davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16
Wages: The One Thing 7h9t H. Risen
Foster Than Cd III. C.. OIL.

body. Or he can read about who
should be roasted. That is the great
national pastime to-day. But up to
now it has not reduced the price Of
a square meal or a pair of shoes.
And reduction is what he wants
and wants without delay. How to
get what he wants is another
matter.
Food is the familiar offender in
prices, though clothing has taken a
bigger jump. You buy new suit
and wear it for months, while a
steak or chop or an egg must be
replaced, as often as mealtime comes
around by fresh one.
While the war was on cam
paign opened to save the best cuts
of meat for the army. Everybody
was glad to comply. A lot of people
found ways to cook cheap meats in a
palatable way. The lesson has not
been forgotten. Even now they are
not buying the prime cuts.
But here is the point: A porter
house steak before the war cost in
Boston about 35 cents pound; it
sells for 63 cents to-day. Prices in
other cities vary, but this will do
for an illustration. The packers
have been urging people, through
advertisements, to eat more meat.
Many will not; most will-when
the price is lowered.
There are vast stores Of food in
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16
From, Orerseas

The high cost of what we wear is
also blamed in part on the demands
from across the sea. Many man
is going to dig out his cast-otf suits.
If he is lucky enough to have any,
and have his tailor perform q magic
rejuvenation. He will have reason
to smile, too, for ready-made suits,
even at SEQ, will probably be of
poorer quality than the $50 suit of
five years ago. AS one dealer puts
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

It: Even with prices more than 100
per cent higher than In 1914,
quality Of merchandise is In many
cases inferior, especially in ready
to-wear goods"
In everything people wear there
ere large advances. Mems shoes
have doubled In the last five years.
Womens shoes have jumped 1871 per
cent; women's gloves, 1875 per cent
women's knit underwear, 1870 per
cent, women's coats, ll6 per cent,
and women's cotton hosiery. l04 per
cent. Many man will find that he
must part with double the amount
for certain things in his wardrobe.
And the end is NOT yet. Dealers all
over the country do not hesitate TO
say that prices Of clothing generally
are still on the climb.
There are other things besides
prices of food and clothing that are
lining our faces to-day. A lot of
men are having hard time TO keep
roof over their families. 1t is not
entirely a question Of whether they
can pay or are willing to pay top
prices for living quarters. In some
cities is next to impossible to get
something they can call home. IN
Cleveland, for example, over ten
thousand families are forced to.store
their goods. They cannot find houses.
They are scattered here and there.
wherever they can find a place to
sleep.
There has been little building since
the war started This is what one
renting agent says: "Rents for
people earning moderate salaries
have increased alarmingy. Il is
nothing new for people to form in
line at a. m. to inspect hou 6
advertised in the morning paners.
Many people have been forced to
buy home in order TO have a place
to live"
The middle American thinks there
10 great deal Of profiteering. The
landlord Is getting an uncomfortable
lot Of attention Property owners
have for some time been getting
lean pickings. They feel that the
time is ripe to get a larger return.
There is another factor to be
reckoned with. This is the wage
Garner who drew undreamcd- paw
during the war. Formerly he lived
in cheap quarters: now he lives in
quarters costing double what he
used to pay. he adds his toll to
the shortage of houses. In many
places he is renting better class
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

60, what has been the Increase in
the income? The wage Garner can
make the happiest reply. Not only
has he continued to eat regularly
and we'll, but he is the fellow who Is
buying player pianos and phono-
graphs to take the place of the old
guitar, and turning the woodshed
into q garage.
Again it Is the same authority
which supplies the facts concerning
the other side Of the picture. The
National Industrial Conference
Board has made a countrywide in
vestigation Of the changes In the
wage earner's income since the war
began and prices commenced to
soar. 1t tells exactly what it found
in report which is just out, called
wartime Changes in Wages"
showing what happened between
July l, 1914, and March l, 1919.
This report is broad sizing up Of
the whole situation 1t deals with
wages in the eight major industries
of the United States, including
metal, cotton, wool, silk, boots and
shoes, paper, rubber and chemicals.
1t gives a true picture of the general
wage situation.
Toges
From the beginning Of the war
to March l, 1919, the period Gov.
nred in the report, the increase in
.verage hourly earnings Of men in
the eight industries mentioned runs
all the way from "a per cent to ll2
per cent. For the same period the
rise in the cost of living was 81 per
cent.
In other words, the increase in
wages Of men was in every one of
these industries greater than the
increase in the cost of living.
The question Of whether wages
were what they should have been in
1914 was not looked into. That
was not the purpose Of the investi-
cation. The date of July /, 1914,
was taken simply as starting
point.
Women's wages also showed de-
cided increases during the war. 1t
is true the percentages of the rise
in their average hourly earnings
were sometimes less than those of
males. But they, too, seem to have
beaten the high cost Of living in the
scramble for the heights. In only
one trade were women's hourly
earnings beaten by H. c. of L. and
here they were barely nosed out.
All this does not help out the
middle American very much. His
pay envelope does not suffer from
obesity. 1t may be slightly plumper
than in 1914, but it will not buy so
much, and that is what counts.
SO far the only satisfaction the
middle American can get out Of the
situation is that he can roast some
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

As each item was worked ca.
explanations were made Mi.
Barnard said that she had founf
last year IN Brookline that an attic
room IN deeent-not luxurious
'arding house would coat her ST.
n1clua'ng board. and tAi. was .lis
count of - from nc regular nres
he teachcrs ,hvreupon decided The,
SO week wns suitable eatimat.
ihsre wns general agreement thai
>zsV year for clothing was q con
servative estimate, as was 81 n week
Tor laundry. Transportation covers
streetcnr fares going 10 and from
school and on her necessary trims
'ne lucent fare being the oasis.
Saving ten dollars month
until the teacher was eixtv would re.
suit, # the money were pruacn,.v H.
vested IN the sccunu' alton II iron
1000 20 SIS Geo. The taaahe, WI
began saving afser pasane thirte
End before reaching forty years Of
age would need TO lay aside hesweer
300 and si00 wear 60 accunufats
the same am~unt. After forty, 5000
would b needed.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

Il N IL ~Nt d To flNe feh fnIai't
keep up her interest ami
efficiency IN her work. and make Is
suitable provision for her old age
This was worked out By Miss Flor.
ence Barnard, "a teacher .n The
Brooklinc Mass schools. at meet
ing of the Massachusetts Teacher
Federation. described by The Bostof
Evening Transcript
To meet the cost z increased "a
aries. Ernest MacKcchnle. socrotar
# tho committee on salaries. sue
gested that investigation be mad
to see whether great corporatl .n
arc paying proper taxes 4.
Chicago Teachers Federation. 5
said. had brought suit against sf
tain corporations there md recov
erei g. geo n0N.
The budget Of the teachers wear
needs which should be co0udegel f..
determining her salary as uor4e
out by Miss Barnard AMI TIE 49,.
# the teachers is based nnon ftt
easc II the unmarried teacho, with
"ut dependents. Iho figures are Al
tcA4Nt.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

per cent; sundries, third, with
per cent; shelter, q close fourth,
with as per cent. The triplets-
fuel, light and heat-showed no
change.
The average man probably does
not know just what percentage Of
his income goes normally for this
and that daily necessity. The aver
age family. consisting Of husband.
wife and three children, will spend
about 43 per cent of the income for
food; rent will take Is per cent;
clothes will figure out around 10
per cent; 6 per cent will go to warm
the home, to light it and cook the
foed; theatres, fares, newspapers,
magazines, savings, and a host Of
other sundries will use up the re-
naming 20 per cent. This division
remains about the same, whether ap-
piled to an income in 1919 or back
in the days before the war.
Family Basis
How much should family have to
live we'll? There is considerable talk
about the American standard of
living. There is no such standard.
There are probably as many stand
ards as there are incomes and
families to spend them. The United
States Bureau Of Labor Statistics
says that if man is earning less
than 1900 a year his family is suf-
| fering from undertaking and under
nourishment. "This does not mean.'
the report continues, that the aver
age family is slowly starving. but
hat it is being maintained at a
lower than normal degree of health
md efficiency"
On the face of it that is q pretty
discouraging statement. But the re-
port does not regard the situation as
hopeless. 1t points way out, main
tanning that the most eificacious
remedy is not higher wages, "but,
rather, improved systems of dis
trbuting and marketing foodstuffs
and the education of the housekeep-
q in the art Of keeping house, with
emphasis on diets" This does not
mean that there are not as good
housekeepers to-day as in grand
mothers time. What it does mean
is that there is lot in this house.
keeping business that the average
housewife has never bothered with.
She has never made study Of the
number of Galleries the members Of
her family need in their daily food,
how much protein, carbohydrates
and fats. A properly balanced meal
cuts out waste and provides the
right sort Of food in the right
amounts. In these days Of sky
rocketing prices this is we'll worth
looking into. This is a straight tip
to the wise American. housewife.
With all this increase in the out
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

I Of home than the average salaried
man.
The situation has no precedent.
In some places, even wage-ea rners,
attracted to manufacturing centcrs
by good pay, are not always lucky
enough to find homes. In Akron,
Ohio, over $4,000 men have been
forced TO locate their families SO
far away that they can visit them
only on Sunday.
Theories
Everybody Is ready TO explain the
high cost Of living One man says
il is the profitcers; another blamcs
the demands Of labor. Roth may he
right. The government is on the
trail of the profiteers.
But profiteering is not at the
bottom of the high cost Of living.
Underneath are at least two other
causes which are usually overlooked.
They are lack Of production and
monetary imitation.
Lack Of production ia easily under
stood. During the war manufacture
ing for civilian purposes was cur
tailed A sharp cut was made m
delivery Of basic materials. The
biggest part Of industry devoted iss
facilities TO war work. Normal
conditions have not returned There
is constant demand for shorter
hours; lower output Ia the result.
People want things that they denied
themselves while the war was on.
The demand is big, the supply il
email. Many people want the
smaller number of things that are
being made. If many people want
few things the price climbs-and
that IL one Of the direct causes Of
high prices. That il what makes
proliteoring possible.
Monetary initiation is the other half
Of ths picture. What is imitation ?
1t is decreased Purchasing power
of money arising from the insreaee
of the facilities for purchasing
faster than the increase Of the
facilities for production. In other
words, there is large amount Of
currency IN circulation and II low
production Of the commodities re-
quired by the average family ON
which to spend it.
AS an illustration, consider shoes.
Owing to war demands leather
for civilian shoes has been scarce.
There is, naturally, scarcity
of shoes. People wnnt shoes.
Many persons have more money
than they ever had before. There
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

The National Industrial Confer
efee Board has checked up old H. C.
L. through each year and month
since the war began, and the report
I shows the periods of his flights.
The figure for ali items-73 per
= cent--is the record up TO July, 1919.
1t is higher by per cent than last
March; it has beaten the June, 1918,
mark by Ii per cent Take a diff
ferent slant on the mounting prices.
IN q four months. beginning last
March, clothing crossed the line first
with 10 r cent; food followed, with
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16

~
Since the beginning of
auar in Europe. IN August,
1914, the cost Of liulng has
risen 70 per cent in the
United States.
Whether or not the final
altitude record has been
reached only the months
AHEAD can tell.
a.. The item SNORING the
greatest increase is clothing;
1.-THE second is food; nert
comes sund11es;; and the
fourth is fuel. light and heat. j.
In eight major Industries
of the United States the rise
,s5m acoges of men has e1ceed-
ed the rise IN the cost Of ill.,
ing. their hourly earnings
.havimg gone up from II to
;1l2 per cent.
81 In the folioacing article the
facts concerning these aLl-im.
portdnt matters are present.
ed graphically and IN CON-
splete form for the first time.
s--Report Of the National Indua-
trial Conference Board.
~ INCE the war began in 1914
the cost Of living has gone
~ up IS per cent. 1t did not
- stop climbing when the war
ended. There is no evidence that
il has stopped climbing to-day The
nan who calls statistics by their
first name has no more assurance
than the lowlest complainer. He
can only hope.
:. The one certain thing about it is
that old Fl. G. L. is trying to carry
off all medals for altitude records.
"a.
Where have high prices hit the
hardest? Most people can rattle off
the answer: In what we eat and
what we wear.
=:
=. But most people would get the
order wrong. So much is heard of
the advance in food prices that the
popular notion has it that food leads
in the Upward movement. This is
rot correct. What we eat has gone
up 90 per cent, while what we wear
has advanced an even 100. Third
place, aside from sundries, in the
contest goes to the three-part com
bination, fuel, heat and light, with
en- advance of 81 per cent.
II. z
The National Industrial Confer.
.ence Board, the central body OF
American Industry, by the use OF
Its established research machinery
has been getting at the facts for
the benefit Of the country. These
have just been published in q re.
port entitled, Changes in the Cos,
If Living: July, 19l4--.July, l9l9.'
Five Leaders
- The report gives the people Of the
Omitted States the satisfaction OF
knowing just where they stand
Take the five chief items Of dali,
4liyine. This is how they look in 6
table. showing the average increase
What has come to each:
Nfv
= Per cent
Clothing ................. 100
-. =
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-11-16
Teachers Need
$500 Il Year

T LEAST Sl.s00 a yes
should he paid 81 ieaeaef
II she is to live reaeonati
l,o.... 49,, H.. t.......,...
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30
A FAIR CHALLENGE
r;dw. T. Barber


President Wilson Is reported 10 have
stated that II the Republican senate
refused to accept his league OF ma
tom plans he would DO forced TO run
for a third term. II the challenge has
sny Significance aside from a bluff at
the senate II means that Wilson and
his party leaders feel there IN no 9TH
er democrat strong enough to beat the
republicans. n the opinion OF the
Journal that the league OF nations Ia
not a party issue. since as many dem
ocfats as republicans seem TO be
against ~. while II In also true that
it's friends are drawn from the ranks
OF both parties II IL "a question that
Americans must settle for Americaand
u this challenge IL accepted and Wood
row Wilson can win "A third term on
that proposition he viii certainly bel
entitled TO his honors. for IN case he
fails TO win he viii so down In Ameri-
can history as the most dlscreditcd
occupant OF the White House Those
who oppose tho league should welcome
the challenge IA good faith for 1t WILDE
their best chance 10 line up Americans
a. for or against the surrender OF our
national sovereignty and take our
place as county In world nation.
beat the political life out OF Wilson
and Cob House on that issue then
tho spirits OF our illustrioua states
men OF the past who founded the Re
public and who fostered and built II
10 its present magnificent proportional
viii have ceased to stimulate Amtri-
cans to deeds OF patriotism and love
% native country. This challenge
comes through the voice OF Woodrow
Wilson but II will be championed by
Mooney and his followers. caminettiI
and his friends. the 100 slackera par
ioned from I.eavenworth prison and
presented with n discharge showing !
,n It's face az honorable record as !
hat OF the most vaiient soldier OF the
Republic. II viii be championed byI .
very foreign born citizen who can see =
n Il chance for his native land TO
cap an advantage over the United I
states Yes Il Is fair challenge and a
Mould be accepted u not by the re- 9
then by some other party .
or the people OF these United States =
re champlng the bits anr rnring in g
he air for an opportunity 20 express <
heir ideas on this matter and the y
ooner Il Is settled the better VIII
On viii take the gamblers chance and
Is'l Immortal fame or immortal ob-
guy
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30

Detroit is to have a World Peace Elk.
position in 1928. The necessity for
putting the date that far ahead is
Of course. apparent Detroit News
Looks as il the peace terms have
taken the germ" out of Germany
New York Morning Telegraph
Hindenburg line is beginning to look
like rope with a moose on the end
Wall Street Journal
Cermanys ambition to SCI en- that
was coming to her has. apparently
been satisfied Philadelphia INQUIRER.
The German spokesman complain
OF slavery" It was their slavery to
the Hohanzollerns that brought them
whore they are Troy Times
The World War has cost the United
states 0.5oo,0oO-Ooo to date More
reason for making peace that VIII
last l&ttle Rock (Arkansas) Ca
zettc.
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30
WE CANNOT GO BACKWARD.
Twin Falls Chronicle.)

| IL IL had been Intended that we
should not move ahead the Creator
| would have supplied us with peda
equipment so we might move back
ward expeditiously. But we were not
constructed that way. Our feet point
| ahead, our eyes are focused ahead, our
minds are attuned. to things advance.
We couldn't use the flint lock and
more than the hand reaper
Yet there are those who urge US
TO return to a primitive state in this
that they would bring about conditions
under which every man would be a law
unto himself, living in his cave of Adul
lam with stone hammer to enforce
his desires.
How otherwise can we describe the
motives of radicalism, of Bolshevikism
and their associated isms around
which gather the malcontent. the prof
essional agtator. the ne'er do WELL
the political shyster. the anarchist?
Their entire program leads backward
for II spells destruction of the institu-
lions builded through years OF toll and
thought substitution OF the cave ad
the stone hammer, displacement of |
brute force for law. and appropriation /
OF the proceeds of other peoples labor
and thrift at the will of the inner
circle OF cabalism.
The American people can no more be
induced to move backward into such a
wretched wilderness. into such a dis
NAL swamp than they could be Induced
to give up the binder, the motor.
their educational systems or tteir
'aith in Immortality
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30
cRooKEp LEADERS

Nampa. Ida. May 20 The latest move.
mcnt in the case OF the Non partisan
league newspaper here, edited by w. G.
| Scholtz. head OF the league in Idaho
| through designation OF A. c. Townley
be Tor a recoivership and accounting In
behalf of stockholders In the newspa D.
per company and prominent members
OF the league who are arrayed against
the radicnlisn OF the Socialistic crowd
In charge Of the party and the paper
and who have not been satisfied with
the manner Ia which funds collected
from the farmers, have BEEN handled.
Attorneys have been al work ON this
action for some time
One of the Developments according
TO the attorney Tor the protesting
stockholders Is that Scholtz executed a.
note 70 run for ten years as means OIL
acquiring control OF the newspaper
Action viii be taken TO have this note
set aside.
There viii also be disclosures re-
gardlng the bonds OF the newspaper.
sold 20 farmers but, as alleged. never
issued.
The revelations bearing on the oper- |
atoms Of the leaders OF the Non par
isan league have caused further en-
arrangement OF the membership and
has tended TO confirm the truth OF 9TH
" exposures both In North Dakota and
m this state regarding the workings OF
he Non partisan league leaders.
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30
nEnGER's plsGnAcE

Not since Aaron ffurf has the coun
Try been afflicted with such a sinister
states as Victor Berger Not that the
Wisconsin politicians ever viii figure
Ia history as prodlgiuusiy as the slayer
81 Alexander Hamilton Nothing rO~
mantle attaches 10 his tresiionable
adventures tie b. as colorlcss as the
=ocialistlc theories he made nst Of to
promote the cause II kaiscrism ia the
Emitted States
a, was to be expected that nsrger
would appear IN the lower house OF
congress- and demand his seat as al
duly elected representative from Wis
Convicted Of scdition. no would have
admitted his guilt and acqniesced la the
full measure of 0dium hsaped upon
him. had he not appeared IN the house
70 AK vindication His constant pose
has been that OF martyr he has
tried 10 wear the air 81 ont suffering /
for his opinlors y victim OF free
speech.
Iiui whether he REGARDS himself as a
traitor or merely as rebel against the
established order ne had no right to *
pcct congress 20 admit him 10 mcm-
hefship following his conviction. To
found his claim upon the votes OF pro.
Germans Ia district rteking with
disioyaily aud with sefsfie vanerationi
for the kaiser. was simply 20 deepen
hiE disgrace
Rising 90 a question 81 privilege on,
the first day 81 Tho Sixiy-slxth con
Eress. he demanded 90 be heard hut
was promptly suppressed Tho housedid 4
only What self respect required when
4 siionced him. HAD Il ordered the (
servant nt-arms 20 throw him out Il
Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1919-05-30
a CHANGE N MANAGEMENT

This will Introduce 10 the Journal
readers Lieutenant Ztno G. Reche
who win be associated In the future
with the publishing OF the Journal
Lieutenant Rcchcl Is "A college bred
man who has just returned from
oseraeas service where he won his
comu.lsion as First Lieutenant He
viii be commissioner Captain OF the
Journal office. especially that part OF
IL which comes more Immediately in
touch with the people and the patrons.
Ny energies will be given more to the
desk and shop work Lieutenant
Rechoi VIII add 10 the Journal good
share Of tho energy and puHh ne
oos~ary to make IL a bigger and better
local pspor than ever L has been In
the psxt
Edw. T. Barber