Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-08-28
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Jhose occupations which are unbealtbv
ghieh though, not immediately haxar.
eYYs' nseyertheless .Abridge Life, ought 90
ca. ,mand more than the ordinary rate of
Wages. II 4 man is liable to Be made
SICK, and cesSS SSequentIy exposed TO loss Of
time and expense IF medical ATTENDANCE,
be should be compensated for such liza.
biIty. 1.-The is likely to sh0rten life in
a particular. employment that. should be
matter of consideration in determining
the rate of wages. ......., ....
Regarded in an economical point of
view, merely. it is certain that On this
account some iaborerS should receive
much higher compensation than they do
at present: and to determine what that
increased pay should be, we must ascer-
tain the value or expectation Of life in
the different occupations To do this, as
well as we are a bic in this country. We
have had recourse to TIN official rccistrar
tion of births, marriages. and deaths,
made by authority Of the State Of Masss-
chusetts. and published annually by its
Secretary. We take the Eleventh Re
port, which,gives the results Of the last
eight years and eight months, ending De-
cember 81 1851. a..
From this Report it appears that agri-
culturists live to the average age of 63 %
years; bla, KS piths 81 Ii; shoemakers
43.l2. We take these three examples.
because they seem mbesttorepresents average
employment. The first is the most
healthy, the second of b medium charac-
ter, and the third the most unhealthy of
all the principal occupations. From this
it will appear that the expectation Of life
is, in round numbers, for
Farmer at the age Of 81, 43 years,
Blacksmith. do, 80 years,
Shoemaker do, % years.
The a. riculturist then, it APPEARS. has
the advantage over the blacksmith of IS
years, or 43t per cent; and, therefore. it
the blacksmith or shoemaker receive
wages which shall in the aggregate during
life, amount to as much as those Of the
former, they must be correspondiugly
higher. T. % -'.'s 58
According to the foregoing, il we allow
800 DAYS to the year, and takes the wages
of the agriculturist to be 81 day, the
different occupations should stand as fol-
lows: '- ..t
Farmer = As by 800 equal 1000. atSI
per day, is $4,000. -
,-Rlacksnith-30 by equal 5000, ct
81 4SA per day, S12 900.
Shoemaker by 800 equal $500, az
81 .95. per day, is $4,000.
Such, then, should be the relative value
of wages of these several occupations,
regarded merely as question of produc-
ton. IL the blacksmith or the shoemaker
does not receive as high proportional
wages as indicated above, he is, rs com.
pared with the farmer, working fN less
than fair price, estimating life as valu.
able only. for earning given amount of
nancy. - Dyr... -,. .-. -r f5
But all mechanics, it is clear, ought
other things being equal-to receive .
higher rate of wages than the man who
works on the farm, on the ground that
they have been at the expense of learning
trades, for which they should be COM
peusated by larger pay; for q trade is
capital invested, for which profit may
be rightfully claimed, in the shape of en-
HANGED wages.
AS an economical question, then, the
expectation Of lifc should be matter of
consideration with every one in choosing
an occupation, and in determining the
rate of wages. That this is now the case.
is very evident, because the wages paid
for labor in an unwholesOme employment,
do not correspond with the abridgement
of human life consequent thereto SO that
the laborer loses not only good part of
his fife, but also share OF the wages he
ought to receive while he does live. As,
for example, the shoemaker docs not
receive, take the country through, more
thanSl AZ per day; while, according TO the
foregoing table, he should receive 81 954
to make his equa. to farming wages atSl
per day. elf SO, then he loses 539 cents
per day in wages, and 2l years of his
life into the bargain. The same relatiye
difference might be shown in regard to
ali other occupations. CO
Agriculture is evidently the normal
employment Of man-that in which he
enjoys the greatest health and lives the
longest. Every other calling is unwhole.
some to the exact extent which it departs
in its condition from the agricr ltural, and
therefore the rate of wages should be i'd
juSted to scale constructed on this prin
ciple. As things now are, ali mechanics
and persons employed in close rooms yart
as general fact, very much underpaid
This whole class live only 70 the average
Of 46 years, Is years less than the agri'
culturist. They should receive greatel
wages, and work less hours per day
they would thus prolong their lives, and
get fair compensation for their services