Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1892-09-14
THAT LABOR REPORT.
COMMISSIONER PECK CAUSES CON-
STARVATION AMONG DEMOCRATS.

The Party of Free Trade Is Already Ac-
cusing Him of Treachery-A Very DIFF
hcult Document for Democratic Cam
paign Orators to Explain Away.
1t is probable that Mr.. Charles f
Peck, the commissioner of the New
York bureau of labor statistics, has
never made an official report of greater
interest to the public than the one which
has just appeared from his bureau. 1t
will create great excitement among his
Democratic associates, and they are al
ready loud voiced and passionate, as
well as utterly unreasoning, in their
charges of treachery to Wae party be-
cause he has seen fit to print the results
of an investigation by his bureau which
do not accord, as he freely states, with
the declarations of the Democratic ma
tional platform, or with the arguments
constantly offered by Democratic speak
ers and journals.
The subject for the investigation this
year was chosen by Mr.. Peck with much
good sense and entire fidelity to the true
interests of the working people, whom
he is expected in measure to represent,
if not very shrewdly, for the interests of
the Democratic party. No doubt Mr..
Peck expected, as indeed he frankly
says, that an investigation of the course
of wages and the increase or decrease of
production in manufacturing in this
state would show, in accordance with
the theories of his party, depression OF
industries resulting from the enactment
of the Mckinley tariff. He states that
he determined upon the investigation
more than year ago, when the new
tariff had been passed, but had not gone
into effect as yet, and that he believed
its results would be in harmony with
Democratic convictions. When the re-
| turns had been received and compiled
he discovered, much to his astonish.
ment, that the results were by no means
favorable to Democratic theories; but
he has nevertheless published his annual
report, giving the figures as he finds
them, without regard to their political
effect. The Democratic politicians who
are now denouncing him doubtless ex
pected that he would find it convenient
to omit altogether this year the annual
report required by law, because the ma
terial collected for it did not happen tc
suit the interests of his party.
Coming from such a source, this re-
port must be accepted as exceedingly
strong testimony. 1t shows the progress
Of manufacturing industries in the
greatest state in the Union during tho
first year after the passage Of the Nc
Kinley act, in comparison with the las
year prior to its enactment. This com
parison shows an increase in value o!
products amounting to 1871, 315, 1870 in {
single year, which is in itself remarka
BILE evidence of the increased prosperity
resulting from the new law. The value
Of products, however, is not by any
means the most important gain with re
spect to the interests of the wage earn
ers. The report Of the commissioner
goes further and compares the rate O.
wages in sixty-eight industries for thu
two years. The results show an increas,
in fifty-one industries, averaging $43.9
for each, while the decrease in other
was SO far unimportant that the tota
average increase in yearly earnings O.
the employees in all the industries in
cluded in the investigation was $23.1
for each person. The official statemen
shows that no less than $4,000 EN-
ployees are directly embraced in TIL
statistics presented, and that there wer
no less than 89.717 instances Of individ