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The average yearly earnings as shown by the foregoing table, based upon 163 male heads of families furnishing information, is $472. Of this number 18 native whites report average earnings of $690 and 145 foreign-born an average of $444. In comparing the annual earnings of foreign-born it is seen that 32.4 per cent earn less than $400 per year, and none earn over $800.

As regards the heads of families of foreign birth, the North Italians report only 8 per cent of their number receiving less than $400 annually, as compared with 28.6 per cent of the Lithuanians, 45.8 per cent of the South Italians, and 81.8 per cent of the Poles. This comparison is significant not only in showing the comparative advancement of the North Italians in earning ability, but also for the reason that it indicates that the North Italians and Lithuanians, the two races of longest residence in the field, have held their own with the more recent arrivals, the South Italians and Poles. Although the South Italians report 8.3 per cent of their number earning annually more than $600, the Lithuanians report 71.4 per cent earning between $400 and $600, while the South Italians report only 45.9 per cent with average earnings within these limits. The Poles have no representative earning more than $600. The North Italians, by way of contrast, show 28 per cent with annual earnings over $600.

ANNUAL EARNINGS OF MALES 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER IN THE HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

In addition to the heads of the selected families studied, information was also received as to the annual earnings of all male members of the households investigated in the Middle West. These data are embodied in the table next presented, which shows the average annual earnings, together with the number and per cent earning specified amounts each year, of all males 18 years of age or over, by general nativity and race of individual.

TABLE 336.-Yearly earnings (approximate) of males 18 years of age or over, by general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

Number earning

Number

working

Per cent earning

General nativity and race of for wages Average

individual.

and re- earnings. Un- Un- Un- Un- Un- Un- Un- Under der der der der der der der

porting amount.

$200. $400. $600. $1,000. $200. $400. $600. $1,000.

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That the average yearly earnings of the mining employees of native birth are greater than those of the foreign-born, is again apparent. The average annual earnings of the 21 miners of native birth furnishing information are 52.1 per cent greater than the average annual earnings of the 152 foreign-born mine workers. In the same connection it is noteworthy that 76.2 per cent of the native-born earn more than $600 each year, as compared with 10.5 per cent of the foreign-born.

In comparing the earning capacity of the different foreign races, it is seen that the North Italians, represented in the table by 52 individuals, show average yearly earnings of $539, and the Lithuanians, represented by 50 in the table, earn an average of $423 a year. The South Italians and Poles have average annual earnings less than those of the North Italians. The North Italians, although well ahead of other races of foreign birth as to earning capacity, fall considerably behind persons native-born of native father. Pursuing this line of comparison further, it is noticeable that two of the immigrant races, the Lithuanians and Poles, although representing 28.9 and 13.3 per cent, respectively, of the 173 individuals on which the table is based, do not furnish a single case of a mine worker earning as much as $600 a year. Moreover, only 14 of the 52 North Italians and 2 of the 27 South Italians earn $600 or over per year, as contrasted with 16 of the 20 persons native-born of native father.

ANNUAL FAMILY INCOME.

As regards the total family incomes of the households studied, the table which is submitted below shows the average family income and the per cent of families having a specified income, by general nativity

and race.

TABLE 337.-Per cent of families having a total yearly income of each specified amount, by general nativity and race of head of family.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more families reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

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Among the foreign-born families the best showing is made by the North Italians. Thirty-two per cent of the families of this race have an income under $500, while 83.3 per cent of the South Italians have an income of less than $500.

WIVES AT WORK.

The next question to present itself is the sources of the family income and what measures are adopted to supplement the earnings of the head of the household.

The number of families studied and the number of wives are the same. None of the wives are engaged in gainful occupations, the keeping of boarders or lodgers not being considered a gainful occupation for purposes of this study.

Other things equal, the percentage of the married women of a given group of families who work outside their homes usually depends upon two general factors the availability of work and the approval on the part of the members of the family group of the outside employment of married women. One of the distinctive features of the coal-mining industry is the fact that in the great majority of instances the employees are compelled by the very nature of their work to live in small and isolated communities. Coal mines are seldom located in or near large towns or cities. Mining work can be done only by men. The manufacturing establishments of the cities and towns which employ such large numbers of immigrant women are too far distant to be accessible to the wives of the mine workers. To remain at home or enter domestic service are, therefore, in general the only alternatives to the women of households in mining communities.

All of the data upon this subject secured in the Middle West were from communities of the general type described. In one or two localities, small factories have been opened in which foreign-born women find employment as operatives, but the conditions described are believed to be typical of the industry. Moreover, since the fact that none of the married women reported are employed is due in all probability to the lack of available employment, it would appear unsafe to attempt to base upon the data secured any deductions as to the tendency of the different races to permit or encourage the employment of wives outside their homes. The important fact to note is that none of the foreign-born women are working outside of their own homes. In no family studied in the Middle West was the wife employed in any way except in caring for the home or in keeping boarders or lodgers.

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

As regards the relation between the earnings of the husband and the employment of the wife, the tables which are next presented show the number of families in which the wife has employment or keeps boarders or lodgers and compares the number of such wives with the number of husbands earning a specified amount. The second table makes the same showing by means of percentages.

TABLE 338.-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,

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TABLE 339.-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.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more selected families reporting. The totals, however, are for al For selection of families, see Vol. II, p. 284. Of the selected families, only those which have both husband and wife present appear in this table.]

races.

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On account of the limited number of families studied in the Middle West, the data are not so satisfactory for studying the tendencies and forces which are operative in the case of a single race as are those furnished by a larger number of families reported in the tables for other sections of the country. In the case of the Lithuanians, 35.7 per cent of the wives of heads earning less than $400 keep boarders or lodgers or have employment, as compared with only 14.3 per cent whose husbands earn between $400 and $600. The North

Italians stand out prominently as regards the greater earnings of the husbands and the fact that none of the wives have employment or keep boarders and lodgers. If the total number of foreign-born families be considered, the tendency of the wife to work or keep boarders or lodgers decreases as the earnings of the husband increase. More than one-fifth of the total number of wives whose husbands earn less than $400 a year are at work or have boarders or lodgers, as compared with about one-twelfth whose husbands' annual earnings are between $400 and $600, and about one-sixteenth of the wives whose husbands earn more than $600 a year.

SOURCES OF FAMILY INCOME.

The extent to which the wives of the different races contribute to the household funds having been discussed, the following table will show the extent to which the family income is made up from all

sources:

TABLE 340.-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.)

[This table includes only races with 20 or more families reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

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The table shows that all of the families for which information was secured have an income from the earnings of the husband, and that none receive income from the earnings of the wife. The payments from boarders and lodgers constitute a source of income for a larger proportion of all the families studied than do either the contributions received from children or from sources not specified. Of all foreignborn families studied, the Poles show the largest proportion of families having an income from the payments of boarders or lodgers. The Lithuanians show the second largest proportion, which is only slightly smaller, while the South Italians are third. None of the North Italian families studied derive income from this source. Families having an income from the contributions of children are small proportionately in each of the four races studied. The Poles show the highest proportion, followed by the South Italians, Lithuanians, and North Italians, in the order named.

48296°- -VOL 6-11-42

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