INTRODUCTION: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHIEF. TO THE HONORABLE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: In accordance with the law which requires the Report of this Bureau to be submitted to your honorable bodies in the month of March in each year, I present, herewith, the thirtyfifth annual issue for your consideration. THE CURRENT REPORT. With the view of ascertaining the variations between quotations of average weekly wages based upon a presumed full week's work at a specified rate a day, and the actual weekly earnings of a workingman, Part I, entitled "Actual Weekly Earnings," was prepared. Section I contains a digest of returns from members of trade unions, while Section II is composed of comparative statistics of actual weekly earnings from the books of manufacturers and other employers of labor. The tables presented therein are not considered conclusive, but they are indicative. The agents of the Bureau are now gathering supplemental returns to be presented in the next annual report which will cover a wide range, as regards both localities and industries, and the results will, I am confident, establish the actual weekly earnings as the only just basis for the consideration and comparison of the financial condition of workingmen. The Causes of High Prices forms Part II, and contains the opinions, on the subject in question, of 151 representatives of the mercantile and manufacturing industries of the Commonwealth. The letters of inquiry were sent out at random, and no attempt is made in the analysis of the replies to prove any particular point, or sustain any particular position. The closely related questions of wages, earnings, and cost of living, are considered incidentally. [vii] Part III, Labor and Industrial Chronology, covers the period from October 1, 1903 to September 30, 1904. The arrangement is alphabetical by cities and towns. The subjects for which data are given include Strikes and Lockouts, Wages and Hours of Labor, Trade Unions, Industrial Changes, and Workingmen's Benefits, the information being recorded in chronological order. Forming part of the analysis is a table showing the number of industrial establishments in Massachusetts incorporated during the year ending September 30, 1904, with the name of the industry, amount of capital stock, and State in which incorporated. It is interesting to note that of the 308 corporations, 293 were incorporated under the Massachusetts law. The closing part of the Chronology contains the Labor Legislation for 1904. The legislature of that year passed 16 acts and four resolves directly or indirectly connected with the subject of labor, and the complete text of these laws is given in the report. ANNUAL STATISTICS OF MANUFACTURES. At the time of publication of this Report, the census of manufactures, provided for by sections 5 and 6 of chapter 423 of the Acts of 1904, is being taken by the United States Bureau of the Census and this Department working in co-operation. The results as soon as obtained by the United States Bureau of the Census will allow the publication of the Annual Statistics of Manufactures for 1904, and will also supply the material for Volume III of the Decennial Census of 1905. THE CENSUS OF 1905. As previously stated the census of manufactures required by the Census law is being taken, work having been begun early in January. The Census Special Agents are, also, now engaged in gathering the statistics of Trade, The Fisheries, and Coastwise and Ocean Commerce. The census of the population will be taken in May and June; of schools, libraries, and reading rooms in July and August; and of agricultural property and products in November and December, 1905, and January, 1906. THE LABOR BULLETIN. Six numbers of the Labor Bulletin were issued in the year 1904. A summary of the contents of No. 29 (January, 1904), No. 30 (March, 1904), and No. 31 (May, 1904) was given in the Bureau Report for 1903. The Bulletins for July, September, and December, 1904, contained the following articles, etc. : No. 32, July, 1904. Child Labor. and Capital. The Inheritance Tax. Absence after Pay Day. Pay of Navy Yard Workmen. Industrial Agreements. Current Comment - The Eight-hour Workday. Recent Legal Labor Decisions. Excerpts. Statistical Abstracts. Labor Legislation, Massachusetts, 1904. Child Labor. Net Profits of Labor No. 33, September, 1904. Labor and Education. Night Work in Textile Mills. Current Comment - Immigration. Industrial Agreements. Excerpts. Recent Legal Labor Decisions. Trade Union Directory-1904. No. 34, December, 1904. Increases in the Cost of Production. Review of Employment and Earnings - For the six months ending October 31, 1904. Semi-annual Record of Strikes and Lockouts - For the six months ending October 31, 1904. Strike of Cotton Operatives in Fall River. Average Retail Prices April and October, 1904. Absence after Pay Day- No. 2. Current Comment - Co-operation. Recent Legal Labor Decisions. Industrial Agreements. Excerpts. Statistical Abstracts. Index to Bulletins of the Year 1904. BUREAU OF INFORMATION. The number of requests for information by letter, telephone, or personal visit to the office, from June 1, 1904, to February 1, 1905, was 730. The period covered was eight months and the requests averaged 91 a month, as compared with an average of 52 given in the previous report. THE BUREAU LIBRARY. The number of books and pamphlets added to the library between June 1, 1904, and February 1, 1905 (a period of eight months) was 469. The total number of books and pamphlets now in the library is 17,342. LABOR PUBLICATIONS. The Bureau receives, reads, and collates material from 137 labor publications, 53 of which are newspapers and 84 magazines. DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTS, The number of publications of the Bureau sent out during the calendar year ending December 31, 1904, was 16,067. The distribution in 1903 was 16,671. ASSOCIATION OF OFFICIALS OF BUREAUS OF LABOR STATISTICS OF AMERICA. The Twentieth Annual Convention was held July 12-16, 1904, at Concord, N. H., 17 bureaus being represented. These conventions supply an opportunity for the interchange of opinion on industrial questions and verbal discussion of the vital labor problems of the day, and have been found to be instructive and helpful to the members, while the printed report of the proceedings has a wide distribution and influence in this and foreign countries. The twenty-first convention will be held in San Francisco during the present year. The convention has not met in Boston since June, 1885. Massachusetts is never wanting in hospitality, and I would respectfully request that your honorable bodies, by resolve, invite the convention to hold their meeting in 1906 in the city of Boston. The Census Office will then be in a state of fullest activity, and the opportunity to examine the work in progress will be appreciated by the statisticians who compose the membership of the association. |