Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

the packing houses were receiving 15 cents an hour. When the demand for an increase was met with a refusal, all employees, with the exception of the engineers, firemen, and teamsters, were ordered out. After ten days, the unions having reduced their demand as to wages to 18 cents an hour as the minimum for unskilled labor, the packers agreed to submit all differences to arbitration, and further to reinstate, within forty-five days, all the old employees who had been out on the strike. This agreement was made one Wednesday night. On Friday morning the men returned to work at 7 a. m., only to walk out again at 10 a. m. of the same morning, the men in the more skilled positions claiming they had been discriminated against. All employees were ordered out at this time, and the strike lasted until September 6, when those who could get back did so, but on the companies' terms. This, with the exception of a small controversy that one plant recently had with the steam fitters, was the last strike in the industry. It was also the end of recognition, with the exception of the teamsters union, of organized labor in the large plants of the industry. Since the year 1904, with the exception stated above, the men have been treated with only as individuals. The large companies regularly recognize and sign agreements with the teamsters' organization.

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 158 to 169 and General Tables 79 to 90].

RENT IN ITS RELATION TO STANDARD OF LIVING.

The rent payments of the households of the Chicago slaughtering and meat-packing employees are chiefly significant in the insight which they afford as to congestion and living conditions, the practice being generally followed of crowding a large number of persons in apartments in order to reduce the per capita rent payment. The bearing of monthly rent payments in this connection, as well as upon the general standard of living, is set forth in the following series of tables, the first of which shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the average monthly rent payment, per apartment, per room, and

per person.

TABLE 158.-Average rent per month, by general nativity and race of head of household.

(STUDY OF HOUSEHOLDS.)

[This table includes only races with 10 or more households reporting. The totals, however, are for all

races.]

[blocks in formation]

The

average rent paid per apartment by 245 households is $9.11; per room, $2.26; and per individual, $2.11. The native-born, including native-born of foreign father and native-born of native father, pay

48296-VOL 13-11-16

233

slightly more per apartment than the foreign-born. They also pay considerably more rent per individual and not quite so much per room. Of the foreign-born the Swedes pay the highest rent per apartment, closely followed by the English, and the Slovaks pay the lowest rate. The Russians pay the highest rate per room, $2.68, and the Bohemians and Moravians the lowest, $1.81. All the foreign-born, except the Bohemians and Moravians and South Italians, pay more than $2.25 and less than $2.75 per room. The price paid per person varies from $2.99, the highest, to $1.36, the lowest. The different races follow the Russians, who pay the highest, in the order named: Swedes, English, South Italians, North Italians, Germans, Irish, Poles, Bohemians and Moravians, and Slovaks.

The table next presented shows, by general nativity and race of head of household, the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per apartment:

TABLE 159.-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.]

[blocks in formation]

Of the total number of households 62 per cent pay less than $10 per month per apartment; 34.7 per cent pay less than $7.50. These figures indicate the rent commonly paid by foreign-born households. Low rent per apartment is most general among the Slovaks, of whom 86.4 per cent pay under $10, and none pay as high as $12.50. The table next presented shows by general nativity and race of head of household the per cent of households paying each specified rent per month per room.

TABLE 160.-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

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

In the above table 26.9 per cent of the total households pay under $2 per per month per room, 82.9 per cent under $3, and 98.4 per cent under $4, showing the greater proportion pay between $2 and $3 per month. It will be seen that foreign-born pay a slightly higher average rental than native-born, the per cent of the latter paying under $2 per month being greater than the former, and also a larger proportion of foreign-born pay over $4 per month per room. Bohemians and Moravians pay the lowest monthly rental, none of the households paying over $3 per month, and the greatest proportion under $2. Polish show a larger proportion paying under $2 per month than Slovaks, the majority of households of the last-named race paying between $2 and $3 per month per room. Poles and Slovaks show practically the same per cent paying over $4 per month.

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

TABLE 161.-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.]

[blocks in formation]

This table gives the figures concerning the amount of rent paid per person, by 245 households connected with the meat-packing industry in Chicago. The totals show that 87.8 per cent of all the households considered pay under $4 a month per person for rent; 69.0 per cent pay under $3, 38.8 per cent pay under $2, and 2.9 per cent pay under $1. The proportions for the foreign-born correspond very closely to those for all. Of those races for whom percentages have been computed only the Bohemian and Moravian have households paying over $4 a month per person. The Slovoks have the highest proportion paying under $1, 9.1 per cent, while the Poles in this locality have no households paying under $1.

BOARDERS AND LODGERS.

The tendency on the part of wives to keep boarders or lodgers in order to augment the family income has already been discussed." The extent to which this practice prevails is exhibited by the following table, which shows by general nativity and race of head of household the number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers.

Table 162.-Number and per cent of households keeping boarders or lodgers, by general nativity and race of head of household.

[blocks in formation]

Of a total of 359 households studied in the above table, 32, or 8.9 per cent, keep boarders or lodgers. Of the 334 households, the heads of which are foreign-born, 31, or 9.3 per cent, keep boarders or lodgers.

Considering the several foreign races, it will be seen that the households the heads of which are Slovaks, followed by the house

a See pp. 222-224.

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »