The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-08-01
W ASHIN G. I ON.
THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST l. 1874
LOW WAGES.

speech upon the Sub-treasury, evinces the regard
which the great democratic leaders entertain for
the laboring poor. We commend the extract to
the candid attention of our readers, because it
proceeds from an acknowledged oracle of the
progressive" Democracy-from source of the
highest authority with the Locofocos. Mr. B. is
their acknowledged champion in the Senate, and
presented high claims to the nomination for the
Presidency. 1t is, besides, the principle Of the
party--the Sub-treasury, which he advocates in
the extract, and the same result of reducing
wages and prices to specie standard is the main
design of the measure.
Here is an-extract from Mr.. Buchanan's own
report of his speech:
"Let me now recur to the proposition with
which Icommenced; and repeat, that do not
pretend to mathematical accuracy in the ilustra-
ton which shall present. The United States
carry on trade with Germany and France the
former hard-money country, and the latter APP
preaching it so nearly as TO have no bank notes
in circulation under the denomination of five hum
dred francs, or nearly one hundred dollars. On
the contrary, the United States is emphatically a
paper money country, having eight hundred banks
of issue-all of them emitting notes of denomi-
nation as low as five dollars, and most of them
one, two, and three dollar notes. For every dol
lar of gold and silver in the vaults of these banks,
they issue three, four, five. and some of them as
high as ten, and even fifteen, dollars of paper.
This produces vast but ever changing expan-
sion of the currency and consequent increase
Of the prices Of articles the value Of which is not
regulated by the foreign demand, above the prices
Of similar articles in Germany and France. At
particular stages of our expansions, we might
with justice apply the principle which have
stated to trade with these countries and assert
that, from the great redundancy of our currency,
articles are manufactured in France and Ger
many for one-half of their actual cost in this
country. Let me present an example. In Ger
many, where the currency is purely metallic,
and the cost Of everything is reduced to a hard
money standard, piece of broadcloth can be
manufactured for fifty dollars-the manufacture
of which, in our country, from the expansion of
our paper currency, would cost one hundred dol
lars. What is the consequence? The foreign
French or German manufacturer imports this
cloth into our country, and sells it for hundred
dollars. Does not every person perceive that
the redundancy of our currency is equal to pre-
MUM of one hundred per cent. in favor of the
foreign manufacturer! No tariff of protection,
unless it amounted to prohibition, could counter
act this advantage in favor of foreign manufac-
lures. would to Heaven that could arouse
the attention Of every manufacturer of the nation
to this important subject.
"The foreign manufacturer will not receive
our bank notes in payment. He will take no.
thing home except gold and silver, or bills of ex
change, which are equivalent. He does not ex-
pend this money here, where he would be COM
PEELED to support his family. and to purchase his
labor and materials at the same rate of prices
which he receives for his manufactures On the
contrary, he goes home, purchases his LABOR,
his WOOL, and all other articles which enter into
his manufacture, at half their cost in this coun.
try, and again returns to iDundate with foreign
woolens, and to ruin our domestic manufactures
| might cite many other examples but this, /
trust, will be sufficient to draw public attention
to the subject. This depreciation of our curren-
cy is, therefore, equivalent to direct protection
granted to the foreign over the domestic manu-
facturer. 1t is impossible that our Smanufactu-
rers should be able to sustain such an unequal
competition.
"Sir, solemnly believe that if we could but
reduce this inflated paper bubble to anything like
reasonable dimensions New England would be-
come the most prosperous manufacturing coun-
Try that the sun ever shone upon. Why can not
we manufacture goods, and especially cotton
goods, which will go into successful connection
with British manufactures in foreign markets |
Have we not the necessary capital? Have we |
not the industry? Have we not the machinery
And above all, are not our skill, enerov. and on
terprise proverbal throughout the world9 Land
ID also cheaper here than In any other country on
the face OF the earth. We possess every advan
tage which Providence can bestow upon us for
the manufacture of cotton but they are all coun-
teracted by the folly of man. The raw material
costs us less than it does the English, because
this is an article The price of which depends upon
foreign markets, and is not regulated by our own
inflated currency. We, therefore, save the freight
OF the cotton across the Atlantic, and that of the
manufactured article on its return here. What
10 the reason that, with all these advantages, and
with the protective duties which our laws afford
to the domestic manufacturer of cotton, we can
not obtain exclusive possession of the home mar.
ket and successfully contend for the markets Of