Wichita eagle., 1888-05-29
WAGES IN FREE TRADE ENGLAND.
From the New York Press.
The following tariff talk is taken fro

From the New York Press.
The following tariff talk is taken from
letter of Mr.. Edward White, an
Englishman, to the London Evening
News. Laborers and optimists would
do well to read and inwardly digest this
talk. 1t will show the former what free
trade had done and is doing for their fell
lows in England, and it will prove to
philanthT0p perhaps, that free trade
IS not always and entirely the gospel of
good will 70 man that their fond magma
tons have painted 1t. I'VE entered,
says Mr.. White in describing one OF the
homes-or say dens-where the horrible
sweating" business is carried on, "a
small house, the passage OF which was
filled with match boxes ready to be sent
home. We passed through a room into
place behind, where a man and half
Gozen boys were employed. This was
the workshop where the various opera
tons of cutting the wood into the the
thick shavings of which the boxes are
made. stamping, sorting and packing into
bundles of two gross each. and cutting
into strips the colored papers which are
pasted round the boxes. were performed.
''Al the members of the family were
employed, the man at the cutting ma
chine, which was worked by small en-
CINE and boiler: he had a boy to assist HIM
and to do the stocking, his wife was en-
ployed cutting the strips of wood INTO the
requisite lengths for bottoms OF the boxes,
the machine used being similar, only
smaller, to chaff-cutter of the old fash
toned kind. With this she cut about half
dozen pieces at each stroke OF the knife.
A boy about IS was employed stamping
the pieces used for the sides of the box,
and cross cutting them TO the length re-
quired: others were employed cutting the
colored paper by similar machine that
| have described for cutting the bottoms,
but with longer knife. some counting
and packing into. bundles, and girl
about Is was FASTING and finishing the
boxes.
Il was courteously received, my ques-
tons intelligently answered, and the
whole art and mystery of matchbox max
ing fully described. asked him if it was
his experience that the Salvation Army
had broughtdow the price. 1twas not,
but what had done it was foreign
matches, which could be bought
at one penny per dozen boxes.
He worked for Bryant & May and other
firms, and could get fairly good living
constantly employed but trade was
slack, and he had only enough work
during the week to have his engine at
work two days.
Il inquired as to the price paid for
materials, and found that these were
supplied by the firms that gave the OF
ders, and the value-not the price and
the value-waS deducted when the ac-
count for making was paid. The wood
used is spruce deal, and the price charg-
ed is As. cd. per deal, II feet long inch
es wide by three inches thick. This Is
an outrageous price and is one-third
more than the value. The pink paper
is charged at 6s per ream; and l was
shown similar paper at IS. of the same
weight-11 lbs.-so that the firms who
employ these people make an enormous
profit on the materials they sell to have
their boxes made. The work in hand
was boxes for tin tacks, which was re-
tailed at penny a box. They are as
large as match boxes but not SO deep.
My informant, who provided all ma
terials, was paid sd. per gross for these,
and he paid for making, that is, FASTING
together, I'd. per gross. The price for
making ordinary matchboXes is I'D.
per gross. These are made by women
and children at their own homes. \
fair days work for woman is six gross,
so, if fully employed, she can earn Is.
Cd per week But where there are
children? they all help, some children be-
ing able to make as many in a day as
woman, but the vigilance of the school
board officer seriously diminishes the
earnings OF family Before foreign
matches were so extensively imported
the price paid for making was al. per
gross, so that the earnings of those poor
people have been reduced from rs. to
IS Cd. per week This is one of the
blessings derived from free trade"