The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-10-06
THE WAGES OF LABOR

We invite the attention of the laberlng classes to
the following admirable from the speech of Mr.
Webster on Long Island in reference to the war of
Government upon the wages of labor. They find IN
il clear and conclusive exposition Of the hostility OF
the Administration to the interests oil the laboreT and
the poor man. and full and complete confirmation of
the excellent speech of Senator Davis in reply to Blu
chanan After referring to the ubtrcasury, he goes
on 10 remark
But this subject draws after it another principle
nseparable from its doctrines and this is that is
useful to reduce the price of labor that is necessary
to curta the wages of the working man The sup
porters of the subtasury scheme have said this they
have all said it, | do not why Mr.. Buchanan
alone should be singled out TO have this declaration
fastened on him; he only SAID IN clear manner what
the others did not say clearly They have adopted
the plan of the subtreasury; and this PLAN as ma
ural consequence, leads TO the restriction and con
traction OF the currency and matter of course
ought TO be reduced. They must take up that posi-
ton, give up the snb-treasuy and they give that
up, they give themselves.
You may take Calhoun, and Buchanan and Wal
ker and Tappan and you'll find that they all declared
this they all say that is necessary to reduce the
prices Of labor, | aver that Mr.. Tappan declur
ed that labor ought TO come down to eleven cents
day. This did not hear him say he did not say
it in Congress but there numerous afiidavits of
the fact that he said it out of Congress have heard
the declarations Of the leaders of the party in relation
to this subject; have and read their references
to Cuba | have seen the debates in the House of
and this the burhen of the whole that the wages of
labor ought to come down.
They say that the petty states of the Mediterranean,
Naples Corsica, Sardinia, Genoa, and others, pro-
per examples for the people of the United States
Was ever any thing heard 50 monstrous2 Why my
friends these gentlemen are party mad they have
of feeling this subject that comes near insani
ty They forget where they are. They forget that
they American citizens. They forget who and
what the laborers of this great nation, they
weuld hold out to them the petty sovcregnties
OF Europe examples.
And is this course of conduct democratic Why,
the aborcrs of this country constitute ID out of 10 of
the entire population ! mean all who labor all those
who labor their farms for they aborers in
the truest Of the word and all those who labor
in shops or in their own humble dwellings, on the
capital OF others these IA out of Is of the whole
people And any system that processes to reduce the
price of labor reduces the wages of all these men Is
that good democratic doctrines Let old Suffolk
answer Loud cries of" No y" Noi") Is that the
doctrine which constitutes the greatest good of the
greatest number
! This doctrine, my friends originated in a total
Misrepresentation of the state Of the aboers here and
the laborers in other countries, Look at Suffolk for
| instance. You not quite as democratic here
in old Massachusetts, You have many large
farms of from three hundred to five hundred in
each that have come 10 you by inheritance and other
ways We have scarcely any of these in Massachu-
sctts Well, how is IT here Don't you labor on
! your farms You know how YOU enabled to
manage in this way. But how many Of you, would
/
ask, educate families on mere rent roll property,
how many give their children proper education by
! the income they obtain from land which they pay
! rent for None. In Massachusetts, none afford
To spend $1,000 or $4,000 bring up family out of
property which they rent. But here nine tenths of
/ you work on your own land. In Europe ninety nine
out of every one hundred work on other mems lands.
1 Is your labor, by your own hands at your
ploughs, In your own barns, reapng and thrcshing
/ your own whea-lords of the soil as you really are
10 be compared to that OF Europe, where 10000 ofthe
! laborcrs don't amongst the whole fthem enough
| land 10 make grave No There's vast diff
ference in the state of the two And the idea of com
! pairing them, altogether from misapprehenson
of the condition of the laborers of the two countries
The example of Europe has miserably msled them to
advocate the pomiey Of reducing the prices oflabor
| here 10 the European standard
| A year ago was in England in the south of Eng
land which is little the poorest part of the coun-
trv-and was in the centre Of England and in the
north And was very particular TO find out how the
laborcrs Jared there II a subject that deeply in
tcrcs,ed me, and | made particular inquiries TO find
out all about il. | wanted to know every thing about
| it. And il went away from my country Amrican,
| came home 300 600 times more American, to the
back bone than was when left here (Immcnse
cheering)
On the 22d of September, last year. was in the
south of England and found the price oflabor there
for good seven shillings week and he
has TO board himself and his family In the Of
England, which is the richest and best part Of the
country and where the soil is productive, in the
midst of the harvest time, good man only get
| eighteen pence day, or about 80 cents day, and
board himself and his family In the south Of Scot
land he gets more, and in the north he does mt get
so much.
And in the midst of the best of the year for
laborers, | have seen thousands Of them going along
the road side with their sckes their shoulders de-
srous Of working for Is I'd day, and couldn't get
/ 49,. II. ~.