The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1890-12-18
SOUTHERN, ENaLIsH AND EoRrH
ERN WAGES.

We attribute the following extract
from the Dallas, CTrxss) Neps more
to hereditary inability Of Souther-
ners to understand the bearings Of
the American labor question than tn
. fixed desire TO mislead Its readers:
In o recent edition the Inter Ocean
attempts to glorify-Or, rather,
divert attention neutrality-suspicious.
high tariff plumber, by showing Q
small lot Of selected wants adv's"
from the Leeds Post rs evidence
that . few English servants are
willing 10 work IS cheap as $50 .
year aud board. Why, one might
see In the New York papers almost
every day offers Of capable servants
to work for 500 and less per year
with board, aud many Of them find
no chance to do SO.
In the South, where domestic
labor long was almost entirely ser
vile, and still 10 almost entirely
performed by sn ill-paId class whose
social condition IL held TO be infer
Tor, Il IL natural to suppose that In
states which are free In fact rs well
as In name, aud In which all kinds
Of labor are held e. be honorable,
good household help can be had for
"seo and less per year with board. /"
But the superstition IL wholly fsl'e.
We assure the Dallas Ners that
the rates Of pay for capable ser
wants" In New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago. and Boston 10 much as
follows: For first-class help. t26O
per year and board the rate being
IS per week. Good help can be had
at "a per week, t20s per year; cont
mon, at IS, or tl50 per year. But %
per week IL low; anything lower
than this is very rarely paid to help
which IL even approximate to
capable" Neither In the New
YORK nor In the Chicago newspapers
can the editor Of the Dallas Ne,rs
find advertisements Of capable ser
wants will to work for go per year
and board"
But II by chance one or two such,
might be found, among the multi
tude Of demands for IS, or "A, or 81
per week. the rare circumstance
would prove nothing. For the ad-
vertisements selected by the Inter
Ocean from the English newspapers
were not the lowest priced Offers Of
wages. Indeed one Of them vas the
highest offer made 10 o London jour
nal Of wide circulation. This offered
800 . year-less than 81 per week
Tor lady who could supervise nurs-
&c In . public institution, do plain
sewing, and act - matron. We sai6
that such Q lady would be worth nj
least $500 Q year In . Northern city,
aud we should have come nearer the
mark 10 we had said $500, with board
Of course.
We beg TO remind the Dallas Neps
that $50 per year is lees than sI-25
per week, and u our Southern con.
temporary supposes that any leap
able servants" they call themselves
"help ladies'" up here, can be had
for sl.25, or for twice that, 9 week, Il
will be astouIshed nightly n ever Il
sets up housekeeping In the North.
We also beg TO remind the Ners
that go IL the average wages Of
women working In English houses,
and we suppose that Southern wages
are not much greater.
Now, for the moral. Because our
Northern help 10 paid thrice ~ much
20 British or Southern help. there
fore u buys more and better clothes,
the purchase Of womsn's clothing
hiss . bearing on the price OF raw
cotton, on the price Of manufaetur-
ed cotton, on the price Of silk, which
capable servants" In the North
wear quite freely, and on trade gen.
orally. The money spent by leap
abl. servants" In Chicago or New
York on what In England and In
the Southern States are considered
luxuries OF apparel 10 very consider
able. But the Inter Oceans selected
advertisements did not include
household help only. The English
rate Of pay for plumbers, the Dallas
Ners may remember, vas sl.O per
day for ten hours' work. This may
seem large IN the Southern and In
English eyes, but the Chicsgo rate
10 - for Gig ht hours. IN the Dallas
Mere will compare the advertising
columns of NorthsFn psvspapers
nth fhoaa Dnhlished In ENGLAND oY