Cornell University Library HD6983.G5 Digitized by Microsoft® This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation witli Cornell University Libraries, 2007. You may use and print this copy in limited quantity for your personal purposes, but may not distribute or provide access to it (or modified or partial versions of it) for revenue-generating or other commercial purposes. Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® The Social Condition of Labor Digitized by Microsoft® Digitized by Microsoft® JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN Historical and Political Scienci HERBERT B. ADAMS, Editor History is past Politics and Politics present History.— Freeman ELEVENTH SERIES The Social Condition of Labor By E. R. L. GOULD, Ph. D. Bestdent Ijeeturer on Social Science and Statistics, Johns Hopkins VnivtTsttv PR OPERTY OF LI BRARY NEW YORK STATE SOIiOOL INDUSTRIAL AfiD LABOR RELATIONS CORNELL UNIVERSITY baltimore Thb Johns Hopkins Press PUBUSHED MONTHLY Jannary, 1893. Digitized by Microsoft® COFTBieBT, 1893, BT THB JOHNS HOFXIKS FBSSS. THB nnmENWALD 00., ntomiBB, BAIiTIHOBS. Digitized by Microsoft® PREFACE, It is strange that in an age when social questions chal- lenge so largely the thoughts of men, little attention is paid to fact in comparison with dogma. We ought not to con- sider it a disparagement of theoretical principles to say that they have been pushed too far, the natural result being a threefold grouping of society: scholars preaching philo- sophical beatitudes, radical divisions caring for little else save immediate material ends, while between them lies the great conserving body, by no means unsympathetic, but very often inactive from having no clear conceptions of what ought to be done. By no means socialistic in my ways of thinking, I nevertheless feel that before prescribing ideals it behooves us first to know whether the environment is adjusted to their possible realization. Neither dogmatists nor agitators have any love for the statistician, for the simple reason that he disturbs the dream of the one and the occupation of the other. But I believe thoroughly that it is he who can find the key to most of the social problems of labor. His methods are the surest, as he devotes himself to the diagnosis of separate com- plaints instead of manufacturing universal cures. The United States Department of Labor, under the able direction of the Honorable Carroll D. Wright, may fairly claim the honor of having in its sixth and seventh annual reports presented a grouping of facts in a fuller, more scientific and more useful way than has ever been done before in relation to the social-economic position of indus- trial labor. As one who took so large a part in the carry- ing out of this work, I have attempted in the following pages to analyze the principal facts, and to compare results NFW YORK ?TATE SCHOOL 5449 6 Preface. [6 with the essential features of a moderately conceived social ideal. My chief aim has been to see comparatively how an ambitious, intelligent, well-living laboring class fares in economic competition. This question is a crucial one, for if a high standard of life begets superior force, intelligence and skill, these latter can be depended upon to perpetuate themselves, and their exercise to react alike to the benefit of employer and employed. The present paper, dealing as it does with questions of such broad international interest, has been presented to the "Academic des Sciences Morales et Politiques," and is pub- lished simultaneously in the transactions of that body, in " La Reforme Sociale," the " Jahrbiicher fur National- oekonomie und Statistik," the " Contemporary Review," and the Johns Hopkins University Studies. The subject-matter has reference to the allied industries of coal, iron and steel. I hope soon to be able to follow it up with a study, on similar lines, of the textile branches of manufacture. The inquiry itself being somewhat of a novelty in Europe, a rather long introduction was necessary to explain its character and objects. While its omission would not have been felt by American readers, its incorporation did not seem out of place, in order that the scope and methods of the inves- tigation might be tlioroughly understood. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Decemher, 189a. Digitized by Microsoft® CONTENTS. J. Introduction : (1) Absence of reliable information concerning the conditions of labor and industry in both the United States and Europe (2) In 1888 the Department of Labor requested by Congress to make a detailed investigation concerning the cost of living of laborers and the cost of production of staple articles of production in the United States and Europe. 9 (3) A scientific basis for tariff legislation, based on the com- parative cost of production, first proposed a number of years previously by Mr. Carroll D. Wright, the present Commissioner of Labor 10 (4) The investigation bjr the Department of Labor was thoroughly non-partisan. The facts demanded by both parties 10-12 (5) The first report includes the industries of Coal, Iron, Steel, etc., in the United States, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, and to a lesser extent, Italy and Spain 13 A second report, not yet published, will deal with the textile industries in a similar way 13 (6) Success of the investigation. Its character and scope 13-14 Thb Cokmtion op Labokeks in the United States and Eubopean Countries as shown by Family Budgets. /. A Consideration of Family Budgets by Industries and Nation- alities : 1. Table I: Bituminous Coal Mining: — Family Budgets of Receipts and Expenditures 16 Textual analysis of table 14-17 2. Table II : Bituminous Coal Mining : — Average of Budgets of Groups composed of Five Miners each 18 Textual analysis of table 17 3. Table III: Bar Iron Manufacture: — Family Budgets of Receipts and Expenditures 19 Textual analysis of table 20-21 4. Table IV : Bar Iron Manufacture : — Average of Budgets of Groups composed of Five Puddlers each 22 Textual analysis of table 21 5. Table V : Steel Manufacture : — Family Budgets of Receipts and Expenditures 23 II. A Comparison of Conditions in the United States and Europe: 1. Table VI : The totals for the United States and Europe compared by industries 25 Digitized by Microsoft® 8 Contents. [8 Textual analysis of table — ^To what extent has a fair social standard of comfort been realized, as shown by : — [a] The support of the family by the unaided efforts of the husband 24-28 [b] The expenditure for food. Prices of food in Europe and America compared 28-30 [g] The expenditure for drink. Its proportion and relation to expenditure for rent 30 [d] Savings : The true economic significance of sayings 30-32 ///. A Consideration of the Foregoing as relating to a Normal 1 . Definition of a normal family 32 2. Table VII : Becapitulation of Budgets for Normal Families by Industries T. 32 Analysis of table 32 IV. A Comparison of the Condition of Laborers by Nationalities in their Native Country and in the United States : 1. Table VIII : All Industries : — Family Budgets by Nation- alities in their Native Country and in the United States. 34 Textual analysis of table 33-38 The standard of comfort of the Native American surpassed by that of the Americanized Briton and German, but itself surpasses that of other nationalities 33 The American standard quickly assumed by the trans- planted foreigners employed in these industries 35-36 The Poles, Bohemians^ Italians, etc., when drafted into industries, no exception to this rule 37-38 The Cost op Production op Coal, Iron and Steel in the United States and Europe. 1. The results of the investigation 38 2. Table IX : Bessemer Pig Iron Manufacture. — Belation be- tween the earnings of workingmen, the labor cost and the total cost of production 39 3. Table X : Bar Iron Manufacture. — Eelation between the earnings of workingmen, the labor cost and the total cost of production 40 4. Table XI : Steel Rails Manufacture. — Eelation between the earnings of workingmen, the labor cost and the total cost of production 41 5. Concluding Remarks 41-42 A high labor cost not a necessary sequence of a high rate of wages. — The explanation : good wages are translated into better nourishment, greater strength, skill and efficiency : the American laborer himself largely the creator of his wages, through the standard of life which he has adopted. Industrial supremacy to those who earn the most and live the best 42 Digitized by Microsoft® THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF LABOR. For many years there have been, so far as the generd public is concerned, both in Europe and America, exagger- ated ideas of the industrial conditions prevailing on the two continents. In the absence of reliable statistics, interested parties have been able to tell harrowing tales alike of the plutocratic American manufacturer and the European " pauper laborer " and be believed. Though thinking men have long been weary of exag- gerated statements, and private investigators have sought to learn the truth, the field of comparative industrial sta- tistics is so vast, as well as so difficult to exploit at first hand, that results have necessarily been few. The meager- ness of exact knowledge, always recognized, was never, perhaps, more keenly felt than when in 1888 the Ways and Means Committee of the United States House of Represen- tatives undertook the revision of the tariff. The effect of this was that Congress requested the Department of Labor, an organ of government whose functions are solely scien- tific, to investigate comprehensively and on a comparative basis the salient facts of industrial competition. The com- mission given, to quote the text, was "to ascertain at as early a date as possible, and whenever industrial changes shall make it essential, the cost of producing articles at the time dutiable in the United States, in leading countries where such articles are produced, by fully specified units of production, and under a classification showing tlie differ- ent elements of cost or approximate cost of such ai'ticles of production, including the wages paid in such industries per day, week, month or year, or by the piece, and hours Digitized by Microsoft® 10 The Social Condition of Labor. [10 employed per day, and the comparative cost of living and kind of living." One need hardly remark that no other legislature has ever assigned to any agency the task of peering so deeply into the innermost recesses of industrial life. Mr. Carroll D. Wright, the Commissioner of Labor, some years ago wrote a pamphlet upon the scientific bases of tariff legislation, in which he developed the thesis that, admitting the protective principle, a tariff, to be fair and just to all parties, must be based upon the comparative cost of production in competing countries. This idea was not foreign to the tastes of Mr. Mills and his associates on the Ways and Means Committee, and so it happily came about that the author of the plan was entrusted with its develop- ment. As there has been much misunderstanding in relation to this inquiry of the Department of Labor, I may be par- doned for offering a few words of explanation. In the first place, it was not at all a partisan expedient. The House of Representatives, by a unanimous vote, and the Senate nearly with unanimity, asked that it be made, the majority in each branch of the legislature at that time being com- posed of different political parties. Neither was it animated by a sense of hostility to European industrial interests. Extravagant ideas had so long prevailed that there could be no harm in making the real truth known. Furthermore, reciprocal favors would be bestowed, since from the results each nation would learn its own industrial situation as well as the conditions under which it must compete. Thirdly, the inquiry would at least indicate whether the American tariff was laid solely in the interests of labor, and whether the manufacturer did not himself gain thereby. Lastly, and most important in the eyes of all who care less for individual advantage than for the welfare of the whole, it would demonstrate the comparative utility, purely from the economic standpoint, of laborers earning high or low wages, and maintaining different standards of life. Digitized by Microsoft® 11] The Social Conditioii of Labor. 11 I cannot insist too strongly upon the scientific aims and non-partisan character of the. investigation. Absolutely no other motive than the desire to know tlie facts dominated alike those who instigated and those who carried out the work. If the European manufacturer averred that he was the victim of unjust discrimination, he ought to be only too glad of an opportunity to expose the truth. To the American claiming that he was handicapped by the payment of higher wages, there could exist no motive for concealment. The workingman, so long told that the tariff was created for him, would be glad to learn if it were really so. The interests of economic science, industrial prosperity and social justice would all be served. The character and attainments of the Commissioner of Labor and his principal associates offered a guarantee that the work would be impartially done, and the practice of the Department in so presenting information that its source cannot be recognized made sure that industrial or trade secrets would not be disclosed. Let me remark, in passing, that a tariff based strictly upon comparative costs of production is not considered, especially by business men, an available scheme. It is evident that not only is it impossible to find a unit of com- parison between articles made of the same material but different in pattern, texture and weight, but also the costs of plain units of manufacture will vary according to fluc- tuations in the price of labor and of commodities. This is perfectly true, and was clearly understood by all who furthered the inquiry. It was never designed to erect either a fixed or sliding scale of tariff duties on all or a part of the articles scheduled. General industrial conditions, not special trade necessities, were the subjects of considera- tion. The social and economic welfare of the American laborer was the object most at heart, since the inquiry sought for facts to guide the legislator in his distribution of social justice. There was never a thought of being useful to the customs service in its control of invoices. I Digitized by Microsoft® 12 The Sodal Condition of Labor. [12 mention this to clear up a misconception which unfortu- nately gained credence on some parts of the Continent through the medium of newspapers which took absolutely no pains to verify their suspicions. Though this step mili- tated against the success of the work, it neveiiheless caused an injustice to the country concerned, since in some instances the facts could only be obtained from places which I am morally convinced did not represent the most favorable conditions. For so unfortunate an incident, mis- conceived patriotism and mistaken zeal are alone respon- sible. In the latter part of 1888 a commission of six officials of the Department of Labor, over whom I had the honor to preside, commenced investigations in Europe. The field of operations was naturally the principal manufactur- ing countries, — Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, and in a lesser degree Luxembourg, Italy and Spain. Only the important industries of coal, iron, steel and glass and cotton, woolen, silk and linen textiles Were included. Simple and standard units of manufacture, as for example a ton of steel rails of the same size and yards of cloths uniform in organization, texture and weight, which are made the world over, and about whose production trade secrets no longer exist, were the objects of inquiry. The greatest care was taken to secure homogeneity in the units, as otherwise a comparison of costs of production v/ould be misleading and valueless. As may readily be judged, it was not an easy matter to conduct the investigation, especially in Europe. American manufacturers have been so often approached by statistical agencies that they were naturally freer to respond. But in Europe, where the statistics of labor and industry have been far less developed, one could not, in the nature of things, expect a very general willingness to communicate to foreigners information of so confidential a character. In the midst of the work the McKinley tariff was imposed, a contingency which was entirely unforeseen at the Digitized by Microsoft® 13] The Social Condition of Labor. 13 outset, aggravating the natural difficulties of the situation and becoming the root of much misunderstanding. I have already pointed out that there was absolutely no relation between the McKinley bill and our inquiry. Let me say, further, that no information whatever in regard to the textile industries was communicated from Europe before the measure became a law. The Commissioner of Labor, at the request of the Senate Finance Committee, did make a preliminarj'^ report upon the cost of production of iron and steel, but, as is well known, the tarifl on the most of such articles was either left untouched or was reduced. Nevertheless the idea got abroad in some quarters that ours was a spy service in the interest of the McKinley bill. In this connection it is a great pleasure for me to rec- ognize the fair-mindedness of "Le Temps." M. Francis de Pressense, as soon as the report came to his ears, addressed me a letter, stating that he would be glad to know the real objects of our mission. The salient parts of my reply were published, and the utility of such inquiries, not only to the United States, but to Europe, was com- mended by this enlightened journal. It is obvious that if the results of such an investigation are to be of any use, the heiarty cooperation of a sufficient number of manufacturers must be enlisted. The Depart- ment of Labor may claim that such a condition has been fairly complied with. In regard to the first group of in- dustries, coal, iron and steel, with which the only volume now published deals, the Commissioner states that cost of production returns were received from 454 American and 164 European establishments. Budgets of cost of living were secured from 2490 workmen employed in these in- dustries in America and 770 in Europe, while the wages of several thousand laborers, at least one-third of whom were European, were tabulated. So liberal were the responses from the two continents! Really representative facts were obtained for all important branches of these Digitized by Microsoft® 14 The Social Condition of Labor. [14 industries, except from the American producers of steel rails, who, with one single exception, refused to state their cost of production. There can be no caviling as to the accuracy of the facts themselves. Statements on cost of production and tabu- lations of workmen's wages were taken directly from the account books and pay-rolls of the different establishments. The budgets of family income and expenses were gathered with all the care that that delicate and difficult branch of statistical work demands. Without entering too much into details, one may say that in those cases where the laborers did not keep books or deal at a cooperative store, we were often accompanied to the houses by a retired postman or policeman or some other person who was well ac- quainted with all the families and enjoyed their confidence. The tabulation of wages from the pay-rolls of the manu- facturer gave a control over the statements of the work- man as to his earnings, and it Vill be generally recognized by all who have themselves made personal investigations of this character, that if the truth is told about. earnings, at least an honest attempt will be made to speak truly of expenses. The schedules of questions were so constructed that it was not difficult to detect, especially after a little experience, any material inaccuracy. With the understanding that the statistical bases have been broad enough in design and sufficiently thorough in execution, let us pass on to the results. These I shall pre- sent chiefly in the form of tabular statements, making only such textual observations as seem necessary to elucidate the figures. The number of families to whom the subsequent facts relate is first given. Next follows the average size of the family, the parents being included. The American family is the smallest; the English, Belgian, and German following in the order named. Proprietorship of homes is much more common in America than in Europe. The next column, taken in conjunction with tlie second, discloses a Digitized by Microsoft® a a a I i Total Number. »-■ o IP> Size of Family. FamlUes. Families own- Ing House. Size of House. CO •:! ? Amount. Proportion. Amount. Proportion. Total Income. OK >-> S g M to Amount. Proportion. Amount. Proportion. Amount. Proportion. n o h- & s to H- Amount. Proportion. Amount. Proportion. Amount. Proportion. Dwellings. B5 Wtl>oS IR'O P Other Expenses. Total Expenditure. § g SS Amount. Per cent. gitized by Microsoft® w H c| »=I 1— I l> tz! X f n H K| cc l> td d M f> h-l M r H CD 1— ( !zi 16 TJie Social Condition of Labor. [16 curious fact. The size of the habitation is in inverse pro- portion to the number in the family. Not only are the total earnings of the family highest in America, but the contribution of the husband thereto is both absolutely and relatively larger than elsewhere. There is not, however, so great a difference in the pro- portions, the Englishman being nearly equal, the Belgian 9 per cent; and the German 12 per cent. less. A large share of the American's outgo is for rent. Here again both absolutely and relatively he occupies first place. For food his total expense is not quite so great as for his British confrere, but passes the Belgian and the German, who have much larger families. But he is able to nourish his family better on a far smaller proportion of his total expenses, viz., 45 per cent, as against 59 per cent, and 52 per cent, respectively. As regards clothing, Great Britain presents the most favorable conditions. If we assume that reasonable neces- sities were fully complied with, but no extravagances indulged, then the American is most poorly off. He must spend 40 per cent, more to clothe a family of two fewer individuals than the German, for example. It must be remembered that there is not the same disparity in the price of clothing used by the workingman in the two continents as there is in that worn by the richer classes. The reason is that the former is largely of home manufacture and made up by the sweated denizens of New York's miserable tene- ments. The clothes for the rich man are still generally imported and made into garments by trade-union labor. The American coal-laborer spends more on books and newspapers than his European fellow-workers, and less for alcoholic beverages than any except the German. In both of these respects is he in particularly marked contrast with the Belgian. Finally, in comparing expenses with revenue, we find the American less provident than any of the others. He puts aside 4J per cent, of his income to the German 5^ per cent., the Englishman 7^ per cent., and the Belgian 13 per cent. Digitized by Microsoft® 3 7] The Social Condition of Labor. 17 The foregoing table refers to all classes of workmen in the coal industry. It may happen that there is a larger proportion of what may be called skilled laborers, t. e. fore- men, miners, enginemen, masons, etc., in some cases than in others. This is actually true, the proportion of such labor being 8o per cent, amongst the American families represented, 50 per cent, the English, 66 per cent, the Ger- man and 90 per cent, the Belgian. Some allowance must be made for this fact, though the influence is not so great as might appear at first sight. The general truth of the above statistics is strikingly verified by the following table, which displays the average cost of living of five miners in each country. The selec- tions were made from those earning the highest wages in their respective countries. No very important divergence from results previously mentioned is manifest. A comparison of the earnings of coal-miners in America by nationalities offers some curious and, perhaps to many, unexpected results. The average income of 114 miners of American birth was $381.14 per annum. Forty-four British miners at home earned on the average $402.78 annually, while 183 miners of British origin in the United States received $410.46 each. The figures for 11 German miners are $265.03 at home, and for 50 in the United States $444.83. The American coal-miner on his own soil is clearly at a disadvantage with British and German fellow- workmen, and even gets less than the British in their own island. To the German the change is especially marked. The figures, be it remembered, are for the heads of families, and do not in all, perhaps in the majority of cases, repre- sent the total income of the family. In addition to the foregoing facts, if we consider the further questions of hours of daily labor, sliding-scale pay- ments and stability of organization, one must feel con- vinced that the British miner at home is the best off. Observation as well as statistics have led me to this conclu- sion. I ' ' ^,>M Digitized by Microsoft® a o «! fi] CO M H ^ HH ^ E^ > s fi; H h 00 o o Q H !2! O HH PU 1— 1 o o J2i 1— ( !2; o CQ < t> H r=i O P4 1-1 r*i < o o O N H W M n H pq o !> <1 ( 'A •aonxodoij^ o 17 >3 03 a* -* o t- 02 Is w •:jnnorav s 00 S §s g u s •aan^^paadra ib^ojg " ^ CO 5i <» tk s; o> i-f •sasaadxa Jaqjo i 4# s s H o •aocjaodoJd: CO rH 1-1 rH s SS s 3 g •:>anoinY t~ CO ■^ "»»< Q «» e^ C^t 02 OI' » •nopjjodojd: i-H ■* t- K J3a l« •:}anouiv S gg 3 ^ M CO to a> N M a ^ 58 i-H S b °l •janorav s m s o 1 «» §°3 ■aofiaodojj; •^anomy fi H O i Si 'o ■nocjjodoid: s S B 00 ao-2 e3 :3 •^nnorav CO s cS §8 w pq !^ "* a C4 1 « CO (D •asnoH io ezig CO CO CO CO •^ItniBi J fO 8ZIg eSBJ9AV CO CO 00 lO to OD ^^ -^ -A-, -^Jk-, g J m^ ^^ > V >■ 2 3 ss E-y S.S £S. § uS ■hI^ H S-m ge ■< •< -^ S p ^ Proportion. s ^ g s S s 2 S Amount. P o is OS OS CO cn OS <0 Proportion. g s 1 £2 to ^ C Total Income. s g s <• § Amount. 1 is o ^ ^ ^ £ I-* p b Proportion. en 1 i i E2 Amount. o oo b Proportion. 8S S: s c as Amount. o o g B 5 OS 03 cn or Proportion. M $: CO ^ g Amount. p 00 t-t o p «0 Proportion. 00 CO 3 £ cS s -5 s s Amount. "5= p» to ^ p Proportion. en 3 cn to ! Amount. 1 ►-4 1^ CO I<9 OS to b Proportion. M & g 13 g IS to o Other Expenses. S §; s s Total Expenditure. CT S s s OS «» s s Amount. CO d » "a s 0/?® » -1 - 1^ 1 Proportion. 3d by Micros 1^ >► Ik- k! w ed hi H c\ W 1— 1 t < 5 HH g ^ 1— 1 H CO 20 The Social Condition of Labor. [20 Turning now to the manufacture of bar-iron, we have in Table III statistics on similar lines to those in Table I. Here, too, the average family is smaller in the United States than in any of the continental countries, and it is also better housed. Astonishing as it may seem, the size of the habitation varies again in an inverse ratio to the size of the family. Great Britain is not far behind the United States, while France, Belgium and Germany follow in the order named. The latter has the poorest accom- modation for the largest family. The husband in the United States earned yVths of the total income, and thus fulfilled that highest of social requirements of being able to support the family by his unaided effort. British heads of families are nearly in the same condition, but in all the other countries such a contingency seems impossible for the average workman in the bar-iron industry. In .Belgium, for example, only -fths came from the husband's wages. The rent column offers no important deviation. But it must be acknowledged that the American was : obliged to spend far too large a proportion here. The American family appears to be better nourished than the others on a smaller relative expenditure. The amounts spent under this head in the different countries, taken together with the size of the families, and a table of prices of food which follows later, offer serious ground for reflection, especially to Continental statesmen. The figures for clothing seem to show an advantage for the British iron-worker, though the American has not spent a very much larger proportion. The American again leads the list in expenditure for books and newspapers. He spends more for drink in this case than any except the Frenchman, though proportionally his outgo is the smallest of all, — 3.7 per cent, to 4.4 per cent., to 5.1 per cent., to 5.2 per cent, and 11.7 per cent, respectively. Remark, in passing, an exceedingly unforhinate showing in the three continental countries. The Frenchman spent 4 per cent, more for liquor than for house-rent, while in Digitized by Microsoft® 21] The Sodal Condition of Labor. 21 the case of Belgians and Germans the proportion of expen- diture was abnormally high. Naturally with a so much larger income the per cent, of earnings saved is greater in the case of the American. Next comes the Frenchman, then the Englishman and the Belgian. In Germany a majority of families were unable to make ends meet. I am far from saying that this rep- resents the average condition in that country. The locality whence tliese budgets were gathered is- not industrially the best placed. More representative districts would have been chosen had not shortsighted views intervened to prevent the collection of data. The proportion of skilled to ordinary labor amongst the families represented was highest in Germany, 69 per cent, next in France 67 per cent., next in Belgium 60 per cent., then in America 57 per cent., and finally Great Britain with 51 per cent. A study of the figures cannot scientifically be made without considering this fact, for naturally the higher the proportion of skilled labor the more favorable should the economic situation appear. However, the range of variation is not sufficient to vitiate the results, which are only confirmed by the following table, where homogeneity is secured. Groups of five puddlers belonging to the dif- ferent countries have been chosen quite at random, and their incomes and expenses averaged. The general conditions amongst steel-workers appear to be, broadly speaking, similar to those prevailing in the iron industry, only the American has not as great an advan- tage in the matter of earnings as before. This is probably due to the larger use of mechanical processes, which enables the manufacturer in the United States to dispense in a greater degree with skilled labor. Digitized by Microsoft® S •uoHJodOJ,! o oa ei ^ s o o CQ rs ■:>tinouiv g E? CO ■^ M ee ,^ 1-1 •sasasdxa ibiod ^ ■* i g 1 CO a> Ol •-( 01 ■Basnadxa Jtaqjo » g »f3 s OI 04 CO 00 w H i •noRJOdojjc &! -^ 1-1 -i o 12 S5 5! s g o B ■§ •(janoniv «D CO -»*< 0* CO ■«l B w a 03 CO CO CO a 5s •not:jjodo.id: 1-1 ^ la "* ^ m ■3 fl s CO ss s s hJ l« •^nnorav p Ph H «» lO oo »o lO CO -< Ig^i •noi^jjodojd o o o o s § g s g a m*^g •^nnoray rH CO 1-1 iH M a& N ■< •uoi^jodojd: t- £- In o 'O ia ■* w -* ••M CO 03 s ■9: ■junoray s ^ s s 8 > 1— 1 O I— 1, O « ^ S •uot:}jodojj CO CD CO «3 H o iH s CO »- Hi o o « M ■lunorav s s s s ^ ^ 00 o H g s iS s 04 oi ■sjdi8D9a IB^Oi a s o CO ?3 M HI ■uonjodojj CO fe 3 o 1-1 03 o •^unomy CO aodojd: 00 ©I CO o 8 ^ s s s s g 03 W *"* •^junotay o CO CO t- CO 01 ,1 H O «@ a w < > •F4U-I CO •uoH-iodoJd: 53 o OS 1 g s s s £§ 'a •^unomy § 1 o s ! 00 00 o o CO at ■asnoH Jo azfS -# CO ^ 04 CO i •a 3 (1< •iinraBa JO ezig 04 CO CO CO : i g s s s 1 t o ■< "3 g H w t) !^ «r^ o o H H H CO 24 The Social Condition of Labor. [24 The proportion of skilled labor in the total from . whom the above budgets were obtained is almost uniform in the three countries, viz., 40 per cent, in the United States and Great Britain and 43 per cent, in Germany. Having considered the social-economic position of workers in the coal, iron and steel industries in several countries, let us now by proper combination ascertain the average conditions prevailing on the two continents. Table VI is an attempt to do this. Broadly speaking, coal-mining presents the smallest and the manufacture of iron the greatest contrasts. Added to this table is one interesting element, viz., the proportion of families who subscribed to newspapers and bought books, and who drank liquor or smoked tobacco. For books and newspapers the proportion in America except for workers in ccal mines is uniformly the highest, but as regards the use of liquor the lowest, save in the case of blast-furnace employes. A smaller number of families in Europe used tobacco. Forsaking for the moment the role of the statistician, and takirg up that of the social philosopher, let us examine closely how nearly in these returns a moderately conceived social standard has been complied with. The fundamental condition of such a standard is that the earnings of the hus- band alone should be sufficient to support the family. The wife ought never to be called away from the household if she have children. The desertion by mothers of the home for the factory is, I am convinced, a fundamental factor in modem social discontent. How can the needs of the hus- band be met and a proper moral instruction be given to the children under such circumstances? The public school can educate intellectually, but only indirectly morally. In the home the chai-acter is fomied, in the home the citizen is made, and there can be no proper homes whence mothers have been withdrawn. One may well wonder what this wholesale employment of women in industry will lead to in the course of a generation or so. It is difficult to see Digitized by Microsoft® o H ■a B .._ ^ lad S? fejq i' m Sg. bigg. ugg b^g Kd ■t : g^t ; fit i CD '. (-•OS CD Or ff-C3l OocD OCT oo OIGO OCT ? Q § • 3 » • CD ^ S . . CO S ^ • SI. Total Number. CTri^ iaoo oo Average Number of Per- sons in ^Family. CTps CD M CD p Oth-« ba'oa p3CT ^O OCQ COCO __ 00 go >f»-CT CO CT CT"-" OCi3 Owning their Homes. Giving Information con- cerning size of Dwelling. Average number of rooms per Family. Number. Proportion. Families entire- ly maintained by Earnings of Husband. Total Earnings of Family. Earnings of Husband. Proportion of Earnings of Husband to Total Earnings oca oo oeo iB BS JSJS JJI-I if..CT O-^ SB gig gSi 0-3 Oh- eoo Amount. Proportion. Amount Proportion. Amount. Proportion. g- TO Proportion Buying. Amount. Proportion. 'Sb ^B 8S «o go hi*. iToportion Using. Amount. Proportion. m ill Proportion Using-, Amount. oo _g2 Proportion. Total Expenditure. rp too Amount. SuEPLtrs. r"?^ Proportion. Digitized by Microsoft® M !^ • S i > o ^^ td O 02 bd I— I GO I— I 02 26 The Social Condition of Labor. [26 how young girls who never had any domestic training, and early went to work in factories, are going to make either acceptable housewives or good mothers. It is not very reassuring to note that in the United States alone, and there only in two cases, viz., bar-iron and steel manufacture, was it possible for the husband unaided to support his family. In these instances, too, the margins are so small as to cause one to refrain from congratulation. If we further inquire how often the husband actually did support his family without help, we find the highest pro- portion in any industry to be 69 per cent. Any one who has had an opportunity to learn the real life of European laborers understands how much more thoroughly is there developed the sentiment of family soli- darity. The children remain longer with their parents than in America and contribute more to the general support. Not only are the absolute earnings of the husband smaller in Europe than in America, but the percentage of his con- tribution to the total income is also less. A failure to realize this fact is at the bottom of much misconception in the United States regarding the true condition of the European laborer. The family, not the individual, is the unit of society. Hence it is quite false to say, as political "pauper labor" conjurors are so fond of doing, that low wages to the husband must necessaril}'- mean a correspond- ingly low standard of life to the family. The otherwise certain consequences of low earnings are in practice largely mitigated by the relatively higher economic contributions from other members of the family. While such a practice involves a regrettable loss of social opportunities, it permits the maintenance of the family on a higher plane than would first appear to those who judge merely from current rates of wages and take no account of national customs. The figures before us thoroughly justify the point of view I have been endeavoring to present. The average annual wages of workers in coal mines were 18 per cent. , higher in America than in Europe, but the total earnings Digitized by Microsoft® 27] The Sooial Condition of Labor. 27 of the family were but 13 per cent. more. So for the manu- facture of pig-iron, bar-iron and steel the respective figures are 46 per cent, for the husband and 33 per cent, for the family, 107 per cent, for the husband and ^y per cent, for the family, 31 per cent, for the husband and 25 per cent, for the family higher in the New World. Such are the average conditions prevailing in Europe and America, but if we seek for the facts in relation to each separate mdustry under consideration we find the practice to be everywhere the same. For coal-workers the variations in earnings are for the individual 13 per cent, and for the family 11 per cent, more in the United States than in Great Britain, 41 per cent, more for the individual and but 29 per cent, more for the family than in Belgium, 66 per cent, more for the individual and 46 per cent, more for the family than in Germany. The manufacture of iron presents even more striking contrasts. The American individual workman gains 59 per cent, and his family 51 per cent, more than the British, iii per cent, and 69 per cent, respectively' greater than the French, 227 per cent, and 118 per cent, respectively more than the Belgian and 186 per cent, and 178 per cent, respectively higher than the German. The steel industry, so far as the returns we are considering go, pre- sents the only exception to what I believe is a universal law. But this is unimportant, and easily accounted for by he caveat I have previously interposed as to the not quite representative conditions prevailing in the locality whence the statistics for German steel-workers were derived. The individual workman in America is, economically speaking, 19 per cent, better off while his family is 13 per cent, better off than in Great Britain; the individual 149 per cent, and the family 165 per cent, better off than in Germany. From a comparative point of view the facts we have just been considering are of very great interest. But in their social aspect they represent at best a negative virtue. The greater collective effort which it is necessary to put forth in Europe to secure a good standard of life must be at the Digitized by Microsoft® 28 The Social Condition of Labor. [28 expense, always intellectual, often physical, and sometimes also moral, of one or more of the individuals. Perhaps it is a rude awakening to many to learn that the true eco- nomic basis of a proper social existence is so generally wanting. Only in the United States, and there but for two of the six great divisions of coal-mining and iron and steel manufacturing, does it obtain. Let there be no mistake about this matter. I do not maintain that there are no families within these industries which are not kept solely by the economic efiforts of the husband. To be sure, there are thousands of such, and they may be found in all coun- tries. The lesson to be learned from the figures is that when all occupations, skilled and unskilled, are grouped together within each specific industry, the average condi- tions fall far short of the ideal. A second element in a just social standard for an indus- trial laborer is food. We see from the double column wherein the figures are portrayed that in practically every instance the largest absolute but the smallest relative sum falls to the American. Does this mean that the family of the workingman in America is better nourished than abroad? I believe it does, and principally for two reasons. The family in the United States is smaller, and therefore witli the largest sum of money spent the amount />er capita is considerably greater. But does higher expenditure mean more food? We may answer affirmatively, because a greater quantity of the principal articles in a workingman's menu can be had for an equal amount of money in the New World. The Department was careful to collect infor- mation concerning the price of food concurrently with the budgets. From data furnished by the wives of working- men, which authority should be accepted as indisputable, we are able to make a statement of comparative prices. The price of bread does not show much diflference except in France and Germany. But the kind and quality of flour used is by no means the same, so that to obtain an equal amount of nourishment a much larger sum must be Digitized by Microsoft® 29] TAe 8ocial Condition of Labor, 29 spent in the Continental countries than in Great Britain and the United States. The average prices of the meats which find their way to the workingman's table, without. reference to kind, figure out 23 per cent, more in Germany, 47 per cent, more in Belgium, 50 per cent, more in Great Britain and 52 per cent, more in France than in the United States. Potatoes cost 3 per cent, more in Great Britain, 19 per cent, more in France than in the United States, but 30 per cent, and 50 per cent, respectively less in Bel- gium and Germany. Butter is 4 per cent, dearer in Great Britain, 9 per cent, dearer in Belgium, 22 per cent, dearer in Germany and 35 per cent, dearer in France than in the United States. Sugar in England is only half the price it was in the United States before 1890, but the same article is 19 per cent, more in Germany, 51 per cent, more in Belgium and 8.4 per cent, more in France. Coffee costs 13 per cent, more in Belgium, 19 per cent, more in Ger- many, 40 per cent, more in Great Britain and 67 per cent, more in France than in the United States. Lard and eggs form no exception to the general rule. It is impossible to escape the conclusion that with the prevailing prices of provisions so preponderatingly in favor of the American laborer, and seeing that his family is smaller, his larger absolute expenditure means unquestionably that he and his kind are better nourished. The encouraging part of it all is that the family is able thus to maintain itself at a smaller relative sacrifice. I am glad to say that my own experience accords perfectly with this statistical demonstration. Right here I cannot refrain' from adding further testi- mony as the result of personal observation. The statement so often circulated in America that meat is tlie rarest of luxuries to the European industrial laborer is an absurd falsehood. The casual worker has, we all know, a hard enough time of it everywhere, but it is not from his exi- gencies that we must fix a general standard. I am very sure that the American nourishes himself and his family better, at a smaller relative cost than any European. But PROPERTY OF LIBRARY 30 The Social Condition of Labor. [30 I am no less positive that those who suppose industrial laborers abroad to subsist generally on pauper's fare are most thoroughly mistaken. The columns in which expenditure for alcoholic drinks are exposed present facts for serious reflection. National pride will no doubt be flattered to learn that American families spend the smallest sums for this purpose. Not only so, but there must also be a smaller per capita con- sumption, since the prices of alcoholic drinks are higher in the New World. Still this is only a partial satisfaction. If we conceive that the American spends too much, the European, to whom the struggle for existence is keener, wastes more. It is a matter of grave public concern to learn that every year in that part of the labor world where the hardiest workers are found, the publican receives three- fifths as much as the landlord. In France and Belgium, I am sorry to say, the quota is higher still. I have noticed in the com-se of personal investigations a curious relation between expenditures for rent and alcoholic drinks. The economies which are necessary to indulge the appetite for spirits are almost invariably practised on the house accommodation. The figures in all the tables pre- sented generally corroborate this point of view. Who does not wish that the European laborer would flee the gin-cup, and with the resulting savings add two more rooms to his home, as he could then do? No doubt I should be held guilty by a certain class of economists if I passed by in silence the columns which show the comparative family surplus. Without depreciat- ing in the least the virtue of saving, one cannot but feel that it has been elevated into an importance far beyond its due. Not only is it inapplicable to all conditions, but when offered as a panacea for every social ill it is very apt to nauseate. How can a workingman, with a large family and restricted income, the creature of commercial vicissi- tudes and fluctuations of trade, create a fund large enough upon which to draw in times of emergency? We have seen Digitized by Microsoft® 31] The Sooial Condition of Labor. 31 that in the average instance he cannot alone give support. So if a surplus is to be built up it must be at the expense of some of the children. The savings shown in the various tables are quite respectable. Provided they could go on growing from year to year, they would constitute an ample insurance fund against want. But experience shows that periods of strikes, shut-downs, illness or misfortune soon dissipate the little pile. We must never consider wages apart from thrift and a standard of living. Where economic gains are small, sav- ings mean a relatively low plane of social existence. A parsimonious people are never progressive, neither are they, as a rule, industrially efificient. It is the man with many wants — ^not luxurious fancies, but real legitimate wants — who works hard to satisfy his aspirations, and he it is who is worth hiring. Let economists still teach the utility, even the necessity, of saving, but let the sociologist as firmly insist that so far to practise economy as to pre- vent in this 19th century a corresponding advance in civi- lization of the working with the other classes is morally inequitable, and industrially bad policy. I am not sorry that the American does not save more. Neither am I sure but that if many working-class communities I have visited on the Continent were socially more ambitious there would not be less danger from radical theories. One of the most intelligent manufacturers I ever met told me a few years ago he would be only too glad to pay higher wages to his work-people provided they would spend the excess legitimately and not hoard it. He knew that in the end he should gain thereby, since the ministering to new wants only begets others. He had tried over and over again to induce the best of his weavers to take three looms instead of two as in their fathers' time, but without success. A few years later I met this same gentleman again. In the meantime the foreman of the weaving department had died and a new one been appointed on the express condition that he would gradually insist on three looms per weaver in every case where possible. The result did not belie my Digitized by Microsoft® 32 The Social Condition of Labor. [32 friend's expectations. Both he and his work-people had profited by the change. * So far we have dealt with families as one finds them without reference to the number or ages of the children or any dependent members. Let us now seek a more scientific unit of comparison. We can do this by establish- ing what the Commissioner of Labor has been pleased to call the "normal family." Disregarding those with more than five children or with children older than fifteen years, or having dependent or other persons in the house, we get a number of similar units rather than groups of individuals. Table VII presents the salient facts for this class of fam- ilies, and in .its almost unvarying uniformity with the pre- ceding tables gives striking confirmation to the accuracy of their results. Table VII. NORMAL FAMILIES. Recapitulation op Family Budgets by Industries. Country AND INDITSTBT. 1. Coal Miming TJnited States Europe 2. Pig Iron. United States Europe 3. Bar Iron. United States Europe 4. Steel Mami- facture. United States Europe Fam- iLiaa. Ill i.a $44610 38156 513 79 382 49 370 73 555 50 475 20 Anntjai. Bxpbndittjbe. Rent. $54 42 43 89 63 91 37 39 96 72 41 67 12.5 12.1 13.0 10.1 16.9 11.5 80 05 16.3 45 64 10.2 Food. $18104 190 11 202 47 184 53 238 11 167 11 219 87 234 91 41.7 52.5 41.3 49.7 41.6 46.2 44.7 52.6 Clothing. $76 24 49 11 86 80 64 45 63 07 75 06 72 03 17.5 13.5 17.7 17.4 14.6 17.4 15.3 15.7 Is, OH $1^67 79 01 135 52 84 64 153 55 49 68 116 74 93 52 II OM $434 37 362 12 490 70 37101 572 34' 361 43 491 72 446 30 $1173 19 44 23 09 U48 62 94 63 78 28 92 26 5.1 4.5 3.0 8.5 2.5 11.5 6.1 The normal family is composed of the two parents and from one to five children less than 14 years old. Digitized by Microsoft® 33] The Social ConMtion of Labor. 33 Hitherto we have been considering standards of living for coaJ, iron and steel workers in different countries. To a certain extent nationality has also been involved. The figures for the United States do not refer to Americans alone, since, as every one knows, a large proportion of the laborers are immigrants from the Old World. It is quite fair, I think, to call the standard of life practised in the United States the American, since the native-bom work- man created it, and fixed the price of his labor at a point where he could live up to it. But we must not for a moment suppose that he alone now-a-days maintains it. In this he is equaled and sometimes surpassed by the best class of immigrants who find work in mining and metal- lurgy, viz., the British and Germans. Other nationalities have not as yet come up to the mark. Table VIII, which contains the necessary details to verify the above remarks, is, to my mind, the most interesting of all. There are facts herein presented which furnish a severe blow to Chauvinism. The average workman in the allied industries of American birth earns less than the Briton or the German, though he is ahead of other nationalities. In the relative size of his contribution to the family sup- port, he only gives place to the German, whose habits in this respect have undergone a marked change since his transplanting in the New World. The proportion of cases in which the husband actually supported the family are fewer, the total earnings of the family are less, the house accommodation is slightly inferior, a smaller per capita expenditure appears for food and clothing for the native American than for the Americanized Briton and German. In other words, in all important respects, except the con- sumption of alcoholic drinks, these latter seem to be living on a higher level. As regards the other nationalities, the American conserves his leadership, though the expatriated Frenchman is not far behind. This revelation will surprise many, yet if the statistics before us mean anything at all they teach the lessons we Digitized by Microsoft® E-t <1 |Zi O M H «l « M CQ 02 <1 o M P3 CO & ft H 02 IZi o M I— I i-T < o O m a H M O ^ 03 E^ O fi m ;^ O H n 4 o (D t s •nonaodojj S 0003 S^ =3 5S gss S!gi gj iSi SS m 'luiiyiuv i S3 gs S! s 51 s;s iS £S ss sa ss « SSSS •sanjipaaaxa I«toi 1 8S 11 ii s Si^ g •noijiodojj ff o •Smsn 1 co<= OS OS CQtXl o> CSC inco ss ss S3 s (^ ^^ ■2^ •noi^iodojd WOT So CO-* s t; t^ eae9 10 03 s S!S pf? SS s iS Sg i innorav s ss ss riS s §? SS •Saisn Tioi:(joaoja; r- !N« ,c- q>^ CO t- t— 31 s ss; gs ss g ^ SES It ■nonwdoia; ' -!v oV 00 1-; S-i tc ss; gg s ss SS W ■S| •(anotcv «! lata r-l-W niQ (M ■^ ■*CD (H §? » H» ■SniJtna « p« 00 00 CO to ■d< ^ -^t: ->1 noBJOdojj S gisS Sii So» a tij gi? ^to §■ 3 •aoi^jodoij s iSS »o! 553 S oa ooo CM gg §?: US s S ss -1 o 3 •jimoniv 1 M "S L-iS S3 s SS gg o o ■nopaodoij ? §33 sis oju: ^ 00 00 & as sg ss s s gs "i^nnouiv o torn 1 s« si ss g S Hi ■noi^jodoij CSC- ooo oo s S '■S "^S 00 If 00 3 «» s SP ss ss s s gs ■^nnorav g 5g ss SB s U3 ss "Sr-ai 'ss^' JO saaixuTtajo nonjoaoid « «m. u>t-_ S5/ S> h gg 3^ p:a fiS s s PS s es gp Sis "S !? ss 4 •pnBQSTiH JO aSuinj^a IS ii gi SI s ss s ss ss ss s g §3 ■^lita^j; JO aSniTiiBa [b^ox , "^ 11 CO Si /> -s ^Sa ^^ POM 4i ^r^ u ■ to^Ha g go 1 1 i $5 05 $4 29 $2M $3 43 10.57 2 05 2 36 1 25 3 03 13.44 1 67 178 83 338 14.67 1 68 130 64 2 10 8.70 Total Cost OF Produotioh. $32 44 24 35 23 04 24 13 The wages of such skilled workmen as heaters and rollers are twice as great as in Great Britain, and nearly threefold higher than in France and Belgium. The average wage to all classes of laborers in the establishments is also twice as great as in Great Britain, three times as high as in France, and four times larger than in Belgium. Com- pare these figures with the labor cost of a similar unit of manufacture and we find quite different proportions. It is only a trifle more than in France, where daily wages are about one-third as high, one-eighth dearer than in Great Britain, with wages only half as large, and fifty-four per cent, greater than in Belgium, where wages are down to one-fourth. Digitized by Microsoft® 41] The 8ocial Condition of Labor. 41 In the manufacture of steel rails tlie same general law is evident. With the average wage of the establishment 40 per cent, greater than in England, the labor cost is only 10 per cent. more. In comparison with the continent of Europe, wages are 90 per cent, and labor cost but 50 per cent, higher. Table XI. MANUFACTURE OF STEEL RAILS. Relation betv^teen the Earnings of Workmen, the Labor Cost and the Total Cost of Production. (Unit, One Ton of 22i0 Lbs.) j Dailt Cost of Production pbk Ton. ! Eabnings oe i 1^ General ^S Labor. Materials. Fuel. Expen- ses. Sg COUITTRY. g"^ s ^ y ? +3 5 ^1 s