stores in Boston do not keep open any later than usual at Christmas, and most of those that do have a "shift system" whereby the women who stay late at night may come later the next morning. But even in the stores that close at the usual hour some employees must stay to get the stock in order for the daily rush. The Christmas overtime, as reported, was from 4 to 24 extra hours per week. The worst feature of this overtime is that it comes at the time of the year when the regular work is the most taxing and the women least able to endure longer hours. Overtime data were collected only from the women adrift. Of the 84 store employees, 63 per cent (53 employees) reported some overtime, aggregating 1,018 hours, in periods varying from 1 to 6 hours in a night and from 12 to 156 hours during the year. Extreme cases that were reported were 24 hours in one week, 18 hours in one week, 36 hours in two weeks, 12 hours in two nights. Among the women employed in the factories and miscellaneous establishments, those working in industries having the longest hours-laundries and clothing, especially dressmaking and millinery-reported the most overtime. Of the 130 women reporting, 33 per cent (43 employees) reported some overtime, aggregating 2,153.5 hours, varying from 14 hours in one week to 208 hours in a year. Extreme cases were 52 hours in 8 weeks, 40 hours in 3 weeks, 24 hours in 2 weeks, 27 hours in 3 weeks. In a State which has a law limiting the hours of woman's labor it is very difficult to get any satisfactory information from the employees in regard to overtime for obvious reasons, particularly in times when work is scarce. The overtime and general industrial conditions, of course, apply to all women employees, whether they are living at home or are dependent upon themselves. Information in regard to weekly earnings was obtained from 946 of the 1,172 women covered by the investigation. The average weekly earnings of those employed in department and other retail stores was $7.15. Of the 444 women visited, 327 furnished wage data. Of those employed in factories, mills, and miscellaneous establishments, the weekly average was $6.53. This is based on information from 619 women. In addition to the information as to earnings which was secured from the employees, the Bureau was able, through the cooperation of eleven of the largest department and specialty stores in Boston, to further verify the average weekly earnings of store employees. In seven of these stores the agent took the figures directly from the weekly pay rolls. The average weekly earnings for the women employed in these eleven stores was $7.46. The range of averages was from $6.41 to $8.50 in the department stores. One high-grade specialty store gave the average weekly earnings as $17.22. This figure, however, was not verified. The highest verified average weekly earnings in any store was $10.88 in a specialty store. The average weekly earnings, $7.46, obtained from these stores is a little higher than that obtained from the 327 women investigated, $7.15. The difference can easily be accounted for by the fact that a small per cent of the women investigated worked in small stores or stores which pay a low wage. Of the 1,172 women, 829, or 70.7 per cent, were living at home or with relatives, and 343, or 29.3 per cent, were "adrift," i. e., entirely dependent upon themselves and practically without homes in the city. Of the 444 employed in stores, 285, or 64.2 per cent, were living at home, and 159, or 35.8 per cent, were adrift. Of the 728 employed in factories and miscellaneous establishments, 184, or 25.3 per cent, were adrift. The proportion adrift of the total number of women, 29.3 per cent, is higher than the normal, as shown by the figures for other cities investigated, and for the store employees is even more marked, reaching 35.8 per cent, while for the factory and miscellaneous employees it is nearer the normal, falling to 25.3 per cent. These per cents, with the average age for women adrift, which is 29 years, coincide with the well-known fact that Boston has large numbers of mature self-supporting women, as would be expected in a city where the number of women is in excess of the number of men. Though the per cent of women adrift is high, it should perhaps be even higher, for in the boarding and lodging house districts married women were frequently found who could scarcely be said to have either element of a home, as both they and their husbands were away all day and at night came back to a single room. These women, who were most difficult of all classes to interview, especially if the husbands were present, were not included among the women adrift, because the husband was regarded as the financial backer, though in many instances there were abundant indications that he was only a partial or uncertain, or at best an intermittent one. For the women for whom personal information in detail was secured, summaries of the most important facts are presented in the following tables. It was not possible to secure from all of the women interviewed data for all the items embraced in the table. Hence the numThe tables give bers reported vary in different sections of the table. the average age, experience, earnings, cost of living, etc., for the store and factory women, classified as "at home" and "adrift." For women "adrift" only certain other details are given relating mainly to expenditures. WOMEN WAGE-EARNERS IN BOSTON, MASS., FOR WHOM INFORMATION CONCERNING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS WAS SECURED. WOMEN WAGE-EARNERS IN BOSTON, MASS., FOR WHOM INFORMATION CONCERNING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITION WAS SECURED-Concluded. Of the 343 women adrift, complete data were secured from 214, 84 of whom were employed in stores. The average age of the 84 store women was 28.6 years and their average experience 7.3 years. Of the 829 women living at home, complete data were secured from 732. The average age of the home women employed in stores was 24.1 years, and their average experience 5.2 years. It will be noticed that the average age of adrift store women is 44 years more than that of the home store women, and they average about 2 years more experience. The average weekly earnings of the adrift store women is $8.42$1.71 more than the average earnings of the home store womenand as an offset to the $4.83 contributed by the home store women, the women adrift pay weekly an average of $5.05 for shelter, food, heat, light, and laundry. The average weekly earnings of the store employees living at home is $6.71, and 56 per cent are receiving this average or under. The average weekly amount paid as board or contribution to the family fund is $4.83, and 55.6 per cent are turning in their entire earnings. One hundred and thirty of the women employed in factories and miscellaneous establishments were adrift. Their age averaged 29.1 years and their experience 8.5 years. The average age of the home women employed in factories and miscellaneous establishments is 22.6 years and their average experience 5.1 years. This would indicate that the working life in factories begins slightly earlier than in stores. There might be two reasons for this. Children who work in factories usually belong to families in humble circumstances and are forced to earn something at the earliest possible age. Then, there are probably more positions, as helpers, etc., that children can fill in factories than there are in stores, where the requirements are more exacting. The factory women adrift average 3.4 years more experience than the home factory women, and their average age is 6+ years greater. The average weekly earnings of the adrift factory women is $6.76but 29 cents more than the average weekly earnings of the home factory women and the factory women adrift must pay a weekly average of $4.18 for food, shelter, heat, light, and laundry. It would appear from these averages that the weekly earnings in stores are higher than those in factories, and that the stores have more highpaid positions as a reward for long service and experience. Also, that the factory women adrift must find some way to reduce below the average possible to adrift store employees, their weekly expenditure for shelter, food, heat, light, and laundry. The average weekly earnings of the factory employees living at home is $6.47, and 56 per cent are receiving this average or under. The average weekly contribution is $5.16, and 61.7 per cent are turning in their entire earnings. Here again, in the slightly larger weekly contribution, and the larger per cent contributing all, is an indication of the greater need in such families and a confirmation of the younger age of the contributing members. Of the 732 women living at home but 22 were keeping their entire earnings, which is quite at variance with the common belief that large numbers of women work merely for pin money. Most of those turning in the entire earnings lived with one or both parents, and customarily handed over their pay envelopes unopened at the end of the week. Some of these did not earn enough to support themselves, and the family was of more help to them than they were to the family. A few married women were working to supplement their husbands' earnings, sometimes even for luxuries or advantages, such as music lessons. But most of the girls, by their contributions, were helping to keep the home together, and not a few had heavy responsibilities. Two sisters, one 16, and earning $5 per week, and the other 22 years of age, earning $12 per week, were supporting the parents, who were too old to work. A girl of 22, earning $15 weekly, practically supported her parents and four of their younger children. A woman 38, earning $5, was temporarily supporting her family, her husband being ill and able to earn very little. A woman of 40, earning $9, supported her old mother. A woman of 25, |