Excerpt from Discussions in Economics and Statistics, Vol. 2 of 2: Statistics, National Growth, Social Economics Of course, the hours of labor, for summer and for winter, should be shown, and the number of months each establish ment has been running less than full time. Two other ques tions relating to labor, although not vitally important, would be exceedingly interesting and instructive, as tending to show the Ishmaelitish character of our industry; viz., the greatest number employed at any one time, and the total number of persons employed during the year. The difference between these figures and those which show the average number en gaged (the stereotyped question of the census) would present very striking and very significant results, both in regard to the quality of our labor and the habits of our people. That, after requiring these particulars, the schedule should call for the amount paid in wages during the year, is not one of the disputed points. The only question might be as to the form of the inquiry. That given above is preferable to cost of labor (as in since the latter is ambiguous, and is commonly understood to embrace the value of the labor of owners or partners when working at their trade, which is precisely what ought not to be included. Their remunera tion is to be derived from the profits of their business, and those are to be calculated from the difference between the united cost of labor, materials, and power, and the total value of the resulting product. It is of prime importance to oh tain the wages of the country, pure and simple. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.