The custom throughout the valley is to work at a "stent," i. e., so many brick to constitute a day's work. The duration of a work-day therefore varies in the different occupations, the machine men finishing in 6 or 7 hours, two hours or more ahead of the others. In order to avoid the heat of midday and the early afternoon, work is almost invariably begun at 4:30 a. m., or as near that hour as daylight will permit in autumn. Most of the work is so arduous that most of the workmen discard all clothing except shirt and overalls, although in the sheds they wear shoes also. The Labor Law (sec. 6) prohibits more than ten hours' work per day in brickyards and work prior to seven o'clock in the morning, but permits these requirements to be waived by mutual agreement. It does not appear that the tenhour day is often exceeded, as machine men are usually through between 10:30 and 11:30 a. m., and the others at 12, 1 or 2 o'clock; but the workmen themselves have resisted attempts to start the day's work at a later hour than 4:30 a. m. and a few years ago, in certain districts, threatened to strike against the employers' proposal to open the yards at 6 or 6:30 a. m. The workmen in the brickyards are of mixed race extraction. Up to a period dating back about 15 years the Hudson River "brickyarders" were almost entirely of the Caucasian race. At that time began the advent of the southern negro into the industry, brought north by the employers who obtained this element at wages lower than they were then paying their white employees. The disparity in wages, however, did not continue, as the negroes very soon demanded and obtained the rates paid to their white fellow employees. Besides negroes the workmen now comprise Irish Americans (nearly all of American birth), Italians, Hungarians, Poles, Slavs and Finns.* The foremen are nearly all native Americans of Irish extraction who " rose from the ranks." There are some yards where no negroes are employed, owing to race prejudice; but in most of the districts whites and negroes mingle during working hours and harmony appears to prevail between the races. When the brick-making season ends the negroes as a rule all go back to their southern homes, while the white workmen continue to work in the plants at loading brick and building kilns until ice closes the river. During the winter months ice cutting furnishes employment for a few weeks to the workmen in the upper Hudson districts, who remain there throughout the year. As to the domiciliary accommodations of the workmen, the whites are usually men of family and live in houses that are *Of 2,933 workmen employed in the vards visited in Rockland, Ulster, Westchester and Columbia counties 1,171 were negroes, thus: Columbia county, 175 negroes and 150 whites; Rockland county, 453 negroes and 576 whites; Ulster county, 383 and 718 respectively; Westchester county, 160 and 318 respectively. about on the same plane with those occupied by laboring men elsewhere. The unmarried white men are mostly Italians who board with their married fellow countrymen. Some of the houses occupied by the white employees are houses owned by the respective companies and the rent for same is placed at a low figure. Two Stockport companies rent their houses to employees for $5 a month. At Glasco, one company rents its houses to Italian workmen for $2 and $4 a month. At Croton Point a company receives from $3 to $5 from their men for the use of the houses. In Haverstraw the Italian employees of one yard live in company houses and no rent is charged. In the other districts visited the whites live in the respective villages in comfortable houses and some even own their own homes. Receiving good wages and working steady it should be assumed that in view of such conditions the negro workman would allow himself some measure of comfort. This, however, is far from being the case. These blacks, in all the yards that employ them, with few exceptions, are housed in old company shanties, barracks, and dilapidated structures of brick. Their sleeping accommodations are simple wooden bunks and platforms equipped with bed clothes filthy in the extreme; and here, crowded together, these laborers pass their hours of rest. In most cases the sleeping rooms serve also as the mess rooms. As these structures are used only during the warm or mild part of the year there is a certain amount of fresh air admitted which no doubt serves to prevent the propagation of those disease germs which are generated by contaminated air. The fresh air, however, is ap parently not fatal to insect life. In the Croton Point and East Kingston yards which employ negroes, each of the latter pays $1 a month as rent. In one of the largest yards at East Kingston, however, the blacks pay no rent. In most of the yards the negroes mess by themselves and do their own cooking. In some of the larger yards they have a colored cook and colored waiters. They buy their own provisions from local stores, but at Stockport the blacks in the employ of the Empire Company purchase much of their provisions from the company store, although they are not compelled by the company to do so. In nearly all the yards the negroes are steady and as a rule work every day, and in the districts visited, with the exception of Stockport, they are economical to the point of parsimony. Those at Haverstraw and Croton Point send their savings South, and when sufficient money has been accumulated they buy a farm in the 66 sunny South," which appears to be their sole ambition. It is stated that this ambition can be realized after working North about six years. As the negro workman averages perhaps $50 a month earnings, and as his living expenses do not exceed $10 per month, it will be seen that he saves $40 per month, which at the end of six months-the length of the season-nets him the sum of $240, which more than suffices to support him the remainder of the year. Many, however, continue to come North every summer, even after they have secured the goal of their desire, the proverbial" farm and a mule." VI. GENERAL REVIEW OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN 1905. The year 1905 created new records in business and trade activity in virtually every line. The volume of business, measured in bank clearings, was greater than in 1901 or 1902 and vastly greater than in 1903 and 1904, when there was some reaction as a result of overspeculation and financial stringency. The increase in trade was well distributed and business failures were relatively few. The percentage of failures and the amount of liabilities were smaller than in any other year in a quarter of a century, with the exception of 1882 and 1899, and the average liabilities were smaller than even in those years. The unprecedented business activity of 1905 was based on a foundation of increased production-large crops, unusual importations of manufacturers' materials, large output of factories and heavy railway traffic. While official statistics are wanting with respect to factory production in New York, an excellent indication of the demand for labor is given in the statistics of building operations furnished by the municipal bureaus of buildings in the larger cities.* In New York City there was an increase of more than sixty per cent. in the estimated cost of buildings projected and authorized in 1905 over the preceding year. In response to the unprecedented demand for labor, the volume of immigration at the port of New York, which had fallen off in 1904, once more assumed large dimensions and in fact attained a new high record (total number of alien arrivals 1903, 697,763; 1904, 608,508; 1905, 826,952). In the factories visited by the inspectors of the Department of Labor, more employees were found at work than ever before and the factories were running closer to their full capacity than in 1903 or 1904; thus the ratio of the number of employees at the time of inspection to the great *BUILDING OPERATIONS IN THE FOUR LEADING CITIES OF NEW YORK, 1898-1905. 1899. 1900 1901 1902. 166,992,400 3,408,500 1,447,500 1,257,200 18,426 87,952,600 3,514,000 1,676,200 1,583,000 12,829 150,072,700 4,338,800 2,205,000 1,624,400 13.663 125,088,400 5,432,100 2,826,400 1,376,600 12,422 1903..... 127,486,500 6,304,700 1,990,900 1,740,700 14,239 1904. 164,313,100 6,638,300 4,225,900 2,637,300 18,722 1905..... 266,467,250 7,640,784 5,541,429 2,264,610 26,315 |