A twentieth century verification of the scriptural truth that “to him
who hath shall be given” is put forward by the Public Education
Association of Philadelphia, which recently completed a study of the
children in that city who leave school at fourteen or fifteen to go to
work.
There are in the Philadelphia public high schools, says a pamphlet
issued by James S. Hiatt, secretary of the association, 13,039 boys and
girls. At the same time there is a like number, 13,740, who have been
allowed to drop out of school at fourteen and to fight their industrial
battle alone. For the former group, who are really more able to take
care of themselves, the city pays $1,532,000 a year for further training
in citizenship and preparation for life. For the latter group it pays
nothing.
“Is this a square deal?” asks the association. “Is it economy on the
part of the city to permit these child workers to go out untrained into
industry, to give their lives before they are mature and then to become
a burden upon the community?”
With regard to these 13,740 between the ages of fourteen and sixteen
whom the school census of June, 1912, found to be at work, the study
undertook to answer two questions: first, are the occupations in which
the boys and girls are employed of such a nature that they will train
for a competence in later life? Second, is the immediate wage received
of sufficient importance to counterbalance the tremendous loss of power
in those who face mature life unprepared? As a continuation of this
investigation the Compulsory Education Bureau has followed up since
September of last year and will continue to do so, every child who
leaves school to go to work. The kind of job taken, the exact nature of
the work done, and the wage received will be learned. About 1,700 labor
certificates are issued in Philadelphia every month.
At the outset it was discovered that the problem is not one of the
immigrant child chiefly. The percentage of American parentage was 50.2;
of foreign parentage, 48.1; of Negro parentage, 1.7 Nor is it a problem
of boys chiefly, for 6,849, or 49.85 per cent of the total, were girls.
THE SURVEY has already told how the Vocational Guidance Survey of New
York followed a group of boys and girls from the day they received their
labor certificates through all the different jobs which they held during
the next four or five months. The study emphasized the hit-or-miss
jumping from one line of work to another which untrained youths are sure
to resort to, acquiring no training and achieving no advance. The
Philadelphia study furnishes a cross section of the positions held by
this much larger group at a given moment. Forty-three per cent of both
boys and girls were in the factory, where, says the report,
“the positions are largely mechanical and require but short time in
learning, little responsibility, and great specialization of
processes. These positions offer an initial wage which is alluringly
high, but hold out little incentive for growth and but slightly
advanced wages for the experienced operative.”
Twenty-nine per cent were in the store and the office, “where a few may
advance to higher places, but it is evident that a majority must hold
low-grade positions which require little preparation or skill.”
A comparison of the employments of both sexes showed that there is no
kind of work which both boys and girls will not do. While boys
predominate in the store, the office, in messenger service, street
trades and skilled trades, girls have the largest number in the factory,
in service and in house work. Yet twenty-five girls were exposed to the
dangers of street trades and 118 boys were taken out of school to do
house work in their own homes without pay. The diagram on the next page
shows the percentages and numbers of the total engaged in the various
lines of work, and the relative proportion of boys and girls in each.
When it came to tabulating wages the surprising discovery was made that
with respect to 35.3 per cent of the total either no wage was received
or the amount of it was entirely unknown to the family. Twenty-two per
cent received between $2 and $4 a week, and 37 per cent between $4 and
$6. Smaller wage divisions are shown here:
MALE FEMALE
_Wages_ _Number_ _Per cent_ _Number_ _Per cent_
Unknown or zero 1,961 28.4 2,893 42.2
Under $2 19 .3 22 .3
$2 to $2.50 59 .8 75 1.0
$2.50 to $3 72 1.0 113 1.6
$3 to $3.50 728 10.5 581 8.4
$3.50 to $4 806 11.6 624 9.1
$4 to $4.50 1,338 19.4 1,130 16.1
$4.50 to $5 610 8.8 525 7.6
$5 to $6 874 12.6 600 8.7
$6 and over 424 6.1 286 4.1
————— ———— ————— ————
Total 6,891 100.0 6,849 100.0
Split up by sexes these figures show that 42.2 per cent of the girls
were found in the group whose wages were unknown or zero, while only
28.4 per cent of the boys were in that group. For both boys and girls
the largest number of those whose wages is known is found in the group
which receive $4.00 to $4.50. The detailed comparison is here given:
_Wages_ _Number_ _Per Cent_
Unknown or zero 4,854 35.3
Under $2 42 .3
$2 to $2.50 134 .9
$2.50 to $3.00 185 1.3
$3 to $3.50 1,308 9.5
$3.50 to $4 1,430 10.4
$4 to $4.50 2,468 17.8
$4.50 to $5 1,135 8.2
$5 to $6 1,474 10.7
$6 and over 710 5.1
—————— —————
Total 13,740 100.0
The average wage for all boys who receive between $2 and $6 is $4.26;
that for girls $4.19, the large number of girls who receive a
comparatively high wage in factories bringing their average up.
The average increase, between fourteen and fifteen years of age, of the
workers noted is thirty-seven cents. It is much less in some of the
industries. “Does such a slight return and such a meager raise,” asks
the report, “pay for all the loss of mature power, as well as for that
efficiency which might be gained by longer continuing in the proper kind
of training?”
[Illustration:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╤════════════╤═════════════════╗
║ THE CHILD │ THE SCHOOL │ THE JOB ║
╟──────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────────╢
║THESE 13,740 JOBS ARE HELD BY WORKING CHILDREN│LABOR │TO WHAT DO THEY ║
║IN PHILADELPHIA BETWEEN 14 & 16 YEARS OF AGE. │GREED │LEAD? ║
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_PUBLIC EDUCATION║
║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ASSOCIATION_║
╠══════╪═══════╪═════════╪═══════╪═════════════╪══════╪═════╪═════════╤═══════╣
║STREET│SERVICE│MESSENGER│SKILLED│MISCELLANEOUS│OFFICE│STORE│HOUSEWORK│FACTORY║
║TRADES│ │ │TRADES │ │ │ │ │ ║
╟──────┼───────┼─────────┼───────┼─────────────┼──────┼─────┼─────────┼───────╢
║ 1.5%│ 1.2%│ 2.5%│ 3.0%│ 6.3%│ 8.7%│20.3%│ 12.8%│ 43.4%║
║ 214│ 168│ 346│ 422│ 873│ 1200│ 2793│ 1756│ 5968║
╚══════╧═══════╧═════════╧═══════╧═════════════╧══════╧═════╧═════════╧═══════╝