The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1919-06-06
rlany Families Can Show Only Sur
plus OF $50 At End Of Year,
Most Show Deficit.

New York, Figures recently made
public by the United States Depart
ment Of Labor were to the effect that
$4,000 is the lowest amount upon
which the average family can live for
one year at what is considered the
American standard of living Inves-
tigation shows, it was said, that very
little could be saved on a wage of
$500 year if the standard of hv-
ing was maintained.
In order to get reliable information
as to the average income Of the aver
age American wage Garner, the News
Bureau of the American Alliance for
Labor and Democracy communicated
with the officers Of number Of inter
national unions. While definite fig
ures are difficult to secure, the an
swers received make certain the fact
that if the standard of living which
the u s. Department of Labor bases
its figures is to be maintained there
must not only be no reduction in wag-
es, but there must be, on the contrary
4 further increase. In not a single
reply to the inquiry sent out was there
an assertion that the average wage
received would meet the cost of living
contemplated in the report Of the De-
partment Of Labor.
While by no means exhaustive. the
replies received are an excellent indi-
cation of the wages paid in the basic
industries. 1t is clear that the stand
ard of living of the average wage
Garner is not up to the standard CON
templated in the Department of La
bor's report
The local wage scales of the United
brotherhood of Carpenters and join
ers have just been published in the
official magazine of the organization.
These show that the highest scale for
carpenters is $770 per day. In not
more than six or eight cities does the
wage run as high as 81 or over. The
wage for cities is between IS and $6
a day. Even if all carpenters received
the high wage of $770 per day, and
worked every working day, there
would still be wide margin between
the amount received and the $3.50 a
year calculated as necessary by the
figures Of the Department of Labor
Frank Morrison, Secretary of the
American Federation of Labor, in re-
ply to the inquiry had this to say;
while numerous figures have been
compiled in various sections Of the
country by Federal and State author
tiles based on an investigation of a
certain portion of the employees in
that particular calling, | know of no
figures that will permit of an express
sion such as you suggest 1t is safe
to say, however that these figures
we're compiled and would include the
yearly WdSe u IHc mig ie'IOi WIN
ers, the seasonable trades, the thous-
ands of unorganized employed in To-
calities where the wages are low and
in the tenement sections of our large
cities, it would be found that the
grand average for one year is sur
prisingly low
Joseph F. Valentine, president of
the international Molders Union says
that the records of his office do not
show the average wage paid through
out the country. He does say, how
ever, that:
80 far as the question of reducing
| molders' wages is concerned, we are
today making an effort to advance
them throughout the country and to
establish the eight hour day, which
we should have had long ago
President Valentine goes on to say:
"As to reducing the wages of the
workers, ! will say that ! think il
would be the height of folly on the
part of an employer to do this now
as the cost of living is much higher
today than it was few months ago.
This reply surely does not indicate
that the molders of America are able