New-York tribune., 1867-03-12


to abolish many a nuisance now existing.
LABOR IN EUROPE AND N AMERICA
The Sun under the head of Wages and
Poverty Abroad" quotes statement OF the
wretched, starvation recompense of the weay-
ers of Yelvets, &c, in Spitalhelds, England,
and, very properly, adds;
"The rate OF wages paid skilled aborers In some parts
Of Europe Is very small compared Mh 's w I,, t%e
from Belgium state that all the iron works there are being
worked 20 their utmost capacity heavy orders iro L
been received Good wOrkmen are paid about VI 90 Tor
days work Of lS hours Other workmen ss weaves a ha
hours OF labor being the same aud no stOppage allowed
for breakfast letter from England gives some
account Of the distress among the operatives az spa
fields where the manufacture OF silk srgey carried on
skfu workmen yelyets and costly silks are glad 10
get employment working u TO l6 hours day, at a a
week while some do excessive WORK lot ~ OF
The wretched half starved children Of these people
are made few pennies by what are called emil
drcn's trades One Of these Is Che manufacture o.!
boxes which little aborers from three years Oh
and upward toll all day for the sum OF three OF iour cents
The mortality among MANN 5Hfse families nre unable to sustain
life by their united efforts and are thr9wn UPON sucn
pcnses these operatives much less than would be
necessary 20 support the class here but, notwth
aborcrs OF both much worse IN Europe than In
this country"
The Sun habitually lends itself TO those who
hold it right and proper that American Manu-
featuring Labor should compete unprotected
with this half paid pauperized labor OF
Europe-shoud spin and weave, fashion ana
fabreate on such terms as it could command
in the absence of Protective duties. In other
words, The Sun says TO this Labor,
You must work as cheap as they do IN Eu-
rope, or surrender nearly every branch OF
manufacture 10 the half-starved labor of that
continent" This is urged on the plea of
cheapness, and in the interest of the so-called
consumers rs if we were not all consumers
and nearly all producers whose mutual inter
est it is To " live and let liye.n
We believe it the true interest of our whole
country. and of every part of il, to make here
our own Iron and Steel (for instance) out OF
American Ore, fused by American Coal
But the skilled workmen who labor 1871
hours per day in Belgium for 81 80,
here demand IS to 81 for a days work,
and very properly refuse to work SO
many as 1871 hours. And as Iron and
Steel are brought over virtually as ballast to
light fabrics-consequently at very low rates
it is manifestly impmcticable to make them
here so cheapy-that is, for so few dollars per
tun-as in Belgium or Great Britain. Certain
fabrics, produced mainly by costly and COM
plicated machinery, can be made here
about as chcaply rs elsewhere though by
means of better paid labor; but Iron
and Steel are mainly produced by manual
effort, all the way up from the ore-bed to the
coal mine, and therefore must cost more here
than where labor is far cheaper. In other
tb,tt tbn ol Nc t,vn
of Bar Iron is twenty five days work, and that
this work costs $50 in Belgium and S75 in
Pittsbmgh-we cannot produce it so cheap here
as it is produced in Europe.
Is it therefore best to buy our Iron in Eu-
ropeP
We think not, for these reasons:
l. We believe it the true interest Of mankind
that Labor should be fairly paid rather than
half or quarter paid.
g. We believe it best for mankind that Labor
and Skill should be attracted from Europe to
this country where they will be more justly
recompensed and their children be better edu-
Gated and inherit better prospects and greater
advantages.
3. We believe that our Iron, though COM
manding higher money price, will really cost
Vul ptoDlt ItsSt III hVih Ahh'N'i'"A
Ore, smelted by American Coal, than if it were
made for us in Europe. For the producers here
will consume American fruits vegetables,
fuel, &C., &c, which would have no conve-
nicnt market while our furnaces ana work
shops remained in Europe. The TRIB-
UNE, for example, has paid more than 100000
for American Iron, mainly manufactured into
presses, building-pates, Sci and we can better
afford TO pay $50 per tun for this Iron if made
in this country, by workmen who buy and read
mainly American newspapers, than to obtain
it for $50 from Europe, where the iron-makors
buy nothing of u.s. and (n facO are generally
too poor TO buy newspapers at all.
We are quito aware that these views are stig-
matized IA narrow, antiquated, selfish, Npacious,
suicidal, &c, &C., by the Free Trade