The following tables show the Prevailing daily rates of wages in the building industry of New York City (Manhattan Borough) from 1883 to 1903. a. Amalgamated reports painters' wages $4; the Brotherhood, $3.50 and $4; Amalgamated reports' decorators' wages $4.50. Decorators received the higher rate throughout the entire period. Prevailing daily rates of wages for paving and stonecutting in New York City (Manhattan Borough), 1883 to 1903. Pennsylvania Labor Reports. The secretary of internal affairs of the state of Pennsylvania, in his reports for 1901 and 1902 publishes a series of tables showing comparative statistics in 354 identical establishments for the years 1892 to 1901, and 771 identical establishments for the years 1896 to 1902, respectively. The following tables have been compiled from these reports: Comparative statistics of 354 identical manufacturing establishments, 1892 to 1901. [Compiled from the Twenty-ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Pennsylvania.] Average persons Aggregate wages Average yearly Value of product. employed. paid. earnings. [Compiled from the Thirtieth Annual Report of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Pennsylvania.] Average persons Aggregate wages Average yearly Value of product. Year. employed. paid. earnings. Amount. crease. Other state labor bureaus have published statistics showing similar results, but only those have been reproduced which are comparable one year with another, that is, statistics for identical establishments. WAGES IN HAWAII BEFORE AND AFTER ANNEXATION. That the influence of American annexation is felt in our dependencies may well be seen in the following table of wages paid on the plantations of Hawaii each year from 1890 to 1902: Average daily wages of various classes of plantation labor, 1890 to 1902. [From Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor, July, 1903.] Occupation. Unskilled (male)........ 1890. 1892. 1894. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. $0.65 $0.60 $0.55 $0.53 $0.52 $0.52 $0.58 $0.64 $0.76 $0.71 .39 .39 .38 .35 .32 .32 .37 .39 .44 .80 .69 .65 .62 .60 3.04 3.21 3.16 3.28 3.29 a One plantation only. .45 .60 .63 .72 .88 .74 3.24 3.07 3.74 3.69 3.80 The annexation of Hawaii took place in 1898. During the period from 1890 to 1898 the wages of unskilled male laborers declined steadily from $0.65 to $0.52 per day, while from 1899 to 1902 they increased from $0.58 to $0.71 per day; the daily wages of unskilled female laborers declined from $0.39 in 1890 to $0.32 in 1898, and increased steadily after annexation to $0.45 per day. While the daily wages of skilled mechanics fluctuated considerably from year to year before annexation, they increased almost steadily from $3.07 in 1899 to $3.80 in 1902. RAILWAY LABOR DURING REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC ADMINIS TRATIONS. There is no better index to the industrial condition of a country than the amount of business done by the railways, and, as the railways in this country employ over one million persons, the increase or decrease in traffic materially affects a large proportion of the population. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1896 (Cleveland's administration), there were 826,620 railway employees in the United States receiving a total yearly compensation of $468,824,531. In 1903 there were 1,312,537 railway employees, about 97 per cent of whom received $757,321,415. This shows an increase in 7 years of 485,917 railway employees and of about three hundred million dollars in aggregate salaries and wages. In other words, 58.8 per cent more persons were employed by the railways in the United States on June 30, 1903, than on June 30, 1896, when the Democratic party was in power, and nearly two-thirds more were paid in wages and salaries. The following table shows the number of railway employees and the total salaries and wages paid in each class in 1896 and 1903: Number and total wages and salaries of railway employees in the United States during the fiscal years ending June 30, 1896, and June 30, 1903. [Compiled from Report on Statistics of Railways, Interstate Commerce Commission.] a The figures showing total wages and salaries are for 97 per cent. of the employees only. The exact figures for the total number of employees had not been computed at the time when this book was published. On the basis of the figures given, the approximate total compensation for the year ending June 30, 1903, was about $780,000,000. LABOR LAWS. LABOR LEGISLATION IN REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC STAMES. There is no better way of judging the merits of a political party than by the laws which are passed by the legislators who are elected to office from its ranks. With regard to legislation for the protection of the workers much remains to be done before they receive their full measure of protection and justice, but as can be shown by the statistics of the different states, nearly all protective labor legislation in the United States was first enacted by Republican states, and then adopted by way of imitation by the Democratic states. At the present time, that is, up to the close of 1903, the proportion of Republican states having protective labor legislation is much greater than that of Democratic states. This is plainly shown in the table on the following page. The following table shows the number and per cent. of Republican and Democratic states which have enacted the legislation as shown on the preceding chart: An examination of these tables presents an interesting lesson in practical politics. We shall take up in rotation each of the more important subjects of labor legislation, and see which states have done the most for the workingman. Labor Bureaus.-There are few agencies which have done more toward giving a clear insight into the problems of labor and capital, that have brought employer and employee nearer together, or that have furnished the laboring people with facts for arguments in favor of protective legislation, than bureaus of labor and labor statistics. The above tables show that at present there are 33 state labor bureaus in the United States. Of these, 25 are in Republican states and 8 are in Democratic states. Reducing these figures to a proportionate basis, we find that 25 out of 29 Republican states, or 86 per cent., have labor bureaus; 8 out of 16 Democratic states, or 50 per cent., have labor bureaus. Factory Inspection Service.-It is well known to all working people that protective labor laws are practically a dead letter in any state unless there is a factory inspection service organized for the purpose of searching out and bringing to justice persons who violate such laws. It is easy enough to enact protective legislation, but it is another thing to enforce it. If a state, therefore, enacts such laws and fails to organize a service for their enforcement, it is deceiving those whom it pretends to favor. Let us again observe the tables. We find that 22 out of 29 Republican states, or 76 per cent., have laws creating factory inspection services. We also find that 5 out of 16 Democratic states, or 31 per cent, have factory inspection services. In examining the other Labor legislation in Republican and Democratic states. [States having Republican legislatures at the present time are regarded as Republican states. Those having Democratic or Fusion legislatures are regarded as Democratic states. The ciphers show the states which have enacted the legislation indicated on the left of the table.] working day in the absence of a contract. a In addition to the states Indicated, five Republican states, namely. Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and one Democratic state. Missouri, have laws declaring eight hours a legal Note.-States having an age limit but permitting children under 12 years of age to labor in factories for any reason whatever, are not included. |