earning $7, paid $3 in board to her sister-in-law and spent most of the remaining $4 on her father, who was ill and needed medical attendance and medicines.

The average weekly wage for women adrift was computed for the year preceding the investigation, on the basis of the firm's schedule wage, after deducting for any losses through absence, whether for sickness, voluntary vacation, or enforced lay-offs. Any commissions received during the period specified were included in the average weekly earnings. For the store employees, the firm's schedule wage gave a weekly average of $8.97. Thus the weekly average loss, due to lost time is 55 cents, or $28.60 in a year. This average is somewhat misleading and lower than the actual, for while commissions were included in the average weekly earnings, they were not taken into account in a firm's schedule wage, but only the amount guaranteed by the store.

In most stores which give commissions, a certain percentage is given on Christmas sales for a period of from 5 to 21 days. The rate is one-half to 1 per cent, and in the cases reported ranged from $3 to $8 per year. In one store commissions are paid the year round, at the rate of 2 per cent on all sales amounting to more than a specified sum, graduated according to wage. This store has also another form of commission known as extra premiums-a certain per cent allowed on the sale of goods which are either old or damaged or for some other reason are undesirable to keep in stock. These latter forms of commission in some departments amount to a considerable sum. A saleswoman in the fur department had averaged $18 per week on commissions for 4 weeks. Another in the suit department estimated that her commissions averaged $5 per week for the year. A third realized $75 from extra premiums during the year.

In the stores which give no Christmas commissions the women sometimes receive a Christmas present, either of money or an order for a certain amount to be "traded out" in the store. These presents varied from a 50-cent handkerchief to one order for $15, which the recipient exchanged for a silver chain purse. The gifts of money were from $2 to $15, according to experience and position. Neither the presents (being regarded as optional on the part of the store and somewhat uncertain) nor pay for overtime was taken into account in computing the average weekly earnings.

Pay for overtime, where it was given at all, was in sums of from 45 to 50 cents, and was known as "supper money," because it was given on nights when the women worked after the regular hours. Of the 53 women reporting overtime, 27, or 53 per cent, had received some pay. The total amount paid during the year to the 27 women was $122.40, an average of $4.53 a year for the 27 women affected. Twenty of these women received less than the average, which was brought up by 3 women whose overtime extended through the year, 1 receiving $18.20; another $19.20, and the third $25. The average earnings for the 4 weeks previous to the time of the investigation was $9.42, or 45 cents higher than the average for the firm's schedule wage. This was due to the fact that at the time the wage was taken the one store paying commissions was having special sales and all the women were getting the benefit of their Christmas commissions.

There is not usually much lost time among store employees through enforced lay off's (as compared with factory employees), except among the milliners, who are out of work about 3 months during the year. Thirty per cent of the women received a vacation of from 1 week to 2 weeks with pay, 8 of these women and 15 others took some voluntary vacation with loss of pay. Excluding 2, who took exceptional vacations-one 15 and the other 13 weeks-the 20 women had an aggregate of 45 weeks, or an average of 24 weeks each. For the factory employees the firms' schedule wage gave a weekly average of $7.92. These women lost through "lay off" a weekly average of $1.88. In the case of the factory women most of this loss was due to dull seasons, and was greater during 1907-8 than normal, owing to the general business depression. These women do not take voluntary vacations; the time they are laid off more than answers the purpose.

Some of the women find work in other lines düring the dull season. Money paid to factory employees for overtime was not included in the average wage nor in the average weekly earnings. Of 43 women reporting overtime, 21 received some pay for it. The total amount paid during the year was $193.49, an average of $9.21 a year for the 21 women involved. Thirteen women received less than this average. Those receiving the most for overtime were a mailer in a bindery, who was paid $54.60, and 2 tailoresses who were paid $31.25 and $20 respectively.

The summary table already given (p. 86) presents a comparison of the personal data obtained from adrift women employed in stores, and adrift women employed in factories and miscellaneous establishments. The average age of both classes is approximately 29 years, a higher average than in any other city studied except Philadelphia. As was previously stated, the number of women in Boston is in excess of the number of men and consequently we should expect to find many mature women in the ranks of the self-supporting. The average schooling, 8 years, reflects the efficiency of the compulsory school-attendance law providing that "every child between 7 and 14 years of age, and every child under 16 years of age who can not read at sight and write legibly simple sentences in the English language, shall attend some public day school."

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The average weekly cost of food, shelter, heat, light, and laundry for the store employees is $5.05, leaving them out of their earnings of $8.42 an average balance of $3.37 a week for all other expenses, such as clothes, sickness, needs of dependent relatives, car fare, and amusements. The factory employees have an average balance of $2.58 for such demands. Of the store employees 17.9 per cent are contributing to dependent relatives an average of $1.92 per week. Two-thirds of those contributing are giving less than this average, but some give much more, 1 woman contributing $8 per week. Of the factory employees, 21.5 per cent are contributing an average of $2.44 per week to needy relatives. Fifty per cent of these are contributing more than this average.

This great demand on the factory women is explained by the number of woman in this class who are mothers of families trying, by their earnings, to keep together a home falling into a state of dissolution. Of the store employees, 52.4 per cent pay an average of 50 cents a week in car fare. Of the factory employees, 31.5 per cent pay an average of 52 cents. This average is brought down from the normal 60 cents per week by those women who ride only one way daily, or only in stormy weather. Many factory women live within easy walking distance of the factories where they work, though a few walk from one-half to 1 mile each way, and walking is a pleasant change after sitting at their work. Though 70 per cent of the store women live in the districts nearest the large stores, many are doubtless too tired to walk after being on their feet all day. Only 2 women are spending for study. Both of these are saleswomen who are taking vocal lessons; 1 spends 29 cents, the other $1 per week. Two are going to evening high school.

Of the adrift women employed in the stores, 59.5 per cent spend an average of 36 cents per week on amusements. Of the adrift women employed in the factories, 45.4 per cent spend an average of 29 cents. Individual women reported spending an average of from 5 cents to $1.50 weekly, while the nature of the amusement varied from that of the girl who "just couldn't live without dancing" to the woman who attended only church entertainments. The theater was the most popular. Those who could afford the expense went to see good plays, the others went to 5 and 10 cent shows. Next in popularity came dancing and visits to the beaches in summer.

The total number of adrift women who reported on the method of living was not sufficiently large to justify the tabulation of department and retail store and factory employees separately for this item. Both classes of workers are tabulated together on page 52. Although the numbers are small, it is believed that the selection was such as to make them fairly representative, and an examination of them somewhat in detail, therefore, becomes of value.

Of the 84 adrift women employed in the stores, who reported on this item, 60.7 per cent were in the lodging and boarding houses. The next largest number, 21.4 per cent, were in organized houses, 10.7 per cent were in private families, and 7.2 per cent were keeping house. Of the women employed in factories, mills, and miscellaneous establishments, 45.4 per cent of the 130 reporting were in lodging and boarding houses, 24.6 per cent were in private families, 19.2 per cent were keeping house, and 10.8 per cent were in organized boarding houses.

In a closer analysis of these different modes of housing, we find a partial explanation of the lower weekly average for shelter, food, heat, lights, and laundry spent by the factory employees. The boarding and lodging house is the most expensive of these methods. Next in order of expense are the organized boarding houses, boarding in private families, and least expensive-the keeping-house method. Eighty-two per cent of the store employees are living under the most expensive conditions, and 44 per cent of the factory employees under the two least expensive. Some of the women in the boarding and lodging houses reduce their expenses by preparing one or more of their meals in their rooms; 13 per cent of the store employees and 24 per cent of the factory employees are getting two or three meals. Another explanation of the difference of weekly outgo was found in the sections of the city in which these women live, and the average weekly cost of shelter, food, heat, light, and laundry, in these sections, as may be seen from the following table:

AVERAGE WEEKLY COST OF SHELTER FOOD, HEAT LIGHT, AND LAUNDRY FOR STORE AND FOR FACTORY WOMEN IN SPECIFIED DISTRICTS OF BOSTON, MASS., AND PER CENT LIVING IN EACH DISTRICT.

While 76 per cent of the store employees live in the sections of the city where the average cost of shelter, food, heat, light, and laundry is most expensive, only 50 per cent of the factory employees live in the same section. A large per cent of the former live in a more expensive manner and in the high-priced districts. The factory women, on the other hand, live under the less expensive conditions and in the lower-priced districts. Sixty-two per cent of the store employees in all parts of the city are paying the weekly average of $5.05 or less for their living. Sixty per cent of the store employees are earning the weekly average of $8.42 or less. Fifty per cent of the factory employees are paying the average of $4.18 or less, and 51 per cent are earning the weekly average of $6.76 or less.

Among both the store and factory employees adrift the largest number were native born. Sixty-four per cent of the store employees were American, 12 per cent Irish, 13 per cent Canadian, and the remaining-11 per cent included English, French, Scotch, Hebrew, and German. Forty-seven per cent of the factory employees were American, 22 per cent Irish, 14 per cent Canadian, and the remaining 17 per cent were Scotch, Swedish, Hebrew, Polish, English, and Russian. The drift of the native born is toward the stores.

Though so large a proportion of these women make their homes in the lodging and boarding houses, approximately two-thirds of these lack one of the most important elements of the home, a pleasant room in which to entertain friends. Consequently these women entertain both their women and men friends in their own rooms. Often the rooms are furnished to look as much as possible like parlors, with couches or folding beds, but many times they are not. This custom is regarded as unobjectionable by the women who follow it. They said they would not use a parlor if there was one, both because of the publicity and of the possibility of meeting undesirable fellowlodgers. In houses that had a parlor, 87.5 per cent of the women employed in stores made more or less use of it, but only 55.6 per cent of the women employed in factories reported such use.

Some of the older women interviewed thought the lodging houses were bad places for young girls, and that these girls ought to be living in organized boarding houses where there was someone to look after them. Many of the women in the lodging houses are very young, far away from their friends, and earning very low wages. The situation is made more dangerous by the undesirable people, both men and women, found in many of these houses. Not only are there good and bad houses in the same block, but there are often good and bad people in the same house. While visits from men living outside of the house might lead to objectionable freedom, visiting from room to room between men and women living in the same house is much more likely to be objectionable. In the course of the investigation the agents saw not a few indications that this freedom between the sexes could but result in lowering the standards of many, and in the case of the weak or vicious might easily lead to something worse.