The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1918-07-19


wages a. We did on ours. bat anyone
who has studied ths facts finds that
this 10 fallacy. In 1910 two-thirds Of
the people In CAemnitz lived In apart
ments Of three roo02p oe less. Chem
nits has Q population Of $4,000.
found In the New York public u
brary Interesting documents showing
results OF investigations Of Euro.
pean costs Of living. In Chemnitg in
1910 It was costing Q family Of SIX
persons between 81 and IS a week for
food. including beer to the extent Of
so cents. Meat, nsh. and sausage ng-
gregated $2.25.
These figures represented the plane
Of living of high-splrited workman,
very much better than the average.
Eggs cost ut the rate Of IS cents for IA
and coffee was % cents a pound. He
used butter, cheese, milk, and bacon.
and grew some Of his vegetables in his
garden. Sometimes the family ate
horsefesh.
Women Garry the Hod.
Food and rent together cost him
more than 50 week. For coal he
paid over SO n ton.
His income tax-and 1t was a time
Of peace, ACCOMPLISHMENTS to
about $40 to the state and munich
pality together, while his other taxes
were between $40 and SIS.
After paying for his living and for
such meager amusements rs he found
in an occasional visit to cheap show
or concert, or perhaps n trip with his
family to the park, he was able to save
only $50 year.
Every document I found, and every
statement made to me by Americans
who had managed great plants in Eu.
rope or had labored there, utterly. dis
proved the theory that European
wages were relatively as high as
American. For the average man to
get ahead financially In Germany was
practically impossible.
Certainly we don't propose to have
in this country any form Of govern.
ment contributory to the grinding
down Of our people to the state Of
hopeless submergence.
Now glance Mt Vienna, where women
were hodcarriers when the war be-
gan-and had been all along. I saw
them myself carrying bricks up long
ladders, and I was shocked ut the
sight.
In Vienna the skilled artisan usu-
ally lived in n couple Of rooms several
floors up. on an income that did not
exceed SO or 81 week. Most of
these workmen had fair-slzed families,
and for n group of five or six the food
cost alone was around $3.50 week:
and even then they sacrificed eggs and
butter. and. to n large extent. meat.
All the rest of the income ordinarily
was enten up by the rent, leaving moth
ing for clothing and general expenses,
and 1t was the custom Of these fam
lilies to take in unmarried men as
dodgers. With the stipend thus re-
ceived and ut a sacrifice of all ap-
proach to domestic comfort, 1t was
possible to keep away from abject
poverty.
Difference In America.
In Vienna plasterers earned $1.10
day. and plumbers $1.2O; painters.
$1.25 Orsless; pattern makers, $50
week; leather workers. toy makers.
bone workers. musical instrument
makers and tailors, a to S a week.
Blacksmiths earned So q week; brew
ers and millers 80 to 50; shoemakers
in factories. s. to "a.
These, remember. were skilled work.
ers. There were swarms Of unskilled
hands laboring from 10 to IL hours q
day for wages that ranged from 90
to 90 cents.
might 60 on citing these figures
indefinitely. The evidence is over
whelming. In America we have risen
SO far above such industrial condi-
lions that we cannot compare them.
The American workman, Us a class,
has asserted himself. claimed his
rights, and proclaimed himself a man.
There are industries. Of course. where
conditions are not all they ought to be.
but even here the same truth holds
good. However downtrodden any
workman may consider himself in this
country, he is a free man US compared
Germany and Austria. His oppor-
tunitles to get out of bondage are al
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 insurmountable.
Let us decide, then, once and for
all, that we aren't going to have Amer
lean industries Germanized.
To IAN AmIable Child"
A small monument reminiscent Of