The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-01-22

trade 10 brisker on the one river thar
the other because, through variety o.
ccuses, production is cheaper there
Coal and iron are cheaper because they
are nearer their source of production
Then again, house rent and food are
cheaper, and therefore wages rule
lower. Naturally, therefore, in slack
times the balance of employment viii
be in favor of the Scotch river. But
when it is asserted, as writers opposed
to Trades Unions assert, that the
trade is being driven from the country,
we can only say that such statement
Is not true, nor can these people ct al
Indicate where it has gone. During
your war your mercantile navy and
your carrying trade came here. Be
sides which a large number of swift
vessels were built for the purpose Of
running the blockade. As matter OF
course, we have been overstocked ever
since, and shall have to wait for goo1
trade in our shipbuilding till large
quantity of this old stock has been
worked of, and in the meantime the
Trades Unions must be content to bear
the blame. Again, as to the cotton
trade, People had got it into their
heads that this important branch of
our national industry had greatly fallen
of. Upon examining the Board Of
Trade returns, however, it was found
out that this was not the case, as the
quantity of raw cotton imported was q
great increase on former years, and
this tailed with the quantity Of manu-
featured cotton exported. This was a
puzzle difficult to understand; and the
French commercial treaty, which was
meant to be the scape-goat, could
hardly be made to carry sins which
were clearly not due to it. A closer
enquiry lets in light of this kind :
During the time your war was on, our
manufacturers here carried in their
minds from the first the idea that it
might come any day to speedy and
unexpected close, and that whenever
this took place, large quantities of cot
ton III reserve would be thrown sud-
denly upon the market, and trade, so
long languishing, would suddenly be-
come active and profitable. In this
belief many new mills were run up all
through the cotton manufacturing dis
tiictS This of itself, however, would
only have been al Improbable sinking
of capital, but in addition TO this, ma
chinery was speeded with the view of
In
without any enlargement of the fac
tories. Now, however, that more than
the normal demand has come, the
power of producing has SO increased
that we have a great Over-supply, and
the want of employment and destitu-
ton consequent on such a state of
things. Our distress is not through
want of trade so much as through the
means Of our supply.
We are starving not because we have
not as &C i've a demand as usual for the
we produce by our industry,
the truth being that we never had such
a demand as we have at this hour.
But bee IuSe, if our demand was
doubled tomorrow, We should only re-
qui-e the time necessary for the multi
plication of our machinery to bring
ourselves into the same straits we are
in at present. What cure is there for
this Trades Unions have some effect
in keeping in check this break-neck
race, simply because they demand con-
1itions for the worker that act as
drag on the manufacturer in pushing
along human labor as recklessly as he
does the mechanical appliances. But
here is no thoroughly satisfactory way
Of settling this but by cooperation.
Let the working men OF the world beat
about the bush as long as they have
patience to do SO, to this they must
come at last. In the States your pres
sure is not what it is here. With pau
pers multiplying monthly by the thou
sand, our workers must become CO.
operators, or the permanent condition
Of labor will be represented by rags
and wretchedness. We know that in
a quiet way here, and / hope also with
you, the cooperative idea, as applied
to production, is growing into favor,
and most Of the new plans of business,
such as those partnerships of industry
has taken, are leading up to it, but on
the surface confusion seems to have
become more COMPOUNDED. 1t is per-
haps the intenser darkness that pre-
cedes the day.
Ii. j.