The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-05-13


A convention OF all the textile work
era Of Philadelphia having delegated us
for that purpose, beg leave to lay before
your honorable body the following state
ment Of their grievances and requests:
We believe this to be the nrst time In
the history OF the country that any
large body OF workingmen has taken
independent steps for o hearing before
your body on the tarltf question. 10
this they are moved by = sense OF the
danger they are In from the unequal
operations OF the present law, which
are now brought right TO their
doors with blighting effect.
The importation Of woolen ana wOrs'
ted cloths Ia increasing at q fearful rats
while our own weavers are thrown out
OF employment, and those who are still
employed are put upon such poor wOIk
that with the seyeTeat kind OF work they
cannot earn living wages, S0mes0f this
cloth Ia Imported In the grease or In
a state In which II Ia taken of the loom
and finished here, Only last week llfly
WeaVers and three warpers were laid OIL
In one Philadelphia mill, and II was
given out on good authority that this
was done because the proprietors could
buy the cloth as cheap In our own mar
ket 40 they could buy the yarn
In another mill upwagds or one
hundred looms are idle, while the hn
ishlng department runs on full time,
Some others are threatening 10 shut
down altogether, or going on short time
while all Of them are making only
the comm0nest gredes OF goods. IL
must be more profitable TO import these
goods In the grease" with the cost OF
weaving added, than 10 import the yarn,
or II would not be carried on TO such o
great extent; and we fail TO see how q
law which permits such a gross wrong
and Inconsistency can DO said TO AFFORD
any protection 10 labor aud az oil laws
imposing tariff duties are said, by their
advocates, to be for the protection OF
labor, we now demand that they be
made protective In fact az well 40 In
name; and as we have left the manage
ment OF these affairs TO our employers
until we find that they have succeeded
In shaping the laws for their benefit
and our injury, We now speak out for
equal rights and equal benefits, beliey
ing that we possess the intelligence,
strengthened by experience, TO know
what we want.
What coed Ia tariff to us, whether
high or low, 40 long as II operates 10
unequally and unjust, and places mo
the hands OF our employers u rod with
which 10 chastise US whenever we dare
10 ask for our share OF its benefits; and
the above statement shows Ole way In
which that rod IL welded. Now, II
cannot be the difference In the wages
that IL causing oil this when the entire
wages account In The w0rsted and wool.
on Industries is about II 20 per cent OF
the product, and In the cotton Indus
tries 20SS per cent OF the product, and
II stands TO reason that this very small
account can play but a triiljng part In
international trade; and this aptly III.
ustrates the folly OF the great hubblb
about wages that ~ made In most OF
the discussions Of this question. II Ia
time, indeed, that this little bugbear
about wages was dropped and the great
or ones about high rates OF interest and
profit on capital, the enormous tax on
raw materials, the ligh charges and
discrimination Of the railroads In
TRANSPORTATION, the heavy general TAXA
tion, the lack OF skill and manag ment
and economic administration and the
excessive number OF high ealarled boss
es int our mill, taken into account,
and II will be found that In these com.
bined there In room for q reduction that
will aggregate more than the entire
wage account OF American labor, and
make up more than ten times over for
all the difference there may be between
American and European wages.
As the law now stands the tariff tax
on the materials amount 10 much more
than the wages paid on the finished fab
Tlcs, which accounts for the enhance.
ment OF prices without a relative COM
pensaliOn 10 labor, and hence the possi
bility OF importing the finished, or even
partly finished, prf dnct NJ greater
profit than TO import the materials and
having them manufactured here.
This is shown by the importation, In
the year 1883, Of 8,220,020 pounds Of
worsted cloth, valued NJ $l0,S00,82i,
while the importation OF worsted yarns
amounted TO but dlS, 300 pounds, valued |
nj $i33 1858 The importation value OF |
the cloth was sl3ilS per pound, and
the value or the yarn was
Sl03l9, aud there is about u |
pound OF yarn In the yard OF cloth |
Who will believe that 2S centa differ. |
ence between the cloth and yarn Will |
pay for the weaving, securing, dyeing, |
nniehlng, the factory expenses, the In.
terest, and profit on tho capital Invest.
cd, and TO the extent II falls short OF |
paying these, labor Ia cheated, aa OK.
perience has shown that II has TO make |
up oil shortages, and 10 that extent II |
10 more profitable 10 Import the fabric |
than the materials composing III and |
this IL another way In which labor Ia |
cheated by having the mlll.doors closed |
TO II while the foreign made g0ot9,
which represent an equal amount OF
labor cost, IN showed In under ita very |
nose and sold NJ enormous profits, for II
must be borne In mind that this cloth
which Ia lnyOiced NJ the custom house at
$13i per yard IL sold here
nt from ave TO ten dollars per yard,
Somebody 10 making big thing out OF |
this, and II Ia not labor, which should |
ind this Temunerative employment, |
and would have II were II not for the |
excessive tax on the materials.
The popular notion ia that tho wages |
OF labor playaan important part In these |
peculiar transactions, and that the |
difference between American and Euro
pean wages 10 tho main thing that pre-.
vents our manufacturers from compet-
Ing In the homo market with the foreign
nufnctureIs, and In this connection |
II 10 fashionable 10 overs,ate American
wages by citing olated and exception.
nj casee Instead OF the average.
We have In our possession wage. llst
(ofllciaO or n mill near Huddereneld,
England, which compared with that OF
one OF the largest mills In philadelphia
shows the same average, but the extras
pnid In tho Epglish mill makes lie rates
q little higher than tho Phlln-
delpbia mill. Wo have also