Evening Star Newspaper, May 20, 1937, Page 40

B—20 = LVING STANDARD DECLINE I TALY Wages Low and Costs High in Country Without Pri- vate Enterprise. Note—A discussion of the status of labor in Italy is presented here in a dispatch by the publisher of the Chicago Daily News. Col. Knox is studying labor conditions on a tour of the principal European countries. i BY FRANK KNOX. ROME, May 20 (N.AN.A) —With | collective bargaining as an established constitutional fact, with rapid revival in the manufacture of durable goods bringing re-employment in its wake, with the C. I. O. and A. F. of L. en- rolling hundreds of thousands of new members of labor organizations, and | with labor disputes filling the columns of the press, labor relations are certain to be one of the most acute and presse ing political preoccupations in the LT United States in the months that pre- cede the Fall elections of 1938. In the face of such prospects, and with but trifling progress made toward a national labor party, an intelligent approach to the solutjon of this prob- lem should include a study of the ex- periences of the industrialized states of Europe in this field of labor rela- tions, In Great Britain and France one may observe the progress made toward co-operation between capital and labor under democratic political institutions, which preserve the economic principle of private enterprise. In Italy, Ger- many and Soviet Russia an opportu= nity is afforded to study the effects upon labor relations under authori- tarian political auspices, whers private owrership is abandoned. Conditions of U. S. Interest. What has happened to the millions of Italian workmen who formerly comprised the membership of the great labor unions that grew up so swiftly following the close of the great war? Does Italian labor have any significant voice in the economic or political life of Italy? Are the leaders of the labor organizations con- sulted in the matters of wages, hours of labor or working conditions in industries where they toil? What are the Italian workers’ wages? What are their standards of living? 3 One of the first acts of the Fascist THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1937. O party when it came into power was to abolish the labor unions as they existed and to create new unions in each trade or craft as part of the system of state corporations. Under the Italian corporative system, a labor union of employes and a trade asso- clation of employers are both politi- cally controlled. Those. who are se- lected to represent labor are named, not by the workers, but by the poli- ticians, and the same is true of the émployers’ representatives. The will of the government is final and determinative with both. For the worker to strike is illegal, and the employer may not close, expand or contract his factory without govern- ment, that is, political, approval. ‘Uncer this rigid subjection of work- ers to control by politicians, what has happened to the worker? Has his pay been raised, his work short- ened or his standard of living lifted? Quite the reverse, The living standard of the Italian worker under the Fascist economic regime, always very low ac- cording to American standards, has steadily been lowered, and is still going down. The cost of living in America must be nearly twice as high as it is in Italy. With this difference in mind, it will be easy for an American workingman to estimate the Italian workingman’s standard of life when NS I NEW SUMMER STORE HOURS, BEGINNI JUNE 1ST—9:30 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. Broadcloth Full cut and roomy Madras supplied with actual wages being paid for various forms of labor. In the Province of Leghorn, for in- stance, agricultural male labor is paid from 55 to 69 cents per eight-hour day. Women olive pickers are paid 30 cents a day. Women workers in the hay fields are paid from 28 to 44 cents a day, with the men receiving from 58 to 94 cents a day. In the marble quarries the highest-paid stone cutter gets $1.38 a day, the average quarryman $1.15 a day, the ordinary laborer 58 cents a day and the chil- dren only 24 cents a day. An under- ground coal miner is paid from 75 cents to $1 per dey. Children em- ployed in the mines get 41 cents per day. These schedules are in effect after a 10 per cent wage increase in 1936, and to: these must be added another in- crease of 10 per cent put into effect by Il Duce two weeks ago. But in a period of two years, covering both these wage increases, the cost of living for the Italian worker has gone up 427 per cent! Consequently, the nominal wages have actually been lowered in buying power by about 20 per cent, with the inevitable effect of & further drop in living standards for the worker. That the Italian government is aware of the implications of these figures seems plain from its prohibition against divulging economic informa- tion by Italian officials. The same rule is observed in Russia. Summarized, what happened to the labor movement in Italy since it be- came dependent on political and governmental alliances has been the complete loss of its independent status. The creators of a sound and just American labor policy will find neither inspiration nor guidance in the Facist philosophy. (Copyright, 1937, by the North American Newspaper Allance, Inc.) LUMBER YARD RAZED IN PITTSBURGH FIRE By the Associated Press. PITTSBURCH, May 20.—Flames roared through a lumber yard in the Southside industrial and residential section early today in a spectacular five-alarm fire that leaped to a half- dozen nearby houses. Racing swiftly through the timber, the flames had ignited the houses within an hour, driving six families to the streets. More than a dozen other frame houses were menaced and sparks fell near the substation of light and gas companies serving the district. The flames lapped at several nearby plants. - ————— W ATHLETIC SHORTS Featuring— o French Backs e Stde Ties o Lastex Sides —With Summer around the corner you'll be needing plenty of reserve underwear . .. if just for comfort’s sake! Here, then, is an unusual special on the type of shorts you'll want. .. Excellently tailored of fine woven broadcloth, woven madras and smart print broad- cloths ... White and plain colors are Sanforized- shrunk. Sizes 30 to 44. Athletic Shirts, 29¢; 4 - 51.09 —Fine combed yarn cotton—Swiss rib knit. absorbent. Superior. taiforing elect A NY $27.50 2-TROUSER SPRING SUIT Friday Only! —A rousing special for a busy Friday! No restrictions, no reservations The sale begins tomorrow morning at 9:30 and ends at 5:45 . . . So be here early for choicest selection. Everything that’s NEW in this Sizes 34 to 46. They're elastic and Kann's—Men's Store—Street Floor. I i Sanforized Shrunk or Plam Fronts $1.95 Sizes 29 to 48 —All types of stripes, from neat to bold . . . Glen urquhardts, dis- trict checks, window- panes, dark and light grounds . .-. Just about every wanted * pattern will be found in this group! Full cut and carefully tai- lored . . . You’ll want them for business and sports wear. Kann's—Men's Store— RO P IS CKS S A “The Avenue” at 7th, 8th & D Streets L/ Telephone District 7200 REDUCTION - ON THIS 1935 Slightly Used Model Orig. $228.50 NOW $137.10 o Six Cubic Foot Size o All Porcelain, and Out o Makes 84 Large Ice Cubes at One Time Inside —As good as new ... with a new Frigidaire guarantee! 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