Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-11
The Census Reports On Wages.
Ne1U York Times.

One or the assertions which the advO-
Gates of the existing high tariff in the
United States are never weary of affirm
ing and reiterating is that the laborers in
the protected industries have been thereby
greatly benefited through the permanency
of employment (the stagnation of indus
try from 1873 to 1878 and the strikes and
lock outs of 1882 tn the contrary not
withstanding) and through the receipt of
extremely high wages, by reason of
which the ironworkers of Pennsylvania,
according to the Hon. W. ID. Kelley, are
enabled and accustomed to adOrn the walls
of their residences with chromos and
fine engravings," and otherwise to fare
sumptuously. Heretofore, in the absence
of any collection of statistics which all
interested were willing or constrained to
accept as authoritative, the discussions
which have taken place between the ad-
vocates Of tariff reductions" and high
protection" in respect to labor wages,
prices and profits, have been in a great
degree unsatisfactory, those on either
side who did not want to be convinced,
beng generally strengthened in their pre-
conceived opinions, while others, fairly
open TO conviction, found themselves
utterly confused by conflict of asser
ton and inference which did not admit
of any complete refutatiOn or vertical
ton.
The recent publication of the results
of the census of 1880 have, however, at
last, in many departments of domestic
industry, placed matters upon new and
different footing, and given to the public
a revelation of positive facts which can
not be hereafter either ignored or denied.
Thus, in a series of articles on our iron
and steel industries" published some
weeks since in our columns, 1t was con-
Gusively demonstrated from an analysis
of the census returns that in
place of the receipt of exception
ally high wages by the labOrers EN-.
ployed in these highly protected indus
tries the average wages paid them was
only about 81 IS per diem, or $345 per
annum, a rate about the average paid to
the cOmmonest and least skilled labor in
most parts of the country; and, also, that
the laborers in these industries in the
United States derive no benefit whatever
from the greatly enhanced prices which
the existing tariff permits the owners of
coal and iron lands and of the iron and
steel furnaces and rolling mills in this
country TO charge to the general public
as consumers.
Similar striking and interesting con-
illusions are now deducible from the sta
tistics of the manufactures of twenty of
the principal cities of the United States,
as set forth in one of the most recent
bulletins of the Census Bureau. In these
manufactures, which include all the
more especially protected industries, the
number of employees is returned at 94S,
494, comprising 663, 1877 men, 224, 100
women, and 90, 567 children. The az
gregate annual wages paid the same were
1878. 3S4, 931, which, assuming 300 work
ing days in the year. would show a dis
bursement of 81, 261 .2S3 for each day,
and an average of 81 80 per day for each
person employed. Selecting Philadelphia
from the list of the twenty cities as the
one which may be fairly regarded as
having done the most to impose the high
protective tariff system upon the coun-
try, the analysis of the census returns
affords the following results:
Number OF employees 80, l l ~ -
Annual aggregate wsges 81, 81 ~ ~
Average wages per hand per day. 10
twill thus be seen that in this centre
labor are II cents per day less than the
general average paid in the twenty Sc
lected cities located all over the CONT
nent; or, leaving Philadelphia out of
the list. the average paid to manufactur-
ing labor rises from 81 80 to 81 81 per
day.
These figures are hard nuts to crack
for that class of people who have been
assuring the woTkingmen and women OF
the country that high protection eyIta-
blv assures them high wages. With
the nriee of commodities at normal rates,
a. per week is little enough to enable
the laborer in the manufactures OF our
large cities TO provide himself with tood,
Auel. clothing and shelter-more espect
aIlv If he has others dependent on him
and every advance in commodity prices
means reduction of wages through 81
minished purchasing power. Since 1919
the advance in the prices OF COMMODITIES
has been at least 90 per cent, and there
has been no general increase OF wages IN
consequence. Hence the reasonable dis
content of labor everywhere; hence
the continual strikes and local
disturbances Now. in what way
is the labOrer 10 look Tor re.
lief. with from seven hundred thousand