The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-23
North Dakota Man Discusses
the High Cost Of Living

ner ton in wages amounted to $4,00O,-
900 the consumer was compelled to
. pay an increase of $13,45o,9eo OF q
| clear profit of over $9,OO0,0O 10 the
coal trust. .hot
I wish to quote from a speech that
Howard Elliot, president of the North
ern Pacific Railroad Co, made at bus
marck during the industrial eNpesltl9h
in September 1911. He claimed the
retail merchants of North Dakota hlaue
| more money than the rallroaas ulu'
| using as his basis n mile OF tFaek
costing about 100000 to construct anu
! taking a merchant carrying aeoNt tAe
same amount of stock. ~
Il have recently received the annual
| statements of several representative
| business firms located in the missouri
slepe country. The first engaged IN
the hardware business carried a STOCK
of sac, 900 about the cost OF one mis-
of track. The yearly business was
500, 600 and the net profit was 10 per
cent. The second firm is engaged IL
the dry goods business and carried d
stock of $4,000 or the value OF W.
miles of track. The business for the
year was $3.50, 900 and the net prohts
were 8 per cent. The third firm car
ried a stock of So 600 and did a busl- !
ness of $780, 900 and the net proht was
s per cent. The fourth carried a stock
of $4,000 and the annual business was
$4,000 and showed a net prott OF 1872
| per cent
This statement coming from the
president Of a railroad, a man VINO is
not interested in the retail business
but rather who tried to prove that the
retail merchants were making more
money on their investments than the
| railroads ought to be convincing may
the high cost of living cannot he lala
at the door of the retail merchants.
Compare their profits with the pTohts
Of the trusts and place the blame Whefe
it belongs. The very fact that the
government has started suit against
practically every trust, from the thread
trust to the great and powerful lun-
Der trust for the violation OF the Snet-
man antitrust law ought to convince
anyone that there Is something wrong,
1t is also claimed that Increased
wages paid to laborers has much 10 40
with the high cost of living, l ADMIT
that in our own state n POSSIBLY IN
our adjoining states that wages nave
been very high. In fac much higher
than in years past. But does TINS APP
ply to the eastern factories, canning
plants and other industries where the
bulk of the laborers are employed! AS
Investigations have been going on lor
some time, We will take the reports OF
these Investigations for our basis ana
see whether or not the high wages the
eastern concerns claim to pay be true
or not,
The Associated Charities have been
conducting it's Investigations of the
high cost Of living and the relative
low wages paid in ar effort to improve
conditions among the working people
At La Crosse, Wis, this winter the
fact was revealed that women were
| ,akkfnr % pantS mar dow and Girls from
16 to Is years Of age were getting ~
per week and had to work in the fac
tory two years before they got $3'5O
per week.
Investigations conducted at Wash
ington this winter as to wages paid by
the u. s, steel corporation in the
Pittsburgh district has brought out
the fact that 65 per cent of the en-
pIoyees carr less than the actual cost
Of subsistence of an average American
family. BY working twelve hours a
day and 365 lays a year this includes
Sundays) 65 per cent OF the steel
workers there earn SIS. less each
year thar the amount actually requlf-
ed for the bare cost of living.
MIR. Brandies, the noted Boston law
yer who assisted in this investigation
stated that in ten years the Steel cor
~poration had taken $3.50, 600, 900 in eX-
cess of a liberal profit on its invest
ment. The enormous sum or proht has
been used to grind down it's employees
to the misery Of their present condl
ton. 1t does not seem reasonable tina
these wages ought to have much to &c
with the high cost of living but nov
about those millions in eXorbitant
profits?
An investigation of the cotton anC
wooden mills brought to light the fac
that skilled labor was being paid from
80 to SO a week and yet they were
! expected to support a family on such
low wages. How does this compare
with the 81 per cent profit that is
proved that the corporations made?
After spending a month inVestigat-
ing the conditions, wages paid, etc.
in fifty of the canning camps in New
York, the committee reported the
most pitiful conditions existed bott
as to wages paid, time required t
work and houses provided to live in
Many boys and girls from 8 to /.
years old had to work 115 hours g
week for less than so cents per day
Women who were required to WORK
100 hours a week were paid less thar
81 a day. After describing the wages
paid, factory conditions and the filthy
conditions of the shacks where the
workers live, the condition of the wa
ter and sanitation, Representative
Denver of Ohio was moved to ask;
Did you see these things yourself?'
To which the chairman replied: al
statements are the result of our owl
investigation, some of the places arr
so filthy a pig would not feel at home
there"
/ could continue along this line and
quote extracts from many investi.
cations that have been made, bur
time and space forbid it this time.
may take up other facts later.
My dear readers | want to ask Il
4 these wages that the trusts and DOW
erful corporations pay appeal to you
How does so cents and 81 a day ant
board yourself compare with wages
We are paying in North Dakota? De-
you, for n minute believe that these
wages are the cause of the high cos
of living? On the other hand leoI
at the enormous profits that the trusts
are making. 1t is no wonder thai
when the government attempts tf
check them in their greed they car
afford to hire lawyers and pay then
$1,000 a day.
inadequate Authority.
qbipvfon Ctar. &C..