Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-09-05
The Rate of Wages.

= this country His reasoning is based upon
the experience of two cotton mills which
have been operated continuously since
1870, and the result of his inquiry is the
establishment of this general law Z:
That in proportion to the increase of CAPT
tai, profits diminish relatively, while
wages increase absolutely. The cry of
Butler and the drmagOguc crowd gcncr-
ally has been that the rich are growing
llcher ana the poor poorer Mr.. Atkinson
shows that something like the reverse of
this is the actual fact Mr.. Atkinson says {:
by the force of competition profits
diminish and wages increase. That is to
say, the competition of capital with CAPT
III works effectively in reducing the ratio
of profit which the capitalist can secure
from any given product. while ON the
other hand the competition of labOrCr with
lahOrcr utterly lallS to reduce the rare of
wages but. ON he contrary, in the face of
SUCH competition. the proportion of pro
duct falling to the labolcr steadily in
creascs. In 1880 II required S332. 600 in
money to construct the mill, with auXil-
AIRY buildings and dwelling houses of a
factory of Il little over $500 Spindles. such
mill would cost at this time less than
Onp-lialf as much a.: but by taking the his
tory of several separate factories which
have never failed, and the stock of which
has never been reduced il appears that
sufficient proportion of the earnings has
nr,,.,. ~ " th ",na rM On, III .i.e IN
.ti',T, anal H. P i"''.,lIr uii'H u! we
ratio of dollars has been reduced - per
cent or from so to SO per spindle. Each
SPIN Tie of the greater number has become
"a ,, ,,',,i 'i,t,.l vi r'dou Ni''I''ie
C'' Il NV, WILL itiu!!tn lrHS 'luuo''N at
G ,,, ii, VI "ltIalINcS per
cent, and the work of the lesser number
,,or1 m,, , ~ ~ IrnrIr l.oN llluil 'ht
tL i;i W. ~; ,,SI '''' ~ uu'ii''Nl was az
W. ~ ii'iiil@' nr pIo'l'.cllNt taPacilN
"f IsSn h,i,,, P",' PEI 't4 tlt ''A
'" | ny Ii'N " t' iio!ii l., ~ ~ H"uIS
f d .',J u'H W. 80 'tIilS from ~ To IL
,'''o ~ WIZ" -lf pei ct'l'' \ part
W. ,i,' ,',''r,' ~ '",N 'N' cil'il@e nus gone
70 ,llr consumer "I me goods me price
" Law co'loll iuPIpl nee 10 re i'l.ioSt eA,
i'c'lA Ihe Sliile IN I',tV aN II was IN lN03 ana
lHt s'"i"llIu Shcei ~ N"' N"'i III $50 III
,,"I' PEI A4lu Ii.! III 'o'' a. Genus per
H'H't, az "llCl I,''''i IIItt IL F.hti Il IaIF
'IoIIJ,. hut .he less price a. Whrh 1t can
re H''u t"""N i'1!N ~ H'''' NHdltNtF' TN"
tNloIl UGiilanH l"r I nat" hNlhG been M
.tILuI tu ny INC fiE"'h war; "l" ihe cN-
p'i "iTiil"h'l I'I AFRICA ...'lHS ht'u inter
I"p't" Nv various c""''H
Now, what has hr'N the course of
WAGES Inc wages q, he farmers
daughters of New EngluIl to whom it
wa, privilege or prolitIU!c opportunity
To enter the cotton m.li in 1870 and to
work there IN l-40 from Is to II hours per
day. were SlGi 1t wear in iN:i). $40 Il year in
$50 ANA $3.50 year in 1884, In fact. the
wages of women were U}uch less than
THESE ligurtS snow. as these figures give
the average of men. women and childrcn
including nvCrSeerS In fact good wrav-
crS earned ~ to 80 cents per day only, in
1870 to 1870, The proportion of men was
much greater, and of children much less
ham II * it.,.st