tion of the scaffolding, staging, etc., used in the erection of any building whenever complaint is made to him that such appliances are unsafe, and if such is found to be the case, to prohibit their use until they have been made safe; (3) the requirement that, in the case of large buildings, the filling in of floor spaces shall be made as the building progresses, and that shaft openings shall be fenced in on all sides; and (4) that the enforcement of this provision is intrusted to both the officers of the city charged with the enforcement of the building laws and the factory inspector. The Pennsylvania law, which is very brief, provides that On and after the passage of this act it shall be the duty of the party or parties having charge of the construction of any new building hereafter erected in this Commonwealth, to have the joists or girders of each floor above the third story covered with rough scaffold boards or other suitable material, as the building progresses, so as to sufficiently protect the workmen either from falling through such joists or girders, or to protect the workmen or others who may be under or below each floor from falling bricks, tools, mortar or other substances whereby accidents happen, injuries occur and life and limb are endangered. For every violation of this act a penalty, not exceeding one hundred dollars for each floor of joists or girders left uncovered, shall be imposed, to be collected as fines and penalties are usually collected. The Maryland law contains much the same provisions as the New York law, as far as the security of scaffolding, staging, etc., is concerned, but leaves the enforcement of its provisions to the local police authorities. The Ohio law makes the failure to provide safe scaffolding, etc., a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of from $25 to $200, to be enforced as any other law regarding misdemeanors. It would be a mistake to consider the foregoing as all the legal regulations that exist for the purpose of preventing accidents in building operations. The building regulations of the various cities, though not directed to the prevention of accidents to employees, undoubtedly in many cases contain provisions having this effect. The fact remains, however, that up to the present time the States have far from taken the steps needed to insure that builders take every possible precaution for the security of their employees. In no case do the laws require the systematic return of accidents occuring to workingmen engaged in construction or building work, unless possibly a partial return is in some cases made in connection with accidents in factories. There is, therefore, no material available for making a statistical study of accidents to this class of workers. ין PRICES OF COMMODITIES AND RATES OF WAGES IN MANILA. The data which have been used in the tables which constitute the present article were collected in Manila under the supervision of Mr. F. F. Hilder, the agent of the board of management, United States Government exhibit of the Pan-American Exposition, who was sent to Manila to gather material for an exhibit illustrative of the people, industries, resources, etc., of the islands for the Pan-American Exposition. In connection with the gathering of the other objects for exhibition it was thought advisable to collect some data relating to the prices of commodities and to the rates of wages in Manila, and perhaps, if possible, in some of the other towns. Schedules were drawn up and instructions were prepared calling for the carrying out of the work according to the usual methods employed by the Department of Labor in such work. Provision was made for data showing retail prices of articles in common use in the homes of workmen, distinction to be made, so far as use warranted it, between such articles as were in use by the white population, by the natives, and by the Chinese. In the matter of rates of wages the instructions required, among other things, that the data should be secured directly from the pay rolls or other accounts of the employing establishments, that the occupations should be reported as specifically as possible, with full explanation if the occupation names were new to American usage, that the exact rates paid by the employer and the whole number of persons employed at each of such rates should be given, that where payment was made by the month, week, piece, or otherwise than by the day, the number of working days per month or week, or the average daily earnings at piece work should be given, in order that wages might all be upon a comparable day basis, and that any other explanation should be given which might be necessary to put the data collected upon a basis comparable with data for like occupations in the United States. The result is a body of data in regard to matters about which inquiries have been frequent and about which no information has been available hitherto. The table of prices shows the retail prices on April 1, 1900, in Manila, of about 90 articles of common use, largely articles of food, presented so as to show which articles are in habitual use by white workmen, by the native workmen of the islands, and by the Chinese workmen. The table of rates of wages shows the rates of 7996-No. 32-01-3 29 wages paid in April and May, 1900, in Manila, for each occupation in 664 establishments covering 69 distinct industries. The whole number of employees in these establishments, as shown in the table, is 22,155, of which 187 are whites, 17,317 natives, and 4,651 Chinese. In this table all the establishments following the same industry are grouped together, then under each industry the employees are arranged by occupations, and under each occupation the number of employees of each nationality (white, native, or Chinese), sex, number of hours work per day, and rate of wages are given. Under each occupation the highest daily rate is first given, followed by the lower daily rates in order, and by the highest and then the lower monthly rates. This course was necessary, as it was impossible to reduce the monthly rates to a daily basis in the absence of any exact information as to the number of days at work per month. The only information upon this point is the statement, in a general way, that Sunday work is rather more common than in the United States. It is to be regretted that occupation names are not in all cases as specific as could be desired. The term "workman" has been used in many instances to cover classes of work where much more than the mere laborer is meant. In regard to this it should be stated that industry in Manila has not yet reached that degree of organization and consequent specialization everywhere found in the United States, and that the workman in many establishments is accustomed to perform any sort of work that he may be called upon to do. In the smaller establishments the name of the industry will of course indicate, in a general way, the nature of the work performed by the workmen. The prices and wages as here tabulated are in gold. In the actual transactions here represented silver, of exactly half the value of gold, was used, and the amounts were therefore in all cases exactly double those here shown. In all ordinary business transactions in Manila silver, it should be stated, is still the money in use. The gold that has come in under the new conditions does not appear to have had any noticeable effect upon the circulating medium; it has practically disappeared. The table of prices is first given, followed by that showing rates of wages. PRICES OF CERTAIN ARTICLES IN COMMON USE IN MANILA, APRIL |