, 1875-03-29
THE PLUNDER OF AMERICAN LABOR.

44tA4t3 AAhf - A0lSH lHkEA4EA bHkhIGA
tho condition of the workinginan in Canada |
and TINT Of his fellow Across .ho limo. The
parallel Is not to orr advantage. Tho COM
forts Of Efo in Gambia arc naturally painted
in aomewllnt roseate hues, while the discon.
forts Of life in the United States nro linaned
in o'cr dark co1ors Nevertheless, when due
allowance has beon u1nde for prejudice md
cxnggcration, some substantial truth remains
to our disadvantage.
Wngcs in Canadn aro Fomowhat lower in
tho number Of dollars aud cents than they aro
here, but aro higher in purchasing power
Clothing costs not much moro thnn tnlf w}ant
wo pny for it. Tho constant nmuggling Of 1t
across tho frontier shows that thoro is great
difference in price, and the quotations Of tho
two markets provo TINT thia difference is Mt
least TO por cent. In rents, tho Canadian
working,nnn has great advantage. 1iisfuel,
too, despite our vast deposits Of coal, il
chenpcr. It il claimed TINT his food costs
him lcss but tho percentage Of saving in this
must bn smnn. Still, Il small saving On each
itcn would 1nahe 10 inconsit1orablo figure in
tho year's expenses for half Of tho average
1aborer's income is spent for food and gro
cerics Of n}l kinds.
The advertiscmonts, Which aro published
certain]y with tho sanction Of the Canadian
Government anil apparently under its aircc-
ton, fix tho average wages Of farm labororB
at $40 to ZIG per month in gold, with board
and lodging, and those Of mechanics at 32 to
SO atlay, gold, without board and1odging. Our
farm lahorers got from $3ti5 TO $40 q month
and "found," in grccnbacks worth per cent
Of par, md or mechanics Get what they can
in tho same kind Of deprecated currency.
! Their wascs haye 4luetuated 30 much during
the last two years TINT 1t is difficult to striko
IN average. Carpenters earned $500 to 81
day in this city in September, 1873. Dur
ing tho next few months, Some Of
them got only S,1.50. Since then their wagoa
hayo been slowly rising. Tho ayorngo wages
Of mcolnnics now ia certainly not over - 25
t@3.o0. These figures show q slight rAcz32in
In favor Of labor in the United States, but
thia margin is swallowed up. several times
| over, by tho depreciation OF the money aud
| the highar price Of the necossarica Of life on
this aldo OF tho border.
Tic Canadian Government c1alms that this
worlling,ncn living under it not only got
wages which will buy much more than those
paid in tho United States, but that they aro
1uu1oted fnr less by taxntion. It states tho
tax per capita ut 1928 in the United States,
s1o il England, ind loss than 81 in Canada.
The Difference is not a. great rs this, but it
a1noupts to q good dcnl, nevertheless.
Wagos would naturally bo higher in tho
United States then in Canatln. Our area Of
arablc land is larger: our climate ian all.im-
portaut factor in production) is much better !;
md our groat variety Of both climate and soil
GRANTEES oraat diycraitv Of uossib1e omploy-
neuts, For q serics Of years, wages wers
much HIGHER on this sidc of the line, 60 that
thousoniis of Canad;on, camo acrosa. arauy
| ri them ore now aoina back. especially from
tho monufocturipr towns of Now England.
since nnture would mako wayos higher