THE IMMIGRANT AND ORGANIZED LABOR.

The small extent to which employees are members of labor unions in the Kansas City plants is set forth in the following table, which shows, by general nativity and race of individual, affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years of age or over in the households studied.

TABLE 223.—Affiliation with trade unions of males 21 years of age or over who are working for wages, by general nativity and race of individual.

The above table discloses the significant fact that an exceedingly small proportion of employees in Kansas City of foreign birth, and none of native birth, are affiliated with labor organizations. Among the foreign-born less than 1 per cent of the Croatians and only 1.9 per cent of the Germans were found to be connected with trade unions.

CHAPTER V.

HOUSING AND LIVING CONDITIONS.

Rent in its relation to standard of living-Boarders and lodgers-Size of apartments occupied-Size of households studied-Congestion-[Text Tables 224 to 235 and General Tables 131 to 142].

RENT IN ITS RELATION TO STANDARD OF LIVING.

The monthly rent payments of the households of the employees of the slaughtering and meat-packing establishments are chiefly significant in the insight which they afford into the prevailing standards of living. The first table submitted in this connection shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the average rent paid per month per apartment, room, and person.

TABLE 224.-Average rent per month, by general nativity and race of head of household.

The above table shows that households whose heads were of native birth and of native father pay a higher average rent per apartment and per person than households whose heads were born abroad, while the latter have a rent payment per room somewhat higher than the native-born. The point of significance disclosed by the table is that the average rent per person among the foreign households is only $1.33 as compared with $2.09 of the native-born, clearly indicating that, although the foreign households have a somewhat higher rent payment per room than the native-born, the foreign households crowd their rooms to a greater extent in order to decrease the rent payment per capita. This fact is further corroborated by the showing of the Polish households whose heads were born abroad. Although this race shows an average rent payment per apartment of $9.14, which is greater than that of the Croatians, the payment per person and per room by the Poles is less than the average shown by the Croatian households.

The following table sets forth the range in monthly rent payments for apartments. It shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment:

TABLE 225.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

The greater proportion of the total number of the households pay less than $10 per month per apartment. Thirty and one-tenth per cent pay less than $7.50. Low rent per apartment is more common among the foreign-born than the native-born of native father. The latter class in every instance shows the smaller proportion paying less than each specified amount. Only 46.2 per cent of the nativeborn of native father pay under $10 as compared with 55.8 per cent of foreign-born.

The following table shows the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per room according to general nativity and race of head of household:

TABLE 226.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per room by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

It is evident from the above table that the much larger proportion of households whose heads were native-born of native father, as well as those whose heads were born abroad, pay a room rent per month

under $3. The point which is of special interest is that only 9.7 per cent of the households whose heads were foreign-born, as contrasted with 25.6 per cent of the households whose heads were native-born of native father, pay a rent per room per month which is less than $2. Of the foreign households, it is also worthy of notice that the Poles have a larger percentage paying less than $3 per month per room, but a smaller proportion as compared with Croatians paying under $2 per month per room.

The final table submitted in this connection shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per person.

TABLE 227.-Per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per person, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

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

In the preceding table the true relation between rent payments and standard of living is set forth. In the table last presented, it will be recalled that about equal proportions of the native and foreign born households have the same rent payments per month per room, while in the above table 90.9 per cent of the households whose heads were born abroad, as contrasted with only 69.2 per cent of the households whose heads were native-born of native father, show a rent payment of less than $3 per month per person. Moreover, the foreign-born households have 70.8 per cent paying less than $2 per month per person and 16.9 per cent with a rent payment of less than $1 per month per person, while the native-born show only 41 per cent in the first classification and 2.6 per cent in the latter. Among the foreignborn, the Poles, as compared with Croatians, indicate a somewhat more congested condition in the households by showing a larger proportion of households in the lower classification of rent payments.

BOARDERS AND LODGERS.

The practice of the wives of the employees in taking boarders or lodgers into the home in order to supplement the earnings of their husbands has already been discussed. The extent of this practice is indicated by the two tables next presented, the first of which shows the number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers according to general nativity and race of head of household.

TABLE 228.-Number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[Information relating to boarders or lodgers covers only immediate time of taking schedule and not the entire year. Boarders are persons who receive both board and lodging.]

a Not computed, owing to small number involved.

Only 20 per cent of the total number of households whose heads were native-born of native father, as compared with 42.2 per cent of the total number of households whose heads were born abroad, as shown by the above table, have boarders or lodgers. Of the foreignborn households the greatest tendency toward the keeping of boarders or lodgers is exhibited by the Poles with the Croatians next in order. The German households show 17.8 per cent with boarders or lodgers, this proportion being small as compared with the Poles and Croatians. The following table shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the average number of boarders or lodgers per household. The averages are based (1) on the total number of the households studied and (2) on those which have boarders or lodgers.

TABLE 229.-Average number of boarders or lodgers per household, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[Information relating to boarders or lodgers covers only immediate time of taking schedule and not the entire year. Boarders are persons who receive both board and lodging.]