American Fork citizen. [volume] (American Fork, Utah) 1912-1979, 1920-01-31

for instance, with that of corn,
}. In 1914 the Iowa farmer had
} market in order to get the
fine pair OF shoes, and left him
few dollars for sundries.
"But how about the working man?
Let's start with the man who husks
corn for the Iowa farmer. In 1914
he got &c Il bushel for the work and
the crop was of such character that
he did well IL he husked one hun
dred bushels day. He had to work
twelve and a half days to pay for
S25 suit of clothes. Last fall he de-
manded and. in most instances, got
Sc bushel for husking corn. The
ears were so big and plentiful that it
was no trick at all for him to husk
one hundred and twenty-five bushels
| earning SO day. II took him just
ak days to earn enough to pay for "A
500 suit.
THE government tells us that the
average pay for farm laborers hired
by the month in 1914 was $2l.05 and
board. In 1919 wages went up TO a
minimum of $40 and ran even to 500
or sos In many instances. The going
day wage for harvest hands in 1914
was S155. In 1919 they were hard
to get at Sc day.
| Workers in the cities do almost as
we'll The Baltimore bricklaycr. who
In 1913 got 40 cents an hour, had to
work fifty-five and one na'f hours
to earn enough money for IA $25 suit
of clothes. Now he gets 800 an hour
and works sixty hours for $50 suit of
clothes. However he gets in lot
more overtime and is not idle nearly
so many days, so he is relatively bet
ter of than he was In 1913.
The New Orleans blacksmith in
1913 received 36c for an hours work
when he could get work. 1t took him
10 hours to earn his s25 suit. Now he
earns his $50 suit by working seven
ty-five hours at soc an hour and has
all the work he wants, regular and
overtime.
THE Buffalo boilermaker got 80 IL
an hour in 1913; he gets 72.5c now
The unskilled laborer in the building
trades at ST. Louis got 25c an hour
six year ago; he now gets ease. IL
Jacksonville. Florida. the carpente
who earned 81 then. gets Coo now. Ii
Chicago, San Francisco and some OF
her cities he gets $l00 an hour, witt
SO an hour for overtime: and so grea
10 Is the demand for workers that h
won't work unless the extractor per
mits him to get In a good many hour
overtime week.
The Philadelphia hod-carrier wa
content to work for 35c an hour 81
v years ago, but zoe is his wage now
e The Detroit maohinlsts' scale was 80
% but II Is now S5c.
U ITS this way all over the country
" The Dallas plasterer and the Brm
+" ingham plumber gets SLIP i-2 an hou
= with plenty of overtime at double pay
~ the Boston sheep metal worker earn
his soc an hour regularly; the ave.
= age hourly pay Of the rollers of II
= sheet steel mills of the whole coui
= try is S2.57 IL, and they work te
- hours a day,
~ THE prosperity of the worker Is I
W longer adequately measured by h
y wage rate per hour, Five years az
- work was scarce; u large percental
~ OF workers expected to be idle maj
" days in the year. Now there is d
VI mand for the service of every avail
able man in practically every trad
! not only for a or As hours week
y regular pay, but for many hours
" overtime at double pay.
y lis II any wonder that the der
VI and for clothes is enormous? Pr
v Queer and worker alike have mo
money, in proportion, to spend +
clothes than they ever had befol
20 They want good clothes, too, and a
~ creating an unusual demand I