The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-16
The Wages Of Lnbor.

|
ing classes OF the city in one general Pro-
tective Union, il is important TO determine
whether the low rate Of wages which now
prevails is due TO oppressive combinations
OH the part Of the employers. or TO natural
causes alone.
The ranting demagoguc roundy asserts
that all employers arc tyrants. and all un-
combined workmcn something more abject
Than slaves. Dut the claptrap of the venal
dcclaimer will have no lasting effect; the
more especially rs those who must bear the
brunt of the new movement, cannot afford
TO make false start by ignoring altogether
hard facts and the counsels of cool and So
ber reason.
| AT the very outset, we must admit the right
of every employer 10 go into the market and
engage his workmen at the lowest market
price. There is no economic reason why ho
should pay one farthing more than the least
rate at which the men who suit him are will
| ling and ready TO work. All that can be
demanded OF him, rs OF the workingman, is
that he shall faithfully carry out the stipula-
tions OF his bargain. This is n cOld-blooded
| view, it is true, Of the connection between
| capital and labor; but it is, nevertheless,
the true one. The priests of the new Evan
| gel may preach that San organized religious
Influence will hereafter induce employers
| 'to concede to their men, voluntarily, a
''largcr share of their profit than any Trade
| "Union could eXtort from thcm;" and it may
suit the fanciful, who have no mouths Of
women and children TO fill, to accept the
calm assurance of NJ. Comte that the prov
ince OF tho capitalist is faction and author
'ftative direction" Until, however. the
final triumph of the Religion of Humanity,
most OF us will lie disposed to confess that
the prime object of the employer is TO accu-
mulatc wealth, not TO do good to the work.
ingmcn. Ethical considerations have little
practical bearing upon the relations OF labor
and capital.
At the first glance it may seem that the
freedom of the employer from all check or
restraint has had much TO do with keeping
down the price OF work. But there has
been 10 combination among the capitalists
to lower the remuneration of the worker.
They have only taken cheap labor ms they
found it, and if one man refused to work for
the price which was offered they had NO
difficulty in finding others who would an
| swcr their purpose as well. There was no
| combination to force higher wages, and
half loaf was better than none
The real cause Of the present unsatisfac-
tory remuneration of workingmen in Charles
ton may be found, we firmly believe, not in
combination of employers, or an absence
OF combination among the employed, but
III the want OF capital TO be used in new un-
dertakings, and in the Improbable nature
oil the Investments already made and now
carried on. This is enough to make labor
cheap; for the supply is steadily growing i'm
volume, while the demand is at least at q
stand STILL
The banking or active capital Of the State
was destroyed by the war; which also swept
away The slave capital, which enters into
the calculation at this stage only as fnr as
1t was means OF procuring moncd cap-
ita!, which, in one way or another, would
give employment TO the laborcr. No foreign
capital could be procured; the masses were
staggering under load OF debt; all that
could be relied on was the profit which
should gradually accrue from agriculture
and from commerce. The agricultursts
have been moderately successful, and have
relieved themselves OF their heaviest embar
rassmcnts. They have surplus, apart from
what has been paid away, out of the State
and in it, for implements and stock. This
surplus Is boarded up; it is dead it gives
employment to no one and, as creator of
demand for labor, might as we'll be at the
bottom OF the Atlantic. And in the cities
there is the same chain of cause and effect.
Some capital has been gathered mp; but we
have now less than million dollars of bank
ing capital against twelve or thirteen millions
In 1860. There is not money enough to carry
on the purely mercantile branches OF our
trade. We are hampercd and restrained by
want of means, and there is no hope of an
immediate change for the better.
We have now partially accounted for the
absence OF those expenditures in manufac-
lures upon which depend The fortunes of the
mechanic. The foundrias and machine shops
have not been wholly idle, but it is open to
consideration whether they have not been
worked as much to the profit OF tho work
man as to that of the employer. The do
inand for our manufactures has been limited
and most master mechanics have done little
more than hold their own. Look also mt The
condition of the city as affecting the brick
layers, carpenters, pnirters and workers in
IRON. Tho heart of Cha, lesion was burned
out eight years ago, and what has been done
to I'LL up tho vod' Tho burnt district is
The burnt district still. And this is suscep-
tiblc OF reasonable explanation. Under the
slave system more house-room was ncccs-
sary than is needed now Loss of fortune
compels several families to occupy tho same
dwelling. During tho last nine years the