The San Francisco Iron Strike [pp. 39-47]

The San Francisco Iron Strike.
a man to live in a comfortable dwelling, and
to obtain enough of good, wholesome food
and warm clothing for himself and family;
and to educate his children that they may be
qualified to take their proper place as good,
intelligent citizens in the world's affairs.
This comfort and education are impossible
at the Chinese or European rates of wages
towards which the importation of Chinese
and Europeans is forcing American workingmen. Surely, considering the immense resources of life supplied by the Creator, and
the facilities which man's ingenuity has provided for turning this natural abundance
into the forms necessary for man's use and
comfort, this is not an unreasonable claim,
and it is one that all citizens should be in
favor of. Submitting this as a standard, we
will see how our present wages supply the
need.
At least two-thirds of the men are married,
and this being the proper state of mankind,
we will estimate the cost of living as follows:
We will take a family consisting of five persons. That a family of this size may live
comfortably without crowding,'it is necessary
that they should have at least four rooms in
their dwelling, and a comfortable house of
this size cannot be had for less than $3.75
per week. Meat and vegetables cost $2.50
per week. Bread and milk will average $I.50
per week. Groceries $2.75, including coffee, tea, sugar, butter, lamp-oil, etc. Fuel
will cost $1.25 per week. This is not too
high, when three meals a day have to be
cooked, and the wife does the washing for
the family. Clothing, including foot-wear,
will average $2.50 per week. Wear and tear
of furniture, including cooking utensils and
dishes, we will set down at 60 cents per
week. Books and other articles necessary
for school children must be had, and will
cost 40 cents per week. Every workingman
should belong to the Union of his trade, or
some other mutual aid society, which will in
times of sickness or disability help his family during such disability. This, including
funeral tax, will amount to about 35 cents
per week. In many instances the men live
a considerable distance from the workshops.
If they walk to work in the morning, they
find it necessary to ride home in the evening,
owing to the cold winds and the fact that
many of them leave the workshops with their
clothing wet by perspiration. We will set
the car-fare of the family down at 60 cents
per week, and if they desire to ride on the
street cars to the park or beach (on Sundays)
it is not enough. A man should have some
enjoyment, and the laboring classes take
most enjoyment in an occasional glass of
beer and a smoke. Allow 20 cents per day
for beer and tobacco, which amounts to
$1.40 per week. If any one thinks these are
wrong, let any'other recreation be substituted to the same amount. Newspapers and
writing materials, 25 cents per week. There
is more or less sickness in a family, and he
is a lucky man who gets off with less than
$30 per year, or about 6o cents per week
for doctor's bills and medicine. There are
other expenses, such as hair-cutting, shaving,
holiday expenses, church expenses, personal
property tax and poll tax, with many others
too numerous to mention. We will class
these as sundries at 50 cents per week. I
recapitulate:
Relnt.......................................$3.75 per week.
Meat and vegetables......................... 2.50 "
Bread and milk...............50
Groceries..............2.75 "
Fuel -...-...-...-..........*. —.I. 2"1.25
Clothing................................... 2.50"
Medicine and doctor's bills....................6o" "
Wear and tear of furniture.......................6o" "
School books.................................4o" "
Society dues................................. 35" "
Car fare.............................60" "
Beer and tobacco, or other recreation...........40
Newspaper and stationery....................25 "
Sundries..................... "
Total.$8...................... I895
The average mechanic in this city is not
employed more than ten months in ayear.
Including holidays, we will say that he is
out of employment nine weeks out of the
fifty-two; this leaves forty-three weeks in
which he must earn enough money to support
his family fifty-two weeks. Wages of mechanics in the iron trade average $3.25 per day
here. WVhen the strike occurred in this city
there were only a few of the best workmen
employed, and the wages paid them was
slightly above this average. At $3.25 per
42
[July,