Norwich bulletin., 1922-07-03
BUYING POWER OF WAGES
 HIGHER THAN IN 1917

Chicago. July 2-The cut of about s15o,0O0,000 in the wages of some = 20O,OOO railroad employees, which be- came effective at the same time that a ten per cent cut in freight rates. amount Ing to about $400 0,0O0,00O, want into ef- feet, still leaves hourly wages, mcasur- ca Tn actual buying power above ire wages or December 1917, jus before the government control, according to ngures compiled by the United States railroad labor board.
 Machinists, who are among the shop crafts employees on strike, were cut seven cents an hour. They averaged 773 cents and now average -7O.3 cents. n 1917 the rate was 5o.5, tie new hour " rate being 59 per cenr. higher. Cost or living, according to labor board fig ures, Is r per cent higher than n De- cember 1917. The board figures the new hourly rate for machinists 19 per cant greater in real purchasing Lower than in December, 1917
 Ca:' men, cut nine cents an hour naw have an average hourly wage of A ceAts as compared with sf.7 cents in December 1917, the boards figures show. This represents net increase of 7f per cent in cash and an advance of 45.7 per cent in actual purchasing power ot the hourly wages. the board maintains.
 Average hourly earnings of maehin- ists, according to the boards figures, are Is cents an hour less than under the peak rate established by the i.aa1d in Bay 1920, but the zeal value $ fig ured as seven per cent grea+er due to to the drop in the cost of IivIng. Average earnings of cal men are fig ured as 16.6 cents an hour Iess than in May, 1920 but purchasing power IS given as 3,2 per cent greater for the same reason
 The S1S5, 100000 wage cut made ef- fective yesterday is divided as follows
 Clerical and static forces, $24,336.317 Maintenance of way structural and unskilled forces. s4s.s98.s73. Shop employees, s59,669s347, Stationary engine and boiler room employees, S551,954.
 Signal department employees, $1.5s2,- 42S.
 Total $134,sss.s1s.
 According t labor statistics common labor in maintenance of way in 1917 averaged 19.3 cents an hour. It was chopped five cents, and now averages S27 cents, an increase of about TO pel cent in coin and 45 per cent in buying power over the 1917 wage scale. Clerks in 1917, the boards tables show, re ceived 34.5 cents an hour average. Mos of them are cut three cents and now get 5S.5 cents an hour, this represent ing 70 per cent more than the hourly trate of 1917 and a purchasing value 0, AT per cent higher.
 Common labor around stations aver aged PA cents an hour in 1917. rost | to 521 cents in 1920. was cut to 43.i cents in 1921, and the new rate aver l age 39.6 cents an hour. This, the boart l contends, is 77.5 per cent higher thai | in 1917 and the purchasing value i l 51.5 per cent greater.
 | Signalrnen. maintainers and assistant | averaged 32S cents in 1917. Yesterday five cent cut puts the average at 64. cents an hour, the board says, this rep resenting a wage figured in actua money, 96 per cent higher than in 19i 1 and ahvfng a purchasing power 67 pc
 cent higher
 Stationary firemen and engine roor oilers averaged 21.S cents an hour i 1917 and the latest cut leaves thei
 earnings at 49.6 cents. This is an iri
 crease of 127 per cent in coin and is g per cent greater in buying power, th
 board maintains.
 The National Industrial conferenc
 board has made a comparison of tn 1 new wage rates with those of 19l4. Us
 ing it's own cost of living index.
 places the average earnings of the fou
 main groups, which had their wages GU
 at about 19 per cent higher than i
 1914, measured in buying power.