The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1906-10-25

lSiB ~ AN
Economies in the Catholic Semin-
airy at st. Paul, Mimi, is taken by
Buffalo Catholic Union and Times
as a subject for the following:
One of the most interesting books
for Catholics that has appeared i'll
recent months bears the title ga
Living Wage" and is written by
the Professor of Ethics and Econ.
omies in the Catholic Seminary at
st Paul, Minnesota. Prof. Ryan,
the author, has discussed very
carefully just what wages are
sufficient to enable a man to live
properly under the varying con-
ditions of American life today.
He has drawn up very careful
schedules of family needs and
some of hiss conclusions are indeed
striking. He considers that any
thing less than $500 per year is
not living wages in any of the
cities i'll the United States; that is,
under present conditions, and with
food and rent as expensive as they
are. it is impossible for Il man to
feed and clothe himself and his
wife and three children which is
the modest allowance, after CON
SultatiOn of statistic. that Prof.
Ryan makes for the number of the
Americans family on any sum less
than $50 per month.
''This is not all, however, Pro
fessor Ryan considers that while
5000 per year is probably sufficient
to enable a man to support himself
and family properly in the South
er States, where fuel, clothing
food and some other items OF
expenditure are cheaper than in
the North, this is not true for
most other parts of the country.
1t is possible for a man to live
properly on this sum in the small
er cities of the East and West, but
it is not possible for him to live in
the larger cities in the North with
out submitting to privations that
make life miserable, at least at GER
tain seasons of the year. Prof.
Ryan goes even farther and does not
hesitate to say that more than sixty
per cent. of all the male adults en-
ployed in urban occupations, or
probably seventy per cent. Of them
III all occupations, are compelled
to accept less for their labor than
this sum, which he has demonstra-
ted to be the lowest living wages
on which a man may support his
family with decencv.
Sometimes the old lessons of
catcchism are forgotten. We feel
sure that most children when learn
Ing by note the names of the three
Sins that Cry to heaven for ven
geance, thought very little of the
significance of the words which
they so glibly repeated. 1t will be
remembered that one of these sins
Indeed, it may well be called the
most important of them-iS de
llalidinS laborers of their wages.
ms looks like such a heinous crime
That ordinarily there would seem
TO be little possibility Of any but
The veriest scoundrel falling into it.
ohe OF the most interesting phases
81 modern life, however, is exactly
The nearness Of some of these old
lime sins or ordinary, every day
wing IN some of the phases OF our
social order that usually are con
>Idered to be quite distant from the
"Inger of serious sin.
LAS a rule, 1T is frankly stated
hat a man has a right to pay any
wages that he can get the people
TO work for. The law of supply
and demand is supposed to regu-
late matters of labor as well as of
commerce. A man may hire labor
Just as he may purchase materials
as cheaply as possible. There is,
however, in Prof. Ryan7s book
lutte enough to make anyone who
thinks thus pause before putting
such rules of conduct into action.
The laborer has a positive right to
a living wage. If he is deprived
OF that right to a living wage. II
ne Is deprived of that right an in
Justice is committed. If the depri-
Eat1on of that right he is paid
wages less than he ought to receive
he is actually being defrauded o