The following table gives the membership of each of the organizations reporting:

The percentage of wage-earners belonging to a labor organization ranged from 5 to 100 per cent in different localities, an approximate average for the State being given as 80 per cent. The information. furnished regarding other items shows, in general, an increase in trades union membership and in the wages of members, and a decrease in their hours of labor since June 1, 1896, also a high percentage of employment among trade-union members.

COLORADO.

Seventh Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of Colorado, 1899-1909. (a) James T. Smith, Deputy Commissioner.

569 pp.

The contents of this report may be grouped as follows: Organized labor, 102 pages; wage-earners, 92 pages; strikes, lockouts, etc., 52 pages; arbitration, 10 pages; prison statistics, 29 pages; employment agencies, 29 pages; mine statistics, 20 pages; miscellaneous, 211 pages. ORGANIZED LABOR.-This part of the report consists of returns from labor organizations regarding membership, etc., and articles on national, international, and State federated bodies, and on the rise and growth of labor organizations in the United States.

The following table shows the membership in 1900 of 231 labor organizations in the State:

WAGE-EARNERS.-The chapters relating to wage-earners consist of returns from working people, a report on the collection of wages by the bureau, and articles on the unemployed, on wages, hours, and conditions of employment, with a table of wage rates, on home and social conditions in Colorado, and on Labor-Day observance.

The returns of wage-earners relate to the age, nativity, occupation, wages and annual earnings, stability of employment, conjugal condition, size of family, education of children, cost of living, home ownership, insurance, membership of labor organizations, etc., and opinions on certain political and social questions. The following table gives returns from 733 wage-earners for a few of the items of inquiry:

STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS.-A statement is given of each strike and lockout occurring in the State during the years 1899 and 1900. There were 34 strikes reported in 1899, and 33 strikes up to November, 1900. Several of the strikes embraced features of the boycott and of the lockout.

EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.-An account is given of the operation of private employment agencies in Colorado, and of the free public. employment offices in other States. Recommendation is made for the establishment of free public employment offices in Colorado.

MINE STATISTICS.-The total value of the mineral product of Colorado during 1899 was $48,320,341.98. Of this, $26,508,675.57 was gold; $13,771,731.10 silver; $6,170,765.53 lead, and $1,869,169.78 copper. There were 39,210 mine employees in 1899 and 40,111 in 1900. This comprises miners, ore haulers, and smelter men employed in and around metalliferous mines and smelters. The wages of miners vary from $2.50 to $4 per day, $3 being considered miners' wages at most mining camps. The shifts are usually from 8 to 10 hours. The coal output for 1899 was 4,806,879 tons. There were 88 coal mines in operation, employing 7,321 coal miners.

MISCELLANEOUS.-Other chapters of the report consist of articles or reports on agriculture, the shorter working day, education, immigration, population, employers' liability, and bureaus of labor statistics. The report also contains reproductions of labor laws and judicial decisions affecting labor, and abstracts from published reports.

INDIANA.

Eighth Biennial Report of the Department of Statistics, for 1899 and 1900. John B. Conner, Chief of Bureau. 829 pp.

The present report treats of the following subjects: Economic statistics, 130 pages; labor statistics, 81 pages; social, civil, and criminal statistics, 222 pages; the distribution of wealth, 97 pages; agricultural statistics, 73 pages; State institutions, 38 pages; railroad statistics, 73 pages; educational statistics, 15 pages; miscellaneous statistics and index, 73 pages.

ECONOMIC STATISTICS.-Under this head are presented the statistics of municipal and private ownership of public utilities as far as they relate to the State of Indiana; a discussion of the new law with reference to taxation, etc.; statistics of public expenditures, receipts, and indebtedness, and real estate transfers, mortgages, and satisfactions.

LABOR STATISTICS. This part of the report contains statistics of organized labor, coal-mine labor, wages paid in certain occupations; a report of the labor commission of Indiana for 1899 and 1900; a report of the factory inspector, and the text of two labor laws enacted in 1899. The information relating to organized labor gives the names of labor organizations, addresses of their secretaries, the trades and occupations organized, the membership benefit features, income and expenditure, etc., of labor organizations, and the wage scales, average earnings, hours of labor, and days of employment of the members.

The following table shows the membership on May 31, 1899, of 408 labor organizations which reported to the bureau.

Returns received from 306 organizations show the average annual earnings of members of labor organizations to be $577.72. They were unemployed an average of 78 days during the year. The prevailing hours of labor were 10, 9, and 8 per day in the order mentioned. Returns from 324 organizations show an aggregate income of $155,274.84, and total disbursements amounting to $126,224.50. Initiation fees usually ranged from $1 to $5 and the monthly dues from $0.25 to $2.50.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.-The information presented under this head consists of 92 tables, one for each county, showing for each of the 4 decennial periods, 1870 to 1900, the appraised value of real and personal property as obtained from the public records. The property owners are divided into 25 groups, according to the value of their holdings, each group showing the number of property owners and the proportion which they bear to the total population. A summary table for the State shows the total values for each county for 1900.

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