WAGES AND SALARIES 493 



that one plant were (January, 1910) in a third of the instances less 

 than $500 per year, in two thirds of the instances less than $625, and in 

 only 8 per cent, of the instances $1,000 and over. In explaining this 

 difference allowance must be made for the fact that the Bethlehem 

 works are in a small city, while many of the plants are located in great 

 centers of population. 



Although the wages in the iron and steel industry are higher than 

 the wages paid in many American industries, they seem fairly represen- 

 tative of the situation in those branches of manufacturing which afford 

 employment to men only. In the industry where women as well as men 

 are employed, the wage scale is lower. The wage formula for the 

 steel industry may be taken as a representative of the man-employing 

 industries. 



Labor troubles and tariff controversies have combined to attract 

 public attention to the wage rates paid in the textile industries, conse- 

 quently the data for these industries are now fairly well authenticated. 

 The Tariff Board made an extensive investigation of wage rates in the 

 cotton industry.^^ The information, secured from 76 establislmients, 

 covered 18.67 per cent, of all cotton spinning and weaving employees 

 enumerated by the Census (p. 633). An arbitrary division between the 

 northern and southern mills draws a line of marked distinction as to 

 wages. Among the males sixteen years of age and over, in the north 

 5 per cent., and in the south 22 per cent., received a wage of less than 

 $250. Half of the northern men and over four fifths of the southern 

 men were paid at a rate of less than $500 per year. The highest wage 

 rate in the schedule was twenty-eight cents per hour (about $750 per 

 year). In the north 6 per cent., and in the south 3 per cent., earned 

 more than this amount. The figures for women range much lower than 

 the figures for men. The highest class in the women's schedule is 

 eighteen cents per hour (about $500 per year). In the north, one fifth, 

 and in the south, two per cent., receive more than this amount. 



These rates for the cotton industry are similar to those for the 

 woolen and worsted industry. The Tariff Board reports for dyeing and 

 finishing woolens and worsteds^" that the wages of male dyers are in 

 four fifths of the cases under $500, and in nine tenths of the cases under 

 $700. The highest wage class given in this schedule is twenty-five 

 cents per hour (about $700 per year). Eight per cent, of the male 

 dyers, 15 per cent, of the male finishers, and 3 per cent, of the female 

 finishers received wage rates above that amount. This investigation is 

 obviously faulty in the comparatively small proportion of the employees 



35 Eeport of the Tariff Board on Cotton Manufactures, 62d Congress, 2d 

 Session, House Document 643, Washington, Government Printing OiSce, 1912, 

 Yohmie II., pp. 637-651. 



36 Export of the Tariff Board on Schedule K, House Document 342, "Wash- 

 ington, Government Printing Office, 1912, Volume II., pp. 810-811. 



