cent, less than the maximum.
In 1926, 37,159 establishments reported 92,372, or 9.3 per cent,
fewer males employed in January than in September, and an average
for the year which was 43,643, or 4.4 per cent, less than the maximum.
In 1925, 34,605 establishments reported 98,445, or 10.4 per cent,
fewer males employed in January than in October, and an average
for the year which was 38,676, or 4.1 per cent, less than the maximum.
In 1924, 31,715 establishments reported 58,616, or 6.6 per cent,
fewer males employed in July than in April, and an average for the
year which was 34,669, or 3.9 per cent, less than the maximum.
For the 6-year period, 1924-1929, the month of minimum employ
ment for males in the industry groups covered in this report showed
an average of 10.5 per cent below the month of maximum employ
ment, and the average employment for the year was 4.3 per cent
less than the maximum.
47767°— 31------- 14
200
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Unemployment Among Organized Building-Trades
Workers in Massachusetts
P TO December, 1929, the Massachusetts Department of Labor
and Industries had for several years compiled and issued monthly,
in mimeographed form, data on unemployment among organized
building-trades workers in that State. With the report for Decem
ber, 1929, this monthly survey was discontinued. Table 1 below
shows the percentage of unemployment among these workers, by
cause, from January 3, 1928, to December 2, 1929.
U
T a b l e 1.—P E R C E N T O F O R G A N I Z E D B U I L D I N G -T R A D E S W O R K E R S U N E M P L O Y E D
I N M A S S A C H U S E T T S O N S P E C IF IE D D A T E S , J A N U A R Y 3, 1928, T O D E C E M B E R 2, 1929,
B Y C AU SE
Cause of unemployment
Date
1928
Jan. 3. _
Feb. 1 . . . .........................................- ................. M ar. 1
.................................................. ..
Apr. 2 _________________ ________ ____________
M a y 1 ......... ............................. ........... ...................
June 1________ _______ ______________________
July 2 . ___________ ________ _______ __________
Aug. 1..................... ............................. ...................
Sept. 4 ______________________________________
Oct. 1 ................ —................... ................... .......
N ov. 1_______________________ _____________
Dan. 3_______________________________________
Lack of
work or
mate
rials
Sickness,
Strike or accident,
lockout
or old
age
20 .8
Unfa
vorable
weather
2 .1
3.4
1.7
1.7
1.7
3.4
3.4
.1
2 2 .2
0 .8
.1
.2
.2
.2
16.9
4.0
1 .6
.3
12.8
.1
.2
.1
1.4
1.5
.2
.1
27.4
28.9
26.9
11.3
14.1
15.3
17.8
21 .6
0)
.1
0)
1 .6
1 .8
.2
Other
reasons
0 .2
0)
.1
0)
.l
1.9
1.9
.1
.2
2.5
.1
.3
.2
.1
.1
C1)
C1)
.2
All
causes
27.3
29.4
34.1
28.9
24.1
22.9
14.6
13.2
15.8
17. 2
20 .1
23.7
1929
J a n .2 _ .
Feb. 1 _________________ _________ _____ ______
M ar. 1__ _____ ____ ________ ___________ _____
Apr. 1 _________ _______ _______ _____ ________
M a y 1 ______________________________________
June 3 ....................... ............... ...............................
July 1................................ ........... ......... ......... .......
Aug. 1______________________________________
Sept. 3......................................................................
Oct. 1........................................................................
N ov. 1___________________ _______ _____ ______
Dec. 2 . . . ................................................................
24.7
31.1
29.9
24.2
18.5
12.7
10.4
.2
.1
(0
0)
.9
.3
.1
10.1
9.6
12.1
15.2
22.7
0)
.4
.1
2 .8
2 .8
2.7
2.7
2.4
2.4
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.4
3.0
.2
.1
.3
.1
(*)
0)
(9
0)
27.5
34.3
32.9
27.9
21.5
15.5
12.9
12.4
.1
1 2 .0
.2
14.9
17.8
26.2
.4
i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
Table 2 shows the per cent of organized building-trades workers
unemployed in Massachusetts, by occupation, from January 3, 1928,
to December 2, 1929.
201
FARM LABOR SUPPLY AND DEMAND
T a b l e 2 .— P E R C E N T O F O R G A N IZ E D B U I L D I N G -T R A D E S W O R K E R S U N E M P L O Y E D
I N M A S S A C H U S E T T S O N S P E C IF IE D D A T E S , J A N U A R Y 3, 1928, T O D E C E M B E R 2 , 1929,
B Y O C C U P A T IO N
Date
Brick
E le o
layers,
trical
masons, Car
penters work
and
ers
plas
terers
1928
Jan. 3--------- -------------Feb. 1 . . . ......................
M ar. 1 ...........................
Apr. 2........ ...................
M ay 1......... .................
June 1............................
July 2............................
Aug. 1...........................
Sept. 4 _______ _____
Oct. 1.......................... .
N ov. 1 . — ..................
Dec. 3_______________
11.9
14.1
16.8
23.0
1929
Jan. 2__________ _____
Feb. 1____ __________
M ar. 1__________ — .
Apr. 1........ ............. ..
M ay 1 . , ____________
June 3_______________
July 1.......... ............. ..
Aug. 1......................... .
Sept. 3 . — ................
Oct. 1 . . . . ..................
N ov. 1--------- ------------Dec. 2 ........ ...................
24.8
36.0
35.0
29.0
19.7
14.7
14.0
15.2
16.8
23.0
24.8
32.1
23.1
31.8
35.0
29.4
17.9
17.1
9 .2
1 1 .0
25.8
27.4
31.6
24.4
2 0 .8
2 0 .0
17.1
16.8
16.8
16.8
17.6
2 2 .8
26.1
31.2
29.7
23.9
19.1
14.9
11.9
10.3
1 1 .6
14.8
18.5
26.2
15.7
20.3
22.5
24.5
17.9
12.7
7.0
5.0
9.8
6 .1
8.9
10 .2
15.4
2 1 .0
21.9
2 2 .2
15.6
14.2
10.3
7.4
5.8
3.3
11.3
17.9
Paint
ers,
deco
rators,
and
paper
hangers
H od
car
riers
and
build
ing la
borers
Lath
ers
37.6
33.5
38.1
34.9
38.5
35.1
8.3
10.9
20.7
30.2
37.7
32.6
24.4
27.6
26.6
24.7
17.7
14.3
11.9
13.1
15.8
18.4
18.8
18.6
42.4
46.9
48.6
36.4
23.0
17.7
21.4
14.1
18.0
17.4
20.9
27.6
36.0
43.3
40.3
32.9
28.8
13.3
9.0
13.7
24.4
39.4
48.3
44.9
36.7
22.7
19.0
1 1 .6
12.3
17.8
26.6
2 0 .8
27.5
25.2
26.6
14.8
6.7
15.3
17.5
28.1
49.7
72.6
2 1 .0
20.7
14.5
18.3
2 1 .0
34.8
Plumb
ers, gas SheetAll
Other
fitters,
metal occupa occupa
and
tions
workers tions
steam
fitters
17.1
21 .6
30.7
37.5
30.6
29.0
23.8
16.3
13.1
8 .1
8.3
11 .2
14.8
22.9
21.5
28.3
23.6
18.9
13.2
8.5
7.0
10.1
8.9
16.1
15.9
12.3
12.7
16.5
15.3
7.8
7.3
10.7
10 .0
27.2
29.4
34.1
28.9
24.1
22.9
14.6
13.2
15.8
17.2
16.0
28.3
23.7
15.5
16.7
29.3
24.2
25.0
32.1
33.9
27.3
22 .1
2 0 .6
15.4
16.1
1 0 .2
8.7
5.5
10.1
11.2
7.7
8.3
4.7
6.9
9.8
17.1
2 0 .0
28.1
20.4
17.3
30.9
8 .6
3.3
7.2
12.1
10 .2
12.7
15.1
9.0
13.7
2 0 .1
27.5
34.3
32.9
27.9
21.5
15.5
12.9
12.4
12 .0
14.9
17.8
26.2
Farm Labor Supply and Demand in October, 1929 and
1930
I
NDEX numbers of the farm labor supply and demand on October 1
of 1929 and 1930 are given in the following table reproduced from
Crops and Markets for October, 1930, issued by the United States
Department of Agriculture.
F A R M L A B O R S U P P L Y A N D D E M A N D , O C T O B E R 1, 1929 A N D 1930
State
Farm labor
supply, per
cent of normal
1929
M aine...............................................................................................
New Hampshire........... — ............... ............- ....................... .
Vermont------- ----------------------------------------------- ----------- -------Massachusetts....................... ............. ................. .......................
Rhode Island________ _________________________ _________
Connecticut......................................... .........................................
New Yo rk........... ......................... .................... ......... ......... .......
New Jersey------ -------------- ---------------------- -------------------------Pennsylvania-----------------------------------------------------------------North Atlantic.......... ............. ..................................... .......
Indiana............................................... ............... ............. ........... .
Illinois________ _______ ____ _______ ________ __ . _
Michigan......... ............. ........... .....................................................
Wisconsin......................................................................................
East North Central............................................................
90
96
89
95
90
89
1930
101
107
106
103
Farm labor de
Supply ex
mand, per cent pressed as per
of normal
cent of demand
1929
1930
93
96
95
89
84
85
80
80
1929
1930
89
97
114
88
100
122
94
108
96
91
100
102
102
90
90
87
93
89
79
102
119
123
118
132
125
119
129
89.8
101.9
89.4
81.8
100.5
124.4
90
90
95
85
94
112
88
114
109
118
89
102
101
110
85
95
72
74
74
69
82
156
154
147
171
134
91.4
112.1
89.1
74.4
86
100
106
88
88
86
100
99
99
103
108
100
99
102.6
150.6
202
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
F A R M L A B O R S U P P L Y A N D D E M A N D , O C T O B E R 1, 1929 A N D 1930------ Continued
State
Farm labor
supply, per
cent of normal
1929
Minnesota
_
_ _
.. . .
94
97
_____________________________________________________
Iowa
91
Missouri . „ . , ......
..., ______
_
_______________________________North
_____ _____
D a k o ta98
South Dakota
_______________________________ ______
97
Nebraska______________________________________________
99
Kansas................ ................. . _ . ....................................................
96
Farm labor de
Supply ex
mand, per cent pressed as per
of normal
cent of demand
1930
1929
1930
1929
1930
105
107
106
108
107
105
115
88
107
91
!K)
80
82
72
69
75
81
73
106
117
105
109
107
131
130
147
156
143
130
158
139. 8
95
86
84
1)2
102
W est North Central...........................................................
95.2
107.2
*9.5
76.7
106.4
North Central___________ _______ _________ _______
93.3
109.6
S9.3
75.6
104.5
92
93
90
90
92
87
101
94
92
91
88
98
75
71
62
73
80
79
79
99
105
108
105
97
127
Delaware________________________________________________
Maryland............ ............................... . .........................................
Virginia
_______ _____ ____ . _.. . .
W est Virginia.......................... ................. ..................... .............
North Carolina_______________________________________ South Carolina_____ __________ ___________ ___________ . .
Georgia__________________________________________________
Florida................ ............. ............... ............... ............. .................
South Atlantic...................................................... ...............
Kentucky........................................ ...............................................
Tennessee____ _____________________ _____ ________________
Alabama_________________________________________________
Mississippi___________________________ ________ __________
Arkansas__________________________________________ ______
Louisiana___________________________ _____ _______________
Oklahoma____ ________________________________________ .
Texas _ _ _________________________________ ___________
South Central_______________________________________
86
100
105
106
99
104
94
99
107
86
85
83
89
79
101
145. 0
115
140
149
160
142
118
125
135
89.7
101.2
86.9
75.5
103.1
134.0
88
103
86
102
93
91
87
93
89
97
92
101
104
99
90
90
92
65
78
74
74
120
86
107
105
104
91
87
84
67
71
66
111
110
158
130
140
134
160
160
148
158
91.3
105.0
87. 7
70. 7
104.1
148.5
122
120
82
97
122
101
no
101
110
110
110
96
99
95
99
90
96
09
92
95
97
108
115
103
101
95
108
98
106
174
138
131
126
138
129
142
134
158
138
128
W e s t e r n .___________________________________________
95.6
110.6
92.4
81.4
103. 5
135. 9
United States__________________________________ _____
91.8
105.9
88 .6
75.2
103. 6
140.8
M ontana________________________________________________
Idaho_______________ ____________________________ _______
W yom ing____________________________________ _____ ______
Colorado_________________________________________________
N ew M exico_____________________________________________
Arizona__________________________________________________
U tah____________ ________ ________ ____________ __________
Nevada__________________________________________________
W ashington.________________________ ______ ______ ______ _
Oregon___________________________________________________
California________________________________________________
100
98
97
95
91
90
96
97
99
97
95
115
113
114
no
106
86
96
90
70
87
84
87
80
85
81
84
72
80
83
101
Labor-Absorbing Power of American Industry
SURVEY of the extent to which discharged workers were being
absorbed by industry was made in the summer of 1928 by the
Institute of Economics of the Brookings Institution, Washington, as
part of an inquiry pertaining to unemployment, requested by the
Senate Committee on Education and Labor. The results ofthe sur
vey were presented in a paper 7 before the annual meeting of the
American Statistical Association at Chicago in December, 1928, the
proceedings of which were published in a supplement to the March,
1929, Journal of the association.
The information presented was secured by trained investigators,
who interviewed 754 discharged workers in a variety of industries
in three industrial centers. The names and addresses of the workers
discharged within the 12 months preceding September, 1928, were
A
7 Measuring the labor absorbing power of American industry, b y Isador Lubin.
203
LABOR-ABSORBING POWER OF INDUSTRY
secured from the pay rolls of the discharging companies. Only
those employees who were discharged because their services were no
longer needed were included in the survey, no account being taken
of those dismissed for inefficiency or insubordination.
The information obtained included the sex and age of the worker,
the date of discharge from last steady job, whether permanent
employment had been obtained, the date and place of new employ
ment, nature of the industry, type of work being done, and whether
the worker had had any jobs in the interval between discharge from
the plant at which the investigator secured the original information
and the finding of a new job. An attempt was also made to find
out how the pay received by the worker on the new job compared
with that received on the old one.
Only 410 of the 754 workers interviewed had found permanent
employment up to the time of the survey. Of these, 6 had been
idle for a year or more; 231, or over 50 per cent, had been out of
work for more than a quarter of the year; and only 47, or less than 12
per cent, had secured permanent work within a month of discharge.
Of the 344 persons still without permanent jobs—45.6 per cent of
the workers studied—29, or 8.4 per cent, had been out of work for a
year. Only 202, or 58.7 per cent, had been idle for less than one-half
of the year.
Thus, the larger proportion of the workers had found considerable
difficulty in getting relocated, and those who did find work had been
idle for some time.
Temporary employment had been obtained by 234 workers, or
approximately one-third of the total number surveyed. Of these,
132 (17.5 per cent of the total number surveyed) had steady jobs
when interviewed, while 102 (13.5 per cent of the total) were still
only temporarily employed. Of the 520- (69 per cent of the total)
who did not secure temporary employment, 278 (36.9 per cent of the
total) had steady jobs when interviewed, but 242 (32.1 per cent of
the total) were without employment. The temporary work included
road building, distributing circulars, selling newspapers, clerking in
stores on Saturdays, and mowing of lawns.
The table following shows the period of unemployment of the
754 discharged workers interviewed.
P E R IO D O F U N E M P L O Y M E N T O F 764 D IS C H A R G E D W O R K E R S
Discharged workers who found
work
Length of time unemployed
N um
ber
Under 1 month______ _________________
1-2 months.................. ..................... ...........
2-3 months__________________ _________
3-4 months______________ ______________
4-5 months____ _______________________
5-6 months.____ ______________________
6-7 months_____ ______________________
7-8 months_________________ __________
8-9 months____ __________ _________ _
9-10 m on th s..______ ______ ____________
10-11 months............ ........... ........... ......... ..
11-12 months............................ ...................
Over 1 year...................................................
N ot reported................................................
47
66
66
60
43
30
28
23
18
10
7
3
6
3
Per
cent
11.5
16.1
16.1
14.6
10.5
7.3
6.9
5.6
4.4
2.4
1.7
.7
1.5
.7
Cumu Cumu
lative
lative
num
per
ber
cent
113
179
239
282
312
340
363
381
391
398
401
407
410
27.6
43.7
58.3
6 8 .8
76.1
83.0
8 8 .6
93.0
95.4
97.1
97.8
99.3
100.0
Discharged workers unemployed
at time of inquiry
N um
ber
43
40
37
34
26
22
27
18
31
19
7
8
29
3
Per
cent
C um u Cum u
lative
lative
num
per
ber
cent
12.5
11 .6
10.8
9.9
7.6
6.4
7.9
5.2
9.0
5.5
2 .0
2.3
8.4
.9
83
120
154
180
202
229
247
278
297
304
312
341
344
24.1
34.9
44.8
52.4
58.8
66.7
71.9
80.9
86.4
88.4
90.7
i 99.1
100.0
204
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Less than 10 per cent of the workers who had secured permanent
jobs had been reemployed by the same plants and for the same work
from which they had been discharged. One hundred and thirty-four
had found work in industries which produced products similar to
those made at the plants which formerly employed them, while 273
were employed in industries entirely new to them, necessitating ad
justment to an entirely new product. The jobs of 188 differed only
slightly from those previously held, but 221 had jobs which were not
related to their former ones. The report gives the following examples
of the shifts made by the latter group:
Trained cutters with years of experience in clothing factories had become
gasoline station attendants, watchmen in warehouses, time keepers in steel
plants, and clerks in meat markets. An assistant foreman in a wire mill was
driving a truck; a rotary-press operator was pressing clothes in a tailor shop;
a machinist formerly in an envelope factory was selling hosiery for a mail-order
house, and a lathe operator was running a mixer in a cement brick plant. One
licensed stationary engineer ultimately found a job as a caretaker in a public
park, an operator of a welding machine became a farm hand, and an experienced
spinner from a worsted yarn mill took on the job of a radio repair man. A skilled
German woodworker, who for many years had been employed in a piano factory,
was mixing salves for a drug manufacturer at $20 a week. Many skilled clothing
workers had opened cleaning and pressing establishments of their own. Seven of
the men had taken up bootlegging. When interviewed, one was driving a truck
which was being used for the illicit transportation of liquor. Another was selling
whisky to friends and acquaintances.
Of the permanently employed workers, 77, or 18.8 per cent, were
earning more at their new jobs than they had at their last permanent
employment; 197, or 48 per cent, were receiving lower wages; and
111, or 27.1 per cent, had about the same income.
The results of the survey led to the following conclusions:
It should be evident from the material presented above that there is consider
able mobility of labor at the present time and that the newer trades are absorbing
a good percentage of the workers who are being discharged from the “ older’ *
industries. Absorption, however, is a relatively slow process. Those workers
who do find new jobs are in a majority of instances compelled to remain idle for
three months or more before finding new employment. When they do secure
new jobs they frequently take them at a sacrifice in income. An appreciable
portion of them, however, have been able to secure higher earnings in their
new jobs than in their old.
It must be emphasized that the sample covered in this survey is much too
small to justify any broad generalizations as to what is happening in modern
industry. Without a sample many times larger than that which could be handled
during the period at the disposal of the Institute of Economics, it would be
foolhardy to generalize for industry as a whole. All that can be said is that the
results described apply only to the group that has been surveyed. They show
what has happened to a limited number of workers employed in over 20 industries.
It is hoped that eventually more elaborate studies will throw some light upon
whether the survey we have made is typical of the general trend.
Absorption of Discharged Men’s Clothing Cutters into
Other Trades
N AN article printed in the August, 1929, issue of The Journal
of Political Economy entitled “ Occupational Readjustment of
Displaced Skilled Workmen,” by Robert J. Myers of Grinnell College,
the labor history of a group of 370 cutters in the men’s clothing
trades of Chicago was traced subsequent to their dismissal or volun
tary retirement from their regular employment.
I
ABSORPTION OF CUTTERS INTO OTHER TRADES
205
The author pointed out that demand for low-priced clothing after
the depression of 1921 led to revolutionary changes in Chicago cloth
ing manufacture. Firms that had formerly cut one or two suits
at a time cut the lower-grade product as many as 20 at a time, and
fewer cutters were therefore necessary. By 1925, employed cutters
in the Chicago market were working on an average of 30 to 35 hours
a week under the plan of equal distribution of work provided by the
collective agreement. Other cutters were wholly unemployed, having
been dropped when shops were liquidated or left the local market.
Cutters Covered by Study
T he study under review covered the employment history of two
classes of cutters: (1) Those who lost their jobs through shutdowns
in shops where they had been employed; and (2) those who were
dismissed from or voluntarily left the firm of Hart, Schaffner & Marx
under a plan whereby each man dismissed received $500 and thereby
gave up the right to his job. Those in the first class had the alterna
tive of remaining in the trade and taking such temporary work as
became available during busy seasons, or of leaving clothing manu
facture for other work.
The workers in the Hart, Schaffner & Marx shops were, under the
collective agreement, entitled to share equally in the employment
available. By 1926, however, the cutters in this firm were losing one
day in every three; the union therefore agreed to the dismissal of a
number of cutters on condition that each man losing his job be paid
$500. This payment, known as a dismissal wage, was made to 236
cutters, some of whom were designated for dismissal by the com
pany while the others volunteered to go. About one-fifth of the cost
incurred was borne by the unemployment insurance fund, and the
balance by the firm. The amount of the dismissal wage was not
expected to measure accurately the value of the job.
Trades Entered
T he study undertook to find out (1) What trades these ex-cutters
were engaged in with supplementary information as to how many
trades they had worked in since leaving cutting, and the amount of
time lost; (2) whether the cutters who received the dismissal wage
were better off than those who did not; and (3) whether men of any
particular age found work with greater ease than those in other age
groups.
Of the 370 cutters for whom a work history was obtained, 217
were ex-cutters from the Hart, Schaffner & Marx shops and 153
were from other shops. The record for the early summer of 1928,
when all the men had been out of their trade for at least a year and a
half, shows that 75, or 20.3 per cent, were engaged in some kind of
cutting and 42, or 11.4 per cent, were not employed at all. The
complete occupational distribution is shown in Table 1.
206
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
T a b l e 1 — N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F E X -C U T T E R S E N G A G E D I N S P E C IF IE D O C C U
P A T IO N S I N E A R L Y S U M M E R O F 1928
Occupation
N um
ber
Bartenders and bootleggers___________
Caretakers, janitors, messengers, e t c ..
Cutters:
M en’s clothing—
Chicago, regular work, union.
Chicago, regular work, non
union
........
Chicago, temporary work____
Chicago, job permanence un
known______________________
Out of city____ _________ __ _
Allied trades
5
15
Per
cent
of
total
1.3
4.0
16
4.3
20
1.9
5.5
9
9
14
2.4
2.4
3.8
75
20.3
Per
N um cent
ber
of
total
Occupation
Skilled workmen:
Bakers____________ ______ _________
Barbers
Carpenters. . .
Electricians______ _________________
Embroidery designers
Flooring layers_________ __________
Glaziers____________________ _______
Machinists______ ______ ________ _
Painters and paper hangers...........
Plumbers______ _______ ___________
Printers and bookbinders_________ 1
Total
Total
Tailors and cleaners
Drivers, truckers, etc
Factory and industrial workers_______
Farmers________________________________
Firemen________________________________
Grocers, confectioners, etc____________
Laborers_______________________________ !
i
M ailmen
1
Office workers and executives_________
Politicians
Professional m en______________________
Real estate and insurance agents..........
Salesmen, not elsewhere classified:
Commission_______________________
Salaried or owning________ _______
Manner of payment unknown___ ;
Total............................................ . . . J
39
17
26
8
2 .2
l
.3
6
10
7
22
.8
1 .1
1
1
1
1
.3
.3
.3
.3
3
.8
1 .6
6
1
2
.3
.5
24
6.5
17
4.6
N ot employed:
Dead_______________ _______________
Retired____________ ___________ ____
IU, unemployable_________________
Unemployed, seeking work_______
8
2 .2
5
3
26
7.0
1.3
.8
1 .6
Total........................................ ...........
42
11.4
2.7
1.9
5.9
Grand total............................... ........
370
100.0
29
15
2.7
7.9
4.0
54
14.6
10
0.3
10.5
16
.3
.3
7.0
1
1
1
3
4
The following statement covering 241 cutters shows that they
had worked in from one to six trades since leaving their earlier
employment:
One trade__ ___________
Two trades.__ _ — ---------Three trades--------- ------- ------Four trades_________________
Five trades.__ _ __ _ _______
Six trades__ — _ _ ------------
Number
Per cent
__________________ 129
__________________ 53
__________________ 29
_________________22
__________________
6
__________________
2
53.5
21. 9
12.0
9.2
2.5
.9
T o t a l .______ ________ __________________ 241
1 0 0 .0
Of 276 cutters, 84 (30.4 per cent) reported earnings above the
earlier level; 128 (46.4 per cent) reported earnings below that level;
and 64 (23.2 per cent) the same earnings. Sixty-three cutters of a
total of 328 stated that they owned their business. Among 272 cutters
a majority, or 166, wished to return to cutting while 106 did not.
Time Loss
T he amount of time lost between dismissal from jobs and finding
new work by 240 cutters appears in Table 2.
207
ABSORPTION OF CUTTERS INTO OTHER TRADES
T able 2 . — N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F E X -C U T T E R S U N E M P L O Y E D S P E C IF IE D T I M E
B E T W E E N L E A V I N G C U T T I N G A N D S E C U R IN G O T H E R R E G U L A R E M P L O Y M E N T
Months lost
N o time lost......................... .........
1 month________________________
2 m o n th s„_.....................
. _
3 months_______________________
4 months...... ................. .................
5 months.............................. ..
6 months
7 months________ _____ _________
Number
of cutters
60
27
27
18
11
9
IX
12
Per cant
of total
28.7
11.3
11.3
7.5
4.6
3.7
4 6
U!
5.0 !
Months lost
Number
of cutters
31
2.9
1.7
.4
.4
5.0
12.9
240
100.0
8 months.............. ................. .........
9 months_________ ______ _______
10 months___________ _ _____
11 months.............. .......................
12 months........ ....................... .....
More than 12 months.................
T o ta l............. ........... .........
Per ceut
of total
4
1
1
12
Relative Financial Position of the Two Classes of Cutters
Practically the same percentage of cutters (or 25 per cent) from
the Hart, Schaffner & Marx shops who received the dismissal wage and
of cutters from other shops returned to the cutting trade. The
distribution of the two groups among other trades was also similar.
The investigator states that “ the other available criteria for com
parison offer some, but little, evidence that the paid-off men were
prospering more than the others.” For instance, although a smaller
proportion of the paid-off men than of those who were not paid off had
worked in only one trade, fewer paid-off men worked in three trades
or more. However, the author points out that this fact must be
discounted, as the Hart, Schaffner & Marx men had been out of work
a shorter time than the others. The paid-off men lost an average
of only 5 months between jobs as compared with 5.8 months for the
others, and this in spite of the fact that some men admitted taking a
vacation on their dismissal wage before seeking work.
The Hart Schaffner & Marx men had a slight advantage over the
others as regards wages and ownership of business. The author
states that: “ Taking all of these measures together, the evidence
indicates perhaps that the men from the Hart, Schaffner & Marx
factory have been a bit more successful than the men from other
houses. The advantage indicated is very slight but, since the data
are not as complete as could be desired and since the groups are not
entirely comparable, it is scarcely safe to judge the effectiveness of
the dismissal wage.”
Age in Relation to Ease of Finding Employment
T he firm of Hart, Schaffner & Marx was in a position to supply
information as to the ages of a number of cutters at the time they left
the company. For a total of 198 of these men five indexes of welfare
are shown in Table 3. Measurement on this basis indicates that men
between 35 and 39 were most successful in adjusting themselves to
new work.
208
T able
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
3 .— F IV E I N D E X E S OF T H E W E L F A R E OF H A R T , S C H A F F N E R & M A R X E X C U T T E R S , C L A S S IF IE D B Y A G E S , AS O F S U M M E R O F 1926
M e n whose ages were—
Item considered
Total
an
swers
20 to
24
25 to
29
30 to
34
35 to
39
40 to
44
29
1.9
53
35
1.7
13
22
8 .2
39
4.1
33
45 to
49
Trades entered
Number of men indicating trades engaged in since
leaving cutting__________________ ___________________
Average number of trades engaged in________________
150
1.9
11
2.3
2 .0
1 .8
9
2.4
Time loss
N um ber of men indicating time lost before securing
regular emplovment l~ .......................... ................. .........
Average number of months lost_______________________
117
i'
4.8
8
3.8
2 .6
9
5.2
6
9.8
Trend of earnings
N um ber of men indicating trend of earnings since
leaving cutting______________________________________ 163
Percentage earning:
34
M ore____________________________________________ Less________________________________________ ______ _ 46
20
Same_______________________________________ _____
12
34
55
38
14
10
25
50
25
29
53
18
34
42
24
50
34
16
36
36
28
90
12
0
100
39
18
82
59
20
41
32
22
80
68
78
100
9
56
44
33
67
33
53
58
42
38
47
53
13
46
54
70
30
10
Ownership of business
Num ber of men indicating whether they owned
business______________________________________________ 175
Percentage owning______ ___________________________ _ 20
80
Percentage not owning
___________________________
14
10
Attitude toward return
N um ber of men indicating attitude toward returning. 156
57
Percentage wanting to go back________________________
43
Percentage not wanting to go back___________________
10
i This item excludes all men whose first occupation was sellng real estate or insurance or any goods on
a commission basis; men whose first occupation is not known are also eliminated. Commission jobs usu
ally can be secured with ease and the time lost before getting such jobs does not have the same significance
as that lost before obtaining a salaried job.
Study of Unemployed Men Who Applied for Work at
a Boston Agency
A
STUDY of the social and industrial status of a group of men
applicants for employment was presented in the September, 1930,
issue of the Labor Review. The following is a digest of that article:
The study covered a group of 543 unemployed men, who applied
for work during January, 1930, at the offices of the Industrial Aid
Society, a social agency for men acting in part as a free employment
agency in the city of Boston. The group may be summarily de
scribed as follows: About half were heads of families, having, on an
average, 3.2 children each. Thirty-eight per cent were foreign born;
among them the Italians were largely represented. Three out of
four of the applicants had been in Boston at least 15 years. The
average age of all applicants was 35 years. The men had been
engaged in various occupations, and, among all of them, being laid
off was the most common reason for the loss of their jobs. They were
unemployed, on an average, about four and one-half months before
applying at the Industrial Aid Society for work. One-fourth of the
men were handicapped in some way, usually by physical defects.
Approximately one in eight of the applicants had been placed in jobs
by the society at the time the data used in this study were tabulated.
STUDY OF UNEMPLOYED MEN— BOSTON
209
Marital Status of Dependents
O f t h e 537 applicants who reported as to their marital condition,
245 were single men, 243 were married at the time of application, and
the remaining 49 were widowed, divorced, or separated. The large
proportion of single men may be accounted for in part by the fact
that the Industrial Aid Society sometimes gives them relief as well as
employment. Families obtain relief from the Overseers of Public
Welfare or private charitable organizations.
The total number of dependents reported by the men was 895. It
is likely, however, that this figure does not approach the actual num
ber, since this information was not given a definite place on the
application blank and therefore was reported only casually. This is
particularly true of the 245 single men, who mentioned only 9 de
pendents, whereas it is certain that a large number of them must
have been responsible for helping in the support of their families.
There were at least 243 women, the wives of the married men, rely
ing on these clients for support. In addition, some of the former wives
of the 28 divorced or separated applicants were receiving from them at
least partial support. Slightly less than one-third of the men with
families had either no children, or grown children who no longer looked
to them for support, but the remaining two-thirds each had, on an
average, 3.2 young, dependent children. In addition, 10 of the wives
were reported pregnant. As might be expected in a group where the
majority were still young men, most of the families were small. Of
the families where there were children, almost half had only one or two
children while almost one-fourth had more than four per family, and
11 of the men had eight or more children. In all, 643 minors were in
danger of being undernourished, poorly clothed, or forced to leave
school to seek work because their fathers were unemployed.
Nativity
Sixty per cent of the 518 men reporting birthplace were nativeborn Americans, 26 per cent also being native to Boston, while the
birthplaces of the remainder of these American born were distributed
rather evenly between other places in Massachusetts and the rest of
the United States. Forty per cent of the total number were foreign
born, whereas at the time of the 1920 census only 32 per cent of the
total population of Boston were foreign. Nearly one-half of the
foreign-born applicants were Italians, whereas tms race makes up
only one-sixth of the foreign born in the general population. The
foreign born in general and the Italians in particular formed a dis
proportionately large percentage of the unemployed group. The
Russians and Irish, however, applied for aid less often than one might
expect from their quotas in the total population. The proportion
of Canadians, English, and Scotch remained about the same. Nine
teen countries were represented among the foreign-born applicants.
Length of Time in Boston
O f the applicants who reported at this point very few were
strangers in fioston, so that unfamiliarity with conditions in the city
was seldom a valid excuse for their being unable to find employment.
210
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Only 1 in 12 of those who stated the period of their residence had
been there less than a year. Three-fourths of the clients who were
bom in the United States were also native to Boston, and had lived
there all their lives. Over half of the foreign-born applicants had
lived at least 15 years in Boston. Of the entire group for whom this
information was obtained approximately three out of four had either
lived in the city since birth or had been there 15 years or more.
Age and Occupation of Applicants
I t has been frequently charged that men past middle age compose
the “ scrap heap” of industry. Forty-five is often referred to as the
“ dangerous age” for men in industry, but this study shows that
men of 45 or over formed a smaller proportion of the total group
applying for work than they did of the general population of 15
years of age or over, according to the census of 1920. The average
of the applicants who gave their ages was 35 years. The group 20
to 30 years, however, held the largest number. Of the 24 men who
lost their jobs because of business reorganization, six were between
45 and 49 and half were over 45. Among the men who were unem
ployed after having been laid off, three out of four were under 45
years of age.
Most of the older men were foreign-born workers. Their modal
age group was from 50 to 54, while that of the native Americans
was only 20 to 24. The average foreign client was 40.8 years of
age, more than nine years the senior of the average native bom,
who was 31.4 years old.
No one specific type of job was outstanding in claiming a large
number of men. One in ten was a general laborer, and nearly as
many were carpenters or building workers, and a slightly smaller
number were employed in hotels or restaurants. Chauffeurs and
drivers made up 6.3 per cent of the total, and after this group ranked
the railway laborers, janitors or porters, painters, and machinists, or
mechanics. Twenty types of factory work were reported, but most
of the factory men had been in plants manufacturing shoes, food
products, and clothing or textiles.
Young men had been employed especially as chauffeurs or drivers,
factory operatives, helpers and on odd jobs, and as shippers and
packers. Older men had come in large numbers from work as janitors
and porters, laborers, and the seasonal building trades.
Reasons for Unemployment
“ L aid off ” was by far the most frequent reason for the unemploy
ment of these clients, as might be expected during a month like Jan
uary, 1930, which came at the worst of the country-wide business
depression, besides being the time of year when weather conditions
always lessen employment opportunities. Nearly one-half (48.3
per cent) of the men reporting on this point gave this reason for
their unemployment. A dozen more or less scattered causes were
reported for the rest of the men; the most important were dissatisfac
tion with the job, the completion of temporary work, poor health, and
dismissal because of business reorganization.
211
STUDY OF UNEMPLOYED MEN— BOSTON
Age was an influence in only a few of these cases. More men,
roportionately, over 50 years of age lost their jobs because of poor
ealth than because of business reorganization. More than one-half
of those who left because they were dissatisfied with their work were
under 30, single young men, for the most part, who had not yet found
congenial work and who were still free to move from one job to
another without involving a dependent family. Most of the men just
released from jail or on probation were young, as were those newly
arrived in Boston, and those who were looking for their first positions.
E
Length of Period of Unemployment
F or an average period of nearly four and one-half months after
losing their jobs the 373 men reporting on this point had lived on
their savings or incomes from other sources and had tried to find
work, before applying to the Industrial Aid Society.
The period of unemployment for the 373 men who reported on
this matter is given in the following table:
L E N G T H O F T I M E 373 M E N W E R E U N E M P L O Y E D B E F O R E A P P L Y I N G T O B O S T O N
IN D U S T R I A L A I D S O C IE T Y
Period of unemployment
Under 1 week______________________
1 week and under 2 weeks_________
2 weeks and under 1 m onth_...........
1 month and under 3 months..........
3 and under 6 m o n t h s ____________
6 and under 9 months
9 months and under 1 year________
1 year and under 2 years__________
N um
ber
4
27
49
128
63
30
5
15
Per
cent
!
Period of unemployment
N um
ber
Per
cent
1 .1
2 years or over..................... ...............
10
7.2
13.1
34.3
16.9
Indefinite period, short_____ _____
Indefinite period, long..................
Underemployed at time of ap
plication________________________
26
4
12
3.2
Total......... .................................
1373
100.0
2.7
7.0
1.1
8 .1
1.3
4.0
i Length of time out of work not reported for 170 applicants.
Placements
S i x t y - s ix of the men—12.2 per cent of the total group of appli
cants—had been placed in jobs at the time their records were read;
of these, 54 had secured permanent and 12 temporary positions. In
addition, at least 11 secured work by their own efforts. A few who
were unemployable because of advanced age or other handicaps
were placed in institutions; some were referred to other agencies able
to assist them. Several men refused work which was offered to them,
or failed to interview a prospective employer to whom they had been
sent, and were then dropped by the Industrial Aid Society.
Although the age distribution of the men who were placed followed
rather closely that of the entire group of applicants, a slight preference
was shown for the younger men. One-half of those for whom work
was secured were under 30, and more men in the age groups 20 to 24
and 25 to 29 than in any other age groups obtained jobs. Four of
the eleven men between 60 and 65 were placed; these older men were
wiling to take work which often paid only board and room, rather than
to enter an institution or become otherwise dependent 011 charity.
The men between 50 and 60 were hardest to place. The average
age of the men who secured work through the society’s efforts was
33 years.
212
EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
Of the 66 men who were placed in positions nearly one-half (30)
entered domestic and personal service, taking jobs as janitors or
porters, in hotels or restaurants, as elevator operators, or as hospital
orderlies. Eight went to work for manufacturing concerns and seven
took clerical or selling jobs. Most of the rest took work as taxi or truck
drivers, delivering circulars, farm laborers, painters, or carpenters.
HAWAII-LABOR CONDITIONS
213
Labor Conditions in the Territory of Hawaii, 1929-1930
COMPLIANCE with the organic law of the Territory of
Hawaii, entitled “ An act to provide a government for the Terri
INtory
of Hawaii,” the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in
1930 made a study of the commercial, industrial, social, and sanitary
conditions of the laboring classes in the Territory and presents
herein a summary of the results. The full report is published as
Bulletin No. 534 of this bureau.
The inhabited islands of the Territory and the population of each
as reported for 1930 by the Bureau of the Census are:
Population
Oahu_______________________________________________ 202,887
Hawaii--------------------------------------------------------------------- 73, 325
Maui------------------ --------------------------------------------------- 48,756
Kauai___________ _v--------------- ---------------------------------- 35, 806
Molokai-------------------------------------------------------------------5, 032
2, 356
Lanai-------------------- --------------------------------------------------Niihau----------------- ----------------------------------------------------136
Midway_____________________________________________
36
Kahoolawe__________________________________________
2
Total_________________________________________ 368,336
The city of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, with a population of
137,582 in 1930, is the largest on the islands. Hilo, on the island of
Hawaii, with a population of 19,468 in 1930, is the next city in popu
lation. Between 1920 and 1930 the population of the Territory
increased 43.9 per cent; that of Honolulu, 65.1 per cent; and that of
Hilo, 86.6 per cent.
In 1930 there were 5,942 farms on the islands. The number by
islands ranged from 1 on Niihau to 3,422 on Hawaii. There were no
farms on Midwav or Kahoolawe.
Racial Distribution of Population
T he racial distribution, based on the number of each race according
to the June 30, 1929, report of the Governor of Hawaii and the 1930
census, is shown below:
Hawaiians_________________
Caucasian-Hawaiian________
Asiatic-Hawaiian___________
Portuguese________________
Porto Eican_______________
Spanish___________________
Other Caucasian___________
21, 106
17, 164
10, 903
30, 609
7, 109
1, 915
39, 154
Chinese___________________
Japanese__________________
Korean____________________
Filipino___________________
Other_____________________
25, 968
141, 515
6, 593
65, 785
515
Total_______________
368,336
In May, 1929, there was a total of 49,890 adult male employees on
the 41 sugar plantations of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association
(which includes all except a very few small and unimportant planta
tions on the Hawaiian Islands). The distribution of these employees
by race was, Filipinos, 34,681 or 69.5 per cent of the total; Japanese,
9,208 or 18.5 per cent; Portuguese, 1,654 or 3.3 per cent; American,
47767°— 31-------15
215
216
HAW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
1,265 or 2.5 per cent; Chinese, 968 or 1.9 per ceiit; Porto Rican, 807 or
1.6 per cent; Hawaiian, 548 or 1.1 per cent; Korean, 517 or 1 per cent;
Spanish, 85 or 0.2 per cent; and all other, 157 or 0.3 per cent. Of the
1,636 adult females, 1,384 or 84.6 per cent were Japanese.
A large cannery in Honolulu was found to employ 42.1 per cent
Japanese, 16.4 per cent Hawaiian, 11.7 per cent Filipino, 9.7 per
cent Chinese, 7.6 per cent Portuguese, 6.8 per cent part Hawaiian,
2.6 per cent American, 2.2 per cent Korean; the other 0.9 per cent
was scattered among various races, no one of which constituted more
than one-half of 1 per cent of the total.
As showing the difference between the rural and urban population,
particularly as it affects the Filipino, figures collected for two of the
larger pineapple plantations, which during the peak period of 1929
employed 4,248 persons, show that 30.5 per cent of them were
Japanese, 55 per cent Filipinos, 5.4 per cent Koreans, 4.7 per cent
Chinese, only 0.8 per cent Hawaiians, and 3.6 per cent other races.
Savings Bank Accounts, by Races
I n an important bank in Honolulu, the years ending June 30,
1927, 1928, and 1929, show a relatively smait proportion of money de
posited in the savings bank by the Japanese and a relatively large
proportion by the Chinese. The savings deposits in the banks by all
races were a little more than $27,000,000 in 1927, $31,006,000 in
1928, and $35,000,000 in 1929. The deposits of the Japanese, with
a population of more than five times that of the Chinese, were 19.3
per cent of the total deposited by all races in 1927, 19.6 per cent in
1928, and 23.4 per cent in 1929, as compared with deposits by Chinese
of 17.4 per cent of the total in 1927, 16.4 per cent in 1928, and 15.1
per cent in 1929. In this connection a statement was furnished
this bureau by the postmaster at Honolulu showing that, in the last
year for which figures were available, money orders issued in Hawaii
and payable in Japan amounted to $306,930.23, and orders issued in
Japan and paid at the Honolulu office $2,066.25. Money orders
issued in Hawaii and payable in China aggregated $2,849.38, and those
issued in China and paid at the Honolulu office were $162.29. This
shows that while the Chinese in Hawaii are sending very little money
back to China, the Japanese are sending very large sums back to
Japan.
Living Conditions
T he industrial, social, and living conditions of the city of Honolulu
are a very essential part of those of the Territory as a whole. The
first impression of the city is that of cleanliness and roominess. For
the most part the streets are wide and are kept exceptionally clean.
While the number of automobiles per capita of population is probably
as great as that in any city on the mainland, the \ridth of the streets
prevents congestion and permits of unusual facilities for parking.
That section of the older part of the city which conforms most
closely to what is usually designated as the “ slum section” contains
many blocks of extreme congestion, but even in these districts not
only are the streets kept clean but the interior of even the more
crowded homes and tenements strikes one as unusually clean and
well kept.
HOURS AND EARNINGS IN INDUSTRIES
217
The population is essentially oriental, as indicated by the figures
of racial distribution shown above, and yet racial antagonism is
conspicuously absent except for a feeling of apprehension among the
other races, including the American, because of the growing propor
tion of Filipinos in the population of the city.
Hours and Earnings in Hawaiian Industries
S u g a r plantations, including sugar mills, and pineapple plantations
and canneries, are the outstanding industries in the Hawaiian Islands.
The general impression that they constitute all of Hawaiian industry
is erroneous, as there are many other industries, including building
construction, steam and street railways, road building, steamship
transportation, steam laundries, manufacture and distribution of
electricity and gas, printing and publishing, stock raising, manufac
ture of tin cans, dry docks, dairies, foundries and machine shops,
slaughtering and meat packing, and the manufacture of overalls and
shirts.
Wage figures were obtained covering hours and earnings in 1929 or
1930 for 67,802 wage earners in the above-mentioned industries.
Based on the 1930 census of the islands, this number is 18 per cent of
the total population of the Territory of Hawaii and more than 85 per
cent of all wage earners in all industries on the islands. All indus
tries of importance in the islands were included in the study. The
bureau, in studies in the mainland States, usually collects representa
tive wage figures for from 20 to 50 per cent of the total number of
wage earners in each industry.
Summary data as to average full-time hours per week, earnings
per hour, and full-time earnings per week are shown in Table 1 for
males in each of the 21 industries, for females in each of the 8 indus
tries in which they are employed, and for both sexes combined.
Average full-time hours per week are not shown for sugar plantations
because of the great variation in hours in the different kinds of work.
Adult males on sugar plantations earned in May, 1929, at the basic
rates and with bonus for attendance, an average of $1.84 per day.
This average and the average of $1.30 for females and $1.82 for both
sexes are for May, when averages were as much or more than for any
other month or for the year. The average for both sexes for the year
was $1.66 per day. These earnings and those for females do not
include the perquisites (estimated at a cost of $28 per month to the
plantations) of houses, fuel, water, and medical and hospital service,
furnished without charge by the plantations to employees.
The average full-time hours for all the 3,477 employees on the
pineapple plantations (3,316 males and 161 females) were 60 per
week. The males earned an average of 22.7 cents, the females an
average of 11.6 cents, and both sexes together an average of 22.5
cents per hour. Average full-time earnings per week were $13.62 for
males, $6.96 for females, and $13.50 per week for males and females
combined. The earnings in the table include those at the basic rates
and the bonus combined, but not perquisites.
The average full-time hours of males ranged by industries from 44
per week in printing and publishing, machine shops, and foundries to
66.4 per week in dairies; and of females ranged from 44 per week in
printing and publishing to 60 per week on pineapple plantations, in
pineapple canneries, and in tin-can manufacture.
218
H AW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
The average earnings per hour of males ranged by industries, ex
cluding plantations, from 17.4 cents in the making of overalls and
shirts, to%91.5 cents in printing and publishing; of females, ranged
from 14.i cents in coffee mills to 37.8 cents per hour in printing and
publishing; and of both sexes ranged from 21.3 cents in coffee mills
to 85.7 cents in printing and publishing.
The average full-time earnings per week of males ranged by indus
tries from $7.86 in overalls and shirt making to $40.26 in printing and
publishing; of females ranged from $6.96 on pineapple plantations to
$16.63 in printing and publishing; and of both sexes, ranged from
$11.74 in coffee nulls to $37.71 in printing and publishing.
T able 1.— N U M B E R OF E M P L O Y E E S A N D A V E R A G E H O U R S A N D E A R N I N G S I N T H E
T E R R I T O R Y O F H A W A I I , 1929-1930, B Y I N D U S T R Y
Number of em
ployees
Average full-time
hours per week
Average earnings
per hour
Average full-time
earnings per week
Industry
Male
Fe
male
Total Male
Sugar plantations____
47,300 1,474 149,671
Pineapple plantations.__ 3,316
161 3,477
Pineapple canneries------- 3,937 3,579 7,516
Building construction. _.
906
906
Steam railways.................
660
Road b u ild in g ...............
383
381
381
Longshore labor................
Steam laundries................
102 178
Tin-can manufacturing..
220
Electricity— M anufac
ture and distribution._
256
256
Street railways__________
236
236
Printing and publishing:
Newspaper and book
194
24
218
and jo b __....................
Stock raising......................
191
191
141
141
Machine shops.................
G as— M a n u fa c tu r in g
and distribution---------102
102
94
94
D ry dock............. ..............
84
84
Dairies___________________
74
42
32
Coffee m ills.........................
Foundries_______________
66
Slaughtering and meat
packing.............................
26
Overalls and shirt mak
16
ing.....................................
1
Fe
T o ta l Male Fe T o ta l M ale
male
male
(2)
(2)
51.1
49.3
5 4 .0 ...........
54.0 54.0
60.0
3$1.84 $1.30. *$1.82 «$11.04
60.0 7.227 7.116, 7. 225 7 13.62
60.0 .271 .168
16.26
49.6 .506
.506 25.10
51.1 .446
.446 22.79
49.3 .506
.506 24.95
54.0 .468
25.27
54.0 .416 .190 .272 22.46
60.0 .401 .243 .373 24.06
45.1
52.5
45.1
52.5
.707
.544
44.0
53.0
44.0
.915
.275
.685
48.0
45.0
66.4
55.1
44.0
.478
.578
.299
.307
.649
51.0
.347
45.2
.174
(2)
60.0
60.0
44.0
53.0
44.0
48.0
45.0
66.4
55.3
44.0
60.0
44.0
55.0
51.0
45.2
45.2
.378
.141
.307
Fe
male
Total
5$7.80 6 $10.92
7 6.96 7 13.50
10.08
10.26
14.58
13.44
25.10
22.79
24.95
25.27
14.69
22.38
.707
.544
31.89
26.62
31.89
26.62
.857
.275
.685
40.26 16.63
14.58
30.14
37.71
14.58
30.14
.478
.578
.299
.213
.649
22.94
26.01
19.85
16.98
28.56
22.94
26.01
19.85
11.74
28.56
.347
17.70
.298
7.
7.76
17.70
13.88
13.74
i Includes 349 male minors, 19 female minors, and 529 minors whose sex was not reported.
a Range, according to kind of work, from 33 to 72— average not computed.
3 Per day for adults at basic rates and with bonus, but not including perquisites (rental value of houses,
value of fuel, water, medical and hospital service for sickness or accidental injury of any kind) furnished
to employees b y plantations without any charge to employees. The value was estimated at $28 per month
or $1 per day.
4 Per day for adults and minors combined; minors earned an average of 98 cents per day.
* For adults but not including perquisites. (See note 3.)
• For adults and minors; average for minors $5.88 per week.
7 A t basic rates and with bonus, but not including perquisites. (See note S.)
Sugar Industry
T he principal industry of the Territory of Hawaii is the growing,
harvesting, and milling of sugar cane. The annual report of the
Governor of Hawaii for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1928,
shows 130,968 acres of land in these islands harvested in sugar cane.
The tons of cane harvested were 7,710,508, from which 897,396 tons
of raw sugar were produced. The tons of cane produced per acre
were 58.87 and of raw sugar, 6.85, while the tons of cane per ton of
raw sugar were 8.59. The average tonnage of cane per acre as applied
SUGAR INDUSTRY
219
to the entire Territory is somewhat misleading, owing to the fact that
the island of Hawaii, which is the largest island of the group and
contains the largest sugar-cane acreage, had a very low yield (49.17
tons) in comparison with the other islands; Oahu, for instance, had
an average yield of 79.35 tons of cane per acre, some of the plantations
and parts of plantations yielding as much as 100 tons per acre.
Hawaiian production of cane per acre, however, is not comparable
with the yield of the other sugar-producing countries of the world.
In Hawaii the normal producing time is 18 months, though in many
instances the period extends to 20 and even 22 months. In all the
other sugar-cane growing countries of the world the rated output of
cane is the number of tons per acre per annum—that is, the yield is
calculated on the planted area and not on the harvested acreage, as
in Hawaii. The yield of raw sugar per ton of sugar cane, however, is
somewhat greater in Hawaii, due both to the development and culti
vation of high grades of cane and to the better methods of milling.
The production of cane sugar in Hawaii in 1929 was 913,670 short
tons. Production in the Hawaiian Islands, which was less than 11,000
short tons each year from 1837 to 1872, reached 57,088 tons in 1882;
108,112 tons in 1886; 221,828 tons in 1896; 289,544 tons in 1900, the
year in which the islands were annexed to the United States; 360,038
tons in 1901, an increase of 24 per cent in the first year the islands
were a part of the United States; 617,038 tons in 1914, the year of
the beginning of the World War; 701,433 tons in 1924; 811,333 tons
in 1927; and reached 904,040 short tons in 1928.
Productivity oj labor.—The increase during recent years in output
per man-day or per man-year throughout all the sugar plantations of
Hawaii is remarkable. In so far as this increased production results
from the improvement in types of sugar cane now grown over types
formerly grown, it reaches even to the small growers or farmers who
produce only a few acres of cane and sell such cane to the plantations
having grinding mills.
A plantation on the island of Oahu, with practically the same labor
force, produced 40,000 tons of raw sugar in 1920 and 70,136 tons in
1929. This company in 1922 produced an average of 49.09 tons of
cane per acre; in 1928 the average was 94.07 tons per acre, while on
many of its separate fields the production was over 100 tons per acre.
Measured in tons of 96° raw sugar, 6.68 tons per acre were produced
in 1922 and 12.28 tons in 1928.
Another plantation, on the island of Hawaii, increased its output of
raw sugar from 6.7 tons per man-year in 1900 to 24.22 tons per manyear in 1929. This increase was due to several factors. Several
years ago a pest or blight of some sort practically destroyed the sugar
cane on the island. Since that time the Hawaiian Sugar Planters'
Association has built up a remarkable laboratory for developing
types of cane that will be more adapted to Hawaiian soil, more
prolific in sugar content or yield, and more immune from pests.
Machinery is used at every stage of production, beginning with the
clearing of the ground. Plowing is now done with 4, 5, and 6 disk
plows, arranged in tandem and drawn by 62-horsepower caterpillar
tractors, which plow from 14 to 24 inches deep. The soil is thus
put in a condition which would have been impossible formerly and
at a great deal less expenditure of man power.
220
H AW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
Some of the more striking methods by which greater production
has been secured with practically a stationary labor force are the
greater use of much better fertilizers; the more systematic and ex
tensive use of irrigation; the practice—quite general, though not
universal—of burning the blades from the lower part of the stalk
instead of stripping it by hand, as formerly; the use of enormous
cranes, each one of which, operated by two men, performs the work
of 35 men in loading the cane onto the cars for transportation to the
grinding mill; and more efficient methods of laying tracks upon which
these cars are conveyed to the mills.
The planters’ association has established a bureau which is con
stantly turning out minor labor-saving devices which in the aggregate
do much to increase output of the labor force, if not actually reducing
the force.
Irrigation and fertilization.—It is surprising to learn that land as
rich as that found for the most part in the Territory of Hawaii should
require an enormous amount of fertilizing, and that, with the tremen
dous amount of rainfall common in most parts of the Territory, irri
gation should be necessary. However, when it is realized that from 80
to 90 tons of sugar cane is removed from an acre of land and that 87
per cent of the weight of this cane consists of extractable juice, one is
not unprepared to learn that it requires 4,000 tons of water to mature
the cane lor a ton of sugar. When it is realized that in the fertile
fields of Illinois not more than 2}i tons of com per acre, not counting
the stalks—incidentally, neither are the weight of the blade and seed
of sugar cane counted—are taken from the soil, as against 90 tons of
sugar cane per acre from the soil of Hawaii, one can readily believe
that no natural soil fertility could be found anywhere in the world
to stand such a strain unaided.
Source of labor supply.—The source of labor supply for the industry
has shifted many times, being originally the Hawaiian Islands, and
subsequently China, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Porto Rico, and Korea.
The present tendency is to depend almost exclusively upon the
Philippine Islands for plantation laborers.
Unquestionably the sugar plantations of Hawaii are a great boon
to the individual Filipinos who take advantage of the higher wages
paid. Whether or not the Philippine Islands are the better for this
drawing off of their younger and more physically fit male population
raises a question this bureau does not feel called upon to answer.
The social question created in Hawaii, is, however, quite distinct
from the problem of labor supply for any one or two or all of its
industries. Employees of the former immigrations were at the outset
single men, or men immigrating for the purpose of severing marital
obligations they no longer cared to carry. The Chinese, however,
were accepted by the native Hawaiians, and considerable intermar
riage of Chinese men with Hawaiian women occurred. The Ameri
cans had set the example in intermarriage with Hawaiian women even
back in the missionary days. Later on a considerable number of
Chinese women immigrated and became the wives of the Chinese
workers. The Japanese were able in the course of time more or less
to remedy the social situation so far as they were concerned through
the “ picture bride ” device.
The Filipino is not accepted by the native Hawaiian girls, nor by
the children of any blends of Hawaiian women with men of former
SUGAR INDUSTRY
221
immigration—at least not to the same extent. There is unquestion
ably a feeling of social antagonism to the Filipino.
This large excess and continuing large importation of single men
creates a social question which in the long run must become a bigger
problem than either the sugar or pineapple industry or both.
A labor policy more comprehensive than merely securing plenty
of labor for the sugar and pmeapple industries must sooner or later
force itself upon Hawaii. This is not necessarily a Filipino question.
While fully 80 per cent of the crimes committed by Filipinos in
Hawaii are directly or indirectly sex crimes, there is no reason to
believe that the same number of young and vigorous single men of any
other race or from any other part of the world, however highly
civilized, wrould be more observant of the moral code under the same
circumstances.
There is, however, a social side of the labor problems that will
eventually override the purely industrial side, especially when in
dustry is narrow either in its scope or ownership. It must happen—
indeed is now happening—that the employers will have the conviction
forced upon them that married men are better and ultimately cheaper
plantation labor, because safer and.better citizens. It is not within
the power of industry to ignore over a long period of time the fact
that man is a social being. Family life stablizes employment as
well as social conditions, and as the permanent population increases
a wider range of industries will be necessary for the community and
the community will force them upon the islands, even on soil tnat is
good for sugar, and at a rental or purchase price which will enable
the people to cultivate the soil and develop industries. Eventually
institutions must prove themselves made for man, not man for
institutions.
It is neither socially, industrially, nor economically wise for Hawaii
to import such a proportion of its total food supply as it does now.
The tendency in 1-crop or in 2-crop districts to ignore everything
but the principal industry is not of course confined to Hawaii. Cuba,
another sugar-cane country, imports from the United States fruits
which grow wild in Cuba. The distance between Hawaii and the
mainland of the United States, or any other country for that matter,
is so great that importations of articles necessary for the sustenance
of life and the ordinary comforts of living add so greatly to the cost
of these things that eventually these living costs will defeat the
purposes of a cheap labor supply drawn from no matter where.
Earnings in the sugar industry.—A representative sugar planta
tion, one of the 41 covered in the study, had a total of 1,218 em
ployees, “ not on a monthly basis,” on its pay rolls in May, 1929, and
an average of 1,262 employees per month in 1929. The plantation
was in operation 27 days in May and 309 days in 1929. This and all
other plantations were on a 6-day week basis. The 1,218 on the rolls
in May worked a total of 25,786 days, or an average of 21.2 days in
the month. This average was 78.52 per cent of the 27 (full-time)
days that the planation was in operation in the month. The em
ployees on the plantation in 1929 worked a total of 305,943 days.
Based on the average of 1,262 employees per month and the days
worked by employees in the year, an average of 20.2 days per month
was worked in 1929. The plantation was in operation 309 days in
1929, or an average of 25.8 days per month. The average of 20.2
222
H AW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
days per month worked by employees was 78.29 per cent of the average
of 25.8 (full-time) days per month that the plantation was in operation
in 1929.
Average earnings include the earnings of employees at basic rates,
and also a bonus of 10 per cent of such earnings which was paid
monthly to each employee who worked 23 or more days in the month.
In May the bonus amounted to $2,838, or 8.37 per cent of the amount
earned by the 1,218 employees at basic rates. In 1929 the bonus
amounted to $32,784, or 8.07 per cent of the amount earned by all
employees on the pay rolls of this plantation in that year. Including
the bonus, average earnings on the plantation were $1.42 per day in
May and $1.44 per day in 1929 and $30.16 per month in May and
$29 per month in 1929.
The 49,671 employees on the pay rolls on the 41 plantations in May
earned, including the bonus, an average of $1.82 per day and $43.31
per month. Averages in 1929 were $1.66 per day and $36.24 per
month. Average earnings ranged by plantations from $1.33 to $2.78
per day in May and from $1.14 to $2.16 per day in 1929; also from
$29.24 to $67.84 per month in May and from $22.58 to $46.75 in 1929.
In May the bonus amounted to $149,573, or 7.47 per cent of the earn
ings at basic rates. The amount paid as bonus in 1929 was $1,452,499,
or 7.24 per cent of the earnings in the year at basic rates.
As already stated, the earnings per day and per month do not
include the value of the perquisites provided. An official of the
Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association estimated that the cost per
month to the plantations per family is: House rent, $20; fuel and
water, $4; medical and hospital service, $4; or a total of $28 per
month. Single employees are lodged, 3, 4, or 5 to a house, either in
houses like those furnished to families or in boarding houses. Medical
and hospital services for single employees are estimated to cost $2
per month per person.
The rate for overtime on all plantations was the same as for regular
working time, and the rate for Sunday and holidays for day laborers
was one and one-half times their regular rate.
Average earnings per day in 1929, including the attendance bonus,
are presented in Table 2 for the various kinds of work, for adult
males, adult females, and minors, and also for all employees combined
on 41 sugar plantations in the Hawaiian Islands. These plantations
constitute the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association and include all
on the islands of importance in number of wage earners and number
of tons of raw sugar produced. The bonus amounted to about 7%
per cent of the earnings at basic rates.
The employees on sugar plantations are of three classes—short-term
contractors, long-term contractors, and day laborers. Short-term
contractors may work at one or more of the 10 different kinds of work
listed in the table under this classification. The contracts are for
short periods and apply to “ planting cane,” “ fertilizing,” “ irrigating/’
“ cutting,” or “ loading,” etc., on one or more fields at a contract
price per acre, per ton, etc. Long-term contractors cultivate cane
during the entire growing period of many months. They are paid
for the number of tons of cane produced at a specified contract rate per
ton. Day laborers, as the term implies, are time workers.
The average earnings of those doing short-term contract work
was $1.85 per day for adult males, $1.43 for adult females, $1.06 for
minors, and $1.83 per day for all employees.
2 23
SUGAR INDUSTRY
The average earnings of long-term contractors were $2.07 per day
for adult males, $1.55 for adult females, 85 cents for minors, and
$2.05 per day for all employees.
The average earnings of day laborers ranged, by kinds of work, from
$1.08 to $3.53 per day for adult males; from 68 cents to $2.87 per
day for adult females; from 61 cents to $2.33 per day for minors; and
from 90 cents to $3.53 per day for all day laborers.
The above rates do not include the rental value of homes, nor the
value of fuel, water, medical and hospital services furnished by the
plantations without cost to the employees.
T a b le
2 ,—A V ER AG E EAR NIN GS PER D A Y , IN C LU D IN G BONUS, OF M E N , W O M E N , A N D
M INORS ON 41 SUGAR PLAN TATIO N S, 1929, B Y K IN D OF W O R K
Average earnings per day
Kind of work
Adult
males
Short-term contracts:
Planting cane____ ______________________ ______
Fertilizing______________________________________ .
Irrigating___________________
____ ______________
Cutting cane_________________ ___________ ______
Loading cane___________________________
_______
Hauling or fluming cane___________ _____________
Cultivating (short term)__________________________
Construction work____ _______ _________ ________
Other contracts_________________________ _____ ___
Portable track.._____ ________ _____ ___ _________
Adult
females
Minors
Total
$1.40
1.71
1.43
1.73
$1.16
1.25
$0.92
$1.38
1 .1 2
1.66
1 .2 2
1.09
1.27
1 .1 2
2.1 1
1.68
1.23
2.09
1.40
2.62
1.93
2.93
1.36
1.1 2
1 .12
1.40
1.31
2.14
.97
1.52
1.31
1.76
1.42
1.73
2.09
2.06
1.38
2.62
1.89
2.90
Total_______________ ______ _________ ____ _____
1.85
1.43
1.06
1.83
Long-term contractors____________ ______ ____________
2.07
1.55
.85
2.05
Day laborers:
Day laborers, field hands___________________ ____ _
Basic-rate day laborers, other.....................................
Other unskilled____________________ __________ ..
Semiskilled_______________________________________
Skilled____________________________________________
3.10
1.08
1.37
1.89
3.53
.83
.79
.70
.61
.97
Total............... ........... ............. ..................... ........... .
Grand total_____________________________________
.8 6
1.66
2.87
2.33
1.05
.90
1.36
1.89
3.53
1.51
.88
.75
1.46
1.68
1.19
.79
1.66
.6 8
Labor cost of various operations.—Labor cost per ton of cane and per
ton of raw sugar produced was computed by kinds of work for each
of five representative plantations and for the five combined. The
cost of clearing and plowing ranged on the various plantations from
9.7 cents per ton of cane and 91 cents per ton of sugar to 17.8 cents
per ton of cane and $1,379 per ton of sugar. The average cost of
this operation for all of the five plantations for which data were
obtained was 14.5 cents per ton of cane and $1,102 per ton of sugar.
The cost of preparing and planting ranged by plantations from 7.2
cents per ton of cane and 50.7 cents per ton of sugar to 15.4 cents per
ton of cane and $1,447 per ton of sugar. The average for the five
plantations was 11.4 cents per ton of cane and 86.6 cents per ton of
sugar.
The cost of cultivating ranged from $1.02 per ton of cane and $9,552
per ton of sugar to $1,689 per ton of cane and $12,668 per ton of sugar.
The total average labor cost for all operations on the five planta
tions was $3,745 per ton of cane and $28,389 per ton of raw sugar.
The labor cost of clearing and plowing formed 3.9 per cent of the total
224
H AW AII— LABOR, CONDITIONS
labor cost; preparing and planting, 3 per cent; water supply, 4.6 per
cent; cultivating, 39.5 per cent; fertilizing, 1.4 per cent; harvesting,
23.9 per cent; sugar-mill expense, 9 per cent; salaries, 4 per cent;
and general repairs, etc., 10.7 per cent.
Labor turnover.—Table 3 shows the number of employees on the
pay rolls of the 41 sugar plantations in each month in 1929 and the
average per month for the year. It also shows the turnover rate, for
the month and for the year, #of accessions (the per cent that the
number added to the pay rolls in each month formed of the number on
the pay rolls in that month) and of separations (the per cent that the
number dropped from the pay rolls in each month was of the number
on the rolls in that month).
T a b l e 3 .—LABOR TU R N O V E R ON 41 SUGAR PL A N TA T IO N S, 1929, B Y SE X A N D M O N T H
Adult males
Turnover
rate
Month
Num
ber
Ac
ces Sepa
sion ration
Num
ber
Num
ber
Ac
Ac
Sepa
ces ration
ces
sion
sion
1,426 12.34 4.70
1,499 7.27 3.34
1,513 6.15 4.43
1,492 5.23 5.09
1,474 3.53 4.27
1,569 9.24 3. 57
1,517 5.41 6.33
1,452 3.10 8.06
1,280 3.05 14.92
1,201 3.41 10.66
1.150 4.96 8.43
1,180 9.07 7.63
1929............. i 46,196 31. £8 33.13
1 1,396 73. 35 78.65
4G, 985
47,123
47,219
47.392
47,300
47,000
46.490
40,017
45,106
44,572
44,071
45,072
4.14
2.76
2.48
3.05
2.43
2.49
2.10
1.76
1.60
2.15
2.24
4.32
|
Total
Turnover
rate
Turnover
rate
2.32
2.21
2.22
2.59
2.79
2.89
3.12
2.84
3.55
3.26
3.15
2.27
January................
February............ .
March................. .
April.....................
M ay......................
June_______ ____
July................
August...............—
September______
October.............
November............
December.............
Minors
Adult females
445
446
447
405
368
458
618
476
476
408
421
478
13.71
4.71
17.45
5.43
4.62
21.83
4.69
5.88
7.56
2.70
7.36
15.27
Turnover
rate
Num
ber
Sepa
ration
10.34
4.48
11.63
16.79
5.98
4.37
3.88
6.93
80.25
17.40
6.65
2.51
1454 111. 67 171.37
48,856
49,068
49,179
49,289
49,142
49,027
48,625
47,945
46,862
46,181
45,642
46,730
Ac
ces Sepa
sion ration
4.47
2.92
2.73
3.13
2.48
2.89
2.24
1.84
1.70
2.18
2.35
4.56
2.46
2.27
2.38
2.78
2.86
2.92
3.23
3.04
4. 64
3.58
3. 31
2.41
i 48,046 33. 55
35. 70
i Average for year.
In January, 1929, there were 46,985 adult males on the pay rolls
of these plantations. In the month 1,947, or 4.14 per cent, were
added to the rolls and 1,088, or 2.32 per cent, were dropped from the
rolls. There were 1,426 adult females on the rolls in the month and
176, or 12.34 per cent, were added and 67, or 4.7 per cent, were dropped
from the rolls. There were 445 minors on the rolls in the month and
61, or 13.71 per cent, were added and 46, or 10 34 per cent, were
dropped from the rolls in the month*. The total accessions during
the month were 4.47 per cent of the 48,856 on the rolls and the sepa
rations were 2.46 per cent.
The accessions of adult males in 1929 were 31.58 per cent of the
average number on the rolls in the year; of adult females, 73.35 per
cent; of minors, 111.67 per cent; of all three classes combined, 33.55
per cent. The separations of adult males were 33.13 per cent of the
average number of the men; of adult females, 78.65 per cent of the
women; of the minors, 171.37 per cent of the minors; and of men,
women, and minors together were 35.76 per cent of the average for
all three classes combined.
Regular full-time hours.—The regular hours of operation per day
and per week in 1929, as established by a regular time of beginning
PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY
225
and of quitting work on each day per week, less the regular time off
duty for the midday dinner or lunch, were obtained for each of the
several kinds of work on the sugar plantations in the Hawaiian
Islands.
The regular full-time hours per day ranged by kinds of work from
5K for the employees on one plantation who were engaged in load
ing cane to 12 for the employees on 4 plantations who were employed
at hauling or fluming cane, and also for the sugar-mill workers on 23
plantations. The 10-hour day was much more frequent than any
other, the next in order being the 9-hour day.
Regular full-time hours per week ranged from 33 for the employees
on one plantation who did the work of loading cane to 72 per week for
employees on 3 plantations who worked at hauling or fluming cane,
and also for the sugar-mill workers on 19 plantations. The 60-hour,
59-hour, and 54-houi* week were quite frequent. On many planta
tions the hours per day were less on one of the 6 days per week than
on the other 5.
Pineapple Industry
I n num ber of wage earners, in amoimt paid as wages, and in value
of products the pineapple industry in the Hawaiian Islands is second
to the sugar industry and includes both the growing and the canning
of pineapples.
Pineapples were introduced and cultivated in the islands to a rather
limited extent during the period from 1886 to 1900, but canning did
not begin until 1901, when about 2,000 cases of 24 cans each were
canned and placed on the market. The Smooth Cayenne variety is
generally grown, because those engaged in the industry consider it
superior in flavor and less fibrous than other varieties. The number
of cases increased from year to year to approximately 50,000 in 1905,
to 625,000 in 1910, to 1,700,000 in 1913, and to more than 9,000,000
cases in. 1929, thus showing the rapid growth and the present impor
tance of the industy.
The pineapple industry is a seasonal one. Although pineapples
ripen and are gathered and canned throughout the year, by far the
greatest part of the crop matures and is gathered and canned in
June, July, August, and September. During these months the can
neries operate at capacity six days each week and usually two shifts
per day. In the slack period, which extends over the other months
in the year, canneries operate at less than capacity and frequently
on only one day or part of a day in a week.
On the plantations the busy season covers the same period, June
to September. The general work on the plantations, however,
furnishes employment six days each week to employees who do the
various kinds of work necessary in preparing the soil, planting slips,
cultivating the plants, etc.
Pineapple Plantations
P in e a p p le plantations in the islands have an estimated area, as
stated by the Governor of Hawaii in his report for the fiscal year
ending June 30,1929, of 88,000 acres, or 137% square miles, with 49,356
acres in actual cultivation in that year. The estimated area is con
servative. Plantations are divided into plots of land called “ fields,”
226
H A W A II....LABOR CONDITIONS
After cultivation and picking of two or three crops, each field is left
uncultivated for a time to rest and recuperate.
The growing of pineapples is highlv developed, with production in
some fields of as much as 36 tons of fruit per acre. The plantations,
as well as the canneries, are equipped with modem labor-saving
machinery, a great deal of which is automatic and of a highly special
ized type, particularly in the canneries.
Various types of tractors are used in clearing the land of cactus
and stone, and in plowing, subsoiling, and harrowing.
Each plantation has a well-equipped shop for the repair of tractors,
trucks, and other machinery, and also employees to repair plantation
buildings of various kinds, including the houses owned by the plan
tation and occupied by employees and families rent-free.
Hours and earnings.—Table 4 (p. 227) shows for 3,316 males and 161
females on four of the largest pineapple plantations the average full
time and actual hours and earnings in 1929 by occupations.
The regular full-time hours in 1929 of all employees on these plan
tations were 10 per day or 60 per week. The 2,289 adult male field
laborers (comprising the most important occupation on the planta
tions in number of employees) actually worked an average of only 16.6
days and 160.7 hours in the month for which data were obtained, and
earned an average of $31.51— 19.6 cents per hour.
Fluctuations in employment and in earnings.—Table 5 (p. 228) shows
for each of two of the most important pineapple plantations in the
Hawaiian Islands the per cent that the number of employees on the
pay rolls in each month in 1929 was of the average number per month
on the rolls in the year; the average number of days that were worked
per employee each month in the year and the per cent that the average
for each month was of the average for the year; the average earnings
per employee per month and per day and the per cent that the average
per month or per day for each month was of the average per month
or day for the year.
Employment—that is^ the number of persons on the pay rolls—
was 35 per cent higher in July on plantation A and 28.4 per cent
higher on plantation B than the average per month for the year;
25.8 per cent higher in August on plantation A and 40.8 per cent on
plantation B; 17.7 per cent higher in September on plantation A and
49.9 per cent on plantation B. During these months more than 85
per cent of the annual crop of pineapples ripen, are picked, sorted as to
size, and delivered to the canneries.
In April employment on plantation A was only 78.2 per cent,
and in January on plantation B only 57.8 per cent, of the average per
month for the year.
227
PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY
T a b l e 4 .—A V ER AG E
FU LL-TIM E A N D A C T U A L HOURS A N D E AR N IN G S OF E M
PLOYEES ON FOUR OF THE LAR GEST PIN EAPPLE PLAN TATIO N S IX 1929, B Y SEX
Average full' Time actually
Aver time hours— worked in
Aver
month
Num Num age
age
ber of ber of number
earn
Occupation and sex estab em of days
ings
lish ploy worked
Per
Aver
per
Per
in
Per
ments ees
age cent of hour
month week month hours full
time
Average full
time earn
ings—
Aver
age
actual
earn
ings in
Per
Per
week month month
Males
Blacksmiths.................
Blacksmiths’ helpers _
Carpenters.......... ........
Carpenters’ helpers...
Laborers, field 1______
Laborers, field (mi
nors)2..........................
Foremen or overseers.
Painters........................
Plumbers......................
Repairers (auto me
chanics) .....................
Teamsters.....................
Tractor drivers.........
Tractor drivers’ help
ers...............................
Truck drivers............
Track drivers’ help
ers...............................
Other employees.........
Total, males___
4
8
4
6
4
22
3
8
4 2,289
26.4
23.5
20.9
20.1
16.6
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.1
60.0
262.5
263.3
268.2
265.0
264.1
261.7
235.4
208.1
204.6
160.7
99.7 $0,401 $24.06 $105.26
89.4
79.25
.301 18.06
77.6
.395 23.70 105.94
77.2
.295 17.70
78.18
60.8
51.76
.196 11.76
3
4
2
3
55
185
4
3
15.6
27.1
15.3
26.3
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
270.0
266.0
270.0
263.3
150.8
270.8
152.5
257.7
55.8
101.8
56.5
97.9
.085
.331
.362
.490
5.10
19.86
21.72
29.40
22.95
88.05
97.74
129.02
12.75
89.61
55.25
126.34
4
4
4
19
262
49
25.3
21.7
23.7
60.0
60.0
60.0
266.8
263.6
265.9
255.4
224.2
270.8
95.7
85.1
101.8
.399
.247
.310
23.94
14.82
18.60
106.45
65.11
82.43
101.80
55.47
84.06
4
4
48
83
24.5
24.2
60.0
60.0
268.8
267.1
276.1
266.2
102.7
99.6
.241
.305
14.46
18.30
64.78
81.47
66.54
81.13
4
4
141
134
20.5
23.7
60.0
60.3
264.0
263.4
224.8
241.1
85.2
91.5
.221
.250
13.26
15.08
58.34
65.85
49.77
60.18
4 3,316
18.6
60.0
264.5
185.1
70.0
.227
13.62
60.04
41.96
$104.98
70.77
82.18
60.34
31.51
Females
4
135
6.5
60.0
265.9
60.4
22.7
.136
8.16
36.16
8.22
2
26
16.6
60.0
270.0
160.8
59.6
.077
4.62
20.79
12.38
Total, females..
4
161
8.1
60.0
266.5
76.6
28.8
.116
6.96
30.91
8.89
Grand total
4 3,477
18.1
60.0
264.6
180.0
68.0
.225
13.50
59.54
40.43
Laborers, field 2...........
Laborers, field (mi
nors)2.................... .
1 Include planters, cultivators, fertilizers, fruit pickers, plant gatherers, cultivator contractors, cleaners
up, etc.
2 Include plant and slip gatherers, hoers, and weeders.
Length of service of employees.—Table 6 (p. 228) shows the number
and per cent of employees of two representative plantations by
periods of service.
On plantation A, 26.1 per cent of the employees had a period of
service of less than 6 months; 30.8 per cent, 1 and under 2 years;
while one employee, or one-tenth of 1 per cent, had a service of
26 years.
228
HAW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
T a b l e 5.—F LU CTUATIO NS IN E M P L O Y M E N T A N D EAR N IN G S IN 1929, B Y M O N TH S,
ON T W O PLAN TATIO N S
Average earnings
Average days
worked
Em
ploy
ees—per
cent of
average
for 1929
Plantation and month
Per day
Per month
Num
ber
Per
cent-of
average
for 1929
Amount
Per
cent of
average
for 1929
Amount
Per
cent of
average
for 1929
Plantation A
January.-................... - ................
February........................................
March________________________
April................. - ........ ...................
M ay.................................................
June......... ....................................
July............. .................... .............
August............................................
September..................... .......... .
October.-............... ......................
November......................................
December____________ _______ _
87.0
82.1
79.1
78.2
78.6
108.1
135.0
125.8
117.7
106.4
101.8
100.5
21.5
15.0
20.8
20.4
20.7
22.0
21.6
20.3
19.6
20.8
16.0
15.9
109.7
76.5
106.1
104.1
105.6
112.2
110.2
103.6
100.0
106.1
81.6
81.1
$50.08
36.80
49.37
48.94
50.49
57.83
58.83
51.82
50.49
50.80
36.51
36.65
102.7
75.5
101.2
100.3
103.5
118.6
120.6
106.3
103.5
104.2
74.9
75.1
$2.33
2.45
2.38
2.40
2.44
2.63
2.73
2.55
2.58
2.44
2.29
2.31
93.6
98.4
95.6
96.4
98.0
105.6
109.6
102.4
103.6
98.0
92.0
92.8
Average for year_________
100.0
19.6
100.0
48.77
100.0
2.49
100.0
January-........................................
February.................... ........ ..........
M arch..........................................
April__________________________
M ay............ ............................ —
June.................. .................. ..........
July..................................... ..........
August________________________
September------ ------------------------October_________ _____________
November____ ________________
December...................... ............
57.8
70.1
75.8
78.9
72.6
80.7
128.4
140.8
149.9
107.1
117.7
119.9
20.0
18.3
26.4
22.8
24.9
24.0
24.6
25.9
18.6
22.2
17.2
16.8
92.2
84.3
121.7
105.1
114.7
110.6
113.4
119.4
85.7
102.3
79.3
77.4
42.85
37.94
57.84
48.99
53.79
53.05
54.75
57.75
41.93
51.26
37.53
34.46
90.1
79.8
121.6
103.0
113.1
111.5
115.1
121.4
88.2
107.8
78.9
72.5
2.14
2.08
2.19
2.15
2.16
2.21
2.22
2.23
2.25
2.31
2.18
2.06
97.3
94.5
99.5
97.7
98.2
100.5
100.9
101.4
102.3
105.0
99.1
93.6
Average for year...... ..........
100.0
21.7
100.0
47.56
100.0
2.20
100.0
Plantation D
T a b l e 6 .—N U M B E R A N D PER C E N T OF EM PLO Y EE S OF T W O PIN EAPPLE P L A N T A
TIONS H A V IN G SPECIFIED PERIOD OF SERVICE, 1929
Employees having each
classified period of
service—
Period of service
Plantation
A
Plantation
B
Employees having each
classified period of
service—
Period of service
Num Per Num Per
cent
ber cent ber
Less than 6 months...........
6 months and under 1
year.......... .........................
1 and under 2 years...........
2 and under 3 years...........
3 and under 4 years...........
4 and under 5 years...........
5 and under 6 years--------6 and under 7 years...........
7 and under 8 years...........
8 and under 9 years.........
9 and under 10 years------10 and under 11 years____
11 and under 12 years____
12 and under 13 years
13 and under 14 years____
458
540
187
153
73
90
62
43
37
36
20
10
7
4
26.1
30.8
10.7
8.7
4.2
5.1
3.5
2.5
2.1
2.1
1.1
.6
.4
.2
505
44.0
198
167
115
52
59
27
12
2
2
4
17.2
14.5
10.0
4.5
5.1
2.4
1.0
.2
.2
.3
1
2
.1
.2
Plantation
A
Plantation
B
Num Per Num Per
ber cent ber cent
14 and under 15 years.
15 and under 16 years.
16 and under 17 years.
17 and under 18 years.
18 and under 19 years.
19 and under 20 years.
20 and under 21 years.
21 and under 22 years.
22 and under 23 years.
23 and under 24 years.
24 and under 25 years.
25 and under 26 years.
26 years........ .
Total.
5
4
1
2
3
3
5
1
3
3
2
2
1
0.3
.2
.1
.1
.2
.2
.3
.1
.2
.2
.1
1
.1
1
1
0.1
.1
1,755 100.0 1,148
100.0
I
1
j
.
229
PINEAPPLE INDUSTRY
Pineapple Canneries
T he th r e e most important occupations in canneries in number of
wage earners are the canners (females), male and female laborers, and
trimmers (females). In the present study wage data were obtained for
1,510 canners, 3,499 laborers, and 1,408 trimmers. The number of
wage earners in these occupations form 81 per cent of the 7,516
wrorkers employed in the 5 canneries studied. The earnings of the
canners averaged 16.5 cents per hour, with average full-time weekly
earnings of $9.90; those of the male laborers averaged 23.4 cents per
hour and $14.04 per week, and those of the trimmers averaged 16.1
cents per hour and $9.66 per week.
In three canneries the rate for overtime and for work on Sunday
and holidays was one and one-half times the regular rate and applied
to hourly rate employees; in one cannery this rate applied to all
except monthly rate employees; and in one cannery the rate was the
same as for the regular working time.
Table 7 shows, by occupations, average full-time hours per week,
earnings per hour, and full-time earnings per week for the employees
of the five canneries covered in this study:
T a b l e 7.—A V E R A G E FU LL -T IM E HOURS A N D EAR N IN G S PER W E E K , A N D AV E R A G E
EAR N IN G S PER HOUR IN FIVE PINEAPPLE CAN N E R IES , 1929, B Y O CCUPATION
AND SEX
Occupation and sex
Blacksmiths, male____________ ______ __________ _____
Box makers, male___________ ________________________
Canners, female........ .................... ......................................
Carpenters, male_____ _____________ _________________
Electricians, male......................................................... ........
Eradicators:
Male________________________ _______ ____________
Female_____ _________ ____ _____ ________________
Foreladies_____________________ ________ ____________
Laborers:
Male________________ ____ _______________________
Female________ _______________ _____ ____________
Machinists, male_____________________________________
Machine shop helpers, male______________ __________
Machine tender operators, male........................ .......... .
Testers, can, male____________________________________
Trimmers, female___________________ ______ ____ ____
Truck or tractor drivers, male. ______________________
Other skilled employees, male...........................................!
Other employees:
1
Male............................................................................... -1
Female___________ ____ _______ __ _____ _________
Num
ber of
estab
lish
ments
Number Average Average Average
full-time earnings full-time
of em
hours
ployees
per hour earnings
per week
per week
2
2
5
3
3
2
31
1,510
14
12
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
$0.513
.220
.165
.428
.502
$30. 78
13.20
9.90
25.68
30.12
2
5
5
98
248
106
60.0
60.0
60.0
.200
.155
.253
12.00
9.30
15.18
5
5
4
5
2
2
5
3
3
3,205
294
100
82
34
26
1,408
10
53
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.0
.234
.182
.541
.336
.397
.341
.161
.326
.542
14.04
10.92
32.46
20.16
23.82
20.46
9. 66
19.56
32.52
5
2
270
13
60.0
64.6
.428
.260
25.(58
16.80
All employees, male _________ ___________ ____ All employees, female__________________________
5
5
3,937
3,579
60.0
60.0
.271
.168
16.26
10.08
All employees, male and female....... .................... ..
5
7,516
60.0
.224
13.44
Bonuses.—The average earnings for employees on pineapple planta
tions and in canneries include earnings at basic time and piece rates
and bonuses paid to employees for attendance, service, specified per
cent of earnings at time and piece rates, etc., but do not include
rental value of houses, nor the value of fuel, water, and medical and
hospital service furnished by plantations to employees.
One plantation and one cannery paid a bonus of 10 cents per day
to each employee with an attendance of 21 or more days per month.
230
HAW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
Attendance of 21 days earned a bonus of $2.10 in the month in
addition to earnings at basic rates; of 22 days a bonus of $2.20; of
23 days a bonus of $2.30, etc. Example: An employee whose rate
per hour was 20 cents and who worked 24 days or 240 hours in a
month earned at his basic rate $48 and a bonus of $2.40 for attendance,
or a total of $50.40 in the month.
One plantation and one cannery paid a “ busy-season attendance”
bonus of 10 per cent of earnings at basic rates, during the busy season
in the summer, to males who did not lose as much as 50 hours of the
regular working time and to females who did not lose as much as 70
hours. Employees were also paid a “ service” bonus of 1 per cent
of earnings at basic rates if in service one-half year and also one-tenth
of 1 per cent of earnings for each year of service after one-half year.
One plantation and one cannery paid to all employees except those
who were paid monthly rates an “ attendance” bonus of 25 cents per
day for attendance of 23 or more days per month, a special bonus of
10 per cent of earnings at basic rates, and also a “ quarterly” bonus
based on earnings. Employees at monthly rates were paid the special
bonus of 10 per cent of earnings at basic rates.
One of the four plantations and two of the five canneries had no
bonus systems in operation in 1929.
Race and sex of employees.—Table 8 shows the number and per
cent of males, females, and all employees of each race on the pay
rolls of a representative pineapple cannery in the Hawaiian Islands
in a representative pay period in 1929.
Japanese formed 43.9 per cent of all males of all races on the pay
rolls, and 39.9 per cent of all females, while the total number of
Japanese were 42.1 per cent of all employees of the cannery.
T a b l e 8 — R A C E D I S T R I B U T I O N O F E M P L O Y E E S O F A R E P R E S E N T A T I V E P IN E A P P L E
C A N N E R Y , 1929, B Y S E X
Males
Females
Total
Race
Japanese______________ ____________________ .
Hawaiian___________________________________
Filipino—- ______________ _____ ______________
Chinese______________________________ ______
Portuguese__________________ ________ ______
Part Hawaiian___________ ________________
American ________________ _____ . _______
Korean_____________________ ______ ____ _____
Porto Rican_______ _________ _______________
Spanish_________ ______ _____________________
Russian.............................................. .....................
Negro_______________________________________
Italian ____________________________________
British
_
_________________ ______ ____
Norwegian___________________________ ____ __
T otal_____ _______________________
Number
Per cent
Number
Per cent
Num ber
Per cent
525
107
43.9
9.0
18.4
9.3
6.3
5 2
3.6
3.3
386
248
32
99
89
85
13
39.9
25.6
3.3
911
355
252
10.2
210
9.2
8
1
1
1
1
.8
164
147
56
47
42 1
16.4
11.7
9.7
7.0
.4
11
.1
.1
.1
3
1
.1
2
2
1
1
1
968
100.0
2,163
220
111
75
62
43
39
7
2
1
1
1
1
1,195
.6
.2
.1
.1
.1
.1
100.0
8 .8
1.3
6 .8
2 .6
2 .2
.5
.1
.1
.1
. 05
.05
.05
100.00
Length oj service of employees.—Table 9 shows the number and per
cent of employees of a representative cannery by periods of service.
In the cannery 43.4 per cent of the employees had service of less
than 6 months; 15.8 per cent, 6 months and under 1 year; 12.2 per
cent, 1 and under 2 years; and 4.6 per cent, 10 and under 24 years.
Only one employee, or one-tenth of 1 per cent of all the employees,
had service of 23 and under 24 years.
231
RICE INDUSTRY
T a b l e 9 . — N U M B E R A N D PER C E N T OF E M P LO Y E E S OF ONE PIN EAPPLE C A N N E R Y
H A V IN G SPECIFIED PER IO D OF SERVICE, 1929
Period of service
Employees having
each classified
period of service
Number
Per cent
Less than 6 m onths______ _____
6 months and under 1 year___
1 and under 2 years____________
828
301
233
43.4
15.8
2 and under 3 years............... .....
3 and under 4 years_____ ______
4 and under 5 years......... ...........
5 and under 6 years_____ ______
6 and under 7 years......... ...........
7 and under 8 years.....................
8 and under 9 years.....................
9 and under 10 years...................
10 and under 11 years.................
11 and under 12 years............. ..
19 oiirl iinrfor
va &i*q
13 and under 14 years.................
112
5.9
3.8
3.3
3.3
2.7
1.5
73
62
62
51
28
25
43
12 2
1.3
2.3
21
1 .1
17
6
.9
.3
14
.7
Period of service
Employees having
each classified
period of service
Number
14 and under 15 years.................
15 and under 16 years............. .
16 and under 17 years............. ..
17 and under 18 years
18 and under 19 years. _ ____
19 and under 20 years
___
20 and under 21 years_________
21 and under 22 yea rs................
22 and under 23 years..... ............
23 and under 24 years.................
24 and under 25 years_________
25 and under 26 years............... ..
26 years______________ _______ _
T otal......... — ................
6
7
7
2
2
3
Per cent
0.3
.4
.4
.i
.i
.2
1
1
1
.1
.1
1,906
100.0
.1
Coffee Industry
S e p a r a t e studies were made of the two divisions of the coffee in
dustry, but the report includes figures only as to the mill processes
of hauling, sorting, and polishing the bean. Agricultural data could
not be included because such operations were not going on at the time
the agents of the bureau visited the islands and it was impracticable
to locate coffee producers who employ any considerable number of
workers and retain copies of pay rolls beyond the season’s crop.
A succinct idea of the industry is given in the report of the governor
of the Territory for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1929, as follows:
The present acreage devoted to coffee production on the island of Hawaii, tho
only island on which coffee is produced on a commercial scale, is Kona district,
5,500 acres; Hamakua district, 400 acres; other districts, 100 acres.
In Kona district there are about 1,200 coffee farms, and at the height of the
picking season, during the past year, about 1,200 men and 850 women were
employed in the industry. The value of the coffee exported during the calendar
year 1928 was $1,368,826, the crop amounting to 5,151,266 pounds.
Rice Industry
T he rice industry in Hawaii dates as far back as 1859, when Mr.
Holstein, of the Hawaiian Agricultural Society, bought a piece of land
in Nuuanu Valley on which to carry out some experimental work on
various crops, of which rice was one. Rice had been introduced
previous to this date, but the first successful attempt was made by
Mr. Holstein. His success took the islands by storm. Taro lands
were acquired by rice planters in rapid succession, and for a time it
seemed as if the islands were to have a taro famine. This lasted only
for a few years, however, as losses and other discouraging factors
began to make their appearance. The taro industry came back with
a boom, reaching its height in 1865, when the rice industry made an
attempt to regain lost ground. This time it was more successful and
remained so until other industries came into being, when the industry
began to decline.
47707°— 31-------10
2 32
HAW AII— LABOR CONDITIONS
Although rice is still believed to be the world's greatest crop (with
a normal annual production of over 300,000,000,000 pounds), in
Hawaii the industry, instead of increasing, is rapidly declining. Rice
is the surest and most regular of the great crops and probably the
most staple food of the greatest number of people. At first glance,
one would think that with the oriental population of the Territory,
the industry should be in a very flourishing condition, but surveys
have proved that each year the total acreage in rice cultivation is
greatly reduced.
Rice culture began in the unrecorded past, yet the methods of
cultivation, in so far as science and technique are concerned, have
seen very little change. This is probably the sole reason why it is a
dying industry, when the pineapple and sugar-cane industries arc
advancing so rapidly. In 1907 when the pineapple industry was still
in its infancy, there were at least 10,000 acres of rice under extensive
cultivation, and rice was the second ranking crop in the Territory.
But to-day the Territory can not even produce enough for its own
local consumption and has to import large quantities from California
and Japan.
Almost all of the rice produced here is cultivated by Chinese and
Japanese, and as long as it is cultivated under the same crude methods
employed by the natives in the Orient centuries ago, rice will never
be on a profit-producing basis.
As things stand, the future of the industry looks very dark. A sur
vey has proved that in the last few years the total acreage has de
creased at least 50 per cent, and, as stated above, most of the planters
are Chinese and Japanese, ranging in age from 40 to 65 years. The
future will present another big problem, that regarding the labor
supply. Laborers of oriental descent are absolutely barred from
immigrating into the Territory and no other race is as yet in position
to take up this work.
Union Labor
L abor organizations in the Hawaiian Islands are few in number,
small in membership, and, with the exception of the barbers’ union,
have no agreements with the employers.
The trades or occupations that have organizations are machinists,
molders, moldere’ helpers, and boilermakers in foundries and machine
shops; hand compositors and linotype operators in book and job and
newspaper printing and publishing; marine engineers in steam navi
gation; carpenters and joiners, plasterers, and plumbers in building
construction and repair; and barbers in shops in which Japanese and
Filipinos are not employed. Table 10 shows the number of days
per week on which work was available to the employees in each of
these trades (except boilermakers and plasterers), in the companies
in which they were employed, the regular hours of operation Monday
to Friday, Saturday, and per week; wage rates per hour, day, week,
or month; and the number of times the regular rate that was paid
for overtime and for any work on Sunday and holidays. Boiler
makers and plasterers are entirely too few in number to warrant
showing any figures for them.
The members of the machinists’ union were employed in shops in
which work was available 6 days per week. The regular hours of
233
UNION LABOR
operation in the shops were 8 each day, Monday to Friday, and 4 on
Saturday, or 44 per week. The wage rates ranged from $7 to $7.84
for a day of 8 hours. For overtime or any time worked in excess of
8 hours, Monday to Friday, and 4 on Saturday, or any work on
Sundays and holidays, a rate of two times the regular rate was paid.
T a b l e 1 0 .— W O R K I N G T I M E A N D W A G E R A T E S OF U N IO N W O R K E R S , 1930, B Y
O C C U P A T IO N S
Hours
Trade or occupation
Machinists..............................................
Molders, floor, hand................... .......
Molders’ helpers....................... ..........
Compositors, hand, and linotype
operators.............................. ...............
Marine engineers........................ ..
Carpenters and joiners.......................
P lu m bers............................................
Barbers......... .......................................
Days
per
week
M onday
to Friday
Wage rates
per day
Saturday Per week
Times regu
lar rate for
overtime
and work oil
Sundayami
holidays
6
6
6
8
8
8
4
4
4
44
44
44
$7.00-$7.84
8.50
4.00-5.25
2
2
2
6
6
6
0
6
8
8
4
8
5
4y
44
1 35.00-85.00
48
2 150.00-300.00
48
4.50-6. 50
47
6.00-7.00
58>9
3 25.00
i
m
sy2
9H
.
ny2
m
1 Per week.
2 Per month.
3 Per week plus 60 cents for each $1 over $35 gross, for chair. Example: A barber in one week did wonc
amounting to $40. He was paid $25 plus 60 cents for each $1 over $35, or a total of $28.
At the time of the study of conditions in the Hawaiian Islands by
the bureau, the barbers’ union, which does not include any Japanese
or Filipinos, had agreements with six shops only.
The Honolulu Japanese Barbers’ Association, an employers’ organ
ization, consisted at that time of 191 members and employed approxi
mately 200 male and 100 female Japanese barbers. The hours in
these shops were from 7 a. m. to 8.30 p. m., Monday to Saturday, with
one hour off duty at or near noon for lunch, except on busy days,
usually Saturday, when only such time as could be had without
interfering with the trade was taken. The hours were therefore \2}{
per day, Monday to Friday, and 13% on Saturday, or 76 per week,
for which they were paid rates ranging from $15 to $25 per week and
given two meals per day. The barbers in these shops are not mem
bers of any union.
In 1929 there were approximately 150 plumbers hi Honolulu.
About 30 per cent of them were members of the plumbers’ union and
70 per cent were Japanese and other nonunion workers. Members
of the union were paid from $6 to $7 per day. The Japanese plumb
ers worked for contractors of their race and were paid from $3 to $5
per day. In the year 2,402 plumbing permits, at an estimated cost
of $704,695.50, were issued in Honolulu. ^ A total of 2,169 permits,
at an estimated cost of $567,196.50, were issued to Japanese contrac
tors, and only 233 permits, at an estimated cost of $137,499, were
issued to contractors who employed members of the union.
The carpenters’ union in Honolulu does not include any Japanese
and in 1929 and early in 1930 its membership was less than 33% per
cent of the total membership of the union in 1917-18. The union
rate was $6.50 per day of 8 hours, but many members were paid less
and some as low as $4.50 per day. It was estimated by officials of
the carpenters’ union that in 1929 and 1930 there were approximately
234
HAW AII
LABOll CONDITIONS
1,000 Japanese carpenters in the Hawaiian Islands, that they or the
contractors who employed them do practically all of the building of
cottages, repair and jobbing, much of the large contract work, and as
much as 90 per cent of all the carpentry work in Honolulu. The
rates paid Japanese carpenters range from $3.50 to $5 per day, the
latter rate being paid to working foremen.
HOUSING
235
Housing Activities
S THE passage of time diminishes the effect of war conditions
Lupon housing, there is a shift of emphasis as to the action needed.
A
At first the mere provision of shelter was imperative, and though the
desirability of well-planned and adequate housing was recognized, in
many cases the ideal had to be sacrificed to the need for haste. Now,
for certain classes normal conditions have been restored and for
others the shortage, while not wholly overcome, has been much
reduced, so that housing bodies are beginning to have time to look
over the field and take stock of the situation as a whole.
Pennsylvania has been urging action to secure better housing con
ditions in cities, boroughs, and townships throughout the State as
well as in the great industrial centers, while in Philadelphia the
Housing Association has given serious attention to the difficulties
which grew out of the building boom and to methods which should
be adopted to avoid future troubles of the same kind. The New
York State Board of Housing considers the type of housing which it
is desirable to encourage, the extent to which the shortage of dwellings
in New York City has been overcome, and the need of local regulation
of housing in the smaller cities. A model housing ordinance has been
drawn up in Pennsylvania for use by municipalities, and work is being
done toward a similar code in New York.
Pennsylvania’s Model Housing Ordinance
I
N 1927 the Pennsylvania Housing and Town Planning Association
secured the passage of a State act which authorizes each city,
borough, and first-class township in Pennsylvania to formulate its
own building and housing code. With this as a basis, an advisory
committee, consisting of representatives of various public and private
bodies interested in good housing, undertook to prepare an ordinance
which might be used as a basis by any municipality which wished to
prepare a housing code. It was found that the regulations needed
varied with the size of the community, so three models were prepared,
one containing only minimum housing requirements which places with
a population of 10,000 or less should be able to enforce through their
existing governmental machinery, and the second and third adding
to this minimum the more detailed regulations needed, respectively,
by medium-sized towns and large cities. The main features of the
basic ordinance are as follows:
This ordinance applies to all buildings used for human habitation.
It requires a standard window area for all rooms so as to assure adequate light
and ventilation and forbids the occupancy of windowless rooms.
When houses are on sewered streets they must be sewer connected and all privy
vaults adjacent thereto abandoned. New water-closets when installed must,
if it is feasible, be within the building.
A water supply and sink must be installed in every house and apartment when
a public water supply becomes accessible.
237
238
HOUSING
Privy vaults on nonsewered streets must be emptied when within two feet of
the ground level.
Power is given local officials to vacate dwellings which place life or health in
immediate jeopardy.
The individual who causes a nuisance is held responsible for it, while the occu
pant of a house or apartment is held jointly responsible with the owner for keep
ing it clean.
No condition that is or has a tendency to become a health nuisance shall be
allowed to remain in or about any dwelling.
Owners are required to keep all dwellings in good repair.
The need of such an ordinance, which the association is now recom
mending to all municipalities for adoption, is shown by the fact that
of the 44 cities in Pennsylvania only 24 have building regulations,
and very few cities or towns exercise any control over housing con
ditions.
Housing Situation in Philadelphia
D
URING 1929, the report of the Philadelphia Housing Associa
tion showed there was a marked falling off in the number of
houses and of family accommodations under permit.
For dwellings of all types this number was 4,196, as contrasted with 7,834 in
1928, and 13,067 in 1925, the peak year of building. In 1929 there were 5,918
family accommodations provided as against 11,192 and 15,308, respectively, for
the other two years. Thus in 1929 new houses under permit reached only 53.5
per cent of 1928 and 32.1 per cent of 1925. In family accommodations provided,
the respective percentages were 52.9 and 38.6. Family accommodations under
construction permits for 257 cities of the United States, as reported by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, totaled 62.8 per cent of 1928 construction and 49.6 per cent of
1925. It is apparent that dwelling construction in Philadelphia fell off more
markedly than was average in cities throughout the country. But on the other
hand, the completion of the 1929 construction program will close two remarkable
decades in dwelling construction in Philadelphia. The gross addition in all
types of houses for the twenty-year period was about 160,000 family accommoda
tions, or housing for 800,000 persons. Of these accommodations. 84 per cent
were in dwellings.
The single-family type of housing still holds the leading position in
Philadelphia, since 4,057 brick or stone houses under construction
during the year were for one family only, as against 80 two-family
dwellings, and 41 apartment houses. Of the family accommodations
provided 68.8 per cent were in 1-family houses, 2.7 per cent in 2-family
houses, and 28.4 per cent in apartment houses. In other words,
practically 7 of every 10 families who occupy the 1929 housing will
live in 1-family dwellings. The average number of family accommo
dations in the apartment houses was 41 per building. Since 1925
there has been a falling off in the amount annually spent for housing,
and this has been relative as well as absolute.
While there was a steady decline in money spent for all construction, the
shrinkage, both relative and actual, in housing expenditures and the expansion
in the proportion expended for commercial building is most noticeable in 1929.
In 1928, housing expenditures accounted for 47.9 per cent of all construction,
whereas in 1929 they totaled only 26.2 per cent.
Dwelling Costs
T he average cost of 1-family dwellings under construction in
Philadelphia during 1929 was $4,459, the average in different sections
ranging from $3,330 to $10,656. A study of sales prices, based on
SITUATION IN PHILADELPHIA
239
2,955 one-family brick or stone dwellings showed an average for the
city of $6,339, the average in different sections ranging from $4,895
to $7,937. The lowest price found was $4,500. The average sales
price was 36 per cent in excess of the average construction cost, but
here again there was considerable variation.
Including only districts where sales prices were obtained for more than 100
houses, that is, districts 4 to 8, and district 11, four showed a lower percentage
of sales price above construction cost than the city average. Thus the sixth
district showed 31.6 per cent, the eighth district 33.1 per cent, the fifth district
33.2 per cent, and the ninth district 36.5 per cent. The excess of sales price over
construction cost does not represent net profit but is profit plus the land and
improvements and the cost of selling. The difference in land values in different
sections may account for wide variations between estimated cost and sales
price, as may also faulty judgment in estimating costs. Builders report wide
variations in cost of improvements, arising from differences in street and lot
widths, grading, and subdividing. In one area where the percentage of difference
was very low, it is alleged that the builders cut their profits to a minimum in
order to expedite sales.
Sales were more frequent in the lower range of prices, ranging from
25 per cent of the houses in the $8,000 to $9,000 class to 54.6 per cent
for the group costing $5,000 or under. An analysis of construction
during the past seven years shows a steady decline in the average sales
price of 1-family houses, following a decline in the average estimated
cost, and shows also that the percentage of total construction in the
lower price ranges has increased. In 1923, less than 45 per cent of
the houses were placed on the market at a sales price of $7,000 and
under. In 1929, on the basis of incomplete data, this figure approxi
mated 79 per cent.
Acute Problems in the Housing Field
T h r e e serious situations have become evident during the year 1929.
First, housing construction fell off sharply, with a prospect that this
decline would continue; second, real estate sales declined; and third,
the number of forced sales of houses reached a peak for the 10-year
period. A study of vacancies, rentals, and population growth makes
it seem probable that the falling off in building is not due to an
oversupply of family accommodations.
It is much more likely that present abnormal conditions can be attributed to
faulty judgment in the distribution of construction in sales-price ranges beyond
the reach of the average buyer, to unemployment, and to the culpable practices
resorted to in forcing sales and in calling mortgages. There is abundant proof
that these factors have been operative.
During the decade just closed, the report points out, the demand for
houses led inany inexperienced builders into the field, who, lacking
technique in mass construction or sales promotion or both and being
without credit rating so that they were unable to secure money at
reasonable rates, built under a heavy handicap as to economical
construction. Many of these houses were placed on the market at
a price beyond the means of the prospective buyers, who were led to
buy through a belief that cheaper houses would not again be built
in Philadelphia and who, in order to secure shelter, took houses winch
they could not carry. Heavy building brought down rents and
prices, speculative builders were forced out of the field, and many of
those who had bought found themselves in difficulties. “ Unemploy
ment and part-time employment found many such owners unable to
240
HOUSING
meet their taxes, interest, and building and loan association dues.
Many mortgagees have not helped the situation. They declined to
renew mortgages when due unless the mortgagors increased their
equity and substantially reduced their first mortgages. Lacking
available funds to meet such demands and faced with added fees
charged for renewals, the mortgagors found themselves trapped.”
Analyzing the situation in detail, the conclusions are reached that
the confidence of the public in dwellings and mortgages for invest
ment purposes has been undermined, and that return to normal
conditions will be delayed until that confidence is restored; that there
is little if any oversupply of dwellings in Philadelphia, as the vacancy
rate is still below 5 per cent; that the difficulties now experienced can
be traced directly to definite factors, such as the faulty practices of
builders and sellers during the past decade, unemployment, and the
like; and that there is much need of a reliable bureau of information.
An outstanding need in the construction field is an adequately financed statis
tical service to assemble and interpret data pertaining to construction, sales,
buying-power capacity, population trends, cost-reducing methods and like in
formation to put dwelling construction and sales on a more reliable basis. Such
data would enable builders, banks, mortgagors, buyers, and sellers to act in their
several capacities with more intelligence and would reduce materially the mis
information now disseminated with such injurious results. More sales would be
made, more lower priced dwellings would be erected, mortgage investment would
be protected, and fewer losses to home owners would result if such service were
established.
Rental Changes
T h e usual annual su rvey o f rental changes show ed a m arked
tendency tow ard stabilization.
T h e follow ing table gives the results
o f these surveys for eight years p a st:
R E N T A L C H A N G E S I N P H I L A D E L P H IA D U R I N G A N 8 -Y E A R P E R IO D
Per cent showing—
Year of survey
Number of
properties
Per cent
of change
Increase
1922............................................................................
1923- .................................................................. .......
1924-................................................................ ..........
1925-..........................................................................
1926.............................................................................
1927 ............................................................................
1928............... ..................... ................................... ..
1929..................................... .......................................
1,159
1,055
1,689
2,082
2,346
2,665
2,935
2,043
28.0
64.45
56.0
25.8
2 1 .0
11.22
6.45
5.0
Decresise
2 .66
5.6
7.0
18.8
33.25
29.5
N o change
72.0
35.55
41.3
68 .6
72.0
69.98
60.3
65.5
4-5.3
+ 20.99
+ 14,27
+ 4 .4 6
+ 3 .0 1
- 1 .5 5
- 4 .9
-3 .9
The percentage of properties showing rental increases, it will be
noticed, has fallen steadily since 1923; the percentage showing
decreases changed very little up to 1927, when it first become impor
tant. There were fewer changes in 1929 than in the preceding year,
and the net change was smaller.
Rents on the average are still 104 per cent greater than they were in 1914,
although for properties occupied by white tenants the rate above 1914 is 92.7 per
cent as against 116 per cent for those occupied by negro tenants. The lowest
increase in rents during the 1914-1929 period among white tenants appears in
the southeast district, where among the properties studied it is now only 73 per
cent above the earlier date.
The most pronounced rent decreases during 1929 were found in
the higher rental ranges. However, for the first time since rents
NEEDS AND EXPERIMENTS IN N E W YORK
241
reached their peak, a decrease appeared in the average rent of
properties in the group letting for less than $20 a month. Fewer
houses were vacated than in the preceding year, and fewer tenants
moved from one dwelling to another. The vacancy rate was higher
than shown in the 1928 study, but an analysis of the vacant houses
showed that they were lacking in modem conveniences. About
62 per cent lacked indoor toilets, 68.5 per cent lacked bathtubs,
72 per cent were without furnaces, and in 16 per cent the artificial
lighting was by means of kerosene lamps. The report strongly urges
bringing such properties up to standard, for the benefit of both
landlords and tenant^.
Most of these dwellings are structurally sound and are located near industrial
or commercial establishments, making them desirable homes for workingmen
because of their location. Owners of vacant houses would benefit from installing
needed equipment, for by bringing their dwellings nearer to new housing standards
they would make them more readily rentable. * * *
The suggestion frequently made by the association that landlords should cater
to the legitimate needs of their tenants is particularly valuable at the present
time in view of the so-called depression throughout the real estate market.
Property maintenance would be more economical, tenants would be less likely to
move, and net returns would be much more advantageous for the owners of rental
properties.
Housing Needs and Housing Experiments in New York
HE report of the State Board of Housing of New York dated
March 6, 1929, gave a review of housing conditions, prevailing
rents, and available dwelling space in New York City and Buffalo,
with respect to which the legislature of 1928 declared that a public
emergency, justifying the continuance of the rent law, still existed.
The board found that there had been a progressive improvement in
housing conditions in both these cities, and that there was no longer
any need for the restrictive rent laws originally passed to meet the
housing stringency which followed the war, and therefore recom
mended that these laws should be allowed to lapse automatically on
May 31, 1929. The housing problem has now reached a point where
solution lies in the further promotion of the constructive policy
embodied in the State housing law.
T
Need of Local Housing Regulations
T he year's work of the board included a preliminary study of
housing conditions in cities and first-class villages of the State, which
brought out the fact that bad housing is more widespread than is
generally recognized. “ Some of the worst housing conditions are
commonly found in the smaller cities and even villages.”
In the course of the boards investigation, inquiry frequently brought forth the
response that the city had no bad housing. But in most instances inspection
disclosed rear dwellings, ally dwellings, occupied dwellings so old and in such
disrepair as to be unfit for human habitation, three and four story frame tene
ments without fire escapes, tenements with wooden hallways and stairs, yard
toilets, overcrowidng of families, and overcrowding of the land. Conditions in
smaller communities may differ somewhat from those in large centers of popula
tion, but they are not infrequently in some respects worse.
Enactment of an adequate building and housing code is essential
to overcome such conditions and to prevent their spread, and this
242
HOUSING
should be reinforced by a proper zoning ordinance. At the request
of a number of local authorities, a cooperative committee was formed
to draft a model code whose provisions can be readily adapted to the
needs of cities of different sizes. The board has also acted as adviser
in the direction of local surveys, and is prepared to assist the cities
of the State in the adoption of municipal ordinances with respect to
housing, zoning, and planning, and in constructive efforts to provide
new housing under the law.
Vacancies in New York City
B uilding was carried on actively throughout the year in New
York City, with the result that there was a steady increase in the
number of vacant apartments, the number rising from 83,459 at the
beginning to 102,158 at the end of 1928, an increase of over 22 per cent.
The present vacancy figure is particularly striking when we recall that in 1921,
about that time the legislature first declared the existence of a housing emergency,
the total number of vacant apartments had gone down to 1,500. At that time
only 0.15 per cent of all the existing apartments in new and old law tenements
were untenanted. Now, 7.76 per cent of the total are vacant. In 1921 only
three in every 2,000 apartments were vacant, but now 155 of them are unoccu
pied.
A striking fact was that the vacancies were found largely among the
tenements having the lowest rentals. “ More than 11,000 of the
vacant apartments are offered at rentals below $5 per room per month.
Nearly 49,000, or close to one-half, of all the vacancies are below $8
per room per month.” These low rentals were found, without excep
tion, in the old-law tenements, and often in apartments absolutely
unfit for habitation. Of those vacated since 1921, about 39,000
have been demolished, but nevertheless a population of more than
1,700,000 persons is still housed in old-law tenements.
Most of these are structurally inadequate and can not be altered so as to meet
even the most modest of modern standards; and yet, unless the present rate of
evacuation is materially accelerated, many of the old-law tenements will still be
in use 30 to 50 years from now. It would appear, then, that although present
conditions in New York City mark a tremendous improvement over the situa
tion existing at the beginning of the decade, the housing problem for a large por
tion of the population is still serious.
Tax-Exempt Housing Enterprises
A considerable portion of the report was devoted to housing ex
periments made possible through the operation of the State law and
city ordinances exempting housing which conforms to certain specifi
cations from State and local taxation for a term of years. The im
portance of such experiments is found in the fact that little of the
housing erected by private enterprise is within the reach of the wageearning classes. The commission’s studies have shown that in New
York wage earners are almost wholly included within the class earn
ing under $2,500 a year, which means that normally none should pay
more than $600 a year for rent, while their average rental limit is
$500 a year; in other words, they can not afford to pay more than
$12.50 per room per month. But little housing is to be had at those
rates, except in the wholly undesirable old-law tenements.
Less than 3 per cent of the total new construction in the year 1924 was offered
at rents of $12.50 per room per month or less. Ninety-seven per cent of the total
243
NEEDS AND EXPERIMENTS IN N E W YORK
construction was available only to that 30 per cent of all the families of the city
whose annual income is in excess of $2,500.
During 1928 three projects under the new housing law were ap
proved by the board, the Farband Housing Corporation building,
the Brooklyn Garden Apartments, and an extension of the Amalga
mated Housing Corporation buildings. The work done by the
Amalgamated Corporation was described in the Labor Review,
August, 1928 (p. 1) and March, 1929 (p. 138).
Farband Housing Corporation.—This corporation, sponsored by the
Jewish National Workers’ Alliance of America, has constructed two
new building units, six stories high, of brick and steel construction,
containing 443 rooms and 122 dining alcoves, divided into 130 apart
ments of three, four, and five rooms, the majority of the apartments
being of four rooms and bath.
Each building is provided with push-button elevator service. The apartments
are served with steam heat, electric light, and hot and cold water. Each apart
ment contains a bathroom, ample closet space, and modern equipment throughout.
The average gross floor area per room is 264 square feet. As the site is surrounded
by streets on three sides, and as the center court runs from north to south, every
apartment in the buildings receives good light and ventilation.
The total land cost was $82,500 and the building cost $592,500. Of the total
cost of $675,000 for land and buildings, $450,000 was obtained on a first mortgage
loan from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. at 5 per cent per annum, and the
remaining equity, in the amount of $225,000, was subscribed by prospective
tenant owners.
The buildings were completed and occupied in November. The monthly
rental has been fixed at $11 per room and $5 per room for the dining alcoves.
In this enterprise particular attention has been given to the cultural
and social needs of the tenants.
The income of the tenant owners has been estimated as ranging from
$35 to $45 per week; allowing for seasonal unemployment in their
respective trades, the annual income is approximately $1,800. The
estim ated income and expenditures of the enterprise are as follows:
Annual income from rentals___________________________$65, 796
Estimated annual charges:
Maintenance at $40 a room______________ $20, 000
Land and water taxes____________________
3, 000
Insurance_______________________________
2, 000
Interest and amortization------------------------ 31, 500
------------ 56, 500
Available for dividends-------------------------------------
9, 296
Brooklyn Garden Apartments.—This project was sponsored by a
citizens’ committee appointed by the Brooklyn Chamber of Com
merce. A plot containing 20 lots was obtained in one of the oldest
tenement areas of Brooklyn, and upon it a model apartment building
is being put up, to contain 677 rooms, divided into 164 apartments.
Every apartment contains a bathroom and all modern conveniences,
including steam heat and electric light. The rent is to be adjusted
according to the desirability of the apartments, ranging from $9 to
$11.30 per room per month, the average being $10.50. Tenants are
invited to buy stock, but the purchase is not compulsory.
The sponsors feel that to make the plan fully cooperative would require
monthly payments larger than the families they hope to reach can afford to pay.
If the tenants buy a small amount of stock, they will feel the responsibility of
ownership. Most of the families can afford an investment of $100 or $200.
244
HOUSING
This project is to be completed during the present summer, and its
sponsors are so well pleased with the possibilities which the plan has
developed that they are already embarked upon a second plan, which
involves buying up a slum area, clearing it, and putting up modern
apartments to rent at less than $11 a room a month. The board
feels that the success of these various projects has justified the State
housing law.
The primary objective of the State housing law was to bring adequate housing
within the economic reach of families earning less than $2,500 per.annum. That
this can be done under the law is now assured.
Housing Standards in New York
I
N ITS report to the Governor and Legislature of New York for
1930,
the State board of housing gives some discussion as to the
kind of housing which it will approve for the benefits of the State
housing law. In the postwar housing emergency, ill-constructed and
badly-planned buildings were put up without reference to future
conditions, designed only to get the advantage of the current high
rents. As the housing situation has become easier, these buildings
have tended to be more and more deserted in favor of the better struc
tures since erected, and as the owners can not, if they would, keep up
the repairs, the properties are deteriorating and represent not only a
loss but a danger to the community. To prevent further develop
ments of this kind, the board has decided that it will not approve
projects unless they show a superiority to available housing and are of
such a kind that there is no likelihood of their becoming substandard
within a short time. Large-scale projects are encouraged as being
not only cheaper but better, and the reservation of adequate spaces
between buildings for gardens and playgrounds is insisted on. The
question of adequate ventilation is given primary consideration, and
cross ventilation is strongly favored.
A more radical departure is in regard to the use of elevators. Not
many years ago, it is pointed out, walk-up tenements six and even
seven stories high were considered perfectly proper for persons of
limited means, but at present the tendency is distinctly away from
buildings of over four, or at most five, stories unless elevators are
installed. The board has therefore engaged in a study of elevator
costs as applied to projects coming under its supervision. As long
as elevators required individual operators they were too expensive a
luxury for low-rent apartments, but the introduction of the automatic
elevator has so changed the situation that such service has practically
stepped out of the luxury class and is rapidly becoming a common
adjunct of the modern apartment house. The cost varies with the
number of rooms served. Among the completed projects under the
State housing law are two which represent the extremes of elevator
service, the first having approximately 100, while the second has over
220 rooms per elevator. In these two projects the added cost involved
in providing automatic elevator service ranges from 50 cents to about
$1.13 per room per month. At present the board will not approve a
6-story walk-up project, nor a 5-story one unless it is so arranged
STANDARDS IN N E W YORK
245
that the apartments of the top story are let at a lower rent than the
others. For a walk-up apartment there is a tendency to set four
stories as the standard. A 6-story building, however, since it permits
a larger number of rooms on the same ground area, is cheaper, and
will be approved if it is provided with automatic elevators. As
between a 4-story walk-up and a 6-story automatic elevator structure,
with the same coverage of ground, ana with an elevator serving 100
rooms, the net difference in the rent per room is in favor of the ele
vator structure if the cost of the ground is $5 or more per square foot;
as compared with a 5-story walk-up, the 6-story elevator building is
a little more expensive, but the difference is small.
Assuming 160 rooms as a normal burden per elevator in a 6-story structure*
we may generalize that on land costing $5 per square foot the additional rent the
tenant must pay in a nonfireproof 6-story elevator building, as compared with a
similar 5-story walk-up, is only about $0.18 per room per month. Similarly, on
land valued at $3 per square foot the added rent is only $0.34 per room per month.
Present Housing Situation in New York City
S in c e the legislature in 1920 declared the existence o f a public
em ergency w ith respect to housing, the situation has w h olly changed.
In the year 1921 only 309 tenements, containing 4,199 new apartment suites,
were erected in the entire city. Of the total housing in the city only 0.0015 [per
cent] wras vacant, as against a normal vacancy in pre-war years of 5 per cent.
Since that time more than 24,000 multifamily buildings have been erected, con
taining more than 425,000 apartments. The net increase in the number of apart
ments in all dwellings erected during the period amounts to more than 600,000.
This increase in the physical supply of housing was more than sufficient to meet
the demands of increasing population. It brought an end to the housing short
age. The increase in the volume of dwelling space in New York City has resulted
in the partial abandonment of some of the worst housing. A year ago the board
recorded more than 100,000 vacancies—7.76 per cent of the total number of apart
ments in the city.
Approximately half of all the vacant apartments are in old tenements. Approx
imately 60 per cent of all the vacancies in the city rent for less than $10 per room
per month, and of these approximately 80 per cent are in the old-law tenements.
About 11 per cent of the vacancies are offered at rentals below $5 per room per
month.
In spite of the vacancies, some of the worst of the old-law tene
ments were found to be still occupied. A recent investigation in the
East Side showed 433 rear houses, with a minimum of light and
ventilation, providing “ the lowest type of shelter in the city,” which
nevertheless are the homes of 1,955 families, composing a population
of 10,000 men, women, and children. In some cases the tenant of
these houses pays no rent at all—73 free tenements were found—
and in other rents are far below those prevailing throughout the city.
The report contains a discussion of the fire hazard in the outer
portions of the city where mass production of frame houses has
developed, considers the difficulties in the way of enforcing the tene
ment house law, and contains a list of proposed amendments to the
State housing law, which have been developed 011 the basis of the
board’s experience.
24 C
HOUSING
Housing in Relation to Certain Social Problems in
Detroit
HOUSE-TO-HOUSE canvass of the city of Detroit (with the
exception of the Hamtramck district) was made in 1929 by the
Detroit Department of Health, in order to determine what, if any,
relation existed between housing conditions and juvenile delinquency,
major crime, and important health problems.1 The returns were
divided into 10 classes, each class covering about the same population
but graded according to the index of density (i. e., average number of
persons per room), ranging from an index of 0.6013 in class 1 to an
index of 1.0497 in class 10.
One of the significant findings was with regard to infant mortality,
the rates per 1,000 births in the three most crowded districts being
78.65, 95.01, and 83.82 as against rates of 63.81, 57.35, and 52.86 in
the three least crowded districts.
Upon the subject of children’s diseases the figures showed that
the rate per thousand for diphtheria is much higher in the congested
districts. Deaths from pneumonia, while varying greatly among
similar groups, also showed a tremendous excess of deaths in the
congested groups as against the less congested ones. For instance in
class 2, where the index of density was 0.6615, the deaths from
pneumonia wrere 63.47 per 100,000 population, whereas in class 7,
with an index of density of 0.8251, the rate per 100,000 was 114.14;
in class 8, with an index of density of 0.8729, there was a death rate
from pneumonia of 113.56; in class 9, with a density index of 0.9297,
the rate was 124.98. While this was much higher than in class 10,
which had an index of density of 1.0497 and a death rate from pneu
monia of 100.25 per 100,000, yet this latter group was much higher
than the classes with a smaller index of density.
The same facts appeared as regards deaths from tuberculosis, where
the four highest density groups had a tuberculosis death rate per
100,000 population of 114.89, 128.33, 135.46, and 132.64, as against a
death rate from tuberculosis of 66.96, 44.90, and 44.62 in the three
lowest density groups.
In the matter of criminal record there was a very marked difference
between the cases of major crime per 1,000 population as the density
index increases. While the rate of increase was not uniform, the crim
inal record which started with 1.031 for the lowest density group,
found.its climax in group 7, wrhich showed 7.464, rather than in group
10, which showed 6.092. Nevertheless the general trend was such that
the report made a conclusive case as to the relation between population
density and crime.
This was also apparent in delinquency cases among children, where
the rate per 1,000 increased with a fair degree of regularity from the
low to the high density index. The rate in the low density group was
1.293 per 1,000 of population. It was 5.239 in class 9 and 4.789 in
class 10.
A
* Detroit Department of Health.
C ity Health, July and August, 1929.
247
HOUSING
Cooperative Housing Societies in 1929
C
OOPERATIVE housing is as yet comparatively little developed
in the United States. There are altogether only 45 such enter
prises in the United States, 2 being in Washington, D. C., and the
remainder in Greater New York. Data obtained by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics in the course of its study of the cooperative move
ment in the United States in 1929 (Bui. No. 531) show that two of
these organizations are operating residential hotels while the other
43 own apartment buildings. Of the 25 societies from which the
bureau received reports for 1929, only 6 were formed since 1925
(when the bureau’s last previous study was made). Two other
housing projects, begun in 1930 and hence not covered in the bureau's
study, are described on page 248.
Apartment Buildings
T he 23 organizations operating apartment buildings, which
reported, have provided living quarters for 2,306 families and control
property whose original cost aggregated $10,845,386.
When the individual becomes a member of a housing society he
subscribes for a certain amount of capital stock in the society esti
mated as covering the cost of the apartment or dwelling he will occupy.
This total cost is arrived at after consideration of a number of factors;
the total cost of land, building and other expenses connected there
with are taken as a basis and the cost of each dwelling is determined
according to the number of rooms, floor space, location, and other
points of advantage or disadvantage. The cost figure so arrived at
for each individual apartment is the price which the prospective
tenant must pay, and the amount for which he must subscribe stock
in the society. This stock may be paid for either as a whole or in
installments, according to the requirements of the by-laws.
In the societies reporting, the average cost per room was as follows:
Number of
societies
$170_______
$190_______
$250_______
$275-$400 2_
$340_______
$350_______
$400_______
$457_______
$500_______
$587_______
_____1
_____1
_____2
_____1
_____1
_____1
_____1
_____1
___ __ 3
_____1
Number of
societies
$700._
$725._
$835.
$1,080.
$1,200_
$1,487.
$1,646.
Total_____________
20
It is seen that in 60 per cent of the societies the average cost per
room is $500 or less, and in only 20 per cent does the cost exceed $1,000
per room.
When the apartment is taken, the member is required to make a
down payment of varying amount, and the rest is included as part of
the monthly “ rent," which also covers maintenance costs, interest, etc.
Generally, any redecorating must be done at the tenant's expense.
2 According to location of apartment.
47767°—31-----17
248
HOUSING
The initial payment required and the average monthly charge per
room are shown in the following table:
AVERAGE INITIAL PAYMENT REQUIRED AND MONTHLY RENTAL CHARGED
BY HOUSING SOCIETIES
Item
Number
ber of
societies
Initial payment
Number
ber of
societies
Average monthly rental
Per dwelling:
$500...................................................
$580 or $670...................................
$665...................................................
$ 1,000 ...............................................
$l,000-$2,400..................................
$1,100, $1,300, $1,600, or $2,000.
$ 1,200 ...............................................
$1,250...............................................
$1,400 to $2,000.............................
$1,500...............................................
$1,700...............................................
$2,000 ...............................................
Per room:
$125..................................................
$150.................................................
$250..................................................
$300..................................................
$350.................................................
$375..................................................
Total...........................................
Item
Per room:
$4.00........................................
$5.00........................................
$6.00........................................
$6.40........................................
$6.75........................................
$7.00....................................... .
$8.00....................................... .
$8.60.......... ............. .............. .
$9.00........ .......... ................... .
$10.00.......................- ............ .
$10.50..................... ................
$10.70.............................. ........
$11.00...............................
$11.50.................................... .
$11.97..................................... .
dflO KA
$ i 4 :o o o V $ i i :5 o ::::::::::::
Total..................................... .
22
20
Of the societies reporting, only four give title to the tenant pur
chasing an apartment, while in the rest of the cases the society retains
the title, the tenant being given merely a lease (in one case only a
month-to-month lease). However, 12 societies allow the tenant to
sublet his apartment, though one of these prohibits his receiving any
profit from the transaction. In one building, 7 of the 17 apartments
were rented to nonmembers at the time the report was made. Four
teen societies allow the member to sell his apartment for what he can
get, but in two cases the society must be given first chance to buy it,
and in one case the purchaser must be acceptable to the society.
Two other societies allow the sale of apartments by the tenantmembers, but in one case the society sets the sale price and in the other
the member is prohibited from making a profit on the sale. In five
cases, if the member wishes to give up his apartment he must turn it
over to the society, as he does not own the apartment, but merely has
a lease.
Residential Hotels
B oth of the residential hotels are in Washington, D. C., and are
owned by groups of women probably the majority of whom are in the
Government service. Together they provide living quarters for 580
persons.
Developments in 1930
A nother housing project was undertaken early in 1930 by the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers. The latest group, containing 225
apartments, is situated in the lower East Side of the city, in the block
bounded by Grand, Columbia, Broome, and Sheriff Streets.3
s Data are from The
Advance, Feb. 14,1930, and New York Times, issues of Jan. 7 and Jan. 20,1930.
COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN 1929
249
Two members of the State housing board purchased the land on
which the buildings will stand. This plot was transferred to the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers, which through a subsidiary organiza
tion, the Amalgamated Dwellings (Inc.), is supervising the construc
tion of modem apartment buildings for the occupancy of persons of
moderate means.
It is stated that the buildings will be equipped with electric refriger
ators, incinerators, elevators, and “ every other modern improve
ment.^ The buildings will occupy only 59 per cent of the ground
space.
These buildings being erected on the cooperative plan, each tenant
is required to make an investment of $500 per room, of which $150
per room must be forthcoming as a first payment. The other 70 per
cent of the investment can be borrowed from the Amalgamated
Bank of New York, the sum so borrowed to be repayable in 10 years.
At the end of that time the tenant will own his apartment, and will
have to pay only the expenses of operation and upkeep.
The monthly rental will be $12.50 per room. This is more than was
charged for the Amalgamated apartments in the Bronx, where the
average rental per room per month was $11, but the union explains
that this was necessary because of the higher cost of the land on which
the new buildings will stand.
It is reported that in connection with the apartment houses there
will be a cooperative service corporation, through which the tenants
will buy their supplies, similar to the one in operation in the Bronx
apartments.
The cooperative housing field was entered in 1931 by Consumers’
Cooperative Services, a cafeteria organization of New York City.
The society’s cafeterias, of course, serve nonmembers as well as
members, and as it was desired not to make a profit on nonmembers’
patronage, the earnings from that source have been covered into a
fund for the extension of consumers’ cooperation. On September 30,
1929, the report showed that this reserve amounted to $136,382.
In addition the society had, during the 10 years of its existence,
returned to its members $14,000 as interest on capital and more than
$50,000 in rebates on their patronage.
It was decided in October, 1928, to use the extension reserve to
provide living accommodations for some of the members. The reason
for entering this field was that this “ is a field where the consumer
suffers most heavily because of speculative building, speculation in
land values, and the operation of private profit business as landlord.”
Various obstacles to the housing program arose, however, and not
until 1930 was it possible to continue.
A plot of ground was acquired on West Twenty-first Street, opposite
the campus of the General Theological Seminary. On it a 12-story,
fireproof building has been erected, containing 66 apartments of from
1 to 4 rooms each. Automatic elevator service is provided. The
monthly rentals of the apartments range from $25 to $35 per room. A
food service for tenants is planned, as well as recreational facilities on
the roof.
The houses were ready for occupancy about October 1 ,1930.4
4 Data are from Cooperation (New York), March and April, 1930; annual and special reports of Con
sumers’ Cooperative Services (Inc.); and data furnished directly to the bureau by the society.
250
HOUSING
An Experiment in Negro Housing in New York City
NUMBER of the experiments in cooperative apartment building
and other projects for provising improved housing at moderate
prices in New York City have been so planned as to secure the benefits
of tax remission under the State housing law. In Harlem, however,
there is an interesting example of a model apartment building, pro
vided with club rooms, nurseries, playgrounds, and similar community
benefits, built without tax exemptions, which is carrying itself on a
cooperative basis, and in which the tenants are working toward full
ownership. This project, the Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments,
was described in the issues of the Crisis for October and November,
1928, and these articles have since been reprinted as a separate
pamphlet.
The plan was undertaken as an experiment in meeting the housing
difficulties of some of the Negroes who migrated to New York during
and after the war period. The overcrowding among the Negro popu
lation, due largely to the difficulty of securing any accommodation
within their means, was notorious. Even those who might have com
bined to build found it almost impossible to do so on account of dis
criminations against them on the part of financial institutions. More
over, many of the newcomers were not used to city fife, and such
efforts at cooperation as were made were apt to suffer from the diffi
culty of excluding the careless, dishonest, or otherwise undesirable
element.
The suggestion of cooperatively owned apartments which should
at one and the same time provide desirable living quarters and train
the occupants in the art of living together came from John D. Rocke
feller, jr., who also sponsored the plan and took the responsibility
of financing it. He bought an entire block and on it erected six
independent buildings, so related as to make a harmonious whole,
covering 49.7 per cent of the ground area. The architect made a
point of beauty.
A
He made the buildings first of all beautiful, not gaudy and overloaded with
ornamentation, but built with brick of warm color and soft texture, in well pro
portioned masses, with sparing use of carving and wrought iron. He left a
great space in the center open for grass, trees, shrubbery, and a playground,
building the dwellings but two rooms deep, and disposing them so as to make a
series of wings and towers which concealed the fire escapes and gave a pleasing
vista.
The buildings contain 511 apartments, ranging in size from three
to seven rooms. There are also a doctor’s suite, a dentist’s suite, and
10 stores, all of which are rented on a commercial basis, the rent
being turned back to reduce the necessary payments upon the
apartments.
The rooms are small, the kitchens being about 7 by 10 feet, the dining rooms,
11 by 12, the living and bed rooms, 10 by 11, 13, or 15 feet. The ceilings are 8
feet 1 inch high, and the decorations and finishing are simple but good. There is
of course electricity, hot and cold water, washtubs and gas ranges, refrigerators
and dumb waiters. The buildings are five and six stores high without elevators
or roof gardens, but with wide brick entries and iron stairways and flagged
landings.
The actual cost of the land and buildings, including architect’s fees,
insurance, and taxes during construction, with interest at 5 per cent
on the money advanced, was $3,330,000. Beyond the 5 per cent
BUILDING STATISTICS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES
251
interest no charge was made for financing the project nor for the
services of Mr. Rockefeller’s staff in developing the whole plan.
Only stockholders can be tenants and only tenants can be stock
holders. A tenant must subscribe for an amount of stock represent
ing the cost of the apartment he selects, and must make a down pay
ment of $50 per room. He is then given a lease for three years with
the privilege of renewal yearly thereafter. The average rent is
$14.50 per room per month, of which approximately 54 per cent is
applied as principal and interest on the purchase of the apartment,
and 46 per cent goes for taxes, upkeep, insurance, and other charges.
It is calculated that in about 22 years the tenants will have paid for
the entire project, including the land, and will then have an equity in
the apartments averaging for each tenant over $6,600.
The buildings were opened in February, 1928, and in less than six
months every one of the 511 apartments had been sold. There was
a little hesitation at first, however, on account of the small rooms, the
strict leases, and the rents, which were considered high. Also, there
was the matter of regulation. Those who took the apartments
appeared to feel that they were submitting to a kind of self-denying
ordinance, but that in so doing they were setting a new standard for
Harlem living.
The great evils of living in Harlem, and, so far as that is concerned, in any
poor neighborhood, with people of any race, are noise, overcrowding, crime and
delinquency, dirt and ugliness. In the Dunbar Apartment, noise is regulated by
playgrounds and by time limits for parties, radio, and music, limits which are
sometimes irksome, but which aUow people to sleep. Overcrowding is limited
by the size of the rooms themselves and by rules against lodgers. Delinquency
and crime are kept down by a careful sifting of applicants, by the uniformed
watchmen day and night, and by peremptory dispossess for evildoers. Dirt
and ugliness are attacked by various and sometimes minute regulations about
bottles on window sills, shaking mops out of windows and down the dumb
waiters, disposal of garbage, hanging of clothes, and other rules of that sort which
seem to many people an interference with individual liberty, but which are in
fact education for the necessities of a changed social existence.
The operation as well as the occupancy of the apartments is con
fined to the colored race, the entire staff from the manager down
being Negroes. The consensus is that although the experiment has
been in operation but a comparatively short time it is a success.
The amount of noise has been astonishingly reduced, compared with
other communities of the same size, lodgers are not nearly so numer
ous as elsewhere, and the buildings are kept clean and beautiful.
“ On the whole, the people are contented and happy, and are paying
their rents. ”
Building Statistics in Principal Cities of the United
States
HE Bureau of Labor Statistics collects monthly figures as to build
ing permits from cities of the United States having a population
T
of 25,000 or over. Reports appear in each issue of the Labor Review,
showing by geographic divisions the number and estimated cost of
the buildings for which permits were issued in these cities. Detailed
reports are issued annually showing by cities the number and esti
mated expenditures for each of the different classes of buildings for
which reports are received. Reports were received for the calendar
years 1929 and 1930 from 311 of the 319 cities of the United States
252
HOUSING
which had a population of 25,000 or over according to the 1920
census.
In studying the following tables it should be borne in mind that
the costs shown refer to the cost of the buildings only. No land
costs are included. The costs are estimated by the builder at the
time of applying for his permit to build and are recorded on his
application.
The States of Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and
Pennsylvania through their departments of labor are cooperating
with the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the collection of these data.
Amount and Cost of Building, 1929 and 1930
T able 1 shows the total number of new buildings and the estimated
cost of each of the different kinds of new buildings for which permits
were issued in the 311 cities from which reports were received for
the years 1929 and 1930; the per cent that each kind forms of the
total number; the per cent that the cost of each kind forms of the
total cost; and the average cost per building.
T a bl e 1 .— N U M B E R A N D C O S T O F N E W B U I L D I N G S S H O W N O N P E R M I T S IS S U E D
IN 311 C IT IE S , 1929 A N D 1930, B Y K I N D OF B U I L D I N G
New buildings for which permits were issued
1929
Estimated cost,
1929
1930
Estimated cost,
1930
1929
Kind of building
N um
ber
Per N um Per
cent ber cent
Amount
Per
cent
Am ount
Per
cent
Aver
age
cost
per
build
ing
Aver
age
cost
per
build
ing
RESIDENTIAL
1-family dwellings................
2 -family dwellings............ ..
1-family
and
2 -family
dwellings with stores
combined........................... .
M ultifamily dwellings___
M u ltifa m ily dw ellings
with stores combined. . .
Hotels......................................
Lodging houses.....................
All other..................................
T o t a l ..........................
104,798 34.1 61,656 29.3 $516,296,221 19.4 $306,185,802 20.3
12,990 4.2 7,187 3.4 “ ^98,741 3.7 53,985,588
$4,927 $4,966
7,621 7,512
.4
14,354,773
.5
.5
6,985,654
1.4 490,957,201 18.4 193,174,494 12.8
. 1 34,826,808 1.3 12.249.912
.8
9,525 7,993
73,695 63,980
62,302 59,756
1,507
6,662
559
275
23
138
.5
2.2
.2
874
1,019
205
79
8
11
170
.1
284,604,413 10.7
428,569
37,011,151
1.4
0)
24,777,624
219,000
28.322.912
1.61,034,925 313,641
18,633 19,909
0)
1.9 268,197 166,605
126,952 41.3 73,201 34.8 1,477,477,877 55.4 625,900,986
11,638
8,550
NONRESIDENTIAL
musement buildings____
C hurches--............................
Factories and workshops..
Public garages..................... .
Private garages.....................
Service stations................... .
Institutions.......................... .
Office buildings....................
Public buildings..................
Public works and utilities.
Schools and libraries......... .
Sheds........................................
Stables and barns................
Stores and warehouses___
All other..................................
748
855
3,927
4,071
135,637
4,207
274
1,136
327
629
753
10,649
324
12,038
4,535
.2
1,900
43,215,396
.3 40,881,577
698
2,679 1.3 141,620,127
.9 49,198,147
1,948
97,458 46.4 48,637,185
5,778 2.7 19,928,471
.1
. 1 75,702,762
272
.4
.3 240,950,145
703
.1
434
.2 87,553,812
603
.3 45,443,758
.2
.2 754 .4 128,897,346
3.5 10,725 5.1
4,456,039
.1
267
.1
968,941
3.9 8,916 4.2 254,102,850
1.5 3.805
9,124,061
.3
1.3
1.3
4.2
1.4
1.8
1.6
44,462,844 3.0
1.5 29,575,418
5.3 109,491,239 7.3
26,827,939
33,723,157
.7 21,869,134 1.5
58,258,336 3.9
9.0 160,741,404 10.7
3.3 85,820,846 5.7
1.7 45,237,457 3 .0
4.8 126,908,372 8.4
.2
3,864,937
.3
438,425
9.6 127,832,430 8.5
.3
4,826,464
.3
1.8
1.8
2.8
0
2.0
1.8
2.2
0)
Total........................... .
180,110
Grand total...............
307,062 100.0 210,141 100.0 2,668,158,494 100.0 1,505,779,388 100.0
* Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
136,940 65.2 1,190,680,617 44.6 879,878,402 58.4
57.775 23,401
47,815 42,372
36,063 40,870
12,085 13,772
359
346
4,737 3,785
276,287 214,185
21,210 228,651
26.775 197,744
72,248 75,021
171,178 168,313
418
360
2,991 1,642
21,108 14,337
2,012
1,268
6,611
6,425
7,166
253
BUILDING STATISTICS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES
During 1929 permits were issued for 307,062 new buildings of
which 41.3 per cent were residential buildings and 58.7 per cent
nonresidential buildings. During 1930 permits were issued for
210,141 new buildings, of which 34.8 per cent were residential build
ings and 65.2 per cent nonresidential buildings.
The estimated cost of the buildings for which permits were issued
in 1929 was $2,668,158,494; residential buildings accounted for 55.4
per cent of this expenditure and nonresidential buildings 44.6 per
cent. During 1930 the estimated cost of the new buildings for which
permits were issued fell to $1,505,779,388; new residential buildings
accounted for only 41.6 per cent of this expenditure and nonresi
dential buildings 58.4 per cent. The average cost per building of
all the new buildings for which permits were issued in 1929 was
$8,689, and the average cost in 1930 was $7,166. Residential build
ings averaged $11,638 per building in 1929 and $8,550 in 1930.
Nonresidential buildings averaged $6,611 in 1929 and $6,425 in 1930.
Hotels were the most expensive class of buildings, averaging $1,034,925
per building in 1929 and $313,641 per building in 1930.
Families Provided For
T able 2 shows the number and per cent of families provided for
by each of the different kinds of dwellings for which permits were
issued in 311 identical cities during the calendar years 1929 and
1930.
T a b l e 2 .— N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F F A M I L I E S T O B E H O U S E D I N N E W D W E L L I N G S
F O R W H I C H P E R M I T S W E R E IS S U E D I N 311 I D E N T I C A L C IT IE S , 1929 A N D 1930, B Y
K IN D OF D W E L L IN G
Kind of dwelling
Number of new
b u ild in g s for
which
permits
were issued
1929
1930
Families provided for
Number
1929
1930
Per cent
1929
1930
1-family dwellings........ ...............................................
2 -family dwellings...... ............................... .................
1 -family and 2 -family dwellings with stores
104,798
12,990
61,656
7,187
104,798
25,980
61,656
14,374
41.5
10.3
47.2
combined............. ................................................... .
Multifamily dwellings_________________________
Multifamily dwellings with stores com bined..
1,501
6,662
565
874
3,019
205
2,324
111,910
7,754
1,195
50,299
2,979
.9
44.3
3.1
.9
38.5
2.3
Total.....................................................................
126,516
72,941
252,766
130,503
100.0
100.0
1 1 .0
During 1930 permits were issued for 72,941 dwelling houses of
various finds to house 130,503 families. This compares with 252,766
families housed by the 126,516 dwellings for which permits were
issued in these 311 cities during 1929, a decrease of 48.4 per cent in
the number of families provided for.
One-family dwelling provided 47.2 per cent of the family dwelling
units for which permits were issued during 1930 as compared with
41.5 per cent in 1929. Multifamily dwellings, in contrast, showed a
decrease in the per cent of dwelling units provided, falling from
44.3 per cent of the total in 1929 to 38.5 per cent in 1930. During
1929, 10.3 per cent of the families provided for were to be housed in
two-family dwellings. In 1930, 11 per cent of the families provided
for were in 2-family dwellings. The per cent housed in 1 and 2-family
254
HOUSING
dwellings with stores combined was the same for each of the two
years.
The apartment houses for which permits were issued during 1929
accommodated an average of 16.8 families per building and those for
which permits were issued during 1930 accommodated 16.7 families
per building; thus it will be noted that the average size of apartment
houses was practically the same during both years.
The average cost of these apartment houses during 1930, as shown
in Table 1, was $63,986. The average cost of the apartment houses
for which permits were issued during 1929 was $73,695.
Table 3 shows the number and percentage distribution of families
provided for in the different kinds of dwellings in the 257 identical
cities from which reports were received each year from 1921 to 1930,
inclusive.
T a b l e 3 .— N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F F A M I L I E S P R O V I D E D F O R I N D I F F E R E N T
K IN D S O F D W E L L I N G S I N 257 I D E N T I C A L C IT IE S , 1921 T O 1930, I N C L U S I V E
Num ber of families provided for in—
Per cent of families provided
for in—
Year
1-family
dwellings
1921.......................................
1922.......................................
1923....... ................................
1924........... ... .......................
1925............... .......................
1926................. .....................
1927_____________________
1928_____________________
1929_________ _______
1930_____________________
130,873
179,364
207,632
210,818
226,159
188,074
155,512
136,907
98,202
57,318
2-family
dwellings 1
38,858
80,252
96,344
95,019
86,145
64,298
54,320
43,098
27,37!2
15,145
M ulti
A ll classes
M ulti
1 -family 2-family
family
of dwell
family
dwellings dwellings1
ings
dwellings 2
dwellings2
54,814
117,689
149,697
137,082
178,918
209,842
196,263
208,673
118,623
52,859
224,545
377,305
453,673
442,919
491,222
4b2, 214
406,095
388,678
244,197
125,322
58.3
47.5
45.8
47.6
46.0
40.7
38.3
35.2
40.2
45.7
17.3
21.3
2 1 .2
21.5
17.5
13.9
13.4
11 .1
11 .2
12 .1
24.4
31.2
33.0
30.9
36.4
45.4
48.3
53.7
48.6
42.2
1 Includes 1-family and 2-family dwellings with stores combined.
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores combined.
Reports have been received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from
257 identical cities continuously from 1921 to 1930. In those 257
cities 125,322 family dwelling places were provided in new buildings
during 1930. This is the lowest number provided for during any
calendar year since the collection of such data by the bureau. During
1925, the peak year, 491,222 family dwelling units were provided in
new buildings in these 257 cities. There has been a gradual decrease
in the number of families provided for each year since 1925.
The number of families provided for in one-family dwellings also
reached a peak in 1925 and has been declining steadily since that
year.
The year 1923 saw the peak number of 2-family dwellings erected.
During 1930 the number of families provided for in 2-family
dwellings was less than one-sixth the number provided for in this
class of dwellings during 1923.
For the years 1921 to 1925, inclusive, a larger percentage of the
total number of family dwellings provided for was in 1-family dwellings
than in multifamily dwellings. During the years 1926 to 1929,
however, more families were provided for in multifamily dwellings
than in 1-family dwellings. During 1930, 1-family dwellings again
provided for more families than multifamily dwellings. During 1921,
58.3 per cent of all family dwelling units provided were in 1-family
dwellings. With slight fluctuations, this percentage decreased each
BUILDING STATISTICS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES
255
year until 1928 when a low point of 35.2 per cent was reached.
During 1930,45.7 per cent of all family dwellings’ units were provided
in 1-family dwellings.
During 1921 only 24.4 per cent of the family dwelling units were in
apartment houses. With the exception of 1924, this percentage in
creased each year until 1928, when 53.7 per cent of all family dwelling
units provided were in apartment houses. During 1930, 42.2 per
cent of the families provided for were to be housed in multifamily
dwellings.
Two-family dwellings provided for 12.1 per cent of the total num
ber of families housed in new buildings in 1930.
During the 10 years 1921 to 1930, inclusive, dwelling places have
been provided in new buildings for 3,616,170 families. Of this
number 44 per cent have been housed in 1-family dwellings, 39.4 per
cent in multifamily dwellings, and 16.6 per cent in 2-family dwellings.
Per Capita Expenditures for Buildings
I ndicated expenditure for all building operations in the 311 cities
from which reports were received during the calendar year 1930 was
$1,766,144,666. The total population of these cities was 47,091,551;
thus the per capita expenditure for all building operations was
$37.51. Of this amount $31.98 was for new buildings and $5.53 was
for repairs and alterations. Of the amount spent for new buildings
$12.16 per capita was for housekeeping dwellings.
The five leading cities in total expenditure were New York, Chicago,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington. As Table 4 shows, in
the 10 years 1921 to 1930, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles have
been among the five leading cities each year. Philadelphia has been
included in the list of five leading cities for every year except 1921,
when it was displaced by Cleveland. Detroit has been one of the
five leading cities each year except 1930, when Washington surpassed
it in expenditures for total building operations.
T able 4 .- F I V E
L E A D I N G C IT IE S I N T O T A L B U I L D I N G E X P E N D I T U R E , 1921 T O 1930
Year and city
mi
1929
1925
N ew Y o r k ...
Chicago_____
Cleveland___
Los Angeles..
Detroit______
$442,285,248
133,027,910
86,680,023
82,761,386
58,086,053
N ew Y o r k ...
Chicago........ .
Detroit______
Philadelphia.
Los Angeles.
N ew Y o r k ...
Chicago..........
Los Angeles..
Philadelphia.
Detroit______
645,176,481
229,853,125
121,206,787
114,190,525
93,614,593
New Y o r k ...
Chicago..........
Detroit...........
Philadelphia.
Los Angeles.
789,265,335
334.164.404
200,133,181
129,719,831
128.227.405
N ew Y o r k ...
Chicago........ .
Detroit..........
Los Angeles.
Philadelphia.
836,043,604
308,911,159
160,547.723
150,147,516
141,402,655
N ew Y o r k ...
Chicago..........
Detroit______
Philadelphia.
Los Angeles..
$1,020,604,713
373,803,571
180,132,528
171,034,280
152,646,436
N ew York...............
Chicago....................
Philadelphia...........
D e t r o it...................
Los Angeles.............
1,039,670,572
376,808,480
183,721,443
140,093,075
123,006,215
N ew Y o rk ............. Chicago.....................
Los Angeles_______
Philadelphia...........
Washington_______
1923
1927
1924
N ew Y o rk .
Chicago___
Detroit.
Los Angeles...
Philadelphia..
880,333,455
365,065,042
145,555,647
123,027,139
117,590,650
1928
$942,297,219
210,797,640
104,405,545
100,567,497
93,020,160
1930
1926
N ew Y o r k ..
Chicago____
Los Angeles.
Detroit_____
Philadelphia______
Expenditure
916,671,855
323,509,048
129,260,285
112,225,865
101,678,768
410,165,789
85,749,167
75,356,715
53,141,770
48,823,891
256
HOUSING
During 1930 permits issued for new dwellings showed that homes
were to be provided for 130,503 families, which is at the rate of 27.7
families to each 10,000 of the population.
The table following shows the five leading home-building cities, in
proportion to their population, for the years 1921 to 1930, inclusive.
The figures show the number of families provided for per 10,000
population according to the latest estimates available each year as
prepared by the Bureau of the Census. The 1930 ratios are based
on the 1930 census figures.
T a b l e 5 .— F IV E
L E A D IN G
Year and city
C IT IE S
Families
provided
for per
1,000
AS R E G A R D S
1921 T O 1930
Families
provided
for per
Year and city
1,000
1921
Long Beach, Calif_____
Phoenix, Ariz__________
Houston, Tex.............
Pontiac, M ich_________
Wichita, K ans.................
_. .
700.3
644.7
398.6
367.2
339.5
Long Beach, Calif..........
Oklahoma City, O kla..
Los Angeles, Calif..........
Austin, Tex.................. ..
Bloomfield, N . J_______
1,038.1
657.4
611.1
432.1
381.5
Irvington, N . J________
W hite Plains, N . Y ____
M ount Vernon, N . Y __
Yonkers, N . Y
East Orange, N . J_____
740.5
419.5
414.8
349.0
338.1
2,248.9
501.2
448.3
378.0
347.6
Yonkers, N . Y .................
M ount Vernon, N . Y __
W hite Plains, N . Y „ . _
Long Beach, Calif_____
Irvington, N . J________
1,081.0
441.6
358.9
268.1
267.6
St. Petersburg, Fla-----M ount Vernon, N . Y . _
Irvington, N . J _ .............
W hite Plains, N . Y . . . .
Ran D iego, C a lif.
1926
306.9
236.3
211.6
208.8
159.1
1930
141.0
109.7
92.9
92.8
90.4
1927
1924
M iam i, Fla.1— ..............
Irvington. N . J________
Los Angeies, Calif.2____
San Diego, C alif _
Long Beach, Calif_____
1,000
popula
tion
1,342.0
392.0
379.3
374.6
331.0
M iam i, Fla .1___________
San Diego, Calif_______
Tampa, Fla—..................
Irvington, N . J________
Los Angeies, Calif.*____
1923
Long Beach, Calif_____
Los Angeles, Calif_____
M iam i, Fla____________
Irvington, N . J...............
Lakewood, Ohio_______
Year and city
Families
provided
for per
1929
1925
631.9
320.9
251.7
249.8
191.3
1922
Long Beach, Calif_____
Los Angeles, Calif..........
Lakewood, Ohio_______
M iami, Fla.......................
E ast C levelan d, (Jhio__
OF D W E L L IN G S ,
popula
tion
popula
tion
Long Beach, Calif_____
Los Angeles, Calif_____
Pasadena, Calif________
Shreveport, La_________
Lakewood, Ohio_______
C O N S T R U C T IO N
...........
1928
347.6
299.1
298.3
297.4
295.4
i The ratio of families provided for in M iam i in 1924 was based on the population as estimated by the
Census Bureau for that year. In the light of the actual census taken by the State enumeration in 1925, it
would seem that the estimate for 1924 was below the actual population for that year, hence the ratio here
shown for 1924 is probably higher than the actual population in that year would warrant.
* Population not estimated in 1924 or 1925; 1923 estimate used.
Table 6 shows the estimated expenditures for new residential
buildings, new nonresidential buildings, and total new buildings;
the estimated population as of July 1 each year 1921 to 1929 and the
census of population as of 1930; the number of families provided for,
the ratio of families provided for to each 10,000 of population; the
index number of each of these items; and the index number of families
provided for weighted by population.
257
BUILDING STATISTICS IN PRINCIPAL CITIES
T a b l e 6 .— E S T IM A T E D E X P E N D IT U R E FOR EACH CLASS OF N E W BU ILD IN G S, F A M
ILIES PR OVIDED FOR A N D R ATIO TO POPULATION, AN D I N D E X N U M B E R S T H E R E
OF, IN 257 ID E N T IC A L CITIES, 1921 TO 1930
New residential
buildings
N ew nonresidential
buildings
Total new buildings
Year
Estimated
expenditure
Index
number
100.0
$937,352,739
1,612,352,921
2,000,986,900
2,070,276,772
2,461,546,270
2,255,994,627
1,906,003,260
1,859,429,751
1,433, 111, 774
601,269,847
1921.
1922.
1923.
1924.
1925.
1926.
1927.
1928.
1929.
1930.
172.0
213.5
220.9
262.6
240.7
203.3
198.4
152.9
64.1
Estimated
expenditure
$635, 775,199
876,276,713
1,070,596,718
1,137,631,080
1,343,880,884
1,300,840,876
1,231,785,870
1,135,549,986
1,146,958,101
849,386,873
Population
Year
1921.._________ __________
1922...................... ............—
1923......................... .............
1924_________ _____ _______
1925______________________
1926______________________
1927______________________
1928__________ ___________
1929_............................ ..........
1930____________ ______
A s estimated
b y Census
Bureau
36,575,118
37,511,516
38,447,913
39,384,311
40,320,708
41,257,106
42,058,897
42,767,125
43,665,235
44,850,467
Index
number
100.0
137.8
168.4
178.9
211.4
204.6
193.7
178.6
180.4
133.6
Estimated
expenditure
$1,573,127,938
2,488,629,634
3,071,583,618
3,207,907,852
3,805,427,154
3,556,835,503
3,137,789,130
2,994,979,737
2,580,069,875
1,450,656,720
Index
number
100.0
158.2
195.3
203.9
241.9
226.1
199.5
190.4
164.0
92.2
Families provided for
Index
number
100.0
102.6
105.1
107.7
110.2
112.8
115.0
116.9
119.4
122.6
Number
224,545
377,305
453,673
442,919
491,222
462,214
406,095
388,678
244,197
125,322
Index
number
Ratio to each
10,000 of
population
Index
number
weighted
by popu
lation
100.0
61.4
1 00.0
168.0
100.6
202.0
118.0
112.5
163.7
192.2
183.2
198.4
182.4
157.3
148.1
91.1
45.5
197.3
218.8
205.8
180.9
173.1
108.8
55.8
121.8
112.0
96.6
90.9
55.9
27.9
During 1930 permits issued for new buildings showed an estimated
expenditure of $1,450,656,720. This is less than the expenditure for
any of the years since 1921. The index number of expenditures for
total new buildings stands at 92.2 for the year 1930, with 1921 expendi
tures equaling 100. The peak year was 1925 when the index number
of expenditures for new buildings was 241.9. Expenditures for new
residential buildings decreased much more rapidly than for new non
residential buildings. With the expenditures for 1921 equaling 100,
the estimated cost of new residential building operations increased
each year until a peak of 262.6 was reached in 1925. There was a
gradual decline until the index number stood at 152.9 for 1929. An
abrupt decline occurred during 1930, the index number of new residen
tial buildings for that year being 64.1.
New nonresidential buildings followed practically the same trend,
the index number rising to a peak of 211.4 in 1925 and falling gradu
ally to 178.6 in 1928. A slight rise occurred in 1929 when the index of
estimated expenditures for this class of buildings was 180.4. The
1930 index number was 133.6.
The population of these 257 cities, according to the 1930 census,
was 44,850,467. During 1930, 125,322 families were provided with
dwelling places in new buildings. This is at the rate of 27.9 families
for each 10,000 of the population. During 1925, 121.8 families were
provided for to each 10,000 of the population. The population of
258
HOUSING
these 257 cities has increased 22.6 per cent since 1921. The number
of families provided for during 1930 decreased 44.2 per cent as com
pared with those provided for during 1921. The index number of
families provided for, weighted by the population, reached a peak of
198.4 in 1925, fell to 91.1 in 1929 and to 45.5 in 1930.
Average Cost of Dwellings Per Family
T able 7 shows the average cost per family unit each year, 1921
to 1930, of housing accommodations of each type for which permits
were issued in the 257 identical cities from which reports were received.
The costs from which these averages were computed are the costs
of the buildings as estimated by the prospective builders at the time of
applying for their permits to build. No land costs are included.
There may be a profit or loss between the cost to the builder and the
cost to the home purchaser.
T a b l e 7 .— A V E R A G E C O S T O F N E W D W E L L I N G S i P E R F A M I L Y I N 257 I D E N T I C A L
C IT IE S , 1921 T O 1930
Average cost of new dwellings per family
Year
2-family
1-family
dwellings dwellings 2
1921.............
1922__________
1923__________
1924__________
1925__________
1926__________
1927__________
1 9 2 8 ................
1929__________
1930__________
$3,972
4,134
4,203
4,317
4,618
4,725
4,830
4,937
4,915
4,993
$3,762
3,801
4,159
4,336
4,421
4,480
4,368
4,064
4,020
3,924
Index numbers of cost of dwellings per family
All classes
M ulti
M ulti
All classes
1-family
2-family
family
family
of dwell
of dwell
dwellings dwellings2
dwellings 3
ings
dwellings 3
ings
$4,019
3,880
4,001
4,418
4,289
4,095
4,170
4,129
4,402
3,857
$3,947
4,005
4,127
4,352
4,464
4,422
4,449
4,407
4,566
4,385
100.0
104.1
105.8
108.7
116.3
119.0
121.6
124.3
123.7
125.7
100.0
101.0
110.6
115.3
117.5
L19.1
116.1
108.0
106.9
104.3
100.0
100.0
96.5
99.6
109.9
106.7
101.9
103.8
102.7
109.5
96.0
101.5
104.6
110.3
113.1
112.0
112.7
111.7
115.7
111.1
1 Includes only cost of the buildings.
2 Includes 1-family and 2-family dwellings with stores.
3 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
The average cost of the one-family dwellings for which permits were
issued during the year 1921 was $3,972. There was a slight increase
in the average cost of one-family dwellings each year over the pre
ceding year from 1921 to 1928, inclusive. During 1929 the average
cost of the dwellings for which permits were issued decreased slightly,
but during 1930 there was another rise in the average cost of this
class of structure. The index number of the cost of one-family dwell
ings, based on 1921 as 100, stood at 124.3 in 1928, decreased to 123.7
in 1929 and rose to 125.7 in 1930.
The two-family dwellings for which permits were issued during the
year 1921 cost $3,762 per family. The price increased until a peak of
$4,480 was reached in 1926. The index number of costs of this class
of dwellings has decreased each year since 1926. During 1929 the
average cost of the two-family dwellings for which permits were issued
in these 257 cities was $4,020, and the index number of their cost was
106.9. For 1930 the average cost of two-family dwellings was $3,924
per family, and the index number stood at 104.3.
The curve of per-family cost in the erection of apartment houses has
been more broken than for either the one-family or two-family
2 59
CONSTRUCTION COST OF DWELLINGS, 1930
dwellings. The average per-family cost of the multifamily dwellings
for which permits were issued in 1921 was $4,019. The cost fell
slightly in 1922, rose for each of the years 1923 and 1924, and
then showed falling costs for 1925 and 1926, a slightly increased cost
for 1927, a slight decrease in 1928 and a sharp rise in 1929. The
index number in 1929 was 109.5 as compared with the peak of 109.9
in 1924.^ The average cost during the peak year 1924 was $4,418
per family. During 1930 the average per-family cost of the multi
family dwellings for which permits were issued was $3,857—the
lowest cost shown for any of the 10 years under discussion.
The average cost of all classes of dwellings for which permits were
issued was $3,947 in 1921, and $4,464 in 1925, the peak year. The
1930 cost was $4,385, which was less than for any year since 1924.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects monthly the wholesale
price of building material and from such figures computes index
numbers. Retail prices as paid by builders are not available but it
is believed that the trend of retail prices follows closely that of whole
sale prices.
The index numbers as shown in Table 8 for wage rates in the building
trades are wage rates for union labor only. In many cities the build
ing trades are highly organized, while in others there is much non
union labor. Although the bureau has no data concerning wage
rates of nonunion labor in the building trades, it is thought that the
trend of wages of nonunion labor tends to follow the same trend as
that of union wages. The index number of wholesale prices in the
building trades reached a peak of 111.6 in 1923. It decreased each
year thereafter until a low point of 95.8 was reached in 1927. There
was an increase in each of the next two years but a decrease again in
1930 when the index number stood at 97.2.
The index number of union wage rates in the building trades has
climbed steadily from a low point of 93.4 in 1922 to a high point of
136.2 in 1930.
T a b l e 8 .— I N D E X N U M B E R S O F W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S O F B U I L D I N G M A T E R I A L A N D
O F U N I O N W A G E R A T E S I N T H E B U I L D I N G T R A D E S , 1921 T O 1930
Year
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
__________
- .
. ______
___
Wholesale
prices of
building
material
Union wage
rates per
hour in the
building
trades
100.0
100.0
99.9
111.6
93.4
103.6
105.0
104.4
116.3
112.2
Year
1926____________ ______ 1927.................................. .
1928............................ .......
1929___________ ________
1930...................... .............
Wholesale
prices of
building
material
Union wage
rates per
hour in the
building
trades
102.7
95.8
96.2
99.7
97.2
124.0
128.5
129.0
130.6
136.2
Average Construction Cost of Dwellings, 1930
HERE are 91 cities in the United States having a population of
100,000
or over according to the 1930 census figures. According
to the estimate of the Census Bureau of July 1, 1928, there were 85
cities having a population of 100,000 or over.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has compiled information showing
the number of families provided for and the average cost per family
T
260
HOUSING
accommodated in the different kind of dwellings for which permits
were issued during the first six months of 1929 in the 85 cities which
have a population of 100,000 or over according to the estimate of
population for these 85 cities and 6 additional cities for the first half
of 1930. The costs shown are as stated by the builder on applying
for his permit to build. They are limited to the construction costs of
dwellings in the corporate limits of these cities. No land costs are
included. The figures refer to construction costs on the job only.
Table 1 shows the number of families provided for and the average
cost per family of the different kind of dwellings for which permits
were issued during the first half of 1929 and the first half of 1930 by
population groups in the 85 identical cities from which reports were
received for the first half of 1929 and the first half of 1930.
T able 1 .— A V E R A G E C O S T O F D W E L L I N G A C C O M M O D A T I O N S P E R F A M I L Y I N C IT IE S
O F 100,000 P O P U L A T IO N O R O V E R , B Y K I N D O F D W E L L I N G A N D B Y P O P U L A T IO N
G R O U P , F IR S T H A L F O F 1929 A N D F IR S T H A L F O F 1930
1-family
dwellings
Population group
First
half
of
2-family
dwellings
Multifamily
dwellings
All classes of
dwellings
N um
N um
N um
N um
ber of A verage ber of A v erage ber of A verage ber of
Average
families cost per families cost per families cost per families cost per
provided family provided family provided family provided family
for
for
for
for
/1929
\1930
/1929
200.000 to 600,000............ \1930
/1929
Over 500,000....................
\1930
12,920
6*717
9,138
5,038
21,262
12,231
$4,578
4,674
4,617
4,636
5,221
5,156
2,747
1,638
2,664
904
8,093
4,601
$3,513
3,373
3,042
3,612
4,445
4,499
6,998
2,224
7,828
3,351
69,606
15,786
$3,270
2,542
2,972
2,891
4,740
4,119
22,665
10,579
19,630
9,293
99,771
32,618
$4,045
4,025
3,747
3,907
4,816
4,561
/1 929
11930
43,320
23,986
4,902
4,912
14,314
7,143
4,005
4,129
84,432
21,361
4,454
3,762
142,066
52,490
4,546
4,337
100.000 to 200,000 ............
Total (85 cities).
During the first half of 1929, 142,066 families were provided with
dwelling places in new buildings in these 85 cities. The average cost
of these dwelling places was $4,546 per family. During the first half
of 1930, 52,490 families were provided for in these 85 cities and the
average construction cost of their dwelling places was $4,337.
The average cost of the I-family dwellings for which permits were
issued during the first half of 1929 in these 85 cities was $4,902, as
compared with $4,912 during the first half of 1930. The average
cost per family of the 2-family dwellings advanced from $4,005 in the
first half of 1929 to $4,129 in the first half of 1930. In contrast the
average per family cost of family accommodations in apartment houses
decreased from $4,454 in the first half of 1929 to $3,762 in the first
half of 1930.
The group of cities having a population of over 500,000 erected the
most costly 1-family dwellings, the most costly 2-family dwellings,
and the most costly apartment houses in both the first half of 1929
and the first half of 1930.
Table 2 shows the average cost of each kind of dwelling for each of
the 14 cities having a population of 500,000 or over, the cities being
arranged in ascending order of cost per dwelling.
261
CONSTRUCTION COST OF DWELLINGS, 1930
2.—AVE R A G E COST OF D W E L L IN G A C C O M M O D A T IO N S /1PER F A M IL Y , IN
CITIES OF 600,000 POPULATION OR OVER, B Y K IN D OF D W E L L IN G A N D B Y CITIES,
FIRST H A L F OF 1930
T a b le
C ity
Number
Average
of fami
cost per
lies pro
family
vided for
C ity
1-FAMILY DWELLINGS
Number
of fami Average
cost per
lies pro family
vided for
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS 4
Los Angeles......................... ..........
Philadelphia.................................. .
St. Louis......................................... .
San Francisco............................... .
Baltimore....................................... .
Cleveland........................................
Buffalo..............................................
Queens *_.........................................
P ittsb u r g h .................................
Boston..............................................
Detroit..............................................
N ew York C ity (all boroughs)
Milwaukee......................................
Brooklyn 1.......................................
Chicago.............................................
B ronx 1 .................................. .........
R ichm ond 1.....................................
W ashington 2..................................
M anh attan 1...................................
707
452
627
941
460
106
2,459
541
228
1,348
3,312
237
528
573
293
31
530
Total (14 cities)..................
12,231
1
4,104
4,221
4,630
4,745
5,002
5,006
5,142
5,314
5,476
5,559
5,582
5,874
6,507
7,062
7,116
7,160
7,800
100,000
Los Angeles................................... .
Milwaukee......................................
St. Louis..........................................
Detroit......................................
Buffalo............................................ .
Baltimore....................................... .
Pittsburgh. .................................. .
Queens K.............—....................... .
San Francisco............................... .
B ronx 1............................ .................
B rooklyn 1.......................................
Boston............................................. .
N ew York C ity (all boroughs)
Philadelphia...................................
Cleveland........................................
R ichm ond 1................................... .
M anh attan 1...................................
Chicago........................................... .
W ashington 2................................ .
5,156
2-FAMILY DWELLINGS 3
Total (14 cities)................ .
3,013
401
238
338
164
45
229
1,583
449
1,868
1,791
224
425
256
46
3,520
658
$1,906
2,636
2,945
2,973
3,183
3,222
3,226
3,414
3,459
3,815
3,859
3,908
4,596
5,009
5,031
5,435
5,906
6,493
8,391
15,786
4,119
ALL CLASSES OF DWELLINGS
0
0
Baltimore.........................................
M anh attan 1...................................
Buffalo..............................................
St. Louis...........................................
W ashington 2..................................
Milwaukee......................................
Los Angeles.....................................
Detroit..............................................
Boston...............................................
San Francisco.................................
Queens 1............................................
Richmond l_ _ ................................
N ew York C ity (all boroughs).
Pittsburgh.......................................
B rooklyn 1........................................
B ronx 1_________________________
Cleveland.........................................
Philadelphia....................................
Chicago.............................................
256
630
819
326
76
707
275
1,555
67
460
113
82
64
315
Total (11 cities)..................
4,601
293
96
22
0
0
2,465
3,253
3,364
3,834
3,850
3,884
4,082
4,296
4,493
4*662
4,722
4,940
4,978
5,257
5,762
Los Angeles....................................
Buffalo................................ - - - - - - St. Louis..........................................
Milwaukee......................................
San Francisco.................................
B ron x 1..............................................
Boston..............................................
ueens 1.......................................... .
rooklyn 1.......................................
Philadelphia...................................
Detroit..............................................
Baltimore........................................
Pittsburgh.......................................
N ew York C ity (all boroughs)
Richmond 1_ _ ................................
Cleveland______________________
M anh attan 1...................................
Chicago............................................
W ashington 2............................
5,812
563
786
894
1,152
2,274
778
4,749
2,779
1,196
2,505
986
837
13,675
352
798
3,521
1,546
1,090
2,846
3,152
3,717
3,837
4,151
4,312
4,440
4,469
4,547
4,634
4,663
4,675
4,712
4,849
4,983
5,089
5,932
7,120
4,499
Total (14 cities)..................
32,618
4,561
8,000
§
8,002
1 A borough of “ Greater N ew Y ork.”
2 Included in table although estimated population is only 485,716.
s Includes 1-family and 2-family dwellings with stores.
< Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
The average cost of 1-family dwellings in cities having a popula
tion of over one-half million ranged from $3,861 in Los Angeles to
$7,800 in Washington. The average cost of all 1-family dwellings in
these 14 cities was $5,156. In New York City permits were issued
for 3,312 1-family dwellings during the first half of 1930 at an average
cost of $5,582 per dwelling. There was quite a difference in the
cost in the different boroughs. In the borough of Queens the cost
per dwelling was $5,142, while in Brooklyn 1-family dwellings averaged
$6,507. In the borough of Richmond permits were issued for 31
dwellings at an average cost of $7,160. A permit was issued for one
dwelling in the borough of Manhattan to cost $100,000.
Two-family dwellings ranged in cost from $2,465 per family in
Buffalo to $8,536 per family in Chicago. Detroit issued permits for
more 2-family dwellings than any other city except New York. The
average cost of this class of dwelling in the Michigan metropolis was
$3,884.
2 62
HOUSING
The average cost of the 15,786 family dwelling units provided for
in new apartment house buildings was $4,119. Los Angeles showed
the lowest cost in this class of dwellings, the per family cost being
$1,906. In the city of Washington the cost per unit of family accom
modations in new apartment buildings was $8,391, nearly four and
a half times the Los Angeles cost. The erection cost of apartment
houses in New York was $4,596 per family. Chicago showed a high
per family cost in this class of dwelling, 658 families being provided
for at a cost of $6,493 per family.
In the 14 cities having a population of 500,000 and over, 32,618
families were provided with dwelling accommodations in new build
ings during the period under discussion. The average cost of all
classes of dwellings was $4,561 per family. Los Angeles provided
for more families than any other city in the United States except
New York, and the average cost per family was less than in any
other city having a population of 500,000 or over. The cost of all
dwellings for which permits were issued during the first six months
of 1930 in Los Angeles was $2,846. In Washington the cost of all
dwellings provided for during this period was $8,002 per family.
The only other cities in this population group where the average
cost of dwelling units was over $5,000 were Cleveland and Chicago.
The borough of Manhattan also showed an average cost of over
$5,000 per family. In New York as a whole the average cost was
$4,849. No city except Los Angeles had a cost of less than $3,000.
Buffalo, St. Louis, and Milwaukee showed per family dwelling costs
of less than $4,000, however.
Table 3 shows the average cost of each kind of dwelling for each
of the 27 cities having a population of over 200,000 but less than
500,000.
T a b l e 3 .— A V E R A G E C O S T O F D W E L L I N G A C C O M M O D A T I O N S P E R F A M I L Y I N C IT IE S
H A V IN G A P O P U L A T IO N B E T W E E N 200,000 A N D 500,000, B Y K I N D O F D W E L L I N G A N D
B Y C IT IE S , F IR S T H A L F O F 1930
C ity
N um
ber of
families
provided
for
Aver
age
cost
per
family
City
l-FAMILY DWELLINGS
Jersey C ity ._____________________
Birmingham______ ______________
San Antonio
Dallas................................ ......... .......
M em phis
Seattle_______ ___________ _______
N ew Orleans........................... .........
Atlanta__ - ......................... .. .
Oakland_________________________
Houston_________________________
__ __________
Minneapolis Toledo____________ ______________
Kansas City, M o _____________
O m a h a ________ ____
__ D ayton__________________________
Portland, Oreg___________ ______
St. P aul. ____________ ______ __
Indianapolis_____________________
Akron___________________________
Columbus___________ __________
L o u isv ille___________ ________
Rochester_______________________
Syracuse_________________________
Denver. ______ ___________________
Cincinnati_______________________
Aver
age
cost
per
family
1-FAMILY DWELLINGS— COn.
0
0
96
483
275
449
682
$2,368
2,648
2,719
3,247
3,413
3,564
3,680
4,182
4,362
4,424
4,454
4,623
4,791
4,815
5,157
5,218
5,226
5,629
5,862
5,953
6,033
6,255
6,428
6,574
112
203
242
901
354
145
337
62
55
261
136
248
219
240
184
121
165
157
536
Newark............... ............... ...............
Providence.......................... .............
36
128
$7,501
9,110
Total (27 cities)...................
6,827
4,581
2-FAMILY DWELLINGS 1
Portland, Oreg..................... ...........
Rochester_________________ ______
Seattle......................... ...................
Atlanta________________ _
Birmingham________ ___________
San Antonio______________
____
Dallas_________ __ __
Kansas City, M o ..................... . . .
Toledo_____ _____________________
Denver____________________ _ __
A k ron.__________________________
Oakland—. ______________________
Indianapolis_____________________
Minneaoolis_____________________
M em phis________________________
New Orleans____________________
Houston—_________________ _____
Dayton................................................
Includes 1-family and 2-family dwellings with stores.
N um
ber of
families
provided
for
0
0
0
0
4
73
3
61
174
875
1,319
1,500
2,539
2,557
2,950
2,964
3,028
3,080
3,119
3,239
3,300
3,471
3,780
3,844
4,025
20
39
18
10
31
103
82
106
10
218
4
2 63
CONSTRUCTION COST OP DWELLINGS, 1930
T a b l e 3 .—A V E R A G E COST OF D W E L L IN G A C C O M M O D A T IO N S PER F A M IL Y IN CITIES
H A V IN G A PO PU L ATIO N B E T W E E N 200,000 A N D 600,000, B Y K IN D OF D W E L L IN G A N D
B Y CITIES, FIR ST H A L F OF 1930-Continued
N um
ber of
families
provided
for
C ity
Aver
age
cost
per
fam ily
2-FAMILY DWELLINGS— COn.
1,311
3,664
MXJLTIFAMILY DWELLINGS2
N ew Orleans----------- ---------------San Antonio............ ................. .
Rochester......... ........... .................
Atlanta---------- -------------------------Dallas________ ____________ ____
Denver............................ - .............
Indianapolis-............ ........... —
Kansas City, M o ------- ------ -----Toledo----------- -------------------------St. Paul_______ ______ — - .........
Minneapolis----------------- ----------Oakland— ---------------------------Omaha...................................... .
Louisville................. - ...................
M emphis........ - -----------------------Houston...................... ...................
Portland, Oreg-----------------------Birmingham.................................
Seattle..................- ................. —
Jersey City....................................
D ayton-.......... - -----------------------A k ron.............................................
Cincinnati---------- --------------------Syracuse-------------------------------
N um
Aver
ber of
age
families
cost
per
provided
family
for
MULTIFAMILY DWELLINGS— COn.
$4,136
4,833
5,269
5,313
5,420
5,603
5,829
6,223
6,250
Syracuse.........................................
Jersey City....................................
Cincinnati------------------------------Omaha------------------------------------St. Paul--------------------- -----------Providence------------------ ----------Columbus...........—------------------Newark-------------- -------------------Louisville............. .........................
Total (27 cities)------------
City
0
63
28
127
110
111
12
287
63
67
287
534
34
71
85
97
203
13
836
128
24
51
194
0
$1,670
1,786
1,908
1,975
2,054
2,192
2,195
2,286
2,505
2,570
2,618
2,620
2,646
2,972
3,139
3,192
3,326
3,427
3,554
3,716
3,750
Newark............................................
Colum bus-......................................
Providence......................................
Total (27 c itie s )-.............
$4,064
4,968
5,364
3,616
2,902
112
2,440
2,522
ALL CLASSES OF DWELLINGS
Birmingham...................................
Dallas......................................... ..
San Antonio.......... .........................
Atlanta............................ .......... ..
Oakland...................................... ..
M em phis........................ .................
Seattle............................. ...............
Kansas City, M o ..........................
Minneapolis...................................
N ew Orleans_______ ___________
Jersey C ity____________________
Toledo..................... .........................
Omaha..............................................
Houston________________________
Portland, Oreg......... —...........
Dayton...................... ............. .........
St. Paul................................. .........
Denver-.......................... .................
Indianapolis______________ _____
Louisville................. ............ .........
Akron............................ ...................
Rochester---------------------------------Newark............... ............... .............
Syracuse................................. .........
Columbus........................................
Cincinnati_____________________
Providence_____________ _____
Total (27 cities)_________
559
607
403
807
640
1,522
644
723
122
152
247
104
1,216
464
83
205
286
363
149
182
212
295
806
278
2,694
3,087
3,204
3,358
3,489
3,560
3,582
3,612
3,666
4,121
4,158
4,274
4,376
4,476
4,516
4,562
5,062
5,160
5,235
5,325
5,568
5,736
5,763
7,171
11,754
2 Includes multifamily dwellings with stores.
In the 27 cities of this population group 6,827 families were pro
vided for in 1-family dwellings at an average cost of $4,581 per
family. The lowest per family cost for single family dwellings was
in Birmingham; the highest in Providence. In the former city the
cost per family was $2,368, and in the latter $9,110. There were
marked differences in per family costs in some cities in the same
locality. For example, the average cost for 1-family dwellings for
which permits were issued in Toledo, Ohio, was $4,454, while in Cin
cinnati the average cost was $6,574 per family.
Two-family dwellings ranged in cost from $875 in Seattle, Wash.,
to $6,250 in Louisville. Only four such dwellings were erected in
Seattle, however. The next lowest per family cost for 2-family
dwellings was shown by Atlanta with $1,319.
San Antonio showed the lowest per family dwelling unit cost in the
new multifamily dwellings for which permits were issued. The high
est unit cost was shown in Providence. The range was from $1,670
to $5,364. Four cities in this group erected apartment houses at a
dwelling unit cost of less than $2,000. Providence was the only city
where family dwelling places in apartment houses cost over $5,000.
The average cost of all family dwelling units for which permits
were issued in these 27 cities during the first six months of 1930 was
47767°— 31-
-18
264
HOU SING
$3,962. Dwelling places were provided for 11,754 families. In Bir
mingham the average cost of all dwelling units provided was $2,440.
In Providence the average cost of all dwelling units was $7,171 per
family. In four cities the cost per family dwelling unit averaged
less than $3,000. In eight cities the cost was over $5,000 per fanmy.
Comparative Cost of Dwelling Units in St. Louis and
Washington, D. C.
HE following tabulation shows the comparative cost of dwelling
units in the cities of St. Louis, Mo., and Washington, D. C., as
indicated by permits issued during the first six months of 1929. The
first six months of 1929 was the period selected because it was thought
that the building of dwellings would be on a more normal basis in that
period than during any of the later 6-month periods. The data were ob
tained from the records of permits issued in these two cities. The
costs as shown include building costs only. No land costs are included.
The information obtained disclosed the fact that the cost of 1family dwellings, 2-family dwellings, and family units in apartment
houses was much less in St. Louis than in Washington. This must
not be construed to show that an identical dwelling could be built
cheaper in St. Louis than in Washington. It may be that in the for
mer city more smaller dwellings are erected than in the capital city.
The study was limited to the two cities of St. Louis and Washington
solely because the information was available to the bureau without
special effort. It is hoped that similar studies may be made in other
cities.
Table 1 shows the number and per cent of families provided for in
St. Louis and Washington, by cost groups.
T
T a b l e 1 .— E S T I M A T E D C O S T O F 1- F A M I L Y D W E L L I N G S F O R W H I C H P E R M I T S W E R E
IS S U E D I N S T . L O U IS A N D W A S H I N G T O N , D U R I N G F IR S T H A L F O F 1929, B Y C O S T
GROUPS
Number of families
provided for
Percentage of families
provided for
Cost
St. Louis
Washing
ton
St. Louis
14
17
31
42
294
134
81
69
34
80
4.2
7.2
47.5
22.3
10.7
1.9
1.4
8
.3
25
.1
Washing
ton
Cumulative percent
age of families pro
vided for
St. Louis
Under $2,000____________________ _____
$2,000 and under $3,000_______ ______ _
$3,000 and under $4,000..........................
$4,000 and under $5,000................ .........
$5,000 and under $6,000-........................
$6,000 and under $7,000______________
$7,000 and under $8,000______________
$8,000 and under $9,000.................. .......
$9,000 and under $10,000_____________
$ 10,000 and under $ 11,000 ____________
$ 11,000 and under $ 12,000 ......................
$12,000 and under $13,000_______ _____
$13,000 and under $14,000__ ________
____________
$15,000 and under $16,000.......................
$16,000 and under $17,000- _______ $17,000 and under $18,000......................
$18,000 and under $19,000.......................
$19,000 and under $20,000____________
$20,000 and over........................................
31
53
348
163
78
14
2
4
.3
.5
99.6
45.0
60.1
69.3
77.1
80.9
89.0
90.8
93. 7
93.9
94.4
95. 7
96. 3
96.5
96.9
13
2 27
.4
3.1
100.0
100.0
T otal..................... ........... ...............
732
885
100.0
100.0
10
16
3
7
2
1
2 .2
.4
1 .0
2
4
$14,000 and under
$15,000
1
12
.1
5
1 .6
1.9
3.5
4.7
33.2
15.1
9.2
7.8
3.8
9.0
.9
2 .8
.2
.5
1.4
4.2
11.5
59.0
81.3
91.9
93.9
95.2
97.4
97.8
98.8
99.0
99.2
Washing
ton
99.3
.6
.2
2
1 .6
3.5
7.0
1 1 .8
1 1 at $25,000,1 at $30,000, 1 at $45,000.
2 4 at $20,000,1 at $20,300, 1 at $22,388, 1 at $22,500,1 at 23,900, 2 at $24,000, 3 at $25,000, 1 at $26,000, 1 at
$29,000, 2 at $30,000, 1 at $32,500, 2 at $35,000, 2 at $40,000, 1 at 43,000, 1 at $48,000, 1 at $50,000, 1 at $60,000*
1 at $75,600.
265
COMPARATIVE COST OF DWELLING UNITS
Permits were issued during the first half of 1929 for 885 1-family
dwellings in the city of Washington and 732 1-family dwellings in
St. Louis.
In St. Louis 59 per cent of these 1-family dwellings had an esti
mated cost of less than $4,000, while in Washington only 7 per cent
had an estimated cost of less than $4,000. Of the dwellings for which
permits were issued in St. Louis, 348, or 47.5 per cent, were to cost
between $3,000 and $4,000, this being the largest cost group for which
permits were issued in St. Louis.
In Washington the main cost group was between $5,000 and $6,000,
294, or 33.2 per cent, of the dwellings for which permits were issued
in this period falling in this group.
From the foregoing figures it would seem that the low-salaried man
would have a much better opportunity to own a home in St. Louis
than in Washington. It must be borne in mind, however, as before
stated that the cost figures do not include the cost of the lot on
which the building is erected, nor has any profit been included in the
figures as shown. Therefore, although 59 per cent of the 1-family
dwellings in St. Louis had an estimated erection cost of less than
$4,000, in all probability nearly $2,000 more would have to be added
to the cost of these dwellings to cover the cost of the land, cost of
financing, and profit to the builder and seller.
Table 2 shows the number and per cent of families provided for in
2-family dwellings in St. Louis and Washington, by cost groups.
T a b l e 3 .— E S T I M A T E D C O S T P E R F A M I L Y O F T H E 2 -F A M I L Y D W E L L I N G S F O R
W H IC H P E R M I T S W E R E IS S U E D I N S T . L O U IS A N D W A S H I N G T O N D U R I N G T H E
F IR S T H A L F O F 1929, B Y C O S T G R O U P S
Number of families
provided for
Percentage of families
provided for
Cumulative percent
age of families pro
vided for
Cost
St. Louis
Under $2,000__________ _______________
$2,000 and under $3,000______________
$3,000 and under $4,000___________ __
$4,000 and under $5,000______________
$5,000 and under $6,000_________ _____
$6,000 and under $7,000
_ - ______
$7,000 and under $8,000______________
$8,000 and under $9,000______________ !
$9,000 and under $10,000
_______ !
$ 10,000 and over______________________ i
Total
' __
_________________
Washing
ton
10
140
144
72
St. Louis
Washing
ton
12
2
36.3
37.3
18.7
3.1
.5
4
1 .0
38.9
76.2
94.8
97.9
98.4
99.5
2
.5
100.0
386
2
6
100.0
Washing
ton
2 .6
2 .6
4
St. Louis
66.7
33.3
66.7
100.0
100.0
Permits were issued in St. Louis for a large number of 2-family
dwellings. In Washington very few of this class of dwellings* are built.
Dining the six months under discussion permits were issued for 193
2-family dwellings in St. Louis to provide for 386 families, while
in Washington permits were issued for only three 2-family dwellings,
thereby providing for only 6 families. Two-family dwellings, there
fore, while entering largely into the solution of the housing problem in
St. Louis, are of little importance in Washington. Of the 2-family
dwellings for which permits were issued in St. Louis during the first
half of 1929, 94.8 per cent cost less than $5,000 per family. By far
the greater number cost between $2,000 and $4,000; 284 of the 386
family units provided for in this class of dwelling fell in this cost group.
HOUSING
2 66
Table 3 shows the number and per cent of family housing units
provided in apartment houses in St. Louis and Washington, by cost
groups.
T a b l e 3 .— E S T I M A T E D C O S T P E R F A M I L Y H O U S IN G U N I T S O F A P A R T M E N T H O U S E S
F O R W H I C H P E R M I T S W E R E IS S U E D I N ST . L O U IS A N D W A S H I N G T O N D U R I N G
T H E F IR S T H A L F OF 1929, B Y C O S T G R O U P S
Number of families
provided for
Percentage of families
provided for
Cumulative percent
age of families pro
vided for
Cost
St. Louis
Under $2,000................................. ............
$2,000 and under $3,000______________
$3,000 and under $4,000...................... ..
$4,000 and under $5,000______________
$5,000 and under $6,000______________
$6,000 and under $7,000______________
$7,000 and under $8,000______________
$8,000 and under $9,000.........................
$9,000 and under $10,000-.......................
$ 10,000 and under $ 11,000 - - ..............
723
954
Total___________________________
1,894
122
53
42
Washing
ton
St. Louis
210
38.2
50.4
6 .4
368
92
2 .8
2 .2
1C9
96
St. Louis
19.6
34.3
38.2
88.5
95.0
97.8
8 .6
Washing
ton
19.6
53.9
62.5
100.0
9.0
72. 7
81.6
18.4
100.0
10. 2
197
1,072
Washing
ton
100.0
100.0
1
According to permits issued during the first six months of 1929
1,894 families were provided with dwelling places in multi-family
dwellings in St. Louis, as compared with 1,072 families in Washington.
As in the case of 1-family dwellings, the family unit cost of the apart
ment houses was much lower in St. Louis than in Washington.
According to permits issued, 954, or 50.4 per cent, of the family
units provided in apartment houses in St. Louis cost between $2,000
and $3,000. In Washington only 19.6 per cent fell in this cost group.
In St. Louis 38.2 per cent of the family units cost less than $2,000.
In Washington no apartment houses were erected in which the family
unit cost was less than $2,000.
In St. Louis no permits were issued for apartments during this
period in which the family unit cost was over $6,000.
In Washington 18.4 per cent of the family units provided had an
estimated cost of between $10,000 and $11,000.
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
267
Immigration and Emigration
HE immigration laws of the United States are administered by
the Bureau of Immigration of the United States Department of
Labor. Data regarding the immigration movement are compiled
monthly by the Bureau of Immigration and published currently in
the Labor Review of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual
reports of the Commissioner General of Immigration give similar
data in more expanded form and for a period of years. The figures and
text in this section are taken from the above-mentioned sources and also
from the annual reports of the Secretary of Labor for 1929 and 1930.
T
Immigration and Emigration, by Months, 1929 and
1930
T
ABLE I shows the inward and outward passenger movement for
the fiscal years ending June 30, 1929 and 1930, and also for the
last six months of 1930.
T a b l e 1 .— I N W A R D A N D O U T W A R D P A S S E N G E R M O V E M E N T F R O M J U L Y 1 , 1928, T O
D E C E M B E R , 1930
Inward
Outward
Aliens
Aliens
de
Aliens departed
de
United
United
barred
ported
States
States
from
after
citi
citi
N on
Total enter Em i N on
Total land
zens
Im m i
zens
immi Total
ing 1 grant emi Total
in g 2
de
grant
grant
arrived
grant
parted
Aliens admitted
Period
1938-29
July-December
January..............
February______
M arch.................
April___________
M a y ....................
June___________
147,707
17,806
17,254
20,145
28,565
25,711
22,490
110,483 258,190 268,338 526,528
10,440 28,246 23,450 51,696
10,608 27,862 33,216 61,078
13,493 33,638 37,375 71,013
19,066 47,631 32,288 79,919
18,426 44,137 27,169 71,306
17,133 39,623 28,119 67,742
9,105 44,677
1,870 4,670
1,461 4,154
1,464 2,449
1,416 3,387
1,554 4,985
1,257 4,881
104,746
10,938
10,358
6,917
11,733
17,781
20,822
149,423 243,087 392,510
15,608 28,808 44,416
14,512 32,347 46*859
9,366 27,972 37,338
15,120 25,277 40,397
22,766 31,505 54,271
25,703 42,846 68,549
5,657
1,019
1,036
1,352
1,261
1,323
1,260
TotaL________ 279,678 199,649 479,327 449,955 929,282 18,127 69,203 183,295 252,498 431,842 684,340 12,908
1929-30
July.....................
August................
September.........
October...............
November_____
December..........
January...............
February______
M arch_________
April....................
M a y ___________
June___________
20,068
22,778
28,020
26,740
21,522
17,842
14,767
13,585
19,759
22,261
19,414
14,944
15,749
19,007
28,517
26,072
14,798
11,477
11,142
10,706
15,098
18,663
17,526
15,759
35,817
41,785
56,537
52,812
36,320
29,319
25,909
24,291
34,857
40,924
36,940
30,703
37,636
70,783
85,946
47,757
25,129
21,177
23,985
34,234
40,727
32,115
25,487
32,284
73,453
112.568
142,483
100.569
61,449
50,496
49,894
58,525
75,584
73,039
62,427
62,987
TotaL________ 241,700 204,514 446,214 477,260 923,474
847
802!
7191
659
591
571
630
514
649
757
689
805
5,086
5,571
5,150
4,907
3,053
4,880
3.947
3,180
2,900
3.947
3,720
4,320
23,084
23,723
21,398
19,597
13,345
18,746
20^860
14,677
12,759
14,917
17,694
20,964
28,170
29,294
26,548
24,504
16,398
23,626
24,807
17,857
15,659
18,864
21,414
25,284
£6,339
70,551
49,429
39,767
20,413
27,404
31,991
33,796
37,930
26,707
27,593
40,103
84,509
99,845
75,977
64,271
36,811
51,030
56,798
51,653
53,589
45,571
49,007
65,387
1,261
1,411
1,205
1,600
1,286
1,546
1,275
1,089
1,511
1,850
1,574
1,023
8,233 50,661 221,764 272,425 462,023 734,448 16,631
1930
July......................
August________
September.........
October...............
Novem ber.____
December______
13,323
14,816
17,792
13,942
9,209
6,439
16,466
19,724
29,359
23,304
13,032
9,939
29,789
34,540
47,151
37,246
22,241
16,378
38,822
69,957
80,900
40,702
22,381
28,535
68,611
104,497
128,051
77,948
44,622
44,913
Total................ 75,521 111,824 187,345 281,297 468,642
881
837
929
854
734
806
82,772
122,783
86,230
61,278
48,656
44,193
1,440
1,208
1,552
1,526
1,405
1,377
5,041 30,916 136,184 167,100 278,812 445,912
8,508
4,818
5,245
5,100
5,352
4,951
5,450
22,588
29,166
24,604
22,938
19,285
17,603
27,406
34,411
29,704
28,290
24,236
23,053
55,366
88,372
56,526
32,988
24,420
21,140
1 These aliens are not included among arrivals, as they were not permitted to enter the United States.
2 These aliens are included among aliens departed; they having entered the United States, legally or
illegally, and later being deported.
269
270
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
Country of Birth, Race, Sex, and Age of Immigrants and Emigrants, 1929 and
1930
In T able 2 is shown the net increase or decrease of population by
admission and departure of aliens, for fiscal years ending June 30,
1929, and 1930, according to the country of last residence m the case
of immigrants, and of future residence in the case of emigrants. Table
3 for 1928-29 gives similar information by race or people, sex, and
age periods.
T able 2 .—N E T I N C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N , B Y A D M I S S IO N A N D
D E P A R T U R E O F A L I E N S , Y E A R S E N D I N G J U N E 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y C O U N T R IE S
1928-29
Country of last or intended future
permanent residence 1
Aliens admitted
Aliens departed
Im m i
grant
Nonim
migrant
___
- - - - A u s t r ia ...._____________________________
Belgium. . . ,
___
Bulgaria_______________ _____ ___________
Czechoslovakia.............
..................
T>anzig, Frftft C ity nf ...
___
DftTiTTiark_____
__
_ .
Estonia_________________________________
F in la n d ....... ...................................................
France, including Corsica______________
Germany______________ _______ _________
Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
England. ________ ___ „ ........
Northern Irelan d ................................
Scotland____________________________
W ales......... ....................... .......................
Greece.__________________ _____ ______ ___
Hungary___________________ __________
Irish Free State.............. ...............................
Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia___
Latvia___________________________________
Lithuania_______________________________
Luxemburg_____________________________
Netherlands____________________________
Norway..... ........... ............... ...........................
Poland__________________________________
Portugal, including Azores, Cape
Verde, and Madeira Islands_________
Rumania..........................................................
Russia................................. ...................... ......
Spain, including Canary and Balearic
Islands........... ...............................................
Sweden...... .
........
Switzerland_________ _______ ___________
Turkey in Europe__ _______ ___________
Yugoslavia.....................................................
Other Europe 2_ . ..........................................
329
1,256
669
215
4,411
204
2,525
141
416
4,428
46,751
5
650
808
58
527
13
921
25
207
5,116
6,706
334
1,906
1.477
273
4,938
217
3,446
166
623
9,544
53,457
87
446
538
78
1,689
13
486
36
466
1,794
6,330
8,008
2,249
11,892
1,427
2,266
1,045
17,672
18,008
334
625
15,621
287
2,303
341
181
380
633
2,558
58
108
24
1,286
1,620
581
23,629
2,536
14,195
1,768
2,447
1,425
18,305
20,566
392
733
136
3,028
7,597
9,583
6,058
41
1,651
56
1,736
761
1,452
12,311
39
257
466
963
2,273
289
965
2,339
33
49
23
1,075
931
589
98
305
112
1,742
5,977
9,002
Total
Em i
grant
10
Nonem
igrant
11
423
616
31
602
6
722
15
400
3,778
5,881
17,220
67
1,652
113
221
623
1,707
934
201
547
721
1,908
1,481
1,919
718
314
547
8,877
2,140
231
1,369
466
757
1,175
981
91
94
58
1,304
10,052
3,121
322
1,463
524
1,159
975
580
1,524
44
730
7
217
45
11
231
211
881
1,102
Total, Europe....................................
158,598
45,019
203,617
47,281
41,780
Armenia________________ ______ _________
China......... ............................... .......................
Tndia__________________________ _________
Japan...............................................................
Palestine....... ...................................................
Persia___________ ______ __________ ______
Syria............... .................................................
Turkey in Asia..............................................
Other A s ia 3......... .........................................
13
1,446
103
771
600
37
469
57
262
3
3,294
435
2,627
181
23
62
25
170
16
4,740
538
3,398
781
60
531
82
432
13
3,626
151
945
62
2
Total, A s i a ........................................
3,758
6,820
10,578
Total
98
869
1,154
109
2,291
19
1,208
51
Increase
( + ) 01decrease
(-)
12,211
+ 236
-4-1 037
4-323
4-1R4
+ 2 ,647
-198
+ 3 , 238
-115
-243
+ 3 ,9 7 2
+ 41,246
23,278
108
3,303
169
1,957
1,050
2,417
14,650
72
306
33
1,541
1,894
2,862
+351
+ 2 ,4 2 8
+10,892
+ 1 ,5 9 9
+ 490
+ 375
+15,888
+ 5 ,9 1 6
+ 320
+427
+ 103
+ 1 ,4 8 7
+ 5 ,7 0 3
+ 6,7 21
2,150
929
619
—1,429
+979
4-RR2
2,040
2,077
1,310
18
1,741
89
-73fi
+ 7 ,9 7 5
+ 1,8 11
4-204.
-278
4-435
866
5,572
89,061 4-114.55fi
15
6,287
389
2,920
144
38
230
93
128
+1
— 1,547
154
47
38
2,661
238
1,975
82
18
76
46
90
5,056
5,188
10,244
4-334
20
-149
-478
-637
+22
J[-301
— 11
4-304
1 Residence of a year or more is regarded as permanent residence.
2 Comprises Andorra, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, M alta, Monaco, and San Marino.
3 Includes Afghanistan, Arabia, Bhutan, Iraq (Mesopotamia), Muscat, Nepal, Siam, Siberia, and “ Asia,
not specified/’
271
STATISTICS B Y MONTHS, 1929 AND 1930
2 .—N E T INC REASE OR D ECR EASE OF POPULATION, B Y A D M ISSIO N A N D
D E PAR T U R E OF ALIEN S, Y EAR S E N D IN G JUNE 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y CO U N TR IES— Con.
T a b le
1928-29
Country of last or intended future
permanent residence
Canada................................
Newfoundland..................
Mexico— .............................
C u b a ...................................
Other W est Indies..........
British Honduras............
Other Central America..
Brazil...................................
Other South A m erica...
United States 4.................
Other America 5...............
Total, America.
Egypt................................................................
Other Africa...................................................
Australia, including Papua, Tasmania,
and appertaining islands.................. .
New Zealand, including appertaining
islands...........................................................
Other Pacific islands 6................................
Total, all countries.
Aliens admitted
Im m i
grant
N onim
migrant
64,440
14,924
465
4,307
8,681
4,956
Aliens departed
Total
Em i
grant
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
Nonem
igrant
Total
27,821
487
5,104
9,382
4,880
116
2,648
348
3,192
77,953
30,527
899
12,299
11,099
6,828
127
3,373
585
4,565
77,953
(-)
2,706
412
7,195
1,717
1,948
6
2,555
548
3,786
101,637
28
79,364
2,476
44,461
11,707
6,236
186
4,047
1,462
6,575
101,637
34
116,177
142,008
258,185
16,324
131,932
264
245
194
593
458
838
56
112
99
338
155
450
+303
+388
448
3,642
4,090
274
2,872
3,146
+944
171
17
1,254
119
1,425
136
1,012
1,099
87
+326
+49
279,678
199,649
479,327
2,011
40.154
3,026
1,280
65
1,492
914
121
11
725
237
1,373
74
69,203
183,295
1
+48,837
+ 1,5 77
+32,162
+608
-5 9 2
+59
+674
+877
+2,010
+ 23,684
+33
148,256 +109,929
252,498 j+226,829
1929-30
Albania...........................................................
Austria............................................................
B elgiu m ........................................................
Bulgaria..........................................................
Czechoslovakia............................................
Danzig, Free C ity of........ .........................
Denmark........................................................
Estonia......................................................... ..
Finland...........................................................
France, including Corsica........................
G erm an^......................................................
Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
England____________ _____ __________
N orthern Ireland................................
Scotland................ .................................
W ales....... ...............................................
Greece........ ............. .............................. ........
Hungary............................................... ..........
Irish Free State................................... ........
Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia.
Latvia.......... ................... ................... ...........
Lithuania......... ....................................... ......
Luxemburg-------- ---------------- -----------------N etherlands.................................. ............. .
Norway...........................................................
Poland....................... ..................................... .
Portugal, including Azores, Cape
Verde, and Madira Isla n d s .............. .
Rumania...........................- ........................... .
Russia..............................................................
Spain, including Canary and Balearic
Islands................... — --------- --------------Sweden........ ............................................. —
Switzerland............. ......................................
Turkey in Europe......................................
Yugoslavia......... - ......................................... .
Other Europe 2................... .................... .
Total, Europe......................... ...........
13
873
758
63
548
26
1,132
27
658
5,637
8,119
354
2,617
1,667
274
4,986
168
2,293
159
1,183
9,350
34,688
33
301
489
84
1,166
17
305
27
274
1,978
4,639
28,955
5,810
19,177
1 ,7G5
2,577
1,845
18,564
25,504
449
705
146
4,177
4,269
9,857
4,055
321
1,589
105
733
550
1,242
2,654
33
169
17
476
1,085
1,979
15,414
395
2,824
289
2,738
2,649
9,231
16,071
336
2,485
326
286
580
593
3,177
79
93
25
1,439
1,620
626
637
1,726
1,133
89
252
1,781
726
1,978
2,914
670
3,109
1,689
1,446
4,284
2*808
317
1,737
566
776
1,175
1,119
95
149
32
147,438
51,058
341
1,744
909
211
4,438
142
1,161
132
525
3,713
26,569
12,884
5,474
16,692
1,439
2,291
1,265
17,971
22,327
370
612
121
222
3
487
617
35
437
17
895
22
381
4,034
6,253
36
788
1,106
119
1,603
34
1,200
49
655
+318
+ 1,8 29
+561
+155
+ 3,3 83
+134
+ 1,0 93
+110
10,892
+ 528
+ 3,3 38
+23,796
312
1,038
1,499
38
49
23
1,496
1,105
667
19,469
716
4,413
394
953
862
2,280
4,153
71
218
40
1,972
2,190
2,646
+ 9,4 86
+ 5 ,0 9 4
+14,764
+ 1,3 71
+ 1 ,6 2 4
+983
+16,284
+ 21,351
+ 378
+ 487
+106
+ 2 ,2 0 5
+ 2 ,0 7 9
+ 7,2 11
255
508
256
107
233
498
362
741
754
+ 364
+ 1 ,2 3 7
+2 ,1 6 0
810
1,249
746
7
305
39
2,041
2,362
598
1,231
1,113
465
5
1,302
82
-5 9 5
+ 1,9 22
+ 1 ,5 9 7
+305
+279
+477
198,496
29,538
42,544
1,886
220
6,0 12
1,211
12
1,607
121
72,082 +126,414
2 Comprises Andorra, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, M alta, Monaco, and San Marino.
4 “ United States” under nonimmigrants covers aliens returning to this country to resume residence
therein after a temporary stay abroad, and under nonemigrants covers aliens departing for a visit abroad
with the intention of returning within 1 year to renew permanent residence in this country.
6 Comprises Greenland and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.
6 Comprises Nauru, N ew Guinea, Samoa, Y a p, and “ Pacific islands, not specified.”
272
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
2 .—N E T IN C R EASE OR D ECR EASE OF PO PU LATIO N , B Y AD M ISSIO N A N D
D E P A R T U R E OF A LIEN S, Y E A R S E N D IN G JUNE 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y CO U N TR IES—Con.
T a b le
1929-30
Country of last or intended future
permanent residence
Aliens admitted
Im m i
grant
Nonim
migrant
Armenia............................................................
China..................................................... - .........
I n d ia ................................................- .............
Japan.................................................................
Palestine.........................................................
Persia.................................................................
Syria...................................................................
Turkey in Asia..............................................
Other A s ia 8.....................................................
13
1,689
5
3,383
460
2,583
194
25
52
39
Total, A s i a . .. .....................................
4,635
Canada.................................................... .........
Newfoundland...............................................
Mexico...............................................................
63,502
1,752
12,703
3,132
2,093
42
1,576
656
2,646
110
837
702
33
497
105
649
Aliens departed
Total
Em i
grant
Nonem
igrant
18
4,972
570
3,420
896
58
549
144
769
5
3,471
6,861
11,396
4,792
6,0 12
10,804
+592
79,442
2,245
17,562
11,919
7,145
146
3,848
1,184
6,643
99,832
32
3,142
87
6,355
1,797
1,780
31,192
436
12,438
11,350
6,989
149
3,465
813
5,225
112,144
120
121
1,035
46
14
35
19
46
5
3,413
332
Total
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
(-)
2,001
58
20
46
43
94
10
+8
6,884
453
3,036
104
34
81
62
140
- 1 ,9 1 2
+117
+ 384
+792
+24
+ 468
+82
+ 629
2
15,940
493
4,859
8,787
5,052
104
2,272
528
3,997
99,832
30
1
28,050
349
6,083
9,553
5,209
128
2,617
525
3,771
112,144
5
6
+ 48,250
+ 1 ,8 0 9
+ 5 ,1 2 4
+ 569
+ 156
-3
+ 383
+ 371
+ 1 ,4 1 8
—12,312
+26
Total, America...................................
88,104
141,894
229,998
15,773
168,434
184,207
+45,791
Egypt.................................................................
Other Africa...................................................
Australia, including Papua, Tas
mania, and appertaining islands------N ew Zealand, including appertaining
islands...........................................................
Other Pacific islands •.................................
277
295
110
602
387
897
39
141
91
420
130
561
+257
+336
790
2,818
3,608
239
3,067
3,306
+ 302
236
25
1,052
119
1,288
144
119
1,096
1,215
20
100
120
+73
+24
Total, all countries..........................
241,700
204,514
446,214
60,661
221,764
Other W est Indies........................................
British Honduras..........................................
Other Central America......... .....................
Brazil.................................................................
Other South America..................................
United States 4_______ __________ _______
Other America *.............................................
21
848
288
1,454
272,425 +173, 789
« Includes Afghanistan, Arabia, Bhutan, Iraq (Mesopotamia), M uscat, Nepal, Siam, Siberia, and
“ Asia, not specified.”
4 “ United States,” under nonimmigrants covers aliens returning to this country to resume residence
therein after a temporary stay abroad, and under nonemigrants covers aliens departing for a visit abroad
with the intention of returning within 1 year to renew permanent residence in this country.
« Comprises Greenland and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.
• Comprises Nauru, N ew Guinea, Samoa, Yap, and “ Pacific islands, not specified.”
T a b l e 3 .— N E T I N C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N B Y A D M I S S IO N A N D D E
P A R T U R E O F A L IE N S , Y E A R S E N D I N G J U N E 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y R A C E O R P E O P L E ,
S E X , A N D A G E P E R IO D S
1928-29
Race or people
Aliens admitted
Immi
grant
African (black)......... .....................................
Armenian........................................................
Bohemian and Moravian (Czech).........
Bulgarian, Serbian, and M ontenegrin..
Chinese.............................................................
Croatian and Slovenian..............................
Cuban............ ...................................................
Dalmatian,
Bosnian, and Herze
govinian— ......... .........................................
Dutch and Flemish.....................................
East Indian..................................... ...............
English..............................................................
Nonim
migrant
Aliens departed
Total
1,254
929
1,427
685
1,071
1,075
2,141
2,935
1,160
680
6,947
727
6,232
4,189
1,139
2,587
1,365
8,018
1,802
8,373
119
2,949
56
29,846
174
4,062
162
41,810
293
7,011
218
71,656
210
Em i
grant
Nonemi
grant
Total
425
26
1,308
1,341
3,496
176
1,166
1,351
71
1,827
1,195
5,390
189
6,802
1,776
97
3,135
2,536
347
738
3,685
77
53,615
1,101
67
9,960
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
(-)
+ 2 ,4 1 3
+ 1 ,0 4 2
-5 4 8
-1 ,1 7 1
8 ,8 86
-8 6 8
365
7,968
+ 1 ,4 3 7
+4 0 5
1,085
4,786
144
63,575
-7 9 2
+ 2 ,2 2 5
+74
+ 8 ,0 8 1
273
STATISTICS BY MONTHS, 1929 AND 1930
3 .—N E T IN C REASE OR DECR EASE OF POPULATIO N B Y A D M ISSIO N A N D D E
P AR T U R E OF ALIENS, Y EAR S E N D IN G JUNE 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y R AC E OR PEOPLE,
S E X , A N D AG E PERIODS— Continued
Tabue
1928-29
Race or people
Finnish.................
French................. .
German............... .
Greek.....................
Hebrew.................
Irish........ ...............
Italian (north)...
Italian (south)...
Japanese............Korean..................
Lithuanian..........
Magyar.................
Mexican.........—
Pacific Islander..
Polish....................
Portuguese...........
Rumanian............
Ruthenian (Russniak)..............................
Scandinavian (Norwegians, Danes,
and Swedes).................. — ...................
Scotch............................................ - ................
Slovak............................. ...............................
Spanish..................................................... .
Spanish American.......................................
Syrian..............................................................
Turkish...........................................................
Welsh...............................................................
W est Indian (except Cuban)..................
Other peoples...............................................
T o ta l-
M ale___
Fem ale-
Under 16 years—
16 to 21 years.........
22 to 29 years......... .
30 to 37 years.........
38 to 44 years.........
45 years and over..
Aliens admitted
Aliens departed
Im m i
grant
Nonim
migrant
509
16,957
55,631
3,025
12,479
30,922
2,631
16,452
716
49
409
1,342
38,980
3,507
853
585
1,352
532
1,574
9,607
26,519
2,358
3,407
7,865
4,759
16,691
7,562
57
430
1,499
3,405
27
2,453
2,598
573
1,734
118
2,083
26,564
82,150
5,383
15,886
38,787
7,390
33,143
8,278
106
839
2,841
42,385
31
5,960
3,451
1,158
3,086
650
19,428
21,926
2,443
899
3,259
632
127
1,659
380
438
13,098
12,087
1,373
6,036
4,812
638
182
861
1,820
407
32,526
34,013
3,816
6,935
8,071
1,270
309
2,520
845
279,678
199,649
479,327
142,132
137,546
117,710
81,939
47,935
69,072
85,222
36,907
16,789
23,753
10,128
10,627
47,600
48,189
34,013
49,092
T o ta l
Em i
grant
487
1,621
7,383
1,793
189
1,659
8,610
931
32
270
820
7,172
3
2,316
1,961
689
548
26
Nonemi
grant
2,030
8,221
19,637
1,669
1,389
6,011
4,849
10,253
8,812
49
330
1,
8
Total
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
2,517
9,842
27,020
3,462
1,578
7,670
8,675
18,863
9,743
81
600
1,916
10,500
-4 3 4
+16,722
+ 55,130
+ 1 ,9 2 1
+14,308
+31,117
-1 ,2 8 5
+14,280
-1 ,4 6 5
+25
+ 239
+925
+ 31,885
11
<-)
+20
3,011
1,811
941
1,431
5,327
3,772
1,630
1,979
112
+ 633
-3 2 1
-4 7 2
+ 1 ,1 0 7
+ 538
13,269
9,221
1,290
6,976
6,827
541
+19,257
+ 24,792
+ 2 ,5 2 6
-4 1
+ 1 ,2 4 4
+ 729
518
3,397
+2,002
202
10,523
7,544
853
5,411
5,072
406
127
403
2,636
418
69,203
183,295
252,498 +226,829
259,842
219,485
46,533
22,670
110,148
73,147
156,681 +103,161
95,817 +123,668
58,063
79,699
132,822
85,096
50,802
72,845
4,246
3,850
16,207
17,502
11,397
16,001
10,647
8,972
41,365
47,850
30,165
44,296
14,893
12,822
57,572
65,352
41,562
60,297
+43,170
+66,877
+ 75,250
+19,744
+ 9 ,2 4 0
+ 12,548
2,200
2,746
1,677
437
1,565
1,755
135
61
115
761
188
+121
-1 ,1 9 7
+ 225
1929-30
African (black)..............................................
Armenian.......................................................
Bohemian and Moravian (Czech)
Bulgarian, Serbian, and Montenegrin..
Chinese......................- ................................... .
Croatian and Slovenian.............................
Cuban............................................................. .
Dalmatian, Bosnian, and Herzego
vinian_______________ ______ __________
Dutch and Flemish.....................................
East Indian................................................... .
English.............................................................
Finnish............................................................
French............................... ............................. .
German............................................................
Greek................................................................
Hebrew............................................................
Irish................................ ...................................
Italian (north)...............................................
Italian (south)...............................................
Japanese...........................................................
Korean..............................................................
Lithuanian......................................................
Magyar..................................................... —
Mexican................ ..........................................
Pacific Islander..............................................
1,806
790
653
744
970
1,314
2,122
108
4*713
51
34,960
556
13,771
34,415
3,793
11,526
34,947
2,822
20,494
796
27
426
1,542
11,915
2,726
199
665
812
7,144
576
6,518
4,532
989
1,318
1,556
8,114
1,890
8,640
776
57
574
846
3,404
280
1,274
1,782
170
1,091
1,223
6,138
621
7,221
2,558
227
1,665
2,069
9,542
901
8,495
+ 1 ,9 7 4
+ 762
-3 4 7
-5 1 3
- 1 ,4 2 8
195
3,912
185
41,243
1,948
10,659
30,074
119
998
65
6,461
331
1,945
5*732
785
299
1,940
755
2,206
1,004
33
194
663
4,475
149
48,551
782
5,473
214
55,012
2,433
11,571
33,808
4,194
-4 7 9
+ 3 ,1 5 2
3,699
8,519
4,133
15,359
7,423
67
409
1,800
4,971
303
8*625
236
76,203
2,504
23,830
64,489
6,014
15,225
43,466
6,955
35,853
8,219
94
835
3,342
16,886
6
6
2,221
668
6,296
7
2 ,1 02
9,626
28,076
3,409
1,911
9,371
5,012
19,346
9,331
77
673
1,568
5,200
55
2,2 10
11,311
5,767
21,552
10,335
110
867
2,236
11,496
62
+ 145
+22
+21,191
+71
+ 12,259
+ 30,681
+ 1 ,8 2 0
+13,015
+ 32,155
+ 1 ,1 8 8
+ 14,301
- 2 ,1 1 6
-1 6
-3 2
+ 1 ,1 0 6
+ 5 ,3 9 0
-5 6
274
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
T a b l e 3 .- N E T IN C R E A S E OR D EC R E A SE OF PO PU L ATIO N B Y A D M IS S IO N A N D D E
P A R T U R E OF A L IE N S, Y E A R S E N D IN G JUNE 30,1929 A N D 1930, B Y R A C E OR PE O P LE ,
S E X , A N D A G E PERIOD S—Continued
1929-30
Race or people
Aliens admitted
Immi
grant
Nonim
migrant
Aliens departed
Total
Em i
grant
Nonem
igrant
Polish..............................................................
Portuguese.....................................................
Rumanian......................................................
Russian...........................................................
Ruthenian (R u ssniak)...........................
Scandinavian (Norwegians, Danes,
and Swedes)..............................................
Scotch..............................................................
Slovak................................- ...........................
Spanish...........................................................
Spanish American......................................
Syrian..............................................................
Turkish...........................................................
W elsh..............................................................
W est Indian (except Cuban).................
Other peoples...............................................
4,924
780
432
1,634
473
2,836
2,479
667
2,860
137
7,760
3,259
1,099
4,494
610
1,924
336
429
472
8,478
28,117
3,214
1,169
3,237
637
175
2,043
600
526
12,161
12,441
1,581
5,781
4,904
659
148
848
1,649
500
20,639
40,558
4,795
6,950
8,141
1,296
323
2,891
2,249
1,026
2.775
Total....................................................
241,700
204,514
117,026
124,674
119,259
85,255
Increase
( + ) or
decrease
Total
(-)
4,132
3,548
1,031
1,710
131
6,056
3,884
1,460
2,182
143
+ 1 ,7 0 4
-6 2 5
-3 6 1
+ 2 ,3 1 2
758
1.776
1,741
81
26
180
737
155
14,053
12,045
2,144
6,099
4,810
617
141
831
2,095
536
16,828
14,255
2,902
7,875
6,551
698
167
+ 3 ,8 1 1
+ 26,303
+ 1 ,8 9 3
-9 2 5
+ 1 ,5 9 0
+ 598
+ 156
+ 1 ,8 8 0
-5 8 3
+ 335
446,214
50,661
221,764
272,425 +173,789
236,285
209,929
32,565
18,096
134,090
87,674
166,655 +69,630
105,770 +104,159
11,533
11,591
12
2,210
1,011
2,832
SEX
M ale................................................................
Female...............................- ...........................
AGE
Under 16 years.............................................
16 to 21 years.................................................
22 to 29 years............... ....... ........................
30 to 37 years................................................
38 to 44 years................................................
45 years and over........................................
40,777
57,736
71,570
32,043
15,710
23,864
9,746
11,344
50,523
69,080
3,479
3,530
48,558
120,128
13.001
46,593
36,971
51,302
78,636
52,681
75,166
11.002
12,983
15,012
15,121
52,007
65,008
36,336
57,401
63,898
43,002
70,384
+35,510
+53,951
+ 55,129
+ 14,738
+ 9 ,6 7 9
+ 4 ,7 8 2
Occupations of Immigrants and Emigrants, 1928-29 and 1929-30
T a b l e 4 records the occupations o f the im m ig ra n t aliens a d m it
ted and em igran t aliens departed in the fiscal years 1 9 2 8 -2 9 and
1 9 2 9 -3 0 .
T able 4 .— O C C U P A T IO N S
O F I M M IG R A N T A L IE N S A D M I T T E D A N D
E M IG R A N T
A L I E N S D E P A R T E D , Y E A R S E N D I N G J U N E 30, 1929 A N D 1930
Adm itted
Departed
Occupation
1928-29
Actors_____________________________________________________________
Architects_________________________________________________________
Clergy_____________________________________________________________
Editors_____________________ ________ ______________________________
Electricians_______________________________________________________
Engineers (professional)............................ ....................................... .........
Lawyers___________________________________________________________
Literary and scientific persons.................................................................
Musicians_________________________________________________________
Officials (Government)...... ................. ......................................... .............
Physicians_________________________________________________________
Sculptors and artists______________________________________________
T eachers__________________________________________________________
Other professional_________________________________________________
Total, professional_____________________________ ____________
1929-30
1928-29
1929-30
915
29
1,105
1,604
105
378
575
394
398
140
2.036
2.037
256
204
893
41
922
1,584
141
381
443
514
390
78
1,792
2,249
348
127
373
7
142
651
59
234
138
185
196
74
499
647
143
440
57
139
129
240
176
138
415
362
10,138
9,888
3,680
2,784
222
200
162
89
282
12
275
STATISTICS BY MONTHS, 1920 AND 1930
T a b l e 4 .— O C C U P A T I O N S O F I M M I G R A N T A L I E N S A D M I T T E D A N D E M I G R A N T
A L I E N S D E P A R T E D , Y E A R S E N D I N G J U N E 30, 1929 A N D 1930— Continued
Admitted
Departed
Occupation
1928-29
Bakers.............................. ..................... ............................... ......... ............. ..
Barbers and hairdressers___ ________ __ _________ _, ________ _
.............. . , ___ - _
Blacksmiths....... ......... ........... ................... . .
Bookbinders______________________________________________________
Brewers____________________________________________________________
Butchers.................................... ......................... ................. ...........................
Cabinetm akers. ................ ......... ........... . . _ .................. ..... .........
Carpenters and joiners................... ......................... ........... .......................
Cigarette makers . ____ _____________ . ..... .. .............
Cigar makers,.,.... _.........._ ................ .......... ............ .
Cigar packers________ f_____________________________________________
Clerks and accountants... .. ...........
Dressmakers_____________________ _________ __________ ____________
Engineers (locomotive, marine and stationary)
Furriers and fur workers_____________________ _____ _______________
Gardeners_________________________________________________________
Hat and cap makers____________________ •_________________________
Tron and steel workers ____________ ____ ___ __ - . ___
Jewelers___________________________________________________________
Locksmiths..................................... ........... .....................................................
Machinists
Mariners______________________ _______ _____________________________
Masons............. ............. ............... ........... ............................................... ........
Mechanics (not specifier})
Metal workers (other than iron, steel, and tin)__________________
Millers................................................................................. .............................
_ _
.
___
Miners_____________________________________________________________
Painters and glaziers______________________________________________
Pattern makers___________________________________________________
Photographers..... ......................... .................................................................
Plasterers............... ........................... ......... ........................... .........................
Plumbers................... ................... ............. .....................................................
Printers____________________________________________________________
Saddlers and harness makers_____________________________________
Seamstresses__________________________________ _____ _______________
Shoemakers_______________________________________________________
Stokers___ _________________________________________________________
Stonecutters......................................... ........... ....................... ........... ...........
Tailors________________________ _________ _______ ___________________
Tanners and curriers_____________________________________________
Textile workers (not specified)........................... ............................. .......
Tinners____________________________________________________________
Tobacco workers__________________________________________________
Upholsterers............... ......................... ............................... ......... ............. ..
Watch and clock makers_________________________________________
Weavers and spinners____________________________________________
W heelwrights........................................ ............................... ..................... ..
Woodworkers (not specified)_____________________________________
Other skilled___________________ ___________ _________ ____ _______
Milliners,.,,
Total, skilled....................................... ........... ............... ........... .......
1,622
1,176
634
43
1929-30
1,083
998
411
74
6
8
1,008
164
3,505
824
167
2,616
5
83
17
12,559
1,277
586
144
610
48
1,380
11
147
18
13,927
1,346
421
147
636
59
1,440
155
1,730
1,629
1,414
1,129
3,227
328
256
333
1,844
1,569
56
153
201
101
885
1,802
1,146
786
2,555
309
208
240
1,634
1,193
78
133
178
550
432
47
617
705
1928-29
289
253
71
9
9
147
54
859
1929-30
229
178
75
8
2
154
63
708
1
227
3
2,024
193
116
52
148
5
164
26
18
472
611
241
518
22
56
31
508
283
6
34
65
214
5
1,543
187
342
33
119
4
118
37
29
434
600
164
503
26
28
22
336
263
17
17
37
67
72
356
527
106
1,006
976
147
144
1,569
63
203
219
23
147
215
692
7
90
4,527
121
21
148
850
7
175
5,659
32
167
75
510
665
51,341
45,572
9,118
7,909
111
100
1,307
37
400
158
U
66
63
7
54
202
21
10
278
10
60
26
2
1
36
116
40
12
175
28
37
16
16
17
91
2
22
Agents_____________________________________________________________
1,427
1,855
463
476
Bankers________________________ _____ ______________________________
87
123
145
118
Draymen, hackmen, and teamsters____ _________________________
891
1,104
55
58
Farmers________________________ __________________ _____ ___________
8,309
8,375
1,332
1,311
19,849
Farm laborers_____________________________________________________
300
389
13,736
Fishermen ________________________________________________________
1,045
102
48
1,023
Hotel keepers_____________________________________________________
81
98
141
141
Laborers___________________________________________________________
26,192
16,447
23,027
12,157
M anufacturers_________________________________________________
172
255
329
72
Merchants and dealers___________________________________________
2,884
1,911
2,732
1,794
Servants___________________________________________________________
31,841
29,073
4,313
3,992
Other miscellaneous______________________________________________
5,644
5,751
2,151
2,110
Total, miscellaneous................................................................ .......
98,505
80,646
34,112
22,666
N o occupation (including women and children)________________
119,694
105,594
22,293
17,302
Total, all occupations______________________________________
279,678
241,700
69,203
50,661
276
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
Immigration Into the United States, 1820 to 1930
ECORDS of immigration into the United States began with the
year 1820. Table 1 shows the immigration by periods from 1820
to 1930 by certain important geographical •divisions and countries.
Over the whole period of 111 years the total immigration was 37,762,012, of which 18,331,892 came from northern and western Europe.
The great influx from southern and eastern Europe came in the years
1901 and 1921, since which time the immigration from southern
Europe has been greatly reduced.
Table 1, just referred to, deals solely with immigration. Data for
emigration and net increase of population are not available for years
earlier than 1908. Table 2 gives this information by years from
1908 to 1930.
R
T able 1 —IM M IG R A T IO N T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S F R O M N O R T H E R N A N D W E S T
E R N E U R O P E , S O U T H E R N A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E , A S IA , C A N A D A A N D N E W
F O U N D L A N D , M E X I C O , W E S T IN D I E S , A N D O T H E R C O U N T R IE S , B Y S P E C IF IE D
P E R IO D S 1
Number from—
Period or year
1820-1830. ..........
1831-1840............
1841-1850 .............
1851-1860_______
1861-1870-...........
1871-1880-...........
1881-1890_______
1891-1900.............
1901-1910-..........
1911-1920_______
1921-1930-..........
Total
number
of immi
grants
151,824
599,125
1,713,251
2,598,214
2,314,824
2,812,191
5,246,613
3,687, 564
8,795,386
5, 735,811
4,107,209
Europe
Northern
and
western 2
Southern
and
eastern 2
103,119
489,739
1,592,062
2,431,336
2,031,642
2,070,373
3,778,633
1,643,492
1,910,035
997,438
1,284,023
3,389
5,949
5,439
21,324
33,628
201,889
958,413
1,915,486
6,225,981
3,379,126
1,193,830
Asia
Total
15
106,508
48
495,688
82
1,597,501
2,452,660 41,455
2,065,270 64,630
2,272,262 123,823
4,737,046 68,380
3,558,978 71,236
8,136,016 243,567
4,376,564 192,559
2,477,853 97,400
Canada
and N ew
W est
M exico
found
Indies
land 8
2,486
4,818
3,998
13,624
6,599 12,301
41,723
3,271 13,528
59,309
3,078 10,660
153,878
2,191
9,046
383,640
5,162 13,957
393,304
1,913 29,042
3,311
971 33,066
179,226 49,642 107,548
742,185 219,004 123,424
924,515 459,287 74,899
Other
coun
tries <
33,999
70,865
57,146
31,052
19,809
13,347
16,928
20,002
79,387
82,075
73,255
Total, 18201930........... 37,762,012 18,331,892 13,944,454 32,276,346 903,195 2,897,201 755,936 431,469 497,865
1 9 1 1 .....................
1912......................
191 3
191 4
191 5
878,587
838,172
1,197,892
1,218,480
326,700
202,391
161,290
182,886
164,133
79,200
562,366
557,585
872,969
894,258
118,719
17,428
21,449
35,358
34,273
15,211
56,830
55,990
73,802
86,139
82,215
19,889
23,238
11,926
14.614
12,340
13,403
12,467
12,458
14,451
11,598
6,280
6,153
8,493
10,612
7,417
3,795,797 123,719
764,757
718,875
1,055,855
1,058,391
197,919
Total............. 4,459,831
789,900
3,005,897
354,976
82,007
64,377
38,955
1916 .
........
1917 .
........
1918.......................
1919-....................
1920.....................
298,826
295,403
110,618
141,132
430,001
51,055
38,500
12,946
18,039
86,998
94,644
94,583
18,117
6,588
159,297
145,699
133,083
31,063
24,627
246,295
13,204
12,756
12,701
12,674
17,505
101,551
105,399
32,452
57,782
90,025
18,425
17,869
18,524
29,818
52,361
12,027
15,507
8,879
8,826
13,808
7,920
10,789
6,999
7,405
10,007
Total............
1,275,980
207,538
373,229
580,767
68,840
387,209 136,997
59,047
43,120
1 N o official records were made of the influx of foreign population to this country prior to 1820. Although
the number of immigrants arrived in the United States from the close of the Revolutionary W ar up to 1820
is not accurately known, it is estimated b y good authorities at 250,000. For 1820 to 1867 the figures are for
alien passengers arriving; for 1868 to 1903, for immigrants arriving; for 1904 to 1906, for aliens admitted; and
for 1907 to 1930, for immigrant aliens admitted. The years from 1820 to 1831 and 1844 to 1849, inclusive, are
those ending September 30; from 1833 to 1843 and 1851 to 1867 those ending December 31; and beginning with
1869 and thereafter those ending June 30. The other periods cover 15 months ending December 31, 1832;
9 months ending December 31, 1843; 15 months ending December 31, 1850; and 6 months ending June 30,
1868.
2 Northern and western Europe comprises Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxemburg (1925 to
1930), Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and United
Kingdom not specified. Southern and eastern Europe comprises the other countries on that continent.
3 From 1820 to 1898 includes all British North American possessions.
* Includes Central and South America, Africa, Australia, Pacific islands, and countries not specified.
277
IMMIGRATION INTO U . S.— 1820 TO 1930
T a b l e 1 .— I M M I G R A T I O N T O T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S F R O M N O R T H E R N A N D W E S T
E R N E U R O P E , S O U T H E R N A N D E A S T E R N E U R O P E , A S IA , C A N A D A A N D N E W
F O U N D L A N D , M E X I C O , W E S T I N D I E S , A N D O T H E R C O U N T R IE S , B Y S P E C I F I E D
P E R IO D S— Continued
Num ber from—
Period or year
Europe
Canada
W est
and N ew
found M exico Indies
land
Asia
Other
coun
tries
Northern
and
western
Southern
and
eastern
805,228
309,566
522,919
706,896
294,314
138,551
79,437
156,429
203,346
125,248
513,813
136,948
151,491
160,993
23,118
652,364
216,385
307,920
364,339
148,366
25,034
14,263
13,705
22,065
3,578
72,317
46,810
117,011
200,690
102,753
30,758
19,551
63,768
89,336
32,964
13,774
7,449
13,181
17,569
2,106
10,981
5,098
7,334
12,907
4,547
Total............. 2,638,913
703,011
986,363
1,689,374
78,645
539,581 236,377
54,069
40,867
6
7
8
9
0
304,488
335,175
307,255
279,678
241,700
126,437
126,721
116,267
114,469
97,118
29,125
41,647
42,246
44,129
60,320
155,562
168,368
158,513
158,598
147,438
3,413
3,669
3,380
3,758
4,535
43,316
67,721
59,016
40,154
12,703
3,222
4,019
4,058
4,306
5,225
5,607
6,818
7,007
6,411
6,545
1,468,296
581,012
207,467
788,479
18,755
384,934 222,910
20,830
32,388
192 1
192 2
192 3
.........
192 4
.............
1926.......................
192
192
192
192
193
Total
number
of immi
grants
Total.............
Total
93,368
84,580
75,281
66,451
65,254
Per cent from—
Europe
Period or year
North
ern and
western
South
ern and
eastern
68 .0
2 .2
1 .0
Asia
Total
Canada
and New
found
land
Mexico
W est
Indies
Other
countries
1820-1830........................
1831-1840.........................
1841-1860.........................
1851-1860.........................
1861-1870.........................
1871-1880........................
1881-1890 .......................
1891-1900.........................
1901-1910.— .................
1911-1920........................
1921-1930.........................
81.8
93.0
93.6
87.8
73.6
72.0
44.6
21.7
17.4
31.3
1.4
7.2
18.3
51.9
70.8
58.9
29.0
70.2
82.8
93.3
94.4
89.2
80.8
90.3
96.5
92.5
76.3
60.3
Total, 1820-1930.
48.5
36.9
85.4
1911..................................
1912..................................
1913..................................
1914...................................
1915..................................
23.0
19.2
15.3
13.4
24.2
64.0
66.5
72.9
73.4
36.3
87.0
85.7
2 .0
2 .6
6.5
6.7
8 8 .2
8 6 .8
3.0
6 .1
2 .8
60.5
4.7
7.1
25.2
3.8
Total...................
17.7
67.4
85.1
2. 8'
8 .0
1 .8
1.4
.9
1916..................................
1917..................................
1918...................................
1919—
. . ...................
1920..................................
17.1
13.0
11.7
31.7
32.0
16.4
4.7
37.1
48.8
45.0
28.1
17.5
57.3
4.4
4.3
11.5
9.0
4.1
33.9
35.7
29.3
40.9
20.9
6 .2
6 .0
4.0
5.3
16.8
8 .0
21.1
12 .2
6.3
3.2
2.7
3.7
6.3
5.2
2.3
12.8
20 .2
.3
.8
1 .6
2 .2
1 .6
2 .8
4.4
1.3
1.9
2.4
2.3
6 .6
13.6
7.5
2 .8
.1
2 .0
3.4
2.4
12.9
22.5
2.4
7.7
3.2
1 .1
.2
.1
.1
.2
2 .6
2 .1
.8
22.4
.4
.4
.5
1 .2
.6
11 .8
3.3
.9
.5
.3
.9
.6
.9
1.4
11 .2
1 .2
2 .2
1 .8
1 .8
2 .0
1 .2
1.3
2.3
1.5
1.5
.7
.7
.7
.9
2.3
.6
3.8
2 .8
1 .0
1 .2
1 .0
1 .2
3.5
T o t a l-- ...............
16.3
29.3
45.6
5.4
30.3
10.7
4.6
3.4
1921...................................
1922...................................
1923..................................
1924...................................
1926..................................
17.2
25.7
29.9
28.8
42.6
63.8
44.2
29.0
3.1
4.6
9.0
15.1
22.4
28.4
34.9
3.8
6.3
1 2 .2
1 2 .6
11 .2
1.7
2.4
2.5
2.5
.7
1.4
1.7
1.4
7.9
81.0
69.9
68.9
51.6
60.5
22 .8
2 .6
3.1
1 .2
1 .8
1.5
Total...................
26.6
37.4
64.0
3.0
20.5
8.9
2 .1
1.5
1926..................................
1927...................................
1928..................................
1929..................................
1930..................................
41.5
37.8
37.9
40.9
40.2
9.6
12.4
13.7
15.8
1.1
1 .1
1.1
2 0 .2
1 .1
1 .2
1 .8
2 .0
1.3
1.9
30.7
25.3
34.5
23.8
27.0
14.2
19.2
14.4
5.2
1.3
1.5
2 0 .8
51.1
50.2
51.6
66.7
61.0
2 .2
2.3
2.3
2.7
Total...................
39.6
14.1
53.7
1.3
26.2
15.2
1.4
2 .2
278
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
T a b l e 3 .— N E T I N C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N , B Y A D M I S S I O N A N D D E P A R T U R E O F
A L I E N S , Y E A R S E N D E D J U N E 30, 1908 T O 1930
Admitted
Departed
Period or year
Increase
Immigrant
Nonim
migrant
Total
Emigrant
Nonemi
grant
Total
1 9 0 3 .... ......................
1 9 0 9 - - - ............ -......
191 0
782,870
751,786
1,041,570
141,825
192,449
156,467
924,695
944,235
1,198,037
395,073
225,802
202,436
319,755
174,590
177,982
714,828
400,392
380,418
209,867
543,843
817,619
191 1
_____-......
1912 . - -----------------191 3
.......... -......
1914 _.......... ....... ......
191 5
______ 191 6
191 7
----- ----- ----1918. .........-..............
191 9
------- -------192 0
878,587
838,172
1,197,892
1,218,480
326,700
298,826
295,403
110,618
141,132
430,001
151,713
178,983
229,335
184,601
107,544
67,922
f 67,474
101,235
95,889
191,575
1,030,300
1,017,155
1,427,227
1,403,081
434,244
366,748
362,877
211,853
237,021
621,576
295,666
333,262
308,190
303,338
204,074
129,765
66,277
94,585
123,522
288,315
222,549
282,030
303,734
330,467
180,100
111, 042
80,102
98,683
92,709
139,747
518,215
615,292
611,924
633,805
384,174
240,807
146,379
193,268
216,231
428,062
512,085
401,863
815,303
769,276
50,070
125,941
216,498
18,585
20,790
193,514
Total, 1911-1920. .
5,735,811
1,376,271
7,112,082
2,146,994
1,841,163
3,988,157
3,123,925
1 921 . ...................... 1922 .................... .
192 3
.................
192 4
....................
805,228
309,556
522,919
706,896
294,314
172,935
122,949
150,487
172,406
164,121
978,163
432,505
673,406
879,302
458, 435
247,718
198,712
81,450
76,789
92,728
178,313
146,672
119,136
139,956
132,762
426,031
345,384
200,586
216,745
225,490
552,132
87,121
472,820
662,557
232,945
Total, 1921-1925 ..
2,638,913
782,898
3,421,811
697,397
716,839
1,414,236
2,007,575
304,488
1926— .............. - .....
335,175
192 7
_____
307,255
192 8
.............
279,678
1929- - .............
241,700
1930........................... -...............
191,618
202,826
193,376
199,649
204,514
496,106
538,001
500,631
479,327
446,214
76,992
73,366
77,457
69,203
50,661
150.763
180,142
196,899
183,295
221.764
227,755
253,508
274,356
252,498
272,425
268,351
284,493
226,275
226,829
173,789
Total, 1926-1930. _
1,468,296
991,983
2,460,279
347,679
932,863
1,280,542
1,179, 737
Grand total, 19081930- ..............
12,419,246
3,641,893
16,061,139
4,015,381
4,163,192
18,178, 593
7,882, 566
i N ot sum of items, but as given in report.
Immigration Legislation
National-Origins Plan
HEN the permanent quota limit law of 1924 was enacted it
provided that the annual immigration quota of any country
W
should be 2 per cent of the number of natives of such country who
were resident in the United States as shown by the census of 1890,
with a minimum allotment of 100. Quotas aggregating 164,667 were
allotted to 67 countries or geographical areas, Germany leading with
51,227, and 39 having the prescribed minimum of 100. This was
only a temporary arrangement, however, for the same act stipulated
that beginning with July 1, 1927, the annual quota of any nation
ality “ shall be a number which bears the same ratio to 150,000 as
the number of inhabitants in continental United States in 1920 hav
ing that national origin * * * bears to the number of inhab
itants in continental United States in 1920.” The minimum quota
of 100 was retained. Immigrants from New World countries or
their descendants, aliens ineligible to citizenship or their descend
ants, the descendants of slave immigrants, and the descendants of
American aborigines were specifically excluded from the nationalorigins plan. In a broad sense, therefore, the problem was to find
the extent to which the various countries of Europe, as now con
stituted, had contributed to the white population of the country in
279
IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION
1920, beginning with the settling of Jamestown and Plymouth and
continuing down to the most recent immigrant arrivals found by the
census takers in that year.
The act made the Secretaries of State, Commerce, and Labor re
sponsible for determining the facts “ as nearly as may be,” and, as
provided by the law, expert statisticians of the Bureau of the Census
undertook the difficult task of making the necessary computations,
under the immediate supervision of a committee composed of two
officials from each of the three departments concerned. The law
provided that the President should proclaim the quotas thus deter
mined on or before April 1, 1927. Before the proclamation was
made, however, Congress postponed the date when the new quotas
were to become effective one year, or from July 1, 1927, as the law
provided, to July 1, 1928, and at the following session it was again
postponed to July 1, 1929. In the meantime the statistical experts
of the Census Bureau reviewed their earlier work and made some
more or less important changes in the national-origins population
Imsis. Finally, however, they expressed the opinion that further
study would not appreciably modify the results, and in the absence
of further legislation President Hoover proclaimed the new quotas
and they automatically became effective on July 1, 1929.
Geographically, the scope of the national-origins plan is identical
with that of the 1890 population plan which it supplanted. In
other words, natives of Canada, Newfoundland, Mexico, Cuba,
Haiti, the Dominican Republic, the Canal Zone, Brazil, Argentina,
Chile, Venezuela, and other independent countries of Central and
South America are still accorded a nonquota status. The total
quotas, however, are reduced from 164,667, ^as under the 1890
population plan, to 153,714 under national origins, the number in
excess of the 150,000 limit mentioned in the law being due to the
provisions that the minimum quota of any nationality shall be 100.
While the reduction in the total quotas is of little significance, the
national-origins plan has made a marked difference in the allotment
of various European countries, as the following comparison shows:
A N N U A L Q U O T A S U N D E R T H E 1890 P O P U L A T IO N P L A N A N D T H E N A T IO N A L -O R I G I N S
P L A N , A N D T H E N U M B E R O F Q U O T A I M M I G R A N T S A D M I T T E D , F IS C A L Y E A R S
E N D I N G J U N E 30,1929 A N D 1930, S H O W IN G I N C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F A D M I S S IO N ,
B Y C O U N T R Y O R R E G I O N O F B IR T H
Annual quota
Quota immigrants admitted
Country or region of birth
1928-29
100
Albania
- ______ - - - - __________
100
A n d orra____________________________________________
786
Austria
_ ___________________________________
612
Belgium
_____ ____________________ - ___________
100
Bulgaria
__ ___________________
3,073
Czechoslovakia___________________ _____ ____________
228
Danzig, Free City of
__
2,789
Denmark____________________________________________
124
Estonia _____________________________________________
471
Finland
__ __
__ _____________________
3,954
F r a n c e .__ _______________________________________
51,227
Germany
_______________________________________
Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
England
________________________________
Northern Ireland
_____ ____________________ •34,007
Scotland
___________________
W ales................................................................................
47767°— 31-------19
1929-30
1928-29
100
100
85
3
832
517
108
2,990
214
2,703
129
477
3,532
48,468
1,413
1,304
100
2,874
100
1,181
116
569
3,086
25,957
11,010
65,721
3,254
14,581
1,597
1929-30
no
In
crease
25
2
1
1,417
1,118
95
2,898
De
crease
586
601
13
92
112
102
1,144
1,559
17
112
559
2,812
27,119
82
18,480
7,860
21,917
2,018
7,470
4,606
7,336
421
720
21,349
280
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
A N N U A L Q U O T A S U N D E R T H E 1890 P O P U L A T IO N P L A N A N D T H E N A T IO N A L -O R I G I N S
P L A N , A N D T H E N U M B E R O F Q U O T A I M M I G R A N T S A D M I T T E D , F IS C A L Y E A R S
E N D I N G J U N E 30,1929 A N D 1930, S H O W IN G I N C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F A D M I S S IO N ,
B Y C O U N T R Y O R R E G I O N O F B I R T H — Continued
Annual quota
Quota immigrants admitted
Country or region of birth
Greece_____________________________________
Hungary
Iceland___
Irish Fffift State
__
_
Italy.......................................................................
Latvia___________________________ _________
Liechtenstein_______________________________
1928-29
1929-30
1928-29
1929-30
100
473
307
869
100
100
28,667
3,845
142
17,853
5,802
236
362
864
41
19,692
5,610
100
T'tt.Vmgrna.
100
344
Luxemburg____ ____________________________
Monaco____________________________________
Netherlands________________________________
Norway____________________________________
Poland_______;.......... .............................. ............
Portugal___________________________________
Rumania___________________________________
Russia ___________________________________
San Marino________________________________
386
166
527
52
19,341
3,845
174
35
368
100
100
100
100
101
2
1,648
6,453
5,982
503
603
2,248
3,163
2,377
6,524
440
295
2,784
100
100
131
9,561
2,081
252
3,314
1,707
226
845
0)
1,552
6,061
5,651
529
870
1,844
59
170
9,176
________ ___________________________
Sweden __________________________________
Switzerland________________________________
Turkey____________________________________
Yugoslavia_________________________________
Other Europe_______________________________
100
671
0)
Total, Europe_____________________ ____
161,422
160,491
Asia___ ___________________________________
Afrinn. Australia and Pacific Islands....... ..............
American colonies of European countries________
1,424
1,821
0)
. 1,423
1,800
164,667
153,714
Total, all countries_____________________
<0
202
67
698
359
9
398
96
4
2,788
2,546
6,456
433
670
2,231
45
332
3,204
1,605
65
782
809
144,167
137,016
2,0 20
1,186
685
880
2 2,150
614
1,717
146,918
141,497
In
crease
De
crease
196
337
11
351
1,765
28
26
30
5
2
1,236
3,515
805
...........96
200
387
14
162
5,972
415
2
84
450
7,151
964
71
837
5,421
1 Annual quota for colonies, dependencies, or protectorates in other Europe, Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands,
and America is included with the annual quota for the European country to which they belong.
2 Includes quota immigrants born in Siberia and other colonies, dependencies, or protectorates of Euro
pean countries.
Immigration Legislation, Years Ending June 30, 1929 and 1930
Two important laws affecting immigration were enacted during the
fiscal year 1928-29. Under the act of March 2, 1929, an alien
resident of the United States concerning whose admission to the
country no record is available, may secure registration provided he
(1) entered the country prior to June 3, 1921, (2) has resided in the
United States continuously since such entry, (3) is a person of good
moral character, and (4) is not subject to deportation. This legisla
tion was occasioned by the fact that in earlier days, before immigra
tion was limited by quota laws, aliens could cross the land border
without careful inspection or could land as seamen and remain here
without a record being made. In the absence of such record of entry
the foreign-born resident could not acquire citizenship, secure a
reentry permit, or enjoy other privileges that were available to regularly
admitted immigrants. The registration law makes favorable adjust
ments possible in such cases, and thousands of desirable residents will
undoubtedly benefit thereby.
The immigration authorities have repeatedly recommended that
some punishment be provided in the case of aliens entering the coun
try unlawfully after being arrested and deported. There are cases
of record where the same alien has been deported as many as five
IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION
2 81
times and as many as three such deportations were of common occur
rence. The act of March 4,1929, not only makes reentry after depor
tation a felony punishable by fine and imprisonment but provides
that any entry without inspection shall be a misdemeanor, and
finally, that any alien theretofore or thereafter deported shall be
forever barred from admission into the United States. The lastnamed provision immediately brought to light so many distressing
cases that the Secretary of Labor recommended a modification of the
law to provide that he in his discretion might give aliens deported
before the passage of the act permission to reapply. # Congress did
modify the law by act of June 24, 1929, by providing that aliens
deported prior to March 4, 1929, permission to reapply having been
granted before that date, alone might take advantage of such per
mission. This afforded deserved relief in a few cases, but the vast
majority who have been deported in past years are still under the
ban, regardless of circumstances or possible merit.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1930, there was only one
act passed by Congress having a direct bearing on the immigration
situation, and that was the act approved on June 13, 1930, which in
substance provided for the admission of certain Chinese wives of
American citizens. Heretofore, by the provisions of subdivision C
of section 13 of the act of May 26, 1924, which act became effective
on July 1, 1924, no aliens ineligible to citizenship, except certain
classes named in such section, were admissible to the United States.
The Chinese wives of American citizens not being within the ex
cepted classes were thereby denied the right to come to this country.
The act passed on June 13 amended said section of the law so as
to provide that the Chinese wife of an American citizen who was
married prior to May 26, 1924, could enter the United States as a
nonquota alien, provided, of course, that she was otherwise admis
sible under the immigration laws.
Stricter Application of Public Charge Provision of Immigration Act
A report by the State Department, made public on September 9,
1930, declared that in “ abnormal times, such as the present, when
there is not any reasonable prospect of prompt employment for an
alien laborer or artisan who comes hoping to get a job and to live
by it, the particular officer in the field to whom application for a
visa is made will, before issuing a visa, have to pass judgment with
particular care on whether the applicant may become a public charge,
and if the applicant can not convince the official that it is not prob
able, the visa will be refused.” On the abovQrmentioned date Presi
dent Hoover announced that a more stringent administration of the
public charge provision of the immigration act, in connection with
the issuance of visas, had already been undertaken in regard to
Canada and Mexico and would be extended to Europe.
282
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
Naturalization of Aliens, 1907 to 1930
HE naturalization data for 1907 to 1930 presented in Table 1
are taken from the annual report of the Commissioner of Natural
ization for the year ending June 30, 1930. Table 2, recording the
number of aliens admitted to citizenship for the fiscal years 1928-29
and 1929-30, is compiled from the above-mentioned report and that
for the preceding year.
T
T a b l e 1.— R E C A P I T U L A T I O N O F D E C L A R A T I O N S A N D P E T I T IO N S F I L E D A N D C E R
T I F I C A T E S IS S U E D F O R Y E A R S 1907 T O 1930
Petitions
Certificates
Declara
tions
Year
Civilian
190 7
190 8
190 9
191 0
..
191 1
191 2
191 3
191 4
191 5
191 6
191 7
191 8
191 9
192 0
192 1
192 2
..
192 3
192 4
192 5
..
192 6
192 7
192 8
192 9
.
193_________ 0
Total.
73,658
137,571
145,745
169,348
189,249
171,133
182,095
214,104
247,958
209,204
440,651
342,283
391,156
299,076
303,904
273,511
296,636
424,540
277,218
277,539
258,295
254,588
280,645
62,138
21,113
44,032
43,141
55,750
74,740
95,661
95,380
124,475
106,399
108,767
130,865
105,514
128,523
166,760
177,898
153,170
158,059
166,947
162,258
172,107
235,298
235,328
254,799
111,209
5,922,245
3,128,193
Military
Total
Civilian
125
5,041
4,993
720
1,942
21,113
44,032
43,141
55,750
74,740
95,661
95,380
124,475
106,399
108,767
130,865
169,507
256,858
218,732
195,534
162,638
165,168
177,117
162,258
172,232
240,339
240,321
255,519
113,151
7, 941
25,975
38,374
39,448
56,683
70,310
83,561
104, 145
91,848
87,831
88, 104
87,456
89,023
125,711
163,656
160,979
137,975
140,340
152,457
146,239
195,493
228,006
224,197
167,637
301,504
3,429,697
2,693,389
128,335
51,972
17,636
9,468
7,109
10,170
Military
Total
92
4,311
5,149
531
1,740
7,941
25,975
38,374
39,448
56,683
70,310
83,561
104,145
91,848
87,831
88,104
151,449
217,358
177,683
181,292
170,447
145,084
150,510
152,457
146, 331
199,804
233,155
224,728
169,377
300,506
3,013,897
63,993
128,335
51,972
17,636
9,468
7,109
10,170
T a b l e 2 .— A L I E N S (C IV IL IA N A N D M I L I T A R Y ) A D M I T T E D T O C IT IZ E N S H IP , F I S C A L
Y E A R S 1929 A N D 1930, A R R A N G E D B Y N A T I O N A L I T I E S ( E X C L U S I V E O F A L A S K A ,
H A W A I I , P O R T O R IC O , A N D V I R G I N IS L A N D S )
Country
Number,
1928-29
Italy____________ _____ _________ _____ _____
British Empire:
Ireland......................................... 13,162
England........... ..................... ..
9,697
Canada_____. ______ _________
8,223
S c o tla n d ................................... 6,218
Wales_______________ ________
*514
Australia------------------------------133
Others_______________________ 3,067
44,843
Total, British Empire______ ______
Poland---------- ----------- -------------------------------Russia.................................. ............. .................
Germany_________________________________
Czechoslovakia....................... ............... .........
Greece____________ __________________ _____
Sweden............................................ ................. .
Rumania_________________________________
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.................... ..
Hungary.............................................................
Austria................. ............................... ............. .
Turkey................. ........... ......... ....................... .
Norway...............................................................
41,014
31,801
18,291
16,700
9,215
6,253
5,963
5,817
5,573
4,824
4,154
3,610
3,311
Number,
1929-30
British Empire:
Ireland.............. ............................. 9,177
England......................................... 7,223
Canada. ........................................ 7,566
Scotland.........................................5,114
W ales..............................................
390
Australia........................ ..............
104
Others................... ................. ....... 2,554
Total, British Empire____ ________
I t a ly ....................................................................
Poland_____________________ _____________
Germany_____ _____ _____ ________________
Russia______ ___________ ______ __________ _
Czechoslovakia____ ______ _______________
Sweden___________________________________
Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes..__________
Greece_____________ __________ ___________
Rumania............................................................
Hungary........................................ ............. ......
Austria..................................... .........................
Repatriated Americans...................... ........
Norway..............................................................
32,128
31,551
22,596
15,762
12,994
6,942
4,848
4,236
4,011
3,932
3,787
3,217
2,800
2,752
CONDITION OF MEXICANS IN CALIFORNIA
2 83
T able 3 .— A L I E N S (C I V I L I A N A N D M I L I T A R Y ) A D M I T T E D T O C IT I Z E N S H I P , F IS C A L
Y E A R S 1929 A N D 1930, A R R A N G E D B Y N A T I O N A L I T I E S (E X C L U S I V E O F A L A S K A ,
H A W A I I , P O R T O R IC O , A N D V I R G I N I S L A N D S )— Continued
Country
.......................... ...
Lithuania, .
Netherlands________
__
__________
Denmark
Switzerland ........ ....... . ........................
Finland _
France
................
Syria and the Lfthanon
TOelgiUTn
Latvia____________________________________
Spain
Portugal__________________________________
Albania
Bulgaria__________________________________
Palestine____ ________ ____________________
Mexico ............
Persia_____________________________________
Brazil_____________________________________
Estonia__________________________ ________
Luxemburg__________________________ _
Argentina.._________________________ _____
Cuba_____________________________________
Egypt____________________________________
Danzig, Free City of_____________________
Chile_________________ _____ _______________
Colombia_________________________________
Philippines_______ _______________________
Venezuela________________________________
Liechtenstein_____________________________
Panama__________________________________
Peru. ____________________________________
Honduras_________________________________
Nicaragua________________________________
Guatemala_______________________________
Salvador___________________ _____________
Uruguay__________________________________
Costa Rica_______________________________
Armenia___
__________________ __
Bolivia____________________________________
Liberia____________________________________
San M a r i n o ,____________________________
Santo Domingo_________________________
Ecuador__________________________________
Ethiopia__________________________________
Morocco__________________________________
Irak
...................................... .................
Afghanistan_____________________________
Haiti
- ___ _______________________
Repatriated Americans__________________
Total_____________________ _________
Number,
1928-29
3,249
2,100
2,095
1,931
1,447
1,240
1,089
1,013
853
808
764
510
273
194
164
126
120
112
110
88
70
34
30
29
29
27
22
21
20
20
17
17
16
14
14
8
6
6
5
5
5
4
3
3
2
1
1
4,143
224,227
Country
Lithuania________________________ ________
Turkey___________ _______ ________________
Netherlands______________________________
Denmark__________ ________ ______________
Switzerland____________________________
Finland.................... ..................................... ..
France___________ ______________________
Portugal________________________ _____ ____
Belgium_________________ ______________
Syria and the Lebanon________________ _
Spain......... ............. ................................. ...........
Latvia....................... ........... ........... ............... ..
Albania.__________________________________
Estonia...................... ............ .............................
Bulgaria____________ ___________ ____ _____
Mexico_______________ ________ ___________
Palestine.................. ............. ......... ...................
Brazil_________________ _________ _________
Danzig, Free C ity of_____________________
Argentina...................................................... ..
Persia_____________________________________
Luxemburg..... ....................... ........... ................
Cuba....................... ......... ................. .................
Philippines____________ ___________ ______
Peru_______________ _______ _________ _____
Ecuador_______________________ _____ _____
Uruguay____________ ___________ _______
E g yp t-.............. ............... ................. ..................
Liechtenstein_____ _____ ______ ___________
Venezuela____________•....................................
Guatemala_________ ________ ______________
Panama__ _____ ______________________ ____
Chile_____ ____________________________
Colombia__________________ _____ _________
Liberia____________________________________
Santo Domingo__________________________
Ethiopia_________ _________________________
Salvador____________ _____________________
Haiti........................ ... ................- .......................
Honduras______________ __________________
_
_
__ _
Costa Rica__
Nicaragua............................ ..................... .........
Morocco__________________________________
Monaco_____________________ ______ _______
San Marino_______________________________
Irak____ _______ ___________________ _______
Bolivia____________________________________
Paraguay_________________________________
Total_______________________________
Number,
1929-30
2,466
2,335
1,696
1,652
1,424
1,251
1,167
800
747
717
635
619
359
236
213
176
152
102
100
76
69
67
62
53
47
37
30
24
23
23
18
18
16
15
11
7
6
6
5
5
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
169,035
Labor and Social Conditions of Mexicans in California
HE report of the fact-finding committee appointed by the
Governor of California and dealing with Mexicans in California
was published in October, 1930. The committee consisted of the
director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, acting
as chairman of the committee, and the directors respectively of
the California Department of Agriculture and the California Depart
ment of Social Welfare. Some of the principal findings presented in
the report are given below.
T
Mexican Immigration Before and After Passage of Quota Acts
I t i s conservatively estimated that between 1900 and 1920 ap
proximately 200,000 Mexicans came into the United States illegally.
The rush of Mexican immigration commenced during the period of
284
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
the World War, doubtless as a result of the shortage of labor at that
time. During three fiscal years in which the 3 per cent quota act
of 1921 was operative the reported number of Mexican immigrants
coining into this country rose from 18,246 in 1922 to 87,648 in 1924—
from 5.9 per cent of the total immigration in 1922 to 12.4 per cent
in 1924. In the four fiscal years under the 2 per cent quota act the
reported immigration from Mexico rose from 32,378 in 1925 to‘ 57,765
in 1928, constituting 11 per cent of all the immigration to this
country in 1925 and 18.8 per cent in 1928. The decline in Mexican
immigration in 1925 was due to the fact that that year was the first
subsequent to the adoption of visa requirements and the visa charge
of $10.
Neither Mexico’s official statistics on emigration nor the United
States’ figures concerning Mexican immigration are complete. Beyond
a doubt, there are now more than 1,000,000 Mexicans in the United
States.
The proportion of Mexican immigrant aliens declaring California
as their intended future permanent residence expanded 1305 per cent
from 1909-1912 to 1924-1927. Between the 10-year periods 19001910 and 1910-1920 the percentual expansion in the Mexican popula
tion was much greater in California than in either Arizona or Texas.
A comparison of census and immigration statistics indicates that Mexi
can immigrants drift into California from Texas and in the process
of this drifting many settle in Arizona and New Mexico.
Foreign-Born Population of California
O f the people of Mexico, approximately 10 per cent are of white
stock, 29 per cent pure Indian, and 59 per cent mestizo. It is conserva
tively estimated that the present Mexican population in California is
about 250,000. In 1910 the Mexicans constituted 6.5 per cent of the
total foreign-born whites in that State;in 1920 the percentage was 12.7.
Between 1910 and 1920 the number of Mexicans in California increased
more than the numbers of any other foreigners in that State during
the same period.
If the United States immigration laws continue to permit unre
stricted immigration from Mexico, this group of aliens will, the com
mittee thinks, predominate among the foreign-born people in Cali
fornia. Between 1910 and 1920 the foreign-born whites bom in
Mexico increased 159 per cent in California as a whole; the increase
of persons born in Mexico in 20 cities of the State combined was
214.8 per cent, the increase running as high as 284.9 per cent in
Los Angeles, 312 per cent in Oakland, and 368.9 per cent in Sacramento.
Naturalization of Mexicans
I n 1920 only 4.9 per cent of the Mexican males and females 21 years
and over residing in California were naturalized as compared to the
47.7 per cent naturalized among all foreign-born whites of both sexes
21 years of age and over residing in that State.
Of the total number of aliens admitted to United States citizenship during
five fiscal years ended June 30, 1928, only one-tenth of 1 per cent were Mexicans.
In 1920 the alien male and female Mexicans, 21 years of age and over, were 6.5
per cent of the total aliens 21 years of age and over residing in the United States.
CONDITION OP M EXICANS IN CALIFOKNIA
285
Judging by the data presented, it appears certain that while the number of
naturalized Mexicans will be somewhat greater in 1930 than in 1920, the ratio
of naturalized Mexicans of the total alien Mexicans in the United States will be
lower in 1930 than it was in 1920.
Mexicans in Industries and Nonagricultural Occupations, 1928
In C alifornia manufacturing industries in May, 1928, there were
about 11 Mexicans in every 100 wage earners. In factories where
there were both Mexicans and other workers, the Mexicans constituted
17 per cent of all the employees. The proportion of Mexicans in a
number of industries ranged from 2.4 to 66.3 per cent. Over 50 per
cent of all Mexicans in the industries in California on the above date
were employed in establishments in Los Angeles County and only
10 per cent in establishments in San Francisco County. There are
probably about 28,000 Mexicans in the manufacturing industries of
the State, and at the time of the enumeration there were 2,700
Mexicans in fruit and vegetable canneries.
Based on reports from 159 building and construction companies
employing 20,650 workers on June 15, 1928, the proportion of Mex
icans in all classes of construction was 16.4 per cent. In May, 1928,
there were 10,706 Mexican laborers on the pay rolls of six large inter
state and interurban railroads in California. In brief, the report
states, Mexicans have secured a strong foothold in the industries of the
State and are certainly displacing other immigrant races and the
native-born.
Wage Rates of Mexicans in California, 1928
T he following data on wage rates for Mexicans in the manufactur
ing industries of California are based on the best available information:
Of 255 hourly wage rates reported for Mexicans, 43.6 per cent
were under 50 cents; 24.3 per cent were from 50 to 55 cents; and 32.1
per cent were 55 cents and over, only 3.2 per cent being from 85 cents
to $1.10.
Of the 250 daily wage rates quoted, 26.8 per cent were under
$4; 32.8 per cent were $4 to $4.50; 13.6 per cent, $4.50 to $5; 12 per
cent $5 to $5.50; and only 14.8 per cent, $5.50 and over.
Of 136 weekly wage rates, 31.6 per cent were under $20, 31.7 per
cent from $20 to $26, 29.3 per cent $26 to $36, and only 7.4 per cent
over $36.
Most of the Mexicans in manufacturing establishments are laborers,
but they are also found in relatively skilled occupations such as those
listed below:
(а) In the metals, machinery, and conveyances group of industries: Black
smiths, core makers, foundry machine molders, machinists, mechanics, pipe
makers, and polishers;
(б) In the wood manufactures group of industries: Finishers, machinists,
stickermen, and upholsterers;
(c) In the chemical, oils, and paints industries: Joint turners, mechanics, and
painters;
(d) In the printing and paper goods group of industries: Bookbinders, and
workers in photo and job press departments;
(e) In the foods, beverages, and tobacco group of industries: Bakers, butchers,
mechanics, and packers.
In vegetable and fruit canneries, Mexican females are employed mainly in the
cutting departments and occasionally in the canning departments. They are
rarely used in the packing departments.
286
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
In building and construction Mexicans are employed mostly as
common laborers, at pick and shovel work, at digging trenches and in
cesspool work; also at grading. Reports from representative build
ing and construction concerns indicate that the hourly rates of Mexi
cans in the industry run from 40 to 50 cents, and daily wage rates
from $3.50 to $5, the prevailing rates appearing to be 50 cents per
hour and $4 per day.
On railroads Mexicans are used as “ section and extra gang”
laborers, their average rates being 38 cents per hour and $3.06 per
day.
According to reports from 14 private employment offices which in
the calendar year 1928 sent out 14,343 Mexicans to various jobs,
39.6 per cent of these workers were railroad laborers; 24.4 per cent,
agricultural laborers; 5 per cent, building and construction laborers;
26.6 per cent, other laborers; and 4.4 per cent workers in industries,
in restaurants and hotels, in apartments and homes, and in mercan
tile establishments.
The average wage rates of Mexicans other than railroad workers sent
to jobs by employment agencies were as follows: Hourly, with board
38 cents, without board 43 cents; daily, with board $2.61, without
board $3.51; weekly, with board $14.99, without board $16.60; and
monthly, with board $47.75 and without board $67.86.
On railroads, in building and construction, and in agriculture, free
camping facilities are frequently provided.
The majority of Mexican alien immigrants who come to this country
are “ laborers” not “ fanners and farm laborers.”
Labor Needs in California in Crop Production
F rom the detailed evidence brought together in the report under
review, concerning the labor requirements for crop production in
California with special reference to Mexican workers, the fact-finding
committee declares that the Mexicans form an important factor in
such production and at present are one of the main sources of agricul
tural labor in that State. They will undertake work that white labor
will not or can not perform. They toil under excessive heat, dust,
isolation, and on temporary jobs, and can be used in gangs. Mexicans
are preferred by a large majority of farm operators to Japanese,
Filipinos, Porto Ricans, Chinese, Negroes, and East Indians. In
brief, “ a material and abrupt reduction in the present available supply
of farm labor will force changes in California agriculture.”
Health, Relief, and Delinquency Conditions Among Mexicans in California
M exicans constitute the largest group of unskilled, low-paid labor
in California and they have come into the State willing to occupy the
same economic level as in their own country. They have had little or
no schooling and are unfamiliar with English. Before they came to
this country they lived on a meager diet, paying little attention to
sanitation and hygiene. Their infant mortality rate is high, as is
also the rate for tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. They
have had a feudal relation toward authority, making it difficult for
them to adjust themselves to American traditions. Furthermore,
the committee reports, there is a racial prejudice against them,
CONDITION OP MEXICANS IN CALIFORNIA
287
especially against those of non-European stock who are not white and
whose customs and habits are so different from the American standard.
Mexicans in California have a tendency to live in colonies both in
urban and in rural districts, and this retards their assimilation with
the native population. The housing facilities available to most of the
Mexicans are often poor and do not conform to proper sanitation
standards. Sales agreements frequently prohibit these aliens from
buying property in any but Mexican districts. The existing groundrent system in certain sections results in overcrowding and unhygienic
conditions.
In 1929, births among Mexicans in California constituted 17.7
per cent of all births in the State. In certain cities near the border,
the Mexican births constituted 60 to 70 per cent of all births.
In the seven years from 1921 to 1927 the excess of births over deaths among
the white population of the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County was only
241, while the Mexican excess of births over deaths for the same period was 4,070.
In Los Angeles city for the 10-year period from 1918 to 1927 the total excess of
births over deaths was 43,066, of which number 10,189, or 23.8 per cent, were
Mexican.
The infant mortality rate in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County in
1916 was 70 in 1,000 births for white babies and 285 among Mexican babies. In
1929 the white rate had been reduced to 39.6 but the Mexican rate was 104.5 in
spite of great efforts on the part of the health department.
According to the Los Angeles Health Department, the rate of com
municable disease cases among Mexicans is above that of the gen
eral population. The number of deaths per 100 for such cases was
decidedly higher among the Mexicans. Approximately 23 per cent of
the cases at the Los Angeles County Tuberculosis Sanitarium are
Mexicans. In 1929 the Mexican deaths from tuberculosis in Los
Angeles County (unincorporated area) constituted 21.25 per cent of
the total deaths from this disease, and in 1928 the proportion of Mexi
cans in the clientele of the tuberculosis clinics operated by the city of
Los Angeles was 27 per cent. A study made in 1926 disclosed that
23.8 per cent of all the Mexican cases (families) handled by the Los
Angeles County Charities involved tuberculosis, while only 10.8 per
cent of the non-Mexican cases involved such disease.
In the three years 1925-1927, the Women’s Venereal Clinic of the
Los Angeles City Health Department reported that its Mexican
cases constituted 41.1 per cent of its total cases. Of all the cases
receiving home nursing care in 1929 from the division of nursing of
Los Angeles city, 29 per cent were Mexicans. The proportions of
Mexicans in the State hospitals for the insane and among the admis
sions to State homes for the feeble-minded in 1927-28 were not
large, being respectively 4.3 and 6.9 per cent. In 1929-30 the total of
31,375 patients treated at the Los Angeles County General Hospital
included 5,516 Mexicans.
There is one Mexican among every 10 children receiving State aid
in California. In 1928 the proportion of Mexican children in the
orphanages of the State was 7.8 per cent and in Los Angeles County
over 16 per cent of all the children in institutions were of the race in
question. Five-sixths of the Los Angeles chest agencies give no
assistance to Mexicans. Those organizations which do serve these
people give them a great part of their service. The table following
shows the percentages of Mexican cases reported bv various other
agencies and institutions.
288
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
P E R C E N T A G E O F M E X I C A N C A S E S O F T O T A L R E P O R T E D B Y V A R IO U S W E L F A R E
A G E N C I E S OR IN S T I T U T IO N S
Year or
period
Agency or institution
Tins Angftlfls County rharitiAS
___
...
„.r
...................
-
-
Los Angeles County farm______ ______________________________________________________
Orange County Social Service Department___________________________________________
County Welfare and Relief Department of Riverside_________________________________
County Welfare Department of San Diego____________________________________________
San Quentin Prison____________________________________________________________________
Folsom Prison__________________________________________________________________________
Preston Correctional School for Boys__________________________________________________
Whittier Correctional School for Boys_________________________________________________
Ventura State Correctional School for Girls___________________________________________
Public and private institutions for delinquent girls___________________________________
Los Angeles County Jail:
M e n . . ______________________________________________________
W om en_____________________________________________________________________________
Los Angeles C ity Jail___________________________________________________________________
Los Angeles County Juvenile Probation Department________________________________
Juvenile Bureau of Los Angeles C ity Police Department (probation cases)_________
1923-1928
1928
1926-1928
1923-1928
1923-1927
1908-1929
1929
1928
1928
1928
1928
1927-28
1927-28
1925-26
1926-27
1927-28
1928
1925-26
1926-27
1927-28
Per cent
Mexican
cases are
of total
25.0
3.9
i 40.0
i 30.0
i 2 0 .0
10.5
6 .6
2 0 .0
10 .0
4.1
27.7
17.1
14.8
14.6
16.2
17.5
2 2 .1
13.4
13.1
1 2 .2
i Approximate.
While the percentage of Mexicans among the probation cases
handled by the juvenile bureau of the Los Angeles city police depart
ment shows a decrease in the 3-year period 1925-1928, the percent
age of Mexicans among the iuveniles arrested during that period
increased from 15.9 to 17.3.
Size and Income of Mexican Families in 1927 or 1927 and 1928
A h o t j s e - t o - h o u s e investigation of Mexican families in Southern
California disclosed the fact that the majority of the males included
in the survey were unskilled laborers in agricultural pursuits. Many
semiskilled and skilled workers, such as blacksmiths, carpenters,
electricians, and mechanics, were, however, found among these
immigrants.
Of 769 Mexican families covered by the investigation, 40.4 per cent
had 3 children or fewer; 54.7 per cent, 4 children or fewer; and 45.3
per cent, 5 children or more. The average number of children per
family canvassed was 4.3.
Of the 701 Mexican families for which reports on average monthly
income were obtained, 69.2 per cent averaged less than $100 per
month; 20.5 per cent, $100 but under $150; 5.9 per cent, $150 but
under $200; and only 4.4 per cent, $200 or over.
According to a study of the total incomes for 12 consecutive months
of 435 families, 47.1 per cent had yearly incomes of less than $1,000;
31.5 per cent, $1,000 but under $1,500; and 21.4 per cent $1,500 or
over. The average yearly income of these 435 families was $1,156.15.
Of the 403 families with children for whom data were secured concern
ing yearly incomes, 142 (35.2 per cent) reported 250 children on
full-time or part-time work, but mostly on part time.
289
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
Increase of Mexican Labor in Certain Industries in
the United States
N AN article by Paul S. Taylor in the Journal of Political Economy
for October, 1930, statistics are given regarding the penetration of
Mexican labor in two widely separated sections of the United States
and in certain units of three outstanding industries—transportation,
the manufacture of steel, and meat packing. The following tables are
reproduced from this article. Table 1 shows the racial distribution of
maintenance-of-way employees of nine western railroads in 1909 and
in 1928-29. Table 2 shows the number and per cent of Mexican and
of Negro laborers in certain Chicago plants, by years, 1912 to 1928.
Both tables indicate a marked growth in the importance of Mexican
labor.
I
TABLE 1 .— CH AN G ES IN
R ACE A M O N G C O M M O N LABO R E R S I N M A IN T E N A N C E O F -W A Y D E P A R T M E N T S OF N IN E W E S T E R N RAILRO AD S, B E T W E E N 1909 A N D
1928-29 •
1909
1928-29
Race
Number Per cent Number
Percent
American and miscellaneous white____________________________
10,944
12,020
31.3
31.3
American colored_____________________________________________
481
1.3
.1
American Indian____ ___ ________ ________ ___ ______________
.4
149
35
1.2
Chinese_______________________________________________________
119
406
.3
1
East- Tuvian. _
_
.
_
73
.2
Filipino....................................................................................................
287
.7
Greek_______________________ __________ ____________________
7,653
21.9
767
2.0
Italian________________________________________________________
5,941
17.0
1,337
3.5
Japanese and Korean__________________________________________
3,895
11.2
384
1.0
M exican ...___________________________________________________
59.5
22,824
17.1
Total..............................................................................................
34,919
100.0
38,369
100.0
1 The railroads, or portions thereof, and dates of reporting in both 1909 and 1928 or 1929 are: Southern
Pacific, M ay 1; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, west of Albuquerque, M ay 31; San Pedro, Los Angeles &
Salt Lake City, July; Union Pacific, July; Oregon Short Line, May 31; Denver & Rio Grande, July 1;
Oregon Railroad & Navigation Co., April; Northern Pacific, west of Paradise, Mont., June 1; Great North
ern, Spokane and Cascade divisions, July.
T a b l e 3 .— N U M B E R A N D
PER C E N T OF M E X IC A N A N D NEGRO E M P LO Y E E S IN
T W O STEEL PL AN TS A N D T W O M E A T -P A C K IN G PLA N TS OF T H E CH ICAG O -G AR Y
R EGION
Two stsel plants
Year
Mexicans
Number
1912..
1913—
1914—
1915—
1916—
1917—
1918—
1919—
1920—
1921..
1922—
1923—
1924..
1925—
1926—
1927—
1928—
Per
cent
Negroes
Num
ber
Per
cent
266
1.5
.9
.7
112
18
33
104
142
283
49
313
1,205
1,749
1,866
1,895
1,819
2,081
0.1
.1
.5
.7
1.3
.4
1.6
6.0
7.9
8.5
9.1
8.8
9.4
70
196
558
1,274
1,546
2,580
1,375
2,901
2,761
3,438
3,105
2,678
2,568
2>716
1.1
2.9
5.5
6.7
13.4
12.1
10.0
15.0
13.8
15.5
14.1
12.9
12.4
12.3
Two meat-packing plants
Total
Mexicans
em
ploy Num Per
ees
ber cent
17,441
12,693
9,964
17,265
19,490
23,140
23,073
20,112
21,365
13,780
19,403
19,985
22,118
22,052
20,762
20,723
22,061
* Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
* Data available for 1 plant only: 1917 1,466; 1918 1,624; 1919 3 710,
7
78
79
266
82
86
482
711
644
612
596
746
Negroes
Number
Per
cent
0)
0.3
.3
1.5
.6
.7
3.2
4.8
4.7
4.5
4.5
5.7
5,110
2,928
4,236
5,148
4,840
4,244
3,864
3,894
27.8
20.3
32.7
33.6
32.4
30.6
29.6
29.0
29.5
Total
em
ploy-
20,901
27,254
23,642
18,361
14,460
12,952
15,311
14,956
13,851
13,748
13,317
13,194
5,972
290
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
The Filipino in California
ILIPINO immigration into California was the subject of a
special report issued in 1930 by the department of mdustrial
relations of that State. The introduction to the publication states
that it is not presented as an argument for or against Filipino exclu
sion but to furnish information not elsewhere available concerning
the extent and characteristics of Filipino immigration into California
since 1920. The following summary brings together some of the
outstanding facts in that report.
In the decade 1920 to 1929 there were 31,092 Filipinos admitted to
California, 82.3 per cent at San Francisco and 17.7 per cent at Los
Angeles. Approximately 85 per cent of these newcomers were
brought to California from the Philippines and the Territory of
Hawaii in vessels operated by two California steamship companies.
The marked increase in this immigration to California began in 1923,
with the admission of 2,426 Philippine Islanders, in the previous
three years the total of such arrivals being only 1,855, or an average
of 618 per annum. In the seven years, 1923 to 1929, the average
number arriving was 4,177, the greatest influx being in 1929 when
5,795 were admitted—an increase of 139 per cent over the admissions
of 1923.
Since 1923, from. 81 to 97 per cent of the Filipinos who came from
Hawaii to California had been immigrants to the Territory from the
Philipine Islands.
Age and sex of Filipino immigrants.—The majority of the female
Filipinos arriving in California are natives of the Territory of Hawaii.
In the decade 1920-1929 there were 7 females to every 100 Filipinos
who came to California. But while 14 males to 1 female are coming
to California, the ratio of males to females in the total population of
that State is only 1.1 to 1. The great majority of these immigrants
(79.4 per cent) are between 16 to 30 years of age, and the total number
under 30 years of age is 84.3 per cent. On the other hand, only 22.8
per cent of the total population of California are under 30 years of age.
The percentage of female Filipino arrivals under 16 years of age is 35.3,
while the proportion of males under that age is only 4.9 per cent.
The percentage of female Filipino arrivals under 22 years of age is
57.2, and the corresponding percentage for males is 36.3.
Marital status.—Of the Filipinos coming to California, 77.3 per
cent are single, 22.5 per cent are married, and 0.2 per cent are widowed,
while 47.9 per cent of the total population of the State are single, 43.7
per cent are married, and 6.7 per cent are widowed. Although approxi
mately 43 per cent of the Filipino female arrivals are married and 2]
per cent of the males, only 12 percent of the Filipino married men bring
their wives with them on coming to California. There are fewer
married persons among the Filipino arrivals in California than among
immigrant alien Mexican or among immigrant aliens (not including
Mexicans) admitted into the United States.
Occupations and wages.—It is estimated that in the decade 1920 to
1929 possibly from 2,000 to 3,000 Filipinos left California, but from
July, 1929, to the close of that calendar year 891 departed from the
State for foreign ports. The probable number now in the State is
reported as between 31,000 and 34,000. Among the occupations in
wrhich they are found are: Bell boys, bus boys, cooks, dishwashers,
F
THE FILIPINO IN CALIFORNIA
2 91
door boys, hall boys, house cleaners, janitors, kitchen helpers, and
pantry men. There are many employers who would rather have
Filipinos than white workers because these Islanders “ are considered
steadier, more tractable, and more willing to put up with longer hours,
poorer board, and worse lodging facilities. Where a white worker may
feel restive and disgruntled because of bad working conditions, the
Filipino newcomer is satisfied to stay on the job 1without kicking. ’ ”
In 1929 the average weekly wage rates of Filipinos engaged for
certain restaurant, hotel, and domestic work were from $11.20, with
room and board, to $18.11, without room and board. Their average
monthly wage rates for similar work were from $66.68 with room and
board to $73.82 without room and board.
The monthly wage rates, with room and board, of 492 Filipinos
engaged in 1929 for hotel, restaurant, and domestic occupations
ranged from $50 to $150 a month, 21.6 per cent being paid $50; 18.9
per cent, $60; and 13 per cent, $75. Among this whole group 59
per cent were hired at $65 or less per month and only 11.7 per cent at
from $100 to $150 per month.
Many Filipinos are being used in agriculture, for example, in celery
planting, asparagus cutting, lettuce harvesting, rice harvesting, grape
picking, hoeing and topping beets, and general ranch labor. The
wages for such work vary according to the nature of the crop, location,
and other circumstances. The rates per hour run from 30 to 50 cents
and the daily rates from $2.50 to $5, the lower figures more nearly
approximating the usual pay for these workers.
A Filipino labor contractor acts as a contact man for the growers
and Filipino workers whom he engages as laborers for the growers.
He also is the go-between for his workers and the tradesmen who give
these laborers credit for the necessaries of life.
The harvesting of the asparagus crop absorbs from 5,000 to 6,000
Filipinos, who constitute over 80 per cent of the laborers on the work.
Among the other harvesters are Mexicans, Spaniards, Portuguese,
Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Turks. It is reported that in
March, 1930, there were plenty of Filipinos available in the asparagus
fields. The price paid to Filipinos and other workers for 100 pounds of
asparagus cut ranges from 90 cents to $1.40, according to the age of the
bed, the most common price being probably $1.10.
The advent of the Filipinos in the asparagus-growing districts made
it possible to use more laborers per acre and consequently to go over
the fields more thoroughly. The use of a larger number of men per
acre, however, has tended to reduce the average earnings per day per
m an.
Displacement of other workers by Filipinos.—In California, in many
occupations in certain lines of employment, particularly in hotels,
restaurants, and domestic service, Filipinos are being substituted for
native white workers and others. These Islanders are also displacing
white workers in box factories in the northern part of the State. In
agricultural occupations there is great competition between the
Filipinos and Mexicans and other immigrant labor groups, and in
some of these occupations Filipinos are being substituted for white
workers. According to the report under review, the deplorable antiFilipino riots in Exeter and Watsonville were the outcome of the
displacement of white workers by these Islanders and the widespread
racial prejudice against them.
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
293
Accidents in Selected Manufacturing Industries, 1926
to 1929
TATISTICS of industrial accidents in selected manufacturing
groups, gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicate that
26.94 accidents occurred in the combined groups during 1929 for
every 1,000,000 man-hours worked, an increase in the frequency rate
of 3 per cent, as compared with 1928. A decrease was, however,
experienced in the severity rate (the number of days lost per 1,000
man-hours worked, including allowances for deaths and permanent
disabilities), which was 2.42 for 1929, or 4 per cent less than for 1928.
A marked decrease took place during the 4-year period, 1926 to 1929,
as shown below.
S
T a b l e 1 .—A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y R A T E S F O R 30 M A N U F A C T U R I N G
I N D U S T R I E S , 1926 T O 1929
Frequency
Year
Rate
1926__________________________________________ ____ _____ _
1927___________________________ ____________________________
1928
______________________________________________
1929_____________________________________________________
31.17
25.92
26.13
26.94
Severity
Per cent of
change as
compared
with pre
ceding year
-1 7
+1
+3
Per cent of
change as
compared
with pre
ceding year
Rate
3.31
2.70
2.52
2.42
-1 8
—7
—4
The frequency rate for the combined industries dropped from 31.17
for 1926 to 25.92 for 1927, but increased somewhat during 1928 and
1929, bringing the total reduction for the period to 14 per cent. The
severity rate continued to decline, resulting in a decrease of 27 per
cent for the period.
While the bureau has compiled and published statistics of accidents
in selected manufacturing industries for several years, it has not
attempted until now to compute frequency and severity rates for the
combined industries. The information furnished by the employers
on the total man-hours worked each year in each establishment is
uniform in character, regardless of where the establishment is located,
but the data furnished by the different States on accidents in the
respective establishments vary according to the extent to which acci
dents are reported in the State. The majority of the States require
reports of all accidents resulting in disability extending beyond the
day of injury, but in some of them reports are necessary only when
the disability extends beyond one week, beyond 10 days, or beyond
two weeks. In others no records of temporary disabilities are
available. These variations prevent comparison of rates for indus
tries, except within groups having the same standard of reporting,
and does not permit a presentation of reliable frequency and severity
rates for the combined industries in all States.
47767°— 31------- 20
295
296
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
It was found, however, that the data for such States as furnished
records of all disabilities extending beyond the day of injury (lost
time accidents) constitute a fairly representative cross section for
each of the selected industries, although a smaller man-hour exposure
is considered than is covered in the full study of the bureau. The
rates computed from such data for the individual industries are also
strictly comparable, because each one represents the respective
hazard for the particular industry per 1,000,000 or per 1,000 manhours worked. These rates, by extent of disability and by years, are
shown in detail in the table following.
As all industries are not of equal importance, some method of
weighting is necessary in the production of general rates for the com
bined industries. An arithmetical average would be unsatisfactory;
and therefore in computing the bureau’s accident frequency and
severity rates for the combined manufacturing industries, the rates
for the individual industries were weighted according to the number
of wage earners employed on the basis of figures furnished by the
United States Bureau of the Census. This was deemed the most
appropriate weight for the purpose. Detailed rates for the combined
industries, by degree of disability and by years, are shown at the end
of the table following.
These rates differ somewhat from the rates published by the Na
tional Safety Council in the 1930 edition of Industrial Accident
Statistics. The variation is presumably due mainly to the difference
in classifications included. The National Safety Council includes
construction, electric railway, laundry, mining, printing and pub
lishing, public utility, and quarry industries, as well as some mercan
tile establishments, and omits some of the classifications covered by
the bureau. The difference may also be due to a certain extent to
the weighting employed by the bureau.
The industrial accident study of the bureau for industries other
than the iron and steel industry covered 29 manufacturing industries
for 1926,1927, and 1928. A division was possible in 1929 of the clas
sification “ lumber—sawmills,” which included logging operations for
the other three years, as separate figures could not be secured for these.
Consequently an additional industrial classification, logging, appears
for 1929, but this affects only the rates for the sawmill operations, and
does not disturb the total. The iron and steel industry, data for
which are obtained through a special yearly study, has previously
been treated separately in the bureau publications, but is included
here with the other manufacturing industries.
The basic tabulation covers approximately 16 per cent of the total
wage earners in the respective industries for 1926, 23 per cent for
1927, 24 per cent for 1928, and 27 per cent for 1929.
During the period covered by the tabulation decreases in frequency
rates are shown by 16 groups, while the other 14 groups show increases.
Decreases and increases in severity rates are equally divided among
the groups, 15 of each.
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES,
2 97
1926 TO 1929
T a b l e 2 .— N U M B E R O F A C C I D E N T S A N D A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y
R A T E S F O R S P E C I F I E D I N D U S T R I E S , 1926 T O 1929
[Frequency rates are based on 1, 000,000 hours’ exposure, severity rates on 1,000 hours’ exposure]
Permanent
Death
ability
Number
offullyear
Industry and year
Se N u m Fre
Fre
workers N um
quen
quen ver
ber of
reported ber of cy
cy
ity
cases
cases
rate
rate rate
Agricultural im
plements:
1926...................
1927...................
1928...................
1929 i.................
Automobiles:
1926....................
1927....................
1928....................
1929 i.................
Automobile tires:
1926....................
1927....................
1928....................
1929....................
Boots and shoes:
1926....................
1927....................
1928....................
1929....................
Brick:
1926....................
1927 *.................
1928 *.................
1929 i .................
Carpets:
192 6
192 7
1928...................
1929...................
Chemicals:
192 6
1927 i_________
1928...................
1929....................
Cotton goods:
192 6
..
192 7
1928...................
1929 i.................
Electrical
ma
chinery:
1926...................
1927...................
1928...................
1929...................
Fertilizers:
1926...................
1927...................
1928...................
1929 i .................
Flour: .
1926....................
1927 i .................
1928 *.................
1929....................
Foundry and ma
c h in e -s h o p
products:
1926....................
1927 1.................
1928 *.................
1929....................
5,126
7,282
7,134
7,628
28,360
48,886
52,269
58,127
_
__
3
4
0.27
.14
.18
1.65
.84
1.05
10
.1 2
.05
.06
.08
180
142
229
299
2.1 2
7
9
14
.71
.29
.34
.48
.33
.46
.49
.67
32
61
62i
64
.59
.1 1
11
0
6
39
28
25.21
12.63
20.83
20.97
.35
.23
.33
.32
2,335 27.45
2,001 13.65
3,505 22.35
3,970 22.76
2.11
.46
.51
.51
.40
2,913
3,771
3,877
2,642
54.07
40.95
35.53
24.49
.72
.73
.62
.43
2,948
3,839
3,948
2,718
1.51
1.70
1.62
1.50
.05
.47
.75
.49
316
892
904
1,228
7.13
7.48
8.52
8.48
.09
.14
.17
.14
322
962
985
1,316
.78 1.67
.77 .75
.55 .59
.89 1.04
809
1,436
1,237
1,578
57.34
35.46
42.56
45.29
.92
.55
.73
.65
823
1,476
1,261
1,624
0
12 " ” ."26 “".'25
19
214
231
358
4.31
4.66
5.47
8.34
.08
19
227
260
393
4.31 .08
4.94 .49
6.15 1.38
9.15 1.57
13.26
.25
126
330
790
900
13.47 .31
12.88 2.07
21.13 4.99
19.35 2.17
12
.1 1
1
1
2
1
.0 2
.0 1
.0 2
.0 1
.14
.05
.04
5
69
79
87
4,703
13,497
9,685
11,629
3
9
.2 1
.2 2
8
15
.28
.43
1.28
1.33
1.65
2.58
31
16
31
1,482
15,321
14,091
14,286
0
1
.0 2
4
4
.09
.09
.13
.57
.56
25
31
.59
.72
2
.2 1
.6 6
5
.2 0
.53
.15
1.17
3.21
.90
.16
.29
7
17
35
57
.6 6
.57
.59
.58
.74
.60
67
.89
.06
124
308
735
836
36.03 0.58
27.37 .46
30.94 .47
34.96 .51
593 38.57 3.66
632 28.92 3.21
2,145
1,852
3,267
3,657
14,779
39,763
35,396
48,258
20
Se N u m Fre Se N u m Fre Se
quen ver
quen ver
ver
ber of
ber of
cy
ity
cy
ity
ity cases
cases
rate rate
rate rate
rate
5.19
.97 1.27
1.46 1.1 0
1.71 1.31
.06
.08
.08
0
Total
554
598
662
800
3
7
9
3,117
8,540
12,461
15,506
Temporary dis
ability
2.54 3.08
1.28 1 .1 0
.98 .48
2.97 3.38
21
68
17,951
30,696
36,377
35,967
.1 1
dis
.1 1
.14
.1 2
686 32.06 1.79
872 38.11 4.94
54.72
41.69
36.18
25.19
6.25
1.79
1.77
7.26 .28
8.07 .6 6
9.28 1.03
9.09 .67
58.33
36.45
43.39
46.61
3.87
2.63
2.97
4.27
12.02
.2 2
19.66
17.97
.45
.27
1,171 8.83
2,258 13.23
2,332 12.15
3,002 14.36
.18
.27
.23
.28
1,194 9.00 .32
2,321 13.60 .81
2,419 12.61 .74
3,137 15.01 1.1 0
1.03 .64
1.15 1.0 2
.99 .80
1.52 .1 2
1,095
2,611
2,181
3,502
21.13
14.28
11.80
13.70
.37
.36
.32
.27
1,153
2,832
2,374
3,902
.51 .28
.93 1.79
.91
.84 1,14
174
261
476
567
44.54
34.83
36.54
36.57
.8 8
.6 6
.77
.69
177
271
499
589
45.31
36.16
38.31
37.99
2.70
4.85
6.28
5.31
.6 8
.94 1.33
1.23 1.0 0
44,194
56.903
63,952
69,694
10
.04
.03
.05
18,137
60,927
61,634
85,201
2
11
10
12
.04
.06
.05
.05
.2 2
56
.36
.32
.28
210
183
388
1
.26
.40
.77
.58
1.54
2.40
4.60
3.48
7
13
13
1.0 0
2.06
1.41
1.07
1.29
15
25
24
31
1.29 1.94
1.17 .90
.8 6
.94
.95 1.00
310 26.57
477 22.37
845 30.10
1,202 36.89
.50
.41
.54
.62
329
507
874
1,240
28.20
23.77
31.14
38.05
450
2.72
2.55
2.91
1.26
1.04
.93
.65
85
338
301
339
1.05 1.05
1.54 1.33
1.51 .82
1.59 1.39
3,193
6,356
5,763
6,799
.58
.51
3,295
6,732
6,093
7,161
40.58
30.76
30.64
33.69
2.89
1,309
2,498
4,341
5,167
0
6
5
3
10
9
3,889
7,107
9,355
10,863
4
5
5
7
.34
.23
.18
27,069
72,963
66,276
70,850
17
38
29
23
.2 1
.2 1
.17
.15
.1 1
.2 1
23
57
82
125
2
.17
.33
.43
.60
.14
.33
.35
.53
39.32
29.05
28.98
31.99
.2 1
.48
22 .20 1.23
15.49 1.74
12.84 1.44
15.27 .67
2 .8 8
1.18
2.52
i The record for Kansas for 1927 and for North Carolina for 1929, included in this table, covers 6 months
only (July to December).
3 The record for Oklahoma, included here, omits fatal cases.
298
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
T able 2 . —N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y
R A T E S F O R S P E C I F I E D I N D U S T R I E S , 1926 T O 1929— Continued
Permanent
Death
ability
Number
offullyear
Industry and year
Fre
Se
N um Fre
workers N u m
quen ver
quen
reported ber of
ity ber of cy
cy
cases
cases
rate rate
rate
Furniture:
192 6
1927 i _________
1928 2 ...............
1929 1_________
Glass:
1926........... ..
1927__________
1928 2_________
3929................. ..
Hardware:
192 6
192 7
.
3928...................
1929...................
Iron and steel:
1926__________
1927__________
1928............... .
1929......... .........
Leather:
1926...................
1927__________
1928_____ _____
1929 i .................
Logging: 1929____
Lumber— planing
mills:
1926__________
1927__________
1928 2................
19291................
L u m b e r —s a w
mills:
1926................. .
1927....................
1928..................
1929 i .................
Machine tools:
1926...................
1927...................
1928......... .........
1929................. .
Paper and pulp:
1926...................
1927 1.................
1928...................
1929 i.................
Petroleum refin
ing:
1926...................
19271.................
1928 2.................
1929...................
Pottery:
1926...................
1927...................
1928...................
1929...................
Shipbuilding:
192 6
192 7
1928........... ..
1929...................
11,726
21,918
0
22,020
5
7
24,345
8
6,717
19,267
21,107
27,242
14
7
14
886
3, 764
4,040
4,467
1
0
1
3
2
0.08
.11
.1 1
.17
40.44
39.29
41.93
30.65
1.83
2.31
1.53
1.75
.09
.25
.15
.53
1.49
.89
5
15
14
28
1.88
.73
1.33 1.0 2
1.16 1.0 0
2.09 1.42
75
330
400
460
28.22
29.22
33.01
34.32
.58
.44
.55
.40
80
346
417
490
30.10
30.64
34.42
36.56
1.31
1.99
3.04
2.71
.25
1.47 1,202
1.24 1,033
1.1 0
993
1.19 1,781
.92
.87
.79
1.16
.80
.80
.80
.96
31, 667
22,060
23,434
35,836
24.17
18.58
18.68
23.44
.40
.30
.40
.47
33,191
23,338
24,656
37,921
25.34
19.66
19.65
24.80
2.67
2.34
.72
.52
.31
.44
3.98
7
19
28
23
106
.42 .62
.55 .41
.71 .92
.56 .45
2.13 1.77
187
948
789
970
2,050
.26
.43
20.12
.27
23.76 .36
41.20 1.06
196
970
819
996
2,189
11.81 1.60
28.07 1.36
20.88 1.50
24.39 1.25
43.99 6.81
1.14
1.91
.99
47
72
118
169
2.99
2.55
3.25
4.02
2.15
2.64
2.17
2.85
467
634
1,162
1,233
29.70
22 .44
31. 97
29.34
.65
.57
.60
.49
517
715
1,286
1,409
32.88
25. 31
35.39
33.53
3.94
5.12
3.76
4.34
2.07
3.19
3.39
2.56
3.28
3.74
3.29
1.78
1,012 63.62 1. 57
2,386 58.46 1.25
5,467 49.63 1.08
2,840 46.29 .8 8
1,060
2,538
5,913
3,016
66.63
62.19
53.67
49.16
10.51
.54
.76
.99
.32
.70
.90
♦74
623
780
875
1,253
22.32
21.30
22.31
25.31
.25
.34
.40
.36
641
811
926
1,309
22.97
22.14
23.61
26.44
1. 21
1.53
2.37
1.65
.72
.83
1,562
2,224
2,284
2,900
31.05
28.43
28.03
27.91
.51
.60
.56
.48
1,605
2,368
2,452
3,107
31.91
30.27
30.10
29.90
2.17
3.60
3.63
3.00
99 8.72
1,979 33.04
1,310 19.49
1,609 20.76
.2 0
105 9.25 .52
2,071 34.58 4.15
1,381 20.55 3.02
1,706 22.01 3.23
.2 1
.18
.2 0
.6 6
.19
.32
.17
.17
1.0 0
5.66
3.23
3.92
1.8 6
33
130
374
157
9,303
12,207
13,074
16,509
3
3
7
7
.1 1
.08
.18
.14
.64
.49
1.07
.85
15
28
44
49
16,770
26,074
27,158
34,632
7
18
14
14
.14
.23
.18
.13
.83
1.38
1.03
.81
36
126
154
193
3,783
19,951
22,401
25,849
6
.53
.32
25
25
28
.42
.37
.36
2.51
2.23
2.17
67
46
69
1 .1 2
1.12
.69
.89
.42
.72
3,946
6,053
7,449
9,275
1
2
.08
.51
.11
.6 6
2
6
3
.13
.03
.80
.17
.33
.32
.32
.36
.18
.46
745
0
6,011
5
3
.1 1
1 .6 6
.6 6
10
.24
1.46
0
1
19.51 1.92
25.64 2.51
815
2,271
2,655
2,513
.94
.54
.65
.31
22
24.31 1.97
21.66 2.19
.49
.51
.55
.37
72
19
9,133
13,642
15
855
1,425
1,289
1,872
39.55
38.63
41.38
29.96
.09
.05
.07
5,302
13,631
36,724
20,481
22.60 0.53
19.70 .30
18.04 .31
23.34 .31
797
2,233
2,620
2,456
3
7
795
1,296
1,192
1,704
.84 1.04
.42 .35
.44 .32
.52 .36
3
33
14,021
1. 71 1.44
1.8 8 1.43
1.36 .98
2.19 1.54
17
24
28
43
.1 2
6
60
124
90
160
.6 6
1 .0 2
2
3
9
Se N u m Fre Se N u m Fre Se
quen ver
quen ver
ver
ber of
ber of
ity
cy
ity cases
cy
ity
cases
rate rate
rate
rate rate
.30
1.45
5,530
11,521
13,066
13,586
16,600
5,242
9,416
Total
.05
.24
322
245
229
304
12,112
.6 6
Temporary dis
ability
.11
436,692
395, 707
418,163
509,700
2
0.46
.63
dis
.2 1
7
9
2
.28
36
43
47
1 .1 2
1. 61 1.62
1.89 2.04
1 .8 6 1. 71
.2 1
142
229
299
445
.89 1.92
2 .0 0 2.58
1.57 1.26
1.15 .80
123
798
448
910
11. 27
27.43
12.00
12.61
13.38
15.97
55.03
44.25
16. 35
22.20
.52
.37
.34
2 .2 0
2.62
8 .2 2
8.29
4.52
.25
.17
.26
.27
145
237
309
455
12.25 1.1 2
13.05 1.01
13.83 1.52
16.32 .69
.96
.76
.48
.34
125
839
494
967
55.92
46.53
18.03
23. 59
2 .8 8
5.00
2.40
2.60
1 The record for Kansas for 1927 and for North Carolina for 1929, included in this table, covers 6 months
only (July to December).
2 The record for Oklahoma, included here, omits fatal cases.
299
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES, 1226 TO 1929
T able 2-~ N U M B E R OF A C C ID E N T S A N D A C C ID E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R IT Y
R A T E S F O R S P E C I F I E D I N D U S T R I E S , 1926 T O 1929-Continued
Permanent
Death
ability
Number
offullindustry and year
year
Fre
Se N u m Fre
workers N um quen
ver
quen
reported ber of
ber of
cy
cy
ity
cases
cases
rate rate
rate
Slaughtering and
meat packing:
19,809
1926...................
36,222
1927 i.................
1928 2.................
38,674
1929...................
48,116
S ta m p e d and
enameled ware:
1926....................
6,105
10,004
1927...................
8,068
1928............
8,537
1929................. .
Steam fittings, ap
p a r a tu s and
supplies:
1926..................
2,640
15,652
1927...................
1928...................
8,935
9,538
1929....................
Btoves:
4,379
1926....................
7,515
1927....................
1928....................
7,880
9,645
1929....................
6 tru ctu ra l-iro n
work:
1,737
1926...................
8,862
1927 i.................
1928 2.................
10,105
13,553
1929..................
Woolen goods:
7,757
1926....................
15,796
1927....................
1928
.........
22,607
23,189
1929...................
All groups:
719,185
1926 .............
1927.................... 1,003,953
1 9 2 8 ................. 1,075,687
1929.................. 1,276,103
Weighted
aver
age, all groups:
1926 _
1927....................
1928....................
1929
dis
X
9.13
.14
.13
.16
0.81
.83
.78
.96
93
136
127
187
1.56 1.50
1.25 1 .0 0
1.09 .71
1.29 .81
0
2
2
.07
.08
3
.1 2
.40
.50
.70
28
36
50
77
1.52 1.15
1.2 0
.70
2.07 1 .2 0
3.00 2.07
.04
.15
.07
.25
.90
.42
4
25
42
30
.50 1.32
.53 .32
1.57 1.25
1.05 .85
21
.04
.13
.27
.76
.62
25
28
46
1.60 1.93
1.04
1.18 .70
1.59 1.39
0
2
4
2
0
1
3
3
12
23
15
15
1
1
0
2
.1 0
2.30 13.82
.87 5.20
.49 2.96
.37 2.2 1
.04
.0 2
.03
12
20
52
69
1.11
2.30 3.78
.75 .51
1.72 1.24
1.70 .87
.26
.13
3
.13
10
.2 1
.17
23
25
.34
.36
416
495
531
616
.06
.17
.29
.33
.2 2
1.30
1.06
1.1 0 1.47
1 .2 0 1.2 0
1.11
1.28 1.08
1.42 1.05
.94
2,935
3,810
5,080
6,449
49.39 0 .6 6
35.05 .54
43.78 .63
44.67 .57
3,036
3,961
5,222
6,659
51.08
36.44
45.00
46.12
2.97
2.37
.48
.35
.44
.42
921
845
740
783
50.28
28.16
30.57
30.54
1 63
l! 45
2.14
3.19
31. 31
22.51
32.00
30.12
.39
.33
.55
.43
252
1,084
904
895
31.81 1.71
23.08 .90
33.72 2.70
31.24 1.70
532 40.50
.62
.62
.55
.53
553
1,028
965
1,245
42.10
45.59
40.82
43.07
2.55
1.93
68.70 1.32
39.34 .61
51.65 .92
40.86 .64
~
382
1,089
1,633
1,745
73.30
40.96
53.86
42.93
18.92
6.32
5.12
3.72
256 11.01
455 9.60
785 11.57
1,051 15.13
.62
.45
.47
.75
893 48.76
807 26.89
688 28.42
703 27.42
248
1,057
858
863
1,002 44.44
934 39.51
1,196 41.38
358
1,046
1,566
1,661
252 10.84
444 9.37
762 11.23
1,024 14.74
.30
.15
.18
.25
55,590
65,097
72,678
92,733
2,043
2,929
3,331
4,801
.18
.18
. ie
Total
Se N u m Fre Se N u m Fre Se
ver
quen verquen ver
ber of
ber of
ity
cy
cy
ity
cases
cases
rate
rate
rate rate
15
15
23
8
Temporary dis
ability
2 .1 2
2.34
2.01
2.54
58,049
68,521
76,540
98,150
29.85
24.54
24.66
25.36
.54
.45
.43
.43
31.17
25.92
26.13
26.94
3.31
2. 71
2.52
2.42
1 The record for Kansas for 1927 and for North Carolina for 1929, included in this table, covers 6 months
only (July to December).
2 The record for Oklahoma, included here, omits fatal cases.
300
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
Accident Experience of Establishments Reporting to
National Safety Council
HE accident experience in 1929 of 3,603 industrial establish
ments reporting to the National Safety Council is shown in Table
1, reproduced from Industrial Accident Statistics, 1930 edition, pub
lished by the council.
T
T a b l e 1 .— E S T A B L I S H M E N T S , E X P O S U R E , A N D A C C I D E N T R A T E S , B Y I N D U S
T R IE S , 1929
[Arranged in order of frequency rates, from high to low]
Industry
Accident
frequency
Number
Hours of expo rates (per
of estab
sure
1,000,000
lishments
hours’
exposure)
M ining....................................... —
M eat packing...............................
Construction................................
Refrigeration................................
Woodworking and lumbering.
Tanning and leather.................
Foundry.........................................
Electric railways.........................
M etal forming..............................
Ceramic..........................................
Paper and pulp...........................
Petroleum......................................
Quarry............................................
Nonferrous metallurgical.........
Public utility...............................
Automobile...................................
Railway car and equipment—
Food................................................
Rubber...........................................
Machinery...................................Steel.................................................
Glass products.............................
Chemical........................................
Laundry........................................
Printing and publishing__ _
Textile.............................................
Cement...........................................
162
18
397
44
Total i.................................
Accident
severity
rates (per
1,000
hours’
exposure)
74.43
55.94
50.41
43.35
42.83
31.35
30.30
29.75
29.71
28.93
28.43
26.78
26.71
23.16
22.58
22.17
9.99
1.47
4.62
3.04
3.59
1.60
1.73
1.93
1.67
1.07
1.77
2.49
21.88
2 .2 0
21.07
19.25
18.91
18.13
17.70
17.50
12.78
12.23
11.82
9.55
1.50
1.24
153
138
82,095,942
102,832,500
127,344,439
20,255,495
160,257,172
28,552,020
409,795,710
78,445,722
324,732,946
19,301,791
196,881,082
565,701,537
18,011,588
37,515,661
589,150,210
346,572,274
69,096,822
137,278,278
175,157,500
448,821,236
567,248,244
20,452,053
206,439,640
10,174,088
14,059,389
199,749,575
75,739,429
2.75
.80
1.72
1.53
.67
.58
3.64
3,603
5,058,942,337
25.53
2.23
222
34
229
46
347
42
215
79
125
26
403
67
37
171
42
212
128
17
172
34
20
6.11
2.71
3.13
.97
1.11
* Includes also miscellaneous industries.
Table 2 gives, by industry, the accident frequency and severity
rates of 1,092 establishments reporting to the National Safety Coun
cil in each of the three years 1927, 1928, and 1929. The man-hours
of exposure for these years were 2,096,530,522, 2,156,131,740, and
2,291,410,441, respectively.
301
ACCIDENT RECORD, B Y INDUSTRY
T a b l e 2 .— A C C I D E N T F R E Q U E N C Y A N D S E V E R I T Y R A T E S O F A L L E S T A B L I S H M E N T S
R E P O R T I N G T O N A T I O N A L S A F E T Y C O U N C I L I N E A C H O F T H R E E Y E A R S , 1927,1928,
A N D 1929, B Y I N D U S T R I E S i
1927
N um Accident Accident
ber of frequency severity
firms rates (per rates (per
1,000,000
1,000
hours*
hours'
exposure) exposure)
Industry
Automobile_________________________
Chemical___________________________
Construction_______________________
Electric railways___________________
Food____________________ ___________
Foundry____________________________
Machinery__________________________
M eat packing______________________
M etal forming______________________
Nonferrous metallurgical__________
Paper and pulp_____________________
Petroleum.
_ ._
Printing and publishing___________
Public u tility 2_____________________
Railway car and equipment_______
Rubber_____________________________
Steel________________________________
Tanning and leather_______________
Textile_____ _________________________
W ood working______________________
Miscellaneous industries___________
31
84
46
106
15
25
51
14
51
80
7
Total »............................................
1,092
10
81
111
99
7
116
15
111
14
6
23.80
19.50
62.94
22.96
21.62
24.46
17.56
47.10
1929
1928
24.99
18.52
60.16
20.90
23.51
23.16
15.64
53.91
1,000
hours’
exposure)
26.44
20.15
17.59
30.34
10.58
46.99
12.66
1.03
.47
2.35
.23
3.84
1.27
1.17
2.48
.78
.54
3.33
1.27
11.21
25.85
1.92
23.39
1.97
22.90
2.0 2
1.1 0
.80
1.38
1.64
1.99
2.25
.13
3.74
3.86
1 .0 0
2 .0 0
22.00
4.40
1.50
1.53
1.12
.92
1.8 6
1.40
2.30
2.24
2.80
.2 2
26.43
18.95
45.02
15.27
22.47
26.85
16.46
34.63
22.18
29.50
24.07
29.38
Accident
severity
rates (per
30.34
24.73
26.19
9.37
21.98
15.90
24.95
19.81
29.98
11.80
47.33
10.07
31.61
30.27
29.64
6.79
28.37
28.32
30.84
21.75
28.88
12.58
49.14
2.0 1
5.87
2.05
1.71
1.50
1.37
2.0 0
Accident
frequency
rates (per
1 ,000,000
hours’
exposure)
1.06
1.67
4.57
2.79
1.91
1.64
1.14
.99
1.38
3.05
1.78
2.65
.24
3.52
1.60
1.29
2.65
3.04
.59
4.12
.24
2 2 .1 0
1.08
Accident Accident
fre.quency severity
rates (per rates (per
1,000,000
1,000
hours’
hours’
exposure) exposure)
8 .0 0
20 .0 2
i Data not available for cement, glass products, mining, and quarry industries.
3 Does not include the manufacture and distribution of gas.
3 Totals include some establishments in ceramic, laundry, and refrigeration industries, not shown sepa
rately in the table. The exposure in these industries was so small that the rate changes could not be con
sidered reliable indications of accident trends.
Accident Record, by Industry
Coal Mines
HE data presented in the following table for accidents in coal
mines are derived from the publications of the United States
Bureau of Mines. The information is limited to fatal accidents, the
statistics for nonfatal accidents in coal mining being very unsatisfac
tory.
It will be noticed that two kinds of fatality rates are given, namely,
the rate per 1,000,000 hours’ exposure and the rate per 1,000,000
tons mined. That based on hours of exposure gives a measure of
the hazard of fatal injury encountered by the men. The rate by
quantity mined measures the cost of coal in terms of fatal accidents.
T
302
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
T able 1 .— M E N E M P L O Y E D , P R O D U C T I O N , M E N K I L L E D , A N D F A T A L I T Y R A T E S
IN
C O A L M I N E S , 1911 T O 1928, B Y Y E A R S
M en employed
Killed
per
thou
sand
300day
work
ers
Production
(short tons)
Average
production
Fatali
Produc
Fatali
per man
ties per
tion per
ties per
million
death
million
hours’
(short
tons
Tons Tons
mined expo
tons)
per
per
sure
year day
2,656
2,419
2,785
2,454
2,269
4.97
4.46
4.70
4.66
4.44
496,371,126
534,466,580
570,048,125
513,525,477
531,619,487
186,887
220,945
204,685
209,261
234,297
Aver
M en
age
Equiv
days killed
Actual alent in
active
number 300-day
workers
Year
1911............... 728,348
1912............... 722,662
1 9 1 3 ............ 747,644
1914________ 763,185
1915________ 734,008
534,122
541,997
593,131
526,598
511,598
220
Average __ 739,169
541,489
220
2,517
4.65
529,206,159
565,766
634,666
654,973
542,217
601,283
235
251
258
209
230
2,226
2,696
2,580
2,323
2,272
3.93
4.25
3.94
4.28
3.78
590,098,175
651,402,374
678,211,904
553,952,259
658,264,932
599,781
4.03
626,385,929
1 9 1 6 ............
1917________
1918......... ..
1919...............
1920________
720,971
757,317
762,426
776,569
784,621
225
238
207
209
682
740
762
673
724
3.10
3.29
3.20
3.25
3.46
5.35
4.53
4.89
4.78
4.27
2.04
1.70
1.80
1.78
1.69
210,253
716
3.26
4.76
1.80
265,094
241,618
262,873
238,464
289,729
818
860
890
713
839
3.48
3.42
3.45
3.41
3.65
3.77
4.14
3.80
4.19
3.45
1.53
1.71
1.61
1.77
1.57
258,944
824
3.48
3.86
1.64
615
565
763
733
777
3.56
3.92
3.91
3.81
4.04
3.94
4.16
3.74
4.20
3.84
1.74
2.03
1.82
1.99
1.93
237
2,419
823,253
844,807
862,536
779,613
748,805
474,529
405,056
560,646
499,896
480,227
173
144
195
192
192
1,995
1,984
2,462
2,402
2,234
4.20
4.90
4.39
4.80
4.65
506,395,401
476,951,121
657,903,671
571,613,400
581,869,890
253,832
240,399
267,223
237,974
260,461
Average __ 811,803
484,071
179
2,215
4.58
558,946,697
252,346
689
3.85
3.96
1.89
221
2,518
2,231
2,176
4.50
4.43
4.64
657,804,437
597,858,916
576,093,039
261,241
267,978
264,749
867
788
844
3.92
3.96
4.10
3.83
3.73
3.78
1.83
1.92
A verage.. 760,381
1 9 2 1 ............
1 9 2 2 ............
1923..............
1924...............
1925...............
1926...............
1927...............
1928...............
759,033
759,177
682,831
559,426
503,065
468,680
199
206
1.8 6
1
Coke Ovens
T he following table showing the number of fatalities and injuries,
the number of men employed, and the days of labor performed at
coke ovens from 1916 to 1929, by years, is reproduced from the
report of the United States Bureau of Mines on accidents in this
industry during 1929 (Technical Paper 495).
T able 2 .— M E N E M P L O Y E D , D A Y S O F L A B O R P E R F O R M E D , A N D N U M B E R K I L L E D
A N D IN J U R E D A T
C O K E O V E N S , 1916 T O 1929
Beehive ovens
M en employed
Days of
labor per
formed
Num ber killed
Num ber injured
!
Per
Per
thousand
thousand
Total
Total
300-day
300-day
workers
workers
Average
days
active
Actual
number
Equiva
lent in
300-day
workers
1916.......................................
1917.......................................
1918.......................................
1919......................................
1920.......................................
300
308
300
244
276
18,570
18,820
16,442
13,333
10,955
18,591
19,295
16,436
10,829
10,094
5,577,341
5,788,576
4,930,694
3,248,568
3,028,062
24
25
19
Average 1________
289
15,624
15,049
1921.......................................
1922......................................
1 9 2 3 ....................................
1924.......................................
1925.......................................
141
184
252
187
213
6,011
7,871
8,515
6,450
7,246
2,835
4,823
7,144
4,025
5,140
199
7,218
4,793
220
6,605
3,976
3,161
3,335
4,847
3,071
2,279
2,568
Year
Average
_____ __
1 9 2 6 ..................................
1927.. ..............................
1928.. _________ _______
1929......................................
232
216
231
1
10
11
1.29
1.30
1.16
.92
1.09
1,822
2,155
1,364
1,035
100.37
94.43
131.11
125.96
102.54
4,514,648
18
1.18
1,649
109.54
850,543
1,447,119
2,143,363
1,207,549
1,541,999
5
1.76
8
12
1 .6 6
1 .6 8
3
4
.75
.78
336
474
875
457
498
118.52
98.28
122.48
113.54
96.89
1,438,115
7
1.34
528
110.15
1,454,243
921,253
683,794
770,459
6
2
1.24
.65
1.32
1.17
645
287
160
133.07
93.45
70.21
82.55
3
3
i Calculations based on the sum of 5 years rather than on the average of fi years.
1,866
212
303
ACCIDENT RECORD, BY INDUSTRY
T a b l e 2 ,— M E N E M P L O Y E D , D A Y S O F L A B O R P E R F O R M E D , A N D N U M B E R
A N D IN J U R E D A T C O K E O V E N S , 1916 T O 1929-Continued
K IL L E D
By-product ovens
Number killed
M en employed
Average
days
active
Year
Actual
number
Equiva
lent in
300-day
workers
D ays of
labor per
formed
Total
N um ber injured
Per
thousand
300-day
workers
Total
Per
thousand
300-day
workers
1916......................................
1917— .................... ...........
i918.................. ......... .........
1919...................—...............
1920......................................
357
360
358
328
346
13,033
13,597
15,947
15,408
17,184
15,528
16,300
19,040
16,845
19,827
4,658,333
4,889,853
5,711,994
5,053,491
5,948,152
51
54
43
38
1.35
3.13
2.84
2.55
1.92
3,371
4,891
5,637
2,667
2,380
217.09
300.06
296.06
158.33
120.04
Average 1________
349
15,034
17,508
5,252,365
41
2.36
3,789
216.43
325
353
364
357
354
10,193
11,407
15,214
14,001
16,008
11,033
13,413
18,483
16,656
18,914
3,309,755
4,023,820
5,544,797
4,996,899
5,674,240
12
21
1.09
1.57
1.79
1.26
1.27
1,517
1,236
1,718
1,188
1,198
137.50
92.15
92.95
71.33
63.34
Average 1________
352
13,365
15,700
4,709,902
22
1.41
1,371
87.35
1926____________ ________
1927— _________________
1928_______________ _____
1929......................... ...........
353
362
359
363
16,510
16,691
16,229
19,124
19,441
20,152
19,431
23,156
5,832,362
6,045,782
5,829,135
6,946,847
45
23
14
19
2.31
1.14
.72
.82
1,277
998
852
1,117
65.69
49.52
43.85
48.24
10,235,674
10,678,429
10,642,688
8,302,059
8,976,214
45
76
73
53
49
1.32
2.14
2.06
1.92
1.64
5,237
6,713
7,792
4,031
3,415
153.49
188.59
219.64
145.66
114.13
1921...........— .....................
1922_______________ _____
1923_____________________
1924.................... ......... ........
1925.................. ...................
21
33
21
24
All coke ovens
1916......................................
1917....................................
1918........................ ...........
1919. ................................ 1920......................................
324
329
329
289
319
31,603
32,417
32,389
28,741
28,139
34,119
35,595
35,476
27,674
29,921
Average 1________
319
30,658
32,557
9,767,013
59
1.82
.5,43 8
167.02
257
284
324
303
310
16,204
19,278
23,729
20,451
23,254
13,868
18,236
25,627
20,681
24,054
4,160,298
5,470,939
7,688,160
6,204,448
7,216,239
17
29
45
24
28
1.23
1.59
1.76
1.16
1.16
1,853
1,710
2,593
1,645
1,696
133.62
93.77
101.18
79.54
70.51
1921............................... ..
1922_____________________
1923......................................
1924.......................................
1925......................................
Average 1________
299
20,583
20,493
6,148,017
29
1.40
1,899
92.68
1926______________ ______
1927......................................
1928_____________________
1929.............