CHAPTER IV 



As the Adamson Law was, at the same time, the 

 greatest stride yet taken towards Socialism, and the 

 hardest blow yet received by American agriculture, it 

 may not be out of place to consider the remuneration 

 received by the two classes of manual labor organ- 

 ized labor in the industries, and unorganized labor on 

 the farms just prior to the enactment of that law. 



While that bill was pending in Congress, the wage 

 scale of the men to be directly affected thereby was 

 published, and, so far as I know, never contradicted. 

 This shows that the very lowest paid class to be af- 

 fected, the passenger brakeman, received an annual 

 wage of $967. A careful analysis of the reports of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, taking 

 the average yield and the average market price both 

 high of the leading cereals during the preceding 

 eighteen years usually fruitful shows that the 

 gross income from the average eighty acres, all under 

 cultivation, allowing nothing for waste land, was 

 $936.80 or $30.20 less than the average wage of the 

 passenger brakeman. Yet the law was enacted, enor- 

 mously increasing this wage scale, which has recently 

 been again increased by Federal sanction. 



No man can properly till eighty acres of land. The 

 position of the brakeman requires no previous prep- 

 aration, no physical strength nor mental ability above 



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