The morning call., 1892-07-15
LABOR TROUBLES.

Mr.. /. II. Morton, a mining superintend-
ent. whose duties require him to keep well
Informed as to the causes of labor troubles,
writes as follows concerning the labor situa-
ton at Homestead mills:
The trouble manifestly lies in the in
ability Of the Northern ironworkers to pro-
duce either crude or manufactured iron in
competition with the producers Of Alabama
and Tennessee. 1t has been broadly as
serted and not denied that iron can be pro-
duced in the States above mentioned for SO
per cent less than in Pennsylvania and the
northwestern States. How this can be done
has been explained in almost every pros
pectus Of a Southern mining company issued
Of late years. 1t is because they have the
advantage Of virgin fields Of coal and iron,
conveniently situated to each other and
also TO cheap natural lines of transportation.
and beyond all they have the advantage Of
the use Of cheap labor, some Of it free, a
great deal Of 1t convict labor, furnished by
the prisons Of the States at a nominal rate
Of wages, and all labor deprecated by the
conyict-camp system. This is a question
Tor the labOr-TefoTmeT and statesman 1t
cannot be reached by any change Of tariff or
discussion CT partisan policies 1t is a
social, Industrial question, and pressing
urgently for settlement. As il stands now
two States, solldly Democratic, can by their
industrial system nullfy practically the
good effects Of the protective tariff and pro-
duce economic conditions involving the very
existence Of whole communities in other
sections Of the country To the champions
Of the elevation Of labor it presents the
simple question, Shall the convict camps Of
the South be abolished or shall the iron
centers Of the North be moved 10 Alabama.
with all their operatives, to enter the field
OF labor competition with the already under
paid and underfed Southern workingman.
Or. shall the Northern workingman content
himself with such remuneration as his in
dustry will bring him. and groan and sweat
IN his endeaYor to stem the tide Of hostile
production? Because convict or slave labor
is always hostile. 1t Is difficult question.
and one, perhaps, which can only be
reached through the Southern workingman
himself. But let the people once under
stand The question in ifs real aspect and
they will soon get at its solution"
The fact that labor in different parts OF
the country is subject to widely different
conditions certainly presents a difficult
problem for labor unions to solve. Against
the cheap labor Of foreign countries we
dppiy thC iCHcbJ VI tdtlu uuIltS. But tOlS
remedy is not available against cheap la
Dor in our own country. A national hon-
partisan labor organization will eventually
find solution OF the problem by the appli-
cation of the natural law which governs
physical forces. The labor unions should
bring their organizations to bear on
points where the rates of labor are the low
est. Every employer is subject in the dis
posal of his wares to the same conditions.
He cannot get more for an article because
tie conditions of product were such that it
cost him more than like article cost com
petitor. He must either sell at the market
price or retire from business. When dif-
ferent conditions are natural the producer
cannot, of course, change them. Ii the
naturai advantages OF the Alabama and