Hammer And The Plane

The nudience gathercd in Fircmnn's Iall Saturday evenlng plalnly showed iow littlo interest tlic laboring class takes i) its own welfare and how persistent hey are in remaining absent from places where they could leani gomething to heir advantage. Mayor Heakes introditced Mr. McGuire who, as a student of labor lor many rears, gave a clear, concise and incre9ting exposition of bis refleetio-.is of wliich the following is a digest: He carne to talk to carpenters especially bnt ut the same time to orgiinized abor generally. Labor In the present age has been greatly modilled by inventions of machinery. In olden times tlic carpenter worked in liis shop during the winter months making window sashes, casings, etc, but machinery has relieved lim of this task. In other linea of manufacture the result is the same and m ichinery in m:uiy instauces is run by women und boys, tlius throwing men out f einployment. But the progress of an enlightened race in inventing and discovering cannot be stopped and it is nol the object of organlzed labor to stop t. fhere was also a time wben the carpenter had liis appreotlOT and t lio rosult was skilled workmen. NoW when a con:ractcr wants help he runs in any one who can use a hanimer and saw and gives bini witlün IS cents of the same wages that the skilled carpenter who bas the [jrains and inuscle to batidle n kit of tools valued at about f l:tU (whieh wcre .astotully displayed near the platform on i Standard about tixl2 fect), received. Shall the laborer have no timo to cnjoy or educate biniself ? Shall he live in ne groove of toil day in and day out with no chance for rost or pleasure until bis death, he who is the foundation of all wealth? And the laborer who bas a cultivated taste, and has a desire for living weii, is dragxed down by the (harp competitioii of the lower el iss and sees no hope unless it be in organization. The laborer to-day II fat better off than in times gone by, to be sure, but stlll he has not kept pace with the advance of civilization generally. Again, it is said that trganlaed labor is a foreign instiiution, but, t is no more foreiiro than monopoly. True, il orignated in England, where the )eole were proainrl into the necessity ol organi.ingagainst the crashing monopolies, and the result was pirlicularly marked among the fiiming class wbo trote trom dw Hing of mud hoveis with no Windows and only one door to cmnfm table homes, and sent some of their own kith and Uin to represent their intenati In parllament. Orfraulzatlon will do away with the uncluistianlike jealousy existing betweeu laboring classes and bring ihem tato a more brotherly relation; at tlie same time eiilightening and edneating theni. The intemperance among the laboring classes is brought on to a great extent by the wretched home thcy are obliged to occupy, amt wit1: no show of getting ahead at the rale of wa;:es tbey receive, they drown tbeir woes in the nierry company "t the rum sliop. Houra of labor ihould be slurtened to givc the laliorer more time to read and reflect and naeociate with bis fellow-nicn and learu the true power that is In him, diily slum bering from want of development. And only through organization and agitaticn can tliis be broiiijht about. The agltatlon of IS'-H resulted in 1840 in the reductioii of a day'í work to 10 hours. Our government hasalready recignized S hours asa legal day's work, the initiatoiy step baviug been taken, it only needl the power of combined labor to carry it tbrongh nll tr.ides. Custom has so long prevailed and civilizalion so slowly advauced thal tlie capitnlUt naturally looks upon a dcmainl for more wages as an outrage. But that the labor movement has made progress Is k'nown by the fact that in some dlitrlcts where all labor agitators were arrestad as COngplratort a short time fljjo t li-ey ean now appear unniolesteil, and the laboring classes have good organtzatloni. Politicians wbo but a few short year.s ngodesúaf.ú the hiborin mm, now comí: to him and want to fcnow hia wishes. Iu the larger cities iiours of labor have been reduced and wages have gone up; children have been taken out of factories and sent to school ; labor questions are dis ussed in the newspapers and colleges and so on to the end, organization has proved a great benefit. That our protective tariiï syslem can not benefit the laborer to its fullest ex tent unless he orgauize is striklngly sliown in Pennsylvania. In the western part where nnloni prevalí wages of iroi puddlers are ?1 higher per ton than ii theeastern part of the state where uniou do not prevalí. The better cared for the laboring clas sea of n country are, the more progress I made In every direction. China sti uses the same implemcnts for the sam purjioses that were used thousands o years ugo. And as a striking exsmple o the gain by skilled labor over iinsk illee he ave as an instante the railroad bui by England in India. The contracto hired natives to do the work at thirt cents per day, and attempted to teac thein the use of the spade and whee barrow, but without avall. They scoopei up the dirt with their hands the Min as their greatest great grand fathers ha( done and instead of wbeeliug the bar row four of them would carry it. Th contractor found skilled labor from England 30 per cent cbeapcr at the re guiar rate of wnges. Strikes are not countenonced by or ganized labor, only as the most extrem and last resort, after every other mean of settlement have failed, and it is bopet that the advautages to be gained be tweed capital and organized labor wi become more and more clear to all con cerned and make the laboier's sojour on eaith a pleasant one. Let the laboring men of our coilDtr unite and better their institutions in stead of pulling each other down. Richard Trevellick, being presen dosed the meeting with a few remnrk It is expected the Mr. Elllot, all oflice ol the Patatera and Frescoers Nationa uniou will adress the people of this cit some tinie in January.