Frostburg mining journal., 1880-08-07
Pa YMENT0 OF WAGES.

the Miners Stale Contention held at
Columbus, Ohio, July l4th and 18Th,
1880.
Ono of the subject which, in my opin.
ion should be a leading subject for
discussion at every miners meeting,
is the subject Of the payment OF Wages.
With the question of the amount that
should be paid as wages for coal min
ing, have at this time nothing to say,
and, in fact, l doubt my ability to
throw any light upon that subject,
but the question chow wages should
be paid after they are earned" is one
to which | have devoted some thought,
and understanding it is one of the
questions you have been called to-
gether to consider. will cheerfully
give you my views on the subject.
The Bible says, in fact, (if do not
quote properly to employers, "Keep
not the wages of thy servant over
night" but modern business has 80 far
modified the Bible command as to
allow the employer to keep the wages
of his servant thirty nights, and in
addition the wages of from twelve to
twenty days for a whole year.
In our cities and manufacturing
towns the payment of wages promptly
in cash is the rule, the majority Of
workmen being paid weekly, and the
balance semi-monthly or monthly, but
almost invariably in cash; and with
steady employment the wage laboIer
has himself to blame if he cannot, in
purchasing family supplies, secure the
lowest market prices. The lowest
market price for cash and the price
charged when credit must be had will
represent difference of not less than
10 per cent.
No matter what may be the rate oil
wages received, he who receives them
weekly in cash receives fully 10 per
cent. more than he who receives the
same rate Of wages paid monthly.
The cost of credit is far greater to
the laborer without means, other
than his daily wages, than it is to the
merchants or other business men.
Large corporations may have an
excuse for not paying wages oftener
than once in each month, especially
when their employees are scattered
over a line hundreds of miles in
length, but there can be no valid
reason for a manufacturing cor
poration with all its employees con-
gregated at one place, to force them
to work six weeks without pay, and
retain IN it's possession for year or
longer two weeks earnings of its en-
ployees
We are assured that money is very
plenty and very cheap, that general
business is improved, that collections
are easily made and that vast busi-
ness is done for cash, and in the face
of these assurances the wage laborer
is forced to pledge his credit to secure
the necsssaries of life while his earn
ings are retained in bank to the
credit of his employer.
1t would be unnecessary labor for
me to undertake to explain to you
the system of paying wages popularity
known among you as the truck system,
for the fact is, by experience you
know more of the evil of the system
than I do, although your experience
may not be as varied as the knowledge
l have gained on the subject during
the past three years.
Last year seventy-one mining COM
panies were reported to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics as in some way paying
in truck. These were located as
follows by counties: Athens 6, Bel
mont 2, Columbiana 8, Jackson 10,
Jefferson 4, Mahoning 9, Meigs 6,
Muskingum 2, Perry 10, Trumbull Is,
Vinton 2. 1t is not claimed that
these are all that are paying wages
other than in cash, but all that were
reported. These do not all pay in
the same manner; come have stores
and use only books, in which the
charges for purchases made are enter
ed; others having no stores give
orders upon stores in town, which
orders are charged against the mine
employee as cash, others having stores
pay their employees in checks re-
deemable in merchandise only at the
company stores. All these several
plans of evading the payment of cash
Tor labor performed have the same
object in view, the securing 10 the
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