Lincoln telegraph. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1836-1846, 1840-10-15
NO. 20.
The Wages of Labor.

HUN TIC SpOCCa vi WI w cOSiCI, vi LUX
Island, in reference to the war of Govern
ment upon the wages of labor. They find
in it clear aud conclusive exposition
of the hostility of the Administration to the
interests of the lahorer and the poor man,
and full and complete confirmation OF the
excellent speech of Senator Davis in reply
TO Buchanan. After referring to the sub
treasury, he goes on to remark:
''But this subject draws after it another
principle inseparable from its doctrines: and
this is, that il is useful to reduce the price
of labor; that it is necessary to curtail the
wages Of the working man. The suppor-
tiers OF the sub-treasury scheme have said
this: they have all said it, | do not see
why Mr. Buchanan alone should be singled
out to have this declaration fastened on him;
he only said in clear manner what the 9th
ers did not say so clearly. They have adj
opted the plan Of the sub-treasury; and this
plan, as natural consequence, leads to
the restriction and contraction of the cur-
rency, and as matter Of course to re-
duction of prices. Well, they say that
wages ought to be reduced. They must
take up that position, or give up the SUBJ
treasury; and if they give that up, they
give themselves.
You may take Calhoun, and Buchanan.
and Walker, and Tappan, and you'll find
that they all declared this; they all say that
is necessary to reduce the prices of labor.
aver that! Mr.. Tappan declared that
labor ought to come down to eleven cents
das This | did not hear him say. he
did not say it in Congress; but there are
numerous affidavits of the fact that he said
it out of Congress. I have heard the dec
larations of the leaders of the party in re-
laton to this subject; / have seen and
read their references to Cuba; have seen
the debates in the House of Representa-
tves on the subject published by authority;
and this is the burthen of the whole, that
the wages of labor ought to come down,
They say that The petty states of the
Mediterranean, Naples, Corsica, Sardinia.
Genoa, and others, are proper examples for
the people Of the United States? Was
ever any thing heard so monstrousf Why,
my friends, these gentlemen are party madi
they have sort of feeling on this subject
that comes near insanity. They forget
where they are. They forget that they
are American citizens. They forget who
and what are the laborers Of this great ma
ton, or they would meyer hold out 10 them
the petty sovereignties Of Europe as exam-
pies.
And is this course of conduct Democrat
ic? Why, the laborers of this country con-
stitute Is out of l6 ofthe entire population;
| mean all who labor; all those who labor
on their own farms, for they are laborers in
the truest sense of the word; and all those
who labor in shops, or in their own humble
dwellings, or on the capital Of others; these
are Ia out of 5 of the whole people. And
any system that processes to reduce the
price of labor, reduces the wages of all
these men. Is that good democratic doc
trines? Let old Suffolk answer. Loud
cries of "Non' "Non') Is tina. the doc
tripe which constitutes the greatest good of
the greatest number?
This doctrine, my friends, originated in
a total Misrepresentation Of the state of the
laborers here, and the laborers in other
countries Look at Suffolk for instance.
You are not quite as democratic here as we
are in old Massachusetts,. You have
many large farms of from three hundred to
five hundred acres IN each, that haye come
to you by inheritance and other ways. We
have scarcely any Of these in Massachu-
sets. Well, how is it here? Don't you
labor on your own farms? You know how
You are enabled TO manage in this way
But how many of you, would ask, can
educate families OH mere rent roll proper=
ty; how many can give their children prop
er education by the income they obtain
from land which they pay rent for2
None. In Massachusetts, none can afford
to spend $4,000 or $4,000 to bring up q
family on, of property which they rent
But here nine-tenths of you work on your
own land. In Europe, nine,y-nine out of
every one hundred work on other mems
lands, Is your labor, by your own hands,
at your own ploughs, in your own barns,
reaping and threshing your own wheat
lords of the soil, as YOU really are-to be
compared TO that OF Europe. where 10000
of the laborers don't own amongst the
whole of them enough land to make one q
graye1 No. There's vast difference in
the state of the two. And the idea Of conn
pairing them, arose altogether from mis-
apprehension OF the condition the labor
ers of the two countries. The example
of Europe has miserably misled them to ad=
yocate the propriety ofreducing the prices
of labor here to the European standard.
A year ago was in England; IN the
south OF England, which is a little THO poor