New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-28
LAB0R'S PAY BEATS
CAPITALS z 10 |
Commission on Division OF
Peoples Income Says
Worker Has Best of 1t.
EMPLOYER GETS S299
AND EMPLOYE $500
Investigators Report Figures
Are Based on Working Condi-
lions of 100000 in U. S.

A Committee on the Division OF the
PEOPLES Income reports TO the VA,
tional Civic Fede ration that CAPITA
does not receive as much share OF
the products OF LABOR as iaIo :eis
Themselves receive. Investigation mo
the statements of different socialists
and labor leaders that one-hfth Oh
this product only goes 70 LABOR ana
the rest to capital is stated 10 nave
been disproved by the inquiry.
They find that capital receives mere
" one-third of the product o. Iaoor
and that the workers get the rentin-
ing two-thirds.
Before reaching its conclusions the
committee examines and analyses the
census figures on manufacturing, mines
and nuarries, the Interstate commerce
Commissions figures on steam ran
roads and express companies, and the
inarcial statement of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company
BELL SYSTEM. 1t states that these sta
tistics cover the labors OF more IMAM
ten million wage and salary earners, or
more than % per cent of the "gainIuiiy
employed" reported by the census ana
eert2inly the majority OF those VINO
work for wages and salaries. There are
or tate, and no important addition
could be made unless it were possible
TO carry out the same investigation IN
agriculture. In this field, which in 1910
employed 6,l43,799 farm laborers, dem
mite wage statistics are wanting. Inc
NOR, than 100000 farmers are small
CAPITALISTS as we'll as manual workers,
and consequently the relation OF wages
70 product in agriculture is dlfncult 10
ascertain. ,
"In 1899 the materials used,' the
report continues, "were equivalent 10
1885 per worker, and since the
products were valued at S2,42O per
worker. the difference, sl,025, repre-
sents the value per worker wnlch
manufacturing has produced"
Out of this added value the manu-
facturer must meet the miscellaneous
expenses of conducting his business,
which consist of payments for taxes,
advertising, rents, royalties, insurance,
travelling and the like, as well as his
payroll or labor cost before he can
! figure upon a share for himself. De-
| ducting the miscellaneous expenses,
there remained in 1909 fund of $3.50
| uer employe to be divided between
labor and capital. OF this sum $500. or
| 66.4 per cent, went TO labor and S299,
! or 1876 per cent, went to capital. But
part of capitals share must be used
for the replenishment of capital, and
| is neither interest nor profits.
II il is not true, as many nave
claimed, that the worker gets only
one-fifth of product, neither IS IT true,
as the Socialist leaders contend, that
he gets only one-half. Such proper.
ton is figured out by the Socialisi
Congressional Handbook before quoted
by disregarding all miscellaneous ex-
penses. But it cannot seriously be
maintained that miscellaneous ex-
penses incurred by the manufactures
are in the nature of return to cap
ital.
The report attempts to answer the
anticipated objection that some big
manufacturing induhtries are notori-
ously profitable, and says:
"How." it will be asked. "does Henry
Ford pay such big wages out OF sucn
returns as this?" But the Ford fac
tory does not and could not meet Its
present payroll out of such returns as
this. The figures above do not present
the earnings and expenses per worker
of the Ford factory or any other con.
spicuous success. They are general
averages for between 100000 and 3OO,.
O0O plants. big and little, efficient and
non efficient. The automobile factory
that was in the hands of the receiver
in 1909 had the same relative influence
on the census figures as Henry Ford's
factory. Henry Ford did not begin his
present system of paying labor, usually
described as a minimum wage of So a
day. until 1914. but in 1909 his bust
ness was prospecting magnificently.
The fact that it was prosperous and
that it is increasingly prosperous now
no more proves all other automobile
factories and all other manufacturing
plants to be equally profitable than the
Calumet and Hecla proves one copper
mine TO be as good as another.
II several Of the pioneer automobile
manufacturers had been Henry Fords
the result would nave been to lower the
price of the Ford automobile to the
! consumer instead of TO raise the Ford
wage schedule. The meaning of this
/ prof: sharing system must not be I'M
! deres.imated. II has made big profits