The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-10-09
OUR WOMAN TOILERS
Report Of Charles simmer
man, Chief of State Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
HOW THEY WORK AND LIVE
Factory Legislation Has Decreased
Child bodybuilding and
Loan Associations.
HOW THEY WORK AND LIVE

State Bureau or STATISTICS Oh Aapoi CIV
Industry, regards the chapter on womens
work and wages in New Jersey as the
most important part of the sixteenth an
nual report of his department coverlns
the year ending October 81 1888, anu
which has just been issued. win re-
gard to the bureaus Investigation among
working women, he says that the olni-
Guilty of obtaining information from le-
male operatives has resulted so that TINS
field of inquiry has been but little eA-
plotted. In 1888 the bureau succeeded IN
getting but a few hundred replies to a
similar investigation as was conductea
This year. During the same year the
United States Commissioner of Labor IN
vestigated the condition of HAY work
ing women in q cities of the country, IN
Guiding Newark, from which 62o women
engaged in "a district industries, were re-
ported.
The report, the fourth annual, had
for its special object to discover Whal
the way of manual Ilabor-women VINO
work upon light manual or m~ecnanleaI
labor and in stores. It contains a most
thorough presentation of all the iacts
bearing on the subject of inquiry, which,
TO a certain extent, was limited. 80 iar
as this State was concerned, territorlaly
and industrially, the present lnvestigasloh
has been more extended, but conIhed'
primarily, to work n wages ana eA-
penditures, although taking in other Incl
dental items.
This inquiry takes in 3.S77 working, Wo-
men, of whom 3,li9 We're engaged IN
manufacturing and mechanical INDUSTRY
mostly factory workers. The balance,
75S, comprised bookkeepers. domestic ser
wants. laundry workers, school teachers,
and miscellaneous employees
in mercantile establishments. OF the
total number of women reporting, BIG
were born in the United States, or nearly
81 per cent. ireland was the birthplace
of 20S. Great Britain of l54, OF
IA and Italy of SIS, the small balance
claiming other foreign countries. The
largest foreign element seems to be
among the following:-Sik operatives, rs
out of $50; of those engaged IN domestlc
service, 109 out of $50; fax and jute work
ers. 46 out of 81; electric lamp makers, 81
out of PIG.
The bulk OF the workers comprises
young women, their average present age
being only 21.S years. Tn ages range
from z to 66; under Is years, 101 indi.
v%iduals; Is to to 20 years; l'S9S; 70 % to 80 80
years, "a; 80 years and over, 30. That is,
~ per cent. are under 20 years OF, age
and SO per cent. under 30. Those employed
in domestic service, dressmaking and as
railroad car-cleaners seem to constitute
the older workers.
The average of the ages when these
women began 10 WORK., UOl neCGSSdIllg
but generally at their respective occupa-
TONS, is 14.9 years; and the range from
s to SO for domestic servants. The next
widest range is for cotton mill operatives.
from Z to SO. Both of these are extremes,
as the classified list gives 1,665 individuals
VIII began work under Is years of age
2.039 from Is to 20, and only 176 when 20
years and ~over-nearly 43 per cent. under
% and SO per cent. under 20 years of age.
The average number of years at work has
been but sc; the number of individuals
who have worked, under 5, being 1,739;
from 5 to 10, 1902; 10 and over, S36.
AVERAGE HOURS OF WORK.
. The average daily hours of work are
10!!2; weekly, 60; while the range is from
s to 10, and from 81 to SO, respectively.
This apparently high range is due to
q few employments like domestic service,
S15 to IA daily; dressmakers, 81 to ID;
saleswomen, So to Is; laundry workers, s
to ID, and milliners and miscellaneous
employees in mercantile establishments, 8
to Is. Only S35, or less than z per cent,
ordinarily, have less than 10 hours per
day. The hour of beginning work ranges
from $50 to Z AM, and of quitting from
8 to r:30 o'clock Pm. The bulk begins at
Z o'clock or after, 3,124; and quits at from
6 to Z, 2,S79. The time allowed for meals
ranges from one-third of an hour to 21a
hours, Lis having less than one hour
and 2,732 one hour or more, the average
time being t~hree-quarters of an hour;
The number of those obliged to stand
when employed is 1918; when not en-
ployed, 1874, or nearly so and 8 per cent
respectively. In 527 cases, or about 10
per cent of the whole number, no seats
are provided.
All except a fraction are paid weekly
wage rates, the average of which, full
time, is $3.50, or but little less, $5.4S, when
the period wage rate for all reporting
is reduced to weekly time. The range Is,
of course, the extremes, from 80 cents
paid a few girls as domestic servants to
$40 for some special workers, mainly fore
women. The classified rates will better
indicate the general wages received than
either the range or the average:-Under
Ks; s. to SIS, 752: S. to 81, S6i; 81 to IS, 87a;
IS to SO, 449; 80 and over, 154. In other
words, 1,345, or about 80 per cent. re-
ceiye less than S., and 2,097, or "a per
cent, less than IS per week, as full-time
WOMEN's INCOME.
The average number of days employ
ment during the year was 24y, or IS lost
time, exclusive of Sundays and legal holi-
days. An average of 14.6 days was due
to sickness in case of 1,o5S employees,
and ,35.5 days 10 want of employment
by, 1874. This lost time brings the aver
age yearly earnings for the whole num-
her of working women reported to $50.
The range of yearly earnings ran from
81 TO SLIP, which are extremes. The
classified list shows that SO, or 25 per
cent, received less than $500; 25s2, or
CT per cent. under $500, and 1,295, or 50
per cent, $500 or over. Under slG0, 100
Individuals; 500 to 5000, $40; 5000 to $3.50,
1868; $500 to 500, $50; $500 to $500, S27;
$0UD ana over, glVI.
As In similar previous Investigations of
this kind, it is shown that the great ma
jority of the, women herein reporting
were single and unmarried, the humble
being 1882. only Ill were married and
14 widowed. There are 1,012, or about
rs per cent, who assist others from their
earnings. Those who own the homes
in which they live number So; while 1877
pay rent and 5S5 board; the balance,
3,097, live with their parents or others.
The average rent paid is $I.1T per month;
of board, $3.03 per week.
The average income of the 3,877 women
was 1886, while the average earnings
from wages reached s265. This is ex-
planned by the fact that in some cases
The average expenditures amounted to
s257, the proportion contributed to sub
sistence, eiohing and miscellaneous items
being sl62, $50 and $36, or SO, % inc IA
per cent. respectively. The classified
total outlay for the year was as follows:
35 individuals spent under 500, S67 in
dividuals spent 500, but under 5000;
$500; 900 individuals spent $500, but under
$500; 1873 individuals spent $500, but under
$500: SO individuals spent $500 and over.
OF the total number 300 reported a sur
plus above expenditures and 10Y debts
above income. The average amour of
savings by 355 individuals was SlSS.
OVER FIFTEEN YEARS.
ployes over fifteen years of age in the
New Jersey manufacturing industries
aggregated, during the 1880 census year.
$500, with an aggregate OF $l0,09 ,000 paid
III wages. This means 20.7 per cent. OF
the total employees, men, women and
children. and 100 per cent. q the wages
.-,o,tton If tho female QTnplOyRs be-