The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-02
John Mitchell#Points Out Where.
tile Advantage Is With Our
Men Who t
BETTER HOURS AND WAGES
The American Works Harder,
Gets Moro and Can Buy More
~ Than His British Brother.
BY John Mitchell. #
Especial correspondence Of the Timcs-,
III Dlspatch.l 4l .aI..s 81

& u .
5S INDIANAPOLIS. IND, Oct. LIT
. seems almost presun,ptuous TO make a
Compariso between American and Eli.
s. ropean labor conditions nftsrS. only a few
months stay In Europe. To carry out
such a comparison thoroughly and COM
n pletely would require many years Of study
Il devoted to this single object. No one,
Y however, who is Interested In labor prob.
n lens can travel through Europe without
Il being struck by certain salient. Important
a differences between American and Eu..
ropean conditions. 55t "a
One OF the chief difficulties In the way
L of making this comparison lies In the
I fact that in each country of Europe
q conditions arc different. There is a
3 greater variation between the situation
81 OF the British miner and the miner o.!
IS ssl esla than between that of the British
K miner and the miner OF the United States.
ii One can speak only In general terms and,
fscan give expressions only. to thosa I'M (
Z preston which are the most obvious and
Il striking. & 55
Americans Better Off.
IA Generally speaking, the material Eitua-
ton OF the American workingman is far
superior to that OF his European breth-a
i rcn. Although wages. hours OF labor.
NJ and general conditions OF work arc far
from satisfactory In the United States
Z
3 man in these respects is better thnn that
OF the European workngman. Wages.
mea sured both In money and IN what
Ii n oney will buy, are higher In the United
b States than In England, and arc much
higher In the United States ttan IN Ger
many, France or Belgium. The working
h day appears 10 DO slightly longer In the
United States than In England. and some
what shorter In the United States than
~ ing Germany, France or Belgium. The
y Intensity of work / Is much greater In
America than In any Of the countries
/ named, There Is less idnG. less david
ling, less ''soldierlng" and more precl-
average American than in that Of the
I Englshnlan. Frenchman,@ Or German.
h The productivity OF labor is also far
grcater#in tho United States. The aver
# age American workman produces & IN 3 q
day much more than his European bro
ther.6n and tho higher wages which the
American workman receives are, there
fore, fore often compatible With a lower cost
OF production than Is possible In Europe,
4 This greater output OF the American
wording lan is due to the fact that, ow-
Il inl, to his better nourishment and better
trimming, Us we'll ms to his better educa-i
3&tion,; no is able to accomplish more and
Il to work with greater muscular and sner-
L Svous energy. Moreover, the higher wages
Of tho American WorklNglnan constantly
4 stimulate the employer to Introduce labor
saving machinery and to effect economics
/ which are s. not at the expense OF ths
workman. In addition, the greater mai
.glral resources OF the country ana the
/ larger and more efficient manner y, y which
+ permit the American employer to + pa s.
" l,ighnrtIwages without entailing a greater
cost, whlei fact should be borne In mind
X when asthma Ing the allantag es and dis,