The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-04-01
saries Of life to the workingmen in the manu-
featuring districts of New England, the Middle
and few of the Western States at certain

featuring districts OF New England, the Middle
and q few of the Western States at certain
period, says
The result OF long and careful investigations in
respect to the retail prices OF the leading articles OF
domestic consumption by operatives in the manu-
featuring towns Of New England the Middle and
some OF the Western States, shows-ailowances be-
ting made for an ascertaned varying ratio OF ex-
pendiures for tue several articles enumeratcd-that
Tor the 1867 aud for the rs haf OF the year 1868
the average increase OF the cost OF all the clements
family has been about seventy-eigh per cent as COM
pared with the standard prices OF 1900 and 1861 Inc
result in general OF this large increase In the prices
OF commodities OF domestic consumption TO the
labor,ng man becomes evident BY comparing such
increase with the increase IN the rates OF wages
daring the period under comparison-whlcn rates.
for the 1867 compared with 1860 and 1861 We're
as fvllows:-For unskied mechanical labor, fifty per
cent for skilled mechanical labor, sixty per cent.
Mr.. Kelley referred pointedly to this para
graph during his Congressional address, and,
in language not by any means complimentary
to The Commissioner, said: -
Ipause for moment to deny the correctness OF
these figures, and 10 assert that the prices OF the
pecessares OF life enumerated in these tables are on
average not more than ifty per cent higher than
III 1000 while skilled labor Is now immeasarany
to one hundred per cent over the wages OF mat year.
Mr. Kelley did not venture, however, to put
forward line of confrmatory data of either
his denial or assertion. So that it is quite
evident to us that if the question was sub
mitted to national jury Of workingmen with
their experiences of the effect Of the pressure
of The period referred to themselves, and the
consequent state of their families fresh in their
minds, the verdict would be unanimous en-
dorsement of Mr. Wells statements, not only
by the representatives of New England but the
delegates from even the most fortunate quar-
tiers of the city of New York Commissioner
Wells presents trustworthy, intelligent and
Independent basis for his denials Of Mr..
Kelleys statements seriatim. 1t is the con-
eived from about fifteen hundred manu-
facturers or extensive employers Of labor
in all sections of tho country. OF this
compilation Commissioner Wells calls Mr..
Kelley's attention to what is said of the two
prime necessaries for the sustention of the
neutrality-suspicious. and salt. He said:-
The first items OF such evidence to which viii
your attention relate to two articles OF universal
ana necessary consumptiOn-vlz.. -four and salt In
report OF the special commissioner the average
advance In the prlce OF -four and other breadstuifs
The States, IS676S, as compared with the
prices OF similar articles IN is6o-6l Is slated to have
thing in the way or demonstration on this subject
present herewith Transcript from the books OF
the Subsistence Department OF The United States
Army, showing the advance in price paid in New
York city for nour distributed to the army IN the
the ACCURACY OF which is certified to By the United
States Coinmiss0ry General:-
1s59-6O cost per barrel tgold) ............ 50 II
1867 GS cost per barrel currency II ~
advance in price in lSo7-6o rs co impaired with
ls5a o., eishty-eight per cent,
From This exhibit the Commissioner argues
with force that inasmuch as neither the artisan
nor the laborer can ever hope to purchase
food cheaper than the officers of the govern
ment, who buy in large quantities, the advance
in -four was assuredly more than fifty per cent
In 1860. He next presents evidence to show
that in the article of san what could be pur-
chased at from eighteen to twenty cents q
bushel previous to our civil war cost at the
moment Of writing from sixty to seventy cents
for the same quantity, with nearly proportion
ate advance in the charges for the bagging and
Irvine requisite for its transportation. The all
important matter of house rents is next consid-
cred, and on this subject Mr.. Wells proves by q
Mr.. Kelley, that in the easy-going and, by
reputation, honest city OF Philadelphia the
charges for home shelter for mechanics and
laborers showed an average increase Of one
hundred and thirty per cent in 1869 as COM
pared with those prevailing in 1860, and that
only in one case-the poorest class tenement,
which rented at eight dollars per month in
1860 aud at sixteen dollars in lS69-was the
advance less than one hundred and twenty per
cent. Mr. Wells winds up his argument on
this point thus:--
on the other hand the advance IN more expensive
houses was Still greater. averaging over one hun.
drcd and thirty.hye per cent, one having advanced
from twenty dollars to ff.y dollars per month
another from twenty five dollars 10 sixty dollars ana
third from twenty-five dollars 10 scyeniy-Gve dol
lars
Mr.. Wells publishes interesting letters
which he had received from workingmen,
giving proof of the ruinous advance which
had been made in the prices of every article
of home use and consumption in the districts
of Lowell and Lawrence, Mass, and next pro-
ceeds to argue that the same pressure existed
in other forms in the rural portions of the
Union, and then takes up the case of the work.
ing population of the city Of New York,
setting forth, on the assurance Of experienced
officials engaged in the relief Of distress, that
although the past winter has been exceedingly
mild here the distress has been greater than
during the severe winter of 1868, although
the distress during this latter period
had never then found parallel in
the experience Of any previous years.
Mr.. Wells next considers the subject Of life
insurance and savings banks, denying Mr..
Kelley's deductions as to the testimony which
these corporations afford of the wcll-doing OF
the middle class, and asserting that that
gentleman has failed to comprehend the true
meaning Of the facts to be deducsd nom the