The Washington times., 1934-11-07
ITALIAN EARNS
ONE-F|FTH Of
j. 8. PAY

The tDOTEeT IN FdSCtSt ItGLy
receiueS for his hire one-tifth OF
the amount paid to, the lGborer
in the United States, H. r. Knick
erbocker UriteS in the fifteenth
article of his series: democracy
Us. Dictatorship"
BY H. r. KNICKERBOCKER
Copyright, 1884, by International News
Service. Reproduction in Whole or Part
Strictly ForbiddenO
ROME, Nov. 7.-Measured by
wages, the American worker
under democracy receives about
five times as much for his labor
as the Italian worker under
Fascism.
Highest paid skilled workmen
in Rome are electricians. Today,
the highest paid workman in
Rome receives "a cents an hour,
$1.95 for an eight-hour day, and
$11.74 for a six-day week.
Today in America, an cleo
trician in New York receives $140
an hour, $11.20 for an eighthour
day. and $6720 for a sixday
week.
Typical Figures
These figures are perhaps too
startling to be readily acceptable,
but they are typical. The electric
ian is only one of the score OF ex'
amples.
Take common labor.
In Rome the unSkilled workman
receives a fraction more than II
cents an hour, or "a cents a day,
or $5.67 week.
The same man in New York
would receive so cents an hour,
81 a day, or $24 week.
Go further down, to the very
bottom rung of the ladder OF
wages. In Italy that bottom, as
far as reliable statistics go, is the
wage paid common labor in Flor.
ence. There the unskilled work
man receives slightly more than
8 cents an hour, or SO cents
day, or $4.14 week.
The bottom in America is for
unskilled Negro labor in New Or
leans. The Negro dock-hand re-
ceives 10 cents an hour, $1.52
day, 1912 a week.
1t is, of course, not strictly
fair to compare absolute wages
in America and Italy. Cost of
living must be taken into &C
count. What can the wages buy?
The International Labor Of
flee, with it's worldwide facilities,
has provided most Illuminating
answer.
The labor office made up a
typical basket of provisions,
representing approximately the
average weekly consumption of
an adult man in countries of
Western European civilization"
Then, with the most careful &C
curacy, it learned from 81 coun-
tries how much it would cost in
each country to buy the basket.
In Rome the basket cost 1892
lire. That is to say, the skilled
electrician in Rome, earning 4.45
lire an hour, would have to work
a little over seven hours to earn
the basket; the common laborer
in Rome earning 2.15 lire an hour
would have to work nearly fifteen
hours to earn it, and the common
Iaborer of Florence would have to
work a little over eighteen hours
to earn it.
Cost in New York
In New York the basket cost
$1.95. That is to say, the skilled
electrician in New York earning
$1.4O an hour would have to work
about one hour and Is minutes to
earn the basket. The common Ia
borer in New York earning SO
cents an hour would have to work
around four hours to earn it; and
the Negro dock-hand in New Or
leans, earning 10 cents an hour.
would have to work about ten
hours to earn it.
The comparison of absolute
wages turns out by this compari-
son of purchasing power to have
been about correct. The Amerl'
can Workingman under democ-
racy receives just about five times
as much for his labor, not in
money alone, but in goods, as the
italian workingman under Fas-
cism.
Approached from any aspect,
the material position of the
American workingman at work
under democracy is proven incom-
parably higher than the material
position of the Italian working.
man at work under FaSciSm.