Full text of Monthly Labor Review : March 1917, Volume IV, Number 3

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MONTHLY REVIEW
OF THE

U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
VOL. IV—NO. 3

WASHINGTON

MARCH, 1917

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN DURING THE WAR.

A recent report entitled “ Labor, Finance, and the W ar” 1 repre­
sents the results of a study carried on under the direction of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science and deals with
the effect of the war on the industrial conditions of Great Britain.
One chapter is devoted to the subject of the replacement of men by
women in industry during the war, down to April, 1916, based upon
investigations by a committee made in certain important womenemploying trades in several industrial centers.2 The conclusions
presented in this chapter are briefly summarized below:
THE INCREASE IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

Over half a million women were added to the ranks of labor
between the outbreak of war and the Spring of 1916. Other changes,
more important than the mere addition to numbers, have also taken
place. Alterations in demand and the shortage of men have brought
about transference of women from process to process and from indus­
try to industry, with the result that over half a million women are
now directly replacing men.
In July, 1914, the number of occupied women in the United Kingom was 5,020,000. In mid-April, 1916, the number had risen to
•>490,000. This was an increase in 21 months of war of 470,000.
his is about five times the normal peace-time increase, which for
ich a period would have been only about 94,830.3
This accelerated rate of increase is not due entirely to the recruitg of additional women into industry—i. e., of women entering
dustry for the first time. Probably fewer women have married;
t rtainly fewer women have retired from industry on marriage, and
many former workers who had retired from industry have returned
r the period of the war.
The normal increase of occupied females in peace times is not,
of course, proportionately distributed over all industries. In the
1 L abor, F inance, a n d th e W ar, ed ited b y A. W . K irk ald y . P u b lished b y a u th o rity of th e Council
of the B ritish Association for th e A d v an cem en t of Science. L ondon (1916).
2 The first report of th is com m ittee w as su m m a riz e d in th e M o n th ly R e v ie w for June, 1916, p. 91 e t seq.
2 For later figures, see p. 347.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

intercensal period 1901-1911 there had been an actual decrease in the
number of females in domestic service, agriculture, and clothing.
The decline in domestic service and agriculture continued during the
war, and there has also been a decline in the number of females in
the printing and allied trades, due to scarcity of paper and general
slackness in that industry. On the other hand, there has been a
fresh influx of women into the clothing trades as a result of increased
Government orders for clothing.
In all other groups of industry the war has increased the employ­
ment of women. The increase has been greatest in what may be
called the “ nonindustrial” occupations, banking and finance leading,
with an increase of 242.7 per cent as compared with 1914, and trans­
port next, with 168.7 per cent. Among the strictly “ industrial
occupations the group of metal industries show's the greatest increase
in the employment of females, 88 per cent, with the chemical group
closely following, with an increase of 84 per cent over the 1914 fig­
ures. The ether industrial groups show a relatively low rate of in­
crease, the advance for all “ industrial” occupations being only 13.2
per cent.
THE REPLACEMENT OF MEN BY WOMEN.

The number of women replacing men in various occupations is
larger than the number (470,000) given above as representing the
total increase in the employment of women since the war began, as
many women have been transferred from their normal occupations
to do men’s work. As a result of these twTo factors it is estimated
that in April, 1916, there were 523,000 women directly replacing
men and 737,000 replacing men either directly or indirectly. This
has involved changes in the relative numbers of men and women
engaged in different occupations.
Even in normal times, such changes have taken place to a noticea­
ble degree. A comparative study of the figures in a series of census
reports from 1861 to 1911 show's that in most groups of industries,
women have been increasing relatively to men. In a few, however,
the proportion of men to women has risen. This is true of domestic
service, transport, agriculture, metals, paper and printing, and dress.
It is not possible to carry on this comparison into 1916, but
the wreight of the evidence at hand leads to the belief that in all
groups of occupations, with the possible exception of printing, the
number of women to each man has increased (or men to women de­
creased) since the beginning of the war. While in most cases, this
is simply a continuation of a tendency already in process before the
war, the change in some instances has been remarkably abrupt. This
point is brought out in the following table which shows the number of
women in different industries who are performing work in substitu­
tion of men and the number directly replacing men:


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BUREAU

OF LABOR STATISTICS.

337

IN D U S T R IA L P O P U L A T IO N , B Y S E X , J U L Y , 1914, A N D IN C R E A S E IN N U M B E R O F F E M ALE E M P L O Y E E S , F E M A L E S ON W O R K IN S U B S T IT U T IO N O F M ALE W O R K E R S ,
A N D N U M B E R O F W O M E N D IR E C T L Y R E P L A C IN G M EN , D E C E M B E R , 1915, A N D A P R IL ,
1916A

E stim ated in d u s­
trial population,
J u l y , 1914.

Increase in
females.

O ccupational group.

E stim ated
n um ber of fe­
N um ber of
m ales on w ork w omen directly
in su b stitution replacing m en.
of males.

Males.

Females.

Decem­ A pril,
ber,
1916.
1915.

Decem­ A pril,
ber,
1916.
1915.

Decem­ A pril,
ber,
1916.
1915.

967.000
1,220,000
1,642,000
160.000
608,000
286,000
350.000
301, 000
282.000
444, 000

7.000
9.000
144.000
40.000
851.000
654.000
170.000
169, 000
39.000
96, 000

6,400
3,600
800
2,300
71,700 126,900
19,400 33, 600
29, 700 27,800
6,700 11, 700
31, 700 30,900
2 900
7,400 13,200
25,400 35,700

8,800
6,100
2, 700
4,400
70,300 117,400
9,600 16,200
57,600 73.400
30.400 42,300
29, 500 35,000
22,500 23, 600
11.400 17, 400
27, 000 37.400

700
1.300
16, 700
7, 700
23,000
13.300
21.300
7.300
4,600
13,100

6,500
3,100
59,200
15,600
35.500
18, 800
32.500
11, 700
10,000
24.500

T otal in d u strial occupations 6,300,000 2,180,000 196,500 287,500 267,100 375,900 109,000

217,400

B u ild in g ........................
Mines an d quarries.
M etal tra d e s ................ .
Chem ical tra d e s...........
T extile tra d e s............. .
C lothing....................... .
Food..............................
P a p e r an d p rin tin g —
V /ood............................ .
O th e r............................

474,500
68,500
9.500
172.000
9.500
63,000
2,000

181,000
13.000
23.000
14.000
16.000
29, 000
13.000

189,000
16,000
25.000
32.000
18.000
31.000
13.000

168,000
13.000
21.000
27.000
17.000
29.000
13.000

184.000

21.000

37.000

18.000

983,000

310,000

361,000

306,000

A llo ccu p atio n s...................... 9,702,000 3,163,000

597,000

736,900

523,000

C om m ercial........................................ 1,057, 000
Professional........................................ 174.000
B anking an d fin an ce....................... 179.000
P ublic e n te rta in m e n ts.................... 181.000
T ran sp o rt............... ,.......................... 1,032,000
231.000
Civil service.......................................
71,000
Arsenals, dockyards, e tc ................
Local governm ent (including
477.000
teach ers).........................................
T o tal n o n in d u strial occu­
p atio n s ................................ 3,402,000

1 T he figures in th is ta b le are as given in th e original rep o rt, b u t in some instances th e to tals are not
th e sum s of th e item s given.
2 Decrease.

WOMEN AT PRESENT IN NORMAL FEMALE OCCUPATIONS.

Of the women now engaged in wage-earning employment about one
in every seven is directly or indirectly replacing a man. The re­
maining six out of seven are still employed at what is normally
regarded as women’s occupations. But there has been an enormous
amount of redistribution of women within their own occupations.
Thus, the individual woman, though still doing what is generally
considered women’s wrork, has in many cases left her own industry
and entered another. This has caused a deterioration in the quality of
labor available for many occupations. Skilled women, for example,
have left laundry work, and to fill the vacancies, charwomen and
shop assistants have been engaged. The same difficulty has been met
with in textiles and in other industries. ,Such transferences are
uneconomical, because they mean bad work at present and because
where a woman’s skill lies, as it so often does, in her deftness of touch
she may lose it altogether in the heavier work to which she has some­
times transferred herself.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WOMEN NOW ENGAGED IN MEN’S WORK.

There are certain cases in which women are taking up the exact
work which the men have left—such as taxicab driving and ticket
collecting. There are cases of simple, direct replacement, and being
open to the public view give the impression that women generally
have stepped into the men’s places. Within industry proper, how­
ever, the degrees of replacement are many. Economically, the degree
of replacement is important as bearing on the position of female
labor after the war.
DIRECT AND INDIRECT REPLACEMENT.

Women are taking the place of men, in the proportion of one to
one, in many unskilled jobs, such as sweeping yards and on some of
the simple machines. In other instances, a number of men are
replaced by a greater number of women. These are both cases of
direct replacement. But in certain occupations, as some in the
printing trades, the woman often replaces, not a man, but a boy 01 a
youth, such as a “ reader” to a compositor, who in turn moves up
into the man’s place. This is indirect replacement, and from the
employer’s point of view would seem to be the easier kind. For one
thing, it meets with less opposition from some trades-unions, and in
some instances seems to have been adopted to evade wage difficulties.
COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF MEN BY WOMEN.

The instances in which women are found to be completely replacing
men on skilled work are very few. A few women compositors are
employed in the printing trade, and in some firms women are re­
placing men who, in other firms, are said to be absolutely indis­
pensable on account of their skill. But such instances are rare.
Even in clerical work, only a few cases were found where women are
doing highly specialized or technical work.
This lack of instances, of course, is no proof of women’s incapacity
to perform the skilled man’s work. Women have not had the long
training and since the war started there has been no opportunity for
them to acquire the necessary experience. Many trade-unions also
object to the introduction of women to skilled work. When women
are said to be doing “ skilled” work, what is meant in nearly all cases
is that they are doing one part of the job which a skilled man per­
forms throughout.
When women are found to be replacing men, in the proportion of
one to one, the work done is, in nearly every case, semiskilled or un­
skilled, and more frequently the latter. And it is in the lighter kinds
of what is commonly called unskilled work that women are usually
found to be completely replacing men—as sweepers, car cleaners,
postmen, and workers in the less technical kinds of clerical work.

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339

111 some exceptional cases, women are doing really heavy labor.
Thus, on the Scottish railways there are female porters. Most of
them aie women who have long been accustomed to the heavy work
of agriculture and fishing, and even they are said to find the strain
too great.
PARTIAL REPLACEMENT OF MEN BY WOMEN.

A large proportion of the replacement of men by women has been
made possible by some rearrangement of methods which brings the
operation within the capacity of the female worker. But the reor­
ganization means that the woman is not completely taking the man’s
place. Some men may be released, but one at least must be left as
supervisor; or, in other cases, two women may be required to do the
work formerly done by one man. This simplification is brought
about in various ways:
(a) A m an’s work may be analyzed into its simpler component parts and a woman
p u t on to perform each.
. (6) The work of a highly skilled man may be subdivided and a woman set to do the
simpler, more routine operations; while the man is engaged all the time on the more
skilled operations.
(c) Highly automatic machinery which makes mistakes almost impossible.

These new methods are found throughout industry to-day. But
outside certain engineering trades they are not widespread. It is
only the most alert employers, or those suffering most from the
scarcity of labor, who have altered arrangements to meet the modi­
fied conditions. But many employers are aware of new methods
which they could and would introduce if they considered the increased
need for women to be a permanent condition.
I t would seem that, so far as general engineering is concerned,
“ dilution” has not yet progressed very far. But on shell work the
introduction of women in such large numbers has been made possible,
partly by giving them the simpler parts of the skilled men’s work,
and partly by the introduction of new plant of a highly automatic
kind.
By such arrangements the partial replacement of men by women
has been accomplished. For the most part it seems clear that the
woman is rarely doing the actual work the skilled man did previously.
She may be doing one simple part of it, or, if automatic machinery is
introduced, she maybe doing something which no one has done before.
In skilled work, in engineering, the woman never does the identical
work of the man; in semiskilled she sometimes does, but always under
supervision.
At the same time it should be emphasized that the ability shown
by women on such work as they have done—much of which is abso­
lutely new to them—indicates that under different conditions they
might be able to acquire a high degree of skill and technical expertness.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.
THE SUCCESS OF WOMEN ON MEN’S WORK.

As the replacement of men by women in large numbers in industry
is due to the employer’s necessity and not to his choice, it is important
to know how far the women have given satisfaction in their new
spheres. The employers were therefore asked for their opinion in
this matter. The results, however, are not very conclusive. In great
part, the opinions came from employers of women who had received
only a minimum education. Moreover, in many cases the employers
simply voiced the general view, uncorrected by any accurate obser­
vations; and, again, it has to be borne in mind that women have not
had the same industrial training or viewed their Imes from the same
industrial standpoint as the men.
With these reservations it is interesting to note that the general
opinion bears out the accepted view that women are lacking in the
higher industrial qualities but excel in deftness of touch and in con­
tinued application to a routine operation.
As regards output, the general conclusion, based on slender evi­
dence, is that on unskilled, light, or repetitive work, women are
superior or equal to men, but on heavier, more skilled work their
output is less. But many employers believed that with the same ex­
perience and training there was no reason why women should not be
as valuable producers as men; and some were enthusiastic in their
appreciation of women’s abilities.
The legal limitations on the hours of labor of women have been
modified since the war in the case of certain classes of munitions
establishments. Some employers have taken advantage of a mis­
understanding on this point to exceed the legal hours in factories for
which no exception has been made. But the employment of women
at night has been found to be confined almost entirely to work in
shell factories and in certain metal trades. In shell factories the work
is based on a two-shift system; in other metal works a three-shift
system is sometimes in operation.
When women are employed on a night shift they seem usually to
work the same hours as men. The general opinion is that women,
particularly if married, do not take kindly to night work, and that
their output is less by night than by day.
Outside munitions and engineering, night work and overtime by
women is found in occupations to which the factory acts do not
apply—night work on tramways and railways and excessive overtime
in clerical work. Here, again, the general verdict is that women do
not stand night work well, and the strain of overtime is too great.
In tram cleaning in Glasgow, on which women are employed at night,
as many women have left as have remained.
As regards the effect of work on health, it may be pointed out that
the fact that the strain of long hours and strenuous exertion has not

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341

had more adverse effects is a proof rather of the temporary zeal of
the women under the desire to serve than of their ability to continue
such unwonted exertion for a long period in normal times.
THE INCREASED WAGES OF WOMEN.

Several factors have tended to increase the wages of women in
industrial employments. In the first place, the Government, under
the munitions act, has fixed minimum wages for females in certain
classes of munitions establishments.
A second factor has been the influence of the trade-unions in fixing
in their agreements with employers the remuneration of women
replacing men, the object of the trade-unions being to keep women’s
■wages at a reasonable level in order to protect the men.
Third, in employments outside munitions work and thus not affected
by trade-union influence or minimum-wage regulations, the general
scarcity of women has led to higher wages. But in such instances
they have not attained the munitions minimum level, even in work
evidently demanding the same skill. Indeed it has been found in
engineering and in the metal trades that where two sets of women
within the same shop were working, one on work subject to the mini­
mum-wage conditions, the other not on such work, even although a
similar amount of skill was involved, two sets of wage rates were in
operation. A double standard of wages as between men and women
has long been a well-recognized fact of .industry; but a double
standard between two sets of women in contact with each other and
on work involving similar ability, is a new phenomenon. It is clear
that, women being forthcoming at the lower rate, as soon as the legal
enforcement of the minimum is withdrawn, there may be a consider­
able fall in the wages of the women affected, which will probably
spread to other industries.
Still another factor tending to increase the wage rates of women
is the steady rise in prices since the war began. From July, 1914, to
June, 1916, food increased about 59 per cent in price; clothing, 55 per
cent; fuel and light, 40 per cent. Taking the whole advance in cost
of living as at least 40 per cent, it may be noted that the munitions
minimum time rate of £1 ($4.87) per week for adult women on men’s
work is equivalent to only 14s. 3d. ($3.47) in 1914, and the 4Jd. (9
cents) per hour rate for women on woman’s work is just under 3|d.
(6.6 cents) an hour in 1914. The real value of these rates, therefore,
is much less than at first appears, and the last one quoted may be
compared with the 3d. (6 cents) an hour fixed as m inim um rates for
certain sweated industries.
On the other hand, war conditions have greatly affected women’s
wages as related to the family budget. Most working women are
members of a family. In many cases at present the father is absent
as a soldier. This cuts off the father’s earnings, but the army advance
of 17s. 6d. ($4.26) for a married man with wife and child, together

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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

with the earnings of the mother, working, say, at the munitions
minimum of £1 ($4.87) per week, is about sufficient as a rule to keep
the small family at the same economic level as before the war, in spite
of increased prices and of the father’s absence.
Nominal wages have everywhere risen. Because of increased
prices it is doubtful how far real wages have risen. But there is a
greater correspondence between men’s wages and women’s wages for
the same work. On some railways and tramways, in some metal
works'and elsewhere, the principle of equal pay for equal work has
been accepted, usually through trade-union pressure, but frequently
apart from any such influence.
The real earnings of women workers are, of course, the result not
only of the wage rate but of energy expended and the hours worked.
That some women in munitions are receiving phenomenally high
earnings is true. Cases have been met with of earnings of £3, £4,
and £5 ($14.60, $19.47, and $24.33) per week. But that these are at
all representative seems far from the fact, and such high earnings,
moreover, are sometimes due to an expenditure of energy which is of
the greatest value to the nation at the present time, but which could
not be continued for long periods or under normal circumstances.
COMPARATIVE WAGES OF MEN AND WOMEN.

A survey of wage conditions in the engineering trades, where the
question of women’s replacing man is most acute, makes clear that,
except in very few instances, women are not paid as high rates as,
and earn decidedly less per week than men in the same industry.
The following table gives some examples of the time rates paid
men and women for the same kind of work in the same shop:
E X A M P L E O F T IM E R A T E S O F W A G E S P A ID TO M EN A N D TO W O M E N
SAM E W O R K IN T H E SAM E SH O P.
K in d of work.
Shipyards:
Joiners’ labor­
ers.
Sawmill labor­
ers.
Yard lab o rers. .

M en’s rates.

W om en’s rates.

FO R TH E

R em arks.

6Jd. (12.7 cents) per h o u r .. 6Id. (12.7 cents) per h o u r ..
6d. (12.2 cents) per ho u r . . 6d. (12.2 cents) per hour ..

5J and 6d. (11.7 and 12.2
cents) p er hour.
D rillin g ..........
8d. (16.2 cents) per hour . .
H am m e rm en ’s 6id. (13.2 cents) per hour ..
helpers.
Brass finishing. 10-Id. (20.8 cents) p er h o u r .

General la b o r... 6I-9d. (12.7 to 18.3 cents)
per hour.
General engineer­
ing shops:
Inspecting.......... 44s. 6d. ($10.83) per w e ek ..
G rin d in g............ 40s. 6d. ($9.85) per w e e k ...
M illing................ ........d o ......................................
D rillin g .............. 38s. 6d. ($9.37) per w e e k ...
D o ................ 6J-8d. (13.2 to 16.2 cents)
per hour.
Stoking
fur­ 27s. 6d. ($6.69) p er w e e k ...
naces.
W heeling cast­
.d o .
ings.
Laborers (m a­ 27s. ($6.57) per w eek...........
chine shop).
D o ................ 25-29s. ($6.08 to $7.06) per
week.


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5 | a n d 6d. (11.7 and 12.2
cents) per hour.
6d. (12.2 cents) per hour ..
5fd. (11.7 cents) per hour ..
6d. (12.2 cents) p er hour ..
.do

44s. 6d. ($10.83) p er week.
36s. 6d. ($8.88) per w e e k ..
........d o ...................................
........d o ...................................
4Id. (9.1 cents) p er h o u r..

W omen doing sim pler oper­
ations.
Men doing heavier work.

B oth rates subject, w here
, u nder prem ium bonus,
to 20 per cent increase;
all 54-hour week.

20s. ($4.87) p er week.
........d o .......................... .

Same length of week; m en
doing heavier work.

26s. ($6.33) per w eek .
........d o ..........................

^54 hours per w eek; m en do­
ing ra th e r heavier work.

MONTHLY BEVIEW OF THE BIJEEAU OF LABOE STATISTICS.

343

As regards the comparative earnings of men and women in these
trades not much material has been collected. It is safe to conclude,
however, that men generally earn more than women. The differ­
ence is chiefly marked in the case of skilled labor, as might be ex­
pected from the fact that training counts more and women have not
yet in many cases passed beyond the apprenticeship period. A few
examples are given below of comparative earnings in shell factories
where the women employed, taken together, earned probably rather
more than the average weekly earnings of all women in shell fac­
tories. When the average hours worked are known, the equivalent
average time rates are shown also.
C O M PA R A TIV E E A R N IN G S O F M EN A N D W O M E N F O R O N E W E E K IN JU N E , 1916.
Men.
Shell
fac­
to ry
No.

Class of work.

A ver­
age
N u m ­ n u m ­ Average
ber earnings.
ber. hours
work­
ed.

56
1

14
[6-inch shell m achinists...............

30

2 16-inch shell laborers.....................

34

3

18-inch shell laborers.....................

20

1

47|
57

W omen.
A ver­
age
Average N um ­ n u m ­
ra te per ber.
ber Average
hour.
hours earnings.
w ork­
ed.

£ . s. d.
d.
2 15 7
14.01
($13.52) (28.4 cts.)
2 0 6
8.53 1 87
($9.85) (17.3 cts.)
3 7 7
231
($16.44)
1 16 6
36
($8.88)
1 19 4
35
($9.57)

1

£ . s. d.

Average
ra te per
hour.

d.

6.72
41 j 1 2 11
\ ($5.58) (13.6 cts.)
1 15 6
($8.64)
1 4 10
($6.04)
1 10 11
($7.52)

CONDITIONS OF LABOR IN METAL TRADES AS RELATED TO HEALTH OF
WOMEN.

No sufficient data are yet available on which to form a reliable
opinion of the physical or mental effect of engineering work upon
women. I t is clear that no very serious consequences have yet
emerged, and the period during which the women have been employed
is too short for less obvious effects to be measured. There is, how­
ever, a considerable body of evidence that the work in handling the
heavier classes of shells and some kinds of laboring work tax very
much the strength of the women. Assistance of laborers, and the
use of block and tackle in lifting shells in and out of the machines,
while they have lessened the danger of strain, have not removed it.
The general impression left by the inquiry into the conditions of
labor in relation to health is that, with the exception of night hours
and overtime, they are considerably better than in many other indus­
tries in which women are employed. Doubtless the exceptions have
been largely responsible for the raising of the standard in other
respects, but there appears to be little doubt that firms engaged in
the industry have shown a readiness to concern themselves with the

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welfare of their women workers, which has, unfortunately, not been
a marked feature in the history of the factory employment of women.
This fact, in conjunction with the higher rate of wages paid, can
not but react favorably upon the employment of women in factories
outside of the engineering trades; whether the effect will be per­
manent or not is bound up with too many issues of postwar condi­
tions to be determined. But, at least, the example will remain.
On the point of hours, one observation suggests itself: Notwith­
standing the absence of any definite data, such as statistics of relative
output of night and day work, the fact which emerges most clearly
from the inquiry into conditions of labor is that night work is illsuited to women. Given the necessary workers, it seems desirable
to introduce generally, at the earliest possible moment, the threeshift, instead of the present two-shift system. Some reduction in
earnings would almost certainly follow, and with it probably a protest
from the women themselves; but of the beneficial results from such
a change there does not appear to be room for serious question.
THE INDUSTRIAL TRAINING OF WOMEN.

The exigencies of war time have raised anew the problem of in­
dustrial training. The training of munitions workers in technical
schools is being stimulated by the ministry of munitions and the board
of education. In some places the schools have undertaken the train­
ing of women in such work as boot and shoe making. Such schemes
are meant to meet immediate needs. Thus, their aim is to turn out
as shortly as possible men and women fit to do some one particular
operation.
“ But, if we look beyond the present, it is clear we must have a
reorganized system of industrial training, turning out men and women
of general equipment. Up to now we have had little such training.
Apprenticeship within the factory is dead. The technical and eve­
ning schools are inadequate.”
But given the ideal training system, it is questionable whether it
will touch the problem of women’s labor except on the fringe. The
fact remains that up to the present the majority of women, shaping
their lives to other ends than industry, have not desired a long in­
dustrial training. And there is little evidence that the war has as
yet brought much change in this respect.
SOURCES OF SUPPLY OF FEMALE LABOR.

The additional employment of women has drawn upon all classes
and from all geographical areas. Most of them seem to have had
previous occupational experience of some kind. Previously unoccu­
pied women have gone mainly into munitions and clerical work.


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345

The women are, for the most part, working women or the wives of
working men. The only instances of women from a superior social
class are in clerical work, where daughters of professional men are to
be found; and in munitions work, which has appealed to their
patriotism. In the case of clerical labor many women like the feeling
of independence as salary earners and will desire to remain in business
after the war.
TRADE-UNIONS AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

The employment of women to replace men in industrial occupa­
tions was opposed by many trade-unions. The immediate causes of
such opposition were that the entrance of women constituted a menace
to existing rates, lessened the demand for men, and in many occu­
pations was open to physical and moral objections. As a remedy for
some of these evils it was suggested that the difficulties could be overcome by the organization of the women. Under normal conditions
this has not been easily effected, and the obstacles to be overcome have
multiplied under present conditions, when wages are high, and a con­
siderable proportion of women workers are for various reasons in
industry only temporarily and indifferent to future conditions. A
strong effort was made, with some degree of success, to organize women
in separate unions of their own, but the initial success has not been
maintained, and notwithstanding all efforts made in this direction
there is but one separate union of women of great importance either
in membership or power. Some opposition was manifested in the
admission of women into men’s unions, but with a growing recogni­
tion that organized women are less to be feared as competitors than
unorganized, more unions have from time to time decided to admit
them, but it is only since the war began that certain of these have
done so. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers, while not admit­
ting women as members, encourage their entrance into another union,
and women have been admitted in the mixed unions on the same con­
ditions as men, except as to contributions and benefits.
THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AFTER THE WAR.

The question of women in industry after the war is as yet largely
a matter of speculation. It is tied up with a mass of other industrial
problems. Among the factors which must be considered are the rela­
tions between capital and labor, the physical condition of men re­
turning from the war, the policy adopted in disbanding the army,
invalidism, and emigration, the new régime in shop organization and
management, and the attitude of women thenselves. There can be on
question as to the prospective demand for labor. There is a possibil­
ity that many of the returning soldiers will seek farms at home, or emi-


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

grate to the colonies, and that many of the women employed during
the war period may return to domestic duties, yet the question of
future employment of women in industry seems to depend upon one of
two things; they must fit themselves for industry, or industry must be
so reorganized as to meet their level. A great deal depends upon the
action of the trade-unions. There are three important clauses which
frequently form a part of the agreements entered into between em­
ployers and unions permitting women to enter industry. These are
intended to safeguard wages, to reinstate men at the close of the war,
and to restrict the employment of women to processes for which they
are physically fit. There is a widespread fear on the part of labor
that attempts will be made by employers to get behind these guar­
anties relative to union rules and restrictions, and as widespread
determination to accept nothing less than full restoration of all the
privileges that have been conceded.
As noted above there is not a large number of women in industrial
occupations who were not heretofore employed, and a large proportion
of these are employed to replace men by reemployment or by being
transferred from other occupations. Many women, especially in
munition factories, have entered into industrial employment from
patriotism. Others are working to add to the family income, while
among others there is a great amount of loyalty to the men whom
they are replacing while at the front. These may be willing to return
to their former stations and thus aid in the readjustment when the
men seek reinstatement in their former places. However, there will
necessarily be a considerable number—war widows, dependents, and
those who have formed a taste for business—who for various reasons
will desire to retain their occupations. Conditions have created an
increased amount of female labor capable of replacing skilled men,
usually as the result of introducing new machines or a subdivision of
processes. These great changes in organization render the problem
of reversion to former conditions a complex one. The introduction
of new machines has been expensive. Invention has aided produc­
tion, and employers will not willingly return to former methods, and
besides it is suggested that if the subdivision of process continues the
women who have become expert on a particular operation may dis­
place skilled men.
The activities of the munition factories will be lessened after the
war, and it is almost impossible to believe that women having earned
wages comparable with men will be willing to accept the wages
formerly paid in what is commonly known as women’s occupations.
It is generally conceded in such trades as textiles, printing, and some
occupations in transportation, clerical positions, etc., where efficiency
is shown that women will be retained after the war.


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347

EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN GREAT BRITAIN IN 1916.1

The data regarding the increase in the employment of women in
Great Britain during the war, as presented in the report summarized
above, are brought down as late as October, 1916, in the January,
1917, number of the British Labor Gazette. The tabular statement
of this increase, together with the text comment of the Gazette,
is as follows:
F E M A L E S E M P L O Y E D JU L Y , 1914, IN C R E A S E IN N U M B E R E M P L O Y E D SIN C E T H A T
D A T E , A N D N U M B E R R E P O R T E D AS D IR E C T L Y R E P L A C IN G M EN .

Estim ated
num ber of
females
em ployed
in Ju ly ,
1914.

E stim ated increase in
th e n um ber of fe­
m ales e m p l o y e d
since Ju ly , 1914.

Ju ly , 1916J

October,
1916.

N um ber of females re­
ported by employers
as directly replacing
males.

Ju ly , 1916.1

October,
1916.

In dustrial occupations......................................
G overnm ent esta b lish m e n ts2.........................
Commercial occupations..................................
Professional occupations..................................
B anking and finance.........................................
H otels, public-houses, cinemas, theaters,
etc.......................................................................
A griculture, perm an en t labor (G reat
B rita in )............................................................
T ransport (not m u n icip al)..............................
Civil service.........................................................
Local governm ent (including teachers and
transport workers under m unicipal auth o rities)...........................................................

2,133,000
2,000
496,000
67,500
9,500

184,000

30,000

34,000

26,000

31,000

T o tal..........................................................

3,231,000

889,000

988,500

783,000

933,000

361,000
79,000
240,000
14,000
32,000

393,000
117,000
268,000
15,000
37,000

176,000

20,000

16,000

31,000

30,000

80,000
17,000
66,000

' 20,000
35,000
58,000

500
41,000
67,000

35,000
35,000
3 41,000

. 20,000
41,000
3 64,000

264,000
3 79,000
226,000
15,000
31,000

314,000
3 117'000
264,000
15' 000
37,000

1 The figures for Ju ly , 1916, differ slightly from those previously published, as th e y have been revised in
view of additional inform ation received.
2 Arsenals, dockyards, national shell-filling factories, etc.
s E stim ated.

Since the war about 988,500 women, or 30.6 per cent of the numbers employed in
July, 1914, have been drawn into the various occupations included in the above table.
Women employed in connection with the nursing of soldiers and sailors are not im
eluded, and under this head there has been an increase since July, 1914, of some
34.000 women. Allowing for this and for the displacement of women from domestic
service and from small workshops and workrooms in the dressmaking trade, which are
also excluded from the table, it is estimated that the net increase since July, 1914, in
the number of women regularly engaged in occupations outside their own homes is
in round figures about 850,000.
In the occupations enumerated in the table there has been an increase since July,
1916, of nearly 100,000, which is roughly one-third of the corresponding increase be­
tween April and July. I t appears therefore that, taking the whole field of employ­
ment, though the number of women is still increasing rapidly, the rate of increase has
slackened considerably compared with that of the preceding three months.
As far as substitution is concerned there has been an increase since July, 1916, of
150.000 in the number of women directly replacing men, which is considerably more
than half the corresponding figure for April to July. As in the case of the increased
employment of women, there has therefore been a check to the rate of expansion, bui
1 Great B ritain.

81733°—17-----2


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B oard of T rade L abor Gazette, Jan u ary , 1917.

Pp. 7, 8.

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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,

this check is less marked in the case of women acting as substitutes than for the total
numbers employed.
The increase in the number of women employed has not been equally divided
between the different classes of employment. In industrial occupations there has
been an increase of 32,000 between July, 1916, and October, 1916, the corresponding
increase for the preceding three months being 83,000. In the chemical and metal
trades alone there has been an increase of 42,000 women since July, 1916, so that
in all other industries taken together there has been a decrease of 10,000. This is
accounted for by a drop in the number of women employed in the textile, clothing,
and paper and printing trades. In the clothing trades alone the number of women
employed has fallen since July, 1916, by 15,000, or 2.5 per cent of the prewar numbers,
exclusive of dressmakers in small workshops; the tailoring trade accounts for 8,000 of
this number. In the textile trades the number has fallen by 1,000 since July, 1916,
or 0.7 per cent of the numbers employed before the war. This change in the clothing
and textile trades is explained in part by a lessened demand for women, due to changes
in the extent of Government work and to the increasing economy of the general public;
but this does not appear to be the sole explanation. The returns received from em­
ployers show that this decrease in the number of women employed has been accom­
panied by an increasing shortage of women’s labor. In July, 1916, 38 per cent of the
textile firms and 20 per cent of the clothing firms making returns reported that they
were, unable to get all the women they required. By October, 1916, the figures had
risen to 40 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. In the paper and printing trades
the corresponding figures were 17 per cent in July, 1916, and 19 per cent in October,
1916. It is clear, therefore, that though the demand for women’s labor has fallen off
somewhat, the supply of women’s labor has decreased to a greater extent and that
the process of transference from these trades to munition work or other better paid
occupations still continues.
CONDITIONS OF WAGE-EARNING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN CONNECTICUT.

Under the direction of the Connecticut State Bureau of Labor a
study was made of the conditions of employment of women and girls
in laundries, hotels, restaurants, candy and drug stores, telephone
exchanges, and in munition plants, continuing the work undertaken
by the bureau of labor in 1913 and 1914.1 In the report of this
investigation, issued under date of January 5, 1917,2 the author opens
with a general discussion of labor dissatisfaction existing among
women in the industries mentioned during the years 1915 and 1916,
pointing out that the conditions which were regarded as standard in
1913 and 1914 gave way to new and unsettled conditions in the labor
world; that the increase in the cost of food, clothing, and housing
as compared with previous years had an important effect upon the
conditions and lives of wage-earning women and girls, making it
hard for them to maintain the health and vigor so necessary to an
efficient and satisfied worker, especially in view of the fact that their
wages did not increase proportionately; that the increased output of
munition factories was a determining factor in limiting the supply of
1 For su m m ary of earlier re p o rt, see M o n t h l y R e v ie w for Septem ber, 1915, p . 11 e t seq.
2 Connecticut. R ep o rt of th e B u reau of L abor on th e Conditions of W age E arning W om en a nd Girls.
N ew H aven, 1916. 140 pp.


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349

labor in other industries in the State; and that child labor appears
to have decreased in the more arduous occupations and to have
slightly increased ,in less exacting work. It is particularly noted
that the laundries, and restaurants, hotels, and kindred industries
have been seriously affected by deflection of labor to other industries,
notably munition plants, and by help leaving for other communities
where better wages were offered. This scarcity of labor, it is stated,
resulted in poor service with little or no reduction in prices, so that
the ultimate consumer as well as the employer has been forced to
bear the inconvenience.
Although women seem to have been employed for years in the
Connecticut munition plants, the report does not indicate to what
extent the number has increased, if at all, in recent years. Many
have sought employment there in the hope of receiving better wages,
but it is pointed out that when averaged up wages during 1916 were
not very much above those in other lines of work. In one plant
skilled female workers received a minimum of $13.50 per week;
unskilled, $9.75. In another plant the minimum was $9. In this
plant, in a force of 17,000 to 18,000 employees in August, 1916,
2,717 were women and only 125 of these worked at night. Another
concern employing over 12,000 workers had 2,755 women, of whom
86 were under 16 years of age. Its lowest wage was $2.50 per day
and the highest $5.
Favorable comment is made upon the “ careful regard for the well­
being of the employee which is constantly exercised in these indus­
tries. * * * Safety appliances have been well looked after by
the factory inspectors and as far as possible the dangers lurldng in
the handling of high explosives, their ingredients, and the inhaling of
the fumes of acids have been minimized.” Hospitals and rest rooms
have long been provided for workers and since the war began these
facilities have been improved. In one factory there was in Decem­
ber, 1916, an enrollment of 611 in 36 classes in English. One muni­
tion plant has invested over $2,000,000 in trying to provide suitable
housing for its employees, it is stated.
After a brief resume of conditions in department and 5 and 10 cent
stores which were more fully studied two years earlier, the report
takes up in detail three industries, or groups of industries, studied.
The statistical data given concerning each of these form perhaps
the most valuable part of the report. The first to be considered is the
laundry industry, which, in Connecticut, employs 2,408 women and
girls, of whom 85.5 per cent were foreign-born. Polish women make
up the largest race group, forming 24 per cent of the total. The .
laundry is not a place for the very young, and only about 2 per cent
are under 18, while 8 per cent are 18 but under 20. There is a curious


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

massing of workers in the years 20 to 26, inclusive, 55 per cent of the
total number being found here. The wage grouping is as follows:
Weekly wage :
$4 but under $6.......................................................................
$6 but under $7.......................................................................
$7 but under $8.......................................................................
$8 but under $9...................................................................
$9 but under $10......................................................................
$10 but under $12....................................................................
$12 or over...............................................................................

Per cent
of to ta l
receiving
th is wage.

20. 81
12. 21
29. 73
14.58
12. 62
8. 43
1-62

The proportion of women in the industry who are or have been
married is high, 47 per cent being single, 42 per cent married, and
11 per cent widowed or divorced. Of the entire number who had
been married only 81, or 6 per cent, were without children, 1,196
having from 1 to 7 children apiece. Of those with children, 43 per
cent were the sole support of their families, while 57 per cent were
responsible for only part of the support. The married woman
working for pleasure or pin money does not appear in this industry.
The employees of hotels, restaurants, dining rooms, lunch rooms,
candy and lunch stores, and bakeries are studied together. Long
hours and night work are the two most objectionable conditions of
their work, the first affecting many more than the second. Waiters
and other workers, especially cooks and kitchen helpers, may be on
duty 75, 80, or even 90 hours a week. Night work for women is not
common, and is found more often in the smaller restaurants than in
hotels. The women and girls employed in these industries numbered
4,432, of whom something over one-fifth were Americans, 19 per cent
were Polish, 13 per cent Irish, and the rest scattered among 11 race
groups. The age level was distinctly lower than in laundry work,
16 per cent of the workers being under 18, 11 per cent 18 but under 20,
and only 35 per cent being 30 or over. This age grouping is par­
ticularly significant in view of the long hours which characterize the
occupations in this group of industries.
The wage grouping was as follows:
Weekly wage:
Under $6..... ........
$6 but under $7...
$7 but under $8...
$8 but under $9...
$9 but under $10..
$10 but under $12
$12 and over........

P er cent
of to ta l
receiving
th is wage.

27. 55
18.10
17. 40
10. 83
7. 20
10. 79
8.11

This shows nearly half (45.65 per cent) receiving less than $7, as
against 33 per cent of the laundry workers in this wage group. On

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351

the other hand, nearly one-fifth (18.9 per cent) of these workers make
$10 or over per week against 10 per cent of the laundry workers.
The proportion of married women, while not equal to that among the
laundry workers, is still large, the single forming 66.4 per cent of the
whole group, the married 23.4, and the widowed and divorced 10.1.
Of those who had been married, 1,067, or 72 per cent, had children.
Nearly one-third (32 per cent) of these women were the sole support
of their families, while the remainder partly supported them. The
large proportion married and the proportion who are the sole support
of their families are especially noteworthy in view of the relatively
low age level of the group.
The employees of candy, candy and ice cream, candy and drug
stores, and candy and miscellaneous stores are grouped together,
the general nature of their work being the same. In 1915-16 such
stores in Connecticut employed 1,890 women and girls. Americans
largely predominate among these employees, forming 44 per cent of
the total; the Irish come next with 27 per cent, and no other nation­
ality forms as much as 10 per cent. The Polish women who formed
so important a part of the two other industrial groups studied do
not appear here at all. The age level is lower than among the
laundry or hotel and restaurant workers, 20 per cent being under 18,
11 per cent 18 but under 20, and 33 per cent 30 or over. Almost
hah (48.4 per cent) are under 24. “ On the whole, the wages in this
class of work are good,” states the report, a conclusion which seems
justified by the fact that none are reported as receiving less than $6
a week, while nearly one-fifth (18 per cent) are receiving $15 or over.
The wage grouping was as follows:
Weekly wage:

Per cent
of total
receiving

this wage.

$6 but under $7.....................................................................
$7 but under $8...........................................................................
$8 but under $9...........................................................................
$9 but under $10.........................................................................
$10 but under $12.......................................................................
$12 and over................................................................................

7.99
9.84
16. 40
10. 58
18.94
36. 25

The proportion receiving $12 or over is more than four times as
large as among the hotel and restaurant workers, while among the
laundry workers this wage group was negligible, amoimting to less
than 2 per cent of the whole number studied.
The proportion of married women sinks to more moderate dimen­
sions here, the single forming 87.7 per cent of the whole group, the
married 8.7 per cent, and the widowed and divorced 3.6 per cent.
Of the 232 women who had been married, 212 had from one to three
children apiece. Of these women 66 were the sole support of their
families, while 146 were partly supporting them.


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The report includes also a review of conditions in the telephone
service, but gives no statistical data concerning its employees.
This industry was fully studied two years earlier, and the present
report merely notes an increase in the rates of pay and a continu­
ation and extension of the welfare work then under way.
The final chapter is devoted to the employment of women at night
in Connecticut. At present there is very little legal restriction upon
such employment, and women work at night not only in hotels and
restaurants but in factories and in the telegraph and telephone
services. There is, however, a sentiment against their employment
at night, and in hotels and restaurants especially, there is a tendency
to supersede them gradually by men as far as this is possible. The
present scarcity of male help, however, delays this process. In the
factories which employ women at night the investigator believes that
conditions, moral and sanitary, are well looked after, and that such
work is rendered as little harmful as may be. In considering the
probability that a law will soon be passed forbidding night work for
women, a plea is made for those employed at night by the telegraph
and telephone companies. These are all women of experience and
intelligence:
Many of these women have given 15, 20, and 25 years of their services in work
of various kinds. It may he said as a matter of cold fact that the zenith of their
usefulness has been reached. They could be supervisors or occupy positions of
direction in other than actual supervision, but it would be almost impossible to
place them to-day when youth is a requisite of nearly every woman employee
hired in work which would give them a compensation such as they are now receiving.
* * * The number of positions open to women in this kind of work is always
restricted, no matter what the demand for labor. * * * Preventing their working
at night means not only taking away from them an assured weekly or yearly income,
but in nearly every case the taking away the means of support of some other dependent
individual.

The report closes with a number of recommendations, among which
may be noted recommendations that a seat should be placed before
every machine operated by a woman, that better drinking water
and better toilet facilities should be furnished; that a seaside sani­
tarium should be established for those predisposed to tuberculosis;
that vocational and continuation schools should be provided; and
that a State reformatory fdr women should be established.

DOMESTIC SERVICE: ITS ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS AS A WAGE­
EARNING OCCUPATION.

The most conspicuous problem connected with domestic service is
that there should be any problem at all. Given thousands of women
anxiously looking for household help and other thousands anxiously
looking for work, why does not the law of supply and demand assert


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itself and bring the two groups together? This was the question
the commission on household employment appointed by the Young
Women s Christian Association set itself to solve. There appears
to be a practical boycott against household employment. Why
should it exist? ‘ Why are intelligent, ambitious, wage-earning
young women choosing the factory, the office, the schoolroom, the
store, rather than domestic employment?” The commission decided
that the best way to find out was to ask them.
Accordingly, opinions were obtained from 299 self-supporting
young women—112 in household work, 137 in factories, 15 in depart­
ment stores, 35 in offices. They were found in 17 cities scattered
throughout the Union, and the commission believes that the deduc­
tions drawn from these opinions are more or less applicable to all
parts of the United States in families having one or two white em­
ployees. A discussion of these opinions and of their import was pre­
sented to the association at its fifth national convention, held in
Los Angeles, in 1915, and was afterwards published as a pamphlet.1
The balance sheet of household employment, according to those
engaged in it, stood as follows:
A D V A N T A G ES.

D ISA D V A N TA G E S.

1. Health.
1 . Long and uncertain hours.
2. Wages.
2. No opportunity for social life and self3. Preparation for own home after mardevelopment.
ria8'°3. Servile treatment.
4. Social stigma.

Of the advantages the higher wages were most frequently cited,
those questioned seeming to have a keen appreciation of real as
against nominal earnings, and feeling that on that basis they could
make more at housework than in a factory. Health was less fre­
quently mentioned, and preparation for home-making least of all.
Of the drawbacks, hours seemed to be the basic difficulty. The*
lack of any absolutely free time, belonging of right to the worker, lay
at the bottom of most of the complaints. This grievance was the
more strongly felt because it was believed to be unnecessary. One
of the questions asked was: “ Do you think housework could be
arranged so that a maid could have regular hours of work?” There
was almost universal agreement that it could. The changes suggested
were not extreme.
The answers are given in various forms, but after restating in like terms there proved
to be a great similarity in the suggestions:
First. A period of rest and perfect freedom during the afternoon, averaging two
hours.
Second. One afternoon each week, not returning for evening meal.
1 F irst R ep o rt of th e Commission on H ousehold E m p lo y m en t to th e F ifth N ational Convention of the
Y oung W om en’s C hristian Associations of th e U nited States, Los Angeles, May 5 to 11, 1915. 34 pp.
N ational B oard of th e Y oung W om en’s C hristian Association, 600 L exington A venue, New Y ork City.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

Third. A part of Sunday.
Fourth. Certain or all evenings, beginning at an hour which will make possible
participation in evening affairs.
Great, emphasis was laid on the necessity of having meals on time as a requisite for
regular hours. As nearly as could be estimated from the schedules given a 10j-hour
day (including mealtime) seemed to the young women to be a fair standard. There
seems to be no objection to the amount of work, merely to the unregulated periods of
time over which the work is spread.

The headings “ Servile treatm ent” and “ Social stigma” included
a variety of matters. There were complaints of poor accommoda­
tions and inconsiderate treatment, of constant dependence upon the
whim of the employer, and of the attitude of society in general
toward the domestic worker. There appeared to be a deeply rooted
feeling that housework, when done for pay, is not considered honorable.
For the most part the girls agreed that they would not advise other
girls to enter domestic service. An exception was found in a group
of foreign girls who “ appreciate having found a home in a foreign
country. They would all unhesitatingly advise their friends to
take up domestic service, for, in spite of certain drawbacks, ‘ It is the
very best occupation for foreign girls. ’ ”
From the standpoint of the factory girls, the advantages of the
two kinds of work stood as follows:
A D V A N T A G ES OP FACTORY W O R K .

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Time.
Living at home.
Social life and recreation.
Opportunity for marriage.
Opportunity for self-development.
Social standing.

A D V A N T A G ES OP H O U S E H O L D W O R K .

1.

Wages.

2 . Health.

3. Preparation for own home after mar­
riage.

As to time, the girls were emphatic in pointing out the advantages
of the factory worker. The answers from the entire 137 indicate
*that the factory girl averages 9 hours a day of work, and that in
addition to Sundays and evenings the majority of the girls have a
half holiday Saturday. In their opinion a domestic employee works
12.3 hours a day, is at her place of employment every day in the
week, and is granted the privilege of having a fraction over half a
day off each week. The average wage of a factory employee, these
girls thought, is $7.58 a week; she spends $4.60 a week for room,
board, and laundry, and has clear $2.98. I t is their opinion that
the wage per week of a girl in domestic service averages $4.52. As
the domestic employee has no expense for board, room, or laundry,
this must be compared with the $2.98 of a factory girl.
On the question of living at home, there was a divergence of
opinion, 17 girls thinking it better to live at the place of employ­
ment “ if you are in domestic service, because you have to work
early and late and it is dangerous to be on the street early in the

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morning and late at night.” Among the others the preference for
hving at home was strong. The advantage of a change of surround­
ings was mentioned, together with the opportunity for more varied
interests, but the strongest reason seemed to he family feeling. It
is best for a girl to live at home because—
She is with people who take more of an interest in what friends she makes and
where she goes.
She has the protection of home and the ones that love her.
A mother can gi\e her advice when she should happen to go astray and bring her
right again.
A girl has more privileges in her own home, and she can help her own family.
Nothing can take the place of your own home, with a mother, father, brothers
and sisters.

One worker brought out an important consideration when she
said: “ From my point of view, a young girl who lives away from
home continually grows away from her home as well.”
As to social life and recreation, there was almost unanimous agree­
ment that the factory girl has the advantage because of the definite
and shorter number of hours she works. Her evenings are free, and
she can “ join a club or church league, which will not cost her very
much,” or she can take up special courses of study, or have friends
in at home, or go out to entertainments.
On the question of health there was greater diversity of opinion.
Twenty girls believed that the factory offered the better chance
to keep in good health, 6 thought the opportunities equal in the
two callings, and 81 thought housework had the advantage in this
respect.
As to marriage, 89 thought the factory girl had the better chance
to marry, owing to a freer social life and the mingling with men at
her work; 16 thought opportunities wore equal in the two callings,
and 9 thought the domestic had the better opportunity. Ques­
tioned as to which would make the better wife, the majority thought
ti e domestic would, because her work had trained her in managing
household affairs. A small but energetic minority maintained the
superiority of the factory girl on the ground that a good wife must
be something more than a housekeeper, and that the factory girl’s
wider experience made her more of a companion for her husband,
while she could easily gain what extra knowledge of housekeeping
she needed. “ They are of the opinion that the majority of girls
learn something about housekeeping at home, and if not they have
opportunity and time to learn it at night school.”
There was emphatic agreement as to the advantage of factory
work in regard to the social standing of the worker. A factory girl
has a higher social standing, they thought, because she has time to
improve herself, to attend clubs, parties, classes, dances; she mingles
with people on an equal footing; she is independent and ambitious.

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This agrees with what the domestic, workers thought of their own
relative status, except that the latter could see no reason for their
inferior position, while the factory girls ascribe it “ to the fact that
the domestic worker has no time for social life and education, no
opportunity to exercise freedom and self-direction. ”
The group of store employees was small, but represented every
type of store worker from bundle wrapper to manager of a depart­
ment. The office employees were selected to represent the same
economic standing as that of the household workers. These two
groups took practically the same view as the factory girls of the
advantages and disadvantages of domestic service, except that they
were even more positive than the latter that while the training of
the household worker might fit her to be a good housekeeper it did
not prepare her to be a companion to her husband after marriage.
In order further to obtain the impartial judgment of these indus­
trial workers as to the merits of domestic service as compared with
their own particular kind of work, they were asked to state what
advice as to choice of employment they would give to an inquiring
friend in whom they were much interested.
Of the 149 girls who answered this question, 114 would'advise their sisters to enter
the store, office, or factory, as the case might be; 23 would advise household employ­
ment; 12 would leave the choice to their sisters, since there are advantages and dis­
advantages in all occupations. A curious thing is noticeable in the reasoning which
the girls use in recommending household employment. They seem to choose an
altogether new basis for their advice. Almost no mention is made of the advantages
which they admitted belonged to household employment, namely, health, wages,
preparation for the duties of a wife. Their basis for advising household employment,
is, “ If she has no home or parents to look after her. ” * * * The fact that domestic
service pays well, at least gives shelter, would make it a refuge for the young, unskilled
orphan. It would hardly be possible, however, to build up an occupation on the
hope that there would be an unlimited supply of orphans who needed a home; neither
is it patent that the girls who answered in this fashion would make efficient household
workers.

Summing up the whole situation the commission finds that house­
hold employment carries within itself no objectionable features, is
healthful, and pays well, but that it is performed under conditions
which prevent self-direction and self-development of personal life.
Of these conditions the most important and that on which the
others depend is the long and irregular horns. Until this is altered
the supply of household workers will be insufficient.
The report closes with a recommendation that the commission be
continued, and that efforts be made both to enlist the interest of
employers in a further study of household employment from the
point of view of wage-earners, and to secure their cooperation in
practical experiments based on such a study.
A second bulletin issued by the commission deals with an inquiry
among the vocational educators of the country to learn their attitude

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toward household work as a wage-earning occupation.1 The first
steps showed that they did not hold it in high esteem.
When questioned as to the occupations which they would recommend girls to pre­
pare for, or as to the occupations for which they are at present offering training, only
one educator spontaneously includes household employment (household helpers) in
his list. Household employment seems to be distinctly out of vogue. A woman of
national reputation succinctly remarks: “After six years of investigation of women in
industry I do not know what occupations to advise. I know what occupations I
should not advise.” She leaves no doubt as to the prominent place household em­
ployment takes in this latter category.

Like the working women questioned in the first study, the educators
recognized that wages in domestic service are higher than in many of
the factory and lower office positions; that the work is probably more
healthful; that it may be a valuable means of training for a household
of one’s own; and that the opportunity for steady employment is
unexcelled; nevertheless, they were guiding the girls into almost any
other kind of work and neglecting this altogether. A search for their
reasons showed that the objections voiced by the girls themselves
were at the basis of their attitude. The absolute control of the work­
er’s whole time, the unstandardized and unsystematized character
of the work, and the social drawbacks involved in taking it up lead
them to feel that they prefer not to direct girls into this occupation.
At the same time they see no objections to the work itself:
The objection is to the monopoly which the occupation exerts over the girl’s whole
life. The work does not injure her mentally or physically, but the occupation is so
conducted that it overshadows her whole life and prevents her from taking her normal
place among her family, her friends, and in the community. They object to the hours
which prevent a girl from living at home, from having the care and supervision of
parents, from enjoying recreation in the same manner and at the same time as her
friends, from entertaining in a normal fashion, from self-development along the line
of personal choice. They object to the feudalistic relations between employer and
employee, which make it appear to the world as if the girl has no freedom except at
the sufferance of the employer, so that her self-respect is bruised and her social stand­
ing in her own world is lowered. The abnormality of it is overpowering.

As to the changes which would transform housework into a de­
sirable occupation for which to train girls, a number of opinions are
given varying in detail but all agreeing that the basic change must be
the regulation of hours. I t is not apparent that a household can be
run with the fidelity to time schedule of a factory and still retain
its character as a home, but somehow the work must be so sys­
tematized that the worker can have definite and fixed hours beyond
which she is absolutely free. Many think that as a part of this change
the helper should live outside of the employer’s home, receiving ail
her wages in money instead of having a part in food and lodging as
i T he R oad to Trained Service in (h e H ousehold. Commission on H ousehold E m ploym ent, B ulletin
No. 2. 13 pp. N ational B oard of th e Y oung W om en’s C hristian Associations, 600 L exington A venue,
New Y ork City.


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at present. This, however, is a detail; the hours are the root of the
difficulty, and until they have been brought under regulation, until
the idea that the worker’s whole time, whether she is employed or
not, belongs to her employer is relinquished, the household can not
hope to compete for workers on equal terms with the factory, the
store, and the office.
The commission has issued a third bulletin,1 which contains a brief
and readable discussion of the advantages of industrial employment
in the matters of hours, definite work, chance for personal life, and
social standing.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND BOYS IN MUNITION WORKS IN ITALY.1

The Bollettino dell’ Ufficio del Lavoro (Journal of the Italian
Labor Department) for October 16, 1916, publishes the text of two
circulars issued by the undersecretary for arms and munitions with
regard to the employment of women in munition factories. The
first of these circulars is dated August 23, and is addressed to various
officials and administrative bodies. Having recapitulated numerous
previous circulars as being based on a desire to promote the em­
ployment of women at work which they are capable of performing,
so as to release men for work requiring great strength or high skill,
and also to find work and wages for the wives and other dependents
of men called to the colors, the document proceeds to state that the
results already attained, though considerable, are not sufficient.
“ More must be done by following the examples set in Great Britain
and in France.”
In Italy (and particularly in southern Italy and Sicily) the employment of women
in munition factories has met with passive resistance in some districts on the part of
employers, in others on the part of workmen, or, owing to prejudice and traditional
notions, on the part of the women themselves, whose aversion has been unmistakable
and persistent.
In France, where the question of staffs of male workers is even more pressing than
it is in Italy, the undersecretary of state for arms and munitions has ordered (in a
circular, dated July 20, 1916) that after August 20, with a preliminary eight days’
notice, all the conscripted workmen, without any exceptions, who are skilled merely
in work on which they can be, and should be, replaced by women, are to be with­
drawn. Attached to this order is a list of all the occupations to which the new pro­
visions are applicable. Of course, the managers and foremen are to be kept on as
conscripted workpeople.
In Italy, for reasons stated above, it is not possible to contemplate an immediate
and general application of a measure analogous to the French order. Yet it is the
intention of the department of arms and munitions that such a measure shall be
adopted gradually, with local modifications, as need arises.
The district committees on industrial mobilization (assisted by the various pro­
vincial commissions for testing munitions) are therefore to compile exact and complete
i W h at a Factory can Teach a Housewife. Commission on H ousehold E m ploym ent, B ulletin No. 3.
— pp. N ational B oard of th e Y oung W om en’s C hristian A ssociation, 600 L exington A venue, New Y ork
City.
e F ro m B ritish B oard of T rade L abor G azette. D ecem ber. 1916, pp. 452-453.


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lists of the factories and the departments of factories devoted to the making of fuses
parts of fuses, bombs, diaphragms (for field telephones), and projectiles of small caliber
(up to 87 mm.). Definite instructions are to be given by the aforesaid authorities to
the managers of these factories for the purpose of insuring that by October 31 of this
yeai 50 per cent of the men of military age, whether discharged men or men allocated
to factory work, shall be replaced by as many women or boys. The latter are to be
recruited specially from the pupils of secondary schools, to whom an appeal was
recently made in a circular issued by the minister of education.
Moreover, the factory managers are to be instructed that by December 31 the per­
centage must be brought up to 80.
In regard to the actual numbers corresponding to the percentages, special modifi­
cations may be made in those districts where the girls and women are least fitted for,
and least disposed toward, industrial employment. .In regard to such modifications'
special reports must be submitted for approval to the ministry.
It is anticipated that as a result of such instructions there will be available, at the
turn of the year, a large number of men who may be utilizable for work on shells of
medium and large caliber and on such other work as can not.be done by women and
girls. I urthermore, it may be possible to restore a considerable number of men to
the fighting ranks.

The second circular published in the Bollettino is dated September
28, and is devoted mainly to urging the various authorities to renewed
and increased activity, in order to promote the employment of women.
Sufficient progress, it is asserted, has not been made, much more being
absolutely necessary in order to secure the safety of the country and
to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
Much credit is due to women for what they have done. But it is by no means
enough. Out of 355,349 persons employed in 882 munition works, only 45,628, or 13
per cent, are women.
It is necessary to remove the obstacles to the larger employment of women. What
is required is a convinced, intelligent, widespread and vigorous propaganda that will
destroy the preconceptions of manufacturers, the opposition of trade-unions, and inertia
of women—such inertia being, fortunately, restricted to one locality.
For such a propaganda much help would be afforded by an exhibition of schemes
recently sanctioned for the moral and material benefit of working women. Emphasis
must be laid on the fact that the employment of women is not a mere artifice to get
work done at low wages for the sole profit of the employer.
The recruitment of women for industrial work will be facilitated in proportion to
the provision of means to safeguard their health and well-being, particularly in those
transitory cases where it is necessary, owing to the exigencies of the time, to employ
women on night work.
Compliance with the laws made to insure decency, health, and safety from acci­
dents important as it is in normal times—is now moip than ever necessary.

The circular adds:
It may be affirmed that as soon as manufacturers show plenty of initiative and of
adaptiveness for this new type of labor and cease to cherish preconceived opinions
as to the inferiority of women’s work and as to the low wages that it merits, the labor
of women will respond splendidly to the utmost variety of demands. This is true
not merely as to the highly satisfactory results of women’s work in the making of
cartridges, fuses, and boxes for shells, but also in actual work on the shells themselves
and on their fittings. In various workshops in Liguria and Lombardy women are
intrusted not only with making shells of small caliber, but also with making those


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of 102 mm., 105 mm., and even those of 149 mm. Thus it is evident that the field for
utilizing the working powers of women is very wide, and that the verj best lesults
may be attained by admitting them to it. * * . * The department expects to see,
month by month, a marked and continuous increase in the percentage of women
employed in the workshops devoted to the manufacture of the weapons necessary for
the attainment of victory.
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION AND MINIMUM WAGE IN MUNITIONS
INDUSTRY IN FRANCE.

As a result of strikes in several French munition factories in the
Paris district following upon demands for increased wages, the French
minister of munitions, on January 17, 1917, issued a report and
decree providing for the establishment of permanent boards of con­
ciliation and arbitration composed of equal numbers of representa­
tives of employers and of workers, for the immediate investigation
and adjustment of collective disputes.
Immediately upon notice of a dispute the establishment is placed
under military control and any cessation of work is prohibited under
severe penalties. The decree provides for an immediate hearing and
if conciliation fails, a decision of the board as arbitrator within 24
hours after the hearing. In the case of the failure of the board to
agree a referee must be appointed without delay and a decision
rendered within 24 hours after a hearing. In case of difficulty in
agreeing upon appointment of a referee, the minister of munitions
may himself designate a referee or may himself render a decision
upon the matters in dispute. The decision of the arbitration board
or of the referee becomes effective immediately upon its approval by
the minister of munitions, and if any employer or the employees refuse
to comply with the decision the establishment or the employees shall
be immediately placed under military control.
The text of the minister’s report and decree follows :
REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF MUNITIONS UPON THE REGULATION OF
DISPUTES IN MUNITIONS FACTORIES.

Mr. P r e s i d e n t :
The suspensions'of work which have occurred lately in several establishments en­
gaged in the manufacture of war materials in the Paris district have caused some
uneasiness among the public and the armies.
The effect, however, which some isolated movements of this kind might have upon
the results of the immense work now in actual progress in all France certainly should
not be exaggerated. It is only fair to give due credit for the persevering and regular
efforts with which male and female workers in factories of war materials have per­
formed their work day and night, often working long hours overtime and under aggra­
vating and unwonted conditions. It is equally fair to recognize that the increased
cost of living has caused special hardship to this class of workers, because frequently
their new employment has torn them from their family life and former conditions of
living.
Nevertheless, it is inadmissible that possible disputes between this class of workers
and their employers should be accompanied by a suspension of work caused either by


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acts of the employer or by those of the workmen, since such a suspension of work,
however limited, always has the effect of reducing the maximum output of the
factories.
In such cases it is therefore legitimate, in the national interest, to impose on both
parties a procedure of compulsory conciliation and arbitration which, while leaving
to the parties to the dispute full opportunity for asserting and defending their case,
insures the indispensable continuity of the production of war materials.
With this object in view, the draft of the decree, which I have the honor to submit,
establishes in industrial districts, permanent boards of conciliation and arbitration’
recourse to which shall be obligatory in case of collective disputes between employers
and workmen in the manufacture of armaments, munitions, and war materials.
The composition of these boards and the regulations decreed for their functions seem
to give to both parties full guaranties that their cause will be properly represented
and sustained, and consequently makes any suspension of work under these conditions
without object and unlawful. Lastly, in reserving to the minister of munitions the
ligjit of appioval of the decisions of the boards (without which the decisions do not
become effective), and in certain cases, even the final decision, the procedure pro­
vided in the proposed decree guarantees to the interested parties that the decision
rendered will be prompted only by justice and by the predominant anxiety for the
national defense.
Since all these guaranties are given to the two parties, it is out of the question that
anybody could object to the application by the authorities responsible for the national
defense, of the powers vested in them by the law on military requisition, to that party
which refuses to submit to the above procedure or to accept the arbitral decision-—it
always being understood that recourse to these powers will be exercised with full
regard to law and equity.
f
A lbert T homas,

The Minister of Munitions (Le ministre de Varmament el desfabrications de guerre).
TEXT OF DECREE OF MINISTER OF MUNITIONS OF JANUARY 17, 1917, FOR
REGULATION OF DISPUTES IN MUNITIONS FACTORIES.
A rticle 1. Employers, workmen, and salaried persons in private establishments,
factories, and enterprises engaged in the manufacture of armaments, munitions, and
war materials, shall, in case of a dispute of a collective nature relating to conditions
of labor, not be permitted to break the contract of labor, nor to stop or cease work
before having submitted the questions in dispute to conciliation and arbitration,
such as are provided for in the following articles.
_^ RT- 2. There shall be established under the supervision of the minister of muni­
tions, in such districts as shall be determined by him for this purpose, a permanent
board of conciliation and arbitration composed of an equal number of representa­
tives of employers and workers, but not less than two of each class. These repre­
sentatives are to be exempt from military duty.
A rt. 3. The collective differences shall be stated by a declaration made to the con­
troller of labor, either by the employer or his representative or by a workman bear­
ing a written authorization, free of stamp duty, signed by at least 20 other workmen.
_A r t- 4- The controller of labor shall notify the board of conciliation and arbitra­
tion, provided for in article 2, and advise the minister of munitions, who shall desig­
nate a representative of his office to appear before the committee for the hearing.
The committee shall assemble at the local mayor’s office without undue delay, hear
the parties one or more times, and if terms of conciliation are not reached by them, it
shall issue, within 24 hours after the last hearing its decision as arbitrator which shall
be placed on record and signed by each member of the committee.
A rt. 5. If a unanimous decision can not be rendered by the arbitrators, they shall
designate one or more referees. If an agreement is not reached as to this appoint-


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ment, the minister of munitions has the authority either to designate referees or to
referee the dispute himself.
A rt . 6. The referee or referees summoned without delay by the controller of labor,
shall hear the arbitrators and the parties, and within 24 hours after the hearing shall
render their decision in a written report.
The decision of the arbitration board provided for in articles 4 and 5 shall be in
force as soon as it has been officially approved by the minister of munitions or by his
order, and been posted in the workrooms by the employer or, if he fails to do so, by
the controller of labor, at the expense of the employer.
A rt . 7. If the minister himself acts as referee, his decision shall be published and
becomes effective in the same manner.
A rt. 8. If the employer refuses to conform to the decision of the arbitration board,
the industrial establishment shall be placed under military control in accordance with
articles 58 and 60 of the law of July 3, 1877, amended by the laws of March 5, 1890,
July 17, 1898, April 17, 1901, March 27, 1906, and July 23, 1911.
Art . 9. If the decision of the arbitration board orders the payment to the workmen,
in accordance with the decree of August 10, 1899, of sums, supplementary to the
wages, or otherwise, and if the employer refuses to conform to such order, the adminis­
trative personnel of the industrial establishment shall be placed, in virtue of the dis­
position above mentioned, under military control for the purpose of effecting the
necessary payments.
The sums necessary to make these payments shall be advanced by the ministry of
munitions, to be subsequently retained from sums due to the employer by the State.
A rt. 10. Should there be workmen refusing to comply with the arbitrator’s decision,
they shall be placed under military control in accordance with article 5, paragraph
8, or of articles 58 and 60 of the law of July 3, 1877, before cited.
Art . 11. Whenever the controller of labor is served with a notice of a collective
dispute, he shall immediately give notice of it to the district military authority.

From the time of the notification of the controller of labor of the dispute until the
posting of the decision of the arbitration board the above-named military authority
shall place under military control (in conformity with articles 58 and 60 of the law
of July 3, 1877, amended by the laws of March 5, 1890, July 17, 1898, April 17, 1901,
March 27, 1906, and July 23, 1911) the entire directing administrative personnel and
the working force of the establishment, so that order and continuity of production may
be maintained.
Art . 12. The provisions of the arbitral decision, rendered for one or more establish­
ments or for one or more classes of workers, may, by decision of the minister of m uni­
tions, be made applicable in the district affected, to all or a portion of the other
establishments in this district or to other occupational groups which may be found
in comparable conditions.
Art . 13. The provisions of this decree are not applicable to mobilized persons, for
whom the conditions of work shall continue to be determined by the controller of labor,
in conformity with the normal and current conditions in the specific occupations in
the district.
NEW REGULATIONS AS TO WAGES OF WORKERS IN MUNITIONS
FACTORIES.

The new regulations concerning earnings of male and female workers engaged in
the manufacture of armaments, munitions, and war materials in Paris and in the
Department of the Seine, are as follows:
1

.

The rates of pay provided for in the schedule hereto attached shall not be considered
as effecting in any case a decrease in wages which may be higher at present, whether
they be basic or piecework wages.


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This schedule represents, with respect to the minimum wages, and with respect to
piecework, the minimum hourly wages which should be earned by an average worker
working normally, but in neither the one nor the other case do they preclude higher
wages.
2. BASIC R A T E S .

A basic rate is established for occupations in Paris and the Department of the Seine.
The basic rate shall be uniform for all workers, male and female, performing identical
work.
The lowest wages paid must assure the minimum necessary to provide a living.
Premiums, extra pay, etc., constitute supplementary earnings corresponding to the
increased production of male and female workers more apt and more enduring.
*1-hi®schedule of rates and the present regulations shall be posted in the workshops
in accordance with regulations issued by the controller of labor.
3. P IE C E W O R K .

The rate of pay for piecework must be fixed in a manner to permit an average
workman, working normally, to earn a minimum computed on the basic rate, and a
bonus determined by the scale appended here (minimum hourly wage for piecework).
In case of disputes, the burden of proof rests on the employer to establish the fact
that the piece rate surely permits the earning of the bonus provided
There is no limitation of rate provided for piecework.
4.

P R E M IU M S (G R A T U IT IE S O R E N G L IS H P R E M IU M S ).

Male and female workers, to whom work may not be assigned at piece rates, may
receive premiums or gratuities above the basic rate.
Their minimum earnings in that case (basic rate plus the premium or gratuity) must,
be fixed at the minimum piece rate of workers of the same class employed on like
manufactures and working at piece rates.
5.

E A R N IN G S OF W O M EN AT P IE C E W O R K .

For work exactly identical, performed under the same conditions by men and by
women, the piecework wages paid the women shall not be less than those paid to
men. If one part of the work done by the men (setting up machines, regulating tools,
oi supplementary care) is not performed by the women, or if male workers must be
provided in order to make operation possible, the total earnings of the women, plus
the general expenses which the employment of women necessitates, shall not be less
than that which men earn who perform all parts of the same work.
6.

STA BILITY OP P IE C E W O R K R A T E S .

The rates for piecework may only be decreased in case of actual modifications in
machines having an influence on production and in proportion to that modification.
During the period of training of the workers, male or female, or during the period
of adaptation required for new work, the proper rate of earnings shall not be less
than the minimum rate known as the English rate, defined above in paragraph 2 of
article 4.
7.

IM PE R FE C T W O R K .

If piecework is rejected because of imperfection and deductions are made from the
earnings of male or female workers, such rejected work must be rendered useless in
their presence. If, however, such imperfect work can be utilized by correction of
the imperfection, of which the controller shall be the judge, the worker shall receive
earnings as per schedule less costs of correction of the imperfection.
81733°—17---- 3


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF T ABOR STATISTICS.
8.

STO PPA GE OF W O RK FO R C A U SES N OT IN H E R E N T IN T H E W O R K E R S .

In case of stoppage of work by accident to the machinery, lack of material, or any
other causes not inherent in the laborers, the workers, male or female, shall be paid
an allowance representing the loss of earnings during the period of unemployment.
The sum thus paid as a substitute for earnings shall not take into account piecework
earnings, or premium. Time lost in this manner shall be paid for at the basic rate.
9.

P IE C E W O R K T IC K E T S.

Work tickets for piece rate or bonus work must show the district basic and special
rate and the various bonuses.
The tickets must also show the number of pieces produced and the wage per unit
and must be delivered to each worker on commencing work.
10. RA TE S H E E T S .

Rate sheets shall be prepared in conformity to a uniform model which will permit
workers to easily determine the equality of wages in the different establishments.
The model rate sheet will be prepared by the controller of labor.
11. EM PLO Y M EN T.

Regulations shall be established fixing the conditions of discharge and reemploy­
ment; they shall at all times guarantee the workers against earnings inferior to their
individual ability, and assure the regularity of production of articles necessary for the
national defense.
12.

P E N A L T IE S .

The system of penalties, in force in a certain number of workshops, shall be revised
by a mixed commission appointed by the minister of munitions.
13.

A PPLICA TIO N .

All differences arising in the application of these regulations shall, in cases of indi­
viduals, be laid before the controller of labor and, in collective cases, before the com­
mittee above provided for.
The earnings of special classes of workers, male or female, not specified in the present
schedule, and which do not come under any of the specified classes, shall be fixed on
identical bases by the action of the same commission.
14.

R

e v is io n

.

The present rate schedule may be modified on demand of either the employers’
or workmen’s organizations.
BA SIC M IN IM U M W A G E SCALE.

Unskilled workers.
Basic wage: Men, 0.80 franc [15.4 cents]; women, 0.65 franc [12.5 cents]. Average
minimum hourly wage for piecework: Men, 1 franc [19.3 cents]; women, 0.75 franc
[14.5 cents].


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Skilled workers.

Occupation.

Basic wage.

F itters, sem iskilled...........................................................................
F itters, setters u p , inspectors...................................................... .
Tool fitte rs ..........................................................................................
T urners, sk illed .................................................................................
T urners, tool m akers........................................................................
Milling..................................................................................................
Milling, hand-fed..............................................................................
M etal beaters, p lan ers.....................................................................
Correctors............................................................................................
Correctors, tool m a k e rs ................... ..............................................
T insm iths, sheet-iron w orkers.......................................................
Boiler m a k e rs ....................................................................................
Solderers’ h e lp e rs.............................................................................
Solderers, autogenous................................................. ...................
H am m er works: B lacksm iths skilled p a tte rn m a k e rs..........
Small forges: B lacksm ith’s helpers (hand), and tool makers.

Average
hourly mini­
mum wage
for piecework.

Francs. Cents Francs. Cents.
0.75 [14.5]
0.95
[18.3]
1.00
19.3'
1.30
'25.1
1.10 '21. 2'
1. 40
'27. O'
1.00
19.3
1.30
'25.1'
1.15 '22. 2
1.45
'28. O'
1.00
19.3'
1.30
'25.1'
1.10
21.2'
1. 40
'27. O'
1.00
19.3'
1.30
'25.1
1.00
19. 3
1.30
'25.1
1.10
21. 2'
1.40
27. O'
.95
18.3‘
1.25
24.1
1.00
19.3'
1.30
25.1'
.75
14.5'
.95
18.3
1.00
19.3'
1.30
'25.1
1.15
22. 2
1.60 : 30.9'
.95 l18. 3'
1.35
26.1'

CONCILIATION WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, JANUARY 16,
1917, TO FEBRUARY 15, 1917.

Under the organic act of the department, which gives the Secretary
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 January 16, 1917, and
February 15, 1917, in nine labor disputes. The companies involved,
the number of employees affected, and the results secured, so far as
information is available, were as follows :
N U M B E R O F L A B O R D IS P U T E S H A N D L E D B Y T H E D E P A R T M E N T O F L A B O R T H R O U G H
• IT S CO M M ISSIO N ER S O F C O N C IL IA T IO N , JA N . 16 TO F E B . 15, 1917.
W orkm en affected.

Name.

R esult.
D irectly. Indirectly.

Strike of employees a t A m erican Sm elting & Refining C o .,P e rth
A m boy and M aurer, N. J.
Strike, W m .M . Crane Stove W orks, Jersey C ity, N . J ............................
Strike of m achinists, P hiladelphia, P a ......................................................
Strikes of sh irt m akers, P hiladelphia, P a ..................................................
Strikes of garm ent w orkers, P hiladelphia, P a .........................................
Strike, Claus Spreckels sugar refinery, P hiladelphia, P a ......................
Lockout, C lark Bros, m achine shop, Clean, N . Y ..................................
Controversy in bridge and building d e p artm en t, S t. Louis & San
Francisco ( Frisco) R . R .,N ew b u rg , M o.,and W est Tulsa, Okla.
Strike, R em ington A rm s Co., B ridgeport, Conn.....................................

1,600
C)

A djusted.
C)

(!)
(!)

0)
0)

W
(1)

0)

in
0)
0)

0)

0)

C)

Pending.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.

1 Not reported.

The following cases have been disposed of:
Strike of cigar makers, Detroit, Mich.: Unable to adjust.
Strike, New Cornelia Copper Co., Ajo, Ariz.: Adjusted.
Strike of textile workers, Iron Works mills, M. C. D. Borden & Sons Co., Fall River,
Mass.: Adjusted.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NEW AGREEMENT IN THE DRESS AND WAIST INDUSTRY, NEW YORK CITY.

During a period of several months the dress and waist makers’
local No. 25 of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union,
New York City, submitted to the Dress and Waist Manufacturers’
Association certain demands, asking for changes in the provisions of
the protocol of peace entered into between the union and the asso­
ciation on January 18, 1913, including subsequent amendatory
decisions of the board of arbitration. These demands were met by
the manufacturers’ association, under date of January 9, 1917, by
countersuggestions, and an agreement failing, the whole matter was
referred to the board of arbitration created by the protocol to which
reference has been made. While reserving action on a few points in
controversy, the board of arbitration in a decision effective January
29, 1917, granted several of the demands of the union and of the
association, and, in denying others, submitted in lieu thereof rulings
to govern the future action of both sides in dispute.
The union requested that the wages and earnings of the workers
in the industry be increased 20 per cent, and that the number of
working hours per week be reduced to 48. Both of these demands
were denied. The board, however, fixed the number of hours at
49—9 on the first five days and 4 on Saturdays and Sundays—and
established a schedule of weekly minimum wages representing
increases ranging from 5$ to 16| per cent.1 As illustrative of the
changes in wages it may be stated that the union asked for an hourly
base rate of 50 cents for tuckers, closers, sleeve setters, buttonhole
makers, and hemmers, and of 35 cents for hemstitchers, lace runners,
and button sewers. The association rejected this and offered to pay
40 cents per hour to tuckers, 35 cents to closers, sleeve setters, and
hemmers, 38 cents to buttonhole makers, and a minimum of $12 per
week to hemstitchers on week work, with no base rates for lace
runners and button sewers. The board of arbitration determined upon
a piecework basis," the rates to be fixed so as to yield to the average
experienced tucker, closer, hemmer, and buttonhole maker not less
than 50 cents for each hour of continuous work, and to hemstitchers,
lace runners, and button sewers not less than 38 cents.
Some difficulty having arisen as to the settlement of price dis­
putes, the union requested that the protocol be amended by pro­
viding that all price disputes be adjusted within one week, workers
not being required to do work on disputed garments after the lapse
of such week. The association refused to accede to this demand, but
it was granted by the board of arbitration in a modified form pro­
viding that “ all price disputes shall be adjusted by the second pay
1 This schedule to he in force pending th e change to piecework basis as m entioned in footnote 2.
2 I t fu rth er decided th a t all shops in w hich operating h ad been done b y th e week should change th e system
to piecework, th e chief clerks having th e power to m ake exem ptions w herever necessary.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S .

367

day for the garments in dispute; if not then adjusted, payment shall
be made then and thereafter until adjustment at the maximum of
the disputed prices; any excess over the finally adjusted price thus
paid shall be deducted or reimbursed when the price shall have been
finally adjusted.”
On this matter of price disputes the association submitted a request
that no worker in a shop shall be eligible to membership on a price
committee unless said worker shall have been a constant worker in
such shop for at least 6 months. In denying this request the board
of arbitration provided that “ a price committee shall be elected by
the employees in the shop at a regular shop meeting, if possible from
among workers who have been employed in that shop not less than
from one to three months.”
As to the status of some of the workers, the union felt that the
provision against admitting any new cutters’ apprentices into the
industry should be extended for a period of two years after April 19,
1917, and that the head cutter, also known as the foreman cutter,
should be entitled to the same rights and protection of the protocol
as other members of the union. Both of these requests were denied.
However, the further request of the union that the provision of the
protocol concerning equal distribution of work be made to apply to
all classes of workers, including cutters, was granted in part, the
provision being made that it shall apply to all full-fledged cutters,
but as to other cutters shall be optional with the employer.
The union also felt that it was necessary to protect workers from
discharge upon being eligible to higher rate of pay because of length
of service, such discharge being resorted to by the employer to evade
paying the higher rate, and asked that the association subscribe to
this request. It was rejected, however, but the board of arbitration,
after considering the demand for several months, decided in favor of
the union and declared that a discharge for the reason given shall be
deemed a wrongful discharge.
Some difference of opinion having arisen as to what constitutes a
reorganization of an establishment as provided for in the protocol,
the union sought to have an amendment adopted defining a reorgani­
zation as meaning one necessitated by the permanent curtailment of
the employer’s business or a fundamental change in the character of
the business, with the further provisions that “ no shop chairman or
member of the price committee shall be discharged on account of such
reorganization,” and that “ such reorganization shall be undertaken
only at the beginning of the season,” discharges at that time to be
determined on the basis of seniority of employment. This demand
of the union was rejected by the association, but the board of arbi­
tration granted it with the exception of the last two clauses, begin­
ning with the word “ such.”


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MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The union also thought that the clause in the protocol relating to
the registration of outside shops should he amended by adding “ and
no member of the association shall have any work done by a firm not
a member of the association or under contract with the union, nor
shall any member of the association buy ready-made garments from
such firm. In all cases in which an association member shall sell or
deliver goods to another person or concern to be made up into gar­
ments and to be resold or are delivered to such member the goods
shall be cut on the premises of the association member and shall be
delivered in cut form.” While reserving its decision on the first part
of this demand, the board of arbitration denied the request because
of that portion of it beginning with the word “ nor.”
In their counterdemands the manufacturers’ association asked
that a definite time limit be set for the duration of the protocol and
that all questions of wages, hours, etc., be so set forth that there would
be no changes, at least until the termination of the protocol. The
board of arbitration fixed two years beginning January 1, 1917, as
the life of the protocol, and provided that it may be renewed for
further periods of two years, unless written notice of termination is
given by either party, under certain conditions; and that during such
period of two years no change in its terms shall be made except “ in
case of some great emergency affecting either the specific industry
or business conditions generally in the country.” The board of
arbitration reserved the right to judge as to the existence of this
emergency. However, wages, base rates, and hours are subject to
revision by the board, on application by either party not later than
the 1st of November in any year. As to proposed changes in the
protocol, if the parties disagree and the matter is submitted to the
board of arbitration both sides shall be bound by its decision. Com­
plaints of violation of any part of the protocol shall be filed in writing
within 10 days after such violation shall have been brought to the
notice of the chief clerks. Controversies as to wages or settlement of
prices, wherein the clerks fail to agree, are, according to the decision
of the board, to be submitted to the committee of immediate action
instead of the board of protocol standards as heretofore.
The board of arbitration refused to grant the request of the manu­
facturers’ association that a clause be inserted to provide that the
union shall compensate the manufacturer for all loss caused by stop­
page of work, but granted the request that the board of protocol
standards be denied the judicial powers heretofore enjoyed by it.
The request of the association that there be established three dif­
ferent grades for apprentices in the various branches of week work
was reserved for future decision. The request of the union relative
to the admission of new members into the association and the re­
quest relative to the right to send representatives into a workshop
for certain purposes were also reserved for further consideration.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

369

FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30,1916.

The report of the Chief of the Division of Information of the Bu­
reau of Immigration,1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916, pre­
sents the results of the Federal employment work of the Department
of Labor for the first full year during which anything approximating
a national employment system has existed. To facilitate the carrying on of this work the country is divided into 20 zones, each having
a central office known as zone headquarters. In addition to these
there are 62 sub-branch offices. Since each zone reports directly to
the Division of Information, facts concerning labor conditions
throughout the country are as reliable and up-to-date as can be ob­
tained. The following table shows the work of the service since its
establishment :
Number of jobs secured yearly from 1907 to date.
Actually placed, fiscal years—
1908 and 1909.........................................................
5 ; ppg
1910
.................................................................................. 4,’ 283
1911..........................................................................................
5,176
1912
.................................................................................. 5, 807
1913
.................................................................................
5, 025
1914
.................................................................................
3, 368
1915
.................................................................................. 11, 871
1916.......................................................................................... 75,195
115, 733

Number of applications for jobs yearly to date.
Fiscal years—
1908 and 1909............................
...........
1910..........................
___
.......... - - - - 1911......................................................
1912..............................
1913.................................
...........
1914.....................................
1915..............................
...........
1916.................................
... .
Total..........................................

9fi 477
18 9QQ
QO «K7
Pfi 918
If) 8Q1
IQ 8Q8
on 1 1 Q
184 4SI

.................................... 415,470

The most striking fact in the preceding figures is the large increase
in the number of applicants and jobs secured during 1915, the year
in which the zone system was put in operation, and the still larger
increase during the following year.
Throughout this development of the Federal employment service
it has been the purpose of the Department of Labor to supplement
rather than displace the work of States and municipalities in this
1

Annual Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration, fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, pp. 143-

173. W ashington, 1916.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

field, because it is recognized that the latter enjoy facilities that
are not within the reach of the Federal Government.
The Department of Labor has received active cooperation from
the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the
Post Office Department. The report of the Chief of the Division of
Information suggests that still further cooperation by the Post
Office Department would be of advantage in bringing together
those desiring employment and those securing labor.
On May 1, 1916, a division was organized to be devoted to the
employment of women and girls, and one for young men and boys.
The organization of a division for aged people is contemplated.
Just prior to the harvesting of the grain crop of 1916 the Depart­
ment of Labor was advised by the labor commissioners of Oklahoma,
Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota that their States would
require 6,000, 35,000 to 40,000, 10,000, and 8,000 harvesters, respec­
tively. The inspector in charge of zone No. 2 was directed to open
headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., in order intelligently to direct
applicants for work to the grain fields. Since this work extended
beyond the end of the fiscal year, a full report is not available.
The following table gives a summary of the work done by the
Federal employment service in the various zones:
G E N E R A L SUM M A RY O F A C T IV IT IE S O F T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S E M P L O Y M E N T
S E R V IC E F O R T H E FISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G J U N E 30, 1916.
0 p p o rtu n ities received.
Zone
No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Zone h eadquarters.

Applica­
tions for
help.

Persons
applied for.

A pplications for em ploym ent.
A p p lie s
tions for
em ploy­
m ent.

Persons
referred to
employ­
m ent.

Persons
actually
placed.

B oston, M a s s ......................................
N ew Y ork, N . Y . (includes New­
a rk )......................................................
P h ilad elp h ia, P a ..................................
B altim ore, M d ......................................
Norfolk, V a ...........................................
Jacksonville, F la ..................................
N ew Orleans, L a ..................................
G alveston, T ex.....................................
Cleveland, O hio....................................
Chicago, 111............................................
M inneapolis, M in n ..............................
St. Louis, Mo. (includes K ansas
C ity ) ..................................................
D enver, Colo.................................... ..
H elena, M o n t........................................
Seattle, W a sh .......................................
P o rtlan d , Oreg......................................
San Francisco, C al...............................
Los Angeles, C al..................................

44

2,156

824

2,618
1,026
218
155
178
76
59
276
2,689
701

16,441
11,357
631
874
2,461
504
477
1,505
28,147
795

18,933
10,438
3,542
846
5,747
2,891
1,143
1.334
56,056
643

9,819
4,675
1,904
428
1,592
239
149
593
26,721
380

7,657
3', 226
1,904
360
1,421
40
61
202
25,892
378

1,568
111
65
7,109
4, 458
2,170
2,119

7,216
163
154
15,885
12,177
3,670
5,158

7,713
600
194
36,051
10,175
14,659
12,692

3,420
260
144
14,926
10,533
3,312
5,705

2,462
62
46
14,585
9,545
2,466
4, 740

T o tal.............................................

25,640

109,771

184,481

84,955

75,195

148

From this table it will be seen that the New York branch, which
was for many years the principal distributing center, stands fourth
in the number of persons actually placed, Chicago being first, Seattle,
second, and Portland, Oreg., third.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

371

The following table shows by occupations the number of applicants
for work and the number of applicants actually placed during the
fiscal year 1916:
N U M B E R O P A P P L IC A T IO N S F O R E M P L O Y M E N T A N D O P P E R S O N S A C TU A LL Y PL A C E D
D U R IN G T H E FISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E 30, 1916, B Y OCCU PA TIO N S.
N um ber of—

Occupation.

Bakers........... .
B a rb ers....__
Blacksm iths...
Boilermakers..
Bookbinders...
Brewers...........
Butchers.........

Boys (16 to 20).

Chauffeurs...............................
Clerks, bookkeepers, and ac­
countants.............................
Cooks and domestics.............
Draftsmen...............................
Drivers, teamsters, etc..........
Dyers and cleaners................
Electricians.............................
Engineers (civil)....................
Engineers (mechanical).........
Engravers...............................
Factory hands.........1.............
Farm ers..................................
Farm laborers........................
Firemen..................................
F ruit pickers and packers__
Furriers and fur workers.......
Gardeners...............................
Iron and steel workers..........
Janitors......... •.........................
Jewelers and watchm akers...
Laborers..................................
Laundry workers...................
Literary and scientific...........
Locksmiths..............................
Machinists................................
Mariners, seamen, etc.............
Masons and bricklayers..........
Merchants................................

A pplica­
tions for
em ploy­
m ent.
773
177
1,344
13
153
38
117
489
4,772
915
8,140
10,880
141
3,135
86
1,202
404
2,060
44
6,033
2,168
30,117
2,365
6,227
99
1.066
1,451
452
98
66.181
74
89
389
5,550
821
1,019
221

Number ofO ccupation.

Persons
actually
placed.

49
2
115
31
6
18
i 392
2 1,045
21
444
4,361
7
619
2
39
59
1
1,349
127
7,663
105
5,877
2
285
309
274
46,546
25
2 1,273
150
109

M etal workers (not iron and
s te e l).......................
M illers.................................
M iners................................
M olders............................
M usicians..................
N urses............................
P a in te rs an d glaziers................
P a tte rn m akers..........................
Photographers.....................
P lasterers..........................
Plum bers an d steam fitte rs . . .
P orters, ho tel help, e tc .............
P rin te rs .............................
Salesm en an d solicitors..........
Saddlers an d harness m akers.
Seam stresses...................
S ettlers.................
Shipw rights a n d joiners...........
S hoem akers..................
Stonecutters a n d drillers..........
T ailo rs..........................................
T anners a n d curriers.................
Teachers..................
T elegraph an d telephone oporators..........................
T in n ers......................
Tobacco w orkers................
U pholsterers............................
W atchm en a n d m essengers. . .
W eavers, spinners, e tc .............
W aiters.................................
W heelw rights. .
W oodworkers, etc
W oodsm en..................................
U nclassified.............................

1 Juvenile workers without indication of sex.

T o ta l. . . .

Applications for Persons
employ­ actually
placed.
ment.

716
112

1,740
12
130
698
1,974
96
78
320
1,258
9,168
470
631
61
3

20

381
2 129
9
61
305
11

1

5
65
436
9
469

88

73
137
269
506
111
20

159
193
63
247
1,021
100

3
149

223
119
272
638
3,172

41
99
1,511

184,481

75,195

2 Inclusive of helpers.

Of the 75,195 persons who found employment through the Federal
employment service, 46,546, or 61.9 per cent, were ordinary laborers;
58,263 (77.48 per cent) were American citizens, and of this latter
number, 57,727 (99.08 per cent) were native Americans. Fifty-four
races or peoples and 66 different occupations were represented in
the total number of persons placed.
WORK OF STATE AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN THE UNITED
STATES AND OF PROVINCIAL EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS IN CANADA.

In the following table data are presented for January, 1916, and
January, 1917, relative to the operations of public employment
offices. Figures furnished for the United States are for State employ­
ment bureaus in 15 States, municipal employment bureaus in 8


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372

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

States, a State-city employment bureau in 1 State, and a city-private
employment bureau in 1 State. Figures are also given for 2 Canadian
employment bureaus.
O P E R A T I O N S O F P U B L I C E M P L O Y M E N T O F F I C E S , J A N U A R Y , 1916 A N D 1917.

U N IT E D S T A T E S .

S tate a n d city.

California (m unicipal):
Berkeley—
.Tarm ary, 1916 ....................... .
Jan u ary , 1917................................. .
Fresno—
Jan u ary , 1916.......................................
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................
Sacramento-^.Tan nary, 1916
_ .........................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
California (State):
O akland—
Sacramento—
San Francisco—
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................

,

Persons applying
for w ork.
Applica- Persons
asked for
tions
'rom em ­ by em ­
New
ployers. ployers. registra­ R enew ­
als.
tio n s.

Persons
referred
to posi­
tions.

Positions
filled.

118
202

131
231

182
161

617
562

131
228

131
228

145
232

254
422

826
543

44
77

281
472

243
415

133
176

267
221

70
83

267

267
221

676

871

519

927

705

433

233

321

245

1,729

1,993

1,818

1,324

679
2 3,766

641
3 3,138

219
1,069

0)
0)

Total:

C onnecticut (State):
Bridgeport—
Jan u ary , 1916..
.........................
Jan u ary , 1917...
.........................
H artford—
Jan u ary , 1916
.........................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
New H aven—
Jan u ary 1916
.....................
............................
Jan u ary , 1917
Norwich—
Jan u ary , 1916 .
............................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
W at6rbury—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
January^ 1917......................................

P)

(l)
(l)

P)

C1)

145
624

C1)
0)

0)

P)

0)
0)

P)
P)

380
688

444
823

P)
0)

p)

(l)

P)

p)
p)

312
701

190
259

(!)
(B

p)
(l)

0)

P)

178
234

174
159

P)

P)

P)

0)

0)

p)

111
109

P)
P)

1,126
2,356

652
713

P)

480
835

0)

0)

P)

P)
P)
p)

Total:

Colorado (State):
Colorado Springs—
Jan u ary , 1916
........................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
D enver No. 1—
Jan u ary , 1916.....................................
Jan u ary , 1917.....................................
D enver No. 2—
Jan u ary , 1916....................................
Jan u ary , 1917....................................
Pueblo—
Jan u ary , 1916.....................................
Jan u ary , 1917.....................................
Total:

P)

(i)
410

456
410

(l)
522

(!)

138
155

P)

120
143

C1)

155

C1)

143

P)

0)

117

0)

4 378
143

P)

0)

(l)

p)

P)

P>336A

399
336

P)

P)

135

100
135

(l)

P)

(1)107„

103
107

P)
P)

P)

P)

P)
(l)

5578

112

P)
714
5 578

2 T n d u d m g 1 figures for S ta te e m p lo y m e n t offices n o t in o p e ra tio n in J a n u a r y , 1916, b u t n o t in c lu d in g
figures for S acram en to , n o t re p o rte d .
.
3 In c lu d in g figures for S ta te e m p lo y m e n t offices n o t m o p e ra tio n m J a n u a r y , 191o.
4 N u m b e r a p p ly in g for w ork.
5 N o t in c lu d in g figures for P u eb lo , n o t re p o rte d .


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

373

O P E R A T IO N S O P P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , JA N U A R Y , 1916 A N D 1917—C ontinued.
U N IT E D S T A T E S —C ontinued.

S ta te an d city.

Illinois (m unicipal):
Chicago—
Jan u ary , 1916.....................................
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................
Indiana (S tate):
F o rt W ayne—
Jan u ary , 1916.......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Indianapolis—
Jan u ary , 1916...................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
South B end—
Jan u ary , 1916...................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Total:
Jan u ary , 1916.......................
Jan u ary , 1917.........................
Iow a (State):
Des Moines—
Jan u ary , 1917...................................
K ansas (S tate):
Topeka—
Jan u ary , 1916..................................
Jan u ary , 1917.....................................
K entuck y (city, p riv ate):
Louisville—
Jan u ary , 1916...........................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
K entuck y (State):
Louisville—
Jan u ary , 1916.......................
Jan u ary , 1917...........................
Total:
Jan u ary , 1916....................
Jan u ary , 1917......................
Michigan (S tate):
B attle Creek—
Jan u ary , 1916.......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
B ay City—
Jan u a ry , 1917......................................
D etroit—
Jan u a ry , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................
Jan u a ry , 1916.......................................
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................
G rand R apids—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Jackson—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Kalam azoo—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Lansing—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Muskegon 4—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................
Saginaw—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Total:
Jan u ary , 1916...........................
Jan u ary , 1917...........................

Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica­ Persons
tions
asked for
New
from em ­ b y em ­
ployers. ployers. reg istra­ R enew ­
als.
tions.

Persons
referred
to posi­
tions.

Positions
filled.

20
21

97
66

P)

P)
P)

97
66

67
26

0)

318

113
440

C1)

(»)
(i)

113
2 435

112
409

0)

175
669

C)

P)

78

184
689

158
575

P)

310
464

P)

0)

24

300
250

269
228

597
1,374

539
1,212
24

625
120

136

689

383

26

58

87

25

49

8
87

8
136

48
71

4

12

8

65
-----

60

164
315

460
351

825
1,000

149
349

109
145

138
157

3343

138
157

138
157

287
506

247
302

0)
(l)
138
157

P)

300

53
38

0)

144

122

3 187

0)
P)
(1)

0)

61

61

P)
0)
0)

P)
(l)
P)

P)

4,030

2,832
4,030

P)

455
491

P)

0)

686
567

0)

461
526

P)

362
344

P)
3106
3193

0)

(*)

P)

P)

P)

P)

P)

(l)
279

P)

P)

P)

P)

(l)
34U

P)

P)

P)

0)

P)508

C1)

1,700
491
437

144

0)
0)
i1)

43
77

102

4,030
491
679
546

344

201

212

(!)

0)
3 574

3 112

3 217
3 513

(1)

(■)
(0
0)

(0

P)
P)
(!)

P)
0)
P)
0)

93

491
567
540

344

P)

160
93

99

142
99

P)

185

99
159

P)

572
513

(i)

3 5, 769
6, 883

513

6,923

1 Not reported.
* Estimated.
3 Number applying for work.
4 O pened Jan . 15,1916.
6 Exclusive of figures for office a t B ay C ity opened since Jan u a ry , 1916, an d inclusive of figures /or office
a t Muskegon opened Jan . 15,1916.


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374

MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , JA N U A R Y , 1916 A N D 1917—Continued.
U N IT E D S T A T E S —Continued.

S tate a n d city.

M innesota (S tate):
D u lu th —
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
M inneapolis—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
S t. P a u l—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.

Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica­ Persons
asked for
tions
from em ­ b y em ­
New
ployers. ployers. reg istra­ R enew ­
als.
tions.

0

(»)

0)
0)

)

(l )

0)
C1)

0)

0)

C1)

(x)
0)

772
1,192

(l )

C1)

1,141
1,557

(*)

(*)

(l)

C1)

C1)
0)

(l)

(*)

0)
0)

0)

C1)

New Y ork (m unicipal):
New Y ork C ity—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u a ry , 1917...
New Y o rk (S tate):
A lb an y —
Jan u ary , 19 1 6 ...
Jan u ary , 1917...
B rooklyn—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917...
Buffalo—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917...
R ochester—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917...
Syracuse—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917...

C)

0)

112

2 173

0)

( x)
( x)

(l)

102

620

(*)

535
887

2 570
(*)

0)

0)
C)

463
702

239
1,060

2 730

0)
C1)

(x)

192
639

0)

757
1,947

0)
0)322

697

(x)

0)


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

606

407

C1)
400

C1)
C)

C1)

380

350
261

1,510
3,025

1,592
3,320

1,999
2,790

0)

2,234
4,361

1,283
2,526

294
472

422
793

612
521

280
334

614
823

304
468

886

1,763

1,489
2,565

1,530
1,436

564
671

1,683
2,725

828
1,624

56;8
983

778
1,779

754
1,478

333

829
1,934

531
1,390

622
1,250

954
1,828

692
9/36

282
720

990
1,658

541
942

467
953

594
1,341

569
893

155
227

585
1,204

478
818

6,935
12, 705

3,965
7,768

407
393

C1)

C)

Total:
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
Ohio (S tate-city ):
A kron—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
C incinnati—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
Cleveland—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Ja n u a ry , 1917.
C olum bus—
J a n u a ry , 1916.
J an uary, 1917.
N ot reported.

2,769
3,566

(x)

Total:
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
M ontana (m unicipal):
B u tte —
J an uary, 1916..
Jan u ary , 1917..

856
817

(‘)

Total:
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
Missouri (S tate):
K ansas C ity—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
St. Joseph—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.
St. Louis—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917.

Positions
filled.

0)

(*)

(*)

Persons
referred
to posi­
tions.

C1)
C1)

1,481
2,097

949
876

1,767
2,104

1,276
1,824

938
1,418

0)
0)

1,289
1,553

1,797
1,690

4,500
3,280

1,262

1,601

887
1,109

C1)
0)

5,493
7,325

2,026
3,173

7,828
», 233

4,202
6,344

3,339
5,121

0)
C1)

1,457
2,081

743
744

2,629
2,367

1,371
1,926

1,147
1,674

2 N um ber applying for w ork.

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

375

O P E R A T IO N S O F P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , JA N U A R Y , 1916 A N D 1917—C ontinued.
U N IT E D S T A T E S —C ontinued.

S ta te a n d city.

Ohio (S tate-city )—Concluded.
D a y to n —
J an u ary , 1916..........
J a n u a ry , 1917.....................
Toledo—
Ja n u a ry , 1916........
J an u a ry , 1 917...
Y oungstow n—
Ja n u a ry , 1916.....................................
Ja n u a ry , 1917....................................

Persons applying
for vork.
A pplica­ Persons
tions
asked for
from em ­ b y em ­
New
ployers. ployers. registra­ R enew ­
als.
tions.

992
1,097

825
819

1,422
1,493

779
902

730
794

(l )
0)

1,786
2,680

1,252
1,160

2,350
2,360

1,602
2,102

1,199
1,744

0)
0)

1,073
1,411

663
915

1,041
839

984
1,317

756
1,160

11,476
16,016

8,996
13,020

61

71

0)
2 115

(»)
(*)

C1)

64

58
65

229
0)

C1)
330

(l)
2 355

C1)
C1)

C1)
307

212
253

203
(l)

C1)
331

(l)
2 387

0)
0)

0)

344

158
305

313
(»)

(»)
893

(1)
o
2 858

0)
0)

(»)
833

261
832

(*)
1,548

689
1,455

3,052
C1)

3,052
565

97

(l)

0)

Total:
Jan u ary , 1916..............
Jan u ary , 1917.....................
Oregon (m unicipal):
Portland—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917.
Pennsylvania (State):
Altoona—
Jan u ary , 1917.
D u B o is3—
Jan u ary , 1917..
H arrisburg—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917... .
J ohnstown—•
Jan u ary , 1916___
Jan u ary , 1917..........
Philadelphia—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917.........................
P ittsb u rg h —
Jan u ary , 1917___

1,274
423

3,223
587

2,496
380

0)
C1)

C1)

248

93

26

101

0)

132

20

5

19

9

43

372
1,123

188
330

21
137

137
313

64
268

30

40
171

102
66

2
19

68
73

33
59

110
0)

481
1,838

1,277
1,040

190
968

466
1,655

267
1,438

0)

883

710

235

687

633

671
4 2,848

364
4 2, 504

211

211
167

0)
0)

Total:
Jan u ary , 1916___
Jan u ary , 1917.....................
R hode Island (State):
Providence—■
Jan u a ry , 1916___
Jan u ary , 1917.............................

Positions
filled.

0)
i 1)

T o ta l:
J anuary, 1916...........................
Jan u a ry , 1917...........................
O klahom a (State):
E n id —
Jan u ary , 1916..
Jan u ary , 1917...
Muskogee—
Jan u ary , 1916..
Jan u ary , 1917...
Oklahom a C ity—
Jan u ary , 1916...
Jan u ary , 1917___
T ulsa—
Jan u ary , 1916.
Jan u ary , 1917..

Persons
referred
to posi­
tions.

209
149

274
167

163
103

116
84

0)

Texas (m unicipal):
Dallas—
Jan u ary , 1916.....................................
106
102
167
160
H
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
192
310
6 246
344
16 I
1 N ot reported.
2 N um ber applying for work.
8 In cooperation w ith D u Bois C ham ber of Commerce.
4 Including figures for offices a t A ltoona, D u Bois, a n d P ittsb u rg h opened since January, 1916.
* Inclu d in g 135 transients.


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145
298

376

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

O P E R A T IO N S O P P U B L IC E M P L O Y M E N T O F F IC E S , JA N U A R Y , 1916 A N D 1917—Concluded.
U N ITED STA TES—Concluded.
Persons applying
for w ork.
A pplica­ Persons
asked for
tio n s
from em ­ b y em­
New
ployers. ployers. registra­ Renew ­
als.
tions.

S tate and city.

Texas (m unicipal)—Concluded.
F o rt W orth—
Jan u ary , 1917.......................................

106
132

158
277

(’)
1,101

0)

43

Total:

V irginia (m unicipal):
R ichm ond—

228
321

W ashington (Federal m unicipal): T a­
coma.2
W ashington (m unicipal):
E v e re tt—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
January, 1917......................................
Seattle—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
January, 1917......................................
Spokane—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................

686
524

364
445

0)
(!)

(!)
0)

0)
C)

680
2,306

1,348
3,523

0)

436
972

709
1,995

339

0)
0)

Positions
filled.

160
200

155
194

320
544

300
492

393
560

157
231

170
256

(B
0)

0)
C1)

0)
(!)

1,348
3,591

680
3,161

695
1,907

689
1.907

0)
0)

1.539
5,324

54
20

349
125

Total:
January! 1917...........................
W isconsin (State):
L a Crosse—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
January, 1917......................................
M ilwaukee—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
January! 1917......................................
Oshkosh—'
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................
Superior—
Jan u ary , 1916......................................
Jan u ary , 1917......................................

Persons
referred
to posi­
tions.

115
210

179
117

C1)
3 221

0)
(l)

172
141

94
63

1,231
3,735

2,807
1,628

0)
3 3,224

(0
0)

2,535
3,373

1,917
2,591

115
189

130
126

0)
3 178

(0
«

108
113

78
80

262
666

927
269

(!)
3 609

(l)
0)

782
682

567
388

3,597
4,309

2,656
3,122

500

406

Total:

D O M IN IO N O F C A N A D A .
Quebec (Province):
M ontreal—
Jan u ary , 1917.........................................
Quebec—
Jan u ary , 1916.........................................
Jan u ary , 1917.........................................
Total:

J a n u a r y 1916

267

0)
(0

591

20

113

3400
3100
3153

0)
(*)
i1)

12
102

0)

(*)
(*)
(!)

C1)

508

2 Figures for this office are carried regularly in th e R e v ie w un d er th e subject, “ Federal em ploym ent
work of th e D ep artm en t of L ab o r,” to w hich th e reader is referred.
3 N um ber applying for work.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

377

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN HUNGARIAN CITIES.

Following the example set by other countries with progressive
tendencies as to labor legislation, the Hungarian Parliament, on
March 19, 1916, enacted a law making it obligatory for large cities
and communes to maintain public employment offices. The law
goes even further by providing that cities may be obligated to extend
' t h e activities of their employment offices to territory beyond the city
limits. For Hungary proper the law leaves the designation of the
cities and communes which shall maintain public employment offices,
and of the territory assigned to the individual offices as well as the
determination of the regulations for the organization and conduct
of these offices, to the joint action of the ministers of commerce and
of the interior, and for Croatia-Slavonia to that of the governor of
this crownland.
The law provides for the granting of subsidies from the State
budget in the case of Hungary proper and from the autonomous
provincial budget in the case of Croatia-Slavonia to those cities
the employment offices of which extend their field of activities beyond
the city limits. Public employment offices organized under the law
must give their services absolutely free to employers as well as to
employees and workmen. The activities of the employment officers
are to include the procuring of employment in all industrial occupa­
tions and in mining and commerce. The law came into force three
months after its promulgation.

EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES IN JANUARY, 1917.

Reports received from representative establishments concerning
volume of employment in January, 1917, as compared with the same
month in the preceding year, show that in 11 of the 13 industries
included in the inquiry the number of employees on the pay roll was
greater in January, 1917, than in January, 1916. The greatest
increase shown (33.2 per cent) is in automobile manufacturing.
The two industries showing a decrease are woolen manufacturing
and cigar manufacturing. The figures in the last-named industry are
slightly affected by a strike occurring in January, 1917, in one estab­
lishment. In boot and shoe manufacturing the figures show somewhat
the influence of a total shut-down in one establishment in January,
1916, because of a fire. The amount of money paid to employees in
January, 1917, was greater than in January, 1916, in each of the
13 industries. The greatest increase reported is 63.8 per cent for
the iron and steel industry.


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C O M PA R ISO N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN JA N U A R Y , 1916,
A N D JA N U A R Y , 1917.

E sta b ­
lish­
m ents
to
w hich
in­
quiries
were
sent.

In d u stry .

Boots and sh o es............
Cotton m anufacturing.
Cotton fin ish in g ............
H osiery and underw ear.
W oolen............................
S ilk ...................................
Men’s r e a d y - m a d e
clothing.
Iron and steel................
Car building and repairing.
Cigar m an u factu rin g ...
A utom obile manufacturing.
L eath er m anufacturing
P aper m a k in g ...............

85
89
19
82
56
64
88
142
79

N um ber on pay
E sta b ­
Per
roll in Jan u ary .
lish ­
cent
m ents
of
in­
report­ Period of
crease
ing for p a y roll.
( + ) or
Jan ­
de­
1917
u ary
1916
crease
b o th
(
-).
years.
69 1 w eek . . 60,406
55 . . .d o ....... 54,532
14 54Q
18
60 . . .d o ....... 32' 803
41 8QQ
45
48 2 weeks. 2 1 ' 734
38 1 w e e k .. 23,989

64,531
54,582
15 335
34* 265
2 l' 579
25,653

101 | m onth. 156,184 194,467
35 . . .d o ....... 43,318 48,303

A m ount of p a y roll
in Jan u ary —

Per
cent
of in­
crease
( + ) or
de­
crease
(-).

1916

1917

$788,781
467,214

$918,475
570,075

4.5
9 7

299’ 255

356’ 361

+ 19-1

.7
6.9

45L 354
319,514

514,647
373,232

+ 14 ! 0
+ 16.8

+24.5 4,941,210 8,093,520
+ 11.5 1,215,631 1,652,829

+ 63.8
+36.0

+
+
j
+
+
+

6.8
.1
4

5

+ 16.4
+ 22.0

104
69

53 1 w eek..
41 . ..d o .......

18, 551 17,969
77, 728 103,526

- 3.1
194,107
216,216
+33.2 1,512,832 2,068,681

+ 11.4
+36.7

45
69

26 . .. d o .......
46 . .. d o .......

12, 553
18,415

+23.8
+ 18.1

+ 41.1
+35.3

15,541
21, 748

150,290
235,574

212,008
318,779

Reports were also received from a very much smaller number of
establishments as to the number of employees actually working on
the last full day of the reported pay period, in January, 1917, and
January, 1916. While all industries are covered, some of them are
poorly represented and this fact should be borne in mind in consid­
ering the figures in the following table:
C O M PA R ISO N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S ON LA ST F U L L
D A Y ’S O P E R A T IO N IN JA N U A R Y , 1916, A N D JA N U A R Y , 1917.

In d u stry .

Boots and sh o es....................
C otton m an u factu rin g ........
C otton fin ish in g ....................
H osiery and un d erw ear___
W oolen..................................
S ilk ..........................................
Men’s ready-m ade clothing
Iron and s te e l........................
Car building and repairing.
Cigar m anufacturing...........
A utom obile m anufacturing
L eath er m an u factu rin g ___
P a p e r m a k in g .......................

E stab ­
lishm ents
reporting Period of
for Jan u ­ p a y roll.
ary b o th
years.

19
27
13
9
35
14
6
95
34
21
23
11
10

1 w eek . .
. . .d o .......
. . -do.......
. . -do.......
-. .d o .......
2 weeks .
1 w e e k ..
\ m onth.
. . .d o .......
1 w e e k ..
. . .d o ___
.. .do.......
. .. d o .......

N um ber actually
workin g on last P e r cent
full d£ty of re­
of in­
ported p a y pecrease
riod in January— ( + ) or de­
crease
(-)•
1916
1917
10,529
20,569
10,333
8,794
30,816
4, 499
7,810
138,949
35,263
5,929
58,326
7,146
4,095

11,492
20,966
10,640
9,369
31,246
4,631
8,793
165,564
38,681
5, 462
78,055
8,164
5,234

+ 9.1
+ 1.9
+ 3.0
+ 6.5
+ 1.4
+ 2.9
+ 12.6
+23.6
+ 9.7
- 7.9
+33.8
+ 14.2
+27.8

The figures in the next table show that in 6 of the 13 industries
listed there were more employees on the pay roll in January, 1917,
than in December, 1916, while in 7 industries, there was a decrease


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

379

in the number on the pay roll. The figures for cigar manufacturing
are somewhat affected by two strikes, one occurring in December,
1916, and one in January, 1917. The number of employees out on
account of these two strikes was greater in December, 1916, than in
January, 1917. Less money was received by employees in January,
1917, than in December, 1916, in 10 of the listed industries. The
greatest decrease reported is 4.9 per cent in leather manufacturing.
In three industries more money was paid to employees in January,
1917, than in December, 1916. The greatest increase was 5.4 per
cent in the iron and steel industry.
C O M PA R ISO N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S IN D E C E M B E R ,
1916, A N D JA N U A R Y , 1917.

In d u stry .

E sta b ­
lish­
m ents
to
which
in­
quiries
were
sent.

Boots a nd shoes............
Cotton m a n u factu rin g .
Cotton finishing............
Hosiery a n d underwear.
W oolen..........................
Silk...................................
Men’s
ready-m ade
clothing.
Iron and stee l................
Car building an d repairing.
Cigar m anu factu rin g ...
A utom obile manufacturing.
L eather m anufacturing
Paper m ak in g ...............

N um ber on pay
A m ount of pay roll
E stab ­
roll in—
in —
lish­
Per
P er
ments
cent of
cent of
report­
increase
increase,
Period
of
ing for
( + ) or
( + ) or
Decem­ p ay roll. Decem­ Jan ­
de­
Decem­
Jan­
de­
ber and
ber,
uary, crease
ber,
uary,
crease
Jan ­
1916.
1917.
1916.
1917.
(-).
uary.

85
89
19
82

70 1 w eek . .
51 . ..d o ___
18 . . .d o ___
55 . ..d o ___

42,277
53,028
15,596
27,277

42,553
52,789
15,335
27,046

+ 0.7
- .5
-1 .7
- .8

$615,116
552,491
212,480
297,801

$619,728
546', 635
206,775
290; 900

+ 0.7
—1.1
—2.7
-2 .3

56
04
88

39 . . . d o ___ 40,190
43 2 w eek s. 18,038
37 1 w eek.. 25,992

41,223
18,057
25,563

+ 2 .6
+ .1
- 1 .7

531,845
435,780
381,431

548,169
433,182
371,566

+ 3.1
— .6
-2 .6

142
79

101 b m onth. 183,279 188,160
36 . . .d o ___ 54,067 53,374

+ 2.7 7,439,853 7,838,658
- 1 . 3 1,863,788 1,800,721

- 3 .4

104
69

51 1 w eek .. 18,073 17,661
35 . . . d o ___ 103,061 103,829

-2 .3
219,300
212,782
+ .7 2,124,269 2,067' 910

—3 6
-2 .7

23 . . .d o ___
41 . . . d o ___

- .3
+ 1.3

-4 .9
- .5

45
69

12,680
17,848

12,638
18,077

194,994
269,336

185,482
267)926

The next table gives in comparable form for the 13 industries the
number of employees reported as actually working on the last full day
of the reported pay period in January, 1917, and December, 1916.
A much smaller number of establishments reported for this item than
the number of establishments reporting in the table immediately
preceding. This fact should be taken into consideration in using
these figures.
81733°—17-----4


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380

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

C O M PA R IS O N O F E M P L O Y M E N T IN ID E N T IC A L E S T A B L IS H M E N T S ON LA ST F U L L
D A Y ’S O P E R A T IO N IN D E C E M B E R , 1916, AN D JA N U A R Y , 1917.

E sta b ­
lishm ents
reporting Period
of
for De­
cem ber pay roll.
and Jan ­
uary .

In d u stry .

"Roots and shoos....................................................................
C otton m anufacturing
..................................
C o tto n finish inu _
...................................................
TTosip.ry and underw ear
...........................................
W ool pn
........................................................
Silk
.....................................................
Monts ready-made, clo th in g ...............................................
Tron and stool
..........................................................
Car hllildinp- and re p a irin g
..................................
Cjgar m am i faotnring .........................................................
A u to m o b ile m an u factu rin g .
....................................
T /cathpr m a n u fa c tu rin g
P a p e r m ap in g

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

N um ber actually
w orking on last
full d a y of re­
ported p a y peri­
od in—
Decem­ January,
1917.
ber, 1916.

P er cent
of
increase
( + ) or
decrease
(-)•

1 w eek. .
. ..d o .......
. .. d o .......
. ..d o .......
. .. d o .......
2 w eeks.
1 w eek. .
b m onth.
. ..d o .......
1 w eek . .

4,939
26,275
11,261
12, 721
30,432
11,474
11,561
153,345
45,937
5,402

5,339
27,011
10,921
12,572
30,891
11,385
11,608
154,948
43,748
5,334

+ 8.1
+ 2.8
-3 .0
-1 .2
+ 1-5
- .8
+ -4
+ 1.0
- 4 .8
-1 .3

18 . . . d o ........
9 . . . d o ........
7 . . . d o ........

74,694
6,472
3,036

75,857
6,588
2,937

+ 1.6
+ 1.8
- 3 .3

19
32
14
14
34
21
7
94
35
19

-

Reports from 6 clothing establishments show $22,283 paid for
contract work in January, 1917, as against $28,324 in January, 1916.
The same establishments paid out $16,682 for contract work in
December, 1916.
CHANGES IN WAGE RATES.

Some changes in wage rates were reported as occurring in the
period December 15, 1916, to January 15, 1917, in 12 of the 13 indus­
tries from which volume of employment schedules were received.
The only industry in which establishments did not report any change
in wage rates was automobile manufacturing. In the case of estab­
lishments that failed to answer the inquiry as to wage-rate changes,
it is probably safe to assume that no changes were made.
The greatest number of changes took place in the iron and steel
industry. In one establishment in this industry an increase of 3
per cent was given to 50 per cent of the force. An increase of 5 to
10 per cent to all hourly rated men is reported by one establishment,
while a “ bonus” of 5 per cent is given in another instance to those
making full time. One establishment reports an increase of 6.6 per
cent to all. An increase of 7 per cent is made by one establishment
to tonnage men; two establishments grant an increase of 71 per cent
to tonnage men, and in one of the last two establishments an increase
of 10 per cent is also given to day men. One establishment gave a
7 per cent increase to 15 per cent of the force and another an average
increase of 7 per cent to practically all. An increase of 8 per cent is
reported by two establishments. In one case the increase was given
to all and in the other instance to “ practically all.” A pay-roll
increase of 9 per cent applied to 75 per cent of the force is reported
by one establishment. Increases of between 9 and 10 per cent are
reported by four establishments. In one case the increase is made


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

381

to apply to practically all, while in the other three instances the
proportion of the force receiving the increase is not stated. Three
establishments report a 10 per cent increase to all, while two estab­
lishments report a “ general increase” of 10 per cent. One estab­
lishment reports a pay-roll increase of 10 per cent affecting nearly
95 per cent of the force; another the same rate of increase applied to
all except the hot-mill department; and a third a 10 per cent increase
affecting 40 per cent of the force. One establishment reports an
increase of practically 10 per cent to all. Four establishments
report an increase of 10 per cent, but do not state the proportion of
the force receiving the same. An increase of between 10 and 11 per
cent is reported by two establishments. In one case the increase was
applied to all and in the other instance to 90 per cent of the force.
In one establishment what appears to have been a previous bonus of
10 per cent was increased to 20 per cent and applied to all employees
except bar-mill pieceworkers.
In silk manufacturing, one establishment reports an increase of 5
per cent to about 3 per cent of its force and an increase of 10 per
cent to about 25 per cent of its force. Another establishment gave
'$1 a week advance to weavers; still another gave an additional 50
cents a week to about 4 per cent of the employees in one occupation
only, and about 10 per cent increase to a similar proportion in
another single occupation. An increase of a cent a yard on weaving
rates on various units is reported by one establishment, while in­
creases of 9 and 10 per cent are reported by two establishments, the
proportion of the force affected being 96 per cent in the first instance
and the increase going to all in the second instance.
In the woolen industry, two increases of 10 per cent are reported.
In one case the increase was given to all and in the other increase the
proportion of the force receiving the increase is not stated.
In cotton manufacturing, increases of 5, 7, and 8 per cent are
reported, respectively, for three establishments, who apply the
increases to all. Four establishments made a 10 per cent increase
applied to all and one establishment a “ general increase” of 10
per cent.
In cotton finishing, an increase of 10 per cent to about 94 percent
of the force is reported by one establishment and an increase of 20
per cent to 5 per cent of the force by another establishment. In
hosiery and knit goods, four establishments report an increase of 10
per cent; in two cases it was made to all, in one instance the increase
is reported as “ general” while in the fourth case the proportion of
the force receiving the increase is not stated.
The only increase reported in the industry of men’s ready-made
clothing was an increase to all apprentices in one establishment. The
amount of the increase is not stated.


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382

MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.

In boot and shoe manufacturing, one establishment reports an
increase of 5 per cent to pieceworkers, and another an increase of 10
per cent and a reduction of hours from 54 to 50.
In car building and repairing, one establishment reports an increase
of 3 to 8 per cent to 80 per cent of the force, another an increase of 5
per cent to 90 per cent of the force, and a third an increase of 6 per
cent to all.
In cigar manufacturing, increases are reported by five individual
establishments, as follows: About 5 per cent to 85 per cent of the
force; 5 to 10 per cent to all; 6 per cent to 75 per cent of the force;
about 8 per cent to all; $1 per thousand to cigar makers.
In the manufacture of paper, one establishment made an increase
of 3 to 5 per cent to about 75 per cent of the force. Another estab­
lishment made an increase of 12J per cent to 10 per cent of the force.
In this industry, two increases in the nature of bonuses were made.
In one establishment it was a 10 per cent bonus on December wages.
In the other instance a bonus of 10 per cent was granted on wages for
the first six months of the year in addition to what appears to have
been a previous bonus of 10 per cent for that period and a bonus of
20 per cent was given on wages for the last six months, making the
full bonus 20 per cent on wages for the entire year.
The only increase in the leather industry reported to the bureau
was an increase of 9 per cent in the wage rates of 12 per cent of the
force made by one establishment.
A few establishments misread the inquiry as to changes in wage
rates and reported changes in the year preceding January 15, 1917,
rather than in the month December 15, 1916, to January 15, 1917,
with the statements so indefinitely made that the reports could not
be used.
EMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK IN JANUARY, 1917.

The monthly statement issued by the New York State Department
of Labor reads as follows:
EMPLOYMENT IN FACTORIES.
[Reported by 1,500 representative firms with over a half million employees, or one-third of the factory
workers in the State, and a weekly pay roll of more than 88,000,000.]

There was a slight recession of manufacturing activity in New York State in Jan­
uary. As compared with December, there were I per cent fewer employees and the
amount of wages paid out decreased 2 per cent. This decrease was shared in gen­
erally by the industrial groups. The clothing group was the only one to show a gain
both in employées and wages, while eight of the groups reported decreases both in
employees and wages. Activity was greater in January, however, than in any other
month, except the previous one, since returns have been received beginning in
June, 1914.
The increase in January, 1917, as compared with January one year ago was 10 per
cent in number of employees and 24 per cent in volume of wages. The increase


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

383

over January, two years ago, was 32 per cent in number of employees and 61 per cent
in volume of wages.
. The ^ r a g e earnings for a week of all employees, both males and females, included
m the returns were in January, $15.26 as compared with $15.53 in December. This
reflects the greater decrease in volume of wages as compared with that in number of
employees referred to above. The average earnings for a week in January, 1916,
were $13.53, and in January, 1915, they were $12.44.
The stone, clay, and glass products group reported in January decreases of 4 per
cent m number of employees and of 6 per cent in amount of wages paid as compared
vith December. Lime, cement, and plaster mills, and brickyards reported sea­
sonal decreases. As compared with January one year ago, there were one-eighth
more employees and the pay roll was one-third larger.
The metals, machinery, and conveyances group had 1 per cent fewer employees
and paid out 4 per cent less wages in January than in the preceding month. This
is by far the most important of the groups both as to number of employees and in
amount of wages paid. With the single exception of boat and ship building, each of
the 12 industries in the group was less active than in December. As compared with
January, 1916, the group as a whole employed one-sixth more workers and paid out
one-third more wages.
The wood manufactures group had 1 per cent fewer employees and paid out 6 per
cent less wages in January than in December. Each of the industries reported less­
ened activity. As compared with January one year ago, there were 7 per cent more
employees and one-sixth more wages were paid.
Ih e furs, leather, and rubber goods group reported 1 per cent fewer employees and
3 per cent less wages in January than in the previous month. The manufacture of
footwear was the only industry in the group which maintained the December level
of activity. As compared with January, 1916, the group as a whole employed oneeleventh more workers and paid out one-fourth more wages.
The chemicals group reported a negligible increase in the number of employees
and 1 per cent decrease in the amount of wages in January as compared with Decem­
ber. Drugs and miscellaneous chemicals were slightly more active than in Decem­
ber, but paints and oils reported lessened activity. The group as a whole employed
one-eighth more workers and paid out one-fourth more wages than in January, 1916.
The paper industry employed in January 1 per cent more workers than in December,
thereby establishing a new high record. Slightly less wages were paid out, however,
than in December. There were one-fifth more employees and one-fourth more
wages than January one year ago.
The printing and paper goods group reported in January a negligible decrease in
number of employees as compared with December and 1 per cent decrease in the
volume of wages. As compared with January of last year, one-twentieth more work­
ers were employed and one-tenth more wages were paid out.
The textiles group in January had slightly fewer workers than in December and
paid out 2 per cent less wages. Silk goods alone of the industries in this group paid
out more wages than in December, the other industries reporting a decrease. As
compared with January, 1916, one-twentieth more workers were employed and onefifth more wages were paid.
The clothing, millinery, and laundering group, the second largest group both as to
number of employees and as to amount of wages paid included in these returns, had
3 per cent more employees and paid out 5 per cent more wages in January than in
December. This favorable comparison with December was caused by increased
activity, seasonal in character, in women’s clothing and in millinery. Men’s shirts
and furnishings, and women’s underwear were considerably less active. The group
as a whole employed 4 per cent more workers and paid out 13 per cent more wages
than in January, 1916.


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384

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The food, liquors, and tobacco group reported in January a reduction of 5 per cent
in employees and of 4 per cent in amount of wages paid as compared with December.
Miscellaneous groceries reported greater strength. The canning and preserving in­
dustry, the slaughtering industry, and the manufacture of confectionery showed the
greatest decline since the previous month. As compared with January of last year
the group as a whole employed 3 per cent more workers and paid out 17 per cent more
wages.
The water, light, and power industry had 7 per cent fewer employees and paid out
4 per cent less in wages in January than in the previous month. As compared with
one year ago there were 4 per cent more employees and 12 per cent more wages were
paid.
BUILDING ACTIVITY IN PRINCIPAL CITIES.
[R eported b y b u ild in g d epartm ents.]

Building activity in New York State was 12 per cent less in January, 1917, than in
December, 1916, and 20 per cent less than in January, 1916. These figures are based
on returns from the 10 cities of the first and of the second class as to the estimated cost
of building work (of which new buildings constituted four-fifths) for which permits
have been issued. As compared with December, three cities—Albany, Binghamton,
and Yonkers—reported increases. The other cities reported decreases, although the
boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx in New York City reported increases. As com­
pared with January, 1916, four cities—Albany, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Yonkers •
reported increases, while the other six cities reported decreases. The boroughs of
Manhattan and Richmond reported increases but New York City as a whole reported
a decrease.
PROFIT SHARING IN THE UNITED STATES.

In Bulletin No. 208 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Profit Sharing in the United States, two forms of profit sharing in
operation in this country are classified—one under which distribu­
tion of a specific proportion of the net profits is made to at least onethird of the total number employed, including employees in occupa­
tions other than executive and clerical, and the other a limited profitsharing plan under which, less than one-third of the employees, exclud­
ing employees other than executives and clerks, are participants.
There are, however, bonus and stock-purchase plans, popularly
known as profit-sharing plans, involving payments of a percentage
of earnings based on length of service, or distribution of stock sub­
scriptions, but these are not, properly speaking, profit-sharing plans.
The bulletin presents a careful examination and analysis, with sta­
tistical data, of all the plans in operation, describing in detail the
arrangements in specific establishments and pointing out the factors
which determine profits, the conditions under which they are dis­
tributed, the proportion of total employees who participate, the
occupations or types of employment of participating employees, the
benefits accruing to participating employees, the cost to employers,
and the results secured through the operation of the plans.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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There are known to be 60 establishments in the United States
operating under the first plan, the profits distributed ranging from
2 to 100 per cent of wages. Payments mostly are made in cash,
although in some cases stock is given. Thirteen of these firms are
in Massachusetts; 26 are manufacturing establishments. Of 34 em­
ployers reporting, the cost to more than one-lialf was less than 6
per cent of their respective pay rolls. Five employers paid 20 per
cent or over. In these 34 establishments 82.9 per cent of the employ­
ees participating were other than executives, clerks or salespeople.
Of 37 establishments, 51.4 per cent reported 80 per cent or more of
their employees participating.
The number of firms conducting a limited profit-sharing plan is
very large. Of 17 reporting, almost all bar the wage earner or manual
worker. In most of these the payments are made in cash, the usual
practice being to set aside arbitrarily a percentage of the profits after
meeting all legitimate expenses of the business, including interest on
the investment. In 18 establishments approximately 74 per cent
of the participating employees were executives, cferks or sales­
people. In 10 of the establishments the proportion of participants
was less than 10 per cent of the number employed.
Under many of the bonus plans the employee’s share is merely a
gift and bears no relation to profits realized. Throe specific plans
are described in detail, giving rules governing their operation, bene­
fits accruing to employees, cost to employers, etc. One plant operat­
ing under this plan distributed in the first year to 69.7 per cent of
all employed a total of $8,434,849 on a regular pay roll of $14,021,067.
These various actual and so-called profit-sharing plans have resulted
in establishing more satisfactory relations between employers and
employees and have contributed considerably to the stabilization of
the working force, but employers are not agreed as to the results
achieved with reference to increasing the individual or collective
efficiency of participating employees.

RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN THE UNITED STATES.

Reports of retail prices of food received by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for January 15, 1917, show an increase of 1 per cent over
December 15, 1916. Four articles decreased in price, sugar the
most, 4 per cent. Four articles were the same on the two dates.
The other articles advanced in price, the greatest increases being 22
per cent for onions and 13 per cent for potatoes.
The following table shows the relative prices and the average
prices of the principal articles of food on December 15, 1916, and
January 15, 1917. The inclusion of later price quotations for De-


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386

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

cernber 15, for the United States and for the cities here shown, has
changed the average prices published in the February M o n t h l y R e ­
v ie w .
A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S O F FO O D ON
D EC . 15, 1916, AN D JA N . 15, 1917.
[The relative price shows th e p er cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of each m onth was of the average
price for th e year 1910.]
Average m oney
price.
Article.

Sirloin ste a k .................
R ound ste a k ................
R ib ro a st.......................
Chuck ro a s t..................
P la te boiling beef........
P ork c ho p s...................
B acon ............................
H a m ...............................
L a rd ...............................
H e n s...............................
Salmon, c an n e d ..........
Eggs, strictly fresh . . .
B u tte r, cream ery ........
Cheese............................
M i l k .. .. . .......................
B re a d .............................
F lo u r..............................
Corn m e a l.....................
R ice................................
P otatoes........................
O nions...........................
Beans, n a v y .................
P ru n e s...........................
R aisins, seeded............
Sugar...............................
Coffee............................. .
T e a ...................................

Relative price.

U n it.

P o u n d ........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___ d o .........
___d o .........
___d o .........
___d o .........
D ozen......... .
P o u n d .........
___d o ...........
Q u a rt...........
16-oz. lo a f1.,
¿-barrel bag.
P o u n d .........
___d o ...........
P e c k .............
P o u n d ..........
___d o ...........
___d o ...........
___d o ...........
___d o ...........
___d o ...........
___d o ...........

A ll a rtic le s com bined

Dec. 15,
1916.

Jan. 15,
1917.

SO. 268
.240
. 210
. 169
. 128
.222
.298
.306
.217
.241
.212
.529
.449
.310
.100
.070
1.337
.039
.091
.518
.057
.143
.138
.139
.083
.299
.546

SO. 276
.247
.216
.174
.132
.236
.296
.306
.214
.255
.214
.544
.453
.312
.099
.070
1.369
.040
.091
.587
.069
. 145
.139
.141
.080
.299
.546

Dec. 15,
1916.

Jan. 15,
1917.

98
98
99
98
100
98
104
104
124
102
105
141
114
120
110
107
124
116
100
128
116
130
103
108
104
100
100

101
101
102
101
103
104
103
104
122
108
106
145
115
121
109
108
127
118
100
145
141
132
104
109
100
100
100

111

112

16 ounces (w eight of dough).

From January 15, 1913, to January 15, 1917, prices advanced 30
per cent, the greatest advance from year to year, 19 per cent, being
from January 15, 1916, to January 15, 1917. Most of the articles
showed a greater advance between January 15, 1916, and January
15, 1917, than between January 15, 1913, and January 15, 1916. Of
the articles for wdiich information is given for the four years, potatoes
show the greatest increase, 146 per cent, but onions advanced more
than potatoes between January 15, 1916, and the same date of the
following year.


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387

MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The table following shows in detail the average and relative retail
prices for January 15 of each year from 1913 to 1917:
A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S O F FO O D ON J \ N
15 O F EA C H Y E A R , 1913 TO 1917.
[The relative price shows the per cent th a t

the 15th oi Jan u ary was

Average m oney price Jan. 15.
A rticle.

of the average price

Relative price Jan.

15.

U nit.
1913

Sirloin steak ................... Pound... SO. 238
R ound s te a k .................. ...do.......
.206
R ib ro a s t......................... ...do......
.187
Chuck ro a s t.................... ...do......
P late boiling beef.......... ...do.......
P ork c h o p s..................... .. .do.......
.186
B acon.............................. .. .do..
.255
H a m ................................. .. .do..
.253
L a rd ................................. ...do..
.154
H e n s................................. .. .do..
.203
Salmon, c a n n e d ............ ...do..
Eggs, stric tly fresh ........ Dozen__
.371
B u tte r, cream ery .......... Pound...
.410
Cheese.............................. ...do......
M iik.................................. Quart__
.089
B re ad ............................... 16-oz.loaP
F lo u r................................ J-bbl.bag.
.798
Cora m e a l.......................
Pound... .030
R ice..................................
..do......
P otatoes..........................
Peck...... .239
O nions............................. Pound...
Beans, n a v y ................... . ..do.......
P ru n e s............................. . . .do......
R aisins, seeded............... ..do......
Sugar................................. ..do......
Coffee................................. ,.do..
T e a ..................................... ..do..

1914

284

1915

1916

1917

0. 254
.228
. 199
. 163
.124
. 186
.273
.265
. 154
.203
. 198
.443
. 386
.232
.090
.060
.992
.033
.091
.223
.034
.073
. 137
.125
.060
.299
.546

0. 257
.228
.199
. 162

SO. 276
.247
.216
. 174
. 132
.236
.296
.306
.214
.255
.214
.544
.453
.312
.099
.070
1.369
.040
.091
.587
.069
.145
. 139
.141
.080
.299
. 546

.120

. 186
.273
.294
. 175
.217
.200

.424
.382
.243
.089
.062
.959
.032
.091
.356
.041
.091
.133
. 126
.067
. 299
.546

All articles combined.

1
1913 1914 1915 1916 1917
87
84
88
82
89
86
88
86
99
104
98
74
88
59

73

86

92
93
93
98
96
91
92
90
90
90

93
94
93
93
94
94
95
94
97
94
82
82
95
95
90 100
88 100
86
92
98
99
116 118 113
101
98
97
90
9d
100
99
98
85
92
95
73
92
89
92
97
95
100 100
70
55
88
69
83
66
83
102
09
97
98
65
75
84
100 100
100 100

91

91

94

101
101
102
101
103
104
103
104
122
108
1i¥>
145
115
109
108
127
118
inn
145
141
135»
104

10Q
100
100

112

1 16 ounces (w eight of dough).

RETAIL FRIGES IN CHICAGO, ILL.

In Chicago, 111., the combined price of the same articles of food,
was the same on January 15, 1915, and January 15, 1916, but was 19
per cent higher in December, 1916, than on these dates, and was 5 per
cent higher on January 15, 1917, than on December 15, 1916. For
the separate articles onions made the greatest advance—in January
over December, 22 per cent—followed by potatoes and eggs, each 16
per cent, and pork chops 13 per cent. Four articles declined slightly
during the month.
Fiom Januaiy, 1916, to January, 1917, all articles except rice,
coffee, and tea, advanced from 81 per cent for beans to 1 per cent for
sliced ham.


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388

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,

A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S IN C H IC A G O ,
IL L ., ON JA N . 15, 1915, 1916, AN D 1917, A N D ON D EC. 15, 1916.
[The relative price shows the per cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of each m onth w as, of th e average
price for th e y ear 1916.]
R elative price.

Average price.
U nit.

Article.

Jan u a ry —

January—
Jan.
Doe.
15,1916. 15,1917.
1916.

1915.

SO. 252 $0.252 SO. 266 SO. 268
Pound.
Sirloin s t e a k . .. .............
.224
.228
.206
.215
.do.
R o u n d ste a k ..................
.219
.221
.204
.212
.do.
R ib ro a st.........................
.169
.167
.155
.175
.d
o
.
Chuck ro a s t....................
.131
.132
.121
.129
.d o .
P late boiling beef.........
.232
.205
.
169
.171
.d
o
.
P o rk cho p s....................
.321
.321
.292
.280
.d o .
Bacon, sm oked, sliced .
.339
.349
.297
.303
.d
o
.
H am , sm oked, s lic e d ..
.206
.208
.134
.144
.d o .
L a rd .............................
.241
.221
.177
.201
.d
o
.
H ens.
.241
.236
.229
.227
Salm on, c an n ed ......................................d o . .
.544
.470
.395
.446
Eggs, stric tly fresh...................... D ozen..
.446
.367
.438
.367
B u tte r, cream ery ......................... P o u n d .
.325
.320
.246
.231
Cheese........................................... - .........d o . .
.090
.080
.090
.080
M ilk................................................. Q u a rt..
.071
.073
.058
.057
B re a d .............................................. 16-ounce loaf:i
1.
245
1.225
.843
.872
H o u r ............................................... ¿-barrel b a g .
.039
.038
.032
.031
Corn m e a l...................................... P o u n d .
.094
.094
.095
.098
R ic e ..............................- ................... . .. . d o .
.585
.503
.330
.199
P o tato es....................................... ........... Peck.
.063
.052
.042
.033
O nions............................................| P o u n d .
.147
.082
.146
.065
Beans, n a v y .................................. j.........do.
.140
.138
.131
.135
P ru n e s ............................................I.........do.
.150
.124
.150
.127
R aisins, seeded............................ ..........d o .
.073
.072
.060
.056
S ugar....... .....................
do.
.300
.300
.300
.300
Coffee...................
do.
.525
.525
.525
.525
T e a ........... .................... - ...........................do.

All articles com bined..............................

1

aol

1917.

1915.

1916.

93
95
97
105
102
81
93
98
87
80
97
132
97
88
95
94
89
95
104
53
70
61
103
96
77
100
100

93
91
93
93
96
80
97
96
81
91
98
117
97
94
95
95
86
96
101
88
90
77
100
94
82
100
100

98
99
100
100
105
97
101
100
125
100
101
139
116
124
107
117
125
114
100
134
111
138
105
114
99
100
100

99
101
101
101
104

93

93

111

116

no

101
97
124
109
103
161
118
122
107
119
127
118
100
156
135
139
107
114
100
100
100

1 16 ounces (w eight of dough)..

RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN NEW YOES CITY’.

In New York City prices were 5 per cent higher on January 15, 1917,
than on the 15th of the preceding month, and 21 per cent higher
than on the 15th of January of the previous year. As in the preceding
tables, the greatest advances from December 15, 1916, to January 15,
1917, appear in potatoes and onions, 24 and 11 per cent, respectively.
Eggs also advanced 11 per cent. Six articles declined in price. From
January 15, 1916, to January 15, 1917, only 1 article declined in
price. Beans advanced 71 per cent, and potatoes 70 per cent.


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389

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S AN D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S IN N E W Y O R K
C IT Y , ON JA N U A R Y 15,1915,1916, A N D 1917, AN D ON D E C E M B E R 15,1916.
[The relative price shows th e per cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of each m o n th w as of th e average
price for th e y ear 1916.]
R elative price.

Average price.
A rticle.

U n it.

Jan . 15—
1915

Sirloin s te a k ..............................
R o u n d steak ..............................
R ib ro a st.... ................................
C huck ro a s t...............................
P la te boiling beef.....................
P o rk ch o p s................................
B acon, sliced.............................
H am , w h o le..............................
L a r d ............................................
H e n s ............................................
Salm on, c an n e d ................ .......
Eggs, stric tly fresh...................
B u tte r, cream ery .....................
Cheese.........................................
M ilk..............................................
B re a d ..........................................
F lo u r............................................
Corn m e a l..................................
R ice..............................................
P otatoes......................................
Onions ......................................
B eans, n a v y ..............................
P ru n e s .......................................
R aisins, seeded.........................
S u g a r.........................................
Coffee...........................................
T ea...............................................

1916

Dee.
15,
1916.

P o u n d .............. SO. 253 SO. 261 $0. 278
. 256
.270
........do................
.256
.217
.229
........do................
.208
.166
........d o ...............
.163
........do...............
.158
.147
.150
........do...............
.226
.258
.218
........do...............
.251
.272
.248
........do...............
.185
.194
.228
........do...............
.154
.147
.216
........do...............
.252
.206
.216
___do................
.241
.241
.243
Dozen...............
.485
.436
.570
P o u n d ..............
.383
.446
. 383
........do................
.235
.233
.289
Q u a rt...............
.090
.098
.090
16-ounce loaf t.
.057
.069
. 055
J -b a rre lb a g ... 1.003
1.003
1.345
P o u n d ..............
.039
.042
.047
.092
........do...............
.093
.093
.418
P eck .................
.571
.302
P o u n d .............
.051
.043
.063
.089
.152
........do...............
.082
........do...............
.142
. 133
.139
.134
........do..«,..........
.124
.120
.063
........do...............
.079
. 053
........ do ................
.263
.263
. 266
........d o . . . . ........
.454
.454
.449

All articles com bined..........

Jan.
15,
1917.

$0. 284
.275
.238
.171
.160
.279
.275
.226
.213
.262
.253
.634
.457
.299
. 100
.068
1.356
.049
.090
.710
.070
. 151
.139
.136
.076
. 263
.454

Jan . 15—
1915

1916

90
93
90
90
93
82
95
86
89
84
100
120
98
96
98
92
91
92
102
63
76
76
106
96
71
101
99

93
93
94
94
95
85
94
90
85
88
100
108
98
95
98
95
91
100
101
87
89
82
99

93

Dec. Jan.
15,
15,
1916. 1917.

101
100
103
99
101
105
104
105
123
107
105
157
117
122
109
114
123
116

84
100
100

99
98
99
96
100
97
103
106
125
103
101
141
114
118
107
115
122
113
102
119
111
141
104
107
105
100
100

95

110

115

99

99

148
123
140
104
109
101
100
100

1 16 ounces (w eight of dough).

RETAIL PRICES OF FOOD IN PHILADELPHIA, PA.

Iii Philadelphia prices were 4 per cent higher on January 15, 1917,
than on the 15th of the preceding month and 22 per cent higher than
on January 15 of the previous year.
As in other cities potatoes and onions made the most noticeable
advances, both from December 15, 1916, to January 15, 1917, and
from January 15, 1916, to the same date in 1917.


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390

MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

A V E R A G E M O N E Y R E T A IL P R IC E S A N D R E L A T IV E R E T A IL P R IC E S IN P H IL A D E L P H IA ,
P A ., ON JA N . 15, 1915, 1916, A N D 1917, A N D ON D EC . 15, 1916.
[The relative price shows th e per cent th a t th e average price on th e 15th of each m o n th was of the average
price for th e year 1916.]
R elative price.

Average price.
Article.

U nit.

Jan u ary —

J a n u a ry —
Dec. 15, Jan. 15,
1916.
1917.
1910

1915
Sirloin steak ..................................
R ound stea k .................................
R ib ro a st........................................
Chuck ro a s t___
P la te boiling beef.
P ork c h o p s ................................
Bacon, sliced............
H am , sliced............
........
I.a r d ’. ..............................................
l ie n s ...............................................
Salmon, c an n e d ......................... -.
Eggs, stric tly fresh......................
B u tte r, cream ery.........................
Cheesel............. ..............................
M ilk.................................................
B re a d ........................................ .
F lo u r...............................................
Corn m e a l......................................
R ice.
P otatoes........
O nions............................................
Beans, n a v y .......................
P ru n e s ___ i ..................................
R aisins, seeded...........................
S u g a r..’. ........................................
Coffee..............................................
T ea...................................................

P o u n d .......... JO. 293
.252
........do...........
........do............
.207
........do...........
.176
........do...........
.121
........do...........
.194
........do............
.264
........do............
.286
........do............
.148
........do ...........
.231
........do ...........
.178
D ozen...........
.510
P o u n d ..........
.457
.238
........do............
Q u a rt............
.079
.042
16-ounce loafi
i-b arrel b a g .
.970
P o u n d ..........
.028
.094
........do............
P e c k .............
.266
.030
P o u n d ..........
.072
........do............
........do...........
.139
........do............
.126
.054
........do............
........do...........
.288
........do............

JO.306
.260
.210
.176
.120
.201
.261
.296
.141
.234
.176
.447
.452
.246
.079
.045
.970
.028
.092
.387
.044
.089
.134
.121
.065
.285
.554

$0,319
.231
.189
.126
.240
.298
.357
.216
.279
.187
.561
.502
.309
.087
.053
1.348
.039
.096
.594
.063
.139
.140
.131
.077
.285
.544

A ll a rtic le s c o m b in e d .............

SO. 325
.283
.235
.195
.126
.249
.298
.360
.211
.276
.189
.627
.511
.317
-.089
.053
1.380
.039
.095
.684
.077
.142
.139
.127
.077
.282
.544

Dec. Jan.
15,
15,
1916. 1917.

1915

1916

90
89
89
92
96
80
93
88
84
88
100
130
101
91
98
89
90
94
100
59
59
71
103
103
72
101
99

94
92
90
92
95
83
92
91
80
89
99
114
100
94
98
95
90
94
98
86
87
87
99
99
86
100
101

98
97
99
99
100
99
105
104
123
106
105
143
111
118
108
113
125
129
102
132
126
136
104
107
103
100
99

100
100
101
102
100
103
105
105
120
105
106
160
113
121
110
113
128
131
101
152
153
139
103
10-1
102
99
99

92

94

111

115

1
1 16 ounces (w eight of dough).

GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF FOOD SUPPLIES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
INTRODUCTION.

An important upward movement of the price level of commodities in a given
country invaribly gives rise to much disturbance in the body politic—disturbance
commonly taking the form in the first instance of protestations and recriminations
on the part of those classes or groups in the community whose own incomes or earnings
respond least readily and rapidly to the causes to which the price advance is attribut­
able. Until the process of general adjustment is nearly or quite completed these
groups or classes suffer real hardships from the insufficiency of their incomes to meet
the added expense of living in the manner to which they have become accustomed.
Their plight is rendered all the less easy to bear because they see all about them
evidences of the unusual prosperity of other classes or groups, whose economic posi­
tion is such that increasing prices for commodities are transmuted for them into abnor­
mal business profits and hence abnormally large incomes.
It is of course in connection with the high cost of food that an enhancement of
prices is most acutely felt. Except perhaps for shelter from the elements, here is
the first and, in the case of the great majority, the heaviest and at the same time the
least escapable charge upon income. And there is this peculiarity about food that
its obvious absolute necessity for existence breeds in average human beings a kind
of subconscious belief that they have a natural right to it, and upon terms that are
comfortable to themselves. When food prices rise sharply, therefore, the average


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man, who is himself severely pinched to make both ends meet, but who observes
his neighbor aboundingly prosperous by reason of the very phenomena that are cor­
related with his own trouble, jumps easily to the conclusion that an unfair advantage
is somehow being taken of him by that neighbor, that he is a victim of injustice at
his neighbor’s hands, and steps ought to be taken by those in authority to set the
injustice right.1

In ordinary times the authorities have as a rule been loath to take
measures for the control of food supplies and have abstained from
interfering with the established machinery of food distribution.
During war times the attitude of the authorities is necessarily
entirely different. With army and navy on a war footing the gov­
ernment must feed a much larger number of men and animals than
in peace times. By assuming control of all food supplies and thendistribution and fixing maximum prices for them the government
not only insures a sufficient supply for the troops, but by preventing
comers in foodstuffs and consequent excessive enhancement of
prices also saves millions to the treasury. To conduct a war suc­
cessfully a government must, moreover, have the full support of the
great masses of its people, which can only be secured and maintained
if these masses are enabled to procure the prime necessities of life
in sufficient quantity and at reasonable prices. Besides, in case of
actual scarcity of food, caused either by blockade or difficulties of
transportation, the government is the only agency which can insure
proper distribution of the scant supplies.
For all these reasons and for many lesser not enumerated here
wTe find that during the present world war the governments of all
the belligerent and neutral countries in Europe have taken farreaching measures for the control of food supplies, and some of these
measures in reality involve no less than the setting aside of the
established order of things and the reconstruction of the very fabric
of the community and of the state.
To compile a collection or even a digest of the enormous number
of laws, decrees, and orders of central, local, and military authorities
relating to control of food supplies, which were promulgated in the
last two and one-half years in the various countries at war and in
neutral countries, would result in a work filling volumes 2 and can
not be attempted within the space allotted to the present article.
A large number of the laws and decrees have, moreover, been many
times amended since their enactment. For the above reasons the
present article has been restricted to a very brief summary of meas1 •' Governm ent expedients for controlling th e high cost of food,” b y A rth u r R ichm ond Marsh. Eco­
nom ic W orld, New Y ork, Dec. 9,1916, p. 747.
2 Such a com pilation is being published b y th e Ita lia n m in istry of in d u stry , commerce, and labor (Direzione Generate del Credito e della Previdenza) “ Provedim enti in m ateria di economia e finanza em anati
in * * * jn sequito alia guerra europea” (A nnali del credito e della previdenza. Series II , vols. 10
(3 p a rts), 11,12,13,14, and 16). The volum es so far published relate to Ita ly , France, G reat B ritain, A ustria,
G erm any, a n d Sw itzerland, a n d include only measures enacted up to th e end of 1915.


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ures relating to food control recently enacted and in force to-day.
For measures enacted at the beginning of the war, reference should
be had to Bulletin No. 170 (Foreign Food Prices as Affected by the
War) of this bureau.
By way of preface it should be remarked that for nearly a year
hardly any official publications have been received in Washington
from the Central Powers, and that official publications from other
European countries have been received irregularly and greatly de­
layed. In the preparation of this article recourse was had therefore
to consular reports, correspondence of the daily press, and articles in
foreign and American magazines. The measures as to food control
taken by the British Government are summarized below. Like
measures of other governments will be summarized and will be pub­
lished in the M o n t h l y R e v i e w for April.
GREAT BRITAIN.
UNREASONABLE WITHHOLDING OF FOOD SUPPLIES ACT.

During the first months of the present war an abundance of food
supplies from British colonies and foreign countries permitted the
British Government to concentrate all its activities on the enlarge­
ment, outfitting, and training of its military and naval establish­
ments and it.gave but scant attention to regulation of the food supply
for the civilian population. To protect, however, the population from
corners in foodstuffs a very broad law was enacted on August 14, 1914,
under the title, “ Unreasonable withholding of food supplies act,
1914.” This act provides that “ if the Board of Trade are of the
opinion that any foodstuff is being unreasonably withheld from the
market, they may, if so authorized by His Majesty’s proclamation
(made generally or as respects any particular kind of foodstuff) and
in manner provided by the proclamation, take possession of any
supplies of foodstuff to which the proclamation relates, paying to
the owners of the supplies such price as may in default of agreement
be decided to be reasonable, having regard to all circumstances of
the case, by the arbitration of a judge of the high court, selected by
the lord chief justice of England.” No proclamation was ever made
under this power.
ROYAL COMMISSION ON SUGAR SUPPLIES.

Sugar is the only foodstuff of the supply of which the Government
took charge during the early stages of the war, and this for the
reason that for the supply of this article the United Kingdom is
largely dependent on importation. On September 11, 1914, the
London Gazette announced the appointment of a royal commission
to inquire into the supply of sugar in the United Kingdom, to pur­
chase, sell, and control the delivery of sugar, and generally to take
such steps as may seem desirable for maintaining the supply.

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DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEES ON THE HOME PRODUCTION OF FOOD.

With the exception of various orders prohibiting the export of
specified foodstuffs, no further measures relating to the food supply
were taken by the Government until June 17, 1915. On this date the
president of the board of agriculture and fisheries appointed a depart­
mental committee “to consider and report what steps should be
taken, by legislation or otherwise, for the sole purpose of maintaining
and, if possible, increasing the present production of food in England
and Wales, on the assumption that the war may be prolonged beyond
the harvest of 1916.” On June 23, the secretary for Scotland
appointed a committee to consider the same question in its application
to Scotland, and on June 28 the vice president of the department of
agriculture and technical instruction for Ireland committed an
identical reference to a committee for Ireland.1
The English committee was presided over by Viscount Miner, and
included representatives of the three political parties, together with
men whose familiarity with the present condition of agricultural
affairs is beyond question. It did not consider itself called upon, by
the terms of its reference, to inquire into the nature and extent of
any possible shortage of imported food supplies, for it felt that the
Government alone was competent to judge of this, but it confined
itself to the consideration of the steps which could be taken, assuming
that an emergency might exist after the harvest of 1916. Recogmz^
ing that quick action was necessary, the committee met frequently
and presented an interim report (Cd. 8048) on July 17, 1915.
In this report it was laid down that the main problem was how to
increase the area under wheat, 95 per cent of the home supply of
which is produced in England and Wales. The committee concluded
that this could only be solved by extending largely the area of land
under tillage. Tins would enable more of the existing arable area to
be put down in wheat, leaving the newly broken-up land for the other
necessary crops, thus displaced, such as oats and potatoes. The com­
mittee recognized that in advocating this course they were inviting
farmers, and to a lesser, extent landlords also, to adopt a policy of
management bolder than many of them might think warranted by
the conditions. To induce farmers and landlords to throw over their
present methods, with their comparative security of profits, and to
undertake the responsibility of increased arable "area in the face of
certain shortage of labor and a possible fall in grain -prices at the
conclusion of the war, the committee proposed the guaranteeing of a
minimum price of 45 shillings a quarter ($1.30 a bushel)2 for all mar­
ketable home-grown wheat for a period of four years. This very
remarkable recommendation becomes the more noteworthy when the
1 “ T he re p o rt of th e d ep artm en tal com m ittee on th e home production of food. ”
26, No. 101. London, March, 1916, p p . 105 ff.
2 B ased on 504 pounds to th e qu arter. See p. 402.


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composition of the committee making it is borne in mind, for here
are representatives of the Liberal and Labor parties advocating what
amounts to a bounty on home-grown wheat.

The committee recognized that a guaranteed price for wheat should
entail upon the farmer the obligation to pay a fair rate of wages to
his laborers; in fact, some members were evidently in favor of accom­
panying the minimum price with a minimum wage. They contented
themselves, however, with recommending that an inquiry into wages
and earnings should be instituted at once. An appendix to the report
describes the procedure recommended for securing a breaking up of
land and the cropping of it to the maximum advantage.
After consideration of the interim report, the Government decided
not to adopt the recommendation of a guaranteed minimum price for
wheat. On October 15, 1915, the committee presented their final
report (Cd. 8095) and notwithstanding the refusal of the Government
to adopt the recommendation of the interim report the committee again
took the opportunity of stating their firm conviction that the conver­
sion of arable land into grass, which has taken place to the extent of
nearly 4,000,000 acres during the last forty years and is still going on,
was bound to result in a diminution of the food produced, and that
much of this land would carry more stock under the plough, whilst
at the same time producing corn for human consumption. The
remainder of the final report dealt with the provision of fertilizers
and feed, increased attention to pig breeding, labor, labor-saving
machinery, and the employment of women. Attention was also
called to the use of waste land in towns and villages for the produc­
tion of vegetables. The committee was not able to recommend the
establishment of a reserve of wheat. Two members of the committee
refrained from signing the final report and presented a minority
report to the effect that they regarded the recommendations put
forward by their colleagues as applying to conditions after the war,
which were outside the terms of the reference.
The report of the Scotch committee (which bears no date) was
signed by all the members, and in it the suggestions for the main­
tenance or increase of the food supplies of the country are grouped
under three heads: (1) Increased production, (2) Avoidance of
waste, and (3) Using sources of supply not at present available.
Dealing with the first of these, the Scotch committee avoided the
controversial questions of the English committee. The advisability
of resorting to artificial means to stimulate the production of wheat
was considered by the committee, and some of the witnesses gave
evidence in favor of a guaranteed minimum price, but they did not
see their way to overcome the practical difficulties likely to arise.
The committee also considered the question of the compulsory con­
version of grassland, but doubted the practicability of setting up

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the necessary administration for scheduling the land to be broken up.
All the recommendations as to the increase are of a practical nature.
They relate to such matters as the more general use of artificial
manuies, and the restriction of their export; the advantages derived
from frequent changes of seed; lower freight rates for agricultural
seeds and live stock for breeding purposes, etc. On the question
of labor as related to increased production, the committee recom­
mended that representations should be made to the military authori­
ties that any attempt to increase or even to maintain food production
would be made impossible by a further withdrawal of experienced
workers from agriculture. The recommendations as to the avoid­
ance of waste deal mainly with the conflicting interests of the game
preserver and the food producer. As to the utilization of sources of
supply not at present available it was suggested that local com­
mittees should be established for the stimulation of production in
every possible direction, and the constitution of these committees
was outlined.
The Irish committee presented its report on August 19, 1915,
signed with certain reservations by all the members except two, and*
one of these, Sir Horace Plunkett, presented a minority report. The
committee were impressed with the necessity of increasing the area
under wheat, j ust as the English committee had been, and they recom­
mended that the Government should guarantee a minimum price
for oats and wheat for one year, recording their opinion that having
regard to the risk of loss run by the farmer in breaking up grass,
there would be no departure from sound economic policy in agreeing
to a minimum price to secure him. No actual figures were suggested
foi the guaranty. In the second place, the committee recognized
the difficulty which confronts all communities of small land holders,
namely, how to obtain the advantages of labor-saving implements
and machinery. The committee indorsed the action already taken
in certain parts of the country in the establishment of cooperative
implement societies with the aid of loans from the department of
agriculture and technical instruction, and recommended the extension
of the scheme. A system of loans for the provision of boats and gear
for the capture of fish was also recommended.
CONTROL OF SUPPLIES OF “ARTICLES OF COMMERCE” BY THE BOARD OF TRADE.

In the latter part of the year 1916 it had become practically certain
that in the event of the war becoming very protracted, the food
problem would sooner or later require drastic handling, for, while
Great Britain is in the position of having in one sense the world’s
supplies at its command, with the progress of the war, great and in­
creasing difficulties have to be overcome before commodities, which
may be near or far, can be brought to the markets of the United
81733°—17----- 5

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Kingdom and distributed for the advantage of the population.
Canada, Australia, India, the United States, and other neutral
countries may have supplies greatly in excess of their own require­
ments, but if transport and man power for their movement and
handling are not available the existence of large quantities of food­
stuffs can not be of benefit to the British population.
The mercantile marine in its entirety is no longer at the disposition
of the individual. A great part of it is in the service of the nation,
and on top of the extensive diversion of merchant ships for pur­
poses of war has been the heavy toll taken by the submarine craft
of the enemy, and this at a time when the shipbuilding yards of the
country, owing to the lack of skilled labor and the paramount needs
of the navy, have been compelled to reduce their output considerably.
Cognizant of this situation, the Government, in the fall of 1916,
took steps which close observers had for some time regarded as inevit­
able for the more effective organization and control of Great Britain’s
food supplies, and which the authorities had been frequently criti­
cized for delaying. On October 10, 1916, Mr. Kunciman, president
of the Board of Trade, made the following statement in the House of
Commons: 1
Since the outbreak of the war the Government has taken measures, which have pro­
gressively become more comprehensive, to insure that the stocks of wheat in the
country are sufficiently maintained to guard against any temporary interference with
over-sea supplies. In 1914 the grain supplies committee was formed to undertake
the purchase of wheat as a reserve against the risk of a temporary interruption of sup­
plies, but the regular trade was left in private hands.
Early in 1915 the Indian wheat committee was formed to secure, in cooperation
with the Indian Government, that the surplus of the Indian wheat crop was brought
to the United Kingdom at a time when, by reason of the delay of the harvest in North
America, imported supplies were somewhat short.
At the end of that year the Government suggested to the French and Italian Govern­
ments that cooperation was better than competition between the allies in the wheat
markets, and as a result a joint committee was formed comprising representatives of
the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, which has since met daily in London, and
made such purchases of wheat, flour, and corn as were requisite for the three countries.
The possibility of large quantities of wheat, which are at present locked up in some
grain exporting countries, being freed as the result of military operations, has led to
the disinclination on the part of the trade to hold more stocks than an absolute mini­
mum, and it has become clear that the supplies during the coming year can not safely
be left to private enterprise.
The Government has accordingly indorsed a conclusion arrived at by the cabinet
committee on food supplies that we must now provide for a further development of
importation by the State. The King has approved the appointment of a royal com­
mission intrusted with full power to take such steps as it may deem necessary and
desirable to insure adequate and regular supplies of wheat and flour for the United
Kingdom in cooperation with the committee which, since the beginning of the present
year, has been purchasing wheat and flour for the allies.
i “ Great B rita in ’s control of food.”


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

397

This means that the importation of wheat into the United Kingdom will have to be
undertaken largely, if not entirely, under the control of the royal commission, which
will in many respects avail itself of the experience of the sugar commission.
In anticipation of this step the Government has made a very large purchase of Aus­
tralian wheat. The competition of the world for tonnage last season was greater than
the eagerness for wheat, and the Commonwealth government, which had purchased
the whole of its crop, found itself with granaries full, but short of facilities for reaching
the European markets.
Steps have now been taken to provide all the tonnage required for the conveyance
of the wheat purchased by His Majesty’s Government. Tonnage for the carriage of
wheat across the Atlantic has been provided for nearly a year, with excellent results,
by the requisitioning (carriage of foodstuffs) committee.
As the import of wheat into this country will in future be in the hands of the State,
and the full benefit of reduction in the cost of carriage will accrue to the State, and not
to private individuals, the system adopted by the committee will be continued, with
the addition that vessels so requisitioned will be required to provide the space neces­
sary for State importations at fixed, and not variable, rates of freight.
Further details for the guidance of the corn exchanges will be published expedi­
tiously, and arrangements have already been made, in cooperation with the trade, to
prevent any interruption in the regular and adequate supply of wheat to the British
and Irish mills during the short transition stage.

Having in this manner indicated its plan of action, the Govern­
ment, under the wide powers conferred upon it by the “ Defense of
the Realm Consolidation Act, 1914,” on November 16,1916, issued an
order in council, further amended on December 5 and 22, 1916, which
gave to the Board of Trade full control of “ any articles of commerce,
the maintenance of which is important as being part of the food
supplies of the country, or as being necessary for the wants of the
public or for the wants of any section of the public.” (The full text
of these orders in council is reprinted at the end of the present
article.)
Under these orders the Board of Trade has the power to regulate
waste or unnecessary destruction of articles, their use, manner of
manufacture, mode of sale and of market operations; to determine
maximum prices; to requisition supplies; to obtain information as to
stocks, etc.; to hold inquiries and administer oaths for this purpose;
to transfer its powers to other Government departments, and to make
entry on occupied or unoccupied land and to cultivate it.
In connection with the above orders, special correspondence of the
Annalist from London, dated November 16, 1916/ intimates that—
The Government has no immediate intention of actually limiting the supply of
bread, sugar, milk, and other commodities per individual, but it is convinced of the
necessity of curtailing consumption, if not by one means then by another and more
drastic, and it will really rest with the public whether the authorities are finally com­
pelled to resort to distribution by food tickets.

Up to the present date the Board of Trade has limited itself to the
appointment of a food controller, the regulation of prices of milk,
1 “ A verting a food crisis.”


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wheat, oats, and potatoes, the regulation of the milling of flour, restric­
tions on dealings in seed potatoes, and the taking of a few other similar
measures. Digests of the orders relating thereto are given below.
FO O D C O N TR O L D EPA R T M E N T .

The British Board of Trade Journal of December 14, 1916, reports
that it is officially announced that Lord Davenport, as food con­
troller, will henceforth be responsible for administering the recent
defense of the realm regulations for the purpose of regulating sup­
plies and prices of food, and for other action in connection with food
control. During the first month after his appointment the food con­
troller was dependent upon the Board of Trade for the issuance of
orders, since the necessary arrangements for the transfer to him of
part of the powers of the Board of Trade had not been completed.
However, an order in council published in the London Gazette of
January 12, 1917, conferred on him all the powers of the Board of
Trade in connection with food control.
REG U LA TIO N OF T H E PR IC E O F M IL K .i

The price of milk has been regulated by two orders, the so-called
price of milk orders Nos. 1 and 2. The latter is dated December 12,
1916, and amends the first, issued some weeks earlier. They fix
maximum prices for both the wholesale and retail trade by stipulating
that the price may not exceed by more than a specified amount the
price in the corresponding month before the war. This amount is
2d. (4 cents) per quart in the case of retail milk. In the wholesale
trade 6Jd. (13 cents) per imperial gallon may be added to the prewar
price if the milk is delivered on the premises of the buyer and these
premises are not used as a creamery or factory, and the conditions
of sale include an obligation to deliver not less than a specified mini­
mum, and 5|d. (11 cents) per imperial gallon in other cases. The maxi­
mum price for “ accommodation ” milk is raised to Is. 8d. (41 cents)
per imperial gallon, inclusive of all charges for transport to the railway
station at which delivery is taken by the purchaser. Contracts for
the sale of milk made on or before November 15, 1916, will be allowed
to remain valid for their full period (up to Apr. 1, 1917) even if the
price stipulated exceeds that otherwise permissible.
FLOUR AND BREAD O R D E R S .2

On November 21, 1916, the Board of Trade issued a milling order
which fixes for the United Kingdom the percentages of flour that
must be extracted from wheat of various origin and qualities. Two
subsequent orders issued by the food controller enlarged the scope
of the first, order. The principal qualities shown in the schedules of
1 B oard of Trade Journal (G reat B ritain ), Nov. 23, 1916, p. 570, and Dec. 21, 1916, pp. 860, 861.
2 B oard of T rade Journal (G reat B rita in ), N ov. 23, 1916, p p. 570,571; Dec. 14, 1916, pp. 793, 794; Dec. 21,
1916. p. 860.


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these three orders, together with the percentage of flour to be extracted
from them, are the following:
Quality.

Percentage.

English...................................................................................................
7g
Scotch.........................................................................................
Irish........................................................................................................
70
Choice Bombay......................................................................................
78
Walla Walla............................................................................................
75
No. 2 red western...................................................................................
70
No. 2 red winter.....................................................................................
74
No. 2 new hard winter (1916)...............................................................
76
No. 1 northern Duluth..........................................................................
75
No. 1 northern Manitoba, old crop.......................................................
76
No. 1 northern Manitoba, new crop.....................................................
75
No. 2 Chicago spring 1915 crop.............................................................
72
76
Blue stem....................................... ; .................................................
Australian...............................................................................................
78
Choice white Karachi............................................................................
75
Barletta-Russo, 6H pounds..................................................................
74

In the case of millers grinding exclusively native wheat (English,
Scotch, and Irish) an allowance of 1 per cent will be allowed in the
percentage of flour to be extracted, i. e., in milling such wheats they
must extract from English or Irish wheat 75 per cent, and from Scotch
wheat 74 per cent.
The first milling order provides that, beginning with November 27,
1916, no flour may be milled, except in accordance with the schedules
issued. On and after January 1, 1917, only flour milled in accord­
ance with the schedules may be used for making bread or any other
article of food. The order states that the percentages shown in the
schedules must be regarded as strictly provisional and subject to
amendment.
In consideration of the effect of the milling order in regard to the
use of flour for sizing purposes, the food controller will grant licenses
for milling, otherwise than in accordance with the terms of the order,
subject to the following conditions:
(1) That the flour extracted from the wheat so milled, though it
may be divided for this special purpose, does not fall below the per­
centage specified from time to time by order for that class of wheat.
(2) That the miller guarantees that the flour so milled will be
delivered to his regular customers for sizing purposes only, and that
the amount so delivered to each customer does not exceed the
amount of flour ordinarily supplied to him for that purpose.
The Board of Trade Journal (Nov. 23, 1916) states that a subse­
quent order will be issued, requiring periodical returns of stocks of
wheat received and of flour and offals milled and of all stocks in
hand on the date of the milling order coming into operation, i. e.,
November 27, 1916.


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According to an American trade paper/ the net effect of the milling
order will be that millers will have to make a long straight grade of
flour of about 76 per cent; that is, striking an average of all wheats.
This will mean that the United Kingdom will continue to eat white
bread, though not quite so white as before the coming in effect of the
new order.
A special cable of January 12, 1917, to the Northwestern Miller,2
the contents of which are confirmed by a correspondence from Lon­
don to the Christian Science Monitor,3 states that new milling regu­
lations have been issued, according to which, after January 29,
British millers must add to the previously fixed percentages to be
extracted from wheat a further percentage, not less than 5 per cent,
either by further milling of the wheat or by the addition of flour
derived from barley, oats, corn, or rice. This addition at the option
of the miller may be raised to 10 per cent.
PROHIBITION OF USE OF WHEAT IN MANUFACTURE OF BEER, ETC.4

It having been reported to the Board of Trade that, in consequence
of the scarcity and high price of barley, purchases of wheat have
recently been made by brewers for use in their business, the Board
of Trade issued an order, effective November 27, 1916, prohibiting the
use of wheat in the manufacture of beer and similar liquors.
The use of any grain for the production of spirits, without the
authorization of the ministry of munitions, was prohibited by an
order dated May 10, 1916.
COMPULSORY RETURNS OF STOCKS OF POTATOES.5

Under date of November 20, 1916, the Board of Trade issued an
order requiring a return of stocks of potatoes in Great Britain. Under
this order a return of stocks of potatoes and contracts must be made
not later than December 7, 1916, by all persons cultivating more
than 10 acres of potatoes on any holding in Great Britain. The
Board of Trade has made arrangements with the board of agriculture
for England and Wales and the board of agriculture for Scotland to
collect and compile the returns on its behalf, and to exercise the
powers conferred by the defense of the realm regulations on the Board
of Trade for this purpose.
RESTRICTIONS ON DEALINGS IN SEED POTATOES.«

At the request of the food controller, and in consultation with
the board of agriculture for England and Wales, and the department
of agriculture and technical instruction for Ireland, the Board of
1 The W eekly N orthw estern Miller, M inneapolis, Dec. 20, 1916, p. 819.
2 Idem , Jan. 17, 1917, p. 169.
3 The C hristian Science M onitor, B oston, Feb. 10, 1917, p. 9.
4 B oard of Trade Journal (G reat B rita in ), N ov. 30,1916, p. 655.
5 Idem , Nov. 23, 1916, p. 571.
6 Idem , Dec. 21,1916, pp. 861-863.


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401

Trade has issued two orders designed to safeguard the supply of seed
potatoes for next year’s crop. One of these orders is applicable in
Great Britain and the other in Ireland. '
The order applicable in Great Britain does not affect existing
contracts for potatoes intended solely for seed purposes; the fulfill­
ment, however, of contracts for the sale of potatoes for other pur­
poses may be interfered with by the terms of the order. Briefly
summarized, the operative provisions of the order are as follows:
(1) Seed potatoes shall be used for the purposes of seed only; this
provision, however, not to affect the use of potatoes in his own house­
hold by a grower not being a grower for sale.
(2) The sale of seed potatoes to any person other than an author­
ized purchaser, and the buying of such potatoes by any person other
than an authorized purchaser, is prohibited. For the purpose of
this provision, an authorized purchaser is defined as a person deal­
ing in seed potatoes in the way of his trade or business, or a person
who shall, on the occasion of the sale of seed potatoes to him, certify
in writing to the vendor thereof that the potatoes comprised in such
sale aye required and intended to be used for the purposes of seed.
(3) The order does not affect seed potatoes which are diseased or
blemished, or which, under any order issued under the destructive
insects and pests acts, 1877 and 1907, may not be used for seed.
(4) Persons contravening against these provisions are guilty of a

summary offense against the defense of the realm regulations.

(5) In order to be considered as seed potatoes the potatoes must
conform to a description or variety and to a specified size, indicated
in a schedule appended to the order.
The order became effective December 18, 1916, and is to remain
in force until March 15, 1917.

An order applicable to Ireland was drafted on nearly identical lines
as the order applicable to Great Britain, and in addition contains a
provision limiting the right to export potatoes from Ireland to persons
expressly licensed for that purpose by the department of agriculture
and technical instruction.
DISTRIBUTION OF SEED POTATOES.

The Board of Trade Journal1 announces that arrangements have
been made by the department of agriculture and fisheries with the
treasury to finance a scheme for the distribution of seed potatoes.
The president has invited the county war agriculture committees to
request borough, urban, and parish councils to ascertain what quan­
tity of seed potatoes is required in each village; to collect cash with
orders and to distribute seed. It is proposed that arrangements


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should be made to deliver potatoes at convenient distributing centers
in 1-hundredweight bags. Not more than 5 hundredweight may be
supplied to each grower, and the varieties will necessarily be limited.
PRICES FIXED FOR WHEAT, OATS, AND POTATOES.!

The Board of Trade Journal announces that, after consultation
with the agricultural departments of Great Britain and Ireland, the
food controller has fixed the following prices to growers for wheat,
oats, and potatoes of the 1917 crop:
Wheat.............................................
Oats.................................................
Potatoes in not less than 6-ton lots,
f. o. b ...........................................

60s. [$14.60] per quarter of 504
pounds.
38s. [$9.25] per quarter of 336
pounds.
115s. [$27.98] per ton for delivery
from September 15 to January 31.
120s. [$29.20] per ton for delivery in
February and March.
130s. [$31.63] per ton for the remain­
der of the season.

The prices in each case are for produce of the first quality, de­
livered as required, in sound, marketable condition. The Journal
states that further announcements will be made respecting seed corn
and seed potatoes for use in 1918, and early potatoes of the 1917
crop.
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF CORN AND RICE SUPPLIES. 2

A cablegram received from the United States consul general in
London states that the British Government has taken control of
the corn supplies in the United Kingdom. A later cablegram from
the same source announces that the commission on wheat supplies
is now in control of rice. Prices to be fixed from time to time. All
holders of rice to arrive must furnish particulars before February 1.
RECENT ORDERS OF THE FOOD CONTROLLER RELATING TO VARIOUS FOODSTUFFS.

A London correspondence to the Christian Science Monitor3
reports the issuance by the food controller of several new orders,
covering bread, wheat, the feeding of game, sweets, cakes and pastry,
winter milk, Irish oat exports, and potatoes. The use of wheat
except for flour or seed was prohibited by one order. The use of
any grains suitable for food or feeding stuffs, or any of their products,
for feeding game birds was prohibited by another order. As to
sugar and chocolates, an order directed against the manufacture of
extravagant sweets enforced a maximum retail price of 3d. (6 cents)
1 B oard of Trade Journal (G reat B rita in ), Jan. 11,1917, p. 96.
2 U. S. D ep artm en t of Commerce. B ureau of Foreign and D om estic Commerce.
W ashington, Jan. 9, 1917, No. 7, p. 99, and Jan. 31, 1917, p. 401.
3 The C hristian Science M onitor, Boston, Feb. 10,1917, p. 9.


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an ounce for chocoiates and 2d. (4 cents) an ounce for other sweets,
the price in each case to include the cost of the article in which the
goods are sold. In the same connection one of the orders prohibited
the use of sugar or chocolate for the external covering of cakes.
During 1917, under this order, no maker will be- allowed to use for
sugar confectionery or chocolate more than half what he used in
1915. I he use of winter milk in making chocolate was prohibited.
Except under license, the export of oats from Ireland was forbidden.
linally, in the matter of potatoes, the food controller had to considei the situation created by the fixing of the price for army sup­
plies from the existing crops. The tendency of this was likely to be
a considerable increase of price to the consumer for the remainder
of the crop, and it was therefore announced simultaneously with the
other orders, that an order would be issued fixing the price of potatoes
at £8 ($38.93) per ton for the first quality for January and February,
rising to a maximum of £9 ($43.80) for later months. Best seed
potatoes could be sold at a maximum price of £12 ($58.40) per ton.
APPENDIX.
CONTROL OT SUPPLIES OF “ ARTICLES OF COMMERCE’’ BY THE BOARD OF TRADED

Orders m council, dated November 16, December 5, and December
22, 1916, further amend the regulations (called the “Defense of the
Realm (Consolidation) Regulations, 1914”) under the Defense of the
Realm Consolidation Act, 1914, for securing the public safety and the
defense of the realm. The orders referred to order the "following
additions to the regulations:
Power to apply the provisions appended.
2 F. ( 1 ) Where the Board of Trade are of opinion that it is expedient that special
measures should be taken in the interests of the public for maintaining the supply
of any article of commerce the maintenance of which is important as being part of the
food supplies of the country or as being necessary for the wants of the public or for
the wants of any section of the public, the board by order may, with a view to main­
taining the supply of the article, apply to that article any of the provisions appended
to this regulation.
(2 ) Any such order may be made either so as to apply generally or so as to apply
to any special locality, or so as to apply to any special supplies of any article, or to
any special producer, manufacturer, or dealer; and any such order may direct that all
contracts, or any class of contracts or any special contract, affected by any provision
applied by the order shall remain in force notwithstanding anything in the provision
as so applied, but subject to any modifications for which provision may be made by
the order.
(3) If any person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, any of the pro­
visions appended to this regulation he shall be guilty of a summary offence against
these regulations.
1 B oard of Trade Journal (G reat B rita in ) Nov. 23,1916, pp. 566-570; Dec. 14,1916, pp. 795, 796; and Dec 28
1916, p. 945.
' ’


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PROVISIONS WHICH MAY BE APPLIED.

Waste or unnecessary destruction.
I. A person shall not waste or unnecessarily destroy any article to which this pro­
vision is applied; and if the order applying this provision to that article declares
that any specified process, action, or other thing done is waste or unnecessary destruc­
tion of the article, that process, action, or other thing done shall be deemed to he
waste or unnecessary destruction for the purpose of this provision.
Use of articles.
II. Where the order applying this provision to any article specifies the purposes
for which the article is to be used, a person shall not (subject to any conditions con­
tained in the order) use the article except for the purposes so specified; and where
the order prescribes any special manner in which the article is to be used, a person
shall not (subject to any conditions contained in the order) use the article except in
that manner; and where the order prohibits or restricts the use of the article for any
special purpose a person shall not (subject to any conditions contained in the order),
if the use of the article is restricted, use it except in accordance with the restrictions.
Manner of manufacture, etc.
III. Where the order applying this provision to any article contains any directions
or regulations as to the manufacture or production of the article in such a manner as
to secure that the public are supplied with the article in the form most suitable in the
circumstances, all persons concerned in the manufacture or production of the article
shall comply with those directions or regulations.
Mode of sale.
IV. Where the order applying this provision to any article contains any directions
or regulations as to the mode of sale or the distribution of the article, or as to the con­
sumption of the article, with a view to securing that the available supply of the article
is put to its best use throughout the country or in any locality, all persons concerned
in the sale, distribution or consumption of the article shall comply with those direc­
tions or regulations.
Market operations.
V. Where the order applying this provision to any article contains any directions
or regulations as to the market operations in that article, with a view to preventing
an unreasonable inflation of the price of the article as the result of market operations,
all persons concerned in market operations shall comply with those directions or regu­
lations.
Prices.
VI. A person shall not (subject to any exceptions contained in the order applying
this provision) directly or indirectly sell or offer for sale any article to which this pro­
vision is applied at a price exceeding by more than the amount named in the order
the corresponding price of the article at a date specified in the order (the corresponding
price to be settled in case of difference by the Board of Trade); and where the consider­
ation for any sale or offer consists wholly or partly of any conditions made or offered
to be made in connection with the transaction, or is otherwise not of a pecuniary


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405

character, the value of the consideration, or such part thereof as is not of a pecuniary
character, shall, for the purposes of this provision, he taken into account in determin­
ing the price of the article.
Requisition of supplies.
VII.
All persons owning or having power to sell or dispose of any article to which
this provision is applied or any stocks thereof shall, if required by the Board of Trade
place at the disposal of the board the article, or the whole or any part of the stocks
thereof as may be required by the board on such terms as the board may direct, and
shall deliver to the board or to any person or persons named by them the article or
stocks in such quantities and at such times as the board may require.
Such compensation shall be paid for any article or stock so requisitioned as shall,
in default of agreement, be determined by the arbitration of a single arbitrator ap­
pointed in manner provided by the order applying this provision; but in determining
the amount of the compensation the arbitrator shall have regard to the cost of pro­
duction of the article and to the allowance of a reasonable profit, without necessarily
taking into consideration the market price of the article at the time.
Information as to stocks, etc.
2G (1 ) If the Board of Trade are of opinion that information is required with respect
to any article of commerce with a view to the exercise of any powers of the Board of
Trade in relation to that article, the board may by order apply the provisions of this
regulation to that article; and if the provisions of this regulation are so applied to any
article, every person owning or having power to sell or dispose of the article, or con­
cerned in the manufacture or production of the article shall, subject to any exceptions
or limitations contained in the order, make a return to the board giving such informa­
tion in such form and within such time as may be specified in the order applying those
provisions—
(а) As to the stocks of the article held by him or consigned to him or under order
to him; and
(б) As to any contracts for the supply to, or by, him of the article or any contracts
for, or in connection with, the production or manufacture of the article, or the
dealing therein; and
(c) As to the prices paid by him or received by him for or in respect of the article;
and
(d) As to the cost of production of the article, and the names and addresses of the
persons by whom the article has been supplied to him or to whom the article of
commerce has been supplied by him; and
(e) As to any other matters specified in the order applying the provisions of this
regulation with respect to which the board may desire information for the pur. pose of any of their powers and duties.
*
(2) For the purpose of testing the accuracy of any return made to the board under
this regulation, or of obtaining information in case of a failure to make a return, any
officer of the board authorized in that behalf by the board may enter any premises
belonging to or in the occupation of the person making or who has failed to make the
return, or on which he has reason to believe that any article to which the provisions of
this regulation are applied are kept stored, manufactured, or produced, and may carry
out such inspections and examinations (including the inspection and examination of
books) on the premises as the officer may consider necessary for testing the accuracy of
the return or for obtaining any such information.


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(3) If any person—
(a) Refuses or without lawful excuse neglects to make a return as required by
this regulation to the best of his knowledge and belief, or makes or
causes to be made a false return; or
(b) Obstructs or impedes an officer of the board in the exercise of any of his
powers under this regulation; or
(c) Refuses to answer or gives a false answer to any question, or refuses to pro­
duce any books or documents required for obtaining the information
to be furnished in pursuance of this regulation;
that person shall be guilty of a summary offense aginst these regulations.
(4) No individual return or part of a return made under this regulation, and no
information as to any person or his business obtained under this regulation, shall with­
out lawful authority be published or disclosed except for the purposes of a prosecution
under this regulation; and if any person acts in contravention of this provision he
shall be guilty of a summary offense against these regulations.
Inquiries may be held.
2H. (1 ) If the Board of Trade, in any special case, are of opinion that, before exer­
cising any of their powers under these regulations in relation to any article, it is ex­
pedient to hold an inquiry with respect to that article in any locality, the board may
appoint such persons as they think fit to hold an inquiry as respects that article and
report to the board on such points as the board may direct.
(2) Any persons so appointed shall have power to take evidence on oath and to
administer an oath for the purpose.
Arrangements with other Government departments.

2J. (1) The Board of Trade may make arrangements with any other Government
department for the exercise by that department on behalf of the Board of Trade.of the
powers of the board under the regulations numbered 2 F, 2G, and 2H with respect to
any particular article of commerce, and in such case the department and the officers
thereof shall, as respects that article, have and exercise the same powers as are by
those regulations conferred on the Board of Trade and the officers of that board, and the
local government board (or as respects Scotland the secretary for Scotland, and as
respects Ireland the local government board for Ireland) may by arrangement with
the Board of Trade confer and impose on any local authorities and their officers
any powers and duties in connection with the enforcement of the said regulations
numbered 2F and 2G.
(2 ) Nothing in the regulations numbered 2G and 2 H shall prevent the exercise by
the Board of Trade of any of their powers in relation to any article under these regula­
tions or otherwise, without having obtained or endeavored to obtain returns under
regulation 2G or having held andnquiry under regulation 2 H.
(3) Any order of the Board of Trade under the said regulations numbered 2 F and 2G
may be revoked or varied as occasion requires.
2 L. (i) Where the board of agriculture and fisheries are of opinion that, with a view
to maintaining the food supply of the country, it is expedient that they should exer­
cise the powers given to them under this regulation as respects any land, the board
may enter on the land—
(a) Without any consent, if the land is for the time being unoccupied, or was
unoccupied on the 29th day of November, 1916, or if the land is common
land; and
(b) In any other case, with the consent of the occupier and the person in receipt
of the rent of the land—
and cultivate the land, or arrange for its cultivation by any person either under a con­
tract of tenancy or otherwise.


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(n) The board may, after entry on any land, do or authorize to be done all things
winch they consider necessary or desirable for the purpose of the cultivation of the
land or for adapting the land to cultivation, including fencing, and may also during
their occupation of the land or on the termination thereof remove any such fencing or
work of adaptation.
(in) Any person who cultivates land under any such arrangement shall, on the de­
termination, by or on behalf of the board, of the arrangement, if the determination
takes effect before the 1st day of January, 1918, receive from the board such compen­
sation as may have been agreed upon under the terms of the arrangement, or, in
default of any such agreement, as the board may consider just and reasonable, and
shall not be entitled to any other compensation.
(iv) On the determination of the occupation of any land by the board under this
regulation, compensation shall be paid by the board to any person injuriously affected
by any deterioration of the land caused by the exercise of the powers under this
regulation, the amount of that compensation to be determined, in default of agreement,
by a single arbitrator under and in accordance with the provisions of the second
schedule to the agricultural holdings act, 1908.
(v) The board may, with respect to any land, authorize any local authority to exer­
cise on behalf of the board any of the powers of the board under this regulation.
(vi) In this regulation the expressions "occupied” and "unoccupied” refer to
such occupation as involves liability to payment of poor rates, and the expression
"common land” includes any land subject to be inclosed under the inclosure
acts, 1845 to 1882, and any town or village green and any other land subject to any
right of common.
(vu) This regulation (except the last preceding subsection) shall apply to Scotland,
with the substitution of the board of agriculture for Scotland for the board of agricul­
ture and fisheries, of arbiter for arbitrator, and of the agricultural holdings (Scotland)
act, 1908, for the agricultural holdings act, 1908; and as regards Scotland "unoccupied
land ” shall mean land in respect of which no person was entered as tenant or occupier
in the valuation roll for the year ending on the 15th day of May, 1917.

RECENT REPORTS RELATING TO WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION AND
ACCIDENT INSURANCE.
CALIFORNIA.1

With the publication of the report of the Industrial Accident Com­
mission of California for the year ending June 30, 1916, the compen­
sation experience of that State is made available for a period of
almost five years, the first compensation act having become effective
September 1, 1911. For the earlier half of this period, however, the
experience was very limited, the act of 1911 having been entirely
elective and having been accepted by only a portion of the employers
in the State. It was suspended January 1, 1914, by the compulsory
act now in force.

This act makes compensation compulsory for all classes of employ­
ment except farm labor, domestic service, and casual labor. Employ1 California. R eport of th e in d u stria l accident commission, Ju ly 1, 1915, to June 30, 1916.
(1916). 152 pp. Illu strated .


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ers of these excepted classes of labor may voluntarily accept the act,
and the number doing so has rapidly increased. On June 30, 1915,
acceptances of this character had been filed by 6,858 employers. By
June 30, 1916, this number had increased to 17,891, of whom 10,397
were engaged in agricultural pursuits and constituted, the report
estimates, about 14 per cent of all the labor-employing farmers of the
State. From this, the commission concludes “ that there is ground
for the belief that the time is not far distant when farming may be
eliminated from the exempting clause of the act” (p. 6). That the
exemption of agriculture is a serious limitation upon the scope of
compensation is indicated not only by the importance of that industiy
in the State, but also by its hazardous character. Thus, of the 533
fatal accidents reported to the commission in 1915, 55, or more than
10 per cent, were in agriculture (p. 50).
In addition to the three exempted classes noted, the employees of
interstate railroads are virtually exempted from the compensation
act because of uncertainty of jurisdiction between the State and
Federal Governments. Making allowance for these several items,
the report estimates that approximately 15 per cent of the industrial
injuries occurring in the State, representing about 125,000 employees,
are outside the protection of the compensation act.

The California compensation act does not make insurance com­
pulsory. The State maintains a compensation insurance fund, which
carries on a compensation insurance business in competition with
private carriers. The employer may insure therein, or m a stock oi
mutual company, but he is not required to insure at all. Data in the
present report indicate that in not over two-thirds of the injury cases
occurring are the employers insured.
Moreover, the failure of an insurance carrier during the course of
the year emphasized the fact that even insurance by the employer is
not a complete protection for the employee, unless the carriers are
safely managed. “ This failure,” says the report, lesulted in wide­
spread loss throughout the State, not only loss to employers born of
the necessity of paying premiums to other carriers to protect them for
unexpired terms of policies in force, but the very serious loss suffered
by injured workmen and dependents of the killed for whose benefit
the compensation system was designed and whose claims for indem­
nity were left unpaid.” The report gives no details as to the actual
losses suffered, but in a list of brief personal histories of sufferers fiom
permanent disabilities, there appears the following sketch, listed simply
as “ History No. 31.” I t represents a particularly pathetic case of
industrial accident, whose victim was granted a liberal award only to
have it snatched from him through the failure of the insurance
company.


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History No. 31:
The subject of this sketch, 62 years old, has no family. His injury consists in the
total loss of both eyes and fearful disfigurement of his face. Otherwise he is in perfect
health. His disability rating was fixed at 100 per cent, with a life pension of 40 per
cent. His compensation was $10.32 per week. Since the failure of the insurance
company he has been an object of charity.

The State compensation insurance fund during the two and onehalf years of its existence—from January 1, 1914, to June 30, 1916_

showed a constant and rapid increase in business, and is now the
largest single carrier of compensation insurance in the State. In
1914 the earned premiums amounted to $496,142, in 1915 to $604,983,
and during the first six months of 1916 the increase continued at a
rate which indicated that the earned premiums for the full year
would be well over $700,000. The total net income of the fund for
the whole period of two and one-half years amounted to $1,635,043
(consisting of $1,476,864 earned premiums, $58,178 from interest
and $100,000 from State appropriation). As the total disburse­
ments were $1,258,599 ($396,803 losses paid, $647,048 loss reserve,
$213,736 expenses of management, and $1,010 minor expenses), there'
was left a surplus of $376,445. Out of this, dividends of $134,381,
averaging about 15 per cent for each of the years 1914 and 1915,'
were paid to policyholders, leaving, on June 30, 1916, the sum of
$242,063 as undistributed surplus available as . catastrophe hazard.
In addition, the commission contends that the State law requiring
loss reserves of 75 per cent of earned premiums (less losses paid) for
a period of 5 years is more rigid than necessary; that on the basis
of indicated liabilities, the fund need carry only $341,550 as reserve
instead of $647,048. If this estimate is correct, the difference
between these two items—$305,497—will thus be available for dis­
tribution among policyholders after the statutory five-year period.
The loss ratio of the fund for the two and one-half vear period was
49.99—i. e., 49.99 cents of incurred losses out of each dollar of
earned premiums. The expense ratio for the same period was 14.47.
The fund bears all its expenses. The only aid of the State was an
appropriation of $100,000 made at the time the fund was established.
Accident prevention, under the California law, is emphasized as of
coordinate importance with accident compensation. The same com­
mission that administers compensation is given very broad authority
to carry on safety work, and liberal appropriation for this purpose
has been made by the legislature. A safety department was organ­
ized in 1914, under the charge of a superintendent. During 1915
the number of inspectors was increased to nine. These are practi­
cally all men of technical training, appointed through competitive
examination. In addition, there is a special mine safetv division


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under the direction of a mining engineer, detailed by the United
States Bureau of Mines, with three deputy mine inspectors.
Under the direction of its safety department, the commission has
been engaged in the preparation of safety codes for various indus­
tries. These are prepared by committees representing employers,
employees, and other interested parties. During 1915, a number
of important codes of this character were adopted, including a very
comprehensive mining code. This work is still in progress, safety
orders for laundries, engines and woodworking, becoming effective in
1916, and public hearings being arranged for on a general boiler code.
Since January 1, 1914, the law has required the reporting of all
industrial injuries to the commission, whether or not such injuries
are subject to compensation. During the two and one-half years
since that date, the total number of reported injuries has shown a
marked tendency to increase, but with considerable fluctuation in
the case of fatal accidents. Thus, for the year 1914, the total num­
ber of reported injuries was 62,211, of which 678 were fatal. In
1915 the total rose to 67,538 while the fatal cases decreased to 533.
With 1916, however, there occurred a marked increase in both items,
the data for the first six months indicating that the figures for the
full year would show approximately 80,000 injuries with some 650
deaths.
The report attributes these fluctuations in reported injuries partly
to better understanding of the law on the part of employers and em­
ployees, but, in greater part, to changes in the amount of employ­
ment. The year 1914, it believes, was a better business year in the
State, particularly in the hazardous building trades, than was the
following year 1915, while 1916 showed a marked revival in manu­
facturing activity. The report states that from the available data
it is impossible to tell whether the efforts at accident prevention
have met with any success and emphasizes the fact that this will
always remain doubtful until some way is found for determining acci­
dent exposure—i. e., the number of workers employed and the period
of their employment for the various industries and for the State as a
whole. At present such information is entirely lacking and the
report states that no State agency has sufficient power to collect
such data.
The total payments made by employers and insurance carriers
under the requirements of the compensation act are reported as being
$2,002,706 in 1915, with a total of 67,538 reported injuries, as against
$1,861,809 in 1914, with 62,211 reported injuries. Of these total
payments medical service constituted 42.5 per cent in 1915 as against
39.2 per cent in 1914.


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ILLINOIS.

Data relative to industrial accidents in Illinois in the years 1914
and 1915 are contained in two pamphlets 1both of which have been
recently issued by the State Bureau of Labor Statistics and which
will he considered together in order to facilitate comparison. These
reports are entirely statistical and do not include any data as to com­
pensation or otner benefits paid on account of industrial accidents.
The law requires all employers of labor to report within 30 days eveiy
serious injury entailing a loss of 30 or more days, and the death of
every employee caused by accident while in the performance of any
duty or service for such employer. It is important to note, however,
that all employers operating under the workmen’s compensation law
are required to report accidents to the industrial board which adminis­
ters that law and such employers are exempt from reporting accidents
to any other State board or commission. Therefore the accidents
notified to the bureau of labor statistics and tabulated in the reports
here reviewed do not necessarily represent all industrial accidents
which occurred in the years 1914 and 1915, but are instead, probably,
a small proportion of such accidents.
Durmg the year 1914 there were 197 fatal and 1,478 nonfatal
accidents, the fatal accidents being reported by 78 different employers
and the nonfatal by 211 employers. In 1915 there were reported 132
fatal and 1,298 nonfatal accidents. The following table summarizes
these accidents by industry, showing a decrease in 1915 over 1914,
which may be due to the fact that a large number of employers were
operating under the workmen’s compensation law and therefore
reported their accidents elsewhere.
N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F F A T A L A N D O F N O N F A T A L IN D U S T R IA L A C CIDEN TS
IN IL L IN O IS IN 1914 A N D IN 1915 AS R E P O R T E D TO T H E ST A T E B U R E A U O F LA B O R
ST A TISTIC S IN EA C H S P E C IF IE D IN D U S T R Y .

1914
In d u stry .

F atal.
N um ­
ber.

Coal m ining.............
T ran sp o rta tio n ...............
Stone q u a rry in g ......................
M anufacturing...........................
M iscellaneous...........................
T o ta l..............................

60
116

1915
N onfatal.

Per
cent.
11.5
19.0

F atal.

N um ­
ber.

Per
cent.

N um ­
ber.

460
494

88.5
81.0

14
7

2.7
29.2

507
17

97.3
70.8

197

1 1 .8

1,478

88.2

N onfatal.

P er
cent.

N um ­
ber.

49
70

10 .2
100.0
2.8

432
461

89.8

2
11

385
20

97.2

100.0

132

9.2

1,298

90.8

13.2

Per
cent.

86.8

1 Illinois. B ureau of L abor Statistics. E ig h th report. In d u stria l accidents in Illinois for th e year
ending Dec. 31, 1914, 79 pp. N in th report. In d u stria l accidents in Illinois for th e year ending D ec' 31
1915,64 pp. Springfield, 1916.
'
’

81733°—17-----6


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Taking the two years together, of the 323 1 fatal cases, 62.2 per
cent were married men, and the number of dependents left by these
men was 592. The average age of those killed was 36 years. In
1915 falls of coal, slate, or rock were responsible for the greatest
number of killed (15.2 per cent). Of the 1,478 nonfatal accidents in
1914 the largest number, 122, or 8.3 per cent, were classed as “ bodies
injured,” and of the 1,298 in 1915 the largest number, 112, or 8.6
per cent, were classed as “ fingers injured.” In 1914, 64.8 per cent
of those injured were married; the average was 35 years; 46.4 per
cent were Americans and 10.2 per cent were Italians. In 1915, 16
per cent of those injured were miners and 15.9 per cent were laborers;
14.6 per cent were injured by falls of coal, slate, or rock; the average
age was 35 years.
MASSACHUSETTS.2

The Third Annual Report of the Massachusetts Industrial Accident
Board covers in detail the activities of the board for the year ending
June 30, 1915. It also presents a general review of the operations
of the compensation act during the three years it had then been in
effect. Perhaps the most important question incident to such a
review is the extent to which the act has been accepted by employers.
The act itself is elective and the benefits it offers the workers of the
State are dependent upon the willingness of employers to accept its
provisions. Election on the part of employers of farm labor and
domestic service is entirely voluntary. But all other employers who
do not elect are denied the three most important common law
defenses in case of damage suits, and this pressure was counted upon
to make them accept the act.
Unfortunately this very important question of the act’s present
scope is one which the report is unable to answer with any precision.
Under the Massachusetts system an employer desiring to accept the
act does so by taking out insurance in an authorized insurance car­
rier. Of those not taking out insurance there is absolutely no record.
But the accident board does receive reports of accidents—the law
requiring all employers to report all accidents—and it is informed
as to which ones of these are under insurance. These data are pre­
sented in the report as indicating roughly the proportion of em­
ployees in the State covered by compensation. The figures are as
follows:
1 In th e 1914 rep o rt th e ta b le of conjugal relations gives only 191 as th e num ber killed. For th e other
six probably no report w as received on th is p o in t, alth o u g h th e reason for th e omission is n o t given.
2 M assachusetts. T h ird a n n u al rep o rt of th e in d u stria l accid en t board. Boston, 1916.


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F A T A L A N D N O N F A T A L A C C ID E N T S R E P O R T E D A N D N U M B E R A N D P E R C E N T O F
IN S U R E D CASES.
F irst
year.

Second
year.

T h ird
year.

i otai.

T o tal reported accidents.
N o n fatal.................
F a ta ].......

89,694
474

96,382
509

94,597
370

280,673
1,353

T o tal.............

90,168

96,891

94,967

282,026

N um ber of insured cases.
N o n fatal..........
F a ta l__
T o tal.............

72,862
290

83,797
371

86,359
289

243,018
950

73,152

84,168

86,648

243,968

Per cent insured cases of to ta l reported
accidents.
N o n fatal...............
F a ta l..............

81.2
61.2

86.9
72.9

91.3
78.1

T o tal.............

86.6

70.2
86.5

1

Thus, in the first year 81.2 per cent of the nonfatal cases and 61.2
per cent of the fatal cases were insured. In the second year these
percentages jumped to 86.9 for nonfatal and 72.9 for fatal, and in
the third year to 91.3 and 78.1 respectively. For the three years
combined, 86.5 per cent of all the injuries reported were insured. The
report cites these percentage figures as indicating roughly the pro­
portion of the total employees of the State covered by insurance,
and also as indicating a rapid increase during the three-year period
in the proportion of workers so covered.
It seems doubtful, however, whether either of these inferences can
be safely drawn from the percentage figures quoted. Certainly not
from the percentages for nonfatal injuries. These are undoubtedly
much too high, due to the fact, as will be discussed in a later para­
graph, that injuries under insurance are much more fully reported
than those not under insurance.
In the case of fatal injuries, the objection of incomplete reporting
is of much less force. Injuries serious enough to cause death are
probably reported with v.ery considerable completeness even when
the employer is uninsured. This being so, the percentages of fatal
insured cases to total fatalities reported would seem to be acceptable
as measuring, roughly at least, the proportion of workers in the State
covered by compensation—the percentage figures themselves indi­
cating a rapid increase in the proportion so covered, from 61.2 per
cent in the first year to 72.9 per cent in the second and 78.1 per cent
in the third. But the rapid spread of compensation indicated by
these figures is not substantiated by the compensation activities of


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the insurance companies as reported to the accident board and as
shown in the following table.1
D IS P O S IT IO N O F A C C ID E N T C A SES B Y IN S U R A N C E C O M PA N IE S.

T otal cases h andled b y insurance com panies.
Cases in w hich no benefits were p a id ...........
Cases receiving benefits:
Medical benefits o n ly .............................
Money aw ards—no n fatal..............................
Money aw ards—fa ta l.....................................
T o ta i...............................................

F irst
year.

Second
year.

73,151
31,768

88,278
28,118

90,-035
24,597

26,303
14,791
289

42,798
17,037
325

48,796
16,390
252

41,383

60,160

65,438

T hird
year.

Line 3 of this table shows a rapid increase in the total number of
persons receiving benefits under the compensation act—from 41,383
in the first year, to 60,160 in the second, to 65,438 in the third.
But this increase was limited almost entirely to those receiving “ med­
ical benefits only”—i. e. disabilities less than the two weeks pre­
scribed as a waiting period by the Massachusetts law—and was prob­
ably due to a more complete filing of claims in minor injury cases,
combined perhaps with a greater liberality toward such claims. If
it had been due to an actual increase in the number of employees
covered by the act, it is reasonable to suppose that there could have
occurred a corresponding increase in the number receiving money
awards for disabilities of over two weeks’ duration. But this latter
number, as shown in the fifth line of the table, increased but slightly
in the second year—14,791 to 17,037—and actually decreased in the
third year to 16,390.
From this brief analysis, it may be concluded that by 1915, the
compensation act covered less than 78 per cent of the employees of
the State, with the insurance companies, reports indicating that this
proportion is probably not increasing. Of the 22 per cent or more
of the workers not covered by the act, a very considerable number
are no doubt in agriculture and domestic service, the two employ­
ments in which the employer loses no defenses by not accepting the
act. Employees of steam railroads are also totally excluded, none
of these companies having accepted the act. In addition, however,
there is evidently a very considerable number of excluded employees
in manufacturing and trade.2
Any more accurate estimate of the proportion of employees ex­
cluded from compensation is rendered impossible because of the in­
complete reporting of minor injuries, particularly by employers who
are not insured. That such- injuries are not at all fully reported is
evident from the tables in the appendix of the report (Tables I and II),
1 T h e se figures a re fro m th e re p o rts of th e h o a rd for 1913 (p . 326) 1914 (p . 472), a n d 1915 (p. c lx ).
2 The in d u strial accident board, in th e rep o rt to th e legislature of 1917 strongly urges th a t th e compen­
sation a c t be m ade com pulsory. See M o n th ly R e v ie w , F e b r u a r y , 1917, p.261.


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415

showing accident reports by industries. Thus, to cite an example,
the reports from the building trades show, under insured cases, 48
fatal and 8,409 nonfatal injuries, a ratio of 1 fatal to 175 nonfatal,
whereas, for the noninsured cases, there were reported 6 fatal injuries
as against only 35 nonfatal, a ratio of 1 to 6. As there is no apparent
reason why, in the same industry, the ratio of nonfatal to fatal
accidents should not be substantially the same for noninsuerd as for
insured injuries, and as fatal accidents are probably reported with
fair accuracy in both groups, this discrepancy would indicate a gross
failure of the noninsured employees to report their minor injuries.
Again, for agriculture there were reported 1 fatal and 114 nonfatal
injuries under insurance, while for noninsured cases there were 2
fatal as against only 5 nonfatal.
Furthermore, it appears that very defective reporting of minor
injuries exists even in the case of injuries under insurance. Illus­
trations of this appear in Table X III of the report, showing dura­
tion of disability in nonfatal cases by industries. Several industries
are there credited with a predominance of long term to short term
disabilities which is clearly due to incomplete reporting of minor
disabilities. The ship and boat building industry, all of which is
under insurance, is a striking example. Here the number of disabili­
ties listed as under one day is only 57, and those of 1 to 3 days only
35, as against 70 in the 8 to 10 day group and 67 in the 11 to 14 day
group. This distribution is contrary to all experience. If there were
as many as 67 disabilities lasting from 11 to 14 days there must have
been several hundred times the quoted number in the shorter disa­
bility periods.

The subject of deficient accident reporting has been here some­
what enlarged upon simply because the data in the report under review
are in a form which makes critical analysis possible. Probably all
of the accident tabulations under the various State compensation
acts suffer from this weakness, and it is a weakness of far-reaching
effect. To the extent that the basic accident material is incorrect,
deductions therefrom are not only.unsatisfactory, but may be very
misleading
A part of this weakness can be removed by excluding from consid­
eration the very minor injuries, the reporting of which is everywhere
incomplete; thus, the recent recommendation of the International
Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions that
there be used for “ tabulatable ” purposes only such injuries as cause
disability of more than the day, shift or turn on which the injury
occurred. The Massachusetts board was one of the first of the State
boards to accept this definition and a beginning in its practical use
is made in the present report. The importance of the very minor


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,

disabilities as affecting accident tabulations is shown in the follow­
ing table, condensed from a table given in the report :
D U R A T IO N O F D IS A B IL IT Y O F A C C ID E N TS R E P O R T E D TO T H E B O A R D ,
Second •
year.

F irst
year.

T hird
year.

Total accidents reported to b o a rd .................

90,168

96,891

94,967

U nder 1 d ay
...................................................
1 day to 2 w^elrs
.............................................
Oyop 2 \vpo1us
.............................................
F atal
..........................................................

36,901
31,685
21,108
474

41,269
34,054
21,059
509

42,478
31,177
20,942
370

The total number of accidents reported to the board is here shown
to have increased from 90,168 in the first year to 94,967 in the third
year. But the increase was due entirely to the growth in the number
of short-time disabilities reported. The disabilities of one day to
two weeks showed an actual decrease between the first and third
years, as did also the diabilities of over two weeks’ duration.
Occupational diseases are compensable in Massachusetts as ‘‘per­
sonal injuries” within the meaning of the law. The accident board
accepted this interpretation from the beginning and has been upheld
therein by the highest State court. Massachusetts was the first
State to adopt this liberal attitude, which even now has been adopted
by not more than two or three other States.
The number of cases of occupational diseases reported to the board
is noted by the present report as steadily increasing. The number
reported each year with the estimated wage loss is as follows:
N U M B E R O F F A T A L AN D N O N F A T A L CA SES R E S U L T IN G FR O M O C C U PA T IO N A L DIS*
EA S E , A N D E S T IM A T E D W A G E LOSS.
N u m b er of cases.
Year.
Fatal.

E stim ated
wage loss
in nonfatal
cases.
N onfatal.

Second.................................................................. ...........
T h ird ............................................................. ..................

10

3

104
354
699

$3,204
15,582
50, 318

T o tal......................................................................

16

1,157

69,204

3

One of the fatal cases during the third year, ending June 30, 1915,
was classified as due to gases, vapors, and fumes; one to lead poison­
ing: one to extreme cold. The distribution by causes of all of the
702 cases for that year is as follows:


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417

P E R S O N A L IN J U R IE S , B Y D ISE A SE S O F O CCU PA TIO N , JU L Y 1, 1914, TO JU N E 30, 1915.
Cases.

N onfatal cases.

Classification.
F a ta l.

Nonfatal. D ays lost.

Wages lost.

H A R M FU L SUBSTAN CES.

A rsenic.............................
D u sts ..........................
Gases, vapors, and fum es...............
H id e s (a n th ra x )............................
L ead........................................
Miscellaneous....................

1
1

2

88

0

4

515
391
439
4 331
430

40
48

1,882
455

24
g
46

$ 2 11
05/1
11, .¿O
'*
1 202

77Q
/ to

Q/in
1ii1 , o4U
5m

oyi

H A R M FU L CONDITIONS.

E xtrem e c o ld .........................
E xtrem e h e a t...................
E ye s tra in ....................
Strain, fatigue, fa u lty positions, “ occupational neuroses,”
blows, vibration, pressure, etc., causing injuries to nerves,
muscles, and bones...................
M iscellaneous...............................

1

10

5Q

3 501
1Q7

Lot

63
143

A ¿QQ
145

15,534

g
9
16
7
18

41
42Q
350

55
OO
OA/1

ACY>
i±\JO

IR R ITA N T FLU ID S AND SUBSTANCES.

B ra ss...................................
C em ent.........................
C hrom e....................................
Cyanide and p latin g solutions........
D yes..........................................
H id e s...................................................
Lim e...............................................
Oil.........................................
P a in t.............................
Poisonous vines, trees, s h ru b s ...................
R aw wool......................................
W ashing and cleansing fluids...................
Local irritatio n from constant vibration, blows, pressure, etc
M iscellaneous...........................
T o ta l..........................................

10

7
18
2

3

121

373
57
98
116
34
1 100
’ 78

C7A
0 /0
242
• ovVJ
5Qfl
oO

905
91

Z lO2
A/l
vr±

39
10
13
135
154

2, 256
.2 002

2,042
91
235
3,768
5 730

699

23,251

50,318

210

NEW YORK.1

The report of the New York Industrial Commission for 1915
reviews the operation of the workman’s compension act of that
State for the first 18 months of its existence; i. e., from July 1,
1914, to December 31, 1915. This law, as originally enacted, pro­
vided that it should be administered by a special compensation com­
mission. But within a year the functions of this special commission
were merged with those of the reorganized State Department of
Labor under the control of the newly created industrial commission.
By this consolidation all of the labor laws of the State were brought
under a single administrative jurisdiction. The importance of this,
from the standpoint of the compensation act, lies chiefly in the fact
that it permits of complete correlation of accident compensation
and the even more important work of accident prevention.
The New York Industrial Commission is particularly well equipped
to carry on such preventive work. The safety laws themselves are
comprehensive and the commission is vested with very extensive
authority to erect and enforce stringent safety standards. The
commission, through its inspection bureaus, has been active along
1 A nnual R eport of th e N ew Y ork (S tate) In d u strial Commission for th e 12 m onths ended Sept. 30,1915.,
pp. 119-166. A lbany, 1916.


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this line. But the extent of its success is undetermined. To measure
the effect of accident preventive work it is necessary to know the
course of accident rates from year to year, and to obtain rates it is
necessary to know not only the number of accidents but also the
number of employees exposed. No information of this character is
as yet available for New York.
A second important amendment to the compensation act during the
first year of its operation concerned the method of making claims and
paying awards. Under the original law all claims for compensation
had to be made directly to the commission, which itself collected all
money for awards from the insurance carriers and made the payments
to the beneficiaries. The amended law permits the employer and em­
ployee, subject to later approval by the commission, to make agree­
ments between themselves as to the amount of the awards and to
arrange for immediate payment. Only in the event of failure of the
two parties to reach an agreement need the claim be made directly
to the commission.
This change was urged as simplyfying and expediting the settle­
ment of claims, and also as relieving the commission of an enor­
mous amount of work, which would be transferred to the employer
and insurance carrier. But the change was also bitterly opposed on
the ground that the workers’ interests would not be so well pro­
tected. As regards this possible effect of the amendment the com­
mission says:
While the law has not been in operation a sufficient time to warrant the drawing of
final conclusions based upon ascertained facts, the commission has not found suffi­
cient evidence of abuses in connection either with private agreements or direct pay­
ments to warrant the belief that employees have not or will not receive the full amount
of compensation to which they are entitled.

The only statistical data bearing on this point are such as are con­
tained in the tabular statements of the claims division. These show
that during the nine months under the old law an average of 3,296
claims per month were made to the commission. Under the amended
law this monthly average of claims and agreements combined de­
creased to 2,968. As a suggested explanation of this the report
says:
It will require statistical analysis to demonstrate what class of injuries do not
result in claims being filed. It is supposable that they are minor claims in which
employees receive advance payment and fail to file claims.

The report gives considerable space to an account of the operation
of the State insurance fund and a defense of its methods. This fund
was established at the time of the adoption of the present compensa­
tion act (July, 1914), to be conducted by the State as a competitor
with stock and mutual companies in the writing of compensation
insurance. At the end of the first six months, December 31, 1914,


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419

it had 7,119 policyholders and the volume of premiums in force was
$692,583. During the year 1915 the fund is credited with a steady
growth. The number of policyholders increased to 8,507, and, while
the volume of premiums written decreased slightly—to $674,973_this is declared to be not a real decrease, but only an apparent one,
due to the general reduction in premium rates. It is stated, in fact'
that the fund has held practically all the business it ever obtained,
the total amount of semiannual premiums represented by policy­
holders transferring their business to other insurance carriers being
only $12,000.
‘
&
The net premium income of the fund during the year was $1,293,613.
This, added to interest income of $48,925, makes the total income
$1,342,538.48. As the total disbursement for losses paid and increase
in reserves was $942,224, there was left a surplus of $400,314, which,
added to the surplus of $178,897 carried over from the previous year,
makes a total surplus of $579,211 to the credit of policyholders!
Out of this sum dividends of $347,541 were paid to policyholders,
leaving $231,670 as undistributed surplus on hand at the end of the
year 1915. This, added to the sum of $145,729, set aside as a catas­
trophe reserve, makes a total of $377,399 available for catastrophe
losses. This would be sufficient to cover a disaster involving approxi­
mately 100 deaths.
The report contends that inasmuch as the reserves for unpaid losses
have been calculated most liberally, the above showing of financial
condition indicates that the State insurance fund is on a perfectly
safe basis, notwithstanding that the rates charged by it are approxi­
mately 20 per cent lower than those of the private casualty companies.
Charging these lower rates, the loss ratio of the fund for the full 18
months’ period was 64.8 per cent, i. e., 64.8 cents out of each dollar
of earned premiums received. The report computes that this would
have been only 56 per cent if the fund had charged the same rates as
the casualty companies.
The management expenses of the fund were paid by the State treasui y until January 1, 1917. But if the fund had paid its own expenses,
as it is now doing, it is computed that this would have amounted to
14.3 per cent of earned premiums during the first 18 months, and that
this expense ratio would have been reduced to 13 if the rates of the
casualty companies had been charged. The management expenses
for the full 18 months are reported as having been $275,679. This
sum, it may be noted, is considerably less than the sum reported as
having been disbursed for dividends—$347,541.
The information regarding accident experience and compensation
awards, as presented in the report, is rather limited. For the State as
a whole, a statement of awards made is given for only the first nine


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months of the act (July 1, 1914, to Mar. 31, 1915), i. e., for the period,
during which, as mentioned above, all claims were made directly to
and settled by the commission. During that period, 29,680 awards
were made at an aggregate cost (excluding medical service) of $4,880,433. On this basis the report computes that the total cost of awards
for a full year would be about $6,507,245. The medical service is
estimated at an additional $2,463,750, making a grand total of
$8,970,995 as the full cost of compensation for a year’s time.1
The analysis in the following table of the 29,680 awards made during
the nine-month period shows the distribution and average costs of
the different kind of awards. The table is condensed from a longer
one in the report (p. 130). Medical service is not included, as not
accurately known by the commission. Nor are any data available
regarding the number of cases entitled to medical aid, but, because of
the two weeks’ waiting period, not entitled to money awards.
N U M B E R A N D V A L U E O F A L L A W A R D S M AD E B Y T H E IN D U S T R IA L COM M ISSION
JU L Y 1, 1914, TO MAR. 31, 1915.

K in d of benefit.

Cases.

A m ount or
present value
of awards.

D eath—
W ith dep en d en ts..........................................
No dependents................................................
P en d in g ................................................................
P erm anen t to ta l d isab ilitv ..............................
P erm anen t p artial d isab ility ..................................
Tem porary to tal d isab ility (over tw o w eeks).....................
Tem porary p artial d isab ility ..... .......................................
In determ in ate.............................................................

476
96
27
14
2,058
26,161
36
579

$1,844,356
9,339
87,499
104,651
1,070,933
1,109,570
718
402,039

Total awards m a d e .................................................
U nder investigation, e tc ...................................................

29,447
233

4,629,108
i 251,325

29,680

4,880,433

G rand to ta l................................................

Average
value, of
award.

$3,874.70
97.28
7,475.12
520. 38
42. 41
19.96

1 E stim ated.

The average value of the death awards with dependents, as shown
in the last column of the table, is $3,874.70. The average award for
permanent total disability is much higher than for death, $7,475.
Permanent partial disabilities show an average of $520.38, and tem­
porary total disabilities an average of $42.41.
It is of interest to compare these averages for all awards made with
the corresponding averages for the awards paid under State fund
policies. The experience of the State fund in this respect is shown
in the following table, copied from the report (p. 164). I t shows the
distribution and costs of the 10,307 accident cases handled by the
1 This estim ate w as m ade in 1915. In connection th erew ith , i t is of in terest to note th a t, a year later,
Commissioner L ynch of th e in d u strial commission, estim ated th a t, for th e year 1916, w ith m uch greater
business a ctiv ity th a n in 1915, th e to tal n u m b er of com pensated accidents for th e S tate was approxim ately
60,000, and th e to tal cost, n o t including m edical service, ab o u t $11,500,000. This is alm ost double th e
annual cost as estim ated for 1915 in th e report.—See B u lletin New Y ork State Industrial Commission, Jan ­
uary, 1917, p. 61.


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421

State fund for the year ending June 30, 1915. Some of the policies
written by the fund cover medical service, and thus such service
appears as an item in the table.
N U M B E R A N D V A L U E O F A W A R D S P A ID U N D E R S T A T E F U N D P O L IC Y JU L Y 1 1914
TO J U N E 30, 1915.
[Experience brought dow n to Dec. 31, 1915.]
Acci­
dents
re­
ported.
72
11
5
224
2
28
2,127
(1,472)
4,189
3,649

K in d of benefit.

Ia.
b.
c.
II.
II I.
IVVa.
b.
V I.
V ila.
b.
V III.

D eath: D ependents (including $6,970 funeral)
D eath: No dependents, funeral o n ly . . .
Suspended m o rta lity .................
P erm anent to ta l d isab ility . .
P erm an en t p artial disability: D ism em berm ent
-Permanent p a rtia l disability: N ot dism em berm ent
Tem porary to ta l disability: Open cases as of Dec. 31, 1915.
Tem porary to ta l disability: Closed cases as of Dec. 31, 1915
T em porary p artial d isab ility ..........
Medical aid: C om pensatable cases.
Medical aid: N oncom pensatable cases.
No loss................

10,307

Incurred loss.

Average
per acci­
dent.

$287,748.88
1,004.50
20,276.19

$3,997.00

118,719.30
7,912.00
81,029.00
102,922. 22

530.00
3,956. 00
2,894. 00
48.00

44,874.77
28,301.88
723,645.08

The average awards under State fund policies are seen to be similar
to, although as a rule slightly higher than, the averages of the awards
as a whole, as shown in the preceding table. Thus, the average
death benefit, with dependents, was S3,997 for State fund cases, as
against S3,874 for all death cases.
On the other hand, it is of interest to note that the average value
of all the awards under the State fund, with medical service excluded,
is very much higher than the corresponding average for the whole
group of 29,680 cases—the former being S263.47 (p. 160), and the latter
S157.20 (p. 134). This marked difference is due chiefly to the very
much larger percentage of deaths with dependents among the State
fund cases than among the whole group of 29,680 cases.
UTAH.

The Employers’ Liability Commission of Utah, consisting of seven
members, was appointed by the governor on March 1, 1916, under
legislative authorization, “ to inquire into the question of employers’
liability and other matters and provide for an appropriation there­
for.” The report of this commission as submitted to the legislature
of 1917 is a pamphlet of 62 pages, bearing date of November 1, 1916,
embodying its findings and recommendations and including a tenta­
tive bill to be known as the Utah workmen’s compensation act.1 No
provision was made for compensation of the commission other than
the reimbursement of expenses in an amount not exceeding $500.
This operated to restrict the investigation practically to correspond1 Utah. Report of the Employers’ Liability and Workmen’s Compensation Commission to the Twelfth
[Salt Lake City, 1916.] 62 pp.

Session of the Legislature of Utah, together with d ra ft of the bill submitted.


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ence and the examination of such material as could be secured by
request. Some individual observations were made by one or two
members while in compensation States on other errands, but the
commission concludes that—
It is to be regretted, however, that the commission could not have visited other
States as a body, to observe, at first hand, the operations of the various laws.

The commission felt itself restricted to an elective form of law by
reason of the limitations of the State constitution, and, after having
studied “ in a tenative way all the laws, and quite thoroughly some
laws, of the different Ststes, and after a pretty thorough investiga­
tion,” it settled upon the Indiana statute of 1915 as a practical basis
for its law. Additions and amendments were made, using features
of the laws of Colorado, Nevada, Montana, and Kentucky. While
the elective system was adopted, acceptance of the act is presumed
in the absence of positive rejection, and employers under the act are
required to maintain insurance or furnish satisfactory proof of finan­
cial ability to make direct payments. Mutual insurance associations
are authorized, and approved benefit systems may be maintained.
A compensation basis of 50 per cent of the weekly wages for limited
periods was fixed upon as in some sense a compromise, particularly in
the matter of permanent total disability. The same attitude of mind
was expressed as to a fixed schedule for partial disabilities. As to
these matters it was felt that—
I t w as im p o ssib le to a tta in m ore th a n g en eral a n d a p p ro x im ate re su lts for th e in itia l
law , a n d th e com m ission suggests th a t th is a n d o th er a p p a re n tly d e sirab le phases b e
le ft to b e a d ju s te d b y th e in d u stria l board a n d for possible fu tu re a m e n d m en ts.
W e b e lie v e th e tim e w ill com e w hen th e board w ill h a v e pow er to say to one
em p lo y ee w ho h as lost a foot th a t h e w ill re ce iv e so m u ch , a n d to a n o th e r em ployee
w ho has h a d th e sam e tro u b le, th a t h e w ill re ce iv e so m u ch ; i t m ay b e a n increase
or a decrease. T h e form er m ay b e a m an w ith a w ife a n d one c h ild ; th e la tte r m ay
h a v e a w ife a n d 10 c h ild re n . T h e form er m ay n o t b e so d isa b le d afte r h is recovery
th a t h e can n o t e n te r h is form er o c cu p atio n . T h e la tte r m ay b e so d isa b le d th a t h e
c an n o t perform h is form er d u tie s. T h a t these two classes of cases should b e tre a te d
a lik e seem s a n y th in g b u t ju st.

The act as drawn does not apply to casual employers, to employers
of less than four employees ‘ ‘in the same industrial employment for
the sake of pecuniary gain,” or to private household or domestic
servants, unless by voluntary election. Agriculture is not exempted,
mining employers taking the ground that there was no justification
in putting an employment that was of known hazard on a different
footing from other employments which were to be covered by the
act. ‘‘The commission confessed that they can find no good reason
for exempting agricultural pursuits and it therefore had included
them in those to be covered.” The fact remains that the exemption
of employers of less than four persons will operate to exclude a large
proportion of farm labor from the protection of the act.


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423

The tentative bill is divided into five parts. Part I deals with
rights and remedies; Part II includes the compensation schedule;
Part III has to do with the administration of the proposed law;
Part IV deals with the question of insurance and provides the manner
in which the compensation of workingmen shall be secured; and
Part V has reference to definitions and miscellaneous provisions.
The following is a summary of its more important provisions not
already touched upon:
1. The three grounds of common-law defense, assumption of risk?
fellow servant, and contributory negligence, are taken from an
employer if he elects not to operate under the law.
2. The waiting period is 14 days, compensation beginning on the
fifteenth day.
3. The employer is required to provide free medical and hosnital
services, not to exceed $100, during the first 30 days after an injury,

and thereafter if he chooses, which service shall be accepted by the
employee. If he shall refuse to accept such service he shall be
barred from compensation during such refusal. This provision is to
apply in cases where there is no medical or hospital contract or agree­
ment under which the employee is assessed by the employer for the
maintenance of a hospital.
4. For total disability compensation shall be on the basis of 50 per
cent of the average weekly wages for a period not exceeding 333J
weeks, with a maximum weekly payment of $12, the total payment
not to exceed $4,000; for partial disability the payment shall be on
the basis of 50 per cent of impairment of earning capacity for a period
not exceeding 250 weeks, with a maximum weekly payment ot $12,
the total payment not to exceed $3,000; for death a maximum pay­
ment of $3,000 shall be made, or, if no dependents, burial expenses
not to exceed $100. For certain enumerated injuries compensation
equal to 50 per cent of the average weekly wages shall be paid for a
specified number of weeks, depending on the injury. The average
weekly wage shall be considered not to be more than $24 nor less
than $10, and the total compensation paid shall in no case exceed
$4,000.
5. No provision is made for occupational diseases.
6. The administrative features of the bill provide, among other
things, for an industrial board consisting of three members appointed
by the governor, each to receive a salary of $4,000; and that every
employer shall keep a record of all injuries and report same to the
board within seven days after occurrence.
7. Employers may carry their own insurance upon furnishing
sufficient evidence of their ability to do so. The formation of mutual
insurance associations by groups of employers is authorized under
certain conditions. The creation of a State fund is not deemed wise.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

8. Nonresident alien beneficiaries are restricted to half benefits
with a maximum of $1,000, only widows, parents, and children under
17 being considered.
9. An appropriation of $25,000 a year is recommended, and the
act shall take effect on July 1, 1917.
The pamphlet includes a minority report by one of the members of
the commission, who, while hoping to see a compensation law enacted
at the present legislative session, expressed his unwillingness to sign
the report of the majority on the ground that the provisions of
the bill as drafted by them were lacking in fairness and liberality.
Exception was taken to the exemption from the act of small em­
ployers, also to a provision allowing a hospital fee to be collected
from the employees, to the length of the waiting period, to the limi­
tations on the amount of compensation, both percentual and abso­
lute, to the reduction of compensation for alien beneficiaries, to the
failure to provide for a State fund, to the exclusion of occupational
diseases, and to the omission from the bill of any provision for the
prevention of accidents.
VERMONT.

The second biennial report of the Vermont factory inspector for
the 21-month period ending August 1, 1916, and the report of the
industrial accident board for the year ending June 30, 1916, are
contained in a pamphlet of 30 pages.1 During the year covered by
the first report, 424 inspections were made and 412 orders were
entered demanding changes to comply with the law. In addition,
127 second notifications were placed to ascertain whether the orders
had been complied with. During these inspections attention was
given to the work of safeguarding dangerous machinery, but the
fact is noted that lack of cooperation by employers has resulted in
many safeguards being removed and not used at all. Accident
reporting, it is stated, has been very carefully attended to and
sanitary conditions throughout the industries of the State have been
improved. The number of accidents reported from March 1, 1913,
to November 1, 1914, was 1,059,2 while from November 1, 1914, to
August 1, 1916, the total of those reported to the factory inspector
and those taken from the files of the industrial accident board was
4,810,3 of which 33 were fatal, 275 were serious, and 4,502 were
minor injuries. The following table shows by nature of injuiy the
accidents occurring from November 1, 1914, to August 1, 1916, in­
dicating the per cent in each classification.
1 V erm ont. Second b iennial rep o rt of th e factory inspector for th e period ending Aug. 1, 1916. R eport
of the in d u stria l accident board for th e year ending Ju n e 30,1916. R u tla n d , 1916. 30 pp.
2 I t is explained th a t th is n um ber is sm all because em ployers were not compelled to report accidents prior
to the creation of th e in d u strial accident board.
s A lthough representing 21 m onths, th is is less th a n th e n u m b er of accidents (5,337) reported to the
industrial accident board in one year ending June 30,1916, as disclosed in the report of th a t board.


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425

N U M B E R A N D P E R C EN T O F IN D U S T R IA L A C C ID E N TS O C CU R R IN G IN V E R M O N T FR O M
NOV. 1, 1914, TO N O V . 1, 1915. A N D FR O M N O V . 1, 1915, TO A U G . 1, 1916, B Y N A T U R E O F
IN JU R Y .

Nov. 1, 1914, to
Nov. 1,1915.
N atu re of injury.

Nov. 1, 1915, to
Aug. 1, 1916.

N um ber. P e rc e n t. N um ber. P e rc e n t
F a ta l....................................................
In ju ry to fingers...............................
B ruises a n d crushings.....................
L acerations........................................
B urns an d scalds..............................
Sprains, strain s, a n d dislocations.
In ju ry to eyes....................................
In ju ry to h e ad ...................................
F ra c tu re s............................................
Loss of p a rts of fingers....................
Infection.............................................
Loss of fingers....................................
Broken rib s........................................
Scalp w ou n d s....................................
General shaking u p .........................
Loss of hearing..................................
Loss of e y e s ............ ..........................
Loss of h an d s.....................................

19
567
407
274
68

98
164
55
42
28
23
21

1.1

31.4
22.5
15.2
3.5
5.4
9.1
3.0
2.3
1.5
1.3
1.2

17
15
9

.9

14
935
728
360
116
152
366
89
95
43
64
18

0.5
31.1
24.3

3,002

100.0

12.0

3.9
5.1
12 2

3.0
3.2
1.4
2.1
.6

.8

.5

0)

T o ta l.

100.0

1Less th an one-tenth of 1 per cent.
In the report of the industrial accident board it is stated that prac­
tically every Vermont concern employing 11 or more men and every
foreign concern, with 4 exceptions, many business concerns em­
ploying 10 or less men, and several municipal corporations, are now
operating under the Vermont workmen’s compensation law. This
report, covering a different period from that of the factory in­
spector’s report, necessarily does not agree as to the number of acci­
dents reported. It is stated that during the first year, 5,043 1 acci­
dents came within the jurisdiction of the board, and 294 were out­
side the jurisdiction of the board. This latter group, it is sug­
gested, may be classified as minor injuries and injuries to employes
in the four foreign firms referred to above. Thirty-seven 2 fatal
accidents are recorded, for which compensation amounting to
$24,613.12 was paid. The total compensation incurred by reason of all
injuries is indicated in the following statement:
C om pensation a c tu a lly p a id d u rin g th e first y e a r ................................................ | 6 6 , 764. 26
C om pensation w hich h a s b e e n ordered a n d ru n s for a period of w e ek s.......... 30,110. 29
C om pensation e stim a te d , w here d e p e n d e n ts are in foreign c o u n tries a n d
proof of d e p e n d e n c y n o t y e t o b ta in e d , a n d in cases w here th e order is
m ad e t h a t co m p e n sa tio n shall b e p a id d u rin g d is a b ility ..............................
7 . 233. 71
A m o u n t a c tu a lly p a id for m ed ic a l services to in ju re d e m p lo y e e s.................... 26, 807. 28
M edical ex p en ses e s tim a te d ........................................................................................
5 4 gg 2 0
F u n e ra l ex p en ses p a id in fa ta l cases..........................................................................
3 5 5 0 qq
T o ta l........................................................................................................................... 139,931.74

1See N ote 3, p. 424.
2H ere again th e re is an ap p aren t discrepancy, since th is is a greater n um ber of fatal accidents in one
year th a n th e factory inspector rep o rts as having occurred in 21 m o n th s, w hich period included th e year
covered b y th e in d u stria l accident b o ard ’s rep o rt.


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REPORT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SPECIAL RECESS COMMISSION ON
SOCIAL INSURANCE.

The Massachusetts Special Recess Commission on Social Insurance
submits reports on all four of the subjects which it was directed to
investigate, viz: Sickness, unemployment, old age, and hours of labor
in 24-hour a day industries.
On the four subjects investigated the commission submits 13 state­
ments representing the opinions held by different members on the
commission.
SICKNESS INSURANCE.

In the case of health insurance there are three statements, the first
one is signed by Senator Farnsworth, the chairman of the commission,
and by Allison G. Catheron, Representative Bowser, and Representa­
tive Woodill. After an extended discussion of the many features of
health insurance these four state:
W e are satisfied * * * t h a t som e p la n for h e a lth in su ra n ce should b e a d o p te d
as a n im p o rta n t early ste p in th e in te re s ts of social w elfare.

A copy of the model bill, so called, drafted by the American
Association for Labor Legislation and which was introduced in the
legislature this year by Representative Young, is reprinted by the
commission in the appendix of the report, and in making tefeience
to it these members state:
I n g en eral th e sch em e of a d m in istra tio n w orked o u t in th e b ill seem s lik e ly to b e
successful. F u rth e r stu d y a n d discussion w ill p e rh a p s show th e n e ce ssity of m odify­
ing th e p la n in som e respects.

The commission also submits as a part of the appendix a statement
relative to the cost of sickness to the wage earners in the Common­
wealth based on an investigation conducted during the summer as
to the extent of illness among the members of the 1,425 labor unions
in the State. The total social and economic cost of sickness per
annum among 1,507,373 gainfully employed persons receiving less
than $1,200 per year is totaled at $38,770,167. The wage loss and
medical cost in this estimate is placed at $32,280,792, basing it on the
assumption that each wage earner in the Commonwealth averages a
loss of 8.5 days per year at an average daily loss of $1.80, and cal­
culating the medical cost at an estimated average of $1 per day. The
total cost to all concerned in administering a system of health insur­
ance such as is proposed in the act submitted has been estimated at
approximately $23,000,000; of this under the proposed plan the share
which the Commonwealth would have to contribute would be $4,600,000. It is stated in the report that at the present time there are
certain large items of expense which the Commomwealth and cities
and towns are bearing from which they would be relieved if a health
insurance plan, such as is proposed, were put into operation.


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427

A separate statement on health insurance is submitted by two other
members of the commission—Mr. John P. Meade of Brockton and
Senator Edward G. Morris. Neither of these two members recom­
mend the immediate enactment of any health insurance legislation.
“ There is sufficient knowledge available/’ they state, “ to justify the
opinion that the attitude of the State toward the problem should be
one of careful inquiry.” Further the report says:
T h e c orner stone in th e econom ic stru c tu re of th e hom e is a liv in g wage. C onditions
in in d u s try th a t w ould im p a ir th is v ita l p rin c ip le should b e g u a rd ed against. * * *
C om pulsory system s of h e a lth in su ra n c e p ro v id e for c o n trib u tio n s b y em ployers,
em ployees, a n d th e S ta te . S u c h a sy stem e n a c te d in to F e d e ra l law w ould p la c e a ll
in d u strie s u p o n th e sam e basis. T h e em p lo y e rs’ c o n trib u tio n s u n d e r su c h c irc u m ­
stances could b e m a d e a un ifo rm charge u p o n p ro d u c tio n , a n d th e ir p a rt in th e p la n
of in su ra n c e m ad e to sp read over a n a tio n a l area. W ith co m p u lso ry h e a lth in su ra n ce
system s o p e ratin g in M assachusetts a n d e x c lu d e d from th e o th e r sta te s i n th e U n io n ,
a c o n d itio n w ould b e crea te d in our in d u stria l life w h ic h w ould b e d is tin c tly h a rm fu l
to som e w age earners of th e C om m onw ealth. E m p lo y e rs w ould c e rta in ly a d d th e
cost of in su ra n c e c o n trib u tio n s to th e p ric e of th e ir p ro d u c t. T h e c onsum er w ould
in th e final an aly sis p a y th is p o rtio n of th e expense. C an th is cost b e p assed to th e
consum er w ith o u t doing in ju ry to th e wages of our M assachusetts w orkm en, w ho a re
em ployed in th e in d u strie s of th is S ta te w h ic h are a factor in n a tio n -w id e c o m p e ti­
tion? * " * U n til th e tim e a rriv e s w h en w e can safely co n sid er a n e la b o ra te sys­
tem of sickness insurance, i t w ould seem th a t th e C om m onw ealth m ig h t c o n sid er
its a d v a n ta g e som e ex te n sio n of our p re se n t sy stem of m ed ic al a d m in istra tio n .

to

Miss Edna L. Spencer who was appointed to the commission by
Gov. McCall recommends the enactment of legislation establishing a
maternity board, to be composed of three women and to be appointed
by the Governor. Provision is made in the bill for benefits not to
exceed $50 per month and not less than $10 and also for hospital
care, home nursing, medicine, medical care and other obstetrical
care.
MAJORITY REPORT ON UNEMPLOYMENT.

The majority report of the commission on the subject of unemploy­
ment is as follows :
T h e s tu d y a n d in v e stig a tio n of th e su b je c t of u n e m p lo y m e n t in th is c o u n try h a s
m ad e c le ar to our com m ission th e n e ed of m ore c o n stru c tiv e m e th o d s of d e a lin g w ith
th is pro b lem in M assachusetts. W e b e lie v e th e tim e h as com e w h e n so m e th in g m u st
be d one to in crease th e efficiency a n d o p p o rtu n itie s for usefulness of th e S ta te e m p lo y ­
m e n t offices to th e p u b lic . W e b e lie v e th a t th e sta tu te s sh o u ld p ro v id e for a n a d v i­
sory co u n cil in e ac h c ity w h ere a S ta te e m p lo y m e n t office is e stab lish e d , com posed
of e q u a l re p re se n ta tio n b y em ployers a n d em ployees.
T h e fu n c tio n s of th is a d v iso ry c o u n cil w ould in c lu d e a ll m a tte rs of local a d m in is ­
tra tio n t h a t w ould te n d to m ak e th e S ta te office efficient in a d m in iste rin g to th e te c h ­
n ica l n e ed s of em ployers a n d w orkm en in g iv e n in d u strie s. W e c o n cu r in th e reco m ­
m e n d a tio n t h a t th e S ta te e m p lo y m e n t offices b e g ra d u a lly in cre ased to a n u m b e r suffi­
c ie n t to in c lu d e a ll th e im p o rta n t in d u s tria l c en ters of th e C om m onw ealth.

81733°—17----- 7


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W e b e lie v e t h a t th e ir efficiency c an b e im p ro v ed *so t h a t th e ir c a p a c ity for usefu l­
ness to b o th c a p ita l a n d labor can b e m ad e p ro d u c tiv e of g re at v a lu e to th e Com m on­
w e alth .
W e b e lie v e a n d stro n g ly recom m end t h a t if th e S ta te e m p lo y m e n t offices are to
re m a in u n d e r th e ju ris d ic tio n of th e d ire c to r of th e b u re a u of s ta tistic s t h a t h e should
b e g iv en pow er to se lec t th e m ost efficient m en for th e e x e c u tiv e w ork of th ese offices.
T h is m ig h t b e done w ith th e consent of th e governor a n d council.
T h e u tm o st p u b lic ity should c h a ra c te riz e th e ir a d m in istra tio n . I n in sta n c e s of
labor difficulties i t w ould b e sim p ly ju s t a n d in a ccordance w ith th e s p irit of M assa­
c h u se tts law s to h a v e p u b lis h e d sta te m e n ts from b o th sides of th e c o n tro v ersy p laced
a t th e disposal of a p p lic a n ts for e m p lo y m en t.

Public-service corporations which derive their franchises from the people, such as
telephone or railroad corporations, should be considered in the integral thought of
the prevention of unemployment, and made to give of their services at reduced cost
toward bringing the person out of employment in speedy and inexpensive communi­
cation with those in need of labor.
I t w ill b e observed in our re p o rt on u n e m p lo y m e n t th a t th e re are m a n y p e rp le x in g
problem s w h ic h w ould seem to re q u ire p e rm a n e n t su p e rv isio n a n d a tte n tio n . Con­
s tru c tiv e w ork in th e solving of th ese p roblem s can o n ly b e a cco m p lish ed from sm all
b eg in n in g s a n d th e e x p erien c e d e riv e d from c o n tin u o u s c o n ta c t w ith th e m . T h e
m a tte r of reg u la riz in g in d u s try , p ro v id in g for te m p o ra ry re lief d u rin g perio d s of
depression, re d u c in g th e loss of tim e b y th e w orker engaged in casual labor, a n d th e
n e e d of g o v e rn m e n ta l su p e rv isio n a n d re g u la tio n of th e S ta te office a n d p riv a te em ­
p lo y m e n t agencies m akes necessary in our o p in io n th e e sta b lish m e n t of a S ta te bo ard
of e m p lo y m en t. T h is bo ard should b e an u n p a id one a n d sh o u ld consist of tw o em ­
ployers of labor a n d tw o re p re se n ta tiv e s of em ployees a n d a w om an know n to b e
in te re s te d in econom ic a n d in d u s tria l m atters. T h is bo ard sh o u ld h a v e a p a id secre­
ta ry a n d sh o u ld b e p ro v id e d w ith su c h sum s for e xpenses as th e leg isla tu re m a y deem
p ro p e r for th e k e ep in g of office records a n d a c o m p ilin g of in fo rm a tio n n ecessary to its
d e v elo p m en t.

OLD-AGE INSURANCE.

A majority of the commission recommend the principle of noncon­
tributory age pensions. The same members are also in partial agree­
ment as to the taxation of intangible property in the Commonwealth,
as the best means of providing the necessary revenue for the payment
of the pensions. Some of the members, however, regard it as the
part of wisdom to await the results of the new income tax recently
enacted in the Commonwealth, and if this new form of taxation
reveals any such amount of intangible property as has at different
times been estimated, they believe it might be made to form the
chief means of supporting a system of noncontributory age pensions.
The other members of the majority recommend immediate legislation
establishing a State system of old-age pensions and suggest that the
income from the intangible wealth in the State should bear the burden.
Should the present income tax law prove inadequate in bringing to
light enough property to yield a sufficient revenue for the payment of
these pensions, these members suggest that it be left to the General
Court to devise means of reaching this source of wealth.
Certain members of the commission do not regard this as the proper
time to put into operation any State system of old age pensions.


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429

While they are of the opinion that the contributory has more merit
than the noncontributory system, they consider that the commission’s
study shows neither the need nor the demand to warrant the estab­
lishment of any age pension at the present time.
Some of the members who dissent from the majority report believe
that when a system of pensions is established it should emanate from
Federal rather than State authority. They believe that if the need
has been established in Massachusetts, the need also exists in every
State in the Union, and they regard it as useless to pass any State
legislation solely on the ground that the popular demand is more
insistent in Massachusetts than elsewhere.
HOURS OF LABOR IN 24-HOUR-A-DAY INDUSTRIES.

A majority of the members of the commission is unanimous in
its recommendations for legislation limiting the hours of labor of
tour workers in paper mills. Some of the members of the commission
go further, however, and recommend an act extending the three-tour
eight-hour provision to all so-called “continuous industries” in the
Commonwealth. These members believe it would be unfairly dis­
criminating for the commission to select the paper industry alone as
the object of special legislation, without at the same time making
provision for any other industry where similar conditions might
exist.
Other members content themselves with recommending a bill
which applies only to the tour workers in paper mills and its provi­
sions are very similar to bills of this character filed in recent years
with the legislature by the State branch of the American Federation
of Labor and the Progressive Party. The bill in substance provides
that no person employed as a tour worker in any paper mill which is
in continuous operation day and night shall be required except in
cases of emergency to work more than eight hours in any one day.
A substantial fine is provided in case of failure to comply with the
provisions of the act and the duty of enforcing the act is left to the
State board of labor and industries.
Other members comprising a minority of the commission recom­
mend legislation limiting the hours of men employed as tour workers
in paper mills to 11. Those members who submit the 11-hour
bill believe that for all practical purposes it will accomplish the
desired end and at the same time do so without going to what they
consider the extreme point of specifically recommending the estab­
lishment of the 8-hour three-shift system in continuous industries
not already working under that plan.
Certain others, also constituting a minority of the commission
maintain that the investigation by the commission has shown no
such appeal or need as to warrant at this time legislative interference


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

in the case of any continuous industry. These members deem it the
part of wisdom to leave the settlement of the hours of labor in the
industries to the employers and men themselves. I t is their belief
that the three-tour 8-hour plan is being adopted by the manufac­
turers as rapidly as industrial and labor conditions will permit.
Recommendations for three shifts of 8 hours for all industries, were
signed by Senator Edward G. Morris, Wendell P. Thore, and Edna
Lawrence Spencer.
Recommendations for 11 horns for tour workers in paper mills
were signed by Allison G. Catheron and Eden K. Bowser.
Recommendations for 8 hours for all tour workers in paper mills
were signed by John P. Meade and Senator Edward G. Morris.
Recommendations that no legislation be enacted now were signed
by Senator Frank S. Farnsworth and Harry C. Woodill.
AGED AND DEPENDENT PERSONS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

At the time of taking the decennial census in Massachusetts in 1915
the director of the bureau of statistics, under authorization by the
legislature, collected data relative to the number of persons 65 years
of age and over and the length of their residence in the State; the
number of dependent persons of the age indicated who were aided by
various public and private institutions and the amount of aid granted
by each class of institutions; the age, sex, nativity, and conjugal con­
dition of these dependents; and the number receiving each classified
amount from a specified source. This information is presented in a
pamphlet of 107 pages, under date of December 15, 1916,1 covering
(1) census of the aged population, (2) expenditures for the relief of
the aged population, (3) detailed statistical tables, and concluding
with five appendixes.
This was the third investigation bearing on the subject of old-age
pensions, the report of the first injury having been made early in
1910, and of the second in March, 1914. More than $41,000 was
expended by the State for these three investigations. In the last
inquiry no attempt was made to obtain information as to aid ren­
dered old persons by individuals, the inquiry being confined in all
instances to institutions or organizations dispensing relief. The
number of persons 65 years of age and over was ascertained as of
date April 1,1915, but information as to the number of persons receiv­
ing aid and the amount expended, which was taken from the records
of the various institutions, covers the period of one year ending
March 31, 1915. The following facts were brought out by the
inquiry :
i
M assachusetts. B ureau of statistics. R eport of a special in q u iry relative to aged and dependent per­
sons in M assachusetts, 1915. B oston, 1916. 107 pp.


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The number of persons 65 years of age and over in the Common­
wealth as determined by the decennial census April 1 , 1915, was
189,047.
The number of dependent persons 65 years of age and over aided
in the Commonwealth, as ascertained by a canvass of 5,707 institu­
tions, organizations, and other sources of such aid, for the year end­
ing March 31, 1915, was 34,496 (14,673 males and 19,823 females),
constituting about 18.2 per cent of the total population 65 years of
age and over.
The amount of aid granted these aged dependent persons aggre­
gated $3,233,948.14, exclusive of United States pensions, the amount
granted males being $1,444,712.98 and the amount granted females
being $1,789,235.76. Classified into public and private relief, 26,403
were given public relief to the amount of $2,250,685.91, and 9,862
were given private relief to the amount of $983,262.83.
The per capita expenditure on account of persons receiving aid
from all sources was $93.75; for persons receiving aid from public
sources, $85.24; for persons receiving aid from private sources, $99.70.
Approximately 73 per cent of those receiving aid received less than
$100 each, and 2.77 per cent received more than $300 each.
Of the total 65 years of age and over, 114,638, or 60.6 per cent,
were native born, and 14,409, or 39.4 per cent, were foreign born.
Of the native born, 73,307, or 63.9 per cent, were born in Massachu­
setts. But of the 34,496 in the dependent class the nativity of 18,344
was ascertained and of this number 29.5 per cent were born in Mas­
sachusetts and 52.2 were foreign born.
Of the total number 94.9 per cent had been living in the State 10
years or more and of the dependents the period of residence of 23.3
per cent was ascertained, indicating that 80.3 per cent had been resid­
ing in the State for 30 years or more.

Considering a few of the above facts more in detail it may be inter­
esting to note in the first place the number of persons receiving aid
and the amount so received from each specified source, both public
and private, as indicated in the following table:


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N U M B E R OE P E R S O N S 65 Y E A R S O F A G E AN D O V E R R E C E IV IN G A ID D U R IN G T H E
FISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G M ARCH 31, 1615, AND A M O U N T O F A ID R E C E IV E D , B Y SO U RCE
O F A ID AN D B Y S E X .
N um ber of persons receiving
aid .1

A m ount of aid received.

Source of aid.
Males.

Fe­
males.

Per
Total. cent.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Per
cent.

PUBLIC R E L IE F .

$28,992.18

0.9

656

38

694

1.9

$26,693.25

$2,298.93

782

1,209

1,991

5.5

173,301.14

237,366.31

905
3,581
4,441
1,413

90
4,275
5,924
3,089

995
7,856
10,365
4,502

2.7
21.7
28.6
12.4

68,484.55
348,724. 57
296,426.86
110,974.55

10.345.50
373,596.57
367,514.46
234,959.22

78,830.05
722,321.14
663,941.32
345,933.77

2.4
22.3
20.5
10.7

T o ta l2............... .. 11,778

14,625

26,403

72.8

1,024,604.92

1,226,080.99

2,250,685.91

69.6

Penal in stitu tio n s..........
State insane institutions and h o s p ita ls...
S tate pau p er in stitu tio n s ..............................
Overseers of poor...........
S tate and m ilitary a i d . .
Soldiers’ relief...............

410,667.45

12.7

P R IV A TE R E L IE F .

B enevolent h o m es.........
Medical and insane ins titu tio n s ......................
G. A. R . and au x iliary
organizations...............
C hurches 3.......................
T ru st fu n d s .....................
Miscellaneous charities.
T o ta l......................

1,337

1,603

2,940

8.1

292,454.03

309,825.91

602,279.94

18.6

1,429

1,060

2,489

6.9

60,086.82

54,497.36

114,584.18

3.5

302
124
182
352

155
481
1,178
1,659

457
605
1,360
2, Oil

1.3
1.7
3.8
5.5

6,155.58
6,063.06
7,683.05
47,665.52

2,887.25
31,267.31
61,709. 81
102,967.13

9,042. 83
37,330.37
69,392. 86
150,632.65

.3
1.2
2.1
4.7

3,726

6,136

9,862

27.2

420,108.06

563,154. 77

983,262.83-

30.4

1, 789,235. 76

3,233,948.74

100.0

G rand to ta l.......... 15,504

20,761

36,265 100.0

1,444,712.98

1 The rep o rt states t h a t “ num erous instances were found w here an individual was receiving aid from
several sources.” T his explains w h y th e to tals in th ese colum ns are larger, aggregating 1,769, th a n given
in th e tex t.
2 These to tals do no t include d a ta w ith reference to U nited States pensioners.
3 Based on re tu rn s from 1,792 churches out of 2,220 w hich were canvassed.

Of the total dependents, 31.4 per cent were in the 70 to 74 age
group, and 17.5 per cent were 80 years of age and over. As to the
«.-mou n ts received by these dependents,1 the report shows that 1,618,
or 4.38 per cent, were granted less than $5; 5,405, or 14.64 per cent,
were granted $5 but less than $25; 7,889, or 21.36 per cent, $25 but
less than $50; 12,053, or 32.64 per cent, $50 but less than $100;
5,936, or 16.07 per cent, $100 but less than $200; 3,004, or 8.13 per
cent, $200 but less than $300; and 1,026, or 2.78 per cent, $300 and
over. From this the conclusion is drawn that a pension as large as
$300 would he unnecessary in a very large number of cases.
These facts lead to the conclusion that whatever the maximum amount of pension
granted any system of pension payments should be graded in accordance with the
actual needs of the pensioner and, as in the case of the English system, the amount
of pension should be determined by the income from other sources which a pensioner
may be expected to receive coincidentally with the receipt of a pension.
1 T he following com putations are m ade on th e basis of 36,931 dependents, th e report explaining th a t th e
figures here include a n u m b er of duplicated individuals who received a id from more th a n one source.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

433

Most of the dependents cared for by private institutions were in
so-called benevolent homes, the table on page 432 showing 2,940
persons, entailing a cost of $602,279.94. In explaining the method
of determining the net cost to the institution the report states that
“ all aged persons who contributed amounts which equaled or
exceeded the cost of their care were not considered as aged dependent
persons and were therefore eliminated from consideration.”

ACCIDENTS AT METALLURGICAL WORKS IN THE UNITED STATES DURING
1915.

The Bureau of Mines has published its second rep o rt1 on accidents
at.metallurgical works, the first being for the calendar years 1913 and
1914 (Technical Paper 124), which was noticed in the M o n t h l y
R e v i e w for May, 1916, page 89. These latest figures cover the
returns from 110 smelting plants in 1915 as compared with 94 in
1914, and include copper, lead, and zinc, and quicksilver smelters,
as well as refineries. The iron blast furnaces are not included in
the figures given. The number of ore-dressing plants reporting in
1915 was 560 as compared with 484 in 1914 and 311 in 1913. These
represent concentrating plants for copper, lead, and zinc ores, stamp
mills, cyanide plants, and iron-ore washers. A larger number of
operators reported for the year 1915 than did for 1914, as indicated
above. The total number of men reported employed in the metal­
lurgical plants, both smelters and ore-dressing plants, was 49,891 as
compared with 41,461 in 1914.
The number of fatalities reported at metallurgical plants was 68,
at ore-dressing plants 30, and at smelters 38. The number of
nonfatal injuries reported at ore-dressing plants was 2,095 and at
smelters 5,718. Of the injuries reported 3 were permanent total
disabilities, 1 at an ore-dressing plant and 2 at smelters. There
were 63 permanent partial disabilities at ore-dressing plants and
87 at smelters.
In the following table, drawn from reports of the Bureau of
Mines, the fatality and injury rates are shown where possible for the
two years 1914 and 1915 in the different mineral industries in the
United States.
1 U nited States B ureau of Mines. Technical P ap er 164. A ccidents a t M etallurgical W orks in th e Uxdted
States during th e calendar year 1915. W ashington, 1916. 20 pp.


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SUM M ARY O F L A B O R A N D A C C ID E N TS IN T H E M IN E R A L IN D U S T R IE S , U N IT E D
ST A TES.

D ay ’s work
performed.

In d u stry and year.

Metal mines:
1914 1.............................
Ore-dressing plants:
1914...............................
1915...............................
S m elters:3
1914...............................
1915...............................
Coal mines:
1Q14
1915
Coke ovens:
1914...............................
1915...............................
Quarries:
1914 1.............................

Injured.

Killed.

Em ployees.

Per
Per
1,000 A ctual
A ctual 1,000
On
num ­
Actual. 300-day n u m ­
em­ 300-day
ber.
ber. ployees. w ork­
basis.
ers.

Per
1,000
em­
ploy­
ees.

Per
1,000
300-day
work­
ers.

559

3.54

3.92

30,216

191.10

211.87

4,567,529
5,732,184

15,128
18,564

15,225
19,107

23
30

1.52
1.62

1.51
1.57

1,434
2,095

2 94.79
112.85

94.19
109.65

9,700,769
10,878,486

27,879
31,327

32,336
36^262

33
38

< 1.18
1.21

1.02
1.05

5,673 5 203.49
5,718 182.53

175.44
157.69

157,979,295 763,185 526,598
767,554

2,454
2,266

3.22
2.95

4.67

42,785,840 158,115 142,619

6,372,259
9,424,476

22,313
31,060

21,241
31,415

45
38

2.02
1.22

2.12
1.21

2,189
2,852

98.10
91.82

103.06
90. 78

20,456,157

87,936

68,187

180

2.05

2.64

7,836

89.11

114.92

1 No figures for 1915.
2 In Technical P ap er 164 th is rate is given as 96.71.
3 N ot including th e iron a n d steel in d u stry .
< In Technical P ap er 164 th is ra te is given as 1.19.
5 In Technical P ap er 164 th is rate is given as 203.12.

SAFETY WORK OF THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The latest annual report of the New Jersey department of labor
covers the year ending October 31, 1915.1 It contains reports of
the activities of the various bureaus and divisions, and includes
also specifications for standard safeguards, an account of what the
department has accomplished through its division of hygiene and
sanitation in the minimizing of occupational hazards in a number of
specified industries, the work of enforcing the child-labor laws and
of giving protection to women workers, methods pursued and the
scope of the records taken in making factory inspections, and a
statement of orders issued based on inspection surveys.
Considerable attention is given to the work done by the division
of hygiene and sanitation. Following a brief discussion of industrial
tuberculosis the report presents a partial list of industrial hazards
recognized by the department and which have been eliminated or
are in course of special investigation. These include lead poisoning,
lead fumes, lead dust, mercury poisoning, arsenic compounds, turpen­
tine poisoning, sulphuric-acid poisoning, carbon-bisulphide poisoning,
nitrous poisoning, wood-alcohol poisoning, brass poisoning, phenol
poisoning, nitrobenzol poisoning, chrome poisoning, carbon-monoxide
poisoning, carbon dioxide poisoning, benzene poisoning, and anilin
poisoning. It is stated to be the desire of the department to pub­
lish a standardization of actual installations for the removal of dusts
and fume, covering specific gravities; centrifugal force; natural lines
i N ew Jersey.

R ep o rt of th e d ep artm en t of labor, 1915. Cam den, 1916. 80 pp.


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435

of fume curve; and all recorded data as to the most economical and
effective methods of protecting the worker exposed to special hazard,
the thought being “ that such publications would not only be of
inestimable benefit to those endeavoring to conserve the health of
New Jersey’s thousands of operatives, but that it would also be of
benefit to the industries concerned and an incentive to manufacturers
in other States to adopt a uniform sanitary standard.”
A brief account of special investigations in potteries, porcelain
plants, flint mills, lithographing plants, linoleum plants and in the
manufacture of pearl buttons and novelties, is given, showing the
occupational dangers to which operatives are exposed and pointing
out how many of these dangers have been removed or at least mini­
mized. In the potteries the greatest danger to workers appears to
be the presence of flint dust, but after several years’ study the depart­
ment devised a method of mechanical exhaust which it is expected
will eliminate this danger. The pearl-button industry offers another
serious danger to workers because the dust is sharp, cutting, and
brittle, and induces fibroid phthisis, which usually develops into
tuberculosis. The department, however, appears to have combated
this hazard. In lithographing the danger is in the use of injurious
compounds.
In its work of enforcing the dust, heat, and fume act the report
states that the department has proceeded on the theory that the
proper place to control these is at the point where they originate, and
that if this can not be done by natural or mechanical means, the
factory construction should be made to conform to positive standards
which will reasonably insure the safety and health of persons
employed.
In connection with the employment of children, 12,783 sets of
proofs were passed by the department as complying with the pro­
visions of the law. Because of the necessity of filing age and schooling
certificates it is stated that many employers are preferring to employ
children over 16 years of age. During the year 105 discharges were
ordered, most of them because the requisite age and schooling certifi­
cates had not been filed and also because children under 16 years of
age had been employed more than 8 hours a day and 48 hours a
week as provided by law.
The department received reports of 7,080 nonfatal and 268 fatal
accidents,1 reviewed every compensation settlement, and also took
up every irregular case with the employer and insurance carrier
“ with the very gratifying result that almost all accidental errors, and
those resulting from misinterpretation of the statute, have received
correction, and the injured employee has obtained the additional
amount due under the law.”
i A detailed rep o rt covering com pensation m atters m ay be found in th e an n u al rep o rt of the E m ployers’
L iab ility Commission for 1915, n o ted in th e M onthly R e v ie w for Septem ber, 1916, p p . 349-342.


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FIFTH ANNUAL SAFETY CONGRESS OF THE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL,
DETROIT, OCTOBER 17 TO 20, 1916.

The National Safety Council stands for accident prevention and
health conservation. Its watchword is universal safety, and upon
this standard were focused the thought and experiences of those who,
in general discussion and in special addresses presented at the Fifth
Annual Safety Congress, held in the Hotel Statler, Detroit, October
17 to 20, 1916, inclusive, gave expression to their convictions founded
upon the results of the study of safety in industrial activities. The
program of this congress was printed in the M o n t h l y R e v i e w for
October, 1916, pages 463 to 468, and the proceedings are contained
in a recently issued volume of 1,541 pages,1 presenting an account
of the business meeting, the general round-table meeting, the special
meeting to consider the report of the universal danger sign committee,
the banquet, and sectional meetings relating to electric street rail­
ways; cement; textiles; logging, lumber, and woodworking; iron and
steel; health service; governmental; public safety; mining; steam
railroads; foundries; paper and pulp; public utilities; employees’
benefit associations; and chemical.
To give even a brief digest of all the papers that were read, together
with the discussion that each provoked, would he impracticable even
if a profitable use of space and only a few of the more important
suggestions made by those who took part will receive attention.
At the business meeting, which was devoted largely to reports of
officers and of committees and of local councils, several activities of
the council were emphasized. Thus a compilation of the best infor­
mation obtainable about safe practices is proposed and pamphlets
dealing with this matter are being issued; the celebration of October
9 as national fire and accident prevention day has been instituted;
preaching accident prevention in the homes is planned, and lectures
on safety are being delivered under the direction of the educational
committee.
How to maintain interest in safety was the keynote of the general
round-table discussion. This may be accomplished by holding
superintendents and foremen absolutely responsible for every acci­
dent that occurs; by showing the employer that safety is profitable;
by introducing into compensation laws a self-insurance feature in­
stead of providing a State fund or insurance in private companies;
by shop magazines; by the daily press.
The council adopted the report of the universal danger-sign com­
mittee, which recommended the use of the term “ caution emblem”
instead of “ danger emblem,” and proposed as this emblem a 12-inch
square to be hung by one corner, with a black margin II inches wide
i Proceedings of th e N ational Safety Council, F ifth A nnual Safety Congress, held a t th e H otel Statler,
D etroit, Mich., Oct. 17, 18,19, and 20, 1916. 1,541 p p . Price, $2.50.


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437

and lf-inch black stripes, vertical and horizontal, from the corners
toward the center, and touching a 6^-inch red disk. It was also
decided to take steps to have the universal caution emblem pro­
tected both as to its use and misuse.
A feature of the electric railway sectional meeting was the adoption
of a report of the standardization committee, which recommended,
among other things, the near-side stop, universal danger signs, means
for preventing grade-crossing accidents, and an effort toward stand­
ardization of traffic and vehicular regulations throughout the country.
An important fact brought out in this sectional meeting was that
systematic safety on railways tends to foster public good will and to
make better employees.
In the cement sectional meeting it was stated that accident pre­
vention in this industry resulted in a material reduction (14 per
cent) in the accident-frequency rate in 1915 over 1914 and that one
insurance company in the past few years has reduced its premium
on compensation and liability insurance 66 per cent.
.The textile sectional meeting developed the importance of issuing
safety bulletins in foreign languages.
In a paper read before the iron and steel sectional meeting it was
shown that in this industry accidents have diminished as a result of
safety methods, the frequency rate in one large plant decreasing from
370 per 1,000 in 1900 to 115 per 1,000 in 1913. The place of the
visiting nurse in industry was discussed.
The health service section was organized at the fourth annual safety
congress. At this its first meeting emphasis was laid upon the
necessity of installing employees’ safety departments in industrial
concerns; of protecting the health of workers just as it is necessary
to safeguard machinery; of conducting physical examinations of
workers before employment and at intervals after employment; of
instruction in first aid; and of realizing the relation between employ­
ment, medical supervision, and safety. One phase of the safety
movement in industry upon which the health-service section is
working is the standardization of industrial hygiene, covering venti­
lation, illumination, factory sanitation, etc.
In the governmental sectional meeting it was suggested that in­
dustrial accident statistics and Federal and State regulation covering
various classes of hazards should be standardized, and the opinion
seemed to prevail that the Federal Government should take the lead
in this respect.
Carelessness and recklessness as causes of accidents and the neces­
sity for education as the prime factor in safety work were emphasized
in papers presented at the public service sectional meeting. One
paper outlined in detail an ideal organization for public safety in a
community.


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One of the most hazardous industries in this country is mining,
where the need for safety work is essential. Much progress has been
made, according to speakers at the mining sectional meeting, under
the inspirational direction of the United States Bureau of Mines,
resulting in an accident rate of 3.09 per 1,000 men employed in 1915
“ w h ich is the lowest recorded since 1898. The production of coal
per fatality in 1915 was 228,600 tons, which is the largest production
per fatality during the history of coal mining in the United States.”
That passengers on the trains of American railroads are practically
immune from death or serious injury was asserted at the steam
railroad sectional meeting, the chairman calling attention to the fact
that the principal effort of railroad managements must not be to
prevent the occasional big accidents, “ which are becoming more and
more infrequent,” but rather to prevent the “ little everyday indi­
vidual tragedies, which can only be prevented by the exercise of
greater care on the part of the human being involved in such trage­
dies.” One railroad company found upon analyzing its accident
record that only 10 per cent of the injuries to the more than a hundred
thousand railroad employees in the country each year are in so-called
train accidents, and that the other 90 per cent met their fate in little
accidents in which the human element was the principal contributing
factor. This was recognized as the problem before the railroads, a
problem which they must meet by education and proper supervision
of the human force. In this the passenger himself may cooperate.
The dangers of trespassing on railroad right of ways was emphasized
and the need for legislation to prevent it was urged.

The matter of successfully combatting the human element as the
cause of industrial accidents also engaged the attention of the public
utility sectional meeting. The overcoming of passiveness among
employees, the company, and the public itself is essential in reducing
public utility accidents. So important is this human element
regarded in this connection that one plant posted a notice reading,
“If workmen insist on being careless, discharge them.”
In the employees’ benefit associations sectional meeting the need
was recognized of securing from such benefit associations reliable
statistical data as to the time lost by workingmen on account of
sickness and accident, to be used in framing laws relative to work­
men’s compensation, sickness, accident, old-age, and unemployment
insurance Instead of forming a permanent employees benefit
associations section the matter of industrial insurance, in which these
organizations are chiefly interested, was left to be investigated,
studied, and constructively cared for by the health service section.

It was stated at the chemical sectional meeting that the chemical
industry is the most hazardous of all. “Other industries may and
do contain one or more of the industrial hazards. The chemical


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has them all.” One of the most dangerous hazards is the poisons
encountered either as raw material or generated in the processes of
manufacture. There are also mechanical hazards. Suggestions
were given for avoiding or minimizing the results arising from coming
m contact with the many poisons used in the form of liquids, dust, and
fumes.
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND SURGERY, A NEW FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL
ENDEAVOR.

It is only in comparatively recent years that the importance of
preventive medicine and surgery in industry, which contemplate
the conservation of life by the prevention of disease and accident
among employees, has been emphasized as of essential value in
promoting the efficiency of workers and establishing cordial relations
between employer and employee. The development of this new
specialty in industry, what it has accomplished where given a fair
trial, and the opportunity it affords for extending medical science
into this vast unlimited field of endeavor, were traced by Dr. Harry
E. Mock, of Chicago, in a paper read before the section on preventive
medicine and public health at the sixty-seventh annual session of the
American Medical Association, held at Detroit, in June, 1916.1
In many industries, it was stated, the first duty of the company
surgeon has been the care of those meeting with accident, very little
attention being paid to protecting the health and the working ability
of the individual employee.
But when a company surgeon realizes that for greater efficiency an employer has
the right to demand a healthy, physically and mentally normal working force; and
that the employee would be, and is, justified in demanding a healthful, sanitary
working place, uncontaminated by diseased fellow employees; and th at business prin­
ciples, as well as a spirit of humanitarianism, demand all his powers for the conserva­
tion of the life and limbs of the employee; and when he attains the vision of all that
this means and brings to his work an undying enthusiasm and a knowledge sufficient
to master every detail then he becomes of unlimited value to the concern for which he
works, and is remunerated accordingly.

Dr. Mock suggested that the company surgeon of the future must
be a very broadly trained physician, and that in order to build up a
great name and prestige in a community, and thereby be of greater
value to the industry with which he is connected and exert a greater
influence over the employees, he should devote only a portion of his
time to the immediate work in hand, leaving himself an opportunity
to study, engage in clinics, and enjoy the broadening influence of
private and public work.
In the realm of preventive surgery, when an accident occurs the
industrial surgeon handles the case with four fundamental principles
i Indu strial Medicine and Surgery: The New Specialty, b y H a rry E. Mock, M. D. Published in the
Journal of th e A m erican Medical Association, 535 N orth D earborn Street, Chicago, Jan. 6,1917 p p . 1-4.


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in mind: (1) How to prevent a rocurronco of the accident, (2) how
to aid recovery the quickest; (3) how to prevent permanent disa­
bility; and (4) how to avoid a fatal termination of the case. “ The
best surgeon of the future, whether engaged in industrial work or
otherwise, will be the surgeon who is very conservative in operating,
but very radical in the prevention of all causes that make surgery
necessary.” He must cooperate with the safety engineer in pre­
venting accidents by carefully analyzing every accident that comes
to him for treatment, and if it is shown that the fault lies with the
employee himself, the surgeon should make a thorough physical ex­
amination and mental test of the individual and an examination of
the working and home conditions of the employee. The prime duty
of preventive surgery is the removal of the cause of an accident,
which is “ the most logical and most economic form of service that
he can render to the employee or employer.”
Another most important duty of preventive surgery is declared to
be the immediate care of everyone injured, no matter how slightly,
and this is finding expression in the first-aid movement which is now
generally accepted as essential in industry. Illustrating the impor­
tance of immediate attention to injuries, reference was made to sta­
tistics obtained by the speaker which show that it is the minor acci­
dents such as scratches, pin pricks, nail wounds, splinters, and small
cuts, that cause the largest amount of disabilities, usually resulting
in infection. To combat these minor accidents, an educational cam­
paign among employees is necessary. In the opinion of the speaker,
“ the best preventive surgery measure thus far adopted is the imme­
diate use of tincture of iodine on all wounds that break the skin, a
5 per cent solution being considered sufficient. “ Many employees
so have the habit of using hydrogen peroxide that it is difficult to
replace this usually inert liquid with the iodin.” Every department
of a large establishment, it was suggested, should be supplied with
from 1 to 10 bottles of tincture of iodine and applicators, with direc­
tions telling the employee to paint at once with the iodine every wound
no matter how slight and then report to the doctor’s office at once.
The order of this procedure was very strongly emphasized. The im­
mediate disinfection of the wound is essential, and this, with the
application of dressings afterwards, gives the results.

The results of this treatment appear to warrant its use. In a cer­
tain establishment there was, from 1909 to 1912, a reduction of 38
per cent in the number of hand infections. In 1912, out of 2,693
accident cases, 28.6 per cent became infected. In 1915, out of 5,000
accident cases, 10 per cent became infected.
Most of the infections in 1915 occurred among new employees and all of them except
24 failed to follow the instructions concerning the use of iodine and reporting at once.
Not a one of the 24 who used iodine was infected sufficiently to require opening,


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neither did they lose any time from work. Thus among the injured employees who
use iodine at once and report to the doctor at once, less than two-tenths of 1 per cent
become infected.

Closely allied to preventive surgery is preventive medicine, which,
seeks by the proper and thorough medical examination of workers
and sanitation in the plant to protect the health of employees. This
examination, it was stated, should have the following purposes:
T T° ascertain the condition of health of each employee and to give personal advice
to those who need it along the lines applicable to their cases.

2. To discover diseases among the employees in the earliest stages and therefore
while still curable. Many diseases of which there was no knowledge are thus dis­
covered, and the afflicted employee is advised as to methods to overcome the trouble
or at least to prevent its advancement. Many of these are referred to the family
physician months before the patient would voluntarily seek his counsel.
3. To find anyone who has contracted a disease that might be communicated to a
fellow employee. Tuberculosis is the chief of these diseases. Not only is the working
force protected from contamination, but the disease is usually found in such an early
stage that practically always a cure is possible.
4. To discover the chronically diseased employee who is still able to work, and to
recommend for him a position where he will be efficient and which will not hasten
the course of his disease.
5. To prevent those with contagious diseases from mingling with our healthy
employees.
6. To prevent those with serious diseased conditions from going to work, for their
own protection.
7. To choose the proper type of work for those with some chronic disease which does
not totally unfit them.

In order that the doctor may advise those physically needing such
help he should come in personal contact with the employees and
become their friend, teacher, and kindly adviser, thus gaining their
absolute confidence.
In a personal examination of 15,151 old employees in 1914 and
1915, 27 per cent were found with definite diseased conditions, while
a great number of very minor defects were found but not classified.
None of these employees was discharged, but each was advised as to
the best method to overcome or control his disease; many were
given vacations or free hospital or sanitarium care; others were
referred to their family physicians. During the same period 13,764
applicants for work were examined and 19.9 per cent had definite
diseased conditions, but only 3.4 per cent of these were rejected for
employment, such rejections being on account of the applicant
having some diseased condition which made work in the plant detri­
mental to him or some contagious disease which might be spread
to the active working force.
To meet the problem of taking care of the 3 to 5 per cent rejected
as physically unfit Dr. Mock suggested the necessity of State or
Federal control of the supervision of health of employees, State or


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Federal health-insurance laws, insurance against nonemployment,
and old-age pensions.
All matters connected with the sanitation of factories and the per­
sonal hygiene of every employee, his recreation and exercise, his
housing conditions or home environment, and his personal habits,
are legitimately within the scope of the duties of the industrial sur­
geon. To assist him in this work the industrial visiting nurse and
the industrial dentist are essential.
MEDICAL SUPERVISION OF FACTORY EMPLOYEES.

The results achieved by the department of health and sanitation
at the Norton Co. and the Norton Grinding Co., Worcester, Mass.,
from May, 1911, to May, 1916, are set forth in a paper, entitled
“ Medical supervision of factory employees,” prepared by Dr. W.
Irving Clark and read before the section on preventive medicine and
public health at the sixty-seventh annual session of the American
Medical Association at Detroit, in June, 1916.1 The speaker stated
that the medical department in a factory has five functions: (1) To
make physical examinations of all prospective employees, and reex­
amine all defective employees; (2) to treat accidents immediately
after they occur, and subsequent treatments; (3) examining and
advising cases of sickness; (4) the control of sanitation throughout
the works; and (5) health publicity; and briefly discussed each func­
tion and its relation to the employment of workers and to the work­
ing force. He advocated not only medical examination of prospec­
tive employees, but examination of those transferred from one depart­
ment to another, and periodical examinations about once in six
months of all men having defects of a nature which is serious enough
to require inspection, and stated that rejections2 should be made
only when absolutely necessary, as many men are perfectly capable
of doing work in a certain department though unfitted for work
elsewhere. The examination should be very complete. Consider­
able emphasis was laid upon the importance of blood pressure and
the examination of the feet.
Under the supervision of Dr. Clark applicants are arbitrarily
rejected who are over 45 years of age and who have (1) only one eye,
(2) vision reduced to one-half in both eyes, (3) contagious diseases,
including tuberculosis, (4) more than a second degree hernia, (5)
heart disease with disturbed compensation, (6) varicose ulcer, (7)
fourth and fifth degree flatfoot where the arches apparently give
1 P ublished in th e Jo u rn a l of th e A m erican M edical Association, 535 N o rth D earborn S treet, Chicago,
Ja n . 6,1917, p p. 5-8.
2 Rejections, i t is explained, are m ade b y th e em ploym ent d ep artm e n t. The te rm as here used refers
to m edical risk as rep o rted to th e em ploym ent d e p artm e n t.


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trouble, and (8) marked hypertension. It was found that 20 men
over 45 years of age who were rejected had 39 defects sufficient to
debar the applicant even if his age were under 45 years. Following
an examination of 2,618 applicants, 100 were rejected, 20 per cent
being on account of age (over 45), 35 per cent on account of eye
defects, 32 per cent because of hernia, and 13 per cent because of
defects of the lungs and heart, venereal diseases, nephritis and
hypertension, and other defects.
Very few applicants were found who had no defects. A large
number had minor defects. During the first three months of 1916,
1,3/9 prospective employees were examined, the last thousand con­
secutive cases revealing 50 cases of hernia, 100 defects of eyes, 106
defects of the inguinal region, 148 defects of the nose, 311 cases of
flatfoot, 339 defects of the extremities, and 569 defects of the teeth,
besides defects of the ears, neck, throat, heart, lungs, spine, skin, as well
as cases of endocarditis and mitral insufficiency, pulmonary tubercu­
losis, and genito-urinary defects. In all, 1,956 minor defects were
found in these 1,000 cases.
liv e years’ experience with physical examination of employees
in a factory employing about 2,800 led to the following conclusions:
1. The average workman does not object to physical examination, and the majority
of them are pleased to have such an examination made on account of the information
it gives them, and because it throws them in intimate contact with the doctor to
whom they are going to apply afterwards-in case of sickness or accident.
2. A physical examination can not be too complete. The most complete form of
examination the average man requires takes 10 minutes, provided a urinalysis is not
done.
3. Periodic examinations of markedly defective men tend to keep such employees
in good condition and prevent an increase in their defects.
4. As it is impossible to employ men who have no physical defects, a physical exami­
nation enables us to place men in departments where they will suffer the least risk
and maintain the highest degree of physical efficiency.
5. A fresh examination each time a man is transferred from one department to
another prevents the possibility of a man being assigned to work for which he is not
physically adapted.
6. A periodic examination of the entire force once a year is not necessary because
the examination is made each time a man is sent from one department to another, and
because all men having any sickness or accident apply to the hospital and are there
examined if there is anything indicating the necessity for such an examination.
7. The number of rejections, even with a rather highly restricted list of defects,'is
very small, and is no argument against but rather an argument for the advisability of
physical examinations.

The writer emphasized the importance of requiring the prompt
reporting of all accidents to the department of health and sanitation.
This policy, he stated, has resulted in reducing to a minimum the
time lost because of accidents. “ We have never had a case of
sepsis,” that is, pain, heat, and redness accompanied by swelling,
81733°—17---- 8


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which is considered an excellent record in the treatment of an aver­
age of 241 accidents per month. During the month of April (year
not given) 474 accidents were treated, and only one man was injured
severely enough to keep him from work 14 days and thus entitle
him to compensation. From May, 1915, to May, 1916, 2,895 cases
were treated.
The wound is first thoroughly washed with commercial gasoline. The gasoline is
slushed on and used like water, being poured not only over the wound but into the
wound itself, and a rather vigorous scrubbing is given the surrounding skin with ster­
ile gauze. Immediately after this, tincture of iodine, U. S. P., is poured into the wound
and over the skin. This is allowed to dry and a sterile gauze dressing is applied.
If for any reason we suspect the wound of being pretty dirty, a second dose of iodine is
poured on after the first is applied. * * * Iodine to be 100 per cent efficient as an
antiseptic must be used within 30 minutes of the receipt of a wound. The efficiency
decreases 25 per cent every 15 minutes beyond this time. After two hours it is almost
useless.

After calling attention to the importance of the shop hospital, the
experience of the Norton Co. with accidents during a period of five
years was thus summed u p :
1. A very little inducement will bring every accident, no matter how slight, to the
shop hospital for treatment.
2. The shop hospital is the place to treat accidents of all kinds, and first aid should
not be done in the shop unless it is absolutely necessary to save life.
3. Gasoline followed by tincture of iodine is the best antiseptic, and if used within
15 minutes is practically sure of producing a clean wound.
4. Safety engineering has reduced the number of serious accidents to the absolute
minimum, but is unable to reduce the very slight minor cuts and smaller injuries, the
latter depending on the personal element of the employee.

In the treatment of sickness Dr. Clark outlined the policy of his fac­
tory as follows:
1. Our treatment of sickness is preventive, not curative.
2. Our effort in serious sickness is to diagnose and see that the man gets immediate
attention from his family physician or from a specialist where one is indicated.
3. We believe that a man with a temperature of 100.4 should not be allowed to work
and should not be allowed to return to work until his temperature has reached normal
and all signs of the disease have disappeared.
4. By arranging that all men feeling sick must come to the shop hospital, we have
prevented a large amount of sickness and have isolated a number of contagious dis­
eases in the last five years, besides in many cases saving life through early diagnosis
in such cases as acute appendicitis.
5. Such treatment will materially reduce the time lost by employees throughout the
shop.

The company has a system of following up employees who are ab­
sent on account of sickness in order to be sure that—
1. No man has received an accident and failed to have it cared for
at the medical department.
2. An employee has not a contagious disease which is unknown to
the medical department.


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3. I\o employee who is sick has failed to receive adequate medical
care on account of his financial condition.
4. A patient who has been coming regularly to the hospital is not
absent from work because of some trouble arising from the injury.
In the Norton Co. the entire cleaning of toilets, wash rooms, as well
as the removal of rubbish, garbage, and paper are controlled by the
department of health and sanitation. Educational work is carried
on by means of leaflets written in simple, clear language on the sub­
ject of hygiene and general medicine, and placed in the pay envelopes.
MEDICAL SUPERVISION OF STREET RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.

In a paper on ‘‘Medical supervision of street railway employees” 1
read before the section on preventive medicine and public health at
the sixty-seventh annual session of the American Medical Associa­
tion, held at Detroit in June, 1916, the author, Dr. Charles H. Lemon,
chief surgeon of the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co., pointed
out that the railroads have recognized for more than half a century
that injuries incident to operation were properly chargeable to the
cost of operation, and that the first important lesson that industry
must learn is that any kind of efficiency that is not based on a sound,
alert, well-balanced human machine is bound to be economically
disastrous. The railroads, it was stated, are giving expression to
this principle by employing company doctors to supervise the general
health of workers, to conduct medical examinations not only pre­
liminary to employment so as to eliminate those unfitted for work,
but to subject each employee to a physical examination at intervals
during employment in order that the efficiency of the organization
may be maintained.

The experience of the Milwaukee Street Railway & Light Co. was
cited. As the result of a campaign of education both within and
without the company for the prevention of accidents, and “of a
careful preliminary examination of employees as well as a main­
tained high level of health incident to a very close supervision of the
general health, by dividing the men employed into groups in which
they could be daily observed and in which the relief from the lesser
ills which lead to greater could be had without delay,” accidents were
reduced both as affecting the industry itself and the passengers who
rode on the cars. Thus it was stated that in 1915 the cost for inju­
ries and damages was nearly $100,000 less than in the preceding
year, and the average sickness per man per year was reduced from
eight days in 1913 to a little more than four days per man per year.
1 Published in th e Jo u rn al of th e A m erican Medical Association, 535 N orth D earborn S treet, Chicago,
Jan. 13, 1917, p p . 95-98.


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Experiencing a loss in efficiency of trainmen in 1914, amounting to
about 15 per cent, because of alleged sickness, the company, in
cooperation with the employees’ mutual benefit association, repre­
senting the trainmen and other workmen, placed medical men in
each car station and large shop to minister to the men who com­
plained of sickness before the sickness became disabling. The speaker
stated that a beneficial effect was immediately noted and that in
January, 1916, in one of the largest stations, there were only 623
days of sickness among more than 600 men.
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co., according to Dr.
Lemon, has demonstrated that any street railway company employing
a staff of surgeons can undertake large welfare activities for the
betterment and the health of its employees, their wives and depend­
ents, at comparatively little expense.
With a contribution of $6 per year per man for each member of the [employees’
benefit] association, and an additional $6 per man per year contributed by the com­
pany itself; together with the voluntary services without pay of the officers and
other employees of the company; in addition to paying $1 per day for 100 days of
continuous sickness, and 50 cents per day thereafter for a second 100 days, and $300
for a death; the giving of all medical and surgical services free to its members, includ­
ing the services of a welfare secretary and a visiting nurse, in a short period of four
years the employees’ mutual benefit association has accumulated a reserve fund
amounting to approximately $50,000.

This service has apparently proved of very great value to the com­
pany and to the employees in their mutual relations. Besides the
association referred to, there has been organized a savings and loan
association, additional life insurance, sick and accident insurance, a
provident loan fund where money can be had without interest, oldage pensions, a woman’s auxiliary, indoor baseball, bowling, outdoor
baseball, a band, a dramatic club, and all the auxiliaries which go
to make up healthful recreation and promote happiness.
The welfare secretary of the company has suggested a measure of
the work being done by the company in conserving the health and
well being of its employees, as follows:
Beginning in 1912 with the employees’ mutual benefit association, which was organ­
ized primarily to create, manage, and distribute a fund to provide free medical assist­
ance for members unable to work because of sickness or because of accident, when
not within and subject to the provisions of the workmen’s compensation act, the
association has become a most efficient machine for conserving the health of those
who work for this company, as well as by caring for their dependents whenever disease
or accident necessitates medical or surgical aid. We have seen this association expand
far beyond the limitation contemplated as its field of operation when it was first
organized. Its greatest field of usefulness has not been the payment of sick benefits
or death claims, but rather the conservation of the health of its members. Through
the opening of doctors’ offices at places of employment, it has been possible to reduce
the amount of time lost on account of sickness by fully 40 per cent, making a total
annual saving of something more than 10,000 work days.


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THE HOSPITAL AND INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE.1

Thé relations of a hospital to industrial hygiene may be many. For any individual
hospital such relations must be limited and defined according to that hospital’s indus­
trial environment, the resources available, and the interest and time which can be
devoted to the subject. But for any investment of effort, whatever it may be, the
return is always overwhelmingly great.

Such is the concluding paragraph of the paper read by Dr. Wade
Wright of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, at the
meeting of the American Public Health Association in October, 1916.
In leading up to this conclusion Dr. Wright noted several important
relations which the hospital bears to industrial hygiene. In the first
place it is the obligation of the hospital to provide for the study of
industrial diseases—an obligation which “ is the more imperative
because of the prevalent ignorance among physicians of the hazards
of various occupations and trade processes and of the ill health depen­
dent upon such hazards.” Factory inspection is inadequate; the
living conditions, individual and family income, nutrition, and per­
sonal hygiene of workers must be studied.
The fundamental medical sciences, as physiology, pathology, and biological
chemistry, are as definitely involved in the study of industrial diseases as are the
branches of clinical medicine, but all of these must be supplemented by a third
critically important element, namely, knowledge of actual working conditions and
of the hazards of specific industries and trade processes.

To this knowledge a hospital, especially one in an industrial center,
is able to contribute because its equipment renders possible research
in industrial diseases at a small cost, enabling it to inquire fully into
the occupational history of each patient and, correlating such infor­
mation with physical findings, to make the facts obtained known to
industrial physicians, special investigators, and private practitioners,
and thus establish “ the only effective and just means of securing the
advances in the prevention of industrial diseases now so truly needed.”

The second important relation of the hospital, according to Dr.
Wright, is its obligation to teach the principles of industrial hygiene,
not only to its own staff and to medical students, but to nurses who
are increasingly in demand in industrial establishments, to social
workers, to the patients themselves, to labor organizations, and to
employers and factory superintendents.
Finally, the hospital bears an important relation to vocational
guidance. This “is a most important function of the medical pro­
fession, and it is such no less now of the hospital clinician than it has
been of the family practitioner. No physician should prescribe for
his patient a job regarding which he himself knows little or nothing
any more than he would prescribe for his patient an unknown drug.”
i Sum m ary of paper read a t th e forty-fourth annual m eeting of th e A m erican Public H ealth Associa­
tion, section on industrial hygiene, C incinnati, Ohio, Oct. °4-27, 1916. A brief account of th e m eeting of
th is section appears in th e Monthly R e v ie w for D ecember, 1916, p p. 729-731.


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RELATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE TO PROBLEMS OF INDUS­
TRIAL HYGIENE.1

At the meeting of the American Public Health Association in
October, 1916, Dr. J. W. Kerr, assistant surgeon, United States
Public Health Service, read a paper before the section on sociology
and industrial hygiene, on the “ Relation of the Public Health
Service to problems of industrial hygiene.” In this paper he pointed
out that the Public Health Service was organized “ to investigate
unhygienic conditions reacting adversely upon the health of man,
and to disseminate the information acquired, as well as to suggest
measures for their control.” Most of the paper was devoted to a
recital of how the Public Health Service has been brought into touch
with problems of industrial hygiene, mention being made of a
number of specific instances wherein this branch of the Federal
Government has cooperated to reduce the dangers to which workers
are constantly exposed, and the fact emphasized that “ the health of
the individual worker is dependent upon many factors, the majority
of which are operative outside of places of employment. In conse­
quence every insanitary condition must be inquired into. For
instance, in studies of high death rate from tuberculosis among
workers in particular occupations, inquiries as to fatigue, dust, over­
crowding, and other unhygienic conditions in workshops, must be
supplemented by studies of personal habits and health conditions in
the home and in the community.” Attention was called to the fact
that the scope of industrial hygiene has been broadened in recent
years to include “ in addition to ‘first aid,’ ‘safety first,’ ‘physical
examinations,’ and sanitation of workshops, consideration of all the
conditions of living and habits of individuals outside of the factory
affecting human efficiency. This embraces many functions which it
is the special province of health authorities to perform.” Bearing in
mind the limited authority of the Federal Government in this con­
nection—authority extending only over foreign intercourse, inter­
state intercourse, Federal territory, etc.—the author thus summarized
the functions which may properly be considered by the Public Health
Service in relation to industrial hygiene:
1. Supervision of the sanitation of vessels and health of crews engaged in foreign
commerce.
2. Sanitary and medical inspection of arriving aliens, i. e., exotic recruits in industry.
3. Supervision of the sanitation of vessels and trains and health of crews engaged in
interstate commerce.
4. Inspections of Government workshops, examination of Government employees
on request, and administration of preventive inoculations to such employees.
5. Collection of data in relation to the occurrence of occupational diseases and the
causes giving rise to their continuance.
1 Sum m ary of paper read a t th e forty-fourth annual m eeting of th e A m erican P ublic H ealth Associa­
tion, section on in d u strial hygiene, C incinnati, Ohio, O ct. 24-27,1916. A brief account of th e meeting
of th is section is given in th e Monthly R e v ie w for December, 1916, pp. 729-731.


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6. Investigations of diseases generally in relation to industrial environment.
7. Investigations of industries with a view to devising minimum standards of
sanitary requirement.

Under existing sanitary law it is suggested the following activities
may be continued:
(1) Furnishing first-aid instruction and appliances for the use of American seamen
engaged in foreign and interstate commerce; (2) inspection and disinfection of living
quarters of crews in which cases of tuberculosis have occurred; (3) physical examina­
tions of seamen to determine their fitness for duty; (4) examinations of recruits for life­
saving, lighthouse, and revenue cutter duty; (5) furnishing medical and sanitary care
to seamen, lighthouse keepers, and life-saving crews; (6) examinations of arriving aliens
to determine their physical and mental fitness to engage in industry, and recording data
that will throw light on the question of physical standards in relation to different classes
of employment; (7) prescribing measures for the sanitation of trains and premises of
common carriers engaged in interstate traffic and inspections of such trains and prem­
ises; (8) inspections of Government buildings and workshops; (9) physical examina­
tion of Government employees on request; (10) vaccination of Government employees
against smallpox and typhoid fever; (11) inspections of biologic establishments; (12)
inspections of match factories using white or yellow phosphorus; (13) investigation of
problems of industries in relation to health; (14) dissemination of information bearing
on industrial hygiene; (15) advising other governmental agencies in respect to hy­
gienic standards for use in industries; (16) suggesting methods by which workers may
become more healthy and efficient, and thus overcome labor shortage.
It can not be denied that large numbers of workmen have not had the opportunity
of enjoying even in reasonable degree healthful living and working conditions. This
has not only encouraged inefficiency and labor shortage, but caused disease and threat­
ened the public welfare. In consequence, it is to the interest of the employee, the
employer and the public to correct these conditions. A common ground has been found
upon which all may meet in mutual agreement. By means of investigations and wise
councils, in respect to industrial hygiene, the Public Health Service may contribute
toward this better understanding and thus indirectly improve labor conditions gen­
erally—this depending of course on the spirit of impartiality displayed in approaching
these vital problems.
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT—ITS RELATIONS TO LABOR WELFARE AND
WHY LABOR OPPOSES IT.

In an article on “ Scientific management and labor welfare,” which
appeared in the Journal of Political Economy for November, 1916/
Prof. Robert F. Hoxie examines briefly the nature and use and
effect of time and motion study which he states “ must be regarded
as the chief cornerstone of scientific management, its main distin­
guishing feature, and the point of departure for any understanding
and judgment of its claims, especially with reference to its scientific
character and labor welfare.” Labor, he says, looks upon time and
motion study as “ employed only or mainly for the purpose of task
setting, and it is assumed to be used to set the minimum time or the
maximum task to which the laborers can be forced.” On the other
1 Scientific m anagem ent a n d labor welfare, b y R o b ert F . H oxie. T he Journal of P olitical Econom y
N ovem ber, 1916, pp. 833-854. The U niversity of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1916.


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hand, judged by the standard set by Mr. Taylor and others of the
scientific management group, time and motion study “is not designed
to discover and set the minimum time or the maximum task, but the
scientific time or task, i. e., the reasonable or just task, considering the
technical conditions, the character and training of the workmen, the
element of fatigue, etc.” Furthermore, time and motion study ‘‘must
be conceived as little less than a universal method of attempted accu­
rate industrial analysis, usable, with or without the stop watch, to dis­
cover, -at almost every step of the productive and distributive process,
not only the most effective material, organic, and human arrange­
ments, adaptations, and combinations, but the reasonable demands
which can be made upon the intelligence and energy of the manage­
ment as well as the men, and the just apportionment of the product
to all the factors and individuals concerned.”
I t will endeavor to discover by repeated analysis and experimental timing the
best character, combination, and arrangement of tools, materials, machinery, and
workmen, the most efficient and convenient lighting, heating, and seating arrange­
ments for the workmen, the proper period for continuous operation by them, con­
sidering the element of fatigue, the rest periods needed, their most efficient character,
combination, and sequence of motions, etc. * * * Many men will be timed with
the idea of discovering, not the fastest speed of the fastest man, but the normal speed
which the group can continuously maintain.

The author considers the possible and actual effects upon labor
of this broader view of scientific management and attempts to answer
the question whether scientific management has, after all, accom­
plished, through time and motion study, the claims made for it by
Mr. Taylor and others. With respect to the mechanical or material
elements which enter into the industrial process, the claims of scien­
tific management seem, in his opinion, to be fairly justified, but with
respect to the human element its claims “do not seem capable of
practical realization,” since it does not appear possible for time and
motion study to yield “objective results uninfluenced or uninfluencable by human will and judgment.” A consideration of the factors
that may vary, subject to human will, and that affect the results of
time and motion study used for task setting, leads to the conclusion
that scientific management “is not and apparently can not be scien­
tific in task setting,” nor can it be “scientific in the matter of rate
making, the distribution of the product, or in fact, in any of its
dealings with the human element.”
Scientific management, as it actually exists is, in spirit and results, undemocratic
in so far as we associate industrial democracy with labor organization and collective
bargaining. * * * Scientific management, in its essential nature and unsupple­
mented, seems to be a force tending to reduce the great body of workers to a little
skilled, practically interchangeable and unorganized mass, with all this implies with
respect to possible insecurity and discontinuity of employment, wage leveling, and
the mental and moral quality of the workers.


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On the other hand, scientific management has in it “ possibilities
of enormous increase of productive efficiency” and of “ substantial
benefits to labor,” for, if properly guarded and guided, “ this method
may be used very effectively without entailing any evil results to the
workers in the way of overspeeding and exhaustion.” While the
opinion is expressed that scientific management is fostering the
specialization of workers and narrowing the task itself, that it is
breaking down existing standards and uniformities set up by the
workmen and preventing the establishment of stable conditions of
work and pay, and that it tends to add to the strength of capitalism,
it is admitted that it “ is making the relatively unskilled more effi­
cient than ever before and that they are generally receiving under it
greater earnings than ever before.”
The author does not believe in repressive measures for “ we surely
can not afford to give up the vast possibilities of increased produc­
tivity which scientific management holds out,” but advocates a
policy of supplementation.
It seems that what we really need, as a supplement to scientific management_so
that we may avail ourselves of its beneficial possibilities and eliminate or minimize
its possible evil effects—is an adequate system of industrial education, socially
launched and socially controlled—an integral part of our public school system.
With such a system in vogue, we might hope, I believe, th at what the workers lose
intellectually and morally in the shop, under modern specialized workmanship,
they would gain in the school, and that through this moral and intellectual gain they
might become universally organizable and organized, and might develop policies and
methods which, while not interfering with productive efficiency, would secure for
them as a class improved conditions and a reasonable share in the increased social
dividend which the development and spread of scientific management promises.
LABOR VERSUS SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT.

Some of the fundamental reasons why organized labor appears to
stand in definite and uncompromising opposition to scientific manage­
ment are brought together by Prof. Hoxie in an article published in
the Quarterly Journal of Economics for November, 1916.1
Scientific management, say the union representatives, is a device employed for the
purpose of increasing production and profits, which concerns itself almost wholly with
the problem of production, disregarding in general the vital problem of distribution.
* * * I t is unscientific and unfair in the setting of the task and in the fixing of
wage rates; in the spirit and essence it is a cunningly devised speeding-up and sweat­
ing system; it intensifies the modern tendency toward specialization of the work and
the task; it condemns the worker to a monotonous routine and tends to deprive him
of thought, initiative, and joy in his work, and to destroy his individuality and inven­
tive genius; it lessens the continuity of employment, and leads to overproduction and
unemployment; it is uncompatible with, and destructive of, collective bargaining
and trade-unionism.
1 W h y organized labor opposes scientific m anagem ent, b y R o b ert F . H oxie, Q uarterly Journal of Eco­
nomics, N ovem ber, 191G, p p. 62-85, H arv ard U n iv ersity Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1916. These reasons are
analyzed in detail in Prof. H oxie’s volum e on Scientific M anagem ent a nd Labor, a review of w hich ap­
peared in th e Monthly R eview for Jan u a ry , 1916, p p . 28-38.


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MONTHLY EEVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

Prof. Hoxie undertook to find out the basic or ultimate reasons
for this belief, and states that the opposition is ascribable—
(1) T o general ignorance on th e p a rt of th e u n io n w orkers of th e tru e n a tu re , m eth o d s,
a n d re su lts of scientific m an a g em e n t. (2) T o general a n d fu n d a m e n ta l d istru st,
w h ic h th e w orkers h a v e a c q u ire d from b itte r e x p e rie n c e of a n y th in g n ew or d iffere n t
in in d u s tria l o rganization a n d m eth o d s. (3) T o a p ro p ag an d a of opp o sitio n am ong
th e ra n k a n d file of u n io n m en c o n d u c te d b y th e lead ers, w ho fear t h a t if a b e tte r
u n d e rsta n d in g is allow ed to grow u p b e tw e e n th e re al w orkers a n d th e em ployers,
th e ir p re stig e an d e m o lu m en ts w ill b e decreased , a n d e v e n p e rh a p s th e ir positions
a b o lish ed a n d th e y b e re d u c e d again to th e ra n k s. (4) T o th e c ru d itie s of scientific
m an a g em e n t, s till in its b eg in n in g s, a n d to th e m a n y abuses of i t in p ra c tic e b y c h arla ­
ta n s a n d b y ig n o ra n t a n d u n sc ru p u lo u s e m p lo y ers, w ho tra d e u p o n th e n a m e w ith o u t
u n d e rsta n d in g th e in tric a te a n d d e lic a te n a tu re of th e th in g , th e tim e a n d p a tie n c e
n ecessary for its d e v e lo p m e n t, or w ho d e lib e ra te ly v io la te its s p irit a n d m e th o d s
for lab o r-d riv in g purposes. (5) T o p re se n t d o m in a n t id ea ls of tra d e -u n io n ism w h ic h
are in c o m p a tib le w ith th o se of scientific m an a g em e n t as c o n ceiv ed b y M r. T ay lo r.

The author concludes that union opposition has not been abated by
an increased knowledge; that “ general and almost instinctive dis­
trust of the new, strange, and different has played a part in rousing
union opposition” ; that a propaganda has been carried on against
scientific management by labor leaders, but that this does not account
for the opposition of the rank and file of unionism who are quick to
distrust their leaders when they endeavor to enforce changes funda­
mentally opposed to their standards and beliefs; that the crudities
of scientific management in practice and its abuses by unscrupulous
employers furnish a valid reason for opposing it; and that the “ grow­
ing opposition of unionism to scientific management does rest finally
upon a fundamental opposition of ideals essentially characteristic of
the two things.”
The author defends unionism against Mr. Taylor’s position that it
is organized for war and is committed to limitation of output while
scientific management is organized for peace and harmonious action
between employers and workmen and demands an ever-increased
efficiency. He states that the workers have learned by experience
that employers could and would make use of improvements and
increased output, not only to seize all of the gains, but even to reduce
the actual rates and returns to the workers; and that without improve­
ments in methods on the part of employers, workers have been
induced to speed up, the accomplishment of the strongest and the
swiftest being the goal set up for all, the result being not a corres­
ponding increase of pay, but less wages for all, or more work for the
same pay. To prevent this situation from arising, the practice of
placing a limit on individual output was developed.
Notwithstanding his defense of unionism against the kind of incom­
patibility suggested by Mr. Taylor, the author admits that “ there
is an essential incompatibility between the basic ideals of scientific
management and those of the dominant type of trade-unionism”


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which is still more fundamental, namely, “ scientific management
can function successfully only on the basis of constant and indefinite
change of industrial conditions” while “ trade-unionism of the domi­
nant type can function successfully only through the maintenance
of a fixed industrial situation and conditions. ’’
T im e a n d m o tio n s tu d y in its b ro a d er c o n ce p tio n a p p ea rs to be a m eth o d of analy sis
a p p lie d to a lm o st e v e ry featu re of th e p ro d u c tiv e concern a n d process. * * * T he
scien tific m an a g em e n t based u p o n i t is a p e rp e tu a l a tte m p t to p u t in to o p e ratio n th e
n ew a n d c o n sta n tly d e v elo p in g a rra n g e m e n ts c o n tin u o u sly re v e a le d b y i t to be m ore
efficient.

On the other hand the essential policies, demands, and methods of
unionism seem to center about one great principle—the principle of
uniformity.
T he p rin c ip le of u n ifo rm ity , fu lly d e v elo p ed a n d a p p lie d , re q u ire s th a t a ll m en
doing th e sam e w ork sh o u ld b e s u p p lie d w ith th e sam e tools a n d conv en ien ces, w ork
n o rm a lly th e sam e le n g th of tim e a n d a t th e sam e m ax im u m speed, tu rn o u t th e sam e
m ax im u m q u a n tity a n d q u a lity of goods, a n d re ce iv e th e sam e ra te of wages. I t is in
th e in te re s t of th is p rin c ip le of u n ifo rm ity th a t th e u n io n ists d e m a n d th e e sta b lish ­
m e n t of a sta n d a rd ra te of w ages as a fixed m in im u m , a n orm al d a y or w eek as a m a x i­
m um , a sta n d a i d ra te of w ork or a s ta n d a rd d a y Js or w e ek 's w ork, w h ic h in c o n n ectio n
w ith a sta n d a rd ra te of wages te n d s to m ak e th is sta n d a rd ra te a p ra c tic a l m ax im u m .
In s tin c tiv e ly * * * -the d o m in a n t ty p e of u n io n ism fights a g ain st change a n d
a g ain st tim e a n d m otion s tu d y , th e m o th e r of change.
S pecialize th e old -lin e craftsm an, d e stro y h is craft, a n d ho w ev er h ig h y o u r id eals
a n d k in d ly your m otives, you are d e stro y in g th e fou n d atio n s u p o n w h ic h th e d o m in a n t
ty p e of u n io n ism is re are d . E v e ry u n io n le a d e r feels th is in s tin c tiv e ly , e v ery o n e who
has com e in to c o n ta c t w ith scien tific m an a g em e n t a n d w ho has an u n d e rsta n d in g of
u n io n ism know s th a t th is is w h a t it is doing. H e re, I b e lie v e, w e h a v e th e final answ er
to th e q u e stio n : “ W h y organized labor opposes scien tific m a n a g e m e n t.” S cien tific
m an a g em e n t, p ro p e rly a p p lie d , n o rm ally fu n c tio n in g , sh o u ld i t becom e u n iv ersal,
w ould sp e ll th e doom of effe c tiv e u n io n ism as i t e x ists to-day.

SAFE LIMIT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE WORKING ATMOSPHERE.1

G. O. Higley, professor of chemistry, Ohio Wesleyan University, in
hispaper on“ Safe limit of carbon dioxide in theworking atmosphere,”
read before the American Public Health Association in October, 1916,
reviewed the experiments conducted by early hygienists, who regarded
the discomfort and ill health resulting from rebreathecl air as due to
chemical causes, viz, deficient oxygen and excessive carbon dioxide;
and of later investigators, who introduced the theory that physical
factors, temperature, and humidity might be of greater importance
than the chemical factors in determining the quality of the air—a
theory confirmed by subsequent research and experiments. Refer­
ence was made to the investigation of the Chicago commission on
1
Summary of paper read a t the forty-fourth annual meeting of the Americal Public H ealth Associa­
tion, section on industrial hygiene, Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 24-27, 1916. A brief account of the meeting
of this section is given in the Monthly R e v ie w for December, 1916, p p . 729-731.


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MONTHLY REVIEW OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

ventilation which, after careful studies of picture theaters, school­
rooms, and other buildings, concluded that (1) carbon dioxide as
encountered in working practice is not the harmful agent of major
importance in expired air or air otherwise contaminated; (2) that in
those processes of manufacture where considerable carbon dioxide is
liberated, the carbon dioxide content is not a properindex of air pollu­
tion; (3) that in street cars, elevated cars, etc., the carbon dioxide
content of the air should not rise above 0.12 per cent; (4) that a
temperature of 68° F. with a proper relative humidity is the best
maximum temperature for living rooms artificially heated; (5) that
from the standpoint of health, relative humidity is one of the impor­
tant factors in ventilation; (6) that efficient air-cleaning devices
are desirable in all ventilating installations where the air supply is
liable to be contaminated by dust or other objectionable matter;
(7) that the bacterial content of the air is an important factor in all
ventilation, and bears a direct relation to the source and quantity of
air supply; (8) that the temperature of a schoolroom should be kept
as low as the comfort of the occupants will permit, and that the tem­
perature may be maintained lower with comfort by increasing the
relative humidity.
The paper also presented the results of the investigation of the
New York State Commission on Ventilation which confirmed the
theory in regard to the importance of the physical factors of tem­
perature, humidity of air, and air movement; and which stated that
parallel experiments conducted for the purpose of comparing the
effect on their subjects of pure air with that of air containing from
0.1 to 1.3 per cent of carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity being
the same throughout, showed (1) that the subjects seemed about
equally comfortable in pure air and in stagnant air; (2) that body
temperature, heart rate, increase of heart rate on standing, blood
pressure, Crampton value, and respiration of the subject, were prac­
tically the same in pure and in stagnant air; (3) that the chemical
condition of the air had no perceptible influence on the amount and
accuracy of mental and physical work; (4) that the quantity of food
eaten by a subject was slightly less in stagnant than in pure air.
According to Prof. Higley, the conclusions of investigators seem to
be that (1) one may breathe for several hours air containing 20 times
the usual permissible per cent of carbon dioxide without perceptible
deleterious influence upon his health; (2) that stagnant air containing
2 to 15 times the generally accepted amount of carbon dioxide may
be respired seven hours per day for five or more weeks with no per­
ceptible effect upon heart rate, on increase of heart rate on standing,
on blood pressure, Crampton value, or respiration of the subject;
(3) that all the deleterious effects that were formerly attributed to
respiring carbon dioxide present in stagnant air may be produced by


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oreathing for the same period air that is practically free from carbon
dioxide but which has a temperature of say 90° F. and a very high
relative humidity; (4) that a cold, dry air when heated to 80° F. or
more without humidification may pioduce, when respired for some
time, deleterious results.
T h e m a tte r is w ell su m m ed u p b y Prof. L ee w h e n h e says th a t “ th e p ro b lem of
v e n tila tio n is p h y sic al ra th e r th a n c h em ica l, c u ta n eo u s ra th e r th a n re sp ira to ry .”

Prof. Higley concludes by asserting that in view of the fact that
recent investigations have apparently shown carbon dioxide to be
harmless when respired in much larger amounts than 0.08 per cent,
the safe limit of this gas in the working atmosphere should be placed
at 0.2 per cent.
STATE REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT ON PUBLIC WORK.
BY LINDLEY D. CLARK.

An article in the October, 1916, number of the M o n t h l y R e v i e w
(pp. 116-133) gave some account of the Federal laws governing the
time of employment on public works. Many States of the Union
have legislated on this subject, covering both the phase of direct
employment by the State and that of the employment of labor by
persons carrying out contracts made with the State. (Id. pp. 24, 25.)
In practically every instance the period of service fixed by the law
is eight hours, the exception being found in the case of Massachusetts,
where nine hours is the maximum for cities and towns not electing
to adopt the eight-hour day. Overtime is usually permitted only in
cases of emergency.
The general principle on which this regulation of the contract of
employment is based, where the State is a party, is that the State may
establish the terms of its own agreements, to which the other party
to the contract must conform if it wishes to enter into contractual
relations with the State.1
Where cities, counties, towns, and other municipal subdivisions
are affected, it is said that these are but auxiliaries of the State for
purposes of local government, and exercise their powers under grants
from the State, subject to restriction or enlargement, as the legis­
lature may from time to time see fit to act.1 The cases cited support
both points, the Atkins case being one in which the Supreme Court
affirmed a decision of the Supreme Court of Kansas, upholding the
validity of a law of that State limiting to eight per day the hours of
labor of persons employed by or on behalf of the State or any county,
city, township or other municipality of the State. The appellant
Atkin had a contract for the paving of a street in Kansas City, Kans.,
i Atkin v . Kansas (1903), 191 U. S., 207; 24 Sup. Ct., 124; Keefe
791; Byars v . State (1909), 2 Okla. Cr., 481, 102 Pac., 804


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v.

People (1906), 37 Colo., 317; 87 Pae.,

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and was convicted of employing a laborer to work more than eight
hours per day, there being at the time no extraordinary emergency or
necessity for protecting property or life. In its opinion the court
said:
W e c an im ag in e no possible gro u n d to d is p u te th e pow er of th e S ta te to declare
th a t no one u n d e rta k in g to w ork for i t or for one of its m u n ic ip a l agencies, sho u ld
p e rm it or re q u ire a n em p lo y ee on su c h w ork to lab o r in excess of e ig h t h o u rs each
day. * * * I t belongs to th e S ta te * * * to p rescrib e th e c o n d itio n s u p o n
w hich i t w ill p e rm it p u b lic w ork to b e d o n e on its beh alf, or on b e h a lf of its
m u n ic ip alities.

The Keefe case involved public improvements in the city of Denver,
a Colorado statute limiting public work to eight hours per day. The
supreme court of the State held the law to apply, over the contention
that the city was organized under a special law and was therefore
exempt from the general rule laid down in the Atkin case. The Byars
case is identical in principle, and cites the same authority, holding
the Oklahoma statute (phrased also in the language of the State con­
stitution), valid in its application to street-paving work.
A case involving the constitutionality of a law applying only to
the city of Baltimore was decided on the same authority, the Court
of Appeals of Maryland also holding that the fact that the law applies
to contractors with the city of Baltimore and not to those with any
other city of the State does not render it unconstitutional.1
Still broader than the foregoing, if possible, is the decision of the
Massachusetts Supreme Court on this subject. .Under a practice fre­
quently made use of in that State the senate submitted to the court
questions as to the power of the legislature to enact a law limiting
the hours of service of persons employed by the State and of persons
employed by such municipalities as have accepted the provisions of
certain acts. There was therefore no concrete case before the court,
but only a question as to the principle involved. The court was
clear in its ruling as to the power of the State to prescribe such terms
of employment as it as proprietor might wish to impose as a condi­
tion of employment. As to municipalities, no reference was made to
any voluntary acceptance of the law by them, the court saying that
“ the legislature is supreme in the control of these instrumentalities
of government, subject only to the provisions of the constitution.”2
Three of the Supreme Court justices dissented from the decision
in the Atkin case, but no opinion setting forth the grounds of the
dissent was written. I t seems probable, however, that the dissent,
in so far as it relates to the question of employment by or on behalf
of municipalities, would rest on the grounds set forth in decisions of
1 Sweetens. State (1914), 122 Md.,634, 90 Atl., 180; Elkan v . State (1914), 122 Md.; 637,90 A tl., 183;
judgment affirmed (1915>, 239 U. S., 634, Sup. Ct., 221.
2 In re Opinion of Justices (1911), 208 Mass., 619; 94 N. E., 1044.


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457

some of the courts/ which had already held similar laws (specifica­
tion in contract in the Fiske case) unconstitutional. The position
taken in the first two cases cited is that the city is an independent
corporation, possessing the same powers to contract as private cor­
porations generally, in so far as its property rights and those whom
it represents—i. e., its citizens—are concerned, and that such an
interference with its right to contract violates the constitutional
provisions which guarantee liberty, equality, and the right of property, while in the Fiske case the specification was said to infringe
unconstitutionally on the right of the contractor to employ labor on
such terms as might be agreed upon with his workmen, and a law of
similar intent would be invalid.
The Ohio and Illinois decisions antedated the decision in the Atkin
case, while that of the New York court was later. In the latter in­
stance a distinction was declared to exist between the Atkin and the
Grout cases on the ground that the Atkin case decided only that the
law of Kansas in no way offended the Federal Constitution and had
no bearing on the question of the status of a municipality under the
constitution of a State, and the New York law was declared void on
the strength of the precedent laid down in the case People ex rel.
Rodgers v. Coler (p. 461). The State constitution was subsequently
amended to authorize legislative regulation of public employment,
and a new law was then enacted which has been declared constitu­
tional.2 In so ruling the court pointed out that the people had spoken
in amending the constitution and further supported the enactment
by reference to the decision in the Atkin case, which was, in this
instance, said to be “ directly analogous.” In Ohio, also, a new law
has been enacted 3 of similar effect to the one declared unconstitu­
tional 10 years earlier.

A similar sequence of events took place in the State of Washing­
ton, where an ordinance establishing an eight-hour day in the city
of Seattle was declared unconstitutional4 by the supreme court of
that State, as interfering with the constitutional right of persons to
contract as to their employment. In a later case, however,5an ordi­
nance of the city of Spokane, similar in purpose to that of Seattle,
noted above, was declared constitutional on the authority of the
decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Atkin case.
It is of interest to note that at the time of both the above decisions
(Seattle v. Smyth and In re Broad) the State had a law limiting to
eight hours the daily period of work done for it or its municipalities,
1 People v . Grout (1904), 179 N. Y., 417; 72 N. E., 464; Cleveland
197; 65 N. E., 885; Fiske v . People (1900), 188 111., 206; 58 N. E ., 985.
2 People v . Metz (1908), 193 N. Y., 148; 85 N. E., 1070.
3 Acts of 1913, p. 854.
* Seattle v . Smyth (1900), 22 Wash., 327; 60 Pac., 1120.
5 In re Broad (1904), 36 Wash., 449; 78 Pac., 1004.


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but in neither case did the court refer to it as controlling, in passing
upon the validity of a city ordinance of similar effect. In Kansas,
on the other hand, a city undertook to require 10 hours of labor on its
streets for two days per year from all citizens of a certain age. The
contention was set up that this was in violation of the State eighthour law, and this contention was upheld by the State supreme
court.1
It seems hardly too much to say, in spite of the distinction drawn
b y ‘the New York court in the Grout case, that the principle of the
State’s control over employment by or for itself or its municipali­
ties is finally established in so far as the hours of labor are concerned.
Thus, in a very recent case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court,2 in
which a city ordinance fixing the eight-hour day for work on public
contracts was held not to violate a clause in the city charter requir­
ing such contracts to be let to the lowest bidder, the court pointed out
that a State law applying to public works of the State only, had been
in force since 1909 without its validity having ever been challenged.
However, no conclusion can be drawn from this fact as to the
subject of the regulation of private enterprise, the Massachusetts
Supreme Court saying3 that it would hold the enactment under con­
sideration to be valid, “ not because we think that such regulations
in regard to the hours of labor for men in common employment would
be wise or constitutional, but because it is in the power of the pro­
prietor of a business [the State in the present instance] to prescribe the
methods under which it shall be conducted.” In the Atkin case, also,
it was specifically stated that there was no question involved as to
private employment or the power of the State to regulate work in
which the public has no concern, “ which we have no occasion now
to determine or even to consider.”
A few decisions are at hand determining the scope of the class of
laws in question. Thus under the Kansas statute it is held that a
school district is a municipality,4but that a law applying to “ laborers,
workmen, mechanics, and other persons,” does not cover officers and
employees on annual salaries specifically named and appropriated by
the legislature.5 This exclusion does not apply to such regular
employees as engineers and firemen in a municipal water and electric
plant, 12-hour shifts for such employees being a violation of the
statute; and this is true even though the time of actual labor (as of a
fireman where natural gas is used) is but four or five hours in the
aggregate, constant attendance being required.6
1 In re Ashby (1898), 60 Kans., 101; 55 Pac., 336.
2 Milwaukee v . Raulf (1916), 159 N. W., 819.
3 In re Opinion of Justices, supra.
4 State v . Wilson (1902), 65 Kans., 237; 69 Pac., 172.
* State v . Martindale (1891), 47 Kans., 147; 27 Pac., 852.
6 State v . Ottawa (1911), 84 Kans., 100; 113 Pac., 391.


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The Supreme Court of Oregon held the law of that State not to apply
to policemen and members of the city fire department employed by
the city of Portland, the ground being taken that such persons are not
laborers within the meaning of the act, but are rather officers, being
under civil-service rules, and having taken an oath faithfully to per­
form the duties devolving upon them.1 Another reason adduced for
the nonapplicability of the law is not in harmony with the view
expressed in the Ottawa case above, and that is that firemen “are not
subjected to active toil 8 hours in any 24, except in cases of emer­
gency/’ which the statute specifically permits. The same court held
the law to apply to a farm hand and a stationary engineer employed
on a State asylum farm.2
What is meant by eight hours' work was considered in a case before
the Supreme Court of Washington,3in which the claim was made that
the law contemplated eight hours "on the job," so that teamsters
might be required to report an hour earlier for the purpose of greasing
their wagons, harnessing and hitching their horses, collecting tools^
etc. This the court denied as attempting “ a palpable evasion of the
law," holding that eight hours was the full measure of the time of
labor of whatever sort that the employees were to render under the
law.
As already pointed out, the laws in question usually all overtime
work where there is an emergency warranting it, some laws also pro­
viding that extra pay shall be given for such work. Where there is
overtime work in the absence of an emergency, the question arises as
to the right of the employee for compensation therefor, and so far as
the cases at hand indicate, it has been unanimously answered in the
negative. Thus the Court of Appeals of Kansas said4 that one whose
employment is covered by the act can not voluntarily work in excess
of eight hours and then recover added pay therefor, the act being a
penal offense, exposing both himself and the commissioners who per­
mitted it to punishment. In a somewhat later case5 the supreme
corn t of the same State disallowed a claim for extra pay for overtime
where a man had received pay on a monthly basis, and had accepted
the pay as a settlement in full to date. Such action was said to be a
waiver of any claim for excess services, though “ if he had not claimed
and received pay on the theory of its being full compensation, or if
he had not claimed at all until the close of his period of service, the
question he now seeks to raise might have been properly in the case,
and, for aught we know, he could have successfully invoked the
1 Albee v . Weinberger (1914), 69 Oreg., 331; 138 Pac., 859.
2 Ex parte Steiner (1913), 68 Oreg., 218, 137 Pac., 204.
s Davies v . Seattle (1912), 67 Wash., 532; 121 Pac., 987.
4 Billingsley v . Board of Commissioners (1897), 5 ICans. App., 435; 49 Pac., 329.
6 Beard v . Board of Commissioners (1901), 63 Kans., 348; 65 Pac., 638.

81733°—17-----9


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provisions of the eight-hour law.” The supreme court of Oklahoma,
however, declared that the provision for overtime pay was limited to
conditions of extraordinary emergency, so that one rendering overtime
service where no emergency exists is not in a position to collect extra
pay therefor.1 And where the law is merely declaratory and not
mandatory, and permits overtime work for extra compensation, as
in the early New York law, (Acts of 1870, ch. 385), it is evident that
one accepting payment throughout a considerable period is without
claim for excess sums.2
Coupled with the idea of the regulation of the hours of labor there
is found in some States that of the fixing of the amount of wages to
he paid employees on public works. This may be done by declaring
the minimum amount of such wages, or the law may provide that
current or prevailing rates in the same lines of employment shall be
paid. No case has come to the Supreme Court of the United States
involving the exact question, though it would appear that the posi­
tion taken in the Atkin case as to the power of the State to prescribe
the terms on which it would transact business would involve the
power to fix rates of wages no less than to fix the hours of labor.
Such is the view taken by the Supreme Court of Washington,3 which
upheld a city ordinance which established a rate of $3 for an 8-hour
day for a class of work on which the current rates were from $1.82 to
$2.25 for a 10-hour day. The court relied on the doctrine of the
Atkin case as to the power of the proprietor to fix terms of contracts
affecting his interests; it further held that the fact that the payment
was to be provided for by means of a special assessment did not give
the citizens a right to object to the validity of the statute.
That this view is not of universal acceptance appears from a some­
what later decision of the Supreme Court of Nebraska4 in which a
statute fixing $2 as the minimum daily wage for labor on public
works in cities of a certain class was declared unconstitutional. The
court said “ there should be no fixed rate of wages provided by the
legislature without reference to the going wages for that kind of
work at the time and place where it is to be performed.’ I t was also
said that the law violated the requirement that contracts should be
let to the lowest responsible bidder, and would take the property of
taxpayers without due process of law. In a considerably earlier
case also,5 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held invalid an ordi­
nance of the city of Reading fixing $1.50 as the minimum daily
wage to be paid by contractors with the city. A law of Indiana pre­
scribing a fixed minimum wage for employment on public works of
1 Robinson v . City of Perry (1913), 35 Okla., 475; 130 Pac., 276.
McCarthy v . Mayor, etc., of New York (1884), 96 N. Y., 1.
s Malette v . Spokane (1913), 77 Wash., 205; 137 P ac., 496.
4 Wright v . Iloctor (1914) 95 Nebr., 342; 145 N. W., 704.
s Frame v . Felix (1895), 167 Pa., 47; 31 AtL, 375.

2


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the State and its municipalities was likewise held unconstitutional1
as interfering with the freedom of corporations in their right to
contract freely in matters affecting their own interests. It was
further said that the restriction of the law to “unskilled” labor was
an invalid classification.
This decision was rendered before that in the Atkin case, and the
court cited as sustaining its views the decision in the case City of
Cleveland v. Clement Bros., supra, and a decision of the New York
court of appeals on the law of that State directing the payment of
current rates of wages on contracts with the State or its municipali­
ties. This law was declared unconstitutional2 on the grounds of its
invading the right of the city and the contractor to agree with their
employees as to the measure of their compensation and requiring
the expenditure of city funds for other than city purposes, and
because it interfered with the powers of the city under the constitu­
tion of the State. It is apparent that the reasons here recited have
not appealed to other courts, including the Supreme Court. As
stated in connection with the discussion of the regulation of hours,
the people of New York adopted an amendment to the State consti­
tution authorizing the regulation of hours and wage rates, and an act
to this effect was subsequently held constitutional in its various
parts,3though the matter under immediate consideration was one of
hours rather than of wage rates.
Decisions falling between the foregoing in their views are one
denying the validity of a law fixing a minimum rate in its applica­
tion to employees of contractors, but sustaining it in so far as it
related to direct employees of the State under a superintendent of
one of its undertakings,4 and a decision modifying the opinion in the
Rodgers case cited above, and holding that the law in question might
bind the city, the question of contractors not being involved.5
No question now remains in the State of New York as to the
validity of regulations affecting both hours and rates and extending
to contractors as well as to the State and its subdivisions. The law
can not be construed, however, as having any extraterritorial effect,
so that work done for a contractor in another State, as the dressing
of stone to be used on the undertaking, may be paid for on the basis
of an agreement made independent of current rates in the city of
New York, where the material is ultimately to be made use of.8
The matter of recovering for the difference between current rates
and the rates accepted by an employee in settlement rests on much
1Street v . Varney Electrical Supply Co. (1903), 160 Ind.,338; 66 N. E.,895.
2 People ex rel. Rodgers v . Coler (1901), 166 N. Y ., 1; 59 N. E ., 716.
8 People v . Metz, supra.
4 Clark v . State (1894), 142 N. Y., 101; 36 N. E ., 817.
6 R yanp. City of New York (1904), 177 N. Y., 271; 69 N. E.,599.
6 Ewen v . Thompson-Starrett Co. (1913), 208 N. Y., 245; 101 N. E ., 894.


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the same footing as that of recovery of pay for overtime work. In
the single case at hand on this point1a claim for $600, which accrued
during a period of some six years, was denied as having been waived
by the acceptance of the wages proffered during that time.
Another respect in which the regulation of employment on public
work has been undertaken is a requirement that only union labor
should be employed thereon. Of similar intent is a provision that
public printing shall bear a union label. Such provisions have
appeared more frequently in city ordinances than in the acts of State
legislatures, but it is not too much to say that wherever they have
come to the notice of the courts they have been set aside as uncon­
stitutional. The legislature of Nebraska enacted a law 2 applicable
to cities of the first class, which directed the employment of only
union labor in work done by or for such cities. This was said by the
supreme court of the State 3 to be undemocratic in principle, tending
to create monopoly and restrict competition, and establishing an
unwarranted discrimination against laborers not members of unions.
And the Supreme Court of Illinois, in passing upon a rule adopted by
the board of education of the city of Chicago to the effect that only
union labor should be employed by contractors doing work for the
board, said:4
I t is p la in t h a t th e ru le a d o p te d b y th e bo ard a n d in c lu d e d in th is c o n tra c t is a
d isc rim in a tio n b e tw e e n d iffe re n t classes of c itize n s, a n d of su c h a n a tu re as to re stric t
c o m p e titio n a n d in crease th e cost of w ork. I t is u n q u e stio n a b le t h a t if th e leg islatu re
should e n a c t a s ta tu te c o n ta in in g th e sam e provision * * *, th e p rovision w ould
b e a b so lu te ly n u ll a n d void, as in conflict w ith th e c o n stitu tio n of th e S ta te .

In view of this ruling it was inevitable that an ordinance of the
city of Chicago directing the employment of none but union workmen
on public works should be declared unconstitutional and void by the
same court, stating the same reasons.5 The board of education of
Detroit adopted a rule similar in purpose to that discussed in the
case, Adams v. Brenan, above, and it was condemned by the Supreme
Court of Michigan on like grounds.6 So also where a State furnishing
board undertook to rescind a contract for supplies because the suc­
cessful bidder was found to be an employer of nonunion labor, the
supreme court held such action void as restricting competition and
imposing an illegal condition.7 In this connection mention may be
made of the ruling of the Civil Service Commission of the United
States and an order of President Roosevelt as to the reinstatement of
1 Ryan v . City of New York, supra.
2 Ch. 17, Acts of 1903.
3W right v . Hoctor, supra.
* Adams v . Brenan (1898), 177 111., 194; 52 N. E., 314.
6 Eiske v . People (1900), 188 111., 206; 58 N. E., 985.
6 Lewis v . Board of Education (1905), 139 Mich., 306; 102 N. W . , 756.
i State v . Toole (1901), 26 Mont., 22; 66 Pae., 496.


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an employee who had been dismissed from the Government Printing
Office because of his expulsion from a labor union, the fact of mem­
bership or nonmembership in a union being declared to be one that
could not be taken into consideration in the employment or dismissal
of persons in the Government service.1
In all that was said by the courts in the matter of discrimination
in employment on public works, it is clear that nothing is developed
as to the right of the private employer to establish a rule or enter
into an agreement on the subject. Such a provision would in no way
offend the law, and would be allowed to have full force,2 but where
the public is concerned, the conclusion is unanimous that no such
distinction can be enforced.
Three States3 have laws directing the use of the union label on
printing done for the State or by the public printer of the State.
No case is at hand which passes upon a law of this nature, but the
Illinois supreme court declared an ordinance of the city of Alton con­
taining such a provision to be not only in contravention of a State
law requiring printing contracts to be let to the lowest responsible
bidder, but also a violation of common rights and tending to create
a monopoly.4 A similar conclusion was reached by the Supreme
Court of Tennessee with regard to an ordinance of like form, the
court saying that the provisions of the ordinance were discriminatory
and contrary to public policy and the State constitution;5 and so also
of the Supreme Court of Georgia in a like case.6
Another form of limitation on employment on public works that
has been undertaken in several States is that of directing that, a pref­
erence be given to resident laborers or to citizens of the United States,
some laws going so far as to forbid entirely the employment of aliens
thereon. This last restriction may be general, or it may be directed
specifically to a race, as the Chinese. The constitutionality of a law
prohibiting the employment of aliens generally has been decided by
our highest tribunal in a case 7 in which a statute of New York for­
bidding the employment of aliens on public work was declared con­
stitutional. The court in this case rested on the principle announced
in the case, Atkin v. Kansas, supra, that “ it belongs to the State, as
the guardian and trustee for its people, and having control of its
affairs, to prescribe the conditions upon which it will permit public
work to be done on its behalf, or on behalf of its municipalities, ” and
it was further held that this power was not restricted by the treaty
1 T w entieth R ep t. U . S. C. S. Com., pp. 147-150.
2 S tate v. Toole, supra.
3 M aryland, P. G. L ., art. 78, sec. 9; M ontana, R . C. 1907, secs. 254,255; and N evada, R . L. 1912, sec. 4309.
4 H olden v. C ity of A lton (1899), 179 111., 318; 53 N . E ., 556.
6 M arshall & Bruce Co. v. C ity of N ashville (1903), 109 T en n ., 495; 71 S. W ., 815.
6 C ity of A tlan ta v. Stein (1900), 111 Ga., 789, 36 S. E ., 932.
7H eim v. McCall (1915), 239 U. S., 175; 36 Sup. C t., 78; affirm ing 214 N . Y ., 629; 108 N. E. 1095


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between this country and Italy, whose subjects were affected by the
case in hand.1
It is of interest to note that these decisions upholding the New
York law succeeded a line of decisions apparently unbroken, adverse
to the idea of such exclusions as this law proposed. Thus the Su­
preme Court of New York had held that the law of that State was
not binding on contractors; 2 and an Oregon statute forbidding the
employment of Chinese on public works was held unconstitutional
by a Federal court.3 The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania also held
that a law forbidding the employment of aliens on public works was
no bar to a suit to recover wages earned by aliens, even though em­
ployed in contravention of the statute.4 On the other hand a re­
cent decision of the Supreme Court of South Carolina upheld a local
law directing the employment of county residents on highway con­
struction, citing the rules laid down by the Supreme Court as to the
right of a State to control its own resources and undertakings;5 so
also of the law of Massachusetts directing a preference of citizens on
public works, the supreme court of the State upholding the law on
the authority of the Heim and Crane cases.6
The conclusion is inevitable, therefore, that laws of this nature
will be henceforth accepted as valid, on the authority of the decision
of the Supreme Court, as happened in the matter of fixing hours of
labor, following the Atkin case. It may here be pointed out, as in
the case of the decisions against the exclusion of nonunion labor,
that the decisions sustaining laws excluding or restricting the public
employment of aliens are not to be considered as supporting laws
excluding or restricting their employment by private persons. In­
deed, the contrary is true, such laws having been held unconstitu­
tional by our highest tribunal.7
SUMMARY OF EXISTING LAWS.

Taking up now the specific provisions of the various State laws, it
may first be noted that in two States the law fixing hours of labor is
restricted to single cities or classes of cities, that of Maryland applying
to the city of Baltimore only, while in Missouri the law applies only to
cities of the second class. Elsewhere, it appears that, with the excep­
tion of Massachusetts, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, the
same provisions apply to the State and its municipalities. In Mas­
sachusetts a fixed rule applies the nine-hour law to cities and towns
1 See also People v. Crane (1915), 214 N . Y ., 154; 108 N . E ., 427, in w hich th e same s ta tu te was upheld by
th e New Y ork court of appeals. F o r economic reasons, however, th e law was changed from a prohibition
against such w orkm en to a req u irem en t th a t preference be given to citizens w hen available.
2 People v. W arren (1895), 13 Misc., 618; 34 N. Y . Supp., 942.
3 B aker v. P o rtlan d (1879), 5 Sawyer, 566; Fed. Cas. No. 777.
4 Philadelphia v. M cLinden (1903), 205 Pa. S., 172; 54 A tl., 719.
s L illard v. M elton (1915), 87 S. E ., 421.
6 Lee v. C ity of L y n n (1916), 111 N. E ., 700.
7 Y ick Wo. v. H opkins (1886), 118 U. S., 356; 6 Sup. C t., 1064; T ru ax v. R aich (1915), 239 U. S., 33; 36 Sup.
C t., 7.


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not voting to accept the eight-hour day provided by statute for the
State and counties. A vote to accept the eight-hour day may be
taken at any annual election, and must be taken on the petition of
100 voters in a city or 25 voters in a town, filed with the city or town
clerk 30 or more days before the election. In Minnesota, West Vir­
ginia, and Wisconsin, the laws make no mention of municipalities,
the Minnesota and West Virginia laws applying to employment by
or on behalf of the State, and that of Wisconsin to work to which the
State or an officer or agent thereof is a party.
Most of the laws fix eight hours as the maximum of employment,
but that of Indiana is directory only and not mandatory in form,
and permits overtime work by agreement, without regard to emer­
gencies. The law of Pennsylvania makes mention of neither over­
time nor emergency employment, and apparently falls in the same
class with Indiana. The same is true of New Mexico also, where
there is no act of the legislature, but a simple declaration of the con­
stitution, that eight hours shall constitute a day’s work, a form of
expression that has been determined not to establish an actual limi­
tation upon employment,1 In a few other cases similar language is
used in the section declaring the length of the working day, but other
provisions indicate a purpose to make its observance obligatory. In
Montana the prohibition of overtime work is apparently absolute, no
exception being made for emergencies.

In the other States provision is made for “emergencies” or “extra­
ordinary emergencies,” a few laws not making use of these terms,
but enumerating the occurrences that are to be construed as con­
stituting causes for waiver, as “for the protection of property or
human life.” In Oregon and Washington, overtime work in emer­
gencies is permitted only when other employees who have not already
worked eight hours are not available.
As to the compensation when overtime work is performed, the laws
vary considerably, some making no mention of payment for extra
time worked. In Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland (city of Balti­
more), New.Jersey, Oklahoma, and Texas, the law provides that
overtime shall be paid for on the basis of eight hours constituting a
day’s work; in Colorado, the excess over eight hours is to be counted
on the subsequent day, while in Oregon double pay, and in Washing­
ton a 50 per cent increase, are to be allowed for overtime work.

The scope of the laws is variously limited, some designating classes
of employees, and others using the kind of undertaking as the basis.
In Alaska, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington,
the law applies to any work or undertaking by or on behalf of the
Commonwealth or its subdivisions or municipalities; in Oregon it
applies to “labor employed;” while in the other States classes of
employees are designated, the most common enumeration being of


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laborers, workmen (or workingmen), and mechanics. This termi­
nology is used in the laws of Arizona (including also other persons
doing manual or mechanical labor), California, Colorado, Idaho (or
other persons engaged in manual labor), Indiana, Kansas (or other
persons; excepts cities of the second or third class owning or operating
municipal light and water plants), Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Oklahoma (including prison guards, janitors of
public institutions, or other persons so employed), Pennsylvania,
Porto Rico, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and W yom ing. The
designation, “laborers and mechanics,” is used in the District of
Columbia, Kentucky, and Missouri; in Hawaii, the law embraces
mechanics, laborers, clerks and other employees; in Minnesota, per­
sons employed by or on behalf of the State in manual labor; and in
Ohio, workmen engaged on any public work.
A further limitation of hours to 48 per week appears in the laws of
Colorado, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Oregon; while in Hawaii the hours
of labor are eight “ on any working day, except on Saturday,” when
five hours constitute a day’s work.
The regulation of wages is not attempted directly except in a very
few cases, the more common provision being that current rates for
the same class or classes of labor in the locality shall be paid persons
employed within the scope of the act. Such a provision is found in
the laws of Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland (for contractors; $2
minimum where the employment is directly by the city), Massachu­
setts, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. A $2 minimum is fixed by
the law of California, and $3 for unskilled labor by that of Nevada.
In the matter of resident or citizen labor, only citizens or wards or
persons who have declared their intentions to become citizens may
be employed, according to the Arizona statute, though the appropri­
ation act of 1915 simply directs a preference of citizens in employ­
ments provided for by the act. No Chinese or Mongolian may be
employed on public works in California and Nevada; a like racial line
is drawn by the law of Hawaii, where no one may be employed who
is not a citizen or eligible to citizenship, though if these are not
available, unskilled laborers of the prohibited classes may receive
permits allowing their employment. The laws of Massachusetts and
New York declare a preference for citizens of the United States, the
former also giving first opportunity to citizens of the State. Only
citizens or persons of declared intentions may be employed on public
works in Pennsylvania, while a preference for the same classes of
persons is expressed in the law of Utah; in Pennsylvania the workman
must also have been a resident of the State for six months. In Maine,
residents of the State are to be preferred for employment on public
works; while according to a Louisiana statute only resident laborers
may be employed on the water and drainage works of the city of New
Orleans.

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Following is a list of tlio laws discussed in the foregoing analysis:
Alaska, Acts of 1913, ch. 7 (hours).
Arizona, R. S. 1913, socs. 3103—
3106 (hours, wages, and requirement of citizens;
Acts of 1915, ch. 3 (preference of citizens).
California, constitution, art, 19; Acts of 1915, ch. 666 (Chinese or Mongolian labor;
act also establishes hours and wages); constitution, art. 20 ; Penal Code, sec.
653c (hours).
Colorado, R. S. 1908, secs. 3921, 3922 (hours).
District of Columbia, Acts of U. S. Congress 1912-13, ch. 106 (hours).
Hawaii, R. L. 1915, secs. 160, 161 (hours and citizens).
Idaho, constitution, art. 13, sec. 2 (hours); Acts of 1911, ch. 131, Am. 1913; ch. 165
(hours and wages).
Indiana, Burns A. S. 1914, secs. 7977, 7978 (hours).
Kansas, G. S. 1909, sec. 4643, Am., Acts of 1913, ch. 220 (hours and wages).
Kentucky, Acts of 1910, ch. 123 (hours).
Louisiana (New Orleans only), Acts of 1902, No. I l l (residents).
Maine, Acts of 1909, ch. 228 (residents).
Maryland (Baltimore City only), Acts of 1910, p. 642 (hours and wages).
Massachusetts, Acts of 1909, ch. 514, secs. 2 1 , 43; Acts of 1911, ch. 494 ; Acts of 1914,
ch. 474; Acts of 1916, ch. 240 (hours, wages, and citizens).
Minnesota, G. S. 1913, sec. 3832 (hours).
Missouri (cities of second class only), Acts of 1913, p. 420, secs. 237-239 (hours).
Montana, constitution, art. 18, sec. 4; R. C. 1907, sec. 1739 (hours).
Nevada, R. L. 1912, sec. 3481 (wages); sec. 3483 (Chinese); sec. 6778 (hours).
New Jersey, Acts of 1913, ch. 253 (hours).
New Mexico, constitution, art. 20, sec. 19 (hours).
New York, constitution, art. 12; compiled laws, ch. 31, sec. 3, Am. arts of 1913,
ch. 494 (hours and wages); Acts of 1915, ch. 51 (citizens).
Ohio, Acts of 1913, p. 854 (hours).
Oklahoma, constitution, art. 23, sec. 1 (hours); R, L. 1910, sec. 3757 (hours and wages).
Oregon, Acts of 1913, ch. 1 (hours).
Pennsylvania, Acts of 1897, No. 379 (hours and citizens).
Porto Rico, R. S. 1911, sec. 1657; Acts Extra Sees. 1913, No. 140 (hours).
Texas, Acts of 1913, ch. 68 (hours and wages).
Utah, constitution, art. 16, sec. 6 ; C. L. 1907, sec. 1336 (hours); Acts of 1909, ch. 80
(citizens).
Washington, Codes and Statutes, 1910, secs. 6572-6577 (hours).
West Virginia, Code, 1899, p. 1146 (hours).
Wisconsin, Statutes, sec. 1729 m (hours).
Wyoming, constitution, art. 19, sec. 1 ; Acts of 1913, ch. 90 (hours).

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SURVEY OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

The results of a vocational education survey of Minneapolis,
conducted in 1915 by the National Society for the Promotion of
Industrial Education, are brought together in Bulletin No. 199,
of the United States Bureau t>f Labor Statistics. The aim of the
survey was to get facts about the schools and vocations of the city
in order to submit recommendations for a program of education
by which young people might be trained in the schools to meet the


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demands of the various commercial enterprises located in Minneappolis, with a minimum of economic loss to industry and a maximum
of technical or vocational instruction to the individual. Therefore,
most of the bulletin is devoted to a presentation of the results of this
intensive study, showing for each industry in the city what voca­
tional education is needed properly to equip boys and girls for work
therein.
At the outset it is shown that the schools are not adequately
meeting the need for this kind of training because they devote too
little time to such instruction, their facilities are insufficient, and
their courses of study are not based scientifically upon the demands
of local industries, and so far as the high schools are concerned, do
not fulfill the needs of that large percentage of students who do not
remain four years. In the public evening classes, whose chief
function should be to provide general and vocational education for
wage earners, the greatest difficulty seems to be an inability to give
instruction of a kind to meet the interests and requirements of the
mixed group coming from a variety of occupations with a diversity of
motives. Adequate instruction should be made possible by provid­
ing additional funds. Other agencies are suggested as meeting in a
measure the need for vocational education. The general university
extension division of the State university has been hampered by lack
of funds ; the Dunwoody Industrial Institute has made a commend­
able beginning, but has not definitely discovered the field in which
it can be of most service to the youth of the city; the Y. M. C. A.
evening industrial and commercial classes have proved of practical
help; private commercial schools, denominational schools, and
correspondence schools have each done much in preparing ambi­
tious boys and girls for self-support. Very little reliance is placed
upon apprenticeship as a means of training workers.
One of the outcomes of the survey was the establishment of trade
understandings providing for cooperation between schools and the
trades and industries, by which the former are undertaking to adapt
their courses of study to meet the needs of industry and the latter
have agreed to give preference in the selection of workers to those
who have availed themselves of such instruction. Examples of such
understandings are included. These trade understandings are
recognized as a distinct contribution to the movement for vocational
education, and schools and classes operated under them will be able
to select and train a group of young people who, with their superior
equipment, will become in time either all-around workmen or leaders
in industrial life.
In recognition of the fact that for any comprehensive scheme of
industrial education to be efficient and enduring it must command
the respect and support of employers, employees, and their organi-


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zations, the survey gave considerable attention to the question. As
a result practically all the important employers in most of the trades
and occupations approved the plans for all-day, part-time-dullseason, and evening classes, and agreed to cooperate with the schools
in a definite way to make these classes successful.
One purpose of the survey in its study and recommendations was
to appeal to the desire for higher efficiency on the part of workers and
to encourage employers not only to adopt more systematic methods
of selection and promotion of workers, but to show their willingness to
reward efficiency—a policy which would result in more general
attendance at vocational classes and on the whole be mutually
profitable. Part time instruction is strongly recommended by the
survey committee, but the difficulty of inducing employers volun­
tarily to release young people during working hours so that they
may get further education is recognized.
One appendix gives outlines of courses of study worked out by the
survey with the trades and approved by them, and another gives
suggestions for a course of study for prevocational classes.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SURVEY OF INDIANAPOLIS, EVANSVILLE, AND
JEFFERSON COUNTY, IND.
INDIANAPOLIS AND EVANSVILLE.

During 1916, under the direction of the Indiana State Board of
Education, vocational education surveys were made of the cities of
Indianapolis and Evansville, Ind., for the purpose of providing a pro­
gram of vocational and prevocational instruction and training based
on findings relating to industries and wage-earning employments,
and of ascertaining to what extent, if any, the schools are meeting
the vocational needs of the communities. In February, 1913, the
Indiana State Legislature passed a vocational-education law, devised
to stimulate vocational education by granting State aid to all com­
munities which would organize and conduct vocational departments
and schools offering instruction in elementary agriculture, domestic
science, and industrial arts. To render this instruction effective and
to provide for its development the State survey committee made the
surveys indicated, its efforts being directed principally “ to those
industries in which it seemed probable that the development of the
industry and the advancement of workers in the industry was pre­
vented or made difficult by a lack of knowledge or of training on the
part of the worker ; and to those industries and occupations in which
shop training and experience were necessarily under any conditions
inadequate as means of developing complete efficiency.” Data
were secured relating to industrial organizations, equipment, and
processes; ages of employees and of untrained beginners; wages; hours;

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mental quality of workers; general and special knowledge required;
method of selecting workers; sources of labor supply; special training
of the workers if any other than that given by the foreman; system
of promotion or economic reward for efficiency if any has been estab­
lished ; systematic technical instruction or pratioal training desirable
after the worker has entered the industry; desirability of giving in­
struction in the industries established, or in part-time day courses, or in
evening courses; school age, population and attendance; the issuance
of work permits to boys and girls under 16 years of age; and (in
Evansville only) the extent to which library facilities are utilized.
The reports of these surveys are included in two volumes recently
issued by the State board of education.1
The study of the industries seemed to indicate a general demand
for vocational education, and also that each industry would profit
materially if its workers could have an opportunity to acquire tech­
nical training in part-time or evening classes. The opportunities for
development were found to be exceptionally great, especially in the
furniture and woodworking industry which is the largest single indus­
try in Evansville, and in the automobile industry which ranks among
the two or three leading industries of Indianapolis. One of the im­
mediate results of the survey in Evansville was the development of
interest among workers and employers in the proposal to institute
vocational courses in the public schools, an interest which resulted
in a provisional enrollment of 58 in day vocational courses, 113 in
part-time day courses, 66 in evening classes for apprentices, and 108
in evening classes for journeymen. In Indianapolis this interest
found expression in the signing of trade and educational agreements
providing for the establishment of a two-year part-time instruction
in salesmanship, a two-year day course in woodworking, a three-year
compulsory evening continuation school for plumbers’ apprentices,
a two-year day’course in sheet-metal working, and a one-year parttime course for girls who wish to become telephone operators. The
last two were pending at the time the report was written. Seven
Evansville firms expressed a willingness to sign trade and educational
agreements providing for the establishment of part-time classes for
the instruction of apprentices for a period of three to four years.
In Indianapolis 2,258 establishments employing 40,658 workers
(30,483 males and 10,175 females) were covered, the industries repre­
sented being automobile manufacturing, machine and metal-product
shops, foundries, sheet metal, furniture and woodworking, telephone,
heat, light and power, street car service, building trades, retail stores,
printing, garment industry, canning industry, and home makers.
'I n d ia n a . S tate board of education. Charles H . W inslow, S tate director of vocational research. E duca­
tion B ulletin No. 19, R eport of the Evansville Survey for V ocational Education, 510 pp. E ducational B ulletin
No. 21, R ep o rt of th e Indianapolis Survey for V ocational E ducation, 400 p p . Indianapolis, Jan. 1, 1917.


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In Evansville 333 establishments were scheduled, employing 12,764
workers (8,392 males and 4,372 females), covering the following
industries: Furniture and woodworking, building trades, cigar fac­
tories, dressmaking, flour mills, garment making, gas-engine manu­
facturing, hospital and nursing, laundries, machine shops and metal
working, plow manufacturing, potteries, printing, railroad shop,
retail stores, stove manufacturing, and vehicle manufacturing.

In its study of the schools of Indianapolis, the vocational educa­
tion offered by them, and opportunities for developing these courses
to meet the needs of industry, the committee found that 1,458 pupils
were enrolled in part-time vocational classes in 19 elementary schools
in 1915-16, instruction being given in cooking, millinery, sewing,
and dressmaking; that in 1916, 1,632 were enrolled in evening voca­
tional classes; that covering the priod September 1 to November 1,
1916, 37,378 children were enrolled in the public schools, 13.2 per
cent being in the high schools; that in a period of 40 months ending
July 1, 1916, 9,400 work permits were issued; that the number of
children enrolled falls off rapidly in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9, and at ages
14, 15, and 16; that 35.2 per cent of all children enrolled were retarded
as respects age, while 67.6 per cent of permit workers were retarded;
and that probably more than 20,000 young people between 14 and
21 years of age are entirely without instruction of any kind either
in their employment or in the schools.
The findings as to schools and libraries in Evansville showed that
in 1915-16 the public-school enrollment was 10,343, of which 9.4 per
cent were in the high-school grades; that of 243 children working
under permits, 207 or 85.2 per cent were retarded as respects age and
grade at the time of leaving school; that between September 1,
1915, and April 15, 1916, 517 pupils withdrew from grades 4 to 12,
17.4 per cent of them to go to work; that of the 517, 287 or 55.5 per
cent were retarded, indicating, as also in the case of permit workers,
the need for the organization of prevocational and vocational classes
offering instruction adapted to the capacities of the children; that
the present amount of manual training in the public schools should
be increased; that the present day and evening vocational classes
should be developed and made more effective so that, as the records
of the men’s public school evening vocational courses show, 28.5 per
cent of those who enroll would not drop out after attending five
sessions or less; that nearly two-thirds of the borrowers at the li­
braries were under 16 years of age; and that of the total circulation
of 472,561 books, 12,523 were books on useful arts, a circulation
which the development of vocational education in the schools is
expected to increase.


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The report on the Evansville survey states that perhaps the most
important finding of the survey—
is that the price paid for inefficiency by Evansville employers and wage earners indi­
vidually, and by the community collectively is enormous, and that this large item
of cost in economic service is a serious handicap to the community in its effort to
improve, or even to maintain present standards of economic and social welfare.
* * * Every dollar wisely spent now for vocational education and training will
certainly yield hack in the course of a few years the original investment together with
a large dividend of profit to the community and to the State.

Other findings of the survey may be briefly stated as follows:
1. The 14 to 16 year old children are not wanted in industry and
vocational training is not provided for them in the schools.
2. The law should be so changed as to provide that 16 years in­
stead of 14 shall be the age limit of compulsory education, and that
a type of education shall be developed in the schools specially de­
vised to meet the requirements of children 14 to 16 years of age.
3. There appear to be violations of the school-attendance law
and also the law providing for the issuing of work permits to chil­
dren.
4. An assistant to the superintendent of schools should be appointed
to be known as the director of vocational education.
5. The vocational department of the public schools should estab­
lish a museum of Evansville’s industries and commerce.
6. A reorganization of the high school and grade courses, involv­
ing a breaking up of the old conventional four-year high-school
course and the establishment of a junior high school embracing the
seventh, eighth, and ninth grades should be made, thus providing'
an administrative unit for prevocational work which it is believed
should begin with the seventh grade.
7. A scheme for vocational education should comprehend some
systematic and continuous treatment of shop conditions in the com­
munity with a view to utilizing shop work and equipment for the
training of beginners, apprentices, and journeymen. Ultimately, if
not at the outset, an expert in shop practice should be appointed to
the staff of the vocational department of the public schools.
Based on the findings as to industries and schools in Indianapolis,
the committee found that this city, because it is young in industrial
growth and has an inadequate supply of skilled mechanics, and
because of the high cost of inefficiency, as was found in the Evans­
ville survey, offers a promising field for vocational education. It is
stated, however, that economic conditions are not encouraging, that
labor turn over is very frequent, that adequate welfare work is lacking
in its industries, that lack of skill and workmanship has prevented
wages from rising with the living cost, and that the city is below the
general level of the State in the value added to the product by manu-


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facture. These conditions, declares the committee, emphasize the
need for vocational education, and industries and commerce are
turning to the schools for help.
Considerable space is given to suggestions in detail as to how the
vocational and prevocational work should be organized, developed,
and administered in Indianapolis, including recommendations regarding practical art instruction, manual training work, a discussion of
the imminence of a rise in the age of compulsory school attendance
from 14 to 16, and the new problems and responsibilities which that fact
presents. This, it is suggested, will force back into the schools some
1,200 children between 14 and 16 who are now wage earners, and it
becomes necessary to take care of them by providing vocational
education and continuation school work. The enactment of a law
requiring all employed children under 16 years of age to attend con­
tinuation classes is recommended, the courses offered to be flexible
enough in work and instruction to meet the widely differing interests
and demands of the juvenile workers, and thus improve their general
or vocational preparation for life.
I he committee believes that the best way m which to meet the
demand for prevocational training, characterized as one of the most
important problems in the development of a program of vocational
education, in the industries and household, commercial, and agricul­
tural arts, is through a junior high school for the education of pupils
during the seventh, eighth, and ninth years, as recommended in the
Evansville report. The senior high school should then be so organ­
ized as to receive graduates from the junior high school and advance '
them in the courses suggested, and also give instruction in college and
nolmal preparatory courses. To meet the need of persons who are
already engaged in pioductive callings, the committee recommends
the establishment of evening classes of the trade-extension kind.
Applicable to Evansville, instruction in market gardening, truck gar­
dening, floriculture, and poultry keeping should be given in the
junior high school for those who may desire to follow the occupation
of farming. For Negroes, courses in auto driving, bricklaying, car­
pentry, concrete work, janitor and care taking, cooking, laundry work,
and domestic service are recommended.
The Indianapolis report includes a program of courses for evening
schools and part-time instruction, and also continuation school
courses of study in salesmanship, vocational training of girls and
women in household work is included as a part of the committee’s
recommendations. The features to be incorporated in trade agree­
ments are given detailed attention. The report emphasizes the
necessity of training teachers for vocational schools.
The committee shows that Evansville is financially able to carry
out the program for vocational education outlined in the report, the


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amount available annually being approximately $179,000. In
Indianapolis about $306,578.35 would be available annually for this
purpose.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, IN D .1

Departing from the larger cities, the survey committee in 1916
made a study of Jefferson County, of which Madison is the county
seat, in order to show, by an analysis of its agricultural conditions,
“ the need with respect to agricultural development which must be
satisfied in order to establish rural life on a satisfactory basis, both
from the standpoint of the local community and from the standpoint
of the State and the county at large,” and “ to determine the pro­
visions already made for rural betterment in order to show how these
must be reorganized and supplemented.” This survey was organized
along four main lines, covering—
1. The economic situation, setting forth important facts pertaining
to the location, history and industries of the county, the character and
extent of the land and other property with which the farmer has to
work.

2. The status of husbandry in the county, or present agricultural
conditions.
3. Financial resources of the county and agencies for rural better­
ment, i. e., the effort for rural betterment made by the people of the
county through granges and other community organization.
4. The status and work of the public schools of the county.
The survey developed several important facts bearing upon the
possibilities for vocational education, which may be summarized as
follows :
1. I t is apparent that the agricultural efficiency of the people is
surprisingly low.

2. The population and school enumeration decreased during the
period 1900 to 1910 approximately 10 per cent and 14 per cent,
respectively.
3. The rural schools have accomplished little in the way of meeting
the vocational needs of the young people. Of 4,832 pupils who
enrolled during the last five-year period,22,178, or 45 per cent, with­
drew before completing the elementary courses, and of this number
622, or 28.6 per cent, dropped out because the school failed to interest
them or their parents.
4. Rural teachers are inadequately trained to teach agriculture and
domestic science as required by law.
Perhaps the most important fact developed by the survey of Jeffer­
son County was the need for better agriculture—an awakening of the
1Indiana.

S tate B oard of E ducation E ducational B ulletin No. 20. R eport of th e Jefferson County
Indianapolis, Jan. 1, 1917. 86 pp.
2 Presum ably 1911 to 1915, inclusive, since th e survey was m ade in th e spring a nd early sum m er of 1916.

Survey for V ocational E ducation.


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farmers to a realization of the fact that they have good natural
resources and that it is possible to make the county one of the best
in the State, agriculturally. It was found that the soil is not handled
intelligently; that animal industry is not well developed; that
approximately one-fifth of the land is listed as timber or waste land;
that about one-half is classed as rolling uplands splendidly adapted
to horticulture ; that business management of the farms is lacking
so that the farmers do not know whether or not they are making
money; that the farmers are not sufficiently organized. These facts
prompted the survey committee to recommend first of all the impera­
tive need for vocational education and rural betterment work adapted
to the instruction of the youth of the county. Specifically, the
committee suggests:
1. The organization of a county industrial society to assist the
farmers in specialization.
2. The cooperation of all agencies devoted to social improvement
and rural betterment work.
3. The formulation and development of a definite agricultural
program for the county.
4. The need for developing and encouraging a definite manufac­
turing program for the county.
5. Highway improvement.
6. The employment of a county agent of agriculture.
7. Distribution of recreation centers throughout the county as
being conducive to productive efficiency.
To develop vocational and prevocational work in the schools of
Jefferson County the survey committee believes that three types of
work must be provided for:
1. Prevocational work to be carried on in the regular schools, as
prescribed by law, should be further developed and improved.
2. Vocational departments and courses should be organized to
enable the young people to get vocational instruction in agriculture
and household occupations.
3. Vocational instruction should be provided for young people and
adults out of school by means of dull-season day courses of the con­
tinuation type, or evening vocational courses.
The solving of these problems may be assisted, according to the
committee, by—
1. School consolidation.
2. Construction of school buildings adapted to vocational instruc­
tion.
3. Employment of teachers especially trained in agriculture and
household arts, these teachers to be retained so long as they are
efficient.
81733°—17-----10


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4. Special attention being given to home project and boys’ and
girls’ club work.
5. Building up community life and interest.
6. Organizing certain high schools as vocational high schools with
the employment of special vocational teachers and the adoption of a
properly weighted course of study which the committee outlines.
7. The establishment of short-term day and evening vocational
courses in agriculture and home making.
These recommendations, it is pointed out, may be put into effect in
any township high school in the county “ata trifle if any more than
the present cost,” and will “give to the community the broad,
thorough, truly vocational education described above, under highly
efficient teachers, together with expert supervision of the prevocational
work of the elementary schools, the expert direction of home project
work through four summer months, and the continuation schools in
agriculture and home economics for the adult during the winter
months.”
LABOR CONDITIONS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON.

The Tenth Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor, Statistics,
and Factory Inspection of the State of Washington for the years 1915
and 1916,1 opens with a brief review of the two years’ work, notes
recommendations to the legislature, discusses the subject of voca­
tional education, and gives an account of the activities of the bureau,
including highway mspection; the enforcement of the eight-hour law
on public works; the eight-hour law for women; the minimum wage
law and the law governing employment of minors; the lumber in­
dustry; the fisheries, with special report on the salmon canning in­
dustry; the work of employment agencies; statistics of 1,111 varied
industrial plants in the State; information concerning trades-unions;
a table showing hours of labor and wages under organized labor;
a budget of the annual cost of living of a family of five persons;
reference to the shop safety campaign, including statistics of acci­
dents; an account of a special survey of conditions surrounding
motion-picture operators, cement plant workers and longshoremen;
and labor strikes. An appended report of the assistant labor com­
missioner deals in a general way with child labor; the women’s eighthour law; and the minimum wage and its effects in Washington.
According to the report, the prevailing wage paid for highway
work in 1916 was $2.40 to $2.50 per day for unskilled labor as against
$1.60 in 1915. Forty-five cases of violation of the eight-hour law
are noted.
i W ashington. T en th B iennial R eport of the B ureau of Labor, Statistics, a nd Factory Inspection, 191516. O lympia, 1916. 312 pp. Illustrated.


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It appears that 37 complaints were filed of violations of the eighthour law for women, 4 cases of violation of the minimum wage lav/,
and 4 cases of violations of the law governing the employment of
minors. These cases are all listed in detail. In most of them con­
victions wrere secured and fines imposed.
Washington ranks first in the production of lumber which is its
chief industry. In 1915 the total production was 6,973,801,821
board feet, and for the period October, 1913, to July, 1915, the num­
ber employed in the saw, planing, and shingle mills, sash and door
factories, cabinet and woodworking shops and kindred industries, was
20,183 males and 74 females. These figures do not include thousands
engaged in the logging industry and ship building plants over which
the bureau of labour has no jurisdiction.
Another important industry in Washington is salmon canning.
In 40 canneries, according to the report, 1,872 white men, 1,028
Orientals and 182 Indians were employed in 1915, earning an average
of $366.23, $316.72, and $30 per annum, respectively. The total
paid in wages in 1915 was $1,638,547.06 and the value of the harvest
was $6,965,251. Employees in this industry are placed in three
groups: (1) Those who work throughout the year and receive wages
ranging from $45 .to $125 per month in addition to board; (2) the
contract laborers, almost exclusively Orientals, who receive $40 to
$45 in addition to board, lodging, and transportation; and (3) extra
laborers required during the busy season who receive at the rate of
25 to 30 cents per hour not including board. It is estimated that,
taking the year round, from 12,000 to 18,000 people are employed in
this industry.
Since the passage of the law declaring illegal all collections from
persons seeking employment or from any person in his or her behalf
by any individual or company, employment agencies which victim­
ized people out of work seem to be passing out arid in their place is
coming the private agency, which receives its compensation from
employers only, the Federal agency, and municipal agencies. In
the latter two the service is free. In Tacoma during 1915, 4,908
persons secured employment, and the year 1916, based on a report
for six months, shows approximately 100 per cent increase. The
Seattle public agency in 1915 had orders for 25,772 positions and
filled 23,541 at a total cost of $4,452.03, or an average of 18.91 cents
for each position secured.
The budget of annual cost of living for a family of five persons,
based on prices secured in April, 1916, in 44 cities revealed an increase
in 1916 over 1914 and 1915 and shows that the southwest section of
the State is the cheapest section in which to live and the eastern
portion as the most expensive. The averages given are for food and
fuel only.


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478

M O N T H L Y REV IEW OF T H E BU R EA U OF LABOR STA TISTICS.

A V E R A G E A N N U A L B U D G E T F O R FO O D A N D F U E L F O R A F A M IL Y O F 5 P E R S O N S IN
S P E C IF IE D C IT IE S A N D D IST R IC T S, 1914, 1915, AN D 1916.

O
+U. « mestern
o t r i v n (section,
.r tn tî n n n
f).- OF
P c lt t le .
boutnw
n o t ml T lfc di un uHiiJni gif 'jliLPO
c i l uTTl
iu u
v i S
....................................
OT'
Rju
Our /lft w
t dve . . . . . . . . ........................................
ortnw est section, nn on tt li un u ul i ui l uÌT1i gU T1Aa tPOTT!
/ u u icfL
* u
i k
.........................................................................
cistern section, nn on tt ii ini Lui ul l icr ilmi n i gU f t O O k ÎIT IP, ................. .......................

XT
JN « « f L iiT A o i
T7'r,
i t n l r t r n o n n + in n

1914

1915

$418.46
431.57
424.03
405.93
416.82
428.94

$443.72
434.22
444.92
424.80
418.19
442.06

1916
$461.42
437.35
463.50
424.89
435. 78
453.55

Tlie report no tes 660 safety committees in tlie plants of tlie State,
comprising a membership of 2,070, and 20 school safety committees,
with a membership of 123, and comments on the fact that wnile
industry is increasing and the number of workers is growing the per
cent of accidents is continually growing less. During the year ending
September 1, 1916, there were 278 (1.8 per cent) fatal and 14,840
(98.2 per cent) nonfatal accidents in industries classed as hazardous.
Of the nonfatal, 22 were permanent total disabilities and 14,818 were
temporary total disabilities. The number of days lost was 368,820,
or an average of 24.40 each.
The report takes up briefly the hygienic health hazards encoun­
tered by the motion-picture operators, particularly the matter of
excessive heat and lack of sanitary conveniences, such as running
water, toilets, etc. j and also mentions the menace to health, althougn
apparently not serious, caused by the dust produced in the manu­
facture of cement. A more lengthy discussion appears of the work
and industrial and health hazards of the longshoremen, truckmen,
and pier men, of which there are 3,457 1in the 22 seaports of the State,
1,850 (53.5 per cent) being in Seattle. Specially noted are the inter­
mittent or casual character of the employment, the severity of the
work, and the great toll in the way of accidents. I t is stated that
during 1915 there were 389 longshoremen claims adjusted through
the industrial insurance commission, aggregating $32,616.47 to the
men themselves or to their widows from the accident fund secured
by percentage levy made upon the pay roll for the current year pay­
able prior to January 15 of each year. This levy or contribution is 3
per cent for stevedoring and longshoring, and it appears from the
record that in compensation paid this industry has been exceeded by
only one other in the jurisdiction of the commission.
Twenty strikes and one lockout are listed, one of the strikes involv­
ing the longshoremen, which resulted in a wage advance of approxi­
mately 10 per cent.
After being in effect for about 16 months a survey was made in
October, 1915, of the effect of the minimum wage in Washington.
Almost 3,000 girls were personally interviewed. It was found that
i This is th e m em bership of unions.


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I t is n o t stated how m any others there are w ho are n o t union men.

M O N T H L V R EV IEW OF T H E BU R E A U OF LABOR STA TISTIC S.

479

some claimed to have lost their positions on account of the law, that
others claimed to have had their wages reduced, while others claimed
to have had wages increased, the increase ranging from 50 cents to
$6 per week. Employees in general seem to have benefited by the
law, and the testimony of employers appears to be almost universally
favorable.
The commissioner of labor recommends (1) legislation providing
a method of collection of wages for workpeople in order to protect
them from enormous and unnecessary expense in making the collec­
tions themselves; (2) the provision of ways and means for doing away
with many oi the baneiul effects incident to strikes; (3) an amendment
of the eight-hour public works’ law to eliminate certain ambiguities;
(4) an extension of the scope of the factory inspection law to include
the logging industry and motion-picture theaters; (5) an increase in
the salaries of inspectors; (6) a law providing for boiler inspection;
(7) adequate provision for the gathering of labor statistics.
LABOR IN GREAT BRITAIN AFTER THE WAR.

One of the most important questions now engaging the attention
of leaders of capital and labor in Great Britain is how to effect a com­
plete adjustment of differences through mutual cooperation, so that
after the war, labor, upon its release from military duty and from
munition plants, may be reinstated in civil employments to the advan­
tage of the worxer and the profit of his employer. This desire for
an afloi-the-war understanding between capital and labor resulted
in a meeting at the Hotel Cecil, London, in January, which was pre­
sided over by the Right Hon. Frederick Huth Jackson, president of
the Bankers Institute, and at this meeting the following resolutions
were adopted:1
1. T hat th e cordial a n d w h o le -h ea rte d coo p eratio n of em ployers a n d e m p lo y ed w ill
b e th e m ost im p o rta n t e le m e n t in th e success of a n y schem e for d e a lin g w ith th e
re in s ta te m e n t of th e m en of th e forces a n d m u n itio n w orkers in c iv il e m p lo y m en t, a n d
th e general re d is trib u tio n of lab o r a fte r th e w ar, a n d for h a n d lin g a n y su b se q u e n t
p ro b lem of u n e m p lo y m e n t or lab o r d islocation.
2. T h a t no m a c h in e ry now in e x iste n ce can a d e q u a te ly d eal w ith th e re in s ta te m e n t
in c iv il e m p lo y m e n t of th e p re se n t forces.
3. T h a t p ow er sh o u ld b e o b ta in e d from P a rlia m e n t to se t u p w ith o u t d e la y a c en tra l
sta tu to ry b o a rd to re g u la te a n d su p erv ise (a) th e re in s ta te m e n t in c iv il e m p lo y m e n t
of th e p re se n t forces; ( b ) th e s e ttle m e n t in n o rm al e m p lo y m e n t of c iv ilia n w orkers
now in G o v e rn m en t or co n tro lled e stab lish m en ts; (c) a n y g e n era l re d is trib u tio n of
lab o r a risin g o u t of th e w ar. A p p ro p ria te tran sfers of e x istin g pow ers a n d d u tie s w ill
h a v e to b e m ad e b y th e v a rious G o v e rn m e n t d e p a rtm e n ts to th e c e n tra l s ta tu to ry
board, so th a t c o m p le te a u th o rity shall b e v e ste d in th e n ew board.
1 A brief account of this m eeting an d th e resolutions appeared in th e N ational L abor Tribune, P ittsburgh.
Pa., for Jan. 25, 1917, p. 1.


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480

M O N T H L Y RE V IE W OF T H E B U R EA U OF LABOR STA TISTICS.

4. T h a t n o t less th a n tw o -th ird s of th e m em b ers of th is c e n tra l sta tu to ry board
sh o u ld b e re p re se n ta tiv e s of em ployers a n d e m p lo y e d in e q u a l n u m b ers, su c h m em ­
b ers b e in g a p p o in te d b y th e Crown from associations of em p lo y ers a n d from th e trad e u n io n s o ilth e U n ite d K in g d o m , re sp e c tiv e ly , th e re m a in in g m em b ers of th e bo ard to
in c lu d e re p re se n ta tiv e s of G o v e rn m e n t d e p a rtm e n ts, etc.
5. T h a t w h ere a tra d e -u n io n , b y a rra n g e m e n t w ith e m p lo y e rs’ associations, is
c ap a b le of p lac in g its m em b ers in e m p lo y m e n t i t sh o u ld b e c o m p e te n t for th e c en tral
board, if i t d e em 3 i t to be in th e n a tio n a l in te re st, to d e le g ate to th e tra d e -u n io n in
q u e stio n th e re sp o n sib ility of d e alin g w ith th e re in s ta te m e n t of its ow n m em bers.
6. T h a t local b oards sh o u ld b e e stab lish e d w h e re v e r n ecessary to assist th e c en tral
b o a rd . S u c h local bo ard s to h a v e th e sam e p ro p o rtio n a te re p re se n ta tio n as is pro ­
v id e d for th e c e n tra l board.
7. A ll ex p en ses p ro p e rly in c u rre d b y th e c e n tra l a n d local b o ard s sh o u ld b e p a id
o u t of m oneys p ro v id e d b y P a rlia m e n t.

CHINESE LABOR IN FRANCE.1

In the New Statesman for January 13, 1917, there appears an
article by a Chinese correspondent who was authorized by the French
war office to visit certain government factories employing Chinese
laborers. This aricle, which is entitled “ Chinese labor in France,”
briefly describes the working and living conditions of 5,.000 orientals
engaged under contract to remain five years, with a provision, how­
ever, permitting the termination of the contract by the French com­
mission for recruiting manual labor at the end of the third year and
also a provision allowing the laborer to stay in France after the
five-year limit with the right of free shipment if he desires later to
return to his own country. I t seems that the skilled among these
laborers are paid 1.5 francs (29 cents) per day, the unskilled receiving
1.25 francs (24.1) cents). Food, lodging, and clothing are furnished
in both instances. The unskilled also receive 35 francs ($6.76) per
month for the support of dependents in China and the skilled receive
40 francs ($7.72) for this purpose. The rate of pay is based upon a
10-hour day. The contract under which these men work fixes the
daily ration for each man as follows:
D A IL Y R A T IO N A L L O W E D C H IN E S E L A B O R E R S U N D E R CO N TR A C T IN G O V E R N M E N T
F A C T O R IE S IN F R A N C E .
A rticle.
"R.jup,
.............................................
W heat ..............................................................
MHat
............................................................
V egetables.........................................................
T p,h
.....................................................
L ard
.....................................................
Salt
.............................................

Grams.

Ounces.

100
1,000
180
230
15
15
45

3.53
35.27
6. 35
8. 11
.53
.53
1.59

1 Chinese labor in France. A rticle b y “ S. G. C., a Chinese correspondent,” in th e New Statesm an, Ja n .
13, 1917, p . 343. Statesm an Publishing Co., 10 Great Queen Street, K ingsw ay, London, W . C.


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M O N T H L Y RE V IE W OF T H E BU R E A U OF LABOR STA TISTIC S.

481

It is stated, however, that many workers received a more liberal
allowance than that specified in the contract. Facilities for prepar­
ing the meals, the eating conditions and living conditions generally
were found to be quite satisfactory, and the author states that “the
French Government has given evidence of being sincerely concerned
for the welfare of the Chinese.” October 10 was the national fete of
China, and the employees were granted a holiday, one plant paying
its workers an extra 3 francs (57.9 cents), “ to be spent in a trip to
Paris.”

Reference is made to the fact that the more intellectual Chinese in
France have induced the Government to provide educational facilities
for these laborers, including instruction in French and in the Chinese
written language, with a view to further technical training which will
be useful in the industrial development of their country.
IMMIGRATION IN DECEMBER, 1916.

The number of immigrant aliens admitted to the United States
during the year 1916 was 355,767, as compared with 258,678 for the
year 1915, an increase of 97,089. There has also been an increase
from month to month during 7 of the 12 months. The figures for
January, 1917, show a decrease of 19.9 per cent. These facts are brought
out in the following table:
IM M IG R A N T A L IE N S A D M IT T E D IN T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S IN S P E C IF IE D M O N TH S,
1913 TO 1917.
1917
M onth.

J a n u a ry ...
F e b ru a ry .
M arch.......
A p r il..........

M ay...........
J u n e ..........
J u ly ..........
A ugust__
September
O cto b er...
N ovem ber.
December.


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1913

1914

1915

1916

46,441
59,156
96,958
136,371
137,262
176,261
138,244
126,180
136,247
134,140
104,671
95,387

44, 708
46,873
92,621
119,885
107, 796
71, 728
60,377
37,706
29,143
30, 416
26,298
20,944

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, 740
27,586
30,560
31,021
30, 764
25,035
29,975
36,398
37,058
34,437
30,902

i Decrease.

Per cent
increase
N um ber. over p re ­
ceding
m onth.
24,745

119.9

482

M O N T H L Y R EV IEW OF T H E B U R EA U OF LABOR STA TISTIC S.

Classified by races, the number of immigrant aliens admitted into
and emigrant aliens departing from the United States during Decem­
ber, 1915 and 1916, was as follows:
IM M IG R A N T A L IE N S A D M IT T E D TO A N D E M IG R A N T A L IE N S D E P A R T IN G FR O M T H E
U N IT E D ST A T E S , D E C E M B E R , 1915 A N D 1916.
D eparted.

A d m itted .
Race.

Afri can ( hi ack ) .......................................................................................
A rm enian....................................................................................................
"Bohemian and M oravian ....................................................................
"Rulgarian Ser v ia n ; Mnnteno,grin .......................................................
Chinese
.
...............................................................................
Croatian a n d Slovenian
...................................................................
C uban
.......................................................................................
■PfllTnatian Bosnian TTprypor/winian
M>r__.............
T)nteh and Flp.mish
..............................................................
Ea-st- Indian
.........................................................................
English ......................................................................................................
Finnish ......................................................................................................
French ......................................................................................................
G erm an.......................................................................................................
Greek ........................................................................................................
H ebrew ........................................................................................................
Irish .........................................................................................................
Italian (no rth )
...................................................................................
Italian (s o u th ). . .....................................................................................
Japanese
H orean
..............................................................................................
L ith u an ian
..............................................................
M agyar ......................................................................................................
M exican......................................................................................................
Pacific Islander
Polish .......................................................................................................
Portuguese ..............................................................................................
R oum anian ............................................................................................
R u s s ia n ......................................................................................................
R uthenian (P.nssniak)
..............................................................
Scandinavian
..............................................................
Scotch ........................................................................................................
Slovak -....
.............................................................................
Spanish
......................................................................................
Spanish-A m eriean
........... ...................................................
S y rian ..........................................................................................................
T u rk ish .......................................................................................................
W elsh...........................................................................................................
West. Indian (except C u b an )................................................................
O ther peoples ..........................................................................................
Not, specified
.........................................................................
Total

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

Decem­ Decem­ Decem­ Decem­
ber, 1915. ber, 1916. ber, 1915. ber, 1916.
174
43
48
91
210
96
108
12
665
8
2,874
644
1.215
989
521
1,230
1.149
191
941
626
1
39
115
1,538
1
477
1,076
90
550
71
1,260
1,030
66
471
84
37
9
91
39
21

115
16
6
9
309
11
177
1
56
4
847
61
207
76
881
18
168
674
4,097
51
2

437
1,513
41
489
97
1,814
1,481
28
840
187
59
59
97
66
321

13
430
27
292
2
656
185
5
534
35
6
3
43
73
19
769

9
105
12
291
2
736
183

10,974

7,005

28
67

30.902 1

18,901
'

105
17
18
29
277
2
263

415
130
45
82
181
25
107
29
454
3
3,224
646
2,459
1,087
3,028
2,276
1,653
392
5,024
693
27
68
49
1,276

1

76
12
596
119
196
66
153
14
152
549
1,493
68
2
1
3
35

457
52
17
1
5
80
24
785

IMMIGRATION DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1916.

The annual report of the Commissioner General of Immigration
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1916, shows conditions very similar
to those of the preceding year, even the number of aliens entering
changing only slightly.
During 1914 1,218,480 aliens migrated to the United States.
Immigration averaged 1,012,194 aliens per year for the decade 1905
to 1914. In 1915 it dropped to 326,700, and in 1916 to 298,826.
Against this, 129,765 emigrant aliens left the United States in 1916.
In 1914 33,041 aliens were rejected—2.3 per cent of the number who
applied; the corresponding figures and percentages for 1915 were
24,111 and 5.3 and for the past year 18,867 and 4.9.

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M O N T H L Y RE V IE W OF T H E B U R EA U OF LABOR STA TISTIC S.

483

Of the 298,826 immigrant aliens admitted in the past year, 220,821
were between the ages of 14 and 44, 47,070 were under 14, and 30,935
were 45 or over. Of immigrant aliens 14 years or over admitted in
1916, 16.1 per cent were illiterate, compared with 13 per cent in 1915.
The decrease in immigration in 1915 afforded an opportunity for
some experimental work in medical examinations. A record kept
irom October 4, 1914, to March 31, 1915, showed that of 31,275 aliens
examined by the ordinary methods, 1,677, or 5.37 per cent were
certified as haying mental or physical defects. Largely because this
oi dinary examination could be made more deliberately, better results
were secured than by a similar examination in 1914, in which year
of heavy immigration it was possible to certify only 2.29 per cent of
those examined. In an experiment during the later period, in
which 11,974 aliens were subjected to an “ intensive physical exami­
nation, 1,106, or 9.37 per cent, were certified for physical or mental
defects.
Of 5,236 aliens found to be morally, mentally, or physically below
standard and returned to the country of origin, 4,257 were debarred
from entering, and 999 arrested and expelled. Of those debarred,
1,156 had grave physical defects; 397, grave mental defects; 1,703,
physical or mental defects affecting ability to earn a living; and
1,001 were morally defective. Of those arrested and deported, 128
were physically, 320 mentally and 551 morally defective. In 1914,
the last year of normal immigration, 14,582 aliens physically, ment­
ally, or morally defective were returned to the country of origin,
12,494 being debarred, and 2,088 arrested and expelled.
Of all the aliens rejected during the last fiscal year, 10,383, or
about 55 per cent, were rejected as likely to become public charges;
350 alien public charges were expelled under deportation proceedings
and x ,081 were expelled because at the time of entry they were likely
to become inmates of public institutions, making a total of 11,814.
There were 2,080 alien contract laborers debarred, as compared
with 2,722 in 1915; and 116 such aliens were arrested and deported,
compared with 65 in 1915. The war in European countries has, of
course, interfered with the migration of aliens under contract, and in
the past two years most contract laborers have come from Canada
and Mexico.
During the nine years, 1908 to 1916, 20,441 aliens have come to
the continent from insular United States, of whom 14,285 came from
Hawaii, 5,454 from Porto Pico, and 702 from the Philippines; 2,492
came in 1916.
The report points out the necessity for excluding aliens on eco­
nomic grounds, warns against the dangers of a threatened large
oriental immigration, and recommends remedial legislation; dis­
cusses the difficulties of the bureau in dealing with ineligible aliens


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484

M O N T H L Y E E V IE W OF T H E BU R E A U OF LABOR STA TISTIC S.

who enter as bona fide seamen, the detection of smuggling and sur­
reptitious entry, the so-called “ immigrant fund,” new construction
work for service buildings, and the employment work of the Division
of Information. The last subject is dealt with in a special article in
the present number of the M o n t h l y R e v i e w (pp. 3G9 to 371). The
report concludes with a discussion of the Burnett bill, recently
enacted as a law. (See pages 487 and 488 for a brief account of
this law.)
Of the statistical tables appended to the report, three are repro­
duced here. These show the net increase or decrease of population
by arrival and departure of aliens for the fiscal years 1915 and 1916,
by months; net increase or decrease of population by arrival and
departure of aliens in the fiscal year 1916, by races or peoples, and
occupation of aliens admitted and departed during the year.
N E T IN C R E A S E O R D E C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N B Y A R R IV A L A N D D E P A R T U R E O F
A L IE N S , FISC A L Y E A R S E N D IN G JU N E 30, 1915 A N D 1916, B Y M ON TH S.
A dm itted.
Y ear a n d m onth.

1915.
J u ly ...................................................
A u g u st.............................................
S eptem b er.......................................
O ctober......................................
N ovem ber....................................
D ecem ber...............................
J a n u a ry ..........................................
F eb ru ary .................................... .
M a r c h ................................ . .
A p ril...............................................
M ay......................................
J u n e .........................................
T o ta l................................
1916.
J u ly ...................................................
A u g u st........................................
S eptem b er.................................
O ctober......................................
N ovem ber...........................
D ecem ber.......................
J a n u a ry ......................................
F e b ru a ry ......................................
M arch.........................................
A p ril...............................................
M ay....................................
J u n e ..................................................
T o tal..............................


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Im m i­
Nonimgrant j m igrant
aliens. ■ aliens.

D eparted.

Total.

E m i­
grant
aliens.

Nonem i­
grant
aliens.

T otal.

Increase
( + ) or
decrease
(-)■

60,377
37,706
29,143
30,416
26,298
20,944
15,481
13,873
19,263
24,532
26,069
22,598

11,638
13,525
15,481
14,825
9,027
6,514
5,203
4,831
7,072
7,233
6,294
5,901

72,015
51,231
44,624
45,241
35,325
27,458
20,684
18, 704
26,335
31, 765
32,363
28, 499

28,601
30,307
18,212
20,046
23,100
23,821
17,238
7,086
7,755
8,331
8, 747
10,830

26,284
23,805
16,545
19,364
17,648
18, 704
14,318
7,102
7,412
9,339
8.877
10, 702

54,885
54,112
34, 757
39,410
40, 748
42,525
31,556
14,188
15,167
17,670
17,624
21,532

+ 17,130
- 2,881
+ 9,867
+ 5,831
- 5,423
-15,067
-10,872
+ 4,516
+ 11,168
+ 14,095
+ 14,739
+ 6,967

326, 700

107,544

434,244

204,074

ISO, 100

384,174

+50,070

21,504
21,949
24,513
25,450
24,545
18,901
17,293
24,740
27,586
30,560
31,021
30,764

5,593
5,464
6,583
5,765
4,752
4,272
4,015
5,504
6,099
6,439
6,904
6,532

27,097
27,413
31,096
31,215
29,297
23,173
21,308
30,244
33,685
36,999
37,925
37,296

9,861
29, 293
22,156
13,887
14,483
10,974
5,915
4,035
3,485
4,082
5,233
6,361

6,154
12, 444
10,905
12,451
11,522
12, 769
8,090
6, 789
6,409
6, 774
7,984
8,751

16,015
41, 737
33,061
26,338
26.005
23,743
14.005
10,824
9,894
10,856
13,217
15,112

+ 11,082
-14,324
- 1,965
+ 4,877
+ 3,292
570
+ 7,303
+ 19,420
+ 23,791
+ 26,143
+ 24,708
+ 22,184

298,826

67,922

366/748

129, 765

111,042

240,807

+ 125,641

485

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

N E T IN C R E A S E OR D E C R E A S E O F P O P U L A T IO N B Y A R R IV A L A N D D E P A R T U R E O F
A L IE N S , F ISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E 30, 1916, B Y R A C E S O R P E O P L E S .
A d m itted .
lm m igrant
aliens.

Race or people.

African (black)............................
Armenian....................................
Bohemian and Moravian(Czech)
Bulgarian, Servian, and Monte­
negrin ........................................
Chinese.........................................
Croatian and Slavonian..............
Cuban...........................................
Dalmatian, Bosnian, and Herze­
govinian....................................
Dutch and Flemish....................
East Indian.................................
English.........................................
Finnish........................................
French..........................................
German........................................
Greek............................................
Hebrew........................................
Irish..............................................
Italian (north).............................
Italian (south).............................
Japanese.......................................
Korean..........................................
Lithuanian...................................
Magyar.........................................
Mexican........................................
Pacific Islander...........................
Polish...........................................
Portuguese..... .............................
Roumanian..................................
Russian........................................
Ruthenian (Russniak)...............
Scandinavian ( N o r w e g i a n s ,
Danes, and Swedes)................
Scotch...............................
Slovak..........................................
Spanish........................................
Spanish American.......................
Syrian...........................................
Turkish........................................
Welsh...........................................
West Indian (except Cuban)__
Other peoples___!......................
Not specified1................................

Nonimm igrant
aliens.

D eparted.
Total.

Nonemigrant
aliens.

Total.

( + ) or
decrease
(-)•

4,576
964
642

2,474
116
55

7,050
1,0S0
697

1,684
659
42

1,570
52
37

3,254
711
79

_j_

3,146
2,239
791
3,442

1,022

265

3,411
3,261
830
7, 708

290
2,148
76
1,454

2,002

329

619
4,150
141
7,353

+
+

4
742
91
7,826
543
2,297
873
4,855
199
1,851
4,020
68,981
780
29
28
394
559
3
358
2,185
138
4,716
17

39
4,266

114
6,443
80
36,168
5,649
19,518
11,555
28, 792
15,108
20,636
4,905
33,909
3,711
154
599
981
17,198
5
4,502
12,208
953
4,858
1,365

9
1,279
48
14,782
487
2,697
1,954
863
643
2,697
820
2,561
3,996
7
19
78
7,963
13
162
700
49
443
36

123
7,722
128
50,950
6,136
22,215
13,509
27,655
15,751
23,333
5, 725
36,470
12,707
161
618
1 . 059
25,161
18
4,664
12,908

19,172
13,515
577
9,259
1,881
676
216
983
948
3,388

5,259
3,634

24, 431
17,-149
597
13, 250
4,129
1,004
275
1,235
2,374
3,550

298,826

67,922

366, 748

4,122

7,374

11,496

1,002

5,301
1,401

20

3,991
2, 248
328
59
252
1,426
162

1

T o ta l.....................................
A dm itted in and d eparted from
P hilip p in e Islands................... .

Em igrant
aliens.

1 D eparted v ia C anadian border.

3,954
2,096
74
2,792
516

65
5,899

6
100

2,137

35, 483
707
3,383
1,989
1,360
515
4,080
1,507
11,904
8,638
19
7
92
2,317
54
139
1,353
52
1, 380
32

10

2,879
191
43,309
1,250
5,680
2,862
6,215
714
5,931
5,527
80,885
9,418
48
35
486
2,876
57
497
3,538
190
6,096
49

+
+

3,796
369
618

+

2,792
889
689
335

+
+
+
+
+
4-

+
+
+
+
_j_

+
+
4-

_j_

_

+
+
+
+

113
4,843
63
7,641
4,886
16,535
10,647
21,440
15,037
17,402
198
44,415
3,289
113
583
573
22,285
39
4,167
9,370
812
795
1,352

8,956
6,092
33
3,629
2,431
29.3
94
341
1,736
229

12,910
8,188
107
, 421
2,947
413
135
555
2,339
998
10,744

+ 11,521
+ 8,961
+
490
+ 6,829
+ i;i8 2
+
'591
+
140
+
680
+
35
+ 2,552
10,744

129,765 1 111,042

240,807

+ 125,941

120

41
214
603
769
10,744

850

9,051

6

9,901 j +

1,595

R eported b y Canadian G overnm ent as C anadians.

O CCU PA TIO N S O F A L IE N S A D M IT T E D A N D D E P A R T E D , FISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E
30, 1916.
A dm itted.
Occupation.

Im m igrant
aliens.

Nonimm igrant
aliens.

D eparted.
Em igrant
aliens.

Nonemigrant
aliens.

P R O FESSIO N A L.

Actors...... ................................................
Architects."...............................................
Clergy........................................................
E ditors......................................................
Electricians..............................................
Engineers (professional)..........................
Lawyers................... ................................
Literary and scientific persons...............
Musicians..................................................
Officials (Government)............................
Physicians................................................
Sculptors and artists...............................
Teachers....................................................
Other professional....................................

632
189
837
170
638
1,808
260
262
695
327
326
311
1,640
1,700

674
109
601
99
117
1,227
444
206
277
549
529
135
630
902

181
46
237
31
74
335
40
48
130
112
116
67
216
464

754
173
826
150
174
1,897
586
237
278
593
707
166
.890
1,385

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

9,795

6,499

2,097

8,819


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486

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

O CCU PA TIO N S O F A L IE N S A D M IT T E D AN D D E P A R T E D , FISC A L Y E A R E N D IN G JU N E
30, 1916—Concluded.
A dm itted.
O ccupation.

Im m igrant
aliens.

Nonimm igrant
aliens.

D eparted.
Em igrant
aliens.

Nonemigrant
aliens.

SKILLED .

Bakers.....................................................................
Barbers and hairdressers......................................
Blacksmiths...........................................................
Bookbinders...........................................................
Brewers............................. .....................................
Butchers.................................................................
Cabinetmakers.......................................................
Carpenters and joiners..........................................
Cigarette makers...................................................
Cigar makers...................................... ...................
Cigar packers..........................................................
Clerks and accountants........................................
Dressmakers.............. ............................................
Engineers (locomotive, marine, and stationary)
Furriers and fur workers......................................
Gardeners...............................................................
Hat and cap makers..............................................
Iron and steel workers..........................................
Jewelers..................................................................
Locksmiths............................................................
Machinists..............................................................
Mariners................................................................
Masons....................................................................
Mechanics (not specified).....................................
Metal workers (other than iron, steel, and tin)..
Millers....................................................................
Milliners.................................................................
Miners.....................................................................
Painters and glaziers.............................................
Pattern makers........................................... ;........
Photographers........................................................
Plasterers................................................................
Plumbers................................................................
Printers...................................................................
Saddlers and harness makers...............................
Seamstresses...........................................................
Shoemakers............................................................
Stokers....................................................................
Stonecutters...................................................... .
Tailors.....................................................................
Tanners and curriers...................... ......................
Textile workers (not specified)............................
Tinners...................................................................
Tobacco workers................................................
Upholsterers.......................... ................................
Watch and clock makers......................................
Weavers and spinners...........................................
Wheelwrights.'......................................................
Woodworkers (not specified)...............................
Other skilled..........................................................
Total............................................................

759
934
921
72
19
588
241
4,824
19
774
30
8,369
1,610
791
199
424
127
822
194
67
1,892
3,088
1,496
685
395
124
388
2,407
1,047
33
194
276
411
459
114
1,577
1,280
795
326
2,799
68
228
195
34
74
125
770
19
194
2,251
' 45,528

138
194
122
4
10
72
21
681
2
752
15
2,369
222
568
12
232
12
132
48
13
391
1,768
185
303
48
15
69
506
203
10
61
48
72
87
24
140
167
310
37
261
8
36
25
24
8
19
84
1
15
073
11,217

141
819
162
16
2
76
37
811
2
785
9
1,638
227
100
3
118
17
90
22
2
422
516
250
3,315
43
8
30
1,189
306
5
22
40
103
164
28
80
754
166
55
370
8
403
33
14
5
29
77
1
6
355

182
252
189
14
12
131
45
1,235
887
2
3,847
231
456
13
298
11
198
58
4
777
1,897
256
1,098
73
39
69
779
324
14
68
81
127
129
34
107
217
326
70
293
19
284
42
9
14
22
119
5
28
774

13,874

16,069

181
54
249
1,810
2,460
117
38
78,599
48
2,790
8,001
2,058

1,334
565
1(3
1,794
5,272
287
257
18,838
560
9,356
5,772
6,158

M ISC ELLANEO US.

A gents...........................................................................
B a n k e rs........................................................................
D raym en, haekm en, and team sters......................
F a rm laborers..............................................................
F a rm e rs........................................................................
F ish e rm e n ....................................................................
H otel keep ers..............................................................
L ab o rers.......................................................................
M anufacturers...... .....................................................
M erchants and dealers..............................................
S erv an ts........................................................................
O ther m iscellaneous..................................................

1,538
235
429
26,250
6,840
741
243
55,816
315
7,017
29,258
10,055

T o tal..................................................................

138,737

27,955

96,405

50,356

104,766 |

22,251

17,389 1

35,798

298,820 |

67,922 1 129,705

No occupation (including w omen and children)
G rand total


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1,109
333
81
2,891
2,273
227
219
6,012
294
6,512
3,962.
4,042

111,042

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

487

THE NEW LAW TO REGULATE THE IMMIGRATION OF ALIENS.

On February 1 and February 5, 1917, the House and Senate,
respectively, passed over the President’s veto “An act to regulate
the immigration of aliens to, and the residence of aliens in, the
United States.” This act is to take effect on May 1, 1917, and
retains many of the features'of the existing act of February 20, 1907,
as amended by the act of March 26, 1910. The features of the
existing law regarded as of essential interest from the labor stand­
point are reproduced in Bulletin No. 148 of the Bulletin of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, pages 2414-2416.
Besides the features of the old laws carried over, important changes
and additions were made, largely for the purpose of stricter enforce­
ment and a clearer understanding of the provisions of the act, the
results of several court decisions being incorporated into the new
law. The head tax of $4 under the present law is changed to $8
under the new, but is not payable on behalf of children under 16
years of age who accompany their father or their mother. The pro­
visions as to excluded classes are strengthened and extended to certain
classes of persons of mental, physical, or moral inferiority not in­
cluded in the old act. The provisions as to contract labor are made
more rigid, though professional nurses are added to the professional
classes exempted from the operation of the contract labor provisions.
On the other hand, the former provision admitting persons employed
strictly as personal or domestic servants has been narrowed to include
only persons employed as domestic servants. A new exclusion is
one based on a literacy test, its provisions being expressed in the
following language:
All aliens oyer sixteen years of age, physically capable of reading, who can not
read the English language, or some other language or dialect, including Hebrew or
Yiddish: Provided, That any admissible alien, or any alien heretofore or hereafter
legally admitted, or any citizen of the United States, may bring in or send for his
father or grandfather over fifty-five years of age, his wife, his mother, his grandmother,
or his unmarried or widowed daughter, if otherwise admissible, whether such relative
can read or not; and such relative shall be permitted to enter. That for the purpose
of ascertaining whether aliens can read the immigrant inspectors shall be furnished
with slips cfi uniform size, prepared under the direction of the Secretary of Labor,
each containing not less than thirty nor more than forty words in ordinary use, printed
in plainly legible type in some one of the various languages or dialects of immigrants.
Each alien may designate the particular language or dialect in which he desires
the examination to be made, and shall be required to read the words printed on the
slip in such language or dialect. That the following classes of persons shall be ex­
empt from the operation of the illiteracy test, to wit: All aliens who shall prove to
the satisfaction of the proper immigration officer or to the Secretary of Labor that
they are seeking admission to the United States to avoid religious persecution in the
country of their last permanent residence, whether such persecution be evidenced by
overt acts or by laws or governmental regulations that discriminate against the alien
or the race to which he belongs because of his religious faith; all aliens who have
been lawfully admitted to the United States and who have resided therein continu­
ously for five years and who return to the United States within six months from the
date of their departure therefrom; all aliens in transit through the United States;
all aliens who have been lawfully admitted to the United States and who later shall
go in transit from one part of the United States to another through foreign contiguous


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488

MONTHLY EE VIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

territory: Provided, That nothing in this act shall exclude, if otherwise admissible,
persons convicted, or who admit the commission, or who teach or advocate the commission, of an offense purely political.

New sections are added with the intent of regulating the landing
of alien seamen in United States ports, so as to give reasonable
assurance that violation and evasion of the immigration law do not
result therefrom. Heavier penalties are assessed against transpor­
tation companies which violate the provisions of the act, and pro­
vision is also made for the reimbursement by them of the fare of
certain inadmissible classes of persons brought over by such compa­
nies. Provisions are made for placing on board of vessels, foreign
as well as domestic, bringing aliens to United States ports, surgeons
of the Public Health Service, and matrons of the Immigration Serv­
ice, the object being to afford more thorough observation and exami­
nation of aliens with a view to detecting diseases and physical and
mental defects.
Many other changes were made of more or less importance, largely
of an administrative nature. The committee reporting the bill con­
cludes its report by saying:
The committee has labored earnestly in its efforts to keep out the most undesirable
of those coming to our shores and at the same time encourage the immigiation of
those who come to make their homes with us, to promote the moral and material
prosperity of our country, and to become permanent citizens of our great Government.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR.
UNITED STATES.
California .— Report of the Industrial Accident Commission, from July 1, 1915, to June

SO, 1916. San Francisco, 1916. 152 pp.

Illustrated.

A digest of this report w ill be found on pages 407 to 410 of this issue of the Monthly
R eview .

----- Report of the Social Insurance Commission, January 25, 1917, 339 pp.
I ndiana —State Board of Education, Educational Bulletin No. 19, Report of the Evans­
ville Survey for Vocational Education, 510 pp. Educational Bulletin No. 20,
Report of the Jefferson County Survey for Vocational Education, 86 pp. Educa­
tional Bulletin No. 21, Report of the Indianapolù Survey Jor Vocational Education,
Vol, I, 400 pp. Indianapolis, January 1, 1917.
A summary of these reports appears on pages 469 to 476 of this issue of the Monthly
R eview .
M a s s a c h u s e t t s .-—Bureau

of Statistics. Report of a special inquiry relative to aged and
dependent persons in Massachusetts, 1915. Boston, 1916, 10i pp.
A summary of this report appears on pages 430 to 433 of this issue of the Monthly

R eview .

___ Report of the Chief of the Massachusetts District Polie» for the year ending October
31, 1916, including the detective, building inspection, and boiler inspection depart­
ments. Public Document No. 32, Boston, 1917, 116 pp.
The detective department includes the work of fire investigation. During the
year 1915, 8,030 fires were reported, of which 6,639, or 82.7 per cent, representing 71
per cent of the total fire loss, occurred in manufacturing establishments, mercantile
establishments, and places of habitation. More than 60 per cent of the flies entailing
27 per cent of the loss occurred in the latter group. Nearly 45 per cent were due to

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MONTHLY EE VIEW OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOE STATISTICS.

489

carelessness. In the building inspection department 14 prosecutions were made and
$253 in fines imposed in two cases, one for failure to comply with written orders and
the other for operating a motion-picture machine without a license. A total of 7,360
inspections were made by the boiler inspectors and the number of applicants
examined for licenses was 5,290, of which number 2,603, or 49.2 per cent, were sue-,
cessful. There were 18 prosecutions for violation of law and $215 in fines were im­
posed. The district police force turned over to the Commonwealth during the year
ending November 30, 1916, a total of $44,310.50 collected in fees and as proceeds from
the sale of forfeited liquors and confiscated weapons.
— State Board of Labor and Industries. Rules and Regulations Relating to Safe and
Sanitary Working Conditions in Foundries and the Employment of Women in
Core Rooms. Bulletin No. 10, Boston, 1916. 8 leaves.
■
---------- - Rule Regarding TJse of Salamanders. Industrial Bulletin No. 8, Boston
1916. 3 pp.
----------- Rules and Regulations Governing Compressed Air Work. Industrial Bulle­
tin No. 7, Boston, 1916. 12 pp.
---------- 7- Rules and Regulations Suggested for Safety in the Manufacture of Benzene
Derivatives and Explosives. Bulletin No. 11, Boston, 1916. 10 pp.
----------- Rules and Regulations Suggested for the Prevention of Anthrax. Industrial
Bulletin No. 6, Boston, 1916. 10 pp.
----------- Safety Rules and Regulations and Machinery Standards. Industrial Bulletin
No. 9, Boston, 1916. 6 leaves.
—
--- Suggestions to Employers and Employees for the Protection of Eyes and the
Prevention of Accidents. Industrial Bulletin No. 5, Boston, 1916. 10 pp.
Massachusetts (B oston).— City Planning Board. A summary of the market situation
in Boston. Preliminary report of the Market Advisory Committee, June, 1915.
{Doc. 118, 1915.) Boston, 1916. 175 pp.
Shows sources of Boston’s perishable foods, methods of distribution, prices from
producer to consumer, effects of cold storage, transportation charges, chances of re­
ducing cost through greater efficiency, and a comparison of prices of commodities in
various cities; also gives an extended bibliography relating to marketing, cost of living
and food prices, municipal slaughterhouses and meat supply, transportation and dis­
tribution of food products, and cooperation as related to food products.
Missouri .— Missouri Children's Code Commission. A Complete Revision of the Laws
for the Welfare of Missouri Children. - [Jefferson City] January 1, 1917. 168 pp.
This pamphlet was prepared by the Missouri Children’s Code Commission appointed
by the governor to revise and codify the laws relating to children for submission to
the forty-ninth general assembly.
N evada .—Biennial Report of State Inspector of Mines, 1915-16. Carson City,
1917. 77 pp.
Reports the largest number of men ever engaged in the mining industry in the
State, the total being 5,800, which, however, it is stated, does not represent a fair
average of the number employed throughout the year, since reports are required to
be filed on June 1 and many mines increase their forces after that date, while others
began work subsequent to June 1 and consequently filed no report. The inspector
refers to the difficulty of enforcing safety practices in mines on account of the amount
of territory to be covered and the fact that there is but one deputy to aid in the work
of inspection. He gives a list of fatalities indicating a total of 211 from April 1 , 1909,
to November 30, 1916, 29 of these occurring during the year ending November 30, 1916.
Taking 5,800 as the number employed in 1916, this represents a fatality rate of 5
accidents per 1,000 employed. The value of the gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc
mined in Nevada by 799 producers in 1915 was $34,551,436. The report lists 309
nonfatal accidents occurring during the year ending November 30, 1916, which
caused the injured person to stop work for 15 or more days.


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490

MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

Ohio —Industrial Commission of Olio.

Boiler Inspection Laws and Poules Formulated
by the Board of Boiler Rules, edition of January, 1916. Columbus, 1916. 149 pp.
________ Division of Boiler Inspection. Ohio Boiler Inspection Laws and Rules.
Official Guide. Supplement No. 2 to 1916 edition. 25 pp.
.-------------------- Law and Rules Formulated by the Board of Boiler Rules. Official
Guide. Supplement No. 3 to 1916 edition. 3 pp.
P e n n s y l v a n i a . —Department of Labor and Industry. Industrial Board. Safety
Standards of the Industrial Board. Plants Manufacturing or Using Explosives.
Vol. I, No. 19, operative on and after April 1, 1917. 26 pp.
■
-----Department of Public Instruction. State Board of Education. The Annual Report
of the Industrial Division of the Bureau of Vocational Education for the school year
ending July 3, 1916. Harrisburg, 1917. 69 pp.
This report covers industrial and household arts, manual training and domestic
science courses, continuation schools, music and drawing, industrial education surveys
and statistics pertaining thereto. There were on July 3, 1916, 351 continuation
schools, which during the year were attended by 35,628 children, at a total cost to the
school districts of $150,085.66. The total amount of State aid due the districts for
continuation schools was $76,860.31. Thirty-nine school districts in 24 counties main­
tained 25 household art schools or departments, and 32 industrial schools or depart­
ments during the year. In these schools 11,837 students were enrolled. The total
expenditure for household art schools and industrial schools was $17,038,343, and the
amount of money received by the districts for these schools was $49,799.74.
S outh Carolina .— Eighth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Com­
merce and Industries. Labor Division. Factory Inspection and Manufacturing
Statistics. 1916. Columbia, 1917. 148 pp.
Notes the fact that during the first 7 months of the year, following the passage of
the law raising the child labor limit to 14 years of age, there was a decrease of 900
children under 14 years of age employed in the cotton mills, which constitute the chief
industry of the State, paying 62.9 per cent of the wages received by employees in all
industries. A statement of all industries in the State shows 81,845 as the average
number employed, 7,481 being under 16 years of age. Of this latter number, 6,879
were employed in the textile mills, the wages received by them amounting to
$16,646.53, or 9.5 per cent, of the total wages paid to textile operatives. The report
recommends that the working age limit for children be raised to 16 years.
U tah ._Report of the Employers’ Liability and Workmen's Compensation Commission
to the Twelfth Session of the Legislature of Utah, together with draft of the bill sub­
mitted. Salt Lake City, 1916. 62 pp.
A summary of this report appears on pages 421 to 424 of this issue of the Monthly
R eview .
V ermont.—Second Biennial Report of the Factory Inspectorfor the period ending Aug. 1,

1916. Report of the Industrial Accident Board for the year ending June 30, 1916.
Rutland, 1916. 30 pp.
A summary of these reports appears on pages 424 and 425 of this issue of the Monthly
R eview .
W ashington (S eattle). —Board of School Directors.

Vocational guidance report.
1913-1916. (Pub. No. 2) Seattle, Nov., 1916. 120 pp.
This report gives the final results of a vocational research undertaken in September,
1913. A former report published in January, 1915, related to Seattle children leaving
school to enter industry and made certain recommendations for increasing the effi­
ciency of the school system and decreasing the social and economic waste incident to
the employment of children 14 to 18 years of age. This report discusses the aims,
methods, and organization of vocational guidance, sets forth curriculum suggestions,
and presents a report of the vocational and attendance department for 1915-16, giv­
ing information relative to pupils leaving school, labor permits, and employments
entered by pupils receiving such permits.


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W ashington (S eattle).—Bureau of Labor Statistics and Factory Inspection

Tenth
Olympia, 1916. S12 pp. Illustrated.
A summary of this report appears on pages 476 to 479 of this issue of the Monthly
Biennial Report, 1915-16.

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Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. Quarry Accidents in
the United States during the calendar year 1915. Technical Paper 165 Washinaton
1916. 77 pp.
y ’
There were 148 fatalities in 1915 as compared with 180 in 1914, the fatality rate in
the former year being 1.80 and in 1914, 2.64 per 1,000 300-day workers. The annual
average number of accidents for five years is 182 with a fatality rate of 2.19. There
were 16 permanent total disabilities, 507 partial disabilities, and 1,365 other injuries
involving a time loss of more than 14 days. The number of slight injuries wherein
time lost was 1 to 14 days was 7,783. The largest number of fatalities in 1915 was 58
in limestone quarries, the fatality rate being 1.70. Most of the accidents, 30.41 per
cent, were caused by falls or slides of rock or overburden.
. Suggested Safety Rules for Installing and Using Electrical Equipment in
Bituminous Coal Mines, by J. H. Clark and C. M. Means. Technical Paper 138
Washington, 1916. 36 pp.
These rules co\ei service and underground stations, machines and apparatus, cir­
cuits and conductors, and miscellaneous equipment, besides a number of general rules,
and are drawn to accomplish one or more of the following basic measures for safeguard­
ing the use of electricity in mines: (1 ) Remove the contributory cause; (2 ) remove
from the vicinity of electrical apparatus all elements susceptible to the influence of
electricity; (3) keep the electric current where it belongs, if possible. If not, limit
the area oi its activity by protective devices; (4) use a large factor of safety ’in the
selection, installation, and inspection of equipment; (5) have full control of the move­
ments of electrically driven machines.
Department of Labor. Bureau of Immigration. Annual Report of the Commis­
sioner General of Immigration to the Secretary of Labor, fiscal year ended June 30
1916. 231 pp.
*
A summary of this report appears on pages 482 to 486 of this issue of the Monthly
U N il

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Sta tes.

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Public Health Service. State Laws and Regulations Pertaining to Public Health
adopted during the year 1915. Washington, 1916. 612 pp.
9
FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
Association Français pour la Lutte Contre le Chômage. Circulaires du Secré­
tariat General. Nos. 37 and 38. Paris, December, 1916.
No. 37 is entirely devoted to a discussion of the question of regulating vocational
training and apprenticeship in such a manner that the number of young persons about
to enter industrial pursuits may more nearly coincide with the demands for labor in
each occupation.
This measure seems extremely important in consideration of the fact that in some
industries the demand for labor is constantly increasing, while in others there is a
gradual decrease which may be considered due to industrial evolution. ' In the one
case wages may be increased beyond the normal and in the other a large number of
workers remain unemployed. If insurance against unemployment becomes a sub­
sidiary function of the Government, whether through subsidized labor exchanges or
otherwise, all possible means should be taken to reduce unemployment to a minimum
The establishment of a methodical adjustment depends not alone upon the institu­
tion of commissions with advisory powers alone but upon accurate and up-to-date
information relative to the prospective demand for labor in the various occupations. In
order to develop and determine the child’s aptness for a particular branch of industrial
labor, preparation for apprenticeship should begin in the primary grades of the school.
81733°—17---- 1 1
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Between this preapprenticeship period and apprenticeship proper is a hiatus during
which the child is directed and advised on industrial-education lines in order that
he may make a judicious choice of an occupation.
Great B ritain .— Factory and Workshop Acts, 1901 to 1916. Form prescribed by the
Secretary of State for notice of accident or dangerous occurrence, to be sent (immediately
on theaccident becoming reportable) to the district inspector offactories. London, 1916.
This is a collection of forms, as indicated in the title, each form containing instruc­
tions on the back.
___ Home Office. Mines and Quarries: General report, with statistics, for 1915. Part
I.—Divisional statistics and reports. London, 1916. 68 pp.
Statistical tables show the number of persons employed, by sex and ages, in operating
coal mines and metalliferous mines, and in quarries more than 20 feet deep, during the
year 1915: Output; deaths from accidents, with causes, and accident death rates.
Detailed reports for each district and each class of mines follow.
N etherlands .— Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. Bijdragen tot de Statistiek van
Nederland. Beknopt overzicht van den omvang der Vakbeweging op 1 Januari 1916.
No. 232. The Hague, 1916. 34, X V III pp.
This report gives statistics of labor organizations, including national associations,
federations of union laborers, and other principal associations of laborers other than
trade unions.
In 1915, 65.57 per cent of the membership of labor unions belonged to unions
affiliated with some one of the five national confederations; in 1916 this percent had
increased to 67.72. The total membership of all labor unions has increased since
1910 from 143, 850 to 251, 667, and the number of members of unions affiliated with
national organizations increased from 62, 351 to 170, 418, or from 43.34 per cent in 1910
to 67.72 in 1916.
___ Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek. Jaarcijfers voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden. Kolonien, 1914. The Hague, 1916. X X V I , 114 pp.
This publication contains statistics relative to the Dutch East and West Indian
colonies, and covers such subjects as are usually found in statistical yearbooks.
_______ Maandcijfers en Andere Periodieke Opgaven betreffende Nederland en de Kolo­
nien. No. 31. The Hague, 1916. 127 pp.
A compilation of vital, industrial, financial, commercial, etc., statistics for the
year 1915, by months, for Netherlands and the Dutch colonies.
N orway .—Riksforsikringsanstalten. Fiskerforsikringen for Aaret 1915. Norges
Officielle Statistik. VI. 88. Ulykkesforsikringen for fiskere og fangstmxnd samt
for de i smaaskibsfartbeskjseftigede personer. Christiania, 1916. 15 , 43 pp.
A report of accidents occurring during the year 1915, covered by the accident
insurance law relating to fishermen and crews of small boats, with comparable data,
by years, 1909 to 1914.
The number of persons insured in 1915 was 1 1 0 ,12 2 , and the amount of premiums
paid for insurance was 133,297 kr. ($35,724). The 236 accidents reported for the year
resulted in 103 deaths and 133 cases of invalidity, a total of 236, of which payment
of insurance was approved in 1 0 1 fatal cases and 11 0 nonfatal cases, amounting to
114,427 kr. ($30,666). Of the 110 nonfatal cases, 75 were noncompensable. Premium
collected from the insured persons from 1909 to 1915, inclusive, amounted to 943,418
kr. ($252,836), and the amount of insurance paid out during these years was 1,092,598
kr. ($292,816). A deficit developed in 1909 and continued in each year to and in­
cluding 1914. An excess of premiums over insurance paid is shown for the opera­
tions in 1915.
----- Riksforsikringsanstalten. Industristatistik for Aaret 1914- Norges Officielle
Statistik. VI. 87. Christiania, 1916. 39*, 90 pp.
The statistics published by the Royal Workmen’s Insurance Office are limited,
because accidents in other establishments than those subject to the law of workmen’s
insurance are not reported.

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The present volume reports accident statistics in forestry for the period 1910 to
1914, and agriculture and industry for the period 1897 to 1914.
O n t a r io .— Workmen's Compensation Act, with amendments of 1915 and 1916, with regu­
lations of board, synopsis, etc. Toronto, 1916. 122 pp.
----- Workmen’s Compensation Board. Report for 1915. Toronto, 1916. 46 pp.
P o r tu g a l .— Ministerio do Fomento, Direccao Geral do Comercio e Industria. Boletim
do Trabalho Industrial. No. 100. Lisbon, 1914. 57 pp.
Report for the years 1913 and 1914 of the industrial division of the department of
public works relative to industrial establishments registered: Number of inspections
made of establishments employing women and young persons; employment of women
at nightwork; accidents; labor conflicts.
----------- Boletim do Trabalho Industrial. No. 101. Lisbon, 1916. 64 pp.
Relates to spinning and weaving of linen and other vegetable fiber.
Q u e e n s l a n d .— Thirty-first Report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies and Building
Societies. Brisbane, 1916. SO pp.
This report contains a list of societies to September 30, 1916, and financial and
numerical statements for the year 1915. On December 31,1915, the total membership
of benefit friendly societies was 52,082, of which number 48,494, or 93.1 per cent,
were financial, that is, entitled to benefit. The financial membership showed a
decrease for the first time since 1902. The surplus funds on hand at the end of the
year amounted to ,£50,591 ($246,201.10) compared with £60,767 ($295,722.61) at the
end of 1914. The amount distributed in direct benefits to members and their depend­
ents in 1915 was £122,117 ($594,282.38), which was an advance of £10,097 ($49,137.05)
for the year and of £50,094 ($243,782.45) for the decennial period ending -with 1915.
The total benefits for the 10 years amounted to £951,334 ($4,629,666.91), which included
sick benefits, funeral and special donations, medical attendance and medicine, 60
per cent of the total received being applied to these purposes in 1915. Payments
on account of sickness amounted to £42,767 ($208,125.61) or £5,071 ($24,678.02) more
than in 1914. Mortality benefits rose from £15,206 ($74,000) to £19,887 ($96,780.09)
while medical benefits remained practically stationary. The cost of management,
including general expenditures other than actual benefits, amounted to £30,731
($149,552.41), or at the rate of 13s. Id. ($3.18) per financial member on the average
number during the year 1915. In proportion to the total received, the per cent of
management expenditure was 15.1, being the highest since 1908.
S cotla n d . Registrar General for Scotland. Sixty-first Annual Report, 1915. Glasaow.
1916. C X X VI, 149 pp. Map.
Report of vital statistics in Scotland, 1915, with three appendixes. A special
study is added to show the effect of war conditions on birth and marriage rates.
fiwTLOE^.—Socialstyrelsen. Sociala Meddelanden. Statistiska Meddelanden. Series F.
Band X . 12. Stockholm, 1916. 116 pp. Index to Nos. 7 to 12, 1916, I V pp.
Labor market, November; Sugar regulations and employment in sugar works;
Prices of commodities and cost of living; Wages during the war; Market prices of live
stock, etc.
UNOFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO LABOR.
of I n d u str ia l P h y sic ia n s a n d S u r g e o n s . First annual
meeting. Proceedings, Detroit, June 12, 1916. 60 pp.
Contains minutes of organization of the association, and papers followed by discus­
sions on the following subjects: The scope of medical and surgical supervision, by
C. G. Farnum, M. D.; The educational function of industrial physicians, by J. W.
Schereschewsky, M. D.; The family doctor, by S. S. Marquis, M. D.; and Health
insurance and the prevention of sickness, by John B. Andrews, Ph. D.

A m erica n A sso cia tio n


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op L a bo r — O h io B r a n c h .
The Onio plan of workmen s
compensation. A reprint of recent correspondence between Emile E. Watson, Actu­
ary, Ohio State Fund, and Robert T. Caldwell, Chairman, Kentucky Compensation
Board. 1916. 24 PP■
----- O klahom a B r a n c h . Constitution, 1916. 24 PP________ Official proceedings of the thirteenth annual convention, Aug., 1916. 54 PPA m er ic a n F lin t G lass W o r k e r s ’ U n io n . Quarterly report of national secretarytreasurer. Dec. 1, 1915, to Feb. 29, 1916. 56 pp.
Contains, in connection with other statistics, an interesting table showing by occu­
pations the membership and employment conditions for 137 local unions throughout
the country, February 29, 1916. There were 9,449 members, of whom 8,206 were em­
ployed at their trade, 857 employed outside their trade, and 386, or 4 per cent, were un­
employed. Of the unemployed 110, or nearly one-third, were cutters belonging to one
local union.
A m er ic a n H ome E conomics A sso c ia tio n . Thrift by household accounting and weekly
cash recordforms. Baltimore, Md., 1916. 34 PP- Price 15c.
A m erica n M ed ica l A sso c ia tio n . Council on health and public instruction. Social
insurance series. Pamphlets Nos. 1-5.
A re v ie w of th ese p a m p h le ts w ill a p p e a r in th e n e x t n u m b e r of th e M onthly

A m er ic a n F ed e r a t io n

R e v ie w .
B a ltim o re

a n d O h io R a ilro a d C o m pa n y . Relief department.
Twenty-eighth annual
report, fiscal year ended June 30, 1916. 7 pp.
The membership of the relief feature of this department June 30, 1916, was 55,542,
an increase of 4,951 over the preceding year; the total income for the fiscal year was
$1 624 844.19, of which $1,382,611.67 was contributed by members, $189,927.08 by the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. and the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad
Co., the balance being from interest and other sources. Benefits paid during the
fiscal year amounted to $1,531,681.46. The average amount paid for 20,282 disable­
ments from injuries received in the discharge of duty was $17.02; for 23,282 disable­
ments from sickness and other causes, $24.61; for 104 deaths from accidents on duty,
$1,600.96; for 485 deaths from other causes, $816.02; for 27,232 cases involving sur­
gical expense, $1.66; and for 71 cases in which artificial limbs were furnished members
without charge, $83.47.
A savings feature with 9,233 depositors June 30, 1916, and a pension feature with
1,062 on the roll are also connected with the relief department.
B r o w n , R ome G . The right to refuse to sell. Reprinted from Yale Law Journal,
Jan., 1916. 12 pp.
A review of the decision in the case of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co. v.
Cream of Wheat Co. (Nov. 10,1915). The plaintiff had sold goods of the defendant at
cut rate prices. The defendant in order to maintain its retail prices refused to make
further sales to plaintiff. The latter then brought suit for an injunction to compel
defendant to sell to plaintiff at prices formerly maintained between them. The
decision was in favor of the defendant. This decision was the first under the so-called
“ Clayton A ct” of October 15, 1914, whereby the provisions of the former antitrust
acts were amended and extended.
C h a r ity O rg a n iza tio n S o c iety , N e w Y o r k . Annual report, thirty-fourth year.
Oct.l, 1915-Sept. 30, 1916. Charity Organization Bulletin No. 158, Jan. 10, 1917.
105 pp.
C o h e n J u liu s H . A league to enforce industrial peace. Advance sheets from pro­
ceedings of the Academy of Political Science, New Series, No. 1, March, 1917. New
York, 1916. 40 pp.
This address, made at the annual meeting of the Academy of Political Science
in New York, November 23, 1916, was reviewed on page 24 of the M onthly
R e v ie w for January, 1917.


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J u liu s II. The revised protocol in the dress and ivaist industry. Reprinted from
the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Jan., 1917. 14 pp.
C o o per a tiv e W h o l esa l e S o ciety , L im it e d . Annual, 1917. Manchester. 332 pp.
This society in December, 1915, had 2,535,972 members and a total capital of
£10,782,418 ($52,472,637). In addition to the complete statistics of the operations
of the society this report contains articles on “ Capital and labor after the war” and
“ War in its effect upon women.”
D r e w , W a l t e r . The strike, the lockout, and the neutral citizen. Address before the
Get-together Club, Hartford, Conn., Nov. 13, 1916. 21 pp.
E ig h t -h o u r L a w Ca s e (T h e A dam son L a w ). Francis M. Wilson, U. S. Attorney
for the Western District of Missouri, appellant, v. Alexander Neiv and Henry C.
Ferris, as receivers of the Missouri, Oklahoma & G ulf Railway Co., appellees.
Supreme Court of the United States, No. 797, October term, 1916. Motion by
appellant to advance, 4 pp.; brieffor the United States, 89 pp.; summary of appellant’s
arguments, 96 pp.; supplemental memorandum for appellant, 4 pp.; brief for ap­
pellees, 120 pp.; Appendix A to brief for appellees (the methods of reckoning com­
pensation of train-service employees), 112 pp.; supplemental brief for appellees,
17 pp.
F is h e r , I r v in g . Thx need for health insurance. Presidential address delivered at the
tenth annual meeting of the American Association for Labor Legislation, in joint
session with the American Economic Association, the American Sociological Society,
and the American Statistical Association, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 27, 1916. Reprint
from The American Labor Legislation Review, Vol. VIL, No.
1917. 16 pp.
The author sums up his address with the statement that “ health insurance is needed
in the United States in order to tide the workers over the grave emergencies incident
to illness as well as in order to reduce illness itself, lengthen life, abate poverty,
improve working power, raise the wage level, and diminish the causes of industrial
discontent.” He declares that “ there is no other measure now before the public
which equals the power of health insurance toward social regeneration.”
J e w is h A g ricultu ral a n d I n d u str ia l A id S o c iety . Annual report, New York,
1916. 60 pp.
The financial activities of this society extend to 36 States and to Canada. Its main
object is the fostering and encouragement of agriculture among Jewish immigrants.
It conducts a farm loan department which in 17 years has made 4,100 loans aggregat­
ing$2,330,092; and a farm labor bureau which in 9 years secured positions for 6,998 men.
Various educational activities and cooperative enterprises are conducted by the
society. The report gives an account of agricultural and economic conditions in
various sections of the country.
K a h n , M o r r is H. Medical and sociological problems of department stores and their
relation to tuberculosis. Reprinted from the Medical Record, Aug. 21, 1915. Wil­
liam Wood & Co., New York. 11 pp.
L a m b e r t , _A l e x a n d e r . _ Tivo papers, Medical organization under health insurance;
Organization of medical benefits and services under the proposed sickness (health)
insurance system. 1916. 62 pp.
The first named of these papers was read at the annual meeting of the American
Association for Labor Legislation, Columbus, Ohio, December 28, 1916, the other at
the conference on social insurance, Washington, D. C., December 7, 1916.
L a n d s o r g a n is a t io n e n i S v e r g e . Berattelse, 1915. Stockholm, 1916. 152 pp.
Report of the operations of the confederated labor unions of Sweden for 1915.
Among the topics treated are, Strikes and lockouts; Movement of wages; Collective
agreements in force; Report of employment offices, 1915; Unemployment and unions;
and Confederated Unions and membership, 1915.
M in n e a p o l is Civ ic a n d C om m erce A s so c ia tio n . Bureau of municipal research.
Preliminary report on study of increases of cost of food. 1916. 11 typewritten
pages, 1 large table.


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Twenty-sixth edition. A reference hook of social
in or available for greater New York. Charity Organization Society. New
York, 1917. 458 pp.
P a r k in s o n , T hom a s I. Constitutional aspects of compulsory arbitration of industrial
disputes on public utilities. Advance sheets from proceedings of the Academy of
Political Science, New-Series, No. 1, March, 1917. New York, 1916. 39 pp.
This address made at the annual meeting of the Academy of Political Science in
New York, in November, 1916, is reviewed on page 22 of the M onthly R e v ie w for
January, 1917.
P h il a d e l p h ia E lectric B e n e f ic ia l A sso c ia tio n . Ninth annual report. 1915.
-32 pp.
_
.
This organization had 2,442 members December 31, 1915. An especially interesting
feature of this report is an analysis by months of the 575 accidents to employees during
1915. These accidents are classified according to the person responsible (as to preventability only), causes, time lost, and part of body affected.
R et a il D ry G oods A s so c ia tio n . Committee on industrial hygiene. Report by
Morris H. Kahn. Reprinted from the Medical Record, Nov. 25, 1916. William
Wood & Co., New York, 1916. 10 pp.
Treats of medical supervision of employees and the promotion of health and pre­
vention of disease through physical examinations, sanitary measures, education,
provision of nurses and hospitals, and recreation features.
R is l e r , G e o r g e s . Housing of the working classes in France. Cheap up-to-date
dwellings in 1915. 86 pp.
This is a monograph prepared for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
showing the development of cheap dwellings in France under the law of April, 1908,
known as the Ribot law, and subsequent laws, enabling workmen, with the aid of the
State, to purchase comfortable homes by annuities in from 5 to 25 years.
S an F ra ncisco —C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e . Law and order in San Francisco—a begin­
ning. 1916. 41 pp.
An account of the longshoremen’s strike on the Pacific coast in June, 1916, and of
the organization by San Francisco merchants of a law and order committee to deal
with the industrial conditions growing out of the strike. The enactment on November
7, 1916, of an ordinance prohibiting picketing was due to the work of this committee.
The pamphlet is profusely illustrated with views of San Francisco and is unique in
typographical form.
S h e r m a n P T. Dangerous tendencies in the American social insurance movement.
An address delivered before the 138th meeting of the Insurance Society of New York,
Nov. 21, 1916. 14 ppS o ciety of M ed ica l J u r is p r u d e n c e . Report of the committee on industrial insur­
ance. New York, Feb. 2, 1917. 4 PPS o u s e k , J akob.
Der rechtliche charakter der Arbeitskonflikte. Vienna, 1914- 123 pp.
Sets forth the legal and economic aspects «of labor conflicts in Austria. Discusses
relation of the labor market and labor disputes, organizations of employers and em­
ployees, militant methods of both parties, legal and economic consequences of labor
conflicts, attitude of the State to labor conflicts in general and to the organization of
Government employees in particular, and finally, points out ways and means for the
more peaceful settlement of labor disputes.
S ociology Club , S c h e n e c t a d y , N. Y. The Unemployment Problem, Cause and
Cure,, by “A n a l y t i c u s 1916. 170 pp.
Four lectures on the following subjects: Theory of unemployment; The rights of
the unemployed; Wage slavery—cause and cure; Capitalism and the wage system.
V e r b a n d S c h w e iz . Konsumvereine. Taschen-Kalender. 1917. Basel, 1916. 192 pp.
A pocket calendar published by the Federation of Swiss Cooperative Stores, giving
valuable information on the operation of such stores and statistics relating therein.

N e w Y o rk Ch a r it ie s D ir e c t o r y .
service


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