The Washington herald., 1908-03-01
RACE OF WAGES And LIVING
Workingman Is Not Bettering Him
self in Struggle for Existence.
Accurate Figures Lead TO COncIu-
sion that Necessities of Life
Cost More Relatively.

Percy F. Montgomery has made an in
teresting and useful contribution to the
san Francisco Chronicle on the subject OF
the cost OF living. His conclusions are
based on an analysis OF government sta
tistics which have been compiled with in
finite pains
: Here is one OF his conclusions:
From 1890 to 1893 an accurate and alb
solutely reliable record was kept Of the
wage and expenditure of 2567 working
mems families The results Of the COM
piled data are invaluable to the student
The basis for calculation was the ten
year period from 1890 to 1888. represented.
Of course, by 100 per cent. In 1890 wages
per hour we're 100 per cent on the basis
given. In 1893 the same wages had adj
yaneed 20 ll6 per cent.
I'm addition TO this ameliOratiOn of the
wage condition OF the workingmen. the
actual hours of labor dropped from 10l
per cent 10 q per cent. The price OF
food which is the key item to all caicu-
iatiOns as 10 cost OF living advanced
from l02 per cent 10 10 per cent. In other
words, organized labor advanced its
wages is cents TO meet an advance in
food Of 70 cents.
a Complementary element entering
into the calculation was the fact that fin
the period investigated the employment
OF men ran from 30 per cent in 1870 10 IL
per cent in 1905: or. in other words there
were l27 jobs open IN 1893 where there
were hu: - jobs open In 1890.
Since these figures are accurate and
since they are representative. II is shown
that the wage during the period ran six
points higher than the cost OF food. At
first glance il would seem that the work
irgman got the best Of it. There Is a
difference Of s cents between the wage he
got and the cost Of his food.
But there is another calculation at
hand which shows that he did not win.
The actual cost OF Iife's necessities. on a
wholesale basis (Which is the better Of
the two when wholesale and retail are
taken as standards. FOR 1905 and 1906
shows that food was only one OF the
things that advanced Since the wage
advance had 10 cover all expenditures,
the aggregate advance of food cost and
other costs wiped out the margin.
For example: Between 1905 and 1906
cloths and clothing advanced In the
twelve months IL per cent, fuel and
lighting > per cent. lumber and build
ing materials 90 per cent. housefurnish-
ing goods Il per cent. and miscellaneous
articles IA per cent. The total advance
for the period on necessities was Sc per
cent IN order that a Misrepresentation
may not arise as 20 combination of the
data covered between 1890 and 1909 relat-
ing 70 wage increase and the data in the
twelve months from 1865 10 1906 as to cost
Of necessities. being inaccurately grouped
chronologically. It can be stated that tine
advance in wages did not remain fixed at
six points above food price advance. but
such food price advanced between 1906
and 1906 12.4 per cent, as before stated
Thus il is clear that the wage did not
meet the increase in cost of living. And
il must be understood that I am consid-
ering only orga nized labor, capable, to q
large extent. OF protecting itself The
suffering caused 20 unprotected labor has
been great. since no appreciable per
centum of wage increase has been made
whatever. though the cost price Of neces-
sites falls with equal severity upon that
class