The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-10-02

steel 8, 464, 65t
Leather 5.fSs q;
Paints, eolors white and red 1,0zS 62t
Psper l,l75,lse
Perfumery 36S SIS
Salt 1,SOS, OS7
sinks, all kinds 1874, s9l
Ovrdage ropes and twines, Of all kinds l94,6le
Chloride Of lime or bleaching powder 643,64i
OcthiDg mot ineludiI silk stuRs 1,fT7 sos
Soda ash and c.rbsnates 607, $50
God aud Manufactures Of wood (including
furniture ISL, 7oe
Wood and wooden Manufactures e,24o, SIC
Other manufactures not classified %, O,s52
Total s1sO,ol5 527
This vast sum of money we are required to
pay for the productions of the labor oil
foreign countries, where, as | have shown,
les wages are paid, and the commodities
above speciHed-all Of which We have the
ability to produce in our own country-sre
forced upon our home markets and compete
directly with the products Of our better
paid workingmen. Is is true that demand
exists here for the commodities named, but
it 10 equally true that soon az we secure L.
gislstion calculated to restrain their impor-
tstIon from abroad, the work required to
pr Oduce these commodities will be done mt
home. Be good enough to Look over the
above statements OF commodities imported,
nuO uuu II yOu O6u nEblCAo CuuWOL ubcu
therein that cannot be produced in the
United States and IL this large increase
of production was secured for our own
country would not enterprise be stimulated
and projects started on our soil calculated
to increase the demands for labor, and fur.
nish for all our people diversity Of employ
mentsg Would it not tend to increase our
pop ulation and wealth, to quicken labor
nd he HI uha r. 1ou~ - L.
ment OF the country, and general pros
perity7
To illustrate, take window glass, Of which
il appears we imported during the year in
gold value O. 040.7 78. By starting 40 glass
houses on the Detroit River We could pro.
duce that amount of glass, and the 40 glass
houses would furnish employment for az least
$4,000 men at wages averaging az least 4S
per pay and the fifteen thousand men thus
employed would consume the surplus pro-
ducts Of every garden and farm 10 the town
ships Of Springwells, Ecorse, Taylor and
Brownstown.
think the farmers of those townships
would be glad to see 40 glass factories in
operation on the banks Of our beautiful
river.
We consume, 1t appears, per annum, over
$S,OOO,O 900 worth Of window glass in addI-
tion 20 the production of all our glass fac
tories and this shows that we have q home
market for that much more Of window elass.
Why is it that the 40 factories are not &C.
tablished at once2 I will answer. AT the
Detroit Glass Works il has been sscertained
that to produce 100 boxes Of window glass
Of the best quality the following outlay 10
required:
For material, including potts. ire brick, iron, dails,
lumber, tools, coal, wood, sand, alkAlies, lime.
For labor American wages $50 90
500 90
the cost Or the material would BE- ;sss %
Labor pau er wages z7S 90
each N m
Duty 100 90
The Englishman lays down the 100 boxes
of window glass in the United States at
cost Of Sis under the cost Of the Detroit
Glass Works, because the pauper wages at
which the glassworkers in England are OBJ
lIged to labor, give him the advantage above
shown. This brief statement illustrates the
whole question Of protection, ana the Ameri-
can labcr!ng man cannot fail to see that il
is solely question Of wages.
Either the duty on the glass made BY for
eigners at lower wages must he ADEQUATE to
overcome the difference in the price of labor
or American wages will be forced down
to the level of the ill-paid millions OF
Europe"
How AMERICAN woRKMEN KxPBND THEIR
WAGES.
Having demonstrated, think, that waees
are higher here than in other countries, and
having also presented good reasons Why
wages here should always be above the stand
ard maintained 10 other countries, not only
for the direct interest and advantage Of our
workiDgmen, but ON the broad ground of
sound policy for the government Of THE free
Republic, J will 90 on to examine other
of the EUeniug Post, particularly
the averment.that Americana get the poorest
wages because they are compelled by the in
iquisIOus tariff 60 pay a high price for every
foreign commodity they are required to buy,
and the EUening Post illustrates the argu-
ment as fOiiOws:
A weeks wages of nine wOrkingmen in
a mandatory of firearms in Connecticut
will buy l134 yards Of Administer carpet il
New York; a weeks wages of nine men, 81 |
milarly employed in Birmingham, will buy |
lI34 yards Of the same kind Of carpet.
NiQty six days. labor in q saw manufac-
Tory IN this country will buy est yards Of
this country; nDetY-six days
abor Of the same workmen in q manu-
factory in 9f6eld will buy 793 yards Of the
same, or even better cloth there.
" Ninery SIX days labor in an American
Jaw factory xilk buy here 1876 d'zen silk
uockings; ninety six days labor Of precise
Y the same class deworkmen in an English
,aw factory will buy there 1884 dozen.
Thirty days. labor BY five factory wo-
men in Mas-achuet'-one week esch-will
buy here 90 yards Of poplin or 355 dozen of
Jlark's spool thread, the same labor Of the
ame class Of hands 10 England will buy them
pa yards Of the same poplin, or so doxen
Il The same spool thread"
The question arises, do Americas farmers
md other workingmen experd all their
earnings and wages 10 buying Administer
carpets, hne broadcloth and silk stockings F?
Aud do our American women exrend ali |
heir wages for poplins and Clark's spool
hreadf 1t cannot be possible that thess
statements are pus forth in cAndor, for The
EDITOR of the Eveaing Post knows, as
yell as every other wsll-informed man id |
he country knows, that the annual~i91
nent Of q workingman or wokpgwomsD,