New-York tribune., 1884-02-17
TIE GLASS BLOWERS.
A CANDID AND TEMPERATE STATEMENT.
srRIKrs-GOoD AND BAD-TnE REAL SAFEGUARD
FOR wAGE9.

sTHIKrs-G0oD AND BAD-THE REAL SAFEGUARD
FOR WAGES.
To me FdttOr Of Thc TribWne
SIE; NV husband is a gass-blowcr ana has
now been out Of work for seven months We nav W.,
subscribers Ia TIL TRIBUNE rs have many oln'.S ~ .
nlorc and have been thinking for some te Oh "'"H
to YOU (apropos Of one Of your cdi'oIi'iN ~ w
plain the case of the glass-howeIS.
II has been claimed that the market lof eISS Is ','Se
h, ,,r ,roduc,ion; and that the blowers ought, on
that account 70 20 work at reduced wages Now "
,his vvould reply that the shlOwcrs themselves
lncy thc condition OF the market. They believe tiai
vhis it may increase the sale OF newspaper ''' III
stance to lower its price. one would hy b"''o OF
name OF glass more because it cheaper They Knew
tut the amount OF glass July in the United States ana
what the monthly sales amounted TO- They believed
over production had hing do Withrt Besides lower
ing wages would relieve coggod market; as 'he
men would on! make the more ware 50 as to increase
their wages.
Itisa fact that glass blowers get high wagcs-hiShcr
wages than most other mechanics; hut there are a0mc
thipc about the art Of glass blowing d0r it is really
more OF An art than tracl that most people do not take
into considerations There Other oik that Is as nara
on the II you would take q tube ana dow
through it, Just blower does. and ~bi0w without
ccang blow you would tlen feel in the space OF few
hours the want Of meal Say that You started TO BLOW
ot7a m; by 10 a. in You w0nld have an aching
void" You would then have to stop blowing ana cat.
Tbcn again at noon; then at 3 in tho afternoon. SO that
Won zee blower requires five meals day There is no
other work that requires activity II is ono in
cc,Saut motion from the time blower a-ccndS MS pchch
until from sheer fatigue. he stops Tor resi-.
There j. other trade more dihGnli 10 IGuh; ana
although i'll years steady WORK he may DC caS0ca
as jOurncyman, It takes from ten to hiitrh lohI"
ever through with learning his trade ,, ,m 90
There i, no other work in which the mechanic loses so
much of his work hy is handling 2iCt i 'e"VT' th n,s
hands Most ware must bc oil IN cqla WtlSh,, .no ,t
gathering boy unshcd i'll gathering the EI Ior the
blower he loses muc time aud &are from tl1t cause:
After he has blown the bottle II is Dl no ng5S % I"' % IN
boy carries If 20 the tenn cTng oven 1hs 700 Is III
the cave OF boy; he loScS great quantity "i MS Mio y!
thc oycr6c9tiu or chilling while in this oven. Then IN
the wheeling ont of the ware ho often meets WIN Ee4l
nSn siomy, For story Ware tho blower receives
nothing. Then only perfect ware Is al tnn, Is p'hp I "a
fn him 80 ali h- ,0r may 10 loss through ro fault
fhi-: aS . great deal OF his Is lost ti"nGh the
He certainly needs to he paid well for Tha h acEtd.
Taking into consideration the cost OF BIS extra Tms the
amount OF act ity his work requires tic E!'t length "'
time before lie acquires his trade the amount q" labor Le
loses in the handling OF his ware ny Oi Oinef
parties, he does not get wages tual are uNlr"P"iuo-
TGc eils, works here employ about 500 hands The
people around Alton outside o tradc,pccpie ore mostly
farmers They sympathlzcd with the giaNs-hI0veI' IN
the lat. out the blowers help trade greatly om'
Alton They live we'll and their money goes Mlo cif
culaon among the people here; -r,o,,,,. WIN,
| Upper AHon W, Feb 1, 1854.
THE TRIBUNE prints with pleasure this tom
pcrltc and intelligent statement of the case of the
glaSs-blowers 1t appears to have been called out
! an equally temperate editorial, i'll which lHE
TrIBuNr suggested the most natural course lead
ing TO 4 reopcning of the factories for tho bcnoht
! both of mon and employers.
! Wecanuot help thinking it mistake, to say that
moro bottles would not be bought at a cheap price
There is scarcely an exception to the ruio that
reduction i'll price increases the demand for any
article III general use. Glass blowing is one of the
! good trades The men who follow il arc, as a rulc
! good citizens. prudent, economical and thrifty.
The towns in which glass factories are located are
almost AFT of them noticeable for the large number
| Of comfortable houses owned by the mon. and well
supplied with books and new w5papeTs. The troubles
| in the glass industry have come from falling
/ market. In dali tunes, all prices fall. Everything
goes down-pig-iron. glass, railway stocks, wages
and all One industry drags down another. The
thing is inevitable. No one is to blame for it. No
| one can prevent it. The result il the sureT, cSpcc
! ally in all lines of manufacturing, when trade Is
| dull abroad 1t is well-En0wn fact that industry
is seriously depressed i'll England To force UP
prices and wages in America when both have
declined abroad is not good business judgement. If
we are to keep the home market we must conform
TO the general tendency of the times. To outsiders
it surely seems better for those who need money
TO keep at work some sort of wages than to lio
| idle for seven months.
Still that is an affair for The glass blowers them
selves. So long as a strike is conducted peacefully
other wofkmen outsiders have right to object it,
! Ii is only when strikers grossly break faith rs was
| the case some months ago III the foolish printers
! strike in TIE TRIBUNE Office, that they aonatc tho
sympathy all mcn of right feeling naturally have
for wOrkingmcn in any effort to secure better
wages. But 90 break the strongest pledges. as
| thcso printcrsj did: TO take advantage Of the
absence Of employers and attempt TO clutch n
delicate business depending entirely for its success
on the regularity with which its work is done
every day, and threaten its destruction uhlcss thor
demands are instantly complied With-this ls not
an honorable effort 10 get better wages, but the
| highwayinan's demand, Yonr money or your life"
Such efforts never receive any intoli gent sympathy
aud almost always fail in the end disaStrously, as
this printers strike did They got no sympathy
however, for another reason. Their work was
| easy conducted in airy and elegant apartments
the very best for the business in the United States
if not in the world and the whole force were max
| ing wages ayeTanng-G0Od and bad Oyer SZ2 per
week. The really good printers averaged nearly
$50 for five to six days work of olghl hours each
! When the price Of the manufactured product was
being reduced demand forhighci wages than this
for a trade easily learned, was absurd
If in tho general interest of all, however. that
good work should always get good wages The real
| fosuaId for good wage, to good worklnGmcn in
this country is 20 bc found in the Protective tariff
Remove that and half the manufactures would be
closed, while the other half would struggle along
paying wages nearly apprOxmatmg the low
| English standard. The unemployed wOrkingmcn
would he thrust back into agriculture. oycrcrowd-
| lug that, and thus increasing the general disturb
anco and di fro.s.-Ldl
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! 1HE IRUE AMERICA.