Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-01-24

"On November 1st, 1914, while all
Europe was at war and we were not,
the farmer received on an average of
52.8c bushel for his potatoes. Fifty
bushels left him a. very narrow
margin over the price of a $25 suit.
On November 1st, 1919, he was get
ting an average of $1.53 per bushel
for his potatoes. The price of fifty
bushels bought him a $50 suit of
clothes and fine pair of shoes, and
left him a few dollars for sundries.
fBut how about the working man I?
Let's start with the man who husks
corn for the Iowa farmer. In 1914 he
got &c a bushel for the work and the
crop was of such a character that he
did well if he husked one hundred
bushels day. He had to work twelve
and half days to pay for $25 suit
of clothes. Last fell he demanded 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 $40. a
day. 1t took him just six days to
earn enough to pay for a $50 suit.
"The government tells us that aver
age pay for farm laborers hired by
the month in 1914 was $2105 and
board. In 1919 wages went up TO a
minimum of $40 and ran to even $50
or $65 in many instances. The going
day wage for harvest hands in 1914
was $1.55. In 1919 they were hard to
get at SIS day.
"Workers in the Cities do almost as
well. The Baltimore bricklayer, who
in 1913 got as cents an hour, had to
work fifty-fve and one-half hours to
earn money for $25 suit of clothes.
Now he gets $1.00 an hour and
works sixty-four hours for $50
suit of clothes. However, he gets in
lot more overtime and is not idle
nearly so many days, so he is re-
latively better off 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
70 hours to earn his $25 suit. Now he
earns $50 suit by working seventy
five hours at 80c an hour and has all
the work he wants, regular and over
time.
''The Buffalo boilmaker got 36.1c
an hour in 1918; he gets 72.5c now
The unskilled laborer in the building
| trades at ST. Louis at 25c an hour
six years ago; he now gets 62.5c. In
Jacksonville, Florida, the carpenter
who earned 31c then, gets Csc now
In Chicago, San Francisco and some
other cities he gets $1.00 an hour
with 5000 an hour for overtime; ano
so great is the demand for workers
that he won't work unless the con-
tract permits him to get in a good
many hours of overtime a week.
"The Philadelphia hod-carrier was
content to work for 35c an hour si>
years ago, but 70c is his wage now
The Detroit machinists' scale was
39c. but it is now 85c.
ats this way all over the country
The Dallas plasterer and the Brim'
ingham plumber get $1.12-A ar
hour, with plenty of overtime a
doublepay; the Boston sheet meta
worker earns his 90c an hour regu
larly; the average hourly pay of the
rollers of the sheet steel mills of the
whole country is $2.57-k, and they
work ten hours day.
"The prosperity of the worker i:
no longer adequately measured by hi:
wage rate per hour. Five years agt
work was scarce; large percentage
of workers expected to be idle man!
days in the year. Now there is de
mand for the service of every avail
able man in practically every trade
not only for "a or 48 hours a weel
at regular pay, but for many hours
of overtime at double pay.
"Is it any wonder that the demand
for clothes is enormous? Producer ant
workers alike have more money, il
proportion, to spend for clothes thai
they ever had before. They want goot
clothes, too, and are creating an un
usual demand for them"
| Burglars who believed a barrel o
vinegar to be whisky broke int
n 4