Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-06-22

The Labor Question.

the iron manufacturers decisively r.
fused a demanded increase of wage.
and on the first day of June from 80
GOO to 10000 men were without en-
ployment. The iron men all throuc
the West, with scarcely an exception
have combined to resist the trade
unions on the ground that the state q
the iron trade forbids an advance il
wages. In proof Of this it is not lon,
since steel rails seld at $50 per ton
now they can hardly command $50
Bar iron, which sold at $67, has nov
fallen $40 per ton, and pig iron, which
was sold at S26, would now be glad t,
find a market at $3.50. And tn,
tendency is still downward.
La cotton goods, the condition O
things is no better. On the first 0
June, 1881, the number of pieces or
hand was SsI, 600. On the first o
June, 1852, the number of pieces OF
hand was 1,443,00O or an increase q
81 per cent in one year. 1t is difficult
to estimate the full effect of our mild
winter on the clothing trade. The
gap between the cost of the raw mate.
rials and the articles made of them
has widened. kawhides have risen III
price while leather has fallen, and
there is diminished demand for boots
and shoes. Cotton has advanced l3
per cent within the year, whilst cotton
goods are at the same price. Wool has
risen. but the holders of WOODEN goods
must stand a shave that is almost q
skinning. Added to all this the bal
ance of trade is now against us; that
is, we import more than we export
and the drain of gold to foreign coun-
tries is hardening the money market,
so that dealers having large stocks to
carry over must pay higher rates.
Under all these circumstance, to in
crease the wages of the operatives
would be merely suicidal. So much
on the side of the manufacturer.
On the side of the operative, care
fully prepared tables show that, owing
to speculation and other causes, three
hundred articles that. enter into CONF
mon use among the working classes
have advanced in price a5. per cent
during the last year. This would ap-
pear to warrant a demand for an in
crease of wages, and, failing to obtain
that. the ideal remedy is strike. But
is it a remedy for the alleged evil? A
strike is q decision against work at
moderate wages, and in favor of ne
work and no wages; the work. man
may he able to earn living, by prac-
ticiug economy, but by striking he de-
clares in favor of starvation or depend
ence on charity. 1t comes to that at
last,
But the difficulties of the labor
question arise from a variety of sources
aud no one remedy can meet the case.
This is no exception to the rule that
the removal of an evil mainly depends
upon the sufferer himself. Suppose
that an operative drinks llquor, uses
plays cards, or visits places of
questionable character: it will proba-
bly, be admitted that he might dis
oense with any or all of these without
injury to himself, and the money so
aved would benefit him much more
han successful strike. 1t is noto-
Orious fact, too, that the men who
pend their time and money in dissi-
'ation and in gratifying depraved
astes are loudest in their complaints |
f inability to make a living, and are
oremost in q strike. 1t is true that, |
mong the operatives on our public |
Vorks, there is a very respectable mi
lority of our best citizens, but when it |
ONES to test they are outvoted, over
idden aud bulldozed by those around
hem.
Another part of the remedy consists
4 diverting labor into other channels.
he Pilot Knob Furnace is admitted
, be the money center of this region,
ut the man who has small lot oft
md of his own, a few acres in grain,
nd few head Of cattle, sheep and
ogs, need care little whether the fur
ace is i'm blast or not; for he is moral
: certain to make living and to
good market for his sur
|us produce. A workingman aban-
,ning the shop or factory for farm
transformed from q consumer into q
and helps to relieve that con- :
estion of labor which SO naturally
nds toward the ma nufacturing towns.
.rikes arise from the destruction of
e balance between the producing :
Id consuming classes through the
of the latter, and, be-
re the equilibrium can be restored =
I'd the occasion for strikes removed. :,
9 existing inclination of people to
ave the farm and flock to the towns q
ID cities nIust be overcome. 81
n
from heat can be prevented by
ling Leis' Dandeiion Tonic regularly in
all o. /