STATISTICS OF LABOR. 309 



States, and 23,000 the number in that State. This 

 is one per cent, of idleness for the whole population 

 of the United States, or very nearly one and one third 

 per cent, for that State ; or, three per cent, of the 

 skilled and unskilled workpeople of the United States, 

 and nearly four per cent, of the same classes in Mas- 

 sachusetts. This calculation is made upon the fact 

 that something more than one third of the total pop- 

 ulation belong to the working classes, as shown by 

 the report under review, and the United States census. 



There is not an intelligent man or woman in our 

 country who does not know that this showing is not 

 true. Every ascertained fact in possession of the Mas- 

 sachusetts Bureau of Statistics proves that it is false. 

 In spite of the two unknown quantities left open to 

 quibbling, it is notorious that three in a hundred do 

 not represent the unemployed men and women of our 

 country " who really want work," or " ordinarily hav- 

 ing work/ 7 but who are now without it. 



On page 9, of this report, in the apparent effort to 

 belittle the amount of national idleness, I find this 

 statement : 



"The absurdity of the 3,000,000 statement is readily seen 

 when it is known that there are but about 10,000,000 people in 

 the country engaged in productive industries." 



The census of 1860 gives 8,287,043 as the number 

 of persons engaged in the industries of our country at 

 that time ; the census of 1870 gives 12,505,923 for 

 that period ; and now, with a population of over 

 50,000,000, as given in the census of 1880, with the 

 same rate of increase as in the preceding decade, the 



