Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-25
i. s. WAGES HIGHER
THAN EUROPEAN
Report Shows American
Building Trades Workers
Are Best Paid.

Building trades workers IN the
United States are enjoying remen-
e,cusly higher wages than are similar
classes Of workmen in foreign countries.
according to a statement Just issued
b The Bureau OF Labor Statistics. De
r2rtment OF Labor Better still. wages
il this country have kept good Jump
81 2a6 Of the high cost OF living
For instance. data collected by the
bureau show that in l9@6--the latest
.-sar for which these studies have been
c7nclu6ed-for his hour OF labor the
r'crSer in the United States could buy
So per cen, more than he could buy
IL The pre-war year 1919.
The following figures compare wages
r. The United States with those N sew
Cgs. foreign countries.
The daily wage Of brlckiavCrS re-
T~gte6 for Austria Is $3.50, Belgium
, 3: France. $i.57, Germany, SlS4
snd the United States. ST. Sc
CarpenterS-Be Belgium. Sl.3S. C2echo-
: >yakia SIP: England S296: Ger
r-aay. SlS6, italy, 81 So, and the
tnned States, $l0i6.
Wages of Lahorers.
Ishorers in the building trades
Austria, SLIP. Belgium. 81 cents. Ger
r ~. 81 a, Italy. so cents Norway.
5 IS. Sweden $500 ana the United
s ties, S400
Wages were at their peak in the
Tied States in 1920 A combination
all wage data available, exclusive
c agriculture made by the Bureau Of
J Dor Statistics shows that in 1920
= ceS pei hour were 1874 per cent
! her in 1920 than they were in 1918
= :, depression Of 1921 brought the
rage down. and it dropped still
ser in 1922, but in 1922 wages were
I more than twice as high as in
since 1922 there has been steady
I ease IN wages per hour until in
S wages were 100 per cent higher
TN in the pre-war wear 1918 Sim
r. standardization for 1927 IS not as
available
While wages were high III 1920, 50
- cost of living, In 1920 cost of
J ng vas loa per cent higher than in
= 3 but because of the higher wages
T. worker was still 49, per cent
: ter OF in his living than he was in
1o'3 III other words, his hourly wages
ND buy 1872 per cent nore Of the
T @cSSities OF life than III 1918.
Living Costs Rise.
Cost of living dropped in 1921 an6
f. 1922. and rose comparatively little
n 70 1926 In 1926. with wages per
hour i29 per cent higher than in 1918.
est of living was only IS per cent
f'gher than in 1918 Thus in 1925 for
Rs hour of work the worker could buy
ST per cent more than ne could In
tl7~ pre-war year 1918.
Between 1926 and 1927 cost OF living
capped about i12 per cent
IN general the labor union member
feed even better than the average
worker The building. printing. stone
ard other organized trades working
Or time rates did not suffer wage
CT in 1920 and 1921 but did in 1922.
~ hen the wage dropped from more
tran twice the rate of 1913 to trifie
s1-ader twice the rate of 1918 From
1c22 union wage rates steadily in
c. oased up to 1926 and again IN 1927,
In 1926 wages per hour ct these or
r. red workers were $50 per cent
figher than 1918 and by 1927 they
--ere $50 per cent higher. Cost Of
I'~ing in 1927 was 727 per cent higher
than in 1913 Thus the organized
y -rker had a 43 per cent higher real
tncome in 1928 than in 1918, and
ts0 per cent higher real income in 1927
than in 1918.