The Lives They Lead

(Jopyrlqkted by the Antlior, 1888. Hki.kast, Au;;. 16tli.- Since mv letter il i'.id at (la-gow, and before coming M tlii- city, I complrted a tour of Bcotl ind, in the cotirse of which 1 halted at Edinburgh, worthily dubfoed the "M'Klern Atliens;" Portli. great U s rxilroud centre, and ividely reputed as the seat of extensive dyeiiifT establislimenta; Dundee, the centre of the jute niantifaoturint; In dustry, and Aberdeen, "the Graiiite City," and be-ldes pnM a visit to Iuverness, the prlde of the Northern Hlghlutid-, and Oban, Ihe charming West Coa9t resort. Each of the points in quesüon lias its special clinrins of natural or historie Interest, and there is scarce a ro.id of the country I traversed, or by the way on either hand, that la llt ricli in interest for the tourist by reasou of lts association witli the paft. Tliis general oli-ervation is submitted as a defence ntfaiust the possible conclusión of my readers, that becau-e I treat in the ratin of the industrial and social conditions of the country I ain blind to the reininiseent or scenic phases of interest that attach to wint I see. So much bas corae within my range of observation in the pist few diys to contribute to ihe inform iflon lam seekinji, that the lack of facis netd no longer be a subject of Coinplaiüt, bil' it is ralher a re dundance of pertinent data, whiuli renders the necessity for dl-criinDte selection the more difBcult task. On every hand, conditious as I meet tlieiu. od this side of tile water, contrasted with the conditious as I recall them uuder the operation of a truly American economie policy, In the United Sutes, serves only to confina my taith In Ihe wisdom of the latter. But it is due to the reader ili it glowing and glitterinif jrencralities be presentefl only when fac's In detail are available to lully sustain the 1 iim inrolved. The citlcs of Dundee, Scotland, and Iklfast, Ireland, each furilWl an eiampie of industrial aclivity. In wliicli tliousands reap the panga of poverty as the return for iudustry, t-von when Coupled wUli frujrality and Providenci'. Dundee ranks nhead of all competUors in the quality of jute producía luriied f rom lier factone. while H.lfast is the important centre of the Irisli linen lli'itntry and holdstlie leail In the market of the world In that cnm nodity. Dundee repotts hit raw niKterinl from India, and more than hall ihe 11 ix ciiusuincd In the Ilelfast milis and faetones comes trom Kussia, Germany and Krance The tarill' on tlie inamifaclured furnia of jute and flax imporWd ulo the L'nited tí ates is trom 35 to 40 per cent. hut even that Is not a barrier to the 8ctch and Irish products in the Aniericin market, as will be apparent in the lact that jute yarn, bags and bajíglnp; enteifd nr C'nnumplion In the United Slates iluring the year ending June 30, 1887, were valued al $1,407,149, whili' the Unen, biuwn auil bleaehed, enteiing tlie ports of the United States dur ine the s:imu period was valui;d al$ia,588,418. These flguri'S consldered and the question naturally rises, " How are the Scotch and the Irish mmufactuier able to cliinb the wall of the American pnttective tarift', and al most monopolize the American market In the varled and import. .ut producís of tl ix and jute 1 " The answer that they can manufacture Obeaper than in ay be done in the United States demands a furtlier explauallon, and the reason why they can manulncture cbeaper is requlcite to an understandinji of the situation. Beektng tor information in the line sugjiested, I pald a visit to the jute milis of Uox Bros., the larL'est in Dundee, and in which full 5,000 people are employed. I was refu-ed admission, but was fortúnate In the denial of the privilege, for the bell had just Bounded 2 o'clock, the dlnner hour, a moment later I was review ing the anuy of humanlty- men and women, younf?, mlddle-ajred and full of years, and mere children, barefooted urchina of 10 years and upwards, that reader effective the acres of machinery with whlch tho mammoth mlll i provided. The sorrowful tracery of unending and profil lcss toil marked the feature9 of tlie older operatives, and instead of the brlght and happy faces of the ehildhood and youtli whs the lahor-liibeled air of preumture and untimely self-depenrtence. One of the men who isued witli the others from the gateway responded to a aalotalto, and from his observations and and expei ience answered the questions I propounded. He was au ftble-bodled mini of llty nul said lic had been in the company's employ fur many years. The regular service ín the milis, as he inforuied me, was ten honrs a d.-iy, eicept Saturday, hen six houro' work 'til led Mie complement of fifty-six bours per week. Hls work was that of flreman, and lus pay was twenty shilllngs or f4.80 per week. The piy of the entrioe tenderá, li ïs most intímate associates wben at wolk, ranged fioin twenty-eiglit Ui thiriy .-hillings, or froia $ti 72 to $i.2O, per weefc. Of the factory's toree of employés, t'ull two-tbirdt ure g ris and wotneü, who receive in the departments of the work, a weekly wage of efght to ten shillings, the equivalent of $1.92 to $2.40, while 'half-timers" - the ten to fourteeu year old urehins, on wboni li.nd neeesslty Roearly tits the yoke of labor - racelve a pilleóle stipend of six'y pet week. Still another operativo freely recited his experlence, and sald bis fulltime wages as a bleaeher were 14 shillhigs' i peuce, but that the mili was ruiming only fllïy home, whkh ent his wages to 12 shilling! 11 pence halt-penny, equal in American currency to $3 07 per week, wliich, together with wlmt bis wife eoull earn, at the average wages pald to womeil in the faelory, must sustain a family of tive. "The wages of men," ÉaJd lie, "range troto 11 shilling G pence - $'2.7l - to IK shillings, or $4.32, and more ablebodied men with families are paid the f.imier figure than receive the latter." "How do they manage to make. the money cover their neeessities?" was quened. '"Oh, the wife, and the children as soon as they ure old eaougll to be taken at the factoiy, must work and help to make finalices reach, and even the united efl'ott will only make bolh ends meet, While there is no sueh tlitojf as I aying anvthing up to piovi Ie lor sickness or a rain; day." One man, au engine tender in another factury, whoe three sons, aged 13 17 imd l'J years re-peclively, also had po&fliona in the faetory, feit himself (0 mnch better to do than the arerage, th.it tie told me wilh evident pride that altoether they produed a revuuue lor faniily support of thirty five to foity shilling, r $8.40 to $9.K0, as tfe weekly wages of the tour. The "room ainl "a kftctfl n" mensure of the mechanie's home apartin'-nt.- obtains in Uundee as in Glasgow, and costs a tnfle leus for rental than in the Scotch metropolis, rauging as il does trom $30 to $35 per minimi, luit asi. Ir froin this the Glasgow acule of priees for the chief commoditles consumed in living obtains in the city by the Tav. The home of a üundee laborer, wbocc weekly wages were twenty shillings, or a shade. ibove the wages of a factoiyman, as I aw it, consisted in a single room with low ceiling, a floor of stone, and narrow, dingy wiudows whicli let but a tnolety of sunshine in upon cheerless walls, aiul the beggarly bit of furniture which served a puipose, but not that of adornment. Here a ta.ni i ly ate and slept, existed, and yet were not worse o 11" in the lack of cheer and comfort than were the scoies of tamilies that were their iuimediate neighbors, and the huudreds, even thousands, who are crowded together in the ditfeient quaiters of "Juteopolls." My obervtloh Kads me toconclude that Duudee bas dorainated iu the uiarket for üer product, by reason of the bondage of pltlable poverty into which her industrial classes have been brought by the tliumbscrew - cüeapening coat of prodiiclion. Coming uow to a view of Uelfast and her linen iodustry, the picture does nol inaterially diffr from that already cited trom Dundee. The capital city of Ulster has a popuiation of over 300,000, and n the Bubslaiitial character of her public buildings, her busiuesa blocks, and the notewortby number, and the superior character of the residences ol the well-todo and wealthy, would seem to point to a condition of universal thrift and conse queut conti'ntment iu cvery channel of society. That this busy i:icy bas much of which it may be worthily proud is not for a moment to be questioned, but inquiiy into the secret of the success of its principal indusiry, linen miking, inyolvea a question of public policy, the wis lom of which may well be questioned in the llght of faCta to be ailduced. The prineipal 11 ix work mg Institutiou in the "lineu city" is that of the York Street Flax Öpinni-ig Company, Limited, The company established the inception of the present bugillSKB fully flfty years aifo, n the site. of what had been a eotton mili, and with the growth of the business have expanded their buildings and machine faellities Bil til the whole conslitutes a mammotu plant inclutliug acres of compact tour-story buildings, pqalpped with the most modern machinery known to the traite, U drive which huge engines aggregating 700 horse-power are required. "Baing curioiis," ns I adviied the minagers, "to se? how linen whs made," and "having uo ooilliectlon with Ihe trade," I was provided m escort in the person of a mesfeugei-, provided with a p.iss, and mude a tour of the departments. By questioning the operatives and gome of the iii"St reaüily coinmuiiicative of the heads ot departments, I caine into possessiou of sonie lelinble Infofmutlon as to the mensure of remunenition paid lo the various classes of employee. The "roojher," or heckleis, who take the llax from tlie bundies in hieh it couii-s either from the buyeis of the iloniestic product or the imported cargo, are all liill-grown ueD They work, as do all the operatives, tiftysix houra [er week, earuing an average of eighteeu shillings, or $188. The operatives in the 'uiachining" department excepting the foreman, are boys of 10 to 15 years who receive an average of six 5hillings, or $1.44, per week. The next stage of the work is "sorting," which is condneted in a superheated room that renders the work unliealthful in the extreme. Here only men are employed, and the maximum wajre is tvrenty-two shillings, or 6.38 er week. Tlie next steps are theinitial ones in converting the llax into yaru and is called "spieiiding." Here girls from 10 to 20 years of age feed the sorted flux in a uniform stream througli a machine which loosely formi the thread for the next process of "drawing." Tlie spieaders earn eight sbillingá.or $1.91 per week, while the drawers receive about a shillinjj less, or $1.(S per week. The next machine throutfh which the yarn must pass in the fonnative process are the "roving" machines whieh are tended by girln who receive the same wages as the tenders of the drawing machines. Next is the spinnlng ment, In wliich girls and womsn from IJ to 70 yeurs of age are employed, at five shilliugs i-ight pence, or $1.32, to 8ix sliiHiiiís ml tliree pence or $1.50 per wec-k. The tenders of th reeling machine? - rirls - receive from seven shillinjfs ($1.08) to eight shilling ($1.92) per week, and the weft wlnders earn froin $1.92 to $2.88 per week. The weaving depnrtment Is next in order, and in the York street establishment the novice is astonished by its extent, nppearinr as t does like a vast soa of busy loonis, In which the llmusandsof shuttles areshooti ti te to and fro, witli the Ihreads that daily supply the weft to stretohes of fabric best niea-ured by miles. Here the operatives in ordinary fabric are principally girls, who earn from $1 92 to $2 88 per week. while the weavers of damask patterns earn from eighteen shilling!, $4.32, to twenty-tive Bltilllnjrs, or $0, per week. How ihormisrhly the ïiiitiiinnm rageB oh tal n in all departmenU is best appreciak'd l li iim h the fact that the weckly vafres, as I aui reliubly informad, of the 3.G0U opi-ratoiis employed in all departments is 2,000 pounds, by which it wlll be seen that the average wage is a krtfle iiinli-r eleven shillings and three pence, or $2.70 per week. Coupled with this cxpmiiion of tlie wages that prevail is the fact that the cost of living, both as to rental and the cost of food and clothing, in Bclfast are practically the sume as in Diindce and QlBlgUR. The conditioiii eited in the facts presented are submitted to the reader for bis own analysis, aided as he muy he by the irhsci 'vation that eompetion for supremacy in tlie markets of the winld can mean notliiní leas ihau the sacrifice of labor to euiiipensiite tor lor every obatacle involvetl ia competition. The Aieriean medíanle will shortly have au opportunity to register his preference for the conduiD8 described or the resnlls that issue from a prominent policy of protection for American industries, and as the majority símil determine, so will the policy be adopted. .M iy the choice be the wiser