COMPARISON OF DEPARTMENTS AND SEPARATE RETAIL STORES, BOSTON, 1898.

a This total does not include 33 departments not classified.

The number of retail stores of all kinds in Boston was greater in comparison with the population in the year 1875 than has been the case since, there having been then one store to every 125 of population. In 1890 the ratio was one to 149 of population, and in 1895 one to 142.

Of the 4,169 employees in 1898 in department stores, 2,114, or 50.71 per cent, had been previously employed in separate retail stores; and of 417 heads of departments, 48 had been proprietors of such stores before filling their present positions. Of the remainder, 347 had not been so employed and 22 did not answer the question.

Besides the statistical matter certain phases of the subject under discussion are dwelt upon at some length, chiefly by the publication of communications from business men and other qualified observers.

NORTH CAROLINA.

Fifteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor and Printing of the State of North Carolina, for the year 1901. H. B. Varner, Commissioner. viii, 524 pp.; appendix, iv, 136 pp.

The eight chapters of this report treat of the following subjects: Agriculture, 105 pages; miscellaneous factories, 81 pages; cotton and woolen mills, 40 pages; condition of trades, 97 pages; newspapers, 63 pages; organized labor, 46 pages; railroad employees, 7 pages, and technical education, 27 pages. In connection with a number of these

subjects letters are published expressing the views of the correspondents of the bureau on matters of interest to labor, including labor laws, compulsory education, etc. A short article on the growth of manufactures in North Carolina is given, also a directory of the manufacturing enterprises of the State, tables showing the legal age for the employment of children in the various States and countries, directories, etc., of bureaus of labor in the United States, and an appendix presenting statistics for the State, furnished by the United States Census Bureau.

AGRICULTURE.-Returns were secured by correspondence with representative farmers in every county of the State. The scope of the inquiry is indicated by the following summary: Value of land has increased an average of 12.33 per cent in 21 counties; in 76 counties, no change; 47 counties report a tendency toward smaller farms; 9 toward larger farms, and 21, no change. Mode of living has improved in 90 counties, and cost of living has increased in 63 counties. In 96 counties Negro labor is reported as unreliable; 1 reports no Negro labor. Monthly wages of farm laborers are for men from $9.65 to $15.62; for women, $6.36 to $9.78; for children, an average of $5.39. Increase in wages is reported in 46 counties; in 51, no change. The wages given show an increase of nearly 20 per cent over 1900. Cost of producing cotton is $26.80 per 500-pound bale in 67 counties; 86 counties produce wheat at an average cost of $0.61 per bushel; 96 produce corn at a cost of $0.43; 94 raise oats at a cost of $0.31, and 54 counties raise tobacco at a cost of $6.49 per hundred pounds. The market price of cotton averages $0.08 per pound; of wheat, $0.80 per bushel; corn, $0.71; oats, $0.43, and tobacco, $8.30 per hundred pounds. Eighty-three per cent of the farmers reporting favor a compulsory education law.

MISCELLANEOUS FACTORIES.-Tables are presented showing conditions in 331 factories, exclusive of tobacco factories and textile mills. Capital stock, horsepower, days in operation, hours of labor, wages, number of employees by age and sex, etc., are shown for the various establishments, and inquiry is made as to child labor and compulsory education. The number of employees reported is 12,002, of whom 422 are under 14 years of age. Ten and one-half hours is the average length of a day's work, and $2.08 the highest and $0.58 the lowest average daily wages reported. Wages are paid weekly in 56 per cent of the establishments, semimonthly in 18 per cent, monthly in 19 per cent, bimonthly in 1 per cent, daily in 1 per cent, on demand in 2 per cent, and 3 per cent make no report. Sixtythree per cent oppose the employment of children under 14 years of age, 11 per cent favor it, and 26 per cent express no opinion. Compulsory education is favored by 80 per cent, opposed by 12 per cent, and 8 per cent express no opinion. Sixteen tobacco factories work from eight to twelve hours daily. Wages paid men are as low as $0.25 per

day in a plug tobacco factory, and as high as $5 in a cigar factory. Women receive from $0.25 to $1 per day, and children from $0.20 to $0.60. The number of employees per factory ranges from 2 in a cigar factory to 3,000 in one producing plug, twist, and smoking tobacco. In this large establishment 73 per cent of the employees are colored. But 5 of the 16 proprietors express themselves as in favor of prohibiting the employment of children under 14; 11 favor compulsory education.

COTTON AND WOOLEN MILLS.-This report ends with June 30, 1901, and covers 276 mills, operating 1,680,202 spindles, 36,052 looms, and 3,905 machines, using in all 75,202 horsepower. Of these mills 218 are for cotton, 13 for woolen, and 45 for various textile work. Since the date named, and before the issuing of the report, 9 new mills were completed, or their construction begun, giving the State 285 mills. The number of employees is 45,044, of whom 18,171 are males, 18,877 females, and 7,996 children under 14 years of age3,857 boys and 4,139 girls. Of the adults 82 per cent can read and write; of the children, 66 per cent. Hours of labor range from 10 to 12.5 per day. Wages of engineers average $1.58; of firemen, $0.88. For operatives the highest average wages are $2.28 for men and $1.10 for women; the lowest average is $0.36 for men and $0.28 for women; children average $0.29 per day.

TRADES. The facts presented in this chapter were secured from representative men in the different trades throughout the State and relate to the condition of labor in its various branches. About 360 returns were received. Of these 21 per cent report increase of wages, 12 per cent a decrease, 65 per cent no change, and 2 per cent make no report. Seventy-three per cent report an increase in cost of living, 1 per cent a decrease, 24 per cent no change, and 2 per cent make no report.

ORGANIZED LABOR.-Under this head are a directory of 92 labor organizations in the State, an article on the subject by Samuel Gompers, and a number of letters from officers of unions.

RAILROAD EMPLOYEES.-The number of railroad employees in the State is reported at 19,569, exclusive of officers and office employees. The following table gives number and average wages for the various occupations:

OCCUPATIONS AND AVERAGE DAILY WAGES OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES, 1901.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION.-Under this head is given an account of the various institutions in the State that provide opportunities for technical education, giving courses of study, results obtained, expenses, etc.

OHIO.

Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of Ohio, for the year 1901. M. D. Ratchford, Commissioner. 843 pp.

The report presents the following subjects: Laws governing the` bureau, and recent Ohio laws and court decisions relating to labor, 27 pages; manufactures, 247 pages; coal mining, 59 pages; prison labor, 48 pages; working women, 303 pages; free public employment offices, 21 pages; list of bureaus of labor in the United States, 2 pages.

MANUFACTURES.--Tables of statistics are given showing the number of employees by occupations and sex; average daily wages and hours of labor; average yearly earnings for 1900; average number of days worked in 1899 and in 1900; the number of persons employed each month and the average number of employees, by sex, for 1899 and for 1900; total wages paid in 1899 and in 1900; the number and salaries of office. employees; cost of material and value of product in 1899; the value of manufactured articles on hand January 1, 1900, and January 1, 1901, and the amount of capital invested.

The tables show these statistics for each of the five principal cities, for the villages, and totals for the State.

The following summary presents the principal data for the ten principal industries and for all industries:

COAL MINING.-Under this head is given a brief review of the development and present condition of the industry, and also statistics. for the year 1900. The returns are separate for pick and machine mining. In 620 pick mines 13,624 miners were employed, earning

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$2.36 average daily wages. The average number of days worked was 200. The 59 machine mines employed 6,846 miners an average of 221 days, the average daily wages being $2.40. In both classes of mines a total of 5,696 day laborers were employed, of whom 3,434 were inside laborers, who worked 8 hours daily for an average of 208 days in the year. Average wages per day were $1.96. Outside laborers, 2,262 in number, worked 8.2 hours per day for an average of 228 days per year, and received an average wage of $1.87.

PRISON LABOR.-In this chapter are given a copy of the "Label Law" relating to convict-made goods, a report as to the observance of this law, decisions, correspondence, etc., relating to this and other phases of the laws relating to convict-made goods, and a statistical report of the amount of such labor in the State, systems of employment, kinds and quantities of goods manufactured, etc. There are also extracts from the report of the United States Industrial Commission on this subject.

WORKING WOMEN.-The matter presented under this head is the result of a special investigation made by female agents of the bureau in the cities of Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Individual returns are published, showing for 6,920 working women occupation, nativity, age, weeks of employment, weeks of idleness by causes, weekly wages and income, living expenses, number of dependents, and average weekly savings. Brief text reports are also given relative to the conditions in the industries employing women. Of the 6,920 women interviewed, 5,944 were of American nativity, the next largest number being 422 Germans. The average age was 21.8 years, 1,750 being less than 18 years of age, 3,454 between 18 and 25, and 1,716 over 25 years old. The average number of weeks of employment at present occupation was 40, and at other occupations 6.5. Weekly hours of labor averaged 57.5 and wages $4.83. Expenses per week were, for board and lodging, $2.44; for rent, light, and heat, $0.17; for clothing, $1.25; and for other necessaries, $1.38; leaving $0.14 as average weekly savings. The total number of dependents was 1,606.

FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES.-Brief text reports from the superintendents of each of the five offices, tables showing the work done by each office from the date of its organization, and reports of the operations of each office for each month of the year 1901, with totals for the year, are found under this head.

Twelve thousand six hundred and thirty-five males and 10,688 females applied for situations during the year, and 8,155 males and 8,682 females secured employment by the aid of the offices. The number of applications for help wanted was, for males, 11,727; for females, 16,547.

In Cleveland and Toledo the work of securing positions for males