Omaha daily bee., 1885-09-03
THE PROBLEM OF THE AGE.
The GFtat Question Of the Working
mans Condition.
The Meeting At the Carpenters
Union Hall Tuesday Night-Mr.
Rosewater's Address
Touching Up
Home Talent"

The public session Of the Carpenters
Union Tue,dsy evening, as prsviously..sr
nounced. filed the hall Of the organiza-
tlon to The doors. Several prominent
speakers had been invited and the greater
number responded In person.
The president, William E. Metsger,
made q neat welcoming address aud in
troduced the first speaker of the evening.
Mr.. Edward Rosewater answered the
o II to speak with an impromptu effort
which was greeted with manifest
pleasure by his auditors. He ex.
planned that when some days ago he had
BIZ en- invited by the labor committee to
address this meeting, he could not prom
ise 30 TO do as 1t appeared then that he
would be away from the city at this time.
But as he was this night la town, he had
gladly responded TO their request. He
was q worklngmsn himself. For many
years he had been the member of q
laborious craft, that of telegraphy. He
was n of the organizers and officers of
the T~elsgraphet's Protective League,
which was established in 1870. He had
had experien oss with labor troubles; had
bsen on both sides of strikes, so
that he had ample chance for
practical study of the labor question,
The greatest problems In labor Ia to meet
the depression which overproductlon pro-
duces. With that problem the Statesmen
of Europe and America have grsppled,
and have still left unsolved. Il would
thus be arrogance on my part to pretend
that | could atlVe 1t. The revolution
wrought by machinery, and the marvel,
GUS mechanical inventions Of the past
fifty years have displaced millions of
skilled workmen the world over from
their regular vocations, and compelled
them to seek new fields of employment.
The new inventions continue to crowd
workmen out of employ ment almost as
fast as they become skilled
in some craft. 1t is conceded
that machinery has taken the place of
tive-sIxths of all the labor Of the world.
Where six men were formerly employed
twelve to fourteen hours per day, one
man with the aid of machinery can
supply the demand. How Is this great
army Of surplus workers to find employ
ment enough to supply their wants and
those CT their families? This is the
problem which is wracking the brains of
the ableet thinkers of the world. One
practical r.meey Is a reduction in the
hours of labor, which will necessitate the
employment of o greater number Of men.
There ara nos.ium doctors who pretend
that some particular policy Or
act of congress would make
wages high and stimulate industry
this Is especially true Of politicians
who want the workingmen's votes. Dur
ing the last campaign MIR. Blaine SAID to
the workingmen of Ohio end Pennsylva.
MIA, 'the wonderful prosperity which you
enjoy Is entirely due to the American
p,licy of home protection. If you desire
this ptli,y to continue, you will continue
In power tho party which has created It,.
And yet half tae workmen were out of
work and nearly starving and the other
half were working at from 20 to 80
cents a day. On tho ether hsId
the free trade ranters are always
bowling about the taxes and
robberies imposed by the protective
tariff. Last winter, the speaker said,
he had heard j. Sterling Nor
ten tell a r ovid of erange,s that ev
ory yard Of calico on the backs of thei-
wives was taxed six cents by the protect
i've tariff. AS a matter of fact the calico
was bought by the farmers for four cents
a yard, and that Is cheaper than 1t can be
bought in free trade England. With
oilers Morton had deluded himself
for years with the idea that labor had to
be iostered and manufactures btlmula-
ted by high tariff protection. There Is
no doubt that American industry has re-
ceived great benefits from protection in
tho pas, but today protection is as dead
as q mackerel for all practical purposes.
American machinery and American
Inventions with low pticsd skilled labor,
are now abe to compete with all the
world IN open market. When the
Union Pacific was built common Iron
rails cost $50. 90 per ton. To-day Ameri-
0 I'm STEEL rails can be laid down for $24 a
ton. A few months ago the Canadian
Pacific bought 10, GOO tons of rail- in
Pennsylvania which shows that rails are
cheaper In this country than they are In
England. 1t Is 80 with almost all classes
of manufactures. American watches
by machinery have taken the place
of the imported. American sewing ma
agricultural implements, guns,
boots and shoes, cutlery and even jeWelry
are made cheaper and batter here than IN
The protection nostrum is
q d. id letter. A more effective stimu-
liant, In his opinion, would be oo-opera-
ton. In England snd France the work
have achieved great result, by oc-
operative industry. The first essential Is
union and harmony among workingmen.
Jay Gould, Vanderbilt, and othercapital-
can meet at the Windsor hotel and
agree upon any policy relative to labor,
while drinking their champagne, but 1t Is
a very different and difficult matter for
several hundred thousand workIngmen
10 agree among themselves on any course.
The struggle with the problem Of over
production and over population must con-
for many yesrs. He believed,
however, that there IL q limit to discov-
cry and invention which will eventually
give greater stability in PROFESSIONAL and
mechanical lab r. The Telegraph
Is the greatest invention of this century.
Fifty years ago the most rapid commu-
was by carrier pigeons
.nd rejecting signals. o 'dsy the CON
are covered with q network of
and dozens of ocean o,bles girdls
he globe. Communication with the