22 



CIRCULAR 4 71, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 



Since the "World War, the increase in forest workers' wages greatly 

 exceeded the increase in living costs; timber prices increased for a 

 time but decreased greatly after 1930. Table 14 gives the relative 

 wages, cost of living, and timber prices in Prussia from 1928 to 1932 

 on a basis of 1911-12 as 100 (12). 



Table 14. — Relative wages, cost of living, and timber prices, Prussia, 1928-32 



[Wages in 1911-12 = 100] 



Item 



1928 



1930 



1931 



1932 



Wages 



Cost of livine 

 Timber price. 



206 

 151 

 166 



248 

 150 

 122 



246 

 139 



87 



196 

 124 



71 



Timber cutting is generally paid for on a piece-work (Akkord) basis. 

 The Akkord system is especially suitable for logging, because the men 

 work in small crews and continuous supervision is difficult. Work in 

 planting and road construction and maintenance, which is usually 

 done by fairly large gangs and can easily be supervised, is generally 

 paid for on an hourly basis, with sliding scales according to sex, age, 

 and locality. At first there were three different local rates, depending 

 on local differences in living costs and wage rates; then the number 

 was increased to six, and later it was reduced to five and then to four. 

 In 1922 the principle was adopted of paying an additional wage accord- 

 ing to size of family; need, as well as performance, was made a basis 

 of wages. 



Until just before the war, wages were usually paid at the end of the 

 season, after the timber was sold, although advances had to be made. 

 Later, payments were made monthly or semimonthly. Now, pay- 

 ment every 2 weeks is standard practice, and a worker can get an 

 advance at the end of any week. After 1904 it became customary 

 to pay one-third of the regular wage when the worker was called away 

 for military training (up to 14 days a year) if he was married and the 

 main support of a family, as well as for absence on account of various 

 required meetings or for urgent personal reasons such as weddings, 

 serious illness, or death in the family. After 1919, full pay was 

 allowed for legal holidays and for absence on account of voting, mov- 

 ing, birth of children, illness, funerals, etc. Since 1925, full pay has 

 been granted when the worker was incapacitated by illness or accident, 

 up to 10 percent of the number of days worked during the preceding 

 year. Since 1920, a vacation with full pay has been allowed, of 5 

 days if emplo3^ed for 170 days in the preceding } 7 ear, 6 days for 200 

 days' work, and 7 days for 230. 



FOREST WORKERS' WAGES IN PRUSSIA 



The method of grading wage scales according to sex, age, and locality 

 is illustrated by the rates effective in the State forests of Prussia (88) 

 as of June 30, 1924 (table 15). 



The average daily earnings of workers in the State forests of Prussia 

 are shown in table 16. Timber cutters' earnings have averaged 

 considerably higher than the earnings of most other workers, and 

 women earned, on the average, only about half as much as men 



