The Labor enquirer., 1883-09-01

"a COMMON LABORER..
The Measure d Eis Claim and How
They Are Rewarded. The
- Remedy.
| Hmen were paid according to their
deserts, those who did the most disa-
greeable work would be among the best
paid. Instance: What comparison is
there between the work Of the time
keeper and that of the hod- The
mere fact that the education of the
former is superior does not counterbal-
ance the physical superiority Of the lat
To-. which ~ = correct sense capital and
quail fIOssaons and fully IS much entitled
to smupe1atiop Is the education Of the
lAmesEsspss The work Of the hod-car.
rier y Of such : nature that it is impossi-s
bic for him to take any sort ofintenest or
pleasure in it. He has not even the sat-
isfaction of the bricklayer in seeing the
walls grow to perfection under his hand.
His days, his weeks, his months, his
years of toll are barren Of the slightest
element Of iEhtness, cheerfulness or
pleasure. It is one contiana. round of
monotonous travel from the mortaFsbeds
| up the ladder, down again, bending un-
der burden that most other men could
scarcely lift. He must traverse swinging,
bending planks, and rickety run-ways,.
where the slightest misstep, an instant's
forgetfulness, the quiver of an overstrung
nerve, the relaxation of an exhausted
muscle may hurl him to death or disa-
element. A careless workman above
him may at any moment jeopardize his
life. For braying all these dangers and
performing the most laborious and disa
greeable of tasks, he receives less than
half as much pay as other classes of
workers, whose services, all things con-
sidered, are less valuable than his. What
is here said Of hod-carriers applies with
equal or greater force to many other en-
ployments, some of which must be
nameless, which are paid at so niggardly
rate that the wonder is how sufficient
strength can be maintained to perform
their task, to say nothing Of the cost of
perpetuating their race.
The only argument ever advanced in
Justification of such an unfair discrimi-
nation is that these ss-called common la
borers need Incorporation for their work.
that it requires no education or learning.
and that even, an apprenticeship is un-
necessary. Such a position is not tenable
| for an instant, unless allusion is made to
Che men of exceptionable ability who in
II all lines oil business sd Labor command
Exceptional wages. The gauge of pay.
ment should be taside from its value to
society, for which the laborer is not usu-
Tally responsible) the value of natural
and acquired qualities required, and the
larduousness ana :dirtastefulness of the
work. The application of this test shows
conclusively that many kinds of labor
now UNANIMOUSLY underpaid, should in
,,,,f tx,a hoy HI oh
now command nearly or quite twice as
much. The trouble is, superficial rea-
soners recognize only acquired abilities
as entitled to remuneration while very
little thought must convince them that
every sort of natural ability can justly
claim pay for its exercise. Such an ad-
mission is shown in nu mberless in
stances in which men become especially
expert in any kind of work command
superior wages; not because their educa-
ton is better than that of their fellows,
nor because they have been better
trained for their work, but simply be-
cause they had better natural abilities
or were better adapted naturally to that
work. In either case it is the natural
qualities that made their superior abili-
ty possible, and, as is right and just,
they reap the benefit OF it. ANY code
ethics that, does not recognize natural
qualities, whether of mind or body, as
comforting upon their possessor claim
to pay for their exercise is communism
4 pure and simple There is no escape
from the inference. q; Al II.
The real reason the classes of labor
called common no not receive fair
wages as compared with other classes i
4 that in addition to absence Of combina'
4 ton, their lack of education and conse.
|, quen. aslf appreciation lessons their de
], mand for the amenities of life; makes
them disposed % pnderfate their claims
land to be measurably content with
4 wages altogether out Of comparison with
! the service they perform. Here We havt
new ILLUSTRATION Of the fact that wage
workers are not paid in accordance witt
the value of their labor, but, up to
Icertain limit, the measure is what the
themselves determine. If all the hod
4 carriers should suddenly come to thl
i Iunalterable conclusion that they ough
tohaye "a 4 day, they would begin 7
grumbls so seriously and to 80 mucl
purpose that presently, unless othe
: laborers interfered, their wages woul
commence to rise.