The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-02-16
WORKERS EVER kept
NEAR TO BREAD LINE
Wages of Labor, No Matter
. How High They May Be,
Never Above Actual Needs.
Southern City Bids For Indus
tries on the Fact That it
Has Much Cheap Labor.

The thinker has long maintained
that the wages of the laborer are al
ways near the bread Nne-that Is,
he Is paid only as much wages as 1t
requires to reproduce himself in good
working order, the employer we'll
knowing that he must keep his work.
man supplied with food, shelter and
rainment sufficient to protect him and
his family and allow reproduction in
order to keep the mines, factories,
farms and so forth running. say
the thinking man has long recognized
the above as fact. says a writer in
the Chicago Record-Herald.
l have before me prospectus is
sued by the board Of trade Of
Southern city that ought to convince
any one Of the above contentious, II
any proof were necessary. This pros-
pectus Is ssued for the benefit Of the
business interests Of that city. It is
sent to different manufacturers
throughout the country to induce them
to locate there. The prospectus is we'll
got up; it shows skill and taste in its
arrangement. 1t has number Of fine
cuts Of the principal features Of the
city and surrounding country, giving
in detail all that one might reasonably
want to know in such cases.
But what strikes the writer as being
SO cold blooded is it's article headed
Labor" Of which the following are
the exact words:
Labor at reasonable cost is the
boast Of this city. The source Of the
labor supply is the native white pop
ulation surrounding tho city, the most
prolific in family production in the
United States. The laborer Is capable
and contented. Strikes are unknown.
The low cost Of living and the mild
climate. making the cost Of fuel and
clothing less than in many other cities
and permitting Of outdoor work every
day in the year, render it possible to
maintain lower wage scale than pre-
walls In like industries In the north"
AS an example Of some Of the wages
paid the following is quoted: Com
mon laborers, from 81 to $3.50 per day;
carpenters, $3.50 to 50; printers, $2.75
to 81; painters, 81: plumbers. 81 to 81;
paperhangers, $3.50 to 50: brick ma
sons, $3.50 to IS; plasterers, IS cents
an hour iteansters. 81 per day: tex,
TIE mill hands 10 cssatssa
one or the largest cotton mills IA sthss
south and also the largest wooden.
mill In the world, hence the quotation
Of textile mills hands at so cents 4
day and up. I
What does the above convey to the
reader? Only this-that whatever
advantages nature has given the la
borer in that city are taken from him
by the manufacturer. If the climate
is rigorous, he Is paid sufficient wages
to purchase fuel and clothing II these
are unnecessary, they are not furnish
ed In wages by the employer. In other
words, the laborer is not allowed any
benefits that his location make for
him by the reason of his living in a
mild climate, but they are absorbed
by the employer.
If some wizard Of an Edison should
discover food the value of 10 cents
worth Of which would be sufficient to
maintain the laborer In working con-
dition, do you not know that the
wages would at once fall to the bread
line? OF course they would, and
wages have remained and always will
remain near the bread line, sometimes
below. So long as this present system
Is in vogue the above conditions will
prevail.
You will note in the wages quotea
In the prospectus that those trades
which are best organized receive the
highest wages and that those unor.