New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-24
n and making astonishinRlY dextrous move

when the ingenuity OF our peopio ehapio US W
| compete with the world without makngt the Ameri-
can laborer and artisan less OF man than he is"
| responded.
made very careful inquiry in regard to
the wages paid, and the social condition
of the workingmen of Dumbarton, and was told
that some riveters earned GO week, and
platers who had charge of gangs from f3 to "a
week. The average earnings of blacksmith were
e. 5s of joiner, 81 los, and of laborers from
15s to 1Ss. week. The latter, l found, were
mostly Irish, and they lived in miserable dens-the
single men in lodgings and the married whole fanl-
lies in one room. Their midday meal consisted
chiefly Of bread and tea.
Twas well aware, as shall demonstrate presently,
that the average earnings" were greatly exagger-
ated and this shows the utter folly of trusting In
off-hand statements of wages made by employers IN
England, which invariably are founded on maxi
mum payments. In the face of these random asser-
tons about wages have obtained the actual ny
ures from the analysis of the fortngbty payroll OF
one of the most celebrated of the Cly1e ship-yards
l withhold the name for apparent reasons out II
anyone doubts the accuracy of the exhibit am
prepared to substantiate the facts. 1t SHOWS at
once the ignorance of those ravng dema-
gogues who grotesquely announce that wages
are as high in England as in tho United States Inc
particular payroll taken for the last two weeks
of November. this year. The highest prices were
being paid tor labor, aud, to use the Language OIL
ship-buider, English and Scottish workmeh al
WAYS work like demons the few weeks preceding
holidaysu Added to this, the yard was overiiowhg
with work Eighty "plece-workers" had all they
could do while "timers" were on full time ana
paw The exact number on the payroll including
foremen and apprentices, was 1914; the exact
amount of the fortnght's payroll vas t3'9Ss. VI
IL.
over one.quarter, were "timers," and 73 per cent,
OF nearly three-quarters, were "plece-workers" FOR
convenience sake VIII give the odd fourteen men
about a pound apiece and call the number of men
16OO. and the amount of the fortnights payroll
$1,000. Here Is the result:
1000 ,600=2l2
Average fortnightly earnings of escn man. IL
10s or $l2 80.
Average weekly earnings of each man, Ct 5s., or
So 25.
The amount of wages paid is not what a man
can earn, nor what few men do earn, but WhaV
whole classes of operatives or artisans are actually
maid by their employers 1t must he borne IN mind
that the payroll have taken, from the season OF
the year and the pressure of business Is "a very
favorable one for the workman as estimating ian
outside estimated that the men received twenty-five
similar amounts during the year, which is hardly
probable we have for the average annual earnings
of all employed in one of the great shipyards OF
Scotland Including foremeD, Daters and riveters
and other experienced mem f62 l0s or ssh Do
ONLY 10 per cent of the total amount OF the A4ooo
raid out the books show was for unsklied laDor
How many persons received the 10 per cent OF
e4OO1
Number OF unskiled laborers. piece workers deo
MIN her OF unskilled labOrcrs, timers.
r.,., .43s
Thus while the laboring man numerically repre-
scented considerably over twenty-five per cent OF
the total number on the payroll, he only receives
ten per cent of the pay. a trlfe over 1Ss.
per fortnight or actually less than 81 90 per week
If the unskilled laborers deducted from tie
skilled there remains about $500 TO he dis
tributed among /, 176, making the average weekly
nav of the skilled workman about Ct los. per week
On this sum n man can live in England decently,
Int on los he simply drags out an existence OF
constant want and misery, and ends by becoming
one Of the million pauper population OF the Empire.
Pint how much does the ship-builder earn IN the
United statesl Unfortunately have no statistics
at hand but those of the census, which, i beheye,
includes all kinds of ship-building. and does not
give iron building 10y far the highest wages De-
ing paid in that branch separately. For 1850. |
find that Sl2. 100000 was paid ont IN wages TO
81 $40 hands employed, or about 5000 per annum.
Conld we take similar brdseye view of all classes
Of sbip-building IN Great Britain and not merely OF
one of the most highly paid branches oft the result
,Vould demonstrate beyond doubt that the wages
maid in this industry at home exceed those of Great
britain by over 100 per cent IL Is very rarely that
one can obtain such trustworthy data as that
above gwen, direct from me co lLtihg r"o aiIu ~
why England can build ships so cheaply, 10 say
nothing about running them after they are bui,t.
I asked one of the Mr. Dennys II most OF the Eng
1ish shins were manned with British sailors. lie
smiled at nv ignorance and said ....,,..
.Thrty-five per cent OF onr sailors are Foreigners
Fast indians. Why they can be had for 80
sh,inQs a month and llttle rice ana theh they
don't drink. Englishmen won't work for less than
G3 los. and "a month"; ana they require oe''er
told hun Americans wonld want about ~ day
for such work. ,. 49,. 80. ,Lo
CLYDE am inclined think that ship-buiiding ana
shp-owninR is being oyerdone, JUST az IaIlIoddlng
has been in the United States. Small capitalists
hav, been induced 10 90 into 1t, and have before
ma four most enticng circulars. each urging the
persons 10 whom they are addressed 10 Dhy shares
turned ont or a shp-yard." showed some OF these
circulars to, trst-class builder on inc
CLYDE and he said h BIZ t fSn The m mot amd
that this sort of investment was hazardous IN the
extreme. Steamship-ownng here mas been very
profitable Managing owners. taxing advantage OF
his and of the law that allows vessel TO be owned
by a large number of owners OF inc si1ty-i3ur PaIts
INTO which it's ownership Is Legally diSislpe, nv
ranging from ESQ TO four times that sum- Inc
managing owner, in all Of the circulars pave seen
receives a considerable remuneration, often III al
diton percentage ofthe gross profits, Tor the man
agement of the vessel; the accounts 1uIhisuea "
his co-owners of the most skeleton GhaIacacI.
and it r. the exception TO find any reserve lad asue
for purposes of renewals or heavy repairs: under
these circumstances / am informed, new Vesseis
weld necessarily large dividends but those VINO
know the depreciation in the earning power Oh
steamers the need for renewals IN less than dozen
years. and the heavness OF insurance III such cases.
look with anxiety to the future. - w.
~ ROBERT p. PORTER,
MRS ARMSTRONG'S EARLY VISITORS.
]. Armstrong returned to his home at No. 800