Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-16

engines are of the toughest construc-
ton possible and still make them sal
able: automobile work which is COM
parable to some of the better grades
of work at the arsenal but not the
best grades; repair shops about the
city which repair such things as
thrashing machines and thrashing
machine traction engines, facing off
the bottom of lamp posts to make
them stand straight on the street cor
ner; repairing brewery machinery.
and similar coarse grades of machn-
lists work; machinists' work in con-
nection with making hand washing
machines; and the building of drill
presses by one small concern employ
ing only at most dozen men. This
may be considered fair comparison
for some of the work at the arsenal
but not the best, and a few die and
tool shops that do fairly good grade
of work.
Chicago Is Real Standard.
"'The employees feel that to confine
the wage investigation to the tri-cities
is not making comparison with a
grade of work that is anywhere near
ly as good as that done at the arsenal
and therefore, believe that the Chi
| cago shops above referred to should
be included in the investigation. Chi
| cago is the great metropolis of the
middle west and also its principal la
| Dor market for mechanics. The main
line of travel between any of the cit
| les within 200 miles of Chicago and
| that city. AS consequence, when the
better grade of workmen at the Rock
Island arsenal contemplate leaving
the arsenal they usually have in mind
Chicago as a place where they can
better their conditions of employment
as far as wages are concerned. Inc
shops selected by the employees in
| Chicago are principally those that were
used for comparison two years ago,
and the work in them we think COM
pares favorably with the grade oil
work done at the arsenal. Owing to
| the fact that the tri-citieS contain so
! few shops where the work is compar-
able we feel that Chicago being the
| labor market of the middle west that
that could we'll be used as basis for
determining wages to at least the eX-
tent of supplying One-half the data
to be considered The other half can
be supplied by the tri-cities and Sill
Wis. At least one-half of the work
| at the arsenal is superior to that done
by 80 per cent of the machinlsts IN
the tri-cities, in our opinion.
40. We are frank in admitting that
one of the reasons for desiring the
wage investigation to be confined to
| the shops in the tri-cities and those
! indicated in Chicago is that we be-
lieve the government should be mod
! ell employer of labor and be willing to
pay as good wages as considerable
number of other employers are oblig-
| ed to pay, and that the government
| should not endeavor to seek out the
cheapest shops in Illinois and Iowa
with which to counterast the influence
of the good shops. The employees
are, therefore, opposed to including
shops from a score of smaller cities
| throughout Iowa and Illinois where
as rule the same character of work
is done as that in the trl-cItles. Inc
management is undoubtedly not in
sisting upon including these cities be-
cause they differ materially from the
tri-cities but in order to bring down
the average wage by considering good
paying shops in Chicago.
Nav Meet New Conditions.
oil. The tri-cities have a popula-
ton in the aggregate of about 9l,0O0
inhabitants. There is not city in Hi
nois or Iowa outside of Chicago that
has as large a population as this. 1t
is even conceded by the management
that the cost of living in these cities
is no doubt less than it is in the TIL
cities. Large communities like the
tri-cities object as communities to be
placed on the same basis as small
country towns. Everyone knows lat
as towns grow larger they secure new
city charters to meet the new condl-
lions arising and naturally the me-
chanics in larger cities object to have
their wages set by standards obtain
ing in smaller towns. 1t is true that
the tri-cities are three separate CIT
les but they are so close together
that we're it not for the arbitrary
boundary of the states they would De
one city. For instance, most every
one regards New York and Brooklyn
as the same city.
"12. The management at the arsen-
al does not appear to object to the IN
clusion of Chicago for any other reas-
on than il will require an increase IN
wages to be given. There appears to
he no objection to using Chicago data
nroyiding a sufficient amount OF cheap
data is permitted to be used IN small
cities in Illinois and Iowa to offset
it.
i att is contended by the manage
! ment that Chicago is not the labor
market for the arsenal because large
nronortion of the men have not come
from Chicago but large proportion
have come from the tri-cities. Permit
me to point out that one reason lor
mon in Chicago not seeking employ
ment at the arsenal is that the wages
are not high enough to. induce them
IN leave Chicago. If wages were still
lower at the arsenal instead of having
/ a large portion of men come from the
tri-cities the only men that would
come to the arsenal would be from
among the very lowest paid machin'
lists in the state of Illinois and Iowa
Furthermore, the men that are hired
at the arsenal as rule start on the
lower grades of work and it is not un,
til they have been there a number o.
wears that they are able to do the best
grade of work. Very few men from
the tri-cities have started at the arsen'
al on the best grades of work, so the
fact that large portion of men come
to the arsenal from the tri-cities to
do the lowest grades of work is not ar
.I..a !. lLax q I'll hi