The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-17

second will cover in the same way the man
ufacture Of textile fabrics and miscellane-
Gus articles, such as glass, lumber, earth.
enware, etc. Practice enables Us TO
improve in our methods, and we believe
these volumes, the work upon which is
already well under way, will prove val
liable additions TO this series These in
ouiries were ordered by congress, and we
have been engaged upon them for two
years. besides carrying along our other
work. They will be more elaborate and
exhaustive than have ever before been pre-
pared anywhere.
What | have said will convey some idea
of what the department of labor is doing
We are but feeble folk" as far as num-
bers are concerned. The average strength
of our force is about eighty, and the result
of their work makes but a small showing
when judged by quantity. 1t must be con-
sidered that single printed page of collated
facts and figures may represent the labor
of MANY DAYS or weeks. 1t is our province
TO watch closely the times and changing
conditions, and supply the information
that the public most needs. We are dong
the best We can with the means at our
command, but We could do much more if
our facilities were increased. We keep
twenty permanent special agents in the
field collecting information, with tempo
rary reinforcements as the work may re-
quire and our funds will permit. The
held force gathers the facts and the clerks
employed here tabulate and prepare them
for publication.
In my Judgment the condition of the
wageworkers of the United States, viewed
IN all aspects, is better now than at any
previous period in our history. There is
continual ebb and flow of the tide of gen.
eral prosperity which for the time affects
more or less the men and women who toll.
For this reason 1t Is not easy to make a
comparison of single year with another
preceding or following it. But taking
period OF, say, twenty-five years. and striK-
ing general average, so to speak, we NAV
reach fair conclusion. Doing this we
see a marked and gratifying improve
ment. Wages are higher, and while in
some respects the cost of living is also
increased, considering what a man gets
for his money, the advantages be has of
education, the general diffusion of lntelli-
gence and social enjoyment, the relative
value of wages over the cost of living has
materially advanced. A very important
consideration is the fact that while wages
have increased, there has been a general
decrease in the hours of labor. Where
this is taken into the account the larger
compensation the artisan and the laborer
receive for their time becomes even more
apparent. The reduction in the hours of
labor gives more time and opportunity for
recreation and intellectual culture. and
condition of the wage-earners.
None will deny that in the United States
the workingman-popular so-called-is
at this time more of a social and political
factor than ever before. Labor is more
respectable--if | may use the term with
out being misunderstood. Education de-
velops in the workingman all that goes to
make good citizenship, and this COM
mands confidence and respect. In our
country the conditions are radically diff
ferent from those OF any other. Here the
great body of workers are not composed of
a continuous line or race. In Germany,
for instance, they are substantially all
Germans and have been for centuries In
England, France and other countries it is
much the same. Comparative conclu-
slons are therefore much more easily
reached than here, where we have a heter-
ogeneous mass made up from all the civil
lied nations Of the globe. The great won
der OF students and publicists saould be
that this great body of people, so consti-
tuted. should be so Intelligent, so well
paid, and generally so orderly
Comparing our own with foreign coun-
tries, it IS an indisputable fact that the
condition of the working people is inn
measurably better. What is most de-
manded now, in my opinion, is wise and
just reguiation-perhaps the word re-
strictiOn would be un-American-of
foreign immigration. Well considered
measures to this end would promote the
interest of wageworkers. What those
measures should be | will not attempt to
say. There has always been some legisla-
ton tending In that direction. This is in
some degree experimental, and may lead
to something more tangible and definite
believe the social and moral condition
of all people, in all countries, is growing
better. / am not pessimist. / do not
think the world is going backward. / am
what might be called conservative optl-
mist, looking always to the better side of
things and seeing improvement and prog
ress wherever they can be found. Speak
ing in general way, the workingman has
always had a hard time of it, He has
never received his legitimate share of the
productof his labor. This has been the
result OF existing conditions, and not of
any fixed purpose on the part of his
employer TO detraud him, or of pre-
sumed hostility between capital and
labor. So many factors enter into the
price of labor that ii is hard to say WHY a
man is paid so much or so little The chief
question III the labor problem of today is:
How shall the worker receive his lust and
equitable share of production That we
are nearing the point of a fairer distribu-
ton | firmly believe. Just what the
changes will be by which this most desir-
able condition may be brought about it is
quite impossible now TO define The
problem must solve inself in its own way.
Legislation cannot do it. There are
unwritten economic principles and
laws which must determine There
has long been a gradual narrowing of
profits to capital, resulting from the in
crease of wages, competitive rivalry and
other causes. Interest is lower than for
merly, and this is in the line of eouaiiZa-
ton, being to the advantage of the bor-
rover at the expense OF the lender There
- .f,a-
of many manufactured articles, which
helps the consumer. All these elements
enter into the question and foster the hope
of solution at no distant day. This is
the plain logic of events
1t is a favorable sign of the times that
never before has been such a general, sim
cere and deep-seated sympathy with the
laboring class. and desire to better their
condition in every practicable way There
will always be misfortune and vice,
poverty and want, bat we NAV regard
hopefully the work of legislators, the
press and the pulpit for the improvement
OF mankind Employers are more con-
siderate of the men and women who toll
for them. Everything is in the line of ele-
waiting labor instead of degrading il. With
this in view, the department of labor is.
IS | said at the beginning, an educational
force. 1t does not pat dollars directly into
the pockets of the workingman, but il does
give him material aid IN ways that are
quite as effectual.
| believe the era of strikes in this coun-
try for the present practically over. They
have been expensive educators exacting
large tuition bills, but they nave taught
labor and capital each 10 respect the rights
of the other Much as they are 10 be dep
recated they have not been an unmixed
evil They have had their part in work
ing out the perplexing industrial problem.
a