Information carefully collected and collated, both by official and private agents, among the former being the Department of Commerce and Labor of our own government, has conclusively shown that living in England and in the countries of Continental Europe is from thirty to forty per cent cheaper than in this country.

Let us take 30 per cent—the lowest reported estimate of the difference in the cost of living—subsistence, clothing, housing, schooling, amusements, etc.—and see how the figures look in comparison as to pay of railway mail clerks:

Per Year.
In the United States$1,165.00
In Great Britain1,114.30
In Germany734.30
In France871.43

The enormity of the difference, you will observe, is not so shockingly enormous as it appears in heeler’s figures first shown. But even the last set of figures does not afford a just comparison. Here is why:

The English railway clerk is allowed $160 a year as “travel pay.” The German rail man is provided free a house that is worth an annual rental of $135 in Germany. Here, it would rent for from $240 to $360. In addition to his “salary” the French railway mail clerk is allowed $180 “travel pay” and is also provided free with a house of a rental value of $80 per year—a house that would rent here at from $160 to $300 per year. Making these little additions to the actual service pay of those “cheap foreigners,” let’s see how they compare with our “high salaried” railway mail clerks. We will figure the “travel pay” allowances at its purchasing power in buying a living and for the rent allowances we will add the lowest equivalent given above of corresponding housing in this country.

On that basis the stack-up is as follows:

Per Year.
In the United States$1,165.00
In Great Britain1,344.30
In Germany974.30
In France1,288.57

Those “cheap foreigners,” who are efficiently operating a cheap parcels post, you see, come out of the wash in pretty fair shape after all, when compared with our “high salaried” postal service men.

But even the last table does not present the whole truth as to the lie so often yapped about by the tools of the private interests in this country that are opposing the betterment and cheapening of our parcels post service.