of health, or health commissioner of the town, village or city where such mercantile establishment is situated[.], unless such establishment is situated in a city of the first class in which case such permission must be obtained from the commissioner of labor. Such permission shall be granted unless it appears that such basement is not sufficiently lighted and ventilated, and is not in good sanitary condition.

§ 8. Section one hundred and seventy-two of said act as amended by chapter two hundred and fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three is hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 172. Enforcement of article.- [The] Except in cities of the first class the board or department of health or health commissioners of a town, village or city affected by this article shall enforce the same and prosecute all violations thereof. Proceedings to prosecute such violations must be begun within [thirty] sixty days after the alleged offense was committed. All officers and members of such boards, or department, all health commissioners, inspectors, and other persons appointed or designated by such boards, departments or commissioners may visit and inspect at reasonable hours and when practicable and necessary, all mercantile or other establishments herein specified within the town. village or city for which they are appointed. No person shall interfere with or prevent any such officer from making such visitations and inspections, nor shall he be obstructed or injured by force or otherwise while in the performance of his duties. All persons connected with any such mercantile or other establishment herein specified shall properly answer all questions asked by such officer or inspector in reference to any of the provisions of this article. In cities of the first class the commissioner of labor shall enforce the provisions of this article, and for that purpose he and his subordinates shall possess all powers herein conferred upon town, village, or city boards and departments of health and their commissioners, inspectors, and other officers, except that the board or department of health of said cities of the first class shall continue to issue employment certificates as provided in section one hundred and sixty-three of said chapter.

§ 9. Section one hundred and seventy-three of said act as amended by chapter two hundred and fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three is hereby amended to read as follows:

§ 173. Copy of article to be posted. Except as other provision is made by this act, [A] a copy of this article shall be posted in [three] a conspicuous place[s] on every floor in each establishment wherein three or more persons arc employed who are affected by its provisions.

§ 10. The said act is hereby further amended by inserting between articles twelve and fourteen of said act, a new article to be known as article thirteen, and to read as follows:

ARTICLE XIII.

Bureau of Mercantile Inspection.

Section 180. Mercantile inspectors.

181. Deputies.

182. General powers and duties.

183. Reports.

184. Laws to be posted.

§ 180. Mercantile inspector. There shall be a bureau of mercantile inspection, which shall be under the immediate charge of a mercantile inspector, but

subject to the direction and supervision of the commissioner of labor. The mercantile inspector shall be appointed and be at pleasure removed by the commissioner of labor, and shall receive such annual salary not to exceed two thousand dollars as may be appropriated therefor.

§ 181. Deputies. The commissioner of labor may appoint from time to time not more than ten deputy mercantile inspectors, not less than two of whom shall be women, and who may be removed by him at any time. The deputy mercantile inspectors may be divided into three grades, but not more than two shall be of the third grade. Each deputy inspector of the first grade shall receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, each of the second grade an annual salary of one thousand two hundred dollars, and each of the third grade an annual salary of one thousand five hundred dollars.

§ 182. General powers and duties.- Subdivision 1. The commissioner of labor may divide the cities of the first class of the state into districts, assign one or more deputy mercantile inspectors to each district, and may in his discretion transfer them from one district to another; he may assign any of them to inspect any special class or classes of mercantile or other establishments specified in article eleven of this chapter, situated in cities of the first class, or to enforce in cities of the first class any special provisions of such article.

Subd. 2. The commissioner of labor may authorize any deputy commissioner or assistant and any special agent or inspector in the department of labor to act as a deputy mercantile inspector with the full power and authority thereof.

Subd. 3. The commissioner of labor, the mercantile inspector and his assistant or assistants and every deputy or acting deputy mercantile inspector may in the discharge of his duties enter any place, building or room in cities of the first class where any labor is performed which is affected by the provisions of article eleven of this chapter, and may enter any mercantile or other establishment specified in said article, situated in cities of the first class, whenever he may have reasonable cause to believe that any such labor is performed therein. Subd. 4. The commissioner of labor shall visit and inspect or cause to be visited and inspected the mercantile and other establishments specified in article eleven of this chapter situated in cities of the first class, as often as practicable, and shall cause the provisions of said article to be enforced therein.

Subd. 5. Any lawful municipal ordinance, by-law or regulation relating to mercantile and other establishments specified in article eleven of this chapter, in addition to the provisions of this chapter and not in conflict therewith, may be enforced by the commissioner of labor in cities of the first class.

§ 183. Reports. The commissioner of labor shall make an annual report to the legislature of the operation of this bureau.

§ 184. Laws to be posted. A copy or abstract of the applicable provisions of this chapter, to be prepared and furnished by the commissioner of labor, shall be kept posted by the employer in a conspicuous place on each floor of every merchantile or other establishment specified in article eleven of this chapter, situated in a city of the first class, wherein three or more persons are employed who are affected by such provisions.

§ 7. This act shall take effect October first, nineteen hundred and eight. Approved June 16, 1908.

A recent Bulletin (No. 93) of the Federal Bureau of the Census presents statistics of the wages of wage earners which were collected in connection with the census of manufactures for 1905. These statistics represent the actual weekly earnings of the shop employees in the establishments reporting for the busiest week, as a rule, or in some cases some other representative week, of the census year. The figures were taken direct from pay-rolls in all cases except for establishments with less than ten wage earners. For some of the latter, where pay-rolls were lacking, verbal statements by proprietors or superintendents from personal knowledge were accepted as sufficiently reliable. For the entire United States the number of wage earners in establishments with less than 10 constituted but 11.8 per cent of the whole number of wage earners in all establishments reporting. For New York State the proportion was 13.5 per cent.

This accurate return of actual weekly earnings in a busy week of a prosperous year affords the following figures for New York State.

The census of manufactures in 1905 showed for New York State a total of 37,194 manufacturing establishments in which the greatest number of wage earners employed during the year was 1,075,570. In 3,625 establishments no wage earners were reported. Of the 33,569 establishments with wage earners, 19,030, or 56.7 per cent, made return of weekly earnings for 430,475 wage earners, or 40.0 per cent of the greatest number of wage earners in manufacturing establishments during the year. Of the 430,475 wage carners represented in the returns there

were

13.5 per cent in establishments with less than 10 employees
19.0 per cent in establishments with 10 to 50 employees
21.0 per cent in establishments with 50 to 150 employees
14.3 per cent in establishments with 150 to 300 employees
10.8 per cent in establishments with 300 to 500 employees
21.4 per cent in establishments with 500 or more employees

Of the total number 74.0 per cent were men 16 years old or over, 25.1 per cent were women 16 or over and 0.9 per cent were children under 16 years. The average and classified weekly earnings of each of these classes were as follows:

AVERAGE AND CLASSIFIED WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE-EARNERS IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN NEW YORK STATE, 1905.

Men 16 years old or over averaged $11.79 per week. The median wage for men, that is, the wage which is exceeded by one half the men, while the other half fall below it, is found in the group of $10 to $12. The largest number of men (18.0 per cent of the total) is found in the group of $12 to $15. Of the whole number, 24.3 per cent earned $15 per week or more, 42.3 per cent earned $12 or more, and 77.9 per cent earned $8 or

more.

Women 16 years old or over earned on the average $6.54 for the week. The median wage for women was in the $6 to $7 group. The largest number of women (15.5 per cent of the total) appears in the group of $5 to $6. Of all the women, 26.8 per cent earned $8 per week or more, 54.9 per cent earned $6 or more and 69.9 per cent earned $5 or more.

For children the average weekly earnings were $3.46, with the median wage and also the wage of the greatest number (42.9 per cent of the total) in the $3 to $4 group. Of the whole number, 21.9 per cent earned less than $3 per week, 64.8 earned less than $4 and 87.7 per cent less than $5.

The Census Bulletin shows earnings in New York State for each of 29 selected industries in which there were 239,210 wage earners, or 55.6 per cent, of the total for all returns as above. The three following tables afford a convenient comparison of earnings in the different industries for men, women and children separately, the industries being ranked in each case according to average weekly earnings: