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CHAPTER III.

ECONOMIC STATUS.

Industrial condition abroad of members of immigrant households studied-Principal occupation of immigrant employees before coming to the United States-General occupation of women at the present time in the households studied-General occupation of males at the present time in the households studied-Daily earnings Relation between period of residence and earning ability-Annual earnings of male heads of families studied-Annual earnings of males 18 years of age or over in the households studied-Annual family income-Wives at work-Annual earnings of females 18 years of age or over in the households studied-Relation between the earnings of husbands and the practice of wives of keeping boarders or lodgers Sources of family income-Relative importance of different sources of family income [Text Tables 134 to 155 and General Tables 63 to 77].

INDUSTRIAL CONDITION ABROAD OF MEMBERS OF IMMIGRANT HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

An examination of the industrial status while abroad of the foreign-born employees of the slaughtering and meat-packing establishments affords an insight into the training and experience which the immigrants have had for the work in which they are at present engaged and a basis for comparison of their economic condition in the United States with that of their native countries. In this connection, the following tables show by race of individual the industrial condition, before coming to the United States, of foreign-born females in the households studied who were 16 years of age or over at time of their arrival in this country:

TABLE 134.-Industrial condition before coming to the United States of foreign-born females who were 16 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

born.]

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TABLE 135.-Occupation before coming to the United States of foreign-born females who were 16 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

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Of the 258 females studied in the above table, it will be seen that the largest proportion, or 56.2 per cent, were without occupation, 34.9 per cent were working for wages, 8.5 per cent were working without wages, and 0.4 per cent were working for profit.

As regards the various races, it will be seen that of those without occupation the Swedish shows the largest and the Polish the smallest proportion, while of those working for wages, the Polish shows the largest and the Slovak the smallest, and of those working without wages, the Slovak shows the largest and, with the exception of the German and Swedish, which show none, the North Italian the smallest. Only one race, the North Italian, shows a proportion who were working for profit.

The table shows further that 19 per cent were farmers or farm laborers, 19.4 per cent were in domestic service, and only small proportions were factory operatives, in hand trades, or were engaged in other occupations.

Poles report 57.2 per cent having been farmers or farm laborers, followed in the order named by Slovaks, North Italians, Germans, Bohemians and Moravians, and Swedes. Germans show the largest proportion having been in domestic service abroad, and are followed by Swedes, North Italians, Bohemians and Moravians, Poles, and Slovaks in the order mentioned. Bohemians and Moravians alone report having been factory operatives. All of the races except the Slovak show between 3.6 and 5 per cent having been in hand trades, none of the last named race having followed this occupation.

The following table shows the industrial condition before coming to the United States of foreign-born males who were 16 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual:

TABLE 136.-Industrial condition before coming to the United States of foreign-born males who were 16 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

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TABLE 137.-Occupation before coming to the United States of foreign-born males who were 16 years of age or over at time of coming, by race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

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Of the 269 males studied in the above table, it will be seen that the largest proportion, or 69.5 per cent, were working for wages, 14.5 per cent were working without wages, 11.2 per cent were working for profit, and 4.8 per cent were without occupation before coming to the United States. As regards the different races, it will be seen that of those working for wages, the North Italian shows the largest and the Slovak the smallest proportion, while of those working without wages the Slovak shows the largest and the Polish the smallest, and of those working for profit the Slovak shows the largest and the Swedish the smallest. Only two races report a proportion who were

without occupation-the Swedish showing the largest, or 11.5 per cent, and the Bohemian and Moravian 3.6 per cent.

Of the total number, it will be observed that only 10.4 per cent had any previous experience in slaughtering and meat-packing abroad, 8.9 per cent had been factory operatives, and a small percentage had been in hand trades and other occupations, or were employed as laborers. The largest proportion, 46.9 per cent, were either farmers or farm laborers, and hence entered the slaughtering and meatpacking industry with little knowledge of machinery or manufacturing methods. Bohemians and Moravians, North Italians, and Swedes are the only races having had any previous experience in the industry, Bohemians and Moravians showing 21.4 per cent and North Italians slightly more than one-half as large a proportion. Only 3.8 per cent of the Swedes had been employed in the industry. The above mentioned races also show the highest per cent having been factory operatives or in hand trades.

Ninety-one per cent of the Slovaks and 81.5 per cent of the Poles have been either farmers or farm laborers.

PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION OF IMMIGRANT EMPLOYEES BEFORE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES.

The table next submitted shows by race the per cent of 10,278 foreign-born male employees in the Chicago packing houses who were in each specified occupation before coming to the United States. TABLE 138.-Per cent of foreign-born male employees in each specified occupation before coming to the United States, by race.

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Of the foreign-born male employees in this locality only 4.9 per cent were employed abroad in slaughtering and meat packing, as against 56.2 per cent employed in farming or farm labor, 18.5 per cent employed in general labor, 8.9 per cent employed in hand trades, and 11.4 per cent otherwise employed. The proportion of individuals employed abroad in slaughtering and meat packing is much larger for the Bohemians and Moravians, English, and Germans than for the individuals of any other race.

GENERAL OCCUPATION OF WOMEN AT THE PRESENT TIME IN THE HOUSEHOLDS STUDIED.

The two tables next presented set forth by general nativity and race of individual the principal occupations in Chicago at the present time of the male and female members of the households studied who were 16 years of age or over. The table immediately following includes the female members of the households.

TABLE 139.-General occupation of females 16 years of age or over, by general nativity and race of individual.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

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Upon information secured from 450 females in this locality, by far the largest proportion, or 83.1 per cent, are at home, 10.7 per cent are in occupations not specified, while very small proportions are at school, in domestic service, and in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry.

Comparing the native-born of foreign father with the foreignborn, it will be noted that in only one instance does the proportion of the latter exceed that of the former, the foreign-born reporting 96.6 per cent of the females at home, as compared with 42.9 per cent of the native-born of foreign father. As regards those in occupations not specified, the native-born of foreign father report 38.4 per cent and the foreign-born only 1.5 per cent.

Of the foreign-born races, the Bohemians and Moravians alone report a proportion in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry and in domestic service, while the Germans alone report a proportion at school. The North Italians, Poles, Slovaks, and Swedes each report their entire number at home.

Comparing the Bohemians and Moravians, native-born of foreign father, with those of foreign birth, it will be seen that, with the exception of the proportion reported at home, the proportion of the former in each occupation is very much larger than that of the latter, the greatest difference occurring in occupations not specified.

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