The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-07-20

land, conducted an extensive lnyeStga-
ton into the condition Of the agricnl-
tural Glasses, with theview OF ascertain
ing why IL is that so many are going out
Of farming. The correspondent who
won't most thoroughly into tho subject,
reported that the farln hands could not
live on tho wages they received, and
that the farm holders were being bur
dened down by the tithes and other
taxes. Thousands OF acres are being
taken from the farming districts every
wear to DO turned into shooting pre-
serves and parks. In other words, the
soil is becoming non-prodncttVe, ana
tho poer are paying for 1t.
"rhero could be no moro unjust,
grinding tax upon tho people than the
tithcs, for n large proportion OF the
money go raised goes TO support clergy
mon whose livings arc tho gift OF tho
influential political friends, and whose
religious duties are practically absent.
EVEN TIE RICH ARE rAxED.
"But yet tho rapacious nav Of the
great untillable, with its precious free
trade systcm' needs more Of tho peo-
ple's blood. It puts the iecches this
time to the sides OF the prosperous;
business men, who are doing well, aud
whose operations make them fat prey.
A very clever system, that We have
tried here aud abandoned, ia in force,
TO get au income out of the movements
Of tho great machine OF trade. For
every check that ia drawn, for whatever
amount, a two.cent stamp must be
affixed, else 1t will BIO void. For every
receipt given for two pounds or moro
there must BIO a two-cert stamp pur-
chased. Every bill OF ladinS must bear
d stamp OF varying value, tho minimum
beiog five shiilinga. Some OF the great
firms have papers so important that
their stamps alone amount TO Gl00
pounds each. Does tho merchant
stand this additional expense or does
no slip it into his normal expense ac.
count, and thus mako it o part OF his
cost OF production, OF which the pur-
chaser must pay large share? The
way OF human nature makes but ono
course possible.
HOW 1T AFFECTS THE PEOPLE.
1--WE are coming now to tho point Of
seeing how all this affects the people.
In the first place it affects their wa ges,
their food and their comforts. In the
second place 1t is affecting their physi.:,
cal condition, and the day Is not Tar OH
when the world will awake to- the sur
prising fact that the English common
people form race OF dwarfs. Let me
give you few figures on the wage ques.
ton that know to be accurate, for
they are drawn from the records OF our
factory. When We established the
plant In London We took over skilled
machinist, who had always worked in
Philadelphia for an average wage OF
$1,000 a year. He was told before ho
went over that the $1,000, which would
be his salary there, would be equal at
least to 81, 500, and in a month we put
his wage UP to G6 week, or about
81, 500 year. When he had tried the
job for year he wrote back to the own
ers OF the concern thathe. would have
TO give up his position and return to
America, for he had found that even
with his 81 500 year he could not get
the living and the comforts that he had
been accustomed to in America. We
tiled his place by an Englishman,
whose work in bill particular line was
worth more to US than our Philadel-
phian, and we paid him % shillings,
which we eventually raised to thirty.
He had never received as much before,
and on this he struggled along, with
bare food enough to keep his body and
soul together. One OF his children
died, and the poor fellow had not
money enough to bury her.
Among the other men whom we
took over was a braider, whose wage,
based on his American earnings, was
464 shillings week, and he, too, re:
turned to this country disguised, and
we filled his place with native to
whom We paid 90 shillings. Our fore:
woman whom we took over received
$40 week. When she fell victim to
the food OF poverty and came back,
her place was taken by an English
woman who received the munifcent
wage OF 20 shillings, S. a week, with so
or 60 girls under her charge, while her
assistant got 10 shillings. as against S.
in Philadelphia.
PAuPERs' wAaEs-PAUpERs'F FOOD.
$50 much for tho wages-and remem.
Der that there are thousandsof men and
women frantic for the chance to get
such earnings. Let us see how they
eat-let us see II the free trade cry that
the smaller wages will buy more meat
and more clothes and more shelter.
Take my case, paying 500 u week for
three rooms and board Tor myself, my
wife and little girl, Could. I get my
American meals even at that high rate2
Not much! scarcely saw vegetable
at breakfast, and l was astounded one
day when our good and gracious land
lady kindly offered to cook US q steak If
We would buy It. Ionce grew hungry
for some oysters, and paid sixty cents
for half dozen. AS / did not like tho
taste OF old pennies with which they
were impregnated loft four OF them on
my plate. English oysters do not suit
tho American palate, and did not have
wealth enough to cultivate tasto for
them. had one peach during tho two
years that was across the water, and
for that paid twelve cents. Ipaid the
Same for a Newtown pippin, but |
would not buy tho common apples that
wero offered for sale in the streets. The
cheapest strawberries that l over bought
were twelve cents pound, and / never
got q grape for less than sixty cents q
pound, while they wero often quoted as
high as 81 %. Tho cheapest tomatoes
werc twelve cents pounC, and they ran
rs high as twenty.four cents.
Cream is almost IN unknown luxury.
Our shopkeeper, q man who had ac-
cumulated a hoard OF, perhaps, $50, 900,
complained that he had never tasted
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