The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-01-30

used BY those who can buy their stock az
they use Il, and 30 are freed from thiI
heavy expense.
And these ate the hard conditions I'M
der which the manufacture Of iron ID
allowed to exist In the Eastern States.
But how permanent will these condi.
lions bee What certainty Is there thai
labor will always be lower ct the East
than OF the WestI or that Western man
utacturers will not 10 time become az
economical, careful and Watchful as those
The lAsttwo years have seen ne soiul
ton OF the same problem-that Of the
equalization OF labor-on q far grander
scale than that now under consideration,
Ever since the settlement Of this country,
until within two years, England has been
able, through her cheap labor, to supply
iron. to America cheaper than Il could be
made here. But today American turna-
ces smelt the ore, and American mills
roll the iron that Is used here, at prices
that England cannot compete with, and
she Is driven from this market. And this
has been blpught about by one thing only
tile equalization oHzlibor. our .liislI
pticesiior labor have drawn the. English
and Irish laborers here, and their emigra.
ton has made scarcity there which has
enhanced the value Of labor, and 30 prices
have become so nearly equalized that
hencelorth American inrnaces and mills
win fntnish the iron used ID American "a.
dnstries.
Ifthis tendency toward equalization Is
80 strong as 10 operate thus powerfully be.
tween two nations separated by three
thousand miles ofwatef, 10 Il not morally
certain that It win, IN time, eoualize he
rates Of labor in sections q the same coun.
try 50 near each other as Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts9 -
81 How far of Is the completion. of this
process? How do The wages OF labor al,
the East and atthe West compare with
each other now? e AN--s ~ y
The late financial storm has swept over
the West with power which Is not zen.
orally appreciated here at the East. It's
effects are visible In the countless manu-.
tactories which are there standing 'idles
and IN the heavy reductionof wages paid
in those that are running. For the pur.
pose OF comparison, the following table
OF wages now paid in different places for
two brances of labor In iron manuiacto-
fies, similaf to those running IN our own
town, Is given:
Padding, Cutting 10 Nails,
~. per Ton. per 100 kegs.
New JeHey. ....,..".@8 80 $3.50
rihlladelphta; q. .".t oo
1 %sssSsIa na: :...: 4 sS : sIsSS
Compare these with the rates paid six
months ago-New Jersey G.25, Philadel.
phia $50 TO ZOO, Interior Of Pennsylvania
Q so 70 $50, Wareham 5.0O-and the
heavy reduction OF wages made Al the
West as compared with that made atthe
East, is evident.
The price Of railroad and other com.
mon labor in New York, New JERSEY and
Pennsylvania, Is from $1.95 to $1.S7; in a
few rare localitlesin those States It is said
to be from $1.40 to $15 In Wareham
the price for the same kind of labor is
from 81 So to 81 80.
The conclusion forces itself upon us that
to-day the cost OF the labor used in max.
ing akeg Of nails in Wareham Is as much,
or more, than in Pennsylvania. Conse1
quently the Eastern manufacturers have
the full burden Of transportation against
them and cannot live, under the present
condition Of labor. One Of three things
must happen:
list. Labor must advance at the West.
I'd. Labor must tall at the East, or
else
Sd. Eastern iron manufacturers must
close their works. Ts.Hsb,#