The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1889-01-02
MICHIGAN INDUSTRIES.
REPORT OF BUREAU OF LABOR AND
INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS.

An Interesting Array Of Facts and Fig
ures Relative tn One of the Seven In.
dustrfcs Considered In the Annual
Report.
The sixth annual report OF the Bureau
of Labor and Industrial Statistics, just
issued. contains tie result of an investiga-
ton Of the wages and social condition Of
the MEN who produce wealth from Natures
laboratory:
A thorough an I systematic canvass was made
during 1885 of the labor employed la the manu-
facture Of fro clay inlo drain tile and sewer
PIPE; the workers in the gypsum beds, tho
slate grindstone and building stone quarries
ina the miners In the coal mines OF Southern
Michigan and the great copper mines I'm the
Upper Peninsula. Special canvasssr rs obtained
the information sought by the bureau, throu IN
interviews with the miners AMI laborers, and
the answers 10 the questions were given 10y the
men the mDelves. In The various in A. stries the
mum Der of meu interNi ;wed were; + ire clay "a
employees; sa5e. q; coal. IA; grindstons, III
gypsum, 1872 building stone, 80; copper 500
A few facts from tho statistics of the copper
industry will show the scope Of the repor. Al
most the entire labor, which includes mining
surface work, the stamp mill, and smelling
WORKS, is foreign. There are no Chinese or col
ored men A canvass was made OF the Copper
Falls, Allouez, oarsnrge, Quincy. Franklin,
Huron, Atlantic, Calumet and Hecla, Osceola,
aud Tamarack mines and the smelling works at
Hancock and on Torch Lake. In the above
works 5,5l6 men are employed, according 10 fig
ures furnished from their Offices. OF this num-
Der the bureau secured u canvass OF 1910 The
ma ionalities are: 63l Americans, b52 English
men, SO Finlanders. 40 Cana liun French, 221
Germans, 2l0 lrishmen. 156 Austr ans lz0 Po-
landers, l0i Swedes, l0s Norwe gians 81 Italians,
81 scotchmen, Ia Swiss, Is trenchmen, Welsh
men, Nova Scotians, Holanders, Danes
and one each Russian Spaniard, and Australian.
OF the 63l reported IA American born only 81
are children OF American parents, us chill
dren OF English parents, li3 Irish, "a German,
81 Canadian French, Swiss. Scotch, French.
4 Polish. 4 swede, Norwegian, and II nativity
OF parents not reported.
Out OF the 300, 1862 men are married and
have 6,643 children, OF which number 2,365 at
tend school. OF the total number of men only
800 have provided for their families by carrying
life insurance.
AS the mining companies will not sell land.
the miners as class are 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 ASP are reported owning
their own )mes % OF these are mortgaged for
a total sum OF SlU,3SO.
The Intelligence is indicated by the news.
papers read lI9 take "A daily paper 97l Il week
ly, and l2y a monthly.
The fact that 20 families out of 1852 own n
piano. aud 2ss an organ is evidence of n begin
ming OF home culture while the owning of a sew
ing machine by l,344 families shows de sire for
modern household conveniences
Woman and child labor cannot be employed
In copper mining owing 10 the nature of the
work. No women are reported as working at
gainful occupations outside of house hold duties
The children in A. families only are reports ed as
earning wages during the yenr which amounted
% a total o. SIS a..
Although mining is supposed by the public
generally TO Be unhealthy. according TO the
statement OF the mon them selves they enjoy
cool health; 1910 said That they had good
health and reported better health than when
they began work. Only bo reported poor health.
Their replies were: Poor heath. a.; fair, 10;
bad, 10; not good, 8; slckly, i; medium, 2 very
poo, delicate :.
To the question: Are you as well off ne five
yeas ago? ony lJj replied no. To the second
questie N: II noU in what respect? ~ replied
less pay, 10 sickness, IL loss by IRE w hich prob
ably means loss Of work by the fire in the Ialu-
me, and Heica minel, financially, ~ less
money, larger fam w. ! not so well, in debt
j lost money that he had saved , are older now
lost money in speculation, bad luck 2 on
account OF drinking honest r, plyl. 9 in every
respect. ! u orcr, more 20 y divide for, 2 GOT
hurt, harder times. 2 bad luck and one poor
Yellow pathetcally gave as reason am mar
r!ei now.
were Killed eight Ivy falling rock five by falling
III mine. four 10y riding In the skip and the
cause Of six not reported.
The following table will give our readers an
IDEA OF he THRIFT and social condition of tNir-
teen on the different nationhlities employed in
the copper mines. IL VIII lie observed that the
Americans do no aYera as high wages as the
oth6r natiOnhlitits s. IN retso 4 is that the ma
lority are boys SONS of foreign parents who are
Just beginning to work for themselves and W no
ire not vt earning tbs wases IF experienced
'ntn. The table Will SHOW that of the 90 Amer
cans only Ia are married: