Bismarck daily tribune., 1912-05-31
COTTON Mills
Of RUSSIA
Report on Condition by the
American Bureau Manu-.
faCtureS

WASHINGTON, D. c., May 31-The
total number of operatives employ ed
in Russia's cotton spinning and Weav-
| ing mills in 1910 was 399,919, as COM
pared with 279,766 in 1900, according
to report prepared by the Bureau Of
merce and Labor.
| Women form 53.6 per cent of the
| total, while children under Is years
(half-timers) constitute only ten per
cent The abundant supply of labor
in Russia has led the cotton mills
to adopt the two-shift system of work.
The first shift usually works from
4 am. to 10 am, and from Am. to
10 pm. and the second Shift from 10
am. to pm. They alternate so that
the shift that works during the first
and last periods on the first da" works
during only one period on the day FOL-
lowing. Thus the working hours are
alternately IL and hours, or an aver
age of 8. Owing to the large number
of church holidays that are observed.
The average number of working days
per month is only 22.S; the number
of hours worked per year averaged
4,233 in 1900 and 4,173 in 1910. This
schedule obtains in most Of the cotton
mills, and in practically all those OF
the central district. In the Baltic
district and in Poland, however,
where the supply of labor is not SO
large, the majority of the mills en-
ploy only one shift, which works from
10 to II hours per day.
Average Annual Wages.
The earnings of Russian cotton mill
operatives are considerably lower
than in the United States and gwen
less than in other European countries.
For the central district the average
annual wages was $104.22; for the
Baltic, $143.94; and for the western,
$150.38.
The average is considerably high
or in Poland and in the Baltic district
than in the central section, but the
difference is more apparent than real
and is due partly to the fact that the
working hours are longer in the form
er districts and partly to the fact that
the operatives in Poland, St. Peters,
burg, and Esthonia, as whole, are
more efficient.
Operatives are generally paid by
piece, and in mills working two shifts
the production of the spindle or loom
is awarded equally to each Of the two
operatives tending the machine. 1t
would appear that this system would
cause complaint among the workers,
but apparently it does not, and the
managers of several mills stated that
it actually tended to increase produc-
tion. The more efficient weaver, for
example "gets behind" the operative
on the same set of looms who Is in
clined to neglect his work, in order
that the total amount Of cloth woven
may he larger thus increasing the
earnings of both weavers. However,
wherever possible, two members OF
the same family operate a set OF
looms or the same spinning frames,
etc. The arrangement is particularly
satisfactory in the case of family,
with small children; the husband takes
one shift and his wife the other, and
the children in the home are never
lett alone.
Range Of Daily Wages
Wages necessarily vary in diher-
ent mills according to local conditions
and to the class Of yorn or cloth man.
ufactured.
They range from 21 cents to $1.23
a day, according to the character OF
the work performed. While they are
very low apparently, the Russian oper-
adve is better cared for by the en-
v%1o ho, xh tn Hfh0Vs
tries. Many mills house their oper-
atives rent free, while others charge
only a nominal sum. The manager Of
one mill in the Moscow district stated
that operatives that were not housed
by the mill were paid two rubles
($1.03) extra per month. Free school,
churches, hospitals with free medical
attendance, theaters, parks and play
grounds, are provided and maintained
by the manufacturers, often at great
expense. Nearly every mill has it's
own bakery, from which bread is fur.
nished to the employees, some times
free and some times at about half the
market price. 1t is also not unusual
for the mill to sell other provisions
at cost prices.
In their welfare work the manufac-
turers have been actuated partly by
altruistic motives, but largely by ne
cessity. In the United States and 9th.
er countries efforts to ameMorate the
condition Of employees have been due
largely to the keen competition for
labor and the desire to provide pleas
ant surroundings for the employees,
and thus secure a. steady we'll content
ed class who will remain at the mill.
In Russia the same purpose is in
view, but the employers are actuated
not so much by the scarcity Of Tabor
as by the fact that the operatives
come from the peasant class, who re-
gard the mill village not as their hom
but as a temporary residence To
the peasant, home is a little farm, Of
ten many miles from the mill, to
which he expects some day to return.
Undoubtedly the manufacturers by
their welfare work have been able to
retain many people at the mills and
for their trouble and expense have
secured some return in the low scale
of wages.
Influence Of Welfare Work
The foreigner who goes among the
cotton mills with preconcedved no