The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-08-16

American wages was, whether they repre-
sented fairly the wages obtaining here to-
day. Mr. Folsom and his intelligent clerk
both thought they did. There may
have been slight fluctuation mp or
did not believe there had been any great
change. one way or the other. IL either
way, the tendency. they thought. had been
upward. Still, 10 make sure as TO
this. they would advise me 10 confer with
the leading oiiicisls OF the Federated Trades
Union. and here the pleasant fact trans
pired-akin TO many that we are con-
stantiy discovering IN England-thae
several prominent labor representatives
mao gained places recently IN the Sheffield
Town Council. These were men who &C
avery election were on the platform in be-
half OF labor from the opening of the tight
till the last ballot was counted. They knew
all the ms and outs of the wage problem.
wore always accessible on the subject and
We could take our choice as to which We
would honor with call.
TOLD BY LABOR ADVOCATE
The gentleman we visited 10 Mr. Charles
Robson. who is not only q town councillor.
but has served for five or six years as pres
ident of the Sheffield Labor Council, an
organization IN which fifty-five trades are
embraced. and with q paying membership
of about fifteen thousand. To find these
English toilers hanging together as they
do. so compactly and in such great masses,
for the protection of their own interests,
IL one OF the most gratifying revelations
which our trip abroad has thus far afforded
us. When. too. we find men of the stamp
of Mr.. H0bson-self-e intelligent,
gentlsmanly, self-sacrihclng-willin to
manage these organizations without a cent
of pay, and while they stand at the fore
front of the battle for others, still earning
t their own bread by s daily toll, We
into the secret of this phenomenal move
ment. In replying to our inquiries Mr..
Hobson thought that trades-unionism had
certainly accomplished something IN Shef-
heid within recent years. both as regarded
hours OF employ ment and the rate of pay.
Still. In looking over the figures above
gwen. especially those relating to the iron
and steel trade. be could not help saying In
all candor, that. with the qualifying re-
mark IN my letter that the earnings given
would probably In some cases be q little
lower than those actually paid at the pres.
emit time, the list could be consistently
published in the American press and might
be properly used, with slight notifications,
In any comparison which might be desired
with the wages OF similar workmen IN the
United States.
So far so good, but upon the one pressing
matter which we had gone to Sheffield
specially to investigate, this gentleman.
unfortunately, was not able TO enlighten
us. We had carried with us q newspaper
clipping giving q catalogue of thirty-four
different occupations in which men had
been engaged at Homestead, with the
amount of wages which il was estimated
would fall 10 the lot of these different
workmen under the new scale offered them,
and that which We wanted TO find out was,
what the same class of men were earning
per day in Sheffield at the present time.
This, Mir. Hobson said. he could not tell us,
and the employers having previously
averred that they would not afford this in
formation. the prospect looked bad. But
We got il approximately. and our
kind informant was Mr.. j. Free
borough, local secretary of the Friendly
Society of Iron workers, whose name. As
one likely to he familiar with sueh mat
ters. had been gwen TO US by the general
secretary of the same society in London.
MI. Peterborough had been allowed twenty
four hours for reflection and inquiry.
Hence he did not speak at random nor In
haste. The names we read out to him were
different in some cases, he said, from those
in use over here but he knew the kind of
work involved, and from long practical
acquaintance in nils and furnaces he could
estimate within q trihe what each mans
wages would be.
SOME OF THE FIGURES.
Speaking generally the men worked by
the turn. he said, and q day turn lasted
from to 5. In changing English money
into American we have counted an En-
glIsh pound to be worth So, and as this is
more than it's real value. the Eng lishmau
has that much advantage over the Amer
lean in the following table:
Minimum scdgcs
per day al Home