Little Falls weekly transcript., 1894-06-08
ECONOMY or III lGH WAGES.


Improved machinery stands to hieh
wages in q tWofold relation 1t IS st
once cause and effect. The better the
machine with which q man works the
more productive is his labor and the
more valuable consequently to his en-
ployer. On the other hand, the higher
the wages paid the greater is the induce
ment to the employer to use more and
moro productive machinery and SO re-
duce his expenses Not only is the labor
employed il connection with improved
machinery moro highly paid, as we have
seen, than any other, but the increased
cost Of it is a powerful stimulus to fur
ther improvement. Thus strike among
the boot and shoe makers Of Massachu-
setts few years back resulted in the in
vention OF a machine which reduced the
number employed in the operation Of
lasting" BY 50 per cent. And in this
connection we notice a curious paradox
VIZ, that machinery should not be
made to last too long.
In times OF depression it is the firms
which use old fashioned machinery
which are the first to suffer-as, for in
stance, visiting Oldham in 1886 Mr..
Schoenhof found that the cotton spin-
ners were making no profits at all,
whereas at Rochdale newly built mill,
fitted with all the latest and best inven.
tions, was doing we'll, the reason being
that not only was the expense of work
ing less, but waste had been greatly
diminished. dir Such improvements are Of
ten resisted, Or at least viewed with lit
tie favor, by the workmen themselves,
who see in these improvements a means
OF superseding their own labor. But
they have not grasped the key to the sit
uation and have not understood how
closely their own earnings are bound up
with their equipment.
On the continent such conservatism is
far stronger. 1t is matter Of pride to
the manufacturer that his machinery
outlasts that in use here; but, so far from
being an advantage to him, the fact
really handicaps him in competition
with his English rivals. And such con.
servatism is possible only when largo
supply Of workmen is available at low
wages, for if new machinery is to b.
employed a higher stamp Of worlzmen is
needed. In the industry Of silk throwing,
for instance, there is remarkable diff
ference between England and America
in this respect, for the wages paid in
America are far higher than with us,
and yet the cost is far less Now the
growth of nerve power necessary for
work at such tremendous pressure is pos
sible only when the conditions of life are
favorable-in short, when wages arc
high.
Let us now summarize MI. SchOen-
hof's somewhat optimistic views. High
wages cheaper production in two ways,
They make the laborer more efficient.
He is stronger, more capable, more alert,
and consequently the product Of his labor
is greater, increasing proportionate1y
faster than the rise in wages. They also
provoke, and indeed necessi tate, a con-
sstant growth in the productive power of
machinery and give the maxim of stimu-
lus to the inventiveness of it's makers.
Short hours Of labor produce similar re-
suits, for employer and employed are un-
der every inducement to greater applica-
tion on the one side and economies on
the other, lest the volume of production
should be lessened. And, in proportion as
wages rise, SO does the demand for the
products of industry rise also, for the
working class e., the great majority
of consumers - are able to purchase
more. ~: ..s:-
What then is needed in the present
and the future? More light and air for
productions; the abolition of all re-
straints, protective or otherwise, upon
exchange of commodities; the increase
Of competition everywhere. + At the same
time no agency should be. neglected
which will help to increase the laborer's
efficiency. His home, his food, his sur
roundings, should be jealously guarded.
Art schools, museums, libraries all
that goes to improve his mind should be
provided without stint. .- Edinburgh
Review. :,|:-7 = H. -. !. T..
Household Hints.
! Ink stains may be removed from col
ored table covers by dissolving a tea
spoonful of oxalic acid in a teaspoonful