The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-08-21
of the Union? Mr.. President, cannot be-
lieve it."-Pdqe 342
TEN CENT JENNY.

TEN CENT JENNY.
On the 22d of January, 1910, Mr.. Buchanan
addressed an argument to the United States,
Senate, of which he was member, in which
among other things he said:
"In Germany, where the currency is purely
metallic, and the cost of everything is RE-
DUCED TO A HARD-MONEY STAND
tured for fifty dollars, the manufacture of
which in our country, from the expansion of
paper currency, would cost one hundred dol
lars" 81 would to Heaven that
could arouse the attention of ecery manufa c-
turer of the nation to this subject"
"What is the reason that, with all those adj
vantages and with the protective duties which
our laws afford to the domestic manufacture of
cotton, we cannot obtain exclusive possession
of the home market, and successfully contend
for the markets of the world? 1t is simply be-
cause we manufacture at the nominal prices OF
our own inflated currency and are compelled
to sell at the real prices of other nations. RE-
DUCE OUR NOMINAL To THE REAL
STANDARD OF PRICES THROUGHOUT
THE WORLD. AND YOU COVER OUR
COUNTRY WITH BLESSINGS AND BEN
1.-THE comparative LOW PRICES of France
and Germany have offered such a stimulus to
their manufactures, that they are now rapidly
extending themselves, and would obtain pos
session, in no small degree, even of the Eng
ish home market, If 1t toere not for their pro-
tecting duties"
Labor is the chief element of cost in manu-
featuring, from the making of watch-springs up
to locomotives. The price of raw materials is
of small comparative consequence.
The next day, Mr.. Merrick, of Maryland,
made searching exhibit of the ruinous inAu-
of the adoption of the policy which Mr.. Blu
chanan had so strongly urged. In the course
of his speech, Mr.. Merrick said:
"Mr. President, as it has been argued, in sup
port of this bill, that one of the good effects
will be TO REDUCE THE WAGES OF La
Dor IN THIS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES man
ufacturing, agricultural, and all others, of
course-I have considered it material and i'm.
portant to inquire to what extent this reduc-
ton was to take place. These wages, we are
told, must come down to the specie standard !;
and we have been referred to Germany and
Holland, and other European countries, as ex-
amples of hard-money currencies, and the
cheapening effects of such currencies upon
wages"
Here Mr.. Merrick gives a table of European
prices of labor, and continues:
"Now, sir, 1 am greatly in hopes our people
will read and ponder over this table; they will
there see that in France, yearly cages for an
able-bodied man range from 48 to $50 shillings,
and day laborers get, in that country, from AZ
to Is pence per day; and whenever they get as
much as pence, they have to find themselves
In Germany, wages are still lower, and range
by the year between 81 and 100 shillings, and
day laborers receive from a ] to pence per day,
and find themselves in food. In South Holland,
farm hands get by the year from 200 to $50
shillings, and day laborers from to 4 pence
per day, and are found. And 30 on, sir. Who
ever will take the trouble to examine the table,
which is official and authentic, will see that, in
all these countries which are held up to us as
such bright examples of hdrdmoney countries
France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy-wages
by the year for ble.bodied, sound, healthy men,
nowhere exceed $50 shilings, and in many
instances fall as low as 40, so, and go shllings;
and the daily wages range from TO 9 and IL
pence-rising IN one place. and only one, to 20
commentary upon the hard.money policy |
poor parents ever to better his condition? What
ray of hope is there to stimulate him to exer.
ton? None, none! He who is there born a
peasant dies peasant, those born at the pillow
die at the plow-tail, and all that the longest life
of laborious toll can procure for them is coarse
and scanty means of subsistence"
Henry Clay took part in the debate, and de-
nounced the scheme which Mr.. Buchanan advo-
Gated as GAN AVOWED POLICY TO RE-
DUCE THE WAGES OF LABOR" He YVES
succeeded by "honest John Davis" of Massa-
chusetts, who cited mass of statistics, which
we lately spread before the readers of the Jour-
nal, to show that the average of "the real prices
of labor throughout the world" which Mr.. Blu
chanan wanted the worth of American industry
reduced to, was less than TEN CENTS A
DAY!
And the mechanics of his own State of Penn
sylvania, as token of their resentment, forth.
with fastened upon Mr.. James Buchanan the
stigma and nickname of TEN CENT JIMMY. He
fairly won it.-Albany Eoening Journal