The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-04-29

income and expense, as delivered
! before the War Labor Board panel
hearing the United Steelworkers Of
America petition to break the Little
Steel formula, takes nearly an hour
and It's q tear perker. It holds au-
diences like the rhyme Of the An
cient Mariner.
Space doesn't permit giving the
whole thing, nor Is there time. So
this Is not direct quotes but q para
phrase. You can put in the burr
and the oratorical touches.
This average steelworker may live
In Calumet, ILL.,, says Mr.. Murray,
which Is seven and half miles
from his work in Gary, Ind, and
the man must ride on a street car
at q cost Of is cents each way, be-
cause he has not auto. This man
lives with his wife and two children
in hv-room house for which they
pay $32 q month rent, because Il
the man lived in Gary nearer his
work, he would have to pay more.
HASN'T HAD A NEW SUIT
The meals Of this family average
81 cents per person and that low
figure includes go cents which the
head Of the family must pay Tor
his lunch at the mill every day.
This worker has had no new suit
this year, and no new shoes for
himself, though he did spend $2.0l
to have his shoes repaired. He has
had to buy is pairs Of work gloves
where normally he would have
bought five, because the quality OF
work gloves is only one-third as
good as 1t was before the war. And
in three months he had to buy
three pairs Of overalls at 81 q suit,
where ordinarily he would have
bought only one pair in three
months, because the quality Is 80
poor.
For his wife he has bought four
dresses, and they have cost him
$23.85. He has bought one new pair
Of shoes for his wife, too, and two
pairs Of shoes for his little Riddles.
He did buy War Bonds, assign
ing 10 per cent Of his wages to
that as Tbs patriotic duty, but he
could not KEEP 1t up, partly because
his income taxes were $50, to say
nothing Of state income taxes in
addition.
His insurance, which cost him 90
for tire months, the man was able
to keep UP. But his medical ex-
penses were $10.82 per month, and
that included payments made to a
woman who came In to care for his
children when his wife was Ill.
RIOTOUS LIVING, $3.50
With a quiet smile, Murray ad.
mitS that in three months his man
spent $3.50 in riotous living. for
liquor, for tobacco. For magazines
and newspapers he spent $1.00. And
an, yes, there Is one thing he al
most overlooked: in the three
months he gave $50 to his church.
In the three months In which this
survey was made, this average steel
worker has made 1911. His base rate
OF pay was $1.04 an hour, but be-
cause Of his bonuses and overtime,
his average has been 41.14. But at
the end Of the three months, says
Mr.. Murray, the man has found
that he has accumulated q deficit Of
30-odd dollars.
There are many hundreds Of
these cases, says Mr.. Murray. There
were a thousand average families
on whom the Steelworkers' union,
with the guidance OF the U. 8. Blu
reau Of Labor Statistics, kept books
Tor its economic survey. And on the
Families l..
average the expenses Of all these
income So cents q week.
People don't understand what
these things mean, says Murray in
soto voce conclusion. They think
the steelworkers are in an era Of
silk-shirt luxury. There is no luxury
here. In these figures, says Murray,
you will find the causes Of much Of
the llnrest-yes, the unrest Of this
country today.