great industrial States, the conditions in the country at large are infinitely worse. Of the forty-seven States of the Union, not more than five publish good up-to-date wage statistics. These five are Massachusetts, New Jersey, Kansas, Oklahoma and Ohio. Of the remaining States, a score publish statistics of average wages only, which, in some cases, are so unrepresentative as to be valueless.
The really valuable State data,—and it is strictly limited to the reports of a few States,—will appear in the present study, which will include all of the scientific wage material furnished in the State reports up to January 1, 1911. The New York material is not used because, collected from trade unions only, and giving, therefore, union rather than general wages, it is not comparable with the material published in any other wage report, and not representative of general labor conditions.
This brief statement will convey some idea of the inadequacy of existing State wage statistics. It remains to consider the various methods of compilation employed, since good statistics, badly compiled and presented, are no better than badly collected statistics.
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