HOURS AND EARNINGS OF LABOR.

The earnings of the farm laborers of California can not be thoroughly presented without being shown separately for the various occupations and by the different communities. This has been done in separate reports for each of the principal agricultural districts investigated. The wage data for the State as a whole and a discussion of the hours of work will, however, be of value in this review of the agricultural labor situation in California.

The usual hours of work on California farms are eleven per day. There is, however, considerable variation from this normal day as between different districts, different industries, different seasons of the year, and between different races. During the summer in most districts both the regular and the seasonal employees generally work eleven hours per day, but in some sections the employees upon many ranches work only ten or ten and one-half hours. In winter in most districts ten hours usually constitute a day's work. On a large percentage of the citrus fruit ranches of southern California the workday is ten hours for the regular help, while pickers work nine, nine and one-half, or ten hours. In some districts Japanese seasonal workers on a day wage basis work ten or eleven hours where white men in the same occupations work nine or ten hours per day. There is also a difference between the hours worked on farms conducted by "miscellaneous white men" and those conducted by certain immigrant races. Italians employed by their countrymen very generally work twelve hours per day. Chinese working on a day wage basis frequently put in a regular thirteen-hour day for their countrymen as employers. Japanese, as a race, are quite insistent upon regular and short hours, but when employed by Japanese owners or tenants they often work eleven or twelve hours per day, while in the same communities they work only ten or eleven hours for white employers.

The work day on the farms is longer than in the cities and in the fruit-packing houses, where ten hours is the general rule. In the canneries, however, the employees sometimes work twelve to fourteen hours a day during the rush season, but are paid by the hour or on a piece basis, all over ten hours being considered overtime. The sugar-beet factories are another exception with a twelve-hour day. The citrus-fruit packing houses in towns where white persons are employed, run nine or ten hours per day, but a few packing houses where Japanese do the packing were found to run eleven hours.

The seasonal hand workers are very generally employed on a piece basis with no fixed number of hours per day, but as the earnings depend on the amount of work accomplished, the men often work more than the customary eleven hours per day. The Japanese quite frequently work twelve, thirteen, or fourteen hours per day when on a piece basis in order to make the largest earnings possible during the busy season. Both Chinese and Japanese work longer hours than other races. "White men," even on a piece basis, seldom work more than eleven hours. Ordinarily farm laborers work only six days a week, but in some industries it is necessary and in others convenient to work Sundays during the harvest. For example, the gathering of cantaloupes, asparagus, and many kinds of fruit continues on Sundays. In other work confined to a short season, such as gathering raisin grapes, thinning beets, etc., Sunday work is very common.

Two tables follow which are made by combining the wage data secured from the various agricultural districts investigated in California. Only employees receiving a fixed wage per day or month are included, as piece-rate earnings are too variable and uncertain to be of value for comparative purposes. Regular white employees are commonly employed at a monthly rate, but for this table such wages have been reduced to a day basis, considering twenty-six working days as a month. The employees have been classed as " regular and "temporary," and the wages of these two classes have been tabulated separately according as they received board in addition to the wages given or were not boarded. Lodging is generally furnished, but is not considered of commercial value.

Of the regular white employees, more than two-thirds received board in addition to the wages paid. Moreover, a part of those who did not receive board in addition to wages, were paid extra wages from which they paid for their board at a boarding house on the ranch. Of 123 Italians, 101 received board in addition to wages. Only 8 of the 93 Mexicans were boarded. One hundred and eight of the 134 regularly employed Chinese were boarded by their countrymen who employed them, and 93 of the 956 Japanese were boarded by either Japanese or Chinese employers. No East Indians received board in addition to wages.

The tables next presented show the wages of 2,000 regular employees on the ranches investigated.

Race.

$1.00. $1.25. $1.35. $1.40. $1.50. $1.55. $1.60. $1.65. $1.70. $1.75. $1.80. $1.85. $1.90. $1.95. $2.00. $2.10. $2.15. $2.25. $2.50. $2.70. $3.00.

Of the regular employees reporting wages with board in addition, six white men and eight Japanese received the least amount, viz, $23 per month, or 88 cents per day on the basis of 26 working days per month. These white men and Japanese were employed in a vineyard owned by Japanese in connection with a winery. On the whole, the Italians were the lowest paid, for 75.2 per cent of the 101 Italians, 27 per cent of the "miscellaneous white men," 11.8 per cent of the Japanese, and 0.9 per cent of the Chinese received less than $1.25 per day with board. The wages paid regular white men, with board in addition, are somewhat less than those paid Japanese as regular help. Of the four principal races, 95 per cent of the Italians and 83.5 per cent of the "miscellaneous white" persons as against 59.3 per cent of the Chinese and 43 per cent of the Japanese received less than $1.50 per day with board. In the group receiving $1.50 and under $1.75 per day are found 10.5 per cent of the white men, 5 per cent of the Italians, 36.1 per cent of the Chinese, and 55.9 per cent of the Japanese, while 6.1 per cent of the white employees, 4.6 per cent of the Chinese, and 1.1 per cent of the Japanese were paid $1.75 or over. Eleven white men were the only persons receiving $2 or more per day in addition to board. Of the employees receiving board in addition to wages, 70.3 per cent were "miscellaneous white men" and Italians, while of the regular employees not boarded, 81.8 per cent were Japanese, Chinese, East Indians, and Mexicans.

The two races of regular employees receiving the lowest wages without board were the Mexicans, 48.2 per cent of whom received but $1 per day, and the Japanese, 6.1 per cent of whom received less than $1.50 per day. In the group receiving $1.50 and under $1.75 per day, without board, are found 15.1 per cent of the white men, 15.3 per cent of the Mexicans, 64.1 per cent of the Japanese, 88.5 per cent of the Chinese, and 98.5 per cent of the East Indians. Receiving $1.75 and under $2 per day were 36.7 per cent of the "white" workers, 8.2 per cent of the Mexicans, 26.9 per cent of the Japanese, 11.5 per cent of the 26 Chinese, and 1.5 per cent of the East Indians. Receiving $2 or over per day, without board, were 48.2 per cent of the white men, 28.2 per cent of the Mexicans, and 2.9 per cent of the Japanese. From these figures it is seen that the white men are the highest paid race in this part of the table, nearly one-half of the white employees receiving $2 or over per day. More than one-half of each of the other races, as against only 15.1 per cent of the white men, received less than $1.75 per day.

The average of the wages of the 411 white men regularly employed, and receiving board in addition, is $1.310 per day, as against $1.396 per day with board for Japanese. As Japanese are never boarded by white employers, these Japanese who are regularly employed with board are hired by their countrymen or by Chinese farmers. The higher wages with board paid to Japanese are due primarily to the difference in the value attached to the board furnished white men and that furnished to Japanese by Asiatic employers. It has already been stated that the white employee's board is reckoned at from 50 to 75 cents per day, while that of Japanese is reckoned at from 20 to 30 cents per day. Making this allowance for the difference in board, white employees received higher wages than Japanese. This fact is made plain by taking the average earnings of white men and Japa

nese regularly employed, but not receiving board in addition to wages. The average of the daily wages, without board, of 199 white men is $1.889, that of the Japanese $1.623, a difference of more than 25 cents per day in favor of the former group.

Another important fact is that regular white men are usually employed on a monthly basis, thus receiving pay for rainy days and also for other idle days, while Japanese are more often paid only for the days actually worked.

Of the regular employees receiving board in addition to wages, the average of $1.108 per day for the 101 Italians is the least for the races present in considerable number, while the $1.406 per day of the 108 Chinese is the highest. Of the regular help not receiving board, the white men averaged $1.889 per day, Italians $1.667, Japanese $1.623, Chinese $1.559, East Indians $1.534, and Mexicans $1.422.

Only a small percentage of the temporary employees are given board in addition to wages. Of the 330 reported as receiving board, more than one-half were Italians employed by their countrymen. The following table shows separately the temporary employees receiving wages with board included and those not boarded:

Table 6.—Number of temporarily employed farm hands in California earning each specified amount per day with board, by race of individual.

Race.

Number reporting

complete

Number earning each specified amount per day.

data. $0.96. $1. $1.15. $1.25. $1.30. $1.35. $1.40. $1.50. $1.75. $2.