The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-02-13
STATISTICS ON LABOR.
Eleventh Annual Report of Com
missioner Wright.
WORK AND WAGES OF THE MASSES,

L
| ing Glasses Is Increasing, While That o
CHILDREN Is Decreasing-Cases Wher'
Men Receive More Pay Than Women fol
| the Same Kind of Employment Effects
| of Machinery Upon Labor.
Washington. Feb. 13.-The eleventh
| annual report of the department OF la
| Dor, just transmitted TO congress oy
| Commissioner Wright, relates entirely
| 10 the work and wages of men. women
| and children. 1t shows that the proper
ton of women in the working classes
is increasing, while that of children Is
decreasing. The report was prepared In
pursuance of a joint resolution or con-
gress directing an investigation rela-
tive to the employment Of men, women
and children. This report is confined
strictly to a comparison of the extent
OF employment and wages of 1896, or
present period" with the conditions
which pertained some years, termed
former period" antedating the pres
ent period" some ten years. The defi-
mite purposes of the investigation were
to determine to what extent, II any,
women were superseding men, to show
the conjugal condition of women who
were employed: to compare the relative
efficiency Of men and women and, final
ly. to show the relative rates of wages
received by each sex in each industry.
Attempt Was Not Made.
1t was quite unnecessary to cover the
entire country-that is, TO collect in
formation from all industrial establish
ments. The attempt, therefore, was not
made. The agents of the department,
however secured information from
1,067 establishments of various kinds,
located in thirty states and employing
las, 1861 persons, a number large enough
to insure that the data collected were
thoroughly representative. The COM
plete data sought for, however, We're
obtained from only 931 establishments
These 931 establishments employed Ca
$50 persons in the former and los, GAS
in the present period OF this number
in the first period 26,479 were males Of
Is years of age or over,as against 43 1S5
in the second: and 4,175 males under Is
years of age, as against 1910 in the sec
ond. In the first period 2716S were fe-
males Is years of age or over, and 6,7i3
females under Is years of age, as
against 45, 1872 and 2,751, respectively, in
the present period. From these figures
it is seen that male employees Is years
of age or over increased in the present
period over the former 63.1 per cent,
while female employees of the same age
period increased 66.3 per cent.
Increase of Minor Employees.
Male employees under Is years of age
increased 500 per cent, while female
employees under Is years of age in
creased S9.1 per cent. AS collateral in
formation, an interesting showing is
made of the figures of the last three
censuses concerning the employment Of
women. The proportion of females 10
years of age and over employed in all
occupations in the United States rose
in it's relation to the whole number en-
ployed from 14.6S in 1870 to 1922 per
cent in 1890, while males decreased in
proportion from 1882 per cent. in 1870
10 S2.7S per cent. in 1890. The report
throws considerable additional light
upon the much discussed question as to
married women in industrial pursuits
For the present period, out of an aggre-
gate of 1887 women 70,921, or SS.7 per
cent. were single; 6.677. or S.5 per cent,
-
and 244, or $40 of 1 per cent. unknown.
In 436 of the establishments canvassed
the agents secured data as to the rela-
tive efficiency of women and children
and of men working at the same occu-
patton.
Greater Pay for Men.
OF 7S2 instances in which men and
women work at the same occupation
and perform their work with the same
degree of efficiency men receive greater
pay in 595, or 76.1 per cent, of the in
stances, and women receive greater pay
in 1873, or 1876 per cent, while in So in
stances, or IA per cent, they receive
the same pay for the same work. The
men receive SOL per cent. greater pay
than the women in the 500 instances in
which they are given more, while the
women receive but 1913 per cent, great
err pay in the 129 instances in which
they are paid higher wages The de-
partment is now investigating the eff
fects of machinery upon labor and the
cost of production, a compilation OF
wage statistics in the leading countries
Of the world, an investigation of the
liquor problem in its economic aspects
an inquiry in collaboration with the
state labor bureaus concerning the mu-
nicipal ownership Of gas, water and
electric plants, an investigation con-
corning the economic conditions of Ital-
ians in Chicago and preliminary in
vestigation of the economic progress OF
the negroes in this country.
Bishop of Wilmington, Del.
Baltimore, Feb. 13.-Cardinal Gibbons