280 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
Mr. Grarr. How many employees does that make, in the aggregate? 
Mr. Howarp. We have only three permanent employees; the others 
are all temporary. 
Mr. GraFr. One was paid $1,800 a year, and the other two—one is 
paid $1,000, and one of them, I think, is paid $8£0, or something like 
that. Were these civil-service appointees / 
Mr. Howarp. Yes; one of them was a civil-service appointee. 
There was a civil-service examination for the $1,000 position. 
The Cuarrman. A clerk? 
Mr. Howarp. No. He thoroughly understands the care of the 
silkworm. 
Mr. Bowrse. How does the Civil Service Commission get up the 
series of questions? 
Mr. Howarp. They applied to me for the questions. These ladies 
served about three weeks for nothing, and now we are paying them 
$20 a month. 
Mr. Scorr. Is that the standard wage? If they would work the 
year round, would they get only that price? 
Mr. Howarp. No; not unless the business was commercially started. 
Mr. Scorr. I presume the work over here is handicapped consider- 
ably by its having to be done on a small scale, so that they can not 
earn as much as they would in a factory. 
Mr. Howarp. I do not think they would earn more than $15 or $20 
a month in a factory. I do not think any reeling establishment would 
pay more than that. We are paying liberal wages. 
Mr. Scotr. Do you know what fraction of a pound one of these 
girls could reel in a day? 
Mr. Howarp. I am sorry I do not remember exactly. I can not 
tell you that. 
Mr. Grarr. What is the purpose of the reeling? 
Mr. Howarp. To show that it can be practically manufactured. 
Mr. Grarr. What do you do with it after it is reeled 4 
Mr. Howarp. It is sold to manufacturers. 
Mr. Grarr. Do you purchase silk or cocoons from the people in 
the country? 
Mr. Howarp. From persons who have raised our eggs. ‘They sell 
them to us; we reel it and sell the silk. 
Mr. Grarr. Has any private industry attempted to take hold of 
this work. 
Mr. Howarp. Not as yet. 
Mr. Bowrr. Doctor, do you recommend really the extra $5,000! 
Do you think it is very important? 
_ Mr. Howarp. No; not very important. It does not occur to me 
that the whole thing is of supreme importance. But I think, as we 
are trying to get the thing started as rapidly as possible, we can do it 
much more rapidly with $15,000 than with $10,000. 
Mr. Bowrg. You could get rid of it quicker, and see what was going 
to happen? 
Mr. Howarp. Yes, sir. 
_ Mr. Avams. Back of this is a theory. Here is an article imported 
into this country every year to the extent of many millions of dollars, 
and this country, in climate and soil and so on, is adapted to its produc- 
tion and industrial conditions 
