Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-07-15
The Labor Question.

GOLD HILL, July II, 1854.
MEssRs. EDITORS I'm your "NEws" OF
this evening you devote a portion Of your
valuable leading column to a short editorial
on the subject of the proposed reduction of
Miners wages from four dollars as now paid,
to three dollars per day; you merely state
YOUR opinion as to the probability Of the event
taking place, without evincing very decided
bias in favor of either capitalist or miner.
For this reason and because no one SO far as
| have seen, has written line on our side Of
the question, venture to offer this hastily
prepared article attempting to show tohy the
miners labor is worth four dollars per day,
and 'ohy the proposed step Il taken Will SO
signally fail in having the desired effect Of
introducing greater economy IN the manage
ment Of the mines:
In the first place the vocation OF miner IS
one recurring such an amount of skill and
practice as should place him more IN the
rank of tradesman than laborer, 1t IS only
after two or three years practice at least
that man becomes 4 miner. Take full
crew of emigrantS or other green hands and
| set them to work in one Of our paying mines
and what would you make OF 1t? Why you
| might as well start clipper out through the
| Gate with full crew Of land lubbers, from
captain to cabin-boy. In the name Of COM
mon sense then are men who have devoted
wears to a certain kind Of work and become
by practice expert workmen to receive IN
compensation for their labor actually lower
wages than are paid to unskilled laborers IN
other pursuits? In reason, think not.
Again, upon consideration Of the simple
| facts any unprejudiced person must admit
that there is no inducenent for any one to
stay in this comfortless sage-brush country
and work for bare living, which is all he
could make on less than four dollars per day.
When the ten dollars per week, which we
pay for meIe living, and the other unavoiaa-
! he outlaws are deducted from our monthly
REGENTS. even as wages now are, the margin
for profit is exceedingly small-and we MUST
have profit to stay. If we are to live "from
hand to mouth" we can do that in other
countries more pleasant to live in than this
and with far less hard work than here; We
can all very easily go to one, blessed with a
splendid climate, where, if we do not get very
| high wages, we can at least live in comfort
and Independence, and where we will not
find an impossible social barrier built up
against every man who is so unfortunate as
to work honestly for his living, that
| I'VE are the wide worlds working people,
Who live thus thrust aside,
is a truth particularly applicable to every
homeless Washoe miner.
| But l must be brief, for your sake and
mine, for time wears apace, and a hard days
work comes tomorrow. l have endeayored
simply to show the light in which myself and
companions regard the matter. The Super
| intendents can lower the wages If they like,
but don't think that one out Of twenty Of
| the old hands will work for less than We now
receive. None Of US are troubled with real
estate, and we can all leave at a moments
warning. Without doubt, a certain class OF
men will work for three dollars per day, but
will their labor at that figure be as profitable
as ours at four
One writer on the subject, in San Fran
cisco paper, advocates the employment Of
Cinnamon. Well, he can keep his China
men, and much good may they dc him but
| as for ourselves, we can't work for three dol
dollars. To ask us to do so, is simply absurd.
| Al that rate, to make living man would
| have TO work ereyy day. Now, the best miner
| in the Hill is liable to get "out Of job, to
say nothing about sickness or accidents; IN
such a case, how long would it take him to
get even upon recommending work again
How long? Why, forever. He would be re-
duced to the condition Of Mexican Peon,
with debt hanging over him which ne could
never pay.
If the managers Of the Washoe mines wish
to conduct them more economically, the best
way for them to do is to employ good under
ground foremen, who will see that every man
in the employ OF the company does fair
days work. Such is the policy followed in
the Re claim, where / am at work and
l think there is not man among the forty
or fifty who work in that claim that does not
earn his four dollars every day, while it is a
notorious fact among miners that in some OF
the Virginia claims that are now bawling
economy so Justify, four-bit piece would
oYerpay many Of their men for days work.
But must conclude, having already tres
passed too long on your patience. II you
can find space to insert this article In to-mor-
rows paper, you will oblige many Gold Hill
miners, including your correspondent,
CONTRA COSTA.