Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-09-24
Buchanan on Low Wages.

| Buchanan on Low Wages.
Referring to our editorial in yesterdays dali
| ly, under the above head, we will briefly illus
trate the impolicy of changing the standard
| Of prices to that Of Continental Europe, as
proposed by Mr.. Buchanan in his speech of
1910, from which we extracted the pith and
marrow, in our editorial above mentioned. As
Stunning that the average daily wages of labor
ers in the United States are now only ,ffty
cents per day, and that the average wages in
Europe are ten cents per day, let us see the
effect upon the laboring man Of making this
reduction. If his accessories OF life, for daily
consumption, were to be in truth, reduced in
| the same ratio-if his clothing, his rent, his
physicians bills, and everything else were sub
jected to similar reduction, why, then, of
course, one days labor would be worth as
much to him, under the European standard of
prices, as under the nominal standard" which
Mr.. Buchanan says prevails in the United
States.
This might possibly be the effect upon the
day laJorer, $50 far as his daily living is
| u
ton of the standard of prices. But even were
this So would it not involve every man in abb
solute bankruptcy and ruin, who holds proper
ty and owes money? and aoho does not p
Take farmer who owns farm, 7aoao estima-
ted at five thousand dollars, and who owes one
thousand dollars upon it. Reduce the stand
ard Of prices" to oneJJth Gas proposed in the
case of the laborer) and the five thousand dol
lar farm would just pay the one thousand dol
lar incumbrance, and leave the farmer worth
precisely nothing This change in the stan
dard of prices would break up every farmer
and mechanic in the nation! And for what
good end? Why, to benefit the manufacturer
And thus is the country to be covered with
blessings and benefits, according to Mr.. Blu
charan's theory.
But come back to the day aborer, and let us
see how this system would operate upon all
those of that class who propose to themselves,
at some future dry, to become the owners of
40 80, or 100 acres Of the now public domain
Mr.. Buchanan has not intimated, nor is it to
be supposed he contemplated, reduction in
the price of the public lands, which are noso
held and sold at One-teath or ttcentieth the
standard of prices in any part of continent
al Europe. Amid all the fluctuations of the
last thirty years, the price of the public lands
with the exception Of those which have been
many years open to private purchase, and re-
main unsold) has been the same, to-wit $50
for 40 acres, 800 for 80 acres, and 5000 for
100 acres. No man in his senses will ever pro-
pose production Of these prices, not even JAS
Buchanan, in his eagerness to come down to
the standard Of Continental Europe!
On the contrary the European standard as
to lands would demand an increase in the
present price of the government lands.
Well, at .1Jtty cents per day the day laborer
can earn by his labor, enough money in year
and half to purchase one hundred and sixty
acres of land, and to become in the end, what
all such men should desire to be, an independ-
cnt farmer. At "ten cents per day" it will
require of him to labor screen gears to acquire
the means Of purchasing that 100 acres of
andi At our nominal prices" Gas Mr. Blu
chanan calls them) of labor, poor laborer can
noD earn enough money in one-third of year
to buy 40 acres Of land-in two-thirds of
year to buy 50 acres-and in a year and half
to buy leo acres, whilst under Mr.. Buchanan's
policy, if adopted, he must labor flee times as
long to reach the very same results and all
this he must do, TO benefit the manufacturer
and to scorer the country Nth blessings and
6enefts~
We incline to the opinion, that neither the
man Of property nor the laboriHg man would
like to see what Buchanan calls the nominal
standard of prices reduced in this country
10 the "real standard" Of pauper Europe !
The truth is, Mr.. Buchanan has not yet learn
cd the first principles of political economy,
and when he was talking about the nominal
standard Of prices" in the United States and
the "rea standard Of Continental Europe,
he exhibited confusion Of ideas, unpardona-
bic in man of his experience. There is no
nominal standard Of prices" here,--the
American standard Of pricesn or Of gaL,,es