The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-08-26

9ciiihg price Vi WOOlleHS, lne oigectioH ildt IL
is mode of taxing the many for the benefit of
the few falls TO the ground; if at the same time
II increases the cost TO the manufacturer, and
thus throws a tax upon him, why should the
Jiduertiser be solcitous TO save him from the
consequences Of the policy which he urges
why not let him fall into the trap which he
has set for others2 Either refute our facts, or
stop talking about protective duties raising the
price OF the article on which they are imposed.
We are not concerned about the manufacture
ers-we never advocated protection for their
sakes, and no inconsistency is fastened upon us
If the Advertiser can show that the inevitable
result of our policy is to bankrupt them.
But there are two little difficulties in the
way Of the advertisers conclusion that the cost
of fabric is necessarily raised if wages are in
creased. The first is, that the wages Of labor
are increased as well by extending the duration
OF employment as by charging the rate, by the
day or by the piece. A man who is condemned
to ldleness for thirty days during the year
knows the advantage of steady employment at
no higher rates than he is now receiving, al
though the ADVERTISER appears to overlook it,
The next is, that even where labor is
equally steady and continuous, the payment Of
superior wages does not necessarily involve a
higher cost in its product than lower rate.
Wages are much higher in England than on
the continent, yet England is able to undersell
the continental manufacturers Wages in New
England are much higher than in Old England
hut Nay, IL nd e
tected articles at less cost, and, as we verify
believe, would produce all for which protection
is sought. Labor is better paid for the very reason
that il is more effective. With the growth of
capital, labor continues to grow more and more
effective the world over, and the cost Of all lis
products continues TO diminish One-half of
this truth the .4drertiSer seems to understand
and that is good deal more than most of the
opponents of protection do. 1t says:
Turn to Macaulay, and he show how nea-
gre was the wages of labor, and how poor the fare
of the working classes, when England had next to
no debt. The wages and the condition of the la :
boring classes have been steadily improving ever
SINCE and has the national debt; doubtless s'sta
tiscs' can be found to prove that the progress of
each has been pari passu, at equal rate"
No, but statistics can be produced to show
that the wealth of England has increased more
than her debt has, SO much more that wages
have risen in spite of it--risen in money price
risen vastly more in the amount of comforts it
will command. 1t will not be disputed that the
cost of all the products OF labor, especially of
manufacturing labor, has fallen in England II
would require but little reasoning to show
that what is true in this instance is necessa-
rily and universally true wherever things are
permitted to have their natural course; that the
rise in wages, and the fall in the cost of its
products, proceed pa,i pass,t-not that the first
is the cause of the second, but for the reason
that both are the result of the growth of cap
ital.
Monsieur BAsTIAT, the leading economical
writer of the free-trade school upon the CONT
nent, who is styled by his admiring followers
the Golden of France-being legislator as well
as author and member of the Institute-pub-
lished early in the current year work which
he calls Les Harmonies Economiques. 1t is
devoted to establishing and illustrating what he
terms ''the grand, the infleXible, the consolng
law OF capital. - III Is, lndl WIN every increase
of capital, the relative proportion going to labor,
Of the value of their JOINT product, increases,
and that of capital diminishes, while the ALSO
tme amount gained by both is enlarged. In
other words, the laborer and the capitalist
both obtain a larger return. There is an
increased total product from the same amount
Of capital and labor expended for given time.
That is equivalent only to the statement that
the cost of the product is diminished But of
that increase in the total product the laborer
gets the larger share-that is TO say, wages
rse-the capitalist the less, as the rate Of in
terest sinks.
Mons. BAsrIAT uses his rhetoric with all the
enthusiasm that belongs to his national charac-
ter, in illustrating the importance Of this law, as
the law Of human progress, Of equalization of
democracy.
Sheltered under these two delences-Free-
Trade and Democracy-we can rest on our
backs for the present very comfortably.