Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/382

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

368 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

rather than remain unemployed ; hence, when they accept a child's wages, they get the child's work."

The Massachusetts factory inspector's report for 1890 fur- nishes farther evidence of the defectiveness of the census in the enumeration of both women and children, but the discrepancy in regard to children is most noticeable. In Lowell 1206 children were found by the inspector in 42 establishments, while the cen- sus reports but 612 children in 853 establishments. In Holyoke 794 children were found by the inspector in 74 establishments, while the census reports but 452 children in 493 establishments. In Fall River 1514 children ware found in 74 establishments, and 1226 by census officials in 397 establishments. Lawrence furnishes the only instance which the writer has discovered in which the factory inspector did not discover more children in a few establishments than the census reports'in all establishments. In that city the census reports 472 children in 583 establishments, and the inspector 212 in 25 establishments. In Springfield the inspector found 247 children, and census officials but 77. In Cambridge 89 children were found by the former and 34 by the latter ; in New Bedford, 662 by the former and 387 by the latter.

The Massachusetts factory reports, while thus furnishing evi- dence of the defectiveness of the Eleventh Census, are, as we shall find, of greatest value in this discussion because of the classification of children, the number under fourteen and the number from fourteen to sixteen being reported separately.

The law provides for the inspection of mercantile as well as manufacturing establishments, but the number reported are chiefly those employed in manufactures. In the foregoing com- parison with census figures care has been taken to omit estab- lishments of a character not included in the census ; their number, however, outside of Boston is insignificant.

Instances of glaring defects in the census as to the number of women and children reported are too numerous for us to attempt their presentation in this article and it seems unneces- sary for the reason that while in his Record article Colonel Wright based his contention of a decreased employment of children upon