The times., 1897-09-06
WAGEsLOWER, PRICES HIGHER
Condition of wnshington's Working
People This Year More Depior-
able Than Ever-Less Than Half
the Mechanics at Work-0utlook
Far From Promising.

number of men in the city, the number
employed, the wages paid and the prices
OF the necessaries of life. 1t is estimated
that less than one-half OF the whole num-
ber OF laboring men are now at work.
Many Of these men are working longer
hours and getting smaller pay than last
year and for many years before In add
ton, a great number have had M work
Tor many weeks and even months, and
ere now destitute. To add to this condi
tion ur great hardship. prices OF focd
and clothing are constantly advancing and
house rents are not growing smaller.
1t IS no exaggeration to place the mum
bcr OF unemployed supporters of families
in the city at presentat 6 600, whichmeans
that there are 30 600 people in the city
in all stages OF destitaton from living on
savings to starvation
With this should he taken into accouaJ
thousands of boys and girls now out Of
employment, whose wages in Tie stores
and yariousother businesses orfnerly helped
10 cke out the earnings of their fathers
and brothers.
| The Iuatter OF the rise in the prices.
OF food and other necessarics OF life means
more than the simple fact that those now
employed may buy less than last year
and must live more simply and econoniic-
ally. These employed laborers have un-
employed people ia their fatuilie0 and in
other ways partly dependent on them for
eAiateuce. Some of these latter must, by
the necessities OF the situation, drop into
/ the wholly destitute class If prices rise
much higher without a corresponding rise
III wages and in the amount of work To
{ be obtained.
! 1hc OUTLOOK Tor Iator in this city es far
as can he estimated Is little ii any better
/ tLan the present condition.
Thes- passing months are the best N the
year for all the building trades, and the
! uuilaine trades have less than a third of
! their men at work. Thousands are iale.
| There are hundreds OF houses vacant in
| every section of Tie city, sometimes whole
| rows together. The induccment to build
| mole is very small. The coming winter
hue has an evil look to tie building trades
! lahorers.
! The contractors under the Government
at present employing laborers are as
busy and as numerous as they VIII be at
| any tiiuc in the near future as far as any
! one can see.
The storeke epers are hoping that rs fall
/
would mean tile enpIo yment of more peo-
| pie in this direction. This improvement is
al least problenaticai Is yet, however. IL
may ne said with certainty for one thing
that the unemployed larorers- won't buy
| enough extra goods 10 cnliveu the store
keepers to any appreciaDe extent.
/ The only thing that IS certain in the
future ia the rise Of prices. 1t is tire testi-
| pf ne ri INN ,.f taa.l,r.tr
| merchants in alIlines 3f business here that
| prices Will advance from . TO 80 per cent
In the next year, and that already there
! have been advances in nearly all lines.
The various factors OF the problem, the
number oi men in the city, the number
en- ployed, the wag paid, and prices, are
not ONLY very bad noH for laboring men,
but the whole situation offers very little
promise for the future. as most or them
! see IL.
A canvas Of organized labor Throughout
the city by The Times during the last
Few days has resulted in tile following
figures, which are accurate ds FAR B they
90. Many trades have not been caa-
vassed and the figures as to tie un-
organized laboTers have been estimated
roughly only:
IL
in the city, between 300 and 400 are en-
ployed, or between a fourth and seventh
of the whole number
There are about 900 carpenters In the
city and not over 500 are at work
OF the 500 pIasterers 200 are en-
ployed.
The painters number about I,0OO, Of
| whom 750 are now at work.
| Not
800 in the city.
fhe printers on the active list number
| 1,500, Of whom $50 are now working.
OF the 1900 stationary engine ers not
over 500 are now working
OF the day lahorers it is estimated that
there are 900, and that / 800 of them
are working present.
The startling figures with regard to the
building trades are made even more forcibIe
when it is known that in nearly every ona
of tie building trades many men are now
working longer hours and at less wages
than two or three years ago
The brickiayerS are an eXanpIe ONLY
800 are at work of the entire number
There has been SO little building during
the last few years that hundreds Of these
people have been out of employment all
the time. Suffering under this condition
of things, the bricklayers recently have
taken jobs at much less than the union
allows 81 80 per thousand Two or three
men often take contracts together without
any regular boss. Tie builder refuses to
give them the contract for $3.50 or more
and they are forced by their necessities
to take less sometimes So q thousand.
At this price, no matter how hard they
work or how much they slight their work
they are unable to earn regular wages
These transactions at below-scale price.
are not mentioned by either builder OF
bricklayer, as they would do neither am
good. But they are known to exist largely
OF course, the result of these lower prices
and ger hours is that less men are
| required TO do the same amount Of work
The plasterers, who Were formerly vel
organized, are now split into two factions,
the union and formed a separate organiza-
tion These seceders have cut prices badly
The painters are the best off of the build.
ing trades people. House owners anG
storekeepers are Frightening up their ole
buildings for the fall instead of puttins
up new ones.
1t is estimated that $15,OO0,O00 spent
In a season in new buildings in the cit,
will keep all the trades fairly busy and
prosperous, especially IL the amount Il
mostly spent on residences and jobs whict
cost trom 50 900 to 81 5000 II a larg,
part of the 81 100000 were to go int
large jobs like sthe city postoffice it woult
not be sufficient.
This figure will not be reached thi