The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1911-03-06
An interesting Labor Inquiry


In the future The loss in this respect
however. seems to be more than
counterbalanced by improved mechani-
cal devices and processes.
Earnings and standard of Living.
The average weekly earnings of all
classes of iron and steel workers were
$l4.35. The average annual earnings of
all employees, IS years of age or over.
were $346, and the average earnings
each year of male heads of families
were $409. The average annual in-
come of families of all classes of en-
ployees was $54S. Slightly more than
four -fifths of all the families depended
entirely upon the male head for sup
port, while one-third. composed prin-
cipally of southern and eastern Euro
peans, secured their income from such
earnings and from the payments Of
boarde and dodgers. The families
whose heads were native Americans de-
pended more largely upon contributions
of children than those the heads of
which were born abroad
AS a matter of fact. the standard of
living of the recent immigrant house
holds was found to be very low. Most
of the southern and eastern European
steel workers were single or. if mar
sequently they were to adopt the group
method of living. popularity known as
the boarding boss system, whereby
each member paid fixed sum, usually
IS per month and the cost of food was
shared equally.
OF the foreign born families, II >
per cent. supplemented the earnings of
the heads by keeping boarders or lodg
| ers. as contrasted with only S.3 per
| rent. OF the families the heads OF which
| were native born. This practice has
| led to a high degree of congestion with
| in the households the heads of which
were foreign born, which can be seer
from the fact that the average monthly
rent per capita in households the heads
of which were foreign born was only
e1.14, while that in native American
households was Sill. The average
number of persons per room in house
holds the heads of which were of for
eign birth was Lie. as compared Will
f0s3 among the families the heacs o.
| which were of native birth: and tht
leverage number of persons per sleep
ling room in foreign born household
was 2.S9, as contrasted with 1876 in tn
native born households. OF the tota
number of foreign born household
14.1 per cent. used all rooms for sleep
Ing purposes. as against only 3s pc
cent of the households the heads o
which were native born.
i Southern Europeans Poor
| OF the native born employees 20 year
of age or over, 64.6 per cent were mar
-ied and of the total foreign born 81.
per cent. or the foreign born en-
ployees s4.2 per cent. were able to rea
and 1913 per cent. could both read an
write Of the employees of foreig
birth who were of non-English speak
ing races only SIS per cent were abb
to speak English
The southern and eastern Europea
iron and steel workers manifested yer
little evidence of general progress an
assimilation. The tendency toward &C
uuiring citizenship among the wag
earnerS of foreign birth was very small
only 81 per cent. being naturalized an
lila per cent having taken out frs
papers. OF the families the heads G
which were foreign born EOS per cen
: owned their own homes. Is compare
with 15.1 per cent. of those the heads {
which were native born. Only Is pc
cent. of foreign born and 3.s per cen
of native born employees were member
of labor organizations.