CHAPTER IV.

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS.

Literacy-Conjugal condition-Visits abroad-Age classification of employees[Text Tables 102 to 108 and General Tables 62 to 66].

LITERACY.

The degree of literacy which prevails among employees of the shoemanufacturing industry in the eastern States is set forth in the table next presented. It shows by sex and general nativity and race the percentage of employees who were able to read, and the percentage who were able to read and write.

TABLE 102.-Per cent of employees who read and per cent who read and write, by sex and general nativity and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

General nativity and race.

Number reporting
complete data.

Per cent who read.

Per cent who read and write.

Native-born of native father, │

Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total.

White.....

Over 95 per cent of the total number of both males and females employed in the shoe-manufacturing industry in this locality read and write. Both the native whites born of native father and the native-born of foreign father show over 99 per cent of their number as having ability to both read and write, as compared with 95 per cent of the foreign-born males and 95.7 per cent of the foreign-born females who read only, and a slightly smaller proportion who both read and write. The proportion of the males, of each foreign-born race who read ranges from 86.5 per cent of the Russians to 100 per cent of the Canadians other than French, Germans, and Swedes, while the proportion of females of each who read ranges from 54.5 per cent of the Greek to 100 per cent of the Armenians, French Canadians, Canadians other than French, English, Germans, Poles, and Swedes. In the majority of cases the proportion who both read and write is slightly smaller than the proportion who read.

CONJUGAL CONDITION.

The table next presented shows by sex and general nativity and race the percentage of the employees 20 years of age or over in each conjugal condition.

TABLE 103.-Per cent of employees 20 years of age or over in each conjugal condition, by sex and general nativity and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 80 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.]

TABLE 103.-Per cent of employees 20 years of age or over in each conjugal condition, by sex and general nativity and race-Continued.

Of the 10,034 persons employed in the shoe-manufacturing industry in this locality, 55.4 per cent are married; 38.7 per cent single; and 5.9 per cent widowed. The native whites born of native father report a larger proportion than the foreign-born, who in turn shows a larger proportion than the native-born of foreign father, who are married. The positions of the nativity groups are reversed as regards those

who are single, as the proportion who are widowed is relatively small. The Greek and Russian Hebrew are the only races showing a larger proportion single than married, each other race, except the Irish, showing over 50 per cent, but under 75 per cent, of their number who are married. The Canadian other than French is the only race group showing a proportion as high as 10 per cent who are widowed. A comparison between the male and female employees shows that, while a larger proportion of the males are married than single and a relatively small proportion widowed, the reverse is true as regards the females. The same statement applies to each nativity group. The proportion of the females of each foreign-born race who are single ranges from 84.3 per cent of the Russian Hebrews to 20 per cent of the Greeks (the Armenians showing none), as compared with a range of from 72.7 per cent of the Greek males to 16 per cent of the German males. The proportion of the females who are widowed ranges from 18.8 per cent of the Canadians other than French to 3.8 per cent of the South Italians, the Armenians, Germans, and Greeks showing none. Among the males the range is from 8 per cent of the Germans to less than 1 per cent of the Russian Hebrews and North Italians. The Greeks, Lithuanians, Poles, and Russians report none of their males widowed.

The following table divides the totals of the table immediately preceding and shows, by sex, age groups, and by general nativity and race, the percentage of employees who were in each conjugal condition: TABLE 104.-Per cent of employees in each conjugal condition, by sex and age groups and by general nativity and race.

(STUDY OF EMPLOYEES.)

[This table includes only races with 200 or more persons reporting. The totals, however, are for all races.j

Native born of native
father, White.....
Native born of foreign
father, by country of
birth of father:
Canada..
Ireland...
Foreign-born, by race:
Canadian, French.
Canadian, Other..
Hebrew, Russian..
Irish.

Italian, North..

Italian, South.

Slovak.

Grand total.

Total native-born of for

eign father... Total native-born.

Total foreign-born..

1,092 50. 148.6 1.3 1,098 15. 379.8 4.9 613 6.2, 80.9 12.9 2,803 26.9 67.9 5.2