Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 February 1880 — Wages in This Country. [ARTICLE]

Wages in This Country.

The working people of this country often grumble at the smallness of their wages, and the amount looks small, if compared with that received in the inflated times of the war. But it is large in contrast with the pay received by laborers abroad. A careful investigation made by the Government through its Consuls in Europe proves that the average wages for labor in this country are more than three times larger than those paid in ’France, Germany, Denmark, Italy and SpaiD, more than twice as large as those received in Belginm, and one and a half larger than the wages earned in England and Scotland. Bat it may be asked, How is it possible for our manufacturers to oompete

with foreigners, if American labor is so much more expensive than theirs ? The answer is a simple one; our workmen can do about t.wice as much work in a day as foreign workmen. The late Mr. Brassey, of England, a famous railroad contractor, used to find it cheaper to transport English laborers to Italy and Austria, at double the expense per day, than to hire the natives of those countries. Good wages train good workmen, and good food gives ability for better work.— Youth's Companion.