The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-05-16

Branch, Ne. 1sl, July 25th, 1867. Gear cir
beg to confirm the statement made Ia The
schedule. Engineers in union get :, ar 10.
cality 80s., 32s., ozz, and sos. for 561 hoursl
work /; non-union men get from 20s. TO 2Gs
for 60 hours work; % that the rate given
In the schedule 10 fair average" That IA
signed BY Mr.. Walker, the secretary.
| Mr.. Merivals-What about the 80 hours,
have you got that confirmed There was
not doubt expressed about that. Amer
receiving that letter waited on Mr.. Allan
and found that he had received return lS
months ago, which said that the average was
27s. week. / thought II very strange that
| the same man (for 1t was the same man who
gave him that) should give return of 27s.
. week, and then in this letter confirm the
statement that il was now S3s. Certainly
there was l6 months between the two. but
the difference was Too great 10 be explained
BY that. So again wrote to our secretary,
and have this letter to lsy before the Com.
mission from the secretary OF the Lynn
Branch OF the engineers :-aJuly S1st. 1867.
in answer to your letter Of the 30th to Mr..
Leach, beg to say that have made every
possible inquiry respecting the rate OF wages
| OF society and n-society men who are work.
Ing 10 Lynn and must repeat what before
stated, viz, that the lowest wages paid to our
men now are 25s. per week, and but two are
receiving SO little az that, and the highest, as
near % can possibly say, are 37s. know
that there are some getting 36s., and know
the lowest are ass. Now l think it is not .
very difficult matter to make the above rates
average more than 27s. When filed up the
schedule Mr.. Allan showed you, we took the
average of all the trade, whether society men
or not" (so you see he took the very lowest
and the very highest, and probably PTS. ut
that time would be q fair average). "Now
With respect to the non-union men all can
say is that got the information from .
man who worked several years journeyman
at one CT the non-society shops ia Lynn be-
fore he joined our society, and be never did
get more than 21s. per week, and he says
there are but one or two who get so much
as 26s. So by taking It from 20s to 26s.
think we cannot be far out OF the thing.
The very man who told me this might have
gone to work again in his old shop, for
should have told you that be left when be
Joined US, had it nct been for the rate or
wages be required, which quite frightened
his ID employer. Since be left him he has
been getting Is. or 8s. more per week.
shall be most happy to give you any iDfor-
nation that lies in my power, and to the ut
most | wish to give you the truth. should
be very sorry to place you in a false position
through . careless or rotfue statement Of
mine. must not omit to tell you that on
the place where am employed there are
non-union men employed and who never get
more than 20s. per week. have been there
between twelve and thirteen years, 90 hsye
had chance Of seeing and knowing Little
OF these things. know two men now work
ing there, smiths, who have bsen one AS and
the other near 40 years, and fl per week is
their pay, and they never had more, but they
bad 1Ss. for years before they got a rise Of
Is; so they tell me themselves. We have
several non-union men in our place. whom
an daily working with, and there is not enc
who gets more than 2ls. per week, assure
you, good workmen too. mention this TO
strengthen our former statements. The
schedule you sent to Mr.. Leach to fill up is
rather different to the one Mr.. Allan showed
yoA. believe the one you sent was to get
tie difference between the sosIety and non
society mems wages the one filed up was
q general OF oil in our trade"
The witness Withdrew.