The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-12-25
THE WAGE WORKERS.
Secretary Frelinghuysen's Report o
Labor In


WASHINGTON. December 21.-Sec-
tary Frelinghuysen seIt a voluminous
letter to the house of representatives
Saturday evening, containing reports
from the consuls of the United States,
in relation to the state Of labor in
Europe. In his remarks the secretary
SAYS: British results are principally
selected for comparisons, as English
wages are. generally speaking, the
highest in Europe, and English trade
conditions have more in common with
American CUSTOMS and uSageS than
those of other countries" He says:
ut appears by comparing the cities of
Europe with those in the United
States, that bTick-IaSeIS and masOns
IN Chicago are paid nearly three times
the wages; plasterers nearly four
times; skaters three times; plumbers
nearly three times; carpenters twice;
biacksmiths twice; boz k-biuders more
than twice; brick-m makers nearly three
times; brass founders and cabinet
makers nearly twice; confe ction-
ers twice; cigar makers nearly
three times; coopers one and
sters and street railway drivers, near
: - b"ANNs eng AoNNAos hN'tiAy ShANC
/ times; furrieTs, twice; horseshOers,
three and one-half times jewellers,
more than one and one-half times;
! iaborers, porters, etc, more than
twice; photographers, three times;
telegraph operators, twice and one
half; sailmakeTS. more than twice;
printers, twice and one-half; sa diers
and harness makers, more than one
and one-half times; stevedoTes, more
than twice and one-fourth times;
tailors, twice, and tinsmiths, one and
thfee-tourths the wages paid to SINH
lar trades and callings in London"
Relative to the prices OF necess aries
of life, the secretary says: at is fire.
quently asserted that the cheapness of
living in Europe more than equliZes
the lower wages there paid. In a
volume on labor in Europe, publish ed
by this department in 1876, it was
shown that prices Of food in the
United States were actually lower
than in Europe, and that the working
classes in the United States could pur-
chase more and better for dollar for
dollar than the working classes of
any country in Europe. The
contrary impression is probably
due to the fact that the
working people CT Europe live more
cheaply than the working people OF
the United States, from which it is in
ferred that the purchasing power 0i
their wages is greater than the pun
chasing power of similar wages here
It.appears from the reports that tht
American workman consumes more
, and better food than mechanics or Ia
! oh oo1 fhnf hn n
, this food is as small as it is in Europe
, IL should he borne in mind in making
comparison that better classes o
! food, such as beef, mutton, veal, but
, ter and rice, are not only for the mos
part cheaper in the great cities in tn,
! United States than in Europe, bu
they are here daily as necessaries TO
= the daily meal of the better grade o
' skilled workmen, and are rarely alb
: sent from some one meal of the day
and are often present at the morning
and evening medj, while concurren
testimony is that even to the best PAL
g working classes in Europe the
s are in the main luxurles which ar
f seldom enjoyed. The lower classes i
j. bread, so that even wheat -four an
= WlLcdO DlSou may DO OCO CtoluC dS Iui
Il ishing no sufficient base for compar
n son. The working classes in Eurol
I. live mainly on black rye bread, poti
n soups, and lard and olive OIL of To-
D. grade take the place Of butter.
d House rent in Europe is appaTentl
d lower than here, but. the habitatioI
" are usually inferior to these 10 tt
y | Tinted In nnnIoa Of ~
r. most thriving industrial centerS
y, !, Europe, 1870 persons live in S62 housl
- of one room each, and 74,374 person
live in 16,187 houses of two room
each.
Of the workingmen's homes
u Manchester, Consul Shaw says: Gre;
20 numbers of houses, visited by m
Is contained only one living room, an
IL room, Sitting-room, and, in some IL
D. tsances, also as bedroom. The que
ton of artisans dwellings in Gree
s. Britain has, of late years, attracted
very large share of public and legi
II lative attention, and in no country
y the world has the general movemeI
8 in the direction of amelioration bee
10 more earnest and more successful. o
l, the continent, where the condition
II of life are not only widely differeI
oG from these in England, but exhib
II wide contrasts in several countrie
II and even in several local districts
the same country, and the opportun
ties for identical comparison wit
r analogous conditions in the Unite
States are rare, and the tables relatiN
p to rent do not afford trustworth
d means of estimating the results. The
I'd or here the question IS one of localit
D. and the amount of physical comic
N obtainable by individuals. measure
as much by the locality to purchai
d. and extent of demand as by the natu
q, of accommodation offered, while bot
n are influenced and controlled by Ct
matte influences and by national habi
d, and traditions.