The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1843-03-01
THE WAGES OF LABOR.

The statements we have published in re-
ation 10 the so much blazoned and denoun.
ced reduction of Wages at Lowell establish
the following facts:
l. There has been no general reduction
Of wages in the ManufactOries. A single
establishment only has reduced the prices il
pays for piece-work.
:. That reduction is based on Improve
.7snts in its machinery made since the for
mer rates of prices were established. For
instance. the machinery in factory enables
each woman 10 weave 20 yards Of cashmere
per day, for which she is paid 2l cents per
yard. Al length great Improvements are
made in machinery elsewhere :he mill. ow-
Lers must adopt them, or they can no lon-
ger make cloth as cheap as their neighbors;
hey put in new machinery at a cost of sey--
eral thousand dollars, with which each wo-
man employed can weave 80 yards Of the
same cloth per day. Now can they go on
payiag 2 IL cents q yard for weaving?
How, then, shall they compete with their
foreign rivalsl How pay for their new
mac!,ineryi But they reduce their price
paid for weaving to cents per yard: Is it
not unfair and dishonest to present this with
out explanation 10 the public, and pronounce
II real reduction of wagesl
keIs has not been increased in consequt nee
Of ,he new Protective Tariff, but reduced
b:lOto the prices euer kno,on before
4. The wages of Labor paid in our
manufactures are now substantially higher
than ever before. We Go not say that more
ri.ney is paid for a weeks or months labor
for that would prove nothing any way; but
the money earned by The lsborers in our
factories will buy more Food, Clothing, and
other necessaries and comforts of life than
The products of so much labor in factories
would have paid for at any former period.
of course, no one will understand US
as affirming that the Factory system of Hi
Ted Labor is perfect-that the mill-owners
ere more honest or philanIhropic than other
men-or that the condition Of The Laborers
herein is all that it should be. Our opin.
toas on all these points are quite otherwise.
We greatly desire to see state Of things in
whicn virtuous and Intelligent combina.
:ion Of !aborers shall own or hire a factory
Tor themselves, fix their own hours of labor
york in harmony end with alacrity under
the direction Of their most skifnl and able
members, divide fairly their own earnings,
anu mus demonstrate that Man is capable
OF maintaining and pro6tine by Industrial
aud Socia! rs well as Political Libertv.-
60 also in Agriculture and the mackenzie
Arts-in every department of Useful Indus.
try. Blu, the fact that we believe ba,,sr
ter system Of Labor desirable and ultimate.
" practicable does not incline Us 10 obnse
and nlSrepresent that which exists.
We know that mill owners are a; best bu,
men, and TINT they will naturally look we'll
10 their personal interests. They must
rom the nature CT the case, thew mus,
!;loge what wages they can afford 10 paw; If
,aey Judge niggardly, We see no help for it
Su' 'heir inability TO procure Labor at the
prices p they offer. Abusing them for not
9sylng more, may enable the lower strata
" hccoloco demagogues 10 catch the votes
c.a Jews. Jew simple and ignorant persons, bu,
eaa answer no good purpose whatever. II
Tuf poor people were as well situated as
nose employed in our manufactures, VIC
Snoula ieel less concern on their account
G f1ul there are lots of men among us over
S:o"iog with indignation because ihe boo,
"y girls are moi paid $40 per month
''dr'' who themselves hire girls for 81