Occupation is quite as important as nationality, age, or infirmity, in determining what individuals in a given locality are likely to become dependent. The table presented below shows the facts on this point:
TABLE 117.—OCCUPATIONS OF INMATES OF INGLESIDE MODEL CAMP[269]
| Occupation | PERSONS OF EACH SPECIFIED OCCUPATION | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Per cent | |
| Laborers | 139 | 13.2 |
| Domestics | 85 | 8.1 |
| Cooks and cooks’ helpers | 67 | 6.4 |
| Housekeepers | 63 | 6.0 |
| Dressmakers and seamstresses | 44 | 4.2 |
| Lodging-house and boarding-house keepers | 30 | 2.8 |
| Nurses | 25 | 2.4 |
| Carpenters and carpenters’ helpers | 24 | 2.3 |
| Peddlers | 23 | 2.2 |
| Clerks | 18 | 1.7 |
| Bakers | 15 | 1.4 |
| Agents and canvassers | 14 | 1.3 |
| Teamsters | 14 | 1.3 |
| Waiters | 14 | 1.3 |
| Painters and painters’ helpers | 13 | 1.2 |
| Tailors and tailoresses | 13 | 1.2 |
| Miners | 12 | 1.1 |
| Cannery workers | 12 | 1.1 |
| Laundry workers | 12 | 1.1 |
| Sailors | 10 | .9 |
| Machinists | 10 | .9 |
| Shoemakers and cobblers | 9 | .9 |
| Storekeepers | 9 | .9 |
| Teachers | 9 | .9 |
| Blacksmiths | 9 | .9 |
| Other occupations | 362 | 34.3 |
| Total | 1,055 | 100.0 |
[269] Information relative to occupation was not secured for 101 of the 1,156 inmates.
The table reveals an occupational distribution of Ingleside inmates materially different from that found in the typical almshouse. At Ingleside, as in most permanent institutions for adult dependents, the laboring and domestic classes constituted the chief element, but the proportion of persons in these classes seems to have been smaller than is generally the case. Of the 123,647 inmates of almshouses in the United States in 1904 who were classified according to occupation by the census office, 59,119, or 47.8 per cent, were reported as non-agricultural laborers or as servants. The persons classified as cooks, laborers, and servants admitted to the San Francisco almshouse from 1869 to 1894 numbered 5,330, or 41.4 per cent of the 12,879 persons admitted who were nineteen years of age or over and had had occupations. It appears from [Table 117] that 354, or 33.7 per cent, of the 1,055 Ingleside inmates classified according to occupations were laborers, domestics, cooks and cooks’ helpers, or housekeepers. In other words, the proportion of persons occupied as laborers or in domestic occupations seems to have been about one-third at Ingleside, as compared with slightly over four-tenths in the San Francisco almshouse and slightly less than one-half in the almshouses of the United States.
These comparisons must be accepted with some caution because of differences in the classifications of occupations applied to the three sets of data. A reasonable allowance for this factor does not, however, alter the distributions in such a degree as to invalidate the results obtained. The figures cited may be accepted as indicating with substantial accuracy differences in the general proportions of laborers and domestic workers.
For the purpose of this study the chief interest of the table of occupations lies in a few groups which are represented not at all or by only a few individuals in the permanent institutions for dependents, but which at Ingleside comprised about 13 per cent of the population. In these groups were dressmakers, seamstresses, lodging-house and boarding-house keepers, nurses, storekeepers, agents and canvassers, and teachers. These, plus an indefinite number that might be added from the other miscellaneous occupations, were undoubtedly for the most part accidental dependents. They, it might also be assumed, would be likely to regain self-support if given assistance by the Rehabilitation Committee.
But the inference from the general information given in the foregoing tables is that, apart from this comparatively small proportion, in respect to age distribution, proportion of the sexes, social status, and nativity, the inmates of Ingleside Model Camp did not differ essentially from the inmates of the San Francisco almshouse. It would have been interesting to know how long these persons had lived in California, but unfortunately this information is given in only about one-third of the cases. Ninety per cent of this third are recorded as having been more than ten years in the state. Since applicants might assume, however, that relief would be given more readily to old residents than to transients, it is probable that a number of the unknown were recent arrivals who were careful not to admit the fact.
In the detailed study of individuals which follows, the cases are classified with respect to dependence or independence before the disaster and with respect to relief afterward. It will serve to show to what extent conclusions have been justified.