The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-10-23
FIGHT MAINTAIN WAGES,
Organized Labor Said to Be Facing a.
Crisis.

racing the greatest wage crisis since
the panic Of 1873, il the forecast of It's
leaders is correct. And the burden Of
the struggle to maintain the present
high standard of pay is expected to fall
on the unskilled met, whose wages are
held to have been advanced far out OF
proportion to the value Of their serv-a
ices.
Indications of retrenchment are seen
on every hand. The railroads through
out the country have started to lay off
men, the mine operators are curtaillng
expenses, and factories are employing
reduced forces. All big employing con-
Germs are refusing to grant any further
increases in pay
The labor leaders generally admit
alarm, those who were in Chicago at
the convention of the National Civic
federation being free in their express
sions.
Big Pay for the UnskiIied.
The tendency toward retrenchInent
is attributed to the abnormal increases
that have been eXacted by the unsllilled
Workmen While expert mechanics,
such as the machinists and the brass
workers, have been able to advance
their pay only Is per cent. their help
ers are receiving 25 to so per cent. more
pay than four years ago. The same
condition prevails in othe rtrades
1t has been estima ted that before the
close Of the year the big employing con-
Germs of the country will have dis
charged nearly 100000 men, most Of
them laborers and general utility work.
ers. OF this number the railroads are
expected to drop from employment 200,-
600 men, the mine operators $4,000, the
machine shops and iron, steel and tin
plans 250,OO0, and the building trades
more than 10000.
In the case of the railroads repair
and construction work will be brought
as near to a standstill as it is prac-
ticable to bring it.
Caught in Organizat ton Wave.
In the wave Of organization that is
now subsiding labor leaders formed in
to unions all the toilers who were will
ing to join. In almost all of the in
dustries the skilled men demanded that
the unsllilled be given a new and uni
form wage scale.
In the stock yards of the country the
laborers who were being paid from
$1.25 to S1.50 a day until swept into the
labor movement. Then came an in
crease to $1.75, made possible by
determined stand on the part of the
skilled workers.
For three weeks the skilled men, the
butchers, sausage makers, and can
ners, have tried to get more pay for
themselves. They have found, how
ever, that the increase granted the la
borers-which meant $1,500,000 a year
to the packers-brought the employers
called.
Railroads Reach Limit.
With the railroads conditions are
similar. The engineers and tiremen of
the roads running east from Chicago
are clamoring for better pay but the
unskilled men of the business already
have taxed the pay roll of the company
to the limit.
The average daily wages paid by the.
railroads in different sections of the
country is shown by the following ta-
BILE:
Middle Atlantic states. .....$3I6 S2l4
New England states. $50 198
Southwestern states 900. 4O9 242
Paclhc states ............... 45S 2oi
The eastern workers look with en-
vious eyes at the western scale, but
when they informally approached the
railroad officials they were told that the
track men, the repair men, the section
hands, and bridge men have been
raised all the way from Is to SO per
cent. in pay, and that the pay rolls Of
the eastern companies have been lifted
from S610, 0,009,5S0 in 1901 to $676, ,025, 1874
in 1903.
Building Industry Crippled.
In the building trades the number Of
idle men is increasing every week, the
contractors finding it almost impossible:
to do business under the wage scales
adopted last spring. Both skilled and
unskilled men were conceded better
| wages then, but the advances granted
the laborers are causing the greatest
concern to the contractors.
The hodcarrierS are now getting 3675
cents an hour, or cents more an hour
than is paid an expert machinist and
40 cents a day more than that paid a
| cigarmaker. The building laborers are
getting 80 cents an hour, or cents
more than a clerk or shipping room
| employe in the wholesale houses.
The plumbers helpers are paid $3.50
| a day, the junior steamf1tters 81 25, the
! electrical helpers S2.25, and the ma
| chinists' helpers $1.75.
A few weeks ago International Presi-
| dent James O'Connell Of the machinsts'
union sent out a notice to all affiliated
| locals warning them not to make any
| further wage demands. He asserted
| that the National eMtal Trades assocl-5
| alton already was contemplating cut.
| This notice was sent out in spite of the
| fact that the union, SO far as it's skilled
| men are concerned, has been able to
secure but little more pay than in dull
| times.
Warning From Chicago Leader.
! An officer of the Chicago Federation
of Labor yesterday added warning
| that organized labor should not ask for
| better wages in the face of a falling
| market. To prove that unsl1illed labor
| has been granted an abnormal wage
| increase he gave out the following table
| Of the increases already granted some
| of the unskilled workers of Chicago:
| Per year.
| Stockyard employees ................$ 81, 500 600
| Hodcarriers ......................... 229 600
| Teamsters ........................ l. 100 COO
! Hotel employees Observation-Disclosures. 10000
| Miscellaneous Observation-Disclosures. 100000
1.-The employers are beginning to re-
| TRENCH" he said, land we have feared
such action for some time. What is to
| be done 1 do not llnowf The skilled
men will always be in demand but
capital can ditpense with the unsllilled
| to a certain extent. 1t seems as if we
| have paid too much attention to the
,aborers and helpers and must bear the
consequences. If many men are laid off
some unions will probably go to pieces
| and the success of the entire move