The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-08-08
Congressman COwherd Shows
Government Figures Recent
Iy Issued Are Unreliable.
ARE BASED ON RETAIL PRICES.
These, by Careful Selection, Made
to Show What Republicans
Wish-Railroads Ignored
in Wage Computations.

! Washington, Aug. 1.-ChairInan Cow
herd of the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee to-day issued ::
statement in REPUTATION of recently pub
liShcd tables from the Bureau of LABOR
relative to the increase in wages and the
cost OF living. Mr.. Cowherd's conclusions
are rs follows:
"In the bulletin on cost of living and
wages recently issued by the Bureau of
Statistics the methods adopted are as re-
markable as the conclusions reached.
Wholesale prices nave always been the
standard by which the rise OF fall of tho
cost of living has been computed. Had
Colonel Wright followed the customary
course of using wholesale prices he would
tables issued by Dun and Bradstrcet. both
recognized as commercial authorities.
"Dun's table of prices shows that from
July, 1891, the low point, to March, 1914,
the highest point. cost of living increased
- per cent.
THE most skIllful juggler could not
show such a rise in wages. Party necessi-
ties, therefore,, would not permit Mr..
Wright to use this table. and he dare not
refute it. So he adopts the shining, uncer-
tain and unknown standard or retail
prices.
WHOLESALE PRICES STABLE.
Wholesale prices are liked and stable,
the same in every community, with cost
of freight added. There Is neither stabil-
ity nor uniformity in retail prices. Coffee
sells in the same city for from 10 to 40
cents. tea from 20 cents to SLS0, best cream
cry butter IRON 10 40 ~ cv.Ita per pound.
"A bright field agent, selecting his stores
and localities, could find evidence In retail
prices to uppor any theory. This was
h. rra1 " Drtttnk sho D~-N 90 tt-tN~ rrT4.
reduced.
THE methods employed to raise wages
were equally as questionable. Everyone
knows that the greatest increase in wages
is to be found In those industries where
union labor Is strongest and where the
strength Of the union has been developed
during the period under investigation.
These conditions are peculiarly applicable
to the building trades. out Of the s.4g9
establishments selected by Mr.. Wright
for comparison, 1,l9e, or more than one
third. are In building trades. OF the re-
mainder, LIS are likewise in the unpro-
tected industries.
The greatest employers OF labor in the
country are the railroads.. and no other
erage wage. The railroads employ all
kinds Of labor, skilled and unskilled. union
and n~onunion.
RAILROADS EXCLUDED.
"In no other industry are as complete
and accurate statistics available. Each
railroad reports to the Interstate Com
merce Commission the total wages pad
during each year and the total number OF
workmen on June 30 of that year. The av-
erage wage is. therefore, easily obtain
able.
why were no railroad wages included
in Mr.. Wright's report? The answer is
apparent. The last report of the Interstate
Commerce Commission shows an increase
of railroad wages of only 3 per cent Tn
railroads employ more than 100000 men.
Mr.. Wright's figures cover 1852. Miners,
one of the next largest bodies Of labor
ers, also are omitted.
any one of these 116,S2 men received moro
wages in 1903 than in 1902 or any. other
year. II only claims to show the hourly
wage for these particular men has in
creased. In other words. had a mill raised
the wages OF its employees 10 per cent and
would have figured in Mr.. Wr1ghts table
as an increase In age
ut would a been Just as easy to have
selected an equal number Of establish
ments whose output, quality Of work and
number OF employees were. decreasing and
shown q reduction instead of an increase
In wages. Then. too. by making hourly
consider the GOO. 900 men now out Of EN-
ployment. BY carefully selecting his es-
Establishments. he did not have to consider
the 100000 men whose wages, the trade
journals tell us. were reduced In 1865 and
1904 from 10 to 30 per cent:
and his expert statisticians to one who
figures more skillfully and carefully than
he-the housewife with the market basket.
who must make her husbands scanty
wages cover the constantly increasing cost
of the family's daily needs.