The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-24

/ almost any other thing TO throw people
out of employment is our modern ma
chinery. With daily inventions coming
| from the busy brain of man by which one
man can do the work of five or six, more
| than perhaps almost any other thing, will
make US reduce hours of labor to give en-
| plOyment to men, or will make the class
of unemployed larger and larger, which
will make wages fall farther and farther.
So, then, do you not see that if the wage
worker is working such a number of
| hours that it will throw others out of en-
ployment or prevent others frdn getting
| employment that wages will constantly
| descend to the starvation points
| The capitalist certainly has enough
sins that he is guilty of, and really respon-
sible for, without heaping upon his head
| sins for which he is not only not RESPONSE
BILE, but which, as long as the present
| hours of labor continue, it is ut
terly beyond his power to help or
TO control 1t is not the CAPT
the unemployed, who, crowded out of
work by the long hours of those who are
working, in order to get any work at ali,
| are forced TO underbid in the wages, and
unless all capitalists were saints and very
| demi-g gods this state of things cannot be
| helped, for the moment that one CAPT
talist gives less wages all other capital
/ Aobo ciLO lOLCCO W give bllb SdlllG Wages or
close up their mills.
AN IAIPOssIBMfTY.
| If, for instance, were engaged in the
manufacture of shoes, and in the face of
! another manufacturer cutting wages |
were to attempt to pay the same wages,
| 1T would be an impossibility, for the CAPT
| talist who paid the less wages would I'M
| der sell me in the markets of the world,
and certainly peopleTill not buy shoes
| for two dollars pair when they can get
| the same article for one dollar and
a half; so, the only option left me
as manufacturer would be to cut wages
so could compete with the other manu-
| facturer or to close down my mills, which
| latter course would be infinitely worse
| than the first, because il is better to give
a man half loaf than none at all; it is
better TO keep them employed at the re-
duced wages than to throw them entirely
out of employment, and by their competi-
ton for work still further reduce wages.
| So then, we have arrived at this princi-
pie, which is one of the eternal princi-
pies of political economy, and that is, if
you wish to maintain wages at a given
price all must be employed. If a wage
| worker find another wage worker out Of
! employment, IL is TO his self-interest, not
to mention the higher qualities of human
nature to get that man at work as soon
as possible, or he is bound to suffer a re
ductlon in wages Strikes can never set
tie the industrial problem, for a strike
can never be successful as long as there
are any unemployed TO take the places of
the striking parties.
If those who are striking attempt by
| force to keep the unemployed from taking
| their places they are infringing upon one
| of the eternal principles of all free gov
ernments, and which this nation or any
other nation cannot permit or tolerate
/ long without degenerating into anarchy
Strikes can never be successful in the
face of outside unemployed labor they
| cannot be successful until all are en-
ployed, and then, if they have any real
| grievance against the capitalist, and the
price they ask will leave him reason
able return upon his capital, he will start
TO work again, because he will not see his
property rot when it can be run at a re-
munerative figure.
AN EIGHT-HOUR ARGUMENT.
The question now is would an eight hour
per day law put all men TO work. There
| is not the slightest evidence. there is not
the shadow of doubt but that it would.
1t is estimated at the present time that
| there are at least in these United States
one million wage workers who cannot get
| employment. These men are not to be
| classed among the professional tramps
and the always idle and impFovident, who
fear work as the smallpox but men who
would willingly work if they possibly had
an opportunity.
| Ut is putting it at the very lowest esti-
mate to say that the average hours Of all
men who are engaged in work, are ten
! hours per day. / have not the slightest
doubt in my mind but that eleven hours a
| day would be more nearly correct, but we
will place it, as | said, at the lowest pos
| sible estimate, ten hours. This would
I 10 fvua no apf
would be employed than are at present
| employed. Estimate that there are at
| present but five million wage workers in
! the United States, this would at once put a
million more men at work, and IL there
| are more than five million wage workers
/ in the United States, the reduction of
work to eight hours per day would more
than put all the idle at work, and we
would have to import people to carry on
our work
So then, we will conclude what we have
| especially to say about the wage worker
! himself by saying that il would be much
| better for him TO even consent at present
to small reduction in his wages, for it
/ would at once put all the unemployed at
work, and he need afterward fear no fur
| tier reduction in his wages, because there
would be none unemployed TO compete
with him and to lower his wages
and If brother wage worker
! would not be willing TO consent
/ TO this in order 10 help his own brother
who is out Of work, he who above all
others on the face of the earth should
| sympathlze with him, who knows above
all others the hardness OF life, and what
| it Is 10 go half-hungry ana half-clothed,
/ he need not at all be surprised IL the cap
/ italist, who has never known Of these
things and is placed above and beyond
| want, will not sacrifice anything for the
wage worker, for if the wage-worker
| himself would not be willing TO make at
! least this much Of a sacrifice for his
| brother wage-worker he could not ex-
/ pect IL Of others But / do not believe
! that we have 10 do this. For,
| II the salvation Of the wage
worker depends upon putting
the unemployed 10 work, 50 that the
wages may not further and still further
| be reduced, the salvation of the capital
| ist equally depends upon putting him TO