The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-10-29

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suit be a stOppage, or return to old wages,
would not the extra pay he so much gain
while it did last Z?
II the Union had not forced rise, labor
would never have received it.
For illustration A raise Of one dollar
per day Cor three months would amount to
about one hundred dollars. Thus labor is
Just one hundred dollars better off, even if
there was return to old wages at the end
OF this time. Hencs aCe GnsDer If the re-
sah Is not lasting IL is good while IL does
Iast. II Il is lasting a0Aat zoe gain in time
as gained IN money.
Admitting that the capitalist would raise
wages when he thought be was able, to
remind him of his ability 80 to do, one
month or more before be proposed to act,
would be one month gain to the workman.
fIime is wages. Time is wealth undevelop-
ed. Time is the toiler's capital. So the
objection raised to forced advance of wa
ges falls to the ground. The workman is
on the safe side in either case
1t is principle selfevident, that high
profits in any trade will attract capital, and
low profits will repell it, unless there
is chance for profits to raise Simultaneous
ly with wages. Unionism raising wages,
must make profits less, and capital will be
driven into another channel, where it may
receive the uniform profits of invested capt
tal-resultlng in the displacement of labor.
Thus wages raised artl6cially can not be
permanent unless the conditions are such
that profits may be raised simultaneously
and In the same proportion.
Are there any such cases? We think
there are; and such are those which union
ism has used to bring about their desired re-
suit We claim that wages may be perma-
nentl y raised under the following conditions:
In every trade, in which natural and me-
chanlcal advantages are greater in a given
locality than others; here the employer
has a monopoly Of ,ae trade, in any trade
that the demands for its products are greater
than the supply, arising from growing
wealth or the number Of consumers.
Where increased productiveness-as in
case Of the introduction Of labor saving ma
chlnery-increases the total sale proceeds of
the manufacturer; though goods in guam
tity sell much lower. (Quick sales and
small profits In all trades, provided the
raise takes place simultaneously and equally
in all trades--but in this last case it would
be much like killing the goose to get the
golden egg.
Thus We have five cases which viii admit
of wages being raised by Unions and still
be permanent. Have Trades Unions used
this power! This is answered by reference
to the repeated struggles that have been
waged and their results. The comparison
Of wages Of today and forty years ago
which are more than tripled, in many cases
quadrupled, show there has been a mighty
lever brought to bear in favor of the pro-
Queer. General intelligence has done
much, but Trades Unions have been the
motive power which have produced this re-
suit, intelligence giving the direction.
This elevation Of wages is not only
mark of the triumph of Trade Unions, but
also indicates the elevation of the workmen
High wages and cheap production are an
index Of Intelligence.
Wendell Philps--that champion Of all
humanizing American reforms-has shown
in bis article on the Chinese question lin
the Standard that it requires but frac-
ton of the labor now to purchase the same
commodity it did one hundred or fifty years
ago. lie says:
In 1890 the wages Of l25 days labor
would buy one ton Of -four; in 1885 80
days would buy it /; in 1870 probably 10 or
90 days wages would buy the same amount,
which proves his statement to be true"
That cheap production is an unmixed
good, cheap labor an unmitigated evil,
for cheap production indicates brains and
machinery. High wages that labor is
skilled and independent, while dear pro
duction stands for physical toll las the value
Of any product is but the measure Of labor
spent on it), and low wages stands for
servile and unskilled labor.
Under this head | shonld refer to some
Of the wrong measures that have been used
by Trades Unions to bring about their
desired ends, as feel | would have but
half done my duty if l should point out
only their more striking humane character
istics, leaving their falling to gnaw out the
vitals of their moral strength. AS perfec-
ton is something mortals cannot attain to,
and to err is human, it could Dot be
expected that body Of men who have done
90 mnch for the laboring classes, would not
sometimes, use wrong means to accom-
plish their ends. Although what | shall
but give a passing notice to are in many
cases not recognized, especially by the
machinists and blacksm..b .bs union, yet there
is dal. ,er Of falling into these mistakes.
The first / shall notice is the opposition
that has been made to the introduction Of
machinery on the ground that it displaces
labor. The evils which have resulted from
this action are not to be estimated, many
inventions disappearing at their birth, while
those who would have given to man,
bis greatest benefactions we're discouraged
and passed away without fulfilling their
mission in the emancipation of human toll.
Inventors are reformers, and as such they
have been prosecuted in every age. Their
inventions, like great ideas, came before
the world was ready to receive them.
GallileO Roger Bacon, John Guttenburg,
inventor Of printing, and thousands Of others
in more modern times, have suffered the
penalty for daring to release men from
physical as well as mental slavery. The
same spirit still exists from want of proper
understanding of economic law.
1t must be plain to any observing mind
hat the more wealth produced the better fol
all classes, that machinery adds to thi:
element. That it also gives employment il
the end to many more than it makes idle,
always demanding q higher degree of skill
thus becoming an educator. Who would
{ say that the application Of steam to labol
has not given its thousands employment OF
land and sea T? Had it not been for oul
railroads, steam boats, steam mills, wha