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CONTENTS.
Special articles:
'
Page.
Control of labor conditions by international action, by Leifur Magnusson.
1-11
Influence of the war on accident rates in machine building, by Lucian
W. C haney.....................................................................................................
12-22
Labor turnover:
Labor policies and labor turnover in the California oil-refining industry,
by Paul F. Brissenden, Ph. D ...................................................................
23-52
Labor turnover in Milwaukee, by William F. K irk....................................
53-70
Reconstruction :
Conference of governors and mayors at Washington to discuss labor con
ditions.............................................................................................................
71-78
Reconstruction of the machinery of government, Great B ritain...............
78-82
After-war economic conditions in France......................................................
82-88
Provision for the disabled, and vocational education:
Reconstruction measures for vocational training of women in E ngland.. 89-91
Training for the British mercantile m arine.................................. ......... —
91, 92
Agricultural reeducation in France................................................................
92
Prices and cost of living:
Retail prices of food in the United States..................................................... 93-104
Retail prices of dry goods in the United States.................................. ......... 105-108
Index numbers of wholesale prices in the United States, 1913 to Febru
ary, 1919.......................................................................................................... 108-110
Comparison of retail price changes in the United States and foreign coun
tries..................................................................
110-112
Board to readjust prices for basic materials.................................................. 112-118
Cooperation:
Mutual and cooperative associations in Argentina....................................... 117-120
Employment and unemployment:
Making new opportunities for employment, by Benton MacKaye............ 121-139
Review of the activities of the United States Employment Service........ 140-145
Recommendations of California joint legislative committee on unemploy
m ent.............................................. ...................................................... .......... 145-147
Employment in selected industries in February, 1919.................... ..........147-150
Index numbers of employment and of pay roll, January, 1915, to Febru
ary, 1919.......................................................................... .............................. 150-152
Report of employment exchanges in the United Kingdom (Great Britain
and Ireland) for five weeks ending January 10,1919.................................. 153-155
Volume of employment in the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Ire
land) in January, 1919..................................................... ........................... 155, 158
Agreements between employers and employed:
Joint industrial council of Bradford (England) City Corporation and its
employees....................................................................................................... 157,158
Agreement between trade-unions and employers’ associations in Ger
m any............................................................................................................... 158-160
German decree regulating collective agreements, workers’ and employees’
committees, and arbitration of labor disputes............................................ 160-167
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CONTENTS.
Wages and hours of labor:
Page.
The six-hour day and copartnership in industry ...................................... 168-173
Wages and hours in the boot and shoe industry in 1918............................. 174-176
Wages and labor conditions in gold mining................................................... 176-178
Wages of farm laborers in Canada in 1917...................................................... 178,179
Payment by results........................................................................................... 179,180
Number of workers and amount o' earnings in textile and leather trades,
Great Britain..................................................................................................
181
Reduction in hours of British wool-textile workers..................................... 182-184
Shorter working day and higher wages in Holland......................................
184
Eight-hour day in P eru ................................................................................... 184,185
Minimum wage:
Minimum wage for office cleaners in Massachusetts..................................... 186, 187
Woman and child labor:
Labor laws for women in industry in Indiana............................................. 188-190
Domestic service and unemployment among English women................... 191-195
Child labor in Argentina, 1914 to 1917........................................................... 195-197
Industrial accidents:
Accidents on steam railroads in the United States in 1917......................... 198,199
Workmen’s compensation and social insurance:
Compensation for occupational diseases in the United States and foreign
countries, by Carl Hookstadt....................................................................... 200-209
Operation and status of State insurance funds..................... .............. ........ 210-216
Recent reports of workmen’s compensation experience:
Nevada........................................................................................................ 216-218
Vermont......................................................................................................
219
County of Maui, Hawaii..............................................................................219,220
Industrial accidents under New York workmen’s compensation law ___ 220,221
Conditions and rates governing conversion of Government life insurance
policies............................................................................................................ 221,222
Social insurance in Germany after the war................................................... 222-225
Unemployment relief in Italy ......................................................................... 225, 226
Housing:
Methods of sale of company houses, by Leifur Magnusson......................... 227-232
Labor laws and regulations:
Law for stabilization of wages in Great Britain during readjustment.......
233
Mexican Mining Code provisions relating to labor........................................ 233-236
Labor organizations:
National Women’s Trade-Union League ofAmerica..................................... 237-244
Trade-unions of Alsace-Lorraine..................................................................... 244, 245
Conciliation and arbitration:
Awards and decisions of the National WarLabor Board.............................. 246-255
Conciliation work of the Department of Labor, February 16, 1919, to
March 15, 1919................................................................................................ 255-258
Immigration:
Immigration in January, 1919......................................................................... 259,269
Publications relating to labor:
Official—United States..........................
261-265
Official—foreign countries................................................................................ 266-269
Unofficial............................................................................................................. 270-279
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
vol.
v in —n o . 4
WASHINGTON
a p r il ,
1919
CONTROL OF LABOR CONDITIONS BY INTERNATIONAL ACTION.
BY L E IF U R M A G N U SSO N .
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has in preparation two bulletins on
international labor legislation, one a historical account of the move
ment, a reproduction of all the treaties entered into, and an analysis
of their term s;1 the other a critical statement of existing labor
standards in various countries, as well as international standards,
and proposals for international labor standards to be adopted as a
part of the future constitution of the proposed society of nations.2
It seems opportune, therefore, to present a concise statement covering
the present situation as respects the control of labor conditions by
international action.3
International action affecting labor has taken shape in (1) inter
national socialist organization; (2) formation of international tradeunion bodies; (3) establishment of semipublic and private associa
tions of students and workers interested in social and political re
forms; (4) official conferences and treaties. While the principal
purpose of this article is to outline briefly the history of the various
diplomatic conferences which have drafted or adopted international
labor laws, a word may be said as to the extent and nature of the other
three forms of international labor organization. These nonofficial
bodies form the background of the official phases of the movement,
they develop the motives for the action taken, and have furnished the
publicity which has spread the movement; they supply, that is, the
political and economic sanction for the international labor movement.
BACKGROUND OR THE MOVEMENT.
International Socialist movement.—The Socialist Internationale is
the present organized expression of the international socialist move
ment. It dates formally from 1864, when Karl Marx and a group
of radicals organized the International Workingmen’s Association in
London. The association continued active for less than 10 years,
but was revived in 1889. Its latest international congress before the
1 Boutelle Ellsworth Low: History of International Labor Legislation. Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. (In preparation.)
£ Stephen Bauer: International Standardization of Labor Legislation. Bulletin 254, U. S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics. (Translation of Arbeiterschutz und Volkergemeinsehaft. Zürich. Art. Institut Orell
Fiissli, 1918, 157 pp.)
; Other sources used in this summary are the publications of the International Association for Labor
Legislation, published in English, French, and German, and reports of various international trade-union
conferences; also L. S. Woolf: International Government. London. The Fabian Society, 1916, 259pp.
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war was held at Copenhagen in 1910, at which delegates from 33
nations were present. The earlier association held seven conferences;
the revived organization has held 10 international congresses, in
cluding the recent one at Bern, not wholly representative.
The International Socialist Bureau, with headquarters at Brussels,
was established in 1900, and is the permanent organization of the
national delegates. The so-called international secretaries have met
annually or more frequently since 1904. The executive committee
is composed of Belgian socialists.
Both industrial and political reforms are on the program of the
Internationale. The resolutions of the 1910 congress are typical of the
demands of the international socialist movement. These are: (1) A
maximum workday of 8 hours; (2) prohibition of employment of
children under 14 years; (3) prohibition of night work except when
necessary; (4) uninterrupted rest of 36 hours once a week as a mini
mum for all workers; (5) unrestricted right of free combination and
association; (6) inspection of working conditions by authorized
agencies upon which labor is represented. In the political field the
congress demanded ultimate complete disarmament and the abolition
of secret diplomacy.
International trade-unionism.—The* international workingmen’s
movement has developed contemporaneously with the international
socialist movement.
Two aspects of the international trade-union movement should be
distinguished. There is first the international organization of sep
arate crafts and the coming together of such organizations in an
International Trades Secretariat; and second, there is the organ
ization through an international body of the trade-union federations,
made up of various trades or crafts of the various nations, whose
central office is termed the International Secretariat.
Before the war 32 trades were organized internationally, the largest
and most important being the metal workers and the miners, each of
which had over a million members. In 1913 the international secre
taries of these various international craft organizations met at Zurich
for the first time. The respective trades or crafts, it should be ob
served, had hitherto been holding their independent conferences.
This joint meeting of the secretaries, or secretariats as the offices are
termed, was another move in the direction of greater unity in purpose
and action of the trade-union movement. Principally, the conference
hoped to bring about a closer association between the International
Trades Secretariats and the International Secretariat which repre
sented the various trades and federations.
Purely trade-union activities, as distinguished from political
action, have taken up the attention of the international craft federa
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tions. All of them have favored the 8-hour day. The miners have
advocated the nationalization of mines; transportation workers,
dock laborers, and seamen advocate the nationalization of the
railroads and the means of production.
The International Secretariat mentioned above is the central
executive organ of the International Federation of Labor—being
called prior to 1913 the International Federation of the National
Trade Union Centers. It was organized permanently in 1902.
Before the war 29 national trade-union federations were affiliated
to the International Federation, together with 6 federations in the
States of the Commonwealth of Australia—altogether 35 affiliated
federations. In addition, the 32 craft federations already described
have affiliated to it. It claimed before the war an affiliated mem
bership of approximately 7,500,000.
Trade-union matters have been the principal concern of the
Federation. Its main purpose has been to unify the labor move
ment. It has on the whole represented the more prudent and
conservative elements of the movement. Political unity can not
be said to characterize it, although most of the members in the
European countries represent collectivist policies—that is, State
capitalism or socialism.
International Association for Labor Legislation.—Besides the politi
cal and trade-union organizations built up internationally by the
workman himself, individuals outside the labor movement have
organized various international bodies which have concerned them
selves in the cause of labor reform and regulation. These are bodies
composed of economists and interested workers in the field of labor
reform. In no instance are labor and capital represented as such.
Among associations of this kind may be mentioned the International
Federation for the Observance of Sunday, International Congress
of Occupational Diseases, International Association on Unemploy
ment, Permanent International Committee on Social Insurance,
International Association for the Protection of Native Labor, and
the International Association for Labor Legislation.
The mention of the names of these associations carries with it a
sufficient statement of their objects. The most important is the
International Association for Labor Legislation. This was formed
in Paris in 1900 by a group of economists who met at the time of the
Paris Exposition of that date. In 1901 a permanent International
Labor Office was organized. The office has a semiofficial character;
it is supported by contributions voted by some of the countries
represented in the association, and delegates appointed by the vari
ous adhering countries attend its conferences. Twenty-five countries
have established national branches of the International Association,
and 19 appropriated public funds for its support in 1913. Seven
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conferences have been held by the association, the latest at Zurich
in 1912 in which 22 countries participated. Various delegates’
meetings have been held between sessions of the more formal
conferences.
The International Association for Labor Legislation has been
closely and influentially associated with the drafting and prepara
tion of the international labor conventions and treaties described
below. It has, so to speak, prepared the soil and done much of the
cultivation necessary before the gathering of the fruit of interna
tional labor legislation. It has prepared studies and outlined
policies in such matters as the prohibition of night work of women
and children; use of the dangerous white or yellow phosphorus in
match manufacturing; administration of labor laws; protection of
workmen from accident and disease; weekly rest day; and hours of
labor in continuous industries.
The most recent action of the association was the submission in
June, 1918, of a memorandum requesting the incorporation of a
program of international labor legislation in the final peace treaty
which will formally terminate the World War. The proposal is that
the International Labor Office shall be made the official agency for
the enforcement of the international labor standards which it is hoped
will become a part of the future constitution of the proposed society
of nations.1 Among the standards urged for international acceptance
are the following:
(1) Minimum age of employment to be 14 years, with right to advance it, as, for
instance, in mines, to age 16.
(2) Ten-hour workday for women; a short Saturday; eight weeks’ leave for women
in time of confinement.
(3) Eight-hour shifts in mining and in establishments operating continuously.
(4) Provision of Sunday rest.
(5) Prohibition of use of poisonous substance where substitutes exist.
(6) Measures for safety of employees on railroads.
(7) Protection of seamen, on model of American Seamen’s law.
(8) Protection for legal claims of workers under different social insurance laws.
(9) International regulation of the labor contract, to prevent disputes, involving
(a) guaranty of recognition of right of free association and combination; (6) legal
sanction to collective agreements; (c) minimum wage regulation.
(10) Protection of immigrant labor, and limitation upon duration of contract for
colonial contract labor, i. e., six months for mining labor and three years for labor
in agriculture and other industries.
(11) Uniform official reports concerning the enforcement of labor laws.
OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL ACTION.
Official international action limiting the hours of labor was proposed
by Robert Owen as early as 1818. In 1840 Le Grande, an Alsatian
manufacturer, addressed memorials to the European Governments em1For the demands in detail and a critical analysis of their significance, see Monthly L abor R eview
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, November, 1918, pp. 55-62.
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bodying the idea of international cooperation for the control of indus
trial conditions. In 1871 an attempt was made by Germany and
Austria to fix by agreements certain standards in labor legislation. In
1876 Switzerland suggested the aid of European diplomacy, but action
in the matter by Switzerland was deferred until 1881. In that year the
Swiss National Council adopted a resolution, previously considered in
1880, calling upon the Federal Council to take up the matter with
certain foreign Governments. The subject was very considerably
agitated in France, particularly during 1890. As a result of these
sporadic efforts came the calling of the Berlin Conference of 1890.
Switzerland had in 1889 planned to call the conference at Bern,
but this action was suddenly anticipated by Berlin, the German Gov
ernment having become greatly concerned over threatened labor
disturbances, particularly the strike in the Ruhr district.
Berlin Conference, March, 1890}—The Berlin Conference summoned
by the German Emperor to meet at Berlin March 15 to 29, 1890, was
the first of four official conferences, the most recent of which was held
in Bern in 1913. Fourteen countries were officially represented at
the Berlin Conference, namely, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal,
Switzerland, and the three Scandinavian countries. The subjects for
discussion embraced (1) the employment of women and children;
(2) Sunday work; (3) mining; (4) methods of enforcing agreements.
The conference was purely advisory, having authority merely to
recommend terms for adoption by treaties.
No practical results flowed from it. The spirit of international
cooperation held out as possible was, however, an earnest of the
future. Indirectly it resulted in the formation in 1900 of the Inter
national Association for Labor Legislation, and was the forerunner
of various unofficial labor congresses and conferences which inter
vened between that date and the holding of the next strictly official
gathering.
Bern Conference of May, 1905.—Fifteen nations sent official repre
sentatives to this conference. They gathered as the result of a
request from the International Association for Labor Legislation to
the Swiss Federal Council to consider two resolutions prepared by the
International Association. Like the earlier Berlhi Conference of
1890, this, too, was a purely advisory or technical conference. Three
methods of procedure were open to the gathering: (1) To conclude
definite treaties or conventions to be later ratified by the respective
1 France. Ministère des Affaires Etrangères Conference Internationale de Berlin, 15-29 March, 1890.
Paris. Impr. Nationale, 1890,128 pp.
Great Britain. Foreign Office. Correspondence respecting the proposed labor conference at Berlin,
London, 1890, 5 pp. (Com. No. 8,1890). Further correspondence respecting the International Labor Con
ference at Berlin. London, 1890, 194 pp. (Com. No. 16, 1890).
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Governments; (2) to draft tentative agreements, reserving it to the
Governments to transform these into conventions; or (3) to pass
resolutions embodying suggestions for the terms of future agree
ments. The second course was pursued and agreements were drafted
for the prohibition of the importation into the respective countries
of white or yellow phosphorus for the manufacture of matches, and
defining the limits of the night rest of women in industry.
It was now necessary to secure the ratification of these tentative
agreements by the countries interested. The Swiss Federal Council,
on June 26, 1905, proposed to the nations the calling of a conference
to proceed with this necessary ratification. About a year later it was
announced (June 14,1906) by the Swiss Council that favorable replies
had been received from Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
Bern Conference of September, 1906.—The Bern Conference of Sep
tember, 1906, was a formal conference called for the purpose of agreeing
to the final terms of the treaties tentatively drafted by the Bern
Conference of the preceding year. Fourteen States were represented.
Two conventions were signed, final ratification being reserved to the
Governments interested. All of the 14 States represented signed the
convention for the prohibition of night work by women. These
States were Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great
Britain, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. It is noted that Norway is not
included, although it signed the draft agreements at the conference
a year earlier, while Great Britain and Sweden appear as signatories
although not having agreed to the earlier draft conventions.
Only seven countries signed the agreement for the prohibition of
the use of white or yellow phosphorus in the manufacture of matches.
These were Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the
Netherlands, and Switzerland. Five States which had signed the
draft convention of 1905 did not sign this final agreement, namely,
Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. Denmark, a
signer in 1906, had not signed the draft convention of 1905. Nor
way, Sweden, and Great Britain did not sign on either occasion.
The United States has complied with the prohibition by passing the
act of April 8,1912, putting a prohibitive tax on the manufacture, sale,
and removal of matches made from white phosphorus. This method
was adopted because of the constitutional bar to legislation to destroy
any industry.1
Bern Conference, September, 1913.—Again in 1913 the Swiss Gov
ernment took the initiative in urging international labor legislation
1 For a discussion of. the constitutionality of labor treaties see article by Thomas I. Parkinson, in
American Labor Legislation Review, New York, March, 1919.
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by approaohing the Governments which had participated in the 1905
and 1906 conferences, submitting to these powers a program drafted
by the International Association for Labor Legislation proposing the
adoption of conventions prohibiting entirely night work by young
persons and limiting to 10 hours a day the hours of work of women
and young persons.1 The delegates of Germany, Austria, Hungary,
Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Norway,
the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland assem
bled at Bern September 15, 1913. The same procedure was fol
lowed as at the Bern Conference of 1905, the delegates merely draw
ing up tentative agreements to be formulated into final treaty form
at a later diplomatic conference similar to the one held at Bern in
1906, the treaties then to be ratified formally by the respective Gov
ernments. Such a diplomatic conference was called by the Swiss
Government for September 3, 1914. The war intervening, it was
not held, so that no formal treaties have resulted from the Bern Con
ference of 1913.
IN T ER N A TIO N A L LABOR LEGISLATION.
Various labor treaties have been entered into between different
countries. Altogether there have been signed 30 bipartite agreements
and two polypartite treaties, as noted above, signed as a result of the
Bern Conference of 1906.
The treaties or agreements entered into by the various nations
fall into three groups or classes: (1) Those affecting the movement of
labor, i. e., emigration and immigration conventions; (2) those respect
ing equality or reciprocity of treatment of native and alien labor;
and (3) those providing for uniform labor standards in the signatory
countries. Naturally the treaties may again be classified according to
the subject matter dealt with.
Movement oj labor.—There are only a few treaties on this subject,
as it is one usually reserved to national action, and not considered
within the scope of international control. The following countries
have agreements respecting the migration or recruitment of alien
labor:
United Kingdom and France, October 20, 1906.
Transvaal and Portuguese Mozambique, April 1, 1909.
United States and Japan, April 5, 1911.
Equal treatment oj alien and native workmen.—The treaties falling
into that class of treaties which aim to accord to alien workmen the
advantages of the labor legislation of the country to which they
migrate are at present 27 in number, 4 being savings bank agree
ments, 4 social insurance conventions, and 19 covering accident
1 Translations of the memoranda by the association on the subject appear in Bulletin 117 of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, “ The prohibition of the night work of young persons,” Washington, 1913,
74 pp.; and Bulletin 118 of the Bureau of'Labor Statistics, “ Ten-hour maximum working day for
women and young persons,” Washington, 1913, 71 pp.
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insurance. Thus this group of treaties covers the larger part of all
international agreements.
The savings bank agreements permit nationals of one country to
transfer without charge deposits from the savings banks of the other
country. Social and accident insurance treaties make applicable to
resident alien workmen the terms of the laws of the country of their
employment or grant to nonresident dependents of alien workmen
the benefits of the law of the country of employment.
Social insurance agreements have been entered into between the
following States:
France and Italy, April 15, 1904.
France and Italy, June 9, 1906.
Germany and Italy, July 31, 1912.
France and Switzerland, October 13, 1913.
Accident insurance agreements have been entered into as follows:
Switzerland and Italy, July 31, 1904.
Germany and Italy, December 3, 1904.
Germany and Austria-Hungary, January 19, 1905.
Luxemburg and Belgium, April 15, 1905.
Germany and Luxemburg, September 2, 1905.
France and Belgium, February 21, 1906.
Luxemburg and Belgium, May 22, 1906.
France and Italy, June 9, 1906.
France and Luxemburg, June 27, 1906.
Italy and France, June 30, 1907.
Germany and the Netherlands, August 27, 1907.
France and Great Britain, July 3, 1909. (Arrangement to supplement this,
November, 1910.)
Hungary and Italy, September 19, 1909.
France and Belgium, March 12, 1910.
Germany and Belgium, January 6, 1912.
Germany and Spain, February 12, 1913.
Italy and United States, February 25, 1913.
Germany and the Netherlands, May 30, 1914.
Besides the savings banks and insurance conventions, and belong
ing in the class of treaties granting equality of treatment of native
and alien workmen in various countries, are two special treaties,
one entered into between France and Italy and one between France and
Denmark. The former, ratified June 10, 1910, provides reciprocal
protection of children under the labor and educational laws of the
respective countries; the latter, ratified August 9, 1911, subjects to
arbitration every issue raised between the countries concerning
their respective labor laws. The commercial treaties of certain
European countries also contain stipulations concerning reciprocity
in the application of all labor laws to alien and native workmen alike.
Uniform labor standards.—Those treaties which affect labor stand
ards in the adhering countries involve' a higher degree of adjustment
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between the nations concerned than those described above as in the
nature of comity agreements and involving no changes in domestic
standards in labor legislation. Treaties of the former class are
also more difficult of adoption; in fact, only two such agreements
are in force, namely, those relating to the prohibition of the night
work of women and to the use of white or yellow phosphorus in
matches. Both of these were signed at Bern, September 26, 1906.
The night-work agreement provided that night work in industrial
employment should be prohibited for all women without distinction
of ago, with certain exceptions. Eleven hours shall constitute the
necessary period of night rest, and within the 11 hours the period
from 10 p. m. to 5 a. m. shall be included. The agreement applies
only to establishments having 10 or more employees.
Complete suspension of the prohibition is allowed in the case
of accidents beyond human control or providence and where loss
of perishable raw materials is at stake. The rest period may be
limited to 10 hours in seasonal industries and in those countries
where by law no regulations exist at present as to night work by
women; and in countries outside of Europe and in colonies and
protectorates, when climatic conditions require it, the uninterrupted
night rest may be shorter than the established minimum, but a
compensatory rest during the day must be accorded.
The provisions of the treaty prohibiting the use of phosphorus in
matches are simple: “ The high contracting parties bind themselves
to prohibit in their respective territories the manufacture, importa
tion, and sale of matches which contain white (yellow) phosphorus.”
As the seven countries which signed the convention bound them
selves not to import white phosphorus matches, the result has been
that those countries which continued to manufacture them for
export have been left practically without a market. This pressure
consequently has brought other manufacturing countries to adhere
to the convention, so that, outside of perhaps two countries, white
phosphorus poisoning of workers is a thing of the past.
ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR TR EA TIES.
The enforcement of labor treaties is left to the authorities in the
countries affected; consular officers very frequently serve as interme
diaries. The French and Italian treaty of 1904 concerning savings
banks provided for an exchange of annual reports on the enforcement
of its terms. The Franco-Italian treaty of 1910 concerning reci
procity in the treatment of children in industry required that the
two countries issue simultaneously their rules and regulations neces
sary for the enforcement of the treaties. The German-Netherlands
treaty of 1907 prescribed details relating to the securing of deposi
tions and summoning witnesses. The Franco-British treaty of 1909
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and the supplementary arrangement of 1910 provide for the assist
ance of the British county court and the local French mayor in con
junction with the consuls of the respective countries in settling facts
as' to insurance claims in each country. Yearly reports of such judi
cial proceedings are to be exchanged.
Two treaties of 1912, those between Germany and Belgium and
Germany and Italy, applied to the carrying out of the social insur
ance agreements, concerned the same rules and regulations that apply
in civil and commercial matters. The latter treaty also defines
in greater detail than hitherto the duties of consuls, as, for instance,
requiring them to serve instruments upon their absent nationals.
Arbitration in the settlement of disputes arising in the enforce
ment of international labor treaties has been provided for in one
treaty, that of 1909 between Hungary and Italy concerning accident
insurance. The court of arbitration created by the treaty consists
of five persons, two chosen from each State and one, to serve as
president, from a third friendly State and chosen by the former four.
The arbitrators can have the use of the judicial processes of either
country to assist in elucidating all facts and matters in controversy.
The farthest that any official action has gone in arranging for
the enforcement of labor treaties were the proposals by Switzerland
and Great Britain. In 1906 Great Britain outlined plans for a per
manent commission in connection with the application of the two
polypartite treaties of Bern—those for the prohibition of night work
by women, and of the use of white phosphorus in matches. The func
tion of the commission was to make investigation as to the observ
ance of the terms of the treaty in the signatory countries. The com
mission would then report its findings and recommendations to future
conferences for consideration or even for arbitration. Switzerland
favored the proposal. It was proposed as an alternative by France
and Switzerland that the commission be only a consultative body
and not advisory, but even this was objected to by some countries as
an infringement upon their sovereignty.
Probably the chief obstacle to the securing of international agree
ments modifying industrial standards is the present basic conflict
between employer and employee. Within each country the various
economic groups are continually in conflict. The attempts to raise
standards, shorten hours, and increase wages are considered by
employers as attacks upon the interests of production, because such
changes increase costs and thus limit business returns. While some
countries, in spite of this ceaseless struggle of interests, have brought
labor standards to a fairly high level, other countries “ where labor
is cheap, plentiful, and impotent” are still submitting to the 12-hour
day and a régime of low wages. For the latter countries, it is obvious
that any considerable upward movement of standards will mean a
[956]
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
11
relatively greater loss to their employers as a group, hence the
opposition of employers to such proposed agreements. Although
long periods of transition for adaptation to higher labor standards are
allowed in existing agreements, the countries of low labor standards
have almost invariably declined to participate in international labor
conventions.
The agitation for the regulation of labor conditions began, as
already observed, among closely contiguous European countries. The
tendency is for labor to move to the countries of improved labor
standards, while the knowledge among the workers of any country of
the better treatment of labor in neighboring countries is provocative
of unrest in the home country. Thus the threatened loss of labor and
disaffection among the workers has brought home to employers the
desirability of considering some united action on their part with the
employers of other countries.
With increasing education of the workers and with gradually
enlarging facilities of communication the more urgent will become
the requirement to raise labor standards by international action.
Enlightened manufacturers see in such raising of industrial standards
no diminution in the long run in their ability to compete with those
manufacturers who can avail themselves of cheap and helpless
masses of workers; while the working man sees in international action
a means of improving the conditions of life of those who constitute
the great majority of the population.
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[9571
INFLUENCE OF THE WAR ON ACCIDENT RATES IN MACHINE BUILDING.
BY LUCIAN
W . C H A N EY .
One of the most interesting questions at the present time concern
ing accident experience is in regard to the effect of the great intensi
fication of industrial effort incident to the war. The review of this
subject as to the iron and steel industry recently published in Bulletin
234 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics brings out many
points of interest.
In order to compare the war conditions in the machine-building
industry with those disclosed by Bulletin 216 for the year 1912 the
194 plants whose experience was utilized in the preparation of that
report were requested to furnish similar information for 1917. Of
the 194 plants which furnished the 1912 data 94 declined the prepa
ration of the desired information on the ground of excessive pressure
on their clerical forces. Fortunately the 100 who could furnish in
formation were so distributed in the industry that a ll. important
branches were adequately represented.
The equivalent of 94,103 300-day workers were employed in the
100 establishments, or 81 per cent of the number included in the
earlier collection of data. This gives a better idea of the relative
importance of the second survey than would be obtained by a com
parison of the number of plants. I t was chiefly the larger plants that
reported and these had in so many cases materially increased the
number employed that some departments are represented by a greater
volume of employment than was the case in the earlier report.
Table 1 presents in a form for ready comparison the figures for the
two years 1912 and 1917, classified by products.
12
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
T a b l e 1___N U M B E R
OF ACCIDENTS, AND ACCIDENT FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY
R A TE S IN 194 M ACHINE-BUILDING PLANTS IN 1912 AND IN 100 PLANTS IN 1917,
CLASSIFIED B Y PRODUCTS.
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000 300-day
workers).
Number of accidents.
Product and
year.
Electrical:
1912............
1917............
Locomotives:
1912............
1917............
Machine tools:
1912............
1917............
Ships:
1912............
1917............
M in in g machinery:
1912............
1917............
Cranes, etc.:
1912............
1917............
Transmission:
1912............
1917............
Unclassified:
1912............
1917............
work
ers.
Per
ma
Death. nent
disa
bility.
Per Tem
Tem
Per Tem
po
ma po
ma po
rary Total. Death. nent rary Total. Death. nent rary Total.
disa
disa disa
disa disa
bility. bility.
bility.
bility. bility.
35,674
29,695
5
4
100 3,455
989
40
3,560
1,033
0.1
.1
31,229
25,322
22
17
160 4,348
80 2,268
4,530
2,365
24,359
20,185
3
7
68 1,486
63 2,495
6,615
5,932
3
7
15 1,422
361
10
3,994
4,227
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
99.7
34.7
0.7
.8
1.1
.8
1.0
.6
2. ,8
2.2
.7
.8
5.1 139. 2 145.0
3.2 89.6 93.6
4.2
4.3
2.9
3.5
1.4
1.4
8.5
9.2
1,557
2,565
.1
.3
2.8 61.0 63.9
3.1 123.6 127.0
.7
2.1
.8
2.6
.5
1.3
2.0
6.0
1,440
378
.5
1. 2
2.3 215.0 217.8
1. 7 60.9 63.8
2.7
7.1
1.6
2.3
2.3
1.4
6.6
10.8
1.1
.9
1.9
2.1
3.0
3.0
12
6
755
794
767
800
2.8
1.3
96.8
33.3
3.0 189.0 192.0
1. 4 171.3 172.7
3.4 186.4 190.0
5.8 218.2 225.2
1.3
7.0
.5
3.2
1.6
2.5
3.4
12.7
.5
4.0
3.8
85.6 89.6
96.5 100.8
3.3
2.1
3.3
1.1
1.2
3. 2
7.8
769
1,004
.4
.4
4.4 101.3 106.1
5.7 186.1 192.2
2.5
2.3
2.0
3.8
1.0
2.0
5.5
8.1
411 13,199 13,647
251 8,426 8,717
.3
.4
3.6 114.1 11S.0
2.7 89.5 92.6
1.9
2.6
2.1
2.3
1.1
1.2
5.1
6.1
4,362
1,723
1
2
15
10
813
376
829
388
.2
1.2
2,226
1,842
1
9
7
186
176
195
184
7,244
5,177
3
2
32
35
734
967
Total:
1912............ 115,703
1917............ 94,103
37
40
The products are arranged in the order of the volume of employ
ment. A comparison of the totals brings out immediately a condi
tion which prevails in several of the product groups. Accident fre
quency declines from 118 cases per 1;000 300-day workers to 92.6
cases. The severity rate on the contrary rises from 5.1 days to 6.1
days per 300-day worker, a 20 per cent increase. When the items
are examined it becomes evident that this increase is due to a greater
prevalence of fatality, and an increased seriousness of the permanent
disabilities.
This decline in frequency with a rising severity is a very common
phenomenon. It arises in part because of a measure of self-decep
tion based on the use of frequency rates. A company which observes
a marked decline in frequency is apt to have a feeling of complacency
which may entirely obscure the fact that the serious element in the
occurrences has so far increased as more than to wipe out the benefit
of the lessened frequency.
In 1913 several concerns showed a definite lessening of severity,
but it is evident that the stress of war activity not only overcame the
advantage gained but pushed severity to a point as high or higher
than that of 1912.
110451 ° — 19- ------- 2
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[
959 ]
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
There are some exceptions to this general experience which deserve
special mention. In the manufacture of electrical apparatus the
frequency rate declined from 99.7 cases per 1,000 300-day workers to
34.7 cases, a 65 per cent decrease. The severity rate declined from
2.8 days per worker to 2.2 days, or 21 per cent. Here exclusive
attention to the frequency showing might induce greater optimism
than the facts really justify.
In the manufacture of machine tools both frequency and severity
increased. Frequency rose from 63.9 cases to 127, an increase of
99 per cent, severity from 2 days to 6 days, an increase of 200
per cent.
The other products are not represented by a sufficient body of
employment to justify placing emphasis on their showing although
the rates may be accepted as sufficiently typical to give a fairly
accurate idea of the trend during the highly active year of 1917.
Table 2 presents the same data classified by departments:
T a ble 2 .—N U M BER
OF ACCIDENTS, AN D ACCIDENT FREQUENCY AND SE V ERITY
R A TES IN 194 MACHINE-BUILDING PLANTS IN 1912 AND IN 100 PLANTS IN 1917,
CLASSIFIED BY DEPA R TM EN TS.
Number of accidents.
|
Department
and year.
Machine, shops:
1912............
1917............
Foundries:
1912............
1917............
Erecting:
1912............
1917............
Boiler shops:
1912............
1917............
Forge shops:
1912............
1917............
Wood working:
1912............
1917.
Maintenance:
1912
1917 ..........
Yards:
1912............
1917............
Unclassified:
1912............
1917............
300-day
work
ers.
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000 300-day
workers).
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
Per Tem
Per Tem
Per Tem
ma po
ma po
ma po
rary
nent
rary
nent
nent
rary
Death. dis dis Total. Death. dis dis Total. Death. dis dis Total.
abil abil
abil abil
abil abil
ity. ity.
ity. ity.
ity. ity.
37,595
39,634
7
15
132 3,923 4,062
126 3,998 4.139
0.2
.4
3.5 104.4 108.1
3.2 100.9 104.5
1.1
2.3
1.4
2.4
0.9
1.1
3.4
5.8
12,307
7,245
4
4
49 1,670 1,723
17 1,211 1,232
.3
.6
4.0 135.7 140.0
2.3 167.1 170.0
1.9
3.3
2.1
2.3
1.4
1.9
5.4
7.5
11,373
4,991
6
3
56 1,992 2,054
410
392
15
.5
.6
4.9 175.2 180.6
3.0 78.5 8-2.1
3.1
3.6
2.8
4.1
1.9
1.0
7.8
8.7
2,994
2,889
6
5
29
10
636
261
671
276
2.0
1.7
9.7 212.4 224.1
3.5 90.3 95.5
12.0
10.4
6.3
3.2
2.4
3.2
20.7
16.8
2.776
2,869
3
13
16
439
380
455
396
1.1
4.7 158.1 163.9
5.6 132.5 138.1
6.4
2.8
5.9
1.7
2.1
10.9
8.0
3,571
2,266
1
27
13
264
190
292
203
.3
7.6
5.7
73.9
83.8
81.8
89.5
1.7
2.4
3.4
.9
1.5
5.0
4.9
1
1
137
107
138
108
.7
.9
93.3
94.9
94.0
95.8
.8
.5
1.1
1.3
1.9
1.8
7
2
260
108
270
111
2.5
14.7
5.7
4.3
2.3
2.6
1.6
21.6
9.6
97 3,878 3,982
51 1,779 1,842
.2
.4
1.0
.5
1.4
1.1
1.0
2.6
4.6
1,488
1,128
1,221
1,048
3
42,398
32,033
7
12
1
1.0
5.7 212.9 221.1
1.9 103.1 106.0
2.3
1.6
91.5
55.5
94.0
57.5
2.2
It is of interest to observe that the tendency to lowered frequency
rates with increasing severity is found in three of the large depart
ments, namely, machine shops, erecting, and the unclassified group.
In foundries both frequency and severity increase. The smaller de
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[960]
15
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
partments show an encouraging situation in that with but two slight
exceptions both frequency and severity decrease.
Machine shops show an increase in severity of from 3.4 days to 5.S
days per worker, or 71 per cent; foundries, from 5.4 days to 7.5 days,
or 39 per cent; erecting shops, from 7.8 days to 8.7 days, or 11 per
cent. The most favorable showing is made by yards, in which days
lost per 300-day worker declined from 21.6 days to 9.6 days, or 56
per cent. Unfortunately the volume of employment is not in either
year sufficient to warrant acceptance of these rates as necessarily
typical but it may be concluded that the reduced rate represents a
real improvement in the handling of the problems of internal trans
portation. It is still true that industrial establishments have not
brought their equipment and their methods of operation in trans
portation up to the standards set for railroads under Federal super
vision.
Boiler shops, which showed next to the highest severity rate in 1912,
had the highest in 1917, but the rate declined from 20.7 days to 16.8
days, or 19 per cent.
R A TES IN M UNITION PLA N TS.
Much interest naturally exists regarding the conditions in the largo
munition works where the force has been assembled under great pres
sure and the work expedited by all known means. It has not been
possible to bring together the data on a large scale but the facts ara
available for two large concerns and are given in Table 3.
T a ble 3 .—N U M BER
OF ACCIDENTS, A N D ACCIDENT FR EQUENCY AND SEV E R IT Y
R A TES IN TWO M UNITION PLANTS AND IN LOCOMOTIVE BUILD IN G AND MA
CHINE SHOPS.
Accident frequency rates
(per 1000 300-day
workers).
Number of accidents.
Item.
300-day
work
ers.
M unitions........ 4,000
M unitions........ 10,580
Locom otives... 25,322
Machine shops. 39,634
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
Per Tem
Per Tem
Per Tem
ma po
ma po
ma po
nent
rary
rary
nent
nent
rary
Death. dis dis Total. Death.
dis dis Total. Death. dis dis Total.
abil abil
abil abil
abil abil
ity. ity.
ity. ity.
ity. ity.
2
7
17
15
12
804
818
11 1,331 1,349
80 2,268 2,365
126 3,998 4,139
0.5
.7
.8
.4
3.0 201.0 204.5
1.0 125.8 127.5
3.2 89.6 93.6
3.2 100.9 104.5
3.0
4.0
4.3
2.3
3.9
2.8
3.5
2.4
2.3
3.0
1.4
1.1
9.2
9.8
9.2
5.8
What the prewar rates may have been in the munition plants there
is no means of knowing. In fact there can scarcely be said to have
been such rates, since the expansion and the change of work entirely
transformed the plants. It is evident that the same influences which
produced the increased rates in the building of locomotives and engines
and in machine shops in general were operative in munitions works.
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[901 ]
16
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The severity rates of 9.8 and 9.2 days in the munition plants are
markedly close to the 9.2 days of the locomotive builders. The lower
rate (5.8 days) in machine shops corresponds to the lighter and less
hazardous operations which form a large part of the work of machine
shops in general.
GOVERNMENT PLANTS.
The United States arsenal and navy yards are essentially machinebuilding concerns. For purposes of comparison Table 4 is introduced:
T a b l e 4 .—N U M BER
OF ACCIDENTS, A N D ACCIDENT FR E Q U EN CY AN D SE V E R IT Y
R A TES IN A RSENALS AND N A V Y Y A R D S A N D IN MACHINE AND SH IP BU ILD IN G ,
1912 TO 1914, AND 1917 AND 1918.
Number of accidents.
Item.
Arsenals:1
1912 to 1914.......
Machine building:
1912.....................
1917.....................
Navy yards:1
1912 to 1914.......
1918.....................
Shipbuilding:
1912.....................
1917.....................
300day
work
ers.
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000 300-day
workers).
Accident severity
rates (per
300-day worker).
Per Tem
Per Tem
ma porary
ma po
rary
nent
Non
nent
Death. dis dis Total. Death.
dis dis Total. Death. fatal. Total.
abil
abil ity.
abil abil
ity. ity.
ity.
12,554
5
2,380
0.4
2.9 186.2 189.5
2.4
3.6
6.0
115,703
94,103
37
40
411 13,199 13,647
251 8, 426 8,717
.3
.4
3.6 114.1 118.0
2.7 89.5 92.6
1.9
2.6
3.2
3.5
5.1
6.1
45,928
54,026
45
41
89 12,704 12,838
45 5,273 5,359
1.0
.8
1.9 276.6 279.5
.8 97.6 99.2
5.9
4.6
4.2
2.2
10.1
6.8
6,615
5,932
3
7
.5
1.2
2.3 215.0 217.8
1.7 60.9 63.8
2.7
7.1
3.9
3.7
6.6
10.8
37
15
10
2,338
1,422
361
1,440
378
1 The reports from arsenals and navy yards in 1912 to 1914 were manifestly incomplete for disabilities
under two weeks. For the sake of more satisfactory comparison, in this table, later information has been
applied in estimating the number under two weeks, and this estimated number is included with the
reported number in the temporary disabilities.
No dependable information is at hand regarding conditions in the
arsenals later than the three-year period 1912 to 1914. The rise in
severity rates which occurred in the machine-building concerns in
1917 brought them to the level of the arsenals in the three-year
period.
It was not possible in the navy-yard data to separate with accu
racy the losses of time due to permanent disability and temporary
disability. The severity rates are accordingly combined to form a
nonfatal severity rate. Navy yards, considered as a unit, made
a marked improvement in both frequency and severity between
the three-year period and 1918. The decline is 65 per cent in fre
quency and 33 per cent in severity. The private shipyards for which
data were available declined in frequency but increased in severity.
The number of 300-day workers covered is not, however, large
enough to permit positive conclusions.
The general upward trend of severity rates in machine-building
concerns during the war period, when compared with a declining
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[962 ]
M ONTHLY LABOE EEVIEW.
17
severity in the navy yards, is very significant. In both machinebuilding operations and naval, construction and repair the period
was one of intense activity. Relatively inexperienced men were
constantly being employed and much overtime work was being
done. Under these conditions machine building suffered a slight
but definite increase in severity while the naval establishments
made a very decided decrease. No explanation can be offered for
this condition except the earnest effort of the officers in command,
the hearty cooperation of the entire management, and the skill and
energy of the safety engineers in direct charge.
On the organization of the United States Employees’ Compensa
tion Commission a complete survey of all Government establish
ments was undertaken, at the instance of Mr. Lew R. Palmer, then
president of the National Safety Council. Under the direction of
Mr. Arthur H. Young, director of the American Museum of Safety,
30 or 40 of the most experienced safety men in the country con
ducted this survey.
The suggestions developed by this survey were largely carried out
immediately. With the cooperation of the Bureau of Standards
and the Department of Labor a complete system of safety codes was
evolved. All new construction was, as far as possible, subjected to
critical review from the safety standpoint. The results of this
effort are undoubtedly reflected in the improvement in rates noted.
It should be stated that this improvement is contributed by nearly
all the yards, and in a few cases which show a rising rate it is due
to the kind of calamity against which all precautions are from time
to time ineffective.
This statement should not close without special mention of the
group of safety engineers who were drawn into this service and to
whose unstinted efforts it is fair to attribute a considerable portion
of credit for the really remarkable results secured. There has
never been a time when it was more likely, and in a sense excusable,
that accident rates should run riot. That they have not done so in
any case so far covered by the bureau’s studies, and that in notable
instances, in the face of the difficulties, reductions have been pos
sible, is a guaranty of the essential soundness of accident prevention
effort.
Evidence is not wanting, in the material considered in this brief
review, that some of the engineers who share in the credit for this
excellent showing are still too much impressed by the human factor
and attribute too much to so-called “ carelessness.”
Not until this idea is cast out of the mind of the men directly in
charge will engineers get down to the real fundamentals of accident
prevention, namely, (1) adequate “ engineering revision ’ and (2)
proper instruction of men in safe methods of doing work.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 963]
18
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
COMPARISON'S WITH THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY.
The foregoing statement of facts leads naturally to some com
parisons with the iron and steel industry in which much more exten
sive studies have been made.
Table 5 presents the experience of a portion of the iron and steel
industry in the period 1907 to 1917:
T able 5 .—N U M BER OF ACCIDENTS, AN D ACCIDENT FR E Q U E N C Y AND SEV E R IT Y
R A TES IN A SECTION OF THE IRON AND ST E E L IN D U S T R Y , 1907 TO 1917.
Number of accidents.
Year.
1907........
1910........
1911.........
1912........
1913........
1914........
1915........
1916........
1917........
300-day
work
ers.
27,632
79,486
80,029
93,666
91,107
77,474
79,065
108,994
86,847
Per Tem
po
ma
Death. nent rary
disa disa
bility. bility.
Total.
6,529
14,124
13, S37
17,450
14,103
8,406
8,420
10,365
6,687
6,695
14,632
14,333
18,012
14,613
8,731
8,807
10,975
7,034
61
95
72
84
100
62
55
76
69
105
413
424
478
410
263
332
534
278
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000300-day workers).
Per
ma
Death. nent
disa
bility.
2.2
1.2
.9
.9
1.1
.8
.7
.7
.8
3.8
5.2
5.3
5.1
4.5
3.4
4.2
4.9
3.2
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
Tem
Per Tem
po
ma po
rary Total. Death. nent rary Total
disa
disa disa
bility.
bility. bility.
236.3
177.7
167.6
186.3
150.3
108.5
106.5
95.1
77.0
242.4
184.1
173.8
192.3
155.9
112.7
111.4
100.8
81.0
13.3
7.3
5.2
5.4
6.8
4.6
4.2
4.2
4.6
6.8
4.7
4.6
4.3
3.8
3.2
3.2
3.8
2.5
3.2
2.2
1.9
2.2
1.9
1.5
1.3
1.3
1.2
23.3
14.2
11.7
11.9
12.5
9.3
8.7
9.3
8.3
When the rates in the foregoing table are compared with those
for machine building, it appears that in five of the years covered the
frequency rates are higher than in either year shown for machine
building. In three years the rate is lower than the 1912 rate for
machine building but higher than the 1917 rate. In 1917 this
section of the iron and steel industry had a lower frequency rate
than the machine builders.
In all the years the iron and steel industry had a higher severity
rate than machine building, but in 1917 the rate was below that of
1912, while in machine building it was materially higher.
Some of the industries, such as the construction of locomotives and
ships and the manufacture of cranes, had higher severity rates in
1917 than the iron and steel plants. Employment in the construc
tion of locomotives and engines is sufficient to make this showing
significant. With the others ,the figures must be considered with
caution on account of the small exposure.
Only two departments of machine building can be compared to
advantage with those of iron and steel. These are maohine shops
and the erecting department in the machine-building industry, which
can be compared, respectively, with the mechanical department and
fabricating shops in the iron and steel industry.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[964]
19
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
T a b l e 6 .—N U M B E R
OF ACCIDENTS, A N D ACCIDENT FR EQ U E N C Y AND SE V E R IT Y
R ATES IN MECHANICAL D E PA R TM EN TS OF THE IRON AN D ST E EL IN D U ST R Y ,
1907 TO 1917.
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000 300-day workers).
Number of accidents.
Year.
1907___
1910...
1911___
1 912....
1913...
1914___
1915___
1 916....
1917___
300-day
workers.
Per- TernmapoDeath. nent rary
disa- disability. bility.
Total.
635
1,148
878
1,023
981
510
483
693
515
641
1,187
918
1,066
1,021
532
511
752
553
2,542
7,871
6,712
7,122
7,474
5,125
5,693
9,185
8,892
2
7
5
5
7
3
1
9
1
4
32
35
38
33
19
27
50
37
PermaDeath. nent
disability.
0.8
.9
.7
.7
.9
.6
.2
1.0
.1
1.6
4.1
5.2
5.3
4.4
3.7
4.7
5.4
4.2
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
TemPer- Tempoma- porary Total. Death. nent rary Total.
disadisa- disability.
bility. bility.
249.7
145. 9
130.8
143.6
131.3
99.5
84.8
75. 5
57.9
252.1
150.8
136.8
149.7
136.6
103.8
89.8
81.9
62.2
4.8
5.3
4.5
4.2
5.0
3.5
1.1
5.9
.7
1.7
3.7
4.2
5.0
4.7
2.9
3.1
5.2
2.8
3.5
1.4
1.5
1.7
1.7
1.2
1.1
1.0
.8
10.0
10.4
10.2
10.9
12.0
7.6
5.3
12.1
4.3
The average frequency rate shown by the mechanical departments
in Table 6, from 1912 to 1917, is 102 cases per 1,000 300-day workers.
This is somewhat below the rates in machine shops, which were 108.1
in 1912 and 104.5 in 1917. In severity, on the contrary, the average
from 1912 to 1917 is 8.8 days for mechanical departments, compared
with machine-shop rates of 3.4 days in 1912 and 5.8 days in 1917.
It will be noticed that for the year 1917 the severity rate in machine
shops was 5.8 days, while in mechanical departments it was 4.3 days;
also that mechanical departments made a notable reduction when
1917 is compared with 1912, while machine shops went decidedly in
the other direction. On the whole it is evident that these mechan
ical departments have the higher normal hazard, but have managed
their campaign of accident prevention with somewhat greater effi
ciency than have the machine shops of the machine-building concerns.
Table 7 shows the condition in fabricating shops over a period of
years:
T a ble - . —NUM BER
O F ACCIDENTS, AN D ACCIDENT FR EQ U E N C Y A N D
SE V E R IT Y
RATES IN FABRICATING SHOPS, 1907 TO 1917.
Number of accidents.
Year.
300day
work
ers.
1907..............
1910..............
1911..............
1912..............
1913..............
1914..............
1915..............
1916..............
1917..............
2,081
3,935
4,007
5,023
5,313
3,811
2,994
4,465
5,020
Accident frequency rates
(per 1,000 300-day work
ers)
Accident severity rates
(per 300-day worker).
Per Tem
Per Tem
ma po
ma po
rary
nent
nent
Death. dis dis Total. Death. dis rary
dis Total. Death.
abil abil
abil abil
ity.
ity. ity.
ity.
6
4
1
5
5
3
3
7
4
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12
15
28
32
38
13
13
24
26
571
589
731
750
660
689
956
993
996 1,039
426
442
366
382
625
656
531
561
2.9
1.0
.3
1.0
.9
.8
1.0
1.6
.8
[9051
5.8
3.8
7.0
6.4
6.6
3.4
4.3
5. 4
5.2
274.4
185.8
164.7
190.3
187.5
111.8
122.2
140.0
105. 7
283.1
190.6
172.0
197.7
195.0
116.0
127.6
146.9
111.7
17.1
6.0
1.5
6.0
5.9
4.7
6.0
9. 4
4.8
Per Tem
ma po
nent rary Total.
dis dis
abil abil
ity.
ity.
8.8
2.3
4.6
4.4
6.9
2.8
2.8
2.2
3.5
2.5
1.8
2.0
2.6
2. 3
1.5
2.1
2.6
1.6
28.4
10.1
8.1
13.0
15.1
9.0
10.9
14.2
9.9
20
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Erecting departments show constantly a lower severity rate than
fabrication shops. On consideration of the items, it appears that this
is due to higher fatality with average greater severity in permanent
injury in fabrication. When this is followed into the causes, it is
found to be due to the hazard of moving heavy and awkward pieces,
such as girders, with the crane.
In fabrication shops both frequency and severity rates declined
from 1912 to 1917, while in erecting departments, though there was a
decline in frequency rates, the severity rates increased from 7.8 days
to 8.7 days.
CAUSE OF FLUCTUATION IN ACCIDENT RATES.
It is established by all the studies so far made that with every
period of increasing industrial stress the accident rates tend to rise.
If there is not some opposing influence, such as increased accident
prevention effort, this increase may carry the rates above those of
previous stress periods. This apparently happened quite generally
in machine building in the war year 1917. Whether this could have
been avoided by active opposing effort is of course a question which
it is impossible to answer. A large section of the iron and steel
industry did succeed in holding down its rates below the previous
high point which occurred in 1913.
The general character of the movement in the iron and steel
industry is compactly shown in Table 8, from Bulletin 234.
T able 8 .—FREQUENCY RATES OF FATALITIES AND OF ALL ACCIDENTS IN A SECTION
OF THE IRON AND STEEL IND U STR Y , 1913 TO 1917.
Number of
300-day
workers.
Year ending with—
December, 1913.....................................................................................
March, 1914..........................................................................................
June, i914...............................................................................................
September 1914....................................................................................
December, 1914....................................................................................
March, 1915............................................................................................
June, 1915
.....................................................................................
Reptern her 1915 ...............................................................................
December, 1915.....................................................................................
March 1916
.................................................................................
June, i 916 .............................................................................................
September, 1916....................................................................................
December, 1916.....................................................................................
March, 1917..........................................................................................
June, i 917
.....................................................................................
September 1917 ..................................................................................
December, 1917...................................................................................
153,098
146,522
137,816
128,023
117,214
111,881
111,794
117;933
133,627
148,221
160,819
168,790
175,013
178,937
182,587
185,445
186,357
Fatalities
per 1,000
300-day
workers.
1.34
1. 29
1.09
.81
.70
.63
.65
.85
.86
.96
1.09
1.02
1.11
1.15
1.08
1.11
.98
Total acci
dents per
1,000 300-day
workers.
181.0
168.4
154.7
138.9
130.4
118.0
114.0
118.6
124.5
131.8
134.1
135.5
133.2
128.5
121.6
110.9
103.4
This table shows a decline in the rates from the year 1913 to the
year ending with June, 1915. From that point, with the increasing
industrial activity, the rates increase to about the year ending with
September, 1916. This was the period in which all industry was
adjusting itself to the tasks of war. As that adjustment was accom
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[066 ]
M O NTH LY LABOE EE VIEW .
21
plished the rates began to decline and continued to do so until the
end of 1917.
I t is an interesting and important question, not yet solved, as to
which factor is the most important in causing this fluctuation. If,
as seems to be indicated by all available data, it is due more than
anything else to the introduction into the working force of relatively
inexperienced men it adds much emphasis to the idea that instability
in industry is exceedingly costly. It is costly to train new men. If
during their period of training they are extremely liable to be num
bered among the casualties the cost is enhanced to a degree not yet
fully determined.
Of various methods devised for testing the influence of the intro
duction of new men none exhibits the effect more directly than the
chart on the next page.
This chart is a “ ratio” c h art1 and exhibits the rate of change in
four related items—employment, product per worker, labor recruiting,
and accident rates. The chart covers two periods of industrial stress,
one culminating with the year ending in May, 1910, and the other
with the year ending in February, 1913. It has not yet been possible
to extend this study into the war period but it is the intention to do
so as soon as possible.
I t is evident on even casual inspection that the curve of accident
frequency follows that of labor recruiting with surprising promptness.
Whenever recruiting becomes active there is a strong tendency for
the accident rate to increase. This is even more true of severe
injury than of minor injury.
The chart shows further that increased activity of the individual,
measured by increased product per worker, is a less controlling
factor than recruiting, since product continues to increase in bothperiods after accident rates have begun to fall. Since this accords
with other evidence regarding the influence of the inexperienced
man it may be regarded as fairly established that this factor is of
great if not of major importance.
1 See article in M o n th ly L abor R eview for March, 1919 (p p . 20-34).
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[967 ]
COMPARISON OF THE TREND OF SEVERAL RELATED ITEMS BY REDUCTION TO INDEX NUMBERS, SMOOTHING THE CURVES
AND PLOTTING ON A PERCENTAGE SCALE.
M O NTH LY LABOR REVIEW
[968]
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LABOR TURNOVER.
LABOR POLICIES AND LABOR TURNOVER IN THE CALIFORNIA OILREFINING INDUSTRY.
BY PA U L F . B R IS S E N D E N , P H . D .
The general extent of the labor turnover and its distribution
within the working force as a whole were reported for a group of
California establishments in an article in the February number of
the M o n t h l y L a b o r R e v i e w .1 That article covered the twelvemonth period ending about June 1, 1918. It merely gave the
relative volume of turnover in each establishment and, taking as a
unit the aggregate labor force of the 12 establishments, analyzed
its length-of-service records in such a way as to show what propor
tion of the turnover was to be definitely charged up to the floating,
“ 10-day” job-holder and what proportion to employees with longer
service records. No attempt was made to report the turnover
within the working force except on the basis of the length of service
of all employees, regardless of the nature of their work. As was to
have been expected, the group of quitting employees with service
records of less than one week was shown to have been responsible
not only for an enormously high turnover in the jobs vacated by
them, but as well for a quite disproportionate share of the whole
turnover of the establishment.
An even more important problem is that of the relative responsi
bility for turnover of the different occupational groups in the work
ing force. It goes without saying that common or unskilled labor
is less stable than skilled labor. But just how much less stable it
is we do not know. In the present article an attempt is made to
answer this question. It describes in somewhat greater detail the
turnover situation in the two oil refineries (establishments num
bered 6 and 9) included in the report referred to on labor turnover
in the San Francisco Bay region. These two establishments are
designated in the present paper as refineries A and B, respectively.
The statistical material is analyzed primarily for the purpose of
measuring the incidence of the labor turnover upon the different
occupation groups. An effort is made not only to show how much
more unstable is common labor than skilled labor, but to indicate
i Labor turnover in the San Francisco Bay region, M on th ly L abo k R e v ie w , U . S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, February, 1919, pp. 45-62.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9G9]
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24
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
what proportions of the quitters who had served one week or less,
over one to two weeks, two weeks to one month, etc., were common
laborers; what proportion refinery operatives, skilled mechanics,
and so on. This analysis, in the light of the brief description given
of employment machinery and labor policy, should give some indi
cation of the effect of particular labor and employment policies
upon labor stability in different occupations and in the labor force
as a whole.
The present paper is fundamentally a case study. It essays to
set forth the facts regarding labor turnover and job tenure at two
particular establishments. The conditions described are local con
ditions. They are not reported as conditions necessarily typical of
American industry in general or even as necessarily typical of the
American oil-refining industry. Therefore it must be stated all the
more emphatically that the conclusions drawn are by no means to
be taken as necessarily valid for industry as a whole. No more is
attempted here than to analyze local turnover conditions in the light
of local labor and employment policies.
The two refineries are quite similarly situated in relation to the
labor market, with perhaps some advantages of location to be
conceded to refinery B. Both are within an hour by train from
a large city. Refinery B is located on the outskirts of a small town
and has the advantage of more adequate transportation facilities than
refinery A. The latter plant is served by one main-line railroad
while refinery B has both steam railway and interurban service.
The adjacent town furnishes refinery B considerable but inadequate
housing facilities. The other establishment is obliged to provide
company houses for a large proportion of its employees.1
SYSTEMS OF EMPLOYMENT.
There is an employment bureau in operation at refinery A. There
is no bureau at refinery B, where the authority to hire and discharge
is vested in the foremen and department heads. At refinery A the
machinery of employment is very completely centralized, the
authority to hire and discharge being vested in the manager of the
employment bureau. Applicants for work present themselves at
the employment office and are personally interviewed by the
employment manager, locally designated as “ employment super
visor.” Unskilled laborers are put immediately to work without
further interviewing. Candidates for work in any of the skilled
occupations (and this includes all refinery operatives) are referred
to the foreman under whom they would work and are further
questioned by him concerning experience, qualifications for the
1 Company activities in industrial housing are described on p. 28.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9 7 0 ]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
25
work, etc. Sometimes the employment supervisor accompanies the
applicant and interviews him further in the presence of the foreman
concerned. At other times he calls in the foreman for a conference
with the applicant in the employment office. In this establishment
the authority for hiring and discharging employees is much more
centralized than in refinery B. It is the policy of the company
operating refinery A to give the employment supervisor ample
authority in all matters coming under his jurisdiction. That official
is made directly responsible to the managing superintendent of the
refinery.
At refinery B, as has been alread}Tremarked, there is no employ
ment bureau. Job seekers at this plant apply for work at the gate
where they are personally interviewed by an “ employment agent.”
This agent has very little authority or responsibility and is in reality
no more than a hiring clerk acting as the representative of the
refinery superintendent. Foremen in the various departments send
him requests for the men they require. These the employment
agent selects from applicants at the gate and sends to the foreman
interested, by whom they are interviewed and approved before
being finally put to work. Here then it is the foreman or departament head who is actually responsible for the hiring, despite the
fact that very often unskilled laborers are automatically put on the
job directly through the employment agent. It is only in this very
limited sense that the employment agent hires. The responsibility
for both hiring and discharge rests with the superintendent. The
foremen have extensive but not always final authority in the matter
of discharges. They are not permitted to take final action except
in the most obvious cases. The superintendent investigates all
cases where there may be any doubt as to the advisability of dis
charge before the discharge slip is made out. In other words dis
charge is partially but not entirely centered in the hands of the
foremen. It is really a matter of joint responsibility between
foreman and superintendent.
LABOR POLICIES-REFINERY A.
The plant is operated on the open-shop principle and the company
enters into no wage scale or other agreements with employees.
Company officials state that all applicants are considered entirely on
their merits as workmen and without regard to affiliation with labor
organizations. The company’s attitude toward unions is certainly
not actively hostile. It is perhaps better described as passive acqui
escence. A branch of the Oil and Gas Workers’ Union has recently
been organized at the plant. This local claims a membership of
about 340, or about 80 per cent of the working force. The refinery
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9 7 1 ]
26
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
superintendent, however, stated that he did not believe that more
than 100 of the employees were members of the union. The efforts
of the operating company seem to be directed toward the develop
ment of such favorable conditions of employment that the men will
not care whether they belong to a union or not.
Company practice in regard to grievances of employees is very
informal, complaints being merely referred to the plant superin
tendent for adjustment. The company now plans to systematize
this matter and proposes to handle all grievances by appointing as
“ grievance men” two employees in each of the 11 operating divi
sions of the refinery.
The eight-hour day prevails, there being three eight-hour shifts a
day on the stills and boilers and one shift in the rest pf the plant.
The policy is to put employees on a monthly salary basis as soon as
possible after hiring. Prevailing daily wage rates for the more
important occupations in both refineries are approximately as
follows:
PR EV A ILIN G D A ILY WAGE R ATES FOR PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS IN THE TWO
R E F IN E R IE S .
Rate in refinery—
Occupation.
Common labor .............................................
Refinery operatives............ ..........................
Skilled mechanics...........................................
Mechanics7helpers.........................................
1 $145 per month.
“A .”
“ B .”
$3.75
5.58
i 5.85
3.75
$4.00
6.00
2 6.10
4.62
2 $156 per month.
Except for the rather feeble functioning of the traditional appren
ticeship system there exists no system of shop training or instruction
for either new or old employees.
As already stated this establishment has been compelled because
of its location to go into company housing on a very considerable
scale. It has recently built an unusually well-appointed dormitory
accommodating 240 men and has formulated comprehensive plans
for the erection of separate workmen's houses and for the gradual
development of a systematic industrial housing program. The
company’s present housing facilities take care of about half of its
employees. This means that a large proportion of the employees
are still obliged to travel from 3 to 10 miles twice a day to get to
their work and to do this under unusually inconvenient transporta
tion conditions and on very awkward time schedules.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
27
The usual provisions are made for the medical care of employees.
No hospital fees are charged. The company operates by contract a
hotel and boarding house immediately adjoining the refinery.
In March, 1918, the company inaugurated a bonus or so-called
profit-sharing plan. The benefits paid employees under the plan
are based primarily upon length of continuous service with the
company, one of the objects of the plan being the stabilization of
the labor force by the inducement to long and continuous service
which is presumably involved. The terms of the “ profit-sharing”
plan provide for the payment of bonuses to all employees who have
been in service at least one year proportioned both to the period of
continuous service and to the amount of wages received (such pro
portions being scaled up or down according as the company’s annual
net profits rise or fall). As stated above, all employees are put on
a monthly salary basis “ as soon as possible.” All such salaried em
ployees are allowed 20 days of annual leave with pay.
LABOR POLICIES—REFINERY B.
This establishment is likewise managed on the open-shop princi
ple, and there is no collective bargaining with employees. Although
company officials at this refinery state that there is no prejudice
or discrimination against union men, the general attitude of the
management appears to be less favorable to them. Although job
seekers may be asked no questions as to possible union affiliations,
it seems evident that unionism among employees is discouraged.
Certainly the attitude of the operating company on the unionization
of employees is less frankly liberal than at refinery A. It is commonly
reported in the community that the company immediately discharges
any employee who is known to belong to a union. It is noticeable,
moreover, that trade-union agitation is carried on much less openly
here than it is at refinery A. The superintendent of refinery B,
however, denied that the company was antagonistic to the unions
and declared that a majority of the employees were union men.
Grievances are customarily referred for settlement to the refinery
superintendent or to his assistant. There are no further provisions
in regard to this and no definite machinery is provided for reference
of complaints from employees to the management.
Here, as at refinery A, the eight-hour day prevails, and employees
are put on a monthly salary basis “ as soon as possible.” It is appar
ent from the comparative scales of wages given on page 26 that the
wages paid at this plant are somewhat higher than those paid at
refinery A.
As at refinery A, the conventional system of apprenticeship is the
only approach to shop training or instruction for employees. And
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[973 ]
28
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
the apprenticeship system here, as elsewhere, appears to he in a state
of decline, the number of apprentices employed at this refinery hav
ing declined from 51 to 24, or 53 per cent, during the year covered
in this paper.
This company does nothing in regard to housing, of which the ad
jacent town furnishes a considerable but entirely inadequate supply.
This inadequacy is less critical because there are very good trans
portation facilities.
This concern does a good deal more than refinery A in the way of
provisions for the medical care of its employees. A company hos
pital has been recently completed and a resident physician is em
ployed to attend cases of injury. An examining physician puts in
about half time making physical examinations and a visiting nurse
looks up all employees who are absent more than one day. No hos
pital fees are charged. Shop conditions generally are somewhat
better here than at the other refinery.
The company has had in operation for some time systems of pen
sion, life insurance, and sickness disability benefits, based primarily
as at refinery A upon employees’ period of continuous service. For
those who have served one year or more the benefits aretas follows:
(1) For each year of service a pension allowance of 2 percent of the
average annual pay during the 10 years next preceding retirement,
but not effective until employee has served at least 10 yearn with the
company, and when he has served said minimum of 10 years no pen
sion shall amount to less than $300 nor more than 75 per cent of such
average annual pay; (2) life insurance payments amounting to .one
month’s salary for each year of continuous service, but not to exceed
12 months’ salary; (3) sickness disability benefits—for employees
whose terms of continuous service have been over one year but less
than two years, full pay up to two weeks’ sickness; for employees
whose terms of continuous service have been two years but less than
three years, full pay up to four weeks’ sickness, and so on. The scale
of sickness disability benefits runs on a similar basis for other service
periods to a maximum of full pay up to 26 weeks’ sickness, payable
to all employees who have served continuously 10 years or over.
As already remarked, all employees are placed on the monthly
salary roll “ as soon as possible after hiring,” and it is the company’s
policy to grant all such salaried employees “ any reasonable amount”
of time off with pay each year.
METHOD OF COMPUTING THE TURNOVER.
The volume of turnover is measured by comparing the normal
number of full-time jobs (or, as designated in this article, the average
number of full-time workers) with the total number of separations
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[974]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
29
during the period covered.1 The percentage of turnover is simply
the separation rate for 100 full-time workers employed. The aver
age number of these full-time workers is obtained by dividing the
total number of days (or hours) worked by all employees (in the
establishment as a whole or in any particular group, as the case
may be) during the year by the number of days (or hours) worked
during the year by a (normally) full-time employee. It is obvious
that what is involved in this method of determining a basic standard
working force is simply a process of equating varying numbers of
employees and odds and ends of service time to their equivalent in
terms of the unit mentioned, the average number of full-time workers.
Ten employees working six months are equivalent, then, to five full
time workers. Expressing it in terms of jobs, these 10 persons may
be said to have occupied positions equivalent to five full-time jobs.
In other words, the standard 'size of an establishment (which is used
throughout this analysis as a turnover computation basis) may be
expressed with reference to employees as “ the equivalent number of
full-time workers” and with reference to positions as “ the equiva
lent number of full-time jobs.” In the following discussion, there
fore, either of the expressions ‘‘full-time j obs ’; and ‘‘full-time workers ”
is used as the context may require.
NATURE OF THE SEPARATIONS.
The causes of the turnover at the two establishments under ex
amination can not be reported in any adequate way. Neither com
pany had kept detailed records showing the reasons assigned by the
employer for discharge or by the employee for quitting. There is
nothing available except the not very enlightening “ causes” : Entry
into military service, lay off (ostensibly) for lack of work, discharge
for whatever cause, and desire to leave for whatever reason. These
merely indicate the character of the separation and reveal little more
than the general circumstances under which employees leave.
Statistical data on the nature of the separations were not avail
able at refinery A. At the other plant it appears from the figures of
Table 1 that of 2,855 separations 2,320, or 81 per cent, were volun
tary, 396, or 14 per cent, due to entry into military service, 70, or 2
per cent, layoffs for lack of work, and 69, or 2 per cent, discharges.
i The method here used is that agreed upon by the National Conference of Employment Managers at
Rochester, N. Y ., in May, 1918. The conference promulgated a "standard definition” and method of
computing the turnover, from which the following pertinent clauses are taken:
The percentage of labor turnover for any period considered is the ratio of the total number of separations
during the period to the average number of employees on the force report during that period. The force
report gives the number of men actually working each day as shown by attendance records^ *
# To
compute the percentage of labor turnover for any period, find the total separations for the period considered
and divide by the average of the number actually working each day throughout the period. * * *
The complete report of the committee on the definition and computation of turnover was published in
the M o n th ly R e v ie w for June, 1918, pp. 172,173.
110451°— 19-----3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[975]
30
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The percentages showing the nature of the separations in the various
occupations indicate that the proportions of discharge were about
the same in all occupations. In the skilled mechanics’ group 72 per
cent of the separations were voluntary; this is the lowest proportion
of voluntary separations shown for any group. The highest propor
tion is in common-labor group, 83 per cent of whose separations were
voluntary. It may be noted in a general way that the predominant
causes for voluntary separations, the type of separation which makes
up the bulk of the turnover, are the unusual wage inducements offered
during the war period in the shipyards on San Francisco Bay and at
other points on the Pacific coast. Officials at both refineries state
that a large part of the turnover is to be attributed to entry into mili
tary service, but the figures from refinery B hardly bear out that
impression, indicating, as they do, that only 14 per cent of the sep
arations were assignable to this cause.
E X T E N T OF TURNOVER IN THE LABOR FORCE AS A WHOLE.
During the year ending June 1, 1918, the period covered in the
following analysis, the labor force in both refineries was considerably
enlarged, that of refinery A having increased 27 per cent and that of
refinery B, 9 per cent. The size of the different occupation groups
underwent the following changes during the year:
PE R CENT OF INCREASE IN LABOR FORCE IN R E F IN E R Y A AND IN R E F IN E R Y B, BY
OCCUPATION GROUPS.
Per cent of increase
in force.
Occupation group.
Refinery Refinery
A.
B.
Common laborers...........................................
Refinery operatives.......................................
Skilled mechanics...........................................
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices..........
Technical and clerical employees...............
16
22
97
11
2
26
3
The extent of the turnover in the two refineries (including for
refinery B the nature of the separations from the working force as a
whole) and the length of service distribution of active and separated
employees were indicated in the earlier article referred to above.1 In
this paper the same information is presented for various occupational
subdivisions of the working force. In Table 1, which follows, the
turnover and (for refinery B) the nature of the separations are shown
classified according to these occupation groups.
i Monthly L abor R e v ie w , F e b ru a ry , 1919, p p . 48,52,53.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[97G]
31
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
T able 1.—LABOR TU RN O V ER AND N A TU R E OF SEPARATIONS DURINO THE Y E A R
ENDING JUNE 1, 1918.
Occupation group.
AverEm
age
num ployees
ber of hired
full during
Dis
the
time
work year. charged.
ers.
Separations.
Laid
off.
En
tered
mili
tary
service.
Quit.
Total.
Ber
cent of
turn
over
for the
year.
Refinery A —Number.
Common laborers 1...............................
Refinery operatives2 ............................
Technical and clerical em ployees3. . .
199
171
50
753
294
94
T o ta l............................................
420
1,141
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
659
258
63 .
331
151
126
980
233
Refinery B --Number.
Common laborers..................................
Refinery operatives..............................
Skilled mechanics..................................
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices .
113
240
246
366
2,363
'435
148
130
48
11
3
7
46
2
22
226
79
20
71
3.547
425
108
240
1,867
517
153
318
1,652
'215
62
87
T otal.............................................
965
3,076
69
70
396
2,320
2, 855
296
Refinery B—Per cent distribution of separations.
Common laborers..................................
Refinery operatives..............................
Skilled mechanics.......................... .......
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices .
2
3
2
3
13
13
15
13
22
83
82
72
10Ò
100
100
100
T o ta l............................................
2
2
14
81
100
2
Refinery B—Rate per 1,000 full-time workers.
Common laborers...................... ..........
Refinery operatives..............................
Skilled mechanics................................
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices..
20,912
1,813
602
355
425
46
12
19
407
8
89
2,000
329
81
194
13,690
l' 771
'439
656
16,552 :
2,154
622
869
Total.............................................
3,188
72
73
410
2,404
2,959
1 Including the following departments, as listed in company records: Yard traffic, general service, utilit ies,
and construction.
2 Including the following departments, as listed in company records: Refined and lubricating oil, asphalt,
compounding, and package.
^Including the following departments, as listed in company records: Test and control and clerical.
4 Nature of separations not reported.
I t appears from these figures that the turnover for the year was
233 per cent in refinery A and 296 per cent in refinery B. Obviously,
it was necessary at the former plant, in order to keep its 420 positions
continuously filled, to hire 1,141 men, most of whom were needed to
replace the 980 employees who were in one way or another separated
from service during the year. At refinery A 3,076 men had to be hired
to keep filled the 965 jobs in the plant and this primarily for the neces
sary replacement of the 2,855 men who left.1
1As already noted, the net iilcrease in force at refinery B was 9 per cent and at refinery A 27 per cent.
Evidently, then, a considerably larger proportion of the latter's accessions were for the purpose of per
manently increasing the force.
1977]
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
32
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
It is possible to show the accessions and separations from month to
month only at refinery A. And even here figures were not available
for exactly the same period that is primarily considered in this article.
Table 2 gives for each occupation group the monthly hiring and sepa
ration figures for the eleven months ending with July, 1918, and shows
as well the corresponding turnover percentages for each month in
that period.
T a b l e 2.—MONTHLY HIR IN G AND SEPARATION FIGURES FOR R E FIN E R Y A, SEPTEM
B E R , 1917 TO JULY, 1918, INCLUSIVE.
Common laborers.
All employees.
Average
number Per cent
of
of
full-time turnover.
workers.
Month.
Hired.
Left.
Hired.
Average
number Per cent
of
of
full-time turnover.
workers.
Left.
1917,
September..
October.........
N ovem ber...
December...
90
117
96
93
69
74
94
79
307
322
272
351
22.5
23.0
34.6
22.5
59
74
58
52
52
49
70
42
142
139
102
148
36.6
35.3
68.6
28.4
1918
January........
February___
March...........
A pril___ -...
M ay..............
June.............
July..............
77
110
105
132
127
149
125
80
80
119
114
153
133
136
384
363
372
356
451
350
372
20.8
22.0
32.0
32.0
34.0
38.0
36.6
48
75
83
99
76
99
77
49
60
87
83
116
89
82
171
155
159
158
202
148
152
28.7
38.7
54.7
52.5
57.4
60.1
53.9
T o ta l.
1,215
1,131
355
28.9
800
779
152
46.8
Technical and clerical employees.
Refinery operatives.
Average
number Per cent
of
of
full-time turnover.
workers.
Month.
Hired.
Left.
Hired.
Average
number Per cent
of
of
full-time turnover.
workers.
Left.
1917.
September...................
October........................
November...................
December....................
23
36
24
31
13
22
19
29
131
141
131
161
9.9
15.6
14.5
18.0
8
7
8
10
4
3
5
8
34
42
39
42
11.8
7.1
12.8
19.0
1918.
January........................
February.....................
March...........................
April.............................
M ay...............................
June..............................
July...............................
24
29
19
16
38
46
41
25
16
28
21
30
41
46
164
160
161
150
183
149
169
15.2
10.0
17.4
14.0
16.4
26.6
27.2
5
6
3
17
13
4
7
6
4
4
10
7
3
8
49
48
52
48
66
53
51
12.2
8.3
7.7
20.8
10.6
5.7
15.7
T o ta l.................
327
290
155
16.3
88
62
48
12.0
In Table 3 the turnover percentages are placed together on both a
monthly and yearly basis, the yearly percentages being obtained
simply by multiplying the monthly figures by 12. The monthly per
centages were computed, of course, by dividing the number of
separations which took place during the month by the average
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 978 ]
33
M O NTH LY LABOR REVIEW.
number of employees at work during the month. The month-tomonth variations, the volume of turnover in the working force as a
whole, and its relative extent in the three specified occupation groups
are brought out graphically in the chart on page 34. It is quite clear
from an examination of the chart that the turnover is heavier by a
wide margin among common or unskilled laborers than it is among
either refinery operatives or technical and clerical employees. It is
evident as well that the excess of common labor turnover is so great
as practically to determine the trend of turnover for the working force
as a whole during the 11 months covered by the figures. I t is
apparent that refinery operatives are more unstable than technical
and clerical employees, although the latter undergo wider variations
in stability.
T able 3 —M ONTHLY T R E N D OF THE LABOR T U R N O V E R IN EACH OCCUPATION
GROUP AT R E F IN E R Y A, SE PT E M BE R , 1917, TO JULY, 1918, INCLUSIVE.
Per cent of turnover.
Monthly basis.
Yearly basis.1
Month.
Com
All
mon
em
ployees. labor
ers.
Refin
ery
oper
atives.
Techni
Com
cal and
All
mon
clerical em
em ployees. labor
ers.
ployees.
Refin
ery
oper
atives.
Techni
cal and
clerical
em
ployees.
1917.
September.................................................
October.......................................................
November..................................................
December...................................................
22.5
23.0
34.6
22.5
36.6
35.3
68.6
28.4
9.9
15.6
14.5
18.0
11.8
7.1
. 12.8
19.0
270
276
415
270
439
424
823
341
119
187
174
216
142
85
154
228
1918.
January......................................................
February....................................................
March..........................................................
April............................................................
May..............................................................
June.............................................................
July.............................................................
20.8
22.0
32.0
32.0
34.0
38.0
36.6
28.7
38.7
54. 7
52.5
57.4
60.1
53.9
15.2
10.0
17.4
14.0
16.4
27.5
27.2
12.2
8.3
7.7
20.8
10.6
5.7
15.7
250
264
384
384
408
456
439
344
464
656
630
689
721
647
182
120
209
168
197
330
326
146
100
92
250
127
68
188
318
513
187
129
Average...........................................
1
1 These figures are the basis of the chart on page 34.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[979 ]
34
M O NTH LY LABOR REVIEW.
PER CENT OF LABOR TURNOVER AT REFINERY "A” SEPTEM BER, 1917 TO JULY,
I9 l8 .
850’
800
750
700
650
600
550
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
80
60
E X T E N T OF T U R N O V E R IN D IF F E R E N T OCCUPATIONS.
When two refineries which provide 1,385 positions are deserted
by 3,835 persons during the year, it is evident that on the average
each position must have had 3 incumbents during the year. As a
matter of fact, however, there may have been no changes whatever
in a large proportion of the jobs. Some jobs, on the other hand,
must have suffered weekly or fortnightly changes. The turnover,
in other words, falls very unequally upon different sections of the
working force. It is of primary importance to know what parts—especially what occupational parts—-of the force are most unstable,
that is to say, how the aggregate volume of turnover is distributed
within the whole body of employees. The relative stability of labor
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9801
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
35
in different occupations is much more accurately indicated by
length-of-service records of employees than it is by monthly or
yearly employment figures. In Table 4 are shown for both refin
eries the number, percentage distribution, and rate per 1,000 full-time
workers in each occupation group of active and separated employees
who had served specified periods of time.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
f9Sli
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
36
T able 4 .—NUM BER, PER CENT DISTR IBU TIO N , AN D RATE PE R 1,000 FULL-TIM E EM
WHO HAD SE R V ED SPECI
NUM BER.
Occupation group.
A v
er
age
num
ber
of
full
tim e
work
ers.
Refinery A:
Common laborers........
Refinery operatives...
Technical and clerical
employees.............
Total..........................
Refinery B:
Common laborers........
Refinery operatives...
Skilled mechanics___
Mechanics’ helpers
and apprent ices...
T otal..........................
Employees on pay roll at end of year (active employees) who
had served continuously—
Over Over Over Over Over Over Over
One Over
Over
6
2
week 1 to weeks 1 to 3 to mos. 1 to 2 to 3 to
Total.
5
2
3
5 years.
6
3
2
or
to 1 mos. mos. to 1 years. years. years.
less. wks. mo.
year.
21
15
9
15
13
19
18
32
172
176
199
171
13
10
9
9
17
5
39
26
6
11
27
34
50
2
5
5
9
8
15
3
5
3
5
60
29
35
55
408
71
10«
29
143
274
127
1,276
804
311
420
25
23
27
74
25
76
39
113
240
246
40
21
2
39
12
2
63
28
208
45
21
77
20
14
274
103
36
275
139
55
86
54
25
366
4
2
4
27
19
100
116
23
31
83
409
965
67
55
95
301
130
513
585 : 188
239
627
2,800
10
18
100
100
PE R CENT D ISTR IB U TIO N .
Refinery A:
Common laborers.......
Refinery operatives...
Technical and clerical
employees.............
T otal..........................
Refinery B:
Common laborers........
Refinery operatives...
Skilled mechanics----Mechanics’ helpers
and apprentices..
Total..........................
199
171
8
6
5
5
10
3
23
15
3
6
16
19
12
9
5
9
■8
11
50
3
8
8
15
13
25
5
8
5
8
100
100
18
6
19
10
7
9
13
16
6
6
6
2
5
21
14
12
22
17
19
7
7
8
6
13
9
11
34
40
100
100
100
1
7
5
24
28
6
8
20
100
3
11
5
18
21
7
9
22
100
420
6
6
113
240
246
3
3
1
3
1
1
5
3
366
1
5
965
2
2
RATE PE R 1,000 FULL-TIM E W ORKERS.
Refinery A:
Common laborers........
Refinery operatives...
Technical and clerical
employees.............
Total..........................
Refinery B:
Common laborers........
Refinery operatives...
Skilled mechanics----Mechanics’ helpers
a n d apprentices...
Total..........................
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
199
171
65
58
45
52
85
29
196
152
30
64
136
199
106
88
45
88
65
111
90
187
864
1,029
50
40
100
100
180
160
300
60
100
60
100
1,200
420
60
55
64
176
60
181
93
69
83
131
972
113
240
246
354
88
8
345
50
8
681 2,425 2,434
579
429
83
224
146
57
761
225
102
366
11
5
11
74
51
273
317
63
85
227
1,117
57
98
312
135
532
606
195
248
650
2,902
965
69 !
1
558 1,841
186
117
85
[ 982 ]
628 1,265 11,292
450 1,142 3,350
516 1,264
118
y
37
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
PLOYEES IN EACH OCCUPATION GROUP OF ACTIVE A N D SEPA R A T ED EM PLOYEES
FIE D PER IOD S OF TIME.
NUMBER.
Separated employees who had served continuously—
One
week
or
less.
Over
1 to 2
weeks.
Over
2
Over
Over Over 6 Over
1 to 2
weeks 1 to 3 3 to 6 months
to 1
years.
to 1 months. months. year.
month.
162
56
129
37
128
44
132
64
46
28
28
11
4
6
9
20
9
5
Over
2 to 3
years.
Over
Over
3 to 5
years. 5 years.
Total.
number
of full
time
workers.
12
10
3
7
6
5
659
258
5
4
1
11
63
50
26
11
980
420
34
20
1
12
15
6
39
43
30
1, 867
517
153
113
240
246
8
120
318
366
2,855
965
13
6
222
172
181
206
83
44
24
426
135
20
175
40
12
213
60
10
438
65
12
291
71
27
170
38
23
69
30
12
48
29
30
67
54
26
32
19
5
629
256
313
582
443
257
143
74
38
199
171
PER CENT DISTRIBUTION.
25
22
20
14
19
17
20
21
7
11
4
4
2
2
2
4
6
10
14
32
14
8
8
6
23
18
18
21
4
2
3
23
26
13
9
8
7
11
12
7
23
12
8
16
14
17
9
7
15
8
15
9
9
21
17
8
10
' 6
21
9
12
20
16
9
5
3
8
4
6
2
4
1
1
3
2
1
1
2
1
3
4
1
2
8
20
2
3
1
4
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
199
171
50
420
113
240
248
366
965
RATE PER 1,000 FULL-TIME WORKERS.
30
29
3,312
1,509
1,260
50
26
26
2,334
420
106
63
24
345
179
122
16,522
2,154
622
113
240
246
814
328
648
216
643
257
663
316
231
164
141
64
65
35
80
120
180
400
180
100
100
80
20
60
58
15
41
199
171
529
410
431
490
198
105
57
62
3.770
563
81
1,549
167
49
1,885
250
41
3,876
271
49
2,575
296
no
1,504
158
94
611
125
49
301
S3
4
131
' 79
82
183
148
71
87
52
14
22
869
366
652
265
324
603
459
266
148
77
39
124
2,957
965
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
38
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The above table shows the number of employees on the pay roll
at the end of the year (“ active” employees) and the number who
left during the year (“ separated” employees) who had served one
week or less, over one to two weeks, etc., for each occupation group.
The table shows not only the lengtli-of-service distribution of the
408 active and 980 separated employees of refinery A and the 2,800
active and 2,855 separated employees of refinery B, but also presents
the same information on the basis of the rate per thousand full-time
workers in each occupation group and in the whole working force.1
In this table there is apparent a considerable range of variation both
for active and separated employees between the different occupation
groups. There is evident, however, a rough similarity of distribu
tion between the two refineries, each of which shows a common
difference in distribution between active and separated employees.
An inspection of the rates per 1,000 shown in the table reveals at
once a considerably higher range for common laborers than for any
other occupation group, and it is noticeable that this disproportion
is greater among active than among separated employees. It will bo
observed that in the shorter service groups much higher rates are
shown for employees who were separated from service than for those
who were in active service at the end of the year. This is par
ticularly true of the common labor group. Also, it will be noted
that the excess of the common labor separation rate over that of
other groups is considerably greater in refinery B than it is in re
finery A. After common labor the next highest separation rate in
both plants is for refinery operatives.
The range of rates in the different service groups for those on the
pay roll at the end of the year and the separation rates for those
leaving is brought out more clearly in Table 5, which shows for both
refineries the number, per cent distribution, and rate per 1,000
full-time workers of employees on the pay roll and separated during
the year.
1 The number of employees in service at the end of the year and the number leaving during the year
in each given length-of-service group are presented in this article on the basis of rates per 1,000 full-time
workers. These rates have been used in addition to percentage distribution figures because they make it
possible to compare in a way impossible with percentage figures the size of any particular service group in
different occupations. Moreover, the rate (whether separation rate or active service distribution rate)
sets forth quite as clearly as does percentage distribution the diminution of numbers with increasing length
of service.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[984]
39
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
T able 5 .—NU M BER , P E R CENT DISTR IBU TIO N , AN D RATE P E R 1,000 FULL-TIME
W ORKERS OF ACTIVE AN D SEPA R A T ED EM PLOYEES, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING
TO LEN GTH OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE.
Number of em
ployees who had
served each spe
cified period.
Length-of-service group.
Per cent distribu
tion.
Rate per 1,000 full
tim e workers.1
On pay
On pay
On pay
Sepa
Sepa
Sepa
roll at
roll at
roll at
rated
rated
rated
end
of
end of
end of
during
during
during
year
year
year
(active). the year. (active). the year. (active). the year.
1
2
5
41
3
6
Refinery A:
One' week or less........................................
Over 1 week to 2 w eek s...........................
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth.........................
Over 1 month to 3 months......................
Over 3 to 6 months........... .......................
Over 6 months to 1 year..........................
Over 1 year to 2 years..............................
Over 2 to 3 years.......................................
Over 3 to 5 vears.......................................
Over 5 years...............................................
25
23
27
74
25
76
39
29
35
55
222
172
181
206
83
44
24
26
11
11
6
6
7
18
6
19
10
7
9
13
23
18
18
21
8
4
2
3
1
1
60
55
64
176
60
181
93
69
83
131
529
410
431
490
198
105
57
62
26
26
T otal........................................................
408
980
100
100
972
2,334
Refinery B:
One week or less........................................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks...........................
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth........................
Over 1 month to 3 months......................
Over 3 to 6 months...................................
•i
Over 6 months to 1 year..........................
Over 1 year to 2 vears..............................
Over 2 to 3 vears.......................................
Over 3 to 5 years.......................................
Over 5 years..............................................
67
55
95
301
130
513
585
188
239
627
629
256
313
582
443
257
143
74
38
120
2
2
3
11
5
13
■ 21
7
9
22
21
9
12
20
16
9
5
3
1
4
69
57
98
312
135
532
606
195
248
650
652
265
324
603
459
268
148
77
39
124
T otal........................................................
2, S00
2,855
100
100
2,902
2,957
1Number of full-time workers: Refinery A, 120; refinery B, 965.
The figures in the first, third, and fifth columns of Table 5 show
the length-of-service distribution of employees on the two pay rolls
at the end of the year and may be assumed to indicate, with close
approximation to the truth, the normal length-of-service distribu
tion of the active working force throughout the 12-month period
ending June 1, 1918. It is true that the length-of-service distribu
tion of the active force might conceivably have been quite different
if it had been tabulated as of another date. In the two plants under
consideration, however, it is not believed that there would be any
appreciable difference in this distribution at different times of the
year, inasmuch as the seasonal element does not enter materially
into the oil-refining industry.
The figures show very clearly the striking difference in length-ofservice distribution between active and separated employees. It is
quite evident from an inspection of either the rate or percentage
columns that it is the short-time employee who contributes the'
overwhelmingly greater proportion of the turnover. For example,
529 per 1,000 leaving refinery A and 652 per 1,000 leaving refinery B
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 985 ]
40
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
had served less than one week, whereas only 60 per 1,000 active
employees in refinery A and 69 per 1,000 active employees in
refinery B were found to be in this under-one-week group.
PROPORTION OF “STABLE” AND “UNSTABLE” EMPLOYEES IN DIFFERENT
OCCUPATIONS.
It is apparent from the figures of Table 4 that in all occupations
both active and separated groups contain rather large proportions of
persons with under-one-year service records. As is to be expected
this proportion of what may be termed “ unstable” employees is
a great deal higher among “ separated” employees than among
those found on the pay roll at any given time—the “ active” em
ployees. This difference between the active and separated groups
is an important measure of the stability of the working force. If
the proportion of under-one-year (“ unstable”) employees in any
occupation or establishment is only slightly greater among separated
than among active employees, it follows that the turnover in that
occupation or establishment is relatively light. In Table 6 a
comparison is made between the active and separated stable and
unstable sections in each occupation group in each refinery.
T able 6.—NUM BER AND PE R CENT OF ACTIVE AND SEPA R A TED EM PLOYEES WHO
HAD SER V ED ONE Y E A R OR LESS AND MORE THAN ONE Y E A R , R ESPECTIVELY, BY
OCCUPATION GROUPS.i
Average
number
of full
time
workers.
Establishment and occupation group.
Employees who had served one year
or less and more than one year respec
tively.
On pay roll at end
of year (active).
Separated during
the year.
Stable.
Stable.
Unstable.
Unstable.
Number.
Refinery A:
Common laborers.........................................................
Refinery operatives.....................................................
Technical and clerical employees.............................
199
171
SO
61
81
16
I ll
95
44
34
28
10
Total............................................................................
420
158
250
72
625
230
53
908
'
Refinery B:
Common laborers.........................................................
Refinery operatives.....................................................
Skilled mechanics........................................................
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices. .*....................
113
240
246
366
575
575
236
253
701
229
75
156
154
108
49
64
1,713
409
104
254
Total..........................................................................
965
1,639
1,161
375
2,480
Refinery A:
Common laborers.........................................................
Refinery operatives.....................................................
Technical and clerical employees.............................
199
171
50
35
46
27
65
73
5
11
16
95
89
84
Per cent distribution.
Total............................................................................
420
39
61
7
93
Refinery B:
Common laborers.........................................................
Refinery operatives.................... ................................
Skilled mechanics........................................................
Mechanics’ helpers and apprentices........................
113
240
246
366
45
72
76
62
55
28
24
38
8
21
32
20
92
79
68
80
Total............................................................................
965
59
41
13
87
1 Employees who had served more than one year and one year or less are designated,respectively, “ stable”
and “ unstable."
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[986 ]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
41
Tlie figures given in Table 6 show that in both plants the un
stable group makes up about 90 per cent of the separated employees,
whereas it forms a much smaller proportion (in the two plants, 61
and 41 per cent, respectively) of the active working force. A
similar examination of the occupational subdivisions forcibly demon
strates the relatively greater instability of common labor. The
proportion of stable common laborers even among active employees
is well under 50 per cent, but even that proportion is six or seven
times their proportion among separated common laborers. Next
to the common laborers in instability are the refinery operatives
and mechanics’ helpers and apprentices. The most stable groups
are the skilled mechanics and technical and clerical employees.
s
AVERAGE W EEK LY SERVICE RATES.
It is a matter of course that as the period of service increases the
number of employees who have served such period decreases—and
decreases usually at a progressively increasing rate. This naturally
holds true for both active and separating groups of employees.
The length-of-service figures presented in the preceding pages do
not reveal this tendency for the reason that the length of service
records were not tabulated on a scale made up of equal intervals
of time. In Table 5, for example, it appears that roughly the same
number of separated employees had service records falling within
a range of from one to seven days as had service records of from one
to three months—in which group the range is about nine times as
great. Tin. tatement of the situation is true, but misleading. The
really significant difference is that between the number of quitters
who had worked one week or less and the average weekly number of
quitters into which the total number who had worked from one to
three months is distributed. The comparison should be between
weekly averages of active and separated employees in the different
tenure groups. In other words, the important thing to know is not
so much the number leaving who had one to three months’ service
records as the number of quitters assignable on the average to each
of the nine weeks -of the one to three months’ period—what may
for the sake of brevity be called the average weekly number leaving
(or working on the active force) in each classified-service period.
This weekly average is made the basis of Table 7 which, with
this important difference, covers the same ground as Table 4. It
shows the average weekly number and rate per 1,000 full-time
workers in each occupation group of active and separated employees
who had served specified periods of time.1 Here the declining
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
jSce footnote to Table 7.
1987]
42
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
scales of numbers indicate much more accurately than do the unsub
divided figures the relative importance of long and short time
employees as factors in the turnover situation. Relatively high
average weekly separation rates, particularly in the shorter time
periods, indicate relatively low stability—that is to say high turn
over. Thus it is evident from the separation rates of Table 7 that
common laborers are much less stable than the other groups of
workers. Not only so, but their instability is much greater in
refinery B than in refinery A. On the other hand it appears that
the turnover of refinery operatives is slightly heavier in refinery A.
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[988 ]
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
44
T
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
able
7 .—AVERAGE "WEEKLY N U M BER AND RATE P E R 1,000 FULL-TIME EM PLOYEES
SER V ED SPECIFIED
AVERAGE WEEKLY NUMBER,
Occupation group.
Aver Employees on pay roll at end of period (active employees) who had
served continuously—
age
numberof
Over 6 Over 1 Over 2 Over 3
full
Over 1 Over 2 Over 1 Over 3 months
time 1 week to 2 weeks to 3
to 5
to 6
to 2
to 3
to 1
to 1 months. months.
work or less. weeks.
month
year. years. years. years.
ers.
Refinery A:
Common laborers.........
Refinery operatives__
Technical and clerical.
199
171
50
13.0
10.0
2.0
9.0
9.0
5.0
8.5
2.5
2.6
4.3
2.9
1.0
0.5
.9
.6
1.0
1.3
.6
0.4
.3
.1
0.2
.3
.1
0.13
.18
.03
Total............................
420
25.0
23.0
13.5
8.2
1.9
2.9
.8
.6
.34
113
240
246
40.0
21.0
2.0
39.0
12.0
2.0
31.5
14.0
23.1
5.0
2.3
5.9
1.5
1.1
10.5
4.0
1.4
5.3
2.7
1.1
1.7
1.0
.5
.68
1.04
.28
Refinery B:
Common laborers..........
Refinery operatives__
Mechanics’ helpers and
apprentices.................
366
4.0
2.0
2.0
3.0
1.5
3.8
2.2
.4
.30
Total............................
965
67.0
55.0
47.5
33.4
10.0
19.7
11.3
3.6
2.30
AVERAGE WEEKLY RATE PER 1,000.
Refinery A:
Common laborers.........
Refinery operatives__
Technical and clerical..
199
171
50
65.3
58.5
40.0
45.2
52.6
100.0
42.7
14.6
50.0
21.6
17.0
20.0
2.3
5.0
12.4
5.2
7.6
11.6
2.0
1.7
1.2
1.0
1.7
2.0
0.65
1.10
.60
Total............................
420
59.5
54.8
32.1
19-5
4.5
6.9
1.8
1.4
.81
113
240
246
354.8
87.5
8.1
345.1
50.0
S.l
.......
278.8
58.3
204.4
20.9
9.3
52.2
6.3
4.3
92.9
16.9
5.7
46.9
11.3
4.5
15.0
4.2
2.0
6.02
4.30
1.10
Refinery B:
Common laborers.........
Refinery operatives—
Skilled mechanics........
Mechanics’ helpers and
apprentices.................
Total............................
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
366
10.9
5.5
5.5
8.2
4.1
10.4
6.0
1.2
.80
965
69.4
57.0
49.2
34.6
10.4
20.4
11.7
3.7
2.40
[990 ]
45
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
IN EACH OCCUPATION GROUP OF ACTIVE A N D SE PA R A T E D EM PLOYEES WHO HAD
PER IO D S OF TIME.1
AVERAGE WEEKLY NUMBER.
Separated employees who had served continuously—
Average
Over 1
Over 6
Over 2
1 week or Over 1 to weeks to Over 1 to Over 3 to months year to 2 Over 2 to Over 3 to number of
3 years. 5 years. full-time
2 weeks. 1 month. 3 months. 6 months. to 1 year. years.
less.
workers.
162.0
56.0
4.0
129.0
37.0
6.0
64.0
22.0
4.5
14.7
6.0
2.2
3.5
2.2
•7
1.1
.4
.2
0.25
.12
.10
0.23
.19
■OS
0.03
.07
.01
199
171
50
222.0
172.0
90.5
22.9
6.4
2.8
.46
.50
.11
420
426.0
135.0
20.0
175.0
40.0
12.0
106.5
30.0
5.0
48.7
7.2
1.3
22.4
5.5
2.1
6.5
1.5
.9
1.30
.58
.23
.65
.39
.02
.12
.14
.06
113
240
246
48.0
29.0
15.0
7.4
4.2
1.0
.62
.37
.05
366
256.0
156.5
64.7
34.1
9.9
2.80
1.42
.37
965
629.0
AVERAGE WEEKLY RATE PER 1,000.
814.1
327.5
80.0
648.2
216.4
120.0
321.6
128.7
90.0
73.9
35.1
44.0
17.6
12.9
13.8
5.5
2.5
3.8
1.26
.70
2.00
1.16
1.10
1.60
0.16
.41
.20
199
171
50
528.6
409.5
215.5
54.5
15.2
6.7
1.10
1.19
' .26
420
3, 769.9
562.5
81.3
1,548.7
166.7
48.8
942.5
125.0
20.0
431.0
30.0
5.3
198.3
22.9
8.5
57.5
6.3
3.6
11.50
2.40
.93
5.80
1.60
.08
1.10
.58
.24
113
240
246
131.0
79.2
41.0
20.2
11.5
2.7
1.70
1.00
.14
366
651.8
265.3
162.2
67.0
35.3
10.3
2.90
1.50
.38
965
> The average weekly numbers are obtained by dividing the whole numbers in each group (as shown in
Table 4) by the approximate number of weeks in the respective groups as follows:
Over 6 months to 1 year.......................... 26 weeks.
1 week or less...............................................
1 week.
Over 1 to 2 years........................................ 62 weeks.
Over 1 to 2 weeks.......................................
1 -week.
Over 2 to 3 years........................................ 52 weeks.
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth..........................
2 weeks.
Over 3 to 5 years....................................... 104 weeks.
Over 1 to 3 months.....................................
9 weeks.
Over 3 to 6 months..................................... 12 weeks.
110151°—19------ 4
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[991]
46
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The difference between the original length of service figures of
Table 4 and those on the equated weekly basis of Table 7 is brought
out in Table 8, which follows:
T
8.—TOTAL NUM BER A N D AVERAGE W E EK LY NUM BER A N D RATE PER 1,000
FULL-TIME W ORKERS OF ACTIVE AN D SE PA R A T ED EM PLOYEES IN EACH LENGTH
OF SERVICE GROUP.
able
Length-of-service group.
Refinery A :
One woek or less...................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks__
Over 2 weeks to 1 m on th..
Over 1 month to 3 months.
Over 3 to 6 m onths.............
Over 6 months to 1 year. . .
Over 1 year to 2 years........
Over 2 to 3 years..................
Over 3 to 5 years..................
Over 5 years..........................
Total number Employees assignable, on the
average, to each weekly service
of employees
subdivision.
A p
who had
proxi
served
mate
continuously
number
each
R ate per 1,000
Number.
of
classified
full-time
weeks
period.
workers.
in
period.
Sep Active. Sep
Sep
Active. arated.
arated. Active. arated.
1
1
222
172
181
206
83
44
24
26
2
9
13
26
52
52
104
11
8.2
1.9
2.9
.8
.6
.3
222.0
172.0
90.5
22.9
6.4
2.8
.5
59.5
54. 8
32.1
19.5
4, 5
6.9
1. 8
528.8
409.5
215. 5
54.5
15.2
6.7
1.1
.5
1.4
.1
•S
.3
629.0
258.0
156.5
64.7
34.1
9.9
69.4
57.0
49.2
34.6
10.4
20.4
11.7
3.7
2.4
651. 8
265. 3
162.2
67.0
35.3
10.3
2.9
1. 5
.4
1.2
11
Total.
Refinery B:
One" week or less...................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks___
Over 2 weeks to 1 m on th..
Over 1 month to 3 months.
Over 3 to 0 m onths.............
Over 6 months to 1 year. . .
Over 1 year to 2 years........
Over 2 to 3 years..................
. Over 3 to 5 years..................
Over 5 years..........................
25.0
23.0
13.5
980
1
12
9
13
26
52
52
104
Total.
67
55
95
301
130
513
585
188
239
627
629
256
313
582
443
257
143
74
38
120
67.0
55.0
47.5
33.4
10.0
19.7
11.3
3.6
2.3
2.8
1.4
.4
2,800 i 2,855
This table shows how rapidly the weekly rate of separation declines
and how entirely out of proportion these separation rates are to the
active service-distribution rates. It demonstrates also that the great
bulk of the turnover is caused by the separation of those who had
served less than one month and that after the l-to-3-months group is
passed the decline in the separation rate is roughly proportionate to
the decline of the active service distribution rate. This would seem
to indicate that there is no very great amount of avoidable turnover
caused by the separation of employees who have served six months or
more.
A comparison of the average weekly separation and active-servicedistribution rates of common laborers and refinery operatives is made
in Table 9. This again shows how much more stable are refinery
operatives than common laborers and how much worse the situation
is, especially for common laborers, in refinery B than in refinery A.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9923
47
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
T
9 — COMPARISON OP W E EK LY RATES (PER 1,000 FULL-TIM E W ORKERS IN EACH
OCCUPATION GROUP) OF ACTIVE AN D SE PA R A TED COMMON L ABORERS AN D RE
F IN E R Y OPERATIVES WHO HAD SERVED SPECIFIED PER IO D S OF TIME.
able
Rates per 1,000 full-time workers in each occupation group.
On pay roll at end oi year
(active).
Separated during year.
Length-of-service group.
Refinery A.
Refinery B.
Refinery A.
Refinery B.
Labor- Opera- Labor- Opera- Labor- Opera- Labor- Oneraers.
er3.
tives.
tives.
era.
tives.
era.
tives.
One week or less......................................
Over 1 week to 2 w eek s........................
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth......................
Over 1 month to 3 m on th s...................
Over 3 to 6 months.................................
Over 6 months to 1 year........................
Over 1 year to 2 years............................
Over 2 to 3 years.....................................
Over 3 to 5 years.....................................
65.3
45. 2
42.7
21.6
2.3
5.2
2.0
1.0
.7
58.5
52.6
14.6
17.0
5.0
7.6
1.7
1.7
1.1
354. 8
345.1
278. S
204.4
52.2
92.9
46.9
15.0
6.0
87.5
50.0
58.3
20.9
6.3
16.9
11.3
4.2
4.3
814. 1
648.2
321.6
73.9
17.6
5.5
1.3
1.2
.2
327. 5 3,769.9
216.4 1,548.7
128.7
942. 5
431.0
35.1
12.9
198.3
2.5
57.5
.7
11.5
1.1
5.8
.4
1.1
562.5
166.7
125.0
30.0
22.9
6.3
2.4
1.6
.6
NUM BER OF JOBS A FFEC T E D B Y TURNOVER.
Naturally the jobs which have been for the most part occupied by
quitters who have worked less than one week are subject to a much
higher turnover than the positions which are generally occupied for
longer periods. Of course there is no such thing as a group of jobs
which are invariably occupied by 10-day men or a group of jobs
always occupied by over-one-year men. A job which has been
abandoned by a 10-day man may be, and often is, next tilled by a
man who sticks much longer. Conversely, another job which has
been held by a one-to-two-year man may be filled next by a 10-day
man. But the fact remains that some jobs in the long run are more
likely to be infested with 10-day men and other jobs more likely to
be blessed with long-term job holders.
Now it is quite possible to work out, with a close approximation to
accuracy, the equivalent number of full-time jobs in any particular
occupation which are always occupied by men who have served one
week or less, the equivalent number occupied by those who have
served over one to two weeks, and so on. These results would amount
to a standardized tabulation, in terms of equivalent full-time jobs, of
the actual factory situation. For example, say that there are 10
jobs which are occupied for half of the year by men who stuck less
than a week and for the balance of the year by men who stuck from six
months to a year. This stability situation is fairly represented by
saying that there were the equivalent of 5 full-time (i. e., full-year)
jobs, each occupied on the average for four days (which is the mean
service time of those who had worked one week or less) and an equiv
alent of 5 full-time jobs, each occupied on the average for nine months
(the mean service time of those who had worked six months to one
year). This standardization process was worked out, without regard
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[9 9 3 ]
48
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
to occupation, for the aggregate working force of a group of establish
ments, in a preceding article.1
The same method is made use of in the present paper in order to
indicate the relative number of equivalent full-time jobs in different
occupations that were occupied by specified length-of-service groups
of employees. This in turn will indicate the number of full-time jobs
which are subject to turnover percentages corresponding to the
respective service groups. For example, jobs occupied by men serv
ing one week or less are occupied 4 days on the average and must
have had, therefore, 91 occupants (365 divided by 4) during the year.
This means 90 separations for each full-time worker or a turnover of
about 9,000 per cent for each job in this standardized group of equiva
lent full-time jobs. Similarly there is the definite (but much lower)
turnover percentage of 33 to be assigned to the group of (active or
separated) employees who had worked from 6 months to 1 year.
This scale of “ length-of-service turnover percentages” together
with the corresponding series of mean periods of service are the
points of departure for Table 10, which, on this mean-length-of-service
basis, indicates the numbers of equivalent full-time jobs affected by
varying degrees of turnover:
T
able
1 0 . — SEPARATION
FREQU EN CY DISTR IBU TIO N OF JOBS DIRECTLY AFFEC TED
B Y TU RN O V E R .
Length-of-service group.
Ap
proxi
mate
num
ber of
weeks
in pe
riod.
Mean
length
of serv
ice
(days).
1
2
Refinery A:
One week or less.......................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks..........
Over 2 weeks to 1 m o n th .....
Over 1 month to 3 m on ths...
Over 3 months to 6 m on ths..
Over 6 months to 1 year........
Over 1 year to 2 years.............
O v e r 9 years to 3 Years...........
Over 3 years to 5 years...........
Refinery B:
One week or less......................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks..........
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth----Over 1 month to 3 m onths...
Over 3 months to 6 m on ths..
Over 6 months to 1 year........
Oypr 1 year to 2 years.............
Oyer 2 years to 3 years...........
Over 3 years to 5 years...........
Total
num
ber of
Corre sepa
spond rated
eming
per P a y
ees
cent
age of who
turn had
over served
for the each
year. classi
fied
pe
riod.«
3
4
N um
ber of
equiv
alent
full
time
jobs af
fected
per
1,000
full
time
work
ers.
Total
num
ber of
mandays
worked
by each
group.
E q u iv
alent
number
of full
time
jobs in
each
group.
5
6
7
Aver
age
weekly
num
ber of
equiv
alent
full
time
jobs in
each
group.
W
8
4
1
11
1
22
2
60
9
135
13
274
26
52
548
62
913
104 1,460
9,025
3.218
1,559
608
170
33
222
172
181
206
83
44
24
26
11
888
1,892
3,982
12,360
11,205
12,056
13,152
23' 738
16' 060
2.43
5.18
10.91
33.86
30. 70
33.03
36.03
65.03
44.00
5.14
12.33
25.98
80.62
73.10
78.64
85.14
154.83
104.76
2.43
5.18
5.46
3.76
2.36
1.27
.69
1.25
.42
5.14
12.33
13.00
8.95
5.61
3.02
1.65
2.98
1.01
4
11
22
60
135
274
548
913
1,460
9,025
3,218
1,559
508
170
33
629
256
313
582
443
257
143
74
38
2,516
2,816
6,886
34,920
59,805
70,418
78,364
67! 562
55,480
6.89
7.71
18.87
95.67
163.85
192.92
214.69
185.10
152.00
7.14
7.97
19.55
99.14
169.79
199.92
222.48
191.81
157.51
6.89
7.71
9.44
10.63
12.60
7.42
4.13
3.56
1.46
7.14
7.97
9. 78
11.01
13.06
7.69
4.28
3.69
1.51
1
1
2
9
13
26
52
52
104
a These figures are reduced to weekly averages in Table 8 of this article.
i Based on 420 full-time workers for refinery A and 965 full-time workers for refinery B.
1 M onthly L abo r R
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
e v ie w
Aver
age
w-eekly
num
ber of
equiv
alent
full
time
jobs af
fected
per
1,000
full
time
work
ers.
(6)
9
,
February, 1919, pp. 59-62. See especially Table 8 on p. 60.
[994 ]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
49
The mean length of service in days for each group is shown in
column 2. The validity of this basis for use as a point of departure
in computing the equivalent number of full-time jobs affected by
varying intensities of turnover has been strongly confirmed by the
actual experience of two Cincinnati shops, where the actual mean
service figures proved to be almost exactly the same as the figures
assumed in the column marked 2 of Table 10.1 As explained above,
the turnover percentages corresponding to each under-one-year service
group, as given in column 3, are based on the number of days in the
calendar year2 as compared with the mean days of service. The
figures in column 4 are taken from Table 4. Multiplying these by the
corresponding mean length of service, shown in column 2, we find the
number of man-days worked by the different tenure groups of sepa
rating . employees shown in column 5. The number of man-days
worked divided by 365 gives (as shown in column 6) the equivalent
number of full-time jobs affected on the average by the designated
percentages of turnover. The equivalent numbers of full-time jobs
are reduced to weekly averages3 by dividing by the approximate
number of weeks in the range of the respective time groups as shown
in column 1; these weekly averages appear in column 8. The total
number and the average weekly number of equivalent full-time jobs
in columns 6 and 8, respectively, are reduced to rates per 1,000 full
time workers, shown in columns 7 and 9, on the basis of the average
number of full-time workers—420 for refinery A and 965 for refinery B.
In Table 11 there are arrayed together the standard scale of turn
over percentages for the different length-of-service groups and the
number of equivalent full-time jobs affected by each per 1,000 full
time workers. This table shows very strikingly the relation be
tween the intensity of turnover and the equivalent number of
full-time jobs affected by it. In the three shortest service groups
in refinery A there are 5, 12, and 26 equivalent full-time jobs
per 1,000 full-time workers affected by turnover intensities of
9,025, 3,218, and 1,559 per cent, respectively. In contrast with
this it appears that in the l-to-3 months, 3-to-6 months, and
6-months-to-l-year groups, there were 81, 73, and 79 equiva
lent full-time jobs affected by turnover intensities of 508, 170,
and 33 per cent, respectively. It is to be noted that in the shorter
service groups the number of jobs affected per 1,000 full-time workers
is not greatly different in the two plants, but that in the longer
service groups the number of jobs affected per 1,000 appears to be
vastly larger in refinery B than in refinery A.
1 See
a b o r R e v i e w , February, 1919 (p. 59), where the detailed Cincinnati figures are given.
the number of working days put in by a full-time employee is less than 365. But in this case
the only consistent method Is to use this figure as the dividend, because the establishment records showing
the length of service of individual employees run in terms of calendar periods; that is, they include Sundays
and other days not actually worked.
a The average weekly numbers of employees in each service period are not shown in Table 10. They
appear in Table 8.
M onthly L
2 Of course,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 995]
50
T
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
1 1 . -E S T IM A T E D NUM BER AND RATE PE R 1,000 FULL-TIM E W ORKERS OF
E Q U IV A LEN T FULL-TIM E JOBS AFFEC TED B Y SPEC IFIED IN T E N SIT IE S OF T U R N
OVER, CLASSIFIED B Y LENGTH-OF-SERVICE GROUPS.
able
Yearly per cent
of turnover for
each group.
Length-of-service group.
Refinery A:
One week or less...............
Over 1 to 2 weeks.............
Over 2 weeks to 1 month
Over 1 to 3 m onths..........
Over 3 to 6 m onths..........
Over 6 months to 1 year.
Over 1 to 2 years..............
Over 2 to 3 years..............
Over 3 to 5 years..............
Refinery B :
One week or less...............
Over 1 to 2 weeks.............
Over 2 weeks to 1 month
Over 1 to 3 m onths..........
Over 3 to 6 m onths..........
Over 6 months to 1 year.
Over 1 to 2 years...............
Over 2 to 3 years..............
Over 3 to 5 years..............
Equivalent full-time jobs
affected.1
Estimated
number.
Rate per 1,000
full-timo
workers.
9,025
3,218
1,559
508
170
33
2.43
5.18
10.91
33.88
30.70
33.03
36.03
65.03
44.00
5.14
12.33
25.98
80. 62
73.10
78.64
85.14
154.83
104.76
9,025
3,218
1,559
508
170
33
6.89
7.71
18.87
95.67
163.85
192.92
214.69
185.10
152.00
7.14
7.97
19.55
99.14
169.79
199.92
222.48
191.81
157.51
1 From columns 6 and 7 of Table 10.
Calculations similar to that made in Table 10 for the whole working
force were made for each occupation group in both refineries. The
figures representing the intermediate stages of the calculations are
not presented here. The derived figures showing for each occupa
tion and length-of-service group, the number of equivalent full-time
jobs affected per 1,000 full-time workers in each occupation group
are presented in Table 12 alongside of the length-of-service turnover
percentage scale.
T
1 2 .—AVERAGE W E E K L Y RATE PE R 1,000 FULL-TIM E JOBS IN EACH OCCUPATION
OF THE FULL-TIM E JOBS A FFEC TED B Y SEPA R A T IN G EM PLOYEES HAVING
SPECIFIED SERVICE RECORDS AND W HOSE JOBS ARE SUBJECT TO CORRESPOND
ING CLASSIFIED PERCENTAGE OF TU RN O V ER .
able
Length-of-service group.
Refinery A:
One week or less..................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks —
Over 2 weeks to 1 m o n th ..
Over 1 month to 3 months.
Over 3 to 6 m onths.............
Over 6 months to 1 y e a r...
Over 1 year to 2 years.........
Over 2 to 3 years..................
Over 3 to 5 years..................
Refinery B :
One week or less...................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks___
Over 2 weeks to 1 m o n th ..
Over 1 month to 3 months.
Over 3 to 6 m onths.............
Over 6 months to 1 y ea r.. .
Over 1 year to 2 years.........
Over 2 to 3 years..................
Over 3 to 5 years.............. ..
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Corre
spond
ing per
centage
of turn
over.
Equivalent weekly number of full-time jobs affected per
1,000 full-time workers in each occupation.
em>yees.
Com
mon
labor
ers.
Re
finery
oper
atives.
9,025
3,218
1,559
508
170
33
5.14
12.33
13.00
8.95
5.61
3.02
1.65
2.98
1.01
9.00
19.55
19. 40
12.11
6.58
4.07
1.91
2.91
.60
3.59
6.55
7.77
5.79
4.68
1.87
.99
2.81
1.58
9,025
3,218
1,559
508
170
33
7.14
7.97
9.78
11.01
13.06
7.69
4.28
3.69
1.51
41.50
46.64
56.81
70.80
73.27
43.45
17.01
14.51
4.07
6.17
5.04
7.54
4.96
8. 42
4.58
3.63
4.00
2.42
[99G]
M eehan-. Techni
Skilled ics’
help cal and
me
and ap clerical
chanics. ers
prentices. employees.
0.22
.50
1.00
.48
.13
.18
.20
.06
0.90
1.46
1.22
.90
3.13
2.68
1.42
.20
.93
1.45
2.38
2. 46
3.33
4.21
2.05
2.51
2. 48
.52
............
..........
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
51
This table brings out the two vital determining factors in the labor
turnover situation at the two plants; the intensity of turnover to
which the separating employees in various stability groups are sub
ject and the relative size of these groups, i. e., the equivalent number
of full-time jobs affected. The figures show the quantitative stability
relations between the different service groups and the different
occupations and between the two refineries. • For example, in refinery
B, for each week (on the average) of the two-weeks-to-one-month
service group, there were affected with its particular intensity of
turnover—1,559 per cent—57 equivalent full-time common laborers’
jobs per 1,000 full-time laborers in the plant and 8 refinery operatives’
jobs per 1,000 refinery operatives. Similarly, in the same service
group in refinery A, and affected with the same intensity of turnover
there are 19 equivalent full-time laborers’ and 8 equivalent full-time
refinery operatives’ jobs per 1,000 full-time laborers and operatives,
respectively.
It appears that common labor is by far the most unstable of all the
occupation groups, that it is more unstable in refinery B than in
refinery A and that in refinery A the turnover is about twice as heavy
among common laborers as it is among refinery operatives, whereas
in refinery B it is at least five times as heavy among common laborers
as it is among refinery operatives. Next in degree of instability to
these two groups come mechanics’ helpers and apprentices, and last
of all, the maximum stability group of technical and clerical employees.
Taking the working force as a whole it is evident that 5 equivalent
full-time jobs per 1,000 full-time workers in refinery A and 7 in refinery
B were affected by a turnover of 9,025 per cent.
CON CLU SIO iT.
It is quite certain that whatever plans are to be considered for the
reduction of the turnover at such establishments as the two reported
in these pages must be formulated with primary reference to their
application to and effect upon unskilled labor and the transient
short-service employees of all occupations. It is significant that the
bonus, pension, and insurance plans in force at both refineries provide
for a beginning of their respective benefit payments only after the 12
heavy turnover months have passed and the great bulk of the highfrequency quitters have quit. The would-be-turnover-reducing plans
seem only to begin where the turnover ends. Most of the turn
over in all occupations is due to the separation from service of em
ployees who have served less than one year. Figures given above
show that at one refinery 93 per cent and at the other 87 per cent of
the turnover was caused by quitters whose length of service had been
less than one year. The aforementioned benefit plans apply only
to those who have served more than one year. Apparently the 10
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[997]
52
M ONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
day man can not be induced to stick to a job merely by assuring him
a length-of-service bonus if he waits fifty-odd weeks. A s3Tstem of
length-of-service bonuses of progressively increasing amounts and
based upon service records beginning with one week or one month
might have some effect in reducing turnover. The usual over-oneyear plans do not appear to have any effect whatever upon the turn
over. It goes without saying that if any classes of employees are to be
excluded from the benefits of length-of-service bonus plans it should
certainly not be the semiskilled and unskilled laborers.
There seems to be no doubt that the employment bureau at refinery
A has a definitely favorable influence upon the turnover. The lower
stability of the force, especially the common labor force, at refinery
B is probably due in part to the lack of any centralized system of
handling the employment work of the refinery. Refinery A, despite
serious disadvantages in regard to transportation, housing, etc., has
made a much more favorable showing—a record which must be due
in part to its centralized employment machinery.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
LABOR TURNOVER IN MILWAUKEE.
BY W ILLIAM P . E I R E .
Immediately following the conference of the National Association
of Employment Managers held at Rochester, N. Y., May 9-11, 1918,
the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics began a limited study
of the various currents that influence the flow of labor from one
industrial establishment to another, commonly referred to as “ labor
turnover.’’
The 800 delegates to the Rochester conference, consisting mainly
of employment managers, expressed much concern over the extent
of the shifting of labor during the war period, and the consequent
economic waste represented in the cost of hiring and training new
employees. While no figures were obtainable from which an
accurate estimate of the cost of turnover per man could be made,
this is known to be a very considerable item of expense. It is of
interest to mention briefly the principal elements entering into the
replacement cost.
Probably the least of these is the clerical work in connection with
the process of hiring the new employee, although some expense is
entailed in the keeping of employment records, interviewing appli
cants, looking up their references as to experience and character,
and in general endeavoring to fit the man to the job, as it is done
by the manager of the modern functionalized emplojmnent bureau.
More important items of cost arise from the time spent by foremen
and assistant foremen in instructing new employees and in the
decreased production during the early period of employment, while
still greater expense results fropi the increased wear and tear of tools
and machinery handled or manned by new employees and from the
great quantity of materials and work spoiled or damaged by them.
If either the machinery or the raw material is of a very expensive
character, these two cost items, due to such damage by the inex
perienced employee, may soon run into thousands of dollars.
A decision of great importance reached by the Rochester conference
relates to the correct method of computing the turnover. It was
decided to use as a basis the average number of employees actually
at work from day to day throughout the period covered rather than
the old method of using the average number on the pay roll. Obvi
ously, the method formerly used was erroneous because it did not take
into account absenteeism, which resulted in a very considerable per
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 999 ]
53
54
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
centage of the turnover being included in the base and thus made
the turnover appear to be much less than it really was.
The special committee’s report on the standard definition of labor
turnover and method of computing the percentage of labor turn
over, as adopted by the Rochester conference, included the following
statements:1
Labor turnover for any period consists of the number of separations from service
during that period. Separations include all quits, discharges, and lay offs for any
reason whatsoever.
The percentage of labor turnover for any period considered is the ratio of the total
number of separations during the period to the average number of employees on the
force report during that period. The force report gives the number of men actually
working each day as shown by attendance records.
To compute the percentage of labor turnover for any period, find the total separa
tions for the period considered and divide by the average of the number actually
working each day throughout the period. Then multiply by the proper factor to
reduce to a yearly basis.
In case the number employed by a plant or a department of a plant decreases because
it is the deliberate policy of the plant management to reduce permanently its working
force, this fact should be explicitly stated and the reasons for the reduction in force
given.
In order readily to compute the turnover on the basis indicated
above it is necessary for an establishment to keep attendance records,
not infrequently called force reports. Some establishments were
found in which were kept a daily summary of the number of employ
ees on the pay roll, the number present each day, and the number of
absentees. In such cases it was a very simple matter to arrive at
the average number actually working throughout the year.
In order to determine the average number actually working in
an establishment in which no daily force sheets are regularly kept,
the following method was found helpful. The aggregate labor hours
of the period covered, exclusive of boosted time, were divided by the
total hours the plant was in operation. In such cases an allowance
for absenteeism equivalent to the average daily proportion of ab
sentees during a representative period was necessary. The number
of positions or, in other words, the average number actually working
may be arrived at by dividing the aggregate labor hours by the total
operation hours plus the percentage of absenteeism.
In cases where the plant operation hours can not be found, the
labor turnover base may be arrived at by dividing the total labor
hours by the number of annual hours of labor of a full-time worker,
the latter number being found by multiplying the regular weekly hours
of a laborer by 52, and deducting therefrom the hours lost as a result
oi legal holidays, vacations, and any other periods in which the
1 See M o n th ly R e v ie w for J u n e , 1918 (pp. 172, 173), lor lu ll r e p o rt o i th e co m m itte e .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 1000]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
55
establishment was closed down and also the number of hours repre
senting the average daily percentage of absenteeism.
This article has to do with the turnover in establishments in
Milwaukee and the immediate vicinity, the work in certain other
localities having been covered by articles in previous issues of the
R e v i e w .1
The study was designed not only to locate definitely the sources of
turnover and the causes thereof, but also to ascertain what practical
methods are being employed by those establishments that have been
the more successful in the construction of safeguards for holding and
conserving their labor forces or, in other words, reducing the turnover.
The general interest in the study of labor turnover at the Rochester
conference was found, in no less degree, among employment managers
in Milwaukee establishments. Little more than two years prior to
this study, there were apparently only a few establishments in Mil
waukee having centralized employment bureaus, whereas to-day
there are many such establishments, the bureaus being functionalized
to the extent that the hiring is done in a careful and systematic
way, in so far as the present abnormal conditions will permit, and, in
most of the plants visited, an employee is not discharged, except for
cause, if there is a job in the plant that he can fill. Quite a number
of the establishments visited were necessarily omitted from this
report, however, because their employment systems had been in
operation for only a few months and it was deemed advisable to
schedule no plant for a shorter period than six months.
Twenty-one establishments, ranging in size from less than 300 to
more than 4,500 employees, were found which had records available
for filling the more essential parts of the turnover schedule for six
months or more, 10 of these having furnished the data for a full year.
In one establishment a more intensive study was made, the turn
over data having been obtained by occupations, a special discussion
of which appears on subsequent pages.
Table 1 shows by nature of separations for each establishment the
number and per cent of separations during the periods covered, and
the per cent of turnover per month.
i June, 1918, Labor turnover of seamen on the Great Lakes, pp. 46—
53; October, 1918, Labor turnover
and employment policies of a large motor vehicle manufacturing establishment, pp. 1-18; January, 1919,
Labor turnover in Cleveland and Detroit, pp. 11-30; February, 1919, Labor turnover in tho San Francisco
Bay regiou, pp. 45-62; and March, 1919, Labor turnover in Cincinnati, pp. 35-52.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1001]
T a b l e 1 .—LABOR T U R N O V ER P E R M ONTE IN EÀCH ESTABLISHM ENT, B Y N A T U R E OF SEPARATIONS.
___________________________
Est,ablishment
num
ber.
Industry.
Chemicals.....................................................
Electrical apparatus.................................
Foundry ana machine shop products..
....... do............................................................
....... do.............................................................
....... do.............................................................
........do............................................................
........do............................................................
........do............................................................
........do............................................................
........do............................................................
Glue...............................................................
Hosiery and knit goods............................
........do............................................................
Illuminating gas.........................................
Lamps, mazda....... ....................................
Leather, tanned and curried...................
Metals, stamped ware, household.........
........do............................................................
Rubber goods............................................
Electric railway, light, and power.........
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
6
12
12
7
12
12
6
12
12
6
6
12
12
6
6
8
12
12
876
1,181
1,665
238
998
1,300
1,246
542
638
4,732
524
346
820
468
839
464
3,168
540
1.163
1,275
3,643
Separations.
N umber
of
persons
hired
during
period
covered.
2.830
1,525
2,435
165
1,221
2.634
4,157
748
931
6,374
352
235
395
1,713
3.114
804
4, 630
4,859
3,058
‘ Less than one-half of 1 per cent.
Per cent.
Number.
Dis
charged.
125
135
216
118
116
362
60
123
431
31
7
30
78
(2)
105
302
45
(2)
298
460
Laid
off.
Entered
military
service.
159
90
280
22
82
146
233
5
63
453
28
26
175
24
170
6
323
14
8
11
15
(2)
15
40
(2)
22
55
(2)
13
112
30
«
216
350
Quit.
1.412
1.217
2,082
197
1.025
2,815
2.759
656
609
5.815
331
272
346
408
(2)
332
2.880
716
(2)
4.053
2,863
Total.
Dis
charged.
1.871
1.466
2.748
219
1.225
3,083
3,677
735
803
6.699
'390
305
387
501
1,561
450
3,309
831
4,684
4,589
3,728
7
9
8
10
4
10
8
15
9
2
6
0)
8
2
8
16
(2)
<2)
23
9
5
6
12
*Not reported.
Entered
military
service.
Laid
off.
8
5
10
10
7
5
6
1
8
7
9
2
1
8
3
3
(2)
(■)
(*)
«
(2)
5
3
3
4
(2)
9
Quit.
75
83
76
90
84
91
75
89
76
87
85
89
89
81
(2)
74
87
86
(2)
88
77
Per cent
of
turnover
per
month
during
period
Total. covered.
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
36
21
14
8
IS
20
25
22
11
12
12
15
8
16
s
17
id
£0
30
9
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Average
number
of em
Number ployees
of
actually
months
covered. working
during
period
covered.
Cn
O
____
57
MONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
Because of the varying periods covered in the different establish
ments, many of which did not have data available for a full year, the
per cent of turnover in this table was reduced to a monthly basis to
facilitate comparison.
One establishment, No. 17, in making a partial classification,
by periods of service, reported the number of separations for the
entire year, but, for the purpose of working out the turnover, as
shown in Table 1, reported the number of separations for only six
months. This was due to the fact that much labor was involved in
arriving at the average number actually working and because officials
of the company, owing to its depleted office force, desired to confine
the work to a period of six months. Obviously, it was necessary to
request the number of separations for the same period.
It will be observed, also, from Table 1, that, with the exception
of two establishments where the desired data were not available,
the total number of separations has been segregated into “ dis
charged,” “ laid off,” “ entered military service” and “ quit,” the
number and per cent being shown for each classification, as recom
mended by the special turnover committee at the Rochester con
ference. It should be explained that the per cent has been com
puted to the nearest whole number, being increased when the
remainder was one-half or more; consequently the details may not
always total exactly 100.
A percentage summary of such data is herewith presented in
tabular form for the 19 establishments in which the segregation
was made:
T
able
2 .—NUM BER AND PE R CENT OF EM PLOYEES SEPA R A TED FROM SERVICE,
B Y CAUSE.
Number.
Per cent.
Discharged................................................
Laid off......................................................
Entered military service.......................
Q uit...........................................................
3,042
803
2,323
30,788
8
2
6
83
Total...............................................
37,016
100
Cause.
Under “ discharged” are included all involuntary permanent
separations, usually termed “ discharged for cause,” while “laid off”
includes separations due to slack work, temporary shutdowns,
shortage of material, and, sometimes, as a disciplinary measure, to
minor infractions of rules.
Under “ quit” have been included not only the voluntary separa
tions but also those due to death, marriage, pensions, etc. It is
believed, too, that this classification includes a considerable number
who left the establishments to enter the naval or military service
without so stating; consequently the number shown in the table as
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58
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
having “ entered military service” is probably less than the actual
number.
Table 2 shows 83 per cent to have quit voluntarily. These separa
tions were undoubtedly due in a large measure to the abnormal con
ditions prevailing during the period covered by this report, such as the
unusually high wages paid in the shipyards, munitions plants, and
other industries essential to the conduct of the war.
The per cent of total separations due to “ discharge” was neces
sarily low because of the difficulty in obtaining help. One establish
ment did not discharge a single employee during the period covered.
In another, however, 23 per cent of the separations were attributable
to this cause. Only two other plants reported as high as 15 per cent
of their separations due to discharges.
Similarly, because of the shortage of labor and the difficulty in
holding their employees, most of the establishments kept the “ lay
offs7’ down to a minimum, several showing none wffiatsoever, though
in each of tvTo establishments the separations under this general
classification reached 9 per cent of the total.
While, as stated above, the number of separations reported as hav
ing been due to the worker entering military service is, on the whole,
probably lower than actually occurred, yet it is three times that
chargeable to “lay offs’7 and is equal to three-fourths of that due to
“ discharges.77 In the cases of one large and one small establish
ment, 10 per cent of the total separations were classified under
“ entered military service.77 In the instance of the smaller plant not
a single employee was discharged or laid off during the 12 months.
While this plant was classed as nonessential, the turnover, with two
exceptions, wTas the low est shown. It is believed that the low turn
over was due to the steady work offered and to the rather high
wages paid, because, while a complete classification of employees,
by periods of service, could not be obtained, further questioning
brought out the fact that more than one-third of the company’s
employees had been in its service for more than five years. Also
the element of personal contact between employer and employee
seems to have made its influence felt in this establishment to a
greater extent than is ordinarily the case.
Since the periods covered in the reports from the 21 establishments
vary from 6 to 12 months, it is difficult to arrive at any comparable
basis for discussion of the turnover because no exact aggregate
average of the number of employees actually working in these estab
lishments can be made and, therefore, the general average turnover
per month for all plants can not be computed. However, for the
10 establishments wffiich reported for the full year the average num
ber of employees actually wmrking wras 16,040 and the average number
of separations per month was 2,297, resulting in a general average
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59
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
turnover of 14 per cent per month for this group. Likewise the eight
establishments which reported data lor six months showed an average
of 7,997 actually working during that period, an average of 1,551 sep
arations per month, and an average monthly turnover of 19 per cent.
This indicates that those establishments which have had their
employment systems in operation for a year or more have been able
to cut down the turnover to a much greater extent than those whose
present systems have been more recently established. It is possible
that the seasonal fluctuation may account in part for the very much
greater turnover in the eight establishments wdiicli reported for only
six months because of the recruiting of labor for the lake steamers
in early spring. However, the six months’ period covered extended,
in almost every case, from January to June, inclusive, which period
splits both the low" and the high turnover season in this locality.
An article entitled ‘‘Labor turnover and employment policies of
a large motor vehicle manufacturing establishment,” published in
the M o n t h l y L a b o r R e v i e w for October, 1918, deals with the
seasonal turnover where very similar conditions prevail. The figures
for the period of three years ending May 31, 1918, as presented in the
article mentioned, show" that the average per month for the first six
months of the calendar year is almost exactly the same as the aver
age for the second six months, and that consequently these averages
are the same as the monthly average for the entire three years.
It is of interest to note, also, that the 10 plants reporting for a full
year, and which show the lower turnover, had an average of 1,604
employees actually working, wdiile the eight plants reporting for six
months, and showing the higher turnover, averaged an even 1,000.
In this connection, attention is directed to Table 3 in which the 21
establishments are classified by monthly per cent of turnover, the
number and per cent of employees actually working being shown for
each percentage group.
T
3 . — NUM BER OF ESTABLISHM ENTS AND NUM BER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOY
EES ACTUALLY W ORKING, CLASSIFIED B Y MONTHLY PER CENT OF TURNOVER.
able
Classified monthly per cent of turnover.
Number
of
estab
lishments.
Average
number
actually
working.
Per
cent.
Under 10 per cent................................................................
10 and under 15 per cen t....................................................
15 and under 20 per cen t....................................................
20 and under 25 per cen t....................................................
25 and under 30 per cent....................................................
30 and under 40 per cen t...................... .............................
Over 40 per cent...................................................................
4
4
5
3
2
2
Ï
5,165
7,559
5,819
3,023
1,788
2,151
1,163
19
28
22
11
7
8
4
Total..............................................................................
21
26,666
100
The 21 establishments had an average of 26,666 employees actually
working, 19 per cent of wdiom were employed in the four establish
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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60
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
ments which reported a turnover of less than 10 per cent per month.
Looking at the higher turnover groups in the table, we find that the
three establishments which reported a turnover of 30 per cent or
more per month had only 12 per cent of the average number of em
ployees actually working in the 21 plants. Likewise, the one estab
lishment with a turnover greater than 40 per cent accounted for only
4 per cent of the average number working in the 21 plants.
Generally speaking, the higher turnover was found among the
unskilled laborers, though several exceptions to this rule were found.
Various reasons were given for the high turnover among unskilled
laborers. All said that help was scarce and that therefore they could
not be as careful in the selection of men as they would otherwise be.
Much of the common labor was necessarily recruited from the class
known as “ floaters,’’ and, as the term indicates, these do not stay
very long at any job. The report from practically every plant visited
was that the general unrest among the unskilled laborers and the
high wages offered in v'ar industries plants were the principal causes
of the high turnover.
The principal exceptions to the general rule that the highest
turnover is among the unskilled laborers may be briefly mentioned.
One stamped metal-ware establishment reported the greatest turn
over in the anneahng and galvanizing departments, the turnover in
these places being due to the nature of the work in front of the
furnaces and over the kettles. Another establishment, engaged in
the manufacture of chemicals, reported that the turnover, in addi
tion to being high among unskilled laborers, wras especially high also
in the operation work in the dye plants and among ash pullers,
this latter job being a heavy one and subject to excessive heat. In
a foundry and machine shop a very high turnover was found among
the helpers on heavy operations and among wheel grinders, due to
the hard work.
In a leather plant the greatest turnover was found among employees
in the beam house and tacking departments. Work in the beam
house is wet and the odor from the hides is objectionable. The tem
perature in the tacking room, where hides are tacked on frames, is
80 degrees and, furthermore, the constant handling of tacks causes
the fingers to become sore.
The lower turnover among skilled employees was generally ascribed
to the higher wages and to the fact that they wrere a more settled and
intelligent class of workers, not so much inclined to shift but looking
for advancement in their particular lines. In one hosiery and knitgoods establishment the very low turnover among day spinners was
ascribed mainly to the foreman’s splendid management.
Table 4 shows the per cent of employees and of separations in
each specified length of service period:
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1006 ]
T aisi .F. 4 .—N U M B E R A N D PE R CENT OF EM PLOYEES AND OF SEPA R A TIO N S IN EACH SPEC IFIE D IN D U S T R Y , CLASSIFIED B Y PER IO D S OF
SERVICE.
Establishment
num
ber.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
IB
17
18
19
20
21
C hem icals..........................
Electrical apparatus.........
Foundry and machine
shop products.................
........d o ...................................
........d o ...................................
........d o ...................................
........d o ...................................
. . .d o ..................................
........d o ...................................
........do...................................
........d o ...................................
Glue......................................
Hosiery and knit goods. .
........d o ......... .........................
Illuminating gas, e tc ........
Lamps, mazda...................
Leather, tanned and curried....................................
Metals, stamped ware,
household........................
........do ...................................
Rubber goods.....................
Electric railway, light,
and power...................
Per cent of number
Num
ber on
pay
roll at 1 Over Over Over
1
2
1
end of wk.
period or wk. wks. mo.
cov less. to 2 to 1 to 3
wks. mo. mos.
ered.
on pay roll in each specified length-ofservice period.
Over
3
mos.
to 6
mos.
Over
6
mos.
to 1
year.
Over
1
year
to 2
yrs.
Over
2
yrs.
to 3
yrs.
10
12
9
17
4
11
10
15
(2) (2)
(2) <2)
13
19
(2) (2)
9
11
13
20
9
13
12
11
9
11
12
21
28
9
19
8
(2) (2)
5
(2)
(2)
9
(2)
9
7
ii
6
7
15
18
13
(2)
6
6
1,847
1,337
10
5
10
4
21
8
28
18
8
10
12
12
7
12
12
6
12
12
6
6
6
7
12
12
1,893
(2)
(2)
1,350
(2)
524
655
4,858
514
363
777
520
767
(2)
1
(2)
(2)
3
CD
6
1
3
12
0
1
3
2
(2)
9
f2)
(2)
4
(*>
8
4
6
8
4
5
10
2
(2)
17
U)
(D
10
(U
10
10
10
8
15
6
17
8
(2)
8 12
2,892
98
4
(2)
(2)
3
(2)
6
1
3
9
3
1
5
1
(2)
(10)
14
(2)
(2)
8
(D
12
11
11
6
5
7
12
16
(2)
(12)
6
8
12
549
(2)
1,502
3
(*)
11
4
(2)
7
7
12
4,208
2
3
Per cent of separations in each specified length-of-service
Num
period.
ber of
separa
Over Over Over Over Over Over Over Over
Over
tions
during 1
1
3 Over
2
6
1
3
1
2
3 Over
wks. mo. mos. mos. year yrs. yrs.
5 Total. period wk.
yrs.
5 Total.
or wk.
cov less.
to 2 to 1 to 3 to 6 to 1 to 2 to 3 to 5 yrs.
to 5 yrs.
wks. mo. mos. mos. year. yrs. yrs. yrs.
yrs.
ered.
1,871
1,466
12
12
(2)
6
(2)
10
10
8
4
8
11
(7)
8
(2)
10
(U
<2>
26
(2)
19
22
26
25
34
20
(L
23
(2)
100 82,534
100
219
100 1,225
100 3,083
100 3,677
100 4 734
100
803
100 6,699
100
390
100
305
100
876
100
501
100 1,561
100
450
9 is 30
16
(2)
9
(2)
24
(2)
29
(2)
12
(2)
8
(2)
14
(*)
(2)
00
17
15
17
(2)
16
(2)
17
11
(2)
(2)
22
(2)
(2)
(D
15
10
15
(2)
10
(2)
2
(2)
(i)
(2)
12
(2)
(2)
(2)
6
10
15
(2)
7
(2)
(b) « 17
15
13
<2) (2)
(2) (2)
22 n 23 (12)
9
(2)
(»)
(2)
7
7
9
(2)
9
(2)
9
7
(2)
(2)
4
(2)
(2)
(2)
4
4
7
(2)
6
(2)
11
8
(2)
(2)
21 15 n
2
(2)
(2)
(2)
2
3
3
f2)
2
(2)
4
1
(2)
(2)
(16)
100
100
(2)
(2)
3
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
1
(2)
1
(2)
5
(7)
(2)
(2)
(16)
(B
(2)
(2)
(2)
1
(!)
2
(2)
3
(2)
4
(7)
(2)
(2)
(16)
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
21
12
(M)
100
6,235
10
23
(2) (2)
(2) -<*)
<2) (2)
36
13
29
22
16
14
(2) (2)
21
25
(U (2)
27
5
27
18
n
(2)
(2) (2)
9 24 (10)
17
(2)
12
11
8
18
(2)
21
16
9
(2)
12
5
(2)
5
5
(2)
4
21
(2)
4
100
100
100
831
4,684
4,589
(D
(D
C2)
(D
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(D
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
f2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(21
(2)
f2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
100
100
100
5
12
13
11
12
6
5
32
100
3,728
8
7
13
25
17
13
7
2
3
5
100
5 n 15
(*)
1 Less than one-half of 1 per cont.
2 Not reported.
8 Not including 214 employees whose periods of service were not reported.
4 Not including 1 employee whose period of service was not reported.
6 Included in “ 3 months to 6 months.”
6 Including "1 month to 3 months.”
7 In operation less than 3 years.
8 Data for Table 1 were reported for only 6 months.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
100
100
3
100
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
1
2
3
Industry.
Numberof
mos.
cov
ered.
5 Including "over 1 week to 2 weeks.”
10 Included in "one week or less.”
11 Including "3 months to 6 months.”
12 Included in "1 month to 3 months.”
18 Including "over 5 years.”
14 Included in "3 years to 5 years.”
14 Including all who served over 1 year.
18 Included in "over 1 year to 2 years.”
05
4
I—
62
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
According to the above table eight establishments were able to make
a percentage classification, by periods of service, of the number of
employees on the pay roll at the close of the respective periods cov
ered, and a similar classification of employees separated from service
during the same periods. One other establishment made both classi
fications in a partial way only. Fifteen were able to make the first,
nine were able to make the second, and four were not in a position to
make either. The total number of employees upon which the per
centage classification was based has been shown in eaoh case. Also,
for the sake of convenience, the establishment number, the industry,
and the period covered, just as they appear in Table 1, have been
repeated in Table 4.
A summary, by identical length-of-service periods, was made of the
10,938 employees still on the pay rolls and of the 11,437 separated
from service during the periods covered by the eight establishments
that had the data for both classifications, and the tabulation is here
presented in percentage form:
T able 5 .—P E R C E N T O F E M P L O Y E E S IN SE R V IC E A T E N D O P P E R IO D S C O V E R E D A N D
O F E M P L O Y E E S S E P A R A T E D FR O M T H E S E R V IC E D U R IN G SAM E P E R IO D S IN E IG H T
E S T A B L IS H M E N T S , B Y L E N G T H O F SE R V IC E .
Per cent.
Length of service.
In em
ploy.
One week or under.....................................
Over 1 week to 2 weeks.............................
Over 2 weeks to 1 m onth..........................
Over 1 month to 3 m onths.......................
Over 3 months to 6 m onths.....................
Over 6 months to 1 year...........................
Over 1 year to 2 years................................
Over 2 years to 3 years..............................
Over 3 years to 5 years..............................
Over 5 years.................................................
4
5
9
115
2 11
11
14
7
6
19
Separated
from
service.
17
11
18
20
14
10
0
2
2
2
i N ot including 1 per cent, periods of service, one m o n th to six m on ths.
s Including 1 per cent, periods of service, one m on th to s ix m on ths.
I t will be observed from the above table that only 18 per cent of
those still in the service had not been there more than one month, as
compared with 44 per cent of those separated from service who had
not been in employ more than one month. Looking at the longer
periods of service, we find that 46 per cent of those still in employ had
served more than one year, while only 12 per cent of the number sep
arated from service had been in employ more than one year and only
6 per cent more than two years.
Inquiry of employment managers at the plants visited as to what
methods were employed in their efforts toward reducing the turnover
led naturally to the question as to who did the hiring and the firing.
Of the 21 establishments scheduled, there were four in which both the
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 1008]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
63
hiring and the firing were centralized in the employment manager and
two of these showed the lowest turnover found, with the exception
of one small plant, previously mentioned, which showed the same
per cent per month. In nine other establishments the hiring was
done by the employment manager, in one it was sometimes done by
the employment manager, and sometimes by the foreman, in two it
was done by the foremen only, in one by the superintendent, in three
b}r the superintendent and foremen, and in the remaining one by the
assistant general superintendent and the general foreman.
In addition to the four plants in which the power to discharge is
centralized in the employment manager, there was one in which the
department heads cooperated with the employment manager and one
in which investigation was made by the employment manager before
the foremen could make discharges. There was one in which the dis
charges were made by the assistant general superintendent, three by
the superintendents, seven by the foremen, and three by the foremen
and superintendents.
When asked as to their manner of dealing with absentees, several
employment managers said they had no hard and fast rule as to the
length of time an employee might remain away before being dropped
from the pay rolls, two said that such cases were investigated on the
first day of absence and the employee dropped immediately unless
a good excuse was offered, four reported that absentees were dropped
after two days, two allowed three days, one four days, one allowed
a week, another two weeks, one a half month, two a month, one six
weeks, and one carried the names on the rolls until the end of the
quarter year because the bonus allowance was adjusted quarterly.
Practically every plant visited had some arrangement for first-aid
treatment, more than half of them having first-aid hospitals, with
trained nurses in charge and physicians either on duty or subject to
calk One had a visiting nurse also.
Generally speaking, the working conditions in the 21 plants may
be said to be good. Six had installed exhaust systems for taking
care of the smoke, dust, etc., and in several special attention had been
given to the lighting system.
Modern toilets and wash rooms were provided in each plant; in
two plants there were shower baths; most of them had lockers; and
two provided cloak rooms, with a system of control.
Nearly all the establishments had installed some form of bubbler
system for drinking water and three furnished artesian water from
their own wells. Lunch rooms were provided in three plants for
the use of female employees, only; in four for both males and females;
one additional establishment provided a room and necessary arrange
ments where female employees might warm their lunches, while
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 0 0 9 ]
64
M ONTHLY LABOE KEVIEW.
another furnished a room in which coffee was served to males and
females at two cents a pint.
Some establishments in outlying suburban villages reported a
shortage of houses and one company had erected 60 dwellings for
the use of its employees. These same establishments said that
transportation facilities were not what they should be and one
company, whose plant was located several miles from the city, not
only reimbursed its employees in the sum of transportation costs
but provided a train of private coaches to convey the men from the
village railroad station to the plant and return. The location of most
of the plants in the city is such that a large proportion of the em
ployees live within walking distance. For those who do not, the
street car service appeared to be good.
One company presents each .employee with $500 life insurance at
the expiration of the first three months service. This amount is
gradually increased until at the expiration of the fourth year of
service it reaches $1,000.
Mention will be made, somewhat in detail, of four establishments,
one of which supplied the turnover data, by occupations, for a period
of six months, one in which the turnover was only 9 per cent, and
two in which it was only 8 per cent per month.
The establishment that filled all parts of the schedule by occupa
tions was a foundry and machine shop and is shown as No. 8 in
Tables 1 and 4. The turnover data for each occupation is shown in
the following table:
T a b l e 6 .—M O N T H L Y T U R N O V E R IN O N E E S T A B L IS H M E N T (F O U N D R Y A N D M A C H INE
S H O P ) F O R 6 M O N T H S E N D IN G A U G . 31, 1918.
Average
number of Number of Turnover
employees separations per cent
actually (6 months). per month.
working.
Occupations.
Molders, iron...................................
Holders, iron, helpers....................
Chippers, han d...............................
Chippers, air hammer....................
Core makers.....................................
Laborers............................................
Laborers, core room.......................
Grinders............................................
Lolling room m en ..........................
Truckers..........................................
Pattern makers...............................
Machinists........................................
Machinists’ helpers........................
Carpenters........................................
Engineers........................................
Firemen............................................
Electricians......................................
163
132
33
4
58
48
35
20
9
4
17
5
1
6
2
3
2
240
192
10
68
31
69
17
11
9
8
2
2
2
3
5
25
24
33
42
12
11
33
14
19
38
8
7
33
6
25
28
In the occupations in which any considerable number of people
were employed, the greatest turnover was found among hand chippers and core-room laborers, each having a rate of 33 per cent per
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month. It is interesting to note the difference in turnover between
male and female employees in these two occupations, although sepa
rate data are not shown in the table. The male chippers, who re
ceive 35 to 40 cents per hour, showed 35 per cent per month, and the
females, who receive 26 to 30 cents per hour, showed 27 per cent. The
male laborers in the core room, at 32.5 to 42 cents per hour, showed a
turnover of only 15 per cent while the females, at 25 to 30 cents
per hour, showed 67 per cent per month. There was a turnover of
25 per cent per month among the iron molders and, notwithstanding
this fact, 30 per cent of the molders still on the rolls at the close of
the period covered had been in the company’s service more than
five years. The turnover among the molders’ helpers was 24 per cent
per month. No females were employed as molders or helpers.
While the turnover among carpenters, machinists, and pattern
makers was low, there were comparatively few employees in those
occupations. An exception to the general rule was the low turnover
among the laborers, exclusive of those in the core room mentioned
above. With quite a large force of male and female coremakers,
all on piecework, the turnover was 11 per cent per month among the
males and 26 per cent among the females, the average being 12
per cent.
It should be added that there was a reduction of 8 per cent in the
total force at the plant during the six months and that this seems
to have been distributed about evenly among the principal occupa
tions.
Both the hiring and the firing are centralized in the employment
manager, but a discharged employee may appeal to the superin
tendent of the plant. An employee who absents himself for one
week without excuse is dropped from the rolls. Employees are
sometimes “ laid off,” as a matter of discipline, but usually the lay
offs are confined to those physically disqualified and for reduction
of force because of slack work. When an employee is discharged it
is expected that he will not be rehired and such cases are confined to
agitators, trouble makers, those who are lazy, unreliable, or guilty
of misconduct, and habitual Monday-stay-at-homes.
The employment manager believes that he has kept down the turn
over by the use of job analyses, by close examination of applicants,
by assigning them to jobs for which they are best fitted, and by hav
ing in his hands the adjustment of all grievances. He reports direct
to the general manager.
Shop conditions are apparently good, the building being well
lighted and ventilated and provided with wash rooms for both sexes.
There is a first-aid hospital in charge of a trained nurse and a lunch
service installed in a room specially set aside for woman employees.
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Most of the employees live within walking distance, hut for those who
do not there are street cars which stop at the entrance to the plant.
Considering the abnormal conditions during the period covered
and the consequent drain upon the company’s force, it is believed
that, in the light of facts brought out by the schedule, the employ
ment manager at this plant has at least made a good start toward
reducing the turnover. He is in a position to know at all times
just which occupations are most affected.
Establishment No. 21 was engaged in the operation of a street
railway and in the manufacture of electric light and power. Exclu
sive of a large number of employees hired for special service, such
as snow fighting, and paid at the end of each day’s work, and those
hired for so short a time as not to get on the company’s permanent
records, there was a turnover of 9 per cent per month.
The employment manager supervises the hiring of all classes of
labor, while the management and department superintendents do
the discharging. A discharged employee may appeal to the manage
ment and to the Employees Mutual Benefit Association, which has
some agreement with the company as to hours of work, etc. Employ
ees absent without excuse are dropped at the end of each half-month.
Lay-offs occur when there is a lack of work and for refusing to be
transferred to other occupations. A discharge is equivalent to a
permanent separation and may be made for infraction of the rules
or for incompetency.
When questioned as to what methods were employed to reduce
the turnover, the employment manager said that he was expected
to select the applicant best qualified and suited to fill the vacancy.
A requisition from the department where the vacancy exists sets
forth the necessary qualifications and other data as to age, con
jugal condition, etc. The employment manager takes into consid
eration, also, the applicant’s build, weight, strength, appearance,
experience, nationality, and mentality and every one must undergo
a medical examination before being employed. There is no charge
to the prospective employee for his examination.
As to training employees, he said that it required from 10 to 12
days to teach a motorman and from 8 to 10 days properly to instruct
a conductor, this period having been standardized after years of
experience. The instructors are thoroughly efficient and practical.
Each student is paid $1 per day while learning.
In other occupations, the methods of instruction must of neces
sity be different, some positions requiring long technical training and
experience in order to provide detailed familiarity with the property,
efficient operation, and reliability in any emergency. It is the policy
of the company to make all promotions from the ranks and the work
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in many departments is a continued apprenticeship for more impor
tant duties. Regular schools are maintained for linemen, substation
operators, and salesmen.
There is a labor adjustment committee, the members of which
are chosen by popular ballot from each division of the Employees
Mutual Benefit Association, which has a contract with the company
to furnish an adequate labor supply, and all grievances and com
plaints may be brought to the attention of the management through
the adjustment committee and the benefit association.
The shops and car stations, power houses, substations, and other
places of employment are generally regarded as very sanitary and
comfortable, with good light and ventilation, and ample toilets,
wash rooms, and lockers are found in all departments. In the main
office building are bathrooms, library, billiard rooms, bowling alleys,
and a theater available for all employees. In the same building,
coffee is served from 7.30 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. at 2 cents per cup.
Transportation is free to all employees in uniform and with badge.
Establishment No. 16 in the tabulation, a lamp works, reported
a turnover of 8 per cent per month, based upon data for 12 months.
This establishment showed the lowest percentage of voluntary sepa
rations, 74 per cent of the total being recorded as “quits,” this term
including those who were laid off as a matter of discipline and did not
return. None were laid off, excepting as mentioned above, and 23 per
cent were discharged, this being by far the largest percentage of
discharges found in any Milwaukee plant scheduled. The remain
ing 3 per cent entered military service, this small percentage being
due to the small proportion of male employees. No data were
available for classifying employees by periods of service.
The highest turnover was among the unskilled laborers, due to un
rest and to an unwillingness to handle the work offered.
The lowest turnover was in the lamp manufacturing operations
performed by females, due to the fact that the work was clean,
sanitary, and suited to woman workers, and because wages were fair
and the environment good. The hiring and discharging are done by
the service secretary, who is a woman, but a discharged employee
may appeal to the superintendent of the plant.
When an employee is absent the case is investigated by the em
ployment manager and, unless good excuse is given, he or she is
dropped immediately or given a period of absence without pay, and
is dropped at the expiration of such period upon failure to return
promptly. Lay offs may occur also because of lack of material or
power; and employees are dismissed for cause. A discharge means a
peimanent separation.
Upon inquiry as to what further methods, if any, were in effect for
reducing the turnover, the statement was made that the company
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endeavored to utilize almost every applicant at the employment
office, assigning each to the work for which he is best fitted, in the
opinion of the service secretary. Each is examined orally and an
eye test is made. Girls are started to work at 18 cents an hour
on a 50-hour per week basis, and after an intensive training, in an
endeavor to develop speed and high efficiency against spoilage, they
are put on piecework, where the wages vary from 22 to 35 cents per
hour. Apparently the employment manager is given a free rein by
the plant manager, to whom she reports direct. She settled the indi
vidual grievances as they came up, and no strike or walkout has
occurred at the plant since operations began in 1915.
Shop conditions are exceptionally good. The plant is laid out for
a correct illumination, as designed by an illuminating engineer,
measurements having been taken at each operator’s position to
determine the intensity of illumination, which varies from 5 to 15
candles, depending upon the requirements.
Special mechanical window operators are installed throughout the
building. In departments where gas fires are burned for working
the glass, roof ventilators are provided. The room temperature and
ventilation are in charge of the service department which conducts
tests throughout the day in all parts of the plant, thermometers
indicating the temperature and a whirling sling hygrometer the
humidity. An effort is made to control both by means of ventilation.
Attention has been given also to the matter of eliminating steam,
gas, smoke, and dust. Toilets and washing facilities are of approved
types. Drinking water is supplied through a system of bubblers.
There is a first-aid dispensary in charge of a nurse, and a lunch room
is provided.
A goodly proportion of the employees live in the vicinity of the
plant, but for those who do not there are four electric lines going
within three blocks.
Commenting upon the points mentioned above, an official of the
company, who has given much attention to the subject of labor turn
over, said that each had its bearing on the turnover, that all of them
were taken into consideration in connection with the installation of
the plant, as well as with its opeiation, that they had been in effect
since the plant was opened and that it was impossible, therefore, to
judge as to the relative effect that each had had on the turnover.
The last plant for consideration, tabulated as No. 13, was a hosiery
and knit goods establishment. This plant also showed a turnover of
only 8 per cent per month, based, however, upon data for only six
months. The turnover data relate to the manufacturing depart
ments only, for the reason that the figures for the rest of the force
were unobtainable. The schedule is of more than ordinary interest
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because of the fact that none but females weie employed in the
manufacturing departments.
The higher turnover was reported in the knitting, looping, and
mating departments, due no doubt to the facts that knitting requires
a learning period of from 12 to 14 weeks, that low wages are paid to
loopers during the learning period, and that mating causes rather a
strain upon the eyes. The lower turnover was found in all occupa
tions of the glove department, because the learning period is not so
long, and in double-sole cutting and top cutting in the knitting depart
ment and in boxing and bundling in the packing department, because
these occupations are very easy to learn and because wages increase
more rapidly in these two departments.
The hiring and firing is in the hands of the employment manager,
who is a young woman. A discharged employee may appeal to the
superintendent of the plant. When an employee is absent two days
in succession, a house visit is made to ascertain the reason for the
absence, and the employee is dropped from the rolls unless a satis
factory excuse is given. Lay offs occur in case of slack work. In
meritorious cases, the understanding is that sick employees may
return to their jobs upon recovery. An employee is regarded as per
manently separated from the company’s employ when discharged.
When asked as to what further methods she employed to reduce
the turnover, the employment manager said that she first carefully
explained to the applicant the work, the wages, hours of labor, and
general shop rules. The operations upon which the applicant is to
be placed are shown to her. If there is a choice of work which she
might be able to do successfully, the two or three jobs are shown,
and the choice is left to the applicant. The employment manager
has the final word in judging as to the qualifications and fitness of
the applicant for the job. An eye test is made of every one who
applies for work in order to prevent misplacement on jobs requiring
good eyesight.
A vestibule school is provided for all beginners on knitting and
looping. This school is in charge of a competent instructor who has
had both normal school and college training, and she is assisted by
three or four operators chosen from the factory. The beginners on
knitting and looping are under the supervision of the instructor in
the school for twelve to fourteen weeks, after which time they are
supposed to be able to handle their own machines and work.
The employment manager has the full support of the works manager
and there are frequent consultations on wage schedules and other
factory problems. A bonus is paid which amounts to about 13 per
cent of the weekly wages and is based upon promptness, attendance,
and application. Grievances are adjusted through the employment
department.
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The building is new and modem, has steam heat and indirect
lighting, and the rooms are comparatively free from dust and smoke.
Washrooms are provided with open sinks and running warm water.
The toilets have tiled floors, with walls of white tiling to the height
of 8 feet. In the dressing rooms are open framework coat racks with
coat hangers and shelves for hats, parcels, etc. A dispensary and
rest room are provided for the employees, with a physician in attend
ance three days in the week. The plant is well located, so far as
transportation facilities are concerned.
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RECONSTRUCTION.
CONFERENCE OF GOVERNORS AND MAYORS AT WASHINGTON TO
DISCUSS LABOR CONDITIONS.
In response to a telegraphic invitation from the Secretary of Labor,
at the instance of President Wilson, the chief executives of most of
the States and the mayors of more than 100 representative cities of
the country gathered in Washington on March 3, 4, and 5 to take up
vital questions affecting business and labor, in an effort to establish
a definite nation-wide policy to stimulate public and private con
struction and industry in general. The Federal Government is
anxious to cooperate with the various States and municipalities in
order to insure continued prosperity in the interests of manufac
turers, merchants, and wage earners.
At the opening session on March 3 the President welcomed the
State and city officials in a brief speech outlining the purpose of the
conference. “ We are met to discuss,” he declared, “ the proper
method of restoring all the labor conditions of the country to a normal
basis as soon as possible and to effect any such fresh allocations of
labor and endeavor as the circumstances may make necessary.”
Following the President, Secretary Wilson, of the Department of
Labor, delivered an address in which he discussed in some detail the
present labor situation, the necessity of maintaining wages, the great
problem of unemployment which now confronts the Country, and the
desirability of Federal and State Governments proceeding at once to
engage in normal improvement activities and to develop new building
and construction projects. The Secretary commented upon what he
characterized as a hysteria in connection with the problems of recon
struction, suggesting that “ if we can take a peace-time organization
and transform it almost over night into a great military machine, we
can by the exercise of the same intelligence and the same energy take
a military organization and transform it into a peace-time machine.”
Differences in phases of reconstruction questions as applicable to
conditions in Great Britain and the United States were noted, it
being mentioned that the former country is confronted by the ne
cessity of obtaining raw material for her factories, while this ques
tion is not important with us since we obtain in this country nearly
all the raw material that we use. Furthermore, it was pointed out,
Great Britain has been troubled about the reconstruction and main
tenance of her foreign trade, while this question does not enter so
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much into our own problem. “ Our own industries can be main
tained on an active basis without reaching anywhere near as large a
proportion of exportation as is necessary for Great Britain.” The
matter of transportation has largely been solved by the construction
of a merchant marine. Setting aside these features of the reconstruc
tion problem, the Secretary proceeded to discuss the one great phase
that vitally concerns industry, both employers and wage earners—
that of demobilization and provision for employment of those re
leased from the military and industrial forces and the effect of changed
conditions upon wages. The Secretary’s address is quoted in full
from this point:
Our reports from our community boards indicate an aggregate unemployment at the
present time of 350,000 at the places from which we are getting reports. That repre
sents about one-half of the industrial sections of the country, so that we may estimate
the total amount of unemployment at the present time as 700,000. That, in itself,
based upon our experiences of the past, is not an alarming amount. The cause for
alarm, if any there be, is the fact that the number is continually increasing, because
the men who are engaged in industry find themselves in an uncertain situation. They
look upon the prices of material and the rates of wages as being abnormal, but these
have been increased because of the war necessities, and that there is a likelihood of the
cost of material and the rates of wages coming down; and any man engaged in manufac
ture who pays a common price to-day for the material used in his shop, whose competitor
is in position to purchase the same kind of material to-morrow at 15, 20, or 50 per cent
less than he purchases it to-day, would be at a disadvantage when he comes to market
his product.
So there is a disposition to hold off on the part of the employers in the hope of prices
coming down. There is a possibility of prices coming down without there being an
effect upon the wage rates. During the war period it was necessary to stimulate
industry to its greatest extent, and prices were fixed for the products of the factory
that would enable that class of factory that could not normally operate at all to come
in and add to the total product. That meant tremendous profits for those who were
situated at an advantage. These extra profits can be and should be eliminated, and
eliminated as soon as possible. There are difficulties in that direction, because the
manufacturer realizes that if he undertakes to cut prices and his neighbor does like
wise, there is a possibility of the whole structure tumbling and the prices going down
below even a normal profit, and so he is cautious about quoting prices at a lower rate
and he does not care to enter into association with his neighbor and arrange for the
cutting of prices because he may come in contact and conflict with our laws against
that kind of conduct.
The Secretary of Commerce is endeavoring to work out that phase of the problem
and be as helpful as he can in getting materials down to the lowest possible working
basis without affecting the wage rate. There are important reasons why the wage
rate should not be seriously affected at the present time. My judgment is that it
can not be very generally reduced for a considerable period. My reason for that
is the fact that during the period of the war our workers received more in actual,
in real wages than they had ever received at any previous time. The cost of living
had gone up, but the hourly wage rate of the workers had gone up almost in the same
ratio. There were some instances where the hourly wage rate had gone up in excess
of the increased cost of living; there were other instances where it did not go up quite
as far as the cost of living, but the average was very close to the increase in the cost
of living. However, the workers had steadier employment than they had been in
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the habit of receiving; they worked overtime with time and a half for the extra time
they worked, and they worked Sundays, in many instances. So the aggregate they
received was greater than they had ever had before. Many of them have some of that
in reserve now that can be utilized, and will be utilized, against any general attempt
to reduce the wage rates, and because of the disposition on the part of labor, because
of the fact that any period of depression that may confront us must of necessity be a
short period, and that the reaction into post-war activities, giving us a period of
industrial prosperity, must come in a very brief space of time, it would be folly to
engage in the conflict necessary for the reduction in the wage rates when so little
return is to be had for it.
Farmers are also in the same position as the wageworkers; they have received more
in real wages, in real purchasing power in return for the crops than they have ever
received before, and in many instances they were handicapped in their efforts to
place any considerable portion of that increase back on the farm in the way of ma
chinery and equipment. The wageworkers and the farmers then have reserves in
hand that will be used in the maintenance of their families, and in additions to the
equipment. That means that when we get into a real post-war period, in the aggre
gate a tremendous amount of additional purchase will be made.
But furthermore, before the coming of the European war we were receiving into
our country yearly approximately 1,200,000 immigrants. Of that number, 400,000 have
been returned, leaving us a net increase of 800,000, in the neighborhood of 600,000
of which were people of working age. We were adding, then, 600,000 annually to
our working population. Now, that has not been the case for four years. The number
coming into the country from the various sources has just about been equaled by the
number going out and there has, therefore, been a net decrease of some 2,400,000
in what would otherwise have been the increase in our working population. We have
taken several hundred thousand workers from other lines of industry and placed
them in shipbuilding operations, and they are likely to remain there for some timeWe found our shipbuilding industry with a few tens of thousands of workers engaged
in it, while we now have in the neighborhood of 500,000 engaged in it. It will be a
year yet before our military forces are completely demobilized. Probably in a
year from now we may still have a million soldiers, taken from industrial life, who are
not back in industrial pursuits, and I have no doubt that after that point there
will be but a gradual demobilization.
We are, therefore, short in our normal supply of labor somewhere between three
million and five million workers; so if we could engage in our pre-war activities on a
post-war basis immediately, there would be a shortage of the supply of labor. But
we are not in a position to do that, because of the fears to which I have already made
reference; and that brings us to the consideration of how we are going to provide
employment, how we are going to create a buffer reservoir that will take up the surplus
labor during the period of demobilization and keep it busily employed—and there
is great necessity for our people being busily employed during that period.
It is not very generally known, but it is nevertheless a fact, that the strikes that
took place at Seattle, at Butte, at Paterson, at Lawrence, and at a number of other
places recently were not industrial, economic disputes, in their origin, no matter how
much economics may have been involved in the disputes. A deliberate attem pt was
made to create a social and political revolution that would establish the soviet form of
government in the United States and put into effect the economic theories of the
Bolshevik of Russia. It failed because for two years the Department of Labor and
other agencies of the Government have been fighting that false philosophy—not by
the utilization of force, but by appeal to the judgment, to the reason of our people.
Nearly two years ago, in the form of the Industrial Workers of the World, we found
a very general propaganda taking place upon the basis that every man is entitled to the
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MONTHLY LABOE EEYIEW.
full social value of what his labor produces. Now, that is a very pleasant theory; to
my mind a very sound one. There is where the danger lies—in the solidity of the
basis that he has laid for something false that is to follow. It is an axiomatic theory
which, though purely socialistic in its origin, may also be accepted by any individualist
anywhere. To my mind it is a truism that every man is entitled to the full social value
of what his labor produces. The difficulty, however, is that human intelligence has
not as yet developed a method by which we can determine what the social value of
any one’s labor is; and so, because of our inability to compute the value of labor, we
have been going on determining the social values of labor on a competitive basis,
multiplied to a greater or lesser extent by the organizations of capital on the one side
and the organizations of labor on the other side. But not satisfied with that basis,
they went further and said that all property is valuable only in so far as profits can be
secured from the product. Now, that also is sound. Any economist can accept that
as a sound theory. If there can be no returns from a property, then, of course, people
do not want it; it is of no value. They laid that down as part of the basis for their
philosophy, and then came the poison. They said: “ The way to destroy the profits
of the property is to strike upon the job, to lay down,” to “ soldier,” as we say in the
United States; to “ put sand upon the bearings,” to destroy the machinery, reduce the
production in any way you can bring it about and get away with it, destroy production
wherever you can, and when you have reduced the amount of production and increased
the cost of production, you will have eliminated the profits from the property. Then
no one will have any longer a desire to retain it and the workers can take the property
over and operate it themselves, thereby securing the full social value of what their
labor produces.
But they had failed to take into consideration the American mind; they had failed
to take into consideration our public-school system; they had failed to realize the fact
that the average American workingman has at least a smattering of knowledge of
industrial history, and his memory has only to be refreshed by calling his attention to
the fact that prior to the bifth of the inventive genius of man, prior to the development
of our modem industrial system, when everything was produced by hand, there wTas
a very much smaller production per individual per day and per year than could possibly
result from any system of sabotage they could employ; and yet in those days there was
profit to the employers and value to the lands. What did result was a very much lower
standard of living for the wageworkers; and if these people had succeeded in putting
their social and economic theories into effect, if they did succeed in putting through a
wide system of sabotage, then the only result would be to lower the standard of living
of the wageworkers of the United States. Employers and employees have a mutual
interest; not an identical interest, mark you, but a mutual interest in securing the
largest amount of production from a given amount of labor, having due regard to the
health, safety, opportunities for rest, recreation, and development of the workers;
for if there is nothing produced, there will be nothing to divide; if there is a large
amount produced, there will be a large amount to divide; and the interests of the
employer and the employee only diverge when it comes to a division of that which has
been mutually produced; and if they are wise in their generation, when that divergence
takes place they will sit down around the council table and endeavor to work out the
problem on as nearly a just basis as the circumstances surrounding the industry will
permit.
We met their philosophy in that manner all over the United States, and when the
attem pt was made a month ago to start their soviet revolution, the fertility of the soil
that they expected to use for the propagation of their theories had been destroyed.
But if you have large volumes of unemployment for long periods of time, the situation
will be entirely different. You can go to a workingman who is busy, who has the op
portunity of working, and point out to him that the employer and employee have a
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mutual interest in securing the largest possible production; but you can not go to the
idle man—the man who is willing to work but has not the opportunity of doing so—and
expect to convince him that the employer and employee have a mutual interest in
large production, when he does not even have the opportunity of employment.
I do not believe that any country owes any man a living; but I do believe that every
country owes every man an opportunity to earn a living.
Now, during the past two or three years our public improvements have lagged.
Our Federal Government has not engaged in the usual public improvements; neither
have the State governments nor the municipalities. There were two reasons for that:
The shortage of workmen and the inability to properly finance, because of the control
that the Federal Government had to have over finances in order to make sure that its
own financial situation would be secure. Both of those conditions have changed,
and there is now a surplus of labor, and the Federal Government has released control
of the finances so that credits are now available. To me the one great method of forming
a reservoir for buffer employment is to have the Federal Government engage in its
normal improvement activities, and to have every State and municipal government
do likewise.
I would not ask that work be undertaken solely for the purpose of providing work.
To place men at work on any job where the results from it are not needed is just so
much waste of time and energy and man power. But there is a tremendous amount
of work, a tremendous amount of improvement that is needed, and so that the minds
of our workers will not be fertile fields for the propagation of false philosophy it is our
duty to see to it that these activities are now engaged in to the fullest extent.
I t was with these thoughts in mind that we asked this conference to meet here to-day.
We have visions of industrial activity in the near future. All of the wars that have
been engaged in from the beginning of the development of the factory system until now
have been followed by periods of industrial activity. That was true of the War of
1812; there were several years of industrial activity following th at war, and then,
after some four or five years, reaction came. There were two or three years of activity
after our little War with Mexico, there were seven or eight years of activity after the
Civil War, and there were four years of industrial activity all over Europe after the
Franco-Prussian War, and we had a considerable period of industrial activity after
our War with Spain.
Now, with the vast amount of destruction of life and of property that has taken
place in this war, as I visualize the situation, once we can get back into a regular
postwar swung there will be at least a decade of industrial activity, a period in which
the false philosophies of Bolshevism will find no foothold, and where we can go on
working out our social problems, our economic problems, and our industrial problems
after careful consideration of each of them as they are presented, and thus move onward
in an evolutionary way to that higher sphere that our country is destined to occupy.
Following Secretary Wilson, the Secretary of War and the Secre
tary of the Navy discussed Government contracts as affecting their
respective departments and the difficulties confronting them in so
adjusting these contracts as to cause a minimum of dislocation to
industry.
It is not deemed advisable or necessary to report the conference
in full. At the Tuesday morning session Mr. Roger W. Babson,
representing the Department of Labor, in an address on what the
departments of the Government are doing for business, presented
seven propositions, the general adoption of which would materially
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assist, in restoring the country to a normal industrial basis. These
seven points are as follows:
(1) Begin at once construction of all public works possible, including public build
ings—especially schoolhouses.
(2) Get behind the “ build-a-home” movement by asking for a quota for your
community and then publishing each week in your daily papers how you are keeping
up with that quota.
(3) Get your State to build this summer its full quota of Federal roads on the 50-50
basis and appropriate a larger sum than ever before for State roads.
(4) See that the traction properties of your State and city receive fair treatment,
remembering that the transportation system of a city determines more than any other
one thing its growth and prosperity.
(5) Urge labor to give greater service for its wages, but remember that high wages
increase the home market for goods so that the more money paid in wages the more
goods will be purchased, and the greater will be the prosperity of your State and city.
(6) Get your councils of defense and safety committees to advertise as much now to
get people to buy as they advertised during the war to get people to economize.
(7) Help Secretaries Wilson, Lane, and Redfield and the other Cabinet chiefs in
their efforts to provide greater opportunities for both capital and labor.
The program of the conference included addresses by Secretary
Lane, of the Department of the Interior; Walker D. Hines, Director
General of Railroads; Eugene Meyer, jr., managing director of the
War Finance Corporation; Elwood Mead, of the United States
Reclamation Service ; and John Hays Hammond.
The report of the committee on resolutions was submitted by the
chairman, Governor Cox, of Ohio, and adopted by the conference.
Somewhat abridged, this report is as follows:
' As this conference was called for the purpose of facilitating the readjustment of
the industrial affairs of the country, through the coordinated councils of national,
State, and community units, your committee has attempted to make only such recom
mendations as bear directly upon the task in hand * * *.
We are living in the most thrilling time in all history, and our resolves are centered
in the contribution of our children and our children’s children of that measure of
human contentment, justice, and opportunity which will record us as the worthy sons
of our worthy sires. Confident that we must progress from the fundamental base of
American ideals conceived and vitalized by the founders of the Republic, we pledge
ourselves in firm and harmonious resolution to gain inspiration from the creed of pure
Americanism rather than from the disordered doctrines that find expression else
where. If peoples from overseas desire to live with us and become a part of the
Nation’s life, they must accept, in the first instance, this condition, namely, that
principles of government must change through the evolution and processes of calm,
human intelligence, and that the mind of the majority, rather than the violence of a
minority, must be the determining factor. We have been thrilled and reassured by
the m ilitant declaration made to this conference by the Secretary of Labor, Hon.
William B. Wilson, that any alien who seeks to invoke force rather than reason against
our form of government must and will be treated as an enemy to our institutions and
sent out of the country.
It is our expressed belief that any doctrine which inveighs against both God and
government is a poisonous germ iu human thought and must be treated as a menace
to the morality and the progress of the world. I t has been insidiously planted in
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some parts where the discontent growing out of unemployment brought fertile oppor
tunity. Government, which derives its powers from the people, must keep vigilant
watch in the maintenance of public confidence, and inasmuch as the need most
pressing now is to provide the means of giving every man a chance to perform the
function God intended, we, as the representatives of States and municipalities, enter
most happily into the suggestion that we cooperate our energies with those of the
National Government. * * *
We do not favor any fixing of costs at the present time, either by statute or adminis
trative mandate, but if the Government, in fairness to all interests concerned, approves
price schedules on materials, public opinion will accomplish the rest.
We are firmly of the belief that the National Government should create some or
ganization to serve as a guide and aid not only in its purchases but to those made
by private enterprises, as well. Prices must change. There may be economic justi
fication for some schedules, but not many; and if the Government through the opera
tion of a committee or a commission, such as we have suggested, will invite industry
to go forward in the work before us, revealing facts and figures upon which honest
calculation can be made, it can then in any given line announce to the public what
prices it finds to be fair and equitable.
In road building, or in the construction of homes, it would be a perfectly simple
matter to determine what prices ought to be paid. Following this, public work and
private enterprise would in all probability assume its normal volume, because confi
dence would have been established.
There is a general feeling that freight rates on all road materials should be radically
reduced. In fact, we are willing to express it as our judgment that it would be a
sound public policy to make a further cut in the freight rates on all building
materials. * * *
There seems to be a unanimity of sentiment with reference to making any readjust
ments in wage scales no part of present calculations. If that is to come at all, it
should be in consequence of a reduced cost of living. * * *
The attention of the conference has been called to conditions existing in many parts
of the country with reference to street railway companies. During the war increases
in pay were granted to employees through the intervention of the Federal Govern
ment. * * * While the operating cost has vastly increased in many instances,
the rates of fare have continued without change. * * * We disclaim any dispo
sition to trespass on the rights of municipalities, but it is our earnest recommendation
that the Federal Government continue its helpful offices with the view to averting
serious consequences in the financial affairs of public utilities.
The bringing to an end of governmental contracts with private industry entailed
tremendous labor, and * * * we urge the highest speed possible in formalizing
these readjustments, in making prompt payment of every indebtedness certified to
and in thus releasing capital for other uses. * * *
I t is the sense of this meeting also that the Government take steps to announce its
policy as soon as possible as to the disposal of the raw materials of industry now in its
hands or under its control, so that the manufacturers may determine their policy under
stable conditions. * * *
* * * We recommend that the Federal Government continue its survey of the
natural resources of the country in order that the useless waste of fuel might be ended
and human energy directed along the lines of more modern development. * * *
We would regard the discontinuance of Federal aid in the maintenance of public
employment agencies as both untimely and harmful. * * * It is our earnest
hope that the President, through the War Department or some other executive branch,
can continue for at least several months the cooperation of Federal with State agencies,
in order that this most necessary service can be given both to labor and capital.
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It is further suggested that communities be enabled to profit from Federal experience
in the matter of working out the housing question, because as bases of industrial activi
ties are changed in this transitional period, situations, quite as acute as they were
during the war, are highly probable in the future.
* * * It is our recommendation that at least some committee be formed at this
meeting through which community thought can clear, in its natural direction, to the
several branches of the National Government.
* * * An imperative sense of public duty prompts the most earnest request
that the troops be returned to the local draft boards in their resident counties. * * *
Reentrance upon private life would then come under the more favorable probabili
ties of early employment. In our judgment nothing is more vitally necessary than
this.
We regard with especial favor the practice which has been adopted in many parts
of the country in establishing living and suitable memorials to the heroic deeds of
war. * * * We recommend it as a helpful public policy.
Regardless of certain disordered conditions recited by delegates to this conference,
its outstanding feature, nevertheless, has been a militant note of confidence in our
governmental and industrial stability. The world in part is to be rebuilt. The
patriotism, resource, ingenuity, and unselfish spirit of our people saved it from destruc
tion, and what these elements have accomplished in protection they will guarantee
in preservation. We face thè future firm in the belief that the Almighty intends all
things well, and that there remains for us and the generations to come full compensa
tion for the service given and the sacrifice made in support of the ideals of democracy.
The following resolution was added to the committee report by
the conference:
We recommend to the States that they consider means of releasing natural resources
from controllers who wilfully withhold such natural resources out of use for specula
tive profits or for visionary future development, thus contributing to unemployment.
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT, GREAT
BRITAIN.
Reconstructive changes in the administration of Government
machinery in Great Britain are pertinently dealt with in a recent
report of the Machinery of Government Committee.1 This com
mittee, which was appointed by the old Reconstruction Committee
in July, 1917, and confirmed in its establishment by the Ministry of
Reconstruction, had the imposed task of inquiring into the duties
of the various central government departments and of suggesting
in what manner the exercise and distribution of departmental
functions might be improved.
The committee very frankly comments upon the overlapping and
confusion which exist in the present administrative functions of
the Government departments—a condition due in some instances
to the fact that the purposes for which many of the departments
were called into being gradually changed as the war progressed,
1Great Britain. Ministry of Reconstruction.
London, 1918 8<J pp. Cd 9230.
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creating a discrepancy in principle between the later and earlier
stages of the process. In other cases the rapidity with which some
departments were created precluded a definite preliminary definition
of their duties; in still others the methods of organization have been
such that a high standard of efficiency could not be attained.
THE CABINET.
Before the departmental organizations are considered, either gen
erally or specifically, reference is made to the functions and pro
cedure of the cabinet, which to a large extent directs departmental
activity. Among the main duties outlined, that of “ the continuous
coordination and delimitation of the activities of the several depart
ments of state” is noteworthy.
For prompt, effective work the committee advocates a small cab
inet—the number limited to 10, or, at most, 12 persons—which should
meet frequently; should institute an intelligence service calculated to
enable it to arrive at quick, accurate decisions; should personally
consult all ministers, the work of whose departments will be affected
by its decisions; and which should have a “ systematic method of
securing that its decisions are effectually carried out by the several
departments concerned.”
The deliberations of the committee upon questions of policy
requiring special consideration by the cabinet have led it to the
belief “ that in the sphere of civil government the duty of investiga
tion and thought, as preliminary to action, might with great advan
tage be more definitely recognized.” To this end it advises that in
each department provision should be made to secure specialized
information before a change of policy is made. For the initiation
and coordination of investigations of more than departmental scope
a ministry of research should be organized, its head a cabinet member,
and the establishment of a Government department for scientific and
industrial research is cited as an example which might be followed in
fields where thinking is required in aid of administration. The per
sonnel to be employed upon such work should be selected with special
care, and the officials with duties of administration should have more
time to devote to this phase of their work. The committee expresses
the opinion that a cabinet supplied with all the intimate information
possible through such sources could more fully and effectively
discharge the duties of administration.
DISTRIBUTION OF DEPARTMENTAL FUNCTIONS.
The allocation of functions among the several departments is
another problem which, in addition to those of the constitution and
procedure of the cabinet and the institution of means for research,
must be solved in order to insure the smooth working of depart
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mental machinery. 'The conclusion reached by the committee from
its investigation is that the principle of distributing business among
administrative departments according to the nature of the service
to be rendered to the community as a whole will not only occasion
the least amount of confusion and overlapping, but will serve to
encourage the acquisition of information and to develop specialized
capacity by those in the several departments. It insists, however,
upon the necessity of cooperation between departments when dealing
with business of interest to each.
DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION.
In its suggestions as to the organization of the departments them
selves the committee confines itself to a few fundamental proposals.
Special importance should be attached to securing a proper consid
eration of proposals for expenditure, and intradepartmental meetings
arc urged for a discussion of the special business of various sections.
Advisory committees attached to the ministries and representing
interests, industries, professions, or any other classes affected, are
favored so long as their functions are purely advisory and do not
impair the field of responsibility of the ministers to Parliament.
The most revolutionary suggestion is doubtless that of the employ
ment of women in the civil service and in practically all departments.
Recalling the fact that by its terms of reference it was intrusted with
suggesting changes which would effect improvements in the exercise
and distribution of governmental functions, the committee expresses
itself as strongly of the opinion that among the changes conducive
to this end the extended emplocunent of qualified women must be
included. It declares that in -the public interest it is no longer
expedient to exclude women, as such, from positions usually entered
through competitive tests, nor even from those filled by the Class I
examination. The question as to whether women can perform the
duties of positions entered through the Class I examination has been
answered during the experience of the last four years. Women have
performed these duties, and have performed them satisfactorily.
There are, moreover, positions for which properly qualified women
arc naturally more suitable than men, and to which, for this reason,
only they should be assigned. Other positions for which either
qualified men or qualified women are equally fitted should be filled
strictly according to the eligibility test without regard to sex distinc
tion. The committee furthermore believes that the absence of
women from the administrative staffs of the departments, and still
more from their intelligence branches, has been a distinct loss to the
service and that it will be essential to include one or more qualified
women in the separate branch of the treasury which the committee
unanimously advises should be set up to specialize in “ establish
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ment” work and to study all questions of staff, recruitment, classifi
cation, and other matters of routine business applicable to the various
departments of state. This proposed branch would be hi close and
constant touch with officers in other departments whose duties
include such supervision of their own “ establishment” work as will
secure more system and an increased efficiency. It would also collect
information regarding methods employed in business circles outside
and in foreign countries as well.
EMPLOYMENT.
In its special recommendations for the Ministry of Labor (which it
suggests should be called the ministry of employment) the committee
outlines a broad program in keeping with the nature of the duties
which such a ministry should render to the community. The sphere
of the Ministry of Labor ‘‘is not necessarily confined to employment
in private enterprise, or to manual work, but has already been ten
tatively extended to employment under local authorities and Gov
ernment departments, and to brain workers as well as to manual
workers.” An enumeration of its functions should include the fol
lowing:
1. The ascertainment and regulation of the conditions of employment, especially
as regards wages, conciliation and arbitration, hours of labor, sanitation and safety,
and special provisions relating to young persons and women;
2. The cooperation of the State with employers’ associations and trade-unions in
their functions connected with the conditions of employment;
3. The administration of unemployment insurance, the employment exchanges,
and the mercantile marine offices, so far as seamen’s employment is concerned (the
latter in concert with the Board of Trade);
4. The administration of the Trade Boards Acts, the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage)
Act, and the minimum wage sections of the Corn Production Act, together with the
supervision of the various boards set up under these acts;
5. The administration of any provision made by the State, either directly or through
local authorities, for the unemployed;
6. Such of the functions of the national service department as may be continued, so
far as they relate to civil employment;
7. Advising the appropriate authorities as to the prevention of unemployment
by the postponement or forestalling of works and contracts.
If the above-mentioned functions are to be discharged efficiently
the Ministry of Labor must, of necessity, maintain close relations
with the other departments. Matters which are of interest to it
and any other department should be dealt with through a regular
system of consultation between them. “ The consideration of means
of preventing the occurrence of unemployment could probably be
facilitated by the establishment of a standing joint committee con
sisting of representatives of (a) all the principal spending depart
ments together with the Ministry of Finance; and (b) the principal
local authorities; or possibly separate committees of these two kinds
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in order to have regard to the state of the labor market with a view
to postponing or forestalling public expenditure on works and services
so as to keep the aggregate national demand for labor, including that
of private enterprise, approximately uniform from year to year and
from season to season.”
The committee believes that the Ministry of Labor should be the
central authority on information regarding wages and scales of sala
ries in all departments, and also of the local and yearly variations in
the cost of living. It should, through its exchanges and inspection
service, know the demand for certain classes of labor in particular
localities and the opportunities for professional employment. Other
Government departments should have easy access to this informa
tion and might find it expedient to consult the Ministry of Labor
upon all matters relative to the “ remuneration or conditions of
service of particular classes of employees.” This principle should
apply not only to the industrial activities of the large departments
but to the civil service generally and to cases—the adjustment of
teachers’ wages, for instance—where the Government acts only in an
advisory capacity.
The employment of young persons and the curriculum and arrange
ments of continuation schools and technical education should still re
main matters in which the Ministry of Labor should coordinate with
the board of education, and all of its information concerning the
effect of scientific management, welfare work, etc., should be avail
able to the ministry having to do with production. For the adjust
ment of matters between the employers’ associations or the tradeunions and the Ministry of Labor special arrangements should be
made, including possibly advisory committees for separate industries
or for industry as a whole.
AFTER-WAR ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN FRANCE.
From reports received by this bureau it seems that prices of com
modities in France are still on the increase, and many demands for
increase of wages, based on the high cost of living, have been made
recently. These questions have been the subject of much considera
tion by the Government and municipal authorities, and by organ
izations of employers and employees.
REMOVAL OF FOOD RESTRICTION'S.
A recent decree,1 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Food
Distribution rescinds in part the regulations enacted concerning the
manufacture and sale of certain articles of food. These measures
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are a step in the direction of prewar conditions, and extend as far
as circumstances at this date seem to warrant. The decree may be
amended, however, and maximum prices and other regulations
restored, if the lifting of restrictions leads to abuses.
The law relative to profiteering and illegal speculation remains in
force.
The following is the extent of the new regulations: Condensed
milk and pastry—unrestricted manufacture, and maximum price
removed; eggs and tapioca—maximum price removed; rice and
domestic and imported peas—abrogation of maximum price and
unrestricted right to sell; vegetable meal—free manufacture; im
ported beans—free commerce and removal of price restriction;
domestic beans—restricted sale regulation and maximum price
retained.
The regulation fixing the hours restaurants and hotels are per
mitted to remain open is repealed, those in the interior zone and those
in the military zone being under the control of the corresponding
departments of the Government. Regulations concerning the price
of meals, and the restrictions on butter, milk, cream, and cheese
are removed ; but the sugar restriction remains, and a menu showing
the price per portion of food served must be placed on each table.
Liberty to sell sandwiches is granted. The manufacture and sale
of biscuits, dry pastry, and pies are unrestricted, except for the re
striction concerning the use of eggs, butter, and bread flour. Re
strictions as to confectionery, chocolate, etc., remain in force.
Since this decree modifying food restrictions became effective,
it is reported 1 that the entire country is complaining -of high prices
and is demanding rigorous measures against the practices which render
it difficult to provide for the army and which likewise have so
increased the price of foodstuffs as to render the increases in wages
insufficient to provide the necessities of life. The guardian of seals
proposed a bill, and requested its immediate consideration, for the
purpose of regulating sales which “ yield scandalous fortunes and
embarrass the country/’ This bill was intended to prevent illegal
combination among merchants or producers in withholding goods
for higher prices, or other fraudulent purposes which are designed
to increase prices above the normal price determined by natural
competition on a free market.
COOPERATIVE STORES AND RESTAURANTS,2 AND COST OF LIVING.
When the cost of food rose to such an abnormal price that wage
increases availed but little in relieving the conditions said to have
been due to profiteers and an unequal distribution of food supplies,
La République Française, Paris, Feb. t>, 1919.
‘Bulletin du Ministère du Travail, Paris, Jan.-Feb., 1913.
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the undersecretary of state recommended that manufacturers pro
vide funds for the establishment of cooperative restaurants. Many
cooperative associations have been in existence since before the war.
These were originally designed to furnish a regular distribution at
moderate prices; and profits, as far as possible, were eliminated. At
present these play an important part in the cost of living.
But it appears that the cost of living is constantly increasing.
In a discussion of ways and means in the Municipal Council of Paris1
it was declared that “ energetic measures must be taken to combat
the gravity of the situation produced by high prices.”
Refrigerated meats were but little used before the war. Under
the stress of war prices meats from Argentina and New Zealand
are an item of considerable importation. Prices of this class of
meat are far below that of domestic origin. A few comparisons are
reproduced2 showing prices of refrigerated meat as regulated by
city ordinance and prices of domestic meat in a controlled shop, in
the latter part of April, 1918.
PRICES IN PARIS OF CERTAIN GRADES OF MEAT, FOREIGN AN D DOMESTIC, IN
APR IL, 1918.
Price per pound.
Price per pound.
Kind of meat.
Beef:
Tenderloin.....................
Rumpsteak...................
R oast..............................
Shoulder........................
Kind of meat.
Refrigerated.
Domes
tic.
$0.49
.39
.37
.20
$0.79
.67
.56
.37
Refrigerated.
Mutton:
L eg..................................
Chops, best....................
Shoulder, best..............
Stewing, best................
$0.32
.32
.23
.13
Domes
tic.
$0.61
.70
.53
.39
Notwithstanding the fact that wages of municipal employees have
been increased several times, prices have advanced to such an extent
that further increases have been demanded. Three classes of em
ployees, who before the war were paid respectively 1,200 francs
($231.60), 1,800 francs ($347.40), and 1,981 francs ($382.33), are now
being paid 4,197 francs ($810.02) and are demanding 5,289 francs
($1,020.78). It is reported that since this demand was made the
Government has opened 15 large sheds in different parts of the city
for the sale of foodstuffs at cost.3 In these sheds various classes of
meats were sold at greatly reduced figures.
1La République Française, Paris, Feb. 9,1919.
;Bulletin d elà Statistique Générale delà France, April, 1918, p. 219.
‘Washington (D. C.) Herald Mar. 7,1919.
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INCREASED WAGES AND OTHER DEMANDS OF RAILWAY WORKERS,
On January 25, 1919/ the omnibus and tramway employees made
certain demands on the operators. While the demands were being
considered, the employees met and by a vote of 402 to 1 decided to
stop all work at 12 o’clock midnight. The following morning service
on tramways and omnibuses and on the Metropolitan and NorthSouth Railways (subways) had entirely stopped.
The omnibus and tramway employees demanded a scheme of re
tirement equivalent to that provided for the municipal employees,
a monthly bonus of 60 francs ($11.58) for all drivers, and an increase
of wages for shop and depot employees. The company offered 50
per cent increase of retirement pay, and an increase of wages equal
to 2 per cent of its receipts.
The employees of the Metropolitan and North-South Railways de
manded stability of employment, an. 8-hour day, increase of 2 francs
(38.6 cents) a day from January 1, an annual vacation of 21 days,
retirement, after 20 years’ service, at 2,000 francs ($386) a year,
pay for lost time equal to that paid by the city of Paris, bonus for
high cost of living equal to 3 francs (57.9 cents) a day, calculated on
days paid for and not days of work, and a monthly increase of wages
from July 1 of 150 francs ($28.95) for persons under 18 years of age
instead of the 3 francs (57.9 cents) a day.
The company agreed to consider these demands; to grant, begin
ning with January 1, 1919, to each employee retiring after 10 years’
service, 700 francs ($135.10) additional during life; and that, when
the company should be authorized to increase its rates, its income
having fallen 3,000,000 francs ($579,000) below expenses, it would
place 10 per cent of the revenue from such increase to the credit of
the retirement fund.
It is said that the strike was far from being supported by public
sentiment, because the strikers seized the opportunity when the
nation was just beginning to return to normal conditions.
The Minister of Public Works, by a decree,1 requisitioned the af
fected transport service, both the material and personnel, including
rolling stock, buildings, shops, works, and installations of all kinds,
directors, engineers, employees in offices, laborers, male and female,
and placed the operation and service under military control, and
warned all persons that military penalties would be invoked for re
fusal to perform usual duties. At the same time the employees were
notified that they were absent from military duty without authority,
and were ordered to report for duty at once.
The employees voted to return, but without withdrawing any of
their demands. Through negotiations carried on by the minister of
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public works1 an agreement was reached on the following basis:
Monthly salaries of less than 150 francs ($28.95) to be increased 55
francs ($10.62) and others 50 francs ($9.65); retirement pay of 730
francs ($140.89) ; bonus of 300 or 350 francs ($57.90 or $67.55), accord
ing to service, upon separation from service; pay for night work in
creased 50 centimes (9.7 cents) an hour. A Government decree 2 was
then issued permitting the companies to raise fares temporarily for
the purpose of meeting the foregoing increases.
On February 15, 1919, the railway workers in the Paris district made
the following demands: 2 Initial yearly wages of 2,400 francs ($463.20)
plus bonuses; an eight-hour day and an English week (44 hours) ; and
the nationalization of the system (Paris railways). At last reports
these demands were still under consideration and meetings of repre
sentatives of employers and employees were being held.
IN D U STR IA L TRANSITION.
The Minister of Reconstruction, responding to interpellations made
in the Chamber of Deputies on measures proposed to be taken by the
State in order to assure an industrial transition from the war to a peace
basis, said :3
On November 11, 1918, there were employed in establishments engaged in war
manufactures 1,700,000 persons, of whom 420,000 were females. Of the total war
workers, 1,300,000 have already been given employment in peace work. It is ad
mitted that there are many unemployed, and, although less than in neighboring coun
tries, it is not necessary for me to say that there is too much unemployment.
It is necessary first of all to decentralize the over-population of certain centers where
the number of employees is too great for peace industries to assimilate.
Before the war there were 16,000 persons employed in the arsenals. At the time
the armistice was signed 150,000 were so employed. There are still 60,000 persons at
work in them.
An organization for the repair of cars (wagons) has been effected, and by the end of
April 1,500 cars per month will have been repaired, and in June 2,500. In the mean
time the State foundries have been utilized in making metal parts for cars, and 800
persons are thus employed. At various other points the building of wagons in series,
the manufacture of telephone and telegraph materials, and machines for the making of
cigarettes, have been begun. In this latter there is no intention of competing with
private enterprises.
The Government has realized the necessity of international labor legislation, and
has appointed an experienced delegate as a member of the commission. From this
course, it is believed, excellent results will be obtained. This commission is com
posed on an equal basis of employers and employees.
There is much discussion relative to the 8-hour day. Much difficulty will be
encountered in adjusting this matter. I believe I am the author of the formula,
“ Maximum pay for maximum production in the minimum time. ” But the fact of
our low birth rate must not be lost sight of. We are handicapped by foreign com
petition, and a preliminary adaptation is necessary. Much material has been lost
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
*La République França se, Paris, Feb. 7 1919.
;Idem, Feb. 1 7 , 1919.
Idem, Feb. 15, 1919
[
1032 ]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
87
and exhausted. So much so that the small factory is at the mercy of transportation
service
There are divergences of interest; because of financial inflation commerce finds
many advocates; industry, rendered timid by reason of the war, is compelled to
compete not only in domestic but in the world markets. Everywhere high prices
are encountered, and industry demands that while it is manufacturing goods the
prices of materials shall not be lowered. In addition it fears foreign competition
and the increasing dangers of State control {Etatisme). Under these conditions
the argument is advanced that there is but one course open: Absolute free trade.
I have been an advocate of that doctrine for a long time, but at present I believe
that it is inadvisable, and that it would increase our difficulties and confusion. My
task would be simplified if I were able to open the door to all importation. But
we must provide for the change.
Difficulty will be found in securing a sufficient supply of coal for industrial pur
poses. Electric power is being given serious consideration, and within 5 years the
domestic waterfalls should be utilized. This will effect an annual saving of eight
to ten millions of tons of coal, and foreign purchases amounting to 500,000,000 francs
($96,500,000).
It is estimated that the available water power in France 1 is prac
tically 10,000,000 horsepower. About 700,000 of this is alreadyutilized. In the various mountain systems are to be found numerous
sources. Beside these, there are the great rivers waiting to be har
nessed and to furnish an inexhaustible supply of power.
One electric society using the water of the Orlu extends its supply to
seven departments, supplying power to tramways, light, and numerous
factories. Other large projects are in construction or have been
completed. “ The question assumes as much importance in this day
as the construction of railways did in the last century. It is to the
development of its hydroelectric power that France should first
dedicate itself.”
RETURN OF RAILROADS TO PRIVATE OPERATION.2
From February 10, 1919, until the cessation of hostilities, the opera
tion of all railroads, excepting those in reconstruction work rendered
necessary by total or partial destruction, and those operated by the
French railway or by the Allies, shall be returned to the adminis
trations charged with their operation in time of peace, under the
conditions, agreements, and regulations and rates now in force, but
under the following conditions:
(a) The Government shall have the absolute priority of right for
the moving of French and allied armies as may be directed by military
authority.
(b) The various systems must conform to orders or general instruc
tions regulating transportation, issued by the Minister of Public
i Les Repercussions Économiques de la guerre actuelle sur la France, par Georges Renard, p. 303.
sLa République Française, Paris, Feb. 3,1919.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1033]
88
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Works and Transports, as proposed by the general director of military
transportation.
Certain regulations for the movement of merchandise either by
ordinary or fast freight form part of the decree. The operators
may limit the number of shipments of perishable goods, and of slow
freight up to 300 kilos (660 pounds), to be shipped from one or any
of the stations on the line, whether by one consignor to more than one
consignee, or by one consignor to one consignee, after such restric
tions shall have been approved by the State commission of railroad
control.
The date of the return of such lines as are engaged in reconstruction
work or continued under military control shall be determined by the
minister of public works and transports, after consultation with the
administrations interested.
Until the cessation of hostilities a military commissioner shall be
attached to the administration of each system, in order to maintain a
strict cooperation in the transportation for the Army and repairs
of ways being made by military units. This commissioner shall have
the powers of a chief of corps as relates to employees of the system
who are under military authority, and shall be aided, if it becomes
necessary, by military commissioners appointed in the offices ol the
heads of districts (arondissemen ts). These latter are charged par
ticularly with the maintenance of order and policing in the stations,
and the transmission ol reports to military authority.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1034]
PROVISION FOR THE DISABLED, AND VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION.
RECONSTRUCTION MEASURES FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING OF WOMEN
IN ENGLAND.
On December 11, 1918, a subcommittee of the women’s advisory
committee of the Ministry of Reconstruction presented an interim
report dealing with the coordination of vocational training for women.1
The presentation of an interim report is explained on the ground that
the committee was ' ‘impressed with the exigencies of the present
situation and the probable immediate need of industrial training for
women.” With a large number already thrown out of work, and
with every probability that the number would increase during the
coming months, there seemed a special need for “ supplying them
with hopeful occupation and permanently improving their position.”
During the war the Ministry of Pensions had been given special
statutory powers with regard to the training of disabled men and
pensionable widows. It had undertaken the training of disabled
men on a large scale and in close cooperation with the Ministry of
Labor, but it had done very little in the way of training widows, and
that little had been carried on single handed. It is estimated that
190,000 widows will be in receipt of pensions by June, 1919. Of
these only 460 had, at the time of making this report, applied for
training, and in only 214 cases had training been sanctioned. There
seems no overstatement in the committee’s conclusion: “ We gather
that the ministry is not at present desirous of embarking on large
schemes of training for women.”
The committee points out "that there are at least seven different
bodies which are or may be concerned with the training of women.
The Ministry of Pensions has been specially empowered to deal with
the training of widows. The Ministry of Munitions has provided
training for woman munition workers in large numbers during the
war, and in this it has been assisted by the education authorities.
The Ministry of Labor has undertaken extensive work in connection
with the training of disabled men, and the machinery provided for
this might well be used if the training of women is undertaken on a
large scale. The trade boards set up in different industries havo
important statutory powers as to training. In the constitutions of
i Great Britain. Ministry of Reconstruction. Women’s Advisory Committee. Interim report of tho
subcommittee on the coordination of the vocational training of women. London, 1918
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 0 3 5 ]
89
90
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
the new industrial councils (the Whitley councils) the supervision
of trade instruction is in most cases set out as one of the objects of the
council. And, finally, the central committee on women’s employ
ment, which was formed at the beginning of the war to deal with
unemployed women, and which as part of its work formulated plans
for the industrial training of women, is likely to become active again
if the present prospects of unemployment among women are realized.
With all these different agencies potentially in the field there is much
danger of overlapping and of waste of effort if the question of train
ing women comes practically to the front.
The committee feel that the special object of industrial training, as
distinguished from education in general, is to equip the individual
with knowledge and skill which shall be of immediate practical advan
tage. To secure this end, it is necessary, first, that the national and
local demand for trained persons for each occupation shall be ascer
tained, and, second, that the training shall be carried on in the closest
possible cooperation with those actually engaged in the industry.
If the first condition is not fulfilled, a trade may be overstocked with trained persons,
to the detriment of those trained, and with a possible lowering of wages. If the second
condition is not fulfilled, the employers, on the one hand, may decline to employ the
persons trained, and organized labor, on the other, may refuse to recognize their
status.
The committee recommends, first, that cooperation between the
board of education and the local authorities, associations of employers
and employed, and the Ministry of Labor be regarded as the first step
in any program of training for women. Second, the actual training,
so far as it is undertaken by public bodies, should be the function of
the local education authorities acting under the board of education.
Third, in each industry central and local advisory trade committees
should be formed, representing associations of employers and
employed.
The duties of these bodies should be (1) to draw up appropriate trade curricula in
consultation with representatives of the education authority; (2) to decide as to the
proper rates of wages to be paid at the end of the industrial course, or, in the case of
part-time instruction, during that course; (3) to advise from time to tim e as to suitable
openings in their industry; (4) to draw up lists of persons from whom the local education
authority might appoint the expert members of the managing or advisory committees
for individual technical institutions; (5) to recommend technical instructors for
appointment.
Such advisory trade committees, it is pointed out, have already
been set up to deal with the training of men, and it should not be
difficult either to set up similar bodies for trades where women are
concerned, or to alter the personnel of the existing committees, so
as to provide for the adequate representation of women’s organiza
tions. The Ministry of Labor should be specially charged with the
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[
1036 ]
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
91
task of determining the demand, both national and local, for trained
persons in any particular occupations. They have already under
taken such surveys with regard to openings for disabled men, and
might easily increase their work to cover openings for women. The
Ministry of Pensions and the central committee on women’s employ
ment should limit their work to recommending individuals suitable
for training, and assisting them either by maintenance grants or by
paying the training fees. Finally, the committee recommends that
the money expended during the war by the Ministry of Munitions on
training should be considered as educational endowment, and that
the property and equipment should become the property of the
appropriate local authority.
TRAINING FOR THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE.1
When it became apparent early in the fall of 1918 that there would
be a shortage of men for the merchant marine, the Board of Trade in
conference with the Ministry of Shipping decided to institute a
system of training English lads for this service, and the necessary
arrangements were completed at Gravesend for inaugurating the
scheme.
In September a crew of 40 boys made a practical start by dis
mantling and refitting the training ship preparatory to b e g i n n i n g
regular work. The instruction given includes training in knotting,
splicing, boat handling, rowing, swimming, heaving the lead, knowl
edge of the compass, steering, signaling, cleaning brass and bright
work, scrubbing, preparing and serving mess, and other practical
duties.
In all of this training theory and practice are combined wherever
possible. For instance, instruction in steering is begun in the school
and completed on the Board of Trade launch furnished for the purpose.
Fine ship models loaned to the school provide an excellent oppor
tunity for familiarization with the parts and equipment of a ship.
The training of trimmers is given at the local gas works where the
students by handling ooke and coal in top-heavy barrows learn how
to handle barrows on shipboard. They are also taught to clean
fires and to stoke furnaoes, and some of them receive daily instruc
tion on board the training launch in raising and keeping steam and
banking fires.
Applicants must pass a satisfactory physical examination and
furnish references from their schoolmaster or clergyman and em
ployer, if possible. Strict discipline is practiced and politeness
required. Attractive surroundings are provided in the way of an
1 Summarized from Board o£ Trade
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
J o u r n a l a n d C o m m e r e ia l
[
1037 ]
Gazette, London, Jan. 9,1919, pp. 30,31.
92
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
assembly room for reading, writing, games, and concerts, and a
religious service is held Sunday morning. Good wholesome food is
supplied.
In the first three months of its existence the school prepared 126
sailors for work on a variety of vessels, and the results show that
with proper facilities and efficient instructors, intensive training can
adequately prepare boys for this service in from six to eight weeks.
AGRICULTURAL REEDUCATION IN FRANCE.1
According to Maj. Chatin (Medical Corps) some interesting results
as to the agricultural reeducation of the war disabled have been
secured at the Lyons (France) reeducation center. Generally
speaking, it is less difficult for one-armed men to do agricultural work
than it is for those who have lost a leg, the Gillet aluminum working
arm and the Jullien apparatus for holding tools making the work
possible. It has been found that the “ tool-holding apparatus with
a revolving ring, fastened to the working arm by a shaft of sufficient
length, with an antivibratory spring inserted, is most useful. ”
One of the best exercises for a man who has lost an arm is digging,
whether it be with a spade or with a fork. For this purpose the
apparatus with a “ cardan” (an appliance permitting of a free
oscillating movement) is better than the revolving ring.
Inquiries show that in spite of their severe handicap a majority
of the men lacking a leg who formerly worked upon the land have
returned to it. For these cases a wooden leg fitted with a broad
crosspiece at the bottom to facilitate walking over rough ground is
the most suitable. The difficulty encountered in plowing of walking
over the plowed land may be overcome by using the Canadian plow
having a seat. It is almost impossible, however, for a man who has
lost his left leg or his right thigh to do work of this kind. Using the
scythe also is extremely difficult for men wearing artificial limbs,
notwithstanding the attempts to make the work easier through the
adaptation of the long-handled double curved scythe or the lefthanded scythe for men with the right leg amputated.
By means of the “ Lumiere” pincers each of the agriculturalists
reeducated at Lyons learns to saw, nail, plane, sharpen his saw, and
perform other carpentering operations useful in repairing agricultural
tools.
i War Pensions Gazette (Great Britain), January, 1919, p. 260.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 0 3 8 ]
PRICES AND COST OF LIVING.
RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES.
The price of food for the United States shows a decline of 7 per
cent on February 15 as compared with January 15, 1919. Twentyseven articles out of the 42 on which prices are given were cheaper in
February than they were in January. The greatest decreases during
the month were in fresh eggs, 33 per cent; storage eggs, 22 per cent
and butter, 19 per cent. Rib roast, plate beef, bread, and corn
flakes show no change in price. Eleven articles increased in price
ranging from less than five-tenths of 1 per cent for sirloin steak to 5
per cent in the price of onions, cabbage, and coffee.
In February, 1919, the cost of all articles of food combined was 7
per cent higher than in February, 1918. The price per pound of
round steak, rib roast, and plate beef increased 24 per cent each.
Sirloin steak, chuck roast, and prunes increased 23 per cent each; rice
increased 21 per cent; and coffee, 20 per cent. In this same period
navy beans decreased 24 per cent, and strictly fresh eggs 17 per cent.
A V E R A G E R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D P E R C E N T OF IN C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E F E B . 15, 1919,
C O M PA R ED W IT H F E B . 15, 1918, A N D JA N . 1 , 1919.
Per cent o in
crease ( + ) or
decrease (—),
Feb. 15, 1919,
compared
with—
Average retail price.
Unit.
Article.
Feb. 15,
1918.
Jan. 15,
1919.
Pound___
. ..d o ..........
. .. d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
...d o ...........
. .. d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
...d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
Quart........
15-16 ounce
can.
Pound___
. . .d o . ____
. ..d o ..........
...d o ..........
. .. d o ..........
. ..d o ..........
$0.334
.314
.263
.227
.177
.336
.484
.438
.314
.362
.291
.134
$0.411
.390
.326
.280
.219
.406
.585
.536
.361
.400
.321
.156
.163
$0. 412
.388
.326
.279
.219
.379
.553
.518
.364
.396
.317
.155
.164
.579
.705
.396
.364
.445
.334
.335
.572
.392
.359
.409
.321
.338
-
D o z e n .............
__________ . . . d o ...................
P o u n d 4. . .
P o u n d ___
. . . d o ..........
8 -o u n c e
package.
-- _____ _ 2 8 -o u n e e
package.
.6 1 1
.7 5 2
.5 9 9
.0 9 8
.0 6 6
.0 6 2
.1 4 1
.5 0 6
.4 6 8
.0 9 8
.0 6 7
.0 6 0
.1 4 1
-1 7
-3 3
+ 13
+ 2
-1 4
(2)
+ 2
- 3
(2)
.2 5 9
.2 5 1
Sirloin stoalc________________
Round stp.ak _ ............................................
Rib» roast,
.... ................................
Ghnrk roast ...................................... ...............
Plate bip.of
„ . . ................. ..........................
Pork chops . . ................................................
Baron s h r e d .................... - .................................
FTam sliop.d
..................................... - ............
T.amh
.................... ...................................
"Rons
..........................................................
Salmon ran nod
.........................................
Milk fresh nn.slrimmpd dolivpxod..................
Milk evaporated (nnswootonod)
Rn ft or
.........................................................
rtl£r)Tnarcuar]DP
_________ . . . .
Nut margaóDP
______ _
Otì roso
___________ . . . . . . . . . . .
Orisco
_____ ----striatiy fresh ............. ............ .............
Rgjrg
s to r a g e
B re a d
F l o u r wbp.a,t
C o m m oal
C o r n f la k e s
________ __________ _
_TTT...... ............................
If
...................................
. ^T ______ . . . . .
C re a m o f W h e a t
i Increase of less th an five-tenths of 1 per cent.
s N o chango in price.
110451°— 19------7
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
.349
.330
.0 8 7
.0 6 6
.0 7 0
Feb. 15, Feb. 15, Jan. 15,
1919.
1918.
1919.
+23
+24
+24
+23
+24
+ 13
+ 14
+18
+ 19
+10
+ 9
+16
0)
(2)
(3)
(2)
+
+
7
6
3
1
1
1
1
1
-1 9
- 1
- 1
- 8
- 5
1
+17
- 3
-2 2
- 3
3 D ecrease o f less th an five-tenth s of 1 per cent.
-1 B aked w eigh t.
[1 0 3 9 ]
1
93
94
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES AND PE R CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE FE B . 15, 1919,
COMPARED W ITH FE B . 15, 1918, AND JAN. 15, 1919—Concluded.
P e r ce nt o f in
crease ( + ) o r
d e c re a s e ( — ) ,
F e b . 1 5 , 1919,
co m p are d
w ith —
F e b . 15 ,
19 18 .
J a n . 15 ,
19 19 .
F e b 15 ,
19 19 .
F e b . 1 5 , J a n . 15 ,
19 19 ,
19 18
8 0 .1 1 8
.1 8 1
.0 3 2
.0 4 9
$ 0.13-8
.1 4 9
.0 3 2
.0 4 1
.0 4 1
.1 9 1
.2 0 0
.1 9 3
.1 7 6
.1 0 8
.6 9 2
.3 5 0
.1 9 8
.1 6 1
.3 7 0
.5 1 5
8 0 .1 4 3
.1 3 7
.0 3 1
.0 4 3
.0 4 3
.1 8 6
.1 9 6
.1 9 2
. 1 70
.1 0 7
.6 8 4
.3 6 6
.2 0 3
.1 6 2
.3 5 0
.4 6 8
U n it.
A r tic le
R i c e ..................................................................................................................................
B e a n s , n a v y .............................................. .......................................................
P o t a t o e s ....................................................................................................................
O n i o n s __________________ ______________ ______
C a b b a g e .............................................................. ......................... .............................
B e a n s , b a k e d ...................................................................................................
C o m , c a n n e d ......................................................................................................
P e a s ; c a n n e d ..................................................... ................................................
T o m a t o e s , c a n n e d ......................................................................................
S u g a r , g r a n u l a t e d ......................................................................................
T e a ....................................................................................................................................
C o f f e e .............................................................................................................................
P r u n e s ..........................................................................................................................
R a i s i n s .........................................................................................................................
B a n a n a s .................................. .................................................................................
O r a n g e s .............. ................... ......................................... ........................................
AH a r t ic le s
A v e r a g e r e t a il p r ic e .
P o u n d ___
__ d o ................
. . . d o ...................
__ d o ....................
__ d o ....................
N o . 2 - c a n ..
. d o ______
. . . d o ...................
. . . d o ...............
P o u n d ____
__ d o . . . .
__ d o ....................
__d o ....................
__ d o ................
D o z e n .............
__d o ______
.1 0 6
.6 0 9
.3 0 4
.1 6 5
.1 5 0
+21
-2 4
— 3
-1 3
4*
1
+ 12
+20
+23
c o m b i n e d ____ . . . . . . . . . _________
+
—
+
+
—
4
8
3
5
5
3
2
1
4
1
1
+
+
5
-
9
3
+ 8
+ 1
- 8
+
—7
7
For the six-year period, February, 1913, to February, 1919, the
increase in the retail prices of all articles of food combined was 79
per cent.
Since 1913, 6 articles show an increase in price of 100 per cent or
over: Bacon, 117 per Gent; lard, 108 per cent; bam, 105 per cent;
flour, 103 per cent; pork chops, 102 per cent; and cornmeal, 100 per
cent. The 13 other articles for which prices have been secured since
1913 show increases ranging from 38 per cent for butter to 97 per cent
each for plate beef and lamb.
A V ERAGE RETAIL PRICE AN D PE R CENT OF INCREASE OR DECREASE FE B . 15 OF
EACH SPECIFIED Y E A R COMPARED W ITH FE B . 15, 1913.
Average retail price, Feb. 15—
Article.
Unit.
Per cent of increase (+ ) or de
crease (—) Feb. 15 of each
specified year compared with
Feb. 15,1913.
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
Cts.
Sirloin steak........ ..........
Round steak..................
Rib ro a st.................. .
Chuck roast............... .
Plate beef........................
Pork chops......................
Bacon, sliced............. .
Ham, sliced.....................
Lam b................... ..
Hens____________
Salmon, canned.............
Milk, fresh, unskimmed,
delivered......................
Milk, evaporated (unsweetened)...................
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
24.0
20.6
18.9
14.9
11.1
18.8
25.5
25.3
18.5
20.8
25.4
22.8
19.9
16.3
12.4
20.9
26.4
26.5
18.9
22.2
Cts.
P ound. .
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .__
...d o .......
. ..d o .......
__do........
24.8
22.3
19.7
16.2
12.3
17.9
26.7
25.9
18.8
20.8
19.8
25.7
.22.8
20.1
16.2
12.2
19.3
27.3
29.7
21.2
22.2
20.0
28.7
26.0
22.5
18.6
14.1
26.1
30.7
31.8
25.9
26.7
21.6
Q uart...
8.9
9.1
8.9
Cts.
33.4
31.4
26.3
22.7
17.7
33.6
48.4
43.8
31.4
36.2
29.1
Cts.
41.2
38.8
32.6
27.9
21.9
37.9
55.3
51.8
36.4
39.6
31.7
+ 6
+ 11
+ 5
+ 9
+ 12
+ 11
+ 4
+ 5
+ 2
+ 7
+ 3
+ 8
+ 4
+ 9
+ 11
- 5
+ 5
+ 2
+ 2
0)
+ 7+
+11 +
+ 6+
+
+10 +
+ 3+
+ 7+
+17 +
+15 +
+ 7+
8.9 10.0 13.4 15.5 + 2 (r) (»)
16.4
Can........
3No change in price.
[1040]
20 +
28 +
19 +
25 +
27 +
39 +
20 +
26 +
40 +
28 +
39 + 72
52 + 88
39 + 72
52 + 87
59 + 97
79 + 102
90 +117
73 +105
70 + 97
74 + 90
+ 12 + 51 + 74
95
MONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
A V ER A G E R E TA IL PRICE A N D PE R CENT OF INCREASE OR DECR EA SE FE B . 15, OF
EACH SPEC IFIE D Y E A R COMPARED W ITH F E B . 15, 1913—Concluded.
Average retail price, Feb. 15—
Unit.
Article.
Per cent of increase ( + ) or de
crease (—> Feb. 15 of each
specified year compared with
Feb. 15, 1913.
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
B utter..............................
Oleomargarine...............
Nut margarine...............
C heese..~........................
1,ard..................................
Crisco................................
Eggs, strictly fresh........
Eggs, storage...................
Bread................................
Flour, wheat...................
Corn meal........................
Corn flakes......................
Cream of W h ea t...........
R ice..................................
Beans, n a v y ...................
Potatoes..........................
Onions..............................
Cabbage...........................
Beans, baked.................
Com, canned...................
Peas' canned...................
Tomatoes, canned.........
Sugar, granulated.........
T e a ......................................
Coffee................................
Primes..............................
Raisins.............................
Bananas...........................
Oranges............................
Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts .
Pound.. 41.4 35,9 37.8 37.8 46.9 57.9 57.2
...d o .......
39.2
...d o .......
35.9
...d o .......
23.-5 24.8 31.5 34.9 40.9
. ..d o ....... 15.4 15.8 15.2 17.7 21.9 33.0 32.1
.. .do.......
33.8
D ozen... 31.5 36.4 33.8 34.9 50.6 61.1 50.6
...d o .......
48.8
Pound K 5.7 6.2 7.1 7.0 8.0 9.5 9.8
Pound.. 3.3 3.2 4.5 4.1 5.6 6.6 6.7
.. .do....... 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.3 4.1 7.0 6.0
8-ounee
14.1
package.
28-ounce
25.1
package.
Pound..
9.1 9.1 9.1 11.8 14.3
...d o .......
7.6 9.2 14.9 18.1 13.7
. ..d o ....... 1.6 1.9 1.5 2.5 5.1 3.2 3.1
3.4 4.4 12.2 4.9 4.3
...d o .......
...d o .......
4.3
No. 2 can
18.6
...d o .......
19.6
...d o .......
19.2
...d o .......
17.0
Pound. . 5.5 5.1 6.4 6.8 8.1 10.6 10.7
...d o .......
54.6 .54.6 54.6 60.9 68.4
.. .do.......
29.9 29.9 29.9 30.4 36.6
...d o .......
13.7 13.3 14.1 16.5 20.3
...d o ___
12.5 12.6 14.1 15.0 16.2
D ozen...
35.0
...d o .......
46.8
All articles combined...
-1 3 - 9 - 9 + 13 + 40 + 38
+ 3 -
1 +15 + 42 +114 +108
+16 + 7 + 11 + 61 + 94 + 61
+ 9 +25 +23 + 40 + 67 + 72
- 3 +36 +■24 + 70 + 100 +103
+ 3 +10 +10 + 37 +133 +100
+19 - 6 +56 +219 +100 + 94
- 7 +16 + 24 + 47 + 93 + 95
+ 4 + 4 +10 + 38 + 65 + 77
RELATIVE RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD ON JAN. 15, 1919, AND FE B . 15, 1913 TO 1919, AS
COMPARED W ITH A V ER A G E PRICE FOR 1913.
F e b . 15—
A r tic le .
S i r l o i n s t e a k ........................................
R o u n d s t e a k ......................................
R i b r o a s t ..............................................
C h u c k r o a s t ........................................
P la te beef
P o r k c h o p s ...........................................
B a c o n ...........................................................
H a m ................................................................
La rd
__
H e n s ................................................................
E g g s .................................................................
B u t t e r ...........................................................
M i l k ..................................................................
B r e a d .............................................................
F l o u r ........... . . .............................................
C o m m e a l ...............................................
P o t a t o e s .................................................
S u g a r ..............................................................
J a n . 15 , F e b . 15 ,
19 19 .
19 19 .
U n it.
P o u n d ___
. . . d o ...................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ...................
. . . d o ....................
. _.d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. _ .^ o ....................
D o z e n .............
P o u n d ___
Q u a r t ..............
Pound
P o u n d ___
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
A l l a r t ic le s c o m b i n e d ___
l...
19 13
19 14
19 15
19 16
19 17
19 18
162
1 75
165
175
18 1
193
2 17
199
2 11
188
2 18
18 4
1 75
172
200
20 7
188
196
162
174
165
174
18 1
180
205
193
203
186
14 7
149
174
172
203
200
18 2
195
94
93
95
93
92
90
95
94
98
97
91
108
100
100
100
98
90
100
99
102
10 1
10 2
10 2 ’
100
98
99
99
104
106
93
102
110
99
103
108
94
98
100
100
99
10 1
85
99
96
97
97
98
98
100
126
138
11 0
84
118
10 1
102
10 2
118
100
92
101
11 0
112
10 4
10 1
99
100
12 4
125
108
141
125
113
117
114
lift
116
125
114
118
13Ä
126
147
12 2
112
142
171
136
2Q0
148
14 1
133
14 2
146
16Q
179
163
209
170
177
151
151
166
200
933
1R3
1Q3
185
17 2
97
101
10 1
106
133
16 1
lot
1 B a k e d w eight.
The prices shown in the tables following are computed from reports
sent monthly to the bureau by retail dealers. As some dealers
occasionally fail to report, the number of quotations varies from
month to month.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1041]
AVERAGE R ETA IL PRICES OP TH E PR IN C IPA L ARTICLES OF FOOD FOR FE B . 15,1913, 1914, 1917, 1918, 1919, AND JAN. 15, 1919, FOR 19 CITIES.
Atlanta, Ga.
Article.
Pound..
. ..d o ----. . . do___
. ..d o ----. . . do. . . .
. ..d o ----.. .d o ----. ..d o ----. ..d o ----. ..d o ----.. . d o . . . .
Q uart...
(2)
Pound..
. ..d o .. ..
. ..d o .. ..
.. .d o . __
.. .d o . . . .
.. . d o . . . .
D ozen...
. . .d o . . . .
P ound3.
Pound..
. ..d o ----(o
(5)
Pound. .
.. . d o . . . .
. .. d o ----.. .d o . . . .
. . .d o . __
rfi)
(«;
(«)
(6)
Pound..
. ..d o .. ..
. . .d o .. ..
... do. . . .
. . . d o____
D ozen...
. . .d o .. ..
Digitized
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Cts.
22.6
20.5
17.0
13.0
9. 8
19.5
30.0
28.5
20.0
20.0
Cts.
Cts.
23.6
21.1
18.6
15.3
9.5
22.1
30.4
30.0
19.8
20.8
25.8
21.8
20.0
14.9
10.6
26.3
31.0
33.8
27.3
23.3
16.4
10.0 10.6 12.3
6.0
5.3
1917
1918
Cts.
Cts.
28.3
25.4
22.4
19.3
13.3
26.3
35.0
34.2
26.0
22.0
21.3
12.8
35.2
31.6
27.9
22.5
17.0
33.9
52.0
44.0
35.0
30.0
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
38.8
36.2
30.8
26.1
20. 2
35.4
60.0
54.7
41.0
37.1
28.0
21.7
16.9
60.0
40.7
38. 9
39.7
33. 8
33.3
44.2
20.7
19.0
17.3
14.7
11. 6
17.3
21.3
30.0
1S.C
19.8
23.4
22.2
18.0
15.2
13. 3
18.8
23.0
29.0
18.0
22.8
49.3
60.4
44.5
43.6
35.6
30.8
25.1
41.0
54.3
58.7
38.5
42.0
28.9
17.0
16. 7
77. 4
38.6
33.6
47.3
33.0
32.4
73.8
60. 7
9.7
6.8
5.9
13.5
23.4
13.6
15.8
3.4
3. 8
4. 1
17.3
20. 4
18. 7
16. 2
10.4
73. 2
33.8
19.4
17. 8
30.0
46.2
43.9
43.2
34.6
30.6
24.4
39.2
49.9
57.2
38.2
43.9
29.2
16.0
16.6
61.3
28.0
23.0
21.0
16.5
11.5
21.9
34.0
32.0
22.0
20.3
8.7
33.4
32.9
25.5
23.7
18.6
34.4
44.9
47.9
33.2
40.3
26.1
13.0
24.9
20.1
19.3
15.6
10.0
19.4
31.3
30.0
18.8
19.3
8.8
27.4
26.0
21.8
18.0
15.0
25.2 '
26.8
35.0
27.0
28.0
17.3
9.2
7.3 11.9
14.6 18.6
5.6 4.0
11.4 5.8
8.1
64. 0
28.8
14. 4
14.8
1914
39.2
36.9
30.9
25.9
20.5
39.4
63.9
56.0
35.6
39.6
28.5
21.7
16.6
74.8
41.5
40.1
47.3
34.9
36.3
70.2
59.3
10.0
6.9
5.8
14.2
25.8
14.4
17.1
4.2
28.0 28.6 47.6 47.7
25.0
40.0
6.0 5.9 8.3 10.0
3.6 3.4 5.5 6.9
2.4 2.7 3.2 5.2
2.2
1913
Cts.
31.0 35. 7
14.8 15.2 20.9
2.0
Feb. 15—
31.4
28.3
23.4
20.3
16.0
32.7
49.1
44.6
32.1
34.3
22.8
17.7
41.7 36.6 46.0 58.7
10.1
84. 7
27. 8
17.0
15. 7
4.9
19.3
21.7
22.3
16.0
11.1
89.9
34.0
18.5
18. 2
27.7
39.3
10.0
7.0
5.6
14.1
26.1
13.3
16.3
4.2
5. 2
5.5
19.3
21. 3
20.9
14.6
11.2
88. 3
36.4
20.5
18. 2
29.8
41.3
42.3 37.7
13.5 14.5
27.1 35. 2
23. 0 32.0
5.4 5.5
3. 2 3.2
2.4 2.5
1.7
1.8
5.0
4.7
32.5
21.0
35.7
32.6
49.7
7.4
5.6
3.4
65.5
49.0
9.0
6.7
6.0
9.8
14.7
5.3
12.5
11.5
18.2
3.6
4.9
7.5
55.0
23.5
12. 7
13.0
9.0
64. 4
28. 2
16.6
15.1
Boston, Mass.
Birmingham, Ala.
Baltimore, Md.
Jan. Feb.
Jan. Feb.
Feb. 15—
15, 15,
15,
15,
1913 1914 1917 1918 1919. 1919. 1913 1914 1917 1918 1919. 1919.
Feb. 15—
35.8
43.0
30.5
32.3
52.8
43.0
9.7
6.7
5.7
13.5
23.1
13.4
3.3
4. 2
4. 4
17.0
20. 0
18.2
16.0
10.3
74. 7
34.4
20.1
16.0
29.5
46.3
ÌÒ. 3
10.0
44.0
40.0
15.4
16.3
28.8
25.0
5.0
3.8
2.1
30.5
27.5
5.6
3.8
2.6
1.9
2.3
5.3
5.2
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1919. 1919.
Cts.
49.7
37.7
32.6
28.3
22.5
40.2
62.4
53.5
38.0
36.9
31.8
15.2 20.0
15.1
50. Ó 59. Ó 77.2
42.0
40.3
35.0 36.3 47.8
21.1 32.1 33.1
33.7
5Ì.Ó 52.2 74.3
69.5
8.9 10.0 11.7
7.2
5.9
6.7
3.4
5.5
5.3
14.8
25.2
9.0 12.1 13.4
18.5 18. 8 17.4
3.9
5.8
4.3
13.0
5. 8
4.6
4. 7
20.5
20.6
20.6
16.6
8.6
9.4 10.9
70.0 76. 2 83. 7
31.0 32.0 33. 8
14.0 16.1 18.4
14.9 15.8 18. 2
39.1
44.8
1913
1914
1917
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1918 1919. 1919.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
40.5
37.2
32.4
27.9
21.5
34.3
58.9
53.0
37.5
35.8
31.2
20.0
17.1
59.9
40.5
39.3
40.8
32.1
33.3
43.0
40.0
10.8
7.3
5.0
14.6
25.3
13.4
15.8
3.9
4.8
5.2
20.3
20.0
20.8
15.7
11.0
82.9
39.1
20.5
16.9
39.2
44.5
34.5
32.4
23.4
17.0
32.9
34.1
24.0
17.8
40.8
38.5
27.8
23.0
42.4
43.0
30.3
25.4
55.1
55.3
38.6
30.4
56.8
55.5
39.3
30.7
20.6
24.6
28.3
21.8
22.8
22.6
25.0
31.4
21.7
24.4
34.5
46.0
46.0
33.3
38.0
30.8
14.5
41.0
53.0
58.1
40.2
43.3
32.3
16.5
16.9
71.1
38.9
36.6
39.3
33.3
33.6
90.2
58.8
9.1
6.8
6.8
13.8
24.2
14.0
15.4
3.3
3.8
4.1
20.1
21.2
21.1
20.3
10.7
66.0
38.9
20.5
15.9
33.8
52.6
38.3
50.6
55.3
40.2
41.1
32.2
16.5
17.1
56.7
39.0
35.6
41.1
32.3
33.3
62.1
49.9
9.1
6.7
6.6
13.8
24.3
14.1
13.5
2.9
3.9
4.3
20.2
21.2
21,3
20.2
10.6
66.6
41.1
20.5
15.9
41.3
45.8
Feb. 15—
8.9
8.9
27.8
30.0
35.8
29.1
29.7
20.6
10.5
38.9
36.7
45.4
56.0
15.3
15.6
29.4
22.3
33.6
33.5
37.5
25.2
5.9
3.7
3.5
45.3
35.8
6.0
3.7
3.6
60.3
47.0
7.7
6.1
4.7
74.8
59.0
8.5
7.3
7.9
1.7
2.1
9.7
15.2
5.3
12.0
12.2
18.6
3.8
5.4
5.1
7.9
60.0
34.6
14.7
14.2
9.8
63.1
34.1
17.0
15.0
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
r10421
Sirloin steak.............
Round steak............
Rib roast...................
Chuck roast..............
Plate bee!..................
Pork chops...............
Bacon, sliced ............
I-Iam, s lic ed ..............
L am b.........................
H en s..........................
Salmon, canned___
Milk, fresh................
Milk, evaporated1. .
B utter........................
Oleomargarine.........
N ut margarine.........
Cheese........................
Lard...........................
Crisco.........................
Eggs, strictly fresh.
Eggs, storage............
Bread.........................
Flour..........................
Com m eal.................
Corn flakes...............
Cream of Wheat___
R ice............................
Beans, navy.............
Potatoes....................
Onions.......................
Cabbage.....................
Beans, baked...........
Corn, canned............
Peas, canned............
Tomatoes, ca n n ed ..
Sugar, granulated..
Tea.
Coffee. . .
P ru n es..
R aisin s..
Bananas.
Oranges.
for
FRASER
Unit.
Article
Cts.
Cts.
20.3
18.3
17.0
14.7
10.7
19.3
20.3
24.0
17.5
20.0
21.5
19.2
16.8
15.5
11.8
20.5
20.7
25.0
16.4
22.4
8.0
8.0
1043 ]
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
26.3
23.5
20.0
17.8
14.8
28.8
26.0
34.3
24.0
27.5
18.7
10.0
32.1
29.9
25.3
23.0
17.9
32.1
43.8
44.8
29.4
36.0
28.6
14.0
39.1
36.8
32.1
28.6
23.1
41.4
52.9
53.1
32.9
41.5
28.9
16.0
16.8
75.5
39.0
33.7
42.4
31.5
31.6
75.5
64.8
9.7
6.2
5.8
13.2
24.5
13-7
13.8
2.7
3.6
3.0
16.7
20.5
18.3
17.9
10.7
63.9
34.4
20.7
14.7
40.0
56.2
41.2
33.9
45.7
58.5
13.9
14.2
30.0
20.0
34.2
31.8
31.0
22.2
5.6
2.9
2.5
35.6
30.5
5.2
3.0
2.6
55.0
46.7
8.2
5.3
3.9
69. Ö
57.3
8.7
6.3
7.5
1.4
1.7
9.3
14.2
5.3
12.9
12.1
18.6
3.1
5.3
5.3
5.0
7.8
47.5
28.5
13.2
12.2
9.7
56.7
30.6
17.2
14.1
1 Unsweetened.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
215-16 ounce can.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
39.3 20.9 24.1 27.3
36.5 18.6 21.1 23.6
31.6 18.1 19-3 22.8
27.5 13.9 15.6 17.6
21.5 11.0 11.8 13.7
37.7 16.3 18.7 25.0
48.6 29.0 30.3 33.6
50.2 29.5 31.0 35.4
32.4 19.1 19.7 25.2
40.5 19.4 19.4 26.4
24.3
28.8
8.0
9.0
8.0
15.0
16.7
55.5 39.9 32.9 46.6
39.2
33.6
32.9
39.8
29.7 14.7 15.0 20.6
31.0
51.8 27.3 32.9 50.3
44.0
37.0
8.2
6.1
6.1
9.4
5.1
2.8
2.9
6.2
4.1
2.9
5.4
2.9
13.4
24.4
9.4
13.3
15.3
12.2
5.0
1.7
1.2
2.6
12.9
3.9
3.2
15.7
20.1
17.9
17.3
7.4
5.0
5.0
10.6
63.3
30.0
35.6
14.0
20.9
15.0
14.6
38.8
52.4
Cts.
Cts.
30.4
27.2
25.1
21.4
16.6
30.1
49.9
44.8
30.6
35.2
30.3
11.9
37.5
34.0
31.1
27.5
20.7
35.2
61.6
55.3
34.2
33.5
31.6
14.0
16.0
71.3
37.4
34.6
43.9
31.4
331
69.5
54.7
37.7
31.7
59.3
53.0
9.6
6.3
6.9
12.1
18.5
2.9
4.6
8.7
59.1
28.2
16.5
15.1
8 Baked weight.
10.2
6.1
5.8
12.7
24.2
13.7
14.1
2.7
3.5
3.7
17.3
18.0
17.0
17.0
10.4
64.0
32.7
20.0
15.9
35.5
49.3
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
37.9 22.3 24.9 28.2
34.4 18.8 22.3 25.2
32.0 18.0 20.0 22.3
27.8 14.7 17.0 19-7
20.7 10.6 12.3 14.2
33.3 18.3 21.4 28.5
57.1 24.3 27.6 31.9
52.1 32.0 33.5 36.5
36.3 18.7 18.7 28.6
35.9 20.6 22.6 29.9
19.7
31.6
8.0 10.0
8.8
14.0
16.2
53.5 43.6 36.2 51.8
36.6
33.7
31.3
38.9
30.4 15.8 16.4 22.7
32.8
46.1 31.8 36.2 58.1
38.7
5.6
7.9
10.2
5.5
3.2
6.1
3.2
6.2
4.1
2.8
2.9
5.6
12.6
24.0
9.2
13.3
15.2
12.8
1.4
5.5
2.4
1.9
13.8
3.5
4.7
17.5
17.5
16.9
16.1
5.5
5.2
8.1
10.2
47.5
62.6
28.8
33.4
14.0
21.2
13.9
15.9
34.1
41.9
'
4S-ounce package.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
37.8 38. i 22.5
35.5 34.5 18.4
29.6 29.8 15.9
27.6 27.9 14.5
9.1
20.7 21.0
39.5 37.9 16.5
58.7 55.8 26.3
57.6 56.1 27.0
33.6 35.8 15.5
39.1 40.6 20.0
30.6 30.4
8.4
15.0 14.0
16.6 16.6
57.8 76.0 57.3 40.0
39.7 39.2
35.2 35.0
34.2 42.6 42.4
32.2 32.7 32.4 16.3
32.7 32.7
70.2 77.9 53.3 29.0
59-3 60.2 45.0
9.6
5.3
8.8 10.0
6.7
2.7
6.8
6.7
6.9
6.0
2.5
6.2
13.9 14.2
24.7 24.5
12.1 14.4 13.8
17.7 13.9 11.7
3.0
3.1
1.1
3.1
4.8
3.4
3.8
4.1
3.6
18.2 17.0
20.5 20.3
19.4 19.5
17.7 17.4
5.4
9.4 10.9 10.7
58.0 64.8 68.1
29.1 34.8 35.9
17.2 20.2 20.1
14.6 15.7 14.7
41.4 40.8
5S.7 46.3
22.9
20.7
17.1
15.8
10.0
18.6
27.0
29.2
15-4
20.1
8.4
23.5
21.3
19.1
16.4
10.5
23.6
31.7
33.3
21.8
22.5
19.4
8.3
30.3
28.2
23.6
20.9
15.1
32.5
48.3
47.5
29.2
33.8
27.9
11.5
34.3
38.8
56.0
16.3
32.5
22.1
36.1
34.1
33.6
25.0
5.4
2.5
2.5
43.8
40.0
8.4
4.6
3.2
60.0
48.3
10.0
5.4
5.6
36.5
34.4
28.5
25.7
18.6
35.4
59.1
57.8
30.2
34.6
32.0
12.3
17.0
50.8
38.5
35.5
43.3
33.6
32.1
47.7
1.5
9.2
13.8
5.2
10.6
11.6
17.4
2.2
4.4
7.9
48.8
28.8
13.8
13.1
9.0
57.5
30.0
17.1
15.3
36.9
34.0
28.6
25.2
19.1
40.0
61.3
59.3
30.4
35.8
32.5
12.6
17.3
73.3
39.2
35.9
43.1
34.2
32.9
74.8
58.8
11.9
6.0
5.6
14.8
25.2
14.2
14.7
2.7
4.1
3.7
20.1
18.7
19.5
15.7
11.6
65.6
35.8
20.5
16.8
43.2
55.4
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
31.6
29.9
25.2
23.6
17.7
32.6
47.7
45.5
31.1
37.3
28.1
13.0
628-ounce package.
5.0
11.8
5.9
5.6
14.6
25.3
14.3
13.9
2.4
4.2
3.8
18.8
18.6
19.1
15.3
11.4
67.2
38.0
20.0
16.6
41.0
45.2
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
[
Sirloin steak.......... L b ..
Round steak......... ..d o ..
Rib roast............... ..d o ..
Chuck roast........... ..d o ..
Plate beef.............. ..d o ..
Pork chops............ ..d o ..
Bacon, sliced........ ..d o ..
Ham, sliced.......... ..d o ..
L am b.........
..d o ..
H en s....................... ..d o ..
Salmon, canned__ . .do..
Milk, fresh............. Q t..
Milk evaporated1. (2)
Butter.................... L b ..
0 1ftomargarine___
Nnr, margarine__
Cheese..................... ..d o ..
Lard....................... ..d o ..
Crisco. . . _______
Eggs,strictly fresh Doz.
Eggs, storage........ ..d o ..
Bread..................... Lb.3
Flour...................... L b ..
Corn m eal.............. ..d o ..
Corn fl akes............ (4)
Cream of W h e a t.. (5)
Rice......................... L b ..
Beans, navy_____ ..d o ..
Potatoes................. ..d o ..
Onions............... .. . .do..
Cabbage. ................ ..d o ..
(6)
Beans baker!- .
Corn, canned........ (6)
Peas, canned . . . . (6)
Tomatoes, canned (6)
Sugar, granulated. L b ..
Tea.......................... . .do..
Coffee..................... ..d o ..
Prunes__________ . .do..
Raisins......... ......... ..d o ..
Bananas .
Doz.
Oranges................. ..d o ..
Denver Colo.
Cleveland, Ohio.
Chicago, 111.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Unit.!
1
6 No. 2 can.
•d
AVERAGE R E TA IL PRICES OF THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD FO R FE B . 15, 1913, 1914, 1917, 1918, 1919, AND JAN. 15, 1919 , FOR 19 CITIES—Continued.
CO
CO
Detroit, Mich.
Article.
Unit.
Feb. 15—
1913
1917
1918
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1919. 1919.
Feb. 15—•
1913
1914
1917
1918
Cts.
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1919. 1919.
1044 ]
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
22.8
18. 2
18.2
14. 5
10.3
16.8
22.4
24.0
16. 7
20.0
25.6
21.0
20.2
15.4
11.7
18.4
23.3
28.0
16.6
21.6
26.0
22.8
22.8
17.4
13.0
24.2
27.0
30.0
22.6
27.0
19. 5
11.0
32.1
29. 8
25.9
22.4
17.7
33.1
45.7
42.6
32.4
37.5
27.4
14.0
37.6
34.1
29.7
25.7
20.0
37.9
55. 8
57.5
35. 2
38.9
31. 8
15.0
16. 4
74. 4
39 8
35 3
44 4
33. 4
33 2
75. 1
61. 3
9. 5
6.4
6.5
13. 8
25
13. 7
13.5
2.6
4. 0
4. 5
18. 3
19. 7
17. 9
17. 5
10.8
62.0
35. 0
20. 3
15.9
30.1
53. 8
35.9
32.7
28.6
24.5
19.6
35.0
51.7
53.6
36.1
38.6
32.1
15.0
16 1
54.0
39. 6
34. 8
38.9
32.7
32.9
50.3
22.8
20.4
18.6
16.0
12.4
24.4
33.8
35.0
19.2
28.3
23.3
21.3
19.7
16.6
13.4
25.6
33.0
35.0
19.7
27.4
10.0
10.0
25.4 29.0 33.9
22.4 25.4 31.6
20.4 23.6 29.6
18.3 20.0 25.0
15.2 15.8 20.7
28.2 37.8 45. 7
37.5 52.9 67.0
40.0 51.9 62.9
24.2 31.4 34.4
29.0 37.8 46.3
28. 7 32. 6 38. 7
9.0 14.0 14.0
15.9
43. 7 55.5 73.0
41.9
38. 2
27. 7 33. 5 45. 9
22. 2 33.3 34.3
33.9
34.0 49.1 67.1
48.0 59. 4
8. 9
6. 8
8. 9
7.1
5.5
6.3
4.5
8.0
6.9
13. 7
24. 7
8. 5 11. 5 13. 7
13. 2 16.6 14.1
2.1
3.1
4.8
11.7
3. 7
3. 7
2. 7
19.6
19. 2
19.9
17. 2
7.3
8.8 10.6
50.0 59. 1 68. 8
30. 7 31. 2 34.5
11.5 15.1 20. 3
11.0 14. 1 16.7
38.1
39.3
8.8
8.9
40.4
34.9
46.8
56.8
15.9
16.1
30.5
20.8
34. 3
33.6
31. 2
24.8
5.6
3.2
2.7
37.4
32.0
5.6
3.1
2.8
54.3
66.8
55.0
8. 5
6.5
7.7
1.3
1.6
5.1
5.0
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
8. 2
5. 5
4.4
8.6 12. 1
15.0 18. 2
5.4
2.9
12. 1 5. 5
7.9
45.0
27.5
12.9
12.8
8.9
57.3
30. 4
17. 1
14. 1
9. 5
6.5
6.3
14. 0
25. 0
13. 3
12. 2
2.4
4. 2
4. 1
17. 7
19. 0
17. 7
16. 8
10.5
62.6
36. 7
19. 8
16. 1
28.0
49.1
43.5
35.0
17.9
17.7
26.0
29.8
6.2
3.6
3.4
6.1
3.6
3.5
1.0
1.9
5.4
5.1
Cts.
New Orleans, La.
Milwaukee, Wis.
« Feb. 15—
1913
1914
1917
1918
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1919. 1919.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
34.8 20. 5
32.7 18.5
30.4 17.3
25.4 15.0
21.2 10.8
43.9 15.3
65.6 26.3
62.5 26.8
34.5 19.5
45. 7 18.8
39.3
7.0
14.0
15. 3
59. 1 40.2
41. 7
36. 5
43. 6
33.1 15.1
33. 8
47.1 29.0
22.0
5.6
8.9
3.1
7.2
3.3
6.8
13.9
24. 8
13. 6
13.3
1.2
3.0
3. 8
2. 8
20.1
18. 7
38.9
16. S
5.4
10.6
69.6
36. 6
20. 6
16.0
38.6
36.0
23.6
21.6
18.8
16.4
11.7
17.8
27.4
27.8
19.0
19.4
30. 2 36.2
28.7 34.5
24.8 29.9
22.7 27.6
17. 1 20.8
30.6 36.6
47.9 57.7
45.2 53.7
32.3 36.4
32.6 35.0
27.2 31.0
11.0 13.0
16. 2
55.1 74.0
38. 8
34. 7
34.8 46.1
32.6 34.0
33.1
63.5 70.8
53.9 52.6
8.8
8.6
6. 5
6.4
7.5
6. 5
14.3
24.8
12.1 14. 3
18.6 14.0
2.9
2.8
4.7
3.8
3.8
18.5
17.6
17.1
17.5
8.6 10.9
58.9 67.0
26.8 32.1
16. G 19.6
14.8 15.6
35.0
52.9
Cts.
7.0
25.4
23.6
20. 5
18.3
13.4
24.8
31.3
32.4
26.7
25.8
22.7
8.0
33.2
47.4
15.7
31.3
22.6
34.7
5.7
3.0
3.3
1.6
5.3
49.3
44.5
8.6
5.5
5.0
9.5
15.0
5.0
13.1
7.8
54.0
28.3
15.2
14.3
Cts.
Feb. 15—
1913
1914
1917
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
35.8
34.3
29.8
27.5
20.7
32.6
54.1
52.4
36.8
36.9
28.6
13.0
16. 2
54.8
37. 8
34.0
36.3
31.6
32. 7
44.4
40.0
9. 2
6.5
6.0
14.6
24.9
14. 4
12.4
2.7
3.9
4.4
16.9
17.6
17.0
17.6
10.7
66.2
33.6
19.9
15.8
35.0
44. 2
19.5
17.5
18.8
13.8
10.8
20.1
29.3
26.0
20.1
20.7
22.1
19.3
19.3
15.0
11.9
22.9
30.9
26.0
20.1
23.7
1Ö.0
9.7
22.4
20.0
20.0
15.5
13.6
25.9
34.8
31.3
25.9
25. 7
23. 6
11.5
41.8
34.1
48.4
14.7
14.9
32.6
20.6
29.1
23.0
3.8
2.6
27.6
20. 0
4.8
3.7
2.6
1.9
2.2
5.3
4.9
44.6
6.8
6.1
3.9
7.4
13.9
5.4
11.1
7.9
63.0
28.4
14. 4
14.3
1918
Cts.
Jan. Feb.
15,
15,
1919. 1919.
Cts.
Cts.
35.2 34.9
31.9 31.9
29.4 31.4
25.3 25. 2
21.6 21. 3
43.6 40.6
63.3 57.4
51.8 •50.0
39.4 39.8
41. 5 39.9
36 6 3t 5 R
16.3 16] 2
15 8
56.9 76.3 56. 4
¿0 2 40 9
36. 4 36 4
35. 3 46. 4 49. 1
33.1 33. 7 31. 5
33. 9 33 4
48.5 72.1 43 .8
59. 3
9. 2
9.0
9. 2
7.4
7.5
7 .3
5.4
6.3
5..2
14. 2 13. 0
24. 8 24 9
10. 8 12. 0 12.1
17. 4 14. 5 13. 6
3.8
4.0
3 .9
4.1
4. 5
4. 2
3.0
2. 7
18.9 17.9
18. 8 18. 5
18.6 18. 8
15.3 15. 4
9.0 10.5 10.4
63. 4 64.5 62.9
26.6 32.4 33.4
16.0 19.0 19.3
15. 1 17.1 16.9
20.0 16.7
43.8 44.3
29.1
25.3
24.3
19. 2
16.6
35.6
51.7
45.0
30.1
36.8
33. 0
14.3
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
[
Sirloin steak......... L b..
Round steak......... ..d o ..
Rib roast............... ..d o ..
Chuck roast.......... ..d o ..
Plate beef.............. ..d o ..
Pork chops........... ..d o ..
Bacon, sliced........ ..d o ..
Ham, sliced.......... ..d o ..
Lam b..................... ..d o ..
H ens...................... ..d o ..
Salmon, canned..
Milk, fresh............. Q t ..
MilV; evaporated1. (2)
Butter...*.............. L b ..
Oleomargarine__ . do..
N ut margarine__ ..d o ..
Cheese.................... ...do..
Lard....................... ..d o ..
Oriseo ................ ..d o ..
Eggs, strictly fresh Doz.
Eggs, storage........ ..d o ..
Bread..................... Lb.3.
Flour...................... ..do..
Corn meal............. ..d o ..
Corn flakes............ (c
Cream of W heat.. (»)
R ic e ...................... L b..
Beans, navy......... . .do..
Potatoes..."........... ..d o ..
Onions................... ..d o ..
Cabbage................. . do..
Beans, baked....... (6)
Corn, canned........ (6)
Peas, canned
(6)
Tomatoes, canned (6)
Sugar, granulated. L b..
Tea......................... ..d o ..
Coffee.................... ..d o ..
Prunes__ . . . . ___ ..d o ..
Raisins................... ..d o ..
Bananas................ I Doz.
Oranees________ I.d o ..
1914
Los Angeles, Calif.
Unit..
Sirloin steak..........
Round steak.........
Rib roast...............
Chuck roast..........
Plate beef..............
Pork chops............
Bacon, sliced........
Ham, sliced..........
Lam b.....................
H ens.......................
Pftlmnn OS^TITlfid
Milk, fresh.............
Millr p , v f t 1
Butter....................
Olfiom orga.rina
L b..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
..d o ..
New York, N. Y.
Cts.
Cts.
24.7
23.1
25.7
25.5
2 1 .1
2 1 .8
15.1
14.0
19.8
23.1
27.8
16.5
20.4
16.2
14.8
Qt.’. 9.0
V)
L b .. 41.5
[1045]
Clip,asp...................
Lard....................... ..d o .. 15.7
Crisno
Eggs, strictly fresh Doz. 38.0
. .UO. Bread..................... Lb.3 6.0
-Flour..................... L b .. 3.2
Com meal.............. . .do.. 3.4
Corn flftlrps
v)
Crp.am of WbP.afc
V)
T?ino
"Bp.ans navy ___
Potatoes...'........... ..d o .. 2.5
Onions
CftbbfVp^
2 1.8
25.0
29.5
16.1
21.7
9.0
36.3
15.6
43.7
6.1
3.2
3.4
2.5
(6\
(6\
u
w
/6\
U
Sugar, granulated. L b ..
Tp.a
Coflpo
Primps
T?.nLins
s
Unsweetened.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
4.9
4.5
CIS.
Cts.
Cts.
34.7
35. 6
29.5
23.7
44.8
47.3
40.9
32.7
22 .0
28. Ü
34.9 43.5
45.9 54.8
46.1 57.1
28.3, 33.6
36.5 40.8
35-0 37.0
14.6 16.0
16.1
49.2 58.2 75.5
37.2
34.3
30.5 34.5 42.7
22.3 33.1 33.1
32.3
59.1 69.7 78.1
5 « n 61 1
8.1
8.9 10.0
5.7
7.1
6.8
5.1
8.0
6.3
12. 4
24. 0
9.1 11.7 13. 8
15.0 18.3 15.3
4.0
5.9
4.4
5.2
4.2
14.0
3. 9
17.7
19 7
18.5
16.1
9.1 10.1
7.6
46.0 53. 6 53.5
26.5 26.7 32.4
13. 9 16.9 22.1
13.4 14.9 15.3
32.0
51.2
29.8
29.2
24.7
18.8
16.0
27.6
28.8
34.0
23.4
27.3
25.4
10.9
-15-16
ounce can.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Cts.
44.9
46.9
40.9
31.7
23. 5
39.9
50.3
56.0
32.3
39.5
35.6
16.0
15.7
58.1
37.1
34.0
42.6
31.8
31.7
60.5
52 n
10.0
6.8
6.1
12. 4
24.0
13.3
14.3
4.0
4.4
3.7
16.8
19.0
18.2
15.5
9.9
55.1
33.5
22.9
15.7
32.1
50.0
St. Louis, Mo.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cls.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
40.1
37.6
30.3
25.8
19.2
36.3
47.0
48.8
32.4
37.1
26.5
13.0
50.4
47.4
38.2
32.7
27.5
23.2
21.3
17.0
9.2
30.7
27.2
24.8
19.7
14.1
28.8
31.1
35.9
29.8
33.8
21.7
10.3
37.7
35.1
29.0
25.6
19.2
33.3
50.1
47.8
34.7
43.6
30.5
13.8
47.1
39.9
54.5
63.0
43.1
37.8
49.6
59.1
14.4
15.1
32.6
21.4
37.4
33.4
15.1
15.0
31.6
21.9
35.7
33.2
30.1
38.0
56.0
42. 5
7.0
5.7
4.0
69.0
55.3
8.0
7.2
7.3
42.9
58.2
58.3
38.9
43.1
30.0
14.0
16.0
80-4
41.1
36.4
44.6
33.3
32.3
78.6
47.4
47.3
37.6
32.1
21.9
57.9
55.3
56.6
37.0
42.5
29.6
14.0
15.9
62.8
40.4
36.4
44.4
30.7
32.2
55.2
24.8
21.4
8 .0
33.9
30.7
25.2
21.5
14.3
27.9
30.6
37.5
26.8
28.7
19.3
9.0
37.5 54.8
33. Ü
5.4
7.9
5.0
3.1
2.9
4. 5
69.7
52.7
9.9
6.9
8.5
13.0
18.6
3.9
9.5
16.0
5.8
13.4
12.1
19.0
3.7
5.0
8.1
54.4
28.5
14.3
12.7
9.2
59.6
27.8
16.8
14.0
9.4
6. 6
6.0
12.7
24.2
14.5
13.6
3.8
4.1
4.5
14.8
19.8
18-1
16.4
10.0
62.8
32.8
20.7
15.1
33.3
47.2
29.2
25. 0
5.4
3.1
2.7
9.7
14.6
6.2
14.9
9.4
6.7
6.4
12.8
24.3
14.7
14.7
4.1
3.5
4.3
16.0
20.1
19.1
15.0
10.1
62.6
32.7
21.3
15.1
32.8
51.1
47.3
44.0
36.7
31.9
23.2
43.6
61.7
59. 6
39.6
46.3
31.0
15.0
15.8
78.0
40.3
36.9
44.3
33.6
33.3
79.2
62.2
10-0
6. 6
6.9
14.3
8.9
57.1
28.1
13.4
14.7
9.8
72.8
29.9
17.5
14.9
Cts.
CIS.
28.3
23.4
21.4
16.5
11.3
19.1
23.4
29.0
18-6
21.3
30.0
25.7
18.0
11.9
21.9
25.4
29.6
19.4
23.5
8 .0
2 2 .1
4.8
3.2
2.8
4.8
3.1
2.8
2.1
2.4
4.9
4.5
3 Baked weight.
2 2 .2
2 0 .6
15.6
1 1 .0
20.0
27.2
29.0
21.5
25.3
8 .8
12 .8
22.5
29.1
29.4
20.8
27.2
1.6
1.9
5.8
5.4
' 8-ounce package.
14.4
14.6
3.2
4.2
4.4
18.8
19.7
19.5
16.9
10.9
79.3
34.9
22.0
16.0
40.8
56.3
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
46.1
42.7
36.0
31.2
22.9
38.8
57.0
57.5
40.0
45.1
30.7
15.0
15.5
57.8
39.2
36.6
40.8
32.3
33.6
53.9
22 .8
26.8
24.2
20.4
15.7
13.8
18.6
25.0
27.5
17.3
20.3
10.0
6.6
6.7
13.9
25.1
14.2
14.1
3.0
4.2
4.8
17.8
19.6
19.7
17.2
10.8
79.5
36.3
21.9
15.9
40.3
48.2
Cts.
Cts.
'2il. O 30.0
8 .0
8 .8
25.9
21.9
17.5
13.5
25.0
30.0
31.6
26.2
24.0
19.1
9.5
40.4
35.2
48.1
58.0
13.2
12.7
30.7
19.3
36.5
29.3
24.4
20.0
5.5
3.0
2.1
31.9
48.2
57.3
5.6
2.8
2.6
8.6
5.1
3.5
10.0
6.1
6.2
1.5
1.8
8.6
14.7
5.0
13.2
11.1
17.9
3.1
4.4
5.1
4.8
7.6
54.3
23.7
13.8
14.9
8.7
65.2
27.4
16.7
16.9
20.4
17.6
14.2
1 0 .2
17.1
23.0
26.7
17.8
17.4
‘ 28-ounee package.
29.7
26.1
21.3
17.1
29.3
47.8
45.8
30.2
34.7
28.8
13.0
6 N e, 2 can.
Cls
Cts.
37.0
36.5
29.7
24.6
20.7
35.1
54.6
56.7
34.1
34.7
32.3
14.0
16.3
76.8
37.5
35.5
45.7
28.9
33.3
69.9
57.9
10.0
6.3
5.3
14.2
£4.8
13.6
13.9
3.1
4.2
5.0
16.3
16.8
17.3
15.6
10.9
73.2
34.9
18.9
16.4
34.4
46.4
38.5
37.8
30. 9
25. 6
2 1 .6
34.2
53.2
54.2
36.5
35.9
32.0
14.0
16.5
57.0
37.0
35.2
38.0
29.2
33.3
44.9
36.5
10.0
6.3
5.0
13.9
24.8
13.4
11.8
3.0
4.3
4.2
16.0
16.9
17.5
15.7
10.8
73.6
34.9
19.9
15.7
32.5
42.8
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
Article.
San Francisco, Calif.
Article.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Pou nd..
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P o u n d ..
Feb. 15—
F e b .15—
1913
1914
1917
1918
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
21.0
19.7
22.0
15.5
15.0
25.0
33.9
32.0
18.3
24.8
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
20.3
19.0
20. 7
14.6
12.5
23.0
32.8
30.0
17.2
23.8
26.4
25.8
24.9
19.1
18.2
35 1
53 8
49 4
29.3
41 8
25.4
12.1
33.3
32. 4
31 2
24.0
22. 4
43. 8
60 0
58 3
34. 7
48 6
27.9
14.0
16.0
62.7
36.8
36.9
37.4
33.3
34.6
44.4
22.0
20 0
18 4
15.0
11.4
23 4
30 0
29 2
18 3
24.3
24.0
20. 9
19. 4
15.1
12.8
24 0
32 1
30.0
18. 7
24.7
Cts.
Cts.
32.8
32 0
30.9
23. 8
22.2
43 4
62 2
58 6
34. 7
48 9
28.0
14.0
16. 4
72.3
39.0
36.3
41.9
33.7
34.8
65.7
57.0
10.0
7.0
7.3
14.2
24.8
13.6
13.0
3.0
2.7
5.0
21.2
19.0
18. 6
15.9
10.6
30.0
28 5
25 1
21 4
18 3
38 8
46 9
32 7
35 9
28 3
12.6
36.2
35 4
31 3
26 9
21 8
47 0
62 6
57 5
36 2
44 1
30.9
15.7
16.0
73.3
43.3
40.5
43.2
33 8
35.3
73.5
36.9
35 6
31,3
26 8
21 8
45 2
60 8
56 1
36 6
43 2
31.2
15.7
15.3
58.4
42.0
39.6
42.2
34 2
35.7
53.5
43.0
10.3
6.5
7.1
14.8
27.3
14.2
14.0
22
3.9
5.3
22.8
21.1
19.9
20.2
10.9
25.9
21 8
20 0
15 6
10.7
19 3
23 3
28 2
21 0
21.3
10.0
10.0
40.7
33.6
43.3
58.9
17.6
17.4
26.7
22.8
32.9
33.4
25.0
28.9
39.0
5.7
3.3
3.4
5. 9
3.4
3.4
7.1
5.1
4.4
48.9
38.3
10.0
6.2
6.9
1.5
1.8
8.8
14.6
4. 3
12.3
11.9
15.8
2 3
3. 4
o. 3
5.2
7.5
8.7
1913
1914
1917
1918
Feb. 15—
Jan.
15,
1919.
23.4
22. 7
22.8
16.2
15.6
28.0
37.5
40.0
24.3
28. 7
19.6
10.0
Feb.
15,
1919.
Washington, D . C.
10.0
7.2
7.0
14.0
24.7
13.9
12.5
2 9
3.1
1.7
20.4
19.7
18.6
15.6
10.6
9.1
9.5
23.8
22 4
21 0
16.6
12.5
26 8
33 4
33.0
25. 4
27 0
21.1
10.0
42.6
39.7
46.6
58.8
17.9
16.2
27.8
21.9
30.8
32.7
30.0
22.5
5.4
3.0
3.1
36.6
40.7
5.7
2.9
3.3
9.0
4.7
4.0
52.8
47.5
9.9
5.8
7.2
.9
1.3
8.7
14. 4
3 8
9.7
11.7
16.8
1 7
4.2
6.1
5.7
7.Ü
9.1
Jan.
15,
1919.
Feb.
15,
1919.
1913
1914
10.3
6.5
72
14.7
27.6
14.5
14.8
23
40
4.8
23.3
20.4
19. 7
19.7
10.4
Feb.
15.
1919.
Cts.
1917
1918
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
27.5
23 4
21 3
17 0
12 4
21 0
24 3
28 6
20 7
22.6
38.0
36 O
29 6
25 7
20 2
37 8
48 5
47 3
34 6
39 1
28* 7
14.0
51.4
48 4
40 9
34 9
23 8
4=i 9
55 3
58 3
44 5
45 4
34 2
17.0
16.7
78.4
38 2
35.7
46 2
33 9
33 8
78.3
63.0
10.0
6.2
5 5
14 2
24.2
14, 2
14 5
3 1
33
3.6
18.6
20.7
20. 7
17.4
10.4
9.0
9.0
30.0
28 2
24 8
20 4
16 2
28 6
29 2
32 5
29 6
29 0
18 0
10.0
44.0
37.6
49.6
60.5
14.4
14.8
31 6
21.4
35 7
33.6
26.3
20.5
5.5
3.7
2.5
35.6
53.8
5.6
3.7
2.5
8.0
5.6
3.2
67.1
61. 7
8.5
6.9
6.3
15
1.9
9 6
15 2
53
13.6
12 7
19 6
3 6
5.0
!
5.2
Jan.
15,
1919.
4.8
8.6
8.9
50.0
47 5
9
33 9
9.3 3
44 4
59 6
58 1
42 5
45 3
34 4
17.0
16 9
60.2
37 4
35 8
43 7
31 8
33 3
40
5 3 .9
10 .0
6 .7
5 2
14 1
24 4
14 0
13 7
30
3 8
4.1
17.3
2 0 .6
20 .3
18.4
10.2
M ONTHLY LAB OK REVIEW.
[1046]
Sirloin steak.......................................
Round steak......................................
Rib roast.............................................
Chuck roast........................................
Plate beef............................................
Pork chops.........................................
Bacon, sliced......................................
Ham, sliced........................................
Lamb...................................................
Hens....................................................
Salmon, canned................................
Milk, fresh..........................................
Milk, evaporated 1............................
Butter..................................................
Oleomargarine...................................
Nut margarine...................................
Cheese..................................................
Lard.....................................................
Crisco...................................................
Eggs, strictly fresh...........................
Eggs, storage......................................
Bread...................................................
Flour....................................................
Corn meal...........................................
Corn flakes.........................................
Cream of W heat................................
Rice......................................................
Beans, navy.......................................
Potatoes...'........................................
Onions.................................................
Cabbage..............................................
Beans, baked.....................................
Corn, canned......................................
Peas, canned.....................................
Tomatoes, canned............................
Sugar, granulated.............................
Unit.
Seattle, Wash.
100
AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF TOE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF FOOD FOR FE B . 15,1013, 1914,, 1917,1918,1919, AND JAN. 15,1919, FOR 19 CITIES—Concluded.
Tea........................................................
Coffee...................................................
Prunes.................................................
Kaisins.................................................
Bananas...............................................
Oranges...............................................
1Unsweetened
215-16 ounce can.
51.7
31.7
12.4
13.5
54.3
30.1
14.2
12.8
57.2
34.1
17.5
14.5
35.0
49.0
8Baked weight.
56.9
36.4
18.4
14.7
36.7
50.9
50.0
32.6
13.0
13.1
■8-ounce packago.
56.4
31.2
14.6
14.7
62.7
35.4
18.9
15.4
46.1
59.5
62.6
36.4
19.3
15.6
45.0
52.8
8 28-ounce package.
53.2
29.4
15.0
13.9
63.7
29.3
17.5
15.6
75.9
33.5
22.4
16.0
40.5
48.8
77.1
34.4
22.2
15.9
40.8
48.8
8 No. 2 can.
1047 ]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
[
101
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
.. .do.......
.. .do.......
.. .do.......
. ..d o .......
Dozen...
. ..d o .......
Bridgeport,
Conn.
1048 ]
Unit.
Sirloin steak........................
Round steak........................
Rib roast..............................
Chuck roast.........................
Plate b e e f..
Pork chops..........................
Bacon, sliced.......................
Ham, sliced.........................
Lam b....................................
H ens......................................
Salmon, canned..................
Milk, fresh............................
Milk, evaporated1...............
Butter...................................
Oleomargarine....................
Nut margarine....................
Cheese...................................
Lard......................................
Crisco............
Eggs, strictly fresh............
Eggs s to r a g e
Bread...... ............................
Flour.....................................
Commeal..............................
Com flakes..........................
Cream of W heat.................
Rice.......................................
Beans, n avy.........................
Potatoes.. .........................
Onions..................................
Cabbage................................
Beans,'baked.......................
Corn, canned.......................
Peas, canned.......................
Tomatoes, canned..............
Sugar, granulated...............
Tea.........................................
Coflee ....................................
Prunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ___
Raisins........... .....................
Bananas.. . . . . . . . . . . . . ___
O r a n g e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........
Pound..
. .. d o ___
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Quart. ..
(2)
Pound. .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
(5)
Pound.
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Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Jan
1919
Feb.
1919
Charleston, Cincinnati, Columbus,
Ohio.
Ohio.
S. C.
Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
52.1
50.5
38.6
33.0
21.4
40.9
62.5
62.9
38.5
42.8
37.2
16.0
16.4
69.7
39.2
36.1
42.5
32.2
33.4
89.9
61. 9
10.0
6. 6
7.4
13.8
24.0
14.3
16.4
3.4
4.3
4.4
18.7
21.3
21.0
19.1
10.6
66.7
35. 4
20.9
16.8
36.3
48.0
51.4
48.6
38.6
32.5
22.2
37.1
58.9
59.6
37.4
41.1
37.1
16.0
16.6
57.0
38.2
35.9
42.5
30.6
33.0
67.7
50.5
10.0
6.3
7.5
13.7
24.0
14.0
15. 5
3.3
4.4
4.3
17.3
21.5
21.2
18.9
10.5
67.1
35.9
21.5
16.5
35.6
48.4
38.2
33.9
30.2
25.1
18.0
42.0
66.3
57.9
35.5
39.3
38.9
15.5
17.5
70.7
36.0
33.2
28.6
24.1
16.9
36.2
61.7
52.5
32.1
38.4
40.5
15.5
17.1
53.5
43.0
41.0
43.6
32.1
36.7
49.5
38.5
39.2
32.5
27.3
22.5
47.1
64.5
54.6
41.1
46.3
31.4
20.0
17.3
73.4
42.0
40.3
46.3
35.9
34.0
76.5
67.6
10.0
7.1
5.1
14.8
25.0
12.5
17.9
3.8
4.7
4 .G
19.2
22.3
22.7
16.1
10.7
73.7
33.0
21.5
16.6
40.8
44.4
37.7
36.8
32.0
26.4
21.4
40.6
58.3
52.1
40.0
47.1
30.5
21.0
17.3
58.5
41.5
40.3
42.4
33.9
34.1
55.3
35.2
34.2
29.5
24.8
21.9
35.5
54.6
54.0
32.8
39.5
29.5
14.0
15.6
74.0
38.1
35.9
45.5
29.6
32.5
68.4
55.0
9.8
6.4
5.3
13.5
25.2
14.1
13.6
3.3
3.7
3.4
17.3
18.1
17.3
16.3
10.5
68.7
32.6
19.2
16.8
38.1
39.4
35.5
34.1
30.3
24.6
22.7
35.1
52.6
52.7
34.0
41.9
29.2
14.0
15.5
54.9
37.8
35.1
38.9
28.6
31.9
44.0
46.4
33.9
37.6
90.0
66.7
10.0
6.9
8.2
14.7
31.7
14.1
15.3
2.1
4.4
4.0
25.6
20.0
19.8
20.0
11.9
80.0
42.2
17.8
15.3
46.3
52.2
1Ò.0
6.8
7.7
13.9
30.0
12.7
13.5
1.9
3.9
5.6
23.3
IS. 9
19.1
19.0
11.9
76.8
44.5
18.1
15.5
46.7
49.1
10.0
7.1
5.0
14.9
25.0
12.5
16.4
3.8
4.9
4.6
18.3
22.0
22.7
15.7
10.6
74.7
35.7
22.6
16.6
40.0
45.0
9.7
6.3
5.1
13.3
24.9
13.6
11.6
3.3
3.6
3.3
16.8
17.8
17.0
15.6
10.5
67.9
34.8
19.9
16.0
34.0
38.9
Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Dallas,
Tex.
Jan.
1919
Cts.
Cts.
37.8
36.0
31.7
27. 5
21.5
38.1
55.0
55.8
35.0
37.0
28.9
15.0
15.7
76.4
38.3
35.1
44.0
31.3
32.9
67.7
55.7
9.6
6.3
5.7
14.3
25.9
13.1
12.8
3.0
3.7
4.2
17.7
15.8
16.1
14.8
11.0
82.2
35.7
21.9
14.9
38.3
49.4
Cts.
37.8
36.3
31.6
27.9
22.3
33.8
50.6
53.6
30.7
36.4
30.0
15.0
15.9
55.5
37.8
35.0
41.3
29.6
31.9
42.4
39.6
38.2
34.0
29.9
25.0
43.0
67.3
57.3
40.0
33.6
32.1
19.0
16.5
69.3
38.3
39.0
45.9
35.5
34.4
75.3
9.5
6.6
5.7
14.3
26.5
12.8
11.8
3.4
4.3
4.2
18.3
16.2
16.5
15.3
10.7
82.7
36.5
21.2
15.1
38.2
44.8
10.0
6.9
6.7
15.8
25.7
13.3
16.0
3.7
5.3
5.5
22.8
20.9
21.7
18.1
11.3
78.3
38.3
19.8
17.1
38.9
51.4
Feb.
1919
Fall River,
Mass.
Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Houston,
Tex.
Jan. Feb.
1919 1919
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
42. S
41.8
35.8
32.4
26.8
38.5
62.2
56.9
43.6
33.3
31.6
19.0
16.3
56.2
36.8
38.6
42.2
34.5
33.4
40.6
58.3
50.4
35.1
28.4
59.5
50.0
35.6
29.5
38.8
55.1
54.9
36.0
44.3
31.0
16.0
15.6
70.7
37.7
36.9
40.0
31.9
32.4
89.9
62.6
10.0 10.0
7.0
6.7
6.4
7.1
15. S 14.6
25.6 24.7
13.5 13.5
14.7 15.4
3.4
3.3
5.1
4.3
4.9
4.0
21.4 19.0
20.6 20.8
20.4 19.7
17.8 20.2
11.2 10.8
78.1 61.3
39.3 35.0
20.9 19.3
17.1 16. 4
36.7 33.6
47.8 49.3
35.3
51.9
53.7
36.2
44.2
31.3
16.0
15.6
55.5
38.8
35.6
40.9
30.8
31.8
73.9
50.0
10.0
6.7
7.4
14.7
25.3
13.4
13.9
3.2
4.6
4.1
18.3
20.3
19.6
18.9
10.8
62.1
37.2
18.4
15.8
2S.8
40.9
36.3
35.2
28.3
26.3
24.6
41.7
68.3
51.7
38.3
35.0
31.2
19.8
17.3
74.2
39.2
38.8
45.0
34.0
33.0
68.5
60.8
9.1
6.9
6.2
14.6
24.8
12,4
16.2
3.8
4.6
4.6
20.2
19.3
19.7
15.5
10.9
57.6
32.4
19.0
17.2
34.0
55.0
37.9
38.2
30.8
27.9
24.8
37.4
63.2
52.8
38.8
38.5
31.3
19.7
16.5
56.4
39.3
38.3
37.5
30.9
32.0
39.0
8.8
7.0
5.9
14.4
24.7
12.0
14.7
3.3
4.8
3.6
19.7
18.6
19.6
14.6
10.8
60.7
32.9
19.7
17.3
31.7
45.2
Ind;anapolis, Ind
Jan
1919
Cts.
36.5
36.6
28.2
25.6
21.2
37.9
55.7
57.4
37.5
33.3
27.1
14.0
16.8
74.8
40.4
36.7
46.4
32.4
30.7
68.3
56.3
9.9
6.5
5.4
14.4
25.1
14.5
13.6
3.0
4.1
4.5
19.5
19.4
17.9
17.1
11.0
83.3
37.0
18.5
17.5
28.5
49.5
Feb.
1919
Cts.
37.0
36.4
27.6
26.2
20.6
37.1
52.8
55.1
45.0
34.1
26.4
13.7
16.6
53.3
40.3
35.9
40.6
31.7
33.5
44.5
9.9
6.6
5.3
14.4
25.2
14.2
11.1
2.7
4.3
4.4
19.4
19.4
17.9
17.6
11.0
83.1
37.9
18.3
17.8
26.2
45.9
Jackson
ville, Fla.
Jan.
1919
Feb.
1919
Cts.
Cts.
42. 2
39.7
33.3
28.7
21.1
41.6
61.6
54.7
35.8
44.1
30.5
18.0
15.5
77.5
41.8
38.3
46.9
35.5
33.4
79.1
65. 0
10.0
7.2
5. 4
14.4
25.4
12.8
16.2
4.0
5.3
5.7
18.7
22.5
22.7
16.7
11.0
81.1
38.5
21.0
17.9
35.0
36.7
41.1
38.6
31.2
27.8
20.9
38.6
58.1
54.6
35.4
39.1
30.8
18.0
16.7
62.3
40.8
38.3
42.5
33.3
33.8
49.1
40.0
10.0
7.1
5.1
14.4
25.5
12.4
15.3
3.8
5.4
5.3
19.3
21.5
21.5
15.6
10.9
81.4
40.5
21.6
18.3
33.3
40.5
Kansas City
Mo.
Jan. Feb.
1919 1919
Cts.
Cts.
37.8
34.6
27.9
24.0
19.8
36.5
60.9
55.3
32.5
33.8
32.7
16.0
17.2
73.2
38.1
35.3
46.3
35.2
35.4
71.2
59.0
9.3
6.4
6.3
14.9
25.5
13.8
15.6
3.2
4.7
4.7
16.5
18.0
18.2
17.9
11.3
77.5
33.9
18.5
17.7
43.3
59.7
37.3
35.0
27.4
24.5
20.4
33.6
58.3
54.4
33.6
34.4
32.7
16.0
17.6
55.6
38.1
35.1
40.7
34.5
35.2
45.4
9.3
6.4
6.4
14.9
25.0
13.4
14.0
2.8
4.7
4.4
16.6
17.8
17.7
17.4
11.3
79.7
37.1
19.0
18.2
41.4
52.3
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
[
Article.
Butte.
Mont.
102
RETAIL PRICES OE THE PR IN C IPA L ARTICLES OF FOOD FOR 31 SELECTED CITIES ON JAN. 15 AND FE B . 15, 1919.
Article.
Unit.
1049 ]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Minneapo
lis, Minn.
Newark,
N. J.
Mobile,
Ala.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
40.8
3S.3
35.2
27.9
23.5
39.0
00.8
53.3
35.0
34.1
30.1
18.5
17.2
72.9
39.9
39.0
47.4
34.5
33.5
69.6
41.3
38.8
34.2
28.7
24.1
38.3
60.0
53.3
40.0
34.7
30.5
18.5
16.3
54.3
39.4
40.0
40.5
33.2
34.4
43.5
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
37.7
36.2
31.3
27.8
23.5
38.3
59.9
55.4
38.8
40.3
3Q.4
15.0
15.1
76.1
40.8
36.0
48.6
32.1
32.6
68.3
37.7
36.2
31.3
27.6
23.1
34.9
57.9
53.8
40.0
41.3
30.4
15.0
15.2
56.8
40.6
35.0
39.9
30.2
32.4
43.2
55.8
49.8
34.0
30.4
53.6
48.1
33.2
29.8
35.0
34.7
31.6
27.3
24.8
46.9
60.6
52.9
34.6
40.6
29.0
18.3
16.6
764
42.3
35.3
35.1
30.7
25.8
22.7
41.0
62.5
55.0
36.1
39.4
30.9
IS. 3
17.6
59.3
41.0
9.8
6.8
4.9
135
25.4
13.6
14.8
2.7
3.9
4.1
18.1
19.4
19.1
16.3
10.9
SO. 6
34.9
18.1
17 2
38.3
40.8
9.8
6.8
4.9
13.8
25.3
13.3
13.9
2.4
4.1
4.9
17.6
19.6
19.2
15.6
10.8
79.0
37.0
19.7
35.7
36.7
41.2
31.5
30.0
25.9
22.3
17.4
35.7
57.5
52.2
29.5
32.6
36.9
13.0
14.9
65.7
37.1
32.8
43.2
31.9
33.6
60.6
50.4
92
6.2
5.6
15.0
25.1
13.8
12.6
2.3
2.7
2.6
20.4
15.2
16.0
16.4
11.1
60.0
35.4
20.6
15.1
40.0
55.4
33.5
31.4
28.1
23.9
18.7
33.9
43.3
52.5
31.6
33.7
36.7
13.0
15.0
50.8
36.4
31.8
35.5
31.0
33-2
41.8
10.0
6.9
5.4
14.8
25.0
13.0
13.8
3.4
5.0
5.2
20.3
19.4
19.1
17.6
10.9
80.8
39-2
17.2
18.0
35.6
56.7
35.5
51.0
49.1
37.2
43.8
30.9
15.0
18.1
59.7
38.2
35.2
40.1
31.9
33.8
63.5
51.8
93
6.7
7.5
15.0
25.0
13.1
14.0
2.7
4.1
3.5
19.5
22.2
21.2
22.8
10.7
62.7
398
19.5
16.5
32.5
46.9
39.2
36.7
30.9
26.8
23.0
35.7
57.8
51.5
36.9
34.0
33.7
18.0
16.5
58.9
41.3
40.0
39.1
32.8
32.8
43.7
10.0
6.7
38.2
54.4
54.2
38.0
46.6
30.8
15.4
17.5
75.1
38.4
36.0
39.8
33.0
33.8
87.3
62.5
9.3
6.9
7.5
15.0
24.8
13.5
14.9
31
3.9
2.8
20.6
22.3
20.9
21.9
10.7
63.3
37.3
18.9
16.5
39.2
36.8
30.0
26-6
22.5
38.1
62.5
55.0
35.6
34.5
35.4
18.0
16.5
75.9
41.8
41.3
47.4
33.9
31.7
66.5
60.0
10.0
7.0
5.5
47.2
33.7
33.6
74.2
68.3
9.7
7.1
5.7
14.6
25.3
12.7
15.8
4.1
4.8
4.7
19.6
19.4
18.9
14.9
10.7
42.3
33.7
34.0
48.6
47.5
9.7
7.2
5.9
14.7
25.3
12.9
15.7
4.1
4.7
4.8
19.8
20.0
19.6
15.2
10.9
73.3
34.2
21.4
20.0
30.0
45.7
47.7
48.2
37.1
34.0
25.6
41.8
53.6
60.0
41.8
42.3
36.0
15.0
15.4
77.9
39.8
35.9
42.6
34.1
32.0
85.5
60.0
9. 7
6.7
6.8
12.7
23.9
14.4
15.2
4.0
4.9
3.6
16.6
21.9
19.5
28.5
10.1
58.6
34.2
21.4
15.4
38-3
53.1
47.3
47.6
40.2
33.8
25.3
39.4
49.9
55.0
40.3
41.6
34.7
18.0
15.5
61.4
39.6
36.0
43.5
32.8
32.2
63.8
54.0
9.8
6.8
6.9
12.8
23.8
14.2
13.8
3-9
5.1
3.9
16.8
21.9
19.8
17.5
10.0
59.2
34.4
21.8
15.5
37.7
50.0
14.8
25.5
13.1
14.9
3.4
4.7
4.7
20.0
19.8
19.9
17.7
10.9
86.3
38.3
16.0
17.9
38.5
54.5
2 15-16 ounce can.
52.9
3 Baked weight.
24.5
13.0
15.2
3.4
4.4
4.0
19.9
19.5
18.1
15.8
10.8
82.8
37.4
21.3
17.7
35.4
46.4
10.0
7.2
5.1
14.5
24.5
12.3
13.5
3.1
4.6
4.2
19.6
18.7
18.2
15.1
10.8
83.1
38.3
20.8
16.8
33.8
45.2
9.2
6.2
5.3
14.3
25.2
13.6
9.8
2.4
3-2
2.8
18.6
16.3
15.4
16.3
11.0
58.9
38.6
22.2
15.2
35.6
46.0
48-ounoe package.
30.9
20.7
19.7
33.0
42.2
New Ha
ven, Conn.
Çis.
Cts.
51.5
39.5
33.9
55.3
49.5
38.4
33.6
39.0
61.2
61.1
40.2
44.4
37.4
16.0
15.8
69.6
39.6
37.2
42.6
33.7
34.4
93.3
59.5
10.2
6.5
7.7
14.1
24.6
14.4
16.0
3.4
5.2
4.2
19.2
20.9
21.2
18.3
10.5
64.3
36.0
23.0
16.4
34.3
59.7
36.5
57.9
58.4
40.1
41.4
34.3
16.0
15-7
57.2
39.3
36.6
42.9
31.7
34.0
68.5
49.0
10.0
6.3
7.8
14.1
24.6
14.3
15.2
3.2
4.8
4.3
18.9
21.5
21.8
18.3
10.3
64.3
38.5
24.4
16.4
33-8
53.5
628-ounce package.
Cts.
46.8
42.2
39.5
31.9
22.9
40.3
57.8
50.0
41.4
43.7
32.2
18.0
17.3
73.5
43.3
39.5
44.9
35-6
34.3
73.4
63.3
9.9
6.9
6.0
14.9
25.5
15.1
16.0
3 2
5.2
5.6
18.1
22.4
22.3
19.1
10.7
84.4
36.9
22.6
16.4
36.7
43.8
Cts.
46.7
42.0
37.2
31.3
22.8
36.2
56.6
42.2
43.2
46.2
34.1
18.0
16.8
62.3
43.8
39.5
41.2
34.5
33.6
49.8
9-9
6.9
5.6
14.0
24.8
14.2
14.3
3.0
5.2
5.0
15.2
23.4
22.9
16.4
10.4
84.4
39.9
21.3
16.1
35.8
48.6
«No. 2 can.
Cts.
Cts.
37.2
37.0
35.3
28.3
25.0
18.8
33.3
58.4
55.0
29.4
33.9
31.4
150
17.0
52.5
39.5
36.2
39.5
33.5
33.6
44.7
28.4
24.9
f8 .6
36.8
60.3
55.6
32.1
33.1
32-5
14.8
17.5
72.6
40.2
36.0
45.3
34.3
32.9
70.8
59.3
10.0
6.3
5.6
14.8
25.4
14.1
14.2
2.7
3.8
3.9
21.6
19.3
20.1
18.4
11.0
71.4
37.4
20.9
17.5
45.0
57.0
10. Ó
6.3
5.9
14.7
25.4
14.1
13.3
2.6
4.2
4.2
21.8
18.5
19.7
18.0
10.8
72.6
38.3
20.8
17.2
40.0
49-2
103
'U nsweetened.
Norfolk,
Omaha,
Va.
Nehr.
Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., •Tan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan.. Feb.,
1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919.
Memphis,
Tenn.
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
[
Sirloin ste a k ............................................ P ound___
Round steak............................... ............. __d o ...........
Rib roast....................................... ........... __d o ...........
Chuck roast.............................................. __d o ...........
Plate beef................................................ __d o ...........
Pork chops............................................... __d o ...........
Bacon, sliced........................................... . . .d o ..........
Ham, sliced.............................................. __d o ...........
L am b......................................................... __d o ...........
H ens.......................................................... . . .d o ..........
__d o ...........
Salmon, canned..............................
Milk, fresh................................................ Quart........
Milk, evaporated 1..................................
(s)
B utter....................................................... Pound___
Oleomargarine........... ............................ . . .d o ..........
Nut margarine........................................ __d o ...........
Cheese........................................................ __d o ...........
__d o ...........
Lard.....................
Crisco......................................................... __d o ...........
Eggs, strictly fresh................................. Dozen.......
__d o ...........
Eggs, storage............
Bread........................................................ Pound 3. ..
Flour.......................................................... Pound___
Corn m eal................................................. __d o ...........
Corn flakes..............................................
(«)
Cream of W heat.....................................
(s)
Rice............................................................ P ou n d .__
__d o ...........
Beans, n avy...............
Potatoes.................................................... . . .d o ..........
. . .d o ..........
Onions.......................
__d o ...........
Cabbage........................
Beans, baked...........................................
c6)
Corn, canned...........................................
(«)
Peas, canned........................................... . (6)
Tomatoes, canned..................................
(«)
Sugar, granulated.................................. Pound---T ea............................................................. . . . d o ..........
Coffee......................................................... . . .d o ..........
Prunes...................................................... .. .d o ..........
Raisins...................................................... .. .d o ..........
Bananas.................................................... Dozen.......
.. .d o ..........
Oranges..........
Little Rock, Louisville, Manchester,
Ark.
N. H.
Ky.
Peoria, 111.
Article.
Unit.
1Unsweetened.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
215-16 ounce can.
Portland,
Oreg.
Providence, Richmond,
R. I.
Va.
Rochester,
N. Y .
St. Paul,
Minn.
Salt Lake
City, Utah.
Scranton,
Pa.
Springfield,
111.
Jan., Feb. Jan.. Feb. Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb., Jan., Feb.,
1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919. 1919.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
34.9
34.1
26.7
24.5
19.1
35.4
59.0
55. 7
34.2
33. 2
30. 9
11.9
17.6
70.2
40. 3
37. 9
45. 7
34.3
34.2
69.8
58.8
10.0
6.9
6. 2
14.9
25.1
13.9
15.0
2. 7
4.6
4. 1
19.5
17.3
18.7
17.1
11.2
69.0
35.6
21.9
16. 4
10. 2
58.2
42.1
33.3
26.5
24.4
19.4
33.1
57.9
58.3
50.5
34.3
29. 6
41. 1
55.5
56.8
35.5 36. 7
34. 0 44. 8
30.5 29. 9
11.9 16.0
18.0 15.6
54.1 74.5
39. 9 39.1
38.3 35.8
40.6 41.4
32.1 33.5
33.2 34.4
40.0 88.1
62.5
10.0 10.0
7.0
6.6
6.0
6. 7
14.9 13.8
26.2 25.1
14.0 13.7
13.8 15. 0
2.7
3.1
4.6
3.6
4.4
2.4
19.6 21.3
17.2 21.8
19.0 20.4
16.1 21.6
11.1 10.6
71.4 64.0
36.2 35.5
21.0 19.3
16. 8 15.4
79.6 36.9
47.5 64.2
Cts.
58.1
49.7
33. 9
29.3
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
32.8
31.4
29.1
24. 2
18.9
42. 9
58. 7
33.6
31.6
29. 9
23. 9
19. 2
41.1
57.3
54.9
34.6
40.3
32. 7
15.5
16.1
56.2
41.5
38.0
42. 8
34. 2
35.7
49.8
66.1
53.9
42.5
38.2
65.6
53.1
42.5
36.5
42. 4
55.7
62.5
42.0
44. 8
35.6
16.5
16.4
72.9
38. 9
34.1
39. 9
33.5
33. 9
88.5
60.5
10.0
6.6
6.5
14.1
24.1
13.8
15.1
3.3
3.8
3.2
18.5
20.0
19.9
19.4
10.6
62.7
38.4
20.5
15.3
35.0
56.1
41. 2
52.7
60.9
41. 2
43. 6
35.2
16.4
16.3
57.3
36.9
33.6
40.7
32.4
34. 7
69.9
47.8
10.0
6. 5
6.1
13.9
24.3
13.3
13.5
2.9
4. 1
3.7
17.6
19.4
19.7
18.7
10.6
62.5
40.0
20.1
15.5
35.0
52.2
44.9
41.7
36.1
40.1
26.1
44. 0
57.1
52.6
43.0
44. 2
28. 7
15.7
15.5
79.2
40.7
38. 8
43. 8
34.9
34.1
73.0
63.3
10.0
6.8
5.9
14.9
25.0
14.9
16.4
3.4
5.1
4.6
18.7
20.4
21.5
18.6
11.0
79.2
32. 9
19.6
16.0
40.0
44.6
36.6
52.4
54.8
36.1 32.4
43.3 42.1
29. 9 36. 9
16.0 15.6
15.9 16.9
60.2 72.8
39. 0 43. 7
35. 6 39.9
41. 9 48. 6
31.9 35.0
33.6 35. 8
62.6 72. 0
56. 7 61.0
10.0
9.9
9.8
6.4
6.6
6.7
6.6
7.5
7.3
13.8 15.0 14.7
25.1 28.3 28.9
14.0 14.2 13.8
13.4 13.5 12. 7
2. 8
2.4
2. 2
4.1
3.3
3. 3
4. 2
2.5
4.7
21.9 25.0 24.3
21.6 20.8 20.8
19.9 20.4 21.0
20.6 17.9 18.6
10.5 10.8 10.8
64.7 60.8 62.3
37.5 36.3 38.0
20.3 15.5 14.8
15.2 15.6 15.6
35.0 44.4 43.5
55.4 56.7 53.3
Baked weight.
48-ounce package.
Cts.
Cts.
44.4 39.3
41.8 37.9
35. 2 31. 8
31.6 29.8
25.6 22.9
36.8 48. 8
51.1 50.4
49.0 55.8
40.7 33.8
42. 9 43.5
28.4 30.9
15.5 15.0
16.5
61.7 73.8
40.4 40.1
37.8 34.4
43.1 41. 7
33.5 33. 2
33.3 32.9
49.9 83.4
61.0
10.0 10.0
6.5
6.8
6.4
5.7
14.6 13.9
24.8 23.9
14.7 14.3
15.3 14. 2
3.3
2.7
5.2
3.1
4.7
3.7
16.9 17.9
20.0 21.6
21.2 19.5
18.2 20.3
10.9 10.6
78.9 60.4
35.5 33.3
18.9 20.8
16.1 15.2
41.5 37.3
44.6 60.5
39.2
37.3
32.2
29.8
30.2
38.1
49.6
51.6
35.7
43. 7
30.9
14.0
16.8
57.6
40.8
33.5
40.9
32.5
32.8
54.3
Cts.
10.0
6.5
6. 3
13.6
24.3
14.0
13.4
2.5
3.4
4.5
16.4
21.4
19.2
19.7
10.4
61.1
34.4
21.2
15.1
39.8
47.3
Cts.
Cts.
Cts.
35.4
31.6
29.0
25.4
19.3
35.8
56.3
54.6
29.6
35.1
31.6
13.7
15.0
69.7
38. 5
35.0
44.2
33.1
34.3
65.1
51.7
8.7
6.3
6.0
13.2
26.0
14.1
13. 0
2. 2
3.0
3.3
20.9
18.9
17.2
18.7
11.2
58.5
35.4
20.2
15.2
46.3
57.3
36.4
31.9
29.2
26.0
18.6
32.0
53.3
52.5
29.8
33.7
31.7
13.0
14.9
51.9
37.9
33.9
38.0
31.7
34.3
41.4
30.7
8.6
6.3
6.0
14.8
25.8
14.0
11.8
2.1
3.3
3.5
20.2
17.9
16.8
18.8
11.1
58.3
36.3
19.4
15.4
40.0
45.4
34.0
32.7
28.0
24.3
18.8
42.3
61.7
53.8
31. 6
35.2
34.2
12.5
17.3
70.3
40.0
39.2
44.2
37.6
36.8
75.4
61.7
10.2
5.6
7.6
14.8
25.7
13.8
14. 7
2.2
4.5
6 28-ounce package.
20.0
18.5
18.3
16.8
11.4
67.4
37.0
16.2
15.0
44.4
59.3
Cts.
Cts.
34.1
32.7
27.9
24.0
18.7
40.5
60.0
52.3
32.8
35.7
32.7
12.5
16.6
54.4
40.0
39.3
38.3
34.5
36.1
48.1
40.0
10.0
5. 6
7.5
14.8
25.7
13.7
14.2
2.1
4.6
5.2
20.4
18.3
17.9
15.7
11.4
68.0
40.4
17.5
15.2
45.7
48.8
47.1
43.2
38.2
32.6
23.2
43.8
62.7
60.6
39.5
45.3
32.4
15.0
15.7
70.6
39.3
36.2
41.8
34.0
33.5
78.6
6 No. 2 can.
10.0
6.9
7.0
14.0
23.8
13.5
16.2
2.8
4.1
3.5
17.5
20.5
18.5
20.2
10.7
63.5
35.4
18.8
14.5
33.3
50.5
Cts.
Cts.
46.5 34.4
42.3 33.8
38. 0 28.4
31.8 24.9
22.8 20.4
39.8 37.9
60.0 55.6
58.9 50.8
40.3 35.8
45.1 30.0
32.2 32.7
14.0 14.3
15.2 17.4
56.9 75.6
38.9 41.4
35.5 37.4
41.4 47.8
32.3 33.9
33.4 35.2
57.0 72.3
45.0 59.2
10.0 10.0
6.5
7.0
6.4
6.5
14.1 14.9
24.7 27.6
13.2 13.9
15.4 14.3
3.2
2.7
4.1
4.2
3.6
4.0
16.5 19.1
20.3 17.7
18.1 17.8
18.9 18.7
10.6 11.0
64.6 79.5
36.3 33.9
19.5 17.8
14.7 17.7
31.8 42.5
45.9 58.6
7 Per pound.
Cts.
33.1
33.1
27.8
24.9
20.4
34.3
53.8
49.1
35.4
32.0
32.0
14.3
17.4
56.0
40. 2
37.4
41.0
32.2
34.4
42.3
10.0
6.7
6.6
14.7
26.8
13.8
13.8
3.9
4.2
19.3
17.6
18.0
17.6
10.9
80.0
36.3
18.6
17.2
36.0
49.3
M O N T H L Y LABOR REVIEW ,
[1050]
Sirloin steak............................................. P o u n d ... .
Round steak............................................ . . .do...........
Rib roast................................................... .. .do...........
Chuck roast.............................................. .. .do...........
Plate beef.................................................. .. .do...........
Pork chops............................................... .. .do...........
Bacon, sliced............................................ .. .do...........
Ham, sliced.............................................. . . .do...........
L am b........................................................ . . .do...........
Hens.......................................................... __do...........
Salmon, canned...................................... __do...........
Milk, fresh................................................ Quart........
(2)
Milk, evaporated1.................................
B u tter... T................................................. Pound___
Oleomargarine......................................... .. .do...........
N ut margarine........................................ .. .do...........
Cheese........................................................ __do...........
Lard........................................................... . . .do...........
Crisco......................................................... . . .do...........
Eggs, strictly fresh................................. Dozen.......
Eggs’, storage............................................ .. .do...........
Bread........................................................ Pound 3. . .
Flour......................................................... Pound___
Corn meal................................................. __do...........
Corn flakes...............................................
c)
Cream of W heat......................................
Rice............................................................ Pound___
Beans, navy............................................. __do...........
Potatoes...'........................................
.. .do...........
Onions....................................................... .. .do...........
Cabbage.................................................... .. .do...........
BeansTbaked...........................................
(c>
Corn, canned...........................................
(6)
Peas, canned...........................................
C)
Tomatoes, canned..................................
(b
Sugar, granulated.................................. Pound___
'lea.................................
. . .do...........
Coffee.................................
__do...........
Prunes.............................
.. .do...........
Raisins..........
. . . d o ..........
Bananas.................................................... D o zen ___
Oranges..............
. . . d o ..........
Portland,
Me.
104
R ETA IL PRICES OF THE PRIN C IPA L ARTICLES OF FOOD FOR 31 SELECTED CITIES ON JAN. 15 AND FE B . 15, 1919—Concluded.
105
M O N T H L Y LABOE EEVIEW .
RETAIL PRICES OF DRY GOODS IN THE UNITED STATES.
The following table gives the average retail prices of 10 articles of
dry goods for May 15 and October 15, 1918, and for February 15,
1919. The averages given are based on the retail prices of only
standard brands.
AVERAGE R E TA IL PRICES OE 10 ARTICLES OF D R Y GOODS ON MAY 15 AN D OCT. 15,
1918, AN D ON F E B . 15, 1919.
Atlanta, Ga.
Article.
Unit.
1918
1918
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
15,
15,
15,
Oct. 1919. May Oct. 1919. May Oct. 1919.
15.
15.
15.
15.
15.
Per yard. $0.200 80.250
SO. 235 SO. 350 $0.215 $0.210 $0.210 $0 177
__do......... .299 . 400 $0.384 .316 .409 .361 .305 .370 .310
...d o ......... .267 .320 .274 .276 .292 .253 .258 .279 .260
__do.........
.306 .383 .369 .290 .394 .323 .287 .413 .358
.521 .543
.521 .472
__do.........
.503 .518
.. .do......... .321 .338
280 .345 .384 .289 .250 .331 .263
.. .do......... .730 .788 .744 .798 .890 .809 .639 .698 .672
Per sheet. 1.964 2.004 1.935 2.077 2.268 1.899 1.594 1.838 1.742
Per yard. .306 .377 .337 .300 .392 .298 .287 .349 .355
.. .do.........
.750 .750
.945 .945
.990
Perpair..
4.792 5.490 .......... 5.938 5.175
5.310 5.475
Boston, Mass.
Calico, 24 to 25 in ch ............................
Percale ..............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.........
Gingham, dress, 27-inch.....................
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.....................
Muslin, bleached............... :.................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4......................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.............
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch...........
Blankets, cotton, 66 t?y 80.................
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Buffalo. N. Y.
Charleston, S. C.
Chicago, 111.
Per yard. $0.150 80.168 $0.174 $0.220 $0.253 $0.159 $0.183 $0.246 $0.195
.350 .310
.300 .329 .330 .338 .388 .356
__do.........
...d o ......... .250 .250 .250 .258 .286 .228 .250 .268 .212
...d o ......... .317 .363 .310 .326 .350 .333 .343 .363 .323
.614 .626
.533 .400
.413 .428
__do.........
.333 . 363 .313 .303 .312 .275 .307 .343 .300
__do.........
__d o ........
.839 .808 .670 .831 .745 .822 .801 .762
Per sheet. 2.000 2.242 2.200 1.796 2.016 2.032 2.040 2.140 1.932
Per yard. .250 .349 .317 .318 .368 .294 .349 .364 .353
.900
.do
.850 .925
.650
5.433 5.433
5.990 5.817
5.160
P erpair..
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch.............................
Percale...................................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.........
Gingham, dress, 27-inch.....................
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.....................
Muslin, bleached..................................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4......................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.............
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch...........
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80.................
Bridgeport, Conn.
1
Per yard. $0.197 $0.220 $0.190 $0.147 SO. 190 $0.190 $0.193 $0.263 $0.218
.325 .397 .346 .250 .395 .338 .316 .384 .363
__do.........
...d o ......... .305 .301 .275 .260 .290 .260 .277 .307 .268
.. .do......... .310 .368 .289 .350 .377 .325 .328 .360 .355
__do.........
.504 .516
.544 .529
.579 .578
.. .do......... .309 .378 .302 .290 .357 .280 .328 .346 .288
.. .do......... .751 .834 .798 .723 . 870 .797 .784 .854 .793
Per sheet. 1.950 2.164 2.026 1.668 2.155 1.990 1.925 2.108 1.993
Per vard. .391 .368 .311 .235 .338 .320 .355 .377 .343
1.125 1.000
.. .do.........
.760 . 783
.917 .886
Per pair..
5.650 5.783
6.124 6.194
6.950 4.063
Butte, Mont.
Calico, 24 to 25 in ch ............................
Percale...................................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.........
Gingham, dress, 27-inch.....................
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.....................
Muslin, bleached..................................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4......................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.............
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch...........
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80.................
Birmingham, Ala.
1918
May
15.
Calico, 24 to 25 in cli............................
Percale ..............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.........
Gingham, dress, 27-incli.....................
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.....................
Muslin, bleached..................................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4......................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28inch.............
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch...........
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80.................
Baltimore, Md.
Cleveland, Ohio.
Columbus, Ohio.
Per yard. $0.233 $0.238 $0.194 $0.201 SO.233 SO. 155 SO.196 $0.230 $0.180
__do......... .283 .319 .295 .320 .387 . 315 .336 .383 .348
...d o ......... .253 .270 .254 .267 .307 .227 .250 .307 .285
.. .do......... .290 .314 .298 .300 .352 .297 .350 .371 .368
.592 .566
.545 .430
__do.........
.588 .589
.. .do......... .269 .303 .268 .338 .358 .253 .309 .348 .267
.806 .781
.776
.733
.769
__do
.829
.726 .798 .702
Per sheet. 1.743 1.999 1.901 1.965 2.124 1.650 1.906 2.047 1.919
.424 .341
.361
.362
.304
.343
.388
.3371
.360
Per yard.
1.125
.. .d o ...
1.175
.650 .875
6.567 6.370
Perpair
5.938 5.475
6.400 6.375
[1051]
106
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
AVER A G E R E TA IL PRICES OP 10 ARTICLES OP D R Y GOODS ON MAY 15 A N D OCT. 15,
1918, A N D ON F E B . 15, 1919—Continued.
Dallas, Tex.
Article.
1918
U n it.
May
15.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch.......................
Percale..............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 in c h ...
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...............
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...............
Muslin, bleached............................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90...........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.......
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch___
Blankets, cotton, 66 b y 80--------
Oct.
15.
Feb.
15,
1919.
Per yard. 3.190 $0.190 SO. 170
...d o ......... .363 .373 .357
.. .do......... .266 .290 .277
.. .do......... .310 .316 .284
.520 .510
...d o .........
.. .do......... .304 .350 .301
...d o ......... .727 .835 .863
Per sheet. 1.690 2 .080; 1.883
Per yard. . 240 .373 .303
1.057
.. .do.........
5.435
Per pair..
Jacksonville, Fla.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch........... ........
Percale..........................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...........
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...........
Muslin, bleached............... .........
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.............
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch...
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch..
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80____
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Oct.
15.
1918
Feb.
15, May Oct.
1919. 15.
15.
Feb.
15,
1919.
Houston, Tex.
Indianapolis, Ind.
SO. 203 SO. 188 0.200 SO. 257 50.142
. 350] .400 .314 .368 .328
.268 .270 .245 .304 .228
. 329 .360 .277 .349 .305
.508 .439
.512 .625
.301 .285 .302 .326 .289
.755 .713 .752 .829 .767
1. 883 1. 695 1.688 2.054 1.951
.360 .275 .326 .378 .328
.835 .923
. 615 .670
5.
5. 893
7. 467 6.125
Kansas City, Mo.
Little Rock, Ark.
Louisville, Ky.
Manchester, N. H.
$0.255 $0.207 SO. 180 $0,244 SO.160 0.223 SO.279 $0.161
Per yard.
. .do......... SO. 329 .439 .439 .325 .410 .348 . 305 .398 .358
..d o ......... .280 .350 .263 .263 .299 .248 .300 .284 .261
.. .do____ .297 .400 .371 .322 .403 .401 .353 .353 .318
.513 .492
.583 .559
.549 .538
...d o .........
...d o ......... .339 .360 .317 .292 .341 .263 .334 .355 .275
. . .do......... .740 .812 .769 .689 .778 .739 .777 .834 .734
1.774
Per sheet. 1.944 2.066 1.968 1.818 1.961 2.064 2.101
Per yard. .350 .397 .392 .377 .403 .374 .283 .388 .275
1.285
1.100 1.350
.. .do.........
5.960 6.125
4.926 4.779
5.
6. 417
Per pair..
1
Memphis, Tenn.
Calico, 24 to 25 in c h ............................
Percale......... .............. ...........................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 in c h .____
Gingham, dress, 27-ineh....................
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.....................
Muslin, bleached............... ..................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4......................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch...........
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch_____
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80.................
May
15.
Detroit, Mich.
190 $0. 229 $0. 201 •0.169
Per yard. 0.193 $0.254 50. 180 Ì0. 235 $0. 247
317 .361 .322
..d o ......... .320 .442 .427 .350 .436 .438
. .do......... .300 .314 .290 .295 .316 .273 . 233 .280 .248
. .do......... .343 .368 .350 .326 .390 .386 .285 .325 .291
.495 .468
. 588 .562
.524 .445
..d o .........
.319 .359 .311 .284 .309 .249
. .d o ........ .338 .348 .30
. .do......... .740 .831 .775 .790 .894 .818 .700 .806 .788
Per sheet. 2.003 2. 035 2. 000 1. 760 2.229 1.915 1.708 1.915 1. 759
Per yard. .317 .351 .330 .310 .400 .370 .291 .336 .270
1.125 .764
.890
.775
.. .d o ........
4.910 4.531
6.108 6.480
5.995 6.500
Per pair..
Los Angeles, Calif.
Calico, 24 to 25 in ch ..................... .
Percale............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 ineh..
Gingham, dress, 27-:nch.............
Gingham, dress, 32-inch.............
Muslin, bleached............... ...........
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4...............
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90..........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch___
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch...
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80_____
1918
Per yard. 1.198 SO. 217 SO. 183 $0. 229 $0. 238 SO. 158 50. 210 $ 0 . 202 $0. 227
...d o ......... .330 .358 .338 .450 .490 .467 .326 .392 .336
..d o ......... .225 .250 .233 .300 .342 .250 .268 .287 . 257
. .do......... .310 .325 .330 .350 .360 .389 . 275 .326 .332
.540 .510
...d o .........
.638 .717
.538 .549
..d o ......... .282 .291 .263 .361 .370 .309 . 345 .366 .291
..d o ......... .672 .756 .704 .939 .953 .955 .771 .840 .793
Per sheet. 1.628 1.925 1. 866 2. 39 2. 359 2.377 2.083 2.188 2 .019
Per yard. .276 .340 .404 .390 .396 .408 .320 .361 .336
.. .do------1.025
.979 1. 067
.788 .788
4.696 5.000
Per pair..
5. 950 5.958
6.483 5.920
Fall River, Mass.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch........ ..
Percale..........................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...........
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...........
Muslin, bleached........................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.............
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.......
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch...
Flannel, white, wool, 27-ineh..
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80-----
Denver, Colo.
Milwaukee, Wis. Minneapolis, Minn.
Per yard. 0.235 $0.259 $0.221 SO. 180 SO. 209 50.170 $0.183 SO. 226 SO. 156
...d o ......... .333 .424 .380 .316 .430 .335 .313 .387 .357
. . . d o ........ .280 .293 .263 .258 .278 .246 .220 .273 .256
. . . d o ........ .333 .352 .330 .280 .345 .323 .306 .346 .336
.606 .610
.549 .542
.548 . 553
...d a ........
...d o ......... .322 .348 .28. '.'313 .335 .304 .313 .340 .285
.786 .854 .788 .752 .825 .814 .7.50 .812 .741
. . . d o ...........
2.163 1.950
Per sheet. 1.981 2.164 1.978 2.248 2.133 1.981
Per yard. .288 .360 .331 .320 .331 .313 .328 .408 .319
.800
.850 .600
1.350
. . .do........
5.762 5.497
6.079 6.520
6.033 5.~777
Per pair..
1.
[
1052 ]
107
M ONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
A V ERAGE R E TA IL PRICES OF 10 ARTICLES OF D R Y GOODS ON MAY 15 AND OCT. 15,
1918, AN D ON F E B . 15, 1919—Continued.
Mobile, Ala.
Article.
Unit.
1918
May
15.
Calico, 24 to 25 in cli...................
Percale..........................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...........
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...........
Muslin, bleached................. ......
Sheeting, bleached, 9-A______
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.......
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 in c h ...
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch..
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80.......
Per yard
...d o .......
...d o .......
...d o .......
.. -do.......
...do.......
....d o .A ...
Per sheet.
Per yard.
.. -do........
Per pair..
Oct.
15.
1918
Feb.
15,
1919. May Oct.
15.
15.
50. 246 (0.190 $ 0. 200 80.260
.373 .362 .350 .430
.280 .243 .260 .270
.358 .295 .328 .373
.531 .500
.553
.341 .275 ' Ï293 .330
.805 .698 .776 .849
2.071 2.000 1.877 2.072
.353 .221 .354 .372
1.650
6.107 8.740
5. 750
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Calico, 24 to 25 i n c h .................
Percale..........................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...........
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...........
Muslin, bleached------- ---------Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.............
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 in c h ...
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch..
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80........
1918
Feb.
15,
1919. May Oct.
15.
15.
50.173 $ 0 . 190
.325 .290
.230 .290
.284 .296
.516
.291 . 33Ì
.761 .773
1.849 1.878
.307
1.450
4.750
Portland, Me.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
50.233 SO.240
.393 .346
.293 .248
.338 .324
. 537 .528
.351 .286
.778 .699
1 .975 1.763
.342 .296
1.013 .925
4.688 4.495
Portland, Oreg.
Richmond, Va.
Rochester, N. Y.
Per yard. 80.196 SO. 274 80.186 0.203 80.238 SO. 188 0.185 10.198 50.133
...d o ........ .300 .372 .320 .297 .409 .348 .325 .372 .285
. ..d o ........ .278 .297 .240 .263 .294 .247 .227 .248 .233
...d o ........ .282 .370 .308 .305 .342 .320 .246 .337 .309
...d o ........
.523 .474
.471 . 457
.522 . 562
...d o ........ . 3Ì3 . 352 .263 .320 .365 .293 .269 .309 .266
.do
.727 .823 .724 .854 .844 .787 .688 .775 .696
Per sheet. 1.853 2.230 2.078 2.000 2.075 1.906 1.830 2.075 1.934
Per yard.
.390 .323 .290 .353 .330 .284 . 355 .304
.do........
.990 .990
.914 .971
.590 1.375
Per pair..
6.018 5.995
6.237 5.618
5.
6.493
Norfolk, Va.
Per yard. SO. 200 SO.250 SO.150 $0.265 SO. 264 SO.210 $0.159 SO.250 SO.220
.. .do......... .400 .375 .320 .357 .424 .371 .335 .434 .360
...d o ......... .288 .267 .250 .281 .281 .247 . 29C .295 .270
.. .do......... .313 .336 .283 .315 .368 .347 .317 .365 . 336
...d o .........
520
.459
.552 .777
.572
557
.- -do......... .267 . 3Ì7 .238 .343 .366 .288 .301 .354 .292
.. .do......... .660 .760 .750 .809 .923 .797 .718 .782 .791
Per sheet. 1.667 1.888 1.898 2.055 2.189 1.909 1.752 2.062 1.916
Per yard. .300 .339 .350 .366 .388 .324 .288 .352 .311
...d o .........
S75
1 022
911
1 000
Per pair..
7.000 4.540
5.750 5.686
6.796 5.183
Omaha, Nebr.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch.....................
Percale............................................ ,
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 in ch ...
Gingham, dress, 27-inch............. .
Gingham, dress, 32-inch............. .
Muslin, bleached------------- ------ Sheeting, bleached, 9-4................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90_____
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.......
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch__
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80...........
Feb.
15,
1919.
1
New Orleans, La. New York, N. Y.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch.......................
Percale..............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 in c h ...
Gingham, dress, 27-inch..............
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...............
Muslin, bleached............................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90...........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.......
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch___
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80...........
New Haven, Conn.
Ter yard SO. 204 50. 276 $0. 209 $0.250
0.179 SO. 239 SO. 142
--.d o ........ .320 .361 .326 .323 80.398 $0.330 .300! .370 .400
• ■ .d o___
.253 .286 .241 .310 .310 .270 . 250 ! . 280 .200
. . . d o ___
.301 .339 . 305 .315 .390 . 330 .263j .366 .340
...d o .......
. 554 .526
. 535 .513
.480 .450
...d o ........ ".’278 .338 .281 ’.-298 .338 .279 .290 .325 . 258
...do
.721 . 857 . 785, .688 .775 .688 .732 .769 .700
Per sheet 1.821 2.090 ,
1.780 1.976 1.793 1.993 1.960
Per yard .278 . 352 .324 .238 .373 .345 .360 .347 1.900
.333
.do
.800 .760
1.122 1.240
.983
Per pair.............. 6.535 5.957
5.495 5.417
6.063
Providence, R. I.
Calico, 24 to 25 in ch ...................
Percale..........................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.
Gingham, dress, 27-inch...........
Gingham, dress, 32-inch...........
Muslin, bleached.......................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4.............
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90........
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 in ch ...
Flannel, white, wool, 27-inch..
Blankets, cotton, 66 by 80____
Newark, N. J.
Peoria, 111.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Per yard. SO. 209 SO.237 SO. 169 SO.138 $0.207 $0.213 SO.225 SO.211 $0.159
..d o ......... .328 .389 .377 .315 .343 .330 .338 .376 .307
. .do......... .250 .287 .270 .230 .223 .250 .290
289 .239
..d o ......... .294 .367 .345 .287 .307 .335 .330 .367 .290
.608 .595
. 521 .531
.do.
.513 .530
.. -do......... .292 .362 .317 .279 .350 .307 .303 .329 .283
.. .do......... .732 .776 .726 .705 .705 .877 .715 .866 .761
Per sheet. 1.956 2.071 1.853 1.773 2.208 2.126 1.780 2.047 1.856
Per yard. .330 .371 .346 .316 .340 .379 .330 .391 .308
1.163 1.125
.do.
1.022 .93$
Per pair.
6.667 6.133
6.125 5.883
4.836 5.153
[1053]
108
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
A VERAGE R E TA IL PRICES OF 10 A RTICLES OF D R Y GOODS ON MAY 15 A N D OCT. 15,
1918, A N D ON FE B . 15, 1919—Concluded.
St. Louis, Mo.
Article.
1918
Unit.
May
15.
Calico 24 to 25 in ch ............................
Percale ..............................................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch.........
Gingham, dress, 27-inch.....................
Gingham riress 32-inch
Mnsljn hieached
Sheeting bleached, 9-4....................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 in ch .............
Blankets c o tto n , fifi fiy 30
Oct.
15.
1918
Feb.
15,
1919. May Oct.
15.
15.
Salt Lake City,
Utah.
1918
Feb.
15,
1919. May Oct.
15.
15.
Feb.
15,
1919.
Per yard. $0.192 $0,250 $0,208 $0.202 $0.214 $0.157 $0,183 $0,204 $0.169
.. .do......... .350 .430 .370 .330 .361 .308 .335 .424 .395
...d o ......... .250 .290 .255 .255 .284 .249 .250 .294 .235
...d o ......... .313 .372 .334 .314 .349 .315 .331 .366 .349
.656 .710
.538 .541
.651 .585
__do..........
.298 .361 .275 .353 .344 .324 .304 .329 .311
__do.........
.. .do......... .726 .810 .712 .788 .867 .809 .757 .826 .793
Per sheet. 1.871 1.987 1.891 2.147 2.227 2.128 2.233 2.082 2.027
Per yard, .333 .388 .328 .316 .359 .316 .311 .388 .382
1.573 1.350
do
.875 .775
6.366 5.675
5.542 5.97Ì
Per pair..
6.750 6.690
San Francisco,
Calif.
Calico 24 to 25 inch ........................
Percale,
..................................... .
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 inch..........
Gingham, dress, 27-inch.....................
Gingham d rp.ss 32-in ch
Muslin bleached.................................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4 . .................
Sheets, bleached, 81 by 90.................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch.............
Flannel white wool 27-inch
Blankets cotton fifi by 80 _
St. Paul, Minn.
Scranton, Pa.
Seattle, Wash.
1
$0.230 $0.225 $0.188 $0.219 $0.250 $0.213
Per yard.
.. .do......... $0,392 $0.460 $0.400 .350 .337 .350 .342 .456 .389
.. .do......... .283 .300 .317 .268 .287 .260 .250 .300 .250
.. .do......... .306 .350 .336 .301 .344 .320 .338 .383 .308
.553 .517
.510 .608
__do.........
.545 . 55C
.. .do......... .328 .336 .210 .324 .352 .284 .353 .344 .300
.. .do......... .838 .854 .800 .711 .799 .777 .850 .900 .855
Per sheet. 2.090 2.077 1.934 1.988 2.013 1.954 2.167 2.319 2.200
Per yard. .356 .418 .381 .308 .371 .322 .335 . 39C .362
1.083 .875
.688 .790
__do..........
-1.200 .750
5.890 6.050
5.842 5.993
Per pair..
5.762 6.379
Washington, D . C.
Springfield, 111.
Article.
Unit.
1918
1918
Feb. 15,
1919.
May 15. Oct. 15.
Calico, 24 to 25 inch..........................................
Percale.............................................. .................
Gingham, apron, 27 to 28 in ch .......................
Gingham^ dress, 27-ineh ................................
Gin gb am d ress 32-in ch
Muslin, bleached...............................................
Sheeting, bleached, 9-4....................................
Sheets, bleached, 8i by 90...............................
Outing flannel, 27 to 28 inch..........................
Flannel w h ite wnol 27-inch
Blankets c o tto n , fifi by SO..................... .........
Per yard.
. . .do.........
_. .do.........
.. .do.........
.. .do.........
.. .do.........
. . .do.........
Per sheet.
Per yard.
. do ..
Per pair..
$0.207
.299
.256
.319
.314
.719
1.664
.286
$0.233
. 400
.283
.368
.529
.316
.778
1.803
.341
$0.168
.314
.250
.321
.571
.266
.698
1.780
.292
5.483
4.000
May 15. Oct. 15.
$0.263
.350
.300
.410
.350
.831
2.081
.400
$0.198
.420
.281
.390
.510
.346
.813
2.144
.398
1.195
5.556
Feb. 15,
1919.
$0,200
.348
.244
.353
.559
.268
.801
1.890
.315
1.380
6.500
INDEX NUMBERS OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1913
TO FEBRUARY, 1919.
The bureau’s weighted index number of wholesale prices in repre
sentative markets of the United States showed another decided drop
in February, standing at 197 as compared with 202 in January.
Noticeable decreases in the two months took place in several of the
commodity groups, farm products dropping from 220 to 215; food,
etc., from 204 to 193; cloths and clothing from 231 to 221; metals
and metal products from 172 to 167, and chemicals and drugs from
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[
1054 ]
109
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
179 to 173. A smaller decrease was shown for articles classed as
miscellaneous. In the groups of fuel and lighting and house-fur
nishing goods no changes in the index occurred, while lumber and
building materials registered a slight increase.
Among important commodities whose wholesale prices averaged
lower in February than in January were cotton, barley, corn, oats,
rye, hay, hops, peanuts, beans, butter, cheese, eggs, corn meal, bacon,
fresh beef, hams, veal, milk, rice, potatoes, cotton and woolen goods,
bar iron, copper, pig lead, bar silver, zinc, alum, glycerin, acids, jute,
rubber, wood pulp, coke, linseed oil, turpentine, and rosin. Flax
seed, calfskins, hogs, sheep, poultry, tobacco, apples, lard, lamb,
rope, whisky, cement, lime, lumber, shingles, leather, and raw silk
averaged higher in price, while wheat, packers’ hides, cattle, canned
goods, coffee, wheat flour, prunes, glucose, sugar, salt, tea, cabbage, .
vinegar, nails, pig iron, steel, paper, laundry soap, coal, petroleum,
and brick remained practically unchanged in price.
In the 12 months from February, 1918, to February, 1919, the
index number of farm products increased from 207 to 215, that of
food, etc., from 186 to 193, and that of cloths and clothing from 213
to 221. During the same time the index number of fuel and lighting
increased from 171 to 181, that of lumber and building materials
from 137 to 162, and that of house-furnishing goods, which is built
on a limited number of tableware articles, from 188 to 233. The
index number of miscellaneous articles, including such important
commodities as cottonseed meal, jute, malt, lubricating oil, news
print paper, rubber, starch, soap, plug tobacco, and wood pulp, in
creased from 181 to 205. On the other hand, the index number of
metals and metal products decreased from 175 to 167, and that of
chemicals and drugs from 217 to 173.
IN D E X NUM BERS OF W HOLESALE PRICES IN SPEC IFIE D MONTHS, 1913 TO FE B
R U A R Y , 1919, BY GROUPS OF COMMODITIES.
[1913—100.|
Year and month.
Farm
prod
ucts.
Food,
etc.
Cloths
and
cloth
ing.
Fuel
and
light
ing.
Lum
Metals ber
and Chem Houseand
furnish Mis
metal build icals
cella
ing
and
ing
prod
mate drugs. goods. neous.
ucts.
rials.
All
com
modi
ties.
1913.
Average for year___
January......................
April............................
July.............................
October.......................
100
97
97
101
103
100
99
9G
101
102
100
100
100
100
100
100
99
99
100
100
100
107
102
98
99
100
100
101
101
98
100
101
100
99
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
99
102
100
100
99
98
101
101
191-1.
January......................
April............................
July.............................
October.......................
101
103
104
103
102
95
103
107
99
100
100
98
99
98
90
87
92
91
85
83
98
99
97
96
101
101
101
109
103
103
103
103
98
99
97
95
100
98
99
99
110451 °—19------8
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1055]
110
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
IN D E X NUM BERS OF W HOLESALE PRICES IN SPECIFIED MONTHS, 1913 TO F E B
R U A R Y , 1919, B Y GROUPS OF COMMODITIES—Concluded.
Year and month.
Farm
prod
ucts.
Food
etc.
Cloths
and
cloth
ing.
Fuel
and
light
ing.
LumMetals jer and Chem HouseMis
and
build icals furnish cella
metal
ing
and
ing
neous.
prod mate drugs. goods.
ucts.
rials.
All
com
modi
ties.
1915.
January......................
April............................
July.............................
October......................
102
107
108
105
106
105
104
104
96
98
99
103
86
84
84
90
83
91
102
100
94
94
94
93
106
102
107
121
101
101
101
101
98
97
96
99
98
99
101
101
1916.
January......................
April............................
July.............................
October......................
108
114
118
136
114
117
121
140
110
119
126
137
102
105
105
128
126
147
145
151
99
102
98
101
140
150
143
135
105
109
111
114
107
111
122
132
116
119
133
1917.
January......................
February....................
March..........................
April............................
May.............................
June............................
July.............................
August........................
September.................
October......................
November..................
December...................
147
150
162
180
196
196
198
204
203
207
211
204
150
160
161
182
191
187
180
180
178
183
184
185
161
162
163
169
173
179
187
193
193
194
202
206
170
178
181
178
187
193
183
159
155
142
151
153
183
190
199
208
217
239
257
249
228
182
173
173
106
108
111
114
117
127
132
133
134
134
135
135
144
146
151
155
164
165
185
198
203
242
232
230
128
129
129
151
151
162
165
165
165
165
175
175
137
138
140
144
148
153
151
156
155
164
165
166
150
165
160
171
181
184
185
184
182
180
182
181
1918.
January......................
February....................
March..........................
April............................
May.............................
June.............................
July.............................
August........................
September.................
October......................
November..................
December...................
205
207
211
217
212
214
221
229
236
223
219
221
188
186
178
179
178
179
185
191
199
199
203
207
209
213
220
230
234
243
249
251
251
253
253
246
169
171
171
170
172
171
178
178
179
179
182
183
173
175
175
176
177
177
183
183
183
186
186
183
136
137
142
145
147
148
152
156
158
157
163
163
216
217
217
214
209
205
202
207
206
204
201
182
188
188
188
188
188
192
192
227
233
233
233
233
178
181
184
193
197
199
192
191
195
197
207
204
185
187
187
191
191
193
198
202
207
204
203
206
1919.
January......................
February1.................
220
215
204
193
231
221
181
181
172
167
160
162
179
173
233
233
206
205
202
197
no
i Preliminary.
COMPARISON OF RETAIL PRICE CHANGES IN THE UNITED STATES
AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
The index numbers of retail prices published by several foreign
countries have been brought together with those of this bureau in
the subjoined table after having been reduced to a common base,
viz, prices for July, 1914, equal 100. This base was selected instead
of the average for the year 1913, which is used in other tables of
index numbers compiled by the bureau, because of the fact that in
some instances satisfactory information for 1913 was not available.
For Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden the index numbers are
reproduced as published in the original sources, while those for
Austria have been rounded off to the nearest whole number from
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1056]
Ill
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
the latest available figures, as published in the British Labor Gazette.
All these are shown on the July, 1914, base in the source from which
the information is taken. The index numbers here shown for the
remaining countries have been obtained by dividing the index for
July, 1914, as published, into the index for each month specified in
the table. As indicated in the table, some of these index numbers
are weighted and some are not, while the number of articles included
differs widely. They should not, therefore, be considered as closely
comparable one with another.
IN D E X
NUM BERS OF RETAIL PRICES IN THE U N IT E D
OTHER COUNTRIES.
STATES AND CERTAIN
[July, 1914=100.]
France: 13 foodstuffs
United
Canada:
Australia:
Austria:
States:
foodstuffs; 18 foodstuffs; 29 foodstuffs; Cities over
Year and month. 22 foodstuffs; 4630
10,000 popu
60 cities.
towns.
Vienna.
45 cities.
Weighted. lation (except
Weighted.
Weighted.
Weighted.
Paris).
Weighted.
Paris only.
Weighted.
1914.
July.........................
Octohf'r
100
103
100
99
100
104
100
108
‘ 100
100
1915,
January..................
April
July.........................
Or*t,nhpr.
101
97
98
101
107
113
131
133
121
166
179
217
107
105
105
105
1110
1123
120
114
120
118
1916.
January................ .
April.......................
July .......................
October...................
105
107
109
119
129
131
130
125
222
112
112
114
125
H33
>137
U41
‘ 146
134
132
129
135
125
130
130
142
148
149
143
146
150
154
152
154
125
126
126
127
127
127
126
129
129
129
129
128
138
141
144
145
159
160
157
157
157
159
163
165
1154
139
i 171
147
1184
183
1200
184
157
158
151
151
155
159
164
168
175
177
179
183
129
130
131
131
132
132
131
128
128
131
133
1211
191
1232
118
1917.
January..................
'Fp.hrpia.ry
Mppp.li
April.......................
Tune
July.........................
Oot-obar.
TypppypLay
1918.
January
TVTflroh
April......................
Turif*
July
Ai] pu<?t
October
Darambpr
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
272
275
288
312
337
315
167
169
170
169
171
172
175
181
179
182
182
184
1 Quarter beginning that month.
[1057]
108
112
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
IN D E X N UM BERS OF RETAIL PRICES IN THE U N IT E D STATES AND CERTAIN OTHER
COUNTRIES—Concluded.
Italy:
Great Britain: 7 foodstuffs;
21 foodstuffs;
40 cities
Year and month.
(variable).
600 towns.
Not
Weighted.
weighted.
Norway: !
Netherlands: New Zealand: 22 foodstuffs
Sweden:
29 articles; 59 foodstuffs; (variable);
21 articles;
40 cities.
44 towns.
20 towns
25
towns.
Not
Weighted.
(variable).
Weighted.
weighted.
Weighted.
1914.
Ju ly..............
October........
100
112
100
104
■100
2107
100
102
1915.
January.......
April.............
July..............
October........
118
124
132J
140
108
113
120
127
114
123
131
128
111
113
112
112
4 129
■113
■121
■124
■128
1916.
January.......
April.............
Ju ly.............
October.......
145
149
161
168
133
132
132
132
135
142
150
158
116
118
119
120
6 161
4166
■130
■134
¡142
■152
1917.
January___
February. . .
March........
April..........
M ay............
June...........
Ju ly............
A ugust____
September.
October__
N ovem ber..
December..
187
189
192
194
198
202
204
202
206
197
206
205
144
154
161
164
167
171
172
178
188
165
165
169
170
180
184
188
127
126
126
127
128
128
127
127
129
130
130
132
1918.
January.,..
February.'.
March.........
April..........
M ay............
J u n e._____
Ju ly............
A ugust___
September.
October___
N ovember.
December..
206
208
207
206
207
208
210
218
216
229
233
229
190
221
247
236
1January-.!uly.
sAugust-December.
........................
197
214
............
230
221
227
235
247
258
261
268
280
284
310
241
253
264
271
279
284
1
; Quarter beginning that month.
4November.
160
166
170
175
175
175
177
181
187
192
200
212
183
133
134
134
137
139
139
139
141
141
142
239
253
100
107
100
■
“August.
BOARD TO READJUST PRICES FOR BASIC MATERIALS.
A plan to lower and stabilize prices in the United States was
announced by the Secretary of Commerce in the Official United
States Bulletin for February 25, 1919, after having received the
approval of the President. The plan, as outlined, calls for the
creation in the Department of Commerce of a board composed of
representative men from industry, labor, and the Government who
are to “ put into practical effect a program for the readjustment of
prices for basic materials in such a fashion as to create a firm founda
tion on which the consumer can base his future purchases, and the
producer can form necessary estimates. ” The former vice chair
man of the War Industries Board, George N. Peek, has been desig
nated as chairman of this board, the remaining members being
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
113
Samuel P. Bush, Columbus, Ohio, president, Buckeye Steel Castings
Co.; Anthony Caminetti, Washington, D. C., Commissioner General of
Immigration, Department of Labor; Thomas K. Glenn, Atlanta, Ga.,
president, Atlantic Steel Co.; George R. James, Memphis, Tenn.,
president, William R. Moore Dry Goods Co.; T. C. Powell, Cincin
nati, Ohio, director, capital expenditures, Railroad Administration;
William M. Ritter, West Virginia, president, W. M. Ritter Lumber
Co. The board has the assistance of the Council of National Defense.
In explaining the work to be accomplished by the board, the
Secretary points out that there exists at the present time a condi
tion of stagnation of business and industrial activity, resulting in
widespread unemployment and consequent distress. A striking
feature of the situation is the high prices demanded for practically
all articles of trade and commerce. Living costs are abnormally
high and will continue so until substantial reductions in the prices
of necessary food staples are made. Money is abundant, but is not
being used to employ labor and to purchase goods and materials.
These unusual conditions are attributable, it is believed, to the dis
location of industry brought about by the war, which caused a com
plete suspension of the ordinary operation of the law of demand and
supply by diverting the country’s energies into new and unnatural
channels in order to mobilize all efforts possible in winning the war.
It is apparent, the Secretary states, that the trouble resulting in the
present unsatisfactory condition of industry is due to the continuance
of the high prices of war times, which were in many instances agreed
to by agencies of the Government functioning for war purposes, and
not to any unhealthy general condition. Abnormal prices still
remain because, up to the present time, no agency has been pro
vided to bring about the necessary reductions. These reductions,
it is held, should be made at once.
The procedure to be followed in seeking to obtain a return to
normal price levels is summarized by the Secretary as follows:
1. It is believed that a remedy for these conditions can be had by a comparatively
simple program. As the President has approved my appointing a board which will
make a study of the subject and take action thereon, and as it will be made plain that
the Department of Commerce and its board has the support of the President, there
can be no doubt that industry generally will be glad to cooperate with the board in an
endeavor to arrive at a solution of the difficulties.
2. Therefore one of the first steps which the board should take would be to call
into consultation and conference the leaders of industry in such numbers and by such
groups as it may be felt is wise. Probably the first of these conferences should be
with representatives of industries producing basic materials, such as iron, steel,
lumber, textiles, cement, copper, brick, and other construction materials, and from
time to time thereafter such others as may be deemed proper. I t is believed, how
ever, that industries dealing in finished products will be able to largely (if not entirely)
adjust their prices in line with the above policy without material aid from the com
mittee.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
3. At such conferences the general situation or conditions outlined above, and as
they may change up to the time of the conference, should be considered and carefully
understood, and the above-mentioned principles which ought to apply and govern
the solution of the problems should also be fully understood and appreciated. It
is believed that these principles and views will be readily accepted by the great
majority of those called into conference, and further, that if any of those who come
into conference question these principles and views, a discussion thereof in the con
ference will without any considerable delay lead to a unanimous acceptance thereof.
4. In addition to giving assistance to industry in reaching satisfactory price bases
the board ought to be able to give valuable advice in regard to such questions as the
disposal of surplus war materials, it being desirable to accomplish this in such a way
as to have as little detrimental effect as possible upon private industrial activities.
It will be the endeavor of the board to act promptly by consulting and interchanging
views with these representatives of industry in the fullest and freest manner possible,
with a view to aiding and assisting industry in general to resume activities to the
fullest practicable extent. The immediate object is to bring about such reduced
prices as will bring the buying power of the Government itself, including the railroads,
telephones, and telegraphs, into action and make it possible for the Government to
state that it is willing to be a buyer for its needs at the reduced prices. If these
conferences result in such an understanding on the part of the Government with
respect to the important basic industries concerning proper prices and bases for prices
at which purchases may be made by it, and these are approved by the board, it is
believed that upon announcement thereof to the country in general the public will
feel justified in promptly beginning a program of extensive buying.
Such a procedure will in substance establish immediately a basis upon which to
resume activities, and in this way the law of supply and demand will be enabled to
come into play and from that time forward it will control the changes and readjust
ments in selling prices of materials and the trend of prices, it is believed, will be
upward and not downward.
In a statement published in the Official United States Bulletin
for March 10, possible objections to the proposed plan for govern
mental action in the matter are answered as follows:
Objection (a): Business resents governmental interference and control, which is
to be avoided rather than encouraged. Let conditions alone and the law of supply
and demand will cure all evils.
Answer: The war developed a new thing in Government, cooperation and mutual
help between Government and industry, in which Government appeared not as a
policeman and not as a jealous guardian of a suspicious character but as a friend and
helper. The idea proved itself. What is proposed is not governmental control. The
board has no power of control. It is proposed to provide a forum in which industry
can meet and agree on a policy for itself at the instance and with the approval of Gov
ernment, which will help the law of supply and demand over the gap between hold
over war prices and a stable level.
Objection (b): Business and industry will not come into a governmental con
ference unless there is a power of compulsion.
Answer: The experience of the War Industries Board utterly disproves this criti
cism. It has been argued that patriotism impelled business and industry to the
War Industries Board. Patriotism is not adjourned with the closing of the war.
Objection (c): War prices were fixed at such a level as to insure the production
of many high-cost and inefficient producers. What is proposed would shut off this
production.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
115
Answer: This production is not needed in peace. The American people can not
be expected to support inefficiency in the enterprises that serve them with the
necessaries of life or to maintain production not normally needed. Inflated pro
duction above that which would be supported by the law of supply and demand
must cease.
Objection (d): Such readjustment must necessarily require redistribution and
readjustment of labor.
Answer: This is quite true. I t is necessary. The distribution and allocation of
labor to war industries has upset the normal pattern in this country for four years.
What is proposed is a stimulated peace industry which will employ as much or
more labor as did war industries, especially considering the loss of man power, due
to decreased immigration, loss by influenza, war, and probably increased Army
and Navy. That it will employ them in different places and at different tasks is
inevitable, whether the proposed step is taken or not.
Objection (e): A general reduction in selling prices now will force industry and
commerce to take a loss on products purchased at war prices.
Answer: This is true and inevitable, whether the proposed plan is attempted or
not, but under the proposed plan better adjustments are possible; buying will begin
immediately, the overhead of continuing high-cost operation through a period of
stagnation is eliminated, and, finally, much of the loss will be recouped by buying
at fair prices and selling in the inevitably increasing market that will result from
the normal operation of .the law of supply and demand under prosperous conditions.
In conclusion, the statement points out that it is expected that
the activities of the board will be only temporary, since the aim
is merely to give governmental assistance to aid the law of supply
and demand in resuming its normal functions. The splendid coop
eration of American industry during the war leads to the belief that
it will be continued during the trying period of reconstruction and
readjustment upon which the country is now entering.
NEW PRICES OF IRON AND STEEL FIXED BY INDUSTRIAL BOARD.
Under the plan outlined the iron and steel industry was the first
basic industry to be considered by the industrial board with a view
to regulating prices so as to revive and stabilize business. After
careful consideration and full discussion of the cost of production
and all other facts relating to the iron and steel industry, a new
schedule of proposed reduced prices was submitted to the board by
representatives of the industry, and, after some changes, approved
in March, 1919. In establishing these new prices it has been the
purpose of the board and of the industry to fix prices at such a level
as would be satisfactory to the consuming public and yet yield a
moderate and reasonable profit to the investors. The importance
of not disturbing wage rates or wage agreements has also been borne
in mind, and it is believed that under the new schedule opportunities
for employment will actually be increased because of the added
volume of business that will follow an encouragement to operate mills
and furnaces to capacity as a result of stabilized prices. To the em
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
ployee the announcement of the board that present wage rates are
to stand will prove highly gratifying. The new prices became effec
tive upon approval.
The price list and reductions in iron and steel as submitted to the
industrial board and approved by it are shown in the following table:
NEW PRICES OP IRO N AN D STEEL AS COMPARED W ITH PRICES ON NOV. 11, 1918, AND
P R E SE N T PRICES.
Price
on
Nov.
11,
1918.
Iron and steel.
Pigiron, basic.............................. ...........................................................
Billets, 4-incii..........................................................................................
Billets, 2-inch..........................................................................................
Sheet bars.................................................................................................
Slabs..........................................................................................................
Skelp, sheared........................................................................................
Skelp, universal......................................................................................
Skelp, grooved........................................................................................
Merchant bar—base................................................................................
Sheared plates.........................................................................................
Structural base.......................................................................................
Wire rod...................................................................................................
Plain wire.................................................................................................
N ails..........................................................................................................
Black sheets No. 28................................................................................
Blue annealed No. 10............................................................................
Galvanized sheets No. 21.....................................................................
Tin plate No. 100, bo.t...........................................................................
Tubular products..............................................
Hoops, base.............................................................................................
Light rails.................................................................................................
Rails,standard Bessemer.....................................................................
Rails, standard, open hearth..............................................................
O re..' ...............1. *...................................................................................
1 Gross tons.
J Hundredweight.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
'$33. 00
i 47.50
1 51.00
1 51.00
1 50. 00
2 3. 25
23.15
2 2.90
2 2. 90
2 3.25
2 3. 00
1 57. 00
2 3. 25
2 3.50
2 5.00
2 4.25
2 6. 25
7. 75
(0
2 3.50
2 3. 03
1 55.00
1 57. 00
(5)
Reduction
from—
price.
Price on Present
Nov. 11, price.
1918.
$30.00 $25. 75
$7.25
43.50
38.50
9. 00
42. 00
47.00
9. 00
47.00
42. 00
9.00
46.00
41.00
9. 00
3.00
2.65 3 12.00
2. 90
2.55 3 12. 00
2. 70
2. 45 3 9. 00
2.70
2.35 3 11.00
3.00
2. 65 3 12.00
2. 45 3 11. 00
2. 80
1 57.00 1 52.00 1 5.00
3. 25
3.00 3 5. 00
3.50
3.25 3 5. 00
4. 70
4.35 3 13.00
3.90
3.55 3 14.00
6.05
5. 70 3 11. 00
7.35
7.00 3 15. 00
(6
(<) . (<)
3. 30
3 9. 00
3.05
2. 70
2. 45 3 11.00
1 55. 00 1 45. 00 1 10. 00
1 57. 00 i 47. 00 1 10.00
8 Net tons.
* Three and one-half points oil card.
[1062]
price.
“ No change.
$4.25
5.00
5.00
5.00
5. 00
3 7. 00
3 7.00
3 5.03
3 7.00
3 7.00
3 7.00
1 5.00
3 5. 00
3 5.00
3 7. 00
3 7. 00
3 7.00
3 7.00
3 7. 00
3 5.00
3 5. 00
1 10. 00
1 10. 00
COOPERATION.
MUTUAL AND COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN ARGENTINA.1
The national law of Argentina relative to the formation of mutual
. or cooperative associations is very simple. It requires the adoption
of a constitution, of a name, and a statement whether the associa
tion is limited or unlimited. The constitution shall determine the
conditions of membership, of withdrawal from membership, and of
exclusion of members, and the minimum capital and method of
constituting it. Shares must be issued in the name of the member,
who has one vote regardless of his holdings. Recent developments
require that the law be broadened and modernized to meet present
conditions.
The history of mutual associations in Argentina dates from 1852,
though intermittent efforts in this direction, which, owing to political
conditions, were not productive of permanent results, date as far
back as 1825. The combined membership of mutual and coopera
tive associations in the country in the fiscal year 1914-15 was
593,172.
MUTUAL ASSOCIATIONS.
On December 31, 1913, there were 1,205 mutual associations in
operation, 3 of which were mutual life insurance associations. The
remaining 1,202 associations had a membership of 507,637, of whom
431,806 were adult males, 61,126 adult females, and 14,705 children.
Their capital amounted to $14,099,782. Receipts amounted to
$4,143,165, and disbursements for aid and pensions to $2,268,592.
Of these associations 41 were founded during the period 1854-1870,
107 in the next decade, 220 from 1881 to 1890, 275 from 1891 to
1900, and 559 during the period 1901-1913.
Data relative to the nationality of membership seem not to have
been available, but of the total associations reported 172 were Argen
tine 2 and had a membership of 65,188. The 463 Italian associa
tions had a membership of 166,086; the 250 Spanish associations had
a membership of 110,040; the 181 cosmopolitan associations, com
posed principally of Argentines, Italians, and Spanish, had a mem
bership of 150,004; the 92 French associations had a membership of
1 La mutualidad y el cooperativismo en la República Argentina, por Dr. Domingo librea, Buenos Aires,
Taileres Gráficos de L. J. Rosso y Cía, 1917.
2Associations in which all or nearly all are citizens of Argentina.
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
12,311; and the 44 associations of various nationalities had a mem
bership of 4,008.
While it may not be true that the percentage of foreign members
is greater than that of Argentines, it is certainly true that the per
centage of foreigners affiliated with these associations, as compared
with the total foreign population, exceeds the percentage of Argen
tines affiliated. According to the last census the population was
7,903,662, of which 2,357,952 were citizens of foreign countries,
especially Italians (929,863) and Spanish (829,701).
The three insurance associations, two founded in 1901 and one in
1907,, have a membership of ‘38,343, with a capital of $5,813,521.
In 1913 the amounts paid as pensions (by 1 association, with 36,342
members) totaled $63,827 and for insurance (by 2 associations, with
2,001 members) totaled $36,789.
COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS.
Cooperative associations are classed as either urban or rural.
Urban associations.—During the year 1913-14 there were 40
urban cooperative associations in operation, of which 9 were cooper
ative banks, 6 building and loan societies, 10 consumers, 4 dis
tributers, and 11 producers. Of the banks, one had been in opera
tion since 1887 and had 3,505 members, with a total actual capital
of $6,711,669, and outstanding loans for building purposes amounting
to $14,618,397.
The membership of the 40 associations numbered 27,661. The
nominal capital was $17,696,344, of which $14,389,220 was sub
scribed and $12,061,694 paid up, with a reserve amounting to
$3,047,274. The total operations are summarized as follows: Value
of articles sold $1,599,379; value of articles manufactured, $522,347;
credits granted in 1913-14, $20,482,620; total for the year, $22,604,347.
Rural associations.—In 1914-15 the rural mutual and coopera
tive associations numbered 73, with a membership of 22,351, and an
actual capital of $2,589,238, or $115.84 per member. Excluding the
10 insurance and 4 irrigation associations, the total operations in
purchases and sales, credits, bank deposits, etc., amounted to
$5,074,990, which the report says “ is a very modest amount of busi
ness in consideration of the capital, $1,167,706,” and which could
have been increased to two or three times the amount had the banks
shown a more liberal spirit.
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
The following is a résumé of the operations of these societies, exclu
sive of 11 “ Raiffeisen funds,” having in 1914-15 22,351 members
and a capital of $2,589,239:
OPERATIONS OF RURAL MUTUAL AND COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN ARGENTINA
IN SPECIFIED YEARS.
Item.
1898-99
to
1911-12.
Sales, purchases, existing credits,
deposits, e tc ......................................... $5,261,429
Insurance against hail:
Number of insured.........................
33,647
Number of policies..........................
36,953
Acres insured...................................
15,505,505
Amount of insurance. .•................. £89,779,656
Premiums received........................ $4,168,747
Losses paid....................................... $2,331,468
Fire insurance:
Policies issued.................................
1,104
Amount of insurance..................... $1,464,887
Premiums received........................
$96,527
Losses paid.......................................
$61,888
1898-99
to
1914-15.
1912-13
1913-14
1914-15
$2,082,987
$3,457,729
$5,076,185
$15,878,331
. 7,122
7,665
3,384,481
$18,512,768
$872,728
$430,310
5,158
5,525
2,312,030
$11,843,232
$571,785
$328,042
7,136
7,744
3,455,206
$17,678,798
$858,835
$631,111
53,063
57,887
24,657,224
$137;834,454
$6,472,098
$3,720,931
164
$229,496
$15,422
$5,113
81
$131,579
$9,800
$5,862
260
$259,587
$14,316
$5,130
1,609
$2,085,549
$136,066
$77,994
It is stated that ‘‘69 per cent of all crop insurance is carried by
stock companies.” Of the balance, 31 per cent, the Mutual “ La
Protectora,” of San Juan, carries much the larger part. From 1898
to 1915, inclusive, it issued 55,257 policies to 50,754 persons, insuring
24,618,133 acres planted in grain. The value of crops insured was
$133,022,074, premiums received $6,218,419, and damages paid
$3,582,593. From which it is deduced that the amount paid for
damages was 2.69 per cent of total insured value, average value of
an acre insured was $5.40, insurance cost per acre was $0.25, and the
average premium charged was 4.67 per cent of insured value.
According to the data available, it would seem that the business
of this association has increased year by year. The period cov
ered by the above summary is 17 years. A comparison of corre
sponding data for the year 1914-15 shows that one-seventh oí this
business was done in the last year, when 7,066 policies were issued to
7,652 agriculturists, insuring 3,452,181 acres of seeded land, valued
at $17,530,309, on which premiums were paid amounting to $850,820,
and damages to crops compensated for by the payment of $630,710.
One of the most important rural associations is the Rural Associa
tion of Argentina, founded in 1866 for the purpose of assisting in
agricultural development and progress, stock raising, and derivative
industries, and in aiding all plans which might be profitable in these
branches; proposing improved methods of farming and stock breed
ing, providing for exhibitions, encouraging technical studies and
scientific investigations, stimulating private initiative, lending aid to
public authorities, and in general providing for better agricultural
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conditions. Since 1866, the year the association was organized, the
value of live stock in the country has increased from 177,683,500 to
$849,000,000 and the land under cultivation from 741,300 acres to
61,775,000 acres.
I t w o u ld b e im p o ssib le to ignore th e in flu en ce of th e R ural A ssociation of A rgen tin a
in th is rapid and rem arkab le e v o lu tio n . Its cou n sel has b e e n e ffe c tiv e in ab olish in g
th e old and u seless, preserving th e u sefu l, and m o d ern izin g it so as to render it ad ap t
a b le to presen t co n d ition s. In fact, its in flu e n c e has te n d e d to a ccen tu a te and estab
lish progressive agricultural m eth od s. I t has b ecom e a m oral, econ om ic, e d u ca tio n a l,
and fin a n cia l force in th e n a tio n .
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EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT.
MAKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYMENT.
BY BENTON MACKAYE.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMS FOR PUBLIC WORKS AND LAND DEVELOPMENT.
The Sixty-fifth Congress, during its last session ending March 4,
1919, had before it a number of legislative measures affecting the
employment of labor. This was appropriate, for the net surplus of
labor in the country during this session had been rising at the average
rate approximately of 100,000 a week. The bills introduced related to
employment on public works and to the development of farm
lands and other natural resources. None of these measures was
enacted into law, and they would now have only historical interest
were it not that they wifi, in all likelihood, be presented, in one form
or another, to the next Congress for action. A comparison of these
programs, therefore, is pertinent in connection with the present labor
situation in the United States.
The more important of the measures referred to are the following:
(1) The original Kelly bill,1 introduced in the House of Repre
sentatives, December 17, 1918, by Representative M. Clyde Kelly, of
Pennsylvania, providing for permanent employment opportunities to
returned soldiers and other workers in the settlement and develop
ment of agricultural, forest, and mineral lands.
(2) The Kenyon bill,2 introduced in the Senate, January 21, 1919,
by Senator W. S. Kenyon, of Iowa, providing for emergent employ
ment on public works during the period of industrial readjustment.
(3) The revised Kelly bill,3 introduced in the House, February 5,
1919, by Representative M. Clyde Kelly, of Pennsylvania, providing
for emergent employment for returned soldiers and other workers on
post roads and public works, and for permanent employment in the
settlement and development of agricultural, forest, and mineral lands.
(4) The Taylor bill,4 introduced in the House, February 15, 1919,
by Representative E. T. Taylor, of Colorado, providing for “ the rural
settlement of soldiers, sailors, and marines, and to promote the recla
mation of lands” under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior.
(5) The mineral land bill,5 passed in a former session in a different
form by both Houses and reported from conference for passage in
February, 1919, providing for the sale or lease of coal, oil, and other
mineral lands on the public domain.
1 H. R. 13415.
s S. 5397.
*H. R. 15672.
<H. R. 15993.
t S. 2812, introduced by Senator Thomas J. Walsh, of Montana, Aug. 20, 1917.
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DEVELOPMENT POLICY OF THE SECRETARY OF LABOR.
To carry out the development policy of the Secretary of Labor the
original Kelly bill, above mentioned, was introduced.
This bill (H. R. 13415) creates a “ National Emergency Board for
Soldier Employment,” to consist of the Secretaries of Labor, Agri
culture, and Interior, this board to act through a “ National Director
of Soldier Employment.”
A “ United States Construction Service” is to be organized by the
board to carry out, as far as practicable, all projects provided for in
the bill.
A program for general colonization and development is provided
for, including agricultural settlement and permanent forest and
coal-mining communities, as well as the building of roads and
public improvements in connection with such development.
Provision is made for Federal and State cooperation in any of
these activities.
Announcement of the Secretary’s policy of developing natural
resources for the purpose of “ making new opportunities for employ
ment” was first made in his annual report for 1915, as follows:1
It will not be enough to hunt “ manless jobs” for “ jobless men.” Any efficient
public employment service of a national character must go beyond that. Unless it
does, “ manless jobs” giving out while “ jobless m en” remain, the causes of involun
tary unemployment will continue to express themselves to the great prejudice of
the wageworkers of the United States and consequently to the harm of all industrial
interests. In my opinion, therefore, the labor-distribution work of this department
should extend to some such development of the natural resources of this country as
will tend to make opportunities for workers greater than demands for work and to keep
them so.
This announcement was followed by the introduction in the
House of Representatives by Hon. Robert Crosser, of Ohio, in Feb
ruary, 1916, of the so-called National colonization bill, 2 designed
to carry out the Secretary’s ideas. Public hearings on this bill were
held before the House Committee on Labor in May, June, and
December, 1916, at which a number of important authorities spoke
for the bill. The Secretary of Labor appeared and indorsed the
measure in principle.
Reference to the policy recommended by the Secretary in his 1915
report has been made in each subsequent annual report, and the
most recent statement goes into the matter at some length. Fore
most in the Secretary’s latest recommendations is his suggestion
regarding “ employment for returning soldiers,” 3 about which he says:
The department * * * believes that the problem of providing profitable em
ployment for our returned soldiers is its first duty. To believe otherwise would be
i Third Annual Report, 1915, pp. 41-43.
!H. R. 11329, 64 Cong., 1st sess.
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to violate the spirit of the organic act of the department. “ The purpose of the Depart
ment of Labor.” says this act, “ shall be to foster, promote, and develop the welfare
of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to
advance their opportunities for profitable employment.”
Development of Agricultural Lands.
This “ first duty” is not left with a general statement. Specific
principles and methods by which it should be carried out are set
forth, and these are embodied in the provisions of the Kelly bill.
This program first goes into the subject of agricultural development—
providing for community settlement and ready-made farms, for
determining what is and what is not “ agricultural land,” and for
security of land tenure against speculation.
COMMUNITY SETTLEM EN T AND REA D Y-M A DE FARM S.
The desirability of preparing ready-made farms and of developing
community units is outlined by the Secretary of Labor as follows:1
Judging from the experience of the Australian and other countries, a vast amount
of false motion can be saved by the preparation of ready-made farms and through the
development of areas by means of the community unit rather than the isolated farm
unit. Demonstration farms, run by the State and located at the center of the colonies,
form an important feature of the Australian system. On these farms pure-bred cat
tle and other live stock may be raised and sold at cost to the settlers. These farms
are used, too, for training new settlers under the direction of an agricultural
adviser. * * *
I t seems to be common opinion that community life should be required for the
returned soldier. He can not be expected to settle down in a needless rural isolation.
The soldier settler must be provided with modern facilities for cooperative effort.
These apply to marketing, purchasing, and his other needs.
The principles here referred to by the Secretary are made applicable
in section 4 of the Kelly bill.
SPECIFIC TE ST FO R D E T E R M IN IN G W HAT IS “ A GRICULTURAL L A N D .”
The test stipulated by the Secretary of Labor for determining what
land is truly agricultural is its capacity to render “ profitable employ
ment” for the man who does the farming. On this point he says:2
It goes without saying that no colony should be established on land which can not
be profitably farmed. The specific test for such land is the estimated yearly com
pensation to be obtained by the settler for his own use as a result of his labor. This
compensation amounts to the difference between the gross money return and all
fixed expenses. The latter include interest and amortization charges for reclamation
and improvements, payment of taxes and the use of land, and general running costs.
If the compensation over and above these expenses amounts at least to a fair wage,
then the labor of farming the land amounts to profitable employment. Otherwise, it
does not.
This test is provided for in section 4 of the Kelly bill, as follows:
No land shall be allotted for settlement until, in the opinion of the board and upon
the basis of expert surveys and estimates, a reasonable presumption exists that the
i Sixth Annual Report, 1918, pp. 143, 144.
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average yearly money return obtainable from farming tbe said allotment shall be
sufficient to yield, in addition to the necessary yearly fixed charges for the use of
land, and for reclamation, improvements, and normal running expenses, a compensa
tion to the settler for his labor, which shall be not less than the equivalent of the
local wage rate, as determined in section three; and the said charge for the use of land
shall be fixed by the board so as to allow to the settler, out of estimated gross returns,
not less than the compensation aforesaid.
SECURITY OF LAND T E N U R E AGAINST SPECULATION .
The opportunity to the individual settler of using land without
paying tribute is fundamental in the department’s land polic}7. The
utilization of this opportunity requires the elimination of another
opportunity—that of speculating in the right to use land. And the
only practicable way of eliminating such speculation seems to be to
hold the land under such control that the individual title thereto
is dependent upon occupancy and use. Otherwise this title will be
come in the future, as it has in the past, an object of barter and
commerce; and payment for rent or its equivalent over and above
legitimate returns is exacted by the land owner from the land
user. Such payment amounts to tribute paid for skill, or luck, in
speculation; it is collected by the holder of the fee simple title.
If, then, the settler himself holds the fee title (and without en
cumbrance) he is secure from the tribute described. But the same
device—individual fee simple—that protects the owner from pa}7ing
tribute enables him to impose it upon others. There is nothing to
prevent him from renting his land to another and exacting an un
reasonable rental. And this is the too common practice. The
system of individual fee simple is the basis of tenancy or the equiva
lent of tenancy. This system is general throughout the United
States, and so is tenancy (or the equivalent thereof). Any colony or
community settlement based on individual fee titles is doomed at the
start: it is only a question of time—and no lorg time—when it will
disintegrate into individual earldoms. The way to preserve its
integrity and maintain a uniform system of individual use is for the
colony itself, or the State, to hold the title and thus control the
individual use.
Individual title dependent on use is a vital part of the Secretary’s
land policy. He makes this point clear in the following language:1
Settlers should * * * be protected from the evils of land speculation. The
liberal grants of former years to soldiers were of almost no value to the supposed bene
ficiaries, because of the speedy transfer to persons who were primarily interested in
the resale of such lands at higher prices. Speculation and inflation are evils which
it has been found possible to correct in the experience of our associated belligerents.
I therefore favor the adoption of some form of tenure which will lay less stress upon
titles and more upon actual use by occupants. The absolute tenure does not seem to
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125
be well adapted to public colonization since it is useless to the working settler and
attractive to the speculator. There are several other forms of tenure including the
perpetual leasehold, better adapted for our purposes.
This vital principle of eliminating speculation is included in the
Kelly bill. With respect to Federal projects it provides in section 4
as follows:
The fee simple title to all land reserved or purchased for the purposes of this act
shall remain forever in the United States. Farm lands shall be allotted in areas
sufficient for family use, and during such period only as the settler shall continue to
reside on and use such land. Regulations for determining under varying conditions
what amounts to residence and use shall be made by the national board. In case of
the termination of any allotment the settler shall be reimbursed for improvements
made at his own expense, the value of said improvement to be appraised by the
board.
Provision is then made for payments, in lieu of taxes, by the United
States to the individual State, or local government, for land thus
colonized under Federal management.
With respect to cooperative projects between the Federal and
State Governments, the Kelly bill provides that title shall be held
in one or the other jurisdiction. Section 8 in part provides:
That the national board is hereby authorized to make written, specific cooperative
agreements, in the case of any State, with any particular State official (or any State
board or commission) who (or which) shall be authorized by the State, through ap
propriate official action, to make equally specific agreements with the national
board: Provided, * * * That the absolute title to all land reserved or acquired,
and to all permanent and fixed improvements constructed for any of the purposes
aforesaid shall be retained permanently in public hands (either vested in the United
States or in the particular State according as the one or the other method may be
agreed upon.)
Development of Forest Communities.
The Secretary’s program for “ making new opportunities for
employment” is not limited to the development of the country’s
agricultural resources; it includes also the utilization of the forest
and mineral resources of the country. On the big subject of forest
development the Secretary says: 1
Forest land presents another fundamental opportunity for profitable employment.
Permanent forest areas, outside of farm limits, cover one-fifth of the United States,
including the estimated area for farm wood lots, they will cover nearly one-fourth of
the country. These lands form the basis not only of logging and saw-milling, but of
the manifold woodworking industries as well. But the forest industry, in order to
realize its full value as an opportunity for American workers—whether returned
soldiers or otherwise—must be handled in accordance with the principles of forestry
as against those of old-time lumbering; it must be placed upon a cultural instead of
an exploitation basis; timber culture must replace “ timber mining.”
Lumbering as now generally practiced is a migatory industry; it is therefore a
breeder of migatory labor and hoboism. By placing each logging unit under forestry
so as to obtain therefrom a continuous timber yield, the lumber camp and the “ bunk
'Sixth Annual Report, 1918, pp. 144, 145.
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house ” can be converted into a forest community. The woods worker could then have
a home as permanent at least as that of his fellow workers in other industries, and the
so-called “ wobbly” would be in process of extinction.
This change can not, of course, be accomplished all at once. But a beginning can
be made in time to benefit soldiers now returning from the war. The opportunity
for this beginning is offered in the 150,000,000 acres or more of our national forests.
Forest management of the kind required could be carried on in some cases through
the present system of “ timber sales” ; in other cases it has been suggested that the
Government conduct its own logging operations. This policy has already been initi
ated by the United States forest regiments, not only in France but on our own Pacific
coast where spruce has been cut for airplane stock. The problems of marketing thus
arising would have to be taken up in each case. One important market will consist
of the coming needs of the Government itself for vast quantities of timber.
This part of the Secretary’s program is provided for in section 5
of the Kelly bill.
Development of Mining Communities.
The possibilities for the development of mining communities exist
principally in the coal lands of the public domain in the western
United States and in Alaska. On this point the Secretary says: 1
Mineral land which may be utilized as an opportunity for the employment of
American soldiers now returning consists for the most part of the coal fields which still
remain in the public domain. Some of these are located in the Western States.
The most important, however, lie in the Territory of Alaska. These Alaskan fields
have been permanently reserved, part of the coal to be mined under a leasing system
and part to be retained for Government use A Government railroad has been built
into the Matanuska coal fields, and these under present law can be further developed
in a way to set fair labor standards in the mining industry and for those seeking employ
ment in this northern land.
Speaking of the general resources of Alaska and of the possibilities
of colonizing the Territory, the Secretary says:2
Alaska offers, in addition to her coal resources, what may prove to be one of the best
fields of opportunity for Americans of a pioneering spirit. And this spirit will not
be absent among the men returning from the front. Some 65,000,000 acres of poten
tial agricultural and grazing land await development in the several main valleys of
the Territory. The Susitna Valley will be opened, probably next year, with the
completion of the Government line of railroad from Seward into the interior. In
area, latitude, and climate Alaska is comparable with Scandinavia, and almost all
of the land to be settled is still in the public domain. An opportunity might therefore
be offered our Government in this Territory to establish a modern colonization policy.
Under present law the coal lands of the public domain in the
Western States are not operated under lease, hut are for sale at their
appraised value. In Alaska, however, under the law of October
20, 1914, title to the coal lands is reserved in the United States and
provision is made for operating such lands either through lease or
through direct Government operation. The Kelly bill, in section 6,
makes provision for utilizing the coal-leasing system in Alaska for
establishing a series of mining communities.
»Sixth Annual Report, 1918, p. 145.
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A public hearing on the Kelly bill was held on January 17, 1919,
before the House Committee on Labor. The Secretary of Labor
was unable to attend in person, but sent the Assistant Secretary,
Mr. Louis F. Post, to represent him and to indorse in principle the pro
visions of the measure.
THE KENYON B IL L -A N EMERGENCY EMPLOYMENT MEASURE.
The Kenyon bill (S. 5397), to provide for emergent employment on
public works during the period of industrial readjustment, creates a
“ United States Emergency Public Works Board,” consisting of officers
from certain executive departments, together with two citizens of the
United States to be appointed by the President.
The sum of $100,000,000 is appropriated to the board to enable
Federal agencies to proceed with public work for which the existing
appropriation is insufficient, in cases in which the Secretary of Labor
certifies that there exists unemployment which would be affected by
such public work.
The War Finance Corporation is authorized to advance to State
governments up to $300,000,000 at any one time to enable any State
(or any political subdivision thereof) to carry on necessary public
work in places where unemployment may exist.
The Federal public works here referred to are those already author
ized by Congress, and Senator Kenyon proposed that the appropria
tions for this work, up to $100,000,000, should be made immediately
so as to put the money into use and thereby alleviate unemployment
conditions which were becoming daily more acute. The other main
provision of the bill is to turn $300,000,000 over to State and munic
ipal authorities to spend on local public works in such manner as
they shall elect, provided only that the money be returned to the
Federal Treasury with interest.
The program here proposed makes no attempt to provide for
permanent opportunities for employment; it is a measure designed
to relieve a temporary or recurrent condition of unemployment.
THE REVISED KELLY BILL—A COMPLETE EMPLOYMENT MEASURE.
On account of the radical changes occurring in the employment
situation during the congressional session, Representative Kelly
decided to remodel his bill to meet the new conditions. During the
month of December, 1918, a net shortage of labor in the country
turned into a net surplus. On January 30, Secretary Wilson, appear
ing before a joint meeting of the Labor Committees of the Senate and
House, pointed out that a permanent land development policy
should be adopted, but that the inauguration of such a policy could
not be started in time to meet the present needs for employment.
Consequently work on roads and public improvements should be
started in the meantime.
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Two problems in employment were thus presented: (1) That of
relieving an acute condition (provided for in the Kenyon bill); (2)
that of making permanent opportunities (provided for in the Kelly
bill). The latter measure was accordingly revised so as to meet both
problems, and was introduced in the House on February 5.
The revised bill (H. It. 15672) appropriates $100,000,000 to the
President to carry out the provisions of the act, this to be done
through a “ Director of Public Construction” to be appointed by the
President, and through a “ National Board of Public Construction,”
to consist of the President (or the director) as chairman, and of the
Secretaries of Labor, Agriculture, Interior, War, and the Postmaster
General.
The President (or the director) is to organize a “ United States
Construction Service” to carry out the projects provided for in the
act.
A Federal post road program is to be carried out “ in accordance
with existing plans of the Post Office Department, or otherwise,”
and in connection therewith a motor transport service between
producer and consumer will be established. Authorized public works
are also to be extended, and the housing projects of the Emergency
Fleet Corporation and of the United States Housing Corporation are
to be carried out by the board.
In addition to this immediate work, provision is made for permanent
employment through a series of experiments in establishing, in con
nection with the post roads, or otherwise, one or more actual commu
nities on agricultural, forest, and mineral lands.
Federal, State, and municipal cooperation is provided for with
regard to these activities.
The Immediate Program.
The new Kelly bill provides for the equivalent of everything
contained in the Kenyon bill, including the immediate extension of
authorized public works. It provides also for cooperation with
the States and municipalities and sets forth the manner in which the
work shall be carried on.
In addition to this the bill provides for the immediate prosecution
of a project for building post roads, which has been carefully worked
out in the Post Office Department. This project calls for the con
struction and maintenance of 15,000 miles of roads extending through
out the country, on which, it is estimated, many thousands of
men could be started at work within a short time. It is wholly a
Federal program and would not have to wait upon State action.
In connection with this project for extending new roads, provision
is made for utilizing roads already built by establishing thereon motor
transport postal routes. About 36 of these routes have already been
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129
established. A great saving is effected if small parcels are carried
short distances in motor trucks instead of being sent by rail. But
the important feature of this service is that it provides a ready access
between the producer on the farm and the consumer in the city.
The utilization of this motor truck service for marketing purposes
has already been started. Trucks are at work carrying farm pro
visions of various kinds from the country districts in Maryland,
Pennsylvania, and Virginia into the city of Washington. In this city
at the Park View schoolhouse, which is also a postal station, farm
produce is delivered from the various rural communities and dis
tributed at cost to the local city consumers.
This system could be indefinitely extended throughout the country
wherever good post roads have been made. The War Department
has several thousand motor trucks which could be used for this
service and many of these have been turned over to the Post Office
Department for this purpose. Under the terms of the Kelly bill
these trucks and all other war equipment no longer suitable for the
War Department would be turned over to the President for carrying
out the various projects provided for. By a simple extension of this
motor-truck service many men could be set at work immediately and
the unemployment situation could thereby be instantly relieved.
In addition a start could be made upon a permanent policy for
reducing the high cost of living.
A road-building project was proposed in an amendment to the
recent Post Office bill, and was adopted by Congress in the last ses
sion. A series of appropriations were made for rural post roads,
these to be constructed in cooperation with the several States under
the terms of the Bankhead road bill of July 11, 1916. A total of
$200,000,000 was thus appropriated, to be spent during the next three
years. The actual spending of this money, however, will await
action by the respective State authorities, and it can not be made
available in sufficient amount and in sufficient time to be of much
immediate service in the present unemployment emergency. Neither
does the employment herein provided lead to any permanency for
the workers involved.
The Perm anent Program.
The permanent program of the revised bill comprises the essentials
of the general program of the original bill. The President, through
the director and the board, is authorized to establish upon an experi
mental basis one or more actual farming communities in parts of
the country having good marketing facilities. As far as possible
these would be placed along the motor-truck postal routes already
established. The bill provides also for establishing one or more
actual forest communities within the National Forests, and one or
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more actual mining communities on the coal lands of the public
domain.
The construction work involved in any of these projects would be
carried on, as in the original bill, by a “ United States Construction
Service.” In this service men desiring work would be able to enroll
immediately, though on an absolutely voluntary basis. Nothing
of militarism is contemplated in this service. Its object is to be a
reservoir in times of labor surplus, and a diluter in times of labor
shortage. In periods of unemployment, as now, the service would
be used in “ buffer employment” for carrying on the various kinds
of public works. In periods of labor shortage, such as existed a
year ago, dilution of labor could take place through this service so
as to distribute the available skilled men in such manner as to be
most effective.
Through the agency of such a construction service as here provided
for the immediate program for employment could tie up intimately
with the permanent one. A “ job” on the roads could be made to lead
directly to a living on the land. Farm building would naturally
follow road building. “ Buffer” work could broaden into perma
nent work, and a truly effective land policy be thereby initiated.
THE TAYLOR BILL FOR RECLAIMING AND IMPROVING FARM LANDS.
The Taylor bill (H. R. 15993) provides for employment and the
securing of rural homes for those honorably discharged from the
armed forces of the United States by authorizing the Secretary of
the Interior to acquire property (by condemnation and otherwise),
to withdraw and utilize public lands, to carry on various kinds of
reclamation work and farm improvement, to advance short-term
loans to settlers, to subdivide and dispose of land to ex-service men
“ upon such terms and conditions as he may deem proper, and sub
ject to the terms of this act,” and to make general regulations for the
settlement of such ex-service men on the lands thus acquired and
improved.
The Secretary “ may cooperate with any State irrigation or drain
age district, or municipal corporation, in connection with any project
located therein upon such terms as may be agreed upon.”
All moneys expended “ shall be fully reimbursed to the United
States, the State, or others entitled thereto.” Deferred payment
shall be amortized within not exceeding 45 years, with interest at
4^ per cent.
Lands may be “ dedicated for schools, churches, and other public
purposes, and town sites may be developed and opened for sale on
such terms * * * as the Secretary may determine.”
Ex-service men, so far as practicable, shall be preferred in the
investigation and construction of projects provided for.
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The Secretary of War is authorized to transfer to the Secretary of
the Interior any war material useful for reclamation purposes and
no longer useful for Army purposes.
The sum of $100,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to carry
into effect the provisions of the act.
Although the Taylor bill gives sufficient authority to allow of the
preparation of ready-made farms, no provision seems to be made for
community organization with respect either to marketing or other
essential activities. Provision is made for sohools, churches, and
town sites, but nothing suggests community form of development or
cooperative colonization.
No provision is made for land classification nor for any expert
means of distinguishing profitable agricultural from nonagricultural
land. This leaves the interest of the settler worker unguarded.
Under the Taylor bill lands withdrawn or acquired may be dis
posed of by the Secretary of the Interior “ upon such terms and con
ditions as he may deem proper, and subject to the terms of this
act.” Under this provision an absolute fee-simple title could pass
and the individual thus be exposed to the evils of speculation in
the way which has been described. Under the act land can be ac
quired by condemnation. Hence the title could be taken away from
one owner and turned over to another.
THE MINERAL LAND BILL.
The mineral land bill (S. 2812) provides for disposing of coal, oil,
and other mineral lands on the public domain. Three classes of
minerals are involved: (1) Coal; (2) oil, oil shale, and gas; (3) phos
phate and sodium.
Since all three of these affect industrial processes, provisions
regarding their disposal affect the labor situation. The coal lands,
however, are more directly related than are the other classes of lands
to the immediate problems of the Department of Labor as to present
and prospective employment. Comment will, therefore, be limited
in this article to the coal-land provisions of the bill.
Need of Controlling Labor Conditions in the Coal Industry.
Along with the “ timber wolf” of the logging camp the under
ground worker of the mining camp deserves the special and serious
attention of those whose duty it is to advance the welfare of American
wage earners. This is recognized in the department’s policy with
respect to the use of the forest and the mineral resources. In the
great extractive industries of lumbering and mining the community
must replace the “ camp” if the citizen with a family is to replace
the “ bum without a blanket.” In none of the industries is it more
important to standardize labor conditions than in these.
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Whether or not conditions in the mining industry are sufficiently
realized by the public, they are understood by the workers them
selves and by some at least of the operators. Mr. Francis S. Peabody,
of Illinois, who was chairman of the committee on coal production
of the Council of National Defense, in speaking at a hearing on this
mineral land bill before the Senate Committee on Public Lands, on
June 13, 1917, said:
We have the cheapest production of coal in the world * * * and have used it like
drunken men. We have wasted our substance by taking the nearest coal because we
could produce it cheapest. We have had no thought of conservation of life. We kill
three men in this country for every one man killed on the other side, with more dan
gerous mining conditions on the other side.
Methods of Handling Coal Lands on the Public Domain.
The original method of dealing with coal lands on the public domain
consisted of outright sales of such lands at prices per acre not lower
than the minimum prescribed in the law. This method applied both
in the United States and in Alaska. The consequent tendency was
for lands to be sold at or near the minimum value rather than at
their true value. The result was speculation and attendant ills.
A check was placed on this old-time method. James R. Garfield,
Secretary of the Interior from 1906 to 1909, introduced anew method
of handling coal lands by selling them at their actual appraised value.
He had the coal lands of the public domain classified by the Geological
Survey and their actual value appraised upon the basis of the esti
mated tonnage of coal contained in such lands. Areas like those
which formerly sold at the minimum price per acre of $10 or $20
W ere often sold for $500 per acre. This method has been used ever
since. The result has been the reduction, if not the prevention,-of
speculation in coal lands on the public domain.
But this Garfield system was unsatisfactory from two points of
view: The conservationists considered it a makeshift. They main
tained that the method of alienating the fee-simple title to natural
resources of this kind was fundamentally wrong. Instead of selling
the lands they should be utilized under a leasing system in which
the ultimate control of such lands, and of the industry to be con
ducted thereon, should be in the Government itself. Instead of
selling the lands, even upon the basis of an appraisal, the product of
such land, namely, the mineral itself, should be disposed of by means
of a royalty of so much per ton. Only in this wTay could the true,
natural values be collected for the public benefit. Only in this way,
they maintained, could public control be exercised over the industry
involved. The speculating interests, on the other hand, desired a
reversion to the pre-Garfield system of getting absolute control
through fee simple and of buying the lands at or near the minimum
price required in the law.
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These contending forces fought bitterly for nearly a decade. Early
in this fight, in 1907, the coal lands in Alaska—those without claims—
were withdrawn from entry by presidential proclamation. This
■was done in order to give Congress an opportunity to settle upon
some permanent policy with regard to their utilization. Previous to
this withdrawal, and thereafter, the attempt was made to get a
monopoly control of Alaskan coal through certain valuable holdings.
This attempt, however, was exposed and defeated. And the issues
involved constituted an important feature of the so-called BallingerPinchot controversy, which held national attention 10 years ago.
The main part of the fight here referred to took place in the Taft
administration. But no action was taken until early in the present
administration when the first coal-land la\y embodying a leasing
system was passed by Congress. This is the present Alaskan coal
law signed by President Wilson on October 20, 1914.
The Alaskan Coal Leasing Law, 1914.
Under this law the President is directed to reserve—not only
from sale but lease—certain coal lands for Government and public
purposes. These lands “may be mined under the direction of the
President when in his opinion the mining of such coal in such reserved
areas, under the direction of the President, becomes necessary by
reason of an insufficient supply of coal at a reasonable price ” for the
Government railroads and other works, for the Navy and national
protection, and for “ relief from monopoly or oppressive conditions.”
These reserved lands shall not exceed 12 square miles in the Matanuska
coal field, nor 8 square miles in the Bering River field, nor one-half
of the coal land area elsewhere in the Territory.
Aside from these lands the Secretary of the Interior is directed to
lease any or all other coal lands in blocks, to any one lessee, not to
exceed 4 square miles in area. A royalty shall be charged on a
tonnage basis and an annual rental (to be credited against the
royalties as they accrue in any one year) of $0.25 per acre for the
first year, $0.50 per acre per annum for the next four years, and $1
per acre each year thereafter. In this way the full natural value of
the coal deposits is obtainable to the Government, and a method
provided to prevent the holding of lands out of use. The values
collected are to be spent for the benefit of the Territory of Alaska.
Coal for local and domestic use is provided for free of charge under
certain reasonable limitations.
Definite labor standards are stipulated, including the eight-hour
day for underground workers and provision for their safety while
working.
The Alaskan coal-land law is the first constructive measure, on this
particular matter, to be passed by Congress. It has been in operation
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a little more than four years. During this time a European war
has been waging, work upon the Alaskan railroad has had to be
restricted, and Alaska in general has had to be considered as “ nonessential territory.” It is stated by the Department of the Interior
that only three coal-land leases were in force at the beginning of the
present calendar year, two of these being in the Matanuska field and
the other in the Bering River field.
The obvious need for development in Alaska is to get a market
and a population. The Alaskan railroad is not yet completed be
tween Fairbanks and the coast but this road will probably be finished
within the next year or two. Upon its completion a big opportunity
will be afforded for the growth of Alaska along modern lines. The
comments of the Secretary of Labor on this opportunity have already
been given.
Some definite and aggressive policy for the development of this
distant Territory seems important both for national and inter
national purposes. Workers form the bulk of every population, and
woikers will not go to far-away Alaska unless favorable working
conditions are going to be provided for them when they get there.
This requires that the natural resources upon which the workers
depend for employment shall be controlled not by speculators but
by the Government itself. The present Alaskan coal-leasing law, by
holding control in Government hands, is basic in carrying out the
permanent employment policy of the Secretary of Labor regarding
natural resources.
This policy could be carried out on coal lands in western United
States, as well as in Alaska, if the leasing system were made to
apply there. But such an opportunity would be effectively elimin
ated were the coal-land provisions of the mineral land bill to become
law.
Coal-laud Provisions of the Mineral Land Bill (S. 2812).
The coal-land provisions of the mineral land bill are contained in
sections 2 to 8, inclusive.
Section 2 provides that any qualified person shall “ have the right
to enter by legal subdivisions any quantity of vacant coal lands”
on the public domain in the United States outside of Alaska upon
payment of not less than $10 per acre for lands situated more than
15 miles from a completed railroad, and $20 per acre for lands within
15 miles from a completed railroad. The Secretary of the Interior
“ shall offer such lands and award the same through advertisement
and competitive bidding, reserving the right to reject any and all
bids which he may deem to be unfair.” Development work aggre
gating not less than $8 per acre per annum is required for two years,
at the end of which period patent shall issue for such lands.
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Section 3 provides that the “ Secretary of the Interior is authorized
to, and upon the petition of any qualified applicant shall, divide any
of the coal lands * * * owned by the United States outside of
the Territory of Alaska, unless previously entered under section 2 of
this act, into leasing tracts of 40 acres each, or multiples thereof, ”
up to an area of 4 square miles (2,560 acres).
The next five sections (4 to 8, inclusive) provide for leasing coal
lands under the same conditions substantially as those provided for
in the Alaskan coal-land law except that the lease is indeterminate
instead of being limited to 50 years.
Hence six out of the seven sections of the act which deal with coal
lands consist of leasing provisions, these being taken almost word
for word from the Alaskan coal-land law. The measure is therefore
put forward as a “ leasing bill.” The leasing provisions, however,
would in all likelihood never be actually carried out. They apply
to lands “ unless 'previously entered under section 2 of this act.” And
since section 2 provides in substance for the sale of land in accordance
with the methods in vogue before the Garfield days, the chances are
that most if not all of the more valuable areas would be “ previously
entered” under the inviting sale terms of the said section. Under
these terms coal lands would be sold on an acreage basis, and without
official tonnage estimates, whereas now—under the method started
by Garfield—they are sold on a tonnage basis, officially estimated.
The enactment of this measure, by alienating control of the
mineral lands, would prevent the application of the Secretary of
Labor’s policy for developing these lands as an opportunity for the
permanent employment of returned soldiers and other workers. It
would eliminate, on the lands to which it applied, any such effective
control by the Government as that provided in the Alaskan coal
leasing law for stabilizing labor conditions in the coal-mining industry.
Attempt to Make Bill Applicable to Alaska.
The mineral-land bill was passed in a previous session by both
Houses of Congress, though in somewhat different form in each
House. It therefore was submitted to conferees appointed by each
House to be adjusted, and while in conference the attempt was
made to make the measure applicable to Alaska. This would have
repealed the present Alaskan coal-leasing law and would have undone
the valuable work accomplished, during many years, in developing a
constructive leasing program.
The bill as passed by the House of Representatives carefully con
fined the coal provisions of the act to public lands “ outside of the
Territory of Alaska.” The Senate bill contained this same phrase
as to all coal-leasing provisions, although applying the sale provisions
to “ any State or Territory of the Union.” Based on these wordings
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the conferees made the new bill, both as to the leasing and the sale
features, apply to all public lands, “ including the Territory of Alaska.”
In this manner the conferees reshaped a measure, designed by both
Houses to have no relation whatever with the Alaskan coal-leasing
system, in such a way as to effect the abolition of this system.
The reversal thus made was discovered in the Senate and the bill
was sent back to conference on a point of order. Alaska was then
eliminated from the coal provisions of the bill, and the conference
report thus amended was presented again to each House. The bill
in its new form.passed the House of Representatives but did not come
to a vote in the Senate. Fortunately, therefore, the opportunity still
remains both in Alaska and in the Western States for carrying into
effect the coal-land development policy of the Secretary of Labor.
SOME OBVIOUS POINTS SOMETIMES FORGOTTEN.
In the various programs which have been suggested for dealing
with the employment of returned soldiers and other workers certain
obvious points are sometimes forgotten which, for practical reasons,
should be mentioned.
Mere “ Jobs ” not Enough.
The man who has been dislocated from industry by the war has
the right to demand that he be relocated in industry after the war.
And this means something more than getting the “ handout” of
a mere job, whether on public or on private work. He should
have the opportunity of making a permanent living, of establishing
a family, and of developing a career in some steady occupation.
Hence the need of a comprehensive industrial development, based on
the community unit, such as the Secretary of Labor has suggested.
Opportunity, not Labor, should be Increased.
The Secretary has emphasized the absurdity of creating work for
work’s sake. No problem in labor is solved by the mere making of
labor. To move a pile of rocks from one lot to another and then
back again is no solution of unemployment. On the contrary, labor
should be saved. To conserve natural resources is useful only as it
conserves human energy. At no time is this precious energy to be
thrown away—least of all at this time when the man power of the
world has been reduced by tens of millions.
Efficiency means saving labor. This is done by improved machines
or improved methods. Improved processes of industry may be
utilized to reduce the time or the effort of doing a given piece of work.
And if such processes are not thus utilized they do not save labor.
Where increase of efficiency is used to decrease hours of labor, with
out lessened pay, the result is a double advantage. First, the toiling
time is shortened and the leisure time lengthened; second, unem
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ployment (or the danger thereof) is thereby reduced. How far the
shortening of the day’s work should go should depend of course upon
how much of the world’s work is truly essential. But one thing seems
certain, the shortening process should continue long enough at least
to absorb the involuntary unemployed.
It is evident that there is in this country, at this time, full need of
a vast amount of development work. Here, then, is an opportunity
for legitimate employment. This opportunity should be made
available. But in so doing the principle of saving labor should be
maintained. Otherwise no true opportunity is created. And so
long as unemployment continues, increase of efficiency should be
made, as far as practicable, to reduce the working day and absorb
the labor surplus. Opportunity for work, not work itself, should be
increased.
USE OF WATER RESOURCES AS A LABOR-SAVING POLICY.
The water resources here considered comprise the rivers and
streams of the country. Stream flow is useful for four main pro
ductive purposes—sanitation, irrigation, navigation, and power.
The potential utility, for these several purposes, of the country’s
stream flow has been thus far only meagerly developed. Much
of this flow expends itself each year in destructive flood waves.
The storage and control of this surplus water and its use for the above
named purposes could, under proper direction, be made to save
untold labor effort and human energy.
In the use of water for sanitation and allied purposes, in household
and city, the labor saved in the modern system of “ running water”
over the primitive system of “ hauling water” needs only to be
mentioned. Through the process of irrigation, where fertile soil
can get water in the time and quantity needed, the product of the
farmer’s labor on an area is far beyond that where this process is
lacking. Transportation of a given tonnage by water as well known
requires far less labor, both in original construction and in main
tenance, than that by rail; and where speed is not essential, the
waterway should as far as possible be made to relieve the railway.
Water power is the rival of coal in the generation of electrical
energy for the latter’s varied uses. I t bids fair to be the main
potential source for lighting, heating, and mechanical industry in
the household, the farm, and the factory. The supply of coal is
definitely limited; the power in a stream goes on forever. The labor
required in mining coal is arduous and dangerous. The labor re
quired in utilizing the stream is in large measure limited to that of
original construction. By substituting wherever possible the “white
coal” of falling water for the black coal from the underground, the
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latter is left for the smelting and other uses for which it alone will
suffice, and a vast energy, requiring in the long run almost in
significant labor effort, can be placed at the service of mankind.
The horsepower capable of being developed under present condi
tions in the rivers and streams of the United States is estimated to be
in the neighborhood of 60,000,000. This power could be greatly
increased through the storage of flood waters. Thus far only about
8,000,000 horsepower have been made actually available. A project
to develop this unused latent power would require a vast amount of
construction on reservoirs and other works. This would provide
many opportunities for employment and yet would result ultimately
in a great saving of human labor.
There is grave danger, however, that a large part, if not the
greater part, of the labor conservation thus made possible would
be lost unless the control of this great public utility be kept in public
hands. Fortunately as yet most of the country’s potential water
power remains in public hands; its control is vested in the United
States Government. But if the Government were divested of this
control the opportunity for proper public development would be
practically lost.
Comprehensive plans for the public development of our waters have
been made from time to time by the Interior, Agricultural, and War
Departments, and the Kelly bill provides for extending and coordi
nating the plans here started.
TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT.
“ Some such development of the natural resources of this country
as will tend to make opportunities for workers greater than demands
for work”—this is the suggestion of the Secretary of Labor, made
in 1915, for making new opportunities for employment. By making
more jobs than men we relieve the pressure of men on jobs. This
would be done by offering alternative employment in a compre
hensive construction program for developing the country’s natural
resources. This program would be carried out, under Representative
Kelly’s proposed legislation, through a public “ Construction Service”
in which proper standards of labor would be maintained. By no one
single stroke, perhaps, could so much be done to stimulate healthy
labor standards in American industry generally.
The other programs suggested in Congress are substitutes for
different features of this Kelly labor program. The Kenyon bill
would provide for immediate employment. The Kelly plan would
provide for immediate employment and ultimately for permanent
employment. The Taylor bill would place men on waste lands,
but makes no specific provision for community life, for securing
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profitable farm land, nor for retaining title as a means of protecting
the settler against speculation. The Kelly plan makes specific
provision for each of these matters. The mineral-land bill would
eliminate the opportunity, provided for in the Kelly plan, to develop
the coal industry on the public domain under public control and
proper labor standards.
Here, then, in the Kelly proposal is a comprehensive labor policy,
the result of three years’ work by the Labor Department. Along
with it are the various measures which have been described. Con
gress thus far has taken no action affecting the employment of
returned soldiers and workers. Neither the department’s program
nor any substitute therefor has been adopted. What these unem
ployed men are going to do about it remains to be seen. But
whatever they do their rights are clear. The various plans submitted
to the last Congress will probably be submitted to the next. The
choice by Congress of an inadequate or a backward-looking policy
in this matter may well prove worse than no action at all. The
imperative need is a program that goes to the roots of this prob
lem—not a makeshift that irritates its surface.
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REVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT
SERVICE.1
One of the results of the entrance of the United States into the
war has been the development of a nation-wide public Employment
Service. When the United States entered the war the only agencies
in this country which could be utilized to marshal the industrial
forces were the small employment service maintained by the Federal
Department of Labor as a part of its Immigration Bureau, and several
State employment systems.
During the first five months of our participation in the world
conflict the recruiting of the industrial army—the manning of the
growing shipyards, munition plants, and other war projects—was
a haphazard affair. War industries stole labor from one another.
Plants took on 500 men on Monday morning only to lose 400 the
next Saturday. Some manufacturing districts were crippled as to
output because of labor shortage, while others had a surplus of
workers. Thus was forced upon the country general recognition of
the urgent necessity for a central agency of the Government which
would assemble and distribute the labor power of the country and
stabilize employment conditions.
Opportunity was given for the development of such a central
agency when on October 6,1917, Congress appropriated $250,000 for it.
Later the President gave $875,000 more for the purpose from his
national security and defense fund. Early in January, 1918, the
Secretary of Labor separated the Employment Service from the
Bureau of Immigration and made it a separate arm of the Depart
ment of Labor.
The task confronting the Employment Service was twofold.
It had to build up a network of employment offices and recruiting
agents throughout the country and a clearance system to connect
shortage and surplus, and at the same time supply hundreds of
thousands of men monthly to war industries. This had to be
accomplished with a minimum of disturbance to the industrial
field and to the people themselves. In a few months approximately
two and a half millions of men were drawn from their peace occu
pations and established in war work.
i This account of the work of the Employment Service is compiled from articles appearing in the United
States Employment Service Bulletin. Since this article was prepared the Employment Service has
been compelled to release most of its personnel, thereby greatly limiting its activities, owing to failure
of Congress to provide funds for carrying on the work.
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The following table gives a summary of the 14 months’ activity
of the United States Employment Service:
SUM M A RY
OF 14 M O N T H S’ A C T IV IT IE S OF T H E
S E R V IC E .
U N IT E D
Registra
tions.
Year and month.
ST A T E S EM PLOYM ENT
Help
wanted.
Referred.
Placed.
1918.
January..............................................................................
February............................................................................
March..................................................................................
April....................................................................................
M ay.......... ..........................................................................
June.....................................................................................
July.....................................................................................
A ugust................................................................................
September..........................................................................
October...............................................................................
November..........................................................................
December.................................................................. .........
82,253
92,452
144,156
195,578
206,181
246,564
282,294
555,505
531,226
594,737
744,712
549,593
89,002
92,594
177,831
320,328
328,587
394,395
484,033
1.227,705
1,476,282
1,588,975
1,724,943
1,024,330
62,642
70,369
118,079
171,306
179,821
221,946
250,152
500,510
513,662
606,672
748,934
525,486
51,183
58,844
100,446
149,415
156,284
192,798
217,291
395}530
362,696
455,931
558,469
392,934
1919.
January...............................................................................
February............................................................................
587,306
510,952
730,881
504,114
514,436
422,541
372,186
312,743
Total.........................................................................
5,323,509
10,164,000
4,906,556
• 3,776,750
PUBLIC SERVICE RESERVE.
During the war an essential part of the work of the Employment
Service, that of finding men for war industries, was performed by the
Public Service Reserve.
This division, with 15,000 volunteer enrollment agents, has fur
nished thousands of men—engineers, technical experts, and the like—
to the Army, Navy, and Government departments, and even to the
Emergency Fleet Corporation.
Among the various services performed by the Public Service Reserve
might be mentioned the enlistment of 1,500 motor mechanics for the
Aviation Service; the submission for enlistment of the names of 4,500
men for the railways, of 470 for the Tank Corps, and of 472 for tower
men for the Navy. Altogether the reserve registered and indexed
for service nearly half a million men, skilled and unskilled.
BOYS’ WORKING RESERVE.
The Boys’ Working Reserve, corresponding, among boys from 16 to
21, to the Public Service Reserve, early became a vital factor in
food-crop production. This branch of the service concerned itself
mainly with the mobilization and training of boys 16 to 21 years ofage, and placing them in essential occupations, principally on farms.
Central farm-training camps were established in various States, and
in these camps, under proper supervision and moral influences,
thousands of uniformed boys received intensive training in agricul
ture. From these central camps they were sent out to smaller camps
whence they were taken each morning by farmers who had need of
their services. I t is a matter of record that many crops doomed to
110451°—19-----10
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disaster from lack of labor were saved by the boys so organized and
trained, and in one instance the entire beet crop of a State was saved
by them. Reports from various directors show that more than 95
per cent of the boys so placed on farms proved themselves efficient.
FARM SERVICE DIVISION.
Another division that had to do with the food production of the
country is the Farm Service Division. By this unit, conditions were
studied at first hand, needs diagnosed, plans prepared, and coopera
tion with other divisions touching farm problems was sought. The
result was a system through whose operations the wheat crops of
the West and Middle West were saved at a time when they were in
peril of almost total loss. Preparations for the wheat drive began
early last April with the establishment of employment offices in
Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and
Missouri, to which later were added temporary offices in these States
to assist in the harvest work. Daily reports kept the assistant
director informed as to conditions. A land army of nearly 10,000
men was built up, and the wheat crop was saved. In this drive the
Employment Service had the cooperation of newspapers, motionpicture manufacturers, the National Grange, and rural telephone
companies. The Postmaster General placed at the service of the
Employment Service the cooperation of 98,000 third and fourth
class postmasters and rural carriers.
CENTRALIZATION OF LABOR RECRUITMENT.
As the work of the Employment Service progressed the necessity of
centralizing all recruiting of industrial labor became apparent, and
the War Labor Policies Board decided that such recruiting should
be done through or in accordance with methods authorized by the
United States Employment Service. In June was begun the organ
ization of State advisory boards, community labor boards, and State
organization committees, which brought into practical cooperation
employers, employees, and the United States Employment Service,
for the purpose of recruiting unskilled labor for war work. It was
also a part of the plan to extend the machinery of the service to all
parts of the United States.
This necessitated a readjustment of the Employment Service,
consisting principally of the centering of the responsibility for field
organization in the Federal directors of employment for the States;
the institution of uniform methods of office operation; and the
readjustment of the work of the director general’s office in Wash
ington into five divisions, each in charge of a director.
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FINDING EMPLOYMENT FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS AND WAR WORKERS.
With the signing of the armistice, on November 11, two new
problems arose: First, that of returning men to their former or to
. similar industries; second, that of finding suitable jobs for men of
the Army and Navy.
At a conference held in Washington on December 5, 1918, by a
plan of cooperative action, the national and local machinery of the
national welfare organizations was linked with the United States
Employment Servioe. By this action thousands of agencies, such
as the local units of the Council of National Defense, the 10,000 home
service committees of the Red Cross, and tens of thousands of
churches, social, civic, and other bodies, were brought to the aid of
the Federal Employment Service.
Up to the present approximately 2,000 placement bureaus for
returning soldiers and sailors have been established by the Employ
ment Service and cooperating welfare organizations in towns and
cities throughout the country. In addition the Employment Service
has a qualified representative stationed at each demobilization camp.
Twenty-four hours before the men are discharged they are taken to
the employment office and a record is made of each man.
They are then classified into groups, and each man is questioned as
to the kind of work he desires and is best fitted for. He is then fur
nished a card, directing him to some ‘‘opportunity” open, to the employ
ment office in his home city, or to one of the 2,000 labor community
boards which are assisting the Employment Service in the placement
of the returned soldier and sailor.
If the man is sent to the United States employment office du
plicate cards are made out, one copy of which is given to him, the
other being sent to his home office, with a letter asking that he be
placed in his line of work. These cards are sent out a day or so
before the man is discharged, so that the employment office will be
able to place him by the time he arrives or shortly thereafter. Follow
up cards are used and efforts on the part of the Employment Service
to place the man do not stop until he is in employment.
ACTIVITY OF THE DIVISION OF OPERATIONS.
But aside from meeting the present emergency of replacing the
Nation’s fighters and war workers in industry, commerce, and agri
culture, and serving as one of the chief preventives of widespread
unemployment, the Employment Service has undertaken since the
signing of the armistice several lines of work centered in its Division
of Operations, which will mean a more efficient America in the future.
The junior section is concerned with giving vocational guidance to
boys and girls between 16 and 21. Its field organization is working
in cooperation with State, county, and municipal authorities.
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A professional and special section with two zone offices, one in
Chicago and the other in New York, and numerous offices through
the States under the Federal directors, has been created to secure
employment for the civilians and the discharged personnel of the
Army and Navy possessing special qualifications. A total of 2,600
civilians, Army and Navy applicants, were placed during the month
of January by this branch of the Division of Operations. A special
branch of this section takes care of the placement of professional
women.
The clearance section has for its duty the reallocation of skilled
and unskilled labor to peace-time industries.
The mining section has for its function the handling of matters
incident to employment in mines.
One of the most interesting divisions of the service is the Handicap
Section, which looks after the. placement of the aged and decrepit,
who have heretofore been dependent on public charity and philan
thropic institutions for their sustenance, in positions where they
may earn their own livelihood.
One highly important work which the Employment Service has
been doing since the end of the war, and which if made permanent
will prove of inestimable value to the country, is the gathering of
information as to the changing labor conditions and the conditions
of surplus or shortage by trades in the various industrial centers in
the country. It is this information, gathered weekly by the com
munity labor boards and the Employment Service, that the War
Department has been using as a guide in the cancellation of contracts.
WORK OF THE WOMAN'S DIVISION.
It was early recognized that the successful carrying on of the
work of recruiting women would necessitate the creation of a national
organization. Accordingly, on January 3, 1918, a woman’s division
was created as a subsidiary branch of the United States Employment
Service.
This' division has established 195 bureaus, all working in connec
tion with the 748 United States employment offices; and in the period
from its creation through the month of January, 1919, a total of
549,440 women were recruited.
A new section has been established to take charge of finding jobs
for the large number of women who will be thrown out of employ
ment through a decrease in work in some of the Government depart
ments in Washington.
Following is a list of placements of women, month by month,
during the 14 months, January, 1918, to Februar}7, 1919, showing a
total of 594,440. Contrary to statistics for other phases of the Em
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
ployment Service, all of which have shown, in any given vocation,
the largest number of placements during the month of November,
it will be seen from the following figures that the largest number of
placements of women occurred in September, 1918, when 95,046
women were placed:
January, 1918...
February, 1918.
March, 1918.......
April, 1918........
May, 1918..........
June, 1918..........
July, 1918..........
August, 1918---September, 1918
October, 1918...
November, 1918.
December, 1918.
January, 1919...
February, 1919.
9, 668
8, 547
11,621
17,442
22,344
19.126
29,296
52.127
95, 046
65, 972
81,958
57, 629
64,018
59, 646
Total
594,440
RECOMMENDATIONS OF CALIFORNIA JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
ON UNEMPLOYMENT.
Reference was made in the March issue of the M o n t h l y L a b o r
(p. 56) to the appointment by the Legislature of California
of a joint legislative committee to investigate the condition of un
employment in the State. This committee submitted its report to
the legislature on March 4, and made certain definite recommenda
tions which it is believed, if carried out by the State government,
will materially relieve the unemployment situation. Somewhat ab
breviated the recommendations of the committee are as follows:1
R
e v ie w
1. The committee found the seasonal labor problem * * * an annually re
curring problem in this State and one of general public importance, especially in the
rural districts. Some seasons it is more intense than others.
The committee * * * respectfully suggests that the governor call upon the
University of California, the State bureau of labor statistics, the immigration and
housing commission and other State departments to make a thorough investigation
of the seasonal labor conditions, in order that an adequate plan may be devised for
stabilizing the labor demand throughout the year.
2. Your committee believes that the great body of young men which has been
removed from the industrial life of our nation should be given a reasonable period in
which to accomplish its1readjustment without being brought into direct competition
with the labor of countries whose standards of living are so far below those to which
our young men have a right to aspire, and to this end your committee recommends
that the legislature memorialize the Congress of the United States to restrict immi
gration for a period of years, in order that sufficient time may elapse for the Ameri
canization of certain elements of our population.
1 Assembly Daily Journal, California Legislature, Mar. 4,1919 (pp. 11,12).
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
3. It is reasonable to suppose that on account of the small pay which the soldier
receives and the considerable amount thereof devoted to allotments, insurance, the
purchasing of Liberty bonds, etc., many of our returning soldiers find themselves
embarrassingly short of funds upon their discharge, and therefore your committee
recommends that the legislature memorialize Congress to grant to each soldier one
month’s furlough pay with soldier’s allowance for the first six months of service
thereafter, the same to be paid to the soldier immediately upon muster out from
Federal service as part of his final statement. * * *
4. Many soldiers are mustered out at some distance from their home locality. This
tends to a congestion at points where demobilization takes place, and causes hardship
on the part of the men individually. Your committee therefore recommends that the
legislature urge the War Department to return the soldier to the locality from which
he was inducted into service for demobilization, thereby giving him the opportunity
to make an industrial place for himself under conditions with which he is familiar.
5. * * * The development and construction work on the part of the State would
set a salutary example to private enterprise and furnish an opportunity for the employ
ment of many men. Also pave the way for the development of the State’s natural
resources. Soldiers and sailors should be given a preference in employment on all
State construction and development work. Therefore your committee urges the
pursuance of as vigorous a policy of State construction work at this time as the State
finances will permit.
6. * * * Therefore your committee urges the immediate construction of all
public buildings for which bond issues have been authorized.
7. It is indisputable that the development of the State’s resources requires new high
ways. * * * The committee urges the immediate commencing of highway con
struction, and recommends that the $3,000,000 provided for by the State bonds be
used for initiating this work with a minimum contribution from the counties, but
that it be equitably apportioned and divided between the roads named in the State
bond issue whereby said bonds were voted.
8. Your committee wishes to heartily indorse the State land colonization plan
and that special regard should be given to the development of the project to provide
for soldier and sailor settlements.
9. Your committee indorses the recommendations made by the State committee
on soldiers’ employment and readjustment * * *.
10. Your committee * * * suggests the creation of an emergency public works
board composed of important State officials, such as the governor, the commissioner
of labor statistics, a highway commissioner, the controller, secretary of the immigration
and housing commission, and the State engineer. The purpose of this board would
be to plan that a certain portion of public work not immediately necessary be saved
and done during periods of unemployment.
It should be its duty to secure from the various departments of the State tentative
plans for extensions of necessary public works during periods of unemployment.
These plans should be complete enough so that work can be begun on such projects
on the shortest notice.
I t should indicate to the State departments the advantage of saving up portions
of their public works to be done during periods of unemployment.
To urge the municipalities and counties to adopt a similar policy, and to coordinate
all public works within the State.
N
It should recommend to the legislature methods by which certain appropriations
for public works will become available only during a period of unemployment.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1092]
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
147
I t should recommend methods by which the bond issues for necessary public works,
previously authorized for use during periods of unemployment, may become promptly
available at such times.
The recommendation made by the State committee on soldiers’
employment and readjustment, referred to in paragraph 9, is as
follows:
Whereas many and extensive building plans and projects made and provided
by the United States Government and also by the government of the State of California
are now being delayed and are not put into immediate operation as was originally
contemplated by the enactments provided therefor, because their appropriations
are insufficient to cover present increased costs of construction; and
Whereas the State committee on readjustment, of California, believes that the
United States Government and the government of the State of California, in order to
stimulate private business and to reestablish the confidence of the people, should
begin at once all construction possible and put at once into operation all measures
that have been adopted for this purpose;
Wherefore, the State committee on readjustment hereby urgently recommends
that the Legislature of the State of California give serious consideration to the ad
visability of immediately appropriating sufficient funds to cover such deficits and
take such steps therein as may be deemed by the legislature proper in the premises
in order that the said plans and projects for work may be begun at once; and
The State committee on readjustment further recommends that the Legislature
of the State of California at once memorialize the Congress of the United. States and
request that the Congress give immediate impetus to all Government construction
by the appropriation of adequate sums of money to complete all work outlined, and
that the Congress also provide for and start at once all new construction possible.
EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES IN FEBRUARY, 1919.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics received and tabulated reports con
cerning the volume of employment in February, 1919, from repre
sentative manufacturing establishments in 13 industries. The figures
for February of this year as compared with those from identical
establishments for February, 1918, show that there was an increase
in the number of people employed in 2 industries and a decrease in
11. The two increases, 2.9 and 0.8 per cent, appear in paper mak
ing and automobile manufacturing, respectively. The greatest de
crease, 59.7 per cent, is shown in woolen.
The reports from 10 industries show an increase in the total amount
of the pay roll for February, 1919, when compared with February,
1918. The greatest respective increases—37.3, 34.5, and 32.5 per
cent—appear in car building and repairing, iron and steel, and auto
mobile manufacturing. The largest decrease, 53.7 per cent, is shown
in woolen.
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHM ENTS IN FE B R U A R Y ,
1918, AN D FE B R U A R Y , 1919.
Industry.
Automobile manufacturing...
Boots and shoes
Car building and repairing...
Cigar manufacturing...............
Men’s ready-made clothing...
Cotton finishing........................
Cotton m anufacturing..........
Hosiery and underwear
Iron and steel............................
Leather manufacturing..........
Paper m aking...........................
Silk..............................................
W oolen.......................................
Amount of pay roll
Number on pay
Estab
Per
in—
roll in—
lish
cent
ments
of in
report Period of
crease
ing for
pay
) or
Febru Febru ( +de
roll.
Febru
February, February,
ary,
ary,
ary,
1919.
1918.
crease
1918.
1919.
both
(
)
•
years.
47
74
46
53
37
18
58
63
101
35
54
49
49
110,472
63,536
,52,560
17,164
21,216
11,059
50,589
28,070
168,174
14,894
30,049
13,866
18,516
1 w eek.. 109,583
.. .d o....... 66,023
i month. 53,379
1 w eek.. 19,122
...d o ....... 28,752
...d o ....... 14,721
.. .do....... 50,891
.. .do....... 33,487
¿month. 174,406
1 w e e k .. 15,930
.. .do....... 29,192
2 weeks. 15,869
1 w eek.. 45.929
+ 0.8 $2,445,176 $3,240,057
- 3 . 8 1,002,697 1,279,207
- 1.5 2,122,630 2,913,715
269,102
-1 0 .2
245,867
446,224
-2 6 .2
497,990
194,881
222,404
-2 4 .9
710,267
- .6
620,865
371,234
398,895
-16.2
- 3 .6
8,586,379 11,544,585
258,002
326,369
- 6 . 5
626,854
482,580
+ 2.9
435,397
381,693
-12.6
301,315
650,780
-5 9 .7
1
Per
cent
of in
crease
(+ )o r
de
crease
(-)+32.5
+27. 6
+37.3
+ 9.5
-1 0 .4
-1 2 .4
+ 14.4
+ 7.5
+34. 5
+ 26.
b
+ 29.9
+ 14. 1
-53.7
The following table shows the number of persons actually working
on the last full day of the reported pay period in February, 1918, and
February, 1919. The number of establishments reporting on this
question ds small, and this fact should be taken into consideration
when studying these figures:
COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHM ENTS ON THE LAST
FULL DAY'S OPERATION IN F E B R U A R Y , 1918, A N D F E B R U A R Y , 1919.
In d u s try .
E s ta b lis h
m e n ts
r e p o rtin g
fo r
Fe b ru a ry,
b o th
ye ars.
A u t o m o b i l e m a n u f a c t u r i n g ________________
B o o t s a n d sh o e s
............................................................................
C a r b u i l d i n g a n d r e p a i r i n g .....................................................
C i g a r m a n u f a c t u r i n g ......................................................................
ATenks r e a d y - m a d e c l o t h i n g _______________
C o t t o n f i n i s h i n g .......................................................................................
C o t t o n m a n u f a c t u r i n g ...................................................................
H o s i e r y a n d u n d e r w e a r .........................................................
T r o n a n d s t e e l...............................................................................................
L e a t h e r m a n u f a c t u r i n g ...............................................................
P a p e r m a k i n g ..........................................................................................
S ilk
___ “ ................................................................................................
W o o len ...............................................................
P e r io d
of
p a y r o ll.
N u m b e r a c tu a lly w o r k
i n g o n la s t f u l l d a y o f
P e r cent
r e p o r t e d p a y p e r io d
o f in c re a s e
in F e b r u a r y —
( + ) or de
c rea se ( — ).
19 18
19 19
29
20
46
20
7
13
33
20
79
19
20
1 w e e k ___
. . . d o ...................
m o n t h ...
1 w e e k ___
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
. . . d o ....................
i m o n t h ...
1 w e e k ___
. . . d o ....................
6 3 ,9 8 3
1 1 ,9 2 6
4 7 ,2 9 9
5 ,4 9 9
4 ,5 5 6
1 0 ,3 6 6
2 2 ,9 8 2
1 4 ,8 7 4
1 3 5 ,9 5 2
1 1 ,5 1 4
1 2 ,4 1 1
6 5 ,5 8 7
1 0 ,3 1 1
4 6 ,4 1 7
4 ,9 7 5
3 ,6 0 6
7 ,4 4 9
2 4 ,7 6 8
1 2 ,8 7 6
1 3 5 ,5 0 8
1 1 ,0 6 8
1 1 ,3 4 1
+ 2 .5
- 1 3 .5
- 1 .9
- 9 .5
-2 0 . 9
- 2 8 .1
+ 7 .8
- 1 3 .4
.3
- 3. 9
— 8. 6
23
38
2 w eeks. . .
8,334
32,477
7,473
8,318
-1 0 .3
-7 4 . 4
i
1 w e e k ___
The figures in the next table show that in three industries there
were more persons on the pay roll in February, 1919, than in January,
1919. The largest increase, 2.9 per cent, is shown in men s readymade clothing, while the greatest decrease, 42.1 per cent, appears in
woolen.
Of the 13 industries reporting, 2 show increases and 11 decreases
in the total amount of the pay roll in February, 1919, as compared
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M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
with January, 1919. The increases, 7.9 and 2.4 per cent, appear in
automobile manufacturing and leather manufacturing. In woolen,
cotton finishing, cotton manufacturing, and car building and repair
ing, respective decreases of 44.5, 20.5, 18.8, and 16 per cent are shown.
Many of the decreases in February over January are largely due
to labor troubles and to the fact that several plants were not running
full time. A large number of establishments reported a reduction
in the number of working hours per week.
COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHM ENTS IN JANUARY, 1919,
AN D F E B R U A R Y , 1919.
Industry.
Automobilemanufacturing.
Boots and s h o e s ...................
Car building and repairing..
Cigar manufacturing............
Men’s ready-made clothing.
Cotton finishing....................
Cotton manufacturing.........
Hosiery and underwear. . . .
Iron and steel........................
Leather manufacturing.......
Paper making........................
Silk..........................................
Woolen....................................
Amount of pay
Number on pay
Estab
Per
roll in—
roll in—
cent
lish
ments
of inreporting Period of
crease
pay roll. Janu
for
(+ )
Febru
January
or de January, February,
ary,
ary,
1919.
1919.
crease
and
1919.
1919.
February.
(-).
46
72
46
52
37
17
53
61
96
34
53
46
47
1 w e e k .. 107,741
. ..d o ....... 63,230
£month. 59,185
1 w eek .. 17,180
...d o ....... 20,746
. ..d o ....... 12,574
...d o ....... 50,631
...d o ....... 28,457
\ month. 174,895
1 w eek.. 13,895
. ..d o ....... 30,137
2 weeks. 12,165
1 w eek.. 28,349
108,546
63,242
52,560
17,138
21,340
10,658
48,342
26,459
164 928
13,938
29,471
11,582
16,409
+ 0.7 $2,963,982 $3,197,307
- .1 1,335,821 1,274,665
-1 1 .2 3,467,067 2,913,715
- .2
277,085
268,467
450,502
+ 2.9
449,497
-1 5 .2
188,486
237,213
831,146
674,744
-4.5
422,554
-7.0
382,363
- 5 . 7 12,038,666 11,348,186
306,792
299,744
+ •3
-2.2
639,893
611,828
412,812
361,628
-4.8
-4 2 .1
473,229
262,707
Per
cent
of increase
(+ )
or de
crease
(-).
+ 7.9
— 4.6
-1 6 .0
- 3.1
- .2
-2 0 .5
-1 8 .8
- 9.5
- 5.7
+ 2.4
- 4.4
-1 2 .4
-4 4 .1
A comparatively small number of establishments reported as to
the number of persons working on the last full day of the reported
pay periods. The following table gives in comparable form the
figures for January and February, 1919:
COMPARISON OF EMPLOYMENT IN IDENTICAL ESTABLISHM ENTS ON TH E
FULL D A Y ’S OPERATIONS IN JAN U A RY , 1919, A N D FE B R U A R Y , 1919.
Industry.
Automobile manufacturing
Boots and shoes.....................
Car building and repairing..
Cigar manufacturing........... .
Men’s ready-made clothing.
Cotton finishing.................
Cotton manufacturing.........
Hosiery and underwear.......
Iron and steel.........................
Leather manufacturing___
Paper making........................
Silk...........................................
Woolen....................................
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Establish
ments
reporting
for Janu
ary and
February.
26
31
45
16
8
14
32
24
82
21
21
21
44
Period of
pay roll.
1 w eek___
. ..d o ...........
J m on th...
i w eek___
...d o ...........
. ..d o ...........
. ..d o ...........
. ..d o ...........
£ m on th...
1 w eek___
...d o ...........
2 w eeks. . .
1 w eek___
Number ac' ually working on las t full day of
reported pay period Per cent of
in—
increase
(+ ) or de
crease (—).
January, February,
1919.
1919.
61,809
15,297
52,543
4,091
4,045
8,450
24,528
13,570
141,395
10,570
13,683
5,370
22,351
i Increase of less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
[1095]
LAST
60,539
15,303
45,535
4,506
4,108
7,686
23,923
13,456
136,523
10,767
13,055
5,420
11,196
- 2.1
(»)
-1 3 .3
+ 10.1
+ 1.6
- 9.0
- 2.5
- . .8
- 3.4
+ 1.9
- 4.6
+ -9
-4 9 .
150
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
CHANGES IN WAGE RATES.
During the period January 15 to February 15, 1919, there were
establishments in but 5 of the 13 industries which reported increases
in the wage rates, while decreases were reported in three of the
industries. A number of firms did not answer the inquiry relating
to wage-rate changes, but in such cases it is probably safe to assume
that none were made.
Automobile manufacturing.—The average productive hourly rate
in one plant was increased 0.016 cent. An increase was reported by
another plant but no further information was given.
Boots and shoes.—An increase ranging from 3 to 7 cents, according to
the class of work, was given by one concern; while another establish
ment decreased the wages of about 6 per cent of the help, 4 per cent.
Men’s ready-made clothing.—One establishment granted an increase
of 10 per cent to all productive workers. A 9 per cent increase was
reported by one plant, which failed to give the number of persons
receiving the increase.
Cotton finishing.—A 5 per cent increase was granted by one plant
but no data was given as to the number affected thereby.
Cotton manufacturing.—One plant reported a decrease of 13 per cent
but made no statement as to the number affected. Another plant
reported the discontinuance of a 10 per cent bonus, which had been
given to all of the full-time workers.
Hosiery and underwear.—In one mill a bonus to the entire force was
reduced from 60 to 25 per cent.
Silk.—An increase of 1 to 2 cents per hour to 3 to 4 per cent of the
employees was given by one concern.
INDEX NUMBERS OF EMPLOYMENT AND OF PAY ROLL JANUARY, 1915,
TO FEBRUARY, 1919.
I
Index numbers showing relatively the variation in the number of
persons employed and in pay-roll totals in 13 industries by months
from January, 1915, to February, 1919, have been compiled and are
presented in the two following tables. These index numbers are
based on the figures for “ Employment in selected industries,”
appearing in this and preceding issues of the R e v i e w . The seven
industries shown in the first table are the only ones for which the
bureau has comparable data as far back as January, 1915. Therefore,
January, 1916, is taken as the basis of comparison.
The number of persons whose names appeared on the pay roll
for the base month is represented by 100. The amount of money
carried on the pay rolls is likewise represented by 100. To illustrate,
if the number of persons employed in the iron and steel industry in
January, 1916, is taken as 100, then the number employed in that
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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151
industry in February, 1919, was 128; that is, it had increased 28
per cent; and if the money pay roll in January, 1916, be taken as 100,
the pay roll in February, 1919, represented 250; or, in other words,
the amount paid in wages was two and a half times as much in
February, 1919, as in January, 1916.
IN D E X NUM BERS OF EMPLOYMENT A N D OF PAY ROLL, JAN U A RY , 1915, TO FE B
R U A R Y, 1919.
[January, 1916=100.]
Boots and
shoes.
Month and
year.
1915
January__
February..
March.........
April...........
May.............
June............
July.............
August........
September.
October___
November.
December..
Cotton
finishing.
Cotton
manu
facturing.
Hosiery
and
Underwear.
Iron and
steel.
Silk.
Woolen
manu
fa c tu rin g .
Num
Num
Num
Num
Num Amt. Num
Num
ber Amt
ber Amt.
ber Amt.
ber Amt.
ber
ber Amt.
ber Amt.
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
on
on
on
on
on
on
pay pay pay
pay
pay
pay
pay roll.
pay
pay
pay pay
roll.
roll. roll. roll. roll. rdf. roll. r d f r d f roll. roll. roll. roll.
.
87
87
83
77
79
80
81
82
82
90
94
109
80
77
71
61
66
71
73
76
76
89
97
103
85
94
91
93
93
87
92
90
90
94
104
97
81
90
89
92
93
86
85
88
87
92
94
100
101
101
103
102
103
102
103
101
101
102
103
102
98
103
105
103
104
99
99
100
101
94
99
98
87
91
91
94
96
98
96
94
98
100
101
104
76
81
85
85
90
92
90
89
89
98
100
105
74
71
77
80
82
85
87
90
93
97
97
97
62
65
72
75
74
81
75
83
87
91
98
101
91
93
93
90
90
90
89
91
92
94
97
98
83
90
92
85
88
85
85
87
87
94
100
100
1916
January___ .
February..
March.........
April...........
May.............
June............
July............ .
August.......
September..
October___
N ovem ber..
December...
100
100
101
99
98
99
100
99
98
98
102
107
100
99
101
97
99
102
101
98
98
99
113
125
100
101
103
98
95
96
96
97
96
96
99
101
100
105
107
103
110
110
107
107
109
110
114
126
100
101
101
101
101
102
102
100
100
100
100
102
100
108
no
111
116
115
112
112
114
no
115
123
100
101
103
104
105
105
104
102
104
106
107
108
100
105
108
108
111
110
102
102
108
112
119
124
100
102
105
104
108
109
NO
113
115
115
117
118
100
113
115
115
126
128
111
125
130
135
138
144
100
97
100
101
99
100
101
100
99
100
98
100
100
105
109
108
108
NO
100
103
104
109
108
112
1917
January.......
February...
March...........
April.............
May..............
June.............
Ju ly.............
August.........
September..
October........
November. .
December...
108
108
107
105
104
105
102
97
91
93
101
101
126
128
126
117
122
132
123
122
121
121
137
162
99
99
99
96
98
98
94
94
96
95
98
100
123
122
124
121
132
134
124
123
125
128
140
146
101
102
101
101
100
100
101
99
98
98
100
101
121
123
125
122
127
135
135
129
133
135
153
160
107
108
109
106
108
107
105
103
104
105
106
108
121
120
124
117
126
128
126
122
125
133
144
148
122
123
124
124
127
129
130
134
133
135
136
136
152
149
159
148
176
176
165
183
179
212
214
207
100
99
98
97
95
93
93
91
89
88
88
88
112
114
118
115
118
113
107
107
107
111
111
111
110
112
132
131
131
124
140
139
140
136
142
155
168
175
1918
January........
February...
March...........
April.............
May..............
June.............
July...............
August.........
September..
October........
N ovem ber..
December...
101
102
103
99
97
96
98
96
95
89
92
95
161
158
172
166
166
173
176
173
183
171
156
207
96
96
98
94
93
93
97
95
92
88
89
92
132
129
141
147
149
158
169
161
165
152
147
170
100
95
100
98
96
96
97
97
95
87
92
98
153
140
162
168
173
179
192
189
193
163
164
206
105
107
108
108
107
107
108
107
105
95
101
101
134
135
159
161
166
165
175
171
175
155
148
179
134
135
137
136
138
139
137
138
137
138
135
138
184
190
206
206
236
235
220
245
249
282
257
279
86
88
89
88
87
87
85
83
79
79
76
77
102
104
120
123
127
124
121
123
127
128
107
127
107
105
109
109
106
106
105
104
103
95
98
90
159
139
172
186
180
ISO
185
199
191
162
148
156
1919
January........
February__
95
95
211
201
84
71
143
114
99
95
198
160
97
£0
159
144
136
128
265
250
79
75
123
108
.
.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1097]
88
91
93
94
89
92
90
99
99
102
103
100
102
102
84
88
86
79
79
78
90
82
94
98
100
108
109
104
105
103
112
101
110
97
10 1
102
103
105
107
106
108
105
106
104
104
102
104
107
110
117
104
111
108
116
128
117
65
152
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
IN D E X NUM BERS OF EMPLOYMENT AND OF PAY ROLL, JANUARY, 1915, TO F E B
R U A R Y , 1919—Concluded.
Automo
bile
manufac
turing.
Month and year.
1915.
February..............
March....................
April......................
May.......................
Jun e......................
July.......................
August..................
September...........
October.................
November...........
December.............
Car
building
and
repairing.
Cigar
manufac
turing.
Men’s
ready
made
clothing.
Leather
manufac
turing.
Num Amt- Num Amt. Num Amt. Num Amt. Num Amt- Num Amt.
ber
ber
ber
ber
ber
ber
of
of
of
of
of
of
on
on
on
on
on
on
Pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay
pay roll.
roll. roll. ! roll. roll. roll. roll. roll.
roll.
roll.
roll.
roll.
98
92
80
94
95
97
83
80
84
88
81
98
86 1
70
86
95
107
86
83
95
97
107
101
93
99 I 108
100 j 100
86
87
92
89
95
99
104
108
71
87
71
91
97
104
92
97
108
113
133
106
90
98
94
96
92
97
106
108
106
91
88
92
94
99
94
93
109
116
111
1916.
January................
February............
March....... ............
April.....................
May......................
Jun e....................
July......................
August................
September..........
October...............
November..........
December...........
100
112
114
112
113
109
116
117
123
132
129
125
100
111
117
114
119
115
105
119
132
148
155
135
100
104
109
110
109
111
108
109
113
111
117
116
100
121
132
132
133
134
126
125
128
132
145
154
100
95
99
93
90
91
91
90
93
97
93
96
100 .
94
97
96
96
98
99
97
105
112
110
117
100
98
100
97
102
105
105
97
93
95
101
92
100
105
106
106
105
116
122
118
112
116
126
117
100
112
111
NO
106
104
106
1917.
January...............
February............
March..................
April....................
May......................
June....................
July.....................
August................
September..........
October...............
November..........
December...........
133
' 134
135
133
130
125
118
120
125
126
122
121
137
149
158
153
156
146
141
136
153
160
165
156
111
112
109
104
105
104
108
107
96
103
108
113
136
134
142
130
144
144
134
146
129
153
166
170
97
98
100
92
92
94
94
87
91
98
103
103
111
113
117
106
113
118
117
107
114
127
137
136
107
107
110
1918.
January...............
February............
March..................
April....................
May......................
June.....................
July......................
August................
September..........
October...............
November..........
December...........
119
119
123
124
124
126
122
118
120
121
123
114
137
142
158
161
172
175
170
177
182
192
174
174
113
112
111
108
109
102
110
116
119
125
126
125
151
154
167
166
177
163
196
240
242
271
263
250
103
101
104
103
88
94
96
92
93
87
92
95
1919.
January...............
February............
108
108
159
164
122
109
234
197
89
89
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Paper
making.
71
80
67
......................
..............
[
1098 ]
!
1
91
103
84
96
92
99
101
111
113
116
100
111
105
108
109
112
113
118
111
129
131
141
100
105
103
104
106
108
107
109
102
103
101
114
100
109
106
107
112
118
117
122
NS
122
124
138
113
118
113
108
103
101
104
107
117
123
132
123
135
144
151
141
136
139
154
162
124
121
119
114
109
106
105
104
104
104
111
114
141
145
142
133
133
129
126
130
136
144
157
172
118
117
117
116
113
115
111
103
109
111
114
135
135
136
135
141
144
139
138"
143
148
161
160
129
131
141
142
121
138
139
121
135
125
137
155
102
105
101
101
101
101
102
98
94
86
85
83
147
155
159
154
168
170
172
163
154
146
139
147
111
108
106
102
101
104
106
105
102
98
99
100
163
154
165
161
175
192
192
194
188
177
172
198
112
109
113
112
113
113
114
114
114
106
112
116
140
147
168
171
174
181
191
204
203
194
191
217
141
137
76
78
191
142 I 101
142 1 101 j 196
115
113
206
197
no
no
no
153
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
REPORT OF EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
(GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND) FOR FIVE WEEKS ENDING JANUARY
10, 1919.
As reported by the British Labor Gazette for February, 1919, the
total number of work people remaining on the registers of the 416
British employment offices on January 10, 1919, was 555,194, as
compared with 189,270 on December 6, 1918. These figures com
prise workers in professional, commercial, and clerical, as well as
industrial occupations.
The operations of the employment exchanges for the five weeks are
summarized as follows:
O P E R A T IO N O F B R IT IS H E M P L O Y M E N T E X C H A N G E S F O R
JA N . 10, 1919.
F IV E W E E K S
B oys.
E N D IN G
Girls.
Total.
Item .
Men.
W omen.
On registers Dec. 6, 1918.......................................................
N um ber of in d ivid u als registered during period..........
60,582
222,712
109,269
318,626
10,756
34,790
8,663
36,286
189,270
612,414
..................................- .....................................
283,294
427,895
45,546
44,949
801,684
Reregistrations during period..............................................
On registers Jan. 10, 1919.......................................................
Vacancies notified during period........................................
V acancies filled during period.............................................
A pplicants placed in other d istricts..................................
3,354
183,536
66,535
35,787
6,625
3,921
320,679
60,360
27,198
1,828
579
25,070
9,092
7,180
771
455
25,909
10,456
6,450
958
8,309
555,194
146,443
76,615
10,182
Total
The average daily number of registrations, of vacancies notified,
and of vacancies filled, during the month was 23,874, 5,632, and 2,947,
respectively.
A V E R A G E D A IL Y R E G IS T R A T IO N S , V A C A N C IE S N O T I F I E D A N D F I L L E D , B Y S E X ,
F O R F I V E W E E K S E N D I N G JA N . 10, 1919.
Average daily registrations.
Sex of applicants.
Five
weeks
ending
Jan.
10, 1919.
Increase ( + ) or
decrease ( —)
on a—
Average daily vacan
cies notified.
Average daily vacancies filled.
Increase (+ ) or
Increase ( + ) or
decrease (—)
decrease ( —)
Five
Five
on a—
on
a—
weeks
weeks
ending
ending
Jan.
Jan.
10, 1919. Month Year 10, 1919. Month Year
ago.
ago.
ago.
ago.
Month
ago.
Year
ago.
8,695
Men.....................................
W om en............................... 12,406
B oys.................................... 1,360
Girls.................................... 1,413
+ 3,971
+ 5,880
+
410
+
701
+ 5,299
+ 8,300
+
782
+
782
2,559
2,322
349
402
-2 2 1
+ 1
- 38
- 9
-144
+ 279
- 39
+ 70
1,376
1,046
277
248
-2 5 8
-163
- 28
- 8
- 482
— 560
52
6
T otal........................ 23,874
+ 10,962
+ 14,959
5,632
-2 6 7
+ 166
2,947
-457
-1 ,1 0 0
Compared with the previous month, the daily average of registra
tions showed a percentage increase of 84.9. The daily average of
vacancies notified and vacancies filled showed percentage decreases
of 4.5 and 13.4, respectively.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1099]
154
M O N T H L Y LABOR REVIEW ,
The table following shows, by occupational groups, the number of
individuals registered, the vacancies notified, and the vacancies
filled, indicating the extent of unemployment in Great Britain during
the five weeks ending January 10, 1919.
, v a c a n c ie s n o t i f i e d , a n d v a c a n c ie s f il l e d
F IV E W E E K S E N D IN G JA N . 10, 1919 (G E N E R A L R E G IS T E R ).
in d iv id u a l s r e g is t e r e d
A dults.
Occupation groups.1
Individuals
registered
during
period.
Men.
W o
men.
Vacancies
notified
during
period.
in
the
Juveniles.
Vacancies
filled dur
in g period.
Vacancies
notified
during
period.
V acancies
filled dur
in g period.
W o
Men. men. Men. W o B oys. Girls. Boys. Girls.
men.
A . In su red trades.
in
B u ild in g ......................................................... 33,808 1,992 13,161
i
8,930
98 5,296
W orks of construction...............................
919
113
2,539 2,490
S a w m illin g ....................................................
4,833
422
45
Shipbuilding................................................. 11,257
E ngineering................................................... 69,980 53,358 14,675 1,124
651
1,786
883
16
C onstruction of veh icles............................
490
'738
531
77
Cabinet m aking, etc...................................
8,105 7,153 2,119
493
Miscellaneous m etal trad es......................
987
558
266
399
Precious m etals, e tc ....................................
266
344
471
48
Bricks and ce m e n t......................................
648
340
Chemicals, e tc ............................................... 1,405 1,491
367 1,512
143
239
R ubber and waterproof goods................
3,062 15,916
797
155
A m m un ition and exp losives...................
678 1,954
150
209
Leather, excluding b oots and s h o e s .. .
7,981
3,768
361
2,383
9,001
170
72
914
34
79
437
98
719
52
4
315
2
1
40
205
2
121
359 1,600
7
70
60
29
322
284
209
100
2
12
244
93
77
18
32
25
109
32
4
2
29
5
308
T otal, insured trades...................... 143,479 89,131 44,619 3,370 26,069 2,379 3,851 1,280 3,094
914
99
382
1
2
90
208
46
134
945 1,948
14
81
31
62
329
485
167
168
18
14
194
259
202
21
148
34
95
53
253
67
1
80
54
20
91
B . U n in su red trades.
94
154
5
86
55
18
W ood, furniture, fittings, e tc ..................
26
41
18
23
3,427 37,024 1,947 35,056
687 11,624
D o m estic........................................................
564 3,186
417 1,195
966
495
Commercial and clerical............................ 7,606 17,084 3,038 5,569 2,116 4,425
606
843
791 1,894
551 2,176
C onveyance of m en, goods, e tc ............... 16,468 8,571 5,843
811 1,696
610
1,503 1,363 1,622
269
382
769
103
122
67
A griculture....................................................
197
1
M i n i n g and q uarrying_______________
2,091
145
2
836
177
21
25
12
50
274
6
27
7
B rushes, brooms, e tc ..................................
20
16
3
11
154
1,011
890
220
131
38
49
48
56
P o ttery and glass........................................
26
718 2,512
298
70
Paper, prints, books, and sta tio n e r y ..
385
228
407
107
153
260
T ex tile............................................................. 17,139 69,437
896 4,376
245 1,781
820
164
484
217
1,240 15,253
234 3,094
50 1,057
810
541
D ress................................................................
59
39
101
511
856
349
317
154
67
77
61
B oots and shoes...........................................
60
264 2,041
F ood, tobacco, drink, and lodging........
900 8,226
678 3,036
170
530
775
131
General laborers........................................... 23,030 47,489 3,855
718 2,530
529
46C
541
336
294
532
1,168 15,981
276 1,018
73
139
549
10C
411
Shop assistan ts.............................................
201
191
681 1,265
224
168
G overnm ent, defense and professional. 1,888 3,948 1,050 1,427
742
504
94
11
19
389
293
137
18
8
A ll others........................................................
T otal, uninsured trades................. 79,233 229,495 21,916 56,990 9,718 24,819 5,241 9,176 4,086 5,536
Grand total, all trad es................... 222,712 318,626 66,535 60,360 35,787 27,198 9,092 10,456 7,180 6,450
i O ccupations are grouped according to the industry w ith w hich th ey are m ain ly connected, and appli
cants are registered according to th e “ w ork desired” b y them .
In the insured trades 232,610 adults registered for work during the
period—143,479 men and 89,131 women. There were 53,120 vacan
cies reported—44,619 men, 3,370 women, 3,851 boys, and 1,280 girls.
The number of positions filled was 32,456—26,069 men, 2,379 women,
3,094 boys, and 914 girls. The occupational groups in which the
largest number of positions was filled by adults were: Engineering,
9,946, and building, 8,080.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 1100]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
155
In the uninsured trades there were 308,728 adults registered—79,233
men and 229,495 women. The number of vacancies reported was
93,323—21,916 men, 56,990 women, 5,241 boys, and 9,176 girls. The
total number of positions filled was 44,159—9,718 men, 24,819 women,
4,086 boys, and 5,536 girls. The occupational group in the uninsured
trade in which the largest number of positions was filled by adults
was: Domestic, 12,311.
The total number of positions filled by adults in both the insured
and uninsured trades during the five weeks ending January 10, 1919,
as compared with the preceding month, shows a decrease of 7.7 per
cent. The decrease in the number of positions filled by men was
8.8 per cent; by women, 6.2 per cent. The largest number of both
men and women were employed in domestic trades.
VOLUME OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND) IN JANUARY, 1919.
The following figures as to the condition of employment in Great
Britain and Ireland in January, 1919, as compared with December,
1918, and January, 1918, have been compiled from figures appearing
in the British Labor Gazette for February, 1919. Similar information
for October was published in the January Review.
In comparing January, 1919, with December, 1918, as to number
of employees, only one large increase—8.9 per cent, in seamen—
is shown, while a number of slight increases, ranging from 0.1 to 3.8
per cent, appear. The largest decreases shown are 5.8, 4.5, and 4.4
per cent in sawmilling and machining, wholesale mantle, costume,
blouses, etc. (London) and the engineering trades, respectively, while
several small decreases appear. These range from 0.2 to 2.2 per cent.
In January, 1919, as compared with December, 1918, relative to
the number of persons employed, seamen show an increase of 29.4
per cent; dock and riverside labor, an increase of 20 per cent; and
cement trade, an increase of 9.6 per cent. The engineering trades and
the wholesale mantle, costume, blouses, etc. (London) show the
largest respective decreases of 12.3 and 10.8 per cent.
The aggregate earnings of employees in January, 1919, as com
pared with January, 1918, show an increase of 13.8 per cent in the
jute trade, while other increases are shown which range from 0.3 to
2.6 per cent. Decreases of 4.1 and 3.5 per cent are shown in the
pottery and brick trades, respectively.
Comparing January, 1919, with January, 1918, on the question of
earnings of employees, more important changes are shown, all of
which are increases. The cotton trade shows an increase of 44.5
per cent; linen, an increase of 34.8 per cent; printing trades, 33.9
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
per cent; and the bookbinding trade shows an increase of 33.6 per
cent. Thirteen trades show increases ranging from 14.6 to 28.2
per cent.
VOLUME OF EM PLOYMENT IN T H E U N IT E D KINGDOM (GREAT B R IT A IN AND
IR E L A N D ) IN JA N U A RY , 1919, AS COM PARED W ITH DECEM BER, 1918, AND JAN
UA R Y , 1918.
¡Compiled from figures in the Labour Gazette, London, February, 1919.)
Industries, and basis of
comparison.
Per cent of
j
increase (+ ) or i
decrease (—) in I
January, 1919. as
compared w ith—
Industries, and basis of
comparison.
Decem January, |
ber,
1918.* i
1918.
Coalmining: Average number of
days worked................................ - 3.5
Ironmining: Average number of
days worked................................ - 1.7
Quarrying: Average number of
days worked................................ - 3.5
Pig iron: Number of furnaces in
+ 4.1
Iron and steel works:
Number of employees .........
1. 7
Number of shift's worked---- — 1.5
Engineering trades: Number of
employees1.................................. - 4.4
Shipbuilding trades: Number of
em ployees1.................................. - 2.2
Tinplate, steel, and galvanized
sheet trades: Number of mills
in operation.................................. + 8.3
Cotton trade:
Number of employees...........
(2)
Earnings of employees..........
(2)
Woolen trade:
Number of employees............ + -4
Earnings of employees.......... - 1.3
Worsted trade:
Number of employees............ + 1.2
Earnings of employees.......... - .6
Hosiery trade:
Number of employees........... + 1.9
Earnings of employees.......... - .3
Jute trade:
Number of employees........... - .2
Earnings of employees.......... + 13.8
Linen trade:
Number of employees............
Earnings of employees.......... + 1 3
Bilk trade:
Number of employees........... + .7
Earnings of employees.......... + L7
Carpet trade:
Number of employees............ + 1.9
Earnings of employees.......... + 2.1
Lace trade:
Number of employees............ + • 2
Earnings of employees.......... + 2.5
Bleaching, printing, dveing.
and finishing:
Number of employees............ + .5
Earnings of employees.......... .4
Boot and shoe trade:
Number of employees............ + L I
Earnings of employees.......... - 1.4
Leather trades: Number of em5
ployees1........................................
Tailoring trades:
Number of employees............
19
Earnings of employees.......... — 2.1
Shirt and collar trade:
Number of employees............ + 1.0
Earnings of employees.......... + 1.1
Other clothing trades:
Dressmaking and millinery—
Number of em ployees...
- 1.5
Wholesale mantle, costume,
blouses, etc.—
+ 4.1
Number of employees—
London......................
— 5.1
Manchester................
Glasgow......................
4.9
Corset trade: Number of
- 6.0
employees.............................
Building and construction of
-1 2 .3
works: Number of em ployees1.
- 4.4 Sawmilling and machining:
Number of em ployees1.............
Brick trade:
Number of employees............
+ 26.7
Earnings of employees..........
-4.7
Cement trade:
Number of employees...........
-4-44.5
Earnings of employees..........
- 2.5 Paper, printing, and bookbinding trades:
+ 22.3
Paper trades—
— 2.0
Number of employees
reported by * trade+ 28.2
unions1.........................
Number of employees
- .6
reported by employers.
+ 16.1
Earnings of employees
reported by employers.
+ 4.3
Printing trades—
+ 14.6
Number of employees
reported by trade- 2.6
unions1........................
+34.8
Number of employees
reported by employers.
— 1.5
Earnings of employees
+23.0
reported by employers.
Bookbinding trades—
— .5
Number of employees
+ 24.4
reported by tradeunions1........................
— 8.1
Number of employees
+ 4.7
reported by employers.
Earnings of employees
reported by employers.
- 6.9
+ 12.4 Pottery trade:
Number of employees...........
- 3.5
Earnings of em ployees..
+ 19.3 Glass trades:
Number of employees...........
Earnings of employees
+ .4
Food preparation trades:
Number of employees ..
13
Earnings of employees ___
+ 18.0
Dock and riverside labor: Number of employees
...............
+ .2
+ 26.1
Seamen: Number of employees.
Per cent of
increase (+ ) or
decrease (—) in
January, 1919, as
compared w ith—
Decem January,
ber,
1918.
1918.
+ 2.6
+ 3.8
+ 4. 6
- 4 .5
- 2 .1
—2.0
—10 8
.6
+ 4.1
+ 2.0
- 7.8
-1 .2
- 5.4
-5 .8
- 9.S
(3)
- 3 .5
—43
+ 12.0
+ 2.5
- .2
+ 9 j
+ 26. 0
- 1 .4
- 1.9
- 1 .4
(3)
+ .3
+ 21.0
3
+ 2.1
+ 1.8
+ .6
+33.9
.8
- 1.1
(s)
+ 1.4
-2 .2
+ 33.6
— .7
-4.1
— 3.4
+ 18.2
+ .4
- 7.2
+ 9.1
+ 2.3
+27.4
+14
+ 8.9
4-20 0
+ 29.4
1 Based on unemployment returns.
2 Owing to a strike, it is impossible to give the usual statistics showing a comparison of employment
between January and December.
- No change.
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[1102 ]
AGREEMENTS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND EM
PLOYED.
JOINT INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL OF BRADFORD (ENGLAND) CITY CORPO
RATION AND ITS EMPLOYEES.
In line with the recommendations of the Whitley committee for
the establishment of joint industrial councils, the Bradford (England)
city council has organized a joint consultative board of the corpo
ration and its employees to consider at regular intervals questions
of wages, rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, and to take
necessary steps to prevent the differences and misunderstandings
between the corporation and its employees, according to information
from the United States consul at Bradford under date of January
16, 1919. The corporation, continues the consul, is the largest
employer of labor in the city, having nearly 7,000 employees, such
as school teachers, clerks, etc., and employees in the various public
services, such as tramways, and the municipal gas, electricity, and
water works, etc.
The board will consist of 32 members, one-half appointed by the
corporation, and the other half by the respective sections or groups
of employees. The scheme will not in any way interfere with the
liberties of the corporation on the one hand or the rights of the
unions on the other. The board will represent all sections of the
employees, and the unions will, as heretofore, have full power to
approach the respective committees of the corporation upon any
matters they desire to bring forward.
National industrial councils are in process of formation for most
industries, including tramways, gas, water, and electricity, while
the National council for all employees of local authorities other than
the four large trading undertakings above mentioned has been
formulated by a drafting committee from the large municipal asso
ciations on the one hand and representatives of 12 large tradeunions on the other. The Bradford local board was formed after
consultation with the Minister of Labor. Already, it is stated,
other municipalities are considering the formation of similar local
boards.
In a printed copy of the draft scheme which has been received by
this bureau the functions of the board are stated to be—
to secure the largest possible measure of joint action between the corporation and its
employees for the development of the various services of the corporation and for the
improvement of the conditions of all engaged therein.
1 1 0 4 5 1 °— 19------ 11
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157
158
MONTHLY LABOE EEVIEW.
Among its more specific objects are the following:
To provide, in respect of the services concerned, for (a) the consideration at regular
intervals of wages and rates of pay, hours, and working conditions (including the
method of adjustment of earnings to actual or anticipated new conditions).
(b) The consideration from time to time of such matters as sickness and accident
pay. compensation and unemployment and underemployment pay.
To take such action as it may deem necessary or desirable to prevent differences
and misunderstandings between the corporation and its employees.
The immediate consideration of any differences between any parties and sections
in the corporation service, and the establishment of any necessary machinery for this
purpose with the object of securing the speedy settlement of the differences.
The collection of statistics and information, as and when agreed upon, on matters
appertaining to the services concerned.
The encouragement of the study of processes and design and of research with a view
to perfecting the services concerned.
The provision of facilities for the full consideration and utilization of inventions
and improvements in machinery or method, and for the adequate safeguarding of
the rights of the designer of such improvement, and to secure that such invention
and improvement in machinery or method shall give to every person concerned an
equitable share of the benefits, financial or other.
Inquiries into the special problems of the services concerned, including the com
parative study of the organization and methods of the services in this and other coun
tries, and where desirable the publication of reports.
The consideration of the means to secure that the employees shall have a greater
share in and responsibility for the determination and observance of the conditions
under which they carry on their work in so far as it affects the health (including hous
ing) of workers employed in the services concerned, with a view to improvement,
and the provision for special health treatment where necessary for workers in the
services concerned.
To provide the best means of securing (1) the observance by the corporation and
its employees of the decisions and agreements mutually arrived at by their represen
tatives; (2) the greatest possible security and continuity of employment.
The consideration of any proposed general legislation affecting corporation employees
and representation of the needs and wishes of the board to Parliament or Government
departments through the city council.
The consideration of arrangements for the supervision of the entrance into and
training for the various services of the corporation and cooperation with education
authorities in arranging education in all its branches for such services.
The consideration of measures for securing the inclusion of all workpeople in such
services in their appropriate trade-unions or associations.
To take steps to provide that the board, either directly or through its subcommittees,
shall be the “ works committee” under any national industrial council which covers
any service or services of the corporation.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN
TRADE-UNIONS AND
TIONS IN GERMANY.
EMPLOYERS’ ASSOCIA
It was only a week after the overthrow of the Imperial Government
when it became apparent that the revolution had considerably
increased the influence of the trade-unions in political and economic
life. The relations between large industrial employers and the labor
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
M ONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
159
movement have assumed an entirely new aspect. While under the
monarchical régime the former never acquiesced in recognizing the
trade-unions as the legitimate representatives of labor and always
declined negotiations with them, they have been forced to reverse
their policy under the pressure of present conditions. Even before
the revolution an understanding had been arrived at between
employers’ associations and trade-unions in the mining and metal
industries. This development has made further progress during the
first week of the revolution. As a result of negotiations carried on
at Berlin, 21 of the largest German employers’ associations, repre
senting nearly every important industry group, and the seven
trade-union and salaried employees’ federations, entered into a
joint declaration of principles to govern future industrial relations.1
The agreement has been termed the Magna Charta of German labor.
It is reproduced below as printed in the Reichsarbeitsblatt for Decem
ber, 1918 (p. 874).
1. The trade-unions shall be recognized as the legitim ate representatives of labor.
2. Restriction of the freedom of com bination and association of male and female
workers shall not be perm itted.
3. H enceforth employers and em ployers’ associations shall not concern themselves
w ith the w orkm en’s societies (so-called nonm ilitant or “ yellow” trade-unions) and
shall not support or subsidize them , either directly or indirectly.
4. All workmen returning from m ilitary service, on reporting for work, shall be
entitled to im m ediate reinstatem ent into the situation occupied by them before
the war. The em ployers’ and workers’ federations affected shall use all possible
efforts to provide raw materials and orders so th at the above obligation m ay be com
plied with.
5. Joint regulation and equipartisan adm inistration of em ploym ent offices.
6. The working conditions of all male and female workers are to be determ ined in
accordance w ith conditions in th e trade in question through collective agreements
w ith the workers’ trade organizations. Negotiations relating thereto shall be imme
diately in itiated and be concluded as soon as possible.
7. In each establishm ent employing at least 50 workers a workmen’s comm ittee
shall be appointed w hich shall represent the workers, and, in cooperation w ith the
employer, shall see to it th a t the working conditions are regulated in accordance with
the collective agreem ent.
8. The collective agreem ents shall provide for th e establishm ent of conciliation
and arbitration boards, composed of an equal num ber of em ployers’ and workers’ rep
resentatives.
9. The m axim um regular daily hours of work shall be fixed for all establishm ents
at eight hours. Reductions of wages owing to a shortening of th e hours of work shall
not take place.
10. For the enforcement of this agreem ent as well as for th e regulation of further
measures necessary during dem obilization to m aintain economic life, and to guaran
tee the very existence of the working people, especially those seriously disabled in
the war, the interested em ployers’ and workmen’s organizations shall establish a joint
central comm ittee on an equipartisan basis and representing the various trades.
»Kölnische Volkszeitung. Cologne, Nov. 16, 1918. Noon edition. Also Deutscher Reichsanzeiger.
Berlin, Nov. 18,1918.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
11. This central comm ittee shall also decide all fundam ental problems in so far as
such arise in the collective regulation of wage and working conditions and shall me
diate disputes in which several occupational groups are sim ultaneously interested.
12. Its decisions shall be binding upon both employers and workers unless they
are contested w ithin one week b y one of the trade organizations affected.
13. This agreem ent comes into force on the date of its signature and shall w ithout
prejudice to other legal regulation rem ain in force indefinitely, w ith the m utual r ght
of its abrogation on three m onths’ notice. This agreem ent in its in te n t shall be alike
applicable to the relations betw een em ployers’ and salaried employees’ organizations.
The agreement bears a long list of signatures of the largest em
ployers’ associations, the Free (social-democratic), Hirsch-Duncker,
and Christian trade-unions, several salaried employees’ organiza
tions, and the personal signatures of a number of leading manufac
turers and labor leaders.
The agreement is also signed by the German Provisional Govern
ment and published by it in the Reichsanzeiger, the official organ of
the Government. The Government, moreover, has instructed the
managers of national State, and municipal establishments to ob
serve the provisions of the agreement.
GERMAN DECREE REGULATING COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS, WORKERS’
AND EMPLOYERS’ COMMITTEES, AND ARBITRATION OF LABOR DIS
PUTES.
In view of the steadily growing importance in Germany of col
lective agreements between employers and workers’ and salaried em
ployees’ organizations as to working and wage conditions, the Coun
cil of People’s Commissioners on December 23, 1918, promulgated
a decree giving such collective agreements legally binding force. The
decree also regulates the election and functions of workers’ and
salaried employees’ committees and the arbitration of labor disputes.
The full text of the decree as published in the Reichsanzeiger1 is as
follows :
P art
I.— C o l l e c t iv e A g r e e m e n t s .
A r t ic l e 1. If the conditions for the conclusion of labor contracts betw een workers’
organizations and indiv id u al employers or organizations of employers have been
regulated through an agreem ent in w riting (collective agreem ent^ labor contracts
betw een the interested parties shall be ineffective in so far as th ey do not conform to
such regulations. Nonconforming contracts shall, however, be effective in so far as
the collective agreem ent perm its their conclusion or as th ey contain a change of work
ing conditions more favorable to the worker and not ex p licitly excluded in the col
lective agreem ent. Ineffective provisions are to be replaced by the corresponding
provisions of the collective agreem ent.
Interested parties, w ithin th e m eaning of paragraph 1, are employers and workers
who are parties to th e collective agreem ent or members of th e signatory organizations,
or on the conclusion of th e labor contract have been members of these organizations,
or who have concluded a labor contract which refers to th e collective agreement.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1 Deutscher Reichsanzeiger, Berlin, Dec. 28,1918.
[1106]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
161
A r t . 2 . Collective agreements that have become of predominant importance in
the development of working conditions in an occupation within the territory coveredby the agreement may be declared generally binding by the Federal Labor Depart
ment ( R e ic h s a r b e its a m t). In such a case they shall, within the territory in which they
are binding, also be binding, within the meaning of article 1, where the employer or
worker or both of them are not interested parties in the collective agreement.
In case of a dispute when a labor contract comes within several generally binding
collective agreements, and without prejudice to a nonconforming decision of the
Federal Labor Department, that collective agreement shall be considered as the gov
erning one which contains provisions regulating the largest number of labor contracts
in force in the establishment.
A r t . 3. A declaration of the Federal labor department in pursuance of article 2
shall be made only on request. Each signatory party to the collective agreement,
as well as organizations of employers or workers who would be affected by the decla
ration of the Federal labor department, is entitled to make such a request.
The signatory parties to the agreement must append to their request the original or
an officially attested copy of the collective agreement. If the request is made by
other organizations, the Federal labor department must obtain the original or a copy
of the agreement from the signatory parties, who are bound to deliver it.
A r t . 4. Any such request must be published by the Federal labor department in
the Deutscher Reichsanzeiger. The publication must state the time limit within
which protests may be lodged. The organizations which are signatory parties to
the collective agreement shall, moreover, be requested to express their opinion.
After the expiration of the time limit for protests the Federal labor department
shall, after consideration of any protests that may be made, decide on the request,
which decision shall be final. If it grants the request it shall simultaneously de
termine at what time the collective agreement becomes generally binding.
A r t . 5. Generally binding collective agreements, with designation of the terri
tory in which they are binding and of the date on which they become generally bind
ing, shall be entered in a special register, which shall be kept by the Federal labor
department or by an authority designated by that department in accordance with
detailed regulations to be issued by it. The originals or officially attested copies of
the collective agreements shall be preserved as appendixes to the register.
Inspection of the register of collective agreements and of its appendixes shall be free
to anybody during regular office hours. Employers and workers for whom a collective
agreement has been made bindingby declaration of the Federal labor department may,
moreover, demand from the signatory parties a reprint of the agreement, on payment
of the costs.
Entries in the register of collective agreements are to be published in the Deutscher
Reichsanzeiger, and in such publication the provisions of article 2 shall be pointed out.
A r t . 6. If a collective agreement has been declared generally binding the provisions
of articles 2 to 5 shall also be correspondingly applicable in case of amendment of the
agreement.
P a r t II.—W o r k e r s ’ a n d S a l a r ie d E m p l o y e e s ’ C o m m it t e e s .
A r t . 7. In all establishments in which, under article 11 of the law on the national
auxiliary service, permanent workers’ or salaried employees’ committees are in exist
ence, a new election of the members of these committees and their alternates shall
take place without prejudice to article 12. The present members and their alternates
shall remain in office until these elections have taken place.
A r t . 8. In all establishments, administrations, and bureaus in which as a rule at
least 20 workers are being employed and in which permanent workers’ committees
are not already in existence in accordance with article 7 of this decree or in pursuance
of the mining laws, such committees shall be created without prejudice to article 12.
[1107]
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
162
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
This is also applicable to establishments in which hitherto permanent workers’ or
salaried employees’ committees have existed under article 134h of the Industrial
Code and in consequence workers’ committees under article 11 of the national auxili
ary service law were not constituted.
In establishments in which at certain times of the year an increased demand for
labor arises regularly, workers’ committees shall be formed if at these times at least
20 workers are being employed.
Art. 9. In all establishments, administrations, and bureaus in which as a rule at
least 20 salaried employees are being employed and permanent salaried employees’
committees in accordance with article 7 of this decree do not exist such committees
shall be formed without prejudice to article 12.
Salaried employees, within the meaning of this decree, are all persons subject to '
insurance in accordance with the salaried employees’ insurance law, inclusive of those
exempted by article 11 or article 14, Nos. 2 and 3, of the same law, and also those per
sons who would be subject to insurance if their annual earnings did not exceed 5,000
marks [$1,190] or their age the sixtieth year. Employees holding a general power of
attorney, as well as representatives of undertakings entered in the commercial register
or in the register of cooperative societies, shall not be considered as salaried employees.
Article 8 of this decree shall be correspondingly applicable.
Art. 10. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article,
the provisions of articles 7 to 9 of this decree shall also be applicable to establishments,
administrations, and bureaus of the National Government, the Federal States, com
munes, and communal unions, as well as to the administrations of the carriers of the
legal workmen’s and salaried employees’ insurance.
In the transportation undertakings of the National Government and of the Federal
States the formation of workers’ and salaried employees’ committees shall take place
in the same way, on the basis of special agreements between the proper administra
tive authorities and the interested workers’ organizations. Each worker and salaried
employee must be represented in a committee by representatives to be elected in
accordance with the principles of proportional representation.
In railroad administrations which are private undertakings the consent of the super
visory authorities is required for such regulation.
Art. 11. The members of workers’ and salaried employees’ committees to be formed
under articles 7 to 9 and article 10, paragraph 1, of this decree shall be elected by the
workers or salaried employees of the establishment, administration, or bureau, or of
the division of the establishment, administration, or bureau, for which the committee
is to be formed, from among themselves by direct and secret ballot on the principle
of proportional representation. In all other respects the regulations issued in pur
suance of article 11, paragraph 2, sentence 3, of the law on the national auxiliary
service shall be applicable to the formation and composition of workers’ and salaried
employees’ committees and to the election for these committees, with the following
modifications:
(1) All male and female workers and salaried employees at least 20 years of age and
possessing civic rights shall be entitled to vote and be eligible.
(2) The employer shall appoint an election board of three members for the election
of a workers’ committee as well as for that of a salaried employees’ committee, which
shall have charge of the elections. The members of the election board shall be
appointed from among the oldest persons entitled to vote. They shall by plurality
of votes elect a chairman from among themselves, and if their voting is without result
the oldest among them shall be chairman.
(3) In establishments, administrations, and bureaus in which as a rule less than 50
workers or employees are employed, the workers’ or salaried employees’ committees
shall each consist of three members and a like number of alternates.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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163
(4)
The,State central authority shall, without prejudice to the provisions of Part
I II of this decree, determine what authorities shall decide disputes as to the necessity
of creating a workers’ or salaried employees’ committee, the right to vote or the eligi
bility of a worker or salaried employee, the organization, competence, and business
management of a workers’ or salaried employees’ committee, and all disputes arising
from the elections to workers’ or salaried employees’ committees, and shall also regulate
the procedure for the settlement of such disputes. In the case of establishments,
administrations, and bureaus of the Federal Government and of administrations of
the carriers of the workmen’s and salaried employees’ insurance, the highest competent
Federal authority shall take the place of the State central authority, and in the case
of establishments, administrations, and bureaus of the military administration, the
competent ministry.
Art. 12. If another representative workers’ or salaried employees’ committee is
in existence in an establishment, administration, or bureau in accordance with a
collective agreement declared legally binding under article 2 of this decree, the
formation of a workers’ or salaried employees’ committee in pursuance of articles 8 to
11 or a new election of a committee already existing under article 7 of this decree
shall not take place.
Art. 13. The workers’ and salaried employees’ committees (articles 7 to 10 of this
decree), as well as representative committees of workers and salaried employees
established in accordance with article 12 of this decree, shall safeguard the economic
interests of the workers and salaried employees against the employer in the estab
lishments, administrations, or bureaus. In cooperation with the employer they
shall supervise the enforcement in the establishment of the collective agreements
affecting it. In so far as the working conditions are not regulated by collective
agreements the committees shall, in agreement with the interested economic organ
izations of the workers and salaried employees, take part in the regulation of wages
and other working conditions. It shall be their duty to see to it that friendly relations
are maintained within the working force or the staff of salaried employees and between
them and the employer. They shall give special attention to the combating in the
establishment, administration, or bureau of dangers to health and life. In estab
lishments coming under Title V II of the Industrial Code they shall by proposals,
advice, and information assist the factory inspection service in combating such
dangers, and in other establishments they shall assist other competent authorities.
On request of at least one-fourth of the members of a workers’ or salaried employees’
committee a meeting must be convened and the subject proposed for discussion
must be made the order of the day.
The right of workers’ and salaried employees’ committees and of committees con
stituted in accordance with article 12 of this decree of appealing to the arbitration
committee or other conciliation or arbitration boards is regulated in detail by article
20 of this decree.
The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 do not prejudice the right of workers’ and salaried
employees’ economic organizations to represent the interests of their members. Their
authorized representatives shall, in so far as they act in agreement with the workers’
or salaried employees’ committee or as its agents, be recognized as entitled to
conduct negotiations.
Art. 14. Employers and their representatives are prohibited from restricting their
workers or salaried employees in the exercise of their right of voting at the elections
of workers’ or salaried employees’ committees or in the acceptance or exercise of the
duties of membership of such a committee or to discriminate against them on account
of such acceptance or mode of exercise. A reduction of earnings shall not be incurred
because of absence from work owing to election of or membership on a committee.
Agreements running counter to these provisions shall be invalid.
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The provisions of paragraph 1 shall be correspondingly applicable to representations
of workers or salaried employees designated in article 12.
Employers or their representatives disobeying the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2
shall be punished by a fine up to 300 marks [$71.40] or imprisonment, unless other
legal regulations provide more severe punishment.
P art I I I .—Adjustment of L abor Disputes.
Art. 15. For the time being and until the adjustment of labor disputes has been
otherwise legally regulated, new arbitration boards shall, without prejudice to article
19 of this decree, be established at the seat in the districts of the former arbitration
boards created or admitted in pursuance of the law on the national auxiliary service
(art. 9, par. 2, and art. 10, par. 3), in accordance with the following provisions:
The arbitration boards shall consist of two permanent and one nonpermanent repre
sentative of the employers and a like number of representatives of the employees of
their district. In addition, a nonpartisan chairman of the board may be appointed
in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
The permanent representatives of the employers and employees in the old arbitra
tion boards and their alternates shall in the same character enter the new boards.
For outgoing permanent representatives and their alternates the State central author
ities of the Federal State in whose territory the seat of the arbitration board is located
shall appoint other representatives and alternates, and, in so far as this is possible,
shall make these appointments from lists submitted by economic organizations of
employers and employees.
If an arbitration board decides to conduct its affairs without a nonpartisan chair
man, it shall elect a chairman and a vice chairman from among the permanent repre
sentatives of the employers or the employees of the board. Otherwise the board shall
elect a nonpartisan chairman and vice chairman. The board may also decide to call
in a nonpartisan chairman in individual instances and in such cases shall each time
elect such a chairman. In all these cases the decision and election shall be effected
through a majority of votes of all permanent representatives and, in case of their
inability to act, of their alternates. In case of a tie vote or an otherwise insufficient
result of the voting the State central authority (par. 3, sentence 2) shall appoint a
nonpartisan chairman and vice chairman.
The nonpermanent representatives of the employers and employees shall be ap
pointed by the nonpartisan chairman, and, where such a chairman does not exist
they shall be chosen by the respective permanent representatives of the employers
and employees; they shall be chosen from among the occupational group affected by
the dispute and as far as possible from lists submitted by the economic organizations
of employers and employees.
The establishment of special branch boards for agriculture and forestry remains
permissible.
A r t . 16. Women may also be appointed as permanent and nonpermanent repre
sentatives of employers and employees and as their alternates. The provisions of
articles 3 to 5, article 6, paragraph 1, articles 7 to 9, and article 12 of the decree of
December 21, 1916 (Reichs-Gesetzblatt, p. 1411) and of article 1 of the decree of
November 13, 1917 (Reichs-Gesetzblatt, p. 1039) shall be applicable to the appoint
ment of representatives and to the declination of such appointment, as well as to the
conditions under which representatives shall conduct their official activities, with
the reservation that the State central authority shall be competent to decide com
plaints made in accordance with article 5, paragraph 3 of the first-named decree and
to determine the monitory fee in accordance with article 12, paragrpah 1, sentence 3,
of the same decree.
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A r t . 17. In their negotiations and voting the arbitration boards shall always be
constituted as provided in article 15, paragraph 2, of this decree, and if a nonpartisan
chairman has been appointed he shall preside at the sessions.
The chairman shall represent the committee in all dealings with outside parties,
conduct current affairs, fix the date of sessions, and direct the proceedings.
A nonpartisan chairman’s vote counts the same as the vote of an employers’ or
employees’ representative; a chairman elected from among these representatives has
only a vote as a representative of his group.
A r t . 18. The State central authority (art. 15, par. 3, sentence 2, of this decree)
conjointly with the Federal Treasury shall determine the compensation of the chair
men and vice chairmen as well as the amount of the per diem and transportation
allowance in case of journeys made by them in the exercise of their activities as
chairmen.
The employment of office help and the regulation of their salaries by the chairmen
requires the approval of the State central authority.
The State central authority shall also provide and maintain the office rooms and sup
plies required by the arbitration boards.
The costs arising therefrom and from the personal expenditures designated in para
graphs 1 and 2, as well as other costs arising from the activities of the arbitration boards,
shall be borne by the Federal Government. They shall be disbursed by the State
central authority and refunded by the Federal Treasury.
The procedure before arbitration boards shall not be subject to fees and stamp taxes.
A rt . 19. For transportation undertakings of the Empire and of the Federal States
within the sphere of which, in addition to several local workers’ and salaried employees’
committees, a competent central committee for the entire undertaking exists, there shall
be created a special arbitration board with jurisdiction over the entire territory covered
by each transportation undertaking. Appeals to this arbitration board are only per
missible after the central committee has dealt with the dispute.
The composition of this arbitration board and the procedure before it may be regu
lated conjointly by the competent administration and the organizations of its employ
ees. If not thus regulated the provisions of this decree shall be correspondingly ap
plicable.
A r t . 20. The arbitration boards may be appealed to by the employer, the workers’
and salaried employees’ committees, and representative committees formed in ac
cordance with article 12 of this decree, or, where such a committee does not exist,
by the workers or salaried employees of an establishment, whenever in case of a dis
pute between the two parties as to wages or other working conditions an agreement has
not been effected and both parties do not call on an industrial court, a mining indus
trial court, an arbitration board of a guild, or a commercial court to arbitrate the dis
pute in question. With the consent of the affected employers and employees economic
organizations of employers or employees may also appeal to arbitration boards for ad
justment of disputes; in so far as the enforcement of collective agreements is in question
(hey may do so independently.
In disputes which come under the jurisdiction of special conciliation or arbitration
boards in pursuance of a collective or other agreement between employers and em
ployees, these special boards shall be appealed to, and only when these do not take
action shall the arbitration boards established by the present decree or other concilia
tion boards be called in to settle disputes.
A rt . 21. The arbitration board shall also take the initiative in having arbitration
proceedings brought before it whenever both parties to the dispute have not invoked
another conciliation board or a special conciliation or arbitration board does not have
to be invoked in pursuance of a collective or other agreement. If the latter is the case
and the special conciliation or arbitration board has not been invoked by one of the
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parties, the arbitration board shall point out this neglect to the interested parties,
and if they fail even then to invoke this special board the arbitration board shall itself
initiate conciliation proceedings.
A r t . 22. An arbitration board is competent to settle a dispute if the employees
affected are employed within the district of the board. If the employees are employed
within the districts of several arbitration boards, the board that has first been invoked
shall be competent to settle the dispute. In case of doubt the Federal Labor Depart
ment shall decide what board is competent.
In important cases the Federal Labor Department may itself take charge of concilia
tion or arbitration proceedings or assign them to another arbitration board, in particu
lar to an arbitration board created by a Federal State. In both cases representati\ es
of employers and employees in equal numbers must participate in the proceedings and
in the rendering of the award.
A r t . 23. Before and during the proceedings the chairman of the arbitration board
is authorized to summon persons interested in the dispute and to examine them. In
case of inexcusable nonappearance of summoned persons he may fine them not to
exceed 100 marks [$23.80]. Such fines may be appealed from within two weeks after
receipt of the order imposing the fine. The appeal is to be decided by the State central
authorities (article 15, paragraph 3, sentence 2, of this decree). Article 12 of the decree
of December 21, 1916 (Reichs-Gesetzblatt, p. 1411), conjointly with article 16, sentence
2, of the present decree, shall be correspondingly applicable to the collection of these
fines.
_
.
.
Interested parties may be represented by their general representatives or business
managers, as well as by representatives of economic employers’ or employees’ organi
zations.
Art. 24. Through examination of both parties the arbitration board shall establish
the points in dispute and the circumstances necessary to be considered in the judgment
of the parties.
The arbitration board may itself or through its chairman summon and examine
persons who can give information on the circumstances under consideration.
Each member of the arbitration board is authorized to put questions to the repre
sentatives of the interested parties and to witnesses.
Art. 25. After the facts have been ascertained each party shall be given an oppor
tunity to discuss the evidence produced by the other party as well as the testimony
of witnesses. An attempt shall then be made to bring about an agreement between
the disputing parties.
Art. 26. If an agreement has been effected it shall be put in writing, signed by
all the members of the arbitration board and the representatives of both parties, and
be published unless both parties have previously agreed not to publish it. If an
economic employers’ or employees’ organization has invoked the arbitration board in
accordance with article 20, paragraph 1, sentence 2, of this decree, its authorized
representatives are entitled to sign the publication of the agreement. The samo
holds good if such an organization, in agreement with a workers’ or salaried employees’
committee or as its representative, has taken part in the common discussions .and in
the attempt at conciliation.
Art. 27. If an agreement has not been effected the arbitration board shall render
an award which shall cover all questions in dispute between the parties.
Persons who are or have been interested in individual questions in dispute as
employers, members of the workers’ or salaried employees’ committee, representa
tives of the employees in accordance with article 12 of this decree, or members of the
working force or staff of salaried employees, may not take part in the rendering of the
award. If this makes impossible the rendering of an award, the chairman shall re
quest the Federal Labor Department to assign the matter to another arbitration board
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167
An award shall also be rendered if one of the parties fails to put in an appearance
or to negotiate.
The decision as to the award is to be effected by a majority vote. .If the votes of
all employers’ representatives are in opposition to the votes of all employees’ repre
sentatives and a nonpartisan chairman has not been appointed, the chairman must
declare that no award has been effected. The same holds good if a nonpartisan chair
man presides over the board and abstains from voting.
A r t . 28. If an award has been made it must be made known to both parties with
the request that within a fixed time limit they shall declare whether they are willing
to accept it. If such a declaration is not forthcoming within the fixed time limit,
the award shall be considered as declined.
After the expiration of the time limit the arbitration board shall publish a notifica
tion signed by all of its members, if this is possible, which shall contain the award
made and the declaration of the parties with respect to the award.
A r t . 29. If neither an agreement nor an award has been effected, the chairman of
the arbitration board shall so announce b y publication.
Art. 30. The State central authorities (article 15, paragraph 3, sentence 2, of this
decree) shall decide complaints as to the conduct of affairs by the arbitration board
or its chairman. They shall also decide appeals whenever the chairman or a member
of an arbitration board has been challenged as prejudiced and the arbitration board
has not sustained the challenge.
In both instances representatives of employers and employees in equal numbers
must participate in the decision as well as in any possible procedure.
P
art
IV.— F i n a l
P
r o v is io n s .
Art. 31. The Federal Labor Department and the State central authorities may
transfer the tasks assigned to them, in their entirety or in part, to other authorities.
Art. 32. The present decree has the force of law and shall become effective on the
date of its promulgation.
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WAGES AND HOURS OF LABOR.
THE SIX-HOUR DAY AND COPARTNERSHIP IN INDUSTRY.
[a
r e v ie w
of lord
l e v e r h u l m e ’s
book
by
p r o f , w il l ia m
f
.
ogburn
,
fo rm erly
OF TH E U N IV E R S IT Y OF W A SH IN G TO N .]
The American public has been reading a good deal during the past
year about the reconstitution of industrial society in Great Britain
after the war. While the greatest source of information has been the
British Labor Party and various labor centers, these have been by
no means the only significant sources nor the most interesting. There
have been various rumors of plans from the employers to adopt the
six-hour day and to share the control of industry through the medium
of copartnership. Some of these rumors have centered around the
name of the great manufacturer at Port Sunlight, Lord Leverhulme.
And now the interesting views of Lord Leverhulme on the future of
industrial society are set forth in some detail and made available in a
book under the spectacular title of The Six Hour Day.1 A reading
of this book shows the author to have a good knowledge of general
economics and sociology as well as an intimate firs-thand accpiaintance
with the practical problems of industry.
He thinks the workers should work only six hours a day; that the
tune is ripe now for the adoption of a six-hour workday in Britain,
and that the workers should receive the same wages for six hours’
work that they now receive for eight or ten hours’ work. Lie favors
paying not only high and still higher wages, but wants the employees
furthermore to share in the profits of industry. And this share in
the profits is by a method he calls copartnership, which is not the
profit sharing in lieu of wage increases of which we have seen so
much. His profit sharing is a return over and above the trade-union
rate of wages, and acts in no sense as a bar to further wage increases.
He wants to abolish poverty and make unemployment a thing un
known. He is particularly insistent upon good housing and insists
that no more than 10 or 12 houses to the acre should be built and
that every home should have a garden. His plans for education in
clude adults as well as youths and under the six-hour day there
seems to be no age limit to which it might not be carried. He is
opposed to the tariff because it taxes those least able to bear it.
Such a program as the above makes the usual schemes of welfare
work look insignificant. If this is benevolent paternalism it is carried
so far as to make it look very much worth while even to the most
radical. But how about the labor unions? After all these good
‘ The Six Hour Day, and other industrial questions, by Lord Leverhulme.
Allen & Unwin (Ltd.), 1918. 328 pp.
168
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
169
things are had, isn’t this autocracy in industry, just the same?
But our spokesman is in favor of trades-unions, and protests against
the unequal distribution of wealth. He says:
I am bound to say I feel it very intensely that it has to be recorded at the beginning
of the twentieth century that nine-tenths of the wealth of the United Kingdom
should be possessed by less than one-tenth of the people, and that nine-tenths of the
people "should possess only one-tenth of the wealth. That is a system that can not
be defended for one single moment. But you must remember this, that through all
the centuries we have had such a system of taxation in this country that the taxes
have not been laid on the backs best able to bear them, but have been laid on the
worker.
He is not afraid of governmental action and wants the cities to buy
up land for purposes of building homes for the people and thus
prevent speculation in land.
We know the slums of London and the overcrowding of London; but do we realize
that the Metropolitan area, with its 7{ millions of people, covers the extensive area
of 450,000 acres of ground. If, therefore, we had planned for building under ideal
conditions of some 10 houses to the acre over the whole of this Metropolitan area,
* * * we could * * * have provided for housing 22§ millions of people
* * * with ideal surroundings for comfort and happiness. It is merely a case of
bad packing.
His opposition to all forms of philanthropy and charity is strong.
Also more than once the author speaks of the hope for workmen who
could help to control the industries in which they work.
Such a program, significant features of which have just been set
forth, sounds very strange indeed coming from the pen of a capitalist,
and at first glance seems certain to upset the conceptions of the
capitalist held by the sophisticated observer of social conditions, with
a knowledge of what economic determinism is. How shall we classify
the exceptional social philosophy of Lord Leverhulme? Is he an
idealist, a moralist, a Socialist, or a Bolshevist ?
Lord Leverhulme is certainly not the conventional idealist with a
vague, emotional, and impractical idealism. These addresses rather
are full of earmarks of the practical. Our author seems to be thinking
all the while of how his schemes will work and addresses himself
to the immediate practical questions of British industrial life after
the war. And as a successful manufacturer he has put into practice
many of his schemes and seems to be advocating their general
applicability.
Do these enlightened industrial views of Lord Leverhulme spring
from a religious source or moral incentive? No doubt there may be
some religious or moral motive operating in the formation of these
views, but they do not seem to be the big controlling motivation.
Of course, in trying to answer this question, a good deal depends upon
one’s conception of the nature of religion and of morals But in our
society we do have certain religious and moral enthusiasts whos&
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attitudes on social problems seem to be brought about by ideas of
right and wrong and by a keen sensitiveness to injustice, which ideas
they feel ought to apply in our industrial life more or less irrespective
of circumstances. Lord Leverhulme is certainly not a moral or
religious fanatic. He has visions of a better and happier world and
he is eager to bring about better living conditions for humanity.
But he is not a sentimentalist as we conventionally use the term.
He rather appears to be a hard man. “ There could be no worse
friend to labor than the benevolent, philanthropic employer who
carries his business on in a loose, lax manner showing ‘kindness’ to
his employees.”
If Lord Leverhulme’s views are not to be classified as those of the
conventionally conceived moralist or religionist, do they make him
out to be a Socialist or a Bolshevist? Does he desire primarily the
control and ownership of industry by labor, and is he endeavoring
essentially to bring this condition about ? There are various remarks
scattered here and there throughout his addresses in which he con
templates a situation in the perhaps distant future where workmen
will control or help to control industry and may perhaps own it.
But these views are not the central theme, nor particularly labored.
Bather they are incidental remarks as a gesture in his address or to
round off the peroration. Although advocating a share in the profits,
sharing management is not looked upon with much favor. He says:
In my opinion all attempts that would mean the introduction of workingmen
upon boards of directors, unless coupled with giving them a training in the higher
branches of work, will be futile. I t is utterly impossible to take an ordinary rankand-file worker and make a director out of him. * * * Real copartnership means
not only sharing in the profits but also sharing in certain duties which a mere work
man could not possibly properly understand.
The author admits, however, that under the six-hour day and an
excellent system of education workmen may travel in the direc
tion of developing ability to manage industry. Lord Leverhulme,
like so many successful capitalists, is a great admirer of genius and
considers that a high correlation exists between ability and success.
While he does not state that success is a measure of ability, yet the
ability of successful captains of industry is, one feels, fully appre
ciated by him in contrast with the far lesser ability of the mere
workman. One’s inherent ability, the native ability of the biological
man, it somehow seems to him, is nearly the same as one’s ability
in cultural achievement. His recognition of ability is seen in his
division of the industrial process not into two factors, capital and
labor, but into three, capital, labor, and management. The inequal
ities in opportunities for cultural advancement are perhaps recog
nized partly by him, but under his program as presented in the open
ing paragraphs of this review, the existing order would seem to be
so adequately improved as to remedy these inequalities in oppor
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171
tunities for cultural achievement. Lord Leverhulme is therefore not
a revolutionist in the sense that he would change the existing order of
society fundamentally as regards the organized control of industry.
He would change the conditions of industrial life in such fashion
that the life of the workingman under the six-hour day and copart
nership would be much richer, but the control and management of
industry would be fundamentally very much as now except that
through education, leisure, and more equalized opportunity, work
men might grow to participate more in the management. The last
chapter of the book contains an exceedingly vigorous attack on
socialism made in a lecture to his employees.
How, then, is this able and brilliant program against the social ills
of industrial life to be classified? It seems that the big idea in it is
the same as the idea in welfare work in general. The chief difference
between Lord Leverhulme’s program and welfare work as now prac
ticed is that this venturous reformer-capitalist carries the idea to the
nth degree and applies the idea to society as a whole as well as to
particular industries. His proposals are chiefly, (1) the six-hour day
and (2) copartnership, plus a number of less fully discussed recom
mendations, such as good housing, education, taxation reforms, and
others. These proposals, if functioning as he conceives that they
would function, would be “ good business.” Under them profits
would be increased and industries would produce more and “ more
money would be made.” These reforms would pay just as it pays
to feed well a horse you own, or just as it pays the owners of a depart
ment store to provide lockers and rest rooms for their girl workers.
One is naturally curious to know how this practical business
man figures out that the six-hour day will pay. It will pay, he esti
mates, in those industries where the cost of overhead charges is equal
to the cost of wages, if the machinery is worked through two sixhour shifts instead of through only one eight-hour shift, the advan
tage being gained through increasing production by working a longer
time the machinery, which does not suffer from fatigue and which
is usually scrapped before it is worn out. Thus, as an illustration,
consider the industry working the eight-hour day and producing
1,000 items at a cost for overhead of $1,000 and at a cost for labor
of $1,000, a total cost of $2 an item. If, now, two six-hour shifts
are worked, paying the employee the same wage for six hours as
for eight, the production will be 1,500 units (assuming there is no
increase in efficiency) and the cost for labor would be $2,000 and
the cost for overhead $1,000, or again a cost of $2 an item. Thus
there would be no loss under the two-shift six-hour day, even where
there is no increase in efficiency. But the author introduces several
pages of evidence to show that the workmen will produce more per
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M O N T H L Y LABOE E E V IE W .
hour under the six-hour day than under the eight-hour day. If such
should be the case, if 2,000 items should be produced, then the cost
per item would be $1.50. In other words, under the two-shift sixhour day, the same wages could be paid for six hours’ work as for
eight and the product manufactured at a cheaper cost.
An appraisal of the merits of this plan should of course consider
a number of factors, such as the labor supply, the ratio of cost on
capital outlay to wages, the nature of the particular machinery and
productive process, the market possibilities, and so on. In England,
however, the returning soldier makes the labor supply for the two
shifts, and the inefficiency of labor there is an acute issue which would
undoubtedly be improved by this plan. Some consideration should
also be given to the rapidity with which the scheme might be devel
oped. Two working shifts, paid the same amount for six hours
as for eight, if generally adopted, w'ould do a good deal toward devel
oping a market. Unfortunately neither detailed consideration nor
data are furnished, and no record is set forth of actual experiments.
So a careful evaluation of the plan can not be made, but the abbre
viated presentation sounds very attractive, indeed.
Somewhat more careful consideration is given in the book to the
copartnership plan. A record of his own experience in his own
plant is furnished. To the manufacturer wishing to adopt some
plan of profit sharing, a good deal of valuable detailed information
as to various plans and experiments are contained in these chapters.
The general conclusions seem to be the following: A .plan of profit
sharing can be worked out, though it is by no means easy to do.
Such a plan should be based on the prevailing rate of wages and
should not be a substitute for higher wages, and should be no bar to
increases in wages. There was some danger of speculation by the
employees in his earlier plans; and experience seemed to indicate
that in so far as the voice of labor was expressed it was timid as
to developmental plans and ventures of the business. Copartnership,
as it is called, pays because of the interest in productivity and in
the business generally that is stimulated. Profit sharing where
the profits are shared and nothing is received in return by the profit
sharer our author calls philanthrophy and not good business. On
the other hand, a share in the management can be delegated only where
the workmen will actually share in losses, and this our author thinks
impractical. So between these two ideas is his idea of copartnership
where the men share in the prosperity of the company and in return
help to make that prosperity by increased interest and efficiency.
So much for this advanced welfare work idea as applied to in
dustry. As extended to society as a whole there are some very
interesting theories. According to Lord Leverhulme, industrial
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success is concerned quite as much with consumers as producers.
Many leaders of industry have seemed primarily concerned with pro
duction, and their interest in consumption consists largely in market
ing. Lord Leverhulme seems to have a broader conception of market
ing and makes his social philosophy turn a good deal on this point
of consumption. Raising the standard of living means creating a
market. Hence higher wages are good because they make a bet
ter market. “ Ninety per cent of the consumers of the United
Kingdom are workers.” The six-hour day means two more hours of
leisure, which furnish opportunity for education, the higher life, and
the expenditure of more money, thus improving the market. The
plan of two shifts means enabling the nonspending unemployed to
become consumers and thus to develop the market. It also in
creases the purchasing public. Copartnership not only stimulates
efficiency, but it means more money for the “ 90 per cent of the
consumers” to spend in the market. Lord Leverhulme is just as
much interested in production and efficiency, which has of course
a much more familiar sound to us than the marketing problem.
He is very jealous of good production. Lie does not favor an excess
profit tax for fear it may lessen productivity, though he favors in
come and inheritance taxes. The author’ conception of reform
is along lines of increased production of commodities of wealth at a
lessening cost of production per unit at the same time shortening
hours of labor and paying higher wages. The foundation stone is
increased production.
Thus it comes about that this new idea is born, that the conception
in welfare work may be applied to consumption as well as to pro
duction, and, when applied to consumption in society as a whole, it
leads to an industrial viewpoint which favors shorter hours, higher
wages, and profit sharing.
The owners of capital in our industrialized countries have been
divided into two classes—the conservatives or Bourbons and the ad
vocates of the new capitalism, sometimes called the liberals. These
interesting proposals of Lord Leverhulme for our industrial and social
life should probably be construed as the most advanced expression
of a domestic program of the new capitalism. As such it will make
very interesting reading for the members of our chambers of com
merce and manufacturers’ associations.
110-151°— 19------ 12
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
WAGES AND HOURS IN THE BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY IN 1918.
An investigation of wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe
manufacturing industry was made by the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics in the early part of 1918. The inquiry disclosed that
wages had made a decided increase over 1916, the date of the last
survey in the industry made by the Bureau, and that the regular
hours of labor had decreased to some extent during the same period.
The extraordinary rise in wages is due mainly to war conditions and
prevails in practically all industries.
The table which follows shows the average full-time hours per week
in the establishments covered and the average number of hours per
employee actually worked during one week in the early part of 1918.
The difference between these averages represents the average number
of hours per week lost. The average amount it is possible to earn
per week when working full time and the average amount actually
earned per employee during one week are also shown. The difference
represents the average amount lost by reason of not working full
time.
AVERAGE FULL-TIME HOURS, HOURS ACTUALLY W O R K ED , FULL-TIM E W E EK LY
EA RNINGS, AND AMOUNTS ACTUALLY E A R N E D D U R IN G ONE W E EK , 1918.
Department, occupation, and sex.
Average
Averago
Average
hours
amount
Number Number full-time actually Average actually
of es
hours per worked full-time earned
of
em
tablish
week of per em weekly • per em
ments. ployees. establish ployee earnings. ployee
ments.
during
during
one week.
one week.
CUTTING DEPA R TM EN T.
Cutters, vamp, and whole shoe, hand,
m ale......................................... .......................
Cutters, vamp, and whole shoe, machine,
m ale.................................................................
Skivers, upper, machine, male.....................
Skivers, upper, machine, female...................
109
2,263
51.9
46.6
$25.16
$22.46
63
23
116
1,169
96
668
52.1
50.9
51.7
48.2
46.4
46.8
23.86
21.55
13.82
21.12
19.50
12.51
73
116
410
259
52.1
52.5
49.8
4g.6
20.98
22.51
20.30
21.10
119
118
126
87
129
61
80
87
81
126
419
535
1,097
344
1,315
99
137
216
565
1,406
51.8
51.8
51.4
52.0
51.6
52.7
52.2
51.7
51.4
51.7
46.7
47.0
46.2
46.5
47.2
47.7
46.9
47.3
48.3
45.6
14.98
13.58
12.44
12.30
14.55
12.05
13.67
13.58
22; 81
16.24
13.51
12.31
11.17
11.02
13.42
11.00
12.26
12.68
21.45
14.38
95
35
117
41
54
697
344
586
386
284
52.5
51.7
52.6
51.8
52.2
47.3
48.4
48.5
48.2
49.0
120.92
24.62
26.75
22.63
24.39
$18.81
22.85
24.57
21.15
22.99
SO LE-LEA TH ER D EPA R TM EN T.
Cutters, outsole, m ale.....................................
Channelers, insole and outsole, male...........
FITTING O E STITCHING D EPA R TM EN T.
Tip stitchers, female........................................
Backstay stitchers, female.............................
Lining makers, female....................................
Closers-on, female.............................................
Top stitchers or undertrimmers, fem ale..
Button fasteners, female.................................
Buttonhole makers, female............................
Eyeletters, female............................................
Vämpers, male..................................................
Vampers, female........................ .............. .
LASTING D EPA R TM EN T.
Assemblers for pulling-over machine, male.
Pullers-over, hand, m ale................................
Pullers-over, machine, male..........................
Side lasters, hand, m ale..................................
Side lasters, machine, male............................
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AVERAGE FULL-TIME HOURS, HOURS ACTUALLY W O R K ED , FULL-TIME W E EK LY
EA RNINGS, AN D AMOUNTS ACTUALLY E A R N E D D U R IN G ONE W E E K , 1918—Concld.
Department, occupation, and sex.
l a s t in g
d epa rtm ent
Number
of es
tablish
ments.
Average
Average
Average
hours
amount
Number full-time actually Average actually
of em hours per worked full-time earned
ployees. week of per em weekly
per em
establish ployee earnings. ployee
ments.
during
during
one week.
one week.
—concluded.
Bed-machine operators, male........................
Hand-method lasting-machine operators,
m ale.................................................................
Turn lasters, hand, m ale................................
Turn sewers, male............................................
98
1,265
52.1
48.8
$25.97
$24.37
54
33
24
390
729
65
52.8
53.8
53.6
47.7
50.6
51.2
25.38
24.37
26.82
23.09
22.90
25.63
88
92
98
58
130
18
122
107
131
132
122
123
124
455
275
658
196
404
248
342
210
981
892
453
314
463
52.2
52.4
52.3
52.8
52.7
54.1
52.6
52.8
52.4
52.6
52.6
52.7
52.6
47.1
48.4
48.7
48.2
49.1
52.2
48.8
48.7
48.3
48.9
48.4
48.5
48.5
32.35
32.06
27.56
23.58
26.36
25.61
28.07
21.81
28.51
27.68
22.98
22.72
22. 28
28.84
28.39
25.69
21.32
24.65
24.53
26.25
20.19
26.32
25.75
21.23
21.00
20.64
111
29
23
1,143
205
215
52.3
53.3
52.5
49.1
48.7
49.5
21.20
12. 21
19.36
20.07
11.33
18.20
136
135
22,394
15,187
52.7
51.8
48.9
47.3
17.23
11.79
16.24
10.81
BOTTOMING DEPA R TM EN T.
Goodyear welters, m ale..................................
Rough rounders, male.....................................
Goodyear stitchers, m ale................................
McKay sewers, m ale.......................................
Heelers, m ale.....................................................
Heelers, wood, male........................................
Heel trimmers or shavers, male....................
Heel breasters, male........................................
Edge trimmers, male.......................................
Edge setters, male............................................
Heel scourers, male..........................................
Heel burnishers, male.....................................
Buffers, male.....................................................
FIN ISH IN G D EPA R TM EN T.
Treers or ironers, hand, male........................
Treers or ironers, hand, female.....................
Treers or ironers, machine, male..................
O TH ER EM PLO Y EES (ALL D EPA R TM EN TS).
Male.....................................................................
Female................................................................
The following table shows the relative full-time hours per week,
rate of wages per hour, and full-time weekly earnings each year from
1910 to 1914 and in 1916 and 1918. No data were obtained for 1915
and 1917. The table also shows for each item the per cent of increase
or decrease in 1918 as compared with each specified year and the
per cent of increase or decrease in each year as compared with the
preceding year. Thus, in 1918 as compared with 1916, the date of
the last survey made by the Bureau in this industry, there was a
decrease of 4 per cent in hours per week, an increase of 31 per cent
in wages per hour, and an increase of 25 per cent in weekly earnings.
Comparing 1918 with 1913, the year preceding the outbreak of the
war, there was a decrease of 5 per cent in hours per week, an increase
of 40 per cent in wages per hour, and an increase of 34 per cent in
weekly earnings.
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R ELA T IV E FULL-TIM E HOURS PE R W EEK , R A TES OF WAGES PE R HOUR, AND FU L L
TIME W E EK LY EA RN IN G S, 1910 TO 1918, TOGETHER W ITH PER CENT OF INCREASE
OR DECREASE IN SPEC IFIED Y E A R S IN THE IN D U STR Y .
Hours per week.
Rela
tive
full
time
hours
per
week
(1913=
100).
Year.
1910
.....................
1911.............................
1912.............................
1913.............................
1914.............................
1916.............................
1918 .........................
103
103
101
100
99
99
95
Rela
tive
rate of
Each
1918 as specified wages
per
com
year as
hour
com
pared
(1913=
pared
with
with
each
100).
specified year
pre
year.
ceding.
C1)
-2
-1
-1
0)
-4
Per cent of
increase (+ ) or
decrease ( —) in—
Per cent of
increase (+ ) or
decrease (—) in—
Per cent of
increase ( + ) or
decrease ( —) in—
—7
-7
-6
-5
-4
-4
Weekly earnings.
Wages per hour.
90
92
93
100
101
107
140
Rela
tive
full
Each
Each
time
1918 as specified weekly 1918 as specified
com
com
year
as
year as
earn
com
com
pared
pared
ings
with
pared
with
pared
(1913=
each
with
each
with
100).
specified year
specified year
year.
pre
year.
pre
ceding.
ceding.
+53
+52
+40
+39
+ 31
+ 2
+ 1
+ 8
+ 1
+ 6
+31
92
94
93
100
100
107
134
+46
+43
+44
+34
+34
+25
+ 2
- 1
+ 7
(>)
+ 6
+25
* No change.
In 136 establishments reporting 60,779 employees, 52 per cent
worked full time and 48 per cent less than full time. Thirty-seven
per cent worked 75 per cent and under 100 per cent of full time; 7
per cent worked 50 per cent and under 75 per cent of full time, and 4
per cent worked less than 50 per cent of full time.
WAGES AND LABOR CONDITIONS IN GOLD MINING.
A committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to study
the gold situation in the United States submitted its report to the
Secretary on October 30, 1918.1 This report will soon be printed by
the Bureau of Mines. It contains some information bearing upon
the labor situation in the gold-mining industry of the United States.
The rapid production of gold in the United States in the last 25
years, the report notes, has not kept pace with the production of coal,
iron, copper, or petroleum, or the rapid growth of bank deposits. The
principal cause of this relative decline in gold production the com
mittee ascribes to the shortage of labor. Other causes are mentioned,
such as the lower efficiency of available labor, the great increase in
the cost of supplies, and the higher cost of power. Depletion of
certain ore deposits and the lower grade of ore mined in others have
also been factors. In California large gold mines were reported to
be running at from 10 to 40 per cent below the normal number of
1 Report of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to study the gold situation. Wash
ington, D. C., Oct. 30, 1918.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
their employees. A decrease of 26 per cent in the number employed
has taken place since 1917. This was in October, 1918. In the
Cripple Creek district, Colorado, one of the larger companies was
running at 54 per cent of its minimum requirements for maintaining
normal production and development. The number of persons
employed in gold mining in the gold-producing States in 1916 was
42,942; this had declined to 34,277 in 1917.
Estimates by producers regarding the efficiency of present-day
labor in the gold mines are to the effect that labor is 10 to 50 per cent
less efficient. These are rough approximations and no data are pre
sented to show the present per man per day production as compared
with that in the past.
Among the principal causes for the waning supply of labor in gold
mining has been increasing wages in the face of a uniform price for
gold, which is fixed by law. The report presents an interesting
table of miners’ wages in certain branches of the metal mining indus
tries where gold is a direct or a by product. The table has been pre
pared by the engineer of the California Metal Producers’ Association.
The wages shown are for the month of September in each of the years
1913 to 1918, inclusive.
R A TES OF WAGES PE R D A Y IN CERTAIN BRANCHES OF METAL MINING W H E R E GOLD
IS A DIRECT OR B Y PRODUCT, SE PTEM BER , 1913 TO 1918.
September, 1913.
September, 1914.
September, 1915.
Ma Hand
Ma Hand Muck Ma Hand Muck
min
chine min Muck
min
ers. chine
ers. chine
ers.
men.
ers.
ers.
men.
men.
ers.
Copper m ining.
$3.50
Montana (Butte district')....................... $3.70
$3.70 $3.50
Arizona:
3.75
3.75
Bfsbee, Phelps-Dodge Corporation. 4.00
4.00
$3 . 25 " 2.75
3.00 \/ 3.50
Verde................................................... 3.75 $3.50
3.75
3.00
3.50
Utah:
/
2.75
f
2.75
Bingham-Utah Copper Co.............. 3.25 \ 3.00 | 2.75
3.25 \ 3.00 } 2.75
3.25 ; 3.00 } 3.00
|
3.00
General average................................ 3.25 f/ 3.00
3.25
\ 3.25
Nevada (E ly district)......................
California (all districts)........................... 3.25
2.50
3.25
2.50
$3.83
$3.83
4.10
3.50 '$3 .'2 5 '
3 .7 5
4.00
3.85
2.75
3.25
3.00
3.50 f1 3.25
| 3.00
3.00 } 3.00
3.25 \I 3.25
3.25
2.50
Copper and gold m ining.
Washington...............................................
3.50
3.50
3.00
3.50
3.50
3.00
3.50
3.50
3.00
4.50
4.00
4.50
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.50
4.00
4.50
4.00
4.00
4.00
4.50
4.00
4.50
4.00
4.00
4.00
Nevada (Goldfield).................................. 4.00
Montana (Kendall, Barnes, King
Development Co.)................................ 3.50
California (Mother Lode and Grass 1 2.75
Valley)....................................... ........... { 3.00
4.00
3.75
4.00
4.00
3.75
4.00
4.00
3.75
3.50
2.25
2.50
3.50
2.75
3.00
3.50
2.25
2.50
3.50
2.75 1
3.00 ......
Silver and gold m ining.
Nevada:
Tonopah..............................................
Comstock.............................................
Gold m in in g .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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2.50
178
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
R A T E S O P W A G E S P E R D A Y I N C E R T A IN B R A N C H E S O F M E T A L M IN IN G W H E R E
G O L D IS A D IR E C T O R B Y P R O D U C T , S E P T E M B E R , 1913 TO 1918-C oncluded.
Septem ber, 1916.
Ma
chine
m en.
H and
m in
ers.
Septem ber, 1917.
Septem ber, 1918.
H and
m in
ers.
Hand
m in
Muck Ma
chine
ers.
men.
Muck Ma
chine
ers.
men.
e rs .
M uck
e rs .
Copper m in in g .
Montana (Butte District).................. 54.42
Arizona:
Bisbee, Phelps-Dodge Corporation 5.32
V erde...............................................
U tah:
Bingham-Utah Copper Co...........
/
1
/
t
/
t
4.00
5.00
3.75
4.25
3.25
3.75
General average.................................
N evad a (E ly d istrict)...............................
California (all d istric ts).............. ........... . / 3.25
\ 3.75
Copper and gold m in in g .
W a sh in gton ................................................
3.50
Silver and gold m ining.
N evada:
T on op ah ................................................
C om stock......... ...........................
4.50
4.00
$5.00
/$5.25
\ 5.75
5.50
5.15 $5. Î5
5.90
5.90
/ 4.75
4.50
\ 5.25
5.00
/ 4.75
t 5.25 | 5.00
5.75
/ 4.00
3.75
\ 4.50
4.25
$5. 25
5.75
5. 25
5.15
5.90
4.25
4.75
4.75
3.00
3.25
5.07
5.60
3.25
5.00
4.25
5.50
3.25 | 4.50
3.75
3.00 1 4.50
3.50
5.25
3.75
2.50
3.00
4.00
3.50
3.00
4.00
4.00
3.50
5.00
5.00
4.50
4.50
4.00
4.00
4.00
5.00
4.00
5.00
4.00
4.50
4.00
5.50
5.00
5.50
5.00
5.00
5.00
4.00
3.75
4.00
3.50 /\ 3.50
4.00
2.50
3.25
2. 75
3.50
4.00
3.75
3.50
4.00
2.75
3.00
4.00
4.00
4.50
3.50
4.00
4.00
3.75
4.00
4.50
3.00
3.50
$3.75
4.50
3.25
3.75
3.00
3.75
CO CO
Gold m in in g .
N evad a (G oldfield )....................................
4.00
Montana (K end all, Barnes, K ing
D evelopm en t C o.)................................ | 3.50
California (M other Lode and Grass
V a lle y )....................................................
$4.42
5.35
$4.25
4.25
5.50
5.50
/ 4.00 J- 4.00
\ 4.25
4.25
4.00
} ..........
1
3.50
3.50
4.00
The committee makes certain recommendations affecting the labor
supply. These recommendations were made during the period of
war and have at present somewhat lost their applicability. It
was recommended, for instance, that exemption from the draft and
deferred classification be more generally applied to those desiring to
enter the industry. The United States Employment Service, it was
suggested, could arrange to return experienced men to the mines,
and the Government could permit the return of drafted men on fur
lough to work at gold mines, or might detaihsuificient numbers of the
men from selective-draft reserves for the same work. Only those
persons willing were to be furloughed and they would be properly
cared for and paid a proper wage fixed by the Government.
The importation of labor such as Chinese and Mexican is recom
mended by the report.
The committee in conclusion recommends a thorough study of the
mining industry with a view to improving mining conditions.
WAGES OF FARM LABORERS IN CANADA IN 1917.
A statement of average wages of farm workers in Canada is given in
a recent report of agricultural statistics compiled by the Dominion
Bureau of Statistics, covering the year 1917.1 From this report it
appears that the wages per month of farm help during the summer,
including board, averaged $63.63 for males and $34.31 for females,
1Data taken from the Canadian Official Record (Ottawa), for Eeb. 18,1919.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
as compared with $43.23 for male help and $22.46 for female help
during 1916. For 1917, including hoard, the yearly wages averaged
$610.60 for males and $364 for females, as compared with $397 and
$228 in 1916. The average value of board per month was returned
as $19.44 for males and $14.79 for females, as compared with $17
for males and $13 for females in 1916.
By provinces, the average wages per month for males and females,
respectively, in the summer season, including board, are shown in
the following table:
AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGES (INCLUDING BO A R D ) OF FARM W ORKERS IN SPECIFIC
PROVINCES OF CANADA IN THE SUMMER OF 1917.
P r o v in c e .
P r i n c e E d w a r d I s l a n d ............................................
N o v a S c o t i a .................................................. ................
N e w B r u n s w i c k ...........................................................
.........................................................................
Q uebec
O n t a r i o ..............................................................................
M a n i t o b a ......................................................................
S a s k a t c h e w a n ............................................................
A I b e r ta - _______ ___________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
B r i t i s h C o lu m b ia ............ ............................................
M a le s .
F e m a le s .
$ 3 9 .7 4
5 3 .7 5
5 7 .1 9
5 9 .0 9
5 9 .0 0
6 9 .9 7
7 3 .2 1
7 6 .0 9
7 8 .1 2
$ 2 2 .6 3
2 6 .4 3
2 8 .1 4
2 8 .9 8
3 1 -9 6
4 0 .2 8
4 1 .0 9
4 4 .4 4
4 8 .3 0
PAYMENT BY RESULTS.1
In the early part of 1917 a scheme was inaugurated by Priestman
Bros. (Ltd.) in the Holderness Foundry, Hull, England, which was
to last for the duration of the war and which has been highly successful
in establishing cordial relations between the firm and its employees.
The details of the scheme briefly outlined are as follows:
The system is based on the principle that if a given number of men in a given time
are capable of producing on the ordinary method of day rate working a certain quantity
and type of finished machinery (called the “ Standard o u tp u t”), then if, by greater
collective individual effort—that is, without increasing the number of men or working
any longer hours per man—they can increase the output of such machinery, it is pos
sible to advance their total day rate wages by a percentage equivalent to that by which
the standard output has been increased.
A very important point is to settle a standard output which may be fair both to
employers and employed, and under a scheme of this description there are alternative
methods of calculating the output of the works; one is to take the average weight of
finished machinery alone, and another the weight of finished machinery converted
to a certain value of “ points” for different weights and classes, and where there is an
extensive variety in the size and type of machinery manufactured, as well as con
siderable fluctuations in the deliveries, we are of the opinion that the “ po in t” method
of arriving at the output possesses advantages on account of its greater flexibility.
A scheme formulated on the “ point” system has two special fea
tures, inasmuch as it provides for (1) a standard automatically vari
able according to the number of man-hours worked, and (2) the allot
ting of variable values to certain classes of output, these values being
converted into “ points,” which form the basis of the standard output.
i Based on a statement by Priestman Bros. (Ltd.), London, relative to a scheme of •‘ payment by results, ’
in effect at their works, Holderness Foundry, Hull, England. Oct. 24, 1918. 40 typewritten pages.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
After careful investigation it was considered at the time that a standard of “ average
weight ” alone should form the basis for the introduction of the system into our works,
and by agreements with representatives of the men a certain weight of completed
machinery packed and despatched per month is accepted as the standard unit.
As long as the number of men employed, the number of hours worked, and the plant
utilized remain substantially the same as those on which the scheme is based, this
standard weight is not altered, but the agreement provides that the standard weight
is to be modified to bring it into line with alterations if the number of men and hours
worked, or the method of manufacture, vary appreciably.
At the end of each four weeks the output in tons for that month is posted up after
being verified by the works committee, and by as much as it exceeds the standard
output, by so much per cent are the earnings of each employee increased for the four
following pay days; if the output exceeds the standard by 25 per cent, then each man is
credited with an extra 25 per cent over and above his earnings for that month, and so on.
The foregoing is the broad principle of the scheme, and while some variations in the
details have been found necessary from time to time, no deviation has been made from
the fundamentals of the scheme.
An agreement was drawn up and signed by officials of the various trades-unions,
and the scheme received the sanction of the Ministry of Munitions.
After a very close examination into the output per man per hour
as compared with the corresponding output prior to the introduction
of the scheme and after making all allowances necessary in order to
arrive at a fair comparison, the firm found that there has been ap
proximately 40 per cent increase in the weight of work delivered.
The experience of the firm confirms the natural deduction that in
case the class of work is approximately the same and the number of
men employed and the number of hours worked do not exceed those
which were worked in determining the standard weight output that
the cost of labor per ton is no more than it would be under the ordi
nary day rates of working. In this particular instance, however, the
10 per cent concession which the firm granted the employees has in
creased the costs, although it is considered that having gained the
confidence of the men this concession has become unnecessary. This
concession of 10 per cent is added to the weekly wage of men and ap
prentices whether the fixed average weight is exceeded or not.
Men who were in the employ of the firm from the beginning of the
scheme receive benefit up to the date of leaving and for one month
after that date, the amount being forwarded at the end of the following
month, but men employed after the inauguration of the scheme and
who leave the firm’s employ get the bonus only up to the time of leaving.
Members of the clerical force are paid their regular salaries plus
50 per cent, since it is realized that any scheme which did not allow
the staff to participate on equal terms with the workmen would be
sure to create dissatisfaction and that increased output means ad
ditional work for them as well as for the men in the shop.
An inquiry among employees seemed to show that the scheme
created confidence and good will between employer and employees,
that apart from the increase in wages it improves the tone of the
works and increases the men’s interest in their work and that it is
a means of allaying labor unrest.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
NUMBER OF WORKERS AND AMOUNT OF EARNINGS IN TEXTILE AND
LEATHER TRADES, GREAT BRITAIN.
In the February issue of the British Labor Gazette (pp. 51-54)
tables are published showing the number and earnings of work
people in the textile and leather trades of the United Kingdom during
the week ending January 25, 1919, and the percentages of increase or
decrease as compared with the preceding month and with the same
date in 1918. A summary table is reproduced herewith:
NUM BER
OF W ORKERS AN D EARNINGS IN BR ITISH T E X T IL E A N D LEA TH ER
TR AD ES, W EEK E N DIN G JAN. 25, 1919.
Earnings.
Workpeople.
Industry.
Cotton trade
................................................
Preparing
............. ................................
Spinning.....................................................
W eavin?
...........................................
Ot,he.r departm ends...................................
Not specified ............................................
Woolen trade.....................................................
Wool sorting..............................................
Spinning ............... .................................
Wcaving ....................................................
Other departments...................................
Not specified..............................................
Worsted trade .................................................
Wool sorting and com bing.....................
Spinning ....................................................
W eaving
................................................
Other departments..............................
Not specified..............................................
Hosiery trade ..................................................
Jute trade...........................................................
Preparing..................................................
Spinning......................................................
W eaving......................................................
Other departments .................................
inen trade
..............................................
Preparing....................................................
Sp in n in g....................................................
Weaving ....................................................
Other departments ..............................
Not specified.............................................
PilK trad e
...................... ............................
Throwing....................................................
Spinning
.............................................
Weaving ..................................................
Other departments
Not specified..............................................
T.ace trade
........... .......................................
T eyers
___________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
................................................
Curtain
Plain net
.........................................
Other departments...................................
Bleaching, dyeing, printing, and finishing.
Pleaching
......................................... .
Printing
..........................................
7)yping
Trimming, finishing, and other departm ents
............... ............................ Not specified
_____ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
p oot and shoe trade
........... .
S h ir t , and collar trade ....................................
Tailoring trade ( ready-made)__ ___. . . . . . .
1
Week
ended
Jan. 25,
1919.
Per cent increase
(+ ) or decrease (—).
Month
ago.
93,390
21,939
42,973
10,867
9,262
8,349
17,809
534
4,649
7,136
4,692
798
31,304
3,701
14,905
6,547
3,542
2,609
22.808
10,002
2,253
2,555
3,445
1,749
35,5S6
5,699
10,574
11,757
4,953
2,603
7,267
9S2
2,460
2,015
1,549
261
7,278
1,642
1,721
2,868
1,047
21,465
2,131
597
11,031
6,279
1,427
49,299
10,121
25,987
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
+ 0.4
- .2
+ 1.6
- .7
+ 1.0
— .4
+ 1.2
+ .1
+ 2.0
+ -4
+ .4
+ 1.8
+ 1.9
- .2
+ 1.4
- 1 .8
- .1
+ •1
- 1 .2
+ -5
- .3
+ 3.0
+ -7
+ -8
- .1
+ 1.0
+ 1.1
+4.0
+ -2
- 4 .9
+3.1
+ 1.4
+ -4
+ .5
- .2
— .3
+ •6
+ .9
— .5
+i.i
+ 1.0
- 1 .9
Year
ago.
Week
ended
Jan. 25,
1919.
- 4.7
+ 1.5
+ 1.8
- 8.4
- 5.2
-1 0 .4
— 2. 5
- 1.8
- .7
- 2.2
- 4.5
- 2.9
- 2.0
- 3.2
+ 1.2
- 3.5
- 5.9
- 8.7
- .6
- 4.3
- 4.7
-2 .8
- 4.4
- 5.4
- 2.6
- 4.1
- 5.0
+ 1.7
- 5.7
- 2.2
- 1.5
- 8.2
- 2.3
$975,933
119,784
239,480
402,489
118,660
95,520
166,478
5,207
46,811
59,444
47,755
7,281
269,424
41,331
103,695
63,381
38,037
22,930
166,575
80,502
17,028
17,909
26,829
18,736
245,345
38,669
63,430
84,268
41,477
17,500
50,057
4,370
19,140
13,874
+ 2.4
10,619
2,054
- 2.6
- 8.1 - 56,184
13,719
- 9.0
-1 1 .2
14,337
22,235
- 6. 5
5,891
- 5. 9
274,271
- 6.9
-1 4 .2
20,2357,052
— .5
- 6.9
165,845
- 4. 8
- 7.0
— 3. 5
+
.2
- 1.3
64,311
16,828
465,671
63,046
200,675
Per cent increase
( + ) or decrease (—).
Month
ago.
Year
ago.i
f2l
(*)
(2)
(*)
(2)
(2)
-1 .3
- 6.2
+ -9
- 2.9
+ .8
-1 1 . 5
- .6
- 4.3
+ 1.7
- 1.3
- .2
- 1.9
- .3
i+13. 8
1+16.1
1+12.7
1+15.3
+10.8
i+ 1.3
i+ 2.4 .
i+ 2.7
i+ .2
i - 1.4
!-}- 5. 4
+ 1.7
- .7
+ 2.3
+ 3.2
1
+ 1.0
+ 2.6
- 4.9
+ 10.3
+ 4.4
- 2.6
- .4
+ 1.2
-1 2 .3
+
.7
-2 .8
+ 2.2
— 1.4
+ 1-1
- 2.1
+44.5
+55.3
+53.8
+38.4
+40.5
+41.7
+22.3
+19.4
+26.2
+22.3
+20-3
+14.3
+28.2
+ 19.1
+34.8
+30.4
+19.7
+26.6
+16.1
+14.6
+14. 3
+12. 5
+13.7
+18.1
+34. 8
+33.7
+37. 8
+39.8
+24.7
+30.2
+23.0
+14.5
+ 15.5
+34.8
+25.0
+35.3
+ 4.7
- 1.8
+ 8.1
+ 8.4
+ .1
+12. 4
- .5
+13.3
+14. 7
+ 9.4
+19.7
+ 19.3
+26.1
+18.0
------------- -
' Comparison of earnings is after'ted by increases in rates of wages, including war bonuses.
,
2 Figures not given because of the strike of spinners and card-room workers, which lasted from Doc. 1 to 13.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 1 2 7 ]
182
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
REDUCTION IN HOURS OF BRITISH WOOL-TEXTILE WORKERS.1
The National Wool (and Allied) Textile Industrial Council at its
meeting in Bradford on February 3 agreed to a 48-hour week for the
operatives (the present average being 55b hours). The original
application of the operatives was for a reduction of working hours
to 45 per week. This provisional agreement is subject to confirma
tion by the members of the organizations on each side, and will go
into operation on March 3. The council also settled the apprentice
ship question and that of the employment and pay of women who
have taken the places of men during the war, these women not
to be so employed after men become available. The adoption of
piecework where possible, and a further advance in war wages to
textile time workers, in line with that received by dyers and finishers
under the existing sliding-scale agreement, were also matters that
received attention.
The following is the text of the agreement on these points:
That on condition that the trade-unions agree to take all possible steps to insure
that the greatest possible output will be secured and maintained, it is agreed.
1. That where the existing normal working week exceeds 48 hours it shall be re
duced to 48 hours.
2. That this reduction shall come into force on March 3.
3. That the existing time rates of wages per week shall be paid for the reduced
hours.
4. That piece rates shall be increased by the percentage reduction of hours, except
that in the case of Wales the matter be referred to the Welsh District Council.
5. That the application of all clauses shall be decided by (a) the Master Dyers’
Committee and representatives of the workmen’s societies concerned; (6) the West
of England District Council; (c) the Welsh District Council; (d ) the British Wool
Federation and trade-unions concerned; (e) the combing, carbonizing, spinning,
manufacturing, and shoddy employers’ representatives, and the representatives of
the trade-unions concerned.
(The representatives are those on the council.)
The council next considered the question of piecework working,
and finally resolved:
That the council, having considered the question of the extension of the piecework
working, recommend the various sections of the industry to consider the adoption
of piecework where possible.
As to training of ex-service apprentices, it is understood that a
scheme will be made public after the approval of the Ministry of
Labor has been received. In the meantime the understanding is
that ex-service apprentices of 21 years of age and over should be paid
wages to the extent of nine-twelfths of the journeyman’s full rate.
If after the scheme is approved, an apprentice is entitled to be paid
more, the amount due him will be paid.
i Data furnished through State Department by the United States consul at Bradford, England, under
date of Feb. 7,191».
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1128]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
183
The council considered and adopted as an agreement of the council,
and subject to the continuance of certain existing agreements which
related to the same matter, the following memorandum of agreement
made between the various bodies of employers and workpeople in
the worsted and woolen industries of the West Riding of Yorkshire
in February, 1916:
1. That substitutions of men by women are temporary, and that those men who
have joined His Majesty’s forces shall be entitled to be reinstated in their former
employments, if and when they return fit for resuming them. Men thus rein
stated shall receive the rates of wages to which they would have been entitled had
they remained in continuous employment. It shall generally be considered that a
man who is discharged from His Majesty’s forces without a pension shall be entitled
to resume work at the standard rate of wages, other cases to be dealt with by the
committee set up under the agreement.
2. That where new men are introduced into an occupation, such men shall be paid
the local standard or scheduled rate for that occupation.
3. That where women, in consequence of this agreement, are employed to take
the place of men, such women shall not continue to be so employed after men become
available.
4. That where women are employed to take the place of men the rate of wages for
such women shall be:
(a) If at piece rates, the same as for men, unless women’s rates are already estab
lished for that class of work, provided no woman shall receive less than the district
rate for women.
(b) If at tune rates for day-time work, and one or more women replace an equal
number of men, they shall be paid the same rate of wages now being paid to males
for an equivalent quantity of work, and, in any case, not less than four-fifths of. the
rate previously paid to the men they replace.
(c) If at time rates for day-time work, and a larger number of women are required
to replace a smaller number of men, the aggregate wages paid to the women shall not
be less than the aggregate wages paid to the men they replace, and in no case shall
the wage paid to an individual woman be less than four-fifths of the wages previously
paid to the man replaced.
5. That where any workpeople are not fully employed through shortage of work,
the women -who have taken the places of men shall be the first to be discharged or
suspended, provided that qualified men can be found to do the work.
6. That a central joint committee shall be appointed, consisting of seven repre
sentatives of the employers and seven of the workmen’s representatives, the personnel
of which may be changed from time to time by the two parties so far as their own
representatives are concerned. The committee shall have power to add persons for
the purpose of obtaining evidence in support of any claim. It shall also settle the
interpretation of the foregoing clauses, and deal with any dispute that may arise,
providing that such dispute can not be settled by a local joint committee of the
employers and workmen’s associations, and is referred by that joint committee to
the central joint committee.
7. That where existing arrangements provide for the trade-union to act as the
medium for the supply of labor, such arrangements shall not be affected by this
agreement.
8. The conditions of employment embodied in this agreement are temporary, and
designed only to meet the situation arising out of the war.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 1 2 9 ]
184
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
After the proceedings of the full council had terminated, a meeting
of the Northern Counties District Council was held. It was resolved
that the existing war wages of operatives coming within the scope
of the awards made by the committee on production in respect of
applications made for advances in war wages in November last, bo
advanced in proportion of 104f per cent to 107 per cent. This is
the advance accruing to the dyers and finishers under a sliding scale
regulating wages in that branch of the industry, the advance to come
into operation on the first pay day in February. The effect of this
advance is to raise the nominal prewar wages of all time workers by
2f per cent, with a maximum advance of 8 d. (16.2 cents) per week,
and brings the various operatives in the spinning, combing and manu
facturing departments into line with the new level of wages accruing
to dyers and finishers as a result of the operation of the sliding scale
in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
SHORTER WORKING DAY AND HIGHER WAGES IN HOLLAND.
Amsterdam and several other cities in Holland are reducing the
working day of municipal employees from nine hours or more to
eight hours, according to a report from the American consul at
Amsterdam, received through the State Department. Simul
taneously, the wages of such employees in Amsterdam are being
readjusted on a higher basis, the lowest annual pay, for unskilled
labor, being 1,264 florins ($508). On account of the increased cost
of living an allowance (toeslag) in addition to the fixed compensation
had been made to municipal employees during the war. This
amounted to a temporary increase of pay, but it is now supplanted by
the increase of wages, which will presumably be permanent.
The eight-hour day, it is stated, has also been established in several
Dutch factories during the past year. One of these factories reports
that the experiment is successful, and that more work is now being
done than was done with the former longer day. No adverse reports
have yet appeared.
EIGHT-HOUR DAY IN PERU.
The American consul general at Callao-Lima, Peru, in a com
munication to the State Department dated January 21, 1919, and
transmitted to this Bureau, states that the President of the Republic
of Peru issued on January 15, 1919, a decree establishing an eighthour day in all State industrial establishments or on public works.
The text of this decree is as follows:
1.
In State workshops, railways, agricultural, and industrial establishments, and
in all public works undertaken by the State, a day’s work is fixed at eight hours,
present wages to continue.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1130]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
185
2. In the case of factories, railways, agricultural, industrial, and mining establish
ments owned by companies or by private individuals, the duration of a day’s work
shall be decided upon by a mutual agreement entered into between the owners or
managers on the one hand and their men on the other. If no agreement is arrived
at, and until Congress legislates concerning the matter, the length of a day’s work
shall de facto follow the official regulation of eight hours per diem, present wages
being continued.
3. The differences which may arise between the parties, due either to petitions
for an increase of wages or to the new rates that must be established to keep such wages
as they are, shall be resolved by arbitration whenever such parties can not arrive at a
direct settlement. Each party shall appoint one arbiter and the third and deciding
arbiter shall be appointed by the president of the Supreme Court. The arbiters
must render a decision within a maximum period of eight days.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
i 11311
MINIMUM WAGE.
MINIMUM WAGE FOR OFFICE CLEANERS IN MASSACHUSETTS.1
The Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission has lately issued a
decree concerning the wages of womon employed as office and other
building cleaners in Massachusetts. Following its established proce
dure, the commission, having found by inquiry and investigation that a •
number of women engaged in cleaning office and other buildings
were receiving wages inadequate to maintain them in health, con
stituted a wage board early in 1918 to deal with the matter, consisting
of six representatives of the employers, six of the employees, and
three of the public. Its duties were “ to consider the needs of the
employees, the financial condition of the occupation, and the probable
effect thereon of any increase in the minimum wage paid, and to
endeavor to determine the minimum wage suitable for a female
employee of ordinary ability in the occupation. ”
The board held its first meeting April 10, 1918, and took up first
the needs of the employees. The following budget was decided upon
as representing the minimum per week on which a self-supporting
woman could live healthfully:
Board and room................................. $7. 00
Clothing.............................................. 1. 75
Laundry...................................................... 30
Car fare....................................................... 60
Church.........................................................13
Newspapers and magazines......................11
Vacation..................................................... 25
Recreation.................................................. 20
Savings........................................................ 25
Insurance....................................................15
Doctor......................................................... 25
D entist.........................................................20
Incidentals..................................................35
Total......................................... 11.54
Taking up next the financial condition of the occupation, it was
agreed that the cost of maintaining office and other buildings had
increased considerably from 1913 to 1917, and that during this time
the net income had decreased between 15 and 25 per cent. “ It was
agreed, however, that only a fundamental readjustment of the
financial status of office buildings would solve their financial probi Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission. Statement and decree concerning the wages of women
employed as office a n d other building cleaners in M assachusetts. Boston, Mass. 5 pp.
186
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1 1 3 2 ]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
187
lems, and that the industry would not be injured by paying a minimum
living wage to the cleaning women. ” The usual week’s work in this
occupation, it was found, consists of 36 hours.
When it came to fixing a minimum rate the board divided sharply,
the representatives of the public and of the employees recommending
a rate varying from 27 to 30 cents an hour, which would work out
for the various classes at about $12 a week, while the representatives
of the employers recommended an hourly wage of 25 cents.
Faced by these opposing recommendations, the commission recom
mitted the determinations to the board, and concessions were made
on both sides, but still the two groups could not unite on a minimum
satisfactory to both. The representatives of the public and the
employees handed in the following recommendations:
The minimum wage to be paid to any female employed as an office or other building
cleaner shall be as follows:
(a) Between the hours of 7 p. m. and 8 a. m., 30 cents an hour.
(b) Between the hours of 8 a. m. and 7 p. m., 26 cents an hour.
The employers’ representatives recommended a flat rate of 26 cents
an hour, producing $10.92 for a 42-hour week and $9.36 for a 36-hour
week.
After public hearings the minimum wage commission issued, Jan
uary, 1919, the following award:
1. No female of ordinary ability shall be employed between the hours of 7 p. m.
and 8 a. m. at a rate of wages less than 30 cents an hour.
2. No female of ordinary ability shall be employed between the hours of 8 a. m. and
7 p. m. at a rate of wages less than 26 cents an hour.
3. A female employee of less than ordinary ability may be paid less than the pre
scribed minimum wage, provided that the conditions of the Acts of 1912, chapter 706,
section 9, as amended, are complied with.
4. These recommendations shall take effect on April 1, 1919, and shall apply to all
females then or thereafter employed.
Since, according to the findings of the board, the usual week’s
work in this occupation is 36 hours, this provides for the majority
of workers a wage notably below the figure fixed by the board as the
minimum on which a woman could maintain herself healthfully.
Nevertheless it represents a great improvement over prevailing con
ditions. The earlier investigation 1showed that more than four-fifths
of the women studied were employed at night, and would therefore
receive 30 cents an hour, making $10.80 for a 36-hour week-. The same
investigation showed that the majority of the women considered—■
78.1 per cent—were receiving less than $8 a week, and only 5.6 per
cent received as much as $9 or over per week. To the great majority
therefore the new rates will mean a substantial increase in their
weekly earnings.
1See “ Office cleaning as an occupation for women,” in Monthly L abor R eview for October, 1918
(pp. 196-199).
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1133]
WOMAN AND CHILD LABOR.
LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN IN INDUSTRY IN INDIANA.1
During the war, Gov. Goodrich, of Indiana, appointed a woman as
a special industrial inspector for the State industrial hoard. This
appointment, which is said to have been the first appointment of a
woman to a position in connection with the administration of labor
laws in Indiana, was made as a war emergency measure, but the
result of the woman agent’s activities brought into prominence the
question of what permanent measures should be undertaken for the
protection of working women when the war had ended. At the request
of the governor of Indiana, and with the cooperation of the industrial
board of the State, the Woman in Industry Service of the United
States Department of Labor undertook a hasty survey of the indus
trial situation to see where the labor laws concerning women needed
reenforcement or alteration. The work was carried on from Novem
ber 20 to December 20, 1918, and covered 110 establishments,
employing 12,300 women. A few hundred women employed in
laundries, in the printing trades, and in transportation were included,
but in general the survey dealt with manufacturing industries, since
in these the problems affecting women seemed most urgent. The
inquiry was limited mainly to hours and working conditions, as these
are the subjects which in other States have longest been regulated by
law.
HOURS.
Twelve States have laws forbidding all night work of women in at
least one group of occupations, and Indiana is one of these. Six
States have no laws limiting the number of hours per day during
which a woman may be employed, and again Indiana is one of these.
This curious mixture of progressiveness and backwardness seems to
characterize the actual as well as the legal situation. The following
table shows the length of the working day for women in 110 estab
lishments reporting on this point:
1Labor laws for women in industry in Indiana. Report of a survey by the Woman in Industry
Service, United States Department of Labor, as submitted to the governor of Indiana, Dec. 31, 1918.
Wash:ngton, 1919. 29 pp.
188
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1134]
189
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
LENGTH OF W ORKING DAY FOR WOMEN IN 110 IND IA N A ESTABLISHM ENTS INVES
TIGATED.
Length of working day.
Number of Number of
women
establish
employed.
ments.
2
Per cent of
women in
each speci
fied group.
Less than 8 hours.............
and less than 9 hours...
9 and less than 10 hours..
hours and over............
16
58
34
164
1,517
7,802
2,817
1.3
12.3
63.4
23.0
Total............................
no
12,300
100.0
8
10
It will be noticed that about one-sixth of the establishments inves
tigated, employing over one-eighth of the women, were working less
than the nine hours daily which is the shortest standard day yet
fixed by any of the great manufacturing States; but on the other
hand, approximately one-third of the establishments and nearly onefourth of the women were working more than the 10-hour day, which
is the highest limit permitted by any of Indiana’s neighboring States.
The only restriction on the hours of labor for women in Indiana is
the provision that in certain specified industries no person under
16 years of age and no female under 18 shall work more than 60 hours
a week, or more than 10 hours a day, except for the purpose of making
a shorter day on the last day of the week. Consequently, not only
are the long hours shown in the above table perfectly legal, but
when overtime becomes necessary they may be greatly exceeded
without any violation of law. The following table shows the hours
when overtime was worked:
MAXIMUM W E EK LY HOURS OF W ORK IN 53 IN D IA N A ESTABLISHM ENTS IN WHICH
OVERTIME WAS R E PO R T E D .
Maximum weekly hours, including
overtime.
Number ol Number of
women
establish
employed.
ments.
Less than 50 hours..................................
50 and less than 55..................................
55 and less than 60..................................
60 and less than 65..................................
65 and less than 70..................................
70 and less than 75..................................
75 and less than 80---- '...........................
80 and over................................................
Total....................................................
1
21
15
6
1
2
4
450
150
3,198
2,540
1,372
83
142
396
53
8.331
3
WORKING CONDITIONS.
Although long hours were the most striking feature revealed by the
survey, yet working conditions showed at least equal need of regu
lation. Indiana already has laws of which the intent is to secure
safe and suitable working conditions for women, but the language
used is so vague and general that enforcement of the law is very
110451°—19----- 13
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1135]
190
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
difficult, and the maintenance of anything beyond the barest mini
mum depends upon the good will of the employer. Consequently,
working conditions were found ranging all the way from those which
would be creditable to any State to those which would be a disgrace
to the most backward community. Protection against industrial
accidents and dangers seems particularly insufficient.
CONCLUSIONS.
As a result of the survey, the investigators feel that there is need
for new legislation on the subject. It is pointed out that without
State restriction on hours woman workers are subjected to unduly
long hours, and that without clearer definitions of standards of
comfort, safety, and sanitation in the workrooms than those con
tained in the existing laws, conditions are often allowed to exist
which are below a wholesome or decent minimum. The foliowins:
recommendations are made:
Hours o f work .—It is strongly urged that Indiana now join with those States which
have placed their industries on the healthful and efficient basis of the eight-hour day.
Working conditions .— I t is recommended that a bill be drawn embodying the best
features of the laws of other States and the best practice in Indiana establishments,
establishing a minimum of sanitation and comfort in factories, and that in addition
the industrial board issue explicit recommendations for service facilities which it
may not be advisable to include in the law at this time but which are desirable as
standards to be advocated.
Administration o f labor laws.—Three distinct tendencies are marked in the ad
ministration of labor laws in this country. The first is the enforcement of specific
statutes enacted into law by the State legislature. The second is the establishment
of an industrial commission without statutes to enforce, but with power to establish
safe and healthful conditions through regulations having the force of law. The Wis
consin plan is an example. The third is the combination of the two, as in New York
State, where the industrial commission has definite laws to enforce, but is instructed
also to formulate codes which, after public hearings, become part of the labor law.
As it was not possible in this investigation to make a study of the administration
of the laws of Indiana, and as the whole subject is very important, it is urged that
provision be made for a thorough inquiry into the best form of administration for
Indiana.
Meanwhile it is recommended that in view of the importance of the problems of
women in industry, the industrial board be enlarged to include at least one woman in
its membership, and that, when a study is made of the administration of the laws,
attention be centered upon the desirability of establishing as in several other States
a special bureau for women in industry, whose chief shall be directly responsible to
the industrial board, with power adequately to safeguard the health of women work
ers in the State and to study their needs.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
191
DOMESTIC SERVICE AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG ENGLISH WOMEN.1
When, after the armistice was signed, work on munition con
tracts began to slow down, it was taken for granted that the women
discharged would find employment in domestic service and laundry
work, two occupations which had been crying out for workers in
vain. The general phrase was that women would “return” to
housework. The women themselves did not share this view. They
pointed out in the first place that only a comparatively small pro
portion of their number had come from these lines of work and that
there was no more reason for women from other callings to enter
them than for discharged men to go into agricultural work, which,
like domestic service, is seeking earnestly for recruits. And in the
second place, they declared that domestic service as known before
the war was an occupation in which the hours were so long, the
wages so small, and the conditions of work so restrictive of liberty
that no woman who could help herself would be likely to enter it
until matters were improved.
As to the first point, there appears to be considerable truth in
the claim. Figures published in 1917 show that in two leading
branches of munition work—the metal and the chemical trades—only
about one-fifth of the woman workers had formerly been employed
in domestic service.2 The proportion may have varied in other
lines of munition work, but there is no reason to suppose that it was
much higher. As to the second, it has always been a mooted point
between employers and employees whether the conditions of domestic
service are better or worse than those of other occupations open to
women. In the present instance, the advantage of the argument
seemed to lie with the potential workers, who simply did not enter
the occupation.
Moved to desperation by lack of workers, the laundrymen sought
Government assistance.
The Launderers’ Association, in despair about the scarcity of workers, has taken
the very strong and debatable course of appealing to the Ministry of Labor to bring
pressure to bear on the women they want. It says indignantly that thousands of
women and girls whose services are badly needed in many trades are enjoying a holi
day at the taxpayers’ expense, and it asks for the introduction of machinery to insure
that the 25s. [$6.08] a week should not be drawn by women able to obtain work at a
reasonable rate.
They had hoped that the demobilization of munition workers would immediately
ease the position, but they find that the laundry is as unpopular as the kitchen, and
while unemployment pay lasts they can not get labor.3
Apparently no action was taken in response to this demand. The
women, however, were quick to point out that the Government
1Compiled from English daily papers and trade-union, publications.
2See “ Women in the munition trades in Great Britain,” in Monthly R eview , May, 1918, p. 153.
•Manchester Guardian, Jan. 10,1919, p. 4.
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itself had raised the unemployment pay for women from 203. ($4.87)
to 25s. ($6.08) a week on the admitted ground that 20s. was not
enough for a single woman to live on, and that, therefore, women
could hardly be expected to enter laundries at 18s. ($4.38) a week.
Private employers did not openly appeal to the Government to
help them, but the workers claimed that the exchanges through
which the out-of-work donation is paid were trying hard to force
women into domestic service at insufficient wages. Complaints
came in from many quarters that women applying for the unem
ployment pay were offered places as domestic workers at 10s. ($2.43)
or 12s. ($2.92) a week, and if they did not accept they were refused
the out-of-work pay. Where the women were well organized or
had strong supporters, this line of action was so vehemently opposed
as to be hardly practicable. Eventually the subject was brought
up in Parliament.
In answer to a question, Mr. J. Parker, replying for the Ministry of Labor, said he
was aware there was a shortage of domestic servants and that many girls who had been
engaged on munition or other war work were reluctant to return to domestic service.
The chief reason seems to be that the terms and conditions offered were not regarded
as sufficiently attractive. Applicants who refused offers of suitable employment in
domestic service were not entitled to remain in receipt of out-of-work donation. He
was satisfied that the real remedy lay in a substantial improvement in the general
level of the terms and conditions of domestic service. There was no statutory power
to deal compulsorily with this matter, but the department was considering what steps
it might be possible to take to secure an improvement by voluntary action.1
This response was not particularly helpful, as it left unsettled the
question of what should be considered “ suitable employment.” The
workers maintained that an occupation which paid an insufficient
wage could not be considered suitable, and there was sharp divergence
between them and the employers as to what is a sufficient wage.
The daily papers contain numerous advertisements for experienced
and reliable servants at wages ranging from 10s. ($2.43) a week up
ward; 13s. ($3.16) a week is a common figure, while 18s. ($4.38)
seems to be looked upon as almost a maximum to be reached only by
long service. The workers themselves have in several documents
fixed 15s. ($3.65) a week as a proper minimum wage for a woman who
“ lives in.” Wages, however, are not the only or even the most im
portant point on which the workers and employers are at odds.
Early in January one of the morning papers printed a survey of the
situation made by its correspondents in a number of munition cen
ters. Everywhere the tale was the same; the women were seeking
work in every direction except the household. As a result of the
survey the conclusion is reached:
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It is evident that if the ranks of our house servants are to be kept up, the conditions
will have to be vastly different from those which prevailed before the war. Wages
have risen, as a matter of course, and will not go down; but more vital, from the
women’s point of view, is the demand that something of the liberty that has been
enjoyed while on munition work shall be granted to them in domestic service if they
are to be tempted back to it.1
This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the women in the
army, navy, and aerial forces who are doing cooking, cleaning, etc.,
under standardized conditions seem entirely satisfied with their
positions and are making no effort to be demobilized. Evidently it
is not the work itself to which objection is made, but the conditions
under which it is done, and a number of schemes have been put for
ward dealing with possible changes in these.
The Fabian Women’s Group, for instance, proposed that the Gov
ernment should retain some of the hostels established for women
munition workers, and use them as training centers for domestic
workers. Each hostel should have a general training department,
and in addition should maintain a national kitchen and restaurant
to give practical training in cooking. A crèche and day nursery
should be added, to give training for nursery work. Women should
he trained for different grades of household work, and the hostel
might maintain a corps of experienced workers who should be sent
out by the day or hour.
Even while the war was still in progress the Women’s Industrial
Council had prepared a plan, which, as soon as the armistice was
signed, they forwarded to the Government departments concerned,
suggesting that by some such means it might be possible to direct dis
charged munition workers into domestic service. As a first step under
this plan the minister of labor would set up a trade committee on
daily domestic service, in which representatives of the workers
would be included. This committee would consider standard con
ditions of employment, means of enforcing the standard conditions
decided upon, effective means of inducing workers formerly in do
mestic service to take it up again, and the best means of inducing
employers to accept the present altered conditions. Especially they
would try to induce employers to engage daily workers instead of ex
pecting the domestic to “ live in.” The council, having made an
extended inquiry into domestic service, suggested the following as
possible standard conditions to be adopted by the committee:
(a) A minimum wage of 30s. [$7.30] per week of 48 liours, exclusive of mealtimes,
rest times, and holidays.
(b) Working hours to be arranged so as to allow for one whole holiday or two half
holidays per week.
(c) Overtime to be paid for at a higher rate per hour.
(d) Where meals are provided an agreed sum to be deducted from the worker’s wage.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
A considerable part of the difficulties of the present situation, the
council thinks, could be eliminated by the establishment of house
hold orderly corps, for which it offers the following suggestions:
1. Centers to be established in residential districts from which domestic workers
are supplied by the hour. Each center to be financially self-supporting.
2. A guild of employers to be formed -who pay an annual subscription of £2 2s.
[$10.22] or who take shares.
3. The workers to be enrolled in a corps and paid 30s. [$7.30] by the management
for a week of 48 working hours. Workers provide their own lodging, laundry and food.
4. A board of management to be established in connection with each center, which
shall select a chairman and treasurer and appoint a secretary-manager. It shall take
adequate steps to ascertain and give effect to the views of the workers as well as those
of the employers.
5. Charges to employers, wages, hours, overtime charges, mealtimes, uniforms, and
holidays of the workers shall be fixed by the secretary-manager, under the control
of the board.
6. Each employer and each worker shall be provided with a time sheet, stating the
hour when the work began and ended.
7. Complaints on either side should be made to the manager. Disputes between
employers and workers to be settled by the board of management, which shall have
power to terminate membership of employers or workers.
8. Workers will be required to wear the uniform of the corps while on duty.
9. One hour off for dinner and half an hour each for breakfast and tea and supper
shall be allowed to the worker at such times as may be mutually convenient. The
workers can either—
(а) Bring their own food.
(б) Go out for meals.
(c) Arrange for the employer to supply them.
10. Workers shall be entitled to two weeks’ holiday on full wages each year, and
to one wrhole day or two half days each w'eek, determined beforehand,
No statement has appeared giving the response of the Government
to this proposition, but up to date no such committee has been
announced. Among the workers, however, the idea of an organized
form of service, with definite hours, wages, and conditions of work
has evidently found favor. The Labor Woman for February, 1919,
under the title "A charter of emancipation” contains a plan drawn
up by a group of labor women, discussion of which is invited. As a
first step toward bettering conditions, this plan urges that the workers
should “ live out” either in their own homes or in hostels. In the
country, it is admitted, living out might prove impossible.
In cases where living in is necessary or preferred, an estimate must be arrived at as
to the amount which board and lodging should reach, and wages regulated accordingly.
In such cases the worker’s bedroom should be regarded as her own, and complete
privacy should be given her, while the hours in which she is off duty should in the
same w'ay be regarded as at her own disposal and free from interruption.
Wages should be paid on either an hourly or a weekly basis. In
the former case, the minimum should be 9d. (18.3 cents) per hour, in
the latter, 35s. ($8.52) per week. Hours should be not more than 8
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a day, within a period of 12 hours, mealtimes and rest times not to
be included in the 8 hours. Overtime should be paid for at an extra
rate. If the mistress desires a uniform, she should furnish it. It is
recognized that this standard of hours would not be practicable in
the case of children’s nurses, attendants for sick or old people, and in
some other instances. Such exceptions could be provided for as the
need arose. The present plan is intended to introduce some basis of
order; once that is secured, it will be easy to deal with exceptions.
By way of enforcing better conditions, former domestic workers
are organizing, and organized labor is taking an active part in the
controversy. In Sheffield the Workers’ Committee organized a
series of meetings, principally in the open air, "to advocate, amongst
other things, that domestic service should be placed on an eight-hour
basis, with a minimum wage of 8d. (16.2 cents) an hour.” At a
mass meeting of unemployed women held at Albert Hall, February
15, 1919, the domestic workers were among those presenting their
cause:
Miss J. Stephen, representing the domestic workers, said that many hundreds of
girls were being refused the unemployment donation because they refused to go into
domestic service at 10s. or 12s. [$2.43 or $2.92] a week. The Domestic Workers’
Union demanded the right to live and the right to leisure. It wanted a proper wage
and an eight-hour day. “ These things are not only what we want, but what we
mean to have.”
Through all these manifestations of the workers runs the same
purpose, the desire to do away with the unstandardized character of
domestic service, to diminish the nominal autocracy of the employer
and to place the occupation on an organized business basis com
parable to that of other industries. The employers do not seem to
have any counter plan, but are apparently trusting to the force of
circumstances to preserve the old order. In May the six months
during which unemployment pay may be claimed expires, and the
unemployed will have to face a much more alarming situation. It is
possible that this will settle the vexed question in favor of the em
ployers who wish to maintain the old conditions, but the workers are
determined that this shall not happen without a fight.
CHILD LABOR IN ARGENTINA, 1914 TO 1917.1
The Bulletin of the National Department of Labor of Argentina, for
August, 1918, is devoted to a study of child labor, the data being
gathered in connection with the administration of the woman and
child labor law of October, 1907.
The general provisions of this law, as regards children, are briefly:
(a) Minors under 16 shall not work more than 8 hours a day nor more
1Boletín del Departamento Nacional del Trabajo, August, 1918, Buenos Aires.
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196
than 48 hours a week; (b) Minors under 13 shall not he employed in
industrial establishments; (c) Minors under 16 shall have a 2-hour
rest period at midday; (d) Minors under 16 shall not be employed in
industries declared by the Government to be dangerous or unhealthful
nor from 9 p. m. to 6 a. m.
The report states that the law does not mention children’s wages
or apprenticeship, and that, while protecting minors in commerce
and industry, it is silent regarding them in home work and work in
the publio streets.
In 1914, 47,779 Argentine industrial establishments were employing
17,838 minors, of whom 14,474, or 81 per cent, were Argentines, and
3,364, or 19 per cent, were foreigners. Thirty-one and three-tenths
per cent of these minors were employed in food industries, 16.7 per
cent in construction work, 10.7 per cent in the clothing industry,
8.8 per cent in metal trades, etc.
The law requires minors under 16 to obtain a permit (libreta) from
the Department of Labor before being allowed to work. Besides
allowing the department to regulate child labor, this gives an oppor
tunity to obtain information regarding schooling and physical con
dition, and facilitates the gathering of statistics. During the fouryear period 1914 to 1917, 21,519 children under 16 applied for these
permits, of whom 70.7 per cent were males and 29.3 per cent females.
In 1917 there was an increase in the number of applicants of 18.6 per
cent over 1914.
During this period—1914 to 1917—98.5 per cent of the children
applying for permits were between 12 and 15 years of age. There
were 17 of 10 years and 146 of 11 years. Of the 21,519 children
applying, 8,027, or 37.3 per cent, were going to work for the first
time, the largest number of whom applied in 1917, the proportion for
this year being 54.1 per cent of the total applicants.
The average wages are shown as follows:
AVERAGE DAILY AND MONTHLY WAGES OF CHILDREN IN A R G E N T IN A ,-1914 TO 1917.
Girls.
Boys.
Item.
Avorage daily wag PS. . . __. . . . . . . . . . .
Average m onthly w a g e s.....................
1914
1915
1916
1917
1914
1915
1916
$0.47
11.55
$0.34
9.30
$0.39
9.13
$0.36
9.66
$0.47
8.14
$0.42
7.62
$0.34
9.62
1917
$0.36
9.94
The child labor law also requires that children of school age, i. e.
those up to 14 years of age, be examined by the National Council of
Education before being given permits to work, so that the council
may ascertain the amount of schooling they have had and the con
ditions under which they are leaving school. In 1917, of the 3,208
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children examined by the National Council of Education,1 20 per cent
had completed school requirements, 47 per cent had completed the
secondary school course, 7 per cent the primary grades, and 2 per
cent were illiterate. The remaining 24 per cent had attended private
schools, the grade of schooling not being given.
Of the 451,425 workers involved in the 1,428 strikes in Buenos
Aires during the 11 years 1907-1917, 11,947, or 2.6 per cent, were
children under 16. The proportion of children involved has decreased
since 1909, because the unions affected have few minors. In the
strikes in 1917, 1,752 minors were involved, 1,418, or 81 per cent, of
them leaving their work.
i in 1917, 38 per cent more children of school age sought permits than in 1916.
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INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS.
ACCIDENTS ON STEAM RAILROADS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1917.
The Interstate Commerce Commission has just issued its accident
bulletin No. 66/ showing the number of collisions, derailments, and
other accidents resulting in injury to persons, equipment, and road
bed, arising from the operation of railways used in interstate com
merce, covering the period October, November, and December, 1917,
and also the entire year ending December 31, 1917. It includes a
table giving a comparative summary of the casualties to persons for
the years ending December 31, 1916, and 1917, andJune30, 1916.
Under the rules of the Interstate Commerce Commission governing
monthly reports of accidents, accidents are divided into three general
classes, namely: Train accidents, train-service accidents, and non
train accidents. The train accidents are those arising in connection
with the operation of trains, locomotives, and cars in road, yard, or
work service, resulting in damage to equipment or other railway
property. Train-service accidents are accidents incidental to the
operation of trains, locomotives, and cars, resulting in casualties to
persons but not in damage to equipment or other railway property.
Nontrain accidents include those occurring in and around shops, on
boats and wharves, at stations, freight houses, engine houses, coaling
stations, water stations, tracks, etc.; also those occurring in connec
tion with construction or with repair, painting, or other maintenance
work on buildings and other structures, and with the construction
and maintenance of equipment, except such running repairs as may
be made by trainmen en route. The commission also prescribes rules
stipulating what sort of accidents should be reported. For example,
any person killed in an accident at the time of its occurrence, or so
severely injured as o die within 24 hours thereafter, should be re
ported is “killed.” With regard to injuries not resulting in death
within 24 hours after the occurrence of an accident, the commission
makes the following rulings:
Employees incapacitated from performing their ordinary duties for more than three
days, in the aggregate, during the 10 days immediately following the accident, are
to be reported as “ injured” ; those incapacitated for only three days or less are not
to be reported.
i Interstate Commerce Commission. Accident bulletin No. 66, October, November, and December,
and year 1917. Washington, 1919. 82 pp.
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Persons other than employees are to be reported as “ injured” if the injury is
sufficient, in the opinion of the officer making the report, to incapacitate the injured
person for a period of more than one day from following his customary vocation.
With these rules in mind a brief summary of the report may bo
given. During 1917 there were 9,567 persons killed and 70,970 per
sons injured in accidents involving train operation, while 520 were
killed and 123,835 were injured in nontrain accidents, making a
total of 10,087 killed and 194,805 injured. Compared with 1916
these totals represent an increase of 86 in the number killed, and a
decrease of 1,917 in the number injured. The number of fatalities
among passengers and persons carried under contract was 343, or
3.4 per cent of the total number killed, and the number injured was
8,374, or 4.3 per cent of the total number injured. The number of
employees killed was 33.2 per cent of the total number killed and
the number of employees injured was 89.6 per cent of the total
number injured. Compared with 1916, the number of passengers
and persons carried under contract who were killed showed an in
crease of 17.9 per cent and the number injured showed an increase of
4.6 per cent.
The following table shows the casualties on steam railroads for the
year ending December 31, 1917:
CASUALTIES TO PE R SO N S ON STEAM RAILROADS IN THE U N IT E D STATES FOR THE
Y E A R ENDIN G DEC. 31, 1917.
Class.
Passengers and
persons carried
under contract.
Employees
(including those
not on duty).
Other persons
(trespassers and
nontrespassers).
Total.
Killed. Injured.
Killed. Injured.
Killed. Injured.
Killed. Injured.
Train accidents.........................
Train-service accidents...........
N ontrain accidents...................
131
212
4,460
3,914
460
2,470
418
4,293
48,694
121,467
168
6,126
102
545
9,064
2,368
759
8,808
520
9,298
61,672
123,835
Total.........................................
343
8,374
3,348
174,454
6,396
11,977
10,087
194,805
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WORKMEN’S
COMPENSATION
SURANCE.
AND SOCIAL
IN
COMPENSATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN THE UNITED STATES
AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
BY CARL H OO K STA D T.
The present status as regards compensation for industrial diseases
in the various countries of the world is as follows: In Great Britain
and most of her colonies, especially the Provinces of Canada, certain
enumerated occupational diseases are compensable under the com
pensation acts. In most of the other foreign countries industrial
diseases are not compensable under the accident insurance laws,
but are taken care of through sickness and invalidity insurance
systems. In the United States, however, with four noteworthy
exceptions, occupational diseases are not only excluded from the
operation of the various compensation acts but because of the
absence of health and invalidity insurance laws receive no consid
eration whatever.
Of the 42 workmen’s compensation jurisdictions in the United
States only four (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and the Fed
eral Government) provide compensation for occupational diseases.
In Massachusetts and the United States this inclusion has been
effected through the commissions and courts, whereas in California
and Hawaii it has been brought about by statutory enactment.
In all the other States occupational diseases are excluded, in theory
at least, from the operation of the compensation acts. This exclu
sion has been brought about (1) by limiting the scope of the law to
injuries by “ accident,” (2) by adverse rulings of the courts and
commissions, and (3) by express provisions in the compensation acts
themselves.
What constitutes an “ occupational disease” under the various
compensation laws? This is a question perennially confronting the
courts and industrial commissions in the United States. In those
States in which industrial diseases are supposed to be excluded
compensation benefits have been awarded for anthrax, dermatitis,
arsenic poisoning, fume poisoning, occupational neuritis, house
maid’s knee, and so on. In each case, however, the court or commis
sion always took pains to point out that the particular injury in
question was compensable because it was not an “ occupational
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201
disease.” Compensation was granted not because it was a disease
but because it satisfied in other respects the requirements of a com
pensable injury as defined by the statute or as interpreted by the
court. When, then, is an occupational disease not an occupational
disease ?
Occupational diseases may be classified according to cause and
nature of injury, as follows:
1. Diseases due to gradual absorption of poisons (lead poisoning).
2. Diseases in which the poison or germ enters the system through
a break in the skin (anthrax).
3. Skin affections from acids or other irritants (eczema, derma
titis) .
4. Diseases due to fumes or dusts entering the system through
respiratory organs (tuberculosis, gas poisoning).
5. Diseases due to vibrations or constant1use of particular mem
bers (neuritis, telegrapher’s cramp, housemaid’s knee).
6. Miscellaneous diseases (caisson disease, miner’s nystagmus).
There are, however, two additional classes of diseases, nonoccupational in character, for which compensation is usually granted:
(1) Those diseases, such as typhoid fever, erysipelas, pneumonia,
and ivy poisoning, which arise out of and are proximately caused
by the employment. These diseases, to be compensable, however,
must have had their origin in the employment and must be definitely
traceable to it. (2) Those diseases which either result from an
accident or are aggravated, accelerated, or developed by the acci
dent. In these cases compensation is awarded not for the disease
per se but for the results of the accident. Had the accident not
occurred the disease would presumably never have developed;
consequently the resulting disability is justly attributable to the
accident. In this connection the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compen
sation Board said:
“ The workmen’s compensation act does not prescribe any standard
of health or physical condition to which the workman of the State
must conform to qualify for compensation, nor does it imply a war
ranty on the employee’s part that he is free from latent disease or
physical defect which may develop into serious injury if excited into
activity through his exertions in the course of his employment.” 1
In theory, therefore, when an employer employs a workman he
accepts him as he is and becomes liable for injuries in which the
employee’s preexisting disease or defect was partly responsible.
Of the six classes of occupational diseases enumerated above com
pensation has been uniformly denied for the first class, i. e., for those
diseases which have developed gradually and which are inherent in
1Smith v. Pittsburgh Coal Co. Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Board decisions for 1916, p. 63.
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MONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
the employment. No State, except those 1 which compensate for all
occupational diseases, has awarded compensation for lead poisoning.
As regards the other classes of diseases, there has been a lack of uni
formity in the practices of the courts and commissions of the several
States. Numerous diverse and contradictory rulings have been
made in what appear to have been identical or similar cases. For
example, compensation for occupational neuritis has been awarded
in one State and denied in another; a workman contracting anthrax
has been granted compensation in a third State and denied compen
sation in a fourth; and so on.
However, while the practices among the several State commissions
and courts vary, the legal theories and principles upon which their
decisions are based have been remarkably uniform. Compensation
for occupational diseases has been usually granted if one or more or
all of the following conditions were present: (1) If the disease resulted
in violence to the physical structure of the body, i. e., if it was trau
matic or produced a lesion; (2) if the injury occurred unexpectedly
or not in the usual course of events; (3) if the injury can be traced to
a definite time and place in the employment; and (4) if the injury
was not due to a known and inherent risk of the occupation; or, even
if inherent in the occupation, if the employer had neglected to provide
reasonable safeguards which would presumably have prevented the
injury.
The guiding principle adopted by most of the courts and commis
sions in occupational-disease cases is stated by the Pennsylvania
Workmen’s Compensation Board in awarding compensation for
dermatitis due to the fortuitous presence of poison in hides handled
by the employee, as follows:
Where injuries received in the course of employment are of intraceable inception
and gradual and insidious growth and can not be traced to having been received at
some certain time, and in which there is no sudden or violent change in the condition
of the physical structure of the body, they must be regarded as the results of an occu
pational disease. However, if the disease can be traced to some certain time when
there was a sudden or violent change in the condition of the physical structure of the
body, as. for instance, where poisonous gases were inhaled which damage the physical
structure of the body, it is an accident within the workmen’s compensation act of
1915, and is compensable.2
The following list shows the various classes of occupational diseases
for which compensation has been awarded in the several States.
This list is by no means complete nor are the States enumerated
the only ones in which the specified occupational diseases have been
compensated :
1 California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and the Federal Government.
•Roller v. Drueding Bros. Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Board decisions for 1916, p. 86.
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ANTHRAX.
Anthrax contracted through chaps or cracks on the back of the hands of a work
man while handling hides (New York).
Anthrax contracted by a wool sorter through an abrasion on his neck (Pennsylvania).
A R SE N IC P O IS O N IN G .
Acute arsenical poisoning from inhaling fumes from spelter furnace (Illinois).
G AS, F U M E S , AND D U STS.
Gas poisoning resulting in cerebral hemorrhage from close proximity to gas flame
(Illinois).
Breathing of poisonous gases which had accumulated by reason of insufficient
ventilation (New York).
Miliary tuberculosis following inhalation of gas fumes due to an explosion (Wis
consin).
Infection of throat due to inhalation of dust from dry hides by reason of poor venti
lation (Michigan).
Involuntary inhalation of gas fumes caused by explosion (Pennsylvania).
Inhalation of gas fumes from salamanders used to heat workplace (Minnesota).
Inhalation of poisonous fumes while heating bucket of paint in an insufficiently
ventilated room (Ohio).
SK IN D IS E A S E S .
Dermatitis due to fortuitous presence of poison in hides handled by workman
(Pennsylvania).
Abrasion and irritation of skin from acids in handling hides in tannery (Wisconsin).
V IBRA TIO N S OR CONSTANT U SE OF PARTICULAR M E M B E R S .
Traumatic peripheral neuritis due to constant vibration of punch press (Illinois).
Housemaid’s knee contracted by a plumber (Connecticut).
NONOCCUPATIONAL D IS E A S E S .
Typhoid fever contracted from impure drinking water furnished by employer
(Wisconsin).
Erysipelas contracted from frost-bitten nose (Connecticut).
Pleurisy and pulmonary tuberculosis contracted from wetting received by jump
ing in river in course of employment (New York).
Nephritis and disability contracted by becoming wet from flushing hot pulp from
basement of paper mill (Indiana).
Ivy poisoning of railroad employee while mowing grass on right of way (New York).
It is interesting to note the paradoxical position in which the courts
and compensation commissions have placed themselves. Our work
men’s compensation laws have been enacted in the vague belief
that industrial accidents were inevitable and constituted a perma
nent and integral part of our industrial life. The one clinching
argument constantly used by proponents of compensation laws
has been that a large proportion of industrial accidents were due to
the inherent risk of the industry, and consequently the employers’
liability system based upon negligence was no longer applicable.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
These same reasons, formerly advanced for accident compensa
tion laws, are now used by the courts and commissions against
compensation for occupational diseases. In accordance with their
interpretation of the probable legislative intent of the statute, com
pensation for such diseases is denied if they are naturally inherent in
cr incidental to the employment and granted if their occurrence is
sudden or accidental. In actual practice and as a matter of simple
justice, however, commissions and courts undoubtedly feel that an
employee who contracts an occupational disease is just as much en
titled to compensation as one who sustains the loss of an arm. Con
sequently in their decisions under the law they have no doubt been
influenced by their desire to remedy so far as possible the economic
injustice of the statutes.
PREVALENCE OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES.
The failure to include occupational diseases in the early American
compensation acts was probably due, in part at least, to the lack
of information as to their prevalence. It was also deemed inad
visable to burden the employer unduly. Even at present there
exists no reliable statistical data showing the annual number of
industrial diseases in the United States. Numerous investigations
of the occupational-disease hazards of particular industries have
been made, a number of which have been published by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The morbidity rates for lead
poisoning in certain trades and industries have been especially
high. Some idea of the prevalence of occupational diseases, how
ever, may be obtained from the Massachusetts statistics. For the
two years ending June 30, 1917, there were reported to the Massa
chusetts Industrial Accident Board, as shown in the following
table, 2,385 occupational diseases which resulted in loss of time;
42 of these were fatal.
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES R EPO R T ED TO MASSACHUSETTS IN D U STR IA L ACCIDENT
BOARD DURING 1915-16 A N D 1916-17.
Number of
occupational
diseases.
Per cent
total
occupa
tional
diseases
are of
total
injuries.
Total
number
of tabulatable
injuries.
Total.
1915-16..................................
1916-17..................................
68,180
78,789
1,377
1,008
26
16
2.02
1.28
T otal.........................
146,969
2,385
42
1.62
Year.
Fatal.
The 1,351 nonfatal diseases reported during the year 1915-16
resulted in 31,333 days lost time, or an average of 23 days per case.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Massachusetts also has a law requiring certain specified occupa
tional diseases to be reported to the State board of labor and indus
tries. Under this law there were reported to the Massachusetts
board during the three-year period 1915-1917 the following occupa
tional diseases:
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES R EPO R T ED TO MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF LABOR A N D
IN D U STR IES D U RING THE THREE-Y EA R PER IO D , 1915-1917.
Occupational disease.
Fatal
Total
number
cases
reported. reported.
A nthrax...........................................................
Benzol poisoning............................................
Brass poisoning..............................................
Caisson disease................................................
Cigar neurosis ................................................
Amyl acetate..................................................
Derm atitis.......................................................
Fume and gas poisoning...............................
Lead poisoning*...............................................
Miscellaneous..................................................
82
8
18
31
3
2
14
49
296
9
13
5
T otal......................................................
512
35
1
13
2
1
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES
Occupational diseases have been compensable under the work
men’s compensation act of Great Britain since 1906. The law as
amended that year provided that certain occupational diseases
enumerated in the act should be compensable if they were due to the
nature of any employment in which the workman was employed at
any time within one year previous to the date of disability or sus
pension. Compensation shall be recoverable in the first instance
from the last employer. The latter, however, may recover from
other employers whose employment had within the year contributed
to the contraction of the disease. The compensable occupational
diseases specified in the act are anthrax, lead poisoning, mercury
poisoning, phosphorus poisoning, arsenic poisoning, and ankylosto
miasis (miner’s hookworm). The Secretary of State for the Home
Office was authorized to extend the provisions of the act to other
diseases and processes. In accordance with this authority the scope
of the act as regards occupational diseases has since then been con
siderably increased. In 1907 (order of May 22) 16 new diseases were
added to the original list. These included nystagmus, glanders,
compressed-air illness, several miner’s diseases, and a number of dis
eases caused by poisonous fumes and acids. The original scope rela
tive to lead and mercury poisoning was also enlarged. Cataract
in glassworkers and telegraphist’s cramp were added in 1908 (order
of Dec. 2); writer’s cramp in 1913 (order of July 30); dope poisoning
in aircraft production in 1915 (order of July 7); and poisoning by
dinitrophenol and tetrachlorethane in 1918 (order of Feb. 28).
110451°—19----- 14
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MONTHLY LABOE BEVIEW,
Compensation for dermatitis, ulceration of the skin, and ulcera
tion of the mucous membrane of the nose and mouth, produced by
dusts and liquids (number 11 in following list), is not allowed if the
employee is disabled only for employment in the process in which the
disease was contracted. Compensation for cataract in glassworkers
is limited to not over six months, and to not over four months unless
an operation is had. Compensation for writer’s cramp is limited to a
period of 12 months.
The various classes of occupational diseases for which compensation
is now being awarded under the British workmen’s compensation
act is shown by the following schedules giving the original list and
subsequent additions.
COMPENSABLE OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES U N D E R W ORKM EN’S COMPENSATION
ACT OF GREAT BR ITA IN .
Original act of 1906.
Description of disease.
Description of process.
1. Anthrax.......................................................................... Handling of wool, hair, bristles, hides, and skins.
'2. Lead poisoning or its sequel®.................................... Any process involving the use of lead or its prepara
tions or compounds.
3. Mercury poisoning or its sequel®.............................. Any process involving the use of mercury or its
preparations or compounds.
4. Phosphorus poisoning or its sequel®....................... Any process involving the use of phosphorus or its
preparations or compounds.
5. Arsenic poisoning er its sequel®............................... Any process involving the use of arsenic or its
preparations or compounds.
6. Ankylostomiasis............................................................ Mining.
Subsequent additions, in effect as of Feb. 28,1918, by order of Secretary of State.
1. Arsenic poisoning or its sequel®............................... Handling of arsenic or its preparations or com
pounds.
2. Lead poisoning or its sequel®.................................... Handling of lead or its preparations or compounds.
3. (a) Poisoning by benzine and its homologues, or Handling benzine or any of its homologues, or any
the sequel®.
process in the manufacture or involving the use
thereof.
(6) Poisoning by nitro and amido derivatives of Handling any nitro or amido derivative of benzine
benzine and its homologues (trinitro
or any of its homologues, or any process in the
toluene, anilin, and others), or the sequelae.
manufacture or involving the use thereof.
4. Poisoning by dinitrophenol or its sequelae........... Handling dinitrophenol, or any process in the
manufacture or involving the use thereof.
6. Poisoning by nitrous fumes or its sequelae........... Any process in which nitrous fumes are evolved.
6 . Dope poisoning; that is, poisoning by any sub Any process in the manufacture of aircraft.
stance used as, or in conjunction with, a solvent
for acetate of cellulose, or its sequelae.
7. Poisoning by tetrachlorethane or its sequelae__ Any process in the manufacture or involving the use
of tetrachlorethane.
8. Poisoning by carbon bisulphide or its sequelae... Any process involving the use of carbon bisulphide
or its preparations or compounds.
9. Poisoning by nickel carbonyl or its sequel®......... Any process in which nickelcarbonyl gas is evolved.
10. Poisoning by African boxwood ( Gonioma Ka- Any process in the manufacture of articles from
m assi) or its sequel®.
African boxwood ( Gonioma K am assi.)
11. (a) Dermatitis produced by dust or liquids..........
(6) Ulceration of the skin produced by dust or
liquids.
(c) Ulceration of the mucous membrane of the
nose or mouth produced by dust.
12. (a) Epitheliomatous cancer or ulceration of the Handling or use of tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil,
skin due to tar. pitch, bitumen, mineral oil,
or paraffin, or any compound, product, or residue
or paraffin, or any compound, product, or
of any of these substances.
residue of any of these substances.
(6) Ulceration of the corneal surface of the eye,
Do.
due to tar, pitch, bitumen, mineral oil, or
paraffin, or any compound, product, or
residue of these substances.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
C O M P EN S A B LE
O C C U P A T IO N A L
A C T
O P
D IS E A S E S
G R E A T
U N D E R
W O R K M E N ’S
C O M P E N S A T IO N
B R I T A I N — C o n c lu d e d .
Description of process
Description of disease.
13. Chrome ulceration or its seq u el*. . ?.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Any process involving the use of chromic acid or
bichromate of ammonium, potassium, or sodium,
or their preparations.
Scrotal epithelioma (chimney sweep’s cancer)....... Chimney sweeping.
Compressed-air illness or its seq uel*........ ............. Any process carried on in compressed air.
Cataract in glassworkers............................................ Processes m the manufacture of glass involving
exposure to the glare of molten glass.
The disease known as miner’s nystagmus, Mining.
whether occurring in miners or others, and
whether the symptom of oscillation of the eyehalls be present or not.
Subcutaneous cellulitis of the hand (heat hand)..
Do.
Subcutaneous cellulitis over the patella (miner’s
Do.
beat knee}.
Do.
Acute bursitis over the elbow (miner’s beat
elbow).
Do.
Inflammation of the synovial lining of the wrist
joint and tendon sheaths.
Glanders............... - ......................................................... Care of any equine animal suffering from glanders;
handling the carcass of such animal.
Telegraphist’s cramp....... .............. ............................. Use of telegraphic instruments.
Writer’s cramp.............. - .............................................
The number of occupational disease cases contracted and compen
sated in 1914 under the British workmen’s compensation act is shown
in the following table:
NU M BER OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE CASES CONTRACTED A N D COMPENSATED
IN 1914 U N D E R W ORKM EN’S COMPENSATION ACT OF GREAT B R IT A IN .1
O ccupational disease.
A nth rax.................................................................
Lead p oison in g...................................................
Mercury poisoning.............................................
Phosphorus p oison in g......................................
Arsenic p oison in g............... •..............................
A nk ylostom iasis.................................................
Benzine derivatives p oison in g......................
Carbon-bisulphid poisoning............................
N itrous fume p oisoning.................. .................
N ick el carbonyl p oison in g........ .....................
African boxw ood p o iso n in g ...........................
Chrome ulceration.............................................
E czem atous ulceration of s k i n .....................
E pitheliom atous cancer...................................
Scrotal ep ith eliom a............................................
N ystagm u s...........................................................
G landers................................................................
Compressed-air illn e ss......................................
Miner’s beat h a n d ..............................................
Miner’s b eat k n e e...............................................
Miner’s beat elb o w ............................................
Inflam m ation of w rist joint of m in ers........
Cataract in glassworkers..................................
Telegraphist’s cram p ........................................
W riter’s cram p ...... ............................................
T otal............................................................
N um ber
com pen
sated.
36
344
6
4
19
3
3
28
46
19
2,775
1
817
1,609
181
4
1
6,061
»Statistics of compensation under the workmen’s compensation act during the year 1914.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Of the above total of 6,061 cases of occupational disease 5,544, or
over 91 per cent, occurred in the mining industries.
The importance of occupational diseases as compared with indus
trial accidents may he seen from the following facts: The total num
ber of industrial accidents in Great Britain in 1914 was 400,622, of
which 4,216 were fatal and 396,406 were nonfatal. The total amount
of compensation paid out in 1914 on account of industrial accidents
was £3,275,711 ($15,941,247), of which £672,633 ($3,273,368) was
paid out for fatal cases and £2,603,078 ($12,667,879) for nonfatal cases.
The total amount paid out on account of occupational diseases during
the same period was £189,650 ($922,931), of which £7,099 ($34,547)
was paid out for fatal cases and £182,551 ($888,384) for nonfatal
cases. The amount paid out on account of occupational diseases
during 1914 was therefore 5.8 per cent of the amount paid out for
industrial accidents; whereas the total number of occupational dis
eases contracted during 1914 was'1.5 per cent of the total number of
industrial accidents sustained during the same period.
Great Britain also has a law requiring certain occupational dis
eases to be reported under the Factory and Workshop Act. The
following table shows the number of diseases reported under this law
during the year 1918:1
OCCUPATIONAL DISEA SES R E P O R T E D U N D E R FACTORY A N D W ORKSH OP ACT OF
GREAT B R IT A IN D U R IN G Y E A R 1918.
Occupational disease.
Total
number Number
of fatal
ofcases
reported. cases.
Lead poisoning................................................
Phosphorus poisoning...................................
Arsenic poisoning................. .*........................
Mercury poisoning.........................................
Toxic jaundice..................................... 1.........
Anthrax............................................................
144
3
3
9
34
72
11
Total under Factory and Workshop Act
Lead poisoning (house painting and
plum bing)....................................................
265
30
35
20
Grand to ta l...........................................
300
50
1
10
8
In their treatment of occupational diseases the Canadian Provinces
have followed in the footsteps of Great Britain. Nova Scotia,
Manitoba, and British Columbia adopted verbatim the occupational
disease schedule in the British act of 1906. Ontario and Alberta
added miner’s phthisis to the original list. New Brunswick also
copied the British law but did not adopt the schedule. Instead the
New Brunswick act confers discretionary power upon the workmen’s
compensation board to declare what occupational diseases and pro
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
209
cesses shall be covered by the compensation law. Quebec and
Saskatchewan are the only Provinces of the Dominion which have
thus far failed to provide compensation for industrial diseases.
Of the other foreign countries a few, including Argentina, New
South Wales, Switzerland, and the Union of South Africa, specifically
award compensation for occupational diseases; but in a large majority
of these countries such diseases are excluded from the operation of
the accident insurance laws. This does not mean, however, that
industrial diseases are not compensated. In most of the European
countries they are taken care of through compulsory sickness and
invalidity insurance systems, although there seems to be a tendency
in some of these countries at present to put occupational diseases
under the accident insurance laws. The extent of compulsory health
and invalidity insurance in European countries is shown by the
following list of countries having such laws:
E U R O PE A N COUNTRIES HAVING COMPULSORY H EA LT H AN D IN V A L ID IT Y
OLD-AGE INSURANCE LAWS:
Invalidity and old-age insurance.
Health insurance.
Austria.
France (mining and seamen).
Germany.
Great Britain.
Hungary.
Italy (railroads and female workers).
Luxemburg.
Netherlands.
Norway.
Roumania.
Russia.
Serbia.
AND
Austria (mining and salaried employees).
France (mining, railroads, and seamen).
Germany.
Great Britain.
Luxemburg.
Italy (railroads).
Netherlands.
Roumania.
Russia (railroads).
Sweden.
Switzerland (Glams).
The argument is frequently advanced in the United States that
occupational diseases should be taken care of through health insurance
rather than accident insurance laws. Of course it is immaterial
which method is adopted as long as the victims of industrial disease
are adequately provided for. It should be borne in mind, however,
that the maximum period during which benefits are payable under
health insurance laws is usually 26 weeks. Consequently, unless
health insurance legislation is supplemented by an invalidity insurance
system, many occupational disease cases will be inadequately com
pensated.
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MONTHLY LAÇOR REVIEW.
OPERATION AND STATUS OF STATE INSURANCE FUNDS.
A feature of the movement by supporters of the bill providing for a
workmen’s compensation law in the State of Missouri is a collection of
letters from the managers of State compensation insurance funds
of the United States and Canada, expressive of their views as to
such funds.1 These letters are in response to an inquiry made
January 17, 1919, by Mr. H. C. Chancellor, a member of the State
legislature. The replies, therefore, constitute a very recent report by
those best qualified to know the facts involved, and also contain
pertinent expressions of opinion on a vital and much-discussed
factor of the compensation system.
The questions are nine in number. No list is given of the
officials to whom they were addressed, but answers are published
from Mr. E. S. H. Winn, chairman of the Workmen’s Compensation
Board of British Columbia; Mr. Charles D. Wagaman, chairman of
the Industrial Accident Commission of Maryland; Mr. A. E. Spriggs,
chairman of the Industrial Accident Board of Montana; Mr. George
1). Smith, chairman of the Industrial Commission of Nevada; Mr.
F. Spencer Baldwin, manager of the State Insurance Fund of New
York; Mr. F. W. Armstrong, vice-chairman of the Workmen’s
Compensation Board of Nova Scotia; Mr. Thomas J. Duffy, chairman
of the Industrial Commission of Ohio; Mr. Samuel Price, chairman
of the Workmen’s Compensation Board of Ontario; Mr. William J.
Roney, manager of the State Workmen’s Insurance Fund of Penn
sylvania; Mr. H. L. Hughes, chairman of the Industrial Insurance
Department of Washington; Mr. Lee Ott, Compensation Commis
sioner of West Virginia; and Miss Eunice G. Anderson, chief clerk
of the Workmen’s Compensation Department (under the Treasurer’s
office), of Wyoming.2
Below are given summaries of the answers received to each ques
tion with such quotations as are necessary to indicate more fully the
point of view of the official making the reply. They are as follows:
1. “ Has your State fund been successful?”
The answers to this question are uniformly in the affirmative.
Montana: “ Most unqualifiedly.” Nevada: “ Measurable success.”
New York: “ Success has been most impressive.” Ohio: “ Very
successful,” etc. In Maryland, with 30 competitors, the State fund
carries “ about one-tenth of the employers of the State” ; in New
Vork, “ in the face of violent and unscrupulous competition of a
1 Letters in favor of State insurance from managers of State funds to H. C. Chancellor, representative
from Barton County in the Fiftieth General Assembly of Missouri. Labor Publishing Co., St. Louis,
Mo., 1919. 23 pp. Also supplementary pamphlet, 7 pp.
s State funds exist also in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, and Oregon.
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large number of stock and mutual companies,” the State fund “ has
about one-seventh of the compensation business of the State.”
2. “ Is there any considerable sentiment among the parties
directly affected by your law for abolition of the State fund?”
This question is answered in the negative in every instance. One
or two replies refer to the objections to a State system that are
raised by competing companies, but state that the opposition has
in no case gone so far as to suggest the abolition of the fund. The
reply from Montana speaks of “ considerable sentiment being mani
fested for the abolition” of competing plans which would result in
making the State fund exclusive. In Ohio both the Manufacturers’
Association and the Federation of Labor are “ most ardent supporters ”
of an exclusive State fund.
3. “ If your State fund is competitive, are you in favor of making
it exclusive, and why?”
The answers to this question are necessarily more diverse, since
in some of the States the systems are exclusive, while in others
they are competitive; nor is there unanimity as to the desirability
of an exclusive system, though the preponderance of opinion is in
favor of such a plan. Mr. Winn (British Columbia) says: “ The
opinion is undoubtedly rapidly growing that private interests should
not be permitted to come between the employer and the injured
employee and conduct a business for profit. * * * It is not a
legitimate business, never has been, and can never be made such.”
The administration of a compensation law, he considers, is “ as
much a function of good government as the policing of our cities
or the conduct of our free public schools,” and “ can not be con
sidered a legitimate field for business.”
The Maryland fund is on a competitive basis. It is believed that
“ it will eventually write all compensation insurance in this State
because it will be able to write this insurance at lower premium rates
than casualty companies.” Mr. Spriggs, of Montana, does not favor
an exclusive fund, both because of constitutional difficulties and
because he is “ of the impression that the employer should have a
range of choice as to the method that he will elect to operate under,
providing injured employees do not suffer as a consequence.”
In Nevada the fund is not competitive, “ and we know of no good
argument in favor of competitive insurance.”
Mr. Baldwin, of New York, favors an exclusive fund; so do Mr. Duffy
of Ohio, Mr. Ott of West Virginia, and Miss Anderson of Wyoming.
In each of the three States last named the fund is exclusive. Exclusive
funds also exist in Nova Scotia and Washington, and the replies from
the officials merely state the fact. Self-insurance is allowed in
Ontario, and Mr. Price has “ no doubt of the superiority” of the
State fund over that system, “ especially in the interest of the work
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
men, one very important difference [in favor of the State fund] being
the ability to make payments of compensation more promptly.”
4. “ Have politics played any part in the administration of your
law, and has your State fund been used as a political instrument to
oppress or influence employers or employees?”
This question receives a negative answer throughout, an account of
conditions being submitted in evidence in a number of cases.
5. “ Is your State fund actuarially solvent?”
The answer to this question is in the affirmative, figures being given
in a number of instances. Mr. Hughes, of Washington, explains in
some detail the steps taken in the establishment and adjustment of
reserves, and reaches the conclusion that a shortage reported in 1915
“ is in reality fictitious,” as shown by a later investigation of the
State insurance commissioner, and that the system in use is such as
to maintain actuarial solvency.
6. “ How much cheaper is insurance with your State fund than
with private insurers ?”
British Columbia: “ From the compensation paid when insurance
companies were carrying on business, it would appear the insurance
rates were from two to four times higher than are the present rates.”
Maryland: “ On a general average, our State fund rates are about
15 to. 20 per cent lower than the casualty company rates.”
Montana: “ The cost to the employers under the State fund plan
is less than one-half what it is to the employers insuring under
casualty companies; or at least has been for the four years that the
law has been in operation.”
Nevada: “ As our administrative expense is but 8 per cent of the
premium income as compared to 40 per cent on an average for
private insurance companies, it indicates a saving of approximately
50 per cent.”
New York: “ The initial rates of the State fund at the present
time are approximately 15 per cent lower than the rates of the
casualty companies. These rates are, of course, subject to reduction
by dividends, which for the last policy period will doubtless be not
less than 10 per cent.” In connection with his answer to question 1,
Mr. Baldwin said that “ the annual saving to New York employers
insured with the State fund is approximately $500,000.”
Nova Scotia: “ Liability companies are not allowed to do business
in our State, but would consider, if they did, that the rates charged
would be somewhat the same as those charged in the State of New
York, which on the whole I would consider nearly 75 per cent above
the rates charged in Nova Scotia by our state board.”
Ohio: “ It is safe to say that insurance companies in other States
are charging employers from 50 to 100 per cent higher rates than we
are charging the employers of Ohio. ”
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Ontario: “ There is no private insurance in the Province covering
exactly the same field as our State fund system covers. Of the very
great advantage as to cost in favor of the State fund system there
can be no manner of doubt.”
Pennsylvania: “ Our initial rates are 10 per cent less than the
manual rates, and in addition to that we have paid a dividend, each
year, of 15 per cent to our commercial policyholders. In 1916 we
paid a 10 per cent dividend to our coal policyholders; in 1917, 5 per
cent, and in 1918, 10 per cent.” In his answer to question 3, Manager
Roney estimates that if the State fund were made exclusive it would
effect a saving to employers amounting to $3,000,000.
Washington: “ Industrial insurance under the Workmen’s Com
pensation Act of the State of Washington pays every dollar collected
[as premiums] for claims. The overhead expense for the administra
tion of the law is paid by appropriation from the State. The cost
of administering the fund out of this appropriation for the year just
closed was 5.61 per cent,” as against a cost of $2 in premiums for
every dollar paid out in benefits for health, accident, and liability
insurance in private companies during the 10-year period, 1905 to 1915.
West Virginia: A comparison of State rates with those of private
insurers shows that the latter “ are invariably higher.”
Wyoming: “ We are unable to answer this question authentically
since it has been difficult to assemble figures on the private insurance
system. Some of our larger employers have made the statement
that the present system of State insurance costs more than the
liability plan, but [owing to] the fact that our State law exempts the
employer from suit being brought by the employee, they are much
better satisfied with the present plan.” • The substitution of a
schedule of premium rates for the flat rate now provided by law is
anticipated.
7. “ Are claims promptly paid by the State fund, and are the
parties affected by the law satisfied with it? ”
Both parts of this question are answered in the affirmative,
except that in Wyoming it is said: “ Most generally claims are paid
promptly, but we would recommend that claims be handled by a
commission or commissioner rather than the courts.”
8. “ Do you regard State-managed insurance as socialistic?”
This question is obviously a reaction to the effort of the enemies
of the State fund to create hostility to it by affixing a label which
they consider objectionable. Of course the answer depends on the
definition of socialism adopted. This point is most fully developed
in the reply of Chairman Winn, of the Compensation Board of British
Columbia :
“ Any enterprise or service controlled directly or indirectly by the
public, the first purpose of which is to give service to the public rather
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than to create profits for individuals, is socialistic. As coming
within this definition there would be included public schools, public
safety (police), public health service, public roads, the postal service,
municipal light, water, and tramway service. If this definition is
correct, you will see to ask whether a measure is socialistic is almost
equivalent to asking: Is it progressive? In order to damn a thing
under present-day conditions, it is quite to be expected that certain
interests would term the matter ‘‘socialistic,” but to those, however,
who have inquired into and understand the needs of the public, the
language used toward the matter has absolutely no bearing on a
decision relating to it.”
Mr. Wagaman, chairman of the Maryland commission, says:
“ Whether State-managed insurance is to be regarded as socialistic
depends somewhat upon the viewpoint one takes. We look upon it
as purely a business proposition in connection with the compulsory
insurance provisions of the workmen’s compensation law. Where
the State compels employers to insure against compensation liability,
it seems only fair that the State should afford a medium for provid
ing satisfactory insurance at as near cost as possible.”
Montana: “ No; it is altruistic in its benevolent protection to both
employer and employee in that no profit is allowed in the transaction,
as whatever money the employer pays goes directly in its entirety to
the injured employee. The fact that it eliminates the ‘go-between’
in the shape of the insurance carrier should not submit it to the crit
icism of being socialistic, which is certainly not the case.
Ohio: “ Such arguments are simply put forth to blind students to
the real merits of State insurance.”
Ontario: “ The writer feels that it would be a very far-fetched
criticism to reject our system of law because of its being called
socialistic.”
Washington: “ I t is difficult to say whether this act may be re
garded as socialistic, but inasmuch as it is very efficient in getting
sure and definite compensation to the injured workman, at actual
cost to the employer, we regard it here in Washington as good busi
ness, and neither the workmen nor the employers under the act
would listen to any suggestion for the repeal of the law in this State.”
Others answer “ No,” or “ I t has not proved so,” while Commis
sioner Ott, of West Virginia, grants that “ it has that tendency,” but
“ from my five years’ experience I see no immediate danger.”
9.
“ Please answer any criticisms which the enemies of your State
fund are making against it.”
The answers do not in every instance cover this inquiry. Mr.
Winn, of British Columbia, knows of no criticism; Mr. Roney, of
Pennsylvania, knows of no serious criticism. Other States report
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215
criticism from liability companies but not from employers or work
men.
In Montana the companies represent that subscribers to the State
fund, which is mutual in effect, are signing a “ blank check/’ since
actual costs will be known only after the year’s experience has been
determined, whereas the casual companies charge a fixed rate. “ The
answer to this is the record,” which shows a cost of less than 1 per
cent a year on the pay roll of any one year, or for the four years just
above three-fourths of 1 per cent, while in the stock companies the
cost has not fallen below 2\ per cent and has averaged nearly
per cent.
In Nevada there is no attack on the principle, but there is a feeling
on the part of some claimants that the law is lacking in liberality.
New York: “ One of the criticisms frequently urged by the stock
companies is that the State fund coverage is not entirely clear and
definite, and that there are conditions in which the employer insured
with the State fund might find himself not covered. They argue
this particularly as to the cases where they say the employee might
pursue a remedy at common law. As a matter of fact, the work
men’s compensation law abolishes liability at common law for em
ployers insured in one of the prescribed ways, and, furthermore, pro
vides that payment to the State fund releases an employer from all
liability on account of injuries of death sustained by his employees.
The effect of these provisions, however, is not generally understood
by the employers, and it is possible for brokers and agents for casu
alty companies to conjure up arguments about liability outside the
workmen’s compensation law not covered by the State policy. The
State fund is asking for legislation which will specifically authorize
it to cover any liability at common law, under the Federal statutes,
or laws of other States arising in connection with a compensation
risk. This legislation is needed in order to enable the State fund to
meet the arguments of the casualty companies at. this point, which,
although without actual foundation in fact, have nevertheless the
practical effect of enabling the companies to hold a considerable
volume of business that would naturally go to the State fund.
“ Notwithstanding the entire absence either in the statute or the
policy of the State fund of any provision for assessment, the stock
companies try to argue that the policyholders of the State fund
are liable to assessment, and in times past, when the State fund had
a smaller surplus than it has at the present time, this was a point
upon which they were able to frighten many employers., We do
not believe, in the first place, that there is anything in the argument,
and in the second, the surplus of the State fund is now reaching a
point where, even if there were an assessment liability, the argument
would really have no weight.”
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In Ohio insurance companies offer criticisms “ so varied, contra
dictory, and reckless that it would take a volume to answer them all.
I might say in substance that we have proven by practice that their
criticisms have no foundation.”
Washington: “ The criticism of the act in this State comes entirely
from the liability companies who have been put out of business in
the State by the State fund. They are now criticizing the law at
long range. They no longer attempt to criticize it here in the State
of Washington, because they can not get anywhere among the
people who are familiar with our State-fund plan. They attempted
to assail it in 1913 and went to considerable expense in publishing
an elaborate pamphlet. These pamphlets were freely distributed
among the members of the legislature, and their claims were so
ridiculous that they were laughed out of court. Not since that time
have they undertaken to discredit the law here in the State of
Washington. They are, of course, misrepresenting the law in
other States with a view of keeping those States from enacting
a law providing State insurance. This is to be expected, as the
liability insurance business has been very profitable to them and
they, of course, object to giving up the graft that they have so long
enjoyed.”
R E C E N T R E P O R T S O F W O R K M E N ’S C O M P E N S A T IO N E X P E R IE N C E .
NEVADA.
The biennial report of the Nevada Industrial Commission,1 re
viewing the administration of the State workmen’s compensation
act for the period July 1, 1916, to June 30, 1918, shows a marked
increase in the frequency of accidents due to the increased industrial
activity of the period covered by the report.
The number of compensable injuries and the amount of com
pensation incurred, are shown in the following table:
NUM BER OF COMPENSABLE IN JU R IE S A N D AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION U N D E R
N E V A D A COMPENSATION ACT, 1916-17 AN D 1917-18.
July 1, 1916-June 30, 1917. July 1, 1917-June 30, 1918.
Nature of injury.
Number
of cases.
Amount of
compensation.
Number
of cases.
Amount of
compensation.
Temporary injuries...........................................................
Permanent injuries...........................................................
Fatalities .........................................................................
Funeral benefits................................................................
1,041
159
43
$66,827.16
155,892.31
85,098.99
5,184.07
940
157
38
$54,075.94
135,223.67
122,026.28
4,951.60
Total..........................................................................
1,243
313,002.53
1,135
316,277. 49
1 Biennial report of the Nevada Industrial Commission, reviewing the administration of the Nevada in
dustrial insurance act for period, July 1, 1916, to June 30, 1918. Carson City, 1919. 40 pp.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Increased familiarity with benefits of the act and a close follow-up
of reports of injuries by the claim department are responsible for a
greater number of claims being filed for minor injuries, with a con
sequent decrease in the average compensation incurred per case,
from $297.74 prior to June 30, 1916, to $279.40 and $252.41, re
spectively, for the fourth and fifth fiscal years. A considerable
reduction in the average number of days lost per accident was due,
according to the report, to the desire of the men to return to work
as soon as possible because of the high wages prevailing at that
time.
The number of tabulatable accidents reported to the commission
during the two-year period, 1916-1918, is shown in the following
tabular statement:
NUM BER OF TA BU LATABLE ACCIDENTS IN N EVA D A DUR IN G TW O -Y EA R PERIOD,
1916-17 A N D 1917-18.
Nature of disability.
1916-17
1917-18
Death................................................................................................................................................
Permanent total disability..........................................................................................................
Permanent partial disability................................................................................................ ; . .
Temporary (Usability over 2 weeks...........................................................................................
Temporary disability, 1 to 2 weeks...........................................................................................
Temporary disability^ 1 week and under................................................................................
52
39
161
884
290
596
160
718
297
769
T otal......................................................................................................................................
1,985
1,983
2
The industrial commission is to be commended for adopting and
putting into effect the recommendations of the International Asso
ciation of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions as regards
uniform classification of industrial accidents. Nevada is the first
State to publish data showing the number of full-time workers, classi
fied by industry, upon which accurate frequency and severity rates
of accidents may be computed. The following summary table show
ing accident frequency and severity rates by industry is compiled
from more detailed tables contained in the report:
ACCIDENT FREQUENCY AND SEV ERITY RATES IN NEVA D A FOR THE TWO-YEAR
PERIOD 1916-17 AND 1917-18, CLASSIFIED BY IND U STR IES.
Number of tabulat
able accidents.
Industry.
Accident frequen
cy rate per 1,000
full-time work
ers.1
Number of days
lost per full-timo
worker.1
1916-17
1916-17
1917-18
1916-17
Mining and ore reduction...............................
Nevada Consolidated Copper Co..................
Railroads............................................................
Municipal...........................................................
Public utilities..................................................
Miscellaneous....................................................
1,059
729
46
173
238
16
127
1,224
441
42
34
18
224
All classes................................................
1,985
1,983
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8
1 360 days of 8 hours each.
[11631
1917-18
1917-18
5
33
69
206
146
115
23
37
130
45.4
17.0
54.8
14.7
70.2
.3
44.4
17.6
24.1
148
152
37.7
29.9
110
2.8
?
13.4
218
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The average accident rate per 1,000 full-time workers (360-day
basis of 8 hours each) for all industries was 148 and 152 for the fourth
and fifth fiscal years, respectively, as compared with 122 for the first
three yearn. Much of this increase is more apparent than real, result
ing from the recent requirement that all accidents be reported to the
commission, whether followed by time loss or not. Although only
those meeting the definition of a ‘‘tabulatable accident”—one caus
ing a loss of time other than the remainder of the day on which the
accident occurred—are tabulated in this report, the present practice
gives the commission knowledge of a great number of minor injuries
which were formerly not reported. The fatality rate showed an
unusual increase in 1917, 52 deaths being reported for the fourth
fiscal year, greatly exceeding the previous three-year average of 36.
On July 1, 1917, it became the duty of the commission to collect
“ accident benefit” premiums from, and to furnish medical and hos
pital treatment to, the injured employees of every contributor who
did not file written notice of the consummation of other arrangements
for furnishing the medical benefits provided for under the act. Two
problems confronted the commission upon the passage of this amend
ment hi 1917—first, the determination of premium rates for this
service, and, second, the designation of physicians for the care of
accident benefit fund cases.
Based upon the results of a questionnaire sent to employers and
upon subsequent experience the commission promulgated the follow
ing accident benefit rates to take effect January 1, 1919: Seventy-five
per cent of the compensation premium rate for mining and packing
houses; 50 per cent for all other hazardous occupations; and 25per
cent for the less hazardous so-called preferred risks. The commission
decided to leave the selection of physicians to the injured men, re
serving the right to order a change in treatment whenever it should be
deemed necessary to promote and insure recovery. A schedule of fees
for medical service, drawn up with the approval of the State medical
society, seems to have met with the approval of physicians generally.
That farmers are not unanimous in desiring exclusion from the
benefits of the compensation act is shown by the number of requests
received from farmers asking how they might secure workmen’s com
pensation insurance for their employees. They are .at present not
only absolutely excluded from the benefits of the act, but are unable
to secure insurance from the employers’ liability insurance com
panies, who do not care to accept only this business in Nevada.
The extent of the desire on the part of the farmers for this coverage
was indicated by the fact that 55 per cent of the farmers who answered
questions sent out by the labor commissioner on the subject were in
favor of being permitted to insure and 42 per cent were in favor of a
compulsory act.
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219
VERMONT.
The biennial report of the commissioner of industries of Vermont,
for the period ending June 30, 1918/ records 12,447 industrial aocicents, of which 82 were fatal. On account of the injuries sustained
in these accidents, the workmen and their dependents have received,
or will receive, a total of $263,069.63 divided as follows: Compensa
tion actually paid from July 1, 1916, to July 1, 1918, $111,099.11;
amount actually paid for medical expenses to injured employees,
$82,930.03; funeral expenses paid in fatal cases, $7,700; estimated
compensation to be paid on account of injuries received, $53,240.29;
estimate of medical expenses to be paid for injuries received, $8,100.
In almost all cases of serious injury weekly compensation was
paid within 21 days after the accident. The report states that
under the present system the computation of the average weekly
wage on which compensation is based is cumbersome and unneces
sarily burdensome to the employer. In order to correct this, and also
to make licensed insurers and employers who carry their own risks act
with reasonable promptness in the settlement of cases, the commis
sioner recommends that the compensation act be amended so as to
give him authority to revoke or suspend the license of a licensed
insurer and also authority to revoke the insuring privilege of the
employer.
On July 1, 1918, there were 42,148 persons at work in industries
employing five or more. Of this number 33,644 were men, 7,124
women, and 1,380 minors. As only concerns employing 11 or more
workers are subject to the provisions of the compensation act, only
about 40,000 of the workmen of Vermont benefit by the statute.
The number of women employed in industry increased about 33.3 per
cent during the last six months covered by the report, while the
increase of child labor was reported as being very large, especially
during the vacation period.
COUNTY OF MAUI, HAWAII.
The annual report to the governor of Hawaii, made by the Indus
trial Accident Board for the County of Maui, covering the year ending
January 31, 1919, is of interest chiefly by reason of its expression as
to the result of amendments to the law, and its recommendations for
further change on the basis of experience under the act. Referring to
the changes made in 1917, the report says that experience has shown
the wisdom of most of the changes made, “particularly in the shorten
ing of the waiting period before compensation begins [from 14 days to
7 days], and the increasing of the allowance for medical and surgical
expenses from $50 to $150. The fixing of definite compensation for
1
Vermont. Biennial report of the commissioner of industries for the term ending June 30, 1918. Rut
land, 1918. 17 pp.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
various forms of permanent partial disability has also made for
equity and justice.”
As to other amendments, the report says:
While there may be other changes desirable, there is one which this board deems
of great importance at this time. That one is the matter of security for compensation.
In this regard the board once more wishes to urge the establishment of a Territorial
Insurance Fund for the benefit of employers.
Our experience covering now three years and one-half has demonstrated that the
present system of having compensation supplied through private casualty companies
is unsatisfactory from a number of standpoints. The representatives of the companies
with which we have had to deal assure us that there is no profit in this class of insur
ance, which, if true, explains their tendency to indifference and but casual attention,
which adds to the work of the accident board and to the difficulties of the employers.
* * * We are not prepared to say that the rates in general charged are excessive,
further than that our references place the costs and profits of this class of insurance at
from 40 to 60 per cent of the premium paid.
Reference is then made to the arbitrary action of companies in re
fusing risks or canceling policies, and to the fact that State insurance
is not an untried experiment in the United States. The conclusion is:
This board, therefore, respectfully urges upon the legislature the amending of the
Workmen’s Compensation Law by providing for a Territorial insurance fund, to be
administered by an expert actuary or manager, for the following reasons:
(а) Because the present system of private casualty company has consistently
proven unsatisfactory.
(б) Because the principle of compelling an employer to carry insurance and afford
ing him no means of complying with the law except by contributing to the support
of companies engaged in the business for their own profit is wrong.
(c) Because the experience of various States points the way to remedy the difficulty.
IN D U S T R IA L A C C ID E N T S U N D E R N E W Y O R K W O R K M E N S C O M P E N S A
T IO N LAW .
The number of industrial accidents reported under the workmen’s
compensation law of New York during each of four years ending
June 30, 1914 to 1918, inclusive, is shown in the following table:1
N U M BER OF IN D U STR IA L ACCIDENTS, COMPENSATION D ISA BILITY CASES, AND
DEATH CASES U N D E R N E W Y O R K W ORKM EN’S COMPENSATION LAW, 1914-15 TO
1917-18, INCLUSIVE.
Number
Number
of
Total
of
number compen
death
sation
of acci
dents. disability cases.
cases.
Year.
225,391
273', 385
313,406
286,871
40,855
50,861
58,562
51,508
812
1,366
1,570
1,504
Total.*........................................ 1,099,053
201,786
5,252
1914-15............................................
1915 16 .......................................
1916 17 .......................................
1917 18 ........................................
i The Bulletin of the New York State Industrial Commission tor February, 1919 (p. 82).
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MONTHLY LABOE KEVIEW.
During the fiscal year 1917-18 the commission granted 44 remar
riage awards to widows. About 1,000 lump-sum cases were adjusted.
CONDITIONS AND RATES GOVERNING CONVERSION OF GOVERNMENT
LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES.
The February issue of the M o n t h l y L a b o r R e v i e w (p. 91) con
tains a letter addressed by the Secretary of the Treasury to all the
soldiers and sailors of America urging them to continue United
States Government insurance. Further details of the conditions
under which those now holding Government life insurance policies
may convert these policies within five years into one of the following
kinds of policies: Ordinary life, 20-payment life, 30-payment life,
20-year endowment, 30-year endowment, or endowment maturing at
age 62, and the rates applicable to each form of policy, have been
announced by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance in a statment issued
on February 1, 1919, as follows:
1. Present insurance certificates are one-year renewable term contracts and may
only be continued for a period of five years from the declaration of peace.
2. At any time during this period of five years these insurance certificates may be
converted in whole or in part without medical examination into any one of the fol
lowing six life insurance policy forms: Ordinary life, 20-payment life, 30-payment
life, 20-year endowment, 30-year endowment, and endowment maturing at age 62.
If the present insurance certificates are to be converted as above, the conversion
must take place during the five-year period mentioned.
3. The above policy forms will be the only ones written at present, and the insurance
will be carried by the Government at rates considerably lower than regular life insur
ance companies granting similar benefits.
4. Premium rates are net rates based upon the American Experience Table of
Mortality, with interest at 3£ per cent, figured upon a monthly basis. Expenses of
administration are paid by the Government and are not charged against the insurance,
thereby granting the insured a net rate.
5. All policies contain a waiver of premium and total disability clause, making
the proceeds payable at any time to the insured when he becomes totally and per
manently disabled, regardless of his age, in monthly installments of $5.75 per $1,000
of insurance, covering the entire period of total disability for life of the insured. No
policy in any life insurance company contains a similar clause without regard to ago.
6. Example of rates for Government policies:
$1,000 INSURANCE.
Ordinary life.
20-payment life.
20-year endow
ment.
30-year endow
ment.
Age.
Monthly. Annual. Monthly. Annual. Monthly. Annual. Monthly. Annual.
20
years........................
25 years........................
30 years........................
35 years........................
40 years........................
45 years........................
60 years........................
$1.15
1.29
1.47
1.70
2.01
2.43
3.01
1 1 0 4 5 1 °— 1 9 -------15
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$13. 58
15. 24
17.36
20.08
23.74
28.71
35.56
$1.76
1.91
2.10
2.33
2. 62
2.99
3. 50
[11G7]
$20. 79
22. 56
24. 81
27. 52
30.95
35.32
41.34
$3.31
3.33
3.36
3.41
3. 51
3. 68
3.98
$39.10
39.34
39.69
40.28
41.46
43. 47
47.01
$2.06
2.09
2.15
2.24
2.41
2.68
3.14
$24.33
24.69
25.40
26.46
28.47
31.66
37.09
222
M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
Dividends will be paid annually—they may be taken in cash, deducted from pre
mium or left w ith the Government to accumulate at compound interest. All paid-up
and extended insurance values are participating and such values are issued in exchange
for the full reserve value without surrender charge. If an annual, semiannual, or
quarterly premium is paid under a Government policy and death occurs, the dis
counted value of premiums paid beyond current month will be returned. The low
rates provided by the Government, and the special disability clause, are granted not
only to soldiers and sailors holding term policies issued under the War Risk Act,
but to “ ail hands” in the future within 120 days of their enlistment or commission
in the Army or Navy.
7. The proceeds of all policies are nontaxable. Insurance is incontestable from
date of issue, nonassignable, and free from the claims of creditors. All policies are
free of conditions as to military and naval service, residence, travel, or occupation.
8. Loans and cash values are provided beginning at the end of the first year, for
the full 3£ per cent reserve values. Loans may be made up to 94 per cent of the cash
value. Participating paid-up or extended insurance is guaranteed in all converted
policies.
9. In event of death, policies are payable only in 240 monthly installments. Paid-up
insurance, however, is payable at death in one lump sum, and endowment policies
are payable at maturity in the same manner.
10. A bill before Congress extends the permitted class of beneficiaries, and pro
vides for full payment to estate if no beneficiaries in permitted class are living when
the policy becomes a claim.
11. Policies may be reduced, but not increased.
12. The premium rates will be based on the age of the insured at the time the con
version is made. Premiums heretofore paid merely covered the cost of the term
insurance; and there is no cash value when changing to permanent policies.
13. All premiums are due on the first day of each month, and a grace of the balance
of month for payment of premiums is allowed without charge of interest. Premiums
may be paid quarterly, half yearly, or yearly, as may be desired; method of payment
may be changed at will on notice in writing. Checks and money orders should be
made payable to the Treasurer of the United States, and be sent to “ Disbursing
Clerk, Bureau of War Risk Insurance, Washington, D. C.” The letter inclosing
remittance to cover insurance premiums should contain the full name of the insured,
his grade and organization at time of discharge, army serial number, date of discharge,
and present address.
14. A grace of one month is allowed in payment of premiums and liberal reinstate
ment provisions are contained in the policy.
15. Further information concerning conversion, including rates, blanks for making
conversions, etc., may be secured by addressing Bureau of War Risk Insurance,
Conservation Section, Washington, D. C., on or about March 15, 1919.
SOCIAL INSURANCE IN GERMANY AFTER THE WAR.
In a remarkable article in the Kölnische Zeitung1 Prof. P. Moldenhauer inquires whether Germany will be able in future to discharge
its obligations with respect to social insurance. The writer says:
The hopeless situation of German economic life forces upon us serious doubts as to
whether the German social insurance system will be able in the years to come to
discharge its obligations with respect to the granting of medical treatment, sickness,
i Kölnische Zeitung.
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Cologne, Dec. 12, 1918.
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
223
maternity, and death benefits, accident, invalidity, old-age, and survivors’ pensions.
The same question was raised in the years of the creation of the social insurance
system, particularly during the discussions of the imperial insurance law and of the
law on salaried employees’ insurance, but at that tim e critics were silenced by a ref
erence to Germany’s remarkable economic development. But how is the state of
affairs at present? Up to 1917 the annual contributions to social insurance have
risen to more than one billion marks, and this in spite of the fact th at participants
in the war were exempt from the payment of contributions although the time spent
in military service was credited to them in the computation of benefits. State Coun
cillor Brunn estimates th at in the case of the invalidity and survivors’ insurance system
this loss of contributions during the period of the war amounts to at least 200,000,000
marks [$47,600,000], and that it will be still larger in the case of the salaried employees’
insurance where the loss of contributions during the first 15 months of the war amounted
to 71,000,000 marks [$16,898,000]. This loss must be made up by the insurance
carriers. To be sure, the annual report for 1917 of the insurance institute for salaried
employees says that, according to recent investigations, the loss of contributions
from participants in the war would not have caused an increase of the rate of the
contributions or a lowering of the insurance benefits, even if the war had lasted much
longer. Let us hope that the balance sheet for 1919 will justify these optimistic
predictions, which at the present can not be examined as to their reliability. The
contributions must, moreover, be considered the imperial subsidies to the old-age,
invalidity, and survivors’ pensions, which in 1916 alone amounted to 84,500,000
marks [$20,111,000]; and likewise the costs of the maternity subsidies paid by the
Empire.
The war has shifted the actuarial bases of social insurance to the disadvantage of
the insurance carriers. Owing to undernutrition, women’s labor in establishments
not suited therefor, overexertion, excessive overtime and night work, and suspension
of numerous protective regulations, the morbidity, invalidity, and mortality rates
have risen. The successful combating of tuberculosis has been interfered with during
the war, and the ravages of this disease have been increased by undernutrition. The
unfavorable state of the health of ex-soldiers, especially of disabled soldiers, who
sooner or later will file claims for pensions, must also be taken into account. The
strongest evidence of this development is to be found in the sickness insurance.
According to the yearbook for sickness insurance for the year 1917 the average mor
bidity rate in 51 sick funds distributed over the whole Empire rose from 2.66 per cent in
1915 to 2.77 per cent in 1916 and to 3.03 per cent in 1917. A further increase of the
morbidity rate is expected for 1918. The yearbook states th at as a result the prewar
rate of contributions of 3§ per cent of the earnings of the insured will have to be raised
to 5 per cent. Experience has, moreover, shown that claims for sick benefits aro
always more numerous during times of extensive unemployment, and as long as the
present lack of raw materials prevails and transport conditions do not improve, the
rate of unemployment in Germany will be very high.
As regards the invalidity insurance, the number of newly granted pensions has not
increased so far; on the contrary the number of pensions granted in 1917 (103,193) was
somewhat smaller than that of the pensions awarded in 1916 (107,808). The number
of sick pensions, on the other hand, the larger number of which was awarded to ex
soldiers, has increased from 11,806 in 1913 to 79,834 in 1917. The increase in orphans’
pensions was also very large and likewise due to the war. That the number of invalid
ity pensions has not increased may be explained by the fact that owing to the in
creased cost of living many are forced to strain their forces to the utmost to earn
something and thus to obtain more than the pitifully small invalidity pensions,
which in 1917 averaged less than 190 marks [$45.22] per year. Figures are not yet
available for the salaried employees’ insurance which became effective in 1918.
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Industrial accidents for 1916, the only year for which statistics are thus far available,
Bhow a small increase, especially of fatal accidents. But here another important fact
must be considered. In the workmen’s accident insurance system the unsound
method has been adopted of computing the premiums in such a manner that they are
just sufficient to cover the current annual expenditures, i. e., only the pensions
actually to be paid during the year and all other current disbursements are being
assessed on the employers. Consequently the expenditures are increasing from year
to year, for in addition to the pensions awarded during the current year there must
also be paid the pensions awarded in preceding years in so far as they have not become
extinguished through death of the beneficiary or through the recovery of his earning
capacity. As a matter of fact the total expenditures of all trade accident associations
have increased from 10,500,000 marks [$2,499,000] in 1886 to 218,000,000 marks
[$51,884,000] in 1916. In the case of the industrial trade accident associations the
total annual expenditure per insured person wras 2.89 marks [68.8 cents] in 1886 and
21.57 marks [$5.13] in 1916, and computed per 1,000 marks [$238] of wages it was
4.02 marks [95.7 cents] in 1886 and 17.57 marks [$4.18] in 1916. Thus the burden of
the present generation is being lessened at the cost of the coming generation. This
system would be unobjectionable if a favorable economic development in the future
could be expected with certainty, but in case of unfavorable economic conditions the
system will surely fail. If the total amount of wages of the insured persons decreases,
the proportion of the burden of old pension claims to be assessed on each 1,000 marks
[$238] of wages would increase, i. e., in case of unfavorable economic conditions the
assessment per 1,000 marks in wages would be considerably higher than in case of
normal or favorable development. During the war such difficulties have arisen
repeatedly, especially in the case of the Building Trades Accident Association, which
received permission from the Imperial Insurance Office to reduce its premium rates
and to make up for this loss of revenue by withdrawals from the reserve fund (in 1916,
9,000,000 marks [$2,142,000]).
Although in the case of the invalidity, survivors’, and salaried employees’ insurance
a more equitable distribution of the burden between the present and the future exists,
yet the solvency of the system is dependent on the actual attaining of a fixed rate of
interest on its invested assets and on the absence of a specially unfavorable rate of
invalidity and mortality. As the invalidity insurance bases its computations on a
revenue of 3 per cent from interest and the salaried employees’ insurance on one of 3]
percent, it would, in view of the fact that both insurance systems have heavily invested
in war bonds bearing a higher rate of interest, seem possible to offset unfavorable in
validity and mortality conditions, always supposing that the State does not become
bankrupt, in which case the capital invested in war bonds would become a total loss.
The total war loan subscriptions of all insurance carriers inclusive of the sick funds
amount to over 2,000,000,000 marks [$476,000,000], This fact makes evident how
inane was the demand of the first days of the revolution that the war loans should be
repudiated with proper protection of small holders. The insurance institutes have
invested more than half of their assets in bonds of the Empire and of the Federal
States. At the end of 1917 the insurance institute for salaried employees had invested
68 per cent of its assets in such bonds. State bankruptcy would therefore also signify
the bankruptcy of social insurance, at least of the invalidity, survivors’, and salaried
employees’ insurance, while sickness and accident insurance would also be seriously
upset by such a calamity.
Thus the result is: Unfavorable development of the actuarial bases of social insur
ance on the one hand, and cessation of favorable economic conditions on the other.
Nobody can tell yet how large the additional burden of social insurance will be, but
there is no doubt that if the present obligations of social insurance, inclusive of the
considerable extension of benefits introduced during the war, are to be discharged,
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
much more than 1,000,000,000 marks [$238,000,000] will be required annually. Is
the German economic system able to-day to bear such a burden? This question
can also not be answered at the present moment, when not even Germany’s own war
debt has been accurately determined, apart from the burdens which the enemy will
impose on it. But it can be said that social insurance can not be preserved in its
former extent if we waste our time with tiresome party squabbles, if we squander
enormous sums on all kinds of overlapping administrative organizations, and if instead
of working and producing real values we try socialistic experiments or chase after
communistic Utopias. And on another point we must also see more clearly. Whoever
during the last two years has read the daily papers and magazines has come across
any number of proposals as to the extension of social insurance. I only mention the
proposal of Schmittman for an imperial housing insurance, which according to an
estimate of the Department of the Interior would require an annual outlay of
250,000,000 marks [$59,500,000], and the proposals for a general maternity and unem
ployment insurance. It was already questionable whether such plans could be
realized while Germany still was rich. In a poor Germany their realization is im
possible, and it would be better for Germany if it became conscious of this fact instead
of nourishing false hopes.
UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF IN ITALY.
According to the Tribuna1 a decree has been issued by the Italian
Government setting forth the terms of the unemployment grants
to he made out of the fund of 100,000,000 lira ($19,300,000) set aside
by the Government and out of the unemployment funds subscribed
by the workmen of auxiliary war establishments compulsorily
registered with the National Provident Institution. The unemploy
ment benefits to be granted vary according to the sex and age of the
unemployed and according to the population of the communes.
The latter are divided into three categories: (1) Population under
20,000; (2) from 20,000 to 60,000; (3) over 60,000. The daily grants
are to be as follows:
Communes of—
Sex and age.
Class 2.
Class 1.
Class 3.
Lira.
L ira.
12
2.50 (48.3 cents)
1.50 (29.0 cents)
. 75 (14.5 cents)
3. 00 (57.9 cents)
2.00 (38.6 cents)
1.20 (23.2 cents)
12
2.00 (38.6 cents)
1.25 (24.1 cents)
.75 (14.5 cents)
2.50 (48.3 cents)
1.70 (32.8 cents)
1. 00 (19.3 cents)
Lira.
Males:Over 21 years........................................... 2.00 (38.6 cents)
16 to 21 years........................................... 1.00 (19.3 cents)
to 16 years........................................... .50 ( 9.7 cents)
Females:
Over 21 years............................... ........... 1. 50 (29.0 cents)
16 to 21 years........................................... . 75 (14.5 cents)
to 16 years........................................... .50 ( 9.7 cents)
Employees of auxiliary war establishments who have made at
least 6 fortnightly payments to the National Provident Institution
(Cassa Nazionale di Previdenza) will be entitled to a further grant
varying from 0.25 to 1 lira (4.8 to 19.3 cents) per day, according
to category. If the employee has a wife, or children under the age
1Tribuna, Jan. 10, 1919.
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MONTHLY LABOE REVIEW.
of 12, he will be entitled to an extra grant of 0.50 lira (9.7 cents) per
day if living in a commune with a population not over 60,000, and
of 0.75 lira (14.5 cents) if living in a larger commune. The grants
will be made from the eighth day after the last wages were received.
Only persons who are registered at their local employment bureau
will be entitled to a grant.
The same paper1 states that in pursuance of a Government decree
any employees dismissed before January 31, 1919, from Italian fac
tories engaged in war work are entitled to receive the following
bonuses:
Women with families dependent on them, 40 days’ wages.
Women with no dependents, and over 16 years of age, 20 days’
wages.
Boys and girls under 16, 7 days’ wages.
Men above 16, 30 days’ wages.
Dismissed workers will be entitled to third-class railway fare to their
homes.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
»Tribuna, Dec. 5,19li.
[1172]
HOUSING.
METHODS OF SALE OF COMPANY HOUSES.
BY LEIFUR MAGNUSSON.
Selling of houses is not the customary method by which the
employer houses his employees; it is as yet a comparatively untried
experiment. Out of 213 different employers canvassed in an inquiry
by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics only 33 report con
structing and selling houses to their employees. The practice of
selling is not limited to any particular industry; it is, however, less
common in the mining industry, and is finding its limited practice
among the more highly specialized and permanent industries. Mine
operators do not, as a rule, encourage their employees to buy houses,
because the industry is not permanent and mines become worked
out after a period of years.
The few companies of those reported which sell houses to their
workmen are distributed among the different industries as follows:
Bituminous coal mining:
Pennsylvania and West Virginia.....................................................
Alabama, Tennessee, and K entucky................ ..............................
Iron mining:
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota..............................................
Textiles:
New England......................................................................................
Iron and steel manufacturing:
Pennsylvania and Illinois...................................
Southern district................................................................................
Miscellaneous industries...........................................................................
13
1
12
T o ta l................................................................................................
33
2
2
2
1
The term mortgage is the method by which the sale of houses is
usually conducted. In one'instance the company builds the house
for the employee and takes cash payment for it, leaving the employee
to secure his money from a local building and loan association.
The maximum number of years stated as permitted for the com
pleting of payments is 22, the minimum term 3 years, while the
average is approximately 10 years. Fourteen companies report the
term as being 10 years and over, and five companies as being below
10 years. Thus, out of a total of 33 employers who sell houses to
their employees, 19 have reported the period for which payments
run; and in the remaining cases the period has been stated as vary
ing according to agreement entered into or as indefinite in time.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
The amount of the first payment is reported either as a certain
fixed sum or as a percentage of the sale price. Where the latter is
reported it appears to vary around 10 per cent; the highest pro
portion (reported in one instance) is 50 per cent, and the lowest
(reported in two instances) is 1 per cent. Where reported in abso
lute amounts, the maximum reported is $400 (one instance), the
minimum $10 (one instance), and the average $130; so that on a
house costing $2,500 the average first payment will be about 5 per
cent.
The rate of interest on the balance of the payments is fixed at
6 per cent by 20 companies out of 30 reporting on that point; at
5 per cent in seven instances; and at 7 per cent in one. In one case
no interest is charged.
Payments are almost invariably collected monthly, only one
employer reporting weekly collections and one semimonthly, while
one reported “ at convenience of purchasers.” In 10 cases the
installments are collected by deducting them from wages due, and in
all other instances they are payable at the office of the building and
loan association or of the subsidiary real estate company conducting
the housing. In some instances it is stated that the purchasers
prefer to have collections on the pay roll as it is the least trouble to
them as well as certain. The companies usually let the purchaser
choose his method of payment.
MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS.
The whole management of the building and selling scheme is
without exception in the hands of the employing company or the
subsidiary real estate company as the case may be. Of the 33 com
panies which report the practice of selling houses to their employees,
5 operate through a subsidiary or stock-controlled company. One
projected scheme was called to the attention of the bureau under
which the company proposed to organize a joint trusteeship composed
of representatives of the company and of the employees who are
purchasing the houses. By this means the company hopes to prove
the bona fide nature of the scheme and thereby to satisfy the employ
ees of the non-profit-making character of the undertaking and of its
being wholly in the interest of the employee.
ABILITY TO PAY.
In practically all cases the sales are regulated in some way accord
ing to the ability of the employee to purchase, while in others judg
ment as to that fact is left to the employee. In two instances definite
relation has been established between the monthly wages and the
monthly payments on the house—in one case installments must not
exceed one-fifth of the wages, in another one-third. It was pointed
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
229
out that a failure to adjust payments to income would defeat the
purpose of the whole scheme of getting permanent and efficient
employees, as it would overburden the employee, cause him worry,
and hence make him less efficient. In one case the company assumes
that the employee has additional sources of income when he tries
to buy what seems a somewhat expensive house. In most cases the
questions of whether the employee has boarders, who bring additional
income, and his standing and credit among his fellow employees are
looked up. The amount of his earnings is always open to inspection
as a gauge of his ability to buy a house.
INSURANCE TO GUARANTEE PAYMENT OF LOAN.
* One employer has been found who encourages the purchasers of
houses to take out a life-insurance policy to guarantee the payment
of their loan in the event of death prior to the final payment. Such a
plan is of advantage to the family of the purchaser should he die
before making all payments, and it is obviously also of advantage to
the selling company, although it also holds the mortgages on the
property for its own protection.
The arrangement provides for a lump-sum payment of the premium
by the employer to the insurance company. The employee-purchaser
can then liquidate this premium by periodic inclusion in his semi
monthly payments of principal and interest of the purchase price. The
amount of such a premium is not great. Thus for the 15-year term
which is allowed for the payment of the purchase price of a house, the
amount of the premium for each $1,000 of insurance for a purchaser
21 years of age at the time of purchase would amount to $57.94, if
paid in a lump sum in advance; and if paid in semimonthly install
ments each installment would amount to 30 cents. At age 35, the
lump-sum payment in advance on $1,000 of insurance would be
$69.07, or 36 cents in semimonthly installments. For $3,000 of
insurance the above amounts would be trebled—e. g., at age 35, the
semimonthly installments on $3,000 of insurance would be $1.08.
The result of the recommendations of the particular company, whose
scheme of protection is described above, is shown hy the fact that a
trifle over a half (51 per cent) of the purchasers took out policies, and
of those doing so 95 per cent took out policies covering the full value
of the house and 5 per cent took out policies covering part value.
Of the men who bought houses from the company, 82 per cent are
factory workmen, 12 per cent work in the factory office, and 6 per
cent in the general office of the company.
Another employer, while not demanding insurance to guarantee
future payments, requires what is in effect a term insurance policy,
the risk of which is assumed by the company. The employee signs
an agreement to purchase, in a cooperative bank approved by the
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
employer, shares of stock and to continue payment thereon until the
deposits amount to $1,000. This sum matures in about 12 years
under this plan and becomes the security for the payment of a
12-year note of that face value on the property. If at any time
before the 12 years expire the employee becomes disabled or dies,
the real estate company through which the employer conducts his
housing agrees to accept the surrender value of the shares in the
cooperative bank in full payment of the 12-year note. The employee
must make his monthly payments on the cooperative stock and con
tinue his monthly payments of interest; in consideration therefor the
real estate company agrees not to make a call on the demand note
which is given for the balance of the purchase price.
Though not technically an insurance policy, the whole arrangement
is, as has been said, in the nature of a term insurance scheme, the real
estate company and not an outside insurance company assuming the
risk of death or disability of the purchaser within the 12-year term of
the note.
PROVISIONS TO PREVENT SPECULATIONS
In selling their houses three companies have tried to prevent specu
lation. One large manufacturer in Ohio aims to have the speculative
increase accrue to the employee. This is done by basing the monthly
installments of the purchase price for the first five years on the
present real estate value of the property, which is placed at 25 per
cent above the actual cost price to the company; and if at the end
of the five years the employee is still with the company there is returned
to him the difference between the two values, and the interest thereon.
All payments thereafter are then made on the actual cost price of
the property.
Another method of preventing speculation is to require the erection
within a limited time, usually less than a year, of a house upon the
lot sold to an employee. A certain steel company in Pennsylvania
refunds 20 per cent on the purchase price of a lot if a house is built
within six months, or a good start made on it. A New England
textile mill, not covered in the original investigation, reports to the
Bureau that it gives the employee the lot if at the end of 10 years he
has erected a house on the lot and is still with the company.
Some employers, however, have, in fact, encouraged the element of
speculation in offering their houses to the workmen. Possibilities of
the future growth of the company town are pointed out, “ whether
you buy to hold out for an increase, or to build a home to live in or
to rent/' The buyer is lured by “ $3 cash and $2 per week until paid,
no interest, no taxes for three years.”
i Cf. “ H ou sin g and the land problem ,” in Monthly R eview o i the B ureau of Labor S ta tistics, June,
1013 (pp. 268-277).
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
231
OPTION TO REPURCHASE.
In some deeds provisions are found for the repurchase of property
being sold to an employee, should he for any reason desire to discon
tinue his purchase agreement. In such cases of repurchase by the
company it is customary to return to the employee an amount
equivalent to the difference between the sums paid on installments
and the amount of a reasonable rent of the premises for the period
for which the house has been occupied, crediting the difference on
future rent should the occupant care to remain.
One manufacturing company in Pennsylvania figures the rent on the
house as 10 per cent of its purchase price. This amount plus all taxes,
insurance, unpaid interest, and repairs, is deducted from the total
amount of the payments made and the balance returned in cash.
The following from the purchase agreement of a structural steel
company in Pennsylvania may be taken as typical:
It is further agreed that if the purchaser before the delivery of the deed shall be
discharged from, or shall voluntarily leave, the employ of t h e .....................................
company, a corporation created and existing under the laws of the State of New
Jersey, the land company agrees to purchase said property upon the following terms,
if requested in writing by him so to do before the expiration of 60 days after the
termination of his service with s a id ................. company:
a. If the purchaser shall be discharged from the employ of said ................. com
pany, the land company shall pay to the purchaser when he shall have surrendered
all his right, title, interest, and estate in and to said property to the land company,
an amount equal to said purchase price, less a discount at the rate of 1 per centum of
said purchase price for each year or fraction thereof that this agreement shall have
continued in force (but the rate of said discount shall never be less than 3 per centum
nor more than 10 per centum of the said purchase price), and less also all sums still
owing by the purchaser to the land company under this agreement.
b. If the purchaser shall voluntarily leave the employ of said ................. com
pany, the land company shall pay to the purchaser when he shall have surrendered
all his right, title, interest, and estate in and to said property to the land company, a
sum equal to said purchase price, less a discount of 2 per centum of said purchase
price for each year or fraction thereof that this agreement shall have continued in
force (but the rate of said discount shall never be less than 6 per centum nor more than
20 per centum of the said purchase price), and less also all sums still owing by the
purchaser to the land company under this agreement.
It is further agreed that if the purchaser shall die while in the employ of s a id .............
company, the land company agrees to purchase said property from the heirs, execu
tors, or administrator of the purchaser if requested by them in writing so to do before
the expiration of 60 days from the date of said purchaser’s death, for a sum equal to the
aforesaid purchase price, less such amount as may be necessary to restore said property
to good condition and repair, and less also all sums still owing to the land company by
the purchaser under this agreement at the time of his death; provided, however, that
not more than 10 years shall have elapsed from the date of this agreement, in case the
purcahser shall have received a deed to said property at the time of his decease.
SALE TO NONEMPLOYEES.
While a few employers (14 altogether) sell houses to nonemployees
in their locality, the terms of sale are generally not so favorable as to
employees; either a discount is made for employees or cash is re
quired on sale to nonemployees and not to employees.
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When there is sale to nonemployees it is frequently dictated by
necessity. The company may own the whole community, but at the
same time need to provide for tradesmen and artisans in the locality
other than its own employees. These usually form the class of out
siders to whom sales are made.
CONCLUSION.
None of the plans of selling houses to employees as outlined above
prevents ultimate speculation or realization of an unearned incre
ment in the property. Some of them appeal to the speculative
instinct of the purchaser. Obviously no plan which permits out-andout sale and parting with title in fee simple will prevent speculation.
The very most that the plans do may be to prevent speculation for
the period covered by the terms of the installments where there is
a repurchase agreement; if there is no such agreement, speculation
is not prevented even temporarily. Plans of sale, however, clearly
increase the number of those who will enjoy any accruing unearned
increments and distribute that form of wealth more widely.
From the employer’s point of view the gain in selling houses to
his employees comes from securing a certain amount of permanent
labor and thereby reducing labor turnover. In fact, some employers
calculate roughly that they can afford to sell a house to a workman
below cost in an amount equal to the per capita cost of labor turnover.
Looked at from that point of view, it may well be worth while to the
employer to give to the workman who has purchased a house a lot
worth, say, $300 or even $500, if the workman has remained in the
employ of the company for 10 years, as noted in plan of purchase
submitted by a certain New England textile concern. On the basis
of turnover studies which had been made for a certain company,
it was proposed to return to the workman who had purchased a house
$700 of the price thereof provided he were still in the employ of the
company at the end of the 15-year period, which was the period of
the second mortgage provided in the plan. The employer sees in
the plan of sale the possibility of securing a stable work force. In
no case, however, as suggested, can he expect a permanent labor force
such as might be maintained under renting conditions which might
be made more attractive than purchase.
From the employee’s point of view, the buying of a home is the
giving of hostages to the future and thereby reducing the mobility of
his capital—his earning capacity. Whether or not this will seriously
impair his bargaining capacity is a moot question, as the factors
determining bargaining power are numerous and manifold. At
the same time the buying of a home satisfies certain acquisitive
instincts of the employee and yields him a return in a feeling of inde
pendence within his own group or class. Tradition and habit also
play a large part in all these matters.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1178]
LABOR LAWS AND REGULATIONS.
LAW FOR STABILIZATION OF WAGES IN GREAT BRITAIN DURING
READJUSTMENT.
The problem of stabilizing wages in Great Britain after the war was
promptly met by an act passed November 21, 1918, 10 days after the
signing of the armistice. The act provides in brief for the mainte
nance of the wage rates in effect on November 11, including allow
ances for overtime, night work, week ends, and holidays. Exemp
tions may be made by an order of the Minister of Labor.
Questions as to classes of workmen to whom the law is applicable,
or what is a standard rate, or whether a new rate should for any
reason be substituted for an existing rate are to be determined by an
interim court of arbitration. This court is to be constituted by the
Minister of Labor and to represent employers, employees, and inde
pendent persons; one of the last-mentioned group is to act as chair
man.
Failure of an employer to comply with the act subjects him to a
penalty of £5 ($24.33) per day, and obstructing an officer in the exer
cise of his powers under the act makes the offender liable to a fine of
£10 ($48.67).
The law, which is known as the Wages (Temporary Regulation)
Act, 1918, is to be in effect for six months from the date of its enact
ment.
MEXICAN MINING CODE PROVISIONS RELATING TO LABOR.1
ORE MINES.
The following provisions relative to employment in mines, safety
requirements, and medical aid in case of accidents are found in the
Mining Code of Mexico.
A detailed daily record, in which is registered the names of all
miners and laborers entering and leaving the mine, and their location
while in the mine, is required.
The employment of boys under 12 years of age is prohibited. Boys
from 12 to 18 must be given work proportionate to their strength.
A supply of medicine and means for providing immediate aid to
injured persons must be maintained. There must be in attendance
one or more persons trained in first aid to the injured or asphyxiated;
'C olección de Leyes, D ecretos, Circulares Acuerdos y D isposiciones referentes a la Minería.
1918.
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234
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
and in mines employing more than 100 workers the services of a sur
geon must be available. All accidents, such as cave-ins, floods, fires,
explosions, etc., must be reported immediately.
Every mine must be provided with at least two shafts for exit.
These shall be connected at the working rooms.
When stairways are placed in the shafts, they shall be separated
from the shafts, as well as from all moving machinery, by means of
wooden or other suitable partitions. Such stairways and their rest
platforms must assure safety and a ready passage to employees.
The mouths of all shafts, pits, and light shafts shall be protected.
Protective apparatus shall be installed around all moving machines
or parts thereof. Windlasses, machinery used for moving cages,
buckets, etc., must be supplied with indicators to show the movement
and position of the same. All cables and ropes used in conveying
cages or buckets shall be protected from rocks or other objects which
might fall upon or injure them. When practicable, all cages and
buckets used for conveying laborers shall be provided with safety
catches to operate in the event of the breaking of the cables.
The weight of passengers carried in cages must be less than that of
the load usually carried therein, and the velocity must be graduated
with the load. The transportation of workers and materials at the
same time is forbidden. A competent person shall make a daily
inspection of all shafts, cables, and machinery.
Notice of signals in use in the operation of machinery shall be
posted in plain sight near the machinery, at the mouth of the shaft,
and at intersections of ways. Only persons in charge of shafts shall
be permitted to give orders or signals.
All insecure or unstable walls and roofs must be reinforced to pre
vent caving. All working places must be suitably ventilated, either
by natural or artificial means. Workings either temporarily or per
manently abandoned must be closed and no one permitted to enter
them unless especially authorized.
When the presence of water or dangerous gases is suspected in
proximity to working places, investigation must be made to discover
the danger of inundation. The safety of laborers in such places
shall be assured before any borings are made, and no persons shall
be allowed to remain at a level below the boring.
Explosives of different composition shall be stored in separate
magazines. Magazines shall be of light, fragile, impermeable,
materials, shall be detached, and at a suitable distance from public
roads and railroads. Protective walls shall be built on the sides
where there is danger from an explosion. Unworked galleries not
connected with mines in operation may be used as storage places.
Explosives shall be under the supervision of a specially designated
person.
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Cases containing nitroglycerin shall not be stacked above 6.6 feet
in height, and shall be placed so that the cartridges will be horizontal.
Opening cases within storage rooms or magazines is prohibited.
Detonators and explosives shall not be carried in the same conveyor.
Only the quantity of explosives required for the days’ work shall
be removed from storage; and any quantity remaining at the close
of the day shall be returned to the guardian of explosives.
Powders and nitroglycerin may be used in the form of cartridges
only. Detonators and fuses shall not be attached until immediately
before use. Precaution must be taken in thawing frozen dynamite.
Pincers shall be used in affixing caps, etc., to cartridges, and in
no case shall an employee affix the same with his teeth. The tamp
ing of cartridges in bore holes and similar processes shall be done by
means of wooden, zinc, or copper implements.
In case a charge of explosive fails to explode, no one shall approach
the locality until one-half hour after the attempt to explode it.
Where several charges are placed for firing at the same time, and the
explosions are so rapid that the intervals between are not distinctly
noticed, the same rule applies. The removal of unexploded charges,
and the redrilling of bore holes in which charges have been exploded,
are prohibited.
ANTHRACITE COAL MINES.
A current of air not exceeding 105.9 cubic feet per second in veloc
ity shall he maintained in anthracite coal mines. The air in them
shall not contain more than one-half of one per cent carbonic acid,
nor more than 1+ per cent fire damp (methane). When local condi
tions are such that a variation in the proportion of fire damp is not
prejudicial to safety, the case shall be reported to the secretary of
public works for investigation and approval.
Cross-currents to galleries are required to be established not more
than 32.8 feet apart, by tubes if necessary, for the purpose of carry
ing air to the faces. Doors, return air shafts, and distributing'
apparatus, used in connection with the ventilation, shall be of
inflammable material.
Employees, on entering the mine, shall be inspected to ascertain
if they carry any dynamite, powder, matches, cigars, unprotected
lamps, or other articles capable of causing an explosion. The carry
ing of such articles into mines is strictly prohibited. Lamps, other
than safety lamps of the safety-lock type which miners can not open
are prohibited.
Ventilation shall be continuous, and shall not be stopped unless
every laborer shall have vacated the mine. When ventilation has
been stopped, no one shall be permitted to enter the mine until tho
air has been tested and found not dangerous.
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The fire guard shall carefully inspect all parts of the mine at least
three hours before the time for beginning operation, and when gas is
discovered shall affix special signs in dangerous places; the guard
shall also place a notice on the slate at the entrance of the mine,
designating all dangerous places. Such notice shall be entered in
the daily mine record over the guard’s signature.
Only such explosives may be used as have been demonstrated within
a limited charge to be the most safe.
Precautions must be taken in the fall and removal of coal so as to
prevent as far as possible the generation of dust either in suspension
or in accumulations. Dust must be removed frequently from road
ways, and from near working places before shot firing. Shot firing
shall be done at stated hours, if possible, and always when all miners,
except shot firers and gas men, are outside the mine.
All installations, machinery, and transmission apparatus, both in
the mine and at the surface, shall be such as present necessary safe
guards against accidents which might place the lives of employees
in danger.
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LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.
NATIONAL WOMEN’S TRADE-UNION LEAGUE OP AMERICA.'
BY MARY T. WAGGAMAN.
ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH.
The increasing numbers of women in industry and the growing
complexity of their problems suggested the need of a collective agency
to voice the aspirations of these workers and grapple with their
special difficulties. To meet this need it was proposed at the con
vention of the American Federation of Labor, held in Boston in
1905, to establish a national organization of working women, whether
in unions or not. Such organization was also to include sympathizers
with the movement who were not in the ranks of labor. The pro
posal resulted in the formation that same year of the National
Women’s Trade-Union League. Mrs. Mary Morton Kehew, of
Boston, was elected president and Miss Jane Addams, vice president.
In the first years of its existence the league’s work consisted prin
cipally in establishing contacts with the workers and in other prepar
atory activities.
In 1907 Mrs. Raymond Robins of Chicago was elected president
and still holds this office.
By the latter part of 1909 the league had branches in four cities—Chicago, Boston, New York, and St. Louis—and by the end of the
summer of 1911 in five other cities—Springfield, 111., Cleveland,
Kansas City, Mo., Baltimore, and Denver. In 1914 the Los Angeles
committee and the Philadelphia league were added. A charter was
granted in 1916 for a local league in Worcester, Mass., and in April,
1918, the Washington, D. C., committee was established. Recent
new branches have been located in Tri-city (Davenport, Rock
Island, and Moline), Cincinnati, Grand Rapids, Detroit, and the
Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis). The total number of city
branches is now 16, the Los Angeles and Cleveland organizations
having gone out of existence.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
The league has paid particular attention to cooperation with other
bodies working along similar lines. In the early days of the league
Mrs. Raymond Robins, the president, and Miss Agnes Nestor, a
member of the national executive board, were appointed on the
industrial education committee of the American Federation of Labor,
1 Headquarters, 139 N orth Clark Street, Chicago, 111.; secretary, Miss E m m a Steghagcn.
110451°—19------16
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and Mrs. Robins acted as fraternal delegate of the league at the 1911
and 1912 conventions of the federation. The league was also rep
resented by a fraternal delegate at the 1911 and 1912 conventions
of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Cooperative relations have also been established with the American
Association for Labor Legislation and the Cooperative League of
America; and at the time of the second biennial convention held at
Chicago in the fall of 1909 the league was directly affiliated with labor
organizations in as many as eight different States. Among these
organizations were the San Francisco Labor Council, the Rochester
(N. Y.) Central Trades and Labor Council, and the Wisconsin State
Federation of Labor.
International relations have not been neglected. Early in its his
tory the league’s president was requested to serve on the advisory
committee of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, and later
the league was represented at the International Conference of Women
held at The Hague. More than 10 years ago at one of the league’s
interstate conferences a resolution was passed that league officers be
instructed to bring about the fullest cooperation possible with for
eign women’s trade-unions. The women unionists of Germany and
England sent delegates to the second biennial convention, while the
women unionists of France had a representative at the 1917
convention.
WORK IN BEHALF OF SOCIAL LEGISLATION.
Resolutions and recommendations adopted at the six biennial
conventions and at other conferences of the organization assert the
following basic principles of the league:
Organization of all workers in trade-unions.
Equal pay for equal work.
Eight-hour day.
Living wage.
Full citizenship for women.
The first number of Life and Labor, the official organ of the
league, issued in January, 1911, set forth in the leading editorial tho
policy of the league:
Every intelligent person who has given attention to social and industrial condi
tions in America knows that these are all wrong, so wrong that a radical change in
the industrial basis of our civilization is as imperative as it is inevitable.
Such a radical change can come only in one of two ways. If the whole burden of
remedying. unfair industrial inequalities is left to the oppressed social group wo
have the cruel and primitive method of revolution.
To this the only alternative is for the whole community, through cooperative
action, to undertake the removal of industrial wrongs and the placing of industry upon
a basis just and fair to the worker.
Since Life and Labor stands primarily for the bringing about of just such social
conditions, we hope to do our share in making possible that mutual understanding
which must precede and accompany effective cooperative action.
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In accordance with this policy the league has been active in sup
porting social legislation. It took part in the campaigns for shorter
working hours for women in Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Among the
measures approved by its legislative committee in 1915 for introduc
tion into State legislatures were those on the following subjects:
Study and prevention by State of occupational diseases.
Increase in number of women inspectors, and placing of labor and factory depart
ments on a nonpolitical and scientific basis.
Prohibition of the employment of women two months before and after childbirth.
Pensions for working mothers during lying-in period.
Protection of the savings of workers.
Compulsory notice by employers in advertisements for employees in time of strike
that a strike is in progress.
When in 1917, under the plea of war necessity, efforts were made
to lower labor and educational standards, the league, at its biennial
convention, strongly opposed such attempts, and declared in favor
of the establishment of international labor agreements standardizing
industrial conditions. In 1918, at an interstate conference, it urged
that “ a minimum wage for women workers be based on the living
expenses of a family of five as is contemplated for men.”
Between the biennial meetings many of the local leagues are active
in support of social legislation. For example, the present secretary
of the New York league succeeded in getting the New York Federa
tion of Labor to make the eight-hour bill for women a “ preferred
measure,” and the league is now working for the passage of five
measures designed to protect women workers. In November, 1918,
a conference was held under the auspices of the Philadelphia league,
at which 20 local unions and various other women’s organizations
agreed to unite with the State Federation of Labor in support of an
important legislative program.
A committee has been organized in New York City by trade-union
women to inform workers of the legislative measures in which the
league is interested. All candidates for office are asked to report on
blank forms how they stand on the legislation which the league is
indorsing.
ORGANIZATION WORK AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.
In the period 1909 to 1911 there were many strikes among un
organized woman workers, especially in the clothing trades. The
National League and the Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia
branches did active work in some of the largest of these industrial
conflicts in the cities named. The experience gained by the league
in the strike of the garment workers in Chicago and of the shirt-waist
workers in New York and Philadelphia led to the formulation of the
following definite plan of action for local leagues in future strikes:
(1) Organization and direction of public opinion; (2) patrol of
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streets; (3) fair play in the courts; (4) help in the raising of funds
through unions and allies; (5) help in the formation of trade-union
organizations where workers are unorganized.
On June 19, 1917, the league passed and presented to Secretary
McAdoo a resolution protesting against the excessive overtime worked
at the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Other or
ganizations joined in a campaign to remedy this condition, and the
outcome was the establishment of an eight-hour day for the employees
of that bureau. The league, together with various other interested
organizations, undertook to secure an increase in salary for the
women operatives in the bureau. While Congress did not grant the
full increases asked for, the minimum for bureau women was raised
45 cents a day.
The league supported the women street car conductors of Detroit
in the tight for their jobs after the signing of the armistice. It also
espoused the cause of the women conductors of Cleveland and aided
in securing a hearing for them before the National War Labor Board.
Following on this hearing, the board handed down a decision March
17, 1919, directing the company “ to restore these women discharged
on March 1 last to the position that they had in seniority and other
privileges.”
In May, 1913, the executive council of the American Federation
of Labor voted $150 a month for one year to help the league finance
the task of training and equipping women to organize labor. Some
time later it was decided that the Federation and the National
Women’s Trade-Union League should cooperate in the selection of
an organizer to be paid by the Federation.
School for W oman Organizers
The league maintains a school at which women are trained in
organization work. The need of such a school was demonstrated
by the fact that between the 1911 and 1913 annual meetings requests
for organization work among woman workers came from 19 different
States. The establishment of a training school was recommended
at the 1913 convention and within the year the school was started
in Chicago under the management of the officers and members of
the league’s executive board and a special committee. The follow
ing curriculum (for 1916-17) shows the lines along which the students
are instructed:
ACADEMIC W O R K .
Regular courses in—
1. Industrial history.
2. Study of the rise of labor organizations—trade-unionism.
3. Study of women in industry with special reference to the organization move
ment among women.
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Regular courses in—
4. Study and analysis of judicial decisions affecting labor—specific labor trials
and injunction suits.
5. Effective speaking.
6. English and other elementary subjects.
7. Trade agreements—study of function, theory, and practical operation.
Special lectures on—
Woman suffrage.
Legislation for women and children.
Socialism, single tax, anarchism, etc.
Present day labor organizations—men’s and women’s qualities of leadership.
FIELD W O RK .
Organization—Methods in theory and practice.
Office administration, including experience in bookkeeping, filing and cataloguing,
and familiarity with the routine of a large and well-organized office.
Legislative methods—practical experience at Springfield and elsewhere with lobby
ing for a bill.
Parliamentary law—practical training in presiding at a meeting, writing of minutes,
general conduct of public meetings.
GEN ERA L.
Regular gymnasium.
Regular recreation and play.
Attention to health and dress.
In connection with the management of the school it was recom
mended that in the girl’s application for entrance she state how
long she had been a member of the union, whether she had ever
held an office in the union, and whether she had acted on union
committees or taken part in any wage agreements or strikes.
WORK OF THE WASHINGTON (D. C.) COMMITTEE
As illustrative of the practical work of the local leagues and com
mittees, the following brief account is given of some of the activities
of the Washington committee which was established in April, 1918.
The organization started in at once to assist the girl cigar makers
of a large factory in the capital who were on strike. These girls
were unorganized when they went on strike, but through Miss Mary
Anderson, national organizer, steps w~ere taken to have them affil
iated with the Cigar Makers’ International Union. The strike in
volved about 80 girls and half a dozen men and it lasted about eight
weeks. The case was brought before the National War Labor Board
through the Washington committee and was afterwards referred to
the conciliation division of the Department of Labor. A settlement
was effected in which all the demands of the strikers were granted.
The Washington committee gave its indorsement to the minimum
wage bill for the District of Columbia and supported the Army
nurses’ plea for military rank. Beginning May 19, 1918, a series of
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public meetings were held under the auspices of the league and
local unions, at which special sessions were devoted to the interests
of waitresses, stenographers, and other office workers, and employees
of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
REPRESENTATION AND RECOGNITION.
The league has consistently demanded representation for women.
A resolution adopted at the 1909 biennial meeting called for the
establishment in the United States Bureau of Labor of a 1'specific
department for the investigation and report from time to time upon
the condition of working women in the United States, with special
reference to protective legislation directed to the preservation of
health, safety, and morals of the motherhood of our people,’’ and
urged that a woman be appointed as the head of this department.
The creation in the summer of 1918 of the Woman in Industry Service
in the Department of Labor was, therefore, regarded by the league
as the fulfillment of a long-felt need.
In the past two years the league has urged the election of women
delegates to the convention of the American Federation of Labor,
the inclusion of trade-union women in the Federation’s delegation to
the International Labor Congress to be held at the time of the peace
negotiations, the calling of an international congress of working
women to be held at the same time, the appointment of women in
the commissary departments of the Government, and the appoint
ment of two women—one of them a trade-unionist—on the National
War Labor Board.
Some of the officers and members of the National Women’s TradeUnion League have recently served or are serving in positions of con
siderable importance. Among the positions filled by league members
are those of chairman of the committee on women and children in
industry of the Illinois division of the Council of National Defense;
member of the Illinois Health Insurance Investigating Commission;
vice president of the Massachusetts State Federation of Labor; chief
of a division of the National War Labor Board; assistant director of
the United States Working Conditions Service; member of th‘e
Minimum Wage Commission of the District of Columbia; member of
the advisory council to outline the plans for a woman’s division in the
United States Department of Labor; members of the committee on
women in industry of the Council of National Defense; assistant to
the chief of the Women’s Division of the United States Employment
Service; and assistant director of the Woman in Industry Service of
the United States Department of Labor.
A plan for sending woman representatives of woman workers to the
Paris peace conference was agreed upon by the executive board of
the league, and, being laid before President Wilson, received his
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approval. Accordingly Miss Mary Anderson, national organizer,
and Miss Rose Schneidermann, president of the Women’s TradeUnion League of New York and a member of the executive board
of cloth cap and hat makers, have been sent abroad as representa
tives of the league. One of the chief points to be urged by Miss
Anderson and Miss Schneidermann is “ the representation of women
in the proposed international labor commission and q,n international
labor bureau that may be established.”
RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM.
The program of the social and industrial reconstruction committee
of the league reiterates a number of the demands previously voiced
by the league in resolutions and declarations at its biennial con
ventions. New demands are included to meet new conditions. The
committee asks for compulsory education up to 16 years of age and
part-time education up to 18 years, abolition of child labor, an 8-hour
day and a 44-hour week, no night work for women, one day’s rest in
seven, equal pay for equal work, equal opportunity for men and wo
men in trade and technical training, social insurance against sickness,
accident, industrial disease, and unemployment, and provision for
old-age and invalidity pensions and maternity benefits. Other sec
tions of the program are given below:
We urge a complete restoration, at the earliest possible moment, of all fundamental
political rights—free speech, free press, and free assemblage, and the removal of all
war-time restraints upon the interchange of ideas and the movements of peoples among
communities and nations. We ask an immediate amnesty for all political prisoners.
We ask that the principle of self-government in the workshops be established in all
industry, both public and private, and that the right of the workers to organize into
trade-unions be recognized and affirmed.
We urge the full enfranchisement of women, and that they be accorded political,
legal, and industrial equality; and further, we urge the adoption of the most modern
methods of representation for the establishment and maintenance of political
democracy.
We ask for the establishment of universal social standards, a single standard of
morality, the protection of motherhood, and the guaranty to every child of the high
est possible development, physical, mental, and moral.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
We reaffirm our stand in favor of the G overnment ownership of public utilities and
the nationalization and developm ent of natural resources—w ater and unused land.
In order that the problems of women wage earners in the United States may be
dealt with as intelligently as possible, we further urge:
That the Woman in Industry Service of the United States Department of Labor
be placed on a permanent basis.
That in every State department of labor a woman’s bureau be established, to
care for the protection and welfare of women workers.
That provision be made for increased appropriations for State factory departments,
and for the appointment of woman inspectors in the proportion of one for every
15,000 woman wage earners.
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That woman workers be represented upon all State and Federal administrative
boards.
That the Federal and State employment agencies be coordinated and standardized
and all private agencies be abolished.
That the use of the injunction in labor disputes be abolished by embodying the
principles of the Federal Clayton Act in State legislation—this we ask for the protec
tion of the organization of the workers.
We, the committee on social and industrial reconstruction of the National Women’s
Trade-Union League of America, recognizing that the problems here presented con
cern—in whole or in part—working women the world over, urge again the calling of
an international congress of working women for the exchange of thought and the
concerted action required by the task before us.
The league’s seventh biennial convention will be held in Phila
delphia, beginning June 2, 1919.
TRADE-UNIONS OF ALSACE-LORRAINE.
According to the Correspondenzblatt1 it is difficult to ascertain
exactly from the proceedings of the conference held in Strassburg on
January 4, 1919, the attitude of the Alsace-Lorraine trade-unions in
the matter of a union with France. The object of the conference
was to regulate the relations of the Alsace-Lorraine trade-unions
with the French trade-unions’ federation.
The spokesman of the former, Herr Imbs, in his opening speech
remarked: "We desire jointly to try to discover the most prac
tical way of amalgamating with the French trade-union organiza
tion. The language difficulty prevents amalgamation from taking
place as speedily as we all wish. The members of the Alsace-Lor
raine trade-unions can read only German papers. But this is only
a temporary difficulty which ought soon to be surmounted. The
most reasonable way would be to unite the existing trade-unions in
Alsace-Lorraine in a district association, which would then as a
whole amalgamate with the French trade-unions’ federation.”
Herr Imbs then proposed that the 48 existing trade-union groups
should be united according to trades in 14 industrial associations,
but the representatives of the French trade-unions’ federation ob
jected to this plan, since it was contrary to the principles of the
French trade-union movement, which preferred to unite the groups
in associations according to trades and industries and not in dis
trict organizations. After a lengthy discussion, a resolution proposed
by Herr Imbs, providing for three district associations with head
quarters in Metz, Strassburg, and Muhlhausen, which will embrace
all the trade-union groups in their districts, was carried unanimously.
These three associations are to form the regional association Alsacei Correspondenzblatt der Generalkommission der Gewerkschaften Deutschlands. Berlin, Jan. 25,1919.
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Lorraine, which, as such, will he joined to the French trade-unions’'
federation.
It was further decided to publish a trade-union journal in German,
with articles in French, to which later on a French supplement will be
added. With reference to immediate amalgamation with the French
central organization, a Lorraine representative pointed out that it
might lead to various difficulties. The German organization to which
all contributions had been paid hitherto might make the amalgama
tion an excuse for refusing to make refund to Alsace-Lorraine until
the peace treaty was signed and also withdraw support of other kinds
to which the Provinces were entitled. The difficulty would be all the
greater since the Alsace-Lorraine trade-unions had always paid up
all their subscriptions, while those of Berlin were still in arrears.
The excitement aroused by this statement was ended by an an
nouncement by M. Jouhaux that the Alsace-Lorraine trade-unions
might rely completely upon the moral and material support of the
French organizations, whereupon immediate amalgamation was at
once agreed to.
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CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION.
AWARDS AND DECISIONS OP THE NATIONAL WAR LABOR BOARD.
THE NEW YORK HARBOR STRIKE.
As chronicled in the February issue of the Monthly Labor R eview
(pp. 12-27), harbor traffic at the port of New York was completely
paralyzed when, on January 9, 1919, practically all of the 16,000 men
employed on harbor craft went on strike, demanding a reduction of
hours from 12 to 8 per day and an increase in wages. The strike
threatened to involve teamsters, drivers, and chauffeurs engaged in
general trucking. Upon request by President Wilson the National
W7ar Labor Board took up the case and, failing to reach a
unanimous agreement upon certain disputed points, referred the
matter to one of its umpires, V. Everitt Macy, who, on February 25,
submitted his decision. WThen the board assumed cognizance of the
controversy all the employees agreed to submit to its jurisdiction
and be bound by its decision. This attitude was likewise taken by
the governmental agencies operating boats in the harbor, namely,
the Railroad Administration, the Shipping Board, the Navy Depart
ment, and the War Department, and by one private boat owner,
namely, the Red Star Towing & Transportation Co. The submis
sion by one private company was for the purpose of enabling counsel
for private boat owners to submit evidence and cross examine
witnesses without binding all private owners. Under the rules of
the National Whir Labor Board only those controversies in which
both parties jointly submit to the board can become a matter of
arbitration, and thus go to an umpire in case of failure on the part
of the board to reach an agreement. The Macy award, therefore,
it is important to note, could apply only to a limited number of
harbor workers.
While not definitely prescribing the 8-hour day for all the workers
affected, the Macy award does reaffirm the desirability of limiting the
working day to 8 hours. No increase of wages is awarded, the wage
scale remaining the same as fixed in the award of the New York Har
bor Board dated July 12, 1918,1 and in the award of the Railroad
Administration Board dated September 1, 1918. Because of the very
great importance of the New York Harbor case and in view of the fact
that the history of the controversy has been followed in considerable
detail in the Monthly Labor R eview , it is deemed advisable to
publish a summary of the award of the umpire.
1For text of this award see Monthly L abor R eview for September, 1918, pp. 22-26.
246
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The questions submitted to Mr. Macy as arbiter of the National War
Labor Board were divided as follows:
(a) Was tlie War Labor Board, in hearing this case, acting in place of the former
New York Harbor Board, and therefore limited as to what matters it could consider
by an award of the New York Harbor Board dated July 12, 1918?
(b) Request for the eight-hour day.
(e) Increase of wages, and changes in classifications.
(d) Changes in conditions of employment.
(e) The question as to whether the findings should be retroactive in application.
(a) Limitation oj questions to be arbitrated.—No limitation as to
what the board was to consider was made by the President in his
request of January 11, 1919, to the board to take up the ease, and
no restrictions were imposed by the Government departments in a
letter of the same date nor by the Marine Workers’ Affiliation. The
award made July 12,1918, by the New York Harbor Board, effective
June 1, 1918, was to remain in force until May 31, 1919, unless in
the opinion of the board conditions were such as to warrant a change.
It was the opinion of the umpire, contrary to the contention of
some of the members of the War Labor Board who held that
nothing had occurred to warrant a change in the award of July 12,
1918, that the effect of the armistice had been materially to change
conditions and to inaugurate a period of falling prices and an over
supply of labor against the high prices and labor shortage which had
necessitated higher wages and longer hours in the previous period.
Also, as the employers concerned in the award of July 12, 1918, had
refused to allow the New York Harbor Board to function and as the
War Labor Board was asked not to interpret the previous award but
to consider the entire situation, it was therefore decided that the
War Labor Board was not limited by the award of July 12, 1918.
(b) Request for an eight-hour day.—The justice of the basic eighthour day and where possible the straight eight-hour day with the
corresponding obligation on the part of labor to render better service
for the fewer hours worked was recognized by the umpire, chiefly as
a principle.
The classification used by the New York Harbor Board was fol
lowed in making the award, namely: Ferry boats; tugs, other towing
vessels, and steam lighters; lighters, covered barges, and bolsters;
coal and grain boats; scows, and dumpers.
For those tugboats, other towing vessels, and steam lighters which
employed two crews and for ferryboats it was found that the eighthour day or forty-eight-hour week was reasonably practical. For
single-crew boats, however, in view of the large mass of testimony
and exhibits placed before the arbiter which gave little exact in
formation and which were based largely on the abnormal conditions
prevailing in the port of New York since 1914, it was held that in
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
order to make a fair decision a careful study of the conditions con
nected with the work of these boats was necessary. To that end it
was ordered that a commission not exceeding ten in number be
formed to be composed of two representatives of the Government,
including the Railroad Administration, three private employers, and
five members of the Marine Workers’ Affiliation. If such a com
mission were not organized voluntarily and an investigation started
by the first of April, the War Labor Board should itself name
the commission which should submit a report by June 1, 1919, in
order that a decision might be rendered by the board before July 1,
1919. Pending this decision the hours should remain the same.
Increase in wages.—In regard to the increase in wages asked it was
held that there was nothing to show that the men did not ask for the
full wage desired in June, 1918, and that if there had been any change
in the cost of living since then it had probably been in favor of the
men. Further than this it was held that if the men should receive
the same wages for eight hours that they had received for twelve
the labor cost to the industry would be increased by fifty per cent.
Therefore it was decided that the award of July 12, 1918, and that
of the Railroad Administration of September 1, 1918, should remain
in effect, there being no reduction in wages for those whose daily or
weekly hours were reduced.
Working conditions.—-The following findings in regard to working
conditions were common to all four classes of boats under con
sideration:
Six days shall constitute a week’s work.
Overtime on week days to be paid for at one and one-half times the regular rate.
Double time shall be paid for work on the following holidays: New Year’s Day,
Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
Double time shall be paid for work on Sundays unless the employee has already
had one day’s rest in seven, or will have one such day in the current swing of his shift.
Crews are entitled to pay on Sundays and holidays for only the actual number of
hours they are on duty.
One week’s vacation with pay shall be allowed each employee who has been in the
service of the company for a period of one year or more.
The hourly rate for men on a monthly wage to be computed by multiplying the
number of hours in the working day by 313 and dividing this product into the monthly
wage multiplied by 12.
Rules as to working conditions relating to but one of the classes
were as follows:
Tugboats and other towing vessels and steam lighters.—Twelve hours shall constitute
a day’s work where one crew is now employed.
Six days or 48 hours shall constitute a week’s work for boats having more than one
crew, the day off to be determined by the employer.
In the case of those men who, owing to the shorter workday, need no longer be
boarded by the company, or who may be boarded only part of the week as may occur
in the case of those working on a 48-hour week, 75 cents a day shall be added for each
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249
day they are not so boarded, or 25 cents for each meal provided by the company in
cases where shifts are changed between meals. This provision does not apply to
crews of ferryboats, tugs, and steam lighters now receiving the hourly rates contained
in the order of the Railroad Administration Board, effective September 1, 1919, as
hourly rate received by these men provides for them to board themselves. This
provision applies only for six days a week, unless the employees work an extra seventh
day.
Car fare is to be paid by employer when boats change crews at other than designated
points.
Ferryboats.—Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work.
Lighters, covered barges, and holsters.—Ten hours shall constitute a day’s work.
All car fares in excess of 10 cents to be paid by the employer to men living within the
metropolitan district, and all car fares to be paid by the employer when the men are
on the company’s business.
The captain shall receive $1.50 for each night he is required to be on his boat for the
purpose of watching or towing.
Scores, dumpers, coal boats, and grain boats.—The captain of these boats shall receive
$1.50 for each night that he is required to be active for at least one hour after 6 p. m.
in the loading or discharging of cargo.
Retroactive request.—In regard to the request to make the findings
retroactive there was nothing to be gained by doing so since it is
impossible to return the hours and no increases in the wage scale had
been granted.
After the announcement of the award, the employees as a whole
refused to accept it and again went out on strike. Within a few days’
time the Railroad Administration entered into an agreement with its
employees, practically conceding their demands and in effect over
throwing the Macy award. The other governmental agencies con
cerned, which were presumably about to enforce the Macy award,
ultimately fell in line and entered into a similar agreement with their
workers. The employees of the private boat owners remained on
strike, demanding the same consideration that employees on boats
operated by governmental agencies had received. This is the situa
tion as it exists at the time the R eview goes to press (Mar. 30).
MACHINISTS ET AL v. EMPLOYERS OF MADISON, WI8.
On February 18, 1919, an umpire of the National War Labor
Board rendered a decision in a case affecting nine companies in
Madison, Wis., and the machinists in their employ (Docket No. 195,
Machinists et a! v. Employers of Madison, Wis.), the board having
failed, upon joint submission of the case, to reach a unanimous
conclusion. The demands of the employees of each company were
identical, and were submitted early in June, 1918, as follows:
1. An increase in the minimum wage rate equal to that granted by the Great Lakes
shipping award.1
2. A system of collective bargaining through the agency of shop committees, elected
for that purpose.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
3. That eight hours be established as the basic workday.
4. Time and one-half for overtime, except Sundays and holidays, for which double
time shall be paid, and an additional 5 per cent for men on night work.
5. The abolition of the bonus and premium systems, and the establishment of a flat
hourly rate.
6. The establishment of a minimum wage for women with a 48-hour week as a
maximum.
7. The increase of wages as granted to be retroactive as of June 10, 1918, with an
adjustment as of that date of all bonuses earned.
8. Award to apply to men and women employed on piecework, by the hour, day,
week, or month, excluding the employees working in the offices.
9. Women to receive the same wage as men for the same work.
10. That if there be an award based on the Great Lakes shipping schedule, as of
April, 1918, 'any increase granted in that industry prior to February 1, 1919, shall
automatically apply to the Madison plant.
Upon refusal of the employers to concede the demands, strikes
took place in a few of the plants, but these were terminated when the
agreement of submission was effected. In his decision the umpire
first points out the differences in conditions affecting the Madison
workers and those who benefited by the Great Lakes shipping
award mentioned in the first demand of the employees, and then calls
attention to the board’s precedents relating to the matter of pay for
night work, minimum wages for men and women, respectively,
hours of labor, and the right of workers to organize and bargain col
lectively. On these points the decision is quoted in full, as follows:
Madison is not what is known as an industrial center. It is a city of about 38,009
people, located in the midst of an agricultural region, about 80 miles west of Milwaukee,
Wis., and about 140 miles northwest of Chicago, 111. I t is the capital of the State, and
the seat of the University of Wisconsin. There are no large manufacturing cities near
Madison, and the cost of living is low compared with many other cities of equal or
greater population in the same general territory. In short, the conditions of living
and of labor and employment in Madison are not fairly to be compared with those in
any shipyard on the Great Lakes, or with Milwaukee or Chicago. There is no organi
sation of the manufacturing interests of Madison.
The manufacturing industries in Madison are comparatively small, employing rela
tively few men. The workmen are engaged in special employment, not comparable
in all respects to the classes defined and outlined in the Great Lakes award. Many of
the employees in Madison have continued with the same factory for years, having no
previous experience. Many, if not most of them, were recruited from farms, railroads,
or other activities in the region. Separated from the particular employment in which
they have specialized for years they would have no particular fitness for employment
elsewhere. That is to say, employees called machinists, etc., are not those who have
had years of apprenticeship and who could take a set of blue prints and erect a machine.
They have learned to operate a particular machine to produce a certain article, or
part of an article. I t is true that in some factories in Madison there are a few men who
could qualify as machinists, molders, etc., in the accepted meaning of the terms, but
for the most part such workers are employed as foremen or superintendents. I t would
no doubt be possible to classify the employees in each industry in Madison, b ut the
result would not, under present conditions, lead to uniformity of wages as between the
different industries, or conduce to greater equality of payment or circumstances re
specting employment.
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251
Madison is an established community, where the workers, to an unusually large ex
tent, own their own homes or have resided there for a long time, so that the conditions
are entirely different from those which obtain where workmen are entitled to higher
wages as compensation, in part, for the added expense and inconvenience of living
accommodations. In the shipbuilding industry contracts are ordinarily of long dura
tion and are on a noncompetitive basis, while in Madison the business, for the most
part, is on a highly competitive basis and of an utterly different sort from shipbuilding.
However, the workman, wherever he may be, is worthy of his hire. We are bound
to take into consideration the high cost of living when measuring his compensation for
a day’s work. The record shows that the cost of living in Madison has not increased
on the whole as rapidly, nor reached as high a level as many other points to which
reference is had in evidence. In fact, the evidence as to the cost of living is not ex
tended nor convincing. It can not be determined on this record just what daily
charges the factory workers of Madison are required to meet in order to insure to them
a comfortable living. It appears that the increase in living costs in Madison was about
60 per cent greater in 1918 than in 1914. Certain workers find it difficult to secure the
ordinary comforts of life at the wages they receive from some of the employers in Madi
son. Such a condition ought not to exist anywhere. A worker is entitled, if he be
sober and industrious, as a matter of right, to something more than the bare living cost.
His right is to receive a wage that shall insure to himself and dependents those ordinary
comforts of life that go to make up a happy home.
It is argued by the employers that because their employees have had their wage3
increased from time to time, so that the wages now received represent about the same
percentage of increase as the increase in living cost, they have done their full duty in
the premises. This, of course, must be based on the assumption that in 1914 the wage3
paid represented all that the worker was then entitled to, which assumption is not
established on this record.
It is also argued by the employers that the wages now paid in the factories of Madison
are as high as, or higher than, are paid by the State of Wisconsin and the city of Madison
and that therefore a wage level is established which it would be unwise to change or
disturb. This argument has little force. Carried to its logical conclusion .workers
would always be required to accept low wages, provided the majority n the same com
munity received low wages. It would always mean a reduction to the lowest level,
which is neither just to the worker or the community as a whole. In any event, there
is no just comparison between workers in factories and those employed by State or
municipal authorities Certainly unduly low' wages paid by the latter can not right
fully constitute the just measure for the former. The test is not so much what the
level is, as how that level measures up with the cost of living. Workmen are entitled
to comfortable living wages, and no comparisons that might be presented are sufficient
to overturn or outweigh that principle
It has been frequently decided by the War Labor Board that the minimum hour’s
wage, based on an eight-hour day, should not be less than 40 cents. In a number of
cases the minimum wage has been fixed at 42| cents an hour.1 Conditions of living at
Madison are exceptionally favorable. It is a well-nigh universal rule, where the
question has been raised and decided, that 5 per cent to the rate for day work should
be added for night work.
With respect to women, it is settled by numerous decisions that 35 cents an hour is
a reasonable minimum; and it is agreed by the employers in these cases that women
should receive the same wages as men for the same work, and should not be required
to perform work beyond their strength.
i
See Docket No. 163, in re Employees v. Worthington Pump & Machinery Corporation, Power & Mining
Machinery Works, Cudahy, Wis. Noted in Monthly L abor R eview for August, 1918 (pp. 72, 73).
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
With one or two exceptions, hereinafter noted, the basic d ay ’s work in Madison is
10 hours, with a half day off on Saturday in the summer time, and with no extra com
pensation for overtime or for work during holidays. The time has now come as a
settled national policy that eight hours shall constitute the basic day’s work. It is
not necessary to repeat arguments that sustain this principle. I t is sufficient to refer
to the Packing House case decided by Judge Alschuler,1 and the decision by Justice
Clark in Award in re Holders v. Wheeling Mold & Foundry Co., Wheeling, W. Va.,2
and the decision of the Railroad Wage Commission.3
The question here is not whether eight hours shall constitute the lim it of time
beyond which a worker shall be permitted or required to work. The question is with
respect to the establishment of an eight-hour basic day’s work, with time and one-half
for overtime and double time for work on Sundays and holidays. On reason and
authority both these contentions have frequently been decided in favor of the em
ployee’s contentions.
The principles upon which the War Labor Board was founded recognize the right
of employees to organize and bargain collectively, and there shall be no discrimina
tion or coercion directed against proper activities of this kind. Employees in the
exercise of the right to organize shall not use coercive measures of any kind to compel
persons to join their unions or to induce employers to bargain or deal with their
unions.
These principles are incorporated in the awards affecting the nine
companies parties to the dispute. Without giving the awards in de
tail, the following points may be noted as appfying to one or more of
the awards:
1. Minimum rates of hourly wages, based on an eight-hour day, for
employees over 21 years of age who have been employed for six
months or more, fixed at 40 cents for men and 35 cents for women.
2. Eight hours fixed as a day’s work, overtime to be paid for at the
rate of time and one-half, and work on Sundays and holidays to be
paid for at double the normal rate.
3. Night work to be compensated for at the rate of 5 per cent in
crease over the day rate.
4. Recognition of the right of employees to organize into tradeunions and to bargain collectively through their chosen representa
tives.
5. Discrimination by employers against employees for member
ship in a labor union or for legitimate trade-union activities prohibited.
6. Bonus and premium systems, as affecting two companies,
abolished.
7. Awards effective as of August 1, 1918.
AWARDS AFFECTING STREET AND INTERTJRBAN RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.
In the September, 1918, issue of the M o n t h l y L a b o r R e v i e w
(pp. 30-32) and in the January, 1919, issue (pp. 34-36), summaries
of awards affecting street and interurban railway employees were
1See Monthly R eview for May, 1918 (pp. 115-127).
! See Monthly L abor R ev iew for November, 1918 (pp. 29-34).
»See Monthly R ev iew for June, 1918 (pp. 21-45).
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MONTHLY LABOE KEVIEW.
given, the last reference including a table showing new scales of
wages granted by the National War Labor Board. Continuing this
record, a table is here presented showing the wages fixed by the
board during the month of January, 1919, and down to February 4,
inclusive. To. meet the additional expense occasioned by these
increases in wages the board recommends in practically every case
that reconsideration be given by the proper authority of the fare
which the company is allowed to collect from its passengers, the
text of this portion of the award being the same as that used in the
award in the Cleveland case.1 In each of the following cases the
controversy was between a specified division of the Amalgamated
Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America
and the respective companies, and the name of the association is
therefore not repeated in each instance:
N E W SCALE OF W A G E S G R A N T E D B Y N A T IO N A L W A R L A B O R B O A R D TO M O TOR M EN
A N D C O N D U C TO R S ON C E R T A IN S T R E E T A N D IN T E R U R B A N R A IL W A Y L IN E S .
First 3
N ext 9 After 12 Minimum
months months months’
wage
of service. of service. service.
fixed.2
Case and docket number.'
Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Em
ployees of America, Division No. 767, v. Knoxville Railway &
Light Co. (Docket No. 251)..............................................................
Division No. 847 v. St. Joseph Railway, Light, Heat and Rower
Co. (Docket No. 950)............................................................- ............
Division No. 809 v. Ohio Electric Railway Co. (Zanesville lin es)3
Division No. 839 v. Ohio Electric Railway Co. (Newark lines) *
. . .
........
(Docket No. 627c). ..........................................
Division No. .568 (Subdivision No. 1) v. Cleveland & Erie Trac
tion Co., Girard, Pa. (Docket No. 631).........................................
Division No. 811 v. Reading Transit & Light Co. (Norristown
Division No. 831 v. the Louisville Railway Co. and the Louisville
Interurban Railroad Co., Louisville, Ky. (Docket No. 414 and
414al6
.............................................................................
Division No. 845 v. Ohio Electric Railway Co. (Springfield
interurban lines) (Docket No. 627b)............................................
Division No. 852 v. Ohio Electric Railway Co. (Lima inter
urban lines) (Docket No. 627).........................................................
Division No. 620 v. Boston & Worcester Street Railway Co.
(Docket No. 851)................................................................................
36
38
40
36
38
40
42
42
38
40
42
41
43
45
42
39
41
43
42
41
42
43
41
43
45
40
41
43
45
42
41
43
45
42
42
44
47
42)
1 The nam e of th e union organization in volved in these cases is given only in th e first case and is under
stood to ap ply to th e other cases, in w hich th e division num ber only is given.
2 A pplies to em ployees other than m otorm en and conductors.
3 A pplies also to L im a city lines and to New ark c ity lines.
i T his rate is for N ew ark mterurban lines. T he m inim um wage rate also applies to N ew ark city lines.
s These rates were voluntarily fixed b y th e com pany and approved b y th e board.
6 T hese rates apply to th e L ouisville R ailw ay Co. R ates to be paid b y L ouisville Interurban R ailw ay Co.
are, respectively, 42, 44, and 46 cents per hour.
In one of the awards, the first in the table, the board makes a
definite recommendation as to the financial assistance that should
be given the company, using the following words:
We recommend that there should be an increase of at least 1 cent, so as to make
the fare 6 cents, and probably more than that; and if the consent of the municipality
be necessary to secure such increase we recommend that the proper authorities grant
same.
i N oted iu th e M onthly L abor R ev ie w for Septem ber, 1918 (pp. 30-33).
110451°—19----- 17
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M O N T H L Y LABOR R E V IE W .
In one street-railway case before the board (Division No. 735, etc.,
v. Jacksonville Traction Co., Jacksonville, Fla.; Docket No. 83) the
evidence seemed to show that the company was violating the policy
of the board in not permitting its employees to organize into labor
unions, and a recommendation is made “ that this company, as a
matter of plain right and justice and in conformity with the announced
principles of this board, give full and free permission to its emploj^ees
to organize in labor unions.”
In another case not included in the table (Division No. 589, etc.,
v. Boston Elevated Railroad Co.; Docket No. 181) the board ap
proves the findings of its representatives acting as arbitrators and
establishes the following wage scale:
Cents.
Car-house repairmen, first class...........
Car-house repairmen, second class___
Car-house repairmen, third class.........
55
50
45
The first class shall include men on the rapid-transit lines now receiving 48f cents
and men on the surface lines now receiving 43f cents.
The second class shall include men on the rapid-transit lines now receiving 43f
cents and men on surface lines who, prior to the board’s award, received 30 cents
plus 2 cents per hour, or men who have been promoted to that class since the award.
The third class shall include men on the rapid-transit lines now receiving 42^ cents
per hour, and men on the surface lines who, prior to the award, received 26 cents plus
2 cents, or men who have been promoted and appointed car-house repairmen since
that time.
Cents.
Trackmen (surface and rapid transit):
Night m en.......................................
Day m en.........................................
Welders...................................................
Rail grinders:
First class..............................
Second class....................................
Switch repairmen..................................
Center-plate repairmen........................
Trackw alkers........................
50
48
60
53
50
50
50
50
Rates established by an award affecting employees, interurban
lines, members of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Division
No. 277, Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, Division No. 130, and
Order of Railway Conductors, Division No. 91 v. Portland Railway,
Light and Power Co. (Portland, Oreg.), (Docket No. 210), were given
in the article in the M o n t h l y L a b o r R e v i e w for January, to which
reference has been made. The parties in this case, having since
reached an agreement modifying in part this award, petitioned the
National War Labor Board for approval of said agreement. Approval
was entered, fixing a new scale of wages as follows:
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
N EW W AGE
SCALE F O R C E R T A IN E M P L O Y E E S O F P O R T L A N D (O R E G .) R A IL W A Y ,
L IG H T A N D P O W E R CO.
Con Brake- Motor- Trolleyductors. men.
men.
men.
Branch of service.
Cents.
Passenger and express...........
Freight:1
Local..................................
Work train........................
Night yard........................
Day yard..........................
Cents.
Cents.
Cents.
54
47
54
46
56
56
60
50
47
47
56
56
60
46
46
48
46
52
51
59
1 Also hostlers, 50 cents per hour.
CONCILIATION WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, FEBRUARY 16,
1919, TO MARCH 15, 1919.
Under the organic act of the department, which gives the Secre
tary of Labor the authority to mediate in labor disputes through the
appointment, in his discretion, of commissioners of conciliation, the
Secretary exercised his good offices between February 16, 1919, and
March 15, 1919, in 72 labor disputes. The companies involved,
the number of employees affected, and the results secured, so far as
information is available, were as follows :
STATEM ENT SHOW ING TH E NUM BER OF LABOR D ISPU T ES H A N D L E D B Y THE
D E PA R TM EN T OF LABOR THROUGH ITS COMMISSIONERS OF CONCILIATION,
FE B . 16 TO MAR. 15, 1919.
Workmen affected.
Name.
Directly.
Controversy, John Morrell Sons Packing Co.,
Ottumwa, Iowa.
Strike, State Barrel Co., Cleveland, Ohio............
Threatened strike, building trades, New Y ork..
Threatened strike, Bethlehem Steel & Lebanon
Valley, Lebanon, Pa.
Strike, textile workers, 10 firms, Columbus, G a..
Controversy, blacksmiths, Ironmasters Associa
tion, Nor folk, Va.
Controversy, Brotherhood of Painters, Decora
tors and Paperhangers of America: Gohagen
Ship Yards, Averne, Long Island; Curtiss
Aeroplane Co., Mineola, Long Island; L. W.
F. Engineering Co., Long Island City, Long
Island; Wright-Martin Aeroplane, Long Is
land City, Long Island; Lange Propeller Co.,
Whitestone, Long Island.
Strike, Helvetia Milk Condensing Co., Wellsboro, Pa.
Controversy, textile situation, Passaic, N. J ___
Controversy^ Spruce Cut U p'P lant, War De
partment, Vancouver, Wash.
Strike, boilermakers and helpers, Standard Oil
Co., Riverside plant, Louisville, Ky.
Threatened strike, electrical workers, Founda
tion Shipyard, Savannah, Ga.
Strike, silk operatives, Viscose Co., Roanoke, Va.
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Result.
Indi
rectly.
45
Adjusted.
10
25,000
1,200
8
100,000
3; 700
9,225
70
1,500
2,000
600
Do.
Pending.
Adjusted.
Unable to adjust.
Adj usted.
It was decided there was no com
plaint, hence no case. If interna
tional approves, a new case will bo
prepared and submitted as sug
gested by commissioner.
550
Adjusted.
4
Pending.
Adjusted.
50
200
Do.
20
3,600
Do.
500
250
[1201 ]
There is no grievance as to wages or
hours. Three women state that
the superintendent gave them
four hours either to quit their or
ganization or leave the employ of
company. The general manager
denies this and refuses to meet
committee.
256
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW,
STATEM ENT SHOWING THE N U M BER OF LABOR D ISPU T ES H A N D L E D B Y THE
D EPA R TM E N T OF LABOR THROUGH ITS COMMISSIONERS OF CONCILIATION
FE B . 16 TO MAR. 15, 1919—Continued.
WTorkmen affected.
Name.
Directly.
Controversy, chain makers and others, Cleve
land Chain & Manufacturing Co., Wapakoneta, Ohio.
110
Strike, chain makers and others, Cleveland
Cham and Manufacturing Co., Cleveland,
Ohio.
Threatened strike, Machinists’ Union, WheelerSchebler Co., Indianapolis, Ind.
Strike, machinists, Oakland Shipyards, Oak
land, Calif.
Strike, boiler makers, W alsh Iron Works, H ol
yoke, Mass.
Strike, blacksmiths, Cooper Iron Works, Jack
sonville, Fla.
Controversy, West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co.,
Luke, Md.
Controversy, employees shoe industry, Greater
New York, N. Y.
Controversy, Keystone Steel Co., Peoria, 111___
Strike, colored longshoremen, Key West, F la ...
50
Controversy, Atlantic Refinery Co., Brunswick,
Ga.
Strike, garment and auto workers, Chicago Rub
ber Clothing Co., Racine, Wis.
Controversy, carpenters, Michigan City, Ind___
Controversy, blacksmiths, polishers, grinders,
Evansville Tool Co., Evansville, Ind.
Controversy, M achinists’ Union, Connersville,
Ind.
Strike, cement workers, Lehigh Portland
Cement Co., New Castle, Pa.
Threatened strike, carpenters versus contractors
and Lumber Co.’s Association, East Liver
pool, Ohio.
Strike, coppersmiths in 12 shops, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Strike, United Shoe Workers, Ogden Shoe Co.,
Milwaukee, Wis.
65
Company positively declined me
diation at this time. Claimed
lack of orders and that resump
tion of operations would occur
when the old employees returned
under old conditions or when bus
iness warranted. At that time
they would appreciate services of
commissioner.
Same as above.
10
30
Adjusted.
200
25
Pending.
Do.
Do.
Company declines tomeet commit
tee.
Pending.
1,200
15,000
6
350
215
250
70
52
300
200
Adjusted.
There is nothing to be done, but it
is believed that matter will auto
m atically adjust itself.
Pending.
Do.
Adjusted.
Do.
D o.
450
250
150
200
78
150
Controversy, laborers, Government warehouses,
South Schenectady, N . Y.
400
Strike, textile workers, North Grosvenorsdale,
Conn.
Controversy, longshoremen coal trimmers, New
Orleans, La.
Controversy, Dupont Chemical Co., Hopewell,
Va.
Controversy, machinists, Marshall-McClintock
Co., Pottstown, Pa.
Strike, boilermakers, Downington Iron Works,
Downington, Pa.
Strike, street car men and threatened sympa
thetic strike, Savannah, Ga.
Controversy, machinists, Ilart-Parr Co., Charles
City, Iowa.
Controversy, iron and steel workers, Cambria
Steel Co., Johnstown, Pa.
125
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Result.
Indi
rectly.
200
Do.
When request for commissioner
was made it was not expected
that so prompt a response would
he made. As the carpenters
have not yet made anticipated
demand commissioner was asked
to defer action until later date.
Pending.
This company has Government
contract and refuses to meet
committee.
Laborers are not organized: have
not objected to rate of pay.
Matter was brought up in trades
assembly and claim was made
that low rate paid in warehouses
tended to keep down rate in other
employments.
Pending.
Do.
Do.
£0
2,500
07
100
Do.
Pending.
150
35
1,000
1,000
14,000
[1202]
Adjusted.
Unable to adjust.
Company refused mediation.
257
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
STATEM ENT SHOW ING THE N U M BER OF LABOR D ISPU T ES H A N D LE D B Y THE
D E PA R TM EN T OF LABOR THROUGH ITS COMMISSIONERS OF CONCILIATION,
FE B . 16 TO MAR. 15, 1919—Concluded.
Workmen affected.
Name.
Directly.
Treatment strike, metal trades workmen,
Tona wanda, N. Y.
Strike; metal trades workers, National Carbon
Co., Niagara Falls, N. Y.
Controversy, retail clerks versus merchants,
Coeur d ’Alene, Idaho.
Threatened strike, independent packing houses,
St. Louis, Mo.
Strike, Highland Park Manufacturing Co.,
Charlotte, N. C.
Controversy, timber workers, Coeur d ’Alene and
St. Maries, Idaho.
Strike; plumbers and steamfitters, Atlantic
City, N. J.
Strike, Iten Cracker Co., Clinton, Iowa.................
Result.
Indi
rectly.
86
290
75
350
20
50
Pending.
Do.
Adjusted.
Pending.
2,000
Do.
74
270
79
Unable to adjust.
Pending.
160
30
Strike, Nashville Bridge Co., Nashville, Tenn..
Controversy, union clerks, Snow-Palmer Co.,
Bloomington, 111.
Controversy, Sclioen & Jackson, Philadelphia,
72
1
150
30
Threatened strike, ferries, railway marine equip
ment, New York, N. Y.
Controversy, carpenter versus superintendent of
buildings, New York Central, Englewood, 111.
Threatened strike, linemen, City Light & Power
Co., Fort W ayne, Ind.
Threatened strike, linemen, Fort Wayne &
Northern Indiana Traction Co., Fort Wayne,
Ind.
Controversy, boilermakers, Boston and vicinity,
Mass.
Strike, Helvetia Condensed Milk Co., Westfield and Osceola, Pa.
Threatened strike, oil field, gas well, and refinery
workers, Coalinga, Calif.
Controversy, bricklayers, masons, plasterers,
Atlantic City, N . J.
Controversy, longshoremen, Savannah, Ga.........
Lockout, harness and saddle makers versus
firms, Nashville, Tenn.
Threatened strike, sheet metal workers, 14 firms,
Atlantic City, N. J., and vicinity.
Strike, electrical workers, Atlantic City, N . J ..
Threatened strike, painters, Atlantic City, N. J ..
Controversy, Kilby Car & Foundry Co., Annis
ton, Ala.
Threatened strike, Home Telephone & Tele
graph Co., Fort Wayne, Tnd.
Controversy, Pensacola Marine Construction
Co., Pensacola, Fla.
Lockout, wooden-box makers, Pansom Co.,
Nashville, Tenn.
Strike; bakers, Bozeman, M ont. ..........................
Controversy, negro workmen, steel plants,
Coatesville, Pa.
Controversy, Central Iron & Coal Co., Holt, Ala.
Controversy, Sem'et-Solvay Co., Holt, A la..........
8,000
Neither side will yield demands.
Company would not accept arbi
tration.
Adjusted.
Do.
Pending.
Adjusted.
1
Do.
20
50
Do.
14
50
Do.
Pending.
750
Adjusted.
Pending.
233
350
Adjusted.
Pending.
Do.
53
Adjusted.
11
154
Do.
Do.
Pending.
12
200
Adjusted.
Pending.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
The following cases, noted as pending in the March statement,
hat^e been disposed of:
Lockout, Western Drop Forge Co., Marion, Ind.
Lockout, building trades, Kansas City, Mo.
Strike, foundry employees, 22 foundries, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Strike, journeymen painters, O. H. Guttridge Co., Atlantic City, N. J.
Controversy, National Match Co., Joliet, 111.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1203]
258
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
Controversy, Western Weighing Association, Chicago, 111.
Controversy, machinists, molders, patternmakers, blacksmiths, Flory Manufactur
ing Co., Bangor, Pa.
Controversy, shipyards of northwest, Tacoma and Seattle, Wash.
Controversy, United Iron Works, Iola, Kans.
Strike, silk mills, Paterson, N. J.
Strike, Rose & Rose, Cleveland, Ohio.
Controversy, Midland Milling Co., Kansas City, Mo.
Walkout, shipyard employees, Foundation Shipyard, Savannah, Ga.
Controversy, Walnut Creek Flour Mill, Great Bend, Kans.
Strike, Wright Lathe Co., Chicago, 111.
Controversy, Mundorf Chain Co., York, Pa.
Controversy, Sawmills, Orange, Tex.
Controversy, carmen and helpers, Sinclair Refining Co., Coffeyville, Kans.
Controversy, electrical workers versus electrical contractors, Atlanta, Ga.
Controversy, Southern California Box Co., Los Angeles, Calif.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1204]
IMMIGRATION.
IMMIGRATION IN JANUARY, 1919.
In January, 1918, the number of immigrant aliens admitted into
the United States decreased 9 per cent as compared with the number
admitted in December, 1917. February showed an increase over
January of 16.2 per cent, while March as compared with February
showed a decrease of 11.9 per cent. April as compared with March
showed an increase of 46.7 per cent, May as compared with April an
increase of 59.5 per cent, while June as compared with May decreased
6.4 per cent. July as compared with June showed a decrease of 45.4
per cent. In August there was an increase of 1.1 per cent over the
number reported for July, and the number in September showed an
increase of 27.2 per cent over the number for August. October
compared with September showed an increase of 17.7 per cent and
November compared with October showed a decrease of 27.8 per cent.
In December the decrease from November was 26.5 per cent, and
January, 1919, compared with December, 1918, shows a decrease of
8.3 per cent.
IMMIGRANT ALIENS ADM ITTED INTO THE U N IT E D STATES IN SPECIFIED MONTHS
JANUARY, 1913, TO JAN U A RY , 1918.
1919
Month.
January.......................
Msircb
AfP
Jill] C
July
a u^n
September
October
December
1913
46,441
59 156
96 958
136 371
137 262
176 261
138J244
126*180
1367247
134’ 440
1(14* 671
95*387
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1914
44,708
46,873
92*621
119^885
107’ 796
71' 728
60* 377
37’ 706
29'143
30'416
26' 2.98
20* 944
1913
1915
15,481
13,873
19,263
24^532
26' 069
22'598
21 504
21,949
24* 513
25 450
24 545
18' 901
17,293
24,710
27,586
30,560
31,021
30^ 764
25,035
29,975
36'398
37,056
34,437
30' 902
1917
24,745
19,238
15,512
20,523
10', 487
11,095
9,367
10,047
9,228
9,284
6,446
6,987
Number.
Per cent
increaso
over
preceding
month.
9,852
18.3
1918
6,356
7,388
6; 510
9', 541
15,217
14,247
7; 780
7,862
9', 997
11,771
8; 499
10,748
1
Decrease.
[1205]
259
260
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW
Classified by nationality, the number of immigrant aliens admitted
into the United States during specified periods and in January, 1919,
was as follows:
IMMIGRANT A LIEN S ADM ITTED INTO TH E U N IT E D STATES DURING SPECIFIED
PE R IO D S AND IN JA N U A RY , 1919, BY NATIO N A LITY .1
Year ending June 30—
January,
1919.
Nationality.
1915
'
Armenian ............................................................................
Bohemian and Moravian...................................................
Bulgarian, Serbian, Montenegrin....................................
Chinese
.............................................................................
( roatian and Slovenian ....................................................
Cuban.....................................................................................
Dalmatian, Bosnian, Herzegovinian..............................
Dut,eh and Flem ish............................................................
Hast Indian...........................................................................
E nglish..................................................................................
F innish..................................................................................
French....................................................................................
German..................................................................................
Greek......................................................................................
Hebrew..................................................................................
Irish ......................................................................................
Italian (north)......................................................................
Italian (south)......................................................................
Japanese.................................................................................
Korean...................................................................................
Lithuanian............................................................................
M agyar..................................................................................
Mexican..................................................................................
Pacific Islander....................................................................
P olish.....................................................................................
Portuguese............................................................................
Roumanian...........................................................................
Russian..................................................................................
Ruthenian (R ussniak).......................................................
Scandinavian........................................................................
Scotch ....................................................................................
Slovak....................................................................................
Spanish..................................................................................
Snanish-American...........................................................
Syrian....................................................................................
Turkish..................................................................................
W elsh.....................................................................................
West Indian (except Cuban).............................. .............
Other neonles___ I.............. ..............................................
T o ta l.......................................................
5,660
'932
1,651
3,506
2,469
1,912
3,402
305
6,675
82
38,662
3; 472
12,636
20', 729
15,187
26,497
23,503
10,660
46,557
8,609
146
2,638
Z, 604
10,993
6
9,065
4,376
l' 200
4 ' 459
2,933
24' 263
14,310
2,069
5,705
1,667
1,767
273
1,390
'823
1,877
326,700
1916
964
642
3,146
2,239
'791
3,442
114
6,443
80
36,168
5,649
19,518
26,792
15; 108
20,636
4,905
33,909
8, 711
599
981
17,198
4,502
12' 208
'953
4,858
1,365
19,172
13,515
577
9,259
1,881
676
216
983
948
3,388
298,826
1917
1918
7,971
1,221
'327
1,134
1,843
'305
3,428
94
5,393
69
32,246
5,900
24,405
9,682
25,919
17,342
17,462
3,796
35,154
8,925
194
479
434
16,438
10
3,109
10,194
522
3,711
1,211
19,596
13' 350
'244
15,019
2,587
976
5,706
221
74
150
1,576
33
1,179
15
2,200
61
12,980
1/867
6,840
1, 992
2,002
3,672
4,657
i;074
5,234
10,168
149
135
32
17,602
17
668
2,319
'l5 5
793
1,369
2,097
1,513
49
S, 741
5,204
35
7,909
2'231
'210
24
278
732
314
295,403
110,618
1 The total number of departures of emigrant aliens in January was 8,099.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[ 1206 ]
209
7
23
34
109
1
40
2
167
11
1,783
94
1,082
144
66
312
594
110
150
736
G
7
5
2,067
55
83
6
95
6
559
746
6
275
153
14
52
32
11
9,852
PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR,
OFFICIAL—UNITED STATES.
A l a s k a . —Report
o f the Governor, 1918. Washington, 1918.
by the U. S . Department o f the Interior.)
118 pp.
Map. (Issued
In the section devoted to labor conditions the report states that “ every industry
in the Territory is suffering from a shortage of labor” and cites in detail the diffi
culties in regard to labor unrest occasioned by the undetermined application of a law
passed by the Territorial legislature of 1917 providing for an eight-hour day and no
more, with no provision for overtime.
California.-—Industrial accident commission. Report, July 1, 1917, to June SO, 1918.
Sacramento, 1919.
255 pp.
This report was summarized in the Monthly Labor R eview for March, 1919 (pp.
252 to 254).
----- State Commission of Immigration and Housing. Americanization; the California
program. Prepared January, 1918, revised November, 1918.
ary, 1919. 19 pp.
Sacramento, Janu
An outline of a working program of Americanization, presented by the commission
as the result of its own successful pioneering efforts in this field, with the offer of its
hearty service to any and all counties of the State.
—— State Commission o f Immigration and Housing.
1919. 48 pp.
Heroes o f freedom.
Sacramento,
This pamphlet is intended especially for teachers, and offers to them the following
aids in increasing the value of the schools to future citizens: “ 1, A suggested ‘program’
for the promotion of Americanization among school children through the study of
heroes of the past, with a bibliography to assist in its use,” and “ 2, ‘The family tree
of America,’ showing that not only our people and our language, but our very soil
have come to us from many sources, to make a new and composite nation.”
Massachusetts.-—Bureau o f Statistics. Labor legislation in Massachusetts in 1918.
Boston, Oct. 1, 1918. 95 pp. Labor bulletin No. 125 (Being Part I I I o f the A n
nual report on the Statistics o f Labor fo r 1918).
Montana.—Department o f Labor and Industry. Third biennial report, 1917-1918.
Helena, 1918. 215 pp.
States that “ strikes and labor disturbances of an unusually severe nature seriously
crippled Montana industries during the past two years,” particularly the mining
and lumber industries; details of many of these strikes are given in the report. Dis
cusses general conditions in the lumber industry, noting that the companies now
operate on an 8, 9, or 10 hour basis instead of working from “ dayligh1 till dark” ;
that no uniform system prevails among the different companies for the payment of
employees; and that safeguards about dangerous machinery and the elimination of
carelessness have materially reduced the number of accidents in recent years. A
table of wages paid in the lumber industry in western Montana in July, 1918, is
given. A chapter on cost of living presents tables showing wholesale and retail prices
of articles of food on November 1, 1918, as compared with prices in 1900, 1910, 1914,
and 1916. The report recommends legislation (1) that will insure prompt payment
of wages due laborers who may be discharged or who voluntarily quit their employ
ment; (2) that will prevent deductions from wages for road and poor taxes and hos
pital fees; and (3) that will protect workingmen against employment agency abuses
by abolishing all employment offices conducted for profit. It is suggested that some
of the provisions of the workmen’s compensation law need to be made more flexible,
others should be changed, and perhaps other new ones added.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1207]
261
262
MONTHLY LABOE KEVIEW.
N evada.— Industrial Commission. Biennial report reviewing the administration o f
the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act fo r period July 1, 1916, to June SO, 1918,
Carson City, 1919. 4-0 pp.
This report is noted on pages 216 to 218 of this issue of the Monthly Labor R eview.
—— Labor Commission. Second biennial report, 1917-18. Carson City, 1919. 127 pp.
Presents a directory of labor organizations in Nevada; statistical data as to wages
and hours of labor in the various industries; tables showing the number of women
employed, their average wages and average hours worked per day; a compilation of
labor laws; a review of the work accomplished through mediation and conciliation,
and an account ,of the work of the department in the enforcement of labor laws. The
following table, compiled from data reported by 2,121 firms, shows the average daily
wages, the average hours per day, and the average pay check for November, 1917, of
all employees, and of female employees in the State, in 1917-18:
NUM BER OF EM PLOYEES, AVERAGE D A ILY W AGES, AND A V ERAGE IIOURS OF
LABOR IN N E V A D A IN 1917-18, AND AVERAGE PA Y FOR NOVEM BER, 1917, BY
IN D U ST R IE S.
Females.
All employees.
Aver Aver
age
age
pay for Num
hours Novem
ber.
per
ber,
day.
1917.
Aver Aver
age
age
pay for
hours N
ovemper
ber,
day.
1917
Num
ber.
Aver
age
daily
wages.
Farming and stock raising.................... 4,486
Mines, mills, and quarries.................... 11,358
Manufacturing......................................... 1,323
5,148
Railroads..................................................
Trades and merchandise....................... 2,047
Public service........................................... 1,266
75
Professional service................................
861
Hotels, cafés, and saloons......................
326
Telegraph and telephone......................
364
Transfers and garages............................
$2. 04
4.59
3.97
3.52
3. 52
4.12
3. 22
2.58
2.63
3. 83
9.9
8.0
8.7
9.5
8.6
7.5
8.1
9.0
8.0
9.0
$51. 89
114.56
85.09
89.60
91.85
98.16
89. 57
66.80
61. 38
105. 20
269
113
44
89
341
702
57
292
130
13
$1.46
2.40
2.17
2.26
2.11
4.03
2.59
1. 27
2.07
2.39
10.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
8.0
7.0
7.0
8.0
7.3
7.7
$35. 82
59. 53
42. 21
59.91
56.09
88.94
69.40
39. 60
45.68
50.89
All industries.................................... 27,254
3. 73
8. 7
93.31
2,050
2.59
7.8
62.02
Industry.
Aver
age
daily
wages.
N ew Y ork.— State Board o f Charities. Division o f mental defect and delinquency.
Bureau o f analysis and investigation. The causes o f dependency, based on a survey
o f Oneida County. Albany, 1918. 465 pp. Eugenics and Social Welfare Bulletin
No. X V .
A singularly readable discussion of dependency in what is described as a typical
up-State county of New York. The thesis of the report is that dependency is the
result of a social reaction to environment due to individual peculiarities, and that
therefore no general causes for dependency can be assigned, but that each case
demands careful study in order that proper treatment may be prescribed.
Pauperism must for the future be a problem of diagnosis and discrimination. If
every case applying for public or private relief were passed through a district clinic
for mental hygiene a decision could be made as to intelligence, capacity, constitutional
deviation, and acquired disease; and the medical, social, and economic future mapped
out on the sure ground of thorough understanding. The case in question would then
be sent to that institution or community welfare organization where the special
needs of the handicapped individual could be met, treatment instituted as necessary,
and a vocational program carried out. The wounded of the industrial world would
thus be rejuvenated and assisted to help themselves.
This program is specially urged in the case of children, for whom it would be pre
ventive rather than remedial. Every child who is mentally or physically retarded
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1208]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
263
In school work is a potential candidate for future dependency or, possibly,
delinquency.
It should be the function of those in charge of the school classes containing retarded
children to see that they receive such a diagnosis; that the mental defect or mental
deviation or physical handicap is actually and adequately recognized. This done,
the character, degree, and extent of the scholastic education best suited to the child’s
needs should be mapped out, and at the same time, through special tests, the type
of vocational training best adapted to the main trends of that child’s personality
determined.
New York (City).—Department o f Health. Monthly Bulletin, November, 1918. Pp.
241-264.
Contains an article on Health of workers in garages, which gives a brief account
of the results of a study, made in May and June, 1918, of 43 garages, to determine
the dangers to health, principally from fumes and gase3, alleged by various labor
organizations to exist in these places.
Vermont.—Commissioner o f industries.
1918.
Rutland, 1918.
Biennial report fo r the term ending June 30,
17 pp.
This report is noted on page 219 of this issue of the Monthly Labor R eview.
United States.— Congress. House.
Committee on labor. Hearings on H. R .
12634, a bill to encourage instruction in the hygiene o f maternity and infancy, and to
extend proper care fo r maternity and infancy; to provide fo r cooperation with the
States in the promotion o f such instruction and care in rural districts; to appropriate
money and regulate its expenditure, and fo r other purposes. January 15 and 28,
1919. Washington, 1919. 60 pp.
------------ Senate. Committee on Education and Labor. Hearing on S. 5397, Emergency
public works board. A bill to provide fo r the commencement or prosecution o f public
worics in order to provide increased opportunities fo r employment during the period
o f demobilization and industrial readjustment, and fo r other purposes. Washington,
1919. 98 pp.
—— Department o f the Interior. Bureau o f Education. Home education, by Ellen C.
Lombard. Washington, 1919. 13 pp. Bulletin, 1919, No. 3.
In these advance sheets from the biennial survey of education in the United States,
1916-1918, the author describes the educational work done by Federal, State,
and local agencies in their efforts to conserve childhood and youth.
------------------ The educational system o f South Dakota. Washington, 1918. 304 p.
Bulletin, 1918, No. 31.
This survey, which, at the request of the South Dakota Educational Survey Com
mission, was made under the direction of the United States Commissioner of Educa
tion, is a comprehensive study of the educational system of the State.
_______ ____ Vocational guidance and the public schools, by W. C. Ryan, jr. Wash
ington, 1919, 151 pp.
B ulletin, 1918, No. 24.
This study carries out the idea suggested in its title. After discussing the field of
vocational guidance, which includes a definition of the term and a statement of the
relation of such guidance to general educational progress, an account of the develop
ment and growth of the movement is given. Statistics on school-leaving and employ
ment demonstrate the need for vocational guidance, while an accumulation of material
regarding occupations suggests to schools and teachers many lines along which their
activities should be directed. Chapter V II is devoted to recent English experience
with juvenile employment during the war and its significance for the United States.
The bulletin closes with a comprehensive bibliography on the various phases of
vocational guidance and two appendixes, one covering typical job analyses from the
Richmond and the Minneapolis vocational education surveys; the other presenting a
list of public high schools which report vocation bureaus or similar departments.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[1209]
MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
264
United States.—Department o f Labor.
registration test. Washington, 1919.
laneous series, No. 12.
Children’’s Bureau. A n outline for a birth13 pp. Bureau publication No. 54, Miscel
Prepared for the use of organizations desiring to conduct a house-to-house investi
gation of birth registration.
------------National War Labor Board. Organization and by-laws for collective bar
gaining committees. Lnstituted by the National War Labor Board for Bridgeport,
Conn. [ Washington, 1918], 18 pp.
This plan is submitted “ as a means of developing a clearer understanding of the
mutual problems appertaining to the company and its employees, which it is hoped
to obtain by means of a free interchange of opinions and suggestions in the committee
meetings on all matters of mutual concern and interest within the business.”
------------ Woman in Industry Service. Labor laws for women in industry in Indi
ana. Report o f a survey as submitted to the governor of Indiana.
1919.---29 pp. Bulletin No. 2, December 81, 1918.
Washington,
This report is reviewed on pp. 188 to 190 of this issue of the Monthly Labor
R eview.
■-----
Federal Board for Vocational Education. Clothing for the fam ily. Bulletin
No. 23. December, 1918. Home Economics Series, No. 1. Washington, 1919. 116
pp. Illustrated. Bibliography.
Outlines courses designed to solve the problems of how to purchase materials wisely
and how to make and select garments which will be appropriate to the needs of the
family for sanitary, attractive, and economic clothing.
__— ----- Safety and fire protection engineering. Opportunity monograph, Vocational
rehabilitation series, No. 6.
Washington, January, 1919. 12 pp.
Opportunity monograph, Vocational rehabilitation
series, No. 9. Washington, December, 1918. 14 pp.
—--------- Concrete construction and cement manufacture: Engineer or architect; Inspec
tor; Contractor; Superintendent; Foreman; Machine operators; Modelers; Pattern
makers. Opportunity monograph, Vocational rehabilitation series, No. 13. Wash
ington, January, 1919. 13 pp.
------------ Electrical employments with utility companies: Electric light and power com
panies; Electric railway companies; Telephone companies; Steam railroads. Op
portunity monograph, Vocational rehabilitation series, No. 14. Washington,
January, 1919. 19 pp.
----- - ----- Electrical construction, maintenance, and repair occupations. Electrical
contracting and repairing; Plant and factory electrical maintenance; Electrical in
spection; Work in storage-battery service stations; Electrical automobile work.
Opportunity monograph, Vocational rehabilitation series, No. 15. Washington,
January, 1919. 16 pp.
------------ The law as a vocation. Opportunity monograph, Vocational rehabilitation
series, No. 16. Washington, January, 1919. 11 pp.
------------ The training o f teachers o f vocational agriculture. Bulletin No. 27, Agri
cultural series, No. 5. Washington, January, 1919. 47 pp.
------------ Oxyacetylene welding.
Discusses the kind and extent of training needed by the teacher of vocational agri
culture, the special facilities and conditions needed in order to carry on such training
successfully, and the place of an effective agricultural teacher-training system in the
scheme of vocational agricultural education contemplated and intended to be pro
moted by the Vocational Education Act.
----- Interstate Commerce Commission. Collisions, derailments, and other accidents
resulting in injury to persons, equipment, or roadbed, arising from the operation of
railways used in interstate commerce. October, November, and December, and year
1917. Accident bulletin No. 66. 82 pp. Collisions, etc., January, February, and
March, 1918. Accident bulletin No. 67. 35 pp. Washington, 1919.
Accident bulletin No. 6G is noted more fully on pages 198 and 199.
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United States.—Shipping Board. Second annual report, 1918.
Washington, 1918.
212 pp.
A section of this report is devoted to the labor problems confronting the Shipping
Board, and to a statement of the activities of the various agencies through which the
board works in carrying out its labor program. These agencies include the Marine
and Dock Industrial Relations Division; a department which has general supervision
of labor questions pertaining to the operation of vessels and marine equipment; the
Shipbuilding Labor Adjustment Board, an independent organization which acts as
an adjustment agency in the field of construction; the National Adjustment Com
mission, a cooperating agency, representing also the War and Labor Departments,
which serves the same purpose for longshoremen; and the New York Harbor Wage
Adjustment Board, which has a similar function for the operators of harbor boats at
New York. Work in the field of industrial relations, with special attention to the
securing of labor, carried on by the Emergency Fleet Corporation, is also described
briefly.
----- Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. Industrial Relations Division.
Works committees and joint industrial councils.
delphia, January, 1919. 254 pp.
A report by A . B . Wolfe.
Phila
A discussion of both English and American experience in industrial relations under
war-time conditions. Among other things the problems involved in the organization
and functioning of works committees are dealt with in detail, the recommendations
of the Whitley committee and the general movement toward joint industrial councils
and works committees as agencies of so-called cooperative management are ex
plained, the theory upon which the advocates of cooperative management or indus
trial representation base their program is set forth, and special attention is given to
Ihe psychological basis and the relation between industrial democracy and manage
ment responsibility.
----- War Department. Adjutant General. Committee on classification o f personnel in
the Army. Personnel work in the United States Arm y.
1919. 15 pp.
Washington, January,
Summarizes the work done by the Army to discover the trade ability of each
soldier. States that in each 10,000 men 1,705 journeymen and 4,503 apprentices in
classified occupations were found. The remaining 3,792 were unclassified.
-------------------------- The right man in the right place in the Army. Washington [1919}.
68 pp.
Contains prints of all the charts and plates shown in the exhibit held in Washing
ton, January 13 to 31, inclusive, to show how the 'Army finds out what men can do
best and how it uses that ability; trade tests, demonstrated and illustrated by photo
graphs and models; how Army units are “ balanced” ; how officers’ ratings are sum
marized and used; and the results of Army personnel work in the present war. Fig
ures are given showing the number of technical and skilled workers needed by each
combat division.
_ — ------------ Trade specifications and index o f professions and trades in the Army.
Second edition. Washington, 1918. 239 pp. War Department document No. 774.
The purpose of this manual is to standardize vocational terminology in the Army
and to define the duties of specialists and skilled tradesmen required by its various
technical organizations. Each definition states the duties to be performed, the
qualifications of a well-trained, high-grade man or all-round journeyman who can
do this work, and the nearest equivalent or substitute occupations to be drawn upon
as a source of supply, if necessary.
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OFFICIAL—FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Australia (New South Wales).— Bureau o f Statistics.
Sydney, 1918.
843 pp.
Official yearbook, 1917.
Price, 2s. 6d.
Of interest to labor are chapters giving statistics on the mining industry, food and
prices, employment and industrial arbitration, manufacturing, agriculture, and
dairying. The report states that the wages of coal miners, who are paid varying
rates according to the selling price of coal per ton and the conditions of the seams
or places where the coal is mined, ranged from 3s. 5.4d. to 5s. 2.Id. (83.9 cents to
$1.26) per ton in the northern district, and were 2s. 9.4d. (67.8 cents) per ton in the
southern district. During 1917 the number of men employed in mines was 32,817,
an increase of 1,513 compared with 1916. During 1916 there were 34 fatal and 86
serious injuries in mining. A total of 292,983 persons—237,819 males and 55,164
females—were employed in all industries during the year ending June 30, 1917
(except for mining, which figures relate to the year ending December 31, 1917).
Of this number, 117,997 were engaged in manufacturing and 142,169 in agricultural
pursuits. A section on child labor shows that 5,053 children under 16 years of age—
2,604 males and 2,449 females—were employed in manufacturing in 1916-17, a
decrease of 130 compared with 1915-16. Women to the number of 26,638 were em
ployed in manufactories in 1916-17, an increase of 566 over 1915-16. Of the 289
industrial disputes during 1917, 262 were brought to a conclusion by the defeat of
one of the parties or by means of a truce, 22 were settled by arbitration, and 5 were
ended by replacement. In these strikes, 144,704 workers were involved and
2,861,595 working days were lost. Eighty-five strikes were over the question of
wages, 61 over working conditions, and 66 over employment of persons or classes of
persons.
Under the operation of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, £12,431 ($60,495.46)
was paid in respect of 52 deaths; £10,036 ($48,840.19) in respect of 123 cases of nonfatal accidents; and £29,635 ($144,218.73) in respect of 5,154 cases of disablement—
a total of £52,102 ($253,554.38).
(Canada (Quebec).— Minister o f Colonization, Mines, and Fisheries. General report
fo r the year ending June 30, 1918.
Quebec, 1918.
175 pp.
The report is in seven parts. Part I, which forms the bulk of each report, is devoted
to colonization and gives a detailed statement of work done on colonization roads
during each of the two years covered. Part II gives reports of colonization societies
and agencies; Part I II contains statistics of immigration; Part IV is the report of
the Bureau of Mines; Part V, the report on fisheries ana game; Part VI, the report
of the cadastral branch; and Part VII, the accountant’s report.
----- Minister o f Public Works and Labor. Report fo r the year ending 30th June,
1918.
Quebec, 1918.
185 pp.
Illustrated.
Tables.
Includes specific reports from inspectors concerning industrial accidents, child
labor, factory inspection, etc., and from provincial employment bureaus; also sta
tistics relating to the application of the act respecting labor disputes in Quebec,
showing their causes and the results of the disputes since the enforcement of the act
in March, 1901; and other matter relating to labor.
—— Provincial Secretary’s Department. Bureau o f Statistics. Statistical yearbook, 5th
year.
Quebec, 1918.
585 pp.
F rance.— Departement de la Seine. Préfecture de Police. Protection des enfants du
premier âge.
Rapport annuel, annee 1916.
Melun, 1917.
70 pp.
Annual report for 1916 concerning the protection of infants, including medical
inspection, statistics of cases receiving care, morbidity, and mortality; statistics of
day nurseries; and other matter.
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F rance.— Ministère de VAgriculture et du Ravitaillement.
Recueil des lois, décrets,
arrêtés, circulaires, rapports, documents intéressant le ravitaillement de la France.
Vol. 3 (Apr. 1 to Sept. 1, 1918). Paris, 1918. 483 pp. Price, 10 francs net.
As indicated by the title this volume is a compilation of laws, decrees, and other
official documents relative to food and other supplies, maximum prices, food restric
tions, exportation, etc.
Great Britain.— Home Office.
shops.
London, 1918.
Messrooms and canteens at small factories and work
9 pp. Illustrated. Price, 3d. net.
The Home Office is empowered, under the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act, to require the provision of messrooms and canteens for industrial
workers in cases where such provision seems necessary for securing the welfare of
the workers. The provision of canteens at the larger works was dealt with in a
pamphlet entitled “ Feeding the munition worker” issued by the canteen committee
of the central control board (liquor traffic), which was noted in the January, 1917,
issue of the Monthly R eview, page 168; and in the final report of the health of
munitions workers committee, summarized in the Monthly Labor R eview of Sep
tember, 1918, pages 40 to 53. This present pamphlet is designed to assist occupiers
of comparatively small works in providing their workers with suitable accommodations
and facilities for taking their meals. It considers the matters of numbers to bo
provided for, situation, design, messroom and kitchen, lavatories, and cloakrooms,
management and maintenance, and attendants.
—— Ministry o f Labor. Reports upon openings in industry suitable fo r disabled sailors
and soldiers. No. 17. Engineering. Part 2. 1918. 22 pp. No. 18, Pictureframe making. 19T8. 6 pp. No. 19. The brush-making trade. September, 1918.
9 pp. No. 20. Electricity, power and light: generation, distribution, installation,
and maintenance. 1918. 11 pp. No. 21. Distributive trades. 1918. 12 pp.
No. 22. Lettering. 1918. 14 pp.
Issued in collaboration with the Ministry of Pensions. For list of numbers 1 to
see Monthly Labor R eview for August, 1918 (p. 111).
—— Ministry o f Reconstruction. Advisory council. Report . . .
on the employ
16
ment on the land o f returned sailors and soldiers, together with a report by Mr. R. V.
Lennard. London, 1919. 39 pp. Price, Is. net.
The report considers briefly means of ascertaining in what numbers returning
sailors and soldiers desire or are willing to settle on the land and the methods of dis
seminating information as to agricultural prospects. Following this introduction re
lated subjects, as Housing, The acquisition of land, Small holdings, Training, Wages
and employment, The case of disabled men, Trade organization, Village life, and others,
are discussed in greater detail. Three appendixes contain: A summary of recommen
dations; Form proposed by the Board of Agriculture for circulation with covering
letter to soldiers working on farms in the country; and a Memorandum on housing
policy.
----------- Engineering trades (new industries) committee. Report. London, 1918.
39 pp.
Cd. 9226.
Price, 6d. net.
-------- :— F inal report o f the civil war workers' committee. Substitute labor. London ,
1918.
8 pp.
Cd. 9228.
Price, Id. net.
This report relates to women in clerical and commercial occupations, with separate
consideration given to temporary clerks employed in Government departments.
The Board of Trade employment returns for April, 1918, show an increase of 878,000
in the number of women employed in all industries since July, 1914. The committee
considers that the “ whole question of the future position of women in clerical and com
mercial occupations, not only in London but in the Provinces, is one of great impor
tance and difficulty.” As aids in civil demobilization the committee recommends that
a committee be appointed to work in connection with the labor resettlement committee
to consider the general conditions of women’s employment in these occupations, that
the employment exchange now working with the Civil Service Commission shall as
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MONTHLY LABOE EEYIEW.
eist in the work of demobilization, and that a complete register of temporary Govern
ment clerks shall be kept. Advisory committees to work with employment exchanges
are recommended for both Government and other clerical workers. Arrangements for
intensive courses of professional training in special circumstances are also advocated.
It is recommended that vacancies both in the permanent and temporary rolls shall as
far as possible be filled by displaced temporary clerks and men discharged from the
forces, and that notice of dismissal shall not be less than a month. The committee
advises that the question of the future employment of women on railways be settled
at once by the railway companies and the trade-unions.
Great B ritain.— M inistry o f Reconstruction.
Report.
London, 1918. 80 pp.
Cd. 9230.
Machinery o f Government committee.
Price, 6d. net.
This report is reviewed on pages 78 to 82 of the present issue of the Monthly
Labor R eview.
—— —— Reconstruction problems 10. Labor conditions and adult education. London,
1919.
20 pp.
This pamphlet is a summary of the report of the adult education committee of the
Ministry of Reconstruction, which was noted in the Monthly Labor R eview
for November, 1918 (pp. 63-70).
------------ Reconstruction problems 11. Commercial forestry. London, 1919. 16 pp.
Price, 2d. net.
An endeavor to present in outline a concrete example of an afforestation scheme
deemed suitable to the conditions of Great Britain and Ireland. The subject is treated
under the heads of The position before the war; The position in 1918; Commercial
forestry; The renovation and extension of forest areas; The acquisition or control of
land; The extent of the land to be controlled; Distribution of forest areas; Classifica
tion of areas by methods of control; The rate of afforestation; The finance of the scheme;
Some notes on employment; and Other important factors in a forestry scheme.
------------Reconstruction problems 12. The resettlement o f officers. 1. Army and R.
A . F.
London, 1919.
28 pp.
Price, 2d. net.
This pamphlet considers the problem of the resettlement of the national brain
power, which has, during the past few years, been concentrated almost entirely on
the business of war. The term “ officer” is applied in this larger sense to men in the
commissioned ranks of the army and air force and even in civil life, as well as to those
who are officers in the purely technical military sense. The problem is to find the
most suitable employment for some 400,000 men of the officer type, who represent
the best brain power of the nation between the ages of 18 and 45 years approximately.
Besides those men who will need no assistance, five classes are considered: Those
who, when they entered the service, had not entered upon or commenced training
for any career; those whose training was interrupted; those who have been disabled
by injuries or sickness from returning to their former occupations; those who, by
reason of a change in their attitude of mind consequent upon their service in the
forces, are unwilling to resume their former occupations; and those selected from
the ranks of the old army who will choose to retire on the special terms applicable
to them. The scheme includes education, State help, service gratuities, special
grants, disability compensation, training of the disabled, and other arrangements.
------------ Report on the work o f the ministry fo r the period ending 31st December, 1918.
London, 1919. 46 pp. Cd. 9231. Price, 6d. net.
An introductory chapter outlines the constitution and organization of the work of
the ministry, and separate chapters deal with the work of the different branches.
That devoted to work undertaken by the labor and industrial branch covers Demobili
zation of the forces, Civil resettlement, and Permanent policy. Chapters on the work
of the rural development branch and the social development branch—the main
business of the latter having been associated with the proposals for the establishment
of a ministry of health—are also of particular interest to labor.
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MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW.
G
B r i t a i n . — Ministry o f Reconstruction .,
Women’s Advisory Committee.
Interim report o f the subcommittee on the coordination o f the vocational training
o f women. London, 1918. 8 pp. Rrice, 3d. net.
reat
A digest of this report is given on pages 89 to 91. of this issue of the Monthly
Labor R eview.
I ndia.— Bureau o f Education.
1918.
26 pp.
Illustrated.
The education o f factory children in India.
Pamphlet No. 2. Price, 6 annas or Id.
Calcutta,
Describes the work done by certain schools of India maintained by the owners of
factories, tea gardens, and collieries, in providing for the education of the children
actually employed as well as of the children of employees. In a preface it is stated
that the difficulties in the way of the education of factory children are indifference,
opposition of parents who do not wish their children to feel themselves above manual
toil, the objection of managers to anything which may tend to remove labor, and the
fact that elementary education is not compulsory. A calculation made for certain
provinces in 1913 showed that 17 per cent of the children employed were actually
at school.
Mexico.— Secretaria de Industria, Comercio y Trabajo. Ley sobre pesas y medidas de
6 de Junio de 1905. Reglamento de la misma ley.
Mexico (city), 1918. 142 pp. Charts.
Decreto de 1 de Julio de 1918.
This is a compilation of the laws of Mexico relative to standardization of weights
and measures. The bureau of standards (oficina verificadora) is established in the
department of public works, and subsidiary offices are authorized in cities and munici
palities of commercial importance, to test instruments of weights and measures.
In places of lesser importance the authority to make tests is delegated to the municipal
authorities.
Spain.—Consejo Superior de Emigración. E l problema de la emigración.
1918.
pp. 305-408.
Madrid,
Boletín no. 95.
This volume consists of a number of studies prepared by various officials of thé
Spanish Emigration Office, and other public officials. Among the subjects discussed
are: Repatriation; emigration since the war; labor conditions in Brazil; manual
labor in France; and the problem of after-the-war emigration.
-------- — Instalación y asistencia de los emigrántes á Bordo. Madrid, 1918. pp.
499-537.
Boletín no. 97.
In presenting this report the inspector of emigration says: “ This presentation of
the various aspects relative to emigration is a frank expression of the necessities and
requirements of emigrants during their voyage, namely: Location, capacity, access,
ventilation, cleanliness and lighting of berths; character, dimensions and furnishings
of mattresses; size and location of decks, and freedom to utilize them; supply of drink
ing water, quality of bread, meals, regulations applying to emigrants, and price of
passage.
------------ Nuestra emigración por los puertos españoles en 1917. Características y
Modalidades del Éxodo. Madrid, 1918. . pp. 411-496. Boletín no. 96.
This report presents statistics of Spanish emigration from the various ports during
the year 1917. During the year 43,051 Spanish citizens emigrated. Of this number
28,251 left for Cuba, 3,772 for the United States, and 11,028 for Mexico, Porto Rico,
and Central and South American countries, of whom 8,677 left for Argentina. The
total number of immigrants was 37,701. Of these 13,410 returned from Cuba, 1,497
from the United States, and the others from Mexico, Porto Rico, and Central and
South American countries, of whom 19,320 were from Argentina.
Sweden.—Socialstyrelsen. Levnadskostnaderna i Sverige 1913-1914; Del II: Lokalmonografier, 7.
Uppsala, av K . Socialstyrelsen.
Stockholm, 1918.
92 pp.
Forms part 7 of a general investigation of the cost of living in Sweden in 1913-14.
This particular monograph is the result of the investigation in the city of Upsala.
1 1 0 4 5 1 °— 19------18
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MONTHLY LABOE REVIEW,
UNOFFICIAL.
American F ederation of L abor. Alabama branch. Official yearbook and buyer'»
guide. Proceedings, seventeenth annual convention, Tuscaloosa, Ala., May 20 to
22, 1918. Birmingham, 1918. 92 pp.
•----- Georgia branch. A nnual official proceedings, twentieth annual convention, Augusta,
Ga., A pril 17 to 20, 1918. Atlanta, 1918. 48 pp.
American Glass T rade Directory. Vest-pocket edition. Revised and complete list
of glass factories in the United States and Canada, also supplementary list of cutglass companies. Pittsburgh, Commoner Publishing Co., 1919. 90 pp. Price, $2.
American Labor P arty of Greater N ew Y ork. Platform and plan o f organi
zation, adopted at conference of trade-unions held in New York, January 11, 12,
1919. New York, 82 Union Square, 1919. 15 pp.
The American Labor Party is the result of a meeting of 884 delegates representing
organized labor in New York City, held on January 11 and 12, 1919. This pamphlet
contains the “ tentative” platform of this new party and the plan of organization.
The declaration of principles covers (1) Restoration of free speech, free press, and
free assemblage; (2) Public works to prevent unemployment; (3) The universal en
forcement of the American standard of living; (4) Public ownership of public utilities;
(5) Encouragement of agriculture and reduction of the cost of living; (6) Democratic
control of industry and commerce; (7) Democratic control of education; (8) Measures
to secure freedom and equality; (9) War referendum and military training; (10) Taxa
tion to finance increased governmental activities; (11) World peace and international
league of workers.
American Telephone and T elegraph Company. A nnual report o f the directors to
the stockholders fo r the year ending December 31, 1918.
Diagrams.
New ¡York, 1919.
60 pp.
A section devoted to the subject of employees’ benefit funds, the plan for which
has been in operation for six years, states that the entire cost of the plan up to and
including July 31, 1918, was paid by the companies, and that the cost during the
period of Federal control is paid by the Postmaster General, except in respect of cer
tain corporate employees. There were 367 former employees on the pension rolls on
December 31, 1918, a net increase of 53 during the year. The average pension paid
was $42 per month. There were 33,156 cases of sickness among employees eligible
to benefits during 1918, an increase of 13,726 over the previous year. The aggregate
sickness benefits paid during the year were $1,799,794, and the average period of
disability for cases completed was 33 days. Industrial accidents during the year
totaled 8,174, a decrease of 2,558 compared with 1917; and the total benefit payments
on account of accidental injuries were $525,126, including $125,905 for medical attend
ance, etc. Excluding accident cases included above, $399,647 was paid in death
benefits to dependent relatives of 391 employees who had been in the service for
five years or more; and $24,229 was paid for burial expenses for 120 employees leaving
no dependents.
Andrews, J ohn B. Labor in the peace treaty.
New York, American Association for
Labor Legislation, 131 East Twenty-third Street, 1919. 12 pp.
Proposals for international labor legislation from the United States point of view
for consideration at the Paris peace conference are given in this pamphlet.
Armour, J. Ogden. In the matter of the investigation o f the packing industry. Testi
mony of J. Ogden Armour on behalf of Armour 6c Co., January 21, 1919, before
the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, in the House o f Representatives.
Washington, 1919. 64 pp.
This testimony was given at the hearing on the bill (H. R. 13324) which provides
for the acquisition and ownership, or the regulation, control, and operation by the
United States, of stockyards, exchange buildings, rendering plants, serum plants,
market newspapers, refrigerator cars, cattle cars, cold-storage houses, branch market
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LABOR REVIEW.
houses and all their several adjuncts, appurtenances and facilities, and the licensing
by the Government of the meat-packing industry.
Borea, Domingo.—La mutualidad y el cooperativismo en la República Argentina.
Buenos Aires, Talleres Gráficos de L.
J.
Rosso y Cía, 1917.
271 pp.
A digest of this volume appears on pages 117 to 120 of this issue of the R eview.
Bureau op I ndustrial R esearch. H ow the Government handled its labor problems
during the war. Handbook of the organizations associated with the National Labor
Administration. [New York, 465 West Twenty-third Street], 1919. 48 pp. Price, 25
cents.
Bureau of R ailway N ews and Statistics. Railway statistics o f the United States o f
America for the year ended December 31, 1917, compared with the oficial reports fo r
1916 and recent statistics of foreign railways. Prepared by Slason Thompson.
Vol. 15. Chicago [1918]. 128 pp.
Statistics showing the effect of the Adamson Act and tables giving a summary of
the operating revenues and expenses of the railways of the country for each year
ending June 30, from 1908 to 1918, are presented. One chapter of particular interest to
labor is on employees and compensation. The report also includes statistics of foreign
railways.
Camus, J ean. Physical and occupational reeducation o f the maimed. Authorized trans
lation by W. F. Castle, with articles on British institutions by S ir Arthur Pearson,
Margaret Sale, and Dudley B. Myers. London, Baillûre, Tindall and Cox, 1918.
195 pp. Illustrated.
A complete account of the work of reeducation of the wounded as given by French
authorities on the subject.
Commission des T raités I nternationaux de
T r a v a i l . Rapport de M. Ernest.
Lairolle sur la réciprocité, des lois de prévoyance entre la France et les Nations Alliées.
Paris, 1918. 26 pp.
After a brief review and comparison of social insurance measures in various
European countries, the report closes with a resolution—unanimously adopted—
proposing an early agreement between France and her allies, whereby the benefit of
their respective social insurance laws, including sickness risks, old-age and invalidity
pensions, and unemployment donations, shall be extended to the peoples of those
countries.
Compagnie du Chemin de F er de P aris a Orleans. Notice sur les institutions
fondées par la Compagnie en faveur de son personnel.
Paris, 1916.
47 pp.
This pamphlet, issued by the Paris-Orléans Railroad, is an account of its efforts in
behalf of better economic conditions for its employees. The first scheme adopted
was in 1844, and was a plan for the direct distribution among its employees of net
earnings over a definite amount. This scheme has been modified on various dates,
so as to provide for retirement with annuities.
Confederation Générale
d u T ravail.
Questions ouvrières. 1. La main-d’oeuvre
étrangère; 2. Les clauses ouvrières à insérer dans le traité de paix; S. La situation
ouvrière, améliorations à obtenir; 4■ La question des loyers. Paris, S3, Rue de la
Grange-aux-Belles, 1916. 36 pp.
Pamphlet address by the French General Confederation of Labor to organized labor,
considering, in the light of conclusions reached by the Leeds Labor Conference, 1916,
the following subjects: Alien labor; the labor clause to be inserted in the treaty of
peace; the labor situation—improvements to be obtained; and the question of rents.
----- Une attitude— Un programme, Quelques mots d'introduction. 3 e edition. Paris
(Xe), S3, Rue de la Grange-aux-Belles.
[1918.]
16 pp.
This pamphlet by the French General Confederation of Labor, entitled ‘‘An attitude :
a program: some introductory words,” contains, besides the introduction, an address
by Jouhaux, before the monthly meeting of the Federation of French Manufacturers
and Merchants, regarding the labor problem.
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E lbourne, E dward T . Factory administration and accounts: A booh o f reference,
w ith
tables and specimen forms, for managers, engineers, and accountants. With contribu
tions on the general problem o f industrial works design by Andrew Home-Morton,
and on financial accounts by John Maughfling. London, The Library Press (Ltd.),
1918. 6 8 8 pp.
Aims to present an analytical study of the problems pertaining to factory administra
tion and accounts as a whole, in such a way as to be understandable alike by the busi
ness man, the accountant, and the engineer. The book is divided into 6 sections, the
arrangement being based on the sequence of the actual workings of a factory as far as
practicable. Section I discusses the problem of industrial works or factory design
in a general way; Section II deals with general administration; Section I II comprises
a study and discussion of the common elements of works administration; Section IV
is devoted to works accounts in considerable detail, with a view to providing a compre
hensive grasp of the whole subject; Section V consists of a comprehensive set of
routine forms which broadly embody the principles outlined in the preceding sections,
the forms being grouped according to the departments first concerned with their use;
and Section VI gives a definite set of financial accounts adapted, on the one hand,
to the system of works accounts advocated in Section IV and, on the other hand, con
forming with the requirements of sound accountancy and English company law.
This volume is the third edition of the work, the first having been published a few
months prior to the outbreak of the war.
F ederation op British I ndustries. Report and resolutions o f the second annual
general meeting, held October 30 and 31, 1918.
London, 1918.
30 pp.
The resolutions debated and passed at this meeting cover a variety of subjects,
including Relations between employer and employed; Whitley Report; Labor report;
Education; Housing; Reconstruction; National economic policy; and others. A brief
review of the Federation of British Industries was printed in the Monthly Labor
R e v ie w , October, 1918, pp. 44^ 7.
F indlay, J. J., E ditor. The young wage earner and the problem o f his education.
Essays and reports edited by J. J. Findlay, with the committee o f the Uplands rissociation. London, Sedgwick cfc Jackson (Ltd.), 1918. 211 pp.
A collection of essays and reports on the subject of the continued education of wage
earners between the ages of 14 and 18 years, intended for the use of teachers and of the
general public interested in educational reform. The volume includes passages from
the Education Bill, 1918; a chapter on The part-time education of wage earners—
statement drafted by the committee of the Uplands Association ; essays entitled From
home life to industrial life: with special reference to the adolescent girl; The new
scholar; The passage from elementary to continuation school; The young factory girl;
and Principles of organization ; reports on A part-time day school for young employees
(Birmingham); A commercial school in a store; Juvenile employment and after care
(Bradford); Working girls and trade schools (London); The part-time education of
clerks (Manchester) ; Work schools for engineers (Manchester) ; The churches and the
young adolescent; and The sons and daughters of farming folk; and an appendix con
taining three notes on the psychology of adolescence.
F olwell, William Watts. Economic addresses.
Price, 50 cents.
Minneapolis, July, 1918. 99 pp.
Bulletin o f the University of Minnesota. Current problems No. 9.
Contains five addresses: The ethics of business, prepared for and used as one of a
series of lectures offered by the university extension department of the University
of Chicago in 1905; Trusts, first read before the Minneapolis Board of Trade in 1900;
The single tax, delivered in 1899 in reply to an address on the subject by Henry
George; Socialism true and false; and The new economics, delivered as the opening
address at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association at Chautauqua,
N. Y., in 1892.
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F rankel, L ee K.
The future o f the American Public Health Association. 1919. 11
pp. Reprinted from American Journal o f Public Health, rol. 9, No. 2 , February,
■ 1919, pp. 87-97.
Address of the president of the American Public Health Association before the
general sessions of the association at Chicago, December 10, 1918. After emphasizing
the attitude of relative indifference which has prevailed in regard to public health
and particularly toward preventive hygiene, the author makes a strong plea for more
effective work to be undertaken by the association than formerly, saying, “ If the
association is to function in the way it should, it will not be sufficient for it merely to
hold annual meetings and to appoint interim committees for study and research. We
must become a propagandist body, working day in and day out through properly
constituted machinery and officials to carry the doctrine of preventive medicine into
every city and town.”
Gompers, Samuel. American labor and the war.
1919.
New York, George H. Doran Co.]
377 pp.
A collection of the principal addresses delivered by Mr. Gompers during the period
of the war, including the address in the Chicago Auditorium upon his return from his
tour of the allied nations as chairman of an American Federation of Labor mission.
To this is added as Part II, under the heading of “ Labor’s official war record,” the
text of the principal official documents which the federation has produced since the
beginning of the war in 1914.
H elen S. Trounstine F oundation. The newsboys o f Cincinnati, by Maurice B.
Hexter.
January 15, 1919.
Cincinnati,
pp. 113-177.
Studies, Vol. I, No. 4-
The principal recommendation made as a result of this study is that “ the crippled
veterans from our armies in France and Italy should be given a monopoly of the news
paper selling business, and boys under 16 should be eliminated entirely from such
work.” The objection raised to eliminating small boys from newspaper selling is
that they are the chief support of widowed mothers, but the investigation showed that
only one newsboy in seven was the child of a widowed mother, and that only 4 per
cent came from families in which the income, exclusive of that supplied by the news
boy, is insufficient to provide the family with a minimum normal standard of living.
I t was found that economic necessity is a very small factor in impelling boys to sell
papers. One of the most urgent reasons, according to this report, for eliminating
young boys from newspaper selling is the evidence that this occupation produces a
shocking amount of delinquency. It is recommended that an ordinance be passed
forbidding the employment of any boy under 16 years of age at this work.
H erding, F. J.
16 pp.
Workingmen’s colony, East Youngstown, Ohio.
Illustrations. Plans.
New York, 1918.
This pamphlet is a reprint of an article published in the American Architect for
October 2, 1918, pages 383-398. I t gives a description of a concrete housing group
erected at East Youngstown, Ohio, for the employees of the Youngstown Sheet &
Tube Co. The description is by a member of the firm which erected the houses.
H ovell, Mark.
The chartist movement. Edited and completed, with a memoir, by
Prof. T. F. Tout. New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1918. 327 pp.
A very complete history of the Chartist movement which occupied so large a space
in English public affairs during the 10 years 1838 to 3848, and whose immediate object
was political reform and whose ultimate purpose was social regeneration. The
author traces the outgrowth of the movement from capitalistic control of domestic
industry—which he states was general by the eighteenth century—through its decline
and its last stages in the period from 1849 to 1858, and analyzes the relation of the
movement to, and influence upon, socialism in particular and later ideals regarding
conditions of the industrial classes in general. In the section entitled “ The place of
Chartism in history,” he says “ The Chartists first compelled attention to the hard
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ness of the workmen’s lot, and forced thoughtful minds to appreciate the deep gulf
between the two ‘nations’ which lived side by side without knowledge of or care for
each other. Though remedy came slowly and imperfectly, and was seldom directly
from Chartist hands, there was always the Chartist impulse behind the first timid
steps towards social and economic betterment. The cry of the Chartists did much to
force public opinion to adopt the policy of factory legislation in the teeth of the oppo
sition of the manufacturing interests. It compelled the administrative mitigation of
the harshness of the new poor law. It swelled both the demand and the necessity
for popular education. It prevented the unqualified victory of the economic gospel
of the Cobdenites, and of the political gospel of the utilitarians.”
I ndiana U niversity. Extension division.
by Lebert H. Weir.
No. 5.
Vocational recreation in Indiana, 1916,
Bloomington, January, 1918. 126 pp. Bulletin, Vol. I l l ,
A report upon the vocational recreation activities of 141 Indiana establishments
investigated by the author. Part II of the bulletin gives information designed to
assist managers who desire to undertake seriously the establishment of recreational
facilities in shops, factories, and commercial establishments.
I ndustrial P eace.
Vol. I, September, 1917, to February, 1918: Vol. II , March,
1918, to August, 1918. London, The St. Catharine Press [1918\ 2 vols.
A monthly periodical, the object of which is to contribute toward the maintenance
of industrial peace. The belief is expressed, in the foreword, that “ the spread of
syndicalism and the fomenting of class antagonism is harmful to labor as well as to
capital. We are convinced that the common national interest can best be served by
the establishment of some form of cooperation between labor, management, and
finance, which will enable this country to maintain her position as a great power,
whilst securing a decent and prosperous standard of living to the workers, who, we
strongly hold, have an inherent right to be safeguarded against all preventable pov
erty, unemployment, and exploitation. * * * We shall not, however, confine
ourselves to criticism of the objects and methods of our opponents, but shall lose no
opportunity of bringing to the notice of our readers any constructive measures or
palliatives that appear to offer a practical solution of the difficulties th at confront
us. In this connection we shall welcome any suggestions th at may be brought to
our notice.” The 12 issues included in the 2 volumes contain unsigned articles on
various industrial questions, among which is an article running through eight numbers
on The rank and file movement, and brief articles on The control of industry, Con
scription of wealth, National Alliance of Employers and Employed, Works com
mittees and industrial councils, The industrial balance of power, British socialist
party, The independent labor party, Profit-sharing, Payment by results, Man power
and dilution, Cataclysm versus growth, The Socialist Labor party, National guilds,
Welfare work, Pastoral functions of management, The industrial league, The national
labor and democratic party, The meaning of syndicalism, and Trade after the war.
A department under the heading “ Food for thought” gives short items relating to
publications and matters of current interest.
I ndustrial R econstruction Council. A n nual report,
12
1918.
London,
1918,
pp.
The report includes a list of the industries in which various kinds of industrial coun
cils have been set up; public meetings held; lectures delivered; propaganda through
other bodies; literature published by the Industrial Reconstruction Council; and a
bibliography of works useful to those studying reconstruction.
K atayama, Sen .
The labor movement in Japan.
Cooperative, 1918. 147 pp.
Chicago, Charles II. Kerr & Co.,
An attempt, which the author in his preface states to be the first, to give to the
English-speaking public a history of the labor and socialist movement in Japan.
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The modern labor movement in Japan is outlined in its activities and purposes from
its beginning in 1897 after the war with China, emphasis being laid upon the social
istic aspects of the movement, creating the impression that the author regards the
labor movement and the socialist movements as identical. The book was originally
prepared for the Internationalist Socialist Review during 1917.
L eake, Albert H.
The vocational education o f girls and women.
MacMillan Co., 1918. 480 pp. Illustrated. Bibliography.
New York, The
The training of girls presents a double problem. It should cover preparation for
industry as well as for homemaking in order that girls may be able to support them
selves outside the home if need be. The author reviews household arts, instruction
in elementary schools, in high schools, and in the home, giving obstacles to such
training, methods for. overcoming opposition, and courses and other means offered in
various places to secure such training. He makes the practical suggestion that the
high school, in addition to preparing 10 per cent of its pupils for college, should give
definite vocational training to the 90 per cent who never go educationally beyond its
walls, and indorses a State program for education of this character. After a general
consideration of women in industry the author takes up in more or less detail types
of schools in which efforts are being made to give girls who, upon leaving the ele
mentary schools, must go to work immediately, some adequate preparation for indus
trial life. He thinks, however, that vocational guidance should not restrict education
to particular classes of work, but, on the contrary, should be broad enough in its
scope to assist every girl both to earn a living and to perform the greatest possible
service to society.
Leverhulme, L ord. The six-hour day and other industrial questions. London, 0 .
Allen & Unwin {Ltd.), 1918.
328 pp.
A review of this book appears on pages 168-173.
López Valencia, F ederico. Instituciones Patronales de Previsión en los Estados
Unidos. Madrid, 1918. P p . 189-292. Junta para ampliación de estudios é inves
tigaciones científicas. Anales: tomo xvi, memoria 5.
This volume is a study of industrial betterment, welfare work, and service for
employees instituted by employers in the United States.
MacK aye, J ames. Americanized socialism: A Yankee view o f capitalism.
Boni & Liveright, 1918.
New York,
191 pp.
The author develops his ideas regarding Americanized socialism in chapters entitled
Americanism and socialism; The perversion of property; Why the capitalist is not a
robber; Applying engineering to politics; What is efficiency? and What is democracy?
In the following chapter, on How to combine democracy with efficiency, a method
of applying socialism is outlined, the broad principles of which are as follows: “ Public
ownership and operation of important industrial activities; Fixation of wages and
prices by disinterested and expert public authorities; and Annual (or semiannual)
division of the surplus in industry between producers and consumers.” The appli
cation of these principles is then considered in detail in answers to the following
questions: How will wages be fixed under socialism?; How will prices be fixed under
socialism?; How will the surplus of industry be divided under socialism?; How
will deficits be avoided under socialism?; How will socialism insure the thrift neces
sary for the accumulation of capital?; How will socialism avoid the perversion of
property?; How will socialism solve the labor and “ tru st” problems?; How will
socialism promote productive efficiency?; How wrill socialism promote distributive
efficiency?; How will socialism promote consumptive efficiency?; How will so
cialism provide leisure?; How will socialism keep the population within safe limits?;
and How will socialism abolish poverty? The final chapter deals with the transition
to socialism.
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National Association of Wool Manufacturers. A nnual wool review, 1918.
Domestic wool clip, imports o f wool and woolens, and other statistical tables. Boston,
1919. 77 pp.
National Catholic War Council. Committee on special war activities. Social
reconstruction: A general review o f the problems and survey o f remedies. Washington,
930 Fourteenth Street, N .W ., 1919. 24 p p ■ Reconstruction pamphlets No. 1 .
An outline of what its framers consider a practical and moderate program of social
reconstruction, confined to “ those reforms that seem to be desirable and also obtain
able within a reasonable time, and to a few general principles which should become
a guide to more distant developments.” Among various subjects considered are the
United States Employment Service; women war workers; the National War Labor
Board; present wage rates; housing for working classes; reduction of the cost of
living; the legal minimum wage; social insurance; labor participation in industrial
management; vocational training; child labor; cooperation and copartnership;
increased incomes for labor; and abolition and control of monopolies.
National Child Labor Committee. Child Welfare in North Carolina.
A n inquiry
fo r the North Carolina Conference o f Social Service, under the direction o f W. 11.
Sw ift. Neiv York, 1918. 314 pp. Price, $1 .
The report contains sections on dependency and delinquency, child-caring institu
tions, agriculture, rural school attendance, child labor, and law and administration.
I t was found that, as in most other States, the laws respecting children are decidedly
a patchwork. A law would be passed dealing with some phase of child care which
happened to arouse public attention without any reference as to how this law fitted
into the situation as a whole; the process would be repeated as another phase became
prominent, and so on. There is much need of a code dealing with the whole subject
of child care, based on the idea that it is the duty of the State to make sure that all its
children, not merely those who are conspicuously neglected, defective, or dependent,
should receive at least a minimum of careful supervision. The authors of this report
feel that it would be a grave mistake to attem pt the compilation of such a code without
full preliminary investigation and consideration. In each section of the report the
shortcomings of the existing laws in relation to the subject with which it deals are
pointed out, and some recommendations are made for immediate measures of improve
ment. For the situation as a whole, it is recommended that the general assembly of
1919 should authorize the governor to appoint a commission, its members to serve
without pay, which should study all conditions and laws affecting children and
report to the general assembly of 1921. By some such procedure the basis could be
obtained for a unified code, adapted to the actual needs of the State.
National E ducation Association (Great B ritain).
Summarized and explained.
London, 1918.
16 pp.
The Education Act, 1918.
No. 195. Price, 6 d.
This act was reviewed in the December issue of the Monthly Labor R eview,
pp. 42-46.
National I ndustrial Conference B oard. Problems o f industrial readjustment in
the United States.
Report No. 15.
Boston, 15 Beacon Street, February, 1919.
58 pp.
Research
The aim of this report is to define the problem of industrial readjustment—not to
solve it—in the belief that a clear statement of the questions involved should tend to
narrow inevitable differences of opinion and promote efforts to reach sound con
clusions. An introduction states briefly the problem in the United States and abroad.
Chapters of special interest are devoted to Readjustment as affecting labor, and Rela
tion of the Government to industry. The former considers Demobilization of military
forces; Civilian war workers; Demand for labor—various industries considered sepa
rately; Women in industry; Emigration and immigration; Hours of work; Wages; and
Representation of workers. Regarding the wage problem the report offers the follow
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277
iug suggestions as being “ likely to receive widespread attention:” Extension of the
principle of the minimum wage; standardization of wage rates for different occupa
tions; cooperation in industrial establishments with a view toward effecting greater
parity in wages; extension of piecework; and such increased efficiency of workers as
will obviate the necessity for a drastic reduction in wage rates.
National I ndustrial Conference B oard. Rest periods fo r industrial workers.
Boston, January, 1919.
55 pp.
Research Report No. 13.
In 1918 the National Industrial Conference Board sent out schedules of inquiry
concerning rest periods to 388 employers, of whom 104 replied th at they had tried
regular rest periods for some or all of their employees, 129 stated they had made no
experiments with rest periods, and 155 returned no answers. Fifteen of those who
had tried rest periods subsequently discontinued them for some or all of the employees
affected. Of the 104 establishments in which rest periods had been tried, 85 were
engaged in manufacturing. Of this number, declares the report, 17 allowed such
recesses to all employees; 37 to women exclusively, though not always to all women
employees; 17 to clerical workers, though not always to all clerical workers; 51 only to
selected classes of factory employees.
The commonest arrangement of rest periods was a recess of from 5 to 15 minutes
occurring in the middle of the morning and afternoon work periods. I t was far more
commonly used for women than for men. In the main, managers who had tried rest
periods approved of them, as diminishing fatigue. They were considered especially
desirable for those whose work demanded close and continuous attention, for those
engaged in very heavy work, and for those whose work required continuous standing
or sitting. Where such conditions prevailed, the rest periods often increased produc
tion; practically no replies ascribed a decrease in output to their introduction. Some
employers claimed that rest periods interfered with the discipline and morale of the
workers.
The superintendent of a large machinery plant claimed that male labor was in an
unsettled frame of mind, ready to find fault and formulate demands, and that rest
periods offered an interruption which gave a chance for the expression of such tenden
cies. He attributed the only strike in the history of his establishment to rest periods.
Such reports were exceptional, however. Too much stress must not be laid on
rest periods as a means of lessening fatigue.
While rest periods may be a valuable supplementary means for the removal of
fatigue, the fundamental means for its prevention are the provision of suitable working
conditions such as proper lighting, heating, ventilation, installation of labor-saving
devices, and adaptation of the equipment to the worker.
National Urban League. A contribution to democracy.
The record o f some results
o f cooperation by two races. A nnual report 1917-18. New York, 200 Fifth Avenue,
January, 1919. 23 pp. Illustrated. Bulletin, vol. 8 , No. 1.
Contains a report of the work for the year and plans for the ensuing year, which
latter call for: The establishment of additional city organizations wherever possible;
campaigns especially to interest southern communities in welfare work for colored
people; efforts to interest industrial plants in the appointment of negro welfare workers
to help develop efficiency in negro workers and to show employers the value of Negro
labor; the training of negro welfare workers in established schools of civics and philan
thropy by means of fellowships provided in part by the league and through experience
rained in field work in the several cities that are organized; the development of
publicity mediums through which the needs of the colored population may be placed
forcefully before the American public; and further progress in developing cooperation
between existing organizations with the view of ameliorating the living and working
conditions among the colored people of America.
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N a t io n a l W o r k m e n ’s C o m p e n s a t io n S e r v ic e B u r e a u . Workmen's compensation
statistical plan: System o f securing and compiling workmen's compensation statistics.
Effective January 1 , 1919. New York, 1919. vi, 83 pp.
A fundamental revision of the workmen’s compensation statistical plan in use by
the National Workmen’s Compensation Service Bureau of New York has just been
issued by that bureau. The volume is divided into two parts. Part I contains de
tailed instructions and rules for the interpretation and classification of accident and
compensation experience. Part II contains the standard accident tables in use by
the bureau. These tables cover classifications of accidents by cause, nature, and
location of injury; extent of disability; and a detailed code of occupational diseases.
N o r t h L o ndo n Ma n u f a c t u r e r s ’ A s s o c ia t io n . Relations between employers and
employed—after the war, by Hubert B. Graham. London, 1918. 24 pp.
A paper upon future relations in industry, the spirit of which is expressed in the
following quotation: “ In considering these and other problems which the future may
have in store both employers and employed must cultivate and preserve an even
balance of mind when sighting something new from an unusual angle of view.”
P a e u w , L e o n d e . The vocational reeducation o f maimed soldiers. Translated into
English by the Baronne Moncheur and Elizabeth Kemper Parrott. Princeton, Prince
ton University Press, 1918. 194 pp.
A review of this work in the original appeared in the June, 1918, number of the
M o n t h l y R e v ie w , page 239.
P a r i s . I n s t it u t a d m in is t r a t if . Le concours pour l'emploi d'inspecteur ou d'in
spectrice du travail dans l'industrie. Paris, 1915. 92 pp. Supplement, 1918.
Paris, 1918. 15 pp. Bibliothèque d’Enseignement administratif.
Required subjects to be taken in competitive examinations for labor inspectors, and
regulations for appointment, salaries, advancement, annual leave, and retirement.
P e o p l e ’ s Y e a r b o o k a n d A n n u a l o f t h e E n g l is h a n d S c o t t is h W h o l e s a l e
S o c ie t ie s , 1919. Second year of publication. Manchester, England , Cooperative
Wholesale Society Limited, 1 Balloon Street, 1919. 384 pp. Illustrated.
This volume takes the place of the Annual of the Cooperative Wholesale Societies
(English and Scottish), which has been dropped in its usual form; some of its features,
however, are combined with the People’s yearbook. The aim of this publication is
to give each year ‘ ‘reliable information on subjects essential to all who are desirous
of keeping themselves acquainted with advanced and democratic forces, as well as
with matters we should know something about.” Special articles are included in
this volume by J. R. Clynes on National food questions; by James Long on Can we
supply ourselves with food?; and by other authorities.
P r o t e s t a n t E p is c o p a l C h u r c h . Joint Commission on Social Service. The church
and the home-coming man. Suggestions for cooperation. New York, 281 Fourth
Avenue, 1919. 30 pp. Reconstruction Series, Bulletin No. 1 .
Considers the problem of unemployment and the responsibility with which the
church is faced for assisting in the refitting of the demobilized men into community
and industrial life. Outlines methods by which the church may be of practical
assistance. In an appendix the plan for settling returned soldiers on the land and the
progress already made in this direction are discussed.
R o b e r t s o n , J. M. The economics o f progress. London, T. Fisher Unwin {Ltd.), 1918.
298 pp.
A collection of lectures, slightly revised since original delivery, aiming ‘ ‘at a partial
practical application of economic ideas to the great problem of ‘reconstruction.’ ”
One of the lectures treats of the Economics of labor.
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Safety I nstitute of America. Safety.
Street, New York.
29 pp.
Bulletin, January 1919.
1 4 -1 8
West 2 4 th
Illustrated.
This issue of Safety is devoted largely to the publication of the Federal standards for
head and eye protection. It is the sixth installment of the safety and sanitary require
ments for Federal industrial establishments, formulated by the safety engineers of the
United States arsenals and navy yards.
Secrétariat des P aysans Suisses. Rapport au Département suisse de VEconomie
publique. Recherches relatives à la rentabilité de l’agriculture pour la campagne
1916/17 (1 er mars 1 9 iß — 2 8 février 1917). Berne, Imprimerie K .-J. Wyss Erben,
1918. P p. 266-457.
This report of the secretary of the Union of Swiss Farmers is in two parts, 'the first
being devoted to a brief consideration of Swiss agriculture in 1916, and the second and
major part to the results of researches concerning the profits from Swiss agriculture in
1916-17. Statistical tables give in detail the cost of production, including the wages
of farm labor, and the returns in different departments of agriculture.
T he T ruth about the Minimum Wage. February, 1919. 16 pp.
This pamphlet, distributed by the Consumers’ League of New York State, illustrates
the need for minimum wage legislation by citing figures compiled by the State Indus
trial Commission showing that of 61,160 women in factories and stores who were made
the subject of a special study, 75 per cent were receiving less than the $15 a week
which is looked upon as the minimum living wage in New York. Answers standard
objections to such legislation by the experience of various States in which minimum
wage laws are in operation.
Warburg, Paul M. A suggestion o f the main principles on which the solution of the
railroad problem should be sought. Address delivered at the monthly meeting o f the
Chamber o f Commerce o f the State o f New York, February 6 , 1919. New York, 17 E.
80th Street, 1919. 86 pp.
Wild, A. Zivil-und armenrechtliche Jugendfürsorge. Zurich, 1917. 293 pp.
A handbook for guardians, poor relief, and State authorities, directors of institutions,
etc., on protective child legislation in Switzerland.
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SERIES OF BULLETINS PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
[T he p u b lic a tio n o f th e a n n u a l a n d sp ecia l re p o r ts a n d o f th e b im o n th ly b u lle tin w as
d is c o n tin u e d in J u ly , 1912, a n d sin c e t h a t tim e a b u lle tin h a s b e en p u b lis h e d a t irregular
in te r v a ls . E a ch n u m b e r c o n ta in s m a tte r d e v o te d to o n e o f a series o f general s u b je c ts .
T h e s e b u lle tin s are n u m b e r e d c o n s e c u tiv e ly b e g in n in g w ith N o. 101, a n d u p to N o. 23S th e y
also carry c o n s e c u tiv e n u m b e r s u n d e r ea ch series. B e g in n in g w ith N o. 237 th e serial n u m
bering h a s b e en d is c o n tin u e d . A lis t o f th e series is g iv e n below . U nder e a ch is g ro u p ed
all th e b u lle tin s w h ic h c o n ta in m a te r ia l re la tin g to th e s u b je c t m a tte r o f th a t series. A
lis t o f th e r e p o r ts a n d b u lle tin s o f th e b u r e a u is s u e d p r io r to J u ly 1, 1912, w ill be fu r n is h e d
o n a p p lic a tio n .]
Wholesale Prices.
B u i. 1 1 4 . W h o le s a le p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 4 9 . W h o le s a le p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 7 3 . I n d e x n u m b er s o f w h o le s a le p r ic e s
c o u n tr ie s.
B u i. 1 8 1 . W h o le s a le p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 2 0 0 . W h o le s a le p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 2 2 6 . W h o le s a le p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 6 .
in
th e
U n it e d
S ta tes
and
fo r e ig n
Retail Prices and Cost of Living.
B u i. 1 0 5 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 1 : P a r t I.
R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 1 : T a r t I I — G e n e r a l ta b le s .
B u i. 1 0 6 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to J u n e , 1 9 1 2 : P a r t I.
R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to J u n e , 1 9 1 2 : P a r t I I — G e n e ra l ta b le s .
B u i. 1 0 8 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to A u g u s t, 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 1 0 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 t o O ctob er, 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 1 3 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to D e cem b er , 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 1 5 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to F e b r u a r y , 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 2 1 . S u g a r p r ic e s , fr o m re fin er to c o n su m e r .
B u i. 1 2 5 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to A p r il, 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 3 0 . W h e a t a n d flou r p r ic e s , fro m fa r m e r to c o n su m e r .
B u i. 1 3 2 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to J u n e , 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 3 6 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to A u g u s t, 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 3 8 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to O ctob er, 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 4 0 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 8 9 0 to D ecem b er , 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 5 6 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 9 0 7 to D ec e m b e r , 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 164. B u t t e r p r ic e s , fr o m p r o d u c e r to c o n su m e r .
B u i. 1 7 0 . F o r e ig n fo o d p r ic e s a s a ffe c te d b y th e w a r .
B u i. 1 8 4 . R e ta il p r ic e s , 1 9 0 7 to J u n e , 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 1 9 7 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 9 0 7 to D e cem b er , 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 2 2 8 . R e t a il p r ic e s , 1 9 0 7 to D ecem b er , 1 9 1 6 .
Wages and Hours of Labor.
B u i. 1 1 6 . H o u r s , e a r n in g s , a n d d u r a tio n o f e m p lo y m e n t o f w a g e - e a r n in g w o m en in
s e le c te d in d u s t r ie s in th e D is t r ic t o f C o lu m b ia .
B u i. 1 1 8 . T e n -h o u r m a x im u m w o rk k a g -d a y fo r w o m e n a n d y o u n g p e r s o n s.
B u i. 1 1 9 . W o r k in g h o u r s o f w o m e n in th e p e a c a n n e r ie s o f W is c o n s in . .
B u i. 1 2 8 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e c o tto n , w o o le n , a n d s ilk in d u s t r ie s 1 8 9 0
to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 2 9 . W a g e s an d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e lu m b er, m iliw o r k , a n d f u r n it u r e in d u s t r ie s
1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 3 1 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r, 1 9 0 7 t o 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 3 4 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e b o o t a n d s h o e a n d h o s ie r y a n d k n it g o o d s
in d u s tr ie s , 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 135. W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e c ig a r a n d c lo t h in g in d u s t r ie s , 1 9 1 1 a n d
1912.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[i]
W a g es and H ours of L ab or— C o n c lu d e d .
B u i. 1 3 7 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in t h e b u ild in g a n d r e p a ir in g o f s t e a m r a ilr o a d
c a r s, 1 8 9 0 to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 4 3 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s an d h o u r s o f la b o r, M ay 1 5 , 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 4 6 . W a g e s a n d r e g u la r ity o f e m p lo y m e n t in th e d r e s s a n d w a is t in d u s t r y o f
N e w Y ork C ity
B u i. 1 4 7 . W a g e s a n d r e g u la r it y o f e m p lo y m e n t in t h e c lo a k , s u it , a n d s k ir t in
d u s tr y .
B u i. 1 5 0 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e c o tto n , w o o le n , a n d s ilk in d u s t r ie s , 1 9 0 7
to 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 5 1 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in t h e ir o n a n d s t e e l in d u s t r y in t h e U n it e d
S ta te s , 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 2 .
B u i. 1 5 3 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e lu m b er, m illw o r k , a n d f u r n it u r e in d u s
t r ie s , 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 5 4 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in t h e b o o t a n d s h o e a n d h o s ie r y a n d u n d e r
w e a r in d u s tr ie s , 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 3 .
B u i. 1 6 0 . H o u r s , e a r n in g s , a n d c o n d itio n s o f la b o r o f w o m e n in I n d ia n a m e r c a n t ile
e s ta b lis h m e n ts a n d g a r m e n t fa c to r ie s .
B u i. 1 6 1 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e c lo t h in g a n d c ig a r in d u s t r ie s , 1 9 1 1 t®
1913.
B u i. 1 6 3 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e b u ild in g a n d r e p a ir in g o f s t e a m r a ilr o a d
ca r s, 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 3 .
B U l. 1 6 8 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e ir o n a n d s t e e l in d u s t r y in t h e U n ite d
S ta te s , 1 9 0 7 to 19 1 3 .
B u i. 1 7 1 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r, M a y 1 , 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 1 7 7 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e h o s ie r y a n d u n d e r w e a r in d u s t r y , 1 9 0 7 to
1914.
B u i. 1 7 8 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e b o o t a n d s h o e in d u s t r y , 1 9 0 7 t o 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 1 8 7 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e m e n ’s c l o t h in g in d u s t r y , 1 9 1 1 t o 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 1 9 0 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e c o tto n , w o o le n , a n d s ilk in d u s t r ie s , 1 9 0 7
to 1 9 1 4 .
B u i. 1 9 4 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r , M a y 1 , 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 2 0 4 . S tr e e t r a ilw a y e m p lo y m e n t in th e U n ite d S ta t e s .
B u i..2 1 4 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r , M ay 1 5 , 1 9 1 6 .
B u i. 2 1 8 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e ir o n a n d s t e e l in d u s t r y , 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 2 2 5 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in t h e lu m b er, m illw o r k , a n d f u r n it u r e in d u s
tr ie s , 1 9 1 5 .
B u i. 2 3 2 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in th e b o o t a n d s h o e in d u s t r y , 1 9 0 7 t o 1 9 1 6 .
B u i. 2 3 8 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in w o o le n a n d w o r s te d g o o d s m a n u f a c t u r in g ,
1916.
B u i. 2 3 9 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in c o tto n g o o d s m a n u f a c t u r in g a n d fin is h in g ,
1916.
B u i. 2 4 5 . U n io n s c a le o f w a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r, M a y 1 5 , 1 9 1 7 .
[ I n p r e s s .]
B u i. 2 5 2 . W a g e s a n d h o u r s o f la b o r in s la u g h te r in g a n d m e a t-p a c k in g in d u s t r y .
[In
p r e s s .]
Employment and Unemployment.
B u i. 1 0 9 . S t a t is t ic s o f u n e m p lo y m e n t a n d th e w o rk o f e m p lo y m e n t o fiices in th e
U n ite d S ta te s .
B u i. 1 7 2 . U n e m p lo y m e n t in N e w Y ork C ity , N . Y.
B u i. 1 8 2 . U n e m p lo y m e n t a m o n g w o m e n in d e p a r tm e n t a n d o t h e r r e ta il s to r e s o f
B o s to n , M a ss.
B u i. 1 8 3 . R e g u la r ity o f e m p lo y m e n t in th e w o m e n ’s r e a d y -to -w e a r g a r m e n t in d u s t r ie s .
B u i. 1 9 2 . P r o c e e d in g s o f th e A m e r ic a n A s s o c ia t io n o f P u b lic E m p lo y m e n t O ffices.
B u i. 1 9 5 . U n e m p lo y m e n t in th e U n ite d S ta te s .
B u i. 1 9 6 . P r o c e e d in g s o f th e E m p lo y m e n t M a n a g e r s ’ C o n fe r e n c e h e ld a t M in n e a p o lis,
J a n u a ry , 1916.
B u i. 2 0 2 . P r o c e e d in g s o f th e c o n fe r e n c e o f th e E m p lo y m e n t M a n a g e r s ’ A s s o c ia t io n o f
B o s to n , M a s s ., h e ld M ay 1 0 , 1 9 1 6 .
B u i. 2 0 6 .. T h e B r i t is h s y s te m o f la b o r e x c h a n g e s .
B u i. 2 2 0 . P r o c e e d in g s o f th e F o u r th A n n u a l M e e tin g o f th e A m e r ic a n A s s o c ia t io n o f
P u b lic E m p lo y m e n t O ffices, B u ffa lo , N . Y ., J u ly 2 0 a n d 2 1 , 1 9 1 6 .
B ill. 2 2 3 . E m p lo y m e n t o f w o m e n a n d ju v e n ile s in G r e a t B r it a in d u r in g th e w a r.
B u i. 2 2 7 . P r o c e e d in g s o f th e E m p lo y m e n t M a n a g e r s ’ C o n fe r e n c e , P h ila d e lp h ia , P a .,
A p r il 2 a n d 3, 1 9 1 7 .
B u i. 2 3 5 . E m p lo y m e n t s y s te m o f th e L a k e C a r r ie r s ’ A s s o c ia t io n .
B u i. 2 4 1 . P u b lic e m p lo y m e n t o ffices in th e U n ite d S ta te s .
B u i. 2 4 7 . P r o c e e d in g s o f E m p lo y m e n t M a n a g e r s ’ C o n fe r e n c e , R o c h e s te r , N . Y ., M a y
9 -1 1 , 1918.
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[nJ
W o m e n in I n d u s t r y .
B u l. 1 1 6 . H o u r s , e a r n in g s , a n d d u r a tio n o f e m p lo y m e n t o f w a g e - e a r n in g w o m e n in
s e le c te d in d u s t r ie s in th e D is t r ic t o f C o lu m b ia .
B u l. 1 1 7 . P r o h ib itio n o f n ig h t w o rk o f y o u n g p e r so n s.
B u l. 1 1 8 . T e n -h o u r m a x im u m w o r k in g -d a y fo r w o m e n a n d y o u n g p e r s o n s.
B u l. 1 1 9 . W o r k in g h o u r s o f w o m e n in th e p ea c a n n e r ie s o f W is c o n s in .
B u l. 1 2 2 . E m p lo y m e n t o f w o m en in p o w e r la u n d r ie s in M ilw a u k e e .
B u l. 1 6 0 . H o u rs, e a r n in g s , a n d c o n d itio n s o f la b o r o f w o m e n in I n d ia n a m e r c a n tile
e s t a b lis h m e n ts a n d g a r m e n t fa c to r ie s .
B u l. 1 6 7 . M in im u m -w a g e le g is la t io n in th e U n ite d S t a t e s a n d fo r e ig n c o u n tr ie s .
B u l. 1 7 5 . S u m m a r y o f th e r e p o r t on c o n d itio n o f w o m a n a n d c h ild w a g e e a r n e r s in
t h e U n ite d S t a t e s .
B u l. 1 7 6 . E ffe c t o f m in im u m -w a g e d e te r m in a tio n s in O reg o n .
B u l. 1 8 0 . T h e b o o t a n d sh o e in d u s tr y in M a s s a c h u s e tts a s a v o c a t io n fo r w o m en .
B u l. 1 8 2 . U n e m p lo y m e n t a m o n g w o m e n in d e p a r tm e n t a n d o th e r r e t a il s to r e s o f
B o s to n , M a ss.
B u l. 1 9 3 . D r e s s m a k in g a s a tr a d e fo r w o m e n in M a s s a c h u s e t t s .
B u l. 2 1 5 . I n d u s tr ia l e x p e r ie n c e o f tr a d e -s c h o o l g ir ls in M a s s a c h u s e t t s .
B u l. 2 2 3 . E m p lo y m e n t o f w o m e n a n d j u v e n ile s in G r e a t B r it a in d u r in g t h e w a r .
B u l. 2 5 3 . W o m en in th e le a d in d u s tr y .
W o r k m e n ’s I n s u r a n c e a n d C o m p e n s a tio n
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
B u l.
101.
102.
103.
107.
126.
155.
185.
203.
210.
B u l. 2 1 2 .
B u l. 2 1 7 .
B u l. 2 4 0 .
B u l. 2 4 3 .
B u l. 2 4 8 .
( in c l u d in g la w s r e l a t in g t h e r e t o ) .
C are o f tu b e r c u lo u s w a g e e a r n e r s In G e rm a n y .
B r it is h N a t io n a l I n s u r a n c e A c t, 1 9 1 1 .
S ic k n e s s a n d a c c id e n t in s u r a n c e la w o f S w itz e r la n d .
L a w r e la tin g to in s u r a n c e o f s a la r ie d e m p lo y e e s in G e rm a n y .
W o r k m e n ’s c o m p e n s a tio n la w s o f th e U n ite d S t a t e s a n d fo r e ig n c o u n tr ie s .
C o m p e n s a tio n fo r a c c id e n ts to e m p lo y e e s o f th e U n ite d S t a t e s .
C o m p e n s a tio n le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 4 a n d 1 9 1 5 .
W o rk m en ’s c o m p e n s a tio n la w s o f th e U n ite d S t a t e s a n d f o r e ig n c o u n tr ie s.
P r o c e e d in g s o f th e T h ir d
A n n u a l M e e tin g o f t h e I n t e r n a t io n a l A s s o c ia t io n
o f I n d u s tr ia l A c c id e n t B o a r d s a n d C o m m is sio n s .
P r o c e e d in g s o f t h e c o n fe r e n c e on s o c ia l in s u r a n c e c a lle d b y th e I n t e r
n a tio n a l A s s o c ia t io n o f I n d u s t r ia l A c c id e n t B o a r d s a n d C o m m is sio n s .
E ffe c t o f w o r k m e n ’s c o m p e n s a tio n la w s in d im in is h in g t h e n e c e s s it y o f
in d u s t r ia l e m p lo y m e n t o f w o m e n a n d ch ild r e n .
C o m p a r iso n o f w o r k m e n ’s c o m p e n s a tio n la w s o f t h e U n ite d S t a t e s .
W o rk m en ’s c o m p e n s a tio n le g is la t io n in th e U n ite d S t a t e s a n d fo r e ig n
c o u n tr ie s .
P r o c e e d in g s o f th e F o u r th A n n u a l M e e tin g o f t h e I n t e r n a t io n a l A s s o c ia
tio n o f I n d u s t r ia l A c c id e n t B o a r d s a n d C o m m is sio n s .
I n d u s t r ia l A c c id e n t s a n d H y g ie n e .
B u l. 1 0 4 . L e a d p o is o n in g In p o t t e r ie s , t il e w o r k s, a n d p o r c e la in e n a m e le d s a n it a r y
w a r e f a c to r ie s .
B u l. 1 2 0 . H y g ie n e o f th e p a in t e r s ’ tr a d e .
B u l. 1 2 7 . D a n g e r s to w o r k e r s fr o m d u s ts a n d fu m e s , a n d m e t h o d s o f p r o te c t io n .
B u l. 1 4 1 . L e a d p o is o n in g in th e s m e lt in g a n d r e fin in g o f le a d .
B u l. 1 5 7 . I n d u s t r ia l a c c id e n t s t a t is t ic s .
B u l. 1 6 5 . L e a d p o is o n in g in th e m a n u fa c tu r e o f s to r a g e b a tt e r ie s .
B u l. 1 7 9 . I n d u s t r ia l p o is o n s u se d in th e ru b b er in d u s t r y .
B u l. 1 8 8 . R e p o r t o f B r it is h d e p a r tm e n ta l c o m m itte e on d a n g e r in t h e u s e o f le a d in
th e p a in t in g o f b u ild in g s .
B u l. 2 0 1 . R e p o r t o f c o m m itte e on s t a t i s t i c s a n d c o m p e n s a tio n in s u r a n c e c o s t o f th e
I n t e r n a t io n a l A s s o c ia tio n o f I n d u s t r ia l A c c id e n t B o a r d s a n d C o m m is
s io n s .
[L im ite d e d it io n .]
B u l. 2 0 5 . A n th r a x a s a n o c c u p a tio n a l d is e a s e .
B u l. 2 0 7 . C a u s e s o f d e a th b y o c c u p a tio n .
B u l. 2 0 9 . H y g ie n e o f th e p r in tin g tr a d e s .
B u l. 2 1 6 . A c c id e n ts a n d a c c id e n t p r e v e n tio n in m a c h in e b u ild in g .
B u l. 2 1 9 . I n d u s tr ia l p o is o n s u se d or p ro d u c ed in th e m a n u fa c tu r e o f e x p lo s iv e s .
B u l. 2 2 1 . H o u r s, f a t ig u e , a n d h e a lt h in B r i t is h m u n itio n f a c t o r ie s .
B u l. 2 3 0 . I n d u s t r ia l effic ie n c y a n d fa t ig u e in B r i t is h m u n it io n f a c t o r ie s .
B u l. 2 3 1 . M o r ta lity fr o m r e s p ir a to r y d is e a s e s in d u s t y tr a d e s .
B u l. 2 3 4 . S a fe ty m o v e m e n t in th e ir o n a n d s t e e l in d u s t r y , 1 9 0 7 to 1 9 1 7 .
B u l. 2 3 6 . E ffe c t o f th e a ir h a m m e r on th e h a n d s o f s to n e c u t t e r s .
B u l. 2 5 1 . P r e v e n ta b le d e a th in th e c o tto n m a n u fa c tu r in g in d u s t r y .
[ I n p r e s s .]
B u l. 2 5 6 . A c c id e n ts a n d a c c id e n t p r e v e n tio n in m a c h in e b u ild in g .
( R e v is e d .)
[In
p r e s s .]
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
[Ill]
C o n c ilia t io n
a n d A r b it r a t io n
( in c l u d in g
s t r ik e s
a n d lo c k o u t s ) .
B u i. 1 2 4 . C o n c ilia tio n a n d a r b itr a tio n in th e b u ild in g tr a d e s o f G r ea ter N ew Y ork .
B u i. 1 3 3 . R e p o r t o f th e in d u s tr ia l c o u n c il o f th e B r it is h B o a r d o f T r a d e on it s in
q u ir y in t o in d u s t r ia l a g r e e m e n ts .
B u i. 1 3 9 . M ic h ig a n co p p er d is t r ic t s tr ik e .
B u i. 1 4 4 . I n d u s t r ia l c o u r t o f th e c lo a k , s u it , a n d s k ir t in d u s t r y o f N e w Y ork C ity .
B u i. 1 4 5 . C o n c ilia tio n , a r b itr a tio n , a n d s a n it a t io n in th e d r e s s a n d w a is t in d u s tr y o f
N e w Y ork C ity .
B u i. 1 9 1 . C o lle c tiv e b a r g a in in g in th e a n t h r a c it e c o a l in d u s t r y .
B u i. 1 9 8 . C o lle c tiv e a g r e e m e n ts in th e m e n ’s c lo t h in g in d u s t r y .
B u i. 2 3 3 . O p e r a tio n o f th e I n d u s t r ia l D is p u t e s I n v e s t ig a t io n A c t o f C a n a d a .
L a b o r L a w s o f th e U n it e d S t a t e s ( in c l u d in g d e c is io n s o f c o u r ts r e l a t in g to la b o r ) .
B u i. 1 1 1 .
B u i. 1 1 2 .
B u i. 1 4 8 .
B u i. 1 5 2 .
B u i. 1 6 6 .
B u i. 1 6 9 .
B u i. 1 8 6 .
B u i. 1 8 9 .
B u i. 2 1 1 .
B u i. 2 1 3 .
B u i. 2 2 4 .
B u i. 2 2 9 .
B u i. 2 4 4 .
B u i. 2 4 6 .
B u i. 2 5 7 .
L a b o r le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 2 .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a n d o p in io n s a ffe c tin g la b o r, 1 9 1 2 .
L a b o r la w s o f th e U n ite d S t a t e s , w it h d e c is io n s o f c o u r ts r e la t in g th e r e to .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a n d o p in io n s a ffe c tin g la b o r , 1 9 1 3 .
L a b o r le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 4 .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a ffe c tin g la b o r, 1 9 1 4 .
L a b o r le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 5 .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a ffe c tin g la b o r, 1 9 1 5 .
L a b o r la w s a n d t h e ir a d m in is tr a tio n in th e P a c ific S t a t e s .
L a b o r le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 6 .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a ffe c tin g la b o r , 1 9 1 6 .
W a g e -p a y m e n t le g is la t io n in th e U n ite d S t a t e s .
L ab or le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 7 .
D e c is io n s o f c o u r ts a ffe c tin g la b o r , 1 9 1 7 .
L a b o r le g is la t io n o f 1 9 1 8 .
[ I n p r e s s .]
F o r e ig n L a b o r L a w s .
B u i. 1 4 2 . A d m in is tr a tio n o f la b o r la w s a n d fa c to r y in s p e c t io n in
c o u n tr ie s .
c e r ta in E u ro p ea n
V o c a t io n a l E d u c a tio n .
B u i. 1 4 5 . C o n c ilia tio n , a r b itr a tio n , a n d s a n it a t io n in th e d r e s s a n d w a is t in d u s t r y o f
N e w Y ork C ity .
B u i. 1 4 7 . W a g e s a n d r e g u la r ity o f e m p lo y m e n t in th e c lo a k , s u it , a n d s k ir t in d u s tr y .
B u i. 1 5 9 . S h o r t-u n it c o u r s e s fo r w a g e e a r n e r s, an d a f a c t o r y sc h o o l e x p e r im e n t.
B u i. 1 6 2 . V o c a tio n a l e d u c a tio n s u r v e y o f R ic h m o n d , V a.
B u i. 1 9 9 . V o c a tio n a l e d u c a tio n s u r v e y o f M in n e a p o lis.
L a b o r a s A ffe c te d b y th e W a r .
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
170.
219.
221.
222.
223.
230.
237.
249.
F o r e ig n fo o d p r ic e s a s a ffe c te d b y th e w a r.
I n d u s tr ia l p o is o n s u se d or p rod u ced in th e m a n u fa c tu r e o f e x p lo s iv e s .
H o u r s , f a tig u e , a n d h e a lth in B r it is h m u n itio n fa c t o r ie s .
W e lfa r e w o r k in B r it is h m u n itio n fa c t o r ie s .
E m p lo y m e n t o f w o m e n a n d j u v e n ile s in G r e a t B r it a in d u r in g t h e w a r .
I n d u s tr ia l efficien cy a n d fa t ig u e in B r it is h m u n itio n f a c t o r ie s .
I n d u s tr ia l u n r e s t in G r ea t B r ita in .
I n d u s tr ia l h e a lth a n d efficien cy . F in a l r e p o r t o f B r it is h H e a lt h o f M u n i
t io n W o rk er s C o m m itte e .
[ I n p r e s s .]
B u i. 2 5 5 . J o in t s t a n d in g in d u s t r ia l c o u n c ils in G r e a t B r it a in .
[ I n p r e s s .]
M is c e lla n e o u s S c r ie s .
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
117.
118.
123.
158.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
159.
167.
170.
174.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
B u i.
208.
222.
242.
250.
B u i. 2 5 4 .
P r o h ib itio n o f n ig h t w o rk o f y o u n g p e r s o n s.
T e n -h o u r m a x im u m w o r k in g d a y fo r w o m e n a n d y o u n g p e r s o n s.
E m p lo y e r s ’ w e lfa r e w ork .
G o v e r n m e n t a id to h o m e o w n in g a n d h o u s in g o f w o r k in g p eo p le in fo r e ig n
c o u n tr ie s.
S h o r t-u n it c o u r s e s fo r w a g e e a r n e r s, a n d a f a c t o r y s c h o o l e x p e r im e n t.
M in im u m -w a g e le g is la t io n in t h e U n ite d S t a t e s a n d f o r e ig n c o u n tr ie s .
F o r e ig n food p ric es a s a ffe c te d b y t h e w a r .
S u b je c t in d e x o f th e p u b lic a tio n s o f th e U n it e d S t a t e s B u r e a u o f L ab or
S t a t is t ic s up to M ay 1, 1 9 1 5 .
P r o fit s h a r in g in th e U n ite d S t a t e s .
W e lfa r e w o r k in B r it is h m u n itio n fa c t o r ie s .
F o o d s it u a t io n in C e n tr a l E u r o p e , 1 9 1 7 .
W e lfa r e w o rk fo r e m p lo y e e s in in d u s t r ia l e s t a b lis h m e n t s in th e U n ite d
S ta tes.
I n t e r n a t io n a l la b o r le g is la t io n a n d th e S o c ie t y o f N a t io n s .
[ I n p r e s s .]
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