Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/383

 ECCENTRIC OFFICIAL STATISTICS

369

manufacturing statistics, in his recent report he furnishes the tables of occupation as proof.

The following table and accompanying remarks are from pages 25 and 26 of Colonel Wright's recent report on the employ- ment of women and children.

The following table compiled from the censuses of 1870, 1880, and 1890. is given in order that a comparison may be made of the proportion of children at work at the three census years.

NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN AT WORK AT THE THREE CENSUS YEARS iS/O, l88O, AND 1890.

Census years and classification of ages.

Males.

Females.

Total.

1870

2,840,200

2,764,169

5,604,369

Number of above at work

548,064

I9I,IOO

779.164

19.30

6.91

17.19

1880 Total children 10 to 15 years, inclusive

i -176 1 14

1.277 760

6.649,48?

825,187

20^,160

1,118,356

Percentage of above at work

24.44

8.96

16.82

1890 Total children 10 to 14 years, inclusive

7,1:74,787

7,458.722

7.077,509

Number of above at work.

400.^86

202 427

607.017

Percentage of above at work

1 1 21

5 85

8 57

This table shows that 13.19 per cent, of children from 10 to 15 years of age were at work at the census of 1870. At the census of 1880 the propor- tion of children from 10 to 15 years of age at work was considerably larger, being 16.82 per cent. To find what percentage were workers in 1890 is some- what difficult, as the age period then used was 10 to 14, instead of 10 to 15, as in 1870 and in 1880. Nevertheless, it is believed that a result closely approximating the truth may be obtained, and in the following way :

The whole number of children from 10 to 14 years of age in 1890 was 7.033.509. and of this number 603,013, or 8.57 per cent, were at work. The total number of children 15 years of age in 1890 was 1,288,864, but to arrive at the number of those who were workers in that year, an estimate must be made on the basis of those 10 to 14 years of age, who were at work. Now, to have the result a general average of 8.57 per cent, at work for those of the ages from 10 to 14, it is plain that the individual percentage for each of these