Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

No. III.
To the Managers of the Alms House, and House of Employ.
GENTLEMEN,
HAVING proved, that the profits of the labor of 453 grown persons in your house, is not 4s in a whole year for each person; I would wish to state precisely, what is the value of their work, but that I cannot do from your account, because you have mixed in one mass, the value of the raw materials and goods in such a manner that I cannot distinguish it. Your advocate W. can but one eye and see this in a minute, and yet he calls upon me to do it; as well might Blanchard, the Aeronaut, ascend with him to the clouds, and dropping him from thence into the Cedar swamps of Jersey, exclaim "My friend, there is your road to Philadelphia, you can easily find it."
The value of their work, is however, short of good, which he states it to be; so far short of it, that I will undertake to prove it will not be worth more than 377 12 5 and this proof shall be made even from your own account, blind as it is upon the subject.
See then your account No. I. you say therein The goods sold, the goods consumed, and those goods on hand, with all the raw materials, which is every thing that relates to them, amount to £1138 15 7½
In this account you committed an error, as I told you in my address, No. I. which I now add, of 45
The total amount will then be 1183 15 7
From which you must deduct 428 10 8 which was on hand from the year '98, and forms no part of the labor of '99 428 10 8 4½
The amount then is - 755 4 11
It is now proved, that 755 4 11 is the full value of all your wrought manufactures and materials; and, to do you full justice, and even more than justice, (for every doubtful matter I will throw in your favor) I am willing to allow your patients one half the value of the wrought manufactures for making them up—that is 377 12 5 which sum divided by 453 grown persons, makes
the labor of each in 1s 8d per month and no more. - After this generous allowance- I hope you will be satisfied; and W. too- and acknowledge the fact with candor which will do you much honor; that the profits of the work of the grown paupers in the house of employ "who are found every thing at the public charge is only 4s in a year one with another, and that the full value of their labor is 16s 3d each, and no more in the same time.