The Baltimore County union., 1883-12-01
HOW WE LIVED FORTY YEARS AGO.

.ScieHfiGe ABiericaH.
To go back forty years, fully as use.
full 4 contrast and as instructive n com.
parison may be made as to bring the
early settler from England, Holland,
and France in opposition to their de-
scendents of two hundred years latter.
In IS45 and for some period thence
onward, money, ascurrency, was scarce.
Possibly general business suffered for
want Of the medium Of exchange.
Money, in bills or coin, had value
that would be looked upon now rs al
most worshipping Of fetieh. "One
dollar day" was ga good days pay"
and so il WAS considered even for fairly
skillful labor. Several men, for in
stance, were employed in squaring, by
chalk line and broad ax, the round
iimbcrs TO form the framing Of a dam.
Others bored the holes for mortiscs and
chiseled them out. Others did the
'scriping,' the saving, and dressing of
the lemons. Few of them got over one
and quarter dollars per day "from
sunup To- sundown." The man who
could "scripc," and who laid out the
job, go, perhaps one dollar and fifty
cents. The machinist got from one
dollar and fifty to two dollars per day,
and he who got the two dollars was
fortunate man; and for that time he
was competent man. l.aboreis had
fifty cents per day, and in haying time.
when several days ordinary work mus,
be crowded into twelve, fourteen, or
possibly, sixteen hours, they got seventy
five cents. Special workmen, ap, at
any jobs, one dollar.
Now this is a fair showing OF the
value OF labor forty years ago. What
was the relative value OF housing, fuel,
food and clothing Rents were low
a good house for the times cost from
sag to $40 per year. Fuel-wood-
was somewhat less than it can be furn-
ished, as coal now, at any place remote
from the mines; say for an ordinary
family six cords of hickory, S24, now
four tons Of coal two ires,) about
equal. Food cost less forty years ago
than now ; but il was not the same
food. Fresh meat once, or at most
twice, a week, and rarely that except
in "thc killing season." fish caught at
the stream or pond, or hawkcd about
at four cents 4 pound dressed. Nege
tables from the garden, or from the
market at twenty-five cents bushel
for potatoes and less price for turnips.
Onions almost as dear rs now, and cab
bages no cheaper. Clothing can be
bought cheaper now than it could be
forty years ago, and it is cheaper in
more than one sense. Perhaps it would
be better for the country at large il bet
ter clothing at higher prices should be
the rule.
1t is scarcely necessary TO add to
show we lived forty years ago" any
statement OF how we lived or how we
might live now. 1t is enough to the
present Garner OF his bread by labor To
know Of the annoyances and lack Of op.
portuniiies ofhis predecessor. Aglance
over the condition Of forty years ago
and the present condition will convince
any unprejudiced mind that an improve
ment has been made in the condition
of our workers, and that the worker OF
to-day gets better return for his labor
than he did forty years ago. And this
statement applies as nearly to the un-
skilled worker as to the adept mechanic.
Only that the advantage now, as ever
before, holds with the intelligent, skill
ed, experienced mechanic.