Cheyenne record., 1918-07-18

1Wu0 ~ w wv - v1Sss 201S
wAo A4s stndl1a ~ 1eets iNnds tAat
tAis = ! fallaey. u 40 %1othirds e
the poople In OAsmnitx lived In apart
msufs of three rooms o. less. OAsm-
nits has . popslatioa ok 2s70oQ
I found IN the New York pubaie y
beary interesting documents showing
results q invsstigAtioos II Dase
psan eosts Of. living. In Chemnitz -
1910 It was eost1ng family of sfx
persons between - and % week for
food, including beer to the extent ok
80 cent?. Meat. Ash. and sausage g.
sregated $2.25.
These figures Represented the plane
Of living Of a high-spirited workman.
very much better than the average.
Eggs cost at the rate Of 25 cents for II
and coffee was % cents pound. He
used butter, cheese, milk, and bacon.
and grew some Of his vegetables In his
garden. Sometimes the family ate
horsedesh.
Womsn Garry the Hod.
Food and rent together cost him
more than 30 week. For coal he
paid over 80 ton. =.
His income tax-and 1t was a time
Of peace, remember-amounted to
about $50 to the state and munich
pality together, while his other taxes
were between SO and $15.
After paying for his living and for
such meager amusements as he found
in an occasional. visit to a cheap show
or concert. or perhaps trip with his
family to the park, he was able to save
only $50 a year.
Every document 1 found, and every
statement made to me by Americana
who had managed great plants in En-.
rope or had labored there, utterly dis-
proved the theory that European
wages were relatively as high al
American. For the average man to
get ahead financially in Germany was
practically impossible.
Certainly we don't propose to haye
In this country any form Of govern
ment contributory to the grinding
down Of our people to the state Of
hopeless submergence.
Now glance at Vienna, where women
were hodcarriers when the war BE-
gan-and had been all along. saw
them myself carrying bricks up long
ladders, ana I was shocked at the
sight. 1
In Vienna the skilled artisan usu-
ally lived In couple Of rooms several
floors up, on an income that did not
exceed $e OF 81 week. Most Of
these workmen had fair-sized families,
and for a group Of flve or. six the food
cost alone was around $3.50 a week
and even then they sacrificed eggs and
butter, and. to large extent, meat
All the rest Of the income ordinarily
was eaten up by the rent, leaving moth
ing for clothing and general expenses,
and It was the custom Of these fam
lilies to take In unmarried men d.
dodgers. With the stipend thus re-
ceived and at sacrifice Of all ap-
proach to domestic comfort, 1t was
possible to keep away from abject
poverty.
Difference In America.
In Vienna plasterers earned $1.1O .
day, and plumbers $1.20; painters.
81. .25 or less; pattern makers, $50 Q
week; leather workers, toy makers,
bone workers, musical instrument
makers and tailors, "a to IS week,
Blacksmiths earned IS week; brew
ers and millers g to 50; shoemaker
in factories; % to n. .
These, remember, were skilled work
err. There were gwarms Of unskilled
hands laboring from 10 to IL hours Z
day for wages that ranged from O.
to 80 cents. stsgs Z
I might go on citing these ngures
indefinitely. The evidence IL over
whelming. In America we have risen
70 far above such Industrial condi-
| lions that we cannot compare them.
The American workman. as a class,
has asserted himself. claimed his
rights, and proclaimed himself . man.
There are Industries, Of course. where
conditions are not ali they ought to be,
but even here the same truth holds
good. However, downtrodden any
workman may consider himself in this
| country, he is free man as compared
| with the lower industrial workers of
Germany and Austria. His oppot-
tunities to get out Of bondage are a.
most. unlimited here, and depend on
his determination to study and make
himself capable Of better things. Over
there. workmen are up against caste
and customs and against laws that
are wellnigh insurm0untable.
Let us decide, then, once and for
all, that we aren't going to have Amer.
ican industries Germanized. IS
~ - - - 2
To ~An AnIabts5 lchIid.s &
A small monument reminiscent ct
old-time New York is often noted On
Riverside drive, near that somber me
mortal, Grants tomb. The little stone
is inscribed Erected TO the Memory