Page:Wages in US 1908-1910.djvu/45

Rh the conclusions which may be reached from a study of Massachusetts wage statistics. These statistics will be discussed in greater detail than those of the other leading States, because of their inherent excellence, as well as because most of the conclusions which can be drawn from the classified weekly earnings of Massachusetts are apparently similar to the conclusions deducible from the weekly earnings in similar industries of the other industrial States.

The value of the Massachusetts statistics consists primarily in their presentation, by industries, of the classified weekly earnings of the males, females and young persons employed in the manufacturing industries. These statistics involve considerable detail, but an excellent idea of their significance may be gained from a summary, first of totals for the entire State, and then of detailed statements regarding the industries employing the various classes of wage earners,—males, females, and young persons. This classification is made because, as a rule, there is a marked contrast in the wages between industries which employ a large proportion of males and those which employ a large proportion of females.

During the "week of employment of greatest