Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-01-27
AMERICA AND ENGLAND.

AMERICA AND ENGLAND.
Wages in the two Countries as Developed
by the Statistics Of the United States
Bureau.
The report upon "Labor in Europe
and America" by Mr.. E. Young, Chief
of the United States Bureau OF Statis-
tics, touches especially upon one i'm
portant economical topic, the purchasing
power of wages on the two continents.
The question for the foreign mechanic
or laborer who wishes to immigrate to
this country is not so much the rate OF
wages he can get here, as what the wages
viii bring, and it is an interesting point
for the economist what the true position
of the laborer is in America compared
with Europe. If we compare two manu-
featuring centers, such as Bradford, IN
England, and the leading towns OF
Pennsylvania, in this country, We find
the following difference,of retail prices
in leading articles of consumption and
in the cost of house rent and board.
These values are expressed In gold, for
the sake of greater convenience. The
laborer in Bradford in 1874 paid 1915
for his barrel of -four in Pennsylvania
81 for the same quality. The English
mans beef for roasting cost him q to
"a cents per pound, the Americans II !;
English veal, the best cuts, was "a cents,
the American 1S; English leg mutton
"a cents, Am rican 16. The great stand
by of the laborer, corned or salted pork,
was Is to 20 cents in Bradford, 13f In
Pennsylvania. Butter was "a to. 3S
cents for the English laborer, 35t for the
American. Milk and eggs were about
the same in the two countries.
In the above and other articles Of pro-
visions. it will be seen that the American
workman has very considerable advan-
tage. In tho cost of groceries, however,
he is not SO fortunate. The English
mans Oolong tea costs him from thirty
six to eighty cents, the Americans
ninety-one green Rio coffee is only six
teen to twenty cents In Bradford and
twenty-six and half in Pennsylvania. [
Good brown sugar costs the Englishman
seven to eight cents, the American nine
and three-quarters. Singularly enough,
coal is more expensive in Pennsylvania
than in the English manufacturing
town, being five dollars and sixty cents
per ton In the former and four dollars
and thirty-eight cents in the latter. In
dry goods the Englishman has no ad
vantage, his brown shirtings being
twelve to sixteen cents per yard, while
the Americans are thirteen and one
fifth the English brown sheetings are
forty-two cents, the Americans very
much cheaper, seventeen and one third.
Cotton flannel is thirty to thirty-six
cents in Bradford, only nineteen In
Pennsylvania. In prints, the American
has an advantage, his being eleven cents,
against ten to sixteen for the English.
Medium satinets are, however, much
more expensive In America. being fifty
eight cents to about forty in Bradford.
Boots are cheaper to the Englishman,
being two dollars and eighty eight
cents to three dollars and eighty -four
cents, against four dollars and forty
cents in Pennsylvania. In house rent
and board, the Englishman's wages will
60 about fifty per cent. further than the
Americans g, four room tenements costing
the Bradford laborer five dollars and
seventy-six cents to seven dollars and
twenty cents per month, while the
American must pay nine dollars and
thirty. seven cents. If single man, he
can board himself in the English manu-
featuring town for from two dollars and
eighty-eight cents to three dollars and
sixty cents per week in the Pennsyl.
vania town, if o mechanic, he must pay
four dollars and seventy-five cents. Ii
the boarder is woman, she must pay III
England one dollar and sixty-eight cents
to two dollars and sixteen cents per
week in Pennsylvania, if a factory
hand, three dollars and fifty nine cents.
It viii be seen from these figures that
the purchasing power of wages in the
two countries is not materially different
in regard to provisions, groceries, fuel,
and domestic dry go DDS, the low prices
of some articles in one country being
counterbalanced by the higher prices OF
other articles in the competing country.
But when the matter of house rent and
board is estimated, the Englishman has
a very considerable advantage, though
we suspect he gets less for his money,
that is, the American laborer gets better
lodging and food than the English.
If we compare, on the other hand,
briefly, wages in the two countries, We
find that the wool-sorter in Bradford re-
ceives S677 per week ; in the United
States, S1O91. A wool-washer, sos,
against S8.97 in this country. For
drawing and spinning wool the wages
are 1907 in Bradford, against 1851
here. The weaver receives $7.26 In Eng
land, against 1884 in this country, while
the overseer has only S7.56, against
S1S.05 in the United States. In VIC
mems labor, in WOODEN mills, there is an
equal advantage in this conntry, the
American factory hand usually receives
double what the English woman can
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