Aside from industries enumerated, there were 3.9 per cent. of all children in Iowa employed in button factories and 11.3 per cent. in slaughtering and meat-packing establishments. Minnesota had 10.1 per cent. in clothing factories, 2.8 per cent. in confectioneries, 4.5 per cent. in hoisery and knitting mills, and 2.7 per cent. in woolen mills. Wisconsin had 3.1 per cent. in confectioneries, 11.0 in hosiery and knit goods mills, 7.4 per cent in breweries, and 2.9 in trunk and valise manufactories. The following tabulation has been prepared with a view of facilitating a comparison between the different states with reference to the number of children and adults employed in industries most conspicuous for child labor : We stated already that child labor in its aggregate had been but small in the three states of the second group. Montana had 24.2 per cent. of the total in copper-smelting and refining, 29.1 per cent. in printing and publishing trades, and 13.4 per cent. in cigar factories. In North and South Dakota child labor was confined to the so-called hand trades, including printing and publishing, which occupied 86.0 of all children employed in South Dakota. TABLE IV. Relation of women wage-earners to male wage-earners and of children under sixteen years to adults in forty-six states. Table VI presents a summary of wages paid in each of the six states for the two census years, with per cent. of increase. Table VII shows the annual average wage rate for men, women, and children, and in Table VIII the average weekly wages, for all classes of labor in specified industries, for the year 1900, has been computed. An increase of 36.0 per cent. in total wages during the decade has been noted for Wisconsin, as against 17.1 per cent. for Iowa and 16.8 per cent. for Minnesota. Montana had an increase of 382.3, South Dakota 85.5, and North Dakota 61.0 per cent. Before entering upon consideration of annual and weekly average wages for each individual (men, women, 'Reports from Pennsylvania and South Carolina not available. and children), it may be well to explain by what operation these figures have been arrived at. The census reports furnished the amount paid out for wages in all industries for both census years, as well as for specified industries in 1900 and the average number of wage-earners (men, women, and children). The numbers given for each class of wage-earners were used as a divisor into the total amount of wages for this class, the quotient being the annual average wage for each wageearner. By using 52 as divisor (the number of weeks for the year) into the annual wages, the average per week for each wage-earner was obtained. It must, however, be remembered that these figures can serve only for the purpose of comparison between different industries and for different states; and that they embrace all classes and grades of wage-workers, regardless of skill and personal amount received as labor compensation. Skilled laborers and mechanics have received higher wages than common laborers. Of this the census has not taken cognizance, and the figures merely denote the average amount earned by each wage-earner in a certain industry. The increase in the annual average wages during the decade, for each class of wage-earners, was as follows: The proportionate compensation for performed labor in the two. groups of states was as follows: |