It is seen here that January and February and July and August are the dull months for "extras" and November the busy month. The table shows more days' extra work for November than for December, because after December 24 all extras were dropped. Next in importance to the Christmas season, which marks the height of retail-store business, come the first days of the month, when charge accounts soar, and Monday, Friday, and Saturday in each week. In addition most of the Philadelphía department stores hold a much-advertised sale one day each month. All stores keep a record of several hundred extra saleswomen, often former employees, who may be called upon to work from one to ten days a month, according to business demands, and who respond according to their ability to report when needed. When there is to be a special sale, it is not infrequent for a superintendent to send out 200 postal cards and have 60 applicants, so uncertain is this class of workers.

The plan of having contingent workers is unquestionably a benefit to the organization of a large house. It secures a fresh group of workers for the middle of the day and keeps the pay roll much lower than were these people to be carried right along. In one store contingents represent 6.2 per cent and in another 50 per cent of the number of regular saleswomen. In other stores they range from 10 to 15 per cent of the regular number. For the worker who has household duties this form of selling affords an additional occupation. The records of 27 part-time contingents in one store showed only four to be under 21 and one-third to be over 35 years of age—a fact which might indicate that they had outside responsibilities. A few contingents are students or school teachers desirous of earning extra money, but many are girls striving to get on the regular force. They are adaptable and serviceable as contingents, and unless they are fortunate enough to secure permanent employment in another store they usually remain such. Many girls try to make a livelihood by working two or three days a week for two or more different stores. There is no certainty of being engaged, however, if the weather and business are not good. Usually girls are told not to report in bad weather. One store claims to pay car fare if a girl is sent for and then not needed.

The working conditions are discussed under the heads of structure of buildings, basement selling, ventilation of basements, environment, provision for health and comfort, rest rooms, lunch rooms, wash rooms, coat rooms, toilets, seats, welfare work, educational classes, instruction in store systems, educational clubs and social life, medical service, benefit associations, normal hours, overtime, Sunday work, history of Christmas closing, holiday overtime, clerical workers, and stock taking.

The prevailing method of paying women in mercantile establish、 ments in Philadelphia is by the flat rate or fixed sum per week. Affecting wages more or less indirectly are several practices, which are explained, such as commissions, premium money, employees' discount and charge accounts, clothing requirements, fines for lateness, and fines for mistakes.

The wages of women in five department stores are shown in the following table, by occupations:

WAGES OF WOMEN IN FIVE DEPARTMENT STORES, BY OCCUPATIONS, PHILADEL

Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent. ber. cent.

140 48.3

125 43.5 28 3.0

13733

2.5 38 4.1
4.6 179 19.3

1.1 112 12. 1

$7 to $7.49.

208 22.5

$8.50 to $8.99.

5

5

4 1.0

88 2.2

106 1.4

627 8.3

Except as to saleswomen there were no additional earnings to the weekly rate in the above classes. Scarcely over one-fourth of the saleswomen in all five stores were receiving additions to their weekly rates. Saleswomen comprise 52.1 per cent of all store workers and of these 53.5 per cent receive under $8.50 per week.

As to regularity of employment, it is stated that taking the number employed during the month of May as the normal force, or 100 per cent, it appears that during the month of December there is an increase of 42 per cent and during the month of August a decrease of 27 per cent. This indicates the number of temporary and intermittent department store workers at the command of large department stores for busy seasons.

Schedules as to the cost of living were secured from 788 girls. Of these 502, or 63.7 per cent, were found to be living at home and 286, or 36.3 per cent, were adrift. The term "adrift "designates those who are self-supporting and living in private families other than their own, and also married women who support a family, single

women or widows who are at the head of a household, and women living in boarding or lodging houses.

As to the age and experience of women found in these two groups, material was limited to one store only, employing 1,300 women. Of 290 women reporting it was found that the average age of 125 adrift and of 165 living at home was 28.8 years and 20.7 years, respectively. The average years of experience of those adrift was 4.6 and of those living at home 1.7.

The following table shows the cost of food and shelter for 286 women adrift who were living in various ways:

COMPARATIVE COST OF DIFFERENT MODES OF LIVING OF DEPARTMENT STORE WOMEN ADRIFT, PHILADELPHIA, 1913–14.

1 Obtained by dividing total earnings of all the girls by the total number of girls.
2 Obtained by dividing total cost of food and shelter for all the girls by total number of girls.

As to other items of expenditure it was found that the average weekly expenditure was for clothing $1.71; for car fare 60 cents; for recreation 17 cents; and for laundry, health, insurance, and all incidentals $1.65-a total of $8.53 per week.

Of the "adrift" group, 58, or 32.1 per cent, besides paying their own board supported from 1 to 5 children or contributed to needy relatives in amounts varying from 10 cents to $1.25 weekly. Information as to contributions to family was obtained from 181 saleswomen adrift and also from 181 living at home, and it is summarized in the following table:

NUMBER AND PER CENT OF SALESWOMEN ADRIFT AND LIVING AT HOME WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUPPORT OF OTHERS THAN THEMSELVES.

MASSACHUSETTS WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION EXPERIENCE,

JULY 1, 1912, TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1914.

The following table shows the experience under the Massachusetts Workmen's Compensation Act from July 1, 1912, when the act went into effect, to September 30, 1914. The table covers all classifications for which pay rolls of not less than $500,000 were reported. It was prepared by the Massachusetts Insurance Department for use in its forthcoming annual report and is here printed by permission of that department. It will be noticed that during the period covered the audited pay rolls upon which premiums were based, amounted to a total of $823,183,540. The audited earned premiums amounted to $7,484,263. The losses actually paid totaled $1,936,965, of which $362,628 was for death and specified injuries, $961,576 for weekly indemnity, and $612,761 for medical services. The total outstanding losses amounted to $936,910, of which $509,005 was for death and specified injuries, $390,785 for weekly indemnity, and $37,120 for medical services. The total losses incurred during the whole period amounted to $2,873,875. The table also shows the variations in net loss cost and nonparticipating rates per $100 pay roll for the different classifications.

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