226 



GENERAL INCREASE OV WAGES, ETC. 



sentiment. Although I have a high appreciation of Mr. 

 Ogilvy's logical acumen, I cannot help feeling that his 

 enthusiasm and kind heart have, for the moment, dominated 

 over his logical faculties when he spoke " of the lower 

 ten millions whose toil is the active factor that produces all 

 wealth, not of the upper ten thousand who in some mysterious 

 way manage to get rich upon that toil." I am not disposed 

 to quarrel with these words in so far as they convey the idea 

 that their services (whether functional as accumulators of 

 capital energy, or organising energy as entrepreneurs — 

 man for man), absorb a very much larger share of the 

 aggregate satisfactions produced than is ideally just or 

 desirable. But this objection is merely one of degree, and is 

 applicable to all persons between the earnings of the poor 

 city girl of London, who has to wearily " stich, stitch " for 

 dear life for Is. a day, and the colossal earnings of a Vanderbilt. 

 The following table may help to convey an idea how far 

 privilege permeates throughout the whole range of human 

 services, so far as reward bears any relation to either time or 

 the amount of muscular energy expended : — 



Earnings. 













Average 



Per cent. 



Average of Rich 





per day. 



Increase. 



and Poor per day. 









Above. Below. 





S. d. 





S. d. 



s. d. 



1. London Seamstress 



1 











4 6 



2. English Agricultural Labourer... 



2 



100 



— 



3 6 



3. Australian Labourer 



6 



200 



6 





4. Australian Carpenter 



12 



100 



6 6 







5. Average of the Rich Classes in 











England 3 "3 per cent 



40 



233 



35 6 







6. Average of Rich and Poor 



5 6 



— 





— 



This proves that the total income of rich and'poor — in one 

 of the richest countries of the world (United Kingdom, 

 .£1,250,000,000)— only averages 5s. 6d. per day per bread- 

 winner, and that all those who earn over that rate per dav 

 really belong to the "privileged classes;" for even the 

 common labourer of Australia at 6s. per day receives 9 per 

 cent, above the level of equality, which, if once attained, so many 

 vainly dream would procure them a vast addition to their 

 present allotted share in the distribution of wealth. The 

 Australasian carpenter actually receives a higher relative rate 

 of income (not a greater absolute difference, however,) above 

 the London seamstress (viz., 1100 per cent.) than is the 

 average rate of the rich (3"3 per cent of population) above 

 that of the Australasian carpenter — being only 233 per cent. 

 higher. 



