Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-02-25

,, 1882.
considerable leap"
ADVANCE OF WAGES IN THE COTTON
TRADE
"Now should like to tell you of some-
thing that has happened nearer home.
tor suspect there are many persons In
this meeting who have not the least idea
Of the actual increase Of wages that has
taken place among the factory opera
uves IN this neighborhood during the
last forty years. was looking the
other day at one Of our wages books for
1910 and 1871. will tell you what l
found IN 1t and what I found In our
wages book now. The figures are taken
over an average of two months ut that
time and an average oftwo months now,
aud therefore are q talr statement Of
what happened then and what hap
pens to-day. Many persons hero know.
OF course, all about the interior Of cot
ton factory. and. therefore, shall
speak AZ il We we're in q mill and look
ing over the different people at work. l
hnd that IN 1889 the threstle piecers-I
need not explain who they are-were
receiving s.. week, and they were
working II hours day. l find that
now the Same class of hands are ruceiv-
ing 13s. . week at ten hours day. II
they worked Tor twelve hours, and
were paid at the same rate, it would be
los. weck. or exactly double what
they recsived in 1889. 1840 and 1841.
[Chesrs. The young women who
worked at the drawing frames at that
time mad 7s.6d. q week they have NOW
15s- and that without reckoning the
TACT that they are working two hours .
day less. The rovers and slnbbers get
81. week then, and they are getting
14s. week now.- The dofsrs-C laugh.
Ter r]-are considered class whose wits
are little too Observation-Disclosures
are sometimes not very manageable.
They used to have IS. Sd 4 week, and
they now nave 81. 3d. The Wrappers in
those days. as far nas my reoollection
serves mel am speaking Of our own
businsss-were all women. They earn.
ed on the average OF the two months us
6d.a week. The Wrappers now arc alfmsn,
and they have earned in the two months
an average of .35s. Cd. .. weak.
Cheers. Well. at that We had Z very
clever man a. blacksmith, whom I used
TO like to see strike the sparks OF his
wages were 22s, week. Well, oar
blacksmith now has wages of 34s. . week
and that only for factory time, which IL
ten hours. whereas, the man Of 22s. .
week worked the thenfactory time, which
was twelve hours. Now You. SEQ the
enormous change to the people in these
factories, They have two hours leisure
which they had not before. and thsir
wages are nearly double. s'a i sidj ,
81 think it is impossible to account
for this extraordinary improvement in
the wages OF agricultural laborers, OF
brieksettors and carpsnters.G and all
your factory operatives. and all your
mechanics. upon any other theory than
this. that the new policy with regard to
trade, which has made your trade four
fold. has been the cause which has made
this stupenoous and unima gined I'M
lprovsment in the condition OF the
people," Chsers sa.s9 - s#aa. -
Mr.. Bright could hardly have falsiaed
the facts in the presence of these men.
If he did not, the statements of the SEN
Ator ara wholly unreliable: Again, Mr..
Bright said. referring to the croaksrs
who predicted ruin to Englspd by free
trade, and the prediction that thsir only
hope was to leave their country:
"Wen, you did MT GO abroad, but you
stald at home. The law was altered 50
that the bread could come here, ,asd =
great many things beside bread. Trade
has extended and you have added. in
Gres. Britain alone, more than 10000.
600 10 Your population IN forty years."
.'And yet, with all that increase of
population, you have had the demand
Tor labor more steady, employ ment bet
ter paid, the timo OF labor shorter. The
man must be absolutely blind, or worse
than blind. who cannot soc and will not
acknowledges that the great mass oi
The people, in physical condition, are
enormously better of than they were
ffrty years ago." 9gHl
Again, Mr.. Bright said, and that is
all caro- to quote:
''What are the exports now ]? In
stead OF being f5l, ,0OO. .O00, they amount
to close upon it not quite f200 900 900,
so that the foreign trade o. toe country
has increased tourt0ld within that time,
and .s matter Of course the home trade
must have immensely increased ~ the
same time, because SO great On increase
OF foreign trade has brought so great
wealth TO the country that the home
trade has Increased probably in quite a.
great proportion As the foreign trade"
FREE TRADE A BOON GREATEST TO
wORKINGMEN.
'But there is another point, which is
one Of extraordinary interest. aad it
shsws. l think, that no class in this
country suffered 90 much by the ancient
policy OF protection as the working class
and that no other class in this country
has gained SO much as they have gained
du,i:g the last forty years by the adop.
ton OF the new policy" Chssrs.]
Contrast this with the senator's state
ment that 5-
''Free trade, it is found, griuds labor
to the bone, and forces it 10 fly, with
muscles and machinery, to moro invit-
ing fields" rs
Isubmit thar have proved. ever If
stopped here. BY testimony that even
the ssnator from Vsrmont will not dis
puts. that all his allegations OF no in.
crease oi wages and the oppression OF the
laborlng classes ia Eng glsnd under tree
trade are unsustained by the facts.
With wages doubisd aud food clothing,
and all the necessaries Of life 'rsduced
from 50 to so per cent. with au increase
of population from 10. $50. 900 in 1910 to
2S. 793. 600 in 1879, it is .bsurd 10 talk
to intelligent men about .hs injury in
fiicted on the English laborer by tree
trade.
When spoke in December I stated
hurrisdly what tres trade had done for
England. At the risk of repeating N.Y.
self l will slate it again. as the senator
trsm Vermont insists oa making the
contrast. 1t is now history and no
longer speculation that Englsnd's
first assured step toward naval
supremacy, permanent prosperity,
and the control OF the commerce of the
world was when she removed all re
strictions from the FREQ exchange of