The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-07-01
How Long Men Of This Country Labor
In Different Occupations, Told
by Bulletin From Com
merce Bureau.
INCREASE FOR SEVERAL,
Some cIassifieations pay More Than
Formerly and None Of Those
Lists Pay Any
Lesa

The union scale OF wages and hours
OF labor for 80 OF the principal trades
in AZ Of the leading cities Of the Unit.
ed States, prevailing in May, 1915,
are published In Bulletin No. 1874, Just
issued by the Bureau OF Labor Statis-
tics OF the U. S. Department OF Labor.
The scales shown are those OF the
baking, brewing, building, freight
handling, stone, metal, mill work,
printing, soft drink, and teaming
trades.
The average rate Of wages per week
for all cities taken collectively was
higher on May /. 1915, than on May
l, 1914. for A Of the trades reported,
In A trades there was no change. and
In only one trade was It lower.
Considering some Of the more i'm
portant trades, the following increas-
es In weekly rates Of pay between
May, 1914, and May, 1915, are noted;
per, cent; carpenters, / per cent: bod
carriers, per cent; inside wiremen,
per cent; plumbers and gas filters.
l per cent; slate and tile roofers, 4
per cent: steam filters, 2 per cent;
painters (hardwood fnishers), per
cent; electrotypers (battery men and
builders) 8 per cent; electrotypers
(finishers and moddersI, 2 per cent;
compositors (book and job), 1 per,
cent; web pressmen (newspaper), l
per cent.
Considering rates of wages per hour
as distinguished from rates per week,
Al trades showed an increase, AZ NO
change. and for none was the rate
lower.
The highest scales per hour paid
In May, 1915, in a few OF the principal
trades were as follows: Bricklayers
s7.5 cents, in Dallas. Houston and San
Francisco; carpenters IS cents in Chi
cago and Kansas City; portable and
hosting engineers IS cents, in Chica-
go, St. Louis and San Frencisco; hod
carriers so cents in Portland, st.
Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco
and Spokane; inside wiremen 70
cents In St. Louis; painters, 70 cents
in Chicago; plasterers sT.5 cents. in
Dallas, Houston and San Frencisco;
plumbers and gas filters, Is cents, in
Birmingham, Chicago. Dallas. Hous
ton, Portland. st. Louis, Salt Lake
City, San Francisco and Seattle;
stone cutters, 70 cents, in Portland
and San Francisco; structural iron
workers, 70 cents, in Cleveland and
Indianapolis; granite cutters, b8.S
cents. in New York, Salt Lake City,
San Francisco and Seattle: linotype
operators (FIebrew, book and job,
$50 cents, In New York; compositors
English, newspaper day work, IS
cents, in Seattle.
AS to changes in hours OF labor. 10
trades showed a reduction Of hours
between May, 1914, and May, 1915, 10
reported no change, and none report
ed an increase.
In 1915 the union scales in the bak-
ing trade show hours in some locali-
ties as low as As per week, but gener-
ally they are higher. Tie building
and stone trades in great majority
of the cities covered have an S-hour
day and most of these trades also
have Saturday, half holiday either
for the whole year or part of the year.
The hours of labor in the metal
trades range from A to so per week,
81 being the predominant hours. The
printing trades in the book and job
offices have an S-hour day In nearly
all the cities covered. and in the news
paper offices all trades have an s-hour
day or less.
The bulletin further shows by index