New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1845-09-11
LABOR IN NEW YORK:
ITS cIRcUNsTANcEs. CONDITIONS AND REWARDS.
40. MI The Inmrncymen Printer.

from the four quarters Of the globe and ds-cmnaies
far and wide intelligence Of interest TO individuals
communities and States highly beneficial to every
other branch Of labor and Of the utmost utility in all
civilized organizations Of men. II Is the great tee
scope through which We survey the vast Universe
Of knowledge and the grand medium by which the
mind ia cultivate and enlightened
There are in this City about two hundred and fifty
Printing establishments or Printing Offices as they
arc more usually termed from the great Nam
moth concerns with an investment Of half a mil
lion to the Lillipulian garrett Offices, whose type,
press, sc. would 40; bring fifty dollars at auction.
Printing is usually divided into three branches
Book Printing and Publishing, Newspaper and Peri
odca Printing. Card and Job Printing. These uni
ted departments OF the art employ not less than SIX
teen hundred persons including regular Journey
men, twO thirders and boys. OF these by far the
larger portion are occupied in the Book and News
paper Offices and OF the mass onethird are foreign
ers from the British Islands and Canada, with
sprnkling of French and German one-thrd are from
the surrounding States aud country, and onethrd
are native bred New. Workers.
Type setting, termed composition among Printers
Periodicals is paid for by the piece. On Book work
and Periodicals the rates are twenty-five cents for
re- print and twenty seven cents for manuscript per
thousand ems. On Daily Papers-Evening, TWEEN
~ eight cents Morning, thiry-two cents. These
rates enable competent workman steadily employ
ed to realize nine twelve and fifteen dollars per
week according as he labors on Book work, an Eve
ming or a Morning paper Some Offices employ their
workmen, or portion OF them, by the week, of
which we shall speak by and by.
Press work on the hand press-snd by which most
fine work continues to be executed-is branch dis
tinct from composition and retained in Book OF
fees bu, in Jobbing Offices ii is common for work.
men to understand and perform both branches.
In Iobbing Offices men employed by the piece
earn variously six seven nine and twelve dollars
weekly, when fully employed In Card and Job
bling Offices where the finer specimens OF work are
executed good workmen will make twelve and hf-
teen dollars-bui the business is not Of uniform
s,esdness and the average yearly earnings among
the majority Of hands do not exceed six dollars per
week
Xylographic Printing, or printing in colors. has
not here attained the perfection to which II has ar.
rived in the Old World; and although we have seen
some very respectable specimens Of the art executed
in this City yet they deficient in richness, deli
cacv and finish Nevertheless the American il
not so fastdious as his European brother opr Aylo
graphic printing affords excellent wages compe
tent workman being able 10 earn his fifteen or
eighteen dollars per week
Although there Is very little, il any, regular APP
II I.t.s tina, "A
flee has its quota of boys ranging in number from
one to twenty. or more according 10 the method and
extent of its operations. These boys receive from
Al 30 TO - 90 per week, for one or two years
when if they have become at all skul in the art OF
type setting they are permitted 10 work on their o'cn
hooL "a hrofhirders. at lsl and 20 cents per thou
sand and thus Dust from their legitimate places re
gular journey men. If the boy has become remarka
bly, quick and correct i'll composition, he can readily
obtain a situation at from FIVE to seven dollars per
week-in every instance usurping the place OF ano-
Their, and not unlrcquen,ly that of man of family.
This is an evil with which the iourneymen are forced
to contend at odds this class of ntcropers is con
stantlv accommodating from the surrounding country
and by foreign influx.
One tenth of the whole body OF Printers is en-
ployed on The Daily Papers; seventenths on Book
work and Periodicals. and the balance at Xylogra-
phic and oiherJob printing. Theiollowing estimate
of the proportions of their various earnings and sta
bili,y of employment. is believed TO be very nearly
correct: Onc-,cnth earn ten, twelve, fourteen and
eighteen dollars per week, with constant employ
mcnt. one tenth earn eight, nine, ten and twelve
dollars per week and are unemployed one and two
civ
eight nine and ten dollars per week two thirds be
ing unemployed from four TO ten weeks, and moi
ETY. of the balance three months ont of the twelve
The remaining four ienths are paid from 81 so 10
three, four and five dollars per week, and with
few exceptions have steady employment.
There is Typographical Society in this City
chartered by the Legislature we believe in Isis
Ii is benevolent Institution, but poweress to fix
and support a uniform scale of prices having ac
quiesced in the insertion of clause in the charter
by which It's action is efociually controlled 1t
numbers about $50 members, but is not popular
with the majority Of workmen
Very soon after the incorporation Of this Society
the employers generally took advantage OF the
clause spoken Of and gradually so reduced the
wages and enlarged the number of boys that the
majority of the iourneymen were forced TO work Tor
% cents per thousand. or abandon the field Being
members of the Society, they were debarred from
acting as body and individuals prcierrns the lat
fer alternative betook themselves 10 other modes oil
gaining livelihood From that time 10 this the
Journevmen have made many attempts 10 improve
their condition. with only partial success until In
the Spring of 1896 successful effort was made, and
the Typographical Association, organized few
wears previous. obtained a general advance OF
prices under highly favorable auspices So much
50 As 10 warrant belief that the remuneration OF
the workmen would be permanently improved
hsppv influence was Immediately felt, IN the eeNs-
ton of the character and the improvement OF The CIR
cumstsnccs of its members. which had not pre-
yiously been remarked Through Meriness aud
neglect. A. well a. the competition among I'm
ployers and the runous ~ stem OF fc0tAHders'
which the Association could not break down, II ull
maielv crumblcd TO pieces. and the advance prices
fell to the present standard-bui one Book EsIab-
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