Full text of Minors in Automobile and Metal-Manufacturing Industries in Michigan, Bureau Publication No 126

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PUBLISH ED BY CO UR TES Y OF FORD M OTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

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P L A T E I.— T R A D E -S C H O O L S H O P .

S H A P E R S IN FO R EG R O U N D ,

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JA M ES J. D A V IS. Secretary

CHILDREN’S BUREAU
GRACE ABBOTT. Chief

MINORS IN AUTOMOBILE AND
METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
IN MICHIGAN

Bureau Publication No. 126

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1923

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CO NTENTS.

Letter of transmittal.......................... : ............................... ....... ....................... ........
Introduction........................................................................................
Purpose and scope of study................................... . ......... V ..................... ...........
Method of stu d y.................................... .....................................................
Minor workers in the factories surveyed................. ........ ...................... ......... .........
Proportion of minor employees..............................................................................
Age and occupation............................................... ................ ..................... ..
S ex ............ .......................... . .............................. . ....................................................
Nativity and father’s nationality......................... .. ............................................
Hours of labor............ .................................... ...................... . ............. ..................
Hours w orked......................................'................................. •........... ............
Legal limitations on hours.................................................
Earnings....................................
Earnings and hours............................................ ..... ..................... ............
Earnings and s e x .............................................................. .............................
Earnings and a g e............................ ................................................ ...............
Earnings and length of work histories..... ..................................................
Earnings and occupation..........................
Method of paym ent.......... ................ ............................................... .............
Promotion.....................................................................
Possible lines of prom otion............................ 1..............................................
Training for prom otion.............. ............................................. ........ ................
Chances for prom otion........... ............... ............................................ ......... ..
Industrial histories...................
Age at going to w ork........................................ .................. ..........................
The first position....................................
Industry........................................................
Duration..... .........................................................
Number of positions h e ld ____ : .................................................... ................
Time in present occupation and industry...................................................
Increase in earnings..........................................................................................
•General education...................................................
Grade completed and occupation....................................... . . — .............
Grade completed and earnings...................... ............................................. ..
Age at leaving school and retardation................................................. .
Technical train in g ......................................................
School courses in technical subjects.......... ........................................... .
Courses pursued.........................
Trade training and grade com pleted............................. ................... .
Types of courses..............................................
Length of courses.............. ............. ........................................... ............
Relation to earnings.................................... .................. ......... ..............
Shop training and apprenticeship............ .........
Learning period.................................................................... ;
.............
Apprenticeship................. ........... ... .......... ....................................
HI

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Page.
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9-12
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12-17
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17-20
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19
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20-26
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26-32
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32-40
32-36
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36-40
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CONTENTS.

Page.
Technical training for working minors in the selected cities..................................41-47
Detroit......................................... ............... ...........................- ........................... ....... 41-46
Continuation schools................................... ....................................................41-44
B oys’ continuation sch ool...................... ........ ......................................
41
Girls’ continuation school..........- ........... ........................................ - •- 44
N ight schools............ ....................... ...............................................................
44
Other cities..................................................................................... ................ : -----46
Industrial accidents to minors, safety conditions, and accident prevention----- 48-56
Legal protective measures........ . .................................. .......................................
48
State records of industrial accidents to minors.................................... - - - .......
49
Safety conditions and accident prevention in the factories surveyed.......... 52-56
Factory safety organization.............................................................................52-56
Safeguarding b y signs, warnings, and mechanical contrivances—
53
Safety inspection.......................................................|............................
54
Safety committees................... - .......................- - - ..................................
54
Emergency and hospital care. ................ .......... ^.............................
54
Plant accident figures....................................................... - - ------- ------55
State prevention w ork............. . ..................... ........ ........... - .........................
56
Summary and conclusions.................................. ............................................................
57
Appendixes:
Appendix I. Descriptive analysis of common occupations of minors.........63-101
The engineering department.......................................................... ............. - 64-67
Tool designer and tool detailer..............................................................
65
Assistant chem ist......................................................... ........ . . . . . . . . . .
65
Scleroscope operator................... ........... ............................................- - 66
Blue-print machine operator.................................................................
67
The pattern shop............................................................- - - - ......................... - 67-68
Pattern maker’s apprentice............ ................................................ - - - 67
The foundry........ - ............................................ ...................................... ......... 68-70
Molder’s apprentice and machine m o ld e r.. . . ...... ................ .
68
70
Foundry laborer....................................
The core room............................. ........................... ......................................... 72-71
Core m a k er.......................................... ........................ ...........................
70
The casting-cleaning department............................................. *....................71-72
Rattling-room laborer.......................................................
71
The forge shop..............................- .................................................................... 72-74
Heater...................... ............... ....................... --s....... ................................
72
Blacksmith’s helper.......... ........
72
Acetylene welder and electric-arc welder.................. I .................- - 73
The heat-treat department................. .....................................- ........... .
74-75
Acetylene annealer.............................................
74
Casehardener’s h e lp e r ................
75
The machine shop................................
75-85
Drill-press operator.................
76
Surface-grinder operator............ ................................................. 3-----77
» External grinder—
........................- ....................................................
78
Internal g rin d er..................... .... / . ....................................... - - - ------78
Reamer-grinder operator..............................
79
Milling-machine operator. 1.....................................................................
80
Screw-machine operator.......................... - ............. .................................
80
Boring-machine operator.............................. - ................. - ............. - - - 81
Punch-press operator.................
......
82
Tapping- and threading-machine operators.........................................
83
Die setter.....................................................................................................
83

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CONTENTS.

Appendixes— Continued.
Appendix I . Descriptive analysis of common occupations of minors— Con.
The machine shop—Continued.
Page<
Set-up man for screw machine...............................................................
84
Set-up man and foreman.............................................. ............. . .........
84
Machine-shop trucker...............................................................................
85
The tool room .................................. ................................................... ............ 85-86
Bench work, die-repair m an................................................... ...............
85
The sheet-metal department........................................................................... 86-89
Sheet-metal marker.............................. ..................... ...............................
86
Rotary-shear operator.................................. ....................................... . .
86
87
Hammerman’s helper...............................................................................
Sheet-metal d a n g er.. . .......
87
Door paneler...............................................................................................
gg
Body finisher........................
gg
Sheet-metal bench jobber....................................
g9
The paint shop.....................................................
g9
The trimming and the top-making department..........................................
89
The inspection department.............................. 1.......................................... .
90
Inspector..........................................................................................
99
B ody inspector.........................................................................
99
The assembly departm ent.................................................
91-93
Brake-band assembler..............................
91
Final assembler................................................................
92
Gasoline-engine erector.............................
92
Outfit assembler....................................................................
93
The testing, adjustment, and final-repair department.............................. 94-98
Rear-axle final adjuster..........................
94
Brake and cable adjuster.........................................................................
95
Tester..........................................
95
96
Motor-block tester...............................................................
Final-test driver.......................................................................... ........ . .
97
Rear-axle repair m an....................
97
Automobile-motor repair man......................................
98
Final general car repairer........................................................................
98
99-101
Other departments..........................................
Stock-room man............... ..........................' . ...........................................
99
Stock chaser...........................................................................................
99
Electric trucker..................
199
Messenger.............. ............... ................................................ )4 ................
199
Oiler.......................
101
Appendix II. Forms used in the survey....................................................... .
103
Appendix III. General tables__ ; ....... , ....................... ................................... 105-122
Table I.— Proportion of minor employees, b y occupation and industry;
employees in metal-manufacturing industries.....................................
105
Table II.— Occupation, b y age; minors in metal-manufacturing in
dustries...................
196
Table I I I .—N ativity and country of birth of father, b y nativity of
child; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.....................
107
Table I Y .—Number of hours worked per week, b y age and sex ; minors
in metal-manufacturing industries....................................
108
Table V .— Number of hours worked per week, by method of payment;
minors in metal-manufacturing industries..........................
110
Table Y I.— Earnings per week, b y sex; minors in metal-manufacturing
industries.............................................
119

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CONTENTS.

Appendi xesr-Conti nued.
Appendix I I I . General tables— Continued.
page.
Table V II.— Earnings per week, b y number of hours per week; minors
in metal-manufacturing indus tries.......................................................... ..
Ill
Table V III.— Occupation and industry of father; minors in metal
manufacturing industries............................................................................
112
Table I X .— Location of school last attended, by grade completed;
minors in metal-manufacturing industries............................. .................
112
Table X .— Increase in weekly earnings from first to present position,
by length of work history, and b y sex; minors in metal-manufactur
ing industries............................. ...............................1.............................. ...
113
Table X I .— Grade completed, by sex, color, and nativity of child and
nativity of father; minors in metal-manufacturing industries............
115
Table X I I .— Type of trade training courses taken, by occupation;
minors in metal-manufacturing industries. . . ...... ..................................
117
Table X I I I .— Type of trade training courses taken after leaving day
school, by type taken in day school, and b y sex; minors in metal
manufacturing industries.................... .................................................. ..
118
Table X IV .— Kind of school attended; minors in metal-manufacturing
industries who took trade training courses after leaving school..........
120
Table X V .— Length of trade training course, b y type of course; minors
in metal-manufacturing industries who took trade training courses
after leaving school. . . ..................... .................................... .....................
120
Table X V I.— Enrollment in specified class in night school, b y occupa
tion and industry and b y sex; selected group of pupils in Detroit,
M ich., night schools ____ : ....... ...................................................................
121
Appendix IV . A brief bibliography........................................................ ........
123
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Facing page.
Plate I. Trade-school shop. Shapers in foreground...............................................
i
II. Foundry. Pouring with hand ladles........................................................
8
III. Foundry. Pouring molten iron into molds. Ladle tilted b y handwheel..........................
9
IV . Foundry. Molding machines......................................................................
18
V. Forge shop. Blacksmith in foreground; forges and small steam ham
mer in background.......................... ...........................................................
19
V I. Heat treatment. Heating furnace........................ - .................................
40
V II. Machine shop. Planer in foreground at right, shapers next; bench
work at left.....................
41
V i l i . Machine shop. A t left, rough hand grinding; at right, milling ma
chines................ .........................- ..................................................................
56
I X . Sensitive speed-drill press........................................................... .— . . . .
57
X . Surface grinder. Grinding wheel hidden from view b y metal guard..
66
X I . External grinding.......................................................................................
67
X I I . Milling m achine............................. ................................................... .. ..
72
X I I I . Machine shop, gutter on milling machine, illustrating danger of
using finger to clean out shavings....... ....................................................
73
X IV . Machine shop. Automatic-screw m achine................................................
80
X V . Punch-press department, heavy. Punching out rear-axle housings. .
81
X V I. Light punch press............................
88
X V II. Trim shop. Putting upholstery on bodies.............................
89
X V I I I . Trim shop, cushion-making department. Bench work.......................
92
X I X . Piston and connecting-rod assembly. Bench w o r k ...........................
93

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LETTER OF T R A N SM IT TA L.

U. S.

D epartm ent

Labor,

Ch il d r e n ’s B u r e a u ,

Washington, June 2 5 , 1923.

There is transmitted herewith a report on Minors in Auto
mobile and Metal-Manufacturing Industries in Michigan.
This report was prepared in the industrial division of the Children’s
Bureau. With the exception of securing the records of industrial
accidents, which was done under the direction of Walter M. Hinckle,
the field work in connection with this study was supervised by Helen
M. Dart, who, together with Ella Arvilla Merritt, has written the
report. The occupational descriptions were prepared by E. J.
Allett, head of the industrial department of the high school in
Lansing, Mich.
In the course of the investigation and the writing of the report the
Children’s Bureau had the cooperation of State and local .school
officials and officials of the State industrial accident board and the
State department of labor, and of automobile and metal manu
facturers, all of whom were most generous in granting access to their
records and in furnishing information.
Respectfully submitted.
Sir :

Grace

Hon.

Ja m e s J. D a v is ,

Secretary o f Labor.

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A bbott,

Chief.

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MINORS IN AUTOMOBILE AND METAL-MANUFAC
TURING INDUSTRIES IN MICHIGAN.
IN T R O D U C TIO N .
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY.

This study was undertaken primarily as an evaluation of the status
of minor wage earners in certain important manufacturing industries
which, because they demand the services of a relatively high propor
tion of skilled and semiskilled employees, might be thought to offer
somewhat exceptional opportunities to their young workers. The
purpose of the inquiry was to determine: (1) The standards of the
selected industries in regard to the qualifications of the minors
entering them; (2) the burden laid by the industry upon its young
employees— i. e., the physical demands and hazards of the work
performed, and the hours of labor required; and (3) the returns
given by the- industry to its minor workers in respect to wages,
industrial training, and opportunities for advancement. In addition,
a brief inquiry was made with respect to the opportunities for voca
tional training in the city where these industries were located, with
especial reference to those offered to employed minors.
In 1919 the manufacture of automobiles, including bodies and
parts, ranked seventh in the United States in regard to the average
number of wage earners employed and second in regard to value of
product. The average number of wage earners employed increased
170 per cent between 1914 and 1919. Although the manufacture of
foundry and machine-shop products did not show so rapid a growth,
in 1919 it ranked second in the United States in respect to average
number of wage earners employed, fourth in respect to value of
product.1
Since only a limited field could be covered, the study was confined
to representative metal-manufacturing2establishments in Michigan—
a State which is an important center for the manufacture of foundry
and machine-shop products, and which leads in the production of
automobiles.3 In 1914, Michigan factories employed slightly over
one-half 4 of all the wage earners in the automobile factories of the
1U. S. Bureau of the Census, abstract of the Census of Manufactures, 1919, pp. 19 and 230.
2 Including car shops and the manufacture of automobiles and automobile parts.
8 Statistics of production of automobiles include the figures for automobile parts.
dJ. S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Manufactures, 1914, Vol. II, p. 733.

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M IN O R S I N

M E T A L -M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U ST R IE S .

country, in 1919,5 about one-half. Moreover, in 1914 one-fourth *
and in 1919 7 three-eighths of all the wage earners in the State were
employed in the manufacture of automobiles and of automobile
bodies and parts.
Twenty establishments were included in the survey;8 11 of these
plants were located in Detroit, 5 in Lansing, 2 in Bay City, 1 in Flint,
and 1 in Saginaw. In the 18 plants for which it was possible to secure
the number of adult and minor workers, an aggregate of 26,192 wage
earners, of whom 11 per cent were under 21 years of age, were
employed in the factory proper. The automobile factories included
three large plants producing a finished car, two automobile-body
factories, and three factories the main output of which was auto
mobile parts. To secure information with regard to the manufacture
of foundry and machine-shop products, factories were visited which
produced iron and steel castings, gasoline engines, boilers, cranes,
ventilating apparatus, bolts, drills, and similar products. The
other plants surveyed included a car-repair shop, as well as factories
producing forgings, brass and copper sheet metal, wire and tubing,
and small brass parts.
The survey was made in the spring of 1920, before the beginning of
the period of business depression. All branches of metal manu
facture had benefitted to a greater or less degree from the impetus
given by the war to the manufacture of munitions, ships, airplanes,
and other military supplies. Having returned to a peace-time basis,
the factories were doing their best to meet the accumulated demand
for automobiles and other metal products for domestic use, the
manufacture of which had been curtailed during the war period.
Wages were high and work plentiful.
METHOD OF STUDY.

Information was obtained chiefly from the following sources: (1)
Pay-roll and employment-office records; (2) interviews with factory
officials; (3) observation of factory processes; (4) questionnaires
obtained from minor employees; (5) interviews with superintendents
and principals of schools giving technical training, and the records
of such schools; and (6) State accident records.
Records of age, sex, and occupation of all employees were secured
from the employment offices, and these were supplemented by pay
roll data on hours and earnings for all workers under 21. From
employment managers was secured special information about each
occupation at which minors were found working; e. g., education
6 Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Vol. X , Manufactures, p. 869.
6 U. S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Manufactures, 1914, Vol. I, p. 668.
7 Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Vol. I X , Manufactures, p . 694.
8 In addition, general data were obtained from one other establishment, an automobile factory.

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INTRODUCTIOISr.

and experience necessary for employment, method and period of
training in the shop, the line of promotion, and the hazards of the
work.9 Typical occupations in which minors were commonly
employed were observed and analyzed b y a mechanical engineer
familiar with the construction and operation of machines and with
the technical work of metal manufacturing.
By means of a printed questionnaire 10 each minor was asked for
data in regard to his nativity, education and industrial training,
and industrial history. These questionnaires were filled out and
returned by 913 minors, about one-third of the whole number found
employed. Since the more intelligent of the workers were the more
likely to be interested and able to fill out the somewhat detailed
form, it is not surprising that a slightly larger proportion of this
group than of all the minor workers were employed at the more
skilled and better-paid types of work. Moreover, returns from for
eign-born and negro minors were incomplete, because such workers,
through lack of education, often had difficulty in writing out the
answers to the questions. While these differences must be borne in
mind in interpreting results, they do not seem sufficient to invalidate
the very general conclusions indicated by the data secured.
The vocational and technical schools in the cities where the sur
vey was carried on were visited to ascertain what courses were
offered on subjects related to work in the metal trades, and what
types of pupils were enrolled in such courses. Special emphasis was
placed on public-school facilities.
In view of the danger incident to many of the occupations in
metal manufacturing, records of the State industrial accident board
were studied and a survey was made of safety conditions and acci
dent prevention in the factories included in the inquiry.
» See Appendix II, Form 1.

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10 See Appendix II, Form 2.

M IN O R W O R K E R S IN T H E FACTOR IES SUR VEYED .
PROPORTION OF MINOR EMPLOYEES.

The proportion of minors to the total number of employees in the
establishments visited varied but slightly from one city to another.
In Detroit 11 per cent of all the workers were under 21 years of age,
in Lansing, 12 per cent; and in the three other cities combined, 9
per cent.11
Although the percentage of minor employees in the cities studied
was fairly constant, considerable variation, due to differences in
policy or in the demands of the work, was found in different types
of establishments and in individual plants. In one automobile fac
tory, which made it a policy to engage few workers under 18 and to
require proof of age for all those under 21, only 9 per cent of the
employees were minors; in another, which had a thoroughly workedout apprenticeship system, 12 per cent were minors. The factories
producing automobile bodies and automobile parts such as frames,
wheels, bearings, and axles— all of which required the use of heavy
machinery— showed 9 per cent of minor employees on the pay roll.
Factories manufacturing foundry and machine-shop products
showed an average of 12 per cent, but wide variations existed between
the different establishments in the group. In one foundry, for
instance, 3 per cent of the workers were minors; in another, 8 per
cent; in a factory producing gas engines, 19 per cent; and in one
manufacturing drills, 24 per cent. Among the other plants visited,
one which produced small brass castings and parts showed 19 per
cent of the employees to be minors, while in the car shops only 2
per cent were minors— the lowest per cent in any industry.12
As would be expected, minors were found in comparatively large
proportions in semiskilled or relatively unskilled occupations.13
They constituted 32 per cent of the apprentices, 27 per cent of the
stock and tool-crib workers, 22 per cent of the laborers and helpers
in the foundry and core room, 18 per cent of the truckers and driv
ers, 18 per cent of the trimmers, 17 per cent of the core makers,
and 15 per cent of the inspectors. The lowest proportion, 5 per
cent, was found among the skilled workers, such as machinists, sheetmetal workers, molders, pattern makers, and toolmakers.
n The higher proportion of minors in Lansing factories was probably due to the fact that the schools
supplement their industrial training b y part-time factory work (see p . 46) and to the fact that two of the
large factories there employed boys as apprentices,
u See General Table I for figures for the various industry groups.
i> See General Table I, p. 105.

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/ M IN O R W O R K E R S I N

T H E FACTORIES SU R V EY E D .

AGE AND OCCUPATION.

Among the employees under 21 years of age the proportion of very
young workers was low. As is shown by Table 1, less than 1 per cent
of the total number of minors employed were under 16 years of age,
while about two-thirds were between 19 and 21. Fifteen of the 19
employers reporting the age at which minors entered their employ
said that for most of the occupations in their plants no minors under
17 were employed and most of them reported that for many specific
occupations they did not hire minors under 18, either because
younger workers had not had time to acquire the experience and skill
necessary, or because they did not have sufficiently mature judg
ment, or because they lacked the requisite physical development.
For heavy work such as that of molders, blacksmiths, millwrights,
welders’ helpers, engine assemblers, stock handlers, and foundry
laborers, the general tendency was to employ older workers because
of their greater strength and endurance. For a few other occupa
tions, particularly those requiring the use of machinery, some
employers stated that workers under 17 or even under 18 had not
developed sufficient muscular coordination.
T a b l e 1. —A ge, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Total.

Boys.

Girls.

Age.
Number.

Total..........
14 years, under 15.
15 years, under 16.
16 years, under 17.
17 years, under 18.
18 years, under 19.
19 years, under 20.
20 years, under 21.
Not reported.......

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
distri- Number. distri- Number. distribution.
bution.
bution.

2,840

100.0

. 2,536

100.0

304

100.0

5
20
114
198
663
903
935
2

.2
.7
4.0
7.0
23.3
31.8
32.9
.1

5
19
108
171
562
809
860
2

.2
.7
4.3
6.7
22.2
31.9
33.9
.1

1
6
27
101
94
75

.3
2.0
8.9
33.2
30.9
24.7

Nevertheless, children under 18 years of age were found 14 in all
kinds of work in which minors were employed at all. The propor
tion of apprentices among all employed minors varied from 19 per
cent of the 16-year-old workers to 5 per cent of those 20 years of age.
A similar tendency, though not so marked, was evident for stock and
tool-crib workers. On the other hand, the proportion of machine
operators varied* from only 13 pe^ cent of the 16-year-old group to 25
per cent of those 20 years of age.
While the nature of the work in the industries studied tended to
keep at a low figure the number of employed children under 16 and
14 See General Table H, p. 106.

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M IN O R S I N

M E T A L -M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U S T R IE S .

even under 18 years of age, the legal provisions in Michigan relating
to the employment of children also contributed to this result.
The State law fixed a minimum age of 15 years for full-time employ
ment in factories during the school term and placed such additional
restrictions15 upon children 15 years of age as, if strictly enforced,
would keep all but a very small proportion from leaving school for
work before they were 16.16 Even at 16 years of age children were
still subject to the “ dangerous occupations” law,17which forbade the
employment of boys under 18 and girls under 21 in “ cleaning ma
chinery in m otion” and in “ any hazardous employment,” and gave
to the State department of labor the authority to determine what
occupations should be considered hazardous.
The Federal child labor tax law,18 by imposing a tax of 10 per
cent upon the yearly profits of any factory employing children under
14, placed a practically prohibitive penalty upon employment of
children under that age, and the provisions of the workman’s compen
sation law, more fully discussed in the section on accidents,19 had
indirectly a decided tendency toward forcing a strict compliance with
the minimum age provision of the State child labor law.
SEX.

Comparatively few women were employed in the factories visited.
In the establishments for which information regarding the sex of
adult workers could be secured from the pay rolls, as shown in
Table 2, only 521, or about 3 per cent of the 15,807 employees, were
females.20 Of all those under 21 employed in these establishments,
however, 9 per cent were girls, and in the entire group of 521 women
workers 141, or 27 per cent, were under 21 years of age. Evidently,
therefore, the proportion of females among workers 21 years of age
and over was very small. Table 1 indicates that the decrease with
is An employment certificate was necessary for work for each new employer, and was issued only upon sat
isfaction of the following requirements: (1) Promise of employment; (2) proof of age; (3) completion of sixth
grade; (4) ability to read intelligently and to write simple English sentences; (5) statement by issuing
officer that in his opinion child was of normal development, in sound health, and physically able to perform
intended work, such physical fitness, in doubtful cases, to be determined by a medical officer of the board
or department of health; (6) services necessary to support of his parents or himself. (Howell’s Annotated
Statutes, sec. 4018 as amended by acts of 1917, No. 280.) The last clause in particular made it possible to
reduce considerably the number of children receiving permits.
16Children 14 years of age were permitted to work in factories during school vacation and outside school
hours upon satisfying all the requirements for a full-time certificate except those relating to education and
necessity of services.
17 More fully discussed in connection with industrial accidents, p. 48.
is 40 stat. L . 1138 (Revenue Act of 1918, approved Feb. 24,1919, Title X II). This law was declared uncon
stitutional by the IJ. S. Supreme Court on May 15,1922.
19 See p. 48.
99 In the iron and steel manufacturing industries the proportion of women wage earners has always been
very small. In 1914 they constituted only 2 per cent of the workers 16 years of age in automobile factories
and only 3 per cent in the foundries and machine shops in Michigan. During the war there was anincrease
in the number of women at work in these and allied industries. In 1919 in Michigan the per cent of women
among wage earners 16 years of age was 4 per cent in automobile factories, 5 per cent in the manufacture of
automobile bodies and parts, and 6 per cent in the manufacture of foundry and machine-shop products.
Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Vol. I X , Manufactures, p. 673.

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age in the proportion of female workers began even before 21 years.
A larger percentage of girls (33 per cent) was found in the age group
18 years of age than in any other, the number in the two succeeding
years decreasing to 31 and 25 per cent, respectively. The number of
boys, on the other hand, increased steadily from 18 to 21 years of age.
Table 2.

Sex, by industry; adult and minor employees in metal-manufacturing in
dustries.
Employees in metal-manufacturing industries.
Total.

Adult.

Minors.

Industry.
Female.
Total. Male.
Num Per
ber. cent.
Total1.......... ....... 15,807 15,286
Automobiles................... 9,020
Automobile bodies and
parts............................ 3,829
Foundry and machine
shop............................. 2,654
304
Other..............................

8,523

521

Female.
Total. Male.
Num Per
ber. cent.

3.3 14,288 13,908

497 ' 5.5

8,104 7,742

Female.
Total. Male.
Num Per
ber. cent.

380

2.7 1,519 1,378

141

9.3

362

4.5

916

135

14.7

6.4

781

3,828.

(3)

3,481 3,481

348

347

0.3

2,649
286

5
18

0.2
5.9

2,420 2,420
283
265

234
21

229
21

2.1

1In factories employing 10,385 persons, sex for adult workers could not be secured from office records.
a Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

Girls were employed in a much more limited group of occupations
than boys, as may be seen by reference to Table 7,21 which shows
the occupations in which minors of either sex were engaged. Foun
dry and most machine-shop work was generally considered by
employers too heavy and dirty for women, and women themselves,
possibly for the same reason, did not appear to seek it. The occu
pations in which girls were most commonly employed were inspec
tion, trimming, assembling of small parts, sewing-machine operating,
stock and tool-crib work, core making, and thread-machine oper
ating— in the order named.22 Some of these occupations— particu
larly sewing-machine operating and trimming, in which 23 per cent
of the girls and less than 3 per cent of the boys were employed— are
not, strictly speaking, metal-manufacturing occupations at all, but
constitute such an integral part of automobile manufacturing that
they should not be omitted in a study including that industry.
This fact accounts in large part for the relatively high proportion
of girls in the automobile factories, as shown in Table 2.
Eight of the twenty employers interviewed stated that it was con
trary to their policy to employ women in factory work because the work
was heavy and women lacked the necessary technical qualifications.
Two firms that had taken on women during the war period had
replaced them with men at the end of the war. This policy may have
al P. 15.
aa For description of the work of core makers, thread-machine operators, and inspectors see pp. 70, 83,
&nd 90, respectively.

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been due partly to the reluctance of employers, when it was possible
to secure men and boys, to face the new problems of factory manage
ment and equipment which the employment of women would involve.
This reluctance may have been increased by the restrictions placed
by law upon the employment of women, limiting their hours of work,
requiring special safeguards and sanitary equipment in factories
where they were employed, and excluding them from certain
dangerous or harmful occupations.23
NATIVITY AND FATHER’S NATIONALITY.

According to Table 3, about half of all the minors reporting
nationality were either themselves foreign born or of foreign parent
age. Of this entire group,24 more workers (20 per cent of the whole
number) named Canada as the father’s birthplace than any other
country, and almost as many (15 per cent) reported fathers bom in
the United Kingdom. Nearly all the rest reported fathers belonging
to non-English speaking European nationalities. Among the minors
who were themselves foreign bom (about two-fifths of the group
who were foreign bom or had foreign-bom fathers), 38 per cent had
fathers bom in the United Kingdom or in Canada, 13 per cent in
Austria-Hungary, 8 per cent in Poland, and 6 per cent in Germany.
The percentage of girls, according to Table 3, was lowest among
native children of native fathers— 9 per cent; it rose to 16 per cent
for the foreign-born children, and was highest—-20 per cent— among
native children of foreign-born fathers. But nativity appeared to
have little relation to the age or the occupation of the minors at work.
T able 3.— Nativity o f father and color and nativity o f child, by sex o f child; minors in
metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Girls.

Boys.

Nativity of father and color and nativity of child.
Total.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.
Total..... ................................. -

2589

510

86.6

13.4

W hite......................... ........................
Native.,..........................................
Father native.................... . —
Father foreign bom ...................
Nativity of father not reported.
Foreign b o m ................................
Negro..................................................

568
448
270
172
6
120
21

489
388
245
138
5
101
21

86.1
86.6
90.7
80.2

79
60
25
34
1
19

13.9
13.4
9.3
19.8

1 Questionnaire group.

84.2

15.8

2Information as to color and nativity not secured for 324 minors.

Although only 6 of the employers interviewed stated that they
did not employ negro labor, only 21 minors— 4 per cent of the whole
number for whom information as to race was obtained—were negroes.
All were boys over 18 years of age, and 14 were laborers or helpers.
Michigan j acts of 1909, No. 285, secs. 9 (as amended by acts of 1919, No. 341), 11 (as amended b y acts of
1915, No. 255), 14 (as amended by acts of 1913, No. 160), 17 (as amended b y acts of 1915, No. 3), and 24.
24 See General Table i n .

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P L A T E II.— FO U N DR Y.

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PO U R IN G M O LTEN IRON IN TO M O LD S.

L A D LE T IL T E D BY H A N D W H E E L .

M IN O R W O R K E R S I N

T H E FACTORIES SU R V EYE D .

HOURS OF LABOR.

Hours worked.

Thirteen of the 18 employers from whom information concerning
hours of labor was secured reported 9 hours as the regular working
day in most of their production departments. In 8 of these 13
factories the regular working week was 50 hours; in 2, 49£ hours;
in 1, 50£ hours; and in 2, 54 hours. Four establishments had a
48-hour week, 1 with an 8-hour day, 1 with an 8£, and 2 with an 8 fhour day. A working day of 10 hours with a week of 54 hours was
reported by 1 factory.
Over three-fifths (62 per cent) of all the minors in these 18 estab
lishments were working in factories which had a 9-hour day and a
49^ to 5Q£ hour week schedule; and 95 per cent were employed in
factories where the working week was between 48 and 51 hours.
Nevertheless the pay-roll figures for the hours actually worked by
the minors employed show that only a small proportion of them
had worked between 48 and 51 hours during the week for which
data were secured.25 Eliminating the employed minors whose names
did not appear on the pay rolls from which information as to hours
was secured,26 as is done in Table 4, it is found that about three-fifths
of those whose hours were reported had worked fewer hours than
48, and that more than one-fifth had worked less than 36 hours.
On the other hand, 16 per cent had worked 54 hours or more; and
157, or 7 per cent, had had a working week of 60 hours or longer.
Table 4.— Number o f hours v)orked per week, by sex; minors on pay roll in metal
manufacturing industries.
Minors on pay roll in metal-manufecturing industries.
Number of hours worked per week.

Total.

Boys.

Girls.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.
Total__ ..............................................

02,212

100.0

1,957

100.0

255

100.0

Less than 36 hours.......................................
36 hours and over.........................................
42 hours and over............................... .........
48 hours and over.........................................
54 hours and over.........................................
60 hours and over.........................................

478
1,734
1,449
858
351
157

21.6
78.4
65.5
38.8
.15.9
7.1

423
1,534
1,290
785
332
155

21.6
78.4
85.9
40.1
17.0
7.9

55
200
159
73
19
2

21.6
78.4
62.4
28.6
7.5
0.8

. ° Excludes 619 minors (572 boys and 47 girls) whose names did not appear on pay roll from which informa
tion as to hours was secured and 9 minors (7 boys and 2 girls) for whom number of hours per week was not
reported.
25 See General Table IV. All the tables relating ta hours of labor give the number of hours actually
worked by minors as shown b y the pay rolls. To secure a common basis for comparison, all pay rolls
which were made upon a biweekly or semimonthly basis were reduced to a weekly basis. The figures based
on the longer periods were less liable to be affected b y chance variations than those taken from pay rolls
made up weekly. (See p. 12, footnote 39).
26it was necessary, for convenience in working, that the information as to hours be taken from the pay
roll previous to the current one; or, in case this did not show normal conditions, the most recent one repre
senting a period when conditions were normal. Names of children employed, on the other hand, to be
used in obtaining questionnaires, were taken from the current employment-office records. Thus the
names of workers hired subsequently to the date of the selected pay roll would appear on the employmentoffioe records, but not on the pay roll used.

45198°— 23----- 2

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The scope of the inquiry did not permit securing positive informa
tion in explanation of the short working week which was shown for
so large a proportion of the minor employees. It is true that the
railway switchmen’s strike, which occurred during the survey,
necessitated for a time a complete or partial shutdown of nearly all
factories, but the pay-roll periods selected were not affected by this
disturbance. At the time of the study employers were trying to
increase rather than to curtail production. In some cases the short
hours worked were doubtless due to sickness. Accidents or other
causes necessitating shutdowns in certain departments may account
for a small proportion. Also, the fact that wages were high and
work easy to secure may have induced a certain amount of absentee
ism. But it is probable that a high percentage of tlje short-hour
weeks was due to shifting from one job to another. This is indicated
by the fact that the number of minors employed whose names were
not found on the pay roll previous to the current one amounted to
22 per cent of the whole.27 Likewise, a large proportion of the
questionnaires sent to minors whose names appeared on the employ
ment-office records were returned blank because during the short
period while the records were being copied and the questionnaires
prepared for distribution these boys and girls had left their jobs.
A m on g the minors whose hours were reported, exactly the same
proportion of boys as of girls, 78 per cent, worked 36 hours or more;
but Table 4 shows a somewhat larger percentage of boys than of
girls in each of the groups where the working hours were 42 or over
per week. Eight per cent of the boys and only 2 girls—less than 1
per cent— had worked 60 hours or longer. No significant variation
is seen in the number of hours worked by minors of different ages.28
Somewhat greater differences appear, however, when the occupations
in which minors were engaged are considered. In general the hours
of assemblers averaged 41.2, an average somewhat shorter than that
for workers in any other occupation, while the hours of laborers and
helpers averaged longest, 47.3.29 Among those working 60 hours or
more there was a larger proportion of laborers and helpers than of
any other group, with stock and tool-room workers, inspectors, and
machine operators, following in the order named, and assemblers
having the smallest proportion- Another indication of the types of
work in which the longest hours prevailed is seen in the fact that the
occupation groups showing the largest percentages of minors who
had worked on the average over 54 hours per week during the pay
roll period were stock and tool-room workers, laborers and helpers,
27 gee p. 9, footnote 26, and Table 4, footnote
28 See General Table IV.
29 Figures in this sentence are based on the questionnaire group.

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and inspectors (in tliat order), while the occupation show ing the
smallest percentage was again that of assembler.
Pieceworkers as a rule worked longer hours than those paid on a
time-rate basis.30 Among the minors from whom questionnaires
were received 26 per cent of those paid piece rates and only 14 per
cent of those paid time rates worked more than 54 hours, whereas
but 12 per cent of the pieceworkers and 21 per cent of the time
workers were in the group working what might be called “ normal”
hours; i. e., 48 to 51 hours per week.
As already noted,31 the names of 22 per cent of the minors at work
in the factories included in the survey were not found on the pay
rolls referred to, and therefore no hours were secured for them. The
proportion of these cases was higher for minors under T7 than for
those in any other age group, and was somewhat higher among boys
than among girls.32 When occupations are considered, it was lowest
for assemblers and highest for laborers and helpers. This indicates,
probably, greater turnover among the boys and among the younger
and less skilled workers.
Few statistics are available which might be used »to compare the
hours worked b y minors in the factories included in the survey with
hours worked either by minors or by all employees in similar plants'
throughout the country. A survey made by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1919 showed the average hours actually
worked per week in the automobile industry as 49.2 for all male and
46.8 for all female employees, somewhat longer than the average
hours worked (44.8) by the minors included in the questionnaire
study. Among the men the shortest hours were those of assemblers
(as in this study); of the workers classed as “ chippers, grinders,
sand-blasters, tumblers, and cleaners” ; 33 of cushion makers and cut
ters (trim shop) ; and of top builders and back hangers. The longest
hours among the men were those of hardeners and furnace tenders
and of machine setters. Among the women, assemblers, drill-press
operators, and lathe operators worked the shortest hours and bench
hands in the machine shop the longest.34
Legal limitations on hours.

The Michigan law limited the weekly hours of work of all women
and of boys under 18 in manufacturing establishments to 54.35 Hours
for both girls and boys under 16 were further affected b y the Federal
child labor law, which placed a tax of 10 per cent upon the yearly
30 See General Table V.
81 See p. 10.
32 See General Table IV.
83 Corresponding to foundry and core-room laborers in the classification here used.
84 Wages and hours in automobile, car, electrical-apparatus, foundry, machinery, machine-tool, and
typewriter industries. U. S. Department of Labor, Monthly Labor Review, June, 1920, pp. 82-94.
85 Howell’s Annotated Statutes, 1913, sec. 4017, as amended by acts of 1919,*No. 341.

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net profits of any factory employing children of that age more than
48 hours a week.36 Forty-seven minors, 2 per cent of those whose
names appeared on the pay rolls and who reported hours had worked
a greater number of hours during the week than the standard set by
law. One of these was a 15-year-old boy who had worked a 50-hour
week. Thirty-two were hoys between 16 and 18 (14 per cent of the
boys of those ages) who had worked more than 54 hours a week, and
14 were girls (6 per cent of the girls under 21) who had likewise been
employed in violation of the 54-hour-week law.
The number of violations of the legal restrictions upon hours per
day and upon work at night37 is not known, because no data were
secured for the hours of beginning and stopping work each day.
EARNINGS.

During a period when the effect of war-time scarcity of labor and
increased demand for workers was still evidenced in a higher level
of wages than had ever been known in this country, it was not
surprising to find that ib many cases even young persons under 21
years of age were receiving large earnings. Of the 793 minors who
answered the questionnaire and reported weekly wages, 44 all
boys—had received from $50 to $75 a week, and 5 boys $75 or more.38
The median weekly earnings for all the minors employed were $27.
Twenty-three per cent of those reporting earnings had received $35
•or more, and only 17 per cent less than $15.39 A large proportion
of those who were paid less than the median earnings had not worked
a full week— 83 per cent of the minors who received less than $15
and 46 per cent of those who received less than $25 had worked
fewer hours than 36.
Earnings per hour were on a similarly high level. The median
hourly wage was 60 cents. About one-third of the minors reputing
wages per hour, according to Table 5, received from 50 to 60 cents,
one-fourth from 60 to 70 cents, and slightly over one-fourth 70
cents or over.
3« 40 Stat. L. 1138 (Revenue Act of 1918, approved Feb. 24,1919, Title X II). The law in effect limited
hours to a ™ftTimnm of 8 per day for 6 days per week. This law was declared unconstitutional by the
IJ. S. Supreme Court on May 15,1922.
a7 The State law limited factory hours for women and for boys under 18 to 10 per day, and prohibited
such work between 6 p. m. and 6 a. m. to girls under 18 and boys under 16. (Howell’s Annotated Statutes,
1913, sec. 4017, as amended by acts of 1919, No. 341.)
38 See General Table VI.
39 See General Table VII. Earnings, like hours, were taken from a sample pay roll; and, as in the case of
hours, data included information concerning many minors who had not been at work for the entire pay
roll period, and for many of the minor employees information could not be secured at all. See footnote
26, page 9.

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Table 5 .— Earnings per hour,1 by sex; m inors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Total.

Earnings per hour.1

Boys.

Girls.

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu- Number. distribu- Number. distribution.
tion.
tion.
Total................ ...................

2,840

Total reporting..............................
20 cents, less than 30..............
30 cents, less than 40..............
40 cents, 1ess than 50...........
50 cents, less than 60..............
60 cents,lessthan 70..............
70 cents, less than 80..............
80 cents, ] ess than 90..............
90 cents, less than $1.00..........
$1.00 ana over.........................
Not on pay roll and not reported.

2,183
19
176
201
689
538
230
121
110
99
2 657

2,536
100.0
.9
8.1
9.2
31.6
24.6
10.5
5.5
5.0
4.5

1,937
18
59
138
656
520
217
120
110
99
599

304
100.0
.9
3.0
7.1
33.9
26.8
11.2
6.2
5.7
5.1

246
1
117
63
33
18
13
1

100.0
.4
47.6
25.6
13.4
7.3
5.3
.4

1 Actual hourly earnings, computed by dividing the weekly earnings, including any bonus or overtime
pay, by the number of hours worked.
2 Includes 619 minors whose names did not appear on the pay roll and 38 whose earnings per hour were
not reported.

Earnings and hours.

With the high rates of pay prevailing, long hours were often
coincident with large weekly earnings.40 More than four-fifths of
those who had worked 60 hours or over had earned $35 or more.
Instances were found where high pay had been received only after
phenomenally long hours. A 19-year-old electric-truck driver who
had worked 101£ hours during the week had received $60; an 18year-old furnace laborer was paid $72 for 83 hours’ work; a body
inspector had worked 71 hours for $51. On the other hand, onefourth of those earning $35 or over had worked only from 42 to 48
hours; and one-tenth, less than 42 hours. One 18-year-old core
maker, for instance, had earned $64 in a 45-hour week on a piecerate basis; a paneler on piecework, in an automobile-body factory,
received $59 for a 35-hour week; and a drill-press operator in an
automobile factory had earned $65 in a 47-hour week.
Earnings and sex.

Earnings would have averaged still higher had it not been for the
lower wages paid to girls as compared with boys. While the median
weekly earnings received by boys were approximately $28, those
for girls were about $18. It might be thought that this difference
is attributable to the longer hours worked by boys than by girls,
but the median hourly earnings 41— 62 cents for boys and 41 cents
for girls—show that the boys were getting about 50 per cent more
per hour than the girls. Nor can the discrepancy be accounted for
« See General Table VII.

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41 See Table 7, p. 15.

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

by the occupations in which girls were engaged; for example, boys
received a median wage of 63 cents for core making, and girls but
46 cents; for drill-press operating, boys received 68 cents and girls
53 cents. What proportion of these discrepancies were in violation
of the Michigan law 42 requiring equal pay for equal work can not
be determined, because neither the relative amount of work done
by boys and girls nor the extent to which occupations having the
same name actually involved the same kind of work is known.
Earnings and age.

The median weekly earnings increased steadily with each year of
age. Beginning with 16 years, the medians for each year were $21.79,
$25.71, $27.22, $30.13, and $32.23. For all the workers under 18
the median earnings were $23.52. These earnings are considerably
higher than those shown in a report on wages in Ohio manufacturing
industries in 1919, which gives as the median wage for workers under
18, $12.22 for boys and $10.92 for girls.43 While earnings in the
metal-manufacturing industries were undoubtedly higher than in
factories in general, the difference, when age is considered, is probably
not so great as these figures indicate, since the Ohio industries may
have included a larger proportion of children under 16 than were
found in this survey.44
Earnings and length o f work histories.

Closely related to the increase of earnings as the worker grows
older is the increase, shown in Table 6, coincident in general with
years of experience in industry. The median hourly earnings increase
from 54 cents for those who had worked less than one year to 60
cents for workers with between one and two years’ experience, and
rise to a maximum of 73 cents for the group who had had five years’
experience. The drop to 69 cents for minors who had work histories
of six years and 58 cents for those who had worked for seven years
or more, though based upon a comparatively small number of
instances, indicates that experience gained by starting to work at 14
years of age or younger may be more than offset, as a factor in earning
power, by disadvantages incident to a too early substitution of indus
trial life for school training. The median weekly earnings, however,
were higher for the boys who had worked six years or more than for
any other group, showing, in connection with the drop in hourly
earnings, that they had worked longer hours. Since no data are
available to show what proportion of the working years of these
<2 Michigan, Acts of 1919, No. 239.
« Wages in Ohio Manufacturing Industries in 1919; U. S. Department of Labor, Monthly Labor Review,
Feb. 1921, p. 85. The median wage is computed on the basis of the wage-earners group.
« Figures for Ohio are, nevertheless, probably more comparable with those found in this study than
would be true of figures for most other States, since the minlmiTm age for work in manufacturing estab
lishments in Ohio was 15 years for boys and 16 for girls.

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children had been spent in metal-working industries, no reliable con
clusion can be drawn regarding the extent to which earning capacity
was increased by experience in the industry. It is evident, however,
that the boy or girl who had been at work for several years was
rewarded by a higher wage, largely because of the maturity and
industrial experience gained.
Table 6.— Median earnings per hour, by length o f work history; minors in metal
manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Boys.

Total.

Length of work history.

Total
report
ing.

Median
earnings
per hour.

Median
earnings
per homr.

Total
report
ing.

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

3 791

Cents.
62.9

702

Less than 1 year...........................................
1 year, less than 2 ...................................
2 years, less than 3.......................................
3 years, less than 4 .......................................
4 years, less than 5.......................................

104
139
190
163
109
54
15
9
8

54.4
59.7
61.8
66.9
65.9
72.5
69.0
58.3

92
122
162
151
95
50
14
8
8

1 Questionnaire group.

Girls.
Total
report
ing.

Cents.
64.8

55.6
61.7
64.1
68.2
67.6
73.6
70.0
60.0

12
17
28
12
14
4
1
1

Median
earnings
per hour.
Cents.
40.7
36.0
46.3
39.3
40.0
44.0

3 Excludes 122 who did not report earnings per hour.

Earnings and occupation.

As shown by Table 7, the highest median hourly earnings— 80 cents
an hour or more— were paid to boys working as painters, trimmers,
body assemblers, motor, final, and outfit assemblers and sheet-metal
workers. Wages averaged lowest for apprentices, oilers, straighteners, stock and tool-crib workers, and laborers and helpers, all of
whom received between 50 and 60 cents an hour. Among the girls,
the lowest rates were paid to inspectors and assemblers (36 and 38
cents, respectively) and the highest (48 cents) to machine operators.
T able 7.—Earnings and median earnings per hour, by occupation and sex; minors in
metal-manufacturing industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Earnings per hour.

Occupation ¿nd sex.

Not
on
Medi
70
80
90
50
60
pay
an
Less cents,
cents,
cents,
cents,
cents,
roll
earn 'than
less
less
less
less $1 and and
less
Total. ings
50
than than than than over. not re
per cents. than
70.
80.
90
60.
ported.
SI.
hour.

Boys................................ 2,536

SO. 62

215

656

520

217

196
196
64
29
103

.51
.79
.81
.84
>71

75
4
2
1
1

41
28
3
1
24

27
21
6
1
14

13
30
16
6
8

Assemblers................................
Motor, final, and outfit—
B ody..................................
Other.................................

120

110

1599

30
9
7
14

3
19
12
2
5

27
8
6
13

37
37
8
5
24

1Includes 572 boys whose names did not appear on pay roll and 27 whose earnings per hour were not
reported.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES,

T able 7.— Earnings and median earnings per hour, by occupation and sex; minors in
metal-manufacturing industries— Continued.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Earnings per hour.
Occupation and sex.

Bench........................................
Blacksmiths, forgemen, hammermen and welders............
Coremakers...............................
Dippers, sprayers, rubbers,
and sanders...........................
Draftsmen and designers. . . . . .
Foremen and superintendents.
Heat treat.................................
Inspectors.................................
Final..................................
Other..................................
Laborers and helpers...............
Foundry ana core room...
Machine helpers.................
Messengers. I ......................
Truckers.............................
Other..................................
Machinists................................
Adjusters...........................
Repairs...............................
Setters................................
T ester...............................
Other..................................
Machine operators....................
Drills..................................
Grinders.............................
Lathes................................
Milling................................
Screw..................................
Thread................................
Other.................................
Millwrights...............................
Molderi....................................
Oilers........................................
Stock and tool-crib workers. . .

Other........................................

Assemblers................................
Core makers..............................
Inspectors.................................
Machine operators....................
Milling................................
Sewing................................
Thread...............................
Other..................................
Stock and tool-crib workers. . .

Trimmers..................................

O ther......................................

Not
on
Medi
pay
50
60
70
80
90
an
Less
roll
than cents, cents, cents, cents, cents,
and
Total. earn
less
less
less
less
less $1 and not
ings
50
re
per cents. than than than than than over. ported
60.
70.
80.
90.
$1.
hour.
42

$0.65

8
15

.65
.63

2
4

3
3

1
1

10
13
6
14
7
227
14
213
580
105
29
14
202
230
159
14
97
6
36
6
542
115
98
94
81
19
29
11
95
5
6
15
17
23
270
32
17
221
22
15
60
88

.65
.65

4
2

2
2
3
3

2
1

.60
.75
.64
.58
.64
.59
.57
.63
.50
.58
.62
.64
.59
.66
.63
.61

2
16
1
15
45
17
2
8
88
10
3
1
1
1

4
2
47
5
42
186
39
6
4
81
56
43
7
23
1
11
1
101
19
18
17
21
3
4'

86
2
84
137
33
6

1
31
2
29
24
2
3

39
59
28
3
18
2
4
1
121
28
29
19
19
3
9

6
13
18
1
14
1
1
1
56
11
14
10
4
2
1

14
1
2
2
1
2
34
8

26
1
1
5
22

6
5
9

.66
.68
.67
.67
.61
.65
.67

23
2
1
4
10
1
2

.68

.65
.55
.93
.80
.56
.58
.54
.56
.56
.73
.87
.61

1
2
28
1
3
24
2
8

19
1
1
4
3
1
121
16
12
93
14
4
9
26

304

.41

181

35
16
83
77
8
8
26
15
20
18
44
31

.38
.46
.36
.48
.53
.47
.49
.43
.48
.41
.45
.45

6
19
9
63
33
18
2
4
5) - 2
11
5
7
2
8
5
14
25
7
18
2

2
4
1
5

1
2

4
1

1
3

3
9
1

1
3

3
3

1
7
14
1
6

38
11
9
5
3
1
4

28
7
4
5
7

3
13
2
7
4
5

5
1

2
1
2

2
1
36
10
4
7
3
1
3
8

2
i
5
9

1
4
,1
1

3
i
2

2
3
1

2
2
3

6
1

3
1
10
1

1
1

4
2
5

4
2
i

i
i

1
10
4

12
2

5
2
2
2
40
4
36
163
13
10
2
60
78
45
2
29
1
11
2
139
27
19
27
14
8
4
10
30
2
7
3
7
71
6
2
63
1
2
9
17
a 58
7
1
19
17
2
5
5
5
2
3
9

»Includes 47 girls whose names did not appear on pay roll and 11 whose earnings per hour were not
reported.

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M IN O R W O R K E R S I N

T H E FACTORIES S U R V EY E D .

M ethod o f payment.

Methods of payment varied widely in different factories and for
different hinds of work. Somewhat over half of all the minors
who replied to the questionnaires were paid principally on a timerate basis, a third were on piecework, and the remainder were not
on the pay roll from which figures were secured. Several factories
paid bonuses of one kind or another—for instance, one gave a bonus
for work turned qut in excess of a set standard, and another for night
work and for good attendance. Most of the factories paid time
and a half for overtime work, but two paid only time and a quarter
and five paid only the regular rates. Although most of the factories
computed overtime by the day, three paid extra for overtime only
if the total hours worked for the week or pay period were in excess
of the total regular hours for the factory during that time.
In 12 of the factories visited, employing 53 per cent of the minors
included in the survey, the pay-roll period was two weeks or onehalf month; in the others the employees were paid by the week.
PROMOTION.

Possible lines o f promotion.

More important than the initial wage in an appraisal of factory
opportunities is the possibility of advancement, either to a super
visory position, such as that of boss or foreman, or to work of greater
skill or variety. In regard to this point as definite information as
possible was secured from employment managers in the factories
studied, but types of machines and methods of factory organization
varied so widely in the different plants that it is difficult to do more
than suggest methods by which employees qualified for advancement.
Two or three employers said that for most of their minor workers
there were no opportunities for promotion. In most of the factories
visited, however, some of the more desirable vacancies were filled
by promotion from within the factory and some by bringing in men
from outside. One large automobile factory even made it a practice
to transfer laborers to production work after they had been in the
factory two months. Except for their apprentices, however, em
ployers had worked out no “ line of promotion” which definitely
assured advancement to skilled or more responsible work; but when
a trained man from outside could not conveniently be found to fill
a position which demanded skill and experience, in many cases
some one within the factory whose work had been such as partially
to fit him for it would be given the position. Thus, although no
definite system of promotion existed, experience in certain kinds of
work often helped to fit the worker for a higher-grade job.
A laborer in the foundry, who wheels sand to the molders, cleans
castings, tends the rattlers, or does other odd jobs, will learn by

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M IN O R S I N

M E T A L -M A N U F A C T U R IN G IN D U ST R IE S .

observation how molds are made, how the hot metal is handled, and
what are the danger points of the workroom. The foreman andHhe
skilled workmen come to know him and are able to judge his native
ability and his willingness to work. When a molder’s helper is
needed, this knowledge of production methods gives the foundry
laborer an advantage over applicants from outside the factory who
have not had experience as molder’s helpers in other foundries. In
the same way, but more definitely, the molder’s helper gains experi
ence in his work which fits him to become a molder.
In the machine shop the laborer, who cleans up around the ma
chines, the trucker, who keeps the operators supplied with stock and
takes the finished product from one machine to the next and then to
the stock room, and the oiler, who works near the machines constantly,
will see how machines are controlled and how the finished stock should
look. They will learn the common shop terms and as they become
accustomed to working near machinery they will be less liable to
injury from it. When no experienced men apply for vacancies, the
foreman is likely to select the most promising of these machine-shop
laborers as operator on one of the simpler machines, such as the drill
press, the threading or tapping machine, or the rough grinder. The
worker thus becomes familiar with the method of power transmission,
which seldom varies from one machine to another in the same factory.
This experience, together with a knowledge of how to control a
simple machine and to produce work with accuracy and speed, is a
help in learning more difficult work or in operating a more compli
cated machine, such as the lathe, the boring mill, or the tool grinder.
Mastery of several types of machine operation helps to fit the operator
for the work of adjusting machines to different types of work.
Boys who happen to be selected for work as tool grinders become
familiar not only with machine operation but also with the names
and uses of various kinds of tools. This helps to fit them for work
as toolmakers, and experience as toolmaker is considered practically
indispensable to tool designers. Familiarity with the tools used in
the shop, which is gained by the tool-room and tool-crib clerks
and by laborers in handling the tools or carrying them to parts of
the factory where they are needed, is an asset for a tool grinder or
tool-lathe operator.
An inspector must be able to judge whether the particular piece
of work which he is inspecting is up to the standard set. Where
the work to be judged is very simple, as in the case of inspecting
small sheet-metal parts,45 workers with no previous factory expe
rience may do it. Where, on the other hand, inspection comes as
the last step in the production of a complex machine, it demands
a worker who is familiar with the whole production process. For

46See

p . 90.

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P UBLISH ED BY CO UR TES Y OF FORD M OTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

P L A T E IV.— FO U N DR Y.

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M O L D IN G M A C H IN ES,

P UB LISH ED BY CO UR TES Y OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

P L A T E V.— F O R G E SH O P .

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B L A C K S M IT H IN F O R E G R O U N D ; F O R G E S AN D S M A L L S T E A M H A M M ER IN B A C K G R O U N D .

MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

instance, in one of the automobile-body factories inspectors in the
sbeet-metal department were chosen from the ranks of the markers
or the rotary-shear operators,46 and might then be promoted to the
position of foreman. This situation was found in more of the fac
tories visited than was the method of advancement reported by a
large automobile factory in which inspectors of rough stock or sheetmetal parts might be selected as inspectors of enamel bodies or ma
chine-shop products, and might then be advanced to final inspection
or testing.
Laborers, truckers, and messengers, whose work brings them
in contact with assembly work, pick up information which helps to
fit them for an assembler’s job. Assemblers who have learned how
to put together some small subassembly, such as automobile pumps,
may be selected because of this experience to do more complicated
work, such as transmission or steering-gear assembly, and then
promoted to “ line work,” where a gang of men work together to put
the engine on the frame or do a similar piece of work.
Work in the stock room, such as that of a checker, counter, or sorter,
is often considered valuable experience for an office employee or
for a stock chaser. Moreover, since handling stock brings some
familiarity with much of the factory work, these employees may be
selected for advancement in some other department of the factory.
The description of the work of the tool designer and detailer in the
drafting room 47 indicates clearly how experience in the lower-grade
work is necessary for the draftsman who is going to progress.
Positions such as those of foreman, gang boss, or assistant foreman
demand not only wide experience in the particular department or
process supervised but also executive ability and leadership, which
are not to be gained through factory experience alone. It is true,
however, that experience in minor executive positions such as
assistant foreman or gang boss is valuable training for a position of
greater responsibility, such as that of foreman or production manager.
Training for promotion.

According to statements made by the employment managers
interviewed, sufficient training to qualify the beginner for nearly
all the promotions open to him in these industries could usually be
secured through shop experience alone. There were a few excep
tions: For instance, one employer said that he wished inspectors to
have technical-school training before promoting them to machine
work, and another stated that a toolmaker or tool grinder must have
studied mechanical drawing either in school or in the factory drafting
room before he could become a tool designer.
« See p. 86.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

47See

p. 65.

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Chances for promotion.

Actual opportunities for promotion are much fewer than would
seem to be the case when only the possible line of promotion or the
training for promotion is considered, since no matter how well
trained the worker, his actual advancement must wait upon the
occurrence of vacancies in the higher ranks or expansion of the
factory. A machine hand may have the experience and ability to
do the work of a machine setter, but as few are needed in the machine
shop he can not hope to be promoted until one of the machine setters
leaves his job. Even then there may be a dozen men as well quali
fied as he to fill the one position.
A typical situation illustrative of this point was seen in one of
the large factories visited. The assemblers, stock and tool room
workers, bench men, repair men, oilers, and laborers— about 920
in all— might become machine operators, of whom there were 820
in this plant. These in turn might become machinists or machine
setters, of whom there were only 117. The final promotion to fore
man or assistant foreman of the machine shop was of course possible
to only a few workers. Of all the workers in the factories visited
only 3 per cent were foremen or superintendents; 3 per cent machine
setters, fitters, adjusters, testers, or other machinists; and 1 per cent
toolmakers. Apprentices, the group who were fairly sure of promo
tion to a journeyman’s status, constituted only 2 per cent of the total.
Promotion was not open to girls to the same extent as it was to
boys. Employers who employed girls as sewing-machine, tapping,
or threading-machine operators said there were no better positions
open to them. In one factory employing both boys and girls as
counters in the inspection department the position of foreman was
open only to men. On some kinds of work, such as core making,
promotion of girls was not practicable because the work to which the
boys might be promoted— in this instance, molding— was too heavy
for the girls.
INDUSTRIAL HISTORIES.

A study of the industrial histories of the minors in the factories
surveyed brings out important facts regarding their age at first going
to work, the extent of shifting from job to job, and the gain or loss
incident to such changes. Although work histories secured by the
questionnaire method are likely to be incomplete and to minimize
and obscure the difficulties the young workers have had in attempting
to find themselves industrially, the analysis indicates the need for
organized effort toward making the child’s transition from school to
work less abrupt and costly.
For groups such as those included in this study this problem of
adjustment is not primarily one which each local community can
solve for itself. Four per cent had last attended school in rural

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

communities— 25 in Michigan and 13 outside the State. Somewhat
less than one-third had last attended school in the city in which they
were weiring at the time of the study. Twenty-two per cent had
come from schools in other cities in the State and 35 per cent from
schools in cities outside Michigan.48 While this is an indication that
minors go from city to city and even from State to State in search of
the work desired, it may have been brought about, at least in part,
by the abnormal demand for workers in the Michigan factories, par
ticularly in the automobile industry, at the time of this survey.
There seems to be little tendency among the minor workers to
follow the trade in which their fathers had been engaged. Only 13
per cent had fathers who were employed in metal manufacturing and
less than half (44 per cent) had fathers working in any manufacturing
or mechanical industry.49
Age at going to work.

Many of the minors employed in the factories studied had left
school for work at an earlier age than would now be permitted b y
the Michigan child labor and education laws.50 Table 8 shows that
26 (3 per cent of those replying to the questionnaire) had started
when under 14 years of age and of these 10 were under 12 when
they began. About one-third entered industry before they were 16,
while slightly over that proportion began in the single year between
their sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays. The general tendency
was the same among both girls and boys. The foreign-bom minors,
on the whole, went to work younger than the native. Of the foreign
bom 82 per cent, and of the native born only 64 per cent started work
before they were 17 years of age.
T a b l e 8 .— Age at beginning work, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.a
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.®
Age at beginning work.

Boys.

Total.

Girls.

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu- Number. distribu- Number. distribution.
tion.
tion.
T otal...___
Under 10 years__
10 years, under 1 2 .
12 years, under 13.
13 years, under 14,
14 years, under 15.
15 years, under 16,
16 years, under 17.
17 years, under 18
18 years, under 19,
19 years, under 21
Not reported.......

913

100.0

818

100.0

1
9
7
9
86
181
326
173
86
23
12

.1
1.0
.8
1.0
9.4
19.8
35. 7
18.9
9.4
2.5
1.3

1
9
4
8
75
165
294
153
76
21
12

.1
1 .1
.5
1.0
9.2
20.2
35.9
18.7
9.3
2.6
1.5

100.0

3
1
11
16
32
20
10
2

3.2
1 .1
11.6
16.8
33.7
2 1.1
10.5
2 .1

a Questionnaire group.
« See General Table IX .
49 See General Table V III.
60 See pp. 6 and 31. Some of the minors may have been subject to laws with lower standards when
they left school, either laws of other States or earlier Michigan laws.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

The first position.
Industry .— An indication of the shifting among minor workers,
probably due in part to the desire for experiment and in part to the
greater variety of opportunities open to them as they grew older, is
seen in the fact that less than one-half (47 per cent) had found their
first work in the metal-manufacturing industries. Table 9 shows
that the tendency toward entering these industries, and manufac
turing and mechanical industries in general, tended to increase with
the age of beginning work.51 This increase may be due in part to
the expansion of the industry during the same period. About twothirds, in all, had gone into manufacturing and mechanical occupa
tions and 15 per cent into the groups classified under “ Trade” or
“ Transportation.” Forty-seven per cent of the minor workers in
the automobile factories (including manufacture of automobile bodies
and parts), and only 33 per cent of the foundry and machine-shop
workers, reported that their first job was in the iron and steel manu
facturing industries.
Table 9.— Industry o f first position, by age at going to work; minors in metal-manu
facturing industries}
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Age at going to work.

Industry of first position.2
Total.

Under 15 years, 16 years, 17 years, 18 yèars
15 years. under 16. under 17. under 18. and over.
Total....................................................

100.0

Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry..
Extraction of minerals................................
Manufacturing and mechanical...................
Iron and steel........................................
Other metal...........................................
Other manufacturing and mechanical.
Transportation.............................................
Trade............................................................
Public service...............................................
Professional service......................................
Domestic and personal service....................
Clerical..........................................................
Not reported.................................................

3.1
3.4
64.5
42.4
4.5
17.6
6.5
8.3
.8
.7
2.2
.1
10.5

4.5
7.1
43.7
26.8
2.7
14.3
9.8
16.1

3.3
3.3
60.2
32.0
6.6
21.5
6 .1
9.4
1.7

3.1
3.4
71.8
47.2
3.4
2 1.2
5.2
6.4

2.3
2.3
64.2
46.2
5.2
12.7
9.2
6.9
1 7

4.4

2 .1

1.8

11.6

7.7

12 .1

4.6

.9
1.8
16.1

100.0
2.8
L8

73.4
54.1
5.5
13.8
3.7
7.3

1Questionnaire group.
* The census classification of industries and occupations has been followed as closely as possible.
Duration .— Among the minors who reported that they had been
at work for more than one year and who reported the duration of
their first position, 11 per cent, according to Table 10, had stayed in
their first jobs less than three months. Only 48 per cent had stayed
a year or more. Girls remained slightly longer than boys in their first
positions. Short as these periods are, a study of younger child work51A slight bias in this direction may result from the method of selection of the group, since all the children
included in the study were employed in metal-manufacturing industries at the time of the investigation.

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

ers— between 14 and 16 years of age— in Connecticut52 shows an even
shorter duration of first positions. Of those who had been at work at
least 21 months, 34 per cent had left their first jobs in less than 3
months and 48 per cent in less than 6 months.
Table 10.—Duration o f first position, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.*
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Total.

Boys.

Duration of first position.
Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu Number. distribu
tion.
tion.
3784

Less than 3 months..........................................
3 months, less than 6 .......................................
1 year and over............... ........................................
1 year, less than 1J...........................................

552
285
61
81
143
267
88
49
63
14
53
232

703
100.0
51.6
11 .1
14.7
25.9
48.4
15.9
8.9
lì. 4
2.5
9.6

489
257
55
77
125
232
77
41
55
14
45
214

Girls.*

81
100.0
52.6
1 1 .2
15.7
25.6
47.4
15.7
8.4
1 1 .2
2.9
9.2

63
28
6
4
18
35
11
8
8
8
18

1 Questionnaire group. Only those minors were included who had been at work one year or over. The
few positions (36) which had lasted one year or over and had not been terminated at the time of the study
were distributed according to the most probable duration.
* Per cent not shown where base is less than 100.
* Excludes 129 children (122 who had been at work less than 1 year and 7 who had not reported length
of work history).

The present study indicates that the child who went to work early
in life stayed in his first job longer than the child who started at a
later age. Table 11 shows that the median duration of first positions
decreased from 20.8 months for those beginning work under 15 to
9.3 months for those beginning at 18 years of age or over. One
employer said that he considered the 18-year-old group of applicants
floaters and did not wish to employ them. This tendency, together
with relatively higher average age for entering manufacturing and
mechanical industries,53 may partly explain the fact that young per
sons entering those industries, particularly iron and steel, remained
there for a shorter time on the average than those entering other kinds
of work.
52 Woodbury, Robert Morse: Industrial Instability of Child Workers, p. 18. U. S. Children’s Bureau
Publication No. 74, Washington, 1920.
53 Seep. 22.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Table 11.— Median duration o f first position, by age at beginning work; minors in
metal-manujacturing industries}
Minors in metal
m an u factu rin g
industries.1

Minora in metalm an u factu rin g
industries.1
Age at beginning work.
Total.

Median
duration
of first
position
in
months.

Age at beginning work.
Total.

8666

11.33

16 years, under 17....................

71
127

20.78
13.39

18 years and oyer....................

238
129
94
7

Median
duration
of first
position
in
months.
11.20
9. «4
9.32

1 Questionnaire group.
8 Excludes 247 minors who did not report duration of first position.

Number o f positions held.

Table 12 shows that 120, or over one-eighth of the minors included
in the questionnaire survey, had each held but one position, but of
these nearly two-thirds had not been at work as long as a year. On
the other hand, there was much shifting from job to job. Thirtytwo minors, none of whom had worked as long as two years, had
each held four or more different positions. One boy who had been
at work for only about three years had had nine positions in that
time. These figures probably understate the number of positions
held, because the minors who had shifted often might have forgotten
to record all their positions. Even allowing for this possibility, the
figures show a decided tendency on the part of those who had been
at work for several years to stay on the job longer. For those who
had been at work over five years the time spent in each position aver
aged more than twice as long as for those who had been at work
between one and two years.
Girls had had fewer positions on the average than boys. Consid
erably larger percentages of the girls than of the boys had each held
only one, two, or three positions, and correspondingly smaller per
centages of the girls had each held four, five, or six or more. Since
the work histories of the girls were only slightly shorter than those
of the boys, it is thus evident that the girls tended to stay longer in
their positions than the boys.

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T a b l e 12.—Length o f work history, by number o f positions; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

45198

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1

Length of work history.

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu- Number. distribu- Number. distribu- Number. distribu- Number. diàtribution.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
Total....................................................
1 year, less than 2.........................................
2 years,less than 3........................................
3 years,less than 4........................................
4 years, less than 5........................................
5 years,less than 6........................................

-9

6 and
over.®

913

100.0

120

100.0

218

100.0

193

100.0

140

100.0

122
159
217
193
123
65
15
11
8

13.4
17.4
23.8
2 1.1
13.5
7.1
1.6
1.2
.9

75
28
10
4
1
1

62.5
23.3
8.3
3.3
.8
.8

9
26
59
51
27
16
4
1

4.7
13.5
30.6
26.4
14.0
8.3
2 .1
.5

4
17
37
43
23
11
3
1
1

2.9
12 .1
26.4
30.7
16.4
7.9
2 .1
.7
.7

1
7
18
23
19
11
1
1

14.2
27.1
25.2
18.3
8.3
4.1
.9
.9
.9

3
14
22
25
11
5

31
59
55
40
18
9
2
2
2

1 Questionnaire group.

* Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

Notreported.3

81
2
19
24
10
10
6
6
4

MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED,

Number of positions.

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MINORS IN METAL.-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Tim e in present occupation and industry.

In this study the time in present occupation means not the time
with present employer but the time in the specific kind of work in
which the boy or girl was engaged when the survey wad made. If a
minor had worked at several different occupations in the same fac
tory, the time in present occupation would be shorter than the time
with the present employer; but if (as was seldom the case) he had
worked at the same occupation in different factories, it would be
longer.
In contrast with the situation in regard to the duration of the first
positions, the girls had stayed on the average a shorter time than the
boys in the occupations and industries in which they were working
at the time of the survey. The median time in the present occupation
was 7.9 months for boys and 6.2 months for girls; the time in the
present industry was 14.5 months for boys and only 9.8 months for
girls. This may be due to the fact that the girls had not been at
work as long on the whole as had the boys and, as already shown,
more shifting occurred in the early part of industrial life.
The time in the present occupation also varied considerably for
different types of work. For machine operators the median time
already spent in the occupation was 12.2 months, for assemblers 10.3
months, for apprentices 7.5 months, and for inspectors 8.5 months;
but for laborers’ helpers and stock and tool room workers the median
was only about 5 months.
Increase in earnings.

A comparison of the average weekly earnings received in the first
position with the average weekly earnings in the present position64
shows a median increase of $15.07. Only 23 (3 per cent) reported a
decrease; 69 (8 per cent) reported an increase of $25 or more. The
general rise of wages during the years immediately preceding the
survey, which was particularly evident in the automobile and other
metal-working industries, doubtless accounts for a considerable pro
portion of this advance.
GENERAL EDUCATION.

Two-thirds of the minors, according to Table 13, had completed
the eighth or a higher grade. Not far from half of this group, 30
per cent of the whole number, recorded one or more years of highschool attendance, and of these one-sixth were high-school graduates.
Among the high-school graduates six had had some further educa
tion. That as a class these workers had somewhat more than the
average educational background is indicated by the fact that the
64 Data for increase are based on the average weekly earnings in first and in present positions as obtained
from the questionnaires. See General Table X .

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

proportion, 67 per cent, who had completed the eighth or a higher
grade is larger than the average for minors of the same ages in the
United States as a whole.55
The girls in general had not advanced so far as the boys.56 None
had graduated from high school, and only 23 per cent, as compared
with 31 per cent of the boys, had completed any high-school grade.
Among the nativity groups,57 the native white children of native
fathers stood highest, with 35 per cent who had advanced further
than completion of the eighth grade; the native white children of
foreign fathers next, with 29 per cent; and the foreign-born children
last, with 20 per cent.
Table 13.—Grade completed, by occupation; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Occupation.

Grade completed.
Total.

Laborers Machine Stock and
and
opera tool room
helpers.
tors.
workers.

Assem
blers.

Inspec
tors.

100.0

1.6
4.1
8.9
14.6
12.2
36.6
4.9

0.5
Ì.5
3.6
4.6
18.3
41.1
11.7

1.0
7.9
16.8
35.6
12.9

19
1.2
4.7
10 .1
14.3
31.4
12.8

Other.

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

100.0

Third grade and lower...............
Fourth grade..............................
Fifth grade............ ....................
Sixth grade.................................
Seventh grade.............................
Eighth grade...............................
First year high school................
Second and third year high
school.......................................
Fourth year high school and
higher education.....................
Not reported...............................

0.9
1.8
3.8
7.9
15.8
36.7
11.7

2.8
0.9
8.5
18.9
41.5
8.5

1.6
2.3
1.6
14.8
37.5
18.0

13.0

12.3

16.4

6.5

12.2

19.8

12.8

5.0
3.4

4.7
1.9

7.8

2.4
8.1

4.6
2.0

5.0
1.0

5.4
5.4

1 Questionnaire group.

The educational opportunities of these minors may have varied
with the localities where they had lived while they were going to
school.58 Most of them had come from city schools; only 38, or
about 1 in 25, had last attended school in a rural community. But
since the figures show only the locality of the school last attended
and not the period of attendance, no significance can be attached to
the differences in the proportions of children from different types of
schools who had completed specified grades.
66It is estimated that only 63.4 per cent of the children in the United States who enter the first grade
enter the eighth grade. Bonner, H. R ., Statistics of Universities, Colleges, and Professional Schools,
1917-18, p. 30, U. S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1920, No. 34. Washington, 1921.
68 See General Table X I.
67 See General Table X I. ' The negro group was considered too small to be included in this comparison.
«8 See General Table TT -

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Grade completed and occupation.

The demands of the occupations in which the minors were engaged
constitute a further factor in determining the general educational
qualifications of the occupational groups. For nearly all the occupa
tions in which minors were commonly employed— such as apprentice,
assembler, inspector, and machine operator—most employers pre
ferred workers with an eighth-grade education, though in some cases
(especially for machine operators) the sixth or seventh grade was
equally acceptable. Others, while believing that a common-school
education was necessary for advancement, did not consider it an
indispensable qualification for entrance upon the work of the factory.
A high-school education, at least, was thought necessary for chemists,
melter’s assistants, toolmaker’s apprentices, and for a few other
technical jobs. Employers were less likely to make any educational
requirements for laborers and helpers, and for the simpler types of
stock and tool-room work. It is therefore not surprising to find,
as is shown in Table 13, that although only 67 per cent of all the
minors had completed the eighth or a higher grade, 80 per cent of
the inspectors and 70 per cent of the machine operators had done so,
as compared with 50 per cent of the laborers and helpers.
In a few cases the employer’s demand of a common-school educa
tion was caused by the nature of the work. One employer, for in
stance, employed eighth-grade graduates as millwright’s helpers
because they needed some knowledge of mathematics; another pre
ferred them for skilled inspection work and for machine operators
because they had to learn to read blue prints. On the other hand, a
study of the work done in those occupations for which completion of
the eighth grade was usually held necessary 59 shows that often this
degree of general education was demanded not because it was needed
in the actual performance of the job but because it indicated a level
of general intelligence and mental training which the employer thought
desirable in the performance of even the relatively simpler types of
work.
Grade completed and earnings.

Although wages tended to increase with years of industrial experi
ence (up to six years) the median hourly earnings of minors who had
completed specified grades, as shown in Table 14, indicate that pre
liminary education often more than offsets experience as a factor in
earning power. High-school graduates, who as a group reported a
median work history of slightly less than two years, showed median
hourly earnings of 67 cents, or 5 cents an hour more than was reported
for the whole group who had worked two years but less than three.
The median expected earnings for this group would have been only
69 See p. 63 et seq. for descriptions and requirements of occupations.

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

61 cents an hour.60 The same tendency is shown at the other end of
the scale, for while those who had completed only the seventh grade
or less reported median work histories of slightly over three years and
actual median earnings of 60 cents an hour, the expected 60 median
earnings would be 64 cents an hour.61 In spite of relative inexperi
ence in the factory, the median earnings of the young persons who
had gone beyond the first year of high school were 7 cents an hour
more than those received by the workers who had not completed the
sixth grade.
T a b l e 14.— Median hourly earnings and median length o f work history, by grade com

pleted; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal
m an u factu rin g
industries.1

Minors in metal
m an u factu rin g
industries.1

Grade completed.

Grade completed

Median
Median
of
earnings length
work
per hour. history.
Cents.
62.9
Sixth and lower grades...........
Seventh grade.. T....................

62.4
58.2
63.9

Median Median
earnings length of
work
per hour. history.

Yrs. Mos.
2
9
3
3
2

3
—
9

Second and third year high
Fourth-year high school and

Cents. Yrs. Mbs.
2
0
60.5
67.8

67.1

1 Questionnaire group.

These differences are, to be sure, rather small, but the money
value of an education can not of course fairly be measured by a study
of earnings received only by workers under 21. They are not mature
enough and have not been at work long enough to acquire the experi
ence necessary for positions demanding much knowledge, skill, or
responsibility. Furthermore, the additional experience gained by
those who cut short their school life to go to work gives them an
initial advantage over those who stay in school longer which later
disappears.
Age at leaving school and retardation.

A correlation of grade completed and age at leaving school gives a
rough index of retardation, even though standards may vary from
school to school. Of the minors reporting the age at which they had
left school and the grade they had completed, as shown by Table 15,
3 per cent had left school before they were 14 years of age; and 38
per cent had left between their fourteenth and sixteenth birthdays.
Practically the same number left in the single year after they were 16
as in the two previous years. A somewhat larger number left school
at the ages of 14 and 15 years than went to work in those years,
60 Expected on the basis of wages earned by all minors with the same duration of industrial experience.
61 See also Table 6.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

indicating a transition interval between school and work.62 No defi
nite conclusion as to the amount of schooltime lost in this interval
can be drawn, however, because it is not known in how many cases
the interval occurred when school was not in session. The average
age at leaving school was higher for the minors included in this study
than was found in a study of working boys 16, 17, and 18 years of
age in New York State,63 made in 1918. In cities of over 25,000
inhabitants, excluding Greater New York,64 3 per cent left school
before they were 14 years of age and 61 per cent between the ages of
14 and 16 years.
Table 15.— Retardation, by age at leaving school; minors in metal-manufacturing
industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Retarded.
Age at leaving school.
Total.

Total.

1 and 2 years.

3 years and
over.

Normal.

Advanced.

Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2
Total...................

»867

453

Under 14 years.............
14 years, under 15........
15 years, under 16........
16 years, under 17........
17 years and over.........

27
113
220
335
172

7
32
88
248
78

52.2

375

28.3
40.0
74.0
45.3

5
29
72
213
56

43.3

25.7
32.7
63.6
32.6

2
3
16
35
22

9.0

347

2.7
7.3
10.4
12.8

9
67
122
75
74

40.0

7.7

59.3
55.6
22.4
43.0

U
14
10
12
20

12.4
4.5
3.6
11.6

1 Questionnaire group.
2 Not shown where base is less than 100.
* Excludes 46 minors for whom age at leaving school or grade completed was not reported or who were
still in part-time day school or working on vacation permits.

A large percentage of the minors, as shown by Table 15, had not
completed normal grades for their ages, even under the comparatively
conservative standard adopted for this report. According to that
standard, a child who left school at 14 years of age was considered
to have made normal progress if he had successfully passed through
either the seventh or the eighth grade; one who had left at 15 years
of age65 was held to have completed a normal grade if he had finished
the eighth grade or one year of high school; and so on. On this
basis, 52 per cent of the minors had failed to complete normal grades
for their ages, and a sixth of these—nearly 1 in 10 of the whole
group— were three or more years retarded.
62 See Table 8.
6» Burdge, Howard G.: Our Boys, A study of 245,000 16-, 17-, and 18- year-old employed boys of the
State of New York, p . 89. New York Military Training Commission, Bureau of Vocational Training,
Albany, 1921.
64 This group is used as most comparable with the cities included in the Michigan study.
66 Even if a child did not start his school life until 7 years of age, which was the age required by
the Michigan compulsory education law and by the laws of most of the States, he would have completed
the eighth grade at the age of 15 years if he had gone straight through the grades.

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

A survey of the public schools in 80 representative cities in the
United States, made by the United States Bureau of Education for
the school year 1917-18, showed among all the pupils in school an
average of only 21 per cent retarded,66 but these figures included
children of all ages. The proportion of retardation among the
minors included in this survey was also higher than was found in
the New York study previously referred to,67 which showed that in
cities of over 25,000, excluding Greater New York, 47 per cent of
the boys who had left school between the ages of 14 and 17 were
retarded, as compared with 55 per cent of the corresponding group
of minors included in the present study. In a study of working
children between 14 and 16 years of age in Boston, where the same
standard was used as in this study, it was found that slightly less
than one-third of the children included had failed to complete normal
grades, and a somewhat larger percentage than in this study had
completed grades higher than normal for their ages.68
While both the Boston and the Michigan figures indicate that the
tendency to drop out of school and go to work may be more marked
among backward than among normal children, the larger percentage
of retarded Michigan children is due at least in part to the higher
age standard of the law relating to attendance of children at school.69
The Michigan statute, with certain rather restricted exemptions,70
required all children between 7 and 16 years of age to attend school
until they had completed the eighth grade. Of the minors who had
last attended school in Michigan— nearly three-fifths of the entire
group7!— tkose who could not finish the eighth grade at 14 or 15
had been required to stay on in school. The child who would be
recorded as in a normal grade if he dropped out of school in one of
the lower grades might be considerably below the normal when he
finally succeeded in completing the eighth grade, or when he reached
16 without having advanced even as far as the eighth grade. It is
m Bonner, H . R.: Statistics of City School Systems, 1917-18, p. 35. U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin,
1920, No. 24, Washington, 1920. The standard of retardation used by the Bureau of Education was slightly
lower than that used in this study.
67Burdge, Howard G.: Our Boys: A study of 245,000 16,17, and 18 year old employed boys of the State
of New York, p. 89. New York Military Training Commission, Bureau of Vocational Training, Albany,
1921.
1 .
as The percentage of the Boston children who had completed higher grades than normal was 9.6 among
all the children for whom continuation-school records were obtained. The Working Children of Boston:
A study of child labor under a modem system of legal regulation, p. 134. U. S. Children’s Bureau Publica
tion No. 89, Washington, 1922.
os In Massachusetts a child of 14 could leave school to go to work if he had “ such ability to read, write,
and spell in the English language as is required for the completion of the fourth grade of the public schools
in the city or town in which he resides.” (Revised Laws 1902, ch. 44, sec. 1, as amended by acts of
1913, ch. 779, sec. 1, and by acts of 1915, ch. 81, sec. 1.) Since the period of that study the educational
requirement has been raised to completion of the sixth grade. (Acts of 1921, ch. 463.)
70
sixth-grade graduates 14 years of age or over whose labor was necessary for support of parents were
exempted. There were also the usual exemptions for physical and mental disability and, for children
12-14, an exemption allowing attendance at confirmation classes. (Howell’s Annotated Statutes 1913,
sec 10110, as amended by acts of 1917, No. 179, and acts of 1919, No. 132.)
n See General Table IX .

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

therefore natural to find the highest proportion of retardation, 74
per cent, and the lowest proportion of minors advanced for their
ages, 3.6 per cent, in the group who left school when they were 16.
TECHNICAL TRAINING.

School courses in technical subjects.
Courses 'pursued.— The need of a good elementary education was
more frequently emphasized by employers than the need for tech
nical vocational education, since much of the technical knowledge
necessary for specialized types of work could be secured by actual
experience. Nevertheless, most employers believed that vocational
training was of value for the more skilled work, especially that of
machine operators, machinists, toolmakers, painters, draftsmen,
designers, testers, chemists, and apprentices in all types of metal
manufacturing. A few employers considered special vocational
work valuable for outfit assemblers, bearing setters, final inspectors,
and those employed at other types of assembling and inspection.
Naturally, therefore, minors who had taken such courses had better
opportunities than others to secure work of this sort. A consider
ably larger proportion of the machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors than of the laborers and helpers had at some time taken
metal-trades courses.71®
Of the minors included in the study who had taken courses of
that kind after leaving school about one out of every four was a
machine operator, and nearly the same proportion were assemblers
and inspectors, while only 1 out of 20 was a laborer and helper.
The same tendency, but to a less degree, was found in the group
taking metal-trades courses before leaving school.72
In spite of the value attached to technical training by most of
the employers, the growing emphasis in the schools on vocational
work, and the increasing opportunities for such training open to
those who have left school, only 15 per cent of the boys and none
of the girls had at any time received training that would especially
fit them for employment in a metal-working factory. Even in these
cases the training may not have been such as to fit the minor directly
for the occupation in which he was engaged.
Table 16 shows that about one-fourth of the minors— nearly threetenths of the boys and over one-tenth of the girls—had taken trade
training courses of some kind either in day school or after they had
left school. A smaller proportion had pursued these courses after
leaving school than before, and a few— about 1 in 20— had taken
vocational work during both periods. Of the 59 boys who took
Tia This term is used throughout this report to coyer all courses, including mechanical drawing and
drafting, which would especially fit the minor for any kind of employment in a metal-working factory.
72 See General Table X II.

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

metal-trades courses while in day school only 14 followed them by
additional courses along the same line after leaving day school.73
A larger proportion of the minors who last attended school in the
same city in which they were found working than of those who last
attended school elsewhere had taken vocational training in day
school, since in all the cities included in the survey the schools
provided some kind of trade training courses. Only 1 of the 38
minors who came from rural schools had had vocational work.
Table 16.— Time o f talcing trade training courses, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing
industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Time of taking trade training courses.

Total.

Boys.

Girls.

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Number. distribu Number. distribu Number. distribu
tion.
tion.
tion.
Total...................................................

1807

100.0

734

100.0

Taking courses.............................................
In day school only................................
After leaving day school......................
Both.......................................................
Taking no course..........................................

221
103
82
36
686

27.4
12.8
10.2
4.5
72.6

213
100
77
36
521

29.0
13.6
10.5
4.9
71.0

8
3
5

11.0
4.1
6.8

89.0

1 Excludes 106 minors who did not report whether or not any courses were taken.

Trade training and grade completed.— The minors who had pro
gressed furthest in school were the ones most likely to have had voca
tional training courses, chiefly because at least a sixth-grade educa
tion is usually a prerequisite to such courses. All those who had taken
vocational courses in day school had gone beyond the fourth grade.
Table 17 shows that all but 6 per cent of those who took vocational
work while still in day school had gone beyond the sixth grade, 83
per cent had completed the eighth grade or some high-school work,
and 60 per cent had received at least one or more years of highschool training.
T ypes o f courses.— Metal-trades courses, as shown by Tables 18
and 19, were taken by a much larger proportion of the boys who
secured some vocational training after they stopped going to school
regularly than of those who took courses while they were still in day
school (69 as compared with 43 per cent). The most popular types
of these courses taken after leaving day school were mechanical
drawing and drafting, tool or pattern making, and automobile repair
or assembly. In the comparatively few cases where a minor had
taken more than one course, however, preference in tabulating the
material was given to the courses in the order in which they are
73 See General Table X IU .

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

listed in the table; it was not practicable to tabulate more than one
course for each minor. Therefore, if all who reported each course
could have been counted, slightly larger numbers would have been
shown in the courses toward the end of the list.
T ab le 17.—Grade completed and whether or not trade training courses were taken in day

school; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries—1

Grade completed.

Who had taken
courses in day
school.

Total.

Number.

Who had taken no
courses in day
school.

Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
distri Number. distri Number. distri
bution.
bution.
bution.

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

2 873

100.0

139

Sixth and lower grades................................
Seventh grade..............................................
Eighth grade................................................
First year high school..................................
Second and third year high school.............
Fourth year high school and higher education............................................................
Not reported.................................................

129
138
325
104
115

14.8
15.8
37.2
11.9
13.2

8
13
33
31
38

46
16

5.3
1.8

14
2

100.0

734

100.0

9.4
23.7
22.3
27.3

121
125
292
73
77

16.5
17.0
39.8
99
10.5

10.1
1.4

32
14

4.4
1.9

¡nr

1 Questionnaire group.
2 Excludes 40 who did not report whether or not trade training courses were taken in day school.

T able 18.— Type o f trade training courses taken in school, by sex; minors in metal
manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries who
took training courses in day school.1
Type of trade training courses taken in day school.

Total.

Number.

Total.......... ;•___ .......................i f p
Metal trades............................................... .
Tool and pattern making...................
Mechanical and electrical engineering
Mechanical drawing and drafting
Machine-shop practice.........i t ........... .
Foundry...............................................
Automobile repair and assembly........
Other.....................................................
Woodworking.................... ........... ..... .......
Commercial.................................................
All other.................................. ..................
Not reported...............................................

Per cent
Per cent
distri Number. distri
bution.
bution.

139

100.0

136

100.0

59
17
2
30
5
2
2
1
22
16
33
9

42.4
12.2
1.4
21.6
3.6
1.4
1.4
.7
15.8
11.5
23.7
6.5

59
17
2
30
5
2
2
1
22
14
32
9

43.4
12.5
1.5
22.1
3.7
1.5
1.5
.7
16.2
10.3
23.5
6.6

1 Questionnaire group.
2 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

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Boys.
Girls.*

2
1

MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

T a b l e 19.— Type o f trade training courses taken after leaving day school, by sex; minors

in metal-manufacturing industries who took trade training courses after leaving
school.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries who
took trade training courses after leaving school.1
Type of trade training courses taken after leaving
day school.

Total.

Boys. .

Per cent
Per cent
Number. distri- Number. distribution.
bution.
Total.................................................
Metal trades.............................................. .
Tool and pattern making....................
Mechanical and electrical engineering
Mechanical drawing and drafting___
Machine-shop practice....................... .
Foundry..............................................
Automobile repair and assembly........
Other metal trades..............................
Woodworking.............................................
Commercial.................................................
All other......................................................
Not reported...............................................
1 Questionnaire group.

118

100.0

113

100.0

78
17
7
17
10
1
15
11
1
13
20
6

66.1
14.4
5.9
14.4
8.5
.8
12.7
9.3
.8
11.0
16.9
5.1

78
17
7
17
10
1
15
•11
1
10
18
6

69.0
15.0
6.2
15.0
8.8
.9
13.3
9.7
.9
8.8
15.9
5.3

Girls.2

3
2

2 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

Only one-fourth of the minors who had taken courses after leaving
day school took them in the public schools.74 A large number—
nearly two-thirds as many as had taken courses in public schools—had
taken them in correspondence schools, and the proportion of minors
who had taken metal-trades courses was about the same. Factory
courses had been taken by about the same number as had taken
correspondence courses. The other courses reported had been taken
at various types of private schools such as business colleges or auto
mobile schools. The name of the city in which the work was taken
was not obtained, and there is consequently no method of determining
whether the work taken in private courses and by correspondence could
have been secured at the time in the public schools; but since nearly
one-third of the minors had last attended school in the city in which
they were working, and over one-half had done so in some Michigan
city, it would seem that there had been a demand for vocational training
not satisfied b y the public schools available to these minors.
Length, o f courses.—Three-tenths of the minors who reported the
length of the courses taken since leaving day school had taken courses
which lasted for a year or more, and over five-sixths had taken courses
extending over a period of at least three months.75 Nearly twothirds of the minors who reported the length of courses taken while
they were still in day school had attended such courses 12 months
or more and only about one-fifth had attended less than 6 months.
Relation to earnings.—The value of the vocational training of these
minors could not be shown fully by the amounts which they were
earning at the time of this study not only because many of them had
not been at work long enough to have put their training to full
practical use but also because for such a determination it would be
necessary to discover whether in time of depression the trained man
74See General Table X IV .

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76See General Table X V .

MINORS IN M ETAIrM ANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

was retained in preference to the one not trained. Under these
conditions even a slight difference in earnings is significant. Boys
who had taken metal-trades courses were receiving a median wage
of 66 cents an hour and $31.96 a week, while those who had taken
no trade training courses at all reported 65 cents an hour and $30.26
a week. Fifty-five per cent of the boys who had taken courses in
metal trades and only 44 per cent of those who had no trade training
courses were earning $30 a week or more.
Shop training and apprenticeship.

For many occupations employers did not require workers with any
experience. In one establishment employees who had not worked
in other plants were even preferred, because it was believed they
could be trained more quickly to the routine of the particular fac
tory. For work requiring a small amount of experience, the general
practice was to take unskilled workers already in the factory and
train them. For work requiring much skill and training, such as
that of welders, machine operators, and machinists, men who had
had experience in other factories were preferred.
The general lack of any definite .method of learning the occupation
in the factory is shown by the fact that 44 per cent of the workers
failed to report how the training for the jobs in which they were
working had been secured. Nearly all of those who gave any reply
had “ picked it u p ” or had been shown by the foreman, 6 per cent
had worked as helpers, 6 per cent as apprentices, and 4 per cent
stated they received their training through school courses.
Learning period .— It was equally difficult to obtain complete infor
mation concerning the duration of the training for the work which
the minor employees were doing at the time of the survey. Fortytwo per cent made no reply to this query. Naturally those who had
no definite idea of how they had learned their work could make no
reply as to the time required; but since it is reasonable to suppose
that some (particularly the apprentices) who did not reply consid
ered that they had not yet “ learned” their work, the proportion
shown by Table 20 as having spent any considerable time in learn
ing may be an understatement. Only about 1 in 6 of the entire
number reporting on this point had spent as much as six months in
learning. Nevertheless the large proportion who had spent very
short periods is corroborated by the testimony of employment mana
gers as to the time necessary for workers to become proficient in the
various types of occupation. It was the general opinion that less
than one day was required for truckers, messengers, errand boys,
and most of the laborers. The time necessary for learning the sim
pler types of assembling, inspection, and machine operating was
estimated at between a week and a month. On the other hand,
a year or more was needed for many of the skilled occupations.76
76See data under heading “ Learning period” in Descriptive Analysis of Common Occupations of
Minors, p. 63 et seq.

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T a b l e 20.— Time spent in learning present occupation, by Tcind o f occupation; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1

Occupation.
Total.

Less than 1
day.

1 week, less 1 month, less 3 months, less 6 months, less
1 day, less
than 3.
than 6.
than 1 year.
than 1 week. than 1 month.

1 year, less
than 2.

2 years and
over.

Not reported.

Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2 ber. cent.2
Total..........................................
Assemblers..........................................
Inspectors...........................................
Machine operators..............................

Stock and tool-crib workers...............
All others............................................

913

42
106
128
123
197
33
40
28
37
59
101
216

1
5
4
3
7
3

3.7
4.7
3.1
2.4
3.6

1
3
4
10

4.0
4.6

1 Questionnaire group.

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118
1
20
13
30
20
2
3
3
3
9
16
18

12.9
18.9
10.2
24.4
10.2

15.8
8.3

193
2~
22
22
13
49
11
11
4
12
11
16
69

21.1
20.8
17.2
10.6
24.9

15.8
31.9

79
1
19
16
4
13
3
2
3
1
4
7
19

8.7
17.9
12.5
3.3
6.6

6.9
8.8

21
1
1
5

2.3
.9
3.9

8
3
3
1
1

4.1

2
4

2.0
1.9

31
1
3
4
2
9
1
2
2
1
3
2
10

3.4
2.8
3.1
1.6
4.6

2.0
4.6

2.1

3.6

1
3
4

2.8
3.1

3
4

2.8
3.1

3.6

9
1

4.6

1
3
1
2
1
3

2 Not shown where base is less than 100.

Lb
1.4

5
2
1
1
15

1.0
6.9

386
34
30
56
71
75
9
18
6
16
26
* 52
68

42.3
28.3
43.8
57.7
38.1

51.5
31.5

MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

Time spent in learning present occupation.

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Apprenticeship .— The basic reason for the breakdown of the
apprenticeship system under modern factory conditions— a rapidly
increasing specialization of labor which has reduced the demand for
the all-round skilled workman—has been operative in the metal
industries. The Cleveland Survey77 points out clearly the chief
difficulties found in practical attempts to revive this type of training
in, for example, the machinist’s trade. The minute subdivision of
processes made possible by the perfection of machine tools has had
a deterrent effect upon both employer and employee— the employer
finds his attempt to train apprentices a disadvantage to himself
because he has no guaranty of keeping them after he has trained
them, and the apprentice sees the worker who has specialized in one
machine process earning much more than he during his first years of
industrial life, and nearly as much even after his years of apprentice
ship are over. No attempt at state-wide formulation of standards
of training, service, and compensation, such as that which has brought
about a decided development of the apprenticeship system in Wis
consin,78 has been made in Michigan, though in a few industrial
plants standards have been carefully worked out. Only 9 of the 20
employers interviewed reported any organized system of training
apprentices for any trades.
The classification “ apprentice” as used in this report included not
only those minors at work under apprenticeship agreements, but also
those who were working directly under skilled journeymen with a
prospect of promotion to a journeyman’s position after sufficient expe
rience. Even when the significance of the term was thus broadened
it was found that only 7 per cent of the minors included in the survey
could be classified as apprentices. Their median hourly wage was
51 cents— lower than for boys in any other of the main occupation
groups,79 but high when compared with the wages usually provided
for in apprenticeship agreements 80 in these and similar industries.
This fact may be due to the inclusion, already mentioned, of helpers;
but it may also be due in part to the scarcity of labor and the unusually
high level of wages at the time of the study.
When the entire working history of the minors included in the
survey was considered, it was found that 12 per cent of those who
replied to this query had served an apprenticeship at some trade and
77 Lutz, R . R.: The Metal Trades [Cleveland Educational Survey], p. 21 et seq. The survey committee
of the Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland, 1916.
78 Douglas, Paul H., American Apprenticeship and Industrial Education. Studies in History, Eco
nomics, and Public Law, Whole Number 216, pp. 78-80. Edited by the faculty of political science of
Columbia University. New York, 1921. See also The Apprenticeship Law with Explanations, issued
December 1,1921, by the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin.
78 See Table 7.
80 See apprenticeship agreement described on p. 39. See also Lutz, R. R.: The Metal Trades [Cleveland
Educational Survey], p. 28, and Apprenticeship in Wisconsin, Third Report, Industrial Commission of
Wisconsin. Madison, 1919.

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MINOR WORKERS IN THE FACTORIES SURVEYED.

8 per cent of the whole number reporting at some one of the metal
trades. The diversity of trades in which the minors had received
this type of training is shown in Table 21. The largest number found
in any single occupation group— 18, or nearly one-fifth of those reporting apprenticeship— had been tool or die maker’s apprentices.
Table 21.— Trade o f apprenticeship; minors in metal-manufacturing industries}
Minors in metal
manufacturing
industries.1
Trade of apprenticeship.

Minors in metal
manufacturing
industries.1
Trade of apprenticeship.

Number.

Per cent
distribu
tion.

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

2812

100.0

Apprenticed............................
Metal trades......................
Tool and die maker...
Pattern maker...........
Sheet-metal worker...
Coppersmith..............
Core maker and molder..............................
Blacksmith.................

95
66
18
3
1
2

11.7
8.1
2.2
.4
.1
.2

Draftsman........................

3
3

.4
.4

Not apprenticed......................

1 Questionnaire group.

Per cent
Number. distribu
tion.
A pprenticed—Continued.
Automobile mechanic.

Electrician........................
Woodworker.....................

9
27
i
1
2
3
3
19
717

1.1
3.3
.i
.1
.2
.4
.4
23
88.3

2 Excludes 101 who did not report.

The most complete and extensive apprenticeship system found was
in one of the large automobile factories which maintained an appren
ticeship school to train toolmakers, machinists, tool and jig designers,
and automobile mechanics. This school, which had been in operation
two years, had an enrollment of 145 apprentices, many of whom had
come from outside the State. A schoolroom, a school machine shop,
and four full-time instructors, were provided, in addition to regular
factory work. An applicant served two months before entering into
the regular apprenticeship agreement, b y which he (and his guardian
for him) promised to serve the employer faithfully and pursue such
classroom studies as the company might require. On the other
hand, the employer agreed to give the apprentice adequate training
in his trade and to give him a certificate upon the successful com
pletion of his work. The company could discharge the apprentice
for inability to work, disobedience, or improper conduct, and could
“ rearrange his working times if the state of business should demand
it.” The agreement also specified the wage to be paid. Four types
of apprentices were accepted: (1) Junior apprentices, eighth-grade,
but not high-school, graduates 16 to 20 years of age, who might be
admitted to a three-year course. Beginning at 22£ cents an hour,
they were given increases of 4| cents, 3 cents, 3 cents, 3 cents, and
4 cents, respectively, every six months. (2) Senior apprentices,
high-school graduates of any age, who might enter a 2^-year course.
Beginning at 32£ cents an hour they received increases of 2\ cents

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MINORS IN M ETAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

every 6 months. (3) Returned soldiers of any age, who might enter
a 2-year course. In the case of disabled soldiers the factory cooperated
with the Government in providing training. (4) High-school stu
dents taking industrial courses, who might arrange to spend alternate
weeks in the factory and the school and receive credit in high school
for their work in the factory as junior apprentices.
Other factories included in this study were training apprentices to
some extent. One foundry and machine shop was just initiating an
apprenticeship system, under which the apprentice agreed to study
mathematics and mechanical drawing in a technical night school two
nights a week for six months each of the two years during which he
was serving his apprenticeship. The employment manager was not
very sanguine of results, because, as he said, inexperienced boys
could soon earn high wages as machine operators, and so had little
incentive to become skilled machinists. Another firm which had
formerly made a practice of training its boiler makers and sheetmetal workers through a 5-year apprenticeship had, at the time of
the survey, only two such apprentices on the pay roll. In a few
other factories some apprenticeship training was offered, though no
formal agreement or course of instruction existed.

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P UBLISH ED BY C OURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

P L A T E VI.— H E A T T R E A T M E N T .

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H E A T IN G FU R N ACE.

P UBLISH ED BY C O UR TES Y OF FORD MOTOR CO.. D E TR O IT. MICH.

P L A T E V II.— M A C H IN E S H O P .

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P L A N ER IN FO R EG R O U N D A T R IG H T , S H A P E R S N E X T ; B EN C H W O R K A T L E F T .

TECH N ICAL T R AIN IN G FO R W O R K IN G M IN O R S IN TH E
SELECTED CITIES.

Opportunity for some type of school training for machine-shop,
foundry, or other factory work was available in the public schools in
all the cities visited, and in three— Detroit, Lansing, and Saginaw—
the trade and industrial courses offered met standards for Federal aid
under the Smith-Hughes Law.81
DETROIT.

The city schools in Detroit were well equipped to furnish many
kinds of vocational training. All-day, part-time, and evening courses
in a large number of technical and vocational subjects were given in
the Cass Technical High School.
Continuation schools.

Since training of minors who had already entered industry was of
particular interest in connection with this report, special attention is
here directed to the continuation and evening schools. At the time
of this study all children below the age of 16 employed under work
permits or excused from school to help at home, and all working chiLntr
dren between 16 and 18 who had not completed the eightlvgrAcibf‘ 1
were required by the Michigan law to attend continuation ^ h (S l ioKi k
four hours a week wherever such schools, ,-ba^$)teten establi\hea,.iV
Establishment was optional with thc ^ ^ L ^ o o h a ^ ^ ft W e s ^ 82and
Detroit was the only city m aking^^msioi^fc^tM S type of school.83
B o ys’ continuation school.— The ffb0^WWrollment for the year
1919-20 in the boys’ continuation scnool was about 1,000; 618 boys
were in school at the time the study was made. Practically all of
them (93 per cent) were between 15 and 16 years of age; 6 per cent
were 16 years of age or over. In other words, practically all the
children enrolled were required by law to attend. Table 22 shows
that the largest single group, 40 per cent, had completed the seventh
si 39 U. S. Stat. L. 929.
82Acts of 1917, Act No. 280.
83 The continuation school law, passed in 1919, which went into effect September 1,1920, after the survey
was completed, made the establishment of continuation schools compulsory in districts having a popula
tion of 5,000 or more and containing 50 or more children subject to the provisions of the act, permitted the
establishment of such schools in smaller districts and required attendance when schools were established,
increased the required hours of attendance from four to eight per week , and required attendance, with
certain exemptions, of all working children under 18 who had not completed a four-year high-school
course or its equivalent. (Acts of 1919, Act No. 421.) In 1921 the law was further amended to apply only
to unmarried minors under 17, exempting those who had completed two years of a four-year high-school
course. (Acts of 1921, First Extra Session, Act No. 15.)

45198°— 23------4

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

grade; less than 1 per cent were from lower grades, and over onethird had had some high-school work.
The course of study which each boy was to pursue was decided on
the basis of his education, his present job, and his desired vocation.
He was advised in his choice by the director of the continuation school
or his representative and sometimes also by his employer. About
two-fifths of those reporting their courses were taking the following
subjects: History, civics, mechanical drawing, and mathematics.
Of these over one-fourth were taking in addition courses in electrical
construction, typing, or printing. A total of 513 minors were en
rolled in mathematics classes, 484 in mechanical drawing, 220 in
machine shop, and 100 in typing. About seven-tenths of all the
students were taking three courses or more.
Table 22.—Grade completed; pupils in boys’ continuation school, D etroit, Mich.
Pupils in boys’ con
tinuation school,
Detroit, Mich.

Pupils in boys’ con
tinuation school,
Detroit, Mich.
Grade completed.

Grade completed.

Percent
Number. distribu
tion.

Per cent
Number. distribu
tion.
Total..............................

Eighth grade...........................

618
1
2
248
144

100.0

First year high school.............

0.2
.3
40.1
23.3

Third year high school...........
Fourth year high school.........
Not reported...........................

185
28
4
4
2

29.9
4.5
-.6
.6
.3

According to Table 23 more than half of the 541 boys in the Detroit
continuation school for whom information regarding industry and
occupation was secured were engaged in the occupations classified by
the United States Census of Manufactures as clerical—i. e., messenger
boys, errand boys, office boys, parcel boys, and others. But 99,
nearly one-fifth, were in occupations classified under iron and steel
and other metal manufacturing. With regard to the type of estab
lishment in which the occupation, whether clerical, mechanical, or
otherwise, was performed, it was found that about two-fifths of the
boys (248) were at work in metal-manufacturing establishments and
over half of these (133) in factories producing automobiles or auto
mobile parts. Among the pupils who, according to their continua
tion-school records, had made any decision as to the vocation they
wished to follow (only about a fourth of those in attendance) a larger
proportion had expressed a desire for work of the type found in metal
manufacturing than for any other kind. Nearly one-third had said
that they wanted to do machine work or some other mechanical work,
a fifth that they wished to be toolmakers, and most of the others had
expressed a desire for drafting, electrical engineering, pattern making,
printing, or commercial work.

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TECHNICAL TRAINING FOR WORKING MINORS.

T a b l e 23.— Wage per week by occupation and industry; pupils, in boys’ continuation

school, D etroit, Mich.
Pupils in boys’ continuation school, Detroit, Mich.
Wage per week.

Occupation and industry.
Total.

Total $3,less $10,less $15,less $20,less $25,less
and
report than
than
than
than
than $30
over.
ing
$10.
$15.
$20.
$25.
$30.

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

618

504

249

161

Manufacturing and mechanical..........
Iron and steel and other metal__
Apprentices.............................
Inspectors...............................
Machine operators.......... ■.___
Other occupations..................
Helpers.............. ..............
Bench hands....................
Miscellaneous................
Dumber and its manufacture.......
Printing and publishing...............
All other manufacturing..............
Transportation.....................................
Messenger boys (telegraph)". . . . . .
Other.....................................
Trade................................ ..........
Clerks (retailstores")!
Other.............................................
Professional service.............................
Blue-print boys..........
Apprentices (blueprint)..............
Tool designers................................
Domestic and personal service........
Clerical..................................................
Messenger boys..
Office boys................................ \ \
Errand, runner, and jumper "boys.
wrapper and parcel boys.............
Delivery boys................................
Stock and tool boys.........1.111111
Shipping clerks..........................
Other.............................
[
Not reported................ IIIIIIIIIIIIII*

163
99
7
7
9
76
29
7
40
18
13
33
24
17
7
35
28
7
11
9
1
1
6
302
90
39
57
13
12
34
8
49
77

125
70
3
4
8
55
22
4
29
17
12
26
22
15
7
34
27
7
5
4
1

4
2

32
15
1
1
1
12
4

59
30
1
2
6
21
8
3
10
9
5
15
13
10
3
16
13
3

20
16
1
1
1
13
5
1
7
1
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
1

5
3

5
4

3
2

4
2

1
2

6
269
82
37
50
12
12
26
8
42
43

2
1
1*
1
1

1
1
2
1
1

12
3
1
4
1
1
2
4

8
4
5
8
4
4
10
8
2
5
4
1
2
178
60
27
36
6
8
10
6
25
18

2
58
16
8
5
6
3
7
1
12
13

18
2
1
4
7
1
3
5

2
2
3
3

1
1

2
3
1
1

The weekly wages of the boys attending continuation school—
a group composed almost exclusively of the younger workers—
were much lower, even among those employed in the metal indus
tries, than the earnings of the minors included in the survey.85
As shown by Table 23, over half of those reporting wages per week
were earning less than $15. However, 14 per cent—nearly 1 in 7—
were receiving $20 or more. Of the 60 for whom hourly wages were
reported 10 were receiving between 20 and 30 cents an hour, 25
between 30 and 40 cents, and 25, 40 cents or over. The highest
wages were generally found in the manufacturing and mechanical
occupation group;86 the lowest were those earned by messengers,
office boys, and other clerical workers. The better opportunities
for young workers in the technical occupations 86 in metal and other
85 See p. 12 et seq.
86In the classification here used, which is that used by the IT. S. Census, "manufacturing and mechanical”
occupations include only occupations peculiar to the industry—not messengers, stock and tool-room
workers, and other occupations classified under “ clerical.”

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

manufacturing industries were thus evident even very early in the
boys’ working lives.
Girls’ continuation school.— Work in the girls’ continuation school,
unlike that in the boys’ , showed no connection with the metalmanufacturing industries. No courses training for metal-factory
work were offered. The number of girls enrolled at the time of the
study was 601; the total enrollment for the school year 1919—20
was estimated at about 1,400. About seven-eighths of the girls
were under 16 years of age.
Night schools.

The night schools were open to all persons who were not required
by law to attend day or continuation school, and an analysis of the
records shows that men and women of all ages and nationalities took
advantage of the opportunities offered. The total enrollment for
the year 1919-20 was about 5,000. The data here presented were
secured from the records of the first 500 pupils, taken alphabetically.
Table 24 shows that of these pupils about one-tenth were women.
Only a third were under 21 years of age, a slightly larger proportion
of the men than of the women being in this age group. In contrast
to the continuation-school pupils, none of the selected group were
under 16 years of age. About one-third were foreign born; 15 per
cent were from eastern or southeastern Europe, 12 per cent from
northern and northwestern Europe, and 7 per cent from other
countries. Of the whole group, 9 per cent were from Canada or
Great Britain.87
Nearly three-fourths of the men and boys were engaged in the
occupations classified as “ manufacturing and mechanical,” and by
far the largest group, constituting 59 per cent of all the male pupils,
were at work in metal manufacturing. The proportion of minor
pupils who were in this industry was about the same as that of adults,
but more minors proportionately were apprentices and fewer were
machinists, inspectors, and grinders, None of the girls were employed
in the metal trades— nearly all were nurses, stenographers, typists,
or clerks.
87
Figures on nativity were secured from a tabulation of 2,820 pupils, a group typical of the entire enroll
ment in evening high schools, made by the Board of Education of Detroit in 1921.

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TECHNICAL TRAINING FOR WORKING MINORS.

Table 24.— Occupation and industry, by age and sex; selected group in night schools,
Detroit, Mich.
Pupils in selected group in night schools, Detroit, Mich.
Age.
Occupation and industry
and sex.

Manufacturing
Iron

and

Under 21 years.
Total.

me-

130

103

87
14

10
3

29
5

26
3

17
3

74
3

54
1

■ 11
10
1

2
2

4
4

85
38

25
9

2
1

8
2

9
4

6
2

21
11

23
12

10
5

2
1

25
22
10

9
7
4

5
1
2

2
3
1

2
2
1

6
4
3

6
5
1

5
1

3
1
1

12
129

6
37

1
4

2
12

2
11

1
6

4
' 21

2
24

49
20
21

16
1
7

8
1

3
1

16
11
6

8
3
5

9
5
1

39
11
37
19
22
17
5
27

13
3
7
6
9
8
1
6

3
1
1
2
2
2

2
1
2
1
5 i
4
1
3

12
2
11
4
8
6
2
15

17
10
50
9
41
16
2

4
2
25
6
19
2
1

2
1
5
5
1
1

9
6
10
1
9
5
1

Tool and die

Tinsmiths and copOther occupations..
Machine opera
tors and ma-

Other iron and

Other manufacturing...

and

146

332

Machinists, mill
w rig h ts, t o o l-

Draftsmen

449

265
18

and steel and

Grinders and pol-

40
Not
30
21
25
years, years, years, re
20 years,
18
19
16
17
port
under
under
and
under
years, years, years, years, years,
40. over ed.
30.
Total. under under under under under 25.
21.
18.
19.
20.
17.

de-

Stenographers and typ-

26
23
3
21

8
7
1
6

14
7
3
1

5
1
1

2
1
2

3
3

4
1
2
2

1
1
10
3
7
1

1
2
1
1

5
2
3

1
1

2
2

4
4

1
1

1
2
2

2
13
7
3
2
1
2

9
4
6
2
1
1

1
1

10
1
9
4

1
1
5
1
4
4

1
1

11
10
1
9

7
6
1
3

7
2
1

1
2
2

1
2

1 Includes 3 pattern-makers.
a Includes: Trade, 7; domestic and personal service, 5; public service, 2; agriculture, forestry, and animal
husbandry, 2.

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MINORS HT METAL-MANUFACTURIN' G INDUSTRIES.

The general education of the night-school pupils, as is shown by
Table 25, averaged somewhat higher than was found for the minors
in the metal-trades survey. Seventy-three per cent of the former,
as compared with 67 per cent of the latter, had completed the eighth
or a higher grade; and 45 per cent, instead of 30 per cent, had had some
high-school or college work. This is in accordance with the tendency,
also found among the minors included in the factory survey, for
those from the higher grades to seek further technical training.
The large majority of the men and boys were taking courses in
some way related to metal trades.88 The greatest number were
enrolled in mathematics. Next in importance was the machineshop course; then mechanical drawing, automobile, and electric
courses. None of the women, on the other hand, were taking metaltrades courses.
Table 25.—P rew ow education; selected group in night schools, D etroit, Mich.
Pupils in selected
group in night
schools, Detroit,
Mich.

Previous education.

Pupils in selected
group in night
schools, Detroit
Mich.
Previous education.

Number.

Per cent
distribu
tion.

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

500

100.0

Third and lower grades,
Fourth grade............... .
Fifth grade....................
Sixth grade....................
Seventh grade...............

9
12
6
22
37

1.8
2.4
1.2
4.4
7.4

Per cent
Number. distribu
tion.
Eighth grade...........................
1,2, or 3 years in high school..
Graduate of high school..........
1,2, or 3 years in college..........
Not classified...........................

139
120
78
20
6
12
39

27.8
24.0
15.6
4.0
1.2
2.4
7.8

OTHER CITIES.

In Lansing 110 boys were enrolled in the 4-year industrial course
given b y the high school. During the last 3 years of the course they
worked alternate weeks in the school and factory. The night school
offered work in mechanical drawing, tool design, architectural
drawing, sheet-metal drafting, shop mathematics, shop layout of
castings and forgings, and electrical work; 310 pupils, most of them
over 21 years of age, were enrolled in night industrial courses during
the year.
The Saginaw High School (East Side) had a regular 4-year voca
tional course in which 104 pupils were enrolled. The work included
mechanical drawing, shop mathematics, forging, machine-shop, and
automobile courses. Cooperative part-time courses were furnished
for a few pupils who were obliged to work or for some reason could
not attend school full time. Two of the pupils were men working
on night shifts who took machine-shop courses. In the night
ss gee General Table X V I.

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TECHNICAL TRAINING FOR WORKING MINORS.

school during the year there had been 30 enrolled in the class for
mechanical drawing, from 14 to 18 in the pattern-making class, and
from 14 to 16 in each of the three machine-shop classes. Most of the
night-school pupils were above school age.
The Arthur Hill Trade School in Saginaw (West Side) offered four
different kinds of classes: (1) The all-day industrial school, in which
there were 67 boys and 57 girls. Enrollment in the courses dealing
with metal work was as follows: Electrical, 23; machinist, 22; pat
tern making, 14; mechanical drawing, 12; motor mechanics, 13.
(2) The part-time industrial school, in which were enrolled 39 boys,
all over 16 years of age, who worked alternate weeks in school and
factory. The school officials secured the factory jobs for the pupils
and fixed the wage to be received at 25 cents an hour. Besides
work at their trade these boys took mathematics, mechanical draw
ing, English, and citizenship. (3) The part-time continuation
school, where pupils might take any kind of shopwork, and in which
3 women and 22 men, most of them men over middle age who were
taking some special kind of shopwork, were enrolled. (4) The
evening industrial school, with an enrollment for the year of 210 (170
men and 40 women); the numbers enrolled in metal-trade courses
were as follows: Motor mechanics, 53; machine shop, 44; drafting,
26; electrical, 23; shop mathematics, 24. Pupils in trade extension
courses under the Smith-Hughes law were required to be actually
employed in the line of work for which the course was given. The
ages of pupils in the evening school ranged from 18 to 60, averaging
about 35.
The industrial courses offered in Bay City were woodworking and
mechanical drawing. The night school for the year 1919-20 had a
total enrollment of about 300, two-thirds of them men from 17 to 30
years of age. The three classes in mechanical drawing had an enroll
ment of about 16 each.
The Flint public schools offered courses in mechanical drawing,
pattern making, and electrical wiring. The Industrial Fellowship
League, made up of all the factory workers of the city, offered exten
sive industrial training in its evening and afternoon classes, including
automotive courses, drawing and design, shop mathematics, electrical
courses, metallurgical courses, and machine-shop courses.

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IN D U STR IAL ACCID EN TS T O M IN O R S , SAFETY C O N D IT IO N S,
A N D AC CID EN T PR EVEN TIO N .
LEGAL PROTECTIVE MEASURES.

The analysis of occupations in which minors are engaged, made in
connection with this study,89 though it did not attempt to coyer the
accident hazards in every detail, showed clearly that many of these
young persons were at work in dangerous surroundings. Moreover,
the tendency of modern legislation to protect the immature worker
from the hazards to which adults are exposed indicates that in any
survey of a highly complicated machine industry such as that of
metal manufacturing, it is necessary to consider accident risks and
methods of accident prevention.
Under the workmen's compensation law of Michigan 90 in effect at
the time of this study, compensation was provided for industrial
accidents resulting in injury or death. Election to come under the
act was optional with the employer, but if he did not do so he w as.
left, in case of injury to an employee, to face a suit for damages with
the usual common-law defenses91 removed. If the employer's
negligence could be proved, the assessment of damages by the jury
would follow as a matter of course. All the employers included in
this survey had accepted the act. Reports of all accidents were
required to be sent to the industrial accident board, which administers
the law.
The State child labor law prohibited the employment of boys under
18 and girls under 21 in “ any hazardous employment," specifying
“ cleaning machinery in m otion" and giving to the State department
of labor authority to determine what other employment should be
regarded as hazardous.92 Although it has not been the practice of
the department to make general rulings as to dangerous occupations,
decisions have been made as to whether minors might be employed
on specific machines in individual plants. Since minors illegally
employed were not covered by the compensation act, recovery, in
case of injury to such a minor, was at common law, except that the
employer, just as when he refused to come under the act, was denied
the defenses of assumption of risk by employee, fellow servant, and
contributory negligence. Moreover, the fact of employment con89 See p. 63 et seq.
"Michigan, Acts of 1912, First Extra Session, No. 10, as amended by acts of 1913, Nos. 50, 156, acts of
191«, Nos. 104, 153,170,171, and acts of 1917, Nos. 41, 206, 235, 249.
91 Assumption of risk, fellow servant, and contributory negligence.
98 Michigan, Howell’s Annotated Statutes 1913, sec. 4019, as amended by Acts of 1915, No. 255.

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ACCIDENTS, SAFETY CONDITIONS, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION.

trary to the statute constituted in itself actionable negligence. This
increased the risk of having to pay heavy damages, and served to a
certain extent as a check upon employment of minors of the pro
hibited ages at any kind of work likely to result in accident, whether
or not specifically named as “ hazardous” by the law or by the
department of labor.
STATE RECORDS OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS TO MINORS.

Statistics that would make it possible to measure accurately the
risk to which minors are exposed in the different industries are not
available for the State as a whole. For a scientific analysis of the
accident situation as it involves minors, it is necessary to know the
accident severity and frequency rates 93 by age and by occupation,
and the occupation classification used must take into account the
industry and the production department, as well as the specific occu
pation. Though information of this kind might have been secured
from individual factories, it was not possible in connection with the
present study to attempt a collection and analysis of these data.
The only practicable sources of material were the records of the
Michigan Industrial Accident Board, which give the age of the in
jured employee and use the standard classifications 94 in describing
industry, cause of accident, location of injury, and extent of disability.
The records selected for study include all accidents to workers under
21 years of age occurring in the State in the year 1918 95 which arose
out of or in the course of employment and which resulted in death,
dismemberment, or in incapacity for work lasting at least 15 days.96
This study was not confined to metal-working industries, but, for
purposes of comparison, included all industrial accidents. The
tables are arranged to show separately as far as possible accidents
occurring to minors engaged in the type of occupations included in
the factory survey.
98For the standard method o f computing these rates, see Chaney, Lucian W .: Accidents and Accident
Prevention in Machine Building, ch. 1. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin 256 (Revision of Bulletin
216). Washington, 1920.
« These classifications are found in the following report: Standardization of Industrial Accident Statis
tics: Reports o f the Committee on Statistics and Compensation Insurance Cost of The International
Association of Industrial Boards and Commissions, 1915-1919. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin
276. Washington, 1920.
»5This year was chosen in order to allow a sufficient lapse of time after the date on which the accident
occurred to make possible a record of the extent of disability.
06Accidents causing disability lasting less than 15 days were not compensable. Since 1918 the law has
been amended to compensate accidents resulting in disability of more than one week.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

T a b l e 26.—Duration o f absence from worh by industry; minors injured in industrial

accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Minors injured in industrial accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Duration of absence from work.
Industry.

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

Total.

Fatal
cases.

1,905

Mining....................................
Manufacturing.......................
Buildingand hand trades.
Chemicals and allied
products.......................
Food and kindred products..........j....................
Metals..............................
Automobile factories.
Automobile parts___
Foundries.................
Ship and boat buildLumber and its manufacture...........................
Paper and paper products...............................
Other................................
Transportation......................
Trade......................................

221

5
i,m
33
35

73
765
129
188
309
32
107
286
64
45
162
90
104
16

8
1
1
1

3
5

2
1
2
1
1
1
4
1
1

Cases
Dura
involv
tion
ing 15 days,
3
4
6
13
over
loss of
less
weeks, weeks, weeks, weeks, 15 days,
mem than
3 less
less
less
less
exact
ber, weeks.
than 4. than 6. than 13. than 52. time
not re
ported.
238

330

359

472

379

3
9
3
4

1
14
1
39
1
1

5
130
17
31
62

13
119
19
28
44

150
24
28
70

17
205
37
57
77

18
129
25
33
46

3
18
4
5
7

5
15

5
23

12
9
21

13
13
25

13
9
39
29

4
41

223

229
5

291

364
5

281
9

28
4

16
19
3

1
10

10
20

20
4

7
41
16
30
7

1
1
11
1
1
3
8
5
1

1
1

2
5

1
4
3
3

The records showed that 1,905 compensable accidents to minors
had occurred during the selected period. The large majority (77
per cent) of these accidents occurred in the manufacturing industries,
and in this group, according to Table 26, metal-working factories
were responsible for over half. An analysis according to occupa
tion rather than industry, found in Table 27, shows that 863 acci
dents (45 per cent of the total) were accidents to machine operators;
of these, 56 per cent were accidents to operators of metal-working
machines. When the cause of accident is considered, machinery is
shown, in Table 28, to have been responsible for 984 accidents, or
52 per cent of the total number; and nearly all of these— 45 per
cent of the entire number of accidents—were caused b y power
working machinery. In this power-machine group, metal-working
machines caused 56 per cent of the accidents, and punch presses
headed the list of specified types of machines, being responsible for
a far larger number of accidents than any other machine.

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ACCIDENTS, SAFETY CONDITIONS, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION.

Table 27.— Occupation when injured, by age at time o f accident; minors injured in
industrial accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Minors injured in industrial accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Age at time of accident.

Occupation when injured.

years, 17 years, 18 years, 19 years,
Under 16under
under
under
under
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Total.

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

1,905

Machine operators.......................
Metal working......................
Woodworking.......................
Paper working.................... .
Leather working.................
Textile and laundry.............
Food products.....................
Stone, clay, and glass.........
Not reported.........................
Factory workers, not machine
operators..................................
Machinist, mechanic, repair man
Transportation........................... .
Miners..........................................
Lumbermen................................
Hand and building trades..........
Allother..................................... .

863
481
192
71
19
35
27

193

587
137
74
34
3
8
3

Not re
ported.

364
159
98
25
14
2

292
162
62
31
8
7
7

153
107
21
12

3
4
5

6
6

363
60
185
163
57
54
160

20years,
under
21.

107
19
54
40
21
12
42

T able 28.— Age at time o f accident, by cause o f accident; minors injured in industrial
accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Minors injured in industrial accidents in Michigan, 1918.
Age at time of accident.
Cause of accident.

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

Animals.................................................

Total.

Under
16.

16
years,
under
17.

1,905

193

6
20
8

18
years,
under
19.

19
years,
under
20.

291

587

416

364

4
28
83
25

1
21
64
20

3
18
49
27

1
1

Hand tools............................................
Objects being handled........................
Falling objects.....................................
Stepping on or striking against nhjnnts
Fall of persons. 1____77.7.............7___
Explosives, electricity, hot substances
Vehicles................................................
Boilers and steam-pressure apparatus.

89
257
96
32
103
89
224
4

3
4

1
6

5
14
5
26

6
12
30
1

Machinery............................................

984

107

Prime movers................................
Hoisting apparatus, and convey-

17
years,
under
18.

13
36
15
16

6
26
20

9
27
24

years, Not re
under ported.
21.

6
20

27
34

1
6

66
1

158

334

178

171

9
7

21
21

13
5

8
10

Power-transmission apparatus___

60
54

4
3

Power-working machines.............

850

142

288

151

150

Metal working........................

480
50
46
29
39
85
85
146

162
13
17

101
11
10
6

103
13

19
14
28
23
13
4

2
1

Lathes..............................
Milling machines.............
PunclT presses..................
Presses*(n. o. s .)................
Other................................
Wood working........................
Paper working.......................
Leather working....................
Textile and laundry working.
Food products........................

202
66
19
29

20
1

Power working (n. o. s .) .. ..7.

Miscellaneous specified causes............
Not reported..7...................................

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2
1
1
12
2
1
2
2

2
1
2
3
6
7
10
37
6
2

11
4
2
10
11
10

26
41
7

14
32
26
50
64
28

7
4

7
3

7
5

3
5
3

1
1

2
1

3
4

4
14
27
29
24

12
9
8

2
3

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

A larger number of accidents occurred to minors who were between
the ages of 18 and 19 than to those in any other year of age, the num
ber of accidents to the 19-year-old group decreasing 29 per cent, and
the number to the 20-year-old group decreasing 38 per cent, from the
number which occurred to the 18-year-old group. While figures are
not available for the total numbers employed at each of these ages,
these findings, in view of the great probability that the number em
ployed increases with each year of age,97 indicate a smaller accident
rate for the older minors.
Of the total accidents 28 resulted fatally,98 leaving 1,877 nonfatal
cases; of these, 238 involved dismemberment, and the balance (1,639)
incapacity for work for from 15 days to 1 year.
SAFETY CONDITIONS AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION IN THE FACTORIES
SURVEYED.

Whether or not the accident risk to minors in metal-manufacturing
industries is greater than for adults, the mere number of serious acci
dents shown for a single year gives evidence of the need for consider
ing accident hazard and prevention in any appraisal of conditions
affecting minors in these industries.
Since 1909, when a State department of labor was created in Michi
gan 99 with authority to collect and systematize information as to
the number and character of industrial accidents, public and private
organizations with varying points of views have joined forces in work
ing for accident prevention throughout the State. But, though Fed
eral and State labor departments, vocational-education bureaus, indus
trial-accident boards and commissions, insurance companies and
workmen’s compensation bureaus have acted as spurs to the safety
movement, it is the plant-safety department as an integral part of
factory organization which must chiefly be depended upon to reduce
industrial-accident hazards.
Factory safety organization.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics,1 a
good factory safety organization should measure up to the following
standards: “ (1) Safeguarding by signs, warnings, and mechanical
contrivances; (2) adequate safety inspection; (3) safety committees
of superintendents, foreman, and workmen; (4) emergency and
hospital care of the injured; (5) a compensation or relief system.” 2
97 Though enlistments may have reduced somewhat the number of minors at work at the ages of 19 and

20, this would probably not account for the decrease in number of accidents.
99See Table 26.
99Michigan, Acts of 1909, Act No. 285.
1Chaney, Lucian W .: Accidents and Accident Prevention in Machine Building, p. 41.
of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 256.
9The State compensation law is discussed on p. 48.

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U. S. Bureau

ACCIDENTS, SAFETY CONDITIONS, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION.

In addition to these five points might be mentioned another, namely,
the compilation and analysis of plant-accident figures.
Safeguarding by signs, warnings, and mechanical contrivances.—
Six of the 19 factories from which information on this point was
secured were doing excellent work in safeguarding by signs, warn
ings, and mechanical devices. Four of these were automobile fac
tories, one made automobile parts, and the sixth was a large machine
shop. Each employed a full-time safety engineer whose duty it
was to study accident causes and to work out methods of prevention,
and who kept careful watch of the condition of machinery and
machine guards, of passageways and piled material, and of the
way in which employees carried out the rules of the safety depart
ment. These safety engineers attempted to interest employees
in accident prevention and to emphasize the need for considering
safety before profit in production.
In one of these plants the safety department was 7 years old.
The chief, a machinist with 11 years’ experience as a safety engineer,
had 4 assistants, all practical men. In addition, 8 sheet-metal men
and 3 pipe fitters were employed to make safeguards at his direction.
Frequently changed safety bulletins and careful instruction of
men on new jobs were among the methods used by this firm to
interest employees in accident prevention. One man from the
safety department worked full time in the punch-press department
instructing workers, as that machine is considered difficult to make
accident-proof.
In discussing machine accidents, one safety man said: “ Although
safe machines have been worked for incessantly, machine accidents'
are still too numerous. It is possible to guard a machine so that
it will be safe for the constantly careful operator, but it is hard
to provide safety devices which can not be removed and which guard
against the involuntary movement.”
Among the effective plans which had been worked out to further
an interest among employees in personal safety were the following:
General rules for plant safety and safe machine operating posted
throughout the factory; a box labeled “ Safety Suggestions,” with
prizes for those which could be used; a bonus offered to the depart
ment having the lowest accident rate, at regular intervals; individual
prizes for employees who had worked a certain length of time without
accident; the discharge of men who disobeyed the safety rules;
and encouragement of safety discussion among employees.
In one factory the safety man distributed to the machine operators
cards showing the hazard incident to the operation of each machine
and rules for safe operation. For instance, he would give a drillpress card to a drill-press operator, have him sign his name on hah
the card, tear off the name for the safety-department file and leave

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

the rules and the statement of hazards with the operator, who thus
was made to feel-responsible for safe operating. Careful instruc
tion of men on new jobs and talks with individual operators seemed
to be the most practical safeguarding methods.
In seven of the smaller factories a safety committee made up of
men who had other work in the factory did accident-prevention work,
keeping track of machinery in their various departments, making
suggestions at committee meetings, and posting bulletins. In the
six remaining factories surveyed, foremen or machinists were
responsible for the safeguarding of employees.
Safety inspection. In the six plants employing safety engineers
the factory was constantly under inspection. In one establishment
every part of the plant was inspected daily, and an inspector was
employed by the company to check up on the safety department.
He came once a month, spending three days in going over the entire
plant. The safety engineer and his assistants encouraged reports
from members of the shop safety committees concerning machines
and transmission machinery which could be guarded more effectively,
defective machinery, defective safeguards, dangerous placing of
material, and disregard of safety rules. In the plants having only
the committee form of safety organization, committee foremen or
members of the committee reported unsafe practices or conditions
to the committee for action. In the remaining establishments the
foremen were responsible for inspection.
Safety committees.— Safety engineers of experience stated that safety
committees made up of superintendents, foremen, and workmen
were a potent force in prevention work, since each in his individual
field is vitally interested in “ getting safety results.” In one large
machine shop the safety engineer had organized (1) a general com
mittee consisting of himself, the chief engineer, the superintendent
of the boiler shop, and the assistant superintendent of the plant; (2)
a shopmen s committee of six employees chosen for efficient work
manship; (3) a foremen’s committee of six. These committees
met monthly to discuss ways and means of doing away with danger
ous conditions and practices. Three of the other factories had
much the same plan of committee organization. Eight of the re
maining 15 factories had committees made up of superintendents
and foremen but no workmen, and 7 did not have safety committees.
Emergency and hospital care.—Considerable differences in the pro
vision made for medical care of injured employees existed among the
different plants. In a factory at one end of the scale the manager
called upon “ a fellow from one of the departments who was handy
at bandaging” in case of slight injuries; and when a “ ju icy” one
occurred, he himself took a “ look at it,” one of hia ancestors having
been a doctor. On the other hand, in three of the larger factories

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ACCIDENTS, SAFETY CONDITIONS, AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION.

one or more physicians were employed full time, and all but three
plants had at least a room equipped for first-aid treatment. In
all but six full-time trained nurses were in attendance. Since
medical aid and hospital care were easily accessible to the factories
studied, a well-equipped first-aid room and a trained nurse in the
factory were sufficient to insure adequate care.
Plant physicians were of the opinion that sickness no less than
accidents is an important item in calculating lost time, and that
reducing the sickness rate is as necessary to efficiency as preventing
accidents, though not as spectacular. In addition to their work of
attending injuries, reducing absence from work on account of acci
dents to a minimum, and investigating possibilities of occupational
disease, they made physical examinations of applicants, rejecting
those who had certain infectious diseases; they kept a careful watch
on general factory sanitation with a view to possible improvement;
dnd they sometimes even went outside the factory to investigate
conditions— for instance, those relating to water *and food— which
might give rise to epidemics or disease in the factory community.
Plant-accident figures .— None of the factories had compiled fre
quency or severity rates according to exposure to risk. In the fac
tories having a safety engineer the safety-office files showed in
tabular and graphic form the accidents per 100 employees; the
accident cost per employee by departments; and the number of
cases per month b y cause of accident, nature of injury, location of
injury, and number of hours lost. In addition, the safety engineer
made an estimate of the cost of accidents per month, including
compensation paid, medical service rendered, and time lost breaking
in a new man or waiting for the injured employee, because the com
pany was interested in these facts and because they tended to show
that his safety department paid.
One such department made monthly reports with tables giving
causes of accident, nature and location of injury, and number of
lost-time accidents per 1,000 workers. The following figures from
one of these tables show a decrease, indicating the efficiency of the
department:
Jan..

1917.

Total employees.......................................
- -12,707
Total accidents............................ ........................................... 1,156
Lost-time accidents.................... ..........................................
99
Accidents per 1,000 employees........................................... 90.9
Lost-time accidents per 1,000 employees. .....................
7. 8

Apr.,
1920.

22,276
1,121
92
50.5
4.1

One of the safety men reported that he had not been interested
in detailed occupational rates because he aims “ to reduce accidents
to as near zero as they will go,” and if even one accident occurs on a
milling machine, for instance, he immediately works to prevent a
repetition.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

In the factories having no full-time safety engineer the records
kept merely complied with the requirements of their insurance
companies and of the industrial accident board, which did not
necessitate compilation or analysis, but which included specific
information in regard to each accident.
State prevention work.

On an accurate analysis of the real cause of accident depends the
creation of a safety zone which would allow minors to be useful
industrially without submitting them to undue risk of injury. A
classification of the cause of accident according to the standard lis t 3
shows, it is true, the immediate reason. But to know that 257
minors were injured by “ objects being handled,” or 54 by getting
into “ power-transmission apparatus,” or 85 by tripping a punch
press at the wrong time, is merely a beginning. Scientific preventive
work demands the fixing of ultimate responsibility. Was careless
ness the reason, or negligence, or was it the fault of a fellow employee
or lack of skill and coordination due to inexperience, or lack of proper
initial instruction, or defective machinery? Or did it happen that
some disturbance interrupted the rythmical sequence of the motions
of the operator, and that before he was able to recover his poise an
accident occurred ?
At the time of this study the Michigan State Department of Labor 4
collected and published annually statistics relating to hours of labor
and number, age, and sex of employees, and did safety work by
inspecting establishments for unsafe practices. Under the recent
reorganization by which the department of labor and the industrial
accident board are combined in the department of labor and indus
try,5 it should be possible to make an analysis which would throw
fight on the problems suggested above. If the records now in hand
could be supplemented by the material necessary to compile accident
severity and frequency rates on the basis of age and according to
a uniform classification of occupations, it would make possible a
valuable interchange of accident-prevention experience. Such a
study would also enable safety experts to compile a fist of occupations
involving a risk on the part of the young worker or a menace to his
health.
Moreover, work for the prevention of accidents, however valuable,
should be supplemented by efforts looking toward the elimination of
minors, at least those in the younger age groups, from occupations
admittedly hazardous.
8See p. 49.
4See p. 52.
5Michigan, Acts of 1921, No. 43.

This law, which became effective July 1,1921, created the department
of labor and industry and transferred to it the powers and duties of the organizations mentioned above and
in addition those of the board of boiler rules and the industrial relations commission.

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■U ¡»;IB
B
- .I :
¡W H:

P UBLISH ED BY C O UR TES Y OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

P L A T E V I I I — M A C H IN E S H O P .

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«iM 11

A T L E F T , RO U GH H A N D G R IN D IN G ; A T R IG H T , M IL L IN G M A C H IN E S,

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SU M M A R Y A N D CO N CLU SIO N S.

In the representative metal-manufacturing factories of Michigan
included in this survey 11 per cent of all the employees were young
persons under 21 years of age. Of these minors 99 per cent were
over 16 years of age and about two-thirds were between 19 and 21.
Nearly half the young workers of the questionnaire group reporting
nativity were either foreign born or of foreign parentage, but about
a third of this group belonged to English-speaking nationalities easily
assimilated to the native population.
Minors were found engaged in nearly all kinds of work done in the
factory, but they were most numerously employed as machine oper
ators, laborers, and helpers, inspectors, stock and tool-crib workers,
and assemblers— occupations requiring relatively little training and
skill. A few were doing skilled work such as that of machinist or
toolmaker or had jobs in which the experience gained would fit them
directly for higher-grade work.
The boys outnumbered the girls eight to one. Most of the girls
were working as inspectors, trimmers, assemblers of small parts,
sewing-machine operators, stock and tool-crib workers, and core
makers, but a few were employed as drill or milling-machine
operators. Wages were lower for girls than for boys, even in the
same occupations, and opportunities for promotion were fewer.
Promotion is open to boys in most occupations in the metal
working industries. Even for many of the better jobs, technical
training other than that obtained through factory experience, though
desirable, is not essential. While the comparatively small number
of higher-paid and more responsible jobs makes it impossible for all
those having the requisite training to secure the better positions, the
increase in opportunities caused by the constant expansion of the
industry helps to offset this disadvantage.
Fifteen per cent of the minors for whom information as to hours
of work was secured had worked over 54 hours a week, certainly a
long working week for young persons. (Hours of labor of boys over
18 are not restricted by law in Michigan.) Two per cent had been
employed for more hours than the conservative legal standards for
other minors.6 To secure adequate protection of all working boys
and girls not only should the present legal standards be strictly
enforced, but further legislative restrictions should be placed upon
Ihe hours of all minors over 16 years of age. A short working
• See pp. 11 and 12.

45198°—23---- 5

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

week was reported by a considerable number of minors, but this was
due rather to shifting from job to job than to curtailment of pro
duction.
Earnings were high, even taking into consideration the fact that
the study was made during a period of exceptionally high wages.
The median weekly earnings were $27, the median hourly earnings,
60 cents; nearly a fourth of the workers had earned $35 or over a
week. Some of these had worked unusually long hours to receive the
high pay, but, on the other hand, a fourth had worked only from 42
to 48 hours. Boys working as painters, trimmers, body assemblers,
motor, final, and outfit assemblers, or sheet-metal workers received
the highest median hourly earnings, while apprentices, oilers, straighteners, stock and tool-crib workers, and laborers and helpers received
the lowest. Where the age of entering industry had been 16 years
or over there was a constant increase of earning power with experience.
The study of the work histories of the minors employed showed
that there had been a large amount of shifting from job to job, par
ticularly in the first year or two of industrial life. The existence of
much shifting at the time of the survey is indicated by the fact that
a large number of minors failed to reply to the questionnaire because
they had left their jobs in the short period while the records were
being copied and the questionnaires prepared for distribution. In
the nine factories from which turnover7 for the whole plant could
be secured it varied from 110 per cent in an automobile factory to
420 per cent in a large foundry. Employers might obviate some of
this shifting by educational methods and b y working out definite
schemes of promotion.
Two-thirds of the minors had completed the eighth or a higher
grade, and 30 per cent had taken high-school courses. While the
proportion of minors with at least an eighth-grade education com
pares favorably with the proportion for the country as a whole, a
comparison of grade completed and age at leaving school shows a
surprisingly large amount of retardation 52 per cent. This may
be accounted for at least in part by the comparatively high age
standard of the Michigan compulsory education law, which kept
many children in school until they were 15 or 16 years of age. Fifteen
per cent of the boys had taken vocational or prevocatkmal courses
of value in the metal-working industries. Most employers gave
preference to applicants with at least an eighth-grade education, and
for occupations requiring some knowledge of mechanics or drafting
they preferred boys with technical training. Technical or trade
training of some kind was available in the public schools of all the
cities visited. Few employers used the apprenticeship method to
7 Turnover was found by dividing the total number of separations for the year by the average number
of equivalent full-time workers for the year and multiplying the quotient by 100.

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.

train beginners for the skilled trades. Most of the occupations in
which minors were working were relatively unskilled jobs for which
a few' weeks’ experience in the factory afforded all the training
actually needed.
Better general and technical education appears to result in slightly
higher wages even among workers under 21. This, together with the
fact that trade training facilitates advancement to the more desirable
jobs, makes it important to emphasize the value of both types of
education to the boy who wishes to advance.
In the year 1918 there were 1,905 industrial accidents to minors,
resulting in death, dismemberment, or incapacity for work lasting
from 15 days to 1 year. A large number of these accidents occurred
in the metal-working industries. Efforts toward accident preven
tion existed in all the factories visited, though in different states of
development. In a few plants these efforts did not extend beyond
compliance with the State accident board requirements as to the
keeping of accident records, and a certain amount of inspection.
A t the other end of the scale were those plants which maintained a
well-developed safety department, with an engineer and assistants
whose business it was to inspect the factory for unsafe conditions,
devise efficient machine guards, carry on a continuous educational
safety campaign among workmen, and, above all, to make a minute
study of accidents which occurred and take steps to prevent their
repetition. The State records give cause of accident and extent of
disability by age, but the lack of uniformity in reporting occupations
makes it impossible to measure exposure to risk for minors as com
pared with that for adults. If the State accident board7®required
employers to use a uniform classification of occupations and to
report for each occupation the number of full-time workers employed,
it would have in hand material for computing frequency and severity
rates, an analysis of which is necessary for efficient prevention work.
The accurate and uniform naming of occupations on the factory
records and their careful definition and analysis, which would be
necessary in order to make reports according to such a uniform
classification of occupations, are fundamental not only to the work
of accident prevention, but also to adequate vocational training and
guidance, and to intelligent issuance of employment certificates.
7(1The powers of the State accident hoard were transferred in 1921 to the newly created department of
labor and industry. See footnote 5, p . 56.

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APPEN D IX I .— D ESCRIPTIVE AN ALYSIS

OF C O M M O N OCCU

PA TIO N S OF M IN O R S .

Even this somewhat general survey of minors employed in the
metal-manufacturing industries would lack completeness if it were
not supplemented by descriptions of the kinds of work which they do.
Teachers, vocational counselors, certificate-issuing officers, and other
persons whose work is related to the transition of children from school
to the various types of industry need to understand, at least in a
general and untechnical way, the processes which the child will be
called upon to perform. To obtain this knowledge is especially
difficult for those without technical training or without the, time and
opportunity for personal investigation, because the comparatively
simple types of work— in which minors are chiefly employed— have
not been considered worthy of analysis by the technical writers on
the subject.1
*
The limited scope of the survey made impracticable an exhaustive
and technical study of the postural and other physical strains inci
dent to each occupation or of the probable effects upon health and
physical development of the work which these minors were doing.
But it was felt that a careful description of the processes, attempting
to emphasize the aspect of the work which made it difficult, hazardous,
or mentally or physically trying would present such a picture of the
young worker and his environment as would serve all practical pur
poses. The process studies were made and the descriptions written
by a mechanical engineer familiar with the construction and opera
tion of machines and with the technical work of metal manufacturing.la
The information in regard to the hazards incident to the occupations
described was supplemented by data obtained from employers, safety
engineers, and representatives of insurance companies carrying
industrial accident risks, regarding general hazardous conditions and
occupations in metal-manufacturing plants of the type studied and
the dangers of the particular occupations in which minors were found
engaged.
Because occupations designated as identical vary in detail with the
type of product, the machine used, and the kind of establishment, it
was necessary to select for each of these descriptions an individual
process as carried on in a single factory. Nor was it possible, owing
to limited space, to describe all the different kinds of work that
i See Appendix IV, Bibliography, p. 127, for references to technical works describing the more skilled
occupations.
•
.
ia Later, the descriptions were read and criticized by officials, including superintendents and em
ployment managers, in a number of the factories where the studies were made.

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I
64

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

minors were found doing. But every effort has been made to select
typical processes, and it is believed that these illustrations fairly
represent the occupations of young persons in the factories studied.
The occupational descriptions were supplemented by information
obtained from employment managers as to the general or technical
education and the industrial experience needed for the type of opera
tion described, as well as the time required for learning and becoming
proficient in its performance. The occasional wide variations of
opinion found were probably due less to actual differences in stand
ards than to the fact that some occupations nominally identical in
reality owing to a difference in the tools used or in the nature of the
product— required more training and skill in one factory than in
another.
In order to show how each process relates to the work of the factory
as a whole, the discussions of the specific occupations studied are
arranged under the departments in which the workers are usually
found. The departments are taken up as far as possible in an order
corresponding to the factory organization'for production, as follows:
(1) Engineering department; (2) pattern shop; (3) foundry; (4)
core room; (5) casting-cleaning department; (6) forge shop; (7) heattreat department; (8) machine shop; (9) tool room; (10) sheet-metal
department; (11) paint shop; (12) trimming and top-making depart
ments; (13) inspection department; (14) assembly department; (15)
testing, adjustment, and final-repair department; (16) other depart
ments.
No one general outline, however, could be entirely accurate in
detail for every plant, as production methods varied slightly
in each one. None of the factories visited included all these depart
ments, some because the product did not demand all types of work,
others because certain of the parts used, such as forgings or castings,
were purchased instead of manufactured.
THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
W o r k d o n e .— In the engineering department are designed all the
products which are to be made in the factory, as well as any special
tools, jigs, dies, or fixtures necessary to their production. Drawings
and blue prints are made for the pattern shop, the machine shop,
and any other department doing work on any part. In automobilebody factories and other factories producing parts on special con
tract, however, designs and working drawings of the parts ordered
may be furnished by the purchaser. All experimental work of the
factory is done here, and materials used in the factory are tested.
M in o r s e m p l o y e d .— In the factories studied 13 minors were em
ployed as draftsmen and designers, 3 as chemists, a few in testing
materials for use in the factory, and a few as blue-print machine

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THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.

operators, blue-print boys, and messengers. Most of the work of the
engineering department demands such a high-grade of skill and experi
ence that few workers under 21 years of age are employed. Its chief
importance in this study lies in the fact that many boys engaged in
other work in the factory hope for promotion to other positions in
this department as tool designers or draftsmen.
Tool designer and tool detailer.2
Description o f work.— The tool designer designs and makes working
drawings for special tools, jigs, and fixtures, such as screws, turretlathe fixtures, milling-machine tools, boring bars, and stamping,
forming, and drawing dies. The detailer draws in detail from the
general drawing the parts of any given machine.
Hazards or stra in s— The work involves eyestrain, the exercise of
a high degree of accuracy and responsibility, and the usual physical
disadvantages of an exacting sedentary occupation. There is no
accident hazard.
Requirements.— Thorough training in all drafting methods and
conventions and in the accurate use of the T square, triangle, scale,
protractor, and other drawing instruments, as well as experience as
operators on the types of machines for which they are to design tools,
are necessary for both designers and detailers. They must have a
working knowledge of mathematics, mechanics, the strength of ma
terials, and the relation of the views of mechanical drawings, and be
able to make calculations and layouts and developments for sheetmetal work. They must be familiar with the common stock ma
terials (such as bolts, nuts, washers, common sizes of stock iron and
steel rods and bars), the standard types and sizes of drills, taps, dies,
reamers, and gear cutters, know the meaning of the common shop
terms (such as drill, ream, tap, bore, grind, taper, face, finish, etc.),
know the use of reference books and catalogues, the principles of
pattern making and molding, and the pattern-shop and foundry
notations. The work of the detailer requires less responsibility and
originality than that of the designer.
Tool designers must be at least 18 years of age. The employers
interviewed preferred boys with experience as draftsmen, toolmakers,
or machine hands.
Learning period {tool designer) . — Two and a half to four years;
from three to six years to become proficient.
Assistant chemist.
Description o f work.— The chemist in one of the automobile fac
tories visited tested the chemical properties of samples of all mate
rials used in the factory. The assistant chemist usually worked
For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where these occupations are classified under draftsmen and designers.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

with him, but on many occasions he had to work alone and take the
sole responsibility of the test. Following is a partial list of the ma
terials tested: Steel for phosphorus, sulphur, manganese, and
carbon; alloy steel for chromium, nickel, vanadium, and tungsten;
high-speed steel for tungsten; cast iron for sulphur, phosphorus,
silicon, manganese, and carbon; iron and steel for hardness, by means
of the scleroscope and the Brinell hardness machine; brass, bronze,
babbitt, aluminum, and German silver for copper, lead, zinc, tin,
antimony, magnesium, and aluminum; phosphorus bronze for phos
phorus and manganese; paints, varnishes, and resins for oil content,
kind of oil, pigment, and drier; lubricating oils and greases for flash
point, burning, viscosity, per cent emulsion, and per cent ash; cut
ting compounds and cutting oils for per cent mineral and per cent
vegetable oil.
Hazards or strains.— Slight burns and minor explosions in handling
chemicals. Nervous strain due to responsibility, accuracy, and
sometimes speed in doing work.
Requirements.— Courses in chemistry or engineering are usually
required, though in some cases the necessary experience may be ob
tained in the factory.
Learning 'period.— For chemist whose work is described above,
two years; a longer period to become proficient.
Scleroscope operator.
Description o f work.— The testing of materials may be subdivided
into several comparatively simple operations, one of which is the
determination of the relative hardness of metals, by testing with a
scleroscope. This instrument consists of a glass tube about a foot
long and with an inside diameter of about one-fourth of an inch, in
which is a small steel hammer tipped with diamond and controlled
by a rubber bulb attached by rubber tubing to the top of the glass
cylinder. The operator places the piece to be tested under the base
of the scleroscope and lowers the glass tube until it rests upon this
piece. He then squeezes the bulb and the hammer drops; as it hits
the hardened surface it rebounds. The operator reads the height of
the rebound as indicated on the graduated scale which is on or behind
the glass tube and records it. He must read the scale very quickly
and accurately at the moment the hammer reaches the height of its
rebound.
Hazards or strains.— Little danger is inherent in the occupation.
There may be physical strain due to handling heavy material.
Requirements.— No technical education is necessary. Experience
in the factory as assembler or machine operator is desirable.
Learning p eriod — T w o weeks; six weeks to become proficient.

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P L A T E X.— S U R FA C E G R IN D E R .

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G R IN D IN G W H E E L H ID D E N FROM V IE W BY M E T A L GU A RD .

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THE PATTERN SHOP.

Blue-print machine operator.3
Description o f work.— The blue-print machine operator in one of the
automobile factories studied ran the machine which made blue prints
from the tracings sent in from the drafting room. He sat at a ledge
or table attached to the machine and fed the blue-print paper from a
roll in the box below onto a wide, moving, endless belt. As the blue
print paper moved along he placed the tracings on it. Paper and
tracings moved under a convex plate of glass above which was a row
of six arc lights. After printing the design, the machine carried the
paper under a guard, to remove the tracings, through a stream of
running water to develop it, and then over a rack containing a gas
flame to dry. The machine was motor-driven, and the operator
regulated its speed b y shifting a foot lever. He had to know how to
control the machine and the proper speed at which to run it.
Hazards or strains.— The glare of the arc lights involves some eyestrain, even when they are covered with a hood to reflect the light
and to protect the operator’s eyes.
Requirements.—An eighth-grade education is desirable. Any
courses in drafting are valuable. Sixteen-year-old boys or girls may
enter the occupation.
Learning period.— One week; three months to become proficient.
THE PATTERN SHOP.
W o r k d o n e .— Patterns to be used in making molds in the foundry
and core boxes for making cores are made in the pattern shop. In
the automobile-body factories, templates or exact patterns of every
piece in the body, whether of wood or metal, are made from the sam
ple body, which has been made up and approved previously. /
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— One minor was reported as a pattern maker;
nine were pattern makers’ apprentices.

Pattern maker’s apprentice.4
D escription o f work.—An apprentice begins his training by doing
odd jobs about the shop, sorting and storing patterns, and helping
the other workers. As he becomes somewhat familiar with shop
methods he is given small, simple patterns to make. As he works
with the wood and the tools he becomes more skilled, so that he is
able to do something a little more difficult. Later he is put to work
on patterns that require the use of woodworking or metal-working
machinery such as the band saw, the sander, the lathe, the grinder,
etc.
For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operator—Other.
* For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Apprentices.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Hazards or strains.—Machine-shop hazards.5 Woodworking ma
chinery used in making the woodern patterns is considered especially
hazardous.
Requirements.—An eighth-grade education; in addition, some
technical training is desired. Shop experience as a trucker or stock
boy is valuable. The work is considered too hard for women.
Learning period .—An apprentice must serve four years to become a
journeyman— a fact which indicates the skill demanded. Much skill
and knowledge are needed to make the pattern so that it will come
out of the mold easily (some have to be made in several pieces and
put together with dowel pins) and allow for shrinkage of the metal
as it cools and hardens.
THE FOUNDRY.
W o r k d o n e .— Castings for the heavier parts of machinery are
made in the foundry. Sand used in making the molds is mixed,
either by machine or by hand; molds are made, either at the bench
(small molds), on the floor (large molds), or by machine; iron, melted
in a cupola or other furnace, is poured into the molds. When cool
the casting is taken from the mold and the loose sand knocked off.
F o u n d r y h a z a r d s .— In factories in which there were foundries,
employers usually considered the work there more hazardous than
in any other department. Danger of burns from molten metal, of
bruises, and of strain from heavy lifting, exposure to extremes of
temperature and to blinding light from molten metal, and the smoke,
gas, and dust of the workroom make the foundries unhealthful and
often dangerous places in which to work. In the large foundries the
overhead crane for carrying molten metal adds another element of
danger. These dangers are guarded against in some factories by fur
nishing leggings, aprons, and gloves to the workers and by providing
and operating adequate ventilating apparatus.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Six boys in the establishments studied were
working as molders, a few as apprentice molders and moldingmachine operators; 1 was a pourer; 105 were working in the foundry,
core room, or casting-cleaning department, as laborers, helpers,
chippers, chill-pickers, rattling-room laborers, core cleaners, carriers
or stackers, or wire boys, or at other occupations.8

M older’s apprentice and machine molder.7
D escription o f work .— The apprentice enters foundry work with
the intention of learning the molder’s trade. At the beginning he is
practically no more than a helper, but, unlike an ordinary helper,
he is given some of the simpler kinds of work the practice of which
will help him in advancing to more important work. He learns the

6Seep. 75etseq.
8See pp. 70-72 for description of work in

the core room and the casting-cleaning department. In the
tabulation no distinction was made between the laborers in the foundry and in these two departments.
7For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under apprentices and molders.

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THE FOUNDRY.

method of moistening the sand and mixing it before it is made into
molds, how to place the patterns in the flasks, how to ram the sand
in the flasks, how to ventilate the mold, how to remove the pattern
from the sand, how to set the cores, how to use the tools for repair
ing slightly broken molds, how to put on the parting or facing sand.
These are all processes which require care and judgment obtainable
only through experience in doing the work.
The work of one of the machine molders in a large foundry con
sisted of making molds for iron castings on the molding machine,
which was operated by air pressure. A mold is a cavity (of the
same form as the desired casting) made by packing sand around a
pattern and then removing the pattern. The flask, or box-like
frame which holds the mold, consists of two parts known as the
“ drag,” or lower part, and the “ cope,” or upper part. Each is
filled separately; the cope is then placed on top of the drag. To
make the drag, the molder fastened the lower side of the pattern
to the table of the molding machine and put a flask on the table
around the pattern. He partly filled this flask with molding sand,
put in wooden pegs called “ soldiers” or gaggers” to hold the sand
together, filled the flask full of sand, tapped it down, and smoothed
it off. He then gently pushed a small wire down through the sand
to make vent holes for the escape of the gas when the iron should
be poured in, and placed on top a thin iron plate. There was an
other table on the machine above the mold, top side down, which,
by turning a small lever, the operator lowered until it lay flat on the
top of the flask. He turned another lever that caused both tables
and the flask between them to jolt up and down, thus packing the
sand tight in the flask. By turning a third lever the operator caused
the machine to revolve the tables and flask so that the table to which
the pattern had been fastened was on top. The turning of a fourth
lever caused this table to vibrate slightly while the one now on the
bottom was being slowly lowered; this made it possible to draw the
pattern out of the mold without breaking the sand. The drag was
then lifted by means of the iron plate on which it rested and placed
on the floor. The molder wet the edges of the mold with a swab
so that the sand would stick together and not crumble. Later he
inspected the mold and repaired and smoothed any broken edges
with a slicking tool. He also sifted a white parting powder onto
the face of the mold so that the two halves would not stick together.
Several drags were made at one time, then several copes to fit on
top of them. The cope was made in exactly the same way as the
drag except that in making the former a hole called the “ sprue
hole” was cut from the top of the sand down to the mold through
which the molten iron might be poured. The complete operation
of making drag and cope required about eight minutes.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Hazards or strains.— General foundry conditions and hazards.8
Requirements.— Most

employers interviewed preferred molders
who had had an eighth-grade education. Others said this was not
absolutely necessary. School training in foundry work or experi
ence in other foundries was considered desirable.
Because of the experience and physical strength required, only
boys 18 years of age or older were employed as apprentices or as
molders.
Learning 'period {molders).— From one to three years; from two to
four years to become proficient. In some factories molders were
required to serve an apprenticeship of four years.
Foundry laborer.9
Description o f worlc.— The following description shows the work
of a foundry laborer in one of the establishments visited. While
the molders were making their molds he shoveled new molding sand
from a bin onto his wheelbarrow and wheeled it to the molders who
needed it. He also wheeled facing sand to the molders. While
the iron was being poured he shoveled facing sand through a screen
set up slantingly.
Hazards or strains.— General foundry hazards. The work may
involve strain from heavy lifting.
Requirements.— No education is required, though some employers
said they preferred workers with a common-school education. Ex
perience is not required, but the work demands strength and endur
ance.
Learning period.— Less than three days; one day to a week to
become proficient.
THE CORE ROOM.
W o r k d o n e . — In the core room cores are made to fit into the molds
where holes or cavities in the castings are desired. Work here is on
the whole lighter than in the foundry.
C o r e - r o o m h a z a r d s .— There is little accident hazard.
The smoke
and fumes from the core ovens are annoying and possibly harmful.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Fifteen boys and sixteen girls were employed
as core makers and 6 boys as core maker’s apprentices. (See also
page 68 under “ Minors employed” for core-room laborers, helpers,
etc.)

Core maker.10
Description o f worlc.— The work done in one of the smaller foundries
in making a core for the hub of an automobile-engine flywheel is illus-

8 See p. 68. _
8For earnings, see Table 7, p . 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—Foundry
and core room.
10 pgr earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Coremakers.

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THE

C A S T T N G -C L E A N IN G D E P A R T M E N T .

trative of the core maker’s work. The worker first placed on a table
in front of him a cylindrical iron core box (inside diameter about 8
inches and height about 6 inches) which was divided in halves and
held together by thumb screws. In the bottom was a hole in which
he inserted a seven-eighths inch pin long enough to reach the top of
the box. He also inserted diagonally two one-half inch rods through
holes in the sides of the box. In the completed core these rods
make one large hole through the center and four smaller diagonal
holes leading from the center to the outside which allow the molten
iron to run through to the body of the flywheel. After the pins
were in place the core maker filled the box with core sand, packed it
down, and leveled it off with a heavy plate. Then he laid the plate
on top, turned the box over, rapped it to loosen the core, took the
box apart, and removed the pins, leaving the core on the plate. He
then lifted plate and core to the rack on which it was to be baked in the
core-baking ovens. After making about 15‘cores he put kerosene on
the pins and on the inside of the core box with a brush to prevent the
sand from sticking to them.
Hazards or strains.— General core-room conditions and hazards.
Requirements.— Besides a good elementary education, the core maker
should have a thorough knowledge of the method of handling core boxes
and core sand. Experience as foundry or core-room laborer is of
value.
Learning 'period.— In some factories it was reported that the work
could be learned in a few weeks, but in others the employers said
that two or three years’ experience was needed to become proficient.
THE CASTING-CLEANING DEPARTMENT.
W o r k d o n e . — In the casting-cleaning department the castings from
the foundry are cleaned and smoothed by sand blast, b y grinding, and,
if small in size, b y rattling (or tumbling); Projections on the cast
ings may be chipped off with a chisel.
C a s t i n g - c l e a n i n g d e p a r t m e n t h a z a r d s . — The air is likely to be
full of dust from the rattling process and from the sand blast.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d . — See page 68, under Foundry, minors employed.

Rattling-room laborer.11
Description o f worlc.— It was the duty of one of the boys found
working as a rattling-room laborer to pick up the castings after they
had been taken from the rattlers, load them into a truck, and cart
them to the bins at the other end of the room. As he unloaded, he
sorted the different kinds and put them in their respective bins,
throwing out the imperfect ones.

11For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—Foun
dry and core room.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Hazards or strains.— Some physical strain is involved. The room
is noisy and the air full of dust. Slight bruises and scratches may
be incurred in handling the castings.
Requirements.—A common-school education is preferred but is not
always required. The work demands considerable strength.
Learning 'period.— The work is very easy to learn.
THE FORGE SHOP .12
W o r k d o n e . —In this department, which is known in some factories
as the blacksmith shop, parts requiring both lightness and great
strength, such as cam shafts or crank shafts, are forged out from hot
steel by the action of two-part dies in the steam hammer. The
welding of pressed steel or other parts may be discussed here, though
it is not always done in the forge shop.
F o r g e - s h o p h a z a r d s .— Bums from working with hot metal.
M in o r s e m p l o y e d .— Fourteen minors were working as heaters, four
as welders, and a few as helpers and laborers. Work as hammerman,
forge man, or blacksmith requires such strength and skill that minors
can seldom qualify.

Heater.13
Description o f worlc.— The heater observed in one forge shop picked
up with long-handled tongs the pieces of iron which had to be heated
before they were forged in the steam hammers, and placed them in
the heating furnaces. He watched them to see that they reached
the proper temperature for forging and replenished the supply as the
hammermen’s helpers took out the red-hot pieces. The furnaces
were gas-heated ovens made of iron and lined with fire brick. The
heater regulated the temperature by turning a valve in the pipe.
Hazards or strains.— Danger from the extreme heat of the work
room and risk of burns. .
Requirements.—An elementary education is desirable but not
always required. One employer said that any course dealing with
the carbonization of metals would be valuable. The work is con
sidered too hard for women.
Learning period.— One week or less; one week to one month to
become proficient.
Blacksmith’s helper.14
D escription o f work.— The work of the blacksmith’s helper in one
shop was to assist the blacksmith in whatever he might have to do.
His usual duties were to keep clear the space around the forge,

12This department is not found in factories for which forgings are bought outside. In one factory studied,
however, the principal product was drop-forged parts.
w For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where occupation is classified under Heaters.
*14 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where occupation is classified under Apprentices.

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PUBLISH ED BY COURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

P L A T E X II.— M IL L IN G M A C H IN E.

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P UBLISH ED BY C OURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

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P L A T E X III.— M A C H IN E S H O P .

C U T T E R ON M IL L IN G M A C H IN E, IL L U S T R A T IN G D A N G ER O F U SIN G F IN G E R TO
C LEA N O U T S H A V IN G S .

the

forge

sh op.

keep the tools in place when they were not in use, hand the tools to
the blacksmith when he asked for them, hold the end of the stock while
the blacksmith was working on it, and act as hammerman to cut off
stock or to form it while the blacksmith held the stock and the cut-off
or forming tool. It was also his duty to keep coal on hand for the
forge fire, and he might at times be given some of the simpler black
smith work.
Hazards or strains.— The helper is in danger of being burned by
f l y i n g sparks or by accidentally touching the hot iron and of being
struck by particles of iron. In hot weather the temperature in the
shop rises to a dangerous height. The work requires strength and
endurance.
Requirements.— Eighth-grade graduates are preferred.
Learning 'period.— The work may be learned in one day and pro

ficiency gained in a week or less.
Acetylene welder and electric-arc welder.16
Description o f work .— The work of the acetylene welder may be illus
trated by a description of the welding of the two halves of a pressed steel
automobile rear axle housing. The worker placed them in a form and
tightened it so that the corresponding edges of the two halves were
held firm l/ together. This accomplished, he lighted his acetylene
blow torch and adjusted it (by turning the screws which regulated the
amounts of oxygen and of acetylene) until the flame became blue
and produced heat sufficient for welding.16 He then held the end of a
piece of steel wire about a foot in length, made especially for welding
of this kind, on the crack between the two halves of the axle housing,
and directed the flame against the end of the wire and also against
the parts to be welded. As the wire melted it ran into the crack;
the metal edges of the parts also melted slightly and ran together.
He continued this process until the whole seam on one side of the
housing was welded, then revolved the form and welded the seam on
the other side in the same manner.
The work of an electric-arc welder in the same plant is an illustration
of another type of welding. When inspection showed imperfections in
the acetylene-welded seams of the automobile rear-axle housings,
they were sent to this worker for repair. He first placed the housing
on a bench, the top of which was connected with one electrode. The
other electrode was connected to a clamp which held the welding wire.
He switched on the current, regulated the voltage by a rheostat,17
is For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Blacksmiths, forge men,
h™ ^ ™ l e n e ^ da ^ i dproduced by the reaction between calcium carbide and water’
mixed with air produces a very luminous flame, but when mixed with oxygen produces a heat mltense
enough to weld steel. The temperature of the flame may be varied by regulating the proportion of oxygen
used.
17 The rheostat is operated by turning a hand on a dial.

45198°—23------ 6

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

and holding the clamp by a handle rubbed the wire along the seam,
lifting it up just enough to form an arc between it and the housing,
thus melting the wire and the edges of the seam so that they ran
together.
Hazards or strains.— The welder is liable to burns from flying
particles of hot metal. The electric arc welder may also receive
slight electric^ shocks. Dark goggles are usually worn to protect
the eyes from the glare and flying sparks. The arc welder observed
wore a metal helmet with a glass front, which afforded much better
protection than goggles.
Requirements.— One of the three manufacturers who employed
minors as welders preferred eighth-grade graduates and those who
had had some technical training or experience as welders.
Learning period.— One or two months; from three to six months
to become proficient.
THE HEAT-TREAT DEPARTMENT.
W o r k d o n e .— In the heat-treat department tools are tempered,
forgings toughened by casehardening, dies hardened, sheet metal
annealed ready for forming, and similar work done. The work of
pickling sheet metal and forgings (that is, treating with acid baths
in order to remove scale) is sometimes done in this department,
sometimes organized separately. Other divisions of the work are
made to. suit convenience in different factories.
H e a t - t r e a t d e p a r t m e n t h a z a r d s .— The principal danger is
from burns or from the acids used in pickling.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Seven minor's were working as heat treaters
and seven as picklers.

Acetylene annealer.

D escription o f work.— The work of the acetylene annealer ob
served in one factory was to anneal (or soften by heating) the metal
around a 1-inch hole in a pressed-steel automobile rear axle housing
cover, so that the operation of flaring this hole in the punch press
would not crack the metal. The annealer set up a cover in a con
venient position on his bench, adjusted the flame in the acetylene
blow torch (see Jp. 73) and directed this flame against the metal
around the hole until it was cherry red to a distance of about 1 inch
around the hole. He then put this cover aside to cool slowly in the
air while he repeated the operation on another.
*
Hazards or strains.— Goggles are worn to protect the worker’s
eyes from the glare of the torch as he sits at his bench. There is
some danger from burns.
18 For earnings, see Table 7, page 16, where occupation is classified, under Heat treat..

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THE M ACHINE SHOP.

Requirements.— Eighth-grade education preferred. The work is
too heavy for women or for boys under 18.
Learning 'period.—A week or less; one month to become proficient.
Casehardener’s helper.19
Description o f work .— In one factory the casehardener’s helper
assisted the casehardener in any way possible, as by handing him
tools, cleaning the shop, and casehardening small parts, such as cams.
In doing the latter work he picked up the cam with tongs, placed
it in a small gas furnace, and left it there until it reached a cherryred color. He then took it out with the tongs and rubbed it in
powdered potassium cyanide. until it was covered (this powder
melts and forms a thin film over the cam). After this he quenched
the cam in water and allowed it to remain there until perfectly cold.
Hazards or strains.— The helper whose work is described wore
goggles to protect his eyes from the glare of the fire and the hot
metal. In quenching the red-hot cam he must stand far enough
away to avoid getting spattered with hot water.
Requirements.— Eighth-grade graduates are preferred. In one
factory tool hardening was considered so skilled a job that minors
were seldom able to qualify for it, but in the others visited hardening
did not require much skill.
Learning period .— One week; six months to become proficient.
THE MACHINE SHOP.
W o r k d o n e .— Parts from the foundry and forge shop are sent to
the machine shop to be machined to exact size and finished.
M a c h i n e - s h o p h a z a r d s .— Danger from belts, shafts, and gears,
and from the moving parts of each machine makes this department
one of the most dangerous in the factory. Hazards vary with the
different types of machines. A large proportion of machine acci
dents occur on drill presses. Punch presses were named as the
most dangerous machines because of the large number of dismem
berments for which they were responsible. The guards provided
almost invariably reduce output; consequently, the operator, working
on piece rate, is tempted not to use them. In one factory the man
ager, believing that young workers had not the ability to concentrate
attention on their work the whole day through and were therefore
more liable to accident as punch-press operators than adults, took
all workers under 21 from the presses. Accidents to punch-press
operators fell as a result from an average of two in one month to two
m the eight months in which the new policy had been in effect.
The use of motor-driven instead of belt-driven machinery; efficient
19
For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—
Others.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

guards on all machines, shafts, gears, and belts* and proper clothing
regulations have proved effective in reducing the hazards.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— In all, 619 minors, or about one-fifth of the
total number, were employed as machine operators. As is shown
by Table 29, 123 of them were working as drill-press operators, 99 as
grinders, 98 as lathe operators, 89 as milling-machine operators,
and 210 as operators on other kinds of machines. Two girls and
62 boys were classified as machinists other than repair men; of
these, 38 were testers, 14 adjusters, and 12 machine setters or other
machinists.
Table 29.— Kind o f machine operated, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Kind of machine operated.

Minors in metal
manufacturing in
dustries.

Kind of machine operated.

Total. Boys. Girls.
Total.............................. 2,840
Machine operators..................
Drills................................
Speed.........................
Other r ......................
Grinders..... ....................
External....................
Internal......................
Surface.......................
Hand..........................
T ool............................
Other1........................
Milling..............................
Hand.........................
Gear...........................
Other1........................
Lathes..............................
Turret........................
Low swing.................
Other K . . ''. .................

619
123
4
119
99
21
8
2
1
27
40
89
3
15
71
98

20
2
76

2,536

304

542
115
4
111
98
21
8

77
8
8
1

1
26
40
81

13
65
94
19

2
6
4
1

2
73

Total. Boys. Girls.
Machine operators—Contd.
Broach..............................
Planers.............................
Stamp-press...............
Other C...................
Saws..................................
Screw...........................

Minors in metal
manufacturing in
dustries.

6
3
22
18
3
1
13
29
9
5
15
26

4
Shears__ * ........................

6
3
19
15
3

13
29
9
5
15

5
6
H

46
1,994

Not machine operators.......... 2,221

g
26

3
3

2
15

227

1Includes not specified.

e q u i r e m e n t s .— Employers

had had
preferred
technical
operators
prints.

as a rule preferred operators who
at least a sixth or seventh grade education and several
eighth-grade graduates. Most of them considered any
training in machine-shop work valuable. Many machine
need sufficient knowledge of drafting to read simple blue

Drill-press operator.20
Description o f worlc.— The work of a drill-press operator in one of

the machine shops visited was to drill five holes in a casting, using
a four-spindle, high-speed drill press. He put the casting in a jig
made for this particular piece of work and clamped the cover of the
jig firmly over it. (A jig is a device for holding work while drilling;
bushings in the jig indicate the size and location of the holes to be
>° For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Drills.

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THE MACHINE SHOP.

drilled.) Then he lifted the jig and casting to the drill-press table.
The drill press was equipped with four spindles (devices to hold the
drilling tool), three holding drills of different sizes, and one holding
a reamer (a tool used to enlarge a hole). The operator pulled down
on a hand lever which brought the drill down through the hole in the
jig where it bore on the casting until the hole was drilled. He drilled
another hole with the same drill, then two holes with the drill next
larger in size which was on the second spindle, then a large hole with
the drill on the third spindle. Through the last hole he ran the
reaming tool which was on the fourth spindle. The whole operation
took about four minutes.
Hazards or strains.— Even with the machine well guarded, there is
some danger from breaking drills and from contact with the moving
drill. The operator stands at his work and must watch it very closely.
Requirements.— The operator should be able to read simple blue
prints. Very little skill is required, since the holes in the jig indicate
the position and size of the holes to be drilled. In two factories girls
were working as drill-press operators.
Learning period.— A s a rule operation of the machine can be learned
in a few weeks at most and proficiency attained in a few months.
Surface-grinder operator.21
Description o f work.— Surface grinding is the term applied to grind
ing smooth a flat surface. The work of one of the surface-grinder
operators in an automobile factory was to grind down the top surface
of a die shoe until the tool marks of the shaper used to finish it were
ground off and the surface left perfectly smooth. The operator
placed the die shoe in position on the horizontal table of the grinder,
where it was held in place by magnetic attraction, adjusted the grind
ing wheel to the correct position by turning the handwheel, threw
the long hand lever that shifted the countershaft clutch, shifted the
clutch on the machine, and when he was sure that everything was in
position shifted the small hand lever that threw in the automatic
feed. The grinding wheel, driven by a vertical spindle, was of
emery and measured 14 inches in outside diameter and 12 inches in
inside diameter. The table of the machine was automatically fed
up as it moved back and forth, the amount of the feed being adjusted*
by the operator in accordance with instructions from the foreman.
Hazards or strains.— The machine was well guarded, so that the
hazard was slight, although there was some danger from the breaking
of the wheel and from flying particles. Since this was dry grinding
there was some dust in spite of the suction pipe attached.
Requirements.— See machine-shop requirements. Truckers and
rough grinders are frequently promoted to this position.
S1 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Grinders.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Learning 'period.— Two to six weeks; six weeks to six months to

become proficient.
External grinder.22
D escription o f work*—This type of grinding is illustrated b y the
work of a boy who was grinding piston rings on an external-grinding
machiné to correct outside diameter. To prepare the rings for the
machine he slipped them on a rod about an inch in diameter which
was threaded on one end and on the other fitted with a flange or base
somewhat smaller in diameter than the piston rings were to be when
finished. He separated each five rings by a plate of the same diam
eter as the base of the rod and put such a plate at the end when the
rod was filled. Before screwing on the bolt which held all the rings
in place on the rod he put the whole in a casing, made with its two
halves hinged together, and tightened the bolts of the casing to bring
all the rings to a uniform position concentric with the rod. By
tightening securely the nut on the end of the rod the rings were held
in position and the casing could be taken off. The operator then
placed the rod with the rings on it in position between the centers
of the grinding machine, tightened it, and pushed the lever to start
the machine, which revolved the work and moved it automatically
hack and forth against the revolving emery wheel. The wheel also
moved automatically toward the work. The operator had to measure
with calipers occasionally to determine whether the rings were
ground to correct size. While the machine was grinding, the opera
tor set up new work.
Hazards or strains.— On this machine cutting fluid was used, so
that there was no dust from the work. The gears, emery wheel, and
other moving parts were well guarded. Minor bruises and scratches
might be received while setting up the work and putting it in the
machine. The grinder stood all day, lifted the work to the machine,
and had to read the measurements carefully.
Requirements.— Operators should have at least a common-school
education and be able to read simple blue prints and to use the
micrometer calipers. Boys at least 18 years of age were preferred
for the work.
* Learning period.— One to six weeks in most of the factories visited,
but one employer said that it might take an operator three years to
become proficient.
Internal grinder.22
D escription o f work.— Internal grinding may be illustrated by the
work of a boy who was grinding the inside of a cylinder. He bolted
a fixture plate to the flange of the cylinder, hooked cylinder and
m For earnings, see

Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Grinders.

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THE MACHINE SHOP.

plate to an air hoist, and raised them by means of this hoist to a
fixture on the machine. To this fixture he bolted the plate already
fastened to the flange of the cylinder. He started the machine by
shifting a long lever which reached to the shaft near the ceiling;
then shifting another lever on the machine he started the automatic
feed, which caused that part of the machine to which the cylinder
was attached to slide back and forth. As the cylinder moved, its
inside surface came in contact with a high-speed grinding wheel
mounted on an eccentric spindle which moved the wheel slowly
around the inside of the cylinder. At each revolution of this spindle
the operator gave the small wheel which controlled it a quarter turn,
causing it to describe a larger circle and so grind a little deeper into
the cylinder. He measured the inside diameter of the cylinder occa
sionally with calipers through a hole in the sheet-iron guard, and
stopped the machine when the size was correct. The whole opera
tion took about 15 minutes.
Hazards or strains.— Some of the iron and emery dust got into the
eyes and nose of the operator, in spite of the suction hose attached to
the cylinder to carry it away. He was in some danger of being hit by
the revolving spindle while taking measurements, or by the fastmoving belt which drives the emery wheel if this belt should break.
The worker stood all day and had to watch the work closely and read
measurements accurately.
Requirements and learning period .— Same as for external grinders.
Reamer-grinder operator.24
Description o f worlc.— Tool grinding may be illustrated by a de
scription of the work of sharpening plain fluted reamers (tools used
on the drill press) in one of the large automobile factories visited.
The grinder used was a small emery wheel about 6 inches in diameter
and five-eighths of an inch thick, running at high speed. The opera
tor put the reamer between the centers on the machine which were
made to hold it; pushed the lever controlling the cross feed, which
moved the tool up to the grinding wheel; and pushed the lever con
trolling the lengthwise feed, which moved the tool across the grind
ing wheel to take the cut. Since the reamer was fluted, the edge of
each fluting had to be ground to the same angle. After grinding
the first edge, the operator read the dial on the cross feed which indi
cated just how far the reamer had been moved toward the grinding
tool. Then he revolved the reamer in its rest until the edge of another
fluting was in position and pushed the lever on the cross feed till the
dial read the same as for the first operation. This was repeated till
all the edges were ground.
84 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Grinders.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Hazards or strain.— The machine was guarded in such a way as to
protect the operator from flying pieces in case the wheel should break.
Since no fluid was used in grinding there was some dust.
Requirements.— Common-school education preferred. Courses in
tool making and experience in other kinds of grinding are valuable.
Learning period.— Somewhat longer than for the types of grinding
discussed previously.
M illing-m achine operator.25
Description o f work . — This process may be illustrated by the work
done in operating a hand milling machine to mill the two sides of a
block or pin used as an automobile-brake cable end. As the block
came to the operator it was cylindrical; the machine sliced off enough
metal to make two parallel plane surfaces. A clamping fixture
holding four of these blocks at once was fastened to the table of the
machine. The two milling cutters on the arbor of the machine were
spaced just far enough apart to cut the two sides of the block at the
same time. The operator put four blocks in the jaws of the clamping
fixture, fastened them securely by tightening the jaws with a hand
lever, and fed the table of the machine up to the cutter by turning a
hand crank. After the cuts were completed on all four blocks, he
moved the table back by reversing the hand crank and took the
blocks from the clamping fixture. The complete operation required
about one minute.
Hazards or strains.— General machine-shop hazards. Cutting com
pound is fed automatically on the tool while cutting.
Requirements.— General machine-shop requirements. Minors under
17 were not employed.
Learning period.—About two weeks in most factories. In one
factory three years were required to become proficient, but in most of
them proficiency could be gained in less than one year.
Screw-machine operator.26
Description o f work.— The work of a hand turret-screw machine
operator in one of the machine shops visited was to cut off pieces
6 inches in length from a long bar of round cold-rolled steel stock,
after drilling a hole in one end, chamfering the edge of this hole,
and chamfering the outside edge of the other end of the piece. By
pulling forward a lever the operator drew the bar of stock through
the lathe center up against a stop in the turret head. The turret
head, which was placed on the bed of the lathe opposite the lathe
center, had six sides, of which five, holding respectively a stop, a
center drill, a drill, an inside chamfering tool, and another stop, were
used in this operation. As the operator moved this turret back by
35 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Milling.
38 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Screw.

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P L A T E XIV.— M A C H IN E S H O P.

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A U T O M A T IC S C R E W M A C H IN E .

PUBLISH ED BY COURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO.. D E TR O IT, MICH.

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P L A T E X V .—P U N C H -P R E S S D E P A R T M E N T , H E A V Y .

P U N C H IN G O U T R E A R -A X L E H O U S IN G S .

THE M ACHINE SHOP.

hand lever it automatically rotated through 606, bringing the center
drill in line with the center of the bar. Then, as he pulled the hand
lever forward, the tool in the turret head drilled the center in the
revolving bar. In the same way he drilled the hole and chamfered
its inside edge. With the hand lever he then moved the work up
to the stop (the fifth tool in the turret head) which indicated the
correct location for the use of the outside chamfer and cut-off tools
held in the tool posts of the cross feed, one on one side of the work
and one on the other. He operated first the chamfering tool, by
hand lever, across the machine in one direction, and then the cut
off tool by pulling the same lever back again. The whole operation
required about four minutes. It is similar to other kinds of work
on a turret lathe.
Automatic screw machines perform automatically all the opera
tions described above. The operator may tend four or more such
machines, oiling them, regulating the flow of the cutting compound,
taking away shavings if they are clogging the machine, replacing
dull tools with sharp ones, and putting in new stock.
Hazards or strains.— Scratches and cuts to hands and fingers from
contact with the moving parts of the machine, and injury to the
eyes from flying particles. Gears and motor on the machine
observed were guarded. Strain is involved in the close watching of
the work and in the speed of production.
Requirements.— Besides knowing how to control the machine, the
operator should be able to read simple blue prints. (See also general
machine-shop requirements.)
Learning 'period.— Generally a few weeks.
Boring-machine operator.27
Description o f worlc.— Operation of the boring machine may be
illustrated by the work of a boy who was boring out the hub of a
flywheel casting on a vertical boring machine with automatic feed
down and from right to left. He fastened a hook into the flywheel,
lifted it by means of chain hoists, and rolled it to the table of the
boring machine along the track which supported the hoist. He
unfastened the hook, moved the wheel into place on the table, and
fastened it there securely by turning a crank in the universal chuck
(or clamp), which was located on the table in such a position that
the center line of the hub was exactly in line with the center of the
boring tool bar. He then started the machine by shifting the clutch
on the overhead countershaft by means of a long lever. He loosened
the turret head on the machine, which contained three tools, by
moving a hand lever and swung it around until the first boring tool
27 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Other.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

came automatically in line with the center of the hub. He then
clamped the turret head firmly by hand lever, so that there would
be no danger of its turning loose, and pushed a small gear into mesh
by hand, which caused the machine to feed the boring tool automati
cally through the hub. This cutting operation finished, the operator
raised the turret by a hand crank and revolved the head to position
so that the next boring bar was in line with the center of the hub.
Again he threw in the small gear b y hand and this second boring tool
was fed through the hub automatically. Then, having raised the
turret head and swung it until the reamer was in place, he fed the
reamer through the bored hole by using a hand crank, oiling the
reamer to obtain a smooth cut. After this he released the jaws of
the universal chuck, raised the flywheel from the table b y the chain
hoist, and conveyed it to a pile of finished work. The time of
operation was about eight minutes.
Hazards or strains.— General machine-shop hazards.
Requirements.— The operator should be able to read simple blue
prints. (See also general machine-shop requirements.)
Learning 'period.— Length of time to become proficient varies from
a month to three years, depending upon the nature of the work.
Punch-press operator.28
Description o f work.— The work observed was that of forming on a
heavy punch press the flange of a 12-inch disk. Two operators worked
at this machine, one to insert the disk and to trip (or start) the machine,
the other to take the disk out of the machine after it had been formed.
The first operator put the disk on the lower part of the die between
four pins which held it in correct position, and then pressed down on
the foot pedal. This caused the upper part of the die to come down
onto the lower part and in so doing to press the disk down over it,
thus forming a flange. After the flange was formed the upper half
of the die moved up to its original position and the machine stopped.
The second operator then took the work from the die; sometimes it
slipped off easily and sometimes it stuck so that he had to use a small
hook to loosen it.
Hazards or strains.— It was impossible for the machine observed
to operate unless the foot lever was first pressed, but the danger was
that the work might become so monotonous that the operator would
thoughtlessly press his foot on the pedal at the wrong time and cause
an accident. (See general machine-shop hazards.)
Requirements.— General machine-shop requirements.
Learning period.— The experience stated b y employers as necessary
to become proficient as a punch-press operator varied from a week
in one factory to a year in another.
28 For earnings, see Table 7, page 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operator—Press.

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THE M ACHINE SHOE.

Tapping and threading-machine operators.29
Description o f work.— The work of a tapping-machine operator in
one of the automobile factories visited was to tap out (or cut) one-half
inch screw threads in specially shaped nuts. The tapping tools
were held in chucks (or clamps) and projected upward, while the
nuts were held in place b y small spring clamping devices fastened to
spindles that projected downward in line with the tapping tools.
The machine had five spindles so that five nuts might be tapped at
one time. The operator slipped the five nuts into the clamping
devices, fastened them in place on the spindles, and pushed down
on a hand lever that pressed down the spindles and revolved them so
as to make the tapping tools cut the threads in the nuts. The amount
of travel of the spindles was regulated by a stop on the machine;
when this was reached the operator pulled up on the hand lever
causing the spindles to reverse their rotation and screw the nuts off
the tap. A cutting compound was automatically fed into the work
by a small circulating pump.
The hand threading-machine operator observed was cutting screw
threads for about two inches on the end of a valve stem. He placed
the valve stem between the jaws of the clamp in the machine and
tightened the clamp b y turning a hand wheel, then threw a small
lever on the die which drew its cutting tools close enough together
to make threads on the valve stem. (The size was regulated by a
stop on the machine already set.) Then he pushed the valve stem
into the revolving die until the die cut a few threads, after which it
automatically drew in the stem. After about 2 inches had been
threaded the operator spread the cutting tools of the die b y reversing
the lever, opened the clamp of the machine, and removed the valve
stem. Oil was automatically fed onto the die and the valve stem.
The whole operation required about one minute.
Hazards or strains.— This is one of the simpler and less hazardous
machine operations.
Requirements.-—General machine-shop requirements.
Learning period.— One day to two weeks; as a general rule, one to
six weeks to gain proficiency
D ie setter.30
Description o f work.— When a piece of sheet metal is to be punched
or formed, or both, a die is made in such a way that when its two
halves are pressed together the piece will be pressed or punched into
the desired form. It is the die setter’s work to put the die in the
punch press and so to adjust it that the work will be turned out
88 For earnings, see Table 7, page 16, where these occupations are classified as follows: Tapping, under
machine operator—Other, and Threading under Machine operator—Thread.
80 For earnings, see Table 7, page 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Setters.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANTTFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

accurately. Whenever a machine turns out imperfect work the die
setter examines the die and repairs it if possible. If it is broken so
that it can not be repaired in his department, it is sent to the dierepair department of the tool room.
Hazards or strains.— The operator is liable to accident while
repairing or setting the dies in the machines. (See general machineshop hazards.)
Requirem ents.— Die setters should be good mechanics and be able
to read common shop blue prints. Experience as machine operators is
necessary. (See also machine-shop requirements.) This is one <?f the
more skilled of the jobs in the machine shop.
Learning 'period.—A machine operator needs three months or more
to become proficient as a die setter.
Set-up man for screw machine.81
Description o f work.— The screw machine set-up man in one of the
factories visited was required to keep in adjustment one automatic
and five hand screw machines, of the turret screw-machine type.
The turret heads are hexagon shaped with six tool sockets, one on
each face of the turret. The tools used, including center drills, drills,
threading dies and taps, reamers, chamfering tools and stops, varied
according to the nature of the work to be done. The work of the
set-up man was to place in the machine the long rod of bar stock
from which the screws were made so that its center would line up
exactly with the tool sockets in the turret, to line up the tools and
stops in the turret, so that the pieces would be cut to correct length,
and to adjust the travel of the turret so that each tool would do
exactly the work required of it.
Hazards or strains.—The worker’s hands and fingers may be
pinched, cut, or scratched while setting up machines and trying them
out. This also is one of the more skilled jobs.
Requirem ents.— Experience in machine operation, accuracy, and
responsibility, and an understanding of blue prints of small parts.
Learning period.—Three years.
Set-up man and foreman .32
Description o f work.— It was the duty of a set-up man and foreman
in one shop visited to set up all the machines in his department and
to oversee all work done, occasionally checking the finished work of
each operator to see that it was being done accurately. The following
were the machines under his supervision: Four milling machines, one
cam miller, three lathes, two drill presses, one piston-ring slotting
machine. He used calipers, micrometers, scales, combination sets
81 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Setters.
11 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where these occupations are classified as follows: Set-up man under
Machinists—Setters; foreman under foreman and superintendents.

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THE TOOL» ROOM.

(composed of center head and level), wrenches, screw drivers, and
other tools.
Hazards or strains.— General machine-shop hazards.
Requirements.— As set-up man, the worker must understand thor
oughly the operation of all the machines under his supervision, and,
as foreman, he must be able to supervise others, check up work
readily, and teach new workers. This is one of the skilled jobs of
the shop, to which few workers under 21 had advanced.
Learning 'period.— Three years.
M achine-shop trucker.33
Description o f worlc.— The trucker in one shop visited was using a
two-wheeled two-handled hand truck to move cylinders from one
machine to another for the different operations. He had to keep
16 machines supplied with cylinders.
Hazards or strains.— Physical strain from lifting cylinders weighing
between 50 and 75 pounds from the pile to the floor and carrying
them from one pile to another, and also from lifting the handles of
the truck when it was loaded with two cylinders. Some danger of
jamming and pinching fingers and hands between heavy cylinders.
Requirements.— Little education or training was necessary. The
worker must learn the location of the machines he is to supply and
the sequences of the operations performed.
Learning period.—About an hour; proficiency gained generally in
a week.
THE TOOL ROOM.
W o r k d o n e .— Tools, jigs, dies, and fixtures for the machines are
made in the tool room. Though more varied and highly skilled, the
work does not differ greatly from that of the machine shop.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Fifteen boys were working as toolmakers
and 14 as apprentice toolmakers. Some of the boys classified as
repairmen34 were working in this department as “ tool-trouble”
men and die repairers, and at other types of repair work.

Bench work, die-repair man .35
Description o f worlc.— In one of the pressed-steel factories visited
dies which had been broken in the machine shop in such a way that
they could not be repaired there were sent to a die-repair man.
With each die were instructions for repairing it and sometimes a
blue print of it. To put these dies in perfect condition necessitated
all-round machine work as well as fitting and assembling on the bench.
Hazards or strains.— General machine-shop hazards.
33 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—
Truckers.
34 See Table 7, under Machinists, for numbers employed.
® For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Repair.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Requirements.— A common-school education with ■preferably a
high-school or trade-school course, ability to read comparatively
difficult shop blue prints, and experience in operating all the com
mon machine-shop machines.
Learning period.— Two to four years.
THE SHEET-METAL DEPARTMENT.
W o r k d o n e .— In automobile-body factories the sheet-metal depart
ment, where metal parts are cut and formed to fit over the wooden
body, is an important one. In other factories also, which use sheet
metal in manufacturing, the metal parts must be cut, formed, and
punched.
S h e e t m e t a l d e p a r t m e n t h a z a r d s .— The machines used are
dangerous, particularly the small punch presses.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Twenty-three boys were employed as sheetmetal workers and a few as hammerman’s helpers, rotary-sheer
operators, punch-press operators, or laborers and helpers. (For
discussion of punch-press operators, see page 82.)

Sheet-m etal marker.38
Description o f work.— The sheet-metal marker in an automobilebody factory marked out on sheet iron the shapes used in making
up the metal parts of the automobile bodies. He laid the sheet
iron on a table made especially for this work, placed a template or
pattern on top of the sheet iron, and marked all around it with a steel
marker, thus transferring the outline of the template to the sheet
iron. He had a number of differently shaped templates and tried
to fit them on the metal in such a way as to waste as little of it as
possible.
Hazards or strains.— Little hazard in this occupation.
Requirements.— Little skill necessary.
Learning period.— Proficiency can be acquired in about one day.
Rotary-shear operator.37
Description o f work.— The work of the rotary-shear operator in
the same factory was to guide a sheet of metal through the rotary
shears so that a piece would be cut out according to the design
marked on the metal by the marker. The rotary-shear machine
has two revolving disks about 3 inches in diameter, made of very
hard tool steel. They are sharpened on the edges and adjusted to
cut like a pair of shears. A table is provided, the top of which is
in line with the point where the edges of the two wheels meet.
The operator placed on this table the sheet to be cut and guided it
36 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified tinder Sheet-metal workers.
earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machine operators—Other.

37 F o r

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THE SHEET-METAL DEPARTMENT.

through the shears so that the disks would cut along the line drawn
on the sheet.
Hazards or strains.— The operator wore gloves to protect his
hands in handling the sheet metal. He had to watch the work
closely to guide it between the shears exactly on the marked line.
Requirements.— Eighth-grade graduates were preferred. Boys
under 18 were not employed. Experience as a helper was required.
Learning period.—About a year is necessary to become proficient.
Hammerman’s helper.38
Description o f work.— In forming the cowl, the rear end, and some
other parts of the automobile body, the sheet iron can not merely
be bent to shape but must be formed; that is, parts of it must be
stretched to give the correct shape; this must be done very smoothly
so that there will be no wrinkles or seams. The work is done in the
power bumping hammer. Two helpers stand one on each side of
the hammerman and hold up the sheet iron so that he may devote
his attention to guiding it under the hammers.
Hazards or strains.— Physical strain of holding up the heavy metal.
The workers wear gloves while handling the sheet iron. Noise from
the bumping hammers is loud and incessant.
Requirements.— The work, while not skilled, requires such strength
that boys under 18 and women are not employed.
Learning period.—A few minutes; proficiency gained in a week.
Sheet-m etal flanger.39
Description o f work.— The work of one of the sheet-metal dangers
in an automobile-body factory was to turn down an edge or flange
three-fourths of an inch wide on a piece of No. 24-gauge sheet iron
to be used for the automobile rear-wheel housing. The flanger laid
the panel of sheet metal to be flanged upon a thick cast-iron form,
the top and edges of which conformed to the shape of the fin
ished work. Stops were provided that allowed the edge of the
sheet-metal panel to extend the necessary distance beyond the form.
To hold the panel firmly in place the flanger brought down on top
of it another form made in the same shape, hinged to the first, and
clamped them together. He then hammered down the edge with a
wooden hammer until it was smooth.
Hazards or strains.— The worker observed wore gloves to protect his
hands from cuts and stratches.
Requirements.— Eighth-grade graduates were preferred. Boys
under 17 were not employed.
Learning period.—Two days; a week to become proficient.
For earnings, see Cable 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—Other.
For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Sheet-metal workers.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Door pander .40
Description o f worTc.— A door paneler in an automobile-body factory
visited was attaching hinges to the frame of an automobile door and
putting the sheet-iron covering over the outside of the door. He
placed the wooden doorframe (already fitted with the latch) on a
form which rested on a bench and was just large enough to accom
modate it. Then he pulled down a lever which lowered upon the
doorframe a clamping device with four stops to hold the frame
firmly in place in the form and put the two hinges in slots provided
for them, so as to make their flanges flush with the frame. He next
drilled the bolt holes with an air drill. He started the drill by turning
a lever which let in compressed air and pressed its point on the spot
where the hole was to be drilled. Next he put in the eight stove bolts,
four for each hinge. On each bolt he put one plain washer against
the wooden frame, one lock washer and a nut, then screwed in the
bolt and tightened it with a spiral screw driver. After putang the
hinges on the frame, he released the clamp that held it and took it
out of the form. Then he placed on the form a panel of sheet iron
already shaped to fit the frame, laid the frame on it, and b y means
of the clamping device before used pressed the frame down into the
panel. With small nails he then nailed the flange of the panel to the
edge of the doorframe, holes being provided in the flange for this
purpose. The operation required about five minutes.
Hazards or strains.— Possibility of minor bruises and cuts. Physical
strain from standing all day; nervous strain of rapid production.
Requirements.— Eighth-grade
graduates are preferred. Boys
under 18 are not employed.
Learning period .— Six weeks; two months to become proficient.
Body finisher.
Description o f worlc.— The work of a metal-body finisher in one of
the establishments visited was to smooth the metal part of the
automobile body so that no rough places or bumps would show after
it was painted. The body came to this department with all hollows
and dents that could not be straightened out filled with Babbitt
metal. The finisher went over the whole surface smoothing it down
with files of different grades, some coarse and some fine. If con
siderable filing had to be done he used first a coarse, fast-cutting file
until the projection was nearly removed, then a finer file for finishing.
In filing a surface of such breadth that the ordinary file handle would
interfere with the strokes of the file, he used a special handle called
a “ surface file holder. * ’
Hazards or strains .— Little hazard involved.
40 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Sheet-metal workers.

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P L A T E X V I.—L IG H T PU N CH P R ES S.

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P L A T E X V II.—T R IM S H O P .

P U T T IN G U P H O L S T E R Y ON B O D IES.

PAINT SHOP— TRIM M ING AND TOP-MAKING DEPARTMENT.

Requirements.— Little special knowledge required. One employer
preferred eighth-grade graduates; another required literacy only.
Boys of 16 or 18 were sometimes employed, but the job required such
strength and skill that not many minors were qualified.
Learning 'period.— One to three weeks; six weeks to three months
to become proficient.
Sheet-m etal bench jobber .41
Description o f work.—A sheet-metal bench jobber does the general
sheet-metal work for the factory and often belongs to the factory
maintenance department. He must be an all-round sheet-metal
worker and tinsmith, since his work is to make up from blue prints,
drawings^ or sketches the ventilating flues, eave troughs, and sheetmetal parts required about the factory. He lays out the work,
cuts it, and puts it together, soldering the joints when necessary.
In addition to doing bench work, he also may help to install the work.
Hazards or strains.— The sheet-metal jobber may receive slight
cuts, scratches, or bruises from the sheet iron, and bums from hot
solder. He is in danger of falling while installing work.
Requirements.—Ability to read blue prints and to do sheet-metal
drafting, including triangulation.
Learning period.—A five years’ apprenticeship was required in
one factory visited.
THE PAINT SHOP.

Many metal products must be cleaned, painted, or varnished before
shipment, and although this is not strictly metal work, in the auto
mobile factories, the priming, rubbing, sanding, varnishing, enamel
ing, and painting of the body form an important part of the factory
process. Some of the work is done by dipping, some by spraying,
some by hand painting. The hazards are those usually incident
to using paint and varnish. In the factories visited 17 minors were
employed as painters and 10 as dippers, sprayers, rubbers, or
sanders.
THE TRIMMING AND THE TOP-MAKING DEPARTMENT.

In automobile and automobile-body factories producing a finished
body the upholstered cushions, seats, and backs are made and put
in place on the body in the trim shop. In such factories there is
also a top-making department where tops are built over the bows
and sockets. This work, while not belonging strictly to metal
manufacturing, is a necessary part of automobile production.
Forty-four girls and 60 boys were working as trimmers in the estab
lishments included in the survey; 18 of the boys were working as
bow coverers or top builders.
41 ITor earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Sheet-metal workers.

45198°—23----- 7

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
THE INSPECTION DEPARTMENT.

W o r k d o n e .— In the inspection department parts are inspected
to see that they are ready for use. In some factories, however, this
work is done in each department as one of the last processes in the
production of each part. Sometimes long forgings or tools are
straightened in this department if inspection shows them not to be
quite true.
I n s p e c t i o n - d e p a r t m e n t h a z a r d s .— Relatively small, except for
minor cuts and bruises in handling the material.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— While only 14 minors—all boys—were work
ing as final inspectors, 213 boys and 83 girls were doing other kinds
of inspection work.

Inspector.42
Description o f work.—A simple kind of inspection work is illus
trated by the work of a girl in one of the pressed-steel plants, whose,
duty it was to look over small sheet-metal parts and count them after
they came from the shop and before they went to the stock room.
The inspector sat at a bench with high board sides where the parts
to be inspected were dumped. She passed the parts rapidly through
her hands, counting the perfect ones and dropping them in a box,
and throwing the culls on a pile of scrap.
Hazards or strains.— Only general factory hazards are involved.
The work requires close attention and is monotonous. Some eyestrain.
Requirements.— The worker had to be able to count and to recognize
flaws, cracks, or misshapen parts.
Learning period.^—*Generally one to two weeks; a month or six
weeks to become proficient at simple kinds of inspection.
Body inspector.42
Description o f work.— The body inspector in one establishment
inspected thoroughly the automobile bodies which were bought
outside. He first measured up the body with special gauges to see
that all important points were located accurately. He then examined
the woodwork inside to see that good material had been used and
that all the screws were well put in. The outside was then inspected
for dents or mars that could not be covered b y paint. If below
the required standard, the body was rejected and sent back. If it
could be repaired in the factory, the inspector sent it to the bodyrepair department with a tag describing the defects.
Hazards or strains.— Only general factory hazards are involved.
Requirements.—This worker should be familiar with the specifi
cations for the bodies he handles and have a knowledge of the wood
and metal used in their construction.
Learning period.— Two weeks; six weeks to become proficient.
43 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Inspectors—Other.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

THE ASSEMBLY DEPARTMENT.
W o r k d o n e . — After parts are finished they must be assembled.
In factories producing only simple parts no assembly is necessary,
but in those producing a finished machine, automobile, or engine,
assembly is likely to be one of the most important parts of the work.
In one of the automobile factories visited practically, all the parts
of the car with the exception of the engine were purchased outside,
and the factory was little more than a large assembly plant.
First is the work of subassembly, which consists of putting together
small parts such as front axles, rear axles, transmissions, steering
gear, governors, etc. The subassemblies are then put together to make
the finished machine. In automobile factories the frame is put on a
slowly moving conveyor and as the partly finished car moves past
him each worker does one particular piece of work on it. Several
departments may be organized for various kinds of assembly w o r k such as subassembly, engine erecting, outfit assembly, and final
assembly.
A s s e m b l y - d e p a r t m e n t h a z a r d s o r s t r a i n s . —Minor cuts and
bruises.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— In all, 231 minors (196 boys and 35 girls)
were working as assemblers; of these, 64 were motor, final, or outfit
assemblers; 32 were body assemblers, and 135 were doing other kinds
of assembly work.
A s s e m b l y - d e p a r t m e n t r e q u i r e m e n t s .—Most of the employers
interviewed preferred eighth-grade graduates; one specified seventh
or eighth grade, -and three did not require so much education.
Though a few employed assemblers 16 years of age, most wanted
boys or girls of 18 years or over. Experience as trucker, stock boy,
or messenger is valuable.

Brake-band assem bler.44
Description o f work .—The work of a boy who was assembling auto
mobile brake bands is illustrative of one of the simpler types of
assembly. The brake band is a piece of band iron, about
inches
wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, in the shape of a circle about
14 inches inches in diameter. It is provided with small rivet holes,
countersunk on the inside of the band. The brake-band lining fits
around the outside of this brake band. The rivet holes are punched
through the lining and copper rivets put in by a machine so con
structed that a small plunger slipping down through the hole in the
band cuts a corresponding hole in the lining; then thnrivet comes up
in place and is pressed through both holes. The entire operation
took place as the operator held the band and lining together under
the plunger of the machine and first pressed down on the foot lever and
« For earnings, see Table 7, p. 15, where this occupationis classifiedunder Assemblers—Other.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANTJFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

then released it. About 12 rivets were put in each band. After the
operator had put the rivets in several brake bands, he took them to
the power-driven riveting machine, placed each rivet in turn on the
center of the table of the machine, and pressed down on a foot lever.
A small plunger, actuated by a cam, beat on the head of the rivet
with blows in rapid succession, thus battering it down smooth. The
time necessary for both operations on one brake band was about one
minute.
Hazards or strains.— Hazard in this occupation is slight.
Requirements.— While the job is a simple one workers are preferred
who have had experience as assemblers. (See also Assembly-depart
ment requirements.)
Learning 'period.—A month to become proficient.
Final assem bler.45
Description o f worh.— One type of final assembly is illustrated by
the work of an assembler in an automobile factory who was putting
the wiring harnesses (wires for the electrical connections) in place on
the chassis of the car and making the proper connections. The wires
came to him already assembled, with terminal clips and with the
flexible cable covering where necessary, so that all that was left for
him to do was to put them in place, secure them to the frame with
steel clips, and connect the terminal clips in their proper places.
Hazards or strains.— Little hazard involved.
Requirements.—See Assembly-department requirements.
Learning period.— A week to a month to become proficient.
Gasoline-engine erector.45
Description o f worlc.— In one factory which produced gasoline
engines for general utility work the assembly (or erection) of gasoline
engines was done by two erectors working together. They first
slipped the shafts of the subassemblies (the valve-lifting lever assem
bly, the timing-lever assembly, and the brake-latch assembly) into
reamed holes in the engine base and secured them in place by set
screws through the bosses which held them. They next attached the
gas pipe with two cap screws and screwed the brass tube with its
fitting into the base. A pipe plug was screwed into the opening for
filling the base with gasoline. The exhaust to the muffler nipple was
screwed into place. The connecting rod was bolted to the crank
shaft, the carburetor put on, the priming apparatus screwed in place
on the side of the cylinder, and the lubricator pipe, which oils the
piston, screwed into the side of the cylinder. The cylinder was lifted
45 For earnings, see Table 7, p . 15, where this occupation is classified under Assemblers—Motor, final, and
outfit.

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P UBLISH ED BY COURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

PL-ATE X V III.— T R IM SH O P , C U S H IO N -M A K IN G D E P A R T M E N T .

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B EN C H W O R K .

P UB LISH ED BY CO UR TES Y OF FORD MOTOR CO., D E TR O IT, MICH.

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P L A T E X IX .— PISTO N AND C O N N E C T IN G -R O D A S S E M B LY .

B EN C H W ORK.

THE ASSEMBLY DEPARTMENT.

slightly while a cylinder flange gasket was inserted between the
flanges of the cylinder and the base. The cylinder was then securely
fastened to the base with four large cap screws. Next the breather
was put on, two grease cups and the valves and valve cages screwed
into place, and the hand-hole cover put on. After everything was
assembled, the engine was tested for electrical contacts by means of
wires from a storage battery. This completed the operation, which ^
required about I f hours.
Hazards or strains.— Minor accidents, such as bruises and scratches.
Requirements.— The workers had to know how to put the parts
together and understand something of the working of the engine.
Boys of 20 or over were preferred. (See also Assembly-department
requirements.)
Learning 'period.— Several weeks; proficiency gained in three
months.
Outfit assem bler.47
Description o f worlc.— The outfit assembler in the same factory was

mounting a 3-horsepower stationary gasoline engine and a double
acting horizontal water force pump on a common base. He put the
pump on the base in the proper position and marked the location of
four pump bolt holes. He then took the pump off the base, put the
base on a small truck, and hauled it to the drill press, where he drilled
the bolt holes. Next he took the base back to his bench, set the
pump in place again, and put in two of the bolts. Then he set the
engine on the base in the proper location, lining it up in such a way
that the connecting rod of the engine was in exact line with the
piston rod of the pump and that the wrist pin on the back gears of
the engine would be farthest from the pump when the piston rod of
the pump was out to the end of the travel of the piston. He marke*d
the location of the engine bolts in the base and also in the short
sub-base which supported one side of the engine, and drilled the holes
in both. After taking the base and sub-base back to the bench again,
he bolted the pump and engine securely to them and babbitted the
connecting-rod bearing on the wrist pin of the engine back gear.
The time of the complete operation was 3^ hours.
Hazards or strains.— Bruises, scratches, and small cuts. Some
hazard is involved in operating the drill press.
Requirements.— See Assembly-department requirements.
Learning period.— One week. One employer promoted factory
stockmen or truckers to this job.
47

For earnings, see Table 7, p. 15, where this occupation is classified under Assemblers—Motor, final,

and outfit.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
THE TESTING, ADJUSTMENT, AND FINAL-REPAIR DEPARTMENT.

W o r k d o n e .— In factories producing finished machines, each one
is tested and inspected before shipment to see that all parts are in
working order and that the necessary final adjustments and repairs
have been made. In automobile factories the engine is tested before
it is mounted on the frame and the car is tested after it is completely
assembled.
M i n o r s e m p l o y e d .— Thirty-eight minors were reported as testers,
14 as adjusters, and 97 as repair men. Some of the last may not
have been doing final repair work; they may have been employed in
other departments.

Rear-axle final adjuster.48
Description o f worlc.— The work of the rear-axle final adjusters in
one of the automobile factories visited was to adjust the rear axle
drive pinion to the differential drive gear so that they would run as
quietly and smoothly as possible under conditions varying from no
load to full load. Two operators worked together, one to take care
of the electric switchboard, the other to adjust the position of the
drive pinion. In place of the rear wheels, the axle to be tested was
provided with two pulleys, equal in diameter to the diameter of the
tires used. Belts to run on these pulleys were suspended from
pulleys on a shaft near the ceiling which was connected with an
electric generator. The axle was driven by an electric motor through
a propeller shaft and the transmission regularly used on that type
of car, thus providing the same condition of drive as found on the
finished automobile. The adjusters drew the rear axle over to the
test rack on a small truck, slipped the drive belts on the axle pulleys,
and swung the axle, supported by the belts, to the testing rack.
They attached the propeller shaft to the transmission and clamped
the axle securely in the rack. The switchboard man shifted the
transmission gears into low speed b y a lever and started the motor,
running it slowly at first but gradually speeding it up. The man at
the axle adjusted the gears at the place of smoothest running by tight
ening or loosening an adjusting collar with a wrench. The other
worker then shifted the transmission to high speed and put a load
on the ceiling generator by slowly turning on lamps which caused
resistance in the circuit. As the speed and load increased, the second
operator adjusted the drive pinion to the position of smoothest
running for all conditions. The time of the complete operation was
about 10 minutes.
Hazards or strains.— Slight hazard involved.
48 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Adjusters.

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THE TESTING, ADJUSTMENT, AND FINAL-REPAIR DEPARTMENT.

Requirements.—-Preference is given to workers who have had ex
perience in other kinds of assembly work. Eighth-grade graduates
are preferred. Boys under 18 are too immature for the work.
Learning period .— One month to become proficient.
Brake and cable adjuster.49
Description o f work.— The brake and cable adjuster in the same
factory adjusted the brakes and the brake cables so as to get the
proper pressure of the brake-band lining on the brake drum. On
each end of the rear axle there are two shafts, one running through
the inside of the other, which actuate the service and emergency
brakes. Each shaft is controlled by a lever about 4 inches long.
Four brake cables run from these levers to the brake-rack shaft levers,
which are fastened to shafts on the center cross member of the frame,
and from which one cable runs to the foot service-brake pedal and
one to the emergency hand lever. It was the duty of the adjuster
to set the adjustment on the brakes and also to adjust the length of
the cables (which have adjustment blocks on one end) so that at the
right time and at the proper pressure the brakes would respond to
control through the foot service brake and the emergency hand lever.
Hazards or strains.—Little hazard involved. Since this work was
done after the body had been put on the car it was necessary for the
worker to get under the car to make the adjustments.
Requirements.— Similar to those for rear-axle adjusters.
Learning period.— One month to become proficient.
Tester .50
Description o f work.—A tester in one plant was testing a stationary
3-horsepower gasoline engine and adjusting it to operate properly.
The engines were brought from the erecting room into the testing
room on a truck, lifted by means of a hoist to the test stand and
bolted down. They were of the hopper cooling type, in which an
open hopper is integral with the cylinder casting which holds the
water for cooling the cylinder. The tester first screwed a spark plug
in place and connected it with an electric current by attaching the
two wires provided for the purpose. He revolved the shaft of the
engine several times, watching closely and adjusting until good elec
trical contacts were made. He then oiled the engine thoroughly
and cranked it for starting. At first the engine coughed and snorted
when cranked but did not go of itself. The tester adjusted the car
buretor and cranked again; the engine ran, but not smoothly. He
again adjusted the carburetor and made adjustments in the gov
ernor regulator until the engine ran very smoothly. The water hop
per was then filled with water and the engine allowed to run for
49 For eaminfb, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Adjusters.
60 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Testers.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

several hours. The tester examined it occasionally to see that it did
not heat excessively.
Hazards or strains.— Testers were liable to injury to wrists when
cranking the engine. They also breathed fumes all day from the
engine exhaust pipes. The test room was provided with an exhaust
system made up of pipes running under the floor from all the test
stands to a large motor-driven suction fan which drew the exhaust
gas from the engines and forced it up through a large smokestack,
but while this system was good, many of the engines were not con
nected with it and were exhausting into the room. It required
several minutes to become accustomed to the fumes so that one
could remain without feeling stifled in this room where about 200
engines, ranging from 3 to 12 horsepower, were being tested.
Requirements.—Most employers considered this a skilled job and
preferred eighth-grade graduates. A thorough knowledge of the
principles and methods of operating gasoline engines was necessary,
as well as some knowledge of electricity.
Learning period .— The employer in this factory, as well as those
in the automobile factories visited, estimated that it might take from
six months to a year for a tester to attain proficiency.
M otor-block tester.51
Description o f worTc.— The motor-block tester observed in an auto
mobile factory ran the engine before it was mounted on the chassis,
in order to wear its bearings down smooth and test it for defects that
might appear under conditions of load. The motor was brought in
on a special truck from the motor-assembling department and slid
from the truck directly to the test frame. The worker bolted the
motor securely in place, connected the drive coupling between the
engine and the electric generator, attached the water-inlet and outlet
hoses, which supplied water to the engine for cooling, and bolted on
the intake manifold connected with the gas supply. The engine was
first rim by the electric motor, the tester throwing a switch on the
switchboard to start it. He regulated the speed of the electric motor
by turning the pointer of a field rheostat on the switchboard, starting
the engine slowly and gradually increasing the speed, in order that
bearings or moving parts which fitted too tightly might not heat up
excessively. After about 45 minutes he turned on the gas and started
the engine, throwing out the electric motor switch and throwing in
another, which caused the engine to drive the motor as a generator.
More load was put on the generator from time to time until the engine
was pulling full load. The tester watched the engine closely for
excessive heating of the bearings or cylinders, noisy drive gears,
61 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Testers.

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THE TESTING, ADJUSTM ENT, AND FINAL-REPAIR DEPARTMENT.

leaky crank case or leaky inlet or outlet castings, undue vibration
caused by unbalanced flywheel, or other evidence of defects.
Hazards or strains.—The testing room was filled with gas from the
engine exhaust pipes and was very noisy on account of the incessant
explosions.
Requirements.— This worker should have a common-school educa
tion and must know the construction and principles of operation of
an automobile motor.
Learning 'period.— About three months; four months to become
proficient.
Final-test driver.52
D escription o f worlc.—The work of the final-test driver in one of
the automobile factories visited was to drive the car around the city
for the purpose of finding any defect in it. If he found no defects,
he put a card on the car marked “ O. K .” If there were any faults,
he specified them on a card and sent the car back to the final-repair
department. The following are some of the defects which the final
tester might discover: Noisy differential gears; noisy transmission
gears; knock in the engine; heating up of the engine; carburetor
out of adjustment; brakes not properly adjusted.
Hazards or strain.—The hazard is that incident to driving an
untried car in the city streets.
Requirements.— Most employers considered this a skilled job and
preferred eighth-grade graduates. Knowledge of the construction
and operation of the car is necessary, together with ability to detect
the different sounds and actions of the running car and recognize
their meaning.
Learning period.— Three months; a year to become proficient.
Rear-axle repair man .53
Description o f worlc.— The rear-axle repair man in an automobile
factory had the work of repairing axles just assembled or being
assembled in which defects were discovered. For example, the
assembler might find the brake-band pin too short; the axle inspector,
when the assembled axle reached him, might discover a lock washer
or some other part missing; or the final tester might find gears that
were unusually noisy. In all such cases the axle would be sent to the
repair department. The repair man had to be so familiar with the
construction of the axle that he could tear down any part and
rebuild it.
Hazards or strains.— Only general factory hazards are involved.
w For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Testers.
earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Repair.

m For

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Requirements.— One employer required merely a sixth-grade edu
cation; others preferred eighth grade. Only boys 18 or over were
employed. Any shop training or experience was considered valuable.
Learning period —Six months; 10 months to become proficient.
Automobile-motor repair man .54
Description o f work.— If in the final-testing department any defect
is found in a motor which can not easily be remedied there, the motor
is sent to the motor-repair department to be put in order. The
repair man must be able to tear down and reassemble the whole or
any part of the motor and to repair or replace any defective part.
If a part is beyond repair, it is taken out and a new one put in its
place. The worker may find it necessary to repair parts such as the
following: Scored crank shaft and connecting-rod bearings; stripped
cam gears and pump gears; scored piston and cylinder; noisy drive
gears; cracked crank case; sprung cam shaft; unbalanced flywheel;
leaky water outlet and inlet castings.
Hazards or strains.—Minor injuries such as bruises, scratches, or
cuts on the hands.
Requirements.— Some knowledge of mechanical work and of the
handling and use of tools. Thorough knowledge of the assembly of
the automobile motor.
Learning period.— Six months; a year to become proficient.
Final general car repairer.54
Description o f work.— As the car moves down the final-assembly
line some processes through oversight in rapid working may be left
undone, some parts through carelessness may not be put together
correctly, or there may be a flaw in some part that was not noticed
by the man who attached it. At the end of the line the car is given
a thorough inspection, and if it does not pass this inspection a red
tag stating the trouble is attached to it and it is sent to the final-repair
department. It is the final-repair man’s work to find the cause of
the trouble, make the necessary repairs, and turn in the card with
his signature. The following are some of the troubles found: Fender
bolts loose or lacking; body bolts out because holes in body and
frame do not line up; defective wiring such as wrong or loose con
nections, etc.; hood not fitting properly; gasoline tank leaking;
ventilating fan striking.
Hazards or strains.— Risk of pounding, scratching, and cutting
hands.
Requirements.— Some knowledge of the construction of the car.
Learning period.— Three to 6 months; 6 to 10 months to become
proficient.
m

For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Machinists—Repair.

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

The receiving department, where material for use in the factory is
received and checked in; the stock room, where material is stored
ready for use; the tool crib, where tools are kept to be given out to
the workmen, and the shipping department, while not strictly pro
duction departments, are necessary parts of the factory organization.
About one-tenth of all the minors (270 boys and 18 girls) were work
ing in the stock rooms and tool cribs. In two factories the stock
room was considered especially dangerous because of the many
accidents occurring from falling stock. The safety engineer in one
establishment said that such accidents should be obviated b y careful
piling of stock and special care in handling.
Maintenance departments were sometimes organized to attend to
the proper upkeep of the factory. Carpenters, electricians, mill
wrights, oilers, tinners, pipe fitters, and other workers were sent from
this department to any part of the factory when they were needed.
These occupations were so highly skilled that few minors were
employed.
Truckers, drivers, and messengers might be found in any depart
ment. In the factories surveyed, 202 minors were truckers and
drivers and 14 were messengers.
Stock-room man .66
Description o f work.— In one establishment when an order for
parts came into the stock room, the stock-room foreman made out a
fist called a “ pick-up sheet,” giving the symbols of each part required.
He gave this sheet to a stock-room man, whose duty it was to fill
the order as completely as possible, leaving the missing parts un
checked on the sheet. The foreman recorded these parts on a
“ shortage card” which he sent to the stock chaser. The stock
man also put new stock into the bins.
Hazards or strains.— Some danger of falling while climbing from
one bin to another.
Requirements.— This worker must be able to memorize symbols of
parts, and must use care in putting stock into the bins and taking
it from them.
Learning period.—About one day; one month to one year to be
come proficient.
Stock chaser.57
Description o f work.— The stock chaser in one establishment visited
had to see that raw stock was moved to the machine shop as rapidly

68For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Stock and tool-crib work
ers—Other.
67For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Stock and tool-crib work
ers—Stock chaser.

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100

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

as needed; that work was moved from one machine to another; that
finished work was taken to the stock room and that stock from the
stock room was moved to the erecting department as fast as it was
needed. In other words it was his work to see that everyone had
at hand sufficient stock with which to proceed. If an order came
into the stock room and there was not enough stock in the depart
ment to fill it, all on hand was sent and a “ shortage card,” showing
the parts lacking, was made out for the stock chaser; it then became
his business to see that this stock reached the erecting department
as soon as possible.
Hazards or strains.— The work involves general factory hazards.
Requirements.—The stock chaser should know the location of all
stock, machines, and departments, and should know how the work
is routed through the shop. Most employers preferred applicants
who had at least an eighth-grade education.
Learning 'period.— One day to one month; three months to one
year to become proficient.
Electric trucker.58

. Description o f worlc.— The work of an electric trucker in one estab
lishment was to haul loads of stock from one department to another.
The stock was loaded onto trucks b y truck fillers and unloaded by
laborers. When the trucks were loaded, from one to five were con
nected and attached to the electric truck. In operating this truck
the driver stood on a ledge on the front, changing the speed by use
of a foot lever and steering with a hand tiller. Many different
forms of trucks are used.
«
Hazards or strains.— Some danger of accident from collision while
driving the truck through the factory.
Requirements.— Not much education is necessary. The trucker
must be familiar with the location of the departments served and able
to drive and control the electric truck.
Learning period.—About a day; one week or less to gain profi
ciency.
M essenger .59
Description o f worlc.— The messenger or bell-hop in the bench-work
department of the tool room of one of the automobile factories
surveyed carried notes, small tools, etc., from the tool room to other
departments of the shop and cleaned up the machines in the tool
bench-work department for about two hours on Saturday forenoons.
Hazards or strains.-—Only general factory hazards.

68For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—Truck
ers.
m For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Laborers and helpers—Mes
sengers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

101

Requirements.— Sixth or eighth grade education required. The
worker must know the location of different departments in the
factory.
Learning 'period.— One hour; proficiency gained in one week.

Oiler.60
Description o f worlc.— The work of the oiler in an automobile factory
was to oil the bearings of the countershafts for driving machines
every day and to fill the grease cups on the main-line shafts once
every three weeks. Since the countershafts were located just under
the ceiling, it was necessary for the oiler to use a ladder to reach
them. Each oiler was given a section of the factory, which would
furnish enough work to keep him busy for the day, and each day he
went over this ground. He poured the oil into the bearing boxes
from a long-spouted oil can and put the hard grease in the grease
cups with a wooden paddle.
Hazards or strains.— Danger from falling against or touching the
moving machinery.
Requirements.— Boys of at least 18 were usually preferred. Only
two employers required an eighth-grade education; the others made
no educational requirement.
Learning period.—A few days to one month to become proficient.
60 For earnings, see Table 7, p. 16, where this occupation is classified under Oilers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

APPENDIX II.— FORMS USED IN THE SURVEY.
F orm 1.

Form used to secure information from employment managers concerning
occupations.
[Size: 10J by 8 inches.]

U. S. D E PA R TM E N T OF LABOR
C H IL D R E N ’S B U R E A U
In d..........................................

Estab............. .................. .......

O ccup.................................

1. Requirements for admission to occu p a tion :..................................
(а) S e x : ......................
( б) Age: M .............

W h y ? ..............................

F. . . . . . .

W h y ? ............................

(c) Physical: .........................................................
(d) Mental: ...................................................................
(e) Character:......................................................
( /) Schooling: ( 1) General, N ........................................................
( 2) Vocational, N. .................................................................
(g) Shop training or experience, N ....................................................
( 1) Apprenticeship, N ....................................................................
(2) Factory school, N ............................................................
(3) Experience in other occupation, N ............... ............. ...........
2. Previous training and experience employer considers desirable if obtainable:

3. Method of training for occupation in p la n t :............

4. Length of time takes average worker: (a) To learn jo b ..................
proficient at jo b ..................

5. Apprenticeship system, N. (a) Length..................
(d) Wage:

(b) To become

(b) S ex ..............

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

(e) T ra in in g :...... ...................................

6. Usual line of promotion: ........................................................
(а) Training necessary for promotion............................. ...................
( б) How necessary training can be secured.............................................................
7. Turnover: ......................................

Hazard: N. (a) from disease, N.
(6) Accident, N ............ .......
(c) Safety appliances, N. ..
(Agent.)

(Date.)

(Informant.)

103

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

104

F orm 2.— Questionnaire.
(FACE.)
IN D U S T R Y

U. S. DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR

o c c u p a t io n

C H IL D R E N ’S B U R E A U

FACTO R Y
dept

K indly answer the following questions as soon as possible, and
return this card in the attached envelope to the factory office,
where it w ill be called for by a representative of the United States
Department of Labor.
The information furnished b y you w ill be used only for the pur
pose of showing the kind of work persons under 21 are doing in
your industry, and w ill be regarded as strictly confidential.
1.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Do not
write
in Ibis
space.

N am e?.............................. 2. Address?.......................... 3. S ex ? ............
4. Age?
In what country were you b o m ? ................ What State?................ What town? ....
In what country was your father born?.............................. 7. What was his trade? ....
At what age did you stop going regularly to day school?................ years.
What grade had you finished?.................................
In what town or county did you last go regularly to day school?............... Name of school?—
Did you have any trade training in day school?......... 12. If so, state courses and length of
each:......................................................................................... - ...............- ............. .........................

13. At what age did you go to w o rk ?............ years. 14. How long have you worked in the
................................ industry?
15. What particular kind of work are you now doing? ....................................................................
16. How long have you done this kind of work (including apprenticeship)?..................................
17. How did you learn to do this kind of w ork?............................................................ .............v •
18. How long did it take you to learn? .................................................... ...........................................
19. Have you ever served a regular apprenticeship?...........How long?........... What trade? . . . .
20. Have you ever taken any trade training courses since leaving sch ool?.......... . If so, please
state what kind, how long, and where given: ...........................................................................

(O VE R)

(REVERSE.)

21. Please list below all the positions you have held since first going to work, beginning with the first,
and stating the kind of work done, the length of time employed, and the wages received:

(OVER)

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

A P PE N D IX III.— GENERAL TABLES.

£H
»
C

G e n e r a l T a b l e I .— Proportion o f minor employees, by occupation and industry; employees in metal-manufacturing industries.

CO
00

Employees in metal-manufacturing industries.

Industry.

Occupation.

Minor.

Automobile.

Automobile parts.

Foundry and machine

Other.

Total. Adult.

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

26,192

Apprentices.............................................
Assemblers...........................................
Inspectors.................................
Laborers and helpers......................
Foundry and core room...............
Truckers and drivers........................
Other...............................................
Machine operators.........................
Drills............................................
Grinders............................................
Milling........................................
Lathe...................................
Other.......................................
Skilled workers..........................
Machinists, testers, and repairers...
Other metal3.................................
Painters.............................................
Stock and tool-crib workers...................
Other occupations...................................
Core makers...................................
Trimmers................................
Miscellaneous *..................................

606
2,095
2,088
¿833
475
1,126
3,232
5,882
1,272
1,100
476
885
2,149
5,792
2,385
2,655
752
1,057
3,839
182
574
3,083

23,412 2 2,780
414
1,877
1,778
¿25Ì
370
925
2,956
5,287
1,149
1,005
387
787
1,959
5,499
2,224
2,550
725
769
3,537
151
473
2,913

192
218
310
582
105
201
276
595
123
95
89
98
190
293
161
105
27
288
302
31
101
170

10.6

14,455

11.9 2,945 2,632

313

10.6

31.7
10.4
14 8
12.0
22.1
17.9
8.5
10.1
9.7
8.6
18.7
11.1
8.8
5.1
6.8
4.0
3.6
27.2
7.9
17.0
17.6
5.5

241
1,551
1 £19
L802
73
650
1,079
3,461
847
722
265
455
1,172
3,237
1,531
1,014
692
703
1,941

161
1,415

80
136

169
224

142
209

27
15

16.0
6.7

108
168

81
26

42.9
13.4

7
126

3
85

4
41

32.5

1,521
72
502
947
3,169
785
664
233
420
1,067
3,060
1,414
976
670
513
1,788

281 15.6
830
1
10
148 22.8
255
132 12.2
565
292 8.4 1,057
206
62 7. 3
58
8.0
167
32 12.1
35 7.7
144r
105 9.0
355
177 5.5
709
117 7.6
305
38 3.7
383
22 3.2
21
190 27.0
208
153 7.9
502

746
10
217
519
967
267
152
84
130
334
666
294
351
21
159
477

10.1 1,510 1,364
' 355
265
14.9
174
165
981
8.1
934
8.5
843
701

146

9.7
25 4
5Ì 2
4.8
16.8

691

620

10.3

47
607
521

41
556
450

6
51
71

8.4
13.6

563
1,378

464
1,324

12,919 1,536

99
54

10.6 4,068 3,697
33.2
8.8

17.6
3.9

10
492

8
469

371

38
46
90

9.1 4,724 4,164
189
194

560

9
47
142

9.0

165

10.3

14
21
43
11
32

9.7
156
124
5.9
339
310
6.1 1,223 1,174
3.6
336
317
862 836
8.4

32
29
49
19
26

20.5
8.6
4.0
5.7
3.0

130
283
623
213
396

113
248
599
199
387

17
35
24
14
9

13.1
12.4
3.9
6.6
2.3

837

768

8.2

1
808

1
743

8.0

49
25
2
23

23 6
5.Ò
4.7

184

110
559
154

504
127

55
27

9.8
17.5

405

377

6.9

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

105

ci ,-n ^
^ ere base is less than 100.
* Excluding minors in two factories in which information for adult workers could not be secured,
biolled Other metal: Sheet metal panelers; sheet metal layout; sheet metal, other; molders; blacksmiths; boiler makers; welders; heat treat; fumacemen, heaters, ladlers,
an AP/??£ers; J^ihwnghts; pattern makers; template makers; chemists; draftsmen and designers; engineers; toolmaker; foreman (superintendent); pyrometer reader.
4 Other—Miscellaneous: Filers; polishers and buffers; finishers; riveters; straighteners; oilers; benchworkers; picklers; miscellaneous.

GENERAL TABLES.

Minor.
Minor.
Minor.
Minor.
Total.
Adult.
Num- Per
Num- Per Total. Adult Num- Per Total Adult Num- Per Total Adult Num- Per
ber. cent.
ber. eent.1
ber. cent.1
ber. cent.1
ber. cent.1

106

G e n e r a l T a b l e II.— Occupation, by age; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Total.

16 years,
under 17.

Occupation.

Per cent
N tim distribu
ber.
tion.
Total..........................
Apprentices.........................
Assemblers......................... .
Inspectors......................... .
Laborers and helpers..........
Machine operators...............
Drills.............................
Grinders....................... .
Lathe.... ........................

Milling..........................

Other.............................
Stock and tool-crib workers.
All other...............................

2,840

89
210
288
610

3§
3.1
7.4
10.1
21.5

1 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

5
1

io! 9
20.6
21.8
4. 3

18 years,
under 19.

19 years,
un aer 20..

20 years,
under 21.

14 years, 15 years,
Not re
under
under
ported.1
Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent
15.1
16.1
Num distribu
distribu ber. distribu
ber. distribu
ber.
ber. distribu
ber.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.

100.0

aio
586
619
123

17 years,
under 18.

2
1

114

100.0

198

100.0

663

100.0

903

100. Q

935

100.0

22
9
10
23
15
1
1
2
1
10
15
20

19.3
7.9
8.8
20.2
13.2
.9
.9
1.8
.9
8.8
13.2
17.5

36
15
21
41
27
6
1
4
10
6
34
24

18.2
7.6
10.6
20.7
13.6
3.0
.5
2.0
5.1
3.0
17.2
12.1

46
41
81
162
122
20
18
22
20
42
72
139

6.9
6.2
12.2
24.4
18.4
3.0
2.7
3.3
3.0
6.3
10.9
21.0

37
73
95
191
214
48
32
30
32
72
87
206

4.1
8.1
10.5
21.2
23.7
5.3
3.5
3.3
3.5
8.0'
9.6
22.8

50
92
103
161
237
48
46
40
26
77
76
216

5.3
9.8
11.0
17.2
25.3
5.1
4.9
4.3
2.8
8.2
8.1
23.1

6
.2
1

1
1

1
3
4

1
1

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES,

Age.

G e n e r a l T a b l e I I I . — Nativity and country o f birth o f father, by nativity o f child; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Nativity and country of birth of father.

Total.
Number.

Native.

Per cent
distribution.

* 292

100.0

3
289
58
52
43
34
31
19
13
11
5
23

1.0
99
19.9
17.8
14.7
11.6
10.6
6.5
4.5
3.8
1.7
7.9

1 Questionnaire group.

172
172
40
45
15
25
15
12
3
11
3
3

Per cent
distribution. Number.
100.0
100.0
23. 3
26. 2
8. 7
14.5
8.7
7. 0
1.7
6. 4
1.7
1.7

sInformation as to country of birth of father not secured for 621 -minors-

Per cent
distribution.

120

100.0

3
117
18
7
28
9
16
7
10

2. 5
97.5
15.0
5.8
23.3
7.5
13.3
5.8
8.3

2
20

1.7
16.7

GENERAL TABLES.

Total............... .
Native.......................
Foreign bom .............
Canada................
Germany.............
United Kingdom.
Poland................
Austria-Hungary.
Russia.................
Italy....................
Scandinavia.......
France.................
All other.............

Number.

Foreign bom.

107

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

108

G e n e r a l T a b l e I V .— Num ber o f hours worked per week, by age and sex; m inors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Total.

Less than 36 hours.........................
36 hours, less than 39.....................
39 hours ,lessthan42.....................
42 hours,1ess than 45.......... - ........
45 hours,l ess than 48.....................
48 hours,1ess than 51.....................
51 hours,less than 54.....................
54 hours..........................................
Over 54 hours, less than 57...........
57 hours, 1ess than 60.....................
60 hours and over..........................
Not on pay roll and not reported.

Less than 36 hours.........................
36 hours, less than 39.....................
39 hours ,1ess than 42.....................
42 hours ,1ess than 45.....................
45 hours,1ess than 48.....................
48 hours,less than 51.....................
51 hours,l ess than 54.............. —
54 hours..........................................
Over 54 hours, less than 57............
57 hours, less than 60.....................
60 hours and over..........................
Not on pay roll and not reported.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2,840

100.0

478
111
174
251
340
380
127
22

113
59
157
2 628
2,536
423
98
146
204
301
342
111
17
102
58
155
2 579

16.8
3.9

Not re
14 years, 15 years,
ported.1
under
under
cent Num Per cent
16.1 Num Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent dum Per
15.1
distri
distri
distri
distri
distri
ber. bution.1 ber. bution.1 ber. bution.1 ber. bution.1 ber. bution.1
5
2

6.1
8.8

20
7
1
2
3

12.0
13.4
4.5

114

100.0

198

100.0

663

100.0

903

100.0

935

100.0

156
40
53
87
106
113
34
9
37
23
53
192

17.3
4.4
5.9
9.6
11.7
12.5
3.8

163
39
65
78
96
127
37

4.1
2.5
5.9
21.3

30
18
63
211

17.4
4.2
7.0
8.3
10.3
13.6
4.0
.9
3.2
1.9
6.7
22.6

809

100.0

860

100.0

132
32
48
69
95
102
31
8
35
22
53
182

16.3
4.0
5.9
8.5
11.7
12.6
3.8

153
36
59
65
87
115
34

4.3
2.7

30
18
63
194

17.8
4.2
6.9
7.6
10.1
13.4
4.0
.7
3.5

7.0
.9
4.4
26.3

27
3
15
15
31
38
15
2
6
6
8
32

13.6
1.5
7.6
7.6
15.7
19.2
7.6
1.0
3.0
3.0
4.0
16.2

102
26
36
64
95
82
32
3
32
11
28
152

15.4
3.9
5.4
9.7
14.3
12.4
4.8
.5
4.8
1.7
4.2
22.9
m o

21
3
4
7
10
16
9

18.4
2.6
3.5
6.1
8.8
14.0
7.9

8
1
5
30

100.0

108

100.0

171

100.0

562

16.7
3.9
5.8

20
3
4
6
10
15
7

„ 18.5
2.8
3.7
5.6
9.3
13.9
6.5

8
1
4
30

7.4
.9
3.7
27.8

25
3
9
12
27
36
11
1
6
6
7
28

14.6
1.8
5.3
7.0
15.8
21.1
6.4
.6
3.5
3.5
4.1
16.4

84
24
25
52
81
70
28
2
23
11
28
134

4.0

2.1

5.5
22.1

8.0

1
3

11.9
13.5
4.4
.7
4.0
2.3

6.1

22.8

14.9
4.3
4.4
9.3
14.4
12.5
5.0
.4
4 .1
2.0
5. 0
23.8

1.0

6.6

22.5

2.1

7.3
22.6

INDUSTRIES.

Boys.

Num
ber.

Per cent
distri
bution.

m e t a l ,-MANUFACTURING

Total.

20 years, under
21.

16 years, under 17 years, under 18 years, under 19 yea
20.
19.
18.

Number of hours worked per week, and sex.

m in o r s i n

Age.

Not on pay roll and not reported..................

304

100.0

55
13
28
47
39
38
16
5
11
1
2
*49

18.1
4.3
9.2
15.5
12:8
12.5
5.3
1.6
3.6
.3
.7
16.1

101

100.0

2
6
3
4
2
4
1

18
2
11
12
14
12
4
1
9

17.8
2.0
10.9
11. 9
13.9
11.9
4.0
1.0
8.9

10
3
6
13
9
12
3
2

1
4

24
8
5
18
11
11
3
1
2
1

17.8

1
1
2

1 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.
* Includes 619 minors (572 boys and 47 girls) whose names did not appear on pay roll and 9 minors (7 boys and 2 girls) for whom number of hours per week was not reported.

GENERAL TABLES.

109

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

110

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

G e n e r a l T a b l e V . — Number o f hours worked per week, by method o f paym ent; minors

in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Method of payment.
Number of hours worked per week.

Total.
Time.

Piece.

Not reported.

cent Num Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent
Num Per
ber. distribu
ber. distribu
ber. distribu
ber. distribu
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
Total...........................................

913

100.0

489

100.0

304

100.0

120

Less than 36 hours...............................
36 hours, less than 39...........................
39 hours, less than 42....... , ..................
42 hours,less than 45....... 1..................
45 hours, 1ess than 48...........................
48 hours,1ess than 51...........................
51 hours, less than 54...........................
54 hours................................................
Over 54 horns, less than 57.................
57 hours, less than 60...........................
60 hours and over............................. ..
Not reported........................................

127
35
64
89
130
140
52
10
38
32
76
120

13.9
3.8
7.0
9.7
14.2
15.3
5.7
1.1
4.2
3.5
8.3
13.1

80
22
39
53
92
103
28
5
27
16
24

16.4
4.5
8.0
10.8
18.8
21.1
5.7
1.0
5.5
3.3
4.9

47
13
25
36
38
37
24
5
11
15
52
1

15.5
4.3
8.2
11.8
12.5
12.2
7.9
1.6
3.6
4.9
17.1
.3

0.8

119

99.2

100.0

1 Questionnaire group.
G e n e r a l T a b l e V I .— Earnings per week, by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing

industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1

Earnings per week.

Total.

Boys.

Girls.

cent Num Per cent Num Per cent
Num Per
ber. distribu
ber. distribu
ber. distribu
tion.
tion.
tion.
Total......................................................................

913

Total reporting................................................................
Less'than $5...............................................................
$5, less than 310................................................. .......
$10, less than $15....... ...............................................
$15, less than $20........................................................
$20, less than $25........................................................
$25, less than $30........................................................
$30,less than $35........................................................
$35, less than $40........................................................
$40,less than $45........................................................
$45, less than $50........................................................
$50) 1ess than $55........................................................
$55,less than $60........................................................

793
18
24
44
73
112
149
135
91
70
28
16
12
8
3
5
5
120

$65) less than $70........................................................
Not reported.....................................................................
1 Questionnaire group.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

818
100.0
2.3
3.0
5.5
9.2
14.1
18.8
17.0
11.5
8.8
3.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
.4
.6
.6

704
15
18
31
38
95
142
129
90
69
28
16
12
8
3
5
5
114

95
100.0
2.1
2.6
4.4
5.4
13.5
20.2
18.3
12.8
9.8
4.0
2.3
1.7
1.1
.4
.7
.7

89
3
6
13
35
17
7
6
1
1

100.0
3.4
6.7
14.6
39.3
19.1
7.9
6.7
1.1
1.1

GENERAL TABLES.

I ll

G e n e r a l T a b l e V I I .— Earnings per week, "by number o f hours per week; minors in

metcd-manufacturing industries.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries—
Reporting earnings per week.
Number of hours worked per week.
Total.

Less than
$5,less
$10,less
$15,less
$5.
than $10.
than $15.
than $20.
Total
report
ing. Num Per
Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent.1

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

2,840

2,191

3.7

109

5.0

170

7.8

238

10.9

Total reporting..................................
Less* than 36 hours......................
36 hours, less than 39...................
39 hours) less than 42...................
42 hours) less than 45...................
45 hours)less than 48...................
48 hours) 1ess than 51...................
51 hours)less than 54. ^...............
54 hoursl.......................................
Over 54 hours, less than 57.........
57 hours, less than 60...................
60 hours and over........................
Not on pay roll and not reported___

2,212
478
111
174
251
340
380
127
22
113
59
157
»628

2,182
477
111
174
251
331
361
127
22
113
59
156
9

82
82

3.8
17.2

109
108
1

5.0
22.6
.9

170
110
9
12
24
11
3
1

7.8
23.1
8.1
6.9
9.6
3.3
.8

235
82
23
22
28
33
40
4
3

10.8
17.2

,_8

3! 1

3
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries—
Reporting earnings per week.

Number of hours worked per week.

$20,less
than $25.

$25,less
than $30.

$30,less
than $35.

$35 and
over.

Not on
pay 1
and
not reported.

Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per
ber. cent. ber. cent.1 ber. cent.1 ber. cent.1
Total.......................................................
Total reporting................................................
Less than 36 hours.....................................
36 hours, less than 39................................
39 hours) 1ess than 42................................
42 hours) 1ess than 45................................
45 hours)l ess than 48........................ .......
48 hours, 1ess than 51...............................
51 hours,less than 54................................
54 hours..............................................
Over 54 hours, less than 57.......................
57 hours, less than 60................................
60 hours and over.....................................
Not on pay roll and not reported...................

334

15.2

333 15.3
49 10.3
34 30.6
45 25. 9
60 23. 9
71 21.5
51 14.1
10 7.9
12

10.6

1
1

423

19.3

423 19.4
24
5.0
15 13. 5
42 24.1
60 23. 9
100 30.2
119 33.0
30 23.6
4
25 22.1
2
2
1.3

15.5

496

22.6

8 649

338 15.5
7
1.5
18 16. 2
26 14. 9
27 10. 8
47 14.2
78 21.6
40 31.5
9
41 36.3
19
26 16.7
1

492
15
U
27
52
69
70
42
6
35
38
127
4

22.5
3.1
9 9
15 5
20. 7
20.8
19.4
33.1

30
1

339

9
19

31.0
81.4

1
619

1 Not shown where base is less than 100.
2 Includes 619 minors whose names did not appear on pay roll and 30 whose earnings per week were not
reported.
8Includes 619 minors whose names did not appear on pay roll and 9 for whom number of hours per week
was not reported.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

112

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

G e n e r a l T a b l e V III. — Occupation and industry o f father; minors in metal-manu

facturing industries.1
Minors in metal
manufacturing
industries.1
Occupation and industry of father.
Num Per cent
ber. distribu
tion.
Total.....................................
Agriculture, forestry, and animal
husbandry...................................
Extraction of minerals..................
Manufacturing and mechanical...
Building trades.......................
Iron and steel..........................
Blacksmiths, forgemen,
and hammer men.........
Molders, founders, and
casters......................... ..
Machinists, millwrights,
and toolmakers.............
Other.................................

913

100.0

208
46
402
112
113

22.8
5.0
44.0
12.3
12.4

3.0

2.0

40
28

4.4
3.1

Minors in metal
manufacturing
industriès.1
Occupation and industry of father.
Per cent
Num distribu
ber.
tion.
Manufacturing and mechanical—
Continued.
Laborers...................................
Other metal.............................
Other manufacturing and
mechanical...........................
Transportation..............................
Trade..............................................
Public service......... .......................
Professional service............... ........
Domestic and personal service___
Clerical...................................
No occupation and not reported..

78
5

8.5
.5

94
41
49
10
19
8
12
118

10.3
4.5
¡LA
l.i
2 .1
.9
1 3
12.9

1 Questionnaire group.
G e n e r a l T a b l e IX . — Location o f school last attended, by grade completed; minors

in metal-manufacturing industries1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries—1
Who last attended school in Michigan.
Grade completed.
Total.

Total.

Michigan
city in
which
working.

Other
Michigan
city.

Michigan,
not re
ported
whether
city or
rural.

Michigan
rural.

Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent.
Total.....................................

913

528

57.8

286

31.3

199

21.8

Sixth and lower grades.................
Seventh grade...............................
Eighth grade..................................
First year high school....................
Second and third year high school.
Fourth year high school and
higher education........................
Not reported.................................

131
144
335
107
119

57
90
207
72
70

43.5
62.5
61.8
57.3
58.8

38 29.0
60 41.7
112 33.4
38 35.5
27 22.7

16
24
64
32
42

12.2
16.7
19.1
29.9
35.3

46
31

28
4

25
2
20
2
1

2.7
1.4
6.0
1.9
.8

2.0

3
4
11

2.8
3.3

20
1

8
3

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries—1
Who last attended school outside Michigan.
Grade completed.
City.
Num
ber.

Not reported
whether city
or rural.

Rural.

Per
cent.

Num
ber.

Per
cent.

Num
ber.

Place of
attendance
not reported.

Per
cent.

Num
ber.

Per
cent.

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

322

35.3

1.4

2.8

2.6

Sixth and lower grades........................
Seventh grade......................................
Eighth grade........................................
First year high school.........................
Second and third year high school___
Fourth year high school and higher
education..........................................
Not reported........................................

58
45
114
32
48

44.3
31.3
34.0
29.9
40.3

3
5
4
1

2.3
3.5
1.2
.9

11
4
8
1

8.4
2.8
2.4
.9

1.5

2
1
1

.6
.9
.8

1 Questionnaire group.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

18
7

G e n e r a l T a b l e X .— Increase in weekly earnings from first to present position, by length o f work history, and by sex; minors in metal-manufacturing

industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Length of work history.
Total.

Increase in weekly earnings from
first to present position, and sex.

Less than
• 1 year.

1 year, less
than 2.

2 years, less
than 3.

3 years, less
than 4.

4 years, less
than 5.

Per cent Num Per cent
Per cent Num Per cent
Per cent Num Per cent
Num distribu
Num distribu
Num distribu
ber.
ber. distribu
ber.
ber. distribu
ber.
ber. distribu
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.

5 years, 6 years,
less than less than
6.»
7.2

7 years
and
over.8

Not re
ported.

913

100.0

122

100.0

159

100.0

217

100.0

193

100.0

106
398
32
80
86
73
58
42
27
12
23
374

11.6
43.6
3.5
8.8
9.4
8.0
6.4
4.6
3.0
1.3
2.5
41.0

72
25
5
12
4
2
1
1

59.0
20.5
4.1
9.8
3.3
1.6
.8
.8
2.5
2.5
15.6

13.8
38.4
5.7
9.4
11.3
3.1
4.4
3.1
1.3
1.9
5.0
40.9

8
106
10
26
25
23
12
9
1
4
7
92

3.7
48. 8
4.6
12.0
11.5
10.6
5.5
4.1
.5
1.8
3.2
42.4

3
97
5
15
23
16
17
12
9

1.6

3
3
19

22
61
9
15
18
5
7
5
2
3
8
65

2.6
7.8
11.9
8.3
8.8
6.2
4.7

5
88

2.6
45.6

45.5

818

100.0

108

100.0

141

100.0

188

100.0

180

100.0

109

100.0

90
357
25
65
74
68
56
42
27
11
18
342

11.0
43.6
3.1
7.9
9.0
8.3
6.8
5.1
3.3
1.3
2.2
41.8

63
22
3
11
4
2
1
1

58.3
20.4
2.8
10.2
3.7
1.9
.9
.9
2.8
2.8
15.7

13.5
37.6
5.0
7.1
12.1
3.5
5.0
3.5
1.4
2.1
4.3
42.6

6
93
8
19
22
22
12
9
1
3
6
8o1

3.2
49.5
4.3
10.1
11.7
11.7
6.4
4.8 .
.5
1.6
3.2
42.6

2
91
4
13
20
16
17
12
9

3
3
17

19
53
7
10
17
5
7
5
2
3
6
60

1.1
50.6
2.2
7.2
11.1
8.9
9.4
6.7
5.0

57
2
8
6
16
11
7
7
2

1. 8
7.3
5.5
14.7
10.1
6.4
6.4
Î.8

Boys......................................

1 Questionnaire group.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

2
g
9
19
13
7
7
2

100.0

1.6
6.5
7.3
15.4
10 6
5.7
67
1.6

65
1
33
4
7
6

~ 1
2

8
1

4
5
6
4
8

1
3

1.7
46.7
50
45.9
3Ò
* Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

3
84

113

No previous position.......................
Increase.............................................
Less than $5...............................
$5, less than $10...................
$10, less than $15.......................
$15, less than $20........................
$20, less than $25.......................
$25, less than $30.......................
$30 and over...............................
Same earnings.......................... . __
Decrease................................
Not reported...................................

123

GENERAL TABLES.

Total........................................
No previous position.......................
Increase.............................................
Less than $5...............................
$5, less than $10.........................
$10, less than $15........................
$15, less than $20........................
$20, less than $25........................
$25, less than $30........................
$30 and over...............................
Same earnings...................................
Decrease..........................................
Not reported.....................................

G e n e r a l T a b l e X .-In crea se in

weekly earnings from first
to present position, by length o f work history, and by sex;
industries—Continued.

minors in metal-manufactunng
^

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Increase in weekly earnings from
first to present position, and sex.

'Total.

Less than
1 year.

1 year, less
than 2.

2 years, less
than 3.

3 years, less
than 4.

4 years, less
than 5.

Per cent Num Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
Per cent
distribu ber. distribu
Num distribu Num distribu Num distribu Num distribu Num
ber.
ber.
ber.
tion.
ber.
tion.
ber.
tion.
tion.
tion.
tion.
Girls........................................

No previous position......................Increase.............................................

16
41
7
15
12
5
2
1
5
32

$5, less than $10.........................
$10, less "than $15........................
$15, less than $20........................
$20, less than $25........................
Same earnings..................................
Decrease..........................................
Not reported.....................................

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

100.0
16.8
43.2
7.4
15.8
12.6
5.3
2.1
1.1
5.3
33.7

14
9
3
2
1

100.0
64.2
21.4
14.3
7.1

18
3
8
2
5
i

100.0
16.7
44.4
11« i
27.8
5.6

100.0

2
13

6.9
44.8

3
1

10.3
3.4

...... ...........
2

14.3

2* ....... i i . T
27.8
5

1
12

3.4
41.4

13
1

......
4

100.0

7.7

100.0
57.1

3
2

5 years, 6 years,
less than less than
7.
6.

21.4
21.4
14.3

....... Ì5*4*
30.8 " " è ' ....... 42.*»

1
2

7 years
over.

2
1

............ 2

Notreported.

MINORS IN METAL-MANTJPACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Length of work history.

G e n e r a l T a b l e X I .—Grade completed, by sex, color, and nativity o f child and nativity o f father; minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1
White.
Color not
reported.*

Native.

Total.
Grade completed and sex.

Foreign bom .

Total.
Native father.

Total.

Negro.*

Foreign-bom
father.

Total.
Third and lower grades..........................
Fourth grade.........................................
Fifth grade..............................................
Sixth grade.............................................
Seventh grade.........................................
Eighth grade......................... ................
First year high school............................
Second and third year high school........
Fourth year high school and higher
education.............................................
Grade not reported.................................
Still in school, grade not reported.........
Boys.
Third and lower grades.........................
Fourth grade..........................................
Fifth grade..............................................
Sixth grade............................................ .
Seventh grade.........................................
Eighth grade.......................................... .
First year high school............................
Second and third year high school........
Fourth year high school and higher
education............................................
Grade not reported... : ..........................
Still in school, grade not reported........
Questionnaire group.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

913

100.0
.9

1.8

568

100.0

1.1
1.8

22
70
182
59
61

4.9
15.6
40.6
13.2
13.6

30
' 18

5.3
3.2

5.8

46
25
6

5.0
2.7
.7

818

100.0

16
36
69
186
59
62

1.0
1.6

299
95
109

.9
1.7
4.0
8.6
14.8
36.6
11.6
13.3

3.3
7.4
14.1
38.0
12.1
12.7

46
18

2.2

5.6

6.1
2.5
1.2

.4
1.3

3.2
6.7
15.3
37.9
12.3
12.3

3.8
7.9
15.8
36.7
11.7
13.0

121

2
6
8

1.1

100.0

10
18
38
87
215
70
70

16
35
72
144
335
107
119

7
14
33
70

448

1.8

2
2

7
9
38
109
31
43

.7
.7
2.6
3.3
14.1
40.4
11.5
15.9
7.8
1.9

1.8
.9

21
5
3

388

100.0

245

2
4
8

21
57
158
48
54

5.4
14.7
40.7
12.4
13.9

2.9
3.7
13.1
39.6
11.4
15.9

6.7
1.5

6
4

1.0
2.1

1.0

* All native except 1 for whom nativity was not reported.

1.1
mo
.8

8.6
2.0
1.2

172

120

13
29
73
27
18

1.7
.6
7.6
16.9
42.4
15.7
10.5

2.9

2
1
138

4
4
10
16
17
33
11

100.0
3.3
3.3
8.3
13.3
14.2
27.5
9.2
7.5

3.3
8.3
1.7

100.0

101

100.0

1.2

.7
.7
8.7
16.7
44.2
13.8
10.9

4
10

3.0
4.0
7.9
14.9
11.9
27.7
10.9
7.9

cent
Num Per
distri
ber. bution.
324

4
16
24
54
120

1.2

4.9
7.4
16.7
-37.0
11.1
14.8
4.9
1.5

100.0

4
16
24
49
113
35
46

16
4.0
4
5.9
2.0
.7
3 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.
3.6

100

.3
1.3
5.2
7.8
15.9
36.7
11.4
14.9
5.2
1.3

GENERAL TABLES.

Nativity
of father
Per cent not re Num Per cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
Num
Num distri Num distri Num distri Num distri
distri
distri
ported.3 ber.
ber. bution. ber. bution. ber. bution. ber. bution. ber. bution.
bution.

116

G e n e r a l T a b l e X I .— Grade completed, by sex, color, and nativity o f child and nativity offather; minors in metal-manufacturing industries— Continued.

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.

Native.

Total.
Grade completed and sex.

Color not
reported.

Total.
Total.

Native father.

Foreign bom.

Foreign-bom
father.

".Negro.

Nativity
of father
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per
cent
not re
Per cent
Num distri Num distri Num
Num distri
distri Num
distri
ported. Num
distri
ber. bution. ber. bution. ber.
ber. bution.
bution. ber.
bution. ber. bution.
Girls..........................................
Third and lower grades.....................
Fourth grade..............................
Fifth grade.....................................
Sixth grade....................................
Seventh grade................................
Eighth grade...........................................
First year high school......................
Second and third year high school___
Grade not reported.........................

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

100.0

1
2
2
2
23
36
12
10
7

1.1
2.1
2.1
2.1
24.2
37.9
12.6
10.5
7.4

1
2
2
2
18
29
11
8
6

2
1
13
24
11
7
2

1
6
12
8
3
2

2
6
12
3
4

cent
Num Per
distri
ber.
bution.

2
1
5
5
1
4

5
7
1
2
1

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES,

White.

G e n e r a l T a b l e X I I .— Type o f trade training courses taken, by occupation; minors in metal-manufactunng industries.

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1

Type of trade training courses taken.

Total.

Num
ber.

Assemblers.

Appren
tices.2
Per cent
distribu
tion.

Num
ber.

Inspectors.

Per cent
distribu Num
ber.
tion.

Per cent
distribu
tion.

Laborers and
helpers.
Per cent
Num distribu
ber.
tion.

Machine
operators.

Num
ber.

All other.
Stock
and
tool
Per cent
Per cent
room
distribu
distribu workers.2 Num
ber.
tion.
tion.

*873

100.0

101

100.0

125

100.0

116

100.0

191

100.0

200

100.0

Total taking courses.................................

139

15.9

10.9

17.6

9.5

15.2

19.5

Metal trades.......................... : ...........
Woodworking....................................
Commercial. T.....................................
Other..................................................
Not reported......................................

59
22
16
33
9

6.8
2.5
1.8
3.8
1.0

4
1

4.0
1.0

4.3
3.4

5.9

7.2
1.6
4.6
3.2
1.6

5
4

9
2
5
4
2

i
i

.9
.9

10
5
5
8
1

5.2
2.6
2.6
4.2
.5

13
1
2
4

15
9
4
6
5

7.5
4.5
2.0
3.0
2.5

Taking no courses.....................................

734

84.1

89.1

103

82.4

105

90.5

162

84.8

161

80.5

Courses taken after leaving day school:
Total reporting...............................

* 807

100.0

112

100.0

105

100.0

174

100.0

196

100.0

Total taking courses.................................

118

14.6

13.4

15.2

10.5

20.7

13.8

Metal trades.......................................
Woodworking....................................
Commercial-T.....................................
Other..................................................
Not reported......................................

78
1
13
20
6

9.7
.1
1.6
2.5
.7

- 10.3

8.0

3.8

11.7

1.0
2.1

6
2

5.4
1.8

2
5

1.9
4.8

12.6
.6
1.7
3.4
2.3

1
2

22
1
3
6
4

2
2

Taking no courses....................................

689

85.4

86.6

84.8

89.5

138

79.3

1 Questionnaire group.
3 Per cent distribution not shown where base is less than 100.

1
3
169

GENERAL TABLES.

Courses taken in day school:
Total reporting...............................

.5
1.5
86.2

* Excludes 40 who did not report whether courses were taken.
* Excludes 106 who did not report whether courses were taken.

117

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manufacturing industries.1

118

G e n e r a l T a b l e . X I I I — Type o f trade training courses taken after leaving day school, by type taken in day school and by sex; minors in metal-

Minors in metal-manufacturing industries.1

Metal trades.
Type of trade training courses
taken in day school, and sex.

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

Tool and pattern making ........................... .
Mechanical and elec
trical engineering___
Mechanical drawing
and draftsmanship..
Automobile repair and
Other metal trades___

Type of course not reported
Not reported....................................

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Total
re
Total.
porting.

Total.

Tool
and
Total. pattern
mak
ing.

Me
chani
cal and
electri
cal en
gineer
ing.

Me
chani
Ma
cal
draw chineshop
ing and prac
drafts tice.
manship.

Auto
Wood
mo
work
bile
ing.
Foun repair
Other.
dry.
and
assem
bly.

Com
mer
cial.

Not re
ported
Taking whether
no
Type of
any
course courses. course
All
other. not re
taken.
ported.

913

807

118

689

106

873
139
59

W
118
52

ÏÏÏ36
19

74~
25
14

167
5

6
2

W
8
5

11
1
1

11
5
2

20
4
2

5
2
1

670
84
33

92
19
7

4
1

3
2

2
30

2
1
22
16
33

2
1
20
12
29

1
1
g

734
40

661
26

1
1

4
1
5

75
7

49
4

9
1

1
1
4
1

17
3
2

1
1

3
1

1
1

10
2

3
2

6
2

12
10
23
6
586
19

2
4
4
2
73
14

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

Taking trade training courses after leaving day school.

Boys................................

818

728

113

615

786
136
59

709
115
52

107
36
19

74
25
14

16
7
5

6
2

17
8
5

10
4
1

13
3
2

11
1
1

9
5
2

18
4

602
81
33

77
19
7

30
5
2

27
3
2

2
1
22
14
32
9
650
32

2
1
20
10
28
7
592
19

1
1
8
2
6
1
71
6

17
3

1
1
4
1
5
1
49
4

1
1
1
9
1

1
1
4
1

1
1

2
3

2
i

io
2

3
2

4
1

12
8
22

i
Î4

3
1

521
13

2
4
4
2
58
13

Girls.................................

Total reporting................................
Total taking courses.................
Commercial........................
Al] other.............................
Taking no courses....................
Not reported....................................

87
3
2
1
84
8

72
3
2
1
69
7

68
3

4
1

2
i

65
6

1Questionnaire group.

GENERAL TABLES.

Total reporting................................
Total taking courses.................
Metal trades.......................
Tool and pattern mak
ing.............................
Mechanical and elec
trical engineering___
Mechanical drawing
and draftsmanship. .
Machine-shop practice
Foundry.......................
Automobile repair and
assembly...................
Other metal trades___
Woodworking....................
Commercial........................
All other.............................
Type of course not reported.
Taking no courses....................
Not reported....................................

119

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

120

G e n e r a l T a b l e X I V . — K ind o f school attended; minors in metal-manufacturing indus

tries 1 who took trade training courses after leaving school.

Kind of school.

Minors in metal
manufacturing
industries who
took trade train
ing courses after
leaving school.1

Kind of school.

cent
Num Per
distri
ber. bution.

cent
Num Per
distri
ber.
bution.

Correspondence..............................

Minors in metal
manufacturing
industries who
took trade train
ing courses after
leaving school.1

118

100.0

Business schools.............................

30
21
19

25.4
17.8
16.1

Other............. ................................
Not reported..................................

6
5
17
20

5.1
4.2
14.4
16.9

1 Questionnaire group.
G e n e r a l T a b l e X V . — Length o f trade training course, by type o f course; minors in

metal-manufacturing industries * who took trade training courses after leaving school.
Minors in metal-manufacturing industries who took trade training
courses after leaving school.1
Length of course.

Type of trade-training course
after leaving school.
Total.

Total.
Metal trades..................................
Tool and pattern making —
Mechanical and electrical
engineering.........................
Mechanical drawing and
draftsmanship....................
Machine-shop practice..........
Foundry.................................
Automobile repair and ¡assem
b ly .......................................
Other metal trades................
W oodworking..............'...............
Commercial..................................
All other.......................................
Not r e p o r t e d .......... ..........
1 Questionnaire group.

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118

6 months, 9 months, 12 months
Not
Less than 3 months,
than less than less than and over. reported.
3 months. less6
12.
.
9.
20

121

GENERAL TABLES.

G e n e r a l T a b l e X V I. — Enrollm ent in specified class in night school, by occupation

and industry and by sex; selected group o f pupils in Detroit, M ich., night schools.
Pupils in selected group in Detroit night schools enrolled
in eacn specified class.
Occupation and industry and sex.

Total
pupils.1

Mathe Ma
matics. chine
shop.

Auto
mo
biles.

Me
chani
cal
draw
ing.

Other Pattern
draft mak Weld
ing.
ing.2
ing.

Male............................................

449

176

Manufacturing and mechanical..........
Iron and steel and other metal. . .
Apprentices.............................
Grinders and polishers...........
Grinders .*.........................
Polishers...........................
Machinists, millwrights, toolmakers.................................

332
265
18
11
10
1

141
110
9
4
4

67
63
2
4
3
1

33
30
1
1
1

35
30
8
1
1

17
13

13
12
1

9
8

85
38
25
22
10
12
129

33
13
12
8

9
3
1
5
3

13
5
6
2

4
60

22
11
5
6
2
33

6
6

49
20
21

27
5
12

18
5
4

7
1
4

2
3
2

1
2

2
2

39
11
37
19
22
17
5
27
17
10
50
9
41
16
2

16
2
24
5
2
1
1
11
7
4
18
6
12
3
1

2
1
3

1
2
2
1
1

3
4

3
1

Female.......................................

Professional service.............................
Nurses............................................
Other.............................................
Clerical.................................................
Stenographers and typists............
Other“. . .*................ Ü~...................
Other industries...................................
Not employed......................................

26
23
3
21
14
7
3
1

Tool and die makers.......
Other8..............................
Other occupations*................
Machine operators and
machine hands..............
Inspectors.........................
Assemblers.......................
Miscellaneous iron and
steel...............................
Electricians...................................
Other manufacturing....................
Transportation..............T.....................
Telephone..........................
Other...................................... ......
Professional service.............................
Draftsmen and designers..............
Clerical.................................................
Tool and stock..............................
Other.............................................
Other industries4................................
Not reported........................................

4
3
1
4
2
2
5

3
2
2
1
1

2
2
1

5
2
2
1

l
1
4
i

i
1

1
4
3
1
4

4
3
1
3

4
3

i
i
i
i

1 “ Total pupils” is not total enrollment in the courses since some pupils were taking more than one
course.
2 Includes architectural drawing, sheet-metal drawing, body drafting, blue print, and designing.
8Includes 3 pattern makers.
4Includes trade, 7; domestic and personal service, 5; public service, 2; agriculture, forestry, and animal
husbandry, 2.

45198°— 23------9

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122

MINORS IN METALrMANUF ACTURING INDUSTRIES.

G e n e r a l T a b l e X V I .—Enrollm ent in specified class in night school, by occupation

and industry and by sex; selected group o f pupils m D etroit, M ich., night schools
Continued.
Pupils in selected group in Detroit night schools enrolled in each
specified class—Continued.
Occupation and industry and sex.

Male............................................
Manufacturing and mechanical..........
Iron and steel and other m etal.. .

Machinists, millwrights, toolmakers........ ........................
Machinists........................

Phar
macy
Electri Radio. Teleph Grades. and
ony.
cal.6
chemis
try.
24

12
9
1

4
3

15
12

5
2

1
1

2
1

1
1

4
4

23
7
4
2

Assemblers.......................
Miscellaneous iron and
steel—.............................
Electricians......................... - ........
Other manufacturing— ..............
Transportation: Telephone.................

3
1
1

3
Clerical.................................................
Tool and stock..............................
Other............................................

3
3

i
1

4
2
1
15

3
2

2
3
1
1

2
1

1
1

14
1
13
2

29~
27
2
3
1
2

.........2

1
2

1
1

:::::::

1
Other industries................................. ............
Not employed....................................

14
2
1
3

Other
and
not re
ported.

2
Tinsmiths and coppersmiths.
Other occupations........ .
Machine operators and
machine hands..............

Gym
nasium Eng
and
lish.
swim
ming.

1
3
1

1
1

2
17 .........1 .......... i
15
1
1
2
1
1
............

6Includes electric laboratory, armature winding, electricity (direct current), electricity (alternating
current), electrical construction.

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APPENDIX IV.— A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY.
GENERAL.
Federal Board for Vocational Education.
The Turnover of Labor. Bulletin No. 46. Employment Management Series
No. 6. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920. (60 pp.)
The meaning, cost, nature, and causes of labor turnover are discussed.
Methods for computing and for reducing labor turnover are suggested.
Employment Management, Its Rise and Scope: The organization of an employ
ment department, b y Boyd Fisher and Edward B. Jones. Bulletin No. 50.
Employment Management Series No. 1. Government Printing Office, Wash
ington, 1920.
The Selection and Placement of Employees. Bulletin No. 49. Employment
Management Series No. 2. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1919.
The Wage-Setting Process, b y Alfred B . Rich. Bulletin No. 44. Em ploy
ment Management Series No. 5. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1919.
New Y ork Military Training Commission, Bureau of Vocational Training.
Our Boys: A study of 245,000 sixteen-, seventeen-, and eighteen-year-old
employed boys of the State of New York, b y Howard G. Burdge. J. B. Lyon
Co., Printers, Albany, 1921. (345 pp.)
Simons, A. M.
Personnel Relations in Industry. The Ronald Press Co., New York, 1921.
(341 pp.)
Mr. Simons emphasizes the need of job analysis on a national scale and dis
cusses methods of hiring and training workers, labor turnover, factory condi
tions, democracy in industrial management, and other related topics.
U. S. Bureau of Education.
The Money Value of Education, b y A. Caswell Ellis. Bulletin 1917, No. 22.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1917. (52 pp.)
In this bulletin Doctor Ellis discusses the value of education in developing
national resources and its value to the individual. A list of references is
included.
List of References on the Economic Value of Education. Prepared in the
Library Division, IT. S. Bureau of Education. Library Leaflet No. 4. Govern
ment Printing Office, Washington, 1919. (7 p p .)
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Personnel Research Agencies: A guide to organized research in employment
management, industrial relations, training, and working conditions, b y J. David
Thompson. Bulletin No. 299, Miscellaneous Series. Government Printing
Office, Washington, 1921. (207 pp.)
Industrial Survey in Selected Industries in the United States, 1919. Pre
liminary report, prepared under the supervision of Allan H. Willett. Bulletin
No. 265. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920. (509 pp.)
This contains a table showing, b y occupation, the number of employees,
wages per hour, and hours of work for workers in various industries, among
which are automobile, machinery, and machine-tool manufacturing.
123

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124

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

U. S. Children’s Bureau.
Standards of Child Welfare: A report of the Children’s Bureau conferences,
May and June, 1919. Bureau Publication No. 60, Separate No. 2, Child Labor.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1919.
Papers given at the Children’s Bureau Conferences on Child Welfare, May
and June, 1919, discussing the legislative prohibition of employment, the
legislative regulation of employment, and vocational guidance and placement.
Minimum Standards for Child Welfare Adopted b y the Washington and R e
gional Conferences on Child Welfare, 1919. Publication No. 62. Government
Printing Office, Washington, 1920. (16 pp.)
In this bulletin are summarized the standards for children in industry as
adopted b y the conferences.
State Compulsory School-Attendance Standards Affecting the Employment of
Minors, Legal Chart No. 2. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1921.
(3 pp.)
School attendance laws affecting employment of minors are presented in
chart form.
State Child-Labor Standards, Legal Chart No. 1.
Washington, 1921.

Government Printing Office,

Child labor laws of the various States are presented in chart form.
Industrial Instability of Child Workers: A study of employment-certificate
records in Connecticut, b y Robert Morse Woodbury, Ph. D. Publication No. 74.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920. (86 pp.)
U. S. Public Health Service.
Comparison of an Eight-hour Plant and a Ten-hour Plant: Studies in industrial
physiology: fatigue in relation to working capacity, b y Josephine Goldmark and
others. Bulletin No. 106. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
An analysis of the effect of the longer hours upon maintenance of output,
restricted output, industrial accidents, labor turnover, etc. Both plants
under discussion are metal-working factories.
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE.
Bloomfield, Meyer.
Readings in Vocational Guidance.
Co., Boston, 1915. (723 pp.)

Edited b y Meyer Bloomfield.

Ginn &

This book contains a comprehensive selection of articles on vocational
guidance prior to 1915.
Brewer, John M.
The Vocational-Guidance Movement, Its Problems and Possibilities.
MacMillan Co., New York, 1918. (333 pp.)

The

Contains a full bibliography.
Conference Board on Training of Apprentices.
Practical Apprenticeship: A bulletin of information on the training of industrial
workers. Bulletin No. 2— Fundamentals of Apprenticeship. 1917. (30 pp.)
The board represents The National Association of Manufacturers, The
National Founders’ Association, The National Metal Trades Association,
The United Typothetse, Franklin Clubs of America, The National Tool
Builders’ Association, and The American Foundrymen’s Association. R ec
ommendations of the board in regard to supervision of apprentices, trade
training, technical instruction, wages, bonuses, probation, examinations,
duration of apprenticeship, physical, mental, and moral qualifications, and
form of indenture.

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A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY.

125

Douglas, Paul H., Ph. D.
American Apprenticeship and Industrial Education: Studies in history, eco
nomics, and public law. Edited by the Faculty of Political Science of Columbia
University. Vol. X C Y , No. 2, Whole No. 216. Columbia University, Long
mans, Green & Co., Agents, New York, 1921. (348 pp.)
The main divisions are as follows: American apprenticeship, its back
ground, development, and decay; Juvenile labor and the educational re
quirements of modern industry; Modern substitutes for apprenticeship; and
Social aspects. A bibliography is appended.
Federal Board for Vocational Education.
Bibliography on Vocational Guidance: A selected list of vocational-guidance
references for teachers. Bulletin No. 66, Trade and Industrial Series No. 19.
Government Printing Office, 1921. (35 pp.)
A good up-to-date bibliography compiled b y Prof. Charles L. Jacobs, asso
ciate professor of education and supervisor of trade and industrial teacher
training classes, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
Trade and Industrial Education, Organization, and Administration. Bulletin
No. 17, Trade and Industrial Education Series No. 1. Government Printing
Office, Washington, 1918. (125 pp.)
The bulletin was published to supply information and suggestion con
cerning the organization and administration of trade and industrial schools
and classes under the Federal law.
Part-Time Trade and Industrial Education. Bulletin No. 19, Trade and Indus
trial Series No. 3. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1918.
A description of part-time school systems already established in the United
States, Germany, England, and France; a discussion of types of part-time
schools and a definition of Federal aid for part-time schools.
Buildings and Equipment for Schools and Classes in Trade and Industrial
Subjects. Bulletin No. 20, Trade and Industrial Series No. 4. Government
Printing Office, Washington, 1918.
Compulsory Part-Time School Attendance Laws. Bulletin No. 55, Trade and
Industrial Series No. 14. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1921.
Trade and Industrial Education for Girls and Women. Part 1.— Economic
and social aspects of vocational education for girls and women. Part 2 .— Ways
and means of establishing and operating a program. Bulletin No. 58, Trade and
Industrial Series No. 15. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
Part-Time Schools: A survey of experience in the United States and foreign
countries, with recommendations. Bulletin No. 73, Trade and Industrial Series
No. 22. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1922.
Emergency War Training for Oxy-Acetylene Welders. Bulletin No. 11.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1918. (86 pp.)
The first part treats of the development and application in industry and
war of oxy-acetylene welding and cutting. The second part outlines the
United States Arm y course in this type of welding.
Employment Management and Industrial Training. Bulletin No. 48, Em ploy
ment Management, Series No. 4. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
(107 pp.)

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MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

126

Keltyj R oy Willmarth.
Training Industrial Workers.

The Ronald Press Co., New York, 1920.

(437

PP-)
Special emphasis is laid on the methods of organizing and conducting
training within the factory. Public-school industrial training, vocational
guidance, and kindred problems are discussed. A 22-page bibliography is
appended.
Motley, James M., Ph. D.
Apprenticeship in American Trade Unions. Series X X V , Nos. 11-12, Johns
Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science. The Johns
Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1907. (122 pp.)
The history of apprenticeship under statute law, customary regulation,
trade-union regulation, and trade agreement. The extent of union regu
lation b y the American Federation of Labor, the purpose and character of
regulation are discussed. The book gives a very exhaustive treatment of
the subject.
Snedden, David.
Vocational Education.

The MacMillan Company, New York, 1920.

(587 pp.)

A discussion of current problems in vocational education.
U. S. Bureau of Education.
Vocational Secondary Education. Prepared b y the Committee on Vocational
Education of the National Education Association. Bulletin, 1916, No. 21.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1916. (163 pp.)
The bulletin contains a brief historic sketch, describes the kinds of schools
established in this country, discusses terms and definitions used, methods
for vocational education surveys, vocational guidance, and other problems.
Primarily for those wishing to introduce vocational education into public
schools.
The Apprenticeship System in its Relation to Industrial Education, b y Carroll
D. Wright. Bulletin, 1908, No. 6, Whole No. 389. Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1908. (116 pp.)
A history of apprenticeship with a discussion of types of apprenticeship
systems: (1) Type in which shop and school are intimately connected;
( 2) type under which apprentices are controlled to some extent outside
working hours; (3) mixed types. Schools are listed and classified. A
bibliography and a digest of laws are included.
List of references on Vocational Education. Prepared in the Library Division,
Bureau of Education. Library Leaflet No. 15. Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1922. (20 pp.).
U. S. Commissioner of Labor.
Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor, 1910: Industrial
education. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1911. (822 pp.)
An exhaustive report on industrial education in the United States, in
cluding philanthropic and public industrial schools, apprenticeship schools,
cooperative industrial schools, evening industrial schools, textile schools, etc.
U. S. Training Service.
Industrial Training for Foundry Workers. Training Bulletin No. 24.
ment Printing Office, Washington, 1919. (68 pp.)

Govern

The bulletin outlines in detail apprenticeship training in foundries, an
upgrading system for foundry workers, and training for foremen, and gives
outlines for the guidance of instructors, and a bibliography of technical books.

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127

A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY.

U. S. Training and Dilution Service.
A Successful Apprenticeship Tool Makers’ School: Methods used by a large
manufacturing company for training new employees to operate machine tools
and for subassembly work, and to upgrade experienced operators for work in the
tool rooms. Training Bulletin No. 2. Government Printing Office, Washington,
1918.
OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSES, INCLUDING VOCATIONAL-EDUCATION
SURVEYS.
Boston (Mass.), Vocation Bureau.
Vocations for Boys.—The Machinist.
of Boston, Boston, 1911. (22 pp.)

Bulletin No. 1.

The Vocation Bureau

Contains brief discussions of the divisions, dangers, conditions, and future
of the trade; pay, positions, opportunities, qualities and training required,
and apprenticeship.
Cleveland (Ohio) Education Survey.
The Metal Trades, by R. R . Lutz. The Survey Committee of the Cleveland
Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, 1916. (129 pp.)
Occupations, wages, opportunities, training, and general trade conditions
are discussed for factories producing foundry and machine-shop products
and automobiles, and for steelworks, rolling mills, and related industries.
Federal Board for Vocational Education.
Job Specifications. Bulletin No. 45, Em ployment Management Series No. 3.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
A brief discussion of methods and uses of job analysis.
The Labor Audit: A method of industrial investigation. Bulletin No. 43,
Employment Management Series No. 8. Government Printing Office, Wash
ington, 1920.
This presents the reasons for making a labor audit, the prerequisites for a
labor audit, the methods which may be used in making and in presenting a
labor audit, and the results of a labor audit.
The Metal Trades: Molders, sheet-metal workers, machinists and machine
operators, bench hands, assemblers, and erectors. For disabled soldiers, sailors,
and marines, to aid them in choosing a vocation. Opportunity Monograph, Voca
tional Rehabilitation Series No. 7. Government Printing Office, Washington,
1919. (15 pp.)
A brief description of each occupation listed, its promotional opportunities,
trade-training requirements, hours and wages, processes, and the kinds of
workshops in which it is performed. Other occupations are treated in a
Himi1fl.r way in other bulletins of the same series.
Oxy-Acetylene Welding. For disabled soldiers, sailors, and marines, to aid
them in choosing a vocation. Opportunity Monograph, Vocational-Rehabilitation
Series No. 9. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1919.
Occupations in the Automobile-Manufacturing Industry. For disabled soldiers,
sailors, and marines, to aid them in choosing a vocation. Opportunity Mono
graph, Vocational-Rehabilitation Series No. 20. Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1919.

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128

MINORS IN METAL-MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

The Indiana State Board of Education.
_
_ _
Report of the Indianapolis Survey for Vocational Education. Vols. I and II.
Educational Bulletin No. 21, Survey Series No. 6, Indianapolis.
An analysis of occupations with special reference to skill and education
required is given, together with a description of factory organization and fac
tory processes and a discussion of the demand for labor, wages, school training
needed, etc., by Charles H. Winslow, Special Agent for Vocational Research.
Report of the Richmond, Ind., Survey for Vocational Education. Robert J.
Leonard, Director. Educational Bulletin, Vocational Series No. 15, Indiana
Survey Series No. 3. Indianapolis, 1916. (599 pp.)
The common occupations in the industries of Richmond are described,
hours, Wages, and promotional opportunities specified, and the requirements
for each analyzed, to discover what training, if any, is needed to fit the young
worker to enter such occupations. Automobile, wire-fence, agriculturalimplement, machine-tool, and other metal-manufacturing industries are
included. A survey of the schools and an explanation of the survey method
are included.
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
_
.
Vocational Education: Survey of Minneapolis, Minn., made by the National
Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. Bulletin Whole No. 199.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1917. (592 pp.)
Chapter V III deals with the metal-working industries of Minneapolis,
under the heads of description of occupations, general working conditions,
hazards, demand for labor, and need for technical training of employees.
U. S. Army Trade Specifications and Index of Professions and Trades in the
Army, Second Edition. War Department Document No. 774, Office of the Adju
tant General. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1918. (239 pp.)
Duties and qualifications for each occupation needed in Army service are
specified. Most kinds of metal-manufacturing work are included.
Vocational Education Survey of Richmond, Va. Bulletin Whole No. 162, Mis
cellaneous Series No. 7. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1916.
(333 pp.)
.
.
The survey included several branches of the metal-manufacturing industry.
U. S. Department of Labor.
•
Descriptions of Occupations: Metal working, building and general construction,
railroad transportation, shipbuilding. Prepared for, the United States Employ
ment Service b y the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Government
Printing Office, Washington, 1918. (123 pp.)
A description of each of the more important occupations is given, together
with a statement of qualifications and schooling necessary. Arrangement is
in outline form. Descriptions are somewhat technical.
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS—PREVENTION AND ACCIDENT STATISTICS.
Beyer, David Stewart, Ph. D.
Industrial Accident Prevention, with Illustrations, Houghton, Mifflin Company, New York, 1916. (421 pp.)
The subject is treated under the following heads: General phases of the
accident problem, building construction and arrangement, power generation
and distribution, machine construction and arrangement, etc., special indus
tries, fire hazard, explosion hazard, personal elements. The book is well
illustrated. The treatment is somewhat technical.

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A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Cowee, George Alvin, E. M., S. B.
Practical Safety Methods and Devices, Manufacturing and Engineering.
Van Nostrand Company, 25 Park Place, New York, 1916. (434 pp. illus.)

129

The book is intended to provide for employers, superintendents, foremen,
underwriters, safety inspectors, and engineers generally a convenient sum
mary of standard safety methods and devices. It is therefore somewhat
technical.
Detroit Public Library.
Accident Prevention in Industry: A selected bibliography compiled by the
Detroit Public Library for the Accident Prevention Department of the Michigan
Mutual Liability Co. Detroit, 1919. (7 pp.)
Federal Board for Vocational Education.
Industrial Accidents and Their Prevention. Bulletin No. 47, Employment
Management Series No. 7. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
(66 pp.)
The bulletin discusses methods of safety organization and accident pre
vention, safety equipment, and accounting for safety.
Hansen, Carl M., M. E.
Universal Safety Standards: A reference book of rules, drawings, tables, formulae,
data and suggestions for use of architects, engineers, superintendents, foremen,
inspectors, mechanics, and students, compiled under the direction of and approved
b y the Workmen’s Compensation Service Bureau, New York. Second Edition,
Revised and Enlarged. Universal Safety Standards Publishing Company, New
York, 1914. (312 pp.)
As the title implies, the work is technical.
International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.
Proceedings, 1916-1920, inch, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletins
Nos. 210, 248, 264, 273, and 281, respectively. Government Printing Office,
Washington.
Papers read at the annual meetings of this association deal with the admin
istration of workmen’s compensation laws, accident prevention, safety
organization, accident statistics, and other related subjects.
Standardization of Industrial Accident Statistics: Reports of the committee
on statistics and compensation insurance cost of the International Association of
Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, 1915-1919. U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics Bulletin No. 276. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.
(103 pp.)
This bulletin suggests standards, definitions, and methods of reporting
accidents, a classification of industries, causes of accidents, location and
nature of injury and extent of disability, and standard table forms to be
used in reporting accident and compensation statistics.
Report of Committee on Statistics and Compensation Insurance Cost of the
International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin, Whole No. 201, Industrial Accident
and Hygiene Series No. 9. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1916.
(128 pp.)
For the use of persons or organizations handling accident statistics. The
committee recommends in detail a classification of industries, accident
causes, and location and nature of injury and extent of disability. This
bulletin has been superseded by No. 276, given above.

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lao

MINORS IN METAL-MANTJFAOTURING INDUSTRIES.

U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Causes of Death b y Occupation, Occupational Mortality: Experience of the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Industrial Department, 1911-1913, b y
Louis I. Dublin, Ph. D. Bulletin, Whole No. 207, Industrial Accidents and
Hygiene Series No. 11. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1917. (88 pp.)
Books and Periodicals on Accident and Disease Prevention in Industry in the
Library of The Bureau of Labor Statistics. Government Printing Office, Wash
ington, 1916. (23 pp.)
Industrial Accident Statistics, b y Frederick L. Hoffman. Bulletin, Whole
No. 157, Industrial Accidents and Hygiene Series, No. 5. Government Printing
Office, Washington, 1915. (210 pp.)
A statement of the general accident problem in the United States is fol
lowed b y a review of industrial-accident statistics in New York, Massachu
setts, Illinois, and Wisconsin, and in some foreign countries. Standard
methods of classification, tabulation, and analysis of industrial accidents are
suggested.
Mortality from Respiratory Diseases in Dusty Trades (Inorganic Dusts), b y
Frederick L. Hoffman. Bulletin, Whole No. 231, Industrial Accidents and
Hygiene Series, No. 17. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1918.
(458 pp.)
Chapter II.— “ Occupations with exposure to metallic dust” discusses dust
hazards to which metal workers are exposed. Chapter I I I .— “ Occupations
with exposure to mineral dust” includes a discussion of dust, smoke, and
gas hazards to which foundry workers are exposed. This work presents an
exhaustive analysis of the information available on the subject.
The Safety Movement in the Iron and Steel Industry, 1907-1917, b y Lucian W.
Chaney and Hugh S. Hanna, June, 1918. Bulletin Whole No. 234, Industrial
Accidents and Hygiene Series No. 18. Government Printing Office, Washing
ton, 1918. (299 pp.)
The bulletin includes a discussion of the causes of accidents, accidentprevention work and safety organization accident rates, and accident experi
ence in representative steel-manufacturing plants. Charts and illustrations
add to the value of the text.
Causes and Prevention of Accidents in the Iron and Steel Industry, 1910-1919,
b y Lucian W . Chaney. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin No. 298.
Government Printing Office, Washington, 1922. (398 pp.)
This report brings together the results of a study of accidents in the iron
and steel industry made b y the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the last 10
years.
Accidents and Accident Prevention in Machine Building, b y Lucian W .
Chaney. Bulletin No. 256. Revision of Bulletin 216. Government Printing
Office, Washington, 1920. (123 pp.)
The bulletin discusses different kinds of industrial accident rates, accident
experience in different factories, safety organization in factories, safeguarding
machinery and machine design as a factor of safety. Illustrations add to the
value of the report.
Workman’s Compensation Legislation of the United States and Foreign
Countries, 1917 and 1918, September, 1918. Bulletin No. 243, Workmen’s
Insurance and Compensation Series. Government Printing Office, Washing
ton, 1918. (477 pp.)
The bulletin contains an analysis of the principal features of the laws in
each State of the Union, a discussion of the constitutionality and construction
of statutes, an analysis of the laws of foreign countries, and the text of the
various State laws.

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A BBIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY.

131

U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics—Continued.
Workmen’ s Compensation Legislation of the United States and Canada, by
Lindley D. Clark and Martin C. Frincke, jr. Bulletin No. 272, Workmen’s In
surance and Compensation Series. Government Printing Office, Washington,
1921.
This bulletin contains analyses and complete texts of laws.
Accidents and Accident Prevention: Report on Conditions of Employment in
the Iron and Steel Industry in the United States, Vol. IV . Sixty-second
Congress, First Session, Senate Document No. 110. Government Printing Office,
Washington, 1913.
TECHNICAL BOOKS ON METAL-MANUFACTURING PROCESSES.
Colvin, Fred H ., A. S., M. E ., and Stanley, Frank A .:
Machine Shop Primer. An introduction to machine tools and shop appliances,
with illustrations, names, and definitions. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New
York, 1910. (148 pp.)
A book for apprentices on machine-shop work which names and illustrates
the common machine-shop tools and serves as a reference book on mechanical
subjects.
American Machinists’ Handbook and Dictionary of Shop Terms: A reference
book of machine shop and drawing room data, methods, and definitions. Third
edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1920. (758 pp.)
A good technical reference book with a glossary of technical terms.
Danforth, G. W ., United States Navy.
An Elementary Outline of Mechanical Processes. Arranged for the instruction
of midshipmen at the United States Naval Academ y and for students in general.
The United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Md., 1917. (423 pp.)
A brief account of the materials used in engineering construction and of
the essential features in the methods of producing them. Also describes
shop processes and equipment for the shaping of metals into forms for engineer
ing and general uses.
o

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Full text of Minors in Automobile and Metal-Manufacturing Industries in Michigan, Bureau Publication No 126

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