Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/122

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115
THE CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR.

of age. What proportion of the families in the United States receive $900?

An investigation made in 1903 by the United States Department of Labor covered 25,440 families, among which the average total income was $749.50. These families were of wage-earners, and were taken from all of the representative states and industrial centers. Of 610 native families having three children, the average income was $666. Of 518 foreign families having three children, the average income was $654.

The most recent wage investigation is that made by the United States Commissioner of Labor into wages in the Bethlehem Steel Works.[1] In all, 9,184 men were employed. Of this number

48.5 % were receiving less than 16 cents per hour ($550 per year).
74.5 % were receiving less than 22 cents per hour ($675 per year).
91.8 % were receiving less than 30 cents per hour ($950 per year).
  1. Report on Strike at Bethlehem Steel Works. By Charles P. Neill, Washington, 1910. P. 60.