Cornell University Library • i HD6983.M4 1911 f iHafifiJttljUafttfl Living conditions of the wage-earning po : ' 3 1924 002 403 438 LIVING CONDITIONS WAGE-EAMING POPULATION CERTAIN CITIES OF MASSACHUSETTS SOME COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED KINGDOM Absthact op a Report bt the Laboub Depabtment of the British Board of Trade Part III of the Porty-flrst Annual Report on the Statistics of Labor ! HD I2>N BOSTON WRIGHT & potter tKINTING COMPANY STATE PRINTERS 1911 THE LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIVING CONDITIONS WAGE-EAENING POPULATION CERTAIN CITIES OF MASSACHUSETTS SOME COMPAEISONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED KINGDOM Absteact of a Repobt by the Labour Department of the British Board of Trade BOSTON WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO. STATE PRINTERS Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002403438 Living Conditions of the Wage-Eaening Population IN Ceetain Cities of Massachusetts. PEEFATOEY NOTE. The British Board of Trade has recently issued an extended report, the full title of which is " Eeport of an Enquiry by the Board of Trade into Working Class Eents, Housing, and Eetail Prices, together with the Eates of Wages in Certain Occupations in the Principal Industrial Towns of the United States of America, with an Introductory Memorandum and a Comparison of Conditions in the United States and the United Kingdom." The report com- prises the results of an investigation conducted by its agents into the conditions of life of wage-earners in 28 selected cities in the United States. This is the fifth of a series of uniform reports by the Board, the first of which, published in 190Y, related to 94 selected cities in Great Britain. The second, third, and fourth reports related respectively to 33 selected cities in Germany, 30 cities in France, and 15 cities in Belgium. Shortly following their publication, each of the five reports re- ferred to was carefully reviewed and summarized by the United States Bureau of Labor. ^ But while the duplication by a Massa- chusetts bureau of this editorial work in relation to the reports for other countries has not seemed desirable or necessary, it has seemed that a useful service would be rendered by this Bureau in making available for our own constituency the information for the six Massa- chusetts cities covered by this important inquiry, and incidentally bringing the data as reported by the agents of the British Board of Trade in February, 1909, as nearly as practicable up to date. The text of this bulletin having reference to Massachusetts cities is there- fore, with certain minor changes in diction, virtually a reprint of the original text, without other important changes than the substitution 1 aB« Bulletins of the Bureau of Labor, Department of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D. C: No 77 July S pp 33^-354; Bulletin No. 78, September, 1908, pp. 523-548; Bulletin No. 83, July. m9. ";. e^sVlB^etm No. 87, March, 1910, pp. 608-625, Bulletin No. 93, March, 1911, pp. 500-570. [189] 190 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. of later returns obtained by this Bureau; and omissions from tbe original text are indicated by the use of dotted lines or the insertion of stars. With these exceptions the language of the original text has generally been adhered to throughout, a fact which the reader should bear in mind, for while the document has been prepared with the care characteristic of British governmental " blue books," the English point of view and form of expression occasionally differs from that which would have been used by an American; and it has obviously also been impossible for this Bureau to verify all the state- ments made. With these considerations in mind, we believe that the extracts from this important report herewith presented wiU be re- ceived as a substantial contribution to the literature of living condi- tions among the wage-earners of Massachusetts. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 191 PUKPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE EEPOKT. The purpose of the investigation was to obtain in representative American cities data relative to the conditions of living of vs^age- earners which might be comparable with similar data previously obtained in Great Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium. " The subjects of primary investigation were wages and hours of labor, rents and housing conditions, retail prices of food, and the expendi- ture of working-class families on food." "As the investigation began in February, 1909, the whole of the statistical data were col- lected with reference to that date instead of October, 1905, the date to which the inquiry in the United Kingdom related, and subject to slight adjustments it does not appear that the difference in dates affects appreciably the international comparisons which the statistical data are intended to subserve." The following cities, 28 in number (Minneapolis and St. Patd having been treated as one city), were covered by the investigation. Excluding ISTew York, to which, for purposes of the report, a metro- politan position was attributed, the cities were assigned to five geographical groups. N&w England Other Eastern Middle West Cities^ Central Citiea Southern Cities Cities Citiea i Boston Cincinnati Atlanta Baltimore Chicago Brockton Cleveland Augusta Newark Duluth Fall River Detroit Birmingham Paterson Milwaukee Lawrence Louisville Memphis Philadelphia Minneapolis- Lowell Muncie New Orleans St. Louis Providence Pittsburgh Savannah These 28 cities, having an aggregate population of 15,488,140 in 1910, were chosen " because of their representative industrial char- acter or their intrinsic importance, and an attempt was also made to select those that would fall into a few groups framed on broad lines of geographical distribution." Of the 28 cities investigated " all but two lie east of the Mississippi while one is on the west bank and one on I Detailed information for the six cities situated in Massachusetts occupies the final and major portion of this review. Aa stated in the introduction more recent returns have been substituted for those appear- ing in the original report. ' For statistical purposes the "Twin Cities, " Minneapolis and St. Paul, have been treated as one city . 192 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. both banks of that river, which thus forms the Western limit of the area of investigation. This limit was not fixed arbitrarily, inasmuch as the great industrial and urban developments have for the most part been concentrated in the States east of the Mississippi. The combined area of the States thus situated comprises about one-third of that of the whole of continental United States exclusive of Alaska, and contained in 1910 over three-fourths of a population amounting in that year to about 92 millions. Although thus restricted, the cities investigated were scattered over an area nine times as great as that of the United Kingdom, and, save perhaps in a few of the oldest and most thickly populated States, illustrate a stage of urban development and urban concentration less advanced than has been reached in the United Kingdom." Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 193 II. GENERAL SUMMAEY OF EESULTS. The following selected paragraphs which, with minor changes in diction, have been quoted directly from the report, describe the characteristic features of the United States and afford a general com- parison of conditions in this country with those in the United In the United States as a whole, although the proportion of urban to rural population more than doubled from 1860 to 1900, that of the United Kingdom only increasing by about half during the same period, the proportion was still only about one-third in 1900 in the United States as compared with over two-thirds in the United Kingdom. The basis of comparison is not identical in the two countries, but the figures indicate the broad differences that exist in this respect and are a re- minder of the fact that in spite of increasing industrialization the United States is still primarily a great agricultural community. The percentage of the occupied population in the United States engaged in agriculture, under a less intensive system, is nearly three times as high as in the United Kingdom and, alike on account both of its agricultural and its mineral resources, the United States is still economically one of the most self-eontaiaed countries in the world. It is in the States lying east of the Mississippi that American condi- tions most nearly approximate to those of the Old "World, and are such, therefore, as can be most usefully compared. Even in the restricted area of investigation, however, various circumstances have made the inquiry one into conditions that are in some respects international and conti- nental rather than national in character, especially in regard to the great area covered, to differences in climate and physical environment which it embraced; to the Federal constitution of the States; to the absence of a common body of labor legislation; and to the cosmopolitan character of the population. The very large body of immigrants that has arrived in the United States either with a view to permanent settlement or — as is especially the case with much of the more recent immigration — to the accumula- tion or remittance of savings and to an early return to Europe, is a conspicuous feature of the situation, and this unexampled introduction of mixed European stocks is also accompanied by the presence of a large native-born colored population. Thus, from various ethnological causes the present inquiry has been more or less complicated in nearly 194 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. all the cities investigated and the task of ascertaining what were the facts actually representative of working-class conditions became one of especial difficulty. As before, the comparison of wages has been restricted to occupations common to all towns, viz., those in the building, machinery, and printing industries. The rates of wages ascertained for these industries show in general no very marked divergence, and the difEerences are certainly not greater than those shown to exist as between the cities of England and Wales. The ratio of the weekly wages for certain occupations in the United States and England and Wales respectively at the dates of the two inquiries is 243 :100 in the building trades, 313 :100 in the ma- chinery industry, 246:100 in the printing industry, and 232:100 in all these industries together. Allowing for a slight advance in wages in England and Wales between the dates of the two inquiries the combined ratio woTild be 230 :100. The weekly hours of labor were found to be 11 per cent shorter in the building trades in the United States than in England and Wales, seven per cent shorter in the printing industry, but six per cent longer in the machinery industry, the ratio shown by all the occupations in these three groups of industries together being 96 :100. Unskilled labor is furnished by the Negro element in the six Southern cities and the same element is important in a few other cities, but every- where under urban conditions colored labor is employed in very restricted fields, and skilled colored labor is mainly engaged in the service of the colored community itself. In the few cases in which the wages and hours of labor obtained for individual cities were those for colored work- ers, they have been excluded from the calculation of the general predom- inant figures for the whole field of inquiry and from the index mmibers used in the internal and international comparisons. While in the Southern cities unskilled labor is predominantly colored, so in the Northern cities is it largely foreign, and the rank and file of many occupations that are least differentiated by skill and command the lowest wages are largely recruited from the newer immigrant races. Thus, while each wage-earning group of th-e various immigrant nationali- ties would be found to be representative of many grades and to be highly complex, the proportion of the lower paid classes tends to be greater among those who have arrived during the most recent periods, as among the Southern Italians and the Slavonic peoples, for instance, as con- trasted with the Germans and the Irish. Accompanying this influx of foreign labor, mainly unskilled, and an extensive demand for labor of this description largely usual in a com- paratively new country in which the pick and shovel are apt to be more Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 195 in demand than in an older community, a rapid expansion of manu- facturing industries has been taking place, accompanied, with or without the introduction of labor-saving appliances, by a very extensive sub- division of labor. These two influences combined — the large external supply of unskilled labor and the opportunities for its absorption not only in unskilled but in semi-skilled employment — have resulted in an abnormally large proportion of unskilled and semi-skilled to skilled workers in the community as a whole, a fact that would affect appreciably any general "weighted" comparison between the level of wages in the two countries. As regards rents, the American workman pays on the whole a little more than twice as much as the English workman for the same amount of house accommodation, the actual ratio being 307:100; the minimum of the predominant range of rents for the United States cities as a whole exceeding by from 50 to 77 per cent the maximum of the range for cities in England and "Wales for dwellings containing the same number of rooms. The predominant type of dwelling in the United States as in the United Kingdom is that accommodating the single family, though the exceptions to this rule are far more numerous in the former country, and in both countries dwellings of four and five rooms are the predominant types. The most fundamental difference between the housing accommoda- tion of the two countries consists in the fact that frame or timber houses are the usual type in the United States, brick-built houses representing predominant types in but few of the cities visited. The retail prices of food, obtained by weighting the ascertained pre- dominant prices according to the consumption shown by the British budgets, show, when allowance is made for the increase which took place in this country between October, 1905, and February, 1909, a ratio of 138 :100 for the United States and England and Wales respectively. One peculiarity shown by the budgets is the comparatively small con- sumption of baker's bread in the average American working-class family, the consumption being 8% pounds weekly per family as against 32 pounds in the United Kingdom, the place of bread being taken in the United States to some extent by rolls, cakes, biscuits, etc., on which the expenditure is about three times as great as that shown in the average British budget. On the other hand, the consumption of meat is much larger in the United States, and the consumption of vegetables is also larger. The budgets indicate in general that the dietary of American working-class families is more liberal and more varied than that of corresponding fam- ilies in the United Kingdom. 196 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. The comparison of wages, hours of labor, rents and prices in the areas of investigation in the two countries has been made on the bases indicated above, and, as regards prices, on the same assumption as that made in the preceding inquiries, that an English workman with an average family maintained under American conditions the standard of consumption as regards food to which he had been accustomed. Under such conditions the workman's wages would be higher in the United States by about 130 per cent, with slightly shorter hours, while on the other hand his expendi- ture on food and rent would be higher by about 52 per cent. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 197 III. CONCLUSIONS- EELATIVE TO SPECIFIC INQUIEIES. 1. INTRODUCTORY. In the report the results of the investigation as regards wages, hours of labor, rents, prices, and family expenditure on food in the United States were first reviewed, while a separate portion of the text was devoted to a comparison of these results with those arrived at in the United Kingdom. In the following digest of the informa- tion contained in the British report relative to the specific inquiries, the material selected for presentation relative to conditions in the United States and comparative statements for the United States and the United Kingdom will be treated jointly under a single heading. 2. COMPARISON OF WAGES, HOURS OF LABOR, RENTS, AND RETAIL FOOD PRICES IN THE UNITED STATES WITH THOSE IN ENGLAND AND WALES AND OF BUDGETS IN THE UNITED STATES WITH THOSE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. An attempt will now be made to compare the statistical data col- lected in the United States with regard to wages and hours of labor, rents, retail prices, and household expenditure, with similar data relating to the United Kingdom. The method of index numbers furnishes the most suitable device by which these summary comparisons can be made. Attention must, however, again be drawn to the imperfections of a method which, because necessarily limited to the presentation of purely statistical data, is unable to reflect those elements of the problem concerning which a corresponding body of data may not be available or which cannot be statistically measured or described. The following illustra- tions may be mentioned of factors relevant to such a comparison in regard to which a merely numerical statement of international condi- tions as apt to fall short of completeness : (a.) as regards wages and hours, possible differences in the continuity of employment and the strenuousness of the service demanded; (6) as regards rents, the relative standard of dwelling accommodation provided; (c) as regards prices, the qualities of goods which a given expenditure secures ; and (d) as regards family food expenditure, differences in national habit and taste, and in the conditions of supply. To some extent such short- comings will be indicated in the following pages. Although the 198 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. limitations of the real significance of statistical comparisons and the fact that they can rarely, save when dealing with the simplest and most concrete phenomena, convey more than approximate truths, must, therefore, be always borne in mind, such comparisons are never- theless of great and proved value. A. Wages. For the purposes of the present inquiry a large amount of informa- tion with regard to wages and hours of labor has been obtained, mainly from individual employers, but including also many particu- lars received from public authorities and companies as to the rates paid to employees engaged in the public utility services. In some cases trade unions also furnished information as to what were re- garded as current local rates, and simultaneously, both from employers and from other sources, much information was obtained on cognate industrial matters, including the different classes and nationalities of wage-earners employed, seasonal variations in employment, holidays, the methods of rem\ineration, and the prevalence of collective or wage agreements. The industries and occupations concerning which particulars as to wages and hours of labor have been obtained have been those that are most widely distributed and those of chief local importance; the former being chosen mainly as affording a basis for internal and international comparisons ; the latter as being best calculated to make the investigation of local industrial conditions adequate. The particulars contained in the reports on the various cities thus cover a wide range. As in the case of the other branches of the inquiry, February, 1909, was taken as the period for which particulars of wages and hours were obtained, and employers were asked to give for the principal classes of adult male labor in their service the predominant earnings or the predominant range of earnings for a full ordinary week, with- out overtime. In the case of workmen not paid by time, the amount most frequently earned on some other basis — generally piecework — during an ordinary week was obtained. For the purposes of international comparisons of wages and hours of labor it was necessary to choose occupations that were followed most universally, consequently the building, metals and machinery, and printing industries have been chosen for this purpose. Roughly speaking, these three industries represent in both countries those Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 199 which rank among the more highly organized and the more highly skilled, and, although the position of the wage-earner in the first men- tioned is probably relatively somewhat stronger in the United States than in England and "Wales, owing to the more rapid expansion that is taking place in the former country, the three industries do not appear to occupy a substantially higher relative position in the econ- omy of that country than they do in England and Wales ; nor does it appear that the selection of their predominant rates for purposes of international comparison is less suitable than in the other foreign inquiries undertaken by the Board of Trade. The predominant weekly wages in the United States in the three industries above mentioned, as represented by the cities selected for investigation, have been brought together in the following compari- sons: Table 1. — Predominant Weekly Wt in England and Wales of Adult Males in Certain Occupations and in the United States. Ratios of Mean m: Pkedominant Ranges op Predominant Weekly Wages Wages in the United States (February, Occupations. England and Wales (October, 1905) United States 1909) to Mean Predominant Wages in (February, 1909) England and Wales (October, 1905) taken as 100 Building Trades.' Bricklayers, l9.12-$9.85 J26.77-t30.42 »^ Stonemasons, . . . . 9.04- 9.67 23.42- 26.77 Carpenters, . . . . Joiners, } 8.80- 9.57 16.73- 21.90 / 210 210 Plasterers, 8.8S-10.14 24.33- 29.00 280 Plumbers, . .... 8.60- 9.67 21.29-27.37 266 Painters 7.66- 9.12 15.82- 20.68 217 Hod carriers and building laborers. 5.92- 6.57 12.17- 16.73 231 Metals and Machinery. Fitters,' . . . . . . Turners,' 7.79- 8.76 7.79- 8.76 }l5.41- 18.13| 203 203 Smiths,' ... . . . . 7.79- 8.76 16.47- 20.76 - 225 Pattern makers, . . . . 8.27- 9.25 18.13- 22.30 231 Laborers, ... .... 4.38- 5.35 9.12- 10.65 203 Printing. Hand compositors (job work), . . . . 6.81- 8.03 16.73- 19.77 246 Arithmetic Means. Building trades, .... 243 Metals and machinery, . . ... 213 All above occupations, 232 1 In arriving at the industry and general index numbers, bricklayers and stonemasons have been regarded as one occupation and carpenters and joiners and fitters and turners as two respectively, as in the earlier foreign inquiries. ' For a discussion of the occupation of machinist in the United States and the United Kingdom see poB(, pp. 200, 201. 200 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. The level of wages in the building trades was the same in England and Wales in 1909 as in 1905, but the rates in the metals and machinery industries had been raised by about 1.5 per cent between October, 1905, and February, 1909, and those of compositors by about 2.5 per cent. The effect of these changes would be to lower the mean ratio for the industries represented in the above table from 232:100 to 230:100. The exceptionally high rates for bricklayers deserve notice, and it may be observed that the relative importance of this class of artisan is somewhat over-weighted in the index number for the building trade group, even though combined with that for stonemasons. In England the bricklayer is numerically more important in the building trades than in the United States, partly because of the greater extent to which timber and, in the case of large structures, iron and steel are used in the latter country. Although it might thus seem that in- fluences are at work tending to weaken the economic position of the bricklayer in the United States, these influences are more or less counteracted by the fact that the bricklayer is almost entirely a city product, since the recruiting ground provided by the rural districts and by the small centres of population in England is relatively unimportant in the United States, owing to the great predominance there of frame buildings. The comparatively low wages of carpenters wiU be noticed, and this is a point worthy of remark, inasmuch as, owing to the prevalence of the frame house, the carpenter is a more important factor than the bricklayer in many of the cities of the United States. In the case of the metal and machinery industry the English wages are the standard time-rates recognized by the unions concerned, the American ranges, on the other hand, being based, in the absence of standard rates, on returns obtained from employers of actual earn- ings in an ordinary week, and consequently the two sets of figures are not strictly comparable. In this industry the lines of demarcation between the skilled fitters and turners classed as machinists in the United States and the less skilled or semi-skilled machinists engaged on minutely sub-divided tasks are often loosely drawn. The British report contains the following comment in reference to the occupation " machinist " : The term is one of wide application and is often applied indiscriminately to slightly skilled or handy men (receiving wages little in excess of those Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 201 paid to laborers) and to highly skilled men. In Table 1 and throughout this report the word " machinist," without any further description, refers to the skiUed man whose work is that of the fitter and turner in the United Kingdom. The subdivision of labor in the United States has proceeded on different lines from that in this country, and the distinction between fitters and turners is not generally recognized there. Owing, however, to the standardization of much of the machine work in the United States there is considerable oppor- tunity for minute subdivision of labor, and in certain cities there are large numbers of men on machine work who are able to perform efficiently perhaps only a single mechanical operation. By the adoption of this system of in- tense specialization it has been possible for many of the greater machinery firms to introduce into their works large proportions of immigrants at a comparatively low rate of wages, and to effect a considerable saving in the cost of production. In the printing trades the rates for hand compositors engaged on job printing are given. The American figures represent predomi- nant time-rates ascertained to be paid in practice, while those for England and Wales are, as in the case of the metals and machinery industries, the standard time-rates recognized by the trade unions. In no case in the table are the comparative ranges seriously com- plicated by the distinction as between time and piece-rates, and in the case of the building trades and of the printing trades not at all. Neither are the comparisons invalidated by differences in the char- acter of the work done by those who fall into similar classes in the two countries. It must be remembered that the position of the building trades in the United States involves the selection of a group of occupations for comparative purposes that is probably slightly favorable to the United States, and the whole basis of comparison is not a very wide one. The proportion of unskilled or of semi-skilled labor employed in industry in the United States is greater than in the United King- dom and it may be noted that this fact would affect the comparison of industries as a whole, while it is clear that, in order to ascertain the comparative level of wages in the two countries — taking into account the proportions employed at high and low rates in both cases — a general census of wages would be required. B. HouES OF Laboe. The hours stated below summarize the conditions for all of the cities taken together and show the number of cities with each specified number of hours per week, exclusive of intervals and without over- 202 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. time. In the case of the building trades the hours are for a full week in Summer. In other cases they refer to February, 1909. Table 2. — Weekly Hours of Labor of Adult Males in Certain Occupations in England and Wales and in the United States Compared. Ayeraqe Weekly Hourts OP Labor (exclud- ing intervals) in— Ratio of Aver- age Hours of Labor in the United States (February, 1909) to those in England and Wales (October, 1905), taken as 100 Occupations. England and Wales (October, 1905) United States (February, 1909) Building Trades. Bricklayers, Stonemasons, Carpenters, . . . . . , Joiners, ... ... Plasterers, ... Plumbers, . . . . . Painters, . . Hod carriers and bricklayers' laborers. 53 52 ] 53 ' 53 46 46H 46K 47H 47J^ 485i f 90 \ 90 87 89 89 93 Metals and Machinery. Fitters, Turners, Smiths, Pattern makers, . Laborers, 53 ,53 53 53 S3 } 56M 56 mVi 56Ji / 106 1 106 106 106 106 Printing. Hand compositors {job work). 52M 49 93 Arithmetic Means. Building trades, Metals and machinery, All above occupations. 89 106 96 In the United States the length of the working week in the building trades does not, as a rule, vary between Summer and Winter, and when there is any seasonal curtailment it is nearly always during the height of the Summer when leisure is most welcome and not in the Winter because the hours of light are too few for a full day's work. Thus it is occasionally found that the working weeks in the hottest summer months are slightly shorter than during the rest of the year. No adjustment of the figures shown in the above table is required to allow for the difference of date to which they refer, since changes in the hours of labor in the building trades, the metals and machinery industry, and for compositors in England and Wales between the dates of the two inquiries amounted in each case to less than 0.5 per cent. The index numbers arrived at in respect of the industries enumerated may, therefore, be accepted without modification. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 203 The question again arises as to whether the combined ratio thus obtained is one from which a general conclusion can be drawn as to the hours of labor in the two countries, and in this case there is little doubt that the percentage figure is somewhat low for the United States. Although in a general survey it is probable that the respective levels shown in the above tables might be somewhat unduly favorable to the United States, the comparison as between the three selected industries themselves is a fair one, and it therefore provides a basis of calculation of the hourly rate of wages similar to that which has been made in the preceding foreign inquiries. Thus far the industries under consideration, the weekly wages for the United States as com- pared with England and Wales being approximately as 230 :100 (re- gard being had to the different dates of inquiry), and the hours of the usual working week being as 96:100, it follows that the average hourly earnings of the American workmen are, to those of English workmen in the same trades, approximately as 240:100. In the building trades the ratio is as 273 : 100 and in the printing trades it is 258 : 100, while in the metals and machinery industry it falls to 198:100. 0. Housing and Rents. In order to ascertain the rents of dwellings usually occupied by wage-earning families in the cities visited, many reports were obtained showing the rents paid in February, 1909. These reports were mainly from real-estate agents and from tenants. A large number of dwell- ings were also visited, so that first-hand knowledge might be obtained not only as to rents paid but as to the character of the accommoda- tion, including such points as the number and dimensions of rooms, the conveniences provided, and in some measure as to the standard of the families themselves. Much detailed information on these points is contained in the individual city reports. Altogether, information in regard to rents was obtained for over 90,000 wage-earners' dwell- ings. It was found that four-room dwellings were predominant types throughout the whole field of inquiry, and, save in three cases, five- room tenements were also found a prevailing type. The results obtained for the cities investigated are shown in the following table : 204 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 3. — Predominant Weekly Rents of Working-class Dwellings in Cities of the United States, in February, 1909. Number of Cities to which Figiires relate Predominant Ranges of Weekly Rents Number op CrriBS in which the Mean Rent is — Number of Rooms pee dwellinq. Within the Predominant Range Below the Predominant Range Above the Predominant Range Three rooms, Four rooms, Five rooms. Six rooms. 18 27 24 19 $1.64^12.33 2.11- 2.92 2.80- 3.63 3.16- 4.22 11 IS 15 10 3 6 5 4 4 6 4 S A large amount of information in regard to rents actually paid was obtained in connection with budgets of family expenditure, which are considered in a later section, but this information does not enter into the above table. The report, however, calls attention to the fact that the average rent per room shown by the mean of the ranges given in the above table corresponds almost exactly to the average rent per room as shown by the budgets. The average rent per room thus given by the above table is 63.9 cents, as compared with 64.4 cents as shown by the budgets, which is referred to as a striking illustration of the general soundness of the above figures. The predominant ranges of rentals for the individual cities are given separately in the report as well as the predominant ranges for all of the cities combined. In both the United States and England and Wales the dwelling of four rooms is the most common typej in fact, the only one found in all of the cities investigated, although the dwelling of five rooms is in both countries very common. On the other hand, the six-room dwell- ing is relatively far more common in the American reports, Yl per cent of the American cities showing dwellings of this size to be com- mon as compared with only 41 per cent of the cities in England and Wales. In the following table the predominant rents for dwellings of three, four, five, and six rooms in the United States are given in comparison with those for England and Wales (exclusive of London) : Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 205 Table 4. — Predominant Weekly Rents of Working-class Dwellings in England and Wales {exclusive of London) and in the United States compared. FSEDOUINAHT RaNQES OS Wbeklt Rents Ratios of Mean Predominant Rents in the United States to that in England and Wales, taken as 100 Number op Rooms peb Dwelling. England and Wales, exclusive of London (October, 1905) TTnited States (February, 1909) Three rooms. Four rooms, Fiye rooms, Six rooms. SO.Ol-Sl.lO 1.10- 1.34 1.34- 1.68 1.58- 1.89 $1.64-S2.33 2.11- 2.92 2.80- 3.63 3.16- 4.22 198 207 220 213 Arithmetic Mean, - 209 In both the United States and in England and Wales the rent paid is, as regards rates and taxes, an inclusive charge, and to this extent comparison on the basis of expenditure is free from complications. The rental figures obtained in the United States are, as stated, for February, 1909, and the question arises as to how far these may be comparable with the rentals for England and Wales collected for October, 1905. No exact answer can be given to this question, but there is a considerable amount of evidence to show that if the Ameri- can figures had been collected for February, 1907 — that is for a period two years earlier than that actually selected — they would have shown in many places a somewhat higher level, inasmuch as the in- dustrial depression which followed the financial crisis of October, 1907, and continued throughout the following year, led to a decline on the levels reached during the preceding period of prosperity and active immigration. Taking into account the further fact that, even in the United States, rents do not move on a large and general scale rapidly, it seems highly improbable that any possible variations due to the different dates at which the particulars were collected in the two countries would affect appreciably the general comparisons presented. It is believed, therefore, that for practical purposes the ratio of 207:100 may be taken as representing with approximate accuracy the level of rents paid by the working classes in the United States and England and Wales respectively. The explanation of the higher rentals in the American cities inves- tigated must be looked for in various directions, but principally in the higher cost of building as expressed by labor and materials, in 206 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. the more generous allowance of ground space per dwelling, except m congested areas, in the more modern character of a greater proportion of the fittings and conveniences of the dwelling, as illustrated by the more frequent provision of bathrooms, in a higher general level of material prosperity that is able effectively to demand such increasing variety and completeness of accommodation, and in the shorter life that is expected from the individual dwellings. Save in exceptions in respect to the greater extent to which houses in multiple occupation are found, and in the unusual extent to which, in some foreign districts largely frequented by more recent immi- grants, the boarder or the lodger class tends to create overcrowded conditions, the greatest comparative defects of the American dwelling and of its surroundings are largely normal to an earlier stage of urban development, and consist not in their internal arrangements and sani- tary standard but in an external bareness frequently noticeable; in the absence of gardens even when, as is common, building plots are spacious; in unmade roads, and in an irregular and ragged develop- ment that impresses, even more than in England and Wales, often with a sense of incompleteness and sometimes with that of private carelessness and administrative neglect. D. Retail Food Prices. For the purposes of the inquiry, information as to the prices most usually paid by wage-earning families for a variety of commodities was obtained from representative stores frequented by working-class consumers in different districts of each city. In all, over 1,000 returns containing more than 17,000 quotations of prices at February, 1909, were obtained. Predominant figures for each city are given in the reports on the separate cities. It will be observed that in the following tables the predominant price is not expressed by a single amount in any case; the ranges quoted in the tables given for the different cities constantly indicating that as a rule not any single figure but a series represents the prices most usually paid — a series to some extent reflecting differences in taste or in spending power of the purchasing classes. Both the general and the city predominant figures are thus necessarily composites, expressing, irrespectively of any possibly concealed differences of quality, simply the actual prices most usually paid. Broadly, an Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 207 identical price may be assumed to secure an approximately similar commodity, but sometimes, either as regards cities as a whole or even in quarters of a single city, when position, environment, the class of consumer, or other cause involves some special advantage or disad- vantage on one side or the other, and thus a special strength or weak- ness in competition, the qualitative significance of the price equivalent may be weakened. With a view to obtaining for each of the cities a general indica- tion of the retail prices of food there as compared with the other cities, a series of index numbers was constructed, the level of prices in New York City being taken as the base, or 100. In order to allow for the varying importance of the different articles as judged by tie normal weekly consumption by a working-class family, re- course was had to " weighting," and for this purpose average quantities were estimated from the budgets of American-British (including American, Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, and Canadian) families secured in the northern cities as being the group most suita- ble for international comparison. The commodities chosen were those most generally consumed and at the same time most easily measurable. The following are the quantities consumed weekly, per family, so estimated : Tea, . 1^ pound Flour, wheat, 10% pounds Coffee, . 1 pound Bread, white. 81/4 pounds Sugar, . 5% pounds Milk, . 5^S quarts Bacon, . 1% pounds Beef, . 6% pounds %gs, . . 22 Mutton or lamb, . 1% pounds Cheese, 1/2 pound Veal, . % pound Butter, . 2 pounds Pork, . 2% pounds Potatoes, 21 pounds The comparative prices index numbers as based upon the quantities given in the enumeration above are shovm in the following table, the results to the nearest integer being given, and the cities with identical numbers being arranged in their fractional order : 208 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 5. — Relative Level of Food Prices in Specified Cities of the United States as Compared with New York City. . ClTlBS. Index Numbers Cities. Index Numbers Cities. Index Numbers Atlanta, Newark, . Brockton, Boston, Lawrence, Savannah, Augusta, Birnaingham, Pittsburgh, Lowell, 109 106 106 105 105 104 103 102 102 102 Fall River, Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Paterson, . Cleveland, Louisville, Muncie, St. Louis, . Providence, 101 101 100 100 100 99 99 98 97 97 Baltimore, Philadelphia, Duluth . Minneapolis— St.Paul, Chicago, . Milwaukee, . . . Cincinnati, Detroit, . 97 96 96 95 94 93 92 91 It will be observed that the total range sbown in the table is from 91 to 109, and that within this range New York, which is taken as 100, thus occupies an exactly middle position. The New England and Southern groups have the highest index numbers. In certain cases, including the principal articles of consumption, and representing about 61 per cent of the cost of all articles that enter into the ordinary household expenditure for food in the American- British (Northern) Budget and about 66 per cent for those enumer- ated in that of the United Kingdom, a comparison is possible as between American and English prices. This comparison is set forth in the following table : Table 6. — Predominant Retail Prices of Food in England and Wales {ex- clusive of London) and in the United States Compared. Units Pbbdominaht Ranqeb of Retail Pbioes 1 Ratios of Mean Predominant Prices in the United States 1 (February, 1909), to those in England and Wales (Octo- ber, 1905), taken as 100 Commodities. England and Wales, exclusive of London (October. 1905) United States (February, 1909) Sugar, Cheese, Butter, Potatoes, Flour, Bread, Milk, Beef, Mutton, Pork, Bacon, . 1 pound 1 pound 1 pound 1 7 pounds 7 pounds 4 pounds 1 quart 1 pound 1 pound 1 pound 1 pound JO. 091 .142 '$0,243- .264 2.284 .051- .071 .162- .203 .091- .112 .061- .081 M52- .172 1.101- .122 '.152- .183 .081- .101 .162- .172 .142- .183 $0.056 -$0,061 .203 1 .324- .355 .117- .167 .233- .274 .218- .233 .086- .096 .122- .162 .132- .167 .117- .147 .172- .203 144 143 126 233 139 223 129 104 116 81 116 1 Colonial or foreign. 2 Danish. ' British or home killed. Part III] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 209 In some cases the rise in tHe prices of commodities which it is pos- sible to compare, including that which has taken place in the period subsequent to Februaiy, 1909, has attracted much attention in recent years both in the United States and in many other countries, and the percentage increase in several of the commodities in the United States has been very marked. Various explanations of this increase are offered, some internal and others of more general significance, but it would be irrelevant to attempt to discuss in this report either their individual or their relative importance. It is, however, pertinent to draw special attention to the general tendency that has been mani- fested in the United States for prices of agricultural food produce to advance rapidly from the comparatively low level that prevailed in that coimtry even 10 years ago. In most of these cases internal conditions have made the range of prices of meat and dairy produce in the United . States somewhat higher than that of England and Wales, but the most significant fact with regard to the relative prices of meat as between the two countries is not so much that they are now, on the whole, very slightly higher than in England, but that there has been a large advance from the relatively low level at which they stood only a few years ago. It is with this low internal level of comparatively recent years that domes- tic comparisons in the United States are almost invariably and naturally made. The report notes that it has not been possible to bring up to date the individual English prices stated in the above table, but that records of retail prices in London are available and form a sufficient index of the general course of prices in England. So far as the items shown above are concerned, the retail prices in London in Feb- ruary, 1909, as compared with October, 1905, show an advance of 10 per cent in the price of cheese, 17 per cent in fiour, 8 per cent in bread, 6 per cent in British beef, and 12 per cent in foreign beef. The prices of potatoes, milk, foreign mutton, and pork were the same for the two periods, while those of sugar, butter, British mutton, and bacon were respectively 7, 2, 7, and 3 per cent lower at the later date. Taken as a whole these figures, after due allowance for the varying degrees of importance of the articles included has been made, indicate that retail food prices were 3 or 4 per cent higher in England and Wales in February, 1909, than they were in October, 1905. 210 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P- D. 15. An examination of Table 6 shows that the articles in the United States that most nearly approximate in price at the specified dates to those of England and Wales are beef, mutton, bacon, and pork, the last named being the only one for which lower price level is shown in the United States. In regard to the other items, a great disparity is shown as a rule between American and English prices, a disparity entirely apart from that due to the different periods to which the figures of the table refer. The greatest differences are shown in the case of potatoes and bread, American prices being in both these cases more than double those of England and Wales. The consumption of potatoes per family as shown by the American budgets is some- what greater than that shown by the budgets of the United Kingdom, and the difference in the price therefore has an increased effect upon family expenditure. In the case of bread the effect is not so gTeat, as the average consumption of bread in the shape of the bought loaf is not much more than one-third of that shown in the budgets col- lected in the United Kingdom. The remaining food items, sugar, cheese, flour, milk, and butter, show excesses in prices for the United States ranging from 44 down to 26 per cent. In the foregoing comparisons no account has been taken of the difference in the quantities of the various articles of food that are consumed, either in an average working-class family in different sections of the same country or in similar families in the two coun- tries. Internal comparisons of the cost of living in the United King- dom were arrived at by comparing the cost, in the various cities investigated, of maintaining what had been found by investigation to represent, as regards food, an average standard of living in British wage-earning families. Thus, the measurable quantities that made up the standard having been ascertained, and local predominant prices having been obtained, variations in the local cost of living were calcu- lated by seeing how much it would cost in the different cities inves- tigated to purchase the quantities of meat, bread, butter, sugar, etc., included in the average budget. " Thus, if the quantities shown in the average British working- class dietary be taken and the question be asked what would it cost the same family to maintain the same dietary in another country, it is clear that the influence of environment and the tendency to conform to changed conditions can not be allowed for in the answer. The test Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 211 is insular in character and to that extent defective. On the other hand, if predominant prices have heen obtained for the two countries under comparison, and the problem be to determine what it would cost an average family in one country to maintain an accepted stand- ard of living at the prices prevailing in another country, the hypo- thetical basis of any such calculation is manifest. Defects and limitations of this kind are, in fact, inherent in any attempt to com- pare international and to some extent even internal local conditions as regards industrial and social standards, and they are indicated here in order that the following comparisons may be interpreted and applied with as clear a conception as possible of the assumptions they involve and the elements of the problem of adjustment and adaptation to which they necessarily fail to give due weight." The following table shows the comparative cost in the two countries of the articles in the average British budget for which comparative prices can be given: Table 7. — Cost of the Average British Workingman's Weekly Budget {excluding Commodities for which Comparative Prices cannot be given) at the Predomi- nant Prices paid by the Working Classes of (1) England and Wales (exclusive of London) and {2) the United States. Quantity in Average British Budget Pbedominant Rangb of Rbtail Prices Cost of Quan- TITT IN BbITISH Budget in — Commodities. England and Wales, exclusive of London (October, 1905) United States (Feb- ruary, 1909) England and Wales United States Sugar, Cheese, Butter, Potatoes, Flour, Bread, Milk,- Beef, Mutton, Pork, Bacon, 5H pounds, 5^ pound, 2 pounds, 17 pounds, 10 pounds, 22 pounds, 5 quarts, 4J^ X)Ounds, IJ^ pounds, H riound, iJS pounds. $0,041 a pound, $0,142 a pound, $0,269 a pound,' . $0,051 to $0,071 for 7 pounds. $0,162 to $0,203 for 7 pounds. $0,091 to $0,112 for 4 pounds. $0,061 to $0,081 a quart, . $0,137 a pound,' $0,129 a pound,' . $0,152 to $0,172 a pound, $0,142 to $0,183 a pound. $0,056 to $0,061 a pound, $0,203 a pound, . $0,324 to $0,355 a pound, $0,117 to $0,167 for 7 pounds. $0,233 to. J0.274 for 7 pounds. $0,218 to $0,233 for 4 pounds. $0,086 to $0,096 a quart, $0,122 to $0,162 a pound, $0,132 to $0,167 a pound, $0,117 to $0,147 a pound, $0,172 to $0,203 a pound, $0,218 .107 .637 .147 .259 .558 .355 .619 .193 .081 .243 $0,309 .152 .679 .345 .360 1.242 .456 .639 .223 .066 .284 g Total cost of the above, $3,317 $4,755 Index numbers' England anc Adjusted for Wales, October, 1905; Unit February, 1909, ed states, February, 1909, 100 100 143 138 1 Mean of colonial or "foreign" and Danish. 2 Mean of British or home-killed and of foreign or colonial. From the foregoing table it appears that the English housevTife would have had to pay $4,755 at American prices for the same quan- 212 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P- D- 15. titles of those articles of food whicli cost at English prices in October, 1 1905, $3,317, or as adjusted to the prices of February, 1909, about $3.44. Her weekly expenditure in the United States would thus be raised on the adjusted prices about $1.32, or 38 per cent. Of this ; total increase, however, about 64 cents is due to the much higher i price of baker's bread in the United States, an item that, as has been seen, does not enter largely into the American workman's budget. ' The explanation of more than half of the balance of the difference is found in the comparative costs of potatoes, in which the excess in the United States would be equivalent to an expenditure of about i 20 cents per week, and of butter, in which the corresponding excess would be aboiit 15 cents per week. Allowing for the adjusted prices as between the two countries, beef, mutton, pork, and bacon combined would have cost about three cents more in the United States. The list of commodities is not exhaustive, but, on the basis of comparison adopted, it is, in the opinion of the investigators, sufficiently complete | to give a fairly accurate indication of the difference in the cost of food in the two countries. The most important of the items omitted from the foregoing list of food articles is tea, the price of which is higher in the United States than in England, but which is supplanted there, as in Germany, France, and Belgium, by coffee, as the customary domestic beverage. The other most important items omitted are fish and vegetables, for ] neither of which can any basis of comparison be obtained, and eggs, which have also been regarded as noncomparable because of the variety of brand and quality. The index numbers represent the change in family expenditure that would result if either in the United States or in England an average Britisli workman's family continued to purchase the main articles of food to which it was accustomed and paid American prices for them, leaving out of question either the power or the desire to adjust expenditure to any new channels by which changed price con- ditions might be accompanied. But it is apparent from a study of the budgets of American families that there are numerous and important differences in the quantities of the various articles of food consumed. In the following table another comparison has been made of the cost of the wage-earner's Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 213 food budget in the two countries, using as the basis of comparison the quantities found to be ordinarily consumed in the average American workman's family. Table 8. — Cost of the Average American Workingman's Budget (excluding Commodities for which Comparative Prices cannot be given) at the Predominant Prices paid by the Working Classes of (1) England and Wales (exclvMve of London) and (S) the United States. Quantities in Average American Budget' Predominant Range of Retail Phices. Cost of Quan- tity IN American Budget in — Commodities. England and Wales, exclusive of London (October, 1905) United States (Feb- ruary, 1909) England and Wales , United States Sugar, Cheese, . Butter, Potatoes, Flour, Bread, Milt, Beef, Mutton, Pork, . Bacon, . 5^ pounds, }^ pound, 2 pounds, 21 pounds, lOJi pounds, 8}i pounds, 5}4 quarts, 65^ pounds, IJi pounds, 2^ pounds, 15^ pounds, $0,041 a pound, $0,142 a pound, $0,269 a pound,' . $0,051 to $0,071 for 7 pounds. $0,162 t» $0,203 for. 7 poiinds. $0,091 to $0,112 for 4 pounds. $0,061 to $0,081 a quart, . $0,137 a pound, ' $0,129 a pound;' . $0,152 to $0,172 a pound, $0,142 to $0,183 a pound, $0,056 to $0,061 a pound, $0,203 a pound, . $0,324 to $0,355 a pound, S0.117 to $0,167 for 7 pounds. $0,233 to $0,274 for 7 pounds. $0,218 to $0,233 for 4 pounds. $0,086 to $0,096 a quart, . $0,122 to $0,162 a pound, $0,132 to $0,167 a pound, $0,117 to $0,147 a. pound, $0,172 to $0,203 a pound. $0,213 .071 .537 .183 .269 .208 .380 .923 .162 .365 .284 $0,304 .101 .679 .426 .370 .466 .487 .968 .188 .299 .330 Total cost of the above, . . ... $3.S9S $4,608 Tirfov T,„TnV,or= / England and Wales, October, 1905; United States, February, 1909, ^""^'^ """"'"^l Adjusted for February, 1909, 100 100 128 125 1 That is, American- British (northern) . 2 Mean of colonial or *' foreign " and Danish. ^ Mean of British or home killed and of foreign or colonial. The total cost of the average food budget at English prices, adjusted to February, 1909, is about $3.70 per week, or 90.8 cents less than that for the same articles and quantities if bought at American prices. The ratio of the total cost of the articles of food enumerated in the table at American prices to their cost at English prices is 128 to 100, or adjusted to February, 1909, as 125 to 100, as compared with 138 to 100 in the case of the quantities of the same articles on the basis of the British workman's budget. Of the two ratios, that based upon the quantities of the average British budget is presented by the investigators as more directly concerning the working-class consumer in England, and 138 to 100 is therefore taken in the report as repre- senting from this point of view the relative levels of the cost of food in the United States and in England and Wales in February, 1909. 214 STATISTICS OP LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. E. Eents and Eetail Food Peices CoMsiiirED. In the following table the cost of food and rent in the various cities has been expressed by means of a combined index number, New York being taken as the base or 100. In computing this index num- ber allowance was made for the relative importance of the two forms of expenditure, and this was determined by the general ratio in which these two items stood in the American-British budget. A weight of 3 was therefore given to food prices and of 1 for rents. Table 9. — Relative Level of Rent and Food Price in Specified Cities of the United States as Compared with New York City. Cities. Index Numbers Cities. Index Numbers Cities. Index Numbers Atlanta, . Brockton, Now York, Pittsburgh, Boston, Memphis, Newark, St. Louis, Birmingham, 101 100 100 100 99 99 99 9S 97 Savannah, Lawrence, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Louisville, Augusta, Philadelphia, . Minneapolis-St. Paul Paterson, . 96 95 93 92 92 92 92 91 91 Cleveland, Fall River, Lowell, Chicago, . Providence, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Muncie, . Detroit, . 90 90 90 88 88 86 86 85 83 F. Budgets. In order to secure information in regard to the standards of living in various cities a large number of budgets were secured for wage- earning families showing the particulars of family income and of expenditure for food and rent. This information is presented in the report on a race or nationality basis according to the declared country of birth of the head of the family, but for purposes of the international comparisons the report uses the group representing American and British families of the northern cities. In the collection of the various series of budgets, both in the United Kingdom and in foreign countries, no limit of income was fixed, and, while budgets were especially sought and always ob- tained in by far the largest numbers from families that might be termed normal, the returns from families in which the supple- mentary earnings were large were accepted if in other respects they were consistent, and represented working-class conditions. In spite of the care exercised in the collection of data, it cannot be assumed that the budgets show the various income classes in their correct Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 215 proportions in any of the countries investigated. The statistical basis for determining those proportions does not, indeed, exist, and thus, as between country and country, recourse has necessarily been had to a basis of comparison that is, after all, more instructive than general comparisons would be — were such available — namely, that of selected representative income classes. The particulars sought in connection with these family budgets were mainly confined to those items of domestic expenditure which were most recurrent and most likely to be furnished correctly and the most pertinent to the main comparative object in full. The only other full particulars obtained were such as were necessary to throw light on the income and composition of the family, including in the last the occupation of the husband and the country of birth of both parents. In the discussion of the various types represented in the family budgets the report explains that it is necessary to draw attention to the fact that even in relation to the alien people of the United States " American " speedily comes to have a meaning all its own. Were there nothing industrially or socially distinctive, the United States would, indeed, cease to exercise its attractive force, and in various ways, and as regards the mere material standard of comfort, in forms that compare favorably with those that have been left behind, the Americanization of immigrants is apt to begin almost from the moment of their landing. " Thus, although the industrial status of the bulk of the Italians, Poles, and other Slavonic and allied peoples as also of the ISTegroes is different from and lower than that of the bulk of those who are regarded as the true Americans, it is equally true that as measured by the command of material comforts the position of the great bulk, even of such races as those mentioned, begins at once to be relatively 'American' in standard. Even as regards the poorer industrial classes of the United States, the term ' American ' is thus found to have a significance that, covering, it is true, great differences and wide ranges, still represents, even apart from all considerations of political and social environment, something that is not the less definable and real." Altogether 7,616 family budgets, available for statistical purposes, were secured in the course of the investigation. 216 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. In the following table the 3,215 budgets of the American-British (Northern) group of families are summarized somewhat in detail, the families being classified, according to the weekly family income: Table 10. — Summary of Budgets of American British (Northern) Group. Limits of Wbeklt Familt Income Classification. Under S9.73 and S14.60 and $19.47 and $24.33 and $29.20 and $34.07 and $38.93 and over t9.73 under under under under under under 514.60 $19.47 $24.33 $29.20 $34.07 538.93 Numberof budgets (total 3,215), . 67 532 1,036 545 437 224 131 243 Percentage of total number of bud- gets, . . . . . 2.08 16.55 32.22 16.95 13.59 6.97 4.08 7.56 Average number of children living at ' home _ . 1.78 2.06 2.46 2.88 3.07 3.63 3.82 4.20 Average number of persons living at home, ... 3.78 4.08 4.54 6.02 5.27 5.82 6.10 6,38 Average weekly earnings of hus- band, J8.16 $11.53 $15.16 $17.14 $19.11 $19.14 519.98 $22.34 Average weekly earnings of wife, . to. 26 SO. 25 $0.29 SO. 27 $0.55 $0.30 $0.44 $0.37 Average weekly earnings of chil- dren: — Male JO. 07 $0.23 $0.54 $1.85 $2.97 $5.99 $7.97 $17.68 Female, ... SO. 12 $0.18 $0.38 $0.85 51.43 $3.33 $3.75 $6.45 Average weekly other income , SO. 14 $0.22 SO. 63 $1.40 $2.04 52. 62 $3.99 $3.60 Average total income, $3.76 $12.42 $16.99 $21.51 $26.10 $31.38 $36.13 $50.33 Quantity of meat, poultry, and fish purchased per capita per annum. pounds, 109.25 145.08 160.11 165.15 173.58 176.33 195.42 211.90 Food billi per capita per week. SI. 19 $1.45 $1.65 51.76 $1.87 $1.92 $2.04 52.24 Percentage of family income spent on — (1) Meat (including poultry and fish) 12.95 13.49 12.22 11.36 10.50 9.82 10.23 8.28 (2) Food of all kindsi (exclud- ing wine, beer, and - spirits), 51.39 47.62 44.15 41.19 37.78 35.53 34.49 28.40 (3) Rent, .... 19.53 17.74 16.66 15.34 14.04 12.01 12.04 9.91 (4) Food' and rent combined, . 70.92 65.36 60.81 56.53 51.82 47.54 46.53 38.31 Percentage balance after paying for food! and rent, 29.08 34.64 39.19 43.47 48.18 52.46 53.47 61.69 I Including meals away from home. It should be noted that in the foregoing table and in all of the tables of food expenditure and food consumption the family — that is, all persons sharing in the family food irrespective of the age of its members — has been taken as the unit. The composition of the family in every group tends to vary greatly with the income and the supplementary earnings of the children, and occasionally the other sources of income assume large proportions in the higher income classes. The following table shows for the same group of families the details of weekly expenditure per family for food, the families, as before, being classified according to the weekly family income: Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 217 Table 11. — Weekly Expenditure per Family on Food in American-British (Northern) Group. Families Repohtinq Weekly Inoomi or — Classification. $9.73 $14.60 $19.47 $24.33 $29.20 $34,07 $38.93 and Under and and and and and and $9.73 under under under under under under $14.60 $19.47 $24.33 $29.20 $34.07 $38,93 over Number of budgets. 67 532 1,036 545 437 224 131 243 Average weekly family income. $8.76 $12.42 $16.99 $21.51 $26.10 $31.38 $36.13 $50,33 Average number of children living at home, 1.78 2.06 2.46 2.88 3.07 3.63 3,82 4,20 Average number of persons per family,^ ..... 3.78 4.08 4.54 5.02 5.27 5,82 6.10 6,38 AvBRAGE Weekly Cost peh Familt Bread, wheat, . $0,274 $0,355 $0,418 $0,476 $0,497 $0,502 $0,568 $0,644 Bread, rye. .030 .046 .046 .036 .041 ,046 ,030 ,071 Bread, other, . .005 .005 .010 .006 ,020 ,005 .010 Flour, wheat. .365 .309 .345 .400 .446 ,543 ,517 .532 Flour, rye — .005 .005 .005 .005 ,005 ,005 .005 Flour, buckwheat and other. .010 .010 .015 .020 .025 ,020 ,015 ,041 Maize and maize meal, . .025 .020 .025 .025 ,026 .036 ,036 ,041 Cakes, crackers, doughnuts. .091 .142 .208 .233 .269 .309 ,340 ,395 Rolls, buns, biscuits. .046 .096 .137 .137 .167 ,162 ,203 .243 Macaroni, noodles, spaghetti, .030 .036 .061 .056 .056 .046 .066 ,061 Kice, barley, sago, etc., . .056 .056 .076 .076 .081 ,091 ,086 .096 Oatmeal and breakfast cereals, .051 .066 .086 .101 .112 ,117 ,117 .132 Potatoes (Irish), .299 .340 .360 .421 .441 ,482 ,593 .568 Sweet potatoes, etc.. .005 .010 .025 .041 .036 .061 ,051 .086 Dried peas and beans. .076 .071 .066 .076 .086 .096 .107 .096 Sweet com, .025 .030 .041 .066 .061 .091 .101 ,142 Green vegetables, etc.. .183 .269 -.360 .421 .451 .527 .543 ,629 Canned vegetables. .096 .091 .127 .157 .183 .193 ,208 .198 Beef (fresh and corned), .512 .750 .902 1.044 1.227 1,257 1.526 1.708 Mutton and lamb, . .066 .117 .147 .208 .259 .335 .436 .431 Pork (fresh and salt). .218 .289 .309 .314 .330 ,421 .456 ,507 .172 .218 .253 .314 .324 ,395 ,456 ,537 Veal, .056 .071 .127 .142 .162 ,193 ,193 ,223 Sausage, .041 .061 .081 .096 .101 .107 .147 .127 Poultry, .005 .056 107 .137 .172 .157 .264 ,360 Fish of all kinds. .076 .117 .152 .188 .172 .213 ,228 ,274 Lard, suet, dripping. .142 .157 .177 .203 .218 .248 .253 ,269 Butter, . .335 .411 .548 .684 .760 .852 ,973 1,029 Oleomargarine, .015 .020 .010 .015 .020 ,020 .030 ,005 OUve oil. - .010 .010 .015 .020 .020 ,025 ,036 Cheese, . .046 .056 .091 .112 .117 .137 ,142 ,162 Milk (fresh), . .253 .330 .426 .476 .543 .593 ,619 .715 Milk (condensed), . .061 .081 .086 .086 .081 .081 .101 .066 Eggs, .223 .335 .461 .558 ,598 ,690 .750 .811 TeT . .091 .127 .142 .183 ,198 .233 .253 .248 Coffee, . .132 .172 .223 .238 .264 .274 ,279 ,335 Cocoa and chocolate. .005 .015 .030 .036 ,041 .056 ,071 ,076 Sugar, . . . . .208 .218 .259 .324 .335 .390 .426 ,416 Molasses and syrup. .020 .030 .036 .046 .041 .056 .056 ,056 Vinegar, pickles, condiments, .020 .030 ..051 .061 .066 ,086 ,091 ,107 Fruits and jams. .112 .188 .279 .370 .390 .482 .507 .548 Other items .020 .025 .036 .025 .046 ,041 .061 ,051 Meals away from home, . .010 .•"71 .167 .228 ,395 ,466 .527 1,212 Totals, $4,501 $5,912 $7,504 $8,860 $9,867 $11,150 $12,461 $14,299 ' Including boarders and relatives sharing the family food. The total number of these was 466, of whom about one-third were sons or daughters of the family. Children whose weekly payments for board and lodging — and not their weekly wages — were furnished, were counted as boarders. Attention is called in the report to the fact that in an even more striking degree than in the case of the European investigations by the 218 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Board of Trade the higher incomes are due not so much to increased j earnings of the husband as to the contributions of children of wage- earning age. This is mainly because of the actual amounts of the supplementary earnings and not because of the different proportion&l in which these stand to the total family income. This is made clear in the following table: Table 12. — Composition of Family Incomes in American^British {Northern) Group. Num- ber of Fami- lies AvEHAQE Weekly Family Income Fbom — | Aver- age Week- J^ Fam- Uy In- Aver- age Num- ber of ChU- dren at Aver- Limits of Hus- band Children | age Per- Weekly Family 21 Years and Over sons Income. re- port- Wife Under 16 16 to 20 Total Otlier Fam- ing Years Years come Home Uy Under J9.73, 67 $8.16 $0.26 $0.07 $0.12 $0.19 $0.14 $8.76 1.78 3.78 {9.73 and under 632 11.63 .26 .11 $0.23 .07 .41 .22 12.42 2.06 4.08 $14.60. $14.60 and under 1.036 15.16 .29 .20 .50 .21 .91 .63 16.99 2.46 4.54 $19.47. $19.47 and under 645 17.14 .27 .33 1.63 .73 2.69 1.40 21.51 2.88 5.02 S24.33. $24.33 and under 437 19.11 .56 .28 2.94 1.18 4.40 2.04 26.10 3.07 6.27 $29.20. $29.20 and under 224 19.14 .30 .46 4.98 3.88 9.32 2.62 31.38 3.63 5.82 $34.07. $34.07 and under 131 19.98 .44 .62 6.64 4.58 11.72 3.99 36.13 3.82 6.10 $38.93. $38.93 and over, . 243 22.34 .36 .40 9.75 13.88 24,03 3.60 50.33 4.20 6,38 The proportion of the weekly income of the family supplied by the children begins to be important in the incomes between $19.47 and $24.33, when it reaches 12.5 per cent of the total, rising in the next class to nearly 17 per cent, and passing from 30 to 33 per cent, ;, until in the highest class it accounts for 47.7 per cent of the total family income. It is noticeable that the average earnings of the wife are never very large and vary but little. In the income classes " $24.33 and under $29.20 " and " $29.20 and under $34.07," the earnings of the husband are practically the same, and since there is a falling off in the relatively unimportant! earnings of the wife while other incotne shows an increase of only 58 cents, the position of the families with incomes of between $29.20 and $34.07 weekly is seen to be almost entirely due to greatly increased earnings of the children. The following table shows for those articles for which figures were obtained the average quantity of each consumed. All children living Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 219 at home, of whatever age, and all other persons sharing the family food have been included. Table 13. — Weekly Consumption per Family of Certain Articles of Food in s American-British (Northern) Group. Limits of Weekly Family Income Classification. $9.73 $14.60 $19.47 $24,33 $29,20 $34.07 $38.93 and Under and and and and and and S9.73 under under under under under under $14.60 $19.47 $24.33- $29,20 $34,07 $38,93 over Number of budgets, 67 532 1,036 545 437 224 131 243 Average weekly famUy income, $8.76 $12.42 $16.99 $21.51 $26,10 $31,38 $36,13 $50.33 at home 1.78 2.06 2.46 2.88 3,07 3,63 3,82 4.20 Average number of persona per family,^ .... 3.78 4.08 4.54 5.02 5,27 5,82 6,10 6.38 Bread, wheat, pounds. 5.02 6.53 7.64 8.74 9,09 9,06 10,02 11.27 Bread, rye, pounds. .65 .96 .87 .74 ,85 ,96 ,68 1.51 Bread, other, pounds. - .05 .13 .16 ,10 ,38 ,12 .21 Flour, wheat, pounds, . 9.52 7.94 8.99 10.51 11,77 14,10 13,47 13.80 Flour, rye, pounds. - .04 .07 .06 .09 ,08 ,09 .12 Flour, buckwheat and other, pounds, .21 .26 .31 ,41 .57 ,49 ,32 .89 Maize and maize meal, pounds. .88 .68 .73 .81 .93 1,00 1,23 1.27 Cakes, crackers, and doughnuts. pounds, ..... .96 1.57 2.19 2.38 2.73 3,07 3,33 3,86 Bolls, buns, and biscuits, pounds, .80 1.37 1.80 1.95 2.26 2,24 3,01 3,80 Uacaroni, noodles, and spaghetti. pounds, ; Eice, barley, sago, etc., pounds, . .37 .42 .53 .57 ,56 ,47' ,72 ,64 .60 .67 .91 .89 ,96 1,09 1.02 1,17 Oatmeal and breakfast cereals. pounds • Potatoes (Irish), pounds. .77 .96 1.23 1.40 1.48 1,56 1.59 1,67 15.69 17.43 18.59 21.18 22.99 24.83 29,98 27,98 i Sweet potatoes, etc „ pounds, . .19 .43 1.00 1.46 1.38 1.91 1,50 2,92 1 TMpd peas and beans, pounds. 1.38 1.24 1.11 1,27 1,35 1,60 1,70 1,54 r Beef (freehand corned), pounds, . 3.59 5.09 6.04 6.71 7.81 7.93 9,38 10.43 ' Mutton and lamb, pounds, . .39 .69 .91 1.23 1,48 •2,04 2,43 2,53 Pork (fresh and salt) , pounds, ' TRacon, ham, brawn, etc., pounds, . 1.55 1.04 1.94 1.26 2.15 1.46 2.17 1.83 2.24 1.81 2,81 2,26 2,81 2,53 3.32 3.06 Veal, pounds, Sausage, pounds, . Poultry, pounds, . Fish of all kinds, pounds. .38 .46 .80 ,91 1,00 1,15 1.23 1.33 .27 .03 .68 .51 .30 1.13 .69 .54 1.40 ,75 ,72 1,64 ,82 ,89 1.64 ,84 ,83 1,88 1.19 1,37 2.00 1,01 1,83 2.49 lard, suet, dripping, pound, . Butter, pounds. 1.08 1.14 1.16 1.35 1.29 1.74 1,48 2,15 1.54 2.36 1.81 2.65 1.82 3.01 2.01 3,27 Oleomargarine, pounds, . Olive oil, pints. Cheese, pounds, L Milk (fresh) .quarts, r Milk (condensed), pounds. Eggs, number,. Tea, pounds, CdEfee, pounds, .... Cocoa and chocolate, pounds. Sugar, pounds, . ... Molasses and sirup, pints. .08 .24 2.96 .09 103 .31 3.75 .05 .03 .45 4.77 ,06 ,04 ,56 5,46 ,09 ,05 ,60 5.92 ,09 ,05 ,69 6,79 ,13 ,08 ,73 7.04 ,02 .09 ,82 8,08 ,57 34.39 ,46 1,38 ,21 7,28 ,54 .54 9.03 .21 .63 .02 3.56 .25 .71 14.49 .27 .77 .04 3.78 .33 .76 19.90 .28 .93 .07 4.45 .40 .78 24,09 ,36 ,99 ,10 5.67 ,45 .68 25,34 ,38 1,07 ,12 5.81 ,41 .72 28,88 ,45 1,09 ,15 6,81 ,56 ,89 31,53 ,48 1,10 ,21 7,20 ,57 1 Including boarders and relatives sharing the family food. The total number of these was 466, of whom about one-third were sons or daughters of the family. Children whose weekly payments for board and lodging — and not their weekly wages - were furnished, were counted as boarders. In the comparison of income and cost of living hased on the family- budgets, the report uses the American-British (northern) budgets as forming the fairest basis of comparison with conditions in England. In the United Kingdom about 70 per cent of all the budgets collected 220 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. were of families with incomes of less than $9.Y3 per week; of those collected in the United States for all nationalities (and not for the American budget alone, in which the corresponding figure is a little over 2 per cent) less than 4 per cent fell within this range, and while in the United Kingdom about half the budgets were of families with incomes under $8.52 per week, in the United States the number fall- ing below this figure is almost negligible, comprising only 1.4 per cent of the whole and, therefore, too small in number to form a separate income class. The difference, if not of standard at least of normal range of income, as between the two countries, is manifest, and although it can not be concluded on the basis of this negative evi- dence that incomes of less than $8.52 per week are insufficient to maintain an ordinary family under American urban conditions, it is at least probable, say the investigators, that families maintaining a position of independence upon an income below this sum are excep- tional. The points in connection with which budget comparisons have been especially attempted between the United States and England and Wales are: (1) The percentage of income spent on all food, exclu- sive of alcohol; (2) the percentage of income spent on similar items of food in both countries; and (3) the quantities consumed and amount spent 'on similar items. The following table shows for England and Wales and for the United States the average weekly family income and the average amount and percentage of the expenditure for food, the families being classified according to weekly family income : Table 14. — Average Weekly Family Income and Amount and Percentage o/ Income Expended for Food, by Classified Family Income. Limits of Weekly Family Income. Average Weekly Family In- come Average Number of Children Living at Home Expenditure on Food (excluding Wine, Beer, and Spirits) Average Amounts Percentages of Income United Kingdom. 86.08 and under 87.30, 17.30 and under 88.52, 88.52 and under $9.73, United States. $9.73 and under $14.60, 814.60 and under $19.47, $19.47 and under $24.33, $24.33 and under $29.20, $6.56 7.77 8.89 12.42 16.99 21.51 26.10 3.3 3.2 3.4 2.06 2.46 2.88 3.07 S4.34 5.05 5.42 5.91 7.50 8.86 9.86 66.18 65.04 61.04 47.62 44.15 41.19 37.78 d Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 221 The point in the foregoing table which at once attracts attention is the much wider range shown between the various family incomes in the two countries than between the amounts actually spent on food, and consequently the much greater margin of income available in the American group after expenses for food have been met. It will be observed that the average number of persons in the Amer- ican budgets is 0.68 less than in those of the United Kingdom. Exact comparison in respect to age and proportionate contribution made to the family income by the children in the two countries is not possible, but the data available show that in these respects there is a general similarity. The actual amounts spent on food per capita in each income class in England and Wales and in the United States are shown in the fol- lowing table: Table 15. — Average Food Bill -per Capita in Families classified according to Family Income. United Kingdom United States lnuna OF Weeklt Familt Income Average Food Bill per Capita Limits of Weekly Family Income Average Food BUI per Capita Under $6.08, $6.08 and under $7.30, $7.30 and under $8.52, $8.52 and under $9.73, $9.73 and over, $0.68 .82 .97 1.00 1.13 Under $9.73 $9.73 and under $14.60, $14.60 and under $19.47, $19.47 and under $24.33, $24.33 and under $29.20, $29.20 and under $34.07, $34.07 and under $38.93, $38.93 and over, . $1.19 1.45 1.65 1.76 1.87 1.92 2.04 2.24 In the following table comparison is made of the consumption of certain articles of food by average workmen's families in the United States and in England and Wales: (1) Of families with total family income approximately similar; (2) of families with total amount spent for food approximately similar; and (3) of families with total amount spent for food approximately similar, allowance being made for the difference in retail prices in the two countries. Comparison is made on the basis of quantity wherever possible. Where quantity can not be given, the comparison is based on cost. The quantity consumed or the amount spent is taken as 100, and the relative con- sumption or expenditure in the American families as compared with this is shown in the table. 222 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 16. — Per Capita Quantities of, or Amounts spent on Certain Articles of Food consumed by Workman's Families in the United States (American- British — Northern Group), as compared with the United Kingdom. [United Kingdom = lOO.J Families WITH Total Amount Families with Total Amount Spent on Food Approximately Similar, Families with Total Allowance being made Family Income Approx- SPENT ON ; Food Approxi- FOR Percentage Differ- imately Similar ence IN Retail Prices AS BETWEEN UNITED mately Similar States and England Commodities ok Gboupb AND Wales OF Commodities. Income, Income, Income, Income, Income, United United United i United United Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom, $8.62 to S9.73-, $9.73 and $9.73 and $6.08 to $7.30; $8.52 to $9.73 Income, over; income. over; income, Income, Income, United United United United United States, under States, $9.73 States, $14.60 States, $9.73 States, $14.60 S9.73 to 514.60 to $19.47 to $14.60 to $19.47 Quantities: Bread and flour, 73 66 67 69 72 All meat and fish, 123 151 165 195 178 Eggs, . 108 139 172 i 216 197 Fresh milk. 82 93 107 126 109 Cheese 43 50 63 , 62 71 Butter and animal fats, . 115 103 110 136 128 Potatoes, 141 137 132 143 139 Sugar, 98 89 93 107 102 Expenditure; Other vegetables and fruit, i 238 261 320 433 357 Tea, coffee, cocoa, etc., 92 108 122 139 133 1 Fresh, dried, and canned fruit. In the United States, including a small quantity of sweet potatoes and jam. In spite of the different bases upon which the above comparisons are made, a marked uniformity in the general results is shown in the consumption per capita, which is the basis of comparison adopted in all cases. The differences shown are nearly always those of degree and not of direction. Thus, even in the lowest income class of the American budgets, the consumption of certain commodities is always higher than that shown in the British budgets with which they can be compared, while other foods, even in the highest American income classes included in the table, show a consumption that is always lower. The most striking examples of the former characteristic are seen in meat and fish, in which the American consumption per capita ranges from an excess of 23 per cent to one of 95 per cent; eggs, in which the corresponding excess ranges from 8 to 116 per cent, and potatoes, in which the excess is comparatively uniform throughout, ranging from 32 to 43 per cent. On the other hand, a smaller consumption of bread and flour is always shovsoi in the American budgets, and almost uniformly, the range being only from 27 to 34 per cent less. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 223 Much the same general results are shown in the case of cheese, in which the consumption is only something over half as much in the American families as in those of the United Kingdom, the figures showing a difference of from 57 to 29 per cent. Fresh milk and sugar are the only articles in which consumption is sometimes more and sometimes less in the American families, the variation shown being in the case of fresh milk, from 18 per cent less to 26 per cent more, and in that of sugar, from 11 per cent less to 7 per cent more. In the classes of commodities in which the comparison has to be made on the basis of expenditure and not of quantity, uniform excess in the United States is shown in the case of vegetables and fruit. In this group of items, which includes canned vegetables, so largely consumed in the United States, the amount expended exceeds by 138 to 383 per cent that spent by the average family in the United King- dom with which comparisons are made. The amounts spent on tea, coffee, etc., in the two countries are relatively uniform, being never more than 8 per cent less or 39 per cent more in one country than in the other. The figures of the foregoing table illustrate, according to the report, the general effect that " The dietary of the average American family is more varied and more liberal than that of families that as nearly as possible correspond to them in the United Kingdom." " The amount spent per capita on food in the average American family begins at a figure a little higher than that at which the British maximum stops ; and the mean of the average food bill per capita of the second, third, and fourth British income classes is 93.3 cents per capita, and that of the second, third, and fourth American income classes $1.62." In the same way the comparative percentages shown in the above table may be equally regarded as a corollary of the great difference shown in the range of nominal earnings and of family incomes as between the two countries, for even though expenditure on food is more liberal in the United States, the percentage of the total income available for other purposes is, without exception, even in the lowest income class shown in the American budgets, higher than that shown by any class in the British series. Thus the food bill takes rela- tively a more subordinate place in the American working-class house- hold It is still a main item of expenditure but is of less preponder- ating importance than in the British budgets, and a much greater margin of income available for all other purposes results. 224 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. As regards the otlier composite national budgets, while the con- stituent elements of their dietaries, had any of these been selected for comparison, would, to some extent, have reflected racial char- acteristics, the proportion of food expenditure to total family income would have been found to be roughly similar, the maximum per- centage thus absorbed in no case exceeding that shown in the Amer- ican budget in any of the income classes by more than 1.27 per cent. This excess was shown by the Jewish budget in the " $14.60 and under $19.46 " income class, but in most cases, both in this class and in the classes " under $9.73 " and " $9.73 and under $14.60," such differences as were shown were generally small minus quantities as compared with the American budget itself. Thus the comparison of the British with the American budget has not involved the selection for comparative purposes of a group that differs fundamentally from others not so used. The main constitu- ents of all these other groups show that in every direction, as revealed by the present inquiry, food requirements, as regards the necessaries of life and in many income classes as regards also the fringe of its luxuries, are met with comparative ease. The complete basis for strict international comparisons goes no further than income and cost of food. As regards rent, the report has Eho^vn that roughly this item costs something more than twice as much in the United States as in England and Wales, but as to the remaining charges on family income, such as clothing, fuel and light, beverages (other than coffee, etc.), tobacco, insurance, recreation and holidays, etc., the necessary data for international comparison are wanting. But while the necessary statistical data for an exact comparison of the classes of supplementary expenditure are wanting, the report notes that there is sufficient evidence to show the general relationship to income that such expenditure would bear in the United States as compared with England. Thus, for some months in the year over a great part of the field of inquiry fuel is a heavier charge than in Eng- land and Wales, owing partly to the lighter structure of the houses, but mainly to the greater severity of the climate. ISTo figure as to this excess in comparative cost can, however, be mentioned. On the other hand, it is noted that the methods of heating generally adopted, although less hygienic than the open fireplace, are more efficient, that Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 225 the American dwelling is kept at a higher temperature than in Eng- land, and that all rooms are more uniformly heated. The item of clothing raises wider and more difficult questions of comparison, but the report states that particulars that have been obtained go to show that while higher prices have as a rule been paid in the United States than in the United Kingdom for woolen and worsted fabrics of similar quality, a very large supply of domestic articles of wearing apparel of most descriptions is available there of standard sizes that are on sale at prices either not much higher or not higher than in England, although often less durable. Eegarding other items the report makes the following statement : " In connection with the consumption of beverages other than coffee, tea, and alcoholic drinks, the great quantity of iced drinks of various descriptions consumed may be mentioned, and ice itself, mainly for the preservation of foods, is a weekly item of expenditure in the summer months in practically every household, while an ice box is a common possession and an ice-cream freezer by no means rare in working-class homes. While, therefore, ice ranks as a small distinc- tive charge on income, it affords one of the numerous illustrations of an expenditure that, regarded as necessary, secures at the same time its own return in comfort and satisfaction. Much tobacco is con- sumed, and the number of cigar ends thrown away which no one takes the trouble to pick up is one of the trifles that is noticeable. " Traveling to and from work for short distances is more expensive in America than in England, 5 cents being the usual minimum on tramways, and reduced tickets for workmen being very rarely issued. Thus, if the cars have to be used at all, the double journey nearly always costs 60 cents per week. On the other hand, it rarely costs more, the uniform fare adopted for long and short distances generally taking the wage-earner as far as he is likely to travel. Holidays recreation, and sundries, together with savings, come more avowedly and more completely within the region of the voluntary use of any margin of income that may be available than do the previous items, and the amounts are, therefore, even more elastic and indeterminable. " In some measure the preceding sentences will explain the value to the household of the margin of income shown after charges for food and rent have been met. Apart, perhaps, from the lowest range of urban incomes — those roughly amounting, as shown by the budgets, 226 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. to less than $463 a year — a more liberal standard of living than that observed in the United Kingdom is clearly indicated. To no inconsiderable extent the adoption of this standard and the higher expenditure it involves are, however, almost necessary, very much as the standard of a locality or of a class has to be roughly observed in this country by those of its members "wiio move freely in it, and, conforming to its atmosphere, themselves help to create that atmos- phere. In this connection a suggestive analogy may be drawn be- tween the relative position as regards the standard of expenditure of an agricultural laborer living in an English village and that of the mechanic of the neighboring market town, or, again, between the position of the latter and that of his fellow craftsman working in London. In all three cases the necessity and the opportunities for spending differ both in kind and degree. Koughly, similar analogies hold as between urban conditions of working-class life in this country and in the United States. More money is spent as a matter of course in the latter country and to some extent, as has been sug- gested, this higher expenditure, apart from any differences in price or rent levels, is almost if not quite obligatory; but, on the other hand, in various material ways, greater satisfaction and more com- forts are secured. Thus the habit of spending is more active than in this country, and while the national characteristic of a greater extravagance and even of a greater wastefulness often emerges, the correlative fact must be also noticed that for those who desire it and exercise the necessary strength of will and foresight, saving is also easier because of the larger income at disposal." The report concludes with the following statements : " The significance of the general statistical comparisons set out in earlier pages becomes now more apparent. It has been seen that the food of the average English family would cost about 38 per cent more in the United States, and that the rent would be as 207:100. The cost of food and rent combined (allotting weights of four and one respectively, these weights being those derived from the British budgets) would therefore be 52 per cent greater in the United States than in England and Wales; but these heavier relative charges on working-class income have been accompanied by weekly wages in American cities as indicated by the three industry-groups — build- ing, metals and machinery, and printing — which are as 230 :100. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 227 " Thus, according to this ratio, the money earnings of the workman in the United States are rather more than 2^/4 times as great as in England and Wales, and, since there is no proof that employment is more intermittent in the United States than in this country, a much greater margin is available, even when allowance has been made for the increased expenditure on food and rent. " It is with the real significance of this margin that the preceding paragraphs have been concerned. The margin is clearly large, making possible a command of the necessaries and conveniences and minor luxuries of life that is both nominally and really greater than that enjoyed by the corresponding class in this country, although the effective margin is itself, in practice, curtailed by a scale of expendi- ture to some extent necessarily and to some extent voluntarily adopted in accordance with a different and a higher standard of material comfort." 228 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. IV. CITY EEPOETS. 1. BOSTON. A. IxTEODUCTOBY. Boston, the settlement of which dates from 1630, ranks as one of the great and historic cities of the new world and is at once the polit- ical capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the com- mercial metropolis of New England. . . . . . . Boston . . . is pre-eminently a commercial centre and a port; and ... in its magnificent harbor,- of which the main channel will shortly be 35 feet deep at mean low water, it possesses its greatest single physical asset — an asset that, incompletely developed as it is, still finds Boston competing for place as the second sea port in the United States. The following table presents a summary of the statistics of ton- nage, imports, exports, and passenger arrivals at the port of Boston for the years ending June 30, 1906-1910 : Table 17. — Tonnage, Imports, Exports, and Passenger Arrivals at the Port of Boston, 1906-1910. Years ending June 30. Tonnage Entered and Cleared in the Foreign Trade Value of Im- ports Value of Ex- ports Number of Passengers arriving at the Port 1906, . 1907, . 1908, ... 1909, ... 1910, . . ... 5,201,487 5,263,012 4,940,655 4,833,828 4,643,269 $106,442,077 124,432,977 93,678,716 112,472,595 129,006,184 $98,739,647 100,872,147 96,051,068 76,157,558 70,516,789 80,281 95,142 64,110 59,179 71,319 Although the development of its foreign trade and to this end the improvement of its port and railway facilities are felt to be essential conditions of the maintenance of the great position held by Boston, I the part which the city plays as a place of manufacture and as the chief distributing centre for the industrial districts of ISTew England j is of equal and allied significance. Boston in this connection occupies a somewhat unique position among American cities and its present Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 229 importance would be inadequately reflected in figures that merely gave particulars with reference to the city itself. For it is the point at which the activities of a ring of outlying centres converge, and while " Greater Boston," often called the " Metropolitan District," contains such cities as Lynn, Cambridge, Waltham, Somerville, Quincy, [and the towns of] Hyde Park and Watertown, with other smaller industrial and many residential centres, beyond the narrow borders of this district, but still well within the sphere of influence of Boston itself, lie such cities as Lowell, Lawrence, and Haverhill. Thus Boston is the centre and the mainspring of one of the greatest as also one of the oldest manufacturing centres in the States. With all these outlying points it is organically connected, and just as the obligation to develop the resources of the port is forcing itself upon the attention of the more farsighted members of the community, so also is the necessity for developing on special lines the aptitude and the skill, the power of initiative and the industrial resources of a large area that is being confronted by an increasing dependence for its food supplies upon distant centres ; by a gradual shifting away from itself of the centre of population of the country as a whole; and by the increasing strength, nearer that centre and thus nearer the centres of ' production of the raw material of food and manufacture, of compet- ing industries. Thus while in many parts of the country cities are apt to take their progressive development almost for granted, in Boston and its neighborhood a new set of conditions appears to supervene. As a centre of oversea export the position of New England would be highly advantageous, but as one of production for domestic use its advantages are conditional upon the maintenance and development of such special features as will overcome the handicap of a geographical position that is somewhat isolated. It is largely on this account that the retention of local capital for local investment ; education ; the maintenance of industrial peace; specialized skill; and the excellence, or it may be the special cheapness, of output are found to have special claims to attention in this relatively old-established centre of indus- trial life. It will be concluded from what has been said that Boston is very far from being simply a leading centre of the intellectual and cultured life in America. It is this, as is also the Harvard belt of the adjoin- ing city of Cambridge ; but Boston to-day, with a certain distinctive : New England atmosphere that makes itself occasionally felt, is a 230 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. cosmopolitan, commercial, and industrial city with racial character- istics in petto very much resembling those of Xew York itself. The Irish have been in greater numerical preponderance than in any other American city of the first rank, the British and Canadian element is also unusually large, and there is a comparative absence of Germans, but there are vtrell-defined Jewish and Italian districts, with similar areas, smaller and less definite, frequented by Poles and Scandina- ; vians and others, and sprinklings here and there of colored quarters. As already stated, at further distances in almost every direction landwards lie other places, some 40 in number, within a radius of about 15 miles of the State House in Boston, helping to form a Metropolitan District, much of it already united by a common system of sewerage, by a common water supply, and by a single park system, as well as by the system of transit facilities enjoyed. The aggregate population of this District in 1910 was about 1% millions. To a great extent the area thus covered is residential, but in the aggregate the manufacturing industries of the centres lying outside Boston some- what exceed those of Boston itself. Of these centres Lynn and Cam- bridge are the most important. Table 18. — Statistics of Manufactures relating to Boston, Cambridge, Lynn, and to the Metropolitan District as a Whole for tfie Year 1908. Localities. Amount of Capital Invested Value of Stock Used Value of Goods Made Number of Wage- earners Employed Amount of Wages Paid Boston, Cambridge, Lynn, ... . . Other localities, . $81,038,314 24,221,550 17,952,465 71,576,519 $101,897,093 24,612,366 35,266,917 67,749,077 $175,468,804 40,824,823 58,462,286 125,523,544 52,103 12,813' 22,536 40,800 $28,960,374 6,752,804'" 12,882,824 t"- 24,635,381 Metropolitan District as a Whole, $194,788,848 $229,525,453 $400,279,467 128,252 $73,231,383 ^ From 1875 up to the State Census of 1905, the population in the whole of this District rather more than doubled, that of Boston itself having increased during the same period from 341,919 to 595,380, or by 74 per cent. According to the Federal Census, the population of Boston had further increased to 670,585 in 1910, while the entire Metropolitan District had attained a population of 1,423,429. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 231 Table 19. — Population of Boston, as returned at the Federal Censmes of 1870- 1910, together with the Percentage Inter-censal Increases. Years. Population Increase Percentage Increase 1870, .... ... 1880 1890, . . ... 1900 1910. • • . . ... 250,626 362,839 448,477 560,892 670,585 112,313 85,638 112,415 109,693 44.8 23.6 25.1 19.6 West Eoxbury, Brighton, and Charlestown were incorporated in 1873, since which date there has been no extension of the city limits. The total area of the city is 27,300 acres, of which 1,637 are flats and 1,050 water. The lower rate of increase in population in recent years is to a great extent explained by the extra-metropolitan increase, attributable in part to the increasing efficiency of transit facilities. The following table, compiled from the State and Federal Census figures, will show in which districts of the city increase in population has been most marked during the 35 years, 1875-1910: Table 20. — Population of City of Boston in 1875 and 1910, by Geographical Subdivisions. Geographical Subdivisions. Population in 1875 Population in 1910 Boston proper. 140,669 193,274 Charlestown, 33,556 41,444 South Boston, 54,147 71,703 East Boston, 27,420 55,085 The Islands, 1,927 3,403 Roxbury, . 50,429 117,727 Dorchester, 15,788 115,780 West Eoxbury, 11,783 . 45,594 Brighton, . jn, .... 6,200 26,675 All Bost< 341,919 670,585 For the last 15 years from 1890 to 1905 the figures for South Bos- ton and Charlestown were almost stationary, while those of Boston 232 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. proper, where the non-residential business area is extending but m other parts of which the congestion has become somewhat greater, showed as a net result of these conflicting tendencies only a slight increase.-' The latest available figures as to the resident alien population are those of the State Census of 1905. During the decade from 1895 to 1905 the largest increase had been among Italians. Although about 15 times as many immigrants land at New York as at Boston, the latter port nevertheless ranks as the immigrant station second in importance in the whole coimtry. The number of immigrant aliens admitted during the 12 months ending June 30, 1909, was 36,318, and in the following year 53,617. During the latter year 82,666 immigrants at all ports gave Massachusetts as their place of intended future residence, but it is obvious, since intentions may change after landing, that this figure may not prove true even for the State as a whole, and that its bearing upon any one city within the State is uncertain. But it may be noted that some of the larger groups that figured in the return were Italian (mainly southern), Polish, British and Irish, French (mainly French Canadian), ^ Hebrew, Greek, Portuguese (the majority probably from the Azores), Lithuanian, Scandinavian, and Finnish. Minor streams of recent immigration to Boston itself may be illustrated by the Albanians and j the Greeks. In both these cases new arrivals are mostly men, the Greeks, however, having somewhat more family life of the two, but • both representing races by which boarding-houses and restaurants are much used. The former are said to be taking the place of the Italians in the push-cart fruit trade, but industrially neither are so far important. In 1905 the total native-born population was 64.8 per cent of the whole, 51.7 per cent having been born in Massachusetts itself. It will be remembered that this large percentage includes the American-born ; children of foreign parents. Of the foreign-born population at that date 31.8 per cent were born in Ireland, 23.4 per cent in Canada (mainly English Canadians), 11.5 per cent in Russia, 9.7 per cent in Italy, and 8.2 per cent in Great Britain. Some of the main tendencies of recent immigration may be traced in the changes that 1 During the succeeding five years there were noticeable increases in the figures for Boston proper and South Boston, the population of Charlestown, however, showing but a slight increase. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 233 took place in this series of percentages during the five years 1900-5, the percentages of persons born in Ireland, Canada, and Great Britain iaving declined from 35.8, 25.5, and 9.2 respectively in 1900, and the percentage of persons born in Eussia and Italy having risen from T.6 and 7.0. The density of the population of Boston ranges by wards from 4.0 to 189.6 per acre, and the average for the vrhole city is 27.2. The highest figure is found in Ward 8, in the area known as the West End, containing the largest Jewish colony in Boston. Many indi- vidual blocks in this district, as also in that known as the ]!Torth End (largely an Italian quarter), where the number of persons per acre falls to 122, would represent a much more congested population than the above percentage figures indicate, since much of the tenement building both of the past and present is of such a character that, were the areas large, intolerable conditions of congestion would have been created. And the same is true of a few other districts in which care- less development has been permitted, as, for instance, in part of the district known as South Cove. A certain indifference or lack of foresight appears indeed to have characterized some of the structural changes permitted in Boston, an attitude that probably finds a partial explanation in the comparative smallness of the Boston housing problem and, in recent years, in the relief from much of the normal pressure of congestion aft'orded by an excellent tramway system. In some small areas conditions are highly unsatisfactory . . . The larger outlets for municipal enterprise are mainly limited to the more necessary functions of government, including education, water supply, and, one of the most distinctive achievements as regards the metropolitan district, a comprehensive system of parks, parkways and beaches. Minor illustrations of municipal enterprise are found in baths, cemeteries, hospitals, alms-houses, a temporary home for the destitute, and lodging-house for wayfarers; a municipal printing department ; a few public conveniences ; two market halls, and a mag- nificent public library with ten branches. The supply of gas, electric light, and transit facilities in Boston, as in the great majority of American cities, is in the hands of private companies. Among the private undertakings probably the most important, and the one most identified with the development of the city, is that known as the Boston Elevated Railway, mainly, it may be noted, not an ele- 234 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P- D. 15. vated railway, but an electric surface car system, with a total mileage of 485. As already stated, the area sensed is largely beyond the city boundaries, and the statistics of the company refer to 12 cities and towns of the Metropolitan District, including Boston, with a popula- tion of 1,083,450. . . . The uniform fare is 5 cents whether for 18 miles or only to the next stopping place, and a liberal system of trans- fers is in operation. The number of charitable and beneficent organizations of every kind in Boston is large, falling into much the same groups as in, for instance, ]^ew York, but perhaps more impressive than there because of the relative smallness of the Massachusetts city. The number and variety of agencies and societies with constructive and reforming objects in view that may be summed up under the general title of Civic Betterment are especially noteworthy, and one of these known as " Boston, 1915," may be mentioned as illustrating and as endeav- oring to co-ordinate a ^ood deal that is distinctive in local aims and aspirations. " Boston, 1915 " is a society which by a study of the experience of other cities and by the co-ordination of local organizations hopes to secure, or to pave the way for securing, the best results from city planning, and it owes its name to the hope that the adoption of certain steps both of investigation and of practical reform in the intervening years may make it possible four years hence to hold an exhibition that will demonstrate not only what has been done in the interval, but also what can be shown to be necessary and possible in the future in order to make Boston the " finest city in the world." The society appeals for the service of all classes and endeavors to take account of the interests of all : '' not only polities but business ; not only commerce but labor; not only work but health and pleasure, art, music and painting ; not only adults but children." " In more economical and more responsible city government ; in better sanitary administration ; in the improvement of homes ; in education ; in architectural improve- ments and in better street alignment ; in the adoption of a system of insurance for wage-earners and old-age pensions ; and in making Bos- ton a more prosperous centre of commerce and industry " — in these and in other endeavors " Boston, 1915 " has outlined a varied, hopeful and ambitious programme. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 235 B. Occupations, Wages, and Houbs of Labob. In the previous section it has been indicated that Boston is a com- mercial rather than an industrial city and it is as such that it is generally regarded. It is thus identified with no special manufacture, considerable and varied though its field of employment is, and is without any staple industry like several cities in the Metropolitan District itself, notably Lynn as a centre of the boot and shoe industry, and Waltham with its watchmaking; or places a little further afield whidi have been specially studied in connection with the present inquiry, like Fall Eiver, Lawrence, or Brockton. Such places, rela- tively small but with specialized industrial pursuits, are the more representative manufacturing centres of New England. The field of occupation in Boston itself, representative as it is of a few of the localized industries of Massachusetts, is neither dominated by nor indeed identified primarily with any of them, and it is noteworthy that in a long and miscellaneous list of about 80 manufactures of the city given in the report of the State Bureau of Statistics for 1908 the average number of employees of both sexes exceeds 4,000 in no single industry, and exceeds 1,000 in only 10 cases. The total number of establishments included in the above return is 1,683, and the total average number of employees 52,103, of whom 34,033 were males. The following table, compiled from the State Census of 1905, gives in large groups the latest available statistics for employment of every kind: Table 21. — Number of Persons 10 Years of Age and Over Engaged in Gainful Occupations in Boston in 1905. Groups of Occupations. Males Females Both Sexes Building. 17,052 6 17,058 Metal working, 13,854 314 14,168 TextUe, ... 677 1,742 2,419 Leather 793 191 984 Boot and shoe making, 3,434 1,358 4,792 ClothinE 6,037 13,063 19,090 Woodworking and furnishing, 4,258 515 4,773 Paiwr and printing. 4,870 2,580 7,450 Food, liquors, and tobacco, 6,125 1,832 6,957 Other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits. 9,510 1,964 11,474 Trade and transportation, . Laborers (not otherwise specified). 77,190 20,837 98,027 17,185 - 17,185 Professional service. 12,044 5,760 17,794 Domestic and personal service. 20,629 32,791 63,420 Agricultural pursuits, . 1,260 98 1,358 All Qainful Occupations, . 193,918 83,031 276,919 236 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P- 1>- 15. In the introductory section the considerable foreign element has been mentioned. The employments followed by it show great variety, and the general fact that a great diversity of occupation is apt to be followed even by peoples who are supposed to run somewhat exclu- sively in, as it were, more or less prescribed channels, is being more widely recognized. But although the industrial complexity of the life that every considerable foreign community tends to create is an economic and social fact of great significance, predominant channels of employment may nevertheless be indicated for this or that group, as, for instance, carpenters and joiners, teamsters, and in a less degree machinists, painters and laborers, as followed by Canadians; the large laboring element and the number of teamsters in the varied groups of occupations followed by the Irish; the drift to the metal and building trades illustrated by the Scandinavians ; the large num- ber of tailors, retail dealers, and hawkers among the Jews, the first of these industries being also predominantly followed by the Poles ; the large number of Italian laborers ; and, as regards the colored popula- tion, the numbers of these who are absorbed as servants and waiters, laborers, teamsters, and porters. Prom the table of predominant wages and hours of labor given on p. 239 it will be observed that in the building trades the eight-hour day, with a short working Saturday, is widely recognized ; that in the printing trades the working week consists of 48 hours or less ; that in municipal employnient the 48-hour week prevails ; that the 54 and 55-hour week is predominant in the metal trades; and that in trans- portation trades the 10-hour day and 60-hour week are most usual. The general tendency when changes are made in the recognized length of the working week is for the number of hours to be dimin- ished, and the figures for 1910 published by the Commonwealth Bureau of Statistics show that in that year 6,144 employees in Boston received reductions, the most important change being the concession! of the 54-hour week to 1,200 coal teamsters and helpers. The holidays most observed are Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (first Monday in September), [Columbus Day (October 12), J, Thanksgiving Day (last Thursday in November) and Christmas Day (December 25) ; but Washington's birthday (February 22), Patriot's Day (April 19) and Memorial Day (May 30) are also widely recog- nized. In the city of Boston Bunker Hill Day (June 17) is gen- erally observed. Massachusetts is one of the two States of the Union in which 'New Year's Day is not recognized as a general holiday. Part III] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 237 f As would result naturally from the numerous industries followed in Boston the number of trade unions is large, some 262 different local societies ^ being enumerated by the State Bureau of Statistics in 1910. The total membership of these, composed almost entirely of males (2,302 females), amounted to 67,044. Among the most strongly- organized occupations are those of the cigarmakers and the long- shoremen working on ocean-going vessels. Boston is not a stronghold of trade unionism, however, and in most trades, including building and printing, the " open shop " generally prevails. This practice by no means implies that as regards the principal conditions of employ- ment terms inferior to those aimed at by the trade union exist, but simply that no preference to trade unionists is recognized. The objec- tion to the " closed shop " is thus compatible with the observance of a trade agreement, and in Boston itself more than half the local socie- ties -^ report the existence of agreements with varying degrees of comprehensiveness and validity. In the building trades an experiment is being made in regulating and improving conditions in relation to employment by the organized alliance of employers and employed. To this end two societies, duly incorporated, the one of Brick and Stone Masons and the other of Carpenters and Joiners — in both cases including " Masters and Craftsmen " — have been formed, and conditions regulating the terms of employment as regards hours, wages, overtime, etc., have been laid down. A distinctive feature of the Carpenters' and Joiners' Society is the division of the employee members into " Craftsmen " and "Associate Members," the minimum rate of 50 cents an hour being fixed for those who are admitted into the former class and of 40 cents for the latter. In the agreement of the Brick and Stone Masons' Society there is a similar clause, those qualified as craftsmen being entitled to receive a standard minimum wage of 60 cents an hour, while those classed as ''x\ssociate Members" are entitled to receive a minimum wage of 48 cents an hour. The principle of the minimum wage is thus recognized, but is supplemented in the case of both societies by the avowed attempt to regulate wages more completely than usual according to efficiency and by the recognition of a grade of the fully competent, for which those " not up to the average of skill and efficiency " may, unless they be 1 The British report iises the word " societies " in this connection in the same sense that we employ the word " unions." 238 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. old men, hope to qualify. About 400 " craftsiuen " have been ad- mitted to the two societies, which, it may be added, are not approved by the ordinary trade unions. A State Free Employment Office was opened at Boston in Decem- ber, 1906, and in the following year similar offices at Springfield and Fall River. In the year ending November 30, 190Y, the Boston office was instrumental in filling 14,480 positions. In the following year — a year of depression — the number of positions fiUed fell to 9,941; in the year ending November 30, 1909, 13,034 positions were filled by the agency of this office, while in the year ending November 30, 1910, the number of positions filled rose to 15,4Y8. The following statement shows the more important details illustrative of the work of the Boston office in the year ending November 30, 1910, as compared with the previous year : Table 22. — Summary of Business at the Three State Free Employment Offices in 1909 and 1910. 1910 1909 Males Females Both Series Both Sexes Number of applications for employment, Number of persons applied for by employers, Number of positions reported filled, Number of persons for whom positions were secured; (a) once only, . . . . (b) more than once, . . 23,929 12,721 8,982 4,625 1,331 11,252 8,704 6,496 2,120 1,186 35,181 21,425 15,478 6,745 2,517 31,820 17,404 13,034 6,071 2,256 No classification according to occupation of the " Positions reported filled " is available for the year ending November 30, 1910, but in 1908 the largest number of positions obtained for males was for "boys" (errand, office, etc.), 624, and farm hands, 568. Among positions in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits the following are some representative numbers : Blacksmiths, 15 ; carpenters, 146 ; firemen, 95 ; machinists, YO ; painters, 128. The largest groups for females are classed as: Housework, 1,386; waitresses, Y06; and kitchen workers, 519; while factory workers (thus described) num- bered 273. The following table shows the predominant weekly wages earned by men in certain of the principal occupations in Boston in October, 1910,^ with the number of hours usually worked : 1 Data in possession of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics, for October, 1910, have been used in the tables relating to wages and hours of labor in place of the statistics of February, 1909, which were uaed in the British report. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 239 Table 23. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910. Occupations. Predominant Wfiekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Buildins Trades. Bricklayers, . 126.40 44-48 Stonemasons, 26.40 44 Stonecutters, , 22.00 44 Carpenters, 22.00 44 Plasterers, 28.60 44 Plumbers, ... 24.20 44 Structural iion workers. 24.00 48 Painters . . . 20.02 44 Hod carriers and building laborers, 13.20 44-48 Plasterera' laborers, . . . . 16.72 44 Foundries and Machine Shops. lion molders. 18.00-19.50 54 Machinists, . 10.80-21.60 54 Blacksmiths, 18.00-21.00 54 Pattern makers. 10.80-20.15 54 Laborers,' 10.00-10.50 54 Tailoring Trades. Cutters, 23.00-25.00 44-53 Trimmers, 15.00-18.00 46i-56 Printing and Bookbinding Trades. Newspaper: Compositors, hand and machine | ^gij'"^^. 25.62 27.30 42 42 Pressmen {^?r,™^i,, ' \ ; . . 19.89-24.00 42 19.80-24.00 36 Book and Job: Hand compositors, ... 20.00 48 ■„„„. /cylinder presses, ^P'*^"^" isinall presses. 22.00 17.00 48 48 Bookbinders, . . .... 17.70-20.00 48 Cigar Makers. Cigar makers, . . 18.00 44 Transportation . Longshoremen, ... 18.00 60 Teamsters, one-horse. 12.00, 13.00 63 Teamsters, two-horse, .... 15.00 63 Public SerTlce. Street construction, paving and cleaning: Municipal employees: Pavers, . . . • • 18.00 48 Pavers' laborers. 15.00 48 Scavengers, 13.60 48 Road sweepers, 13.50 48 Drivers, , . 13.50 48 Contractors' employees: Pavers, 24.00 48 Pavers' laborers. 12.00-13.50 48-54 Road menders, ... 9.60-10.80 48-54 Drivers, 10.60-12.00 54-60 Water works (municipal) : liaborers, . 13.50 48 Gasworks (company): Laborers, ... . • 12.00-13.50 48-54 Electric lighting (company): Electricians, . 18.00 56 Installation men. 16.50 50 Firemen, ... 16.00 56 Laborers ... 12.00 64 llectric railway (company): Surface lines: Motormen and conductors, 13.80-15.80 60 Elevated railway: Motormen, Guards, ...... 14.10-17.10 12.90-14.70 60 60 Brakemen, . . ... 11.40-13.20 60 240 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Taking wages at ISTew York as the base, = 100, in each case, the wages index numbers for Boston in 1909 ^ were — building trades, skilled men 91, hod carriers and building laborers 77 ; foundries and machine shops, skilled men 81, unskilled laborers 102 ; printing, hand compositors (job work) 90. In the building trades the usual working day is from 8 a.m. to 5 P.M., with one hour's interval at noon. Over the greater part of the United States no seasonal alteration of hours is necessary on account of the difference in the length of the summer and winter day, but in Boston a latitude is reached in which in winter daylight is curtailed to an extent that may stop work or make it difficult before the close of the ordinary work day. Thus in the agreement of the Massachusetts Society of Brick and Stone Masons, to which reference has been made, an exceptional clause is found stating that " when darkness prevents working up to 5 o'clock the noon interval may be shortened so that full time may be worked." Building work is undertaken in Boston, as generally in the States, on an extensive system of sub-contracting, the chief contractors in this city being generally either master bricklayers or master carpenters. This method, by which, while the client has the convenience of dealing with only one contractor, the latter on his part puts out most of the work to specialist firms, was influentially criticised as sacrificing too much to mere speed in execution, and as not securing a proper unity or co-ordination in construction. Among machinists there is in Boston a fairly clear distinction between the skilled machinists and unskilled or semi-skilled helpers. The predominant range for the former is quoted in the table. A start- ing point for the others is at about $12 a week. In the clothing industry there are no very large firms in Boston, but a considerable number of small ones. The machining is largely done by small contractors, and there is a fair amount of homework. Cutters are strongly organized and are on piece-work, a practice that is now unusual in America in this occupation. Their earnings are high, averaging in the best shops about $25 a week during the greater part of the year. Trimmers are paid time wages and are directly employed. Their wages range from $15 to $18 a week. Pressers are > It should be borne in jnind that the statistics in the preceding table are for October, 1910, while the data upon which the index numbers were computed by the British Labour Department were collected in February, 1909. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 241 I sometimes on time wages and sometimes on piece-work, and earnings ^ vary so considerably according to the class of work done that it is not possible to state a predominant range of weekly wages. ^ Women are mainly employed by the smaU contractors and no inves- tigation was made of the earnings of such workers, but those who work for the larger firms earn from $5.50 to $8 a week for the most part. f In Cambridge there are some large publishing and printing firms, mainly engaged on book work, and the rates for compositors (engaged a good deal on piece-work) range from $15 to $18.50 for a week of 48 hours, or somewhat lower than for the ordinary job printing in Boston as shown in the table. In the case of electric railway employees, the law requires that a day's work shall be 10 hours in 12 consecutive hours for platform work. No uniforms are provided by the electric railroad company. " Satis- factory service " money to the amount of $15 is paid to about 80 per ^ cent of the men each year. Under a plan which has been in force since 1903 employees who have been in the service of the company continuously for 25 years and who, in the judgment of the manage- ment, are unfitted to ser^-e the company further, and also those who have reached the age of 60 and have been continuously employed for not less than 15 years, are qualified for a pension not exceeding $5.75 a week for life. Employees of the electric light company have 14 days' holiday in the year with pay. Days taken off, including those on account of illness, are paid for up to 14 days in one year and deducted from the annual leave. C. Housing aktii Eents.^ Boston is not regarded as a tenement house city, but the law and administration as regards this type of dwelling have had a consider- able effect upon the lines upon which local housing has developed. The local definition of a tenement house has varied and is somewhat obscure, but the working definition is a house in which more than three families are living, or one in which, with a store underneath, as many as three families are living. Thus the '" three-family house " is not subject, as it would be, for instance, in New York and in many ' Statistics of housing and rents are as given by the British Labour Department and have not been brought up to date (1911) by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics. 242 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D.|;i5. other cities, to tenement house conditions as regards construction and inspection, and, partly owing to the above definition and to the ensuing practices, the three-family house has become a distinctive and repre- sentative type of working-class dwelling in Boston. In some districts, tenement houses have multiplied and are multiplying, especially where the value of land is greatest, where a population is found will- ing or it may be in some cases preferring to accept the conditions of ordinary tenement house life, and where either old houses fexisted that lent themselves to re-modelling on tenement house lines, or older small frame buildings were found that could be pulled dovsTi and their sites profitably used for the accommodation of twice or three times the old number. Thus as regards the extension of housing accommodation in Boston two active tendencies may be traced — at the centre the construction ■or remodelling of the brick tenement house and in the more outlying and expanding districts the erection of houses largely for three fam- ilies. These tendencies have been operative for some years, with the Tesult that while as regards the latter type the three-family house may perhaps be considered as predominant for Boston as a whole, as re- gards the former type, districts that are predominantly tenement- liouse in character have grown up in at least three fairly well-defined areas. Of these districts the more important lie near the business centre of the city, almost girdling it with their areas of relative con- gestion, and the best known of this description have been already men- tioned as lying in the West End or Jewish, and the North End or predominantly Italian, quarters. Both have been made the subject of careful studies by residents and associates of the social settlement known as South End House. One other general feature of the housing situation that must be mentioned, is a middle zone of older dwellings of which the sites are not sufficiently near the centre to make it worth while to rebuild, and not sufficiently far out to attract a population that finds itself able, at no greater expense as regards transit and at little extra expenditure of time, to seek pleasanter surroundings further afield. Thus a consider- able part of South Boston, especially that lying east of Dorchester Street ; of Oharlestowu ; parts even of East Boston — in some respects one of the most attractive of the inner districts — and parts too of East Cambridge are for the moment stagnant areas, in which housing conditions affording relatively cheap but unsatisfactory accommoda- Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 243 tion persist, and where there is no economic force at work to bring ahout either improvement or reconstruction. A proximate cause of many of these more than usually well-defined areas of arrested development is found in the Boston Elevated Eail- way Company, which, acting as a clearing house for the centre, is able easily to transmit, especially from its main termini at Charlestown and Roxbury, large numbers to various connected outlying districts lying both within and without the city boundaries. Although the tenement and the three-family houses have been men- tioned as though representing distinct types, it will be understood that they faU into various sub-divisions, the former, for instance, according to the number of tenements per house, the number and size of rooms per tenement and the conveniences that are provided; and the latter according to the two last points, whether they are built in rows or pairs or detached, and other characteristics of the dwelling that may affect its standard. Each type is, indeed, highly composite, the house for three families being perhaps of the two the more inadequately defined by the simple classification that has so far been used. The range of standard which it illustrates may, for instance, be indicated near one end of the scale by a modem but not quite new dwelling in Brighton where $6.25 a week was being paid for five light rooms and a bathroom, hot and cold water, steam heat, and janitor service, though this would represent a class of dwelling occupied by " business " rather than by working-class families ; and near the other end of the scale by a row of dwellings in Charlestown in which $2.55 per week was paid for the same number of rooms, two dark, and one a small " hall bedroom," aU, with the exception of the last, being of fair size, with no conveniences but cold water and a private water-closet on the landing. While in some of their essential characteristics the houses built for three families are somewhat closely allied to the tenement type, this similarity becomes the more complete the more closely they are built. Even in one of the outlying areas, for instance, which a few years ago ranked as one of the more desirable suburbs of the city and which to a considerable extent is maintaining its past character, there are dis- tricts in which three-family houses have been built on a speculative basis in considerable numbers, and in such close proximity to one another that the opinion is expressed by responsible persons that this district wiU " in 10 years' time rank as undesirable." Thus, both 244 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. because the types of each are so various, and because of certain condi- tions that both types tend to introduce, no clear and consistent dis- tinction can be drawn between the tenement and the three-family house. The real differences are rather those of style, position, and character which each may manifest, rather than of the type itself. To a great extent the same considerations hold good also of the house constructed for two families, which is also frequently found in some parts of the city — for instance, in South and East Boston. In a broad classification the three general types of dwelling that have been mentioned may be regarded as exliaustive, since single- family houses are not being built commercially for those of small means, and when they are built, which is not often, are usually owned by their occupiers ; and also leaving out of account the numerous lodg- ing-houses which are a class apart and are found especially in the South End and in parts of the West End districts. There were about 90,Y20 buildings of every description in Boston in 1910, and of these 62,867, or 69.3 per cent, were wooden. The total number of dwelling houses of all kinds was 69,358, including 1,639 which were vacant.^ Of the total about 7,000 are officially classed as tenement houses, and of these the great majority are in the central districts. This concentration may be illustrated by the fact that in East Boston only about 100 real tenement houses are found. Apart from the number of tenement houses no recent statistics are available as to the number of houses of different types, but in 1891 an exhaustive census was taken showing, as regards the size of tenements, that at that date, when the total population covered by the census was 311,396, 0.66 per cent of that population were living in one-roomed dwellings, 5.25 per cent in two rooms, 16.58 per cent in three rooms, 24.87 per cent in four rooms, 18.25 per cent in five rooms, 12.12 per cent in six rooms, and the rest (22.27 per cent) in seven rooms and over. The information was obtained by a house-to-house canvass of rented tenements throughout the city without respect to grade of dwellings or class of occupants, but in spite of a comprehensiveness which would tend, from the point of view of the present inquiry, to exaggerate considerably the importance of the dwellings of larger size, and of the long interval, it is probable that the relative proportions shown have still a general validity. ' The statistics in the British report were for 1907. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 245 As regards the average number of persons per dwelling-house, this, according to the Census of 1900, in the whole of Boston was 8.4. In 1907 the average ranged in the different wards from 5.5 in Brighton to 20.7 in the JSTorth End, and in the West End district the corresponding figure was 16.6. In eight other widely scattered wards, in which in the aggregate the Irish are the predominant population, but in two of which Jews are living in considerable numbers, and in one each of which Italians, Americans, and negroes are largely found, the number of persons per dwelling exceeded 10. In 14 other wards the number was less than 10. The percentage of families of every class living in dwelling-houses occupied by one family was 32.2 according to the Census of 1900, while 41.3 per cent of families were then living in dwelling-houses occupied by three or more families. In spite of a sanitary administration that is improving and on the whole efficient, from few points of view does it appear that the general housing conditions for the working classes of Boston give satisfaction (an exception being the small proportion of families occupying only one or two rooms) to those who are most anxiously watching and most eager to plan for the betterment of this great and beautifully situated city. It may be noted that in the extra-municipal areas in which, as has been mentioned, a considerable amount of building is taking place, and in which many who work in Boston live, such provision for the working classes as is being made is of a rather superior type and that " cheap " houses outside Boston appear to be old dwellings, scattered among some of the older adjacent townships. The characteristic features of the congested tenement house districts of Boston proper that have been mentioned are irregular planning and . the resulting great variety in the description of dwellings erected, the numerous courts, the close building, and, as already stated, the re- modelling or rebuilding as tenement houses of dwellings once in pri- vate occupation, and the disappearance of the once common frame house. Drying posts and lines on the roofs are common features, and are indications of the dearth of other open space even in the form of yards. In the West End the close building rather than the narrow- ness of the streets attracts attention. The tenement houses there are largely five and six-storied brick buildings. Outward evidences of poverty were not visible, and even a crowd, including a sprinkling of 246 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. the colored population, attracted by a fire in Cambridge Street, which runs through this district, was free to a noticeable extent from the poor and ragged element that such an occurrence would have collected in one of the poorer and crowded parts of London. The following are notes on dwellings visited in the West End : Three-storied frame house in court. Plenty of yard space. Out- houses. Water-closet in the house, one for three families. Three rooms — one living room and two excellent bedrooms — comfortably furnished. Occupied by Russian Jewish family. Rent $2.55 a week. On the ground floor a colored family occupied three rooms at $2 a week. This is a type of house that is disappearing. Close by in a fairly wide street with granite setts, a modem four- storied brick tenement house for 10 families. Shop in the basement. Interior of stairs lit with gas at night. The service of a janitor, with several houses in his charge, provided. Front door open. First floor front tenement contained four rooms with bathroom and private water- closet. Dimensions of two principal rooms 15 feet by 14 feet by 9 feet and 15 feet by 15 feet by 9 feet. Two other rooms inferior, but good specimens. All well furnished. Piano. Occupiers Jewish. Rent $4.65 a week. In the same house on the flrst floor back four rooms (with private water-closet), comfortably furnished, also -with Jewish occupiers, were rented at $3.25 a week. Sheds for coal were provided. In the basement were barrels for rubbish, which was collected weekly. In a flve-storied brick tenement house a five-roomed tenement with bathroom and private water-closet. Set range fitted for hot water supply. Dimensions: Parlor 14 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 6 inches; kitchen 16 feet 7 inches by 9 feet 6 inches ; three bedrooms, all with less than the present legal minimum of 90 square feet of floor space, 9 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 8 inches, 8 feet by 6 feet 10 inches and 9 feet" 6 inches by 7 feet 9 inches ; height 9 feet, or 6 inches more than the present legal minimum. The last room dark, with no window between it and adjoining rooms, but very wide doors. The window of bath- room opened out on to narrow 30 feet shaft, dirty at bottom. Fire escape from window in the rear bedroom, not in the shape of a ladder but of a balcony leading to the staircase window of the next house. Family Jewish, numbering seven. Rent $4.65 a week. Four-storied brick tenement for five families. Store in basement. Yard very small. ISTo janitor. Shed for coal. Rooms well lighted,' Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 247 comfortable and clean. Occupiers Austrian Jews. There four years and a half without change in rent. Four rooms and an alcove called a room, bathroom and private water-closet. Kent $3.95 a week. Three-storied brick houses in court. One family with two rooms on each floor. Cold water laid on. One water-closet in basement for three families. Occupiers Irish. Eent ground iloor $2, and other floors $2.25 a week. Although it is common to find a tenement house or a section of a street in the exclusive occupation of some single nationality, the mixture of peoples found in close proximity is sometimes noticeable. Thus some 20 small brick tenement houses of three and four stories in a broad court in the West End were in the occupation of Irish, Colored, Italian, and Jewish families. The court was private and, as indicating that a public way had not been taken over by the pub- lic authority and that the private owner was therefore still responsi- ble for it, the not infrequent notice " Private way, dangerous pass- ing " was exposed. In a three-storied house in this court three rooms and a small scullery, with cold water, in the occupation of a Russian Jewish family, were let for $3 a week. The North End has been mentioned as being the largest predomi- nantly Italian district in Boston, but Italian colonies are also found in South Boston, in East Boston (where as compared with those at the North End they are better off and more established), in Eoxbury, and in Dorchester, where the colonies are more scattered and are also composed of the better off. This feature also holds good of the Jewish migrants to the same district, for whom Eoxbury, for instance, as compared with the West End, presents differences analogous to those that would be found in London as between the East End and North London centres of Jewish life. The main displacement that the Italians have brought about in the North End is of the Irish, and the process is being accompanied by an extensive change not only of occupancy but of ovraership, Italians like the Jews being active buyers of real estate. American families left in the North End are exceptional, and in a house visited an American family was one of a total of three still lingering in that particular district. They were owners of property and were thus anchored by their belongings, but the household visited in a building otherwise filled by Sicilians illustrated a chainge that is in active progress not only in parts of Boston but widely in 248 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. America. To many of the older residents upon whom the change bears directly it represents the distressing introduction of an altered relationship and a new environment. But the contrast between the gay and chattering groups of Italians, happy as children and in many ways as ignorant, and the resignation of the member of the American household seen was a parable. Gaiety, simplicity, and contentment, combined with industry, represent qualities that, es- pecially when maintained amid sordid surroundings, are destined to carry a people far in the persistent and half-conscious movement that is securing its predominance in some of the less desirable dis- tricts of the city. The following notes refer to individual dwellings in this neighbor- hood: Tenement house, three families on each floor. Three rooms in the rear : living room looking on an inner court ; one large and one small bedroom. Water-closet on passage. Cold water supply. Stove fur- nished by tenant. Very dirty shaft. Occupiers Italians. Rent $2.45 a week. On the second floor two rooms, one a large and greatly treasured bedroom. Rent $2.90 a week. In the neighborhood, three rooms occupied by a family of seven were rented for $3.25, two rooms with three in family for $1.85, and two rooms with six in family, four being infants, for $2.10. In one instance the janitor complained with animation of the ten- ants' habit of throwing things from the window to save themselves trouble and in other ways showing disregard for everything outside their own home. The above dwellings illustrated indeed a contrast frequently noted between the dirty neglected precincts and the rooms, especially the bedrooms, themselves. Care and responsibility for the home appear often to stop within the four walls. In the South End some excellent tenements were seen. Three good rooms with a bathroom were let for $3.50 a week, and other sets of three rooms for $2.50 to $3 a week. Four rooms could be had for $3,50 a week, or with bathroom for $4. In an old frame house six sets of three rooms were let at $1.Y5 a week. Cold water was the only convenience and one water-closet in the basement served for the whole house. The occupants were colored. In this neighborhood, where also some of the closest building in Boston may be found, is a block belonging to the Boston Co-operative Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 249 Building Company, a distinctive feature of wMch is the special provi- sion of one and two-roomed apartments. The latter, as is most usual in Boston, are rarely in the occupation of ordinary families, but, of, for instance, a widow "and child, or spinsters. The regulations of the Health Department prohibit the occupation of a single room under all circumstances for cooking and for all other living purposes, but some discretion in practice is allowed. Charlestown is mainly an Irish district and is fairly uniform in character. It is shrinking rather than increasing in numbers owing to the encroachment on the one side of the United States Navy Yard and on the other of the Boston and Maine Eailroad. The best district is in the neighborhood of a small park in which the Bunker Hill Monument stands. Frame houses, often for three families, of an old type with no con- veniences save cold water, are common. Four and five-roomed apart- ments appear to predominate, letting at something above or below 70 cents a room a week, unless, which would be the exception, they are . modern with modern conveniences, in which case a representative rental would be nearer $1 a room. Much the same rental conditions prevail in South and East Boston. In Dorchester, where buildings are newer although, as already stated, often unsatisfactorily placed, the scale would be somewhat higher, as also in West Koxbury and Brighton. The more modern three-family house to which reference has been made is built in rows, in pairs and detached. Each dwelling is self- contained, generally with a separate entrance from a public hall and stairway in front, and often with a similar entrance from a small stairway in the rear. Types vary greatly, but a fairly representative dwelling with five rooms and a bathroom would contain a small private hallway, leading on the one side into the parlor, bedroom, and dining room, the last with its window opening on to an open " piazza " or balcony — one of the most desirable features of these houses ; on the other side the private hallway leads into the second bedroom and the bathroom, and at the end is the door, leading to the kitchen, at the other side of which is the entrance from the back public stairway. Such a dwelling would probably be fitted with a fixed range with hot water fittings. The rent, varying according to the character of the house and locality, might be put at from $3.90 to $4.25 a week. A six-roomed tenement much the same in general planning might be 250 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. rented at from $4.40 to $4.65, or if fitted with a furnace in the base- ment for heatiag with hot air at $5.75 a week. Certain economies are secured in the construction of the three-fam- ily house as, for instance, in plumbing requirements, but the multipli- cation of this type of dwelling appears to be due rather to the force of habit in construction and to the strength of the imitative faculty than to pressure upon space or to any special advantage which it offers. There is a tendency, partly owing to the increased price of mate- rials, for houses to be built more slightly than formerly and for rooms to be built smaller, and the 20 feet front by 66 feet deep building plot of a six-roomed, three-family house of comfortable but not modern type seen in Charlestown represented a more than ordinary liberal planning. The measurements of another tenement in which five rooms, 9 feet high, contained 724 square feet of floor space, excited favorable comparison with some more modern erections. As a type of the house for two families may be noted a frame building of two stories, conveniently arranged with separate entrances back and front, with separate cellar and yard, and private water- closets. Cold water and gas were laid on. The cooking stoves, in one case costing $15, were supplied by the tenants. The occupiers were American, and on the ground floor the rent for four rooms was $3 a week, and upstairs the rent for five rooms, that is, includ- ing the " hall bedroom," was $3.25. The predominant rentals given in the table below are derived from the returns specially obtained for the purposes of the present inquiry. In connection with the ranges stated in the table it must be stated that two-roomed dwelling's are not representative for the city as a whole, but in tenement houses the predominant rent for dwellings of this size in February, 1909, was from $1.60 to $2.10 a week. Six- roomed dwellings are also relatively uncommon, especially in the ordinary tenement house, and the figures quoted cannot therefore be taken as applying to districts where the tenement house is the pre- vailing type. .The rent of tenements with six rooms shows an un- usually vnde range, even for a great city including dwellings of very various type and age, and, starting from as low as from $o to $3.45 a week, reaches to $5.75 and upwards. They represent a class of dwellings that is largely in non-working-class occupation. With the exception of two and six-roomed dwellings, for which, for the reasons just meptioned, a common body of rental figures cannot Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 251 te secured, the predominant figures shown by the results of the present inquiry are either identical or almost identical for the main types of dwellings for the city as a whole. The ranges covered are wide hut the differences in the predominant rentals, although showing in the maxima some indication of greater pressure upon house room in the more congested districts, are on the whole slight, the only case in which the difference is marked being that of the four-roomed dwell- ings in the ordinary tenement house. Here the mean of the limits of the predominant range shows an excess of 46 cents a week over that for the same number of rooms in houses of the various types con- structed for three families. On the whole, however, room for room, the predominant figures show a great general similarity both of figure and of range, and the following table has therefore been pre- pared giving the combined results for all tenements of the various sizes specified, viz., two, three, four, five, and six rooms: Table 24. — Predominant Rents of Working-class Dwellings. Number of Rooms per Dwelling. Predominant Weekly Rents Two rooms, $1.60-$2.10 Three rooms, 1.85- 2.55 Four rooms. 2.30- 3.25 Five rooms, 3.25- 3.90 Six rooms, 3.70- 6.30 The level of rents at ITew York being represented by 100, the rents index number for Boston is 82. Taxes and water-rate are paid by the owner, and, apart from a small poll tax, tenants are thus left free from any direct taxation. The water-rate for a dwelling occupied by two families ranges from $7 per annum upwards according to value, with an additional charge of $5 per annum for one'or more water-closets. Thus a house occu- pied by two families valued at over $2,030 and under $3,040 would be rated at $15 per annum. Dwellings used by three or more fam- ilies are rated according to rental at from $2.50 per tenement with an extra charge for each water-closet and bath tub of $3 or for water- closet and bath tub together of $5. Thus, a house occupied by three families at rentals not exceeding $5.75 a week with water-closets and bath tubs would be rated at $22.50 per annum, or one occupied by 252 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. six families, supplied with three water-closets but without bath tubs, at $24 per annum. Sanitary inspection is in the hands of a carefully organized Health Department according to the regulations of which the tenement houses, as forming part of the general responsibility devolving upon the Department, have to be visited every six months. Seventeen Health Inspectors are employed, and in addition five police officers are specially detailed to the service of this Department.^ A few attempts off the lines of ordinary commercial enterprise have been made to meet the housing requirements of the working classes in Boston, but recent enterprise in this direction has been unimportant. The chief significance of the attempts that have been made in the past consists not so much in the superior character of the accommodation now offered as in the recognition of the social im- portance of the housing question and in the endeavor made to raise the standard of the normal relationship between landlord and tenant, and by so doing to make each interpret more widely the nature of his responsibilities. In this respect a long and honorable record is held by the Boston Co-operative Building Company, which has now been in existence for 40 years and is at present the owner of various properties on which about 1,000 persons are housed. The rents vary according to the nature and locality of the property, and range for two rooms from $1.25 to $2.25, for three rooms from $1.50 to $3.30, and for four rooms from $2.25 to $3.75 a week. In 1900 about 81 per cent of all dwellings of every description in Boston were rented. D. Retail Peices. (1) Introductory. — In its general features the machinery of retail distribution possessed by Boston is that common to many large cities — a central ganglion of busy and crowded shopping streets, recog- nized shopping centres in all well-defined out-lying districts, be these near to or far from the centre, and, in addition, especially so far as groceries, meat, and provisions are concerned, scattered shops more definitely of the " neighborhood store " type. Large " department stores " are found which, owing to their con- venience, their free delivery of goods and their general attractiveness, absorb much custom, but as regards foodstuff's probably have less • Acts of 1911, chapter 287, approved April 14, 1911, provides that 10 police officers shall be detailed to the Health Department. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 253 effect upon prices and upon the general marketing practices of the community than the so-called " multiple " shops or " chain stores." The latter are numerous, including most of the shops belonging to the largest business of this kind in New England. This type of shop is of comparatively recent growth, and the particular firm referred to has sprung up during the last 16 years. Credit is not given by the ordinary " chain stores," but although the prices ruling in them are often relatively low they are not the determining factor in the local range of prices. These appear to be still mainly determined, subject to any ruling conditions of the wholesale markets, by competition between the ordinary shops. Trading stamps are a good deal used with a view to securing and retaining custom, but they are probably a device that will not prove lasting. Co-operative stores are not found, but the principle of industrial co-partnership is in successful operation in one 'of the best known drapery establishments and is now attracting favorable attention. Public markets for retail buyers are not important for the work- ing-class consumer, the stalls in the two best-known market buildings, mainly for meat, provisions, and fruit, being largely taken by whole- sale dealers and by those who supply the large consumers, such as hotels and restaurants. The smaller and poorer class of consumer is affected by a certain amount of " clearing-up " trade rather than by the ordinary business of the markets as a whole. On the other hand in their immediate neighborhood two or three streets, with their push carts, shops, and a small local market hall, are on occasion filled with a huckstering and bartering cosmopolitan crowd, but in general the public market system affects retail distribution but slightly in Boston. Another form of " market " so-called is, however, found every- where. This is simply the foodstuff shop which exists in many cities, in which, whether it be large and fully equipped, or small and unpre- tentious, the principle of the " department " is adopted. In such a shop, if it be a complete establishment, groceries, bread, meat, poultry, provisions, fruit, and vegetables can all be purchased under one roof. This description of shop, more or less completely developed, is the most distinctive and perhaps the most common type so far as the retail distribution of food is concerned in Boston. In spite of changes in the direction of cash payments, as through the medium of the " multiple " shops, credit is still extensively given, 254 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. but although individual customers of poor reputation who take credit may have to pay more, either by getting an inferior quality for their money, or in the shape of a higher market price, a double basis of charging for cash and for credit accounts is not systematically adopted. The conditions of competition and the gossip of neighbors prevent this. Neither, it may be noted, are customers who take reasonable credit in general less valued than others, since credit is considered by some to ensure regularity of dealing: they " always I come." ' (2) Groceries and Other Commodities. — The following notes refer to particular commodities. The brands of eggs in most general consumption are Western, and in an ordinary year do not appear to vary greatly in price. They are, however, usually cheapest from April to June, when local supplies are most abundant. Eeally fresh "near by" eggs in' May, 1911, cost about 50 cents a dozen. The butter sold in May is mainly storage. Oleomargarine is rarely kept. The flour sold is of various grades and one of the best is a Western brand accepted by many dealers as a kind of standard maximum and was being sold in May, 1911, at $1.00 for 24^2 pounds. The lowest j price quoted for flour in Boston in May, 1911, was Y5 cents, but the predominant price for 241'2 pounds was 90 cents. As regards bread, the ordinary 5-cent loaf is generally supposed to weigh one pound, but the predominant weight was 14 ounces in Febru- ary, 1909. Much bread is sold by the stores, being delivered to them twice a day by large wholesale bakers, who take back any old loaves and gell these as stale bread. " Rye bread " of the ordinary mixture of wheat and rye flour, and in various sizes, is sold to a considerable extent, especially in the Jewish districts, at a slightly heavier weight for a 5-cent loaf than the wheaten bread. The rough rye bread so much in evidence in some districts in New York is not sold. Much milh is sold " loose," and the price for milk so retailed would be eight cents and under a quart. A regulation, making the sale of milk in bottles compulsory, made by the Health Departmentl became operative June 15, 1909 ; but in a test case before the Supreme Court in the Spring of 1911 the legality of the regulation was not sustained.-' In September milk was one cent dearer at some stores than in February, when the predominant price was from eight to nine cents a quart. 1 Commonwealth v. Drew, 208 Mass. 493. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 255 Anthracite coal is consumed in Boston and the usual price per " short " ton of 2,000 pounds for " nut " coal, the variety ordinarily consumed, was $7.00 in May, In July this price rose to $7.25 according to custom, the winter level ($7.50) being regained, by regular monthly increments, in September. Much coal is bought by the ton, sometimes on the instalment plan, when a usual price is $8.00. Larger dealers are not in the habit of selling less than a quarter of a ton. Common small units of sale are in 100, 50, and 25-pound bags, with the weight stated thereon, and (compulsorily in the case of the 25-pound bags) with the name of the dealer also. The predominant price for the 25-pound. bag in May, 1911, was from 10 cents to 12 cents. A good deal of coke is consumed, small lots being retailed in bags of about 18 pounds at 10 cents. The following table shows the prices most usually paid by the working classes of Boston for various articles of food, for coal, and for kerosene in May, 1911 : ^ Table 25. — Predominant Prices paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. COMMODITIEa. Units. Predominant Prices Tea pound S0.20-$0.50 Coffee, . . . pOTHfd 7tS-:33-" Sugar, white, granulated, pound .055 Sugar, brown. pound .055 Eggs, ..... dozen .20-.32 Cheese, American, . . pound .14-. 18 Butter . . pound .22-. 28 Butterine, , . . pound .22 Oleomargarine, pound .23-. 25 Milk, fresh, . quart .07 Milk, condensed can .09 Milk, evaporated, ... 20 ounces .09-. 11 Potatoes, Irish, ... peck .15 Mour, wheat, . . ... 24^ pounds .75-. 90 Ilour, prepared, . . . . • • ■ 3 pounds .23 Oatmeal, ..... pound .04 Cereals, prepared. package .10-, 15 Macaroni, pound .10-. 12 Bread, white, ..... 2 pounds .115 Vegetables, canned, ... — .08-. 12 Soups, canned, . M)4-.W Be^, baked, canned, . . 40 ounces .07-. 12 Beans, dry, . . . . . . . quart .075-. 12 Dried fruUs: Prunes, pound * .05-. 125 Apricots, . . • • ■ pound .14-. 15 Peaches, • ... pound .14 Apples, .... pound .14 Coal, anthracite / ton \ 25-pound bag 7.00 .12 Kerosene, . . • ■ • • ■ ■ gallon .08-. 10 Coke, ... • • 18-pound bag .10 1 This Bureau has used data relating to prices of commodities, gathered by its special agents in May, 1911, in place of the statistics for February, 1910, which were presented in the British report. 256 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. (3) Meat. — The greater part of the meat supply of Boston of every kind, except possibly veal, is Western, and most is not only Western-reared but Western-killed and Western-dressed. ' The abat- toir is at ISTorth Brighton, on the site of a cattle market once well- known throughout New England, and all local killing is done there. The amount thus killed has increased somewhat in recent years, partly owing to the Jewish regulations as regards " Kosher " meat, and the larger number of Jews now living in Boston and vicinity. But the great bulk of the meat consumed still comes dead from the West. The grade of meat that Boston secures is said to be relatively high. Mutton, in any case under that name, is little consumed, " lamb " being the common designation. It is worthy of note that in the Labor Bulletin of the State Bureau of Statistics for Decem- ber, 1907, where retail prices for various commodities sold in Mas- sachusetts cities are given, prices for " lamb " alone are quoted. The following were the prices most commonly paid for various cuts of meat by the working classes of Boston in May, 1911:-^ Table 26. — Predominant Prices paid by the Working Classes in ^ fay, 1911. Predomi- Predomi- Description op Cuts. nant Prices per Description of Cuts. nant Prices per Pound Pound Beef. Other: Roast: Dried or chipped. SO. 35 Face of rump, $0.16-10.22 Liver, . .08-. 10 Top of round, .16-, 20 Kidneys, .08-. 12 Prime ribs, . .16-. 20 Heart, .10 Second cut ribs, . .14-. 17 Tripe, .06-. 12 Chuck or short ribs. .14-. 16 Bottom of round. Beef trimmings. .12-. 17 .08-. 10 Mutton and Lamb. Fresh: Steak: Rump, .... Top of round, Sirloin, . Hamburger, , Flank, . Bottom of round. Vein, .25-. 28 .20-. 26 .22-. 26 .10-. 14 .10 .15-. 17 .14-. 16 Leg, Breast, . Loin, Chops, .... Shoulder, Neck, Flank, . Leg and loin. .16-. 18 .10-. 12 .16-. 18 .15-.25 .10-.12 .05-.08 .05-.08 .10-. 15 Corned flanks. .04 Soup or Soil: Mutton trimmings. .05-.06 Without shin, .08-. 12 Kidneys, 2.20 With shin, .C4-.10 Brisket, , . .12 Veal. Edge bone, . .10-. 12 Fresh: Bottom of round. .12-. 14 Leg, . . .15-, 16 Neck, .08 Chops, rib, . .22-.24 Ox tails. .10 Chops, loin, . .25 Breast, . .10-. 14 Salt or Corned: Neck, .08 Flank .06-. 10 Steak, .25-.28 Navel, ... .09-. 10 Loin, .17-. 22 Brisket, .12-. 14 Calves' heart. .04-.08 THokend, . .10-. 12 1 See footnote on page 255. 2 Per dozen. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 257 Table 26. — Predominant Prices paid by the Working Concluded. Classes in May, 1911 — Desckiption of Cdt3. Predomi- nant Prices per Pound Dksoriptiok of Cuts. Predomi- nant Prices per Pound Pork. Prosh: Chops, . Blades, ... Xoin, . . Ribs, . . Shoulder, PranMurters, Bologna, Kidneys, Pigs' feet. Liver, . SaU: Wet or dry, . Si)are ribs, . Smohei: Ham, Bacon, . Ham ends, Shoiilder, Plucks, Fowl. Chicken, . Fowl, . . . . $0.14-$0.16 .15-. 16 .12-. 16 .10-. 14 .14-. 16 .10-. 18 .10-. 15 .08-. 10 .08-. 10 1.10-.12 .09-.12 .10 .15-. 17 .16-. 20 .12 .11 M5 .20-. 25 .18-. 22 Cooked Meats. Tongue, Ham, boiled, Ham, pressed, Ham, minced, Corned beef, Meat hash. Hogshead cheese, Fish. Fresh: Halibut, Cod, . Haddock, Mackerel, Flounders, . SaU: Mackerel, Cod, . Herring, Smoked: Herring, Haddock, .... Canned: Salmon, JO. 35- to. 40 .27-. 30 .15 .14-. 16 .18-. 30 .10 .14 .10-. 15 .08 .055 S.25 .04-. 07 1.05 .08-. 12 .03 .025-. 03 .10-. 12 .12-. 16 1 Each. 2 Per 2)4 pounds. 8 Per three pounds. Prices at New York being taken as the base, = 100, in each case, the index number for the price of meat at Boston in February, 1909,^ was 105, for other food it was 105 and for food prices as a whole 105. Por rents and food prices combined the index number was 99. Boston is an important fish market but the volume of its domestic export robs the city itself of any particular advantage from the point of view of local consumers that might otherwise be derived from its large local supplies. The fish is mainly haddock, cod, hake, pollack, and, principally in June and July, mackerel ; the total value of fresh fish landed by American vessels in 1910 being put at $2,708,904. The following were retail prices for fresh fish in May, 1911: Haddock, 5% cents a pound; cod, 8 cents; halibut from 12 cents to 15 cents ; and mackerel, according to size and season, at prices equivalent to about 12l^ cents a pound. As regards poultry, which according to the regulations must be sold •dressed ordinary prices were 20 cents a pound for fowl and 22 cents a, pound for chicken. 1 It should be borne in mind that the statistics in the preceding table are for May, 1911, while the data upon which the index numbers were computed by the British Labour Department were collected in February, 1909. 258 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. 2. BROCKTON. A. Inteoductoey. Brockton, the principal centre in the United States for the manu- facture of fine grade shoes, is situated in Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston. It was not incorporated as a city until 1881. Originally it formed part of the town of Bridgewater and later, in 1821, was itself constituted a town under the name of North Bridge- water. In 1874 it adopted its present name. Various stages in the Tapid growth of the population of Brockton since 1870 are shown in the following table : Table 27. — Population of Brockton , 1870-1910. Yeaks. Population. Increase Percentage Increa^ 1870, . ... 1880, . 1890, 1900, . 1910, . . . . 8,007 13,608 27,294 40,063 56,878 6,601 13,686 12,769 16,815 70.0 100.6 46.8 42.0 The area of the city is 21% square miles. . . . In its outward appearance the city gives an impression of pros- perity and comfort on the part of its workers, and this impression is confirmed by closer investigation. Though scattered instances of dilapidated or ill-kept houses are to be found, it may be said that the city is wholly without slums, as that term is usually understood. This pleasing characteristic is no doubt due in part to the recent growth of the city, but much must also be allowed for the fact that Brockton is engaged mainly in an industry in which most of the employees are well paid. The appearance of the city owes something also to the fact that most of the manufacturers and heads of concerns doing business in Brockton have their homes there, and their presence accounts for a number of fine residences which, with their gardens, tend to relieve the monotony of appearance characteristic of many industrial centres. The influence of the close proximity of Boston, though clearly per- ceptible in certain branches of the city's activities, is not so well marked as in some of the other industrial centres in Massachusetts, Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 259 the directing force behind most of the Brockton enterprises being largely exercised in the city itself. Brockton may be contrasted with such Massachusetts cities as Law- rence and Lowell as regards the elements of its population. Accord- ing to the Census of 1905, the only non-English-speaking nationality represented by more than a thousand persons was the Swedish. Though no fewer than 12,275 persons out of a total population of 47,794: were shown to be foreign-born, over half of this number con- sisted of English-speaking immigrants not readily distinguishable from the native population. Of the total foreign-born population, 27.4 per cent were born in Canada (only one-quarter of these being French Canadians), 23.3 per cent in Ireland, 20.3 per cent in Sweden, 9.3 per cent in Great Britain, 6.3 per cent in Kussia, and 5.4 per cent in Poland. The English, the English-speaking Canadians, and, to a less extent, the Irish become readily assimilated to the Americans themselves in their mode of living ; the Swedish people also maintain a standard of life at least as high as that of the Americans ; so that the proportion of the population which is composed of those national elements which are usually most closely associated with poverty in American cities is not large. The industrial importance of the city is derived entirely from its manufacture of boots and shoes. Beyond this industry and such directly dependent trades as the manufacture of shoe " findings," few manufactures are represented to any extent in the city. The predom- inance and the magnitude of the boot and shoe industry are shown clearly by statistics published by the State for the year 1908. The total output of all industries in the city was stated at $44,711,397, and of this sum $35,276,875 was due to boots and shoes, $2,686,148 to boot and shoe findings, and $2,824,453 to boot and shoe cut stock. The municipal activities of Brockton are confined to the ordinary services undertaken by a modern American city, municipal trading being limited to the maintenance of the water supply; this supply, which is considered to be very satisfactory, is obtained from Silver Lake some distance from the city. The city is served by an elaborate system of electric street railways which is controlled by a company operating over the greater part of Eastern Massachusetts. Boston, Providence, and other points even more distant can be readily reached. The electric light and power supply and the gas works are also under the control of private companies. The charge for electric light current 260 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. in the early part of 1909 was 20 cents net per kilowatt-hour, but since July of that year this charge has been reduced to 15 cents. At present electricity for lighting or for other domestic uses has not made its appearance to any appreciable extent in working-class homes. The charge for gas is $1.20 a 1,000 cubic feet, a discount of 10 cents on this price being allowed for prompt payment. . . . The number of gas stoves known to be in use in the city in May, 1911, was about 6,800. The private charities of the citj^ are not organized, differing in this from so many American cities. Public assistance is controlled by the City Government and the principles of administration and relief are generally similar to those in other cities of the State. Indoor relief is given at the City Home, a comfortable, neatly furnished house, with farm lands attached, on the outskirts of the city. The number of inmates of both sexes is usually about 100, nearly all of whom are of very advanced age. Outdoor relief to those who have a settlement in the city is usually given in kind, the value of the weekly supplies being about $2 in Summer and $3 in Winter for each family assisted. The articles supplied, according to the needs or wishes of the family assisted, comprise flour, butter, sugar, tea, coffee, potatoes, beans, rice, oatmeal, meal, crackers, soap, pork, salt fish, and lard. The goods are supplied from the city store and it is said that the quantity given for $2 is more than could be obtained at a retail store for that sum. Shoes are also supplied for children in deserving cases, and on the whole there is a good deal of elasticity in admijiistration. The total number of families assisted in 1910 was 330, representing 1,273 persons. The sanitary administration of the city is under the control of a Department of Public Health, consisting of a chairman, a health officer (who is a medical man), and an executive officer. The staff consists of a bacteriologist and inspector of milk, a plumbing and sanitary inspector, and inspector of meats and provisions, a superin- tendent for collection of ashes and rubbish, and a city physician. The total numbers of births, deaths, deaths under one year and deaths from tuberculosis of all kinds for the period 1906-1910 are shown in the following table: Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 261 Table 28. — Births, Deaths, Infant Mortality, and Deaths from Tuberculosis, 1906-1910. Yeabs. Births Deaths Deaths under One Year Deaths from Tuber- culosis 1906, 1,171 569 109 55 1907, 1,364 677 143 61 1908, 1,456 605 137 51 1909, 1,392 625 161 46 1910, . ... 1,398 706 134 47 B. Occupations, Wages, and Houes of Laboe. The importance of the hoot and shoe industry in Brockton has been already referred to. Apart frop this and cognate industries, the largest single enterprise is a color-printing establishment. The purely industrial character of the city, to which testimony is afforded by the comparatively small percentage of people engaged in professional pursuits, is shown by the following table of occupations based on the results of the Federal Census of 1900 : Table 29. — Number of Persons of 10 Years of Age and Over engaged in Gainful Occupations in Brockton in 1900. Gkoups of Oocdpations. Males Females Both Sexes Building, ... Metal working, Textile, Boot and shoe making, . ... Clothing, . ... Woodworking and furnishmg. Paper and printing. Food, liquors, and tobacco, •. • Other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, Trade and transportation, . . Laborers (not otherwise specified), •.•,■. -.^ ■, ■ .. ■ Professional, domestic and personal service, and agricultural pursuits. 830 371 21 6,254 77 80 113 133 853 2,762 476 1,075 2 8 1,959 374 107 20 67 529 10 1,416 830 373 29 8,213 451 80 220 153 925 3,291 486 2,491 All Occupations, 13,050 4,492 17,542 It win be seen from the above table that 47 per cent of all persons employed in work for gain were engaged in the staple industry of the city. Later figures based on a State inquiry in the year 1908 are even more significant. These figures relate only to persons employed as manual workers in manufacturing industries, and show that of such workers 82 per cent were engaged directly in boot and shoe manu- 262 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. f acturing, while a large percentage of the remainder were engaged in trades auxiliary to the chief industry. The following are the full details : Table 30. — Number of Wage-earners employed in 1908 in the Manufacturing Industries of Brockton. Wage-eakners Employed AVERAGE NUMBER Smallest Number Greatest Number Hales Females Both Sexes Boots and shoes, . . . . Boot and shoe cut stock, Boot aud shoe findings, Boxes, fancy and paper, . Lasts, ... Foundry and machine shop products, . Other industries, 9,264 503 367 • 66 140 146 819 3,814 228 200 168 141 13,078 731 567 234 140 146 960 9,598 615 432 213 113 130 792 14,692 845 723 248 158 172 1,150 All Industries, 11,305 4,551 15,856 11,893 17,988 The above table shows that if the manufacture of fancy and paper boxes be regarded as one dependent on the shoe industry, the number of workers employed in manufactures having no obvious connection with boot and shoe manufacture is less than seven per cent of the total. Reference to the last two columns of the table will show that in the boot and shoe trade a great fluctuation occurred in the numbers employed during the year. This feature of the statistics is no doubt explained to a large extent by the general depression of trade which passed over the country in that year, but much is accounted for by the occurrence of trade ^ disputes. The year 1908, indeed, compares very unfavorably with the previous year. In 1907 the average num- ber of wage-earners in the manufacturing industries reported in the city was 18,338, the difference between this total and that for 1908 being almost entirely due to the falling off which occurred in the leading industry. In 1907, too, the fluctuation in the numbers em- ployed was much smaller than in 1908. The greatest number em- ployed in the boot and shoe factories in the former year was 16,558, while the smallest number was 13,098. The boot and shoe trade in Brockton is highly organized, and prac- tically all the manufactui'ers recognize agreements with the men's 1 The word " trade " in the British report is evidently here used in the sense of " labor." Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 263 unions. The trade union stamp system has been developed with con- siderable success. There is little doubt that the manufacturers regard the stamp as an asset of some value for advertising purposes and as a quid pro quo for their concession of union claims. The agree- ment, known as the " union stamp agreement," is entered into be- tween the manufacturer and the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, the international organization which forms a co-ordinating body for the unions concerned with special branches of the trade. The principal provisions of the agreement are that " the union agrees to furnish its union stamp to the employer free of charge, to make no additional price for the use of the stamp, to make no discrimination between the employer and other firms, persons or corporations who may enter into an agreement with the union for the use of the union stamp, and to make all reasonable effort to advertise the union stamp and to create a demand for the union stamped products of the employer, in common with other employers using the union stamp." On the other side the employer agrees to hire as boot and shoe workers only members of the union. It is further agreed that the union will not. cause or sanction any strike, that the employer will not lock out his employees while the agreement is in force, and that all questions of wages or conditions of labor which cannot be mutually agreed upon shall be submitted to the Massachusetts State Board of Conciliation and Arbitration. In addition to the Joint Shoe Council of the Boot and Shoe Workers Union there are no fewer than 16 unions concerned with special branches of the trade, viz., those of the vampers, lasters, sole fasteners, skivers, heelers, edgemakers, finishers, treers, packers and dressers, sole leather cutters, stitchers, and cutters and also a mixed union. It may readily be surmised that with this somewhat elaborate organiza- tion the number of questions arising for settlement is considerable. Most of the negotiations between the employers and the men take place through the Manufacturers Association, to which the majority of the firms belong. The number of references to the State Board of Arbi- tration is great. In 1910 no fewer than 133 separate decisions were given by the Board in matters submitted by Brockton concerns, several firms figuring a number of times in this total. The general feeling appears to be that this organization of industry is an advantage to both sides, and certainly the progress of the city under this regime has been marked. The advance made by Brockton as a boot and shoe centre and the rapidity with which the volume of 264 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. its output lias grown show at least that industrial prosperity, measured by the usual standards, has been concurrent with the frank recognition of the men's unions. On the other hand, it is sometimes argued that the concession of the high union rates of wages has resulted in the transference to other centres of many of the cheaper grades of work. There appears to be no doubt that the average yearly earnings of the boot and shoe operatives are higher in Brockton than in any other boot and shoe centre in Massachusetts. It is claimed, indeed, that they are higher than in any other centre in the world. According to the State Bureau of Statistics, the average yearly earnings in 1908 of work- people of both sexes engaged in this trade were $654.10 in Brockton, $596.47 in Lynn, $594.54 in Beverly, and $587.34 in Haverhill, all these cities being important boot and shoe making centres. If, how- ever, it is true that high rates of wages have resulted in the loss to Brockton of certain of the cheaper kinds of work, such a change is probably only an aspect of a tendency which, according to local in- formation, has in fact been at work, namely, the gravitation to the city of the most efficient labor in the country. There seem accordingly to be adequate grounds for the belief that a development has taken ur is taking place which might be foreseen in the light of ordinary theory. High rates of wages, once established, have developed or attracted labor of a quality for which alone such wages can be commercially paid, and the labor previously available has been obliged either to bring itself up to the new standards of efficiency or to seek employ- ment elsewhere. If such be the industrial phase through which Brockton is passing, it would go far to explain those favorable feat- ures in its appearance and economic life to which references are made elsewhere in this report. In 1908 the number of labor disputes in Brockton was large and unusual. One in particular was very serious for the city, inas- much as it resulted in the virtual removal to other centres of a large firm, and the consequent dismissal of over 2,000 workers. The dis- pute in this case, coming after a number of years of remarkably harmonious relationships, had its origin in a somewhat technical point. The matter was submitted to arbitration by the State Board, whose decision was distasteful to the men. The Boot and Shoe Workers Union then gave notice, as they were technically quite entitled to do, that they would terminate the " union stamp agree- ment " and this action caused a good deal of bitterness that was Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 265 responsible for further quarrels. The effect of the dismissal of so many workers had created a good deal of disturbance in the economic life of the city. In its annual report the Board of Arbitration, com- menting on the dispute, said, " It is the opinion of the Board that industrial peace is retarded in this instance by relatively small matters and that to set them aside would result in a renewal of the friendly and contractual relations which accomplished much benefit to the community during the past 10 years, and contributed to the high repute of the parties." ^ The strength of the trade union position in the shoe industry in Brockton has not been without ejBfect on the other trades of the city, most of which are effectively organized. ^ Trade union rates are paid in all branches of the building trades, and the amount of non-union labor employed is probably insignificant. In the printing trades the union rates are generally paid or exceeded, though not all the shops are staffed exclusively with union labor. The machinists are organ- ized, but in Brockton as in many other cities wide differences of skill, etc., are a difficulty in the way of the establishment and enforcement of a high minimum rate. The union rate for machinists is $15 a week, a rate which, when compared with the rates paid locally in other occupations, is somewhat low. In practice, however, this rate is often exceeded. The machine shop industry in Brockton is small; there is no general foundry in the city, casting work being sent to Bridgewater or elsewhere. Not the least effective union in the city is that of the laborers. This union has had a large measure of success 1 In the Autumn of 1909 a settlement of the existing differences was made. The union stamp agree- ment was then renewed between the parties concerned and the firm resumed operations in Brockton at once. The following table shows the number of strikes in the boot and shoe industry in Brockton dur- ing the past five years: Strikes in the Boot and Shoe Industry in Brockton, 1906-1910. Classification. 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 Number of strikes, .... Number ordered by labor organizations, Number of establishments involved. Number of strikers Number of other employees thrown out of work, . Total number of employees involved, . Number of working days lost, Kesults: Number of strikes successful, . Number of strikes partly successful, Number of strikes unsuccessful. 2 2 77 77 91 1 1 6 2 6 360 3,300 3,660 29,185 1 5 1 1 1 18 325 343 361 1 6 2 6 480 1,480 1,960 9,953 2 1 3 266 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. in fixing the rate of wages for general unskilled able-bodied labor at the rate of $13.50 a week. As in other American cities the unions show a marked singleness of purpose in carrying out the primary objects for which they exist, being very little identified with aims other than those directly con- cerned with wages and hours of labor. The sick and death benefits are the only exception to this general policy. In the Painters' Union the sick benefit is $5 a week for a maximum of eight weeks in any one year. The death benefit varies from $50 to $300 according to length of membership. This may be taken as fairly typical of the building trade unions. There are no out-of-work benefits other than strike pay. The subscriptipns to the unions are usually 20 cents a week. The following table shows the predominant weekly wages and hours of labor in the principal trades and occupations in October, 1910:' Table 31. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910. Occupations. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Building Trades. Bricklayers, . $26.40 48 Stonemasons, 24.00 43 Carpenters, . 21.01 44 Electrical workers, 19.38 44 Plasterers, . 26 40 44 Plumbers, 24.20 44 Painters, 18.04 44 Steamfitters 22.00 44 Hod carriers and building laborers. 16.80 48 General laborers, 13.50 48 Foundries and Machine Shops. Machinists, . 15.00 54 Blacksmiths, , 16.00 48 Laborers, ... 9.00-10.50 54 Printing Trades. Newspaper: Compositors, hand and machine (day work), Book and job : Hand compositors. 20.00 48 18,00 48 Pressmen, cylinder presses, 19.00 48 Pressmen, job presses, 16.00 48 Boots and Shoes. Outside cutters {^-d,^^^ 18.00 21.00 54 54 Outsole cutters, . . . . TOP cutters {^^^^ • 18.00 54 18.00 18.00 54 54 Goodyear welters and Goodyear stitchers, 20.00-25.00 48-54 Lasters and pullers-over, 16.50-20.00 48-54 Edge trimmers and edge setters. 20.00-25.00 48-54 Vampers, 17.00-22.00 54 Heelers, 20.00-24.00 54 Treers, ... 15.00-18.00 54 1 See footnote on page 238, ante. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 267 Table 31. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910 — Concluded. OcGtTPiTIONB. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Public Service. Street construction, paving, and cleaning (municipal) ; Pavers, . $21.00 48 Pavers' laborBra, 15.00 48 Koad menders. 15.00 48 Scavengers, . 15.00 48 Drivers, teamsters. 15.00 48 Water works (municipal) : Laborers, 15.00 48 Gas works (company) : Gas stokera, . 17.50 56 Laborers, 13.50 48 Electric light and power works (company): Stokers, . 19.25 56 Linemen, 15.00-18.00 48 Laborers, 13.50 48 Electric railways (company): 'Motormen and conductors: ^ 1st year. 15.75 70 2d year, ... 16.45 70 3d, 4tli, and 5th years, 17.15 70 6th and 7th years, 17.85 70 After 7 years. 18.55 70 Taking wages at New York as the base, = 100, in each case, the wages index mimbers for Brockton in 1909 ^ were — building trades, skilled men 88, hod carriers and bricklayers' laborers 102 ; foundries and machine shops, skilled men Y5, unskilled laborers 97; printing, hand compositors (job work) 83. In the above table the hours of labor of the workers in the boot and shoe industry have been given as accurately as possible, but in regard to the piece-workers there is considerable doubt as to the usual number of hours worked in an ordinary week. Many of the piece- workers appear to have a good deal of freedom in their comings and goings and their hours of work were variously estimated at from seven to nine a day. There is good reason, however, for putting the hours of the Goodyear welters and stitchers and the edge trimmers and setters at 48 per week, and for assuming that the other workers mentioned in the table usually work the full nominal hours of 54 a week. Cutters are usually employed on time work, and the rates stated above are the recognized standard rates. Edge trimmers and edge setters are piece-workers, the usual rate for trimming being 25 cents a dozen pairs. Lasters are sometimes employed on piece-work and sometimes on time-work. The standard rate a day is $3. Good- year welters and stitchers are invariably piece-workers, the rate for ■ $16.10 was the rate received by the majority of the men. 2 See footnote on page 24fl. 268 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. welting averaging about 19 cents a dozen pairs, and for stitching about 20 cents a dozen pairs. The majority of treers are employed on piece-work, but some are employed on time-work. Heeling is paid at piece prices, and is divided between four sets of workers, known respectively as heelers, sluggers, shavers, and breasters. The heeler, so-called, employs a boy to assist him; the payment is a matter of private arrangement, usually from $1 to $1.50 a day. The net earn- ings of all four classes are about the same. Vampers consist about equally of men and women, and are employed both as piece and time workers. The rates given in the table are those applicable, as nearly as can be ascertained, to men. Women also find employment in many operations in the closing and treeing rooms. The variety of opera- tions is so great and the range of payment so wide that there is much difficulty in stating the predominant earnings, of these female workers. For women closers or stitchers the most usual rates appear to range from $12 to $15 a week. For other women no rate can be quoted. At one factory women employed on " table " work earned from $7.50 to $12 a week, while another firm stated that none of the adult women employed earned less than $10.50 a week. 0. Housing asd Eents. At the time of its incorporation as a city in 1881 the population of Brockton was less than 14,000, while in 1910 it was 56,878. The number of its inhabitants has thus quadrupled in less than 30 years. The evolution of Brockton from a small country town into a consider- able city is therefore comparatively recent, and the city has not to contend with any evil legacy in the shape of large blocks of dwellings, built according to the loose standards of bygone days, such as char- acterize older and larger cities. A number of old tenements and cottages are, of course, to be found, but these are for the most part scattered and nowhere present a serious problem. Practically all the residential buildings in Brockton are of the familiar American " frame " or wooden type, detached, enjoying a generous measure of ground space, and exhibiting a variety of treat- ment in their outward design. The working-class dwellings may be classified into two fairly distinct types. The first is a tenement in a house with gables or sloping roof, which contains attics. Such houses are, generally speaking, the older type, but, with a certain variety of treatment which often makes them of attractive appearance, they are Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 269 still being built. As a rule they contain two separate dwellings, the at- tics being shared by the tenants on the two floors below. Occasionally, however, the attic floor is converted into a separate dwelling. The attic rooms are as a rule lighted quite adequately by ordinary or per- pendicular windows, their chief drawbacks being the sloping roof and a tendency to be very cold in Winter and very hot in Summer, The second type of working-class tenement house is a square-built house, without attics, containing as a rule three separate dwellings, that is, one on each floor. As regards convenience and general desirability, these present as wide a variation as the houses of the first type. Though differing rather widely as regards external appearance the two types of houses may be conveniently considered together so far as the character of the individual tenements is concerned. The usual number of rooms in working-class tenements is five, but four and six are also common. Practically all the tenement houses have both front and back entrances, there usually being two independ- ent staircases. Most of the houses are detached; there are very few semi-detached dwellings and practically no " terrace houses." The ground space surrounding the buildings varies a good deal both in extent and appearance, but is usually ample from a health point of view. As regards frontage the houses at the higher rentals are made attractive by deep porches or balconies. With few exceptions the residential buildings are of wood, but otherwise the architecture of the better types of the two-family " gable " houses is not unlike that of the cottage revival style to be observed in the outlying suburbs of London and other large English cities. In the case of such a house there is nothing to tell an inexperienced observer that it is occupied by two working-class families and is not the residence of a well-to-do citizen. About the three-tenement houses of the second type described above there is no similar doubt or ambiguity. Inside the tenements the arrangement of the rooms is similar to that common in almost all New England cities, the chief character- istic being an absence of any passage or corridor joining the separate rooms of the tenement. As a rule all the rooms communicate with each other an arrangement which economizes space and facilitates warming. The latter consideration is important, for not only is the Winter severe but American habit usually requires living rooms to be maintained at a temperature of at least 70 degrees, while heated bedrooms are regarded as a moderate comfort that should be within 270 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. reach of every self-respecting workman. On account of wide varia- tions it is difficult to give any standard or normal measurements of the various rooms. Usually, however, the kitchen i.=i large, about 14 feet square heing a size frequently found. The bedrooms are often small, especially in the tenements containing six or more rooms. The height of the rooms in the typical houses is always sufficient, nine feet being usual. No instances of rooms without windows were observed. The conveniences or '' improvements " in the tenements vary with the rental. Well within the range of dwellings of a strictly working- class type are such conveniences as bathrooms well fitted with porce- lain baths and basins, basement furnaces supplying heat by means of hot air or steam to the several tenements in the house, hardwood floors and fixed china cupboards, and electric bells and speaking tubes communicating between the kitchens and the front street doors. All these conveniences are found together only in the tenements at the higher rentals ; but few of the artisans' homes are destitute of all of them. It may be said that in most of the working-class dwellings a bathroom — usually containing also the " toilet " — is a common feature. Another very usual convenience is a slate or stone set tub in the kitchen. It is as a rule rectangular in shape and about 3 feet 6 inches long, divided into two partitions, so that both hot and cold water can be used at the same time. Where these are found there is always a water heating system also. In the less expensive tenements this is worked by the kitchen stove, but in those at the higher rentals a basement furnace supplies the hot water for domestic uses as well as heat for the rooms. The furnaces are usually maintained by the individual tenants, a slow combustion system being the most common, but in a few cases in working-class tenements, and in many cases in middle-class tenements, the heat is supplied by the landlord, who charges an inclusive rent. In the case of a teiaement of four or five rooms, the fact of heat being supplied would make a difference in rent of about 70 cents a week. As has just been indicated these cases are not common among working-class tenements and they have not been considered in the statistics of predominant rentals shown below. 1^0 important modification need be made in the above description of typical working-class houses in Brockton when attention is confined to the , non-English-speaking population. The most important and numerous section of this population are the Swedes, who maintain a standard of housing accommodation quite equal to that of the English- Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 271 speaking people. With regard to the Russians and Poles, and other nationalities that in other American cities generally exhibit a standard of life which is in contrast very low, it is a matter of importance that in Brockton there is no old or densely crowded district which it might be supposed, by analogy with other cities, would become their distinc- tive quarter. That there should be a tendency to cohere in groups even in Brockton is to be expected, yet these colonies are not in the centre of the city but well towards the outskirts, where at the present time there is no strong temptation to economize ground space at the risk of health. Their dwellings are for the most part the old two- family houses and the three or six-tenement blocks. The special con- veniences or improvements indicated above are not generally present, and, inside, the houses may exhibit a poverty of furniture in strong contrast with the comfort of the American skilled artisan's home, but otherwise the housing ccmditions of the poorer foreign immigrants are not exceptional to those of the city as a whole. The rents most usually paid in Brockton for accommodation of a working-class character are as follows : Table 32. — Predominant Rents of Working-class Dwellings. Number of Rooms per Dwelling. Predominant Weekly Rents Four rooms, Fire rooms, Six rooms, S2. 55-3. 45 3.00-4.25 3.70-4.65 These rents include the charge for water. The level of rents at iN'ew York being represented by 100, the rents index number for Brockton is 83. Many people of the working class own their homes. Eecent figures showing what proportion they bear to the total are not available, but the United States Census of 1900 showed that 33.9 per cent of all homes in the city were owned, either free or encumbered, by their occupiers. It must be borne in mind that tenements are the prevail- ing type of housing accommodation for working-class families, and that since two or three families to a house is the usual rule it is not possible for more than a certain proportion, less than half, of the families so accommodated to be themselves the ovsmers of their homes. 272 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. The actual proportion shown by the Census is therefore remarkably high. Of all the homes which were owned, about two-thirds were encumbered with mortgage or other charges. D. Eetail Peices. (1) Introductory. — The shopping facilities in Brockton appear to be exceptionally good on account of the presence in the city of several very large ^hops and " markets " doing trade on a strictly cash basis. It is claimed, indeed, that the shops in Brockton serve not only strictly local needs but also attract custom from tovras at a considerable distance. The scene inside the two or three largest of these cash " markets " is almost always a busy one. Each consists of a large shop in which are numerous counters at which all imaginable food- stuffs in season, including vegetables, fruit, meat, and provisions, groceries, bread and cakes, are sold. Overhead is a network of wires conveying the bills and money from each separate counter to the cash- ier, while in a gallery at one end or side is a small office from which the proprietor or manager can watch the proceedings over the whole shop. These shops cater for all classes of trade, both as regards the various social grades and the different nationalities. Separate shops maintained by foreigners for the benefit of their fellow-coimtrymeii are not an important feature in Brockton, though a few exist at which the more distinctively national articles of food can be obtained. (2) Groceries and Other Commodities. — As elsewhere in the United States the weight of the loaves of hread sold for the same price varies considerably with different shops, while even at the same shop it is not certain that all the loaves of the same price and quality weigh the same. Loaves were sold at five and 10 cents, and a number of tests of relative weights showed that the five-cent loaf represented the better bargain, yet in spite of this the 10-cent loaf was reported at several of the shops to be more popular. It was said to be a " better " loaf than the cheaper kind. " Grey " or rye bread is popular among the Swedes. As a rule its price is the same as that of ordinary wheaten bread. The Swedes, like most Americans, drink coffee in preference to tea, and also show a marked taste for beet as distinct from cane sugar, the most favored kind being imported from France and selling at nine cents a pound. There is some variation in the price of milk, this sometimes being a line in which " cutting " is practised. The most usual price is nine Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 273 cents a quart, though many shops sell at eight cents and in a few cases it can be purchased at the shop itself, that is to say undelivered, for seven cents a quart. Practically all the milk iised in the city is ob- tained from the neighborhood. As is usual in a number of Massachusetts cities the milk supply is the subject of a good many regulations by the city authorities. !N^umerous samples are taken from the cans of dealers in the course of the year and subjected to an examination with a view to ascertaining' the number of bacteria per cubic centimetre, and pressure is brought to bear upon the dairy-keepers and merchants both by means of prosecu- tions and publicity. The 1910 report of the bacteriologist concerned with milk inspection shows that the average bacterial count of samples- of milk taken from the dealers purveying milk in wagons is much less than that of samples taken from shops. In the first case the average per cubic centimetre was 429,000 and in the second case 636,000. Of 332 samples taken from wagons 90.4 per cent showed a count of less than 500,000, while the corresponding proportion of 196 samples taken from shops was 80.1 per cent. The percentage of samples of and above 5,000,000 was 2.4 in the case of wagons and 2.6 in the case of shops. An unusual practice prevails in Brockton with regard to the sale of coal. The coal is always nominally the same price. During April, however, a discount of 50 cents a short ton of 2,000 pounds is allowed, in May, the discount is reduced to 40 cents, in June to 30 cents and so on, the discount being reduced by 10 cents each month until it comes back to the winter price on October 1. The most popular kinds of coal which are sold among the working classes are probably the " White Ash," the " Lehigh Egg " and the " Shamokin Stove." The first is the cheapest and was sold in May, 1911, at a net price of $7.25 a short ton of 2,000 pounds. The Lehigh Egg is a very hard coal and is popular among those who have basement furnaces; in May it cost $7.50 net a short ton. The Shamokin coal cost $8.00 net a short ton. Practically no coal is hawked about the streets. It is common for the grocery and provision stores to sell half bushel bags of coal, containing from 35 to 40 pounds for 20 cents, but at a few stores they may be obtained for 18 cents. This method of buying cannot be said, how- ever, to be the most usual among the working classes. As a rule, the accommodation for coal provided in the tenements is ample, and it is 274 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. probable that in normal times the majority of the working classes are in a position to buy a large quantity at once. Coke is sold in small bags weighing about 20 pounds. The most usual price for this quantity is 12 cents, but at a few places it can be obtained for 11 cents. The following table shows the predominant prices paid by the work- ing classes in May, 1911,^ for certain articles of food, other than meat, for coal and for kerosene : Table 33. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Commodities. Units Predominant Prices Tea, pound $0.25-.60 Coffee, . pound .17-.38 Sugar, white, granulated. pound .055 Sugar, brown, pound .06 IB^ggs, dozen .20 ■Cheese, American, pound .1&-.16 Butter, pound .22-.23 Butterine, . pound .22 'Oleomargarine, pound .19 Milk, fresh, . quart .06-.08 Milk, condensed, . can .075-. 10 ;Milk, evaporated. Potatoes, Irish, . 8 ounces .06-.10 peck 24}^ pounds .21-.25 Flour, wheat. .75-. 95 t'lour, prepared, 3 pounds .23 •Oatmeal, pound .04 ■Cereals, prepared. package .10-. 15 Macaroni, pound .10 Bread, white. f 30 ounces \ 12 ounces .10 .05 Vegetables, canned. can .0625-.10 Soups, canned, can .083J^-.10 Beans, baked, canned. 40 ounces .10-. 15 Beans, dry. - .085 Dried fruits: Prunes, pound .09 Apricots, pound .14 Peaches, pound .13 Apples, , . . pound .15 Coal, anthracite, nut, . / ton \ 14 bushel bag 7.25 .18-.20 Kerosene, gallon .08-. 10 Coke, . . : 18-pound bag .11-. 12 (3) Meat. — The beef sold in Brockton is almost entirely Western- dressed. Mutton or lamb and pork are obtained both from local sources and from the West, but the proportion of local to Western- dressed sheep consumed is not large. It is said that little mutton properly so called is consumed in the city. Beef, pork, and lamb, in this order, are probably the most popular forms of flesh food in the city as a whole. Veal is obtained almost entirely from local sources. Western-dressed veal is held in low esteem, and when sold is cheap. 1 See footnote on page 255. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 275 Western calves fetch only eight cents a pound at a time when local or " native " calves fetch 12 to 14 cents. The principal meat trade of the city is centred in the large shops or " markets," which have already been described. There are appar- ently no shops in the city where meat alone is sold, though at some stores the trade in groceries, provisions, etc., is subordinated to the sale of meat. A few particulars in regard to the local method of cutting meat may be added. Eounds of beef are almost always cut into steaks, never sold as joints. When cut as steaks, three different cuts are usually recognized — top, bottom, and vein. The top cut is usually eight to 10 cents a pound more than the bottom cut. The vein cut is only slightly dearer than the bottom cut. Plate and brisket of beef are usually only sold " corned " or salted. The brisket is usually boned and rolled and known as '' fancy " brisket. In regard to lamb or mutton, the most usual method of cutting is to sell the forequarter in one piece and not to cut the breast, neck, and shoulder separately. Similarly in the case of veal, the breast and neck are usually sold as a forequarter. The distinction betw^een rib chops and loin chops of veal is not general. Veal cutlets are often known locally as veal " steaks." Dry salt pork is sold but little in Brockton. Hams and shoulders are usually smoked. The following table shows the prices most generally paid by the working classes for certain cuts of beef, mutton or lamb, veal, and pork in May, 1911:^ Table 34. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Predomi- Predomi- Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Pound Pound Beef. Beef— Con. Romt: Steak — Con. Face of rump, ?0.20 Flanlc, $0.09-. 10 Top of round, .18-. 24 Bottom of round , .12-. 13 Prime ribs , . .14-. 18 Vein, .10-. 13 Second cut ribs, _ .10-. 14 Chuck or short ribs, .10- 12 Soiup or Boil: Bottom of round. .10-. 12 Without shin, .08-. 10 With shin, . .03-. 06 Steak: Brisket, .... .09-. 10 Rump, . .20-. 28 Edge bone, . .10-. 12 Top of round. .16-. 26 Bottom of round, .10-. 12 Sirloin, .20-. 25 Neck, ... .05-. 08 Hambiirger, .06-. 10 OxtaUa .10 1 See footnote on page 257. 276 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 34. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911 — Concluded. Dbscbiftion of Cuts. Beef — Con. Salt or Corned: Flank, Navel, . Brisket, Thick end, Other: Livor, . Heart, . Tripe, . Mutton and Lamb. Fresh: Leg, Breaat, . Loin, Chops, . Shoulder, Neck, Flank, Fresh: Leg, Chops, rib, Chops, loin. Breast, . Neck, . Steak, Loin, Calves' heart. Veal. Fresh: Chops, . Blades, Loin, Ribs, . Shoulder, Frankfurters, Bologna, Kidneys, Fork. Predomi- nant Price — a Pound $0.0&-.07 .07-. 09 .11-. 14 .12-. 14 .06-. 10 .07 .15-18 .12 .14 .15-.30 .10-. 11 .07-. 08 .14 .25 .2S .10-. 12 .08 .30-. 35 .14 .10 .li-.15 .16 .13 .13 .10 .10 .14 .06 DBbobiption of Cuts. Pork — Con. Fresh — Con. Pigs' feet. Liver, Soft; Wet or dry. Spare ribs. Smoked: Ham, . Bacon, . Fowl. Chicken, . Fowl, Cooked Heats. Tongue, Ham, boiled, Ham, pressed, . Ham, minced, . Corned beef. Hogshead cheese. Fresh: Halibut, Cod, . Haddock, Eels, Salt: Mackerel, Cod, Herring, Smoked: Herring, Haddock, Fish. Caivned: Salmon, Predomi- nant Prices — a Pound $0.08-.09 .15 .07-. 10 .09 .12-.18 .13-. 18 .18-.22 .15-. 20 .32 .30 .18 .14 .20 .16 .13-. 15 .07-. 10 .07-.10 .10 .0J-.05 .05-. 10 .07-.10 .12-. 14 Prices at New York being taken as the base, = 100, in each case, the index number for the price of meat at Brockton in February, 1909,^ was 110, for other food it was 105, and for food prices as a whole 106. For rents and food prices combined the index number was 100. ^ See footnote on page 257. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 277 3. FALL RIVER. A. Inteoduotoey. Fall Eiver, the largest cotton manufacturing centre in tlie United States, is situated on high ground rising sharply from a somewhat narrow bay or inlet which opens to the sea between Long Island Sound and Cape Cod. The city is in Massachusetts, but stands very close to the boundary between that State and Ehode Island. . . . The extreme lengtli of the city of Fall Eiver is about 11 miles and the greatest width about seven miles, but long before these limits are reached the houses thin out in districts of a rural character. No important extension of boundaries appears to have taken place since 1862. The follovsdng table shows the population in the Federal Cen- sus years 1870-1910 : Table 35. — Population 3/ Fall River, 1870-1910. Ye ASS. Population Increase Percentage Increase 1870. 26,766 1880, . 48,961 22,195 82.9 1890, 71,398 25,437 52.0 1900, 104,863 30,465 40.9 1910, 119,295 14,432 13.8 It will be seen that in the earlier part of the period covered by the above table the growth of population was rapid. Since 1900, however, there has been a somewhat striking check in the rate of increase. This was due in part to severe strikes, and in part to industrial depression, resulting probably from the expansion of the cotton industry in the Southern States, where much of the plainer and coarser kinds of work previously done in the old-established IsTew England mills is now carried on. The Federal Census of 1900 showed that at that date Fall Eiver had a higher percentage of foreign-born inhabitants than any other large city in the United States, but from the State Census taken in 1905 it appeared that Fall Eiver then ranked after Lawrence in respect of the proportion of foreign-born inhabitants, who in the former city constituted 43.9 per cent of the total population, as com- pared with 46.1 per cent at Lawrence. 278 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Of the foreign-born inhabitants, 36.2 per cent were bom in Canada (93.9 per cent of these being French Canadians), 26.7 per cent in Great Britain, 13.2 per cent in Ireland, 10.9 per cent in the Western Islands of Portugal, 4.2 per cent in Portugal itself, and 2.9 per cent in Eussia. If the immigrants from the United Kingdom and the English-speaking Canadians be regarded as one group they constitute more than 42 per cent of the foreign-born population of the city and over 18 per cent of the entire population. Inasmuch as similarity of language and, to a large extent, of traditions makes the points of difference between this national group and the native-bom slight, the significance of these iigures is obvious. Among the English immi- grants — who are mostly from Lancashire — there are not wanting signs of a cohesive tendency, and a warm regard for much that has been left behind in the " old country " tinges many a conversation ; but, on the whole, the English assimilate to the American type very closely and rapidly, and their inclusion among the figures of " foreign- born " residents has not the same significance as, say, the inclusion of Portuguese, Russians, or even French Canadians. The French Canadians form the most distinctive national group in the city, having preserved, unaffected by American conditions, their religion, language, and, to a large extent, their customs. Their eco- nomic position in Fall River does not differ materially from that which they occupy in other ISTew England cities, and it is not necessary here to repeat the more general description of their characteristics which will be found in the report on Lowell, a city which in many respects shows a strong likeness to Fall River. The immigration into Fall River has taken place in a series of waves. The Irish came first, in the years following the agricultural crisis of the early 'forties, and though they still continue to come, the movement has spent its force. The next important influx was that of the French Canadians, who like the Irish came to fill the unskilled positions in the cotton mills. This movement has nearly ceased, and the French Canadians, speaking generally, have now risen in the industrial scale, and occupy a position between that of the experienced English immigrants from a Lancashire factory and that of the more recently arrived Portuguese. The Portuguese represent one of the most recent large additions to the foreign-born population. The majority come from the Azores and other neighboring islands. So far, the process of assimilation has Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 279 not gone far. They maintain their own churches, and have so con- gregated together that certain quarters of the city have become iden- tified with them. Though the majority of the Portuguese probahly enter the mills to stay, yet many have a keen ambition to become possessed of farms and a considerable number of these drift off, not so much to the larger holdings in the Middle and Far West, as to the small and somewhat poor farms of ISTew England itself. Other peoples represented are the Eussians and Poles. These share with the Portu- guese the roughest kinds of work in the mills. They do not show the same cohesive power as some of the other foreign nationalities. They are congregated, however, to a large extent, along the strip of land in the immediate neighborhood of the river, and their dwellings present probably the lowest standard of housing accommodation in the city. It may be noted here that though Fall River has been affected to so great an extent by immigration, there are, on the whole, but few signs of those congested conditions of housing which in some cities are asso- ciated with the presence of a large alien popiolation. In the neighbor- hood just mentioned as being occupied largely by the Eussians and Poles, there are many obtrusive signs of squalor and congestion, but, regarding the city as a whole, it may be stated that the practice of building the tenement houses as separate detached blocks secures for the inhabitants, in most instances, a sufficiency of light and air, though among some of the immigrant classes it is probable that, even in dwellings which are themselves satisfactory from a hygienic point of view, a certain amount of overcrowding exists. Municipal organization in Fall Eiver is generally similar to that of other cities in Massachusetts, the sanitary condition of the city being under the special care of the Board of Health, which consists for the most part of local medical men serving voluntarily. This department of the city's activities has recently been reorganized. At the present time the actual administrative work is done by an agent or chief inspector and by a number of other inspectors, who are assigned special duties, e.g., inspector of plumbing, inspector of milk and oleomargarine, inspector of animals, and veterinary supervisor of food supplies. There are, in addition, two sanitary inspectors engaged on general duties connected with contagious diseases, the removal of sanitary nuisances and the periodic visiting of all houses in the city. Since May, 1907, particular care has been taken with a view to 280 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. securing the purity of the milk supply. The regulations provide that every person wishing to sell milk in the city must first procure a license from the Board of Health. As a condition of his obtaining this he must produce a veterinary certificate as to the condition of the cows belonging to himself or to the person from whom he proposes to obtain his supplies. No fresh cattle can be added to a herd supplying the city without first undergoing a tuberculin test. An inspector is assigned specially to the duty of visiting all sources of supply in and around the city with a view to satisfying himself as to the soundness of the animals and ihe cleanliness of the sheds and utensils. The electric lighting and gas supplies and the street railway serv- ices are controlled by private enterprise, the street railways forming part of a very extensive system covering a large portion of eastern and southern Massachusetts. The water supply is municipal. . . . Mention should also be made of a well-equipped textile school, which provides day and evening instruction in both designing and practical processes connected with the staple industry of the city. B. OocuPATioNs^ Wages, and Houes oi' Labob. The industrial position of Fall River is sufficiently indicated by the State statistics of manufactures published by the State Bureau of Statistics. The report for 1908 shows that out of the total value of all products returned at $51,783,888, no less than $40,674,324, or 79 per cent, represented the value of cotton goods. The city is therefore dependent almost entirely upon the cotton industry, and the fact that it has no second important industry to fall back upon is recognized locally as being responsible for the severity with which the strikes of the past few years have affected the general commercial, trading, and professional classes, besides those directly concerned in cotton manufacture. The following table, based upon the Federal Census for 1900, shows the distribution of the population of Fall River among the chief groups of occupations : Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 281 TABjai 36. — Number of Persons of 10 Years of Age and Over engaged in Gain- ful Occupations in Fall River in 1900. Groups op OcctrPATioNs. Males Females Both Sexes Building, ... Metals and machinery, Cotton goods . . . ! Other and not specified textiles, . ] . Boot and shoe manufacturing, ! Hat and cap manufacturing. Other clothmg . . Woodworking and furnishing, .... Paper and printing, ... . ... Food, liquors, and tobacco. Other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, .... Trade and transportation, . . . . • ... Laborers (not otherwise specified), Professional, domestic and personal service and agricultural pursuits. 2,146 1,102 12,762 1,007 215 239 120 128 179 432 1,815 6,303 2,621 2,379 4 3 11,375 1,850 11 286 850 10 25 13 129 816 10 2,346 2,150 1,105 24,137 2,857 226 525 970 138 204 445 1,944 7,119 2,631 4,725 All Occupations, 31,418 17,728 49,176 It will be seen that practically one-half of the total population engaged in occupations is employed in the cotton industry. The only other branches of manufacture of special importance are hat and cap manufacturing, carried on by one large firm, and metalworking, and machinery. The last-named industry is represented by a number of shops engaged almost entirely in repair work, and also by a firm of considerable size making looms and other textile machinery. The following table, based on the Massachusetts State enumeration of industrial wage-earners for 1908, published in the report on the Statistics of Manufactures by the Bureau of Statistics, is less wide in scope, but it is of interest not only as relating to a later date but also as showing the great fluctuation in employment which took place in 1908: Table 37. — Number of Wage-earners employed in 1908 in the Manufacturing Industries of Fall River. Wage-eahnees Employed AVERAGE NTJMBER Smalkst Number Greatest Number Males Females Both Sexes Cotton goods, . . Cotton small wares Foundry and machine shop products, . Other industries, .... 12,739 75 520 3,625 16,959 11,486 77 27 1,209 24,225 152 547 4,834 17,689 119 450 3,454 28,551 199 656 5,711 All Industries, 12,799 29,758 21,612 35,117 282 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. It will be seen that in the leading industry of the city a great fluctuation in employment took place in the year. In 1907 the average number employed in this industry was 28,944. Fall Eiver is the largest cotton manufacturing city in the United States, the number of spindles being estimated in 1910 at nearly 3,700,000, or about one-seventh of the total for the whole country, and the number of looms at over 87,000. As is usual in the cotton man- ufacturing centres of the United States, both spinning and weaving are done under the same roof. Finishing and bleaching are also carried on to a large extent. Several of the mills are operated partly by water power, and to the possibilities presented by the stream which flows partly through and partly under the city is due no doubt the early localization of the cotton industry in this district. The mills appear to be fitted with machinery of the most modern design. The Northrop and other self-acting looms are largely used, especially for the plainer varieties of cloth in which an even tension is possible during weaving. A machine for performing the tedious process of drawing-in has been introduced recently. The appearance of most of the mills is plain and business-like, but not unattractive. They appear to be generally well lighted and airy. 'No regulation of artificial himiidity is imposed by the factory inspection authorities.-^ In the weaving department the number of looms per worker is greater than in England, 12 being the most usual number. The looms are lighter and are run at less speed than those of Lancashire. In the mule-spinning room one man usually looks after two pairs of mules, with a total of about 3,000 spindles. It should be mentioned that in recent years mule spinning has shown a marked tendency to leave Fall Eiver and increase at Is^ew Bedford. This change coincides with and implies a change from relatively coarser tci finer counts in the latter city, and the converse process in the former. The principal trade unions in the textile industry are the Mule Spinners U;nion, which comprises practically all the workers, about 350 men; the Card Room Workers Union, which induce^ about one- third of the total number employed in this department; the Slasher Tenders Union, with a membership of about 80 per cent of the total; and the Weavers Union, numbering about 3,000 out of 10,000 em- * In 1910 an act was passed (chapter 543) providing for the regulation of the humidity and tempera- ture of the atmosphere in textile factories, to be enforced by the State Inspectors of Health under the supervision of the State Board of Health. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 283 ployed in the city. Generally, the unions pay accident, strike, and stoppage benefits. Out-of-work or sick benefits are not common, and there is no trade union provision for old age. The following geiieral changes in rates of wages in the cotton industry have taken place since July, 1906 : — In November, 1906, there was an increase of 10 per cent; in May, 1907, an increase of 10 per cent ; and in May, 1908, a reduction of 17.94 per cent, so that wages now bear a relation to those of July, 1906, of 99.22: 100. These changes affected all classes of labor. Up to May, 1910, wages were regulated by agreement,^- according to which the rates were re- vised every six months and fixed according to the margin existing between the average price of middling upland cotton and the selling price of a certain quality of print cloth.^ . . . In October, 1910," the predominant wages and hours, of labor for adult males in various occupations were as shown in the following table : Table 38. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910. OCCTJPATIONS. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Buildins Trades. Bricklayers, . StonemasoiLs, Granite cutters, Carpenters, Plasterers, Plumbers, Painters, , ,■ Hod carriers, bricklayers, and plasterers laborers, General laborers. Foundries and Machine Shops. Iron molders. Machinists, . Pattern makers. Laborers, Cotton Industry. Picker hands. Card grinders. Card strippers, Drawing frame tenders. $26.40 26.40 19.50 20.16 26.40 19.60 16.50 10.50-12.00 10.50 14.00-16.00 12.00-16.00 18.00 8 CO-9.00 6.25-7.50 9.50-12.50 7.50-8.60 6. 00-7. 50 48 48 48 48 48 48 44 48 54 58 58 68 58 56 58 56 56 1 An account of the origin and operation of the sliding scale system of regulating wages may be found in the Massachusetts Labor Bulletins No.41, May, 1906, pp. 192-196; No. 51 , July-August, 1907, pp. 27-33; No. 52, September, 1907, pp. 98-103; and No. 60, June-July, 1908, pp. 263-266, 2S8, in the 39th Annual Report on the Statistics of Labor (1908), pp. 259-267; in the 3d Annual Report on Changes in Rates of Wages and Hours of Labor, pages 44 to 47. 2 The abandonment of the Fall River sliding scale of wages was formally announced in May, 1910, after several attempts had been made to amend the agreement. 8 See footnote on page 238. 284 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 38. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Advlt Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910 — Concluded. OCCDPATIONS. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Cotton Industry — Con. Mule spinners, . .... $12.00-14.50 56 Slasher tenders, . . ' • 12.00 66 Loomfixers, . ... 11,75-12.00 56 Weavers, . . .... 7.00-9.00 56 Bleachers and dyers, .... . . 8.00-9.00 56 Printing Trades. Newspaper: Hand compositors (day work) , . . . re. 00-20. 00 48 Machine compositors (day work), . ... 20,00 48 Pressmen (day work), . . . . . 20.00 48 Book and job: Hand compositors, . . . 16,00 48 Pressmen (small presses), 13.00-17.00 48 Public Service. Street construction, paving, and cleaning (municipal) : Pavers, cobble, . . ... 13.50 48 Pavers, block, ... 24.00 48 Pavers' laborers, road menders, scavengers, and road sweepers. 13.50 48 Drivers, one-horse. 13.50 48 Drivers, two-horse, . .... 15.00 48 Waterworks (municipal): Laborers, ... 13.50 48 Gas works ^ (company) : Gas makers, . . . . 12.00-18.00 72 Firemen, 12.00-13.50 72 Laborers 9,00-10.50 60 Electric light and power works (company) : Engineers, 21.00 56 Switchboard men. 17.50-20,00 63 Wiremen and linemen, . . 16.50 54 Laborers: Fire room, 11.00 56 Others, ... . . 10.00-10.80 54 Electric railways (company) : Motormen and conductors: 2 1st year, . 15,75 70 2d year, .... 16.45 70 3d, 4th, and 5th years, . 17.15 70 6th and 7th years, . 17.85 70 After 7 years. 18.55 70 Taking wages at !N"ew York as the base, = 100, in each case, the wages index numbers for Fall Eiver in February, 1909,^ were — building trades, skilled men 83 ; hod carriers and bricklayers labor- ers 64 ; foundries and machine shops, skilled men 80, unskilled labor- ers 85 ; printing, hand compositors (job work) 76. With regard to the wages of women in the cotton mills it may be mentioned that the predominant wages of female slubbing and roving frame tenders range from $8 to $9 a week, a range which also repre- sents the most usual earnings of women weavers. In the spinning rooms the frame spinners, paid according to the number of " sides " 1 Water gas works. 2 S16.10 was the rate received by the majority of the men. ' See footnote on page 240. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 285 of which they have charge, usually earn from $7 to $8 a week. Apart from the cotton mills there is no other important field of employment for women. It is not known what proportion of the women at work are mairied. Mention has already been made of the principal trade unions in the cotton industry. "With regard to other occupations it maybe noted that unions exist for most of the branches of the building trades and that the standard minimum rates of pay are generally paid. The most important branch which is not organized is that of the hod carriers and laborers. The printing trades are well organized, though, apart from the newspapers, the printing industry in Fall Kiver is unimportant. The machinists are organized, but not very effectively. In Fall Eiver, as in Boston and Springfield, a Free Employment Office is maintained by the Massachusetts government. During the year ending JSTovember 30, 1910, the office received 4,088 applications for employment, of which number 2,573 came from males. The total number of persons called for by employers was 1,922 and the number of positions filled 1,421 (males 601, females 820). The majority of the positions filled by women were of a domestic character. There is little in the nature of " welfare work " in the mills in Fall Eiver, but at one important establishment a scheme of profit sharing is in operation.^ C. Housing and Rents. It has already been remarked that the boundaries of Fall Biver are wide and embrace a large area which is rural in character. So far as the urban portion of the municipality is concerned, however, the work- ing-class population is found everjTvhere except in a small quarter in the neighborhood of the City Hall, which is occupied almost exclu- sively by shops, offices, etc., and in the district known as the " High- lands," which is pre-eminently the residential quarter for people of means. Those working-class people who live beyond easy walking distance from their work have at command extensive street car facil- ities. The fare for journeys within the city limits is 5 cents, but six tickets may be obtained for 25 cents, this reduction being one of the conditions of the grant of the company's concession by the city author- ities. 1 Thia mill is not located in Fall River but just across the Ehode Island boundary line. A large pro- portion of the operatives, however, live in Massachusetts. 286 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Except in the " fire zone," a small area in the centre of the city, practically all the houses in Fall Kiver are of wood, the foundations only being of brick or stone. The use of wood permits of a consider- able variety in construction, and the possibility of effective ornamen- tation at little additional cost, so that the working-class streets present a strong contrast to those of .an English industrial town with their long rows of dwellings, quite uniform in structure. A few large blocks of dwellings built originally by mill-ovyners for their employees are the only residential buildings which remind an observer of English con- ditions. The working-class dwellings almost without exception are flats or tenements, which most usually contain either four, five, or six rooms, though three-roomed and seven-roomed tenements are not unknown. The size of the houses in which the tenements are situated varies con- siderably. Sometimes there are only two tenements in a building, and from two to six tenements in one building may be considered the most common number. There are in addition, however, many tene- ment blocks in which this number of separate dwellings is exceeded. The tenement buildings are usually detached or semi-detached, and are seldom built in rows. Many lie back from the street, and might perhaps be termed rear houses, though the term, on account of the generous amount of space which usually surrounds the buildings, would here have little significance. Gardens or separate house yards, such as are common in England, are rarely found. A rough grass plot usually surrounds the tenement building, and affords a drying green, but it is unfenced, and the boundary between two such plots is fre- quently hard to discern. Though the size of the tenement building varies considerably, the arrangement of the separate dwellings is generally uniform. A com- mon " hall-way " or staircase gives access to both or all the tenements, though in some cases the tenements on the ground floor have separate entrances from the street. Subject to certain minor differences nearly all the flats or tenements conform to one of two fairly well-marked local types. In the first type the building is usually three stories high, and all the rooms of each tenement are on one floor. In the second type the building consists of two main floors and an attic floor, and the three or four attics are shared as a rule by the tenants in the building for the purpose of sleeping rooms. These attics usually have Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 287 dormer windows, and when their interiors are plastered and papered their use as bedrooms is free from objection. I The first of the two types of tenement houses is more modern and on the whole represents a rather higher standard of housing than the other, but to this generalization there are some exceptions, and both types may be considered as representative of the dwellings of most sections of the working classes. A marked feature of a typical working-class tenement is the large size of the kitchen and the arrangement by which this apartment is made the centre of the dwelling, with all the other rooms opening ' directly off it without passages or corridors. The kitchen, in fact, serves as an entrance hall and as a living room, and from the point of view of size and utility is the most important apartment in the house. Standing out towards the middle of this room is almost invariably a large and often elaborate stove, sometimes designed only for heating purposes and sometimes for both heating and cooking. In many cases these stoves belong to the tenants, and appear often to be the object of a good deal of family pride, the manifest expensiveness of the stove being sometimes in strong contrast to the rest of the household, fur- ^ nishings. A kitchen in a dwelling of moderate rental often measures as much as 16 feet square. The size of the other rooms varies greatly. The height of the rooms appears in practically all cases to be sufficient, being seldom less than nine feet. In addition to the kitchen and the main apartments which lead off it, there is usually a small narrow closet or pantry containing sink and water supply and affording facil- ities for storing food. In the cheaper flats, however, this pantry is not found, the sink and water-tap being in the kitchen. The other apartments which lead from the kitchen need no special description. As a rule they are of fair size and well lighted. The practice of building detached tenement houses makes it often possible, in fact, to light a room on two sides. A few houses still remain in which one or more rooms receive only a borrowed light, but such dwellings are no longer built. The practice of reserving one room as a parlor or best room is usual, and except in tie very poorest homes the furniture and ornaments appeared on the whole to be in very good taste and to suggest intelli- gent discrimination and appreciation of comfort. 288 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Within the rental limits shown in the table below bathrooms are fairly common, though by no means universal. The bathroom almost always contains the sanitary convenience. In the method of heating — an important consideration in view of the severity of the Winter — considerable differences exist. In the cheaper flats the parlor and bedrooms derive their warmth from the kitchen with its large stove. In this case the local adoption of the flat as the chief type of dwelling, and the arrangement by which the kitchen is made the centre of the tenement, are easily explained. This method is undoubtedly the most common so far as strictly working- class houses are concerned. In the dwellings of a better class the kitchen stove may be connected with a hot-water system, which, by means of radiators, heats the remaining rooms and also supplies the bath and fixed basins. A third common arrangement is to have furnaces in the basement, one to each flat, each under the care of the separate tenants and constructed on the slow combustion principle. The basement in such cases is usually a large apartment, partly under- ground, which affords a common washhouse, storehouse, and drying room for the various tenants in the house. This last method is found only in houses occupied by the most prosperous of the working classes. A type of dwelling which marks a passing phase in the industrial development of the city may be mentioned. It consists of large blocks of tenement houses originally erected by mill-owaers for their opera- tives, but now mostly let on the usual commercial basis, and not exclusively to mill employees. One group of these dwellings consists of four long blocks of brick-built tenement houses, each block being separated from the next by a broad open yard. The houses are two- storied, with attics above. The majority of the tenements consist of a kitchen, two bedrooms and two attics, while some have, in addition, a sitting room or parlor. The rental of such accommodation is consid- erably below the predominant range for working-class dwellings in the city as a whole. It will have been seen that the rent of a dwelling is influenced by a number of considerations besides the number of rooms with the result that a wide range is shown for any one class of dwelling classified according to its nominal accommodation. Intermediately within the extreme limits, however, the predominant rentals are as follows : Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 289 Table 39. -7- Predominant Rents of Working-class Dwellings. Number of Rooms per Dwellinq. Predominant Weekly Rents^ Four rooms, .... $1.75-2.00 Five rooms, . . . ... 2.00-2.75 Six rooms, . . . . 2.50-3.30 The level of rents at New York being represented by 100, the rents index number for Fall River is 55. These rentals have shown very little change during the last few years. Water charges are included. Houses are generally let by the week. The by-laws which now regulate the erection of houses in the city are detailed and in some respects stringent. They recognize two " fire districts " in the centre of the city. In the first, with certain excep- tions, only brick, stone, etc., buildings may be erected. In the second this regulation is modified, and allows of dwelling or tenement houses bmlt of wood, when occupying an area of less than 2,000 square feet. In the rest of the city no restriction is placed on the erection of frame houses, but very careful and minute provisions are laid down for the insulation of flues, steam pipes, etc., in such dwellings. The by-laws also provide that every building shall have a foundation the bearing of which must not be less than four feet below any adjoining surface exposed to frost. The by-laws contain no provisions with respect to the ventilation, lighting, or cubic space of rooms in dwelling houses. No housing schemes have been attempted in Fall Eiver by the municipality or by philanthropic effort. A number of building socie- ties and companies do business in the city, the general principle upon which they proceed being the familiar one of a cash deposit and the repayment of the remainder of the loan in the form of quarterly or yearly instalments. Buildings and land are in almost all cases held freehold though in some instances the house and the land belong to different owners. In the latter case the land carries a rent charge or feu sometimes subject to revision at certain intervals. According to the Census of 1900, 10. 6- per cent of the homes in the city were owned subject to encumbrance and 7.4 per cent were owned free of encum- brance by the occupiers. It is not known what proportion would apply exclusively to the wage-earning classes. 290 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. D. Eetail Peices. (1) Introductory. — There is little in the working-class dietary or the shopping facilities of Fall Eiver that calls for special remark. The usual routine of a working-class family prescribes breakfast at an early hour, according to the time of starting work, dinner at 12 noon and supper at 6 p.m. It is seldom that more than these three meals are taken. The city has a market where at certain times a busy trade is carried on. There are also a few branches of " multiple " firms selling gro- ceries. A system of canvassing for grocery orders is common. An agent for some company calls for orders weekly and when a custom has been established arranges for payment by fixed instalments. Among the storekeepers credit is frequently given, especially at times of industrial depression. The retailer is forced by the stress of competition to trade on this system, and through his bad debts feels very quickly the effect of hard times in the industries of the city. (2) Groceries and Other Commodities. — The taste in tea differs widely and is reflected in the range of price shown by the returns obtained. The most usual quality, however, appears to sell at about 30 to 40 cents a pound, though much tea is sold at prices outside these limits. The quality is generally an Oolong and large leaf variety. Ceylon tea, as commonly used in England, while obtainable, does not appear to be much sold [although the demand is increasing]. In Fall River working-class customers usually buy sugar at so many pounds for a quarter-dollar or for a dollar and frequently make no inquiry as to the weight which they receive for their money. The weight of a loaf of bread is fixed by State statute at two pounds, but in Fall River the law does not appear to be rigidly enforced. In practice, bread is seldom placed on the scales at all and in very many cases the loaf weighs much less than two pounds. The loaves most usually sold cost 10 cents and weigh from 1% to two pounds. The coal commonly used by the working classes is anthracite, which is usually bought by the half-ton (1,000 pounds). Coal is not hawked through the streets; those who require only small quantities at a time buy bags of coal from the general store. Coal cellars are usual in the houses, but where the sacks are carried upstairs an extra charge is made: if carried to the first floor 15 cents extra is charged Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 291 for half a ton : if to the second floor 30 cents ; if to the third floor 45 cents. Coke is usually bought at the [smaller] grocery and provision store in small bags containing about 20 pounds for which 10 cents is charged. The following table shows the predominant prices of various arti- cles in May, 1911:^ Table 40. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Commodities. Units Predominant Pricea Tea, Coffee, . . Sugar, white, granulated, Eggs, Cheese, American, Butter, Milk, ^sh, . Milk, condensed, . Milk, evaporated, Potatoes, Irish, Flour, wheat, Flour, prepared. Oatmeal, Cereals, prepared. Macaroni, Bread, white, Vegetables, canned, Soups, canned. Beans, baked, canned. Beans, dry. Dried fruits: IPrunes, Apricots, Peaches, Apples, Coal, anthracite (stove). Kerosene, Coke, pound pound pound dozen pound pound quart can can peck 24^ pounds pound pound package pound 12 ounces 44 ounces pound pound pound pound f ton L IS-pound bag gallon 20-pound bag S0.2B-.50 .19-. 35 .055 .21-. 24 .16 .24-. 26 .07-. 08 .10 .10 .25 .69-. 85 .18-. 23 .04 .10 .10 .05 .08-. 12 .09 .10-. 12 .10 .16 .18 .14 .16 6.50 .10 .12 .10 (3) Meat. — The meat consumed in Fall Eiver is both local and Western-dressed, the latter coming in specially constructed railroad cars from Chicago and neighborhood. Both varieties are of good quality and there is little difference, if any, in price. Meat is sold as a rule in shops which also sell groceries and provisions ; shops selling meat only are not common. Beef is undoubtedly the meat most favored, except by the Cana- dians who consume nearly as much pork as beef. The best joints are in great demand and fetch a good price, the price of the inferior parts being correspondingly low. Mutton is not much sold. Veal is eaten to a very small extent ; some butchers do not sell it at all and others only sell it at intervals. The price of such veal as is sold shows very great variation ; this is due partly to a practice which prevails > See footnote on page 255. 292 STATISTICS OF LABOR— 1910. [P. D. 15. in many parts of New England of putting veal on the market either when it is too young or when it is too old to be satisfactory. Varia- tion in the price of particular joints is also due to differences in the character of the trade carried on at any given shop : the inferior cuts may be dearer and the better cuts cheaper at one shop than at another where a better class trade is carried on. The slaughter houses of the city are under the control of a veteri- nary supervisor of food supplies. Slaughtering is done under his inspection and the meat fit for food is stamped by him in accordance with Massachusetts State law. The following table shows the predominant prices paid by the working classes in May, 1911/ for various cuts of meat: Table 41. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Description or Cdts. Predomi- nant Prices — a Pound Descbiption of Cuts. Predomi- nant Prices — a Pound Roast: Face of rump, Top of round, Prime ribs, . Second cut ribs, . Chuck or short ribs. Bottom of round, Rump, . Top of round. Sirloin, Hamburger, Flank, Bottom of round, Vein, Soup or Boil: Without shin. With shin, . Brisket, Edge bone, . Bottom of round. Neck, . Ox tails. Salt or corned: Flank, Navel, . Brisket, Thick end, Other: Liver, . Kidneys, Heart, . Tripe, . Mutton and Lamb. Fresh: Leg, Breast, . Loin, $0.14-. 18 .18-. 20 .16-. 22 .14^.16 .14 .14 .24-. 28 .18-. 22 .18-. 20 .10-. 12 .06 .12-. 14 .14-. 16 .08-. 10 .05-. 06 .08-. 12 .12-. 14 .06-. 08 .10 .06 .12-. 14 .10-. 14 .08 .10 .05 .0^.07 .14-. 18 .08 .14-. 16 Mutton and Lamb- Fres* — Con. Chops, . Shoulder, Neck, Flank, . Kidneys, ■Con. Fresh: Leg. Chops, rib. Chops, loin, Breaat, . Neck, . steak, . Loin, Calves' heart. Veal. Fresh: Chops, . Blades, Loin, Ribs, . Shoulder, Frankfurters, Bologna, Pigs' feet. Liver, . Salt: Wet or d;T, Spare ribs, Smoked: Ham, . Bacon, . Pork. Fowl. Chicken, Fowl, SO. 18-. 20 .07 .05 .18-. 20 .16 .24-. 25 .12 .08-. 10 .26-.28 .25 >.025 .12-. 14 .14-. 16 .14 .16 .105 .10-. 12 .12 .08 .12 .10-. 12 .11-. 12 .17 .18-. 20 ' See footnote on page 255. 3 A dozen. •Each. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSJETTS. 293 Table 41. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911 — Concluded. Predomi- Predomi- Description op Cuts. nant Prices — a Dbscbiftion of Cuts. nant Prices — a Pound Pound Cooked Meats. Pish — Con. Tongue, . , ... $0.35 Salt: Ham, boiled, . . . . Ham, pressed .32 Maclcerel, . . . . $0.05 .15 Cod, . . . . .07-. 10 Ham, minced, ... .15 Herring, .03 Corned beef, . ... .20 Smoked: Fish. Herring, .025 Fresh: Haddock, . ... .10-. 12 Halibut, .18 Cod, . . . . .08 Canned: Haddock, .08 Salmon, . ... .12-. 16 Prices at New York being taken as the base, = 100, in each case, the index niunber for the price of meat at Fall Eiver in 1909 ^ was 101, for other food it was 101 and for food prices as a whole 101. For rents and food prices combined the index number was 90. ^ See footnote on page 257. 294 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. 4. LAWRENCE. A. Inteoductoet. Lawrence, in the State of Massachusetts, is the chief centre in the United States for the manufacture of woolens and worsteds. It is situated on the Merrimac river about nine miles below Lowell, and at a distance by rail from Boston of about 26 miles. Lawrence is purely a manufacturing city, consisting of a group of very large and im- portant textile mills with such dwellings, stores, and offices as are indispensable to its industrial life. Few of the higher officials of the manufacturing firms located in the city have their homes there; Lawrence lies in the shadow of Boston, and it is from this larger city that its business enterprises are chiefly directed. Boston also forms the mart for the output of Lawrence, all the selling offices or agencies of the Lawrence mills being situated there. The city has been of rapid growth, and in view of large mill exten- sions now in progress it may be predicted that its growth will con- tinue vigorously for some years to come. The population in various Federal Census years from 1870 onwards is shown in the following table : Table 42. — Population of Lawrence, 1870-1910: Years. Population Increase Percentage Increase 1870, . 28,921 - 1880, 1890, . 39,151 10,230 35.4 44,654 5,503 14.1 1900, . 62,559 17,905 40.1 1910, 85,892 23,333 37.3 A feature in connection with the population of Lawrence that must constantly be borne in mind is the large proportion formed by immi- grants. The number of foreign-born inhabitants in 1905 was 46.1 per cent of the total population, as compared with 43.9 per cent at Fall Eiver, and 41.7 per cent at Lowell. Of the foreign-born popula- tion, 26.2 per cent were bom in Canada (20.5 per cent being French Canadians), 20.3 per cent in Ireland, 19.7 per cent in Great Britain, 8.7 per cent in Italy, and 7.4 per cent in Germany. The largest Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 295 single foreign national group, that of the French Canadians, forms 9.5 per cent of the total population. The French Canadian element, however, is not so important in Lawrence as in Lowell, .where this nationality forms 12.3 per cent of the total population. Wherever the woolen or worsted and the cotton industries exist side by side the French Canadians always show a marked preference for the latter, and their unequal numbers in Lawrence and Lowell are a rough indi- cation of the relative importance of these industries in the two cities. Again, in contrast with Lowell, the Italians and the Germans form large groups in Lawrence. Both of these nationalities occupy fairly well-defined quarters of the city. The presence of Germans in consid- erable numbers in 'New England cities is not a frequent spectacle, and the German settlement in Lawrence is not easily explained. The Italians have probably been attracted by the woolen industry, for it is an interesting fact that the tendency shown by the French Cana- dians is reversed by the Italians. At the same time accident and example no doubt play a large part in determining the settlement of immigrants from Continental Europe, and there is always a proba- bility that a newly-arrived foreign-speaking laborer will go to some particular city in preference to another for no other reason than to be amongst his coimtrymen. Poles and Russians (in the latter case largely Jews) together number more than 2,000. These nationalities are found in Lawrence in common vsrith most other American industrial cities where there is a demand for cheap unskilled labor. The Poles and Russians as a rule show little national solidarity, though the Jews among them often become segregated in special areas. An interesting feature in the city's varied population is the con- siderable group of Syrians, who numbered about 1,300 in the year 1905. Probablj' the Syrian colony in Lawrence is the largest in the United States, and it is certainly larger relatively to the total popu- lation than the Syrian settlement of any other American city. The Syrians in Lawrence are mostly from the neighborhood of Damascus and Beirot. They are all of the Christian faith ; indeed, the Moham- medan from Syria has hardly yet begun to arrive in the United States. Most of them appear to have been used to pastoral or agricultural pursuits, and to have been led to emigrate by the well-known diiE- culties in which the Syrian is placed by the ascendency in his own land of an alien race and faith. In Lawrence the Syrians exhibit 296 , STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. considerable national solidarity, their homes are congregated in one quarter of the city, they maintain several of their own shops and cafes, and are sufficiently enterprising to publish the " Al Wafa," a newspaper of eight pages, printed in Arabic and appearing twice a week. This journal has a considerable circulation outside Lawrence itself. 1 Large and interesting as is the immigrant section of the population in Lawrence, it would be easy to overestimate its influence on the general life of the city if sufficient regard were not paid to the fact that in Lawrence, as in many other American cities notable for their cosmopolitan character, a very considerable proportion of the foreign- born population consists of English Canadians and immigrants from the British Isles. The relative importance of this English-speaking section of the foreign-born population is not so great in Lawrence as in some other cities, but it nevertheless forms nearly half of the whole alien population. The Irish stand out with some distinctness from the native population ; the poorest among them have undoubtedly a very low standard of life. . . . On the other hand, the English, the English Canadians, and the Scotch bring or assume a manner of living which it would be difficult to distinguish from that of the Americans themselves, and this fact has an important bearing on any study of working-class conditions. Infantile mortality appears to be high. During the period from 1906 through 1909 the average rate of deaths under one year was 159 per 1,000 births. A notable feature of the vital statistics is the high percentage of deaths due to various forms of tuberculosis. Of the 1,524 deaths reported in 1910, 122, or 8.0 per cent, were due to this disease and of this number 85 were cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. It is said that much tuberculosis exists among the immigrants from Continental Europe who, leaving agricultural pursuits to work for long hours in the mills, become especially susceptible to the disease. ISTo separate statistics for foreign-born people are, however, available. Other important causes of mortality are pneumonia and broncho- pneumonia. The annual State inquiry for 1908 showed that in respect of the total value of its manufactured products Lawrence had advanced to 1 It was discontinued in 1910. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 297 the second place in Massachusetts, being exceeded only by Boston. This industrial importance is due almost entirely to its manufactures of textiles, in which the worsted industry has by far the largest share. Worsted maniifactures represented 69 per cent of the total output of the city in 1908. Worsted and cotton together constituted 81 per cent of the total product in 1908. The balance of the output of the city is made up of a variety of manufactures, most of which are unim- portant, though mention may be made of paper and paper pulp, and of machine shop products. The paper industry is represented by a few small jfirms making paper from rags, etc., and one large firm making and using wood pulp. The machine shop products consist for the most part of machines for paper manufacture ; textile machinery is made to a very small extent only. There is also a large foundry having a general casting trade. The municipal activity of Lawrence is confined to the ordinary public services of police and sanitary administration, the upkeep of roads, etc., the provision of education and the maintenance of water works, a fire department, and a public library. Apart from the small park known as the Common, little provision for open spaces has been made. This want, however, is perhaps less urgent than it otherwise woidd be on account of the nature of the surrounding country, to which the elaborate electric car system of Massachusetts, in which Lawrence shares, affords easy access. This street car system is under the control of a private company. The sanitary administration of the city is xinder the control of a Board of Health consisting of three members, one of whom is usually a medical man. The executive staff consists , of an agent and an assistant agent, neither of whom is a professional man, and two in- spectors, one of whom is concerned with plumbing. The gas and electric lighting works in Lawrence are under the control of a private company. The charge for gas is $1 per 1,000 cubic feet, less 10 cents for prompt payment. Prepayment or auto- matic slot meters are not numerous. The charge for electric current for lighting is 14 cents per kilowatt-hour with 10 per cent discount for payment within 15 days. The use of electric current by the working classes is very limited. As already mentioned, the water supply is municipal. The following are the charges for the smaller quantities : 298 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. When for each quarter (90 days) the quantity consumed shall average 50 cubic feet or less per day, for each 100 feet . . 15 cents For average daily use exceeding 50 cubic feet per day, each 100 feet 14 cents Exceeding 100 cubic feet per day, each 100 feet . . . .13 cents Exceeding 200 cubic feet per day, each 100 feet . . . .12 cents Exceeding 400 cubic feet per day, each 100 feet . . . .11 cents Exceeding 800 cubic feet per day, each 100 feet . . . .10 cents Wliere a meter is used tke minimum annual charge is $7. The annual rent of a meter is 15 per cent of its cost. The water is ob- tained from the river and distributed after filtration. B. OccuPATiojsrs, Wages, and Hotjes of Labor. The purely industrial character of Lawrence is sufficiently indi- cated by the Federal Census figures of 1900, which show that less than 11 per cent of the persons of 10 years and upwards working for gain in the city were engaged in professional, domestic, and personal service. The 1900 Census figures relating to the occupational dis- tribution of the population of Lawrence are shown in the following table: Table 43. — Number of Persons of 10 Years of Age and Over engaged in Gainful Occwpations in Lawrence in 1900. Groups of Occupations. Males Females Both Sexes Building, Metals and machinery, Cotton goods. Woolen goods, 1 Bleaching and dyeing. Other and not specified textiles,' Boot and shoe manufacturing. Clothing Woodworking and furnishing. Paper and printing. Food, liquors, and tobacco, ... Other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, Trade and transportation, . Laborers (not otherwise specified) Professional, domestic and personal service and agricultural pursuits. 2,104 1,268 1,968 3,152 463 1,666 318 123 202 428 309 1,388 3,649 1,463 1,610 3 2,682 2,654 26 1,466 77 596 6t 12 82 765 11 1,696 2,107 1,268 4,650 5,806 489 3,1.S2 395 719 206 497 321 1,470 4,414 1474 3,306 All Occupations, 20,111 10,143 30,254 1 Following the classificatioii adopted by the American Bureau of the Census, persons returned as worsted mill workers are entered against the heading "Other and not specified textile," but it would appear that a large proportion of the number assigned to "Woolen" are actually worsted mill workers. An enumeration of tte workpeople employed in the manufacturing industries of the city made by the State Bureau of Statistics in 1908 Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 299 showed an average of 24,856, the mmimum mimher employed being 20,746 and the maximum 28,847. The details are as follows : Table 44. — Number of Wage-earners employed in 1908 in the Manufacturing Industries of Lawrence. Waqe-eabners Employed Inddstries. AVERAGE NUMBER Smallest Number Greatest Number Males Females Both Sexes Cotton goods. Worsted goods. Foundry and macliine shop products, other industries, 2,211 8,214 778 3,183 2,211 7,411 89 769 4,422 15,625 867 3,942 3,869 12,939 719 3,219 4,903 18,067 1,042 4,8,35 All Industries, 14,386 10,470 24,856 20,746 28,847 The return shows that 63 per cent of all persons employed directly in manufactures, exclusive of clerks, managers, etc., were engaged in connection with the worsted industry, while the cotton manufactures accounted for 18 per cent of all wage-earners thus employed. The size of the individual textile establishments may be indicated by the fact that the number of worsted mills in the city is only 11 and that of cotton mills only five. Two of the largest firms, each with accommodation for about 6,000 workers, carry on the manu- facture of both cotton and worsted goods. The mills are for the most part red brick structures built alongside the Merrimac river, which at this point has a considerable faU, to which the establishment of the textile industry on this site was no doubt due, practically all the water being diverted along a canal for the purpose of supplying power to the mills. The output of worsted goods comprises most varieties of cloth for men's and women's wear. All branches of manufacture — scouring, spinning, weaving, and dyeing — are, as a rule, carried on under one roof. The output of cotton goods is varied, but is composed very largely of shirtings, ginghams, calico, duck, and sheeting. The textile trades are not strongly organized, differences of race and language being an obstacle to effective combination among the workers. Various unions exist for the textile workers generally or for specific branches of the trade, but they probably exercise little influence in determining rates of wages. The persons employed in 300 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. the mills are for the most part foreign-born and many are used to a standard of life which can be amply satisfied by the wages they are able to secure. Immigrants of this class lend but feeble support to those workers in whose case the margin between income and necessary or customary expenditure is so narrow as to furnish an impulse to militant organization. The presence in the city of a large body of immigrant labor has also led to the indiscriminate employment of men and women in various occupations which in other circumstances would probably be reserved to the latter. In one mill all the slubbers are men, in another they are men and women, and in a third women only. This practice, however, does not seem to be carried on to the same extent in the cotton mills in Lawrence as in those of Lowell. Cer- tainly no instances of men being engaged in ring spinning were noted here. As the foregoing table shows, and as the character of the staple industry would lead one to expect, Lawrence offers a large field of employment for female labor. It is interesting in this respect to compare Lawrence with other Massachusetts cities included in the present investigation. According to returns of the State Bureau of Statistics the average numbers of male and female workers engaged in 1908 in the manufacturing industries of the cities investigated were as follows : Table 45. — Average Number of Male and Female Wage-earners in the Manu- facturing Industries in the Cities Investigated, 1908. Cities. Males Females Both Sexes Boston, 34,033 18,070 52,103 Brockton, 11,305 4,551 15,856 Fall River, 16.959 12,799 29,758 Lawrence, 14,386 10,470 24,856 Lowell, . 14,608 11,823 26,331 There are no statistics available to show what proportion of the women at work are married, but among the poorer immigrant classes both husband and wife commonly work in the mills. There is no agreement among the mill owners in Lawrence as to the rates of wages to be paid. Workpeople in the building and printing trades are effectively organized, and as a rule the trade union minimum rates are operative. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 301 Laborers in the building trades usually work longer hours than the skilled men, coming half an hour earlier in the morning in order to prepare for the day's work and staying later in the evening in order to clear up. In the foundry and machine shop trades the iron molders are prob- ably the only class of workers who are strongly organized. In addition to the machine shops of the city, there is a large firm a short distance beyond the city boundary which makes textile machinery. Most of its operatives live outside Lawrence, and many occupy houses provided at low rentals by the firm. This position gives the firm an advantage in respect to the rates of wages paid as compared with the rates paid by the firms in the city, and the statistics relating to its employees have therefore not been included in the tabulation given below. The book and job printing industry is comparatively small, owing to the nearness of the city of Boston. The same circumstance also affects the newspaper printing trade, since the Boston daily and evening journals are on sale in LaviTence shortly after their appear- ance in Boston itself. The information in the following table in regard to workers employed in street construction and cleaning relates to municipal employees. At the time of the investigation some important paving work was being done, but the contract was in the hands of a Boston firm employing Boston workmen. The following table shows the predominant weekly wages and hours of labor in some of the principal male occupations in the textile in- dustry, in the building, machinery, and printing trades, and in certain public utility services : Table 46. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910.^ OCCTXPATIONS. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Building Trades. Bricklayers, . Stonemasons, Carpenters, . Plasterers, Plumbers, Painters Hod carriers and bviilding laborers. General laborers. $26.40 26.40 18.04 26.40 21.00 16.80 16.50 12.00 44 44 44 44 48 48 44 54 See footnote on page 238. 302 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 46. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910 — Concluded. OCCUPATIOKS. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Foundries and Machine Shops. Iron molders, $18.00 64 Coremakers, 16.50 54 Machinists, . 13.60-18.00 64-60 Blacksmiths, 14.50-18.00 54-60 Laborers, 9.00-12.00 54-60 Worsted Industry. Wool sorters, 11.00-14.20 56 Wool scourers. 7.90-11,00 56 Combers, 7.70-10.00 56 Card strippers, . 7.84-9.00 56 Mule spinners. 7.90-13.04 56 Loomnkers, . 11.33-16.00 66 Weavers 8.96-13.04 66 Dyers, yarn, cloth, and slub, 7.40-12.00 66 Shearers, 7.90-10.60 66 Pressers, 7.70-9.86 56 Cotton Industry. Picking-room hands. 7.25-7.83 56 Card strippers, 6.67-7.25 56 Card grinders, 8.40-11.30 66 Slubbers, 8.58-10.47 66 Slasher tenders, . 13.34-14.56 56 Slasher tenders' helpers. 8.68-9.02 56 Loomfixers, . 12.60-14.50 56 Weavers, 8.36-12.60 56 Printing Trades. Newspaper: Compositors, hand and machine: Day work, . 16.00 48 Night work. 18.00 48 Pressmen, . 15.00 48 Book and job: Hand compositors. 15.00 48 Pressmen, . 15.00 48 Public Service. Street construction, paving, and cleaning (municipal): Pavers (stone block). 30.00 48 Pavers' laborers, ... 15.00 18 Scavengers, .... 12.00 48 Road sweepers (machine, night force). 12.00 48 Teamsters, ... . . 12.00 48 Waterworks (municipal): Laborers 12.00 48 Gas works (company): Gas stokers. 18.55 84 Laborers, 9.72 54 Electric light and power works (company) : Electricians, . . . . 17.00-18.00 70 Engineers, 21.00 84 Gasmen, . 15.00 54 Stokers, ... 16.80 84 Electric Railways: Motormen and conductors: 1st year. 15.75 70 2d year, . 16.45 70 3d, 4th, and 5th years, . 17.15 70 6th and 7th years. 17.85 70 After 7 years. 18.55 70 Taking wages at ITew York as the base, = 100, in each case, the wages index numbers for Lawrence in February, 1909,^ were building 1 See footnote on page 240. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 303 trades, skilled men 76, hod carriers and building laborers 82 ; found- ries and machine shops, skilled men 78, unskilled laborers 104 ; print- ing, hand compositors (job work) 71. The rates of wages for weavers given in the above table are based upon returns from miUs in which the earnings of male and female weavers respectively could be discriminated. Weaving is an opera- tion which is very largely shared by women, and it was not possible in aU instances to obtain the respective earnings of the two sexes. At some mills it was stated that there was no difference between the earnings of men and women, but at one large establishment, where exact returns were kept, the relation between the average earnings of men and women weavers in the worsted industry was shovTu to be 100:85 and in the cotton industry 100:86. The predominant earn- ings of women and girls in some of the other principal occupations of textile industry were as follows : Table 47. — Predominant Weekly Earnings of Women and Girls in Some of the Principal Occupations of the Textile Industry. Indtjstkies and Occupations. Predomi- nant Weekly Wages Industbibs and OccirPATiONs. Predomi- nant Weekly Wages Worsted Goods. Gfll-box minders, Drawing frame tenders, Frame spinners. Warpers, Burlers, . Menders, ... Twisters {.2 and 3 sides). J6.3S- 7.90 6.96- 7.30 7.26- 7.84 6.06- 9.86 5.80- 8.86 7.54-10.16 6.20- 8.00 Cotton Goods. Drawing frame tenders, . Intermediate frame tenders, Jack or fly frame tenders, King spinners. Spoolers, . Drawing-in liands. $5.82- 7.66 8.00-10.68 7.50- 9.98 6.96- 8.50 6.00- 8.00 8.00- 9.16 The following details in regard to the course of wages during recent years were furnished by one of the largest firms, and substan- tially they apply to the cotton and worsted industries of the city generally: In January, 1898, there was a reduction of 6.77 per cent; in March 1899, an increase of 5.7 per cent; in December, 1899, an increase of 7.1 per cent; between December, 1899, and March, 1906, there was no change; in March, 1906, there was an increase of 6.68 per cent; on December 31, 1906, an increase of 5.31 per cent; on June 10, 1907, an increase of 4.73 per cent; and on April 13, 1908, a reduction of 8.99 per cent. It will be seen that wages were station- ary during the six years 1900-5. The business activity which was to end disastrously in the " panic " of 1907 then began to take effect, 304 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. and several important advances in rates were made. The year 1908 was one of depression in almost every industry, and in the first half of that year a reduction of wages in the cotton industry took place which was almost equal in amount to the two previous advances. Wages in May, 1911, were practically at the same level as they were during the greater part of 1906. Little or no " welfare work " is carried on by the large establish- ments in Lawrence. The relations between employer and employee begin and end in the factory, though a few " corporation tenements " accommodating an insignificant percentage of the mill workers are still maintained. Apart from the churches, the only important social agency at work among the employees is a City Mission whose func- tions are principally the relief of the poor or destitute. The bulk of its funds is contributed by the proprietors or officers of the textile mills and the institution has a close but not a formal connection with the large companies. C. Housing and Eents. Practically all the working-class families in Lawrence live in dwell- ings of the tenement type. As in other American cities containing a large immigrant population accustomed to a low standard of life the differences between the dwellings of the poorly-paid unskilled wage-earners and those of the well-paid native-born artisans are very great. With a few exceptions the tenement blocks are of wood. They vary in size, but seldom contain more than eight separate dwellings. Each block is separated from its neighbor by a courtyard or passage, but in some districts, especially in the principal Italian quarter, there is much crowding, four-storied tenement blocks being separated by pas- sages too narrow to allow two people to pass abreast and having no yard space at all. The rooms on the lower floors of such houses are very dark. Generally speaking the cheaper tenements are the old ones and the more expensive are those most recently built. Both old and new tenement houses have as a rule been built expressly for occupation by several families. Each tenement has usually some degree of privacy ; there is one tenement on each floor, and all the rooms — except where there are attics — are accessible from each other without the use of common stairways or landings, an arrangement which obviates corri- Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 305 dors 'and facilitates the wanning of the whole tenement. In the case of the old types of houses, while there is usually a separate water supply for each tenant, the sanitary conveniences are shared in com- mon hy two or more tenants. In general equipment the older tene- ments are of the plainest description. Insufficiently lighted rooms are often met with, but rooms totally shut off from the outer air are not common. Generalization as to the size of the rooms cannot be attempted, as too great variety exists. In the older tenements, however, rooms upwards of 14 feet square are seldom found. As a rule the height is ample, nine feet being usual. In external appearance the tenements are quite plain, but a dis- tinction may be drawn between two types of old tenement houses. The first is a large rectangular block without attics or garrets. The second is a house, as a rule gabled, containing two or three attics disposed among the tenants occupying the lower floors. Sometimes these attics are unfinished and can be used only as storerooms ; in other cases they are available as bedrooms. The better types of tenements represent an ascending scale of con- venience. Most have bay windows and covered porches or verandas in front and as a rule small balconies on each floor — sometimes present even in the old tenements — at the back. With increasing rent bath- rooms, separate closets, hardwood floors, pajitries, and, quite com- monly, speaking tubes are provided. The arrangement of a modern three-tenement house is as follows : The ground-floor dwelling has a separate entrance from the street. At the side of this door is another opening on to a staircase, which is used by the tenants on the two upper stories. This front staircase gives access directly to the sitting room or parlor. Beyond the parlor is the kitchen, which forms the central room of the apartment, the three bedrooms, the bathroom, and the pantry all opening off it. At the far side of the kitchen a door gives access to the back stairs and to the small balcony to which reference has been made. This balcony is often fitted with a projecting clothes "reel" — a contrivance of wooden rods, opening like a rose, on which clothes can be hung to dry. On one side of the balcony also is usually the coal and wood shed, which as a rule is very capacious. A galvanized iron dust shoot lead- ing to the bin in the yard facilitates the disposal of rubbish. The frontage of a house of this description is about 30 feet and the depth 306 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. from 35 to 40 feet. The bedrooms are from 10 to 12 feet square, the parlor about 14 feet square and the kitchen rather larger. The fittings of such a tenement vary greatly, much depending upon the location of the house and the character of the neighborhood. A tenement of this description may be regarded as very typical of the accommodation of the skilled artisan. As a rule rents are paid weekly, and not monthly as in most Ameri- can cities, and the rent includes all water charges. Rents vary widely, not merely on account of differences in accommodation, but also on account of differences in the character of the tenants. The rents of tenements occupied by Italians appear to be very high as compared with those of similar tenements occupied by other nationalities. One landlord attributed this to the carelessness of Italian families in the waste of water. In one Italian house, in fact, the following peremp- tory notice was displayed, " Less water must be used in this block or more rent will have to be charged at once." This cause alone, how- ever, seems insufficient to explain the striking difference which exists between the rental of some of the houses in the principal Italian dis- trict just off the main street, and that of similar accommodation else- where. The reason of the high rents which prevail in the Italian district is probably that the social cohesion which always strongly marks the Italians has more than counteracted the financial advantage of abandoning this little colony for some other part of the city, from which circumstance the tenements in this district derive an artificial or special value. In spite of the strong disposition of Italian families to herd closely together, however, some of the more enterprising have gone beyond the city limits and purchased small farms, often continu- ing to work in the mills until the property has been freed of all encumbrances. In a district knovsm as Pleasant Valley, lying between the city and Haverhill, are several of these small Italian holdings. One of the most important and interesting national groups in Lawrence are the Syrians. These people, like the Italians, have a tendency to segregate, and are sufficiently nunaerous to maintain a few shops catering for their peculiar wants in the matter of food. The Syrian colony is near the centre of the city. Its housing accommoda- tion calls for no special description, the houses being of the general types already described, with a preponderance of the older and plainer specimens. It has alreadv been stated that the number of French Canadians is Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 307 much less in Lawrence than in Lowell, this difference being largely due to the difference in the industrial character of the two cities. The tendency of the French Canadians to become segregated in a group or colony appears also to be much less strongly marked in Lawrence than in Lowell. They are more widely spread in the former city than in the latter, and although they are more numerous in some streets than in others, there is no really well-defined French Canadian quarter. The Germans, who are numerous and support a church and a news- paper of their own, occupy a district that is fairly well-marked. Their tenements are for the most part of the better or more modern type, and are probably somewhat above the general standard for the city as a whole. The rents most generally paid for accommodation of a working- class character are as follows : Table 48. — Predominant Bents of Working-class Dwellings. NraiBEH OP Rooms peb Dwelling. Predominant Weekly Rents Four rooms. $1.75-2.50 Five rooms, 2.60-3.00 Six rooms, . . . . 3.00-4.00 The level of rents at New York being represented by 100, the rents index number for Lawrence is 64. The practice of housing the textile workers in tenements provided by the manufacturing companies belongs to a stage in the city's industrial development that is now past. In close proximity to the mills and the canal there are, however, several lines of red brick structures that once belonged to the mills and were designed for their workers. Now they are used almost entirely as boarding houses, and are in the hands of independent proprietors, who would, presumably, accommodate any one whether working in the mills or not. The most usual charges in these boarding houses are as foUows: Board and lodging for a woman sharing a room with another, $2.50 a week; board and lodging for a woman having a separate room, $3 a week ; board and lodging for a man having a separate room, $3.50 a week. In several of the boarding houses single meals can be obtained. For breakfast or supper the usual charge is 10 cents to 15 cents, and for 308 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. dinner, 20 cents. Tickets for a week's board can be obtained at from $2 to $2.50. Though the tendency is for the mills to dispose of their tenement property rather than add to it, mention must be made of a housing scheme recently undertaken by one large company. Blocks of tene- ments of two types have recently been erected for this company's employees. The first type consists of six brick-buUt blocks, each con- taining seven flats. The two end flats of each block contain five rooms with bathroom and pantry, and are let at $2.Y5 a week. The other five flats contain four rooms, with bathroom and pantry, and are let at $2.50 a week. The second type comprises 36 frame-built tene- ments, each containing five rooms, with bathroom and pantry. The property is laid out with 18 flats facing the street and 18 facing an open elliptical granolithic court. The flats facing the street are let at $2.96 a week, and those facing the court at $2.86 a week. This housing scheme is an interesting reversion to an old practice, though it can hardly be said to be an outcome of the old motives which once led employers to provide accommodation for their workers, and which seemed to have their origin in a sense of social solidarity between employers and employees. It has been called for rather by the press- ure upon existing housing accommodation. During the last few years there has imdoubtedly been a large increase in the industrial activity of the city, to which the depression of 1908 was only a temporary set-back. The mill extensions alone, owing to the large scale on which they have been planned, have been directly responsible for a consider- able addition to the workpeople connected with the building and kin- dred trades, and at the time of the investigation there were many signs that ordinary commercial enterprise had not for the time being suc- ceeded in maintaining a supply of tenements of a working-class type equal to the effective demand. D. Retail Peices. (1) Introductory. — Most of the retail trade in Lawrence is done through the agency of small stores, there being only one large market doing trade on a purely cash basis. In the stores where credit is given no difference in price is made as a rule, whether goods are bought for cash or on account. The stores are scattered widely over the city, the main thoroughfare, Essex Street, being the shopping centre for clothing, furniture, etc., rather than for food. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 309 The principal nationalities maintain stores catering to their pecu- liar wants. In addition to a number of privately-owned stores, the Grermans have a Co-operative Society, which has about 350 share- holders and about 400 non-shareholding customers. Both classes receive dividends on their purchases. In the first half-year of 1909 the dividend paid to shareholders was 12 per cent, and to non-share- holding customers 6 per cent. In the Syrian quarter there are several small stores each selling, as a rule, not only food of aU kinds, but a great variety of small " dry goods." The wants of the Italians are also usually supplied by traders of their own nationality. (2) Oroceries and Other Commodities. — The most popular bread is plain wheaten, of which three times as much is sold as of any other variety. Here, as in other Massachusetts cities, a loaf sold simply as such is required by law to weigh two pounds. In practice a sign is displayed in the shops which sell bread advertising the loaves as three-quarter loaves and one-quarter loaves. The minimum weight of the three-quarter loaf must then be 24 ounces, and of the one- quarter loaf 8 ounces. The most common method is to scale the larger loaf at 28 to 30 ounces, and the smaller loaf at 15 to 16 ounces, before baking; these weights would relate to February, 1909. The large loaf sold at 10 cents thus usually weighs about 26 ounces, and the small loaf sold at five cents about 14 oimces. There seem to be few, if any, exceptions to the fact that the five cent loaf represents a better bargain as regards weight than the 10 cent loaf ; the price stated ia the table which follows relates to the five-cent loaf, which is pur- chased much more generally than the 10-cent loaf. The practice of weighing the loaf when sold prevails nowhere. Mention may be made of the fact that at the largest shop in the city three loaves, each weigh- ing 16 ounces before baking, are sold for 10 cents, but such a price is quite exceptional. Eye bread is popular among the Germans, and is usually somewhat cheaper than the wheaten bread, a full pound loaf being obtainable for five cents. Sweet potatoes are used largely during their season — roughly, October till Christmas — the most usual price then being 25 cents for 10 pounds. The tea most commonly sold at the stores doing a general trade is Japanese, Formosa, or Oolong, while coffee is usually the Mocha or Java variety. The price of milh varies as between "Winter and Summer, and also 310 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. to some extent between store and store. In May, 1911, the usual price was 8 cents to 9 cents a quart; in Summer the price is 1 cents to 8 cents. The milk supplied at the higher price is usually delivered in bottles. Practically the whole of the supply is obtained from farms in the neighborhood of the city. The improvement of the milk supply was, at the time of the investigation, a matter of consider- able local discussion. . . . As a rule ample accommodation for coal is provided in the tene- ments ; probably not much coal is bought in quantities of less than a quarter of a ton. The prices ruling in May, 1911, for anthracite, the kind most generally used, were: — Ton (2,000 pounds), $7.50; haH-ton (1,000 pounds), $3.75; quarter-ton (500 pounds), $2.00, For bags of coal weighing from 80 to 100 pounds a charge of 50 cents is made, this price being a constant one. Many of the stores and markets sell coal and coke in paper bags. A bag of coal usually weighs 20 pounds, and a bag of coke 17% pounds, and for either the price is 10 cents. Coke is iliuch used, and is often bought in fairly large quantities. The price per chaldron (about 1,440 pounds) was $4.50 in May, 1911, The following table shows the predominant prices paid in Lawrence for various commodities in May, 1911 : ^ Table 49. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. COMMODITIEB. Units Predominant Prices Tea, pound $0.19-. 40 Coffee, ... . . pound .22-.32 Sugar, white, granulated, pound .05M Sugar, brown. pound .05}i Eggs, . dozen .19-. 22 Cheese, American, pound .14 Butter, pound .22 MUk, freak, . quart .08 MUk, condensed, . can .10 Milk, evaporated. Potatoes, Irish, can .08 peck 24K pounds .24 Flour, wheat. .75 Flour, prepared. pound .18 Oatmeal, pound .035-. 04 Cereals, prepared, package .09-.U Macaroni, pound .08 Bread, white. 12 ounces .05 Vegetables, canned, can .07-. 13 Soups, canned, can .08J^-.10 Beans, baked, canned. 2% pounds .08-. 12 Beans, dry. - .075 Dried fruite; Prunes, pound .13 Apricots, pound .13 Peaches, pound .13 Coal, anthracite, . ■[ ton 1 20-pound bag 7.25 .10 Kerosene, ... gallon .10 Coke, 18-pound bag .10 1 See footnote on page 255. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 311 (3) Meat. — The meat consumed in Lawrence is almost entirely Western-dressed, and calls for no special remark. Very wide varia- tion exists as regards the price of veal. This appears to he due to the sale hy some butchers of calves which are either too young to furnish good eating or too old to deserve the name of veal. A few peculiarities of cut may be referred to. Bounds of beef are seldom cut right through or sold as joints. They are nearly always cut into steaks, three cuts being recognized — the top cut or best, the vein cut or second quality, and the bottom cut or cheapest. Brisket is seldom sold freeh, but is nearly always corned. It is often the prac- tice to corn the whole of the " rattle," i.e., tbe lower ends of the thick and thin ribs cut horizontally. Usually the brisket, when corned, is boned and rolled and known as " fancy brisket." As regards mutton and lamb, the shoulder, neck, and breast are usually cut in one piece and sold as forequarter. The practice of " lifting " the shoulder and selling it as a separate joint, as in Eng- land, does not prevail. Dry salt pork is very little sold in Lavrrence. Smoked and sweet pickled hams have a large sale. They are sold whole, but more often sliced, at 20 cents a pound, or in steaks. The following table shows the predominant prices for various cuts of meat: Table 50. — Predominant Prices Paid hy the Working Classes in May, 1911. Description of Cuts. Predomi- nant Prices— per Pound Desohiption of Cuts. Predomi- nant Prices— per Pound Beef. Roast: 'Face of rump, Top of round, Prime ribs, . Second cut ribs, . Chuck or short ribs. Bottom of round, Steak: E^mp, . Top of round, Sirloin, Hamburger, Flank, Bottom of round. Vein, Soup or Boil: Without shin. With shin. $0.18-.22 .18-. 20 .13-. 15 .10-.12 .13 ,12-. 14 .28.-32 .22-. 25 .20-. 22 .08-. 10 .08 .12-. 14 .16 .10 .05-.06 Beef— Con. Soup or Boil — Con . Brisket, Edge bone, . Bottom of round. Neck, Oxtails, SaU or Corned: Flank, Navel, Brisket, Thick end, . Other: Liver, . Kidneys, Heart, Tripe, . . . 80.09 .12 .12-. 14 .06-. 07 .08 .05 .06-. 07 .12-. 13 .12-.125 .07 .08 .10 .05 ' See footnote on page 255. 312 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 50. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911 ■ Concluded. Predomi- Predomi- Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Descbiption op Cuts. nant Prices— a Pound Pound Mutton and Lamb. Pork — Con. Fresh: Smoked: Leg, J0.15-.20 Ham, $0.14-. 16 Breast, . .05 Bacon, , .18 Loin, .14-. 18 Chops, . .18-. 20 Fowl. Shoulder, .10 Neck, .10 Chicken, . .23 Flank, .07 Fowl, .20 Kidneys, 1.20 Veal. Cooked Meats. Fresh: Ham, pressed, . .15 Log, . .15.-16 Ham, minced, . .14 Chops, rib, .18 Hogshead cheese. .10-. 125 Chops, loin, . .23 Breast, . Neck, Steak, Loin, . Calves' heart. .06 .06 .22 .14 .05 ' Fish. Fresh: Halibut, Cod, . Haddock, . .15 .07 .07 Fork. Eels, .12 FrssJ: Chops .12-. 14 Salt: Blades', .16 Mackerel, .12 Loin, .125 Cod, .12 Ribs, . .125 Herring, .03 Shoulder, .08-. 10 Frankfurters, Bologna, Kidneys, Pigs' feet. .10-. 12 .12 .06 .08 Smokei: Herring, Haddock, .025 .11-. 12 SaU: Canned: Wet or dry. .08-. 09 Salmon, .12 Spare ribs. .09 Prices at Ifew York being taken as the base, == 100, in each case, the index number for the price of meat at Lawrence in 1909 ^ was 107, for other food it was 104, and for food prices as a whole 105. For rents and food prices combined the index number was 95. I A dozen. ^ See footnote on page 257. Part m.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 313 5. LOWELL. A. Inteoduotoey. Lowell, the fourth city of the State of Massachusetts in point of population, is situated about 25 miles north of Boston. The rise of the city and its importance as a manufacturing centre are due prima- rily to its location on the Merrimac river, which, as it flows past Lowell, is a broad stream, and has a fall of about 30 feet. It was the possibility of using the power afforded by this fall that attracted the first comers, and led to the establishment of the textile industry of the city at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The growth of the city has been steady, but not rapid. At the date of its incorpora- tion, 1836, its population was about 20,000. The importance of the city is directly derived from its manufac- tures, its commercial and financial activities being of small account. The control of the largest enterprises is exercised almost entirely from Boston, and it is from that city that the goods manufactured are sold and distributed. These facts react upon the appearance of Lowell, which is characterized by an absence of large ofiice buildings, the small commercial and professional business which the city transacts being concentrated mainly in two streets, which also form the chief shopping thoroughfares. Unless it be the imposing line of mills on the water front, seen to great advantage from the bridge, there is little in Lowell to impress the ordinary visitor. Some of the residential portions of the city are, however, very attractive, thanks chiefly to the abundance of trees, while the surrounding country, particularly along the Merrimac Val- ley, is of marked beauty. An electric car ride from Lowell to Law- rence along this valley reminds an Englishman of some of the best reaches of the Thames, though the Merrimac is wider, and a distinc- tive American note is struck here and there in small groups of summer " camps," consisting of wooden bungalows, for the most part roughly erected and gaudily painted, where a few of the more enterprising workers from both cities live during the summer months. The population returned at each Federal Census since 1870 is shown in the following table : 314 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 51. — Population of Lowell, 1870-1910. Ybaes. Population Increase Percentage Increase 1870, 40,928 1880, 59,475 18,547 45.3 1890, 77,696 18,221 30.6 1900, 94,969 17,273 22.2 1910, 106,294 11,325 11.9 The percentage of foreign to total population in Lowell is very Mgli, tlie State Census of 1905 showing that 41.7 per cent of the inhabitants were foreign-born, while 75.1 per cent were of foreign parentage. Of the foreign-born inhabitants 29.5 per cent were French Canadians, 27.8 per cent were born in Ireland, and 13.7 per cent in Great Britain, English Canadians constituted 10.9 per cent of the foreign-bom popu- lation, and persons born in Greece 5.1 per cent. Scots, Portuguese, Swedes, and Russians were also found in considerable numbers, the Portuguese being sufficient to maintain a separate church. In con- trast with Lawrence, a city but a few miles distant and very similar in its industrial character, Lowell contains but a small number of Germans, Italians, and Syrians. On the other hand, Greeks, who are numerous in Lowell, are represented by a quite insignificant group in Lawrence. These are merely instances of the cohesive power of differ- ent non-English-speaking nationalities. The Greeks, and indeed most of the groups from southern Europe and southwestern Asia, have appeared for the most part during the last 15 years. That Greeks should have settled in Lowell, and Syrians in Lawrence, was a matter probably of accident in the first instance, but the process when once started was cumulative, and now simply reflects the desire of the foreign-speaking immigrant to go to some centre where he will be among relatives or friends, or at least among those who are not estranged from him by difference of language and traditions. Considerable though it is, the impress of the foreign-born inhabit- ants of Lowell upon the appearance and municipal life of the city is not so great as the figures would at first suggest. That two-fifths of the population were born abroad, and that three-quarters of the inhabit- ants had at least one foreign-born parent, might imply that the city is cosmopolitan to a striking degree in its general character. More Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 315 than naif of tho foreign-born population, however, consists of immi- grants from the British Isles and the English-speaking parts of Canada. Generally speaking, these people do not bring habits or institutions differing greatly from those of the Americans them- selves. . . . The French Canadian is the most important . nationality v^hose members are readily distinguishable from the Americans. The French have long been present in almost all parts of ISTew England, though there are certain centres — particularly the textile manufacturing districts — where they cluster in larger proportional numbers than in others. ... In Lowell a district knovm ... as " Little Canada " is peopled almost entirely by them, and here they maintain their own churches and institutions. The district is pre-eminently residential. There are some shops kept by French Canadians, which have a patronage almost exclusively confined to that class, but the bulk of the French Canadian custom probably goes to the larger shops in the two main streets of the city. Like the other and less numerous nation- alities, the French Canadians, in spite of their long association with Lowell, are still only settlers, whose language and manners claim no special attention outside their own quarter of the city, the business and official life of which remains essentially American. l^ext to the French Canadians, the foreigners who present the strongest claim to attention are the Greeks. In other cities the Greeks are seldom sufficiently numerous to have their own settlement, and are occupied chiefly as hawkers or shoe-blacks. In Lowell, however, they form a distinct colony, and constitute an important class of unskilled workers in the mills. They have practically all arrived during the last 15 years from the hillsides and small villages of Sparta and Thessaly. Only about one-sixth of the total number of Greeks in Lowell are females. The majority of the Greeks consist of young men who are, however, showing a tendency, as they establish themselves and become sufficiently prosperous, to marry into their own nationality, often visiting their eld homes for that purpose. Relatively few of the Greeks who had accumulated money would, however, be likely to stay in Lowell. As the Italian or the Portuguese is ambitious to possess a farm so the Greek looks to owning some small business, and the Greek who had saved sufficient to justify the venture would probably be drawn away by the larger opportunities of Boston. The capacity for saving on the part of the unmarried Greek in Lowell is consider- 316 STATISTICS OF LABOR —1910. [P. D- 15. able, low as his wages are when judged by American standards. He will form one of a party of four or five who will share a small tene- ment in common and do their own cooking and housework, or he will obtain board and lodging with a Greek family for $3.50 or $4 a week. Such accommodation is very rough, but it satisfies his needs. Outside his home he has few expenses. His chief recreation is found in the cwfe, but the beverage drunk there, as a rule, is only coffee, and though a good deal of card-playing goes on, the winnings and losings are usually trifling. That the possession of considerable means is compatible with an outward mode of life which in many respects suggests poverty was made manifest by the emigration which took place from the city during the period of industrial depression in 1908. Then many Greeks returned to their own homes to tide over the period of slackness, though in few cases had there been hitherto any visible evidence of the resources which alone made this possible. The economic importance of Lowell is derived from its manufac- tures of cotton goods, hosiery and knit goods, woolens, machinery, and boots and shoes. Of these, the first-named are by far the most con- siderable. According to a report of the Massachusetts State Bureau of Statistics the value of cotton goods manufactured in 1908 was $21,549,720, or 43 per cent of the value of all the products manufac- tured in the city. From having originally been engaged chiefly in making the plainer varieties of goods, manufactured mainly for export to the Far East, the mills have acknowledged the competition of the Southern States in these coarser counts by concentrating more upon the finer goods intended for home use. At the same time, more than one company has endeavored to retain its hold upon both branches of the trade by establishing mills in the Southern States. At present there is great variety in the output, both of the city as a whole and of the individual mills, and no one class of goods can be safely mentioned as being predominant. The hosiery and knit goods industry is represented by several firms, one of which, manufacturing its own yarn, is said to be the largest of its kind in the world. In this, as in the cotton industry, there is con- siderable variety of output, though the bulk appears to consist mainly of hosiery and underwear of the cheaper grades. Woolen and worsted goods together represented a value in 1908 of $4,799,466. The size of the individual mills, however, is not large, and the importance of Lowell as a centre for woolen and worsted man- Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETlrS. 317 ufacture is altogether overshadowed by that of the neighboring city, Lawi'ence. The machine shops in Lowell are important, the value of the output of foundry and machine shop products in 1908, a year of marked depression in this industry, being $3,087,181. The output consists, for the greater part, of openers, pickers, and other forms of textile machinery. Boots and shoes, of which the output in 1908 had a value of $2,310,066, and patent medicines, including sarsaparilla, with a value of over $1,172,418, are the only other manufactures that require specific mention. The output of boots and shoes is confined almost entirely to the cheaper grades of goods. The electric car service at Lowell is part of a system which is one of the most extensive in the country. Communication is easy, not only between the different parts of the city, but also between Lowell and many distant places. Frequent services are maintained to Bos- ton, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Nashua, N. H., without change of car, while by changing at certain points it is possible to reach Providence, E. I., Worcester, and even more distant cities. The cars are an undoubted boon to the working classes in affording access to many unspoiled stretches of country; and in Summer special cars are often chartered for picnics to various points. This electric car system, like the gas and electric lighting services, is under the control of a private company. Municipal functions, apart from police, sanitation, etc., are confined to the maintenance of the water works and a public library. The source of the water supply is a large number of driven weUs. The gas supplied to the city is a mixture of water gas and coal gas. ' The price charged is $1.05 per 1,000 cubic feet, a discount of 20 cents being allowed for payment within five days. There are about 5,000 prepayment or slot meters in use, the charge for gas consumed being 85 cents net per 1,000 cubic feet. Gas is in very common use through- out the city both for lighting and cooking. It is estimated that about 17 000 cooking ranges are in use, most of which have been sold by the gas company on the instalment plan. The charge for electric lighting is 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a 10 per cent discount for prompt payment. Electric lighting is not found in many homes of a working-class type. The sanitary administration in Lowell is under the supervision of a 318 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Board of Health, the executive staff consisting of an agent, a bacteriol- ogist, a physician, and five inspectors, including an inspector for meat and provisions. The city maintains three parks, v^ith areas of 34, 22, and 11 acres respectively, and also about a dozen open spaces or squares having a combined area of about 10 acres. ■* Both during the day and evening ample facilities are offered for technical instruction in the staple industry of the city at the Lowell Textile School, which is maintained by funds raised by State and city appropriations, tuition and other fees, and contributions from a friend of the school, and is one of the finest institutions of its kind. B. Occupations, Wages, and Houes of Laboe. The following table, based on the Federal Census results of 1900, shows the distribution of the population of Lowell according to occu- pation : Table 52. — Number of Persons of 10 Years of Age and Over engaged in Gainful Occupations in Lowell in 1900. Gkoups of Occupations. Males Females Both Sexes Building, 2,345 8 2,353 Metals and machinery, 3,430 18 3,448 Cotton goods. 3,837 4,931 8,768 Woolen goods, 745 978 1,723 Hosiery goods. 615 2,151 2,766 Bleaching and dyeing, 385 30 415 Carpet manufacturing. 305 384 689 Other and not specified textiles. 3,032 2,271 5,303 Leather, .... 404 16 420 Boot and shoe manufacturing. 532 174 706 Clothing 150 1,082 1,232 Woodworking and furnishing. 532 16 548 Paper and printing. 406 133 539 Food, liquors, and tobacco. 453 10 463 Other manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, . 1,931 278 2,209 Trade and transportation, ... 6,010 1,438 7,448 Laborers (not otherwise specified), 2,547 68 2,615 Professional, domestic and personal service, and agricultural pursuits. 2,808 3,295 6,103 All Occupations, 30,467 17,281 47,748 The table shows clearly that purely industrial character of the city to which attention has already been directed. The relative importance in 1908 of the principal manufactures as fields for employment is shown by the following table, compiled from a report published by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics: 1 In October, 1910, Mr. Freeman B. Shedd presented to the city of Lowell a tract of land containing 56 acres to be *' used as a park and recreation or playground for the citizens and children." Part III] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 319 Fable 53. — Number of Wage-earners employed in 1908 in the Manufacturing Industries of Lowell. Waqe-earnebs Employed. INDTJSTRIE8. Average Number Smallest Number Greatest Number Males Females Both Sexes Cotton goods, ffoolen goods, . .... (forsted goods Foundry and machine shop products, . Boots and shoes. Other industries. 5,572 612 529 1,921 715 5,159 5,383 340 801 14 349 4,936 10,955 952 1,330 1,935 1,064 10,095 8,801 700 1,051 1,474 702 8,268 12,313 1,191 1,658 2,729 1,478 11,655 All Industries, . ... U,508 11,823 26,331 20,996 31,024 It will be seen that of the average number of 26,331 wage-earners employed in aU the manufacturing industries embraced in the return, the cotton industry employed 10,955 or 42 per cent. These 10,955 persons were distributed among as few as seven establishments. The capacity of the mills, however, is much greater than the number of persons employed would indicate, the year 1908 having been one of acute depression. The cotton mills are large red brick structures, five or six stories high, built with one exception alongside the Merrimac river, from which source much of their power is derived. They are aU engaged in both spinning and weaving, and usually in dyeing and bleaching. While American-born people probably form the most numerous single class of employees', they are in a very distinct minor- ity as compared with the aggregate of foreign-born workers. An analysis of the staffs at two of the largest mills gave the following result: First mill — Americans 445, foreign nationalities 2,510, in- eluding French Canadians 681, Irish 621, Greeks 568, English 294, Belgians 125, Poles 99, Scots 42, nine other nationalities 80. Second mill — Americans 567, foreign nationalities 1,700, including Poles 427, Irish 321, French Canadians 244, Greeks 242, English 152, Portuguese 114, Scots and Russians 69 each, eight other nationalities 62. The language difficulty is obviously a handicap to an employer in the supervision of the various branches of a mill, and there is conse- raently a tendency to group a class of foreigners in order that those K^ho understand a little English may instruct or advise the others. A aational group, once represented in a mill, naturally tends to become 320 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. larger. In the same way certain processes become identified with different nationalities in different mills. In one of the two mills mentioned above, the Greeks are mostly employed in the spinning rooms, but this cannot be regarded as a characteristic of all the other mills in the city. In this particular case the introduction of the first few Greeks was due largely to some temporary consideration, but once they were there, it was found convenient, as the stafl" increased, to put others with them. It may be mentioned that though official notices and instructions in regard to a few of the chief factory rules are usually printed in four or five different languages, no serious attempt is made to deal with the non-English-speaking workers by means of their own language, except possibly in the case of the French Cana- dians. Even the workpeople's names often undergo a strange meta- morphosis when transcribed in the firm's books. Many a Greek or Portuguese who is known among his countrymen by some polysyllabic title answers in the mill to " John Smith " or some other emphati- cally English name. Owing to the presence of a large number of foreign-speaking men, previously used to agricultural pursuits in their native land and utterly untrained in factory work, it is the custom in Lowell for male labor to be employed in several occupations which in England are reserved more exclusively for women. To a very large extent the roving, jack frames, etc., are tended by men, while, as mentioned above, in at least one mill Greek men are enxployed in ring spinning. Generally speaking, however, the male labor from central, eastern, and southeastern Europe is mostly employed in the picking room and dye houses and in other more or less definitely unskilled capacities. The French Canadians, on the other hand, on account of their longer association with the industry, are employed on the skilled or semi- skilled tasks. In former days they were a somewhat uncertain factor, showing a marked tendency to go back to Canada and engage there in agricultural work. This migration still continues, but it is no longer considerable. The French Canadians are now a permanent element in the population, and are usually regarded as excellent workpeople. The textile trades are organized to some extent both on the side of the mill-owners and of the workpeople, though the workers' associa- tions represent only a minority of the employees. The Lowell Cotton Manufacturers Association represents the employers, while the work- ers' unions consist of English, Belgian, and Polish branches of the Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 321 Textile Workers Union, and also separate unions for loomfixers, for beamers, fixers, and slashers, for weavers, for mule spinners, and for Ueachery workers. It may be noted that in Lowell mule spinning is carried on only to a relatively small extent. The tendency to replace mule spindles by ring frames is going rapidly forward, the principal motive being economy, and to some extent, no doubt, the desire to make full use of the plentiful supply of unskilled immigrant labor. 1^0 common schedule of wage rates is agreed upon by the various mills, but in practice competition ensures a general uniformity. From time to time during the last 10 years negotiations have taken place between the employers and work people's organizations, and certain general changes have been agreed to. During the last ten years the course of waa:es in the cotton mills is stated to have been as follows : January, 1898, April, 1899, . December, 1899, July, 1906, . December, 1906, June, 1907, . March, 1908, . Reduction of 7 per cent. Last reduction restored. General advance of 10 per cent. Irregular advance averaging 5 per cent. General advance of 5 per cent. General advance of 5 per cent. Reduction of about 10 per cent. As compared with the level of wages at the end of 1897 the rates on this reckoning have, therefore, advanced approximately 15 per cent. The mills in Lowell combine to maintain a hospital, where the em- ployees and their near or dependent relatives can obtain treatment free. Some of the mills provide lunch rooms and means for heating the workers' dinner pails. This is practically all that is done that can be brought under the heading of what in the United States is usually described as " welfare work." Fifty years ago, when the workpeople were nearly all American, the association of employers and men was much closer than at the present time. Then, many of the employees with families were accommodated in tenement houses built and owned by the mill owners, and the single women workers, many of whom had left homes in country districts, were required to live in the mill board- ing houses. A Mechanics Association which once gathered together both employers and employees in its library and reading room, and at its lecture courses and industrial exhibitions, has long since dis- appeared. Though represented by a large number of establishments, the 322 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. woolen and worsted industry in Lowell is small as compared with the cotton, and the individual mills are also small. As elsewhere in the New England States where the cotton and woolen industries exist side by side, the representation of the French Canadian population is much smaller in the latter than in the former. In Lowell the Irish appear to be by far the mosb important single national group in the woolen mills. A recent analysis of the staff at two mills of about equal size showed the number of Americans employed to be 28 and 12 respec- tively, and of persons of foreign nationality 169 and 185 ; in one mill there were 142 Irish, 16 Swedes, eight French Canadians, two Jews, and one Scot; and in the other 109 Irish, 22 English, 21 French Canadians, 17 Germans, 14 Italians, and two Scots. The machine shops in Lowell are chiefly engaged in the production of cotton manufacturing machinery, though one firm also makes hydraulic presses. In the largest machine shop, out of 1,150 em- ployees at work on a particular date, 977 were foreign-born. The most highly skilled work is done by English-speaking workers, including French Canadians who have acquired the language. Greeks and Poles are largely employed upon machine molding and other routine tasks that require little or no skill. Both union and non-union men are em- ployed in the various shops. One of the firms formerly worked on a premium bonus system, a premium in addition to wages being paid upon all machines above a certain number made in a specified period. The system resulted, as it was intended to do, in a largely increased output by the same staff. The premium appears to have been fixed at a point which it was difficult to maintain, and when an attempt was made to readjust the rate, friction resulted, and the scheme was abandoned. The boot and shoe industry in Lowell is small as compared with that in other Massachusetts cities, and is confined to a cheap grade of product. The chief nationalities represented in this industry are the American, Irish, and French Canadian. The building trades are in the hands of comparatively small em- ployers, each of whom confines himseK as a rule to but one branch of work. Contracts are therefore usually divided between several firms. In the case of a large mill extension in progress at the time of the investigation the necessary labor was directly engaged by the mill owners. Practically all branches of the trade are unionized, and the union rates are generally operative. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 323 The printing trade is not important, Lowell being too close to Boston to permit the growth of a large general printing industry. Most of the important contracts find their way to the larger city. One daily and two evening newspapers are published locally, but here, again, the influence of Boston is felt, the Boston newspapers being on sale in the city very soon after their publication. The following table shows the predominant weekly wages and hours of labor of men engaged in some of the principal occupations in October, 1910 :' Table 54. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910. OCCTJPATIONB. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Building Trades. Bricklayers, . Stonemasons, Carpenters, Plasterers, Plumbers, Painters , Granite cutters, Building laborers. Foundries and Machine Shops. lion molders. Machinists , Blacksmiths, Pattern makers, Laborers, Cotton Industry. Picking-room hands. Card grinders. Strippers, Mule spinners. Slasher tenders, . Slasher tenders' helpers, Loomfixers, Weavers, Woolen and Worsted Industry. Card strippers or grinders, . Loomfixers, . Mule spinners, ■ Weavers, . • Finishers, Cloth dyers. Hosiery and Knit Goods Industry. Boarders or framers, . Printing Trades. 'Newspaper: i,- „. Compositors, hand and machine. Day work. Night work, . Book and job : Hand compositors. Pressmen, cylinder, • Pressmen, small presses. S2g.80 28.80 19.20 28.80 19.00 16.50 18.00 13.20-14.52 12.00-18.00 10. 50-13. CO 11.50-14.50 10.00-16.60 6.50-9.00 6.76- 8.10 8.00-12.00 7.20- 8.00 12.00-16.00 11.00-12.70 7.00- 8.00 12.00-13.20 8.00-10.26 7.26- 8.26 15.00-16.00 11.00-13.00 12.00-14.60 7.50- 8.70 7.60- 8.40 1.00-13.00 18.00 21.00 15.00 19.50 15.00 44 44 48 44 48 48 48 44 SO 50 50 50 SO 66 56 66 56 66 66 56 56 56 56 56 66 56 56 56 48 48 48 48 48 » See footnote on page 238. 324 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. Table 54. — Predominant Weekly Wages and Hours of Labor of Adult Males in the Principal Occupations in October, 1910 — Concluded. Occupations. Predominant Weekly Wages Predominant Weekly Hours of Labor Public Service. Steel construction, paving, and cleaning (municipal): Pavera, . . ... t24.00 48 Pavers' laborers, 12.00-13.50 48 Road mendeis. 12.00 48 Scavengers, . 12.00 48 Road sweepers, 12.00 48 Teamsters, 12.00 48 Waterworks (municipal); Laborers, 12.00 48 Gas works (company): Firemen, . .... 16.45 84 Laborers 10.50 54 Electric light and power works (company): Electrician, switcliboard operators. 15.12-16.24 56 Power station, repair men. 14.00-17.50 56 Laborers, 12.00 54 Linemen, 15.00-17.50 54 Boiler men, . 15.00 56 Electric railways: Motormen and conductors: First year, 15.75 70 Second- year, .... 16.45 70 Third, fourth, and fifth years. 17.15 70 Sixth and seventh years. 17,85 70 After seven years. 18.55 70 Taking wages at iNew York as the base, = 100, in each case, the wages index numbers for Lowell in February, 1909,^ were : Building trades, skilled men 77, hod carriers and building laborers 87 ; found- ries and machine shops, skilled men 68, unskilled laborers 77 ; print- ing, hand compositors (job work) 79. In the above table the hours of labor in machine shops have been stated as 55 and the weekly rates of wages have been computed on that basis, since in February, 1909, and for some time previously, these or even shorter hours had constituted the ordinary working week. In the largest machine shop of the city the hours worked since ISTovem- ber, 1907, have varied as follows, according to the state of trade Week ending ITovember 23, 1907, 58; December 7, 1907, 521/2 February 15, 1908, 45 ; April 25, 1908, 36 ; December 19, 1908, 50 February 13, 1909, 55 ; July 1, 1910, 50. Between July, 1910, and July, 1911, the hours were unchanged. Nominally, the full working v?eek consists of 58 hours, but, having regard to the fluctuations indi- cated, it is impossible to consider the 58-hour week as being normal, and accordingly the usual hours actually worked in October, 1910, have been stated. 1 See footnote on page 240. Part m.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 325 In view of the importance of the cotton industry in Lowell, it may be of interest to supplement the rates of wages quoted above for adult males by some further rates relating more particularly to women and girls. The following rates of earnings are in all cases for a week of 58 hours: Drawing frame tenders $6 to $6.26; slubbers $8 to $10; ring spinners (warp and filling) $6.76 to $8.26 ; drawing-in hands $6 to $8.26 ; spoolers $Y to $8. Of the above groups the drawing frame tenders, the spoolers and the drawing-in hands are exclusively women and girls. King spinning and slubbing are shared to some extent by men. Weaving is another branch of the industry which is divided between the sexes, and the rates quoted in the summary table relate to both men and women. In the wages books of the cotton mills no distinction is drawn as a rule between men and women, where both are engaged in the same operation, and a separate rate cannot therefore be given for each sex. As regards weavers, however, the general opinion was that the normal earnings of men and women respectively did not differ to any material extent. In the case of the woolen mills it was possible in two cases to obtain separate rates ; in one of these the earnings of the women were somewhat higher than those for men, and in the other the contrary was the case. C. HousiiifG AND Rents. Practically the whole of the working-class population of Lowell is accommodated in tenement houses built of wood. The predominance of wood as a form of building material is shown by the fact that at the beginning of 1908, out »f a total of 18,146 buildings of all kinds in the city, only 1,100 or six per cent were built of brick, stone, or iron. In external appearance and in the smaller details of construction working-class houses exhibit a good deal of variety. The older houses are mostly plain, while in the case of the more recently erected build- ings an attempt has usually been made to relieve the frontage by means of bay windows, small porches, and similar devices. The long rows of uniform dwellings, characteristic of many English industrial cities, are entirely absent from Lowell if one excepts a number of plain-fronted three-storied houses built by some of the mill owners as tenement or boarding houses for their employees. The buildings of the latter class, however, are not now an important factor in the working-class housing accommodation of the city ; for some time the mill ovraers have followed the policy of selling them or converting 326 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. them into storehouses, as opinion is unanimous that they were suited only to a passing phase of the city's industrial development. Origi- nally, much of the mill help was drawn from the rural districts, and, especially in the case of females, it was thought desirable to require the employees to live in the firms' boarding houses and conform to certain disciplinary regulations. As a relic of a past custom a " cur- few," which once required the employees to be indoors at 9 o'clock, still rings at that hour. In addition to these boarding houses, tene- ments were also provided to some extent for the ndarried men. The coming of the foreigners, a change in the relations of employer to em- ployee, and the desire of the latter to choose his own type of dwelling, and, if necessary, go far afield for it, have all contributed to the breakdowu of tlie system. Most of the houses are now managed by individual owners as boarding or " rooming "'houses, and accommoda- tion can be obtained by any one desirous of it, whether an employee of the mill or not. The large machine shop is now the chief undertaking providing house accommodation for its employees, maintaining about 50 small detached wooden houses, each containing six rooms, and rented at $2.20 a week. The large hosiery firm, though not now financially interested to any extent in the boarding houses, still stipu- lates with the boarding house proprietor for certain charges to its employees, such charges being below the usual rates current in the city. A working-class street in Lowell usually presents a very irregular appearance, the houses varying in age, style, and hight. In spite of this outward diversity, however, working-class homes mostly conform to one general type. No ofiicial figures exist showing the relative numbers of families occupying dwellings of different sizes, but it is evident from observation that so far as the working classes are con- cerned a tenement usually consists of either four or five rooms; the six-roomed tenement is also of some importance. A tenement block usually contains from two to six tenements. With the exception of some particular large blocks, notably in the French Canadian quarter, the older types of houses are usually only two stories high, but the tendency in the case of the modern tenements is to build three stories high. In the case of the two-storied tenement there is usually one entrance from the street to either two or four tenements according as the house is double or single-fronted. To the modern three-storied block there are usually two doors to every three tenements, one door Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 327 giving access to a tenement on the street floor and the other to the two tenements above. This latter type of house and to some extent the old three-storied blocks are provided with stairways and balconies at the back, giving a secondary access which for everyday purposes is the one commonly used. The arrangement of the rooms within the tenements is on the whole fairly imiform, all the rooms communicating direct with each other without passages or hallways. In the case of tene- ments with secondary access from the back, the front door on the stair or hallway usually opens direct into a parlor or sitting room, and the back door into the kitchen or common living room. Where there is only one entrance, as in the older two-storied tenements, it is usually direct to the kitchen. Many of the older houses have attics, these being shared among the tenements, so that in an old type of four- roomed tenement three rooms would be on one floor, and one room would be an attic. As a rule, the kitchen is a large apartment 15 or 16 feet square, and is provided, usually as a tenant's fixture, with the familiar closed American range standing prominently in the middle of the room. In all the better class tenements *a small narrow pantry or " sink room " leads cff the kitchen. This room is merely a lighted closet containing shelves, etc., for storing food, a sink, and the water supply. In poorer and older tenements the sink and water supply are commonly in the kitchen. Though the kitchen is almost uniformly of ample size, the only exception being in the case of the oldest and poorest houses, the size of the other rooms varies much. In a modern tenement of working-class character the ordinary size of a sitting room is 14 feet square, but in the case of the bedrooms it is impossible to give dimensions that could be regarded as typical. The newer types of tenements have usually separate sanitary con- veniences, mostly provided in a small bathroom, and the plumbing is good. In the older houses separate conveniences are also frequently fouiid but in many cases the convenience is on the landing, and is shared by two tenants, while in a few cases conveniences are provided in a yard and are used in common by the occupants of several tene- ments. In the older houses the conveniences often lead direct from the kitchen and have no outside ventilation, and in a number of cases they have been allowed to fall into disrepair. Storage space for coal and wood is usually ample, and the modern three-storied tenements are often provided on each floor with galvanized dust-shoots leading to a bin in the yard. Practically all the houses in the urban portion 328 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. of the city are connected with the sewers. Gas fittings are frequently provided, except in the old and poor houses. Except in one or tAvo small areas, there are no signs of serious con- gestion in the housing accommodation, and though the space surround- ing the ordinary teneinent block is not large, it is usually sufficient. The city, of course, is not free from a housing problem, which presents itself in the action and reaction of bad and careless tenants upon old and dilapidated buildings. There are also a few large tenement blocks, exceptional to, rather than typical of, the working-class accommodation as a whole, which were built many years ago, and are decidedly lacking in modern hj'gienic requirements. There is, for example, a large block in the French Canadian quarter consisting of four-roomed tene- ments. Only two of the rooms in each tenement face the street or court: the other two are in the middle of the house and have only borrowed lights. The individual tenements are without satisfactory " through " ventilation, the principle of construction being similar to that of the old " back-to-back " type of house in England. Moreover, as the city has grown irregularly, small courts and " rear " houses are not uncommon. Such dwellings are chiefly occupied by European immigrants, and to some extent by the poor Irish. As a counterpart to these conditions, which are worse than the average, must be mentioned the few small one-family houses which are found here and there. The principal group consists of about 50 cottages not far from the centre of the city. They are two stories high, and contain seven rooms, consisting of a parlor, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and three bedrooms. They have small fore- courts and also yards at the rear. The usual rent is $2.75 a week. The small houses previously mentioned as maintained by the machine shop also present an improvement in many respects upon the general standard of housing accommodation. House property is a popular form of investment among working- class people in Lowell, and the Federal Census of 1900 showed that 22.9 per cent of the total number of houses were owned by their occupiers, either free or subject to mortgage or other charges. The larger proportion of these owning occupiers, however, would not be of the wage-earning class. The most usual rentals paid for accommodation of working-class character are shovm in the following table : Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 329 Table 55. — Predominant Rents of Working-class Dwellings. NuMBEK OF Rooms per Dwblunq. Predominant Weekly Kents Four rooms, . .... .... Five rooms, . Six rooms, . 11.60-2.30 1.85-2.55 2.30-2.75 The level of rents at New York being represented by 100, the rents index number for Lowell is 52. The French Canadian population, though confined almost entirely to one district, is housed in tenements which conform on the whole to the general type already described. The Greeks occupy a street and adjacent courts near the City Hall. The tenements in which they find accommodation are mostly old, and most of the Greek homes present a very impoverished appearance. This is probably due less to their having brought a low standard of housing accommodation with them than to the fact that there are relatively few Greek women. Many a Greek household in Lowell consists entirely of men working in the miUs by day, and doing their own rudimentary housekeeping in their spare time. In such cases the furniture is of the poorest and most meagre description, and the landlord usually deems it prudent to require the rent to be paid weekly in advance. In the tenements so occupied by men alone cases of overcrowding no doubt occur. Misuse of sanitary conveniences, such as might be charged to any population used to rural conditions, is also said to be common. In most homes of this class which were visited there was a general absence of comfort, and a vigorous housewife would have effected much improvement, but evidence was not wanting to show that some regard was paid at least to the elementary decencies of life. D. Eetail Peices. (1) Introductory. — Most of the foreigners in Lowell appear to trade with the general retail traders. In the Greek quarter there are a few stores patronized almost exclusively by Greeks. In the French Canadian district, " Little Canada," also, most of the stores are kept by French Canadians. Othervnse, the various nationalities repre- sented appear to have no difficulty in satisfying most of their needs at the ordinary grocery stores and markets. Even the French Canadian 330 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. stores are an expression rather of national esprit de corps than of any essential difference between the American and the French Canadian dietary. The peculiarities of the Greek dietary consist principally in the large use of rice, olive oil, and various spices or flavorings, such a3 bay leaves, a bundle of which is usually to be found hanging in a. Greek house. As to the consumption of flesh, national habits flnd expression in the almost exclusive use of mutton. The loaves supplied by the Greek bakers appear to be of the same ingredients as the wheaten bread made by American bakers, and they are also of the same weight. They are fashioned, however, into flat round shapes-, each loaf generally weighing two pounds before baking. '* (2) Groceries and Other Commodities. — ^As in other American cities, wheaten bread is usually sold in Lowell in five-cent and ten- cent loaves, the smaller size being by far the more popular of the two. Much variation occurs in the weight of the loaves as between one shop and another, and it is difBcult to state the predominant weight of the five-cent loaf within narrower limits than 12 to 16 ounces. In May, 1911, the largest bakeries usually made the five-cent loaf to weigh 16 ounces before baking ; this yielded a loaf weighing about 14 ounces as sold. There were, of course, many variations on this prac- tice. Various kinds of rolls (e.g.^ " Parker House rolls " and " Tea rolls ") and buns are sold at a standard price of 10 cents a dozen, the weight being about the sam.e as that of bread costing this sum. The prices of the most popular kinds of tea, vary very vndely. This is possibly only a reflection of the great differences in wage-earning capacity and general economic conditions among the working classes. Sweet potatoes are popular when in season, viz., in the late Autumn. The usual retail price is then about 25 cents for seven pounds. Fresh baked beans at 15 cents a quart and brown bread are sold by bakers on Saturday evenings, this dish being a very popular one throughout New England both for Saturday's supper and Sunday's breakfast. Baked beans are also sold in cans, weighing from two to 2 I/O pounds, for 10 cents to 15 cents. Mention may also be made of the fact that many of the fruit stores sell " Saratoga chip " potatoes. As commonly used they may be regarded more as a sweetmeat than as a food. There is obviously little nutriment in the thin wafers. They are used to beguile the tedium of a railway or street car journey, and Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 331 probably in most cases merely present an alternative to chewing gum or peanuts. The kind of coal usually consumed in working-class homes is an anthracite, costing $S a short ton of 2,000 pounds, in February, and $7.50 in August, while half a ton cost $4 and $3.75 respectively, and a quarter of a ton $2.25 and $2 respectively at these dates. A quarter-ton was the most popular unit. Bags of coal weighing 100 pounds (constant all the year round) are sold for 50 cents, but it was said that this method of buying was favored only by the very poorest. Bags of coal weighing 20 pounds are sold by most grocery and pro- vision stores for 10 cents. Coke is sold at $4.75 a chaldron of about 1,440 pounds, and $2.38 a half chaldron, the latter measure being the more common. -"^ Bags of coke varying slightly in weight, but usually about 171^ pounds are sold by grocery shops for 10 cents. The following table shows the predominant prices in May, 1911,^ for certain articles of food, for coal, and for kerosene: Table 56. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Commodities. Units Predominant Prices Tea, Coffee, ... Sugar, white, granulated. Sugar, brown. Eggs, Cheese, American, Butter, Butterine, Milk, fresh, . Milk, condensed. Milk, evaporated. Potatoes, Irish, Flour, wheat. Flour, prepared. Oatmeal, Oats, roUed, Cereals, prepared. Macaroni, ... Bread, white, . • ... Vegetables, canned, Soups, canned, . Beans, baked, canned, Sardines, Beans, dry, . - ■ • Dried fruits: Prunes, ■ .... Apricots, - ■ ■ • Peaches, Apples, • ■ Coal, anthracite, . . • ■ • ■ Kerosene, . ... Coke, • ■ ■ • • pound pound pound pound dozen pound pound pound quart can can peck 24K pounds pound pound Ijound pound 12 ounces can can 40 ounces can pound pound pound pound f ton \ 20-pound bag gallon 18-pound bag SO. 25 .20-. 25 .05-. 055 .05 .18-. 22 .15 .20-. 22 .14 .06 .07 .05 .20 .65-. 80 .09-. 16 .04 .026 .07-.12 .10 .05 .08-. 12 .06-. 10 .08 .04 .08-. 10 .10 .16 .08 .10 7.50 .10 .10 .10 I Coke is now (May, 1911) sold by weight. 2 See footnote on page 255. 332 STATISTICS OF LABOR — 1910. [P. D. 15. (3) Meat. — The beef, mutton, and veal consumed in Lowell is practically all Western-dressed, though a certain amount of local beef of very poor quality is also on sale at the cheapest stores. The method of cutting does not call for special comment except so far as " rounds " are concerned.' This part of the carcass is very seldom cut as a roast, and -when cut as a steak is usually divided into three parts, top of the round, bottom of the round, and the vein cut. The " top " is the most expensive, and the " bottom " the cheapest cut. As else- where in Ifew England the price of veal varies considerably from shop to shop, such variations being principally due to wide differences of quality. The best pork sold in Lowell is local or Boston killed. A consider- able amount of frozen pork is, however, also obtained from the West. Canned meats have a large sale. Eoast beef and corned beef, each sold in cans weighing gross one pound, cost 13 cents. The following table shows the prices most generally paid by the working classes for certain cuts of beef, mutton, veal, and pork in May, 1911:1 Table 57. — Predominant Prices Paid by the Working Classes in May, 1911. Predomi- Predomi- Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Descbiption of C-dts. nant Prices — a Pound Pound Beef. Beef — Con. Roast: Salt or Corned — Con. Face of rump, $0.125-. 18 Brisket, 50. 10-. 12 Top of round, .15-. 18 Thick end, . . .07-. 10 Prime ribs, . .12-. 16 Second cut ribs, . .10-. 12 Other: Ckuck or siiort ribs, .08 Dried or chipped. Bottom of round. .12-. 14 Liver, . .08 Butts, .10 Kidneys, .08 Heart, .10 Steak: Tripe, .05 Rump, . .20-.24 Top of round, . ; .18-. 22 Sirloin, .18-. 23 Fresh: Hamburger, .10-. 12 Leg, . . . . .10-. 16 Bottom of round. .12 Breast, . .07-. 08 Vein, . .125 Loin, .12 Chops, . .125-. 15 Soup or Boil: Shoulder, .07 Without shin, .10 Neck, . .08 With shin. .05-. 06 Flank, . .06 Brisket, .06 Short ribs, .06 Edge bone .12 Kidneys, .08 Bottom of round. .12 Neck, . .075 Veal. Ox tails, .07 Fresh: Leg, . . .15 Salt or Corned: Chops, rib, . .18 Flank, .08 Chops, loin, . .20 Navel, .07 Breast, . .12 1 See footnote on page 255. Part III.] LIVING CONDITIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 333 Table 57. — Predominant Prices Paid hy the Working Classes in May, 1911 — Concluded. Predomi- Predomi- Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Description of Cuts. nant Prices — a Pound Pound Veal — Con. Fresh — Con. Fowl. Neck, . SO. 08-. 10 Chicken, . . . $0.17-. 20 Steak, . . . . . .22 Fowl, . ... .16-. 18 Loin, . . . . . .22 Calves' heart, .... .05 Cooked Meats. Tongue, . .35 „ , Po"^^- Ham , boiled, .30 Fresh: Ham, pressed. .12 Chopa, . ... .125-. U TTn.Tn , TniTirwH , .11 Blades, .14 Corned beef, . .20 Loin, . . . . .11 Hogshead cheese, .10 Ribs, . . . . .14 Shoulder, .13 Fish. Fresh: Frankfurters, .10-.12 Bologna, .10-. 12 Cod, . . .08 Sausage, .13-. 16 Kidneys, Salt: Pigs' feet, . . . . ~.06 Mackerel, . ... .04 Cod, .09 SoiU: Wet or dry. .08-. 10 Herring, Salmon, ... .03 .10 Spare ribs, . .08-. 10 Smoked: Smoked: Herring, .12 Ham, .13-. 15 Haddock .10 Bacon, . .18-. 20 TTani ends, . Canned: Shoulder, .09-.116 Salmon, .12-. 14 Prices at ISTew York being taken as the base, = 100, in each case, the index number for the price of meat at Lowell in February, 1909,^ was 99, for other food it was 103, and for food prices as a whole 102. For rents and food prices combined the index number was 90. 1 See footnote on page 257. Date Due » ■, ' ' ■ > ;!? 1 t \ J HD6983.M4"9l'l"""""'""'™'^ ""iKmiWMiS™^^^^ wage-earning po 3 1924 002 403 438