Cheyenne record., 1918-07-18
|. AaERicA FIGHTING OWN WAR
purpoes 10 % obviats the kalsse's
Denlnaaes and He Dsslrs -
esrmanl.e Our Industries.
By HOWARD MOTT WooLLEY.

In America II our Industries were
GermAnized. Optimism II Q mighty
flne thing, and 1t IL easy to say that
Germany could never get . foothold In
this country. Certainly we believe
that tnever can-and we are bending
All our energies to prevent such dire
pessi1eity; but Z little pesEmlm at
times may help clinch our purpose. 20
~ NJ visualize American Industry re-
diced to the German and Austrian
plane ase-
These countries-and I am speaking
npw OF normal times preceding the
war-lre amazingly different industri-
d1lx from this country eS ours We
can scarcely deny that the reason for
this Hes IN no small degree In the
dli1erenee In government6 Germany,
yith tn autocratic grip on all busi-
ness, Its secret ~ well as open ma
stipulation Of corporations, Its partner
ship 10 combinations. and It's military
dominance Of all industry and Of all
men, would strangle rs II she had the
chance over here.
Waare hghtine to keep her ont We
must keep her out, and in doing 30 We
fight our own war.
Not long after the beginning Of the
war ID 1914 I made some studies OF
European wages. It was too late then
to ret my data on the spot, for Ger
many, Austria and France were on
IRE and all industry was upset, but !
spent several weeks In digging
through oficial European documents
and In getting facts from men who
had been managing factories In Eu-
rope; also from workmen who had
been employed In foreign plants. To
see these men personally made jour
neys Of hundreds Of miles.
Wages In Germany.
Just before the war the normal
wages in Chemnitz. Germany, were ap-
! proximately these:
From $6 to $S a week for masons.
plumbers, painters, and bricklayers;
81 to - for plasterers; about $3.50
for gas filters: % to % for machin-
lists; 81 to s. for molders; about the
same for pattern makers; $6 for sad
dlers.
Teamsters worked for about dol
lar a day. In the textile trade wages
ran from 36 to 81 q week, and un-
skilled men generally received less
than "a week and seldom more than
IS. Municipal employees -dreY from
their local governments "A to % .
week.
Wages In Berlin were about 20 per
cent higher; also living expenses. 81
It is something Of 4 shock to the
American mechanic when he reads
such figures an these. Here In our
glorious \ America the contrast was
amaxing 1t that time-and would be
again IN peace times. But in war all
wiped batS reproduce below some
New Yet wages in 1910. four years
before the beginning Of the war. In
1914 some Of these wages were at
least 10 psr cent higher. gathered
the facts from oficial sources and
they are correct 9J44t;s .t
You may compare New York with
Berlin, though Of course You must
heavily discount these American
figures when you apply them to
smaller communities. You must alaO
take OF similar percentages when yon
compute German wages In the smaller
towns. ae4.et lt.ssg
In New York then. plasterers were
getting $3.50 day, and plasterers'
laborers got 1925; cement and con-
crete masons, IS, and their laborers
So; granite cutters, IS; boiler makers,
SIS, and their helpers $3.50; electrical
workers. $3.50; steam filters, $5. and
their helpers So; painters, "a; ashes
tos workers, $3.50. and their helpers
$3.50; elevator constructors, s.; sta
tionary engineers, $3.50; portable and
hoisting engineers, $3.50; cabinet
makers. $5; decorators and gilders.
$3.50; ironworkers. IS; slate roof
ers s..
Long Hours Of Toll. s.;si1asll
IN 2Chemnitx about this time news
paper competitors received something
like $14 "a week. In New York the
union scale at that time on morning
newspapers was $31 q week, while
bookwork paid $21. At the time my
figures were gathered, in 1915. news
paper compositors in NewYork were
getting from IS to 50 day. accord
ing to the shift on which they work
ed. Book competitors drew ~ te -
day.
You must remember that the New
York wages4 have cited were pAfd fer
8 hours work, while In Germany the
dayswas usually from Q to 10 hours.
Among authoritativss data that had
pesi- sathered. IN Germany in 1893 I
fouz1d 4 SanvaSs II 6yO4e wofkihtmlh's
fAmaes, shoyins fAaks ealx M ihaA.I
incomes reaching 80 week. 10 ar
sivs at I fhir estimate Of wass sea1es