New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-07-02
Tendency of Population 10 the Cities-Its
To The Editors Of The ~ Y. Tribune;

To the Editors Of The w. I. 1rl6hRei
The rapid increase of the population of
Cities and the very slow increase of the Agricultural
towns is subject frequently alluded to. This emlgra
ton is the rsmirkable, the country people well
know that diseasL Of every hue abounds ia the cities
and that death there stalks abroad at MONDAY sparng
neither youth nor beauty. They also often hear that
pinching poverty there brushes his thousands TO the
EARTH and they know that evil In every variety of form
there seeks to the unwary to destruction. It
requires argument 10 convince any candid mind that
there must exist powerful motive which can thus
induce young and old to leave their homes and early
associations and face peril, of fearful character
that few escape unframed, while thousands are cut
down by DEATH endure moral DEATH which is vastly
worse.
review of the habits and practices of City and
Country and of the remuneration of Labor given in
each, may show US the of this unwi.e emigra.
ton. Let us first look at the of life of man
who works on farm He rises with the sun and forth.
with his arduous toll and not during
the yeong day. he 10 exposed 10 the burning heat OF
summer and 10 the piercing cold OF winter; his hands
grow calous and his manners uncouh while his mind
remains undeyeOped and yet notwithstan ling all this
labor and pryaIon, he cannot get living without the
strictest economy the of his homespuD
and the plainness of his daily fare testify.
Let now look at the routine. of life In city. The
clerk rises in the morning at his LEISURE and sets down
TO a table spread with the dsinties Of the land bis
hands are not hardened with work his clothes, In the
hehI of the fashion, unsoied while his gold re-
peaer and its gitterng APPENDICES conspicuousy
displayed In easy, graceful manner, he recOunts
the pleasures Of city life, and alludes 10 his salary
of five hundred dollars or a thousand dollars as
barely sufficient 10 enable him TO keep up the style of
gentleman Such the life of City clerk Ii we turn
to the City mechanic, find his labor equally high in
proportion while bis pay enables him to have on his
BILE the dantes and uxues OF the If We then,
review the respective positions Of the ladies In the two
places shall find the disparity in their empoyments
to be equally striking. With the one the work of milk
ing and butter making forms an Important part of their
daily avocations baking and spinning serving re-
lies TO the dull monotony of their lives while the
other looks upon visiting, shopping and playing on
the piano among the most important of their duties
nor does the homepun dress of the one and the silks of
the other tend to soften the feeling OF dssasfac In
the breast of the less favored one.
Now 1t 10 not surprising that the appearance,
ners and light labor of the citizen should the
country to wish for easier life especially when
lie reflects that the clerk mechanic, who "a better
than himself, should receive and spend for his own
private expenses more than Is expended for whole
family in the country Here, then, we have motive
sufficient TO account for the emigration to the City the
mechanic receives for his ten hours work 81 with dan-
ty living while the cOuntryman receives for his live
long day work fifty cents with the coarsest fare IL Is
no use object that these high wages not universal
ia cities for high wages and short hours do unquesOn
ably act premium to encourage emigration TO them.
Now In the Of the infants who prematurcly per-
Ism In our cities In the Of the who there make
shipwreck of good conscience and sink 10 the lowest
depths Of wretchedness, ask whether this dispropor
ton In the labor and wages of city and country be right
Why should the country work from sunrise 10
set while the mechanic works but ten hoursi All lam.
antatOns concerning the evils of OvergroWn cities and
of the high prices OF many articles of food will be en-
trey useless so long as this extravagant dspropOron
exists nor will the emigration 10 the cities cease till
some change In these respects 10 brought about You
may talk the heabness and beauty Of the country but
your words will not be needed you msy dilate on the
dangers OF the city but will listen you c. D.
Remarks.
The unsound reasoning of &C. D.
would be harmless, but for his false facts nor
should we care for these if it were not deplorably
true that thousands labor under like hallucina-
ton with our correspondent. Let us try to set
him right. Well then
Ii is not true that the acreage compensation of
Clerks in Cities ranges from $500 to Z 900 a
year. We probably know as much on this head
as {. d.. and we assure him that there are to-
day in our City more Clerks who receive under
$500 than there are who receive over 500. Nor
is it true that there is any such disparity as he
between the hours Of labor Of Clerks
and Country Laborers. True, Clerks, as a class,
do not begin work SO early as farm-laborers but
they generally work later-often till 9, 10, ii and
even II o'clock at night. What country laborer
would like to purchase the privilege Of lying abed
late in the morning at that price! We have had
experience in all sorts Of hours and many sorts of
work; and it now seems to US that if we could