INSURANCE.

A surprisingly large number of persons were found to carry life or sick insurance. In tabulating insurance returns, only members of families, exclusive of boarders and lodgers, were considered because such returns concerning the latter would necessarily be incomplete. It was found that of a population of 4,889, 2,202, or 45 per cent, carried life insurance of some sort, and 855, or 171⁄2 per cent, carried insurance against sickness. The insurance was almost entirely carried in either industrial insurance companies or in fraternal or other mutual benefit associations, and the premium payments were usually made in weekly installments. About the same proportion of white and colored persons carry this insurance, although there were proportionately more white carrying life insurance, and proportionately more colored people carrying sick insurance. The next table gives the details by color and geographical sections:

The investigators found it exceedingly difficult to obtain information concerning installment payments on furniture, clothing and money borrowed, and in many cases the families refused to answer this inquiry. The returns, therefore, are necessarily somewhat meager.

Transactions of this kind were found to be much more frequent among the colored than among the white population. Of 136 families who answered affirmatively the inquiry concerning furniture purchases on the installment plan, 35 were white and 66 were colored. The total cost of the furniture so purchased was greater, however, in the case of the white than of the colored people, namely, $3,235 and $2,871 re

spectively. Under furniture were also included one watch, one graphophone and four pianos. Clothing was reported purchased on the installment plan in 5 cases of white and 8 cases of colored families, the total cost of the clothing being $121 and $162 respectively. The furniture and clothing installment payments were usually made weekly.

LOAN COMPANIES.

The practice of borrowing money for repayment on the installment plan appears to have been confined mostly to the colored people, only 3 white families having reported such transactions as against 26 colored families. The total amount borrowed in this way was $130 by the white, and $420 by the colored families. It was not possible in all these cases to ascertain the terms of repayment upon which these loans were made, but a sufficient number of cases is given below to show the exorbitant rates paid for the same:

In tabulating the statistics of illiteracy only those persons were considered who had passed the school age, namely, 14 years and over. Of 4,161 such persons, 502, or 12.1 per cent, were unable to read or write. The percentage of illiteracy was more than three time as great among the colored than among the white population, namely, 17.5 and 5.4 per cent, respectively. In the case of both white and colored the percentage

ENTIRE CITY.

of illiteracy was greater among the males than among the females. The following table shows the data concerning illiteracy by sex and color for each section:

Total.

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.

Figures showing school attendance are given in the next table:

It will be observed that a considerable number of children of compulsory school age were found who had either not attended school at all during the past year or who attended less than one-half of the school

term. Thus, 91 children, from 7 to 14 years of age, had been kept out of school the entire year; and 96 were in school less than 20 weeks during the year. Those not attending at all were mostly colored children. On the other hand, 48 children under 7 years and 89 children over 14 years of age were found attending school. In 40 cases, children were kept out of school some time during the year on account of a lack of the necessary clothing. Of these, 7 were white and 33 were colored children.

THE BUSINESS RELATIONS OF WAGE-EARNERS.

By JAMES BRONSON REYNOLDS.

In proportion as wealth increases devices for its protection increase in number, quality and efficiency. As wealth diminishes its safeguards diminish. When extreme poverty is reached, the supposed agencies of protection are frequently not only non-protective, but actually predatory. Among such are employment agencies where the wage-earner seeks work; pawn shops and loan companies for the wage-earner's borrowing; industrial insurance companies and mutual benefit societies for his saving, and instalment-payment concerns where he purchases on credit.

Believing that the regulation, protection and promotion by the government of these instrumentalities are quite as important to the industrial class as the protection of the home and the work shop through sanitary and factory legislation, this Commission has endorsed the recommendations made to the President by the writer, that a new Department of Housing and Labor be created to have direct and complete supervision of these business enterprises. This proposed Department would not merely exercise the powers of restraint at present entrusted chiefly to the police, but in addition would promote efficiency of service.

In view of the recommendation above mentioned, it is appropriate to indicate the present condition of these enterprises and to state the character and extent of the improvements advocated.

1. EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. There were formerly about twenty-five employment agencies in the District. They were nominally under the control of the police, but a careful investigation showed that the police gave them very slight attention unless specific complaints were presented. Most of these agencies were indifferent to the character and occupation of the employers to whom they sent employees. This was especially true in regard to domestic agencies. The agencies which placed laborers took advantage of the applicants through fraud and misrepresentation and were careless in the fulfillment of their obligations to employers and employees.

The present employment agency law, passed in 1907, while inadequate in some respects, has produced a decided improvement in the service and paved the way for further progress. At present there are only eleven licensed employment agencies. Before taking out a license an agent must give a bond and furnish evidence of ability to carry on the business in proper manner. The character of the applicant is investigated by the police department. These agencies have been inspected at frequent intervals in the past, and with the beginning of the new license year the inspection will be made monthly. Complaints against agencies under the present law are investigated by the District Commissioners. During the past year nine hearings were granted to persons bringing charges against employment agencies.

This service is probably as good as could be obtained under the existing law, but there are two serious defects in the law.

First. Supervision by the police is inadequate. The work of the police must inevitably be confined to penal offenses. The regulation and supervision of the efficiency of employment agencies is necessary and should be performed by some properly constituted public authority.

The effective distribution of labor is of such supreme importance to the entire community that either employment agencies must receive competent public supervision, or the European method of government employment agencies, such as those of France and Germany, should be adopted. This commission has preferred to adopt the more conservative alternative.

Second. Complaints should be tried not by the head of the District government, as at present, but by the official having direct oversight of the agencies. If the proposed department of Housing and Labor were established, the chief of the appropriate bureau or the head of the department, both of whom would be closely in touch with the service, should be the proper parties to conduct investigations and trials.

2. PAWN SHOPS. There are at present eight pawn shops in the District of Columbia. The legal rate of interest charged is 3 per cent a month. The present law has some excellent features. A report on articles pawned is made daily to the police, and pawn shops are directly connected with police headquarters by an electric call bell. The records are open at all times to police inspection and a proper bond must be filed to secure the observance of the law and the recovery on judgments against pawn brokers.

The pawn shop is the only public agency for lending money to which the poor can resort, and since it is likely that recourse thereto will occur in times of extreme need, the terms of lending should be as mod