and from Sixth avenue west to the North River, one of the most cheerless sections of the city. It is interesting to note the difference in range of living conditions in different sections of the city, taking into account the item of rent only. Flats of three, four, or five rooms in five or six story tenements rent from $10 to $18 per month according to number of rooms, elevation, and conveniences, the latter consisting of a faucet in the hall on each floor, used by four to eight families, and a closet, usually in bad condition, used by the same number of families. Dingy halls and general dreariness characterize these buildings. In contrast to these are the new tenements being built in the Bronx. They stand in open spaces or perhaps in a row on a wide, clean, paved street. They are finished well inside, are provided with bells and speaking tubes for each flat, and have well-lighted wide halls. The rents here also vary from $10 to $18 or $20 per month. Either the existence of better housing is generally unknown to those downtown or they desire to be near the places of employment or else they are loath to leave the odors and crowding. At any rate, many of the new blocks uptown are empty, while the tenements in Rivington, Houston, and other streets in the lower part of the city are teeming with huddled humanity. CHAPTER VIII. LIVING CONDITIONS OF WAGE-EARNING WOMEN IN PHILADELPHIA, PA. According to the United States census report on women workers, in 1900 Philadelphia had 136,368 wage-earning women 16 years of age and over. (a) According to the census report of the same year on occupations the department and other retail stores employed 8,206.(6) The lists for this investigation, which were secured from canvassing companies and directly from pay rolls, were compiled with special reference to the dominant industries and employments. The following table shows the number included in this investigation and the number in the industry in the city in 1905: NUMBER OF WOMEN INCLUDED IN THIS INVESTIGATION AND TOTAL NUMBER EMPLOYED IN THE SAME INDUSTRIES AS REPORTED BY THE CENSUS, BY INDUSTRIES, PHILADELPHIA, PA. a Compiled from Special Reports of Census Office Manufactures, 1905, Part II. b Number employed in department stores in 1909, according to submitted pay rolls. Small retail stores not included. In the investigation by the agents of the Bureau data were secured from 419 of the department and other retail store women, showing that 22.2 per cent, or 93 women, were "adrift." (c) Assuming the a Statistics of Women at Work, p. 146. Statistics of Occupations, p. 461. The pay rolls of six large department stores in the early part of 1909 showed an employment of 10,148 women. That is, practically without homes in the city and entirely dependent upon themselves for support. proportion as representative and applying it to the number of women in department stores, the total number of "adrift" women in Philadelphia is approximately 2,300. From 67 (of the 93 women in stores found adrift) a detailed report was obtained concerning occupation, earnings, hours, overtime, lost time, and other vital information bearing on their industrial life, as well as itemized accounts of the expenditures for housing, food, light, heat, car fare, contributions to needy relatives, and amusements. All of these facts are summarized in the following tables. It was not possible to secure from the entire number of women interviewed information in regard to all the points tabulated, hence the number reported varies in the different sections of the table. For women "adrift" only certain other details are given relating mainly to expenditures. WOMEN WAGE-EARNERS IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., FOR WHOM INFORMATION CON. CERNING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS WAS SECURED. |