The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-09-24

OF mechanics 1 lived among them and
was brought UP with them. Masons,
carpenters, and cabinetmakers used TO be
paid 40 years ago S1.5O per day, that was
the current rate OF wages. Now the
wages run from $3.50 10 81 ] think 81 per
day n fair average for mechanics wages
20 day in the city of New York. In every
branch OF business. biacksmiths, engi-
neers, mRchinists, everybody that ! have
20 do with, are certainly getting ewlce as
much wages as the same class OF men
got fifty years ago. Now wages are rel
alive. II might be that twice as much
wages were not as much In reality, would
not buy as much as the wages OF nifty
years ago AS matter OF fact, the neces-
saries Of life have dimished in almost the
same ratio that the wages Of labor have
gone up; for instance, flour wheat in 1860
ranged from $l.S5 10 $40 a bushel ana it
ran along, fluctuaing OF cuorse with sea-
sons until 1893 il fluctuated between nifty
seven and eighty cents a bushel. Wheat
Is the best measure there is OF the cost
OF living. Wheat or corn is the basis
upon which all other articles Of food are
priced. Therefore, this enormous increase
of wealth has gone very largely into the
possession OF the wage earners OF the
world and particularly OF the United
States / have not time 10 construct a
spheroid which would show by lines cross
81 how this income is distributed am ing
che various classes Of the community.
how much OF II goes TO the capitalist,
that Is those who lend money or employ
labor; how much OF & 10 those who work
for wages or salary; how many there are
who get none of IT. the result would be-
however, that fully ninety per cent of
the entire income OF the United States
would be found 10 be paid out for labor
and salaries. About one-tenth goes 10
capital is one form or another as remu-
neration for having saved II up TO carry
on useful enterprises.
There IS a complaint that capital Is get
ting more than its share. and in some cases
81 undoubtedly IS But taking the
great aggregate of the business, capital
is getting a smaller percentage year by
year. am not now dealing with asser-
tons. These are facts deduced from the
actual statistics. Capital Is getting a
smaller percentage. year by year, al
though II may get in the aggregate large
amount each year than II got before, for
the reason that capital is the more active
owing 20 the telegraph and the various
labor saving machines which have been
introduced. 1t is enabled 10 turn itself
more frequently and therefore can afford
10 do the business for less rate OF re-
Enumeration on each transaction.
Take the railroads as the best example.
There were In the United States over
10000 miles OF railway on the first Of
January. The nominal cost Of these rail-
roads Is about nine thousand millions OF
dollars or nine billions OF dollars. Ii con-
stitutes about one-fifth OF the entire ac-
cumulated property Of the United States.
Now the returns carefully tabuiated and
made up TO the first OF January show that
OF this enormous sum Of nine thousand
millions Of dollars represented by bond
and stock the bonds earned on an average
tess than Ia per cent. per annum-that is
about the amount which savings banks
win pay for money deposited with them,
s0sss IA " spnposed 70 be without risk.