Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-05-02

q uay.Day lfs.le.

The we'll advertised May day demon
toty1tlon Of the workmeu In Europe and
AueSica, which some folk thought was
& 64ooud to upset two or three nionarchics
<nnd establish eight hours a. . days
1nbor without diminution Of the daily
wage, turned out to be very much OF a
S11ssle. They say the troops In Europe
4Were too strong for the health Of the
movement; which, moreover, was made
weak by the announcement Of great
/ manufactures that any of their work.
& men who indulged In this May day de-
moustrAtion would thereafter need to
4 hook out for another job.
There II nothing that makes the
Iaborer, endowed with reasonable sense,
80 careful Of his conduct rs the fact that
his situation depends upon his be-
havior, for good situations are not as
plenty ~ blackberries In the overgrown
4 population of Europe, and they are not
over-plenty even In this country.
This Is q very proper and wholesome
4 Stestrsint of the wildness of action which
labor agitators are constantly promot-
Ing. When sensible man has good
situation ut u remuneration which he
Jeels TO be adequate, he 10 not to be
Vmoved, by the cry Of fools less fortunate,
I 20 throw II up. The failure therefore of
! the May day demonstration, both here
and abroad, shows that there IL no deep
wrong demanding radical remedy and
that the discontented people are fewer
than they thought they were.
Locally there seems to have been
4 onme success In raising wages, but 1t has
ehiefy been among the carpenters, who
zoook advantage Of the need of the con-
txactor TO finish his building to squeeze
mt Of him bigger price. This Ii likely
q - b . temporary matter. Under such
& &ldrcumstances the wages of labor can be
s 6nduly increased but 1t 10 inevitable
3hat the wages can only be maintained
& n the demand for labor exceeds the sup.
ply.
EaF It b not often that In this city this
= situation exists for any length OF time
I. ID the carpenter trade. Usually there
{ ne more carpenters than jobs, and we
III ~ not expect to see high prices for this
y 0jnas Of labor to be maintained. II Is a
& sort OF labor In which the efficiency and
VI thS iAAoi hA0oo ~ Sicot uCui
difference In his value to his em ployer;
1nne carpenters are cheap at 80 cents an
our, while others are dear at half of 1t.
Xhis b In fact true OF all skilled labor,
nmd an association which gives each
1an the same price evidently helps the
GeAk workman at the cost of the efli-
&lont, - well as Of the employer.
This obvious fact does not however
lom to hurt the association, where the
killed and the unskilled get together In
~ common brotherhood that has 30 se-
active an influence, upon the generally
Dlfsh nature of man, that he who can
onrn three dollars alone cheerfully takes
1--WE, that his weak brother, who could
enly earn one, may also get two.
IL is'wonderful, but 1t is true. Some
Il q these days this power Of association
may defy natural laws 50 as to reduce
s The hours Of labor by half and to double
~ price per hour. One would think
that in the growing population Of the
4 World the price Of labor should natur-
ally decrease and so 1t must In the
end but meanwhile We may have the
Wperlence of counter flow In the cur
4 1Dnt.