New-York tribune., 1908-07-31
MANY LABORERS IDLE
Percentage of Out of York March
81 Vas S5.7.


SS6115 reporting 1O1.4ss. 263 cent. were idle
| continuously during the three months of January
| February and March. This is a degree OF unen-
| poyment unapproached by any previous year since
| 1897 when temporary slump IN business activity
| momentarily interrupted the improvement which
had set in after the hard times following 1893 For
the generally prosperous decade 1898 TO 1901 The
highest figures for the first quarter of the year
were 27.2 for the day and 146 for the entire
quarter. in 1904 These, however, were exceptional
| figures. due to an abnormal amount of suspension
| OF work by strikes lockouts. The mean per-
centages of dleness for decade 175 for the
| end of March and 100 for the three months. The
| low record year of the last ten was 1905 when the
percentage of ideness for the last day was es and
| for the quarter SIS
The Increased idleness this year shown by
ports of for the end of the quarter to have
been due entirely to the prevailing business depres
sion. The various causes of idleness may be re-
duced essentially to three-sack trade, strikes or
| locsouts and disability The amount of disability
reported this year about usual. and idleness
due to labor disputes only fraction of what it
has been in recent years, that the increase falls
| entirely under lack of work as the reported
All of the important Industries represented
| in the trade union returns suffered from the IN
creased dleness of 1908. and most of them heavily
Thus in the building trades $50 per cent of the
| union members idle at the end of March this
year. compared with s73 In 1907 Ill per cent in
1906 and 219 per in 1905 In these trades New
York City heavier sufferer than the re-
mander of the state In transportation 1dleness at
(256 cent? last 027 per cent?, and last years
figure slightly below 1905 1906. OF manu-
featuring industries, clothing metals and printing
the principal ones represented in the union re-
turns In the clothing trades the percentages of
idleness for the end of March were 467 in 1SB as
against 124 143 and 1907. 1906 and 1905. Sim
ilar figures for the metal trades 81 s this year
as compared with AZ As and 90 for the last three
years and for printing 179 this year. against 3d. 94
and Sc
WAGES AND EARNINGS.
With the prevailing idleness the number of union
members who had work and reported earn
ings for January, February and March was so
greatly reduced this year to make comparisons
with former years somewhat uncertain, owing to
changes in relative importance of the different
grades of workmen represented in the diherent
years The indication OF the returns, however by
the rough measure of average earnings day Is
that for union wage earners wage rates some
IN the first quarter of this year than in
1907, though very little. If lower than in the
corresponding quarter OF 1906 Those union men
who worked during the first quarter averaged 647
days of time worked. compared with 6I-5 in
1907 and 707 in 1906 the latter being the highest
record in the last ten years. The decrease this
year in average days Of employment of those who
wc,I ned appears first sight surprisingly mod |
crate, in view the great increase of idleness |
which prevailed. This circumstance, however, re-
fleets the severity of the business depression in
throwing wholly out of work rather than
simply reducing their working time. The reduced
amount of work for those who had employment.
with probably somewhat lower level of wages, as
compared with 1907. naturally produced corre- !
spending reduction in their earnings in the first |
quarter of this year compared With 1907 or 1870
TRADE UNIONS.
Accommodating the unfavorabe condition Of the |
labor market there decrease in the strength
of organized labor the state between the end of
Senternber 1907 and March 1903. of 46 unions and |
IS 30 members. This left total of 2451 unions |
with 39s $50 members, in the state at the end OF
March This decline interrupted an upward move |
ment which had been continuous since March 1905, |
and reduces the total union membership to the !
pont It had attained in September 1905. The de- |
crease was general through the state, though vary
ing considerably in extent in different localities
For the state as a whole the decrease in member
shin during the six months amounted to 81 per |
cent The decrease in New York City was 80 per |
cent in Buffalo per cent. Rochester ~ per cent,
Syracuse 81 Albany 35, Schenectady 1&5. Troy 3, |
and in the remainder of the state SIS per cent
IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION
A tremendous change in the flow of foreign labor
through the port OF New York is another accom-
paniment of the depressed labor market which was
produced by, the financial crisis of last October.
The number Of aliens admitted at New York City,
which in the second quarter of 1907 was 5o,OO0 or
Is per cent. greater than the year before. and IN
the third quarter 1900. or IA per cent greater.
was in the fourth quarter only 1900 or per cent.
greater and in the first quartsr of 1903 was 143I2'
or II per cent less than the year before At the
same tirne as is well known. emigration increased
heavily and as a matter of fact. the number of
aliens who departed from the port of New YORK
in January of this year was equal TO three-hfths
of the number admitted during the entire three
months of the quarter, indicating for that quar-
ter emigration greatly in excess OF immigration
OF the emigrants from the port of New York
during the four months from october, 1907 to
January 1905, nearly 5000 had resided in New
York State.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.
Labor disputes in the first quarter were not so
numerous this year In 1907, but about equalled
the number in 1866 and exceeded the figures for
1903 1904 1908. But this years "a disputes were
as a rule so unimportant that the total number of
work neople directly concerned in them only
l61 as compared with S,8l5 in 1897 or 1O7oS In
1906 and 1900 or over in each Of the three earlier
years There was unusual proportion of strikes
against reductions of wages But the whole num-
her Of these 80 was after all very small and the
average number of employees directly involved In
them was only S5 The fact is that notable cir
cumstance in connection with the prevailing bust
ness depression of the first quarter was very gen.
eraI renewal spring union agreements especially
in the building trades. without change OF wages or
hours a conspicuous exception to this, however
which bears some appearance of threatening con-
fict ahead. appears in the failure of the Lake Car
riers' Association and the International Longshore-
mems Union to renew their agreement, owing TO a
controversy precipitated by the employers insisting
upon a change to open shop conditions Dur
ing the first quarter the state Bureau of Mediation
and Arbitration interviewed for concilaton purposes
IN y disnutes In six cases the intervention
Immediately successful in terminating the contro-
versies in two of which threatened strikes were
thereby averted.
FACTORY INSPECTION.
Turing the first three months of this year regular
inSnert,ons by the bureau Of factory inspection