The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-10-02
STRUGGLE eUh S...SrENcE.


csst o. Living Has increased 20 Per
Cent In Ten Years.
The cost Of living during the past
lfteen years has becn rapidly increas
Ing In ten years Il has gone up 40
Per cent. This tendency will probably
never decrease very materially. While
wages have gone up they have by no
means kept pace with the living ex.
penscs. The increase In the rate for
tina skilled workers has been about 20
per cent. but the wngcs Of unskilled Ia
Dor have remained practically station.
airy. The greatest expenditure Ut the
average family h for food. constitut.
Ing about q per cent OF the cost Of
living. and it b In the food products
that the iucreased' cost has been great.
ct. The next largest item Of expense
b that Of rent. constituting about 20
Per cent. and that for clothing follow
ing With about 10 per cent Of the total
expenditure.
We need not discuss the causes Of
this Increased cost OF living. says the
Rev. Charles Stelale. There n very
wide difference Of opinion ~ to tho
reasons for the Increase. and no doubt
there n truth In all Of them. But this
fact remains-it n costing the average
worklngmau moro to live today than
Il did nfteea year~ ago. and his wages
are not ~ .Grcat proportionately as
they were ut the beginning OF this
period. II the rate OF production were
the one factor at work, instead of nu
Increased cost Of living thcrv. should
have been decline In the cost of liv-
Ing OF at least - per cent. The Amer.
ican workingman h the most highly
skilled workingman IN the world. lie
produces more than the workingmep
do In other parts Of the world. but
compared to what he produces. he II
probably the po0rest paid wOrkinGn1an
In the world. The question Of living
wage must necessarily be a relative
term. II depends altogether upon the
standard OF living which men set ur
for themselves. Tho living wage Of
the day laborer would not be living
wage for the average professional msn
But generally the term II employed to
dcsignats the amount upon which the
average worktngman and his family
suhsist. The average family In New
York city cannot i've comfortably on
less than $500 year. This applies TO
practically every other city. Less than
this amount lowers the standard Of liv-
Ing below the normal demands Of
health. working efficiency and ordinary
decency.
The wages Of the average worker in
the United States II $4S22 90 per an
mum. But this includes all wage earn
err, and Il must be evident that there
are large numbers Of workers who re-
ceive very much less than this amount.
u should be remembered that large
numbers Of wage earners are not per.
manently employed during the year.
In many Industries the workers are
not employed moro than half the year.
This applies principally to laborers.
who are more subject to casual EN-.
ployment than are the skilled work.
ere. but even among the trade union.
1sts about 20 per cent are unemployed.
cvcn during prosperous years. It Il
true that there II often more than one
wage Garner In the family. But the
measure Of mans wages today ID
not Determined BY his ability to sup
r:yt family. but rather by what the
average family % whole may earn
and this measurs b Tie margin 81
bare subsistence.
Drowned Fish.
~ - hAOA a ~ 60, 80