The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-09-07
sATTaDAT BOOMING. sep.
-LoH wage. and so Neat"

ITi- copperhead speakers are very
,itter in iLeir opposition - The tafif.
lfthsre were . low tzrif, they say
everything would be cheaper. Expose
our American Industry TO foreign com
petition, and let Us have dry goods,
iron, dc. as cheap as possible. The
reason Why foreign manufactures can
~ sold lower than the American IT,
that the foreign laborer il reduced to
very low wages, while the American
rys.ivs. n fair com pensation. The elect
therefore. Of shy considerable reduction
ofths isriG, or free trade, would be TO
Ura,trete our manufacturers who EiEe
employ nIent and fair wages TO large
Number Of peopis-OT else II the com Pc
t,tion lie maintained. wages must be
esE.tly reduced. Now Tor the copper
read leaders vino profess 30 much love
.,or workingIneu, to advocate a poll
cy. which. instead of making Us
independent Of foreign work shoPs,
ysouId rsdnes Us 10 dependence, and
would besides, bring our working
men TO low wages and no meat" IL
rbHrBcisristIc. Philosophers snd po-
inicsI economists, OF the free trade
class, can give You many reasons for
me adoption OF their free trade and
autI-Tezyrlction theories, bat when you
come To the bottom OF their scheme,
vou .sin ind Ats success TO depend up
on bringing the wages OF the workers
in Europe and the United STATES, to
Inc Eams standard.
II j. well to notice the rate Of wages
30 Iorsigu parts and compare II with
the wages received by our own me
rbsnics:
Tnoue OF Col. Eorucy's letters from
FInone 20 the Philadsl p hiH Pres, he
viyag !, table OF the wages which are
6,id in Belgium in AZ Of the most com
mon occupations. From this table u
,unears that sLonemasons, bakers, gla-
zieTs, pastry cooks, PAYERS servant
I,E.rrfs. and dTessmBkeTs, received
rom % 10 10 cents per day: shoent-
krry. srs, lHmPmukersI TALL
ofs, eoEch;uakcTs, butchers, matters, car
renters. book binders, isOm 40 10 ~
cents; siovemAkers, plastersrs ana lace,
mixers from % to 30 ceutsi cOOpsIh huu
,,igGrtnnkers, from 30 TO 80 cents watch
mixers and cabiueImAkera from 80 TO
"a CENTS; pressmen and house painters,
from 10 to 20 CENTS, and WORKERS 10
Irass from co to 50 cents. Competitors
and glnAamaksTs are paid from ~ 70
l..n cents; clerks from 10 TO lOO; Je"eI-
er. rom 80 to 100, and forgemeu from
IN IN 10 cents. Conductors get from
500. "
The New York World, tCopperhead'l
after copying this table, says:
These are very low wages; but beef
Isouly ninety confines, say fifteen or
sixteen cents per pound; butter is one
franc aud half per ponndi potatoes
are sold by weight, AS they shouId De
everywhere, ana cost twelve francs ioI
a sack UI two hundred pounds; ana
bread il twenty centimes, one-hHh OF
frame per pound, aud the government
,a..s that q full pound - sold for the
price II IL true that the prices OF these
nsceasaTies are not much lower than
the cost iu coin for the same articles ID
this coutry. But the TaLes are cor slu-
eTably below the paper prices We pay
nj present"
Beef at Is to 10 cents n pound butter
at ~, lard and other articles in proper
lion, How Is the lRboring man, who
earns from 20 10 40 cents day, TO in
duIge in meat or butter at such PricesT
with house rent aud fnel to pay for,
and wages ~ to 40 cents per day, meat
nnA butter would be rarely seen on the
tables OF laboring men In Belgium
And this tells the story. The only way
10 bring American manufactures into
successful competition with foreign ar
ticles. with low tariff, is TO proclaim
..Iow wnges and no meat" for the
American operative. And this is what
the copperhead leaders are doing in eff
feet, when they denounce the tariff, and
ciamor for cheap goods of foreign man
ufacture The wages OF American Ia
bor must be reduced TO the foreign
standard, or We must allow European
workshops to supply our markets, to
IhSulte destruction Of many branch
&c OF American industry.