The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-09-30
The Freedom of Labor.

of the British Iron Trade as
sociaton made an investiga-
ton of business conditions in
the United States with special refer
ence to the reasons for this country's
remarkably rapid recent advances In
the production and marketing of iron
and steel. When it got home it made
an extended report, just published. The
report covers a multitude of subjects,
but its reference to the labor situation
has special interest now. We quote:
"The almost absolute freedom of
labor Gn America) has been the CHIEF
instrument whereby it has won such
conquests in the field of industrial econ
omy during the last quarter of a CEN
tury. In all countries industrial pro-
cesses have been greatly cheapened dur
ing that period, but in America the
cheapening appears to haYe been car
ried farther than anywhere else Ac-
cording to figures recently made public
by William Garrett, railroller In an
up-to-date rail mill is paid less than
one cent per ton for rolling, against
fifteen cents at not very remote date.
Within that time, again, wire rod
roller has seen his earnings per ton re-
duced from $2.12 to eighteen cents per
ton, and yet he earns larger wages at
the lower figure, while five cents are
paid today for heating billets to make
wire rods against eighty cents during
the period referred to. If rod rollers
same wages per ton that they did
twenty years ago, they would earn Sl24
per day.
"The average output per worker has
in all cases increased enormously. AT
the nine Edgar-Thomson blast fur
naces, was told that LOGO men are en-
ployed for an output of 24,500 tons per
week, including all the hands employed
in handling and stocking raw materials,
transport, etc. This gives an average
of 1853 tons Of pig per man per week,
or 1855 tons per man per annum. The
minimum wage paid at the blast fur
naces is $3.50 per day of twelve hours.
/ did not get the average wage paid at
these works but A. c. Dinkey, the man
testified that the average earnings of
the workmen there, including officials,
Is $2.73 per day, while the earnings of
rollers and heaters rise to $l5 per day.
Wages, in short, are generally so good,
and the men have their futures so much
in their own hands, that they have
every encouragement to do the best
n
for themselves.
1.-THE human factor and the personal
equation appear to count in the United
States for more than they generally do
in Europe, Workmen appear to enjoy
a larger measure of independence
based on the knowledge of the fact that
work is more easy to obtain than in
older countries; that they are able, as
rule. to save money, and are, there
fore, less dependent than when living,
as is not unusual in Europe from hand
to mouth, and that they are living
under political regime which is
founded on democratic principles. Two
features of the relations of employers
and employed maybe named as eXer-
cising a powerful influence on the
amity of their conneetion-the first, the
encouragement and reward of work.
mems inventions, and the second, the
readiness with which workmen OF ex-
ceptional capacity can themselves be-
come employers and capitalists"
The phrase freedom of labor" is i'm
portant because 1t Is the broad fact
throughout the United States. At times