Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-08-24

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THE GERMAN EMIGRATION,
Philadelphia Record.
During the twelve months ending June
80, 1881, the number of immigrants arriv
ing in this country was CSC, 239, and of this
total 2O9, 500, or nearly one third, came
from Germany. During tho same period
the emigration from Ireland was Y, 1885,
Many people who are unfamiliar with
the real condition of things in the two
countries will be surprised to note that
about three times as many Germans as
Irish seek asylum in America for "Ire-
lands wrongs - was written and talked
about continually, and very little is said
Of unpleasantness in Germany beyond
the burden which the military sys-
tenn Of the country imposes upon its
inhabitants. The New York Times in
treating of this subject presents the case
in clear and fOrcible way and shows con-
clusively that the Germans groan under a
burden even more onerOus than the mill
tary system. The Times says that at the
recent fair trade demonstration Of the
working classes at Exeter hall one speaker
put France first in the list of countries
whose trade has expanded during the past
twenty years, the United States second,
and England bad third" Germany, to
borrow the race track metaphor Of the Ex-
eter hall speaker, is not "placed" " in this
contest, though she is certainly country
where trade is protected. The fair trade
agitators who refer to Germany in support
of their theories commonly speak Of her
as the home of "pauper labor" against
which homo industries are unable to COM
pete on equal terms. From the point of
view Of tho protectionist or even of the
advocate Of "fair trade" which is only
another name for protection, there is a
certain difficulty in accounting for the
present condition Of German trade and in
dustries. Theoretically the protective
tariff ought to bring the laborer's wages
above tho starvation point and
make trade so brisk and money
SO plenty that everybody would be con-
tented. 1t has done none of those things.
It it not trade and manufacturers that are
increasing, but socialism and other signs of
popular discomfort not wOrkmen's wages,
but emigration. The results of Germany s
experience with a protective tariff, there
fore, are not such as to encourage free
trade country like England to follow in
her footsteps. Pauper labor in Germany
however, is an appalling reality. Consul
Potter, at Crefeld, has collected statistics
of wages in seven localities in Rhenish
Prussia, which tell plainly enough
why it is that German immigration to
tho United States is increasing at
race which fills the bureau
Gratis with alarm. The average daily
wages of carpenters and joiners, as ascer-
tanned by him, are about GO cents plas-
tcrers, s.. cents locksmiths, GO cents ;
jolrneymep tailors, 50 cents, and boot aud
shoemakers, 50 cents. The average wages
of skilled workmen and mechanics of all
kinds for eleven hours labor is IS cents.
Common laborers and farm hands earn
about 4S cents day. Compare these scanty
sums with the wages earned in the same
occupations in the United States. As de-
termined by the compilers of the forth
coming reports of the census of 1880 the
average pay of skilled mechanics here is
S2.1 per day of ten hours, and of common
labOrers $1.21 for the same number of
hours. This is the average of twenty prin-
cipal cities. Skilled labor is paid four
times as much here as in Germany, there.
fore. From tho tables of market prices of
flour, butter. eggs, potatoes, beef, pork
and milk which Consul Potter has prepared,
the cost of living in the German cities
where he CLEANED his facts would seem to
be not much less than in the United States.
Flour is quoted at So barrel, butter
25 cents pound, beef Is to 16 ccnts 4
pound, pork Is cents, bacon 16 cents, and
milk 5 cents a quart. There is good rea
son to believe that these prices are consid-
erably higher than those actually paid by
the working classes. A family of five
persons living on an income of 1926 week
would certainly starve if compelled to pay
these rates for the necessaries Of life. It
is probable that these sorely pinched poo
pie have markets which cOmfOrtably-fed
persons know not of, where, as is the case
with the tenants of novels in this city,
they eau purchase their table supplies at a
very cheap rate, cheaper than is possible
with dealers in wholesome articles, but
still giving quite as much as they can
afford to pay.
The condition of things which these
figures reveal is sufficiently desperate to
account for all complaints of industrial
depression and suffering among the poor
which have been so frequent in Germany
during the last two or three years and
there are as yet no signs of improvement. It
is the hopelessness of better times at home
that sends so many families to this coun-
try.