FACTORY LEGISLATION FOR WOMEN
I8 7
The following seven are selected as being far ahead of the others in this respect, and we can see from these the great need of good legislation and watchful inspection of so large and important a class.
c-*~~
dumber employed
Per cent, of total.
Mai*
Females
Total
females form
New York
402 670
1 17.100
629,869
22 per cent
Massachusetts ....
272.246
qS.OIQ
170.26?
24 "
Pennsylvania
451 417
76,860
528,277
14 "
Ohio
4IO l62
71,012
242,294
13 "
I 31.647
28,914
160.561
18 "
177.471
28,099
205, 570
14 "
Connecticut
80,192
26,899
116,091
21 "
This host of women engaged in manufactures opens up a great social and economic problem. Why are they so engaged ? The answer is self-evident. Their work is necessary under exist- ing arrangements. In. Europe, four millions of women are engaged in factory labor, and economists say they could not possibly do without them. Whether this should be so or not is an open question, but the fact remains that in this country many thousands of women are slaving away at body- destroying work and oftentimes for soul-destroying wages.
Before passing on to the beginning of legislation, let us look for a little at the accompanying table showing the number of manufacturing and mechanical industries in which women are engaged, and the actual number of women employed according to the census of 1890, so that we may see the great variety and hardship of their work.
Census, volume on "Statistics of Manufacture, 1 ' etc., pp. 5, 6, 7. S ; iSoo. Industrial Evolution of the United States, C. I >. \\KI..UI. |>. jo(>.
/>'. In the figures for 1850 I have adhered to those found in the original census report, and copied into the report of 1880 as above (p. 8). The figures used by MR. WRK.H r in the Industrial Evolution of the United States, p. 204, are taken from volume on "Industry and Wealth," Ninth Census (1870), p. 406. (See foo: Attempts to reconcile the two sets of figures seem to have been unsuccessful. The author write- me that he for some reason preferred those he has used.
