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CHAPTER XIII, 
has an effect on the indebtedness of the worker which is at all compar- 
able with the effect of paying wages monthly. Provided that the delay 
in payment is of uniform length (and this is usually the case) the only 
effect of the waiting period is to increase the time which elapses before 
the first wage is paid. For example, to take a frequent case, if monthly 
wages are paid about a fortnight after the end of the month, the effect 
of the waiting period is to increase from a month to about six weeks, the 
initial period of service without wages. The mere reduction of this 
period to, say, five weeks would be of some assistance; but it would 
seldom place the worker in a position to dispense with fresh borrowing. 
Short Wage Periods and Debt. 
The reduction of the wage period itself, on the other hand, 
would have important effects. Long intervals between wage payments 
invariably add to the embarrassments of the poor, and have an appreciable 
influence in binding the worker to the money-lender. The mere purchase 
of goods on credit is not necessarily equivalent to running into debt and 
the shopkeeper (who is often the money-lender) frequently does not charge 
interest on the current account for provisions. But he gets the equiva- 
lent of interest in an enhanced price and where the worker has already 
other debts, a month’s credit is a distinct and insidious addition to his 
burden. It strengthens the chain which holds him to his creditor, 
and it acts as an additional obstacle to the habit of saving.” Some 
workers spoke to us of the advantage they would secure from weekly 
wages in being able to do more purchasing in cash, and we believe 
that the general adoption of weekly payments would have important 
effects in this direction. A shorter period of payment should also 
improve the workers’ financial position in other ways. The illiterate 
worker tends to take a short view; the longer view of life is largely a 
matter of education. Itis, therefore, of particular importance in his 
case that the connection between cause and effect should be as short 
and obvious as possible. Where payment is on piece rates, there is a dis- 
tinct tendency for the standard of work to improve as pay-day approaches, 
We believe that a reduction in the period would have a definite 
effect on efficiency. It would also assist the worker to more judicious 
expenditure. -It is unfortunately impossible to produce conclusive proof 
of our view by a comparison of the position of those workers who are paid 
weekly or fortnightly with that of the monthly-paid workers. Accurate 
statistics of indebtedness are not available and, even if they were, the 
differences of race and training between workers in different centres and 
different industries would make it difficult to base conclusions upon 
them. We believe it to bea fact that the coal miner, who is paid weekly 
or daily, is much less in debt, in proportion to his income, than the 
railway worker, who is paid monthly; but the differences between the 
two cases in respect of the other factors which can affect indebtedness 
is so great that no deduction can safely be-drawn from the fact. It 
should be added, however, that a number of employers who pay 
monthly make advances against wages to their workers during the