THE LABOR MARKET IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5354, 25 May 1878, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE LABOR MARKET IN AMERICA.

Tile following letter appears in the Loudon Times of Marcii 20 ;

Sir, —A good harvest, a fine open winter, and economy in living have somewhat improved the condition of the working classes in America. Still, all over the Union, iu the towns and cities and industrial centres, there are large numbers of unemployed workmen, and thousands are sti'l tramping the country plundering or begging for bread. The chief part of these tramps are reputed to be vicious, idle, and improvident; but there aro many honest, willing workers travelling in search of employment, and old soldiers of the Union armies “ forced to beg their bitter bread over realms their valor saved,” But although the mild winter lias benefited the workpeople of the country at large, it lessened the demand for coal, and thereby aggravated the distress of the mining population of Pennsylvania. Still, work has been pretty fair in many of the manufacturing districts of that State and in the mills and workshops of Philadelphia, which is perhaps the-best city iu the Union for a working man to live in when trade is good, for there are good markets abundantly supplied iu every district of it, and plenty of small houses to rent, which are tastefully built and conveniently fitted up, and, through the agency of building societies, thousands of workmen have bought their homes. The people of Philadelphia have one of the finest parks in tiie world for recreation, and there is no overcrowding of the working-classes as iu New York and other large cities, for, according to the census of 1870, there is one dwelling to 6'ol parsons; while iu New York there are 1472 persons to one dwelling. But although Philadelphia is the largest manufacturing city in the Union, and is well-built, clean, and cheerful, it cannot compare iu grandeur or commercial importance with New York, which has a water frontage of over thirty miles on the Hudson and Bast Rivers, and a land-locked harbor of easy access from the ocean, iu which all the ships of England could safely ride at anchor. The streets of New York are epuveuientiy laid out for traffic, and perhaps mi city in the world cau boast a finer thoroughfare than the Broadway from the Battery to Union-square, a distance of two miles and a half. Still there are many miles of streets badly paved, and some' of the side streets are extremely filthy and blocked up with empty carts and waggons. The wages of workmen in New York are usually higher than in the other cities of the Middle and Eastern States; but on the enclosed list you will see that the wages now in force here are very little more than the wages of workmen iuLoudon, whiie from experience X know the cost of living is greater in New York, and I presume it is easier to get work in Loudon than it is here just now. If not, the times must be pretty hard iu England, for all over this city there are numbers of strong, willing workers unable to get employment, and, according to all accounts, the labor market is more depressed in many other cities- of the Union, as the immense exports of agricultural products from this part increase the railroad traffic, and make business brisk about the shipping and along the wharves and warehouses, and there has been a good deal of building done up the tawn during thb fall and throughout'the .winter, while at least 3000 men are employed on the elevated railroads now in course of construction to supply a more rapid means of transit than the twee cars. Tbs

bricklayers on these works get from 2dols. to 21dols. per clay, the laborers, Idol. 25ceuts, and the men employed at hoisting and fixing the ironwork from Idol. 25oeuts to 2dols. 25cents a day. Those men work very hard for ten hours a day ; they breakfast before commencing work, and up to the Ist March were only allowed half-an-hour to dinner. Still it is difficult to get employment on those works without the influence of an alderman or politician,—in fact, unless a workman, however skilful, is recommended by some influential person, or is connected with some ring or a secret society, it is almost impossible for him to get work of any kind in New York just now. The working classes in America are very partial to demonstrations, parades, and processions, and maintain thousands of associations for social and political purposes. Still, they do not appreciate or support trade societies so heartily as do the working men of lingland. No doubt it is difficult to unite the various nationalities which constitute the working population of- the large touffis an 1 cities here, and the labor laws are not the same in every State ; but I think the chief reason they are not supported is the propensity of many of the leaders to accept political offices. However, there are a good many local trade unions in the towns and industrial centres, and there are a few large organizations with branches in various States of the Union. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers has 192 branches and 11,000 members; the International Typographical Union, 150 branches and 10,000 members ; Machinists and Blacksmiths, 101 branches and 8000 members ; Iron Moulders’ Association, 152 branches and 7500 members; Tailors’ Union, 10 branches and 2800 members ; Coopers’ Union, 68 branches and 5000 members ; C garmakers’Union, 103 brandies and 5000 members ; United Sons of Vulcan, 5000 members ; and the Miners' National Union had 317 branches and over 33,000 members, but the long depression of trade has completely disorganized this last society, and on account of tile surplus labor in every town all the other societies are powerless to regulate the hours of labor, or prevent a reduction of wages. In 187 Q the compositors of this city, spent over 50,000d015., and lost the strike ; some weeks ago the Crispins of Massachusetts lost a strike and the trade of some of the towns ; and quite recently, after a strike of IS weeks, the cigarmakers here were obliged to resume work on the masters’ terms—namely, 3doK SOcents to 7dols. per 1000, and experts cannot make on an average mote than 12,000 cigars a week. But the wages were not their ch'ef grievance, for out of 20,000 cigarmakers in

New York, 7000 of them at least have to live and work in tenement-houses, or factories for which they have to pay rent to their employers, This tenement-house system, notwithstanding any other advantage in favor of New York, I think, renders it the least desirable city in America for a workman with a family to reside in. According to the census of 1875 New York has a population of 1,200,000, and 67,000 dwelling-houses, 20,000 of the latter being classed as tenement-houses, in each of which three or more families reside. ■ The chief part of them are five or six stories in height, and in many of them there are four families on each door. ‘ The floor comprises two rooms of moderate size looking on the street, and two on the back yard ; then between each front and back room there are two small bedrooms without light, except that which the open door admits, so that each family has to cook, eat, sleep, and wash in a front or back room according to their means, with a dark bedroom attached to it, and thou.sruds of persons who follow light occupations have to work in them besides. In some of the larger tenement houses human beings are packed in hundreds, like herrings in a barrel. There are some in lloosevelt-street, in each of which from 20 to 50 families are stowe 1 away into small, dark, dirty, ill-ventilated rooms ; many families have only a single room, and I was informed that ten Italians lived in one of these rooms. At the junction of Divisionstreet with Bayard and Forsyth streets there are three blocks of tenement buildings which cannot have less than 300 families living in them, and in Moot-street there is a large tene-ment-house where 91 families can be housed at from Sdols. to ] Vidals, per month, and although the interior is plain and rougldy finished it is kept clean ; but. the street is not clean, although the police head-quarters are located close to it. Of late years the neighborhood of the Five Points has been improved, but still the streets and buildings inhabited by poor Italians and of other nationalities are squalid and filthy. No doubt the poor are badly housed in all large cities ; but I have never been in one where the working classes are so densely crowded and to such an extent as in New York. The 10th, 31th, 13th and 17th wards, which are contiguous, and situate between the City Hall and the Fast Eiver, cover an area of 741 acres, and according to the census of 1875, they have a population of 240,763, which is in the ratio of 207,108 persons to the square mile, and the 4th ward, with only an area of 83 acres, has 20,843 inhabitants. The average mortality of the entire population of this city during the last year was at the rate of 24’32 per 1000, but the average mortality of the inhabitants of the tenement houses in which four or more families resided was over 30 iu the 1000, and I think it is only the naturally healthy situation of New York which prevents the mortality from being still greater, as its sanitary condition is clearly a disgrace to the authorities. No city in the world might be better drained or more easily kept clean, on account of its elevation and the large and rapid rivers on each side of it ; and surely there ought to he plenty of funds to do this necessary work, for it is stated the taxation of New York is equal to that of London and Paris together iu proportion to population. I have not the means at hand to test the correctness of this statement, but according to the official returns of last year, lately issued, the aggregate valuation of taxable property iu New York amounted to 1,101,092,093d015., on which a tax of 2dol. 65c. per lOOdols. was levied, which produced a revenue of 30,984,269d015. Out of this, 9,176,001d015. was paid for interest on the city debt, 117,741,050d015., and there was paid in salaries for the administration of the city appropriations 10,116,660d015., of which sum 2,507,779d015. was paid for office salaries. There were 10,892 persons on the city pay-rolls of last year; of these 1930, were laborers, 3335 policomen and firemen, and about 3000 public school teachers and janitors; the rest, 2537, were the aldermen, judges, counsel, commissioners, deputies, assistants, clerks, and waiters, employed iu the various departments of the city government. Several of these officials had large salaries and perquisites, and 327 are paid each a yearly salary of 2500d015. or more. In this manner an army of politicians is liberally provided, while less than 1,200,000d015. have been expended by the Board of Charities and Correction on the maintenance of the city prisons,.penitentiary, hospitals, asylums, almshouses, and workhouse. The average number of inmates in all those buildings during the year was 10,800, and the daily average cost per head from 11c. to 12c. There was no out-door relief except 7500 tons of coal, which were distributed to 15,464 families; but the oity appropriated 967,694d015. to other asylums, reformatories, and charitable institutions, and at least four million dollars have been expended by private citizens through various charitable organisations. Many homeless poor and tramps were provided with lodgings iu the station-houses, but any persona who frequented them too often were sent up to Randall's Island as vagrants.' In all parts of the city there are 10c. nightly lodging-houses, and about three years ago some unknown philanthropist converted an old church at the corner of Prince and Marion streets into a nightly lodg-ing-house tor tramps, where about 450 are warmly sheltered and sleep in their clothes (some no doubt soundly) on the hard seats of the pews. They are charged 30. a night, or nn hour’s work at splitting wood in the morning. When times were good there was ample refiet tor the poor of New York, but since the depression of trade it has been wholly inadequate, and the managers of the various charities state that the numbers of the poor are increasing chiefly because many persons who lived on their savings since work got slack are now as their savings get exhausted obliged to |

ask for relief. However - , the prospects of the working people look brighter now that the winter lias passed; the spring trade has commenced, and merchants and expect to do a good business, and up town there is more preparation for building than there had been at tiiis time last year. Still I fear there cannot be a permanent improvement in the condition of the working classes for some time to come, for recent financial legislation is calculated to derange commerce, impair confidence, and prevent the iuvestnient of capital in works which would give employment. Instead of removing the obstructions to trade, Congress continues to tax the agriculturists for the benefit of the manufacturers, and now in turn the capitalists and bondholders of the Northern and Eastern States are mulcted in the interests of the people of the South and West, and this partial repudiation is heartily approved by the working classes, although it practically reduces their wages from 8 to 10 per cent.; for a working man who could get 100 c. of value for his gold dollar the world over can now only get 92c. for his silver dollar. But the .worst feature of this legislation is the uncertainty itcreates, fornopersou can calculate when and where it will end. However, the working classes expect great and beneficial results from the monetization of silver, but in the meantime the poor are getting poor and losing heart, and thousands of working peojfle would gladly try their fortunes in other lands if they had the means of leaving this country. A number of men lately left Philadelphia to work on a railroad in Brazil for a dollar a day or less, and since the 3rd February, 1877, five ships left the port of New York with passengers for Sydney. The Ivanhoe sailed on the 24th nit. with 175 persons on board, chiefly agriculturists and servants. They were a clean, healthy, and intelligent lot of emigrants : about one-half of them were native Americans, and although each - adult was obliged to pay 45d015. towards the cost of passage, there were three times more applicants than could be accommodated in the ship ; and Mr. Cameron, the shipping agent, stated to me that if the working classes here could emigrate on the same easy terms as those in Great Britain, Australia would be soon colonized and Americanized. However, I believe the novelty of the scheme has much to do with its popularity, for New South Wales must indeed be a flue country if its mineral resources, soil, aud climate can compare with many of the Southern and Western States of the Union through which I have lately travelled. —I am, &c., Thomas Co.nsolly. New Yo;k, March 6.

TRADES.—AVERAGE WAGES PER' DAY Of TEN HOURS. Stonemasons, Ido). 75c. to 2dols. 25c.; stonecutters, 2dols. to 2dols. 500. ; -bricklayers, Idol. 75c. to 2dols. 25c, ; plasterers, Idol.- 50c'. to 2doK, 25c.; carpenters, Idol. 25c. to 2dols. ; roofers, Idol. 75c. to 2do’s. 50c. ; plumbers, Idol. 75c. to 2-lols. 20c.; painters, Idol. 250. to 2d015,; machinists, Idol. 25c.’ to Idol. 75c.; coopers, Idol. 50c. to 2dols. 50c. ;, boxmakers, Idol. 50c. to 2dols. 50c.; ship carpenters, Idol. 5Cc. to 2d01.-50c.; ship-caulkers, 2dols. ,to 2dols. 50c. ; sawyers, . Idol. 50c. to 2dols. ; , engineers. Idol. 50c. .to 2dol. 50c. ;■ waggon-builders, - Idol. 75c. to 2dols. 50c.; blacksmiths, , 2dols. to 2do!s. 50c.; printers, 25c. to 42c.. per ,1000 ems, and Idol. 500. to 2dols. 50c. per day.of 10,hours; shoemakers, Idol. 000. to 2dols. 26c.; sailmakers, Idol. 750. to 2dol. 50c.; boat-builders, 2dols. to 2dols. 50c.; cigar-makers, Idol. 25c. to Idol. 50c.; boiler-makers, Idol. 25c. to 2doK; harness-makers, Idol. 00c. to 2dols. 56c.; bookbinders, Idol. 75c.. to 2dols. 50c.; tailors, Idol. 750. to 2dols. 75c.; glass-blowers, Idol., 75c. to Sdols.; cabinet-makers, Idol. < 25c. to 2d015.; pianoforte-makers, Idol. 50c. to 2J015.; laborers, 900. to Idol. 25 \;: bootmakers, Idol. 50c. to 2dols. 250.; brass-finishers, Idol. 50e. to 2d015.; bakers, Idol. 25c. to 1 del. 500.