Semi-weekly interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1881-1905, 1888-10-26
TIE WAGES RACKET.
False Pretenses Of the Defenders Of the
War Tarin.


We are In receipt Of large number OF
inquiries on the subject Of wages. most
of which il is impossible to answer. as for
example; What is the present rate OF
wages In Belgium What was the rate OF
wages in Germany under the free trade
policyf What was the rate Of wages In
the United States before the war; What
is the comparative rate of wages in this
country and in Australian We desire to
do everything in our power to salts ~
seekers after truth. We look upon the
inquiries themselves as very hopeful signs
of the awakening of the people to the
momentous problem that will. for some
years to come, constitute the chief issue
in our national politics But in order to
tion, we must first know what Is the
basis Of the inquiry and what does the
answer signify.
The rate of wages" What wagesi
Wages are of every kind and degree,
from those of the street scavenger tc
those Of the skilled weaver who can pro
duce the Lords prayer on q silk handker
chief; from the stone breaker on the pub
lie highway to the electrical engineer,
from the boy who carries sheaves In the
wheat field to the gold beaten who pro
duces leaves of metal the 1871, 000th Of an
inch in thickness. Evidently 1.-The rate
of wages" is ss impalpsble as the milky
way. 49,.
But, it may be replied, we mean the
average rate Of wages. There is no
average rate Of wages. Professor Rich.
mond Smith. without any party bias. and
with only a scientific intent. has proved,
in series of articles In The Political
Science Quarterly, that the current tables
compiled and published by the grand.
mothers Of statistics in this country as
average rates are quite delusive. What
is the average rate of wages Of three boys,
four girls, twenty five women and seventy.
i've men, one foreman and two assistant
foremen, all working at different trsdesY
The usual way TO determine the average
rate is TO add up the total weekly wage of
all and divide the sum by the number of
persons. But what does this tell us?
Merely that IL the whole sum were thus
divided, each person would get a wage
quite different from what he does
get. But when we have reached this
useless result, we need TO know
how many nours the wage earners work.
and how steady their employment is, and
whether the unstesdiness of employment
is due TO their own choice or to the slack
ness of trade.
In order TO reach any useful result, we
need TO know especially what is the eff.
ficiency of labor-thst is. what any given
unit Of labor produces H. India, for ex
ample, grass is cut with pocket knife BY
men squatting on their launches, and
carrying jute bag on their shoulders in
which they put the hay crop by handfuls.
In America il is cut by hay harvester
drawn by horses, the driver sitting on a
comfortable seat. In Italy blowing Is
done by relays of men aud women using
wooden mattocks. In England it Is
done by gang plows run by steam
or electricity. An American work.
man turns out 33 per cent. more
shoes with a given machine than an Eng
lish workman using the same machine.
What can the rate of wages do for us In
such cases towards the solution of any
economical problemf Yet such cases are
as multifarious as the inhabitants of the
earth.
Again. the rate Of wages is different in
different parts of the same country. This
variation happens in the same trades.
The variation will sometimes run as high
as 100 per cent. Mr.. John Jarrett testified
before committee of congress in 1888
that the wages in western rolling mills
was from 80 per cent. to 200 per cent.
higher than in the Bethlehem Iron Works
Of Pennsylvania. We have quoted this
testimony once. We will quote 1t again:
Now ! want to say further that the
wages paid in that concern were in some
so per cent less than those paid
in the western mills. will go further
will say, for instance, that in 1882 there
was at least over double the amount paid
in western mills for rolling hands that
was paid in that mill, perhaps nearly
three times as much"
Mr.. Jarrett is we'll known high tariff
spouter. Mr.. Blaine is another. and he
told us, In his famous cotton goods re-
port, that the wages of cotton spinners
N Massachusetts, were higher than in
the other New England states and sheir
hours of work shorter.
Now, we ask again, what can the rate
If wages" tell us, even II we could resolve
hat milky way and bring it into our
tables? Nothing at all. Take I
he comparative rates of wages that are
now flooding the country from Washing.
on under the frank of "Bill" Chandler.
Here is specimen:
EnRanu. L. y. I
lotion mill hands. S4C0 S6.7p
Both figures are wrong, as Mr.. Blaine
,roved to us in the report already referred
%. But suppose they were right. Would
hey tell us how much cloth "a. 90 In wages
PRODUCES in England and how much in the
United States! Would the nine cents per
lay paid to the East Indian grass cutter
convince us that the American horse
mower, getting $3.50, could never com
,ete with him in the hay market? A few /
years ago an American citizen went to /
Brazil to restore ruined sugar planta. |
ion. The first thing he did was to I
louble the rations of the hands. They |
lad been half starved and were In con. |
lition of bodily weakness and mental |
nutiny. The result of doubling the pay |
vas to more than double the crop The /
was restored and became profit. |
bile TO its owner.
There are signs that the wages racket"
las nearly run its course, and that work. |
ngmen are beginning to see its hollow
less and inconsequential character. We |
loubt whether 1t will hold out thirty days |
onger. New York Post.