Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1926-01-22
AVERAGE WORK DAY ALSO
DROPS TO new Low MARK
Government Gathers Figures Showing Status of Organ
lied Labor and Finds That With High Wages Cost of
Production Also Falls.

Rv International Labor News Service
Washington, Jan. 2o.-As .he
t,,,;, of organization, record-ofeak
a., productivity and refusal 10 accep'
aIaeffation' as a "cure" for anything
,,naTiran labor begins the year lszt
,'itb the highest level of wages II
sosrican history and the highest le'
al ~ wages in the world. Not only
MI hut the average workday Is
g" sbor,sr than ever before. Accompa'
nying this condition is cost oil NV
;ng fluctuating between rather naffo"
limits and without any extremely
harp upward jump. 1t.
These facts are shown in studies
maJs bv the United States Depart
ment of Labor. ,o.e
important wage increases Tor lsZo
have been agreed upon since lhese
studies We're made. -.
The labor departmnt went ih'o
lilies in all sections of the country ano
Isarned the wage scales which were
haing Maid to workers in represents.
1.-Two organized trades. A total OIL
zoo 600 workers are affected by these
,arons scales. Such a study Is, oi
curse. representative of conditions III
,bs country as a whole. The labor
dsnartment found that 1928 wages
asye 1913 nercent above the pre-"aI
lsvel of 1913. In 1924 they were lze
nerecnt above 1918, the highest lever
except the 1925 mark.
In its study, the labor department
also learned the number OF working
hours which make up a full week anu
found that there was STEADY ae
crease in this respect. Full time per
week was 7 percent less in 1879 than
in 1918. In 1924 it was 6.l percent
under 1918. When the advance tha'
tho eight-hour day had made even III
l9i3 is recalled, the full slgnlflcahce
q fthe increasing leisure which the
American worker enjoys can be better
appreciated.
Wages and Living Costs.
Advancing wages benefit those
who receive them but little, II at the
same time the prices OF the thlngs
which the wage Garner must puy III
crease in proportion. However, ao-
yancing wages are bound to make Tor
higher prices, if no other factors en-
ter in to hold prices down.
Along with is wage studies the Ia
bor department makes studies OF the
level of living costs. AS in the case oil
wages, it obtains from representative
cities the prices of such necessities
as food, clothing, housing, fuel, ete.
These prices are compared Wlth uie
prices of the same commodities III
1918 lust as the wage level Is COM
pared with the 1913 wage level.
The departments latest survey
shows that while wages have adVahe-
ed 1873 percent since 1913, living cosss
are only IA percent above 1918. %
the wage advance since 1918 Is heal
ly twice as great as the average ao-
vance in living costs.
The year 1925 saw previous recoros
for new construction broken and SO SO
the subject of building wages Is
worth consideration by itself. Like
the general wage level, the level IN
the building trade sis higher than ever ea
before. The 1925 mark stood l3o
nrcent above the level of 1918. III
1924 the level was l24 percent above
1913.
Cost of Production Drops.
It has already been shown tha'
while wages have been advancing
prices have held steady or in some
cases decreased. Various figures re-
ported by the government Indicate
that the price of building last yeai
decreased rather than increased.
Generally advancing wages make
for increased buying power on the
part of the public. This increased
buying power enablest industry t'