U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

ROYAL MEEKER, Commissioner

BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES )

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS J ‘

j WHOLE I7C

* • 1 NUMBER 1 / J

W O M E N I N I N D U S T R Y S E R I E S : No. 5

SUMMARY OF THE REPORT

ON CONDITION OF WOMAN

AND CHILD WAGE EARNERS

IN THE UNITED STATES

/ v \

L n n J

DECEMBER, 1915

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1916

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CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction........................................................................................................................ 13-35

Purpose and scope of the report............................................................................. 13-15

Proportion of women and children in the industries......................................... 15

Age of women at work.............................................................................................. 15-17

Married women at work................................................ .......................................... 17,18

Families having daughters at work....................................................................... 18,19

Contributions to family income of daughters at work....................................... 19,20

Girls giving all their earnings to family............................................................... 20, 21

Percentage of earnings contributed to family..................................................... 21

Low earnings of woman wage earners......................................... ....................... 21,22

Causes of differences in earnings of men and women........................................ 23,24

Age and earnings of women and girls.................................................................... 24-28

Accidents to women.................................................................................................. 28

Substitution of women for men in industry........................................................ 28,29

Employment of children.......................................................................................... 29,30

Income from children at work................................................................................ 30,31

Need of children’s earnings............................................... .................................... 31,32

Reasons why children are at work......................................................................... 32, 33

Opportunities for children in occupations........................................................... 33, 34

Decrease of proportion of children at work......................................................... 34, 35

Chapter I.—The cotton textile industry..................................................................... 37-82

Establishments covered and men, women, and children employed............. 37, 38

Localization of the industry.................................................................................. 38,39

The labor force.......................................................................................................... 39 -49

Age of employees, by sex................................................................................ 39-41

Occupations, by sex and age........................................................................... 41,42

Relative importance of women in different occupations..........................42,43

Race of employees............................................................................................. 43-45

Source of labor supply in the South........................................................... 45,46

Mountaineers in the mill................................................................................ 46

Conjugal condition of employees.................................................................... 47,48

Condition of female employees in New England, by race............... 48

Summary as to labor force............................................................................... 48,49

Employment of children.......................................................................................... 49-60

Extent of their employment........................................................................... 49

Age and sex of children employed................................................................ 49

Occupational distribution................................................................................ 50

Illegal employment of children in New England mills............................ 51-53

Children under legal age......................................................................... 51,52

Children without certificates.................................................................. 52,53

Illegal employment of children in Southern mills.................................... 53-59

Children under legal age......................................................................... 53-56

The helper system.......................... ..........................................................56,57

Difficulties in way of investigation.......... .......................................... 57

Children without certificates or affidavits........................................... 57

Improvement in Southern conditions since investigation................ 57-59

Summary of employment of children.......................................................... 59,60

3

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Chapter I.—The cotton textile industry—Concluded. Page.

Hours of labor, overtime, and night work......................................................... .. 60,61

Maximum legal hours, by States................................................ ................... 60

Mills exceeding maximum legal hours.......................................................... 60, 61

Extent of overtime and night work............................................................... 61

Eaming3 of operatives, as shown by pay rolls.................................................... 61-66

Classified weekly earnings, by sex and age................................................. 61,62

Difference between earnings of sexes, by locality......................... ........... 63

Rates of pay and actual earnings................................................................... 64

Fines and other deductions............................................................................. 64-66

Premiums............................................................................................................ 66

The cotton mill and working conditions.............................................................. 66,67

Light, ventilation, fire escapes, and sanitary provisions............ , ........... 66

Physical strain on operatives...................................... ................................... 67

Family conditions and sources and amount of family income...................... 67-77

General character of families........................................................................... 67

Composition of families; employment of members................................... 68

Sources and amount of family income.......................................................... 68-70

Average net income of families, according to members at work___ 69

Proportion of family income contributed by different members.. 69,70

Earnings and contributions of children 16 years of age and over.. 70

Families with noncontributing fathers......................................................... 70-72

Family conditions of married women at work............................................ 72,73

Single women 16 years of age and over at work......................................... 73,74

Children at work................................................................................................ 74-77

Children under 14 years of ago at work............................ ................. 75,76

Children 14 and 15 years of age at work..............................................76,77

Summary as to family conditions and family income............................... 77

The mill community................................................................................................ 77 -82

Mill villages, home ownership, and sanitary conditions........................... 77,78

Means of education available for cotton-mill children..............................78. 79

Social status of cotton-mill operatives.......................................................... 79, 80

Moral condition of cotton-mill operatives.................................................... 80

Welfare work....................................................................................................... 81

Company stores.................................................................................................. 81,82

Summary..................................................................................................................... 82

Chapter II.—Men’s ready-made clothing.................................................................. 83-115

Establishments covered and men, women, and children employed............. 83

Concentration of the industry................................................................................. 84

The labor force........................................................................................................... 84-87

Proportion of men, women, and children.................................................... 84,85

Age distribution of employees........................................................................ 85,86

Race of employees............................................................................................. 86

Conjugal condition of female employees...................................................... 87

Employment of children.......................................................................................... 88-92

Age and sex of children employed................................................................ 88

Occupations of children................................................................................. 88,89

Character of children’s work........................................................................... 89

Illegal employment of children...................................................................... 89-91

Number and per cent illegally employed............................................ 90

Employment of children under legal age............................................. 90

Employment of children without proper certificates........................ 90

Employment of children in excess of legal hours.............................. 91

Failure of employers to keep certificates on file................................. 91

Summary of employment of children.......................................................... 91,92

4 CONTENTS,

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CONTENTS.

Chapter II.—Men’s ready-made clothing—Concluded. Page.

Hours of labor and overtime................................................................................... 92-94

Illegal overtime employment of women....................................................... 93,94

Earnings of employees.............................................................................................. 94-97

Earnings of employees 16 years of age and over...................................... 94

Average weekly earnings of employees, by sex and age.................... . .. 95

Earnings of home workers................................................................................ 95,96

Earnings of employees, by race...................................................................... 97

Home work in the clothing industry.................................................................. 97-101

Extent of home work........................................................................................ 98

Race, age, and conjugal condition of home workers................................. 98

Hours, earnings, and helpers of home workers............................................ 99

General conditions of home workers............................................................ 99-101

Reasons for home work....................................................... .............. ............ 101

The clothing shop and working conditions...................................................... 101-103

Light, ventilation, fire escapes, and sanitary provisions...................... 101-103

Family conditions and sources and amount of family income.................. 103-111

General character of families...................................................................... 103,104

Composition of families and employment of members.............................. 104

Sources and amount of family income....................................................... 104-106

Average net income of families, by members at work.................... 104,105

Proportion of family income contributed by different members... 105

Earnings and contributions of children 16 years of age and over. 105,106

Married women at work; earnings and family conditions........ ........... 106,107

Care of children of married women at work.............. *......................... 107

Single women 16 years of age and over at work..................................... 108,109

Children under 16 years of age at work.................................................... 109-111

Age and racial distribution................................................ ................. 109,110

Parental condition................................................................................. 110, 111

Family incomes and attitude toward employment of children___ 111

Organization and development of the industry............................................. 111-113

Lack of centralization................................................................................... Ill, 112

Types of shops................................................................................................ 112,113

Development of the industry............................................................................. 113,114

Summary................................................................................................................. 114,115

Chapter III.—The glass industry.............................................................................. 117-170

Number and location of establishments covered, by products....................... 117

Number of men, women, and children employed......................................... 117,118

Division of work between the sexes..................................................................... 119

AVork of boys in the furnace room..................................................................... 119-135

Description of principal occupations........................................................ 120-121

Working conditions....................................................................................... 121,123

Hours of labor, night work, and overtime............................................... 123-128

Night work.............................................................................................. 124-127

Overtime................................................................................................. 127,128

Earnings.......................................................................................................... 128-130

Rates of pay and actual earnings....................................................... 129,130

Importance of boy labor in glassmaking.................................................. 130,131

Substitutes for boy labor............................................................................. 131,132

Opportunities for boys to learn the trade................................................. 132,133

Illegal employment of boys..................................................................... 133,134

Employment below legal age.................................................................. 133

Employment without required certificates.......................................... 134

Employment at night............................................................................... 134

Summary of employment of boys in furnace room................................. 134,135

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Chapter III.—The glass industry—Concluded. Page.

Health conditions of the furnace room as indicated by causes of death of

glass blowers.......................................................................................................135-137

Employment of women and girls in the glass industry................................. 137-154

Importance of women in the industry.......................................................... 137

Age distribution of female glassworkers....................................................... 137

Work of women in the leer room................................................................ 138-140

Taking off the leer................................................................................. 139,140

Other occupations...................................................................................... 140

Work of women in the finishing room....................................................... 140-150

Preparatory processes............................................................................ 141,142

Cutting off, grinding, and glazing.............................................. 141,142

Decorating processes.............................................................................. 142-144

Sand blasting...................................................................................... 142

Acid etching.................................................................................... 142,143

Flute cutting and smoothing................................. ......................... 143

Color decoration.............................................................................. 143,144

Working conditions............................................................ ................. .. 144,145

Hours of labor, night work, and overtime.................... ................... 145-147

Earnings of women and girls............................................................... 147-150

Full time and actual weekly earnings........................................... 148

Local variations in earnings........................................................ 148,149

Age and earnings............................................................................ 149,150

Illegal employment of women and girls.............. . ....................................... 151

Relation of the work to health................................................................... 151-153

Injurious conditions and surroundings.............................................. 151-153

Harmful occupations................................................................................. 153

Reasons for entering industry..................................................................... 153,154

Summary of employment of women and girls............................................. 154

Employment of women and girls in making incandescent lamps.............. 154r-159

Speed rate........................................................................................................ 155-157

Maintenance of uniform position.................................................................... 157

Composition of the labor force........................................................................ 157

Age distribution.......................................................................................... 158

Hours of labor..................................................................................................... 158

Earnings........................................................................................................... 158,159

General conditions............................................................................................. 159

Summary.............................................................................................................. 159

Family conditions and sources and amount of family income.................... 159-169

General character of families........................................................................... 160

Composition of families; employment of members................................ 160,161

Sources and amount of family income...................................................... 161-169

Average net incomes of families, by members at work...................... 161

Proportion of family income contributed by different members... 161

Earnings and contributions of children 16 years of age and over.. 162

Married women at work........................................................................ 162-164

Single women 16 years of age and over at work.............................. 164,165

Children at work.................................................................................... 165-167

Employment of orphans............................................... ............... 166,167

Relation of employment of children to family income................. 167,168

Reasons, other than economic, for employment of children........... 169

Illiteracy among children under 16....................................................... 169

Company stores....................................................................................................... 169,170

Summary...................................................................................................................... 170

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CONTENTS. 7

Page.

Chapter IV.—The silk industry................................................................................. 171-208

Establishments covered and men, women, and children employed.............. 171

The industry.......................................................................................................... 172-174

Geographical distribution— .......................................................................... 172

Growth of industry and change in proportion of women and children

employed...................................................................................................... 172,173

Differences in development of industry in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania........................................................................................................ 173,174

The labor force........................................................................................................ 174r-177

Age and sex distribution of employees.............................................. .. 174,175

Race...................................................................................................................... 175

Conjugal condition............................................................................................. 176

Occupations, by sex and age.......................................................................... 177

Silk-mill processes and occupations................................................................... 177-183

Throwing-mill processes............................................................................... 178-180

Weaving-mill processes................................................................................. 180-183

Cloth picking..................................................................................................... 183

Miscellaneous occupations................................................................................ 183

Children in the silk industry.............................................................................. 184-1C4

Occupations..................................................................................................... 184,185

Hours of labor, overtime, and night work................................................ 185,186

Earnings........................................................................................................... 186-188

Earnings by sex and State................................................................... 186,187

Average actual and average full-time earnings............................... 187,188

Illegal employment of children...................................................... ........... 188-194

In New Jersey......................................................................................... 188-190

Children employed under age..................................................... 189,190

Children employed without required legal papers................... 190

In Pennsylvania..................................................................................... 190-194

Children employed under legal age........................... ............... 191,192

Race of children illegally employed.............................................. 192

Children leaving school to go to work....................................... 192-194

Summary of employment of children............................................................ 194

Women in the silk industry................................................................................ 195-197

Proportion of women in the industry............................................................ 195

Occupations....................................................................................................... 195

Hours of labor..................................................................................................... 196

Earnings........................................................................................................... 196,197

Comparison with men’s........................................................................ 196,197

Average full-time rate and average actual earnings........................... 197

Working conditions............................................................................................... 198,199

Buildings and fire escapes............................................................................... 198

Light and ventilation.................................................................................... 198,199

Wash rooms, toilets, etc................................................................................... 199

Family conditions and sources and amount of family income.................... 200-206

General character of families.......................................................................... 200

Composition of families; employment of members................................. 200,201

Amount and sources of family income.......... ........................................... 201-203

Average net income of families, by members at work....................... 201

Proportion of family income contributed by different members. 201,202

Earnings and contributions of children 16 years of age and over. 202,203

Families without contributing fathers.......................................................... 203

Married women at work................................................................................ 203-205

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Chapter IV.—The silk industry—Concluded. Page.

Family conditions and sources and amount of family income—Concluded.

Single women 16 years of age or over at work............................................. 205

Children under 16 years of age.................................................................. 205, 206

Children 14 and 15 years of age at work........................... ........................... 206

Children under 14 years of age at work............................. ........................... 206

Labor organizations in the silk industry............................................................. 207

Summary..................................................................................................................... 208

Chapter V.—Wage-earning women in stores and factories................................... 209-226

Scope and method of investigation................................................................... 209,210

Number and proportion of women studied.......................................................... 210

At home, by kind of employment................................................................. 210

Adrift, by kind of employment............................................................... . 210

Economic status of women at home.................................................................. 210,211

Factors determining earnings.................................................................................. 211

Earnings, by age and experience............................................................... 212-215

Earnings and opportunities for advancement................................................. 215-218

In department stores..................................................................................... 215-217

In factories................................................................................................ ......... 218

Living conditions.................................................................................................. 218-224

Classification of women according to living conditions......................... 218-220

Earnings and specified expenditures for each class................................... 220

Women keeping house.......................................................................... 220,221

Boarders in private families................................................................ 221,222

Women in regular boarding houses...................................................... . 222

Women in organized boarding houses................................................... 223

Expenditures for all purposes..................................................................... 223,224

Moral influences surrounding department-store employees............................. 224

Waitresses in hotels and restaurants.................................................................. 224,225

Summary................................................................................................................. 225,226

Women in department and other stores........................................................ 225

Women in mills and factories......................................................................... 226

Chapter VI.—The beginnings of child-labor legislation in certain States___ 227-261

Scope of report........................................................................................................... 227

Child labor in the Colonies................................................................................. 227-229

Effect of English attitude................................................................................ 227

Need for laborers............................................................................................ 227,228

Legislation enforcing child labor................................................................ 228,229

Public opinion concerning child labor in the nineteenth century............ 229-231

Early approval................................................................................................ 229,230

First grounds of attack.................................................................................. 230, 231

Changed attitude after Civil War................................................................... 231

Children in the cotton industry....................................................................... 231-235

Changes in extent of their employment since 1870................................ 231,232

Differences between their employment in N ewEngland and the South. 232-234

Early employment of children in cotton mills in the North............... 234,235

Child-labor legislation in the North before 1860............................................. 235-240

Previous to 1830............................................................................................. 235-237

From 1830 to 1860, by decades................................................................... 237-240

Summary.............................................................................................................. 240

Child-labor legislation in four Southern States............................................... 241-246

Earlier legislation........................................................................................... 241,242

Legislation after 1900..................................................................................... 242-246

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Chapter VI.—The beginnings of child-labor legislation, etc.— Concluded. Page.

Conclusion............................................................................................................... 246-261

Analysis of child-labor legislation prior to 1860...................................... 246-249

Analysis of child-labor legislation in four Southern States.................. 250-254

Differences and similarities in the legislation of the two sections... 254-261

Chapter VII.—Conditions under which children leave school to go to work. 263-272

Scope of investigation; number of children studied......................................... 263

Race of children studied......................................................................................... 263

Causes for leaving school..................................................................................... 264, 265

Grades reached by children before leaving....................................................... 265, 266

Industrial experiences of children studied...................................................... 266,267

Hours and wages............................................................................................ 266, 267

Degree of choice exercised in getting work......................................................... 267

Illegal employment.................................................................................................. 268

Retardation, repeating, and elimination.......................................................... 268-272

Chapter VIII.—Juvenile delinquency and its relation to employment.......... 273-284

Scope of report........................................................................................................... 273

Number and proportion of working and non working offenders.................. 274,275

Conditions possibly contributory to delinquency.......................................... 275, 276

Age...................................................................................................................... 275

Parental condition............................................................................................. 275

Foreign parentage.............................................................................................. 276

Character of homes............................................................................................ 276

Occupations from which delinquents came....................................................... 277

Boy delinquents from six specified pursuits.................................................. 277-281

Offenses showing direct connection with occupation:

Boys................................................................................................................. 281, 282

Girls............................................................................................................. .. 282,283

Night work, hours of labor, and environment of children studied.......... 283,284

Chapter IX .—History of women in industry in the United States................... 285-297

Scope of study; sources of data.............................................................................. 285

Reasons for change from home to factory work............................................. 285-287

Women in the textile industries........................................................................ 287-292

Hours and the effort to modify them........................................................ 288, 289

Intensity of work........................................................................................... 289,290

Wages................................................................................................................... 290

Relative proportion of the sexes................................................................ 290-292

Summary of section........................................... .............................................. 292

Clothing and the sewing trades.......................................................................... 292-295

Boot and shoe making................................................................................... 293, 294

Extent of employment of women.......................................................... 293

Wages, earnings, and conditions of work.......................................... 293, 294

Garment making............................................................................................ 294, 295

Other sewing trades.......................................................................................... 295

Relative proportion of the sexes in sewing trades..................................... 295

Other groups of industries................................................................................... 295-297

Conclusion................................................................................................................... 297

Chapter X .—History of women in trad e-unions.................................................... 299-311

Sources of data........................................................................................................... 299

Four periods of development.............................................................................. 299-310

First period: 1825 to 1840............................................................................ 299-301

Cotton-mill operatives............................................................................... 300

Workers in other industries................................................................. 300,301

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Chapter X .—History of women in trade-unions—Concluded.

Four periods of development—Concluded. Page.

Second period: 1840 to 1860........................................................................ 301-304

Character of period................................................................................ 301,302

Female labor reform associations........................................................ 302, 303

Strikes during period............................................................................ 303, 304

Third period: 1860 to 1880........................................................................... 304-306

Character of period.................................................................................... 304

Organizations in separate trades........................................................ 305, 306

Fourth period: 1880 to 1908........................................................................ 306-310

Women in the Knights of Labor............................................................ 306

Women’s trade-unions, 1890-1908.....................................................« 307-310

Women in general organizations................................................. 308, 309

The American Federation of Labor....................................... 308

The National Women’s Trade-Union League.................. 308,309

The Women’s International Union Label League.............. 309

Women’s unions in separate trades............................................ 309,310

Conclusion............................................................................................................... 310,311

Chapter X I.—Women in the metal trades.............................................................. 313-326

Scope of investigation.................................................................................... 313,314

Industries covered............................................................................................ 313

Number of men, women, and children employed..................................... 313

Extent of employment of women and children......................................... 314

Working conditions for women and children.................................................. 314-316

Fire escapes.................................................................................................... 314, 315

Light, ventilation, and sanitary conditions................................................. 315

Hours................................................................................................................ 315,316

Kind of work done............................................................................................ 316

Accidents................................................................................................................ 316-326

Principal sources of danger......................................................................... 316,317

Unnecessary hazards..................................................................................... 317,318

Underlying cause of accident..................................................................... 318,319

Accidents in connection with presswork.................................................. 319-322

Comparative danger of presswork..................................................... 319,320

Variations between factories.................................................................... 320

Special hazard of women..................................................................... 320,321

Unfamiliarity with machine as cause of danger.............................. 321, 322

Distribution of accidents through working hours................................... 322,323

Carelessness as a cause of accidents........................................................... 323-326

Chapter X II.—Employment of women in laundries............................................ 327-335

Number of laundries visited; number and sex distribution of employees___ 327

General working conditions................................................................................. 327, 328

In power laundries........................................................................................ 327, 328

In hand laundries.............................................................................................. 328

Hours of work......................................................................................................... 328,329

Character of work.................................................................................................. 329-332

Effect of work on health....................................................................................... 332, 333

Classification of women by kind of ill health suffered...................................... 333

Connection between ill health and specific conditions of work.................. 334,335

Chapter X III.—Infant mortality and its relation to the employment of mothers 337-359

Introductory........................................................................................................... 337-340

Reason for selection of Fall River.................................................................. 339

Scope and methods of investigation............................................................. 340

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Chapter X III.—Infant mortality, etc.—Concluded. Page.

Excessive infant mortality in Fall River....................................................... 340-343

Comparative per cent of deaths under one year from specified causes in

Fall River and elsewhere............................................................................. 341

Death rates per 1,000 births from specified diseases in Fall River and

elsewhere..................................................................................................... 341,342

Death rates at different ages under one year in Fall River and elsewhere................................................................................................................ 342

Reduction of infant death rates in England............................................ 342,343

Effect of industrial employment of mother before birth of child................... 343-351

Relative mortality of infants of mothers at home and mothers at work. . . 344

Stillbirths in relation to mothers’ work before childbirth....................... 344,345

Condition of children at birth in relation to mothers’ work before childbirth.............................................................................................................. 345-348

Discontinuance of mothers’ work before childbirth............................ 348,349

Relation between mother’s work and child’s condition at birth............ 349,350

Summary of section....................................................................................... 350,351

Effect of industrial employment of mother after birth of child...................... 351-357

Children dying under one year from specified causes, by mothers’

employment................................................................................................ 352, 353

Artificial feeding............................................................................................ 353,354

Deaths from diarrheal diseases in relation to mothers’ work after childbirth.............................................................................................................. 354-357

Conclusion............................................................................................................... 357-359

Chapter XIV .—Causes of death among woman and child cotton-mill operatives................................................................................................................................ 361-373

Plan of report............................................................................................................. 361

Advantages of method of investigation used................................................... 361-363

Scope of the investigation....................................................................................... 363

Mortality in age group 15 to 44 years................................................................ 364-371

Relative death rates of operatives and nonoperatives, all causes.......... 364-366

Relative mortality of operatives and nonoperatives from tuberculosis. 366-369

Grounds for believing operative work injurious to females....................... 369

Mortality by race..................................: ..................................................... 369,370

Relative importance of different causes of death................................... 370,371

Mortality in the population 10 years of age and over...................................... 371

Suggested explanations of high death rate of operatives............................ . 372,373

Conclusion....................................................................................... ........................... 373

Chapter X Y .—The relation between occupation and criminality of women... 375-382

Purpose of report................................................................................................... 375

Study of female offenders.................................................................................... 375-380

Number of women studied.......................................................................... \ . 375

Age, education, and offenses........................................................................... 376

Occupations.................................................................................................... 376, 377

Proportional representation of occupations among offenders..................... 377

Small representation from newer pursuits................................................ 377,378

Apparent decrease in number of female offenders..................................... 379

Relation between occupations and offenders ........................................ 379, 380

Immorality and occupation................................................................................. 380-382

Lack of direct connection between industrial employment and immorality............................................................................................................. 380-381

Morally dangerous occupations................................................................... 381, 382

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Page.

Chapter X V I.—Family budgets of typical cotton-mill workers........................... 383-389

Purpose of report....................................................................................................... 383

Localities and families studied........................................................................... 383, 384

Cost of living in localities selected.................................................................... 38*1,385

Average weekly earnings and cost of living........................................................ 385

Fluctuation of earnings........................................................................................ 385, 386

Number of wage earners; family wage............................................................. 386, 387

Families without male heads.................................................................................. 388

Conclusions....................................................................................................... ........ 389

Chapter XV II.—Hookworm disease among cotton-mill operatives................... 391-396

Plan of report................................................................ ........................................... 391

Scope and methods of study................................................................................... 391

Number of suspected cases found...................................................................... 391,392

Age distribution of suspects................................................................................ 392,393

Cotton-mill anemia and hookworm disease................................................... 393,394

Relative effect of farm and cotton-mill life upon spread of disease............... 394

Number of cases among mill workers of first and of second generations___ 395

Conclusions............................................................................................................. 395, 396

Chapter X V III.—Employment of women and children in selected industries 397-419

Introductory........................................................................................................... 397-400

Purpose and scope of investigation........................................................... 397,398

Industries and employees........................................................................... 398,399

Change in character of women’s work....................................................... 399,400

Age of female workers by industries................................................................. 401-404

Duration of industrial life of women......................................................... 402,403

Proportion of older women in industries studied................................... 403,404

Age of greatest massing.................................................................................... 404

Earnings, by industries................................................................................... 405-409

Relation of skill to earnings............................................................................ 406

Relation of age to earnings...................................................................... .. 407-409

Conjugal condition and industry....................................................................... 409-411

Proportion married women form of female employees by industry and

age............................................ .................................................................... 409-411

Race and age.......................................................................................................... 412,413

Race and conjugal condition.............................................................................. 413-416

Summary................................................................................................................. 416-419

Chapter X IX .—Labor laws and factory conditions............................................... 421-437

Introductory........................................................................................................... 421-423

Purpose and scope of investigation............................................................... 421

Methods used.................................................................................................. 421,422

Industries studied and number of men, women, and children employed.......................................................................................................... 422,423

Attitude of States toward enforcement of labor laws.................................... 423-425

Number of prosecutions for violations, by States................................... 423,424

Provisions made for enforcement of labor laws....................................... 424,425

Conditions found in factories studied............................................................... 425-429

Overtime......................................................................................................... 425-427

Protection against fire............................................................... ....................... 427

Reports of accidents.................................................................. ................... 427,428

Ventilation, sanitation, and comfort of employees................................ 428,429

Changes in legislation affecting the employment of women and children,

1908 to 1915 ...................................................................................................... 429-437

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
BULLETIN OF THE

U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

WHOLE NO. 175. WASHINGTON. DECEMBER, 1915.

SUMMARY OF THE REPORT ON CONDITION OF WOMAN AND 

CHILD WAGE EARNERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

INTRODUCTION.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OP THE REPORT.

The investigation of the condition of woman and child wage 

earners in the United States, the results of which are summarized in 

this bulletin, was undertaken late in 1907 in compliance with an act 

of Congress approved January 29, 1907, which provided a That the 

Secretary of Commerce and Labor be, and he is hereby, authorized 

and directed to investigate and report on the industrial, social, moral, 

educational, and physical condition of woman and child workers 

in the United States wherever employed, with special reference to 

their age, hours of labor, term of employment, health, illiteracy, 

sanitary and other conditions surrounding their occupation, and the 

means employed for the protection of their health, persons, and 

morals.”

The investigation, begun in 1907, was continued through 1908 and 

for several months of 1909. For the most part, however, the report 

relates to conditions as they were found in 1908. Inquiry was confined almost wholly to States east of the Mississippi, owing partly 

to limitations of time and money, and partly to the fact that the 

investigation dealt with industrial and social problems, which have 

had a longer development in the East than in the West.

The full report as published is in 19 volumes. While each volume 

relates to a distinct subject and is complete in itself, the subjects of 

the report considered as a whole fall into several groups. The first 

four volumes deal with four important industries—cotton, glass, 

men’s ready-made garments, and silk—considering them especially 

as employers of women and children. With these may well be 

grouped three other volumes—women in stores and factories, women 

in the metal trades, and women and children in miscellaneous factory industries. Two deal with particular child-labor problems: 

The reasons why children leave school to go to work, and the connection between the employment of children and juvenile delin13

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14 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

quency. Three are historical, giving the history of child-labor legislation, the history of women in industry, and the history of tradeunionism among women. Four deal with questions of health: The 

effect of laundry work upon women, a study of infant mortality in 

Fall River, a study of the causes of death among cotton-mill operatives, and a study of hookworm disease, especially as found in 

southern cotton-mill communities. Three others—a study of family 

budgets of cotton-mill workers, a discussion of the connection between occupation and criminality of women, and a study of the 

enforcement of labor laws and laws concerning factory inspection in 

the States visited—complete the list.1

The first volume of the report was transmitted to Congress June 14, 

1910, and nine other volumes followed during the year 1910. Of the 

other volumes, four were transmitted in 1911, four in 1912, and one 

early in 1913.

As no special appropriation was made for the printing of these 

volumes, the number printed and distributed has been limited to the 

number, approximately 1,500, regularly printed for the use of Members of Congress and for those libraries which as Government depositaries regularly receive all Government publications, and to 1,000 

copies of each volume for distribution directly by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics. Since the issue of these volumes requests for copies 

have been numerous and constant, but because of the cost of reprinting the volumes an edition adequate to meet demands has been impossible in the absence of a special appropriation for that purpose. 

This summary has, therefore, been prepared for the purpose of presenting briefly the more important results of the investigation within 

limits which will permit printing in sufficient quantity to supply 

reasonable demands upon the Bureau.

*A full list of the volumes of this report is as follow s:

Vol. I. Cotton Textile Industry, pp. 1044.

Vol. II. Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, pp. 878.

Vol. III. Glass Industry, pp. 970.

Vol. IV. Silk Industry, pp. 592.

Vol. V. Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 384.

Vol. V I. The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States; a Comparative

Study, pp. 225.

Vol. V II. Conditions Under Which Children Leave School to Go to Work. pp. 309.

Vol. V III. Juvenile Delinquency and Its Relation to Employment, pp. 177.

Vol. IX . History of Women in Industry in the United States, pp. 277.

Vol. X . History of Women in Trade-Unions. pp. 236.

Vol. X I. Employment of Women in Metal Trades, pp. 107.

Vol. X II. Employment of Women in Laundries, pp. 121.

Vol. X III. Infant Mortality and its Relation to the Employment of Mothers, pp. 174.

Vol. X IV . Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, pp. 430.

Vol. X V . Relation Between Occupation and Criminality of Women, pp. 119.

Vol. X V I. Family Budgets of Typical Cotton-Mill Workers, pp. 255.

Vol. X V II. Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-Mill Operatives, pp. 45.

Vol. X V III. Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries, pp. 531.

Vol. X IX . Labor Laws and Factory Conditions, pp. 1125.

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INTRODUCTION. 15

The present bulletin gives summaries of the 19 volumes of the 

report in order. No complete summarization of these summaries has 

been attempted, but some of the more significant points have been 

indicated, which appear not in any one volume but from a study 

of the report as a whole.

PROPORTION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE

INDUSTRIES.

The total number of employees in the establishments included in 

the investigation, or the total number of female employees (in one 

study where only female employees were included), with the per 

cent of boys and girls under 16 years of age and of women 16 years 

of age and over, are shown in the following table. Over 335,000 

persons were employed in the establishments covered, and of this 

number over 167,000 were females.

PEE CENT OP WOMAN AND CHILD W ORKERS IN THE ESTABLISHMENTS INCLUDED

IN THE INVESTIGATION, B Y INDUSTRIES.

Total

employees

in establishments

covered.

Per cent of total employees.

Industry. Women

16 years

and over.

Girls

under 16

years.

Boys

under 16

years.

Cotton textiles (Vol. I):

New England group1...................................................... 33,030

48,305

23,683

54,964

21,946

«35,772

«1,698

6 4,373

112,322

43.3 2.7 2.5

Southern group1.............................................................. 27.0 9.5 10.5

Men’s ready-made clothing (Vol. II)2. ............................... 49.6 2.9 .7

The glass industry (Vol. Ill) 8............................................. 7.4 1.0 9.3

The silk industry (V ol. IV ) *................................................ 54.9 8.3 2.7

Retail stores (Vol. V ):

Pay-roll data 6....................................................................

Personal data7.................................................................. 2.9

Factories, etc. (Vol. V): Personal data8............................ 4.4

Miscellaneous factory industries (Vol. X V III)9............. 49.8 5.0 2.1

1 Vol. I, p. 16.

2 Vol. II, p. 33.

s Vol. Ill, p. 18.

* Vol. IV , p. 14.

« Vol. V , p. 41.

6 Female employees only; total number of employees in the establishments not reported,

s Vol.* v 'p p . 23,46.

• Vol. X VIII, p. 17; for percentages for the separate industries included in Volume X V III, see Chapter

X V III of this bulletin.

AGE OF WOMEN AT WORK.

In all the industries where the employment of women was studied 

one fact of striking importance was the youthfulness of the women 

and girls found at work. The age grouping is not identical in the 

various reports, due to defects in the original data, but for those 

reports in which the age data are on a comparable basis the age distribution of the female employees was as follows:

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16 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

AGES OF WOMEN AND GIRLS EMPLOYED IN THE ESTABLISHMENTS COVERED IN

THE INDUSTRIES INCLUDED IN THE INVESTIGATION.

[Women whose exact ages were not reported are not included in this table.]

Industry.

Total

female

employees.

Per cent of total females in specified

age groups.

Under

16 years.

16 to 19

years.

20 to 24

years.

25 years

and

over.

Cotton textiles (Vol. I):

New England group1..................................................

Southern group1..........................................................

Men’s ready-made clothing (Vol. II) *............................

Glass industry (Vol. Ill) 3................................................

Silk industry (Vol. IV):

New Jersey4..................................................................

13,727

13,762

10,906

3,073

«6,641

5,542

35,772

1,584

4,017

61,528

6.48

33.32

6.22

15.68

10.92

22.77

27.00

37.89

40.64

54.57

27.51

45.67

27.91

16.94

27.09

19.56

24.17

7 5.88

38.61

11.85

26.06

10.19

37.40

Pennsylvania®.............................................................. 825.68

Retail stores (Vol. V):

Pay-roll data 9 .............................................................

Personal data ®.............................................................

Factories, mills, etc. (Vol. V): Personal data12...........

Miscellaneous factory industries (Vol. X V III)13........

3.16

4.75

9.10

W37.56

W50.56

40.80

u 21.97

n 20.09

25.80

37.31

24. €0

24.30

i Vol. I, p. 617.

* Vol. II, p. 517.

3 Vol. I ll, p. 641.

* Vol. IV , p. 52.

Ages in detail were not secured for employees of the establishments covered in the investigation in

Paterson, N. J., as data were already available in the records of the New Jersey State census of 1905. From

these data the figures here given were compiled. Per cent under 16 years, as shown by the present study,

including 5,067 female employees, was 6.4.

6 Vol. IV , p. 59.

7 The per cent given is for those 20 years of age.

s The per cent given is for those 21 years of age and over.

9 Vol. V, p. 41.

m The per cent given is for those 16 to 20 years of age, inclusive.

11 The per cent given is for those 21 to 24 years of age, inclusive.

» Vol. V , p. 46.

is Vol. X V III, p. 19.

It will be observed that the percentage of females under 16 years 

of age varied greatly in the different industry groups and in the different localities. Thus, in the cotton textile industry in the South 

33.3 per cent of all the females were under 16 years of age; in the silk 

industry in Pennsylvania the percentage was only slightly less, 22.8. 

On the other hand, in the cotton textile industry in New England 

only 6.5 per cent of the female employees were under 16 years of age, 

and in the silk industry in New Jersey only 11 per cent fell in that 

age group. In both cases the high percentage found under 16 years is 

accounted for by the legal standards regulating the employment of 

children. In the Southern States it was legal and customary for 

children to go to work as early as 12 years. In Pennsylvania, while 

the legal age of employment was not as low, the machinery provided 

for the enforcement of the law was neither adequate nor effective.1

Perhaps the most striking feature of this table is the great percentage of the women in the age group 16 to 19 years. In three of 

the industry groups—the southern cotton group, the glass mdustry,

1 For further details as to actual conditions found in Pennsylvania, see Chapter IV,

pp. 174-177.

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INTRODUCTION. 17

arid the Pennsylvania silk group—more than two-thirds of the women 

employed were found to be under 20 years of age.

While a large majority of these women are young, the proportion 

25 years of age and over is considerable, enough to emphasize the 

importance of the industrial or vocational training of women. It 

is frequently stated that a woman’s industrial life is from 6 to 8 

years long, that she begins work from 14 to about 18, and drops out 

between 20 and 25, if not before. The figures given above show that 

in the industries studied most of the workers conformed to this 

theory, but a proportion varying from one-eighth to two-fifths had 

not left by 25. How long this remainder stayed is not clearly traceable from the data given. Excluding children under 16 years of 

age, in the New England group of cotton workers, 20 per cent, and 

among the garment makers 12.2 per cent were 35 years of age and 

over, while among the southern cotton workers and the glassworkers 

the proportion in this group were, respectively, only 6 and 4.1 per 

cent. Among the workers in the miscellaneous factory industries,

15.8 per cent were 30 years of age and over. Some of these did not 

come into the industry as young girls; some entered the industry as 

adult immigrants, while others began work later in life under the 

pressure of unanticipated need; but in either case the fact remains 

that there is in the industrial world a considerable body of women 

who can not be called young.

MARRIED WOMEN AT WORK.

Somewhat in line with this is the fact brought out in several of 

the reports that for many women marriage and industrial life are not 

mutually exclusive. The proportion which married women formed 

of the women employees in different industries is discussed at some 

length in connection with the separate industries in the present 

volume. It is sufficient here to mention that of 27 industries studied 

only three were found in which the proportion of married women 

among those 20 years of age and over was under 10 per cent, and from 

this it ran up to two-fifths, and even in one industry to three-fifths. 

But another aspect of this question was brought out in the investigations into the cotton, clothing, glass, and silk industries. In each of 

these the names of a number of women and children were taken from 

the pay rolls of each establishment visited, agents were sent to their 

homes and full details were learned as to the amount and sources of 

the family income. The following figures show the extent to which 

the married women of these families were employed:

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18 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER OF FAMILIES W ITH MOTHERS LIVING W ITH FAMILY, AND NUMBER AND

PER CENT OF SUCH FAMILIES W ITH MOTHERS GAINFULLY EMPLOYED, B Y INDUSTRIES.

Families having mothers living

with family.

Industry.

Total.

Number

in which

mother

was gainfully employed.

i Por cent

i in which

mother

was gainfully employed.

Cotton:

New England group............................................................................... 794 163 20.5

Southern group........................................................................................ 1,518

2,204

252 16.6

Men’s ready-made clothing.......................................................................... 948 43.0

Glass.................................................................................................................. 2,0S7

1,837

291 13.9

Silk.................................................................................................................... 263 14.3

In the clothing industry a special effort was made to secure for 

study the families of home finishers, and as the home finishers are 

usually married women, the results given above can not be taken as 

representing the situation in the garment-making industry generally. In the other industries, however, the names of woman and 

child workers were taken from the pay roll without selection of any 

kind, so that there is no reason to doubt the typical character of the 

results secured. They show nothing inconsistent with the results 

of the study of employees already referred to. When all the female 

employees of the separate industries were considered it was found 

that about one-eighth were married, the proportion running up in 

single industries to two-fifths or over. When a number of families, 

selected on the basis of having at least one woman or child employed 

in a given industry, were studied, it was found that from something 

over one-eighth to one-fifth of the mothers were industrially employed. The two studies point to the same conclusion—that the married woman is by no means an exceptional figure in the industrial 

world.

FAMILIES HAVING DAUGHTERS AT WORK.

Another point of interest brought out in these family studies is 

the attitude of families toward the industrial employment of their 

womankind. In general, the mothers were not working for wages 

unless their earnings were needed for the actual subsistence of the 

family, but the daughters were apt to be at work even though the 

family were in more prosperous circumstances. The following figures show the extent to which the daughters of 16 years and over 

were employed.

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INTRODUCTION. 19

PER CENT OF FAMILIES HAVING DAUGHTERS 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER IN WHICH

SUCH DAUGHTERS W ERE AT W O R K AND PER CENT OF TOTAL DAUGHTERS 16

YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AT W O RK, BY INDUSTRIES.

Families having

daughters 16 years of

age and over.

Daughters 16 years of

age and over.

Industry.

Total

number.

Per cent

in which

such

daughters

were

at work.

Total

number.

Per cent

at work.

Cotton:

New England group........................................................ ' 613 98.2 1,080 95.3

Southern group................................................................. 938 94.5 1,415 93.9

Men’s ready-made clothing................................................... 1,392

1,129

1,111

97.1 2,186 93.9

G la ss............................... ; ..................................................... 82.3 1,583 80.2

Silk.............................................................................................. 93.4 1,681 88.8

Even these figures do not show the extent to which the women of 

this group were really working, since they show only those who 

worked during the year preceding the investigation, a year of business depression and slack employment in many industries. Most 

of those who do not appear in this table as being at work had been 

industrially employed in previous years and expected to be so 

employed again as soon as work could be obtained.

The industrial employment of daughters in this age group is 

almost universal. It does not seem to be a racial matter. The proportion of families having their daughters at work is larger among 

the cotton workers of the South, who were of pure American stock, 

than among the silk workers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who 

were predominantly of foreign birth or descent, and the proportion 

of their daughters at work is exactly the same as among the garment 

workers, who were practically all foreigners. It seems certain that 

they are at work either because of economic necessity or because the 

standards of their class demand wage earning from daughters as 

completely as from sons, or, which is probably the real situation, 

from both reasons combined.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAMILY INCOME OF DAUGHTERS AT

WORK.

The economic reason, however, certainly counts for much. The 

following table shows the importance of the contributions of these 

daughters to the family income as compared with those from other 

wage-earning members.

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20 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

PER CENT OF FAMILY INCOME CONTRIBUTED B Y EACH CLASS OF W ORKERS, BY

INDUSTRIES.i

Class of workers.

Per cent of family income contributed by each

class of workers i n -

Cotton industry.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Readymade

clothing

industry.

Glass

industry.

Silk

industry.

Fathers..............................................................

Mothers.............................................................

Male children 16 years of age and over___

Female children 16 years of age and over.

Children 14 and 15 years of age....................

Children 12 and 13 years of age....................

Children under 12 years of age.....................

37.7

32.4

31.1

42.6

18.7

14.3

23.6

34.0

27.9

27.3

35.2

22.9

17.6

13.5

48.4 56.0 50.5

26.8 25.1 33.0

36.5 37.8 37.0

39.7 26.7 35.1

14.2 18.9 16.6

10.0 15.7 13.3

1 These per cents apply only to the incomes of families having wage earners of the specified class.

2 Based on incomes of two families, each having one child under 12 at work.

Since the contributions made by the daughters range from onefourth to two-fifths of the total family incomes and since few workingmen’s families are sufficiently prosperous to lose such a fraction 

of their income without feeling it severely, it seems fairly evident 

that these young women are not forcing themselves into the industrial 

world through mere restlessness or distaste for home duties.

GIRLS GIVING ALL THEIR EARNINGS TO FAMILY.

Another fact tending to show that economic necessity is the cause 

for the presence of these girls and young women in the industrial 

world is the extent to which their earnings are looked upon as 

family property. Two of the reports show how many of the single 

women at work turned all of their earnings into the family fund. 

Among the clothing workers the number and proportion of females 

16 years of age and over who contributed all their earnings to the 

family fund were, for the different cities studied, as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALE W ORKERS 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER IN

THE MEN’S READY-MADE CLOTHING INDUSTRY W HO CONTRIBUTED ALL THEIR

EARNINGS TO THE FAMILY FUND, B Y CITIES.

City. Number. Per cent.

Chicago.................................................................................................................................... 526 90.1

Rochester................................................................................................................................ 98 68.5

New York............................................................................................................................... 566 92.3

Philadelphia........................................................................................................................... 257 92.8

Baltimore................................................................................................................................ 295 79.7

Total.............................................. T,. ......... ........... ............................. 1,742 87.7

Of 1,214 women employed in retail stores and living at home, 68.5 

per cent turned in all their earnings to the family, 26.9 per cent 

turned in part, and 4.5 per cent kept all for their own use. Of

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INTRODUCTION. 21

3,370 female workers employed in factories and living at home, 77.2 

per cent gave in all their earnings, 21.5 per cent gave part, and 1A

per cent kept all for themselves.

PERCENTAGE OF EARNINGS CONTRIBUTED TO FAMILY.

In the family studies made in connection with the four large 

industries, information was secured as to the average proportion 

of their earnings turned into the family fund by children 16 years 

of age and over, whether male or female. The earnings of the 

female workers and proportions contributed were as follows:

NUMBER OF FAMILIES W ITH FEMALE CHILDREN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AT

W ORK, AVERAGE EARNINGS OF SUCH CHILDREN, AND PER CENT OF THEIR EARNINGS CONTRIBUTED TO FAMILY, B Y INDUSTRIES.

Number

Earnings of female

children 16 years of

age and over.

Industry. of

families.

Average.

Per cent

contributed to

family.

Cotton:

New England group............................................................................... 602 $321 96.6

Southern group........................................................................................ 886 237 89.0

Men's ready-made clothing.......................................................................... 1,352 263 93.2

Glass............................................................................. ........................ 929 204 86.4

Silk.................................................................................................................... 1,048 283 9o.O

It is evident that the amounts these workers retain for their own 

individual use are too small to account for their going to work. In 

the main their earnings go into the family fund, from which they are 

fed and clothed, but no part of which is looked upon as peculiarly 

theirs.

LOW EARNINGS OF WOMAN WAGE EARNERS.

One of the most significant facts brought out by the investigation 

in practically all industries was the large proportion of woman wage 

earners who were paid very low wages—wages in many cases inadequate to supply a reasonable standard of living for women dependent 

upon their own earnings for support.

In the group of women employed in the four great industries, cotton, men’s ready-made clothing, glass, and silk, from two-fifths to 

two-thirds of those 16 years of age and over earned less than $6 in a 

representative week. The exact percentages of women 16 years of 

age and over whose earnings fell below $6 and $8 were found to be 

as follows:

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22 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

PER CENT OF WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER EARNING UNDER $6 AND UNDER

$8 IN A REPRESENTATIVE W EEK.

Industry. Total

Per cent earning—

number.

Under $6. Under $8.

Cotton:

New England........................................................................................... 13,744

12,654

10,149

2,774

8,596

38.0 67.4

Southern.................................................................................................. 68.0 92.5

Men’s ready-made clothing........................................................t................ 49.0 73.1

Glass................................................................................................................ 64.0 91.2

Silk.................................................................................................................... 45.4 71.1

In a group of 1,655 women reporting earnings in department and 

other retail stores in seven of the principal cities, the average weekly 

earnings of 30.8 per cent were found to be under $6, and of 66.2 per 

cent under $8. A study of the pay rolls of department and other 

retail stores in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, including 

nearly 36,000 female employees, showed that the weekly rates of pay 

of 26.4 per cent fell below $6, and of 57.5 per cent below $8. In a 

group of 4,160 women employed in mills and factories in seven of the 

principal cities the average weekly earnings of 40.1 per cent fell 

below $6, and of 74.3 per cent below SS.1

In another section of the investigation, where the earnings of over 

38,000 women 18 years of age and over in 23 industries were secured, 

the story of low wages which the pay-roll figures tell is equally 

striking. The per cent of women earning under $6 and under $8 in 

a representative week in each of these 23 industries is shown in the 

following table:

PER CENT OF WOMEN 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER EARNING UNDER $6 AND UNDER

$8 IN A REPRESENTATIVE W E E K , B Y INDUSTRIES.2

Industry. Number,.

Per cent earning—

Under $6. Under $8.

Canning and preserving, fruits and vegetables

Canning and preserving, oysters........................

Cans and boxes, tin...............................................

Cigar boxes..............................................................

Cigarettes.................................................................

Cigars........................................................................

Clocks and watches...............................................

Confectionery..........................................................

Core making............................................................

Corsets......................................................................

Crackers and biscuits............................................

Hardware, etc.........................................................

Hosiery and knit goods.........................................

Jewelry.....................................................................

Needles and pins....................................................

Nuts, bolts, and screws.........................................

Paper boxes.............................................................

Pottery.....................................................................

Rubber and elastic goods.....................................

Shirts, overalls, etc................................................

Stamped and enameled ware..............................

Tobacco and snuff..................................................

Woolen and worsted goods..................................

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

59.2

99.4

50.2

61.8

33.1

39.3

33.5

55.6 22.1

29.7

54.0

57.9

31.7

31.8

27.2

61.7

40.1

45.5

28.8

55.5

45.0

55.6

29.7

93.5 100.0

79.5

84.5

75.4

71.3

72.3

81.3

61.9

58.9

82.0

88.2

64.0

67.4

61.6

92.1

74.5

65.8

56.7

89.9

72.7

79.7

68.9

38,182 41.1 72.7

1 Vol. V , Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 41,45, and 46.

2 Vol. X V III, Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries, p. 23.

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INTRODUCTION. 23

CAUSES OP DIFFERENCES IN EARNINGS OF MEN AND 

WOMEN.

The detailed studies of different occupations throw some light on 

the relation between the earnings of male and female workers in the 

same industries. In practically every industry studied the men’s 

wages ranged higher than the women’s, and the proportion earning 

fair or good wages was much larger among the men than among the 

women. To a very large degree this was due to a difference in the 

work done by men and women; to a less degree it seemed due to a 

difference in strength, swiftness, or skill when they were doing the 

same work; and in a very few instances, so few as to be negligible, it 

seemed due to no cause but that the women were willing to do the 

work for less and therefore were employed.

The first cause, a difference in the kind of work done, was especially noticeable in the group of miscellaneous factory industries 

studied. In industry after industry a clear-cut division of work between the sexes was found. Ordinarily the occupations involving 

skill, training, and responsibility were in the hands of the men, 

while the work of the women was apt to be at best only semiskilled 

and in many cases was purely mechanical. Under these circumstances the difference in earnings of the sexes was very marked. 

Thus of 31,288 male workers 18 years of age and over engaged in 

these industries, well over one-half (56.5 per cent) earned $10 or 

more a week, while of the 38,182 female workers in the same age 

group employed in these industries, only one-tenth (10.5 per cent) 

earned as much or more than $10. Two-fifths of the women (41.1 

per cent), as against 9.5 per cent of the men, earned under $6 a week.

Even when men and women were nominally engaged in the same 

occupation there was frequently a difference in the kind and quality 

of work undertaken by them. Thus in gilding pottery, the simplest 

form, lining, is done almost wholly by women, while the more difficult form, filling in designs, is done by both sexes.

But there is no competition between them, as the men do the artistic 

work which requires long preliminary training, while the women do 

those parts which may be learned in a few months. The men receive 

higher wages and are said to be displacing the women, partly because 

they do better work and partly because they can move their ware 

about without assistance.1

When men and women were engaged in exactly the same work 

under the same circumstances it was apt to be at piece rates. Under 

these circumstances the difference in earnings was usually less and 

sometimes was in favor of the female workers. Thus in the New

1 Vol. X V III, Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries, p. 268.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
England cotton mills the average earnings per hour of male weavers 

16 years of age and over were 17 cents, while for female weavers in 

the same age group they were 15.4 cents. Male ring spinners 16 

years of age and over averaged 11.6 cents per hour, while female ring 

spinners averaged 12.6 cents per hour. When in such occupations men 

made higher earnings it seemed to be due sometimes to their greater 

strength which enabled them to handle their machines to better advantage, sometimes to an ability to work at greater speed, and sometimes to greater skill or longer experience.

In general the lower earnings of women seem due to a variety of 

causes, such as their lack of training which keeps them out of the 

better-paid work, a lack of self-assertion which makes them willing 

to accept low wages, and a lack of experience and organization which 

makes it impossible for them to secure the wages which men would 

probably insist upon having.

Almost everywhere women predominated in the unskilled work, 

probably because they could be secured for this at wages which would 

not attract men.

This was written of the cigar-making industry, but applies equally 

well to many others of the industries studied. Women were rarely, 

if ever, paid less than men for doing exactly the same work, but the 

less skilled branches were frequently turned over to them at wages 

which men would not accept.

AGE AND EARNINGS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS.

A point of decided interest, especially in view of recent minimumwage legislation, is the relation between the age and the earning 

capacity of women and girls. Inquiry into this matter is handicapped by the lack of any standard of wages for female workers. 

Nevertheless, it is possible to get some idea of the age up to which 

the earning capacity increases even under the present arrangement— 

or lack of arrangement—of women’s wages. The following table, 

based on the girls and women found at work in the four great 

industries of which detailed studies were made, shows their average 

earning power for each year up to 24, and after that for 5 or 10 

year periods:

24 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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AGE AND EARNINGS OF FEMALE W ORKERS IN FOUR SPECIFIED INDUSTRIES.

INTRODUCTION. 25

Age.

Under 11 years.

11 years.............

12 years.............

13 years.............

14 years.............

15 years.............

16 years.............

17 years.............

18 years..............

19 years.............

20 years.............

21 years.............

22 years.............

23 years.............

24 years.............

25 to 29 years...

30 to 34 years...

35 to 39 years...

40 to 44 years...

45 to 49 years...

50 to 54 years...

55 to 59 years...

60 to 64 years...

65 years and

over................

Female cotton-mill

workers,

Massachusetts.

Number.

1

106

209

333

436

553

496

501

572

470

338

292

986

616

550

415

239

137

52

17

Average

earaper

hour.

$0,095

.082

.104

.108

.115

.122

.129

.129

.134

.141

.138

.141

.148

.148

•154

.154

.151

.147

.144

.133

8 .111

Female cotton-mill

workers,

North

Carolina.

Number.

23

36

159

210

299

311

338

300

391

266

265

190

159

111

80

322

158

76

62

29

11

2

2

Average

earnings

per

hour.

10.047

.056

.058

.065

.070

.078

.082

.089

.091

.090

.093

.097

.096

.097

.102

.101

•106

.096

.095

.096

.102

.052

.066

Female shopworkers

on men’s

ready-made

garments,

Chicago.

Number.

Average

weekly

earnings.

118 $3.16

185 3.81

338 5.60

456 6.30

469 6.86

443 7.32

357 7.46

236 8.17

185 8.16

137 8.47

94 8.35

289 8.02

118 8.47

81 8.85

73 8.48

44 6.98

33 8.01

14 5.93

13 5.93

5 5.96

Female silkmill workers,

New Jersey.

Number.

1

18

81

128

96

92

82

76

57

47

49

49

41

175

70

24

Average

earnings

per

hour.

$0,064

.065

.079

.091

.106

.121

.140

.138

.158

.164

.163

.163

.179

.171

.164

.172

.151

Female silkmill workers,

Pennsylvania.

Number.

6

35

193

332

346

176

116

86

47

34

292222

9

Average

earnings

per

hour.

$0,050

.051

.050

.055

.058

.069

.079

.094

.098

.112

.128

.120

.117

.137

.135

.091

Female glassworkers.

Number.

Average

fulltime

weekly

earnings.

3 $4.33

12 3.83

161 3.87

305 4.26

523 4.75

450 4.99

411 5.32

260 5.68

203 5.81

146 5.93

98 5.73

77 6.06

66 6.36

135 6.99

62 5.92

69 5.92

In every case there is a steady increase in the average earnings 

up to about 21 or 22 years, at which point a kind of preliminary 

maximum is reached. At this point earnings either stand still or 

actually fall off for a year or two, after which they resume their 

progression, though less regularly than before, and reach their real 

maximum at from 30 to 39 in cotton and men’s garment making, 

and at from 24 to 29 in silk and glass making.

This table is based on the earnings of all female workers, skilled 

and unskilled alike. A similar study of occupations would be more 

satisfactory, but figures of this kind are available only for the 

weavers in the cotton mills of Massachusetts and of North Carolina. 

For these the number of women studied and their hourly earnings 

at each age were as follows. These weavers were all pieceworkers.

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26 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

HOURLY EARNINGS OF FEMALE W EAVERS IN COTTON MILLS IN MASSACHUSETTS

AND NORTH CAROLINA. B Y AGE.

Massachusetts. North Carolina.

Age.

Number. Hourly

earnings. Number. Hourly

earnings.

12 years...................................................................................... 3 $0,066

13 years...................................................................................... 15 .065

14 years...................................................................................... 15 $0,100 27 .075

15 years...................................................................................... 30 .140 44 .079

16 years...................................................................................... 37 .131 48 .085

17 years...................................................................................... 65 .129 44 .089

18 years...................................................................................... 115 .129 77 .094

19 years...................................................................................... 127 .140 51 .105

20 years...................................................................................... 145 .135 49 .101

21 years...................................................................................... 194 .138 48 .110

22 years...................................................................................... 182 .148 50 .111

23 years...................................................................................... 114 .153 29 .108

24 years...................................................................................... 100 .153 30 .113

25 to 29 years............................................................................ 367 .166 111 .113

30 to 34 years............................................................................ 235 .160 59 .1 1 9

35 to 39 years............................................................................ 240 .172 26 .106

40 to 44 years............................................................................ 207 .166 19 .117

45 to 49 years............................................................................ 123 .163 11 .107

50 to 54 years............................................................................ 64 .162 1 .185

55 to 59 years............................................................................ 28 .152 1 .094

60 to 64 years............................................................................ 8 .159 1 .128

65 years and over..................................................................... 5 .095

Others, reported as 16 years and over................................. 10 .149 1 .082

Others, reported as 21 years and over................................. 292 .131 15 .121

Total................................................................................ 2,703 .151 760 .103

The earnings of these skilled workers range higher than those of 

the general mass of cotton workers, but their course is almost identical, except that among the weavers the preliminary maximum is 

reached at 19. The real maximum is found at exactly the same age as 

among the general workers—at from 35 to 39 years in Massachusetts 

and at from 30 to 34 years in North Carolina. This difference is interesting because of its agreement with the results obtained in another 

part of the investigation of the four special industries. A number of 

family studies were made in connection with each, and in the course of 

these the age and yearly earnings of the single women 16 years of age 

and over found at work were ascertained. They were as follows:

AGE AND EARNINGS OF FEMALE W ORKERS, AGED 16 OR OVER, IN FOUR SPECIFIED

INDUSTRIES.

Age.

Cotton mills,

Northern.

Cotton mills,

Southern.

Men’s readymade garments.

Glassworkers. New Jersey

silk workers.

Pennsylvania

silk workers.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

16 years............. 164 $272 298 $227 405 $207 283 $163 105 $257 192 $166

17 years............. 151 302 217 231 338 238 233 182 101 280 142 188

18 years............. 158 304 212 234 289 273 197 214 85 335 102 187

19 years............. 116 350 140 248 230 287 106 206 77 320 55 201

20 years............. 98 321 98 246 183 281 106 232 67 356 47 215

21 years............. 64 347 82 243 136 310 75 219 45 391 38 238

22 years............. 58 354 56 244 119 310 56 214 44 409 29 276

23 years............. 36 345 32 260 64 313 45 244 42 404 27 255

24 years............. 38 369 43 243 43 274 36 246 35 443 11 249

25 to 29 years... 73 374 68 248 112 309 52 292 95 419 29 302

30 years or over. 61 340 42 265 68 313 43 263 84 418 14 322

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INTRODUCTION. 27

Average yearly earnings are less satisfactory than hourly or 

weekly earnings, since they are less apt to be learned accurately. 

In this case, however, the numbers involved are large and the similarity of the results seems to indicate that the figures are reliable. 

In one group, it will be noticed, the preliminary maximum is reached 

at 18, in three at 19, in one at 20, and in one at 22. On the whole, 

the age of the temporary maximum of earning power among these 

workers corresponds more nearly to that among the weavers than 

among the whole mass of female workers in the different industries. 

Considering the three sets of figures, it appears that a girl going into 

industry earns more with each successive year up to somewhere about 

20, the exact point varying from 18 to 22 or over, but in a considerable proportion of cases falling at 19 years.

In this connection it is of interest to notice that the British trade 

boards, appointed to fix minimum rates of wages in certain industries, have rather generally fixed upon 18 as the earliest age at which 

a female worker may become entitled to the full minimum wage. 

Under that age she is looked upon as a learner, for whom rates of 

wages are carefully adjusted according to a scale of increase which 

will bring her up to the minimum established for adult workers 

not earlier than 18. The care with which rates of wages for learners 

at various ages have been worked out is shown by the following 

table, giving the minimum rates per week for girls employed in the 

men’s garment-making industry:

MINIMUM RATES OF WAGES PER W E E K FOR FEMALE LEARNERS IN THE M EN’S

READY-M ADE TAILORING TRA DE , AS F IX E D UNDER THE BRITISH TRADE

BOARDS ACT.

Wages (per week) of learners commencing at—

14 and under 15

years of age.

15 and under 16

years of age,

16 and under 21

years of age. 21 years of age and over.

During first six months of

employment.

During second six months

of employment.

Daring third six months

of employment.

During fourth six months

of employment.

During fifth six months

of employment.

During sixth six months

of employment.

During seventh six

months of employment.

During eighth six

months of employment.

s. d.

3 0($0.73)

4 6 (1.10)

6 0 ( 1.46)

7 3 ( 1.76)

8 4 ( 2.03)

9 5 ( 2.29)

11 5(2.78)

12 6 ( 3.04)

s. d.

3 8 ($0.89)

5 2 ( 1.26)

7 3 ( 1.76)

8 10 ( 2.15)

10 11 ( 2.66)

12 6 ( 3.04)

s. d.

5 2 ($1.26)

6 9 ( 1.64)

9 5 ( 2.29)

12 6 ( 3.04)

First 3 months, 6s. 9d. ($1.64),

Second 3 months, 8s. 4d«

($2.03).

Third three months 10s. lid.

($2.66).

Fourth 3 months, 12s. 6d.

($3.04).

This table shows a more rapid rate of increase than appears in the 

three tables just given, which may be accounted for by the much 

lower wages at which the English earnings begin. The point of

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2 8 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

special interest is that the rates are adjusted with the evident purpose 

of enabling the learner to claim the full minimum by the time she is 

between 18 and 19 years old, an age not far from that at which the 

American worker reaches her first or temporary maximum of earning 

capacity.

ACCIDENTS TO WOMEN.

The reports on health and safety bring out several points not 

usually recognized. They show that in the metal-working trades, 

where accidents are common, a woman’s peril comes first from her 

lack of familiarity with machinery and second from the automatism 

which is invariably and inevitably established by a worker who is 

attendant upon a machine, and that so-called carelessness is often 

the line of conduct best adapted to secure safety. They establish 

conclusively the fact that the death rate is much higher among women 

working in cotton mills than among women not so employed, and 

that female operatives are especially susceptible to tuberculosis. 

Most unexpectedly they show that it is impossible to connect any considerable part of the high infantile mortality rate of Fall River with 

the employment of married women in the mills, but that the ignorance 

of the mothers as to the proper care and feeding of their babies is the 

leading cause to which the numerous deaths of children under one 

year of age must be attributed, and that all other causes are subsidiary to this.1

SUBSTITUTION OF WOMEN FOR MEN IN INDUSTRY.

The investigation as a whole brings out several general facts about 

women in industry. It shows that for over half a century a process 

of substitution has been going on by which men have been gradually 

taking the leading part in industries formerly carried on chiefly’ in 

the home and considered distinctively feminine, such as spinning and 

weaving and garment making and knitting. As the women have 

been more or less dispossessed in their specialties they have either 

gone into work formerly considered men’s, such as the printing trade, 

or entered newly established industries which had not been definitely 

taken over by either sex. In both cases they are usually found doing 

the least skilled and poorest paid work.

The individual woman entered the industrial world under the 

pressure of necessity. The employer invited their entrance en masse 

because they were cheap, and above all because they were docile 

and easily managed.2 They were cheap and easily managed partly

1 See pp. 357-359.

2 Instances were found of employers who declared that they would rather have women,

although men could do the work better, because the women were unorganized and therefore more readily controlled.

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INTRODUCTION. 29

because they were in the main young, partly because they were unorganized, and partly because, as they expected to stay in the industrial world only a short time, they considered it better to accept 

conditions as they found them than to fight for improvements.

To a considerable extent this is still the situation, but there are 

indications that it is changing. As already mentioned, there are a 

considerable number of older women in the industrial field, and the 

married woman is becoming a more and more common figure. Also 

the idea of organization seems to be increasing among women and 

the woman’s trade-union movement, which seemed to reach its lowest 

ebb in 1907-8, was already reviving before these reports appeared. 

Most important, perhaps, of all, their early experiences with tradeunionism have convinced women that the hopeful line of activity 

for them is the effort to secure protective laws with careful provision 

for their enforcement, and this effort they are pushing vigorously.

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

The family studies already mentioned brought out also some facts 

as to the employment of children. In every State visited the employment of children of 14 and 15 was legal and customary. The 

extent to which in the families studied children of these ages were at 

work is shown by the following figures:

PER CENT OF FAMILIES HAVING CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE IN WHICH SUCH

CHILDREN W ER E AT W O R K , AND PER CENT OF TOTAL CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS

OF AGE AT W O RK , B Y INDUSTRIES.

Families having children 14 and 15 years

of age.

Children 14 and 15 years

of age.

Industry.

Total

number.

Per cent in

which such

children

were at

work.

Total

number.

Per cent

at work.

Cotton:

New England group ...................... - .......... 539 87.2 624 83.8

Southern group................................................................. 960 96.9 1,072 96.2

Men's ready-made clothing.................................................... 865 75.0 958 71.8

1,681 92.9 1,894 89.5

............................................... 1,258 91.7 1,437gilk 89.6

Since these families were selected on the basis of having at least 

one woman or child gainfully employed, it is possible that they do 

not represent conditions among wage earners generally, but they do 

unquestionably show that there are large numbers of wage earners 

among whom it is a matter of course that children should go to work 

as soon as the law permits and an opportunity is found. The contrast between the southern group of cotton workers and those in the 

other industries studied is marked. No other group shows either as 

large a proportion of families putting their children in this age group

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30 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

to work or as large a proportion of the children at work. The contrast between the northern and southern cotton workers in this respect suggests that the laws restricting child labor in the North or the 

public sentiment back of those laws have had some effect in keeping 

children from being put to work, even when they have reached 

the legal age. The extent to which the children are at work does not 

seem to be wholly a matter of economic necessity, for the garmentmaking families, who had the lowest average incomes of any group 

studied, showed also the smallest proportion of children at work. 

And it is to be hoped that it is not a matter of race, since the southern 

cotton workers were of pure American stock, while the other groups 

were very largely foreign.

INCOME FROM CHILDREN AT WORK.

The proportion of the family income in each group contributed by 

the children of 14 and 15 was as follows:

Cotton: Per cent.

New England group------------------------------------------------------------ 18. 7

Southern group------------------------------------------------------------------- 22. 9

Men’s ready-made clothing-------------------------------------------------------14. 2

Glass___________________________________________________________ 18.9

Silk_____________________________________________________________16.6

CHILDREN UNDER 14 AT WORK.

The employment of children under 14 presents a very different question, since in most of the Northern States it was illegal, while in the 

Southern States it was permitted. Hence the figures concerning it do 

not show the attitude of the northern families themselves, as in the 

case of children of 14 and 15. The following figures show the extent 

to which children under 14 were at work in the families studied:

PER CENT OF FAMILIES HAVING CHILDREN UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE IN WHICH

SUCH CHILDREN W ERE AT W O R K AND PER CENT OF TOTAL CHILDREN UNDER 14

YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK , B Y INDUSTRIES.

Families having children under 14 years

of age.

Children under 14 years

of age.

Industry.

Total

number.

Per cent in

which such

children

were at

work.

Total

number.

Per cent

at work.

Cotton:

New England group........................................................ 0)

(2)

1,544

1,748

4,145

3,939

4,768

4,470

2.9

Southern group ............................................................. 34.5

Men's ready-made clothing.................................................... 3.6 1.5

1,646

1,459

10.9 4.1

ffilTr.............................................................................................. 35.1 11.7

1 In the New England group 360 families had children 12 and 13 years of age, and in 46 of these families

(12.8 per cent) such children were at work; 518 families had children under 12, and in 2 of these (0.4 per cent)

such children were at work.

2 In the southern group 932 families had children 12 and 13 years of age, and in 865 (92.8) of these one or

more such children were at work; 1,161 families had children under 12, and in 399 (34.4 per cent) of these

one or more such children were at work.

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INTRODUCTION. 31

The southern group of cotton workers and the silk workers are 

the only groups in which children under 14 were employed to any 

great extent. Among the cotton workers a considerable proportion 

of such children were illegally employed; among the silk workers, 

practically all.

A N N U A L EARN INGS.

The importance to the family of the earnings of children under 

14 is shown by the following figures:

NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE AT W O R K , THEIR AVERAGE

ANNUAL EARNINGS, AND PER CENT SUCH EARNINGS ARE OF NET FAM ILY INCOME,

B Y INDUSTRIES.

Industry.

Number of

children

under 14

years ofage

at work.

Annual earnings of

children under 14

years of age at work.

Average.

Per cent of

net family

income.i

Cotton:

New England group............................................................................... 50 (2) (2)

<2> ,10.0

Southern group........................................................................................ 1,428

58

(2)

Men's ready-made clothing.......................................................................... $78

Glass.................................................................................................................. 197 119 15.7

Silk.................................................................................................................... 416 112 13.3

1 Based on incomes of families in which children under 14 were at work.

2 In the study of the cotton industry the children under 14 were divided into two groups, those 12 and 13

years old and those under 12. Those 12 and 13 years old in New England numbered 48 and earned an

average of $153 per annum, or 14.3 per cent of the net family income; in the South this group numbered

952 and earned an average of $160 j>er annum, or 17.6 per cent of the net family income. Those under 12

in New England numbered 2, earning an average of $22 per annum, or 3.6 per cent of net family income;

in the South this group numbered 476, earning an average of $114 per annum, or 13.5 per cent of net family

income.

The children’s earnings, it will be noted, form from one-tenth to 

something under one-sixth of the family income. Yet in themselves 

the earnings are small, and their importance is due more to the low 

average incomes of the families than to the real value of the children’s earnings. The low average, however, includes some comfortably high incomes, and in a number of cases it was apparent that 

the work of the children was not due to absolute necessity.

NEED OF CHILDREN’S EARNINGS.

Two studies were undertaken to see to what extent the employment 

of children was due to the pressure of actual want. In connection 

with the study of the glass industry, 864 families having children 

under 16 at work were given special and detailed study to ascertain 

whether the earnings of the children were really necessary to save 

the family from economic distress; and in the study of why children 

leave school to go to work, based on 620 children, this question was 

gone into with great care. In the first case it was concluded that

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32 BULLETIN OP THE BUEEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

of the 864 families there were 314, or 36.3 per cent, in which the 

earnings of the children were necessary to avoid absolute distress and 

in which there was neither any convertible capital which might have 

been used in lieu of the children’s earnings, nor any adults idle from 

choice whose wages, if they had been at work, would have obviated 

che necessity for the work of the children. Of the 620 children considered in the other study, 186, or 30 per cent, were at work owing 

to pressing necessity which could not be met by any other resources 

the families possesssed. In both of these studies children were found 

at work whose wages were necessary to enable the family to keep 

up a desired standard of living, to pay for the home, to educate other 

children, or to accomplish some other purpose the family had at 

heart, but these have not been counted as cases of necessity.

REASONS WHY CHILDREN ARE AT WORK.

The conclusion seems to be that numbers of children are at work 

whose families would not really suffer hardship if the employment 

of the children were forbidden, and another considerable number 

whose families could very well afford to spare their earnings. The 

question naturally arises why children of the latter group are at 

work. To a considerable extent it seems due to indifference or active 

hostility to the schools on the part of both parents and children. 

This is referred to in several of the reports.

There was developed, especially in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 

West Virginia, a deep-seated distrust of the efficiency of schooling 

as a help to win in the battle of life if one was to be a worker at the 

trades or at common labor. There was, moreover, especially in the 

States named, almost a settled conviction that the efficiency of schools 

and school models and ideals and its methods of attaining them were 

alike inadequate to the needs of real life and that the boy would 

learn more of real use to him in the factory than in the schools.1

The parents in the cotton-mill town or village of the South may be 

grouped in two classes: (1) Those who do all they can to have their 

children get all the school training available in the town or village 

and (2) those who are indifferent or hostile to the schools. The latter outnumber the former. In the former group are many parents 

who do wonders upon their slender incomes to educate their children. In the latter group are many who would not see to it that 

their children attended school regularly even if strict labor laws 

excluded the children from the mill. Poverty and the generally low 

earning capacity of the mill people, who get lower wages than the 

people in almost any other great industry, are among the prime 

causes of the indifference and hostility of the parents toward the 

schools.2

1 Vol. I l l , The Glass Industry, p. 588.

2 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 581.

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INTRODUCTION. 33

In the study of the causes for which children left school special 

inquiries were made as to the attitude of the children toward the 

school, which showed that almost one-half (48.9 per cent) of the 

children studied were not satisfied at school, their attitude ranging 

from a mere dislike to a positive hatred of everything connected with 

the schools. “ The leading cause of dissatisfaction, taking all places 

together, seemed a dislike of the general manner of life in school, 

which was responsible for the dissatisfaction of 19 per cent of the 

children.” 1

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN IN OCCUPATIONS.

The scope of the investigation did not include an inquiry as to 

how far this attitude of parents and children was justified. Incidentally, however, some information was obtained as to the way in 

which the work the children took up counted toward a preparation 

for their future life. In the cotton industry the children who entered 

it, in the South at least, were very likely to remain in it, but the 

work at which they were most likely to begin—doffing for boys and 

ring spinning for girls—did not in itself give them any training for 

the future. In the garment-making industry there were very few 

openings for boys. Girls were employed to some extent, but no 

system of training them existed, and it depended upon the individual 

girl whether or not she worked up to one of the relatively well-paid 

occupations. In the glass industry a boy has about one chance in 

from three to seven of being chosen as an apprentice and thereby 

gaining an opportunity to acquire a skilled trade. In the silk industry no system of apprenticeship existed and entering a silk mill gave 

no promise of securing a trade for life. Among the 620 children 

whose reasons for leaving school and going to work were studied only 

43 (6.9 per cent) had secured positions on first beginning work 

which offered chances to learn a trade, and in many of these cases 

the opportunity to enter such work had been secured by friends or 

relatives already in the trade.

There is nothing in any of the cases considered to show that the 

children with neither friends nor relatives in a trade could not have 

secured a foothold in it had they tried. But there is much to indicate that unless they had some such connection with a trade or industry its opportunities and advantages were alike apt to remain unknown to them. Nothing served to suggest to a child the desirability 

of learning a trade or entering on an industry in which he would 

have a chance of rising, so he took the first thing which came to 

hand.2

1 Vol. V II, Conditions Under Which Children Leave School to go to Work, p. 111.

2 Idem, p. 186.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------3

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34 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

On the whole, it seems a fair inference from these studies that if, 

as some of the parents believe, the schools do not fit children for real 

life, the occupations which the children are apt to take up on leaving 

school are equally defective. They fit the children to earn children’s 

wages for a few years, but give them no training for the day when 

they find themselves too old for children’s work, but unequipped with 

any trade by which to support themselves through the coming years.

On the whole the picture presented by the various studies of children at work is in itself rather depressing. Numbers are shown going to work as soon as the law permits and not infrequently sooner. 

Their hours are long, the conditions under which they work frequently undesirable, their occupations have little value as a training 

for life, their school days are cut short, and their work offers little 

mental stimulus as a substitute for the schooling they miss.

DECREASE OF PROPORTION OF CHILDREN AT WORK.

But there is another side to the picture. Unquestionably there are 

many indications that the general attitude toward the employment 

of children is changing rapidly for the better. Relatively children 

are less numerous in the great industries now than they were 20 years 

ago, partly because increasing legal restrictions make them less available as a source of labor supply, and partly, no doubt, because of a 

growing sentiment against their employment. In one of the four 

large industries studied—garment making—children are used but 

little under any circumstances. The cotton and glass industries both 

showed marked decreases in the proportion children formed of their 

total employees, while in the glass industry at the time of this investigation it seemed possible that the growing use of machinery might 

soon do away altogether with the employment of boys under 16.

This does not, of course, mean that the employment of children 

is not extensive and serious. The different reports show not only 

that children were found employed in great numbers, but that they 

were found employed below the legal age, employed at work legally 

prohibited to children of their years, employed for illegally long 

hours or at illegal times, employed under evasions of the law or 

on false certificates of age, and so on through a long category of 

undesirable conditions. But in spite of all this there is evidence of 

a diminution in the relative number of children employed and very 

plain indications that a public sentiment against their exploitation 

is beginning to make itself felt effectively.

The history of legislation directed against child labor shows an 

interesting parallel between the growth of public concern over this 

matter in the North during the middle and later years of the last

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
INTRODUCTION. 35

century and the similar process now going on in the South. As the 

industrial development of the North came earlier, the North naturally first perceived the evils of the unrestricted employment of 

children and tried to apply some check. The arguments heard in 

the South to-day for and against child labor might be duplicated 

almost word for word from the legislative records of Massachusetts 

or New York or almost any one of the great industrial States of 

the North. But the South, coming into its problem later, is moving 

more rapidly toward its solution. The two sections are drawing 

closer in their attitude toward this question, and their combination, 

which furnishes a national sentiment, renders much easier the local 

regulation of child labor.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER I.—THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY.

The first volume of the report on Condition of Woman and Child 

Wage Earners in the United States is based upon an investigation carried on through the fall of 1907 and the spring and early 

summer of 1908 in four States of New England and in six States of 

the South, the States chosen being those where most of the cotton 

mills are located. The mills investigated numbered 198, being 18.3 

per cent of the total mills, and employing 25.4 per cent of the total 

spindles in the States covered. Of the 198 mills, 154 manufactured 

cloth and the yarn from which cloth is made, 1 manufactured cloth 

only, and 43 manufactured yam only. Some were located in cities, 

some in towns, and some in the country districts. In selecting mills 

for investigation the aim was to choose in each locality those that 

would be representative of the industry, including some that showed 

the best conditions, some that showed the worst, and some in which 

average conditions prevailed.

The proportion of the industry covered in the States in which the 

investigation was made is indicated in the following table. The 

table shows the number of cotton-consuming establishments and 

the number of their spindles in 1908 in the 10 States in which 

mills were investigated,1 together with the number of mills investigated and the number of spindles in such mills. The table also 

shows the per cent that the mills investigated were of the mills which 

were reported by the census for the same States and, similarly, the 

per cent which the spindles of the mills investigated formed of the 

spindles which were reported by the census.

TOTAL NUMBER OF COTTON MILLS AND OF SPINDLES IN STATES COVERED B Y THE

INVESTIGATION, AND NUMBER AND PER CENT INVESTIGATED.

Establishments. Spindles.

State. Reported

census,

1908.

Included

in this

investigation,

1907-8.

Per cent

investigated.

Reported by

census, 1908.

Included in

this investigation,

1907-8.

Per cent

investigated.

Maine..........................- ....................... 35 7 20.0 978,188

1,320,503

9,446,380

2,388,105

295,579

2,944,404

3,713,006

1,792,790

939,942

173,216

429,200

183,556

1,696,632

614,114

183,740

673,438

1,127,720

709,376

369,860

43.9

New Hampshire................................ 41 7 17.1 13.9

Massachusetts..................................... 203 22 10.8 18.0

Rhode Island..................................... 77 10 13.0 25.7

Virginia................................................ 30 4 13.3 62.2

North Carolina................................... 293 59 20.1 22.9

South Carolina................................... 150 36 24.0 30.4

Georgia................................................ 154 31 20.1 39.6

Alabama.............................................. 71 13 18.3 39.3

Mississippi.......................................... 28 9 32.1 118,071 68.2

Total......................................... 1,082 198 18.3 23,992,113 6,105,707 25.4

1 Census Bulletin No. 97, pp. 10, 11.

37

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38 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The latest figures available of the total number of employees in 

the entire industry at the date of the investigation were those of the 

census of 1905. But as the industry grew rapidly, especially in the 

South, between 1905 and 1908, these figures are not satisfactory for 

comparison with the number of employees included in this investigation in 1908. This must be borne in mind when the statement is 

made that 81,335 employees covered by the investigation in 1908 

comprised 32 per cent of the total operatives in the same States in 

1905.

In this investigation each establishment reported was personally 

inspected by agents of the Bureau of Labor. No establishment was 

reported unless its officers permitted the agent to have full access to 

all departments of the mill and to examine the pay rolls. The information thus obtained was supplemented by further details gained 

by personal interviews with both employers and employees.

The following table shows the number, location, and working force 

of the mills investigated:

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF

EMPLOYEES OF EACH SEX AND EACH AGE GROUP, B Y STATES.

State.

Establishments

investigated.

Number of employees. Per cent of total employees.

16 years and

over. Under 16 years.

Total.

16 years and

over. Under 16 years.

Male. Female. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Male. Female. Total.

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Maine..............................

New Hampshire..........

Massachusetts...............

Rhode Island...............

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

SOUTHERN GROUP.

Virginia..........................

North Carolina.............

South Carolina.............

Georgia..........................

Alabama........................

Mississippi.....................

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

Grand total........

7

7

22

10

2,582

1,213

9,623

3,611

2,855

961

7,773

2,701

244

43

285

249

253

68

320

249

497

111

605

498

5,934

2,285

18,001

6,810

43.5

53.1

53.4

53.0

48.1

42.0

43.2

39.6

4.1

1.9

1.6

3.7

4.3

3.0

1.8

3.7

8.4

4.9

3.4

7.4

46 17,029 14,290 821 890 1,711 33,030 51.5 43.3 2.5 2.7 5.2

4

59

36

31

13

9

1,891

5,889

7,778

6,248

2,844

933

918

3,175

3,341

3,277

1,558

788

264

1,223

1,803

927

573

290

219

1,124

1,499

900

594

249

483

2,347

3,302

1,827

1,167

539

3,292

11,411

14,421

11,352

5,569

2,260

57.4

51.6

53.9

55.0

51.1

41.3 j

27.9

27.8

23.2

28.9

28.0

34.9

8.0

10.7

12.5

8.2

10.3

12.8

6.7

9.9

10.4

7.9

10.6

11.0

14.7

20.6

22.9

16.1

20.9

23.8

152 25,583 13,057 5,080 4,585 9,665 48,305 53.0 ; 27.0 10.5 9.5 20.0

198 42,612 27,347 5,901 5,475 11,376 81,335 52.4 33.6 7.3 6.7 14.0

LOCALIZATION OF THE INDUSTRY.

The cotton textile industry was selected for investigation as being 

not only one of the leading industries in the United States, but as 

being by far the most important of the woman and child employing 

industries.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 39

It employed, in 1905, nearly 60,000 more women than any other 

manufacturing industry and more children than any other four industries combined. In 1905 the woman walge earners in the manufacturing industries in the United States numbered 1,065,884. Of 

these 128,163, or about one-eighth, were engaged in cotton manufacture, including cotton small wares. The children who were wage 

earners in manufacturing industries in 1905 numbered, according to 

the census of manufactures for that year, 159,899, of whom 40,428, or 

more than one-fourth, were employed in the manufacture of cotton.1

The industry is strictly localized, being practically confined to New 

England and the Southern States. In New England the tendency is 

toward concentration in large mills, while in the South the establishments are apt to be smaller and more scattered. In 1880 New 

England had 439 mills averaging 19,663 spindles apiece and the 

South 161 mills averaging 3,366 spindles apiece; by 1905 the number 

of mills in New England had decreased to 308, but these had an 

average of 45,166 spindles per mill, while the Southern mills had 

increased to 550, with an average of 13,652 spindles apiece. In the 

main the mills in the South are employed on a coarser grade of work 

than are those of New England, and the proportion of mills doing 

spinning only is larger in the South than in the North. This has a 

direct bearing upon the question of child labor, since spinning is one 

of the occupations in which children can be employed most effectively.

In the development of the cotton industry there has been a gradual displacement of women by men and a gradual decrease in the 

proportion of children employed. In 1880 males 16 years of age and 

over formed 34.6 per cent of the total employees in the industry, 

females 16 years of age and over 49 per cent, and children under 16 

formed 16.4 per cent. In 1905 these proportions were respectively

46.9 per cent, 40.2 per cent, and 12.9 per cent.

THE LABOR FORCE.

AGE OF EMPLOYEES, BY SEX.

The table already given shows that the study deals with a total 

of 81,335 employees, of whom 52.4 per cent were males 16 years of 

age and over, 33.6 per cent were femajles 16 years and over, and 14 

per cent were children under 16. The following table shows the age 

distribution of these employees in greater detail.

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 19.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
NUMBER AND PET? CENT OF COTTON-MILL EMPLOYEES IN SPECIFIED AGE GROUPS,

BY SEX. 1907-8.

[Males 16 years of a^e ani over in occupations employing no women and children not included in this

table.]

4:0 BULLETIN OF THE BTJBEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

Age.

New England group. Southern group.

Male. Female. Male. Female.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Under 12 years........................................

12 and 13 years.........................................

14 and 15 years........................................

Others, reported as under 16 years

14

46

761

' 0.19

.61

10.17

2

63

825

0.01

.42

5.44

560

1,840

2,654

26

3.76

12.36

17.82

.17

389

1,511

2,653

32

2.21

8.56

15.04

.18

Total under 16 years...................

16 and 17 years........................................

18 to 20 years.........................................

Total under 21 years.............

21 years and over....................................

Others, reported as 16 years and over..

Grand total...................................

821

880

1,096

10.97

11.76

14.64

890

1,708

2,962

5.87

11.25

19.51

5,0S0

1,4,9

1,745

34.11

10.00

11.71

4,5C5

2,674

3,4G0

25.99

15.16

19.61

2,797

4,684

4

37.37

62.58

.05

5,560

9,516

104

36.63

62.69

.68

8,314

6,313

266

55.82

42.39

1.79

10,719

6,565

358

60.76

37.21

2.03

7,485 100.00 15,180 100.00 14,893 100.00 17,642 100.00

A striking feature of this table is the marked difference in the age 

level, especially for female employees, in the two sections. In the 

South less than two-fifths while in New England well over threefifths of the female workers were 21 years of age and over. The 

higher age level in the North is very possibly connected with the finer 

grade of work done there and the relative rarity of mills which do 

only spinning, and in which therefore young workers can be more 

largely employed. In both sections, however, the proportion aged 21 

years and over was relatively large as compared with the other industries of which a special study was made. In the silk industry in 

Pennsylvania the proportion of female workers 21 years of age and 

over was 25.8 per cent,1 in the glass industry it was 28.7 per cent,2 

and in the manufacture of men’s ready-made clothing it was 47.9 

per cent3 thus exceeding the proportion for cotton workers in the 

Southern States but not reaching that for cotton workers in the New 

England States.

The age at which the greatest number of women was employed 

was in each State as follows: Maine, 20 years; Massachusetts and 

Rhode Island, 21 years; Virginia, 16 years; and in each of the other 

States 18 years. In the New England States as a whole the two 

ages 18 and 21 years had approximately the same number of female 

employees. In the Southern States as a whole 18 was the predominant age, and if the totals of the two sections are combined the

1 Vol. IV, The Silk Industry, p. 51.

2 Vol. I ll, Glass Industry, p. 641.

3 Vol. II, Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 36.

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number of female employees at 18 is much in excess of those at any 

other age.

The difference in the number and proportion of children under 16 

and under 14 in the two sections is very marked. This is discussed 

in detail in a later section. (See pp. 49 to 60 below.)

OCCUPATIONS, BY SEX AND AGE.

The following table shows the distribution of these workers among 

some of the leading occupations:

THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 41

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN COTTON

MILLS INVESTIGATED, B Y AGE AND SEX.

Occupation.

Number of employees. Per cent of employees in each occupation.

16 years and

over.

Under 16 years.

Total.

16 years

and over. Under 16 years.

Total.

Male. Female. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Male. Female. Total

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Doffers...............................

Ring spinners...................

Scrubbers and sweepers.

Speeder tenders...............

Spoolers.............................

Weavers.............................

Other occupations employing women and

children..........................

Occupations employing

men only.......................

498

420

111

225

3

4,404

1,003

10,365

275

2,194

88

1,675

1,214

5,318

3,526

126

92

74

2

“ *62'

465

110

307

12

14

114

92

241

236

399

86

16

114

154

706

1,009

3,013

285

1,916

1,331

9,876

5,235

10,365

2.9

2.5

.6

1.3

(*)

25.9

5.9

60.9

1.9

15.4

.6

11.7

8.5

37.2

24.7

15.4

11.2

9.0

.2

' *7.6*

56.6

12.4

34.5

1.3

1.6

12.8

10.3

27.1

13.8

23.3

5.0

.9

6.7

9.0

41.3

3.1

9.1

.9

5.8

4.0

29.9

15.8

31.4

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

SOUTHERN GROUP.

Doffers...............................

Ring spinners...................

Scrubbers and sweepers.

Speeder tenders...............

Spoolers.............................

Weavers.............................

Other occupations employing women and

children..........................

Occupations employing

men only.......................

17,029 14,290 821 890 1,711 33,030 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

820

168

252

1,218

10

5,515

1,830

15,770

8

2,931

130

608

2,529

3,834

3,017

2,995

359

407

41

10

290

978

47

3,009

14

39

469

337

670

3,042

3,368

421

80

479

627

1,648

3,870

6,467

803

1,906

3,018

9,976

6,495

15,770

3.2

.7

1.0

4.8

&

7.1

61.6

.1

22.4

1.0

4.6

19.4

29.4

23.1

59.0

7.1

8.0

.8

.2

5.7

19.2

1.0

65.6

.3

.9

10.2

7.4

14.6

31.5

34.8

4.4

.8

5.0

6.5

17.0

8.0

13.4

1.7

3.9

6.2

20.7

13.4

32.7

Total....................... 25,583 13,057 5,080 4,585 9,665 48,305 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

Weaving, the most skilled of the occupations listed here, employs 

a larger proportion of the females 16 years of age and over than 

any other single occupation, both in the northern and in the southern group, but relatively it is more important in the northern group. 

In the New England group no other occupation employs half as 

many women, the next most important, ring spinning, accounting 

for only 15.4 per cent against the 87.2 per cent engaged in weaving, while in the southern group both ring spinning and spooling

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42 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

come much nearer to it in importance, the first showing 22.4. per cent 

and the second 19.4 per cent against the 29.4 per cent employed as 

weavers.

None of the other occupations shown in this table can be considered skilled. Scrubbing and sweeping, of course, are frankly 

unskilled; doffing is not much better, and ring spinning, spooling, and 

speeder tending demand very little skill. Some of those engaged 

in “ Other occupations employing women and children ” were skilled 

workers, but what proportion they formed of the whole can not be 

stated. It appears, however, that in the northern group 38.1 per 

cent and in the southern group 47.5 per cent of the female workers 

16 years of age and over were known to be in either unskilled occupations or those demanding only a very low degree of skill.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN IN DIFFERENT OCCUPATIONS.

The relative importance of women in the different occupations is 

not the same in the two sections. The following figures show for 

each group the proportion which women 16 years of age and over 

form of the total workers in each of the specified occupations:

PER CENT WHICH FEMALES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER FORM OF W ORKERS IN

SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS.

Occupation.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Doffers............................................................................................................................................ 27.2 0.2

Ring spinners................................................................................................................................ 72.8 45.3

Scrubbers and sweepers.............................................................................................................. 30.9 16.2

Speeder tenders............................................................................................................................. 87.4 31.9

Spoolers......................................................................................................................................... 91.2 83.8

Weavers.......................................................................................................................................... 53.9 38.4

Other occupations employing women and children............................................................. 67.3 46.4

Total occupations employing women and children................................................... 63.0 40.1

Several points of interest are brought out by these figures. One 

is the different custom of the two sections in regard to employing 

women as doffers, their employment in this capacity being practically 

unknown in the southern group, while in the New England group 

they form over a quarter of the doffers. Another is the small part 

taken by women in such traditionally feminine pursuits as scrubbing 

and sweeping and their importance in the skilled work of weaving; 

nearly twTo-fifths of the whole number of weavers in the South and 

over half in the New England group were women. The reason 

usually advanced for the employment of a higher proportion of 

women both as weavers and as speeder tenders in New England 

is their adaptability to the finer grade of work done in that section, 

which demands a nimbleness and dexterity not always found in

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 43

men’s fingers. In the South a coarser grade of work is done, which 

requires more manual strength and less dexterity.

Turning to the employment of children under 16, doffing and ring 

spinning are the two most important occupations, employing 37.1 

per cent of all children in the New England mills and 66.3 per cent 

in the southern mills. In the northern group 23.4 per cent of the 

doffers and 13.3 per cent of the ring spinners were children under 

16, while in the southern group these percentages were, respectively, 

78.6 and 52.1.

RACE OP EMPLOYEES.

In the New England States the race was learned of 21,915 employees in occupations in which women and children worked. The 

number of workers belonging to each of the leading races and the 

proportion they formed of the total group were as follows:

Race. Number.

Per

cent. Race. Number.

Per

cent.

American..................................... 1,669

2,114

9,152

2,735

623

7.2

9.6

41.8

12.5

2.8

Polish........................................... 2,743

1,077

1,902

12.5

4.9

8.7

English......................................... Portuguese.......................... .

French. Canadian....................... Other races.................................

Irish

Italian......................................... Total................................. 21,915 100.0

Anyone familiar with New England mills would expect the predominance of French Canadians here shown. More significant is the 

fact that the Poles, who at the time of this investigation were among 

the most recent comers in the industry, were already equal in number 

to the Irish, who had been in the mills for more than half a century.

The distribution, by age and sex, of these leading races was as 

follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND

OVER AND OF THOSE UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE, IN COTTON MILLS IN THE N EW

ENGLAND GROUP, B Y RACE.

Race.

Employees 16 years and over. Employees under 16 years.

Total.

Males. Females. Males. Females.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

American...... ............ 286 18.2 1,134 72.3 76 4.8 73 4.7 1,569 100.0

English....................... 604 28.6 1,350 63.9 87 4.1 73 3.4 2,114 100.0

French Canadian___ 2,610 28.5 5,633 61.5 410 4.5 499 5.5 9,152 100.0

Irish............................ 334 12.2 2,288 83.7 50 1.8 63 2.3 2,735 100.0

Italian......................... 303 48.6 249 40.0 36 5.8 35 5.6 623 100.0

Polish.......................... 920 33.5 1,759 64.1 26 1.0 38 1.4 2,743 100.0

Portuguese................. 322 29.9 680 63.1 34 3.2 41 3.8 1,077 100.0

Other races................ 1,001 52.6 803 42.2 61 3.2 37 2.0 1,902 100.0

Total................ 6,380 29.1 13,896 63.4 780 3.6 859 3.9 21,915 100.0

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The large proportion which women 16 years of age and over form 

of the Irish workers is noticeable; among the workers under 16, too, 

the Irish show a greater proportion of female than of male workers. 

In regard to the racial attitude toward the employment of children, 

the Italians show the largest proportion of workers under 16 (11.4 

per cent), but their numbers are so few and they are found in so few 

places that it is impossible to say whether this indicates a general 

tendency or whether it is due to local conditions. The French Canadians 1 come next with 10 per cent under 16, closely followed by the 

Americans with 9.5 per cent, and the English with 7.5 per cent stand 

fourth.

The occupational distribution of these different races is shown in 

the following table:

44 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN SPECIFIED OCCUPATIONS IN COTTON

MILLS IN THE N EW ENGLAND GROUP, B Y RACE.

Number.

Occupation. American.

English.

French

Canadian.

Irish. Italian. Polish. Portuguese.

Other

races. Total.

Doffers....................................... 52 50 519 52 38 121 59 115 1,006

Ring spinners.......................... 103 73 1,481 165 117 279 347 3C1 2,926

Scrubbers and sweepers......... 16 13 84 55 18 39 15 44 284

Speeder tenders....................... 104 265 542 409 42 345 99 93 1,899

Spooler tenders....................... 106 62 702 145 17 103 113 59 1,307

weavers..................................... 487 1,202 4,078 1,209 291 1,499 223 837 9,826

Other occupations................... 701 449 1,746 700 100 357 221 393 4,667

Total............................... 1,509 2,114 9,152 2,735 623 2,743 1,077 1,902 21,915

Per cent.

DolXers....................................... 3.3 2.4 5.7 1.9 6.1 4.4 5.5 6.0 4.6

King spinners...........................

Scrubbers and sweepers.........

6.6 3.5 16.2 6.0 18.8 10.2 32.2 19.0 13.3

1.0 .6 .9 2.0 2.9 1.4 1.4 2.3 1.3

Speeder tenders....................... 6.6 12.5 5.9 15.0 6.7 12.6 9.2 4.9 8.7

Spooler tenders........................

Weavers.....................................

6.8 2.9 7.7 5.3 2.7 3.8 10.5 3.1 6.0

31.0 56.9 44.5 44.2 46.7 54.6 20.7 44.0 44.8

Other occupations................... 44.7 21.2 19.1 25.6 16.1 13.0 20.5 20.7 21.3

Total................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Weaving is the most skilled of these occupations, and it is noteworthy that Americans show a smaller proportion in this than is 

shown by any other race except the Portuguese. The English show 

the largest proportion of weavers, over half their number being in 

this occupation, but the Polish workers very nearly equal them in this 

respect. On the whole the Portuguese show the lowest level of skill 

among the races here presented.

In the southern mills the question of race scarcely presents itself, 

the workers being practically without exception native born and of

1 In this discussion the race is that of the parents. Thus the Americans are children

of the native born, the English are children of English parents whether born in England

or the United States, and so on.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 45

American descent. Negro labor was scarcely utilized except for the 

roughest work about the mills.

In some mills Negro men are employed in the picker room, where a 

large amount of floating lint, dust, and dirt is always found, and 

where the work is heavier and more disagreeable than in any other 

department of the mill. In a few mills Negro men are employed for 

the heaviest work in the card room, which is the next dustiest room 

in a cotton mill. Negro men are employed as dyehouse hands, as 

teamsters, as yard hands, as firemen, sometimes as engineers, and 

sometimes as assistants in machine repair shops connected with cotton 

mills, but in the manufacturing process Negro men never go beyond 

the card room, except that occasionally they work in the dyehouse.1

Negro women and girls were employed in 18 of the southern mills, 

but in very small numbers. In a total of 3,760 women and children 

employed in these 18 mills there were only 166 Negroes.

SOURCE OF LABOR SUPPLY IN THE SOUTH.

Since immigrants and children of immigrants have not been available as a labor supply for the southern mills, they have recruited 

their working force very largely from the country around. Of 2,122 

women and children whose early environment was learned, 75.8 per 

cent had come from farms, 20.2 per cent from villages, and only 4 

per cent from cities.

So much has been said and written concerning the extent to which 

the mills make use of the mountaineers as a labor supply that the 

report discusses at some length the degree of truth in these statements, the general conclusion being that the numerical importance 

of the mountaineers among the cotton-mill workers has been overestimated.

Some of those who reported that their early childhood was spent 

on a farm came from small farms in the mountains of Virginia, 

North Carolina, and Tennessee. The exact proportion of those 

coming from the mountains was not secured and the proportion 

varies greatly in different sections. Taking the mill population as a 

whole, for the mills visited during this investigation, the percentage 

of such operatives was very much smaller than the percentage of 

those who come from the lowland farms surrounding the cotton-mill 

villages.

For varying reasons the small farmers leave the farm and move 

to the mill village. Some have been unsuccessful as farmers. Some 

have been disheartened by poor crops or by low prices. * * * 

Whatever discontent with their conditions or desire for improvement 

exists is fostered by the labor agent, who is usually the head of a 

family which has been successful at the mill and who canvasses the 

country thoroughly and frequently. * * *

Some of the larger mills have sent agents into the mountains and 

secured a goodly number of mountain farmers. Mills in western

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 118.

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46 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

North Carolina, mills at Spartanburg, Greenville, and other large 

towns in upper South Carolina, and mills in northern Georgia and 

northeastern Alabama were found to have many mountain people 

among their employees. Mountaineers were not found at any great 

distance from the mountains, however, except occasionally among 

migratory families.

Attempts to import mountaineers in large numbers have usually 

proved unsatisfactory. One mill in South Carolina secured a carload of people, about eight families, at one time. Of these only one 

family remained at the mill. Another mill, which doubled its capacity in 1896, brought 1,295 individuals from the North Carolina mountains at one time, but the experiment was not successful. * * * 

In the mill the teaching of so large a green force presented great 

difficulties, and taken all in all the result of the experiment was most 

demoralizing. Many of these families soon became discontented by 

their slow progress and because of changed conditions of living and 

they gradually moved away.1

Some of the cotton-mill families, it was found, remain at the mill 

during the winter months only and return to the farm each spring in 

time to begin its cultivation, while others return to the farm at intervals of a few years. The people who have lived in the mountainous section are quite likely to go back to the mountains during 

the hot months.

MOUNTAINEERS IN THE MILL.

A particular study was made in the mountain regions from which 

a part of the labor forces of the cotton mills was recruited as to the 

conditions of life among the class from which this labor comes. 

Among the poorer class of farmers in the remote mountain districts 

extreme poverty and hard conditions of life were found. Living 

isolated in mountain coves, eking out, in many cases, a wretched 

existence from small and barren patches of land, with few or no 

facilities either for the education of their children or anything approaching a normal social development, the comfort of this class and 

the opportunity for the education of their children could not fail to be 

improved by their migration to industrial communities. The coming 

to the cotton mills works a greater change in the living and housing 

conditions of this class of operatives than in the case of employees 

secured from the lowland farms in the localities near the cotton 

mills. Data were secured concerning 844 of these mountain families, 

which showed that the majority were living in the crudest and most 

primitive manner.2

South Carolina has made some effort to secure direct immigration 

from Europe as a means of supplying the demand for labor both on 

farms and in the mills, but the experiment was unsatisfactory and 

was soon given up.

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, pp. 120, 121. 2 Idem, p. 123.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 47

CONJUGAL CONDITION OF EMPLOYEES.

Detailed information as to age, sex, and conjugal condition was 

secured for 21,915 employees in New England and for 31,220 in the 

southern mills. The difference in the customary age of beginning 

work in the two sections, however, makes any comparison between 

the totals for the two groups misleading, since in the South there 

are a number of children at work at 12 and 13 years of age, who 

weight unduly the number of the single. Considering only those 

who have reached or passed 16,1 the following table shows the extent 

to which in the mills studied the employees were or had been married:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALE AND OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES 16 YEAR S OF AGE

AND OVER OF EACH CONJUGAL CONDITION IN COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED.

Conjugal condition.

Male. Female.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Single......................................................................................................... 3,560

2,724

96

55.8

42.7

1.5

9,161

4,110

625

65.9

29.6

4.5

Married.....................................................................................................

Widowed, divorced, separated, or deserted.....................................

Total............................................................................................... 6,380 100.0 13,896 100.0

SOUTHERN GROUP.

Single........... . ........................................................................................... 5,070

4,187

74

54.3

44.9

.8

8,192

3,470

791

65.8

27.9

6.3

Married.....................................................................................................

Widowed, divorced, separated, or deserted.....................................

Total.............................................................................................. 9,331 100.0 12,453 100.0

For both sexes the two groups of workers show a close similarity 

in their distribution by conjugal condition. The northern group 

shows a slightly larger proportion of married women with husbands 

presumably able to work, and the southern group shows a slightly 

larger proportion of widows or other married women deprived of the 

husband’s support, but the proportion of single women in the two 

groups is practically identical. In both, too, the proportion of married women living with their husbands is impressively large, amounting to over one-fourth of all the female employees 16 years of age and 

over.2

In the southern mills, as already stated, practically all the female 

workers were white Americans, but in the New England mills, where 

a number of races were represented, the proportion of married women

1 In the southern group 38 girls under 16 were married and 4 were widowed, divorced,

deserted, or separated; in the northern group 4 under 16 were married, but none under

that age were widowed or otherwise separated from their husbands.

2 For comparison of proportion of married women engaged in different industries see

Report on Woman and Child Wage-Earners, Vol. X V III, pp. 27, 28.

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48 BULLETIN OF THE BTJBEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

at work differs considerably from one race to another. The following 

table shows the extent of this difference:

PROPORTION OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER OF EACH CONJUGAL CONDITION IN NEW ENGLAND MILLS INVESTIGATED, B Y RACE.

Race. Total

number.

Percent

single.

Per cent

married.

Per cent

widowed,

divorced,

separated, or

deserted.

American.................................................................................................. 1,134

1,350

5,633

2,288

249

68.9 23.4 7.7

English..................................... ................................................................ 58.1 37.2 4.7

French Canadian.................................................................................... 66.6 29.7 3.7

Irish........................................................................................................... 67.8 24.5 7.7

Italian.......................................................................................... ........... 66.3 30.1 3.6

Polish........................................................................................................ 1,759

680

64.7 32.9 2.4

Portuguese............................................................................................... 62.1 35.4 2.5

Other races............................................................................................... 803 70.5 26.5 3.0

Total............................................................................................... 13,896 65.9 29.6 4.5

It is difficult to account for the variations shown in the proportion 

of married women at work. Neither the age nor the occupational 

distribution seems to furnish any explanation. The fact remains 

that the English show the highest proportion of married women 

working, the Americans show the lowest, and the other races are 

ranged between; but whether this indicates a racial attitude toward 

the employment of married women or is explicable on other grounds 

can not be determined from the data at hand.

SUMMARY AS TO LABOR FORCE.

The investigation covered in the New England States 46 mills 

employing 33,030 hands, and in the South 152 mills, employing 48,305 

hands. In both sections males outnumbered females among the 

employees, forming 54 per cent of the total in New England and 

63.5 per cent in the South. Children under 16 formed 5.2 per cent 

of the working force in the New England mills and 20 per cent in 

the South. Excluding from consideration occupations in which 

women and children are not employed, females aged 16 or over 

formed 63 per cent of the northern workers and 40.1 per cent of the 

southern, while children under 16 were in New England 7.6 per cent 

and in the South 29.7 per cent.

The age distribution of the female workers was very different, 

62.69 per cent of those in New England against 37.21 per cent of 

those in the South being 21 years of age and over. In the South the 

workers were practically all native-born Americans, while in the 

New England mills these constituted but 7.2 per cent of the total. 

In the northern group the French Canadians were the most numerous 

element, forming 41.8 per cent of the total, the Irish and the Polish

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 49

each formed one-eighth, the English were nearly one-tenth, and other 

races were but scantily represented. Of the female workers 16 years 

of age and over, 29.6 per cent in New England and 27.9 per cent in the 

Southern States were married and living with their husbands. Of 

the different races in the New England mills the English showed the 

largest proportion of married women.

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

The importance as cotton-mill employees of children under 16 has 

been diminishing for a number of years in the North, and since 1900 

has been decreasing in the South. The following figures show the 

extent of this decrease:

PER CENT WHICH CHILDREN UNDER 16 FORMED OF TOTAL COTTON-MILL

OPERATIVES.

Year. New

England.

Southern

States.

18801........................................ - ...................................................................................................... 14.1 25.1

18001................................................................................................................................................ 6.9 24.2

1900 ........................................................................................................................................... 6.7 25.0

1905............................................................ ..................................................................................... 6.0 22.9

i In 1880 and 1890 males under 16 years and females under 15.

In the New England States their number as well as their proportion decreased during these 25 years, but in the Southern States the 

slight decrease in their proportion has been coincident with a rise 

in their numbers from 4,097 in 1880 to 27,571 in 1905.

The age and sex distribution of the children at work in the mills 

visited are shown for each section in the following table:

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN UNDER 16.

Age.

New England group. Southern group.

Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total.

6 years................................................................ 1 1

7 years................................................................ 7 9 16

8 years................................................................ 29 19 48

9 years................................................................ 65 42 107

i 1 2 173 110 28310 years..............................................................

11 years.............................................................. 13 1 14 286 208 494

12 years.............................................................. 5 13 18 760 634 1,394

1,957

2,760

2,547

58

13 years.............................................................. 41 50 91 1,080

1,427

1,227

26

877

14 years.............................................................. 304 275 579 1,333

1,320

32

15 years.............................................................. 457 550 1,007

Others under 16................................................

Total........................................................ 821 890 1,711 5,080 4,585 9,665

The relative proportions of boys and girls are almost exactly 

reversed for the two sections, girls forming 52 per cent of the 

northern group, while boys form 52.6 per cent of the southern group. 

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------1

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50 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION.

Their occupational distribution differs considerably between the 

two sections, although both doffing and ring spinning are the 

two most important children’s occupations. The following table 

shows the per cent which they form of the workers in six specified 

occupations:1

PROPORTION CHILDREN UNDER 16 FORM OF TOTAL W ORKERS IN SPECIFIED

OCCUPATIONS.

Occupation.

New England group. Southern group.

Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total.'

Doffers (spinning frame)................................ 12.5 10.9 23.4 77.4 1.2 78.6

Ring spinners.................................................... 3.1 10.2 13.3 5.6 46.5 52.1

Scrubbers and sweepers................................. 26.0 4.2 30.2 50.7 1.7 52.4

Speeder tenders................................................ .1 .7 .8 2.2 2.0 4.2

Spoolers.............................................................. 8.6 8.6 .3 15.6 15.9

Weavers.......................................................... .6 .9 1.5 2.9 3.4 6.3

Other occupations............................................ 8.9 4.6 13.5 15.1 10.3 25.4

This table is of special interest from its bearing on the contention 

sometimes brought forward that the employment of children is a 

physical necessity, since the fingers and hands of adults being larger 

and less pliant can not do the same work. In the northern mills 

visited the only occupation in which employees under 16 formed as 

much as one-fourth of the workers was scrubbing and sweeping, in 

which small and pliant hands are conspicuously unnecessary. In 

doffing small hands are an advantage, as they can more easily slip in 

between the spindles; but although nearly four-fifths of the southern doffers are under 16, almost precisely the same proportion in 

the northern mills were over that age. In ring spinning, where, if 

in any occupation, pliant fingers would be an advantage, less than 

one-sixth of the New England operatives were under 16. It seems 

quite evident that no physical necessity exists for the employment of 

children in any of these occupations.

For the most part the work done by these children is not in itself 

heavy. Generally it must be done standing. In some occupations 

there are occasional opportunities for sitting. Doffing leaves the 

worker unoccupied from one-third to one-half of the time, but the 

other occupations show no such vacant periods. The dust and lint 

in the air, the constant watchfulness required in many of the processes, the nerve-racking noise of the machinery, and the hot, moist 

atmosphere are the principal drawbacks to the work.

1 The number of children in each of these occupations and the per cent they form of

the total group of child employees are shown in the table already given, p. 41.

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ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN NEW ENGLAND MILLS.

CHILDREN UNDER LEGAL AGE.

Two forms of illegality are considered—the employment of children under legal age and the employment of children without the 

certificates required by law. In the four New England States visited 

14 was the legal age for beginning work in factories. New Hampshire permitted the employment of children 12 years old when school 

was not in session, but this was the only exception to the 14-year 

limit. The following table gives sundry data concerning the children 

found at work below the legal age in New England:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED IN THE N E W ENGLAND

GROUP EMPLOYING CHILDREN UNDER LEGAL AGE (14 YEAR S), AND NUMBER AND

PER CENT OF SUCH CHILDREN, COMPARED W IT H TOTAL CHILDREN UNDER 16

YEARS, B Y STATES.

[In New Hampshire a child 12 years of age and over may be legally employed when school is not in session.]

States

Establishments

investigated.

Establishm ents

employing children under legal

age (14 years).

Total

children

under 16

years employed

in all establishments

investigated.

Children employed

under legal age

(14 years).

Number. Percent. Number.

Per cent

of total

children.

Maine.................................................................. 7 7 100.0 497 64 12.9

New Hampshire............................................... 7 12 28.6 111 25 4.5

Massachusetts............................................. 22 1 4.5 605 1 .2

Rhode Island.................................................... 10 5 50.0 498 50 10.0

Total........................................................ 46 U5 34.8 1,711 3 120 7.0

i Not including 1 establishment employing children under 14 years of age when school was not in session.

* Not including 5 children under 14 years of age employed when school was not in session.

Maine makes the worst showing here, violations of the law being 

found in every factory visited, and more than half of the children 

employed under age being in this State. In some mills the proportion of under-age children was decidedly large. Thus, in one which 

employed only 34 children under 16 there were 15, or 44.1 per cent, 

who were under 14. This was the highest proportion of illegally 

employed children found in any New England mill, the next being

28.9 per cent in a Rhode Island mill, in which 33 children were working under age. Only 1 child under 14 was found at work in Massachusetts. In this case the employer had on file her age and schooling certificate, so that he had not been guilty of any violation of the 

law. Investigation, however, showed that the child was really only 

13, and that the certificate had been issued without due care.

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52 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The ages of the children thus illegally employed were as follows:

NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH AGE UNDER THE LEGAL AGE (14 YEARS) EMPLOYED

IN COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED IN THE N EW ENGLAND GROUP, BY STATES.

Age. Maine.

New

Hampshire.

Massachusetts.

Rhode

Island. Total.

10 years.................................................................................. 2 2

11 years.................................................................................. 10 2 2 14

12 years.................................................................................. 11 7 18

13 years.................................................................................. 41 18 1 41 191

Total........................................................................... 64 110 1 50 U25

iIncluding 5 children employed when school was notin session, and so legally employed.

The ages of the two children 10 years old were obtained from city 

birth records. One of these was nearly 11 at the time of the investigation. Both these children were employed in Maine, and it will 

be observed that of the 34 children below 13 years of age 23 were at 

work in that State. Of the 125 children at work under 14 nearly 

three-fourths (72.8 per cent) were 13 years old.

It must not be assumed that the above tables show the full extent 

to which children under legal age were employed in the establishments visited. To determine the extent of such employment was 

one of the most difficult tasks of the investigation. The mill officials 

almost invariably reported that they employed no children under 

the legal age. * * * Sometimes the true ages of children under 

14 could be obtained from the parents, but this was frequently impossible, as parents were not disposed to admit the illegal employment of their children. Only when the birth records of the city 

showed the date of birth of the child could the age be determined 

with certainty, and as a large proportion of the children were foreign bom, it was seldom possible to ascertain the full extent of the 

violation of the age law.1

CHILDREN W ITH OU T CERTIFICATES.

Each of the four States covered by this study forbade the employment of children under 16 without an age or employment certificate. 

In Maine the proof of the child’s age was to be presented to the 

employer, who was to retain it and issue to the child a certificate, 

a duplicate of which was to be sent to the factory inspector. This 

law has since been changed and the school authorities are now authorized to issue age and schooling certificates. In the other States 

the employer had no responsibility for issuing the certificate, but 

was expected to demand one from every child under 16 before employing him, to keep the certificate on file, and to return it to the 

child when the latter left his employ.

i Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, pp. 151, 152.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 53

Thirty-nine mills were investigated as to their observance of these 

certificate laws, and of these 21 were found to have some children 

employed for whom they had no certificates. This was most common 

in Maine and Rhode Island, 6 mills in the first and 9 in the second 

State showing violations, while in the other two States only 3 mills 

apiece showed violations. Of the 1,283 children working in these 

mills 352, or 27.4 per cent, lacked certificates.

In the establishments visited the law was well observed in Massachusetts and fairly well observed in New Hampshire. In both 

Maine and Rhode Island the law was flagrantly violated. None of 

the establishments investigated on this point in these two States 

had certificates for all children as required, and in 3 establishments 

in each State more than half of the children 14 and 15 years old 

were without the certificates required by law. In these two States 

not only were many children employed without certificates, but some 

were employed on certificates which on their face were illegal or 

fraudulent.1

A number of devices were used for securing fraudulent certificates. 

In all four States a baptismal certificate is accepted as satisfactory 

proof of age, but in this investigation a number of such certificates were 

found in which the date had been altered, sometimes simply by crossing out the figures and writing others above and sometimes by more 

careful substitution.

In some communities in these States the opinion prevails to some 

extent that birth certificates for foreign-born children can be made 

to contain anything desired. A case is cited of a Portuguese girl 

at work at a mill in Massachusetts, who, according to her certificate, 

was two days less than 15 years old, yet she was only 4 feet and 1 

inch tall and weighed only 67 pounds. She appeared to be not more 

than 10 or 11 years old. Other cases of the same character were 

observed in the same community, although none so pronounced as 

this one.2

Other instances were found, especially in Rhode Island, where 

children had used the birth certificates of older brothers or sisters 

in order to get their working papers, or where a child under age had 

obtained employment on the work certificate of some older child, 

borrowed or bought for the purpose. In such cases the employer 

may have complied with every legal requirement, yet the child is 

illegally employed.

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN SOUTHERN MILLS.

CHILDREN UNDER LEGAL AGE.

At the time of this investigation the laws of five of the Southern 

States visited forbade the employment of children under 12 years 

old. Mississippi had no child labor law. The laws of South Caro1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, pp. 158, 159. 2 Idem, p. 160.

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54 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

lina and Georgia excepted orphans, children of widows, and children 

of disabled fathers from the provisions of the law, if they were dependent upon their own labor for support. Georgia permitted the 

employment of such children at 10 years of age, and South Carolina 

had no age restriction for them. Since this investigation the age 

limit in Virginia has been raised to 14 years, in North Carolina 

to 13 with the employment of apprentices permitted at 12, and Mississippi has enacted a law forbidding the employment of children 

under 12.

The age limit laws in effect at the time of the investigation were 

openly and freely violated in every State visited. The following 

table shows the extent of these violations:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED IN THE SOUTHERN GROUP

EMPLOYING CHILDREN UNDER LEGAL AGE (12 YEARS) AND NUMBER AND PER

CENT OF SUCH CHILDREN COMPARED W ITH TOTAL CHILDREN UNDER 16, B Y

STATES.

[In South. Carolina and in Georgia a child under 12 years of age who is an orphan, or whose mother is a

widow, or whose father is disabled may be legally employed under certain conditions. Such children

are not included in this table.]

State.

Establishments

investitigated.

Establishments employing children

under legal age

(12 years).

Total

children

under 16

employed

in all

establishments

investigated.

Children employed

under legal age

(12 years).

Number. Per cent. Number.

Per cent

of total

children

employed.

Virginia................ - , _____________ ____ ___ 4 2 50.0 483 9 1.9

North Carolina.................................................. 59 44 74.6 2,347 202 8.6

South Carolina.................................................. 36 133 1 91.7 3,302 2 405 2 12.3

Georgia............................................................... 31 320 3 64.5 1,827 <66 <3.6

Alabama....... - ................___________ 13 8 61.5 1,167 71 6.1

Total........................................................ 143 U07 6 74.8 9,126 6 753 6 8.3

1 Not including one establishment employing children under 12 years of age under legal exceptions.

2 Not including 42 children under 12 years of age employed under legal exceptions.

s Not including two establishments employing children under 12 years of age under legal exceptions.

4 Not including 41 children under 12 years of age employed under legal exceptions.

5 Not including three establishments employing children under 12 years of age under legal exceptions.

e Not including 83 children under 12 years of age employed under legal exceptions.

In considering these figures it must be borne in mind that no child 

was entered as under 12 years old unless the age was admitted by the 

family of the child or was proved by indisputable evidence. Many 

others had all the appearance of being considerably below 12 years 

old, but as it was impossible to secure any record of their birth it was 

deemed necessary to take their age as it was given.

Nevertheless, the table shows a depressingly large number of children at work under 12 years of age. South Carolina led both in the 

number of such children and in the proportion they formed of all 

employees under 16.

In view of the situation in these States a question might be raised 

as to whether the child-labor laws had any force at all. Partly by

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 55

way of testing this a comparison was made between conditions in 

these States and in Mississippi. In the latter State nine mills were 

visited, employing 589 children under 16, of whom 118, or 21 per cent 

were under 12.

In Mississippi every establishment investigated employed children 

under 12 years of age. This was not true of any other State. * * * 

Of the total employees in the establishments visited, children under 

12 constituted 5 per cent, a much higher proportion than in any other 

State. In the five States having child-labor laws 753 out of 9,126 

children, or 8.3 per cent, were found to be under the legal age. If 

those under 12, but legally excepted are added, the total is 836, or 9.2 

per cent. * * * In Mississippi 113 of the 539 children, or 21 per 

cent, were under 12 years of age. This again is a much higher proportion than in any other State.

It appears, therefore, that though the child-labor laws were found 

to be flagrantly violated in all Southern States visited having such 

laws, * * * yet these laws have had no little effect in reducing the 

number of child employees under 12 years of age. The industry in 

Mississippi is newer than in the other States, and this would account 

in part for the higher proportion of children. The difference, however, was too great to be accounted for in this way, and was without 

doubt due to the absence of law on the subject in Mississippi.1

The age distribution by States of the children under 12 is shown 

in the following table:

NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH AGE UNDER 12 YEARS, ON PA Y ROLLS, AND NUMBER

NOT ON PA Y ROLLS, EMPLOYED IN COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED IN THE SOUTHERN GROUP, B Y STATES.

[Only children admitted or positively proved to be under 12 are included in this table as under that age.)

Age.

Virginia. North Carolina.

South Carolina. Georgia. Alabama. Mississippi. Total.

On

8 f

Not

on

S Z

Total.

On

S E

Not

on

s r

Total.

On

s a

Not

on

pa v

roll.

Total.

On

S K

Not

on

rolL

Total.

On

1 8 .

Not

on

H f

Total.

On

roll7

Not

on

Z i

Total.

On

S K

Not

on

pav

roll.

Total.

7 years 1 3 4 i 7 17 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 4 113 117

8 years 8 7 15 9 15 24 3 3 6 6 26 22 48

9 years 21 6 27 32 20 52 4 2 6 3 *i’ 4 17 i 18 77 30 107

10 years.. 1 1 2 37 12 49 110 37 147 19 8 27 20 3 23 35 35 222 61 233

11 years.. 4 3 7 94 13 107 202 15 217 68 5 73 38 2 40 49 * T 50 455 39 494

Total. 5 4 9 161 41 202 353 194 1447 91 16 107 65 6 71 109 4 113 784 1165 1949

i Including one child 6 years of age.

Of the 949 children under 12 shown here, 560 were boys and 389 

were girls. A question naturally arises as to what such young children can do. One girl of 7 and two boys and six girls of 8 were ring 

spinners, while six boys of 8 were doffers. The distribution of the 

whole group among some of the leading occupations was as follows:

x Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 188.

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56 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

OCCUPATIONS OF CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEAR S OF AGE EM PLOYED IN COTTON

MILLS INVESTIGATED IN THE SOUTHERN GROUP.

Occupaticn. Boys. Girls. Total.

Doffing....................................................................................................................... 278 5 283

Ring spinning............................................................................................................ 49 246 295

Spooling..................................................................................................................... 1 7 8

Weaving................................................................................................................ 6 4 10

Other occupations..................................................................................................... 226 127 353

Total.................................................................................................................. 560 389 949

Two of the weavers were girls 10 years of age; the other two girls 

and all the boys were 11 years of age. The large proportion in 

“ Other occupations” is partly accounted for by the fact that the 

occupations were not learned for the children whose names did not 

appear on the pay roll, and consequently they were perforce included 

in this group.

THE H E LPER SYSTEM .

The 165 children under 12 whose names, as shown in the table given 

on page 55, did not appear on the pay rolls belonged to the class 

known as helpers. In a |ew cases a helper may mean a child who 

merely assists some member of the family before and after school 

and on Saturday. But this is not always, nor even often, the case.

Ordinarily the children tabulated as “ not on pay roll” are employees who work as regularly as other workers and who are relied 

upon to do their share of work the same as are other employees. Because they are unquestionably under the legal age, however, and are 

admitted so to be, the employer refuses to place their names upon 

the books of the company, but raises no objection and does not refuse to give them work if some other member of the family can be 

induced to carry the helper’s wages home.1

The manufacturer under such circumstances argues that he does 

not employ the child since he pays no wages to it. Some other member of the family is credited with the work and the employer shuts 

his eyes to the fact that a child under age is working regularly and 

steadily in his mill. Where the law provides that a child under a 

certain age “ shall not be employed or suffered or permitted to work 

in or about any manufacturing establishment,” the helper system 

does not afford a legal means of evading its terms, but up to the date 

of this investigation such a provision had been kept out of the childlabor laws in North and South Carolina, in which States the helper 

system was most in use.

It is impossible to say how extensively children were employed 

under this system. If a child’s name was not on the pay roll the 

fact that it was at work in the mill was apt to remain unknown.

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. ISO.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 57

Most of the helpers listed in the above table came to the notice of the 

agents in an investigation carried on among certain mill families.

DIFFICU LTIES IN W A Y OF IN VESTIG ATIO N .

The tables given show the number of children at work who were 

proved to be under 12, but do not show the full number who were 

so. In 11 mills it was known that deliberate and determined efforts 

were made by mill officials to cover up the actual conditions in regard to child labor.

Children were discharged temporarily, sent home for a few hours or 

a few days, or hidden in entries, in water-closets, or in waste boxes— 

anywhere so that they would not be discovered by the agent when 

going through the mill. Of these facts proof was obtained in every 

case.1 * * * When attempts were made to ascertain, independently of mill officials, the extent of the illegal employment of 

children, the agents were confronted with new difficulties. No proof 

of age was on file in the mill office. There was no register of births 

with city or town officials which could be consulted. Little or no 

use could be made of school enumerations or teachers’ records, partly 

because they had not been compiled or kept with care and partly 

because of the migratory character of employees. In some cases 

where school children had been transferred from one room to another 

there was as much as two years’ difference in the ages recorded. 

Ordinarily a visit to the family was the only method by which the 

true ages of children could be obtained.2

Even this method did not always bring out the truth, for frequently the parents, fearing that the agent had authority to forbid 

the child’s employment if it were under legal age, would insist that 

it was 13, 14, or 15, when it had every appearance of being 10 or 

younger. In such cases, however, the parents’ statement was accepted and the child put down as of the age they gave, unless some 

documentary proof, such as the record of its birth entered in a family 

Bible, could be found to disprove their assertions. Not infrequently, 

also, parents actually did not know the ages of their children.

CHILDREN W ITH OU T CERTIFICATES OR A FF ID A V IT S.

At the time of this investigation all of the Southern States visited 

except Virginia and Mississippi required something in the way of 

documentary proof of age, school attendance, or parental condition 

as an antecedent to employment. The disregard of these provisions 

was so general that no attempt was made to tabulate the violations; 

practically, it was the exception for the law to be regarded.

IM PRO VEM EN T IN SOUTHERN CONDITIONS SINCE IN VESTIG ATIO N .

Since this investigation was made the situation in regard to child 

labor in the Southern States has shown signs of improvement. Sev1 Vol. I. Cotton Textile Industry, p. 193. 2 Idem, p. IDS.

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eral of the States have passed stronger laws, and in some at least an 

effort is being made to enforce the laws. The report of the Alabama 

inspector gives the most definite statement of what is being done to 

make child-labor legislation something more than a mere nominal 

concession to those who seek it.

According to the Alabama law now in force, children may begin 

work at 12, the parent’s affidavit being the only proof of age required. 

But the law also provides that no child under 16 may be employed 

unless it attends school at least eight weeks in each year, six of which 

must be consecutive. As soon as any company employs a child it 

must file the child’s affidavit of age with the probate judge of the 

county and within 10 days must send a copy to the State factory 

inspector. A careful system of filing and checking the affidavits thus 

received enables the inspector to keep track of the children at work 

and to avoid the duplications and omissions which often render the 

data compiled by such offices useless. As a method of preventing the 

employment of children under 12 the system, in the opinion of the 

inspector, has little value.

That this affidavit is absolutely worthless in so far as it shows 

the actual age of the child is shown by the fact that in numerous 

cases parents have, when moving from one establishment to another, given different dates of birth for the same child. * * * 

Since the department began to be more rigid in the enforcement of 

section 2 of the law, which requires eight weeks5 school attendance 

during the year, a number of establishments have sent to this office 

corrected affidavits to be substituted for those on file in the office. 

On investigating the matter it was found that the corrected affidavits, 

without a single exception, increased the age of the child at least one 

and in some instances two years. It was also found that the corrected affidavit invariably gave the child’s age as 16 years—just old 

enough to avoid this feature of the law.1

In order to enforce the educational requirement the inspector ruled 

that certificates, signed by teacher and principal, testifying that the 

child had attended school for the necessary time, must be filed with 

him before January 1, 1913. By comparing these certificates with 

the affidavits already on file it wTas possible to find what children had 

been employed in violation of this provision of the law during 1912. 

The report for 1912 contains a list of these children, numbering over 

1,100, by name, with the warning that according to the terms of the 

law their employment hereafter until they reach the age of 16 is 

illegal, and that any establishment employing them will be prosecuted. It is evident that such intelligent and determined enforcement of the law as this must soon effect a decided improvement in 

the situation.

58 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

1 Report of the Factory Inspector of the State of Alabama for the Year Ending Dec. 31,

1912, pp. 11, 15.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 59

Incidentally, the Alabama factory inspector’s report for 1912 

affords a proof of the conservative nature of the findings of the 

Bureau of Labor’s agents in their investigation of the cotton industry. These agents investigated 13 establishments in Alabama in 

1907-8. In these 1,691 minors under 18 were employed. Using all 

the diligence they could to secure the real ages of these workers, the 

agents found the number and proportion in the one year age groups 

were as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP MINORS OF EACH AGE UNDER 18 Y EAR S IN 13 ALABAMA COTTON MILLS, AS FOUND B Y THE AGENTS OF THE BU R EAU OF LABOR,

1907-8.

Ag© group. Number. Per cent. Age group. Number. Per cent.

12 and under............................... 294

272

324

277

17.4

16.1

19.2

16.4

16.................................................. 278

246

16.4

13................................................... 17.................................................. 14.5

14

15................................................... Total................................ 1,691 100.0

The Alabama State factory inspector’s report for 1912 shows that 

the age distribution of the minors under 18 employed in the Alabama 

cotton mills during the three years 1910-1912 were as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MINORS OF EACH AGE UNDER 18 Y EAR S IN ALABAM A

COTTON MILLS, AS REPORTED B Y THE STATE FACTORY INSPECTOR, 1910, 1911,

AND 1912.

Age.

1910 1911 1912

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

12 years............................................................... 621 35.5 775 28.0 1,150 30.8

13 years............................................................... 336 19.2 482 17.4 652 17.4

14 years............................................................... 278 15.8 512 18.6 603 16.2

15 years............................................................. 182 10.5 365 13.2 483 13.0

16 years.............................................................. 201 11.5 380 13.8 576 15.4

17 years.............................................................. 132 7.5 247 9.0 270 7.2

Total........................................................ 1,750 100.0 2,761 100.0 3,734 100.0

It will be seen that the proportion in the youngest groups is 

decidedly larger in the official figures than in those secured during 

the investigation. Either the employment of young children has 

been increasing very rapidly in Alabama or the investigating agents 

worked with a care which made their data err on the side of conservatism.

SUMMARY OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

Child workers form a useful but by no means an indispensable 

part of the cotton-mill force. During the last 30 years while the 

number of cotton textile employees increased steadily, the proportion of children employed decreased steadily. In the Northern

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
60 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

States visited workers 16 years of age and over formed a majority 

of those engaged in the so-called children’s occupations, disproving 

conclusively the contention that the slender and supple fingers of 

children are necessary in these occupations. Violations of the childlabor law were discovered in both sections. In the New England 

States the employment of children 14 or 15 years old without the 

certificates required by law was the commonest offense. Some 

instances were found in which children under the legal age were 

employed in defiance of the law, and some others in which children 

under age were employed on certificates which were plainly fraudulent. It was suspected, though not proved, that this situation existed 

in a number of other cases. In the South the legal provisions relating to certificates were practically ignored and violations of the agelimit laws were frequent and conspicuous.

HOURS OF LABOR, OVERTIME, AND NIGHT WORK.

MAXIMUM LEGAL HOURS, BY STATES.

At the time of this investigation the maximum hours of labor permitted by law were, for each State included in the study, as follows:

Maine, 60 hours for all females and for males under 16.

New Hampshire, 58 hours for all females and for males under 18.

Massachusetts, 58 hours for all females and for males under 18.

Rhode Island, 58 hours for all females and for males under 16.

Virginia, 60 hours for all females and for males under 14.

North Carolina, 66 hours for all persons under 18, except 

machinists, etc.

South Carolina, 60 hours for all persons except machinists, etc.

Georgia, 66 hours for all persons under 21 except machinists, etc.

Alabama, 60 hours for children under 14.

Mississippi, no restrictions at time of investigation.

MILLS EXCEEDING MAXIMUM LEGAL HOURS.

In the New England group only one mill was found operating 

more hours per week than the legal maximum. This was a mill in 

Maine employing 275 hands, which ran 61.8 hours per week. In the 

southern group two mills in Alabama employing 660 persons were 

operating, one 66 hours 30 minutes, and the other 67 hours 15 

minutes a week. In South Carolina 17 mills were working more 

than 60 hours a week, but only three of these were investigated after 

January 1,1908, at which time the 60-hour law became effective.

The hours of individual employees often varied widely from those 

during which the mill operated. Illness, slack work, a delay in 

securing material, an accident to his machine, or staying out of the

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 61

mill for some personal reason might reduce the worker’s weekly 

hours to much below the regular hours for the mill.

EXTENT OF OVERTIME AND NIGHT WORK.

Overtime work was not common in the New England mills investigated, only four mills being found which frequently required overtime. In the Southern States 16 mills were found in which it was 

frequently required. Night work was found only in North and South 

Carolina. In the first State 28 and in the second 4 establishments 

were found regularly employing women or children at night. The 

following figures show the age and sex of the nightworkers:

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES ENGAGED A T NIGHT W O R K IN SOUTHERN MILLS, B Y

AGE AND SEX.

Total

number.

16 years of age and

’ over. Under 16 years.

Male. Female. Male. Female.

North Carolina (28 establishments)................................ 1,722

343

874 411 223 214

South Carolina (4 establishments).................................. 155 76 69 43

In the majority of these mills it was customary to work 12 hours 

a night five nights in the week. Two mills in North Carolina were 

found in which night employees frequently worked in the daytime 

in addition to their regular night work and where day employees frequently worked at night after a full day’s work.

In one of these mills the day shift worked 66 hours per week and 

the night shift 60 hours. Owing to a scarcity of help, dayworkers 

were frequently requested to return to the mill immediately after 

supper and work until midnight, and frequently some one was sent 

to the homes of employees early in the evening or at midnight to 

request dayworkers to come and work half of the night. Some employees usually declined to do overtime work. Others worked alternate nights as a regular custom.1

EARNINGS OF OPERATIVES, AS SHOWN BY PAY ROLLS.

In order to secure accurate data in regard to the earnings of employees in cotton mills transcripts were made of the pay rolls of 

each of the establishments investigated, showing for each employee, 

in occupations in which women and children worked, the name, occupation, sex, hours worked, and earnings in a representative pay 

period. This information was obtained from 44 mills in the New 

England States and 151 mills in the Southern States.

The following table shows the classified weekly earnings of these 

employees by sex and age:

1Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 290.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
62 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES EARNING CLASSIFIED AMOUNTS IN A

REPRESENTATIVE W E E K IN COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED, B Y SEX AND AGE.

N U M B E R .

Classified

weekly

earnings.

Under 12

years.

Msde. Female.

12 and 13

years.

Male. Female.

14 and 15

years.

Male. Female.

16 and 17

years.

Male. Female.

18 to 20

years.

Male. Female.

21 years

and over.

Male. Female.

Total.

Male. Female.

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Under $2.......

$2 to $2.99....

$3 to $3.99....

$4 to $4.99....

$5 to $5.99....

$6 to $6.99....

$7 to $7.99....

$8 to $8.99....

$9 to $9.99....

$10 to $10.99.,

$11 to $11.99..

$12 and over..

Total...

SOUTHERN

GROUP.

Under $2____

$2 to $2.99...

$3 to $3.99...

$4 to $4.99...

$5 to $5.99...

$6 to $6.99...

$7 to $7.99...

$8 to $8.99...

$9 to $9.99...,

$10 to $10.99.

$11 to $11.99.

$12 and over.

50

63

106

199

144

84

56

21

7

55

80

162

164

144

114

40

17

11

2

3

2

42

63

95

129

187

144

110

30

38

13

4

4

79

87

222

285

337

279

155

95

51

31

11

46

46

109

91

180

182

125

70

71

51

37

40

81

109

258

308

460

544

432

266

204

117

41

146

135

190

266

353

451

436

434

492

459

433

790

221

231

526

844

1,174

1,297

1,335

1,006

990

740

422

460

291

309

510

690

867

863

727

555

608

526

477

834

445

514

1,179

1,614

2,118

2,238

1,962

1,384

1,256

890

477

508

25 46 736 794 859 1,638 1,048 4,585 9,246 7,257 14,585

145

133

129

52

5

5

106

80

53

34

14

1

1

1

395

580

380

64

25

7

341

354

254

111

51

151

2

Total... 470 290 1,820 1,492

383

706

647

2G3

146

44

19

5

1

1

361

401

604

560

374

223

74

23

7

2

1

159

143

268

334

242

193

74

283

285

458

574

528

336

129

48

17

8

1

1

177

113

155

257

242

271

214

119

80

48

24

15

498

698

657

491

250

114

61

18

483

297

419

541

743

884

791

663

584

381

212

245

602

552

799

965

1,063

981

704

422

250

131

44

1,726

1,464

2,257

2,211

1,559

1,524

1,130

835

695

435

241

261

2,041

1,981

2,766

3,085

2,747

2,083

1,173

609

337

159

54

31

2,609 2,630 1,481 2,668 1,715 3,450 6,536 114,338 17,0G6

P E R C E N T .

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Under $2........

$2 to $2.99....

$3 to $3.99....

$4 to $4.99....

$5 to $5.99....

$6 to $6.99....

$7 to $7 99

50.0

'25*6'

*25.0*

100.0 20.0

8.0

36.0

20.0

12.0

4.0

17.4

15.2

23.9

28.3

6.5

8.7

6.8

8.6

14.4

27.0

19.6

11.4

7.6

2.9

.9

.4

.4

6.9

10.1

20.4

20.6

18.1

14.4

5.0

2.1

1.4

.3

.4

.3

4.9

7.3

11.0

15.0

21.8

16.8

12.8

3.5

4.4

1.5

.5

.5

4.8

5.3

13.5

17.4

20.6

17.0

9.5

5.8

3.1

1.9

.7

.4

4.4

4.4

10.4

8.7

17.2

17.4

11.9

6.7

6.8

4.8

3.5

3.8

2.8

3.8

9.0

10.8

16.1

19.0

15.1

9.3

7.1

4.1

1.5

1.4

3.2

3.0

4.2

5.8

7.7

9.8

9.5

9.5

10.7

10.0

9.4

17.2

2.4

2.5

5.7

9.1

12.7

14.0

11.4

10.9

10.7

8.0

4.6

5.0

4.0

4.3

7.0

9.5

11.9

11.9

10.0

7.6

8.4

7.3

6.6

11.5

‘ 3.0

3.5

8.1

11.1

14.5

15.3

13.5

9.5

8.6

6.1

3.3

3.5

$8 to $8.99

$9 to $9.99

$10 to $10.99

$11 to $11.99

$12 and over

Total... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 leo.o 100.0

SOUTHERN

GROUP.

Under $2........ 30.8 36.6 20.2 24.3 15.1 13.7 10.7 10.6 10.3 9.5 7.7 9.2 12.0 11.9

$2 to $2.99.... 28.3 27.6 21.7 22.9 14.7 15.2 9.7 10.7 6.6 9.3 4.8 8.4 10.2 11.6

$3 to $3.99.... 27.4 18.3 31.8 23.7 27.1 23.0 18.1 17.2 9.0 14.4 6.7 12.2 15.8 16.2

$4 to $4.99.... 11.1 11.7 20.9 17.0 24.8 21.3 22.5 21.5 15.0 20.2 8.7 14.8 15.4 18.1

$5 to $5.99.... 1.1 4.9 3.5 7.5 10.1 14.2 16.3 19.8 14.1 19.1 11.9 16.3 10.9 16.1

$6 to $6.99.... 1.1 .3 1.4 3.4 5.6 8.5 13.0 12.6 15.8 14.2 14.2 15.0 10.6 12.2

$7 to $7.99.... ..... .3 .4 1.0 1.7 2.8 5.0 4.8 12.5 7.3 12.7 10.8 7.9 6.9

$8 to $8.99.... .2 .3 ...... .1 .7 .9 2.2 1.8 6.9 3.3 10.6 6.5 5.8 3.6

$9 to $9.99 .1 .2 .3 1.8 .7 4.7 1.8 9.3 3.8 4.9 2.0

$10 to $10.99.. ....... ....... .1 0 ) .1 .3 .3 2.8 .5 6.1 2.0 3.0 .9

$11 to $11.99 (1) 0 ) .3 (i) 1.4 .2 3.4 .7 1.7 .3

$12 and over.. .1 w .9 .2 3.9 .3 1.8 .2

Total... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 63

This table shows both the influence of age on wages and the difference in earnings in the two sections. The children under 14 

employed in New England are too few to permit any fair comparison between their earnings and those of the children of the same 

age groups in the South. Among those of the older age groups 

earnings range distinctly higher in the New England States.

As between the sexes it is noticeable that, while in almost every 

case the males show the larger proportion in the highest-earnings 

groups, the proportion of each sex reaching a moderate wage, such 

as $5 a week, is often nearly the same, and occasionally, especially 

among the younger workers, shows a slight excess on the side of the 

females. Taking $5 as the dividing line, the proportion in the various age and sex groups earning as much or more were as follows:

PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES EARNING $5 A W E E K AND OVER IN A REPRESENTATIVE

W E E K IN COTTON MILLS INVESTIGATED, B Y SEX AND AGE.

Per cent

14 and 15

years of

age.

Per cent

16 and 17

years of

age.

Per cent!

18 to 20

years of

age.

Per cent

21 years

and oyer.

Per cent

of all

ages.

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

i[

43.2 61.8 72.1 83.8 75.2

42.0 59.0 73.6 80.3 74.3

SOUTHERN GROUP.

18.3 39.0 59.1 72.1 46.6

Females . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ____ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.8 40.0 46.6 55.4 42.2

This table shows the relation between the sections as well as between the sexes. In the North the proportion earning $5 and over 

is much more nearly the same for each sex than in the South, and 

for every group the proportion above this dividing line is larger. 

If some higher rate of earnings is taken, the difference between the 

two sections is even more marked. Thus the proportion of those 18 

to 20 years of age earning $7 a week or more is for the New England 

group, males 37.5 per cent, females 38.5 per cent, and for the southern group, males 29.2 per cent, females 13.3 per cent. In general it 

may be said, first, that the earnings of all the workers studied were 

noticeably higher in the Northern than in the Southern States considered, and, second, that the earnings of female workers approach 

those of the male workers much more nearly in the New England than 

in the Southern States. Presumably both these differences are closely 

related to the kinds of work done in the two sections. The finer 

work of the New England mills calls for a skill and deftness which 

women can acquire, while the coarser work of the southern mills 

needs less skill but does in some occupations call for more strength.

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64 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OP LABOR STATISTICS.

In both sections there was considerable difference between the fulltime rates of pay and the actual average earnings. The following 

table shows these differences for six of the leading occupations:

AVERAGE ACTUAL AND FULL-TIME (COMPUTED) EARNINGS IN A REPRESENTATIVE

W E E K OF MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER IN THE

N E W ENGLAND AND IN THE SOUTHERN MILLS INVESTIGATED.

Occupation.

44 New England mills. 151 southern mills.

Males. Females. Males. Females.

Actual

earnings

per

week.

Computed

fulltime

earnings

per

week.

Actual

earnings

per

week.

Computed

fulltime

earnings

per

week.

Actual

earnings

per

week.

Computed

fulltime

earnings

per

week.

Actual

earnings

per

week.

Computed

fulltime

earnings

per

week.

Doffers.......................................................

Ring spinners..........................................

Scrubbers and sweepers........................

Speeder tenders.......................................

Spoolers.....................................................

$5.62

5.63

5.32

8.44

$6.77

6.77

6.02

9.64

$4.85

6.17

4.74

7.67

5.79

7.85

$6.07

7.36

5.66

8.88

6.77

8.99

$4.05

4.41

4.1o

6.38

4.85

6.76

$5.08

5.96

5.08

8.21

6.08

8.53

$2.86

4.54

2.96

5.64

4.39

5.82

$4.70

5.71

3.76

7.09

5.71

Weavers.................................................... 8.76 9.93 7.21

The weavers are in both sections the best paid workers, but for 

both sexes the actual average earnings of weavers in the New England mills are higher than their theoretically possible earnings in 

the southern mills. Speeder tending ranks next in possible earning 

power. Ring spinning is the one occupation in which the female 

workers showed higher actual as well as higher possible earnings 

than the male.

FINES AND OTHER DEDUCTIONS.

Of the 46 cotton mills which were investigated in New England 

40, and of the 152 investigated in the South 100 imposed fines on 

employees. The causes for which employees were fined and the 

number of mills fining for each cause were as follows:

NUMBER OF MILLS IMPOSING FINES FOR CERTAIN CAUSES.

Number of mills.

Fines imposed for— New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Bad work........................................................................................................................................ 34 87

Absence from work...................................................................................................................... 6

Leaving without notice............................................................................................................... 1 7

Misconduct..................................................................................................................................... 1 12

Damage to property..................................................................................................................... 5 51

Other causes.................................................................................................................................. 2 9

The most prevalent cause for fines was bad work. The weavers 

were apt to suffer more than any other class of workers from this

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 65

cause. If a loom without a stop-motion attachment is not stopped 

immediately upon the breakage of a thread a noticeable defect in the 

cloth results, and as a weaver may have a number of looms to attend 

it requires close watchfulness not to overlook a broken thread occasionally. Other small defects, such as an oil spot on the cloth, for 

instance, are sufficient ground for classing a cut of cloth as w seconds” 

and fining the weaver.

Fines varied according to the amount of damage or according to 

the rules or custom of the mill, the amount of a fine being usually 

left to the judgment of the overseer or second hand. In many cases 

it was half the price and in other the entire price of weaving the cut. 

In some cases it was the difference in the wholesale price of firstgrade cloth and “ seconds.” 1

Fines for poor work are imposed upon others than weavers, but are 

not usually so heavy.

Fines for damage to property include those for breaking windowpanes or electric light bulbs and for injury to machinery or the 

product. Of the 5 mills in New England and of the 51 in the South 

that imposed fines for this cause, 4 in New England and 16 in the 

South did not impose fines unless the damage was caused willfully. 

It will be noticed that a much larger proportion of mills in the South 

than in New England imposed fines for misconduct and for damage 

to property.

This is due largely to the fact that younger boys were employed in 

southern mills than in northern mills. In the South doffers get into 

mischief while they are idle between doffs. In the North doffers have 

less idle time, usually having sweeping or other work to do between 

doffs.2

In the South the cotton-mill owners were almost without exception 

the owners also of the houses in which their operatives dwelt, and it 

was the universal custom to deduct the house rent from an employee’s 

earnings before paying them over. Where there are company stores 

the store accounts of operatives are, as a rule, deducted from their 

earnings on each pay day. In some mills the company employs a 

doctor and deductions for his services were made before earnings 

were paid over to the employee.

A custom of making discounts from earnings advanced in money 

before pay day prevails in many southern mills, and in most cases 

the discount is 5 per cent. This charge falls heaviest upon the poor, 

the ones who must have the money as fast as they earn it and who 

can least afford the drain. The system is especially demoralizing to 

the intemperate or extravagant. In many mills pay day is every 

other week and in some of these earnings for one week, and in others

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 334.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------5

2 Idem , p. 335.

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6 6 BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

earnings for two weeksi are held back. Thus an employee may be 

required to work for from three to four weeks before drawing any 

pay. This almost necessitates his asking an advance, and when he 

has once made a beginning in this direction it is almost inevitable that 

he should continue.

PREMIUMS.

Much less extensive than the system of fining in cotton mills is 

that of premium giving. Premiums were given to employees in 3 of 

the 46 mills investigated in New England and in 60 of the 152 mills 

investigated in the South.

Premiums were offered for a better quality of work, for increased 

output, and for regularity of attendance. Of these, increased production was most generally chosen as the cause of the premium.

THE COTTON MILL AND WORKING CONDITIONS.

The cotton mills visited were practically all built of brick or stone. 

Conditions differed widely, according to the age of the building. 

In general, light in the weaving rooms was good, but elsewhere no 

general statement could be made. Ventilation was apt to be poor. 

Sixteen of the 46 New England mills and 28 of the 152 studied in 

the South had ventilating systems, while the others relied upon 

open windows, openings in the roof, and the like. The temperature 

of the mills was often high, and in certain rooms the humidity was 

excessive. Dust and lint abounded in the picker rooms and card 

rooms, in the latter of which women and children are often employed, though they are not engaged in carding. Lint is given off 

in all the processes up to and including spinning; thereafter relatively little is given off. Dust and lint can be kept down by frequent 

sweeping, scrubbing, and cleaning, but in most of the mills visited 

there was an objectionable and wholly unnecessary amount of both 

in the atmosphere.

Fire escapes were general in the North, but less so in the South, 

where of 63 mills over two stories in height only 9 were provided 

with fire escapes. Wash rooms for female workers were not common, being found in only 13 of the northern and 18 of the southern 

mills. Dressing rooms were rarer still, only 5 mills in the North 

and 3 in the South being equipped with them. Toilet accommodations were diverse. Of the New England mills, in 91.3 per cent 

such accommodation was sufficient, in 45.7 per cent there was reasonable privacy of approach, in 50 per cent the toilets were in good 

condition as to cleanliness, and in 84.8 per cent they were so situated as not to affect the air of the workrooms. Of the 151 southern 

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 67

commodations were sufficient, in 42.4 per cent there was reasonable 

privacy of approach, in 18.5 per cent the toilets were in good condition as to cleanliness, etc., and in 64.9 per cent they were so situated 

as not to affect the air of the workrooms.

PHYSICAL STRAIN ON OPERATIVES.

The only occupation in which women are engaged which requires 

much lifting is that of speeder tender, in which bobbins of roving 

must be lifted to the top of the speeder frames, from 5^ to 6 feet 

above the floor. The bobbins to be placed on the first speeder vary 

in weight from 1 to 4 pounds. They are heavier when coarse yam 

is made; hence in the South men are generally employed in this 

occupation, and in New England, where fine yarns are spun, women 

are more commonly employed.

The only occupations in which women are engaged which require 

much bending over are beam warping and, to a less extent, weaving. 

There is no other occupation in which women have strained positions in working. Children are not required to lift heavy weights 

or to assume strained positions in any occupation. On the other 

hand, the noise of the machinery is nerve racking, the work in many 

occupations requires close and constant attention, and in the spinning and weave rooms the air is hot and moist, often to an unnecessary and injurious degree.

FAMILY CONDITIONS AND SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF 

FAMILY INCOME.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF FAMILIES.

In order to study the family conditions of those families having 

women or children employed in the cotton mills, the names of a certain number of woman and child employees were taken from the 

pay rolls of each of the establishments investigated and visits were 

made to the homes, where schedules were secured with detailed information in regard both to the families as a whole and to the individual workers. As a general rule all the working members of these 

families were found to be employed in the cotton mills. There were 

occasional exceptions to this, especially in the larger towns of the 

New England States, where opportunities for employment are more 

numerous and varied than in the mill towns of the South, but these 

were not frequent enough to offer any contradiction to the general 

statement. The cotton mill gives employment to all ages, and children may grow up in the mills, marry other mill workers, keep on 

in its employ until old age overcomes them, and bring up their children to carry on the same program. Hence the cotton-mill family is 

a distinct type.

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68 BULLETIN OS’ THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

COMPOSITION OF FAMILIES; EMPLOYMENT OF MEMBERS.

In New England 854 families were visited, which averaged 6.5 

members and 3.5 wage earners per family. In 83 per cent of these 

families the father and in 93 per cent the mother was living with 

the family. In the South 1,567 families were visited which averaged 

6.6 members and 3.8 wage earners per family. In 76.5 per cent of 

these families the father and in 96.9 per cent the mother was living 

with the family. In the northern group 91.3 per cent of the fathers 

and 20.5 per cent of the mothers living with their families were contributing to the family support; in the southern group these proportions were 91.2 per cent and 16.6 per cent. The proportion of 

children in the various age groups at work was as follows:

PER CENT OF CHILDREN AT W O RK , B Y AGE.

Age group.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Hales 16 years of age and over................................................................................................... 96.7 96.9

Females 16 years of age and over............................................................................................ 95.3 93.9

Children 14 and 15 years of age................................................................................................. 83.8 96.2

Children 12 and 13 years of age......................... .......................................................... ........... 12.0 87.6

Children under 12 years of age...................................................................................... .......... .1 15.6

In both sections the employment of children 16 years of age and 

over is almost universal, and in both the employment of the daughters of the family is very nearly as common as of the sons. The 

employment of children 14 and 15 years old is as common in the 

southern group as the employment of children 16 years and over, 

but in the northern group, while it is evidently quite the accepted 

thing to put such children to work, one-sixth of their number were 

not wage earners. The employment of children under 14 was, of 

course, illegal in the Northern States, yet 50 such children were 

found at work there. Two of these children belonged to families 

whose heads were native born of foreign parents, the remainder to 

families whose heads were foreign born of foreign parents. Only 

two of the New England families having children under 12 years 

old had such children at work—one child to each family—while of 

the 1,161 families in the South having children under 12 years old 

399 had such children at work to the number of 476.

SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF FAMILY INCOME.

The incomes of the families studied varied widely, according to 

the difference in contributing members. These variations are shown 

in the following table:

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 69

AVERAGE NET INCOME PER FAM ILY, ACCORDING TO CLASSES OF PERSONS

CONTRIBUTING.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Fathers at work............................................................................................................................. $1,193

934

$900

Mothers at work............................................................................................................................ 672

Male children 16 years and over at work............................................................................... 1,368

1,242

1,167

1,071

593

969

Female children 16 years and over at work........................................................................... 901

Children 14 and 15 years of age at work.......................................................... . .................... 910

Children 12 and 13 years of age at work................................................................................... 913

Children under 12 years of age at work.............................................................................. 847

Average net income for all families................................................................................ 1,134 822

In both groups the families having mothers at work show incomes 

decidedly below the average for all families considered. In the 

southern group this difference is really greater than the figures show 

because in about half the families with working mothers the income 

was so exceedingly low as to bring down unduly the average for all 

families. A better idea of the relative poverty of families with working mothers is gained by contrasting their average income with that 

of families having wage earners of other classes. The families having children under 12 at work show the least difference, but even they 

have on an average $175 more per year and in every other group the 

difference is over $200. Among the northern families the only group 

having a conspicuously low income is that in which children under 

12 were at work; but as there were only two such families, no weight 

can be attached to these figures. It is worth noticing that in both 

the northern and southern families those having male children 16 

years of age and over at work are noticeably more prosperous than 

the others.

The proportion of the family income contributed by each class of 

workers was as follows:

PER CENT OF FAM ILY INCOME CONTRIBUTED B Y EACH CLASS OF W ORKERS.

New

Endand

group.

Southern

group.

137.7 134.0

Mothers............................................................................... ........................................................... 32.4 27.9

Male children 16 years of as;e and over..................................................................................... 31.1 27.3

Female children 16 years of as:© and over................................................................................ 42.6 35.2

Children 14 and 15 years of age........................................................................ ........................ 18.7 22.9

Children 12 and 13 years of age.................................................................................................. 14.3 17.6

Children under 12 years of age................................................................................................... 3.6 13.5

i These per cents apply in each case only to the incomes of families having workers of the specified class.

These figures tend to confirm the assertion that the cotton-mill 

family depends on a family wage for its existence and that the 

•women and children must work if the family is to survive. The 

father contributes less than two-fifths of the income, the daughters

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70 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

of 16 and over exceed him in the importance of their contributions, 

and mothers and sons of 16 and over, when either are working, come 

very close to him in the proportion of the income they furnish.

In calculating the family income it was assumed that fathers and 

mothers at work vnd also children under 16 turned all their earnings 

into the common fund, but when children 16 years of age and over 

were at work careful inquiry was made as to what portion of their 

earnings was paid in to the family. The following table summarizes 

the data collected on this point:

AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL EARNINGS OF CHILDREN OF EACH SEX 16 YEARS OF AGE AND

OVER AT W ORK, AVERAGE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SUCH CHILDREN TO FAM ILY INCOME, AND PER CENT OF THEIR EARNINGS SO CONTRIBUTED, B Y N ATIVITY OF

HEADS OF FAMILIES.

Nativity of head o f fam ily.

Number of

families with— Children 16 years and over at work.

Male

children 16

years

and

over

at

work.

Female

children 16

years

and

over

at

work.

Average earnings of—

Average

amount contributed to

family by—

Per cent of

earnings contributed to

family by—

Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females.

NEW ENGLAND GROUP.

Native bom, native parents.................

Native bom, foreign parents................

Foreign bom............................................

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

SOUTHERN GROUP.

Native bom, native parents.................

14

23

352

26

34

542

$412

355

362

$302

307

323

$283

318

299

$282

285

313

68.7

89.6

82.6

93.4

92.8

96.9

389 602 364 321 300 310 82.4 96.6

641 886 267 237 194 211 72.7 89.0

These figures show clearly that in each nativity and race group, in 

New England and in the South alike, the females contributed a much 

larger proportion of their earnings to the family support than did 

the males. To such an extent is this true that though the males invariably averaged higher earnings than the females, yet the average 

amount they contributed to the family was less in each section than 

that contributed by the females. This explains a previous table 

which showed that females 16 years of age and over furnished a 

larger percentage of the family income than did males in the same 

age group.

FAMILIES WITH NONCONTRIBUTING FATHERS.

In 93 families in New England and in 199 in the South the father, 

though living, made no contribution to the family income. The following table shows the number of families affected, by each of the 

leading causes for the father’s failure to aid:

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 71

REASON FOR FAILURE OF FATHER TO CONTRIBUTE TO FAM ILY SUPPORT

Reason for father's failure to contribute.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

Incapacitation............................................................................................................................... 38 68

18 59

24 37

Other causes...............- ................................................................................................................. 13 35

These causes need little comment, except in the case of the idle 

fathers, i. e., those who are physically able to work but do not. So 

much has been said of these in connection with the southern cotton 

mills that a special effort was made to learn something about them. 

The proportions in which they were found in the two sections are 

almost identical, they being present in 2.8 per cent of the families 

studied in New England and in 2.4 per cent of those studied in the 

South. The condition of their families in the two sections differs 

materially, however, as shown in the following table:

NUMBER OF W AGE EARNERS AND AVERAGE Y E A R L Y INCOME IN FAMILIES HAVING

FATHERS IDLE THOUGH ABLE TO W ORK.

Number of

families.

Average

num erof

members.

Average

number of

wage earners.

Average yearly income.

16 and

over.

Under

16.

16 and

over.

Under

16.

From

members

16 and

over.

From

members

under

16.

From

other

sources.

Total.

New England group............... 24

37

5.4

4.2

3.0

3.6

3.5

2.1

0.8

1.9

$1,093

399

$144

282

$33

60

$1,270

Southern group........................ 741

There is a noticeable difference between the average incomes of the 

two groups of families and a much greater difference in the relative 

importance of the contributions made by wage earners under 16. 

In the New England group the average yearly income of these 

families exceeds by $136 the average family income for the 854 

families studied, while in the southern families the income falls below 

the average for the total 1,567 families by $81. In New England 

the contributions of children under 16 formed 11.3 per cent of the 

total income, while in the South they formed 38.1 per cent. Evidently in the northern families the possible earnings of the fathers 

could be spared with much less detriment to the family than in 

the South.

Back of these differences lies a more fundamental one. In the New 

England families the father’s retirement is usually premeditated* 

regarded by himself, his family, and his neighbors as a normal and 

proper proceeding, while in the South it is often almost forced upon

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
him by the conditions of a mill town. In New England the “ idle 

fathers ” were for the most part foreigners, whose families were in 

fairly comfortable circumstances and who were in many cases 

“ encouraged by their children to lay off from work on the ground 

that as the father had labored for the support of the family while 

the children were young, it was their obvious duty to support him 

when they grew to maturity.” In the South the situation is quite 

different.

Many of these idle men in the South came to the cotton-mill communities with no intention of living upon the earnings of their children to any greater extent than on the farm. The man who has 

worked upwards of 20 years on the farm soon discovers, however, 

that he is not adapted to cotton-mill work. His fingers are too clumsy 

for the tasks requiring dexterity, and the number of common laborers 

required is limited.1

If he gets work in the mill, it is poorly paid and very confining; 

if he does not find it in the mill, there is little for him to do elsewhere in such a community, and he soon falls into the class of confirmed idlers.

FAMILY CONDITIONS OF MARRIED WOMEN AT WORK.

In 415 of the families investigated married women were found 

working for wages. These were classed as follows:

72 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

CONDITION AS TO HUSBAND OF MARRIED W OMEN AT W O RK.

Condition as to husband.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

34 66

Deserted and divorced wives............................................ ........................................................ 10 33

Wives of incapacitated husbands............................................................................................. 4 7

Wives of idle husbands............................................................................................................. 3 3

Wives with husbands at work.................................................................................................. 112 143

Total..................................................................................................................................... 163 252

The average weekly per capita incomes of these families, excluding 

the earnings of the wife, were as follows:

W E E K L Y PER CAPITA INCOME OF FAMILIES OF MARRIED W OMEN AT W O RK ,

CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO CONDITION AS TO HUSBAND.

Condition as to husband.

New

England

group.

Southern

group.

W idow s............................................................................................................................... ......... $2.49

2.06

$1.78

Deserted and divorced wives.................... ................................................................................ 1.42

Wives of incapacitated husbands.................................................................................... ......... 2.18 1.65

Wives of idle husbands......................................: : ................................................................... 2.92 1.18

Wives of husbands at work...................................................................................................... 2.73 2.08

Total..................................................................................................................................... 2.65 1.90

1Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 453.

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THE COTTON TEXTILE INDUSTRY. 73

No study of the cost of living of these families was made, but it 

is obvious that the earnings of the women were much more needed in 

the South than in the North. A study of the individual schedules 

shows an even greater difference in this respect than is indicated by 

the average per capita incomes. In only 49 of the northern families 

did the per capita weekly income, exclusive of the woman’s earnings, 

fall below $2, and in only 25 below $1.50, while in the southern families the corresponding numbers were 140 and 94.

This difference is especially noticeable among the families in 

which both wives and husbands were at work. Excluding the earnings of the wives, the weekly per capita earnings of these families 

fell below $2 in 30 cases (26.8 per cent) of the New England group 

and in 68 cases (47.6 per cent) in the southern group. In the New 

England families in a number of cases the income was such that the 

wife’s earnings did not seem to be really necessary.1 It is worth 

noticing that only eight of these New England cases in which husband and wife were both working were American families.

It is not possible to say to what extent the work of these married 

women involved neglect of children, as there may have been others at 

home who could take care of the little ones. There were among the 

163 New England working mothers, however, 75 and among the 

southern mothers 160 with children under 10 years old, and in the two 

sections, respectively, 23 and 56 with children under 3 years old.

The widowed mother with young children to support does not 

appear as frequently as might be expected among these women. 

Eighteen in the northern group (11 per cent) and 57 in the southern 

group (22.6 per cent) were widows with children under 14.

SINGLE WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OYER AT WORK.

Detailed information was secured concerning 1,017 single women 

16 years of age and over at work in New England and 1,288 in the 

South. These women were not casual or intermittent employees, but 

regular workers. In both sections the largest proportion was found 

at the age of 16—in New England 16.1 per cent; in the South 23.1 

per cent. In the North 13.2 per cent and in the South 8.6 per cent 

were 25 years of age and over.

The average earnings of these single women by age groups were 

as follows:

1 In 43 of these families (38.4 per cent) the weekly per capita income, excluding the

wife’s earnings, was over $3, running up to $5 and $6 in some cases. In the southern

families of the same class the weekly per capita income, excluding the wife’s earnings,

reached $3 in only 26 cases (18.2 per cent).

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74 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

EARNINGS DURING Y E A R OF SINGLE WOMEN 16 Y EAR S OF AGE AND OYER AT

W O RK , B Y AGE.

New England

group. Southern group.

Age.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

Number.

Average

earnings

during

year.

16 years of age......................................................................................... 164 $272

302

298 $227

151 217 23117 years of age.........................................................................................

18 years of age......................................................................................... 158 304 212 234

19 years of age......................................................................................... 116 350 140 248

20 years of age.............................................................................. .......... 98 321 98 246

21 years of age......................................................................................... 64 347 82 243

22 years of age......................................................................................... 58 354 56 244

23 years of age.............................................................................. ........... 36 345 32 260

24 years of age......................................................................................... 38 369 43 243

25 to 29 years........................................................................................... 73 374 68 248

30 years and over.................................................................................... 61 340 42 265

Total.............................................................................................. 1,017 322 1,288 238

It is noticeable that the earnings of the girls of 16 in the two sections show less difference than those of any of the older groups; in 

other words, the earnings of the northern women, beginning at a 

higher figure than those of the southern women, increase more 

rapidly. In both sections there is a steady increase of earnings up 

to the age of 20, at which age there is a sudden decrease, slight in 

the South, but marked in New England. At 21 in the North and at 

22 in the South the increase begins again. The oldest group is the 

group of highest earnings in the southern mills, while in the New 

England mills those aged 25 to 29 years show the largest earnings.

CHILDREN AT WORK.

In the 2,421 cotton-mill families visited there were 7,589 children 

under 16. Of these, 503 in New England and 1,126 in the South 

were under 6 and consequently were, with very few exceptions, at 

home, being too young for either school or work. The following 

table shows the number and proportion of the children aged 6 to 15 

who were at work, at school, and at home.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN 6 TO 15 YEARS OF AGE IN COTTON-MILL

FAMILIES VISITED WHO W ER E AT W O RK , AT SCHOOL, AND AT HOME, B Y AGE

GROUPS.

Age group.

New England group. Southern group.

Total

number.

At work. At school. At home.

Total

number.

At work. At school. At home.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

6 to 9 years................

10 and 11 years..........

Total, 6 to 11

years.......... ..

12 and 13 years..........

Total, 6 to 13

vears.............

14 and 15 years..........

Total, 6 to 15

years.............

} 845 2 0.3 732 86.6 Ill 13. l{ 1,181

754

97

379

8.2

50.3

518

266

43.9

35.3

566

109

47.9

14.4

845

400

2

48

.3

12.0

732

336

86.6

84.0

111

16

13.1

4.0

1,935

1,084

476

952

24.6

87.8

784

90

40.5

8.3

675

42

34.9

3.9

1,245

624

50

523

4.0

83.8

1,068

82

85.8

13.1

127

19

10.2

3.1

3,019

1,072

1,428

1,031

47.3

96.2

874

20

29.0

1.9

717

21

23.7

1.9

1,869 573 30.7 1,150 61.5 146 7.8 4,091 2,459 60.1 894 21.9 738 18.0

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T H E C O T T O N T E X T I L E I N D U S T R Y . 75

The difference in the proportion of children under 12 at school in 

the two sections—86.6 per cent in New England, 40.5 per cent in the 

South—is probably more a matter of the availability of schools than 

of the tendency to put children to work earlier, for in the southern 

age group 6 to 9, in which relatively few are at work, the proportion 

at school is but little larger than among those aged 10 and 11 years, 

among whom the proportion at work is large. This table does not 

show the relative extent of illegal employment in the two sections, 

since it makes no account of the exceptions under which children 

under 12 might be legally employed in the South. It does, however, 

give some idea of the extent to which custom and law give the 

northern child the advantage in the matter of beginning work. 

Of the children under 14 studied in the North only 4 per cent 

were at work, against 47.3 per cent of those in the same age group 

in the South.

CHILDREN UN DER 14 Y E A R S OF AGE A T W O R K .

The condition as to parents of the children at work under 14 in 

the two sections is shown by the following table:

CONDITION AS TO PARENTS OF CHILDREN UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK .

Condition as to parents.

New Efigland

group. Southern group.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Orphans................................................................................................... 2 0.1

Children of widows................................................................................ 4 8.0 201 14.1

Children of deserted mothers............................................................ 3 6.0 93 6.5

Children of incapacitated fathers........................................................ 1 2.0 54 3.8

Children of idle fathers.......................................................................... 2 4.0 37 2.6

Children with both parents at work.................................................. 5 10.0 82 5.7

Children with fathers but not mothers working............................. 35 70.0 959 67.2

Total.............................................................................................. 50 100.0 1,428 100.0

The numbers in the two sections are too different to permit of 

comparison, but it is noticeable that in both groups children with 

father, but not mother, at work, i. e., in what may be considered the 

normal family condition, very far outnumber all the other classes 

combined.

In the New England group the average membership of the families 

from which these children came was 7.6, the average annual income 

was $1,079, and the average per capita weekly income, excluding 

the earnings of the children under 14, was $2.36. Information as to 

literacy was received from 49 of these children; 6, all of foreign 

families and 4 of them foreign born, could not read or write. In 

the southern group the average family membership was 7.2, the average annual income $954, and the average weekly per capita income, 

excluding earnings of children under 14, was $2.06. Information as

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to literacy was gained for 1,316 of the children at work under 14, of 

whom 690, or 52.4 per cent, were unable to read and write.

CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK.

In the New England families visited there were 523 and in the 

southern families 1,031 children 14 and 15 years of age at work 

whose condition as to parents is shown in the follow ing table:

7 6 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

CONDITION AS TO PARENTS OF CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK.

Condition as to parents.

New England

group. Southern group.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Orphans.................................................................................................... 1 0.2 3 0.3

Cluldien of widows................................................................................ 43 8.2 150 14.6

Childien of deserted mothers............................................................... 16 3.1 52 5.0

Children of incapacitated fathers........................................................ 15 2.9 45 4.4

Children of idle fathers.......................................................................... 17 3.2 25 2.4

Children with both parents at work.................................................. 44 8.4 53 5.1

Children with father but not mother at work................................. 387 74.0 703 68.2

Total.............................................................................................. 523 100.0 1,031 100.0

Among these children, as among those at work under 14, by far the 

largest proportion had both parents living, with the father at work 

and the mother keeping the home. In the New England group the 

average family membership was 7.5, the average annual income was 

$1,208, of which $226 represented the earnings of children under 16, 

and the average per capita weekly income, excluding the earnings of 

children under 16, was $2.53. Among the southern families the membership was slightly smaller, 7.0; the average annual income was 

$975, of which $330 came from the children under 16, and the average 

per capita weekly income, exclusive of the children’s earnings, was 

$1.76.

It will be observed that the average family income from children 

under 16 at work was much greater in the South than in New England. This is partly due to the fact that a southern family is likely 

to have more children under 16 at work than a New England family, 

which in turn is partly due to the lower age at which a child may 

legally work in the South.

In the South over 60 per cent of the families visited had children 

under 14 at work as well as children of 15 and 16, while in New 

England only rarely was a family found with a child under 14 at 

work. So far as the average yearly earnings of these children in 

New England and the South are concerned, there is very little difference. Thus in New England the children of 12 and 13 averaged 

$153 yearly, while those in the South averaged $160. Of the children 

14 and 15 years of age those in New England averaged $218, while 

those in the South averaged $208.

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T H E C O T T O N T E X T IL E I N D U S T R Y . 77

Reports as to literacy were secured from 520 of the New England 

children at work at 14 and 15, of whom 37, or 7.1 per cent, were 

unable to read and write, and from 957 of the children at work at the 

same ages in the South, of whom 340, or 35.5 per cent, were unable to 

read and write.

SUMMARY AS TO FAMILY CONDITIONS AND FAMILY INCOME.

The income of the cotton-mill family is a composite made up of 

the earnings of all the family of legal working age, except, in the 

majority of cases, the mother. In the families visited the father’s 

contribution, in families where there was a working father, did not 

either in New England or in the South average two-fifths of the 

family income. Wage-earning male children 16 years of age and 

over were less numerous than female children of the same description. 

Their earnings were higher than those of the female children, but 

their contributions to the family income were both absolutely and 

relatively lower. In both sections the female children 16 years and 

over were the most important contributors to the family income, their 

contributions averaging in New England 42.6 per cent and in the 

South 35.2 per cent of the total incomes of families having such 

wage earners. Children under 16 were at work far more numerously 

and were relatively far more important contributors to the family 

income in the South than in New England.

The employment of married women in the mills was relatively 

more common in the New England than in the southern families visited, 20.5 per cent of the mothers living with their families in New 

England and 16.6 per cent in the South being at work. Of the New 

England mothers at work 14.1 per cent and of the southern 22.2 

per cent had children under 3 years of age.

THE MILL COMMUNITY.

The closing section of the volume on the cotton textile industry is 

devoted to a general discussion of conditions prevailing in the mill 

communities visited. When mills were situated in large cities or 

their immediate outskirts, the workers might be merged with the general population and a mill community could hardly be said to exist. 

More often, particularly in the South, the mills and their workers 

made up practically the whole community, which even if near a 

less specialized settlement was yet absolutely apart from it. More 

often than not these mill villages were controlled by the mill companies. Two forms of this control were found. Under one form the 

mill company owned all the land, the houses, etc., prescribed and 

enforced all regulations, and did pretty much all that was done for 

the social, moral, and intellectual development of the people. This

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condition of affairs was found chiefly in the South. Under the other 

form the officers in the town or village were elected by the people, 

but all the offices of importance were held by men who were directly 

or indirectly connected with the mill company. The minor offices 

also were practically controlled by them, being held by men in their 

employ; and when this was the case the mill usually made itself felt 

just as much as if it owned the whole town. Such a condition of 

affairs was found principally, but not exclusively, in New England.

It was the exception for families to own their homes, only 126 of 

the 854 New England families and 76 of the 1,567 southern families 

visited being owners. Of the families who did not own homes in 

New England 28 per cent and in the South 91.5 per cent lived in 

company houses. There seemed a growing sentiment among the 

more highly skilled and self-respecting operatives against living in 

company houses.

The sanitary conditions of the mill communities can not fairly be 

compared, since the mill community of New England is always a 

part of the village, town, or city in which it is situated, and is subject to the same sanitary regulations as the rest of the community. 

The mill village of the South is usually unincorporated, and the 

establishment and enforcement of sanitary regulations depends entirely upon the mill company. Hence, conditions varied from excellent to unspeakably bad.

The consensus of the different reports indicates clearly that the 

mill companies take more and greater sanitary precautions than 

usually are taken in the average village or on the average farm.1

MEANS OF EDUCATION AVAILABLE FOR COTTON-MILL CHILDREN.

The school education of cotton-mill children, North and South, is 

mainly that of either the public or the parochial school. In actual 

educational conditions the New England States visited were far in 

the lead, but during the last few years the Southern States had shown 

the greater rate of progress.

The public attitude toward school attendance, as expressed in the 

laws, differed widely in the two sections.

Compulsory-attendance laws, with specified terms of attendance, 

fines for violation, and complementary labor laws obtain in Maine, 

New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Of the six 

Southern States visited none has a State law directly compelling 

attendance at school, although Virginia and North Carolina have 

laws making the attendance of children at school compulsory if the 

local district so orders, and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama 

forbid the employment of certain children unless they shall have had 

a specified attendance at school.2

78 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O P L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 535. * Idem, p. 552.

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T H E C O T T O N T E X T IL E I N D U S T R Y . 79

In New England the cotton-mill children had as available means of 

education the public schools, both day and evening, and the parochial 

schools, which also frequently had night as well as day sessions. 

The parochial schools were very extensively used, especially by the 

foreign children. In the South the cotton-mill children were found 

in three kinds of schools:

1. Schools in cities. Such schools differ from those found elsewhere only in that the lack of compulsory-attendance laws leads to 

lower enrollment and less regular attendance. No special exemptions 

were made for the mill children.

2. Schools in the larger towns which had other industries besides 

cotton mills. In these schools, among both pupils and some of the 

teachers, some prejudice is manifested against the cotton-mill children.

3. Cotton-mill schools, built, equipped, and almost entirely supported and controlled by the cotton-mill corporations in towns entirely made up of cotton-mill people. All receive State aid, but this 

has to be supplemented by direct contributions from the mill corporations. When the school is connected with a large and liberal 

corporation it may be equal in equipment, building, and teachers to 

a good city school; if the corporation is a small one or indifferent to 

the needs of the children, it may be a very poor affair.

Concerning percentage of attendance and regularity of attendance, 

the investigation shows that the two kinds of cotton-mill schools were 

about on a par. In both the number of children attending school, as 

compared either with the number of children of school age in the 

mill village or town, or even with the number who had enrolled 

themselves at some time during the school year, was not large. 

Average attendance falls very low in the cotton-mill school from a 

number of causes. * * * These are the unattractiveness of the 

school, the inefficient teaching, the lack of mechanical aids to instruction, the physical discomfort of the school, and the irksomeness of 

school work. The child feels that it is useless to go to school when 

he knows that he will go into the mill anyway before he knows much. 

The family think they need the child’s earnings and are indifferent 

to his education.1

In addition to these causes, it is not uncommon for the mill foremen to send to the school for children if more are needed at any time 

in the mill, a practice which naturally interferes seriously with regular attendance.

SOCIAL STATUS OF COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES.

Whether the mills are located in country or city the mill population forms a separate community. Millworkers have very few social 

relations with other people; they have an almost entirely separate

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, pp. 577, 578.

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social and industrial life. They come of the same stock, they have 

had practically the same experience before coming to the mill, they 

have the same deficiencies and shortcomings in common, and they 

naturally turn to one another for congenial association.

This tendency is much increased by a very general sense of superiority on the part of those who are not millworkers. This feeling, 

which was found in almost every community visited, was perfectly 

evident to the millworkers, who naturally resented it and kept more 

closely to their own class on account of it.

In the mill villages where there is no industry except cotton manufacturing there are, of course, no class distinctions; barring the mill 

officials all are of the same class and on the same level.

The New England mills visited were generally either in large 

towns or near them, so that the isolated mill community was decidedly rare. Cotton-mill operatives do not form such an isolated 

class as in the South. The native American and the English-speaking workers especially merge in the general community.

Many of the Americans, English, Irish, and Scotch who work in 

the mills own their own homes. * * * They speak a common 

language and all have at least the rudiments of an education. Many 

children of these families enter employment in other industries and 

girls or boys are sent through the high schools and colleges. * * * 

They have most of their friends outside of the mill operatives, because most of the operatives are of alien races^ people of different 

customs, standards, and modes of living, and speak different langauges.1

To some extent the foreign mill workers in the New England mills 

have the same isolated position as the native workers in the southern 

mills. They are not, however, so entirely confined to one industry 

and their isolation is largely the result of racial feeling and the lack 

of common language and antecedents with the rest of the community.

MORAL CONDITION OF COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES.

Occasionally during this investigation particular mills were found 

in which, through lax discipline and indifference on the part of 

the management, a low moral tone prevailed, but on the whole nothing was found to indicate that employment in cotton mills had any 

different moral effect upon the women and children from employment in any other line of factory work.

In nearly all of the smaller mill villages, in all the States alike, 

the operatives as a body are sober and well behaved. There is usually 

good order and but little drinking, and there is seldom need for a 

civil officer to make an arrest. In the country mills, especially, this 

is true. In practically all the country mill villages the moral standard is high.2

1 Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 688. 2 Idem, p. 589.

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T H E C O T T O N T E X T I L E I1TOTJSTRY. 81

WELFARE WORK.

The greater part of the welfare work at the present time in the 

cotton industry is found in the Southern States. In considering the 

value of this work it must be remembered that where civic life is 

highly developed and the city or State provides such institutions as 

libraries, public baths, playgrounds, dance or amusement halls, and 

makes wise building regulations, thus insuring proper housing facilities for the working population, the employer’s welfare work may 

become superfluous. Such was very largely the situation in the 

northern mill communities visited. “ To-day employers5 welfare 

work in New England consists mainly in providing a free bed in a 

hospital or contributing toward the support of a district nurse.”

In the South the need for such work is much greater. Small mills 

with little capital obviously can not engage extensively in welfare 

work. More welfare work is found in South Carolina, where mills 

are larger, than in any other State, yet in every State such work was 

found, sometimes on an extensive scale. The kinds of work done 

are too various for summarized description. Some mills provide 

parks, some clubhouses and social centers. Eight maintained paid 

welfare workers, 10 had trained nurses, 78 supported or partly supported day schools, 33 night schools, and 17 kindergartens. Not one 

of the Southern States visited was without some mills which were 

carrying on welfare work.

COMPANY STORES.

Fifty-seven of the southern mills visited had such stores; in New 

England they were much less common and none were found outside 

of Maine and Rhode Island. No direct compulsion seemed to be put 

upon the operatives to make them trade at the company store, but 

indirectly a compulsion exists when pay days are far apart.

Almost invariably wages are held back for one pay-roll period, and 

in many cases it is two weeks between pay days. Thus, for work 

done from January 2 to January 15, inclusive, payment may not be 

made until January 29. When newcomers arrive at a mill it may be 

four weeks before they receive any money; then they will receive two 

weeks’ wages, but they may have a store account covering four weeks. 

Many of them arrive at the mill village with no household goods of 

any kind, with no provisions, and with insufficient clothing for 

themselves and their families. They must go into debt for necessary 

supplies, and before they draw their first pay their debt may be much 

more than the pay drawn will cover.

As a rule, where there are company stores, the amount of the store 

accounts is deducted on each pay day from the earnings of the em95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------6

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8 2 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

ployees. Newcomers are allowed some time in which to pay for 

furniture, etc., and occasionally old employees of known honesty 

may be favored, but with such exceptions the company store is absolutely protected against loss.

The company stores did not in general have a higher scale of prices 

than independent stores in the same localities. They depended for 

their profits on the advantage in buying which their large capital 

gave them and on their freedom from loss through bad debts.

SUMMARY.

The cotton textile industry employs women and children more 

numerously than any other industry in the United States, although 

the relative importance of both these classes has decreased as heavy 

and complicated machinery has been introduced and speed of operation has. become greater. However, men still form less than half 

of the working force.

The work done by women and children does not necessarily involve harmful conditions, but as actually carried on such conditions 

are usually present. A large part of their work requires little of 

either skill or strength, so that young children can be employed 

to advantage. The employment of such children is not, however, 

necessary, as adults can perform all the work usually assigned to 

children.

The laws relating to the employment of children were found to 

be frequently broken in both sections of the country. In the North 

the violation usually consisted of a failure to provide or keep on 

file the “ working papers” required by law; in the South the employment of children below the legal age was common.

'The work done by children and most of that done by women is 

of a monotonous and deadening character, requiring no initiative 

and giving no general training. At the same time much of it demands close attention, and is, therefore, exhausting. The scale of 

earnings is low, and usually the combined wages of the family are 

required to meet the family expenses. Relatively the earnings of 

children under 16 form a more important part of the family income 

in the South than in New England, while in regard to the earnings of 

women and girls over 16 the situation is reversed.

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CHAPTER II.—MEN’S READY-MADE CLOTHING.

The manufacture of men’s ready-made clothing was selected for 

investigation as being second only to the cotton textile industry in 

the number of women it employs. It is, moreover, the largest field 

for home work connected with the sewing trades, and has most commonly been associated with the various evils of what is known as 

“ sweating.” In the employment of children it ranks ninth among 

the manufacturing industries of the country.

The present report is based upon an investigation carried on in 

New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Rochester. In 

these cities 244 factories were investigated with a total labor force 

of 23,683 wage earners. The number of establishments visited in 

each city and the number and age and sex distribution of their employees are shown in the following table:

ESTABLISHMENTS VISITED, AND EMPLOYEES B Y AGE AND SE X DISTRIBUTION.

City.

Number

of establishments

visited.

Employees 16 years

of age and over.

Employees under

16 years. Total,

both

sexes.

Male. Female. Male. Female.

Chicago............................................................... 70 2,495

879

3,925

1,467

3,273

1,120

57 317 6,794

2,391

8,008

Rochester........................................................... 25 13 32

New York.......................................................... 88 4,673

1,204

23 39

Philadelphia...................................................... 39 28 88 2,440

Baltimore........................................................... 22 1,825 1,974 49 202 4,050

Total................................................... 244 11,076 11,759 170 678 23,683

The 23,683 employees studied formed 29.7 per cent of the total employees of the industry in these five cities, the proportion ranging 

from 19.7 per cent of the total in New York City to 47.3 per cent in 

Baltimore. Considering females 16 years of age and over and children under 16, the representation is larger; 36 per cent of the total 

women and 47.3 per cent of the children engaged in the manufacture 

of men’s clothing in these cities were employed in the establishments 

visited.

The investigation was confined to shops in which garments are 

made up. Cutting-room employees and others not engaged in the 

actual work of making up garments were ignored. With few exceptions, only establishments were considered in which men’s or boys’ 

outer or street clothing was made; shops making overalls and the like, 

for instance, were excluded.

83

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84 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

CONCENTRATION OF THE INDUSTRY.

The manufacture of men’s ready-made clothing is the most important branch of the general clothing industry. It is characterized 

by an extreme concentration, being confined almost exclusively to 

cities, and to a relatively small number of cities at that. The five 

cities visited in this investigation produced 68.3 per cent of the total 

product. New York alone produces over one-third (38.5 per cent) 

of the entire output of men’s clothing and one-half of the total product is manufactured in the three seaboard cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

The urban localization of the industry is due to its dependence, 

first, on a large labor supply and, second, on facilities for marketing 

the product. The character of our immigration, the large number 

of tailors among the immigrants, and the preference of the Jews for 

the sewing trades all account for the growth of the clothing industry 

in the larger cities, where, also, of course, the best facilities for marketing the product are found.

New York is the leading center of the clothing industry in the 

country, owing partly to its large supply of immigrants fitted for 

the clothing trades, partly to its nearness to the sources of raw material, and partly to its advantages as a market. Chicago stands 

second, and Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Rochester follow in order,

THE LABOR FORCE.

PROPORTION OF MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN.

The table already given (p. 83) shows the number of employees 

studied in each city. The following table shows the proportion each 

class of workers formed of the total:

PER CENT WHICH MEN, W OM EN, AND CHILDREN FORMED OF TOTAL W ORKERS

STUDIED, B Y CITIES.

City.

16 years of age and

over. Under 16 years.

Males. Females. Males. Females.

Chicago..................................................................................................... 36.7 57.8 0.8 4.7

1.3

.5

3.6

5.0

Rochester................................................................................................ 36.8 61.3

40.9

45. J9

48.7

.6

.3

1.2

New York............................................................................................... 58.3

Philadelphia........................................................................................... 49.3

Baltimore.................................................................................................. 45.1 1.2

Total............................................................................................... 46.8 49.6 .7 2.9

The relative number of women employed differed considerably 

from one city to another, owing partly to racial customs and partly 

to the abundance or scarcity of other openings for women workers. 

Thus in Chicago, Bohemians and Poles are the leading races in the 

industry, and among these the men are apt to seek work demanding

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m e n ’ s r e a d y - m a d e c l o t h i n g . 85

greater physical strength, leaving the sewing trades to women. 

Among the Jews the opposite situation prevails; men are apt to take 

possession of the sewing trades and the proportion of women employed is relatively small. In Rochester the large proportion of 

women seems due mainly to the scarcity of other industrial openings 

for them.

Children are nowhere an important part of the labor force, but 

everywhere the per cent of girls is far larger than that of boys. This 

is due to the very nature of the industry.

Part of the work done by men is unsuited to children, because it 

requires considerable physical strength. This applies to pressing, 

which requires constant standing and the handling of heavy irons. 

Like pressing, basting requires standing. Basting requires, moreover, skill and experience, and for this purpose adult immigrant 

male labor with European training in the work is easily available. 

Machine sewing is often left to women and requires some preliminary 

training. This restricts the field for the labor of boys. Girls, on the 

other hand, are often prepared to do handwork, coming from their 

homes to the shop with a knowledge of plain sewing and also of 

machine sewing.1

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES.

The age of the female employees and of children under 16 was 

obtained with much care, but for males 16 years and over no effort 

was made to secure this information unless they were engaged in 

occupations in which women or children were also employed; consequently only 5,642 males 16 years of age and over are included in the 

following table, although the whole number employed was 11,076. 

The age distribution of employees for whom details were secured was 

as follows:

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES, BY SEX.

Age group.

Males. Females. Total.

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

12 years............................................................... 4 0.1 7 0.1 11

(\ . 4

1.8

13 years........................................................... 7 .1 57 .5 64

14 years.......................... .................................. 76 1.3 240 2.0 316

15 years.............................................................. 83 1.4 374 3.2 457 2.6

6.2

8.4

8.7

7.4

7.2

16 years............................................................... 163 2.8 919 7.9 1,082

1,462

1,528

1,288

1,252

893

17 years............................................................ 226 3.9 1.236

1.236

1,041

970

10.6

18 years................................................ ............ 292 5.0 10.6

19 years................... ........................................ 247 4.3 8.9

20 years............................................................. 282 4.8 8.3

21 years.............................................................. 246 4.2 647 5.5 5.1

4.7

3.8

3.2

10.7

6.7

22 years............................................................... 243 4.2 574 4.9 817

23 years........................................ ..................... 231 4.0 439 3.7 670

24 years....................................... ..................... 244 4.2 324 2.8 568

25 to 29 years..................................................... 849 14.6 1,019 8.7 1,868

1,171

1,582

583

30 to 34 years..................................................... 591 10.2 580 5.0

35 to 44 years...................................................... 818 14.1 764 6.5 9.0

45 to 54 years..................................................... 247 4.3 336 2.9 3.3

55 to 64 years.................... ................................ 65 1.1 112 .9 177 1.0

65 years and over.............. .............................. 20 .3 31 .3 51 .3

Others reported as 21 years and over.......... 878 15.1 779 6.7 1,657 9.5

Total.............................. .......*................ 5,812 100.0 11,685 100.0 17,497 100.0

1 Vol. II, Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 37. 2 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

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The greatest massing of female workers occurs at 17 and 18, the 

numbers at these ages being exactly the same, and one-fifth (21.2 

per cent) of the total female force being comprised in these two 

groups. Over a third (38 per cent) are found in the four years 

16 to 19. The age level is rather low, very nearly seven-tenths (69 

per cent) being under 25, and only 22.3 per cent being 30 and over. 

This is especially noticeable as compared with the male workers 

studied, of whom only 40.3 per cent were under 25, while 45.1 per 

cent were 30 and over. These were men employed in the same 

occupations as women, so it is evident that the women were in general 

working with men much older than themselves. “ To the extent that 

they are in competitive occupations women must be handicapped by 

their limited experience in industry.”

RACE OF EMPLOYEES.

Only 7.3 per cent of the women 16 years of age and over and 12 

per cent of the children under 16 were Americans by birth and 

descent. The race distribution of the whole group for whom the 

exact ages were obtained was as follows:

RACE DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES, B Y SEX.

Kace.

Under 16 years. 16 years of age and over.

Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total.

American........................................................... 13 85 98 40 802 842

Bohemian........................................................... 27 118 145 123 990 1,113

German............................................................... 15 100 115 210 1,653 1,863

Hebrew............................................................... 56 68 124 2,964 1,832 4,796

Italian................................................................. 24 135 159 1,526 3,310 4,836

Lithuanian......................................................... 13 13 239 263 502

Polish.................................................................. 17 111 128 267 978 1,245

Scandinavian.................................................... 5 5 23 396 419

Other races......................................................... 3 22 25 180 715 895

Total......................................................... 155 657 812 5,572 10,93? 1G,511

Considering only those 16 years of age and over, the predominance 

of the Hebrew and Italian races is very marked, their numbers being 

nearly equal, and the two together forming well over half (58.3 per 

cent) of the whole group. The sex distribution of these two races is 

markedly different, the males forming 61.8 per cent of the Hebrews 

but only 31.6 per cent of the Italians. The Hebrews are the only 

largely represented race showing more men than women in these 

occupations. Usually the women lead, and sometimes their excess is 

very marked. Among the Germans the women are 88.7 per cent of 

the whole group, among the Bohemians 88.9 per cent, and among the 

Americans 95.2 per cent. Among those under 16 the boys nowhere 

equal the girls in number, but the disproportion is least among the 

Hebrews.

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CONJUGAL CONDITION OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES.

The conjugal condition of the female workers differed considerably 

according to race, the variations being shown in the following table. 

As only two girls under 16, one an Italian and one a Hebrew, were 

found to be married, the table deals only with those who had reached 

or passed 16.

CONJUGAL CONDITION OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, B Y

RACE.

Number. Per cent.

Race.

Single. Married.

Widowed,

divorced,

separated,

etc.

Single. Married.

Widowea,

divorcel,

separated,

etc.

American........................................................... 694 78 80 81.5 9.2 9.4

Bohemian........................................................... 910 C8 41 80.3 6.7 4.0

German............................................................... 1,393

1,7C0

2,0C0

220

242

71

170

03

77.2 13.4 9.4

Hebrew............................................................... 92.8 3.7 3.5

Italian................................................................. 1,301

43

196 55.9 33.6 5.5

Lithuanian......................................................... 6 81.8 16.0 2.2

Polish.................................................................. 864 1C7

C:7

34 81.1 15.7 3.2

Scandinavian.................................................... 333 52 73.7 14.8 11.5

Other races......................................................... 537 142 £0 70.8 18.7 10.5

Total......................................................... 8,711 2,259 725 74.5 19.3 6.2

The Italians show a strikingly large, and the Hebrews a strikingly low, proportion of married women working, while the other 

races display no very wide variations. From a careful study of the 

data gathered, the conclusion is reached that about one-third of the 

married workers were in the shop only temporarily, probably working only for a short time after marriage. The remaining two-thirds 

were older women who were working more permanently to add to the 

family income.

A study of the figures relating to the number of single and married women at each age shows that for most women the period of 

industrial life is very brief.

The industrial effects of this are varied. The labor force, where 

women are employed, requires constant training owing to the large 

number who leave the shop every year. They do not look forward 

to remaining in the shop. The workers do not have the same opportunities for learning the complicated processes and becoming expert 

at them. This probably accounts for the fact that in the eastern cities 

where plenty ox male laborers are available, males are used for everything except the lowest skilled work. Naturally the women are handicapped in competition with the men for the same kinds of work. 

It is needless to say that their earnings are affected by their inferior 

skill and their attitude toward work as a temporary makeshift.1

1Vol. II, Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 71.

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8 8 ; BULLETIN OF THE BTJBEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

The number and ages of the children under 16 found at work during this investigation were as follows:

NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK, B Y AGE AND SEX.

Age.

Male. Female. Total.

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

12 years............................................................... 4 36.4 7 63.6 11 100.0

13 years............. ........ .............. ........................ 7 10.9 57 89.1 64 100.0

14 years............................................................... 76 24.1 240 75.9 316 100.0

15 years___ . . . . . .................... ........................ 83 18.2 374 81.8 457 1G0.0

Total....................................................... 170 20.0 678 80.0 848 1G0.0

These children constituted only 3.6 per cent of the total workers 

in the 244 establishments visited. In 105 establishments no children 

at all were employed, while in the remainder the proportion children 

formed of total employees varied from less than 1 per cent to between 

30 and 40 per cent. In general the smaller shops employed a larger 

proportion of children than the large establishments.

OCCUPATIONS OF CHILDREN.

The children are classified according to occupation as operators, 

high and low grade hand sewers, miscellaneous workers, and apprentices. “ The latter term does not have any definite meaning, but 

stands for such children, boys, as were being taught the work of 

trimming or cutting in a more or less desultory way.”

The children were divided among these occupations as follows:

OCCUPATIONS OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE, B Y SEX.

Occupation.

Boys. Girls.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent,;

Apprentices............................................................................................ 6 3.5

Operators............................................................................................... 36 21.2 121 17.8

High-grade hand sewers........................................................................ 1 .6 30 4.4

Low-grade hand sewers......................................................................... 18 10.6 244 36.0

Miscellaneous (nonsewing)................................................................... 109 64.1 283 41.8

Total............................................................................................... 170 100.0 678 100.0

The miscellaneous group includes such workers as sorters, bottom 

trimmers, errand boys and girls, stitch pullers and markers, check 

girls, vest turners, strap and belt turners, soapers, basting pullers, 

and cleaners. Most of this work is better suited for girls than for

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m e n ' s r e a d y - m a d e c l o t h i n g . 89

boys, and this, combined with the greater availability of girls for 

sewing occupations, accounts for their marked predominance among 

the employees under 16. Each of the classifications here shown includes a number of occupations. Thus in Chicago the children classed 

as operators were performing 27 different kinds of work, nearly all 

confined to either the very simple or the semiautomatic machine work.

CHARACTER OF CHILDREN’S WORK.

The work of a garment-making shop is subdivided to an extreme 

degree, and the children were employed in too many different occupations to permit a description of the work done. In general the 

occupations in which they were engaged can not be regarded as in 

themselves greatly injurious to health; the worst features involved 

were those of constant sitting and bending over their work and the 

confinement in close workrooms. In some instances, particularly in 

the small contract shops, errand boys were required to work long 

hours, it being necessary for them to return work which had to be 

done on a certain date and on which the shop might be at work until 

10 o’clock at night. A number of instances of this overtime work 

were found.

Only a small proportion of children were found in occupations 

which might be regarded as permanent, i. e., in which they might 

remain as they grew up. Children do not seem to have any wellestablished position in the industry, and practically all employers 

stated that they could get along just as well without them. Women 

could do much of the work performed by children, and the rest could 

be distributed by means of a rearrangement in the subdivision of 

labor without causing any important difference.

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

Attention was directed mainly to violations of four classes of laws, 

namely, those setting an age limit for employment of children, those 

forbidding employment without proper certificates, those limiting 

the number of hours per day or per week which a child might work, 

and those requiring employers to keep certificates on file.

Information in regard to violations of child-labor laws in the 140 

establishments employing children was secured in more or less detail 

concerning 664 children, the following table showing the general 

extent to which the laws were violated;

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NUMBER AND PER CENT OF ESTABLISHMENTS EMPLOYING CHILDREN IN VIOLATION OF SOME PROVISION OF THE L A W , AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF

CHILDREN ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED IN SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS.

Establishments employing

children under 16 years and

reported upon.

Children under

employed and

upon.

10 years

reported

City.

Total.

Violating some provision of the law.

Total.

Illegally employed.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Chicago.............................................................. 56 15 26.8 216 32 14.8

Rochester........................................................... 12 8 60.7 43 22 51.2

New York.......................................................... 29 28 90.6 58 55 94.8

Philadelphia..................................................... 21 13 61.9 90 44 44.4

Baltimore........................................................... 122 16 72.7 248 103 65.7

Total..................... .................................. 1140 80 57.1 604 310 47.0

i Including 4 pad shops.

The wide differences in the proportion of violations found was 

due in part to the greater strictness of the laws in some places and 

in part to the greater completeness of the information secured. The 

table covers violations of every kind, whether serious or trivial.

EM PLOYM ENT O F CH ILDREN U N DER LE G A L AGE.

In Baltimore the legal age for beginning work was 12 years; in 

the other cities visited it was 14. Only 7 children under the legal age, 

3 in Chicago and 4 in New York, were found working. As children 

do not form an important part of the working force under any circumstances, the temptation to employ any under age is not strong, 

and the indications were that illegal employment of this nature was 

not common in the cities visited.

EM PLOYM ENT OF CH ILDREN W ITH O U T P R O PE R CERTIFICATES.

In each of the cities investigated the law provided that children 

under 16 might not be employed without certificates showing that 

they had reached a specified age, and had met certain requirements as 

to schooling. Of the 140 establishments employing children, 83 

were investigated upon this point. Violations were found in 21,

as follows:

Chicago_________________________________________________________ 4

Rochester-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1

New York_______________________________________________________ 10

Philadelphia_____________________________________________________ 3

Baltimore------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3

In all, 28 children were found employed without proper certificates.

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EM PLO YM EN T OF CHILDREN IN EXCESS OF LE G A L HOURS.

In both Illinois and New York children under 16 might not work 

more than 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, and in both States might 

not be employed after a certain hour in the evening or before a certain 

hour in the morning. In Chicago, of 210 children reported upon, 10 

girls and 4 boys were found to be employed illegally long hours. 

Three worked 51 £ hours and the rest 54 hours a week; all were employed more than eight hours for five days in the week. Seven 

reported working after legal hours in the evening.

In Rochester 2 children in different establishments were found to 

be working more than eight hours a day. In New York City 28 out 

of 29 establishments investigated employed children more tha*n 

eight hours a day, and 53 out of 58 children investigated were thus 

illegally employed; 39 children worked before the lawful hours for 

beginning, and 42 after the legal hour for ending, work.

In Philadelphia children might not be employed more than 12 

hours a day or 60 hours a week. No violations of this provision were 

found.

In Baltimore the law forbade employing children more than 10 

hours a day. Twenty-seven children in three establishments were 

found who were regularly working more than 10 hours a day.

FA ILU R E OF EM PLO YERS TO KEEP CERTIFICATES ON FILE.

In each of the cities investigated the law required that employment 

certificates for children under 16 should be kept on file in establishments employing such children. This provision was frequently violated. Of 59 establishments investigated in regard to it, 38 failed 

to keep such certificates on file.

In Illinois the law provided that females under 16 might not be 

employed in any capacity where such employment would compel them 

to remain standing constantly. In Chicago 20 establishments were 

reported upon in regard to this provision; 9 were found to be violating the law, 15 children being affected. None of these children were 

working more than eight hours a day, but being engaged in occupations in which the work could not be performed so easily or rapidly 

while sitting, they were all required to stand for the entire eight 

hours.

SUMMARY OP EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

The study of the employment of children in this industry leads to 

three general conclusions:

1. Children are a rather unimportant part of the labor force, and 

the industry might easily be so adjusted as to dispense with them 

altogether.

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2. The violations of the age law were so few as to indicate that 

there was no particular advantage in employing children under the 

legal age. The larger proportion of the violations of this kind 

occurred in the cases of Italian children, who develop physically at 

an earlier age than most of the other races considered.

3. There is little in the occupations at which children are employed 

to give the child a training for the future or to equip it with a trade. 

On the other hand, their work has no inherently dangerous conditions, and accidents are almost unknown.

HOURS OF LABOR AND OVERTIME.

The record of the time worked was not, unfortunately, available 

for all workers. Payment by the piece is common, and many shops 

keep no record of the hours of work for any but their time workers. 

The statistics of the extent of employment rest, therefore, on the 

hours reported for time workers and for pieceworkers in such establishments as keep a time record for this class of employees.

The following table shows the establishment hours and the hours 

actually worked in the different cities:

AVERAGE W E E K L Y ESTABLISHMENT HOURS AND AVERAGE HOURS ACTUALLY

W ORKED IN A REPRESENTATIVE W E E K B Y MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES

16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AND UNDER 16 YEARS, B Y CITIES.

City.

Employees 16 years and over. Employees under 16 years.

Males. Females. Males. Females. Total.

Establishment

hours.

Hours

worked.

Establishment

hours.

Hours

worked.

Establishment

hours.

Hours

worked.

Establishment

hours.

Hours

worked.

Establishment

hours.

Hours

worked.

Chicago.......................

Rochester...................

New York.................

Philadelphia.............

Baltimore...................

54.4

54.6

57.2

54.9

57.9

48.4

50.5

52.5

46.3

46.4

54.3

54.6

57.2

54.6

57.7

48.4

49.2

49.9

47.4

45.8

46.0

44.4

56.6

54.9

57.3

45.8

48.0

53.2

51.2

52.9

45.7

44.6

57.1

54.6

57.1

45.3

44.3

54.4

50.6

40.4

45.8

44.5

56.9

54.6

57.1

45.4

45.8

53.9

50.7

45.6

It will be seen that this table shows a considerable amount of time 

lost among the adults and relatively little among the children. The 

statistics indicate idleness, voluntary or compulsory, for from 7;5 

per cent to 20 per cent of the week, varying in the different cities. 

As between the sexes there is not much difference, though on the 

whole women show a rather larger amount than men of time lost, 

and the same general relation appears between boys and girls. It is 

doubtful how far these figures represent the prevailing situation in 

the clothing trade.

The caution must be urged that these figures can not be taken as 

indicative of the extent of unemployment in the industry as a whole 

during the year, as the figures are for a week only. The statistics

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apply in the main to the large establishments. Even here many 

establishments had shut down entire shops, reducing the force, but 

keeping busy the shops reported. No note was taken of idle shops. 

Moreover, in securing pay rolls the endeavor was to secure a pay roll 

for a full week, where it was possible to secure one for a full week 

not far removed from the time when the establishment was visited.1

The average hours worked, while useful for purposes of comparison, show nothing as to how many are working overtime or undertime. To obtain some light on this point a special analysis was 

made of the Chicago data for the industry as a whole—that is, for 

both the “ ready-made” and the “ special-order” branches. There 

were 2,991 female employees 16 years of age and over in the shops 

investigated. Of these, 7.5 per cent worked overtime, 50.8 per cent 

worked full time, and 11.7 per cent worked five days but not quite 

the full week. Thus 70 per cent worked approximately full time; 

the remaining 30 per cent were idle for from two to five days. A 

very similar situation as to males 16 years of age and over was shown, 

while of the 329 children employed in these establishments threefourths had been employed approximately a full week, i. e., five 

days or over. Thus in each group a proportion varying from onefourth to three-tenths was idle from two to five days during the 

week studied.

It is clear that there is no even spread of time lost among all shops 

and employees. While many employees work full time, and even 

overtime, a large fraction of the force is idle for a considerable part 

of the week.2

ILLEGAL OVERTIME EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

At the time of this investigation New York and Pennsylvania 

were the only States visited which had laws regulating the hours 

of work for women. No illegal employment of women was found in 

Rochester, so the discussion is limited to New York City and 

Philadelphia.

The New York law forbade the employment of women and girls 

more than 6 days or 60 hours a week. Females 16 years of age and 

over might be employed more than 10 hours a day regularly for 5 

days a week and irregularly for 3 days a week, provided they did 

not work more than 12 hours on any one day, or more than 60 hours 

in any one week.

Violations of this law were difficult to discover, since employers 

always claimed the women were working only the legal hours, and it 

was only by close questioning and careful investigation that the truth 

was found. In 9 establishments 90 women were working illegally 

long hours on a regular daily and weekly schedule; in 18 establishments women had worked overtime illegally during the year

*V o l. II , Men ’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 108. 2 Idem, p. 110.

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94 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

previous to the investigation, and 9 had employed women to work 

overtime illegally during the week for which a copy of their pay roll 

was made.

In all, 29 establishments, or 33 per cent of the 88 establishments 

visited, violated the law regulating the employment of females 16 

years of age and over in at least one of its provisions.

The Pennsylvania law provided that no woman should be employed for more than 60 hours in any one week or for more than 12 

hours in any one day.

Thirty-five establishments, employing 1,049 females 16 years of 

age and over, were investigated in Philadelphia. None had a regular daily or weekly schedule of hours which was illegal, but in eight, 

or nearly 23 per cent of all those visited, women on occasion worked 

overtime to an extent that violated the law.

The investigation was made at a time when the business depression of 1907-8 was still affecting the industry, so that there was 

less likelihood of overwork than at a more normal time.

EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES.

The statistics of wages and earnings were taken from the pay 

rolls of the establishments investigated. The period covered was 

one week, the data being taken for the week of normal work nearest 

the visit. The wage data were secured for all female employees, 

for all males under 16, and for such males 16 years and over as were 

employed in occupations at which women or children also worked.

EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OYER.

The following table shows the classified earnings of the whole 

group of workers 16 years of age and over for the five cities 

combined:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES 16 YEAR S OF AGE AND OVER EARNING

CLASSIFIED W E E K L Y AMOUNTS, B Y SEX.

Employees 16 years of age and over. Per cent earning

Weekly earnings. Number. Percent

VluOOlilvU

amounts or less.

Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females.

Under $ 2 ........................................................... 93 344 1.7 3.4 1.7 3.4

$2 to $2.99........................................................... 143 603 2.6 5.9 4.3 9.3

$3 to $3.99........................................................... 226 1,098

1,412

1,517

1,314

1,131

852

4.1 10.8 8.4 20.1

$4 to $4.99........................................................... 256 4.6 13.9 13.0 34.0

$5 to $5.99........................................................... 362 6.6 15.0 19.6 49.0

$6 to $6.99........................................................... 411 7.4 13.0 27.0 62.0

$7 to $7.99..................................... ..................... 489 8.9 11.1 35.9 73.1

$8 to $8.99........................................................... 451 8.2 8.4 44.1 81.5

$9 to $9.99........................................................... 439 655 8.0 6.5 52.1 88.0

$10 to $10.99........................................................ 479 451 8.7 4.4 60.8 92.4

$11 to $11.99....................................................... 378 253 6.9 2.5 67.7 94.9

$12 and over...................................................... 1,776 519 32.3 5.1 100.0 100.0

Total........................................................ 5,503 10,149 100.0 100.0

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M E K 's READY-MADE CLOTHING. 95

A comparison of the earnings of men and women, as shown in 

this table, brings out two points clearly: First, the range of wages 

for men is wider than for women. A range of $4 (from $3 up to $7, 

or from $4 up to $8) will cover more than half the women and over 

three-fifths (63.8 per cent) are in the groups earning from $3 to 

$7.99. There is no such massing of the men. The five groups which 

included over three-fifths of the women included only 31.6 per cent 

of the men, and at least seven of the $1 groups are required to 

account for half their number. Second, the level of the women’s 

earnings is much lower than of the men’s. Thirty-four per cent of 

the women, as compared with 13 per cent of the men, earned less 

than $5 during the week studied; only 26.9 per cent of the women, 

but 64.1 per cent of the men, earned $8 or over. Almost a third of 

the men (32.3 per cent) were earning $12 or over, while about onetwentieth of the women were found in this group.

The lower level of women’s wages appears more clearly in the 

following table:

AVERAGE W E E K L Y EARNINGS OF MALES AND FEMALES 16 Y EAR S OF AGE AND

OVER, AND UNDER 16 YEAR S OF AGE, IN LEADING OCCUPATIONS, B Y CITIES.

City.

Number of employees. Average weekly earnings.

16 years and

over.

Under 16 years. 16 years and

over.

Under 16 years.

Males. Females. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Males. Females. Total.

Chicago....................... 492 3,569 51 236 347 $10.56 $7.30 $4.21 $3.82 $3.87

Rochester................. 389 1,329 13 29 42 11.29 7.04 3.99 3.98 3.93

New York................. 2,470 2,623 20 30 50 10.45 6.00 4.25 3.86 4.02

Philadelphia............. 525 946 22 80 102 9.53 5.75 3.37 3.56 3.52

Baltimore................... 965 1,317 36 104 140 7.93 4.74 3.69 3.25 3.37

The average earnings of the women are in every place at least as 

much as $3 lower than those of the men, and in two cities the difference is over $4. As between boys and girls the difference is much 

less; the girls averaged a little lower than the boys.

EARNINGS OP HOME WORKERS.

In every city a considerable number of workers were employed 

outside of the shop. The following table shows the number and 

proportion of these in certain earnings groups as compared with the 

shop workers:

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96 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALE HOME AND SHOP W ORKERS 16 YEARS OF AGE

AND OYER EARNING CLASSIFIED AMOUNTS PER W E E K .

Weekly earnings.

Shopworkers. Home workers.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Under $2.................................................................................................. 344 3.4 140 21.8

$2 to $3.99................................................................................................ 1,701

2,929

2,445

1,507

704

16.7 277 43.1

$4 to $5.99...................... ......................................................................... 23.9 154 24.0

$6 to $7.99................................................................................................ 24.1 40 6.2

$3 to $9.99................................................................................................. 14.9 13 2.8

$10 to $11.99.............................................................................................. 6.9 10 1.6

*12 and over... • . . . ________________________________________ 519 5.1 3 .5

Total______ 10,149 100.0 642 100.0

As compared with the shopworkers the earnings of the home 

workers are extremely low. In reality they are even lower than 

shown by the above table, for often the worker whose name appears 

on the pay roll is helped by one or more members of her family. 

Even this does not bring the earnings up to anything like a living 

wage. Nearly nine-tenths (88.9 per cent) earned under $6 and over 

one-fifth under $2.

The earnings in different occupations are studied in much detail, 

but the principal conclusion drawn is that there was an entire absence 

of what could be called a standard wage in the industry.

This is true of both men and women and of both piece and time 

workers. Examining the weekly rates in the same occupation, the 

workers in a given employment are found distributed according to 

their earnings over a wide range in the wage scale. Examining the 

earnings of pieceworkers, their earnings seem to be similarly differentiated. Wages where paid by the week are fixed in the trade 

either according to the efficiency or capacity for bargaining of the 

worker or by an arbitrary determination, and not according to a 

particular time rate.1

As illustrating this lack of standard rates data are cited covering 

the earnings of 32 female edge basters 21 years of age and over 

working by the week in coat shops. Their average computed earnings for a full week were $9.17, but their individual earnings ranged 

from $7 to $12. Sixty-six female coat operators 18 to 20 years of 

age, working by the piece, averaged $9.93, with an individual range 

of from $7 to $12. Among time workers 116 women 18 to 20 years 

of age averaged $8.96, but their individual earnings ranged from $5 

to $14.

Examination of the earnings in other occupations brings to light 

the same general conditions. There are no standard rates or standard earnings in the sense in which they are day rates for unskilled 

labor or definite rates in highly skilled trades, such as the printing 

trade.2

1 Vol. II , Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 194. 3 Idem, p. 195.

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EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES, BY RACE.

Among women in general the races who had been longer in the 

industry—the Germans, Scandinavians, and Bohemians—showed the 

higher earnings. It is not certain whether this is due to racial 

ability or to other factors. Many of the older races begin as children 

and gradually acquire the skill and training needed for the more 

important work in the shop, while many of the recent immigrants 

come into the shop at a later age and crowd into such work as they 

can do without any preliminary training, usually some form of 

plain sewing.

Another consideration is the fact that the direction of the industry 

is likely to be in the hands of the older races, who naturally are apt 

to aid their friends and acquaintances in seeking the better positions. 

As a result there is a tendency for occupations to become identified 

with races. Everywhere the German girls are mainly operators, 

while the Italians, who are newcomers, are hand sewers.

The distribution of races in the industry suggests that the older 

races among the women in the industry—Germans, Scandinavians, 

and Bohemians—have preserved for themselves the better-paying 

occupations, leaving the poorly paid hand sewing to the more recent 

immigrants—Hebrews, Italians, and Lithuanians.1

Among the men the Hebrews and the Italians are the only two 

races sufficiently represented to permit any valid comparisons. Of 

these the Hebrews, who are the older race in the industry, everywhere 

earn more.

HOME WORK IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

The principal steps in the making of men’s ready-made clothing 

are the machine work (“ operating,” so called), basting, finishing or 

felling, and pressing. Finishing is the principal home work, and it 

requires but little skill, only the knowledge of plain sewing that 

most immigrant women possess. The study of home workers in 

the clothing industry is largely a study of home finishers.

The term “ finishing” is loosely used to denote the hand sewing 

requisite to complete the garment after the operating and basting 

has been done, and it consists for the most part of felling the lining 

to the cloth of the garment, where this has not already been done 

by machine. Sometimes other incidental operations are added as a 

part of the finishing, varying with the grade of the clothing and the 

particular kind of garment.

1 Vol. II, Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 212. 

95053°—Bull. 175—16------ 7

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98 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

EXTENT OF HOME WORK.

No statistics exist showing the extent of home finishing. It is 

resorted to more extensively in New York and less proportionately 

in Chicago than elsewhere. The pay-roll data of the establishments 

investigated showed that 25.6 per cent of the finishers employed were 

working at home. At the time of the investigation, however, owing 

to the industrial depression, many of the small contract shops were 

closed and hence could not be included in the investigation. But the 

small contract shop is the one that makes the greatest use of home 

finishing, so that in all probability the proportion given above is far 

below that which really exists. The 674 home finishers included in 

this study were distributed as follows:

Chicago________________________________________________________ 40

Rochester______________________________________________________ 34

New York----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 488

Philadelphia______________________ :____________________________ 48

Baltimore---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 64

Total____________________________________________________ 674

RACE, AGE, AND CONJUGAL CONDITION OF HOME WORKERS.

Italians formed 84.3 per cent of the total group studied; in Chicago they were 90 per cent and in New York 98.2 per cent of the 

total. Germans formed 8.3 per cent of the whole group. No other 

races were numerously represented.

The age and conjugal condition of the workers were as follows:

CONJUGAL CONDITION OF HOME WORKERS, B Y AGE.

Ago. Married.

Widowed,

divorced,

separated,

or

deserted.

Single. Total.

Under 16 years..................................................................................... 5 5

16 and 17 years.................................................................................... 4 4 8

18 to 20 years........................................................................................ 42 1 4 47

21 to 24 years........................................................................................ 90 5 95

25 to 29 years........................................................................................ 110 4 6 120

30 to 34 years........................................................................................ 100 12 2 114

35 to 49 years........................................................................................ 181 32 7 220

50 years and over................................................................................. 29 35 1 65

Total........................................................................................... 556 84 34 674

It is evident that the work is very largely in the hands of the older 

married women. The opportunities for advancement are so much 

greater in the shop that young girls will not work at home unless 

forced to it by exceptional circumstances.

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HOURS, EARNINGS, AND HELPERS OF HOME WORKERS.

The hours of the home workers are necessarily irregular, but inquiries were made as to the usual time worked. In New York in spite 

of the depression during which the investigation was made over 60 

per cent regularly worked on garments 8 hours or over per day, and a 

little over one-fourth worked 10 hours or more. In the other four 

cities combined 51.5 per cent worked 8 hours or more; one-fifth 

worked 10 hours or over. This it must be remembered was time spent 

on garment making exclusive of household duties, care of children, 

etc.

Full-time weekly earnings were as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF HOME W ORKERS EARNING CLASSIFIED AMOUNTS

PER FULL W EEK .

Earnings per full week. Number. Per cent. Earnings per full week. dumber. Per cent.

Under $ 1 ..................................... 5 0.7 $5 to $5.49..................................... 43 6.4

$1 to $1.49..................................... 16 2.4 $5.50 to $5.99................................ 9 1.3

$1.50 to $1.99................................ 60 8.9 $6 to $6.99..................................... 24 3.6

$2 to $2.49..................................... 119 17.7 $7 to $7.99..................................... 6 .9

$2X0 to $2.99................................ 83 12.3 $8 to $8.99..................................... 4 .6

$3 to $3.49..................................... 141 20.9 $9 to $9.99..................................... 2 .3

$3.50 to $3.99................................ 57

75

8.5 $10 and over................................ 3 .4

S4 to $4 4Q 11.1

$4.C0 to $4.99............................... 27 4.0 Total.................................. 674 100.0

The average earnings per full week of the whole group were $3.21. 

These earnings range much lower than those of the shop workers, and 

there is not the same chance for advancement that there is in the 

shop. The work requires so little skill that the average woman can do 

it practically as well after two weeks’ as after two years’ experience.

The full-time earnings are frequently cut down by the irregularity 

of the work. It was the exception for home workers to be steadily 

employed. To a considerable degree they alternated between rush 

periods, when they had to work as long and as fast as they possibly 

could, and slack seasons, when they might get only two or three 

garments a day or none at all.

The home workers were sometimes helped by other adults of the 

family who were temporarily out of work, but more often children 

were pressed into service. In the families visited 110 children 

ranging from 5 to 15 years of age, were found working as helpers, and 

there was ground for suspicion that in many cases the fact that children were helping was concealed.

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF HOME WORKERS.

Ordinarily the home finishers appeared to have taken up the work 

under the pressure of extreme poverty. For the widowed and the 

deserted, separated, or divorced wives the reason for their poverty

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is evident enough; they were unskilled women, usually with family 

responsibilities and no way of meeting them. In the case of the 556 

married women the poverty seems due to the low earning capacity 

of the husbands. Only 58 (10.9 per cent) of these husbands had 

earned as much as or more than $500 during the year studied; 56.6 

per cent had earned under $300. Only 75 had been employed throughout the year. The partial idleness of the others did not seem to be 

their choice, but was due to sickness, age, or the seasonal character 

of the unskilled outdoor labor, which was all most of them were 

capable of performing.

The average membership of the families for whom full data were 

gathered was 4.5, and the average yearly income $515. The husband, 

in families where there was a husband at work, contributed on an 

average 58.4 per cent of the family income, the wife 22 per cent, 

children under 14 years 9.2 per cent, children 14 and 15 years 16.4 

per cent, and children 16 years and over 54 per cent.1 Small as were 

their earnings, the husbands contributed a larger average proportion of the family income than did the husbands in the whole group 

of garment makers studied, or among the cotton textile workers, the 

silk workers, or the glassworkers.2

In the families of the 590 married home workers for whom data 

on this point were secured there were approximately a thousand children under 16, their age distribution being as follows:

100 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Under 3 years-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 285

3 to 5 years--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 229

6 to 9 years----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 215

10 to 13 years________________________________________________ 192

14 and 15 years------------------------------------------------------------------------ 103

.Total____________________________________________________1,024

Even assuming that by the time a child is 6 years old it may safely 

be left to its own devices for an hour, more or less, there are 514 

children too young to be safely left alone while the mothers are carrying the work to and from the shops; and these children, moreover, 

ought to absorb a good part of the mother’s care and attention during 

working hours. In 255 cases the mother looked after the children

1 These percentages apply in each case only to families in which wage earners of the

specified class were found.

2 The study of four leading industries showed the following facts :

Per cent of net family income contributed by fathers in families having fathers at

work—

Cotton-textile industry—

Northern group _________________________________________________________________ ,__37. 7

Southern group____________________________________________________________________ __34. 0

Glass industry_____________________________________________________________________________56. 0

Men's ready-made clothing--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------48. 4

Silk industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---50. 5

See Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners iu the United States,

Vol. I, p. 4 3 2 ; Vol. II, p. 3 6 4 ; Vol. I l l, p. 5 2 4 ; Vol. IV, p. 258.

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m e n ' s r e a d y - m a d e c l o t h i n g . 101

unaided as best she could; in other cases they were cared for by older 

children, by relatives, or neighbors, the amount of care received 

being an exceedingly variable quantity.

The living conditions of the home workers varied widely. For the 

most part they were tenement dwellers. Almost all the finishing was 

done in kitchens and bedrooms, there being only 9 cases out of 426 

reported in New York in which other rooms were used. In 304, or 

half the cases, the rooms in which the work was done were reported 

to be in good condition as to cleanliness. The others ranged from 

fair to unspeakable.

REASONS FOR HOME WORK.

From the worker’s standpoint poverty and the difficulty of leaving 

young children usually account for a woman’s beginning home work. 

Sometimes it is kept up after the need is over, because both the 

worker and her family have come to look upon it as a normal thing. 

In a few instances other reasons were found, such as inability to 

stand the strain of shopwork or the desire to add to an income permitting only the lowest standard of living.

From the employer’s standpoint home work is an economy. It 

saves rent, fuel, light, and supervision, and since home workers are 

unorganized and peculiarly unable to bargain, prices for work can 

be beaten down below what shop workers would accept. Employers 

of the better class object to the system, but often feel themselves 

obliged by competition to make use of it.

From the standpoint of the public it is an unmixed evil, not only 

from its deleterious effects upon the home life of the workers themselves, but also from the impossibility of preventing the work being 

carried bn amid unclean and insanitary conditions, sometimes even in 

the immediate presence of patients ill with contagious or infectious 

diseases.

THE CLOTHING SHOP AND WORKING CONDITIONS.

For the most part in the clothing shops visited no means of ventilation were provided except doors and windows, under which state 

of affairs ventilation in the wintertime is apt to be exceedingly bad. 

Three establishments had suction fans in their windows, and 36 others 

had such supplemental means of ventilation as air shafts, skylights, 

etc.

Only 11 shops—4 in Philadelphia and 7 in Chicago—were found 

above the second floor in buildings unprovided with fire escapes. In 

these conditions were very bad as the exits were wooden stairways, 

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vided with fire escapes, however, access to such escapes was blocked 

or obstructed, or the termination of the escape was such that it was 

rendered dangerous to use.

As many of the shops were located on the upper floors of high 

buildings the provision of elevator service was important. The unrestricted use of elevators was allowed to the 6,661 employees of 34 

establishments in the five cities. In 7 other establishments a restricted use was allowed; in some cases women, but not men, might 

ride, in others all employees might ride up but not down, and in others the privilege of using the elevator depended upon the floor upon 

which the employee worked. In 96 establishments employing 3,478 

men, 2,676 women, and 116 children the employees had to climb from 

three to six flights of stairs to reach their work, either because the 

building had no elevators or because the employees were not allowed 

to use them.

The provision of wash rooms was variable. In most of the cities 

covered by the investigation a wash room was the exception, while a 

faucet and sink, usually in the workroom, was the rule. Some shops 

had separate sinks for the two sexes, but this was unusual. A few 

provided separate wash rooms, well equipped. The following shows 

the situation as to washing facilities:

102 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS HAVING WASH ROOMS, AND EMPLOYEES AFFECTED.

Establishments having—

Number

of estabEmployees affected.

lishments. Males. Females.

Separate wash rooms for males and females........................ ............................... 21 2,433

1,955

3,049

Wash rooms for females, but not for males......................................................... 24 1,656

6,321

1,411

Only sink and faucet................................................................................................ 114 5,322

No facilities for washing.................................................... ..................................... 85 1,536

The separate wash rooms were found only in the larger establishments.

Twenty-two establishments had dressing rooms for both sexes and 

88 others had them for women only; the remaining 134, with 5,342 

female employees, had no provision of the kind. The dressing rooms 

provided ranged all the way from comfortable and well-equipped 

rooms to small spaces partitioned off from the workroom by walls of 

thin cloth or frequently of heavy wrapping paper.

The toilet accommodations were found to be inadequate in 40 cases, 

inconveniently situated in 23, and lacking privacy of approach in 86. 

In 27 cases the toilets were used in common by both sexes. The conditions as to cleanliness of the closets used by women was in 94 cases 

good, in 52 fair, in 93 bad, and in 5 cases was not reported.

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Lunch rooms were provided in only 6 of the 244 establishments 

visited, eating in the workrooms being a common practice in the 

others.

It is a very common sight to see a long row of sewing-machine 

operators seated before the long table or bench on which their machines rest and the table littered with bits of cloth and thread and 

food. If the worker is paid on a piece-rate basis, he or she frequently eats lunch while at work. This is true net only of the operators, but also of the employees in other occupations as well; and, 

as the shops are so often dirty, the ventilation usually poor, and the 

heat at times excessive, the workrooms are not attractive places in 

which to eat.1

In 210 establishments, employing 97.5 per cent of the employees 

studied, lunching in the building was customary, and nearly one-half 

of the employees in these shops followed the custom.

FAMILY CONDITIONS AND SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF

FAMILY INCOME.

In order to secure data concerning the home conditions of the 

garment makers the names of a certain number of women and children were taken from the pay rolls of each establishment investigated, their homes were visited, and detailed information was secured 

in regard to both the individual workers and their families. The 

number of families investigated in each city was as follows:

Chicago________________________________________________________ __ 614

Rochester______________________________________________________ __ 119

New York_______________________________________________________853

Philadelphia---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----312

Baltimore---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------376

Total____________________________________________________2,274

GENERAL CHARACTER OF FAMILIES.

To a very large extent these, families represented the immigrant, 

and to a less but still very considerable degree the recent immigrant. 

Classing them by the race and nativity of their heads, only 70 were 

native born of native parents, 100 were native born of foreign parents, and the remaining 2,104 were foreign born of foreign parents. 

As a special effort was made to secure information concerning home 

finishers, and, as the home finishers were mainly Italians, that race 

is disproportionately represented, forming 45.8 per cent of the entire 

number of families investigated. Hebrews constituted 17.2 per cent; 

no other race furnished as much as 10 per cent.

As a rule, most of the woman and child workers in these families 

were employed in garment making, but the male workers were more

1Vol. II , M en ’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 336.

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commonly employed in other industries. There was no distinctive 

type of garment-making family.

COMPOSITION OF FAMILIES AND EMPLOYMENT OF MEMBERS.

The 2,274 families averaged 5.4 members and 2.9 wage earners 

apiece. In 81.3 per cent the fathers and in 96.9 per cent the mothers 

were living and with the family. Eight hundred and twenty-two, 

or 36.1 per cent, had male children 16 years of age and over, 61.2 

per cent had female children 16 years of age and over, 38 per cent 

had children 14 and 15 years, and 67.9 per cent had children under 

16 years. Of the fathers living with their families 91.7 per cent 

and of the mothers 43 per cent were contributing to the support of 

the family. The proportion of the children in the various age

104 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

groups at work was as follows:

Males 16 years of age and over_______________________________94. 6

Females 16 years of age and over_____________________________ 93.9

Children 14 and 15 years of age______________________________ 71. 8

Children under 14 years______________________________________ 1.5

The proportion of wage-earning mothers probably does not represent the situation among garment workers in general, as the inclusion of the large group of home workers, most of whom were 

mothers, tends to overweight this class. The proportion of wage 

earners in the other classes is probably far more normal, though in 

regard to the children of 14 and 15 it must be remembered that 

many of these families were selected precisely because they had at 

least one child under 16 at work.

SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF FAMILY INCOME,

The average net income per family for the entire group was $790. 

Among the family groups it differs according to the contributing 

membership. The following table shows the extent of these 

differences:

Average net income per family of families having—

Fathers at work______________________________________________ $826

Mothers at work_______________________________ ______ ________ 561

Male children 16 years of age and over at work____________ 1,055

Female children 16 years of age and over at work___________ 935

Children 14 and 15 years of age at work_____________________ 912

Children under 14 years of age at work_____________________ 777

The families with mothers at work show by far the lowest incomes. 

In more than half of these 948 families (590, or 62.2 per cent) the 

mothers were home workers. Comment has already been made upon 

the extreme poverty of the families in which these workers were 

found. Families with wage-earning children under 14 show the

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next lowest incomes, but these families are so few, only 55 against 649 

in the next smallest group, those having children of 14 and 15 at 

work, that little significance can be attached to these figures.

The proportion of the family income contributed by each group 

of workers was as follows:

Per cent.1

Fathers ______________________________________________________ _48.4

Mothers ______________________________________________________ _26.8

Male children 16 years and over_____________________________ _36. 5

Female children 16 years and over____________________________39. 7

Children 14 and 15 years_____________________________________ _14. 2

Children under 14 years______________________________________ _10.0

Although the fathers make much the most important .contribution, 

they yet do not furnish on an average half of the income, and it is 

evident that the families would be in a bad way if they depended on 

the fathers’ earnings alone. The daughters 16 years of age and over 

are the next most important contributors, furnishing nearly two-fifths 

of the family income.

The difference between the proportion of the incomes contributed 

by male and by female children 16 years of age and over is somewhat 

affected by the greater number of female wage earners in this age 

group; they average 1.6 per family, while the male children 16 years 

of age and over average but 1.4 per family. On the other hand, the 

earnings of the females are everywhere lower than those of the 

males, so that the contributions of the former are proportionately 

more generous than those of the males.

This is brought out by the following table, which gives for these 

two groups of workers data concerning average earnings and contributions to family:

AVERAGE EARNINGS OF CHILDREN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AND AMOUNT AND

PER CENT OF EARNINGS CONTRIBUTED TO FAMILY, B Y SEX AND RACE.

Nativity and race of head of family.

Number of

families with—

Children 16 years and over at work.

Average yearly

earnings of—

Average

amount contributed to

family by—

Per cent of

earnings contributed to

family by -

Male

children 16

years

‘and

over at

work.

Female

children 16

years

and

over at

work.

Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females.

Native boro., native parents.................

Native born, foreign parents................

Foreign bom............................................

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

21

36

739

44

58

1,250

$372

357

366

$232

241

265

$278

257

292

$209

220

247

74.7

72.0

79.8

90.1

91.3

93.2

796 1,352 366 263 291 245 79.5 93.2

1 These per cents apply in each case to the incomes of families having workers of the

specified class.

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These figures do not show much variation between the different 

race groups, but do show a marked difference between the sexes. 

The sons never retain less on an average than one-fifth of their 

earnings for their own use, while the daughters never retain on an 

average quite one-tenth. Or, in actual amounts, the sons of the 

three groups given above retain on an average for their own use, 

respectively, $94, $100, and $74, while the daughters retain $23, $21, 

and $18. A study of the individual schedules shows that 71.6 per 

cent of the sons and 87,7 per cent of the daughters paid in all their 

earnings to the family fund.

MARRIED WOMEN AT WORK; EARNINGS AND FAMILY CONDITIONS.

Including the home finishers, 948 married women in the families 

visited were found to be at work for wages and assisting in the 

support of their families. These formed 43 per cent of the married 

women living with their families. This proportion was made unduly 

large by the special effort to visit home finishers, who were usually 

married. Excluding these, 21.3 per cent of the remaining married 

women living with their families were gainfully employed. In 

addition 65 other married women were found at work but living 

with families other than their own.

The condition of the home finishers has already been discussed. 

The other married women living at home and gainfully employed 

were thus divided:

106 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

CONDITION AS TO HUSBANDS OF M ARRIED W OMEN AT W O RK .

Condition as to husband. Number. Per cent.

75 21.0

Deserted and divorced wives........................................................................... ........................ 22 6.1

Wives of incapacitated husbands............................................................................................. 14 3.9

Wives of idle husbands............................................................................................................... 9 2.5

Wives with husbands at work................................................................................................. 238 66.5

Total..................................................................................................................................... 358 100.0

The average family membership was 3.8 and the average annual 

income per family was $664. Since the average annual income of 

all families having mothers at work was only $561, it is easy to see 

the effect of the low incomes of the home finishers in pulling down 

the general average.

These families have been divided into three general classes, according to the reasons which impelled the women to become wage 

earners. The first consists of the cases in which the mother’s earnings were essential to the family support, owing to death, desertion, 

or low earning capacity of the husband; in the second she was 

forced to work by the husband’s unjustifiable idleness; and in the 

third her earnings were not, strictly speaking, essential, but she

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m e n ' s b e a d y - m a d e c l o t h i n g . 107

worked to help raise the family scale of living, to make some provision for the future, to buy property, or to accomplish some particular purpose the family had at heart.

The most significant of the subclasses under these general divisions

is the group of married women working because their husbands,

though able and anxious to work, could not support their families.

There were 81 of these. In 48 cases the husbands’ work had been /

so irregular, through no fault of their own, that their earnings fell 

below the point of family support; in 4 the husbands had lost positions owing to the business depression and had not succeeded in 

gaining ethers, and in 29 the husbands had worked steadily but 

their earnings were so low that the wives were forced to help out.

Concerning the group in which the work of the wife was not, 

strictly speaking, a matter of economic necessity, it is worth noticing 

that in nearly half (64 cases) of these families the household consisted* only of husband and wife. Nearly all of these were young 

people who had not been long married, and the wife was helping 

to get a good start, with the intention of giving up outside work as 

her home duties became more pressing.

The number of families in which there were children under 14 

was among the home finishers 475, among the other married women 

at work 178. In the families from which reports were obtained the 

care of these children while their mothers were at work was provided for as follows:

NUMBER OF FAMILIES OF MARRIED WOMEN AT W O R K HAVING CHILDREN OF

SPECIFIED AGES, IN W HICH CHILDREN W ER E CARED FOR B Y SPECIFIED

PERSONS.

Relation to children of person taking

care of them.

Families of home finishers. Families of others than home

finishers.

Number having children

of ages—

TotaU

Number having children

of ages—

Total.1

Under 3

3 to

5

6 to

9

10 to

13

Under 3

3 to

5

6 to

9

10 to

13

Mother.................................................... 127 110 124 98 243 2 2

Mother and other person..................... 43 23 19 15 51

Father...................................................... 7 8 5 3 10 1 5 4 10

Father and other person.....................

Brother or sister....................................

14

12

13

10

8

13

3

11

17

18

2 3 6 7

1

10

1

Grandmother......................................... 18 13 9 4 20 7 6 5 15

Grandfather............................................ 1 1 1 1 1

Aunt............ ........................................... 13 10 5 1 13 3 2 1 4

Other relative......................................... 3 2 1 1 3 1 3 2 5

Neighbor................................................. 37 35 19 9 54 1 5 3 1 7

Day nursery........................................... 2 1 2

No one..................................................... 2 7 13 16

Not reported........................................... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2

Total............................................. 275 226 204 145 431 18 25

1 3 4 i

| 36 j 75

i In the details of this table each family appears as many times as it has children of the different age

groups. C n account of this duplication the totals are not comparable with the numbers in the several

columns, the total being the actual number of families considered.

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At first sight the children of the home workers seem to fare better 

than those of the other group, but it must be remembered that those 

who were cared for by their mothers had only such care as the mother 

could give in what time was left after from 5 to 10 or more hours5 work 

on finishing. The two groups combined show a total of 231 children 

under 6 who are cared for by others than the mother. The unfortunate features of such a situation are too evident to need comment.

SINGLE WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AT WORK.

About 82 per cent of the 1,987 single women in this age group at 

work were employed in the men’s clothing industry, the remainder 

working in a variety of industries. The following table shows the 

age distribution of these women and the length of time they had 

been at work:

108 B U L L E T I N O F T U B B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP SINGLE W OMEN OF SPECIFIED AGES AT W ORK

AND YEARS SINCE BEGINNING W ORK.

Age. Number. Per cent

Years since beginning work.

of total.

Number

reporting.

Average

years.

16 years..................................................................................................... 405 20.4 396 2.1

17 years......................................... ................................................... 338 17.0 327 2.9

18 years................................................................................................... 289 14.6 280 3.7

19 years..................................................................................................... 230 11.6 217 4.5

20 years..................................................................................................... 183 9.2 177 5.0

136 6.8 132

112

6.0

22 years......................................................................- ............................. 119 6.0 6.4

23 years..................................................................................................... 64 3.2 63 6.9

24 years..................................................................................................... 43 2.2 42 6.9

25 to 29 years............................................................................. - ........... 112 5.6 107 8.6

80 years and over.................................................................................... 68 3.4 65 17.3

Total............................................................................................. 1,987 100.0 1,918 4.7

The youthfulness of this group is noticeable. One-fifth were only 

16 and over three-fifths (63.6 per cent) were under 20. Above 20 the 

decrease for each age group is rapid. A large proportion of the 

women had begun wTork early.

The average age of beginning wage-earning work of all women up 

to and including the age of 22 was under 16, varying from 13.9 years 

for those 16 years of age to 15.6 years for those 22 years old. Most of 

the older women were foreign born, and while many of them had 

worked on farms before coming to the United States, they usually 

had not worked for wages. Hence the age at which they became 

wage earners was apt to be higher than was the case with those born 

in this country.

The average length of time these women had been at work was 4.7 

years. For 1,914 women reports were received as to the number of 

industries in which they had worked. The great majority, 1,516, or

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MEN V READY-MADE CLOTHING* 109

79.2 per cent, had worked only in one, a fact which seems to tell 

against the general belief that women in factory employments such 

as these easily and frequently change not only from shop to shop, but 

from one industry to another.

The steadiness of employment and the earnings of these women 

were as follows:

AVERAGE DAYS W ORKED DURING Y E A R AND AVERAGE ANNUAL EARNINGS OF

SINGLE WOMEN 16 AND OVER AT W O RK , B Y AGE.

Days

worked.

Annual

earnings. Age. Days

worked.

Annual

earnings.

16 years.

17 years.

18 years.

19 years.

20 years.

21 years.

22 years.

233 «207

237 238

247 273

244 287

241 281

246 310

240 310

23 years................

24 years................

25 to 29 years____

30 years and over

Total.........

247

237

246

241

$313

274

313

265

The average loss of time, counting 300 days as a full year, was 59 

days. The variation among the cities was considerable, owing to 

the fact that the business depression of 1907-8 was increasing as the 

investigation proceeded, the loss of time being greatest in the cities 

last visited.

The average earnings increase steadily with each year of age up 

through 23, except for a slight decrease at 20, but a sudden drop 

appears at 24, which is not wholly made up before 30. The table 

seems to indicate that, as a rule, the higher annual earnings are the 

result of an efficiency attained by years of experience rather than of 

regular work.

The average membership of the families to which these women belonged was 6.1, the average annual income was $1,018, and in only 

19.9 per cent of the families was the per capita weekly income less 

than $2.

CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AT WORK.

Among the 2,274 families visited there were 684, or 30 per cent, 

in which there were found 746 working children under 16 years of 

age. In 55 of these families there were children under 14 at work, 

and in 649 there were children of 14 or 15 at work; thus there were 

20 families in which both children under 14 and children of 14 or 15 

were found at work. The children 14 and 15 years of age at work 

numbered 688, and those under 14 years 58. Most of the working 

children under 14 were found in Baltimore, where 12 was the legal 

age for beginning work.

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110 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The racial distribution of the families having children under 16 

at work and of the children themselves was as follows:

NUMBER OF FAMILIES HAVING CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AT W O R K

AND NUMBER OF SUCH CHILDREN, B Y RACE.

Race.

Number

of

families.

Number

of

children.

Race.

Number

cf

families.

Number

of

children.

American.................................... 15 19 Lithuanian................................. 13 14

Italian....................................... 191 211 Scandinavian............................. 5 5

Hebrew........................................ 141 150 AH others.................................... 33 35

German 109

96

125

................................. 104Bohemian. Total................................. 684 746

Polish........................................... 81 83

The racial distribution of these children differs somewhat from 

that of the adults found in the garment-making industry. Of the 

total adult workers the Germans formed 11.3 per cent, the Hebrews 

29 per cent, and the Italians 29.3 per cent. The corresponding percentages for these children under 16 are Germans 16.7 per cent, Hebrews, 20.1 per cent, and Italians 28.3 per cent. The numbers concerned are so small that it is difficult to say whether these proportions 

have any real significance.

The condition of these children as to parents was as follows:

CONDITION AS TO PARENTS OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AT W O RK .

Condition as to parents.

Children

Hand 15

years.

Children

under 14

years.

Total.

Orphans...................................................................................................................... 1 1 2

Children of widows.................................................................................................. 104 11 115

Children of deserted mothers.................................................................................. 14 4 18

Children of incapacitated fathers........................................................................... 25 2 27

Children ol idle fathers............................................................................................. 13 13

Children with both parents at work..................................................................... 87 ............io 97

Children with fathers but not mothers at work................................................. 444 30 474

Total.................................................................................................................. 688 58 746

Orphanage as a cause for being at work early appears to be almost 

negligible. Children of widowed and deserted mothers make up a 

little over one-sixth (17.8 per cent) of the total group, but are relatively more numerous among the children .under 14. In both age 

groups the majority are children in normal families, i. e., with both 

parents living and not incapacitated. For the children of 14 and 15 

the average family membership was 6.8, the average annual income, 

excluding the earnings of children under 16, $838, and the average 

weekly per capita income $2.37. For the children under 14 the average size of family was 6.9, the average annual income, excluding 

earnings of children under 14, was $708, and the average weekly per 

capita income, making the same exclusion, $1.97. There was plainly

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m e n 's r e a d y -m a d e c l o t h i n g . Ill

a much greater economic pressure in the case of the children under 

14 than in the case of those aged 14 or 15.

The following table shows the number and per cent of families 

falling within specified groups of weekly per capita income according to whether or not the earnings of the children are included.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP FAMILIES HAVING SPECIFIED PER CAPITA W E E K L Y

INCOMES, EXCLUDING AND INCLUDING THE EARNINGS OF CHILDREN.

Per capita weekly income.

Number of families

having specified

weekly per capita income.

Per cent of fam flips

having specified

weekly per capita income.

Including earnings of

children.

Excluding earnings of

children.

Including earnings of

children.

Excluding earnings of

children.

Under $1.50.............................................................................................. 88 180 12.9 26.3

$1.50 to $1.99............................................................................................. 121 128 17.7 18.7

$2 to $2.49................................................................................................. 112 93 16.4 13.6

$2.50 to $2.99................... ........................................................................ 94 95 13.7 13.9

$3 to $3.49.................................................................................................. 90 63 13.1 9.2

$3.50 to $3.99............................................................................................. 60 45 8.8 6.6

$4 to $4.49.................................................................................................. 39 31 5.7 4.5

$4.50 to $4.99............................................................................................. 32 21 4.7 3.1

$5 and over........................................................ ..................................... 48 28 7.0 4.1

Total 684 684 100.0 100.0

It will be noticed that the difference between the two columns is 

greatest among the families having the smallest per capitas; this is 

due to the fact that the earnings of children do not vary much, and 

that consequently they bear a less important relation to the family 

income as that income increases.

Among the families visited it was almost the universal custom 

for children to leave school by the time they were 16, if not before. 

About 4.5 per cent of all the families with children under 16 at work 

were so constituted that if the children did not work there were no 

other members to support the family. These cases were all of families in which fathers did not contribute to the family support and 

constituted about 19 per cent of such families. The effect upon the 

family income of the presence of children 16 years of age and over 

is very noticeable, and apparently makes for a tendency to keep the 

younger children in school for a longer period.

ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE INDUSTRY.

LACK OF CENTRALIZATION.

The concluding portion of the report is devoted to a study of the 

organization of the garment industry and an account of its development.

From the point of view of control of the successive processes involved in the manufacture and distribution of clothing the industry

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112 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

is still unorganized and lacks centralization. Few firms carry on 

the entire process of manufacture from the purchase of the material 

to the sale of the garment to the customer. To a great extent the 

various steps in the course of manufacture are attended to by firms 

which make a special business of one phase or another of the general 

industry.

After the materials of which the garments are to be made have 

been bought, the most important steps in the manufacture of clothing are sponging, cutting, making up the garments, and distributing 

them either by sale to jobbers or retailers, or direct to the consumers 

through retail stores operated by the manufacturer.

TYPES OF SHOPS.

There are two main types of shop—the inside shop, or one in which 

the manufacturer has his goods made up in his own shop, and the 

contract shop, whose owner takes work, generally of one limited type, 

from the manufacturer, makes it up, and returns it. The manufacturer usually has the cloth cut on his own premises. If his business 

is extensive, he may do the sponging himself or may send it out to 

a firm which makes a specialty of sponging. If he has an inside 

shop, the garments are also made up in part on his own premises, but 

very few firms make up all their garments in their own shops. “ It 

is doubtful whether as much as 50 per cent of the output of firms 

owning shops is made up in their own shops.” As a rule the best 

work is done in their own shops and the rest is sent out to contractors.

The inside shop is apt to represent the most favorable conditions 

in the clothing trade. It is subject to the factory laws as to hours 

and conditions of cleanliness, safety, etc. Since the best work in done 

there, skilled employees are needed and child labor is reduced to a 

minimum. Work is apt to be steady, since in rush times the surplus 

is given out to contractors, and as the slack season comes on more 

and more is retained in the shop.

The contract shop is used to some extent for making all grades of 

clothing, from the very finest to the very cheapest, but its great field 

is in the manufacture of cheap clothing, where particular care is 

not required. The contract shop may be large or small. Frequently 

in its beginning it consists only of the contractor and a few hands; 

in the first instance, perhaps members of his own family or personal 

acquaintances. Ordinarily a shop is devoted to the making of only 

one kind of garment—coat, vest, or trousers.

From the point of view of labor, the disadvantages of the contract system are, in part, poor and insanitary workshops and long 

hours. The chief evils arise from the small scale on which the 

contract shop operates. In order to save rent Cie contractor often

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m e n ' s R E A D Y -M A D E C L O T H I N G . 113

locates in a building, or part of a building, not originally intended, 

and hence often unsuited, for shop purposes. He is also tempted 

to crowd in order to save room and rent. His shop has not proper 

sanitary facilities or adequate light and ventilation and is not kept 

clean. The shop is usually too small to make profitable the employment of regular caretakers, and the contractor lacks interest. As such 

shops are numerous and scattered, and as the force of factory inspectors as a rule is inadequate, it is almost impossible to keep such 

shops up to the standard. This is the universal complaint of factory 

inspectors. However, in all cities there are some contract shops, 

particularly among the Germans and Scandinavians, that are model 

establishments from the point of view of sanitary conditions. * * *

Hours are irregular and work seasonal in the contract shop. In 

the rush season the work is pursued late. In the “ task” shop of 

New York and in pants and vest shops where work is paid for by 

the piece regular hours are scarcely known.1

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY.

Before the era of ready-made clothing the finer grades of garments 

were made by the custom tailor, either in his own home with the aid 

of his wife and children, or in the shop of his employer. Cheaper 

grade garments were sewed by the women of the household. Female 

labor was all important in the family production of clothing, and was 

by no means unimportant in the custom trade.

The introduction of the sewing machine, which came into use 

about the middle of the last century, greatly increased the possibilities of the industry. Up to the time of the Civil War the South and 

West afforded the principal market for the rather cheap grade of 

ready-made clothing manufactured at that time.

The years 1860 to 1880 cover a second era in the development of the 

ready-made garment industry. The Civil War stimulated it greatly, 

first by the demand for clothing for the soldiers in the field, and next, 

when the war ended, by the demand for civilian clothes when the 

soldiers returned. The business depression of the early seventies 

maintained and increased this demand, as ready-made clothing was 

cheaper than the custom garments.

Along with this expansion of the industry went an improvement 

in the quality of the goods produced. German, Irish, and Scandinavian immigrants were coming into the country extensively, and 

entered the industry in large numbers. The development was in the 

main along the lines of the household system. The family—father, 

mother, sons, and daughters, sometimes with the aid of a few 

strangers—worked in the home. Urban congestion had not yet 

reached the degree which it later attained, hence the industry at1 Vol. I I , Men’s Beady-Made Clothing, pp. 419, 420.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------8

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tracted but little attention, and did not give occasion for talk of 

Government control or regulation.

Beginning with the eighties, great changes took place in the clothing industry. New immigrant races arriving in large numbers 

began to crowd out the older races. The shop or factory largely 

supplanted the home as a work place. Steam, gas, and electrical 

power machines took the place of the old foot-power machines. The 

quality of clothing was improved, advertising increased, and the 

market became national. During this period, also, the evils of the 

sweating system developed and reached such a point that legislative 

control was invoked.

One of the most important features of this period was the coming 

of the Russian Jews into the industry. They practically took possession of it in New York City. By excessive competition and finer 

subdivision of labor they cheapened the cost of production and 

brought ready-made clothing, more and better grades of it, within 

the reach of larger numbers of the population. The Bohemians took 

possession of the trade in Chicago, much as the Jews did in New 

York. Toward the end of the eighties came the Italians who entered 

it so numerously that Italian women hold the first place in New 

York while Italian men are second only to the Jews.

About the middle of the nineties a new period began in the industry, a period of prosperity scarcely interrupted before the panic 

of 1907. The industry had been brought under State supervision by 

legislation affecting nearly all clothing centers. Factory legislation 

and inspection were applied to the problem of better sanitary conditions for the employee, and the worst evils of the tenement shops 

were abolished. Improved conditions of work, brought about by 

factory legislation, the growth of inside shops, and the introduction 

of power are, perhaps, the most notable features in the development 

of the industry from 1890 to the date of this investigation.

SUMMARY.

The manufacture of men’s ready-made garments gives employment to large numbers of women, but their importance in the industry is relatively less since the coming of the Russian Jews into 

the industry, the introduction of electric power, and the excessive 

subdivision of work. In the main the women in the industry are 

young. They do not ordinarily learn the best paid branches, but 

take unskilled or lower skilled work. Children are not numerously 

employed, and the industry could easily be so organized as to dispense with their work altogether.

The work is seasonal, and at the time of this investigation there 

was much irregularity of employment. There seemed no standard

114 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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m e n 's r e a d y -m a d e c l o t h i n g . 115

of wages, but what a woman earned might depend almost as much on 

her bargaining power as on her ability.

Conditions of work varied widely according to whether the worker 

was in an u inside ” or a contract shop. In the latter hours were long 

and irregular, and sanitary conditions often bad, while in the former 

hours conformed to legal regulations and conditions were usually 

good.

The home workers constituted an exception to the general youthfulness of the women in the industry, being usually married women 

with familes. They were almost exclusively of foreign races, the 

Italians predominating. Their work was unskilled, irregular, and 

very poorly paid, their hours irregular, and the surroundings in 

which the work was done were frequently unfortunate in the extreme.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER m .—THE GLASS INDUSTRY.

This report is based on an investigation covering 190 establishments in 17 States. The location of these establishments, the character of their products, and the age and sex distribution of their 

workers are shown in the following summaries:

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS INCLUDED IN THE INVESTIGATION, B Y CHARACTER

OF PRODUCT AND STATE.

Glass industry proper.

State.

Glass producing. Nonglass

producing.

-ft.UA.jj.iary

industries.

All

establishments.

Flint

bottles.

Green

and

am~

berbottles.

Jars.

Insulators.

Table

ware.

Shades

and

chimneys.

Blank

making.

Novelties.

Decorated

ware

only.1

Vials.

Incandescent

lamps.

Mirrors.

Massachusetts

and Connecticut..................... 2 1 3 6

New York............ 7 1 1 5 1 2 1 18

New Jersey.......... 14 1 1 1 2 1 20

Pennsylvania___

Ohio.....................

17 4 5 13 9 2 4 1 1 56

5 4 1 6 4 1 1 1 23

Indiana................ 11 3 3 1 2 1 1 22

Illinois.................. 4 2 1 1 1 9

Wisconsin, Miss o u r i, a n d

Kansas............. 1 2 3 6

West Virginia.. . 3 1 11 1 1 17

Maryland............. 4 4

Virginia...............

Tennessee, Georgia, and South

Carolina...........

5 1 6

3

*

3

Total.......... 74 16 17 1 32 21 6 2 9 1 8 3 190

i Including glass cutting at factories where the blanks are not made.

It is seen from this table that a total of 190 establishments were 

covered by this investigation. Of these, however, 11 were engaged 

in the manufacture of incandescent electric lamps and mirrors, work 

which, strictly speaking, is not part of the glass industry. Of the 

179 factories listed, as of the glass industry proper, 169 actually 

manufactured glass—that is to say, possessed melting furnaces and 

other equipment for the molding of bottles, tableware, etc., while the 

remaining 10 factories decorated and otherwise finished glass articles 

produced elsewhere.

The total number of persons normally employed by these 179 glass 

factories was 54,964, of whom 45,210 were males 16 years of age and 

over, 4,049 were females of 16 years and over, and 5,705 were children under 16 years of age. The 8 electric-lamp establishments em117

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118 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

ployed 4,1-13 persons, of whom 815 were males of 16 years and over, 

3,244 females of 16 years and over, and 84 children under 16 years 

of age. The 3 mirror factories were proportionately small, employing in total but 260 persons, of whom 186 were males 16 years and 

over, 66 females 16 years and over, and 8 children under 16 years 

of age. The distribution of these persons by States and by the sex 

of the children is shown in the next table:1

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES UNDER 16 Y EAR S OP

AGE AND 16 YEAR S OP AGE AND OVER IN THE ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED,

B Y BRANCH OP INDUSTRY AND STATE.

State and branch of

industry.

Establishments

visited.

Employees.

Number.

16 years

and over.

Male. Female.

Under 16 years.

Male. Female. Total.

Total.

Per cent.

16 years

and over.

Male. Female.

Under 16 years.

Male. Female. Total.

GLASS INDUSTRY PROPER.

Massachusetts and Connacticut............................

New York...........................

New Jorsey.........................

Pennsylvania.....................

Ohio.....................................

Indiana................................

Illinois.................................

Wisconsin, Missouri, and

Kansas.............................

West Virginia.....................

Maryland...........................

Virginia...............................

Tonnessoe, Georgia, and

South Carolina...............

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

ELECTRIC LAMPS.

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana........

MIRRORS.

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York-. . .

838

3 ,1G1

5,748

9,673

7,874

6,086

5,366

1,385

2,872

654

592

361

111

2C0

137

1,2S8

717

3G9

424

105

607

29

2

42

92

497

1,812

515

524

338

104

646

392

90

70

3

14

24

327

52

40

7

3

111

2

45

103

521

2,139

567

564

345

107

757

394

90

70

994

3,527

6,406

13,100

9 ,1£8

7, C19

6,135

1,597

4,236

1,077

C84

431

84.3

89.6

89.7

73.9

86.0

87.8

87.5

86.7

67.8

60.7

86.5

83.8

11.2

7.4

2.1

9.8

7.8

4.8

6.9

6.6

14.3

2.7

.3

4.2

2.6

7.8

13.8

5.6

6.9

5.5

6.5

15.3

30.4

13.2

16.2

179 45,210 4,049 5,122 583 5,705 54,964 82.3 7.4

815

186

3,244

66

12 72 84 4,143

260

19.7

71.5

78.3

25.4

.3

1.9

0.3

.4

.4

2.5

.6

.5

.1

.2 2.6 

.2

1.0

1.7

1.2

4.5

3.0 8.1 

16.3 6.2

7.4

5.6

6.7

17.9

36.6

13.2

16.2

10.4

2.0

3.1

The number of woman and child glassworkers covered by this 

investigation may be accepted as thoroughly representative of the 

employment of such persons in the glass industry. Thus in the year 

1908 there were 288 glass factories manufacturing pressed and blown 

glassware (the branches of the industry covered by this report) in 

the United States. Of these 169, or 58.7 per cent, were covered by the 

investigation. Of the 119 not covered 61 were not in operation, and 

therefore could not have been scheduled. In total, therefore, only 58, 

or approximately one-quarter of all the factories in operation, were 

net covered.2

1Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 17. 3 Idem, p. 18.

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THE GLASS INDUSTRY. 119

The information thus secured has been treated under four heads— 

the employment of boys in glass furnaces, the employment of women 

and girls in glass furnaces, the employment of women and girls in 

making incandescent electric lamps, and the family conditions and 

the amount and source of income in the families studied. In the 

industry itself the labor of women and girls is usually very sharply 

separated from that of men and boys. The typical glass factory is 

divided into two distinct departments: The molding or “ furnace ” 

department and the elaborating or finishing department. This division marks a clear distinction in the type of building used, the character of the work, and the personnel of the working force.

The furnace department, or, as it is commonly known, the furnace 

room, is usually a one-story building, of rough and open construction, in order to dissipate as much as possible the heat of the large

g

lass-melting furnaces. The workers here are constantly engaged in 

andling molten or at least highly heated glass, and the appliances 

and physical surroundings are adapted to that end. The work itself 

is regarded by nearly all employers as the work of men or boys, and 

as not being suitable for women or girls.

The finishing department, on the other hand, is usually a structure 

of two or more stories, resembling in its main features the common 

type of factory building. The work is much lighter than that of the 

furnace room, largely of a decorative character, and in great part at 

least adapted to the physical abilities of women. Adult male labor 

is not uncommon, particularly with the heavier and more skilled 

finishing work, but boy labor is little used in the finishing department.

* * * The furnace room represents the boy labor aspect of the 

glass industry; the finishing department represents the woman and 

girl labor aspect. The few women found in furnace rooms are working in what is universally regarded as boys’ occupations, and are 

being used as substitutes for boy labor. On the other hand, almost 

all of the women in the industry and very few boys are engaged in 

handling ware after it has been molded and annealed in the furnace 

room.1

WORK OF BOYS IN THE FURNACE ROOM.

The great majority of boys are found in five occupations. As mold 

boys they sit or stand at the blowers’ feet and tend the molds, opening and shutting them as required by the blower. As cleaning-off 

boys they stand beside the blower and clean the blowpipe after each 

using. As snapping-up boys and carrying-in boys they are engaged 

in carrying ware, the first from the blower to the finisher, the second 

from the finisher to the leer. As machine boys they perform the 

unskilled work needed in connection with the press or blow machine.

DIVISION OF WORK BETWEEN THE SEXES.

1Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 21, 22.

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About 90 per cent of the boys studied in this investigation were employed in these five occupations, the remainder being scattered among 

a variety of minor occupations.

DESCRIPTION OF PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS.

The character and degree of the physical strain involved differs 

materially in these occupations. The mold boy’s work is not usually 

heavy, but often involves a constrained, crouching attitude, and since 

the boy’s position is directly in front of the furnace he works in a 

very high temperature. Tests made with a thermometer showed boys 

working in temperatures ranging from 93° to 116°. His work is also 

rapid and continuous.

The cleaning-off boy usually works standing. His work consists 

of scraping off the clot of excess glass which remains on the pipe 

after each blowing, which is done by pulling the glass clot over an 

iron rasp. This, although a simple operation, requires some little 

physical strength and skill and is usually reserved for the older and 

more experienced boys. The boy’s position is usually 3 or 4 feet from 

the furnace and, like the mold boy, he is exposed to very high temperatures.

The snapping-up boy picks up the article placed by the mold boy 

on the stand, places it in a long-handled holder, carries it to the 

finisher’s bench, rubs the neck or upper edge against an iron rasp to 

remove the excess glass, and inserts the article in the “ glory hole,” 

or reheating furnace. He is constantly in motion; in addition to the 

walking the work demands constant arm movement, some bending, 

and in general an incessant activity of the whole body. The weight 

carried at any one time is not excessive, but a real hardship is involved in the necessity of looking into the bright, glaring light of 

the glory hole.

The carrying-in boy takes the ware when the workers at the furnace have finished with it, carries it to the annealing oven or leer, 

and deposits it inside. This must be done with reasonable dispatch, 

as newly molded ware will spoil if left too long exposed to the outer 

air. As a result, the. boy must make quick trips back and forth, each 

time carrying a limited number of articles. Ordinarily the daily distance traveled by a carrying-in boy does not much exceed a mile an 

hour.

The machine boy’s work requires close attention and considerable 

endurance, and involves considerable nervous tension. Next to the 

mold boy, the machine boy commonly occupies the warmest position 

of any of the boys.

In order to relieve the strain of continuous work at any one of 

these occupations a system of exchanging positions is often adopted.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 121

Frequent interchange of occupations is almost always possible, and 

in the majority of furnace rooms is practiced as a trade custom. In 

some factories this interchange is enforced by the management, the 

boys of all or of selected occupations being required to exchange 

places at certain specific periods, quarter hour, half hour, etc. At 

other factories the management does not enforce the exchange, but 

the workers may arrange among themselves to do so.1

WORKING CONDITIONS.

From the standpoint of the boy’s physical welfare the three most 

objectionable features of the work are the glass dust in the air, the 

broken glass on the floor, and the intense heat in which the work is 

often carried on. The glass dust comes partly from the glass on the 

floor, but far more from what is known as “ blow-over,” the name 

given to those gossamer-like flakes of filmy glass that are usually 

found floating in the air of a bottle house. When a bottle has been 

blown into form in a mold it is necessary to detach the blowpipe 

without injuring the neck of the bottle. To do this the glass between the top of the mold and the butt of the blowpipe is blown into 

a thin bubble which can be easily broken. This can be done so as to 

cause practically no blow-over, but it is “ quicker and easier to blow 

hard enough to inflate and burst this portion of the glass by internal 

air pressure. When this is done the bubble explodes with a popping 

noise and its walls fly into the air, often into the mold boy’s face, and 

the light particles of glass float in the air currents of the room.”

The degree to which blow-over is present differs greatly with the 

speed and carefulness of the blowers. It is by no means an inevitable 

feature; in some factories such precautions were taken that it was a 

negligible evil, while in others it constituted a serious menace.

In some factories at times the air is so full of this floating glass 

that the hair is whitened by merely passing through the room. It 

sticks to the perspiration on the faces and arms of the boys and men, 

and becomes a source of considerable irritation. Getting into the 

eyes, it becomes especially troublesome.2

This dust is said to be the cause of much temporary skin and eye, 

irritation; just how serious these effects are has not been determined. 

It is a truism, however, that the inhalation of irritating dust predisposes to diseases of the respiratory passages, and it is known that 

its presence in considerable quantities in workrooms is always accompanied by a high death rate, especially from consumption.3

“Furnace-room floors are either of brick or cement. In either case 

they are quite commonly broken, uneven, or rough.” This roughness 

is not especially an evil of itself, but it increases the danger from

1Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 59. 2 Idem, p. 66. 8 See p. 135.

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the broken glass with which the floors are very commonly littered. 

In making glass there is necessarily some breakage; also there is an 

appreciable percentage of imperfect ware to be discarded at various 

stages of the work. Keceptacles of some sort are usually provided for 

such ware, but in the hurry of the work flawed articles are often carelessly thrown, fall upon the floor, and break. As a result the 

snapping-up and carrying-in boys, often badly shod, must walk back 

and forth upon a floor littered with broken glass. Foot cuts are frequent and a fall may cause severe laceration. Incidentally, this Ft ate 

of affairs is expensive for the employees, being very destructive to 

shoe leather.

The principal direct sources of heat in a furnace room are the furnace, the leers or annealing furnaces, the reheating furnaces, and the 

portions of hot glass gathered on the blowers’ pipes. The indirect 

sources are the heated molds, presses, and other machines. Of them 

all, the furnace, of course, is most effective in raising the temperature. 

The furnace is either a round structure situated wholly within the 

room or the rounded end of a structure partly outside the room. In 

the first case it contains a series of arched openings, within each of 

which is a clay pot, one side exposed to the fire in a central pit, the 

other flush with the inner wall of the furnace. In these pots is the 

melted glass which the blower reaches with his pipe through the 

opening. In the second case the semicircular end is really a tank 

into which melted glass flows from the other portion. Like the round 

furnace, this tank is pierced with working holes.

The generally accepted figures of the heat within a furnace during 

the fusing are 2,507° F. between the pots and 2,390° F. in the metal 

itself. These temperatures are reduced when the holes are opened 

for working to a standard of 1,913°, although glass is commonly 

worked at a temperature of 100° less than this figure. In furnaces of 

the second type, known as “ tank ” furnaces, the working end is kept 

at 1,913°. In both types the working holes must be kept open while 

blowing is in progress. “ Thus the great heat generated in the furnace escapes into the workroom, not only by a secondary radiation 

from the walls of the furnace, but to a much greater degree by direct 

radiation through the working holes.” The reheating furnace or 

glory hole is usually maintained at a temperature of 2,200° F., while 

the annealing furnaces are kept at from 800° to 1,200° F., according 

to the kind of ware made.

Furnace rooms are usually made open to all the winds that blow, 

so that the temperature varies decidedly from one part to another. 

On a June day when the outside temperature was at 78° a series of 

thermometer readings taken in a given factory showed that the tem122 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 123

peratures in which various workers were carrying on their activities 

ranged from 03° up to 132°.

It is difficult to say whether these extreme temperatures are more 

harmful in summer or winter.

In the warm weather the ill effects of the heat show themselves 

directly in the form of prostration or affections directly due to the 

high teinperatures. In the winter the immediate danger to health 

arises from sudden changes in temperature. The open character of 

building which diminishes the heat in summer also allows the 

winter cold to penetrate. The zones of heat immediately around the 

furnace, the glory hole, and the leer are of almost the same degree 

in winter as in summer, but the temperature of the areas outside 

these zones is reduced almost to the level of the temperature outside 

of the factory. As a result the boys, especially those whose occupations keep them moving about the factory, are subjected to considerable and often violent changes of temperature. * * * This 

danger to health is likewise present when the boys leave the factory 

for their homes.1

Much of this high temperature is unavoidable, but it could be 

moderated to some degree by care in placing the various furnaces, 

by providing devices for keeping the leer mouths closed except when 

ware is being put in, by supplies of cool air, etc. All these plans 

were found in use in one factory or another, but none were common 

and some were found in only a single instance.

Minor accidents, due to cuts and burns from flying pieces of glass, 

were common, but serious accidents seemed very rare.

HOURS OF LABOR, NIGHT WORK, AND OVERTIME.

Since the boys are mainly employed as helpers to the skilled workers their hours tend to be the same. The great majority of the 

skilled workers belong to one or the other of two unions, both of 

which carefully regulate the number of working hours. One allows 

50J hours per week daywork and 42^ hours night work, while the 

other sets the limit at 49J hours for both day and night workers. 

Of the 5,009 boys for whom information on this point was gained,

79 per cent worked weekly hours falling within these limits. The 

following table gives the number of boy workers studied in each 

State and the percentage working less than specified hours. The 

night workers, 2,792, or 55.7 per cent of the total number, alternated 

weekly between night and day work, so that they are included with 

the day workers as well as given separately.

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 76, 77.

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124 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

PER CENT OF BOYS OF D A Y AND OF NIGHT FORCE W ORKING LESS THAN SPECIFIED

HOURS PER W E E K , B Y STATES.

Dayworkers.

State.

Number

of

Per cent working less hours

than—

persons.

52 50 . 48

Illinois..................................................... . ............................................... 334 100.0 98.8 97.3

Now Y ork................................................................................................ 83 100.0 80.7 78.3

West Virginia.......................................................................................... 640 93.3 80.6

Ohio.......................................................................................................... 509 90.8 54.0 ............9*2

Pennsylvania.......................................................................................... 1,755

24

93.0 43.5 6.1

n RP.t.tfl and. Connecticut.......................................................... 37.5 37.5 37.5

New Jersey............................................................................................. 484 100.0 23.1

Indiana............................................................ 524 72.3 12.6 ............9.5

Maryland................................................................................................. 392 100.0

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia............................................ 70 100.0

Virginia............................................ ..................................................... 90 98.9

Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin...................................................... 104 95.2

Total.............................................................................................. 5,009

Night workers.

Number Per cent working less hours than—-

State. of

persons. 50 48 46 44

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia....................... 64 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Virginia................................................................................. 52 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Maryland......... ........ ........... ............................................. 50 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

New Jersey.......................................... .................... 244 100.0 100.0 91.1 83.6

TnHifl.rm................................................................................. 500- 87.2 84.0 66.8 52.8

Ohio................................................................................. . 254 86.6 56.7 56.7 21.3

Kansas, Missouri,and Wisconsin.............................. 18 100.0 100.0 44.4 22.2

Pennsylvania................................................................ 1,156

454

85.1 57.3 44.1 33.6

West Virginia.................................................................... 95.6 21,1 21.1 17.2

Total......................................................................... 2,792

It will be observed that Indiana is the only State having a large 

number of young workers in which any considerable portion of the 

day force worked 52 hours or over. Among the night workers only 

four States show a week of 50 hours or over.

NIGHT W ORK.

Night work is an established feature of glassmaking. Of the 

169 furnace rooms studied, 126 were regularly operating two shifts 

of workers, one by day and one by night, and of the remaining 43 

several were accustomed to do so from time to time, although during the year covered they did only daywork. The night force, however, is frequently smaller than the day force. Consequently a portion of the working force is liable to become a permanent day force, 

while the remainder is divided into two shifts, each working at night 

on alternate weeks.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 125

This alternation of night work of boys was not distributed among 

the States with any uniformity. In some States no boys were found 

working at night; in others nearly all the boys employed so worked. 

This variation in practice is shown in the following table, the States 

being arranged in ascending order of frequency of night work.1

NUMBER OP BOYS W ORKING ON D A Y SHIFT AND ON D A Y AND NIGHT SHIFT ALTERN A T E LY AND PER CENT WORE3NG AT NIGHT, B Y STATES.

State.

Total

number.

Boys under 16 years of age working.

Percent

of boys

working

at night. Day

only.

Day and night, alternate weeks.

Total.

6 days,5 nights. 6 days, 6 nights.

number. Num.

ber.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Illinois.................................................... 334

83

24

392

104

509

484

90

1,755

640

70

524

334

83

24

342

86

255

240

38

599

186

6

24

New York.............................................

Massachusetts.......................................

Maryland.............................................. 50

18

254

244

52

1,156

454

64

500

50

8

154

244

52

605

96

64

308

100.0

44.5

60.6

100.0

100.0

52.3

21.1

100.0

73.6

12.8

17.3

49.9

50.4

57.8

65.9

70.9

91.4

95.4

Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin1. .

Ohio.......................................................

Now Jersey..........................................

10

100

55.5

39.4

Virginia..................................................

Pennsylvania.......................................

West Virginia.......................................

Tennessee, South Carolina, and

Georgia...............................................

551

358

47.7

78.9

Indiana...........................................

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

132 26.4

5,009 2,217 2,792 1,641 58.8 1,151 41.2 55.7

1 No night work regularly done by boys under 16 in Missouri or Wisconsin.

As a result of the weekly alternation in night work, during half of 

his time the boy may live a normal life. On the other hand, the practice of alternation renders even more difficult one of the most serious 

problems of night work—the problem of sleep. It means that one 

week the boy must obtain his sleep in the daytime and the following 

week in the nighttime. Proper adjustment to varying sleeping 

periods is not an easy accomplishment for either adults or children. 

It was the almost unanimous opinion of night foremen and adult 

glassworkers interviewed that this periodic change in the time of 

sleeping was, at the least, physically undesirable. They agreed that, 

although it was not possible to trace an ailment to this specific source, 

they always “ felt better ” when working only by day. Of the same 

character was the testimony of mothers of boys working on the night 

shift. And that night work is regarded as “ harder” by the boys 

themselves as a class is evidenced by the fact that most factories must 

offer a higher wage for night work than for daywork in order to obtain a full complement of boys.

Those adult workers who expressed themselves as pleased with 

night work supported their views largely on the ground that, by 

limiting the amount of sleep, nearly the whole of the daylight following a night of work could be used for the purpose of pleasure. 

This is a view that appeals to some boys. The night shift quits work

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 97.

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usually at 3 a. m. By hurrying to sleep and reducing the sleeping 

time the boy will have a large part of the daylight for play, whereas 

if he works on the day shift he has only the evening darkness in 

which to have his fun. During the present investigation it was not 

at all uncommon to find on the street as earty as 9 a. m. boys who 

had worked on the previous night shift and had quit as late as 3 a. m.

A boy working on the night shift must, therefore, first of all, accustom himself to sleep in the daytime; second, he must accustom himself to a weekly change of sleeping periods; and, third, when working at night and sleeping by day he must resist the natural desire of 

the boy to curtail his sleep for the sake of a longer play time. There 

is a strong probability of there being unsuitable surroundings for 

daytime sleeping. The majority of shop boys come from homes in 

which the standard of living is rather low, the houses small, the 

rooms crowded. If in the larger cities, these houses are usually in 

the more congested sections, where the street noises are greatest and 

the street life early astir. Under such surroundings a restful daytime sleep is frequently unobtainable.

The second source of danger to the health of children incident to 

their working at night in the glass factory arises from the almost 

universal custom of arranging the hours of labor so that the night 

shift ends in the very early morning. This happens usually about 

3 o’clock, the time when the weather is most severe and the time when 

the boy, through sleepiness and anxiety to get home, is least likely, 

to consider the guarding of his health. Always he is overheated 

from his work, frequently in a state of perspiration. Only very 

rarely does he have extra or sufficient clothing to protect him in the 

change to the outside temperature. Often, too, he has a long journey 

home. Very often the factory is well away from the town proper, 

seeking, as it does, cheaper land and better railroad facilities. In 

such cases the main approach is almost always along railroad tracks, 

but local train or street car accommodation is seldom available so 

early in the day.

The recent extension of interurban electric lines has tended to increase this evil. Boys from the farms, living several miles from the 

factory, are by reason of electric interurban lines enabled to obtain 

work, a few factories even offering to pay the car fares of such boys. 

The car line, however, rarely has an all-night service, and the boys 

on the night shift, quitting about 3 a. m., must wait for the first 

morning car, arriving possibly not until 5 or 6 o’clock. This interval 

of two or three hours the tired boy is naturally tempted to bridge by 

sleeping in the factory. In one Ohio establishment it was found that 

several of the boys in thus waiting for the car slept in the open beside 

the tracks.

Even, however, when the boy’s home is not beyond walking distance, the temptation to sleep in the factory may still be very strong. 

For not only is the actual length of the homeward journey a hardship 

but the character of the road that must be traversed is a matter of 

almost equal concern, especially if the boy can obtain no company on 

his way. In one instance a factory is so situated that many of the 

boys in order to reach their homes must pass through a cemetery; in 

another the easiest and most used approach is through a railroad 

tunnel. Because of these and other things many of the boys inter126 B U L L E T I N O P T H E BUBEATJT O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 127

viewed evinced a strong dislike, some a positive horror, of the early 

morning journey from the factory.

As a result of such causes—the distance to the home, the fear of 

something along the route, fatigue from the work, unfavorable 

weather—the boy is often unwilling to return to his home, preferring 

to sleep in the factory, at least until daylight comes. It was impracticable to ascertain the exact number of boys who indulge in this 

practice. Some factory managements prohibit it entirely and enforce 

the prohibition; others, because of their location, offer no reason for 

the boys not going to their homes. In a few factories, however, 

sleeping in the factory buildings is a regular custom, and in several 

others the practice is engaged in more or less frequently. The formal sanction of the head management for such a practice is probably 

nowhere given, but many foremen do not discourage it. Usually this 

attitude of the foremen is due simply to good nature; but occasionally 

business interest may be responsible. For if a boy remains in the 

factory too long after the ending of one shift he is in a position to 

be impressed for service on the next shift. As the foreman usually 

retains his position by virtue of his ability to obtain a certain daily 

output, the temptation to so impress a boy when help is scarce may 

be too strong to be resisted. Moreover, as the boy has had some three 

or four hours’ sleep between the ending of the one shift and the beginning of another, he very often feels refreshed enough to be willing 

to begin work again.

For sleeping in the factory there are no accommodations whatever. The boy lies upon the floor or upon a pile of boards or boxes. 

At times, for warmth’s sake, he cuddles up beside the leer. He has, 

of course, no change of clothing and most probably no covering of 

any kind.

The danger to a child’s health inherent in either alternative— 

journeying home in the night weather, sleeping in or outside the 

factory—is most palpable, and this fact or custom may be more or 

less responsible for the more common and more dangerous diseases 

of the glass workers, diseases of the respiratory organs, that often 

do not become apparent in a serious degree until many months, or 

even years, after the original exposure.1

At the time of this investigation night work was prohibited for 

children under 16 in five States—New York, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, 

and Wisconsin. In four of these States the law was observed with 

considerable strictness, but in Ohio it was in dispute and by a large 

number of factories was not even ostensibly observed. The table 

already given shows the number and the distribution by States of 

the boys under 16 who were found working at night on alternate 

weeks.

OVERTIME.

There is very little overtime, in the ordinary sense, in a glass 

factory. The skilled men usually work the union hours and then 

stop, and the need for boys’ labor stops with them. The custom of

1 Vo l. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 109-111.

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operating two shifts, however, makes possible a very serious form 

of overtime—double-shift work. A boy who has worked through 

one shift may work the whole or part of the succeeding one, all 

within a period of 24 hours.

If a boy works a full double shift he is on duty 20 hours out of 

the 24, and is actually working 17 to 18 hours. Notwithstanding the 

physical strain of such long hours, double-shift work is by no means 

uncommon in certain factories at busy seasons. * * * Yery 

often, however, the services of the boy are not required for the full 

double shift. He may split the extra work with another boy or may 

work only a portion of the second shift. The most prevalent form of 

this practice is that of “ doubling up ” Friday night. This consists 

of working the full Friday-night shift and one-half or one-quarter of 

the Saturday shift. As no work is done Saturday night or Sunday 

an opportunity is given for recuperation.1

The following table shows the extent to which double-shift work 

had prevailed during the year preceding the investigation among 

1,292 boys who were especially investigated with regard to this 

point:

128 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF CASES OF DOUBLE-SHIFT W O RK B Y BOYS UNDER 16 YEARS, B Y AGE.

Age.

Number

of boys

working

double

shift.

Number of cases of

double-shift work.

Total. Average

per boy.

12 years........................................................................................................................ 2 35 17.5

13 years........................................................................................................................ 15 124 8.3

1* years........................................................................................................................ 53 734 13.8

15 years....................................: .................................................................................. 50 752 15.0

Total.................................................................................................................. 120 1,645 13.7

This form of overwork, of course, is impossible in States in which 

night work is prohibited and a maximum day is fixed.

EARNINGS.

The wages for boys in the furnace room are by no means uniform, 

even for those of the same age. Wages differ from factory to factory, often for no discernible cause beyond the fact that boy labor is 

comparatively immobile. In general, boys under 16 will work near 

where their families live, and will take such wages as they can get 

in that locality, even though better wages are paid comparatively near 

at hand. Thus in one factory near Pittsburgh the usual wage for 

boys under 16 is 75 cents a day, while in another, not 6 miles away, 

it is 95 cents. One extreme case was found in which boys under 16

* Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 113, 114.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 129

and even a few of 17 and 18 were found working for as low a wage as 

39^ cents a day, while in another factory not far distant boys no older 

than these were receiving as much as $2 a day. Such differences 

depend on locality, not on race or occupation.

Among furnace-room boys age is decidedly the most important 

single factor influencing variations in the wage rate. Next in importance is that of factory location. Other factors such as race, 

occupation, character of product, and even individual efficiency are 

of minor significance.1

The rate of wages is of less importance than the actual earnings, 

the latter, of course, being affected by the regularity of the work. 

The following table shows both the rate of wages (full-time earnings) and the actual earnings of 3,615 boys for whom detailed 

information on this point was secured:

COMPARISON OF FULL-TIME W E E K L Y EARNINGS W ITH ACTUAL W E E K L Y EARNINGS OF BOYS UNDER 16 IN TH E FURNACE ROOM.

Males under 16.

Classified weekly earnings. Full-time weekly

earnings.

Actual weekly

earnings.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Under $2................................................................................................... 265 7.3

$2 to $2.99................................................................................................. 35 1.0 351 9.7

$3 to $3.99................................................................................................. 348 9.6 555 15.4

$4 to $4.99................................................................................................. 1,081 29.9 949

830

570

26.2

23.0

15.8

$5 to $5.99................................................................................................. 963 26.6

$6 to $6.99................................................................................................. 1,013 28.0

$7 to $7.99............................................................................................... 90 2.5 62 1.7

$8 to $8.99................................................................................................ 61 1.7 22 .6

$9 to $9.99............................................................................................... 16 .5 10 .3

Sift tnJKII.OO_________________________________ __________________ 8 .2 1 0)

Total 3,615 100.0 3,615 100.0

1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

It appears that a small number of these boys, 35, were working 

for a wage of less than $3 a week, and a still smaller number, 24, 

for $9 a week or over, but the great majority, nearly 85 per cent of 

the total, were almost equally distributed in the three groups included between $4 as a minimum and $6.99 as a maximum. Thus 

the usual as well as the median wage for such boys may be said to 

lie between $5 and $6 a week, probably nearer the latter amount.

On the other hand, on the basis of actual weekly earnings taken 

during a representative pay period, 616 of the boys earned less than 

$3 as against 35 whose nominal wages fell below that sum. Only

33 actually earned $8 or over, as compared with 85 whose rate was 

that much, and the median earnings drop well below $5 a week.

1Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 129.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16------ 9

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In 81 of the 169 furnace rooms investigated payment of wages 

was made every week, in 87 biweekly or semimonthly, and in 1 

monthly. Usually the money due was paid directly to the boy, whatever his age. Bonuses were frequently offered to induce boys to 

work steadily. Sometimes a percentage of the earnings was held 

back and paid only after the boy had worked a certain length of 

time in order to secure the same end, steadiness. Fines for any purpose were very unusual.

IMPORTANCE OF BOY LABOR IN GLASSMAKING.

In view of the argument often advanced by glass manufacturers 

that legislation restricting the employment of children means ruin 

to their industry, the number and relative increase or decrease of 

boys under 16 in such work is a matter of interest. In 1880 almost 

one-third (29 per cent) of all the males in the industry were under 

16 years of age and almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of all males in 

specific boys’ occupations were under 16. At this time there were 

practically no legislative restrictions upon the employment of children in glass factories. In 1905 only about one-eighth (12.6 per 

cent) of the males in the industry were under 16. The decrease in the 

importance of young workers may be more effectively shown by the 

average number of such per pot. At each pot of a furnace works 

a group known as a shop, consisting of three skilled workers and 

the necessary unskilled helpers—mold boy, cleaning-off boy, snappingup boy, etc. In 1880 the average number of males under 16 per pot 

was 2.6; by 1905 it had sunk to 0.7. During these 25 years the 

actual number of males aged 16 or over in the industry had risen 

from 13,201 to 39,348, while the number of males under 16 had increased only from 5,398 to 5,667. The child worker was evidently of 

diminishing importance in the industry, a fact due partly to restrictive legislation and partly to the difficulty of securing a supply 

of young boys equal to the demand.

The importance of boy labor in glass making may be measured in 

another way, by a comparison of the cost of production when employing boy labor with the cost of production of the same articles 

with boy labor entirely eliminated. Children are employed as mold 

boys, snapping-up boys, carrying-in boys, etc., primarily because 

they will work for a lower wage than will boys of 16 or over. That 

they do work for a lower wage is not a matter of dispute. The wage 

data gathered for this report show that in any community the pay 

of the furnace-room boys tends to vary directly with their ages. 

Up to the age of 21 years it is correct to say that the older the boy 

the higher his wage.

Granting, therefore, that the employer does effect a saving by 

employing young boys, the question of the amount of such saving

130 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 131

naturally arises. If a glass manufacturer employing boys under 16 

exclusively and paying them the usual wages of such boys should 

suddenly substitute boys of 16 and over, paying them the usual 

wages of such persons, what would be the additional cost to him per 

unit of product ?

The character of the glass industry is such that this question can 

be answered with considerable exactness. The item of boy-labor 

cost in a given article can be isolated and a study made of the variations in costs which would follow changes in the wages of boys.

Such a study was made in the course of this investigation. The 

cost data used in the study were from a representative prescriptionbottle factory. Three and one-half years’ production for the plant 

was used as the basis for costs.

The result of the analysis of these costs is given in the following 

table, which shows in a striking way the insignificant increases in 

cost which would be produced by the entire elimination of the labor 

of children under 16 years of age and the substitution of adult labor.

INCREASED COST OF MANUFACTURING THREE SIZES OF BOTTLES IF CHILD LABOR

W ERE ELIMINATED.i

Character of bottle.

Cost of gross of bottles

with—

Increase

in cost.

Per cent

increase

Boy-labor in cost.

force as at

present.

Children

eliminated.

4-ounce........................................................................................ $1.3361

1.8148

2.6309

$1.3508

1.8277

2.6449

$0.0147

.0129

.0140

1.100

.711

.532

8-ounce.......................................................................................

16-ounce......................................................................................

1 Vol. I ll, Glass Industry, p. 207.

SUBSTITUTES FOR BOY LABOR.

In the effort to fill the place of the young boy three substitutes 

have been tried—machines, women, and adult males. At the time of 

this investigation the so-called automatic blowing machine was in 

use in a few; shops. It tends to reduce greatly the number of boys 

employed and also to raise the age of young employees, since boys 

under 16 can hardly be used to advantage with it. Should its use become general, the problem of child labor in the industry may easily 

cease to exist. Women could undoubtedly do the work, but a strong 

public sentiment exists against employing them in the furnace room, 

and the glassmen themselves are apt to share this feeling. In 

1904-1906 three bottle factories—two in the Middle West and one in 

the East—introduced negro women and girls in the furnace room. 

In the eastern factory the experiment was soon given up, but in the 

other two it proved financially successful and was continued.

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In these two establishments the women were employed exactly 

as boys would have been, working in the usual close association 

with men. At the time of this investigation 51 such women were employed, 9 working in the daytime only, while the remaining 42 

worked on both day and night shifts, the day shift of one week becoming the night shift of the next; 21 were from 16 to 20 years old, 

and 18 from 21 to 30; 24 were single, 22 married, and 5 widowed or 

separated from their husbands. The conditions of employment, such 

as exposure to fierce heat, constrained position, continuous standing 

or steady walking, rapid work, etc., are in nowise modified for these 

women. Obviously such conditions would frequently tell more 

severely upon women and girls than upon boys, and the women have 

the added hardship of the men’s attitude toward them. Moral conditions were said to be exceedingly bad.

In one factory white women and girls were found working at a 

boy’s occupation, but separated from the male workers. The factory 

was two-storied, with the furnace on the second floor. A series of 

chutes led from each group of blowers to the first floor. The bottles 

when blown and finished were placed on the chutes and thus conveyed to the first floor, where girls and women carried them to the 

annealing ovens. By this system the girls were not exposed to the 

highly objectionable conditions of the furnace room. Their work, 

however, was hot and heavy, and, owing to the danger of breakage on 

the chute, the system can be employed only for certain kinds of ware.

So far adult men have proved the principal substitute for boy 

workers. The manufacturers themselves are somewhat divided in 

opinion as to whether men can do work of this kind as well as boys 

can, but the belief that they can do it satisfactorily seems to be increasing. Foreigners are preferred as being at once cheaper and 

more manageable than native-born workmen. There are two admitted drawbacks to their employment: They must be paid higher 

wages than will satisfy boys and they do not afford a supply of 

recruits for the skilled positions.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOYS TO LEARN THE TRADE.

There is an almost entire absence in the furnace room of intermediate positions between the simple, unskilled work of the boy and 

the highly skilled work of blowing. The latter position is attained 

by way of apprenticeship, and apprentices are not always drawn from 

the shopboys of the particular factory. If a boy becomes an apprentice he is assured of ultimate journeymanship; if he fails to become 

an apprentice, and his chance practically disappears after he is 18, 

or at most 19, years of age, he remains in the industry as a shopboy 

to the end. For the young shopboy, therefore, his opportunity of 

becoming an apprentice before he is too old is a matter of utmost 

importance.1 * * *

132 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

i Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 233.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 133

But the number of apprentices who may be taken on is strictly 

limited by the unions. The regulations on this subject are given in 

considerable detail, but the important point is the conclusion:

It will be seen that apprentices are taken on each year in the ratio 

of 1 apprentice to from 10 to 25 journeymen. As the number of 

shopboys in the usual furnace room is normally at least one-fifth 

greater than the number of journeymen blowers, it would thus appear that the usual shopboy has about 1 chance in from 12 to 30 of 

being apprenticed each year. Furthermore, as the opportunity of 

being apprenticed practically ceases at the age of 18, and as in most 

of the States concerned a boy can not legally work before he is 14, 

his ultimate chance of becoming an apprentice is about 1 in from 3 to 

7. In other words, it would appear that if all shopboys began work 

at the age of 14, 1 out of each 3, 4, 5, or 6, depending on the specific 

regulation or agreement, would become apprentices. Those failing to 

become apprenticed would, as noted, have practically no hope of 

afterpromotion in the industry.1

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF BOYS.

Three types of illegal employment were considered : Employment 

under legal age, employment without affidavits or certificates as prescribed by law, and employment for more hours per day or per week 

than permitted by law or at prohibited times.

EMPLOYMENT BELOW LEGAL AGE.

Each of the States investigated had a minimum age limit below 

which employment was illegal. In 11 this age was 14 and in 5 it was 

12; in 3 of the latter exceptions were permitted. No cases of employment under legal age were found in 7 States. These were Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin, in which 

the legal age was 14, and Georgia and South Carolina, in which the 

legal age was 12. The number of children found employed under 

legal age, and their distribution by State and by age, are shown in 

the following table:

EXACT AGES OF CHILDREN EMPLOYED UNDER LEGAL AGE, B Y STATES.

State. Legal

Number

of children emDistribution by exact age (in years) of children

under legal age.

age. ployed

under

legal age. 9 10 11 12 13 Not reported.

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 14 1 2 11

Pennsylvania ............................. 14 95 4 5 13 73

Ohio ........................ 14 7 1 6

Indiana ................................... 14 25 4 6 11 4

Tennessee and Missouri 14 4 1 3

West Virginia . ................. 12 14 1 5 8

Maryland ................................... 12 2 1 1

Virginia ........................ 12 6 4 2

i Vol. I l l , Glass Industry, p. 235.

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134 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

E M PLOYM EN T W ITH O U T REQUIRED CERTIFICATES.

The employment of children without proper certificates was illegal 

in seven States—New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

Missouri, and Wisconsin. In these a total of 778 children were 

found working without proper certificates, forming 52.7 per cent 

of the 1,477 as to whom special investigation on this point wTas made. 

In addition 85 children were found working under certificates issued 

before they were of legal age.1

E M PLOYM EN T A T NIGHT.

The employment of children at night was prohibited in New York, 

Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. This law seemed pretty 

well obeyed except in Ohio, where it was under attack and where 

meanwhile it was almost a dead letter. The occasional employment 

of boys more hours than the law permitted when there was any 

restriction of this kind seemed common, and under the prevailing 

system of factory inspection almost impossible of prevention. The 

difficulty of securing a sufficient supply of boy labor is the cause for 

most of these violations.

SUMMARY OF EMPLOYMENT OF BOYS IN FURNACE ROOM.

The work of boys under 16 has been of great importance in the 

furnace room, but this importance appears to be decreasing. To 

a very limited extent women and girls have been used as a substitute 

for boys, but their use in this capacity is generally disapproved and 

seems unlikely to increase. Older boys and adult males have been 

substituted to a considerable extent.

The work done by boys under 16 seldom involves severe muscular 

exertion, but is done in an intense heat and frequently demands 

rapid movement and close attention. It has in itself no educative 

value. The boy has a limited chance of becoming an apprentice,2 

in which case he acquires a skilled trade. Failing that, he has no 

prospect of ever being anything in the glass industry but an unskilled 

worker.

The regular hours are not long but lend themselves readily to a 

severe form of overwork, the double shift. Night work is common. 

The physical effect of the work is almost inevitably bad, and since 

little discipline of any kind is enforced in a glass factory the moral 

influence is usually far from desirable. Wages vary widely, but on 

the whole are good. The growing restrictions on child labor have

1 Eighteen of these were in New Jersey, a State in which the employer was not legally

obliged to have certificates on file.

2 This chance is practically nil if he is either a Negro or a foreigner, the custom of the

glass blowers being to take only native-born white boys as apprentices.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 135

rendered the employment of young boys less profitable, and few employers now insist that they are essential to the conduct of the industry. Many admit that their opposition to such legislation has 

been a mistake.

As one manufacturer said, “ The money I have spent to help prevent the passage of child-labor laws is more than double the difference 

between boy labor and man labor in my factory, and I am done 

with it.” 1

HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE FURNACE ROOM AS INDICATED BY CAUSES OF DEATH OF GLASS BLOWERS.

Inasmuch as the general working environment of boys in the furnace room is essentially the same as that of the blowers, and inasmuch as all boys do blowing from time to time, and a considerable 

number ultimately become blowers, the health conditions of the 

blowers themselves become important, especially as definite statistics for no other class of glass-factory employees can be shown. As 

will be seen, the prevalence of tuberculosis among the blowers very 

directly and very seriously concerns the boys.

In order to throw as much light as possible on the question of 

health conditions in the glass industry, statistics were secured from 

the death records of the Glass-Bottle Blowers’ Association covering a 

period of 17 years, from 1892 to 1908, inclusive. The total number 

of deaths during this period was 898. Of these the records showed 

the cause of all deaths and the age at death for 886 persons.

The following table gives the age at death from all causes and from 

certain specific causes which are of importance, and the percentage of 

deaths from such causes compared with the percentage of deaths 

from like causes of males occupied in manufacturing and mechanical 

industries:

AVERAGE AGE OF GLASS-BOTTLE BLOW ERS AT DEATH AND PER CENT OF DEATHS

DUE TO EACH SPECIFIED DISEASE.

Disease.

Bottle blowers.

Males in

manufacturing and

mechanical

industries.

Average

age at

death.

Per cent of

total

deaths.

Per cent of

total

deaths.

Typhoid fever................................................................................................. 37.1

34.8

48.2

40.0

49.3

3.01

32.00

9.25

7.69

6.13

2.59

18.50

10.51

9.96

9.37

Tuberculosis of the lungs.............................................................................

Organic heart disease....................................................................................

Pneumonia.......................................................................................................

Disease of urinary system.............................................................................

Total....................................................................................................... 41.4 100.00

i Vol. I l l , Glass Industry, p. 229.

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It is thus seen that the average age at death for all bottle blowers 

is 41.4 years; that of those dying from tuberculosis of the lungs the 

average age at death is 34.8 years; that these form 32 per cent of all 

deaths, whereas in mechanical and manufacturing industries the per 

cent of deaths from this cause is 18.5.

What this table further shows is that in no disease except tuberculosis is the glass blowers’ percentage of deaths greatly in excess of 

that discovered among workingmen in general. Only in typhoid 

fever is the rate even as high, and this is so entirely a local question, 

probably due largely to the impurity of drinking-water supply, that 

the glass industry could superinduce it only in so far as the occupation 

causes excessive drinking of water in localities where the water was 

impure. At any rate the excess percentage, or difference in percentage, 3.01 as against 2.59, is not sufficient to indicate a tendency, 

even if typhoid fever could ever be considered a disease attributable 

to occupation.

This table shows that glass blowers are not more subject to pneumonia than are other workingmen, notwithstanding the extreme 

changes of temperature, and the reason for this may perhaps be in 

the trade custom of wearing wool shirts the year round, thus protecting themselves from the chill that would otherwise follow sudden 

passage from hot zones to cold belts in the furnace room.1 * * *

One of the causes of the large proportion of deaths from tuberculosis is ‘the practical absence of any sanitary or hygienic regulation of 

the use of blowpipes. In only one plant was found a full set of pipes 

for each blower, who was required to use only his own set. Everywhere else blowers’ pipes passed from mouth to mouth without having been disinfected or even cleaned. Not only does the mouthpiece 

here become an ideal means of distributing the disease among the 

blowers and the boys, but the practice of blowing saliva into and 

through the pipe to get the additional expansive Force of steam, in 

addition to the breath in blowing larger ware, makes the whole canal 

through the pipe a perpetual culture bed for the bacilli. In case of 

large window-glass cylinders or very large carboys a little water is 

poured down the blowpipe to make steam, but ordinarily saliva is 

used. In this .connection, too, it must be borne in mind that in some 

cases “ blow-up boys ” are used; that is, a boy, generally the clean-off, 

is paid a small amount extra by the blower or the firm to start the 

blowing. That is to say, he blows into the pipe while the glass gather 

is still on the marver or as soon as it is taken off, and thus forms a 

hollow bulb on the end of the blowpipe, which saves the breath and 

lung power of the blower very materially.

Again, the practice of “ daubing ” brings all the boys in the shop or 

in the blow room into direct contact with these undisinfected blowpipes. “ Daubing” is the name given to that general custom and 

practice by which a boy has a right to gather a “ gob ” and attempt 

to blow a bottle during tempos and meal hours. It is the beginning 

of his apprenticeship to the trade of a blower. Custom gives each 

boy the right to four “ daubs ” a day. The boys are usually very 

jealous of this right and will and often do go on strike for its en136 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 248, 249.

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forcement. In order to his “ daub ” the boy picks up any blowpipe and uses it.1

This practice among the boys of using the blowpipes of the blowers 

from time to time involves another serious danger, the danger of the 

spread of venereal diseases. Dr. E. It. Hayhurst in his study of “ Industrial health* hazards and occupational diseases in Ohio” says: 

“ The innocent spread of venereal diseases, particularly syphilis, 

through the common mouthing of the blowpipe was illustrated in 

one place, where a physician cited a chancre of the lip which had 

been followed by other cases of syphilis” (p. 260). This danger has 

also been the subject of discussion by other investigators of the subject.2

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE GLASS

INDUSTRY.

The first definite mention of the employment of women in glass 

making is in the report of manufacture for 1832 by the Secretary of 

the Treasury, in which mention is made of 16 women employed in 

two factories in Massachusetts. According to the census figures in 

1850 women formed 1.7 per cent of the total wage earners in the industry; by 1890 this proportion had risen to 4.2 per cent, in 1900 it 

was 6.7 per cent, and in 1905 it had decreased to 5.4 per cent. The 

present investigation, made in 1908, seemed to show that this decrease 

was only temporary. Of the 54,885 employees of the glass factories 

investigated, 3,971, or 7.2 per cent, were females aged 16 or over, 

and 582, or 1.1 per cent, were girls under 16. (The women who 

were employed as substitutes for boys in the furnace room are not 

included in this calculation.) The proportion of women depends 

largely on the kind of ware manufactured. Thus, in the manufacture of beer bottles, in which 7,336 employees were found in the 

factories visited, only 1.2 per cent were females, while in the manufacture of table ware (total employees, 9,445) the proportion of 

female workers was 18.7 per cent.

Kacially the distribution of the women in the glass factory appears 

to be about the same as their distribution in the community in which 

the factory is located. Of the total group of female workers 52.2 per 

cent were native born of native parents, 34.5 per cent native born of 

foreign parents, and 13.3 per cent foreign born. The age distribution of 3,255 female employees from whom information on this point 

was obtained is shown in the table following.

1 Vol. Ill, Glass Industry, pp. 242, 243.

2 Idem, p. 266.

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i38 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALES EMPLOYED IN GLASS FACTORIES INVESTIGATED, B Y AGES. #

[Female fumace-room employees are not included in this table.J

Females. Females.

Ago.

Number.

Per

cent.

Age.

Number.Per

cent.

12 years .............................................. 3 0.1 23 years................................................ 77 2.4

13 years .............................................. 12 .4 24 years................................................ 66 2.0

14 years .............................................. 161 4.9 25 to 29 years...................................... 135 4.1

15 years................................................ 305 9.4 30 to 34 years....................................... 62 1.9

16 years................................................ 523 16.1 35 to 44 years...................................... 69 2.1

17 years................................................ 450 13.8 45 years and over............................... 25 .8

18 years................................................ 411 12.6 Others, reported as 21 years and

19 years .............................................. 260 over...................................................

203

8.0 249 7.7

20 years 6.2

21 years................................................ 146 4.5 Total.......................................... 3,255 100.0

22 years................................................ 98 3.0

It will be noticed that 16 is the age of greatest numerical density; 

that half the total number are found in the age group 16 to 20; that 

after 18 years has been reached the numbers decrease rapidly; and 

that less than one-third (28.5 per cent) are over 20. Of those aged 

18 years and over, 86.9 per cent were single while 13.1 per cent were 

or had been married.

As before mentioned, the employment of women in furnace rooms 

is very exceptional, their work usually being confined to the leer room 

and the finishing department. From the standpoint of number, the 

finishing department is the more important, there being approximately three times as many females employed in it as in the leer 

room. The kind of work done and the conditions under which it is 

performed differ so widely in these two departments that they must 

be considered separately.

WORK OF WOMEN IN THE LEER ROOM.

When an article has been molded in the furnace room it is taken 

by the carrying-in boy to the annealing leer, a long tunnel-like 

structure, through which it passes on a series of moving pans, emerging, cooled and annealed, into what is practically another division 

of the building—the leer room. Sometimes this is really a separate room;‘ more often it is merely a portion of the main room, but 

so partitioned off from the blow room proper as to constitute a distinct working section. Ordinarily it, like the blow room or furnace 

room, is of such open construction as to afford very little protection 

against the cold.

In tableware and shade factories the use of the leer room is almost 

entirely confined to the taking of the ware off the leer, such ware 

being sent at once to the finishing room. In bottle and jar factories 

where very little finishing is required the leer room is used also for

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 139

such finishing operations as sorting and packing, putting caps on 

jars, tying glass stoppers to their bottles, etc.

TAKING OFF THE LEER.

The most important operation in this room is that known as “ taking off the leer.” This consists of removing the cooled ware from the 

leer, examining it for defects, throwing aside the imperfect pieces, 

and placing the perfect ones in boxes or crates. The pan from which 

the ware is to be taken rests immediately in front of the worker. 

Sometimes it is waist high and the ware can be removed without 

stooping, but more often it is so low that constant bending is necessary. In half the factories in which women were found at this work 

the crates or boxes in which the ware was to be put were simply placed 

upon the floor, and as a consequence it was necessary to stoop constantly. In others the crates were placed on stands, an arrangement which renders the work at once less fatiguing and less likely 

to prove injurious. A man was always assigned to carry away the 

crates when they were full, but since he was often slow in coming 

when needed, and since the women, being paid a piece rate, were anxious to avoid delay, they not infrequently carried away the full crates, 

which involved very heavy lifting. Apart from this the work has 

many objectionable features.

The work of taking off the leer is almost always a very dirty occupation. In two factories the gas combustion within the leer was good, 

and little or no smoke or soot escaped into the leer room, and the 

takers-off were able to keep themselves reasonably clean. In most 

factories, however, the persons and clothes of the women soon become very soiled. In one place the smoke was visibly oozing from the 

leer opening, and the taker-off was grimy with soot. This latter case 

was exceptional, but almost always the rear or leer room end of the 

leer is sufficiently dirty to render care of the person impossible. 

Moreover, in only three of the 14 establishments in which women 

take off the leer are wash rooms or any washing facilities provided. 

One woman, employed in a factory which provided no washing facilities whatever, complained that she had to walk home each evening 

because, on account of her uncleanly appearance, she was ashamed to 

ride on the street car.

The dirtiness of the work of taking off, combined with the necessity 

of a constant stooping posture and the general character of the place 

where the work is done tends to have a coarsening influence upon the 

women so employed. They work singly or in pairs, and very often 

in intimate association with a few men. That these conditions have a 

demoralizing tendency is shown by the fact that in two establishments 

it has been found necessary to post signs threatening instant dismissal to any man caught talking with the women takers-off. The 

work is usually regarded by the other women of the factory and by 

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140 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B T J B E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

pation for women it has possibly the lowest social standing of any in 

the glass industry.1

The employment of women at taking off the leer is not, and never 

has been, general in the industry. They were first employed in this 

way about twenty years ago. “ Since then the practice has been tried 

in numerous places, and usually abandoned after a short trial. During the year of this investigation there were 15 factories employing 

women and girls at this work. The number so employed was 79, of 

whom 9 were under 16.” In one factory they were employed by night 

as well as by day; elsewhere men only were employed for such work 

at night.

OTHER OCCUPATIONS.

The other occupations of the leer room require little description. 

Sorting and packing involves only what is implied in the name, and 

may be a very light or a heavy occupation, according to the size of the 

ware handled. In two factories the packers had to lift and carry 

trays or crates of the ware weighing 50 to 80 pounds; elsewhere men 

were assigned for this work, but the women often did it themselves 

to avoid the delay of waiting for the men.

The work of capping fruit jars is one of absolute simplicity, requiring no skill or training whatever. The same may be said of 

tying on stoppers. Chipping and filing, which consists of smoothing 

off the necks of cheap bottles or jars, requires a little more skill. 

The worker holds the article in one hand and with a tool in the 

other breaks awav particles of the excess glass until the neck is reduced to a considerable degree of smoothness. When greater smoothness is desired the neck may be ground, but with many of the cheaper 

articles the chipping or filing is sufficient. The most unpleasant feature of the work is that the strokes of the metal on the glass necessarily cause particles of glass to fly in all directions and flesh cuts, 

particularly on the hands, are frequent, especially with the younger 

or more careless girls. No permanent injuries, however, were reported.

In nearly all of these leer-room occupations the work was done 

standing. There is a general belief that this leads to more rapid 

work. In some factories seats were not provided; in others workers 

at some of the occupations were forbidden to sit.

WORK OF WOMEN IN THE FINISHING ROOM.

The term “ finishing room ” is used to denote “ that division, section, or department of a glass factory in which the finer varieties of 

glassware receive their final decoration by grinding, fluting, beveling, 

etching, color applications, etc.” It may or may not be in the same

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 300, 301.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 141

building as the furnace and leer rooms, but in any case it is more 

carefully finished, the more delicate work of the finishing room requiring more complete and permanent housing than does the rougher, 

heavier work of the furnace and leer rooms. Sixty-six finishing departments were visited, in which normally about 2,919 women of 16 

years and over were employed, and 440 girls under 16. “ Males over 

16 were employed in some degree in all of these places, but boys 

under 16 were not frequent, the number being but 81.”

A great variety of occupations are carried on in the finishing room, 

no less than 150 in which women are employed being found in the 

present investigation. “ Many of these were of very small membership; a number occurred only in a single factory; several had no 

well-defined names.” Some of the most important of these occupations were cutting off, grinding, glazing, sand blasting, ^designing 

in wax and etching, acid etching, flute cutting, color decoration, and 

cut-glass making.

Cutting off is the removal of the rough upper edge of a tumbler 

or other article. In flame cutting, the method now generally used, 

the cutter draws a scratch with a diamond point upon the surface 

of the glass; the article is then clasped in a revolving holder, and as 

it turns a flame is directed upon it at the line of the scratch. Almost 

immediately a fracture commences at the scratch and continues 

around the object in an even line. The work is not difficult and requires no particular skill. It is usually done standing, but this 

seems a matter of custom rather than of necessity. Women predominate in the occupation, but men are found at it.

The edge of tumblers, lamp shades, etc., are ground to smooth them 

off. This may be done either by hand grinding or chuck grinding. 

In hand grinding the worker stands before a large grindstone, revolving horizontally, and presses the article, edge downward, upon 

the moving surface. The chuck-grinding machine consists of a series 

of three or four small circular stone wheels, each with an attached 

holder or chuck. Each chuck is arranged to hold a tumbler in such 

a position that when the weight which moves the chuck is released 

the open rough edge of the tumbler is brought into contact with the 

grinding surface of the stone. The work of the operator is to place 

the tumblers in the chucks, manipulate the weights and controlling 

levers, and when the ware is sufficiently ground remove the tumbler 

and repeat the operation with another. Grinding is a rather dirty 

operation and almost necessarily involves continuous standing, but 

it is not heavy or difficult work.

Glazing consists of exposing the sharp edge left by the last operation to a flame which slightly melts and rounds the edge. The 

ware is placed in some kind of carrier, and as it passes along in this

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it is exposed to the flame. At the end of its transit the ware is 

finished and the operator removes it.

DECORATING PROCESSES.

At this point the article is ready for decoration. For this four 

main processes are in use: Sand blasting, acid etching, cutting by 

stone or metal wheel, and painting and enameling in color.

Sand blasting.

Sand blasting is apt to be at once disagreeable and very harmful 

to the operator. Ordinarily the apparatus consists of a box with a 

small opening at the top. Pipes carrying sand under compressed air 

or steam pressure lead into this box. When the pressure is on the 

only escape is through the opening at the top, and through this the 

sand pours in a very forcible blast. The article to be decorated is 

held in this blast, and the escaping sand chips away minute particles 

of glass, breaking the surface and producing a milky opaque appearance or frosted effect. If the frosting is not to cover the whole 

surface, the article is inclosed in a metallic plate in which a design 

has been cut. It is then exposed to the blast and the design is 

frosted on its surface.

The sand, forced through the escape under a pressure of from 25 

to 100 pounds, naturally tends to rebound from the glass and scatter 

in every direction. The more recent sand-blast machines have 

proper hoods or exhausts to capture this rebounding sand and 

carry it safely off. A few, indeed, are semiautomatic, the operator 

placing the article in an inclosed box and the blasting being done 

entirely out of view. These types may be harmless, but they are few. 

Most of the machines in use were of the open type, and the majority 

had either no exhausts or very poor ones, so that the escaping sand 

and glass particles passed freely into the room and filled the air. 

The operator standing before the machine received the full force 

of this dust stream in her face. Nearly all the women employed at 

the work complained that the dust caused painful irritation of the 

eyes and throat. This is the most objectionable feature of the work, 

but a secondary one is that the work is ordinarily done standing. 

Neither of these conditions is necessitated by the work; the escape 

of dust can be entirely prevented, and by a little adjustment much, 

if not all, of the work can be done seated.

Acid etching.

Acid etching produces the same effect as sand blasting by means 

of the action of hydrofluoric acid upon glass. If the whole surface is 

to be frosted, the article is immersed in a bath of the acid; if a de142 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 143

sign is desired, the article is first covered with wax or paraffin, the 

design is cut into this covering, and the article then immersed in the 

acid. Another method is to stamp the design upon the glass by a 

stencil, covering all that is not to be eaten by the acid with an ink 

refractory to the action of acid. In either case the article after 

preparation is either immersed in a bath of hydrofluoric acid or exposed to its fumes until the design is eaten into the glass. When 

the articles are dipped the worker’s hands are apt to suffer; when 

they are not dipped this difficulty is avoided, but the fumes of the 

acid constitute a dangerous feature in both kinds of the work. These 

fumes are extremely pungent and irritating to the throat and nose 

and affect the eyes painfully. It is entirely possible to arrange the 

apparatus by means of inclosed tanks, exhaust pipes, etc., so that the 

operator will not be exposed to the fumes at all, but such an arrangement was found in only one factory. Elsewhere the work was uniformly disagreeable and harmful.

Flute cutting: and smoothing.

Two kinds of grinding are done by women, fluting ordinary ware— 

tumblers, for instance—and smoothing cut glassware. Fluting is 

done by holding an article against a revolving stone in such a way 

that only the desired portion of the lateral surface is ground. In 

some cases the article is held in the hand; in others a machine is used 

for holding it in place. Women are largely employed in this work, 

especially in the machine fluting, which they practically monopolize. 

Hand grinding may be done seated, but in machine grinding the 

operator is usually on her feet. The use of a grindstone moistened 

with sand or emery and water results in the spattering of some dirt 

upon the operator, and in machine grinding there is much physical 

strain owing to the rapidity of the work. Smoothing consists of 

grinding cut glass, after the cutting has been done, to remove the 

roughness of the incisions. It is light work and has no particularly 

unpleasant features.

Color decoration.

Painting and enameling are in the main light work. In painting 

the paint is usually applied directly to the surface, but when gold 

paint is used the glass must first be roughened to receive it. The 

old way of doing this, known as mudding, consisted of covering the 

article with mud and then heating it by passing it through a leer. 

This was found still in use in three establishments, the work being 

done by women.

Such work is very disagreeable. The ware must be dipped in a 

caldron of the heavy mud or the mud must be plastered on with 

brushes and later, when it has been hardened in the leer, the caked

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mud must be rubbed or washed off. It is hard, dirty, unfeminine 

work.1

In the other establishments different methods of preparing the 

glass were used, men alone being employed for the work.

The painting itself requires no description. The most noticeable 

feature is the speed required. “ The pay is by piece, and the rate is 

so low that a worker must attain an almost incredible speed in order 

to make $1 to $1.50 per day.” As an illustration of the speed required the decoration of a standard 4^-inch nappy is considered, 

in which gold paint is to be applied, covering approximately 10J 

square inches.

The rounded, hollow shape of the article requires that its position 

must be constantly changed while being decorated. The piece rate 

for doing this work is such that in order to earn $8.85 per week a 

woman must complete on the average one article per minute for the 

full 58 hours per week.2

Enameling is usually done by stamping a design upon glass with 

a quick-drying oil, and then dusting or sprinkling enamel powder 

over the glass, the powder adhering only to the parts which are 

sticky with oil. Afterwards the articles are sprayed with an oil or 

turpentine preparation and left to dry, after which the surplus 

powder is wiped off, and, if the ware is of fine quality, the enamel is 

rendered more durable by firing. Women are commonly used for 

stamping the design upon the glass, for sprinkling the powder upon 

the oil, and for removing the surplus powder. This is all light work, 

and the operators can readily sit at all times.

The disagreeable feature, and one that in some factories becomes 

a positive evil, rises from the use of the enameling compounds in the 

form of either powders or sprays in such manner as to permit the 

air to become filled with dust. These enameling compounds contain 

various ingredients, but lead and arsenic are common to nearly all. 

This being the case, exhausts seem indispensable to the work.3

In addition to these lines of work, women are numerously employed in sorting, washing, wiping, and packing glassware, and in 

a number of miscellaneous operations.

WORKING CONDITIONS.

These have already been dwelt upon to some extent in the description of the work done. The leer rooms almost without exception 

involved undue exposure to weather, but had abundant ventilation. 

Of the 66 finishing departments visited 20 were housed in a thoroughly satisfactory manner, 10 were very bad—“ gloomy and dirty, 

badly heated, and insufficiently lighted ”—while the remaining 36 

fell somewhere between these extremes.

144 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 327. 2 Idem, p. 327. 8 Idem, p. 328.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 145

From the standpoint of the employees the worst economic feature 

of the ordinary finishing room is probably the presence of broken 

glass upon the floor. The establishments where this condition does 

not prevail are very few. Apart from the danger of more or less 

serious cuts and injuries arising from this loose glass, the destruction 

of shoes is a very serious matter with employees. In securing family 

schedules from mothers of girls in glass factories an almost universal 

complaint was that the additional expense for shoes more than 

offset whatever favorable conditions might surround the work.1

Overcrowding, poor ventilation, and insufficient light were rare, 

though some cases were found. Provisions for cleanliness were frequently inadequate, though much needed.

For all female workers the provision of proper washing facilities 

is at least highly desirable, while for many such workers proper 

conveniences for washing and also for dressing are imperative as 

matters of decency. Nevertheless, of the 116 factories investigated 

in which women were employed, 84 (72.4 per cent) were absolutely 

unequipped with dressing rooms, 85 (73.3 per cent) were unequipped 

with wash rooms and 108 were unequipped with rest rooms. Women 

employed in such factories had for washing purposes at best only 

the common factory hydrants, and such dressing as they could decently do had to be done in the publicity of rooms in which men 

were employed or to which men had frequent access. That these 

factories which were unequipped with conveniences were not those in 

which the work was especially clean is shown by the fact that nearly 

one-half of such factories had women employed in leer-room occupations, normally the most dirty of all women’s work.2

Of 4,632 women and girls for whom these facts were learned only 

32.1 per cent had the use of dressing rooms and 31.1 per cent the use 

of wash rooms. Lunch rooms were uncommon, only five factories 

providing them for the female employees, while none made such 

provision for male workers.3 Thirty-six of the 116 factories provided 

sufficient toilet accommodations. for the women employees, these 

accommodations, moreover, being conveniently located with sufficient 

privacy of approach, and kept in excellent condition. In the other

80 factories the accommodations provided were defective in one or 

all of these points.

Serious accidents appeared to be rare; cuts from broken glass were 

the most frequent form of injury.

HOURS OP LABOR, NIGHT WORK, AND OVERTIME.

The information as to hours was taken from the pay rolls of the 

establishments visited for a selected pay-roll period, which was, as

1 Vol. I l l, Glass Industry, p. 340.

2 Idem, p. 344.

3 In one factory outside parties were allowed to maintain a restaurant for men and

women alike.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------10

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
a rule, the one just prior to the investigation by the agent of the 

bureau in 1907 or 1908. Facts were obtained concerning 3,971 females 

16 years of age and over, 582 girls under 16, and 113 boys under 16, 

all employed outside of the furnace rooms in 116 factories. The 

following table shows the distribution of these persons according to 

the length of their working week:

146 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

HOURS OF LABOR OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE FINISHING DEPARTMENT.

Females 16 years and over. Femalos under 16 years. Males under 16 years.

Hours per

week. Number

Per cent WorkingNumberPer cent working—

Number

Per cent working—

working

specified

hours. Specified

hours.

Specified

hours or

less.

working

specified

hours. Specified

hours.

Specified

hours or

less.

working

specified

hours. Specified

hours.

Specified

hours or

less.

44................. 5 0.9 0.9

45................. 16 0.4 0.4 1 0.9 0.9

46................. I .9 1.8

47................. 2

(I>.3

.5 2 .3 1.2

48................. 12 .8 22 3.8 5.0 6 5.3 7.1

49................. 1 .2 5.2

50................. 40 1.0 1.8 10 1.7 6.9 15 13.3 20.4

51................. 56 1.4 3.2

52................. 20 .5 3.7 5 .9 7.7

53................. 182 4.6 8.3 16 2.7 10.5 5 4.4 24.8

54................. 115 2.9 11.2 6 1.0 11.5

55................. 591 14.9 26.1 131 22.5 34.0 5 4.4 29.2

56................. 2 261 6.6 32.7 2 21 3.6 37.6 1 .9 30.1

57................. 208 5.3 37.9 26 4.5 42.1 14 12.4 42.5

58................. 1,492 37.7 75.6 242 41.6 83.7 58 51.3 93.8

59................. 746 18.8 94.4 45 7.7 91.4 5 4.4 98.2

60................. 220 5.6 100.0 50 8.6 100.0 2 1.8 100.0

Total. 3,961 100.0 582 100.0 113 100.0

* Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

2 Including one factory in which the hours per week were 58 for one-half of the year and 55 for the other,

an average of 56£ hours per week.

Omitting the boys under 16 as being too few in number for the 

facts concerning them to have any significance, it appears that very 

few worked as much as 60 hours a week, and none worked over these 

hours. The great majority, 83 per cent of the women and 80 per 

cent of the girls, were concentrated in the group 55 to 59 hours, 

inclusive, the point of greatest density being clearly marked at 58 

hours. Below the 55-hour limit there were approximately 11 per 

cent of both women and girls. This lower group was widely scattered, more than 100 individuals having a working week as short 

as 50 hours, and 21 as short a week as 45 hours. In general, the 

shorter working week for females occurred in the leer-room occupations of taking off the leer, sorting, and packing, while those persons whose week was 55 hours or more were engaged in the finishing occupations proper. A short working day on Saturday is practically universal.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 147

Night work among women and girls.

Night work in the sense of working on a night shift is very 

unusual among female employees. No girls under 16 and only 561 

of those over this age were so employed. Massachusetts, New York, 

and Indiana absolutely prohibit night work for women, and Ohio 

forbids it for females under 18. In other States the custom of 

the industry is against employing women at night, and manufacturers in general strongly disapprove of the practice. Only 10 

women were found employed on night shifts outside of the furnace 

room. Six of these worked at selecting ware in an Ohio factory, 

and four in Pennsylvania worked at taking off the leer.

Overtime.

Double-shift work is practically unknown among women in the 

leer and finishing rooms, but work carried on after the formal closing 

time was not unusual. In the leer room such work is frequent, but 

irregular; in the finishing room it is apt to be seasonal. A special 

inquiry was made upon this point among 1,057 women and girls 

employed in 62 establishments. Of these, 331, from 39 establishments, have worked overtime on 4,361 separate occasions, an average 

of 13 occasions for each person. Thirty-eight had worked overtime 

on more than 25 but less than 50 days, 6 on 50 but less than 100 days, 

and 4 on 100 or more days. The amount of overtime required varied 

from half an hour to seven hours per day; the most common amount 

was from two to three hours, reported in 135 cases, and next to this 

from three to four hours, reported by 106 workers. Pay-roll records 

were found of weekly hours ranging up to 76.

EARNINGS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS.

Earnings and rates of wages were obtained for 69.9 per cent of 

the women and 82.6 per cent of the girls under 16 normally employed 

in the leer and finishing rooms of the 116 factories in which they 

were found working in these departments. These percentages seem 

sufficiently large to be taken as illustrative of the whole.

As in the case of the boys in the furnace room, there was a wide difference between the full-time weekly earnings and the actual weekly 

earnings. The following table shows the extent of this difference:

1 Including the Negro women whose work in the furnace room has already been described.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
148 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

FULL-TIME AND ACTUAL W E E K L Y EARNINGS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN FINISHING

DEPARTMENT COMPARED.

Females 16 years and over. Females under 16 years.

Classified weekly earnings.

Full-time

weekly earnings.

Actual

weekly earnings.

Full-time

weekly earnings.

Actual

weekly earnings.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

TTnrtftr *2 ___________________!_______ 120 4.3 51 10.6

$2 to $2.99.................................................. 1 218 7.9 1 0.2 81 16.8

$3 to $3.99................................................. 228 8.2 462 16.7 184 38.3 146 30.4

$4 to $4.99.................................................. 852 30.7 767 27.6 205 42.6 137 28.5

$5 to $5.99.................................................. 693 25.0 545 19.6 57 11.8 42 8.7

$6 to $8.99.................................................. 559 23.2 346 12.5 23 4.8 15 3.1

$7 to $7.99.................................................. 196 7.1 144 5.2 7 1.5 6 1.3

$8 to $8.99.................................................. 96 3.5 66 2.4 2 .4 1 .2

$9 to $9.99.................................................. 76 2.7 54 1.9 2 .4 2 .4

$10 to $11.99..............................................

$12 to $13.99..............................................

42 1.5 32 1.2 20 .7 14 .5

$14 and over............................................. 11 A 6 .2

Total............................................... 2,774 100.0 2,774 100.0 481 100.0 481 100.0

From this it appears that while among the women aged 16 and over 

only 8.2 per cent were working for nominal wages of less than $4 a 

week, 28.9 per cent earned under that amount. Not quite two-thirds 

(63.9 per cent) had rates under $6 a week, but three-fourths (76.1 

per cent) earned less than this. Among the girls under 16 the differences are equally great.

Local variations in earnings.

The earnings of women in the same occupation varied widely according to location. The only reasons suggested for this are the 

immobility of female labor and the fact that glass factories as a rule 

are located either in the country or in small communities where there 

is not much demand for female labor. Some examples of the extent 

of this variation are given in the following table:

COMPARATIVE AVERAGE WAGES OF WOMEN IN 4 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS IN 13

SELECTED ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE GLASS INDUSTRY.

State.

Total. Selecting. Wrapping. Washin; Grinding (hand).

Establishment

number.!

Number

of

persons.

Average

wage

per

hour.

Establishment

number.

Number

of

persons.

Average

wage

per

hour.

Establishment

number.

Number

of

persons.

Average

wage

per

hour.

Establisliment

number.

Number

of

persons.

Average

wage

per

hour.

Establishment

number.

Number

of

persons.

Average

wage

per

hour.

cts. Cts. Cts. Cts. Cts.

Pa ... 1 26 5.9 1 16 5.7 2 6 5.7 1 10 5.2 3 6 6.2

Ohio___ 2 16 6.3 5 6 7.6 4 10 6.4 2 6 5.4 5 3 6.7

Pa......... 3 28 6.7 4 9 7.7 3 9 6.6 3 6 6.0 7 27 7.9

W . Va.. 4 24 6.9 9 12 7.7 5 9 7.1 4 5 6.5 10 15 9.7

Pa......... 5 18 7.2 3 7 8.0 10 4 7.2 6 3 7.3 11 2 11.6

Ohio___ 6 23 8.1 6 20 8.2 7 24 7.5 12 6 7.5 8 15 12.4

Pa......... 7 79 8.1 8 45 8.4 8 19 7.7 7 6 7.9 9 4 14.3

Ohio.... 8 79 9.0 2 4 8.7 11 4 8.7 11 3 9.4 12 4 15.0

D o ... 9 34 9.3 7 22 9.0 9 6 8.9 9 12 9.6 6

D o... 10 28 9.5 12 2 9.3 13 3 12.2 13 3 10.0 2

W . Va.. 11 12 9.7 11 3 10.0 12 6 12.9 5 13

Ohio___ 12 18 11.2 10 9 10.0 6 10 4

D o ... 13 29 11.9 13 23 12.1 1 8 1

1 In the total division the establishments are given consecutive marginal numbers, these numbers being

attached to the same factories in each of the occupational divisions.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 149

As these four occupations are all of a relatively unskilled character 

it might fairly be supposed that there would be no great variation in 

the rate of wages, yet the table shows that for three of them the 

average wage paid by the establishments at one extreme is at least 

double that paid by the establishment at the other extreme, while in 

the fourth occupation—washing—the variation is little short of 100 

per cent. In grinding the variation is particularly great, the difference between 6.2 cents an hour and 15 cents an hour being, on a 58- 

hour-per-week basis, the difference between $3.60 and $8.70 a week. 

These examples are perhaps extreme, but there seems abundant 

ground for the statement that “ among women glassworkers there is 

no such a thing as a level of occupational wage, even within a very 

limited territory.”

Age and earnings.

This variation renders it difficult to make general statements concerning wages and earnings, but even with this drawback the connection between age and earnings is very clearly shown by the following table:

NUMBER OF FEMALE GLASSWORKERS RECEIVING EACH CLASSIFIED FULL-TIME

W E E K L Y EARNINGS AND PER CENT RECEIVING UNDER CERTAIN SPECIFIED

AMOUNTS.

- 1

‘Total

I numNumber receiving— Per cent receiving specified amounts.

Age. sber of

employees.

$3 to

$3.99

$4 to

$4.99

$5 to

$5.99

$6 to

$7.99

$8 to

$9.99

$10

and

over.

Under

$4

Under

$5

Under

$6

Under

$8

Under

$10

$10

and

over.

12 years . . . . . . . 3 3 100.0

13 years 12 3 7 2 25.0 83.3 ioo.o

14 years.. . . . . . . . 161 i 80 61 13 7 49.7 87.6 9 5 .7 100.0

15 years.............. 305 99 137 42 23 4 32.5 77.4 91.1 98.7 100.0

16 years.............. 523 97 220 120 73 9 4 18.5 60.6 83.6 97.5 99.2 0.8

17 years.............. 450 47 187 121 82 10 3 10.4 52.0 78.9 97.1 99.3 .7

18 years.............. 411 231 127 119 114 16 4 7.5 38.4 67.4 95.1 99.0 1.0

19 years.............. 260 9 74 71 80 18 8 3.5 31.9 59.2 90.0 96.9 3.1

20 years.............. 203 7 42 61 71 18 4 3.4 24.1 54.2 89.2 98.0 2.0

21 years.............. 146 11 28 32 61 8 6 7.5 26.7 48.6 90.4 95.9 4.1

22 years.............. ! 98 4 25 27 30 8 4 4.1 29.6 57.1 87.8 95.9 4.1

23 years.............. 77 1 19 19 28 7 3 1.3 26.0 50.6 87.0 96.1 3.9

24 years.............. 66 2 12 12 27 10 3 3.0 21.2 39.4 80.3 95.5 4.5

25 to 29 years... 135 4 31 19 42 23 16 3.0 25.9 40.0 71.1 88.1 11.9

30 to 34 years... 62 3 17 12 23 4 3 4.8 32.3 51.6 88.7 95.2 4.8

35 to 44 years... 69 2 22 12 23 7 3 2.9 34.8 52.2 85.5 95.7 4.3

45 years and

over............. . 25 9 4 7 3 2 36.0 52.0 80.0 92.0 8.0

Others reported

as 21 years

and over......... 249 11 39 64 94 31 10 4.4 20.1 45.8 83.5 96.0 4.0

Total........ 3,255 3414 1,057 750 785 176 73 12.7 45.2 68.2 92.4 97.8 2.2

1 Including 1 receiving under $3. 8 Including 3 receiving under $3.

2 Including 2 receiving under $3.

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150 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF FEMALE GLASSWORKERS RECEIVING EACH CLASSIFIED FULL-TIME

W E E K L Y EARNINGS AND PER CENT RECEIVING AS MUCH AS OR MORE THAN

CERTAIN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS.

Age.

Total

number

of

employees.

Number receiving— Per cent receiving as much

as or more than—

$3 to

$3.99

$4 to

$4.99

$5 to

$5.99

$6 to

$7.99

$8 to

$9.99

$10

and

over.

$4 $5 $6 $8 $10

12 years................................... 3 3

13 years................................... 12 3 7 2 75.0 16.7

14 years................................... 161 i 80 61 13 7 50.3 12.4 4.3

15 vears................................... 305 99 137 42 23 4 67.5 22.6 8.9 1.3

16 years................................... 523 97 220 120 73 9 4 81.5 39.4 16.4 2.5 0.8

17 years................................. •. 450 47 187 121 82 10 3 89.6 48.0 21.1 2.9 .7

18 years................................... 411 2 31 127 119 114 16 4 92.5 61.6 32.6 4.9 1.0

19 years................................... 260 9 74 71 80 18 8 96.6 68.1 48.0 10.0 3.1

20 years................................... 203 7 42 61 71 18 4 96.6 75.9 45.3 10.8 2.0

21 years................................... 146 11 28 32 61 8 6 92.5 73.3 51.4 9.6 4.1

22 years................................... 98 4 25 27 30 8 4 95.9 70.4 42.9 12.2 4.1

23 years................................... 77 ! 1 19 19 28 7 3 98.7 74.0 49.4 13.0 3.9

24 years................................... 66 2 12 12 27 10 3 97.0 78.8 60.6 19.8 4.5

25 to 29 years.......................... 135 4 31 19 42 23 16 97.0 74.1 60.0 28.9 11.9

30 to 34 years.................... . 62 3 17 12 23 4 3 95.2 67.7 48.4 11.3 4.8

35 to 44 years.......................... 69 2 22 12 23 7 3 97.1 65.2 47.8 14.5 4.3

45 years and over.................. 25 9 4 7 3 2 100.0 64.0 48.0 20.0 8.0

Others reported as 21 years

and over...................*......... 249 11 39 64 94 31 10 95.6 79.9 54.2 16.5 4.0

Total............................ 3,255 3 4 1 4 1,057 750 785 176 73 87.3 54.8 31.8 7.6 2.2

1 Including 1 receiving under $3. 3 Including 3 receiving under $3.

2 Including 2 receiving under $3.

This table shows a fairly steady increase in earnings as age increases, the climax being reached in the group aged 25 to 29, which 

has the highest level reached. Nevertheless not quite one-eighth of 

these earn as much as $10 a week. Taking the group as a whole, not 

quite one-third reach or pass $6 a week, while nearly one-half get 

less than $5.

Premiums and fines as means of securing good and preventing bad 

work were not very generally used.

Neither premiums nor fines are considered by most employers as 

being satisfactory means of encouraging speed, care, or regularity 

among the women of the finishing department. A large number of 

establishments reported that they had tried both these methods in 

the past, but had discarded them as being without successful effect. 

One employer concluded his opinion with the statement that “ a 

damned good cussin’ does a Slav girl more good than fining her.” 

The comparative unimportance of fines and premiums among the 

women workers was indicated by the fact that the wage data gathered were influenced in almost no degree by the presence of such 

items.1

l Vol. I ll, Glass Industry, p. 422.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 151

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS.

Very little of such employment was found. In six States at the 

time of this investigation there were no legal restrictions upon the 

employment of women. In four of the other States—Massachusetts, 

New York, Ohio, and Indiana—the employment of women at night 

was forbidden. Only one violation of this provision was found; in 

one Ohio establishment four women under IS out of a total of 20 

investigated were reported to have been employed in violation of 

the law later than 7 p. m. once or more during the preceding year. 

In seven States—Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia—a maximum legal day for 

women had been established, and also, except in the case of Virginia, 

a maximum legal week. In four of these States—Massachusetts, 

Connecticut, New York, and Virginia—no violations of these laws 

were reported; in the others 57 were reported as employed more 

hours per day than the law permitted and 130 as having a longer 

week than was legal.

RELATION OF THE WORK TO HEALTH.

INJURIOUS CONDITIONS AND SURROUNDINGS.

It was impossible in this investigation to have a physician’s examination of the workers or to keep any number of workers under observation for a time sufficient to demonstrate the real effect of the work 

done. Consequently, only broad general statements can be made. 

On the whole there seemed nothing necessarily harmful about the 

work except in the two occupations, taking off the leer and sand 

blasting, which as performed in every factory visited were unquestionably bad for the health of women. As the work of the factories 

is commonly carried on, however, there are several conditions inimical 

to health and several occupations which are obviously injurious. Of. 

the objectionable conditions the commonest are constant standing, 

the lifting of heavy weights, and wet floors.

Constant standing is the most general. Questions on this point 

were answered by 1,272 females, almost a third of the total normally 

employed in the factories visited. The table following shows the 

situation in regard to the use of seats among those questioned.

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152 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF FEMALES IN ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED STANDING CONSTANTLY,

SITTING CONSTANTLY, AND SITTING PART OF THE TIME, B Y OCCUPATIONS.

Number of females— Establishments.

Occupations.

Total

females

concerned.

Standing

constantly.

Sitting

constantly.

Sitting

part of

time.

Total

concerned.

Number

in which

all or

some of

femcles

in specified occupations

sat at

least part

of time.

Taking off leer.................*................................ 24 17 7 8 2

Mold cleaning................................................... 18 3 14 1 10 9

Tying stoppers.................................................. 17 1 8 8 5 5

Chipping and filing.......................................... 24 7 16 1 8 8

CaDDinsr iars...................................................... 18 11 4 3 5 2 X ® JlTrt ........................ ............... Cuti mg off name.............................................. 67 55 8 4 12 4

Grinding, hand................................................. 114 110 3 1 16 3

Grinding, chuck............................................... 4 4 1

Glazing (disk only)........................................ 22 13 9 9 5

Flute cutting, hand......................................... 13 13 3 3

Flute cutting, machine ............................... 2 1 1 1 1

Needle etching.................................................. 20 17 3 6 1

Sand blasting.................................................... 12 10 1 1 5 2

Transferring...................................................... 47 10 34 *3 10 8

Decorating (color)............................................ 84 42 42 13 9

Smoothing......................................................... 12 12 2 2

Washing and wiping bottles......................... 155 147 2 6 29 6

Sorting and selecting...................................... 220 180 23 17 36 16

Packing.............................................................. 62 53 1 8 18 3

Wrapping........................................................... 111 96 6 9 23 7

Miscellaneous.................................................... 160 93 44 23 34 21

Cap-machino tending ................................... 23 2 21 3 2

Demijohn Tnftlring ........................................ 38 38 2 2

Vial making..................................................... 5 5 1 1

Total........................................................ 1,272 872 305 95 200 122

Per cent ............................................................ 68.5 24.0 7.5 46.9

It will be noticed that more than twTo-thirds stand continuously. 

This is not necessary, as, with the exception of chuck grinding, 

there is no occupation in which at least some of the women do not 

sit for part of the time. The constant standing is due to the fact 

that in most of the occupations listed a person works more rapidly 

standing than sitting. Foremen therefore usually prohibit women 

the use of seats for even a part of the time, and pieceworkers, for 

the sake of greater earnings, tend to shun seats even when provided. 

Nevertheless, it was almost always noted that pieceworkers used 

seats from time to time when they were unwell or unduly tired, and 

nearly all the employers who provided seats for time workers stated 

that occasional sitting increases efficiency in the long run.

The lifting and carrying by women of weights too heavy for 

anyone except a reasonably strong man is not a feature of many 

occupations, but it occurs at least occasionally in almost every factory. It is most frequently found in the occupations of taking off 

the leer and sorting and packing. In most cases men were assigned 

to do the heavy lifting connected with this work, but their delay or 

negligence led the women to do it themselves.

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Wet floors were complained of frequently, the complaints being 

evidently well based. This condition affects chiefly those persons 

doing washing and wiping, this being the occupation in which water 

is most freely used, but it is by no means limited to this one work. 

It is an entirely unnecessary condition.

HARMFUL OCCUPATIONS.

The principal occupations which, as commonly performed, are undoubtedly harmful are taking off the leer, sand blasting, acid dipping, 

“ dusting,” and “ spraying.” In taking off the leer the constrained, 

stooping position in which most of the work is done and the frequent 

lifting of heavy weights are both objectionable. Sand blasting may 

be rendered perfectly safe by the use of closed hoods. In most of 

the factories visited, however, such hoods were not used, and in 

many the workers had little or no protection from the fine sand and 

glass particles. In the opinion of practically all medical experts the 

harmful effects of such dust are very serious. The unpleasant and 

harmful effects of the hydrofluoric acid used in acid etching have 

already been mentioned. As in the case of sand blasting, it is entirely possible to use devices which protect the worker completely 

from the acid fumes, but such devices were not generally found in 

the factories visited.

Dusting and spraying are both methods of applying color to glass 

articles as a decoration. In dusting a finely powdered paint is 

dusted on by hand, while in spraying a liquid paint is applied by 

means of an atomizer. In both cases, unless proper hoods and exhausts are used, the poisonous spray or dust may escape into the 

atmosphere and be directly inhaled by the workers. “ The several 

factories engaged in this class of work differ greatly in their degree 

of provision of proper hoods and exhausts.”

It is to be noted that these occupations do not require numerous 

workers. Excluding taking off the leer, others than the immediate 

workers may be affected by the harmful conditions described; but 

even so, not many are concerned. A rough approximation to the 

number affected will place it at about 150 out of a total of 4,632 

females normally employed by all factories visited.

REASONS FOR ENTERING INDUSTRY,

No attempt was made to discover why these women were at work 

outside of their homes, but from 902 answers w$re secured to the 

query why they had entered the glass industry. The largest group, 

167, said they could get better pay in this than in anything else open 

to them, and practically the same number, 166, said it was the only 

work open to them; 149 gave opportunity or convenience as their

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154 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

reason; 77 came because other members of their family were already 

in it, and 93 because they had friends in it. The remainder, as might 

be expected, assigned a great variety of reasons, most of them 

amounting to a belief that the work was steadier or cleaner or better 

paid or easier than other work obtainable. On the whole, the women 

employed in these factories seemed less migratory than young workers frequently are. Of 708 whose industrial history was learned, 51 

per cent had spent their whole working time in the glass industry.

SUMMARY OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS.

The employment of women in the leer room seemed to be quite generally considered objectionable, but concerning their work in the 

finishing room there is greater diversity of opinion. A considerable 

number of women and girls are so employed, mostly in work which 

does not involve much physical strain, which is not dangerous and 

which has no inherently harmful features. The wage level is low, 

but not strikingly so as compared with women’s industries in general. 

Hours are usually moderate and night work is practically unknown. 

The reasons assigned by the women for entering the industry show 

that many of them consider it more desirable work at better pay than 

anything else open to them, but many of the employers and managers 

seemed very doubtful as to whether a glass factory was a fit place 

for a woman to work. Their doubt seemed largely based on a vague 

idea of unsuitability which they did not themselves try to define. 

Probably only time can show whether or not this feeling is justified.

EMPLOYMENT OP WOMEN AND GIRLS IN MAKING INCANDESCENT LAMPS.

The manufacture of incandescent lamps is an industry of recent 

development. Most of the processes, requiring accuracy, speed, and 

delicate manipulation, but little physical strength, are peculiarly 

suited to female workers, and as a consequence the industry is largely 

in their hands. Eight establishments were visited, employing normally 4,123 employees, of whom 78.2 per cent were females aged 16 

and over and 1.7 per cent were girls under 16. In other words, practically four-fifths of all the workers were females.

The processes of manufacture are too numerous and complex to be 

described in a summary, but practically all have three common 

characteristics—the minuteness of the work, the extreme speed at 

which the operations are performed, and as a corollary of these two 

the necessity of maintaining a uniform position for long periods 

together.

The minuteness of the work done can be partially appreciated by 

inspecting an ordinary carbon or tungsten lamp, the filament of which

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is not clearly visible unless the lamp is held close to the eyes and in a 

strong light. Yet these minute filaments must be prepared and 

mounted with absolute accuracy. Other operations, while not quite 

so trying as these, still demand the best sight and the closest attention, and all are rendered more exacting by the necessity for speed.

SPEED RATE.

Since the inception of this industry there has been a material reduction in the cost of the finished lamps. “ This reduction has been 

possible only because of the increased rapidity with which the lamp 

could be produced and the consequent decrease in the cost of production.” A part of this increased speed is due to the simplification of 

processes and the introduction of machines which relieve the operator of some part of the work; but by far the greater part is due to 

the increased speed of the operators. This increase in speed is the 

result of a carefully planned policy of the manufacturers, who have 

fostered it by highly developed methods.

These methods are four in number: First, the establishment of a 

minimum output below which the employees dare not fall, for fear 

of discharge. At the time of this investigation a tabulation of the 

output of all employees for a period of six weeks had just been completed in one establishment as a basis on which to establish minimum 

standards in all occupations. The fact that this system is not in 

general use, however, seems to indicate that it is of no great efficacy. 

Second, the payment of higher piece rates for increased production. 

In one of the factories, for example, the rates paid for “ gem ” mounting are as follows:

Per 1,000.

Output under 900 per day____________________________________$1. 03

Output 900 to 1,000 per day___________________________________ 1.07

Output 1,000 to 1,100 per day________________________________ 1.1,2

Output 1,100 and over per day------------------------------------------------ 1.17

In the case of the highest net output, 1,200, the difference to 

the operator between being paid at the lowest rate and highest is 

the difference between $1.24 and $1.40, or 16 cents per day—that is, 

more than 10 per cent of the total wages. Numerous instances of 

similar devices were encountered, and from the evidence of both 

managers and employees it is highly successful in securing greatly 

increased outputs. Third, a method very similar to that just cited, 

that of giving bonuses for all production above a certain standard. 

This method is likewise widely used. The fourth and last of these 

methods is perhaps the most interesting. When an entirely new 

process is introduced or there is some one occupation the output of 

which has fallen below normal, one of the most skilled and willing 

workers is made the “ leader ” of a group. She acts as a pacemaker, 

and is urged to her best efforts to increase both her own production 

and that of her group by being paid 5 per cent more than the average 

of the entire group. In such a case the use of bonuses or graded 

piece rates is ordinarily added in order to urge the individual AvorkDigitized for FRASER 

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156 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

ers to their highest speed. After this system has been in vogue 

for a short time and the girls have become accustomed to working 

at their maximum efficiency the “ leader” is removed, the bonuses 

discarded, and according to the testimony of many of the girls 

the piece rate is cut to such a point that the average wage level is 

as it was when the employees were producing much less. By this 

means the production is said in several cases to have been doubled 

within a short time.

Beside these specific methods of increasing the output in the 

different occupations the same results are secured by the regulation 

of piece rates. It is difficult to say just how far this policy is 

characteristic of the industry or to what degree it is practiced in 

the separate establishments, but the attitude is strikingly illustrated 

in the statement of a superintendent, who when asked how he was 

able to maintain rapid production without the use of premiums 

replied: “ We keep the piece rate so low that they have to keep right 

at it in order to make a living.”

These rapid and forced increases in the quantity of goods produced, however, necessarily react on the quality by increasing the 

proportion of imperfect products. To offset this tendency a set 

of fines is introduced as a penalty for imperfect work or breakage, 

bonuses are given for the largest percentage of perfect ware, or in 

some cases a combination of the two methods is used. In one of the 

largest establishments, for example, the average production and 

average breakage for each occupation as well as each individual are 

calculated every day. In those occupations in which the tendency 

to breakage or imperfect work is greatest, such as sealing-in, those 

having good production above the average of the occupation receive 

a bonus of one-third the full rates for all they have saved above 

the average. Those having a loss greater than the average are fined, 

but in a progressive ratio greater than the ratio of loss, and if employees fall constantly or very far below the average they are discharged. In other cases special fines are imposed, of the nature and 

amount of which it was found that the majority of the employees 

were ignorant. These fines at times become very onerous, and in 

at least one case there was a strike against them. In 1908 a system 

of fines was imposed on the “ hub makers” in one of the establishments, which resulted in the girls losing an average of about 

50 cents per week in fines, which represented approximately 7 per 

cent of their total wages. After standing the deductions for" several 

weeks the girls refused to work until the fines were abolished, and 

succeeded after a little delay in gaining their point.

One of the establishments, that in which the general level of piece 

rates is highest, however, is peculiar in that its policy is not to force 

the speed of production, but, if anything, to restrict it. In pursuance of this policy the pieceworkers, who are required to remain in 

the factory until closing time, are given other work after they have 

exhausted their regular supply, and are paid for this extra work 

either on time rates or at 20 per cent less than the regular piece rates 

for the same class of work. This scheme has been adopted to prevent 

too fast work by supplying the additional work at a lower rate, as 

well as to prevent too slow work that some of the employees tend to 

do when they know that the supply is limited and that they might as

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well “ go slow ” and make it last through full time. The reduction 

of 20 per cent in the rates for the additional work is justified on the 

ground that the girls, when given work for an hour or two to which 

they are unaccustomed, are not as efficient as the regular workers and 

waste a great deal of material.1

MAINTENANCE OF UNIFORM POSITION.

With most of the work, and particularly with those operations 

which require very clear and close vision, there is only one position 

in which it is possible to do the work to the best advantage as concerns either quality or speed. As a rule the posture which must be 

assumed is one in which the employee is stooped over a bench or 

table with the work only a few inches away from her eyes. Theoretically, almost all the employees have the choice of sitting or standing, 

and as a rule seats are provided in all the establishments wherever 

it is possible to utilize them. But owing to the fact that earnings are 

so directly connected with both the quantity and the quality of the 

work produced the employees must of necessity maintain the posture 

in which both these results can be best obtained.

COMPOSITION OF THE LABOR FORCE.

Most of the establishments visited were situated in large towns 

where the supply of labor is abundant, and there was evidence that 

in hiring employees the managers exercised careful discrimination 

based on experience. Hence the age, sex, and nationality of employees are not the result of mere chance, but are due to the fact 

that persons of those given characteristics have been found by experience to be best suited to the industry.

In view of this fact peculiar interest attaches to the predominance 

of women. It has already been stated that they form four-fifths 

of the total employees, but if employees engaged in such occupations 

as stoking, freight handling, dynamo tending, and the like be excluded, their proportion is larger. In the occupations in which 

women and girls are employed at all they form 96.8 per cent of the 

employees.

Of 2,756 concerning whom detailed information was secured, 34.7 

per cent were native born of native parents, 40.3 per cent were native 

born of foreign parents, and 25 per cent were foreign born. Their 

age distribution was as follows:

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, pp. 479-481.

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158 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF FEMALE EMPLOYEES.

Age.

Under 15 years

15 years............

16 years............

17 years............

18 years............

19 years............

20 years............

21 years............

22 years............

23 years............

Number. Per cent. Age. Number. Per cent.

14 0.5 74 2.7

53 1.9 25 to 29 years.............................. 226 8.2

274 9.9 30 to 34 years.............................. 70 2.5

374 13.6 35 to 44 years.............................. 49 1.8

351 12.7 45 to 54 years.............................. 10 .4

321 11.6 Others reported as 21 years

281 10.2 and over.................................. 192 7.0

178 6.5

151 5.5 Total................................. 2,756 100.0

138 5.0

Very young workers are noticeably few, only 2.4 per cent being 

under 16. Still the age level is low. Very nearly one-half (48.1 per 

cent) are found in the group aged 17 to 20, inclusive, and three-fifths 

(60.4 per cent) are under 21. Only 12.9 per cent were reported as 

being 25 or over. As might be expected in so young a group, the 

great majority were single, 142 were married, and 79 were widowed, 

separated, or divorced.

HOURS OF LABOR.

In four establishments the working time was 10 hours a day from 

Monday to Friday and 5 hours on Saturday. In two cases the hours 

were shorter, 52^ and 54 hours a week, and in two establishments 

they were, respectively, 58 and 60 hours. The work is not seasonal, 

overtime was unusual, and nightwork for women was practically 

unknown..

EARNINGS.

The general level of wages in the electric-lamp industry is, for the 

women at least, relatively high. The average earnings per hour of all 

women over 16 years is 13.71 cents, which, assuming a 10-hour day 

and a 55-hour week as a rule for the industry, means approximately 

$1.35 per day, or $7.50 per week as the average wage. There is, however, a wTide variation between the earnings in the various establishments, as shown in the following table:

AVERAGE EARNINGS PER HOUR AND PER FULL W E E K OF 55 HOURS FOR ALL

FEMALES 16 YEAR S OF AGE AND OVER IN INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC-LAMP ESTABLISHMENTS, B Y NATIVITY.

Establishment.

Native bom of native parents.

Native born of foreign parents. Foreign born. Total.

Employees.

Average

earnings

per hour.

Employees.

Average

earnings

per hour.

Employees.

Average

earnings

per hour.

Employees.

Average

earnings

per hour.

Average

earnings

per week.

A ................ 473 $0.1398 791 $0.1381 447 $0.1398 1,711 10.1390 $7.65

B................. 95 .1469 115 .1443 207 .1457 417 .1456 8.00

c......... 211 .1176 112 .1159 6 .1252 329 .1171 7.05

D................ 82 .1401 22 .1384 6 .1274 110 .1390 7.50

E ................ 34 .1279 14 . 1492 5 .1467 53 .1353 7.45

F................. 17 .1600 10 .1543 2 .1693 29 .1586 8.35

G................. 19 .1115 6 .1198 3 .1630 28 .1189 6.90

H ................ 11 .1072 1 .1234 12 .1084 5.95

Total.. 942 .1332 1,070 .1360 677 .1419 2,689 .1371 7.60

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 159

The data with reference to local conditions necessary to explain 

the differences existing between the average wages in the various establishments are lacking. The differences are not to be explained by 

the relative piece rates paid, or by the size of the town, or by the 

general composition of the labor force. The two establishments in 

which the wage level is lowest are situated, the one in a city of over 

50,000, the other in a small town; while those two in which the level 

is highest are likewise one in a large city, the other in a town.

GENERAL CONDITIONS.

With one exception the buildings were far from modern and generally inferior to what would be expected in so highly developed an 

industry. Fire escapes were rather generally lacking. There were 

only two establishments in which any special facilities for washing 

were provided; these two also had dressing rooms, but the remaining 

six had only closets or lockers in which clothing could be hung. 

Lunch rooms and rest rooms were exceptional, only one example of 

each being found. Toilet accommodations for women were sufficient 

in five establishments and in good condition as to cleanliness in the 

same number of cases.

SUMMARY.

The manufacture of electric lamps is very largely in the hands of 

women and girls. It is work which requires speed and dexterity 

rather than manual strength, so is unsuited to many of the newer 

immigrants; practically 75 per cent of the female workers studied 

were native born. The age level is low, three-fifths of the female 

employees being under 21, but child labor is little used, only 2A

per cent being under 16. Earnings are relatively high, the average 

wage per week varying from $5.95 to $8.35, according to the establishment studied. The most conspicuously objectionable feature of the 

work is the speed at which it is carried on, this speed being carefully 

fostered and insisted upon by the managers.

FAMILY CONDITIONS AND SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF

FAMILY INCOME.

The fourth part of the report is devoted to a study of family conditions of woman and child workers in the glass industry. To obtain 

the data for this, the names of a certain number of woman and child 

employees of various ages were taken from the pay rolls of each 

establishment investigated, visits were made to their homes, and 

schedules of detailed information secured for them. Altogether 

2,137 families were visited, distributed over 14 States, in more than 

100 separate communities.

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GENERAL CHARACTER OF FAMILIES.

Few or no distinctive characteristics were presented by these families. “ So far as could be ascertained they do not form a particular 

class, nor do they represent any particular element of American 

life.” Racially and industrially they reflected the general conditions 

of the community in which they were found. No especial type seems 

to be peculiarly adapted to glass making, and no one race or class has 

shown a marked tendency to take it up. There is almost no trace in 

the glass industry of such an institution as the “ glass family,” in the 

sense that there is in certain cotton communities a distinct type of 

“ mill family.” For this there are two reasons: First, the glass factory can rarely offer employment to all the members of a family, and 

secondly, when it does this condition is only a temporary one. A 

glass factory might be able to use all the young boys it can obtain, 

but owing to the make-up of its working force it would normally 

employ only a small proportion of the adult male labor naturally 

found in the families from which these young boys came, and a still 

smaller proportion of the adult female labor. Owing to this same 

make-up of the working force, as the young boys become in their 

turn adults many of them must of necessity leave the industry, so 

that even in the exceptional eases where a whole family is employed, 

as the children grow older some of them must normally leave the glass 

factory and the family becomes diversely employed.

COMPOSITION OF FAMILIES; EMPLOYMENT OF MEMBERS.

The 2,137 families averaged 6.3 members and 3 wage earners per 

family. In 80.6 per cent of these families the father, and in 97.7 

per cent the mother was living and with the family. In 47 per cent 

there were male children aged 16 or over, in 52.8 per cent there were 

female children aged 16 and over, in 78.7 per cent children of 14 or 15, 

and in 77 per cent children under 14. Practically 95 per cent of the 

fathers and 13.9 per cent of the mothers were working and contributing to the family support. The proportion of children in the various 

age groups at work was as follows:

Per cent.

Males 16 and over------------------------------------------------------------------- 96.4

Females 16 and over--------------------------------------------------------------- 80. 2

Children 14 and 15 years of age-------------------------------------------- 89. 5

Children under 14 years of age------------------------------------------------ 4.1

The proportion of younger children at work can not be taken as 

significant, since in many cases the family was visited simply because it had a child at work. The proportion of those over 16 at 

work is probably more normal. It will be observed that while the 

employment of girls aged 16 or over is less universal than the emDigitized for FRASER 

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 161

ployment of boys of that age, it is still very common, four-fifths 

of such girls being at work. The putting to work of children under 

14 is evidently comparatively unusual in these families.

SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF FAM ILY INCOME.

The net incomes of the families differ widely according to the 

make-up of the contributing membership. These variations are 

shown in the following table:

Average net income, per family, of families having—

Fathers at work_________________________________________ $920

Mothers at work_________________________________________ 616

Male children 16 and over at work______________________ 1,017

Female children 16 and over at work___________________ 905

Children 14 and 15 at work______________________________ 863

Children under 14 at work______________________________ 759

Net income for all families------------------------------------ 855

It would be expected that mothers of families would not be working outside their homes unless under decided economic pressure, 

so it is not surprising that the families with such workers show the 

lowest net incomes found, falling more than $200 below the average 

for the whole group. The families in which children under 14 are 

at work have the next lowest incomes, falling $96 below the general 

average, while the highest prosperity is found in the families having male children 16 or over at work. In the majority of these 

families there would also be fathers at work and the larger incomes 

show the effect of the combined earnings.

The proportion of the net family income contributed by each class 

of workers was as follows:

Per cent.1

Fathers_______________________________________________________ 56. 0

Mothers_______________________________________________________ 25.1

Male children 16 and over____________________________________ 37. 8

Female children 16 and over--------------------------------------------------- 26. 7

Children 14 and 15 years of age---------------------------------------------- 18.9

Children under 14_____________________________________________ 15. 7

Perhaps the most striking feature of this table is the percentage 

contributed by working fathers. The father’s full earnings are 

counted as contributions, yet in families having fathers less than 

three-fifths of the family income came from that source. Evidently, 

although the father was the most important single wage earner, his 

earnings alone would have been very far from sufficient to keep up 

the family standards in a great number of cases. The proportions 

contributed by other members show no unexpected features.

1 These per cents apply in each case only to the incomes of families having workers of

the specified class.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------11

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An interesting point in the discussion of the family incomes is the 

extent to which the wage-earning members turn their earnings into 

the common fund. The father, mother, and younger children usually 

contribute all they make, but the children aged 16 and over often 

expect to retain part of their earnings. The following table shows 

the degree to which this is done:

PERCENTAGES OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE FAM ILY FUNDS B Y CHILDREN 16 YEAR S

OF AGE AND OVER AND THEIR AVERAGE EARNINGS AND CONTRIBUTIONS DURING

THE Y E A R , B Y SEX OF CHILDREN AND NATIVITY AND RACE OF HEADS OF FAMILIES.

162 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Nativity and race of head of family.

Number of families with—

Average earnings of—

Average amount

paid to family

by—

Per cent of earnings given

family by—

Male

wage

earners

in this

age

group.

Female

wage

earners

in this

age

group.

Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females.

Native bom of native parents:

White.................................................

Colored...............................................

Native bom of foreign parents.............

Foreign bom............................................

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

375

28

108

473

329

30

112

458

$369

284

355

371

$198

174

218

208

$250

206

260

298

$161

158

186

188

67.8

72.'7

73.5

80.4

81.2

91.0

85.4

90.5

984 929 366 204 273 177 74.6 86.4

Some very marked differences between races as well as between 

sexes appear in this table. For the group as a whole the adult female 

children contribute a distinctly larger portion of their earnings to 

their families than do the adult male children, 86.4 per cent as 

against 74.6 per cent. A larger proportion of their earnings is 

contributed by the native-born colored females than by those of any 

of the other race groups. The foreign-born daughters of foreign parents contribute more than native-born daughters of foreign parents 

and the latter in turn more than native-born daughters of native parents. The difference between any of these groups is not very marked, 

the extremes being 81.2 per cent and 91 per cent. Among the male 

adult children the only difference in this racial order is that the 

native-born colored stand next to the native-born whites of native 

parents in the relative smallness of their contributions.

MARRIED WOMEN AT WORK.

A special study was made of the married women living as heads 

of families who were engaged in gainful pursuits. Of these there 

were 291, whose racial distribution is shown by the following 

figures:

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 163

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MOTHERS CONTRIBUTING TO THE FAM ILY SUPPORT,

B Y N ATIVITY AND RACE.

Nativity and race of mothers. Number.

Per cent

living

with

family.

Native bom of native parents:

White................................................................................................................................. 115

56

15.1

Colored..................................................................................................................................... 68.3

Native bom of foreign parents:

English............................................................................... .................................................... 7 25.9

French......................................................................................................................................

German.................................................................................................................................... 16

14

10.5

Irish.......................................................................................................................................... 18.9

Italian, South..........................................................................................................................

Polish.......................................................................................................................................

Other races..............................................................................................................................

Total..................................................................................................................................... 37 13.9

Foreign bom:

English.................................................................................................................................... 7

5

33

14

7

7

4

6

9.2

8.9

11.3

12.5

14.9

3.4

3.0

11.1

French.....................................................................................................................................

German....................................................................................................................................

Irish................. ........................................................................................................................

Italian, South.........................................................................................................................

Polish.......................................................................................................................................

Other Slavs.............................................................................................................................

Other races..............................................................................................................................

Total..................................................................................................................................... 83 8.5

Grand total......................................................................................................................... 291 13.9

The colored families show a much larger proportion of gainfully 

employed mothers than appears in any other race, while among the 

Polish and other Slavic races such employment of married women 

is unusual.

The average per capita income of the families in which the mothers 

were at work, exclusive of the mother’s contribution, varied, according to the woman’s condition as to husband, from $1.26 to $2.10 per 

week; in 168 cases this per capita was less than $2 and in 110 it was 

less than $1.50. The average membership was 5. The average gross 

annual family income was $671 and the average annual earnings of 

the wives $154.

It may be accepted that among the families now being considered 

the employment at lucrative work of a married woman living as the 

maternal head of a household is almost entirely a matter of economic 

compulsion. Usually the mother works only as a result of family 

need—to assist the family when poverty presses, not simply to raise 

the standard of living, as is so often the case in the matter of child 

labor.1

To determine the causes of this economic necessity a special study 

was made of 140 families located in 8 representative communities in 

which the mother was gainfully employed. In 94 cases (67.2 per 

cent) the husband was either dead, had abandoned his family responsibilities, or was incapacitated, in 2 cases he was idle, and in 44

1 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 535.

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was at work. In other words, in only 32.8 per cent of these families 

was there a father able to work if he chose, while in 973 other families investigated in these 8 communities in which the mothers were 

not gainfully employed 84.3 per cent had fathers able to work.

The importance of the fact pointed out is clear. The absence from 

a family of a father able to contribute to its support in itself tends 

toward economic distress. Usually it means the withdrawal of the 

most responsible, if not the most important, contributor to the family 

support, and always it tends to change the economic organization of 

the family.1

In 13 of* the 46 families in which there were fathers living and not 

incapacitated dissipation and shiftlessness on the part of the fathers 

were responsible for the necessity which forced the mother to work; 

in 10 cases the wife had gone to work owing to the temporary illness 

or disablement of the husband. In 23 cases the husband was a steady 

worker, but in only 6 of these cases did he rise above the grade of 

the unskilled laborer.

Only 35 married women, not heads of families, were found at work. 

Usually they were widows or divorced or separated wives who, the 

husbands’ support having been withdrawn, were living with their 

parents, parents-in-law, or other near relatives. The group was so 

small that the data concerning it possess little significance.

SINGLE WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, AT WORK.

In 1,129 of the 2,137 families visited single women aged 16 and 

over were found to the number of 1,537. In every case these were 

either actual daughters of the families with whom they were living 

or were living with them as adopted daughters. The following table 

shows the number and per cent at work, using this term to indicate 

employment as wage earners:

164 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF SINGLE WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AT W O R K

AND NOT AT W ORK.

Number. Per cent.

Females over 16 years of age and over:

At work—

In glass industry........................................................................................................ 780

455

63.2

Not in glass industry..................................................................................................... 36.8

Total at work....................................................................................................... 1,235

302

80.4

Not at work............................................................................................................................ 19.6

Total investigated............................................................................................... 1,537 100.0

Although this table shows four-fifths of these women at work, it 

yet does not fully present the prevalence of wage-earning employment among them. Most of those reported as not at work had been 

employed in previous years and expected to work again as soon as

1Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 536.

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 165

work could be obtained.. Evidently it was almost as much a matter 

of custom for the daughters as for the sons to go to work.

The average age at beginning work was 16, though the great 

majority had begun earlier. These women were in no sense temporary or casual workers. Almost without exception they held regular positions, usually at some form of factory work, and worked as 

regularly as their employment permitted. The following table shows 

the average number of days worked and the average daily and annual earnings during the preceding year of those for whom these 

facts could be learned:

AVERAGE ANNUAL DAYS W ORKED AND AVERAGE EARNINGS OF SINGLE WOMEN

16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER AT W O RK , B Y AGE.

Age.

Number

reporting.

Average

days

worked

past

year.

Average

earnings

past

year.

Average

earnings

per day

worked.

16 years..................................................................................................... 283 216 $163

1S2

$0.75

17 years....................................................... ............ ................................ 233 228 .80

18 years........................................................................................ .......... 197 240 214 .89

19 years..................................................................................................... 106 231 206 .89

20 years..................................................................................................... 106 239 232 .97

75 233 219 .9421 years.....................................................................................................

22 years..................................................................................................... 56 234 214 .91

23 years..................................................................................................... 45 243 244 .98

24 years..................................................................................................... 36 239

242

246 1.03

25 to 29 years........................................................................................... 52 292 1.27

30 years and over.................................................................................... 43 244 263 1.08

Total.............................................................................................. 1,232 231 205 .89

In this table, as in a previous one relating to earnings of women 

glass workers, there appears a fairly steady increase with age in 

earning capacity which reaches its climax between 25 and 30, the 

group aged 25 to 29 showing the maximum daily and annual earnings. The number of days worked during the year does not vary 

greatly with age; such variation as exists seems mainly irregular.

CHILDREN AT WORK.

In the 2,137 families investigated there were 5,212 children between 

6 and 16 years old. The following table shows the occupation of 

these children by age groups:

CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AT W ORK, AT SCHOOL, AND AT HOME, B Y AGE

GROUPS.

Age groups. Total

At work. At school. At home.

number.

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

6 to 11 years.................................... 2,343 26 1.1 2,022

773

86.3 295 12.6

12 and 13 years.............................. 975 171 17.5 79.3 31 3.2

Total 6 to 13 years............. 3,318

1,894

197 5.9 2,795

134

84.3 326 9.8

14 and 15 years.............................. 1,696 89.5 7.1 64 3.4

Total 6 to 15 years............. 5,212 1,893 36.3 2,929 56.2 390 7.5

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The proportion at school decreases and the proportion at work increases progressively in each successive age group. The proportion 

in the youngest group of those neither at work nor at school depended 

largely upon the opportunities for school going offered by the neighborhood in which the child happened to live.

The employment of children 14 or 15 years old was very general, 

only 119 families being found in which there were children of these 

ages not at work (7.1 per cent of the total families having such 

children). In all 1,696 children of these ages were found at work, 

representing 1,562 families. One was an, orphan, 228 were children 

of widows, 66 were children of deserted mothers, 33 had incapacitated 

fathers, 18 had idle lathers, 78 had both parents at work, and 1,272 

had fathers at work. Exclusive of the children’s earnings, the average annual income of the families these children came from was $762, 

and the average weekly per capita income was $2.22, this per capita 

ranging from less than $1 in the case of 210 families to $4 or over in 

the case of 166 families. The average membership per family was 6.6.

The employment of children under 14 was not common, only 197 in 

a total of 4,768 being found at work. Of these 197 the boys numbered 180; the girls 17. No girls and only 26 boys were found working 

under 12 years of age. There were no full orphans among them, but

34 were children of widows, 9 of deserted wives, 1 had an incapacitated and 1 an idle father, 24 had both father and mother at work, 

and in 128 cases the father but not the mother was working. The 

average family membership was 6.8, the average per capita weekly 

earnings, exclusive of earnings of children under 14, were $1.97, the 

range being from less than $1 (30 families) to $4 and over (5 

families).

Employment of orphans.

As the glass industry is often charged with exploiting the labor of 

orphan children, inquiry was made as to the parental condition of all 

children found working in glass factories. Reports were received 

from 3,433. Of these 2.4 per cent were full orphans, 15.4 per cent 

were fatherless, though their mothers were living, 7.1 per cent had 

fathers living but mothers dead, and 75.1 per cent had both parents 

living.

It is impossible to say how this compares with the situation in 

industry generally, but a comparison is possible with three other industries covered by this investigation—cotton, silk, and clothing. In 

each of these, as in the glass industry, names of women and children 

had been taken from pay rolls and data secured concerning their 

family condition. A smaller proportion of orphanhood was disclosed

166 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E G L A S S I N D U S T R Y . 167

by this method than by the questioning in the factory, because ordinarily family schedules could not be obtained for children whose parents were both dead. Nevertheless, as the same method was pursued 

in all four investigations, the degree of error is presumably the same, 

and results seem comparable. The following table presents the comparison in concise form:

NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 A T W O R K HAVING FATHERS DEAD, DIVORCED,

OR DESERTED, AND INCAPACITATED, W ITH PER CENT EACH GROUP IS OF TOTAL

CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS AT W O RK , B Y INDUSTRIES.

Industry.

Father dead. Father divorced or

deserted.

Father incapacitated. Total. Total

number

of

children

under 16

years at

work.

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

Clothing... 117 15.7 18 2.4 27 3.6 162 21.7 746

Glass......... 263 13.9 75 4.0 34 1.8 372 19.7 1,893

Cotton....... 404 13.3 164 5.4 115 3.8 6S3 22.5 3,032

Silk............ 234 13.7 37 2.2 47 2.8 318 18.7 1,704

It appears from this table that the glass industry is proportionately a smaller employer of fatherless children than is the clothing 

industry. As, however, the number of children in the clothing industry is small, a more satisfactory comparison is with the silk and 

cotton industries. Such a comparison shows the glass industry to be 

no larger an employer of fatherless children than the cotton industry, 

and but slightly larger than the silk industry. From these data it is 

evident that there is no warrant for the charge that the glass industry exploits such children in any unusual degree.

RELATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN TO FAMILY INCOME.

In regard to this point a careful study was made of 864 families in 

eight representative communities, each having at least one child 

under 16 at work. The total earnings of all immediate members of 

the family living at home, plus gifts or income from lodgers, together with the money value of any produce raised and used by the 

family, have been combined to give the total income of the family. 

The following table shows the incomes of the families averaged for 

the year studied, first including and second excluding the earnings 

of children under 16.

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168 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

FAMILIES IN EIGHT SELECTED COMMUNITIES RECEIVING CLASSIFIED PER CAPITA

W E E K L Y INCOMES, W IT H AND W ITHOUT EARNINGS OF CHILDREN, AND PER CENT

RECEIVING LESS THAN THE HIGHEST AMOUNT SPECIFIED.

Per capita weekly income.

Number of families

in each per capita

group with earnings

of children—

Per cent of families

receiving less than

highest amount of

specified group with

earnings of children—

Included. Excluded. Included. Excluded.

Under $0.40....................................................................................... 1 17 0.1 2.0

$0.40 and under $0.80...................................................................... 6 37 .8 6.3

$0.80 and under $1.20...................................................................... 41 85 5.5 16.1

$1.20 and under $1.60..................................................................... 61 118 12.6 29.7

$1.60 and under $2........................................................................... 102 109 24.4 42.4

$2 and under $2.40........................................................................... 113 122 37.5 56.5

$2.40 and under $2.80...................................................................... 107 80 49.9 65.7

$2.80 and under $3.20...................................................................... 95 73 60.9 74.2

$3.20 and under $3.60...................................................................... 86 55 70.9 80.6

$3.60 and under $4........................................................................... 54 43 77.2 85.5

$4 and under $4.40........................................................................... 50 37 83.0 89.8

$4.40 and under $4.80...................................................................... 34 22 86.9 92.3

$4.80 and under $5.20...................................................................... 28 18 90.1 94.4

$5.20 and under $5.60...................................................................... 28 5 99.3 95.0

$5.60 and under $6........................................................................... 10 12 94.5 96.4

$6 and under $6.40........................................................................... 7 6 95.3 97.1

$6.40 and over................................................................................... 41 25 100.0 100.0

Total....................................................................................... 864 864

The variations in this table are extreme, whether or not the children’s earnings are included. As a basis for discussion it was assumed that a weekly per capita income of $2 is the least upon which 

a normal family can avoid the pressure of actual poverty. It appears that 408 (57.6 per cent) of these families were in possession of 

an income above this amount, even if the earnings of the children 

were excluded. With this group, therefore, it was concluded that 

economic necessity as distinguished from a simple desire for money 

was not the primary motive for putting the children to work. Seven 

other families possessed property the sale of which would have enabled them to dispense with their children’s earnings for a considerable period at least; so that in their cases also it can not be said that 

absolute poverty forced them to let the children work. Fifty-two 

families were found in which adults who should have contributed to 

the income had been idle during all or part of the preceding year 

without such sufficient cause as illness, inability to obtain work, or 

the like. Had they not been thus unjustifiably idle, the income would 

have reached or exceeded $2 per capita weekly. This leaves 307 

families (35.5 per cent of the original group) in which it might 

fairly be said that the children’s work was necessitated by poverty.1

1 In Vol. VII, Conditions under which Children Leave School to Go to Work, p. 46, a 

similar study of incomes and resources shows that of 620 children 186, or 30 per cent, 

were forced to take up work by economic necessity.

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THE GLASS INDUSTRY. 169

REASON S, OTHER TH AN ECONOMIC, FOR EM PLOYM EN T O P CH ILDREN.

Several reasons are given to account for the employment of children 

under 16 when it is not a matter of economic necessity. One of the 

most important is the desire to have the boy learn the trade, coupled 

with acquiescence in the claim set up by most glass men that to learn 

the trade of glass blower a boy must begin young. It has already 

been pointed out1 that comparatively few of those who enter the 

boys7 occupations ever become real apprentices; but since some do, 

each one has a chance.

Making this reason more effective is a disbelief in the utility of 

“ book learning ” in practical life.

There was in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and West Virginia

* * * almost a settled conviction that the efficiency of schools and 

school models and ideals and its methods of obtaining them were 

alike inadequate to the needs of real life, and that the boy would 

learn more of real use to him in the factory than in the schools.2

In the case of immigrants a frequent cause was the idea that 

the school was a preparation chiefly for confirmation, and that consequently when a child had been confirmed there was no purpose in 

his attending longer. A more active reason was the absorbing desire 

among immigrants to own a home. “At enormous risks they buy a 

home, paying a little down on it, and from that moment every particle 

of earning power the family possesses must be taxed to its fullest 

until the mortgage is paid.” Company pressure as a cause for 

putting children to work seemed of little importance.

ILLITERACY AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 16.

Illiteracy in the sense of being totally unable to read and write 

was rare, only 64, or 3.4 per cent, of the 1,893 children under 16 

from whom information on this point was received being thus handicapped. Forty-four others were unable to read and write English, 

though able to read and write their own language..

COMPANY STORES.

The company store as an adjunct of a glass factory is found 

mainly in the East, especially in New Jersey. Its importance has 

declined materially even here since 1900, owing largely to the opposition of the Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association, which in 1902 took 

a decided stand against it in a strike and won. This settled the question, as far as skilled operatives in union factories were concerned, 

but left the system unchanged for unskilled labor and employees of

*See p. 133. 2 Vol. I l l , G lass Industry, p. 588.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
170 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

nonunion factories. Nine company stores were found in operation 

during the investigation. Practically all the unskilled laborers who 

had families traded either wholly or in part at the company store. 

A number of cases were found in which the credit at the company 

store was used to its fullest extent, so that on pay day nothing was 

coming to the worker. A number of these cases were investigated, 

and it was found that the situation was due not to shiftlessness or 

poor management, but to the poor earning capacities of the uneducated and untrained workers of the family.

Statements differed as to whether buying at the company store 

was compulsory. Most of the employees questioned felt that a failure 

to give the company stores at least a part of their trade rendered 

employees liable to be discharged, or at least to be laid off temporarily, as soon as such action did not interfere with the company’s 

interest. Among employers there seemed an expectation that employees should trade at the company stores. In general the prices at 

the company stores ranged higher than at independent stores.

SUMMARY.

The glass industry is a large employer of boys, and to some extent 

an employer of girls and women. The boys’ occupations for the 

most part involve exposure to extreme temperatures, frequently 

demand very rapid action, often involve night work, and wherever 

the two-shift system is used permit a peculiarly exhausting form of 

overwork. Only a small proportion of the boys employed have any 

chance of becoming glass blowers, and for the rest it is a blind-alley 

occupation of a pronounced type.

The majority of the women and girls employed are in comparatively light occupations, involving no necessarily unhealthy conditions. A few occupations are distinctly harmful, but few women are 

found in them. The work done by women and girls is very rarely 

more than semiskilled at the best and to a large extent is entirely 

unskilled. The speed demanded is the general criticism which can be 

directed against it. Earnings compare favorably with those of other 

occupations followed by women.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER IV.—THE SILK INDUSTRY.

The fourth volume of the report on the Condition of Woman and 

Child Wage Earners in the United States consists of a study of the 

silk industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In New Jersey the 

investigation was confined to Paterson, the most important center of 

the industry, not only in that State but in the entire country. In 

Pennsylvania it was limited to Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties 

and to a few mills in Lehigh County, most of the Pennsylvania silk 

mills being located in these counties. The investigation was carried 

on from October, 1907, to June, 1908. In all 174 mills—138 in Paterson and 36 in Pennsylvania—were visited. “ The aim was to select 

in each case such mills as would be representative of the industry, 

including some that showed the best conditions, some that showed 

the worst, and some in which average conditions prevailed.” The 

number of mills visited in each State, the number devoted to each 

of the three most important branches of the silk industry, the number 

of employees, and their sex and age distribution are shown in the 

following table:

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF

EMPLOYEES OF EACH SE X AND AGE GROUP, B Y STATE AND BRANCH OF THE

INDUSTRY.

State and branch, of

industry.

Establishments

investigated.

Number of employees. Per cent of total employees.

16 years and

over. Under 16 years.

Total.

16 years

and over. Under 16 years.

Male. Female. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Male. Female. Total.

New Jersey:

Broad silk............ 67

31

40

4,594

1,850

454

4,211

2,568

927

143

100

137

216

204

136

359

304

273

9,164

4,722

1,654

50.1

39.2

27.5

45.9

54.4

56.0

1.6

2.1

8.3

2.4

4.3

8.2

4.0

6.4

16.5

Silk ribbons.........

Silk throwing___

Total.................. 138 6,898 7,706 380 556 936 15,540 44.4 49.6 2.4 3.6 6.0

Pennsylvania:

Broad silk............ 11

2

23

198

142

239

2,459

205

1,678

98

17

102

523

25

720

621

42

822

3,278

389

2,739

6.0

36.5

8.7

75.0

52.7

61.3

3.0

4.4

3.7

16.0

6.4

26.3

19.0

10.8

30.0

Silk ribbons.........

Silk throwing___

Total.................. 36 579 4,342 217 1,268 1,485 6,406 9.0 67.8 3.3 19.9 23.2

Aggregate:

Broad silk............ 78

33

63

4,792

1,992

693

6,670

2,773

2,605

241

117

239

739

229

856

980

346

1,095

12,442

5,111

4,393

38.5

39.0

15.8

53.6

54.2

59.3

1.9

2.3

5.4

6.0

4.5

19.5

7.9

6.8

24.9

Silk ribbons.........

Silk throwing___

Total.................. 174 7,477 12,048 597 1,824 2,421 21,946 34.1 54.9 2.7 8.3 11.0

New Jersey mills from

which pay r o l l s

were secured:

Broad silk............ 29

18

40

2,476

587

454

2,513

1,301

927

83

42

137

126

64

136

209

106

273

5,198

1,994

1,654

47.6

29.4

27.5

48.4

65.3

56.0

1.6

2.1

8.3

2.4

3.2

8.2

4.0

5.3

16.5

Silk ribbons.........

Silk throwing___

Total.................. 87 3,517 4,741 262 326 588 8,846 39.8 53.6 2.9 3.7 6.6

171

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
172 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

THE INDUSTRY.

The silk industry has been known in the United States for many 

years, but it was of little importance before the Civil War. The 

imposition of heavy war duties in 1861 and again in 1864 on silk 

and other luxuries brought a number of silk manufacturers with 

their machinery and operatives from England to Paterson and gave 

the industry its first successful impetus.

Paterson, N. J., has been the principal silk manufacturing city in 

the United States since the industry wTas established. Its leadership 

was owing partly to its proximity to New York, the leading silk 

market of the country, partly to its abundant means of transportation, and partly to its labor supply. Women and children have 

always formed an important part of the working force of a silk 

mill, and in the early days of the industry there was little opportunity for their employment in Paterson outside of the silk mills. As 

industrial openings became more plentiful and the supply of workers 

in consequence less certain, the manufacturers sought fresh supplies 

of cheap labor by establishing themselves in Pennsylvania, especially 

in the mining towns, where there was no other opportunity for 

women and girls to secure gainful employment. This did not mean 

giving up the New Jersey plants, but more and more these have 

been devoted to the highly skilled branches of the industry, while 

the Pennsylvania mills have taken chiefly the less skilled branches 

in which the labor of women and children can be utilized.

Of late years the supply of cheap labor in Pennsylvania has shown 

signs of failing, and an effort has been made to establish the industry 

in the South.

It is apparent * * * that northern silk manufacturers are 

establishing plants in Southern States, most of the mills having 

been started since 1900; that of the 15 silk mills in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia 12 are branches of New Jersey, 

New York, and Pennsylvania mills or are controlled by them; that 

the mills are largely of the class which is always seeking child labor 

or very cheap labor; and that the States chiefly selected—Maryland 

and Virginia—have few cotton manufacturing plants.1

New Jersey and Pennsylvania are still, however, the great centers 

of the silk industry, in 1905 containing 72 per cent of the total number of silk looms and 70.6 per cent of the silk spindles in the whole 

industry.

The growth of the silk industry and its changing importance as 

an employer of women and children is shown in the following table:

i Vol. IV, Silk Industry, p. 22.

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THE SILK INDUSTRY. 173

AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND PER CENT OF TOTAL EMPLOYEES IN THE

SILK INDUSTRY, B Y SEX AND B Y AGE GROUPS, IN EACH SPECIFIED Y E A R , 1870

TO 1905.

[From Special Reports of Census Office, Manufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 161.J

Year.

Average number of employees. Per cent of total employees.

Men 16

years and

over.

Women

16 years

and over.1

Children

under 16

years.1

Total.

Men 16

years and

over.

Women

16 years

and over.1

Children

under 16

years.1

1870.................................................. 1,734 3,529 1,386 6,649 26.1 53.1 20.8

1880................................................... 9,375 16,396 5,566 31, .337 29.9 52.3 17.8

17,602 28,914 2,866 49,382 35.6 58.6 5.8

24,203 34,797 6,413 65,416 37.0 53.2 9.8

1905.................................................. 27,037 45,198 7,366 79,601 34.0 50.8 9.2

i Girls 15 years of age are classed as "women” in 1870, 1880, and 1890 and as children in 1900 and 1905,

but they would probably not constitute more than 3 per cent of the total females.

While the total number of employees has increased over twelvefold,

the relative number of women shows but a slight increase, while the

proportion of children has noticeably decreased. In these respects

the industry has developed very differently in the two States investigated, as shown by the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MEN, W OMEN, AND CHILDREN EMPLOYED IN THE

SILK MILLS OF N EW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA IN EACH SPECIFIED Y E A R , 1870

TO 1905.

[From Special Reports of Census Office, Manufactures, 1905, Part III, p. 176.]

Average number of employees. Per cent of total employees.

Year. 16 years and over.

Under

16 years and over.

Under

Men. Women.

16 years. Total.

Men. Women.

16 years.

New Jersey:

1870........................................... 733 1,162 895 2,790 26.3 41.6 32.1

1880........................................... 4,696 5,3G0 2,493 12,549 37.4 42.7 10.9

1890........................................... 7,773 8,773 809 17,445 44.6 50.3 5.1

1900........................................... 11,279 11,679 1,199 24,157 46.7 48.3 5.0

1905........................................... 11,361 12,947 1,173 25,481 44.6 50.8 4.6

Pennsylvania:

1870........................................... 266 15 936 28.4 70.0 1.6 655

1880........................................... 1,000 1,870 319 3,183 31.4 58.6 10.0

1890........................................... 2,420 5,617 1,203 9,330 25.9 60.2 13.9

1300........................................... 5,214 11,5G5 4,249 21,0~8 24.8 55.0 20.2

1905........................................... 6,318 15,863 4,734 26,915 23.5 58.9 17.6

New Jersey shows an increase in the proportion of women employed, a much larger increase in the proportion of men, and a very

marked falling off in the proportion of children; in other words, it

conforms to the course of the industry as a whole. But in Pennsylvania there has been a progressive decrease in the proportion of

both men and women and an increase in the proportion of children

employed. An important cause for this difference is found in the

relative increase in Pennsylvania and decrease in New Jersey of silk

throwing or spinning. This is one of the less skilled branches of the

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industry, which can easily be done by young workers. Wherever it 

is common, the importance of children in the industry increases.

THE LABOR FORCE.

From 87 Paterson mills and from 36 in Pennsylvania pay-roll data 

were secured and full details obtained concerning the employees. The 

age and sex distribution of these employees was as follows:

174 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF MALE AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES IN SPECIFIED

AGE GROUPS IN 87 N EW JERSEY MILLS AND IN ALL PENNSYLVANIA MILLS

INVESTIGATED.

Number of employees.

Age. New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total.

Under 12 years .................................... 1 1 1 8 9

12 and 13 years.................................................. 18 19 37 43 228 271

14 and 15 years.................................................. 243 307 550 173 1,032 1,205

Total under 16 years............................. 262 326 588 217 1,268 1,485

16 and 17 years.................................................. $ ft 131 1,620 1,751

18 to 20 years..................................................... C1) (l) i1) 83 1,277 1,360

Total under 21 years............................. 0 f t 431 4,165 4,596

21 years and over.............................................. 0) W 0) 232 1,445 1,677

Total 16 years and over....................... 3,517 4,741 8,258 2579 4,342 2 4,921

Grand total............................................. 3,779 5,067 8,846 2796 5,610 2 6,406

Per cent of employees.

Under 12 years.................................................. (3) (3) 0.1 0.1 0.1

12 and 13 years.................................................. 0.5 0.4 0.4 5.5 4.0 4.3

14 and 15 years.................................................. 6.4 6.0 6.2 21.7 18.4 18.8

Total under 16 years............................ 6.9 6.4 6.6 27.3 22.5 23.2

16 and 17 years.................................................. $ $ f t 16.4 28.9 27.3

18 to 20 years..................................................... C1) 0) 0) 10.4 22.8 21.2

Total under 21 years............................. f t 0) 54.1 74.2 71.7

21 years and over............................................. 0) 0) C1) 29.1 25.8 26.1

Total 16 years and over....................... 93.1 93.6 93.4 2 72.7 77.5 2 7G. 8

Grand total............................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

1 Not reported.

2 Including 133 males 16 years and over, exact ages not reported.

3 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

This shows very clearly the greater extent to which the Pennsylvania mills make use of women and girls, who constitute not far 

from nine-tenths of their working force (87.6 per cent), against less 

than three-fifths (57.3 per cent) in the New Jersey mills. It will be 

noticed that the difference is much greater in the proportion of girls 

under 16 than in the proportion of older female workers. It will 

also be noticed that the excess of children in the Pennsylvania as

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
THE SILK INDUSTRY. 175

compared with the Paterson mills is due almost wholly to the employment of girls, who form 85.4 per cent of the workers under 16 

in Pennsylvania and only 55.4 per cent in Paterson.

RACE.

The racial distribution of the employees for whom information on 

this point was obtained was as follows:

RACE OF EMPLOYEES, B Y SEX AND STATE.

Race.

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total.

American........................................................... 297 564 861 287 1,583 1,870

Dutch................................................................. 371 592 963

English............................................................... 784 881 1,665

1,550

1,382

1,389

48 275 323

German............................................................... 685 865 97 856 953

Irish.................................................................... 344 1,038 1,187

657

85 1,102

Italian................................................................. 732

Lithuanian........................................................ 6 114 120

Polish................................................................. 32 673

174

407

358

705

187

440

417

Slovak................................................................ 13

Welsh................................................................. 33

Other races........................................................ 566 470 1,036 59

Total........................................................ 3,779 5,067 8,846 660 5,542 6,202

It appears that in the New Jersey mills the English employees 

were most numerous, constituting 18.8 per cent, the Germans being 

next with 17.5 per cent, followed by the Italians with 15.7 per cent 

and the Irish with 15.6 per cent. American employees were only 9.8 

per cent. In the Pennsylvania mills, on the other hand, the American employees constituted 30.2 per cent, the Irish being 19.1 per cent, 

and the Germans 15.4 per cent, while the Polish were 11.4 per cent.

It is rather difficult to say whether any particular racial aptitude 

for the work is shown, or whether the silk workers merely reflect 

the general make-up of the community. The weavers, warpers, and 

twisters-in are the highest skilled and best-paid workers. In New 

Jersey the Italians showed the highest percentage, 52.3 per cent, of 

their number in these groups. Next came the English with 46.2 per 

cent, the Germans with 44.4 per cent, the Americans with 39.4 per 

cent, the Irish with 21.7 per cent, and the Dutch with 19.8 per cent. 

But in Pennsylvania -the English show only 12.9 per cent of their 

number in these occupations. Among the Germans in Pennsylvania 

42.4 per cent were in these occupations, 34.1 per cent of the Americans, and 22.1 per cent of the Irish. The newer races are found almost entirely in the relatively unskilled branches of the work.

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CONJUGAL CONDITION.

No information was obtained as to the conjugal condition of the 

New Jersey employees, but unpublished figures were secured from the 

records of the census taken in 1905 relating to the conjugal condition 

of all female employees in the silk mills of Paterson. In the Pennsylvania mills investigated similar information was obtained from 

the employees themselves. In both States the girls under 16 were 

without exception single. The conjugal condition of the others is 

shown in the following table:

176 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALE SILK W ORKERS 16 YEAR S AND OVER OF EACH

CONJUGAL CONDITION, B Y RACE.

Race. Total.

Single. Married. W idowed,' divorced,

separated., deserted.

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

Paterson, N. J.:

American................................ 1,234

538

1,036

496

84.0 129 10.4 69 5.6

Dutch....................................... 92.2 32 5.9 10 1.9

English.................................... 848 680 80.2 104 12.3 64 7.5

German.................................... 789 605 76.7 123 15.6 61 7.7

Irish ........................................ 1,117 953 85.3 78 7.0 86 7.7

Italian...................................... 355 193 54.4 148 41.7 14 3.9

polish ................................... 3 3 100.0

■Welsh ................................... 3 3 100.0

Other races.............................. 1,029 798 77.6 160 15.5 71 6.9

ah races............................... 5,916 4,707 80.6 774 13.1 375 6.3

Pennsylvania:

American................................ 1,332

220

1,219 91.5 86 6.5 27 2.0

English.................................... • 216 98.2 1 .5 3 1.3

German................................... 713 629 88.2 73 10.2 11 1.6

I r i s h ..................................... 933 914 98.0 11 1.2 8 .8

Lithuanian ............................ 58 58 100.0

Polish....................................... 380 374 98.4 4 1.1 2 .5

Slovak .. _______. . . . . 97 96 99.0 1 1.0

Welsh....................................... 330 323 97.9 2 .6 5 1.5

Other races............................. 217 208 95.9 7 3.2 2 .9

All races............................... 4,280 4.037 i 94.3 184 4.3 59 1.4

1

The most immediately striking feature of this table is the difference between the two groups, 94.3 per cent of the Pennsylvania 

workers being single as against 80.6 per cent of the Paterson workers. 

No explanation is offered of the difference, which appears in practically every race group, except the Polish and Welsh, whose representation among the Paterson workers is too small to be considered. 

The relatively small proportion of Italian women who were single is 

also striking. The willingness to have their married women employed outside the home seems almost a racial characteristic of the 

Italians, as it was found in many other industries, though rarely in 

as marked a degree as here.

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THE SILK INDUSTRY.

OCCUPATIONS, BY SEX AND AGE.

177

The distribution of the workers by sex and age among the leading

occupations is shown in the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN 13 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, B Y AGE

AND SEX.

Occupation.

New Jersey:

Bobbin carriers..............

Doublers..........................

Lacers..............................

Pickers, cloth.................

Quillers...........................

Reelers.............................

Spinners..........................

Twisters-in......................

Warpers, horizontal—

Weavers, broad silk—

Weavers, ribbon............

Winders, hard silk........

Winders, soft silk..........

Other occupations.........

Total.

Pennsylvania:

Bobbin carriers.............

Doublers..........................

Lacers..............................

Pickers, cloth.................

Quillers............................

Reelers.............................

Spinners..........................

Twisters-in.....................

Warpers, horizontal—

Weavers, broad silk—

Weavers, ribbon___

Winders, hard silk..

Winders, soft silk...

Other occupations..

Total............................. 579 4,342

Number.

16 years of

age and

over.

Male.

19

1

93

244

147

196

1,384

433

991

278

9

318

3072

6

6

144

845

394

521

514

1,397

3,517

Female.

4,741

3

43721

119

126

217 462

24

70

1,104

53

895

165

646

Under 16 years

Male.

73

43

124

Female. Total.

261

173

262 326

75 36

115 121

17

53

147

267

432

293

37

137

Total.

261

297

93

350

335

112

271

153

340

2,229

827

547

515

2,685

588 j8,846

111

118 121

17

53

180

3151

47

3

294

38

187

217 1,268 1,485 6,406

137

556

142

136

179

402 863

55

72

1,164

149

1,189

203

1,159

Per cent.

16 years of

age and

over.

Male.

0.6

"'.2

82.6

6.9

4.2

5.6

39.4

12.3

28.2

100.0

4.0.2

14.8

5.2

.3 2.2 

16.1

56.3

Female.

5.9.2

6.7

6.5

0)

.1.1

3.0

17.8

8.3 11.0

10.9

29.5

100.0

.1

10.1

.5

2.7

2.9

5.0

10.6

.6 1.6

25.4 1.2

20.6

3.8

14.9

Under 16 years

of age.

Total

Male.

27.9

16*4'

5.0

3.4

47.3

100.0

34.5

1.4

15.2

22.1

.5

1.8

.5

.5

.5

23.0

Female. Total.

0.3

5.5

10.7

8.9

8.3 1.2

3.7

8.0

.3

53.1

100.0

2.9

9.1

9.5

1.3

4.2 ll.« 

21.1

3.4.2

23.1

2.9

10.7

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

12.6

3.0

13.3

4.9

4.6

2.9

3.6

4.4.2

50.5

100.0

7.5

7.9 8.2 1.1

3.6

12.1 

21.2

.1

3.2

.2

19.8 2.6

12.5

1.0

3.3 1.0

4.0

3.8

1.3

3.1

1.7

3.8

25.2

9.4 6.2

5.8

30.4

100.0

2.1

8.7 2.2 2.12.8

6.3

13.5

.8 1.1

18.2

2.3

18.6

3.2

18.1

1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

SILK-MILL PROCESSES AND OCCUPATIONS.

Before considering the employment of either women or children

in silk mills some description of the processes carried on therein seems

necessary. The following table shows the main processes, with the

kind of workers engaged in each, in the two States studied:

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------12

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
PROCESSES AND OCCUPATIONS IN SILK MILLS.

178 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Silk throwing.

Process. Machine used. Occupation. Class of persons

employed. State. Skilled or

unskilled.

Soaking...................

Winding..................

Spinning, first time

Doubling.................

Spinning, second

time.

Reeling....................

Lacing.............. .

None....................

Winding frame..

Spinning frame..

Doubling frame.

jspinning frame..

Reeler or reed...

None....................

Soaker.................

Winder................

/Spinner, f ir s t

\ time.

Doubler...............

/Spinner, second

\ time.

Reeler..................

Lacer...................

Men.......................

Women and girls.

/Men.......................

\Girls and boys...

Women and girls.

/Men.......................

\Girls and boys...

/Men and boys___

\Girls and boys...

/Girls and b oys...

1 Girls......................

/Men and women.

N. J. and Pa.

N. J. and Pa.

N. J................

Pa...................

N. J. and Pa.

N. J................

Pa...................

N. J................

Pa...................

N. J................

Unskilled.

Semiskilled.

jsemiskilled.

Semiskilled.

jsemiskillod.

^Unskilled.

|Unskilled.

Bundling................. None.................... W illed. /B u n d le r or

\ maker-up.

N. J................

Broad silk and silk ribbons.

Winding..................

Doubling.................

Winding frame..

Doubling frame.

jwarping m ill...

Warping m ill...

Warping m a ­

chine.

Quilling frame..

None....................

Winder..............

Doubler...............

/W om en.. .........

YWomen and girls.

/ ’W omen and girls.

\Girls

N. J................

Pa...................

N .J ................ j

L

V Semiskilled.

^Semiskilled.

Warping, horizontal.

Warping, Swiss___

Warping, direct...

Quilling...................

Twisting.................

/Warper. h o r i-

\ zontal.

Warper, Swiss..

Warper, direct..

Quiller.................

Twister................

/Men and women.

\Women and girls.

Women and girls.

Women and girls.

Women and girls.

/Men.......................

N .J ................

Pa...................

N. J. and Pa.

N. J. and Pa.

N. J. and Pa.

N .J ................

j-Skilled.

Skilled.

Skilled.

Semiskilled.

j-Skilled.

Skilled.

\skilled.

Skilled.

Skilled.

Loom fixing........... None.................... Loom fixer.........

\Menand women.

Men.......................

Pa...................

N. J. and Pa.

N .J ................

Pa...................

N. J. and Pa.

N. J. and Pa.

Weaving, b ro a d

silk.

Weaving, ribbons .

Cloth picking.........

j-Loom...................

Loom...................

None....................

Weaver,broad..

Weaver, ribbons

Cloth picker.......

/Men and women.

XWomen and girls.

Men and women.

Women and girls.

THROWING-MILL PROCESSES.

SOAKING.

The raw silk is usually received in bales containing 80 to 100 

tightly twisted skeins. These are first weighed and assorted according to quality and then soaked for several hours in a solution 

of warm water, olive oil, and neat’s-foot oil or similar substances. 

The silk is then partially dried—only partially since some moisture 

is required for the operations of winding and spinning—and then 

goes to the winders.

WINDING.

Each skein consists of a single thread about 1,200 yards in length. 

The skeins are placed on power reels or swifts, the ends of the 

threads are found and attached to empty bobbins, and the thread is 

wound upon these as they revolve rapidly. On a winding frame 

there are from 60 to 90 swifts, with 30 to 45 in one row or deck on 

each side.

Women and children both work at winding. The work consists 

of placing the skeins on the swifts, tying the ends of the threads 

together when they break, removing filled bobbins, and replacing

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 179

them with empty ones. The silk is wound twice, once before it is 

spun, which is called hard silk winding, and once after it has been 

spun and dyed, which is called soft silk winding. The process is the 

same in both cases, but the hard silk is harsher and more brittle. 

It therefore is more apt to break and the tying process is harder upon 

the fingers. In both kinds of winding the work is light and simple, 

and if the machinery is modern and well guarded it involves no 

danger. It requires, however, almost continuous standing and constant watchfulness, for the spindles are driven at the highest speed, 

and the threads are apt to break frequently. The operator has to 

bend forward slightly in order to tie the broken ends, but this, it is 

said, does not make the work more arduous.

SPINNING.

In spinning the bobbins wound with silk are taken from the winding frame and placed in a vertical position on the lower row of 

spindles of a spinning frame. The end of each thread is found and 

attached to an empty bobbin placed on a spindle on the upper rail 

of the frame. As the spindles revolve the thread is unwound from 

the lower onto the higher bobbin, being given a twist in the process. 

Like winding, spinning is done twice, but the work of the spinner is 

the same in each of these processes. The spinner’s part of the operation consists of watching the threads and tying together the ends of 

any which may break. She must also replace bobbins as may be 

necessary. She usually tends from 400 to 1,000 spindles, the number 

varying with the quality of silk that is being spun.

The spinner’s work requires continuous standing and incessant 

watchfulness. It is impossible for her to see from any one position 

all the sides she is tending, and as there is apt at any moment to be 

a breakage in one of the -500 or more threads that are being spun, she 

must always be on the move. The work also involves frequent bending to place the bobbins on the lower row of spindles.

DOUBLING.

The process of doubling consists merely of uniting two or more 

strands into a single thread loosely held together. The frame used 

for this purpose is similar to that used for winding, except that 

instead of swifts there is a series of metal pins so arranged that after 

the bobbins have been placed upon them the threads can be easily 

drawn off and brought together as a single thread. The work of 

the doubler is of the same nature and extent as that of the winder.

REELING.

During the spinning processes the thread is wound upon bobbins. 

Before being dyed it must be put into the form of a skein again,

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and this is done upon a machine called the power reeling machine. 

The bobbins of spun silk are placed upon a rail or row of metal pins 

near the bottom of the machine, the thread of each bobbin is found 

and attached to the reel and upon this it is wound into skeins. The 

reelers work consists of putting the bobbins upon the frame, tying 

the ends of threads together when they break, and straightening 

out any snarls or tangles which may occur. The modern reeling 

frame is equipped with automatic stops, so that when the thread 

breaks or when the required amount of silk has been skeined the 

reel comes to a standstill.

The work of reeling itself is simple and light, but in Paterson 

the reeler is required to lift the reels from the frames and place them 

upon benches that they may be ready for the lacers. The reels weigh 

from 15 to 25 pounds, and it will be readily seen that lifting them 

into and out of the reeling frame is heavy work.

LACING.

In order to keep the thread from becoming knotted or snarled 

during the dyeing process the skeins are laced. This consists simply of running short strings in and out through each skein, dividing 

it into at least four parts as it is spread out upon the reel, and of 

tying the same. Lacing is done chiefly by young boys and girls. 

It is light and simple work, but calls for considerable deftness. 

There are generally a number of periods of rest while waiting for 

reels.

BUNDLING.

This consists of looking the skeins over for imperfections of any 

kind, then twisting them into tight rolls and packing them into a 

neat, compact bundle, ready to be sent to the dyehouse. The work 

of bundling is light and simple in the extreme, but the detection of 

imperfections calls for skill and knowledge.

W EAVING-M ILL PROCESSES.

From the spinning mill the silk is sent to the dyehouse, where 

it is dyed by men, and from there it goes to the weaving mill. Here 

the first two operations, winding and doubling, are precisely the 

same as the processes of the same name in the spinning mills, except 

that they are now “ soft silk ” instead of “ hard silk ” winding and 

doubling. The first of the distinctively weaving mill processes is 

quilling; that is, transferring silk from bobbins to small spools or 

quills which when filled are placed in the shuttles of the loom. The 

work is practically the same as that of a winder or doubler, but is

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even simpler, and the operatives, who are always females, are usually 

younger than those employed in winding and doubling.

WARPING.

Warping is the process of putting a given number of silk threads 

of a certain length upon the warp beam of a loom. The warper, 

on receiving the spools containing the silk, places them on the 

creel, which is a stand containing 400 to 600 metal pins on which 

the bobbins are placed. The ends of each spool are passed through 

a rack in which there is a series of glass pins between which the 

threads pass, and are guided as they leave the spools. The threads 

are then led through a reed and after being divided are attached to 

the warping mill.

The warping mill consists of a cylinder or frame of metal construction 8 to 12 yards in circumference placed horizontally upon 

frames in the horizontal and Swiss warping mills and vertically in 

the hand warper. The latter revolves by means of a crank turned 

by hand, while the former are turned by power which is controlled 

by a footboard lever.

To start the mill the warper presses on the lever with one foot 

and remains in a standing position. He watches the threads as they 

are being wound on the warping mill and remedies any defects in 

the silk, such as knots or snarled places, and pieces or ties together 

broken threads. When the required length, which is denoted by a 

dial and bell, has been wound on the mill the section of threads is 

cut in two and a new section started.

After the required length and number of threads have been 

assembled on the mill the warp is transferred to warp beams or 

rolls to be inserted in the loom. This operation is called “ beaming,” 

and consists merely of winding the warp on beams or rolls turned 

by power. This work must be carefully done. The beamer removes 

rough threads, knots, etc., that were not removed during the operation of warping. In most establishments using the horizontal warping mill the warper beams the warps, but in a few plants this work 

is done by another operative, called a “ beamer.”

The same process of warping is followed in the Swiss warping 

mills. A special beaming frame must be used for these mills. The 

warping mill, which is considerably smaller than the horizontal 

mill, is lifted from its frame, carried to the beaming frame, the 

warp wound on the beam, and the mill placed back in its frame. 

Wherever the Swiss mill is used beamers are employed.

Another style of warper is the direct-warping machine, a compact 

and simple machine on which warps for ribbon looms are wound. In

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this style of warper the warp is wound directly upon the warp 

beam.

The hand warper is little used in this country at the present 

time. In Paterson some are installed in the homes of Germans and 

Swiss and are operated by the housewife.

The horizontal warping mill can, as a rule, be operated more 

economically by men than by women. Practically in no case can it 

be operated satisfactorily by a child. The work of beaming, which 

is difficult and heavy, must be done by the horizontal warper. A man, 

because of his greater physical power, is therefore able to turn out 

more work than a woman and, although men command 50 per cent 

higher wages, their labor is considered cheaper, and men are more 

highly skilled and competent.

The work involves constant standing, with the weight of the body 

resting mainly on one foot on the lever while the mill is turning. 

Frequently the operator can lean back against some object which 

gives oportunity for rest. Horizontal warping is a highly skilled 

occupation.

The horizontal warping mill is used largely in New Jersey, but in 

Pennsylvania the Swiss warping mill is preferred because women 

and girls can be more advantageously employed upon it The direct 

warper, which is used only in ribbon mills, is of simple mechanism 

and girls under 16 as well as women can operate it.

TWISTIN G-IN.

Twisting-in is preceded by the operation of drawing-in, which consists of drawing the ends of the threads through the eyes of the 

harness and the reeds of the loom, a process not unlike that of threading large needles. After the drawing-in process is completed, the 

harness is hung in the loom, and the beam or roll on which the warp 

is wound is placed in the back of the loom. The ends of the new 

warp are attached or twisted to the ends which were entered into the 

harness and reed, or are joined to the ends of the old warp*, if that 

has not been entirely woven and consists of the same number of 

threads. The operation of twisting-in consists of joining the ends 

together in their proper order by deftly rolling them between the 

finger tips.

The twister-in, if he is working on a broad-goods loom, sits in the 

frame of the loom; if it is a ribbon loom he reaches over the harness 

in a cramped and uncomfortable position. In New Jersey the work 

was considered unsuited to women, but in Pennsylvania a number 

were found employed in it. It is regarded as a highly skilled occupation.

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 183

W EAVING.

The general design of a loom is too familiar to need explanation.

The weaver’s work consists largely of piecing up broken ends of

warp threads and drawing them into their places through the harness and reed, filling shuttles with new quills and placing them in

the loom as required, taking off cloth, etc. The strain of the work

varies with the kind of silk being woven and the number of looms a

weaver is expected to look after. In the Paterson mills at the time

of this investigation broad-silk weavers never tended more than two

looms each, even when weaving the plainest goods; the silks woven

there were plain, fancy*, and figured goods. The products of the

Pennsylvania mills were largely plain silks, and a large proportion

of the broad-silk weavers looked after three or even four looms.

In ribbon weaving the operative tends a single loom on which from

6 to 100 ribbons are woven at one time. The duties of a ribbon

weaver are of the same nature as those of a broad-silk weaver, but

they are greater and more arduous. There are a greater number of

shuttles to keep filled with quills, a greater number of harnesses to

adjust and warp threads to piece together, and in many cases more

mechanism to keep in order.

CLOTH PICKING,

This consists of a careful examination of the cloth and the removal of rough ends, loose threads, etc., so that the goods may be

perfectly smooth and free from imperfections. Stains in the fabrics,

such as grease spots or dirt, must also be removed. This is considered

a skilled occupation. The goods are then put through a finishing

process, and pressed on hot rolls to remove creases and to give a

luster or gloss to the silk.

MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS.

There are a number of occupations in a silk mill which do not

form a direct part of the process of making the goods. Bobbins

must be brought to the winders and spinners, loom fixers must keep

the looms in order, silk goods must be folded, measured, and wrapped,

ribbons must be “blocked ” or wound on cardboard cylinders, their

ends must be pinned down and labels affixed to the cylinders, etc.

Also there are, of course, a number of supervisory positions. The

superintendens and managers of the silk mills visited were always

men, but those in charge of a room or a division were in the Paterson

mills mostly men and in the Pennsylvania mills chiefly young women.

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184 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

CHILDREN IN THE SILK INDUSTRY.

It is evident that a number of the processes described make small 

demands upon the worker for either strength or skill, and in this 

fact lies the importance of the child in the manufacture of silk. Almost from its beginning in this country this has been one of the 

leading child-employing industries. In 1905 it ranked third in the 

actual number of children employed, cotton goods and hosiery and 

knit goods being, respectively, first and second in this particular, and 

fourth in the percentage (9.2 per cent) which children formed of 

the total employees, being exceeded only by cotton, with 12 per cent; 

glass, with 10.1 per cent; and hosiery and knit goods, with 9.3 per 

cent.

The work of children, for the most part, is not sharply differentiated from that of adults. There are a few skilled occupations in 

which children are never found and a few unskilled occupations 

which are left wholly in their hands; but for the most part, especially among the female workers, there is no clear line of demarcation 

between the work of those under 16 and those over 16.

The following table shows by sex and by State the occupations of 

the 2,073 children under 16 for whom information on these points 

was gained:

EMPLOYEES UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE IN 13 SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, BY SEX AND

STATE.

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Occupation. Total.

Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total.

Bobbin carriers............................ 73 1 74 75 36 Ill 185

136

199

46

80

Doublers................. ...................... 18 18 3 115 118

T.an firs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __. . . . . . 43 35 78 121 121

PicVers cloth......................... 29 29 17 17

Qiillers......................................... 27 27 53 53

Heelers........................................... 13 4 17 33 147 180 197

Spinners........................................ 9 12 21 48 267 315 336

Twisters-in .................................. 1 1 1

Warpers, horizontal ...................

Weavers, broad-silk................... 4 43 47 47

W eavers, ribbon.......................... 1 2 3 3

Winders, hard-silk..................... 26 26 1 293 294 320

Winders, soft-silk....................... 1 1 1 37 38 39

Other occupations...................... 124 173 297 50 137 187 484

Total.................................... 262 326 588 217 1,268 1,485 2,073

Bobbin carrying is the most important of the boys’ occupations in 

both States. The work, which consists simply of carrying or, rather, 

dragging baskets of empty bobbins to the winders, doublers, or spinners, 

and carrying the filled bobbins from one machine to another, makes 

no demands upon the worker in the way of skill or intelligence, and 

is usually given as a first job to a beginner. The bobbin boy also 

sweeps the floors and does other odd jobs.

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Winding is numerically the most important occupation followed 

by the girls, but spinning is a close second. Four occupations— 

doubling, reeling, winding, and spinning—all considerably alike in the 

kind of work done, employed 920 of the 1,594 girls studied, considerably over half. All have the disadvantage of requiring continuous 

standing, and in all close attention to the work is required. Reeling, 

as done in Paterson, requires a good deal of heavy lifting, and hence 

is given over almost wholly to men and boys. In Pennsylvania, 

where the lifting is not required, it is almost as completely in the 

hands of women and girls.

Spinning is probably the hardest of these four occupations, both in 

the constant moving and stooping involved and in the nervous strain. 

In Paterson both operatives and employers looked upon spinning as 

men’s work, considering it “ much too hard and unhealthful work 

for women and girls.” In Pennsylvania no such opinion prevailed, 

and over four-fifths (84.5 per cent) of all the spinners studied were 

women or girls.

HOURS OF LABOR, OVERTIME, AND NIGHT WORK.

In both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania localities where the 

investigation was carried on the hours of labor were the same, 

namely, 10 per day, except Saturday, when the mills were operated 

for only 5 hours. In New Jersey working hours for children under 

16 were limited to 55 a week, while in Pennsylvania the law provided that “ no minor under 16, and no female, shall be employed 

in any establishment for a longer period than 60 hours in any one 

week, nor for a longer period than 12 hours in any one day.” Thus 

for adults in New Jersey, and for both children and adults in Pennsylvania, the working week, established by custom and the efforts 

of the employees, was distinctly shorter than that permitted by law.

Fifty-five hours a week represented full-time employment, but 

many of the workers were employed somewhat less than full time. 

The following table gives the average weekly hours actually worked, 

as shown by the pay-roll records:

AVERAGE HOURS AND PER CENT OF FULL TIME ACTUALLY W O RK ED IN A REPRESENTATIVE W E E K .

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Sex and age groups.

Average

hours.

Per cent

of full

time.

Average

hours.

Per cent

of full

time.

Males under 16 years............................................................................. 48.0 87.3 46.9 85.3

Females under 16 years......................................................................... 49.8 90.5 47.2 85.8

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Two facts are apparent from this table: That the average hours 

approached the standard full time more closely in New Jersey than 

in Pennsylvania, and that in both States the average hours actually 

worked by the girls were longer than those worked by the boys, the 

difference in this respect being greatest in New Jersey.

The question of overtime was of little importance during the 

period when this investigation was being conducted, since the depression of 1907-8 was beginning to make itself felt when the investigators were at work in Paterson and was in full force when the 

Pennsylvania data were being gathered. None of the mills investigated were regularly working more than the legal number of hours.

In regard to night work the two localities differed. Not one of the 

138 silk mills in Paterson was operated at night—that is, with a 

special night force. The law forbade without a single exception the 

employment of women and children in silk mills after 6 p. m., and the 

sentiment of operatives and manufacturers alike was against night 

work. In Pennsylvania in 7 of the 36 mills visited night as well as 

day work was the rule. In these 7 mills 40 men and 51 women and 1 

boy were at work at night. These numbers represent probably not 

more than 10 per cent of those employed at night in these mills under 

normal business conditions.

EARNINGS.

In the silk industry, as in most others, there was considerable 

variation between the rates of pay and the actual earnings. The 

following table groups the workers under 16 by the amounts actually 

earned during a specified pay-roll period:

186 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES UNDER 16 EARNING EACH CLASSIFIED

W E E K L Y AMOUNT IN SILK MILLS INVESTIGATED, B Y SEX AND STATE.

Classified weekly

earnings.

New Jersey. II Pennsylvania.

Males. Females. Males. Females.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent. Number. Pot cent.

Under $2...................... 31 13.2 26 9.2 25 12.1 391 31.4

$2 to $2.99.................... 25 10.6 42 14.8 89 43.0 379 30.5

$3 to $3.99.................... 83 35.2 82 29.0 64 30.9 313 25.1

$4 to $4.99.................... 64 27.1 60 21.2 21 10.2 117 9.4

$5 to $5.99..................... 24 10.2 37 13.1 3 1.4 26 2.1

$6 to $6.99.................... 5 2.1 18 6.4 11 .9

$7 to $7.99.................... 2 .8 10 3.5 1 .5 5 .4

$8 to $8.99.................... 2 .8 7 2.5 3 1.4 1 .1

$9 to $9.99.................... 1 .3 1 .1

$10 to $10.99.................

$11 to $11.99................. 1 .5

Total.................. 236 100.0 283 100.0 207 100.0 1,244 100.0

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The work done in the mills of the two States is so different that 

the above earnings can not fairly be compared as between States. 

It will be noticed, however, that the relation between the earnings 

of the sexes differs, the level of the girls’ wages being higher than 

that of the boys in New Jersey and lower in Pennsylvania. Whether 

any reason for this difference exists beyond the fact that there were 

fewer industrial openings for girls in the Pennsylvania towns visited than in Paterson can not be stated. Earnings in both States are 

low. In New Jersey the largest group, both of the boys and of the 

girls, was composed of those earning from $3 to $4; in Pennsylvania the largest group of boys earned from $2 to $3, while the 

largest group of girls earned under $2.

The actual earnings may differ considerably from the accepted 

rates of pay, owing to failure to work full time or in the other direction, to working overtime, or for other reasons. For 305 boys and 

1,284 girls full data were obtained as to occupation, regular full 

time (55 hours per week) rates of pay, and actual earnings. These 

facts are shown in the following table:

AVERAGE ACTUAL AND AVERAGE FULL-TIME EARNINGS OF EMPLOYEES UNDER 16,

B Y OCCUPATION AND SEX.

New Jersey.

Males. Females.

Occupation.

Number.

Average

actual

earnings.

Average

full-time

rate.

Number.

Average

actual

earnings.

Average

full-time

rate.

Bobbin carriers................................................. 73 $3.24 $3.80 1 $2.50

5.15

3.41

3.10

$3.03

5.67

3.80

3.52

Doublers............................................................. 18

Lacers................................................................. 43 2.82 3.69 35

Pickers, cloth.................................................... 29

Quillers............................................................... 27 4.74 5.06

Reelers................................................................ 13 5.02 5.28 4 4.45 5.34

Spinners............................................................. 9 6.39 6.27 12 5.77 5.72

Twisters-in........................................................

Weavers, broad-silk...................... .................

Weavers, ribbon..............................................

Winders, hard-silk........................................... 26 5.34 6.00

Winders, soft-silk............................................. 1 7.16 7.48

Pennsylvania.

Bobbin carriers.

Doublers.............

Lacers.................

Pickers, cloth...

Quillers...............

Reelers................

Spinners.....................

Twisters-in................

Weavers, broad-silk.

Weavers, ribbon___

Winders, hard-silk..

Winders, soft-silk__

2.75

3.13

2.97

2.84

7.15

5.96 11.20

3.00

2.39

3.30

3.14

3.25

3.36

7.15

6.38

11.20 

3.03

2.53

36 2.16 2.59

115 2.65 3.30

121 1.86 2.64

17 3.88 3.96

53 3.20 3.36

147 2.62 3.25

267 2.77 3.36

43 5.19 5.56

2 1.00 5.50

293 2.47 3.36

37 3.40 3.63

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In New Jersey the spinners, both girls and boys, had worked a 

little overtime during the week for which data were taken, and therefore show actual earnings slightly m excess of their full-time rates 

of pay. In the majority of cases whatever difference existed was in 

the other direction, and sometimes, as in the cases of the boy lacers 

in New Jersey and the girl hard-silk winders in Pennsylvania, the 

discrepancy was considerable.

This table also emphasizes the low level of the possible earnings 

of girls in the Pennsylvania mills. There are only two occupations 

in which the full-time rate of pay rises as high as $5 per week, not 

one in which it reaches $6, and nine in which it falls below $4. Even 

if the mills should run full time, with no stops or breakages, and if 

the worker lost no time through illness, accident, or delay in receiving materials, her earnings would still be very strictly limited. The 

full-time earnings, it may be mentioned, usually represent time rates, 

the piece-rate method of payment being used but little in the mills 

investigated, except in the case of weavers, among whom it was 

common.

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

It is usual to consider at least four forms of the illegal employment of children: Employment under the legal age, employment 

without the certificates required by law, employment for a greater 

number of hours per day or per week than is legally permissible, and 

employment at prohibited times, as at night in States where that is 

forbidden. As already mentioned, this investigation was conducted 

during a period of depression, when mills were running slack time 

or closing altogether, so that the third and fourth forms of illegality, 

if they existed at all, were so limited in extent as to be negligible. 

But with the first and second forms the situation was very different. 

In both of the States investigated the employment of children under 

14 was illegal, but in the New Jersey mills 38 and in the Pennsylvania 

mills 280 children under that age were found at work. For each of 

these a careful individual investigation was made by the agents of the 

bureau, to make sure of the exact age and to learn under Avhat conditions the child had gone to work. The situation as to legal requirements and efforts to enforce the law differed somewhat in the two 

States.

IN NEW JERSEY.

At the time of this investigation a law passed in 1903 was in force 

which provided that no child under 14 should be employed or permitted to work in any manufacturing establishment, required employers to keep on file specified certificates of age of all minors under 

16 employed by them, and limited hours of labor for such minors to 

10 a day and 55 a week. This act became effective January, 1904,

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and at that date the governor of New Jersey appointed a new chief 

factory inspector, who was charged to enforce it vigorously. The 

following table shows the number of children found by the inspectors to be illegally at work in factories in all industries in the State 

and discharged by order of the chief factory inspector in each year, 

1904 to 1908, inclusive:

CHILDREN DISCHARGED FROM FACTORIES IN ALL INDUSTRIES B Y ORDER OF THE

CHIEF FACTORY INSPECTOR OF N EW JERSEY, 1904 TO 1908.

Year.

Children

discharged.

Year.

Children

discharged.

1904 ................................................................ 397 1907.................................................................. 399

1905 ................................................................ 238 1908........................ ............................... 195

361

In the present investigation 38 children under 14 years of age 

were found at work in 24 silk mills in Paterson. In none of the 

other establishments were children under 14 found at work. Because of the great difficulty of learning the true age of children and 

in view of the many cases in which children alleged to be over 14 

and in possession of certificates were later found to be under 14, it 

can not be assumed that these 38 cases cover all the children employed under legal age in these establishments. The following table 

shows the age, sex, and race distribution of these children:

Males. 1

| Females.

Race.

11 years

of age.

12 years

of age.

13 years

of age.

11 years

of age.

12 years

of age.

13 years

of age.

American . . . _ 3

1

1

3

1

English . . . ............................................................. 1

i ’ *

(rPrman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

i 2

! 1

TVicTi ___________________ ' .............. i |1 3 ! 1

Italian .......................................; 1 6 ! l 11

I 1

1 2

Total .................................................... 1 l 17 l 18

The boy of 12 had left school and begun work at 9 years of age, 

one of the Italian girls of 13 had begun work at 10, one boy and one 

girl had begun at 11, and nine boys and eight girls had begun at 12. 

Two of the girls had never attended school and were unable to read 

or write.

In addition to these, in the course of the family investigation, 28 

boys and 25 girls were found who were 14 years of age and over and 

legally at work in the silk mills at the time of investigation, but who

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had been at work for many months illegally under 14 years of age. 

Their ages at beginning work had ranged from 10 to 13 years.

Children employed without required legal papers.

The New Jersey child-labor law provided that copies of the certificates of birth and other proofs of age, together with copies of 

affidavits relating to age of children (the originals of which are to 

be kept on file in the establishments where the children are employed) 

should be mailed within 24 hours after filing to the factory-inspection 

department at Trenton. In the Paterson establishments investigated there were employed 936 children under 16. For every one of 

these copies of the papers relating to age should have been on file 

in Trenton, but a search of the records there showed that for 471 of 

them no such papers had been filed.

In 119 silk mills in Paterson investigation was made as to whether 

the employers were obeying the law as to affidavits and as to keeping 

a register of all employees under 16. Twenty-nine establishments 

(24.4 per cent) had affidavits for all children employed, 41 (34.5 per 

cent) had affidavits for some of the children employed and the remainder had no affidavits for any of their children. Nineteen establishments kept a register of the children employed and 98 did not. 

(Information on this point was not secured from 2 establishments.)

In these 119 establishments 818 children were employed, 302 of 

whom (159 boys and 143 girls) were without affidavits of age.

In enforcing the law the factory inspectors were handicapped by 

its terms. The filing of proofs of age and keeping of registers were 

not mandatory upon employers; it was merely provided that if they 

did so such proofs and register should free them from responsibility 

should any question arise about the child’s age. Many manufacturers, especially those who were large employers, took great pains 

in requiring all children to present affidavits and supporting proofs. 

In this way they avoided danger of prosecution if a child were really 

under the legal age. Others were careless, preferring risk of prosecution to the trouble of securing the required papers.

IN PENNSYLVANIA.

At the time of this investigation great confusion existed in Pennsylvania as to what the requirements of the child-labor law really 

were. In 1905 a law had been passed forbidding employment under 

14, requiring strict proof of age and making literacy and physical 

fitness prerequisites of employment. In October, 1905, a court decision on this law was given to the effect that “ the sections of the

190 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 191

law relating to educational and physical requirements and that requiring the issuing of employment certificates were unconstitutional, 

while the section bearing on the ages of the children was in no wise 

a violation of the constitution.” This decision was upheld upon appeal, and the law of 1905 thus being declared invalid in these respects 

an earlier statute became effective which required as proof of age only 

the affidavit of the child’s parent or guardian. Much uncertainty 

existed as to whether or not a certain amount of school attendance 

was a necessary prerequisite to employment, and as to the precise 

conditions under which an employment certificate might be issued. 

The one point which was looked upon as certain was that if an employer had on file an affidavit from the parent or guardian of each 

child in his employ stating that the child was 14 or “ over 14,” then 

no matter what its real age might be, the employer was immune from 

prosecution. According to the terms of the law the employer must 

keep such affidavits on file for all children under 16 in his employ, 

but the affidavit was the property of the child and must be returned 

to it when it gave up its employment.

Children employed under legal age.

In 10 of the 36 Pennsylvania mills investigated no children under 

14 were found. In the remaining 26 mills situated in 17 cities and 

towns, 280 children under 14 were found at work, their age and sex 

distribution being as follows:

Age. Boys. Girls. Total.

10 years of age............................................................................................................ 2 2

11 years of age............................................................................................................ 1 6 7

12 years of age............................................................................................................ 14 35 49

13 years of age............................................................................................................ 29 193 222

Total.................................................................................................................. 44 236 280

These children do not represent isolated instances of carelessness 

on the part of employers usually anxious to obey the law. In two 

establishments they formed 5 per cent of all the children employed, 

and from this they ran up to 20, 30, and even 50 per cent of the total 

employees under 16.

Besides the large number of children under 14 years, the legal age, 

found employed in the mills investigated, a number of children were 

also found working who were 14 or over at the time of the investigation, and therefore of legal working age, who had been at work in 

the silk mills from a month to three years before their fourteenth 

birthday. The total number of such children found who had been 

illegally employed while under 14 years of age during the year 1907

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192 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

was 471. These figures indicate how general had been the practice 

of sending children to wTork before reaching 14 years of age.1

In addition to the 280 children who were working under the legal 

age, 173 children 14 and 15 years of age were found at work with 

false affidavits and 187 of the same ages were found working without affidavits of any kind, making a total of 640 children found at 

work in violation of the law.

The homes of the children at work under the legal age were visited, 

and in addition to the children employed in the silk mills there were 

found 118 other children in the same families at work under the legal 

age. Of these 8 under 14 years of age were at work in industrial 

establishments other than silk, 80 under 14 were at work in the coal 

breakers, and 30 under 16 were at work down in the coal mines.

The following table shows by race the number of children illegally 

employed in the silk mills, together with the number of children in 

the same families illegally employed in other industries:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN IN SILK-MILL FAMILIES ILLEGALLY

EM PLOYED, B Y RACE.

Race.

Children under 16 years of age illegally employed in—

Total illegally

employed.

Silk mills.

Other

indusUnder tries.

14 years

of age.

14 and 15

years of

age with

false affidavits.

14 and 15

years of

age without affidavits.

Total.

Number. Per cent.

Number. Per cent.

American..................... 9 36 11 56 8.8 6 62 8.2

English........................ 7 11 15 33 5.1 4 37 4.9

German........................ 15 14 21 50 7.8 5 55 7.2

Irish.............................. 51 38 36 125 19.5 26 151 19.9

Lithuanian.................. 13 1 7 21 3.3 4 25 3.3

Polish........................... 88 34 47 169 26.4 28 197 26.0

Ruthenian................... 33 2 10 45 7.0 11 56 7.4

Slovak.......................... 30 13 17 60 9.4 24 84 11.1

Welsh........................... 21 11 17 49 7.7 5 54 7.1

Other............................ 13 14 5 32 5.0 5 37 4.9

Total.................. 280 174 186 640 100.0 118 758 100.0

In the families represented in the above table there were 1,297 

children at work. It will be noticed that more than half of these 

(58.4 per cent) were illegally employed and that not far from onethird (30.7 per cent) were at work under the legal age.

Children leaving school to go to work.

At the time of this investigation it was matter of common report 

in Pennsylvania that children were leaving school to go to work 

under the legal age with great freedom. To test this a special in1 Vol. IV, Silk Industry, P. 101.

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 193

quiry was made of every principal and teacher in the public schools 

of 21 cities and boroughs of Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties—the 

two counties in which the silk investigation was carried on. The 

inquiry related only to children who left school under the age of 14 

between June, 1907, and June, 1908. It was found that 1,436 children under the age of 14 had left school during the specified period.

The causes for leaving were as follows:

To work in coal mines or factories___________________________ 481

To work in miscellaneous industries_________________________ 84

To work in domestic service, on farms, etc--------------------------- 214

For other causes than to begin work------------------------------------- 657

Total___________________________________________________1,436

In other words, 54.2 per cent of those leaving school under 14 

during the given year left for the purpose of beginning work. Some 

of those who went into farm work or domestic service may not have 

violated the law, since up to 1908 it was permissible to begin such 

work at 13. In practically 40 per cent of the cases, however, there 

was no such exemption. The child-labor laws of Pennsylvania were 

radically changed in 1909, following the period of the above 

investigation. Under the new law, in effect January 1, 1910, the old 

system of employment through affidavits issued by aldermen or justices of the peace was done away with. The new law required that 

employment certificates showing that children were 14 and could 

read and write English intelligently should be issued by superintendents or supervising principals of public schools in large places 

and by principals of schools, or secretaries of the school boards, or 

by persons deputized by any of these officials to do this work in 

smaller places. Principals of private or parochial schools might 

also issue certificates, but must send copies each month to the publicschool official in their district who issued certificates. These officials 

must require proof that the children are 14, either by birth certificates, baptismal certificates, passports, or other religious or other official records of age. Where these were unobtainable, the record of 

age on school registers might be accepted. Where even these could 

not be produced, an affidavit might be accepted. Without these certificates no children of 14 and 16 could be employed. The law of 

1905, which prohibited the employment of boys under 16 in mines, 

was repealed by the law of 1909, unintentionally, it was said, and as 

the law stood boys of 14 and 15 might be employed in the mines.

At the expiration of the first five months’ operation of the law an 

investigation was made by the bureau in seven of the principal communities in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties for the purpose of

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------13

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noting the work of the law. Each of the school superintendents was 

requested to furnish certain information from his records.

RESULTS OF TEACHERS' EXAMINATIONS OF CHILDREN UNDER N E W L A W , JAN. 1 TO

M AY 31,1910, IN LACKAW ANNA AND LUZERNE COUNTIES, PA.

194 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Number of children who—

Locality. Were examined

for certificates.

Secured

certificates.

Did not

secure

certificates.

Were rej

cau:

Under 14

years of

age.

ected bese—

Unable to

read and

write

English.

Had been

at work.

Had been

at work

and were

rejected.

Scranton.........................................

Wilkes-Barre.................................

Pittston..........................................

Dunmore.........................................

Olyphant........................................

Jessup..............................................

Avoca..............................................

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

Per cent..........................................

2,156

2791

2457

238

2200

2214

110

1,711

545

82

222

136

114

85

445

2246

2375

16

264

2 100

25

178

2 181

50

4

(<)

10

267

265

2325

12

(*)2100

15

0)

2490

2425

16

< ?*»

25

8

2375

16

(,U25

4,166

100.0

2,895

69.5

1,271

30.5

6 423

6 35.0

6 784

6 65.0 8

(<)

(<)

1 Not reported, but a majority.

2 Careful estimate of superintendent of schools, where no records were kept excepting of the number who

had passed the examinations and secured the certificates.

s Not reported, but a large number.

* Not reported.

«> Not including 64; cause of rejection not reported.

The table shows that in the seven cities and boroughs named, 4,166 

children presented themselves to the school authorities for examination for the purpose of procuring certificates which would enable 

them to continue in their employments, if at work, or to secure new 

positions. Most of those examined had been at work. Of the 4,166 

children examined, 2,895, or 69.5 per cent, secured certificates, while

1,271, or 30.5 per cent, were rejected.

The causes for rejection were secured for 1,207 children. It appears that 423 children, or 35 per cent, were rejected because they 

were under the legal age of 14 years and 784, or 65 per cent, were 

rejected because they were unable to read and write English as required by law. Most of those rejected had been at work.1

SUMMARY OF EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN.

The silk industry in the localities investigated employs large numbers of children, especially of girls. The work done by them is for 

the most part unskilled or semiskilled, is usually light, and presents 

few occupational risks. It generally, however, requires continuous 

standing. At the time of the investigation hours rarely exceeded 55 

a week, overtime was unusual, and night work rare. The wage level 

was low, especially in Pennsylvania, where a less skilled grade of 

work was required. Illegal employment of children was not unknown 

in New Jersey and was common in Pennsylvania.

1Vol. IV , Silk Industry, pp. 130, 131.

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 195

WOMEN IN THE SILK INDUSTRY.

The table already given (p. 171) shows that female workers aged 

16 and over formed 53.6 per cent in New Jersey and 67.8 per cent 

in Pennsylvania of the total workers in the mills studied, and the 

table on page 177 shows how they are distributed among the leading 

occupations. In Pennsylvania there are only two leading occupations—twisting-in and horizontal warping—followed by women in 

which girls under 16 are not also found. In New Jersey girls under 

16 are not found among the weavers, but in Pennsylvania 45 under 

that age were engaged in weaving. Nevertheless, as between girls 

under 16 and those over that age, weaving, like warping, may be 

regarded as belonging to the older group. Both of these occupations 

require a skill, and horizontal warping, in addition, requires a degree 

of strength not usually found among children.

The labor involved in tending a horizontal-warping mill is both 

heavy and arduous. Men are better qualified for the work than are 

women, because of greater physical strength and endurance, and for 

this reason can turn out a greater amount of work. * * * For a 

number of years only horizontal-warping mills (and a few hand 

warpers), were in use in silk factories, and only men were employed 

for the work. In the course of time the men became strongly organized into a union, which was all the stronger because the occupation 

was skilled and required months of instruction and experience to 

make the operator proficient. * * * Men are already being replaced by women in this occupation. As a rule mill owners frankly 

state that they would prefer to have women, not because they are 

better qualified for the occupation, for they are not, nor because they 

are really cheaper, even at lower wages, but chiefly because they do 

not belong to unions and are more tractable. So long as there are 

women horizontal warpers the manufacturer feels that he has a 

strong defense against the demands of the men. In six large Paterson factories women only are employed as horizontal warpers.1

In weaving it will be noticed that in Pennsylvania women have 

almost a monopoly of the broad-silk weaving, only 17 males being 

found in it. In the Paterson broad-silk mills, on the other hand, 

only 37.9 per cent of the weavers were women. The great bulk of 

the product of the Pennsylvania mills consists of plain weavers, a considerable portion being of the cheaper grades, while in Paterson much 

of the product consists of Jacquard and other fancy silks of a very 

excellent quality. While women can operate the Jacquard looms with 

success, they are on the whole less efficient than men because of less 

mechanical ability to make repairs to the looms.

In general, the same criticism is to be made from the standpoint of 

the employment of women as from that of the employment of children ; the occupations of both are apt to demand continuous standing, 

and not infrequently require much bending and stooping.

1 Vol. IV , Silk Industry, pp. 39, 40.

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HOURS OF LABOR.

As before stated, the usual hours for silk workers, both in Paterson and in Pennsylvania, at the time of the investigation were 55 a 

week. At that time, owing to the depression of 1907-8, undertime 

was far more frequent than overtime. The average hours actually 

worked by adults in the mills investigated were a$ follows:

196 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

New

Jersey.

Pennsylvania.

Males 16 years and over............................................................................................................... 51.9 48.6

Females 16 years and over.......................................................................................................... 50.3 42.5

It will be seen that for wo^ien especially, the hours actually worked 

fell far short of the normal week.

EARNINGS.

The actual earnings of workers 16 years or over in the mills investigated during a given week were as follows:

Weekly earnings.

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Males. Females. Males. Females.

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

Under $2...................... 50 1.5 93 2.1 25 6.1 353 8.4

$2 to $2.99..................... 39 1.1 77 1.7 23 5.6 492 11.7

$3 to $3.99.................... 43 1.2 131 3.0 40 9.7 746 17.7

$4 to $4.99.................... 86 2.5 233 5.3 45 10.9 948 22.5

$5 to $5.99.................... 109 3.2 379 8.7 24 5.8 447 10.6

$6 to $6.99..................... 114 3.3 717 16.4 27 6.5 368 8.7

$7 to $7.99..................... 159 4.6 795 18.2 27 6.5 334 7.9

$8 to $8.99.................... 210 6.1 327 7.5 24 5.8 218 5.2

$9 to $9.99.................... 212 7.0 303 6.9 24 5.8 154 3.7

$10 to 10.99................... 216 6.3 296 6.8 17 4.1 94 2.2

$11 to $11.99................. 240 7.0 205 4.7 15 3.7 34 .8

$12 to $12.99................. 2G3 7.6 247 5.7 18 4.4 23 .5

$13 to $13.99................. 259 7.5 206 4.7 10 2.4 2 C1)

$14 to $14.99................. 235 6.8 184 4.2 14 3.4 3 .1

$15 to $16.99................. 454 13.2 124 2.8 48 11.6 2 0)

$17 to $19.99................. 509 14.8 53 1.2 27 6.5

$20 to $24.99................. 203 5.9 4 .1 5 1.2 2 0)

$25 and over................ 15 A 2 0)

Total.................. 3,446 100.0 4,374 100.0 413 100.0 4,222 I 100.0

i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

It will be seen that there is a much greater difference between 

the earnings of the sexes among these adult workers than among 

those under 16. (See ante, p. 186.) In New Jersey 20.8 per cent of 

the women earned under $6 and 55.4 per cent under $8 a week, as 

against 9.5 per cent and 17.4 per cent of the men in the same earnings groups, while only 30.2 per cent of the women, against 69.5

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 197

per cent of the men, earned $10 or more. In Pennsylvania the disproportion, though still marked, was not so great in the lowerearnings groups, but the wage level for both sexes was lower. Among 

the women 70.9 per cent earned under $6 and 87.5 per cent earned 

under $8, against 38.1 per cent and 51.1 per cent of the men in 

these earnings groups. Only 3.6 per cent of the women earned $10 

or more, as against 37.3 per cent of the men.

The difference between the average full-time rate and the average 

actual earnings is shown for the leading occupations by the following table:

AVERAGE ACTUAL AND AVERAGE FULL-TIME EARNINGS, B Y SE X AND OCCUPATION,

FOR W ORKERS AGED 16 AND OVER.

New Jersey.

Males. Females.

Occupation.

Number.

Average

actual

earnings.

Average

rate per

week of

55 hours.

Number.

Average

actual

earnings.

Average

rare per

week of

55 hours.

Bobbin carriers.......................... .................... 19 $3.93 $4.51

Doublers.......................................................... 278 $6.41

5.03

$7.04

Lacers................................................................ 6 2.44 3.58 9 5.67

Pickers, cloth.................................................... 3 6.72 9.24 318 6.28 6.88

Quillers ..................................... ........................ 1 6.00 6.00 307 5.92 6.38

Reelers .......................................................... 93 6.32 6.77 2 3.09 6.82

Spinners............................................................. 244 7.24 7.76 6 6.49 6.60

Twisters-in . ............. ................................ 147 14.77 16.78 6 15.08 15.24

Warpers, horizontal......................................... 196 15.74 17.87 144 10.81 11.99

Weavers, broad-silk......................................... 1,384

433

12.38 12.71 845 11.06 11.72

Weavers, ribbon ...............................*......... 15.52 16.34 394 11.25 13.15

Winders, hard-silk ....................................... 521 6.67 7.26

W inders, soft-silk............................................. 614 7.29 7.98

Total........................................................ 2,526 3,344

Pennsylvania.

Bobbin carriers................................................. 23 $3.15 $4.79

4.02

3 $2.15

3.65

$2.81

Doublers........................................................... 1 3.95 437 4.51

Lacers................................................................ 21 2.44 3.08

Pickers, cloth.................................................... 119 4.68 5.67

Quillers............................................................... 126 4.58 4.79

Reelers................................................................ 5 4.35 4.18 217 3.39 4.24

Spinners .......................................................... 86 3.83 5.72 462 3.72 4.46

Twfetws-in......... - - r____ t ....................... ..... 30 11.92 12.10 24 6.97 8.09

W arpers, horizontal............... ........................ 2 11.50 11.50 70 7.05 7.98

Weavers, broad-silk........................................ 13 6.11 7.43 1,104

53

7.01 7.21

Weavers, ribbon.............................................. 93 10.18 12.38 7.29 9.46

W inders, hard-silk........................................... 895 3.33 4.40

Winders, soft-silk............................................ 165 4.59 5.01

Total........................................................ 253 3,696

It will be noticed that only one group, the five male reelers in

Pennsylvania, shows actual earnings higher than the full-time rate.

One male quiller in New Jersey and two male warpers in Pennsylvania reached the full-time weekly rates, but the remaining groups

of male workers and all the groups of female workers fell below the

full-time rates; in some instances the discrepancy was considerable.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
198 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOB STATISTICS.

WORKING CONDITIONS.

The silk mills are not so arranged that workers of different sexes 

or ages are separated, and consequently the conditions were the same 

for both women and children. In Paterson 124 of the 138 mills investigated were of brick, stone, concrete, or some combination of 

these materials, 9 of the remainder being frame, and 5 of brick and 

frame combined. In Pennsylvania of the 36 investigated 25 were of 

brick, 1 of concrete, and 10 frame. In Paterson 106, and in Pennsylvania 11 of the mills investigated were more than two stories high. 

The following tables show the situation in regard to fire escapes:

EM PLOYEES W IT H AND W ITHOUT FIRE-ESCAPE PROTECTION IN PATERSON, N .J .

AND PENNSYLVANIA MILLS.

Paterson, N . J.

Story of building in which employees

work.

Number of employees. Fire-escape protection.

Men. Women. Children. Total. Per cent

with.

Per cent

without.

First story......................................................... 2,324

1,158

741

1,288

330

773

242

42

2,534

1,328

981

1,442

517

540

331

33

464

150

71

136

21

74

9

11

5,322

2,636

1,793

2,866

868

1,387

582

86

Second story, with fire escapes.....................

Second story, without fire escapes...............

Third story, with fire escapes.......................

Third story, without fire escapes.................

Fourth story, with fire escapes.....................

Fourth story, without fire escapes................

Fifth story, with fire escapes.........................

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

59.5

........76*8

........70*4’

’ " ‘ ioo.'o’

40.5

..........23*2

29.6

6,898 7,706 936 15,540 68.2 31.8

Pennsylvania.

First story......................................................... 328 2,006

565

891 3,225

..................... 13 187 46.5 765Second story, with fire escapes

Second story, without fire escapes............... 157 589 135 881 53.5

Third story, with fire escapes....................... 16 335 132 483 60.1 .................

Third story, without fire escapes................. 31 261 28 320 39.9

Fourth story, with fire escapes..................... 22 289 87 398 54.4

Fourth story, without fire escapes............... 12 297 25 334 ..........45*6

Total........................................................ 579 4,342 1,485 6,406 51.7 48.3

It appears that in the Paterson mills a total of 3,243 persons, or

31.7 per cent of all employees working above the first sto ry , were 

working on second, third, and fourth floors without fire-escape protection. In Pennsylvania 48.3 per cent of all employees working 

above the first floor were without such protection.

LIGHT AND VENTILATION.

Light was usually good in the workrooms, as the work demanded 

close watching. A few old mills in Paterson required artificial light

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 199

during the day, but these were exceptional. Only three mills were 

found, one in Paterson and two in Pennsylvania, which had any 

provisions for ventilation other than doors and windows.

A silk mill is as a rule clean. There is no dust or lint or fumes in 

the air, so the need for special means of ventilation is not so imperative as in other textile mills. There is as a rule sufficient air 

space for each employee (regarding 250 cubic feet per operative as 

sufficient), since the frames which the operatives tend occupy so 

much space tjiat the operatives frequently work at considerable 

distances from each other. Therefore, if a sufficient number of windows are kept open, the ventilation of a silk factory is ample. The 

difficulty lies in the fact that as a rule no one person looks after the 

ventilation of the workroom as a part of his duties. This matter is, 

according to statements made by the manufacturers, left to the employees to look after in a hit-or-miss sort of way.1

WASH ROOMS, TOILETS, ETC,

In both States the factory law required the provision of wash 

rooms, but in both the general practice was to provide only sinks 

with running water in the workrooms. It is to the manufacturer’s 

interest that the employees should keep their hands as clean as possible, and usually there was abundant provision of sinks, towels, and 

soap. No dressing rooms were provided for women in the Paterson 

mills, but 10 Pennsylvania mills had so-called dressing rooms, “ boxlike affairs of the dimensions and shape of a telephone booth, without any windows—merely a place in which a girl could change her 

skirt and shoes in privacy.”

Separate toilet accommodations for the sexes were provided in 

every case with the exception of one broad-silk mill in Paterson. 

The toilet facilities in 32 mills in Paterson and in 2 in Pennsylvania 

were deemed by the agent to be insufficient. As a rule, there was 

not sufficient privacy of approach. In most cases the toilets for 

males adjoin those for females; there were separate approaches in 

only 47 of the 138 mills in Paterson and in only 14 of 36 in 

Pennsylvania.

In Paterson the condition as to odor and cleanliness was bad in 

14 establishments, affecting 1,529 employees, only fair in 46 establishments with 5,420 persons, and good in 78 establishments employing 8,591 persons. The bad conditions affected the air of the workrooms, the odor being noticeable in 8 establishments employing 486 

persons. In Pennsylvania the air of the workrooms was affected in 

2 establishments with 164 persons.2

1 Vol. IV , Silk Industry, pp. 179, 180. 2 Idem, p. 182.

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FAMILY CONDITIONS AND SOURCES AND AMOUNT OF

FAMILY INCOME.

The names of a certain number of woman and child employees of 

various ages were taken from the pay rolls of the various mills 

investigated, visits were made to their homes, and schedules of questions covering the family conditions were filled out. In New Jersey 

827 and in Pennsylvania 1,082 such families were visited.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF FAMILIES.

In this industry, as in the manufacture of glass, no distinct type 

of family could be found. While the silk mill gives employment to 

adult males as well as to women and children, practically all of the 

communities included in this investigation furnished to a large 

extent employment for both boys and men in other important industries. In Paterson 30.5 per cent of the 580 fathers whose occupations were learned were in the silk mills, the remainder being 

scattered through the skilled and unskilled occupations and the 

business pursuits of the city. In Pennsylvania, of 877 fathers whose 

occupation was learned only two were in the silk mills.

Racially the families seemed to reflect the general composition 

of the community. There was no indication of special racial aptitude drawing the people of a certain race to the silk mill.

COMPOSITION OF FAMILIES; EMPLOYMENT OF MEMBERS.

The 1,909 families studied averaged 6.4 persons and 3.1 wage 

earners per family. The number of families having members of 

specified classes was as follows:

200 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Number

of families.

Per cent

of families.

Father living with family........................................................................................................... 1,529

1,837

803

1,111

1,258

1,459

80.1

96.2

42.1

58.2

65.9

76.4

Mother living with family...........................................................................................................

Having male children 16 years and over................................................................................

Having female children 16 years and over.............................................................................

Having children 14 and 15 years of age...................................................................................

Having children under 14 years..............................................................................................

Of the fathers living with their families, 95.3 per cent, and of 

the mothers 14.3 per cent were working outside the home and contributing to the family support. Of the sons 16 years of age and 

over 96.1 per cent, and of the daughters 88.8 per cent were working; 

so were 89.6 per cent of the children aged 14 and 15 and 9.3 per cent 

of the children under 14.1 It is very evident that in these families,

1 The proportion which children under 14 at work formed of the total children under 

14 in the families studied in three other industries was as follows: Cotton, New England 

families 2.9 per cent, southern families 34.5 per cent; men’s clothing, 1.5 per cent; glass 

industry, 4.1 per cent.

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 201

while the employment of mothers outside their home was rare, the 

employment of children, both boys and girls, was regarded as the 

proper thing as soon as the law would permit it, or even before. In 

regard to the work of mothers and of children under 14, the two 

States present a marked contrast. In New Jersey 22.3 per cent of 

the mothers but only 3.3 per cent of the children under 14 years were 

at work, while in Pennsylvania only 8.3 per cent of the mothers but

11.7 per cent of the children under 14 were working.

AMOUNT AND SOURCES OF FAM ILY INCOME.

For the total 1,909 families the average net income was $966. This 

varies according to the members contributing, as shown in the following table:

Average net income per family of families having—

Father at work---------------------------------------------------------------------- $1,014

Mother at work--------------------------------------- ---------------------------- 747

Male children 16 years of age and over at work------------------ 1,192

Female children 16 years of age and over at work________ 1,101

Children 14 and 15 years of age at work___________________ 941

Children under 14 years of age at work___________________ 842

The general tendency is for a woman with a family not to go to 

work outside her home unless driven by necessity, so it is natural 

that the families with mothers at work should be those with the 

lowest incomes. The difference is marked, the incomes for these 

families averaging $95 less than for the next lowest group and $219 

less than the average for the whole number of families. The relative 

prosperity of families having children 16 years of age and over at 

work is very marked.

The proportion of the net family income contributed by each class 

of workers was as follows:

PER CENT OF FAM ILY INCOME FROM SPECIFIED SOURCES.*

New

Jersey.

Pennsylvania. Total.

Earnings of father..................................................................................................... 46.3 53.8 50.5

Earnings of mother................................................................................................... 36.8 23.1 33.0

37.0

35.1

16.6

Earnings of male children 16 years and over...................................................... 35.6 38.2

Earnings of female children 16 years and over.................................................... 42.2 26.3

Earnings of children 14 and 1 5 ............................................................................ 17.6 16.2

Earnings of children under 14.................... ...................................................... . 11.6 13.4 13.3

1 These per cents apply in each case only to the incomes of families having wage earners of the specified

class.

One of the most striking points in this table is the greater importance to the family of the female wage earner in New Jersey. This 

does not merely mean that the average incomes were lower in Pennsylvania and that therefore the earnings of mothers and of daughters were relatively more important; the actual earnings were different. The average earnings of mothers at work were in New Jersey

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202 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

$297, in Pennsylvania $145; for daughters 16 years of age or over

the average earnings were, respectively, $504 and $264. On the other

hand, the earnings of the male members, while relatively more important in Pennsylvania,, were actually almost the same. The average earnings of fathers were in New Jersey $516 and in Pennsylvania $510, while the sons 16 years of age or over averaged in the

first State $456 a year and in the second $428. The higher earnings

of the women in Paterson are probably due in part to the character

of the work done there, in part to the greater opportunities for employment which create a demaind for female labor and consequently

raise its price, and in part to the greater well-being of the Paterson

families studied. In Paterson the average family membership was

5.5 and the average net income $1,050, while in Pennsylvania the

average family membership was 7 and the average net income $902. 

Obviously it was far more possible for the New Jersey than for the

Pennsylvania women and girls to refuse to work for wages they considered insufficient, and hence the higher financial standing of their

families might be in turn cause and partial consequence of their

higher earnings.

EARNINGS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHILDREN 16 TEARS OF AGE AND OVER.

In the case of fathers, mothers, and children under 16, it was taken 

for granted that their total earnings were contributed to the family 

support, but in the case of children 16 years of age and over careful 

inquiry was made as to just what share of their earnings went into 

the family purse. The following table shows the results of this 

inquiry:

NUMBER OF FAMILIES W ITH CHILDREN 16 Y EAR S OF AGE AND OVER AT W O R K

AND PROPORTION OF THEIR EARNINGS CONTRIBUTED TO FAMILY B Y SUCH

CHILDREN.

Nativity of head of family.

Number of families

having—

Per cent of earnings

contributed by—

Sons

16 years

and

over at

work.

Daughters 16

years

and over

at work.

Sons 16

years

and over.

Daughters 16

years

and over.

NEW JERSEY.

Native bora, native parents................................................................ 26

34

284

41

55

440

78.5

73.8

82.2

91.3

96.4

95.5

Native born, foreign parents................................................................

Foreign born...........................................................................................

Total............................................................................................... 344 536 81.3 95.5

PENNSYLVANIA.

Native bom, native parents................................................................. 39

70

330

60

72

390

73.1

86.9

89.5

92.5

98.2

97.4

Native bom, foreign parents................................................................

Foreign born...........................................................................................

Total............................................................................................... 439 512 87.3 97.1

Total for both States................................................................... 783 1,048 84.6 96.0

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 203

In every group the females contributed a considerably larger proportion of their earnings than the males, but the difference between 

the sexes is greater in New Jersey than in Pennsylvania. The proportion of earnings contributed by males is larger in the foreignborn than in the native-born families.

FAMILIES WITHOUT CONTRIBUTING FATHERS*

In New Jersey 247 families and in Pennsylvania 205 had no help 

from fathers. The following table shows the causes of this nonsupport and also what proportion the families affected by each cause 

formed of the total group:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FAMILIES, B Y CONDITION AS TO FATHERS.

Condition as to father.

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Number. Percent. Number. Percent.

Idle or incapacitated....................................................... ..................... 41

36

170

5.0

4.3

20.6

31

23

151

2.9

2.1

14.0

Deserter or away.....................................................

Total noncontributing................................................................

At work....................................................................................................

247

580

29.9

70.1

205

877

19.0

81.0

Total............................................................................................... 827 100.0 1,082 100.0

It will be noticed that death is by far the most important cause 

for the cessation of the father’s contributions, and that idleness, 

incapacity, and desertion account for relatively few cases of noncontribution.

MARRIED WOMEN A T WORK.

Among the New Jersey families 176 and among the Pennsylvania 

families 87 were found with mothers gainfully employed outside 

their homes. The number in each race group and the proportion 

they form of the families of that race studied are as follows:

NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF FAMILIES W ITH MARRIED W OMEN A T W ORK,

B Y RACE AND STATE.

New Jersey.

Race. Number

of

families

studied.

Number

having

mothers

at work.

Per cent

having

mothers

at work.

Number

of

families

studied.

Number

having

mothers

at work.

Per cent

having

mothers

at work.

American............................................................ 65 12 18.5 93 14 15.1

Dutch................................................................. 97 4 4.1

English............................................................... 84 12 14.3 52 8 15.4

German............................................................... 150 44 29.3 163 15 9.2

Irish.................................................................... 146 23 15.8 227 25 11.0

Italian................................................................ 193 70 36.3

Lithuanian........................................................ 41 2 4.9

Polish ............................................................. 215 6 2.8

Slovak............................................................... 91 3 3.3

Welsh................................................................. 94 9 9.6

Other.................................................................. 92 11 12.0 106 5 4.7

Total.,......... - ........................................T 827 176 21.3 1,082 87 8.0

Pennsylvania.

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In general, the proportion of married women at work is for each 

race distinctly higher in New Jersey than in Pennsylvania, the 

English being the only race group for which this does not hold 

true. The groups are too small to justify conclusions as to racial 

attitudes as to the employment of married women outside their 

homes, but it is worth noticing both how large the proportion of 

women so employed is among the Italians and how small it is among 

the Lithuanians, Slovaks, and Poles.

The following table shows the average earnings of the married 

women at work, with the average size of the family and the average 

income with and without the woman’s earnings:

204 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

AVERAGE SIZE AND INCOME OF FAMILIES OF MARRIED W OMEN AT W O R K , B Y

CONDITION AS TO HUSBAND.

Families. Annual family income. Average per

capita

weekly

income

excluding

Families having

a per capita

weekly income,

excluding earnings of wives, of Condition as to husband. less than $2. Number.

Per

cent of

Average

size.

Earnings of

Excluding

earn­ Total.

total. wives. ings of

wives.

earnings of

wives.

Number.

Per

cent.

NEW JERSEY.

Widows..................................... 40 27.7 3.9

3.2

$286

434

$469

143

$755

577

579

$2.31

.85

16

12

4

40.0

80.0

100.0

100.0

22.4

Deserted wives______________ 15 8.6

Wives of incapacitated husbands ..................................... 4 2.3 2.8 477 102 .72

Wives of idle husbands.......... 1 .6 2.0 457 457 1

Wives with husbands at

w o rk ........................................... 116 65.9 4.1 276 608 884 2.88 26

Total............................... 176 100.0 3.9 297 522 819 2.57 59 33.5

PENNSYLVANIA.

Widows..................................... 35 40.2 4.7 162 423 585 1.72 25 71.4

83.3

66.7

Deserted wives........................ >12 13.8 4.5 143 342 485 1.46 10

Wives of incapacitated husbands..................................... 3 3.5 6.3 208 360 568 1.09 2

Wives of idle husbands..........

W ives w ith husbands at 

w o rk ...........................................

4

33

4.6

37.9

6.0

6.4

142

122

409

628

551

750

1.31

1.90

3

19

75.0

57.6

Total............................... 87 100.0 5.4 145 487 632 1.72 59 67.8

i Including 1 divorced wife.

In both States the wives whose husbands are also working have 

lower average earnings than those of any other group. Another fact 

of importance as throwing some light on why they are at work is that 

in both States the average size of the families in which both husband 

and wife are working is larger than the family of any other class of 

working wives. No study of the cost of living was made in these 

communities, but the average per capita incomes given in the above 

table make it seem probable that the mothers were forced by economic 

necessity to the outside work.

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T H E S I L K I N D U S T R Y . 205

M ARRIED W O M EN A T W O R K LIV IN G IN HOM ES O TH ER T H A N TH E IR O W N .

In the two States 26 such women were found, of whom 8 were 

widows, 10 were deserted wives, 4 had husbands at work, and for 

4 data as to the husbands were not secured. The average earnings of 

these women were $326. Twenty-four of them lived with parents or 

parents-in-law, one with a child, and one with a sister.

SINGLE WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE OR OYER A T WORK.

In the families visited single women 16 years of age or over were 

found at work to the number of 1,466. The majority of these were 

decidedly young, the numbers 16, 17, and 18 years of age being, respectively, 297, 243, and 187; in other words, 49.6 per cent were under 

19. Only 15.1 per cent -were over 24. Six hundred and six, or 41.3 

per cent, had begun work before they were 14, and 31.3 per cent had 

begun at 14. Only 14.5 per cent had worked in more than one industry. Their average earnings were in New Jersey $353 and in Pennsylvania $202. In New Jersey 5.7 per cent and in Pennsylvania 23.3 

per cent of the families to which they belonged had per capita earnings of less than $2 a week.

CHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE.

In the 1,909 silk-mill families of which a special study was made 

there were 4,553 children from 6 to 15 years old. The following table 

shows their occupation:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN 6 TO 15 YEARS OF AGE IN SILK-MILL FAMILIES

VISITED W HO W ERE AT W O R K , AT SCHOOL, AND AT HOME, B Y AGE GROUPS.

Age group.

New Jersey. Pennsylvania.

Total

number.

At work. At school. At home.

Total

number.

At work. At school. A t home.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

6 to 11 years..............

12 and 13 years..........

Total, 6 to 13

years.............

14 and 15 years..........

Total, 6 to 15

years.............

606

288

1

41

0.2

14.2

563

236

92.9

82.0

42

11

6.9

3.8

1,523

699

16

358

1.1

51.2

1,339

327

87.9

46.8

168

14

11.0

2.0

894

450

42

365

4.7

81.1

799

72

89.4

16.0

53

13

5.9

2.9

2,222

987

374

923

16.8

93.5

1,666

49

75.0

5.0

182

15

8.2

1.5

1,344 407 30.3 871 64.8 66 4.9 3,209 1,297 40.4 1,715 53.5 197 6.1

The number of children under 12 “ at home ” depends somewhat 

upon the accessibility of the school, though other considerations, 

such as the child’s health, need for its help at home, etc., affect the 

question. It will be noticed that a very much larger proportion of

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the New Jersey children 14 and 15 years of age were at school than 

was the case in Pennsylvania. Even in New Jersey, however, it was 

the general rule for such children to be at work.

CHILDREN 14 AND 15 YEARS OF AGE A T WORK.

206 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

In New Jersey 365 and in Pennsylvania 923 such children were 

found, their condition as to parents being as follows:

New

Jersey.

Pennsylvania.

Orphans.......................................................................................................................................... 1 7

Children of widows....................................................................... ............................................... 54 115

Children of deserted mothers..................................................................................................... 10 15

Children of incapacitated fathers............................................................................................. 12 22

Children of idle fathers................................................................................................................ 3 7

Children with both parents at work....................................................................................... 21 32

Children with fathers only at work.......................................................................................... 264 725

Total..................................................................................................................................... 365 923

These children formed 89.6 per cent of all the children of these 

ages in the families studied, 81.1 per cent in New Jersey, and 93.5 

per cent in Pennsylvania. It will be noticed that in both States by 

far the greater number of these children are in normal families with 

fathers at work. In other words, it is not exceptional misfortune 

which forces them to work, but evidently their employment is looked 

upon as a perfectly normal matter, a means of increasing the family 

income which involves neither confession of distress nor loss of social 

standing. The average per capita incomes of these families, exclusive of the earnings of the children under 16 years of age, were in 

New Jersey $2.65 and in Pennsylvania $2 a week.

CHILDREN UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE AT WORK.

In New Jersey 42 children under 14, belonging to 41 families, were 

found at work. Of these 1 was an orphan, 8 were children of widowed or deserted mothers, 3 had idle or incapacitated fathers, 3 had 

both parents at work, and 27 had fathers but not mothers working. 

Two had never attended school and were unable to read or write.

In Pennsylvania 374 children, belonging to 329 families, were 

found at work under 14. Of these 295, or 78.9 per cent, had fathers 

but not mothers at work, 7 had both parents at work, and 52 were 

children of widows. Eleven had incapacitated fathers, 8 had deserted mothers, and in one case the father was idle. Fourteen were 

unable to read or write. The average family membership was 7.5, 

and the average gross annual income was $887, of which an average of 

$117 (13.2 per cent) was earned by the children under 14.

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THE SILK INDUSTRY. 207

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SILK INDUSTRY.

The attitude toward labor organizations of employers in the establishments visited was as follows:

New

Jersey.

Pennsylvania.

Opposed to..................................................................................................................................... 70 29

Approve of.................................................................................................................................... 11

Indifferent to................................................................................................................................. 50 1

N oncommittal............................................................................................................................... 7 6

Total..................................................................................................................................... 138 36

Notwithstanding the general attitude of hostility toward labor 

unions which this discloses, practically every broad-silk or silkribbon mill had one or more labor organizations, but these are practically confined to the male employees. The loom fixers and twistersin have united and formed a strong union and the male horizontal 

warpers have formed another. Loom fixing is entirely, and twistingin very largely, confined to male employees, so that the union of these 

workers has nothing to fear from female competition, but the case 

is otherwise with the horizontal warpers.

Women are not usually as efficient as men in horizontal warping, 

but many employers prefer them precisely because they are not 

unionized and can be used as a check upon the demands of the 

organized male warpers. In other industries in which analogous 

situations have existed the male workers have found it good policy 

to induce the women to come into the union and make common 

cause with them, but for some reason they have not adopted these 

tactics in the silk industry. At one time the men encouraged the 

female warpers to form a, union of their own, but this lasted only a 

few years, and since then the women have been unorganized. The 

attitude of the men is in the main hostile to them. One member of 

the horizontal warpers’ union in Paterson thus stated their position:

We object to females in our organization. The reasons are many. 

I will mention two. They will not stand for their rights. Second, 

they work for less money than we do, less per day, and very often 

less per piece. Our wages are from $3 to $3.30 per day. The majority of female workers receive from $1.50 to $2 a day, some working for less than the foregoing prices and some for more.1

Warpers, loom fixers, and twisters-in are the only silk-mill workers 

who have kept up regular and systematic organization. Weavers 

have been organized intermittently, but without apparent permanence.

1 Vol. IV , Silk Industry, p. 331.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
208 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

SUMMARY.

The silk industry employs a large number but a decreasing proportion of children and a large number of women, the proportion which 

they form of the total employees having increased slightly in the last 

30 years. The machinery commonly used has few, if any, dangerous 

features, and the investigation disclosed no occupational diseases 

peculiar to the industry. The work done by children was usually 

light and presented few objectionable features. One drawback to 

the occupations followed by both women and girls was that for the 

most part they demanded continuous standing.

Children were employed more numerously and in a greater variety 

of occupations in the Pennsylvania than in the New Jersey mills 

visited. Females outnumbered males very markedly, especially in 

Pennsylvania. For the most part boys and girls alike were engaged 

in unskilled or at most semiskilled occupations, and the wage level 

was correspondingly low. Fourteen was the common age for entering the silk mills, but in New Jersey 38 and in Pennsylvania 280 

children under this age were found in the mills visited. Practically 

no instances of illegal overwork were found.

The majority of females over 16 were employed at semiskilled 

occupations, but there were several skilled trades open to them in 

which they could earn from $10 to $18 a week, the latter figure being 

very exceptional. The mills visited in New Jersey were making a 

finer grade of goods than those produced in the Pennsylvania mills, 

and as a consequence earnings were distinctly higher. Perhaps also 

as a consequence, the age level of the female employees was higher 

in New Jersey, and women seemed much more likely to continue in 

the mills after marriage; only 80.6 per cent of the Paterson female 

employees aged 16 years and over were single, against 94.3 per cent 

of the Pennsylvania employees in the same age group. Labor organizations scarcely existed among the female silk workers at the 

time of this investigation.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER V.—WAGE-EARNING WOMEN IN STORES

AND FACTORIES.

This volume, which forms the fifth part of the general report on 

the condition of woman and child labor, contains the results of an 

investigation into the wages and cost of living of between 7,000 and 

8,000 women employed in stores and factories in seven large cities. 

The report consists of three parts, a discussion of earnings, qualifications, and living conditions of the whole group of women studied, 

more detailed descriptions of conditions for each city separately, and 

statistical tables giving in detail the leading data for each of the 

women studied. In addition there is a chapter on the living conditions of waitresses in hotels and restaurants, and another on overtime and night work of wage-earning women.

The investigation was confined to women in department and other 

retail stores and in factories for two reasons:

In the first place the qualifications for employment, while not uniform, are still within such range as to make it possible to reduce both 

the industrial and home data, as well as the living conditions, to 

common terms. The waitresses, who are here included, are to some 

extent an exception, and for that reason have been treated separately 

so far as their wage and cost of living are concerned. The second 

reason for limiting the inquiry was that the problems of living, while 

perhaps no more serious in many respects, were more apparent among 

this class of wage earners, and as the investigation could not extend 

over all self-supporting women.,the office and professional women 

were excluded.1

The investigation was carried on in seven cities, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Boston, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. 

The total number of wage-earning women visited in these cities was 

8,475. From 7,893 of them pertinent detailed information was secured. The names of the women visited were obtained partly from 

employers and partly from canvassing agencies which collected lists 

of wage-earning women from all districts in which wage earners 

lived. Such names were collected without reference to age, experience, rank, or wage. When names were secured from employers, 

agents of the Bureau took the names, addresses, and industrial data 

from the pay rolls themselves in order to make sure that no undue 

proportion was included of either the highest or lowest paid classes. 

For the purposes of this investigation a woman was considered as

' 1 Vol. V, Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 9, 10.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------14 209

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having a home if she was living with relatives who in time of need 

or temptation could give her financial aid or moral support; and she 

was considered as being adrift, even though living with relatives, if 

they could not in case of need give her help of either kind. Thus, a 

widow supporting herself and her small children would be looked 

upon as practically without a home, since the family relationship 

had become for her a liability instead of an asset. In all cases the 

test was whether the family could be, if needed, a place of refuge 

for the girl or whether it was simply an added responsibility.

NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF WOMEN STUDIED.

The proportion of women who either had no homes or whose homes 

were only a responsibility to them varied widely in the different cities 

studied. The following figures show for each place the number of 

women whose home environment was learned and the number and 

proportion of these at home and adrift:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF W OMEN W AGE EARNERS INTER VIEW ED IN SPECIFIED

CITIES W HO W ER E FOUND TO BE LIVING AT HOME AND NUMBER AND PER CENT

W HO W ER E WITHOUT HOMES AND EN TIR ELY DEPENDENT UPON THEMSELVES,

OR “ ADRIFT.”

210 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Living conditions.

Boston. Chicago.

Minneapolis

and

St. Paul.

New York. Philadelphia. St. Louis.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Department and other retail stores:

Women living at home.

Women adrift.................

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

Factories, mills, etc.:

Women living at home.

Women adrift.................

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

285

159

64.2

35.8

236

60

79.7

20.3

162

62

72.3

27.7

360

31

92.1

7.9

326

93

77.8

22.2

304

81

79.0

21.0

444 100.0 296 100.0 224 100.0 391 100.0 419 100.0 385 100.0

544

184

74.7

25.3

326

64

83.6

16.4

181

41

81.5

18.5

1,686

252

87.0

13.0

855

188

82.0

18.0

543

150

78.4

21.6

728 100.0 390 100.0 222 100.0 1,938 100.0 1,043 100.0 693 100.0

The proportion of adrift women in New York is markedly smaller 

than in any of the other cities. Making due allowance for the relative importance of the different cities, it appears, if the above percentages may be taken as applying to working women in stores and 

factories generally, that in the seven cities approximately 65,000, 

or 16 per c5nt of the whole number employed, are without homes.

ECONOMIC STATUS OF WOMEN AT HOME.

The women adrift, however, can not be looked upon as constituting 

all or even a majority of the self-supporting women at work in stores 

and factories. The girl or womp living at home and working only

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for pin money was scarcely found in this investigation. The majority turned in all their wages to their family; a small proportion 

kept a part for themselves, and a very small proportion kept all. 

These proportions varied somewhat in the different cities. In New 

York 84.3 per cent of the women in stores and 88.1 per cent of those 

in factories turned in everything they earned to their families, while 

3.8 per cent of the store girls and 0.6 per cent of those in factories 

kept all their earnings. In Chicago 78.7 per cent of the store girls 

and 81.3 per cent of those in factories gave up all their earnings, and 

respectively 3.9 per cent and 1.5 per cent kept all. This does not 

seem to be a matter of race or of age, but of well-established custom. 

The mother gives back to the girl what she thinks can be spared for 

clothing, car fare, and incidentals, or perhaps herself does the buying 

for her daughter, but the latter is not looked upon as having any 

exclusive right in her earnings.

The custom1 of turning over to the parents the weekly envelope 

with its entire contents seems to be taken as a matter of course. 

When asked: “ What does Mary do with her wages?” the mothers 

would shrug their shoulders, look half reproachful, and answer: 

“ Sure, she gives it all to me. We have a big family to keep.” Not 

infrequently the answer was “ The girls support the family. Their 

father is dead and I can not work.” 1

FACTORS DETERMINING EARNINGSThe earnings were secured by careful analysis of receipts from 

wages, commissions if such were paid, bonuses, pay for overtime, etc., 

deductions being made for all losses from ill health, slack work, or 

lay offs and the like. The result, therefore, represents not a rate 

of pay but earnings actually received.

A few at every age were found in the lowest wage groups, but 

naturally the higher age groups showed the larger proportion of 

those making fair to good earnings. The following table shows the 

relation between age and earnings for store and factory girls, both 

for those at home find those adrift.

1 This custom seems to prevail in other groups of wage-earning women. In the investigation of the cotton industry it was found that the 602 girls of 16 or over in the New

England group living at home and working contributed 96.6 per cent of their earnings to

the family support, while in the southern group the 886 young women similarly circumstanced turned into the family 89 per cent of their earnings. The study of the garmentmaking industry shows 1,352 young women of this age group turning in 93.2 per cent of

their earnings. In the glass industry 929 women aged 16 and over living at home were

contributing 86.4 per cent of their earnings. In the study of the silk industry in New

Jersey and Pennsylvania in 1,048 families in which daughters aged 16 and more were at

work it was found that they were turning into the family fund 96 per cent of their wages.

See Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 436; Vol. II, Men’s Ready-Made Clothing, p. 368;

Vol. Ill, Glass Industry, p. 527; and Vol. IV, Silk Industry, p. 261.

a Vol. V, Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, p. 106.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 211

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
212 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

HUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALE W AGE EARNERS IN DEPARTMENT AND OTHER

RETAIL STORES, FACTORIES, ETC., EARNING EACH CLASSIFIED AMOUNT PER

W E E K , B Y AGE.

Age.

Total

numNumber

Number with average weekly earnings of—

uer

investigated.

porting

earnings.

Under

$4

$4 to

15.99

$6 to

$7.99

$8 to

$9.99

$10 to

$11.99

$12

and

over.

Under

$4

$4 to

$5.99

$6 to

$7.99

$8 to

$9.99

$10 to

$11.99

$12

and

over.

47 47 35 11 1 74.5 23.4 2.1

202 201 54 118 27 1 1 26.9 58.7 13.4 0.5 0.5

312 311 11 115 145 32 6 2 3.6 37.0 46.6 10.3 1.9 0.7

262 258 4 37 114 64 23 16 1.6 14.3 44.2 24.8 8.9 6.2

330 323 4 19 98 88 58 56 1.2 5.9 30.3 27.2 18.0 17.4

101 95 2 18 36 19 14 6 2.1 19.0 37.9 20.0 14.7 6.3

1,254 1,235 110 318 421 204 102 80 8.9 25.7 34.1 16.5 8.3 6.5

3 3 1 2 33.3 6C.7

15 14 4 7 3 28.6 50.0 21.4

66 66 1 26 29 9 i 1.5 39.4 44.0 'i3.*6* “ i.'5*

86 83 15 37 18 9 4 18.1 j44. 6 21.7 10.8 4.8

261 249 25 94 69 20 41 10.0 37.8 27.7 8.0 16.5

13 5 2 2 1 40.0 40.0 20.0

444 420 6 75 165 96 32 46 1.4 17.9 39.3 22.8 7.6 11.0

180 179 87 80 12 48.6 44.7 6.7

702 687 115 390 151 23 7 1 16.7 56.7 22.0 3.4 1.0 0.2

999 969 50 328 371 157 47 16 5.2 33.8 38.3 16.2 4.8 1.7

618 586 20 119 235 130 57 25 3.4 20.3 40.1 22.2 9.7 4.3

590 571 14 72 212 144 75 54 2.5 12.6 37.1 25.2 13.1 9.5

351 346 9 92 142 53 34 16 2.6 26.6 41.1 15.3 9.8 4.6

3,440 3,338 295 1,081 1,123 507 220 112 8.8 32.4 33.6 15.2 6.6 3.4

11 10 7 3 70.0 30.0

63 49 7 24 14 3 1 14.3 49.0 28.6 6.1 2.0

2G7 219 16 71 84 31 14 3 7.3 32.4 38.3 14.2 6.4 " l . l

189 174 11 48 72 34 6 3 6.3 27.6 41.4 19.5 3.5 1.7

398 367 25 79 129 83 36 15 6.8 21.5 35.2 22.6 9.8 4.1

5 3 2 1 66.7 33.3 ........

933 822 60 225 301 151 58 21 8.0 27.4 36.6 18.4 7.0 2.6

Per cent with average weekly earnings of—

sto r e s.

Living at home:

Under 16....

16 and 17....

18 to 20.............

21 to 24.............

25and over...

Not reported..

Total______

N o t liv in g at

home:

Under 16.........

16 and 17.........

18 to 20............

21 to 24............

25 and over—

Not reported..

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

FACTORIES, ETC.

Living at home:

Under 16.........

16 and 17.........

18 to 20.......

21 to 24............

25 and over...

Not reported..

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

N o t liv in g at

home:

Under 16.........

16 and 17.........

18 to 20............

21 to 24............

25 and over...

Not reported..

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

The effect of age upon earnings is very clearly shown here. Among 

the store girls living at home only 2.1 per cent* of those under 16 

earned as much as $6 a week, but this sum was reached or passed by 

84.1 per cent of those aged 21 to 24, and by 92.9 per cent of those aged 

25 or over. Among those not living at home, 15.1 per cent of those 

aged 18 to 20 earned as much or more than $8 a week, while of those 

aged 25 and over 52.2 per cent reached or passed $8 a week.

The table also shows a striking correspondence in the percentage 

of the home and the adrift women who are earning a given wage.

Comparison of the store women 21 years of age and over living at 

home with the adrift store women 21 years and over discloses the 

fact that nearly the same proportion in each group, 52.5 per cent of 

the former and 48.5 per cent of the latter, earn $8 or over. ComDigitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 213

paring the home women 20 years of age or younger with the adrift 

women of the same age groups, it appears that only 7.5 per cent 

of the home women earn $8 or over, while 12 per cent of the adrift 

women earn that amount, but against this difference should be set 

the fact that only 20 per cent of all the adrift women are 20 years 

or under, while 45 per cent of the home women are in that age 

group.1

Experience is another factor affecting wages. The following 

table shows the average age, length of experience, and earnings of 

the home and adrift women studied, and also shows for both classes 

certain data concerning the disposition of their earnings:

COMPARISON OF AGE, EXPERIENCE, EARNINGS, ETC., OF HOME AND ADRIFT STORE

AND FACTORY W OMEN, B Y CITIES.

[In this table the averages for the seven cities combined are in the case of each item simple averages based

on the number reporting in regard to the item in question. Thus, in computing the averages the total

numbers of women employed as wage earners in the various industrial groups in the several cities are not

considered. These numbers, represented by such figures as are available, are given in detail at the beginning

of the chapters relating to the individual cities. New York is reported as employing more women in

department and other retail stores than the six other cities combined, while in factories and miscellaneous

establishments of the classes included in the investigation New York had 48 per cent of all. Therefore,

if mi average were computed with each city given an importance corresponding with the total numbers of

women reported as employed in the various industries, New York would have a weight approximately

equal to the other six cities combined.]

Department and other retail stores.

City and living conditions.

Total

women

employed

in industry

in city.

Women included in the investigation.

Per

cent at

home

and

per

cent

not at

home.

Average

age.

Average

years7

experience in

industry.

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

amount

paid to

family.

Per

cent

paying

all

earnings to

family.

Average

weekly

amount

paid

for food,

shelter,

heat,

light,

and

laundry.

cent

contributing to

needy

relatives.

Boston:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

Chicago:

Living at home...........

Not living at home.. .

Minneapolis and St. Paul:

Living at home...........

Not living at home.. .

New York:

Living at home...........

Not living at home. . .

Philadelphia:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

St. Louis:

Living at home...........

Not living at home. . .

Seven cities:

Living at home...........

Not living at home. . .

5,682

24,585

3,201

60,000

10,148

5,000

64.2

35.8

79.7

20.3

72.3

27.7

92.1

7.9

77.8 22.2

79.0

21.0

24.1

28.6

22.8

29.2

22.6

23.7

19.7

24.1

26.5

31.6

20.8

28.0

5.2

7.3

5.4

5.6

4.3

4.9

3.1

4.3

7.7

9.0

3.2

(2)

$6.71

8.42

8.05

8.17

6.94

6.97

6.00

7.13

7.51

8.19

6.37

7.51

$4.83 55.6

$5.05

6.49

4.33

78.7

47.9

4.77

3.45

5.29

5.61

5.39

84.3

56.8

77.9

3.53

4.65

3.98

108,616 22.5

28.2

4.7

6.7 4.43

17.9

23.6

'i8.‘ 2

"20.8

*24.6

"i6.4

1 Vol. V , Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, p. 24.

2 Not reported.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
214 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O P L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

COMPARISON OF AGE, EXPERIENCE, EARNINGS, ETC., OF HOME AND ADRIFT STORE

AND FACTORY WOMEN, B Y CITIES—Concluded.

Factories, mills, and miscellaneous establishments.

City and living conditions.

Total

women

employed

in industry

in city.

Women included in the investigation.

Per

cent at

home

and

per

cent

not at

home.

Average

age.

Average

years'

experience in

industry.

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

amount

paid to

family.

Per

cent

paying

all

earnings to

family.

Average

weekly

amount

paid

for food,

shelter,

heat,

light,

and

laundry.

Per

cent

contributing to

needy

relatives.

Boston:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

Chicago:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

Minneapolis and St. Paul:

Livmg at home...........

Not living at home..,

New York:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

Philadelphia:

Living at home...........

Not living at home...

St. Louis:

Living at home...........

Not living at home..

Seven cities:

Living at home..........

Not living at home..

21,075

42,362

11,338

139,712

56,856

23,163

74.7

25.3

83.6

16.4

81.5

18.5

87.0

13.0

82.0

18.0

78.4

21.6

22.6

29.1

21.9

23.6

20.5

21.7

20.0

25.0

23.5

34.1

20.4

26.0

5.1

8.5

5.1

4.1

3.1

4.0

3.3

4.8

5.7

11.9

3.9 0)

$6.47

6.76

7.26

7.23

6.41

7.17

6.09

6.34

6.72

6.64

6.61

7.10

$5.16 61.7

$4.18 21.5

<.71

4.49

5.64

5.40

5.45

81.3

53.5

88.1

67.9

74.9

3.40

3.06

3.30

3.67

*3.36

15.1

*38*3

*26*6

*8.0

294,506 21.1

27.7

3.9

7.4

6.40

6.78

5.46

3.50

i Not reported.

It is at once evident that as a group the adrift store women are 

older and have had more experience than those living at home. For 

the home women the average age is 22.5 years and the average length 

of experience 4.7 years, while for the adrift women the average age 

is 28.2 years and the experience 6.7 years,1 a difference which seems 

fully sufficient to account for the difference of $1.01 in the average 

weekly earnings. The average earnings of the home women are less 

than those of the older and more experienced adrift women in every 

city, the difference being greatest as a rule where the differences in 

age and experience are greatest. Among the home and adrift women 

of the factory group similar age and experience differences are apparent, though the wage differences are much less. A study of earnings in connection with experience showed that the average earnings 

for all women having from two to four years’ experience (corre1The difference in age is much greater than the difference in experience, owing to the

fact that among the adrift women are the great majority of the widowed, divorced, and

deserted women who have been forced into the wage-earning ranks later in life.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
sponding in this respect most nearly to the whole group of home 

women) were $1.22 a week less than for those having from four to 

six years’ experience (corresponding therein most nearly to the whole 

group of adrift store women).

EARNINGS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADVANCEMENT,

An effort was made to determine for both store and factory women 

what possibilities of advancement their work offered and what 

chance the individual worker had of realizing such possibilities.

About 22 per cent of the women studied were in department and 

other stores, chiefly the former. At the head of the departmentstore organization are the manager, who engages the buyers and 

has general supervision of the departments, and the superintendent 

of employees, who has general charge of the working force. Next 

in rank to the manager are the real heads of departments, or “ buyers.” These are men or women who have risen from the ranks; in 

nearly every case they are graduates from behind the counter. The 

rank of buyer or assistant buyer is the highest position open to 

women. Next in rank below these come the saleswomen, who constitute nearly half of all the women employees, and below these are 

the cash girls, messengers, bundle girls, etc. Twenty-six of the 

largest department stores in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, 

employing all told 35,772 women and girls, furnished pay-roll data 

showing the occupational status of their female employees, who were 

found in the different groups in the following proportions: Cash 

girls, messengers, etc., 13.2 per cent; saleswomen, 46.2 per cent; buyers and assistant buyers, 1.2 per cent; office employees, 17.6 per cent; 

other employees, 21.8 per cent. It will be seen that the opportunity 

for reaching the coveted position of buyer or assistant buyer is small.

The table following shows the number and per cent of the women 

employees earning classified rates of pay weekly in the 26 department stores referred to. The employees are grouped as cash girls 

(including messengers, inspectors, bundle wrappers, and packers), 

saleswomen, office employees, and other employees (including buyers 

and assistant buyers). This table shows not only the rates of pay 

for the rank and file but the proportion reaching the higher wage 

groups.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 215

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
216 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

NUM BER AND PER CENT OF FEM ALE EM PLOYEES IN DEPARTM ENT AND

OTHER R E T A IL STORES IN N EW YORK, CHICAGO, AND PH ILAD ELPH IA, BY

CLASSIFIED W E E K LY RATES OF TAY.

Classified weekly

rates of pay.

Cash girls,

messengers,

inspectors,

bundle wrappers, and

packers.

Number.

Per

cent.

Saleswomen.

Number.

Per

cent.

Office

employees.

Number.

Per

cent.

Other employees (including buyers

and assistant

buyers).

Number.

Per

cent.

Total.

Number.

Per

cent.

Under $ 3 ....

*3 to $3.99....

$4 to $4.99..,.

$5 to $5.99....

$6 to $6.99....

$7 to $7.99....

$8 to $8.99....

$9 to $9.99....

$10 to $10.99..

$11 to $11.99..

$12 to $12.99..

$13 to $14.99..

$15 to $17.99..

$18 to $19.99..

$20 to $24.99..

$25 and over.

Total..

645

1,624

1,376

497

318

136

7320

6

13.7

34.6

29.3

10.6 6.8 

2.9 1.6

.4.1

3 .1

6

173

1,033

3,562

3,050

2,355

1,534

1,475

461

951

605

762

255 200

150

0)1.16.2

21.5

18.4

14.2

9.3

8.9 2.8

5.7

3.7

4.6

1.5

1.2

3

287

750

1,104

1,277

1,004

648

345

297

108

140

112

8521

29

26

(1 )* 4.6

11.9

18.5

20.3

15.9

10.3

5.5

4.7

1.7 2.2

1.8

1.4

.3

.5

.4

61

379

803

627

875

877

880

803

760

227

424

319

400

129

229

413

0.7

4.6

9.8

7.6

10.7

10.7

10.7

9.8

9.2 2.8

5.2

3.9

4.9

1.6 2.8 

5.0

709

2,296

3,102

3,321

6,032

5,067

3,956

2,702

2,538

796

1,518 1,0G6

1,247

405

458

589

4,698 100.0 16,572 100.0 6,296 100.0 8,206 100.0

2.0

6.4

8.7

9.3

16.9

14.2

11.1

7.5

7.1 2.2

4.2

2.9

3.5 1.1

1.3 1.6

35,772 100.0

1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

Scrutiny of the table will show that 76.1 per cent of all women 

employees were getting less than $10 a week; the actual average of 

this group, computed from the detailed data, was $6.13. The rate of 

pay for 57.5 per cent of all the women employees is less than $8 a 

week. The experience table above shows that an average of $8 is 

not reached by any group with an experience of less than 8 years and 

that 77.5 per cent of all were below this line. The apparent discrepancy is due largely to the fact that deductions for lost time 

reduce the number of higher-paid employees in the experience table. 

On the other hand, 7.5 per cent receive $15 a week or over, and 2.9 

per cent $20 a week or over. About half of these higher-paid employees were in the saleswomen group. The average rate for all 

employees is $7.93, for saleswomen only it is $8.84. In the column 

headed “ other employees ” it appears that 55.9 per cent have a rate 

of $8 or more. But in this group are all the workroom employees 

whose employment is almost wholly seasonal and whose average 

earnings therefore would fall considerably below the rate of pay.1

There is room for considerable advancement without reaching 

the highest positions. A girl entering a department store is apt 

to begin as a cash girl at a weekly wage of from $3 to $4, or as a 

saleswoman at from $3 to $6.

The following table shows the increase of earnings according to 

experience among 1,391 department and other retail store women, 

both home and adrift. The data relate to all of the store women

1 Vol. V, W age -Earn ing Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 44, 45.

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from whom accurate information could be secured in regard to both 

earnings and experience.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 217

NUMBER AND PER CENT AND AVERAGE W E E K L Y EARNINGS OF WOMEN IN DEPARTMENT AND OTHER RETAIL STORES, CLASSIFIED B Y LENGTH OF EXPERIENCE.

Length of experience.

Women reporting both

experience and earnings. Average

weekly

earnings.

Number. Per cent.

XJnder 1 year.................................................................................................... 170 12.2 $4.69

,1 year and under 2 years....................................................... ...................... 176 12.6 5.28

2 and under 4 years........................................................................... ............ 327 23.5 6.27

4 and under 6 years...................................................................................... 241 17.3 7.49

6 and under 8 years........................................................................... .......... 165 11.9 7.83

8 and under 10 years......................................................... 1..................... . 105 7.6 9.27

10 and under 12 years............. .............. ............ .......................................... 68 4.9 9.81

12 and under 16 years............................................................................. . 78 5.6 9.95

16 and under 21 years............. ............................................. ...................... . 39 2.8 13.33

21 and under 30 years............................................ ....................................... 18 1.3 11.55

30 years and over........................................................................................... 4 .3 11.38

Total...................................................................................................... 1,391 100.0 7.22

The average experience of the 1,391 women for whom both experience and earnings were reported was 5.17 years. During the first 

year the average wage for all is $4.69, the second year $5.28, and so on, 

increasing in 10 years to $9.81, during which time many drop out of 

the ranks, then changing very little for the next five years. Among 

the women who remain are the buyers and the exceptionally expert 

saleswomen, and their salaries bring the average earnings up to 

$13.33, the highest point, after from 16 to 20 years’ experience. * * * 

After 20 years’ experience the earning power apparently begins to 

wane, and during the next decade the average earnings decrease to 

$11.55, and after 30 years still lower. * * * Four and four-tenths 

per cent of the department-store women reporting experience and 

earnings had become buyers or assistant buyers or saleswomen of 

the highest class, at salaries ranging up to $50 a week.1

In the factories the highest position to which a woman may aspire 

is that of forewoman, which is reached by progressive stages, beginning possibly with that of floor or errand girl, but usually as 

operative. Of all the women visited engaged in this class of work 

only 2 per cent were found to be forewomen and assistant forewomen. The average age of these was 28-J years, average weekly 

earnings $10.32, and average experience 10 years.

The table following shows the variation of earnings according to 

experience in this class of workers, both home and adrift.

1 Vol. V, W age -Earn ing Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 42, 43.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
218 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER, PER CENT, AND AVERAGE W E E K L Y EARNINGS OF WOMEN IN FACTORIES,

MILLS, AND MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES, CLASSIFIED B Y LENGTH OF E X PERIENCE.

Length of experience.

Women reporting both

experience and earnings. Average

weekly

earnings.

Number. Per cent.

Under 1 year............................ ...................................................................... 575

475

16.8 $4.62

1 year and under 2 years............................................................................... 13.9 5.34

2 and under 4 years........................................................................................ 935 27.3 6.16

4 and under 6 years........................................................................................ 563 16.5 7.03

6 and under 8 years........................................................................................ 315 9.2 7.36

8 and under 10 years..................................................................................... 175 5.1 7.96

10 and under 12 years..................................................................................... 125 3.7 8.48.

12 and under 16 years.................................................................................... 111 3.2 8.49

16 and under 21 years..................................................................................... 79 2.3 8.54

21 and under 30 years..................................................................................... 49 1.4 8.08

30 years and over............................................................................................ 19 .6 6.51

Total..................................................... ................................................ 3,421 m o 6.38

The average experience of 3,421 women in factories, etc., for whom 

both experience and earnings were reported was 4.46 years. During 

the first year the average earnings are $4.62, the second year $5.34, 

reaching $8.48 after 10 years, and $8.54 in the 16 to 20 year group. 

For the three groups whose experience ranged from 10 up to 21 years 

the earnings averaged about $8.50, and these constituted 9.2 per 

cent of all the factory women reporting as to experience and earnings. These figures, then, indicate what factory employment holds 

out to the average woman who continues in it for from 10 to 20 

years. Beyond that age the outlook is for a constantly decreasing 

earning power.1

A comparison of these data concerning women in stores and women 

in factories shows that the average earnings of the two classes are 

approximately the same in the earlier years. The factory worker, 

however, reaches practically her high level ($8.48) after about 10 

years of work, while the store woman, who after the same length of 

experience reaches $9.81 a week, rises to her maximum, $13.33, after 

an experience of 16 but under 21 years. Furthermore, individual employees in stores both as buyers and as saleswomen reach far higher 

rates of pay. Both factory and store women show a loss of earning 

power after 20 years of experience.

LIVING CONDITIONS.

CLASSIFICATION OF WOMEN ACCORDING TO LIVING CONDITIONS.

In trying to determine the cost of living for the women adrift, it 

was found advisable to learn first the cost of items which had to be 

paid for continuously and which did not vary greatly from week to 

week, such as shelter, heat, light, laundry, and food. Having these

* Vol. V , W age -E arn ing Wom en in Stores and Factories, p. 47.

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it was possible to determine what margin was left for such occasional 

and variable expenditures as those for clothing, car fare, health, 

recreation, and the like. Among the girls living at home there was 

usually no apportionment of their incomes. They turned what they 

made into the family fund, and got back a living conditioned by the 

family earnings and the family ideas of what the situation demanded. 

But among the women adrift where the worker had to decide for 

herself the relative importance of each item, the budgets varied 

widely.

Facts concerning manner and cost of living were gathered from 

1,607 adrift women employed in stores and factories, including 200 

waitresses. As the latter, however, usually received in addition to 

their money wages part or all of their board, cost of living could not 

be calculated on the same basis for them as for the others and they 

were treated as a separate group. For the purpose of studying the 

living conditions of adrift women, they were arranged in four 

groups, those keeping house, those living in private families, those 

living in boarding or lodging houses, and those living in organized 

boarding houses.

A rather strict definition was put upon the term “ keeping house.”

This group does not include women renting one room in a lodging 

house and preparing such meals as they can in that one room, nor 

those doing light housekeeping in one or two rooms in a, private 

family, but only those renting a house or tenement where they have 

their own private entrance, and in which they live entirely independently of other people.1

The women of the second class are those living in households in 

which there are not more than three boarders or lodgers; where this 

number is exceeded the woman is looked upon as being in a regular 

boarding or lodging house. “ Organized boarding houses ” are those 

financed by some social organization, so managed as to offer women 

board and lodging under good moral and sanitary conditions, at a 

price which does not bring any profit to the managers. The aim is 

generally to pay expenses, but this end is seldom attained, and the 

deficit is made up by the organization which maintains the house.

Of the 1,607 women adrift from whom full data were obtained,

16.6 per cent kept house, 39.6 per cent lived with private families,

33.7 per cent lived in boarding or lodging houses, and 10.1 per cent 

in organized boarding houses. The latter per cent is unduly large, 

as a special canvass of organized boarding houses was made in order 

to compare their conditions with those offered elsewhere. Yery few 

of the women whose names were secured from pay rolls or canvassing 

agencies lived in such houses.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 219

1Vol. V, W age -E arn ing Women in Stores and Factories, p. 51.

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Among the 267 women who were keeping house were the married 

women who must earn a living for themselves and their children 

and were “ adrift ” because the homes they made were not in any 

sense an asset.

All of these homes were supported and presided over by women 

wage earners. Although in a few cases the earnings of a son or a 

brother were added to the general fund, it was always the woman 

who was the mainstay of the family.

EARNINGS AND SPECIFIED EXPENDITURES FOR EACH CLASS.

The following table shows the average weekly earnings and the 

average weekly expenditures for specified items of the worker in each 

of these four groups:

220 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

AVERAGE W E E K L Y EARNINGS AND COST OF LIVING (FOOD, SHELTER, HEA T, LIGHT,

AND LAUNDRY) FOR WOMEN OTHER THAN W AITRESSES, B Y CITIES, AND W AITRESSES IN ALL CITIES.

Women keeping

house.

Women living in

private families.

Women living in

boarding and

lodging houses.

Women living in

organized boarding houses.

City.

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

cost of

living.1

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

cost of

living.

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

cost of

living.

Average

weekly

earnings.

Average

weekly

cost of

living.

Boston.......................... $6.64 $3.78 $6.88 $3.91 $7.42 $5.18 $7.93 $4.56

Chicago 2................

Minneapolis and St.

7.75 2.92 6.36 3.09 7.25 3.84 7.63 3.54

Paul.......................... 7.23 3.25 6.73 3.02 7.24 3.42 7.11 3.25

New York................... 6.43 3.08 6.60 3.54 6.00 3.76 6.06 3.29

Philadelphia............... 6.28 3.45 7.22 3.85 8.16 4.63

St. Louis...................... 6.61 2.46 8.31 3.89 6.74 3.81 ........7.* 67* ..........3*45

Total.................. 6.57 3.18 6.78 3.43 7.31 4.24 7.16 3.62

Waitresses, all cities3 5.86 3.09 6.01 1.97 5.72 2.44 4.69 1.39

1 This is the estimated cost for the worker, exclusive of her expenditure for the support of dependents who may constitute a part of the same household.

2 In making out these averages the women employed in the Chicago stockyards are

included.

8 The earnings and cost of living of waitresses are based on 200 cases; food which is

paid for in service is not included.

WOMEN KEEPING HOUSE.

The average weekly earnings of the women keeping house are lower 

than those of any other group, but this is not a full statement of their 

economic disadvantages. Over one-sixth of them (17.2 per cent) had 

from one to four persons entirely dependent upon them for support, 

while 37.8 per cent more had others partially dependent upon them. 

Among the women living in private families only 4.7 per cent had 

persons totally dependent upon them, while 12.3 per cent had persons 

partially dependent upon them. In the third group 4.1 per cent had 

others totally dependent upon them and 10.3 per cent had persons 

partially dependent upon them, while only 14, 8.6 per cent, of the

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fourth group had any dependents. The housekeeping group had at 

once lower earnings and heavier responsibilities than the women in 

the other groups.

The average earnings of those keeping house are $6.57 and their 

average expenditures for food, shelter, heat, light, and laundry are 

$3.18, leaving $3.39 with which to pay all expenses for their dependents and provide clothing, car fare, medical attendance, and the 

like for themselves. Naturally where there were dependents this 

meant constant privation and almost unceasing toil.

One of the women visited (a widow with one child) worked in a 

bookbindery from 8.30 a. m. to 5.30 p. m. As janitress of the building where she lived she had to clean the halls before she went to work. 

In the evening after she had cooked and eaten her supper and 

cleaned up her two small rooms, she worked coloring picture postcards at the rate of 15 cents a hundred. She said that she often went 

to bed too tired to sleep and felt more tired when she got up in the 

morning than when she went to bed.1

For the women who had no dependents the struggle was not so 

intense, but very few had anything left for amusements after meeting their weekly expenses. Nevertheless, the fact that they were 

keeping house gave them some opportunities for social intercourse.

Fifty-nine per cent of the women had a sitting room in their homes 

where friends could be entertained, 25 per cent used the kitchen, and 

only 16 per cent were forced to use their bedrooms, and sometimes 

here it was apparently used in preference to the kitchen as being 

more suitable.2

BOARDERS IN PRIVATE FAMILIES.

The women living as boarders in private families were more numerous than any others, 636, or 39.6 per cent, being found in this group. 

Their average weekly earnings were $6.78, ranging from less than 

$1.50 to $15 and over, and their average expenditures for board, lodging, heat, light, and laundry were $3.43, the range being from under 

$1 to $6.50 or over, 3 paying this minimum and 10 the maximum. 

These women fell into two general groups: Those who lived in poor 

families and homes at very little cost, and those who sought pleasant 

families and comfortable homes, paying as much, if not more, than 

they would in a regular boarding or lodging house. The former were 

principally foreign-born women living in families of their own nationality who were often friends or relatives. Generally their standard of living was very low, and overcrowding, poor food, and insanitary surroundings were common. The women in the better class of 

private families, on the other hand, often had very pleasant surroundings, living in homes which were comfortable and well kept, 

and with people of education and refinement.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 221

1 Vol. V, Wage-Earning Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 57.

2 Idem, pp. 58, 59.

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As mentioned before, a number of the women in this group were 

supporting others in whole or in part, but in general these dependents were living elsewhere. When the woman had made her weekly 

contribution her responsibilities ceased; she did not as a rule have 

the personal care of her dependents which so greatly increased the 

work of the housekeeping woman.

In private families the girl does not necessarily share in the social 

life of the family, but the chances are very great that she will do so, 

especially in the poorer homes. Here the lodger or boarder often 

becomes practically a member of the family, using all the rooms in 

common with the family, almost always sharing a room with someone else, and in some extreme cases occupying a room with the landlady and her husband. In these families the landlady is very apt to 

exercise a certain supervision over the girl, which the latter accepts 

as a part of the quasi-family arrangement into which she has entered.

WOMEN IN REGULAR BOARDING HOUSES.

The women living in regular boarding and lodging houses numbered 542, or 33.7 per cent of all the adrift women studied. Their 

weekly earnings ranged from less than $2—there being two women 

whose earnings did not exceed this amount—to $15 and over, earned 

by 15 women. The average cost of living was $4.24 a week, but 16 

women had an average cost of living under $1.50 a week, which 

brings down the total average unduly. These 16 women were nearly 

all foreign-born Slovaks or Galicians, who lived with foreign-born 

families in the most wretched way. Among the others conditions 

were better, but cost of living was considerably higher. Of those for 

whom full details were obtained, 31.7 per cent were paying $5 or 

more a week and over one-eighth (13.8 per cent) paid $6 or more 

per week.

The number of women in this group having others wholly or 

partially dependent on them is smaller than in either of the two 

preceding groups.

But the women in this group for the most part lead an independent life. They are responsible for no one, they are responsible 

to no one; they come and go and spend their money when and where 

they will.1

The average amount, however, left for them to spend after paying 

for board, lodging, heat, light, and laundry is only $3.07 a week, 

and as clothes, car fares, and all such incidentals must come out of 

this, it is evident that their freedom to do what they will is strictly 

limited.

222 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. V , W age -Earn ing Women in Stores and Factories, pp. 65, 66.

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W AG E-EAR N IN G W O M E N IN STORES AND FACTORIES. 223 

WOMEN IN ORGANIZED BOARDING HOUSES.

The women living in organized boarding houses are the smallest 

and also the youngest group studied, their average age being 24.1 

years; nevertheless their average earnings are next to the highest, 

being $7.16, only 15 cents below those of the older women in boarding and lodging houses. The cost of living of this group also is 

next to the highest, but the girls get better accommodations and 

living of a much higher standard than they could get elsewhere at 

the same price.

Women employed in stores, factories, and the like were seldom 

found in these homes, their occupants being mainly office or professional women. The objections to such houses were the familiar 

ones. In some cases the cost of this way of living was prohibitive, 

while in others girls who could have afforded it objected to the 

restrictions usually imposed. Those who could afford it and were 

willing to submit to the rules obtained some decided advantages.

In the better class of such houses the girls lead a normal and 

much happier life than in a boarding and lodging house. They have 

a feeling of comradeship; they have pleasant social life at home; 

they have a sitting room with a piano, books, and magazines. The 

girls feel at home there.1

EXPENDITURES FOR ALL PURPOSES.

The expenditures for board and lodging could be learned with reasonable accuracy, but it was difficult to get satisfactory data as to the 

cost of clothing in an investigation necessarily limited as to time. 

Accordingly an average yearly expenditure for clothing secured by 

the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union of Boston in a research into the requirements of a living wage has been taken as 

typical. This average was computed from the expenditures of 121 

women employed in the pursuits included in this investigation and 

of the same grade industrially. The average weekly earnings of 

these women were $7.13 and their average weekly expenditures for 

clothing $1.38.

If the average weekly earnings and cost of living for both store 

and factory women in the seven cities, as shown in this investigation, 

be combined, the results show the weekly average earnings-to be $6.67 

and the average weekly cost of shelter, food, heat, light, and laundry 

as $3.80. Assuming the above cost of clothing to be typical, this 

would leave an average margin of $1.49. Out of this must come car 

fares, which are often 60 cents a week; contributions to relatives, 

which average 44 cents; doctors’ bills; and all incidental expenses.

1 Vol. V , W age -Earn ing Women In Stores and Factories, p . 71.

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When it comes to amusements, most of the women have nothing 

left to spend. Of the 1,568 women who reported on this question, 62 

per cent said that they spent no money for pleasure, that it took all 

their earnings to meet their daily expenses. Thirty-eight per cent 

reported that they spent something, but only 450, or 22.3 per cent, 

gave a definite weekly amount. These sums varied from 5 cents to $2, 

but the average for the 450 was 37 cents.2

But many of the women visited were earning less than the average 

amount, and of ten the data for individuals show not only that there 

was nothing for amusements, but that even the margin for clothes 

was either impossibly small or nonexistent. Usually this has but one 

meaning: The girls have given the cost of such food as they get for 

themselves when other demands are not more urgent. In other 

words, the money for such periodic necessaries as clothing had to be 

secured by cutting down the amount devoted to continuous necessaries like food or shelter.

MORAL INFLUENCES SURROUNDING DEPARTMENTSTORE EMPLOYEES.

Careful attention was given to the question of whether there were 

any features of department-store life likely to break down a girl’s 

character, or, rather, whether a deliberate effort in that direction is 

made. The conclusion is that the requirements of department-store 

discipline are such that girls of dubious character would be undesirable as saleswomen, and that the general purpose of the stores is to 

weed out those who resort to illicit methods of increasing their income. There seemed a general recognition among managers that 

wages paid to beginners and sometimes to experienced saleswomen 

were not sufficient for a girl to live on honestly, but even more generally they either required their employees to live at home or gave the 

preference to applicants who claimed to do so. In other words, they 

apparently preferred that girls should be subsidized by their own 

families. It is admitted that there are women of lax morals in department stores, but it is maintained that they are in no sense typical 

of the rank and file.

WAITRESSES IN HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS.

A much larger proportion of the waitresses than of the store and 

factory women investigated were adrift, over 62 per cent being 

without homes. Many of those who had homes were married women 

who worked as one-meal girls, i. e., served only during the noon

224 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

l Vol. V , W age -Earn ing Women in Stores and Factories, p. 74.

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meal. The average age of the waitresses living at home was 25.9 

years, average experience 4.4 years, and average weekly earnings 

$5.54; for the adrift waitresses the average age was 26.5 years, average experience 4.2 years, and average earnings $5.71. In addition 

to these earnings waitresses of both classes received part or all of 

their food at their place of work and an uncertain and variable 

amount in tips. Sixty-nine per cent of those living at home turned 

in all their wages and 20.3 per cent of those adrift contributed an 

average of $2.09 weekly to needy relatives.

Among the women interviewed the impression seemed to be that 

the work of a waitress was hard and heavy and that the worker 

was exposed to unpleasant advances from men, but that making due 

allowance for the food and tips received returns were much better 

than from either store or factory work.

SUMMARY.

Some of the more important of the statistical features of the 

report may be thus summarized:

WOMEN IN DEPARTMENT AND OTHER STORES.

The study deals with 2,159 women and girls employed in department and other retail stores. Of these 486, or approximately 22.5 

per cent, the proportion ranging from 7.9 per cent in New York to

35.8 per cent in Boston, were found to be economically adrift, i. e., 

without homes in the cities in which they worked and entirely dependent upon themselves for support.

The adrift women were of an average age of 28.2 years, had had 

an average of 6.7 years’ experience in retail-store work, and earned 

a weekly average of $7.89. Of this they spent on an average $4.43 

for food, shelter, heat, light, and laundry. Eighty-three, or 20.5 

per cent of the 404 from whom reports on this point were received, 

were either contributing to the support of needy relatives or supporting them wholly.

The women living at home or with relatives had an average age 

of 22.5 years, an average experience in retail stores of 4.7 years, and 

earned a weekly average of $6.88. Of this they paid on an average 

$5.39 into the family fund, either as board or as a contribution. A 

trifle over two-thirds (68.5 per cent) paid their entire earnings into 

the family, 26.9 paid in part, and 4.5 per cent kept their entire earnings for themselves.

W A G E - E A R N I N G W O M E N I N S T O R E S A N D F A C T O R IE S . 225

95053°— Bull. 175—16-------15

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WOMEN IN MILLS AND FACTORIES.

The investigation included 5,014 women and girls thus employed. 

Of these 879, or 17.5 per cent, were without homes in the cities in 

which they worked and were entirely dependent upon themselves. 

The proportion thus adrift varied from 13 per cent in New York 

to 25.3 per cent in Boston.

The average age of these adrift women was 27.7 years, their industrial experience 7.4 years, and their average weekly earnings $6.78. 

For food, shelter, heat, light, and laundry they spent weekly an 

average of $3.50. Over one-fifth (23.2 per cent) were contributing 

to the support of needy relatives.

The average age of the women living at home was 21.1 years, their 

industrial experience 3.9 years, and their average weekly earnings 

$6.40. Of this they paid an average of $5.46 to their families, either 

as board or as a contribution. Over three-fourths (77.2 per cent) 

paid their entire earnings to their families, 21.5 per cent paid over 

part of their earnings, and 1.4 per cent kept all for themselves.

226 B U L L E T I N " O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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CHAPTER VI.—THE BEGINNINGS OF CHILD-LABOR

LEGISLATION IN CERTAIN STATES.

In the first 75 pages of this report some account is given of 

the employment of children in the Colonies, the changing attitude 

of public opinion toward child labor during the nineteenth century, and following this a historical sketch of children in the 

cotton industry. The remainder of the volume is devoted to a 

study of child-labor legislation in the North prior to 1860, and in 

four States of the South since the manufacture of cotton became an 

important industry there.

CHILD LABOR IN THE COLONIES.

Child labor, sanctioned and sometimes expressly ordered by law, 

existed in all the Colonies throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth 

centuries. Three causes are assigned for this state of affairs: The 

traditional English attitude toward child labor, which the first 

generation of colonists naturally brought over with them; the crying 

need for workers in the new country; and a profound belief in the 

virtue of industry. The English attitude was due to a fear of the 

burden of pauperism; as early as 1547 laws were enacted providing 

for the compulsory apprenticing or binding out of children from 5 

to 14 years old whose parents were vagrants, on the ground that 

children “ brought up in idleness might be so rooted in it that hardly 

they may be brought after to good thrift and labor.” While the 

Colonists were naturally influenced by this view the problem of 

pauperism during the early days was not sufficiently grave to make 

this reason a weighty one. Nevertheless it found expression in the 

poor laws of many of the Colonies and apparently was held throughout the seventeenth century. New York, Massachusetts,. Connecticut, 

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina specifically 

ordered the binding out of poor children, either by their parents or 

by the overseers of the poor, and in other colonies records are found 

showing that this was a regular custom.

NEED FOR LABORERS.

The need for laborers in a new country where everything was to 

be done made children so desirable as workers that efforts were made 

to import them.

Sir Edwin Sandys proposed to the Virginia Company in 1619 for 

the “ ease and comodiousness ” of the tenants, that 44100 young per227

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sons be sent to their Apprentices.” The previous year 100 had been 

sent by the city of London. He prayed the lord mayor of London 

to send 100 more from the “ superfluous multitude.” “ Our desire is 

that we may have them of 12 years old and upward, with allowance 

of Three pound a pees for their apparell, as was formerly granted. 

They shall be apprentizes; the boyes till they come to 21 years of 

age, the girles till like age or till they be marryed.” * * * A letter from England stated that 1,400 or 1,500 children went to Virginia 

in 1627.1

The common council of New England in 1622 thought it “ convenient to admit young youth * * * to be placed out and bound 

apprentices,” but stipulated that the children were not to be less 

than 14 years of age. There is little evidence as to the sending over 

of children under these terms. In 1660, however, John Hull writes 

in his diary about his return from London with several children to 

be bound out as apprentices in the Massachusetts Colony.

LEGISLATION ENFORCING CHILD LABOR.

At a very early date in colonial history the need for workers led 

to child-labor legislation meant to insure that children as well as 

adults should contribute to the general welfare. The Court of Massachusetts Bay in 1641 ordered that all heads of families should see 

that their children and servants should be industriously employed 

“ for the working out of hemp and flax, and other needful things 

for cloathing,” and followed this a few years later by an elaborate 

plan for making sure that the injunction was obeyed. But this was 

not to be at the expense of the children’s education. In 1642 “ chosen 

men” were empowered to take account of the calling and employment of the children, “ especially of their ability to read and under-, 

stand the principles of religion and the capital laws of their country.” In 1647 it was ordered in Massachusetts that schoolmasters 

should be appointed in every town to teach the children. Similar 

legislation both as to employment and education was adopted in 

most of the New England colonies.

In Virginia no provision was made for employment of children of 

the well-to-do, but in 1646 the county commissioners were ordered to 

select two children from each county, at least 7 or 8 years old, and 

send them to Jamestown to be employed in the public flax houses to 

be built there. Later the commissioners were empowered to build 

houses in each county “ for the educating and instructing poor children in the knowledge of spinning, weaving, and other useful occupations and trades.”

The scanty material of the eighteenth century shows the same 

insistence on the employment of children as the preceding century,

228 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. VI, The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 1, p. 11.

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B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L D -L A B O R L E G I S L A T IO N . 229

with less emphasis, perhaps, on the moral advantages of labor. The 

textile industries began to open up more avenues of employment for 

children during this century. In Pennsylvania in 1730 the governor 

recommended that silk culture be taken up, as it was a 44 work of 

which the poorest and feeblest are capable, and children who can 

be of little other service may here find an employment suitable to 

their years.” In New England the manufacture of linen received a 

good deal of attention on the double ground that the Colonies would 

thus be rendered more self-dependent and that the spinning could 

be done by women and children. Especially was it advantageous 

because of its employment of children, “ thousands at an age when 

they are scarce capable of doing any other business; and by thus 

inuring children to an habit of industry we may reasonably hope 

that this, like other habits, will take a fast hold and render them 

useful members of society when they grow up.”

In 1775 the United Company of Philadelphia for Promoting Manufactures urged a somewhat similar plea, pointing out that manufactures would not draw the country away from agriculture, because if 

properly conducted “ two-thirds of the labor of them will be carried 

on by those members of society who can not be employed in agriculture, namely, by women and children.” In the same year a plan for 

a similar society was approved in New York City, and in Virginia 

there was talk of reviving the early laws for employing children.

PUBLIC OPINION CONCERNING CHILD LABOR IN THE

NINETEENTH CENTURY.

At the beginning of the last century there was a firmly-rooted 

opinion that the employment of children was economically necessary 

and morally desirable. Up to that period the factory system had not 

been established, and though children might be employed at an early 

age they worked for the most part under conditions which did not 

seem to harm them morally or physically. Moreover, provision was 

made for their education as carefully as for their employment. Child 

labor in such circumstances was a very different matter from what it 

became under the factory system, and time had to show the evils of 

the employment of children under modem conditions before a sentiment could be roused against it.

Public opinion was so far from condemning child labor that in the 

early days of the tariff controversy one of the strong arguments of 

the protectionists was the desirability of developing manufactures 

because they gave work to hitherto idle members of society. Alexander Hamilton pointed out that they rendered women and children 

“ more useful and the latter more early useful than they would otherwise be.” One early petition to Congress recites that “ more than 

eight-tenths of the persons employed in the manufactories of the

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United States are women and children, by which the latter are earlier 

trained to industrious habits than they would otherwise be.” Another points out that “ five or six adults with the aid of children” 

could manage a cotton factory of 2,000 spindles.

Again and again the fact is harped upon that in the factories

u women and children and the infirm” would be able to maintain

themselves. And the only answer the free traders found to this

chorus of laudation was to deny that manufacture had any monopoly

of virtue in this respect, since children could be and were “ employed

at a very early age in the lighter branches of agriculture.”

The earliest attack upon child labor under the factory system was 

based upon its interference with education. In 1818 the governor 

of Rhode Island called upon the legislature to provide a plan of education for the factory children. Six years later a resolution was 

brought in dealing with the same subject, but no action was taken. 

In 1825 Massachusetts took up the matter and an investigation was 

ordered into the condition in this respect of children employed by 

“ incorporated manufacturing companies.” The report made as a 

result of this investigation noted that children were employed generally 12 or 13 hours each day, leaving “ little opportunity for daily 

instruction,” but nevertheless no action was recommended.

From this time onward the long hours of work required of factory children and the consequent difficulty, if not impossiblity, of 

their securing even the rudiments of education began to figure prominently in public discussions. Little was said about the effect of early 

work upon health, but the desirability of shortening hours of work 

was dwelt upon at length. Organized labor took up the cause with 

enthusiasm. At this time one of the chief aims of the labor party 

was to secure a reduction of the inordinately long hours of work 

which then prevailed, and they were quick to see the value for this 

purpose of espousing the children’s cause. Through the thirties and 

forties in conventions, in speeches, and in published appeals they 

demanded education as the right of every child and shorter hours as 

a prerequisite to securing it. Toward the end of the period a recognition begins to appear of the fact that child labor tends to underbid 

adult labor and to reduce the standard of living, but up to 1860 the 

child-labor legislation advocated and indorsed by the labor party 

dealt almost wholly with restricting hours, and in only a very few 

cases had to do with age limitation.

To expect that the labor party would have seen all the evils of

child labor and would have proposed that it be forbidden by law

would be demanding much, especially as public opinion at large did

not concern itself with the matter. The country was too largely agricultural for the factory child to be of frequent enough occurrence to

gain attention. Moreover, the remains of the old Puritan ideal of

the virtue of employment, combined with the earlier age at which

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children developed in those days, continued to blind the public to the 

harm of their employment, provided they were not worked too long. 

Lastly, the dominant attitude, emphasizing the production of wealth 

as an element of national power and disregarding the human side of 

the big mechanism, retarded growth in this line.1

After the Civil War the attitude of the labor party changed in 

this respect. In 1876 the Workingmen’s Party, at a union congress 

in Philadelphia, proposed laws against the employment of children 

under 14 years of age, and about the same time the platform of the 

Knights of Labor contained a plank for the prohibition by law of 

their employment under 15 years of age in workshops, mines, and 

factories. Since then the public attitude has changed rapidly. There 

is a pretty general theoretic agreement that the employment of young 

children is in itself undesirable, and there are few manufacturing 

States in which there is not at least a nominal prohibition of employment below some fixed age. Hours of labor for children have been 

very generally limited by law, night work is forbidden in a number of 

States, and, in a few, proof of physical fitness and of a certain minimum of education is required before a young person may begin work.

CHILDREN IN THE COTTON INDUSTRY.

The extent to which children have been employed in the manufacture of cotton at different times and in different localities is shown by 

the following table:

AVERAGE NUMBER OF MEN, W OMEN, AND CHILDREN, AND PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF W AGE EARNERS, IN COTTON INDUSTRY, 1870

TO 1905.

(Figures from 1870 to 1890 include cotton small wares, which are not included in 1900 and 1905. Figures for

1870 include salaried officials and clerks, who are not included at any of the later dates. Figures for

1905 are taken from special reports of Census Office, Manufactures, 1905, Pt. III. pp. 43,44, 48,49; for

1900, from the Twelfth Census. 1900, Vol IX , Manufactures, Pt. Ill, p. 61; for 1890, idem, p. 54; for 1880,

from the Tenth Census, Vol. II, Statistics of Manufactures, Cotton, p. 15; and for 1870, from the Twelfth

Census, 1900, Vol. I X , Pt. Ill, p. 54. Until 1900 the classification of operatives was “ Males above 16

years," “ Females above 15 years," and “ Children ” In the Twelfth Census, 1900, however, no attention was paid to that classification, as the same figures are used under the new classification, “ Males

16 and over,” “ Females 16 and over,” and “ Children under 16,” just as if the previous classification

coincided with that of 1900.]

State. 1870 1880 1890 1900 1905

Men 16 and over:

New England.............................................

Middle States..............................................

Southern States.........................................

Western States...........................................

United States..........................................

Massachusetts.............................................

Rhode Island.............................................

Pennsylvania..............................................

North Carolina...........................................

South Carolina...........................................

Georgia.........................................................

Alabama......................................................

30,203

8,466

3,640

481

45,521

8,919

4,633

612

63,749

11,5S0

12,517

991

78,217

14,473

40,528

1,136

76,483

13,852

54,577

739

42,790 59,685 88,837 134,354 145,718

13,694

5,583

3,859

258

289

1,147

303

22,180

8,045

3,339

764

661

1,853

384

33,101

10,507

4,991

2,788

2.849

3.849

735

45,105

10,330

6,737

12,780

13,418

7,309

3,152

43,393

10,5C3

6,056

15,909

18,279

10,851

5,009

1Vol. V I, The Beginnings o f Ch ild -Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 2, p. 39.

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AVERAGE NUMBER OF MEN, W OMEN, AND CHILDREN, AND PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF W AGE EARNERS, IN COTTON INDUSTR Y, 1870

TO 1895—Concluded.

State. 1870 1880 1890 1900 1905

Women 16 years and over:

New England............................................. 50,805 62,554 73,445 73,258 70,113

Middle States.............................................. 14,126 13,185 16,240 16,056 15,116

Southern States......................................... 4,190 7,587 15,083 32,528 37,885

Western States........................................... 516 1,213 1,839 1,867 1,467

United States......................................... 69,637 84,539 106,607 123,709 124,711

Massachusetts............................................. 24,065 31,496 38,352 41,057 39,054

Rhode Island.............................................. 8,028 9,199 10,887 9,240 9,377

Pennsylvania.............................................. 6,097 4,454 6,258 7,119 6,516

916 1,727 3,656 10,364 12,235

South Carolina........................................... 508 772 3,070 8,673 10,157

Georgia......................................................... 1,080 2,951 4,005 6,495 7,873

Alabama...................................................... 445 631 852 2,743 3,377

Children under 16 years:

New England............................................. 13,767 17,704 10,165 10,819 9,385

Middle States.............................................. 6,382 6,014 4,021 4,314

24,£38

2,765

Southern States......................................... 2,343 4,097 8,815 27,538

Western States........................................... 450 505 431 295 290

United States.......................................... 22,942 28,320 23,432 39,866 40,029

Massachusetts............................................ 5,753 7,570 4,091 5,923 5,586

Rhode Island.............................................. 3,134 3,930 3,182 2,253 1,947

Pennsylvania.............................................. 2,774 2,086 1,417 1,711 1,187

North Carolina........................................... 279 741 2,071 7,129 8,‘212

South .Carolina........................................... 326 585 2,152 8,110 8,835

Georgia......................................................... 619 1,411 2,460 4,479 5,406

Alabama...................................................... 284 433 501 2,437 3,094

Total:

New England............................................ 94,775 125,779 147,359 162,294 155,981

Middle States.............................................. 28,974 28,118 31,841 34,843 31,871

Southern States......................................... 10,173 16,317 36,415 97,494 120,110

Western States........................................... 1,447 2,330 3,261 3,298 2,496

United States......................................... 135,369 172,544 218,876 297,929 310,458

Massachusetts............................................ 43,512 61,246 75,544 92,085 88,033

Rhode Island.............................................. 16,745 21,174 24,576 21,823 21,917

Pennsylvania.............................................. 12,730 9,879 12,666 15,567 13,789

North Carolina........................................... 1,453 3,232 8,515 30,273 36,356

South Carolina........................................... 1,123 2,018 8,071 30,201 37,271

Georgia........................................ ............... 2,846 6,215 10,314 18,283 24,130

Alabama...................................................... 1,032 1,448 2,088 8,332 11,480

Percentage of children of total number of

wage earners:

New England............................................. 14.5 14.1 6.9 6.7 6.0

Middle States.............................................. 22.0 21.4 12.6 12.4 8.7

Southern States......................................... 23.0 25.1 24.2 25.0 22.9

Western States........................................... 31.1 21.7 13.2 8.9 11.6

United States......................................... 10.9 16.4 10.7 13.4 12.9

Massachusetts............................................ 13.2 12.4 5.4 6.4 6.3

Rhode Island.............................................. 18.7 18.6 12.9 10.8 8.9

Pennsylvania.............................................. 21.8 21.1 11.2 11.0 8.6

North Carolina........................................... 19.2 22.9 24.3 23.5 22.6

South Carolina........................................... 29.0 29.0 26.7 26.9 23.7

Georgia......................................................... 21.7 22.7 23.9 24.5 22.4

Alabama...................................................... 27.5 29.9 24.0 29.2 27.0

It is clear, from a cursory glance at the table, that New England 

and the Southern States are the important centers of the industry, 

and that the Western and Middle States are practically so unimportant that for present purposes they may be ignored. In New 

England, while the total number of operatives has increased since 

1880 by over 30,000, the number of children has fallen off about

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£,000. Although the industry is growing, it is a declining industry 

for children. In the South, on the other hand, the actual number of 

children has increased over sixfold in the quarter century, and relative to the total number of wage earners has lost very little, still 

remaining nearly one-fourth of the total labor force, 22.9 per cent. 

Conspicuous is the sharp fall in the number of children employed in 

New England and the Middle States between 1880 and 1890, when 

labor legislation became effective in those localities. In the South up 

to 1900, in the absence of child-labor legislation or legal regulation, 

there was still one child under 16 years of age in every group of four 

persons employed. It is evident that the constant tendency of improved machinery in the cotton industry to become heavier and heavier has not caused the employment of children to decline.

There are other differences between the two sections. In New England the industry is old, having been started about 1790; in the South, 

although there were a few sporadic mills, cotton manufacturing 

hardly began to play any part in the economic development of the 

section until reconstruction was already an accomplished fact. Even 

now the industry is still in its infancy. Again, in New England the 

labor force consists preponderatingly of foreigners, while the South 

employs the native white population, much resembling the time, years 

ago, when the farmers’ daughters held sway in the mills of New England. Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the centers of cotton manufacturing in New England, furthermore, are highly industrialized, 

between 46 and 50 per cent of the employed population being engaged 

in manufacturing, while the South is still predominantly agricultural 

and rural. In North and South Carolina and Georgia from 60 to 69 

per cent of the working population are engaged in agricultural pursuits and only 9 to 12 per cent in manufacturing.1 The consequence 

is that conditions are more or less static in one locality, whereas in 

the other industrial fermentation is bringing about a change.

These differences make a study of the history of the industry in the 

two sections particularly worth while. Especially from the point of 

view of the employment of children it is interesting to see if there is 

any parallel between the early unregulated industry of New England and the unregulated industry of the South.

While spinning and weaving were done mainly at home, children 

and women were looked upon as the natural workers in these lines, 

and when in the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century the progress of invention took these industries from 

the home to the factory, women and children followed them thither. 

The employment of young children was then common in both the

1 Twe lfth Census, 1900, Vol. I I , Pt. II , p. exxv.

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North and South,1 but in the latter section so few people of any age 

were employed in manufacturing that the question of child labor was 

not important.

In New England children as young as 7 years are known to have 

been employed in the mills, and advertisements for families with 

children are common. In these 9 or 10 years is often mentioned as 

an age for beginners, but there is considerable evidence that children 

were employed at earlier ages. Two different systems were in use. 

In one the manufacturer strove to employ families with a large number of children, all of whom were employed as early as possible. 

This systemi prevailed very generally in Rhode Island, in Fall River, 

Mass., and probably in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Under the 

other system the manufacturer with a view to securing good moral 

conditions for his employees established boarding houses under the 

charge of reputable women and gave the preference to employees 

who would live in these. Naturally this tended to reduce the number 

of children employed. Massachusetts and New Hampshire very 

generally adopted this system.2

No really satisfactory data can be secured as to the number of 

children employed in cotton mills in the early days of the industry. 

Relatively they were numerous. In 1831 a committee of the Friends 

of American Industry collected statistics from 795 mills in 12 States. 

The total number of children under 12 employed in the industry, according to these figures, was 4,691, and the proportion they formed 

of the total employees ranged from 1.1 per cent in New Hampshire 

to 40 per cent in Rhode Island. In individual factories the proportion was much higher. Virginia, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, 

Pennsylvania, and Delaware appear in these tables as having no 

cotton-mill employees under 12 years old; there is evidence that for 

at least several of these States this showing is incorrect. Practically nothing can be said more definite than that children were 

very generally employed and that they formed an important part of 

the working force.

The nature of a child’s work in a cotton mill is such that it must 

necessarily work as long as the adults, and throughout the first half 

of the last century hours were very long. Working days of from

1 The Baltimore Gazette of Jan. 4, 1808, announces the establishment of a cotton manufactory in which “ a number of boys and girls from 8 to 12 years of age are wanted.”

In South Carolina the founder of one of the oldest mills in the State urged the employment of Negroes in the mills on the ground that as there was no necessity for educating

them the manufacturer could have “ their uninterrupted services from the age of 8

years.” In 1819 one manufacturer declared that the children in his factory were “ chiefly

taken from the poor masters of the country towns and from the almshouse in Baltimore.”

2 In the early days there was a difference in the machinery used in the two sections:

“ In Rhode Island the mule was used for spinning the weft, which meant a male spinner

and two assistants, children; whereas in Massachusetts, at Waltham and Lowell, the

filling frame, which had been invented by Moody, did not imply the employment of children. Not until after 1830 was mule spinning introduced into Massachusetts.”

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12 to 14 hours were common. Various attempts to secure a shorter 

day by legislation were made, but the laws passed were usually 

ineffective and there was little real limitation of the hours of 

children’s labor until after the Civil War.

Statistics are lacking for any general statements as to children’s 

earnings, but scattered statements are found indicating that they 

were low. Not infrequently parents contracted for their children’s 

work, making agreements usually for a year, but sometimes for 

longer periods. In the early part of the century the parent might 

ignore the child’s educational needs altogether. “ Some of the 

parents,” reported the selectmen of Northborough in 1825, “ contracted with the overseers of the factory to have their children attend 

school, and some "did not.” Later, compulsory school laws were 

passed and though parents might still keep their children at work 

all year they did not openly contract to do so. The wages earned 

by the children were paid to the parents.

Objection to the employment of children in the mills brought out 

replies of much the same character as those heard to-day in Southern 

States. Widows with children1 figured as largely in discussions of 

child labor as they do to-day. “ Employers represented that children 

were unprofitable to them and that they were employed only because 

parents importuned. * * * A New England manufacturer, for 

instance, told Horace Mann in 1848 that children under 15 years— 

they were about 13 per cent of all the operatives—were employed 

simply from motives of charity.” The well-known argument that it 

is much better for children to be at work acquiring habits of industry 

than to be running wild on the streets does full duty, and the uplifting effect of cotton-mill life is dwelt on with as much enthusiasm as 

some writers of the last decade have displayed. For instance, the 

following sentence, written in 1836, has a decidedly modern ring:

Hundreds of families * * * originally from places where the 

general poverty had precluded schools and public worship, brought 

up illiterate and without religious instruction, and disorderly and 

vicious in consequence of their lack of regular employment, have 

been transplanted to these new creations of skill and enterprise and by 

the ameliorating effects of study, industry, and instruction have been 

reclaimed, civilized, and Christianized.2

CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN THE NORTH BEFORE 1860.

PREVIOUS TO 1830.

Early child-labor legislation suffered from two grave defects. In 

the first place, owing to the prevailing belief in the virtue of industry

1 In 1855 the report of the Graniteville Manufacturing Co., South Carolina, characterizes the mill as “ truly the home of the poor widow and helpless children, or for a family

brought to ruin by a drunken, worthless father.”

2 Vol. V I, The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 3, p. TO.

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and the dangers of legal interference with personal rights, such legislation was usually of a timid and tentative character. And, in the 

second place, the public was entirely unsuspicious of the fact which 

years of experience have made evident, that a child-labor law, above 

all others, is not self-enforcing, and that it is of very little value 

unless provision is made for vigorous and thorough enforcement. 

Therefore the few laws which were passed concerning the Work of 

minors were too apt to remain dead letters, and on the whole the 

children probably gained more through the laws regulating employment in general than through those passed expressly for their benefit.

The first three decades of the century passed without any effective 

legislation of any kind concerning child labor. In Connecticut a law 

was passed in 1813 declaring that proprietors of manufacturing 

establishments should cause the children employed by them to be 

taught “ reading, writing, and the first four rules of arithmetic. Due 

attention should be paid to their morals, and they were required to 

attend public worship regularly.” The law was passed at the instance of a manufacturer who seems himself to have taken almost a 

paternal care of the children he employed, but outside of his factory 

there is no evidence that the law ever had the slightest weight.

In Rhode Island in 1818 the governor reminded the legislature 

of their duty in providing a plan of education for the factory children, but nothing came of his reminder. In 1824 a resolution was 

presented providing for the education of factory children and setting forth that “ there were no schools in most of the factories for 

the 25,000 children from 7 to 14 years, and the evening and Sunday 

schools were of little use, because of the long hours the factory children had to work.” But this resolution likewise fell through, and 

more than a decade elapsed before anything was done which affected 

the employment of children. In Massachusetts in 1825 a joint committee of house and senate was ordered to inquire into the expediency 

of providing by law for the education of children employed in factories. After an investigation—the first of the long series of investigations into child-labor conditions undertaken by legislative behest— 

the committee reported that they were not “ aware that any interposition by the legislature at present is necessary in this regard,” in 

spite of the fact that they found hours of labor were generally 12 or

13 a day, which left little opportunity for education.

Pennsylvania showed an early interest in the educational side of 

the question. In 1822 a report on education read in the senate showed 

that the number of poor children educated in the Philadelphia district had dropped from 5,369 in 1820 to 2,969 in 1821. This decline 

was attributed to the increase in factories. The report called attention to the gravity of the situation and invited for it “ the early and 

serious attention of the legislature,” but no action was taken. In

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1824 and again in 1827 a bill was introduced to provide for the education of minors employed in manufacturing establishments, but 

neither was carried through.

It appears, therefore, that up to 1830 three States—Massachusetts, 

Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania—had considered legislative regulation of the employment of children in textile factories, for the purpose of securing some educational opportunities for them, but in not 

a single one had any-effective action been taken.

FROM 1830 TO 1860, BY DECADES.

FROM 1830 TO 1840.

Massachusetts took the lead in this period with a law, passed in 

1836, providing that no child under 15 might be employed in any 

manufacturing establishment unless it had attended school at least 

three months of the year. The penalty for violation was $50, to be 

recovered by indictment for the use of the common schools in the 

town where the offending factory was situated. In 1838 an act was 

passed freeing the employer from liability if he kept a certificate of 

school attendance for each child under 15 years of age, signed and 

sworn to by the instructor of the school. The secretary of the 

board of education reported that the law of 1836 was very generally 

obeyed, although in some places it had been “ uniformly and systematically disregarded.” He stated that in one manufacturing 

town alone 400 children went to school who had never gone before.

In Rhode Island there was considerable agitation during this 

decade for a 10-hour day, by which, of course, children would have 

benefited. In 1838 a bill was introduced providing that children 

under 12 might not be employed unless they had attended school for 

three months during the preceding year, but it failed to pass. In 

1837 Vermont passed a curiously vague and sweeping bill empowering selectmen and overseers of the poor to “ examine into the 

treatment and condition of any minor employed in any manufacturing establishment in their respective towns,” giving them large 

discretionary powers of action if anything objectionable was discovered. There is no evidence that there was any need for this 

law or that it was ever called into play to any noticeable extent. 

In New York the desirability of taking some step in regard to the 

education of factory children was discussed at various times during 

this decade, both in the assembly and in reports of the superintendent 

of public schools, but no law was passed.

The agitation in Pennsylvania during this decade was of particular interest because, although no legislation was passed, the 

feasibility of limiting the age at which children might be employed 

was brought forward, apparently for the first time. In 1833 a

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motion was introduced in the house calling for a report on the 

question “ how far the employment of children under 14 years of 

age in the manufacturing establishments of this State is detrimental 

to health,” and also suggesting the limitation of hours for such 

children. The motion was adopted but no report appears to have 

been made. Nevertheless, the idea that the labor of young children 

might be intrinsically objectionable—“ detrimental to health”—appeared to make an impression. Later in the same year the cotton 

operatives at Manayunk issued an address appealing for better conditions, claiming that through poverty they were obliged to place 

their children in factories at an early age with disastrous consequences, though the consequences enumerated spring in the main 

from lack of educational opportunities. In 1837 the citizens of 

Pittsburgh held a meeting on the subject of children employed in 

factories and prepared a memorial to the legislature. Commenting 

on this the National Laborer exclaims: “ It is time that infants, 

yea infants, should be released from that toil and oppression to 

which the poverty of their parents forces them to yield.” In 1838 

a select committee, appointed the year before, reported an act concerning the employment of children in factories, which, along with 

provisions as to hours and schooling, prohibited the employment of 

children under 10. The committee also dwelt at length in their 

report on the abuses occurring under the present system. The report closes with a singularly modern note. It is better, they 

consider—

That counties should become, in some cases, chargeable with indigent parents than that the health, morals, and future prospects of 

their offspring should be sacrificed or even jeopardized for the precarious maintenance that is earned by their toil.1

The bill failed to pass, and a somewhat similar bill reported in 

the senate the next year never even reached consideration.

During this decade, to summarize, Massachusetts had provided 

by law for three months’ school attendance of all factory children 

under 15, Vermont had passed a vague law, in New York legislative 

action in regard to education had been discussed, and in Pennsylvania the proposition to limit the age of beginning work had been 

brought forward, though not adopted.

FROM 1840 TO 1850.

The earliest agitation against child labor was directed against 

the deprivation of educational opportunities it involved. During the 

thirties interest in education had somewhat diminished, while as the 

labor movement grew in strength increasing emphasis was laid on 

the importance of shorter hours for all workers, children and adults

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alike. Accordingly child-labor legislation during this decade moved 

along two main lines, provision of educational opportunities and 

restriction of hours. The idea brought forward in Pennsylvania 

during the preceding decade of an age limitation for beginning work 

also made some headway.

In Massachusetts an act was passed in 1842 forbidding the employment of children under 12 in manufacturing establishments for 

more than 10 hours a day. In 1849 an educational law was passed 

which did nothing more than interpret and define the law of 1836.

In Rhode Island the agitation of the thirties resulted in a bill, 

passed in 1840, providing three months’ schooling for children under

12 years in the year before employment. This act was inadvertently 

repealed in 1845.

In 1842 Connecticut passed a law forbidding the employment of 

children under 15 unless they attended school three months each year, 

and also forbidding the employment of children under 14 for more 

than 10 hours a day in cotton or woolen mills.

Up to this decade New Hampshire had not shown any particular 

interest in the regulation of child labor, but about 1845 the labor 

movement became active in this State and petitions for an improvement of conditions began to pour in upon the legislature. In 1846 

a law was passed providing that children 12 to 15 must attend school 

three months out of 12, and children under 12 must attend six 

months. Certificates of attendance were required and the school 

committee was to inform of all violations; in 1848 this was weakened 

by an amendment making the school attendance compulsory only 

for the year preceding employment. In 1847 a law was passed forbidding the employment of children under 15 for more than 10 

hours a day without the written consent of the parents, a provision 

which rendered the law practically worthless.

Maine proceeded along somewhat the same lines. In 1847 school 

attendance was required of all children employed in cotton or woolen 

mills, three months a year for those between 12 and 15, and four 

months for all under 12. The next year, 1848, a law was passed 

forbidding the employment of children under 16 by any manufacturing or other corporation for more than 10 hours a day. This provision roused such opposition that in 1849 both house and senate 

passed a bill to repeal it, which the governor refused to sign. His 

message, giving his reasons for refusing, replies to the same arguments in favor of unrestricted child labor which are brought forward 

to-day, and in some respects the governor’s attitude was in advance 

of that which has yet been reached in many communities:

Evidently those in favor of repealing the act of 1848 had contended that the mills could not run on a 10-hour basis, and that many 

children under 16 would therefore be deprived of the privilege of

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affording relief to widowed mothers, etc. The governor met this 

objection by showing that the State would then permit the mother 

to be relieved at the incalculable cost of entailing upon thousands of 

offspring mental and bodily imbecility, poverty, and wretchedness.1

New York and New Jersey both made sundry efforts during this 

decade to secure limitation of hours and an age limit for the employment of children, but neither accomplished anything. Pennsylvania 

linked the children’s cause with that of the workers generally, and 

in 1848 passed a law making 10 hours the legal day in cotton, woolen, 

silk, paper, bagging, and flax factories, and forbidding the employment of children under 12 in any cotton, woolen, silk, or flax factory 

under a penalty of $50. In 1849 the age limit was raised to 13 years 

and a provision was added that children between 13 and 16 years of 

age must attend school for three consecutive months each year.

FROM 1850 TO 1860.

During this decade there was comparatively little advance in the 

child-labor movement. Massachusetts increased the school attendance requirements for children under 12 years from 11 to 18 weeks 

each year until the age of 12 was reached. Rhode Island in 1853 forbade the employment of children under 12, and in 1854 provided 

that up to the age of 15 all must attend school three months a year. 

Connecticut in 1855 fixed 9 years as the age below which children 

might not lawfully be employed, and the next year raised this limit 

to 10. In 1855 it was also provided that minors under 18 should not 

work more than 11 hours a day, but the next year this was increased 

to 12, with a proviso for a 69-hour week. New Jersey in 1851 established 10 years as the age limit for employment and 10 hours was 

established as the legal day.

SUMMARY.

By 1860 in the Northern States public opinion had advanced from 

the early position thait child labor was an unmixed benefit to a recognition of the fact that there were at least two sides to the question. 

The importance of affording educational opportunities to every child 

was recognized rather generally and the right of the State to interfere in order to secure this was admitted. The right of the State to 

control the age a;t which children might begin work and the hours 

during which they might be employed had also been established in 

more than one State. It might be said that the theory of the right 

of the State to protect children was admitted, but as yet very little 

practical application of that right had been made. Laws for that 

purpose were relatively few, and as a rule contained little or no 

provision for enforcement.

240 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

\ Vol. V I , The Beginnings o f Ch ild -Labor Legislation in Certain States, p. 103.

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B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L D -L A B O R L E G I S L A T I O N . 241

CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN FOUR SOUTHERN STATES:

NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND

ALABAMA.

EARLIER LEGISLATION.

The labor of children received very little legislative attention in 

the South before the beginning of the present century. In 1853 

Georgia passed an act providing that “ the hours for labor by all 

White persons under 21 years of age in all cotton, woolen, and other 

manufacturing establishments in this State shall be, and the same 

hereby are, settled and fixed at from sunrise to sunset, including the 

usual and customary time for meals.” This permitted long hours, 

but at least prohibited night work. No provision was made for its 

enforcement. There is nothing to indicate what conditions led to 

this enactment and no account of its effect. In 1886-87 Alabama 

forbade the employment in mines of children under 15. In 1892-93 

the employment of women and of boys under 10 in mines was forbidden, and four years later the age limit for boys was raised to 12 

years. In 1886-87 it was provided that children under 14 were not 

to be employed in manufacturing and mechanical establishments 

more than eight hours a day, but this law was repealed in 1894. In 

1889 Georgia limited hours in cotton and woolen factories to 66 a 

week, and in 1892 South Carolina provided for an 11-hour day and 

a 60-hour wreek in cotton and woolen mills.

This sums up the legislation by which children were affected up to 

1900. There were a few limitations on hours, but no provisions for 

detecting or preventing violations. There was no age limit on employment, except Alabama’s prohibition of the employment of boys 

under 12 in mines; neither physical nor educational qualifications 

were required and night work was permitted for young and old alike.

During the nineties a number of efforts were made in the four 

leading manufacturing States of the South to secure some effective 

regulation of child labor, but all failed. In these earlier campaigns 

the arguments of the opposition varied considerably, according to 

the importance of the industry in a given State. Thus in Georgia, 

when a bill to forbid the employment of children under 12 in cotton 

and woolen mills was introduced in 1887, the cotton industry was 

relatively so unimportant that none of the arguments against the 

bill mentioned any possible injury to the industrial interests of the 

State. Opposition was based on the arguments that children should 

be trained to habits of industry, that labor did not injure them so 

much as idleness, and that, moreover, such legislation was a direct 

infringement upon parental rights. Ten years later the same attitude was still held. The responsibility of employing children should 

rest with the parents, declared one group of opponents, while by 

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------16

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others: “ Child-labor legislation was branded as a ‘ maudlin ’ sentimentalism that seeks to throw around children a protection that 

would harm them. If these children were not allowed to work they 

would not get educational advantages, but would be exposed to all 

the contaminating influences of this world.”

On the other hand, in the Carolinas, where the industry was growing much more rapidly than in Georgia, the opposition was frankly 

based on economic reasons. In North Carolina in 1887 the opposition to an age limit for employment laid stress on the fact that if it 

were adopted “ a great many people would be unable to support their 

families and even if the children did not work their parents would 

be unable to send them to school.” In 1893 it was asserted that 

“ labor laws in Georgia had driven the capitalists to North Carolina, 

and the inference was that the legislation proposed would in turn 

drive them out of North Carolina.” In 1892 in South Carolina a 

manufacturer opposing the limitation of hours for women and children on the ground that it would seriously injure the industry declared : “ Only women and children could be employed in the spinning department owing to the lowness of the machinery.”

LEGISLATION AFTER 1900.

By 1900 the movement against child labor was becoming a force to 

be reckoned with. The rapid growth of the cotton industry was 

bringing so many children into the mills that the question could no 

longer be looked upon as unimportant. In 1880 the cotton mills of 

North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama employed 3,170 

children under 16; in 1900 the number had increased to 22,155, and 

in individual States the increase had been much more rapid than for 

the group as a whole. From 1900 onward not a legislative year 

passed in which some measure for regulating child labor was not 

brought up in one or more of these four States. The progress of 

each of these campaigns is given in the report in much detail, but 

since the course of events was not very different in the four States, 

South Carolina may be taken as typical.

In 1884 an act forbidding the employment of children under 10 was

introduced in the South Carolina Legislature, but failed to become

a law. The next attempt of the kind was made in 1889 and the next

in 1890, both being unsuccessful. In 1900 a bill forbidding the employment of children under 12 was lost. In 1901 petitions both for

and against a child-labor bill were presented, and a bill was introduced forbidding the employment of children under 12. The bill

failed to pass, but was warmly debated on both sides: 1

242 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1Vol. VI, The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 5, pp.

152 to 154.

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The statements made and opinions expressed at the hearings and 

in the legislature are such interesting evidence of the public attitude 

toward child labor at the time that a summary of them is particularly in place. In the main the arguments of the opposition are the 

same that had been used in New England 50 years before. The differences are simply due to the difference in local conditions. The 

manufacturer’s chief argument was that it was an infant industry 

bringing wealth into the State, and it should be protected. One 

manufacturer went so far as to say that the child-labor bill with its 

12-year age limit might be called “ a bill to discourage manufacturing in South Carolina.” 1 The old argument that labor legislation 

would drive off capital was brought out. The absence of labor legislation in Georgia and Alabama had enticed New England manufacturers, and if they had restrictive laws in South Carolina every 

outside manufacturer would give them a wide berth.2 Moreover, 

the operatives would move to North Carolina and Georgia to obtain 

employment for their children, so that labor already scarce enough 

would become still scarcer. It is noticeable at this time that the 

manufacturers made no attempt to minimize the extent of child 

labor as later, but freely admitted it. The president of a large mill 

stated that children between 10 and 12 years old did almost all the 

spinning in the State, and the passage of the law, in the estimation 

of some manufacturers, would stop 20 per cent of the machinery.3 

The president of another company said that 30 per cent of the operatives in the spinning room at his mills were children under 12, and 

from his information he did not doubt that the same proportion 

would hold for the rest of the State.4 The pitiable state of education 

is brought out by the statistics of the Victor Mills, admittedly one of 

the “ show mills” of the State. Out of 124 children 58 could not 

read, or about 46 per cent. The wording of the president’s statement 

that “ all could read except 58 ” 4 is suggestive. These facts were lost 

sight of in the more important question of the welfare of the industry. The position that the withdrawal of the children from the 

industry would stop 30 per cent of the machinery was generally 

accepted. It resolved itself, as the president said, into the question 

of whether it was better to protect 30 per cent of labor, the children, 

or indirectly paralyze all the other interests which were dependent 

on it. Various statements from physicians—employees of cottonmill corporations or in villages belonging to mill corporations—that 

millwork was not injurious to children were read.

In the assembly debates the arguments of the opposition centered 

around the contention that the operatives did not desire the proposed 

legislation. The 4,864 operatives’ signatures against the bill as contrasted with 1,230 signatures for it was used as proof.5 The other 

side, however, took the position that it was not a question of what 

mill presidents and parents wanted, but whether legislation protecting the children of the State should be passed. The opposition also

1 Reported in the Charleston News and Courier, Jan. 24, 1901, p. 5.

2 Idem, Jan. 22, 1901, p. 5.

8 The Charleston News and Courier, Jan. 22, 1901.

* Idem, Jan. 24, 1901.

B Speech of a representative from Anderson County reported in the Charleston News

and Courier, Feb. 1, 1901.

B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L D -L A B O R L E G I S L A T I O N . 243

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244 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

declared that the bill, besides being class legislation, was an infringement of the rights of parents and a slander on cotton-mill operatives.1 

“ Such a law as this, declared one orator, “ will be repulsive to operatives in this State in whose veins runs the hot blood of freedom.” 

South Carolina was not a land of paternalism.2

Another statesman asserted that the laboring classes in South 

Carolina were much better without laws than those in New England 

with laws. “ Education is not everything,” he concluded, “ for 

virtue is cheap in New England.” 3 A report to the News and 

Courier stated that—

“ The members of the general assembly are disposed to heed the 

advice of such men as [naming 10 well-known millmen] rather than 

those who are not entirely familiar with the situation. They know 

that these are the men who have brought millions into the cottonmanufacturing industry in this State; they know that these mills 

have given interior towns port prices for their cotton; and they know 

how the mills enhance local products. These men are all South 

Carolinans to the manor born, and their hearts have been tried, and 

are as true to their people as those of the agitator, and their views 

of what is for the ultimate good of the State ought to be as good 

as those of any agitator or even sincere humanitarian, for who would 

not say that they do far more for their working classes than do 

those in most other occupations. * * * The argument is that to 

turn loose boys 10 and 11 years old without anything to do and without any desire to go to school would be far worse than to let the 

children acquire habits of industry and thrift. At all events there 

are very few children under 12 years of age who are employed in 

cotton factories, and the statements of the mill officers are that they 

would rather not employ children at all, as it is expensive and unsatisfactory, but it has to be done to help poor families in the mills, 

and is sometimes due to the misstatements of parents as to the ages 

of children.4

In 1902 a child-labor bill was again defeated, but by only a narrow margin. In 1903 the governor sent in an emphatic message on 

the subject. “ No one can successively controvert,” he declared, “ the 

position that this labor of long and constant hours is injurious to 

the child and therefore affects the citizenship of the future. This 

being true, the State has a right to come in and say it shall be 

stopped.”

By this time it was becoming apparent that public opinion demanded a child-labor law, and the opposition devoted itself not to 

preventing but to weakening such legislation. The law as finally 

passed graduated the age limit of employment from 10 years in 1903 

to 12 years in 1905.

1 See speech of a representative from Anderson Comity in the Charleston News and

Courier, Feb. 1, 1901.

2 Idem, Feb. 9, 1901, p. 3.

3 Speech of the senator from Anderson County in the Charleston News and Courier,

Feb. 8, 1901, p. 5.

4 Jan. 21, 1901, p. 5, c. 1, 2, 3. Also Kohn’s pamphlet, The Cotton Mills of South

Carolina, republished from the Charleston News and Courier, Columbia, S. C., 190T.

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B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L D -L A B O R L E G IS L A T IO N . 245

Night work for children under 12 years of age between 8 p. m. 

and 6 a. m. was forbidden, although children under 12 years of 

age, whose employment was otherwise permissible, were allowed to 

make up lost time. An exception was made allowing orphans and 

the children of a widowed mother or of a totally disabled father to 

work, in case they were dependent upon their own labor for support. The widow or parent had to furnish an affidavit, indorsed 

with the approval of the officer before whom it was made, saying 

they were unable to support the children. Children under the legal 

age could work during the summer months provided they had attended school four months during the current year and could read 

and write. Affidavits of age for children under 12 years of age 

were required to be on file in the office of the employer. Penalties 

were attached to parents for permitting disqualified children to 

work. Employers were practically exempt by making only those 

who “ knowingly” employed children contrary to the law subject 

to a fine.1

No means of enforcement were provided.

Mild as was this bill,“ a triumph of the principle only of a childlabor bill,” it was looked upon as being all that could be expected 

for a time, and for some years the friends of labor legislation devoted themselves to trying to secure shorter hours. In 1907 a bill 

was passed providing that beginning January, 1908, 10 hours a day 

and 60 hours a week should constitute the regular working hours in 

cotton and woolen mills for all operatives except machinists, engineers, etc. Contracts for longer hours were void.

In 1907 and in 1908 unsuccessful efforts were made to secure 

f actory inspection, but in 1909 this was obtained. The need of such 

inspection was very generally felt.

The Columbia State pointed out the utter inadequacy of the childlabor la;w in keeping children under age who were not subject to the 

exceptions Out of the mills. The parents, anxious to secure employment for their children, might give any age they chose for the 

children and there was no redress. If one mill refused to employ 

children which it believed to be under age, some other less scrupulous 

mill would. * * * Inspection of the mills would help enforce 

the law.2

The State commissioner of agriculture, commerce, and industries 

was to report annually statistical details relating to all departments 

of labor. He might employ two inspectors in enforcing the provisions of the law. Children under 14 were prohibited from cleaning certain kinds of machinery while in motion, and where children 

under 14 were employed notices to that effect must be posted.

1 Vol. VI, The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 5, p. 158.

2 Idem, p. 164.

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The first report of the commissioner, covering the work of 1909, 

showed that the employment of children under 12 was common. 

During the year the inspectors had ordered the discharge of 231 

children under 12 who were illegally employed, and found 726 

others under that age working under the exception of the law. During the summer months 519 certificates were issued to children 

under 12 allowing them to work until September 1st.

In the three other States the same opposition was met with and 

much the same results were obtained, though North Carolina and 

Georgia did not establish any inspection system within the period 

covered.

The report closes with an analysis and comparison of the childlabor legislation secured in the North before 1860 and in the South 

by 1909, which is here given in full i1

CONCLUSION,

ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1860.

In order to secure a general idea of the child-labor legislation enacted up to 1860, the laws of the various States have been analyzed 

and classified under the chief characteristics of such legislation, 

the age of employment, limitation of hours, and school attendance 

requirements, in the following tables:

ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1860.

246 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Z. Age of employment.

State and date of law. Industries affected. Age limit. Proof of age.

Massachusetts; no legislation.

Rhode Island, 1853....... Manufacturing................... Children under 12 years not to

work.

Children under 9 years not to

work.

Children under 10 years not to

work.

Selectmen had discretionary

powers.

Not required.

Do.

Connecticut:

1855, ch. 45.............. Manufacturing and mechanical.

1856, ch. 39.............. .......do.................................. Do.

Vermont, 1837, No. 34...

New Hampshire; no

legislation.

Maine; no legislation

Manufacturing...................

New York; no legislation.

New Jersey, 1851.......... Manufacturing................... Children under 10 years not to

work.

Children under 12 years not to

work.

Children under 13 years not to

work.

Do.

Pennsylvania:

1848, No. 227........... Cotton, woolen, silk, flax..

Cotton, woolen, silk, paper, bagging, flax.

Do.

1849, No. 415........... Do.

1 Vol. VI, The Beginnings of Child-Labor Legislation in Certain States, ch. 6, p. 207 et seq.

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ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1860— Continued.

II. Limitation of hours for children.

B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L D -L A B O R L E G I S L A T IO N . 247

State and date of law. Industries affected. Detail of hour limitation. Enforcement.

Massachusetts, 1842. ch.

60.

Rhode Island, 1853.......

Connecticut:

1842, ch. 28.

1855, ch. 45.

1856, ch. 39.

Vermont, 1837, No. 34...

New Hampshire, 1847,

ch. 488.

Maine, 1848, ch. 83........

New York; no legislation apart from the

10-hour day on public

works.

New Jersey, 1851..........

Pennsylvania:

1848, No. 227.

1849, No. 415.

1855, No. 601.

Ohio, 1852............

Manufacturing.

___ do...............

Cotton and woolen............

Manufacturing or mechanical.

___ do.................................

Manufacturing.

Manufacturing.

Manufacturing or other

corporation.

Children under 12 years may

not work over 10 hours a day.

Children 12 to 15 years may

not work over 11 hours.

Nightwork after 7.30 p. m.

ana before 5 a. m. forbidden

minors under 18 years, packers excepted.

Children under 14 years may

not work over 10 hours a day.

Children under 18 years may

not work over 11 hours a day.

Children under 18 years may

not work over 12 hours a day

and 69 a week.

The selectmen had large discretionary powers.

Children under 15 years may

not work over 10 hours a day

without written consent of

the parent.

Children under 16 years may

not work over 10 hours a day.

Manufacturing (Acts of

1852, p. 62).

Cotton, woolen, silk, paper,

bagging, flax.

.do.

.do.

Manufacturing and mechanical.

Minors may not be holden or

required to work over 10

hours a day or 60 a week.

Minors may not be holden or

required to work over 10

hours a day or 60 a week.

Minors above 14 years may

be employed more than 10

hours by special contract.

Children 13 to 16 years may

not work over 10 hours a day.

Minors may not work over 60

hours a week.

Women and children under 18

years may not be compelled

to work over 10 hours a day.

Children under 14 years may

not work over 10 hours a day.

Not provided for.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Constables and

grand jurors to

inquire after violations.

Not provided for.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

On complaint: constables to act.

Not provided for.

H im School-attendance requirements.

State and date of

law. Industries affected. Nature of school rerequirements.

Massachusetts:

1836, ch. 245....

1838, ch. 107

Manufacturing___ Children under 15

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12.

1849, ch. 220 (repealing act of

1858, ch. 83

Manufacturing___

.......do....................

Children under 15

years must attend

school 11 weeks.

Children under 12

years must attend

school 18 weeks.

Children under 12

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12.

Rhode Island:

1840 (repealed

in 1844).

.......do....................

School certificates.

Not mentioned..

School certificates not

required, but conclusive evidence in

case of doubt.

Not required, but conclusive evidence in

case of doubt.

Enforcement.

Not provided for.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

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ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1860-Canduded,

I I I . School^attendance requirements—Concluded.

248 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

State and date of

law.

Rhode IslandConcluded.

1854..............

Connecticut, 1842,

ch. 28.

Vermont, 1837.

New Hampshire:

1846, ch. 318..

Maine, 1847, ch. 29..

New York; no legislation.

New Jersey; no legislation.

Pennsylvania, 1849,

No. 415.

Industries affected.

Manufacturing—

All occupations

Manufacturing-----

do

Cotton and woolen manufacturing.

Cotton, woolen,

silk, paper, bagging, and flax.

Nature of school requirements.

Children under 15

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12:

Children under 15

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12.

The selectmen had

large discretionary

power.

Children 12 to 15

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12; children

under 12 years

must attend

school 6 months

out of 12.

Children 12 to 15

years must attend

school 12 weeks

out of the year before employment;

children under 12

years must attend

school 6 months

out of the year before employment.

Children 12 to 15

years must attend

school 3 months

out of 12; children

under 12 years

must attend

school 4 months

out of 12.

Children 13 to 16

years must attend

school 3 months

consecutively out

of 12.

School certificates.

Not mentioned.

Not required; but

when sworn to by

the teacher, sufficient evidence in

cases arising under

the law.

Required; must be

sworn to by the

teacher.

Required; signed by

the teacher.

Required; sworn to by

the teacher.

Not mentipned.

Enforcement.

Not provided for.

School visitors.

School committees to inform

of all violations.

Not provided for

Do.

Do.

1848, ch. 622 (repealing act of

1846).

Manufacturing___

As may be seen, prior to 1860 only four States limited the age of 

employment of children. In the Connecticut and New Jersey laws 

the age limit was 10 years in all manufacturing establishments and 

in Connecticut in mechanical establishments also. Twelve years was 

the limit in Rhode Island in manufacturing establishments. The 

Pennsylvania law raised the age limit from 12 to 13 years in cotton, 

woolen, silk, paper, bagging, and flax factories. In none of the 

States was any proof of age required.

Six States—Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, 

Pennsylvania, and Ohio—limited the hours of labor to 10 a day for 

children in manufacturing establishments (in Pennsylvania, in texDigitized for FRASER 

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B E G I N N I N G S O F C H I L C -L A B O R L E G IS L A T IO N . 249

tile establishments). The ages of the children varied in the different States. Thus, in Massachusetts the law forbade children under 

12 years from working over 10 hours a day, and in Pennsylvania the 

act of 1855 forbade all minors from working over 60 hours a week. 

Rhode Island limited the hours to 11 a day for children between 12 

and 15 years of age, and was the only State that forbade night work 

for minors. However, the evils of night work at that time were not 

great. In Connecticut minors under 18 years could not work over

12 hours a day or 69 hours a week. The law became more lax instead of rigid, just the reverse of the course of legislation in Pennsylvania, where, starting out with a law that minors should not be 

held or required to work over 10 hours a day or 60 a week, the State 

later directly forbade their employment over 60 hours a week. In 

New Hampshire the children under 15 years of age working over 10 

hours a day had to have the written consent of the parent. The New 

Jersey law stated that minors could not be held or required to work 

over 60 hours a week. If the child worked longer the employer could 

shift the responsibility by declaring it was voluntairy and not required. Connecticut and Pennsylvania alone made any attempt at 

enforcing the law. In the former State the constables and grand 

jurors were to inquire after violations, and in Pennsylvania on complaint the constables could act.

As was to be expected, the New England States emphasized school 

attendance, and besides Pennsylvania were the only; States to enact 

legislation of this nature. Massachusetts was the pioneer, and the 

other States modeled their laws on hers. Children under 15 years 

of age employed in manufacturing establishments in Maine, in cotton and woolen mills only, must attend school 3 months a year. 

Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts lengthened the school 

term for children under 12 years of age. In Pennsylvania children

13 and under 16 years of age employed in certain specified industries 

must attend school three months consecutively out of 12 months. 

Two of the States—Maine and New Hampshire—required certificates 

of school attendance, and in the former the teacher was required 

to swear to the certificate. In Rhode Island and Massachusetts, 

these certificates, although not required, were conclusive evidence in 

cases of doubt. Pennsylvania did not regulate certificates. In Connecticut it was the duty of the school visitors to enforce the law, and 

in New Hampshire also the school committees were at first charged 

with enforcing the law, a provision that was afterwards repealed.

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250 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

A NALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN FOUR SOUTHERN

STATES.

The following tables contain a similar analysis of legislation in 

the Southern States:

ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN FOUR SOUTHERN STATES.

/ . Age of employment.

State and date of

law.

Industries

affected. Age limit. Proof of age. Enforcement.

North Carolina:

1903............

1907............

South Carolina:

1903............

1909..

Georgia, 1906.

Alabama:

1886-87, repealed

1894-95.

1896-97.

1903....

1907.

All manufacturing (except

oyster canning).

All manufacturing.

Mines, factory,

textile manufacturing.

.do..

Factory or manufacturing establishment.

Mines.

.do.

.do.

Factory or manufacturing.

Cotton, woolen,

tobacco, printing and binding, glass, and

injurious indoor work.

Children under 12 years not

to work.

Children under 13 years not

to work, except apprentices 12 to 13.

Gradually children under 12

years not to be employed

(may assist parents).

(Exceptions: Orphans,

children of widows, totally

disabled parents. Affidavits required for exceptions.) During summer

children with school attendance certificate and

able to read and write

may work.

___ do.....................................

Children under 12 years not

to work except orphans,

children of widows, and

totally disabled parents,

and then not to work under 10 years. (Affidavit

from father for children

under 12 years.)

Children under 15 years not

to work.

Woman or boy under 10

years not to work.

Woman or boy under 12

years not to work.

Children under 12 years not

to be employed. Exceptions.

Children under 12 years not

to work or be in or

about.

Required; but simply the written

statement of the

parent.

-----do.......................

N o t provided

for.

Do.

Not required, but

affidavit required

for children under 12 years.

Required; but simply the signed

statement of parent for children

under 14 years.

Required; but simply the affidavit

of parent.

Not required............

----- do.......................

___ do.......................

Required; but simply the affidavit

of parent for all

children.

Required; but simply the affidavit

of parent for child r e n under 18

years of age.

Do.

Inspector.

Grand jury to

inspect affidavits.

N o t provided

for.

Mine inspector.

Do.

N o t provided

for.

Inspector.

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ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN POUR SOUTHERN STATES-Continued.

II. Limitation of hours for children.

B E G I N N I N G S O P C H I L D -L A B O R L E G IS L A T IO N . 251

State and date of

law.

North Carolina:

1903..............

1907.

South Carolina:

1892..............

1903..

1907.

1909.

Georgia:

1853..

1906..

Alabama:

1886-87, repealed 1894.

1903.

1907, reenacted in 1909.

Industries

affected.

Manufacturing..

.......do............

Cotton and woolen manufacturing.

Mine, factory, or

textile manufacturing.

Cotton and woolen manufacturing.

.do.

Cotton and woolen and other

manufacturing.

Cotton and woolen factories.

Manufacturing.

Mechanical and

manufac turing.

Manufacturing..

Cotton, woolen,

tobacco, printing and binding, glass, or

injurious indoor work.

Detail of hour limitation.

Children under 18 years must

not work over 66 hours per

week.

.......do.....................................

All operatives (children included) not to work over

11 hours a day or 60 hours

a week, except firemen,

etc. Seventy nours overtime allowed.

All operatives not to work

over 10 hours a day or «0

hours a week, except firemen, etc., after 1908. Sixty hours per annum overtime allowed.

All operatives (children included) not to work over

11 hours a day or 60 hours

a week.

Hours for minors (white)

fixed at from sunrise to

sunset.

Hours not over 66 a week for

all persons, including children.

Children under 14 years not

to work over 8 hours a day.

Children under 18 years

not to be compelled, etc.

Children under 12 years not

to work over 66 hours a

week.

Children under 14 years not

to work over 60 hours a

week.

Enforcement.

Not provided for.

.do.

.do.

.do.

.do.

Inspectors.

Not provided for___

.do.

.do..

.do.

.do.

Inspector.

Night work.

No legislation.'

Between 8 p.

m. and 5 a.

m. forbidden

children under 14 years.

No legislation.

Night work forbidden children under

12 years.

Nightwork forbidden (rep e a 1 e d by

Code of 1895).

Nightwork allowed in cotton mills, according to

the Code of

1895.

Nightwork forbidden children under

14 years.

Nightwork forbidden children under

13 years.

Children under 16 years

not over 48

hours.

Nightwork forbidden children under

16 years.

Children 16

to 18 years

not over 48

hours a week

at night.

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ANALYSIS OF CHILD-LABOR LEGISLATION IN FOUR SOUTHERN STATES—Concluded.

I I I . School-attendance requirements.

252 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O B S T A T IS T IC S .

State and date of

law.

JJorth Carolina,

1907..................

South Carolina:

1903............

1909.........

Georgia, 1906.

Alab<\ma, 1907 ...

Industries

affected.

Mines, factory,

textile manufacturing.

Factory or manufacturing establishment.

M anufacturing,

cotton ,

woolen, tobacco, printing and binding, glass or

injurious indoor work.

Nature of school requirements.

4 months a year for apprentices 12 to 13 years.

Children under 12 years who

. work in summer must have

attended school 4 months

and be able to read and

write.

Children 12 to 14 years must

be able to read and write

and shall have attended

school 12 weeks in the past

year, 6 consecutively.

Exceptions allowed.

Children between 14 and 18

years must have attended

school 12 weeks a year, 6

weeks consecutively.

Children 12 to 16 years must

attend school 8 weeks a

year, 6 weeks consecutively.

School certificates.

Required; simply

the written statement of the parent.

.do.

Required; simply

the affidavits of

the parents.

Not required.

Enforcement.

Not provided

for.

Bo.

Inspectors.

Grand jury.

Inspector.

The analysis of the legislation of the 4 Southern States shows that 

in general 12 years is the legal age limit in the 4 States, below which 

children may not be employed in manufacturing establishments. In 

North Carolina the age limit has been raised to 13 years, except for 

apprentices between 12 and 13 years. In all of the States except 

South Carolina children are not only forbidden employment by the 

manufacturer, but they are not allowed to work in the factory. This 

prevents their going in to help an older relation and does away with 

the employer’s plea that he is not employing the children, but that, 

independently of him, their parents take them into the mill to assist 

them. Where the law does not go further and state that children are 

not allowed to be in or about the factory, parents may make of the 

mill a day or night nursery, according to their exigencies, unless, of 

course, the management of its own accord forbids such a practice. 

Alabama alone forbids by law the presence of children under the 

legal age in factories. Two of the States—South Carolina and 

Georgia—let down the age limit for orphans and the children of 

widows or disabled fathers. In South Carolina an affidavit of inability to support the child is required of parents and guardians, 

while in Georgia it is only required of the disabled father. No child 

under 10 years of age is allowed under any circumstances to work in 

Georgia, whereas the South Carolina law sets no minimum age limit 

for exceptions. The Alabama law contained a similar exception 

which was later abandoned. South Carolina also allows children

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under 12 years to work during the three summer months if they have 

fulfilled certain educational requirements.

The written statement of the parent in North and South Carolina 

and the affidavit of the parent in the other two States is all that is 

required to establish the child’s age. In South Carolina the signed 

statement of the parent is required only for children under 14 years 

of age. If, for example, the parent says the child is over 14, no 

further statement is necessary. In none of the States is it demanded 

that the parent’s affidavit or statement be substantiated by documentary proof of the age, record of birth, school or baptismal certificate, etc. In the two States, therefore, which attempt to enforce 

this law by inspectors it is as impossible for them to go back of the 

parent’s word as in the States where there is no inspector. The 

advantage in this respect that the States with inspectors have over 

those without inspectors is that the provisions requiring parents’ 

affidavits to be kept by the manufacturing establishment are 

enforced. In Georgia, although there is no inspector, the affidavits 

are open to inspection by the grand jury. An effective law would 

require proof independently of the parents’ oath. It would then 

be impossible to have parents swearing, as in Alabama, that their 

children were 12 years old but at the same time unable to swear when 

they were born.1

The weekly working hours are limited for children in all the States, 

ranging from a maximum of 66 hours a week in North Carolina and 

Georgia to a maximum of 60 hours in South Carolina. In none of 

the States, however, except South Carolina is the daily maximum 

of working hours prescribed. In Alabama children under 14 years 

of age may not work over 60 hours a week, which means, of course, 

that those manufacturing establishments desiring to operate longer 

hours get rid of children under 14 years of age with a success 

dependent on the effectiveness of the law limiting ages. Children 

over 14 years of age may be worked indefinitely long. Nightwork 

is forbidden children under 12 years in South Carolina, under 14 

years in North Carolina and Georgia, and under 16 years in Alabama. In North Carolina and Georgia there is no means of enforcing this law; in the two States with inspectors, filing the age and 

birth certificates furnishes the necessary basis for enforcement, but 

subject, of course, to the same disability as the age provisions discussed above.

The school-attendance requirements vary greatly. There are no 

requirements in North and South Carolina, except for children who 

are employed under the exceptions in the law. In North Carolina

1 First Annual Report of the Department for the Inspection of Jails and Almshouses

and Cotton Mills, Factories, etc. (1909), p. 9.

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apprenticed children 12 to 13 years of age and in South Carolina 

children under 12 years, not orphans, children of widows or disabled 

fathers, who work in summer must have attended school four months 

in the past year. The obscure wording of the Georgia law makes its 

construction difficult, but the intent seems to be that children under

14 years must be able to read and write and shall have attended 

school for 12 weeks in the past year (six weeks consecutively), and 

that children until reaching 18 must attend school 12 weeks a year. 

Alabama requires children between 12 and 16 years to attend school 

eight weeks a year. Certificates of school attendance are required 

by law in South Carolina and Georgia. In Alabama the factory 

inspector has adopted a system of certificates for his convenience, 

although the law is silent on the subject.

In contrasting the legislation of the beginnings of industrialism 

in the two sections, one is at once struck by the fact that the protection provided for children prior to 1860 came in the New England 

States from the interest in education, and in the other States from 

the agitation of labor for a reduction of hours, and that, relatively 

speaking, limitation of age was rare. In the South at the present 

time, following the example of later legislation elsewhere, the 

emphasis is laid on directly limiting the age as the most effective 

means of striking at the roots of child labor. Educational scruples 

have played less part there. The practice more or less usual in the 

earlier legislation of limiting the hours of labor for children under 

specified ages has not been followed except in Alabama.

It has already been pointed out that the wording of the law in 

three of the Southern States forbids not only the employment of children by the owner or agent, etc., but their working in the establish-, 

ment with parents or relatives. In only two of the four States limiting the age of employment of children in industry before 1860 was 

the law worded so as to prevent children from working in this way. 

The Pennsylvania and New Jersey laws stated that no child under 

the age mentioned should be “ admitted as a worker.” Pennsylvania 

changed the wording of the law the next year, when the age limit 

was raised to 13 years, to forbidding the employment of children in 

or about the factory, thereby making a loophole to allow them to 

work so long as they were not employed by the employer. The Rhode 

Island and Connecticut laws merely forbade their employment in or 

about the manufacturing establishment.

The “ knowingly and willfully” provision is a common feature 

of the laws of the two sections at the same periods of their industrial 

development. With the exception of Connecticut all the laws prior 

to 1860 limiting the age of employment contain a provision exonerating the manufacturer from violating the law unless he knowingly

254 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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and willfully did so. Similarly, in the South the States, with the 

exception of Georgia, have the same exonerating provision, with the 

result that not a single suit for violation of the child-labor laws has 

been brought even in States with factory inspection. The 1907 law 

of Alabama in regard to false affidavits of age even goes to the length 

of making the prosecutor establish that the signer of the age affidavit, 

the parent, knowingly made a false affidavit as to the age of his child.

The most significant similarity between the legislation of the two 

sections lies in the absence of factory inspectors, whose especial duty 

it is to see that the laws are enforced. The Alabama and South Carolina laws have quite recently installed factory inspection, but the laws 

of Georgia and North Carolina still rely, as did the legislation before 1860, upon “ the thousand-eyed police, public opinion,” which 

was then considered an adequate enforcer of factory legislation. It 

is interesting and it may not be unprofitable to see just what the 

experience of the earlier legislation was that led to the adoption of 

factory inspection.

Starting with Massachusetts, the commission on the hours of labor 

reported in 1866 that “ the most marked and inexcusable evil ” brought 

to their notice was the condition of the factory children, and that the 

law was frequently and grossly violated.1 A witness from New Bedford wrote that girls as young as 7 years were employed there and 

kept away from school. A letter from Fall River stated that 652 

children, between 8 and 14 years, were all kept from school, and that 

the majority of them were unable to read and write. In Lawrence it 

was reported that a great number of children from 12 to 15 years did 

nightwork, and that the 10-hour law for children under 12 years was 

constantly violated.2 The commission thought the people generally 

had no idea of the violation of the law. “ They have felt something 

of that happy complacency,” their report continued, “ and freedom 

from all responsibility in the matter indicated by a writer, who coolly 

tells the commission that4 the State regulates the attendance at school 

of children employed by manufacturing companies.5 The existence 

of this law is accepted as the assurance that all is right.” 3 They recommended that the law be changed so as to double the amount of 

schooling required or that the English half-time system be adopted, 

and that an inspector be appointed to enforce the laws.4 “ It is 

plain,” they wrote, “ that no change in the law will meet the difficulty, without adequate means for its enforcement. We regard, 

therefore, this last suggestion as vitally important to the success of 

all legislation on the subject. Here has been the great difficulty with

1 Massachusetts Legislative Documents, House, 1866, No. 98, pp. 4, 5.

2 Idem, pp. 5, 6.

8 Idem, pp. 8, 9.

4 Idem, p. 49.

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the law as it stands. Inadequate as it is, it has not been enforced, for 

want of a responsible person willing to incur the odium of making 

the complaint and entering upon the prosecution. We are persuaded, 

from the testimony before us, that the difficulty in enforcing the law 

does not lie with the employer or the parents exclusively. Interest 

and necessity both combine in producing the violation, and it is only 

necessary that a thoroughly competent person, whose heart is in the 

work and who sees clearly the importance of the law to the highest 

welfare of the children, be appointed to the responsible trust of 

securing its enforcement.” 1 

As a result a law forbidding the employment of children under 10 

years of age in manufacturing establishments was passed. Children 

under 14 years of age had to attend school 6 months each year, nor 

could they be employed more than 8 hours a day. The governor, at 

his discretion, might instruct the constable of the State and his deputies to enforce the provisions of the law.2 The governor did not, 

however, see fit to have the deputies enforce the law, and the Boston 

Daily Voice, a labor paper, complained that the new law went unenforced.3

In the meantime the educational features of the act called forth 

various remonstrances. The selectmen of Ware, North Adams, Williamsburg, Northampton, Holyoke^ Easthampton, etc., protested 

against a law which required the workers in manufacturing establishments to attend school longer than was required of other persons. 

“As a class they are more dependent on their labor than the rest of 

the community,” wrote the Ware selectmen, “ and the effect of such a 

law would be to impoverish those whom it is intended to befriend and, 

in some cases, make them a charge on the town for support.” 4 The 

school committee and selectmen of West Boylston protested that the 

act was “ detrimental to the manufacturing and mechanical interests 

of the State, is oppressive in its bearing upon a vast number of families now usefully and profitably employed, and is unjust in its discrimination against this whole element of our needy population, 

both foreign and native. * * * It will increase the cost of manufacture by necessitating the employment of older and more expensive 

help. * * * It discharges from employment a multitude of children who are the main dependence of infirm parents.” 4 

The law was considerably modified the next year. The 10-year 

age limit was extended to mechanical establishments, and children 

from 10 to 15 years were not required to attend school more than

1 Massachusetts Legislative Documents, House, 1866, No. 98, pp. 10, 11.

a Acts of 1866, ch. 273.

a Oct. 3, 1866.

4 Massachusetts Archives, House Files, 1867, “ Rejected bills.”

256 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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B E G I N N I N G S OF C H I L D -L A B O R L E G IS L A T IO N . 257

three months, or they could attend half-time schools three hours a 

day for six months. Instead of the eight-hour day for children 

under 14 years, which the previous act had granted, the weekly 

hours were raised to 60 for children under 15 years of age. This time 

the act made it the duty of the State constable to detail a deputy to 

enforce all laws regulating the employment of children.1 Although 

the Boston Weekly Voice spoke of the law as a shame to the workingmen of Massachusetts, the principle of factory inspection was at 

last established.2

As this is the only instance in this country of adopting the halftime system of England, even at the expense of digressing somewhat, 

the subject demands closer investigation. The English system allowed children under a certain age limit to work a prescribed number 

of hours a day and to attend school a certain number of hours, and 

involved, of course, two sets of children. Although very much discussed, the half-time school was actually adopted in only two mills, 

Naumkeag and Indian Orchard. The system at the Naumkeag mills, 

in Salem, Mass., approached most nearly that of England. There, a 

sufficient number of children were employed so as to spare one set of 

them for school each half day for 26 weeks of the year, so that each 

set received 13 weeks’ full schooling a year. The forenoon set went to 

the mill at 1 o’clock, having already attended school, while the afternoon set left the mill at 12 o’clock, having the rest of the day for 

school, play, and meals. The two sets alternated every fortnight. 

The pay of the children was diminished about 16 per cent. A modification of the English plan was tried in 1868 at the Indian Orchard 

mills, near Springfield. The children worked at the mill until noon, 

at 1 o’clock they went to school for three hours with recess, and at 4 

o’clock returned to the mill. They worked eight hours and attended 

school for three hours, and had no time for play.3 The agent of 

the mills reported that the children received three-fourths wages, 

but that their monthly pay amounted to about the same as before, 

since they worked more regularly.4 Later, in 1870, a change was 

made to the English system, and the children then worked one-half 

the time—five and three-fourths hours—and went to school three 

hours, but this was afterwards abandoned, as the wages for half-time 

work were too low.

At first the half-time schools were very generally indorsed, but 

later the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics pointed out that 

the combination of eight hours’ work and three hours’ study was too

* Acts of 1867, ch. 285.

2 Aug. 1, 18G7.

a Report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, 1872. p. 463.

4 Idem, 1871, p. 494.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------17

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258 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

severe and claimed quite the same consideration as the agitation 

which was going on about overstudy in the public schools.1 In 1875 

the bureau opposed the system as a “ dangerous and deluding makeshift.” The period of childhood should be the period of free and 

unrestricted growth, and especially was such a childhood necessary 

in America, where the general tendency of life was toward great 

intensity. Childhood should be, moreover, the period of mental and 

moral discipline and education. They effectually clinched the matter 

by the following: “ We believe in short that children should have no 

legal status as workers, but only as pupils; and above all, that the 

poverty of parents should not be allowed to foster the one condition 

or frustrate the other, inasmuch as it is unwise for the State to permit the future usefulness of its citizens to be jeopardized by causes 

within its control.

“ We believe that the opportunities for education should be the 

same for all the children in the State; and that a special and necessarily poorer class of schools should not be established for the children of the poor. We believe this because it would be a direct blow 

at the democratic foundations on which our governmental structure 

rests.”2

Turning next to Rhode Island, everything there points to the violation of the laws of 1853,1854, and 1856.8 The school commissioner’s 

report for 1857, after complaining of the increasing absence of the 

children from school, held the failure of the manufacturers to comply 

with the law as partly responsible. The commissioner laid the blame, 

however, on the parents who persuaded the manufacturers to employ 

their children.4 In 1870 the newly created board of education recommended that the employers of children should enter into a voluntary 

agreement to abide by the law, such as had been adopted in Connecticut. The Connecticut board had stated that the manufacturers of 

Connecticut were handicapped in enforcing the child-labor laws by 

the laxity in Rhode Island.5 Again the following year the board 

complained that the law had been long inoperative. They estimated 

the number of children deprived of school as between four and five 

thousand and reported that the voluntary agreement had not met 

with sufficient acceptance to make it workable.6 The next year the

* Report for 1871, pp. 489, 498.

2 Report for 1875. pp. 00, 01.

8 Towles, op. cit., pp. 27, 28.

4 Report of the Rhode Island Public School Commissioner, 1857, p. 18, cited by Towles

op. cit., p. 27.

5 Report of the Rhode Island Board of Education, 1870, p. ix. The agreement ran as

follows: “ We hereby agree that from and after the beginning of the next term of our

public school, or schools, we will employ no children under------- years of age, except those

who are provided with a certificate from the local school officers, of actual attendance at

school the full term required by law.”

6 Idem, 1871, pp. x m , xiv.

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board expressed itself more strongly and recommended compulsory 

education.1

In 1875, according to the State census, there were 1,258 children 

under 12 years of age, the legal age limit, employed in the cotton 

mills. Of these 599 were 11 years old; 433, 10; 146, 9; 64, 8; 8, 7; 

5, 6; and 3, 5 years of age. The commissioner of industrial statistics reported in 1887 that the law was generally disregarded and 

only in a few cases was any attempt made to comply strictly with its 

provisions. What he said on the subject is precisely what one hears 

to-day: 44There are many ways of getting around the law. The 

parents, who are, of course, the chief offenders, will overstate the 

ages of their children, and the manager of the mill seldom questions 

their statements. Then, employers claim, and with reason, that unless 

there is a general cooperation among the different factories to live up 

to the law, the exceptional ones who do live up to it do so at their 

own disadvantage. Thus, if one mill in a manufacturing town 

refuses to employ children under the lawful age, and another mill in 

the same town or in a neighboring town will employ them, the 

parents will leave the first mill for the second. In this way they 

have lost some of their most reliable help.” The commissioner said 

that when he visited the mills and called the manager’s attention to 

the small children in the mill, he was told they were only visitors 

who had brought dinner for older members of the family, or they 

were taking the places of older brothers and sisters for a few minutes. 

The truant officers charged with enforcing the law of 1883 only partially did so. They were appointed by the town councils, the members of which in many cases owed their election to the manufacturers’ support, and sometimes the truant officers were appointed by 

the town councils with the understanding that they would let the 

factories alone.2

The Connecticut laws were never enforced, and in the revision of 

1875 were omitted altogether.3 How well the school visitors enforced 

the law of 1842 may be judged from the remark of one of them, “ If 

I were to attempt to execute the present law the village would be too 

hot to hold me.” 4 In the same way the constables and grand jurors 

who were to enforce the limitation of hours failed to perform the 

extra duty.

In New Hampshire, although the difficulties of enforcing the childlabor laws without factory inspection were never discussed to any 

great extent, there are indications that the laws were not enforced. 

In 1879 the school superintendent stated that a large majority of the 

4,000 children reported as not attending any schools were to be found

1 Report of the Rhode Island Board of Education, 1872, pp. 11, 12.

2 Report of the Commissioner of Industrial Statistics, 1887, pp. 17, 18.

8 A. M. Edwards, Labor Legislation of Connecticut, p. 30.

4 Edwards, op. cit., p. 9.

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260 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

in the manufacturing towns, and that they were the children of 

French Canadian parents.1 That year for the first time in New" 

Hampshire the law set a limit upon the age of employment of children, forbidding those under 10 years to work in manufacturing 

establishments.2 Two years afterwards a law was passed giving 

truant officers the enforcement of the educational features of the law 

of 1847. It was left optional with the school committees whether 

they would require inspection work of the officers, or, indeed, whether 

the}7 would appoint them.3 The law was the outcome of a bill to 

authorize the school committee of Manchester to elect a truant officer.4 

The Manchester school committee had complained of the difficulty of 

getting the French Canadians, who had immigrated there to secure 

employment in the mills, to send their children to school. Out of 

the entire school population of the town, 5 to 15 years of age, 3,153 

attended school and 1,271, or nearly one-third, stayed away. Of the 

latter, 030 were French Canadians. These, parents and children 

alike, rebelled against the compulsory-education law and did everything to circumvent it. The committee stated that the superintendent in his official dealing with the question met “ almost daily with 

instances of unblushing deception in children and parents, determined, if possible, to cheat him out of a few days in reckoning 

the required three months’ schooling.5

From Maine comes the same storv of unenforcement of the earlier 

laws. As in Connecticut, the school committee might inquire into 

violations of the law, but they also failed to do so. The governor’s 

annual message of 1874 said that the factory act requiring school 

attendance was a dead letter,6 and later, in.1885, that the law restricting the hours of labor of women and children was violated.7 Apart 

from the compulsory Education law of 1875, nothing further was done 

for factory children until the act of 1887, which, for the first time, 

carried inspection with it.

In New Jersey the bureau of statistics of labor and industries 

reported, in 1878, that the employers had ignored their questions 

about the employment of children, from which it was inferred that 

the law had been neglected.8 The next year the report showed that 

169 children under 10 years of age, the legal age limit, were working 

in factories.9 The testimony of the operatives showed that children

1 Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 1870, p. 173.

3 Acts of 1879, ch. 21.

3 Acts of 1881, ch. 42.

4 House Journal, 1881, p. 090.

6 Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1SS1, p. 4S.

6 Whitin, op. cit., p. 49.

7 Governor’s message, 1885. p. 42; Wliitin, op. cit.. p. 51.

8 Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries, 1878, pp. 23-27.

9 ldem } 1879, pp. 96, 97.

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as young as 7 years were employed.1 When the factory inspector 

finally was appointed he stated in his first report that, as far as 

enforcement was concerned, the early laws might as well have never 

been passed. “ It is scarcely to the credit of our State,” he wrote, 

“ that 83 years after the passage of the 10-hour law feeble young girls 

under 10 years of age and children almost too young for school 

should be found toiling in our manufacturing establishments.” 2 

Similarly in Pennsylvania the commissioner of industrial statistics 

reported the educational features of the child-labor law a dead letter, 

as far as 3 month’s consecutive schooling within the year was concerned. “ Nor can this be wondered at when we contemplate that the 

enforcement of the wholesome provision alluded to devolves upon 

no one in particular, but is general in character, giving to the party 

suing, whoever it may be, one-half the fine imposed.’*3 He recommended that the duty of enforcement should be invested in some local 

or county official. As to the 10-hour law, he declared that it was 

not, as a rule, adhered to.4 In 1884 the commissioner repeated that 

factory legislation was a “ farce in Pennsylvania, there being no 

proper person to enforce what little statutory regulations as do exist 

upon the statute books.” He said that the constables had never been 

known to report a violation.5

1 Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries, 1881, pp. 97-100.

2 First Annual Report of the New Jersey Inspector of Labor of Children, 1883, p. 7.

8 Report of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics, 1880-81, p. 102.

4 Idem, p. 103.

r> Idem, 1884, p. 20.

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CHAPTER VIL—CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CHILDREN LEAVE SCHOOL TO GO TO WORK*

This report, which forms the seventh volume of the general investigation into the condition of woman and child workers, embodies 

an intensive study of the conditions under which 622 children from 

seven different communities left school and began their industrial 

life. The places selected for study were Pawtucket and Woonsocket 

in Rhode Island, Plymouth and Hazleton in Pennsylvania, Columbia, S. C., Columbus, Ga., and a group of three small mill towns near 

Columbus, partly in Georgia and partly in Alabama. These were 

chosen as being fairly typical of three separate sections of the country and as furnishing a considerable variety of educational and industrial opportunities for the children under consideration.

In these communities the names were first secured of all the children who had left school during a period of approximately half a 

school year. All who were over 16, all who had left from above the 

grammar grades, and all who had not gone to work after leaving 

were dropped from the list, leaving for detailed study all under 16 

who had left from elementary or grammar grades to go to work during 

the selected period. This left 353 boys and 269 girls, from 6 to 15 

years of age, whose circumstances were studied in much detail. Botli 

parochial and public schools were included in the study.

RACE OF CHILDREN STUDIED.

Racially the composition of the groups of children thus secured 

showed much variation from place to place. More than four-fifths 

(83.9 per cent) had been born in the United States, but only 50.7 per 

cent had American fathers. In the three southern places the children 

were predominantly of native stock, but in the northern places the 

proportion of such children varied from 60.7 per cent in Hazleton to

15.7 per cent in Woonsocket. The leading foreign race among them 

in Rhode Island was French Canadian, in Plymouth Slavic, and in 

Hazleton German. In the northern places children of American parentage appeared among those leaving school for work far less numerously than their proportion in the population warranted. In the 

southern places the children were so generally of American descent 

that no comparisons were possible.

263

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264 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U - O F • L A B O R -STATISTICS.

CAUSES FOR LEAVING SCHOOL,

To judge whether a financial necessity existed for the withdrawal 

of these children from school, a careful study was made of the family 

income for the preceding year, and from its total were subtracted the 

earnings of any children under 10, rent or taxes, and any expenses 

for sickness or death. In endeavoring to ascertain whether or not a 

child’s earnings were really necessary, the ground was taken that 

ordinarily if, after deducting the above items, the per capita weekly 

income were as much as $2, necessity could not be considered the real 

reason; if it fell as low as $1.50, the child’s wages might legitimately 

be regarded as necessary; and between these two points whether or 

not the wages were necessary would depend so much upon the character of the family that it might almost be called a question of morals 

or intellect rather than of finance. On this basis a study of family 

incomes and causes of the children's withdrawals gave the following 

remits:

XUM BEli AND VFM CENT OF CHILDREN LEAVING SCHOOL FOR SPECIFIED

CAUSES.

Cause for child leaving school to work.

Necessity...........................................................

Child’s help desired though not accessary.

Child’s dissatisfaction with school...............

Child’s preference for work............................

Miscellaneous ca uses.......................................

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

Number.

186

173

165

61

35

Per cent.

30.0

27.9

26.6

9.8

5.7

100.0

Necessity, it will be seen, accounts for less than one-third of the 

withdrawals, while a desire for the child's earnings, not occasioned 

by real need, accounts for nearty as large a proportion. In not far 

from two-fifths of the cases (80.4 per cent) the withdrawal was due 

to the child’s own attitude toward work or school, an attitude in 

which the parents seemed to acquiesce without serious protest. Sixteen children left on account of health, 0 to take advantage of a good 

opportunity to learn a trade, and 7 because of company pressure: i. e., 

the companies who employed the adults of the families needed more 

young workers and insisted upon these children coming into the 

mills regardless of their own or their parents’ wishes. In practically two-fifths of the cases (39.5 per cent), the parents declared 

themselves able and willing to have sent the children to school longer 

had the latter been willing to go. The influence of vacation work in 

leading to a permanent withdrawal from school is strikingly shown. 

Seventy-two of the children studied began work during vacation, 

intending to return to school when it reopened. Only 23 of them 

carried out their intention, while 49 having got fairly started at 

work, decided to keep on.

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In the cases in which withdrawal was due to necessity the family’s 

poverty rarely seemed attributable to parental fault or indolence.

The ablebodied father living in idleness w’hile his wife and children 

worked was so infrequent as to be almost a negligible factor, and 

deserting fathers were scarcely more numerous. Only 18 cases, concerning 2.0 per cent of the children studied, were found in which 

fathers had been unemployed during any part of the preceding 

year, 1907-8, by their choice or fault. The widowed mother appeared 

rather numerously, just one-fifth of the children coming from homes 

in which neither father nor stepfather was found.

GRADES REACHED BY CHILDREN BEFORE LEAVING.

The majority of these children were leaving school with but 

scanty educational attainments. Less than one-fourth had reached 

the seventh grade and only a trifle over one-half had reached the 

fifth. The proportion who left before reaching the fifth grade was

C H I L D R E N W H O L E A V E S C H O O L TO GO TO W O R K . 265

for the various localities as follows:

Per cent.

Pawtucket, R. I____:--------------------------------------------------------------- --28.2

Woonsocket, It. I______________________________________________42. 2

Columbus, Ga_________________________________________________ _58. 5

Georgia and Alabama Counties______________________________ _76.6

Columbia, S. C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------77.4

Plymouth, Pa--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --48.8

Hazleton, Pa--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --14. 8

Total________________________________________________ 40.0

A significant fact was that, in spite of the low grade reached, 473, 

or 83.3 per cent, of these children were above the average age of 

their classmates. The difference in age was considerable, 50 being 5 

years or more older, 142 being 3 years, and 143 2 years older 

than the average of their classes.

It is not surprising to find that this degree of retardation was 

accompanied by a considerable amount of dissatisfaction writh the 

schools. Xearly half the children (48.9 per cent) were dissatisfied, 

the proportion ranging from 32.9 per cent in Columbus, Ga., to

60.2 per cent in Plymouth. As far as could be discovered, the dissatisfaction was due to a dislike of the general manner of life in 

school rather than to any specific cause of complaint. It wras more 

general among children than among parents, and although most 

prevalent among the dull and backward pupils was by no means 

confined to them. Taking all places together, 39.5 per cent of the 

bright children were dissatisfied, as against 46.9 per cent of the 

average and 67.1 per cent of the dull. Apparently the introduction 

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ation materially, as of 583 children questioned on the point only 

89 boys and 54 girls thought they would have been more desirous 

of staying in school if such training had been provided.

INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCES OF CHILDREN STUDIED.

Turning to the industrial experiences of the children, it is noticeable that the age at beginning work was appreciably lower than 

that of leaving school, due to the fact that 137 had worked before, 

then returned to school, and were now leaving again. The average 

age at beginning work was for the various localities as follows:

On beginning work the children entered a great variety of industries, mostly of low grade.

Practically 90 per cent of the boys and all of the girls entered 

industries whose average weekly wage for all employees is under $10;

7 per cent of the boys entered industries whose average wage is 

between $10 and $15; and 3 per cent entered industries whose average 

wage is $15 or over.1

In the interval between the time the children entered these industries and the time when the investigation was made, an interval 

ranging from a few weeks to nearly a year, according to the experience of the individual child, there had been little passing from 

one of the above industry groups to another. The girls remained 

without exception in the lowest group. Among the boys there had 

been a slight movement, the proportion rising to a higher group exceeding the proportion which sank to a lower, but the numbers 

concerned were too small to justify any conclusions.

The hours of work were generally long, only 16.9 per cent working less than 10 hours daily. Seventy-two worked 11 hours, and 13 

12 hours or more daily. These excessively long hours were found 

chiefly in the southern communities and largely among the children 

working in stores and for telegraph companies.

The wages received by the boys at the time of the investigation 

ranged from under $1 to $16.50 a week, the latter amount being 

enjoyed by only one boy. Among the girls they ranged from less 

than $1 up to $10 a week, this maximum again being reached by 

only one. The largest wage group found, numbering 99, received 

from $5 to $5.50 a week, but a considerably larger number earned 

under than over this amount—365 below and 146 above, with 3

Columbia, S. C.

Plymouth and Hazleton, Pa

Pawtucket anti Woonsocket. It. I

Columbus, Ga., and environs.

Years. 

14.1

11.8 

10. T 

13.4

1 Vol. V II , Conditions Under Which Children Leave School to Go to Work, p. 152.

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children not reporting and 9 working for relatives, who paid no 

wages. There seemed little connection between age and wages received, and still less between the school grade reached and wages 

received. As to the latter point, much of the work undertaken by 

the children is of such a character that it requires little mental training : “ 50.6 per cent of the employers say that no education whatever 

is needed by the larger number of their employees in order to do the 

best work.” 1

DEGREE OF CHOICE EXERCISED IN GETTING WORK.

Apparently very little discrimination was shown in regard to the 

industry entered, the child taking in general the first place he could 

find or going where friends or relatives worked. Only 11.3 per cent 

(70 children) seemed to exercise much choice; of these 38.6 per 

cent (27 children) selected their work for the purpose of learning 

a trade or skilled occupation, while the others were attracted by 

desirable work or good initial wages. There was a good deal of 

drifting about from one occupation to another, 34.5 per cent of the 

children having changed employers from one to three or more times, 

and four-fifths of these changes having been to a different industry. 

A considerable portion of this was mere aimless drifting about, but 

nevertheless the child who changed employers seemed to have a 

considerably better chance of receiving higher wages than the child 

who worked away steadily in one position.

In a large number of cases the attitude of both parents and children toward the child’s work was one of passive acceptance; the 

child took the first place which offered, and as to what was to come 

after that, why, time would show. In other cases, both had more 

definite ideas of what they wanted. In 43.6 per cent of the cases 

the parents and in 49 per cent the children had definite ambitions 

as to their future occupations. These ambitions covered a great 

variety of pursuits, but for boys skilled manual trades and for girls 

dressmaking and millinery appeared to be the leading choices. Unfortunately the prospects for realizing these ambitions were far 

from good.

In more than two-thirds [69.7 per cent] of the cases where the 

boys are intelligent enough to have a definite ambition, the work they 

are doing is in no way related to that ambition and affords no possible opportunity of furthering it. * * * Among the girls there 

is even less connection between occupation and ambition. In 17 of 

the 120 cases in which girls had a definite ambition their work gave, 

them the openings needed for gratifying it, but in 103 cases (85.8 

per cent) the work offered no possible chance for furthering the 

ambition.2

1 Vol. VII, Conditions Under Which Children Leave School to Go to Work, pp. 240, 241.

2 Idem, p. 189.

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268 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT.

Special attention was given to the subject of illegal employment.- 

Almost one-third of the children (203, or 32.6 per cent) had at one 

time or another worked under illegal conditions, some of* them having 

been so employed more than once. About one-sixth (102) were working illegally at the time of the investigation. The illegalities ranged 

from merely being* at work without legal papers, though of full legal 

age, to niglitwork below the permitted age, unlawfully long hours, 

employment in prohibited occupations, employment below the legal 

age, and so forth. There seemed little connection between race and 

illegal employment, the latter depending much more upon the ease 

with which in a given community the law might be evaded, or the 

impunity with which it might be defied. No one pursuit showed any 

marked excess of cases of illegal employment in proportion to the 

number of children employed in it. The most striking feature of the 

situation was that of the whole number of illegalities involved (281, 

oiie child not infrequently having been employed under several different illegal conditions) only 16 were terminated by official action 

on the part of school authorities, factory inspectors, employers, or 

others, the remainder having been left to correct themselves or to go 

uncorrected. The laws of the different States differed so widely that 

any comparison of illegalities by localities was hardly practicable. 

Some of the worst conditions found in the way of premature employment, long hours, and niglitwork were wholly legal.

A special study was made of the incomes of families in which children were found working during the period covered by the investigation at an illegally early age. Information was secured for 71 such 

cases. Measuring the family income by the standard used in deciding upon t-lie real reason for leaving school, it was found that in 28.2 

per cent of these cases the children's earnings were really needed, in 

29.6 per cent it would depend upon the character of the family 

whether or not there was real need for them, and in 42.3 per cent 

necessity could not reasonably be pleaded as an excuse.

RETARDATION, REPEATING, AND ELIMINATION.

The report includes a chapter upon retardation, repeating, and 

elimination in the six cities studied, which is based upon the statistics 

for the school population as a whole, instead of being confined to 

those children who had left school to go to work. A very considerable amount of retardation existed.

The number and per cent of pupils as measured by two different 

standards are shown in the following table. The first standard 

assumes any age under 8 in the first grade as normal (the average 

for the first grade nowhere falls below 7 years) and that any pupil

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8 years of age or over in that grade or more than one year older than 

normal for each succeeding grade is retarded. The second standard 

takes as normal the age at which the largest number of first-grade 

pupils is found—the “ mode” age, as it is often called—and any 

pupil more than one year older than this normal for each succeeding 

grade is considered as retarded.

NUMBETl ANT) PEtt CENT OF PUPILS RETARDED.

Locality.

Standard I.—-Any age

under 8 in grade 1

considered as normal

(one year added for

normal age in each

succeeding grade).

Standard II.—Mode age in grade 1

considered as normal (one year

added for normal age in each succeeding grade).

Pupils retarded.

Mode age

in grade 1.

Pupils retarded.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Pawtucket, R . I................................................ 1,426 28.0 6 2,967 58.2

Woonsocket, R . 1.............................................. 1,181 40.8 6 1,844 63.7

Columbus, Ga................................................... 790 51.5 7 790 51.5

Columbia, S. C.................................................. 786 50.8 7 786 50.8

Plymouth, Pa................................................... 872 48.7 7 872 48.7

Hazleton, Pa..................................................... 9C3 41.3 6 1,748 75.0

This summary shows very well the different results obtained by 

using the two standards, a difference not only in the absolute but in 

the relative amount of retardation. Thus, Pawtucket which, according to the first standard, has the smallest per cent of retardation, 

falls back to the fourth place when the second standard is used, and 

Hazleton, which by the first standard stands third in the list, sinks 

to the very foot of the list when the second is applied.

It is an open question which standard is the fairer. In favor of 

standard II, the movable standard, it may be said, first, that Pawtucket and Woonsocket admit pupils to school at the age of 5 years, 

and secondly, that in a nine-grade system, such as is found in Pawtucket and Woonsocket, a pupil must enter at 5 years of age and 

progress a grade each year, in order to graduate at what is generally 

considered the normal age for graduation, namely, 1-L A pupil 

of 6 in grade 1 in Pawtucket and Woonsocket is, therefore, practically more retarded than a pupil of 7 in Columbus and Columbia, 

which have seven-year systems. Standard II is not, however, as 

strict as this comparison might suggest, for a pupil of 6 is considered 

of normal age in Pawtucket and Woonsocket equally with a pupil of 

7 in Columbus and Columbia.

It will be noticed that whichever standard is used, there is but a 

small amount of difference found in the country at large.1 According 

to standard I, Pawtucket is the only place showing a marked variation from the others, having a much smaller per cent of retarded 

pupils than the other five, while by standard II Hazelton is the only 

place showing a pronounced divergence.

Another noteworthy point, considering the relatively high standing of most of the places in the industrial and educational world,

1 Compare Leonard P. A y re*, Laggards in our Schools, p. 3 : 7 per cent to 75 per cent

retarded.

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is the large percentage of retarded children. The poorest town from 

a civic point of view, Plymouth, has the smallest (though not a 

small) percentage of retarded children, according to standard II. 

All the places, by either standard (except Pawtucket by standard 

I), have a higher percentage of retarded pupils than the estimated 

average for the whole country, viz., 33 per cent.1

A study of repeaters in the grades in the spring of 1910 follows, 

from which it is evident that failure to complete a grade in the time 

assigned is by no means the only or even the main cause of retardation. For the various cities the repeaters formed the following percentages of the total enrollment:2

Per cent.

Pawtucket ____________________________________________________ 11.4

Woonsocket------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. 7

Columbus_____________________________________________________ 12. 3

Columbia _____________________________________________________ 10.2

Plymouth_____________________________________________________ 12.1

Hazleton --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9.5

By comparing these figures with those of the preceding table it 

will be seen that the repeaters nowhere account for even half the retardation shown, and that Pawtucket, judged by the first standard, 

is the only place in which they approach this proportion. When the 

second standard is used the repeaters account for from about oneeighth to one-fourth of the retardation shown. The force of these 

figures is diminished by the fact that they refer to different years, 

but there is no reason to suppose that conditions altered materially 

between the spring of 1908 and that of 1910. Apparently late entrance, or transfers from one school system to another, or some 

combination of causes, rather than inability to do the work of a 

grade within the proper time, is responsible for the major part of 

the retardation found.

The following table shows the degree to which these different causes 

were responsible for repeating. Sixtv-one children for whom no 

cause was reported were omitted from consideration.3

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF BOYS AND OF GIRLS REPEATING FOR SPECIFIED LEADING CAUSES.

Boys. | Girls.

Number. Per cent. Number. Per cent.

Irregular attendance or absence4....................................................... 301 29.7 264 1 34.1

Lack of ability, slowness, dullness, or immaturity........................ 203 20.0 164 i 21.2

Lack of interest or application............................................................ 244 24.1 125 1 16.2

Poor health and physical defects....................................................... 131 12.9 115 ! 14.9

Lack of English.................................................................................... 64 6.3 64 j 8 .2

1 Vol. V II, Conditions under which Children Leave School to Oo to Work. pp. 260, 261.

2 Idem, p. 285.

8 Idem, p. 281,

4 Including moving and change of schools.

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The age and sex distribution of repeaters are also studied, but do 

not furnish any definite conclusions:

On the whole this study of repeaters may be summarized by saying 

that, while the first grade usually contains both the largest number 

and the largest proportion, they are found in unexpected numbers 

throughout the grades; that the number repeating at each age is 

quite uniform from 7 to 13 years, after which it decreases rapidly; 

that it is difficult to show any marked difference between girls and 

boys as to causes of repeating; and that while inability to accomplish 

the prescribed courses and lack of interest in the school work both 

account for a considerable proportion of failures, the most important 

single cause is found in irregular or nonattendance.1

Confirmation of this last conclusion is found in a table compiled 

from data secured from the teachers of the cities studied, showing 

the number of pupils who had dropped out during three successive 

school years. None were included who had been transferred to other 

schools, or who, having left, returned within the same school year. 

The proportion thus leaving ranged from 11.4 per cent to 27.7 per 

cent of the total enrollment. The proportion of the children thus 

leaving who were under 12 years was 52.2 per cent in 1904r-5, 56.4 

per cent in 1905-6, and 58 per cent in 1906-7. The great majority of 

these children had left before the last two months of the school year 

were reached. Consequently those who returned the following year 

would almost inevitably have to repeat the grade from which they 

had dropped out.

The study of elimination is based on the number of beginners and 

repeaters actually enrolled in the first grade in the spring of 1910, as 

shown by full records prepared by the individual teachers of the 

cities studied. The usual correction for growth of population is 

applied, and from the resultant figures the proportion of beginners 

remaining to each grade is calculated from the grade memberships of 

1908. As two of the cities had seven-grade, two eight-grade, and two 

nine-grade courses, comparison of those remaining to the final grade 

would be plainly misleading. The fifth grade, however, which is 

usually taken as a kind of dividing line below which the greatest 

amount of elimination is likely to occur, furnishes a fair basis of 

comparison. For the various places the proportion which the fifthgrade membership formed of the beginners stood as follows: 2

Per cent.

Pawtucket, It. I_______________________________________________ _85. 6

Woonsocket. R. I______________________________________________ _46. 9

Columbus, Ga--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --66. 2

Columbia, S. C________________________________________________ _97.0

Plymouth, Pa_________________________________________________ _34.1

Hazleton, Pa__________________________________________________ _75. 6

1 Vol. V II, Conditions under which Children Leave School to Go to Work, p. 282.

2 Idem, p. 290.

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272 B U L L E T I N OF THE B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

As the figures showing the grade membership were, except in the 

case of Columbia, collected in the spring, these percentages may fairly 

be taken as representing the number likely to finish the fifth grade. 

It will be seen that the number falls very far short of what, according 

to some of the theoretical methods of estimating beginners, it 

should be.

In itself the amount of elimination in six specified cities has perhaps little value, but in this case it gains in importance because it 

offers an opportunity for testing by known facts the two principal 

methods yet advanced for estimating the number of beginners—the 

Thorndike and tlie Ayres methods. According to the first, it will be 

remembered, the average of the enrollment of the first three grades is 

taken as representing the number of beginners; according to the second, this number is found by taking the average of the generations 

of children of the ages 7 to 12 years enrolled in the school membership. Tested by the data concerning beginners collected in this investigation, the first of these methods gives results very much nearer 

the correct figures than are obtained by the second. The number of 

beginners,.-as estimated by the first method, approached very closely 

to the actual figures, once being too large by 47 and once by 2, but 

elsewhere being slightly too small. The number of beginners obtained by the second method, on the other hand, was invariably 

much too small, only once coming within 100 of the real number, and 

elsewhere running down to less than one-half.1

The report ends with a brief study of the number who complete 

the grammar grades and enter the high school. Those finishing the 

grammar grades range from 2.2 per cent of the total enrollment in 

Woonsocket to 5.8 per cent in Hazleton.

But even more striking than the small proportion who finish the 

elementary course is the high age at which so many of them reach 

this goal. * * * Taking the children from all the places together, in 1901-5, those who had reached or passed 15 formed 40.8 

per cent of the graduates; in 1905-6 they were 46.9, and in 1906-7,

43.9 per cent. This throws an interesting side light on the question 

of elimination. It is known that for the great mass of school 

children 14 is an outside limit of attendance; indeed it is questionable whether 13 is not an extreme limit for the majority. But if 

from two-fifths to one-half of those graduating are 15 or more, it is 

evident that a very large proportion of those whose school life ends 

by or before 14 never reach the graduating class.

Passing on from graduation through the first year of high school 

attendance, the familiar phenomena of elimination are still apparent. 

In every place and for every year some of those graduating from 

the lower grades fail to enter the high school, and of those who do 

enter a varying but considerable proportion drop out before completing the first year’s work.2

1 Vol. V II, Conditions nndei* which Children Leave School to C.o to Work, p. 283 et seq.

2 Idem, p. 303.

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CHAPTER VIII.—JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND ITS

RELATION TO EMPLOYMENT.

SCOPE OF REPORT.

The purpose of this study was to discover what basis of fact 

underlies the frequently expressed belief that the early employment 

of children is apt to lead to delinquency on their part. As a further purpose it was desired, if such a tendency were found, to discover whether it is inherent in the fact of early employment, or 

can be traced to certain occupations, and, if so, what these are.

To secure representative cases for study seven cities—Indianapolis, Baltimore, Boston, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, and 

Pittsburgh—were selected, both as affording abundant and varied 

opportunities for child labor, and as having juvenile courts and 

probation systems, without which aids a detailed study of juvenile 

offenders would be exceedingly difficult. Moreover, in all these 

places child labor is supervised and regulated, so that there was 

little risk that the case against it would be unduly weighted by 

abnormally injurious conditions of work. The children coming 

before these courts during the year 1907-8 were studied, with the 

exception of those in New York, where the numbers concerned were 

too large for inclusion, and only those were taken who were on probation at the time of the visit of investigation. From these courts 

the cases of 2,934 boys and 309 girls were secured.

To give the study a wider basis, the children committed during the 

selected year from other localities to reformatory institutions in or 

near these cities were also included. From these sources the cases of 

1,344 boys and 252 girls were secured, so that in all the investigation 

dealt with 4,839 children, 4,278 boys and 561 girls.

The offenses committed by these children vary widely, ranging 

from truancy and trivial breaches of municipal ordinances to such 

crimes as arson and burglary. Larceny is the leading offense for 

bovs, with burglary second, but far behind; among the girls, immoral conduct leads, with larceny second. Among both boys and 

girls “ incorrigibility” appears as a frequent cause of arrest, the 

term indicating a generally unsatisfactory condition rather than any 

one definite misdemeanor. Recidivism is common, 48.6 per cent of 

the boys and 22.6 per cent of the girls having records of previous 

offenses.

95053°— Bull. 175— 1G-------18 273

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NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF WORKING AND NONWORKING OFFENDERS.

A working child is defined as one who has been employed, whether 

or not he is working at the time of his latest offense. According 

to this definition 56.5 per cent of the boys and 62.6 per cent of the 

girls were working children. By comparing the number of the 

working and nonworking delinquents with the census figures for 

working and nonworking children in the places studied, it is shown 

that the workers are disproportionately numerous.

Even in Indianapolis, where the nonworking delinquents form a 

larger proportion of the whole group than anywhere else, their 

ratio to the nonworking is but half that which the working delinquents form of the working children. Elsewhere among the boys 

the ratio of the working delinquents is from three to over ten times 

as great as of the nonworking. Among the girls the disproportion 

is even more striking.1

Roughly speaking, the nonworkers are responsible for a little 

over one-third, the workers for something under two-thirds of the 

offenses. The ages at which these offenses were committed range 

from 6 to 16 years. When it is remembered that a majority— 

and presumably a large majority—of all the children between these 

ages are not working, this preponderance of offenses among the 

workers assumes impressive proportions. The excess of working 

delinquents is not confined to any one class of offenses. With a few 

exceptions, they lead in all forms of wrongdoing. In the case of 

forgery the excess of workers is abnormally large. A study of the 

individual offender explains this by showing that in the majority of 

cases the youthful forger has been engaged in some work which has 

familiarized him with the uses of commercial paper and the opportunities for forgery.2

The excess of workers appears even more strongly among the 

recidivists than among the first offenders (65.8 per cent of the 

recidivists were working children, 34.2 per cent non working), and 

in general among the serious offenders as markedly as among the 

petty delinquents. Burglary among girls presents a curious exception in this respect, 5 of the 6 cases of this crime found among 

them having been committed by nonworking girls who were still 

attending school. Among the boys guilty of burglary, although 

the workers show an excess, the two groups are more nearly equal 

than for any other offense except truancy, 389 cases of burglary 

having been committed by working and 324 by nonworking boys. 

No explanation of this variation is attempted.

The proportion of working delinquents is especially striking among 

the younger offenders. Of the 938 boys under 12 more than onefifth (22.4 per cent) were workers, an impressive percentage when

274 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. V III, Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment, ch. 2, p. 37.

2 Idem, pp. 39 and 40.

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it is remembered how small a proportion of all the children under 

12 can be at work in the localities studied. Among the boys of 12 

and 13 years 42.4 per* cent and among those from 14 to 16 years

80.8 per cent were workers. At this latter age, however, the majority of boys would naturally be at work, so the high percentage 

here is less significant Among girls the proportion of working 

delinquents stood: Under 12 years, 9.4 per cent; 12 and 13 years, 

36.4 per cent; 14 to 16 years, 77.7 per cent.

CONDITIONS POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTORY TO DELINQUENCY.

AGE.

A study was made of conditions which might lead to delinquency 

to see how far the excess of workers may be accounted for on other 

grounds than that of early employment. Age, parental condition, 

nativity of parents, and character of home were the selected conditions. In regard to age no definite conclusions could be reached, 

since the age at which children are most likely to become unmanageable coincides pretty closely with the age at which, in the 

States studied, the great majority go to work, so that the relative 

weight of the two factors can hardly be estimated.

PARENTAL CONDITION.

Considering these delinquents as a whole, they seem to show very 

clearly the effect of unfortunate parental conditions. Only 57.5 

per cent of the boys and 34.2 per cent of the girls were living under 

normal conditions; that is, in their own homes with their own fathers 

and mothers. Seven per cent of the boys and 17.6 per cent of the 

girls were orphans or deserted children, 24.3 per cent of the boys 

and 27.9 per cent of the girls were half orphans whose surviving 

parent had not remarried, while the remainder lived with stepparents or with strangers. The loss of a father seemed much more 

likely to lead to delinquency than the loss of a mother; 17 per cent 

of the boys were fatherless against 7.3 per cent without mothers, 

while among the girls 18.5 per cent had lost fathers and 9.4 per cent 

were motherless. The girls were markedly more unfortunate than 

the boys in regard to parental condition.

As between workers and non workers the former show less favorable conditions. Among the boys 45.4 per cent of the workers 

ngainst 38.9 per cent of the nonworkers came from broken homes, 

while among the girls the proportions stood 67.8 per cent of the 

workers to 62.3 per cent of the nonworkers.

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FOREIGN PARENTAGE.

It is widely recognized that children of immigrants are at a disadvantage because their parents, owing to unfamiliarity with the 

customs of the new land, are less able to guide and control them. In 

this respect, again, the workers show an excess of unfavorable conditions. Among the boys 58.8 per cent of the workers as against 50.9 

per cent of the nonworkers had foreign-born parents, while among 

the girls the same proportions stood 41.7 per cent to 31.8 per cent. 

Taking workers and nonwrorkers together, 44.7 per cent of the boys 

and G2 per cent of the girls had native-born parents.

CHARACTER OF HOMES.

In regard to the moral character of the homes the situation between 

the two groups is reversed, the workers showing an excess of favorable conditions. Among the boys only one-fifth of the workers as 

opposed to nearly one-third of the nonworkers came from distinctly 

bad homes, while from fair and good homes the proportions were

76.2 per cent of wTorkers and 65.4 per cent of nonwTorkers. Among 

the girls 54.9 per cent of the workers as against 48.2 per cent of the 

nonworkers came from fair and good homes. Taking the group of 

delinquents as a whole, 71.6 per cent of the boys and 52.4 per cent of 

the girls came from homes in which the moral conditions were fair or 

good. Evidently the excess of working delinquents can not be explained by a reference to home conditions. The working child more 

frequently than the nonworking child goes w7rong, even where home 

conditions are favorable.

Of the four factors considered, the effect of one—age—is altogether dubious; one, the nativity of parents, seems to tell against the 

worker, but since it was not possible to learn the relative numbers of 

native and foreign-born parents in the populations from which these 

delinquents were drawn, the figures are not wholly conclusive; in 

one, parental condition, the workers were distinctly at a disadvantage, while in the fourth, that of home conditions, they were 

more fortunate than the nonworkers. Combining these results, it 

appears that working children furnish far more than their proportionate share of the group of juvenile delinquents; that this excess is 

found wherever they are studied; that it occurs in every age group; 

that it is not limited to any one offense; and that it can not be adequately accounted for by parental condition, race, or character of 

home and home training. The conclusion seems inevitable that the 

fact of being at work constitutes an important element in the problem 

and that working children, because they are working rather than 

school children, are far more likely to go wrong than those who can 

enjoy a childhood unburdened by adult responsibilities.

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OCCUPATIONS FROM WHICH DELINQUENTS CAME.

The study of the various industries for the purpose of seeing how 

far the children's delinquencies should be attributed to occupational 

influences rather than to the mere fact of being at work is hampered by the lack of knowledge concerning the occupational distribution of children in general. Considerably over half of the 

working children (60.7 per cent of the boys and 57.6 per cent of 

the girls) were employed at the time of their latest arrest. Among 

the boys thus employed the largest proportion from any one occupation (21.83 per cent) came from newsboys, errand boys coming 

next with 17.8 per cent. Among the girls domestic service in its 

different forms (servant in private family, in hotel or restaurant, or 

worker in private family for board and clothes) leads, furnishing 

53.95 per cent; the different textile industries come next, giving 

12.36 per cent, while workers in stores and markets furnish 5.44 per 

cent. In the principal occupation groups there seems a connection 

between the general conditions of a given occupation and the leading offenses committed by the children who follow it. Thus, while 

larceny is the leading offense for all the occupations considered, its 

importance rises or falls according to the opportunities a pursuit 

offers for its easy indulgence. In general, the largest number of 

offenders come from the occupations in which the child has little 

or no supervision, such as the street trades and the work of errand 

and delivery boys, or in which the work brings him into especially 

dangerous associations, as in the case of children employed about 

bowling alleys and other amusement resorts.

BOY DELINQUENTS IN SIX SPECIFIED PURSUITS.

Six groups of boys from pursuits which seemed specially open to 

objection were chosen for detailed study—the errand and delivery 

boys, the newsboys and bootblacks, office boys, street venders or peddlers, telegraph messengers, and the boys employed in or about 

amusement resorts. From these six groups came 1,176 of the 2,416 

working-boy delinquents, or 48.7 per cent, the remaining 51.3 per 

cent being scattered among 52 different occupations. The question 

at once arises whether the prominence of these occupations is due 

to something detrimental in the occupations themselves or whether 

the children entering them are specially unfortunate in regard to 

home conditions, parentage, etc., and therefore more likely to go 

wrong. To test this the following table was constructed, in which 

the conditions prevailing among the working delinquents as a whole 

(the lowest line of the following table) have been taken as a standard. Each occupation may be ranked above or below this standard,

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according to whether it shows for the specified detail a more or less 

favorable state of affairs than that found among the general body 

of working delinquents.

PER CENT OF DELINQUENT BOYS IN EACH OF FOUR CERTAIN CONDITIONS, BY

SELECTED OCCUPATIONS.

Per cent of delinquent boys—

Occupation. 12 years

of age

and over.

Having

both

parents

living,

Having

fair or

good

homes.

Native bora

of nativeborn

parents.

94.3 52.5 78.9 40.8

Newsboys and bootblacks..................................................... 72.6 62.9 75.8 32.5

Office boys................................................................................. 97. a 54.3 83.7 39.1

Street venders.......................................................................... 89.4 63.6 65.0 37.0

Telegraph messengers............................................................. 94.5 58.8 78.9 42.3

In amusement resorts............................................................. 90.2 41.1 66.0 42.8

Total boy delinquents working................................. 91.3 54.6 76.2 41.2

OCCUPATIONS IN DETAIL.

Taking the different pursuits up in turn, it will be seen that among 

the office boys the conditions which may be called intrinsic to the work 

itself are on the whole good. Very few young children are employed 

(the comparison given above is for 12 years, but 87 per cent of the 

office boys are 14 or over), the proportion having both parents living 

barely falls below the average for working delinquents, the proportion having fair or good homes is very large, and the percentage having native-born parents is but little below the average. One wrould 

naturally expect children of this grade to keep out of difficulties with 

the law, and their propensity to do otherwise creates a presumption 

against the occupation itself. This presumption is strengthened by 

an examination of their leading offenses, which show a close connection with the conditions inherent in the work. Ranked according to 

their numerical importance, these offenses are:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF OFFICE-BOY DELINQUENTS, B Y CHARACTER OF LAST

OFFENSE COMMITTED,

Last offense.

Office-boy delinquents.

Number. Per cent.

Larcenv.................................................................................................................................... 27 58.6

Incorrigibility........................................................................................................................ 15.2

Runaway or vagrancy......................................................................................................... 6 13.1

All other.................................................................................................................................. 6 13.1

Total....................... ...................................................................................................... 46 100.0

The predominance of larceny becomes more striking by comparison 

with the other trades; even the street venders show a smaller percentage, and the newsboys fall far below, while a larger percentage 

is found only among the errand and delivery boys. An explanation

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easily suggests itself. The office hoy is very apt to be put in charge 

of the stamp drawer or of the petty^ cash or sent out to buy stamps, 

any one of which duties offers chances for pilfering easily and with 

comparatively small danger of detection. The connection between 

the occupation and the other two specified offenses is not so immediately apparent, but shows plainly enough on a little consideration. 

An English author well describes the situation:

“ The characteristic evils of boy work, however, invade office work 

in a peculiarly subtle and dangerous form. In every city small 

offices are to be found in which the whole of the business, such as it is, 

is carried on by the master himself, who has frequently to be absent 

from his one-roomed office. The office boy, who constitutes the entire 

staff, is meanwhile left in charge. He has probably nothing to do, 

and spends his time either in vacancy, in mischievous expeditions 

along the corridor, or in reading trash of a bloodthirsty nature. He 

is at hand to give messages to callers or to run errands. * * * 

Speaking generally, he is quite without prospect.” 1

It is not surprising that the generally intractable condition known 

as incorrigibility should result from this state of employed idleness, 

or that the combination of cheap novels and energy which finds no 

sufficient outlet in the day’s work should lead to running away.

Turning to the messengers, it is seen that they are in every respect 

above the average of favorable conditions. Moreover, it is well 

known that boys taking up this work must be bright and quick; 

there is no room in it for the dull and mentally weak. Plainly, then, 

in this case the occupation, not the kind of children who enter it, must 

be held responsible for its position among the pursuits from which 

delinquents come. The characteristic evils of the messenger’s work 

are not so clearly reflected among those delinquents, as is the case 

with the office boys. The chief charges brought against it are that 

the irregular work and night employment tend to break down health, 

that the opportunities for overcharging and for appropriating packages or parts of their contents lead to dishonesty, and that the places 

to which the boy is sent familiarize him with all forms of vice and 

tend to lead him into immorality. The leading offenses among these 

boys are:

NUMBER AND PEE CENT OF MESSENGER-BOY DELINQUENTS, B Y CHARACTER OF

LAST OFFENSE COMMITTED.

Last offense.

Larceny....................

Incorrigibility.........

Disorderly conduct

All other..................

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

Per cent.

39 53.4

15 20.5

5 6.9

14 19.2

100.0

The complaint against the occupation on the score of health could 

not find either confirmation or disproof here, but larceny appears in 

a slightly smaller proportion than for the group of working delin1 S. P. Gibbs, Problem of Boy Work, p. 83.

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quents as a whole, where it is 54.5 per cent, while immorality, far 

from occupying a leading position, accounts for only 1.4 per cent of 

the delinquent messengers. Of course a boy might indulge freely 

in wiiat may be called ordinary immorality without its resulting in 

bringing him into court, and equally, of course, a boy might receive 

grave moral harm which might not appear in his conduct until long 

after he had left the employment. The unfortunate effects of the 

inherent conditions of the work are, however, manifest. Its irregularity, the lack of any supervision during a considerable part of the 

time, the associations of the street and of the places to which 

messengers are sent, and the frequency of niglitwork, with all its 

demoralizing features, afford an explanation of the impatience of 

restraint, the reckless yielding to impulse shown in the large percentage of incorrigibility and disorderly conduct. A glance at the 

main table shows that the two offenses next in order are assault and 

battery and malicious mischief, both of which indicate the same 

traits. On the whole, there seems abundant reason for considering 

that the messenger service deserves its bad name.

The errand and delivery boys show a less favorable state of affairs 

regarding extrinsic conditions. In regard to the age of the workers 

the occupation is above the average (73.9 per cent are 14 or over),but 

in parental condition it falls distinctly below. It ranks next to that 

of the office boys in the proportion coming from fair or good homes, 

and above the latter in the percentage having native-born parents. 

The level of favorable conditions keeps so near to the average that it 

seems necessary to attribute the number of delinquents it furnishes 

more to the conditions of the work than to the kind of children 

taking it up. The leading offenses are shown in the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF D ELIVER Y AND ERRAND BOY DELINQUENTS, B Y CHARACTER OF LAST OFFENSE COMMITTED.

280 B U L L E T I N O F ' T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Last oiTensc.

Delivery and errand

boy delinquents.

Number. Per cent.

296 60.3

Incorrigibility......................................................................................................................... 65 13.2

Assault and battery.............................................................................................................. 24 4.9

Runaway or vagrancy.......................................................................................................... 24 4.9

Disorderly conduct............................................................................................................... 22 4.5

Craps and gambling.............................................................................................................. 14 2.8

All other.................................................................................................................................. 46 9.4

Total.............................................................................................................................. 491 100.0

It will be seen that the proportion of larceny is abnormally large, 

being not only considerably above the average but greater than in 

any other pursuit. The nature of the work involves trusting the 

boys with money and parcels and sending them in and out of stores, 

offices, and private houses, where opportunities abound for picking 

up unconsidered trifles. The comparatively small proportion guilty 

of the next leading offense, to which this work offers no special temptation above the others in this group, is another indication of the 

close connection between the character of the occupation and the

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wrongdoing. The work of the errand boy affords peculiar opportunities for theft, and the percentage of larceny is larger among its 

delinquents than in any other of these special occupations. It has 

110 incitements to other forms of wrongdoing greater than those 

offered by the other trades* and the percentage of delinquents guilty 

of other offenses sinks to the average level or below.

Turning to the remaining three groups, the condition of their 

workers is seen to be so generally below the average in extrinsic circumstances that the chance of their going wrong, no matter in what 

occupation they might be engaged, would be greater than for the 

children we have just been considering. Those employed in amusement resorts, for instance, are below the average in the matter of age, 

of parental condition—their showing here is pitiful, practically 

three-fifths of them being wholly or partly orphaned—and in the 

character of their homes, rising above the level only in the one respect of native-born parentage. The street venders and the newsboys 

rise above the average only in the one particular of parental condition. The occupational influences of these three pursuits are notoriously bad, but a partial explanation of the number of delinquents 

they furnish is unquestionably in the kind of children who enter 

them. It is a case of action and reaction. These occupations are 

easily taken up by immature children, with little or no education 

and no preliminary training. Such children are least likely to resist 

evil influences, most likely to yield to all that is bad in their environment. Then the presence of such children in the occupation tends to 

keep out a better class and to give it a still worse name. Careful 

parents will hesitate to let their children take up an employment in 

which they must have such associates, and it becomes more and more 

a resort for those whose parents through ignorance or indifference 

take no thought of the surroundings under which the work is carried 

on, or those who, being already semivagrants, are attracted by the 

irregularity of the work—the condition which some one has described as “ irregular and shiftless industry ”—and by the excitement 

of street life.1

OFFENSES SHOWING DIRECT CONNECTION WITH OCCUPATION: BOYS.

Up to this point the general influence of the occupation has been 

considered, but a further study was undertaken of offenses showing a 

direct connection with the occupation. This study is admittedly 

very imperfect, since the data which would show whether or not the 

offense was connected with the occupation were very apt to be unobtainable. A rigid definition of what constituted a connection with 

the occupation was adopted, none being assumed unless it could be 

shown that the wrongdoing was directly related to some condition of 

the particular occupation in which the child was engaged. Among 

the boys 356 such cases were found—24.3 per cent of the latest

1 Vol. V I I I , Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Emplojrment, p. 89 et seq.

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offenses committed by those working at the time of their latest 

arrest. The largest proportion of connection cases—52 per cent— 

was found among the street Tenders, and the next, 38.3 per cent, 

among the errand and delivery boys. The newsboys and bootblacks 

show the largest number, 129, of connection cases, and also a large 

proportion, 37.2 per cent. More than one-half (62.9 per cent) of the 

connection offenses are cases of larceny, 92 of these being found 

among the errand and delivery boys and 31 among the newsboys 

and bootblacks. Disorderly conduct accounts for nearly one-fourth 

(23.3 per cent) of the cases, and the remainder are scattered through 

the whole list of offenses.

It is a striking fact that in spite of the incompleteness of the data 

a direct connection between the occupation and the offense has been 

found to exist in the cases of practically one-fourth (24.3 per cent) 

of the boys employed at the time of their latest offense. It is also a 

striking fact that while the delinquent boys working at the time of 

their latest offense were scattered through more than 50 occupations, 

six-sevenths of the connection cases are found among those working 

in 9 occupations, and that more than three-fifths (64.3 per cent) 

come from two groups of workers—the errand or delivery boys and 

the newsboys and bootblacks. It is also significant that the connection cases form so large a percentage of the total cases among the 

street traders, the messengers, and the errand or delivery boys, their 

proportion ranging from over one-fourth to over one-half, according 

to the occupation. The most that can be said for these figures, however, is that they are indicative rather than conclusive and that they 

strongly suggest the need of fuller data on this highly important 

point.1

OFFENSES SHOWING DIRECT CONNECTION WITH OCCUPATION: GIRLS.

A similar study of occupational influences and connection cases 

among girls is hampered by the limited number of girl delinquents 

and by the dispersion of these through numerous occupations, giving 

too few in any one pursuit to warrant any definite conclusions. The 

largest number of those working at the time of their latest offense 

came from some form of domestic service—109, or 54.0 per cent. 

The different textile industries, hosiery, and knit goods, furnish 25, 

or 12.4 per cent, while stores and markets come next with 5.4 per 

cent.

Cases showing a direct connection between occupation and offense 

are proportionately more numerous than among the boys, there being 

81, or 40.1 per cent of all, in which the delinquent was working at 

the time of the latest offense. Forty-eight, or 59.3 per cent, of 

these connection cases occurred among the girls in domestic service,

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and 14, or 17.28 per cent, among those in the various textile industries. Immoral conduct and larceny each appear 35 times as connection offenses, arson and vagrancy twice, and incorrigibility three 

times, no other offense appearing more than once. The influence 

of fellow employees in leading to wrongdoing is found in 31 cases, 

while it appeared in only 8 among the boys. The employer figures 

as an inciting cause in 8 cases, and other associates in 3. Neither 

among boys nor girls does age appear to have much bearing on 

the matter of connection offenses.

NIGHTWORK, HOURS OF LABOR, AND ENVIRONMENT OP 

CHILDREN STUDIED.

The final chapter is devoted to nightwork, hours of labor, and 

a further consideration of the home conditions of the delinquents. 

Nightwork is not unusual among the boys, 629 cases being recorded. 

The largest number of cases, 190, is found among the newsboys, the 

errand boys come next with 90, and the messengers with 51. The 

largest proportion of such cases is found among the children employed in amusement resorts, 71.74 per cent, and the next among 

hotel workers, who show 46.88 per cent; newsboys come third with 

34.11 per cent, closely followed by messengers, with 31.10 per cent. 

Among girls the cases of nightwork reported were only 32, too 

scattered to have any indicative value.

The hours of work are in hiany cases surprisingly long. Less than 

one-fifth of the boys whose hours were reported worked 8 hours or 

less, on.e-fourth were working 9 hours, and nearly one-half (45.9 

per cent) worked 10 hours daily. Sometimes over 11 per cent 

worked more than 10 hours a day, and 17 children were found working more than 12 hours daily. Three of these were under 11, and 

only six over 14 years. For girls the hours are not reported in as 

large a proportion of cases as among the boys, as in domestic service, 

in which so many of the girls were employed, it was difficult to 

determine the hours. For the 164 cases reported the proportion of 

girls working 8 hours or less a day was smaller than among the boys, 

while the proportion working over 10 hours daily was exactly the 

same.

The home and neighborhood conditions of the children are discussed in much detail in an effort to determine the relative weight 

of such factors as bad neighborhood surroundings, lack of responsible person at home, etc. The results are not wholly conclusive.

The only thing clearly indicated by the study is that among boys 

neighborhood influences take the leading place which among girls 

is held by home influences; that in general nonworkers are more

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affected than workers by home conditions; that the lack of a responsible person at home, other conditions being favorable, does not 

appear as frequently as might be expected among the delinquents 

as a whole; and that this lack, combined with other unfavorable conditions, appears with most impressive frequency among the nonworking girl delinquents.1

The report closes with an appendix giving the record forms used 

in the juvenile courts from which cases were taken, and the juvenile 

court, adult delinquency and newsboy laws of the States in which 

the study was made.

1 Vol. V III, Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment, p. 130.

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CHAPTER IX.—HISTORY OF WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

IN THE UNITED STATES.

This volume, which forms the ninth part of the Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States, 

is based mainly upon data collected from sources hitherto not generally available. The figures of the United States Census reports 

are used for the tables showing the extent to which women have 

entered the industrial field and the industries in which they are 

found, but the text is based to a large extent upon material located 

primarily through the search set up by the American Bureau of 

Industrial Research. Old books, pamphlets, and newspaper files 

have been used freely, as well as reports of State labor and statistical 

bureaus, the reports of legislative committees, and publications of 

the Federal Government. Old newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets have been used with special freedom as being less accessible 

than the better-known State and Federal reports.

The study is concerned with six main groups of industries: (1) 

The textile industries, (2) clothing and the sewing trades, (3) doinestice service, (4) the manufacture of food and kindred products 

including beverages, (5) other manufacturing industries, including 

tobacco and cigar making, the paper and printing industries, the 

manufacture of metals of all kinds and of wood, clay, glass, and 

chemicals, and (6) trade and transportation.

REASONS FOR CHANGE FROM HOME TO FACTORY WORK.

In the first four of these groups w omen have-always been employed, but the last two represent a real enlargement of their industrial field. Domestic service has been comparatively little 

affected by the changes of the last century, but the textile industries, 

the making of clothing, and the sewing trades, and to a considerable 

extent the industries involved in the manufacture of food and 

kindred products have been radically altered within that period. 

In all three, although in varying degrees, the women who formerly 

would have worked at home are nowr working outside their homes, 

under factory conditions.

For this change two main reasons are assigned—the introduction 

of machinery and the subdivision of labor; in addition several minor 

causes are given as having helped on the process. Of the two main

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reasons the first and most effective was the introduction of, machinery—the spinning jenny, followed by the power loom, in the 

textile industries, and the sewing machine in the sewing trades. 

These not only changed the conditions under which women worked 

in those particular industries, but by creating a fund or reservoir of 

surplus female labor, caused keen competition for employment and 

tended to force women into new fields.

Before the introduction of spinning machinery and the sewing 

machine, the supply of female labor appears never to have been 

excessive. But the spinning jenny threw out of employment thousands of “ spinsters,” who were obliged to resort to sewing as the 

only other occupation to which they were in any way trained. This 

accounts for the terrible pressure in the clothing trades during the 

early decades of the nineteenth century. Later on, before any readjustment of women’s work had been effected, the sewing machine 

was introduced, which enormously increased the pressure of competition among women workers. * * * Under this pressure, 

combined with the rapid development of wholesale industry and 

division of labor, women have been pressed into other industries, 

almost invariably in the first instance into the least skilled and most 

poorly paid occupations.1

The second cause, closely connected with the first, for the movement of women from the home to the factory was the subdivision 

of labor rendered possible by the improvement of machinery. The 

making of an article was no longer one process demanding skill and 

training on the worker's part, but a series of separate operations, 

each, perhaps, done by a machine so simple that a girl could learn 

to manage it. The employment of women in textile factories, 

whither they had merely followed the work which had been theirs 

from time immemorial, had accustomed the public mind to the idea 

of women in extradomestic employments, and the subdivision of 

labor increased the number of such pursuits open to them. In addition to these two main causes various temporary and local circumstances have hastened the movement of women into the industrial 

field. Sometimes, especially in the printing trades and in cigar 

making, women have been introduced as strike breakers. Naturally, 

the women who thus entered a new field would not be disposed to 

leave it simply because the strike was over. Naturally, also, the employers who had thus obtained a fresh supply of workers wTho were at 

once cheaper and more easily controlled than men would not be disposed to return to an entire dependence upon male labor. So each 

new occupation which women entered in this way became in a measure their own, and the list of trades in which they might be found 

steadily increased.

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Another local cause of a different kind has been the scarcity of male 

labor at a given time or place. This was particularly effective in the 

early days of the factory system when the absorption of men in agriculture left the textile industry, the principal exponent in those days 

of tjie factory system, mainly in the hands of women and girls.

Times of financial depression, wThen the usual wage earners of a 

family are either unemployed or wrorking at reduced wTages, have 

always been effective in increasing the number of women in industrial 

occupations. Wars, wThich at once reduce the number of men available for employment and increase the number of unsupported women 

and children, have a similar effect.

The result of these different causes w7orking in varying combinations has been on the whole to increase the opportunities for selfsupport open to women. Also the relative importance of the occupations in which they are found has undergone a change.

It is evident that on the whole there has been a certain expansion 

of woman5s sphere—a decrease in the proportion employed in certain traditional occupations, such as “ servants and waitresses,” 

“ seamstresses,” and “ textile workers,” but an increase in the proportion employed in most other industries, many of them not originally 

considered as within woman’s domain. There has been, for instance, 

an increase in the proportion of women engaged as “ bookkeepers and 

accountants,” as “saleswomen,” as “ stenographers and typewriters,” 

and in 46 other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits,” and this 

movement has affected, roughly speaking, all elements, according to 

nativity or conjugal condition, of the population of working women.1

WOMEN IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

The transformation from a hand industry carried on mainly by 

women and children working writhin their own homes to a highly 

organized machine industry carried on exclusively in factories has 

been more thoroughly worked out in the group of textile industries 

than in any others. They have accordingly been taken as typical, 

ancl a full fourth of the report is given to their development. Three 

periods are recognized—the home work and handicraft stage, lasting 

from the first settlement of the country to about 1787; the period of 

spinning machinery, lasting from the introduction of the spinning 

jenny in that year to about 1814; and that of the complete textile 

factory, which, beginning with the introduction of the power loom 

in 1814, has continued to the present day. In the first period women 

worked almost exclusively in their homes; in the second, although 

they had entered factories, much of the work was still given out to 

be done at home, wThile in the third stage home work ceased and the

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industries were brought wholly under the factory system.1 It is with 

the third period that this study is specially concerned.

HOURS AND THE EFFORT TO MODIFY THEM.

In the textile factories of the early days hours were exceedingly 

long. A day of 12 working hours seems to have been looked upon as 

reasonable and moderate, and this amount was often exceeded.

In 1826, 15 or 16 hours constituted, according to the Hon. William 

Gray, the working hours at Ware, Mass. * * * At Fall River, 

about 1830, the hours were from 5 a. m., or as soon as light, to 7.30 

p. m., or till dark in summer, with one-half hour for breakfast and 

the same time for dinner at noon, making a day of 13| hours. In 

general the hours of labor in textile factories in New Hampshire, 

Rhode Island, and Massachusetts in 1832 were said to be 13 a day. 

But at the Eagle Mill, Griswold, Conn., it was said that 15 hours and

10 minutes actual labor in the mills were required.2

In New Jersey and Pennsylvania the hours were equally long. 

In 1835 the operatives of the Paterson cotton mills struck for a reduction of hours from 13J to 11 per day, but their strike was only 

partially successful. In 1833 the operatives of Manayunk, Pa., complained of their long hours, 13 a day, exclusive of time for meals. 

From 12 to 13 hours a day actual working time seemed to be the 

general rule, with occasional variations in either direction.

The operatives fought against such hours by means of public protests, by strikes, and by appeals to their State legislatures for relief. 

The meetings of protests, speeches, and newspaper articles aided in 

creating a public sentiment against such conditions, but had no direct 

effect upon them. The strikers were sometimes successful, more often 

not; but even when they succeeded the gains thus secured were apt 

to be lost as soon as an industrial depression, or even a period of 

slack time, appeared. Legislative action seemed the only method 

of controlling the evil, and for years a campaign for a 10-hour law 

was waged.

For some time legislative action seemed as ineffective as the other 

methods which had been tried, for the early laws were so worded 

that they failed to accomplish their purpose. In 1847 New Hampshire passed a 10-hour law, and within six years Maine, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island had followed her example. 

But most of these laws safeguarded the liberty of the individual 

by providing that, although 10 hours should constitute a day’s work, 

any operative might, if he chose, contract to work for a longer time. 

The companies promptly discharged those who did not choose to

1 The arts and crafts movement has done something toward reestablishing certain forms

of textile work in the home, but it is not as yet sufficiently widespread to affect the

general situation.

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make such a contract, and in some cases established a blacklist 

against them. There was an outburst of strikes, but the employers 

had the advantage of position, and these laws remained dead letters.

Then followed 20 years of confusion. The operatives never gave 

up the fight for a shorter day, and as it became evident that sooner 

or later they would secure effective laws, the employers in various 

localities made an effort to head off the movement by voluntarily 

reducing hours. Generally a day of 11 hours marked the extreme 

limit of concession; occasionally a day of 10| hours was granted, 

but it was not usually long maintained. Gradually, however, effective legislation was secured and working hours were permanently 

reduced.

In general the hours of labor in Massachusetts, in spite of the lack 

of legislation, were reduced first, other States following. When the 

mills of Massachusetts ran 12 hours a day, “ those of Rhode Island 

and New Hampshire ran 13 hours. When her mills came down to

11 hours a day, theirs came down to 12.” The early laws of the 

other States were, indeed, practically dead letters owing to their 

contracting-out clauses. In Massachusetts, where the leaders of the 

10-hour movement insisted upon effective legislation, the manufacturers reduced hours to prevent the enactment of laws. But even 

there the women employed in textile factories generally worked 11 

hours a day until prevented by legislation. Since 1874, however, 

the large manufacturing States have one by one regulated the hours 

of labor of women in manufacturing establishments, with the result 

that the working time is decidedly shorter.1

INTENSITY OF WORK.

Apparently in the early days of the textile factories it was customary for woolen weavers to tend only one loom and for cotton 

weavers to tend two, but between 1830 and 1840 a movement to increase the number assigned to a single worker became apparent and 

has steadily progressed. A strike has been a common form of protest against such increases, but such strikes have rarely been successful. The increase was often offered under the guise of a favor.

In 1836 the women weavers in a factory at Norristown, Pa., who 

were on strike against a reduction of wages, were offered “ an additional loom, that they may make up by increased labor what they 

lose in prices.” The offer was condemned, however, by the strikers. 

In 1869 the same offer was made by the Dover company to its striking employees, but this time the increase was to be from 6 or 7 to 8 

looms.2

Similar increases in the number of machines to be cared for were 

made in the other departments, so that throughout both cotton and

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woolen mills the women employees are working far more continuously, more rapidly, and under a much greater strain than was the 

case in the early days of the industry.

WAGES.

At first women could earn considerably higher wages in textile 

factories than in any other occupation open to them.

Before the introduction of manufactures, according to Aiken, the 

ordinary rate of women’s wages in New England was from $2.17 

to $3 a month and board. By 1833 men’s labor would command, he 

said, 50 per cent more than formerly, but women’s wages had risen 

from 200 to 300 per cent.1

In other words, by 1833 women might expect to earn from about 

$6 to $9 a month and their board. In the textile factories their 

wages were somewhat higher than this. From 1833 to 1850 it is said 

that their wages in such factories averaged about $2 a week with 

board, which, including lodging, heat, light, and washing, was 

worth from $1.25 to $1.50 a week. This average changed but little 

until the time of the Civil War, when both wages and prices rose. 

Between 1860 and 1866 the wages of women spinners, weavers, 

warpers, speeders, spoolers, etc., were increased from 50 to 100 per 

cent. Retail prices, however, increased from a basis of 100 in 1860 

to 202 in 1866, so that in spite of the nominal increase in wages 

there was a real and serious falling off in their purchasing power. 

Wages continued to rise until the early seventies, when came a 

pause, followed by a decrease in the late seventies.

Yery little idea of the real value of the early wages is obtained 

from a statement of their amount in dollars and cents, since the 

purchasing power of money has changed so greatly since those days. 

Without going into an elaborate consideration of prices, a certain 

measure of the wage value can be obtained by considering the cost 

of board. The average wage of women textile operatives was $2 

and board, the latter being considered worth from $1.25 to $1.50 a 

week. In other words, after paying for board, which included 

lodging, heat, light, and at least part of her washing, the average 

worker found herself with something over half her week’s wages in 

hand.

RELATIVE PROPORTION OF THE SEXES.

In the handicraft stage women and girls had the greater part in 

the manufacture of textiles, all the spinning and much of the weaving being in their hands. It is difficult to secure exact data for the 

period during which spinning machinery without the power loom

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was in use, but there is abundant evidence that in the early days 

of the complete textile-factory system women constituted the major 

part of the employees, and that relatively they have lost ground in 

the textile industries within the last 50 to 75 years. This movement 

has not been uniform throughout the different industries.

In 1816 a report rendered to Congress gave the following figures 

showing the age and sex distribution of cotton-mill operatives:

Males employed from the age of 17 and upward-__________ 10,000

Women and female children_______ ____________ ___________ 66,000

Boys under 17 years of age________________________________ 124, 000

By 1831 women formed about 58 per cent of the cotton-mill 

employees—62.6 per cent of those who were not “ children under 12 

years,” who were not classified by sex. This proportion of women 

showed but little change up to the time of the Civil War. The 

rush of men into the army left numerous positions open to women 

in which they could earn more than in millwork, and at the close 

of the war the rapid opening up of the West had the same effect. 

The class of women from whom the famous mill girls of Lowell 

were drawn had left the mills, probably forever, and immigrants— 

men as well as women and more numerously than women—filled the 

vacant places. Along with this substitution of foreign for native 

operatives has come the introduction of increasingly complicated 

and difficult machinery, the operation of which “ requires the care 

of men because it is beyond the physical and nervous capacity of 

women.” Consequently in the manufacture of cotton textiles there 

has been a slow but steady decrease in the proportion of women 

employed, the percentage they form of the total employees having 

fallen from 58 in 1831 to 40.2 in 1905.

In the manufacture of woolen goods men have always, under the 

factory system, formed a larger proportion than women of the total 

employees, but relatively they are more important now than in the 

early days. In Massachusetts in 1837 and again in 1845 the woolenmill employees were nearly equally divided between the sexes, 

though men showed a slight excess. In 1850 the United States 

Census gave the proportion of female hands in all wool manufacture except hosiery and knit goods as 41.5 per cent; by 1905 their 

proportion was nearly the same, 40.1 per cent. In the manufacture 

of hosiery and knit goods the proportion of female workers has 

always been high but has fluctuated considerably. Before the introduction of machine knitting women had a practical monopoly of 

this branch, but with the use of machinery men entered it in considerable numbers. So far as known females have never formed

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less than half of the total employees, and usually their proportion 

has been nearer three-fifths. In 1905 they formed 66.4 per cent of 

the total number of employees. In the manufacture of silk and 

silk goods the proportion of women employed has on the whole 

increased, rising from 53.1 per cent in 1870 to 56.8 per cent in 1905. 

This gain seems to have been made wholly at the expense of children, the proportion of men having increased more than the proportion of women during this period.

The various minor textile manufactures differ in this respect, but, 

taking the whole group of textile industries, women have very evidently lost ground. In 1850 they formed 50.2 per cent of all employees in textile industries, while in 1900 they formed only 40.6 per 

cent. In this particular industry their presence in the factory has 

not meant that they are taking work from the men but that men are 

gradually taking work from the women.

SUMMARY OF SECTION.

Since the establishment of the complete factory system, beginning 

about 1814, the employment of women in textile factories has been 

common. During this period hours of labor have been diminished, 

but intensity of work has been greatly increased. The industry has 

passed almost wholly from the hands of native workers to immigrants or their children. The wages of women have shown a nominal 

increase; this has not meant wholly a gain, owing to a decrease in 

purchasing power; and the proportion of women employed in textile 

factories has shown a steady decrease, their places being taken by 

men.

CLOTHING AND THE SEWING TRADES.

Most of the garment-making and sewing trades present a very different history from the textile industries, partly because machinery 

was not introduced until a much later date—the sewing machine was 

not in general use until after the middle of the century—and partly 

because when introduced it was of such a character that there was 

little or no economy in carrying on the work in factories. For the 

manufacturer, indeed, there was decided economy in giving out the 

work to be done at home, as this greatly reduced the fixed charges 

of the business. The great subdivision of labor which has developed as the trade in ready-made garments has grown diminishes 

the saving secured by home work, and the workers themselves in 

some trades have fought vigorously against giving out work, as lending itself to the sweating system and tending to reduce wages below 

the subsistence point. At present the sentiment of the workers and 

of the best class of employers is against home work, but in none of 

these trades has home work been entirely eliminated, although in 

the boot and shoe industry it is now very unusual.

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BOOT AND SHOE MAKING.

Apparently in this industry there has been a real incursion of 

women into a field formerly occupied by men, but this incursion 

began at an early date.

About 1795, or earlier, * * * shoemakers, or eordwainers as 

they were called, began to hire their fellows and to gather them into 

shops, where a rough division of labor was practiced. Soon afterwards they began to send the uppers out to women to be stitched and 

bound. From that time until the introduction of the sewing machine 

the binding of shoes manufactured for the wholesale market was 

practically a womans industry, carried on at home.1

A few other branches of the work were sometimes turned over to 

women. In Brockton, for instance, they were employed in pegging 

boots and shoes, and in New York “ fitting, which consisted of sewing the bootlegs together, putting in the lining and straps and generally making the boots ready for bottoming, was generally done 

by women and children at home/’ Binding, however, was their 

great occupation, and continued to be so until the introduction of 

the sewing machine, between 1855 and 18G5.

This led to the introduction of the factory system, and at first to 

a great displacement of women workers, as the machines were heavy 

and difficult to operate. Between 1850 and 1860 the proportion of 

female workers in the industry fell from 31.3 per cent to 23.2 per 

cent, and by 1870 it had sunk to 14.1 per cent. This was their lowest 

point. Further improvements in machinery combined with extreme 

subdivision of work created numerous occupations at ell within 

woman’s strength and ability; and each census since 1870 has shown 

an increase in the proportion woman furnish of the total employees. 

In 1905 their proportion was a little over 33 per cent.

WAGES, EARNINGS, AND CONDITIONS OF WORK.

During the period of home work piece rates prevailed, and these 

varied according to the degree of competition. In the small shoe 

towns of New England apparently the binders received what they 

considered fair returns, but in the large cities there was constant 

complaint that they could not earn enough to live on. Moreover, 

they were subject to numerous petty impositions, such as charges for 

needles, silk and thread, the withholding of part of their earnings, 

etc. In 1853 it was estimated that an expert binder in New York, 

working from 14 to 17 hours a day, could net $2.40 a week. “ This 

was said, however, to be higher than the average price paid hundreds 

of girls and women in New York.”

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Under tlie factory system earnings appear to have been much 

better and the general conditions at least fair.

As an occupation for women, boot and shoe making has been rescued by machinery and the factory system from the degradation of 

the other sewing trades and has been placed upon a level with the 

textile industries. Wages, indeed, in boot and shoe factories have 

been higher upon the whole than in cotton mills, and the competition of the foreign born has not been so great as in the textile industries.1

GARMENT MAKING.

In the manufacture of ready-made garments the factory system 

has only recently made headway, having as competitors both home 

work and the sweating system. On the whole the worker’s progress 

seems to be from the home to the sweatshop and from the sweatshop 

to the factory, but the three stages are found existing side by side 

in the same industry.

Garment making includes a number of different industries in 

different stages of development, struggling with different problems 

of organization. Conditions in many of these industries have been 

notoriously bad from very early days.

Five elements, home work, the sweating system, the contract and 

subcontract systems, increasing the number of middlemen between 

producer and consumer, the exaggerated overstrain due to piece 

payment, and the fact that the clothing trades have served as the 

general dumping ground of the unskilled, inefficient, and casual 

women workers, have produced from the very beginning of the 

wholesale clothing manufacture in this country a condition of deplorable industrial chaos.2

IJp to 1850 all garment making was done by hand and the readymade garments were of the poorer and rougher quality. The garments were usually cut and given out for home making. Any woman who had an elementary knowledge of needlework might be a 

competitor for the work, and consequently rates were cut until earnings were often below the subsistence point. The larger part of this 

study deals with the almost incredibly low piece rates paid and the 

efforts to secure some improvement in this direction.

These efforts had only partial and temporary effects. The almost 

unlimited supply of potential home workers and the impossibility of 

any organization on their part kept wages down and increased hours 

of work in spite of all protests until the partial introduction of the 

factory system did away with the worst abuses of the home-work 

system, but the sweating system remained to make conditions in some 

branches all but intolerable for the workers. Of late years this 

system seems to have been losing ground.

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Division and organization of labor, aided on the one hand by the 

economies of large scale production and on the other hand by laws 

regulating the sweating system must be held primarily responsible 

for the movement toward the factory system in the garment trades.1

OTHER SEWING TRADES.

There appears to be a general tendency for the factory system to 

supplant home work, but this tendency has developed much further 

in some industries than in others. The making of collars and cuffs 

has been transferred wholly to the factory. The manufacture of 

gloves is in Chicago a factory industry, but in New York a considerable amount of the work is given out to be done at home. Millinery 

and the manufacture of artificial flowers are entirely unstandardized. 

The making of hats and caps is confined to factories. Thus the 

situation varies from industry to industry, so that no general statement is possible.

RELATIVE PROPORTION OF THE SEXES IN SEWING TRADES.

On the whole the proportion women form of the total workers 

in clothing and sewing trades has shown a slight increase during 

the period for which comprehensive statistics can be secured, rising 

from 49.5 per cent in 1850 to 55.9 per cent in 1900. This has been 

coincident with a falling off in the proportion they form in most 

of the trades listed in 1850. Thus in that year they formed 63.7 per 

cent of the workers on men’s clothing and 92 per cent of those engaged on millinery and lace goods as against 47 per cent and 83.2 

per cent in the same trades in 1900. The increase in their proportion 

of the total seems due mainly to the inclusion in later censuses of 

trades which were so entirely home industries in 1850 as not to be 

included. Thus shirt making, which is not listed at all in 1850, 

employed 31,074 women wage earners in 1900, and women’s clothing 

in its two branches of dressmaking and factory product, which does 

not appear in the 1850 census, had in 1900 a total of 97,701 women 

workers.

An examination of the data given shows some ground for believing 

that as the factory system becomes established in the different trades 

the same process is going on which has been so apparent in the 

textile trades—the gradual substitution of men for women.

OTHER GROUPS OF INDUSTRIES.

Domestic and personal service has never been organized to such 

a degree that it is considered an industrial pursuit. Its principal

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point of interest is its decreasing importance as a gainful pursuit 

for women. In 1870 it employed 58.1 per cent of all the female 

breadwinners 10 years of age and over, but by 1900 its proportion 

had sunk to 39.4 per cent.

The industries comprised under the heading “ Other manufacturing industries ” are treated very briefly. In general in the earlier 

part of the last century women entering any of these industries 

found hours as long as in the textile industries and wages lower. 

Often, too, they met with active hostility from the men of the different trades, who looked upon them as interlopers. Rather generally they came in as unskilled workers, taking the lowest-paid 

work in the industry. They have profited by the improved conditions brought about by labor organizations, legislation, and the good 

will of employers, but usually they still retain the less skilled and 

less profitable occupations.

In most of these industries women upon entering took, usually at 

a reduced wage, work which up to that time, had been considered 

peculiarly men’s. Cigar making is an exception to this generalization, since it had begun as a household industry carried on largely 

by women. The first result of the introduction of the factory system was to diminish the number of women employed in this industry to such a degree that when in the latter half of the nineteenth 

century women entered it in numbers, their entrance was bitterly 

opposed on the ground that they were taking men’s work.

In entering the various occupations grouped under the heading 

“ Trade and transportation,” women secured a real enlargement of 

their field. As saleswomen, stenographers, typewriters, bookkeepers, 

and shippers and packers, they have entered occupations which in 

their mothers’ days either did not exist or were looked upon as wholly 

unsuited for women. To the latter class belongs the work of saleswoman. Again and again in the early part of the last century the 

employment of saleswomen instead of salesmen was urged as a means 

of relieving the terrible pressure in most occupations open to women, 

but up to the time of the Civil War the proposal fell on deaf ears. 

Even in 1870 saleswomen were too small a body to be given separately in the census classifications; in 1900 they numbered 142,265. 

The long hours of service, the low wages, the frequent fines, and the 

strain of the continuous standing often required are such grave drawbacks that the suitability of women for the work has been seriously 

questioned. These and kindred objections, however, are gradually 

diminishing under the pressure of public opinion working partly 

through legislation, partly outside of it, and women appear to be 

permanently established in this vocation. Stenographers, typewriters, and bookkeepers as skilled, or, at worst, partially trained

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workers have never been subjected to the almost unlimited competition which prevails among saleswomen, and their conditions as to 

wages, hours, and the like have been more favorable.

CONCLUSION.

The general impression left by a survey of the different industries 

in which women have followed or are following their work from the 

home into the factory is that on the wrliole the change has meant an 

improvement in the condition of the women workers.

The history of woman’s work shows that their wage labor under 

the domestic system has often been under wrorse conditions than their 

wage labor under the factory system. The hours of home workers 

have been longer, their wages lower, and the sanitary conditions surrounding them more unwholesome than has generally been the case 

with factory workers. The movement awav from home work can 

hardly, then, be regretted.1

There appears to have been relatively little real displacement of 

men by women. There has been some, but in only a few industries. 

Having been forced out of their traditional sphere primarily by machinery and secondarily by men introduced as~the result of the readjustment due to machinery, women have in some cases followed the 

machine into other occupations not theirs by tradition. But much 

of their problem of employment has been solved by the growth of 

new industries, many of which women have entered almost if not 

quite from the beginning and in which they have successfully held 

their own.

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CHAPTER X.—HISTORY OF WOMEN IN TRADEUNIONS.

This volume, the tenth part of the Report on the Condition of 

Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States, traces the 

rise and development of trade-unionism among women in the United 

States from its first recorded manifestations down to the present 

day. The sources of the study of the earlier periods are largely files 

of old newspapers, pamphlets, and labor papers located through a 

search set up by the American Bureau of Industrial Research. The 

data concerning conditions of the present day were obtained in part 

bj^ personal investigations and in part by correspondence with the 

officials of women’s unions.

FOUR PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT.

The history of women in trade-unions is divided into four parts: 

(1) The beginnings of organization, extending from 1825 to about 

1840; (2) the development of associations interested in labor reform, 

including the beginnings of legislative activity, 1840 to 1860; (3) the 

sustained development of pure trade-unions and the rise of the struggle over the suffrage, 1860 to 1880; and (4) the present period, including the impress and educative influence of the Knights of Labor, 

and the present development under the predominant leadership of 

the American Federation of Labor.

FIRST PERIOD: 1825 TO 1840.

In the history of the two earlier periods, the term “ trade-union ” 

is apparently used to cover any associated activity on the part of 

working women, whether or not they were organized; in the first 

period especially, strikes are the chief form of united action of which 

any report is given, and these appear to have been undertaken quite 

frequently without any preliminary organization. In the second 

period, working women seem to have banded themselves together not 

infrequently, but their efforts covered a wider field than is customary in trades-unions to-day. In the third period the unions had 

taken on their present form, and the chief difference between the 

third and fourth period is the greater stress laid during the last 25 

or 30 years on protective legislation.

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COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES.

In the first period the cotton-mill operatives were more conspicuously active in strikes and organizations than any other women 

workers. The earliest manifestation of which a record has been 

found was a strike in July, 1828, in the cotton mills of Paterson, 

N. J. Its immediate occasion was nothing more serious than a 

change of the dinner hour from 12 to 1 o’clock.

The children, apparently including a large number of girls, disliked the new arrangement and promptly marched out at 12 o’clock, 

“ huzzaing.” Encouraged by their parents and guardians they 

turned the afternoon into an unexpected half holiday. The next 

morning found the strike extended to carpenters, masons, and machinists in a general demand for a 10-hour day.1

The strike was lost and there is no evidence that it led to any 

organization among the employees.

In December of the same year there was a more serious strike 

among the cotton operatives of Dover, N. H., as a protest against new’ 

factory rules which they considered oppressive. This strike also was 

lost, but apparently the idea of organization took root among the 

women about this time, for when in 1834 the operatives again struck, 

this time against a reduction of wages, the newspapers asserted that 

the girls had formed a trade-union for mutual support in spite of the 

“ conditions on which help is hired by the Coelieco Manufacturing 

Company.” The mast important of those conditions was an agreement not to engage in any combination by which work might be impeded or the company’s interest injured.

This effort to prevent the spread of trade-unionism among the 

women is the first instance of which we have record where employers 

forced upon women employees the dreaded “ ironclad oath.” Its use 

at this early date indicates that working women had made much 

greater progress toward organization than has been generally supposed.2

This strike also was lost, and it is impossible to trace the fate 

of the union which had been formed.

In Lowell in the same year the factory girls struck against a 

reduction of wages and formed a union, which apparently did not 

long survive the loss of the strike. Several other ephemeral unions 

were formed, generally at the time of a strike, in various cotton 

manufacturing towns, but their influence seems to have been small.

WORKERS IN OTHER INDUSTRIES.

Women in the textile industries were most prominent in the tradeunion activity of these early days, but experimental beginnings were 

made by women employed in other lines. The tailoresses and seam1Vol. X , H istory of Women in Trade Unions, p. 22.

2 Idem, p. 25.

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iriS T O J tr OF WOMEN I X TT\ ADE-U NIO N S. 301

stresses of New York began holding meetings as early as 1825, and 

by 1831 they are reported to have “ clubbed together for self-protection against the inevitable consequences of reduced and inadequate 

wages.” In June of this year they struck for an elaborate list of prices. 

It was currently reported that this strike involved 1,600 women and 

that they remained out for at least four or five weeks and probably 

longer. Apparently the union did not hold together long, but for 

six years to come occasional notices appear of meetings of tailoresses, 

generally to form benevolent or charitable associations. In Baltimore and Philadelphia temporary organizations were formed, but 

nothing permanent was accomplished.

The umbrella sewers and bookbinders of New York both had 

strikes during this period, and the latter formed in 1835 a union 

which, so far as public records are concerned, disappeared shortly 

after its formation. The shoe binders of Lynn formed a union in 

1833 which was much better organized than was usual in those days. 

The organization included about 1,000 women, who agreed to pay 

quarterly dues amounting to 50 cents a year, and to abide by the 

union scale of prices, which was soon adopted by the employers. A 

few months later, however, the union had declined in influence. 

Three-fourths of the original members had dropped out of the organization, either by nonpayment of dues or in order to accept lower 

prices for binding shoes. Boon after the union went to pieces 

completely.

On the whole, the most that can be said for this period is that the 

idea of organization as a possibility for women was taking root, but 

it had not as yet become a force to be reckoned with. The organization of women workers was as yet experimental, and it required 

the experience and education of later years to furnish the discipline 

necessary for sustained trade-union activity.

The attitude of men trade-unionists during this initial period depended upon the firmness with which women were established in 

the trades. Where they were just beginning to enter a trade in 

competition with men, the men opposed them vigorously; but when 

they were once established as permanent factors in any given trade, 

the men encouraged their organization in order to prevent the lowering of wage standards.

SECOND PERIOD: 1840 TO 1860.

This was a period of enthusiasms and theories, in which schemes 

for the reconstruction of the social order abounded and in which the 

thought of reformers was deeply colored by a humanitarianism somewhat vague in its purpose, but all embracing in its scope. The working women were influenced by the general trend of the times, and

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their characteristic activity during the period was the formation of 

labor reform associations composed chiefly of textile mill workers 

but including also representatives of the cap makers, shoemakers, 

and tailoresses and seamstresses. These associations were educational in character to an unusual degree and reflected the general 

tone of humanitarianism which pervaded the reformative efforts of 

the day. But they also organized a number of successful strikes, 

secured increases in wages, helped to reduce the length of the working day, and took an important part in agitating for protective legislation. Unions of this kind existed in Lowell, Manchester, Dover, 

Fall River, and New York, and furnished the machinery for the 

expression of trade-union actifity during this period. They marked 

the height of organization among cotton-mill girls, and Lowell was 

the center of this organization activity.

FEMALE LABOR REFORM ASSOCIATIONS.

The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was organized 

January, 1845. It apparently came into existence as a result of the 

agitation for shorter hours and higher wages that accompanied the 

strikes of cotton-mill operatives in the early forties. Its president, 

Miss Sarah Bagley, who had herself worked for 10 years in the New 

England cotton mills, was a woman of unusual charm and ability. 

She wras the most prominent organizer of women wage earners 

during this period, and represented her local at several national 

conventions.

Under her leadership the Lowell union soon reached a membership 

of betwreen four and five hundred and carried on an active propaganda. Not satisfied with securing thousands of signatures of factory operatives, who petitioned the legislature for a 10-hour day, 

prominent members of the union, including Miss Bagley, went before the Massachusetts legislative committee early in 1845 and testi-. 

fied as to the conditions in textile mills. This was the first American 

governmental investigation of labor conditions for adults, and it w7as 

due almost solely to the petitions of the working women. Stung by 

the indifference of the chairman of the legislative committee, who 

chanced to be the representative in the legislature from the Lowell 

district, the association published scathing resolutions condemning 

him, and a few months later secured his defeat at the polls. In spite 

of many discouragements, the agitation was continued, and this 

union of working women did much to push Massachusetts to the 

front in labor legislation.

In December, 1845, the Female Labor Reform Association of Manchester was organized among the women cotton-mill operatives, with 

the help and cooperation of the Lowell association, and its members

302 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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HISTORY OF WOMEN IN TRADE-UNIONS* 303

■went to work energetically to convince the public of the justice of 

their demands for shorter hours and better pay. They engaged a 

public lecturer to aid in diffusing and maintaining the principles of 

their cause. In less than a year they had 300 regular members. In 

the interest of the 10-hour law they secured and presented to the 

legislature a huge petition and by vigorous personal work they more 

than any other group secured the New Hampshire 10-hour law of 

1847, the first of the kind in this country. The relations between 

this association and the men of the mills seem to have been very 

cordial.

During the first half year the male and female associations of

Manchester met separately, but thereafter met together, since, as

the secretary of the female association expressed it, “ We can devise

plans together to better advantage, seeing men can do nothing without us and we can not do much without them.” 1

Female labor reform associations were organized also in Dover, 

N. H., and in Fall River, Mass. These sent representatives to important conventions, but little is known of their local activities.

Aside from these New England unions the principal organization 

movement of the period was in New York, where the Female Industrial Association was organized in 1845. This union was not 

confined to any particular trade, but included representatives from 

the tailoresses, seamstresses, crimpers, book folders, and stitchers, 

fringe and lace workers, and others. In Philadelphia the work of 

the female labor reformers took a cooperative turn. The leaders 

furnished courses of lectures on the labor question, sent delegates to 

the national labor congresses, and carried on an effective educational 

campaign.

STRIKES DURING PERIOD.

Strikes were fairly numerous among the women workers of this 

period and were remarkable for the hopefulness, the determination, 

and the daring with which they were conducted. The Boston seamstresses struck against a reduction of wages in 1844 and won. Capmakers, shoemakers, and shirtmakers all had strikes or attempted 

strikes during the period, but the textile operatives used this method 

more than any other class of workers. The most interesting strikes 

were those occurring among the cotton workers around Pittsburgh 

in 1848.

It was the culmination of six long years of struggle to secure adequate wages, reasonable hours, and fair conditions, and the experience of the Pittsburgh women was typical. In the early forties

these women had gone on strike for higher wages and the abolition

of the store-order system. In 1843 they protested unsuccessfully

1 Vol. X, History of Women in Trade Unions, p. T9.

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304 BULLETIN OF THE. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

against an increase in the number of hours of labor without an increase in wages. In 1844 they struck against a reduction in pay. 

In 1845 they abandoned the attempt to regulate their w7ages and 

united on an attempt to secure the 10-hour day. When started back 

to work on the 12-hour system they secured a promise from their 

employers that no objection would be raised against a continuance 

of the 10-hour agitation.1

Under the promise efforts for legislative relief were carried on 

until a law was passed to become effective July 4, 1818, declaring 

that no one in the cotton factories should be “ liolden or required ” 

to work more than 10 hours a day without a special contract. The 

employers promptly closed their factories against any who refused 

to work under the 12-hour system, and a series of strikes followed, 

some of which were marked by extreme bitterness and considerable 

rioting. Finally, a compromise was effected, the mills running only 

10 hours, but wages being reduced by one-sixth.

The adoption of the 10-liour day was regarded as “ victory No. 1 ”

by the girls, who predicted that wages would be raised to the 12-

hour rate “ after the next legislature perfects the law and the manufacturers discover that they can afford it.5'2

THIRD PERIOD: 1860 TO 1880.

During these 20 years there was much direct trade-union activity 

among women, but it was a time of economic and industrial disturbance and readjustment, and the women’s unions, like the men’s, 

suffered severely in the depression following the panic of 1873. Up 

to this time the textile operatives had been leaders in the matter of 

organization among women, but now they fell far behind, owing 

partly to the withdrawal from the mills of the native American 

girls and the coming in of immigrants of lower standards. As an 

offset to this, the movement toward organization showed itself in an 

increasing number of industries,- and women’s unions spread far 

more widely than in any preceding period.

Organization of women during this period was carried on chiefly 

among the cigar makers, tailoresses and seamstresses, umbrella 

sewers, cap makers, textile workers, printers, burnishers, laundresses, 

and shoe workers. The last named formed a national union known 

as the Daughters of St. Crispin. This was very successful for a 

time, but died out in the hard times following 1893. Among printers 

and cigar makers women were admitted to the national unions, but 

in the other trades they were excluded from these. They had several State organizations of their own, but most of their activities 

were carried on in local unions.

1Vol. X, History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 60.

s Idem, p. 65.

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HISTORY OF WOMEN IN TRADE-UNIONS. 305

ORGANIZATIONS IN SEPARATE TRADES.

Women came into cigar making in large numbers during this 

period. Their presence was for a long time bitterly resented by the 

men of the trade. Apparently the leaders recognized the uselessness 

of attacking their presence and by 1867 the Cigar Makers’ International Union, which had been formed three years earlier, admitted 

them to membership, but local unions continued to oppose the employment of women. By the end of the period opposition had been 

practically wTorn away, and the male cigar workers had considered it 

was better to work with the women than against them.

In September, 1879, Adolph Strasser, the president of the international organization, said in his annual report: “ We can not drive 

the females out of the trade, but we can restrict their daily quota of 

labor through factory laws. No girl under 18 should be employed more than eight hours per day; all overwork should be prohibited * * Thus the trade union, in its inability to protect 

its members, male and female, from the results of increasing competition, had already turned for relief to the protection of labor 

legislation.1

Tailoresses and seamstresses were in a worse condition than ever 

during the first part of this period, as their numbers were increased 

far beyond any possible needs of the trade by the entrance into their 

ranks of thousands of “ war widow's.” In Philadelphia, Cincinnati, 

Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, New York, and Boston temporary 

unions were formed among them, largely through the efforts of 

sympathetic outsiders, but these unions drif ted almost immediately 

into schemes for cooperative manufacture, which in turn met with 

but temporary success.

The women printers were especially active in union work during 

this period. Their entrance into the trade had been strenuously 

opposed by the male printers, and they not infrequently gained admittance as strike breakers. Once in, however, they took kindly to 

the principles of trade unionism. They formed strong unions of 

their own and then by combined action forced their way into the 

International Typographical Union. In 1869 the first charter 

granted by any men’s trade union to women in the same trade was 

secured by the Women’s Typographical Union, No. 1, of New York. 

The president of this local union, Miss Augusta Lewis, was elected 

corresponding secretary of the international organization, a distinction unique in the annals of the craft.

The laundry workers of Troy, N. Y., formed one of the most successful organizations of the period. In 1866 they were strong 

enough to contribute $1,000 to sustain the iron molders then on a

1 Vol. X , History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 94.

05053°— Bull. 175— 1(3-------20

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306 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

strike, and during the next three years they increased wages, reduced 

the hours of labor and greatly improved conditions.

According to contemporaneous accounts, the work of the Troy 

laundry women was “ to stand over the washtub, over the ironing 

table, wTith furnaces on either side, the thermometer averaging 

100°, for wages averaging from $2 to $3 a week.” “At last,” said 

one writer, “ they formed a trade union, whereby, through their 

own exertions and their faithfulness to their organization, they increased their wages to $8 to $14 a week by working on an average 

from 12 to 14 hours a day.” 1

FOURTH PERIOD: 1880 TO 1908.

WOMEN IN THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR.

The Knights of Labor was the first large organization which systematically encouraged the admission of women to membership on 

an equal footing and with equal powers with men. It began as a 

secret society among the garment workers of Philadelphia in 1869, 

but in 1878 a movement was started to make its appeal wider and 

its hold stronger upon the working class. At this time the Knights, 

of Labor stood squarely for the organization of mixed assemblies on 

the ground that such a mingling of the representatives of different 

trades would tend to develop an appreciation of the solidarity of 

labor, but it never insisted upon an intermingling of the sexes, and 

the first woman’s union formed under the order was composed of 

representatives of a single trade. Of all the women’s trades represented in the organization—and every conceivable branch of industry was included—the shoe workers were most prominent and 

best paid. Many of them had been trained for united action under 

the Daughters of St. Crispin, and they were strongly influenced, too, 

by the male leadership of the Knights of Labor, which was drawn 

to no small degree from the shoemakers’ craft.

The first local assembly of women under the Knights of Labor was 

organized in September, 1881. Several new unions were added during the following year, and the number increased steadily until May, 

1886, when 27 locals composed entirely of women were added during 

a single month. Then the decline began, and during the next half 

dozen years practically the whole strength of female unionism under 

the Knights of Labor disappeared.

It is extremely difficult to gain any idea of how extensively women 

were organized under the Knights of Labor. It is estimated that in 

1886 the female membership was about 50,000; two years later it is 

believed that this had sunk to between 11,000 and 12,000. Thereafter 

there are no data on which to base even a guess as to the number of 

female members.

i Vol. X, History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 106.

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W OM EN ’ S TRAD E-U N IO N S, 1890-1908.

The general progress of the movement toward organization of 

women in industry after the disruption of the Knights of Labor, 

which commenced about 1890, falls into two distinct periods: A time 

of growth from about 1890 to about 1902 or 1903, and after that a 

period of marked decline. The downward movement reached its 

period of deepest depression in the year with which this study closes, 

1908, but a supplementary chapter calls attention to the fact that, 

beginning in 1909, there was a marked revival of interest in tradeunionism among women:

Since 1909 there has been a most marked growth in the number of 

women’s unions, a still larger growth in the membership of the 

unions, and an improvement, the most marked of all, in the general 

interest taken in women’s unions in all portions of the country and 

in almost all trades in which there is any organization at all.1

The growTth of the movement from 1890 to the early part of this 

century was merely a natural development from the experience of 

the earlier period, helped on by the attitude of the male workers, who 

had apparently made up their minds that wromen must be looked upon 

as a permanent factor in the industrial wTorld and that it was better 

to have their cooperation than their competition. The decline is 

accounted for as a direct result of the hostility of employers, which 

wras exerted as soon as the wTomen’s unions became strong enough to 

influence conditions. Up to 1900 the unions were weak and attracted 

little attention.

As they grew stronger, however, strikes for higher wages or 

shorter hours, or other improved conditions, grew more common, and 

by 1902 we find more than three times as many strikes ordered by 

women’s organizations as in 1900. In other words, by this time the 

women’s unions had become strong enough to rouse the opposition of 

the employers, and the rapid decline in the number of strikes in the 

following years shows how successfully this opposition was exerted. 

* * * In cases wThere a union label will help the sale of goods 

employers often countenance a union for the sake of a label, but elsewhere their objection to the organization of their women employees 

is pronounced and usually effective. It is difficult to find an instance 

where a women’s union of any size has been able to maintain itself 

against the opposition of its employers. The chief apparent exceptions are the unions connected with or morally supported by effective 

men’s organizations.2

This opposition, it is explained, is only what men’s unions encountered but lived through in their earlier days. The causes of the

revival of the movement are not so apparent.

The gain seems to have eome suddenly. There was little evidence 

of real vitality or dynamic force in the period prior to 1909. But

1 Vol. X , History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 221.

2 Idem, p. 150.

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in the winter of 1908-9 the lenders of women's unions realized that 

the efforts of the past years had taken root. Court decisions adverse 

to labor and the prevalence of unemployment just at this time probably had considerable effect in making women, as well as other 

workers, conscious of a common cause and of a new sense of responsibility to their fellow workers.1

Women In general organizations.

During this period women are found enrolled in three general 

organizations, i. e., organizations which cover the whole industrial 

field as well as in unions formed within separate.trades. The three 

general organizations are the American Federation of Labor, the 

National Women’s Trade Union League, and the Women’s International Union Label League.

The American Federation of Labor put itself upon record in early 

days as favoring the organization of women. In 1885 resolutions 

were introduced at a national convention calling upon women to 

organize and offering assistance in that direction whenever opportunity should offer. In 1890 a woman was sent as delegate to the 

national convention from the Clerks’ Union in Findlay, Ohio, and in 

1891 a committee on women’s work was appointed, having a woman 

as chairman and a woman also as secretary. In 1900 a woman was 

appointed a general organizer and made assistant editor of the 

Federationist, the official organ of the federation. From 1903 onward every convention has favored the appointment of women 

organizers, the appointment being left to the council.

The National Women’s Trade Union League was organized in

1903 for the purpose of uniting in one national organization all 

working women, whether already in unions or not, and sympathizers with the movement outside of the ranks of labor. During

1904 State branches were formed in Illinois, Massachusetts, and New 

York, but the league shared in the general depression which affected 

trade-unionism among women at this time, and it was not until 

1908-9 that it began to show a rapid and apparently well-rooted 

growth.

The league has the great advantage of being a movement of 

women for women. Its leaders are women widely known as friends 

of their wage-earning sisters. Their connection with the movement 

inspired confidence, and in their respective States the Women’s 

Trade Union Leagues soon became the centers of effort for the 

improvement of women’s conditions along trade-union lines. The 

league is closely affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, 

but is an independent association with its own national and local 

officials, its own headquarters, and its own publication, Life and

1 Vol. X, History of Women Iii Trade Unions, p. 221.

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HISTORY OF WOMEN IK TRADE-UNIONS, 309

Labor. The platform of the Chicago league, which is typical, was 

adopted in 1908-9 and is as follows: (1) Organization of all workers into trade-unions, (2) equal pay for equal work, (3) the eighthour day, (4) the minimimi-wage scale, (5) full citizenship for 

women, (6) all principles embodied in the economic program of the 

American Federation of Labor.

The growth of the league was very rapid in the period immediately following 1908.

In Chicago the individual membership of the league is now (September, 1911) about 900 and the affiliated membership 25,000, of 

whom 15,000 are women. In New York City the league’s individual 

membership is 630 and the affiliated membership 55,184, of whom 

20,029 are women.1

The Women’s International Union Label League was organized 

in 1899, its purpose being to improve labor conditions, abolish child 

labor, to secure equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex, and 

generally to promote the welfare of the wage earner. In practice 

it has almost wholly concentrated its efforts upon the encouragement 

of the use of goods bearing a union label. It has probably had considerable influence in arousing interest in the label and creating a 

demand for union-made goods, but its direct effect on the organization of women has not been marked.

Women's unions in separate trades.

Turning to unionism in the separate trades, the men’s garment 

makers showed the largest number of women organized in 1908, 

women to the number of 17,212 being found in 133 unions, forming 

40 per cent of the total union membership. The most interesting 

organization of women in this trade took place in Chicago, where 

the disruption of the Knights of Labor was followed by a period 

of almost complete disorganization. Work was largely given out 

to be done at home and wages were forced down to the lowest point, 

the workers, mainly foreigners of half a dozen different races, presenting no combined defense.

About 1898 Scandinavian workers, mainly Swedes, came into 

the trade, and at the same time the so-called special-order trade 

became important. This consisted of taking orders for suits for 

individual customers to be delivered at a specified time. This necessity for having work finished at a given time gave the workers an 

opportunity which the Swedish women were quick to seize. By the 

fall of 1899 three locals had been organized, a label had been adopted, 

and the workers obtained a closed-shop contract which went into 

effect March 1 of the following year. The women were in a large

1Vol. X, History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 224.

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majority in these locals, and soon came to have the control and main 

guidance of the movement.

By 1900 these unions had a membership of over 3,000; hours had 

been reduced to 9, wages increased,-employment of children under 

16 forbidden, and general working conditions greatly improved. 

Unfortunately, a rivalry arose between the United Garment Makers 

and the Swedish unions. The former were willing to accept conditions of work which the latter were determined to abolish. The 

manufacturers played one organization against the other, and a general struggle was precipitated, the upshot of which was the destruction of the Swedish unions and the reduction of unionism to a 

negligible factor among the female garment workers of Chicago.

Women engaged in the laundry trade have organized very successfully along the Pacific coast, securing moderate hours, extra payment for overtime, an increase of wages and improved working conditions. Elsewhere they have been less successful. In Troy the 

union was broken up completely in 1906, after a strike lasting nine 

months and conducted on the part of the women with almost unparalleled energy and determination.

In all the different trades followed by women the history during 

this period has been much the same, activity followed by a period 

of decline, which apparently reached its culmination at about the 

time at which this study ends, 1908. The period of depression with 

which the study closes was not looked upon as abnormal nor discouraging.

The conclusion of the whole matter seems to be that the causes for 

the diminution of the membership of women in unions are only such 

as should be expected in the early years of such a movement. Any 

study of general trade-unionism will show that men’s unions have 

all gone through periods of weak beginnings, of mushroom growth, 

then of strong opposition from employers, resulting in the breaking 

up of unions or in very markedly diminishing their membership, 

and then finally periods of steady, persistent growth. Such is the 

course of trade-unionism, and women’s unions are simply conforming 

to this law.1

CONCLUSION.

The conclusions drawn in the report itself as to the whole question of women in trade-unions are as follows:

Women’s unions, until the last generation at least, have been

ephemeral in character. They have usually been organized in time

of strikes, and frequently they have disappeared upon the settlement

of the industrial disputes which called them into being.

The women’s unions, moreover, to a much greater degree than

those of the men, have been developed and influenced by leadership

from without the ranks of the wage earners. This external leader310 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

1 Vol. X , History of Women in Trade Unions, p. 151.

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HISTORY OF WOMEST TN TRADE-UNIONS. 311

ship has often furnished elements of weakness to the pure tradeunion movement among women, but it has also furnished necessary 

support as unselfish and inspiring as can be found anywhere in the 

annals of the development of our industrial or political democracy.

External leadership has often been necessary in furnishing initial 

direction and financial support. It has frequently induced and 

sustained the movement until a growing sense of independence and 

an understanding of personal rights enabled the women wage earners 

to act together on their own account. On the other hand, external 

leadership has often worked injury to the trade-union women by 

drawing them away from plans for immediate advantages, to the 

consideration of more remote and less tangible schemes for universal 

reform.

To the organizer of women into trade-unions are furnished all of 

the common obstacles familiar to the organizer of male wage earners, 

including shortsighted individual self-interest, ignorance, poverty, 

indifference, and lack of cooperative training. But to the organizer 

of women is added another and most disconcerting problem. When 

men marry they usually become more definitely attached to the trade 

and to the community and to their labor union. Women as a rule 

drop out of the trade and out of the union when marriage takes them 

out of the struggle for economic independence.

In spite of peculiar obstacles, however, women in trade-unions have 

succeeded in resisting unfavorable conditions. They have by tradeunion methods won occasional strikes for a shorter workday. Wages 

have been maintained or even raised at times. The conditions of 

work have been improved. But in the history of working women’s 

organizations through the 65 years preceding the American Federation of Labor, the greatest success in securing permanent improvement has apparently not come through the agency of the strike, 

necessary as that weapon may be at times to compel the attention 

of indifferent or selfish employers. The greatest result shown by 

the history of the trade-union movement among women, so far as 

discovered in this investigation, has been in the direction of a united 

stand for protective legislation. In this campaign for protective 

legislation the trade-unions of women have been most effective 

agencies for educating and organizing the working women.1

1 Vol. X , History of Women in Trade Unions, pp. 17, 18.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER XL—EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE

METAL TRADES.

SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION.

This study, which constitutes volume X I of the Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States, gives 

the results of an inquiry covering 246 establishments, located in 13 

States and employing 85,225 wage earners, of whom 23,542 were 

females aged 16 or over, and 2,644 were children under 16 years old. 

The States in which the investigation was carried oa were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, IowTa, and Missouri. The industries included, the number of establishments visited 

in each industry, the number of employees, and their age and sex 

distribution were as follows:

ESTABLISHMENTS INVESTIGATED AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN

EACH SE X AND AGE GROUP, B Y INDUSTRIES.

Industry.

Number

of estab1 Ishments

Number of employees. Per cent of employees.

16 years and over. Under 16 years.

Total

employees.

16 years and over. Under 16 years.

Male. Female.

Total. Male. Female.

Total. Male. Female.

Total. Male. Female.

Total.

Bolts, screws,etc 13 4,335 1,457 5,792 349 83 432 6,224 69.65 23.41 93.06 5.61 1.33 6.94

Bonnet wire....... 1 4 30 34 34 11.76 88.24 100.00

Bottle caps, etc. 3 298 204 502i 2 2 504 59.13 40. 47 99.60 .40 .40

Brass wire., ___ 25 11,606 3,033 14,639 124 72 196 14,835 78.23 20.44 98.67 .84 .49 1.33

Corset steels....... 3 366 1.406 1.832 2 49 51 1,883 19. 44 77. 85 97.29 .11 2.60 2.71

Cutlery...............

Electric lamps..

2 430 50 480 2 2 482 89. 21 10. 38 99.59 .41 .41

1 93 587, 680 680 13. 67 86.33 100.00

Enamel ware.... 3 303 63 366 1 1 367 82.56 17.17 99.73 .27 .27

Firearms, etc___ - 2 4,954 2,428 7,382 5 60 65 7,447 66.52 32.60 99.12 .07 .81 .88

Foundries........... ' 2 2,681 209 2,890 14 12 26 2,916 91.94 7.16 98.10 .48 .42 .90

Hardware........ • 13 10,780 2,165 12,945 248 89 337 13,282 81.16 16.30 97.46 1.87 .67 2.54

Jewelry............... ! 40 3,102 1,735 4,837 49 64 1.13 4,950 62.66 35.04 97.70 1.00 1.29 2.29

L anterns........ 1 234 40 274 274 85.40 14.60 100.00

Metal buttons... * 5 114 212 326 4 3 7 333 34.24 63.66 97.90 1.20 .90 2.10

Metal novelties.. 9 615 378 993 18 1 19 1,012 60.77 37.35 98.12 1.78 .10 1.88

Metal specialties. 9 1,091 360 1,451 22 26 48 1,499 72.78 24.01 96. 79 1.48 1.73 3.21

Saws and files... ,« 2 2,650 225 2,875 325 43 368 3,243 81. 71 6.94 88.65 10.02 1.33 11.35

Silverware.......... T 2 236 106 342 2 2 4 346 68.21 30.63 98.84 .58 .58 1.16

Telephones....... . 3 3,640 2,658 6,298 3 2 5 6,303 57. 75 42.17 99.92 .06 .03 .08

Tin c an s........... 43 7,969 2.708 10,677 429 HI 540 11.217 71.04 24.14 95.18 3.82 1.00 4.82

Tin plate........... 2 595 44 639 15 15 '654 90. 98 6. 73 97.71 2.29 2.29

Tinware............ 4 236 58 294 3 3 297 79. 46 19.53 98.99 1.01 1.01

Typa.................... 1 365 75 440 3 3 443 82. 40 16.93 99.33 .67 .67

Wire cloth.......... 2 595 73 668 ***61 9 70 738 80.62 9.89 90.51 *8.27 1.22 9.49

Paper boxes....... 53 1,716 3,147 4,863 52 285 337 5,200 33.00 60.52 93.52 1.00 5.48 6.48

Miscellaneous... 2 31 31 62 62 50.00 50.00 100.00

Total____ 246 59,039^23,542 82,581 1,727 917|2,644 85,225j 69.27 27.62 96.89 2.03 1.08 3.11

313

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It is worth noticing that in these industries, none of which belong 

to the traditional field of women’s activities, females formed more 

than one-quarter of the total working force, while in individual 

industries their proportion was frequently much higher. In some 

cases the numbers studied were too small to be significant, but 

in the 12 metal-working industries, each of which furnished 1,000 

or more employees to the total group studied, the proportion of 

female employees ranged from 7.58 per cent in foundries to 80.45 

per cent in the manufacture of corset steels. In only three of these 

more numerously represented industries did the proportion of 

female workers fall below one-fifth; in seven it rose above onefourth; and in five, above one-third.

Children under 16 formed a relatively unimportant proportion 

of the working force, constituting only 3.11 per cent of the 85,225 

employees included. In the 12 metal-working industries above referred to their proportion ranged from 0.08 per cent in the manufacture of telephones to 11.35 per cent in the manufacture of saws 

and files. In 3 of these industries their proportion fell below 1 

per cent, in 9 below 3 per cent, and in 10 below 5 per cent.

The results of the investigation fall into three sections: First, a 

summary of the laws in force at that time affecting the employment 

of women and children in metal-working trades in the States 

covered. Second, a brief description of the work performed by 

women and children in these industries and of the factory conditions in which their work w^as carried on. Third, a discussion of 

the sources of danger to the worker, and the nature, frequency, and 

probable cause of accidents, especially to women, in the industries 

studied.

WORKING CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

FIRE ESCAPES.

The laws concerning the employment of women and children 

are undergoing such continuous revision that any summary of 

them soon becomes inaccurate, but conditions discussed in the other 

two sections change more slowly. Of the general factory conditions 

one of the most serious was the peril from fire. The buildings 

varied from 1 to 12 stories in height, the average being 2.39 stories. 

In 13 cases buildings three or more stories in height were wholly 

unprovided with fire escapes.

In all of these the fire hazard from the character of the buildings 

was considerable and in some unusual. * * * In one State 

escapes are not regarded as necessary upon a 3-story building.1

314 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

1 Vol. XI, Women In the Metal Trades, p. 22.

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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE METAL TRADES. 315

More serious than the occasional lack of fire escapes was the 

very general failure to adapt the fire escapes provided to the number who would naturally use them in case of fire, and to so arrange 

both the escapes and their approaches that dangerous crowding 

would be avoided.

The fact seems to be that many if not most escapes have been 

designed to fit a law, when they should have been adapted to a 

condition. Calculations indicate that very frequently the numbers 

whom a given fire escape would naturally serve could not possibly 

pass down in a reasonable time, and further that if all of those who 

would naturally seek that escape were to crowd upon it, the strength 

of the structure would probably not be equal to the strain. * * * 

There may be records of actual tests of the capacity of fire escapes 

in given situations, but inquiry fails to reveal them. Grave question also exists regarding the appropriateness of the design most 

frequently used. In even a mild panic it is entirely possible that 

these escapes would prove traps rather than means of safety.1

LIGHT, VENTILATION, AND SANITARY CONDITIONS.

Light and ventilation were frequently unsatisfactory, about 30 

per cent of the establishments visited being insufficiently lighted, 

and almost the same proportion falling below the cubic air space 

per worker usually required as a minimum in laws dealing with 

this point. In both these respects, new buildings almost invariably 

showed an improvement over the older shops and factories.

General sanitary conditions in many cases left much to be desired, 

but differed materially from factory to factory. Provision for the 

health and comfort of the women and children beyond the minimum requirements of the law was not common. Approximately 

one establishment in four provided dressing rooms for female employees, while about one in three provided wash rooms for them. 

Eight establishments provided lunch rooms in which the noon meal 

could be taken; the rest made no provision of any kind for this 

purpose.

HOURS.

The hours of labor varied, being affected partly by the character 

of the work done, partly by custom, and partly by legal restrictions. 

About one-sixth of the total employees worked a 60-hour week, but 

the proportion working these hours differed considerably between 

the sexes and between children and adults. Of the children, 31.68 

per cent worked 60 hours a week as compared with 19.54 per cent 

of the males aged 16 and over and 11.48 per cent of the females 

aged 16 and over. In other words, while the number of children

1 Vol. XI, Women in the Metal Trades, p. 22.

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31G BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,

is small, the proportion working a 60-hour week is nearly three 

times as large as among the women and over 60 per cent more than 

among the men.

KIND OF WORK DONE.

The work done by women and children depended largely, of 

course, upon the particular industry in which they were employed. 

As a rule those under 16 were not found in dangerous or unhealthful occupations. A few boys under 16 were found in the casting 

rooms of brass foundries, where the dense clouds of deflagrated 

zinc rising from the molten metal whenever a pouring occurred 

constituted a serious occupational risk. A few other boys were 

found working in brass-polishing rooms under very unhealthful 

conditions, but such cases were exceptional. Women were rarely 

employed at tasks making serious demands upon their strength. 

The openers in tin-plate factories, who pulled apart the sheets of 

metal after rolling, were the only ones noted as having specially 

heavy work.

To a large extent the women fed and tended automatic machines, 

or operated various kinds of presses. In a few cases they buffed or 

polished brass ware, they polished firearms, prepared articles for 

varnishing, lacquering, japanning, and plating, dipped enameled 

ware, soldered metal parts together, made sand cores for castings, 

wove wire cloth, assembled or put together the parts of finished articles, inspected work of all kinds for defects, sorted, counted, and 

packed finished articles, and engaged in a multitude of similar accessory operations. Their employment in polishing and grinding operations, which are considered especially unhealthful, was rare, but they 

were frequently found at work in the japanning and lacquering 

rooms, where, unless good exhaust systems were installed, the fumes 

from the materials used were annoying and possibly harmful.

ACCIDENTS.

The danger of accident was chiefly from machinery. In general 

prime movers were either safeguarded or so placed that but few 

approached them, and elevators were tended almost exclusively by 

adult males, so that neither of these seemed responsible for many 

accidents to women and children. Shafts and belts presented a variety of dangers. Shafts were sometimes too low for safety and 

more frequently were studded with projecting screw heads, which 

were a serious menace to the safety of passing workers, while belts 

were found unguarded or unshipped from their pulleys and left 

dangling from the moving shafts, or so carelessly inspected that there 

was risk of their breaking with serious consequences to those around.

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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE METAL TRADES. 317

or employees were expected to shift and adjust them while the shaft 

was in motion. The greatest danger, though, came from the operation of machines, and of these the various presses were the most 

dangerous of those on which women and children were employed.

The study of accidents was hampered by the failure of many 

establishments to keep accurate records. For a group of 60 establishments, however, employing 40,719 wage earners in 13 industries, 

data as to accidents were secured. Only two of these showed any 

accidents to workers under 16, the comparative immunity of these 

workers being explained by a general tendency not to employ them 

on dangerous machines.

In the very few cases in which this precaution was not observed 

their accident rate rose to striking figures. Thus, all the accidents to 

boys under 16 in the brass shops studied occurred in one factory, 

the only one in which they were to any extent employed on stamping presses, punch presses, and the like. In that particular factory 

their accident rate was 16.t per 100 employed.1

Among adults the manufacture of tin cans showed the highest 

accident rate, 10.82 per 100 employed, followed closely by hardware, 

and then by brass ware and lanterns. The lowest rate was found 

in the manufacture of bolts and screws, where among 1,351 employees the accident rate was only 0.59 per cent.

UNNECESSARY HAZARDS.

The wide difference between accident rates in factories within 

the same industries suggests that as yet it is not possible to decide 

upon the relative necessary hazards of different industries. When 

in the factories of a single industry the accident rate ranges from 

2.91 to 20.24 per 100 adult employees it is evident that the average 

rate for the industry represents many unnecessary accidents, and 

that the difference between two industries may be explained on other 

grounds than that of their real hazards. Care in equipping and 

managing factories reduced the accident rate to an impressive degree.

The most striking contrast was found between two firms engaged 

in the manufacture of hardware and producing essentially the same 

class of goods. One firm occupied a rather old building in which, 

owing to the low studding of some of the stories, shafting ran much 

too near the workers. In such matters as projections upon revolving 

parts, unprotected belts, and stamping presses operated without 

safeguards, the records of inspection snowed many things capable 

of improvement. This establishment, employing 1,006 men, had 

among them an accident rate of 17.49 per cent, while among the 

138 women employed the rate was almost identical—17.39 per cent. 

The other establishment had on the whole much better buildings 

and much more care had been taken in guarding against the dangers

1Vol. XI, Women in the Metal Trades, p. 74.

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suggested above. Here among its 2,488 male employees the accident 

rate was 3.22 per cent, while among its 500 women the rate sank to 

1.40 per cent.1

UNDERLYING CAUSE OF ACCIDENT.

A detailed study of accidents in 16 large establishments engaged 

in the manufacture of bolts and screws, brass ware, enameled ware, 

firearms and ammunition, hardware, and tin cans showed that children formed only a small percentage of the employees and had a 

much smaller accident rate than the adults; that the accident rate 

of the women, who formed about one-fifth of the total employees, 

was on the whole smaller than that of the men, and that in establishments where the women’s rate was higher the difference was 

usually trivial. This lower rate among the women is probably 

explained by the fact that men are usually engaged in the more 

hazardous occupations.

A study of 571 accidents for which full data were secured shows 

that nearly nine-tenths were caused by machines, the rest being due 

to such casualties as slipping on the floor, being struck by flying 

splinters, stepping on nails, etc. More than three-fourths were 

received in the ordinary course of machine operation. The following table of the underlying causes of these accidents is of interest:

UNDERLYING CAUSE OF ACCIDENT.

Number.

318 B U L L E T I N O P T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Careless manipulation............................................................................. 174

Taking risks................................................................................................. 56

Inattention to surroundings...................................................................... 6

Unforeseen liability................................................................................... 75

Imperfect mechanism................................................................................ 26

Unclassed..................................................................................................... 234

Total................................................................................................... 571

The point of special interest about this table is the relatively minor 

part it assigns to the operatives’ carelessness as a cause of injury. 

The records of these accidents were kept by the employers, and each 

case was discussed with foreman or manager and a decision as to the 

underlying cause was reached with the help of his knowledge of the 

circumstances of that particular accident. Naturally, if foremen 

and managers had any bias at all in the matter it would be in the 

direction of emphasizing, not of minimizing, the carelessness of the 

operatives. Yet in this group of nearly 600 accidents 17.7 per cent 

were due to causes over which the worker had absolutely no control, 

41.3 per cent might be assigned to carelessness on his own part or 

on that of a fellow worker, and in almost exactly the same proportion 

of cases—41 per cent—it was impossible to assign the responsibility.

iV o l . X I , Women in the M etal Trades, pp. 74, 75.

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EMPLOYMENT OP WOMEN IN THE METAL TRADES. 319

In other words, in only about two-fiftlis of the cases studied could 

the strictest examination show that the accidents could properly be 

charged against the operatives.

ACCIDENTS IN CONNECTION WITH PRESSWORK.

Considerably over one-lialf of these accidents occurred on presses 

of various kinds. From the standpoint of accidents, presses are of 

importance not only as being notoriously dangerous but as being 

operated to a large extent by women and minors. In view of these 

facts a special study was made of the accidents occurring in a group 

of 1,143 press hands—595 males and 548 females. They were employed in 18 different factories, and the accident records had been 

kept for periods varying from two to six years. In this study several facts became clearly apparent:

COMPARATIVE DANGER OF PRESSWORK.

First, the accident rate for press hands was enormously greater 

than that for operatives in general. Their rates as compared with 

those of other operatives in the same 18 factories were as follows:

ACCIDENT R ATES AMONG PRESS HANDS AND OTHER OPERATIVES, BY SEX.

Accidents per 100 employees.

Male. Female. Total.

Press hands ................................................................................................... . 41.30 54.94 48.01

Other operatives........................................................................................................ 14.19 5.38 11.75

Ordinarily, even when working side by side, the two sexes are 

engaged in different occupations involving different degrees of danger, so that their accident rates can not fairly be compared. In the 

press hands, however, we have a group of men and women working 

in the same occupation and subjected to the same dangers. Conditions are not in every case identical for the two sexes, for stamping 

presses are not all alike and the more dangerous ones are operated 

sometimes by women, sometimes by men. The situation * * * 

is, however, equalized between the sexes by the varying practice of 

different shops, both in regard to the relative number of men and 

women employed and the sort of machines they operate, so that 

their accident rates reflect their relative hazards.

Comparing then the accident rates * * * for the two sexes, it 

appears that under practically identical conditions the rate for 

women is higher in 11 of the 18 establishments studied; that the 

excess-in their rate appears alike in factories where they are relatively few and relatively numerous; that in some cases * * * 

this excess is enormous; and that for the whole group the accident 

liability of the women exceeds that of the men by almost one-third

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320 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

(38 per cent). The evidence seems reasonably conclusive that among 

press hands at least ay omen run a much greater risk of injury than 

men.1

Another question presents itself, however. Do the women in general meet with as serious accidents as the men, or is their rate 

brought up by a possible tendency on their part to report trivial 

injuries which a man would pass over in silence? A study of the 

accidents according to sex and nature of injury makes it clear that 

the excess in the women’s accident rate is not due solely to casualties 

in which the injury received may be slight, but that the excess appears very general throughout the various classes of accidents.

VARIATIONS BETWEEN FACTORIES.

Second, the accident rate varied almost incredibly from factory 

to factory. In this group of 18 establishments the rate ranged from 

6.48 per cent in establishment No. 17 to 114.01 per cent in establishment No. 6. Several explanations were offered for these variations, 

such as the use of guards, the character of the working force, etc., 

but the most important seemed to be a difference of custom in regard 

to recording minor accidents. Thus the plant recording an accident 

rate of 114.01 per cent was one of the best equipped and most carefully managed factories studied. But the management had provided an emergency room with a nurse in attendance, and the workers went there to have cuts and scratches bandaged, which they would 

never have thought of reporting as accidents; consequently the accident record was very much fuller than it could possibly have been in 

a factory hot so equipped.

SPECIAL HAZARD TO WOMEN.

Third, in this occupation, in which men and women worked under 

much the same conditions as to danger, the accident rate is nearly 

one-third greater among the women than among the men—54.94 per 

cent for women to 41.30 per cent among the men.

In order to discover, if possible, the reasons for this excess of 

hazard to female workers, these accidents were studied from various 

aspects. Nearly three-fourths (74.09 per cent) had occurred in the 

ordinary use of the machine, 10.28 per cent had resulted from a disregard of orders, while the remainder had been caused by a variety 

of unforeseen happenings. A study of the underlying causes showed 

that in only 13.64 per cent was it possible to attribute the accident to 

any fault or carelessness of the worker, while in 75.77 per cent it was 

impossible to decide upon the underlying cause.

When the evidence concerning causes is tested by the requirements 

of scientific accuracy, it becomes apparent that carelessness is as1 Vol. XI, Womon in the Motnl Trades, p. 85.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
signed as a cause in a large numbjer of cases in which it can not 

fairly be held accountable. It is assumed when, upon careful questioning, even those who make the assumption admit that it does not 

apply. In literally hundreds of the cases included in the above table 

“ carelessness ” was the unhesitating explanation of the accident, although even the most elementary study of the circumstances showed 

that it was but one of many factors, any one of which might with 

equal propriety have been assigned as the chief cause.1

UNFAMILIARITY WITH MACHINE AS CAUSE OF DANGER.

The most significant fact brought out concerning these accidents 

relates to the length of time the injured worker had been employed 

upon the kind of machine at which the accident occurred. For the 

1,102 press hands, for whom this was learned, the facts were as follows:

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE METAL TRADES. 321

NUMBER OF PItESS HANDS INJURED, ACCORDING TO TIM E SINCE BEGINNING

WORK ON TH E M ACHINE, B Y SEX.

Time of accident with reference to time on machine.

Press hands.

Male. Female. Total.

During first day......................................................................................................... 77 252 329

Second day to end of first week............................................................................. 65 163 228

Second week to end of first month........................................................................ 61 81 142

Second month to end of sixth month.................................................................. 101 92 193

Seventh month to end of first year....................................................................... 33 40 73

After first year........................................................................................................... 72 65 137

Total.................................................................................................................. 409 693 1,102

It must be premised that there was no indication that those who 

had been injured during the first few days on the machine had given 

it up and taken other work on recovery, thereby unduly increasing 

the number of beginners. More than 80 per cent of the injured were 

known to have returned to the same work. Bearing this in mind, 

the figures seem to justify the conclusion that unfamiliarity with 

the machine has much to do with accidents. Of the 965 accidents 

which occurred within a year after the injured operative began work 

upon the machine, a full third—34.1 per cent—happened during 

the first day, and not far from three-fifths—57.7 per cent—occurred 

during the first week. But if lack of familiarity with the machine 

is a cause of accidents, then it might reasonably be expected that 

women, who are less familiar with tools and machinery in general 

than men are, would be more affected by this cause than the male 

workers. The table shows that this is the case to a very marked 

degree. For men 22.8 per cent of the year’s accidents occurred

1Vol. XI, Women in the Metal Trades, p. 88.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------21

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within the first day and 42.1 per cent within the first week, while 

for females the corresponding percentages were 40.1 and 66.1. In 

other words, the first week’s work on the machine accounted for practically two-thirds of the year’s accidents among the female workers, 

the remaining 51 weeks showing only 33.9 per cent, while among the 

male workers these 51 weeks of greater familiarity furnished 57.9 

per cent of the year’s accidents. The figures are not conclusive, but 

they seem to indicate that when men and women work under the 

same conditions a considerable portion of the woman’s extra hazard 

is due to her lack of familiarity with machinery.

In addition to the study of accidents the report contains two general discussions, one on the distribution of accidents through the 

hours of the day, and one on the weight which should be assigned 

to carelessness as a cause of accidents.

DISTRIBUTION OF ACCIDENTS THROUGH WORKING HOURS.

The first is an attempt to see whether any connection can be 

traced between fatigue and accident. For this purpose a table has 

been prepared showing the hour of each accident recorded by 19 

metal manufacturing establishments, 126 cotton mills whose records 

covered one year and one whose record extended over eight years, 

the unpublished records of the Indiana department of factory inspection for three years, and the published tabulation of the Wisconsin bureau of labor.

DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS THROUGH THE HOURS OF THE D A Y .1

822 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Metal-working establishments.

Hours. Accidents to press hands. Accidents to other workers. Total accidents.

Male. Female. Total. Per

cent. Male. Female. Total. Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

7 01 to 8 a. m............. 48 79 127 6.91 322 37 359 8.18 486 7.81

8 01 to 9 a. m ............. 95 100 195 10.61 429 53 482 10.98 677 10.87

9 01 to 10 a. m ............ 105 128 2 33 12.68 562 65 627 14.29 8 60 13.81

10 01 to 11 a. m.......... 96 115 211 11.48 480 72 552 12.58 763 12.25

11.01 a. m. to 12 m ..

12 01 to 1 p. m...........

66

38

79

52

145

90

7.89

4.89

303

132

43

19

346

151

7.89

3.44

491

241

7.89

3.87

1.01 to 2 p. m............. 83 92 175 9.52 372 55 427 9.73 602 9.67

2.01 to 3 p. m............. 102 103 205 11.15 416 55 471 10.73 676 10.86

3.01 to 4 p. m............. 98 124 222,

165

12.08 435 59 4 9 4 11.26 71 6 11.50

4.01 to 5 p. m............. 76 89 8.98 300 46 346 7.89 511 8.21

5.01 to 6 p. m............. 34 36 70 3.81 118 15 133 3.03 203 3.26

6 01 to 7 p. m .............

7.01 to 8 p. m ............

Total................ *841 997 1,838 100.00 3,869 519 4,388 100.00 6,226 100.00

i In the Twelfth Annual Report of the Minnesota Bureau of Labor, p. 137 et seq., appears a tabulation

and charting of over 10,000 accidents, by hours. These are not so arranged as to be exactly comparable

with this table, but show a similar distribution.

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E M P L O Y M E N T O F W O M E N I N T H E M E T A L T B A D E S . 323

DISTRIBUTION OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS THROUGH THE HOURS OF THE D A Y —

Concluded.

Hours.

Cotton mills.1 General manufacture. Grand total.

126 mills, 1

year.

1 mill, 8 years. Indiana, 3

years. Wisconsin.

Number of

accidents.

Per

Num­ cent.

ber of

accidents.

Per

cent.

Number of

accidents.

Per

cent.

Number of

accidents.

Per

cent.

Number of

accidents.

Per

cent.

6 to 7 a. m.................. 73

95

126

161

128

78

58

78

98

126

90

59

7

3

6.19

8.05

10.68

13.64

10.85

6.61

4.92

6.61

8.30

10.68

7.63

5.00

.59

.25

63

68

82

90

114

43

9

63

67

77

57

33

' 8.22

8.88

10.71

11.75

14.88

5.61

1.18

8.22

8.75

10.05

7.44

4.31

136

1,271

1,503

1,941

1,719

1,158

540

1,310

1,535

1,757

1,367

643

7

3

0.91

8.53

10.09

13.04

11.54

7.78

3.63

8.80

10.31

11.80

9.18

4.32

.05

.02

7.01 to 8 a. m.............

8.01 to 9 a. m.............

9.01 to 10 a. m...........

10.01 to 11 a.m ....

11.01 a.m. to 12 m ....

12.01 to 1 p. m...........

1.01.to 2 p. m.............

2.01 to 3 p. m.............

3.01 to 4 p. m.............

4.01 to 5 p. m.............

5.01 to 6 p. m.............

6.01 to 7 p. m.............

546

492

603

469

338

183

441

481

598

480

197

11.31

10.19

12.49

9.71

7.00

3.79

9.13

9.97

12.38

9.95

4.08

76

126

227

2 45

208

49

126

213

2 40

229

151

4.02

6.67

12.01

12.96

11.00

2.59

6.67

11.27

12.70

12.12

7.99

7.01 to 8 p. m.............

Total................ 1,180 100.00 766 100.00 4,828 100.00 1,890 100.00 14,890 100.00

1 See Vol. I, Cotton Textile Industry, p. 395.

This table shows that accidents do not increase in regular progression throughout the working hours, reaching a climax as the 

end of the day approaches. Instead the hours from 7 a. m. to 12 

noon and from 1 to 5 in the afternoon1 constitute two distinct but 

similar periods. In each the hourly number of accidents increases 

up to about the middle of the period and then falls off steadily 

until the end of the period. A second feature of interest is that the 

proportion of accidents is very generally greater in the morning 

than in the afternoon. The figures do not prove that there is no 

connection between fatigue and accident, but they indicate that 

the relation, if it exists, is by no means on the surface, and they 

strongly emphasize the need of further investigation of this point.

CARELESSNESS AS A CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS.

The discussion of carelessness as a factor in the causation of accidents here follows, almost in full:

In the reports of industrial accidents, which in certain States are 

required by law, nothing is more striking than the frequency with 

which “ carelessness” appears under the heading “ Cause of accident.” There is a general and deeply rooted impression that by the 

exercise of due care the worker can avoid the larger part of the 

dangers to which he is exposed, and that in consequence if he is in1 The hour between 12 and 1 is so generally broken by a lunch period that it can not

be looked upon as typical, and the hour from 5 to 6 in the afternoon is affected by the

fact that many of the establishments considered closed before 6.

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324 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

jured it is very apt to be his own fault. In view of this, it is worth 

while to examine closely some of the causes usually classed as carelessness, in order to see how far the worker is really responsible for them.

A power-machine worker must, for the sake both of safety and 

efficiency, become automatic. Only with freedom from the strain 

of performing each act by a conscious exercise of will come skill and 

comparative safety. The faltering learner is in constant danger. 

Not only are his movements apt to be awkward and imperfectly 

coordinated, but the very intensity of his care is in itself a source of 

danger. Strained attention leads to action by anticipation. A common laboratory experiment illustrates what is meant by such action. 

The subject of experiment may be required to do some act—press 

an electric key, for example, upon the appearance of a prescribed 

signal. Intent upon executing the movement promptly upon the 

appearance of the signal, some entirely different nervous stimulus 

may set off the nervous system and the key be pressed. This stimulus 

may be an unexpected noise, or any other occurrence which applies 

a spark to the train of nervous activities.

An athlete crouching, tense, at the starting line may be sent from 

his mark by a sudden gust of wind. In such a case the starter must, 

for purposes of discipline, act on the assumption that the act was 

voluntary. In the great majority of cases it is not voluntary in the 

smallest degree. A tense nervous system is always liable to be set 

into action by some other than the regular stimulus.

This fact applies very directly to the learner upon a machine. 

Many things conspire to create for him a condition of tension. 

Knowledge that the machine is dangerous, anxiety to show ability 

equal to the task, and many other causes act upon the beginner, who 

is quite likely, as our industry is organized, to be youthful.

The acts of the operator must come in proper relation with those 

of the machine. The beginner, unskillful yet, waits tensely the 

position of the machine which signals the making of his contribution 

to the process. At such an instant there intrudes some other stimulus, 

it matters not what. He anticipates his movement. Mangled 

fingers, a lost hand, or greater mutilation may result.

This would certainly be attributed by any foreman in any factory 

to the “ carelessness” of the victim. But is it so? A normally 

organized nervous system has done what it must under the circumstances and disaster results.

It should not for a moment be forgotten that this sort of action of 

the nervous system is a foundation of its usefulness. A system incapable of such behavior would also be incapable of executing those 

amazing protective actions by which life itself is preserved. The 

operator is as powerless to prevent such action as he is to prevent the 

machine from going its appointed round. As practice continues, the 

tension gradually subsides and the worker attends less closely but is 

vastly more safe. The operator may look at other objects, may 

speak with a companion, or do other things which indicate that attention is no longer concentrated to so painful a degree upon the work. 

At the same time, the rhythmic movement of the hands keeps up and 

the output of the machine continues. This condition is often described as one of “ carelessness.” The term is altogether misleading 

in this connection, since it implies that the worker is taking a risk

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in a blameworthy fashion. In becoming thus, in a measure, detached 

from the work the worker does the only thing which can relieve the 

relatively great danger which assails the beginner. He has reached 

a condition of automatism which, except under conditions specified 

later, is greatly safer than his earlier situation, when, as a learner, he 

was attending with exactness to each item of the process.

This release of the worker from the beginner’s slavery to minute 

detail is important from the standpoint of his safety and even more 

from that of his nervous health. The routine of attending a machine 

involves strain enough at the best. If the degree of attention necessary at the outset continued through any extended period, the strain 

would be destructive. This is the more true the higher the original 

quality of the nervous system concerned. For a normally constituted person such a continued strain would be impossible without 

grave damage.

The trairied and hence automatic worker is not wholly free from 

accident. What of the factor of carelessness in his case? As suggested above, there is nearly always an implication that the operator 

might, by greater care, escape many, if not all, of the dangers which 

beset his occupation. A thoughtful consideration of the preceding 

discussion must lead to the conclusion that for the beginner, at all 

events, this is far from true. Further, we must agree that escape 

from the beginner’s danger lies along the road to a condition which 

many observers of workpeople would call “ carelessness.” The very 

attitude which is charged with causing accident is seen on closer 

analysis to be an effective means of safety.

In the case of the trained w7orker, danger intrudes at two points, 

at neither of which can he be said to sustain a responsible position 

toward the result. A very large number of mechanical processes 

involve a series of operations, one following another. For example, 

in the operation of a stamping press, the adjustment by the fingers 

of the object to be formed is followed by a movement of the foot 

upon a releasing treadle. At first these successive actions are a. 

result of attention on the part of the operator to each item of the 

process. There is complete demonstration that this period is one 

of the greatest danger.

Gradually the two motions assume a relation of direct cause and 

effect with no intervening volition. One follows the other with the 

same certainty that the fall of a stone follows the removal of the 

support. Suppose the worker has reached this stage of his development. Some roughness on the work, some failure of the machine to 

do its part exactly may delay or disturb the first motion. It is evident that the first motion being interfered with, the execution of 

the second may, probably will, give rise to danger. Having started 

the action, can the worker, when the first motion goes wrong, refrain 

from the second? So far as his will entered into the matter, it was 

in the form of a command for the whole action, comprising the successive motions. It may even be doubted whether the will enters so 

much as that, but it is certain that once started the successive motions are beyond his control. The first starts the second. The 

worker is helpless.

Another disturbance of the usual progress of events may occur 

through the special senses. Suppose that the worker has started his

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN THE METAL TRADES. 325

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326 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

series of movements. These, as we have noticed, must go on through 

their regular sequence. After the series starts he sees something 

amiss with work or machine. This may, usually will, start an entirely new series of actions, but does not stop the one already started. 

Here again comes in the inevitable movement of a nervous machine. 

In an entirely involuntary way he reaches to readjust the disordered work. It is almost certain that the two series of actions will 

cross each other. He will press the treadle and at the same moment 

put his hand under the die.

This will appear as carelessness, but it can not fairly be so considered. Both machines, the human and the nonhuman, did what 

they must. A concrete case may help to make the situation clear. 

In the manufacture of cartridges several operations are performed 

by drawing presses. These are usually fed by means of a horizontal 

revolving disk upon which the operator places the cartridge shells. 

The rotation of the disk carries them through a gradually narrowing lane, formed by metal strips, to the action point. Very strict 

orders were given in one factory to stop the machine if any of the 

shells toppled over or went wrong in any way. Nevertheless it was 

repeatedly found that good and experienced operators, acting upon 

the spur of the comparatively rare occurrence of improper action, 

would reach to adjust a toppling shell, become entangled, and be 

badly hurt. Finally, the superintendent arranged a screen with a 

little swinging door through which the shells parsed on their way 

to the drawing dies. This made it necessary, if anything happened 

needing adjustment, to stop the machine in order to attend to it. 

This illustration is cited not only as an example of the automatic, 

practically involuntary, action to which so many accidents are due, 

but also as showing the qualities which should characterize a safeguard. It should effectually prevent or estop these instinctive 

efforts of the aroused worker which are liable to lead to accident. * * *

What has been said above is enough to show that for the sake 

of lessening the nervous strain and for the avoidance of specific 

accidents no extreme of thoroughness in safeguarding is beyond 

reason. It is clearly evident that the problem is not one involving an irresponsible agent, the machine, and a responsible one, the 

worker, but that in many cases the worker is hardly more responsible 

than the machine. When the spontaneous and necessary activities 

of a nervous system are brought into relation with the inevitable 

movements of machines, the possibilities can not be otherwise than 

serious.

A machine so constructed that at intervals its own parts interfere with each other, causing serious breakage and loss, would be 

either modified or quickly discarded. Our compound machines of 

man and metal must be treated in the same way. It is a false assumption that the worker’s intelligence and care should be expected 

to avoid hazards which can be removed by improved conditions.

If the worker is regarded strictly as part of the machine rather 

than as a man, these damaging interferences will soon be greatly 

lessened.1

1 Vol. XI, Women in the Metal Trades, pp. 50-62.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER XIL—EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN

LAUNDRIES.

Volume X II of the Report on the Condition of Woman and Child 

Wage Earners gives the result of an investigation covering 315 laundries in Chicago, New York, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. The number of laundries visited in each city, the number of employees, and 

their sex distribution are shown in the following table:

NUMBER OF LAUNDRIES VISITED IN THE INVESTIGATION, AND NUMBER AND PER

CENT OF WOMEN EMPLOYED.

City.

Laundries

visited.

Total em­ Men.

Women.

ployees.

Number. Per cent.

Chicago..... ........................................ ................................. 105 2,085 415 1,670

1,543

699

80.0

New York.................................................. 82 1,903 360 81.1

Brooklyn.............................................................................. 85 874 175 80.0

PhiladAlr>hia______________________ ______________ 43 1,555 325 1,230 79.1

Total_____ 315 6,417 1,275 5,142 80.1

The report falls naturally into four parts—general working conditions in laundries, hours of work, character of work, and effect of 

work—all discussed in their relation to female workers only.

GENERAL WORKING CONDITIONS.

IN POWER LAUNDRIES.

The laundries visited were of two general classes: The steam or 

power laundries and the so-called hand or domestic laundries. The 

power laundries were frequently large establishments, employing 

several hundred women, and housed in buildings constructed with 

special reference to the needs of the industry. Some of these were 

models of what a laundry should be, the comfort and health of the employees being looked after as carefully as the facilities for swift and 

effective work. Such plants were exceptional, however, and down 

the scale from them were plants of all grades and sizes to the basement laundries with almost no sanitary conveniences and heavy, oldfashioned machinery or none at all.

It would perhaps be safe to say that a majority of the power 

laundries visited were in fair condition, but in each city some were 

found ill ventilated, ill lighted, and with sanitary accommodations 

ranging from poor to excessively bad. In the poorer places ventilation was apt to be exceedingly defective. In one basement laundry, 

for instance, conditions in this respect were indicated by the pro327

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prietors remark that he supposed he would have to'put in ventilating 

fans and exhaust pipes because the druggist upstairs was complaining about the steam that came into his place through the floor.

IN HAND LAUNDRIES.

The so-called hand laundries were frequently carried on in the 

home of the proprietor. Ordinarily no washing was done in them, 

clothes being sent to the steam laundry to be washed and only the 

ironing being done by hand. These laundries were usually small, so 

that at least few workers were affected by conditions prevailing in 

them. From the standpoint of the proprietor’s family, the hand 

laundry meant bringing the heat, confusion, and crowding of an 

ironing room into their limited house space, and the further necessity 

of giving up additional space for receiving, sorting, and giving out 

the clothes. From the customers’ standpoint it meant that the 

clothes were handled and ironed, even if not washed, in the crowded 

and frequently insanitary living rooms of a tenement, with no assurance even that the place was free from contagious illness. These 

hand laundries were most numerous in New York and Brooklyn, 

Chicago being relatively free from them.

HOURS OF WORK.

Detailed study of the hours of work was made in nine representative Chicago- laundries. A comparison of the working hours in all 

the laundries visited with the hours prevailing in those in which 

special inquiry was made showed that practically the same conditions in this respect prevailed generally. The natural conditions of 

laundry work tend to mass the workers’ hours at some particular 

part of the week; the weekly hours may not be long as compared 

with other industries, but very generally there will be one or two 

long days within the week with a correspondingly short day or days 

to compensate. Thus the ironers frequently do not begin work until 

noon or later on Monday, as there are no clothes ready washed for 

them to iron. Toward the end of the week, however, they may find 

it necessary to work 12, 13, or even 14 hours to finish the clothes in 

time for the end of the week delivery. At that end of the week, 

on the other hand, the work of washing is pretty well out of the way, 

and those engaged in it have their short days.

The work of a laundry is not usually seasonal unless an establishment depends* for patronage on a locality whose residents go away 

in large numbers for the summer. Nevertheless, a rush season may 

be occasioned any week by the advent of a large convention, the 

arrival of a steamer, or an unexpected hotel order. The response 

to such a suddenly increased demand usually takes the form of one 

or more long days for the employees. According to the reports of

828 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN LAUNDRIES. 329

the nine Chicago laundries included in this investigation the long 

day for their busy season did not exceed 12| hours, and for the rest of 

the year—amounting in most cases to over 45 weeks—it did not exceed 

10 hours in 1909, although the 10-hour law was not then in operation.

The daily and weekly hours during both the normal and the busy 

season in the nine Chicago laundries investigated were as follows:

HOURS OF LABOR OF WOMEN EMPLOYED IN STEAM LAUNDRIES DURING NORMAL

PERIODS AND DURING THE RUSH SEASONS OF 1908 AND 1909, AS REPORTED B Y

EMPLOYERS.

Number of women employed.Normal hours of women

16 years and over. Busy season.

Establishment No.

16 years

and

over.

Under

16

years.

Total. Long

day.

Short

day.

Total

hours

per

week.

Duration in

weeks.

Prevailing

weekly

hours.

Average

length

of long

day.

Average

length

of short

day.

1..................... 87 2 89 10 10 60 16 65

70

m

12

io

2................................... 30 30 10 10 60 1 6 10.

3........... ...................... 134 134 10 10

81

60 None.

4..................... 60 1 61 10 2 58 16 64 11 • • 9&

5..................... 75 75 9 9 54 25 58 11 9

6................................... 35 35 8 8 48

60

None.

7............................... 45 4 49 10 10 None.

8................................... 41 8 49 8 8 48 12 52

02

io

u

: 8*

9................................... 49 1 50 10 10 60 16 10

Total................ 556 16 572

1 These weeks are not consec.. vi re. 2 On Monday, hours.

None of these laundries report a longer day than 10 hours during 

the normal season, and only two reported as much as 12 hours for 

the long day of the busy season. But of 112 women employed in 

these laundries from whom individual reports were secured about 

37 per cent reported working longer hours than those given as normal by the managers of the laundries in which they were employed. 

Moreover, women not employed in such laundries at the time of 

the interview, but formerly at work there, reported that there were 

one or two days nearly every week in the year prior to the validation 

of the Illinois 10-hour law when the girls had to work more than 10, 

and sometimes as many as 14, hours a day to get out rush orders.

CHARACTER OF WORK.

The kind of work done has an important bearing upon the question of hours. In the power laundries women were engaged principally in listing, marking, sorting, hand washing, shaking, mangling, folding, starching, machine ironing, hand ironing, finishing,

mending, and wrapping.

The first three occupations need no description. They do not

involve heavy work, and while handling soiled clothes may be unpleasant, the consensus of opinion is that there is very little risk of

contracting disease by so doing. The women stand while working at

these occupations.

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After being sorted the clothes are washed, usually by machinery 

operated by men, and next passed through an extractor, a machine 

so arranged that the water is driven out of the clothes by centrifugal 

force. This machine also is tended by men.

Hand washing, which is used only in the case of unusually fine, 

fancy clothing and on special orders, is usually carried on in the 

wash rooms by women. In most laundries not more than two or 

three women are required for this occupation. The work is laborious 

and is usually carried 011 under unfavorable conditions. The humidity of the wash room is high, and in addition there is frequently 

insufficient drainage of water from the floors, so the women employed 

here are liable to suffer from damp and wet clothing and from wet 

feet. The water used in washing is frequently treated for softening 

and then for bleaching effects by chemicals. Of these chemicals a 

physician says:

If handled in a dry state they cause intense itching and eczematous eruptions of the skin. When vaporized after solution or in 

gaseous form they irritate the eyes and the whole respiratory tract, 

occasioning conjunctivitis and giving rise to catarrhal inflammation 

of the throat and bronchial tubes.1

After coming from the extractor the clothes must be shaken out 

before they can go through any further process. Girls called shakers 

pick up the pieces one by one, snap or shake them violently, and 

lay them down in neat piles or fold them ready for mangling, This 

work is done standing and involves a steady use of the arms and 

more or less stooping and reaching, so that many girls acquire a 

constant motion of the body as well as of the arms. The muscles 

are under constant strain throughout the day in rooms where the 

temperature is high and the air full of moisture.

The work of the manglers consists simply of feeding the pieces one 

by one into the mangle, where they pass between various heated cylinders and come out at the other side, smooth and ready for folding. 

The work is not laborious, except that it must be done standing, and 

requires little skill. Unless the mangle is provided with safeguards 

there is always danger that the worker’s hands may be caught between the revolving cylinders, with serious consequences. Also, 

unless special ventilating devices are used, the worker is apt to be 

exposed to a very high temperature. Folding the pieces as they come 

out from the mangle is usually done by young workers. It is not 

heavy work and the girls can sit except when folding the largest 

pieces.

Starching may be done entirely by hand, or partly by hand and 

partly by machinery. In the hand process women stand at their 

work with bowls of starch before them, and stretching out one piece

380 b u l l e t i n o f t h e b u r e a u OF LABOR STATISTICS.

iV o l . X I I , Employment of Women in Laundries, p. 25.

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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN LAUNDRIES. 331

at a time rub the starch well into it. Thus, in addition to the standing there is a continuous strain on the muscles of the hands and arms. 

If starching is done in the ironing rooms, as is frequently the case, 

the effects of the heat and the work are especially severe during the 

summer months. Where machinery is used the work is much less 

strenuous, consisting largely in feeding articles into the machines 

and gathering them up as they come out on the other side. The 

women can sit at this work.

Dampening the clothes ready for ironing is done by women and 

has no objectionable features beyond the continuous standing required. The machine ironing is done on a variety of machines devised for ironing different articles, such as shirts, collars, cuffs, etc. 

Ironing collars, though requiring continuous standing, is not heavy 

work, but the machines used for ironing shirt bodies, bosoms, yokes, 

etc., make serious demands upon the worker’s strength. The characteristic feature of these machines is that after the article has been 

put in place, the operator presses a lever with her foot which brings a 

heated surface into contact with the article to be ironed.

The ordinary process of machine ironing requires the constant use 

of the lever, which is operated by the same foot continually. In case 

certain reverse movements are necessary a second lever operated by 

the other foot is used. . The occupation of ironing is without doubt 

excessively fatiguing labor. The women can not sit while doing the 

work. * * * In some laundries the women have wooden boxes 

to stand on, so that in using the foot lever they step down upon it 

instead of having to step up on the lever and then force it down with 

the weight of the body. This is decidedly easier. * * * The 

machines radiate an excessive heat and this combination of heat and 

tiresome movements of arms and body works great discomfort to 

the operator. In addition to the muscular strain the women must be 

constantly on guard to prevent getting their fingers caught between 

the rolls.1

Hand ironing, which needs no description, is heavy work and the 

relative number of women in this occupation is declining. In the 

larger laundries a considerable proportion of the hand ironers are 

men. Few young women engage in it, and the women now found in 

it are mostly survivors of the old system, who almost universally 

show the effects of their hard labor.

The only remaining occupations for women are assembling the 

articles according to the original lists, mending when necessary and 

wrapping them ready for delivery. Assembling and wrapping are 

both performed by women standing.

It will be noticed that the majority of these occupations are such 

that the women must stand while working, that several of them make 

severe demands upon the strength, that some must be carried on under 

trying conditions of heat, moisture, etc.*, and that some of the ma1Vol. X I I , Employment o f Women in Laundries, p. 23.

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dimes used have decidedly dangerous features. It seems a natural 

inference that the detrimental effect of these various features must 

increase as the working hours are lengthened, and that “ long days ” 

are especially undesirable in such an industry.

EFFECT OF WORK ON HEALTH.

The data concerning effect of laundry work upon the health of 

women engaged in it was secured by questioning 539 women taken 

without any selection from the different laundries visited. They 

are representative of laundry conditions so far as a mere symptomatic 

diagnosis of individuals by a physician without physical examination can represent health conditions. The reports are from the viewpoint of a physician, not simply reported on the woman’s word unsupported by any evidence of probability.

Of the w omen thus examined 404 made no complaint of ill health 

which could be ascribed to the laundry, 6 complained of ill health 

which, while not due to laundry work, had been aggravated by it, 

and 129 complained of ill health directly attributable to their occupation. The following table shows details as to age, experience, 

conjugal condition, etc., of the women questioned:

EFFECT OF LAUNDRY W’ ORK UPON H EALTH AS REPORTED B Y WOMEN EMPLOYEES,

W ITH AGE, EXPERIENCE, CONJUGAL CONDITION, AND CHARACTER OF OCCUPATION.

332 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

Average

years’

experience

in

laundry.

Conjugal condition. Character of occupation.

Number.

AverMarried. Single. Standing. Using foot lever.

age

age.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number

reporting.

Number.

Per

cent.

Number

reporting.

Number.

Per

cent.

Making complaint of

ill health................. 129 27.5 7.2 51 39.5 78 60.5 98 97 99.0 90 32 35.6

Making no complaint

of ill health, or complaint not chargeable to laundry

work......................... 404 27.0 5.7 U41 35.2 260 64.8 175 162 92.6 166 47 28.3

Ill health not chargeable to laundry,

but aggravated by

laundry work......... 6 43.3 11.8 5 83.3 1 16.7 5 5 100.0 5 3 60.0

Total................. 539 27.3 6.1 197 36.7 339 63.3 278 264 95.0 261 82 31.4

1 Not including 3 not reported.

The average age of the women of the first two groups is so nearly 

the same that it seems unlikely that age is a factor in the difference 

in health shown. Since the women who complained of ill health had 

been employed in laundries on an average a year and a half longer 

than those who made no complaint, it is possible that the difference 

in length of service explains part of the difference in health. It

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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN LAUNDRIES. 333.

seems probable, however, that the character of the occupation of the* 

women of the two groups has most significance with reference to 

complaints of ill health. Of the women making complaints 99 per 

cent stood at their work, while of those who made no complaint 92.G 

per cent stood. Unfortunately, a number of the women interviewed 

did not report their precise occupation in the laundry, but of those 

who did make such reports those complaining of ill health showed 

a considerably larger proportion working in occupations which involved the use of the foot lever than was found among those who 

made no complaints of ill health.

CLASSIFICATION OF WOMEN BY KIND OF ILL HEALTH

SUFFERED.

The 129 women complaining of ill health were grouped, according 

to the character of their complaints, into nine classes. The following 

table gives the number of women in each class and certain details 

concerning them:

EFFECT OF LAUNDRY WORK UPON THE HEALTH, AS REPORTED BY WOMEN

EMPLOYEES, CLASSIFIED BY NATURE OF COMPLAINT, AND WITH REFERE&ds

TO AGE, NUMBER OF YEARS’ EXPERIENCE, NATURE OF OCCUPATION, AND

CONJUGAL CONDITION.

Nature of complaint. No.

Per

cent

of

total.

Average

age.

Average

number

of

years’

experience.

Conjugal condition. Character of occupation.

Married. Single. Standing. Using foot

lever.

No. Per

cent. No. Per

cent.

No.

reporting.

No. Per

cent.

No.

reporting.

No. Per

cent.

1. Women complaining of

lameness and pains in

back, legs, arms, and

chest.............................. 126 20.2 23.6 5. 7 5 19.2 21 80.8 22 °2 100.0 21 5 24.0

2. Women complaining of

general debility........... 9 7.0 29.9 8.3 4 44.4 5 55.6 6 5 83.0 5 2 40.0

3. Women complaining of

swollen legs, ankles,

and feet......................... 2 34 26.4 30.2 8.5 17 50.0 17 50.0 27 27 100.0 22 5 ; 2 2 .7

4. Women complaining of 1

nausea, irritation of

lung3............................ 313 10.1 25. 5 7.3 3 23.0 10 77.0 11 11 100.0 11 4 36.4

5. Women complaining of

abdominal pains........ a i 8.5 29.3 7.9 4> 54.5 5 45.5 9 9 100.0 9 8 88.8

6. Women complaining of

pelvic troubles and

alleged displacement. 5 28 21.7 28.3 6.5 15 53.6 13 46.4 18 18 100.0 17 8 47.0

7. Women complaining of

alleged kidney trouble. 4 3.1 22.5 5.7 4 100.0 2 2 100.0 2

8. Accidents......................... 3 2.3 24.0 4.7 * Y *33.* 3 2 66.7 3 3 100.0 3

9. Women complaining of

ill health due to grossly insanitary conditions in laundry___

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

1

129

.7

100.0

3<). 0 1

1

9.0

i

1 100.0 ____i-----:---

-------

i . 1 ! ! 1 . ! j \

1 Including 4 complaining of rheumatism and 1 of headache (daily).

2 Including 3.complaining of rheumatism, 6 of varicose veins, 1 of heatlacho, and 2 of general poor healt h.

3 Including 2 complaining of rheumatism.

4 Including 3 complaining of rheumatism.

* Including 1 complaining of rheumatism and 2 of varicose veins.

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CONNECTION BETWEEN ILL HEALTH AND SPECIFIC

CONDITIONS OF WORK.

Some of the women made complaints of specific conditions in 

the laundries to which the ill health complained of might be at 

least partly due. Thus, of the 13 women who complained of nausea 

and irritation of the lungs, 12 also complained of dampness, steam, 

odors, or noxious gases. In all 30 women made definite complaint 

of these things; others did not have any definite complaint to make 

or simply failed to report in the matter. Considering the heat in 

all laundries and the steam in poorly ventilated laundries, complaints of these conditions were not so common as might be expected.

In other cases the ills complained of had an apparent connection 

with certain conditions in which the work was carried on, although 

the workers did not make the connection. Swollen feet and ankles, 

which were complained of more frequently in summer than in 

winter, were often as much the result of heat from the ironing 

machine as of standing. The connection between abdominal pains, 

pelvic troubles, alleged displacement, etc., and the use of the foot 

lever is not proved, but is at least indicated by the figures of the 

table given above. The rheumatism complained of was found mainly 

among the older women and might have been attributable to insanitary living conditions as well as to laundry conditions. Yet there 

are conditions in the laundry which may directly account for rheumatism and catarrhal conditions. Some laundries have no dressing 

rooms or places for putting away outer wraps. In such cases they 

are thrown upon a table or hung on the wrall, unprotected from the 

steam and moisture of the atmosphere. The clothing of the women 

becomes damp from perspiration and from the steam from their 

work. When they are ready to leave the laundry at night they not 

only continue to wear their damp working clothing but put on the 

steam-dampened outer garments. These are a very inadequate 

protection if the weather is severe, .and the women are chilled 

through, incurring an obvious risk of colds and rheumatic pains. 

Such conditions are not, however, universal.

Much has been done and more can be done to improve working 

conditions and thus health conditions in laundries. The best motor 

laundries are sanitary and provided with bathing facilities, rest 

rooms, and rooms where work clothes can be changed for street 

costume. * * * Some employers encourage the women to go to 

rest rooms at intervals and sit or lie down for a short time for 

relaxation, claiming that it pays in the day’s work as a whole, for 

more and better work is turned out. None of the better class of 

laundries will employ women who are too frail for the work or 

who are under 18 years of age, and an effort is made to train young 

workers properly for the trade. No weak girls are put on machines

334 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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E M P L O Y M E N T O F W O M E N I N L A U N D R I E S . 335

and no overtime is exacted. Proprietors contend that with good 

working conditions and no overwork there is no better trade for 

women.1

In addition to the general discussion, the report includes a series 

of paragraphs giving for each of the 539 women questioned such 

salient facts as age, race, conjugal condition, occupation when 

reported, home surroundings, and such facts of earlier industrial 

history as might have a bearing upon her present physical condition.2

1 Vol. X II, Employment of Women in Laundries, p. 32.

2 Reference should here be made to a study of the employment of women in the power

laundries in Milwaukee, Bulletin No. 122 of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which

may be considered supplementary to the report summarized above. The special object of

this later study was to secure careful detailed data in regard to the precise working

conditions in power laundries and in regard to the physical demands of the various

laundry occupations.

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CHAPTER XIII.—INFANT MORTALITY AND ITS RELATION TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS.

Volume X III of the Report on Condition of Woman and Child 

Wage Earners includes two distinct studies. The first is a study of 

the relation of women’s employment and infant mortality, based on 

a careful analysis of the available statistics of Massachusetts. The 

second is a comprehensive original study of the infant mortality in 

Fall Eiver, Mass., during one year, in relation to the work of the 

mother before and after confinement.

MASSACHUSETTS STATISTICS OF INFANT MORTALITY.

The analysis of Massachusetts statistics emphasizes the complex 

nature of the conditions which have relation to the employment of 

married women and the causes of infant mortality. In the cities of 

New England certain factors which in the past have been ignored 

in the consideration of the problem are with fair uniformity coexistent with a high infant mortality rate; these being (1) a high proportion of foreign born, (2) a high female illiteracy, and (3) a high 

birth rate. These factors operate with equal force over large or 

small areas—that is, the results when the six New England States 

are regarded as units are not different than when individual cities 

of the State of Massachusetts are studied as ujiits, the degree of 

urbanization of the population taking the place of the size of towns, 

and accompanying the infant death rate with almost perfect regularity through the last three census periods.

The two other factors considered in this study relate themselves 

with less regularity to the infant death rate. The first of these is 

the size of cities. Large towns, in general, have rather higher rates 

than small towns, although, as already noted, this relationship is 

found not to be invariable. For example, in the decade 1898-1907 

the city of Lynn, with a population of 77,042, had an infant death 

rate of but 133 per 1,000 births, while Lawrence, with a population of 

70,050, had a rate of 181.2 per 1,000; Brockton, with a population of 

47,794, of only 109.5 per 1,000 births, while Chicopee, with a population of only 20,191, had an infant death rate of 178.4 per 1,000 births.

The second factor which is found, statistically speaking, associated 

very uncertainly, to say the least, with the infant death rate, is the 

subject of this study—the proportion of women engaged in extradomestic occupations.

05053°— Bull. 175—16-------22 337

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338 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICvS.

It is true that the six cities of Massachusetts having an extremely 

high infant death rate have also a high proportion of women employed in extra-domestic occupations. It is likewise true that these 

six cities with abnormal infant death rates have a considerably 

higher proportion of women so employed than the six industrial cities 

with low infant mortality rates presented with them for purposes of 

comparison. But the fact must not be lost sight of that, while the 

six cities with low infant death rates do show a smaller proportion of • 

women, industrially employed than the six high mortality cities, the 

per cent of women so employed in the six low mortality cities is a 

little higher than the per cent for the 32 Massachusetts cities, and 

considerably higher than the per cent for the State of Massachusetts 

as a whole, while the infant mortality rate not only is lower than the 

rate for the 32 cities, but is 19 per 1,000 births less than the rate for 

the State at large, in which rural districts have been included. It 

will be seen that this result clearly disproves the contention that the 

extra-domestic employment of women is the dominant factor in 

determining the infant death rate so far as the Massachusetts cities 

are concerned.

On the real question of prime importance in the relation of women’s 

work to infant mortality—namely, how many mothers of young children return to industrial employment outside of their homes before 

their infants have attained the age of 1 year—little accurate information is available. The report on the condition of woman and child 

wage-earners in the cotton textile industry shows that only 23, or

14.1 per cent, out of 163 married women working in cotton mills 

who are scheduled in New England had children under 3 years of 

age.1 The distribution of these 23 children by ages in detail is not 

shown, but it is obvious that the proportion of women working in 

the cotton mills who have infants (children under 1 year) at home 

must be very small at any particular time, and in no wise sufficient to 

account for the excessive infant mortality rate of the textile cities,

INFANT MORTALITY IN FALL RIVER, MASS.

It has often been the subject of comment both here and in other 

countries, notably in England, that in cities where a large proportion of the women are industrially employed a high rate of infant

1 The report on the condition of woman and child wage earners in the cotton textile

industry (Vol. I of this report, pp. 1010 and 1032) shows that out of 407 married women

living in the Massachusetts cotton-mill families visited in the course of the investigation

of the Bureau of Labor only 101 married women were at work as wage earners at the

time of the visits, and that only 13, or 12.9 per cent, of these were mothers of children

under 3 years of age. Out of 806 married women living in the New England families

included in the same investigation 175 married women were at work, and only 23, or

14.1 per cent, had children under 3 years of age. Compare Men’s Ready-Made Clothing,

Vol. II of this report, showing that only 9.9 per cent of the married women at work

(not including home finishers) had children under 3 years of age; Glass Industry, Vol.

I ll, with 14.1 per cent; and Silk Industry, Vol. IV, with 17.3 per cent.

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mortality—that is, under 1 year—is almost always found. Nearly all 

of the cities which are centers of the textile industries are conspicuous for a high mortality at all ages, and especially for a high mortality under 1 year. Because of this almost constant relation of 

the extensive employment of women and a high infant mortality, 

it has often been assumed that the excessive infant death rates in 

industrial localities are chiefly due to the industrial employment 

of the mothers,

REASON FOR SELECTION OF FALL RIVER.

In order to test the validity of this assumption or to ascertain the 

real causes of the high infant mortality in such cases an investigation in detail of the conditions in a textile city where the industrial employment of women is almost exclusively in that industry 

seemed the most feasible method. Of all American textile cities, 

Fall Eiver seemed to be the most suitable for such a study. In 

1905 nearly 17,000, or 38.6 per cent of the women 10 years of age and 

over, were gainfully employed, and nearly 13,000, or 29.8 per cent, 

were employed in cotton mills. Of this number approximately onethird were married or widowed. The death rate at all ages in 

Fall Eiver for the 10-year period 1900 to 1909 was 20.3 per 1,000 

of the population, and in 1908 it was 20.5. In the same 10-year 

period, out of every 100 deaths 38.4 were those of children under 

1 year, and in 1908, 36.6 per cent were children under 1 year. The 

general death rate, it should be noted, was one of the highest prevailing in any northern city, and the same is true of the percentage 

of deaths under 1 year. The birth rate also was extraordinarily 

high, being 43 per 1,000 of population in 1908.

The striking feature of the Fall River infant mortality figures, 

not only in 1908 but in each year of the 10-year period 1900 to 1909 

as well, is the great number of deaths due to diarrhea, enteritis, and 

gastritis, this group of causes being accountable for 38.3 per cent 

of all deaths under 1 year in 1908 and for 36.7 per cent during 

the 10-year period.

The main question for investigation then was whether the high 

infant mortality in Fall River is due directly or indirectly in an 

important degree to the industrial employment of mothers. Obviously such an investigation called for a study of the causes of 

death among the children of mothers employed outside the home in 

comparison with the children of mothers at home. The effect of the 

mother’s work outside the home and of the withdrawal of the 

mother’s care, if the effect was at all marked, should be apparent 

from a comparison of the deaths due to various causes among the 

two classes of children.

INFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS* 339

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340 BULLETIN OF THE BURK A U OF LABOR STATISTICS,

SCOPE AND METHOD OF * INVESTIGATION.

For the purposes of the investigation the year 1908 was selected. 

Copies were made of the official records of all children dying under 

1 year from any cause in Fall liiver and of all stillbirths. Visits 

were then made to the homes of the children by experienced agents 

of the Bureau of Labor,1 and detailed inquiries were made concerning the employment of the mother, the time of discontinuing 

work before the birth of the child, the time of resuming work after 

the birth of the child, if work was so resumed, the character of the 

feeding of the child, the care given to the child, especially during 

any absence of the mother at work, and various other matters tending to throw light in any way upon the direct or indirect causes of 

death. Much difficulty was found in tracing some of the families 

and in securing accurate information from the mother and other 

members of the family. Doctors were interviewed when, possible 

for supplementary information.

Of the 859 children dying under 1 year in Fall Kiver during 1908, 

the desired particulars were obtained concerning 580, and of the 227 

stillborn children recorded, particulars were obtained concerning 

165. Of the 580 children dying under 1 year whose families were 

interviewed, it was found that in the case of 2G6, or 45.9 per cent, the 

mothers during the period of pregnancy were at work outside the 

home, while in the case of 314 the mothers were not at any time 

during that period at work away from home. Of the 165 mothers of 

stillborn children who were traced, 69, or 41.8 per cent, had been 

employed at some time during pregnancy. For 279 of the children 

born living and for 62 of the stillborn the family could not be found 

and the information which is here available is therefore limited to 

the details given in th<! official records.

The representative character of the cases concerning which detailed information wras secured is indicated by a comparison of the 

causes of death and of the country of birth of the parents of the 

children. No significant differences were found between the 580 

children for whom particulars were obtained and the 279 whose 

families could not be found.

EXCESSIVE INFANT MORTALITY IN FALL RIVER.

The first result of a study of Fall River infant-mortality figures 

and a comparison with those of other localities is to establish beyond

1 Probably it is important In presenting the results of an investigation of this kind

and in this place to emphasize the method of securing the data, for in work of this kind

reasonably reliable data can be secured only by visits to the homes, and even then agents

of experience and judgment must be employed. The three agents who were engaged in

the collection of the data in this investigation had had considerable previous training in

the field work of the Bureau of Labor, and one of them, Dr. Laura M. ~eiskei% in immediate charge of the field work, was also a physician of experience.

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INFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS. 341

question the fact that the Fall River rates are excessive. In Fall 

River the death rate under 1 year per 1,000 births in 1908 was 177.6, 

while in 1910 in the Borough of Manhattan it was 134.6, in Boston 

126, in England and Wales (in 1908) 120.3, and in Blackburn, 

England, an important English textile city somewhat larger than 

Fall River, 157 (for a 10-year period).

COMPARATIVE PER CENT OF DEATHS UNDER ONE YEAR FROM

SPECIFIED CAUSES IN FALL RIYER AND ELSEWHERE.

A comparison limited to a study of the per cent of deaths due 

to the more important causes quickly shows that the proportion 

of deaths due to diarrhea, enteritis, or gastritis in Fall River 

in 1908 was 37 per cent above that in the registration area of the 

United States in 1908, 37 per cent above that in the Borough of 

Manhattan and 46 per cent above that in Boston in 1910, 114 per 

cent above that in England and Wales in 1908, and 131 per cent 

above that for 10 years in Blackburn.

COMPARISON OF PER CENT OF TOTAL DEATHS UNDER 1 Y E A R DUE TO DIARRHEA,

ENTERITIS, AND GASTRITIS IN FALL RIVER AND IN OTHER LOCALITIES.

Locality.

Per cent of

deaths

under 1

year due

to diarrhea, enteritis, and

gastritis.

Per cent of

excess in

proportion

of deaths

due to

diarrhea,

enteritis,

and gastritis in

Fall River

over

locality

specified.1

Fall River, 1908.................................................................................................................... 38.3

Registration area, United States, 1908.................1....................................................... 27.9 37

Manhattan Borough, 1910................................................................................................... 27.9 37

Boston, 1910.................................- ....................................................................................... 26.3 46

England and Wales, 1908..................................................................................................... 17.9 114

Blackburn, England, 1901-1910......................................................................................... 16.6 131

i For comparison with the Fall River figures of 1908 those for England and Wales in the same year are

taken. In 1909 and 1910 the rates for England and Wales were considerably lower than in 1908, namely,

108.73 and 105.44, respectively, per 1,000 births, and the death rates from diarrheal diseases were coi respondingly lower (12.(54 in both 1909 and 1910). For Manhattan Borough and for Boston figures for 1910

were taken as likely to be more nearly correct than those of earlier years. The rates in 1908 in these

cities were, Manhattan Borough 136, Boston 149.

DEATH RATES PER 1,000 BIRTHS FROM SPECIFIED DISEASES IN

FALL RIVER AND ELSEWHERE.

A comparison on the more exact basis of death rates per 1,000 

births makes a very much more unfavorable showing for Fall River, 

its rate for diarrhea, enteritis, and gastritis being then, for the periods named above, 81 per cent above that for the Borough of Manhattan, 105 per cent above that for Boston, 215 per cent above that 

of England and Wales, and 161 per cent above that of Blackburn, 

England, for a 10-year period.

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342 BULLETIN OP THE BUEEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

COMPARISON OP DEATH RATES PER 1,000 BIRTHS PROM DIARRHEA, ENTERITIS, AND

GASTRITIS, AND FROM NONDIARRHEAL DISEASES IN FALL RIVER AND IN OTHER

LOCALITIES.

Iiocality.

Death rate under 1 year per

1,000 births.

Per cent of excess of Fall River

death rate under 1 year per

1,000 births over city specified.

Diarrhea,

enteritis,

and

gastritis.

Nondiarrheal

diseases.

All

causes.

Diarrhea,

enteritis,

and

gastritis.

Nondiarrhea 1

diseases.

All

causes.

Fall River, 1908................................................ 68.1 109.5 177.6

Manhattan Borough, 1910.............................. 37.6 97.0 134.6 81 13 32

Boston, 1910....................................................... 33.2 92.8 126.0 105 18 41

England and Wales, 1908............................... 21.6 98.7 120.3 215 11 48

Blackburn, England, 1901-1910..................... 26.1 130.9 157.0 161 120 13

1 Per cent of excess of Blackburn over Fall River rate.

DEATH RATES AT DIFFERENT AGES UNDER ONE YEAR IN FALL

RIVER AND ELSEWHERE.

When we compare the death rates per 1,000 births at various 

ages under 1 year in Fall River and in other localities we find that 

the Fall River rate for ages under 1 month is not excessive, corresponding almost exactly with that for England and Wales, but that 

at ages over 3 months the Fall River rates are very greatly excessive.

COMPARISON OF DEATH RATES AT DIFFERENT AGES UNDER 1 Y E A R PER 1,000

BIRTH S,FALL RIVER,M ASS.,ENGLAND AND W ALES,AN D BLACKBURN,ENGLAND.

Locality. Under 1

month.

Under 3

months.

3 months

and

under 6

months.

6 months

and over. Total.

Fall River, 1908................................................. ................. 40.5

40.3

72.3 46.9

23.6

58.4

32.4

41.4

177.6

120.3

136.0

England and Wales, 1908.......................... ...................... 64.4

Blackburn, 1910................................................................... 46.1 69..5 25.1

The comparisons between Fall River and localities having a more 

favorable infant mortality rate indicate quite clearly that wherever 

death rates are excessive the excess is largely to be accounted for by 

a high rate from diarrheal diseases. This of itself shows that such 

excessive rates are largely preventable. The additional fact that 

wherever rates are excessive the greatest differences exist at ages over 

3 months shows again that to a considerable extent the high rates 

are due to preventable causes.

REDUCTION OF INFANT DEATH RATES IN ENGLAND.

It is possible to throw light upon the situation by turning to 

English experience, where figures are available covering a period of 

years, to show the causes where organized effort has resulted in the

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greatest improvement in the infant death rates. Here a comparison 

of the rates from 1901 to 1909 shows in the most striking way the 

reduction in death rates that has been brought about within that 

brief period. While the greatest reduction, a reduction of 45 per 

cent (1909 compared with average 1901-1904) has been brought about 

in death rates from diarrheal diseases, the improvement in rates from 

practically all of the other causes also is very great, and even in death 

rates from the developmental and wasting diseases of earliest infancy 

a reduction of 6 per cent has been brought about.

INFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS. 343

PER CENT OF REDUCTION IN DEATH RATES AT DIFFERENT AGES UNDER 1 YE A R ,

PER 1,000 BIRTHS, BETW EEN 1901-1904 AND 1909, ENGLAND AND W ALES, B Y CAUSES.

Per cent

of total

Per cent of reduction in death rate;!,

1909, over average, 1901-1904.

Cause of death.

deaths

due to

specified

cause,

1901-1904.

Under 3

months.

3 months

and

under 6

months.

6 months

and over.

Total

under 1

year.

Developmental and wasting diseases 1........................... 33 5 19 14 6

Diarrheal diseases 2. ........................................................... 19 36 47 50 45

Convulsions.......................................................................... 11 31 38 41 34

Tuberculosis (all forms)..................................................... 4 41 38 31 35

Pneumonia, bronchitis, and laryngitis.......................... 17 20 21 16 18

All other causes................................................................... 17 18 27 23 22

Total........................................................................... 100 15 33 29 22

i Includes premature birth, congenital defects, want of breast milk, injury at birth, atrophy, debility,

and marasmus.

* Includes diarrhea, enteritis, gastroenteritis, gastrointestinal catarrh, gastritis, and gastric catarrh,

EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHER 

BEFORE BIRTH OF CHILD.

The importance in Fall River of the mothers industrially employed 

outside the home before childbirth, as related to the infant mortality 

in 1908, is indicated by the fact that of the 580 reported 266, or 45.9 

per cent, were so employed, and 314, or 54.1 per cent, were at home.

The importance of the mothers employed outside the home after 

childbirth and while the child was living, as related to the infant 

mortality of Fall River, is indicated by the fact that of the 578 

reported 83, or 14.4 per cent, were so employed. This number is 

subject to further qualification in certain respects, because of the 

fact that out of this 83 only 41 were at the time just prior to their 

return to work nursing their children. The other 42 had either never 

nursed their children or had previously discontinued nursing for 

reasons having no relation to their return to work.

Work on the part of the mother before the birth of the child, 

whether in the home or industrially, if involving strain or exhaustion, and especially if continued too near childbirth, might be expected to increase stillbirths and deaths due to premature birth, congenital malformation and defects, congenital debility, and other 

diseases, but in less degree.

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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOft STATISTICS.

, The causes of death above named are chiefly important in earliest 

infancy, and if the mother’s work before the birth of the child was 

a seriously injurious influence in any considerable number of cases, 

that fact should be disclosed in a study and comparison of the 

deaths of children of the two classes, mothers at home and mothers 

at work.

RELATIVE MORTALITY OF INFANTS OF MOTHERS AT HOME AND

MOTHERS AT WORK.

A comparison of the children of mothers at home and of mothers 

at work shows that when all causes of death are considered a slightly 

greater percentage of the children of mothers at home died during 

the first week, during the first month, and during the first three 

months of life. This will be best seen in the following table:

PER CENT OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES UNDER 1 Y E A R OCCURRING UNDER 1

W E E K , UNDER 1 MONTH, AND UNDER 3 MONTHS, FOR CHILDREN OF MOTHERSAT

HOME AND OF MOTHERS AT W ORK.

Work of mother l>ef >ro ]>ir<h of <*hi!d.

Per cent of total deat hs under

1 year which occurred—

Under 1

week.

Under 1

month.

Under 3

months.

Mothers at hom e...................................................................................................... 12.1 24.8 42.9

Mothers at work......................................................................................................... 10.2 22.2 41.4

STILLBIRTHS IN RELATION TO MOTHERS’ WORK BEFORE CHILDBIRTH.

A slightly higher percentage of stillborn children is found in 

the case of mothers at home, 23.4 per cent of the deaths of the children of mothers at home being stillbirths, while for the children of 

mothers at work only 20.6 per cent 'were stillbirths. In order to 

ascertain whether the apparently greater importance of stillbirths 

among the children of mothers at home is due to the severity of work 

as compared with mill work or to other causes an attempt w7as made 

by inquiry in the home to ascertain in as many cases as possible anything in the work of the mother, her condition, or the conditions in 

the home to which the stillbirth of the child might be attributed.

Among the mothers at work away from home the stillbirth could be 

traced to the mother’s work in only 9 cases, the cause in 7 being the 

severity or unsuitable character of the work, and in 2 cases the continuance of the work too near childbirth. In addition to the 7 stillbirths 

due to the character of the mother’s work there were 3 cases where the

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mother had been employed in the mill during pregnancy but where 

the stillbirth was due directly to housework at home after leaving the 

mill. The 7 stillbirths apparently traceable to the mothers5 work 

constituted 12 per cent of the total of 58 mothers at millwork from 

whom detailed information was secured. Among the mothers at 

home in 10 cases the stillbirth was apparently traceable to the character of the mother’s work, and in 2 cases to its continuance too 

near childbirth. These 10 cases, it should be said, included 3 cases of 

mothers who had been employed in the mill but had given up millwork in expectation of childbirth and were engaged only in housework. These 10 cases constitute 13 per cent of the 75 mothers at 

home (72 at home plus 3 at work in mill and later at home).

Comparing further the per cent of stillbirths traceable to sickness 

or ill health of the mother, there were 12 cases among mothers at 

work, constituting 22 per cent of the total for whom reports were 

received, and 20 cases among mothers at home, constituting 27 per 

<*ent of the total mothers at home.

These comparisons would seem to indicate that so far as stillbirths 

were traceable to a cause the work of the mother in the mill and 

sickness or ill health of the mother so employed were not responsible for stillbirths in any greater degree among the mothers at work 

than among the mothers at home. It is necessary to point out, however, that the facts as presented here can hardly have an exact value, 

as the causes can not be known of a certainty in all these cases. 

Moreover, it is probably true that in a number of cases the reported 

sickness or ill health of the mother at home was due to former employment in the cotton mill, although it is necessary to say that no 

such case was identified among any of the mothers included in this 

table. Furthermore, sickness and ill health are not uncommon 

among women who are not employed in severe labor, either in the 

factory or in the home, and many such cases are due to obscure 

causes. Some also, as here, among both mothers at work and mothers 

at home are due to accidents or improper treatment of previous 

births.

CONDITION OF CHILDREN AT BIRTH IN RELATION TO MOTHERS’

WORK BEFORE CHILDBIRTH.

The condition of the children at birth, which may be taken as an 

index of the effect of antenatal influences, will be indicated by the 

percentage of total deaths which were due to the diseases of early 

infancy (premature birth, congenital malformation, and congenital 

debility under three months). A comparison is macle in the followINFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTIIEBS. 345

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
346 BULLETIN OF TPIE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

ing table for the children of mothers at home and of mothers at 

work:

PER CENT OF TOTAL DEATHS UNDER 1 YE A R (NOT INCLUDING STILLBIRTHS) WHICH

W ERE DUE TO DISEASES OF EARLY INFANCY (PREMATURE BIRTH, CONGENITAL

MALFORMATION, AND CONGENITAL DEBILITY UNDER 3 MONTHS) FOR CHILDREN

OF MOTHERS AT HOME AND OF MOTHERS AT W ORK.

Work of mother before birth of child.

Total

deaths,

all

causes.

Deaths due to diseases of early infancy.

Premature

birth.

Congenital malformation.

Congenital debility under

3 months.

To

Number.

tal.

Per cent.

Mothers at home..............................................

Mothers at work outside the home..............

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

314

266

16

20

8

4

49

31

73

55

23.2

20.7

580 36 12 80 128 22.1

From these figures it appears that while deaths from premature 

birth and congenital malformations together were relatively more 

numerous among the children of mothers at work, yet when the 

deaths from congenital debility under 3 months are added, the 

children of mothers at home made a distinctly unfavorable showing—23.2 per cent against 20.7 per cent.

The large per cent of children dying from various causes during 

the early weeks of life suggests that many of the children were 

not well and strong at birth, due, perhaps, among other causes, to 

the injurious influence of the mother’s work. In the course of the 

investigation an attempt was made by questioning the mothers of 

the children to ascertain the number of those dying under 1 year 

who at birth were not well and strong. Information so obtained, 

while based in many cases upon the statement of the physician to 

the mother, would in many other cases rest largely upon the 

mother’s judgment.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN DYING UNDER 1 Y E A R (NOT INCLUDING

STILLBIRTHS), FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES, W HO W ER E REPORTED AS NOT W E LL

AND STRONG AT BIRTH, ACCORDING TO W O R K OF MOTHER.

Cause of death.

Total

children

dying

Children not well

and strong at

birth.

under

1 year. Number. Per cent.

Mothers at home:

Premature birth and congenital malformation.......................................... 24 24 100.0

Congenital debility........................................................................................... 77 46 59.7

All other causes.................................................................................................. 205 45 21.8

Total, all causes........................................................... 306 115 37.6

Mothers at work:

Premature birth and congenital malformation.......................................... 24 24 100.0

Congenital debility........................................................................................... 53 30 56.6

All other causes.................................................................................................. 178 51 28.6

Total, all causes.......................................................................................... 255 105 41.2

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According to this table, 59.7 per cent of the children of mothers 

at home dying from congenital debility were reported as not well 

and strong at birth. Of the children of mothers at work dying 

from the same cause, 56.6 per cent were reported as not well and 

strong at birth. Of the children of mothers at home dying from 

all other causes (excluding premature birth and congenital malformation), 21.8 per cent were reported as not well and strong at 

birth, as compared with 28.6 per cent of the children of mothers at 

work. Taking together all the children of mothers at home, 37.6 

per cent were reported as not well and strong at birth, as against

41.2 per cent of the children of mothers at work.

Apparently, then, antenatal conditions of some kind have resulted 

in a slightly larger percentage of children not well and strong at 

birth among the group “ children of mothers at work ” than among 

the children of mothers at home. Among the children dying of 

congenital debility, however, where the fact should be especially 

noticeable, the percentage is slightly higher for children of mothers 

at home.

Examining the two groups, “ motners at home ” and “ mothers at 

work outside the home,” more in detail with reference to the work 

of the mother, a comparison may be made of the children not well 

and strong at birth (including both those born living and the stillborn) in relation to the whole number of children dying under 1 

year, including stillborn.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF TOTAL CHILDREN DYING UNDER 1 YEAR (INCLUDING

STILLBORN) W HO W ER E REPORTED AS W E LL AND STRONG AT BIRTH, NOT W ELL

AND STRONG AT BIRTH, AND STILLBORN, ACCORDING TO W O R K OF MOTHER

BEFORE BIRTH OF CHILD.

INJfANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS. 347

Work of mother before birth of

child.

Number. Per cent.

Children

well

and

strong

at

birth.

Children not

well and strong

at birth.

Total.

Children

well

and

strong

at

birth.

Children not

well and strong

at birth.

Total,

Bom

living.

Stillborn.

Bom

living.

Stillborn.

Mothers at home:

A t housework only.........................

At other work..................................

A t no work.......................................

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

Mothers at work outside the home

before birth of child:

At cotton-mill work........................

At other work..................................

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

Grand total...................................

182

5

4

112

1

2

93

2

1

1387

8

7

47.0

62.5

57.1

29.0

12.5

28.6

24.0

25.0

14.3

100.0

100.0

100.0

191 115 96 1402 47.5 28.6 23.9 100.0

136

14

96

9

65

4

2 297

3 27

45.8

51.9

32.3

33.3

21.9

14.8

100.0

100.0

150 105 69 *324 46.3 32.4 21.3 100.0

341 220 165 & 726 47.0 30.3 22.7 100.0

1 Not including 8, child’s condition not reported. 4 Not including 11, child’s condition not reported.

2 Not including 9, child’s condition not reported. 5 Not including 19, child’s condition not reported.

» Not including 2, child’s condition not reported*

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348 BULLETIN OF Til K Bi/KEAU OF LA BOH STATISTICS.

Here, as in the preceding comparison, a slightly larger per cent 

of the children of mothers at work are found reported as not well 

and strong at birth. This excess is slightly increased if the comparison be restricted to the two more important classes, “ mothers at 

housework only” and “ mothers at millwork.” For the former class 

S3 per cent of the children were reported as not well and strong at 

birth, and for the latter class 54.2 per cent. The significance in these 

figures appears to be not in the slight excess of children not well 

and strong at birth for the mothers at work, but in the fact that for 

the mothers at home the percentage is practically as high, plainly 

indicating that if there is an injurious effect of millwork there must 

also be in many of these cases an effect almost in the same degree 

injurious resulting from the work at home. In making this statement it is, of course, necessary to remember that to an extent which 

can not be accurately measured the group “ mothers at home ” includes women who were in early life engaged in millwork and are 

perhaps still subject to the effect upon their health of this earlier 

work.

DISCONTINUANCE OF MOTHERS' WORK BEFORE CHILDBIRTH.

Perhaps quite as important as the character of the work of the 

mother is the length of time before birth of child that the mother 

stopped work. For the mothers at home the question is difficult of 

an answer which is of value. A very large number reported that 

housework was continued up to the d;?}T of birth. For very many of 

these this did not mean severe or long-continued work. For others 

the hardest kind of work was reported, and premature births and 

stillbirths could be traced directly to this cause. For the most part, 

however, the time of discontinuance of work before the birth of the 

child can not be regarded as significant as here reported in the cases 

of mothers at home. For the mothers at work, however, conditions 

are quite different. Here in nearly all cases the mothers were employed outside the home in cotton-mill work and continued at their 

usual mill duties up to the day shown in the table.

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INFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS. 349

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF TOTAL CHILDREN DYING UNDER 1 Y E A R (INCLUDING

STILLBORN) W HO W ER E REPORTED AS NOT W ELL AND STRONG AT BIRTH FOR

MOTHERS AT HOME A2ntD MOTHERS AT W O R K , ACCORDING TO LENGTH OF TIME

BEFORE BIRTH OF CHILD THAT MOTHER STOPPED W O RK.

Length of time before birth of child

that mother stopped work.

Mothers at home. Mothers at work outside the

home before birth of child.

Total

children,

including

stillborn.

Children not well and

strong at birth. Total

children,

including

stillborn.

Children not well and

strong at birth.

I rumber.

Per

cent.

Number.

Per

Born cent.

living.

Stillborn. Total.

Bom

living.

Stillborn. Total.

Under 4 days............................................. 271 71 59 130 48.0 14 6 5 11 78.6

4 days and under 1 week........................ 5 2 ...... 2 40.0 2 1 1 2 100.0

1 week and under 2 weeks...................... 33 11 20 60.6 11 3 2 5 45.5

2 weeks and under 3 weeks..................... 7 1 3 4 57.1 32 11 10 21 65.6

3 weeks and under 1 month................... 1 1 1 100.0 5 3 3 60.0

1 month and under 2 months................. 5 2 2 40.0 31 *“ io* 5 15 48.4

2 months and under 3 months............... 2 1 1 50.0 54 14 10 24 44.4

3 months and under 4 months.............. 3 1 1 33.3 37 9 8 17 45.9

4 months and under 5 months............... 1 1 1 100.0 28 11 3 14 50.0

5 months and under 6 months............... 1 1 1 100.0 16 6 3 9 56.3

6 months and over.................................... 9 5 5 55.6 73 28 11 39 53.4

Total................................................. 338 96 72 168 49.7 303 99 61 160 52.8

Time of stopping work not reported... 64 19 24 51 79.7 21 6 8 14 66.7

Total................................................ 1402 115 96 219 52.5 2 324 105 69 174 53.0

1 Not including 8 children, condition at birth not reported.

2 Not including 11 children, condition at birth not reported.

For the mothers at home it will be seen that in 271 out of 338 

cases reported work was continued up to within four days of childbirth, while for the mothers at work outside the home out of 303 

cases reported, 14 worked up to within four days, 27 less than two 

weeks, and 64, or 21 per cent of all, less than one month. For the 

mothers at home the per cent of the children who were not well and 

strong at birth was not higher than the average, even in the group 

working up to within four days of childbirth. For the mothers at 

work outside the home, those continuing work up to *within a month 

or less of childbirth show an excessive percentage of children not 

well and strong at birth. In all the groups discontinuing work at an 

earlier date the percentages were below the average, save in the last 

two groups, where it was only slightly in excess.

RELATION BETWEEN MOTHER'S WORK AND CHILD’S CONDITION

AT BIRTH.

It has appeared from the foregoing tables that in a comparison of 

the condition at birth of children of mothers at home and mothers 

at work, approximately the same percentage were not well and 

strong at birth. Inquiries were made attempting to trace, so far as 

possible, any apparent relation between the child’s condition at birth

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and the mother’s work. Such relationship, however, except in a small 

proportion of cases, is difficult to trace, for the causes responsible 

for cases of premature birth, congenital malformation, or a condition of weakness at birth are often exceedingly obscure and very 

complex. It can not be supposed that what is here presented is 

more than suggestive of the causes which are operating in the two 

classes, “ mothers at home” and umothers at work,” to produce a 

condition of weakness or ill health in the child at birth.

Of the 302 children dying under 1 year whose mothers were engaged in housework at home, the condition of 53 children not well 

and strong at birth was traced to an apparent cause. The child’s 

condition in 14 cases was due to injury at birth or difficult birth, in

14 cases to the sickness or ill health of the mother, and in 9 cases to 

the character of the mother’s work. These 9 cases, however, include 

5 cases where the mother was employed during pregnancy outside 

the home, but where it could be stated definitely that the child’s condition at birth was due directly to overwork at home after leaving 

the mill. In these cases the overwork of special importance was 

heavy washing and lifting in connection with the same.

Of the 243 children of mothers engaged in millwork outside the 

home, 42 cases of children not well and strong at birth could be 

traced to an apparent cause. In 15 cases this cause was the sickness 

or ill health of the mother, in 11 cases it was the character of the 

mother’s work, and in 9 cases, where it did not appear that the character of the mother’s work was especially unsuitable and injurious, 

it did appear quite clearly that it was continued so long and so near 

childbirth as to be directly responsible for the child’s weakness or ill 

health at birth.

SUMMARY OP SECTION.

Summarizing the results of the study of the effect upon the children of the mother’s employment before childbirth, the conclusion 

must be reached that in Fall River, as indicated by this one year’s 

experience, no marked differences are discoverable between the children of mothers at home and those of mothers at work outside the 

home. A slightly larger per cent of stillbirths was reported for the 

mothers at home, but the per cent of the stillbirths which could be 

traced to the mother’s work was the same for mothers at home and 

for mothers at work. The percentage of total deaths due to diseases 

of early infancy (indicating prematurity, immaturity, or defects) 

was higher for the children of mothers at home than for the children 

of mothers at work. The percentage of children not well and strong 

at birth (stillbirths included) was almost exactly the same for 

mothers at home and for mothers at work. It would appear, then,

350 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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that the conditions which were found existing do not indicate that 

the work of the mother in the cotton mill before childbirth was producing results noticeably different from the work of mothers at home. 

It must be borne in mind, however, that the two classes—mothers at 

work and mothers at home—are not sharply defined and that the 

group, mothers at home, always includes a considerable number of 

women who were formerly engaged in millwork and whose physical 

condition may still be affected in some degree by such earlier employment.

EFFECT OF INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHER

AFTER BIRTH OF CHILD.

In regard to the relation of the mother’s work outside the home 

after childbirth to the high infant mortality in Fall River, the question of first importance, of course, is, In what proportion of the cases 

of children dying under 1 year did the mother work outside the 

home after childbirth, thus depriving the child of the mother’s care? 

The answer to this question will give the measure of the maximum 

possible effect of the mother’s work outside the home after childbirth 

upon the infant mortality. The results of this investigation show 

that in Fall River in 1908 only 83, or 14.4 per cent, of the 578 children dying under 1 year, concerning whom information could be 

secured, were deprived of the mother’s care because of her going to 

work after childbirth.

Among these mothers who went to work after childbirth nearly 

all the races are represented, in much the same proportions as in the 

much larger group of mothers at work before childbirth. While it 

is apparent from the smaller number of children which they had 

borne for the groups as a whole the mothers at work were younger 

than the mothers at home, yet among these mothers who went to 

work after childbirth, in certain cases the average number of children is so large as to indicate women no longer young. Thus, the

18 French-Canadian mothers show an average of 7.1 children, the 6 

English mothers 6.8 children, and the 4 Irish mothers 6.3. The 

Portuguese mothers, 27 in number, showed an average of only 3.4 

children. This comparatively low average was no doubt due to the 

fact that the Portuguese cotton-mill operatives in Fall River are 

largely recent immigrants, and as most of them came to this country 

seeking work in the cotton mill it is, of course, to be expected that 

they are nearly all comparatively young.

It has been shown that only 83, or 14.4 per cent, of the 578 mothers 

reporting went to work outside the home after childbirth and while 

the child was living. Of this number 11 (13.3 per cent) went to work

INFANT MORTALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OF MOTHERS. 351

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352 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

during the first month and 17 (20.5 per cent) during the second 

month. Of the mothers at home a great majority resumed work 

within one month.

In the absence of the mother, when the mother went to work, the 

care of the child was undertaken by the grandmother in 25 cases, by 

some other relative in 22 cases, and by a friend, neighbor, or hired 

attendant in 29 cases. For the remaining 7. no report was secured.

CHILDREN DYING UNDER ONE YEAR FROM SPECIFIED CAUSES,

BY MOTHERS’ EMPLOYMENT.

In the table which follows the causes of death of the children of 

mothers who went to work outside the home after childbirth are 

shown in comparison with the causes in the case of (1) the children 

of the mothers who were at home before and after childbirth, and 

(2) the children of the mothers who were at work outside the home 

before the birth of child, but did not return to-work after childbirth.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN DYING UNDER 1 YEAR FROM CERTAIN

SPECIFIED CAUSES. CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE M OTHER’S W O RK BEFORE

AND AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

Number.

Employment of mother after birth of

child, and while child was living.

Mothers at home before birth of child

and not going to work........................

Mothers at work outside the home before birth of child, but did not return to work after childbirth...........

Mothers at work outside the home before birth of child and returned to

work after childbirth.........................

Total.

Diseases of

early

infancy

and

congenital j

malfor- \

mationJ

Diarrhea,

enteritis, and

gastritis.

Convulsions,

102

67

13

* 100 

66

2 52

182 j 224

N on tu -

beretilous

meningitis.

!

1

8 | 1

i .

2 I32

Pneum onia,

bronchitis,

and

larvngilis.

*95

Tuberculosis

(all

forms),

whooping

cough,

measles.

All

other

causes.

38

Total,

all

causes.

i 309

186

2 83

Per cent.

Mothers at home before birth of child

and not going to work........................

Mothers at work outside the home before birth of child, but did not

return to work after childbirth.......

Mothers at work outside the home before birth of child and returned to

work after childbirth., .................... .

33.0 31.3 7.1 0.3 16.5 2.3 6.5 m o

30.0 35.5 4.3 . 5 15.6 8.1 100.0

15.7 02.7 2.4 !15.7 , 0 100.0

1 Not including 5 children of mothers at homo before birth of child who went to work outside the home

after childbirth.

2 Including 5 children of mothers at home before birth'cf child Mho went to wcrk cutside the home after

childbirth.

3 Including 2 children not reported whether mother returned to work after childbirth.

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I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y A N D E M P L O Y M E N T OF M O T H E R S . 353

Comparing the causes of death of the three classes of children, the 

striking similarity between the two groups of children whose mothers 

were at home after childbirth is first to be noted. Diarrhea, enteritis, 

and gastritis were accountable for 34.3 per cent of the deaths among 

the children of mothers at home both before and after childbirth 

and 35.5 per cent among the children of mothers who were at work 

outside the home before the birth of child but who did not return to 

work after childbirth. The deaths from diseases of early infancy 

constituted 33 per cent in the former group and 36 per cent in the 

latter group. On the other hand, turning to the children of mothers 

at work after childbirth, it is found that 62.7 per cent of all deaths 

were due to diarrhea, enteritis, and gastritis.

It will be noticed that the per cent of deaths due to diseases of 

early infancy and congenital malformations are much higher among 

the children of mothers who did not return to work. The explanation of the difference in this latter case is in the fact that most of the 

children dying from this group of causes died within the early wreeks 

of life, before it was possible for the mother to leave the home and 

go to work.

The high percentage of death from diarrheal diseases among children of mothers at work outside the home is not peculiar to mothers 

of any one country, but for natives of every country the percentage is 

in excess of the corresponding percentage among children of mothers 

at home.

ARTIFICIAL FEEDING.

Artificial feeding was, as shown in the following table, much more 

general among the children of mothers at work than among the children of mothers at home. The same percentage of the children were 

fed on fresh cow’s milk (9.8 per cent), although when we consider 

those who were given cowT’s milk and at the same time nursed a much 

greater use of cow’s milk is found among the mothers at work than 

among the mothers at home. The use of condensed milk is also more 

general among the mothers at work than among the mothers at home. 

The use of condensed milk among the mothers at home also exceeded 

the use of cow’s milk. While 24.4 per cent of the mothers at home 

admitted giving solid food, among the-mothers at work the percentage 

rose to 40.2.

The relation of the high percentage of deaths from diarrhea, 

enteritis, and gastritis to artificial feeding is brought out by the 

excess of the artificial feeding among the children who died from the 

diarrheal diseases as compared with the children dying from other 

causes.

05053°— Bull. 175—1C----- 23

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354 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP CHILDREN DYING UNDER 1 Y E A R FROM DIAR RH EA,

ENTERITIS, AND GASTRITIS WHO W ERE GIVEN EACH SPECIFIED KIND OF FOOD,

CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MOTHER’S W O RK AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

Number.

Mothers at home after

childbirth.

Mothers went to work

outside the home after

childbirth.

Total.

Character of food.

Deaths

from

diarrhea,

enteritis,

and

gastritis.

Deaths

from

other

causes.

Deaths

from

all

causes.

Deaths

from

diarrhea,

enteritis,

and

gastritis.

Deaths

from

other

causes.

Deaths

from

all

causes.

Deaths

from

diarrhea,

enteritis,

and

gastritis.

Deaths

from

other

causes.

Deaths

from

all

causes.

Nursing exclusively............... 38 Ill 149 1 1 39 Ill

37

150

Cow’s milk............................... 9 34 43 5 3 8 14 51

Cow's milk and nursing........ 12 12 24 8 2 10 20 14 34

Condensed milk....................... 19 23 42 6 5 11 25 28 53

Condensed milk and nursing.

Proprietary foods....................

Proprietary foods and nurs12

9

15

9

27

18

9 5 14 21

9

20

9

41

18

ing........................................... 20 8 28 3 2 5 23 10 33

Other foods (usually solid

foods) with any or all of

preceding.............................

Other foods (usually solid

12 10 22 7 5 12 19 15 34

foods) with any or all of

preceding and nursing........ 35 50 85 13 8 21 48 58 106

Total............................... 166 272 438 52 30 82 218 302 520

Per cent.

Nursing exclusively................ 22.9 40.8 34.0 1.9 1.2 17.9 36.8 28.8

Cow’s milk................................ 5.4 12.5 9.8 9.6 10.0 9.8 6.4 12.3 9.8

Cow’s milk and nursing........ 7.2 4.4 5.5 15.4 6.7 12.2 9.2 4.6 6.5

Condensed milk....................... 11.4 8.5 9.6 11.5 16.7 13.4 11.5 9.3 10.2

Condensed milk and nursing.

Proprietary foods....................

7.2

5.4

5.5

3.3

6.2

4.1

17.3 16.7 17.1 9.6

4.1

6.6

3.0

7.9

3.5

Proprietary foods and nursing.......................................... 12.0 2.9 6.4 5.8 6.7 6.1 10.6 3.3 6.3

Other foods (usually solid

foods) with any or all of

preceding...............................

Other foods (usually solid

7.2 3.7 5.0 13.5 16.7 14.6 8.7 5.0 6.5

foods) with any or all of

preceding and nursing....... 21.1 18.4 19.4 25.0 26.7 25.6 22.0 19.2 20.4

Total............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

DEATHS FROM DIARRHEAL DISEASES IN RELATION TO MOTHERS'

WORK AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

The children of mothers at work, when compared with the children 

of mothers at home, show an excessive percentage of deaths from 

diarrheal diseases regardless of the character of the food, suggesting 

that a lack of care or improper care, as well as the difference in the 

feeding, played an important part. This is shown in the following 

table:

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I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y A N D E M P L O Y M E N T O F M O T H E R S . 355

PER CENT OF TOTAL DEATHS DUE TO D IAR R H EA, ENTERITIS, AND GASTRITIS

AMONG CHILDREN GIVEN EACH SPECIFIED KIND OF FOOD, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO MOTHER’S W O RK AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

Character of food.

Mothers at home after

childbirth.

Mothers went to work

outside the home

after childbirth.

Total.

Deaths,

all

causes.

Deaths from

diarrhea, enteritis, and

gastritis.

Deaths,

Deaths from

diarrhea, enteritis, and

gastritis.

Deaths,

all

causes.

Deaths from

diarrhea, enteritis, and

gastritis.

Number.

Per

cent of

deaths,

all

causes.

all

causes.

Number.

Per

cent of

deaths,

all

causes.

Number.

Per

cent of

deaths,

all

causes.

Nursing exclusively........................... 149 38 25.5 1 1 100.0 150 39 26.0

Cow’s milk........................................... 43 9 20.9 8 5 62.5 51 14 27.5

Cow’s milk and nursing.................... 24 12 50.0 10 8 80.0 34 20 58.8

Condensed milk.................................. 42 19 45.2 11 6 54.5 53 25 47.1

Condensed milk and nursing........... 27 12 44.4 14 9 64.3 41 21 51.2

Proprietary foods................................ 18 9 50.0 18 9 50.0

Proprietary foods and nursing........

Other foods (usually solid foods)

28 20 71.4 5 3 60.0 33 23 69.7

with any or all of preceding.........

Other foods* (usually solid foods)

22 12 54.5 12 7 58.3 34 19 55.9

with any or all of preceding and

nursing.............................................. 85 35 41.2 21 13 61.9 106 48 45.3

Total........................................... 438 166 37.9 82 52 63.4 520 218 41.9

The lowest percentage of deaths from diarrheal diseases uniformly appears among children who were breast fed exclusively.1 

Next to these, children using fresh cow’s milk showed much the 

lowest percentage of diarrheal deaths, the figures being 27.5 per 

cent against 45.3 per cent for solid food and nursing, the next higher, 

and 47.1 per cent for condensed milk. The highest, 69.7 per cent, 

was for proprietary foods and nursing, the next highest being 58.8 

for cow’s milk and nursing.

When the children of mothers at work are studied a somewhat 

different order appears, cow’s milk exclusively and solid food and 

nursing both showing a very high percentage of diarrheal deaths. 

For the former class, however, it should be noted that the figures 

are rather small, as indeed they are for all the classes in the mothersat-work group. It is probable that the much more unfavorable 

showing for cow’s milk here is due .to inferior quality and especially 

inferior care of the milk. A similar explanation may also account 

for the more unfavorable showing for condensed milk. It is likely 

that the lack of the mother’s care, as well as the lack of her nursing, 

is an important factor here.

The very considerable number of deaths from diarrheal diseases 

among children who were given only mother’s milk ought not to

1The exception among children of mothers at work may properly be ignored in this 

connection, as there was only a single instance.

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excite surprise, although it is doubtless unnecessarily large. Even 

among breast-fed children the channels of possible infection are 

numerous. Where only breast milk is given and there is no possibility of infection through unclean food, infection might easily be 

introduced by means of the fingers or articles put into the mouth, 

both of which would often be unclean from dust or dirt from the 

clothing, the furniture, or the floor. All this would be true even in 

homes where a fair standard of living and of hygiene was maintained. The dangers in overcrowded, insanitary dwellings located 

in insanitary surroundings would be vastly increased.

Ignoring the groups with a total of 8 or less, the Polish mothers 

led all others in nursing, .55.6 per cent of their children being breast 

fed exclusively, against 33.6 per cent of the French Canadians, and 

27.4 per cent of the Portuguese. Only 16.7 per cent of the Irish 

children were nursed exclusively.

In the Use of cow's milk the Polish mothers are in the lead, 

with 27.8 per cent, the Irish coming next with 22.3 per cent, the 

Portuguese mothers being last with only 12.1 per cent.

The Irish mothers appear as using condensed milk most generally 

(38.9 per cent), the Americans being next with 23.6 per cent.

The Portuguese mothers led all others in the use of solid foods, 

44.7 per cent of all admitting giving them either with or without 

breast feeding. A considerable number of cases were also found 

among the French Canadians and the Americans.

The principal excuses or reasons for not nursing for the 218 

mothers at home who nursed a part of the time only or not at all 

were: No milk or milk deficient, 59.6 per cent, and illness or disability of mother or child, 26.1 per cent. For 11, or 6.4 per cent, it 

was reported that milk was present, but no good reason for not 

nursing could be given. For 81 mothers who went to work wTho 

nursed only a part of the time or not at all, the most important cause 

was naturally the intention to go to work, which was given by 39, 

or 48.1 per cent. Next in importance as a reason was “ no milk or 

milk deficient,” 33.3 per cent. In the case of 11, or 13.6 per cent, 

it was admitted that milk was present, but no good reason was 

given for not nursing.

The illness or disability of the mother or child as a reason for not 

nursing was a much more important cause with the mothers at 

home than with the mothers at work. This, however, is what one 

would expect, inasmuch as mothers seriously ill would, of course, 

be unable to go to work. It is not at all unlikely that a similar reason explains the excess of those reporting no milk or milk deficient 

among the mothers at home. The degree of ill health might result 

in a deficiency of milk and also cause the mother to remain at home,

356 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U . O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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even though the incapacity might not be sufficient, to.cause it to be 

reported as the main reason for not nursing.

If the two classes, “ disinclination of mother ” and “ milk present, 

no reason given for not nursing,” be regarded as the same, this reason accounts for 8.7 per cent among the mothers at home and 13.6 

per cent among the mothers at work.

It is probable that in some of the cases where the mother reported 

no milk or milk deficient, the actual reason for the failure to nurse 

the child was her own ignorance or disinclination. The experience 

of physicians has shown that such reports can not be accepted as 

conclusive, and that in many cases where the mother states that she 

has no milk for her child a fair trial proves the contrary.

The disinclination of the mother does not appear as an acknowledged reason of failure to nurse the child save in 5 cases (including 

3 among mothers at home and not nursing at all). It is almost certain, however, that this was the real reason in others of the 28 cases 

where milk was present and a more or less unsatisfactory reason for 

not nursing was given. Among these 28 mothers were 11 who later 

went to work. The period which elapsed before their going to work 

in these cases was as follows: Two at two weeks, 1 at three weeks, 4 

at one month, 3 at three months, and 1 at four months. In 8 of 

these cases the excuse given was that the mother expected to return 

to work within a short time. It is clear that such a reason can not 

be accepted as expressing the full truth when the return to work was 

postponed one and even two months. In one case where the return 

to work took place in three weeks the excuse frankly given was the 

disinclination of the mother.

“ Going to work ” was given as an excuse or reason for shortening 

the period of nursing in only 40 cases, or 13.4 per cent of the total 

number who nursed only a part of the time or not at all. In these 

cases the breast feeding which was given for a time was discontinued 

because the mother went to work outside the home. In the one case 

where the mother went to work but continued nursing exclusively 

it is clear that the child would be unfavorably affected by the necessarily infrequent feeding. These cases, it may be noted, constituted 

only 7.9 per cent of the total of 520 for whom information in regard 

to feeding was obtained. The significance of this percentage is in 

the fact that it shows what part of the entire number of children had 

their period of nursing shortened by the fact that the mother went 

to work outside the home.

CONCLUSION.

To sum up, then, such conclusions as clearly appear from the study 

of Fall River experience in regard to the relation of the mother’s 

work outside the home after childbirth to the high infant mortality

I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y A N D E M P L O Y M E N T OF M O T H E R S . 357

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358 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

in that city, only 83, or 14.4 per cent of all children dying under 1 

year, were found to have been deprived of the mothers care because 

of her going to work. This per cent represents the extent of the possible effect of the mother’s absence from home.

But the extent to which the nursing of the child was affected by 

the mother’s going to wrork is smaller than even this figure indicates, 

for in only 41 cases, or 7.9 per cent of all, was the mother’s nursing 

in any way affected by her absence from home, and in the 42 other 

cases she either failed to nurse because of disinclination or inability, 

or had discontinued nursing for reasons not in any way connected 

with her return to work.

But while the number and per cent of children affected by the 

mother’s absence from home was small, yet the causes of death among 

this number, as compared with the causes among children whose 

mothers remained at home, show strikingly the fatal effect in these 

few cases of the mother’s absence and of the lack of her care and 

nursing. Thus, the proportion of deaths from diarrhea, enteritis, 

and gastritis among the children whose mothers went to work (62.7 

per cent) was over 80 per cent in excess of that of the children whose 

mothers remained at home (34.6 per cent).

The real significance of this excess will not be fully realized until 

we recall the figures before given, showing that for Fall Eiver as a 

whole the death rate under 1 year from diarrhea, enteritis, and gastritis was two or three times what it was in many other localities.

The high infant mortality of Fall Eiver as a whole clearly is not 

due, except in very small part, to the excessive rate among the children of mothers at wTork outside the home, for the proportion of 

deaths due to diarrhea, enteritis, and gastritis, 38.6 per cent of all, 

for the city as a whole, only falls to 34.6 per cent when the children 

of mothers at home are taken separately.

What, then, it will be asked, are the causes of the excessive infant 

mortality in Fall Eiver, an excess already seen to be chiefly in the 

deaths due to diarrhea, enteritis, and gastritis? The causes of the 

excessive mortality under 1 year in Fall Eiver among the children 

of mothers at home are to be found in the absence of nursing and in 

the improper feeding and improper care, of which there are many 

examples. The much higher mortality among the children of the 

mothers who went to work after childbirth is plainly due chiefly to 

the greater extent of the absence of breast feeding and of the improper feeding and the additional evil influence of the withdrawal of 

the mother’s care.

Among the mothers at home only 34 per cent of the children were 

nursed exclusively, while 24 per cent were given solid food, and 

for 16 per cent condensed milk was the principal food. Among the 

children of mothers who went to work only 1.2 per cent were

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nursed exclusively, while 40 per cent were given solid food, and 

for 30.5 per cent condensed milk was the principal food. By both 

classes of mothers condensed milk was used more generally than 

fresh cow’s milk. In over one-third of the cases where solid food 

was given its use was begun during the first week.

The large percentage of artificial feeding was found to be due 

to a considerable extent to deficiency of breast milk, which was much 

more frequent among the mothers at home than among those who 

went to work; but in many cases among the latter this artificial 

feeding was not due to a deficiency of breast milk, nor was it in 

any way a result of the mother’s going to work.

The cause of the excessive infant mortality in Fall River may 

be summed up in a sentence as the mother’s ignorance of proper 

feeding, of proper care, and of the simplest requirements of hygiene. 

To this all other causes must be regarded as secondary.

I N F A N T M O R T A L I T Y A N D E M P L O Y M E N T O F M O T H E R S . 8 5 9

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER XIV.—CAUSES OF DEATH AMONG WOMAN

AND CHILD COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES.

This volume, which forms the fourteenth part of the Report on 

the Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United 

States, contains the results of a study of the deaths occurring during three years in three typical cotton-manufacturing communities 

of New England. It was undertaken in the belief that—

Accurate mortality statistics of a given occupation constitute the 

only indisputable evidence as to the healthfulness or unheal thfulness of that occupation to the persons engaged in it.1

The report consists of three main parts—an explanation of the 

method of determining the healthfulness of an occupation by means 

of mortality statistics, with an exposition of the advantages inherent 

in this method; an intensive stud}7, for the places and periods 

selected, of death rates and distribution of population among those 

aged 15 to 44; and a more general study of the same kind for the 

whole population aged 10 years and over.

ADVANTAGES OF METHOD OF INVESTIGATION USED.

There are two possible methods of determining the liealthfulness 

of an industry, which may be defined respectively as the inspection 

method and the death-rate method.

Under the first method a careful inspection is made of as many 

as possible of those engaged in a given industry, and from the prevalence of ill health or disease among them conclusions are drawn as 

to the healthfulness of that pursuit. By the second method the death 

rate among those engaged in a given industry is accurately determined for a period sufficiently long to exclude the effect of temporary disturbances, and from a comparison of this death rate with 

that prevailing in similar age and sex groups outside of the industry 

conclusions are drawn as to the healthful or unhealthful character 

of the industry.2

The second method has marked advantages over the first or inspection method. First, it is based on indisputable facts, not on 

controvertible grounds. Thus, at least in the registration areas, in 

a given industry it is possible to establish beyond question that with­

* Vol. XIV, Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, p. 17.

2 Idem, p. 22.

361

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362 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

in a certain period a specified number of those engaged in the industry have died. The inspection method, on the other hand, starting 

with what is more or less a matter of opinion and judgment—the 

statement that at a given date so many of the employees under consideration were in poor health—brings in a second element of uncertainty when it attempts to define the degree of ill health existing 

among those affected.

Secondly, the death rate method is comprehensive, and hence affords a fairer basis for comparisons than the inspection method, 

which can never be more than partial and limited. In the registration areas it is possible to determine all the deaths which have occurred within a given group during a specified period, but it is obviously impossible to learn the number of cases of ill health which 

have occurred within the same group during a similar period. An 

inspection can deal with only a fraction of the employees in an industry and there is no way of knowing whether or not this fraction 

is really typical of the whole group. Even if it were typical, it 

would show only the conditions existing at the particular time when 

the inspection was made, which would not necessarily be at all the 

same as the conditions prevailing throughout a period of years.

Third, the death rate method excludes any possibility of bias, intentional or unconscious, on the part of the investigator, and when 

several investigators are working together, reduces to a minimum 

the effect of the personal equation. The inspection method is sure 

to deal with a number of border line cases which might be classed on 

either side of whatever line of demarcation has been fixed; where 

they wrill be classed depends upon the investigator’s personal judgment, and when several investigators are working together it is exceedingly likely that cases of similar character will be included by 

one and cast out by another. By the death-rate method this element 

of confusion is avoided; death means death whether the classification is made by one investigator or by twenty.

Fourth, any study of the healthfulness of an occupation involves 

a consideration of the factors which tell against health—the antilongevity factors. Obviously it is easier to isolate these factors and 

gain some idea of their relative importance in a case in which their 

work has been completed than in a case of which it can only be said 

that they have brought about some form of ill health. In the one 

case the completed result of their activity can be seen; in the other, 

only a partial result, which is not susceptible of definite measurement.

Together they have brought about a general condition known as 

ill health, or perhaps some specific condition such as tuberculosis or 

typhoid, but the inspection method affords no way of learning what

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either the general or the specific condition means in years of life 

sacrificed or industrial efficiency lost.

But when it is stated that a given number of individuals of a designated age have died, it is evident that each one of them has suffered 

the greatest total physical injury to which any individual of that 

age is susceptible. The factors which have produced death at the 

specified age undoubtedly differ widely from case to case in number, 

in identity, and in individual harmfulness, but in every case their 

combined effect has been the same—death within a specified age 

period. Knowing, therefore, their combined effect, it becomes possible to determine with some degree of accuracy the relative degree 

of harmfulness of each factor.1

SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION.

Three cities—Fall River, Mass., Manchester, N. H., and Pawtucket, E. I.—were selected for study partly because they were predominantly cotton-manufacturing communities and partly because 

the number of cotton-mill operatives found in them—about onesixth of the cotton-mill operatives of the whole country—is large 

enough to be considered as typical of conditions among the employees of the industry generally.

The investigation covered a period of three years, 1905, 1906, 

and 1907. The official record of every death of an individual aged 

10 years and over was first copied, after which a visit was made to 

the place at which he had died, and relatives or friends were questioned as to details not given in the official certificate. Also the 

statement of the death certificate as to the decedent’s occupation 

was verified or corrected. Corrections were frequently necessary.

The recorded number of female operative decedents in Fall River 

for the three-year period was 171. Of these, one-seventh, or 24, 

were found not to have been cotton operatives, while 152 who were 

recorded as having other or no occupations were really cotton operatives. The corrected number of female operative decedents, therefore, was 299; that is, the group as recorded was too small by 128.2

Throughout this study the term ucotton operatives” is used to 

mean only those persons whose work had been such as to expose 

them for many hours daily to the processes or hygienic conditions 

peculiar to a mill that manufactures cotton wadding, yarn, thread, 

or cloth. Office clerks, for instance, were not included, nor were 

engineers, firemen, watchmen, and yardmen, none of these being in 

anywise affected by conditions peculiar to cotton manufacturing. 

The term “ cotton operative” was still further restricted by limiting it to those who were either working in a cotton mill at the time 

of death or who had left it not more than two years before.

1 Vol. XIV, Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, p. 23.

2 Idem, p. 47.

C A U S E S O F D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 363

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364 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

MORTALITY IN AGE GROUP 15 TO 44 YEARS.

This group was selected for intensive study for three reasons:

First, the massing of cotton operatives within its limits renders 

its selection desirable in order that the comparisons between operatives and nonoperatives may be valid; second, this is the period in 

which tuberculosis is most fatally active, and, since tuberculosis is 

the most important cause of death among female operatives, this 

age group is especially suitable for detailed study in an investigation 

into the causes of death among female operatives; and, third, the 

freedom of the group from the complications of either infancy or 

age renders it possible to trace the effect of a given cause upon 

death rates far more easily than can be done in the higher age 

groups, in which the influence of advancing years seriously affects 

the mortality.1

Concerning the first of the above reasons it is to be noted that 85 

per cent of the whole operative population of the three cities studied 

was found within the limits of this age group, while as to the second, 

three-fourths (76 per cent) of the total deaths from tuberculosis 

occurring in Fall River during the three-year period were of persons 

aged from 15 to 44 years.

RELATIVE DEATH RATES OF OPERATIVES AND NONOPERATIVES,

ALL CAUSES.

A detailed study is given of the mortality and of the distribution 

of the population in each of the component five-year age groups 

making up this period. As a result several facts appear to be clearly 

established.

First, in the population as a whole the male death rate shows a 

slight excess over the female alike from tuberculous and nontuberculous causes. The only exception to this is in Fall River, where for 

the three-year period the female death rate from nontuberculous 

causes shows a slight excess over the male.

But among the operatives the situation exactly reverses that 

prevailing among the general population. Female operatives show 

a uniform and marked excess in death rates over the male operatives, 

the only exception to this condition appearing in the figures of the 

three cities for one year, where the male operative death rate from 

all causes combined shows a slight excess over the corresponding 

female rate. Moreover the death rate of the female operatives is 

very much higher than that of female nonoperatives. This is true 

of both Fall River and the three cities for the one year and the 

three year period, and for every one of the component five-year age 

groups, excepting only the group aged 15 to 19 years. Among the 

members of this age group in the three cities combined for the one1 Vol. X IV , Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Ootton-MHl Operatives, p. 55.

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C A U S E S OF D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 365

year period, the death rate of the nonoperative females was 4.17 

against 4.02 for the operative females. Elsewhere the excess of the 

operative rate was often very marked. Thus, in the three cities for 

the group aged 20 to 24 years the death rate of the female operatives 

was over twice that of the nonoperatives, 7.63 to 3.58, and in the 

group aged 35 to 39 years in Fall Eiver for three years the operative 

rate was 11.57 against a nonoperative rate of 5.90.

In order to present a comprehensive view of the variations within 

the 30-year age group, 15 to 44, and in order also to show the relation between those in this group and in the whole population aged 

10 years and over, several tables have been prepared giving the leading facts for Fall Eiver in condensed form. The first shows the 

general distribution of the population and of the deaths, together 

with a comparison of the death rates for operatives and nonoperatives in each 5-year age group.

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF OPERATIVES AND OF NONOPERATIVES, AND PER CENT

OF TOTAL DEATHS OF MALES AND OF FEMALES IN EACH 6-YEAR GR.OUP, AND

DEATH RATES PER 1,000 OF OPERATIVES AND NONOPERATIVES, FALL RIVER, 1905

TO 1907.

Age group.

m a le s.

10 to 14 years.......................

15 to 19 years.......................

20 to 24 years......................

25 to 29 years......................

30 to 34 years......................

35 to 39 years......................

40 to 44 years......................

Total, 15 to 44 years.

45 to 54 years......................

55 to 64 years......................

65 years and over...............

Total, 10 years and

over........................

FEMALES.

10 to 14 years......................

15 to 19 years......................

20 to 24 years......................

25 to 29 years......................

30 to 34 years......................

35 to 39 years......................

40 to 44 years......................

Total, 15 to 44 years

45 to 54 years......................

55 to 64 years......................

65 years and over...............

Total, 10 years and

over........................

Population.

Number.

Operatives.

291

2,300

2,042

1,696

1,571

1,529

1,250

10,388

1,619

574

138

13,010

232

2,987

3,052

1,914

1,357

1,037

709

11,056

682

161

17

12,148

Nonoperativcs.

4,985

3,227

2,647

2,980

2,679

2,339

1,968

15,840

2,940

2,092

1,468

27,325

5,161

3,038

3,037

3.518

3,195

2,993

2,846

18,627

4,464

2,904

2,027

33,183

Per cent of total,

Operatives.

2.2

17.7

15.7

13.0

12.1

11.7

79.9

12.4

4.4 1.1

100.0

1.9

24.6

25.1

15.8

11.2 

8.5

5.8

91.0

5.6

1.3

.2

100.0

Nonoperatives.

18.2

11.8

9.7

10.9

9.8

8.6

7.2

58.0

10.7

7.7

5.4

100.0

15.6

9.1

9.1

10.6

9.7

9.0 8.6

56.1

13.5

8.7

6.1

100.0

Per cent of total

deaths.

Operatives.

1.0

11.1

11.1

7.4

14.3

9.1

9.4

62.4

15.0

14.6

7.0

100.0

.3

14.7

17.4

14.7

15.4

12.0

10.4

84.6

10.0

4.4

.7

100.0

Nonoperatives.

3.0

2.2

3.2

3.6 6.2 

7.5

5.4

28.1

15.5

21.8

31.6

100.0

2.4

2.02.2

4.5

5.4

4.2

5.1

23.4

14.8

24.5

34.9

100.0

Death rates per 1,000.

Operatives.

3.44

4.64

5.22

4.13

8.70

5.67

7.20

5.74

8.85

24.39

48.31

7.35

1.44

4.91

5.68

7.G6

11.30

11.57

14.57

7.63

14.66

26.92

39.22

8.20

Nonoperatives.

Per cent

of excess

of operatives over

nonoperatives.

2.21

2.48

4.41

4.47

8.46

11.69

6.48

19.27

38.08

78.79

13.38

2.00

2.85

3.07

5.40

7.09

5.90

7.61

5.31

14.04

35.70

73.01

12.77

66

87

18 - 8 

3

-5 2

-2 8

-11

-54

-36

-4 5

-28

72

85

42

59

96

92’

44

4

-25

-46

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366 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

This table brings out very clearly the massing of the female operatives in the earlier age groups, where the death rates are normally 

lowr. Practically 50 per cent of the female operatives are found in 

the two groups aged 15 to 19 and 20 to 24 years, while only 18.2 per 

cent of the female nonoperatives are found m these age groups. This 

relative usefulness of the operatives greatly increases the impressiveness of their high death rate. Of the female operative deaths 32.1 

per cent occur between 15 and 25, during w7hich period only 4.2 per 

cent of the female nonoperative deaths occur.

Comparing the death rates per 1,000 of operatives and nonoperatives it will be seen that the greatest excess among the males, 37.1 

per cent, is in the 15 to 19 year group. The importance of this group 

is indicated by the fact that it contains over one-sixth of all the 

male operatives. In the almost equally important group, 20 to 24 

years, the excess is only 18.4 per cent, while in the other groups— 

except 10 to 14 years, which is not important for operatives—the 

excess in death rate is either on the side of the nonoperatives or is 

not important.

Comparing the death rates per 1,000 of female operatives and nonoperatives, the greatest excess, 96.1 per cent, appears in the 35 to 39 

year group, which contains approximately one-twelfth of all the 

female operatives. In the age group 40 to 44 the excess in the operative rate is 91.5 per cent, but the group is numerically less important, 

constituting only 5.8 per cent of all female operatives. In the most 

important age group, 20 to 24, which contains 25.1 per cent of all 

female operatives, the excess in the operative death rate is 85 per cent, 

and in the next most important group, 15 to 19 years, containing

24.6 per cent of the female operatives, the excess is 72.3 per cent.

The exceedingly large excess in the death rates of operatives over 

nonoperatives among the young wrorkers (15 to 19 years) must be 

considered especially significant, for these groups contain large numbers and represent a comparison of boys and girls who have been 

employed an average of twTo or three years with boys and girls of 

equal age, probably the greater part of wThom had not been employed 

as wage earners.

Among male operatives the massing in the lower age groups is 

by no means so pronounced as among female operatives. One-third 

of the male operatives, however, as against about one-fifth of the 

nonoperatives, are found between 15 and 25, and 22.2 per cent of 

the operative deaths, as compared with 5.4 per cent of the nonoperative, occur between thjese ages.

RELATIVE MORTALITY OF OPERATIVES AND NONOPERATIVES

FROM TUBERCULOSIS.

The varying importance of. tuberculosis as a cause of death among 

males and females, operatives and nonoperatives, and in the various 

age groups is readily seen when a comparison is made of the per 

cent of total deaths due to that cause. Such a comparison is made 

in the following table, the five-year age groups being used as in the 

table which has preceded.

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C A U S E S O F D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 367

TOTAL DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES, AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF DEATHS

DUE TO TUBERCULOSIS FOR OPERATIVES AND NONOPERATIVES, B Y SEX AND

AGE GROUPS, FALL RIVER, 1905 TO 1907.

Operatives. Nonoperatives.

Age group. Total

deaths,

Deaths from tuberculosis. Total

deaths,

Deaths from tuberculosis.

all

causes. Number. Per cent.

all

causes. Number. Per cent.

MALES.

10 to 14 years............................... 3 33

15 to 19 years............................... 32 11 34.4* / 24 9

a!:?}37-0

20 to 24 years............................... 32 16 50. o}42’ 2 1 35 11

25 to 29 years............................... 21 8 38.1U. *

5 1 .2 r 5-8

/ 40 13

30 to 34 years............................... 41 21 1 68 27

35 to 39 years............................... 28 14 53.8\.Q ! J 82 28 34.2\ort 0

40 to 44 years............................... 27 12 44.4 /49-1 \ 59 9 15.3/

Total, 15 to 44 years........

45 to 54 years................................

179

43

82

7

45.8

18.3

308

170

97

28

31.5

16.5

55 to 64 years............................... 42 5 11.9 239 15 6.2

65 years and over....................... 20 347 12 3.5

Total, 10 years and over. 287 94 32.8 1,097 152 13.9

FEMALES.

10 to 14 years................................ 1 31 8 25.8

15 to 19 years............................... 44 20 45.5\aa o / 20 10 38. 5\ o r «

20 to 24 vears............................... 52 23 44.2/44-8 \ 28 9 32.1/

25 to 29 years............................... 44 26 8 > - ‘ J 57 18

30 to 34 years............................... 46 20 \ 68 21

35 to 39 years............................... 38 12 33.3 W , / 53 9

40 to 44 years................................ 31 5 i6 :i}25-4 \ 65 2

Total, 15 to 44 years........

45 to 54 years...............................

253

30

106

6

41.9

20.0

297

188

69

17

23.2

9.0

55 to 64 years............................... 13 311 10 3.2

65 years and over........................ 2 444 4 .9

Total, 10 years and over. 299 112 37.5 1,271 108 8.5

The foregoing table shows not only the greater importance of 

tuberculosis among operatives, but the relative diminution in its importance as a cause of death in the higher age groups where other 

causes are increasingly destructive. Both male and female operatives 

show a greater relative mortality from tuberculosis than nonoperatives, but the difference is much greater among females than among 

males. Among female nonoperatives it will be noted that the highest proportions of tuberculous deaths are found in the age groups

15 to 19 and 20 to 24, although such deaths are fewer than in the 

next two groups, the reason being, of course, that other deaths are 

numerous at these early ages. Among the female operatives of the 

same ages, deaths from other causes are much more numerous, and 

consequently, though the tuberculous deaths are twice or more than 

twice as numerous as among nonoperatives, the percentage they form 

of the total deaths is b-y no means proportionately greater.1

1 Vol. XIV, Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, pp. 70, 71.

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368 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

RELATIVE DEATH RATES FROM TUBERCULOSIS OF OPERATIVES

AND NONOPERATIVES.

If instead of comparing the death rale from ail causes the death 

rate from tuberculosis alone be considered, the excess of the female 

operative over the female nonoperative rate is enormous. For the 

whole group aged 15 to 44 years the operative excess in Fall River 

was 160 per cent, and in the component five-year age groups the 

operative excess ranged from 103 per cent among those aged 15 to

19 years to 922 per cent among those aged 40 to 44 years. The following table presents briefly the situation in regard to operative 

and nonoperative death rates in Fall River during the period 

covered:

COMPARISON OF DEATH RATES PER 1,000 POPULATION 15 TO 44 YEARS OF OPERATIVES AND NONOPERATIVES, B Y SEX AND AGE GROUPS, FALL RIVER, 1905 TO 1907.

Tuberculous. N ontuberculous. All causes.

Age group.

Death rate

per 1,000.

Per cent

of excess

of operative

over nonoperative

death

rate.

Death rate

per 1,000.

Per cent

of excess

of operative

over nonoperative

death

rate.

Death rate

per 1,000. Per cent

of excess

of operar

tive

over nonoperative

death

rate.

Operatives.

Nonoperatives.

Operatives.

Nonoperatives.

Operatives.

III

MALES.

15 to 19........................ 1.60 0.93 72 3.04 1.55 96 4.64 2.48 87

20 to 24............................ 2.61 1.39 88 2.61 3.02 -1 4 5.22 4.41 18

25 to 29............................ 1.57 1.45 8 2.56 3.02 —15 4.13 4.47 — 8

30 to 34............................ 4.46 3.36 33 4.24 5.10 -1 7 8.70 8.46 3

35 to 39............................ 3.05 3.99 —24 2.62 7.70 -6 6 5.67 11.69 -5 2

40 to 44............................ 3.20 1.52 111 4.00 8.47 -5 3 7.20 9.99 -2 8

Total, 15 to 4 4 ... 2.63 2.04 29 3.11 4.44 -3 0 5.74 6; 48 -1 1

FEMALES.

15 to 19............................ 2.23 1.10 103 2.68 1.75 53 4.91 2.85 72

20 to 24............................ 2.51 .99 154 3.17 2.08 52 5.68 3.07 85

25 to 29............................ 4.53 1.71 165 3.13 3.69 —15 7.66 5.40 42

30 to 34............................ 4.91 2.19 124 6.39 4.90 30

57

11.30 7.09 59

35 to 33............................ 3.86

2.35

1.00 286

922

7. 71 4.90 11.57 5.90 G6

40 to 44............................ .23 12.22 7.38 66 14.57 7.61 91

Total, 15 to 4 4 ... 3.20 1.23 100 4.43 4.08 9 7.63 5.31 44

The above table shows the variations .in the death rates for the 

5-year groups which are hidden when the whole period of 30 years 

is considered as a unit. This effect is most liable to lead to misinterpretations in the death rates for male operatives and nonoperatives from all causes. In three of the 5-vear groups the operative 

exceeds the nonoperative rate, while in the other three the situation 

is reversed; the rate for the whole period is greater among nonoperatives than among operatives.

But when the causes of deaths are considered among the males, it 

is seen that the death rate per 1,000 from tuberculosis among operatives exceeds that among the nonoperatives, save in one age group, 

35 to 39. The excess was most marked in the age group 40 to 44 and

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in the younger age groups, 20 to 24 and 15 to 19. Quite the opposite 

is shown in a comparison of death rates from nontuberculous causes, 

here, save in one age group, 15 to 19 years, the excess being uniformly 

on the side of the nonoperatives.

For the female operatives the death rate per 1,000 is in all groups 

and classes save one (nontuberculous deaths, 25 to 29 years) largely 

in excess of that for female nonoperatives. The rates, however, from 

tuberculosis show an extraordinary excess. Thus, in the important 

age groups, 15 to 19, 20 to 24, and 25 to 29, the excess in the tuberculous rate for female operatives is, respectively, 102.7, 153.5, and 

164.9. The rates from nontuberculous! causes are in the most important age groups, 15 to 19 and 20 to 24, over 50 per cent in excess 

of those for nonoperatives. In considering the period 15 to 44 years 

as a whole, the massing of operatives in the youngest groups, where 

death rates would normally be low, must always be borne in mind. 

Were operatives, and especially female operatives, equally distributed among the age groups, the excess of the operative over the 

nonoperative death rate among females would be even greater than 

it is now and the nonoperative excess among males might disappear 

altogether.1

GROUNDS FOR BELIEVING OPERATIVE WORK INJURIOUS TO

FEMALES.

In view of the facts (1) that in the general population the female 

death rate is lower than the male; (2) that among operatives the 

female death rate is higher than the male; (3) that the death rate 

of female operatives is uniformly higher than that of female nonoperatives; and (4) that this difference becomes enormous in the 

case of death rates from tuberculosis, the conclusion seems justified 

that operative work is injurious to females, rendering them especially 

susceptible to tuberculosis.

Whether the harmful effects of operative work are greater than 

those of other industrial employments, and whether they inhere in 

cotton textile work as a whole or are due to certain occupations carried on within the mills, are questions for further investigations to 

answer. This has established the fact of the high mortality among 

female cotton operatives and of their special susceptibility to tuberculosis.2

MORTALITY BY RACE.

The population of the three cities studied was classified in five 

race groups: American, English, French Canadian, Irish, and other 

races. A comparison of the proportion which each of these groups 

furnished of the population and of the deaths showed that the Irish 

everywhere and for each period furnished a much larger percentage 

of the deaths than they did of the population, and this disproportion

1 Vol. X IV , Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, pp. 72, 73.

2 Idem, p. 32.

C A U S E S O F D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 369

05053°— Bull. 175— 16------ 24

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was especially marked in the deaths from tuberculosis. The American and the English nowhere reached the proportion of deaths which 

their representation in the population would justify, but came nearest 

to it in the deaths from nontuberculous causes. The French Canadians and the “ other races ” both kept very near their population 

quota of deaths, the French rising a little above and the “ other 

races ” falling a little below it. The relatively large number of Irish 

deaths can not be ascribed to any one age, sex, or occupation group, 

but must be considered characteristic of the race as a whole.

Americans exhibited less susceptibility to tuberculosis than any 

of the other races, showing only one-half the average mortality of 

all the races from this cause; then come the English with only twothirds of the average mortality from tuberculosis; then the group of 

“ other races,” among whom it approaches very closely the average, 

but falls a trifle below; then the French Canadians, among whom 

also it comes very close to the average, but rises a trifle above it; and 

last of all the Irish, among whom it rises to almost double the rate 

for all races combined.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT CAUSES OF DEATH.

By far the most important cause of death in the age group 15 to 

44 was tuberculosis, which was responsible for 1 death out of every 

3, while the next most prevalent cause “ Respiratory diseases other 

than tuberculosis,” accounted for only 1 death out of every 8. Among 

operative deaths approximately 1 out of 2 were due to tuberculosis, 

and among nonoperative deaths approximately 1 out of 4. Tuberculosis and the other respiratory diseases combined are responsible 

for nearly half the total deaths in this age group; among operatives 

they account for 3 out of every 5 deaths; and among nonoperatives 

for 2 out of 5 deaths.

Next in importance to the respiratory diseases as a cause of death 

comes for males accident or violence, which accounts for 1 in every 

10 male deaths, and for females parturition, which accounts for 

precisely the same proportion of female deaths, 1 in 10.

This by no means fairly represents the hazards of childbirth, since 

not all females within these age limits were married, and not all who 

were married had been parturient. Twenty-four tuberculous deaths 

had occurred with childbirth as a complication; if these were 

counted among the deaths from parturition it would make that cause 

responsible for 1 out of every 7 female deaths in this age group in 

Fall River; i. e., parturition would rank second only to tuberculosis 

in importance. As regards race, the Irish, both operatives and nonoperatives, showed a lower proportion of deaths from this cause 

than prevailed among the non-Irish.1

370 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1Vol. X IV , Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-M ill Operatives, p. 87.

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Fourth in importance for both sexes comes nephritis, which is 

responsible for 1 death in every 12. If the matter of race be 

ignored this proportion is almost uniform throughout the various 

sex and occupation classes. From the standpoint of race, however, 

the Irish show a remarkable variation; among them nephritis holds 

the position held by nontuberculous respiratory diseases among 

the population in general—that is, it ranks next to tuberculosis in 

importance as a cause of death. Among the Irish in Fall River 

during the three years studied it was the officially certified cause of 

1 death out of every 7 or 8 (according to the sex and occupation 

group) which occurred, while among the non-Irish only 1 in every 

20 decedents was officially certified as having died from nephritis.

These causes account for well over three-fifths of the total deaths 

in the 15 to 44 age group, the remaining deaths being due to a 

variety of diseases, no one of which conspicuously exceeded the 

others in harmfulness. The two important points established by 

the study of this age group are the excess in the death rates of operatives as compared with nonoperatives, especially in the case 

of females, and the prominence of tuberculosis as a cause of death 

in this period which should be of full physical vigor and which 

includes the years of greatest industrial importance.

MORTALITY IN THE POPULATION AGED 10 YEARS AND 

OYER.

In this section a careful study is made first of the mortality from 

tuberculosis and then of mortality from nontuberculous causes, 

and a number of possibly contributory causes of death are considered.

The study of tuberculosis shows much the same results as the 

same study for the age group 15 to 44. In both groups tuberculosis 

is the most important single cause of death and in both it is far 

more destructive to operatives than to nonoperatives.

The fact that operatives almost without exception in each locality 

and in the various age, sex, and race groups show such an undue 

proportion of deaths from tuberculosis is almost conclusive proof of 

a causal connection between operative work and the disease. The 

coincidence between work in the cotton mills and a death rate from 

tuberculosis higher than that of a corresponding class of nonoperatives would not be found in so many and such diverse groups were it a 

mere coincidence. It seems hardly open to question that operative 

work predisposes to tuberculosis and that its effect in this direction 

is greater among females than among males.1

C A U S E S O F D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 371

1 Vol X IV , Causes of Death Among Wom an and Child Cotton-M ill Operatives, p. 134.

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a72 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U B E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

SUGGESTED EXPLANATIONS OF HIGH DEATH RATE OF OPERATIVES FROM TUBERCULOSIS*

Several possible explanations of the high death rate of operatives 

from tuberculosis are considered, such as the migratory habits of 

operatives which, it is sometimes claimed, bring many already 

stricken with the disease into the leading cotton-mill towns to die 

and thus increase the death rates by the addition of those who 

should be classed as nonresidents ; the number of foreigners in the 

mills and their undue susceptibility to tuberculosis; and the overlarge 

families of cotton operatives, which being out of all proportion to 

the father’s earnings, are necessarily undernourished and therefore 

prone to disease.

As to the first theory, the facts were altogether against it. The 

closest inquiry brought to light only three cases among the tuberculous operative decedents in which the operative had lived in the 

given city for so short a period before his death that it would be reasonable to suppose he had developed the disease elsewhere. On the 

other hand, it was a common matter to be told of former operatives 

who having reached an advanced stage of tuberculosis had gone back 

to their childhood home to die, so that apparently the operative death 

rate of the cities studied is lower, not higher, than the facts would 

warrant. No evidence could be found that the foreign mill workers 

were markedly more susceptible to tuberculosis than the native born. 

It was even less possible to find any support for the idea that the overlarge families of the operatives were responsible for the situation.

Considering first the males, it appears that only a little over half 

of the operative decedents had ever had children and that those who 

had become fathers had averaged only a trifle over four children 

apiece. Moreover, of these four children on an average one had died 

in each family, so that the average number of living children per 

decedent was only three. These averages are not only Small, considered by themselves, but are smaller than the corresponding averages 

for tuberculous nonoperatives. * * * Turning to the female 

operative decedents, it appears that less than half of them had ever 

been mothers, and that those who had been averaged only 3.1 children apiece. Moreover, on an average, one child in each of these 

families had died, leaving on an average less than two surviving children for each operative decedent mother. Here, as among the males, 

there is no justification for ascribing the high operative death rate to 

the effect of large families.1

A study was made of the length of time during which tuberculous 

decedents were known to have suffered from the disease. Over a 

fourth (27.6 per cent) of the male and nearly a third (30.9 per cent) 

of the female tuberculous decedents were admitted by their relatives

iVol. XIV, Causes of Death Among Woman and Child Cotton-Mill Operatives, pp.

151, 152.

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to have- had tuberculosis for two years or more before their death. 

This means that a considerable number must have kept on at their 

work in the mills for a year or more after the disease was established. 

Since tuberculosis is eminently a communicable disease, and since few 

sufferers from it take the precautions which render their presence 

safe to others, it is highly probable that many of these tuberculous 

decedents had been persistent sources of infection for the other workers within the same mill room.

A tentative effort was made to determine whether the high operative mortality from tuberculosis could be attributed to any special 

occupation within the mills, but the results were rather unsatisfactory. The female card-room workers showed a higher death rate 

from tuberculosis than that which prevailed among female operatives 

generally, but the data available concerning the age and race distribution of the operative population were not sufficient to show 

whether this was an accidental or a causal connection. It is worth 

noticing, however, that the card room is the dustiest of the rooms in 

which women are employed, and is usually also the darkest. A further intensive study of the death hazards of the particular occupations is now being made.

CONCLUSION.

A number of other possible factors in the death rate are considered, such as intemperance, the special hazard of married women, the 

effect of early marriage, effect of tuberculous kindred and relatives, 

sanitary condition of the decedent’s dwelling place, and the like, but 

a lack of sufficient data respecting the population made it impossible 

to reach satisfactory conclusions. The report may be taken as having 

definitely established the higher mortality of cotton-mill operatives 

as compared with nonoperatives, especially in the case of women, and 

also as having demonstrated that operatives are peculiarly susceptible to tuberculosis. Also, it shows the urgent need for further investigations to solve many problems which the present investigation 

has brought to light.

C A U S E S O F D E A T H A M O N G C O T T O N -M I L L O P E R A T IV E S . 373

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CHAPTER XV.—THE RELATION BETWEEN OCCUPATION AND CRIMINALITY AMONG WOMEN.

This study was undertaken for the purpose of discovering whether 

the widening of the industrial sphere of women, which became so 

noticeable in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and is still 

in progress, has had any discoverable effect in developing antisocial 

tendencies among them, and if so, whether such increase could be 

ascribed to any specific occupations or must be assigned to the general fact of their transfer from their traditional pursuits, mainly 

carried on within the home, to the field of competitive industry 

outside. It consists of two parts—a study of something over 3,000 

women who had violated the law and were found under sentence 

during the period covered and a general discussion of immorality 

among women.

STUDY OF FEMALE OFFENDERS.

The study of the first part was confined to regions in which good 

official records gave a basis of facts concerning the offenders, and 

to this minimum of information was added what could be obtained 

by investigation among those familiar with each woman’s history. 

Those studied were distributed as follows:

Massachusetts________________________________________________ ___923

New York________________________________________________________840

New Jersey_______________________________________________________784

Ohio__________________________________________________________ ___269

Indiana_______________________________________________________ ___269

Illinois________________________________________________________ ___144

Total___________________________________________________ 3,229

These figures show nothing as to the relative number of women 

offenders in the various States, as they represent only those for whom 

it was possible to secure definite information as to industrial status. 

In Massachusetts only those women under sentence at the time of 

the visit of investigation were taken, the number thus secured 

amounting to about one-third of the total number sentenced annually. Elsewhere the inquiry took in those who had been under 

sentence during the year preceding the visit of investigation. State, 

county, and municipal institutions alike were visited.

375

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376 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

AGE, EDUCATION, AND OFFENSES,

Although the report deals mainly with the industrial distribution 

of the w'omen considered, other points are included. The age grouping differs from that which is regarded as typical in that the proportion of cases above and below 30 years old is almost identical 

(50.5 per cent under 30, 49.5 per cent 30 or over), while ordinarily 

the period from 15 to 30 years is looked upon as preeminently the 

criminal age. When, however, the women who were sentenced for 

intoxication are omitted, the remaining group shows 62.8 per cent 

under 30 to 37.2 per cent 30 years or over, an alteration of the former 

proportion which shows very strikingly that intemperance, at least 

to the degree which leads to arrest, is distinctly a fault of the older 

women. As the places studied included several in which intemperance is looked upon wTith marked disfavor and very generally punished, it is easy to see why the age level for the whole group is high.

The women studied were for the most part misdemeanants rather 

than criminals. Their distribution by offense stood as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF DELINQUENTS GUILTY OF SPECIFIED OFFENSES

AMONG W OMEN STUDIED.

Offense.

Minor offenses against property..

Serious offenses against property.

Minor offenses against chastity...

Serious offenses against chastity..

Offenses against the person.........

Miscellaneous offenses...................

Incorrigibility.................................

Intoxication.................................... .

Disorderly conduct.......................

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

Number. Per cent.

461 14.3

140 4.3

553 17.1

79 2.4

147 4.6

138 4.3

199 6.2

973 30.1

539 16.7

3,229 100.0

For the most part the women had but little education. Fourfifths claimed the ability to read and write, but in many cases th6 

claim could hardly have been substantiated; few went further than 

this. Nearly two-fifths of the whole group (38.9 per cent) were single, the proportion varying considerably according to the offense. 

The unmarried showed an excess among those sentenced for minor 

offenses against chastity and for incorrigibility (54.79 per cent in 

the first, 95.48 per cent in the second case being single), but elsewhere the married women lead. The racial distribution of the offenders is not touched upon, owing to the impossibility of securing 

data as to the racial distribution of the general population, without 

which no reliable conclusions could be drawn from these figures.

OCCUPATIONS.

The occupations of the offenders, which are taken up in detail, 

represent a wide range, running through the traditional pursuits of 

women and the newer occupations in great variety. Something

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R E L A T I O N B E T W E E N O C C U P A T IO N A N D C R IM I N A L I T Y . 377

over one-fourth (28.31 per cent) came directly from their own 

homes, having had no outside pursuits. Over one-half (52.40 per 

cent) came from such traditional pursuits of women as domestic 

service, laundry work, and the like.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION OF OCCUPATIONS AMONG

OFFENDERS.

To test the relative importance of the newer occupations as feeders 

for the stream of female offenders, all those not known to have a 

gainful occupation were omitted from consideration, the remainder 

grouped according to their callings, and the results compared with 

the census figures showing the occupational distribution of women 

at work. This gives the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF DELINQUENT WOMEN FROM CERTAIN PURSUITS, AND

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL WOMEN W AGE EARNERS ENGAGED IN SAME PURSUITS.

Delinquents. Per cent of

total

Occupation.

Number. Per cent.

women

wage earners 16 years

and over

engaged in

occupation.!

Domestic and personal service:

Boarding-nouse keepers........................................................................ 24 1.22 1.2

Hairdressers and manicurists............................................................... 3 .15

Laundresses.............................................................................................. 99 5.05 6.8

Nurses and midwives............................................................................. 15 .76 2.2

Servants and waiters............................................................................. 1,380 70.34 24.1

Total in domestic and personal service.......................................... 1,521

327

77.52 40.4

Manufacturing and mechanical pursuits.................................................. 16.67 24.8

Miscellaneous2................................................................................................. 7 .36

Professional .................................................................................................... 13 .66 8.9

Trade and transportation............................................................................. 65 3.31 10.0

Unknown......................................................................................................... 29 1.48

Total....................................................................................................... 1,962 100.00

1 Twelfth Census, Statistics of Women at Work, 1900, p. 32.

2 These workers were so scattered that comparison with the census figures is difficult.

SMALL REPRESENTATION FROM NEWER PURSUITS.

To avoid any error which might arise from the fact that the

census figures are for the Union as a whole, while the offenders were

taken only from certain States, similar comparisons are made for

limited areas—the cities of Cleveland, Paterson, and Rochester, and

the State of Massachusetts. The results of these various comparisons do not differ materially from those of the first. Very generally

it appears that—

By far the greater number of women gainfully employed who had

reached the prisons and penitentiaries came there from the pursuits

which have for generations been recognized as peculiarly women’s

work, and that the newer industries opened to them in the last thirty

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378 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

years furnish very much less than their proportion. Wherever the 

occupational distribution of these offenders is studied, whether as an 

undivided group, in single cities under varying industrial conditions, 

or in one of the largest manufacturing States of the Union, the general situation is found to be the same; the wage-earning domestic 

pursuits give far more, the manufacturing and commercial pursuits 

far less, than their proportion of offenders. From place to place the 

relative proportions vary slightly, but the fact remains unchanged.1

Two possible criticisms of the validity of these results are considered: First, that women from better positions, wishing to hide 

the fact of their fall, may call themselves servants when they really 

come from some other pursuit, and, second, that women from other 

kinds of work as they lose on their downward way the self-control 

and outward respectability demanded in most of the newer occupations may fall back into domestic service, thus clouding it with the 

failures due to some other vocation.

As to the first point, no such tendency was discoverable, either in 

the experience of the investigators or in the detailed records of something over 600 women for whom the full industrial history was secured. As to the second, a movement between the great industrial 

groups was clearly indicated in these same detailed histories, 27 

women who began in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits and 4 

who began in trades and transportation being found, at the time of 

their latest arrest, in domestic and personal service. But meanwhile 

a similar movement away from this latter occupation group was taking place; 89 women who had begun their industrial life there had 

left it before the time of their latest arrest, and the group in which 

247 began showed but 212 members when these facts were collected. 

The general movement for all these women was not so much from 

one industry group to another among the gainful occupations as it 

was from gainful to nongainful pursuits. The extent of this movement is indicated by the fact that while 74 per cent of these women 

had at some time been gainfully employed, but 53.7 per cent of them 

were so employed at the time of their latest arrest. There seems no 

reason, therefore, to suppose that the figures showing the number of 

offenders from domestic and personal service have been unduly 

weighted.

Statistically it may be considered certain that if there has been 

any proportionate increase in the amount of criminality among 

women since the opening up of these newer occupations, it is not due 

to the occupations. The prison population is not recruited from the 

ranks of the saleswomen, the clerks and stenographers, the packers 

and shippers, and telegraph and telephone operators who have increased so rapidly within the past few decades.2

1Vol. X V , Relation Between Occupation and Crim inality o f Women, p. 41.

2 Idem, p. 53.

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APPARENT DECREASE IN NUMBER OF FEMALE OFFENDERS.

But there is considerable reason for believing that there has been 

no such increase, but that, on the contrary, women are becoming 

more, not less, law-abiding. The testimony of the prison officials 

consulted during the investigation was unanimous on this point; 

all declared that instead of increasing, criminality among women is 

becoming less common, and that the number of female prisoners has 

shown a marked decrease within the last 20 to 30 years. The United 

States census showed the same thing,1 and wherever reliable statistics 

could be obtained a diminution in the number of female prisoners 

was found.

The objection that this decrease may be due to using, instead of 

imprisonment, other methods of punishment, such as fines, probation, etc., can not be fully answered, but some test of its validity 

may be made for Massachusetts, which publishes very full data concerning arrests as well as sentences. From these it appears that the 

number of women arrested in that State iiicreased from 9,646 in 

1896 to 10,457 in 1907, the last year for which the statistics were 

available at the time of the investigation. Meanwhile the female 

population aged 14 years2 and over of the State increased from 

975,578 in 1895 to 1,168,800 in 1905. In 1896 the number of arrests 

formed a ratio of 0.988 to the female population; in 1§07 it was

0.894, showing that the number of arrests had not kept pace with the 

growth of the population. As the number of arrests is not affected 

by changes in the method of punishing those found guilty, this 

seems to indicate pretty clearly that in Massachusetts at least the 

relative number of female offenders has been actually as well as 

apparently diminishing.

RELATION BETWEEN OCCUPATIONS AND OFFENDERS.

But it does not follow that because the newer occupations can not 

be held responsible for any increase of antisocial tendencies among 

women no connection exists between occupation and such tendencies. The investigation seems to show that there is such a connection, but that it lies back of the industrial experience itself, in the 

qualities which lead a woman into one kind of work rather than 

another. A study of the women found in confinement shows that 

while accidental and occasional offenders may come from any class, 

and while a few professional criminals are bright and forceful 

women, the great majority were incapable and inefficient, “ low-grade 

women who are in the main uneducated mentally and untrained inR E L A T IO N B E T W E E N O C C U P A T IO N A N D C R IM I N A L I T Y . 3 7 9

1 Special Report, Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents in Institutions, 1904, p. 16,

2 The arrests given above are for women over 16.

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dustrially and undeveloped morally/' They have little self-control, 

little power of sustained application, and no idea of consistent, purposeful effort toward a desired end. For the most part they would 

be quite incapable of securing a position in a factory of the better 

class, or an office or store, or of holding such a position if they once 

got it. They are found in the lower grades of factory work and in 

the ranks of domestic and personal service simply because these 

occupations afford an opening for the poorest kinds of unskilled 

work. Some kinds of domestic service, of course, demand a high 

degree of both skill and training, but in general it is not from these 

that the offender comes.

They come from the ranks of domestic and personal service and 

from housekeeping, not because these occupations necessarily lead 

women into conflict with the laws, but because they are the chief pur- 

•suits open to the kind of women likely to come into conflict with 

the laws, and also because these occupations have in themselves but 

few restraining influences for such women.

The newer occupations, on the other hand, show far less than 

their proportion of female offenders, because they attract the better 

grade of workers and because they exercise upon these women several 

restraining influences. * * * The relation between occupation 

and lawlessness is not directly causal; it lies deeper in the demand a 

given occupation makes for intelligence and character in its workers. 

The newer occupations make such demand, and hence the small proportion of offenders from their ranks. In the main, women do not 

offend against the laws because they are engaged in domestic and 

personal service, but the offenders who have been engaged in such 

work are the kind who would be likely to offend wherever they might 

be placed; they do not refrain from lawbreaking because they are 

engaged in commerce or transportation, but the women capable of 

following such occupations are the kind who are least likely to break 

the law.1

IMMORALITY AND OCCUPATION.

No systematic investigation of immorality was attempted, but it 

is so closely connected with lawlessness that considerable information 

concerning it was gained incidentally and this was later supplemented by an inquiry among rescue homes and refuges, rescue workers, 

and social workers of whatever kind who devote themselves to this 

particular subject. The special purpose of this inquiry was to see if 

any occupational influences could be traced and to what extent low 

wages were a factor in forcing girls into discreditable courses. Out 

of the wide variety of facts and opinions collected, two results stood 

out conspicuously:

I. Not one person consulted had given occupational influences as a 

leading cause of immorality, and only two laid any particular stress 

on them as subsidiary causes.

380 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U B E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

1 Vol. X V , Relation Between Occupation and Crm inality of Women, pp. 75, 76.

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II. Not one worker assigned poverty or low wages as a direct and 

immediate cause of immorality. It was agreed that indirectly their 

influence is great, but in the whole inquiry only five cases were found 

in which the workers reporting them believed that the women had 

been driven into wrongdoing by want.1

It was difficult to obtain anything more than estimates of the occupational distribution of the women who went wrong, as for the most 

part the records did not give any information on this point. Out of 

25 homes and rescue agencies visited, the superintendents in 10 cases 

said they received the largest number of inmates directly from their 

own homes, in 14 cases that most of them came from domestic service, 

and in one case that the majority were from the factories.

One home, situated on the lower East Side of New York, gave the 

occupations of the women admitted during the years 1907 and 1908. 

As this home did not confine its aid to women who had gone wrong 

for the first time, the number coming directly from their own homes 

was comparatively small. The occupational distribution of the 326 

women received was as follows:

R E L A T IO N B E T W E E N O C C U P A T IO N A N D C R IM I N A L I T Y . 381

Items. Number. Per cent.

Having no gainful occupation................................................................................................... 73 22.

Tn domestic or personal service................................................................................................. 187 57.4

Tn manufacturing and mechanical pursuits........................................................................... 41 12.6

In trade and transportation....................................................................................................... 23 7.0

In professional pursuits.............................................................................................................. 2 .6

Total..................................................................................................................................... 326 100.0

MORALLY DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS.

Five occupations were assigned as seeming to be specially dangerous from the standpoint of morals, the judgment being based on the 

number of women from their ranks known to have gone wrong— 

domestic service, the work of hotel or restaurant waitresses, the lowgrade factory trades, trained nursing, and the low-grade stenographic 

positions filled by girls just out of school and too immature and 

untrained to be really qualified for self-guidance. While each of 

these pursuits had some special dangers of its own, the root of the 

trouble seemed to be, as in the case of the offenders brought into 

court, not so much in the work as in the kind of women who would 

naturally take up that sort of work. To this general rule trained 

nursing offers an apparent exception, for which two reasons suggest 

themselves: First, while the work is severe, the nurse can easily 

obtain liquor and drugs which another worker might find difficulty 

in getting hold of, so she is in special danger of forming liquor or 

drug habits, wThich, once established, are very apt to lead to other 

forms of wrongdoing. And as a second cause, certain advantages

1Vol. XV, Relations Between Occupation and Criminality of Women, p. 82.

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the occupation offers for the unscrupulous have attracted to it some 

women of highly undesirable character.

A considerable portion of the latter part of the report is devoted 

to a discussion of the different classes of women who are apt to be 

grouped together rather sweepingly as “ fallen,” and to a consideration of the frequent assumption that shop girls and saleswomen are 

especially apt to go wrong. For this assumption the report shows 

no foundation, but three possible causes are suggested for it.

First, a belief that women can not live honestly on the wages they 

receive; second, the fact that standards of decorum differ among 

different classes and that working girls sometimes indulge in behavior 

which among people bred in traditions of polite reserve would indicate immoral tendencies; third, a blind acceptance of a traditional 

idea—in other words, prejudice pure and simple.

382 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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CHAPTER XVL—FAMILY BUDGETS OF TYPICAL

COTTON-MILL WORKERS.

PURPOSE OF REPORT.

This report gives the results of a study of the incomes and expenditures for one year of 21 mill families in the South and 14 in 

Fall River. In addition the cost of both a minimum and a fair 

standard of living in the selected places was computed, and a comparison made between the ascertained incomes of the families under 

consideration and these two standards. Special stress is laid on the 

fact that these standards were actual, not theoretic. The effort was 

not to decide abstractly what amount a family must have or what it 

ought to have, but what the income it actually had meant according to the standards of its particular habitat, in terms of living.

The attempt is * * * to determine what according to the 

customs prevailing in the communities selected for study is a fair 

standard of living and what according to the same measure is the 

minimum standard upon which families are living and apparently 

maintaining physical efficiency. These standards, it should be emphasized, are the standards found to be actually prevailing among 

cotton-mill families of the several communities studied, and are not 

standards fixed by the judgment either of the investigators or of the 

Bureau of Labor.1

LOCALITIES AND FAMILIES STUDIED.

In order that the families studied in the South might represent 

the differing conditions in different communities, they were studied 

in three localities: Atlanta, Ga., a large city where the cotton industry is one among many varied industries; Greensboro, N. C., a small 

city where the cotton industry is predominant; and a small country 

mill about four miles from Burlington, N. C. In the North limitations of time made it necessary to confine the study to Fall River.

The data concerning the Southern families is on the whole both 

comprehensive and accurate. All the wage earners of each family 

worked in the same mill, and by the courtesy of the mill owners it 

was possible to get the exact weekly earnings of each wage earner for

iV o l. X V I, Family Budgets of Typical Cotton-Mill Workers, p. 9.

383

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eacli week of the year. Generally, the families lived in company 

houses, so that the rent was easily learned, and did their trading at 

a company store, or at a store almost wholly dependent on a mill 

village. Stores of both kinds cooperated in the investigation, allowing the agents conducting the investigation to copy from their books 

the accounts of the families studied.

In Fall River it was not possible to obtain as complete data. In 

some cases the earnings of one or more members of a family had to 

be estimated, for the name of the worker could not be found on the 

pay roll. (Of the families studied, only four belonged to Englishspeaking races, and the foreign names were frequently spelled with 

such freedom as to be quite unrecognizable.) There were no company stores, and purchases were usually made for cash, so that accounts could rarely be obtained. The workers spent more on incidentals which are easily forgotten. Consequently, while the incomes 

were usually secured with a reasonable degree of accuracy, the expenditures were often incomplete.

The results of this intensive study were confirmed by the results 

of the more general investigation described in Volume I of this 

report, in which 1,567 families of cotton-mill workers in the South 

and 438 similar families in Massachusetts were visited and inquiries 

made in regard to their domestic economy. In addition, the exact 

earnings were secured of 75 cotton-mill families in North Carolina, 

South Carolina, and Georgia, and the composition of the families 

was learned. With these results thus secured as a background, the 

facts learned in the intensive investigation take on an importance 

and significance which would have been impossible for an isolated 

study of no greater extent than this.

COST OF LIVING IN LOCALITIES SELECTED.

The budgets of these particular families are of importance chiefly 

as they afford a basis for determining the cost of living. Considering 

the standards and the prices prevailing in the localities studied, the 

conclusion is reached that in the southern communities the minimum 

standard for a typical family, i. e., a family consisting of father, 

mother, and three children ranging from 10 to 4 years old, demands 

an annual income of $408.26, while the cost of a fair standard for the 

same family would be $600.74. In Fall River the cost of a minimum 

standard for a similar family would be $484.41, while a fair standard 

would cost for English, Irish, and French Canadian families $731.64, 

and for Portuguese, Polish, and Italian families $690.60. The difference in cost of these two standards is wholly in the item of rent, the

384 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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three races with the lower standard being satisfied with accommodations which the others are unwilling to accept unless forced to do so 

by extreme poverty. The cost of the various items making up the 

minimum and fair standards is worked out for individuals of each 

sex and of successive ages, so that it is possible to calculate how 

closely the incomes of the families studied approximate the cost of 

the two standards.

AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS AND COST OF LIVING.

Taking those whose membership was fairly steady throughout the 

year, so that average weekly earnings and weekly expenditures can 

be easily reckoned, it appears that in 2 of the 16 southern families 

whose earnings were reported for each week of the year the annual 

income fell below the amount needed for even the minimum standard, in 9 others it fell below the requirements of the fair standard, 

and in 5 it rose above the latter standard. Among 75 other families 

whose incomes and composition were learned 15 had incomes below 

the requirements of the minimum standard, 38 had incomes above 

the cost of the minimum but below the cost of a fair standard of 

living, and 22 had incomes above the cost of a fair standard. In 

Fall River 1 of the 14 families studied had an income below the 

cost of the minimum standard of living, 9 had incomes above the 

cost of a minimum but below the cost of a fair standard, and 4 had 

incomes above the cost of a fair standard. In other words, of the 

105 families studied something over one-sixth (17.14 per cent) had 

annual incomes so small that they could not by any exercise of skill, 

judgment, and economy maintain themselves in a state of physical 

efficiency, 53.33 per cent could by care and prudence maintain their 

efficiency but could not reach a fair standard of living, and only 

29.53 per cent could live comfortably according to the standards of 

their community.

FLUCTUATION OF EARNINGS.

The above statement gives too favorable a picture of the situation, 

as it states what could have been done had the annual income been 

received in 52 equal installments, but this was practically never the 

case. The earnings fluctuated widely from week to week, according 

to whether or not the workers could and did obtain a full week’s 

work. In the southern mills it was difficult to fix the responsibility 

for these fluctuations, the mill owners claiming that the employees 

would not work steadily, while the latter claimed that they could not 

secure enough work to keep themselves steadily employed. In Fall 

95053— Bull. 175—16-------25

F A M I L Y B U D G E T S OF T Y P I C A L C O T T O N -M I L L W O R K E R S . 385

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River mill owners made no complaint that the employees would not 

work steadily, but the incomes showed a wider range of variation 

than in the South. The following figures show the extent of the 

fluctuation in some cases:

FLUCTUATION OF W E E K LY EARNINGS IN THE CASE OF TYPICAL FAM ILIES.

386 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

Family.

XtvJLUda

No. 8. No. 17. No. 99. No. 108.

Weekly cost of minimum standard.................................................... $14.32 $7.02 $13.59 $9.60

Weekly cost of fair standard................................................................ 21.03 10.09 21.32 13.89

Average weekly earnings......................................................................

Actual weekly earnings:

First week........................................................................................

14.47 7.95 26.07 11.53

16.60 10.10 27.79 13.44

Second week.................................................................................... 15.75 5.00 6.60 7.81

Third week....................................................................................... 9.10 4.50 28.34 13.34

Fourth week.................................................................................... 15.15 5.00 20.39 5.77

Fifth week........................................................................................ 9.60 7.40 18.56 13.03

Sixth week........................................................................................ 13.30 10.10 15.60 9.96

Seventh week................................................................................... 9.45 10.70 18.77 3.23

Eighth week..................................................................................... 7.70 10.70 16.75 8.12

It will be noticed that in some cases the weekly income, within a 

period of eight consecutive weeks, ranges from considerably below 

the amount required for the minimum standard up to or beyond the 

amount required for the fair standard. The fuller tables of the report, 

covering 52 weeks, show that the movement is often more gradual. 

Thus, in the case of family 104 the average weekly income, $13.08, 

was safely above the requirements of the minimum standard, which 

for this family cost an average of $12.37. But in the first 22 weeks 

of the year studied, there were only three occasions, not consecutive, 

on which the weekly earnings reached or passed the minimum required. For two weeks, not consecutive, there were no earnings, the 

mills being closed. During the remaining 17 weeks the earnings 

ranged from $4.34 to $11.10. During the remainder of the year 

earnings were better, occasionally for periods of four or five weeks 

at a time rising well above the requirements of the fair standard.

The difficulty of adjusting these incomes to the standard of living 

that the family would be able to maintain if its income were regular is obvious. Equally obvious are the dangers of extravagance 

on the one hand and running into debt on the other; for the weekly 

incomes are as far above as below the average.1

NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS; FAMILY WAGE.

The data concerning the composition of the families and the 

earnings of each member are of especial interest in connection with 

the discussion of the standard of living. Among the 21 southern

l Vol. X V I , Fam ily Budgets of Typical Cotton-Mill Workers, p. 164.

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families studied in detail, five wage earners, two of them in one 

family, were found wTho had made enough during the preceding 

year to support a family consisting of father, mother, and three 

children under working age according to the requirements of the 

minimum standard, while among the 14 Fall River families only 

one such was discovered. Not a single wage earner wras found who 

earned enough to support such a family according to the requirements of a fair standard of living. But cotton-mill families are 

usually large, and even in these five cases the single earner’s wages 

would not have sufficed to support the actual as opposed to the 

theoretically normal family. In general a composite wage earned 

by from two to five or more members was a necessity for the maintenance of even a minimum standard of living.

As a matter of fact, the attempt to maintain a family on the 

earnings of a single worker was rarely made. Among the 21 southern families only one was found with but a single wage earner, and 

in this case even though the family was relatively small, having 

only four children, and though the mother kept two boarders to 

help out, they were in debt at the end of the year. In Fall River 

two families had only one wage earner apiece. One of these was 

the only wage earner who made enough to support the so-called normal family according to the requirements of the minimum standard. But he had four children, instead of only three, and though 

the wife kept lodgers and they lived very plainly, their expenses 

exceeded the income by $97.66. In the second case there were only 

two children and the family were obviously thrifty and economical, 

but expenses exceeded the father’s earnings by $174.90. The character of the family is indicated by the fact that this deficiency was 

met from the savings of earlier years.

In every other case among the families studied in detail there 

were from two to six wage earners. Among the 21 southern families 

14 took boarders or lodgers to help out the income. In Fall River 

this method was not popular, only four families resorting to it. 

Among the 75 families in North and South Carolina and Georgia 

whose incomes and membership were learned, not one depended on 

a single wage earner, only 11 had as few as 2, and from this the 

number ran up to 5 or 6 in a family. Of the 11 families depending 

on two wage earners, 6 had incomes insufficient to maintain even 

the minimum standard of living. Evidently if these figures are at 

all typical the man who can support his family by his own work in a 

cotton mill is the decided exception. Ordinarily the wife and children must work or the family must suffer.

F A M I L Y B U D G E T S O F T Y P I C A L C O T T O N -M I L L W O R K E R S . 387

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388 B U L L E T I N OF T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

FAMILIES WITHOUT MALE HEADS.

One effect of the family wage as seen in this study is to diminish 

the economic importance of the man who theoretically should be the 

chief support of the family. Among the 21 southern families studied 

were 8 in which the male head had died or deserted his family or 

was too old to work or was unwilling to work. Three of these families had annual incomes well above the requirements of the fair 

standard; three others had incomes above the requirements of the 

minimum, though not reaching those of the fair standard; and two 

had incomes below the requirements of the minimum standards. In 

other words, in this group of families who might reasonably be regarded as economically crippled a larger proportion reached a fair 

standard of living than wTas the case in the whole group of 105 families studied in this particular. The percentage who did not earn 

enough to maintain themselves in physical efficiency was also greater 

in the smaller group, but it is to be noted that this percentage is due 

to fathers who could work but would not, and is not the result of any 

lack of a male head.

Similar results appeared in the other localities studied. In Fall 

River only two of the families studied were without male heads, and 

each of these had earned during the preceding year well above the 

amount required for the maintenance of a fair standard of living. 

Of the 75 families studied in North and South Carolina and Georgia, 

25 were without effective male heads, the fathers having died or deserted or being disabled or unwilling to work. Of these, 36 per cent 

had an income below the requirements of the minimum standard, 44 

per cent passed the minimum, but did not reach the fair standard, 

and 20 per cent passed the fair standard—an alignment which, while 

not so favorable as that of the group having fathers at work is by 

no means so different as might have been expected.

These 75 families show rather clearly how the relation between the 

number of wage earners and the size of the family affects its economic position. The following figures show the relation of these 

three factors:

AVERAGE NUMBER IN FAM ILY AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF W AGE EARNERS IN

FAM ILY, ACCORDING TO FAM ILY INCOME.

Items.

Average

number

in family.

Average

number

wage

earners.

15 families having incomes below minimum standard......................................................... 7.3 3.4

38 families with incomes above minimum but below fair standard................................. 7.4 4.0

22 families with incomes above fair standard................................................................ » 6.8 4 A

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F A M I L Y B U D G E T S O F T Y P I C A L C O T T O N -M I L L W O R K E R S . 389

CONCLUSIONS.

The study as a whole seems to show, when taken in connection 

with the larger studies to which it may be considered supplementary, 

that in the cotton-mill communities studied a certain proportion 

of the workers did not earn enough to maintain physical efficiency 

unimpaired; that a considerably larger proportion was unable to 

compass a fair standard of living; that it was only in exceptional 

cases that an adult male worker could earn enough to support 

properly a normal family; and that the employment of wife or children, or both, as wage earners was a necessity. The most generally 

useful feature of the report is its fixation of the cost of a minimum 

and of a fair standard of living in the localities studied, according 

to the ideas and customs prevailing in those localities.

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CHAPTER XVII.—HOOKWORM DISEASE AMONG

COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES.

PLAN OF REPORT.

This study falls into three main divisions: A report on the number 

of cases of hookworm disease found in an inspection of 169 establishments or institutions in the South and 26 in New England; a 

discussion of the reasons for believing that the condition popularly 

known as cotton-mill anaemia is in reality caused by hookworm infection; and a study of the relative effect of cotton-mill and farm 

life upon the spread of the disease.

SCOPE AND METHODS OF STUDY.

The field work of the investigation was conducted in eight States— 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. At the beginning 

microscopic tests were used to detect the presence of the disease, but 

it was soon found that owing to the time it required this method was 

impracticable. The greater part of the investigation, therefore, consisted of inspecting as many workers as possible in the establishments visited, and recording as suspects those who showed the characteristic symptoms of the disease. Whenever it was practicable 

further investigation was made of these suspects. It was realized 

that in an inspection of this kind many of the lighter cases would 

escape detection, but, on the other hand, there was very little chance 

that any who might be suffering from other diseases would be 

put down as hookworm cases.

NUMBER OF SUSPECTED CASES FOUND.

The result of the investigation in the New England mills may be 

dismissed very summarily. No cases of hookworm disease were 

found, nor were there any indications that the disease existed in 

those regions. In the Southern States, on the contrary, it was 

rather generally prevalent. The following table shows for each 

State the number of mills visited, the number of workers inspected,

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and the number and per cent who presented the characteristic features 

of the disease:

HANDS SEEN AND NUMBER AND PER CENT OF SUSPECTS IN SOUTHERN COTTON

MILLS OF CLASS A , B Y STATES.

{Class AtsEstablishments for which record was made of number of employees observed and of hookworm

suspects.]

392 B U L L E T I N o f t h e b u r e a u o f l a b o r s t a t i s t i c s .

Establishments

visited.

Suspects.

States. Hands

seen.

Number.

Per cent

of hands

seen.

Korth Carolina........................................................................................ 17 1,588

3,154

337 21.2

South Carolina........................................................................................ 18 240 7.6

Georgia..................................................................................................... 16 2,125

962

138 6.4

Alabama................................................................................................... 7 209 21.7

Mississippi............................................................................................... 1 240 90 37.5

Total.............................................................................................. 59 8,069 1,014 12.56

In addition to the suspects thus found, 743 were discovered in 

other cotton mills in the same States for which no record was made 

of the number of employees observed, and 12 others were found 

in a group of 23 mill hands to whom the microscopic test was applied, giving a total of 1,769 cases observed among cotton-mill 

workers.

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF SUSPECTS.

The age distribution of the suspected cases showed a marked predominance of the younger workers. In 442 cases in which the exact 

age was learned the proportions in the different age groups were as 

follows:

Age group. Number. Per cent.

Under 16 years old....................................................................................................................... 226 51.13

16 to 20 years old........................................................................................................................... lCj 24.66

Over 20 years................................................................................................................................. 107 24.21

Total..................................................................................................................................... 442 100.00

This excess of the younger cases is even more marked if the suspects are considered in relation to the whole age group in which they 

were found. Of the 2,661 workers examined whose ages were learned, 

828 were under 16, and of these 27.2 per cent were suspects; 565 were 

from 16 to 20 years old, and of these 19.2 per cent were suspects, 

while of the 1,268 who were over 20 years old only 8.4 per cent were 

suspects.

Thus it appears that about 1 in every 4 children under 16, about 

1 in every 5 hands from 16 to 20, and about 1 in every 12 hands over

20 years of age came within the suspect class.1

1 Vol. X V I I , Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-M ill Operatives, p. 18.

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Various other investigations are quoted, all showing that the proportion of hookworm cases is greatest among children, less among 

young people, and least among adults.

Some consideration is given to the probable extent of hookworm 

disease in cotton-mill villages. The figures already given show that 

a conservative estimate would place the infected workers in the mills 

at 16.6 per cent of the wage-earning force. But a mill family invariably comprises some members not in the mills. It has been estimated that for every 100 mill hands employed 134 additional persons 

come to the mill village.

Thus every 100 hands brought from the farms to the mill villages 

involve an introduction of the infection contained in 234 average persons of that class; * * * accordingly for every 100 mill hands 

brought from farms to mills at least 29.4 cases of hookworm disease 

are imported to the mill village, thus bringing that amount of infection to the mill village, but at the same time reducing the soil pollution for that number of hookworm cases.1

COTTON-MILL ANAEMIA AND HOOKWORM DISEASE.

The presence of the so-called “ cotton-mill anaemia ” in the southern mills is very generally admitted, just as is the presence of the 

underdeveloped children who are frequently referred to as “ typical 

cotton-mill children.” The constant inhalation of the cotton lint, 

with which the air of the mill is filled, is often advanced as an explanation of both phenomena. The writer of this report believes that 

both are due to hookworm infection.2 In support of this contention 

he offers the following arguments:

1. The presence of the hookworm has been proved by microscopic 

tests in numerous cases both of so-called cotton-mill anaemia and of 

underdevelopment.

2. The hookworm is known to produce a profound anaemia in those 

infected, and if the sufferer is a child, underdevelopment is a common 

result.

3. If the cotton-mill anaemia were the result of inhaling cotton lint 

it would inevitably be found among the cotton-mill workers of the 

North as well as of the South, since both regions use cotton grown in 

the same States under the same conditions. As a matter of fact, 

however, both the cotton-mill anaemia and the typical cotton-mill 

child are practically unknown in the northern mills.

1 Vol. X V II, Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-Mill Operatives, p. 21.

2 The well-known prevalence of tuberculosis among cotton-mill workers was not studied

or discussed by the writer of this report. Upon this subject see pp. 366 to 369 of this

bulletin, and pp. 49-51 of Vol. X IV , Causes of Death Among Women and Child CottonMill Operatives.

HOOKWORM DISEASE AMONG COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES. 393

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The argument, as regards the children especially, is thus summed 

up:

Given (1) the presence of hookworm disease in not less than one 

out of every four of the Gulf-Atlantic cotton-mill children, (2) the 

fact that this disease retards the development, (3) the fact that many 

hookworm sufferers on the farms are underdeveloped, (4) the fact 

that many farm families move to the mills, it follows that it is not 

unreasonable to expect that not an inconsiderable proportion of the 

underdevelopment noticed among the Gulf-Atlantic cotton-mill 

children, and usually attributed to “ breathing in the lint,” should 

be attributed to hookwprm disease. A study of the children in 

question results, in fact, in confirming this expectation; further, experience shows that, in general, the condition of these children improves, as theory indicates that it should, with their life in the 

cotton-mill village, after their removal from the soil-polluted farms, 

a change which results in improving their sanitary environments on 

an average by about 300 per cent.1

RELATIVE EFFECT OF FARM AND COTTON-MILL LIFE 

UPON SPREAD OF DISEASE.

The discussion of the relative effect of farm and cotton-mill life 

upon the spread of the hookworm disease is based upon the postulate 

that it is transmitted by pollution of the soil. The cruder the sanitary arrangements of a given community the greater the likelihood 

that the disease if once introduced will become prevalent, assuming 

of course that climatic conditions are not unfavorable to its existence. The character of the soil has something to do with its 

spread, sandy and loose soils seeming best adapted to its transmission, but the primary cause is a pollution of the soil which could be 

absolutely avoided by the introduction of modern sewerage systems. 

Where such a system is clearly impracticable, as in a farming community or small village, the chances of infection could be materially 

diminished by the introduction of better sanitary arrangements.

With this as a starting point, the writer points out that conditions 

in this respect are necessarily better in any mill village than on many 

of the isolated farms from which the workers, especially the mountaineers, come; that an improvement in the habits of the workers 

follows their introduction to improved conditions; that the position 

of a mill company as landlord enables it to insist upon regulations 

which greatly reduce the spread of the disease; that if the companies understood the situation they could practically stamp out 

the danger of infection in their villages; and that even without this 

knowledge they have already in the interests of ordinary decency 

enforced regulations which render the chance of contracting the disease much less in even the most insanitary mill villages than it is in 

many of the regions from which the workers come.

894 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

iV o l . X V I I , Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-Mill Operatives, p. 36.

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NUMBER OF CASES AMONG MILL WORKERS OF FIRST 

AND OF SECOND GENERATIONS.

If the disease is mainly due to insanitary conditions which are 

more generally found on the farm than in the mill villages, it would 

follow that cases of hookworm would be more numerous among 

workers who came to the mills direct from the farm than among 

those who grew up in mill villages—the second generation of 

workers. It was difficult to make this comparison since ordinarily, 

both classes of workers were found in the same mill, but two mills 

were found which furnished data for a fair comparison of this kind. 

The following table shows the figures for these two establishments:

DIFFERENCE BETW EEN PER CENTS OF HOOKWORM SUSPECTS IN FIRST AND

SECOND GENERATION OF MILL LIFE IN TWO SOUTHERN COTTON MILLS OF

CLASS A.

HOOKWORM DISEASE AMONG COTTON-MILL OPERATIVES. 395

[Class A = Establishments for which record was made of number of employees observed and of hookworm

suspects.]

Item.

Per cents of suspects.

Remarks. All ages

combined.

Under

16 years.

First generation mill............................... 21.6

3.5

43.7

5.7

This mill village is practically in the country.

This mill village is practically in the city.

Due to lessened soil pollution.

Second generation mill...........................

Difference....................................... 18.1 38.0

Thus in one generation the improvement * * * in sanitary conditions has resulted in a tremendous improvement in the results 

(namely, hookworm infection) of insanitary conditions, for the first 

generation mill shows over 500 per cent more suspects in all hands, 

and over 600 more suspects among the children, than does the second 

generation mill. Incidentally, but having a direct bearing on the 

question, it may be remarked that the first generation mill is the 

superior of the two, not only as to its lighting and ventilation, but 

also as respects the sanitary condition of the mill-house privies 

examined.1

CONCLUSIONS.

The situation in regard to the disease, the writer feels, is hopeful 

because it is an easily recognizable affection which can be easily and 

satisfactorily treated in the vast majority of cases, and which can 

be easily prevented by the simple means of a properly constructed, 

properly maintained, and properly used sanitary privy.

Two lines of attack are indicated: First and most important is the 

matter of bettering conditions on the farms, and coincidently the 

mill companies should improve conditions in their own villages. At

*V o l. X V I I , Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-M ill Operatives, p. 34.

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present, although the mill villages are in a far more sanitary state 

than the farms, they are far from being in a satisfactory condition.

Together with this improvement of farm and village sanitation, 

there should go medical treatment of existing cases, especially those 

of heavy infection. Both of these courses are highly desirable if 

any serious attempt is to be made to grapple with the disease.

From a practical standpoint, while it can be reasonably concluded 

that hookworm disease might eventually be entirely eradicated by 

improved sanitation alone, it is scarcely to be hoped that it can be 

eradicated by treatment alone. The two procedures should go hand 

in hand, the sanitation for the benefit of the entire population, the 

treatment more particularly for the benefit of the more heavily 

infected cases.1

396 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

1 \o\. X V II, Hookworm Disease Among Cotton-Mill Operatives, p. 37.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
CHAPTER XVffl.—EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND

CHILDREN IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES.1

INTRODUCTION.

This volume gives the results of an inquiry into the employment of 

women and children in 23 industries, selected for study either because of the number of women or children or both which they employed, or because they showed some special aspect of the employment of one or both of these classes. The industries selected were as 

follows:

Canning and preserving, fruits and Hosiery and knit goods.

vegetables. Jewelry.

Canning and preserving, oysters. Needles and pins.

Cans and boxes, tin. Nuts, bolts, and screws.

Cigar boxes. Paper boxes.

Cigarettes. Pottery.

Cigars. Rubber and elastic goods.

Clocks and watches. Shirts, overalls, and underwear.

Confectionery. Stamped and enameled ware.

Core making. Tobacco (smoking and chewing) and

Corsets. snuff.

Crackers and biscuits. Woolen and worsted goods.

Hardware and metal specialties.

Geographically the inquiry was limited to 17 States—Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, 

North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. This group was 

selected as including the chief manufacturing States and as presenting a wide range of conditions, both legal and industrial, affecting 

the work of women and children. No complete study of any industry or of any State was made, but each industry was studied in as 

many different States as possible.

Four hundred and forty-two establishments were visited and data 

secured concerning the employees found at work. The schedule used 

for this purpose contained questions as to the exact work done, sex, 

age, conjugal condition and race, and also as to the number of hours 

worked, the money earned during an actual week taken as generally 

representative of normal conditions, usually that immediately preceding the visit of the agent, and the rate, whether by piece or time, 

according to which payment was made. One such schedule was filled 

out for each employee studied and upon the information thus obtained the present volume is based.

*T h is chapter is taken, with slight changes, from pages 1 5 -36 of Volume X V III of the

original report.

397

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398 BULLETIN" OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

The field work of the investigation was carried on from December, 

1908, to April, 1909, and all the facts of this report relate to that 

period.

For each industry investigated a text table is given showing the 

number of establishments visited and the normal number of adults 

and children, by sex, employed in each. On these figures are based 

all statements concerning the total number of employees, their sex 

distribution, and the relative importance of children in a given industry. Tables are also given concerning the age, race, conjugal condition, and earnings of the employees studied. In each case these 

tables deal only with the number for whom the specific detail under 

consideration was learned.

INDUSTRIES AND EMPLOYEES.

The industries studied, the normal number of employees in each 

establishment concerning which information was gained, the distribution of the employees by sex and age grouping, and the number of 

establishments in which they were found are shown in the following 

table:

NORMAL NUMBER AND PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES OF EACH SEX UNDER 16 YEARS OF

AGE AND 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER IN ESTABLISHMENTS FURNISHING DATA, B Y

INDUSTRY.

Normal number of employees.

Industry.

Establish16 years and

over.

Under 16 years. Total

employ16 years and

over. Under 16 years.

ments.

Male. Female. Male. Female.

Total

children.

ees.

Male. Female. Male. Female.

Total

children.

Canning and preserving, fruits and

vegetables............... 4 377 639 2 45 47 1,063 35.5 60.1 0.2 4.2 4.4

Canning and preserving, oysters. . .

Cans and boxes, tin.

4 229 192 27 37 64 485 47.2 39.6 5.6 7.6 13.2

8 1,151 390 95 35 130 1,671 68.9 23.3 5.7 2.1 7.8

Cigar boxes................ 14 418 472 45 47 92 982 42.6 48.1 4.6 4.8 9.4

Cigarettes................... 6 523 1,360 26 76 102 1,985 26.3 68.5 1.3 3.8 5.1

Cigars.......................... 58 5,062 9,698 129 893 1,022 15,782 32.1 61.4 .8 5.7 6.5

Clocks and watches.. 5 2,141 980 88 30 118 3,239 66.1 30.3 2.7 .9 3.6

Confectionery............ 47 2,211 3,069 118 571 689 5,969 37.0 51.4 2.0 9.6 11.6

Core making.............. 7 4,108 387 3 3 4,498 91.3 8.6 .1 .1

Corsets...................... 9 760 3,828 13 *256* 269 4,857 15.6 78.8 .3 5.3 5.6

Crackers and biscuits ........................ 32 1,668 1,933 60 237 297 3,898 42.8 49.6 1.5 6.1 7.6

Hardware, etc........... 7 3,114 1,127 70 65 135 4,376 71.2 25.8 1.6 1.5 3.1

Hosiery and knit

goods....................... 65 4,041 11,248 435 1,227 1,662 16,951 23.8 66.4 2.6 7.2 9.8

Jewelry....................... 5 385 224 10 18 28 637 60.4 35.2 1.6 2.8 4.4

Needles and pins___ 3 794 572 28 65 93 1,459 54.4 39.2 1.9 4.5 6.4

Nuts, bolts, and

screws...................... 6 1,904

1,178

582 48 82 130 2,616 72.8 22.3 1.8 3.1 4.9

Paper boxes...............

Pottery.......................

56 3,564 53 592 645 5,387 21.9 66.1 1.0 11.0 12.0

11 1,678 602 55 42 97 2,377 70.6 25.3 2.3 1.8 4.1

Rubber and elastic

goods....................... 3 580 274 6 9 15 869 66.7 31.5 .7 1.0 1.7

Shirts, overalls, etc..

Stamped and enameled ware................

8 582 3,217 58 334 392 4,191 13.9 76.8 1.4 8.0 9.4

16 4,660 i 1,454 132 85 217 1 6,33i 73.6 23.0 2.1 1.3 3.4

Tobacco and snuff.. . 22 4,442 4,744 477 312 789 9,975 44.5 47.6 4.8 3.1 7.9

Woolen and worsted

goods....................... 46 6,419 5,373 391 541 932 12,724 50.4 42.2 3.1 4.3 7.4

Total................ 442 |48,425 155,929 2,369 5,599 7,968 U12,322 43.1 49.8 2.1 5.0 7.1

Per cent of total employees.

1 Not including 128 female employees in one establishment for which males were not reported.

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EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 899

It will be seen that the numbers studied in the different industries 

varied widely, but that in general they were large. In only 4 did 

the number fall below 1,000. Of the other 19 industries 15 had over

2,000 employees, 7 had over 5,000, and 3 had over 12,000. The percentage which women and girls form of the workers in each industry ranges from 8.6 per cent in core making to 84.7 in the making 

of shirts, overalls, etc. Core making was included in spite of its 

small proportion of female workers because it presented a conspicuous example of women engaged in a kind of work usually reserved 

for men. Except in this one instance the proportion of female 

workers never fell below one-fifth of the working force, while in 

11 cases it rose to one-half or over. Of the total group of 112,322 

workers, females formed 54.8 per cent.

If core making, in which children were practically not employed, 

be omitted from consideration, far less variation is found in the 

proportion of children than in the proportion of women employed. 

There were only 3 industries—oyster canning, candy making, and 

paper-box making—in which those under 16 formed as much as or 

more than 10 per cent of the workers, while in 16 industries they 

formed less than one-twelfth. They were least numerous, both absolutely and relatively, among the makers of rubber goods (core making still being omitted as a nonchild-employing industry), where 

they formed only 1.7 per cent of the total, and relatively most 

numerous among the oyster canners, of whom they formed 13.2 per 

cent. Girls were over twice as numerously employed as boys, forming 5 per cent of the total, against 2.1 per cent which the boys formed.

CHANGE IN CHARACTER OF WOMEN’S WORK,

As the present investigation was not complete it can not be assumed that the sex distribution shown in this table is that prevailing throughout each industry as a whole. All that can be said is 

that these were the proportions found in the establishments visited. 

Nevertheless, when the number studied in a given industry amounts 

to 5,000 or more, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the sex 

distribution thus found at least approaches that of the industry as a 

whole. Seven of the industries studied fulfill this condition, and 

the relative importance of female workers in these suggests a curious 

change in the kind of employment which falls to women as their 

work shifts from the house to the factory. These industries, the 

number of their employees, and the proportion of female workers 

were as follows:

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400 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

TOTAL EM PLOYEES IN INDUSTRIES IN W H IC H TH E NUMBER STUDIED E X ­

CEEDED 5,000, AND PER CENT OF F EM AL E EM PLOYEES IN EACH INDUSTRY.

Industry.

Number

of employees.

Per cent

of female

employees.

15,782 67.1

Confectionery.......................................................................................................-■....................... 5,969

16,951

5,387

16,331

9,975

12,724

61.0

Hosiery and knit goods............................................................................................................... 73.6

Paper boxes................................................................................................................................... 77.1

Stamped and enameled ware..................................................................................................... 24.3

Tobacco and pnnff........................................................................................................................ 50.7

Woolen and worsted goods.............................................................................- ......................... 46.5

1 Not including 128 female employees in one establishment, for which males were not reported.

The preparation of foodstuffs, spinning, weaving, and garment 

making have been regarded as woman’s special work from time 

immemorial, so that the second, third, and seventh of the above 

industries may be looked upon as peculiarly their field. But they 

are relatively most numerous in the making of paper boxes, an 

industry which has no relation of any kind to their traditional 

activities. They are relatively more numerous in the manufacture 

of cigars than in the making of candy, and play a more important 

part in preparing tobacco and snuff than in manufacturing woolen 

and worsted goods. The figures do not justify definite conclusions, 

but there is at least a suggestion that women’s work is being taken 

not only out of their homes but out of their hands, and that under 

the modern factory system the idea of what are characteristically 

women’s employments is undergoing a profound modification.

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AGE OF FEMALE WORKERS, BY INDUSTRIES.

The following table shows for each industry the number and proportion of females employed and the proportion of these in several 

age groups:

EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 401

PER CENT OF TOTAL FEM ALE EM PLOYEES IN SPECIFIED AGE GROUPS, BY

INDUSTRY.

Industry.

Total

number

Total

number

of female

employees.

Per

cent of

female

employees.

Per cent of female employees reporting

age—

of employees. Under

16

16 and

17

18 and

19

20 to

24

25 and

over.

Canning and preserving, fruits

and vegetables............................. 1,063

485

1,671

982

684 64.3 6.6 27.0 17.6 24.8 24.0

Canning and preserving, oysters..

Cans and boxes, tin........................

229

425

47.2

25.4

13.7

9.5

8.7

18.4

14.1

23.7

14.1

33.2

49.4

15.1

Cigar boxes...................................... 519 52.9 9.4 21.5 14.4 30.7 24.0

Cigarettes.......................................... 1,985

15,782

3,239

1,436

10,591

1,010

3,640

387

72.3 5.0 19.6 21.8 27.6 26.0

Cigars.................................................. 67.1 9.6 21.7 22.5 25.9 20.2

Clocks and watches......................... 31.2 2.2 13.7 19.6 33.3 31.1

Confectionery................................... 5,969

4,498

4,857

3,898

4,376

16,951

637

61.0 15.8 28.5 19.4 21.2 15.1

Core making..................................... 8.6 17.2 35.7 37.0 10.1

Corsets................................................ 4,084 84.1 8.3 16.3 16.2 23.6 35.7

Crackers and biscuits..................... 2,170 55.7 11.2 26.8 23.2 24.6 14.2

Hardware, etc.................................. 1,192

12,475

242

27.3 6.3 18.5 25.7 27.5 22.0

Hosiery and knit goods................. 73.6 10.5 19.0 18.1 28.1 24.3

Jewelry.............................................. 38.0 9.8 19.7 16.4 29.0 25.1

Needles and pins............................. 1,459

2,616

5,387

2,377

637 43.7 10.1 21.2 18.3 30.0 20.5

Nuts, bolts, and screws................. 664 25.4 12.4 19.5 27.0 26.9 14.2

Paper boxes...................................... 4,156 77.1 14.8 25.7 17.9 21.9 19.7

Pottery.............................................. 644 27.1 6.2 15.2 16.4 23.4 38.8

Rubber and elastic goods.............. 869 283 32.5 3.6 12.6 14.4 29.9 39.5

Shirts, overalls, and underwear...

Stamped and enameled ware........

Tobacco and snuff...........................

4,191

16,331

9,975

12,724

3,551

11,539

5,056

5,914

84.8

24.3

50.7

10.2

5.8

5.6

18.7

25.5

12.2

17.5

26.8

20.4

29.6

28.5

26.1

24.1

13.4

35.7

Woolen and worsted goods.. ___ 46.5 8.9 18.5 22.2 22.1 28.3

Total....................................... 1112,322 161,528 54.9 9.1 .20.6 20.2 25.8 24.3

1 Not including 128 female employees in one establishment for which males were not reported.

The most striking feature of this table is the low age level 

prevailing almost without exception throughout these industries. 

Only five of them show as many as one-third of their workers in 

the group aged 25 years and over, and only one shows as many as 

two-fifths here. This industry—oyster canning—is peculiar in that 

it shows relatively large proportions in both the youngest and the 

oldest groups, the intermediate groups showing a smaller proportion than any other industry studied. This may be due to the fact 

that the work done by women iii it is so simple that the young and 

the old alike can do it, and so unpleasant that those whose age and 

family circumstances permit them to work at something else are not 

likely to undertake it.

On the whole confectionery seems to show a lower age level than 

any other industry studied. It has the largest proportion under 16, 

the largest proportion aged 16 and 17, and the smallest proportion 

aged 20 and over. The manufacture of crackers and biscuits comes 

next, followed by the manufacture of paper boxes. No satisfactory 

95053°— Bull. 175-16-------26

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402 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

comparison between, tlie industries can be made, however, as the 

location of the particular factories visited affected the age distribution of the employees materially. Thus, the manufacture of hardware and metal specialties was studied only in one State in which 

it was illegal for children to begin work under 14, while oyster 

canning was studied in States having a lower standard and permitting an evasion even of that.

DURATION OF INDUSTRIAL LIFE OF WOMEN.

The age distribution of these workers has some bearing upon 

the question of how long women are apt to stay in the industrial 

field and the age at which the majority leave. In some of the 

industries studied girls as young as 8 years old were found, while 

in more than half of them women of 65 or over were found. 

Roughly, then, the ages of this group of female workers ranged 

from a minimum of 8 to a maximum of 70 years. But only 3.9 per 

cent1 (2,160) of the whole group were under 15, so it is evident 

that relatively only a small number enter industrial pursuits before 

they are at least 15 years old. At 15 the number, made up partly 

of those who, entering earlier, remained at work and partly of 

those who began at this age, was 3,158, or more than were found 

in the whole age group below 15. A considerable proportion, therefore, of these 15-year-old employees must have begun work at 

this age.

The real rush into industrial employment, however, seems to begin 

at 16, at which age nearly one-tenth of the whole group were found. 

For two years more the number coming in exceeds those going out, 

the number in any one year age group reaching its maximum at 18, 

where 6,224 were found. At 19 the number has fallen off by more 

than 1,200, and thenceforth the decrease is rapid. The following 

table shows the number and proportion of the female workers at 

specified ages:

NUMBER AND PEE CENT OF FEMALE W ORKERS OF EACH SPECIFIED AGE.

Age group. Number. Percent.

Under 15......................................................................................................................................... 2,160 3.9

3,158

5,370

5,741

6,224

4,933

4,409

3,176

2,701

2,164

1,823

5,553

7,911

5.7

9.7

10.4

18 years........................................................................................................................................... 11.3

8.9

20 years........................................................................................................................................... 8.0

21 years.......................................................................................................................................... 5.7

4.9

23 years........................................................................................................................................... 3.9

24 years.............................................................- ............................................................................ 3.3

25 to 29 years.................................................................................................................................. 10.0

30 years and over...................................... ; .................................................................................. 14.3

Total........................................................ ............................................................................ 55,328 100.0

1 Based on number (55,328) of female employees whose exact age was learned.

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EMPLOYMENT 1ST SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 403

So far as this group of workers can. be taken as typical, it appears 

that about 1 in 10 begins her industrial life before she is 16, less 

than 1 in 4 continues it after she is 25, and only 1 in 7 keeps on 

after 30. For the great majority the period of industrial life falls 

between 15 and 25 years of age.

The above figures can not be taken as applying to all women in 

industry. This group was made up for the most part of unskilled 

workers in occupations which gave them little chance of advancement and which were not in themselves sufficiently attractive and 

interesting to hold women longer than financial stress rendered their 

employment necessary. Moreover, even for these industries the investigation was not exhaustive, and since the purpose was to study 

the employment of women and children it is quite possible that the 

industries selected show a lower age level than that prevailing in 

the industrial world as a whole. And even in this group, while the 

great majority are young, it must not be forgotten that one-seventh 

of the whole number have reached or passed 30 years of age.

PROPORTION OF OLDER WOMEN IN INDUSTRIES STUDIED.

The proportion of women aged 30 or over in the various industries 

differs widely. Four industries—hardware and metal specialties, 

jewelry, needles and pins, and rubber goods—were studied in only 

one State, so that the local circumstances may have determined the 

age grouping. Omitting these four, the number and proportion of 

women aged 30 years or more in each industry were as follows:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF FEMALE W ORKERS 30 YEAR S OF AGE AND OVER IN

EACH SPECIFIED INDUSTRY.

Industry. Number. Percent.

Canning and preserving, fruits and vegetables...................................................................... 99 14.54

Canning and preserving, oysters.............................................................................................. 101 41.91

Cans and boxes, tin..................................................................................................................... 36 10.06

Cigar boxes.................................................................................................................................... 67 13.45

Cigarettes....................................................................................................................................... 213 14.95

Cigars............................................................................................................................................... 1,033

135

11.64

Clocks and watches...................................................................................................................... 15.84

Confectionery................................................................................................................................ 282 7.97

Core making.................................................................................................................................. 10 2.64

Corsets............................................................................................................... - ........................... 959 24.60

Crackers and biscuits.............................................................................. .................................... 144 6.89

Hosiery and knit goods ...................... . ......................................................................... 1,367

45

13.14

Nuts, bolts, and screws............................................................................................................... 6.86

Paper boxes................................................................................................................................... 383 10.21

Pottery........................................................................................................................................... 165 25.70

Shirts, overalls, and underwear............................................................................................... 412 12.28

Stamped and enameled ware..................................................................................................... 95 6.40

Tobacco (smoking and chewing) and snuff............................................................................ 1,076

983

23.53

Woolen and worsted goods......................................................................................................... 17.99

Clearly the proportion of older workers in an industry is not 

necessarily an indication of the skilled character of its work. Apparently women who have acquired a skilled occupation may remain 

in the industry in which they can practice it until after 30, or women

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404 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F LA BO R . S T A T IS T IC S .

over 30 who find wage earning necessary may enter an industry in 

which they find work so unskilled and simple that their lack of industrial training and even their loss of the speed of the more youthful workers do not debar them. The five industries showing the 

largest proportion of these older workers illustrate this difference. 

Oyster canning, pottery making, and the manufacture of smoking 

and chewing tobacco and snuff1 all showed women of 30 years and 

over engaged in unskilled labor of a particularly rough, dirty, and 

unattractive kind. There is some reason for thinking that younger 

workers, who are usually a little freer to choose what they will do, 

would not take this at all generally, thus leaving the field open for 

the older workers, who must take what they can get. Corset making 

and the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods, on the other hand, 

present entirely different conditions. Neither has the unpleasant 

features of the work done by women in the first three industries. In 

the woolen and worsted manufacture a large number of the women 

employees have a skilled trade, which they are naturally reluctant to 

leave. In corset making none of the work done by women is skilled, 

but it is wTork which is in line with the traditional feminine occupations and which a woman of any degree of neatness and deftness could 

enter without preliminary training.

The other industries show a similar lack of uniformity. In the 

manufacture of clocks and watches women perform operations requiring judgment and accuracy, and it is difficult not to suspect a 

connection between this fact and the relatively high proportion of 

women 30 years of age and over in the industry. But in canning 

fruit and vegetables and in making cigarettes, women have no skilled 

occupations, yet these industries show almost as large a proportion, 

aged 30 years and over, as clock and watch makers. Apparently 

older women may be found numerously in an industry because its 

occupations require skill and training, or because they require 

neither, and only a study of the individual industry will show which 

reason is operative in a given case.

AGE OF GREATEST MASSING.

The age of greatest massing in the separate industries varied from 

16 to 19, but for the greater number was at 18. In the manufacture 

of paper boxes, cigar boxes, and jewelry more of the female workers 

were found at 16 than at any other age ; in making cigarettes, canning 

fruits and vegetables, and making confectionery and crackers and 

biscuits 17 was the age of greatest massing; the manufacture of 

needles and pins showed exactly equal numbers at 17 and 19; core 

makers showed their greatest number at 19; and in the remaining 

industries 18 was the age of maximum numbers.

i All three of these industries showed an unusually large proportion of married women

among their workers.

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E M P L O Y M E N T I N S E L E C T E D I N D U S T R I E S . 405

EARNINGS, BY INDUSTRIES.

The variation in the age level of the industries is so great that 

earnings can not fairly be compared without some allowance for 

this factor. The inclusion of a large number of children under 16, 

as in the manufacture of confectionery and of paper boxes, obscures 

the facts as to the earnings of the grown women found in the industry. Moreover, the significant point in regard to the earnings made 

in an industry is what proportion of those who might reasonably 

expect to be self-supporting are really so. By excluding all workers 

under 18, a much fairer idea is given of what an industry really 

offers to women in the way of earnings. The following table shows 

for each industry the proportion, by sex, of employees aged 18 years 

and over in each of several earnings groups :

PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER OF EACH SE X EARNING

LESS THAN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS IN A REPRESENTATIVE W E E K , B Y INDUSTRY.

Males. Females.

Industry.

Number 18

Per cent 18 years of age

and over earning— Number 18

Per cent 18 years of age

and over earning—

years

of age

ana

over.

Under

. $4

Under

$6

Under

$8

Under

$10

years

of age

and

over.

Under

$4

Under

$6

Under

$8

Under

$10

Canning and preserving, fruits and

vegetables........................................... 355 1.4 2.0 8.2 44.8 449 5.8 59.2 93.5 98.9

100.0

95.6

96.1

92.9

87.6

Canning and preserving, oysters.......

Cans and boxes, tin..............................

152

742

37,5

7.3

51.3

18.1

64.5

33.2

83.6

54.0

38.4

155

225

56.1

18.7

21.5

9.6

99.4

50.2

61.8

33.1

100.0

79.5

84.5

75.4

Cigar boxes............................................ 292 2.4 10.3 19.5

28.3

335

1,071

5,994

696

Cigarettes................................................ 460 1.7 8.7 45.0

Cigars.................................................... 4,465

1,718

1,460

56

2.3 5.4 11.3 21.4 12.7 39.3 71.3

Clocks and watches.............................. 1.1 4.4 13.8 23.7 7.0

16.2

33.5

55.6

72.3

81.3

94.5

92.0

83.1

85.3

96.3

98.8

84.6

86.0

Confectionery........................................ 4.0 15.7 33.1 50.4 1,948

Core making....................... ................ 5.4 26.8 53.6 307 2.0

10.0

22.1 61.9

..................................................... 451 1.3 5.1 18.6 2,789 58.9Corsets

1,273

803

29.7

Crackers and biscuits........................... 1,237

2,846

2,218

206

1.1 3.6 15.0 34.0 12.7 54.0 82.0

Hardware, etc........................................ 1.7 5.2 18.4 43.2 12.0

7.7

57.9

31.7

88.2

64.0

67.4

Hosiery and knit goods....................... 1.8 7.1 22.7 46.8 7,251

Jewelry.................................................... 1.9 9.2 21.4 34.5 129 8.5 31.8

Needles and pins................................... 722 1.0 2.9 11.4 23.0 427 4.4 27.2 61.6

92.1

74.5

97.2

99.5

92.4

Nuts, bolts, and screws....................... 259 4.2 10.8 28.6 68.3 433 17.3 61.7

Paper boxes.......................................... 809 1.5 6.1 19.2 37.0 2,213 10.0 40.1

Pottery.................................................... 1,465 2.1 7.8 18.3 30.2 503 16.5 45.5 65.8 83.1

Rubber and elastic goods.................... 542 1.7 3.7 9.0 36.5 233 5.2 28.8 56.7 80.3

Shirts, overalls, etc............................... 502 3.6 17.1 37.3 59.8 2,371 14.2 55.5 89.9 98.3

Stamped and enameled ware............. 2,587

2,597

5,147

4.9 10.7 24.9 48.7 992 13.2 45.0

55.6

72.7

79.7

68.9

87.0

90.4

87.7

Tobacco and snuff............................... 10.2 29.3 55.1 80.2 3,670

3,915

31.1

Woolen and worsted goods................. 2.3 7.5 25.6 50.7 6.0 29.7

Total............................................. 31,288 3.2 9.5 23.3 43.5 38,182 12.6 41.1 72.7 89.5

Comparisons between the sexes are easy but of little value, since 

the work they do is apt to vary so widely. The striking feature of 

the table is the low level of earnings shown among the women. Of 

the 38,182 women, all 18 years and over, for whom the facts as to 

age and earnings were gained, one-eighth earned under $4 and 

two-fifths under $6 during the week studied.1 Practically only onetenth reached or passed $10.

1 These figures represent the actual earnings for the week preceding that in which the

inquiry was made. They were given by each worker on her individual slip and verified

from the pay rolls of the establishment.

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The different industries show considerable variations, but in general the level of earnings was low. In 10 of the 23 studied, less than 

half the women aged 18 years and over earned as much as $6, and in 

11 more than three-fourths earned less than $8. In only nine industries did as many as one-tenth reach or pass $10. The worst showing was made by oyster canning, in which 99.4 per cent earned under 

$6, and not one in the whole group earned as much as $8. Very 

few employees in this industry were studied, however, so that these 

figures are not so significant as those of some other industries. In 

confectionery, for instance, of nearly 2,000 women aged 18 years 

and over practically one-sixth earned under $4, more than half 

earned under $6, and only 8 per cent reached or passed $10. The 

manufacture of crackers and biscuits shows nearly the same level, 

with a smaller proportion in each extreme. The manufacture of 

tobacco and snuff shows nearly one-third earning under $4, but has 

practically 10 per cent in the group earning $10 or over. The core 

makers showr smaller proportions earning under $4 and under $6 

than are shown in any other industry, while their proportion in the 

group earning $10 and over is surpassed only by the rubber workers.

RELATION OF SKILL TO EARNINGS.

It is difficult to connect the skill required in an industry except 

in a very general and indefinite fashion with the earnings received. 

The manufacture of cigarettes and the manufacture of crackers and 

biscuits both employ women in occupations demanding speed but 

little skill, and the number aged 18 years and over studied in each 

industry was not very dissimilar, but in the one case about onethird and in the other something over one-half earned under $6. 

In the manufacture of clocks and watches women are employed in 

a number of delicate operations requiring judgment and accuracy, 

while in the manufacture of stamped and enameled ware but one 

of their occupations (dipping) requires any skill, and that of a 

much rougher and less exacting kind, yet 1 in every 8 of the 

women engaged in the latter industry reached or passed $10 a week 

as against 1 in 20 of the watch and clock makers. Apparently, the 

wages of women in factory industries are very largely unstandardized. In general they are low, but the degree of their lowness 

seems not to vary so much with the character of the work done as 

with the custom of a given industry, or, more accurately, of a given 

employer, for earnings within a given industry varied widely from 

one establishment to another.

406 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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EMPLOYMENT IK SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 407

RELATION OF AGE TO EARNINGS, BY INDUSTRIES.

The effect of age upon earnings is a matter of considerable importance, upon which the investigation throws some light. There 

are two standards by which this might be tested. At what age is 

there the best chance of obtaining the maximum earnings of an industry, and at what age do the largest proportion earn fair or good 

wages? Among the male workers in general these two tests would 

coincide; the age group in which the highest paid workers were 

found would also be the group in which the smallest proportion 

earned low and the largest proportion earned good wages, but 

among the female workers a number of irregularities appear.

The following table, condensed from the detailed tables given 

for each industry, shows the distribution among three earnings 

groups of the 54,277 female workers for whom both age and earnings were learned:

DISTRIBUTION OF FEMALE W ORKERS B Y AGE AND EARNINGS GROUPS.

Age. Number. Per cent.

Per cent of total in age group

earning—

Under

$6 $6 to $8 $8 and

over.

Under 16 years.................................................. 5,207 9.59 91.18 7.16 1.65

16 and 17 years..................................................................... 10,888

15,274

9,663

13,245

20.06 68.95 22.69 8.36

18 to 20 years........................................................................ 28.14 47.33 32.93 19.75

21 to 24 years........................................................................ 17.80 35.79 33.61 30.60

25 years and over................................................................. 24.40 37.75 28.74 33.51

Total........................................................................... 54,277 100.00 51.48 27.50 21.02

This table shows what is also shown by the detailed figures for 

every industry studied—that up to the age of 24 there is a gradual 

but steady increase in earning power, each group showing a smaller 

proportion in the low earnings class and a larger proportion in the 

good earnings class than is shown by the group immediately preceding it. Those aged 25 and over, however, interfere with this orderly 

Sequence; they show, indeed, a larger proportion in the best paid 

group, but also relatively more in the group of lowest earnings and 

fewer in the middle earnings group than are found among those aged 

21 to 24. The detailed figures show that this interruption of the 

usual sequence in the case of these two groups is not universal, but 

varies from industry to industry, in some cases the earning capacity 

appearing to develop steadily from the youngest to the oldest group, 

while in others irregularities similar to those in the above table are 

found.

In two industries the women aged 25 or over are at an unmistakable disadvantage as compared with those aged 21 to 24. In oyster

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canning not one woman of the older group earned as much as $6 a 

week, while 5 per cent of the younger group reached or passed this 

sum; and in the manufacture of needles and pins the older women 

show a larger proportion in each of the lower earning groups and a 

smaller proportion in the group earning $10 or more than is the case 

with the women aged 21 to 24.

In the manufacture of tin cans and boxes, clocks and watches, confectionery, crackers, hardware, paper boxes, rubber goods, shirts, and 

I stamped and enameled ware the two groups preserve what might be 

called a normal relation, the younger showing the larger proportion 

receiving the smaller earnings and the smaller proportion receiving 

$10 or over. In the 12 remaining industries the older women invariably show a larger proportion earning less than $4 a week, frequently a larger proportion earning less than $6 or $8, and always 

a larger proportion earning $10 or over than is the case in the 

younger group. In other words, the older group shows relatively 

more of its members among the very low paid and the well paid, 

while the younger group shows relatively more of its members in 

the groups of medium earnings.

It is difficult to find any explanation for these variations. The 

natural presumption is that the older group might contain a number 

of workers so old as to have lost speed and efficiency, which would 

account for the large number making small earnings. But the data 

obtained do not justify this explanation. The exact age at which a 

woman becomes an industrial derelict, worth less than $4 a week, 

would be difficult to fix, but most people would admit that in such 

work as most of these industries offer to women anyone who had 

reached or passed 45 might be expected to fall within the group 

of small earnings, and in any industry where those aged 25 or over 

showed a considerable proportion earning less than $4 a week a 

considerable number of these women might be looked for. But in the 

manufacture of smoking and chewing tobacco and snuff, in which 

33.54 per cent of the women aged 25 or over earn less than $4 a week, 

only 13.9 per cent of these women are 45 or over, while in the manufacture of cigarettes, in which only 12.70 per cent of the women 25 

or over earn under $4 a week, 12.2 per cent of their number are 45 

or over. The manufacture of corsets and of shirts and underwear are 

two industries demanding about the same degree of skill from their 

female workers, and in each about one-tenth of those aged 25 or 

over earned under $4 a week (corset workers 10.27 per cent, shirt 

makers 10.83 per cent). Yet among the corset makers 19.8 per cent 

of this group had reached or passed 45, while among the shirt workers only 7.5 per cent were 45 or over. Evidently the presence of 

workers too old to be of much value does not afford a sufficient explanation of these variations.

408 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 409

The greater proportion of those earning $10 or over a week found 

in this group is what would be expected. Naturally the skilled workers who are most likely to make such earnings require some time to 

gain skill so that they are not found in the youngest groups, and 

having gained it, the fact that they can make such wages tends to 

keep them in the industry. Also, the forewoman and others in 

supervisory positions would generally be found in this age group.

Summing up the whole situation, it may be said that with the 

exception of oyster canning and the manufacture of needles and pins 

the largest proportion earning $10 or more a week was always found 

in the group aged 25 or over, but that in seven industries the proportion earning as much as $8 a week or over was larger in the group 

aged 21 to 24, and in 13 industries those aged 25 and over showed a 

larger per cent earning under $4 a week than was found in the 

younger group. Up to the age of 24 increasing years bring on the 

whole an increase of earning power. Above that age they seem to 

have a double effect, diminishing the number of moderate earners 

and increasing the proportion at both extremes of the wage scale.

CONJUGAL CONDITION AND INDUSTRY.

The age distribution of female workers in the various industries 

and the proportion of those in each age group who w^ere married but 

not widowed are shown in the following table:

PER CENT OF TOTAL FEMALE EMPLOYEES IN SPECIFIED AGE GROUPS, AND PER

CENT IN SPECIFIED AGE GROUPS WHO ARE MARRIED, B Y INDUSTRY.

Total

numPer cent of female

employees—

Per cent of female employees of

specified age who are married.

Industry.

ber of

female

employees.

16

years

of age

and

over.

18

years

of age

and

over.

20

years

of age

and

over.

16

years

of age

and

over.

18

years

of age

and

over.

20

years

of age

and

over.

Total

female

employees.

Canning and preserving, fruits and

vegetables............................................. 084 93.4 75.8 48.8 17.3 24.3 32.2 16.2

Canning and preserving, oysters......... 229 86.3 72.2 63.5 45.7 50.7 61.4 39.4

Cans and boxes, tin................................ 425 90.5 66.8 48.4 9.6 12.0 17.3 8.7

Cigar boxes............................................... 519 90.6 76.2 54.7 8.2 10.2 11.5 7.4

Cigarettes.................................................. 1,436 95.0 73.2 53.6 8.3 10.2 12.3 7.9

Cigars......................................................... 10,591 90.4 67.9 46.2 17.1 22.2 30.3 * 15.5

Clocks and watches................................ 1,010 97.8 78.2 64.5 6.7 7.8 9.5 6.6

Confectionery........................................... 3,640 84.2 64.8 36.3 8.1 12.1 17.0 6.8

Core making...........................................i 387 100.0 64.3 47.1 7.7 9.0 11.9 7.7

Corsets....................................................... 1 4,084 91.7 75.5 59.2 16.9 20.4 24.6 15.5

Crackers and biscuits.............................| 2,170 88.8 65.6 38.8 4.1 5.9 9.0 3.7

Hardware, etc..........................................i 1,192 93.7 68.0 49.5 17.6 21.6 27.8 16.5

Hosiery and knit goods......................... 12,475 89.5 71,4 52.4 10.4 13.1 16.5 9.3

Jewelry..................................................... 242 90.2 73.8 54.1 5.5 7.0 8.9 4.9

Needles and j>ins..................................... 637 89.9 71.6 50.4 13.2 16.6 21.6 11.9

Nuts, bolts, and screws......................... 664 89.6 60.6 41.1 14.4 18.1 28.9 12.7

Paper boxes............................................. 4,156 85.2 67.3 41.6 5.9 8.4 11.1 5.0

Pottery...................................................... 644 93.8 77.4 62.2 21.1 25.0 30.6 19.8

Rubber and elastic goods...........- ........ 283 96.4 82.0 69.4 16.8 18.9 22.8 16.2

Shirts, overalls, etc................................. 3,551 89.8 72.3 53.6 6.5 8.1 10.1 5.8

Stamped and enameled ware............... 1,667 94.2 67.4 41.9 7.4 9.9 14.8 7.0

Tobacco and snuff.................................. 5,056 94.4 74.0 61.8 22.2 25.4 31.7 21.0

Woolen and worsted goods................... 5,914 91.1 68.9 50.4 24.1 30.0 39.8 21.9

Total............................................... 61,656 90.9 70.3 50.1 13.7 17.5 22.6 12.4

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Evidently the lower the age level in a given industry the fewer 

married women are likely to be found in it. Hence, it is fairer to 

make the comparison between workers in the same age group than 

between the whole body of workers in each industry. Probably the 

situation is best shown in the group aged 20 or over, since these have 

all reached an age at which marriage is customary. It will be noticed 

that over one-fifth of the workers in this group were married, not 

widowed; in other words, they had husbands on whom theoretically 

the duty of supporting the family devolved. The kind of work done 

by women in the industries studied, and the low level of their earnings, make it decidedly improbable that this large proportion of 

married women had taken up work outside their homes for the sake 

of variety or pin money. The implication seems rather plain that a 

family wage was required for the family support, or at least that the 

earnings of the husband were insufficient for that purpose. As there 

were nearly 7,000 women in this group, the situation can hardly be 

regarded as a casual or accidental one.

The proportion of married women in this age group varies widely 

from one industry to another. The highest proportion, 61.4 per cent, 

was found in oyster canning, in which, on the whole, conditions were 

more unpleasant and the wage level lower than in any other industry studied. In this case it is known that their presence was partly 

due to the system of hiring family groups, a system which, by enabling a married woman to bring her children in to work with her, 

solves from one point of view the question of what to do with the 

children if the mother goes to work. In two industries showing a 

high percentage of married women in this age group, cigar making, 

with 30.3 per cent, and the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods, 

with 39.8 per cent, it seems possible that these high proportions are 

at least partly due to the fact that in each women have skilled occupations which tend to hold them in the industry. Elsewhere no such 

connection is even suggested. In the three other industries in which 

30 per cent or more of the women in this age group are married, 

canning fruits and vegetables, pottery making, and preparing smoking and chewing tobacco and snuff, the occupations followed by 

women demand sometimes strength and sometimes speed, but rarely 

require either skill or intelligence.

In most cases it is not possible from the data at hand to decide why 

one industry shows a high and another a low percentage of married 

women. The table given shows what were the proportions found, 

but does not explain them. Its two really significant features are 

that more than one-fifth of the women aged 20 years and over, and 

practically one-eighth of the whole group without regard to age, are 

married women with husbands living.

410 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.

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EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES. 411

It is worth while in this connection to notice the proportion of 

married women found among the workers in the four industries which 

received special and detailed investigation. Considering only the 

female workers who were 20 years of age and over, the number 

studied in each industry and the proportion married were as follows:

PER CENT OF FEMALE W ORKERS 20 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER IN EACH SPECIFIED

INDUSTRY WHO W ERE M ARRIED.

Industry.

Female workers 20

years of age and over.

Number. Per cent

married.

Cotton textile industry:1

New England group................................................................................................... 10,237

7,285

6,513

1,166

5,838

38.4

40.7

28.6

12.6

16.0

Southern group...............................................................................................................

Men’s ready-made clothing2.............................................................................................

Glass industry3......................................................................................................................

Silk industry4.......................................................... .............................................................

1 See Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States, Vol. I, p. 637.

2 Idem, Vol. II. p. 542.

s Idem, Vol. Ill, p. 651.

4 Idem, Vol. IV, p. 348.

The five groups of employees show considerable variation in this 

respect, but it is worthy of note that the three largest groups show a 

higher percentage of married workers than prevails among those 

20 years of age or over in the combined industries studied in this 

investigation. The two which show smaller percentages have, respectively, one-eighth and very nearly one-sixth married, proportions sufficiently large, when taken in connection with the three other 

groups, to show that there is nothing abnormal about the figures 

gathered for the present study. It is evident that the married woman 

who is neither widowed, deserted, nor divorced is a considerable 

factor in the industrial world.

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4 1 2 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

RACE AND AGE.

The total number of female workers reporting definitely as to 

age and the number and proportion of these in several age groups 

are shown by race in the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OP FEMALE W ORKERS OF EACH SPECIFIED RACE W HO

W ER E UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, 20 YEARS OF AGE

AND OVER, AND 25 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER.

Race.

Total

female

employees.

Number of female employees— Per cent of total female

employees—

Under

18

years

of age.

18

years

of age

and

over.

20

years

of age

and

over.

25

years

of age

and

over.

Under

18

years

of age.

18

years

of age

and

over.

20

years

of age

and

over.

25

years

of age

and

over.

American, colored................... 1,186 225 961 821 55 9 19.0 81.0 69.2 47.1

American, white...................... 17,913 5,630 12,283 8,718 4,006 31.4 68.6 48.7 22.4

Austrian.................................... 431 79 352 207 61 18.3 81.7 48.0 14.2

Bohemian................................. 1,170 326 844 636 378 27.9 72.1 54.4 32.3

Canadian................................... 309 76 233 178 89 24.6 75.4 57.6 28.8

Canadian, English................... 287 49 • 238 164 72 17.1 82.9 57.1 25.1

Canadian, French................... 669 178 491 383 183 26.6 73.4 57.2 27.4

Cuban......................................... 237 43 194 156 112 18.1 81.9 65.8 47.3

English...................................... 1,638 336 1,302 1,057 662 20.5 79.5 64.6 40.4

French....................................... 435 95 340 271 149 21.8 78.2 62.3 34.3

German..................................... 9,523 3,020 6,503 4,616 ‘2,057 31.7 68.3 48.5 21.6

Hebrew, Austrian................... 285 90 195 102 17 31.6 68.4 35.8 6.0

Hebrew, Russian..................... 1,233 400 833 455 74 32.4 67.6 36.9 6.0

Hebrew, other.......................... 257 89 168 99 18 34.6 65.4 38.5 7.0

Hungarian................................ 1,329 271 1,058 727 393 20.4 79.6 54.7 29.6

Irish............................................ 5,760 993 4,767 3,993 2,576 17.2 82.8 69.3 44.7

Italian........................................ 3,212 1,345 1,867 1,251 598 41.9 58.1 38.9 18.6

Polish......................................... 1,964 759 1,205 643 210 38.6 61.4 32.7 10.7

Polish, Austrian...................... 1,421 279 1,142 738 254 19.6 80.4 51.9 17.9

Polish, German........................ 1,809 965 844 451 110 53.3 46.7 24.9 6.1

Polish, Russian........................ 818 249 569 351 118 30.4 69.6 42.9 14.4

Portuguese................................ 150 52 98 71 38 34.7 65.3 47.3 25.3

Russian..................................... 595 161 434 246 81 27.1 72.9 41.3 13.6

Scandinavian.......................... 759 199 560 406 157 26.2 73.8 53.5 20.7

Scotch........................................ 389 78 311 258 132 20.1 79.9 66.3 33.9

Spanish...................................... 117 28 89 76 49 23.9 76.1 65.0 41.9

Other Slavs.............................. 599 183 416 226 128 30.6 69.4 37.7 21.4

All other.................................... 729 200 529 375 164 27.4 72.6 51.4 22.5

Total............................... 55,224 16,398 ! 38,826 27,675 13,445 29.7 70.3 50.1 24.3

Marked racial differences appear in this table, especially in the 

proportions in the youngest and the oldest groups. A priori it 

might be assumed that as the proportion of adults among the newer 

immigrants is greater than among the native born and the older immigrant races, the newer races would show a correspondingly larger 

proportion of their workers in the older groups. With a few exceptions, the exact reverse of this situation prevails. The Cuban women 

show the largest proportion found in the group aged 25 and over— 

47.3 per cent—but they are a very small group massed in one industry 

in which they had acquired a skilled trade. Next to them the colored 

women, all native born, show the largest percentage in this group, 

and next to them come the Irish, an immigrant race of long standing. 

The Germans, who are also old comers, show rather a low proportion 

of older workers, but the English and Scotch both have high percentages. On the other hand the Polish workers, the Italians, the 

Russians, the Austrians, and, most of all, the Hebrews show small 

proportions in this age group. The Bohemians and the Spanish

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showed high proportions in the older groups, but in both eases they 

were found chiefly among the cigar makers and were skilled workers.

The white Americans and the Germans are the only races long 

established in the United States who show a larger proportion under 

18 than prevails in the total group of females reporting as to age, 

while the Scotch, the English, and especially the Irish, fall far below 

this average. The newer immigrant races for the most part show 

large percentages in this age group, the German-Polish workers 

showing the highest per cent found—53.3 per cent. The Italians also 

have an exceptional percentage—41.9 per cent.

Considered as a whole, the German-Polish and the Hebrew women 

show much the lowest age level found, while of the race groups large 

enough for the figures concerning them to be really significant the 

colored Americans and the Irish have the highest age level. The 

figures for these two races show a close correspondence in their age 

distribution.

Considering the whole group of female workers studied, the age 

level is distinctly low, not quite one-fourth having reached 25 years 

of age, and practically one-half being under 20.

RACE AND CONJUGAL CONDITION.

The conjugal condition, by race, of the 56,043 female workers reporting on these points is shown in the following table:

PER CENT OF TOTAL FEMALE EMPLOYEES OF EACH SPECIFIED RACE WHO W ERE

SINGLE, M ARRIED, AND W IDOW ED.

Total

Per cent

of total

female

Per cent of total female

employees—

Race. JGinait?

employees/

employees 18

years

and over.

Single. Married. Widowed.

American, colored............................................................... 848 81.0 48.1 36.1 15.8

4.4

3.3

7.4

7.0

3.0

3.9

18.2

6.4

American, white............................................... *................ 18,197

430

68.6 85.7 9.9

Austrian............................................................................... 81.7 81.2 15.6

Bohemian............................................................................. 1,173 72.1 67.1 25.5

Canadian............................................................................... 315 75.4 79.7 13.3

Canadian, English............................................................... 296 82.9 87.5 9.5

Canadian, French................................................................ 691 73.4 81.0 15.1

Cuban..................................................................................... 236 81.9 52.1 29.7

English.................................................................................. 1,657

443

79.5 74.8 18.8

French................................................................................... 78.2 77.7 17.6 4.7

German................................................................................. 9,629

321

68.3 88.9 7.9 3.3

Hebrew, Austrian............................................................... 68.4 96.0 3.1 .9

Hebrew, Russian................................................................. 1,401

276

67.6 95.1 3.9 1.0

Hebrew, others.................................................................... 65.4 96.4 2.9 .7

Hungarian............................................................................. 1,333

5,929

3,444

1,983

1,439

79.6 56.9 37.6 5.5

82.8 85.2 8.1 6.7Irish........................................................................................

Italian.................................................................................... 58.1 74.2 22.1 3.6

Polish..................................................................................... 61.4 86.7 11.4 1.9

Polish, Austrian.................................................................. 80.4 78.3 19.7 1.9

Polish, German................................................................... 1,814 46.7 92.9 6.2 .9

Polish, Russian.................................................................... 828 69.6 81.9 15.2 2.9

Portuguese............................................................................ 151 65.3 78.8 19.2 2.0

Russian................................................................................. 605 72.9 85.8 12.1 2.1

Scandinavian........................................................................ 759 73.8 90.0 8.2 1.8

Scotch.................................................................................... 397 79.9 80.9 13.6 5.5

Spanish.................................................................................. 116 76.1 54.3 32.8 12.9

Other Slavs........................................................................... 599 69.4 67.8 29.2 3.0

All others............................................................................... 733 72.6 85.1 12.4 2.5

Total............................................................................ 56,043 70.3 83.3 12.4 4.3

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There is a good deal of difference in the size and the age level of 

the several race groups, both of which facts would be likely to affect 

the number of married women found. Numerous other factors might 

also have an effect on this matter, so that it is not possible from the 

data at hand to decide definitely upon the attitude of the various 

races toward the employment of married women outside of their own 

homes. Nevertheless there seem indications in some groups of a 

racial attitude. The Irish and the colored women, for instance, had 

a very similar age distribution, but only 8.1 per cent of the Irish, as 

compared with 36.1 per cent of the colored women, were married. A 

considerably larger proportion of the Italians than of the Germans 

were under 18, so that they might be expected to show a smaller proportion married, but as a matter of fact 22.1 per cent of the Italian 

female workers were married as against only 7.9 per cent of the 

Germans. Such wide differences suggest a difference in the whole 

attitude of these groups toward the employment of married women.

Among three races—the Hungarians, the American colored, and 

the Spanish—more than 30 per cent of the female workers reporting 

on this fact were married. Of these the Spanish, of whom 32.8 per 

cent were married, were so small a group that this proportion may be 

wholly due to accidental circumstances and therefore without significance. Of the other two races the Hungarians show the highest 

percentage found of married women, 37.6 per cent, although the 

colored women had a slightly higher proportion of workers in the 

group aged 18 years and over, and therefore might reasonably have 

been expected to show the larger proportion married. Both these 

race groups are fairly large, so that accidental variations are probably not important in determining the proportions, and the per cent 

married, not far in either case from two-fifths, is so large as to seem 

a pretty clear indication that these two races feel no marked objection 

to having their married women at work outside the home.

On the other hand, the very small proportion married among the 

Hebrew women seems to show a strong objection on their part to a 

married woman becoming a wage earner. To a less degree this is 

true also of the German-Polish, the German, the Irish, and the Scandinavian women. The American white women show a larger proportion married than any of these races, but still fall well below the 

level for the whole group.

A comparison of the figures of this table with those showing the 

conjugal condition of the female workers in the cotton textile, silk, 

and men’s ready-made clothing industries shows some interesting 

similarities and contrasts. For these industries the number, by race, 

of female workers for whom facts concerning conjugal condition 

were gained and the proportion of these married, are as follows:

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PER CENT OF FEMALE WORKERS IN EACH SPECIFIED INDUSTRY WHO W ERE MARRIED. B Y RACE.

Cotton textile industry.1

Female workers.

Race.

Total

number.

Per cent

married.

New England group:

American......................................................................................................................... 1,207

6,132

1,423

2,351

284

22.0

Canadian, French.......................................................................................................... 27.3

English............................................................................................................................. 35.3

Irish.................................................................................................................................. 23.9

Italian........................ ...................................................................................................... 27.1

Polish................................................................................................................................ 1,797 32.2

Portuguese....................................................................................................................... 721 33.4

Other races....................................................................................................................... 840 25.5

Total.............................................................................................................................. 14,755

16,938

27.9

Southern group:

American......................................................................................................................... 20.7

Men's ready-made clothing industry.2

American................................................................................................................................. 887 7.5

Bohemian................................................................................................................................ 1,108

1,753

6.1

German.............................................................................................................. ...................... 11.7

Hebrew.................................................................................................................................... 1,900 3.6

Italian...................................................................................... - ............................................. 3,445 35.9

Lithuanian.............................................................................................................................. 276 15.2

Polish....................................................................................................................................... 1,089 10.8

Scandinavian......................................................................................................................... 401 14.5

Other ranes................ ................................................................................................. 737 18.3

Total__________ 11,596 17.2

Silk industry.3

American................................................................................................................................. 3,522

595

7.4

6.1

English.................................................................................................................................... 1,201 9.4

German.................................................................................................................................... 2,546 11.7

Irish.......................................................................................................................................... 2,421

922

4.0

Italian...................................................................................................................................... 46.3

Lithuanian.............................................................................................................................. 58

Polish................................................................................ , .................................................... 390 ............... 1.3

97

Welsh....................................................................................................................................... 339 .6

O ther races............................................. ............................................................................... 1,851 16.6

Total.............................................................................................................................. 13,945 11.1

1 Report on Women and Child Wage Earners in the United States, Vol. I, pp. 639-642.

2 Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 543, 544.

3 Ibid., Vol. IV, pp. 346,347; those under 16 were omitted from these calculations.

Many of the races appear in only one or two of these tables, so 

that resemblances or dissimilarities may be wholly accidental. Of 

those which appear more frequently, the Americans invariably show 

a lower percentage married than prevails in the whole group of 

female employees in that industry, excepting, of course, in the 

group of southern textile employees, who were exclusively American. The Irish also fall below the prevailing percentage of married 

in every group, although in the cotton textile industry they come 

much closer to the general level than elsewhere. This may be explained in part by the fact that two-fifths of the Irish females in

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this industry were weavers; in other words, they had acquired a 

skilled occupation, and it has been generally apparent throughout 

this study that women who had gained skilled trades were less likely 

than the unskilled to give up their work: at marriage. Probably 

the same explanation applies in the case of the English and the 

Polish women, both of whom show a much higher percentage married in the cotton textile industry than in the other industries 

studied, and among whom 46.2 per cent and 48.3 per cent, respectively, were weavers. Except in the cotton textile industry, both of 

these races fall everywhere below the general level in their proportion of married workers.

The Italian is the only race group having a relatively high proportion of married women which appears in these additional tables. 

It rises much above the general percentage of married except in the 

cotton textile industry, where it falls slightly below. No explanation can be suggested for this irregularity beyond what may be 

found in the fact that in this industry the Italians form a very small 

group, numbering only 284, whereas in the silk industry they numbered 922, in the men’s ready-made clothing industry 3,445, and in 

the combined industries 3,444.

SUMMARY.

The present volume deals with a group of between 50,000 and

60,000 female employees, found in 23 different manufacturing industries, and distributed throughout 17 States. They were a decidedly youthful group, practically half of those for whom precise 

data were obtained being under 20 years of age, and not quite a 

fourth being 25 or over. In the main they were single, but oneeighth of the group were married. Racially Americans predominated, white Americans forming nearly one-third (32.4 per cent) 

of the total number. The relative importance of the foreign races 

varied so greatly from place to place that no general statement can 

be made on the subject. There were no indications that American 

women and those of the older immigrant races were being at all 

generally driven out of the industries studied by the newer comers. 

Occasionally there were evidences that certain occupations were passing into the hands of recent immigrants. Generally speaking, these 

occupations involved work so disagreeable either in itself or in the 

conditions under which it was carried on that American or Americanized workers were unwilling to do it and it was left for the newcomers, who, having physical strength and an urgent need of employment, would take whatever they could get.

The conditions of work differed so widely, not only from one industry to another, but even between different establishments within 

the same industry, that general statements can be made only with

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much caution. Occupational risks were found of three kinds: Exposure to harmful dusts or fumes, exposure to risk from machinery, 

and risk of injury from constrained or harmful positions. The 

most striking examples of the first kind were found in the pottery 

industry, where a large proportion of the female workers were exposed to lead dusts, and where apparently very few precautions were 

taken to reduce this risk, or to render inevitable exposure as little 

harmful as might be. A somewhat similar risk, though much less 

in degree, was believed to exist in other industries in which women 

were engaged, in painting, japanning, lacquering, or enameling different kinds of ware. In these cases, however, precautions against 

injurious dusts or fumes were more generally taken than was the 

case in the potteries visited.

The dangers from machinery were most marked in the various 

metal-working trades and in paper-box making. The most frequent 

risk was in connection with various forms of power or stamping 

presses and the corner-staying machine in box factories. In both 

cases the danger arises from the fact that in adjusting her work the 

operator’s hands must approach or reach a spot at which a few seconds later a crushing blow is to be delivered by a metal stamp or die. 

It is supposed that her hands will be out of the way before the die 

descends, but the danger of accident or miscalculation is obvious. 

Some forms of stamping presses are absolutely safe and all may be 

safeguarded, but in numerous cases this fact was ignored and no 

guards were used.

The risk of harm from injurious positions is much less apparent 

and much harder to be sure of than the risk from machinery. The 

commonest risk came from continuous standing. There was hardly 

an industry in which at least a portion of the female workers were not 

on their feet all day long, and in some it was the exception to find 

workers seated. Some kinds of work could not be done unless the 

worker was standing, but cases were found in which work could 

have been done just as well seated, but custom or a belief that greater 

speed could be attained when standing kept the workers on their feet.

In a few of the cracker factories visited an effort had been made 

to avoid the strain of long standing by transferring workers for a 

certain time each day from occupations which involved continuous 

standing to others in which they could work seated. Occasionally 

in other industries groups of individual workers arranged some such 

exchange among themselves, thus securing some relief. It seems possible that in many industries some arrangement of this kind might 

be devised, but as yet little attention appears to have been given to 

the matter. In the cracker factories referred to brief rest periods, 

given twice a day, relieved the strain of rapid work.

95053°— Bull. 175— 16-------27*

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Very little evidence was found in this investigation of pace setting by machinery. In a few cases it was found, but far more often 

speed was secured by means of low piece-rate wages. A very high 

rate of speed was often shown where this system prevailed, but the 

data gathered were not sufficient to show whether it was so great as 

to produce exhaustion or harmful overfatigue.

In general the work done by these women was unskilled. The outand-out cigar makers, who formed a very small proportion of the 

women in the cigar industry, had a skilled trade, and so had the 

weavers and menders in the manufacture of woolen and worsted 

goods. The hand trimmers of high-grade fancy boxes were skilled 

workers in the fullest sense of the words, but again these workers 

formed an exceedingly minute proportion of the box makers. The 

core makers, a small group, all required some skill and training. 

Some of the occupations carried on by women in watch and clock 

making called into play judgment, accuracy, and initiative, and so 

did a few occupations found in some of the metal-working industries. 

But all these workers combined were too few to alter the general 

character of the work done by these women, which at best was only 

semiskilled, and for the most part was unskilled, mechanical, and 

monotonous to the highest degree.

On the whole the strongest impression left by the study of this 

group of between 50,000 and 60,000 women and girls is the absolutely 

haphazard and unstandardized character of the industrial world as 

known to them. In general they enter it without preliminary training, picking up what knowledge or deftness they need as they go 

along. Whether they work in clean, healthful, and comfortable surroundings or in buildings which are an outrage upon health and 

decency depends largely upon the particular employer they happen 

to get; in practically every industry both extremes were found. The 

length of the working hours; the frequency and amount of overtime; 

the extent to which machinery was used: the extent to which it was 

safeguarded when used; the subdivision of work and the consequent 

degree to which the worker’s field was narrowed down; the pace at 

which the work was carried on; provisions for light, ventilation, and 

comfort—these and many other points depend not upon the worker, 

not even upon the industry, but very largely upon the attitude of the 

individual employer. Wide variations were found not only within 

an industry, but even within establishments in the same industry 

located within the same State or city.

And when it comes to the question of earnings, the lack of standardization seems to reach its height. In the main the women were 

wholly unorganized and seemed to have no idea in regard to wages 

beyond taking what they could get. The determining factor seemed 

not so much what their services were worth or what the industry

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could afford as the individual employer’s attitude upon the matter. 

In one and the same industry employers would be found who so 

graded their rates that the average employee would be able to earn 

fair wages, the unusual employee, of course, under such a system 

earning very good wages; employers who took foreign women because they could get them for lower wages than American women; 

and employers who sought girls under 16 for all the occupations they 

could fill on the admitted ground that “ they could do as much as a 

woman and would work for less.” With some employers the lowest 

wages a woman or girl could be induced to work for decided what 

she could get. In many cases there was an evident intention to treat 

the employees justly and considerately, but nowhere was there any 

generally accepted standard of what constituted a fair or reasonable 

wage. What a woman could earn by a week’s work seemed to depend 

fully as much upon extrinsic factors over which she had no possible 

control as upon her own ability or her own efforts.

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CHAPTER XIX.—LABOR LAWS AND FACTORY

CONDITIONS.

INTRODUCTION.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION.

This volume, which is the nineteenth and last part of the Report 

on Conditions of Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United 

States, contains the results of a study of actual conditions as compared with legal requirements in 563 manufacturing establishments, 

located in 17 States and representing 58 more or less clearly separate 

industries. The States included were Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode 

Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, 

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, North Carolina, 

Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana. These were selected as being important manufacturing States, and also as representing all shades 

and degrees of labor legislation.

The field work of the investigation was carried on .from December, 

1908, to April, 1909, and all the facts of this chapter relate to that 

period. The labor laws referred to are those in force at the date of 

the investigation.

METHODS USED.

The information concerning the requirements of the labor laws 

was collected partly from printed laws and judicial decisions and 

partly from interviews with the enforcing authorities. These interviews were considered necessary to a right understanding of what 

the laws really meant.

In many cases the effective meaning of a law can be understood 

only in the light of the interpretation placed upon it by the factory 

inspectors or others enforcing authority. This may be either because 

the law is obscure and the obscurity has not been removed by judicial 

opinion, or because the law vests the enforcing authority with broad 

discretionary powers. For these reasons it was desirable to obtain 

the opinions and working interpretations put upon such laws by 

factory inspectors and other interested persons.1

The facts concerning conditions in workshops and factories were 

learned by personal investigations. Such points were covered as the 

time schedules according to which work was conducted, overtime,

1 Vol. X IX , Labor L aw s and Factory Conditions, pp. 15, 16.

421

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safety provisions in case of fire, safeguards against accidents from 

elevators and machinery, conditions of ventilation and sanitation, 

provisions for the comfort of employees, the posting of time schedules, and the filing of working certificates for children if such filing 

was required by law.

INDUSTRIES STUDIED AND NUMBER OF MEN, WOMEN, AND

CHILDREN EMPLOYED.

The industries selected were those which in each State were of local 

significance and in which women and children formed a significant 

factor in the working force. The following table shows the industries, the number of establishments visited in each, and the number, 

by sex, of children and adults employed:

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES OF EACH SEX UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE AND 16 YEARS AND

OVER, IN ESTABLISHMENTS VISITED, B Y INDUSTRIES.

Employees.

Industries.

Establishments.

Male. Female.

16 years

and over.

Under 16

years.

16 years

and over.

Under 16

years.

Total.

Boots and shoes................................................ 6 629 24 313 2 968

Cans, tin............................................................. 8 1,151 95

29

390 35 1,671

1,548

982

Canning and preserving................................. 8 606 831 82

Cigar boxes....................................................... 14 418 45 472 47

Cigarettes........................................................... 6 523 26 1,360

9,698

980

76 1,985

15,782

3,239

6,367

4,498

4,677

10,465

4,075

904

Cigars.................................................................. 60 5,062

2,141

2,326

4,108

129 893

Clocks and watches......................................... 7 88 30

Confectionery................................................... 50 118 3,341

387

582

Core m^Tring...................................................... 10 3

Corsets................................................................ 8 726 13 3,698

3,722

2,014

669

240

Cotton goods..................................................... 25 5,602

1,763

191

629 512

Crackers and biscuits...................................... 35 60 238

Gloves................................................................ 5 3 41

Hardware, etc................................................... 9 3,497

4,041

385

71 1,157 66 4,791

16,951

637

Hosiery and knit goods................ 1................ 66 435 11,248

224

1,227

Jewelry............................................................... 5 10

Matches............................................................. 12 1,672 112 1,011

582

i

168 2,963

2,616

5,587

2,377

4,191

6,331

9,975

13,024

15,577

Nuts and bolts.................................................. 6 1,904 48 82

Papa* boxes....................................................... 59 1,290

1,678

582

55 3,647

602

595

Pottery............................................................... 12 55 42

Shirts.................................................................. 9 58 3,217

1,438

4,744

5,493

6,268

334

Stamped and enameled ware........................ 15 4,660

4,442

132 85

Tobacco and snuff........................................... 22 477 312

Woolen and worsted goods............................ 49 6,589 396 546

All other1................................................. ......... 57 8,536 331 442

Total........................................................ 563 64,522 3,442 67,522 6,695 142,181

1 Including industries represented by less than 5 establishments.

The results of the investigation have been presented by topics. 

That is to say, the labor laws and factory conditions are grouped 

according to similarity under the following topical or chapter heads: 

Scope and enforcement of the laws; legal age, prohibited employments, and working papers; hours of labor, night work, posting of 

time schedules, meal period; posting of labor laws; safeguards

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against fire; safeguarding of machinery; safeguarding of elevators; 

reporting of accidents; provisions for the comfort of employees; 

and ventilation and sanitation. Under each such head the material 

is arranged by States, and for each State there is given: First, a 

summary of the laws regarding the subject treated; second, where 

desirable and available, comments regarding the interpretation and 

administration of such laws; and third, a condensed statement, 

usually in tabular form, of the conditions found in the establishments visited.

ATTITUDE OF STATES TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF 

LABOR LAWS.

One of the most important topics dealt with is the attitude in the 

different States toward the enforcement of the labor laws. Three of 

the States covered in this investigation—North Carolina, Georgia, 

and Florida—had failed to provide any special means for enforcing 

such legislation; violations might be dealt with by indictment by 

the grand jury or prosecution by local police officials. Each of the 

other States had recognized the principle of intrusting the enforcement of woman and child labor laws and factory laws to officials 

specially chosen for that purpose, but not all had carried out the 

principle fully. In about half, factory inspection formed a distinct 

and independent administrative department; in the others the duty 

of factory inspection was made part of the duties of a bureau or 

department having a broader field of labor activities. In several 

States the enforcement of the factory laws was divided among 

several departments or groups of officials.

NUMBER OF PROSECUTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS, BY STATES.

The attitude of the enforcing authorities toward violation of 

these laws differed widely. Some held that prosecutions were unnecessary, since violators, when informed that they were breaking 

the laws, were always ready to correct the illegal conditions, while 

others held that prosecutions and penalties were necessary to insure 

respect for the laws. The following figures taken from the official 

reports of the inspecting authorities show the number of prosecutions undertaken during each of the five years immediately preceding 

the investigation in the States having officials charged with the 

enforcement of these laws. North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida 

have no such officials, and hence do not appear in the table.

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424 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF PROSECUTIONS UNDERTAKEN FOR VIOLATIONS OF WOMAN AND CHILD

LABOR AND FACTORY INSPECTION LAW S.

State. 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908

Massachusetts...................................................................... 16 48 40 22

Rhode Island....................................................................... 4

Connecticut..........................................................................

New York............................................................................. 49 202 303 443 815

New Jersey........................................................................... 23 8 14 27 5

Pennsylvania....................................................................... 65 70 100

% 9

32

Ohio...................................................................................... 3 3 313 16

(8)

(>)

Illinois2................................................................................. 1,325 1,001

15

973 320

Indiana.................................................................................. C1) C) 20

Michigan4.............................................................................

Wisconsin 4...........................................................................

Maryland.............................................................................. 45 19 26 70 20

1 Not reported.

2 These figures are for convictions, the number of prosecutions not being reported.

* Figures for 1908 not available when present report was prepared.

4 Data concerning prosecutions too incomplete for tabulation.

Ift Louisiana at the time of this; investigation factory inspection existed only in the city of New Orleans, and the* laws then in 

force were of such recent origin that there had been no time to show 

what would be the attitude of the authorities toward their enforcement. In the other States the variations are too wide to be accounted for by any reasonable theory of varying conditions; they 

probably reflect in part the attitude of the inspectors themselves 

towards the law, and still more the attitude of the community as a 

whole. Inspectors are hardly likely to bring prosecutions unless 

they know that they have a strong public sentiment behind them. 

Most of the prosecutions shown in the above table were for violations of the laws concerning the employment of children.

PROVISIONS MADE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR LAWS.

Another indication of the public attitude toward the labor laws 

appears in the extent of the provision made for their enforcement. 

A law on the statute book is of no value and may even be a detriment unless some method has been adopted for enforcing it. In 

three States, as already mentioned, no special provision was made 

for carrying out labor legislation. In the others the number of 

officials appointed for its enforcement varied in a way that did not 

at all correspond to the importance of the separate States as manufacturing centers. New York had 48 factory inspectors engaged 

in active field work and 9 mercantile inspectors; Massachusetts 

had only 14 factory inspectors, but definitely assigned the enforcement of some of the factory and labor laws to other official bodies, 

such as the State board of health. Pennsylvania had 41 inspectors, 

Ohio 35, and Illinois 28; no other State had a score. Michigan had 

14; Rhode Island 3; Wisconsin 12; Maryland 8; and Connecticut 5. 

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L A B O R L A W S A N D F A C T O R Y C O N D I T IO N S . 425

tor’s responsibility was limited to New Orleans, while in Maine he 

was expected to cover the whole State.1 At the time of this investigation Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin were the only 

States in which the inspectors were appointed under a civil-service 

system; 2 elsewhere they were very apt to be political appointees, 

pure and simple.

CONDITIONS FOUND IN FACTORIES STUDIED.

OVERTIME.

A point of interest brought out by the tables given is the amount 

of so-called overtime in some of the industries studied. The manufacturers themselves were the only source of information on this 

point; from each a statement was obtained of whether or not overtime had been worked; if so, how often, and to what extent the 

regular hours had been increased during the overtime period. The 

answers to these questions usually represented the employer’s recollections or estimate, and are therefore not as reliable as if they 

could have been taken from records. Such as they are, however, they 

are based on the employers’ assertions, and therefore presumably 

do not exaggerate the amount of overtime worked.

Of the 563 establishments visited, 226 definitely reported that they 

had worked overtime during the preceding year. For 21 of these, 

however, it was stated that the overtime work had been limited to 

adult male workers. For the remaining 205 it was often difficult to 

secure precise information as to whether women and children had 

worked the same overtime hours as the men. In many cases the part 

they took in the process was such that it was almost certain that 

they would participate in any overtime worked, but it was impossible to obtain a precise statement that they had done so.

There were wide variations among the different industries in regard to overtime. Fifteen industries had each employed over a 

thousand women and girls in the establishments visited. For these 

the following figures show the total number of employees in each, 

the number of establishments inspected, and the number in which, 

according to the employer’s statement, overtime had beefi worked 

during the preceding year:

1 In June, 1915, these States showed marked increases in the number of inspectors:

New York had 104 inspectors in actual field work, besides 20 mercantile inspectors, 3

medical inspectors, 35 other inspectors, and 24 charged with supervision of inspection

w ork; Massachusetts had 12 factory inspectors and 12 medical inspectors; Pennsylvania

had 59 inspectors, 3 of whom were medical inspectors; Ohio, 36 inspectors; Illinois, 10

factory, 2 medical, and 19 other inspectors; Indiana, 10 inspectors; Michigan, 17 inspectors ; Rhode Island, 4 inspectors; Wisconsin, 15 inspectors; Maryland, 10 inspectors;

Connecticut, 8 factory and 6 mercantile inspectors; Maine, 3 inspectors; and Louisiana, 1.

2 Since this investigation was completed Illinois and New Jersey have also placed the

factory-inspection force under a civil-service system.

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426 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

NUMBER OF ESTABLISH M ENTS VISITED , NUMBER OF PERSONS EM PLOYED IN

SUCH ESTABLISH M ENTS, AND NUMBER OF ESTABLISH M ENTS REPORTING

OVERTIME.

Industry.

Total

employees

in establishments

visited.

Number

of establishments

visited.

Number

reporting

overtime

during

preceding year.

Cigarettes..................................................................................................................... 1,985 6 1

Cigars........................................................................................................................... 15,782 60 10

Clocks and watches................................................................................................... 3,239

6,367

4,677

7 3

Confectionery............................................................................................................. 50 43

Corsets......................................................................................................................... 8 4

Cotton goods............................................................................................................... 10,465 25 6

Crackers and biscuits............................................................................................... 4,075 35 16

Hardware, etc............................................................................................................ 4,791 9

Hosiery and knit goods............................................................................................ 16,951

2,963

5,587

66 21

Matches.................................................................. ......................................... 12

Paper boxes................................................................................................................ 59 33

Shirts........................................................................................................................... 4,191

6,331

9,975

9 4

Stamped and enameled ware................................................................................. 15 8

Tobacco and snuff..................................................................................................... 22 6

Woolen and worsted goods...................................................................................... 13,024 49 23

In the candy-making establishments overtime was so general that 

it might be looked upon as the rule. No other industry made so 

bad a showing, although the cracker-and-biscuit industry, the manufacture of hosiery, of paper boxes, and of woolen and worsted 

goods—all industries in which from 35 to 66 establishments were 

visited—showed large numbers of plants in which overtime had been 

worked.

The number of times overtime work had been called for varied, 

according to the employers’ statements, from two or three times a 

year up to “ almost every week,” and the amount by which the 

regular weekly hours were increased ranged from 1 hour up to 21. 

In some cases the amount of overtime worked was excessive. In 

35 establishments overtime had been required 60 or more times during the preceding year. In the confectionery industry 10 establishments had required it over 60 times; in 1 it had been called for 70 

times—practically 12 weeks of overtime—and the weekly hours had 

been brought up to 78; in 8 establishments it had been required 78 

times, the weekly hours aggregating from 61 to 64 in 5 of these cases 

and 78 in the other 3; and in 1 it had been required 84 times, the 

weekly hours, however, in this case rising only to 58 for women 

and girls.

In the manufacture of paper boxes 4 establishments were reported 

as having required overtime on 60 or more occasions. In 1 establishment it was required just 60 times, the weekly hours while it 

lasted being 60; in 1 it was called for 78 times, the weekly hours 

rising to 62|; in 1 it was required 84 times, weekly hours 58; and 

in 1 it was required 150 times, the weekly hours while it lasted

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L A B O E L A W S A N D F A C T O R Y C O N D I T IO N S . 427

being 69. But the manufacture of woolen and worsted goods shows 

the most extreme figures. In 2 such establishments overtime was 

called for 60 times, the weekly hours being increased in 1 case to 66 

and in the other to 70; in 1 case it was required 65 times, the weekly 

hours amounting to 62; in a fourth establishment it was required 

208, and in a fifth 212 times, the weekly hours in these cases being, 

respectively, 76 and 66.

In 41 different establishments women or children or both were 

definitely reported as working, during the periods when overtime 

was required, more than the legal number of hours per week. In 48 

establishments they were reported as regularly exceeding the legal 

number of daily or weekly hours. There was reason to believe that 

the legal number of hours was exceeded in many other cases, but in 

these instances the employers themselves reported the violations.

PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE.

In the matter of fire protection, provision of fire escapes and the 

like, the legal requirements of the various States differed so widely 

and involved so many details that it is impossible to summarize the 

findings. In general it may be said that the laws at that time 

seemed moderate in their requirements, and enforcement did not 

seem rigorous. The investigation, it must be remembered, took place 

before several disastrous factory fires called attention to the general 

carelessness on this subject and led both to more stringent regulations 

and to greater care in enforcing them.

REPORTS OF ACCIDENTS.

The States visited also differed widely in their requirements as 

to reporting accidents occurring in workshops and factories. Accurate and full information of the character and causes of such 

accidents is necessary if effective laws and regulations for their prevention are to be framed. At the time this investigation was carried 

on 10 of the 17 States—Massachusetts, Khode Island, New York, 

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and 

Louisiana—provided by law for the public reporting of factory 

accidents. Soon after the investigation was completed Connecticut 

passed similar laws. The other 6 States had no requirements on the 

subject.

The 10 States which required reports differed materially as to 

what should be reported, and when and by whom. Nine States 

required that accidents should be reported by the individual employer to the State factory inspector or other official with analogous 

functions. Wisconsin did not require accident reports from employers, but ordered simply that every physician and surgeon in the

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State should report to the local registrar of vital statistics all accidents to persons whom he is called upon professionally to treat. The 

Wisconsin reports therefore included nonindustrial as well as industrial accidents.

The time within which an accident must be reported varied from 

less than 24 hours after its occurrence to possibly six months. Massachusetts required reports to be made “ forthwith,” Pennsylvania 

allowed 24 hours, and New York and Indiana 48 hours. New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Ohio required reports of fatal accidents to 

be made within specified brief periods, but allowed longer periods 

for reporting nonfatal casualties. In Illinois and Wisconsin no reports need be made in less than 30 days, and the Louisiana law requires semiannual reports only.

The most important variation, however, is in regard to the kind 

of accidents which must be reported. In all the States legislating on 

the subject fatal accidents must be reported. The object of an accident-reporting law is fulfilled when all accidents causing injuries of 

a reasonably serious character are reported, but difficulty arises when 

an attempt is made to define the term “ serious.” To avoid this 

difficulty New York and Indiana required all accidents, however 

slight the resulting injuries, to be reported. Pennsylvania and Ohio 

ordered serious accidents to be reported, but left the responsibility of 

determining what is meant by serious with the factory inspectors. 

The remaining States directed that all accidents should be reported 

which incapacitated the sufferer for a certain period. Illinois fixed 

this period at 30 days; Rhode Island, New Jersey, Louisiana, and 

(Wisconsin, at 2 weeks; and Massachusetts, at 4 days.1

Unfortunately it was impossible to obtain satisfactory data showing how thoroughly these laws were enforced. Many establishments 

kept no records of accidents, and in many others the records were 

incomplete or unreliable. It was not possible, therefore, to learn 

either how numerous accidents were, nor how fully they were reported.

VENTILATION, SANITATION, AND COMFORT OF EMPLOYEES.

The chapters on provisions for the comfort of employees and on 

yentilation and sanitation give conditions as found in the 563 establishments visited, but these differ so much that it is hardly possible 

to make any general statements, either for industries or States. 

Two facts about the laws relating to these subjects stand out clearly. 

The provisions are usually expressed in general terms, leaving a 

great deal to the discretion of the factory inspector or other enforc428 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

iB y 1915 the requirements in regard to accident reporting were greatly changed by

workmen's compensation laws which had been enacted in 31 States.

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L A B O R L A W S A N D F A C T O R Y C O N D I T IO N S . 429

ing official; and although several of the points involved, especially 

in regard to ventilation and sanitation, really require expert knowledge for their proper determination, it is the exception for inspectors 

to have such knowledge. At the time of this investigation Massachusetts and New York alone of the States covered provided for 

medical inspectors of factories; since then Illinois and Pennsylvania 

have provided medical inspectors for their factories, but the remaining States have no such provisions.

In addition to the points covered by the investigation, the report 

contains two appendixes, giving the laws concerning the employment of women and children and the regulation of factories and 

workshops for each State in the Union as they were at the beginning of 1912.

CHANGES IN LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE .EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN, 1908 TO 1915.

The several volumes of the report which have here been summarized 

furnished impressive evidence concerning the need at the time of the 

investigation for legislation for the better regulation of the employment of women and children in industry. Since that time many and 

important changes have been made in labor laws, especially in those 

affecting the conditions of employment of women and children and 

the health and safety of wage earners, regardless of sex and age.

It is not possible to say how far the findings of these reports have 

been directly instrumental in securing new labor legislation, for within the period since 1908 many agencies have been active in the work 

of investigation, discussion, and propaganda, in many cases using the 

data of these reports, in other cases supplementing them by further 

investigation along the same or other lines.

Most important of such supplementary investigations of an official 

character have been those of the various State minimum wage commissions, the workmen’s compensation or accident commissions, some 

of the State bureaus or departments of labor, and the New York State 

Factory Investigating Commission. Most important of the unofficial 

agencies in the work of investigation and propaganda have been the 

National Child Labor Committee, the National Consumers’ League, 

and the American Association for Labor Legislation. All of the 

agencies mentioned have contributed in an important way to the 

progress in labor legislation affecting women and children which has 

been so marked during the last 7 or 8 years.

Some definite idea of the breadth and strength of the movement for 

protective labor legislation during recent years may be gained by an 

examination of the legislation of the various States from 1908 to 1915. 

Thus, taking as examples some of the more important provisions for

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the protection of woman and child wage earners, we find within this 

period the number of States prohibiting factory employment under 14 

years of age increasing from 30 on January 1, 1908, to 41 in 1915, the 

number requiring medical examination or a certificate of physical 

fitness preliminary to the issue of work permits from 8 to 35, the 

number prohibiting night work under 16 years from 18 to 36, and the 

number limiting hours of work imder 16 years to 8 per day from 3 

to 21. Changes quite as striking are found in provisions affecting 

women, the number of States prohibiting night work for women increasing from 3 to 6, the number limiting the hours of work in factories to 8 per day increasing from none to 4, the number limiting 

hours of work to 10 a day increasing from 15 to 34, while two classes 

of laws not known in any State in January, 1908, namely, minimum 

wage and mothers’ pension laws, have been enacted, the former in 11 

States, the latter in 29 States.

The progress in labor legislation affecting women and children 

within this period is not adequately measured by the number of 

States enacting new laws, for much more effective enforcement has 

also been provided for by the creation of factory inspection in 13 

States where formerly there were no inspectors, by increases in the 

personnel in other States, and by giving to factory inspectors in several of the States greatly increased powers.

The movement for workmen’s compensation legislation and occupational disease reporting, which is entirely new within this period, 

is scarcely less important than that which has secured the classes of 

laws already named, for the compensation laws have brought new 

standards of safety and sanitation affecting all employees, with new 

methods and powers of enforcement. F urthermore, the guaranty of 

compensation payments in case of fatal and serious accidents helps to 

maintain reasonable standards of living without forcing the dependent women and children of the injured workman’s family into 

industrial employment.

The following table shows for important subjects of labor legislation affecting the employment of women and children the number 

of States having laws of certain classes in January, 1908, the number 

having such laws in 1915, and the number enacting such laws during 

each year of the intervening period:

430 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U O F L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

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L A B O R L A W S A N D F A C T O R Y C O N D I T IO N S . 431

PROGRESS OF LEGISLATION AFFECTING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN (W ITH OUT

REGARD TO AGE) AND CHILDREN, 1908 TO 1915.

States

having

States first enacting laws in specified years. States

having

laws,

1915.

Subject of labor legislation. laws

Jan. 1,

1908. 1908 1909 1910 19114 1912 1913 1914 1915

Employment in factories prohibited

under 14.............................................. 130 1 1 3 2 2 2 41

Medical examination of children

required for work permits............... 1 1 4 4 1 2 13

Certificate of physical fitness of children required for work permits....

Night work prohibited under 16........

Night work prohibited for women...

8 -hour day under 16.............................

28

318

3

1

2

3

4

1 4

4

1

1

1

3

3

2

...... 1

3

22

36

6

23 4 3 3 4 2 21

8 -hour day for women in factories 2 5 2 (<) 4

10-hour day for women in factories..

IM'inimiim wage.....................................

15 3 4 3

1

5

8

4

2

34

11

Mothers’ pensions................................. 1 3 1 16 8 29

Factory inspection............................... 29 1 3 4 1 2 1 1 42

Workmen’s compensation.................. (6) 1 10 4 7 1 8 31

Occupational disease reporting.......... 6 2 7 1 16

1 Also the District of Columbia; employment forbidden only during school time in 3 States.

2 Also District of Columbia.

3 Applies only to mercantile establishments and bakeries in 1 State.

4 District of Columbia.

5 Law of Arizona applies to bakeries, laundries, mercantile establishments, hotels, restaurants, and telephone and telegraph offices; factories are not mentioned.

6 United States law of May 30, 1908, covering Federal employees, was first compensation act.

The two tables which follow present in concise form analyses of the 

principal features of the laws of the various States affecting women 

and children in industry, as existing November 1, 1915.

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432 B U L L E T I N O F T H E B U R E A U OF L A B O R S T A T IS T IC S .

AGE OF LEGAL EMPLOYMENT AND MAXIMUM LEGAL HOURS OF LABOR OF CHILDREN

EMPLOYED TN INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES, NOV. 1, 1915.

Age below which— Maximum legal

hours of labor.

Night

States. Employment is

prohibited.

Hours of

labor

are restricted.

Night

work is

* prohibited.

Per day. Per

week.

work

prohibited

between—

Alabama......................................................... 1 13 16 16 11 60

p.m. a.mi

6 and 6

Arizona........... ............................................... 14 2 16 2 16 8 48 7 and 7

Arkansas......................................................... 14 16 16 8 48 7 and 6

California........................................................ 16 18 18 8 48 10 and 5

Colorado........................ ................................ 14 16 16 8 48 (3)

(4)

6 and 7

OoTVPftfltimit,. . r. . . . . r ...... 14 16 16 10 55

Delaware........................................................ 14 16 16 6 54

District of Columbia.................................... 14 16 16 8 48 7 and 6

Florida............................................................ 14 16 16 9 54 8 and 5

Georgia........................................................... 14 (•> 14$

7 16

10 60 7 and 6

Hawaii............................................................ 9 and 6

Idaho............................................................... 14 16 16 9 54 9 and 6

Illinois............................................................. 14 16 16 8 48 7 and 7

Tn<lin.na____ ____________________________ 14 16 16 88 8 48 6 and 7

Iowa................................................................ 14 16 16 8 6 and 7

Kansas............................................................ 14 16 16 8 ........... 48* 6 and 7

Kentucky....................................................... 14 16 16 8 48 6 and 7

Louisiana............. ......................................... 14 18 2 16 10 60 7 and 6

Maine.............................................................. 14 2 16 10 58

Maryland....................................................... 34 16 10

Massachusetts................................................ 14 36 16 8 48 6 and 6:30

Michigan......................................................... 15 18 2 16 10 54 6 end 6

Minnesota....................................................... 14 16 16 8 48 7 f.nd 7

Mississippi.................................................. • 12 io 16 io 36 8 48 7 and 6

Missouri.......................................................... 14 16 16 8 48 7 and 7

Montana......................................................... 16

Nebraska........................................................ 14

14

16 16 8 48 8 and 6

Nevada............................................ ............. a 16 8 48

New Hampshire........................................... 14 18 2 16 ioi

8

55 * *7and 6:30

New Jersey.................................................... 14 16 16 48 7 and 7

New Mexico.................................................. 1114

New York...................................................... 14 16 36 8 5 and 8

North Carolina.............................................. 12 21 14 60 8 and 5

North Dakota................................................ 14 16 16 8 48 7 and 7

Ohio................................................................ 12 15 2 16 2 16 8 48 6 and 7

Oklahoma...................................................... 14 16 2 16 8 48 6 and 7

Oregon........................................................... 14 16 16 10 <5)

51

6 and 7

Pennsylvania................................................ 14 16 16 9 8 and 6

Porto Kico..................................................... 10 16 16 7 42 6 and 6

Rhode Island................................................ 14 16 16 10 54 8 and 6

South Carolina.............................................. 12

( # ) , 6

16 11 60 8 and 6

South Dakota................................................ 14 10 60

Tennessee....................................................... 14 16 16 10* 57 6 and 6

Texas.............................................................. 15

Utah................................................................ 14 12 14 54

Vermont..................................................... 14 16 16 9 50 8 and 7

Virginia.......................................................... 14 16 16 10 (5) 9 and 7

Washington......... . ........................................ 14 (13) 14 16 7 8 w8 and5

West Virginia................................................ 14

Wisconsin....................................................... 1 14 16 16 8 48 6 and 7

Wyoming....................................................... 14 9 56

1 After Sept. 1,1916,14 years.

2 18 for females.

3 After 8 p. m.

4 After 6 p. m.

6 6 days.

• Law is general for cotton and woolen mills; no ago limit.

» Females only.

8 9 hours per day and 54 per week if written consent of parent is obtained.

914 for females.

io18 for females; 14 and 16 years for males and females, respectively, in cotton and knitting mills,

u In mines only.

i216 for females,

is No age limit.

14 In bakeries.

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05053°—Bull. 175—10

LEGISLATION REGULATING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, NOV. X, 1915.

State.

Hours of labor—

Time

for

meals.

Nightwork prohibited

from—

Employment prohibited

in— Seats to be furnished in—

Separate

toilets.

Minimum

wages.

Mothers’

pensions.

Employment

prohibited at

childbirth.

I n - Per

day.

Per

week.

Ala......................

Min.

M ines...................................... Stores and shops..................... Yes

Weeks.

Alaska................

Ariz..................... Laundries, bakeries, mercantile establishments, hotels, and restaurants.*

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, express

and transportation companies.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, offices,

etc.5

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

and restaurants.

Manufacturing and mechanical establishments.

Mercantile establishments. -.

Mercantile, mechanical, and

manufacturing establishments, laundries, bakeries, and offices.5

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, and offices.

8

9

8

S

10

10

10

8

- 56

54

48

60

45

60

7 p. m. to

7 a. m.»

9 p. m. to

7 a. m.*

10 p. m. to

5 a. in.*

Mines, quarries, coal breakers, barrooms, and any

occupation requiring constant standing. ^

Mills, factories, mercantile

establishments, bakeries,

and offices.

Ark..................... Factories, stores, etc.............. Yes

Cal....................... Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Y e s...

Y e s...

Ye*

Colo..................... Coal mines and cokc ovens Y e s... Yes

Conn................... Barrooms................................. .. ... d o ....................................... $

Del......................

58

55

48

45

45

Barrooms................................. Manufacturing, mechanical,

ane mercantile establishments.

Stores, shops, offices, and

factories.

Mercantile establishments...

Yes

6 p. m. to

7 a. m.3

........d o...................................... Yes

Fla...................... Barrooms, and in cleaning

moving machinery.3

Yes I

i

1 Also telegraph and telephone offices in which more than 3 women are employed. 4 Also certain hazardous manufacturing, etc., employments for females under 18.

2 48 for females under 18. •> Canneries excepted.

3 For females under 18. 6 8 if any work is done between 11 p. m. and 7 a. m.

LABOE LAWS AXD FACTOBY CONDITIONS. 433

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LEGISLATION REGULATING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, NOV. 1, 191&~Continued.

State.

Hours of labor—

Time

for

meals.

Nightwork prohibited

from—

Employment prohibited

in— Seats to be furnished in—

Separate

toilets.

Minimum

wages.

Moth-

. ers’

pensions.

Employment

prohibited at

childbirth.

I n - Per

day.

Per

week.

Ga 10 60

Min.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Weeks.

Mechanical and mercantile

establishments, laundries,

hotels, and restaurants.2

Mechanical and mercantile

establishments, factories,

laundries, hotels, restaurants, offices, etc.

9

10

Barrooms, breweries, etc.1 Yes

111 Mines......................................... Factories, mercantile establishments, mills, and

workshops.

Yes Yes

In d ... »60 10 p. m.to

6 a. m.a

Mines, cleaning moving

machinery, mendicancy,

and as street musicians.4

Cleaning moving machinery.4

Yes

Iowa........... . . . Mercantile and manufacturing business.

Stores, shops, hotels, restaurants, etc.

All places of employment. . . .

Yes Yes

TTfl.r»g............ Y e s...

Kv Laundries, bakeries, factories, workshops, stores,

mercantile, manufacturing, and mechanical establishments. hotels, restaurants, ana offices.

Mills, factories, packing

houses, mercantile and

manufacturing establishments, workshops, laundries, etc.

Manufacturing and mechanical establishments.2

Manufacturing, mechanical,

mercantile, and printing

establishments, bakeries,

and laundries.2

10

10

10

«10

60

60

58

60

Occupations requiring constant standing 1 and cleaning moving machinery.4

Barrooms and cleaning moving machinery.

Yes

La 5 60 7 p. m. to

6 a. m,«

Yes

Me Stores, shops, hotels, restaurants, etc.

Stores, mercantile, and manufacturing establishments

in Baltimore.

Md..................... 30 Mines, serving drinks in

theaters, etc7 oiling or

cleaning movmg machinery, employments requiring constant standing, certain hazardous manufacturing,4

434 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,

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Mass..

Mich..

Minn.

Miss.

Mo.

Mont.

Nebr.

N e v ..

N .H .

N .J .

N . Mex..

Factories, workshops, manufacturing, mercantile,

and mechanical establishments, offices, and garment repairing workshops.

Factories, mills, warehouses,

w o r k s h o p s , laundries,

stores, shops, etc.2

Mechanical and manufacturing establishments.2

Mercantile establishments,

restaurants, lunch rooms,

etc.

Manufacturing and repairing, laundry, millinery,

dressmaking, and mercantile establishments, offices,

and other occupations.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, factories, laundries,

bakeries, restaurants, clerical work, etc.2

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, offices, laundries,

hotels, and restaurants.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, offices, etc.»

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, restaurants, etc.

Manufacturing and mercantile establishments, bakeries, laundries, and restaur ants.2

10

10 

8 10

10

54

1055

60

60

30

10 p. m. to

6 a. m.7

6 p. m. to

6 a. m.4

7 p. m. to

6 a. m.4

10 p. m. to

6 a. m.

7 p. m. to

6.30 a.m.4

Barrooms 1 and certain hazardous manufacturing.4

Barrooms; cleaning moving

machinery, in manufacture of liquor, or any hazardous employment.!

Oiling or cleaning moving

machinery; mendicancy

or as street musicians;4

messenger service.1

Mines, barrooms, and cleaning moving machinery.

Barrooms,i mendicancy, or

as street musicians.4

Barrooms.................................

Mendicancy or as street

musicians.4

Manufacturing, mercantile,

and mechanical establishments.

Stores, shops, offices, and

factories.

Mercantile, manufacturing,

and hotel or restaurant

business.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

mercantile, and other establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, and other

establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, offices, etc.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Y e s ... Y e s... Y es..

Yes.

Y e s...

Yes.

Y es...

Yes.

Y e s...

Y e s...

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

1 For females under 21.

2 Canneries excepted.

8 In manufacturing establishments.

4 For females under 18.

6 May be reduced to not less than 30 if two-thirds of the employees desire.

8 8 if any work is done between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m.

7 From 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. in textile factories: no limitation in mercantile establishments.

8 8 per day and 48 per week for females under 18.

9 In cities of over 5,000 population.

10 8 per day and 48 per week if any work is done between 8 p. m. and 6 a. m.

LABOK LAWS AND FACTORY CONDITIONS. 435

Digitized for FRASER 

http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ 

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
LEGISLATION REGULATING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN 16 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, NOV. 1 1915.—Concluded.

Hours of laborMothers’

pensions.

EmployState.

I n - Per

day.

Per

week.

Time

for

meals.

Nightwork prohibited

from—

Employment prohibited

in— Seats to be furnished in—

Separate

toilets.

Minimum

wages.

ment

prohibited at

childbirth.

N. Y .......... Factories................................... 9 54

Min.

60 10 p. m. to

6 a. m.

10p.m. to

7 a. m.

10 p. m. to

6 a. m.

Mines; barrooms; at emery Factories, hotels, restau­ Yes__

Weeks.

4

Mercantile establishments...

Canning and preserving perishable products.

Manufacturing establishments.

9 45

wheels, etc.; polishing or

buffing in rooms where

cores are baked.

rants, and mercantile establishments.

j »10 1 60 60 1

N C 60 Stores, shops, offices, and

manufacturing establishments.

Yes

i;

1

1

N Dak

!

I Yes

Ohio Factories, workshops, offices,

millinery, dressmaking,

and mercantile establishments in any city. 2

Manufacturing and mercantile establishments, laundries, offices, hotels, restaurants, places of amusement, in towns of 5,000 or

over.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, and offices.

Any establishment2..............

8 10 <54 30 6 p. m. to Operating emery wheels,

etc.; barrooms, mines,

quarries, coal breakers,

and oiling or cleaning

moving machinery.*»

Factories, workshops, offices,

restaurants, bakeries, mercantile establishments, etc.

Mercantile establishments,

Yes Y e s ...!.............

Okla 9

7 a. m.2

j __do........... Yes, ,

j

i

Y es.. J.............

10 60

1

j

i

1

stores, shops, restaurants,

hotels, etc.

Manufacturing, mechanical

establishments, laundries,

hotels, restaurants, ana

other establishments.

Anv establishment.................

Y e s...

!

Pa 10 54 45

j

10 p. m. to

6 a. m.6

;

Mines; mendicancy, or as

street musicians; certain

hazardous manufacturing.7

! Y e s... Y es.. J.............

P I

j

i

j

P R All employment, except certain clerical work, nursing,

and domestic work.

Factories, manufacturing,

mechanical, business, ana

mercantile establishments.

8 8 48 10 p. m. to

6 a. m.

All establishments.................

R I 10 i 54 Barrooms................................. Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establish1 ments.

i

Y e s ...!.............

I

I

I i j 1

436 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF I.ABOR STATISTICS.

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
S .C ... .

S. Dak.

Tenn.

Tex.

Utah*

Vt..

Va__

Wash..

W . Va.

W is.

W yo.

Cotton and woolen mills____ 1 o

Mercantile establishments... 12

Workshops and factories___

Manufacturing and mercantile establishments, hotels,

restaurants, and offices.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, hotels,

restaurants, offices, etc. 2

Manufacturing and mechanical establishments.

Factories, workshops, mercantile establishments,

laundries.3

Mechanical and mercantile

establishments, laundries,

hotels, and restaurants. 2

All employment.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, printing offices,

bakeries, laundries, canneries, telephone offices (if

more than 3 employees),

theaters, hotels, and restaurants except railroad.

60

60

101

11

10

8

WIO

10

58

W54

54

58

«55

10 p. m..

60

30

Barrooms9

Barrooms.

Mines and barrooms..

Barrooms; occupations requiring constant standing.?

Coal mines and barrooms___

Mines and barrooms; messenger service;12 mendicancy

or as street musicians.7

Coal mines, cleaning moving machinery; mendicancy, or as street musicians.7

Mines and quarries, any

dangerous employment;

using emery, etc., wheels

in certain establishments,

acting as messengers.7

Coal, iron, and other dangerous mines.

Mercantile establishments...

Mercantile, manufacturing,

hotel, and restaurant

business.

Factories, mercantile establishments, mills, and workshops.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments, laundries, restaurants, hotels, etc.

Stores, shops, hotels, restaurants, and other places.

Mercantile establishments,

hotels, restaurants, etc___

Mercantile establishments..

All establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

mercantile, and other establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Manufacturing, mechanical,

and mercantile establishments.

Yes.

Y es...

Y es...

Y e s...

Yes.

Y e s ...

Y e s ...

Y e s... Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

1 From June 15 to Oct. 15; 12 hours per day and 66 per week, from June 25 to

Aug. 5 under special rules issuable by industrial board.

2 Canneries excepted.

»8 for females under 18.

4 48 for females under 18.

5 For females under 21; also certain hazardous manufacturing, etc.. employments

for females under 18.

s 9 and 6 for females under 21, except telephone operators over 18.

7 For females under 18.

» 9 on condition of double pay for overtime.

® For females under 21.

w 10 in cotton and woolen mills and 11 in laundries, but double pay for work in

excess of 9 hours,

n CO in cotton and woolen mills.

12 For females under 19 in cities of the first class.

18 8 per day and 48 per week if any work is done between 8 p. m. and 6 a. m.

CO

-a: LABOR LAWS AND FACTORY CONDITIONS,

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
INDEX.

Carelessness as a cause of______________________________________________ .._________ 3 23-326

Distribution of, through working hours______________________________________ ____ 322, 823

M elal trades_________________________________________________________________________ 316-820

To women_______________________________________________________________________________ 28

Acid etching, process of, glass industry------------------------------------------------------------------------14 2 ,1 4 3

A g e :

Distribution by, of employees, men’s ready-made clothing______________________ 85, 86

Earnings and, of women and girls___________________________________________________2 4 -2 8

Earnings and, of women and girls, finishing room, glass industry___________ 1 4 9 ,1 5 0

Earnings, relation of age to-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 407-409

Education, and offenses, of female offenders______________________________________ 376

Employees in cotton textile industry, by sex----------------------------------------------------------- 39-41

Female workers, by industries---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 401-404

Juvenile delinquents___________________________________________________________________ 275

Of greatest massing in specified separate industries______________________________ 404

Race a n d ______________________________________________________________________________41 2 ,4 1 3

Race and conjugal condition, home workers, men’s ready-made clothing_______ 98

Women a t work--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 5 -1 7

Anemia (cotton-mill) and hookworm disease_________________________________________ 393, 394

Artificial feeding and infant mortality---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 353, 354

Beginnings, the, of child-labor legislation in certain States_________________________ 227-261

Child labor in Colonial times---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 227-229

Cotton industry, children in------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 231-235

Laborers, need for------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 227, 228

Legislation in four Southern States------------------------------------------------------------------------ 241-246

Legislation in the North before 1860-------------------------------------------------------------------- 235-240

Legislation, tabular analysis of, four Southern States_________________________ 250-261

Legislation prior to 1860, tabular analysis of----------------------------------------------------- 246-249

Public opinion concerning, nineteenth century_________________________________ 229-231

Boot and shoe making, history of women in------------------------------------------------------------------ 293, 294

Boy labor, importance of, etc., glass industry_________________________________________ 130, 131

Broad silk and ribbons, occupations and processes in the manufacture of___________ 178

Budgets. (See Family budgets of typical cotton-mill workers.)

Bundling, silk-mill process of_____________________________________________________________ ISO

Childbirth. (See Infant mortality and its relation to the employment of mothers.)

Child labor, cotton textile industry, improved conditions as to, in Southern States 5 7 -59

Child-labor legislation, the beginnings of, in certain States. (See Beginnings, the,

of child labor, etc.)

Children at w ork:

Cotton industry______________________________________________________ 4 9 -6 0 ,7 4 -7 7 ,2 3 1 -2 3 5

Decrease of proportion of-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 34, 35

Earnings, need of-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31, 32

Glass industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 165-167

Leaving school to go to work, industrial experience____________________________ 266, 267

Men’s ready-made clothing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 88-92

Opportunities for, in occupations-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33, 34

Proportion of, and of women, specified industries------------------------------------------------- 15

Reasons for______________________________________________________________________________32, 33

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 184-194

Children, illegal employment of. (See Illegal employment of children.)

Cloth picking, process of, silk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 183

Clothing and the sewing trades, history of women in------------------------------------------------- 292-295

Clothing shop and working conditions, men’s ready-made clothing________________101-103

Color decorating, process of, glass industry----------------------------------------------------------------1 4 3 ,1 4 4

Company stores, cotton textile industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------81, 82

Company stores, glass industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 169 ,1 7 0

Conditions found in factories-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 425-429

Conditions under which children leave school to go to work------------------------------------- 263-272

Causes for leaving school___________________________________________________________ 264, 265

Choice exercised in getting work, degree of------------------------------------------------------------- 267

Grades in school reached before leaving---------------------------------------------------------------- 265, 266

Illegal employment____________________________________________________________________ 268

Industrial experience of children studied------------------------------------------------------------- 266, 267

Race of children studied_______________________________________________________________ 263

Retardation, repeating, and elimination--------------------------------------------------------------- 26 8 -2 72

Conjugal condition:

Cotton textile employees_______________________________________________________________47, 48

Industry and----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 409-411.

Men’s ready-made clothing employees------------------------------------------------------------------------87, 98

Race a n d __________ ___________________________________________________________________4 1 3 -4 16

Silk industry employees---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------— 176

Cost of living of cotton-mill workers, in selected localities----------------------------------------- 384, 385

Cotton-mill operatives, hookworm disease among. (See Hookworm disease among

cotton-mill operatives.)

Cotton-mill operatives, woman and child, causes of death among. (See Death,

causes of, among, etc.)

A cc id en ts : Page .

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
440 IN D E X .

Cotton-mill workers, typical, family budgets of. (See Family budgets, etc.)

Cotton textile industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37-82

Age of employees, by sex-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------89-41

Child labor, improved conditions as to, Southern States_________________________ 57 -5 9

Children at work-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 9 -6 0 , 74-77

Children, illegal employment of, New England mills_____________________________ 51 -53

Children, illegal employment of. Southern mills____________________________________53~r>9

Children, occupational distribution of------------------------------------------------------------------------ . 50

Company stores----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81, 82

Conjugal condition of employees_____________________________________________________ 47, 48

Earnings of employees---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 1 -6 6

Education, means of, available for cotton-mill children__________________________ 78, 79

Families, composition of, and employment of members__________________________ 68

Families, general character of-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

Families with noncontributing fathers------------------------------------------------------------------------70-72

Family conditions, and amount and sources of income___________________________ 6 7 -77

Fines and other deductions-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 4 -6 6

Helper system, Southern mills-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56

Hours of labor, overtime and night work_______________ __________________________ 60, 61

Labor supply------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45, 46, 48, 49

Localization of the industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38, 39

Married women at work, family conditions of------------- * ___________________________72, 73

Mill community-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 7 -8 2

Mountaineers in cotton mills---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46

Occupations, by sex and age---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41, 42

Operatives, moral condition of------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 80

Operatives, social status of------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------79, 80

Operatives, physical strain on-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

Premiums________________________________________________________________________________ 66

Race of employees----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 3 -4 5

Single women at work------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------73, 74

Welfare w ork ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81

Women, relative importance of, in different occupations-------------------------------- --------42, 43

Working conditions------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66, 67

Criminality and occupation, relation between, among women. (»See Occupation

and criminality, etc.)

Daughters at work, families having------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18-21

Death, causes of, among woman and child cotton-mill operatives-------------------------- 361-373

Death rate from tuberculosis, high, suggested explanations of------------------------ 372, 373

Method of investigation used, advantage of-------------------------------------------------- ------- 361-363

Operative work injurious to females, grounds for believing______________________ 369

Operatives and nonoperatives, relative death rates, from all causes__________ 364—366

Operatives and nonoperatives, relative death rates, from tuberculosis_______ 306-369

: Rafce,- mortality by-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- 369, 370

Scope of investigation--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 363

Death, causes of, as indicating health conditions in furnace room, glass industry 135-137

Decorating processes, glass industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 142-144

Department and other retail stores, women in--------------------------------------------------------------- 224, 225

Diarrheal diseases, infant mortality from---------------------------------------------------------------------- 352-357

Doubling, process of, silk industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 179

Earnings:

Age and, of women and girls---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 4 -2 8

Age and skill, relation of, to, of women in selected industries_______________ 40 6 -4 09

Causes of differences in, of men and women------------------------------------------------------------- 23, 24

Children’s, need of------------------------------------ .--------------------------------------------------------------------- 31, 32

Cotton-mill operatives------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 61-66, 385. 386

Girls contributing to family-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 20. 21

Glass industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 128-130

Glass industry, finishing room---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 147-150

Incandescent lamp making, females--------------------------------------------------------------------------158 ,1 5 9

Industries, in each of selected, women------------------------------------------------------------------- 405-409

Low. of women wage earners-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 1 -2 4

Men’s ready-made clothing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 4 -9 7 ,9 9

Silk industry, children-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------186-188

Silk industry, women---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 96,197

Stores and factories, and opportunities for advancement_____________________215-218

Stores and factories, and specified expenditures--------------------------------------------------- 220-223

Stores and factories, factors determining------------------------------------------------------------- 211-215

(,Bee also Family conditions, amount and sources of income.)

Education, age, and offenses of female offenders------------------------------------------------------------- 376

Education, means of, available for children, cotton mills_____________________________ 78, 79

Employment of women and children in selected industries----------------------------------------- 397-420

Age of female workers, by industries---------------------------------------------------------------------- 401-404

Age of greatest massing in the separate industries------------------------------------------------- 404

Age, relation of, to earnings, by industries----------------------------------------------------------- 407-409

Character of women’s work, change in------------------------------------------------------------------ 399. 400

Conjugal condition, and industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 409-411

Earnings, by industries----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 405-409

Industrial life of women, duration of---------------------------------------------------------------------- 402. 403

Industries and employees, distribution of------------------------------------------------------------- 398, 399

Older women in industries selected, proportion of______________________________ 403, 404

Race and age----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 41 2 ,4 1 3

Race and conjugal condition------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 1 3-416

Skill, relation of, to earnings------------------------------------------------------------------------------.— _ — 406

Enforcement of labor laws, attitude of States toward-------:--------- ----------------------------- 423-425

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
i n d e x ; 441

Page.

Enforcement of labor laws, provisions made for-----------------------------------------___________ 424, 425

Environment, night work, etc., of delinquent children_____________________ ..________ 2 8 3 ,2 8 4

Expenditures of women workers, stores and factories—_____________________________ 223, 224

Factory conditions and labor laws. (See Labor laws and factory conditions.)

Fall River, Mass., infant mortality in------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 338-342

Family budgets of typical cotton-mill workers-------------------------------------------------------------- 383-389

Average weekly earnings and cost of living_________________________________________ 385

Cost of living in localities selected-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 384, 385

Families without male heads--------------------------------------------------------------------------;_________ 388

Fluctuation of earnings---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 385, 386

Localities and families studied______ - ____________________________________________ 383, 384

Wage earners, and family wage___________ _ _ _____________________________________ 386, 387

Family conditions, amount and sources of income:

Cotton textile industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 7 -7 7

Glass industry_____________________________ _________________________________________ 15 9 -1 69

Men’s ready-made clothing------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------103-111

Silk industry---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- 2 00-206

Families, composition of, and employment of members:

Cotton textile industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68

Glass industry-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.--- 16 0 ,1 6 1

Men’s ready-made clothing--------------------------.------------------------------------------------------------------ 104

Bilk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 0 0 ,2 0 1

Families, general character o f :

Cotton textile industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67

Glass industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 160

Men’s ready-made clothing--------------------------------------------------------- _•-----------------------------1 0 3 ,1 0 4

Silk industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 200

Fines and other deductions, cotton textile industry------------------------------------------------------- 6 4 -6 6

Finishing room, glass industry, work of women in------------------------------------------------------- 1 40-150

Fire escapes, metal trades-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------314, 315

tire, protection against--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 427

Flute cutting and smoothing, process of, glass industry------------------------------ ------------------ 143

Furance room, glass industry, health conditions in__________________________________ 135-137

Furnace room, glass industry, work o f boys in----------------------------------------------------------- 119-135

Garment making, history of women in---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 294, 295

Glass industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .------------------------------------ 117-170

Acid etching--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------14 2,143

Age and earnings of women and girls, finishing room-------------------------------------------1 49 ,150

Boy labor, importance of, etc------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 130,131

Children, employment of, etc---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----165-169

Color decorating-------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- --— _____14 3 ,1 4 4

Company stores-__________________ ________________________________________._________ _ 1 6 9,170

Death of glass blowers, causes of, as indicating health conditions in furnace

room------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .— ----------_ _ _ _ _ 1 35-137

Decorating processes__________________________________________________________ ______ 1 4 2 -1 44

Earnings of employees__________________________________ _________ _____ ___ ________128-130

Earnings of females, incandescent lamp making__________________158,159-

Earnings of women and girls, finishing r o o m - ___________________ ______ _ 1 4 7 -1 5 0 •

Families, composition, general character of, and employment of members-.— ^ 160,161

Family conditions, amount and sources of income______________________________ 1 5 9 -1 69

Family income, and employment of children, relation between__________ ______ 1 6 7,168

Finishing room, work of women in-------------------------------- --_________________________ 140-150

Flute cutting and smoothing, process o f -------- ---------------------- ------- ___________________ 143

Furnace room, health conditions in----- ------------------------------------------ ;____ ___________135-137

Furnace room, work of boys in-----------------------------------------------------------:_ _ _ _ ___ 119-135

Health, relation of work to--------------------------------------------------------- * ______ __________ ; 151-153

Hours of labor, incandescent lamp making------------------------------------------ ________ _____ 158

Hours of labor, night work and overtime------------------------------------ 123^-128,134,145-147

Illiteracy among children--------------------------------------------------------— ---------------------- ---------- 169

Incandescent lamp making, employment of women and girls in ___ ______ ____15 4 -1 59

Leer room, work of women in----------------------------------------------------------------------------------138-140

Married women at work--------------------------------------------------------------------- --— __________162-164

Occupations, description of principal--------------------------------;------------------------------------ 120/121

Occupations, harmful------------------------------------------------------------------------------.____________ __ 153

Orphans, employment o f-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16 6 ,1 6 7

Reasons for entering the industry_______ _____________________________ :______ ___ 1 5 3 ,1 5 4

Sand blasting, process of------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ ;______ 142

Single women at work--------------------------------------------------------------------------------;___ _____1 6 4 ,1 6 5

Women and girls, employment of----------------------------------------------------------------------------137-159

Work between the sexes, division of-------------------------------------------------------:______ ______ 119

Working conditions---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _ _ _ _ _ _ 121-123

Hazards, in metal trades----------------------------------------------------------------------------------317, 318, 320, 321

Health conditions of furnace room, glass industry------------------------------------------------------- 135-137

Health, effect on, of laundry work-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 332, 333

Health, relation of work to, glass industry-------------------------------- -----------------------------------151-153

Helper system, cotton textile industry, Southern States-------------------------------------------------56, 57

Helpers, men’s ready-made clothing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 99

History of women in industry in the United States----------------------------------------------------- 285-297

Boot, and shoe making__________________________ ________________________________ ____ 293, 294

Clothing and the sewing trades______ ______________________________________________ 292 -2 95

Garment making and other sewing trades------------------------------------------------------------- 294, 295

Industries, various groups of------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 295-297

Textile industries__________________________________________ ________________________ _ 287-292

History of women in trade-unions. (See Trade-unions. etc.)

Home work, men’s ready-made clothing______ __________________________________________ 97-101

Digitized for FRASER 

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
442 INDEX.

Hookworm disease among cotton-mill operatives_____________________________________ 391-396

Age distribution of suspects ________________________________________________________ ;j92 3 9 3

Anaemia (cotton-mill) and hookworm disease_________________________________ 3 9 3 ! 3 9 4

Farm and cotton-mill life, relative effect of, on spread of disease_______________ 3 9 4

Mill workers of first and second generation, cases among_______________________ 3 9 5

Scope and methods of study_________________________________ 1________________________ 3 9 1

Suspected cases found-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 9 1 , 3 9 2

Hotels and restaurants, waitresses in_________________________________________________ 224, 225

Hours of labor:

Cotton textile industry________________________________________________________________ 60, 61

Environment and, of delinquent children_________________________________________ 283, 284

Glass industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 123-128

Glass industry, finishing room_____________________________________________________ 145-147

Incandescent lamp making--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 158

Laundries------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 328, 329

Men’s ready-made clothing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 92-94, 99

Metal trades------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 315, 316

Silk industry--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 185, 186, 196

Textile industries, efforts to modify in----------------------------------------------------------------- 288, 289

Illegal employment of children :

Cotton mills, New England-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 1 -53

Cotton mills, Southern States-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53 -5 9

Men’s ready-made clothing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 89-91

Glass industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 3 3 ,1 3 4 ,1 5 1

School attendance and_^----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 268

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 188-194

Illiteracy among children under 16, glass industry--------------------------------------------------------- 169

Immorality and occupations, among females--------------------------------------------------------------- 380-382

Incandescent lamp making, employment of women and girls in-------------------------------- 154-159

Income. (See Earnings.)

Industry, history of women in, in the United States. (See History of, etc.)

Infant mortality and its relation to the employment of mothers------------------------------ 337-359

Artificial feeding----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 353, 354

Children dying under 1 year from specified causes----------------------------------------------- 352, 353

Death rates at different ages------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 341-343

Fall River, Mass., infant mortality in------------------------------------------------------------------- 338-343

Industrial employment of mother after birth of child----------------------------------------- 351-357

Industrial employment of mother before birth of child------------------------------------ 343-351

Massachusetts statistics of infant mortality--------------------------------------------------------- 337, 338

Mothers’ work after childbirth, in relation to deaths from diarrheal diseases 354-357

Mothers* work and child’s condition at birth--------------------------------------------------------- 349, 350

Mothers at home and mothers at work, relative mortality of infants of_______ 344

Mothers’ work before childbirth, discontinuance of--------------------------------------------- 348, 349

Mothers’ work before childbirth, in relation to condition of child at birth___ 345—348

Stillbirths---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 ------------------ 344, 345

Juvenile delinquency and its relation to employment--------------------------------------------------- 273-284

Age of delinquents----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 275

Boy delinquents in six specified pursuits--------------------------------------------------------------- 277, 278

Conditions possibly contributing to delinquency--------------------------------------------------- 275, 276

Foreign parentage----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 276

Homes, character of--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 276

Night work, environment, etc.------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 283, 284

Occupations from which delinquents come------------------------------------------------------------------ 277

Occupations in detail--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 278-281

Offenses showing direct connection with occupations__________________________ 281—283

Parental condition----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 275

Scope of report----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 273

Working and non working offenders, proportion of----------------------------------------------- 274, 275

Knights of Labor, women in, history of------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 306

Labor force and supply :

Colonial times--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 2 7 ,2 2 8

Cotton textile industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 45, 46, 48, 49

Incandescent lamp making---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 5 7,158

Men’s ready-made clothing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 4 -8 7

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 74-177

Labor laws and factory conditions--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 421-437

Enforcement of labor laws, attitude of States toward-------------------------------------- 423-425

Enforcement, provisions made for---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 424, 425

Factories studied, conditions found in------------------------------------------------------------------- 425-429

Fire, protection against-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 427

Industries studied, men, women, and children employed in-------------------------------- 422, 423

Methods used in collecting information----------------------------------------------------------------- 421, 422

Prosecutions for violations, by States-------------------------------------------------------------------- 423, 424

Reporting of accidents_______________________________________________________________ 427, 428

Ventilation, sanitation, and comfort of employees----------------------------------------------- 428, 429

Labor organizations, silk industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- 207

Labor reform associations, female, 1840 to 1 8 6 0 --------------------------------------------------------- 302. ‘>03

Lacing, process of, silk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 180

Laundries, employment of women in-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 327-3o5

Character of work------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 329-332

111 health, and conditions of work---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 333-335

Health, effect of work on-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 332, 333

Hours of work--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ->28, 329

Working conditions-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 327, 328

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
INDEX. 443

Page.

Leer room, work of women in, glass industry_________________________________________ 138-140

Light and ventilation, silk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 8 ,1 9 9

Light, ventilation, etc., in metal trades------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 315

Machinery, unfamiliarity with, as a cause of danger, metal trades_________________ 321, 322

Married women at work, family conditions, e tc .:

Cotton textile industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17, 18, 72, 755

Glass industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 7 ,1 8 ,1 6 2 -1 6 4

Men’s ready-made clothing________________________________________________1 7 ,1 8 ,1 0 6 -1 0 8

Silk industry________________________________________________________________ 17, 18, 2 03-205

Massachusetts statistics of infant mortality__________________________________________ 337, 338

Men’s ready-made clothing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------83-115

Age distribution of employees-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 85, 86

Age, race, and conjugal condition, home workers____________________________________ 98

Centralization, lack of---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 111, 112

Children, employment of_______________________________________________________________8 8 -9 2

Children under 16 at work---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 109-111

Concentration of the industry________________________________________________________ 84

Conjugal condition of female employees-------------------------------------------------------------------- 87

Development of the industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 3 ,1 1 4

Earnings of employees--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 4 -97, 99

Family conditions, amount and sources of income---------------------------------------------- 103-111

Home work----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------97 -1 0 1

Hours of labor and overtime---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 2 -94, 99

Labor force______________________________________________________________________________8 4 -8 7

Married women at work, earnings, etc____________________________________ 1 7 ,1 8 ,1 0 6 -1 0 8

Men, women, and children, proportion ot----------------------------------------------------------------- 84, 85

Organization and development of the industry------------------------------------------------------- 111-113

Race of employees----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 86

Shop, and working conditions---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 101-103

Shops, types of_______________________________________________________________________ 11 2 ,1 1 3

Single women at work_______________________________________________________________ 108, 109

Metal trades, employment of women in __------------------------------------------------------------------------313-326

Accidents______________________________________________________________________________316-326

Fire escapes__________________________________________________________________________314, 315

Hazards_____________________________________________________________________ 317, 318, 320, 321

H ours__________________________________________________________________________________315, 316

Light, ventilation, etc.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 315

Machinery, unfamiliarity with---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 321, 322

Presswork, accidents in connection with----------------------------------------------------------------- 319-322

Scope of investigation_______________________________________________________________313, 314

Work done, kind of----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 316

Working conditions for women and girls----------------------------------------------------------------- 314-316

Mill community, cotton textile industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 7 -8 2

Mountaineers in cotton mills------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46

Night w ork:

Cotton textile industry -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 61

Delinquent children_________________________________________________________________ 283, 284

Glass industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 123—127, 134, 145—147

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 185 ,1 8 6

Occupation and criminality among women, relation between________________________ 375-382

Age, education, and offenses---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 376

Female offenders, study of------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 375-380

Immorality and occupation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 380-382

Occupations------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 376, 377

Occupations morally dangerous-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 381, 382

Occupations:

Cotton textile industry, by sex and age----------------------------------------------------------------------41, 42

Delinquent children----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 277-281

Female offenders----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 376-378

Glass industry, description of------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 2 0,121

Glass industry, finishing room----------------------------------------------------------------------------------140-144

Glass industry, harmful--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 153

Glass industry, leer room------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 138-140

Immorality and, among females-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 380-382

Men’s ready-made clothing, children----------------------------------------------------------------------------88, 89

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 177-183

Overtime:

Cotton textile industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------60, 61

Glass industry___________________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 ,1 2 7 ,1 2 8

Glass industry, finishing room----------------------------------------------------------------------------------145-147

Men’s ready-made clothing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 2 -9 4

Silk industry_________________________________________________________________________ 185 ,1 8 6

Parentage and parental condition, delinquent children------------------------------------------------- 275, 276

Premiums, cotton textile industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66

Presswork, accidents in connection with, metal trades-----------------------------------------------319-322

Purpose and scope of present report______________________________________________________ 1 3 -1 5

R ace:

Age and, of women in selected industries---------------------------------------- -------------------- 412, 413

Children leaving school to go to work------------------------------------------------------------------------ 263

Conjugal condition and, of women in selected industries---------------------------------- 409-411

Cotton textile industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 3 -4 5

Men’s ready-made clothing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------86, 98

Silk industry_______ _____ _____ __________________________________________________________ 175

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 
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Reeling, process of, silk industry__________________________________________________ _____ 1 7 9 ,1 8 0

Reporting of accidents--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 427, 428

Restaurants and hotels, waitresses in___________________________________________________ 2 2 4 ,2 2 5

Sand blasting, process of, glass industry_________________________________________________ 142

Sanitation, etc. (See Ventilation, e tc .; also Light, etc.)

School, conditions under which children leave, to go to work. (Sec Conditions

under which, etc.)

Scope and purpose of present report------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 3 -1 5

Silk industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 171-208

Broad silk and silk ribbons, occupations and processes___________________ ._______ 178

Children, employment of______________________________________ 184-194, 202, 203, 205, 206

Cloth picking--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 183

Conjugal condition_________________________________________________________________ . . . 176

Doubling, process of--------------------------------------------------------- ^____________________________ 179

Earnings of children________________________________________________________________ 186-188

Earnings of women-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 6 ,1 9 7

Family conditions, amount and sources of income______________________________ 200-206

Hours of labor----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 8 5 ,1 8 6 ,1 9 6

Industry, growth and great centers of___ _________________________________________ 1 72-174

Labor force--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------174-177

Labor organizations____________________________________________________________________ 207

Lacing, process of----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 180

Light and ventilation---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------198 ,1 9 9

Married women at work----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 03-205

Night work, overtime, etc._________________________________________________________ 1 8 5 ,1 8 6

Occupations and processes_________________________________________________________ 177-183

R ace------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 175

Reeling, process of-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 7 9 ,1 8 0

Silk throwing, occupations and processes-------------------------------------------------------------------- 178

Single women at work----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 205

Soaking, process of--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 178

Spinning, process of------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- 179

Throwing-mill processes---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 178-180

Toilets, wash rooms, etc._______________________________________________________________ 199

Twisting-in, process of--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 182

Warping, process of-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 81 ,1 82

Weaving-mill processes-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------180-183

Winding, process of-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 7 8 ,1 7 9

Women in the industry-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------195-197

Working conditions-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 9 8 ,1 9 9

Single women at work :

Cotton textile industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 73, 74

Glass industry-----------------------------------------------------'--------------------------------------------------------- 1 6 4 ,1 6 5

Men’s ready-made clothing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 0 8,1 0 9

Silk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 205

Skill to earnings, relation of, of women, selected industries__________________________ 406

Smoothing and flute cutting, glass industry---------------------------------------------------------------------- 143

Soaking, process of, silk industry-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 178

Spinning, process of, silk industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 179

Stillbirths. (See Infant mortality and its relation to, etc.)

Stores and factories, employment of women in------------------------------------------------------------- 2 0 9 -2 26

Department-store employees-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 224, 225

Earnings and opportunities for advancement------------------------------------------------------- 2 1 5-2 18

Earnings and specified expenditures------------------------------------------------------------------------ 220-223

Earnings, factors determining---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 11 -2 15

Expenditures for all purposes------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 223, 224

Hotels and restaurants, waitresses in-------------------------------------------------------------------- 224, 225

Living conditions, classification according to------------------------------------------------------- 218 -2 24

Restaurants and hotels, waitresses in---------------------------------------------------------------------- 224, 225

Women studied, proportion of-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 210

Strikes, women’s trades-unions, 1840 to 1860--------------------------------------------------------------- 303, 304

Textile industries, women in, history of-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 8 7 -2 92

Throwing-mill processes, silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------1 78-180

Trade-unions, history of women in--------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ 299-311

Cotton-mill operatives----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 300

Cotton mills, workers in other than-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 300, 301

During 1825 to 1840--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 9 9 -3 01

During 1840 to 1860--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 301.-304

During 1860 to 1880--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 0 4 -3 06

During 1880 to 1908--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 0 6 -3 10

Female labor reform associations---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 302, 303

Organizations in separate trades----------------------------------------------------------- 305, 306, 309, 310

Strikes during 1840 to 1860-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 303, 304

Women in general organizations-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 308, 309

Women in Knights of Labor----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 306

Twisting-in. process of, silk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 182

Tuberculosis, relative mortality from, of cotton-mill operatives, etc------------------------ 366-369

Ventilation, sanitation, e tc .: *

Factories______________________________________________________________________________42S, 429

Metal trades---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 315

Silk industry----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 9 8 ,199

Ventilation, etc. (See also Working conditions.)

Page.

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E8DEX. 445

Page.

Wages. (See Earnings.)

Waitresses in hotels and restaurants_______________________ :__________________________ 224, 225

Warping, process of, silk industry__________ «.______________ ____________________________1 8 1,182

W ash rooms, toilets, etc. (See Working conditions.)

Weaving-mill processes, silk industry___________________________________________________180-183

Welfare work, cotton textile industry---------------------------------------------------------------:_________ 81

Winding, process of, silk industry..----------------------------------------------------------------------- :______ 17 8 ,1 7 9

Women and children in selected industries. (See Employment of. etc.)

Working conditions:

Cotton mills--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66, 67

Glass industry------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 121-123

Glass industry, finishing room---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 144 ,1 4 5

Incandescent lamp making------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 159

L au n d ries---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 827, 328

Men’s ready-made clothing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 101-103

Metal trades---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 314, 815

Bilk industry---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 9 8,199

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis