Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-11-17
A Tilt at the Industrial Question.

Editor henneDeC Jout mai
one of the questions that has been
most pcrsistently discussed by gpoiitieai
economists, and upon which there has
been wide diversity of opinion, Is that
which relates to the net wage income of
llaborers in this and other nations. One
class contends that the higher rates of
wages of American laborers are used up
by the higher cost of living, rent, fuel,
provisions and clothing; while the other
class are positive that our laborers are
Preserving larger net income at the end
of each year than those of any other ma
ton The subject has been most thor
oughly investigated, and each party
seems to have proved in many instances
on both sides Just what lie started out
to in the beginning. Many so called
scientists so at work in the same way;
they have certain theory and they go
to work to prove it, and seemingly do
So when if they had gone at 1T independ-
emily the result would have been far diff
ferent.
The most thorough and systematic in
vestigatlons into the subject seems to
have been carried on for the past tive
years by the London Board of Trade. IL
has appointed committees of experts ON
|
Investigations in Germany. France.
America. etc. and have made most COM
prehensive reports to the King which
have been published by authority of the
| English Parliament. The pages of the
report issued last April on conditions In
the United States are double the size of
those used in our State reports. so it
makes volume equal In size 10 one OF
our reports of about 1Io0 pages, so one
can see it is most thorough in its scope.
| have had a copy of the report about
six months but have not had time to ex-
anime it in detail until lately.
The committee had previously exam
ined into the conditions of labor in
France, Germany and other nations and
ihad found that the laborers In England
had better advantages than those in any
other country visited. so they naturally
approached the work in the United States
with the assurance that they would find
that their laborers had the advantage
over ours, as they did over those of the
other most advanced nations. As the
committee progressed with their work,
they We're much surprised at the superior
advantages which our laborers enjoyed.
THE social status of our laborers was far
superior to that found in any other
leountry. In the matter of food, that
fused by the laborers in the trades exam
Tined was as near as that used by the
business man in England as might be.
And While in the matter of dress a labor
ing man there can be identified by his
lelothes; here. they can not be told from
the average business man; and the same
may be said of the women of the differ
ent classes Also the homes and their
Furnishings were found to be on the same
superior level. As noted above those
conditions struck them as most unusual
and they concluded that our laborers
were practicing the extravaganza gen.
erally attributed to our people the world
lover.
The first part of the report deals with
wages While they found that in the in
dustries examined in comparison with
like occupations in England, our labor
ers worked less hours per day. they also
found much to their surprise, that while
an English laborer earns one dollar, the
American laborer at the same work.
earns 81. 40 in the same time. But seeing
the homes and their furniture. manner of
dress and recreations. and higher quality
extra earnings were used up by the in
creased cost of living. But when they
compared our laborers with theirs, in the
same industries, when the English la
borer spends one dollar for food rent,
and clothing, the American laborer
| spends si52. Or while the English la
borer earns 81, our laborer earns $40. in
: the same selected Industries; and when
| English la ont
living, ours pays out s152. as our laborer
pays s1.5o out of $40, leaving him a net
advantage of s. cents on each days work
as compared with the Englishman. This
completely disposes of the oft-repeated
statement that our ia6or.ass.-. vi t1e
Istandon Tines of April 18th in relation
to the report under consideration ana
lamong other things 1t says: Now, these
facts completely dispose of two widely
lcurrent misconceptions or misstatements.
One is that the higher wages admittedly
paid in America are all swallowed UP
and more by the higher cost of living
(which is believed to surpass the standard
of this country tEngland) in regard to
the necessaries of life by an enormous
amount, and to constitute an intolerable
burden. The present report explicitly
states the contrary at the conclusion or
a long, elaborate and extremely careful
comparison of the two countries. In the
: United States the report says much
I greater margin of earnings over cost OF
living is available, even when allow
ance is made for the increased expendi-
ture on food and rent. The margin is
!. | clearly large, making possible COM
munal of the neeessaries and conyen-
liencies and minor luxuries of life that is
both nominally and really greater thar
l that enjoyed by the corresponding class
in this country. 1t further appears from
the report that the advantage enjoyed by
this country (England) in regard to tn,
cost of food is even less than it looks il
: the summary comparison, A workman
/, living on the American scale only pays 2
a per cent. more for his food in the United
: States than he would in England. Mos
e men would cheerfully accept the condi
o ton of paying 20 or even SO per cent
y more for their food in order to get 10
o per cert more pay. And when the foo
II items are scrutnized the difference i