Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-03-04

ing the s per cent. she gets from our
trade, (if she has al) Plain people
will be apt to think that she has pretty
good thing in the surrender to her OF the
colt n markets of the world by the people
who raise iour-fifths of tho worlds cot
ton, and that the only reason why we
get any revenue ut all from cotton is
that our own people find it cheaper to
buy at English prices to the extent of
about G,o0O 900 year, and pay the
tax of 40 per cent, on that sum, than to
buy the goods at the prices charged by
tho American manufacturers, because,
in spite of all sophistry, men will buy
where they can buy cheapest. and thaS
must be the cheapest way for our peo.
pie TO get them or the goods would not
| be brought from England.
know tho ready answer of Senator
Morrill, and all the supporters of his
high protective tariff it runs all through
his elaborate speech, and will be the
text tor thousands OF campaign speeches.
They assert that England undersells us
because she works ill-fed, ill-clad. ILL
paid paupers. and that American Free
men must not be degraded by working
at the prices they are compelled to ac-
cept. Fortunately for the truth, (as any
| statement OF mine would he unheedet1,)
Secretary Blaine shows by tho reports
of Consul Shaw and other undoubted
sources that the wages of operatives
paid in the cotton-mills os Manchester,
are higher than are paid in many parts
of the United States tor like work. and
are about as high as the wages paid in
Massachusetts, (see pages 9S and SO
| l propose to read what the secretary
says, and mako it part OF the record, as
l suppose All effort will be made to sup
press the report or read the secretary
out OF the party for daring to tell such
unwholesOmc truths. That report is n
| valuable contribution to commercial
history but will not injnre the report or
tho ex-secretary by speaking we'll of it.
l will content myself with reading. He
says:
"Owing to the different arrangements
! of the English and American tables Of
wages, it is difficult to give comparative
analysis thereof which show at u glance
the difference in the wages Ct tho opera
tives OF both countries.
1.-The wages of spinners and weavers
in Lancashire and In Massachusetts,
according to the foregoing statements,
were as follows, per week:
'sSpinners: English, 81 20 to $S 40,
(master spinners running as high rs
$l2 y American, 81 OF to $40 80.
"Weavers: English, So 81 to $S Ga,
subject at the date on which these rate 8
were given to a reduction OF 10 per
cent. American, 81 50 to $S IS.
1.-The average wages of employees in
the Massachusetts mills is as follows,
according to the official returns. Men,
So so; women, SIS 62; male children,
So IL; female children, S3 0S. Ac-
cording to Consul Shaw's report the
the Lancashire mills on the 1st OF Janu-
ary, 1880. was about $S per week sub
jcct to reduction Of 10 per cent. {,
women, from $3 40 to 81 80, subject to
a reduction OF 10 per cent,
The hours of labor in tho Lancashire
mills are Sc; in the Massachusetts
mills 60 per week. The hours OF labor
| in the mills in the other. New England
states, where the wages are generally
| less than IN Massachusetts, are usually
G6 to 60 per week.
"Undonbtedly the inequalities In the
wages OF English and American opera
hves are more than equalized by tho
| greater efficiency OF tho latter and their
longer hours OF labor. II this should
| prove to he fact in practice, us it seems
to be proven from official statistics, it
would be very important element in
the establishment OF our ability to COM
pete with England Tor our share OF the
cotton goods trade OF the world.
"In the two prime factors which may
be said to form the basis of the cotton
manufacturing industry, namely, raw
material and labor, we hold the advan-
tage over England in the first, and
stand upon an equality with her in the
second.
"uaving the raw material at our doors,
it follows that we should be able to con
veIt it INTO manufactures, all things else
being equal with moro economy and
facility than can be done by England
which imports our cotton and then
manufactures it in her mills. The ex-
pense of handling, transportation, and
commission must be an important item
In this regard as compared with our
turning in tho fiber from the cotton-field Ids
to our mills and shipping it in the ad-
vanced form of manufactured goods
Add to this tho secondary fact It costs us
10 more to handle and manufacture the
same than it costs in Eagland and we
stand on IN undoubted equality thus fal
in She race OF competition"
There never was greater fallacY
than the oit-repeated assertion tha,
England has succeeded by starving
ovcr-wOrking and under. paying hel
!
sagacious to pursue such policy. Wei
ted and we'll paid men always do more
work and do it better than ill-fed or ill
paid men will or can. No higher evi
dcnce of that is needed than the fac
that England is now paying tar higher
,. wages than any nation on the continen
OF Europe; yet she is outtrading ant
undertaking them all so far, not only il
the neutral markets of the world but II
their own. Bismarck and the res
of them are imposing restrictions OF
trade in their own doulinions to protec
, their ill-ied and badly paid operative
against the products of very much bet
ter paid English labor. Our sailors il
dnte- -6cltatm days illustrated the SAM
principle. We paid higher wages thai
any other people, and yet got NOR
irelghtS and made more money than an,
, OF them. l am opposed to low wage
or cheap labor. 1 never knew chea]
lawyer, doctor, preacher, mechanic, o
, laborer who did good work l believ
, low taxes and extended trade and con,
merce will increase the wages OF Amcrl
can operatives in all branches oil bust
7 ness and add enormously to the pur
chasing power of the wages they ge,
: just as 1t did in England.
If the statements of MIR. Gladstone an
, Mr.. Bright were not n suilicient,contra
5 diction OF the unsupported assertions G
, the Senator from Vermont. tho oillcia
/ report OF the American secretary @
e state. sustained oy the reports of on
I consuls, ought to be very conclusive II
y to the wages ol English operatives un
1 der free trade. 1t needs no aryuu,cn
G to prove that the wages of the laborin
1 man, no matter what his vocation Ii
t vino has 10 spend substantially his an
: nual earnings for the support OF hi
!. family are valuable to him in proper
}, ton :" their purchasing power III
= cGn"li.';a that the present tariff reduce
9 sha purchasing power ot the America