The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-04
in THE FIELD OF LABOR
TYPOGRAPHICAL WAGE sc,,Es
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
The Highest Price Paid I'm Da-
City Aiaska-LOcaI and Cen
eral News Notes.

The typographical Journal last January
set about 10 collect the wage scales of The
affiliated unions, and in the Nav number
OF that publication issues a sunpls,os,+
containing, in tabulated form, the scale Of
wages Tor all composing room emploves IN
40 cities. Out Of AS unions asked n sub-
nit wage scales only twenty-nine faiIed 70
respond. The table represents the scales
OF SS morning newspapers, 436 evening
newspapers, so weeklies and 466 book and
Job Offices.
Forty-eight hours a week is the general
working time Of machine operators and
composing-room employees, willis fifty. fopr
hours a week is the recognized schedule IN
book and job Offices. The reports give the
minimum scales in each city. but this does
not represent the actual prices raid. for
many composing-room employees, more tall
ented and better skilled, receive cons,d-
erably more than the minimum scale
Commenting on the prevailing wage scales
the Journal says:
Machine operators have heretofore re-
celved-and DO yet in many p~laces-higher
wages ana worked shorter hours than nand
employees. But il can BE said thar proof
readers, hOOrmen and admen now eniov
10 a greater extent than in the past the
same wages ana working hours as the
operators. We may well predict increasing
popularity for the scale which places ali
COmpOSlng-rOOm employees on an e~uuaIitv
Low machine scales Will be noticed i'm
some instances. Where the wages of ma
chine operators are low and their hours
Correspondingly long the machines in use
are other than hnOtypes. IT IS but fair 10
say that, outside of Canada. the minimum
wage for operators on Mergenthaier ma
chimes Is from SIS TO $50 per week OF forty
eight hours, while the minimum rate en-
other machines is from SL2 10 ST7 Cor forty
eight TO nfty-four hours. The linotype is
found where the volume of business is
greatest. wages the highest and hours the
shortest. Other machines lind a market in
the smaller cities, where so large an out
put Is not required and where lower wages
and longer hours are the rule. The Mono
line and Rogers machines are Used mainly
in Canada.
There has been an upward tendency in
wages, not so strong, perhaps, as business
conditions and living expenses seem to war
rant, but marked enough TO be worthy of
nOuce, ana gratifying TO those interested In
the progress Of our organization. The ad-
vances in wages vary from l cent per 1000
ems TO $3.50 per week, or approximately
from ? to 30 per cent. New unions have. in
several instances, doubled the wages of
their members soon after formation, while
the older locals have been content with
increases averaging about 10 per cent"
The report shows that out Of 4,766 ma
chimes in use. but 1,049 are in nonunion
newspaper and book and Job offices. and out
of the $3.50 operators the union claims 1904,
or 90 per cent.
The wage scale rises in the West and
generally IdlS IN the East ana MlOOle
States. and the scale in the South is above
the average. The highest scale reported is
IN Dawson City, Yukon Territory. where
the machine operator manages to exc
out an existence on $3.50 a month and
the hand men on S225 a month. For over
time the machine man receives SL2 an
hour. The scale in job of1ces-there are no
book ofices-is SOS a month and 81 an hour
for overtime In Skagway, Alaska, Homo
lulu and several cities in the Western
States the minimum scale is $50 a week for
morning newspapers. and particularly in
the West a scale OF $50 to 81 a week pre-
walls. New York city and Chicago both
pay ST.
The scale for morning newspapers in In
~dianapolis is 81 a week, and for evening
and weekly papers. $50. This Is the highest
scale paid in the State. Lafayette ranks
second with a scale Of 81 for morning pa
pers and HS for evening and weekly papers.
Muncie and Fort Wayne pay $50 a week for
mornings paper work and the next highest
IS SIS, paid in several cities of the State. The
scale for hand compositors in indianapolis
is $40 a week, $40 more than is paid else
where in the State.