Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/764

 748 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

national income the author credits 2790 million dollars to manufactures and mechanical trades, 1674 millions of this being wages; the total earned by 5,091,000 persons, of whom 4,650,000 were wage earners. But the eleventh census (Extra Census Bulletin, No. 67) estimates the total wages in manufacturing industries at $2,282,823,265, almost as much as Mr. Spahr allows to wages and profits combined. Of this sum $1,890,- 908,747 was earned by the 4,250,783 employe's, exclusive of officers, firm members and clerks. In other words, a smaller number of wage- earners, according to the census, earns almost the sum that Mr. Spahr credits to both profits and wages of the whole number engaged in these pursuits. Whence this great discrepancy ? The census estimates are based upon direct returns from manufacturers. Without accepting the infallibility of the eleventh census, it is pertinent to ask whether Mr. Spahr's estimates are trustworthy. Mr. Spahr derives his figures as follows: The Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor for 1890 found the average yearly earnings for all employe's to be $360, based upon returns from 20,000 establishments; and the average annual profits to be approximately two-thirds of the wages of the employe's. The great objection to this estimate as representative of the entire country is that in an older settled country wages are lower than where industries are further developed, and also that Massachusetts has an exceptionally large number of women and children employed in industries.

Throughout the entire country women form only 17.2 per cent, of all engaged, while in Massachusetts they form 26.5 per cent. Since most of these are in manufactures in Massachusetts and more widely distributed throughout other occupations in other states, the discrep- ancy is magnified. The proportion is only surpassed by Rhode Island with 26.7 per cent, and the District of Columbia with 31.6 per cent., this latter having nothing to do with manufactures. A somewhat similar objection might be made to taking the ratio of profits to wages in Massachusetts as indicative of the ratio in the country at large. To what extent this error vitiates the estimates concerning the dis- tribution of incomes by classes (chap, vi) cannot be computed, but that such a vitiation occurs cannot be doubted.

The same procedure is resorted to in order to determine the incomes of the 2,863,000 persons classed as "others in trade and trans- portation." Respecting the 3,357,000 persons classed as servants and laborers, "everyone's common observation may be trusted" (p. 100),