Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-02-22
WAGE OF TOILERS
Ninth Report of the State Com
missioner of Labor.
GRAND RAPIDS IN FRONT RANK
Women are Best Paid in the Valley
City-Growth Of the Stass-condi-
ton Of the Farmers.

LANSING. Feb. 21.-The advance
sheets Of the ninth annual report of
ths commissioner Of labor were given
10 the rress today. The full report
will be ready for distribution in . few
daya
IL deals with women's work and the
conditions surrounding the female
wage workers of Michigan; the number,
progress and result OF the strikes
throughout this stat, the United States
and foreign count ies for the past
twelve months; a &c pendium OF the
eight previous bu su's reports; the
labor laws OF the St Il; the number OF
mortgages placed on Detroit prop
srty the past seven years; the number
of property owners IN Detroit; the state
debt; the cost and income of the rail-
roads OF Michigan and railroad status
ties Of the United States and Great
Britain. the assessed and true value OF
the state divided into land value, I'M
provements, values and personalities;
Statistics of crime: the wealth Michigan
has in her mineral and pine lands and
q number of other subjects of minor
importance, IN all covering some 4I5
pages.
What women Earn.
For the information concerning wom-
ems work, l3,i36 persons were can
vsssed, selected from the principal
cities, mainly IN Detroit. Grand Rapids.
Saginaw. Bay City, Jackson. Ypslanti,
Muskegon, Owosso. Lansing, Pontiac,
Rochester, etc. The women of the
state average in wages 20 cents per day;
In Detroit they average rs cents per
day; Grand Rapids, %: Saginaw, 49,;
Rochester, 81; Wvandotte, SO. The
lowest wage was 81 per week or leg
cents per day in Bay City and Saginaw.
The highest wage was $3.50 per week.
In both instances only q very few re-
ceiyed the highest or the lowest wage.
Only ISL of the Is, ,436 canvassed ac-
knowledged to being under II years of
age, while 1876 were between IL
aud Is. Five commenced work ut 8
years Of age, and one at So. OF those
REPORTING, 3,724 were born in Michigan,
aud 3,slS IN the United States. The
Nngle were 1854, the married IA, and
Inc widows 4S9.
, There are in the report nearly 200
pages OF statistics and remarks regard
ing women, their work. surroundings
and conditions and the heathfulness of
their work. The Information 10 very
complete. It even gives the number
who must reach up in doing their work
and also the number who stoop over.
some of the number also report
whether or not they wear corsets.
Thses questions were instigated by lady
doctors, WHO wished to ascertain If
wearing apparel Of this description was
injurious to working women and girls.
The chapter on mortgages and prop
erty owners in Detroit shows that over
e23 200. 900 worth of mortgages were
placed upon Detroit property in the
past seven years, and that, notwlth-
standing nearly 10000 lots were put
upon the market since 1885, there has
been but IL 7,50S::additional.to the proper
ty-owniugclass. Meantime the popula-
ton has increased from 1873 ,269 TO 205,-
S76, an increase OF az. .606.
Tho Masses Are LasdIsss.
The report shows that 307 persons
own 80 per cent. of the real estate If
Detroit. As Detroit now contains $780,
coo people, the CONCLUSION to be drawn
is that 100000 of them are landless.
Much space Is given to taxation and
land values. particularly the taxation
now pressing on the farming classes.
The report SHOWS that real estate in the
agricultural regions is assessed on an
average of $20.s2 an acre; IN villages,
$i3l "A an acre; in cities, S2, $40 an acre;
timber lands, Sl3.5S an acre. The av-
erage value of tho upper peninsula
mineral lands IN use IS $3.50 an acre.
The average income from q farmers
acre Is gwen at So cents year, from q
Detroit acre il is s660.l2. The figures
gwen show that il personal property
and Improvements were exempt from
taxation the farming classes would be
the gainerA The land of the real es
tate OF Detroit Is equal to the land oi
Il,l93,35 acres of farm real estate
Many other tabulations show the per
capita assessments IN sixty-two cities ~
the state, the real and assessed value ol
twenty three plats In Detroit, and the
enormous increase IN value In the lat
ter place in the past five years. One
certain acre in Detroit 10 worth 1854,
900. 1t is assessed for $3.50, 900.
The section on Michigan railroads i.
valuable and will attract attention. The
income of the roads of the state for the
past year was 6.l65. los, and paid 5
lax Of ssI2, ,9g9
Another section is devoted TO show
ing the growth Of the state by section,
ard by industries. comparing the year
1850 with that of 1890, which Is yer,
exhaustive IN details and gives IN ad
dition some valuable figures relating u
Mgchigsn's tlmbered lauds-
The maps and circles introduced Il
illustrate the tar matter are certaiul,
very unique and show the clear knowl
edge Commissioner Robinson has o
the question. That part of the report de
voted to the question of taxation is ~
attractive and interesting that il is SUR
70 command attention and set peopl'
IN general 20 thinking of and discuss
mg these matters, which in the enc
will Lad Ia a soIuttou of this we've,