Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-01-03
MICHIGAN INDUSTRIES.
REPORT OF BUREAU OF LABOR AND
INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS.

An Interesting Array OF Facts and Fig
ures Iteia I've to One of the Seven In-
dustrfes Considered in the Annual
Report.
The sixth annual report OF the Bureau
of Labor and Industrial Statistics, just
issaed, contains tSe result of an investiga-
ton of The wages and social condition of
the men who produce wealth from Natures 8
laboratory:
A thorough an systematic canvass was made
during 1888 Of the labor employed la the manu-
facture OF fire clay I'm O drain tile and sewer
PIPE; the workers IN The gypsum beds, the
slate, grindstons, AMI building stone quarries
IN tho miners IN the coal mines of Southern
Michigan ami tho great copper mines In the
Uppor Peninsula. Spcclal canvass,rs obtained
the information sought by the bureau, thrCu sh
interviews with the miners AMI laborers, and
the, answers TO tho questions were given by the
men tia IN )elyes. In the various indI stries the
number OF men inter,i we'd were; ! ire clay, "a
am piog ala 20; coal ": grindstono. l2i;
gypsum. 192 building stono, 30; copper, 3,O70.
A few facts from the stutistios OF the copper
Industry will show the scope OF tho feport. Al,
most the entire labor, which includes mining,
surface work, tho stamp mill, and smelling
WORKS, is foreign. There are no Chinese or col
ored men. A canvass was made OF the Copper
Falls, Allouez, earsargo Quincy Franklin.
Huron, Atlantic Calumet and Hecla, Osceola.
and Tamarack mines, aud tho snelting works at
dunO )ck Hl0 on lOltn LAKE, IN Inc hDONo
works 5 b.515 men are employed according to fg-
uros furnished from their Offices. OF this num-
boz the Lureau stcured canvass OF 500. The
ma iona,itios are O9l Americans, $50 English
men, 356 Finanders, x3J Cana tian French III
Germans, 2l0 lrishmon, 1J0 Austr ans 120 Po-
landers, l04 Swedes, l03 NorwC gians, 81 Italians,
81 sco:ehmon, "a Swiss, Is hrenchmen, Welsh
mon, Nova Scotians, Hollanders, Dares,
aud one each Russian, SpantarJ, and Australian.
or the 63l rep Fted as American born only 81
are children OF American parents, l75 are chill
AraaO Of mol al "a rish
81 Canadian French, Swiss, Sco.ch, 8 French.
A Polish. Swede, Norwegian, and II nativity
OF parents not reported.
out OF tho a,O70, 1852 men are married, and
have 0,643 children, of which number 2, 365 at
tend school. OF the total number OF men only
$50 have provided for their families by carrying
As the mining companies will not sell land.
the miners as q class not home-owners, but
live in dwellings rented OF the company. They
can. however, lease land OF the company by
paying an annual ground rent. and erect thereon
their own houses: 452 are reported as owning
their own b mes; xs Of these are mprtgaged for
The iAtellil ence is indicated by the news
papers read l19 take daily paper, 97l a week
ly and 129 monthly
Tho faot that 25 families out OF 1882 own a
piano, and 2SS an organ is evidence OF a begin
hing OF home culture. while the owning of sew
ing machine by l,s44 families shows desIFe for
mpdefn householq conveniences.
Woman and child labor cannot be employed
in copper mining, owing 10 the nature Of the
work. NO W. men are reported es working at
gaipful occupations outsid5 of house hold duties
The children in As families only are reported az
earning wages during the year, which amounted
to total @. Sl3,43'
Alth lugh mining is supposed by the public
generally to b. unhealthy according to the
stat ment OF the IN on themselves they enjoy
goo health; 1915 sail that they had good
health, aud reported better health than When
u oy began work. Olly IS rCpo ted poor health
Their plies were: Poor no Llth, So fair, 10
bad, - not good, 8; s.ekly, medium, 2; very
poor, delicate, !.
To the questit u: Are you as well of as five
yeas ngo? ON y lJj replied no. TO the SECOND
questt u: III not in Whit respect2 - replie4
less pay, Is sickness, II loss y fire " hich prob
alb means loss OF ork by the fro In tho Calu.
mo. aud He'ca miEeD, financially, 81 lesI
mon y, Ia ger fanl lv. not well, I'm debt
lost money in sp culation, bad luck, OF
nc cunt OF drinking honest r,plyl, in evely
respect. orr moro TO provide for 2 go
hurt, hard timos, bad luck, and ne poo
sellow pathetcn ly gave as a reason am mar
ried now.
In one year In n no mlrel twenty five mcI
were killed eight 10y falling rock, fye by falling
In mine, four 10y rding In the skip and th'
Causo of six not reported.
Tho following tabe will give our renders nj
idon OF he tlrft and social condition OF -i"ir
tao copper mines. 1t VIII | o observel that tn
| Am ricans 10 10 avera as high wages as tn
othtr nationaliti 8. Th is that tho ma
jority arc boys, sons of forei sl par IN g. who ar
ust beginning to work fOr the IN selves, and WIN
r. not earning tho wa .es Il experiences
n. The tablo will show that OF the 500 Amer
cans only Ia arJ married: