[Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Secretary of Labor for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1937]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1937
3 1336 05750 2701
OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, 1937
Hou. Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor.
Hon. Edward F. McGrady, The Assistant Secretary.
Turner W. Battle, Executive Assistant to the Secretary.
Richardson Saunders, Assistant to the Secretary.
Mary La Dame, Special Assistant to the Secretary.
Frances Jurkowitz, Administrative Assistant to the Secretary.
Gerard D. Reilly, Acting Solicitor.
L. Metcat.ee Walling, Director, Division of Public Contracts.
Verne A. Zimmer, Director, Division of Labor Standards.
Samuel J. Gompers, Chief Clerk and Superintendent.
Robert C. Smith, Director of Personnel.
John R. Steelman, Director of Conciliation.
Isador Lubin, Commissioner of Labor Statistics.
Edward J. Shaughnessy, Acting Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization.
Katherine F. Lenroot, Chief, Children’s Bureau.
Mary Anderson, Director, Women’s Bureau.
W. Frank Persons, Director, United States Employment Service.
Turner W. Battle, President, United States Housing Corporation.
Laura A. Thompson, Librarian.
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CONTENTS
Page
Report of the Secretary of Labor_____________________________________ 1
Machinery and employment_____________________________________________ 2
Conditions of employment--------------------------------------------- 4
Minimum wages and adequate annual income----------------------------- 5
The placing of unemployed-------------------------------------------- 6
Industrial disputes__________________________________________________ 7
National Labor Relations Act---------------------------------------   7
A. F. of L. and C. I. O__________________________________________ 7
Children’s Bureau---------------------------------------------------- 9
Women’s Bureau------------------------------------------------------- 9
Division of Labor Standards_________________________________________ 10
In conclusion------------------------------------------------------- 11
APPENDIX
United States Conciliation Service-------------------------------------- 13
Sit-down strikes---------------------------------------------------- 14
United States Employment Service---------------------------------------- 18
Development of a national system____________________________________ 18
Affiliated State employment services---------------------------- 18
National Reemployment Service___________________________________ 19
Field service___________________________________________________ 19
Development of standards____________________________________________ 20
Personnel_______________________________________________________ 20
Division of Standards and Research______________________________ 21
Occupational Research Section_______________________________ 21
Worker Analysis Section------------------------------------- 22
Statistical Section----------------------------------------- 22
Procedures Section__________________________________________ 23
Fiscal affairs______________________________________________________ 24
Special services---------------------------------------------------- 25
Veterans’ Placement Service_____________________________________ 25
Farm Placement Service------------------------------------------ 26
District of Columbia Public Employment Center___________________ 26
Service for juniors_____________________________________________ 27
Employment Service News_________________________________________ 27
Operations---------------------------------------------------------- 28
Office of the Solicitor------------------------------------------------- 31
Division of Public Contracts____________________________________________ 34
Organization of the Division of Public Contracts____________________ 35
Field administration________________________________________________ 35
Relations with State departments of labor__________________________  36
Statistics---------------------------------------------------------- 36
Achievements of the act_____________________________________________ 39
Administrative problems_____________________________________________ 40
in
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CONTENTS
Page
Office of the Chief Clerk---------------------------------------------- 41
Division of Accounts------------------------------------------------- 41
Division of Publications and Supplies-------------------------------- 44
Division of Labor Standards---------------------------------------------- 46
Conference on standards______________________________________________ 47
Standards and the International Labor Office------------------------- 48
Advisory committees on standards------------------------------------- 48
Consultative service and analysis of labor bills------------------- 49
Toward better administration----------------------------------------- 50
Cooperation with management and labor to improve standards---------	50
Promoting safety and health on Government work----------------------- 51
Labor standards in apprenticeship------------------------------------ 51
Presenting information on labor standards---------------------------- 52
Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------- 52
Office of the Director of Personnel-------------------------------------- 54
Department Library_______________________________________________________ 57
Bureau of Labor Statistics----------------------------------------------- 59
General review of, labor conditions---------------------------------- 59
Private employment----------------------------------------------- 59
Public employment------------------------------------------------ 60
Building construction-------------------------------------------- 60
Average weekly hours and earnings-------------------------------- 60
Industrial disputes-------------------------------------------- 61
Cost of living------------------------------------------------- 61
Employment and pay rolls------------------------------------------- 61
Private employment----------------------------------------------- 62
Public employment______________________________________________ 63
Estimates of total employment---------------------------------------- 64
Building construction------------------------------------------------ 64
Wages, hours, and working conditions--------------------------------- 65
Annual earnings______________________________________________________ 66
Union wages__________________________________________________________ 66
Construction wage rates---------------------------------------------- 66
Index of average hourly earnings------------------------------------- 67
Analysis of changes in average earnings and hours and volume of
employment________________________________________________________ 67
Foreign wages-------------------------------------------------------- 67
Labor turn-over------------------------------------------------------ 67
Labor-productivity surveys------------------------------------------- 68
Industrial-accident statistics--------------------------------------- 68
Cost of living------------------------------------------------------- 69
Changes in cost of living---------------------------------------- 69
Studies of consumer purchases------------------------------------ 69
Retail prices________________________________________________________ 69
Wholesale prices----------------------------------------------------- 70
Industrial disputes-------------------------------------------------- 71
Union agreements----------------------------------------------------- 71
Legislation and court decisions affecting labor---------------------- 72
Labor legislation in Latin America----------------------------------- 72
Promotion of uniformity in statistical reports----------------------- 72
Collection of wage claims-------------------------------------------- 73
Interstate migration of workers-------------------------------------- 73
CONTENTS	V
Bureau of Labor	Statistics—Continued.	Page
Survey of legal regulations applying to employees of motion-picture theaters__________________________________________________________   74
Personnel practices------------------------------------------------- *1
Prison-labor survey-----------------------------------------------
Consumers’ cooperation---------------------------------------------- 74
Workers’ housing programs------------------------------------------- 75
Survey of governmental labor agencies------------------------------- 75
Social insurance in foreign countries------------------------------- 75
Handbook of labor statistics—--------------------------------------- 75
Publications-------------------------------------------------------- ?6
Inquiries and correspondence---------------------------------------- 77
Looking to the future----------------------------------------------- 77
Immigration and Naturalization Service------------;------------------- 82
Immigration and emigration------------------------------------------ 83
Races or peoples------------------------------------------------ 84
Ports of arrival and departure-------------------------------- 85
Occupation, sex, and age-------------------------------------- 86
Aliens debarred---------------------------------- ------------ 86
Operations under the Quota Act-------------------------------- 86
Chinese_______________________________________________________ 88
Alien seamen---------------------------------------------------- 88
Deportations and voluntary departures------------------------- 89
Voluntary departures------------------------------------------ SO
Border patrol_________________________________________________ SO
Naturalization--------------------------------------------------- 91
Training for citizenship-------------------------------------- 92
Miscellaneous----------------------------------------------------- 92
Registry of aliens_______________________________________________ 92
Immigation visas------------------------------------------------- 92
Reentry permits-------------------------------------------------- 93
Petition for immigration visas----------------------------------- 93
Nonquota students----------------------------------------------- 93
Contract labor--------------------------------------------------- 94
Naturalization frauds------------------------------------------- 94
Legislation------------------------------------------------------ 94
Financial statement----------------------------------------------- 95
Death of Commissioner MacCormack------------------------------ 96
Children’s Bureau-------------------------------------------------------- 98
Administration of maternal and child-welfare services under the
Social Security Act------------------------------------------------ 101
Appropriations--------------------------------------------------- 191
Plans approved--------------------------------------------------- 101
Allotments and payments------------------------------------------ 102
Development of State services------------------------------------ 102
State maternal and child-health services------------------------  102
State services for crippled children----------------------------- 107
State child-welfare services-----------------.---------------- Hl
Federal administration------------------------------------------- 111
Research and advisory work-----------------------------------------  115
Division of Research in Child Development------------------------ 115
Industrial Division---------------------------------------------  117
Social Service Division------------------------------------------ 118
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CONTENTS
Children’s Bureau—Continued.
Research and advisory work—Continued.	Page
Delinquency Division__________________________________________  119
Division of Statistical Research—------------------------------ 120
Trends in legislation affecting children------------------------- 123
Cooperation with other Federal agencies-------------------------- 124
International cooperation--------------,------------------------- 124
Conference for discussion of public and private services for child welfare--------------------------------------------------------   125
Publications and other	information services---------------------- 126
Publications issued and distributed-----,-------------------- 126
Exhibits and films___________________________________________ 126
May Day—Child Health Day, 1937--------------------------.-------- 127
Recommendations-------------------------------------------------- 127
Women’s Bureau------------------------------------------------------- 129
Minimum-wage activities------------------------------------------ 129
Special studies_________________________________________________  130
The legal status of women in the United States of America----	130
Women in the economy of the United States-------------------- 130
Unattached women on relief----------------------------------- 131
State surveys--------------------------------------------------   131
Tennessee__________________________________________________   131
Florida______________________________________________________ 131
West Virginia----------------------------------------------   131
Delaware----------------------------------------------------- 132
Arkansas__________________,---------------------------------- 132
District of Columbia----------------------------------------- 132
Utah_________________________________________________________	132
Continued studies------------------------------------------------ 132
Industrial accidents and diseases---------------------------- 132
Household employment---------------------------------------   133
Effects of minimum-wage laws------------------------------------- 133
Elimination of home work-----------------------------------   133
Consumer cooperation in stabilizing employment--------------- 133
Employment opportunities------------------------------------- 133
Trends in employment and earnings---------------------------- 133
Adult education-------------------------------------------------- 134
Compilations of labor laws relating to women--------------------- 134
Cooperation with various agencies------,------------------------- 134
News Letter------------------------------------------------------ 135
Conferences______________________________________________________ 135
Information activities------------------------------------------  135
Exhibits__________________,-------------------------------------- 135
Publications----------------------------------------------------- 136
Recommendations___________,-------------------------------------- 136
Length of women’s stay in industry--------------------------- 136
The older woman in industry---------------------------------- 137
Work with women’s organizations—,---------------------------- 137
Studies of present needs for service------------------------- 137
Vocational training and guidance----------------------------- 137
Use of economic data by workers------------,----------------- 137
United States Housing Corporation------------------------------------ 138
Active accounts------------------------,------------------------- 138
Unsold properties------------------------------------------------ 138
TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
SECRETARY OF LABOR
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Department of Labor, Office of the Secretary, ~W ashington, D. C., November 15, 1937.
To the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with section 9 of the act of Congress approved March 4, 1913, I have the honor to submit a report of the business of the Department of Labor for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937.
Respectfully submitted.
Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor.
VII
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TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
The purpose of the Department of Labor shall be to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment—Extract from act of Congress passed Marek lh 1913.
Before the ending of the next fiscal year this Department will have turned the quarter-of-a-century mark. Profound changes have occurred in the United States during that period and perhaps in no other place have they been more kaleidoscopic than in the vast field occupied by worker and employer.
As this happens to be an anniversary year so far as the Department of Labor is concerned, I venture to call attention to the fact that in creating the Department, Congress definitely left the impression that it sought to conserve the interests of the worker without drawing a line between the unorganized and organized working man, but rather with the fundamental idea of assisting the wage earner and thus improving the general welfare.
Measured in years the period is a brief one; measured in the changes in industrial relationships by all the human factors that go to make up our life the last quarter of a century marks a new period. The advances in recent years have been of great importance.
In a successful democracy there must be a certain minimum unity of purpose and some contribution from the citizens as a whole to the idea and practice of the general welfare. Where the lives of millions of persons are involved as is true where the wage earners of the United States of America are concerned, there must necessarily be a multitude of complications, sharp differences of opinion, friction at many points. Always, however, there remains the permanent idea that through accommodation, through understanding of the human problems involved, a sane and sensible adjustment can be created. These are the conceptions which have guided the Department of Labor through the past year. It has sought to solve the multitude of problems that have arisen along evolutionary lines, to act as a mediator, a conciliator, a friend of both parties in disputes, always conscious of its mandate as laid down by the Congress.
Fairness to every interest in a democracy is of paramount importance ; fairness between wage earner and employer, between employer
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
and employer, between earner and earner. Opportunity, a chance to develop, a chance to grow, a chance to bring up a family under better conditions—these are the desires of the millions of workers in our country. Beyond that they seek security, some assurance that they will have a minimum economic protection when they cease to be producers. Young people, the producers of the future, the graduates of our schools, trained and untrained in the trades, but full of ambition, keenly alert to the problems confronting them, are seeking opportunity also.
In concrete form these desires are expressed as: (1) Shorter hours; (2) adequate annual income; (3) safe and healthful working and living conditions; (4) social security; (5) recognition of wage earners as an integral and significant part of the common life with an opportunity to contribute to and play a part in furthering the social and economic welfare.
All the statistics at our command go to prove that heartening progress has been made along these lines. Under abnormal conditions, economic and financial, the task has not been an easy one; the climb up the hill must always be slower than the descent. The people of this country have learned to appreciate their dependence one on another, the interrelationship of worker and employer, the necessity of a balanced economy if the general standard of American living is to be raised and the country is to be more prosperous.
MACHINERY AND EMPLOYMENT
This report for the fiscal year 1936-37 cannot be complete without attempting to recall some of the outstanding events of the past, the events responsible in greater or lesser degree for the situation of the moment. One of these is the part played by machinery.
Forty-five years ago Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Labor, wrote:
We are living at the beginning of an age of mind, as illustrated by the results of inventive genius. It is an age of intellect, of brain; for brain is king, and machinery is king's prime minister.
Since that far-away day “inventive genius” has given us a thousand and one machines. The automobile and the airplane, employing hundreds of thousands of workers in their manufacture, are illustrations of the development in mechanical devices in the period.
At the congressional committee hearing on the Black-Connery wages and hours bill on June 7, 1937, a witness said there had been recently a demonstration of a coal-loading machine that handled in one 7-hour shift more than 1,100 tons; it was operated by 11 men and displaced 99 others.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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These inventions have had a vital bearing on the lives of workers, their families, the whole social and industrial structure of the Nation. People have, of course, been thrown out of work. Yet employment, the production of goods and per capita income have been increased. This is one of the modern paradoxes. No great degree of imagination is required to foresee many more changes in labor-saving devices. In the movement to shorten the hours of labor, to raise wages, to improve living conditions, the machine has played no small part, especially in the last quarter of a century. To the people involved some of the individual situations have been tragic. At the same time general progress has been made.
With the development of machinery mass production engulfed the individual craftsman, the higher skilled artisan with his natural pride in his product. Membership in a privileged union meant something more to him than belonging to an organization interested solely in his material welfare. The feeling of mutuality moved him also.
As the union gained in strength and influence, through agreements, legislation, and other means the employee's ambitions rose, and his demands for a better living and more security for himself and his dependents increased. With greater opportunities for education through schools, the press, libraries, public lectures, the radio, the worker’s field of interest broadened. In the period under review the World War was fought. Every worker played his part in it, either in this country or abroad, and that struggle gave labor an even larger stake in the Nation.
American labor is not revolutionary; it stands for the ideals of American democracy, asking no special favors, having no desire for the destruction of capital but rather to build up and share in the prosperity of industry.
The growth in numbers and influence of unions has been rapid in recent years, and it has not always been possible to avoid the errors of inexperience. In general, real progress has been made with a minimum of friction. In the midst of sometimes thoughtless but dramatic condemnation of labor unions it is well to reemphasize that fact.
Every day we show our faith in the skill, honesty, and integrity of the American workman. When we ride on a fast train, in an automobile, in an elevator we are confident that the workman has been faithful to his trust, built and tested every part of the machine with the same care he would give to it if his children were to use it. They are machines, but they are built by human beings with minds, conscience, and skill.
Perhaps at this point emphasis should be put on the interdependence of the wage earner and those engaged in agriculture. This relationship is economic and social in character. Unless the farmer
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receives an adequate profit for his products, he cannot take his share of the products of the industrial areas. The increase in wage-earners income on the other hand, results in a balanced increase of his consumption of the food products of the farm.
Labor policy in a democracy is not a program conceived by a government but rather a program of action which wage earners and employers must work out together in a society which develops naturally out of the work they do and the life that they lead. The function of government is to serve as a stimulating agent to facilitate the formulation of such a policy, a policy that will be just and fair to all the people and in line with human progress.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
The conditions of wage earners in America have advanced since the Department of Labor was created in 1913. The recent years have seen many gains through legislation and by custom. The Department has continued to promote and assist in developing a program of—
1.	Reasonably short hours of labor;
2.	Adequate annual income from wages;
3.	Safe and healthful conditions of work;
4.	Practical industrial relations based on—
a. Collective bargaining;
ft. Conciliation, mediation, and arbitration through government agencies.
5.	Elimination of child labor.
The Department has urged that a maximum of 40 hours a week be accepted by industry as practicable. Pennsylvania has the 8-hour day and 44-hour week applying to all workers, men as well as women. Significant trends appeared in maximum hours in State legislation all over the country. Twelve States (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming) and the District of Columbia have an 8-hour day and a 48-hour week for women. Three States (Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Rhode Island) have a 9-hour day and a 48-hour week. North Carolina also legislated for men, establishing a 10-hour day and a 55-hour week for them, while women’s hours were reduced from 10 to 9 a day and from 55 to 48 a week.
In both the anthracite and bituminous coal fields the weekly hours of the miners have been reduced by agreement from 48 to 35, a decline of 32 percent.
With the lapse of the National Recovery Act, which established a 40-hour week as a means of increasing employment, many industries made voluntary agreements to maintain 40 hours as a standard week, but in other instances the tendency was to return to the old working hours.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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At the World Textile Conference held in Washington in April, at which representatives of workers, employers, and Governments of 27 nations were present, ground was prepared for the International Labor Organization Conference at Geneva, Switzerland, in June, where conventions w’ere adopted providing for reduction of hours of work in the textile industry to an average of 40 a week. Sixty-two member nations were represented. A convention is an international draft agreement adopted by a two-thirds majority of the conference, each nation reserving the right to ratify or reject a convention of the International Labor Organization, but when it is ratified it has the power of a treaty.
MINIMUM WAGES AND ADEQUATE ANNUAL INCOME
Various definitions of adequate annual income prevail. But in the United States there is general acceptance of adequacy as the sum necessary to support an individual or a family in health, efficiency, and comfort. In 1929 nearly 16,400,000 American families had incomes of less than $2,000 and of this number, nearly 6,000,000 had incomes less than $1,000 a year.
Through the Bureau of Labor Statistics much valuable data on family earnings have been gathered. Investigations have been made in all sections of the Nation not only as to earnings but as to the way these earnings are expended. In New York City it was found that approximately 20 percent of all the wage-earner families had less than $1,250 a year; in Philadelphia 29 percent had less than $1,200 a year; in Los Angeles, approximately 20 percent had less than $1,200 a year; in St. Louis, 25 percent had less than $1,200 a year; in a New Hampshire city, 63 percent had less than $1,200.
Investigation brought out that the wage earner with an income of from $1,200 to $1,500 pays about $20 a month for rent and $15 for fuel, light, and other household supplies. He usually lives in a flat or half of a double house or a 4- or 5-room frame house. In some large cities as many as 5 percent of the families are without those conveniences regarded as essential. In some cities only two-thirds of the families have hot running water inside the house. About one-third of the income is spent on food, or approximately $8 a week, while about 12 cents out of every dollar goes into clothes. In general, the Bureau’s study shows that about one-third of the wage-earners’ families find their incomes insufficient to meet the minimum requirements of their standard of living.
Families in the lower levels of income have no telephones, no running hot water, no refrigerators, no automobiles, although transportation is of major importance to most workers. No more than 20 percent of the American workers have telephones in their homes.
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Food and rent claims so much of the family income that there is relatively little left for clothing, medical care, and house furnishings.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics records show that the average weekly earnings of factory workers were 13.4 percent higher in June 1937, than in June 1936. In June 1936, they were almost 11 percent higher than in the corresponding month of the previous year.
THE PLACING OF UNEMPLOYED
Approximately 1,500,000 persons found employment during the year. As compared with March 1933 about 8,800,000 more persons were employed in nonagricultural industries—manufacturing, mining, construction, transportation, and public utilities—than there were 4 years ago. This brings the total employed to 34,722,000, or about 655,000 below that for March 1929. It does not mean that unemployment has been reduced to within that number of the 1929 level because normal population growth has brought about a considerable increase in the number of potential workers in the past 8 years.
The Wagner-Peyser Act, Public, No. 30, 73d Congress (June 6, 1933), set up the United States Employment Service. It provides for the establishment of “a national employment system and for the cooperation with the States in the promotion of such system, and for other purposes.” In addition to assisting in obtaining employment for men, women, and juniors it maintains facilities for providing special attention to veterans; it has a farm placement service and a public employment center for the District of Columbia.
Every State has accepted the provisions of the law, and 42 States had completed affiliations by the end of the fiscal year. On June 30, 1937, a total of 1,015 national reemployment services were being maintained with an operating staff of 8,504.
Much the most significant feature of the past year was the approximately 2,100,000 placements of workers in private establishments, representing a gain of 81 percent over the previous year, and bringing the total placements in private employment for 4 years to 5,655,681.
The total for the year in public-works projects and governmental units was 1,846,326. The number of job seekers decreased steadily through the year, only 3,876,704 new applicants were on the registers as against 8,263,188 for the previous year.
Much progress was made in the placing of veterans in private employment. Places in private industry and business were found for 100,272 and 151,250 were put in public employment, while 15,716 went on relief work. On June 30, 1937, there were still 271,927 on the active file, but this compares with 362,427 on the same date a year ago. The gain in veteran placements in private enterprises was 63 percent over the previous fiscal year.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES
During the fiscal year the records of the Department of Labor show there were 3,743 strikes in the United States in which more than 1,745,000 workers were involved, and the loss to the country in man-days was more than 27,000,000. The greatest number of strikes occurred in March 1937, with 005 reported for the month. In the following May the number of strikes had dropped to 574, with workers involved equaling 320,000. In June there was a drop to 568 strikes and a loss of 4,950,000 man-days, but the number of workers involved had dropped to 281,000 as against the peak of 287,000 in the month of March.
Through the Division of Conciliation 1,267 industrial disputes, involving nearly 1,000,000 employees, were handled.
Two important developments of the year were:
1. The introduction of the sit-down strike, which had its recent revival in France. Its first significant use occurred in this country in 1935 in Akron, Ohio, among rubber workers. It was used in the automobile factories of Michigan in the winter of 1937, and in the general excitement of the time was revived sporadically and spontaneously by a number of groups of workers in small and sometimes large enterprises. The outstanding claim made by those who used it was that then- employers refused to bargain with them in a collective manner. A Federal court of appeals in May ruled that the sit-down strike violated the constitutional rights of the employer. Tennessee and Vermont legislated against the sit-down strike, while Massachusetts declared the occupation of private property as a means of forcing settlement of labor disputes an unfair labor practice.
2. In May the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision upholding the constitutionality of the Wagner Act giving labor the right of self-organization for the purpose of collective bargaining and making it an unfair labor practice for an employer to refuse to bargain collectively.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT
There is a serious misconception in many quarters of the fundamental thought behind the Wagner Act. Its purpose was to eliminate unfair practices on the part of employers. A situation existed, and the act was worded so as to remedy it.
It should be kept in mind that the employer still retains his right to discharge a worker for just cause. The Board serves as a protector of the worker only when they are victims of union discrimination and specific unfair practices as set down in the act.
A. F. OF L. AND C. I. O.
On September 5, 1936, the executive council of the American Federation of Labor suspended 10 unions, said to represent about 900,000 members. These unions, under the chairmanship of John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, had formed the
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Committee for Industrial Organization, having as its avowed object the organization of mass-production workers into industrial unions.
The American Federation of Labor is composed of an independent set of governing trade-unions affiliated in a federation that has only such limited powers and duties as are delegated to it by the several unions, many of which are much older than the Federation. Both craft and industrial unions are in its affiliation. The executive council of the American Federation of Labor decides matters of jurisdiction between the unions and settles questions of chartering of new unions. It also determines the delicate matter of the assignment of various organized groups of skilled workers within a mass-production industry to particular craft unions or to a general industrial union in that industry when one exists.
The increasing number of workers in such industries and their growing desire for organization has made this last question continuously more difficult for a number of years. Practical as well as theoretical considerations are naturally involved in such decisions. The ancient skilled crafts long antedate the existence of modern mass-production ' industries, but in those industries the skilled craft workers are usually outnumbered by production workers of only specialized or sometimes little skill. The skilled craft workers may be journeymen; the specialized production workers are likely to be tied to the industry. The questions involved are complex and difficult of decision in the particular cases before the council.
The Department of Labor and every officer and bureau in it has consistently refrained from taking any part or showing any favors or partiality in this internal upheaval in the labor movement. There can be no doubt that the able and honest men on both sides feel deeply and sincerely that their position is the right one. The Department of Labor has at all times furnished information and its services to all workers and groups of workers without regard to their affiliation, and it has maintained its relationships not only with the officials of unions of both camps but with the wide membership of both throughout the country.
A strict rule of impartiality and expectation of reasonable eventual settlement has been followed, and there now appear to be strong forces at work within the unions, as well as among the American people generally, making for an equitable resolving of the differences and a move toward reconciliation.
The American people want to see labor organized and strong enough to be an effective part of the civic and economic life of the Nation, and because of that they are anxious that this breach be healed with honor and with justice and with due regard to a really practical and workable method of accommodation.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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CHILDREN’S BUREAU
During the year the Children’s Bureau celebrated its twenty-fifth birthday anniversary. There are more than 43,000,000 infants, children, and young persons under 18 years of age in the United States. This Bureau receives approximately 400,000 letters a year, covering a wide range of questions. Its Division of Research is in charge of studies relating to growth and health of the child from the prenatal period through adolescence, and of studies relating to maternal and child health, welfare, morbidity, and mortality.
The Bureau of Census figures show that the birth rate for 1935 was the lowest since the establishment of birth registration with the exception of 1933; it was 16.9 per 1,000. On the other hand infant mortality was the lowest on record. Figures have been gathered showing the existence of a close relationship between the infant’s chance of survival and the earnings of the father, the manner in which the child was fed, the sanitary conditions in the home, the presence of the mother or her absence at work outside, and the physical care the child received.
It is estimated that 200,000 children come before the courts annually as delinquents; many others are never brought before the courts. Special study is being made of this subject.
Twenty-eight States have ratified the child-labor amendment, which was submitted to the country in 1924. More than 30 bills affecting child labor were introduced in the 1937 session of Congress. A basic minimum age of 16 years with a higher minimum of years for hazardous occupations is provided in the labor standards bills which have passed the Senate. It is clear that the public opinion of the United States of America no longer accepts child labor as a tolerable procedure.
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Throughout the year State agencies and social groups applied in increasing numbers to the Women’s Bureau for advice in formulating and administering legislation for the welfare of women workers, in advancing opportunities for women in employment, for cutting down home work, and for the improvement of conditions of household workers.
Four States have passed minimum-wage laws for women; two States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have revived laws that had been invalidated in whole or in part or revised their laws. The Bureau has served as a general clearing house of experience of State officials on methods of administration of the minimum-wage legislation.
25730—37--2
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Many surveys were made during the fiscal year, notably in Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. In cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau is making a survey of women’s earnings and employment in major women-employing manufacturing industries. In Ohio, which has records since 1914, two significant facts have been found: (1) Women are increasing in number in proportion of all employees; (2) women’s employment declines less than that of the men in times of depression.
DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS
This Division acts as a liaison service between the Department of Labor and the State labor departments, and held many conferences during the year. Unquestionably one of the reasons why industrial standards collapsed in many directions was the lack of equal labor legislation.
Much beneficial State labor legislation was passed during the year. Existing bureaus were reorganized into State labor departments with increased powers and duties in Arkansas, Indiana, and Georgia; Florida enlarged the industrial commission and empowered it to administer the workmen’s compensation, and other labor laws.
Important changes in the workman’s compensation laws liberalizing benefits were adopted in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio. Pennsylvania, and Wyoming.
The number of States that compensate for some, if not all, occupational diseases was raised to 20 by the adoption of laws in Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, and Washington. Ohio added to its present law compensation for death or total disablement caused by silicosis, and Nebraska added occupational diseases contracted in battery manufacturing. Significant progress was made in the limitation of hours of work, amendments to existing law being made in Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Vermont, and Washington.
Interest in child-labor legislation centered on adoption of the basic 16-year-age limit in North and South Carolina; 10 States and the District of Columbia have now established this standard, Connecticut, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin.
Industrial home-work laws of the prohibitory type were passed in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Connecticut amended and strengthened its law.
A new type of State labor legislation appeared in the State labor relations acts, modeled after the Federal Wagner Act. These were adopted in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Wis-
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	H
cousin. Each of these laws created a board, or commission, empowered to prevent unfair labor practices as defined in the act, and, in case of controversies, to decide on the appropriate unit for collective-bargaining purposes, to certify representatives after holding elections, if this is deemed necessary or desirable.
Laws to strengthen and extend the conciliation and arbitration services of State labor departments in labor disputes were adopted in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Wisconsin set up a novel type of machinery under its State labor relations act. The Labor Relations Board is also directed to engage in mediation of labor disputes, and is directed to provide for the appointment of a committee of employer and labor representatives to be available for the investigation, either jointly or separately, of complaints concerning unfair practices by either side other than the unfair practices named in the act.
On every side the work of the Department has increased during the year under review. Through research in many new fields important data have been added and supplied to Members of Congress, employers, employees, other Government departments, State governments, civic organizations, and students.
The calls on the Department are indicative of the value set on its services by these various groups.
IN CONCLUSION
1.	The growth of organized labor in membership and in public significance in the last 2 years has been remarkable. The recognition on the part of many employers of the wisdom of close and active partnership in working out with their organized workers the problems of the industry has been most stimulating to everyone who has in mind the organic law which set up the Department of Labor.
Clearly this increase in numbers and importance brings to organized labor great obligations and responsibilities. These obligations are to industry and to the country as well as to its members. There is every indication that they can and will be discharged faithfully. Time and experience are necessary to full performance. If the right balance is to be preserved, if lasting progress is to be made, there must be a spirit of give and take, of compromise now on one side, now on the other, always in the interest of the country as a whole.
2.	Labor problems cannot be solved solely by laws. There must be mutual agreement, good faith, and understanding and cooperation by employers and workers. Thousands of employers accept the worker as a partner; only a relatively small number of employers refuse to deal with them. I repeat what I have said on several occasions, there must be industrial peace but with justice.
12	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
3.	The workers’ desire for stability of income and job, and the industries’ equal need for the best use of plant and machinery indicate that the next great step in industrial management in this country will be made by management and labor working together in the conscious development of scientific methods of stabilizing both production and work in American industries.
These methods must vary with the industries, but the further expansion of productive capacity so desirable can be accomplished more safely along with the increased stability so necessary both socially and economically. Neither of these can be effectively accomplished without the informed and vigorous participation of organized workers.
Frances Perkins,
Secretary.
APPENDIX
CONDENSED REPORTS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF 'THE BUREAUS AND SERVICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1937
UNITED STATES CONCILIATION SERVICE
J. R. Steelman, Director
To the Secretary of Labor :
During the fiscal year the United States Conciliation Service of the Department of Labor used its good offices in 1,267 industrial disputes as against 1,012 in the fiscal year of 1936.
The Conciliation Service served as mediator in nearly one-third of the 3,619 strikes in the United States in the fiscal year, or in other words, its machinery was used in trying to find a settlement of every third industrial dispute. In addition, the Textile Division of the Conciliation Service reported 188 cases. Thus approximately 1,383,-b88 workers were involved directly or indirectly in the disputes handled by the Conciliation Service.
The records show that in 1936 settlements were obtained in 805 cases with 36 pending, while in 1937 there were 1,016 adjustments.
As a basis for comparison the following table is presented:
Number of workers directly or in-year	Cases directly involved
1933-34______________________________________ 1,140	916, 720
1934-36______________________________________ 1,007	785,077
1935-36______________________________________ 1-012	955,524
*	1936-37______________________________________ 1,267	1,383,588
In addition to the disputes in which the Conciliation Service rendered assistance, there are many instances in which employers and employees seek advice and counsel from the Service, when differences arise and there is danger that serious trouble may follow. These cases do not appear in the tabulated records of the Department, although they constitute one of the most highly important duties of the Conciliation Service.
Obviously the prevention of strikes and lock-outs is of tremendous material advantage to workers and employers and the general public. Business organizations, State and city officials, agencies of the Federal Government, labor organizations, and other groups are constantly seeking, in increasing numbers, the Department’s assistance, in working out particular problems.
The Secretary of Labor is authorized to act as a mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation whenever it is deemed neces-
13
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
sary and the interests of industrial peace require it to be done. The records of recent years bear witness to the fact that the Conciliation Service can be most helpful in reaching an agreement whenever the disputants are fairly disposed, even though at the outset their viewpoints may be widely separated.
The Department must necessarily maintain a large field staff of commissioners, stationed at various points throughout the country. Some 50-odd commissioners were engaged in this work during* the year.
Sit-down strikes
Another interesting development of the fiscal year was the introduction of the “sit-down” as an aggressive means of emphasizing employees’ desires in industrial disputes. Midway in the year under review this innovation was used extensively in the industrial field. The first sit-down strike in the United States was at Akron, Ohio, among rubber-goods workers. It spread rapidly to the plate-glass workers and then to the large group of automobile workers. It was also adopted by small groups, especially in factories employing women, who accepted it in preference to the regular picket strike.
The various types of “sit-down” cases that came within the scope of the Conciliation Service are as follows:
1.	The sit-down is a stoppage of work for a few minutes or. hours until a specific grievance is settled.
2.	The sit-down is a stoppage of work by a group of workers determined to arouse sentiment for a general walk-out. The general walk-out thereupon develops into a regular strike.
3.	Another form of sit-down is a procedure under which employees report for work each day or shift, but sit at their places and refuse to work, going home at the end of each shift.
4.	Another type is a sit-down for a few hours, after which time the employer forces the employees out of the plant and it is closed.
5.	Still another type is the stay-in strike, a portion or all of the strikers remaining in the plant overnight.
In a large proportion of the “sit-down” strikes workers remained in the plant only 1 or 2 days, but in most cases only a portion of them stayed at their places. In one case the strikers remained in the plant for 8 weeks. In addition to the strikes in which workers stayed at their places for 1 day or longer, there were numerous stoppages lasting from a few minutes to several hours. In many instances the “sit-down” lasted only a few days, although the strike continued for a longer period.
Following are some of the large strikes during the year:
Steel strikes—Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., the Republic Steel Corporation, the Inland Steel Co., and the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. On May 26, 1937, the employees of these plants went on strike. A representative of the Conciliation Service was sent immediately to confer with the union representatives and the company officials. Although many separate conferences were held, it was found impossible to bring the two sides into joint session.
On June 17 the President appointed a special Mediation Board, consisting of Charles P. Taft, chairman, Lloyd K. Garrison, and Assistant Secretary Edward F. McGrady, of the Department of Labor. Four days later the Board met with representatives of the Steel Workers Organizing Committee of the Committee for Industrial Organization. The workers’ representatives declared they sought an agreement with the above-mentioned companies similar to the one made with the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. The same day the Board met company representatives and asked that all their plants be kept closed for 24 to 48 hours as it feared that there might be bloodshed.
Representatives of the companies contended that collective bargaining did not imply an arrival at any agreement, oral or written, with any representatives
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	15
of the employees. This was the view of the Bethlehem Steel and Republic Steel. The Inland Co. representatives stated they were willing to discuss in collective bargaining the question of whether or not an agreement should be entered into, but they would not make an agreement with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee.
At a conference wuth the union leaders, John L. Lewis told the Board that the closed shop and check-off were not issues at the time, the only issue being the securing of an agreement in which the union spoke for its members.
The Board held another conference with the company officials, informing them that considering the novelty of the arrangement and the inexperience of the men in union affairs, the contracts which the “Big Steel” companies had made with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee were working reasonably well, and that their success depended largely on the leadership in the individual plant.
All efforts to bring about a joint conference were fruitless, and June 26 the Board adjourned.
Strikes—General Motors Corporation.—On November 18, 1936, the employees in the Fisher Body plant at Atlanta, Ga., struck in protest against the company's action in laying off several workers allegedly for wearing their union buttons in the shops. A month later strikes closed the shops of the Fisher Body and Chevrolet plants in Kansas City, Mo.; in both places the employees struck as a protest against the discharge of a union member. The union claimed he was discharged because of union activity, while the company claimed his discharge was due to a violation of a company safety rule. Other strikes in subsidiary companies followed in quick succession.
Representatives of the United Automobile Workers of America created a board of strategy and authorized it to call a general strike if the General Motors Corporation refused to bargain collectively on a national scale rather than on each individual plant. The board demanded a national conference between heads of the General Motors Corporation and chosen representatives of the United Automobile Workers of America, presenting at the same time a series of demands. Two days later General Motors posted on the bulletin boards of its various plants a statement in which it said “General Motors will not recognize any union as the sole bargaining agency for its workers, to the exclusion of all others. General Motors will continue to recognize, for the purpose of collective bargaining, the representatives of its workers, whether union or nonunion.’’
From the beginning of the strike the Governor of Michigan and conciliators from the Department of Labor had tried to bring the two sides together, but the officials of the company insisted that the sit-down strikers must evacuate the plants before they would enter a conference. On January 9, 1937, the union agreed to the “withdrawal of the sit-down strikers if negotiations are immediately opened, with recognition of the United Automobile Workers of America; with an agreement that all plants remain closed, without movement of equipment or resumption of activities, until a national settlement is effected: and with the further agreement that all activities, such as circulating petitions, organizing vigilante activities, threatening or coercing employees, be immediately stopped.”
A joint conference was held a few days later, and an agreement was reached to start negotiating for a settlement on January 18. The union agreed to evacuate all plants held by sit-down strikers and the company agreed not to remove any dies, tools, or equipment from any plants involved in the strike. On the ground that strikers had not withdrawn from two Fisher Body plants in Flint, the company officials refused to enter the conference on the scheduled date. The union’s contention was that the company had violated its agreement when in answer to the Flint Alliance for a' conference it had said. “ * * * No man’s right to be represented by whomsoever he chooses will be denied. * * * We stand ready always to discuss with your group or any group of our employees any question without prejudice to any one. We shall notify you as soon as possible as to time and place for meeting.”
On February 3 the Governor of Michigan and a representative of the Department of Labor met with General Motors officials and union officials, and after 10 days of negotiation an agreement was signed on February 11 and the strike was ended.
General Motors Corporation recognized the United Automobile Workers of America as the collective bargaining agency for those employees who were members of the United Automobile Workers of America.
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The United Automobile Workers of America agreed to withdraw all sit-down strikers from the corporation plants.
The agreement set February 16 as the date to commence collective bargaining negotiations.
Maritime strike—Pacific coast.—On February 4, 1937, a strike which had lasted 98 days and paralyzed shipping on the Pacific coast was settled. More than 37,000 workers were involved, and others in the lumber and canning industries in the Northwest were inactive because of the disruption of water transportation.
The strike was due to the failure of shipowners and seven maritime unions to agree on modifications of existing agreements and arbitration awards which were to expire on September 30, 1936. These agreements and awards had to do with wages,' hours of work, methods of hiring, and many other matters, and were renewable from year to year unless one of the parties notified the other of a desire to terminate or modify them at least 40 days! prior to September 30.
On July 29, 1936, the chairman of the employers’ coast committee notified the International Longshoremen’s Association that his organization desired to modify the existing award and asked that an early conference with union representatives be held. Similar notices were served in August upon unions representing the unlicensed personnel.
Following a long series of negotiations, a committee of the Marine Firemen’s Union agreed to negotiate, but took the position that the question of arbitrating any issues on which direct negotiations failed would have to be taken to the union. The Sailors’ Union of the Pacific agreed to submit to arbitration such matter as “in its judgment” ought to be arbitrated but “reserves the right to refuse to arbitrate * * * certain fundamental rights.” Conferences were held over a period of weeks.
The strike was called on October 29, and immediately all shipping on the Pacific coast was tied up. For a time it was feared that the strike might spread to the San Francisco warehouses and threaten the food supply. President Roosevelt issued an executive order directing the Government owned Alaska Railroad to charter ships and operate an adequate mail, passenger, and freight service to the Territory of Alaska.
Federal and local conciliators conducted negotiations for weeks. On February 4, 1937, a membership vote, showing a 7 to 1 majority in favor of accepting agreements, which had been worked out with unions in January, was reported, and the strike was immediately declared to be ended. By the terms of the settlement, the unlicensed personnel receive a $10 a month wage increase and cash instead of time for overtime, engineers on coastwise ships receive an increase of $20 a month, and those on offshore ships $15. Licensed deck officers receive $15 a month increase, radio telegraphists a $10 increase. Wages of longshoremen are unchanged under the settlement. The union maintains control of the hiring of longshoremen and unlicensed maritime workers, and preferential hiring is given to union licensed personnel.
Strikes—Glass workers.—Thirteen thousand workers in the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., and the Libby-Owens-Ford Co. were on strike during the year. On December 2, 1936, employees at the plant of the latter company at Ottawa, Ill., stopped work, claiming that they were asked to handle an order which had been transferred from the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., where a strike had' been called on October 24, 1936, both companies having been working under 1-year agreements with the Federation of Flat Glass Workers of America, an affiliate of the Committee for Industrial Organization.
A few weeks before the expiration of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. agreement the union proposed a new agreement to include an increase of 10 cents an hour in all wage rates, wage adjustments to bring about uniformity with those of the Libby-Owens-Ford Co., the preferential union shop and check-off system. The Company refused to agree to these terms. The Libby-Owens-Ford Co. held that the agreement did not expire until December 15, and therefore the strike was illegal. The union countered with a new agreement, including practically the same provisions which had been proposed to the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.
With the assistance of the Conciliation Service an agreement was made with the Flat Glass Workers of America and the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. on January 20, and with the Libby-Owens-Ford Co. on January 27, both agreements providing for a general wage increase of 8 cents an hour. To bring
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
17
about uniform wage conditions between the two large companies, both agreements established bipartisan wage differential commissions, with a Federal conciliator or other qualified person as chairman.
Threatened strike—Cigar makers, Tampa, Fla.—On the very last day of the fiscal year an agreement between the workers and employers in the Tampa cigar industry was signed. Ten thousand workers, about 4,000 of whom were women, were involved, with a weekly pay roll approximating $400,000. A commissioner from the Conciliation Service acted during the long negotiations preceding the signing of the agreement by the manufacturers and representatives of the unions. His services were requested by the manufacturers, following the failure of the Cigar Makers’ International Union and the Cigar Manufacturers Association of Tampa to negotiate a satisfactory agreement on the question of a “closed” shop, which was later altered to the “preferential” shop.
In 1933 an agreement was entered into between the manufacturers’ association and the workers’ union to run for a period of 3 years, expiring December 19, 1936. Through the early weeks of 1937 a series of conferences were held, but little or no progress was made toward a settlement of the questions in dispute. Through the life of the former agreement no strike was called in the industry, two disputes being arbitrated successfully.
An unusual situation had developed through the fact that the cigar makers were reluctant to accept modern methods of manufacture, preferring to do hand work, in which they had great pride of craftsmanship. On the other hand, the manufacturers contended that they could not meet northern competition unless changes were made. Several large manufacturers moved their plants from Tampa, throwing a considerable number of workers out of employment.
A vote of the union workers was taken and showed a heavy preponderance in favor of the “preferential” shop.
Under the agreement the Cigar Makers’ International Union is the sole bargaining agent; there shall be no discrimination against the union, and there shall be rotation of work during the slack periods only.
Respectfully submitted.
J. R. Steelman, Director.
HimA	.
UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
W. Frank Persons, Director
To the Secretary of Labor:
The United States Employment Service, established under the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act, is charged with the responsibility for promoting and developing a national system of employment offices for men, women, and juniors who are legally qualified to engage in gainful occupations. The principal functions of the United States Employment Service in carrying out its responsibilities are to assist in establishing and maintaining systems of public employment offices in the several States, coordinating their activities, and increasing their usefulness by establishing standards of efficiency and promoting uniformity in administrative and statistical procedures. The Service also maintains facilities for providing special attention to the employment problems of veterans, a Farm Placement Service, and a public employment center for the District of Columbia.
The present Employment Service began active operations on July 1, 1933, and succeeded a predecessor unit of the same name, operated under a different form of organization, established in 1918.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, the fourth year of operations under the present set-up, efforts were again concentrated upon the1 development of a strong organization and Work in the field of placing job-seekers in private employment was greatly intensified. By the end of the year the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act had been accepted by every State, and a total of 42 States had completed affiliation. In the 12-month period a total of over 2,100,000 placements with private employers were made, the largest number in the history of the Service, and a volume 81 percent higher than the number of private jobs filled during the preceding fiscal year.
DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL SYSTEM
Public Employment Service facilities are available in every State in the Nation. Ending the fiscal year 1937, this Nation-wide network of public employment service systems functioned through 591 district offices and 811 local employment offices. These offices were two types—State employment service offices and offices of the National Reemployment Service.
Affiliated State employment services.
The Wagner-Peyser Act specifies the following conditions, which must be met before a State employment service may become affiliated with the United States Employment Service:
1.	Legislative acceptance of the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act and the establishment of a State employment service. (Up to July 1, 1935, acceptance by proclamation of the governor could be substituted for legislative action.)
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
19
2.	Provision of an appropriation for the State employment service of a sum equal to at least 25 percent of the amount apportioned to the State by the United States Employment Service, but in no event less than $5,000.
3.	Submission of a budget and plan of operation, including agreement to conform with minimum standards set up by the United States Employment Service.
4.	Appointment of an advisory council representing employers and employees in equal numbers and the public.
As of June 30, 1937, all the States had passed legislation accepting the act, and all had established affiliated State employment services except Arkansas, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Utah, and Washington. Negotiations were in process for the completion of affiliation of these States.
National Reemployment Service.
The National Reemployment Service is an emergency agency in the United States Employment Service, established in July 1933 in order to facilitate placement of labor on Public Works Administration projects in areas not served by State employment services. It also makes available supplementary personnel to State employment offices where additional personnel is needed to carry out the Federal requirements of the various works programs.
Newly approved public-works programs and the responsibility for the selection and placement of labor on such projects have necessitated the continuance of the National Reemployment Service. Activities of the State employment services and the National Reemployment Service are coordinated to avoid overlapping. The organization set-up of the National Reemployment Service is kept elastic, permitting contraction or expansion as the placement requirements of the various public-works programs are diminished or increased.
On August 21, 1936, the President specially allocated to the United States Employment Service the sum of $4,000,000. Of this amount $1,500,000 was for the purpose of carrying on the Nation-wide reinterviewing of certified Works Progress Administration workers to complete the employment records of these individuals. The balance of $2,500,000 was provided for the accentuation of private placement activities. Both of these funds were apportioned among the 48 States. The allocation of the reinterviewing fund to the individual States was based upon the. number of persons to be reinterviewed, while the private placement funds were allocated on the basis of gainfully employed persons in the State as shown in the census of 1930.
The peak of employment of National Reemployment Service personnel employed in the Nation during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, including those supplementary personnel assigned to State Employment Services, occurred in November 1936. During that month a total of 12,394 persons were on the National Reemployment Service pay roll. By June 1937 this number had been reduced to 8,504. On June 30, 1937, a total of 1,015 National Reemployment Service offices were in operation in the Nation.
Field service.
The United States Employment Service maintains a staff of field representatives. The services of these employees are made available to the directors of the various affiliated State employment services and National Reemployment Service to assist in dealing with problems of organization and administration.
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These employees also perform valuable service in making field surveys and interpreting to the administrative office in Washington special problems confronting State employment services and the National Reemployment Service in the States.
DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS
In accordance with its responsibility under the provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act the United States Employment Service continued its activities in the development of standards of efficiency and promoting uniformity in administrative and statistical procedure.
Personnel.
The merit system for the selection of personnel has become one of the uniform standards prescribed by the United States Employment Service for affiliated State employment services. In States which have established civil-service agencies the principle of selection of personnel on a merit basis from eligible lists is accomplished through the usual State civil-service procedure. In other States, which do not have their own civil-service facilities, the United States Employment Service conducts merit examinations for the professional positions ; that is, director, assistant director, field supervisor, statistical supervisor, manager, senior interviewer, and junior interviewer—in State employment services.
Merit examinations are held in accordance with customary civil-service procedures and consist of ratings on experience, education, a written test, and a personal interview. At the completion of examinations eligible lists are transmitted to State appointing authorities, with whom rests full responsibility for the selection and appointment of individual employees of the State employment services. The United States Employment Service ascertains that all such appointments are made in accordance with the rules and regulations for the administration of the merit system and within the proper range of choice among available candidates on the eligible list. Complete personnel records of all employees in State employment services are maintained in the Washington administrative office of the United States Employment Service.
Wherever merit examinations are held for positions in a State employment service, the merit system is also applied to the personnel of the National Reemployment Service. By this policy the National Reemployment Service employees are given an opportunity to establish eligibility for consideration for appointment in the permanent State employment service. This policy is a part of the consistent purpose to administer the National Reemployment Service in such manner that it may be ready for inheritance by the respective State employment service whenever the State agency is financially able to increase its scope of operation.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, merit examinations were held by the United States employment service in a total of 12 States.
By June 30, 1937, the United States Employment Service had held merit examinations in 29 States and the District of Columbia. In these States approximately 61,000 applications for admission to examinations were received, and approximately 14,000 competitors secured places on eligible lists.
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Cooperative relationships were continued with a number of State civil-service agencies during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937. This cooperation took the form of consultation in the establishment of specifications for employment service positions, supplying written examination material to be used by the civil service commissions and assisting in the conduct of personal interviews.
During the year progressive developments continued in the technique of examining. Particularly noticeable was the improvement in the method and procedures adopted for conducting personal interviews. Further development of written tests and constant analysis of written test results has lead to increased reliability in this phase of merit examinations. Procedures for rating experience have also been improved, with the result that experience ratings now reflect both quality and length of candidate’s previous experience.
Division of Standards and Research.
The Standards and Research Division was engaged during die fiscal year in the conduct of the following activities in the sections designated:
Occupational Research Section.
The collection of and review of occupational data from the several field centers and the codification, definition, and analysis of occupations for the preparation of service manuals for use by interviewers in the public employment offices was continued during the fiscal year.
The section gathered data on 133 industries. Of this number, the planning unit of the section cooperated with the field centers in obtaining preliminary data for the coverage of 116 industries and made assignments for the preparation of field schedules on them. Job definitions or job descriptions or both were prepared on 48 industries, 17 of which had been analyzed by the field centers in the previous year.
A total of 845 job descriptions were prepared in eight industries, five of which were completed and prepared for the printer. Those completed were retail trade, hotel and restaurants, job foundries, job machine shops, and cleaning, dyeing, and pressing.
Some 23,172 occupational titles were defined, covering jobs in 48 industries. Of these, definitions were written for 12,032 titles and 11,140 were alternate titles for which references were made to the appropriate defined title. Occupational definitions for 20 industries were completed.
Inquiries concerning the nature of some 2,350 job titles and their proper allocation to code numbers were answered by the section and 356 new titles were added to the Occupational Titles and Codes Manual.
The section reviewed, prior to publication, 29 sets of job descriptions prepared by the field centers and several State employment services for local use in their respective jurisdictions.
The section has now published and distributed job descriptions for three industries, and the text of six more industries is in the hands of the printer. Those published are: Job Specifications for the Cotton Textile Industry, Job Specifications for the Automobile Manufacturing Industry, and Job Descriptions for the Construction Industry.
In November 1936 a program was formulated to assist State services in securing the most effective use of Job Descriptions. Advantage was taken of the distribution of Job Descriptions for the Con
22	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
struction Industry to pursue the first formal, although specialized, training activity in which the United States Employment Service has engaged.
Work was commenced by a conference in Washington to study the subject and formulate suggestions for use of the Job Descriptions as related to each phase of employment-office procedure.
Following regional conferences arrangements were made with State directors for State training conferences, which were attended by the supervisory and managerial personnel of the State services. In most States the director planned a program of staff training to acquaint all personnel in local offices with the materials that had been covered in the previous conferences.
From reports it is apparent that a number of worth-while developments took place. First, most of the personnel in the employment offices were acquainted with the research materials, and began to utilize them in their daily work; second, valuable suggestions were received which will help to improve the materials the Division is preparing; third, and probably most important, is the fact that out of this specialized effort, the adoption of continuous staff-training programs was stimulated in many States.
Worker Analysis Section.
The Section was engaged also in developing techniques and methods for aiding interviewers in determining the abilities and skills of applicants in public employment offices. During the year trade questions w-ere completed for occupations in the construction, foundry, machine shop, hotel, and restaurant industries. These questions were checked for validity in eight research centers. Approximately 40,000 new trade questions were collected for other industries, pending later validation.
In addition, studies for developing techniques for selecting department-store salespersons, coders, and card-punch operators were uicielc
Fifteen hundred jobs were studied for the purpose of grouping-similar jobs into families.
Cooperative arrangements were made with the State employment services to introduce these materials into offices in 70 cities.
Statistical Section.
The standard statistical reporting program of the Employment Service as established in earlier years was continued without major changes. The reporting program of the Employment Service provides accurate and uniform records of the work of all of the Employment Service offices throughout the country in a directly comparable form and, in addition, makes available a comprehensive volume of information concerning the characteristics of the job-seekers registered with the employment offices and the persons placed in work through the operations of the offices*
Standard reports indicate currently the number of new registrations of men, women, and veterans, the number of private placements, and the number of applicants actively seeking work at the end of the month. National summaries of these reports are made available in Washington shortly after the fifteenth of each month, covering the operations of the Employment Service for the preceding month.
These summary reports of operations are supplemented by detailed tabulations of the records of applicants and persons placed, which
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23
give such information as the occupational classification, industrial background, age, sex, color, length of unemployment, and so forth. This information is prepared in a central tabulating unit in Washington and field tabulating units operated by several States.
During the fiscal year ended eJune 30, 1937, the Employment Service completed surveys of all job seekers registered with the employment offices, which provided detailed information of the same scope as that currently reported for the new applicants and placements. The first of these surveys, made during December 1935, covered some 7,790,000 active registrants, a second study, made during July 1936, included the records of over 6,600,000 applicants. A subsequent study included the records of the nearly 5% million persons actively seeking work through the employment offices at the beginning of April 1937. It is planned during the coming year to provide such detailed studies of the entire active file of job seekers at more frequent intervals. A special study somewhat more limited in nature than these two surveys was conducted during December 1936, which provided a complete report of the occupational classifications, both primary and secondary, of persons actively registered in December.
Many special studies were prepared during the year, most notable of which was a survey of the demand and working conditions in the field of domestic service.
Procedures Section.
The major work of the Procedures Section during the year involved the production and current revision of all published materials relating to employment-office principles and procedures. More specifically, the Section prepared and edited all manuals dealing with principles and procedures to insure uniformity in style and format, and to coordinate and to relate all regulations and new procedures with those previously issued. Efforts were expended also in devising and preparing such forms as were necessary to facilitate employmentoffice procedures and operations.
Close contact was maintained with the administrative offices of the State employment and National Reemployment Services for the purpose of receiving such information as is necessary in the preparation of publications and disseminating information to aid in the efficient functioning of local offices.
During the vear two manuals, Interviewing Applicants in Public Employment Offices, and Premises, Layout, and Equipment of Public Employment Offices, were reprinted, and one manual, A Field Visiting-Program for the Public Employment Service, received its first printing. Other sections of either a procedural or principles nature, which were mimeographed and released prior to printing during the year, were Preliminary Manual of Clearance Procedures, Registration Procedures for Public Employment Offices. Procedures for Handling Employer Orders and Placements, and Maintenance of Contact With Applicants.
In preparation for release, were manuals on Administrative Uses of Activities Data, Organization and Functions of the United States Employment Service, Correspondence and Filing Procedures, Registration and Classification of Juniors, Classification and Selection Procedures, and a series of Job Training Units or handbooks which will cover the functions and procedural duties of employment-office personnel.
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The rules and regulations and existing standards of the United States Employment Service, are being reviewed and digested for incorporation in a loose-leaf manual, which will make existing rules and regulations, as found in the more detailed bulletins and manuals, accessible for ready reference in short statement form.
In addition to planned and projected work, special studies were made of problems indicating wide interest and affecting employmentoffice procedures. Assistance in the solution of procedural problems was given to State services requesting such aid.
FISCAL AFFAIRS
Federal funds appropriated under the authorization contained in section 5 of the Wagner-Peyser Act were certified to 40 States during the Federal fiscal year 1937. The following table shows the amounts of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the several States and the amounts of Wagner-Peyser funds certified to the States:
State	Total funds made available by States during fiscal year 1937	Federal funds certified to States during fiscal year 1937
A1 Aharna 		$33,136	$33,136
Arizona 		6, 500	6,500
California		138,376	135, 794
Colorado 		27,400	25, 475
Connecticut			43,495	43,495
Delaware		12, 500	12, 500
Florida 		47, 839	43, 542
Georgia 	 -	30, 000	30, 000
Idaho 		16, 727	13, 220
Illinois . 		228, 333	211, 873
Indiana 		109, 820	109, 820
Iowa 		71, 556	70, 083
Kansas __ _ 		15, 000	9, 371
Kentucky		15, 000	10,166
Louisiana 		75, 000	74,912
Maryland 			20, 000	9, 539
Massachusetts		95, 444	95, 444
Minnesota		46, 760	46, 760
Missouri		70,152	69, 964
Nebraska				31, 035	31. 035
Nevada		10,882	10,882
State
New Hampshire__________
New Jersey_____________
New Mexico_____________
New York_______________
North Carolina_________
North Dakota___________
Ohio__________________
Oklahoma_______________
Oregon_________________
Pennsylvania_______.
Rhode Island-----------
South Dakota___________
Tennessee______________
Texas__________________
Vermont________________
Virginia_______________
West Virginia__________
Wisconsin______________
Wyoming________________
Total_____________
Total funds made available by States during fiscal year 1937	Federal funds certified to States during fiscal year 1937
$15, 000	$14,888
147, 258	125, 498
17,130	15, 355
315,863	300,883
108, 678	97, 698
10, 218	10,216
181, 008	167,480
25, 000	25, 000
34, 426	33, 817
135, 568	110, 924
62, 060	23, 312
40,135	33, 151
29, 427	29, 365
123, 664	92, 311
10, 000	8, 790
26, 017	25,117
11, 379	11, 280
99, 666	99, 666
6,350	6, 350
2, 543, 802	2, 324, 612
In addition to the payments to States listed above, during the fiscal year 1937 more than 43,000 vouchers, representing the expenses of the administrative activtities authorized in the Wagner-Peyser Act and the expenses of the National Reemployment Service, were presented to the General Accounting Office ancl approved for payment.
The accounts of 24 State employment services affiliated with the United States Employment Service were audited, and fiscal surveys were conducted in 4 States. During the course of the field audits and surveys advice wras given by the field auditors, when necessary, to facilitate the conduct of the fiscal relations between the States and the United States Employment Service. Letters expressing appreciation of the services rendered by the field auditors in this connection have been received from several States.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
25
SPECIAL SERVICES
Veterans’ Placement Service.
The Veterans’ Placement Service continued to function during the year ended June 30, 1937, under the plan of operation established in July 1933, in accord with that provision of the enabling statute that requires the United States Employment Service “to maintain a veterans’ service to be devoted to securing employment for veterans.”
The Veterans’ Placement Services operates under the guidance of a director attached to the administrative staff. In the formation of policies, the Service has the advice and assistance of the Veterans’ Committee of the Federal Advisory Council. During the past 2 years Gen. Frank T. Hines, Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs, has acted in the capacity of chairman of the committee.
In each State the employment interests of veterans registered in public employment offices have been supervised by a State Veterans’ Placement representative, while a local veterans’ representative, a veteran wherever possible, has been designated to assist veterans who call at the local office with special employment problems.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, 144,563 new registrations of veterans wTere received, while 267,238 placements were made. Of the placements, 100,272 were recorded as in private industry and business, 151,250 in public employment, and 15,716 in relief (security-wage) jobs.
On June 30, 1937, the active file, the waiting list of veterans in search of work, was only 271,927, as compared with 362,427 on June 30, 1936.
An outstanding development in the Veterans’ Placement Service during the year was the substantial increase in private placements. The 100,272 placements of veterans with private employers represents a gain of 63 percent over the number made during the previous year, and reflects the efforts of the Employment Service, intensified last fall, to develop placements in private industry and business. Private placements of veterans in May, 12,756, reached the highest monthly level of such placements reported by the Employment Service since break-downs have been available.
In the performance of these functions the Veterans’ Placement Service has cooperated with National and State units of the major veterans’ organizations and with the United States Veterans’ Administration. Special attention was devoted to the problems of veterans who because of age and disability are handicapped in their efforts to find employment. The Service cooperated closely with the Veterans’ Administration in connection with the enrollment of veterans for Emergency Conservation Work.
Since it is the established custom to grant prior consideration to veterans in employment in post offices during the Christmas holidays, the Veterans’ Placement Service worked during November and December 1936 with local office personnel and with veterans’ organizations to place qualified veterans in such positions. The work had been facilitated through preliminary contacts between Veterans’ Placement representatives and postmasters. As a result over 10,000 veterans were placed in Christmas post-office jobs.
25730—37---3
2Q	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The Third Annual Conference of Veterans’ Placement Representatives was held in Washington April 12-15, inclusive. Three halfday sessions were devoted to a training program to familiarize the representatives with new Employment Service procedures and techniques. Representatives of veterans’ organizations, the Social Security Board, the Civil Service Commission, and other agencies spoke at various sessions.
Farm Placement Service.
Under the terms of the Wagner-Peyser Act the United States Employment Service, in addition to providing employment exchange facilities to farm workers and employers in the regular offices throughout the country, maintains a special Farm Placement Service in the States where large numbers of workers are periodically needed for seasonal crops. Farm Placement supervisors are stationed in 15 agricultural States. The work of the Farm Placement Service is carried on as much as possible through the local employment offices handling the farm-labor problems of their particular areas. The Farm Placement supervisors coordinate the work of the local offices, plan for the movement of the large numbers of seasonal agricultural laborers, and, when necessary, make arrangements for clearance of interstate labor. Farm Placement supervisors also are active in securing the support of growers and agricultural organizations and have made considerable progress in this field.
Due to the fact that it is impossible to obtain complete records of activities in connection with the direction of seasonal workers to jobs with private employers, since a large portion of these transient workers are not formally registered with the employment offices, the statistics of the Employment Service do not fully reflect the activities of the Service in connection with farm placement work. The available reports indicate only the number of workers formally registered at the offices and placed through the operations of the local employment offices, but do not indicate the mass referrals of seasonal workers. These latter reached large proportions during the 1936-37 fiscal year. During the year, 587,880 new applicants in farm occupations were formally registered with the employment offices in addition to the informal registrations of the seasonal workers. During the same period 322,080 placements were made in accordance with the normal procedures of the employment offices, and at the beginning of April there were 778,956 registrants in agricultural occupations actively seeking work through the regular employment offices.
District of Columbia Public Employment Center.
The District of Columbia Public Employment Center is operated directly by the United States Employment Service and serves as the employment office for the District of Columbia.
The Center operates in close cooperation with all District and Federal governmental agencies. During the past fiscal year the Center cooperated with the Works Progress Administration in the reinterviewing of relief applicants and took part in a Nation-wide program to increase private placements. In furthering this work a Public Relations Division was established to keep employers in the District advised of the activities of the Center in an effort to increase
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
27
private placements. A total of 2,040 field visits to employers were made during the year. A Rehabilitation Counseling Division was also added to the Center during this fiscal year to serve handicapped applicants in the District of Columbia and cooperate with the Vocational Rehabilitation Service of the District of Columbia.
During the fiscal year 1937, a total of 34,123 new applications were taken by the office. A total of 31,041 placements were made, an increase of 3.7 percent over the previous fiscal year. Of this total number of placements 25,973 were in private industry, an increase of 31.9 percent over private placements made during the fiscal year 1936. The other placements were 4,470 in Public Works and 598 in Works Progress Administration projects.
Service for juniors.
A cooperative agreement with the Division of Guidance and Placement of the National Youth Administration permitted the establishment of junior facilities in 61 State employment offices in 27 States. These junior units function as integral parts of the public employment offices, and it is hoped that they will so demonstrate their value as to become incorporated in the State employment systems.
The State of New York Employment Service operates five junior units in New York City and five outside of New York City. The State Employment Service of Ohio has three junior units, and the Idaho and Kansas State Employment Services each have one junior employment unit. Junior employment facilities are maintained by the public-school departments of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Providence in affiliation with the respective State employment services. The Junior Counseling Service of the District of Columbia Public Employment Center has continued to give specialized treatment to persons under 21 years of age.
All of the junior employment units participated in the registration, educational and vocational counseling, occupational classification, and placement and follow-up of juniors in employment. These junior services have, to a considerable degree, coordinated their work with psychological clinics and vocational agencies and other community organizations interested in improving the condition of youth. Opportunity for the placement of juniors has been limited, but the field contacts of the employers by the junior employment divisions in behalf of juniors has produced an understanding of the junior employment service, which should increase the number of job orders for juniors in the future.
Employment Service News.
Since September 1934, the United States Employment Service has issued a monthly publication entitled “Employment Service News.” This publication has been circulated primarily to personnel of the Service, to members of Federal, State, and local advisory councils, and to individuals having an interest in the development of the Employment Service.
The publication has been instrumental in training personnel and in the development of professional attitudes toward employment service work.
28
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
OPERATIONS
A wide expansion in the number of placements of applicants in jobs with private employers was the most notable feature of operations of the United States Employment Service during the 1936-37 fiscal year. The 2,100,600 private placements, a gain of 81 percent over the number for the preceding year, brought to 5,656,681 the aggregate volume of private placements made during the 4 years of operation of the present Employment Service. Service to publicwork projects and governmental units was also expanded, the volume of 1,846,324 placements representing a new single year’s record. Assignments of workers to security-wage relief jobs declined in importance, only 284,930 such placements being reported.
During all but the last few months of the preceding fiscal year (1935-36) responsibilities of the Employment Service in connection with the Emergency Works Program absorbed a major portion of the efforts of the Employment Service. Over 2,867,000 security-wage placements on relief-works projects were made in that year, and registrations of workers in connection with the Works Program also reached very high levels. The large volume of these activities restricted to some extent the amount of effort which could be devoted to increasing private placement opportunities for the registered applicants. However, immediately following the completion of the largest scale activities in the emergency work, attention was given in a rapidly increasing degree to securing work in private jobs, and during the 1936—37 fiscal year was the dominant element in operations.
Solicitations of employers were greatly increased, 1,712,171 field visits being reported in the year ended June 30, 1937, as compared to 875,592 in the preceding year.
Special efforts were devoted to the needs of the large volume of relief workers employed on works projects who were registered with the Service. During the fall of 1936 a comprehensive program was completed to determine more fully the abilities of these relief workers for private employment. Over 2,880,000 registered relief workers were personally reinterviewed and information concerning their employment capabilities supplemented during this period.
The number of job seekers seeking work through the Service declined almost steadily through the year. A total of 3,876,704 new applicants registered at the offices compared to 6,263,188 in the year before. By June 30, 1937, the number of persons actively seeking jobs through the employment offices dropped to 5,016,023, a decline of 22.8 percent from the number reported one year earlier. The highest number of registrants on record in the active file of the Employment Service was reached at the end of March 1936, near the end of the period of large-scale assignment activities in connection with the Works Progress Administration program. A total of 9,312,517 active applicants was reported in the employment-office files at that time.
The following tables summarize the registration and placement activities during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937:
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
29
Activities of United States Employment Service, fiscal year ended June 30, 1937
Activity	Combined services		State employment services		National Reemployment Service	
	Number	Percent of change from July 1935-June 1936	Number	Percent of change from July 1935-June 1936	Number	Percent of change from July 1935-June 1936
N ew applications: Total		3,876, 704	-38.1	2,390, 674	-29.0	1, 486,030	-48.7
Men							
	2, 734, 588 1,142,116	-38.6 -37.0	1, 608,076 782,598	-32.5 -20.5	1,126,512 359,518	-45.6 -56.6
Women	 							
Placements, all types: Total							
	4,231, 854	-26.8	2,369,189	-7.4	1,862, 665	-42.2
Men. 							
	3, 382,732 849,122	-31.2 -1.3	1, 747,099 622,090	-13.9 +17.6	1, 635, 633 227, 032	-43.4 -31.5
Women			_ 							
Private: Total							
	2,100, 600	+81.0	1,372, 281	+82.9	728, 319	+77.6
Men							
	1, 304,139 796,461	+90.0 +68.0	779, 948 592,333	+100.6 +63.9	524,191 204,128	+76.1 +81.7
Women							
Public: Total							
	1,846, 324	+5.4	852,159	+50.7	994,165	-16.2
Men							
	1,828,825 17, 499	+6.0 -33.0	842,675 9, 484	+52.5 -26.5	986,150 8,015	-15.9 -40.1
Aomen								
Relief: Total							
	284,930	-90.1	144, 749	-88.3	140,181	-91.4
Men							
	249, 768 35,162	-90.0 -90.2	124,476 20, 273	-88.6 —86.9	125,292 14,889	-91.2 -92.8
Women							
Field visits.. 							
	1, 712,171	+95.5	805, 206	+165.3	906,965	+58.5
Active file: Total							
	5,016, 023	-22.8	2, 959, 577	-6.7	2,056,446	-38.2
Men. 							
	3,894,506 1,121,517	-25.8 -12.7	2, 236,439 723,138	-10.5 +7.2	1,658,067 398, 379	-38.9 -34.7
Women.. 							
						
3Q	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
I
Activities of United States Employment Service, fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, by States
State	New applications	Placements					Field visits	Active file June 30, 1937
		Total	Private		Public	Relief1		
			Number	Percent of change from July 1935-June 1936				
United States....	3,876,704	4,231,854	2,100,600	+81.0	1,846,324	284,'930	1, 712,171	5,016,023
Alabama		49, 564	61,798	25,078	+417.0	32,194	4,526	28,267	66,143
Arizona .			23,059	30, 413	15, 639	-j-126. 6	13, 796	978	9, 636	17, 724
Arkansas		40, 717	46,312	15, 028	+2.5	23,336	7,948	27, 087	52, 530
California..			332,340	363, 333	205,922	+56.9	149, 710	7,701	104,124	204, 629
Colorado 		52,028	52,296	26,158	+71.4	24, 564	1,574	13,845	54,752
Connecticut		50,358	43,842	28,131	+52.5	15,141	570	10,086	45, 245
Delaware		9,890	17,801	11,053	+'147. 2	6,118	630	4,577	10,334
Florida.		62,330	75, 698	36,871	+153. 9	36,123	2, 704	34,944	63,906
Georgia.			69,784	69, 657	34, 599	+28.8	34,004	1,054	43, 538	101,673
Idaho		21,320	28,828	10,041	+22.0	15,270	3,517	9,249	17,471
Illinois		282,299	302,433	201,353	+84.1	79,222	21,858	140,368	297,181
Indiana			116,338	91, 695	60,878	+26.3	30, 355	462	32, 595	107,735
Iowa 		79,427	98,479	48,002	+56.0	48, 578	1,899	47, 742	56, 323
Kansas		57,021	65,337	18,890	+46.8	45,139	1,308	24,275	67,698
Kentucky		71,213	64, 268	32,903	+338.1	30,434	931	31,251	137,066
Louisiana			70,796	32, 530	14, 880	+225. 3	17, 454	196	17, 587	71, 525
Maine		12,096	18, 331	2,616	+191. 3	14,264	1,451	7, 274	20,930
Maryland		30,919	33,481	12,054	+115.5	18, 573	2,854	8,870	47,877
Massachusetts		92,945	41,459	19,116	+51.2	19,866	2,477	77,455	286,730
Michigan		126,991	139,213	74,781	+619.9	44,646	19,786	96,869	119,204
Minnesota		82,750	113,846	58,985	+4.0	50, 616	4,245	73,887	116,581
Mississippi		62, 505	60,456	2, 725	+52.3	54,186	3,545	5,828	76,074
Missouri		113,252	100,788	35,159	+97.8	59, 849	5, 780	61, 506	177, 443
Montana		26,236	46,471	8,364	-32.1	29,204	8,903	11,065	31,212
Nebraska		53, 597	55, 554	15,885	+51.1	38,996	673	34,052	41,114
Nevada		8,571	13,432	3, 560	+107.1	9,334	538	3,849	4,233
New Hampshire		13,638	17,288	7,399	+9.7	6,814	3,075	5,335	17,871
New Jersey		118, 235	76,781	53,531	+61.5	14,609	8, 641	36,918	184,914
New Mexico		18, 061	35,795	16, 329	+112.9	17,936	1,530	11,155	34,02?
New York		288,018	339, 562	204,728	+39.9	118,732	16,102	47,132	359,667
North Carolina..		82,354	103,889	53,177	+86.0	49,297	1,415	28, 740	81, 573
North Dakota		43,986	40,248	14,715	+65.5	23,256	2,277	10,885	32,355
Ohio		225,290	260,156	167,685	+72.7	71,287	21,184	121, 524	272,601
Oklahoma		51,469	72, 701	37,190	+178.1	33,577	1,934	24,253	108,539
Oregon		40,646	58,124	19,094	+13.2	37,774	1,256	14, 861	43,806
Pennsylvania		255,600	249,696	80,429	+68.8	100, 751	68, 516	125,456	756,090
Rhode Island		19,120	13, 709	7, 797	+215.9	5, 067	845	14,119	36, 527
South Carolina		36,613	53,674	16, 528	+56.8	35, 827	1,319	38,021	48,836
South Dakota		41, 580	33, 046	9, 077	+2.3	22, 720	1,249	8,257	45, 542
Tennessee 		59,833	58,121	18,626	+189. 9	36,811	2, 684	12,042	157,775
Texas 		209,941	339,096	188,001	+784. 2	128,424	22, 671	136, 732	183,294
Utah		16,697	30,876	14,144	+62.2	16,195	537	11,141	17,930
Vermont		9, 676	14,267	5, 342	+88.1	8, 515	410	3, 080	3,005
Virginia		51, 841	77,140	32, 270	+99.2	43,121	1,749	23,220	54,235
Washington		61,440	68,999	20, 687	+104.1	41,381	6,931	21, 870	58,964
West Virginia		46,305	44,950	21, 610	+129. 5	23, 068	272	16, 631	78,073
Wisconsin		138, 557	115, 307	60,822	+36.3	48,777	5,708	33, 633	115, 521
Wyoming 		15, 318	29, 644	6,792	+88.7	16,933	5,919	5,705	6,277
District of Columbia...	34,140	31,034	25,956	+31.8	4,480	598	2, 234	25,273
i Includes only security-wage placements on Works Relief projects.
Respectfully submitted.
W. Frank Persons,
Director.
OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR
Gerard D. Reilly, Solicitor
To the Secretary of Labor :
Passage of new congressional legislation and a number of judicial decisions of significance in the evolution of labor law brought several novel legal problems to the Office of the Solicitor during the past fiscal year.
Public contracts (Walsh-PLealey Act}.—On the day preceding the commencement of the fiscal year 1937 the Walsh-Healey Act was signed by the President and the Department was entrusted with the first regulatory Federal labor act on wages and hours since the invalidation of the codes of fair competition. Since the Senate had not concurred with the House amendments to the bill until the closing night of the Seventy-fourth Congress, there were no funds available for its enforcement. Consequently the Office was designated as the administrative agency to prepare the regulations and to put the act into effect. Several sets of draft regulations, which were drawn to clarify some of the ambiguities which had resulted from floor amendments to the bill, were presented for review and approved before the act went into effect after extensive conferences with the contracting agencies of the Government and the Attorney General and Comptroller General. In January Congress made available a deficiency appropriation for the enforcement of the act, and the Office prepared the plan of organization of the new Public Contracts Division. It has subsequently assisted in the administration of the act by modifying and interpreting the regulations and reviewing the draft decisions of the Public Contracts Board with respect to exemption, violation, and minimum-wage cases.
Current legislation.—The President’s request for the enactment of wage and hour legislation by the Seventy-fifth Congress occasioned considerable bill drafting. The retiring Solicitor, Mr. Gregory, participated in the drafting of a preliminary bill, and after the Black-Connery bill was introduced the Office assisted the committees in charge of the legislation in the preparation of draft amendments and in the preparation of a budget estimate for the administration of the proposed act. Prior to the committee hearings on this bill the Office had assisted the House Committee on Labor in recasting the Ellenbogen textile bill and had cooperated with the Children’s Bureau in the preparation of legislation designed to bar the products of child labor from the channels of interstate commerce. The Office also prepared amendments to the annual appropriation bill to create a new section for apprentice training in the Division of Labor Standards, and when these efforts proved abortive, prepared substantive legislation to authorize the continuance of this program. Members of the Office also served on interdepartmental committees engaged in considering changes in the Byrnes Strikebreaker Act and a bill to
31
g2	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
eliminate from interstate industries such oppressive labor practices as have recently been exposed by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor investigating violations of civil liberties.
Labor relations.—Labor controversies in the steel and automotive industries early in 1937 increased the number of cases in which the Secretary was called upon to arbitrate disputes. Members of the staff were designated to sit as examiners in the great majority ot these cases. The Office later participated in the industrial labor conferences that were called by the Secretary following the validation of the National Labor Relations Act by the Supreme. Court and prepared various memoranda analyzing comparative legislation in other countries. The Office also analyzed a number of bills before Congress proposing more elaborate systems of mediation in transportation and production industries. In view of the growing public interest in regulatory labor legislation, which has had its impact upon C ongress, it would seem desirable during the coming year, to have, the Office make a comprehensive study of various legislative solutions that have been tentatively, offered to solve the problem of Government mediation of industrial controversies. It would also seem advisable, in' view of the impingement of new State and Federal statutes in’the field of labor disputes, upon the work of the Conciliation Service, to assign a member of this staff on a full-time basis next year as legal adviser to the Director of Conciliation.
Social Security.—The expansion of the grant-in-aid program m title V of the Social Security Act was reflected in an increased number of State plans submitted to the Office by the Children’s Bureau for review. One member of the staff was detailed to give his entire time to this work and to the preparation of State legislation, which enabled a considerably larger number of States to participate in the benefits of the title. Consideration was also given to general amendments to the Social Security Act so as to cover seamen and other maritime workers, and an attorney from the office participated in several conferences at which a tentative bill was drawn for the consideration of the Secretary and the Social Security Board. The division of responsibility for the unemployment-insurance title presented problems of some difficulty on which this Office was called upon to advise the United States Employment Service in the preparation of new State budgets under the Wagner-Peyser Act, and emphasized anew the desirability of remedial legislation^
Immigration and naturalization.—As has been the case for a number of years, a considerable volume of the routine work of the Office related to immigration and naturalization matters. During the past year, no case arising under these statutes w’as carried to the Supreme Court, but the Office, at the request of the Attorney General, reviewed numerous habeas corpus and steamship fine cases decided by the lower Federal courts and expressed its views on questions of law with respect to appeals by the Government to the various circuit courts of appeal. Much time was also spent in the examination of contracts, leases, performance bonds, alien bonds, powers of attorney, and revocations of authority, which were referred to the Office by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The office assisted in recasting the Kerr-Coolidge bill, which gives the Department greater discretion in hardship cases arising under
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	33
the immigration laws, and the new draft, known as the Dies bill, was passed by the House of Representatives in substantially the same form. One assistant solicitor has been engaged in formulating the proposed joint aircraft regulations of the Departments of Commerce, Labor, and Treasury and the forms accompanying the regulations. Comment on proposed immigration and naturalization legislation, including numerous private relief bills before Congress, also commanded the attention of the Office,
Nationality laws.—The impasse created in the codification of the nationality laws, owing to disagreements in the Committee of Advisers to the President’s Committee on Nationality Laws, was remedied during the current year. The Solicitor and Assistant Solicitor represented the Department in a series of conferences with the Department of Justice and the Department of State, which resulted in these divergent views being brought into harmony and an agreement was reached upon a report and draft code to be presented to the President’s Committee on Nationality Laws. This agreement should enable the Cabinet committee to have a bill embodying the code ready for presentation at the coming session of Congress.
International Labor Office .—One member of the staff has spent a substantial amount of time on legal problems arising from the conventions adopted by the International Labor Conference. The Office was instrumental in working out the procedure to be followed by the executive branch of the Government in the submission of such conventions after adoption by the International Labor Conference to Congress for ratification. Seven different conventions were studied and analyzed, and memoranda of law were prepared by the staff for the benefit of this and other departments interested in the conventions. Considerable time was also devoted to drafting enabling legislation that would carry the conventions into effect as national laws.
Respectfully submitted.
Gerard D. Reilly,
Solicitor of Labor.
DIVISION OF PUBLIC CONTRACTS
L. Metcalfe Walling, Administrator
To the Secretary of Labor :
The so-called Walsh-Healey Act, Public, No. 846, Seventy-fourth Congress, approved June 30, 1936, became effective September 28, 1936. Its primary purposes are twofold: One, to correct the unfortunate situation in which the Federal Government found itself, on the one hand trying to encourage higher labor standards for American industry, and on the other hand, because of the statutes under which it made its purchases, forced to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder regardless of his labor policies, which amounted to the subsidization of the worst practices in industry by the Government; and the other, the setting up of a practicable standard for private industry so that the Federal Government, by its example in patronizing only employers who were maintaining fair labor conditions, could encourage, the adoption of those standards by industry generally on a voluntary basis.
The main provisions of the act include an 8-hour day and a 40-hour week, with a mandatory overtime rate of time and one-half for all time worked in excess of these hours; the prohibition of convict labor; the prohibition of child labor for boys under 16 and for girls under 18; and the payment of such prevailing minimum wages as might be determined by the Secretary of Labor.
Its administration was crippled during the first few months of operation under the act by the absence of any appropriated funds to organize a suitable staff until February 1937, when the administrator was appointed. Prior to this time there was an acting administrator from the office of the Solicitor of the Department, to whom personnel was loaned from various divisions and bureaus in the Department and from other governmental agencies. Since January of this year, when a deficiency appropriation was made available by the Congress, a start has been made toward the setting up of a full-time administrative staff, which has now become established and is functioning smoothly.
One of the earliest problems under the administration of the act was the widespread confusion brought about by the reversal of the purchasing practice of the Government necessitated by the inclusion of labor standards in the contracts to be complied with by contractors with the Government in accordance with the provisions of the act.
Administrative regulations for the guidance of the purchasing officers of the Government and contractors with the Government were issued, effective September 28, 1936; and following their issuance there was the usual normal period of readjustment for all concerned. There were widespread misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the act, particularly on the part of employers who were desirous of contracting with the Government, and these had to be straightened out as they arose.
34
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
35
In the early stages of the act there was considerable difficulty on the part of some of the contracting agencies of the Government to obtain bids from certain industries that were unwilling to comply with the provisions of the Act, particularly the hour provisions, or that were misinformed as to the obligations they would be assuming by contracting with the Government.
These misunderstandings and misinterpretations have been almost completely dissipated, and for some time the Government has had no difficulty in making purchases because of reluctance on the part of industry to comply with the labor standards of the Walsh-Healey Act. In fact, reports coming in from various employers indicate that many of them who in former years had bid successfully on Government business, but who had ceased bidding during the depression years, because of their reluctance to meet sweatshop competition, have again begun to bid with assurance that they will not be subjected to unfair competition from employers who pay low wages and work their employees over long hours.
It is very significant that general compliance with the act has been so good that it has not been necessary to invoke in any case section 3 of the act, which gives the Secretary of Labor power to place any contractor violating the act on a list making him ineligible to bid on Government business for 3 years.
Organization of the Division of Public Contracts.
The office of Administrator and the Division of Public Contracts were created by administrative order of the Secretary to assist in the administration of the act. The Division has been subdivided into a legal section; an investigating section, which is charged with the factory inspections in the field necessary to secure compliance with the act; an information section; and a research section, which lias as its primary function the studies leading up to the selection of industries where minimum wages are to be determined by the Secretary and such other research as may be necessary from time to time, particularly in connection with the operation of the minimum-wage section of the statute; and finally the Public Contracts Board of three members, which has jurisdiction to hear appeals from rulings in cases of violation and to hold public hearings in order to make recommendations to the Administrator for the guidance of the Secretary in the final determination of the prevailing minimum wages.
Field administration.
The chief problem confronting the Division has been an educational one, as the willful violations of the act have been very few. It has been the experience that as soon as an employer is properly informed on the labor standards that he assumes to comply with in making his contracts with the Government he voluntarily conforms to these standards in the great majority of cases. Perhaps this is partly due to the fact that they are incorporated as a part of the contract that he makes rather than being embodied in a law with which he may or may not choose to comply. It would seem, however, that the main reason for the widespread compliance with the statute has been that the labor standards imposed are reasonable in the light of modern industrial conditions, and are recognized by the great bulk of employers not as a repressive hardship but rather as an actual protection against the ravaging effects of unfair competition from sweatshop employers. In any event the records show
36
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
that of all our inspections of Government-contract firms that have been made only 17 percent disclosed violations of some kind—many of them not wage or hour violations but the failure to post the contract stipulations setting forth the labor standards of the act. Of this 17 percent, 7 percent were due to an incorrect interpretation of the act, leaving only 10 percent that were in the nature of intentional violations.
Even in the violations that have been uncovered, in almost all cases the employer has voluntarily made restitution of the overtime that he should have paid his employees under the act, and in only relatively few cases has it been necessary to hold hearings in order to determine a violation of the act. There has been no violation of the convict-labor section of the statute reported and very few violations of the child-labor section of the statute.
Relations with State departments of labor.
The State departments of labor have been very helpful, both in making inspections of factories in their jurisdictions having Government contracts subject to the Walsh-Healey Act and also in assisting in the enforcement of the State safety and health laws, which by the terms of the act are made the standard for compliance on all Government contracts.
Much assistance in the enforcement of the act has come from labor unions who have received notices of awards in their communities and who have sent in complaints of violations.
Statistics.
During the period from September 28, 1936, to June 30, 1937, 3,095 contracts, valued at $171,489,193.63, were awarded subject to the act. The following table gives a break-down by contracting agencies of the Government showing the number of contracts and valuation. It is interesting to note that the executive departments awarded more contracts than the independent establishments or emergency organizations, accounting for 1,635 of the total as against 256 for the independent establishments and 1,204 for the emergency organizations. The value of contracts awarded by the executive departments was $95,548,764.93 as against $65,160,602.80 by the emergency organizations and $10,779,825.90 by the independent establishments.
Awards containing agreements to comply with public act 846, 74th Cong., reported from Sept. 28, 1936, to June 30, 1937, by agencies of the Government
Number of con-	Value	Percent of grand
tracts		total
Grand total_____
Executive departments.
Navy.
Treasury, Procurement Division General Schedule
Interior_______________________________________
Post Office____________________________________
Treasury (not Procurement Division)------------
Agriculture____________________________________
Commerce---------------------------------------
State__________________________________________
Labor__________________________________________
Justice________________________________________
3,095	$171,489,193. 63	100. 00
1,635	95,548, 764. 93	55.72
803	61,246,007.49	35. 71
444	17,366,409. 97	10.13
160	7,644,207.16	4. 46
74	2,874, 590.68	1.68
46	2, 744,865. 36	1.60
38	1,697,427.01	.99
46	1,573,663. 72	.92
14	212, 760. 59	.12
6	105,946.80	.06
1	44,511.21	.03
3	38,374.94	.02
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
37
Awards containing agreements to comply with public act 8^6, 7^th Cong., reported from Sept. 28, 1936, to June 30,1937, by agencies of the Government—Con.
Number of contracts
Value
Percent of grand total
Independent establishments		256	$10, 779,825.90	6.28
Tennessee Valley Authority		52	3,356,815. 88	1.96
Government Printing Office 		26	2,348,608.43	1.37
The Panama Canal		36	1,286,787.40	.75
Veterans’ Administration				89	1,222,613. 66	.71
U. S. Maritime Commission		9	880,390.13	.51
Social Security Board .. 	 .. 		8	674,417. 32	.39
Federal Prisons Industries, Inc 		21	627,985.08	.37
District of Columbia Government . . 		5	211,042.00	.12
Inland Waterways Corporation			5	99,900.00	.06
Library of Congress .. _ .. _ 	 			2	35,160.00	.02
Federal Surplus Commodities Commission 	 		2	18,300. 00	.01
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics		1	17,806. 00	.01
Total executive departments and independent establishments...	1,891	106,328,590.83	62.00
Emergency organizations				1,204	65,160,602. 80	38. 00
Civilian Conservation Corps		400	44, 290,094.15	25.83
War Department purchases_______ __	___________	346	41,855,513.97	24.41
Agriculture Department purchases	 		38	2,076,132.57	1.21
Interior Department purchases		16	358,447. 61	.21
Works Progress Administration (W. P. A.)	 		682	18,135,831. 64	10.58
Resettlement Administration. 		 	 			115	2,626, 659. 68	1.53
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration		7	108,017.33	.06
The following break-down shows the distribution of contracts by industrial grouping and indicates that the Government spent more money for textile-mill products than for any other commodities, such purchases amounting to $36,714,830.44, with petroleum, coal and their products coming second and amounting to $28,106,631.56:
Commodity grouping of awards within the scope of the Walsh-Healey Act from Sept. 28, 1936, to June 30, 1937
Food and kindred products________
20—1. Canned foods___________
20—2. Packing-house products.
20—3. Cereals________________
20—4. Flour__________________
20—5. Sugar__________________
20—6. Coffee and tea_________
20—7. Miscellaneous__________
Tobacco__________________________
Textile-mill products____________
22—1. Cotton materials_______
22—2. Woolen goods___________
22—3. Silk material__________
22—4. Canvas goods___________
22—5. Suiting________________
22—6. Cordage________________
22—7. Mattresses and covers—.
22—8. Blankets and comforters.
22—9. Miscellaneous__________
Apparel made from fabrics........
23—1. Overcoats______________
23—2. Raincoats______________
23—3. Underwear______________
23—4. Hosiery________________
23—5. Shirts_________________
23—6. Coats and trousers_____
23—7. Pajamas________________
23—8. Gloves and mittens_____
23—9. Hats and caps__________
23—l.Q. Work clothes_________
23—if. Uniforms______________
23—12. Miscellaneous_________
Number	Value	Percent
2,71	$7,522,790.15	4.38
95	3,196,733. 21	1.86
1	40, 759.09	.02
35	686,439. 21	.40
27	700, 555.98	.41
27	851,105.97	.50
27	986, 848.15	.57
59	1,060, 348. 54	.62
4	84,756. 00	.05
353	36,714,830. 44	21.37
187	9, 344, 609. 91	5. 44
24	2,194, 232. 72	1. 28
18	545,301. 22	.32
8	188,556. 57	. 11
41	19, 770,189. 91	11.51
36	1, 359, 789.30	.79
2	160,070.80	.09
16	2,456,063. 05	1.43
21	696,016. 96	.40
150	11,847,214. 23	6.90
4	173, 800. 64	.10
9	654,394.50	.38
39	3,668, 076. 41	2.14
20	1,570,897.09	.91
7	876,114.11	.51
29	1,891,930. 05	1.10
3	99, 638. 96	.06
4	62, 214. 75	.04
6	337, 407. 89	.20
13	1,916, 569. 50	1.12
1	24, 625. 00	.01
15	571,545.33	.33
38
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Commodity grouping of awards within the scope of the Walsh-Healey Act from Sept. 28, 1936, to June 30, 1937—Continued
	Number	Value	Percent
Lumber, sawmills and planing mills	—			89	$1,980, 747.91	1.15
24—1. Rough lumber		71	1,609,471. 29 305, 251. 62	.94
24—2. Millwork		16		. 18
24—3. Miscellaneous—	—	—			2	66,025. 00	.03
Finished lumber products	  -			27	1,369, 246. 59	.80
25—1. Furniture		16	1,045, 701. 96	.61
25—2. Containers				5	176,845.25	.10
25—4 Miscellaneous		6	146, 699. 38	.09
			
Paper and allied products				69	4,511,893. 52	2. 63
26—1. Paper		35	2, 591, 658.05	1.51
26—2. Envelopes		7	815,295.00	.48
26—4. Miscellaneous						27	1,104,940. 47	.64
Printing and publishing						7	122, 383.21	.07
27—1. Periodicals		2	53,063. 95	.03
27—2. Books		4	59, 319. 26	.03
27—3. Miscellaneous 		1	10,000.00	.01
			
Chemicals and allied products		138	3,824,366.72	2.23
28—1. Explosives				14	1, 539, 461.59	.90
28—2. Soap				42	477, 976.90	.28
28—3. Paint and varnish				16	431, 579. 56	.25
28—4. Gases		13	529,464. 31	.31
28—5. Acids		2	23. 852. 00	.01
28—6. Pharmaceuticals		9	132, 256. 69	.08
28—7. Fertilizers., 			3	100, 709.00	.06
28—8. Miscellaneous		39	589,066.67	.34
Petroleum, coal, and products thereof-			388	28,106, 631. 56	16. 36
29—1. Petroleum		105	14,183, 069. 24	8.26
29—2. Gasoline		123	9,837,015.20	5. 73
29—3. Asphalt		44	1,021, 569. 62	.59
29—4 Asphaltic material-- 		63	1, 665, 314.06 735,890.14	.97
29—5. Coal		32		.43
29—6. Miscellaneous						—	21	663, 773. 30	.38
Rubber products		33	675, 557.62	.39
30—1. Rubber clothing		1	11, 280.00	.01
30—2. Rubber footwear		2	43, 724. 62	.02
30—3. Tires and tubes (automobile and airplane)		12	169, 245.67 451,307. 33	.10
30—4. Miscellaneous		18		.26
Leather and its manufactures		50	5, 914, 748.18	3.44
31—1. Shoes (not rubber overshoes)		17	4,207, 959.94	2. 45
31—2. Boots (not rubber boots)		8	639,030. 59	.37
31—3. Coats (not raincoats)		—	1	10, 351. 72	.01
31—4. Gloves (only leather)		13	773, 917.86	.45
31—5. Miscellaneous		11	283,488. 07	.16
Stone, clay, and glass products	:		372	8,795, 702.06	5.12
32—1. Ready mixed concrete		44	758,956. 13	.44
32—2. Cement.- 		108	3, 465, 079. 25	2. 02
32—4. Asbestos products					2	56, 280. 74	.03
32—5. Topsoil-					27	638,081.45	.37
32—6. Stone (not asphaltic)		69	1,196,160. 71	.70
32—7. Sand and gravel (not asphaltic)				28	665,085. 62	.39
32—8. Brick (clay products)			29	671,098.17	.39
32—9. Concrete pipe		43	835, 242.94	.49
32—10. Glass products		12	300, 718.26	. 17
32—11. Miscellaneous			10	208,998.79	. 12
Iron and steel and their products		373	15,972,444.10	9. 30
33—1. Forgings and castings			32	1,268,178. 69	.74
33—2. Furniture		21	941,141. 72	. 55
33—3. Tools and hardware		14	395,940. 86	.23
33—4. Structural steel		48	1,618,499. 40	.94
33—5. Bars and rails		41	1, 349, 638. 84	.79
33—6. Wire and cable		64	2,863,416. 89	1. 67
33—7. Gates and hoists			6	312,957.00	.18
33—8. Iron and steel pipe		56	1,347,033. 22	.78
33—9. Sheetiron and steel		37	1, 616,517. 79	.94
33—10. Stoves and furnaces (not electric)		—	1	14,925.00	.01
33—11. Boilers		5	2,582,397. 72	1. 50
33—12. Miscellaneous	■		—	-	48	1,661,796. 97	.97
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	3Q
Commodity grouping of awards within the scope of the Walsh-Healey Act from Sept. 28, 1936, to June 30, 1931—Continued
	Number	Value	Percent
Nonferrous metals and their products		86	$3,536,699. 66	2.06
			
35—1. Copper		28	1,166,478.98	.68
35—2. Brass		 		12	293,089.98	. 17
35—3. Aluminum		20	1,144,083.91	.67
35—4. Tin	. 	 		7	387,860. 46	. 23
35—5. Bronze 			1	15,270.00	.01
35—6. Zinc			3	56,710. 60	.03
35—7. Miscellaneous				15	473,205. 73	.27
Electrical machinery		144	9, 540,918.80	5.55
			
36—1. Transformers and generators _ 		22	2,245,831.49 708,936. 79	1.31
36—2. Electric fixtures (not chandeliers)		19		.41
36—3. Radio equipment	.			26	1,348,721. 79	.78
36—4. Storage batteries 		5	1,082,963.41	.63
35—5, Telephone and telegraph equipment		13	325,557. 54 3,828,907.78	.19
36—6. Miscellaneous	 				59		2.23
			
Other maehinerv (not for transportation)	-		247	9,425,901.08	5.49
			
37—1. Tractor	__ 		41	1,383, 248. 22 137,601.14 474,375.10 192,866.00	.81
37—2. Compressors 		6		.08
37—3. Shovels and excavators..			16		.28
37—4. Dredges			4		.11
37—5. Road machinery 		23	428,026.23	.25
37—6. Cranes 	 	 		11	257,525.35	.15
37—7. Office machinery		2	169,732.00	.10
37—§. Tooling machines _ 			54	1, 278,697.94	.74
37—9. Machines, miscellaneous		66	3,348,804.14	1.95
37—10. Miscellaneous - 		24	1,755,024.96	1.02
			
Automobile equipment (not tires and tubes)				77	3,620,226. 69	2.11
			
38—1. Automobiles and parts	-		14	921,089.87 2,567,998.14 131,138.68	.54
38—2. Trucks and parts.	-		59		1.49
38—3. Miscellaneous. . 		4		.08
			
Miscellaneous					216	18, 202,186. 20	10. 60
			
39-1. Aeroplanes 		80	12,672,483. 30	7.38
39-2. Boats . .			2	39,358.72	.02
39-3. Precision instruments		35	2,376,879.13	1. 38
39-4. Photo supplies 		23	1,210,994. 68	.71
39-6. Miscellaneous . 		74	1,873,496. 61 28,973.76	1.09
39-7. Brooms and whisk brushes (not bristles, shaving brushes).	2		.02
Achievements of the Act.
While the continuation or adoption of the 40-hour week has naturally been brought about in Government-contract firms by the Act, the spread of the 40-hour week has been far wider than Governmentcontract concerns.
In March of this year the steel industry announced the general adoption of the 40-hour week, enabling it to bid on Government contracts, which it had hitherto been unable to do. This was followed rapidly by other basic industries, so that it is not too much to say that whatever part the Walsh-Healey Act played in the decision of the steel industry to adopt the 40-hour week it had definite influence on its more widespread adoption by American industry.
While it is difficult to make any accurate estimate of the number of workers affected by the act, it is probably not an overstatement to say that approximately 2,175,000 employees or perhaps about a quarter of American industry, have felt the benefits of the act, since the number of manufacturing employees reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1937 was 8,700,000. An actual count of employees in 602 manufacturing establishments reporting to the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a total employment of 493,201 workers, or an average of 817 per establishment, which corresponds roughly with a tabulation of
40
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
213 manufacturing establishments from among those investigated by the division having a total employment of 149,739 or an average of 703 per plant. Allowance must be made, of course, for duplications in that a single concern may have several contracts, but even considering this, it is possible to report that the total number of workers brought under the beneficial provisions of the act is an impressive fraction of the total number employed in manufacturing concerns.
Administrative problems.
Experience under the act, however, has demonstrated that in spite of the many achievements progress is unnecessarily handicapped by administrative difficulties that cannot be wiped out until the act has been amended. The large amount, $10,000, necessary to give jurisdiction to the Division of Public Contracts in a given contract has prevented the act from being as effective as it otherwise might be. In the interest of promoting fairness between employers, some of whom are brought under the act and some not, because of the amount, as well as broadening the base of benefit to workers, it should be decreased to a figure that will promote more uniform bidding conditions among the contractors with the Government consistent with good administration.
Failure by the Congress to include subcontractors in the act has' enabled, in many cases, the bulk of the employees engaged on a contract to be left out of its provisions, thereby rendering it less effective. While recognizing the administrative difficulties of requiring compliance with labor standards, all the way along the line, from mine or farm to factory, it seems that the immediate subcontractor, at least, could be brought within the act without seriously handicapping the Government in making its purchases, or the potential contractor, who may be reluctant to guarantee that the labor standards of the act have been complied with in all the stages of production prior to his.
There are various other matters which ought to be given consideration, particularly the clarification of its language, and the incorporation in the statute itself of certain administrative regulations that have been promulgated in accordance with the terms of the act.
In conclusion it may be stated that the 9 months of operation under the act have more than justified its enactment. It is to be hoped that its scope will be broadened by the Congress in order that it may play an important role in the preservation and improvement of good labor standards for the American working man and fair conditions of competition for the American employer.
Respectfully submitted.
L. Metcalfe Walling,
A dministrator.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CLERK
Samuel J. Gompers, Chief Clerk
To the Secretary of Labor:
Division of Accounts.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, the appropriations by Congress to the Department and its services were as follows: Salaries, Office of the Secretary-------------------------------- $330,000
Promotion of health, safety, and employment---------------------- 140,000
Contingent expenses, Department of	Labor------------------------- 112,	500
Printing and binding, Department of	Labor------------------------- 250,	000
Salaries and expenses:
Commissioners of Conciliation---------------------------------- 408,	000
Bureau of Labor Statistics--------------------------------------850.	000
International Labor Organization, Geneva, Switzerland-------- 28,000
Immigration and Naturalization Service----------------------- 9, 740, 000
Ijnmigration stations-------------------------------------------- 110, 000'
Transporting Filipinos to the Philippine Islands----------------- 150,000
Salaries and expenses:
Children’s Bureau-------------------------------------------- 400, 000
Materiial and child welfare--------------------------z.------	299, 000
Grants to States:
For Maternal and Child Health Service------------------------ 2, 820, OOO
For services for crippled children-------------,------------- 2,150, 000
For child-welfare services----------------------------------- 1, 200, 000
Salaries and expenses, Women’s Bureau---------------------------- 153, 200
U. S. Employment Service----------------------------------------- 2, 785,000
Salaries and expenses:
U. S. Housing Corporation----------------------:------------- 9, 000
Division of Public Contracts--------------------------------- 50,000
Greater Texas and Pan American Exposition------------------------ 10, 000
Great Lakes Exposition------------------------------------------- 6,240
United States contributions to international commissions, con-
gresses, and bureaus------------------------------------------ 5. 000
Payment to officers and employees of the United States in foreign
countries due to appreciation of foreign currencies----------- 44, 000
Trust funds:
Unearned immigration registry fees--------------------------- 24, 000
Unearned naturalization fees--------------------------------- 27,000
Unearned immigration reentry permit fees--------------------- 4,000
Disposition of deposits of aliens who become public charges—	5, 000
Total______________________________________________________ 22,109, 940
Ill addition to the above, the following allotments were received from emergency appropriations:
Public Works Administration, allotment to Labor:
Bureau of Labor Statistics------------------------------------ $45,000
National Industrial Recovery, Labor:
Bureau of Labor Statistics------------------------------------ 40. 000
Emergency Relief, Labor:
U. S. Employment Service, administrative expenses------------- 15,450, OOO
Bureau of Labor Statistics, assistance for educational, pro-
fessional. and clerical persons----------------------------- 1, 650, 000
Administrative expenses_______________________________________ 355, 240
17, 540. 240
25730—37-----4	41
42
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Expenditures.—The expenditures, arranged according to items of appropriation, were as follows:
Office of the Secretary:
Salaries, 1937________________________________ $288,244.46
Contingent expenses:
1935_____________________________________ 52. 02
1935-36__________________________________ 170. 00
1936_____________________________________ 17, 398. 28
1937_____________________________________ 74, 621. 43
Printing and binding: 1936____________________________________________ 69,	396.10
1937_______________________________________ 189,	287.10
Promotion of health, safety, and employment: 1936_____________________________________________ 9,	801.11
1937_______________________________________ 128,	329. 08
Salaries and expenses, Commissioners of Conciliation : 1935__________________________________________ 288. 62
1936_____________________________________ 18, 366. 92
1937_____________________________________ 385,992. 98
Salaries and expenses, Division of Public Contracts : 1937_________________________________ 23, 461. 59
United States contributions to international commissions, congresses, and bureaus----------	3, 880. 30
California Pacific International Exposition: 1935-36______________________________________ 65. 81
1936-37__________________________________ 5, 637. 20
Great Lakes Exposition------------------------ 9, 226.17
Texas Centennial Exposition------------------- 29, 589. 61
Payment to officers and employees of the
United States in foreign countries due to appreciation of foreign currencies: 1934-35_____________________________________ 807. 38
1936_____________________________________ 7,290. 90
1937_____________________________________ 20, 505.10
--------------$1,282, 412.16
Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Salaries and expenses: 1935_________________________________________ 104.13
1936_____________________________________ 21,160.30
1937_____________________________________ 803, 632. 56
Investigation of cost of living, 1936--------- 17, Oil. 70
Salaried and expenses, International Labor
Organization, Geneva, Switzerland: 1936_______________________________________ 2, 405. 03
1937_____________________________________ 22,131.85
-------------- 866,445. 57
Immigration and Naturalization Service:
Salaries and expenses:
1935_____________________________________ 2,791. 03
1935-36___:______________________________ 599. 60
1936_____________________________________ 419, 826. 28
1937_____________________________________ 9, 356, 949. 72
Immigration stations:
1936_____________________________________ 5, 980. 02
1937_____________________________________ 48,131. 29
Extra compensation for overtime--------------- 766. 33
Transporting Filipinos to the Philippine Islands:
1936______________________________________ 60,106. 30
1937______________________________________ 10, 297.12
------:------ 9,905,447.69
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
43
Children’s Bureau: Salaries and expenses: 1935_	 1936	 1937	 Salaries and expenses, maternal and child welfare: 1936	 1937		$2. 32 14, 445. 75 368, 619. 99 38, 438. 46 264, 979. 69
Grants to States:	
For maternal and child health service:	
1936		213,176.12
1937		2, 788, 608. 95
For services for crippled children:	
1936		232, 516. 69
1937		1, 813, 409. 03
For child welfare services:	
1936		180, 865.19
1937 — 				788, 962. 04
		 $6, 704, 024. 23
Women’s Bureau:	
Salaries and expenses:	
1936		2, 984. 20
1937		147, 323. 23
		 150, 307. 43
Employment Service:	
U. S. Employment Service:	
1935		6, 877. 94
1936 		1,156, 921. 46
1937 		1, 936, 423. 28
		 3,100, 222. 68
U. S. Housing Corporation:	
Salaries and expenses:	
1936		326.96
1937		8, 667. 58
		 8, 994. 54
Bituminous Coal Labor Board, salaries and ex-	
penses, 1936		221.72	221. 72
Trust funds:	
Unearned immigration registry fees		26, 890. OO
Unearned naturalization fees		23, 717.13
Unearned immigration reentry permit fees		2, 910. 39
Unclaimed moneys of individuals whose where-	
abouts are unknown		37. 50
Disposition of deposits of aliens who become	
public charges		541. 41
			 54, 096. 43
Grand total_____________________________________—- 22, 072,172. 45
The following expenditures were made from emergency appropriations :
Emergency Relief and Public Works:
Textile Labor Relations Board, 1935------------------------ $167. 92
National Industrial Recovery, Labor:
Employment, 1933-37---------------------------------------- 446. 44
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1933-37------------------------ 18, 541. 02
National Steel Labor Relations Board, 1933-37-------------- 314. 22
Working fund, Department of Labor:
Labor Statistics (N. R. A.)-------------------------------- 570.82
Public Works Administration, allotment to Labor:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1935-37------------------------ 57, 515.19
Textile Labor Relations Board, 1935-37--------------------- 630. 62
Emergency Relief, Labor:
Assistance for educational, professional, and clerical persons,
1935-37__________________________________________________ 114, 805. 59
Administrative expenses, 1935-37--------------------------- 13, 410. 94
44	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
U. S. Employment Service:
Assistance for educational, professional, and clerical persons,
1935-37__________________________________________________ $216, 316. 53
Administrative expenses, 1935-37---------------------------- 173, 834. 26
Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1935-37------------- 51, 565. 02
Administrative expenses, 1936------------------------------- 4, 368.16
Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Assistance for educational, professional, and clerical persons, 1936-37____________________________________________________ 1,516,423.97
Administrative expenses, 1936-38---------------------------- 29, 237. 20
U. S. Employment Service:
Administrative expenses, 1936-38---------------------------- 12, 731, 216. 92
Total_____________________________________________________ 14, 929, 364. 82
Ill addition to the disbursements by the disbursing clerk, the following expenditures on behalf of the Department were specifically made:
By special disbursing agents-----------------------------------$149, 047. 56
Claims settled by the office of the Comptroller General-------- 3, 859. 62
152, 907.18
Miscellaneous receipts.—The following receipts from miscellaneous sources have been received during the year:
Immigration and Naturalization Service: Naturalization fees-------------------------------------------$1, 862, 567. 25
Head tax------------------------------------------------------ 951,	412. 53
Fines________________________________________________________ 65,	651. 51
Reentry permits and extensions-------------------------------- 197,	020.17
Forfeiture of bonds------------------------------------------ 26,	650. 76
Immigration overtime------------------------------------------ 209,	080. 26
Sales of exclusive privileges----------------------------- 257. 00
Expenses of deporting aliens—reimbursed------------------- 136. 00
Sales of Government property------------------------------ 2, 615. 00
Miscellaneous collections--------------------------------- 2, 768.18
Coin-box collections______________________________________________ 583.	53
Immigration fees (registry)------------------------------------- 98,910.00
Reimbursement of immigration	judgment costs-------------------- 703.	34
Overnight maintenance of aliens--------------------------- 25,196. 94
Collections on account of hospital expenses of persons detained in hospitals of the Public Health Service under the immigration laws and regulations------------------------------------- 46, 071. 50
Total receipts__________________________________________________ 3, 489, 623. 97
Division of Publications and Supplies.
The great increase in the activities of the Department are reflected in the work of this, the service division of the Department, which reports an increase over last year of approximately 20 percent in all its varied activities. All records and transactions of the printing and binding and contingent expenses /appropriations are performed by this division.
The appropriation for printing and binding for the fiscal year 1937 was $250,000. Bills for completed work to a total of $231,550 have been paid, leaving a balance of $18,450 for uncompleted work now at the Government Printing Office. In addition, the Division handled requisitions for printing and binding in the amount of $371,281 paid from funds other than that of the Department printing and binding appropriation, making a total expenditure of $602,831 from all appropriations for this purpose.
The appropriation for contingent expenses of the Department for the year 1937 was $112,500. In addition, the issuing of supplies from
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	45
stock reimbursed from various miscellaneous funds amounted to $33,030, which turn-over made the total cost of orders handled through the contingent fund $145,530. At the close of the fiscal year 1937 there remained in the appropriation a sufficient sum to meet outstanding unliquidated encumbrances in the amount of $37,831. In addition to orders placed chargeable to the contingent appropriation of the Department, orders for supplies and envelopes were written in the amount of $468,167, charged to other appropriations of the Department, making a total of $613,526 expended and obligated for which orders were placed by the Division.
Respectfully submitted.
Samuel J. Gompers,
Chief Clerk.
DIVISION OF LABOR STANDARDS
Verne A. Zimmer, Director
To the Secretary of Labor :
During the past year the Division of Labor Standards has been called upon for practical assistance in the formulation and administration of labor standards by governors, members of State legislatures, labor commissioners, labor organizations, employers’ groups, and other interested groups or individuals in practically every State in the Union. Agencies are turning more and more to the Division for expert services pointed to the practical problems which workers meet in living and in earning a living.
The calls upon the Division, together with the tasks mapped out by the Secretary’s Third National Conference on Labor Legislation, have focused the year’s work upon the administrative duties and powers of State labor departments, industrial safety and health, workmen’s compensation, apprenticeship, industrial homework, hours of labor, and the training of factory inspectors. In bringing their existing labor legislation in line with approved standards the States have called upon the Division for aid in making the necessary legal and administrative adjustments.
The Division is meeting the demands for its services by collecting and making available experience throughout the States; through conferences of those interested in labor standards; by popularizing technical information so that it may be readily applied; by presenting labor standards through exhibits; by assisting individual States in connection with legislation to meet their particular problems; and by placing technical consultants at the disposal of agencies concerned with labor standards. Calls from the States for assistance in drawing up safety and other codes; in developing improved inspection procedures, reports, and office records; and in training their inspection staffs, have involved conferences in the field as well as in Washington. These and other requests have meant analysis of the problem at the plant or on the job, at the union office or on the rounds with the State labor law inspector. The labor commissioners’ desire to secure and keep qualified personnel, and to train them for the increasing complexity of the job, has resulted in a training institute for factory inspectors and in the preparation of a factory inspector’s manual.
State labor law administrators have pooled their ideas in working out useful methods and techniques and standard practices. Thus, cooperation with the States has been a two-way process. The following brief report of the year’s activities of the Division of Labor Standards indicates the results of previous work and the lines of future service.
46
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
47
Conferences on standards.
The Secretary’s Third National Conference on Labor Legislation, arranged by the Division and attended by State labor commissioners, the presidents of State federations of labor, and the representatives of organizations concerned with labor standards, pointed to some of the major calls upon the Division throughout the year. The Division was charged with following up conference suggestions and recommendations on industrial health and safety, hours of work, industrial homework, the regulation of private employment agencies, the State-use system for prison-made goods, vacations with pay, apprenticeship, poll-tax requirements that limit the franchise of ■!persons interested in labor legislation.
The Secretary’s conference with international union presidents, held in December, stressed apprenticeship and insisted upon the policy of consultation with organized labor in the promotion of labor legislation and upon adequate labor representation on boards or committees concerned with labor standards.
The Second National Silicosis Conference, on February 3, brought out the need for adequate preventive and compensation regulation with regard to dust hazards in industry. The four committees previously appointed by the Secretary made reports on prevention through medical control; prevention through engineering control; the economic, legal, and insurance phases of the question; and the regulatory and administrative phases. The conference discussion of these findings led to a request that the Division of Labor Standards act as the clearing house for further factual material and serve as coordinating agency in developing a practical program for controlling the hazard and compensating workers disabled by silicosis.
Following a recommendation of the Third National Conference on Labor Legislation, a conference of State administrators of industrial homework laws met on June 16 to confer upon problems connected with the enforcement of such laws, with especial reference to the new prohibitory type of act. The administrators recommended further conferences.
To meet State requests for practical and often highly technical assistance in matters involving labor standards, the Division’s staff must keep in touch with scientific and practical developments throughout the range of its services. This has necessitated attendance at congresses and conventions, including labor conventions, the National Safety Congress, the Ohio Safety Congress, the Cleveland Exposition, the American Foundrymen’s Association, the Minnesota State Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association, the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, and the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials. To many of these programs the Division’s staff members have contributed papers and discussion. Attendance at the convention or exposition was frequently the occasion for conferences with State labor administrators and with local representatives of labor and of management.
The director of the Division has continued to act as secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, which brings together administrators with the best current experience in workmen’s compensation and in voluntary and legislative attack upon the problems of industrial accidents and disease. The Division edits and publishes the proceedings of this
4g	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
association. The Division also edits and publishes the convention proceedings of the International Association of Public Employment Services. A staff member of the Division acts as general secretary for that association.
Standards and the International Labor Office.
The Division of Labor Standards, through the Director, participated in the formation of the provisions in the International Labor Office convention on safety in the building industry. The specific standards of that convention, particularly those embraced in the recommended safeguards and safe practices, conformed closely with regulations current in some of the States at this time.
Advisory committees on standards.
The proposals of the National Silicosis Conference, the question of safety in the erection and maintenance of public buildings, a growing sense of the need for standard qualifications for labor law inspectors, and plans for the next inspectors’ training course were discussed at the March meeting of the continuing committee advising the Division upon its safety and health program.
The Division continued to function as the secretariat for a number of advisory committees appointed by the Secretary of Labor at the request of the Second and Third National Conferences on Labor Legislation and furnished these committees with a meeting place, clerical aid, and technical assistance. In this way the Division was able to serve as coordinating agency for State administrators in suggesting language for use as a guide in the preparation of State labor legislation bills and in drawing up administrative procedure. Representatives of other Federal bureaus as well as State administrators participated in the committee discussions. These advisory committees reported on draft legislation and received the endorsement of the Third National Conference on Labor Legislation. Their suggested language for wage payment and wage collection and for industrial homework bills was also approved by the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials meeting in September 1936. New advisory committees on industrial relations, apprenticeship, hours of work, and the regulation of private employment agencies were appointed, and in several instances completed the preparation of bills covering their particular field. The suggested language of these bills has been used in whole or in part in a great many of the State legislatures during the past legislative year.
Bills based on the wage-payment and wage-collection draft were introduced in about half the States, with a number reporting passage of a law. Bills adapted from the homework draft were introduced in a number of States and passed in three of them, although one shifted the emphasis from labor to health hazards. The standard -hours draft was in demand in a number of State legislatures and was enacted into law by several. One State enacted the draft bill on apprenticeship, which provides for a State body representing labor, employers, the department of labor, and the department of education, to promote voluntary apprentice training under prescribed standards. A great deal more activity in this field is indicated during the coming legislative year.
The two committees, appointed last year to prepare an inspector’s manual for the use of State officials, have been working on the safety
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	49
and health inspection and on the hours, child labor, minimum wage, and industrial homework inspection materials, respectively. This manual brings together State inspection methods that extensive examination and discussion have shown to be effective. It is expected that State labor departments, particularly those that have not been able to develop their own manuals, will find this handbook useful in building up their inspection services and increasing their efficiency and usefulness to both workers and employers, even though they have to modify it in certain particulars to suit their own State laws and legal procedures.
State labor department officials, aware of the need for greater uniformity in administration as well as legislation to meet the interstate ramifications of industry, have been eager to cooperate with other States through the Division of Labor Standards. In spite of limited staffs and heavy demands upon their time, labor commissioners have, generously taken on the tasks of serving on these advisory committees on labor standards and of making their experience available to others concerned.
Consultative service and analysis of labor bills.
The Division has frequently been asked to adapt the technical features of the standard drafts to meet local conditions or to fit in with existing laws. These demands were particularly heavy this year, since 43 legislatures met in regular session in 1937, as compared with 9 in 1936, and a number of special sessions were called. Services were given in connection with bills on the creation and reorganization of State labor departments, workmen’s compensation, occupational disease, hours, industrial homework, the regulation of private employment agencies, Government contracts (i. e., State bills modeled on the Walsh-Healey Act), apprentice training, the regulation of prison-made goods, safety, and wage-payment and wage-claim collection.
A steady stream of bills and amendments on labor subjects before State legislatures were received and analyzed. There were 800 bills on workmen’s compensation alone. Legislators, labor commissioners, and labor and civic organizations have frequently asked for comments on and criticisms of bills introduced, as well as for general suggestions as to legislative programs. Sometimes the attention of persons in the State who were known to be following specific legislation was called to certain features that might complicate the administration or negate the intent of a bill. To provide information on the status and progress of legislation for use in the States, analyses of the principal labor bills pending were distributed in mimeographed form three times in the course of the legislative year. An annual digest of new labor laws enacted is issued at the close of the legislative year.
The labor departments in about half the States are empowered to draw up supplementary codes, rules, and regulations having the force of law, seven States having enacted this provision during the last legislative session. In preparing their codes, a number of State labor departments have consulted with the Division and have asked members of the staff to attend their rule-making conferences and in an advisory capacity.
50	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The Division has worked on the safety code committees of the National Safety Council and of the American Standards Association. A member of the Division cooperated in the preparation of a foundry code and of a boiler code.
Toward better administration.
Growing State interest in improved labor-law administration was responsible for a substantial part of the Division’s activities. Several labor commissioners sought information and aid in drawing up personnel qualifications to guide them in selecting their staffs on a merit basis. The Division was asked to study their inspection services and to make recommendations. In one State the Division, upon request, surveyed the entire organization of the labor department, giving special attention to the inspection service.
Other States called upon the Division’s safety engineers and industrial hygienists to make the rounds with the State inspectors and to instruct them in detecting industrial hazards and working out methods of correction. For example, they were shown how to use simple machines for measuring air-current velocity in ventilating and exhaust systems, for measuring light glare, and for counting dust particles. Help was also given in setting up inspection report forms, office files, and follow-up systems for reinspection, and adequate supervision of the inspection staff. In those States where the services of specialists were available, arrangements were made for continued training, and for a continuing working relationship between the scientific experts and the general inspection staff. The inspectors were shown, for example, how to record their observations in such form that experts could analyze the extent of the hazard, as a basis for practical remedies.
Forty-one inspectors from Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Arkansas attended a 2-weeks’ training course for factory inspectors in Chicago conducted in cooperation with the University of Illinois Medical School and the Illinois State Department of Labor. Thirty-five received certificates for completion of the course. Industrial establishments in the city permitted their plants to be used for demonstration inspections, supplemented by class discussion of safety and health hazards and protective measures in the given industry. The material from this training course, to be released shortly, is a valuable addition to the limited published information in the field. Other sections of the country are requesting similar practical training for their administrative personnel, and only budgetary limitations have prevented the Division from acceding to their requests.
Field studies of State labor-law administration as a guide to improved practice were continued in 10 States. The State labor departments cooperated in every way in making the studies, permitting the Division’s representatives to accompany inspectors, observe inspection methods, examine office procedure and observe methods of handling violations.
Cooperation with management and labor to improve standards.
Labor organizations, employers, and trade associations turned to the Division for aid in setting up industrial health and safety programs. Typical requests were: A labor organization asked for a survey of health hazards in an industry with extensive chemical processes; a national trade association wanted help in developing
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
51
a safety code for the industry; local union officials on a plant safety council and the management jointly requested a survey of their plant hazards; a consulting engineer sought advice on the best method of ventilating foundries; a labor commissioner wanted to determine the origin of certain cases of illness in a shoe factory. Among the establishments covered by such investigations were a lithographing firm, a rubber-vulcanizing plant, a rayon plant, an electrical manufacturing establishment, two foundries, and a paper mill.
Requests coming in from Congressmen, State officials, private industries, Government departments, labor organizations, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, safety groups, and clubs for advice on control methods for industrial hazards and on approved labor standards, necessitated up-to-date knowledge of the latest scientific and engineering developments. Contacts, therefore, were maintained with laboratories and schools of hygiene for information on such matters as industrial poisons, dust-counting devices, exhaust systems, and proper methods of rock drilling.
Promoting safety and health on Government work.
Recognizing that the Government, as an employer, must set an example in order to obtain wide acceptance of its labor standards among private employers, the Secretary in 1935 brought to the President’s attention the Division’s report on hazards in the Government service. This report showed extensive programs of safety and health in a few Government agencies but probably a higher general accident rate among Federal departments than in private industry. A series of conferences growing out of these findings culminated, in June 1937, in the organization of a permanent Federal Interdepartmental Safety Council, with the Secretary of Labor as chairman and the Division’s chief safety adviser as secretary. The Council has set as its goal the reduction of occupational deaths and injuries to Government employees by at least 40 percent by June 30,1942.
In this program the type of service the Division can render is illustrated by an investigation made for the National Park Service to determine the hazard and symptoms of silicosis among 68 employees on one of its construction projects. In this particular case, clinical examination disclosed no trace of silicosis, and thorough investigation showed satisfactory working conditions in respect to dust hazards, but resulted in recommendations for correcting certain other conditions.
The Division’s experience with safety codes was drawn upon by the Public Contracts Division of this Department, which administers the Walsh-Healey Act in drafting regulations to apply to Government contracts.
Labor standards in apprenticeship.
Industry’s demand for skilled workers and labor’s demand for more opportunity to acquire skill under proper safeguards drew the Division into the national plans for strengthening and extending apprenticeship. The Division’s contribution is its experience in drawing management and labor into cooperative effort to formulate labor-standards and to embody those standards in practical procedures. This cooperation is basic to apprenticeship. The Assistant Director of the Division has acted as chairman of the Federal Committee on Apprenticeship, which Congress has now made permanent and placed
52
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
in the Department of Labor. The United States Office of Education and the National Youth Administration, as well as management and labor, are represented on the committee. The committee’s relationships with management and organized labor are being developed to insure the continued effective participation of those most vitally concerned in shaping apprenticeship programs and policies.
Presenting information on labor standards.
The Division published the proceedings of the Third National Conference on Labor Legislation, the National Silicosis Conference, the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, the International Association of Public Employment Services, and the Baltimore Training Course for Factory Inspectors. These give the discussions based on experience in their respective fields. The Division also published in the course of the year a bulletin on Recent Changes in the Painters’ Trade promoting the definition and enforcement of standards in that field, and that on British Factory Inspection to supply administrators with a standard of comparison.
The annual Digest of State and Federal Labor Legislation recorded achievements and trends. The Digest of State Labor Bills, published on February 1, March 1, and April 15, during the legislative session, showed the progress of the principal labor bills. The Survey of Labor Law Administration gives State and Federal experience in the practical application of labor standards.
There was continued heavy demand for leaflets on safety and health, and four new leaflets were prepared in the course of the year. Photographs to illustrate safety devices and dust and fume control were macle, with the cooperation of plant managers in the textile, foundry, printing, and other industries. Albums of these photographs are available and are being wTorked up for stereopticon slides and film strips to promote good standards.
The demand for exhibits grows wifh news of their availability and the number of repeat requests shows the effectiveness of the exhibits. The exhibit at the Texas exposition on Men and Machines, including the mechanical man, was featured in the movies and in the March of Time. The employment diorama at the Cleveland Exposition had a theatrical set showing the work of the employment service—material which that service subsequently found useful. The industrial disease exhibits were effective at the Cleveland exposition and at labor conventions. There has been great interest in the new dioramas showing spray painting and work in a sand and gravel pit being carried on under good conditions, and sets showing good and bad conditions in a; foundry and in a small factory. Charts, maps, photographs, and posters have also been widely used. These various exhibits have been in demand at conferences of unions, employers, physicians, social workers, and labor-law administrators.
The appointment of the Secretary of Labor as member of the Federal Commission for the New York World’s Fair and the San Francisco Bay Exposition indicates the public demand for information on labor standards.
Conclusion.
The growing insistence upon labor standards, everywhere apparent, is increasing the tasks of State labor-law administrators. Industrial
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
53
conditions that transcend State lines are demanding more nearly uniform standards in labor-law administration. The result is an ever greater variety and volume of demands upon the Division of Labor Standards for assistance in clarifying and defining labor standards, in devising legislation that embodies these standards, in improving administration and in clearing State experiences and practice. The Division is striving to meet these requests for service to the best of its abilities with the limited staff available.
Respectfully submitted.
Verne A. Zimmer, Director.
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL
Robert C. Smith, Director of Personnel
To the Secretary of Labor :
For many years it had been the custom and practice of the Department of Labor for the central Appointment Division to be concerned primarily with the preparation of correspondence, papers, and records relating to appointments, transfers, reinstatements, promotions, reductions, removals, retirements, efficiency ratings, service records, leave records, and periodic statistical reports.
There has been a growing realization on the part of administrative officials of the Department of Labor that approval of appointments and performance of record work incident thereto constitute only one aspect of good personnel administration. It has been generally agreed that, in order to handle the Department’s personnel problem's most effectively and satisfactorily, attention must be given to other major personnel functions. Much time and effort have been spent recently by specialists in the field of personnel administration and administrative management in evaluating, at the behest of the President, personnel and management practices that are in effect in the departments of the Federal Government. It was their conclusion that from the standpoint of the administrative head of a department the successful performance of the entire range of personnel administrative activities is essential to efficient conduct of the business for which the head is responsible.
In accordance with that conclusion the Secretary of Labor created, on December 23, 1936, the position of Director of Personnel, and on December 29, 1936, appointed a Director of Personnel to the staff. The Director of Personnel was made responsible for all matters pertaining to personnel administration within the Department, including the departmental and field services, and he was charged with responsibility for originating constructive personnel plans and directing all personnel activities with a view to conforming to departmental policies and procedures.
During the first 6 months of operation, activity has largely consisted of establishing effective cooperative relations with operating bureaus and offices of the Department and of reorganizing existing methods of handling personnel clearances between the Department and the Civil Service Commission. It is believed that considerable progress has been made in establishing working relationships with the bureaus and with the Civil Service Commission, and consequently the way has been cleared very largely for development and installation of a broad program of personnel administration. Administration of such a program will involve recruiting and training a competent staff to deal with the numerous and complex problems such a program occasions.
54
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
55
A survey of personnel needs of the Department indicates the existence of major problems which will be solved only by the cooperative efforts of the central personnel office and the administrative officials of the several bureaus. Increased centralization and coordination of personnel activities should provide the basis for establishing and maintaining a uniformly high standard of personnel administration for all bureaus and offices of the Department. With only the partial check exercised in the past by the Civil Service Commission, considerable variation in personnel practices and procedures in the several bureaus and offices has been inevitable and, of course, can be remedied only by a positive and constructive coordination exercised through a central personnel office. Such coordination, it is believed, is being achieved and will be perfected gradually through the sympathetic cooperation of administrative officials throughout the Department.
Working within the framework of civil-service laws, rules, and regulations, it is expected that operation of the central personnel office over a period of time will result in considerable improvement of personnel administration in the Department. This will be achieved by fair and equitable administration of all matters relating to the appointment, transfer, promotion, demotion, service rating, classification, pay, retirement, and separation of employees of the Department. Satisfactory administration of these matters will involve establishment of a sound relationship between supervisors and those supervised. Achievement of this highly important objective is an important aim of good personnel administration, and will be given first consideration in developing and executing the Department personnel program.
Number of officials and employees of the Department of Labor on July 1, 193f, as compared with July 1, 1936
Bureaus	July 1,1937			July 1,1936	Increases (+) or decreases (—)
	In District of Columbia	Field	Total		
Office of the Secretary	 Conciliation Service	 Bureau of Labor Statistics	 Children’s Bureau	 Immigration and Naturalization Service... Women’s Bureau- 		194 28 388 244 280 56 144 184 485	24 49 72 174 4,017 2 145 41 7,772	1218 77 3 460 5 418 7 4, 297 8 58 u 289 225 73 8, 257	>182 95 4 451 «356 3 4, 289 18 58 12 288 387 14 7,489 3	+36 -18 +9 +62 +8
U. S. Employment Service	 Emergency Employees			 National Reemployment Service		. U. S. Housing Corporation. 						+1 -162 +768 *—3
Total.!								
	2,003	12, 296	14, 299	13, 598	+701
1 Includes 8 at $1 per annum.
2 Includes 6 at $1 per annum.
3 Includes 16 at $1 per annum.
4 Includes 18 at $1 per annum.
3 Includes 132 at $1 per annum.
’ Includes 128 at $1 per annum.
7 Includes 5 at $1 per annum and 274 without compensation.
8 Includes 8 at $1 per annum and 269 without compensation.
8 Includes 1 at $1 per annum.
10 Includes 1 at $1 per annum.
11 Includes 6 at $1 per annum.
12 Includes 12 at $1 per annum.
13 Includes 43 at $1 per annum.
14 Includes 45 at $1 per annum.
*The U. S. Housing Corporation was transferred to the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department on July 1, 1937.
55	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Transfer, reinstatement, separation, and retirement statistics for period of July 1, 1936, to July 1, 1931
Transfers		Reinstatements	Dismissals	Resignations	Deaths	Discontinuances without prejudice	Retirements	Refund of retirement deductions
From department	To department							
70	100	34	3	264	31	166	20	$34, 909.80
Respectfully submitted.
Robert 0. Smith, Director of Personnel.
DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
Laura A. Thompson, Librarian
To the Secretary of Labor :
In May of this year the library of the Department of Labor completed 20 years as a Department service. Although the plan from the beginning provided for a central library, it was not until 4 years after the Department of Labor was itself organized that it proved possible to unify the library service. Something of the vastly increased importance of social and economic problems in the life of the Nation is reflected in the growth of the library collection during these years. In 1917, when the Bureau libraries were combined, the collection totaled less than 55,000 volumes. Now the library contains over 200,000 cataloged books and pamphlets, in addition to the subject files of manuscript and mimeographed material and small pamphlets. This rapid growth has taken place in spite of the fact that the policy has been to keep the library an efficient working collection, closely limited to those problems of investigation and administration with which the various offices of the Department are concerned.
During the past fiscal year the cataloged accessions to the library totaled 11,379 books and pamphlets, of which 2,870 represent volumes of periodicals and 3,633 other serials. In addition, 1,581 publications, consisting mainly of extra copies of reports and documents, were given a temporary classification label without adding them to the records, thus facilitating rapid withdrawal when the temporary need is over. The library contains currently several thousand of these volumes that are not included in the library statistics.
New cards filed in the main catalog numbered 21,497. This catalog, which now contains approximately 475,000 cards, constitutes a selected bibliography of social and economic literature of constantly increasing value. The task of replacing the old guide cards in the catalog was completed during the year and progress made on similar work in connection with the shelf list.
For some years the effort has been made to have new publications coming into the library become immediately available in the current work of the Department by having the material regularly examined in the catalog division by representatives of the three chief research bureaus. To meet more adequately the needs of all the offices, the library began in January to issue every few days a classified list of new publications. The books recorded are held in the catalog division for 48 hours after a list is distributed to give an opportunity for personal examination or the insertion of examination slips in the publications. These mimeographed lists have proved very useful to the technical staffs of the Bureaus, and it is hoped that it will shortly be possible to supplement this service by a review of important periodical articles.
25730—37--5	57
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The list of periodicals currently received by the library was increased by 161 new titles during the past year. Separate numbers of periodicals received totaled 53,831, an increase over last year of 8,277. Of these, 18,807 were routed to the different bureaus. In order to speed up the circulation of current issues, efforts are being made to have the examination of periodicals for the current news bulletins made in the periodical room of the library. In response to many requests a list of current printed and mimeographed State publications containing employment and pay-roll statistics, with descriptive notes of the data presented, has been prepared and will shortly be mimeographed.
During the last quarter of the year much time was devoted to the collection of labor papers that had been in storage. About half of these were cataloged. Three hundred and thirty-six volumes were prepared for binding and 872 volumes were wrapped. The total number of volumes prepared for binding was 1,256. As this number includes the labor papers, it represents a considerable decrease in the normal amount of binding done during the year. There are still considerable arrears needing attention.
The main efforts of the library are necessarily directed toward meeting the library needs of the Department itself. It must constantly visualize probable informational needs in advance and reach out for publications of value to the work of the Department in whatever country they are published. By the circulation of new books and periodicals it keeps the technical staffs informed of developments in the fields pertaining to their work. Through its subject catalogs it makes the information on file in the library available in connection with research problems. This is its daily service to the Department.
By printed or mimeographed bibliographies on special subjects, by answering inquiries by telephone or correspondence, and particularly by service in its reference reading room, the library is endeavoring to make its unique resources available also to a larger group. During the past fiscal year 3,266 readers from outside the Department were recorded in the visitor’s book in the reference room. In this list, besides various colleges and universities, private research bureaus, and individual investigators, 52 other Government agencies were represented. Special bibliographical aid was given in connection with the preparation of some important briefs.
The pressure of the daily reference work throughout the year permitted the preparation of few special bibliographies. A list of references on “Seniority in promotion and discharge” was distributed in mimeographed form, also lists of references on Minimum wage in the United States, and Social welfare and the Constitution prepared in connection with the Nation-wide college debates. In response to many requests the library has in preparation a bibliography bn collective bargaining, which it is hoped may be completed early in the fall.
Respectfully submitted.
Laura A. Thompson,
Librarian.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Isadob Lubin, Commissioner
To the Secretary of Labor :
Throughout the years 1933-36 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in common with other units of the Department of Labor and indeed all governmental agencies, put its resources and its efforts into the great drive toward national recovery. The demands made upon the Bureau, to meet the needs of that drive carried it to a considerable degree outside of the field of its normal functions. In consequence many of the Bureau’s- usual activities had to be either curtailed seriously or stopped entirely.
With the pressure of emergency work materially lessened, the Bureau was able during the fiscal year 1936-37 to resume most of its customary work and, within the limits of its resources, to expand its most important activities to keep pace both with industrial expansion and with increasing requests for service within its recognized fields.
General review of labor conditions.
Continued progress was made during the fiscal year under review toward a return to normal employment, as shown by reports received by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 34,722,000 persons were employed in nonagricultural occupations in May 1937, according to the Bureau estimates, which covered wage and salary earners, casual laborers, and self-employed, in all types of employment except agriculture. This total exceeded that of May 1936 by nearly 2,000,000 and was about 1,550,000 less than estimated total employment in the same occupational groups in May 1929. Limiting the coverage to the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries included in the regular surveys of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 1,400,000 workers returned to work between June 1936 and June 1937.
Private employment.
The index of employment in manufacturing industries in June 1937 was 101.1 (using the average of the 3-year period 1923-25 as the base, or 100). This, with the exception of March, April, and May 1937, was the highest level reached since November 1929 and was 12.2 percent higher than that of June 1936. Employment in the erection, alteration, and repair of private buildings in June 1937, showed a gain of 10.5 percent as compared to June 1936.
The increases in employment in a number of nonmanufacturing industries raised the June levels to the maximum registered in recent years. Employment in the metalliferous mining industries, which was 28.5 percent greater in June 1937 than in June 1936, reached the highest level since July 1930. In the electric light and power and manufactured-gas industry, employment was above that of any month
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since July 1931. Employment in dyeing and cleaning establishments was higher than that of any month over the preceding 6 years for which records are available. In the general merchandising group -of retail stores, composed of department, variety, and general merchandising stores, and mail-order houses, the June 1937 level was above the June levels of 1929 and suceeding years. Anthracite mining was the only industry in the nonmanufacturing group that did not show an employment gain over the period June 1936 to June 1937, ■and there the recession was slight (0.2 percent) .
The estimated increase in weekly pay rolls in manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries combined, between June 1936 and June 1937, was $67,000,000. The pay-roll index in all manufacturing industries, which in June 1937 was 102.9, showed an increase of 26.9 percent above the June 1936 level. The index numbers of pay rolls in industrial classifications show such variations as 98.7 in June 1936 to 127.8 in June 1937 in the manufacture of transportation equipment and 95.8 in June 1936 and' 137.2 a year later in other types of machinery. Among nondurable-goods industries the greatest increase m earnings was indicated in chemicals and allied products and petroleum refining, where the pay-roll index was 105.4 in June 1936 and 137.4 in June 1937, and in paper and printing, in which the June 1936 index was 89.2 and that June 1937 was 104.9.
The 16 nonmanufacturing industries covered by the. Bureau of Labor Statistics regular wage studies reported increases in pay rolls between June 1936 and June 1937 varying from 5.9 percent in insurance and 6.5 percent in electric-railroad and motorbus operation and maintenance, to 26.6 percent in building construction, 21.4 percent in anthracite mining, and 60.1 percent in metalliferous mining.
Public employment.
The public construction projects financed by the Public Works Administration and the various activities of the W orks Progress Administration and other Federal agencies engaged in work-relief programs continued to afford employment to large numbers of workers throughout the year. In June 1937 more than 204,000 workers were employed on Public Works Administration projects, 2,020,000 on those operated by the Works Progress Administration, and 411,000 on work projects and student-aid activities promoted by the National Youth Administration. Employment in the Emergency Conservation Program fell from 383,000 in June 1936 to 324,000 in June 1937. Construction projects financed from regular governmental appropriations gave employment to 177,000 workers in June 1937, an increase of nearly 75,000 over the number employed in June 1936.
Building construction.
Construction activity as measured by the value of building permits issued was shown by the Bureau data to be 26.2 percent higher during the second half of the fiscal year under review than in the same period in 1936. Permits issued in the 6-month period, January-June 1937, in all cities with a population of 2,500 and over, provided for 101.220 family-dwelling units, an increase of 40.2 percent over the number of families provided for during the first half of 1936.
Average weekly hours and earnings.
Although the length of the average working week in all manufacturing industries in June 1937 was identical with that of June
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61
1936 (39.2 hours) average weekly earnings increased 13.1 percent, or from $22.92 in June 1936 to $26 in June 1937. In a number of industries a shorter workweek was accompanied by an increase in average weekly earnings. In automobile manufacture, for example, average hours per week decreased nearly 10 percent, from 39.7 in June 1936 to 36.1 in June 1937, while average hourly earnings increased 18.2 percent, from 77.1 cents to 90 cents, and average weekly earnings increased 6.1 percent, from $30.58 to $32.46. In textile dyeing and finishing there was a reduction of 0.3 percent in average weekly hours and an increase of nearly 11 percent in average weekly earnings. On the other hand, some of the greatest increases in average w’eekly earnings were apparently largely the result of increased hours. The average weekly hours worked in locomotive manufacture, which were 39.4 in June 1936, were 46.5 in June 1937, an increase of 23.2 percent, accompanied by a still greater percentage change (35.5) in average weekly earnings, and a 9.9-percent increase in average hourly earnings.
In nonmanufacturing industries, only anthracite and metalliferous mining showed any substantial increase in average weekly hours worked, and a 3-percent decline in general merchandising was the only reduction of any significance. Average hourly and weekly earnings, however, were in all cases higher in June 1937 than in June 1936.
Industrial disputes.
Industrial disputes loomed large during the fiscal year 1936-37, not only because of their actual number but because extensive use of the sit-down strike tended to emphasize and perhaps to exaggerate the extent of industrial discord. The number of strikes that began in the period July 1, 1936, to June 30, 1937, was 3,607, a figure comparable to the 3,630 disputes recorded for 1919, when over 4,000,000 workers were involved. However, only 1,614,000 workers were involved in strikes occurring in the fiscal year under review, and the man-days idle because of strikes during that period (26,074,631) closely approximates the number of man-days lost through strikes in the calendar year 1927, when only 330,000 workers were involved in 707 stoppages. Hence, in spite of the large number of disputes and of workers involved, the actual duration of these conflicts was not great. Cost of living.
Living costs for families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers in 32 large cities of the United States increased 3.1 percent from July 15, 1936, to June 15, 1937. This reflected a rise in each of the groups of items in the family budget, with the exception of fuel and light. The greatest increases were 9.8 percent in the cost of house furnishing goods and 5.2 percent in rents actually paid. Clothing costs showed an increase of 4.7 percent; food, 2.7 percent; and miscellaneous items, 1.4 percent. The decrease in fuel and light cost was 1.4 percent. However, costs on June 15, 1937, were still 15.2 percent lower than in December 1929.
Employment and pay rolls.
One of the most important regular functions of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the compiling and publishing of information each month concerning changes in employment, earnings, and hours worked in a number of the most important industrial and business
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groups of the country. These monthly reports are the only official figures available currently covering any considerable portion of the wage earners of the United States. The groups surveyed employ nearly 50 percent of the total wage earners of the country, and the scope of the monthly survey is, in most instances, sufficiently adequate to be considered indicative of the fluctuations occurring within each group. As census data concerning total employment are available only at long intervals, the Bureau's tabulations furnish a basis for estimating current totals of employment and weekly pay rolls in the various fields of employment surveyed. The results of the monthly studies are made available regularly in pamphlet form, which contain data relative to changes in aggregate employment and weekly pay rolls in these important fields of employment, together with detailed information concerning actual earnings and hours in each of the separate manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries surveyed. The monthly data are used extensively by various governmental and nongovernmental agencies for many purposes. They furnish a basis for current estimates of unemployment and national income, and supply comparative data from which the progress in returning workers to employment and changes in the purchasing power of the wage earners of the country can be measured. A large portion of the inquiries which are received for these figures come from employers, trade and industrial organizations, and newspapers.
Private employment.
The June 1937 tabulation covered more than 141,000 establishments employing approximately 8,500,000 workers. Compared with the coverage of 138,300 establishments in June 1936, a slight gain in the reporting sample over the year interval is shown. Data are available for 89 separate manufacturing industries, classified into 14 industrial groups, and for durable-and nondurable-goods groups and for total factory employment. In the field of nonmanufacturing employment the continuing monthly survey covers wholesale and retail trade, telephone and telegraph, electric light and power and manufactured gas, electric-railroad and motorbus operation and maintenance, anthracite mining, bituminous-coal mining, quarrying and nonmetallic mining, metalliferous mining, crude-petroleum producing, year-round hotels, laundries, dyeing and cleaning, brokerage, insurance, and private building construction. In addition to the usual monthly detail which is published for the foregoing industries, the Bureau continued during the year to supply monthly tabulations to a number of trade associations, State organizations, and other interested groups, by more detailed industry classifications or localities than appear in the regular published bulletin.
During the year the Bureau completed the adjustment of its indexes of employment and pay rolls for the manufacturing industries to conform to census data for 1933. This revision continued the periodic adjustment of the factory employment and pay-roll indexes which had previously been made to census totals from 1919 through 1931. Certain refinements in method were used in adjusting the indexes to conform to census totals for 1933 and the indexes were released in mimeographed form in November 1936. These indexes together with information relative to the method of adjustment will appear shortly in a bulletin, which will also contain data concerning average weekly and hourly earnings and average hours worked per
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	03
week for the years 1932-36 and for the months January 1935 to June 1037, inclusive.
Efforts were made during the year to expand the reporting sample, particularly in the wholesale and retail trade groups, to correct certain disproportions in coverage. These efforts resulted in arrangements for receiving monthly pay-roll data from nearly 15,000 additional firms in these two fields of employment.
In addition to the regular monthly survey of employment in the private building construction industry, the experimental study of employment and pay-roll movements based on reports covering each pay period within a fiscal month was continued. Analyses of the movements shown in these reported data, compared with the movements shown in the Bureau’s regular single-week survey, did not show sufficient justification for tabulating reports for every pay period in the month; and it was decided in June 1937 to discontinue the collection of the data for every pay-roll period in the month and adopt the single-wcek basis of reporting for the entire private building construction survey.
New cooperative arrangements were effected during the year with a number of State agencies through which these States serve as the agents of the Bureau in collecting and tabulating employment data. The compilations are made in the cooperating State offices in conformity with the standards and industry classifications governing their compilation in the Bureau office.
Public employment.
The Federal agencies with which the Bureau has arrangements for the collection of employment and pay-roll data for the program of public works continued to give their full cooperation. As a result the Bureau was able to maintain its complete monthly compilations of employment and pay-roll statistics on construction projects of the Public Works Administration, The Works Program, and those financed from regular governmental appropriations. In addition, the Bureau receives monthly reports of all orders placed for construction materials by contractors or Government agencies doing work on their own account. Employment and pay-roll figures are also collected and tabulated for the Emergency Conservation Program. The usual compilation of monthly employment figures for the executive, legislative, military, and judicial services of the Federal Government were published currently.
In a series of studies of the indirect labor involved in the fabrication of certain basic materials, reported upon as in progress last year, data were compiled on the labor requirements in steel manufacture, in the cement industry, and in the production and distribution of lumber and lumber products. Studies covering the clay-products industry, the manufacture of plumbing and heating supplies, and railroad transportation are in process. During the year studies were made of the employment created by 3 years of P. W. A. construction, the employment effect of P. W. A. expenditures for six completed power projects, and the indirect labor requirements in the construction of houses by the T. V. A. These studies were published in October and November 1936 and June 1937, respectively.
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Estimates of total employment.
For the past 2 years the Bureau has been making periodical estimates of employment in the United States in industries and employments other than agriculture, and during the fiscal year just closed preliminary figures were released covering the period January 1929 to May 1937. Final publication of revised estimates is anticipated before the end of the fiscal year 1937-38. From March 1929 to March 1933 nonagricultural employment declined by 9,480,000 to a low point of 25,897,000. During the following 4 years there was a recovery of more than 8,200,000 to an estimated level of 34,138,000 in March 1937. By May 1937 a further increase of more than 500,000 brought the estimated number of persons employed in nonagricultural industries to the total of 34,722,000.
The following table shows the average number of persons employed for selected years from 1929 to 1936 in each of the employment fields for which estimates are made.
Total, nonagricultural employment in the United States, annual averages, 1929-36
[Thousands of persons]
Group	1929	1933	1934	1935	1936
Total				36,158	27,663	30,167	31,346	32,975
Employees						28,962	21, 217	23,419	24,338	25, 789
Industry		16,148	10, 581	11,853	12, 398	13, 389
Manufacturing		9,712	6, 668	7, 677	8,175	8, 764
Mining		1,023	602	715	706	736
Construction		1,784	854	921	966	1,195
Transportation		2, 505	1,631	1, 690	1,701	1,811
Public utilities		1,124	826	850	850	884
Distribution and service		12, 814	10,636	11,566	11,940	12,400
Trade		6, 049	4, 637	5, 257	5, 429	5, 604
Finance		890	721	734	742	781
Service and miscellaneous industries		2,646	2,069	2,286	2, 405	2,516
Government, education, and professional services		3,229	3,210	3, 288	3, 365	3,499
Proprietors and self-employed		4,088	3,790	3,978	4,120	4,205
Casual workers						3,108	2,656	2,770	2,888	2,980
Building construction.
Information concerning the number of buildings and estimated cost of residential and nonresidential building construction, measured by the value of building permits issued, continued to be collected and published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data were also shown on additions, alterations, and repairs. Each month the Bureau collects reports on building construction activity directs from local building officials, except in the States of Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, where the State departments of labor collect and forward the data to the Bureau. These reports covering cities having a population of 2,500 or over indicate the trend of future employment in the building trades. They also show the number of family units provided, thus affording a measure of the new housing facilities to be made available.
During the year the Bureau carried almost to completion its special detailed analysis of building permit data for the years 1929 to
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	05
1935, inclusive, for cities having a population of 10,000 or more. The results of this survey will show for the first time on a national scale the trend of construction in residential and nonresidential structures for which permits were issued. Information on an annual basis will be available also for the number of residential and nonresidential structures, the number of family-dwelling units, the type of structure, the exterior materials used, and the estimated costs. For some cities information for cubic contents, square-foot area, number of rooms, and demolitions will be available. In addition these data will provide a continuous record of building permit statistics from 1929 in those cities which, prior to 1933, were not included in the building construction reports.
Wages, hours, and working conditions.
It has always been the policy of the Bureau to make its comprehensive surveys of wages, hours, and working conditions by the direct method of field investigation through a trained staff of agents. During the fiscal year under review the field work was completed for two large surveys of this character—shipbuilding and bituminous coal—and was nearly completed for cotton goods. The shipbuilding survey covered both navy yards and private construction and included information for more than 60,000 employees. The bituminous-coal survey covered nearly all States producing bituminous coal, with data for more than 100,000 workers. The coverage in cotton goods will also approximate 100,000 employees.
Tabulation of material on hours and earnings, and preparation of bulletins and articles dealing with surveys for which field work had been completed occupied a large part of the fiscal year. They covered earnings and hours in individual departments of the iron and steel industry and the industry as a whole in 1933 and 1935; entrance rates and full-time hours of common laborers employed by municipalities in 1935; earnings and hours in the set-up paper box industry, 1933-35; wages, hours, and working conditions on river towboats in 1935; and earnings and hours in the cigar industry in 1936. Special analyses of Bureau data were made to provide information on earnings and hours of Negro workers in the iron and steel industry and in independent tobacco stemmeries.
During the year three bulletins were published on wages and hours, one dealing with entrance rates and full-time hours of common laborers employed by cities, September 1935 (Bull. 627); another with wages, hours, and working conditions in the bread-baking industry, 1933-34 (Bull. 623); and the third included wages, hours, and working conditions in the folding paper-box industry, 1933, 1934, and 1935 (Bull. 633). The last two bulletins deal with a comprehensive appraisal of the effect of the National Recovery Administration upon the bread-baking and folding paper-box industries.
In addition to these field surveys, the Bureau continued the tabulation of data obtained in connection with the mail questionnaire survey of employment and income in the engineering profession and three articles dealing with employment and unemployment of engineers were published. Another mail questionnaire survey, which is an annual study, covered the entrance rates of common unskilled labor in manufacturing industries as of July 1, 1936.
Considerable progress was made in connection with the technique of machine tabulation covering the special surveys of wages, hours,
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and working conditions. A standard punch, card has been adopted, which utilizes to the highest degree gang punching and mass multiplication. As a result of the improvements in machine tabulation, it will be possible for the Bureau to engage in a greater number of surveys.
Annual earnings.
As noted in the last year’s report, the Bureau is making particular effort to collect data on annual earnings, because of the increased need for information on this important aspect of the wage problem for which the existing data are inadequate. Regular wage studies have been so expanded as to make it possible to obtain data on the annual earnings of the stable labor force of the individual employers whose pay rolls are analyzed. While this method takes no account of possible earnings elsewhere, it does provide an estimate of the income received from their usual occupations by workers who are more or less steadily employed. Average annual earnings of employees in the iron and steel industry in 1934 were made available as was data on annual earnings in the bituminous-coal industry in 1935.
Union wages.
The annual study of union scales of wages and hours in 70 cities was again carried out as of May 15, 1936. The survey covers 69 trades and subdivisions of trades in the baking, building construction, transportation, and printing and publishing industries. Separate reports were published on wage rates in each of these industries.
The reports on the building and printing trades, published in bulletin form, presented revised series of index numbers of changes in wage and hour rates. The revision, by using the chain-index method, causes the indexes more accurately to reflect changes in wage and hour scales. The union scales of wages and hours as of May 15, 1936, are covered in Bulletin 626 for the building trades, and in Bulletin 631 for the printing trades.
Construction wage rates.
Prevailing wage laws and various administrative orders obviously call for information as to what constitutes prevailing wages. The Bureau of Labor Statistics during the year under review completed a comprehensive study of wages actually paid and hours worked in the building trades in 105 cities.
For the building construction industry as a whole, or more precisely for the 186,145 workers covered in the building survey, the average hourly rate paid in 1936 was 91.8 cents. Of the employees scheduled, 67.7 percent were union and 32.3 percent nonunion employees. Skilled workers represented 56.8 percent of the total covered, semiskilled 23.0 percent, and unskilled 20.2 percent. The highest rates paid were reported for hoisting engineers, with an average of $1.34 per hour. Ranking next were structural-iron workers, with an average hourly rate of $1.33. Other workers averaging $1.30 or more were bricklayers, electricians, and metal lathers. Of the workers covered, 46.9 percent received rates of $1 or more. On the other hand, 12.3 percent received less than 50 cents an hour. In 40 of these cities a study of wages and hours was made in water, sewer, and in street-road construction. Tabulations on these latter studies had not been completed at the end of the fiscal year.
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67
Index of average hourly earnings.
For a number of years the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published a general index of average hourly earnings. The recent marked expansion of the coverage of reports of employment, pay rolls, and man-hours to the Bureau has made possible a much more adequate measure of change in average hourly earnings. For the purpose of incorporating additional data and of placing the index on a basis comparable with the Bureau’s indexes of employment and pay rolls, a revision of the general index was undertaken during the latter part of 1936. Connected with the revision of the general index of average hourly earnings was a study of average weekly hours and average weekly earnings. The completion of the project proved to be impossible during the fiscal year 1936-37.
Analysis of changes in average earnings and hours and volume of employment.
During the latter part of 1936 a special tabulation of reports to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 16 manufacturing industries was made for the purpose of analyzing by establishments and by States the changes in average weekly hours, average hourly earnings, and volume of employment before and after the nullification of the National Industrial Recovery Act. The object of the study was primarily to ascertain the effects of nullification on the structure of wages and hours within selected industries. The results were published in the form of articles on Hours and Earnings Before and After the N. R. A. and Average Hourly Earnings in Manufacturing, 1933 to 1936.
The study was significant in revealing the wide range of hours and earnings within each of the industries included in the study. This is not shown by the general averages derived from the monthly reports.
Extensive use of these studies was made in connection with the joint hearings on the fair labor standards bill of 1937 before the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives.
Foreign wages.
Last year’s report referred to the data on current wage rates and earnings in the foreign countries that the Bureau was collecting with the cooperation of the Department of State through the consular offices. This material was assembled and compiled during the past fiscal year. While it is improbable that the Bureau’s printing fund will allow for the publication of these voluminous data, they have proved very valuable as source material in answering frequent inquiries regarding foreign wages, and are available for the use of anyone desiring that specific information.
Labor turn-over.
Monthly surveys of labor turn-over in 144 manufacturing industries continued during the year, and the reports received from more than 5,000 firms, employing approximately 2,500,000 persons, showed quit, discharge, lay-off, and total separation and accession rates. During the year rubber tires, electrical machinery, and hardware were added to the industries for which separate rates are published. Special studies were made of the comparative separation and accession rates for furniture and cotton-goods industries. In addition a special
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study of labor turn-over for 1930 to 1936 in all manufacturing and in 16 separate industries was made. Also various Government agencies were furnished with extensive special compilations on labor turnover by cities and States.
Labor-productivity surveys.
Brief mention was made in the last year’s report of surveys of labor productivity in the various important industries that the Bureau had undertaken in cooperation with the national research project of the Works Progress Administration. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, field work and preliminary analyses were completed covering boots and shoes, textiles, and mechanized clerical work, and completed reports on the leather, cigar, and cotton-garment industries were prepared for publication.
Toward the close of the fiscal year the Bureau of Labor Statistics completed a study of railroad labor, revising and bringing up to date the results of a study made in 1933. The objects of the study included the measurement of changes in labor productivity and a comparison of hours and earnings over the period studied in selected groups of railroad labor. Such studies are significant in throwing light on the problems of technological displacement of labor and of the range of hours and earnings.
The study of mechanization and labor productivity in the coalmining industry in Belgium, an original survey by a Bureau representative referred to in last year’s report, was published in March 1937.
Industrial-accident statistics.
The annual study of injury experience in the iron and steel industry for 1935 was completed, and a comparison with 1934 data was published in December 1936. The annual study of industrial injuries in 30 manufacturing industries for 1935 was also completed, and a comparison with 1934 data was published in January 1937. An analysis made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of accident data collected by the Bureau of Mines, covering the experience of 1,865 identical mines and quarries in 1934 and 1935, was presented in June 1937.
Work was begun on the 1936 accident record in the iron and steel industry, and in other manufacturing industries. This will involve a very large increase in both the number of establishments and in the number of industries whose accident records will be studied, thus carrying out the plan for extension of this work to which reference was made in last year’s report. Special studies also were initiated in the fertilizer industry and in the construction industry.
Activities were continued in the development of uniform comparable accident statistics in the various States, and also in the Federal agencies through a committee of the Federal Accident Statisticians, recently organized for that purpose.
The field work in the survey of the administration of workmen’s compensation and insurance was completed, and assembling of the data was initiated. Although this work has not yet reached the point where publication will be possible in the near future, the data acquired during the course of the survey are available for reference, and have frequently been used for that purpose.
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Cost of living.
Changes in cost of living.
Quarterly surveys of the cost of goods purchased by families of wage earners and lower-salaried workers in 32 large cities of the United States were, as usual, conducted as of September 15, December 15, March 15, and June 15. A report on Changes in Cost of Living, December 15, 1936, presented indexes by groups of items for each of the 32 cities and for each pricing period from June 1926 through December 15, 1936. Indexes of the cost of all goods only were published for each of the cities in the reports of March 15 and June 15, 1937. Henceforth, indexes by groups of items for each of the 32 cities will be published only once a year—in December.
The revision of indexes based on data derived from the Nationwide study of purchases made by wage earners and lower-salaried, clerical workers, to which reference was made in the report for the-fiscal year 1935-36, will be completed during the coming year. As; was pointed but last year, quantity weights derived from this material will more nearly reflect present-day consumption than those based on the Bureau’s original cost-of-living study made in 1917-19.
Studies of consumer purchases.
Tabulations of the data obtained in the investigation of the expenditures of employed wage earners and lower-salaried clerical workers, which had been in progress since the fall of 1934, were completed for cities in five regions during the year and bulletins giving detailed reports on the data collected are nearing completion.
By the end of the fiscal year the Bureau had completed, for 32 cities, the field work in connection with the cooperative survey of consumer purchasing made jointly with the Bureau of Home Economics of the Department of Agriculture, the Works Progress Administration, and the National Resources Committee. Information regarding nativity, color, family size, and housekeeping arrangements were obtained from 450,000 families; regarding family income, rents paid, and housing facilities from 250,000 families; data regarding total family expenditures from 26,000 families; and data regarding purchase of individual items of food, clothing, and furnishings from 17,000 families. The preliminary results dealing with family incomes and rents paid are being used extensively by labor organizations, producers and distributors of consumption goods, Government agencies, and others responsible for the planning of industrial production. A series of bulletins presenting detailed findings of the investigation, now in preparation, will give valuable information on the annual purchases of a cross section of the population and will provide more complete data than have been previously available regarding the consumption demands of various income and occupational groups, and indirectly the demand for labor in varied types of enterprise.
Retail prices.
The Bureau continued to collect retail food prices and to publish its food-cost index on a monthly basis during the year ended June 1937. As a result of a study made in cooperation with the Bureau of Fisheries, it was possible to add two fresh-fish items in each city to rhe foods for which prices are collected. The resulting data have been tabulated and studied and will be included as a part of the price
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reporting service in 1937-38. Research extending over a period of more than a year culminated in a shift from bakeries to retail stores as the principal source of retail bread-price data. Outlet weights which serve as a basis for combining the prices obtained from chain and independent food stores were revised to conform with census data for 1935.
Publication of prices of coal, gas, and electricity was continued on a quarterly basis during the fiscal year 1936-37. The retail coal-price series was enlarged to include all the more important fuels for domestic heating. A new series of weighted average prices was inaugurated for Pennsylvania anthracite, and index numbers on an October 1922-September 1925 base were computed for stove and chestnut sizes for all reporting periods back to January 1929. Working in cooperation with the committee on prices in the bituminous-coal industry, the Bureau has substantially increased its coverage in this price field, and is making the resulting data available in detailed form.
A bulletin entitled “Changes in Retail Prices of Gas, 1923-36” (Bull. 628) was published early in 1937. This bulletin contains quarterly index numbers of gas prices from 1923 to 1936 on the basis of heat-unit standards for two types of residential service for each of the 50 cities included in the retail gas-price series. _ It also gives composite indexes for natural, manufactured, and mixed gases, together with information regarding changes in the kind of gas, type of rate structure, and other factors influencing the price paid by residential customers. Computations are nearly complete for index numbers of electricity prices for three types of residential service from 1923 to 1936 for each of the 51 cities reporting these data to the Bureau.
Redistribution of the Bureau’s rental sample on the most recent authoritative housing data was completed for the following cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, Portland, Oreg., Richmond, Houston, Indianapolis, Mobile, Philadelphia, and Seattle. The units included in the new sample are representative of all types of dwellings in all rent ranges.
The Bureau’s experience with the use of written specifications for collecting prices has demonstrated the value of this approach to the problem of insuring the comparability of prices from city to city and from period to period. Specifications were developed for the 84 items included in the food-cost indexes. Final adoption of these specifications will be deferred until they have been checked by actual use in price collection.
Wholesale prices.
The research and expansion program covering the wholesale-price work of the Bureau, which was begun in the preceding fiscal year, was continued during the past year. This program contemplates a complete revision of its wholesale-price work, involving the enlargement of the commodity and industry coverage; more definite, specifications for the items included; and more complete classification of the items and industries. Together with a study of marketing methods, the program is designed to develop types and methods of weighting and index computation that will best portray wholesaleprice movements. Surveys have already been made or are in process for farm machinery, underwear, lumber, boxboard, leather and leather products, chemicals, soap, cement, brick and tile, rubber and
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rubber products, small hand tools, mixed fertilizers and fertilizer materials, automobiles, bituminous coal, and millwork. Similar surveys are planned for textiles, iron and steel products, food items, anthracite, furniture, and farm products. The results of the farmmachinery survey were published, and separate reports for other industries will be issued from time to time as the surveys are finished.
No material change was made in the number of firms furnishing wholesale-price data to the Bureau during the past year. The present number of cooperating manufacturers, producers, and other agences is approximately 1,250. The Bureau also uses 40 recognized trade journals and business magazines in connection with its wholesale-price work. The number of items for which individual price data were collected during the past year is approximately 4,300.
In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, the Bureau, through its wholesale price division, cooperated with the Treasury Department in the preparation of a daily index number of 30 sensitive commodities for the exclusive use of the Treasury Department in its consideration of monetary and world economic conditions. In addition special indexes were prepared for the use of the Federal Reserve Board in evaluating domestic conditions and the relationship of market prices of farm products to prices of industrial commodities.
During the past fiscal year the Bureau developed the formula and method of procedure for a revised technique for use in the calculation of its wholesale-price indexes. This revised technique enables computation of estimated values in exchange in wholesale markets on a strictly comparable weekly and monthly basis.
The Bureau continued to publish both weekly and monthly reports on wholesale prices. Both of these are based on 784 commodity-price series weighted in accordance with their respective importance in the country’s markets.
Industrial disputes.
A substantial rise, during the fiscal year under review, in the number of strikes and the number of workers involved added to the Bureau’s task of compiling current records on industrial disputes. At the same time popular interest in the subject of strikes increased the number of requests for strike statistics. The general trend in industrial disputes as indicated by the number of strikes beginning, continuing, and ending each month was shown regularly in summary form as nearly currently as is compatible with accurate reporting. These summaries were followed, after all the data were received and verified, by detailed analyses of causes, duration, industries affected, method of settlement, and the results in relation to the major issues out of which they grew. The compilation of strike data for the calendar year 1936, published in May 1937, showed a further analysis by States and cities, and by type of labor organization involved.
A bulletin bringing together substantially all available official statistics on strikes from 1881 to the present and containing a comprehensive statistical analysis of strikes for the 10-year period 1927 to 1936 was prepared for publication.
Union agreements.
The Bureau’s files of union agreements grew during the past year to approximately 5,000, including current agreements of practically all the national and international unions. This increase reflects the expansion in trade-union activity and the growing number of agree
72	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
ments which, are being effected. Increasing use of these files is being made by Government agencies, trade-unions, employers’ associations, research agencies, and individuals.
Analytical studies were made of the provisions of union agreements in the hosiery, steel, petroleum, men’s clothing, and water transportation industries, and a special study was made of vacation provisions in union agreements. Analyses of the agreements of the unions covered by the annual study of union wages and hours were published in connection with the reports on union wages and hours. A comprehensive study of trade-union machinery for the adjustment of disputes arising under union agreements is now in progress.
A file of constitutions of practically all the national and international unions has been established and is kept current with the cooperation of the trade-unions.
Legislation and court decisions affecting labor.
The long-recognized and well-established activity of the Bureau in furnishing information on labor legislation, social insurance, and decisions of courts affecting labor, continued during the year. Increased popular interest in these subjects caused the services of the Bureau to be utilized more than ever before by public and private organizations and agencies. While the Bureau continued to be handicapped by the limited amount of printing funds available for publication of bulletins, the Monthly Labor Review was used to. present analyses of Federal and State labor legislation and the results of many surveys. Special articles of interest to labor which appeared in the Monthly Labor Review during the year dealt with legislation relating to trade-marks of trade-unions, legal holidays, and laws providing 1 day of rest in 7. Decisions of courts affecting labor were analyzed and published, including the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States on the constitutionality of the Federal prison-labor law, the National Labor Relations Act, the Railway Labor Act, and the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act. During the year a compilation of laws (Bull. 625) relating to occupational-disease legislation in the United States was published, and a bulletin (No. 630) containing legislation on public and private employment agencies as well as emigrant agencies was prepared.
Labor legislation in Latin America.
Increased interest attaches to labor legislation in Latin America, both because of recent notable developments in that field and because of the growing interrelationship of the Americas. The Bureau has accordingly made special effort to keep in touch with new labor legislation in South America. A summary of the Venezuelan labor law of 1936 was published in the December 1936 issue of the Monthly Labor Review; minimum-wage laws in operation in various South American countries were analyzed in an article appearing in the July 1936 issue and a similar treatment of laws regulating working hours was published in the November 1936 issue.
Promotion of uniformity in statistical reports.
Bureau officials and representatives spent considerable time during the past year on the problem of securing uniform or comparable data from the various agencies now dealing with labor statistics. The helpful services of the Central Statistical Board greatly facilitated the Bureau’s own work, and the response of State agencies was very
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
73
encouraging. Conferences were held with officials of State departments of labor and workmen’s compensation commissions, and in some instances Bureau representatives served as advisors to State agencies th^t were setting up or revising their reporting systems. The cooperative arrangements which the Bureau has been making with State departments of labor dealing with the reporting of employment, pay-roll, and building data will make for uniformity in those fields, and the movement to report accident statistics on a consistently comparable basis will no doubt be stimulated by the recently organized group of Federal statisticians concerned with industrial accident statistics.
Collection of wage claims.
The wide extent of the practice of withholding wages when due and the inadequacy of legal machinery for the collection of wage claims were again emphasized by an inquiry made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in November 1936. This survey, results of which were published in May 1937, showed that in those States where the labor offices are fairly well equipped to handle wage complaints, settlement advantageous to the plaintiff is effected in a large proportion of the cases. It showed also that many State labor offices do not have the requisite legal authority to handle these claims successfully.
Interstate migration of workers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, at the request of the Secretary, participated in the inquiry made, at the direction of the Senate, into the extent of interstate migration of workers, and the measures taken by States to check movements of the unemployed across State lines. No appropriation was made available for a thorough study of this complex problem, but the Bureau, in cooperation with other units of the Department, assembled sufficient data to point out some of the economic forces which cause labor migration, and the social problems which result from it.
The relocation of workers from one State to another was found to be a necessary process of adjustment to such forces as the development of new areas, the failure to restore stranded communities, industrialization, drought, depression, displacement of cotton tenants, and the quest for health. Constant migration from job to job was found to result from irregular demands for labor, especially in agriculture. Both the relocation and the constant migration of native workers seem to have increased since the 1920’s, as the volume of foreign immigration has dwindled. The proportion of migrant families, including young children, has also increased. Interstate migrants, in contrast to the local homeless population, are generally young and employable. Yet migration is largely unguided, and the social security acts have largely overlooked the worker who migrates across State lines. Seasonal migrants in agriculture appear to find work for only half the year and to earn no more than $400 per family on the average. The resulting conditions of migratory life are a threat to the development of good citizens. As regards living accommodations, health protection, education of children, and the relief of distress, the migrant generally suffers from discrimination in comparison with the resident worker.
25730—37----6
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Survey of legal regulations applying to employees of motionpicture theaters.
On request of the Secretary of Labor, the Bureau undertook to collect and analyze State laws and city ordinances and regulations establishing standards for the protection of the safety and health of employees engaged in motion-picture theaters. The study is practically complete and will serve a twofold purpose: (1) It will make available data on public regulation of theaters; and (2) it will demonstrate the advantages of good State laws in combination with local requirement, over purely local control where the welfare of a substantial body of workers engaged in standardized work is being dealt with.
Personnel practices.
In its regular studies of working conditions the Bureau, during the past 3 years, has been giving considerable attention to the personnel policies and practices of individual employers and employing corporations as an important factor in determining working conditions and employer-employee relations. Information is now collected in the course of field surveys of specified industries which shows the prevailing practices in regard to such matters as welfare programs, training systems, hiring and firing policies, and vacation plans. This material is compiled and analyzed by industry as sufficient data become available. During the fiscal year analyses were made of personnel policies and working conditions in the baking industry and in the cigarette industry. The Bureau plans to use this type of inquiry in its various industrial surveys as fully as resources permit.
Prison-labor survey.
The Bureau continued to cooperate with the Prison Industries Reorganization Administration in gathering data concerning prison labor in State prisons of the United States, at the invitation of individual States. The scope of this study was presented in considerable detail in the Bureau’s report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1936. Surveys were completed during the fiscal year just closed in Califor-nia, District of Columbia, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. Thus, with the seven States reported as completed in the fiscal year 1935-36 (Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Vermont, and West Virginia) 14 States and the District of Columbia have been covered in this study, the purpose of which is to facilitate the work of the Prison Industries Reorganization Administration in the employment of prisoners in State-use projects.
Consumers’ cooperation.
A general statistical survey of consumers’ cooperative associations was undertaken during the year under review.. The complete survey will include all types of consumers’ cooperatives (including stores, housing associations, insurance companies, telephone lines, electricity supply organizations, gasoline filling stations, and so forth), as well as wholesale and other cooperative federations, credit unions, and self-help and workers’ productive associations. This study, still in progress, is similar to those made in earlier years (1920, 1925, 1929, 1933), but is of much broader scope.
Important developments in the cooperative movement were noted in the Monthly Labor Review, and in addition certain studies of
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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limited scope were carried in that publication. These included data on the electricity associations, compiled for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Rural Electrification Administration, data on the operations of credit unions in 1935, on the Utah self-help movement, and on cooperative societies of Indians.
Workers’ housing programs.
Pursuing an established policy, developments in the housing field were followed during the year, respecting both domestic and foreign conditions. The importance of the Federal low-cost housing program and Federal-State relations led the Bureau to compile a report analyzing the enabling legislation in various States, whereby public housing may be provided and Federal funds accepted for this purpose. Interest in the public building program called for the publication of a number of articles reviewing briefly the status of individual projects, and a number of reports on housing in foreign countries were briefed for publication.
Survey of governmental labor agencies.
A special study that was well under way at the close of the fiscal year deals with the various forms of governmental activity in the interest of the workers. This survey was undertaken at the request of the executive board of the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials, and with the active cooperation of that group a field survey of State departments of labor had made substantial progress by the end of the year. The purpose of the study is, broadly, to afford a comprehensive view of the rapidly expanding field of governmental labor activities and the agencies through which these activities are carried on. The organization, functions, and methods of procedure of these agencies, and the funds and personnel available for the discharge of their duties, will be analyzed. While State departments of labor constitute the chief source of governmental activity in the interest of labor, many other official agencies also function in the same field, and the survey will cover these as well as the State labor departments. These include agencies dealing with vocational education and rehabilitation, occupational diseases, industrial relations, social security, labor conditions in railroad and maritime employment, and various other related undertakings.
Social insurance in foreign countries.
In view of the general interest in social insurance in this country, stimulated by the enactment of the Federal Social Security Act in 1935 and subsequent State legislation, the Bureau, toward the end of the year under review, commenced a study of social insurance in foreign countries covering noncontributory old-age pensions and compulsory pension-insurance systems, unemployment insurance, and sickness insurance. The material for this study is being collected for the Bureau by the Department of State through its consular offices.
Handbook of labor statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published, at irregular intervals since 1927, four editions of its handbook of labor statistics, the fourth of which was issued at the close of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1936. This series of handbooks, which are essentially labor encyclopedias, affords an abbreviation of the publications of the
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Bureau, the value of which, for reference and for permanent record, can scarcely be questioned.
When the series was started, the plan was to issue the compilation biennially, and for a time this was done. More recently, limited printing funds made it impracticable to publish so large a volume at stated intervals. However, the work of compiling and keeping available by subject, the type of material reproduced in the bankbooks is continuous, and machinery is maintained which will enable the Bureau to assemble the selected material for prompt publication when a new edition becomes feasible.
Publications.
Labor Information Bulletin began its third year of publication during the fiscal year under review. That it has maintained its popularity and its usefulness is evidenced by the constant demand and by the extent to which articles and information appearing in it are reproduced in the labor press and in other types of periodicals.
Monthly Labor Review.—The Monthly Labor Review continued through the year its primary functions of providing an avenue for prompt publication of the Bureau’s continuing and special studies, and serving as a medium for presenting, as far as resources permit, an authentic record of developments in labor economics and related fields in the United States and in foreign countries. Among the subjects dealt with in special articles appearing in the Monthly Labor Review during the past fiscal year are labor migration, the effect of sales taxes on retail prices of food, prison labor, employment policies affecting older workers, and the work and activities of the International Labor Organization.
The Monthly Labor Review also affords opportunity for other branches of the Department to make current reports of their activities. During the year the United States Employment Service continued to publish monthly reports of operation in the Review, and an article reviewing the growth of State employment services under the Wagner-Peyser Act was published in the February 1937 issue. A study of the advisory councils functioning in connection with the public employment services of various foreign countries, made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the request of the United States Employment Service, appeared in the December 1936 issue.
Bulletins.—Bulletins issued during the fiscal year to which reference has already been made include five in the wages and hours of labor series, dealing with wages, hours, and working conditions in the folding paper-box industry (Bull. 620) and in the baking industry (Bull. 623); with entrance rates and full-time hours of labor employed by cities in September 1935 (Bull. 627) ; and with union wages and hours in the building trades (Bull. 260) and in the printing industry (Bull. 631). The report on wages, hours, and working conditions in the set-up paper-box industry, to be published as Bulletin No. 633, is now in press, as is Bulletin No. 632, a review of employment, earnings, and hours of work from 1919 to 1937.
Other bulletins mentioned in this report are Bulletin No. 625 on occupational-disease legislation in the United States in 1936, and a compilation of laws relating to employment agencies, as of January 1, 1937, which was compiled during the fiscal year and which will be released shortly as Bulletin No. 630.
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Recurrent publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued during the year include a directory of labor offices in the United States and Canada, heretofore published annually in the July issue of the Monthly Labor Review but now issued in bulletin form; the 1936 edition (Bull. 624) of the selected list of Bureau publications, and the third edition (1936) of the Handbook of American Trade Unions (Bull. 618). In addition to the usual information dealing with individual national and international unions this third tradeunion handbook discusses the machinery of trade-union government and changes and developments in the labor movement, and analyzes some of the most important trade-union functions, as collective bargaining and benefits. The transcript of proceedings of the 1936 Convention of the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials, held at Topeka, Kans., is now in press and will be published as Bulletin No. 629 under the title, Labor Laws and their Administration.
Special studies, which during the fiscal year 1936-37 were issued or prepared for publication as bulletins, are those dealing with wage executions for debt (Bull. 622) and characteristics of company unions (Bull. 634). Both of these studies were described in the preceding annual report. Bulletin No. 622 has been released and Bulletin No. 634 is in press.
Inquiries and correspondence.
The work of complying with requests for publications and for information on specific questions continued heavy during the fiscal year, the total number exceeding that of last year. As pointed out in the Bureau’s preceding report, while a substantial part of these inquiries can be answered by published material, many others involve selection or retabulation of Bureau material, or extensive research. The number of requests received during the fiscal year was 52,798.
Looking to the future.
Under the present administration of the Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has expanded rapidly. More liberal appropriations by a Congress sympathetic with its work made possible a very considerable strengthening of its personnel. Increased cooperation on the part of State governments, employers, labor organizations, and the public generally made the gathering of desired material less difficult and the material itself more accurate. The constructive criticism and counsel of many individuals and agencies, notably the Central Statistical Board, made for a steady improvement in the technical quality of its research and statistical activities. As a result of these factors, it is believed that the Bureau is now equipped to carry on its work, as at present prescribed, with a high degree of efficiency and economy.
On the other hand, it is of utmost importance to emphasize that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not a finished machine, grinding cut statistical and research data year after year in the same patterns. It is dealing with the actions and reactions of human beings in a constantly changing world. Thus, usefully to fulfill its functions it must be prepared constantly to change not only the patterns of its work but the machinery through which it operates.
This fact is evident when one review’s the publications of the Bureau over the half century of its existence. When this is done, it is
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
difficult at times to realize that one is dealing with the same agency. The subjects covered and the methods of treating them are found to be shifting constantly and often radically. This was not due to any arbitrary change of policy on the part of the administration of the Bureau. It was due to the fact that during this half century fundamental changes took place in our industrial as well as our social life. Many labor problems of acute importance in the 1890’s gradually passed from the picture and new ones entered.
Take the case of workmen’s compensation for industrial accidents.. Thirty years ago there was no effective legislation in this field in the United States, but, anticipating the drift of social thinking, the Bureau was even then busy compiling extensive reports on the number and cost of industrial accidents and bringing to the attention of Americans the practice of other countries in this matter. As a result, when the time was ripe for legislative action a mass of information was available for the guidance of those concerned with the drafting of public laws. Today workmen’s compensation is an accepted principle, and interest has shifted to a still more fundamental question—the reduction, and, if possible, the elimination, of industrial accidents. It is to assist in this very worth-while campaign that the Bureau is now seeking to expand its research work in the field of accident statistics.
Again, less than 5 years ago, unemployment insurance, as a matter of legislative policy, was almost unknown in this country. But, as in the case of workmen’s accident compensation, those close to the labor field could anticipate that it would be a live issue in the not distant future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics realized this, and sought to collect and compile all the available material pertinent to the subject, with the object of having it ready when the need for it should arise.
In other cases, changes in the Bureau’s work have been in methods rather than iri subject matter, and thus still less observed. For instance, the subject of wages has always occupied a prominent place in the Bureau’s program. Until recently, however, wage surveys were concerned mainly with average hourly earnings. During the past few years changing conditions have made it imperative to secure data on annual earnings.
In none of these instances, of course, and at no time, has the Bureau been a proponent for any particular course or policy. Its job has been to assemble and present the facts of our economic life as they affect the workingman. If these facts indicate the desirability of legislation or of other remedial action, that is the job of other agencies. But the importance of the preliminary fact gathering cannot be overemphasized. In many respects it may be regarded as the most important work done by the Bureau in its efforts, to quote from its organic act, “to promote the welfare of the workers” of this country.
The task of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is, therefore, not only to do well what it is doing now but to be constantly preparing for what will be demanded tomorrow. It must, of course, do a considerable amount of more or less routine collecting and compiling of current data. But in addition it must be in a position to do pioneer work in new fields. In this respect it must perform functions analogous to those performed in the research laboratories of private in
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
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dustry. In other words, it must be able, in some degree at least, to anticipate the problems of tomorrow, and to do the necessary exploratory work in preparation for furnishing the factual basis for dealing with new “problems” when they become “live issues.”
Among the numerous problems in which interest has been growing and in regard to which further information is especially needed, three may be mentioned. One of these is the regulation of wages and hours in subnormal enterprises. This calls, among other things, for knowledge not only of general averages but of annual earnings and of the diversity and range of hours and earnings within the separate industries. A second problem is the formulation of policies relating to groups on the border of employability and self-support, such as casual and migratory workers; men beyond the age of ready employment and below the age of retirement; and large numbers who shift back and forth between wage-earning employment and subnormal small-scale enterprise in both city and country—groups which depress wages and working standards and which frequently engage in employments that have no real economic basis. A third question is the fundamental problem of public policy in relation to the employment or support of those whom private enterprise no longer needs, because of the failure of production and consumption to expand in proportion to the rise of efficiency and labor productivity and the growth of population.
These and similar problems call for the steady expansion of the work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With this in mind, the following suggestions are made regarding studies in more or less new fields, which it is believed should be made in the immediate future:
Farm labor.—Adequate surveys of farm labor in the United States have never been made in spite of its numerical importance. Current statistics of the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of the Census touch upon only a very few aspects of the farm laborer’s life and problems. This lack of information is particularly noticeable in the discussions of the various unemployment-insurance laws and proposals. Farm laborers are excluded from all existing laws, and one of the reasons for exclusion is that there is no adequate knowledge of the conditions of farm employment.
'Migratory labor.—The migrant worker is a factor of very great importance in our national life. In the past very little accurate or comprehensive information has been available regarding his life and habits, largely because his migratory character makes such studies extremely difficult. A recent preliminary report of the Department of Labor could do little more than classify the causes of migration and point out the seriousness of the problem by assembling existing materials on the subject. Progress was made in defining the questions to be studied and in experimenting with various techniques of investigation, but the suggestions for legislation requested by the Senate must await some provision for obtaining more adequate information. To a large extent the workers who migrate continually are farm workers, but the reverse is not true. The two subjects require separate treatment.
Range of working hours and earnings.—Until recently the reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on wages, hours, and employment were concerned almost entirely with the presentation of averages; for instance, average hours and weekly earnings by occupations, indus
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
tries, and States or regions. To meet present needs it is extremely important that the data be so analyzed as to show such items as the distribution of employees falling in particular wages and hours groups. This necessity for classification is recognized by the Bureau, and occasional tabulations have been made along this line for use on particular occasions—such as in the discussions of the wages and hours proposals now before Congress. But, because of the staff required, it has not been possible for the Bureau to make such classifications a regular feature of its reports.
Annual earnings.—Progress has been made by the Bureau in its attempts to expand its wage surveys to include annual earnings. But this is a difficult and costly task, and it has not been possible to undertake it on the extensive scale that is demanded. Particularly in demand is information on annual earnings in building construction and other seasonal industries, where the hourly or daily wage rates fail entirely to give any idea of the amount of yearly earnings.
Earnings of salaried and professional workers.—Developments of recent years have gone far to break down the economic lines between wage earners on the one hand and salaried and professional workers on the other. More and more these latter two groups are looking to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for information on earnings and conditions of employment among their members. Two years ago a formal request for such a survey was made by the large engineering societies, and this request was complied with by the Bureau. Similar requests have been made by other professional and subprofessional groups, and the Bureau should be in a position to extend its regular services into these fields.
Plant personnel policies.—In its recent industrial wage surveys the Bureau has secured a limited amount of data on the subject of personnel policies for the plants covered, but the subject is deserving of far more extensive study than has yet been possible. A study of this character would deal with such important subjects as employment methods, plant benefit plans, vacation policies, and employee housing. In a considerable degree it would supplement the more limited study of labor turn-over suggested below.
Causes and remedies for labor turn-over.—For a number of years the Bureau has been collecting monthly data from a representative group of manufacturers showing the amount and kind of labor turnover occurring in their plants. These reports offer a valuable means of measuring the seriousness of the problem, but do not throw any light on the causes and remedies. A careful study in this field, based on the experience of individual plants, would be of great usefulness in improving the “hiring and firing” methods in American industry.
Monthly cost-of-living index.—The Bureau’s current index of changes in the cost of living should be compiled monthly instead of quarterly as is now done. This would be in line with the desire of practically all persons who use the Bureau’s current statistical reports to have such reports on a monthly basis. The change presents no statistical difficulties but would involve a considerable increase in the cost of collection of the necessary data.
Index of cost of living for single women.—The present cost-of-living index of the Bureau is concerned solely with families of workers. With the increase in the number of State minimum-wage laws, following the decision of the United States Supreme Court in the Washington case, there is great need on the part of the adminis
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	§1
trators of such laws for special cost-of-living indexes for single woman workers. It is known that the effect of price changes in the case of single persons, living independently, is quite different from the effect of price changes on the cost of living of families.
Housing of workers.—Existing governmental agencies dealing with housing have been concerned primarily with construction and financing of new buildings. We know little regarding the adequacy or character of existing workingmen’s homes. The Bureau’s latest cost-of-living inquiry, now near completion, will throw some light on this subject, but will not answer many important questions, such as the existing accommodations and what the workers themselves regard as desirable; the effect of home ownership on lessening the mobility of labor; the advantages and disadvantages of urban and suburban location; at what income levels really satisfactory housing is possible ; and the practicability of building homes to meet the needs of the very low income groups.
The older worker in industry.—For various reasons the older worker in industry has become a “problem.” We need much more extensive information than we have regarding the attitudes and practices of employers toward the older employee, the effect of technological changes and plant practices upon the age distribution of employees, and methods for alleviating such hardships upon workers as may be due to age. Such information is particularly important in view of various social-security laws and proposals.
Labor conditions in Hawaii.—The organic law of the Territory of Hawaii, entitled “An Act To Provide a Government for the Territory of Hawaii,” approved April 30, 1900, and amended April 8, 1904, makes it the duty of the United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics to make a report on labor conditions in that Territory at 5-year intervals, beginning in 1905. The law referred to reads as follows:
It shall be the duty of the United States Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect, assort, arrange, and present in reports every 5 years statistical details relating to all departments of labor in the Territory of Hawaii, especially in relation to the commercial, industrial, social, educational, and sanitary condition of the laboring classes, and to all such other subjects as Congress may by law direct. The said Commissioner is especially charged to ascertain the highest, lowest, and average number of employees engaged in the various industries in the Territory to be classified as to nativity, sex, hours of labor, and conditions of employment, and to report the same to Congress (U. S. C. 1934, title 29, sec. 7).
The latest survey of this character was made in 1930. In 1935, when the survey should have been repeated under the terms of the law, no funds were available and none have been available since that time. Such a study, indeed, is necessarily quite expensive and can be undertaken only as the result of a special appropriation by Congress.
Respectfully submitted.
Isador Lubin, Cbmmissioner.
IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
Edwabd J. Shaughnessy, Acting Commissioner
To the Secretary of Labor :
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, 50,244 alien immigrants were admitted to the United States for permanent residence, and 26,-736 aliens were recorded as abandoning domicile and leaving the country for permanent residence abroad. In the fiscal year 1936, 36,329 alien immigrants were admitted and 35,817 domiciled aliens departed.
Although the number of newcomers admitted was greater than in any fiscal year since 1931, the total is still far below normal immigration, which averaged 265,678 annually during the fiscal years 1925 to 1931. On the other hand, the number of resident aliens leaving the country permanently in 1937 showed a decrease of 33,211 from the annual average of 59,947 in 1931-36, and was 76,559 under the maximum of 103,295 in 1932.
While 50,244 new immigrants were permanently admitted during the year, nevertheless it is manifest that the alien population of the United States is continually and rapidly decreasing. As an offset to the number of permanent arrivals the following factors must be considered: (1) During the year 164,976 aliens became citizens by naturalization; (2) approximately 6,000 minor children derived citizenship through the naturalization of a parent; (3) of the estimated alien population of 4,316,000 on June 30, 1936, approximately 94,000 died, and (4) 26,736 aliens left the country permanently, making a total approximate decrease of 291,712, or a net decrease of approximately 241,468 above the 50.244 permanent arrivals.
In addition to the permanent inward movement of new immigrants, 181,640 nonimmigrants were admitted. These included alien residents returning from temporary visits abroad, temporary visitors for business or pleasure, aliens in transit through the United States, and other minor classes. During the year 197,846 so-called non-emigrant aliens, including residents of the United States leaving for temporary visits abroad, and aliens previously admitted as visitors or transients, departed from the country.
Therefore, a total of 231,884 aliens of all classes were admitted and 224,582 departed in the fiscal year 1937.
The record further shows that 386,872 United States citizens entered and 390,196 departed through the various ports during the year.
The above figures do not include the great multitude of residents of foreign contiguous countries and of the United States who habitually cross and recross the land boundaries. During the year 29,022,710 such entries were recorded as Canadian and 22,699,379 at Mexican ports of entry. Nor do they include so-called cruise passengers, who in large numbers embark at and return to United
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	§3
States seaports without entering foreign territory, or passengers between ports of continental United States and outlying possessions.
Aliens admitted to citizenship through naturalization during the year reached a total of 164,976 compared to 141,265 in 1936; and 176,195 aliens filed declarations of intention, an increase of 28,077 over 1936.
During the year 8,829 aliens were deported from the United States under warrant proceedings and 8,788 aliens found subject to deportation were permitted to leave the country at their own expense in lieu of formal expulsion, making a total of 17,617 forced and voluntary departures.
Immigration and emigration.
The sources of permanent immigration into the United States and the destinations of domiciled aliens who left the country with the intention of remaining abroad, in the fiscal years 1934-37, are shown in the table following. It will be noted that the number of immigrant aliens admitted in 1937 was 13,915 greater than in the preceding year, or an increase of 38 percent, and that emigration decreased 9,081, or 25 percent. Canada, Germany, and Italy contributed 59.5 percent of the immigrant aliens admitted during 1937,, while departing alien residents went chiefly to Mexico, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, China, the West Indies, South America, and the Philippine Islands.
Immigrant aliens admitted and emigrant aliens departed, years ended June 30, 1934-37, by countries of last or intended future permanent residence
Countries	Immigrant				Emigrant			
	1934	1935	1936	1937	1934	1935	1936	1937
All countries				29,470	34, 956	36,329	50, 244	39,771	38,834	35,817	26, 736
Europe..					17, 210	22,778	23,480	31,863	23, 626	20,414	19,667	14, 258
Albania				160	203	224	222	36	21	65	24
Austria		310	829	677	480	158	154	147	105
Belgium		176	271	276	307	277	165	193	122
Bulgaria		40	87	91	93	95	122	70	35
C zechoslovakia		644	808	1,052	1,912	481	529	459	269
Denmark		127	162	' 162	' 203	200	192	232	266
Estonia		49	27	33	29	36	24	36	33
Finland		150	102	76	218	273	220	297	262
France			707	874	812	1,018	1,096	1,065	782	570
Germany		4,392	5, 201	6,346	10,895	3, 502	3; 530	3, 672	2,340
Great Britain:								
England		891	1,070	1,028	1,377	3,845	3,435	2,862	2, 276
Scotland		375	315	254	309	1,970	1,535	1,389	1,075
Wales		39	28	28	40	' 188	' 105	90	' 110
Greece		605	877	863	875	644	402	807	374
Hungary		284	438	559	739	245	271	216	149
IrishFree State		327	314	328	412	1,228	1, 203	1,107	795
Italy		4,374	6,566	6, 774	7,192	3,047	2,340	2,064	1,726
Latvia		54	61	58	92	21	27	33	15
Lithuania., 		149	161	129	193	114	97	95	105
Netherlands 				186	374	342	646	286	282	216	234
Northern Ireland- 		116	140	116	119	411	133	245	242
Norway		235	311	287	427	866	596	617	580
Poland		1,032	1, 504	869	1,212	785	458	442	422
Portugal		' 225	’ 366	313	' 301	502	350	599	186
Rumania		247	286	244	349	318	356	277	180
Soviet Union		205	67	82	97	218	162	172	197
Spain	 		297	333	299	315	1,168	790	665	256
Sweden		195	215	196	341	625	1,039	1,085	731
Switzerland		193	264	266	462	328	286	' 235	160
Yugoslavia				184	282	435	632	523	443	425	335
Other Europe		242	242	261	356	140	82	73	84
84
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Immigrant aliens admitted and emigrant aliens deported, years ended June 30, 1934-37, by countries of last or intended future permanent residence—Con.
Countries	Immigrant				Emigrant			
	1934	1935	1936	1937	1934	1935	1936	1937
Asia					597	682	721	1, 065	3, 772	3,256	2, 979	2,826
China		187	229	273	293	2, 372	2, 031	1, 648	1, 808
Japan		86	88	91	132	' 842	781	851	763
Palestine. 		66	109	180	369	204	162	145	60
Svria			164	149	93	136	64	44	53	31
Other Asia		94	107	84	135	290	238	282	164
America				11,409	11,174	11, 786	16,903	11,939	11,521	10,409	7,355
Canada		7,873	7, 695	8,018	11,799	1,529	1,324	1, 272	1, 027
Newfoundland			72	87	' 103	212	84	81	88	82
V' Mexico		1,801	1,560	1,716	2,347	6,501	6. 720	5, 218	3,745
West Indies.. 		861	931	985	1, 322	2^247	1,947	1, 788	1, 379
Central America		443	427	470	'484	' 521	497	465	' 376
South America		355	473	492	738	1,055	951	1,576	745
Other America		4	1	2	1	2	1	2	1
Africa		104	118	105	155	168	151	109	138
Australia		83	99	118	106	131	147	115	142
New Zealand.		47	33	29	39	30	48	39	32
Philippine Islands			3	63	72	84	90	3,275	2,472	1,980
Pacific Islands							17	9	18	29	15	22	27	5
Races or peoples.
Since 1899, immigrants admitted to the United States have been recorded by races or peoples as well as by countries of origin or last residence. This was macle a legal requirement by the act of 1903 and was so continued in subsequent general immigration laws. The races or peoples principally represented among immigrant aliens admitted during the fiscal year 1937, by countries of origin and by sex, are shown in the table following:
Immigrant aliens admitted, year ended June 30,1937, by principal races, countries of last permanent residence, and sex
Countries	Total	Dutch and Flemish	English	French	German	Greek	Hebrew	Irish	Italian	Magyar
All countries		50, 244	747	4,912	2, 249	6,324	1, 004	11, 352	2, 276	7,652	663
Europe		31, 863	508	997	568	5,290	901	9, 720	635	7, 210	524
										
Austria		480	1	2		290		149		1	9
Belgium			307	153	9	23	12		89	2	2	
Czechoslovakia		1,912 1,018 10,895 1, 726 875		1		81		370			69
rance			11	19	481	78	3	195	8	24	8
Germany			10	2	4	4, 014 70	1	6,750 203		3	7
Great Britain			5	923	14		3		96	8	1
Greece					1	2	816	19		24	
Hungary. .. 		739				15		334		2	378
Irish Free State		412		6		1		1	400		
Italy		7,192 646		3	3	42	12	37	15	7,005	5
Netherlands.					322	3	5	94		212			1
Norway		427		1				1			
Poland		1,212 301				14		717			
Portugal				1		2		1			
Rumania			349		1		94	1	148			23
Spain ..	315		8	2	8		35		8	
Sweden 				341		8		6		7			
Switzerland	462	4	2	33	300	1	100	2	7	1
Yugoslavia	632				87	6	3		1	20
Other Europe		1,622	2	8	2	80	58	349	112	125	2
Canada			11, 799 2,347 1,322	198	3, 260 103	1, 618	777	50	917	1,564 13	306	100
•■/Mexico			11		23	68	9	104		44	12
West Indies			7	95	11	80	3	145	5	29	15
Other America 		1, 435 1, 065 413	2	237	13	62	4	64	45	44	10
Asia			6	77	3	29	29	365	2	4	1
Other countries			15	143	13	18	8	37	12	15	1
Sex: Male		21, 664	370	1,894	718	2,698	309	6,154	744	3, 232	305
Female		28, 580	377	3,018	1,531	3, 626	695	5,198	1,532	4,420	358
										
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	35
Immigrant aliens admitted, year ended June 30,1937, by principal races, countries of last permanent residence, and sex—Continued
Countries
Polish
Russian
Scandinavian
Scotch
Slovak
Spanish
Spanish
American
All other
Sex
Male
Female
All countries..
Europe____________
Austria_______
Belgium_______
Czechoslovakia.
France________
Germany_______
Great Britain...
Greece________
Hungary_______
Irish Free State Italy_________
Netherlands....
Norway________
Poland________
Portugal______
Rumania_______
Spain_________
Sweden________
Switzerland....
Yugoslavia____
Other Europe..
. Canada___________
1/ Mexico____________
West Indies_______
Other America____
Asia_____________
Other countries___
Sex:
Male__________
Female________
732
520
2
3
6
14
36
2
439
6
170-5
12
5
18
2
298
434
512 W ~3* 8 5
77 44
9
1,392
986
2, 208
337
1,346
1,255
442
27f
817
~24~
22
2
7
45 ~7l
30
3
139
13
225
287
324
1,220
2
5
14
11
5, 616
1, 878
22
4
160
62
13
58
13‘
9
422
2
317
3
244
45
6
222
353"
15
8
11
16
3
675
717
20
1, 794
25
9
7
13
23
803
1, 405
82
2
2
4
4 AT 23 78 50
1
10
2
6
20
764
20
289
76 2 2 2
488 605
522
1, 854 792
110
362
98
21,664
14, 227
200~
144
669
489
5,458 753
233 347
142
2,901
360 201
542
120
149
159
165 227
278
690
4,512 948
683
674 448
172
28, 580
17, 636
280
163
1, 243 529
5,437 973
642 392
270
4, 291
286
226 670
181 200
156 176
235 354
932
7,287
1,399
639 761
617
241
452
894
228
214
372
445
2,187
3, 429
6
5
6
5
4
2
2
1
5
9
1
6
1
1
6
5
2
2
7
3
2
Ports of arrival and departure.
Inward and outward passenger traffic, including both aliens and United States citizens, through the principal seaports and over the land boundaries is shown in the following compilation. As explained in the footnote, the table does not take into account the vast temporary movement of citizens and aliens to and from Canada and Mexico via land border ports, which entries aggregated over 51,000,000 during the year.
Aliens admitted and departed, aliens debarred from entering, and United States citizens arrived and departed, year ended June 30, 1937, by principal ports
Port	Arrivals 1				Departures 1		
	Aliens admitted		United States citizens	Aliens debarred	Aliens departed		United States citizens
	Immigrant	Nonimmigrant			Emigrant	Nonemigrant	
All ports	 New York N. Y	 Boston, Mass		 Philadelphia, Pa	 Baltimore, Md	 Miami, Fla	 Tampa, Fla	 New Orleans, La	 Galveston, Tex	 San Francisco, Calif	 Seattle, Wash	 Mexican border seaports	 Other seaports	 Canadian land border	 Mexican land border		50,244	181,640	386, 872	8,076	26, 736	197,846	390,196
	31, 644 704 24 25 711 70 152 30 542 71 513 406 12,955 2,397	116,574 4, 609 362 275 15,025 1,136 1,417 189 5,755 1,566 4,406 6,478 19, 572 4, 276	265,334 7,881 1,127 1,210 53, 653 5,133 7,379 414 9,907 2, 497 7, 006 11, 592 13, 312 427	251 22 15 13 52 8 25 5 56 54 51 97 6, 671 756	15, 534 526 8 41 294 11 237 215 1,172 531 727 3,116 810 3,514	128, 562 4,925 229 205 16,064 1,092 1,222 26 5, 763 1,074 3, 581 13, 776 18,934 2, 393	269, 862 8,846 1,036 1,501 53, 208 4, 985 6,939 613 9, 862 2, 778 7, 714 18, 715 2,835 1,302
1 Exclusive of cruise passengers, travel between continental United States and outlying possessions, and persons habitually crossing and recrossing the international land boundaries such as commuters, tourists and temporary visitors.
86
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Occupation, sex, and age.
The occupations followed by admitted immigrants before coming to the United States and by departing aliens while in this country are given in the next table, which also shows the sex and ages of immigrants and emigrants, all during the fiscal years 1934-37. The group recorded as having no occupation is mostly made up of women, children, and aliens of advanced age.
Immigrant aliens admitted and emigrant aliens departed, fiscal years 1934 to 1931, by principal occupations, sex, and age groups
Occupation, sex, and age	Immigrant				Emigrant			
	1934	1935	1936	1937	1934	1935	1936	1937
Total		29, 470	34,956	36,329	50, 244	39, 771	38,834	35,817	26, 736
OCCUPATION Professional	 		2,128	2, 277	2, 588	4,162	2,085	2,040	1,825	1,426
Commercial		1,275	1,387	1,904	3, 655	1,798	1,802	1,819	1,322
Skilled	*		3,180	3,786	3,936	6, 007	5, 457	4, 639	4,195	3, 211
Servants		805	1,418	1,944	3,213	2,870	2,837	2, 770	2, 046
Laborers				1,346	1,705 1, 895	1, 420	2,118 2,292	9,984 2,782	11,032 2,217	9, 285 1,860	6,801 1,419
Miscellaneous		1,607		1, 547					
No occupation		19,129	22,488	22, 990	28, 797	14, 795	14, 267	14,063	10, 511
SEX Male		12,101	14, 010	14, 776	21, 664	24,481	24,383	21, 778	16,434
Female					17, 369	20,946	21, 553	28, 580	15,290	14,451	14,039	10,302
AGE GROUP Under 16 years		5, 389	6,893	6,925	8, 326	2,554	2, 520	2,650	1,927
16 to 21 years		4,008	4,960	4,923	6,998	2,010	1,895	1,661	1,173
22 to 29 years		7,459	8, 760	8, 634	12,590	8,277	8,054	6, 731	4,480
30 to 37 years		5, 111	6,124	6,651	9,475	9,436	9, 625	8,743	6, 346
38 to 44 years		2, 409	2,713	3,183	4,844	5,823	5,670	5,347	4, 070
45 years and over		5,094	5,506	6,013	8,011	11, 671	11, 070	10, 685	8,740
Aliens debarred.
A total of 8,076 aliens applying for entry were debarred on various grounds during the year. Of these rejections, 6,671 occurred on the Canadian border, 756 on the Mexican border, 251 at New York, and 398 at other seaports. Grounds for debarment were as follows:
Criminals_________________________________________________ 215
Immoral classes____________________________________________ 46
Mental or physical defects-------------------------------- 184
Previously debarred or deported___________________________ 132
Contract laborers_________________________________________ 247
Stowaways------------------------------------------------- 266
Likely to become public charges__________________________2,164
Illiteracy_________________________________________________ 33
Without valid consular visa :
Canadian border______________________________________3, 910'
Mexican border__________________________________________ 558
Seaports_______________________________________________ 253
Miscellaneous------------------------------------------- 68
Operations under the Quota Act.
" Immigration quotas allotted to various countries under the act of 1924, the number of aliens admitted and charged against the quotas, and the number who entered under exceptions to quota requirements are shown in the following table. In addition to certain immediate relatives of United States citizens and lawfully resident aliens returning from a temporary stay abroad, nonquota aliens include ministers of a religious denomination and professors, together with their
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
87
wives and children under 18 years of age, students, and natives of Canada, Newfoundland, Mexico, Cuba, and independent countries of Central America. South America, and the West Indies.
Annual quotas allotted under act of 1924 with quota and nonquota aliens admitted by country or region of birth, year ended June 30, 1937
Nonquota aliens admitted
Nationality or country of birth	Annual quota	Quota aliens admitted	Husbands, wives, and children of citizens	Returning residents	Other classes	Total nonquota	Total quota and nonquota
All countries		153, 774	27, 762	9,536	51, 349	14, 680	75,565	103, 327
							
Europe		150, 501	26, 654	8, 609	40, 346	1,094	50,049	76,703
							
Albania		100	98	131	88	6	225	323 901 502 106 2,548 840
Austria		1,413 1, 304 100	409	72	404	16	492	
Belgium				211	39	229	23	291	
Bulgaria			57	15	18	16	49	
Czechoslovakia		2,874	1,519 192	519	480	30	1, 029 648	
Denmark		1,181 116		32	595	21		
Estonia			30	11	50	2	63	
Finland		569	215	70	438	3	511	726 2,541 23, 667
France		3, 086 25, 957	566	88	1,814	73	1,975 12, 540	
Germany	 			11,127	428	11,957	155		
Great Britain and North-							
ern Ireland:							
England			( 1,418 133	268	4,-989 761	175	5,432 832	6, 850
Northern Ireland 		j- 65,721		54		17		
Scotland				|	483	133	3,613 339	29	3, 775 362	4,258 435 1,420 1.210 3, 890 9, 991 162 400 953
Wales			73	16		7		
Greece		307	370	458	573	19	1,050 471	
Hungary		869	739	95	354	22		
Irish Free State		17, 853	447	106	3, 278	59	3,443 7, 086 48	
Italy	.. ._ ....	5,802 236	2,905	4,408 11	2,589 36	89		
Latvia				' 114			1		
Lithuania	 .	386	221	60	106	13	179	
Netherlands	 ...		3,153	347	37	553	16	606	
Norwav	 		2, 377	330	146	1, 254 1,003 555	28	1,428 1,657 626	1,758 3,512 862
Poland		6, 524 440	1,855 236	598		56		
Portugal	 ..			61		10		
Rumania	 .			377	371	171	235	19	425	796 1,276
Soviet Union (Russia)		i 2, 712	578	147	499	52	698	
Spain	..	252	244	80	700	79	859	1,103 2,188 971 121 1,007 328
Sweden. 	 .	3, 314 1. 707	303	51	1,820 616	14	1,885 659	
Switzerland	 ...		312	29		14		
Turkey._ ...			1 226	48	26	27	20	73	
Yugosalvia		845	527	230	242	8	480	
Other Europe		2 700	176	19	131	2	152	
							
China				100	60	85	734	395	1, 214	1, 274
India	 .	100	32	7	65	67	139 3, 214 75	
Japan.. 	 ... _	100	11	1	3,047 44	166		3, 225 141
Palestine		100	66	13		18		
Syria			123	101	64	58	12	134	235 483
Other Asia. 		2 900	197	106	142	38	286	
							
Canada					385	1,333 330	8, 338 224	10, 056 565	10, 056 _ 5L65 3,54?' 1, 965 1,484 731
Newfoundland				11				
Mexico				66_	1,009	2,472__ ~~~”175	3, 547 1,965 1,201 714	
Cuba				9	1'481 1,076 280			
British West Indies		(1 2)	283	74		51		
Central America		(2)	17	4		430		
South America	_		(2)	32	30	588	635	1, 253 223 72	1, 285
Australia				100	77	20	167	36		
New Zealand		100	35	5	54	13		107 1, 055
Other countries			1, 650	197	47	595	216	858	
							
1 European and Asiatic.
2 Annual quota for colonies, dependencies, or protectorates in Other Europe, Other Asia, America, Africa, and Pacific Islands, included with allotment for the European country to which they belong.
33	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The act of 1924 also authorizes the temporary or quasi-permanent admission of certain classes of aliens, and 128,557 such admissions occurred during the year. These included:
Government officials, their families and employees----------- 6, 493
Visitors for business----------------------------------------18, 317
Visitors for pleasure----------------------------------------71,138
In transit through the United States-------------------------31, 822
To carry on trade under treaties----------------------------- 787
Chinese.
The Chinese exclusion law of 1882 denied entry to Chinese laborers, and subsequent revisions of the statute have continued that provision. However, nonlaborers were permanently admissible until aliens ineligible to citizenship were, with a few exceptions, added to the excluded classes under a provision of the Quota Immigration Act of 1924. The exceptions referred to include returning residents, ministers, and professors and their wives and unmarried children under 18 years of age. Subsequently the law was amended to provide for the permanent admission of the Chinese wives of American citizens by marriage prior to May 26, 1924, when the act in question was approved. Permanent admissions under these exceptions during the year included 709 returning residents, 55 wives of citizens, and a negligible number of ministers and professors.
Most persons of the Chinese race now seeking permanent admission claim the right to enter as American citizens, either by reason of birth in the United States or as the foreign-born children of citizens. During the year 3,498 Chinese were admitted as citizens, 2,366 of whom were returning residents and 1,132 were coming for the first time.
The Service is confronted with the difficult problem of determining the truth or falsity of the representations of these claimants of citizenship, and this is especially true of those who have never resided in the United States but who claim to be the children of citizens. Most of the latter were born and have spent their lives in the interior of China, and in many cases conflicting testimony of the applicants and their witnesses make it next to impossible to conclude whether or not they are in fact children of citizen fathers or are impostors employing a method of gaining admission that has persisted ever since the exclusion law was enacted.
Temporary admissions included 106 Chinese merchants coming to carry on international trade and 391 students, which classes are permitted to remain in the country as long as they maintain the status under which they entered, 408 temporary visitors for business or pleasure, and 2,125 persons in transit to foreign destinations.
During the year 114 Chinese applicants for admission were debarred. These included 54 persons who claimed American citizenship.
Alien seamen.
Alien seamen entering United States ports are subject to inspection under the immigration law, and during the year boarding officers of the Service conducted 894,551 such inspections. This does not mean that this number of individual alien seamen arrived at the ports, for many of them made several voyages and were inspected and counted on each arrival. A total of 26,278 alien seamen were paid off or discharged in United States ports, 2,658 deserted their ships, and 26,586 reshipped foreign. These were counted among the 892,201 alien seamen departures recorded, leaving 2,350 remaining in the
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
89
United States, of which number 314 were lawfully admitted as immigrants. There were 380,560 seamen arrivals whose American citizenship was verified by this Service during the year, as compared with 392,675 in 1936.
Deportations and voluntary departures.
The more important details concerning the 8,829 aliens deported under warrants during the year in comparison with the like record for the fiscal years 1933 to 1936 are shown in the following compilation:
Aliens deported from the United States, years ended June 30, 1933 to 1931, l>y principal causes, countries, race or peoples, and sex
Causes, destination, race or peoples, and sex	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	Total
Number deported		19,865	8,879	8,319	9,195	8,829	55,087
-Causes: Criminals		1,770	1, 569	1,632	1,727	1,603	8,301
Violation of narcotic laws		167	122	111	154	118	672
Anarchists and kindred classes		74	20	17	47	17	175
Immoral classes		785	383	413	407	308	2,296
Mental or physical defects		1,056	662	510	533	392	3,153
Previously debarred or deported		1,010	359	933	1,048	1,000	4,350
Remained longer than authorized		3,148	986	786	850	702	6, 472
Entered without valid visa		9,099	3,611	2,824	3,181	3,294	22, 009
Unable to read (over 16 years of age)		1,393	539	416	502	550	3,400
Under Chinese Exclusion Act		249	101	77	53	47	527
Likelv to become public charges		166	98	33	50	40	387
Miscellaneous causes				948	429	567	643	758	3,345
^Destination: Germany			545	200'	191	176	150	1,262
Great Britain and Northern Ireland		897	403	305	335	251	2,191
Czechoslovakia		217	111	99	68	78	573
Greece		400	156	110	165	109	940
Irish Free State		161	90	69	64	53	437
Italy		1,043	529	513	495	449	3,029
Norway				220	73	44	50	55	442
Poland		300	113	71	80	68	632
Portugal		279	75	97	89	75	615
Yugoslavia		315	128	77	105	83	708
Other Europe		1,527	540	431	385	277	3,160
China		2,642 284	412	169	151	134	3,508
Japan			95	55	68	62	564
India		98	46	48	51	50	293
Other Asia	 		276	77	32	44	25	454
Canada		2,216	1, 577	1, 554	1,784	1,833	8,964
V Mexico		7,750	3,883	4,078	4, 660	4,764	25,135
Cuba		86	45	48	70	56	305
British West Indies		167	101	92	114	67	541
Other America		340	189	169	165	140	1,003
Other countries				102	36	67	76	50	331
Races or peoples: Chinese		2,573	405	167	151	140	3,436
English		1,078	602	575	652	672	3,579
French				554	481	502	539	492	2,568
German		806	354	305	298	263	2,026
Greek		424	175	117	169	124	1,009
Hebrew		138	114	96	107	109	564
Irish		699	391	337	365	323	2,115
Italian		1,145	583	554	535	490	3,307
Scandinavian		474	186	167	152	155	1,134
Scotch		549	272	220	291	292	1,624
All others					11,425	5,316	5,279	5,936	5,769	33, 725
Sex: Male				17, 691	7,921	7,501	8,155	7,943	49,211
Female		-	-	-	2,174	958	818	1,040	886	5,876
Fifty-four percent of the aliens deported last year went to Mexico, 20.8 percent to Canada, 18.7 percent to Europe, and the remainder to widely scattered destinations.
Of the 8,829 aliens deported, 2,494, or 28.2 percent, were expelled within 3 months, and 4,808, or 54.5 percent, within 1 year after they 25730—37---------7
90
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
entered the United States. Of the remainder, 132 had entered in 1910 or prior years; 185 during 1911-20; 1,650 during 1921-30; and 2,054 during the years 1931-36.
While a single cause or ground of deportation is shown in the above table, in a majority of cases more than one and often several equally valid causes appear in the deportation warrant. For example, a warrant based on entry after deportation usually contains such additional charges as entry without inspection, entry without an immigration visa, and as likely to become a public charge at time of entry. There are many instances where an alien is found subject to deportation on four or even more separate grounds.
Crimes committed either in the United States or in a foreign country prior to the alien’s last entry accounted for 1,070 of the deportations on criminal grounds, 183 were based on conviction of a single crime committed within 5 years after entry, and 350 on two or more convictions for crimes committed at any time after entry.
Of the 1,603 aliens deported on criminal grounds, 762 were returned to Mexico, 440 to Canada, and 330 to Europe.
The principal offenses for which deportation on criminal grounds was effected were, larceny, 498; burglary, 343; robbery, 161; perjury, 149; assault and battery, 48; forgery, 45; manslaughter, 27; bigamy, 26; contributing to the delinquency or impairing the morals of a child, 21; counterfeiting, 20; attempt to kill, 10; and kidnaping, 3.
J Destinations to w’hich narcotic-law violators were deported were: China, 56; Europe, 20; Mexico, 18; Japan, 12; Philippines, 5; other countries, 7.
States bordering on Mexico and Canada furnished 94 percent and 77.9 percent, respectively, of the total number of aliens deported to those countries.
Sixty-three of the aliens deported in 1937 were under 5 years of age, and 1,305 under 21. These were largely children belonging to family groups. Of the remainder, 6,158 were 21 to 40, 941 were 41 to 50, and 425 over 50 years of age.
Voluntary departures.
Aliens found subject to deportation on other than criminal, immoral, or radical grounds, or because of mental or physical defects, who are able and willing to leave the country without expense to the Service are usually accorded that privilege. In such a case an alien’s removal from the country is as effectively accomplished as though actual deportation occurred, and the only advantages he derives is the privilege of applying for legal admission without delay, which he could not do within 1 year if deported, and then only by consent of the Secretary of Labor, and of escaping a penalty if he again enters illegally. The Service benefits by expediting the alien’s removal and by a considerable financial saving.
Of the 8,788 aliens who were allowed to depart voluntarily during the fiscal year, 4,771 were destined to Mexico, 3,463 to Canada, 296 to Europe, 176 to the West Indies, 50 to Central and South America, 27 to Asia, and 5 to other countries.
Border patrol.
The Immigration Border Patrol has again demonstrated its usefulness as a law-enforcement agency on the land boundaries and along the Florida and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Created in 1924 to check the rapidly increasing illegal entry of aliens that followed the
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adoption of the quota-limit system of regulating immigration, the patrol has become a thoroughly trained and highly efficient organization. There are six major patrol districts on the Canadian border, three on the Mexican border, and one covering the southeast section of the country, including the Florida and Gulf coasts.
The actual patrol force with supervisors numbers about 800 men, and its equipment includes 309 automobiles, 24 trucks, 4 saddle horses, 13 patrol boats, and 16 outboard-motor craft. Ten radio broadcasting stations are maintained by the Border Patrol; many of the automobiles and boats are equipped with radio, and seven observation towers, also equipped with radio transmission, have been erected at strategic points.
During the fiscal year officers patroled 7,070,720 miles; examined 516,086 conveyances; questioned 858,256 persons; apprehended 163 smugglers of aliens, 13,054 illegal entrants, 608 other law violators; and seized 226 automobiles, trucks, and other conveyances. The patrol cooperates with other law-enforcement organizations, and during the year delivered 330 apprehended persons to United States; customs officials, 227 to State and municipal authorities, and 51 to> other agencies. The number of apprehensions effected increased 11 percent over the previous year.
All appointees to the Border Patrol are selected through the civil service, and every effort is made to find men who are in character and physique adapted to the always difficult and often hazardous service required. New appointees attend a Border Patrol training school for 2 or 3 months, and during a 1-year probationary period are given advanced practical training in immigration law, elementary criminal law and court procedure, languages, preparation of reports, first aid, and other pertinent subjects.
There were 75 separations from the patrol force during the year, including 31 men who failed to survive the probationary period, 20 transferred to other Government agencies, 15 promoted to the grade of immigrant inspector or naturalization examiner, 6 resigned, 2 died, and 1 retired.
Naturalization.
As already stated, naturalization courts admitted 164,976 aliens to citizenship during 1937, compared to 141,265 in the previous fiscal year. . Petitions for citizenship denied by the courts increased from 3,124 in 1936 to 4,042 in 1937. Declarations of intention were filed by 176,195 applicants for citizenship, an increase of 28,077 over 1936. The declarants included 132,421 male and 43,774 female aliens.
Declarants filing final petitions for citizenship numbered 165,-464—96,933 males and 68,531 females—compared to a total of 167,127 in the preceding year.
The principal nations to which aliens admitted to citizenship during the fiscal year 1937 formerly owed allegiance are: Great Britain, 44,528; Germany, 20,092; Italy, 23,534; Poland, 19,013; Soviet Russia, 10,604; Czechoslovakia, 6,090; Sweden, 4,433; Yugoslavia, 4,453; Norway, 2,617; Hungary, 3,168; and all others, 26,444.
Naturalization examiners in the course of administrative hearings examined or reexamined 182.816 petitioners in person and 10,867 by correspondence. They questioned 336,260 witnesses in person, 24,449 by correspondence, and attended 3,385 court hearings. The courts canceled 991 certificates of naturalization for various causes, compared to 1,016 in 1936.
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As stated in the last annual report, it might have been expected that the drastic reduction of immigration in recent years would result in declining naturalization activities, but the contrary is true, and the number of declarations of intention filed and certificates of citizenship issued during 1937 exceeded the record of the preceding 6 years.
The Naturalization Certification Division issued 10,385 duplicate naturalization certificates and 1,527 new declarations of intention to replace originals that had been lost, mutilated, or destroyed, 2,664 certificates of derivative citizenship, and 829 other documents of various kinds.
Training for citizenship.
During the fiscal year 1937 the Service distributed 52,956 Federal textbooks on Citizenship Training to applicants for naturalization in attendance upon the public schools. In addition, 7,394 copies of the Citizenship Program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, outlining in simple form the principles of the Constitution and Government of the United States, to which the late Commissioner MacCormack had given much thought, were sent to interested persons. These principles are used by the naturalization examiners as the basis for the educational test given to petitioners for naturalization. Close cooperation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service with the public schools, social service, and other public-spirited agencies, and the Education Division of the Works Progress Administration has widened the educational opportunities of the foreign-born in their preparation for citizenship. This cooperation was extended both through correspondence and personal conferences with educators and others throughout the United States.
Miscellaneous.
Registry of aliens.
An alien who entered the United States prior to June 3, 1921, when the first quota-limit law became effective, but concerning whom no record of lawful admission can be found, is eligible to registry under the act of March 2, 1929, provided he has resided here continuously since entry, is of good moral character, is not subject to deportation, and is eligible to citizenship.
During 1937, 13,151 applications for registry were received—9,849 were granted, 2,474 denied, and 175 withdrawn. In the preceding fiscal year 12,482 applications were received—8,868 granted, 1,339 denied, and 85 were withdrawn. In addition to the above 53 applications of alleged political or religious refugees for registry under the temporary act of June 8, 1934, received favorable consideration, 10 were denied, and at the end of the year 1 was pending. An alien who is accorded registry becomes a lawful resident as of the date of his entry, and during the year 6,738 certificates of arrival were issued for naturalization purposes, compared to 7,224 in the previous year.
Immigration visas.
The central office received from the various ports of entry and filed 56,873 original consular immigration visas, representing a like number of admitted aliens. As compared with the fiscal year 1936, this is an increase of 17,224, or 43.4 percent. From July 1, 1924, when the consular immigration visa requirement went into effect, and June 30, 1937, a total of 2,116,823 visas have been received and filed at the
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Central Office. Immigration visas were utilized during 1937 in the issuance of certificates of arrival required for naturalization purposes in 49,613 cases where entry occurred subsequent to June 30, 1924. This is 15,255 less than the number issued in the fiscal year 1936, or a decrease of 23.5 percent.
Visa records were also used in verifying the entry of 21,948 resident aliens who were applicants for permits to reenter the country after visits abroad, and in replying to 6,519 requests from the Department of State for information desired by American consuls in connection with applications for visas abroad.
Reentry permits.
Reentry permits are issued to alien residents of the United States who were lawfully admitted for permanent residence to facilitate entry after a temporary visit abroad. Such permits are valid for 1 year and may be extended. During the year 56,660 applications for permits and 9,440 applications for extension were received, in addition to a small number carried over from the previous year; 55,952 permits were issued and 892 denied; 9,319 extensions were granted and 92 denied.
Petitions for immigration visas.
Under the Immigration Act of 1924 wives and unmarried minor children of United States citizens are not subject to quota requirements and the same applies to the husbands of .citizens where marriage occurred prior to July 1, 1932. Fathers, mothers, and husbands of citizens where marriage occurred after July 1, 1932, are accorded a preference under the quota. In either case the citizen concerned is required to petition for the issuance of a nonquota, or a preference quota, visa. A total of 17,698 such petitions were submitted to the central office during the year and 13,583, covering the possible issuance of visas to 16,695 persons, were approved. Of these 11,162 were in the nonquota and 5,533 in the quota-preference class. The nonquota beneficiaries included 5,654 wives, 4,309 unmarried minor children, and 1,199 husbands. Preference beneficiaries included 1,318 fathers, 2,271 mothers, and 1,944 husbands.
There were 2,512 petitions rejected during the year, and 2,083 were abandoned or pending on June 30, 1937. Aliens ineligible to citizenship, which includes persons of the Oriental races, are, in general, barred from permanent entry into the United States under the Immigration Act of 1924. In 1930, however, the law was amended to provide for the admission of Chinese wives of American citizens by marriage prior to May 26, 1924. During the year 67 visa petitions were submitted by husband citizens in behalf of Chinese wives. Of these, 64 were approved, 2 were rejected, and 1 was withdrawn.
Nonquota students.
The Immigration Act of 1924 provides that students coming to attend an approved educational institution may be admitted as nonquota immigrants and remain as long as a student status is maintained. In 1937, 1,828 students were admitted, an increase of 313 over the previous year, and 1,424 departed.
Between July 1, 1924, and June 30, 1937, 20,280 nonquota foreign students were admitted and 14,589 were reported as having left the country. This leaves approximately 5,691 such students in the United States as of June 30, 1937.
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Contract labor.
Aliens coming in pursuance of a contract or agreement to perform labor here are subject to exclusion under the general immigration law of 1917, except that skilled labor may be imported if labor of like kind unemployed cannot be found in the United States. Prospective employers may petition for the privilege of bringing in skilled labor, and during the year 1,793 such petitions, covering 2,227 persons, were received; 1,127, covering 1,263 persons, were granted; and 666, covering 964 persons, were denied. As stated elsewhere, 247 aliens were excluded as contract laborers at ports of entry during the year.
Naturalization frauds.
The investigation of naturalization frauds in New York, begun by the central office in December 1933, was continued during the year by the special unit organized for the purpose. Nineteen criminal cases were pending on July 1,1936, and 70 new cases were developed during the year. The 89 cases w’ere disposed of as follows: Nolle prossed (withdrawals), 2; acquittals, 0; defendant deceased, 1; convictions, 72; and pending at close of year, 14.
Jail sentences without fines were imposed in 65 cases, including 4 in which conviction occurred in the fiscal year 1936. Both fines and jail sentences were imposed in five, and fines alone in two cases. Sentences were pending in four cases at the close of the year.
Aggregate sentences of nearly 23 years and aggregate fines of $6,000 were imposed. Sentences aggregating nearly 12 years were suspended in 29 cases.
The special units’ investigation from the beginning up to the close of the present year has resulted in 175 indictments, including 30 racketeers, 10 ex-employees and 2 employees of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 3 intermediaries, 127 aliens, and 3 coconspirators. Of the individuals indicted, 11 were tried and found guilty, 136 pleaded guilty, 1 was acquitted, 1 died, 11 cases were nolle prossed, 1 was dismissed, and 14 were pending on June 30,1937. As a result of the investigations, 19 immigration and naturalization employees were dismissed or resigned, 336 aliens were arrested in deportation proceedings, 140 certificates of naturalization were canceled, and 3 State and municipal civil-service employees were dismissed on charges based on information furnished by the investigating unit.
Cancelation of certificates of naturalization in 279 additional cases were pending or contemplated at the close of the year.
Legislation.
As usual, a large number of bills relating to immigration and naturalization have been introduced in the present Congress, but only three of relatively minor importance were enacted into law.
The act of May 14,1937 (Public, No. 78, 75th Cong.), which amends section 23 of the general Immigration Act of 1917, authorizes the Commissioner General of Immigration (Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization), with the approval of the Secretary of Labor, to enter into contract for the support and relief of aliens who, at any time after entry, fall into distress or need public aid, and to remove such aliens to their native country, or the country from whence they came, or to the country of which they are citizens or subjects. Aliens thus removed are ineligible for readmission except upon the approval of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Labor. The provision of law, which was amended, was limited to aliens who had entered the
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country within 3 years, and removal could be effected only to their native countries
The act of May 14, 1937 (Public, No. 79, 75th Cong.), authorizes the deportation of aliens who secured nonquota or preference quota visas through fraud by contracting marriage solely to fraudulently expedite admission to the United States.
The act of May 14, 1937 (Public, No. 81, 75th Cong.), extends to December 1, 1938, the period during which certain Filipinos may apply for removal to their native land at Government expense.
H. R. 6391, which is a modification of the so-called Kerr-Coolidge bill, referred to in the last annual report, passed the House of Representatives June 10, 1937, and is now before the Immigration Committee of the Senate. If enacted into law, the bill would considerably extend the present list of deportable alien criminals and traffickers in narcotics; make possible the deportation of aliens convicted of possessing or carrying firearms, and of persons who for gain smuggle aliens into the‘United States. On the other hand, the proposed law would make it possible through administrative action to legalize the residence of a limited number of aliens of good character now subject to deportation which, if effected, would in many cases result in severing close family ties or inflicting other unmerited hardships.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Appropriation for the conduct of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the administration of the immigration and naturalization laws
Salaries and expenses:
Departmental service-------------------------------------------- $545, 000
Field service, coast and land border patrol---------------------9, 295, 000
Total_____________________________________________________9. 840, 000
For physical maintenance and upkeep of immigration stations-----	110, 000
Total_________________________________________________________ 9,950,000
The net amount expended for all purposes after deducting refunds to the appropriation not properly chargeable to the Government was— 9, 799,159
Net balance--------------------------------------------------- 150, 841
Balanced against the expenditures mentioned there was collected as hereinafter shown the sum of----------------------------------------- 3, 489, 624
Making the net cost of operation------------------------------------ 6, 309, 535
Income and sources thereof {net collections')
Naturalization fees_________________________________________________$1,862,567
Head tax______________________________________________________________ 951,	413
Administrative fines--------------------------------------------------- 65,	652
Reentry permits and extensions---------------------------------------- 197,	020
Certificates of registry----------------------------------------------- 98,	910
Immigration overtime, inspection service------------------------------ 209,	080
Bonds forfeited and paid without suit, including interest coupons on
Liberty bonds_________________________‘--------------------------- 26, 651
Sale of exclusive privileges (feeding, money, etc.)----------------- 257
Expenses of deporting aliens (reimbursed)--------------------------- 136
Sale of Government property----------------------------------------- 2, 615
Miscellaneous collections------------------------------------------- 2, 768
Coin-box collections (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle)______	584
Collections on account of persons detained in hospitals of Public
Health Service under the immigration laws and regulations_________	46, 071
Overnight maintenance_______________________________________________ 25,197
Immigration judgment costs (reimbursed)----------------------------- 703
Total_______________________________________________________ 3,489,624
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Note.—Because the revenues produced by the various branches of the Immi-gration and Naturalization Service are covered into the United States Treasury and in no way used as offsets against the operating cost of the Service, citizens often forget that Immigration and Naturalization are partly self-supporting functions of government and that increasing activity and expense bring with them increased revenues. For this reason the following comparative figures of receipts of the Service are interesting:
	1937	1936	1935	Increase, 1937 over 1936
Naturalization fees	 _	$1,862, 567.25	$1, 772,478	$1, 749,372	$90,089
Head tax	 _			951,412. 53	788,101	829,076	163, 312
Administrative fees		65, 651. 51	51, 627	45, 750	14,025
Reentry permits and extensions		197,020.17	193,508	208, 729	3, 512
Certificates of registry		98,910.00	90, 330	91,870	8,580
Hospital collections. 1		46,071. 50	34,065	31,137	12,006
Overnight maintenance .	25,196.94	11,213		13,983
				
In considering these figures it should be noticed that naturalization fees and registry fees were by law reduced 50 percent at the end of the fiscal year 1935.
Death of Commissioner MacCormack.
Col. Daniel W. MacCormack, who became Commissioner General of Immigration in March 1933 and Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization when the two Services were consolidated later in the same year, died in Washington, D. C., January 1,1937.
Born in Scotland in 1880, Colonel MacCormack came to the United States with his parents as a young boy. While still in his teens he served with the United States Army during the Philippine insurrection, and prior to the World War spent 12 years in executive work at the Panama Canal. He entered the American Army as a captain in 1917, was cited by the commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Forces for distinguished service, and received decorations from the French and Italian Governments. After the armistice he wrote the history of the Army Transport Service in France, and was sent to Russia on a mission for the peace conference. In 1922 he retired from the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel and went to Persia as a member of the American financial mission, serving as director of internal revenue and as a member of the Russo-Persian Tariff Commission. In 1927 he represented Persia in the Council of the League of Nations and visited the various European capitals in the interest of Persian commerce.
Returning to the United States, he was engaged in banking activities until he again entered Government service as Commissioner General of Immigration. He quickly familiarized himself with immigration and naturalization law and practices, supervised the difficult task of consolidating the two Bureaus, and promoted uniformity in that part of naturalization procedure which is an administrative function. A firm believer in the merit system, he advocated and fostered a career service for employees of the combined Bureaus, with the result that the practice of filling higher positions from qualified personnel in the lower grades has been extended and systematized.
Colonel MacCormack devoted much time and earnest effort in promoting proposed legislation that would make possible the deportation of certain classes of undesirable aliens not reached by existing law, and, on the other hand, would enable administrative authorities to exercise leniency in the case of persons of good character who are
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subject to deportation on noncriminal grounds, especially when their expulsion from the country would result in severing family ties or in other undue hardships. He did not see the desired reforms enacted into law, but since his death the House of Representatives has passed a bill containing several of the provisions which he ably and persistently advocated.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has lost an able and devoted leader and his associates an understanding chief and considerate friend.
Respectfully submitted.
Edward J. Shaughnessy,
Acting Commissioner.
CHILDREN’S BUREAU
Katharine F. Lenroot, Chief
To the Secretary of Labor :
On April 8, 1937, the Children’s Bureau celebrated the twentyfifth anniversary of its establishment as a center of research and information in all matters pertaining to child welfare and child life.1 The program of the Children’s Bureau grew out of the vision and statesmanship of Julia C. Lathrop, the first Chief of the Children’s Bureau, Grace Abbott, the second Chief, and their associates within and without the Bureau. The 25 years have seen a marked reduction in infant mortality, great advances in safeguarding children from industrial exploitation, and progress in social protection and care of children and youth.
In some other aspects of the program little or no advance has yet been made. For example, evidence is steadily accumulating that a direct and courageous attack must be made on the central problem of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity and deaths of infants under 1 month by extending adequate medical and nursing care to all mothers and infants at the time of delivery and by continuing medical and nursing supervision throughout the prenatal and postnatal periods.
New and serious problems in the preparation of young people for employment and their entrance into industry have arisen.
The problems of dependency, neglect, delinquency, mental subnormality, and social inadequacy are intensified by the stresses and hazards that modern industrial and social conditions impose upon family life, by the difficulty of adapting mass education to individual needs, and by the lack of wholesome opportunities for recreation and social fellowship for the considerable proportion of the population subjected to bad housing and unfavorable neighborhood conditions.
In comparison with the many and varied opportunities for service insistently presented to the Children’s Bureau and the character of the problems with which it deals, the work of the Bureau has barely begun. To achieve the goals of those whose foresight, energy, and administrative ability were responsible for establishing the Children’s Bureau and for piloting it through the first two decades of its life, requires now, as during all its history, the earnest cooperation of parents, schools, men’s and women’s civic organizations, public officials, and Federal agencies, as well as an extension of financial support on the basis of demonstrated needs and opportunities for service.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, progress was made in
1 The act creating the Children’s Bureau was approved April 9, 1912. At a dinner held in Washington on April 8, 1937, in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau, the developments during the 25-year period were reviewed by some of the men and women who had been most closely associated with the Bureau’s activities.
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the organization of the divisions and units of the Bureau staff responsible for administration of the social-security program of aid to the States for maternal and child-health services, services for crippled children, and child-welfare services. Reorganization of the statistical services of the Children’s Bureau was undertaken. The research and advisory services of the Bureau in various fields were continued. Special attention was given to problems of child-labor legislation and administration, both Federal and State. Cooperation with various other agencies of the Federal Government whose activities have an important bearing upon the health and welfare of children was extended and strengthened, and the Children’s Bureau actively participated in the work of the League of Nations and the International Labor Organization in matters pertaining to child welfare and juvenile employment. As in previous years, invaluable service was given by the general and technical advisory committees that serve the Bureau in various fields, by individuals whom the staff of the Bureau consults on technical and administrative problems, and by organized groups of citizens concerned with the promotion of the health and welfare of mothers and children.
Statistics of births and deaths and of maternal and infant mortality compiled by the United States Bureau of the Census indicate some of the problems with which the Children’s Bureau is concerned—problems that may be viewed from the standpoint of the human resources of the Nation and of the obligation which rests upon government to promote the happiness and the well-being of the men, women, and children to serve which the Union was formed.
During 1935, the latest year for which final figures have been issued by the Bureau of the Census, 2,155,105 live births were registered in the United States, a birth rate of 16.9 per 1,000 of the estimated population. This is the lowest birth rate since the establishment of the birth-registration area in 1915 except the rate for 1933 (16.5). Provisional figures for 1936 indicate that the decline is continuing.
Of the more than 2,000,000 total births in the United States, approximately 1,500,000 occur in rural areas and in cities of less than 50,000 population. It has recently been estimated that 450,000 to 500,000 of these 1,500,000 births (including stillbirths) occur in families that are on relief or whose total annual income, including home produce, is less than $500, and approximately 650,000 in families that are on relief or that have a total annual income of less than $750.
In 1935 there were 1,392,752 deaths of persons of all ages, of which 120,138 (8.6 percent) were deaths of infants under 1 year of age. In addition, there were 77,119 stillbirths. The infant mortality rate of 56 per 1,000 live births in 1935 was the lowest ever recorded for the country, but many infant deaths could be prevented by more widespread application of known methods of maternal and infant care. A slight rise in the infant mortality rate is indicated by provisional census figures for 1936 (57). According to these figures, 29 States and the District of Columbia had higher infant mortality rates in 1936 than in 1935.
For the sixth consecutive year the maternal mortality rate in 1935 showed a slight decline, which seems to have been due largely to improvement in prenatal care. But the maternal mortality rate was higher in the United States in 1935 than in all but 3 of the 23 foreign countries for which information is available for 1933, 1934, or 1935.
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It is estimated that the lives of at least half of the 12,544 mothers who died in the United States in 1935 could have been saved if adequate medical and nursing care throughout the prenatal, natal, and postnatal periods had been universally accessible.
Since 1929 the infant mortality rate in rural areas has been higher than the rate in urban areas (in 1935 the rate was 57 for rural and 54 for urban areas). In 1935 physicians attended 95 percent of the births in cities but only 81 percent of the births in rural areas. In cities 67 percent of the births occurred in hospitals but in rural areas only 11 percent. Lack of adequate facilities for maternal care in rural districts, which cause many rural women with complications of pregnancy and childbirth to go to city hospitals for delivery, unquestionably influences the height of the urban maternal mortality rate, which was 68 deaths per 10,000 live births in 1935, as compared with 50 for rural areas.
The reduction of the needless waste of maternal and infant life and of the tremendous individual and social cost of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, of which motherless children, invalid mothers, and children handicapped from birth in body or mind are some of the byproducts, is a problem of major concern to the Children’s Bureau and the State and local agencies with which it has established cooperative relationships under the Social Security Act. The program for maternal and child health made possible under this act has been limited up to the present time almost entirely to preventive and educational aspects. The ways in which the program may be extended to include public provision of medical and nursing care for mothers and children for whom adequate care would not otherwise be available are now Ijeing studied by the Children’s Bureau, the State health agencies, and those upon whom these agencies depend for advice and assistance in the development of policies. There is no field of public health and preventive medicine more challenging or more promising than maternal and child health, upon which the renewal and the health and vigor of the population depend.
The program of services for crippled children is primarily one of medical care through grants-in-aid from the Federal Government to the responsible State agencies. From the time when this part of the social-security program was first under consideration its precedent-setting character has been appreciated. During the first 17 months of its operation certain policies were formulated with two main objectives: (1) To give the best possible care to the child by providing adequate and continuous service commensurate with his need; and (2) to establish satisfactory principles for the expenditure of public funds by governmental agencies. The experience gained from this program will be of great value in developing policies and standards for such extension of the maternal and child-health program to cover medical care as may prove to be possible.
Along with health and medical services for mothers and children, it is important that there be extension of social services in rural areas, and strengthening and coordinating of such services in cities, with a view to the prevention and early treatment of conditions resulting in child neglect and delinquency, and to assistance in providing normal social relationships for children suffering from physical or mental handicaps. Impetus is being given to such extension through the cooperation of the Children’s Bureau with the States in child-welfare services under the Social Security Act, and through the research,
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demonstration, and consultation activities of the Bureau. Here, as in the health fields, a body of information and experience is being built up on the basis of which more widely extended and comprehensive programs may be established by the States with such assistance from the Federal Government as may prove to be necessary.
During the past year the concern of the general public and the attention of Federal and State Governments have been directed increasingly toward consideration of the ways in which conditions of work may be improved, fair wages for a fair day’s work may be obtained, and security against major economic hazards may be established. It has been the chief function of the Industrial Division of the Children’s Bureau during the year to promote the inclusion of adequate provision for juvenile workers in these general programs or special measures designed to protect children and young persons from industrial exploitation and injury in their formative years.
In pursuit of these objectives the Children’s Bureau has directed its energies to a study of conditions affecting child employment^ promotion of higher legal standards and improved methods of administration of State child-labor laws and related legislation, and collection of information for the guidance of those drafting proposed legislation affecting child labor. As in health and social services, Federal and State cooperation in achieving common objectives and the assistance and encouragement of a wide range of nonofficial organizations and citizens are essential for the protection of children in industry.
ADMINISTRATION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD-WELFARE SERVICES UNDER THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT
Appropriations.
Amounts appropriated for grants to States and for Federal administration under the Social Security Act, title V, parts 1, 2, and 3, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, were as follows:
Maternal and child-health services_____________________$2, 820, 000
Services for crippled children_________________________ 2,150,000
Child-welfare services_________________________________ 1, 200, 000
Federal administration_________________________________ 299, 000
Although the appropriations fof grants to States were less than those authorized in the act, the appropriation act provided that allotments and payments could be made on the basis of the full amounts authorized.* 2 In addition to the 1937 appropriations, balances remaining from the 1936 allotments were available for payment and expenditure, with the exception of one part (fund B) of the appropriation for maternal and child health.
Plans approved.
For the year ended June 30, 1937, the following plans were submitted by the State and Territorial agencies and approved by the Chief of the Children’s Bureau: Maternal and child-health services, 51; services for crippled children, 45; child-welfare services, 45.
2 Title V of the Social Security Act provides for the following authorized appropriations : For maternal and child-health services, $3,800,000; for services for crippled children, $2,850,000; for child-welfare services, $1,500,000. It further provides that except for $980,000 (fund B) authorized for payments for maternal and child-health services, for which no matching funds are required, appropriations shall be available for
2 years following the close of the fiscal year for which the appropriations were made.
1Q2	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
During the year the procedure in the preparation of plans and estimates was simplified, after consultation with the State and Territorial health officers. The requirement of a detailed quarterly plan and budget was eliminated; a simple form was devised for estimating expenditures and requesting funds during the quarter; and provision was made for more detailed reports of expenditures. These changes became effective for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938.
Allotments and payments.
Payments made to the States for the year ended June 30, 1937, from the 1937 appropriation and unpaid balances from the 1936 allotments totaled $5,970,447.99, distributed as follows:
Maternal and child-health services__________$2, 989,014. 72
Fund A (matched by State or local funds)________________$2,191,001.70
Fund B (matching not required)- 798,013.02 Services for crippled children (matched by State or local funds)________________________________ 2, Oil, 606. 04
Child-welfare services---------------------- 969, 827. 23
Amounts available to each State and amounts paid on the basis of approved plans and estimates in the year ended June 30, 1937, are shown in tables 1, 2, and 3.
Development of State services.
Marked progress was made during the year in most of the States in the operation of all three programs. State organization was strengthened, local services were extended, local demonstrations were developed, and progress was made in formulating and applying standards and in putting into operation the methods outlined in the State plans.
The extent to which services actually got under way was reflected in reports of progress and activities and in the great improvement in the plans submitted for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938.
State maternal and child-health services.
An immediate problem in the organization of State and local pro-frams for maternal and child-health services was finding out what nancial resources were available for matching Federal funds. Under the Social Security Act the State must provide a portion of the matching funds, but local public funds, as well as private funds made fully available for public expenditure, may also be used. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937, the following 21 State plans provided for matching the entire amount of Federal funds available under the act (Fund A) : Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Fourteen States were able to match 75 percent but less than 100 percent of the funds available under the act. The remaining States provided for matching between 50 and 75 percent (7 States) or less than 50 percent (9 States). Most of the State legislatures held regular sessions in 1937, and increased appropriations in many States will make it possible for them to receive a much larger proportion of the Federal funds available on a matching basis for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	103
By July 1, 1937, all but four of the States had full-time physicians as directors of divisions of maternal and child health in their State departments of health. Of the directors, 24 had had special training and experience in pediatrics or obstetrics, and 19 had had special training and experience in public health. In addition to the directors, medical personnel in many of the divisions of maternal and child health included pediatricians or obstetricians on a full-time, part-time, or per diem basis. Other specialists included nutritionists (in 10 States), dentists (in 28 States), and health-education workers (in 7 States).
In only a few States was the maternal and child-health nursing service organized to function separately from other State nursing services. A major task confronting State directors of nursing in the development of these programs has been the introduction of large numbers of new nurses into the field. Nursing supervisors, usually serving in regions or districts, and educational directors in some States have organized programs to aid the local nurses in beginning their work and to provide continuous staff training and supervision. Federal aid for public-health nursing is available under title VI of the Social Security Act, administered by the United States Public Health Service, as well as under title V, and the efforts of both Federal agencies have been directed toward a unified program with adequate emphasis on maternal and child-health activities, which usually constitute a major portion of the work of the field nurse.
Extension of maternal and child-health services has included: Employment of medical personnel on a full-time, part-time, per diem, or fee basis, and of nursing personnel in full-time county health units; employment of public-health nurses and provision for some form of compensated medical service in local units not fully organized for public-health work; and services rendered to unorganized units by public-health nurses and others on the State staff. Reports from the States indicate increasing appreciation of the needs for public health nursing service in the maternal and child-health field and extension of such service into many new areas. Medical participation in the program has been promoted by provision for payment of local practicing physicians for services in prenatal and child-health clinics and conferences.
A census of public-health nurses in all the States, the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, conducted by the United States Public Health Service and the Children’s Bureau as of January 1, 1937, showed a total of 19,834 nurses employed full time (not including nurses employed temporarily and paid from W. P. A. funds). Of these, 11,840 were employed by public agencies, and 4,233 of the 11,049 local nurses employed in such agencies were serving rural areas (areas having no city of 10,000 population or over). In other words, 60 percent of all the public-health nurses in the United States were employed by public agencies, including health departments and boards of education, and 38 percent of the nurses employed by local public agencies were serving rural areas.
Because of the expansion of both medical and nursing services there has been great need for additional specialized training. Most of the States have provided for stipends for nurses to permit them to attend schools of public-health nursing (financed through maternal and child-health and general public health funds), stipends for physi-
104
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Table 1. Federal funds available to States, Federal funds budgeted by States, and payments to States, for maternal and _______________ under the Social Security Act, title V, part 1, fiscal year ended June 30, 1937
	Fund B			$798,013. 02	i i		
Payment	Fund A			$2,191,001. 70			
	o			$2,989,014. 72			
Federal funds budgeted in State plans as approved				$3, 736,104.23			
	30, 1937	Fund B Allotment on basis of need for assistance in carrying out State plan after number of Jive births is taken into consideration		2 $975, 398.89	S8888£82£25S8 I ifcSKSSSSS ■' : i ! !		
	year ended June	JND A for payment the total ex-ss (except from mder approved is2	Allotment on basis of ratio of live births in State to total live births	$1,800,000.00	sRssssKsssaasssssssssss® §s3§SSs»Bg§gg^85gSggss' S ~ ^5 S 3 S ” “ S S c-'tC5 38 § 5 8 S gf S $■		
available	mt for fiscal;	S’a.-sffl a CC	HQ g 'S — § □ 2 > o	Uniform allotment	$1,020,000	§§§§§§Sggs§§g§§§§§§g§gg 8SS8S88'8¥aS8’SS8’SSSaa38S'		
Federal funds		Total		$3, 795,398.89	8£83S?£KS8gS£32388:3£$Sfc8 8 £ S 3 £ £§ 3 8 8" £ § g? 3 3 8 S S £ 8 8 S £ 8		
	Balance of fund A available from allotment for fiscal year 1936 2			$220,113. 30	. 10 7,388.82 2,231.90 7,026.78"	38	: :8	18882	:	;s	;88 &	i	'	■:	ill cf	!	iorCco-	;	; H	!	H	
	Total			$4,015,512.19	S3S2fc83^8g3Wfegf28feS8SK8		
CO				Alabama	 Alaska	 Arizona	 Arkansas	 California	 Colorado	 Connecticut			Delaware, 	 District of Columbia Georgia	 Hawaii	 Idaho	 Illinois	 Indiana	 Iowa		Kentucky	 Louisiana	 Maine	 Maryland	 Michigan	
*
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
105
2888 '.SS5828S588 :8^SSK88S832^
:S§Sg|g|^||
*!S33	i^WssJ’s^^
88££888Bg;SSS^8§3S3£88;2§8S£28 ^S^g§^g§dg8|2|2gg^8§g|g feSJSgr sgss^^ssgs-sssssssg^
288SS8£S$:S8^88838S£88S£5ggS8
^^^^§^gg^2Sg§g^g§g2S2 fc'SSS-8^S?228S§^8Sg^g8?8^^
8£8£888K8£8285&8888S8E328S£8
8888 i88K2§^88SS888S88833§£88
^§g ^^gg§5fe8g2g8g3gg8g8§2
S222 8®^S0dS2S2-S^SSf^22’'8S2“2
S5£5SS3$ggS32£5S5SSSS&S£!28§^£EgS5
§§S^s§§^|g§gg2g§ggs^g§gsg !i^»S-»22‘S8SSS2g(“S2^82^SSS~
1888888888888888888888888888 88888888^^
88SS5885!§3S^888&2SS888!SS58§8S
88g^288^3S^22^2S88885588222
gg 18 I823S i i ISSS8K8S § ;e igggg i i i«j«g 's§ ef JtC i^oo^co j | joT^of co
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^8KS2§2S^§^8SJS288888SS55^S58g88
KSS^SB2SS^!S?g§SgfcSgS8S888gg^
25730—37----8
106	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
cians (financed through. Federal aid available through the U. S. Public Health Service), staff-training programs, and in many States district centers where the training of personnel is a specified part of the program.
Brief courses of lectures and demonstrations in obstetrics and pediatrics for physicians in active practice in rural areas and in the smaller cities, arranged in cooperation with State and local medical societies, have been held in 41 States and in Hawaii. Eight States have appointed full-time obstetricians or pediatricians to carry on this work.
Maternal and child-health activities, conducted for the most part through local staffs with the aid of supervisory and consultant service from the State, include public health nursing services in homes, clinics, and conferences; medical examinations and consultations for mothers and children; immunization of children; preventive and educational dental services; supervision of midwives; nutrition services; and mental-hygiene services. Outstanding during the past year has been the increased interest in nutrition service as part of a maternal and child-health program developed in cooperation with other agencies working in nutrition.
Provision for the development of demonstration services in needy areas and among groups in special need, as required by the act, has been made by all the States, though many of the demonstrations are only in the initial stages. Several States made plans during the year for demonstrations of nursing service at the time of childbirth, provided under cooperative arrangements with the physicians in attendance. Except for these demonstrations the State agencies have not been able with the funds available to provide for medical and nursing care for mothers and infants at the time of childbirth. The State agencies are keenly aware of the urgent need for such service.
Progress has been made in nearly all the States in the work of advisory committees and in obtaining the assistance and cooperation of professional and lay groups. Much more needs to be done, however, in developing such cooperation.
Much of the work accomplished in the States cannot be measured statistically. Certain types of service, however, can be enumerated. Reports received from the States for the year ended June 30, 1937, showed the following activities conducted as part of the State plans for maternal and child-health services:3
Visits to medical conferences for maternity service_	123, 315
Antepartum service-----------------------110, 693
Postpartum medical examination___________ 12, 622
Visits to medical conferences for child-hygiene service_	513, 651
Visits of infants--------------------<.— 241, 611
Visits of preschool children------------- 272,040
Health examinations of school children_______________ 2, 044, 996
Immunizations for smallpox___________________________ 1, 346, 766
Immunizations for diphtheria------------------------- 771,292
3 Reports for the last half of the year related to areas, mostly rural, that contain approximately two-thirds of the population of the United States. For the first half of the year the State reports were incomplete for certain items and covered fewer areas.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
107
Public health nursing visits				 4, 541, 656
Maternity service			630, 304
Antepartum-	__ 376,690	
Delivery				7,390	
Postpartum	246, 224	
Infant hygiene			819,139
Preschool hygiene			770, 236
School hygiene			2, 321, 977
Inspections by dentists and dental hygienists—			 961,877
Preschool children			47,299
School children---------------------------914,578
Midwife meetings--------------------------------------- 10, 331
Midwives under planned instruction--------------------- 11, 561
Attendance at midwife meetings------------------------- 60, 327
State services for crippled children.
The funds provided for services for crippled children are required by the act to be matched in full by State funds or by State and local funds. During the fiscal year 1937 the following 16 State plans provided for matching the entire amount of Federal funds available under the act: Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Fourteen States were able to match between 75 and 100 percent of the funds available under the act; 9 States, between 50 and 75 percent; and 6 States less than 50 percent. As in the maternal and child-health program, several States will have larger appropriations available for matching Federal funds during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938.
The type of official State agency authorized to administer the services was considered during 1937 by the legislatures of many States, and in a few States the responsibility was transferred from one State agency to another. At the end of the fiscal year the program was administered in 19 States by the State health agency; in 13 by the State welfare agency; in 7 by a State crippled children’s commission ; in 4 by the State department of education; in 1 by the State university hospital; and in 1 by an interdepartmental committee representing 3 State agencies.
To insure adequate service the State agencies have set up standards for the qualifications and selection of personnel, for hospital facilities and equipment, and for convalescent care. Careful consideration has been given to the qualifications of persons in administrative control and of the supervisory, consultant, and field staff. Recommendations made by national professional organizations with regard to qualifications of personnel and standards for certification set by various medical boards are being recognized and used by the State agencies in setting their standards for selection of personnel. The recommendation of the State and Territorial health officers that the program for crippled children should be under medical direction is resulting in an increased number of appointments of physicians to positions of administrative responsibility. By June 30, 1937, a medical director was giving full-time or part-time service in 23 States. Technical advisory committees including orthopedic surgeons, pediatricians, and other physicians have been at work in other States. Such specialists have been active in a consultative capacity in 30 of the States.
Surgical and medical fees and hospital rates and costs are being reviewed by the State agencies and by the Children’s Bureau in an
108
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Table 2.—Federal funds available to States, Federal funds budgeted by States, and payments to States, for services for crippled children under the Social Security Act, title V, part 2, fiscal year ended June 30, 1937
Federal funds available for payment of half the total expenditure under approved State plans
Allotment for fiscal year 19373
State1	Total	Balance available from allotment for fiscal year 1936 1 2 3	Total	Uniform allotment	Allotment on basis of need after number of crippled children in need of care and costs of service are taken into consideration	Federal funds budgeted in State plans as approved	Payment
Total-.	$3. 213. 056. 27	$363,995.76	3 $2,849,060. 51	$1,020,000	$1,829, 060. 51	$2,681,350.92	$2, 011, 606.04
Ala		63, 027. 97	5, 931. 93	57,096. 04	20, 000	37,096. 04	45,091. 21	37,442.61
Alaska.-,	28.019. 37	7, 356.14	20, 663. 23	20,000	663. 23	3, 500. 00	2,115.62
Ariz	 Ark		25. 473. 26 64, 210.46	.86 18, 878. 95	25, 472.40 45,331. 51	20,000 20,000	5, 472. 40 25, 331. 51	34,461. 00	21, 662.74
Calif		87, 966.97	16.150. 35	71,816.62	20, 000	51, 816.62	88, 920. 57	33, 731.23
Colo		53,000.00	3, 737.15	49. 262.85	20, 000	29, 262. 85	61,500.00	48, 794.60
Conn	 Del		53. 476. 46 31.956. 98	15, 723.11 9. 396.31	37,753.35 22, 560.67	20, 000 20, 000	17, 753. 35 2,560. 67		
D. C		28.630. 06	4, 474.01	24,156. 05	20. 000	4,156. 05	25,000,00	663. 32
Fla		57, 494. 66	.67	57, 493. 99	20. 000	37, 493. 99	57, 500, 00	57,494.66
Oa		85.412. 32	25,112. 37	60, 299.95	20. 000	40, 299.95	4. 993, 75	4,993. 75
Hawaii..	35, 436. 56	10. 419.32	25.017. 24	20. 000	5, 017. 24	19, 724.' 16	15,816. 03
Idaho		28, 356. 73	2. 689. 85	25, 666.88	20, 000	5, 666. 88	30,124. 84	18, 216. 52
Ill		141,239. 94	41, 525. 89	99, 714. 05	20. 000	79, 714. 05	112,880.00	4. 900. 00
Ind		78. 349. 38	23, 035. 84	55. 313. 54	20. 000	35, 313. 54	68, 500.00	26, 411.65
Iowa		67. 390. 97	19, 814. 03	47, 576. 94	20,000	27, 576.94	58,776. 94	58,776. 94
Kans		48, 998. 96	7. 539. 74	41,459. 22	20. 000	21, 459. 22	36, 810. 00	36, 810. 00
Ky	 La		83, 310.87 67 469.13	1, 000. 00 19, 837.01	82. 310. 87 47. 632.12	20, 000 20, 000	62,310. 87 27,632.12	83, 310.87	82, 267.04
Maine		33.704.64		33, 704. 64	20, 000	13. 704. 64	40,000. 00	25,465. 72
Md		54. 022. 09	15,883. 53	38, 138. 56	20, 000	18, 138. 56	39,000. 00	36. 033. 56
Mass	 Mich		74, 425. 28 100, 000. 00	5, 702. 75	68. 722. 53 100,000.00 88, 997. 99	20. 000 20, 000 20. 000	48, 722.53 80, 000. 00 68, 997. 99	84,676.00 100,284.48 95,161. 00	61, 591. 71 99,999.99 95.161.00
Minn		95,161.00	6, 163. 01					
Miss		65. 448.99	17, 487. 21	47, 961. 78	20, 000	27,961. 78	15, 246.89	12, 606. 40
Mo		59, 286. 27		59, 286. 27 26, 259. 48	20, 000 20. 000	39. 286. 27	62, 314. 00 22,309. 77	53, 629.83 18, 869. 93
Mont		29,296.11	3, 036. 63			6,259. 48		
Nebr		36,163. 92		36, 163. 92 20. 865. 04	20, 000 20, 000	16,163. 92 865. 04	46,163. 92	16,552.38
Nev		29, 555.22	8, 690.18					
N. H		33. 762. 65	8, 868. 19	24. 894. 46	20, 000	4, 894. 46	4,000.00	2, 500.00
N. J		101,813. 36	7, 308.12	94. 505. 24	20, 000	74, 505. 24	115, 715.35	86,711.66
N. Mex...	29, 999.80	3, 286 25	26. 713. 55	20, 000	6,713. 55	33. 244. 00	27, 089. 28
N. Y		150, 380. 50	3, 324. 00	147, 056. 50	20, 000	127,056. 50	103. 942. 72	74,162.72
N. C		80. 186. 28	623. 00	79, 563. 28	20. 000	59, 563. 28	98,118. 00	72, 789. 71
N. Dak..	41.393. 19	12, 170. 59	29. 222. 60	20, 000	9, 222. 60	11, 728. 44	11,728. 44
Ohio		158, 701. 76		158. 701. 76	20, 000 20. 000 20, 000	138, 701. 76 41,804.10 9, 501. 22	164,120. 80 61,825. 00	158. 701. 76 61, 825. 00
Okla	 Oreg		61. 825. 00 41, 787. 84	20. 90 12, 286.62	61,804.10 29, 501. 22				
Pa		133. 604. 24	03	133, 604 21	20, 000	113, 604. 21	189,243. 21	106, 609. 05
R. I		36. 111.29	8, 499. 70	27. 611.59	20, 000	7, 611.59	6, 592. 62	5, 000. 00
S. C		57, 251. 74	10, 973. 29	46, 278. 45	20, 000	26, 278. 45	37,863.00	37, 863. 00
S. Dak...	28. 776. 08		28, 776. 08 54, 253. 92	20, 000 20, 000 20, 000 20, 000	8, 776. 08 34, 253. 92 132, 730. 02 6, 955. 59	40,005. 28 63,104. 42 152.730. 02 37,038. 19	26, 551. 77 21, 947. 75 152, 717.75 29, 999. 99
Tenn		54. 253. 92						
Tex		152, 730. 02		152, 730. 02 26, 955. 59				
Utah		30, 682. 11	3, 726. 52					
Vt		27, 299. 86	3, 321. 63	23, 978. 23	20. 000	3, 978. 23	16,000. 00	12, 217. 40
Va		73. 297. 33	.08	73, 297. 25	20, 000	53, 297. 25	77, 550. 00	73, 297.33
Wash		55, 072. 49 81. 747. 97		55, 072.49	20, 009 20. 000	35, 072.49 61, 747. 97 33, 447.20 2, 647. 07	67,196. 47 83, 672.00 58, 412.00 23,000.00	43, 923. 40 80, 330.10 49, 508. 55 6,124.15
W. Va...			81, 747.97 53, 447. 20 22,647.07				
Wis		53, 447. 20 22, 647. 07			20,000 20, 000			
Wyo			—					
1 The term “State” includes Alaska, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii.
2 The amount allotted to any State remaining unpaid at the end of each fiscal year is available for payment to such State until the end of the second succeeding fiscal year.
3 Of $2,850,000 authorized for allotment, $939.49 was not allotted.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	1Q9
effort to arrive at a fair and equitable basis for payment, with consideration on the one hand of the amount of time required, the responsibility involved, and the technical skill demanded of physicians and surgeons, and, on the other hand, of the number of crippled children in need of care and the limited public funds available.
At all times the integration of nursing service for crippled children with other nursing services has been stressed. In several States a special consultant in orthopedic nursing has been appointed to coordinate nursing services for crippled children with general nursing activities. In a number of States it has been made possible for staff nurses to attend special courses and institutes in orthopedic nursing.
Physical therapists are employed in some States. Opportunities for obtaining training in physical therapy at recognized centers are being provided under the plans of several States. The services of technicians skilled in physical therapy for children suffering from poliomyelitis were features of special projects undertaken during the year.	.	.	.
Medical social workers have been given an important place in the administration of State programs for crippled children, both, in assisting in the general development of policies and of relationships among the different professions and agencies utilized in the program, and in helping to develop sound programs of care and treatment for individual children.
Definite progress has been made toward providing a registration system to give accurate information concerning the number and location of crippled children in need of care in each State. State registers have been established or reorganized in many States. Valuable data on the extent and cause of crippling conditions and the numbers of crippled children coming within the scope of the program are being accumulated.
In the operation of the State programs great effort is made to find all crippled children in the State, especially those in remote areas. The resources utilized in locating crippled children have included the medical profession, health and welfare agencies, citizens’ groups, epidemiological reports, reports of birth injuries, and special surveys.
The programs in many States have covered crippled children under 21 years of age who are in need of care. Requirements for economic eligibility for care have usually been broadly interpreted, but requirements with reference to residence in the State are being more strictly observed. It is recognized that families which can meet the expense of medical care for an ordinary illness are frequently unable to meet the cost of highly specialized and prolonged treatment. The States are making reciprocal agreements with reference to residence requirements in order to make sure that children are not denied care because of residence restrictions.
The total number of diagnostic clinics held and the number of such clinics in areas not previously served have increased. Such clinics are often used not only for diagnostic service but also for reexamination of crippled children and for such treatments as physical therapy, application of casts, and adjustment of braces.
A number of State agencies have surveyed their medical, surgical, and hospital resources and have endeavored to provide the services as close to the child’s home as possible. Both public and private hospitals that meet acceptable standards have been utilized. Hospital care in private institutions is purchased as a service rendered to
110	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
individual children. Hospital charges have been under continuous review. Arrangements have been made with other organizations so that occupational and educational facilities are provided for children in the hospitals.
Both convalescent and aftercare services for crippled children have been slower in development than surgical services and hospital care. Convalescent facilities are nowhere adequate, and in some places they are almost nonexistent. Most rural communities lack resources for medical and nursing care and for physical therapy in the home. Facilities for aftercare are being extended through the use of community resources for providing care in institutions for convalescents, in foster homes, and in the child’s own home. The importance of adequate care after hospitalization cannot be emphasized too strongly.
Poliomyelitis ranks as a major cause of crippling in children under 21 years of age. During the last fiscal year epidemics of poliomyelitis were reported in a number of States. Special allotments were made to the States of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia in order that children who are ill might be treated promptly and crippling prevented. For the emergency the American Red Cross gave funds to four of these States, which were made fully available for matching Federal funds.
The State agencies are developing general advisory committees, which help to bring the various groups together in a coordinated program. They are recognizing also that local services are extended most satisfactorily through a system by which maximum advantage is taken of the services of local public-health nurses and social workers. The necessity for making adequate provision for the cooperation of medical, health, nursing, and welfare groups, educational agencies, and the vocational-rehabilitation service has been constantly emphasized. Many private agencies and civic groups have given generous support in funds and voluntary service.
On June 30, 1937, reports for 99,722 crippled children were on file in the official State agencies of 36 States, Alaska, and Hawaii. This number represents an average of 3 per 1,000 of the population under 21 years of age—about half of the estimated average for the United States computed in previous surveys. In most States the number on the State register represents children under the care of the official State agency only, though in some States it is probably fairly complete. The policy recommended by the Children’s Bureau has been to limit registration to the children who are crippled as that term is defined under the State program and whose condition has been established through medical diagnosis.
During the year ended June 30, 1937, the following services for crippled children were reported by 43 States, Alaska, and Hawaii:
Visits for medical service to diagnostic and treatment
clinics---------------------------------------------------- 133,326
Children cared for in, hospitals_____________________________ 35, 644
Children cared for in convalescent homes_____________________ 4, 038
Children cared for in foster homes___________________________ 549
Visits by public-health nurses_______________________________ 164, 431
Visits by physical therapists________________________________ 88, 752
The average number of days’ care provided per child during the year was 31 in hospitals, 67 in homes for convalescents, and 42 in foster homes.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
111
Table 3.—Federal funds available to States, Federal funds budgeted by States, and payments to States, for child-welfare services under the Social Security Act, title V, part 3, fiscal year ended June 30, 1937
Federal funds available for payment of part of cost of local services and for development of State services
State i	Total	Balance available from allotment for fiscal year 1936 8	Allotment for fiscal year ended June 30, 1937 8			Federal funds budgeted in State plans as approved	Payment8
			Total	Uniform allotment	Allotment on basis of ratio of rural population in State to total rural population		
Total....	$1,557, 322.15	$180, 865.19	8 $1,376,456.96	$450,000	$926,456. 96	$1,534,780.15	$969,827.23
	44, 842. 41		44,842.41	10,000	34,842. 41	55, 490. 00	41, 850.32
Ariz...		15,281. 60	47. 53	15,234. 07	10, 000	5,234. 07	18, 789. 28	5, 404. 82
	36, 958. 41		36,958.41	10,000	26,958. 41	36,958. 41	9,311.64
Calif		51, 643. 91	13,860. 21	37, 783. 70	10,000	27,783. 70	43, 520. 00	18,140.41
Colo	19, 450. 97		19, 450. 97	10, 000	9, 450.97	19,450.97	12,974. 46
	18, 703. 99		18, 703.99	10,000	8, 703. 99	18,703.99	10, 291. 26
Del		15, 367. 22	3, 256. 24	12,110.98	10, 000	2,110. 98	12,110.98	8, 720.85
D C	12, 500. 37	2, 500. 37	10,000. 00	10, 000		10, 000. 00	5, 582. 26
Fla		26, 296. 86	3,319. 03	22,977.83	10, 000	12,977. 83	30, 620. 00	17,857.15
Ga	46,876. 53		46, 876. 53	10,000	36, 876. 53	46,876. 53	33, 569.94
Idaho 		18,006. 57	2, 226. 44	15,780.13	10, 000	5, 780.13	18,023.14	15,884. 96
Ill	46, 545. 00		46, 545. 00	10,000	36, 545. 00	46, 545. 00	21, 620. 26
	36,427. 29		36,427.29	10,000	26,427.29	36, 427. 29	21,192. 36
	37, 325. 57		37,325. 57	10,000	27,325. 57	37, 325. 57	23, 293.86
Kans		31, 088. 31	.04	31,088. 27	10,000	, 2L 088. 27	39,243. 80	28,251.02
Ky	43,259. 42		43,259.42	10, 000	33,259.42	43, 259.42	30, 270.92
La 		42, 921.68	9, 691. 99	33, 229.69	10,000	23,229.69	46, 233.77	35, 840.19
Maine....	24, 636. 04	5, 917. 68	18, 718.36	10, 000	8, 718. 36	20, 072.00	13, 719. 56
Md 		23,872. 23	1, 842. 89	22, 029.34	10, 000	12,029. 34	22,940.00	16, 333.17
Mass			21, 769.48	4,108. 67	17, 660. 81	10,000	7,660.81	20, 320. 30	10,174. 55
Mich	 .	44, 036. 75	5, 820. 81	38, 215. 94	10, 000	28,215.94	45, 325. 00	23,950.99
Minn		36, 768. 73	2, 837. 86	33, 930.87	10,000	23,930.87	42, 592.00	29, 489.92
Mo		50,883.16	8, 453.87	42, 429. 29	10, 000	32,429. 29	55, 638.93	43,301.64
Mont.	21, 357. 87	4, 825. 84	16, 532.03	10, 000	6,532. 03	23,055.83	16,072. 95
Nebr..		28, 739. 28	2, 401. 31	26, 337. 97	10, 000	16,337. 97	33, 490. 82	17,216.41
Nev		14, 792.82	3, 756. 07	11, 036. 75	10, 000	1,036. 75	15, 200. 00	13,131.44
N. H		14,183. 33	662.15	13, 521.18	10,000	3,521.18	15, 280.13	13,868.59
N. J		30, 490. 64	7, 629. 01	22,861. 63	10,000	12,861.63	26, 620.00	15, 622. 41
N. Mex.		15, 798. 50	.50	15, 798.00	10, 000	5, 798.00	16, 407. 77	13, 243. 62
N. Y	47. 849. 27		47, 849. 27	10, 000	37, 849. 27	8 790. 58	8, 790. 58
N. C. ....	63, 297. 65	10,056.80	53, 240. 85	10; 000	43; 240. 85	62,681. 00	39,597. 04
N. Dak	20,385. 00		20,385.00	10, 000	10,385.00	20. 385. 00	15,963.62
Ohio		62, 703. 47	13, 513. 02	49,190. 45	10, 000	39,190. 45	54. 560.00	23, 643. 52
Okla		52, 764. 25	13,923. 46	38, 840. 79	10,000	28,840. 79	50, 937.49	24, 398. 76
Oreg		25,244.98	6, 744.21	18, 500. 77	10, 000	8, 500.77	26,187. 88	13, 716. 41
Pa		89,121.81	22, 372. 30	66, 749.51	10,000	56,749. 51	92, 690.03	35,162. 64
S. Dak		23, 710.19	3,415. 94	20, 294. 25	10, 000	10, 294. 25	23, 040. 00	20,325.80
Tenn .	41, 509.13		41, 509.13	10, coo	31, 509.13	28,438.75	28, 438. 75
Tex		75, 971.60	3, 038. 89	72,932. 71	10,000	62i 932.71	90, 758.45	42i 438.21
Utah..		16, 986. 24	2, 560. 66	14,425. 58	10, 000	4,425. 58	17,197. 50	14, 665.36
Vt		17, 044. 61	2i 632. 56	14, 412. 05	10, 000	4; 412.05	18,850. 00	15,305.42
Va		47, 702. 30	7,726. 56	39, 975. 74	10,000	29; 975.74	43, 338. 50	32, 566.67
Wash		22.484. 36	48.34	22, 436. 02	10,000	12,436. 02	23,747.04	22,484.36
W. Va		35, 208. 49	2, 534. 97	32, 673. 52	10,000	22,673. 52	38, 805. 00	28,437.24
Wis			44, 513. 86	9,138.97	35, 374.89	10, 000	25, 374.89	37, 852.00	37, 710.92
1 The term “State” includes Alaska, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii.
3 The amount allotted to any State remaining unpaid at the end of each fiscal year is available for payment to such State until the end of the second succeeding fiscal year.
8 Of $1,500,000 available for allotment, $123,543.04 was not allotted.
State child-welfare services.
Federal funds are available to States under the Social Security Act, title V, part 3, for the purpose of developing more adequate community provision for the protection and care of homeless, dependent, and neglected children and children in danger of becoming delinquent. The funds may be used (1) for aiding State welfare agencies in encouraging and assisting adequate methods of community childwelfare organization in areas predominantly rural and other areas of
112	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
special need, and (2) for paying part of the cost of district, county, or other local child-welfare services in areas predominantly rural. No specified ratio of financial contribution by the State or local government is required.
Federal funds are being used almost entirely for salaries of State and local workers. State services are executive, supervisory, or consultative in character. In most States limitation of funds has made it necessary to develop local services on a demonstration basis, in the hope that they will stimulate greater community support and more adequate community organization for child-welfare work and provide a basis of practical experience that can be utilized in extending such services throughout the State. Financial contribution to the program from State and local resources) takes various forms, including payment of salaries, in part or in full, payment of travel and office expense, and provision for maintenance in boarding homes or elsewhere of children who come within the program and who are in need of financial assistance. Federal funds are not available for maintenance except in emergencies. There are already evident in many States increased understanding of the purpose and value of the child-welfare program and willingness to provide a share of the financial support for it, even in counties where financial resources are extremely limited.
Child-welfare services are developed wherever possible as an integral part of State and local public-w’elfare administration and are related closely to the child-welfare functions long vested in State and local agencies, to the administration of relief, and to the program of aid to dependent children under the Social Security Act. Increasingly evident in State plans is provision for the cooperation of the child-welfare workers in programs of maternal and child health and services for crippled children.
By June 30, 1937, Federal funds for child-welfare services were providing all or part of the salaries of professional and clerical workers on the staffs of State welfare departments, and social and clerical workers assigned to local demonstration units or working in districts in which some case-work service was given, as follows:
Child-welfare staff paid in full or in part from Federal funds
In full In part
Total______________________________________ 491	140
State staff:
Professional___________________________________ 130	66
Clerical_________________________________________ 58	21
Local staff:
Professional___________________________________ 264	40
Clerical_________________________________________ 39	13
In 33 States child-welfare workers had been assigned to counties and were working directly under local boards or welfare officials. The total number of counties so served was 201, and the total number of workers was 179. In 11 States (including 4 of the 33 States) 61 workers employed directly by the State welfare department had been assigned to 95 counties.
In States in which local organization was in process of development 56 State workers were giving some service to individual children in districts covering a number of counties as part of their effort to develop interest in the establishment of local child-welfare pro
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grams. Such, service was being given in approximately 628 counties. In 3 of the New England States in which administration of welfare services is not on a county basis, 8 workers had been placed in 7 areas, which included 130 towns.
The problem of obtaining personnel with adequate training and experience for child-welfare service has been a difficult one, both in areas where workers are devoting full time to child-welfare work and in areas where child-welfare service is developed as part of a generalized social case-work program. It is evident that where one worker is responsible for a wide variety of social services her equipment must be such as to enable her to deal adequately with the most ' difficult problems that come under her jurisdiction. The childwelfare worker is called upon to advise the juvenile court with regard to serious problems of child behavior and family relationships; to deal with grave problems arising from neglect and social inadequacy on the part of parents; to make investigations and provide supervision for children for whom foster care in family homes or institutions is necessary; and to help to stimulate and coordinate the development of community services for family welfare, public health, medical care, problems of school attendance and school adjustment^ and recreational activities. To assist the local worker, whether employed under a generalized or under a specialized public-welfare program, supervisory and consultant services from the State staff are needed and also assistance in bringing the community work and specialized State services for children, such as institutional care for the delinquent or the mentally defective, into close and helpful relationship.
Most of the State plans in operation during the year made provision for training workers through adequate programs of in-service training, through special training centers where students may work under expert supervision, and through leave of absence permitting attendance of qualified workers at accredited schools of social work.
Progress reports give evidence that local child-welfare workers are utilizing a wide range of available social resources, both public and private. They are bringing to light instances of inadequate relief and lack of medical care and corrective services for handicapped children. They are creating interest in the need for adequate programs of care and supervision of the mentally defective and in preventive programs of mental hygiene for children with serious problems of personality or behavior. Many States have provided in their plans for making psychological or psychiatric service available to children in rural areas. Special demonstration services for Negro children, for whom in general facilities have been far less adequate than facilities for white children, have been developed in several States, including Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia.
In many States legislation passed in 1937 has resulted in the reorganization of the general structure of State and local public-welfare service. It has been necessary to fit child-welfare services into new patterns and to bring them under new leadership. With few exceptions, however, the general lines of development established in the initial period have been maintained and extended, and a sound foundation for future progress is being laid.
114	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Federal administration.
By June 30, 1937, the Children’s Bureau organization for administration of- the social-security program for children included the administrative staff in the Maternal and Child Health Division, the Crippled Children’s Division, the Child Welfare Division, the Public Health Nursing Unit, and State Audits Unit; and also consultants in orthopedic surgery (employed part time), nutrition, medical social work, and statistical reporting; five regional medical consultants; five regional public health nursing consultants; five regional child-welfare consultants; three field auditors; a Negro pediatrician, ■ who conducts postgraduate courses in pediatrics and obstetrics for Negro physicians; and a Negro social worker, w’ho assists in special demonstrations of child-welfare services for Negro children conducted by State agencies. Two regional offices were established, one in San Francisco and one in New Orleans. Other regions are served from the Washington office. Advisory legal service was given by the office of the Solicitor of the Department of Labor, and legal assistance in the review of State plans and consultation service to the States in drafting State legislation were given by an associate in legal research on the staff of the Children’s Bureau. Close cooperation is maintained with the research divisions of the Children’s Bureau and with other Federal agencies, especially the United States Public Health Service and the Social Security Board.
All the States and Territories (except Alaska) have been visited during the year by medical or nursing consultants, or by both, and by the child-welfare consultants. Whereas early consultations were chiefly concerned with budgets and administrative policies, consultations now are concerned more with improving the content of the program, developing lay participation, and obtaining and training qualified personnel. The Public Health Nursing Unit, the medical social-work consultants, and the child-welfare consultants have given particular attention to furthering opportunities for advanced professional training and for staff-training programs.
Plans for reports from the State agencies of maternal and childhealth services, of services for crippled children, and of registration of crippled children were made in cooperation with State and Territorial health officers, the Public Health Service, the Social Security Board, the advisory committees of the Children’s Bureau, and the Central Statistical Board. Reporting was established on a quarterly basis covering the entire fiscal year.
Special studies of procedures for “intake” or acceptance of children for care under the State program, and for discharge from hospitals were undertaken by the Crippled Children’s Division in 12 States and will be completed early in the fiscal year 1938. These studies are greatly needed as a basis for working out sound policies of intake, discharge, and aftercare.
Annual and quarterly budgets for expenditure under the State plans were reviewed by the State Audits Unit. Field audits of State expenditures during the 5 months of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1936, for which Federal funds under the Social Security Act were available, and in many instances part of the fiscal year 1937, were made as follows: Maternal and child-health services, 36 States; services for crippled children, 32 States; child-welfare services, 30 States. Quarterly financial reports of expenditures are also made by the States.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	H5
The following meetings of advisory committees of the Children’s Bureau were held:
Advisory committee on services for crippled children-------Oct. 9 and 10,1936
Advisory committee on training and personnel (for child-
welfare services and the public-assistance program of the
Social Security Board)-----------------------------------Oct. 19, 1936.
Special advisory committee on maternal welfare-------------Mar. 20, 1937.
General advisory committee on maternal and child-welfare' services___________________________________________________
Advisory committee on maternal and child-health services— >Apr. 7 and 8,1937.
Advisory committee on services for crippled children-------
Advisory committee on community child-welfare services-
Regional conferences in cooperation with the Social Security Board were held in Denver, November 18, 1936; in Atlanta, February 8-11, 1937; and in Washington, March 12 and 13, 1937. Regional conferences in cooperation with the United States Public Health Service were held in San Francisco, January 26-28; in Boston, February 4-6; and in Phoenix, April 16 and 17, 1937.
On April 9 and 10, 1937, the Children’s Bureau held a conference with State and Territorial health officers assembled in Washington for the Surgeon General’s annual conference. Progress during the year was reviewed, and recommendations were made that the maternal and child-health program be extended to provide increased and improved maternity care and care of the newborn.
RESEARCH AND ADVISORY WORK
Division of Research in Child Development.
Studies continued or begun during the year.—These included the following:
1.	A study of maternal care in Hartford, Conn. Further statistical analysis has been made, and the study is nearing completion.
2.	A study of stillbirths, in cooperation with the Division of Statistical Research. Tabulation of the 6,750 schedules received is under way. Two preliminary reports, one based on 1,000 and the other on 2,000 schedules, have been published. The study is being made in cooperation with the subcommittee on stillbirths of the American Public Health Association.
3.	A study of physical fitness of school children in New Haven, Conn. Statistical analysis of the data on physical condition, nutritional status, and growth of approximately a thousand 6-year-old children has continued and is nearing completion.
4.	A study of neonatal deaths (deaths of infants under 1 month of age) in the District of Columbia in 1935. Field work and statistical analysis for this study have been completed, and preparation of the report is in progress.
5.	Studies of premature infants. In cooperation with the obstetric find pediatric departments of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, studies are being made of morbidity and mortality, longitudinal growth, centers of ossification, the value of quantitative Wassermann tests in the diagnosis of congenital syphilis in young infants, and the interpretation of roentgenograms of the long bones. Reports of the last tw’o studies have been prepared for publication.
6.	Rickets study at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A study of the bones of infants to determine the earliest signs of rickets continues a series of studies of rickets begun in 1922.
Jig	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
7.	A study of maternal mortality in the District of Columbia was begun June 1, 1937, in cooperation with the Health Department of the District of Columbia and the Maternal Welfare Committee of the District Medical Society.
8.	Oklahoma child-health and child-welfare demonstration,4 conducted in cooperation with the Office of Indian Affairs. This project was established in connection with Cooperative Health Unit No. 1 of the Oklahoma State Health Department. It is being developed under the direction of the State departments of health and welfare as part of the social-security program in the State. Its development has been gradual and is by no means complete. Childhealth conferences conducted by a pediatrician assigned by the Children’s Bureau have been held in all five counties in the unit, and prenatal conferences have been held in several counties. A publichealth nurse assigned by the Children’s Bureau is educational director of maternal and child-health nursing. Five social workers under the supervision of the State welfare department are giving full time to the unit. The area is sparsely settled, roads are rough and in some places almost impassable, and economic and health conditions are very poor.
Information and advisory services.—Bibliographies and lists have been prepared and issued, popular bulletins on infant and child care and on maternal care have been prepared or revised, and a number of technical articles have been prepared and published. Assistance has been given in the development of plans for a study of facilities for maternal care which is to be undertaken by the Bureau as soon as funds can be made available.
Advisory committees.—The Obstetric Advisory Committee met on March 21, 1937, to consider questions arising in the stillbirth study. The Pediatric Advisory Committee met on April 30 at Hot Springs, Va., at the time of the meeting of the American Pediatric Society, to consider the revision of Infant Care and an outline for a proposed bulletin on standards for the care of newborn and prematurely born infants in hospitals.
Industrial Division.
Studies continued or begun during the year.—These included:
1.	Child labor in the post N. R. A. period. Field work in the study was completed in six States, and information was obtained for 2,017 young workers, of whom 449 were under the age of 16 years and 1,568 were 16 and 17 years of age.
2.	Employment of young persons at sea. This study was made as part of the Department of Labor’s survey of employment conditions in the shipping industry in the fall of 1936. The findings showed that although exact statistics were not available at that time, a considerable number of boys under the age of 18 years were employed at sea, chiefly as sailors and deck hands, and that the conditions of employment at sea were unsuitable for boys of this age.
3.	Children in industrial home work. The compilation of data has been completed, and a report is being written, of a study made in cooperation with the Women’s Bureau to discover whether former home workers had been able to follow their work into the factory
4 During the fiscal year 1938 the State health department will take over full response bility for the pediatrician and the maternal and child-health nursing supervisor.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
117
when home work was abolished under the N. R. A. codes, and to determine the extent to which factory managers had worked out the necessary adjustments.
4.	Children in industrialized agriculture. Tabulation of data found in 1935 and 1936 of the use of children in the production and cultivation of sugar beets was completed. A preliminary release was issued, summarizing the findings on child labor and school attendance, and the report is in preparation.
5.	Migratory family workers. A study was made in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in response to Senate Resolution 298, of the Seventy-fourth Congress, authorizing and directing the Secretary of Labor to investigate the social and economic needs of workers migrating across State lines. Many families with young children are included in the migrant population. Representatives of the Children’s Bureau visited selected areas in 20 States in the fall and winter of 1936-37 and gathered information concerning living conditions, medical care and health protection, education of the children, relief of migrants and their families, and community attitudes toward them. A preliminary report was submitted to the Senate by the Secretary of Labor on July 3, 1937.
6.	Junior placement services. At the request of the United States Employment Service and the President’s Committee on Vocational Education (now the Advisory Committee on Education) a study was begun of junior placement services conducted by public-employment offices and public-school systems. Part of the study is to be based on replies to questionnaires that have been received from practically all offices in the country in which at least one person gives full time to junior placement work. Field visits will be made to a number of representative offices.
Legal research.—Information concerning State and Federal legislation, proposed and enacted, affecting child labor and the employment of minors has been collected and analyzed.
C' onsultative and advisory service.—Assistance in drafting State legislation relating to child labor has been given to more than one-fourth of the States, and advisory service relating to proposed legislation has been given in many other States. Consultative service regarding administrative problems has also been given at the request of State labor officials.
The Children’s Bureau has served in a consultative capacity to the Division of Public Contracts, which was established in the Department of Labor to administer the Public Contracts Act approved June 30, 1936. This act provides that contracts exceeding $10,000 for the purchase of supplies by the United States shall contain certain stipulations regarding conditions of labor under which the supplies are produced. One of these stipulations is that no boy under 16 and no girl under 18 years of age shall be employed. An investigation of conditions under which girls between the ages of 16 and 18 years were employed in 25 representative cotton-textile mills was made by the Children’s Bureau when the cotton-textile industry requested an exemption permitting the continued employment of girls under 18 in mills engaged on Government contracts. Findings of the study and recommendations as to the conditions under which a temporary exemption might be granted were presented to the Public Contracts Board by the Children’s Bureau.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Recommendations were also made by the Bureau in connection with a similar request for exemption by a radio-manufacturing company.
Preliminary findings of the Bureau’s study of the employment of children in the production of sugar beets were made available to the Department of Agriculture and to committees of Congress for use in preparing legislation for sugar control, and the Children’s Bureau gave consultative service regarding the type of child-labor provision that should be included in such legislation. The Sugar Act of 1937, approved September 1, 1937, provides that as a condition for payment of Federal funds to producers no child under the age of 14 years may work in the production of sugar beets or sugar cane and no child between 14 and 16 may work more than 8 hours a day, except a member of the immediate family of a person who owns not less than 40 percent of the crop at the time the work is performed.
Information concerning the present extent of child labor, its legal regulation, experience in the administration of the first Federal child-labor law, special hazards found in certain occupations, and other matters was presented to committees of Congress considering child-labor and labor-standards bills.
Social Service Division.
Studies continued or begun during the year.—These included:
1.	Children placed for adoption. Field work was completed in the study of adoptions in 11 States in which the State department of public welfare had been given authority to make social investigations of petitions for adoption. A report of the findings in each State was prepared and submitted to the State department of welfare for suggestions and corrections. Statistical analysis is being made of information obtained from 2,045 adoption petitions.
2.	Children born out of wedlock in Baltimore. Study of the vital statistics, records of courts and social agencies, and all other information available concerning infants born out of wedlock in Baltimore during 1935 was begun in February 1937. The purpose of the study was to learn the effect of a Maryland law passed in 1916, which prohibited the separation of a child under the age of 6 months from its mother for placement in an institution or home, except under special conditions.
3.	Social services for unmarried mothers. Field work was completed in a study of the services available to unmarried mothers and their children in five representative cities—Buffalo, Milwaukee, Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and St. Louis..
Legal research.—Summaries of State legislation and memoranda were prepared during the year on such subjects as minimum age for marriage5 changes in juvenile-court laws, establishment of paternity and provisions for support of children born out of wedlock, relief for nonresident persons, care of crippled children, and adoption.
Consultative and advisory service.—The Social Service Division is called upon to give consultation service to public and private organizations on a wide range of subjects. Assistance in making studies of adoption or in drafting adoption legislation was given to interested groups in 8 States and the District of Columbia, and the Division has corresponded with one State-wide committee and with committees in 12 cities working on problems relating to children born out of wedlock.
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
119
Delinquency Division.
Studies continued or begun during the year.—These included:
1. Institutional treatment of delinquent girls. This study included observation of the plants and training programs of several training schools for problem and delinquent girls and the assembling of caserecord data. The greater part of the field work for three institutions was completed during the year.
2. Demonstration of methods of prevention and treatment of behavior problems of children. Work was begun in St. Paul during the year, in cooperation with five local agencies, including both public and private organizations. A district of approximately 2 square miles, lying near the center of the city and having a total population in 1930 of 16,313 persons, of whom 3,102 were between the ages of 6 and 16 years, was selected for intensive work, which will be carried on for at least 3 years. When the staff is completed it will include a psychiatrist, a recreation and community worker, three case workers, a part-time psychologist, and a secretary. A neighborhood committee representing schools, playgrounds, churches, and other neighborhood groups has been organized; data regarding the facilities for recreation and social service available in the area have been assembled; and about 60 children referred by the public schools, the juvenile division of the police department, and the juvenile court are receiving service.
Consultative and advisory service.—The Division received many requests for consultative and advisory service, which were met in some instances by field visits and in others by office interviews and correspondence. Advice was requested on State and local studies relating to the adequacy of care provided for juvenile delinquents and the planning of community programs for the prevention and treatment of delinquency. Suggestions with reference to improved juvenilecourt legislation and administration were given in response to requests from several States. A member of the staff worked for several weeks on problems of juvenile delinquency and juvenile courts with a subcommittee of the Wisconsin Citizens’ Committee on Public Welfare, which had been charged with the responsibility of planning a reorganization of the public-welfare system of the State. Advice in planning programs for the prevention and treatment of delinquency was given to several National and State agencies, among them the American Legion, the Interstate Crime Commission, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and State leagues of women voters.
In response to the desire of responsible officials of State training schools for assistance in evaluating institutional methods and promoting the development of more effective treatment programs, a committee on training schools for socially maladjusted children to confer with the Children’s Bureau was appointed by the Chief of the Bureau with the approval of the Secretary of Labor. The advisory committee will function through the three following subcommittees: Philosophy and study, which will undertake to prepare a statement of the philosophy of institutional care and the principles underlying such care; statistics and records, which plans to develop a statistical system for training schools; and information service, which plans to assemble current information on institutions. The Children’s Bureau has assigned a staff member to work with the subcommittees and the group as a whole and to study certain aspects of institutional life.
120
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Division of Statistical Research.
Organization and general activities.—During the year all statistical services within the Bureau were consolidated in one Division, and a beginning was made in reorganization of the work of the Division. At the end of the fiscal year the new Division of Statistical Research was composed of three sections as follows:
(1)	Special studies: Statistical work in nonrecurrent studies (other than studies of the physical growth of children), whether originated within the Division of Statistical Research or in other Divisions of the Bureau, and the general statistical work of the Bureau, such as special tabulations of census figures, preparation of indexes for the distribution of certain social-security funds, review of statistical projects submitted by other agencies for suggestion and comment, and statistical review of material to be published.
(2)	Child-growth studies: Specialized studies dealing with physical indexes of growth and development of children.
(3)	Current reports: Maintenance and publication of current statistical series on trends in child labor, juvenile-court cases, and childhealth and child-welfare activities; stimulation and assistance in the development of statistical reporting by State and local agencies; and the development of statistical reporting on maternal and child health, crippled children, and child-welfare services under the social-security program in cooperation with the three divisions of the Children’s Bureau responsible for the administration of these programs. Figures compiled for the fiscal year 1937 are given on pages 106-7 and 110.
The appointment of a general advisory committee on statistical methods was planned. The Advisory Committee on Social Statistics met in Washington on June 26 and agreed to expand its scope to conform with that of the reorganized current-reports section (except for work in connection with reports of maternal and child-welfare services under the Social Security Act). Several changes in committee membership and subcommittee structure were recommended to the Children’s Bureau. The Division has cooperated actively with a subcommittee of the American Committee on Maternal Welfare, which is preparing a revision of the international classification of causes of maternal death and rules of assignment procedure thereunder; and with the subcommittee on stillbirths of the American Public Health Association.
Current reports—Employment-certificate statistics.—The Children’s Bureau continued to receive from State and local officials monthly reports on employment certificates issued for children 14 and 15 and for minors 16 and 17 years of age. By the end of 1936 the area covered by reports for the younger group included approximately 58 percent of the population of the United States; the area for reports for minors 16 and 17 years old was somewhat smaller.
Although these reports do not by any means give a complete count of the number of children entering gainful employment each year, they indicate the trend from year to year in the gainful employment of children, particularly in industrial . centers. Since 1920, when the Bureau began collecting and analyzing these figures, they have indicated that child labor follows the ups and downs of industrial activity; and that, although public opinion or unemployment crises have had the effect of reducing the number of children going to work, the only years in which there has been a material decrease
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121
in child labor during a period of upswing in general employment were those in which the N. R. A. was operating, when the 16-year minimum of the codes practically eliminated the employment of children under 16 years of age in industry and trade. On the other hand, during the 12 months’ period immediately following the invalidation of the N. R. A. codes in May 1935, there was an increase of 167 percent in the number of 14- and 15-year-old children leaving •school for work as compared with the number for 1934, the last full year during which the 16-year minimum of the N. R. A. codes was in effect. Continuing this trend, in the localities where no changes in State legal regulations occurred (12 States, the District of Columbia, and 76 cities in 18 other States), the number of first regular certificates issued in the last half of 1936 increased 48 percent as compared with the last half of 1935 (3,732 to 5,523). Legislation in New York and Rhode Island, however, effective in the fall of 1936, placed the minimum age for entrance into employment at 16 years. Because of the new 16-year standard in these two States, the number of certificates issued in the total reporting area, including New York and Rhode Island (12 States, the District of Columbia, and 90 cities in 20 other States), decreased 41 percent in the last 6 months of 1936 as compared with the last 6 months of 1935 (10,036 to 5,901).
Reports for 16- and 17-year-old minors, which were received from a smaller area than reports for 14- and 15-year-old children, showed an increase of 23 percent in the number of first regular employment certificates issued for boys and girls 16 and 17 years of age in the calendar year 1936 as compared with the corresponding period of 1935 (61,718 to 75,724).
Current reports—Juvenile-court statistics and Feder dL juvenile offenders.—The reporting area for juvenile-court statistics, which have been compiled annually by the Children’s Bureau since 1927, included in 1936 courts serving areas representing 34 percent of the population of the United States, 66 percent of the population residing in cities of 100,000 or more, and 20 percent of the population residing in cities of less than 100,000 population and in rural areas. The total number of delinquency cases reported for 1936—63,320—was 9 percent less than the number reported for the same area in 1935. A group of 28 courts that served areas of 100,000 or more population, representing 15 percent of the population of the United States, have reported each year since 1929. These courts reported fewer cases of juvenile delinquency in 1936 than in any other year of the period. The number of cases involving boys was 28 percent less than in the peak year of the period for boys (1930), and the number involving girls was 34 percent less than in the peak year of the period for girls (1929).
Data regarding Federal juvenile offenders (boys and girls under 19 years of age charged with violation of Federal laws) are obtained annually from the Bureau of Prisons of the United States Department of Justice and are analyzed by the Children’s Bureau. During the year ended June 30, 1936, 1,939 Federal juvenile offenders in the 48 States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, who had been held pending trial, were discharged from detention, an increase of 8 percent over 1935. Almost all of them had been held in jail, 31 percent of them for periods of a month or more. The total number of Federal juvenile offenders under the supervision of United States probation officers during the year was 2,693, of whom 2,263 were referred in new cases.
25730—37-9
122	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Iii 33 percent of the 2,235 cases disposed of during the year the youth was placed on probation, and in 30 percent he was committed to jail or to a Federal institution.	.	.	7
Current statistics on health and welfare services m urban areas. During the year 44 areas of 50,000 or more population, representing 20 percent of the total population of the United States, cooperated with the Children’s Bureau in this project, which is based on uniform reporting from a central agency of statistics for health and social agencies in urban areas. The inability of a central reporting agency to continue responsibility made it necessary to drop one of the reporting areas from the project on March 1, 193 7. There was a marked increase in the number of reports received during the year. The activities on group work had been added to the project in the preceding year and by June 30, 1937, 528 agencies in 39 areas were reporting group work on forms originated by the Children’s Bureau.
The forms used in reporting social statistics are in great demand from communities outside the registration area and can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents. By the end of the year 25 such communities were known to be using the forms regularly with the hope of joining in the project in the near future. Advice on the use of these forms was given by the Childrens Bureau. Assistance was given to local supervisors in compiling and presenting for local use the statistics collected on forms supplied by the Children’s Bureau. Special tabulations and analyses were made at the request of individual agencies or other departments. The assistance and cooperation of national agencies and various experts were utilized in the revision of report forms and instructions. A publication entitled ‘‘Trends in Different Types of Public and Private Relief in Urban Areas”, and two quarterly statistical supplements to The Child were issued.
Figures collected during the calendar year 1936 indicated for most fields a continuation of the 1934-35 trends. The number of children under care in foster homes continued to increase, as it did in preceding years, but institutional care of dependent and neglected children continued to decrease. Day-nursery care continued to show in 1936 the upward trend first noticeable in reports for 1934. The number of women under care in maternity homes showed a small increase in 1936 as compared with 1935, although there has been little change in the number since 1933. The number of visits made by public-health nurses employed by public agencies continued the increase first evident in 1935, but the number of visits of public-health nurses employed by private agencies was less in 1936 than in either 1934 or 1935.
TRENDS IN LEGISLATION AFFECTING CHILDREN
The Children’s Bureau continued to collect and summarize Federal and State bills and laws relating to maternal and child welfare. All but five States had regular sessions of the legislatures in 1937. Gains in labor legislation affecting both children and adults were made in a number of States.
The child-labor amendment was ratified in four States: Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, and New Mexico. A basic minimum age of 16 years for factory employment at any time and for any employment during school hours was established in North Carolina and in South Carolina, bringing to 10 the number of States with a 16-year minimum-age standard. Other gains in standards for minimum age,
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hours of work, street trades, workmen’s compensation, minimum wage, and home work were made in a number of States. Legislative standards in all these fields, however, vary greatly from State to State, and in order to give children adequate protection the establishment of basic Federal standards as a complement to State legislation is essential. More than 30 bills affecting child labor were introduced in the 1937 session of the Congress. Provisions fixing a basic minimum age of 16 years and a minimum of 18 years for occupations determined by the Chief of the Children’s Bureau to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to health or well-being were included in the fair labor standards bill applying to employment affecting interstate commerce, which passed the Senate on July 22, 1937.
During the fiscal year 1937 State legislation providing for the establishment or reorganization of State departments of welfare was enacted in 22 States, with a marked trend toward unification of such State welfare services as public assistance, relief, and child welfare. Eighteen States provided for the establishment of county welfare agencies, but only 11 States gave such county agencies specific responsibility for services to children. In 11 States the State department of welfare was authorized to establish standards of training and experience for persons appointed to administer local welfare services. In several of these States the State department of welfare was authorized to establish the salary scale for county employees. State civil-service commissions were established in four States.
In a number of States the legal basis was clarified and strengthened for cooperation with the Social Security Board in aid to dependent children as well as with the Children’s Bureau in services for mothers and children under the Social Security Act. By June 30, 1937, 34 States and the District of Columbia were operating under plans for aid to dependent children approved by the Social Security Board—an increase of 15 States over the number of approved plans on June 30, 1936.
Two States, Pennsylvania and Washington, enacted legislation providing for programs of research in child health and child development. The Pennsylvania law appropriates $40,000 to the department of health for the use of the Land Grant College of Pennsylvania for research in nutrition for children. The Washington act creates in the University of Washington a State institute of child-development research and service, with an appropriation of $50,000 for the ensuing biennium.
COOPERATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES
Members of the staff of the Children’s Bureau served on the following technical committees operating under the auspices of the Interdepartmental Committee on Coordination of Health and Welfare Services: Public-health nursing, medical care, nutrition, personnel standards in public-welfare work, probation and crime, crippled children, health and safety education, and recreation. The Chief of the Children’s Bureau and other members of the staff took an active part in the preliminary work of organizing the committee on nutrition and in the work of subcommittees and sections of this committee.
The President appointed the Chief of the Children’s Bureau a member of the President’s Committee on Vocational Education, which had been appointed September 19, 1936, to study the experience under
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
the existing program of Federal aid for vocational education, the relation of such training to general education and to prevailing economic and social conditions, and the need for an expanded program. The scope of the committee was later extended to cover the general field of the relationship of the Federal Government to education, and its name was changed to the Advisory Committee on Education.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Information relating to child welfare was received from and sent to those engaged in child-welfare work in other countries and to international organizations, especially the International Labor Office and the Advisory Committee on Social Questions of the League of Nations.
The Assistant Chief of the Children’s Bureau attended in Geneva meetings of experts called together by the Health Organization of the League of Nations in connection with the work of its Technical Commission for the Study of Nutrition to consider nutritive food requirements during the first year of life and methods of assessing the nutrition of children and adolescents. With reference to the first subject the experts drew up a series of recommendations which were submitted for comment and approval by the members of the group to the pediatric societies and associations in their respective countries. As to the second item, a plan was drawn up for future studies, to be coordinated by the Health Organization of the League.
The Children’s Bureau cooperated with the Department of State in arranging for the appointment of Miss Anne Guthrie, advisory secretary of the Young Women’s Christian Association, Manila, as American observer to attend the conference of central authorities ■concerned with traffic in women and children in Eastern countries, which met at Bandoeng, Java, February 2 to 13, 1937, under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Social Questions of the League of Nations. The holding of the conference and the unanimity of its decisions were outstanding indications of progress in this field.
In the absence of the Chief of the Children’s Bureau, a member of the committee, the United States was represented by Mr. Henry B. Hazard, assistant to the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Social Questions of the League of Nations in Geneva, April 15 to May 1. Mr. Hazard and a representative of the Treaty Division of the Department of State attended in an expert and advisory capacity a meeting of a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Social Questions, held in Paris June 15 to 19. This subcommittee was appointed to draw up a draft international convention for the suppression of the exploitation of prostitution.
The Chief of the Children’s Bureau served as a member of the corresponding subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Social ■Questions of the League of Nations appointed to draft a report on the placing of children in families. Preliminary material on certain sections of the report was prepared for the April meeting of the committee, and work is continuing in preparation for final consideration at the session to be held in 1938.
The Director of the Industrial Division substituted for the Chief ■of the Children’s Bureau as a Government adviser at the Technical
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Tripartite Conference of the Textile Industry, called by the International Labor Organization in Washington, D. C., in April 1937.
The Director of the Industrial Division also attended the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 1937, as a technical adviser on child labor to delegates of the United States Government. The conference revised the two conventions relating to the minimum age for both industrial and nonindustrial employment, raising the age from 14 to 15 years.
The Children’s Bureau also submitted recommendations and supporting data in regard to minimum age of employment for consideration at the special maritime conference held by the International Labor Organization (September 1936). The draft convention on maritime employment adopted by the conference raised the minimum age for employment to 15, although exemptions were permitted under certain conditions for children 14 years of age.
CONFERENCE FOR DISCUSSION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SERVICES FOR CHILD WELFARE
Because of the need for clarification of certain aspects of the relationships and reciprocal responsibilities of public and private childwelfare activities, especially with reference to expanding public childwelfare programs, the Chldren’s Bureau called together on April 9-10 a conference of 70 representatives of public and private agencies. The discussions dealt with the scope of State and local public child-welfare activities, the contribution of private child-welfare organizations, and cooperation between public and private agencies. Although it was the sense of the meeting that many of the questions raised could not be finally decided because of widely varying and rapidly changing conditions, nevertheless a set of statements representing trends of present thought was agreed to and has been distributed by the Children’s Bureau.
PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER INFORMATION SERVICES
Publications issued and distributed.
During the fiscal year 1936, 44 new and 5 revised publications were issued. Publication of a monthly news summary, The Child, was begun in July 1936, and during the year 11 numbers were issued, including 2 social-statistics supplements, which succeeded the Social-Statistics Bulletin formerly published. Twelve publications were in press at the close of the fiscal year and 21 were in preparation.
The total number of publications distributed by the Bureau during the fiscal year 1937 was 1,624,797, as compared with 1,461,703 in 1936r an increase of 11 percent. The distribution by the Children’s Bureau of the popular bulletins on the care of mothers and children was as follows:
Publication
1936
1937
Since date o f publication
Prenatal Care						198, 689	198,100	3,476,978
Infant Care	 		515i 056	546j 074	7,965', 793
The Child From One to Six.	__					213^361	217,833	2,850;411
Child Management	 ... ... __ 		52, 200	19; 888	' 725; 642
Are You Training Your Child To Be Happy?		66, 395	84; 186	345, 697
Guiding the Adolescent	A.				28, 200	29, 764	117,922
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Sales of publications for parents by the Superintendent of Documents for the fiscal year 1936, the latest year for which figures are available, were as follows:
Publication	July 1-Dec.31,1936	1936	1935	Since 1922
Prenatal Care .			- -			74,093	44,185	37, 056	674,054
Infant Care	_		 		101,755	104,752	93,119	1, 563,427
The Child From One to Six _ 			66,968	32, 341	33, 575	657, 279
Child Management	- -				11, 509	14, 283	25,661	436, 525
Are Von Training Your Child To Be Happy?		10,805	6,546	6, 711	65,309
Guiding the Adolescent			—-		21,788	11, 352	13,445	30, 472
1 Under revision and not available during most of period.
Exhibits and films.
During the fiscal year 111 requests for exhibit material were received from organizations of physicians, dentists, nurses, and social workers, and from parent-teacher and other groups. Special exhibits were prepared for the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Home Economics Association, the American Dental Association, the American Public Health Association, and the National Conference of Social Work.
Films purchased included a film on prenatal care for general audiences, produced for the Michigan Department of Health under the direction of the Michigan State Medical Society; a technical film on the treatment of infantile paralysis, produced by the Maryland League for Crippled Children; a film on the care and training of a child under 1 year, produced under the auspices of the Wisconsin State Board of Health; and additional prints of the Children’s Bureau posture film. Film shipments during the year numbered 149, as compared with 84 in 1936.
May Day—Child Health Day 1937.
In accordance with the request of the State and Provincial Health Authorities of North America, the Children’s Bureau continued to act as sponsor for Child Health Day activities. “Health protection for every child” was chosen as the 1937 slogan. The President issued a Child Health Day proclamation on April 9. Suggestions for community and school observance and Child Health Day posters were distributed by the Children’s Bureau.
Twenty-seven Governors issued Child Health Day proclamations. The health officers of 43 States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia appointed May Day chairmen, and reports of activities were received from all but 3 States and Alaska.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.	As the skeleton social-security program for children begins to be clothed with flesh, and as plans are developed for Federal protection of fair labor standards, including child labor, the importance of a correlated approach to the problems of childhood becomes increasingly apparent. With such an approach various kinds of expert service can be developed through Federal and State cooperation to supplement the ability of parents, teachers, and others to foster the physical, mental, and social growth of the child. The scope of the Children’s Bureau as a broadly conceived center of information and service in all phases of child life and as a medium for Federal assistance to the States in furthering maternal and child welfare and in
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	127
promoting and maintaining adequate standards for juvenile employment should be kept intact in any plans for reorganization of Government Departments that may be developed.,
2.	Expanded resources for fundamental research in all the fields of maternal and child welfare and for maintaining and developing current statistical reports, which furnish a basis for measurement of trends, are absolutely essential as a foundation for sound policies of administration of maternal and child-welfare services. The research and statistical program of the Children’s Bureau has not been expanded to fit its new responsibilities under the social-security pro-»	gram. For the fiscal year 1938, in spite of rigid economy in planning,
it will not be possible to carry on adequately work that is urgently needed in maintaining and extending current reports of activities under the social-security program, as well as current reports of child labor, juvenile delinquency, child health, and child welfare. Vitally important research in child health, child development, and the facilities available to the American people for maternal and child care must be curtailed or postponed, awaiting more adequate appropriations.
3.	Expanded resources for reporting promptly and effectively to the public the results of research and experience in the best methods of child care and training and in the administration of health and social services for mothers and children are also needed, These include increased appropriations for printing popular bulletins, especially Infant Care, and resources for the development of an effective exhibit service, which is in great demand.
4.	The appropriation for maternal and child-health services under title V, part 1, of the Social Security Act should be increased so as to make possible the development in every State of ways of providing adequate medical and nursing care to mothers and infants, especially those in rural areas and small cities, in families whose income is very low. On the basis of recent estimates, about one-third of the births in the United States are in families whose annual income, including home produce, is less than $750. Such extension of maternal and child-health work would provide increased resources for actual maternal care, including care given locally by general practitioners and nurses; expert obstetric and pediatric consultation service m areas where this is not available; hospitalization of emergency cases and other selected cases; and assistance in developing centers of postgraduate education in maternal and infant care for physicians and f	nurses. A program of this kind has been recommended by the
Children’s Bureau advisory committees on maternal and child-welfare services and by the conference of State and Territorial health officers.
5.	Consideration should be given to extending the program of services for crippled children under title A , part 2, of the Social Security Act to include all physically handicapped children, and studies should be made of the medical and social needs of feebleminded and other mentally handicapped children.
6.	The program of child-welfare services under title V, part 3, of the Social Security Act should be further developed in order that adequate services may be made available to all children in rural areas for the purpose of preventing dependency, neglect, and delinquency.
7.	Facilities should be made available for cooperative demonstrations, on an adequate scale from the point of view of both research
J2S	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
and service, of methods of community organization for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency.
8.	Child labor in industries entering into or affecting interstate commerce should be brought under Federal control through Federal legislation establishing a basic minimum age of 16 years, with special protection of children 16 to 18 years from employment that has been found by research and experience to be particularly hazardous or detrimental to their health and well-being. Administration of such legislation should rest chiefly on the development of cooperative relationships between the Children’s Bureau and the State labor departments.
9.	The child-labor amendment is needed as a basis for Nation-wide protection of children from employment in the occupations (representing today the chief field of employment of children under the age of 16 years) not brought under Federal legislation relating to industries that enter into or affect interstate commerce. Ratification of the amendment by the remaining eight States whose action is necessary should continue to be a major objective of all who are concerned with child-labor problems.
10.	The maternal and child-welfare provisions of the Social Security Act should be extended to Puerto Rico, whose mothers and children are urgently in need of such services.
11.	There should be continuing review by professional and lay groups of the needs of mothers and children for health and social services, the resources and possibilities for providing such services, and the standards of administration that are required to make them effective. It is not enough to carry on what has already been started. The future of America demands the development of a broader and a wiser program for the promotion of the health and welfare of children.
Respectfully submitted.
Katharine F. Lenroot,
Chief.
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Mary Anderson, Director
To the Secretary of Labor :
During the year ended June 30, 1937, State agencies and social groups have applied increasingly to the Women’s Bureau for aid in promoting and administering legislation for the welfare of women workers, in advancing women’s employment opportunities, in eliminating home work, and in improving conditions for household employees.
Minimum-wage activities.
The major activities of the Bureau have been its continued service in the field of minimum wage for women and its assistance in the administration by the Department of the Public Contracts Act, which provides for the regulation of hours and wages in employment on certain Government contracts.
The first of these was greatly increased by the renewed activity in various States following the decision of the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the minimum-wage law of the State of Washington. Four States have passed minimum-wage laws; two States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have revived laws that had been invalidated in whole or in part; and four States have amended or revised their laws.
This aroused public interest has added greatly to the demands on the Women’s Bureau for assistance, to which the Bureau has responded to the limit of its resources. Field surveys to provide data for the purpose of legislation have been made in several States and the District of Columbia. Women’s organizations have been assisted in their joint efforts to secure legislation; frequent consultation has been given new administrators of minimum-wage divisions as to the most successful investigatory and.administrative procedures; and the Bureau has served in general as a clearing house of experience of State officials on methods of minimum-wage administration and as a consulting service for such officials and other interested groups.
The study has been continued of the effects of wage legislation as indicated by women’s employment and earnings in adjoining States having and not having such legislation.
The Director of the Bureau and the chief of the minimum-wage division served on the committee appointed by the Secretary to reexamine the standard minimum-wage law, and on the committee to work out a standard form for permanent office records of minimum-wage matters.
Much of the Bureau’s time and energy over a period of several months was given to participation in the Department’s administration of the Public Contracts Act. Interbureau conferences on advisory, investigatory, and inspection phases of the work were followed by
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X30	ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
the classifying of Government contracts in a recent year to show industrial grouping, and the listing of contract items on which women would be employed in large numbers and the names of firms receiving contracts on such items.
For many weeks practically all the Bureau’s field investigators were engaged in securing wage and hour figures for the following industries, all employing great numbers of women: Work clothing, shirts, sport jackets, underwear, hats and caps, raincoats, handkerchiefs, gloves, hosiery, neckwear, and boots and shoes. Data were secured in 25 States and the District of Columbia. Tables and analyses were presented to the Public Contracts Board for its hearings on these industries from November to April. The chief of the minimum-wage division of the Women’s Bureau was a member of the board conducting these hearings and setting rates for the industries.
Special studies.
The legal status of women in the United States of America.
For the purpose of meeting a request of the Secretary General of the League of Nations to the Department of State, and referred by the Secretary of State to the Secretary of Labor, the Women’s Bureau lias prepared a preliminary report on the legal status of women in the United States.
This summary includes legislation affecting generally the property rights, domestic relations, and political responsibilities of women in the 48 States and the District of Columbia. It is based on a review of the statutes in the 49 jurisdictions and an examination of judicial decisions affecting these statutes in 24 of them, this part of the study being as yet incomplete.
The material compiled centers largely around the women in the marriage relation, since, with the exception of discrimination in certain political privileges, such as jury service, election or appointment to public office, or variances in the statutory ages of majority or ages of consent to marriage as between men and women, the legal status of the unmarried woman in the United States at the present time is practically identical with that of the unmarried man.
The report covers the unwritten law that may be applicable to the rights of a woman citizen, defines the relative authorities of the Federal Government and of the 48 member States, and summarizes the provisions of the existing written laws of each jurisdiction as they pertain to a woman’s rights and responsibilities.
Women in the economy of the United States.
At the request of 10 large national organizations of women, the Bureau has compiled the report on the economic status of women in the United States that has been asked for by the International Labor Office.
The report is devoted largely to two major themes of primary importance in the situation of women, with the statement that these constitute only parts of what must be expanded much further to approximate a complete picture. It discusses primarily women’s opportunity for a livelihood, including consideration of the occupations in which women are engaged and the apparent directions of occupational change; evidences as to the unemployment of women, the irregularity of their employment, and certain employment problems that confront women with special difficulties; the levels of compensa
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
131
tion ordinarily available to employed women, particularly in comparison with the levels afforded to men; and the family status of women, especially as to the extent to which they are responsible for the support of others. A second emphasis of the report is on the experience of women under labor legislation, chiefly State regulation of wages and hours and the effects of the N. R. A. codes.
Unattached women on relief.
At the request of the commissioner of the Chicago Relief Administration, the Women’s Bureau has cooperated with that organization and the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago in making a study of woman-one-person families on relief. Six hundred women, a representative sample of the 12,500 such cases in Chicago, have been scheduled with a view of determining the possibilities of their employability.
State surveys.
Tennessee.
At the request of the commissioner of labor of Tennessee, a survey of that State was made by the Women’s Bureau in the winter of 1935-36. It covered 29,500 women in factories, stores, laundries, dry-cleaning plants, hotels, and restaurants.
Of the 21 manufacturing industries for which average earnings of white women are reported, 9 had averages of from $13 to nearly $18, but the thousands of women in very low-paying industries brought down the average for all the 20,000 white women in manufacturing to $12. Year’s earnings were recorded for almost 1,000 of these women. A detailed analysis of changed conditions since the N. R. A. ceased operation is an important feature of the report, which came from the press in the spring of 1937.
Florida.
In the first 3 months of 1937 the Bureau made a survey of the woman-employing industries of Florida. The 269 establishments covered employed nearly 17,000 women, two-thirds of whom were in cigar manufacture, the canning and packing of fruit, and hotels and restaurants.
Average week’s earnings in manufacturing ranged from $9.25 in cotton garments to $13.35 in cigars. In laundries only about two-fifths of the women earned $10 or more in the week reported, though more than half worked at least 60 hours, some of them greatly exceeding 60.
Hotels and restaurants were given considerable study because of their special importance in Florida.
West Virginia.
A survey covering about 200 establishments in West Virginia was made in the summer of 1936 at the request of the State commissioner of labor. The factories, stores, laundries, hotels, and resturants included in the survey employed about 16,500 women.
Average week’s earnings in factories, which employed three-fourths of the women, were $12.70; they ranged from $9 to almost $15 for the various industries. Year’s earnings were reported for 650 women. A comparison is made of hours and earnings during and since the operation of the N. R. A. codes.
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
Delaware.
To supply factual data for a number of interested organizations in Delaware the Bureau made a survey of factories, stores, laundries, and hotels and restaurants in that State in the early summer of 1936. Ninety establishments, employing 4,900 women, were covered.
Average week’s earnings in manufacturing, which employed more than three-fourths of the women, were about $11. They were higher in stores and somewhat lower in laundries. A comparison with conditions under the N. R. A. is made. Year’s earnings for 338 women are reported.
Arkansas.
Another report that compares conditions during and after the administration of the National Industrial Recovery Act is a summary of a survey of Arkansas industries made early in 1936 at the request of the State commissioner of labor, and made available during the past year in mimeographed form. The survey covered 164 establishments—factories, stores, laundries, dry-cleaning plants, and hotels and restaurants—that employed more than 4,000 women.
Average week’s earnings in manufacturing, which employed only something over two-fifths of the women, were $9.60 for white women. They were higher in stores and lower in the other industries. Year’s earnings were secured for about 250 women.
District of Columbia.
At the request of the District Committee of the House of Representatives, the Bureau made a survey in the spring of 1937 of women’s hours and wages in the District of Columbia. About 200 establishments, including factories, stores, laundries, and other womanemploying industries, were covered. They employed more than 12,500 women. Only for the regular employees in department and ready-to-wear stores and for beauty-shop operators were average week’s earnings as much as $16. This report is now in press.
Utah.
A survey of wages and hours in the woman-employing industries of Utah, made at the request of the State industrial commission, was in progress at the close of the year. The findings will be used for minimum-wage purposes.
Continued studies.
Industrial accidents and diseases.
The collecting and reporting of data that indicate the extent to which women workers are injured by industrial accidents or diseases has been an important activity of the Bureau for a number of years. As accident data by sex are very scattering, though highly important to a program of accident prevention, this presentation of the information from published reports, supplemented by unpublished figures made available to the Bureau by a number of States, serves a useful purpose. Data for 1932-34 are now being collected and analyzed.
During the year the Bureau published a bulletin on the injuries occurring to workers in the service trades of Ohio in the years 1932 and 1933. The figures were furnished by the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations. Besides their importance as showing conditions in such large woman employers as laundries and hotels and restaurants, and the unusual inclusion of household employment, the data are
ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR	I33
uncommon in that they cover all accidents, instead of only those coming under the compensation law.
Members of the staff have attended the meetings of the National Conference on Silicosis and Similar Dust Diseases, organized by the Secretary of Labor; of Federal Accident Statisticians; and of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.
Household employment.
The Bureau continued its cooperation with individuals and organizations working for the improvement of conditions and employeremployee relations in the field of household employment. A number of addresses on this important subject were made, and a member of the staff served as secretary of the District of Columbia Household Employment Committee.
A brief on the problems of household employment and the need of organization was prepared for submittal to the American Federation of Labor. In this connection a survey was made by questionnaire of unions of household workers to ascertain their special problems and the degree of the unions’ success.
Effects of minimum-wage laws.
A continuation of the study of the effects of minimum-wage laws on women’s employment and earnings—the original survey of which was concerned with laundries in New York and Pennsylvania, at that time having respectively a minimum-wage and a non-minimumwage status—is under way in the dry-cleaning industry of Ohio and Indiana, the latter still having no wage law for women.
Elimination of home work.
An example of the voluntary abolition of industrial home work by an organization of employers is the unanimous adoption by the Tag Manufacturers Institute, in June 1937, of a recommendation to abolish home work completely in that industry. A survey by the Women’s Bureau in 1936, at the request of the institute, showed that home workers were not making the earnings that should accrue from the scale of rates set in time studies by the institute—an illustration of the influence of factors beyond the control of employers or law-enforcement agencies, and indicating the necessity of striving for the complete abolition of home work.
Consumer cooperation in stabilizing employment.
Cooperation of the woman purchaser in the employer-employee effort to stabilize the coat-and-suit and millinery industries—sought in the publication of Bulletin 146, many thousands of which were distributed—will be advocated in the interest of other women’s apparel industries as they develop majority support of similar programs.
Employment opportunities.
Studies of technological changes, not only of those that threaten to close avenues of employment to women but of those that will open new fields of production or service, will be continued. Combined with this activity will be cooperation with educators to improve vocational and training facilities for women.
Trends in employment and earnings.
A forthcoming project for which plans are now being laid is the assembling and interpreting of periodic data on employment and earnings of women in major woman-employing manufacturing indus
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tries, to be initiated in the fall of 1937 with the cooperation of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and State labor officials. Such information, invaluable to employers, employees, and the public alike, is available at present in only three States. In one of these—Ohio, with a series of employment data unbroken since 1914—the figures indicate two significant things; that is, that women are constituting an increasing proportion of all employees, and that women’s employment declines less than men’s in periods of depression.
Adult education.
A number of activities have contributed to the advancement of workers’ education and to that of adults in general. Among these may be mentioned the following:
Cooperation with the President’s Committee on \ ocational Education and the Works Progress Administration in furnishing data on which to determine vocational training courses for women.
Cooperation with the Advisory Committee on Educational Camps for Unemployed Women under the National Youth Administration.
Membership on the Technical Committee on Workers’ Education of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities.
Attendance by a member of the Women’s Bureau staff at the Southern Summer School for Women in Industry and at the summer conference of the Young Women’s Christian Association.
Contributions to the Young Women’s Christian Association Industrial Program Exchange, a quarterly publication giving suggestions for educational and other club programs.	,
Study programs and material for classes prepared for the use of Womens Trade Union League, Young Women’s Christian Association industrial classes, National Youth Administration's camps for unemployed women. Southern Summer School for Women Workers, Brookwood College, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, and International Ladies’ Garment Workers.
Series of programs on women in industry for use by the Tennessee Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Compilations of labor laws relating to women.
The aroused public interest in the matter of wages and hours has brought about increased activities in State legislation. The latest issue in the Bureau’s series of Labor Laws for Women in the States and Territories, showing chiefly hour and wage regulations as of July 1936, was published early in the fiscal year 1937. More recent legislation or judicial decisions have affected the hours of working women in 11 States, night-work regulation in 2, home-work control in 4, and the minimum-wage situation in 10 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Unusual provisions are the 44 hours, 5i/2 days, in the Pennsylvania law and the 60-hour week for household or domestic employees in Washington. New minimum-wage laws were passed in Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania; invalidated laws were revived in Arkansas, District of Columbia, Minnesota (for adult women), and Puerto Rico; there was an amendment or revision of the laws in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin. The number of jurisdictions having such laws is 24.
Seventeen States now have some type of home-work legislation, and all States but four have laws limiting the number of hours of work.
A leaflet bringing legislative changes down to July 1937 has recently been issued by the Women’s Bureau.
Cooperation with various agencies.
In addition to its ready cooperation with other bureaus in the Department, the principal example of which—public-contracts activi
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135
ties—has been noted, the Women’s Bureau supplied information or gave assistance to many organizations, governmental and private.
Naturally the Tripartite Technical Conference on the Textile Industry of the International Labor Office, held in Washington in April and attended by the Director of the Women’s Bureau in the capacity of adviser, required a large amount of work on the part of the staff. Furthermore, a member of the staff has been detailed to assist for 3 months in the work of the women’s division of the International Labor Office at Geneva.
News Letter.
The News Letter of the Bureau, inaugurated 17 years ago at the request of State labor officials, has continued to furnish current information on the situation of employed women sent to the Bureau by the States or gleaned from recent publications.
Conferences.
Besides the conferences called by the Bureau or the Department, representatives of the Women’s Bureau have attended the conferences or conventions of the national and international organizations listed here: International Association of Governmental Labor Officials, International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, American Federation of Labor, National Consumers’ League, American Association for Labor Legislation, American Vocational Education Association, American Association of University Women, National Conference of Social Work, and International Association of Public Employment Officials.
Information activities.
The Bureau has continued its program of preparing and distributing information of a popular and graphic nature to increase public interest-in the problems of wage-earning women. Two leaflets, The High Cost of Low Wages and Short Hours Pay, stress the value of wage and hour legislation. Five hundred sets of material on governmental regulation of hours and wages, a subject chosen for intercollegiate debating for the school year 1936-37, were supplied to colleges and schools.
Exhibits.
A new one-reel silent motion picture, entitled “What’s in a Dress?”, deals with old problems and new ways of meeting them in the dress industry, stressing employer-employee cooperation.
A model for table display, widely used in recent months, illustrates how gainfully-employed women aid women in the home and how homemakers can aid gainfully-employed women.
Bureau exhibits of one sort or another have been sent on request to agencies and organizations in 44 States, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii, and to China, Australia, and New Zealand. Films sent earlier are still being used in Turkey and Brazil. The total distribution, in addition to those sold by the Superintendent of Documents, included the giving of 594 sets of maps on hour and wage legislation, 381 sets of wall charts, and 1,186 posters. Two hundred and thirty -one sets of films have been lent for temporary use and 115 have been circulated by university extension services or films agencies. Eighteen bulletin displays and 10 miscellaneous exhibits have been sent out.
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
The Bureau has cooperated in various ways with the Exhibits Division of the Department, including the preparation of Government exhibits at State expositions.
Publications.
Thirteen bulletins have been issued since the beginning of the fiscal year and one other is in press. The titles follow:
No. 123. Employment in hotels and restaurants.
No. 125. Employment conditions in department stores: A study in selected cities of five States.	'
No. 140. Reemployment of New England women in private industry.
No. 141. Piece work in the silk-dress industry.
No. 142. The economic problems of the women of the Virgin Islands of the United States.
No. 143. Factors affecting wages in power laundries.
No. 144. State labor laws for women. (Revision of Bull. 98.)
No. 146. A policy insuring value to the woman buyer and a livelihood to apparel makers.
No. 147. Summary of State reports of occupational diseases, with a survey of preventive legislation, 1932 to 1934.
No. 148. The employed woman homemaker in the United States: Her responsibility for family support.
No. 149. Employment of women in Tennessee industries.
No. 150. Women’s employment in West Virginia.
No. 151. Injuries to women in personal service occupations in Ohio.
No. 155. Women in the economy of the United States of America. (In press.)
Information on a number of subjects of frequent inquiry was made available in mimeographed form. This includes the following:
Study outline of labor legislation in 11 Southern States. (May 1937.)
A new chapter in the history of the New York minimum-wage case. (October 1936.)
Employment of women in Delaware.
Women in Arkansas industries.
Provision of wage orders of States operating under the standard minimum-wage act. (October 1936.)
Recommendations.
The chief and very urgent recommendation at the close of this fiscal year is for an increase in staff. This is especially necessary in the Minimum Wage Division, the work of which has increased enormously since the Supreme Court decision validated minimum-wage legislation. Many States still in the early stages of wage-law administration are looking to the Women’s Bureau for help in organization, in securing the necessary wage and hour data, and in the all-important work of bringing uniformity into the setting of rates and the practice of enforcement. Frequent visits to the States, and meetings in Washington of State officials, are necessary. The staff of this Division must be increased, as it is not able to meet all the demands upon it.
The amount of informative material in the files of the Bureau is large, but the need of such data is wider today, under the changing economic status, than ever before. Among the important problems strongly recommended for original or increased study as soon as funds can be made available are the following:
Length of women’s stay in industry.
As this question is viewed from such widely differing positions— the employer claiming that low wages are adequate for women’s brief service in industry, and considerable numbers of employees reporting to investigators experience of 10, 15, or 20 years in a trade—it is time that factual data were collected and made available to the public.
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The older woman in industry.
Women are suffering, as men are suffering, from the employers’ discrimination against workers over 40 or 45 years of age. Studies should be made of employments successfully using the services of older women; of training and rehabilitating women; of educating employers to eradicate prejudice; and, perhaps even more urgent than these, of what becomes of the older woman who cannot get a job.
Work with women’s organizations.
Efforts must be continued to secure the active support by women purchasers of the cooperative measures taken by employers and employees to improve employment conditions, an example of which is the use of the consumers’ protection label in the coat-and-suit and millinery industries.
Studies of present needs for service.
Lines of service to the home and to the individual that are not adequately met under present conditions constitute a field of occupation that should be given increasing attention in women’s reemployment. Vocational training and guidance.
With the changing outlook that shows a closing of familiar avenues and an opening of new fields of employment, specialized training and advice for women, especially girls going to work for the first time, are essential.
Use of economic data by workers.
Conferences with women workers on the use of scientific material in collective bargaining will be increasingly important as women take their places as parties to the settlement of disputes in employer-employee relations.
Respectfully submitted.
Mary Anderson,
Director.
25730—37---10
UNITED STATES HOUSING CORPORATION
Turner W. Battle, President
To the Secretary of Labor :
The collections made during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937, by the United States Housing Corporation totaled the sum of $45,339.79, which were derived from the following sources:
Principal payments on contracts of purchase_________$30, 446. 75
Interest payments on contracts of purchase__________ 14, 673. 55
Operation of projects (rent)________________________ 219.49
The deposit in the miscellaneous fund of the United States Treasury of the said sum of $45,339.79 increased the returns made to date by the Corporation to the total sum of $73,194,937.48, which is itemized in the following schedule of total collections:
Disposal of properties__________________________$18, 723, 368. 58
Repayment of loans______________________________ 12, 830, 788. 29
Operation of projects___________________________ 9,140, 780. 61
Unexpended balance of original appropriation____ 32, 500, 000. 00
Total-------------------------------------- 73,194, 937. 48
Active accounts.
At the close of the fiscal year there remained to be collected from the purchase contract holders at the various housing projects the total sum of $1,250,066.99, as set forth in the following schedule:
Projects:
Alliance, Ohio__________________________________ $12,	408.	63
Bremerton, Wash__________________________________ 11,	548.	03
Cradock, Va__________________________________t_	4, 715. 59
Davenport, Iowa_______________________________________ 356.	05
Erie. Pa_________________________________________ 21,	806.	72
Hammond. Ind____________________________________ 181,	088.	84
Kittery Point, Maine______________________________ 4,	398.12
Lowell. Mass__________________________________________ 196.	55
New Brunswick, N. J______________________________ 31,	522.	42
Newport, R. I_____________________________________ 1,	236.	35
Niles, Ohio--------------------------------------- 1,	218.	79
Philadelphia, Pa________________________________ 909,	448.	08
Quincy, Mass_____________________________________ 62,	228.	35
Vallejo, Calif____________________________________ 1,	723.	79
Waterbury, Conn___________________________________ 3,	728.	93
Watertown. N. Y_______________________________________ 1,486.36
Watervliet. N. Y-------------------------------------- 955.	39
Total_______________________________ 1,250,066.99
Unsold properties.
The appraised value of the properties remaining to be disposed of, valued according to the general appraisal of the Corporation’s
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ANNUAL REPORT SECRETARY OF LABOR
139
properties made in the year 1920, totals the sum of $128,394.66. as .shown in the following schedule :
Project and description:
Alliance, Ohio, 44 lots---------------------------- $10, 044. 00
Bridgeport, Conn., 1 lot--------------------------- 1, 300. 00
Cradock, Va., 18 lots and 4 blocks----------------- 9, 450.00
Davenport, Iowa, 19 lots--------------------------- 17, 475. 00
East Moline, Ill., 3 lots-------------------------- 2,120. 00
Erie, Pa., 32 lots and 1 house--------------------- 11, 275. 00
Ilion, N. Y., 54 lots______________________________ 19, 397. 50
Lowell, Mass., 2 lots------------------------------ 2, 323.16
Newport, R. I., 12 lots---------------------------- 3, 350. 00
Philadelphia, Pa., 9 houses------------------------ 36,100. 00
Quincy, Mass., 11 lots----------------------------- 9, 000. 00
Rock island, Ill., 2 lots-------------------------- 200. 00
Watertown, N. Y., 34 lots-------------------------- 5, 460. 00
Total______________________________________ 128, 394. 66
Pursuant to the requirements of Executive Order No. 7641 of June 22, 1937, transferring to the Secretary of the Treasury the functions delegated to the Secretary of Labor by Executive Order No. 2889 of June 18, 1918, relating to the activities of the Housing Corporation, the capital stock, together with all the records of the Corporation, were transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury, and with the beginning of the fiscal year 1938 the activities of the Corporation will be exercised under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury by the Director of Procurement in accordance with the requirements of the above-mentioned Executive order.
Respectfully submitted.
Turner W. Battle, President.
o