, 1891-09-04
NOTES n OPINIONS.
A FEW RECENT EVENTS AND SAY
lN6S AS VIEWED BY BUCHANAN.

A FEW RECENT EVENTS AND SAY
INGS AS VIEWED BY BUCHANAN.
The st Louis Republics Original Ideas
on "Pauper Importing Tin
Platers-The Prison Labor Sweaters of
Tennsssee-TiPs from New York.
The most unique editorial production
Of modern times appeared in a recent is
sue of the st. Louis Republic. 1t was a
column in length, and was intended to
enlighten the people on the meaning and
significance of a term which, until Tread
The Republics article, | believed to be
thoroughly understood. But, now, II
there is anything in that long winded
definition, / am all at sea. The caption
of the editorial in question was What
is 'Pauper Labor" The Republics an
swer seems to be that there is a certain
kind of necessary work which is dis
agreeable, but which must be performed,
and TINT it is, always has been and al
ways Will be 'pauper labor" that the
term is impersonal and applies to the
character of the labor and not to the
laborer. The article in question goes on
to argue that if we OF the United States
car have this work done in Europe we
are foolish If we SO legislate as to require
1t, or a part of it, done here. 1t will be
readily seen that The Republic is argu-
ing the tariff question, but while | may
agree with that paper on its basic tariff
view, / must object TO such a distortion
of a term that is SO commonly used in
the discussion of economic questions.
The word "'pauper" comes from the
Latin, and means poor. When made
personal and applied to the laborer it
means a poor laborer. Hence we have
generally accepted the expression pau
per labor" to mean poorly paid labor.
Now, according to the editorial writer
of The Republic, poorly paid labor is
necessary to the country, and we must
either be foolish and have it here or be
wise and make Europe furnish it to us.
The Republic says;
Everything done to relieve our people from
the slavery OF the low, hard, unintellectuhl
psuper labor that must be done by the least
Intelligent will tend inevitably to force adj
vRncement to higher intellectual conditions
and greater productive capacity. It is not so
hard to see this II 1t is always remembered that
pauper labor is the hard, dirty or unintellectual
employment that you do not wish for yourself
or for your children that Is so hard, so dirty
or 80 unintellectunl that you would never ac-
knowledge that you yourself had capacity for
nothing better.
II it is true that ''pauper labor" is
poorly paid labor, then 1t follows that
the scavenger and the ~bookkeeper may be
(and often both are) pauper laborers, and
only those callings in which, from one
cause or another, the wages are high arc
free from paupers. The facts are, that
the most disagreeable employments, as a
rule, give the smallest returns to the
workers, and the unskilled men who
come from Europe to America are only
at for such work. If a skilled mechanic
lands in this country and finds employ
nent at his trade, in which the rate of
wages is comparatively high, no n
thinks of speaking of him as a pauper
iaborer; but If his trade is crowded, and
be is forced to go to ditch digging at n
dollar a day, he at once Is classed as n
psuper laborer from Europe, which all
goes to prove that the wage received de-
termines the question Of the w~agework-
ers' standing; and when it is remembered
that the most disagreeable and most
dangerous employments are the poorest
paid, there is food for thought for the
tariff reformers and other reformers.
There has been considerable in the
newspapers lately about the declaration
of President Niedringhaus, Of the st.
Louis Stamping company, that he in
tended to bring over from Europe some
men TO work at tin plate making. 1t is
claimed by this gentleman that there are
not in this country the men trained in
one particular branch of the tin plate
industry, and that under the immigra-
ton law he has the right to bring the
needed skill from where he can obtain
1t. The Amalgamated Association of
Iron and Steel Workers declares that the
men for this work are in this country,
and the association stands ready to fur
nish them if Mr.. Niedringhaus will sign
the scale of the association and union
iEe his mill, which he has hitherto
refused to do. The most amusing
feature of the matter is the attempt
of Mr.. Niedringhaus to hoodwink
the general public by his statements
IN the newspapers. For instance, he
said, a few days ago., that 'if there are
such men as we want in the country we
will employ them and pay them 100 per
cent over the wages paid in Europe.
The average duty on tin plates is 10 per
Dent., and we are perfectly willing to
give the workman all of that and add 80
per cent. thereto" This sounds very big,
and may fool the uninitiated, but it may
be well to state that Mr.. N~eidringhaus
mill will employ 800 men, and that the
labor which he has to go to Europe for
amounts to 10 per cent. of that number,
or sixty men. Soft will be seen that the
talk of giving to the laborer all the tariff
and 80 per e besides is CUFF. It's the
hind of CUFF we nave so much of in polit-
ical campaigns.
The New York Recorder says the
PAYERS and hammerers won a victory
to be ashamed Of" because it was
claimed that they intimidated the con-
tractors by their knowledge that the
contract with the city was not being
kept, so far ms the quality of the stone
used was concerned. 1t seems that the
labor officials tacitly admitted that they
had the bulge on the contractors in that
direction. The Recorder is indignant
because the w~orkngmen did not give
the contractors away instead of using
their knowledge of crookedness as a club
TO win their fight. This sounds good