278 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND WAGES

In his new book on “Social Control,” Doctor John
O'Grady, Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University
 of America, says:!

Excluding the incapable and the handicapped, we find in
every city in the United States large numbers of wageearners
 whose earnings are not sufficient to maintain themselves
 and their families in health and decency. The situation
 is further complicated by the industrial hazards which
are ever staring the wage-earner in the face and which
threaten to cut off his income. At any time the worker is
liable to be incapacitated by illness, and from the very first
day of his illness his income is usually cut off. If he is
engaged in a seasonal occupation, he will be out of work for
certain periods every year. A slackening in the demand for
a particular product or a general industrial depression is
liable to leave large numbers without positions.
If we are permanently to improve the condition of the
poor and to prevent large numbers of wage-earners from
passing over into the ranks of the poor, we must strive
earnestly for better wage standards and the protection of
wage-earners against industrial hazards.

A compilation of the average annual earnings of railway
 employees for the year 1926 showed the following
striking distribution of earnings:

Annual Earnings
$2,200 and under $3,500
1,600 and under 2,200... ...
1,300 and under 1,600
1,000 and under 1,300
Less than $1,000....

yy + 4 1 a

a

Per Cent of
Employees
14.9
30.0
20.8
99
23.2

Less than one-sixth of all the railway employees, it will
be seen at once, were earning enough to maintain accepted
standards of living for themselves and their families, while
about one-third were earning less than $1,300 per annum.
1 Advance statement, National Catholic Welfare Council, Department of
Sacial Action, Washington, August 21, 1928.