The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-06-14
A FALSE THEORY EXPLODED

D
minds Of unthInking men against the la
boring people. II is, however, the style
Of argument generally adopted by capital
lists and manufacturers, engaged in the
whole range Of our industrial persuits, as
Justification of their sggresslons upon
l the laboring or what is known as the
wages population The argument is,
/ however. as fallacIous as 1t IL plAusi-
I ole. AS We hope to prove and has OBJ
I tanned general credence, only because the
working people have permitted, and do
still. permit themselves to be cowed down
by what Is called the upper classes OF
late years, both IN the old world and the
new. they have aroused themselves from
this apathy, and have men and organs
70 speak and write for them, and TO advo-
cate their cause and 20 defend their rights
The argument, nevertheless, is still per
sisted IN, and when al advance Of wages IL
asked for Nv the workingmen engaged in
any branch OF industry, II is psraded before
the public, and lengthy articles are writ
ten to sustain il.
This theory, has at last, been exploded,
as all false theories must be- no matter
what talent or wealth Is expended in build
ing them up.
The enormous advance III the price Of
coal in England, It Vas feared, at one
time, would be the means II checking, if
not stopping entirely the manufacture
81 iron and steel This, however has not
been the case, but, on the contrary, the
reverse has been proven. For, notwIth-
standing the fact that the price Of coal
has advanced 100 per cent within the last
twu years. the manufacture IF IRON and
steel has increased AZ least 80 per cent.
The almost fabulous price demanded
fur 1t within the last few years, has
led a. an investigation Of the supply
of, and causes uf the rise IN coal A com
mIttee appointed for that purpose by the
English House Of Commons, have been
engaged IN taking testimony, and among
the witnesses summoned before them was
Nh Alexander Mcdonald. President Of
tile Miners National Association From
the testimony If MIR Mcdonald We learn
thar Ia 1865 Goals were produced at a cost
Of from seyeuty-hyr cents IA dollar per
ton, ana that Va the same year the best
quality ~ coal III Durham and Northumb-
uer.auj. sd AZ from = - 70 S237s per
ton thr lowest rate being about 81 s.
pvr ton. In tbs present year the market
price IF the same quality II coal Is from
50 p to S5.15 Per ton, being an increase
of over 100 Ter cent, while the increase in
the cost M production was but from 90 to
% per cent Mr. Mcdonald also states
IN his testimony before the committee that
the rise IN the price IF coal preceded in
every case the demands Of the men for an
increase iu wages. In one case In Scot
land. where an increase Ia the price Of coal
was about % be made BY the masters. the
men promised that If 1t were not made
they would not demand an increase in the
rate Of wages Hence, We have, according
10 the testimony before the committee, the
increase in the rate Of wages as the effect
NJ the high price Of coal, and not the cause
ofit. Mr.. Mcdonald beng asked by Mr.
Vivian, member N the committee, IA
hat cause he attributed the high price OF
gal, replied
lin the nrst place, 10 the enormous In
crease N the IRON trade which has amounted
ro between - and 40 per cent in the last two
years. In the second place. within the last
ten years stocks have not been LAID down the
cause beng that they were not remrnerative
when LAID down. III many cases the coal is
deteroratrd IN value by being l.Id down as
much as 30 per cent
Here We have the incontruvertible fact,
stated before q select committee of the
British House M commons that It was the
'-eHOrno'ls increase IN the iron trade that
was the real cause Of the rise in the price
Of coal What Will our croakers say to
that An industry in which a very inn
portant ingredient requisite TO the pro-
duction has advanced over 100 per cent,
has, within the short space Of two years,
increased at least 40 per cent
In anslyzlng tins subject, We do not find
that tie advance III the cost Of production
that y "a say the increase in the wages Of
the lab"rer has been any impediment to
the increase AZ the product itself For. ii
the same time. We find that the laborer'
wages have increased Is per cent.
4 We have before US the fact, corrobora-
ted BY statistics that the price Of labor
in ali branches i industry Ia England is
steadily on the increase but 1t does not
appear to have, IL any way impeded
or driven her manufactures TO any other
country. On the contrary. the same auth
ority bears us out in saying that manu-
featuring IN England and Scotland has INA
terially increased. IL would be interesting
\ to know what industry has left England,
or aHV part ~ Europe on account of the
high price Of labor. and Vet the price Of
| labor III all parts OF Europe has increased
at least fifty cent.
Now, III US look At hons. Here We
have different state ~ things While it il
true that the price ~ labor has increased il
Is equally true that, that increase is but
nominal. for while the price Of labor increas-
"a nifty per cent, the prices of commodities
has also increased $50 per cent, and the
money Of the country has deprecated in
I value II cannot be maintained that the
high price Of labor has driven any Of the
/ manufactures Of the United States t.
other countries. Let US take the shipping
interest, for instance Was i the high price
of the labor Of shipcarpenters and joinsrI
I that transferred the shin building trade