country." With three exceptions, the Japanese constitute the major fraction of the hand-working force of every beet-growing district of the State. Numerically, as already stated, they compose two-thirds of the total number of men employed at hand work. The three exceptions have been taken up already in the paragraphs dealing with the Mexican and East Indian hand workers.

Because of its importance in other States, a fourth element of the field labor supply in California should be given passing notice. This element is the German-Russian. Its employment in this State in the past has been entirely experimental and at the present time the number of German-Russians in the industry is so small as to be negligible. In the past attempts have been made to make permanent employees of this race in at least two instances. In one case they were employed with other whites in the first two years, 1891-92, of the industry there. They dissappeared from the hand work in this district with the rest of the whites after the second season. In 1908, however, a number of them were hired to break a strike among the Mexican thinners. The latter had demanded higher wages, but when they saw that the German-Russians were taking their places they returned to work at the old rates. The German-Russians in this case, being inexperienced, were not very satisfactory workmen and were not retained. The second instance of the employment of German-Russians is found in an attempt made in one district to establish a colony of the race there. In 1907 the sugar company operating in that district built quarters expressly for them and induced a considerable number to migrate to the community, but the men soon drifted away into other occupations offering higher wages or steadier and less disagreeable work.

At this point it should be remembered that the beet worker is usually a transient resident of the community. The seasonal character of the work, its irregularity during the season, and the large number of men required make it necessary for the beet grower to rely on the floating labor supply of the State for his help. The beet worker of California is usually unmarried or, if married, his wife is generally living in the home country.

The tables following afford typical illustrations of the conjugal condition of beet workers and the few instances in which their wives have come to the United States.

TABLE 34.-Conjugal condition of male employees, by race.

TABLE 35.-Location of wives of foreign-born employees, by race of husband.

Table 34 shows that two-thirds of the men are unmarried. Table 35 shows that almost five-sixths of the wives of those who are married live abroad. This fact is partially explained by the short time that their husbands have been in the United States.

The table following gives the years of residence in the United States of representative groups of foreign-born hand workers of different races:

TABLE 36.—Number and per cent of foreign-born male employees in the United States each specified number of years, by race.

More than two-fifths of the Japanese have come into the country within the past five years and nearly nine-tenths within the past ten years. Three-fifths of the immigrant Mexicans have come in within five years, and only a little more than one-tenth have been here ten years or over. The East Indians have all come in within the past five years. These data also illustrate the fact commented upon in the introductory chapter that only the more recent immigrants are found in the beet fields.

METHODS OF HIRING HAND WORKERS.

Hand workers are most commonly hired through a labor contractor. This is always true of the largest element in the field-labor supply, the Japanese, except on the very small ranches, where only

a few men are needed. In such cases individual contracts are sometimes made. As a general rule, however, the work is done under a labor contractor, and in a given community there are usually only a few of these who divide the territory among themselves. In one of the largest districts in the State, for example, there are only four Japanese contractors, and these share the several thousand acres. These contractors usually have subcontractors or bosses under them who are responsible for the work on a given ranch, and who supervise the work of the field hands and possibly work with them. These field hands may receive the entire contract price per acre less the contractor's commission of 5 and sometimes 10 per cent, or they may work by the piece, say, so much per 1,000 feet, or they may be paid so much per day. The contractor and his subordinates, on the other hand, find their remuneration in the commission withheld or in the difference between the contract price paid by the land owner and the cost of the field labor, where it is paid on a piece basis or by the day. To this, if he is a storekeeper, the contractor adds the profit of goods sold to the laborers under his control. Sometimes the boss boards his men or furnishes them with food which they cook for themselves. The amount charged by the boss for board or food materials is at present usually just sufficient to cover the cost. For this reason the smaller bosses prefer not to board their men. Often the men board themselves, detailing one of their number to act as cook.

Mexicans are hired either by individual contracts or by contracts with cooperative groups. In one instance reported the contract with the cooperative group or "gang," as it is called, was made with a leader elected by the members of the gang to make contracts, receive the moneys due the gang, pay its expenses therefrom, settle questions in dispute among members, and represent the gang in dealings with employers. Aften expenses were paid the remainder of the contract price was evenly divided among the members, with proper deductions, of course, for time lost in individual cases.

Unlike the Japanese and the Mexicans the Hindus prefer to work on a time basis. This is explained by their ignorance and suspicion of the contract system. Experience is showing, however, that the Hindus can be taught by fair treatment to work for piece wages. At present Hindus are hired individually or through their leaders, and usually work in small groups.

In addition to wages the handworkers are commonly supplied with shelter of a rude kind-bunk houses, shacks, or tents. Shelter may be furnished by either the grower or the contractor, but it is not a commercial consideration, and consequently does not affect the contract price.

Contracts for hand work are usually made for the season at prices varying according to the yield per acre. Inasmuch, however, as the difficulty of the work of thinning and hoeing is not affected by the size of the subsequent yield of beets, the variations in prices per acre are really variations in the prices paid for topping and loading only. Most contracts formally divide the price per acre among the different operations involved in the hand work, but whether contracts do this or not the prices actually paid for each of these operations of thinning, hoeing, topping, and loading are necessarily a matter of common knowledge in the community.

Prices for thinning and hoeing are quoted by the acre. In 1909 the most common price was $7 per acre," which was usually divided as follows:

These divisions are made so as to permit partial remuneration for the work as it is done in order to insure the completion of the work. Part of the contract price for each operation, often 20 per cent, is usually withheld by the grower until the final payments are made at the end of the season or period covered by the contract. If the work is abandoned before completion all payments due are canceled."

Prices for "topping and loading" are quoted on an acre-tonnage basis. That is, the price per acre increases with the yield of beets per acre, but at a decreasing rate per ton. Prices paid in 1909 show great variation as between different districts. The schedules following are illustrative of the extreme variations.

And $1 for every additional ton.

These prices subject to change according to the condition of the fields.

The difference between these two schedules is partially explained. by the great difficulties experienced in securing sufficient labor in the district to which Schedule I applies. An allowance of $1 should be made in favor of Schedule II when calculating the prices paid for topping and loading. In Schedule I the price for thinning and hoeing was $6, in Schedule II, $7. Subtracting these amounts from their respective schedules the price paid for topping and loading an average yield of, say 15 tons to the acre, is in Schedule I, $14.60; in Schedule II, $9. The prices recorded in Schedule I, however, are exceptional. The district to which they apply has grown beets since 1906 only,

• Eight dollars was the price current in one locality; $7.25 in another. See "Agreement for Hand Labor on Beets," p. 90.

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and it has paid exceptionally high prices from the beginning. The average prices for the State, on the other hand, are probably somewhat higher than those of Schedule II.

EARNINGS OF HAND WORKERS.

Statistics of earnings were gathered from 1,347 laborers. This number is about one-fifth of the total number employed in the State. Cases were chosen from every beet-growing district in California and tabulated by races and wage groups. The facts presented in the following table are therefore believed to be representative of earnings in the industry in California as a whole.

TABLE 37.-Number of male employees 18 years of age or over earning each specified amount per day, by general nativity and race.

Taking all the races employed, it appears that the largest wage group received between $1.75 and $2 a day and includes 46.6 per cent of the total number of laborers. Only 16.4 per cent of the total number earned less than $1.75, while 37 per cent earned $2 or over. The second largest wage group, including 22.5 per cent, is for earnings varying between $2.50 and $3.

Wages in the sugar-beet fields, it will be seen, are considerably. higher than in other lines of unskilled labor open to recent immigrants. In maintenance-of-way work on the railroads the Mexican commonly receives from $1 to $1.25, and the Japanese and the East Indian from $1.20 to $1.60 per day of ten hours. For hoeing and general agricultural labor outside of the beet fields the Japanese and the East Indian are paid wages varying from $1.40 to $1.75 per day of ten or eleven hours. The Mexican receives somewhat less for such work.

@ This table, however, is not representative of the relative numbers of the different races employed.