RELATION BETWEEN THE EARNINGS OF HUSBANDS AND THE PRACTICE OF WIVES OF KEEPING BOARDERS OR LODGERS.

The following tables indicate the tendency among the Magyar wives to seek employment or keep boarders or lodgers, according to the yearly earnings of their husbands. Seventy-three and seventenths per cent have employment or keep boarders or lodgers where the husbands' earnings are under $400, while only 52.9 per cent are at work or keep boarders or lodgers where the husbands' earnings are $400 but under $600, and 75 per cent are shown where the husbands' earnings are $600 or over.

TABLE 603.-Number of families in which wife has employment or keeps boarders or lodgers, by yearly earnings of husband and by general nativity and race of head of family.

a For selection of families, see p. 272. Of the selected families only those which have both husband and wife present appear in this table.

TABLE 604.-Per cent of families in which wife has employment or keeps boarders or lodgers, by yearly earnings of husband and by general nativity and race of head of family.

[For selection of families, see p. 272.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

Of the selected families only those which have both husband and wife present appear in this table.]

SOURCES OF FAMILY INCOME.

The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of family, the per cent of families having an income within the year from husband, wife, children, boarders or lodgers, and other sources:

TABLE 605.—Per cent of families having an income within the year from husband, wife, children, boarders or lodgers, and other sources, by general nativity and race of head of family.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

The table above shows that all of the Magyar families have an income from earnings of husband, and 63.6 per cent receive contributions to the family income in the form of payments of boarders or lodgers, while 9.1 per cent have children contributing to the family support, and 4.5 per cent receive an income from the earnings of

wives.

The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of family, the source of family income in detail, each specified source being exclusive of other sources:

TABLE 606.-Source of family income in detail, by general nativity and race of head of

family.

The preceding table shows that only 22.7 per cent of the Magyar families whose heads were foreign-born receive their entire income from the earnings of husbands, while 47.7 per cent derive their income from the earnings of husbands plus the payments received from boarders or lodgers. A proportion of the families equivalent to 4.5 per cent are supported by the earnings of husbands and children.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FAMILY INCOME.

The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of family, the per cent of total yearly income from husband, wife, children, boarders or lodgers, and other sources:

TABLE 607.-Per cent of total family income within the year from husband, wife, children, boarders or lodgers, and other sources, by general nativity and race of head of family.

From the above table it is seen that 68 per cent of the total family income of the Magyar families is derived from the earnings of husbands, 26.6 per cent from the payments of boarders or lodgers, and only 2.1 per cent from the contributions of children, and 1.1 per cent from the earnings of wives, the two main sources of family support obviously being the earnings of the husbands and the income received from keeping boarders or lodgers.

CHAPTER IV.

WORKING CONDITIONS.

Regularity of employment-Methods of wage payments Company houses-Com pany stores-Relations between the races-Welfare work-Women and children employed-The immigrant and organized labor-Reasons for employing immigrants-Races preferred by employers-Changes in industrial processes and organization-Progress of immigrants [Text Tables 608 and 609 and General Table 338].

REGULARITY OF EMPLOYMENT.

Normally, work in the industries of this community continues steadily throughout the year. During 1908 and 1909 the car shops and steel companies constantly reduced their working forces until only a very small percentage of the number employed before the panic are now at work. The car shops at the time of the agent's visit were not doing much beyond overhauling and repairing their plants. The steel companies were working a small force, but were planning to shut down completely. The granite and steel ware plant was also operat ing with a small force. On the other hand, the depression brought an increasing volume of business to the company engaged in the manufacture of a cheap kind of sirup, and they are employing more labor than ever before.

The following table shows, by general nativity and race of individual, months worked during the past year by males 16 years of age or over, in the households studied, employed away from home. TABLE 608.-Months worked during the past year by males 16 years of age or over employed away from home, by general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more males reporting. The total, however, is for all races.]

Only 5.6 per cent of the Bulgarians and 18.7 per cent of the Magyars were at work for twelve months preceding the time at which the data were collected. A somewhat larger proportion of the Bulgarians worked six months or over than of the Magyars, but a smaller proportion of the former than of the latter were at work nine months or over. No indication as to the relative industriousness of either race is afforded by the table for the reason that regularity of work offered was seriously interfered with by the industrial depression of 1907-8, especially in the case of the Bulgarians who were employed in the larger numbers in the iron and steel industry.

METHODS OF WAGE PAYMENTS.

In the community wages are universally paid by check every two weeks.

COMPANY HOUSES.

There are no company houses in this community. None of the industrial concerns operate a store nor are they connected with the management of any. The lodging houses of the community are owned and conducted by the large immigrant mercantile establishments.

COMPANY STORES.

The companies do not operate their own stores nor are they connected with any of the stores of the town.

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE RACES.

At work, the only place where the employer could readily influence the segregation of his employees, no attempt is made on his part to separate in any way the different races. Whatever segregation takes place comes about through the action of the employees themselves. In the steel industry, in the molding departments, immigrants work with native Americans and with other races of immigrants. In the finishing department the roughing and chipping is done almost entirely by immigrants and negroes, but here too the different races work together.

Apart from any influence originating with the employers, the recent immigrant races especially segregate themselves in their own boarding and living places. Some localities are inhabited almost exclusively by particular races. There seems to be but very little free association among the different races of recent immigrants after working hours. Men of each race associate largely with their countrymen, though the Poles and Magyars in some cases are beginning to associate quite freely with one another. The same is true of the Poles, the Slovaks, and the Croatians. In addition to not freely associating with one another, there is considerable friction between the Irish, Austrians, and Magyars, on the one hand, and the Macedonians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, and other southeastern European and Oriental races, on the other hand, growing out of the conditions under which employment is given. The unskilled and less skilled employees of the steel companies gather each morning at the gates of the different plants and are designated for work by the foremen. There is not much competition between the races so far as unskilled labor is concerned. The southeastern European peoples may be said to be practically without competition there. In the occupations which require some skill, however, and 'to which a large number of Macedonians and Bulgarians have attained, there is considerable direct competition. The Irish, Magyars, and Austrians frequently adopt the policy of driving the newcomers by force away from the mill gates. Oftentimes the recent arrivals resent such action and a general fight along racial lines ensues, the weapons employed being fists, stones, and other missiles, and, in some cases, revolvers. This tendency is, of course, much intensified in seasons of slack employment or curtailment of work. The immigrants, except the English, Germans, Irish,