Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-02-20
LABOR SJ ATISTICS.

LABOR ST ATISTICS.
 Some Figures Concerning Strikes and
 Lockouts in This State.
 Labor Commissioner Hotchkiss, in his annual report, devotes 278 pages to the industrial history of Connecticut. Seventy pages are devoted to papers by well known men on the discontent among the laboring classes. Exactly Ill pages are devoted to the labor organizations strikes and lock outs, and there are twenty nine pages de- voted to the index, which is one of the best features of the report.
 The commissioner believes there is no special and particular reason why strikes occur. It does not follow that employees will strike because their wages are low, or will not strike when their wages are high.
 During the six years ending December 31, 1886, there were 268 strikes, an average of A 2-3 each year. There were 9.236 strikes and 9,625 others involved. The employees in all the establishments in the State, census of 1880, number 112, ,949. The establishments in which strikes oc- cured employed annually an average of l2, AS, over 10 per cent of whole number. The average number of strikers each year was 1 ,539, that is, during the whole period there was one striker for every seventy three employees in the State.
 Excepting the year 1886, strikes have not occurred to any alarming extent in Connecticut during this period. That was ent year has probably been as quiet as any of the six mentioned in these tables It is difficult to account for the outbreak of such an epidemic of strikes as appeared i'll 1886, When we note, however, that so large a proportion of them were among our most intelligent and we'll paid workingmen that | most of them were for increase of wages, and 71 out of IA, nearly 50 per cent. suc- ceeded, we are led to the conclusion that | reasonable cause existed at least for the de- mand, if not for the enforcement of the l demand by striking.
 Fifty-one or 19 per cent of the strikes l continued only one day; 125 or 46.6 per cent continued not more than five days and l 2O6 or 77 per cent continued less that 20 days.
 In regard to the effect of strikes upon wages, the tables given show that the daily wages of the 9,236 strikers were advanced an average of about four cents per day That is, they received $372.O1 more, each | day after the strikes than they did before To accomplish this increase the strikers lost $46O, ,7S2 in wages and $53,2 contrib. uted to assist strikers, a total of $514 ,OO1 l 1O 1udhc Iu1S up OuC OA euO AA1CLCdoC OA wa ges granted, these 9 9,236 strikers would be compelled to work 1882 days. In this l connection it is stated that in consequence of strikes, wages were advanced in many ractor1es where no strikes occurred. From statistics given it appears that on an aver age nineteen per cent. of the strikers were | replaced by new employees, eleven per cent of whom came from other places. Of 26e strikes, ninety nine were ordered by labor organizations and 169 were not ordered Of the ninety nine ordered, fiftythree sue. ceeded. Of the 169 not ordered, eighty succeeded. Employers losses in conse. uuence of the strikes mentioned amounted to $357 ,29O. The total loss to employees and employers was $971 ,291; an average o1 $I45, ,24o annually for the six years men, | Jioned.
 Out of the thirty three lockouts, clever ] were against the demand for increase o1 wages, twelve were to enforce reduction o1 wages, and one against demands for dis charge of overseer and increase of wages that IS, nearly three fourths of the lockout. were over the wage question; three were | against union men; one against the de mand for discharge of non-union men: ont | to prevent employees from joining labor or ganizatioms. The other four were-dis satisfaction with certain classes of help; to enforce discharge of overseer; to enforce Ine discharge of employees.
 The report says there is evidently more method Ill lockouts than in strikes, anc they are almost uniformly successful. The, occur less frequently; one lockout is report ed to about eight strikes. They are uset against all kinds of workmen The meta ) industry furnishes ten out of every thirty three; clothing comes next with nine; the1 the cotton industry with six.
 A larger proportion of lockouts occu! among unskilled operatives than was fount to be the case with strikes. Of the 33 es , tablishments locked against their workmen } six, or Is per cent, were paying $2 or nor !. as daily wages; Is or 54 per cent, were pay ing $l.50 or less; 10, or 30 per cent, wer paying $1 or less About one-fourth O. these lockouts were against cotton ane woolen operatives, the most poorly paie class of workmen in the State; the wage of those locked out range from 76 to g cents per day; their hours of labor aver } aged about 10 and one half per day. |. In B lockouts, embracing, 8,S72 em ployes, there was net decrease of 694 nearly eight per cent. They decreased wages. That is their usual purpose. Thir ty-three lockouts decreased the daily pay of 7,471 employees $233.S4, that is three cents and one mill per day for each em ploye. To produce this result it cost th employers $196, $50. To make this up ou of the decrease in wages, the 33 esta ablish ments must run with the same number O employees, over $40 days.
 ALL ABOUT A cows TAIL.
 An Interesting Case on Trial before Jus