Page 86 - clra62_0019-(GIPE)

80 ECONOMIC INQUIRIES AND STUDIES
in the present paper to communicate some reflections
which I have made. The alleged drawbacks, when con-
sidered, do, in fact, suggest for consideration questions
of a weighty nature, which go to the root of ideas of
progress, and affect the most general views of. the
prospects of modern civilization.
The alleged drawbacks of which I speak are mainly
the following: First, it is said, working men in many
cases have more to pay for rent than they would have
to pay when earning less money under differed, con-
ditions, or they have to pay railway or 'bus fares or
similar charges for conveyance to and from their work,
which are in the nature of an increase of rent. Con-
sequently, although the money wage is more, the work-
man is not so much better off than he was, because a
large part of that money wage has to be paid as a fine,
practically, to enable the working man to be in a posi-
tion to earn it. In other words, the gross sum is more,
but the net sum is not so much more. It is easy to per-
ceive also that this principle may have a much wider
application than may at first be surmised. The case
usually thought of is that of rent, or an equivalent fine
on a workman, which he pays in order to be in a certain
place where the money wage can be earned. Suppose
the climate in which he has to live in order to earn a
larger money wage than he can get elsewhere is so ex-
hausting as to compel a larger consumption of food in
order that the money may be earned? The question of
gross and net is thus of a wide-sweeping kind.
N ext, it is maintained that along with a great increase
in production which has undoubtedly taken place, there
has come an increase in the severity of the labour, and
that the workman's remuneration has not risen in pro-
portion. It seems to be suggested at times that the
increase in the labour is itself an evil, even if it were
proportionately remunerated, but the complaint rather
is that the severer toil is not adequately compensated:
the workman has a severer call made on his energies,
and he is not so much better off. To be able to earn