mile of track, those of the South Atlantic, 5.9, those of the Western States, 5.5, and those of the North Central States, 5.0 per mile of track. The density of employment upon the street railways has of late years tended to diminish somewhat as a result of the introduction of long interurban lines, enjoying but a feeble traffic and employing only a small number of wage-earners.

The following table shows this density of employment by geograph

ical groups:

DENSITY OF EMPLOYMENT UPON STREET RAILWAYS IN 1902, BY GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS.

[From special report of the United States Census Office on Street and Electric Railways, 1902, page 6.]

SEX OF STREET RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.

Street railway employment is confined almost entirely to males. According to the statistics of occupation of the United States census only 2 out of 37,436 motormen and only 13 out of 24,038 conductors were women, while of 1,366 drivers none were women. The exact number of female clerks and of station employees generally can not be exactly stated, as many of these clerks are not reported under street railway service. The census gives 46 females out of a total of 68,936 employees, or 0.07 per cent of the entire number, but this is probably smaller than the true number. Eight of the 13 female conductors are reported from the State of Ohio.

ADMISSION TO EMPLOYMENT.

The street railway companies and the employees, organized and unorganized, are interested in the gradual raising of the standard of the men selected for employment. It is extremely advantageous both to employers and employees in this industry, as well as to the community in general, that the men selected for employment should be capable and in good physical and mental condition. The safety of many members of the community depends in a large measure upon the sobriety and quick-wittedness of street railway employees. The tendency in this industry, as in some others, has been toward an improvement in the quality of the service. The caliber of men admitted to employment has advanced, the preliminary physical examinations required becoming more and more exacting. Instead of placing on the platform any man with a political pull, as was the case less than

or almost 55 per cent, were employed on railways in the North Atlantic and 37,203, or over 27 per cent, in the North Central States. On the other hand, there were but 9,233 employees, or 7 per cent of the total, in the South Atlantic States, and but 6,394, or less than 5 per cent, in the South Central, making a total of less than 12 per cent in the South Atlantic and South Central States. The Western States had, in 1902, 8,384 street and electric railway employees, or over 6 per cent of the total. In other words, owing to the much larger population and the greater preponderance in the Northern States of urban centers, the number of street railway employees in that region was almost seven times as great as in the Southern States.

During the last 12 years, moreover, the absolute increase in the number of street railway employees in the Northern States was almost seven times as great as in the Southern.

INCREASE IN THE STREET RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT, 1890–1902, BY GEOGRAPHICAL

DIVISIONS.

[From special report of the United States Census Office on Street and Electric Railways, 1902, page 6.]

DENSITY OF STREET RAILWAY EMPLOYMENT.

By the density of railway employment is meant the number of persons employed upon the railways in whatsoever capacity, divided by the number of miles. Thus, the steam railroads of the United States in the year 1902 had a length of 202,472 miles and employed 1,189,315 persons, including general and other officers, giving an average of 5.94 employees per mile. () This figure is called the density of employment. The density of employment upon street railways is somewhat larger. Thus, in 1902 there were 6.2 persons, including salaried officials and clerks, per mile of road. The density was naturally larger in the North Atlantic States where traffic is denser. The number of persons employed upon street railways does not appear to vary in direct proportion to the length of the track, but tends rather to increase with the traffic. It would therefore naturally be expected that those railroads possessing the densest traffic would have the largest number of employees per mile of road. The street and electric railways of the North Atlantic States have a density of 7.5 per

a Fifteenth Annual Report of the Interstate Commerce Commission on the Statics of Railways in the United States, for the year ending June 30, 1902.

mile of track, those of the South Atlantic, 5.9, those of the Western States, 5.5, and those of the North Central States, 5.0 per mile of track. The density of employment upon the street railways has of late years tended to diminish somewhat as a result of the introduction of long interurban lines, enjoying but a feeble traffic and employing only a small number of wage-earners.

The following table shows this density of employment by geograph

ical groups:

DENSITY OF EMPLOYMENT UPON STREET RAILWAYS IN 1902, BY GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS.

[From special report of the United States Census Office on Street and Electric Railways, 1902, page 6.]

SEX OF STREET RAILWAY EMPLOYEES.

Street railway employment is confined almost entirely to males. According to the statistics of occupation of the United States census only 2 out of 37,436 motormen and only 13 out of 24,038 conductors were women, while of 1,366 drivers none were women. The exact number of female clerks and of station employees generally can not be exactly stated, as many of these clerks are not reported under street railway service. The census gives 46 females out of a total of 68,936 employees, or 0.07 per cent of the entire number, but this is probably smaller than the true number. Eight of the 13 female conductors are reported from the State of Ohio.

ADMISSION TO EMPLOYMENT.

The street railway companies and the employees, organized and unorganized, are interested in the gradual raising of the standard of the men selected for employment. It is extremely advantageous both to employers and employees in this industry, as well as to the community in general, that the men selected for employment should be capable and in good physical and mental condition. The safety of many members of the community depends in a large measure upon the sobriety and quick-wittedness of street railway employees. The tendency in this industry, as in some others, has been toward an improvement in the quality of the service. The caliber of men admitted to employment has advanced, the preliminary physical examinations required becoming more and more exacting. Instead of placing on the platform any man with a political pull, as was the case less than

twenty years ago, it is becoming more and more the custom to compel all applicants to pass rigid examinations, and to subject them, if admitted, to a training of about a week's duration on the average.

The work of street railway employees is thus being lifted out of the class of unskilled jobs, for which any man at any time is fitted, into a definite and specialized trade which will command higher wages and require shorter hours. At the present time this development is only partially completed, and upon many of the lines the requirements as to character and ability of employees are still low.

To a certain extent employment in the street railway service still retains a temporary character. Many men are attracted to it who do not desire to remain in the business, but who wish to keep their position for a few years until they are able to secure something better. On the other hand, the occupation is in large measure, although to a less extent than formerly, the dumping ground for temporarily unemployed men from higher and better paid positions. As a consequence, the personnel of the service is still largely fluctuating, and the tenure of position is still much shorter than that which obtains on the steam railroads of the country.

A more or less uniform system of admitting applicants to the street railway service has been gradually worked out. The usual method is to have the applicant first interviewed by the manager or some subordinate official, and if he creates a favorable impression, he is given a blank application to fill out, and an application for a bond for the faithful performance of his work. The application blanks vary among the different railways, but usually include such items as name, address, length of residence in the city in which the street railway is situated, nationality, birthplace, marital condition, age, height, weight, hearing, eyesight, color of eyes and hair, as well as other distinguishing marks. The applicant is also frequently asked whether his wife lives with him, whether he possesses a trade, what schooling he has had, what his former employment was, whether his life is insured, whether he is a member of the militia or of any benevolent association, and whether he has ever been arrested or convicted of any crime. The employment blank usually has blank spaces for the names of persons recommending the applicant. If the blank is filled out properly the applicant undergoes a physical examination, which is approximately the same for the large companies. Generally speaking, it bears upon the apparent age, the height, weight, chest measure, abdominal girth, pulse rate, etc., of the applicant, as well as such distinguishing marks as the color of the hair and eyes, and the general figure. Eyesight and hearing are tested, as well as the inspiration of the lungs, the action of the heart, and the respiration. The applicant is usually examined further for fistula, piles, varicose veins, and disease of the genital or urinary organs, as well as for vaccination marks.

Each railway establishes certain minimum requirements which must be met by all applicants, and usually a minimum and a maximum age at which applicants will be admitted are fixed. As a rule no person is taken into the service who is under 21 or over 40 or 45 years of age. A minimum height is also set, and certain fairly severe tests of sight and hearing are required. On the Birmingham Railway, Light and Power Company, for instance, it is required of each applicant that he be able to see with each eye one-half inch letters placed at a distance of 10 feet and that he hear with either ear the tick of a standard watch placed at arm's length. Heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver must be in good condition, or the applicant is not accepted.

If the medical or physical examination is successful, the applicant is usually turned over to the dispatcher of one of the divisions and put upon active work. For a shorter or longer period, ranging generally from one to two weeks, he is obliged to practice on the cars, and is also required to study a number of questions and answers covering the general rules and regulations of the company and the ordinary and usual management of the car and of its passengers. Upon these questions he is subsequently examined. Not until the examination is successfully passed, and the applicant has shown himself capable in the practice work, is he admitted to the service.

AGE LIMIT OF CONDUCTORS AND MOTORMEN.

The minimum age at which conductors are taken on is usually 21 years. This is sometimes provided for by law, in other cases by custom and by the desire of the company to avoid the charge of culpability for accidents resulting from the extreme youth of its employees. On some roads the rule is not inflexible, but is approximately adhered to.

From returns furnished by a number of street car companies, it was found that the great majority reporting limitations upon age, fixed the minimum age at which a conductor would be employed at 21 years. Thirty-five companies placed the minimum at 21 years, 2 at 20 years, and 1 at 18 years. A few of the companies raised the minimum still higher. Thus 1 company fixed the minimum age for employment of conductors at 22, 6 companies at 23, 2 companies at 25, while 1 company fixed the minimum age for employing conductors at 30 years. About the same rule prevails for motormen. Almost all the companies have the same minimum and maximum ages for motormen as for conductors, and the rules as to age, applying to conductors, may also be taken as applying to motormen.

The maximum age at which street railway employees, whether conductors or motormen, are taken into the service ranges from 35 to 50 years. The general maximum prescribed is about 40 years. In