354 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
ers or binders, because, he said, "they work at home and as and when they please." ^°
The further question which concerns us is whether, in the period of more than a quarter of a century, the mechanical changes and improvements which have taken place have resulted in changing the work done by women in the industry, or in increasing the proportion of women employed. A very inter- esting general statement on this point which is found in the report of the federal Bureau of Labor on Hand and Machine Labor,^® is as follows:
As regards the displacement of males by females, it should also be noted that in the New England states there are comparatively few factories in the shoe industry where this has taken place, though in the shoe factories in other sections of the country it is not uncommon to find women and girls operating machines and doing work that was formerly done by men. On the other hand, in states west and south of New England, men and boys have for years been largely employed in the upper-stitching department, while in New England, and particularly in the province of women's shoes, this part of the work has always been reserved for females.
The Census has commented upon this point from time to time. In 1880, the report of a manufacturer, who had stated that the introduction of the sewing-machine had greatly in- creased the number of women employed, was declared to be perhaps
a correct statement so far as it applies to the manufactories directly, but .... hardly a correct one if all the women employed under the old system are considered. Under the system in vogue before the introduction of the sewing-machine, employment was given to 'large numbers of women at their homes. This method has almost entirely ceased with the introduction of machinery. More women are employed in the works than formerly, but many less outside."
In 1900, the Twelfth Census called attention to the fact that in the industry of boots and shoes, from 1890 to 1900 there was a remarkable increase in the number of women and children
- Third Annual Report of the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor (1872), p.
131.
- ' Thirteenth Annual Report (1898), p. 122.
- " Ninth Census, Vol. XX, Special Report by Joseph D. Weeks, p. 15.
