The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-04-14
Statistics Indicate an Increase
Of 25.2 Per Cent in Years
Time.
ALMOST EQUALS PRICE RAISES
Steady Employment Also Regarded as
Important Factor in Labor Situa-
ton - Railroad TeIegraphers
Get Advance---NeWs of
Workers World.

loSIsh kA the ldDUEeFS welfare. Va
equal Importance is steadiness of en-
ployment. Figures compiled by the
federal bureau of labor statistics show
that In the same establishments in ID
industries, IL have an increase of
employment over the previous year,
while the total pay roll shows an in
crease in every one of them. 1t is
this lessening of unemployment which
renders comparisons between the In
crease in daily wages and prices of
such doubtful value, says student of
labor conditions. More accurate are
comparisons between yearly earnings
difficult to estimate, must Of necessity
trail so far behind actual events as to
be practically worthless. Taking such
facts as are now available, with due
reservations, Bradstreet's shows a
rise in prices during the year of 25,7
per cent; the total pay roll of identi-
cal establishments Increased 43 per
cent, and the average wages of those
actually employed increased 25.2 per
cent. These facts do not, of course,
give complete picture, for wage in
creases have been very irregular.
While In some industries they have
been greater than the rise in prices, in
others, notably the clothing trades,
they have been very much less.
Advanced wages demanded some
time ago by telegraphers employed on
the Chicago Great Western, the ILL
nois Central, the Chicago and North
western, the Chicago and Alton and
the Chicago and Eastern Illinois rail-
roads have been granted. The in
crtases average 91s per cent.
The skilled employees at the sheet
| and tinplate works of the American
| Sheet and Tinplate company at Shar-
on, Pa, have received an advance In
wages. Tin workers receive per
cent and sheet workers III per cent.
About 1900 are affected. This makes
the fifth advance in wages since Jan
| uary 1. 1916.
Minimum wages for time workers
and minimum averages per day for
piece workers, with obligatory arbI-
| tration of differences between work.
men, workwomen and army contrac-
tors, are the means adopted by the
French government to put an end to
strikes In factories working for the
national defense.
| A state council of carpenters, repre-
senting about 5000 workers, has been
organized in Montana. It's purposes
are: To establish the statewide eight
hour day, minimum wage scale, fur
nish information regarding conditions
of employment and promote such leg
| islation as Is beneficial to workers.
Affirmation of claims of striking
women's garment workers in Chicago
| that they are paid low wages is con
| tanned in a report made by commit.
! tee of members of the Women's
1 Church federation, which investigated
| the books Of a number OF the manu-
facturers.
1 An expenditure Of $2,500,000 for i'm.
| Lruvements is to be made Immediately
4 by the Newport News Shipbuildine
and Dry-Dock company, officials said
following an announcement that the
| yard had been awarded contracts for
4 two battle-cruisers.
/ AS the result of referendum vote
! fine National Federation of Post Office
Clerks and the Brotherhood Of Rail
/ way Postal Clerks will amalgamate
/ The new organization win be known
| as the National Federation of Postal
1 Employees.
/ The Pan-American Federation OF
1 Labor Conference committee has is
sued a call to the workers of Latin
/ America to join In the proposed move
| ment to unite all wage workers of the
western hemisphere.
More than 250,00O women have Of
fered themselves for work in the fields
TO help feed the population of Britain
and combat any food shortage the
/ German submarines might create.
The Amalgamated Association of
Street and Electric Railway employees
| paid $2S5O3S.75 in death benefits dur
ing 1915. Disability benefits totaled
S7.40O and old-age benefits $4,000.
There were 100000 tons of coal
mined In 1916 for each life lost, the
greatest tonnage per fatality In the
history Of the United States.
Eldorado (Kan.) Painters union, or
ganized last December, has secured
the eight-hour day and substantial
wage increases.
| Switzerland, in proportion to its
population, spends more on poor relief
than does any other, country.
A recently devised ice-cutting ma
chine does the work Of 16 men and
eight horses.
Street railway men of London, Ont,
are again in the ranks Of the trade
| unions.
| Georgetown (Tex.) carpenters have
increased wages from 80 to So cents an
hour.
! Sweden employs over 10000 women
, In her clothing and textile industries.
| OF 1,732,612 people engaged in agri-
| eaisure In Bulgaria sT,406 are women.