THE BUREAUS. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. Origin and history.-The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the oldest of the bureaus in the Department of Labor, was authorized by an act approved June 27, 1884, nearly 30 years before the creation of the Department. Under this act a "Bureau of Labor" was created in the Department of the Interior. It was formally organized January 1, 1885. In 1888 this Bureau of Labor was separated from the Department of the Interior and made an independent department, under the title "Department of Labor," with a Commissioner of Labor as its chief, who, however, not being of secretarial rank, was not a member of the President's Cabinet. In 1903 this "Department of Labor" was placed under the Department of Commerce and Labor, as the Bureau of Labor, its original designation. It became a part of the Department of Labor, under the title of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on the creation of the Department in 1913. The organization of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was the first response to an appeal by wage earners, urged for more than 20 years throughout the country and in Congress, that there be created a department in the Federal Government to look after their interests. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the nucleus around which the Department of Labor has been built up. Its functions are now and always have been almost wholly statistical and educational. The Monthly Labor Review. To convey more accurately the nature of the publication, the name of the Monthly Review, established by the bureau in 1915, was changed with the July, 1918, issue to the Monthly Labor Review. In the four years of its publication this magazine has proved its usefulness as a medium for the dissemination of authoritative labor news, and its scope has been greatly enlarged. The Review carries each month articles on the current work of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and summaries of the reports and activities of all other Government agencies, both Federal and State, which have to do with labor. In addition to the monthly presentation of statistics of immigration and of a summary of the conciliation work done by the Department, reports of the work of the various State labor bureaus and other State agencies dealing with labor and complete summaries of the important new legislation, court decisions, and administrative orders affecting labor, are given to the public promptly. Special attention 142901-LAB 1919-15 225 is given to up-to-date information on wholesale and retail prices and cost of living; wages and hours of labor; minimum wage; women in industry; employment and unemployment; labor turnover; conciliation, mediation, and arbitration; strikes and lockouts; collective bargaining; employees' representation; cooperation; profit sharing; labor organizations; industrial accidents; industrial poisons and diseases; workmen's compensation and social insurance; labor legislation; vocational education; rehabilitation of injured men; housing and welfare work. The various reconstruction programs, both domestic and foreign, and various phases of reconstruction work receive the consideration their importance merits. Publications other than Monthly Labor Review.-At the end of the fiscal year 1919, besides the 12 numbers of the Monthly Labor Review, there had been received from the Government Printing Office 13 bulletins. Two other bulletins were completed but had not been issued. The 25 publications issued contained 7,045 pages of printed matter, 93 illustrations, 22 diagrams, 26 charts, 13 line drawings, and 1 text chart. The bulletins are published in series according to subjects, and are numbered consecutively. A list of the series is as follows: Wholesale prices, Retail prices and cost of living, Wages and hours of labor, Employment and unemployment, Women in industry, Workmen's insurance and compensation (including laws relating thereto), Industrial accidents and hygiene, Conciliation and arbitration (including strikes and lockouts), Labor laws of the United States (including decisions of courts relating to labor), Foreign labor laws, Vocational education, Labor as affected by the war, Miscellaneous series. In addition the bureau prepared and supervised the printing for the United States Employment Service, of a series of 13 pamphlets containing 659 pages, giving descriptions of occupations in some 22 industries and groups of industries. During the year the bureau has accumulated and classified much material relating to the war, done a great deal of research work at the request of the War Labor Policies Board, supplied information requested by Members of Congress and other persons interested in labor matters, and prepared and printed many bibliographies relating to labor subjects. It has also carried on a systematic correspondence with the various State labor bureaus and other State agencies dealing with labor, thus bringing about closer cooperation with the States. Through the work of a special representative in Great Britian the bureau has been able to publish special information regarding labor developments in Great Britain. Reports transmitted but not published.—In addition to the 25 publications issued (13 bulletins and 12 numbers of the Monthly Labor Review) and 2 bulletins which were completed but not issued, there were 12 in course of preparation. The 14 bulletins not issued relate to international labor legislation and the society of nations; labor legislation of 1918; preventable death in the cotton manufacturing industry; wages and hours of labor in the slaughtering and meatpacking industry; joint standard industrial councils in Great Britain; accidents and accident prevention in machine building; decisions of courts and opinions affecting labor, 1918; union scale of wages and hours of labor, May 15, 1918; wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry, 1907 to 1918; wages and hours of labor in woolen and worsted goods manufacturing, 1918; wages and hours of labor in cotton goods manufacturing and finishing, 1918; housing by employers in the United States; proceedings of fifth annual meeting of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, held at Madison, Wis., September 24-27, 1918; preliminary report of industrial survey in selected industries in the United States, 1919. BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION. Origin and functions. This bureau was established by the immigration act of March 3, 1891, as the "Office of the Superintendent of Immigration." The title of Superintendent was changed to "Commissioner General of Immigration" by the act of March 2, 1895. That official served under the Secretary of the Treasury until 1903, when the Bureau of Immigration was made a part of the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor. It was finally made a part of the Department of Labor upon the organization of the latter in 1913. The duties of the bureau are primarily connected with the enforcement of the immigration and Chinese-exclusion laws. It is also charged, under the immigration act of February 5, 1917, with the examination and registration of all alien seamen arriving in United States ports. Prior to the creation of the United States Employment Service as a separate organization, that service was under the bureau's direction, but the business activities in that field are now limited to those of the Division of Information, which the law provides shall "promote a beneficial distribution of aliens." Throughout the period of the war the bureau rendered much special service to the Government, both under its own authority and in cooperation with other branches of the Government charged with the enforcement of war measures. The following is a summary of some of the regular and special duties performed by the bureau during the past fiscal year: GENERAL IMMIGRATION. Summary of arrivals and exclusions.-The following statement summarizes the totals of arrivals, exclusions, and admissions of aliens for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1919: Arrivals of aliens, July 1, 1918, to June 30, 1919.. Admitted on primary inspection..... Detained for special inquiry.......... Rejected by boards of special inquiry.. Admitted by boards of special inquiry. 245, 647 39, 636 206, 011 39, 636 5,487 29, 929 As compared with the previous year, the fiscal year just closed shows a slight increase in immigration. Tabulation.-The following statement gives some of the more important items of statistical information, to be found in much greater detail in the report of the Commissioner General of Immigration: Arrivals (admitted): Immigrant aliens.. Total..... 141, 132 95, 889 237, 021 |