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The following table shows in detail, by general nativity and race of head of family, the extent to which the families studied depend exclusively upon certain specified sources of income:

TABLE 341.-Source of family income in detail, 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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From the above table, it will be seen that, of a total of 163 families, 81 per cent derive their entire income from the husband, 2.5 per cent from the husband and children jointly, 10.4 per cent from husband and boarders or lodgers, and 6.1 per cent from sources or combination of sources not before specified.

Comparing the foreign-born, it will be seen that the largest proportion, or 90 per cent, having their income solely from husband's earnings is shown by the North Italians, while the lowest, or 68.2 per cent, is shown by the Poles. Of those having their income solely from husband and children, the North Italians and Lithuanians each show 2 per cent, as compared with 4.5 per cent as shown by the Poles. The largest proportions having their income from husband and boarders or lodgers are shown by the Poles, Lithuanians, and South Italians, with 22.7 per cent, 18.4 per cent, and 12.5 per cent, respectively. A certain proportion is shown by each race as having their income solely from a source or combination of sources not before specified, these proportions ranging from 8 per cent as shown by the North Italians to 4.1 per cent as shown by the Lithuanians.

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FAMILY

INCOME.

The table next presented exhibits the relative importance of the contributions of husbands, wives, and children, and payments of boarders and lodgers, by showing the per cent of the total amount of family income which is derived from each specified source.

before specified.

TABLE 342.-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.

(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 above table makes it clear that the bulk (88.4 per cent) of the total family income for all races is derived from the earnings of the head of the household. Of the income from sources other than earnings of husbands, the largest source for all races is payments of boarders and lodgers. The immigrant households receive 8.1 per cent of their income from this source, while the children of immigrant families furnish 3.6 per cent of the family funds.

As regards the foreign-born families the South Italian, as opposed to the showing made in other sections, does not receive any appreciable amount from boarders or lodgers, but secures, on the other hand, 8.8 per cent of the family income from contributions of children. The Poles afford an unusual showing as compared with other races in that the families of this race depend upon boarders and lodgers for 26.7 per cent of their income. The Lithuanians also receive 12.9 per cent of the family funds from the same source.

CHAPTER IV.

WORKING CONDITIONS.

Hours worked per day and per week-Regularity of employment-Methods of mining-Methods of wage payments-The company-store system and company houses-Liability to accident and disease-The supply of immigrant laborRelations among races employed-The immigrant and organized labor-Reasons for employing immigrants-[Text Tables 343 and 344, and General Table 118].

HOURS WORKED PER DAY AND PER WEEK.

Throughout the Middle West the eight-hour day prevails, owing to the fact that practically every shipping mine is operated under a union agreement providing for eight hours work per day. Work is fairly steady at these mines, the average for the normal year 1907 being two hundred and five days in active operation.

REGULARITY OF EMPLOYMENT.

As regards regularity of work, the following table, containing information from 22 native-born and 153 foreign-born miners, is intended to show to what extent the different races avail themselves of the opportunity to secure employment. It is possible that in the district from which this example was taken the natives were given the preference, when it came to a choice between the natives and the immigrants, but such is not known to be the case, and all comparisons are made on the supposition that conditions of employment were normal, and that the largest number of months worked by some races is due to the industriousness of those races, rather than to the inability of the others to secure employment.

TABLE 343.- 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 totals, however, are for all races.]

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It is seen in the preceding table that 20 per cent of the whites native-born of native father worked the entire year, while only slightly over 1 per cent of the foreign-born worked the same length of time. All the native-born have worked at least six months, while of the foreign-born there is a small proportion who have not worked even six months. Applying these same comparisons to the different foreign races it is seen that the North Italians appear to be the most industrious. Although they show no individual having worked the entire year, slightly over 75 per cent of the entire number reporting in this race have worked at least nine months. The Lithuanians make the nearest approach to the North Italians in this respect, having a proportion of 62.7 per cent who worked nine months or over during the year, while all the employees of this race worked over six months. The South Italians are the only race of foreign birth furnishing an illustration of individuals having worked the entire year.

METHODS OF MINING.

Of

Coal is mined both by pick and by machine. For a number of years there has been a growing tendency toward the use of machines. Taking a recent period as an illustration, there were mined in 1904 in the Middle West 71,717,469 short tons of bituminous coal. this amount, 24,708,081 tons, or 34.5 per cent, were mined by the use of machines. In 1908 the total output was 86,245,219 short tons, 40,138,236 tons, or 46.5 per cent, of which was mined by the use of machines." It will be noticed that, while the total output was increased only 20.3 per cent during this period, the total amount mined by the use of machines was increased 62.7 per cent. These figures are significant when taken in connection with the employment of the recent immigrant. The operators claim that, owing to the large percentage of immigrants at work in the mines who are unskilled, they are forced to use machines in order to maintain a good quality of coal, because where no machines are used the recent immigrants "shoot the coal off the solid" instead of properly undercutting it, and, with excessive charges of powder, they thus produce a much larger percentage of slack coal than is produced when undercutting is done with the machines or by hand.

METHODS OF WAGE PAYMENTS.

Almost without exception wage payments are made semimonthly in cash. The matter of wage payments is usually covered by an agreement between the labor unions and the operators.

THE COMPANY-STORE SYSTEM AND COMPANY HOUSES.

Another method of payment, or rather part payment, met with throughout the Middle West mining regions is "payment in store orders." This is simply a system by which an employee may receive, at any time during the month, his wages to date in the form of an order on a store. In some cases the company, or at least members

a Production of Coal in 1908, Edward W. Parker, U. S. Geological Survey.

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