The farmer and mechanic., 1915-05-04


work with cattle, and before the era
Of fences began they herded the stock
unon horseback They are poor me-
chanics. and about all Of the me
chanical work and hard manual ID
Dor are done by foreigners. Inc Itai
ians and Spaniards rave oulIl lail
roads and they are the masOns, car
nenters and mechanics of Buenos
Aires. They are good workmen, ana
their wages are less than those OF tne
United States. Here are the curEent
wages as collected several years ago.
They are but little higher today: Car
penters get from 81 to 50; stonecut-
ters from SO to $3.50, and ironwork-
ers about So per day. The boot and
shoe factories have been paying from
So to SO per day The marble works,
$3.50 for cutters, and the cabinet max
ers about SO per day. In the match
factories skilled laborers get W, IN
the machine shops and iron foundrles
about 25 cents per hour, and in the
knitting mills from 81 to So per day
Tvpesetters are paid from 81 to 50
a day. and those who work on COM
posing a little more. TailOrs get from
! 81 to SO a day, and cutters or hnlshers
| from $50 to $3.50 per month. The
| average working day is eight or nlne
| hours, varying as to the trade.
| OF late years the labor organlza-
/
and power; but they are still rather
political machines than trades unions
proper. They have no sick funds or
| benevolent features, and strikes are
generally short. The chief labor
unions are associated with the rail-
ways, and among them is Brother
hood Of Locomotive Engineers and
| Firemen. This union has made itself
| felt in a political way, and during the
i introduced
| into Congress to establish state pen
sions for railway men. All employees
are to be pensioned in case of acci-
dents of certain kinds, and after q
time they are to be retired with a
pension. The government is asked
to issue bonds to the amount OF $4,-
100000 as a guarantee that such pen
sions will be paid when they become
due and the government is to enforce
the collection of the taxes therefor. Il
the bill should pass the money fol
the pensions will come from a ten
cent tax on all first-class tickets, ano
a. per cent tax on all tickets COSTING
81 or more. All employees receiving
more than $44 per month will have
to give to the fund per cent of theil
salaries, and also one-half of the frs
months wages after the passing O
the act. The railway companies alst
are expected to contribute.
Outside the railways labor is prac
. tically unOrganized. Most employer
prefer to get their work done by con
tract, and this is especially SO in har
bOr improvements and public work
of one kind or other, where excava
tions can be done by the yard. Tn
contractor will hire his gang Of mel
! and he will be responsible for tn
work. Such contractors often hav
) stores and furnish food for the men
} There are also stores on the larg
/ eStanciaS, where goods are furniShe
to the hands and their value deducte
5 from the wages. Some Of the rail
} roads carry provision cars over thei
e lines under construction and sell eat
! ables and other goods to the work
: men, furnishing everything, fror
!, wine and clothes to jam and hard
tack.
The wages of farm hands chang
with the season. A man may pay 5
E cents a day for sowing and thre
times as much for harvesting an
!; thrashing. Wages are higher on tn
farms near the cities, and in the bac
= provinces they are sometimes as lo
a a as rs cents day. They always go u
at harvest time, when man may po!
q slbly get SO day, or perhaps $50
= NC Onth and his board.
Is The larger estancias have lodgin
" places for their hired men and the
s. have a common eating house. The
II have tenant houses and also mud hu
% and galvanized iron sheds scattere
" over the big farms. The poorer farm
a ers live largely in huts of galvanize
I'd iron, and they seem satisfied wit
ID homes that would not be tolerated
n the American tenant. The chief foe
Of furnished on the big estancias is mea
l Inn ofs ~ L.
Of employees. He kills one steer and tv
d. young sheep day. The steer usual
weights about 500 pounds, and II
IL two sheep $50 pounds. This mea,
ne that he furnishes meat to the amou
ey of 75O pounds live weight per d;
OF for 100 people: The gauchos are me
ny eaters. They have grown up on me
OF and when one of them takes tr
re he usually carries his food in t
" shape Of raw meat with him. VIII