The Connecticut labor news., 1923-09-22
WILLIAM R. BASSET In Golfers the National Weekly.

In Golfers the National Weekly.
 Why shouldn't we ali have at least $l00O0 a year? What will it buy? Or what scale can a man earning that a. mount support family of say, five We'll, it depends on where he lives. sive place in the country. Ten thous- and dollars year in New York will to- day buy just about this: v
 CD Comfortable living quarters.
 @ Good, healthfu1 food with ar occasional chance to splurge into the fancier stuff and buy some indigestion
 (3) Enough good clothing for most purposes.
 (4) The chance for the wife to buy enough mechanical and physical aid to relieve housework of much of its drud- gerry.
 the theatre, and give the children ade- Quate education.
 GO An automobile.
 CD A limited amount, of recreation with or without fresh air.
 (8) Some insurance and little fund of savings.
 Is it possible to give everyone in every city or little town, if he works diligently, a money return which will have the same purchasing power as this ten thousand year in New York ]?
 "A foolish question: you say. Imme- diately comes to mind the great num- Der of your acquaintances who could not possibly be worth $10,0O0 a year to say nothing of the loafer nir1ding the street outside, or the elevator man at the office, or the plumber you had in last week and will have to have in again next week to do his job over again l
 The worl1nan-so you will say if you do not happen to be Workma1l-is getting far too much already. How much is too much? Ten thousand dol lars year used to be a very large income. It is still exceptional, but fve-thousand-dollar man twenty-five years ago. It Is by no means a luxury income; attention has to be given to making ends meet The number of dollars is not important-it is what the dollars will buy. I was given 50- million-ruble note the other day the Soviet Government has dropped off the six ciphers indicating millions because they take up too much room, and they have to use care in selecting the paper and Tn printing, lest the material and labor exceed the value of the motel THE END OF THE MONTH MARGIN.
 Right in our own country the effect of dollar as to purchasing power varies from year to year, and also with the locality. In Boston. nine thousand will buy as much ten thousand in New York; i'll Chicago eight thousand will give the same purchasing power. In Binghamton, N. Y., probably five thous- and will yield the same standard of liv- ing.
 Exact justice in fitting pay to work IS not reached by paying the same money for the same work regardless of locality. Payment must be in pur- chasing power If proprietor chooses to set up in business in a great city than in the country, then he must pay the penalty in higher salaries and wa ges. If the advantages of location in tfrc city do not offset the higher wages, then he has made a mistake The ideal of equal pay for equal work fails un- i less purchasing power be taken into ac- count. l have come across many men who, having left small-town job to l accept place in New York at a seem ingly higher salary, wonder why it is that they never have any money at the end of the month, whereas in the little town they always had margin. They are trying to answer the old conun- drum; "Why is dollar when it isn't ?" Drawing on my own experience in industry, 1 am willing to affirm that, making use of only the proved knowl- ( edge that we now possess, we could assure, to every normal adult who Is willing to work, minimum purchasing ' power equal to that which the ten-thou- sand-a-year man in New York now possesses. , One of the favorite pastimes of so-' cialed reformers is to draw pictures of, Utopia in which the maximum amount { of comfort is to be- had with a mini- mum of work. I am not social re- former. My business is helping people to make more money out of industries. I have found that the surest way not [ to make money IS to carry on your business in a petty fashion, to give as ; you can. High wages properly paid are the best assurance of high profits. There IS no reason why everyone should not share in all of the staples and i'll some of the luxuries which are produced. 1
 The successful American business