growth of the factory system in the manufacture of shirts and underclothing; and to the factory system, and the consequent growth of the ready-made clothing trade, must be traced the great increase in the number of tailoresses.

The foregoing table shows that in 9 of the 18 specified occupations in each of which over 1 per cent of the working females were employed in 1891 or 1881 the employment of females increased relatively to population; these 9 occupations in 1891 employed 812 in every 10,000 females 10 years of age and over, or 90 more than in 1881. The other 9 specified occupations in 1891 employed 1,963 females in every 10,000 of 10 years of age and over, or 126 less than in 1881.

In the remaining occupations, in each of which less than 1 per cent of the working females were employed, 667 females per 10,000 of 10 years of age and over were employed in 1891, or 73 more than in 1881.

A striking fact shown by this table is the decrease in the proportion of females between the ages of 15 and 25 employed in domestic service, and the increase in the number so employed above the age of 25. The decrease is said to be due to a probably diminished supply of young servants; and the consequent improved condition of older servants accounts for the increase in their number. It is also said that as the proportion of children under 10 years of age and the proportion of married to single persons in 1891 were less than in 1881, the need for servants had to some extent diminished.

In order to compare the rate of progress in the employment of females with that of males in certain occupations employing both sexes the following table is given, showing the numbers of working males in 1891, at certain age periods, per 10,000 males at such periods, in the selected occupations, and the increase or decrease in the number employed in each occupation since 1881.

WORKING MALES IN 1891 AT CERTAIN AGE PERIODS PER 10,000 MALES AT SUCH PERIODS, IN OCCUPATIONS LARGELY FOLLOWED BY WOMEN.

tr te

WORKING MALES IN 1891 AT CERTAIN AGE PERIODS PER 10,000 MALES AT SUCH
PERIODS, IN OCCUPATIONS LARGELY FOLLOWED BY WOMEN-Concluded.

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In four occupations employing females and males the former have made distinct advances; in one of these, hotel servants, the number of males also show an advance; in another, drapers, the number of male employees 25 and under 45 years of age show a decrease; in the other two, tailors and shoemakers, boys and youths show an increase. The decrease in the last two occupations in the numbers employed at the age periods above the 15-25 period is said to be probably due to changes in the organization of the trades to which these occupations belong, and the decrease in the number of males 25 and under 45 years of age in the shoe trade is partly due to the exclusion of dealers in the census returns for 1891, who were included in those for 1881. A decrease in the numbers of both sexes employed as farm laborers and servants, teamsters, etc., is shown at every age period.

There was a remarkable increase in the employment of children of both sexes under the age of 15 years. It is suggested that the increase shown by the census of 1891 over the number as reported by the census of 1881 may be partly due to concealment of employment of children in 1881. As to the employment of female children, the increase seems to be attributable to the growth of urban population, such increase having occurred in counties containing one or more towns of over 50,000 inhabitants in which the population has increased at a higher rate than the urban population generally. This inference is supported by the fact that the increase in the employment of girls under 15 years of age was greatest in industries in which the chances of employment are much greater in towns than in rural districts, in several branches of which the extended use of machinery and the minute subdivision of labor render it easier for children to find work than formerly.

In the table giving the employment of females at certain age periods it is shown that in every 10,000 females 10 and under 15 years of age 1,626 were employed, equivalent to 16.26 per cent. The census returns for 1891 show that in 34 towns, including London, with over 50,000 inhabitants each, the percentage was lower than this, ranging in the

different towns from 6.2 to 16 per cent, while in 28 towns of over 50,000 population the percentage was higher, ranging from 17 to 58.1 per cent.

The age period at which the largest percentage of females is employed is that from 15 to 20 years. The census of 1891 shows that in England and Wales 68.6 per cent of females between these ages were employed in the various occupations. In 30 towns each with a population of upward of 50,000 the percentage was lower than this, ranging from 49.2 to 67.1 per cent, while in 32 towns each having populations of over 50,000 the percentage was higher, ranging from 68.8 to 95.3 per eent.

In discussing the employment of women over 20 years of age, with special reference to married and widowed women, the report says that the age period between 20 and 25 years is that at which the female worker has, perhaps, the most industrial freedom; she is then not only in her prime industrially, but generally has the option of exchanging wage-earning employment for domestic life. In England and Wales 70 per cent of the females at this age period were returned as unmarried; but the large towns showed considerable divergence from this average, the percentages ranging from 41 to 85.

Tables are given showing the percentages of working married and widowed females at different age periods in 19 industrial towns in England in 1891 and 1881, and the inference is drawn that in these towns, most affected by female labor, to which the tables relate, the percentage of working married women is diminishing. It is mentioned as a noteworthy fact that in all these factory centers there is a marked diminution in the proportion of working married women between the ages of 20 and 25 years.

The conditions governing married female labor in the north of England are quite different from those in the south. In the north there has been a large demand for female labor, and married women have been attracted by the high wages obtainable in the textile industries, especially in the cotton trade. The women of the north have not regarded industrial employment as being merely a means of support prior to marriage, but have looked upon it, more than upon domestic management, as their life occupation, and they work with a view to saving or for greater comfort in living. These causes tend to make them efficient workers and to develop industrial ambition.

In the south of England, where the factory industries are small and a large proportion of female employment is in domestic service, working girls look forward to marriage as a release from wage-earning employment, and in the upper industrial classes marriage usually gives such release. The girl before marriage rarely aims at becoming a very efficient worker, and if in later life she finds it necessary to again support herself she is unable to gain employment except in ordinary domestic service. In the lower industrial grades females frequently remain at work after marriage because of the small earnings or irreg

ular employment of their husbands. The effect of these conditions on the quality of female labor is disadvantageous, and the married female labor is of a poor kind.

Part II of the report deals with statistics collected by the labor department from manufacturers in 1894, relative to unmarried, married, and widowed females employed by them in cotton, woolen, and worsted mills in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and the west of England. Returns were received from 1,654 manufacturers, of whom 968 were in the cotton industry, 315 in the woolen, 340 in the worsted, and 31 in the mixed woolen and worsted. These returns relate to the employ. ment of 246,825 females, distributed among the industries as follows: Cotton, 176,456; woolen, 20,045; worsted, 46,540; mixed woolen and worsted, 3,784.

The females employed in the cotton and other industries, to whom the labor department statistics relate, are classified as "half timers," who were 11 and under 13 years of age; as "young persons," who were 13 and under 18 years of age, and as "women 18 years of age and over." This classification is in accordance with the terms of the English factory act, which defines the terms "half-timer," "young person," and "women" in such a manner as to include all females legally employed in factories under these headings.

In the cotton industry 12,536 of the 176,456 females employed, or 7.1 per cent, were half-timers; 45,398, or 25.7 per cent, were young persons; 118,522, or 67.2 per cent, were women 18 years of age and over. Of the 118,522 women, 38,991, or 32.9 per cent, were either wives or widows; the ratio of married and widowed to the total number of females, exclusive of half-timers, was 23.8 per cent, or nearly onefourth; of the total number of females, including half-timers, 22.1 per cent, or more than one-fifth, were married or widowed; of the 38,991 women who were married or widowed, 4,841, or 12.4 per cent, were widowed.

Great differences exist in the percentages in different localities; for example, in 10 urban sanitary districts each with over 50,000 inhabitants the percentages of women over the age of 18 who were married or widowed ranged from 9.8 to 44.7 per cent.

In the woolen industry the statistics show that of the 20,045 females to whom they relate, 200, or 1 per cent, were half-timers; 3,364, or 16.8 per cent, were young persons, and 16,481, or 82.2 per cent, were women 18 years of age and over. Of the 16,481 women, 4,906, or 29.8 per cent, were either married or widowed. The ratio of married and widowed to the total number of females, exclusive of half-timers, was 24.7 per cent, or about one-fourth.

The relative number of half-timers reported in this industry was so small that the ratio of wives and widows to the total number of working females was nearly the same as their ratio to the total number exclusive of half-timers, being 24.5 per cent. Of the 4,906 woolen operatives

reported as married or widowed, 844, or 17.2 per cent, were reported as widowed.

In the worsted industry 3,944, or 8.5 per cent, of the 46,540 working females were half-timers; 13,288, or 28.5 per cent, were young persons, and 29,308, or 63 per cent, were women 18 years of age and over. Of the 29,308 women, 6,269, or 21.4 per cent, were either married or wid owed. The ratio of married and widowed to the total number of working females, exclusive of half-timers, was 14.7 per cent, or slightly more than one-seventh; the ratio of married and widowed to the total number of working females, inclusive of half-timers, was 13.5 per cent, or nearly one-seventh. Of the 6,269 wives and widows, 1,111, or 17.7 per cent, were widows.

In the mixed woolen and worsted industry 83, or 2.2 per cent, of the 3,784 female operatives were half-timers; 792, or 20.9 per cent, were young persons, and 2,909, or 76.9 per cent, were women 18 years of age and over. Of the 2,909 women, 686, or 23.6 per cent, were either married or widowed. The ratio of the married and widowed to the total number of working females, exclusive of half-timers, was 18.5 per cent, and to the total number, inclusive of half-timers, 18.1 per cent. Of the 686 wives and widows, 108, or 15.7 per cent, were widows.

The total number of females in all the industries to which the statistics relate was 246,825. Of this number 16,763, or 6.8 per cent, were half-timers; 62,842, or 25.5 per cent, were young persons, and 167,220, or 67.7 per cent, were women 18 years of age and over. Of the 167,220 women, 50,852, or 30.4 per cent, were either married or widowed. The ratio of the married and widowed to the total number of working females, exclusive of half-timers, was 22.1 per cent, and to the total number, inclusive of half-timers, 20.6 per cent. Of the 50,852 wives and widows, 6,904, or 13.6 per cent, were widows.

The following statement shows the number of working females, by industries, concerning whom statistics were gathered by the labor department in 1894, classified as "half-timers," those 11 and under 13 years of age; "young persons," those 13 and under 18 years of age, and "women 18 years of age and over," of whom the number unmarried, married, and widowed are given. The percentage that each class is of the total number of working females in each industry is also given.