Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-04
PURCHASING POWER
| IS TEST OF WAGES
international Labor Office in
Geneva Complies Statistics
on World Scales.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

BY JOHN r. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 4.-The Ma
tional Industrial Conference Board
brought out recently that while the
purchasing power Of industrial workers
in the United States was greater than
OF workers abroad, and during 1928, on
the basis of hourly earnings, was A per
cent greater than before the war, and
on the basis of weekly earnings IS per
cent greater, the relative increase in the
purchasing power Of wages in some
in some instances even exceeds the cor
responding increase in America.
So you see 1t depends on other things
than the wage return. The commodity
price level and rents are two important
elements. Real" wages are based on
purchasing power. Workers through
out the world are familiar with this
problem.
Take Denmark. The purchasing power
OF wages there on the basis of hourly
earnings in 1923 had increased 46 per
cent over 1914, as against the American
increase OF A per cent. The increase in
the real wages of Danish unskilled
workers on the same basis advanced SIS
per cent as against only so per cent for
the same type Of workers in the United
States
Skilled workers in the United States.
however. gained slightly more in real
hourly wages, while the real" wages
of women gained in about the same de-
gree in both countries. Industrial work.
erS in Sweden on the acreage, in 1928,
enjoyed real" hourly wages So per cent
higher than in 1918.
The International Labor Once, Ge-
neva, Switzerland, is quietly compiling
valuable data and statistics dealing with
the subject Of real" wages.
No Government body in Washington
Is buster than the Federal Trade Com
mission. 1t Is carrying on a dozen or
more big investigations now. It is con-
tinu1ng scores of trade practice confer
ences In different sections of the coun-
try, and Is ordering hundreds of differ
ent corporations to cease and desist"
from some practice in which the COM
mission found a violation of law.
For example, certain individual in
New York this week was ordered to
cease and desiSt from representing:
That garments sold by him in inter-
state commerce are sold at wholesale
prices, unless such prices be wholesale
prices
That his business is that of a whole
sale fur house, unless and until he shall
be engaged in the business OF a whole
saler
THAT he Is not q wholesale manu-
featuring furrier" or a manufacturing
furr1er OF any kind, unless and until he
shall be engaged in manufacturing furs
and garments sold by him"
This man is a seller and distributor
OF fur coats and other garments and
has been advertising in way to come
to the notice of the commission.
The manufacturers of set-up paper
ooXes-370 OF them-whose total lro-
duction exceeds $100,000,0O0 annually.
have asked the Federal Trade Commits
sion for permission to hold a trade prac-
tice conference. Among subjects to be
discussed at that conference are:
False invoicing, secret rebates, price
discrimination. inducing breach CT con-
tract, sales below cost, commercial
bribery, defamation of competitors. en-
tcement Of competitors employees, terms
OF sale, Warehousing, system Of account
ing and cost finding, uniform order
form, description of goods, dumping,
misrepresentation, overruns, contracts
without mutually, arbitration and reg
lstration of original products.
have enumerated these various SUBJ
lectS 10 show the scope of the modern
cent Hoover when he was Secretary of
Commerce.
One subject is conspicuously absent
from these conferences. Many believe
tnat the time has arrived for its in
clusion. And that is the subject of
labor. More about that labor.
Who is the dullest person in the
world? Gertrude Anterior asks the
question in a magazine article, and
answers by Saying-the business man.
From the observation of this author,
one gains the impression that the bust
ness man can talk only his particular
line OF business. He is dull because he
knows only finance If he happens to
be banker. He is dull because he
knows only merchandising If he is a
merchant. He talks nothing else He
thinks OF nothing else. He has no leisure
for anything else.
Mrs. Anterior lays out the profess
s1onal men, too-lawyers, physicians
although her pen is not so vigorously
used against them. But her contention
is that they specialize so thoroughly
that they are interested in few sub
jects outside their daily routine The
exceptions are far more frequent in
this class than among average business
men, however.
Mrs. Anterior gives the palm to
Washington. D. c., because there bust
ness men do not predominant in the
social intercourse of the day.
Her solution is to induce men, who
follow the arts, writer's, musicians,
journalists, architects and painters, to
leaven the lump.
Let me quote from Mrs. Atherton:
Even the most esthetic of them will
always accept an invitation which as
sures them of being well fed. They are
consumedly interested in life, they can
talk on any subject. No longer do they
affect flowing locks and untidy clothes.
Today you cannot tell novelist from
a man of fashion"
There you are-there'S even the
novelist attempting to become a man
of affairs. The business man may be
dull but he Is leading the procession,
with most artists running to join the
parade.
"Ah, and that's the tragedy of the
thing" sadly commented my poor artist
friend.