Page:The cotton kingdom (Volume 2).djvu/255

 In the depth of winter, a trustworthy man wrote us from Indiana:—

"Here, at Rensselaer, a good mechanic, a joiner or shoemaker, for instance—and numbers are needed here—may obtain for his labour in one week:

2 bushels of corn. 1 bushel of wheat. 5 pounds of sugar. 1/2 pound of tea. 10 pounds of beef. 25 pounds of pork. 1 good turkey. 3 pounds of butter. 1 pound of coffee. 1 bushel of potatoes.

and have a couple of dollars left in his pocket, to start with the next Monday morning."

The moment the ice thawed in the spring, the demand for mechanics exceeded the supply, and the workmen had the master-hand of the capitalists. In June, the following rates were willingly paid to the different classes of workmen—some of the trades being on strike for higher:—

Dollars per Week. Boiler-maker           12 to 20 Blacksmith             12 to 20 Baker                   9 to 14 Barber                  7 to 10 Bricklayer             14 to 15 Boat-builder                 15 Cooper                  8 to 12 Carpenter (house)            15 Confectioner            8 to 12 Cigar-maker             9 to 25 Car-driver (city cars)       10 Car-conductor "              10-1/2 Engineer, common        12 to 15 Engineer, locomotive          15 Harness-maker                 10 Mason                   10 to 15 Omnibus-driver                10 Printer                 10 to 25 Plumber                       15 Painter (house)               15 Pianoforte maker        10 to 14 Shipwright                    18 Ship-caulker                  18 Ship-fastener                 18 Shoemaker                     16 Sign painter            25 to 30 Sail-maker                    15 Tailor                   8 to 17

poor whites. They very rarely complain, or ask for charity; and I have often found them sharing their food with white people, who were too poor to provide for themselves." A great deal of falsehood is circulated and accredited about the sufferings of the free negroes at the North. Their condition is bad enough, but no worse than that of any men educated and treated as they are, must be; and it is, on an average, far better than that of the slave.]
 * [Footnote: blacks always manage to keep themselves more decent and comfortable than the