Smyrna times., 1895-09-11
The Reason Why the leipslc Can
nery is not Run.
,esp0ndence to ne "smYrna Times. y

Correspondence to the Smyrna Times"
=, LEIPsIC, DEL, Sept 10th, 1895.
Mr., EDITOR;
| Dear Sir Il note in your issue of the
4th inst an article headed Leipsic Industries
q statement fairly against the firm of S. III.
dVn LeVln sons who own the canning factory.
! Inc exact language is 1.-THE firm wishing TO
make all out Of it they could began to i'm
pose upon the workers by cutting down
their wages"
First, | would ask, is it an imposition on
the workers to reduce wages when the
goods will not sell for cost Of production
say no; the prudent man forseeth the
evil and hldeth himself" Now the facts
are these it did not require the wisdom of
Solomon nor the prophetic age of Inspir-
atlon one year ago to see that the price of
canned tomatoes would decline verv much
from former prices which barely maid tn
pack them and the price did slump to sixty
cents per dozen for Delaware standard
pack and to 524 Genus for Maryland pack.
the former costing ia the latter G71 or
ABOUT these figures. L ask ifs II. Leyins
9ons were Justiiiablein getting the work
done as cheaply as possible so as to reduce
the loss as much as possible on the seasons
pack l think you will say yes with me.
Dut the workers were not imposed upon
ior the reason that every one of them knew
just what the wages were to be when they
went to work, and worked two weeks at
the reduced wages-frOm 3 to u cents per
bucket for pceling and from 81 25 to 81 for
men Tor common labor per day. Now whv
did not the writer go further and tell ali
ABOUT the prices paid for thirteen years by
,. II. Levins Sons?
Ihey have paid 81. 2j per day every year
whlle Others around them in the same bust
ness have only paid one dollar per day for
common labor.
And now about peeling. S. II. Levins
Sons use l2-quart bucket, deliver the
tomatoes to the peelers, take them away
When done, and take the skins awav. the
peelers never moving out of their places to
handle either tomatoes or the refuse while
IN Other factories around here and even in
your own town the peelers carry up the
buckets lull OF peeled tomatoes and carry
away the refuse and some of them use lG-
quart buckets at that and all for 3 cents.
ANA again ). ii. Levins Sons were NOT
lhe only Gamers near us who started the
price al y cents per bucket-it WAS the
only price paid at Little Creek and was
started at Cheswold but was changed hack
10 cents by a strike Of the peelers in an
oruerly way. Simply by an earnest request
or qulttlng work In quite different manner
from the way 1t was managed here bv some
parties who were not interested in anv
manner having no one of the family 1T
WORK IN the factory, in fact had no family
and but few friends.
L would also say that the factory has
been run for the benefit Of these people in
part and has been run at a loss to the own
ers at times and several years at a verv
little profit to them.
Now my reasons for writing I'll. above
are simply to give your readers the truth
IN the matter and to defend the firm of S.
IL. LevlnS Sons because am the represen-
are not here to defend themselves and prob-
ably would never see the accusation.
Yours truly,
w. T. HUTsON.