while in 1883 it rose to 2,759, or nearly that of 1881. In 1884 and 1885 the number fell rapidly, there being but 2,367 establishments involved in 1884 and 2,284 in 1885. In 1886 the number was more than four times as great as that of the preceding year, being 10,053, the greatest number in any of the years considered, except 1899. In 1887 it dropped to 6,589; in 1888 it dropped still further, to 3,506, and remained nearly stationary in 1889 at 3,786, while in 1890 the number again rapidly rose to 9,424, a number almost as great as that for 1886. In the next year, 1891, the number dropped to 8,116, still further decreasing in 1892 and 1893, to 5,540 and 4,555, respectively. In 1894 the number of establishments involved in strikes was almost double that of the preceding year, being 8,196, but in 1895 the number dropped to 6,973 and in 1896 to 5,462. In 1897, however, it rose to 8,492, while in 1898 it dropped as low as 3,809. The greatest number shown for any year in the period is that for 1899, it being 11,317, while in 1900 the number decreased to 9,248. The total number of establishments involved during the twenty-year period was 117,509. A percentage column is given showing the per cent of this total number of establishments which were involved in each year of the period. The average number of establishments to each strike for the twenty years is shown to be 5.2, the highest number being 7.9 establishments to each strike in 1897, and the lowest average being 3.5 establishments to each strike in 1885, 1889, and 1893. The total number of employees involved or thrown out of employment in the whole number of strikes from 1881 to 1900, inclusive, as shown by this table, was 6,105,694, not including 33 establishments for which data were not obtainable. Of this number 660,425 were thrown out of employment in 1894 alone; over 500,000 in each of the years 1886 and 1900; over 400,000 in each of the years 1897 and 1899; 392,403 in 1895; 379,676 in 1887; 351,944 in 1890; between 200,000 and 300,000 in the years 1885, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1896, and 1898, and a smaller number in the remaining years of the period, that for 1881 being the smallest number, 129,521. Table V shows that the number of strikers or persons originating the strikes during the twenty years was 4,694,849, and that the number of new employees engaged after the strikes was 506,557, of whom 214,455 were brought from other places than those in which the strikes occurred. The per cent of new employees after strikes of the total number of employees before strikes (9,779,574) was therefore 5.18. Of the new employees after strikes 42.34 per cent were brought from places other than those in which the strikes occurred. It should be remembered, in considering the tables relating to the number of establishments, the number of employees, etc., that the figures do not represent the actual number of different individual employees who were involved in strikes or lockouts in a given year or given industry, because in many cases there have been two or more strikes or lockouts in the same establishment in the same year, and in such cases the establishment and the number of employees are duplicated or triplicated, as the case may be, in the totals derived by addition. In the column "Employees for whom strike was undertaken" there is even more duplication of the kind mentioned. For instance, a sympathetic strike may occur, in which the employees strike to enforce the demands of certain employees in another establishment. The number of employees for whom the strike was undertaken would in that case be the number for whom it was undertaken in that other establishment. The same employees would therefore be used in that column-first, in connection with the establishment in which they were employed, and second, in the establishment in which the sympathetic strike occurred, thus unavoidably being duplicated in the tables derived by addition. The following table relating to lockouts is drawn from Table XVI, and is entirely similar to that for strikes just presented: Lockouts, by years, January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900. It is seen from this table that lockouts constitute but a comparatively small proportion of industrial disturbances. The total number of lockouts in the United States during the twenty-year period was but 1,005, involving 9,933 establishments and 504,307 employees. The data given in the table may be analyzed in the same manner as those for strikes. Reference to Table XVI shows that 626,952 persons were employed in the 9,933 establishments in which lockouts occurred. Of this number 504,307, or 80.44 per cent, were thrown out of employment by reason of the lockouts. In these establishments there were 51,235 new employees engaged after the lockouts, of whom 25,220 were brought from places other than those in which the lockouts occurred. The per cent of new employees after the lockouts of the total number of employees before the lockouts was therefore 8.17, and of employees brought from other places of the number of new employees after lockouts, 49.22. The following table, also drawn from Tables V and XVI, classifies by sex the employees thrown out of employment in consequence of strikes and lockouts: Sex of employees thrown out of employment, by years, January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900. a 6, 105, 694 Total a Not including the number in 33 establishments for which these data were not obtainable. a 90.00 a 10.00 504, 307 80.24 19.76 This table shows that in the strikes which occurred during the twenty-year period from 1881 to 1900, out of a total of 6,105,694 employees involved or thrown out of employment, 90 per cent were males and 10 per cent females. The per cent of males varied within narrow bounds in the different years, the highest being found in 1891 with 94.90 and in 1900 with 94.80 per cent, and the lowest in 1895 with 84.56 and in 1898 with 85.78 per cent. That portion of the table relating to lockouts shows a considerably lower per cent of males involved or thrown out of employment. Out of a total of 504,307 employees thrown out of employment by lockouts during the twenty-year period 80.24 per cent were males, and 19.76 per cent females. The largest proportion of males thrown out of employment is found in 1892 with 96.02 per cent and in 1887 with 94.76 per cent, while the smallest proportion is found in 1891 with 59.13 per cent and in 1886 with 63.02. A similar table to the preceding, showing the data classified by industries, will be found in the analysis of Table VII. The following table shows the per cent of strikes and of lockouts which were ordered by organizations during the period from January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900: Strikes and lockouts ordered by organizations, January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900. a Not including 1 strike, for which these data were not obtainable. It is seen from an examination of this table that of the 22,793 strikes which occurred during the twenty-year period 63.46 per cent were ordered by labor organizations, while of the 1,005 lockouts which occurred during the same period 17.01 per cent were ordered by combinations of employers. The years 1890, 1891, and 1892 show the largest proportions as regards strikes, 74.83 per cent being ordered by labor organizations in 1891, 71.33 in 1890, and 70.72 in 1892, while the first two years of the period, with 47.13 and 48.02 per cent, respectively, show the lowest proportions. As will be seen, the variations from year to year are confined within somewhat narrow bounds. As regards lockouts, the largest percentages are found in 1881, with 33.33, and in 1886, with 30 per cent. The smallest percentages are found during the last seven years of the period, 1896 showing but 2.50 and 1897 but 3.13 per cent. The variations are quite marked with a decidedly decreasing proportion toward the latter portion of the period. In this connection attention is called to the two tables on pages 36 and 37 of this report, showing, respectively, by years and by industries, the number of strikes ordered by organizations which succeeded, which succeeded partly, and which failed, and also the number not ordered by organizations which may be properly classified under each of these three heads. The following table shows for each year of the twenty-year period the percentage of the establishments involved in both strikes and lockouts which were closed in consequence of such disturbances: Establishments closed January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900. It is seen from the table that out of a total of 117,509 establishments in which strikes occurred during the twenty-year period 65.73 per cent, or 77,244, were closed, while of the 9,933 establishments subjected to lockouts 71.95 per cent, or 7,147, were closed. Of the number of establishments closed on account of strikes, 97 were closed permanently or had strikes still pending at the end of one of the three periods, the facts for which are combined in this report. The average duration of stoppage, or days closed, in the 77,147 establishments which were temporarily closed on account of strikes and for which data were obtained as regards this point, was 20.1 days. Of the number of establishments which were closed by lockouts, 27 were closed permanently or had lockouts still pending at the end of one of the three periods, the facts for which are combined in this report. The duration of stoppage, or days closed, in the 7,120 establishments which were temporarily closed on account of lockouts and for which data were obtained as regards this point, was 52.4 days. Referring again to the table it is seen that the per cent of establishments closed on account of strikes was greatest in the years 1895, 1896, 1897, and 1898, the figures being 85.82, 83.67, 83.50, and 77.21, while it was smallest in 1881, 1882, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1891, and 1900, being very close to 55 per cent for each of these years. A much greater variation is found in the per cent of establishments closed on account of lockouts, the figures ranging from 30.65 per cent in 1899 to 91.89 per cent in 1900. The duration of strikes and lockouts-that is, the average length of time which elapsed before the establishments resumed operations and were running normally, either by reason of the strikers or employees locked out having returned to work or by their places having been filled by others-applies to all establishments, whether closed or not, and differs, of course, from the figures given for duration of entire stoppage of work, which applies only to establishments entirely closed. The following table shows the average duration or days to date when strikers or employees locked out were reemployed or their places filled by others for each of the years from 1881 to 1900, inclusive. A small number of establishments which were closed permanently in consequence of strikes or lockouts or in which strikes or lockouts were still pending have, of necessity, been omitted in computing the averages. Duration of strikes and lockouts, January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900. The average duration of strikes during the twenty-year period, as shown by this table, was 23.8 days, while that of lockouts was 97.1 days. With the exception of 1881 and 1899, in which the average duration of strikes was very short, and 1884, 1885, 1891, and 1894, in which it was comparatively long, the duration as shown for the several years of the period does not vary greatly from the average of 23.8 days. The conditions, however, as regards lockouts are quite different, the variations from year to year being very considerable. Considering strikes only, which constitute the great mass of these industrial disturbances, while the average duration does not appear great, in the aggregate the number of days involved amounts to the enormous number of 2,789,160, which reduced amounts to 7,641.5 years. It should be remembered, however, that the days so lost to the wageworker and the producer do not represent in many instances an absolute loss, as in a great number of cases this cessation of the work of production does away with the necessity of stoppage at some other time for the purpose of restricting the output to the demands of trade, making repairs, etc. One of the most important features of the tabulation is the statement of the losses of the employees and of the employers by reason of strikes and lockouts. These figures were collected with the greatest possible care, and, although in many cases only an estimate could be secured, the results as given are believed to be a very close approximation to the exact losses. It is natural to suppose that after the lapse of several years exact figures could not be secured concerning facts of which no record is kept in most instances. The figures here given are for the immediate, and in many instances only temporary, losses of employees and employers. In most businesses, as previously intimated, there are seasons of entire or partial idleness among the employees, owing to sickness, voluntary lay offs, running slack time, etc., the working days per year being on an average from 200 to 250 days out of a possible 313. When a strike or lockout occurs in an establishment whose business is of such a character it is often followed by a period of unusual activity, in which the employee and employer both make up the time lost by reason of the temporary cessation of business on account of the strike. The employer may in some instances be subjected to an ultimate loss by reason of his inability to fill contracts already made, but it may be accepted as a fact that much of the loss in the cases of both employer and employee is only temporary. It was found impossible, however, for the agents of the Department to take these facts into consideration, inasmuch as in many instances a period of six months or even a year must have elapsed before the whole or even a part of such loss was made up. The computation of wage loss has therefore been based on the number of employees thrown out of employment, their average wages, and the number of working days which elapsed before they were reemployed or secured work elsewhere. The amounts representing employers' losses are the figures (in most cases estimates) furnished by the firms themselves, the Department's agents being instructed to consider as well as they could their probable correctness. In the tables in which the statement is made by years the figures can not represent absolute accuracy for a given year, because many strikes beginning in one year ended in another; the entire loss and assistance, as well as the other facts included in the tabulation, have been placed in the year in which the strike or lockout began. These differences may, however, counterbalance each other and the reported results thus be nearly accurate. Bearing in mind, then, the difficulties in ascertaining the exact losses of employees and employers as a result of strikes and lockouts, reference may be had to the following table showing the amount of loss to employees and to employers, and the amount of assistance granted employees by their labor organizations, for a period of twenty years, from January 1, 1881, to December 31, 1900: |