The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-10-15
THE MARBLE MINERS.
Lees WORK AND LEVER WAGES I'm
DER DEMOCRACY.

Tho Reduced Tariff VIII Bring Marble
From Italy and sweden--lt Comes as
Ballast Free of Frelght-Thc Foreign
Workers Get Half the Pay Of Americans.
An industry to which little attention
seems to be given by persons outside of
those interested In It is that of quarry
ing and manufacturing marble. am
not now speaking of the beautiful Ca
rarra marble used in statuary with
which we delight to please our sense of
the beautiful, but the more substantial
and useful sort that is used for various
building purposes, The industry in this
country alone represented an output Of
So, 705, 900 in 1899, and this means not
only valuable production from com.
mercial point of view, but valuable
too, for its intrinsic worth. The variety
of American marble is so great and the
quality SO superior that for all purposes
of ordinary use we need not go out Of
our own country to purchase this most
useful product of nature.
Marble is found in eight states, and
while mined most extensively in Ver-
mont the seven others make good
showing. This is a new industry for our
country, too. and was only made posi-
BILE by the encouragement afforded by q
protective tariff In 1892 the production
had increased to its greatest value. AL.
though. according to the order of prog
ress, the year 1893 should have seen
an increase on the production of the
previous year, instead there was a
falling off of 81, 1908, 90S, or 84.9 pei
cent, bringing the value down tc
81, All ,092. So much for the effect upon
one industry of protective tariff and
the threatening effect of free trade
tariff. 1t has amounted to more than o
threat, however, for we find that the
new tariff has reduced the former pro.
tective duty by 28 per cent in tho case
Of manufactured marble and 10 per
cont in the case of manufactured. If
the house bill had become a law it
would have been even worse, for that
body proposed reducing the duty in each
case to greater extent than the senate
bill.
What these reductions mean and how
they affect those who have heretofore
been given employment by this new in.
dustry can best be understood by the
shutting down Of the companies that
quarry and manufacturer the marble
which has been shown by the falling
off in value Of production-or in the
reduction in wages in other companies.
OF course it is perfectly clear that pro-
ducers i'll this country cannot afford to
compete with their European neigh.
bors. especially in Italy, where the low
wages are equal to less than half those
received by people employed in the mar
bic industry in the United States. A
gentleman from Sweden, who is au-
thority upon the condition of the mar
BILE industry in his own country, says:
1.-THE price Of labor is generally lit
tie higher than for other kinds of work
in Sweden, but as compared with wages
in America those Of Sweden are very
low. A skilled stonecutter earns about
$3.50 per year. - .-" &C.. s..
Think of this difference with the
$4o5 year and then consider how pro.
teotive tariff has made the wages here
what they are and how its removal by
the "thimble ring tariff" will operate
by the time another year rolls around
Having inquired into the marble bust
ness, with the result shown above, ]
readily understood how it is that the
largest marble quarry in New York
proposes shutting down the coming
winter. While it is true that they en-
ploy only los hands. with weekly out.
put of rs gangs per week, or an equiv
alent of G75 inches. yet if the same per-
centago of employees are to be thrown
out of work in other sections what o
vast number will be without employ.
ment, and what deprivation it means
for their families
ELIZABETH WILLIAMs
New York