Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-10-27

of the necessity now so pressing
throughout the United States, for re-
/ adjustment of economic conditions.
Lynn is one of the greatest shoe manu-
Ifacturing towns in the world. Haver-
Ihill probably turns out more low-priced
boots and shoes than any other city in
the United States. Peabody and Sa-
lem are great leather centerS. Law
renee is one of the chief wooden cities
in the world. In none of these places
is business fiOurishing as it ought to
do. In all of them wOrkingmen COM
plain of their low wages and the steadi-
| Iy increasing cost of living.
! In Lynn one finds unanimous argu-
ment among leaders and observers in
| the statement that the shoe business
of the whole United States is now
working at not more than twO-thirds
! of it's normal capacity. Many of the
great establishments here, such as
those of Messrs. WEIGH & Landragan
and A E. Little. typify the situation.
The great factory of Seymour & John
son, which is able normally to turn
out about 5000 pairs of shoes a day
has not been running at its capacity
!
not more than l. 500 pairs a day.
The Wages of Labor Very Low.
Ten years ago the IabOrers of Lynn
were among the best paid in the
| United States. But there has been a
steady decline throughout that period.
| Immediately after President McKin-
ley's first election in 1896. there was n
cut in the lasters' wages. Since that
time the wages of nearly all employees
of the shoe concerns here have been re-
duced abount 40 per cent. One reason
! for this is that the standard of the pro-
! duct turned out here has been steadily
! improving. Formerly the Lynn shoe
was principally a very cheap article. 1t
would bring about a dollar a pair at
wholesale. At the present time the
average Lynn shoe brings about s1.50.
The workers have been forced TO do
better work. but they are being paid
1.-THE same price per pair that they were
when shoes were selling at 81. The
consequence is that their individual
output is much smaller. and as they
are paid by the piece, their wages are
IproportiOnately reduced.
| It is estimated that fully 40 new con-
Germs have opened shoe factories in
! Lynn within the past two years. Yet
! this has had no effect whatever in
increasing wages. Nor has the labOring
population increased in size. This Is
taken as ample proof of the statement
that all of the old factories have had
TO reduce their output. The fact that
the cost of labor is so low here, and
that the manufacturers have 50 far
resisted all efforts to have il raised,
has made of it a very popular town
for new plants. But the working poo
pie have not reaped any advantage
Leather business slow.
Not only is the shoe business at a
low ebh. but the great leather con-
Germs of the J. b. Renton company and
Charles +. HARDWOOD, of Peabody each
of whom employees several hundreds
working people. are also 2asslnS
through a very dull season. From the
first of June 10 the first of August. the
output of both of these establishments
was very largely reduced.
Republicans here are attempting to
paliate and remove the impression
left by this period of slack orders and
reduced employment by pointing to the
increases in accounts in the local saw
ings banks within the last few years.
They say that this means that the
condition of the working people is i'm
proving In regard 70 this. it is inter
esting to learn from E. F. Robinson,
the head of the Boot and Shoe Work
ers' union in Lynn. of the existence
of what he called a typical case, which
is this:
Il saw man just coming out of
savings bank the other day" Mr. Rob
inson said 70 your correspondent, and
he told me that had 5000 on deposit in
the bank. He told me a few moments
later that he had a $1,000 mortgage on
his house. He said that he would rath-
er pay the heavy interest on his mort
gage and accept the small inter
est on his savings bank account
than TO run the risk of being thrown
out of work and having his mortgage
foreclosed on him through the lack of
ready cash for living expenses. There
is many such a case right here in
Lynn"
Conditions in Other CenterS.
But the state of affairs is even worse
in Haverhin. Salem and Peabody. Par
ticularly in HaverhiH. one finds that
there is almost universal complaint
lover the reduced earning power of the
laboring people. The tariff tax on
hides. which the manufacturers must
pay. the tribute which is levied on
behalf of the coal trust. and similar
exactions which are forced upon them
for materials and supplies, has reduced
! their profit TO a very low figure. and
the wages of the laboring people are
suffering accordingly.
The labor leaders in Haverhill feel
! that the condition of the working peo-
lple there is probably worse than il is
anywhere else in the United States.
except possibly at Fall River. FROM
employers of the Chick and Russ fac
tories come particularly distressful
stories of misfortune