Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-01-29
A COMPARISON OF WAGES

Everyone knows of course, that wages in the United
States higher than in otner country OF te world
lie full extent of the advantage thus by Aer
workers not generally UNDERSTOOD because OF
tue difficulty of making fair under varying
conditions of employment and different forms of
rency comparison tna is highly instructive however
is published by Federal Reserve bank OF New YORK,
6ased on figures furnished Dy large American INDUS
trial company tna operates factories botn at and
abroad This makes comparison that is of particular
value because Of the fact that the reported
for precisely the types of labor, and in the pro-
ductlon of Identical commodities The daily average
rates reported for November and transact
ed into dollars at prevailing rates of exchange And the
comparison thus carefully figured out reveals TIE fol
loving average wage rates: For tle United States $3.50
outsiae cf Paris) $l24; Belgium Sll4; and Italy 80
cents.
The disparity thus shown in wages for identical
work is food for thought The bargaining of labor
not afford sufficient eApanatlon for British
workers thoroughly organized tnan our own,
yet evidently receive mucn less tor their labor One OF
the greatest single of the higher American wage
it is suggested, the fact tnat in production
very high proportion OF capital to aborn other words
that vastly more is done by machinery and correspond
ngly less by man-poWer. The productivity of the ndv
oua worker is increased not through our large
Of machinery but through readiness to scrap obsolete
machinery and Methods when sucn step cost
~ in to gain the advantage Of still efficient
machines and methods And this is characteristic
trait of American manufacturers and other large employ
ers.
Another reason for the higher wages in this land
is to be found small population uensity compared
VITA great natural Inc average number
Of persons to tie square mile in kngand, Germany,
age number tie United States is SO Iris few
competing for jobs fewer mouths to feed from
the territory and productivity for the ndvi-
dual workers. w still cutvatng only the compare
lively richer mines and still getting lumber
natural forests We not yet Lave had to cultivate
land intensivey Europe has, Ony recently tie de-
partment of agriculture very Illuminating study
which slowed tat in four European countries England
Germany, France and Belgum-the average production
Of important crops to tne in the years jmmed
lately preceding tne Al per cent greater than in
the United States. But the department found that
in the period the average number of persons
poyed in agriculture for every thousand of
land amounted to 235 in Italy, 160 in Germany, 100 in
France, los in England and Wales and only Al in the
United States.
While Europe in other words, economies in land,
TIE United States economies in labor. 1t is not wholly
coincidence tAat while British wages only about
40 per of American wages the United States employs
only 40 per cent many workers to given land
England does, and tnat while Italian only
one-sxth large American wages, this country
poyes only about onesiXth many to given land
Italy does Wages largely depend productivity
ind the amount of wealth produced per capita higher
in the United States than in other country in tae
world And the worker gets his share of this large pro-
duction in the shape of high wages Oshkosh North
Western