The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-27
LABOR CONDITIONS.
British Iron Trade Association Re-
ports ON Its American Investiga-

tiOns. -
Labor conditions in the United
States is the subject of a chapter in
the recently published report of the
commission from the British Iron
Trade Association which visited the
United States a few months since
and reported upon industrial condi-
tons, and especially those relating to
iron and steel. Discussing this inn
portant question of the condition of
labor in the United States, viewed from
the standpoint of the English citizen
and manufac turer, the report says
1.-The conditions of labor in the Unit
ed States is another matter that has
received a good deal of attention, as
being fundamental in the progress OF
American industries. if not also IN the
relative progress of some of our own
The influence of trade unionism is not
nearly so strong nor so aggressive III
the United States as in Great Britain.
The reason is largely capable of math-
ematical demonstration. recent re-
port by the New York Department OF
Labor shows that while in Great Brit
ain at a recent date there were 100000
trade unionists, there were only l.6OO,-
900 in the United Statea and CANADA
for about twice the population, Whlle
Germany is credited with $4,000, or
about one-half the British figure. The
trade union is not generally recog-
nized as a militant force in the United
States. except now and again. Few
employers are ready to acknowledge
that it has any influence worth NAM
ing
THE almost absolute freedom of la
bor has been the chief instrument
whereby it has won such conquests In
the field of industrial economy during
the last quarter of a century. In all
countries industrial processes nave
been greatly cheapened during that
period, but in America the cheaper
enng appears to have been carried far
Their than anywhere else. According 10
figures recently made public by
Mr. William Garrett, rail roller In
an up-to-date rail mill is paid less
than one cent per ton for rolling,
against Is cents at not very remote
date Within that time, again, wire
rod roller has seen his earnings per ton
reduced from $2.12 to is cents per ton,
and yet he earns larger wages at the
lower figure, while five cents are paid
to-day for heating billets to make wire
rods, against so cents during the per-
iod referred to. If rod rollers, says
Mr.. Garrett were to receive the same
wages per ton that they did twenty
years ago, they would earn $424O0 per
day
THE average output per worker has
in all cases increased enormously. At
the nine Edgar-Thomson blast fur
naces, l was told that 1900 men are
employed for an output of 24,5O0 tons
per week, including all the hands en-
ployed in handling and stocking raw
IL. nfA NJ oriNT
an average of 1873 tons of pig per man
per week, or 1855 tons per man per
annum. The minimum wage paid at
the blast furnaces is $1.50 per day of
10 hours. 1 did not get the average
wage paid at these works, but Mr.. A
C. Dinkey, the manager of the Home
stead Works, recently testified that the
average earnings of the workmen
there excluding officials, Is 1918 per
day, while the earnings of rollers and
heaters rise to SIS 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 they can
both for their employers and for them
selves.
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
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 a rule. to save money. and are,
therefore, less dependent than when
living, as is not unusual in Europe,
from hand to mouth, and that they are
living under a political regime which is
founded on democratic principles.
1.-TWO features of the relations of en-
ployers and employed may be named
as exercising a powerful influence on
the amity of their connection--the first,
the encouragement and reward of
workmen's inventions, and the second,
the readiness with which workmen of
exceptional capacity can themselves
become employers and capitalists"