Queer Things in Labor and Wages in Australia
t Copy light, Uul, by Frank (J. Carpenter )
SYDNEY. Australia, May II. (Spe
r-In I I'm ri-spoiiitcticf cf Thu Hoc.)
TIhi worklnginun'H continent!
'I'll. 'it H how tliu peoplo ilowil
hero Hjii'iik of Hid nuw AiiHtrullii.
They nay they propose to make It
i In- paradise of tin laborer. They
h.ivo all sort of schemes to propose
to tliu federal rarllniiient, tliu gist of which
m fiim to he how to Hull thu leant work
lor tliu ino8t moiiuy. Thu country ulruuily
has thu eight-hour law. TIiIh Ih common
in ovury city ami lowi.. it was adopted
by somu linns moru than a melioration ago,
ami Ih now a llxed liiHtltutlon. There uro
all HortH of lawn iih to factories. Tliu
regulations of illHpuli'H between labor anl
capital aru much tliu buiiiu iih Uiohu of
Nuw Zealand. Thu various trailuH huvu
iiiIch iih to tliu employment of their mem
burn, ami thu government Iiiih tliu right
to hcimI iiiHpoctorH to thu HhopH at any
tiinu, ami II can compel the uinployurH to
ruHpuct thu lawn. Records niiiHt ho kupt
Hhowlng JiihI what each man ilooH, how
long hu workH anil what hu gutH. Thu law
iii to bollihiyH Ih rigidly obHurvoil, ami there
aru all HortH of restrictions accoinpanluil
by approprlatu ponaltluH.
Employes cnniiol be paid In Htore onluiH
Children umlcr thlrteon cannot work in thu
factorloH, ami the llinllatlonH iih to thu
boura of tholr work are very Btrlcl. It Ih
thu hiiiiiu iih to girlH clciklug In thu Htorun,
altlimigli In sotno oiihch llfty-two hourB pur
wuuk Ih there permitted. Thuru niiiHt bo
ruccHHOH at llxeil IntervalH for nioalH. In
many of thu hIioph thciu aru recesses for
Hinoklng, ami, In fact, hiicIi lnatltutlotiH nro
run with qultu an much regard to thu la
borer oh to thu employer.
I'roliiil.l.- Tm-lir for U;vi-iiuv. extra 1b not tuo much. That 13, If a man tin, not far from here, and easily rcachod nro Industrious find tlmu to do work about
Thuro Is qulto a difference of op nlon horo la KUttlnn 25 ccntH an hour, ur l! pur day. by water. Austialla has deposits 0f Iron their homes nnd a great many spend their
as to tho elfuct which thu labor laws lnwo jlu Bi,ou(i imvo 371 contH for overtime. At anil thero Is no reason why manufacturing lolsuru In going about with their families.
011 Hie country. I have met many umployerfl thnl ruU) an t.Ki,t-hour day would bring Industries should not grow up. So fnr tho Tho men feel butter they respect thein-
who toll mo It la almoHt Imposslhlo to do hlm , j2 11Iul a lun.m,ur day J2T.. Wo frulghts from England havo been so low seiVes moru and aru far better citizens."
hnslnesH on tho present basis, and that In thnk tllnl lh SUII10 ,,ro,irlon hIiouIiI b that manufactured goods could bo Importod .......
html timet thnv will bavo to hIiuI down ..i... 1 i 1.. . i. .... ... .i AiiMlriil In n I in I.ijc.l.
- - iinttniuu in hi un;ui:nuiii nuri'j tut' tin- iimmu tuuujuj mini 11117 uuuiu uu iiiuuu.
Al STRAMAN WOOL. WASHERS RECEIVE ELEVEN DOU.NHS PICK WEEK
Thuio aro othui-H who nay thu eight-hour
law Ib all right, although a protective tat Iff
Ih needed lo keep tho h1ioib going. Thu
piobablu ruHiilt will bu that thu common
wealth will havo to adopt such a tariff as
will foslur lioinu ImlUHtrluH, anil that thu
ployur wantH extra work done." Each colony has had Its own tariff laws, and Hut still you havo many unemployed.'
"Hut could you enforcu lawu of that kind, It has been Impossible to regtilatu matters "Yes, but not so many now as somo year
Mr. Perry?" I naked. so that tho goods mado in 0110 colony might ago. Ono department of my bureau is de
voted to tho unemployed, me nrst year
that tills blanch w;n established wo found
places for S.OOO laborers, in tho second fo.'
10.00(1 and In the fourth for 20.000. The
"Wo pioposo to try It," was thu reply, bo hold at thu saiiio price throughout Aus
"Wo aro going to llx It bo that employers tralla. Now that wu havo federation, wu
ffitnint ftistitriwit t llmlr mint Wi w III iikiI.. Intend to wall Australia about with such
law materials which Australia suIIb In tho 8Uch rcKUIltml8 ,ilnt lll0 auurtT cnniiot a piotoetlvo tariff as will make It self-sup-
Hhapu of wool ami grain will have to foot (,ntup lnU( any aKreomi!Ilt which Hlm bu porting. That U what you Americana have
tho national hills. .... ,. for tho employer's bcnellt If contrary to thu done nnd whnt wo proposo to do."
I ioce.it y had a chat with John Perry. ,aw w ,,,, (h(! ,,, t(J mlu f). 1M(rlll.M ., ,;,crK.
mlnlstur of labor for Now South Wo oa, as. t, , ovori,lm.t wUh (hu r,0 or Cl,m ,,,. , KOvcrnmciit work Mr
Austiall.iB mo lui u labor movement. Wo rut.or(1 of Hlu.h ,lnCi aIll win ,.e mt , , , forty-eiubt-hour nur
talked of tho eight-hour day. Said he: ,. . ., ..avmontH ,iur ,)L.iialtv " . .. on.," , y ...l1? P
"It l L.,,i.rnllv thnnmit that wo havu an U,"y ",,lUo "" "ll,nonlH u,,,,ur nny. tt0l.k bllBl8i.. wns lll0 re,,iyi T,1U wnBoi uro
eight-hour law here In Australia. That Is ..Nln.llu " M ...... f. u-tin-1. . C.....U, .
not bo, although custom lins madu It piuc- "Hut havu ou many ractorlcs In Aus-
tlcally thu faot. Tho ulghl-hour law would tralla V"
not Btilt uh ho well as tho forty-olght-hour- "Yea," said tho labor commissioner. "Wo
por-wook law. Many of our trades are nro doing a great deal of manufacturing,
miiMi Mini Ihnv cnniwii hit rnHtrti'tcd lc. it and wo shall do moru when wu ildoiit tile
llxed time. Somo days a man iniiBt work proloetlvo tariff law. Wo havo all sorts of 1,1
moru than eight Iiouib and HometlmcB lean, work, ospuclally In thu colony of Victoria. ''" ''"Bo force In the govern
Take tho bnkeiH. They Het tholr spongo, whero thero are boot and shoo factories, '""J- employ?" 1 asked,
and If tho dough rises tlioy can get through machlnu and lion works and all sons of "Yes," replied Minister Puny, "but I
their work In less than eight Iiouib, but If mills. In Queensland thoro aro sugar m'lls ''"""t whether on tho whole wo havu many
not It takes them nine, or purhups longor. and woolen mills. There Is some doth lm"' government clerks than you havo
What wo want Is a llxed tlmo pur week inndo in Queensland which will rompaio Wo havo the railroads, thu telephones and
favorably with any In Kngland. Thcio aru aircei cars iinuer inu goveiiuueui, nui
ter, 1G tents a pound for cheese, I cents for
sugar, Hi cents for rice, 17 cents for bacon
and 37 cents for tun. Ills eggs cost him 25
cents a doren, his beer FjO cents a gallon
and his tobacco frotu $1 to $1.."0 a pound.
Thu Australian bus to pay as much In the
way of house rents as the" average Ameri
can workman, and he has as a rule poorer
accommodations. In Sydney a throe-room
Hat costs about a month or something
llko 7G conta per room per week. A four
room houso costs abuut $10 and a live-room
houso about ll'i a mouth. Very fuw of the
laboring muti live In houses of more than
live rooms" unless they havo grown-up sons
or daughters to coutrlbutu to the family
earnings.
lint Tlie Hut.
Aa far us I can suu thu workingmeti lUe
very well. X-'ew of them have wrinkles lu
their stomachs ur hollows lu their cheeks.
Thu nvcrugo cust of the food consumed per
Inhabitant Is $Sl a year, while our average
Is less than .)6 a year. They aro great
meat eaters, and In New South Wales last
year they ntu ltG.000 tons of beef, 08,000 tons
of mutton nnd 8,000 tuns of pork and bacon,
footing up a total of $25,000,000 worth of
meat for one colony alone. Tho meat Is
good, too. You will llnd no better mutton
anywhere, and the beef Is ns fat and as
Juicy ns tho best cuts of Chicago.
I am surprised at the amount of tea
which theso Australians drink. They swill
tea as tho German swills beer. Hvory per
son hns his cup of tea every afternoon, and,
like ns not, nnothcr cup or so later In the
evening. They drink more tea than any
other nation except tho Russians. Thoy
drink it everywhere. It Is served without
extra chargo nt hotels, ami at tho railroad
stations It Is given out at so much per cup
at the same tables as the beer and whisky.
The tea Is always served with milk and
sugar, and every person takes four lumps.
Tho people have sweet teeth, and they eat
so much sugar that their teeth are often
decayed. This is a good placu for a den
tist, and I nm surprised moro American
duntlsta do not comu here to practice.
As to whisky nnd beer, the consumption
Is large. It varies lu dilt'erent parts of
Australia. Hero In New South Wales they
drink less than in Victoria, and eery where
less than In western Australia, where t' e
practically llxod by tho unions and tho time
by tho government. ICvcryono knows what
tho wages aru to bo and cotitrnctots make
thulr bids accordingly. Wo can object If
thu labor Is poor and demand that bettor
men bu employed, but the wages nnd tlmo
and an extra rato for all overtime."
"Whut rato would you chargo for over
time?" Htild I.
"Wo Imvo considered tho matter very
carefully, and we bollevo that M) por cent
live woolen mills hero in Now South Wales.
Wo have shipbuilding yards, fuitiltuto es
tablishments ami machine works. Wu have
excellent coal from the mines of Nuw Cns-
you must remember that you havu an euor
inous number of employes in America."
"How many havo you hero in Now South
Wales?" I asked.
"We have 112.000 on our salary list," said
Mr. Perry, "and somo others on piece
work."
"And what Is your population?"
"About 1.350,000," was tho leply.
"Well," aald I. "let us llguro It. Divide
our 1.35C.00O by 32,000 and you will llnd chief duty of the bureau was to get the consumption of whisky amounts to about
that at least ouo man In every forty Is n men to tho places whero the work was. Wo nVo gallons annually for everv man. woman
government employe. It we hod aa many nvo a great many railroad and steamship and child In tho country, or from twenty to
IN AN AUSTRALIAN I.AIIOH SRTTI.K.MKNT
employes In tho United Stntcs, with our pusses, allowing tho men to tako care of
population of 80.000,000, wo would havo themselves us soon as thoy reached their
2,000,000 government otllclals, which, at tho places of work. When tho times wero hard
low averngo of f500 per year, would cost ua V0 organized relief works in which a part
at least $1,000,000,000 a year." of tho wages woro paid in rations. This
"I don't know, but I should not be sur- was along after tho panic of 1S91 and 1892.
prised to hear that a enreful counting of nil We had a gre.it many bank fnllures. There
twenty-flvo gallons per family. The amount
of boor consumed thero averages twenty
four gallons per head, or about 100 gallons
per family per annum.
I.alior Ncttleini'iitN.
Ono of tho queer labor movements of
your otllclals, Including government clerks, was general distress throughout Australia Austrnlln resulted in the establishment of
school teachers, polii etnon. etc., would al
most foot up that many."
Diirn (lie I'.IkIi t- lloiir l.mv I'll. i f
"Do you really think the tight-hour law
pays, Mr. Perry?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, can you run the country on an
and thousands wero thrown out of work, i number of labor colonics or settlements
At present tho times aro good, although lu the different stutes. This occurred along
thero nro always moro or less unemployed, about tho panio of 1S92 and 1893, when
We now imvo something llko 100 nppllca- thero was a vast number of unemployed.
Hons a day, sometimes more, sometimes Soveral of the colonics set nsldo lands for
less." settlers and advanced money to them. In
The conversation hero turned to wages, somu settlements the lands wero held in
eight-hour basis? At present you havo lr' lu'ry sum itu ueneveu mat tno cuuunun, niiu in otnors tney were so ar-
nitich developed land nnd the chances fir ""'klngman of Australia received moro ranged that nfter a given time the people
money makli.g aro many. When Australia nn, b(,Uc,r, ,hlll hls fllow ln any fould vote whether thuy should continue
becomes settled and the profits docreaso, can m,rL of 11,0 NNorla- " u"01'K''t ol" '"to t l'"'1' them as a settlement or should di-
van run vour business hero on elu-ht hours. Kovornnient .uport by Mr. T. A. Coghlan vido them up among themselves. Thero
uu inu ..emu aim i iii'sa ui 4uw auuui inu iwu such sciuumciiis ill isew aouin
Wnlos." nnd showed me the wnges tho men Wales ono at Wllberforco and the other
wero getting in 1H0O. Here nro some of at Hegn. The llega settlement Is about 300
them: miles west of Sydney and twelve miles
Carpenters, blacksmiths, bricklayers and from the const, on tho Iluga river. To
mnsmis are pntd $2.2.1 per day; plastorors reach It you go on tho railroad to within
nnd painters rccolvo $2; common lnb.rcra. soventy-four miles of the placo and then
imer
when Kuri pe has ten or twelve, and all
sla tnort '"'
"I don't know," replied Mr. Perry, "but I
believe such things regulate themselves.
You work short hours In tho United States
and still you are beginning to mnnufneturu
SCHN15 ON THE STREETS OF SYDNEY, AN EICHT-IIOUR TOWN
fnr It... ...,,.-l,l 1. ,r... l. .l.n. 11,.. 0l,r... " IU"" -, VUIIIIUI.U IllU.ICia. 6 U VC'Ill -1 0 U T 11U1C8 Ot tllO plllCO nilH t 1011
or the wotld. It ma be that tho shorter whlo !,,.,,. K,t ,2iM; woo, tal(u a coac, or b
hours give your ...on me to tl. i.k and waH,rs ROt $n a W(,eU. farm ,nborerSi C(J Thoy8(lUk,IU,
hence the Yniikco Inventions for which vou ir.n i. ...1.1. i . ..... . .. . . , ... . . ' . " ""-"w
. . , . : : "'i" uimru, nun niifjuurua eigiu inmiiir-s nmi is sa d to tie n success.
are bo famous. A fresh man will do twice nbout vm n yonr. Tll0 waRM of noU80 Smth AllHlrn 11H H0ttk,nu!nt9
as much as a tired man and I believe we servants aro about the same ns with us. 100 miles or so from Adelaide on tho Mur-
get better work by shorter hours. Aft.r n oirla of all work get $2.25 per week; house- ray river. ICaeh of these settlements was
man works ten hours ho comes home dog mnids, $2.75; nurses. $1.75. and washer- given lfi.uofl acres to hold In common and
tired and throws himself on tho lounge or women nnd cooks, $3.75 por weok. each was advanced something like 11000
tho floor, prepa-ed to bo disagreeable. He Tl.ey l.lve lllul.. for buying tools and stock. Thu people
hns no tlmo to get acquainted with hU We also talked of tho cost of living, and havo built houses, set out orchards nnd
family nor to think of anything outside cf from tho snmo sourco I was glvon tho are engaged in farming of various kinds
his routluo work. Our laborers are, I bo- prices of many things, They aro fully as They have, I nm told, many lemon ami
Hove, tho happiest of thu world. Most of low as In tho United States, and In many olive orchards and llocks of sheep The)
them own their own homes. They live will, cases much lower. Wo pay 5 cents for a work but eight hours, the day's labor be-
but they save money." ono-pound loaf of bread. Tho Australian ginning and ending with the blowing of a
Hut do not tho short hours Increase gets a two-pound lonf for tho snmo money, horn. They have a common store and
lenlliig and drunkenness?" Our beef costs us from 15 to 20 cents a havo attempted to run their villages on
' I don't think so." was the repb "Those pound; ho buys his for about C cents a socialistic lines.
who drink will drink anyhow Thosu who pound. Ho pays 25 cents a pound for but- FRANK 0 CARPENTFIt