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Show IPlilS f packers keep saloons going Attorney for "Big Five" Injects In-jects the Question of Alcoholic Al-coholic Stimulants Into Wage Controversy. MISS NIENBERG UPHOLDS THE MEN A&sociate Economist Declares De-clares Shorter Hours and Higher Wages Are Best Cure for Drink Habit. CmCAGO, Feb. 21 . AH ention of .fudge Aluchuler, arbiter in the stock-yards stock-yards wp dispute, was 'wAfi today to the kaloon as sn important element, in the. controversy. Tn questioning Bertha M Xienber', nsoejflte economist of the bureau of Applied eeonorniefi at, Washington, D. :., Attorney James G. Condon, ip resenting the packers, stated that residents resi-dents of th diftri.'t "back of the vardfi" contributed more than $1,000,-000 $1,000,-000 a year in support of 300 saloons in 150 pquare blocks. M i m s Xienberg had submitted in evidence evi-dence a budget shoving that in 1017 it cost 1177. !5 to bupport a family of five in the stockyards district. "Do you think it would take as much for a saloonkeeper to support a family of five an it would take a stock yards employee?" asked Attorney Condon. The witness said she believed it would. Support 300 Saloons. "Well, there are '')) saloons in 150 square blocks back of the yards, and each .saloon pays $1000 a year license, has his rent U pay and hire a bartender as well as ipport bis family," said the attorney. "This means that it takes more 'than $1,000,000 a year to keep these saloons going and that the money conies from the residents of the district, who are largely stockyards employees, em-ployees, lion jt you think if the men spent less in these saloons they might have more to contribute to the support and comfort of their families?" "My answer to that question is that there never will be less drinking back of the stockyards until the men work shorter hours and are not so worn out at the end of the day that they are forced to seek relief by using alcoholic stimulants and until they receive higher wages," replied the witness. Wages and Drink. " Vou think then that the more money men earn the less they drink?" inquired the lawyer. 'Investigations made by sociological workers bear out this theory," said Miss Nieuberg. Attorney Condon attempted to show that in coal and -iron mining centers and in steel mills districts where men received the highest wages drunkenness drunken-ness was more prevalent than in sections sec-tions where workmen received lower pay, but the witness declined to admit the truth of the statement. The witness explained that the figures fig-ures of her model budget were lower than the bare existence standard allowed al-lowed in budgets of other cities. he said the cost of living in New V ork was S per cent higher. Budget for Family of Five. The average of fhis lowest budget out wide of Chicago was, she said. 434.04. The next budget discussed was described as the minimum health budget and called for the annual expenditure ex-penditure of $1.105 in the maintenance of a family of five. The next was called the minimum health and comfort or idea budget and totaled $1611.13 for the year. These various budgets, she explained, had been prepared by experts and approved by arbitrators in several important labor disputes. The $1106 budget, bJic said, had recently been accepted by the labor dispute commission com-mission of the 'United States shipping board in fixing wages of shipbuilders in the Philadelphia district. Testimony already heard at the stock-vardB stock-vardB wage case showed that the present pres-ent average pay recei ved by unskilled laborers is $800 a year. Attorneys for the paekers vigorously attacked the family budgets submitted bv the witness on the ground that they were excessive and that a survey recently re-cently made in Chicago for the government govern-ment board appointed to fix wages of railroad employees showei a family of five could live in Chicago for $7.18 a year. Reads From Report. The v. il nf'ss read from Kovprnment re-p-.riH showirji4 that twenty-live of the U-adinK industries had increased wafi from 4D lo SO per '-f'nt 1,1 ,il; la:J f(-w ye;u-s to meet Die increase') cost of liv- . iritf. The packers claim to have increased ; the waB of their employees In Chl-;jgu 07 per cent since One repoit submitted showed that one-1 one-1 ) i j i (j of t hf residents of the "d ; strict ba"k of the yards"' own their own homes. ( 'ounsel for 1 lie employees expect to close t heir direct, case tomorrow. The packers will take Jour or live days to present their ease. |