New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-11-19
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
THE CAPITAL VALUE OF THE EMIGRANT.
To thk Ediior or The TrfbMne. ----

| To the Editor or The Tribune
SIR: Probably no statements, made by the
various experts who read papers before the
ing of the Social Science Association, have made more
impression throughout the country than those OF Mr.
! Kapp, Commissioner OF Emigration. on the Capital
/ Value Of the Emigrant."
To those OF your readers who have not read the re-
ports Of the meeting 1t may be interesting Orestae the
! rather ingenious argument Of his paper: -.-
The life OF each person in an economical view, is
divided into three periods the non-productve period"
from birth to ffteen the productive period" from f
teen to sxty.hye years. and "the period" beyond
this limit. Looking at a human being, purely as an
instrument OF production, ascertain hs capital value,
we must find out what 1t costs to bring him up to fifteen
years The expense Of his training and support up to
that point measures his pecuniary value 10 the com
munty. Now 1t has been ascertained in Germany by
various careful computations that the cost OF bringing
male child of abOrer. TO the age Of fifteen, Is about
$50 thaers say $3.50 currency This expense, Mr. Kapp
believes, be safely estimated as double In this
country.
Each male laborer them fifteen who lands on this
coast is worth the country precisely what would
cost to produce him here-hat Is, about $3.50 Buta
female laborcr estimated at half that cost nasmuch as
her labor as a child is Of value than boys and
! therefore balances more Of the expense.
Among the immigrants arriving, at least Onehtth are
under fifteen years. but the other hand many arrive
OF the OF skilled aborers professions the cost OF
whose training would be at least five times that OF
common aborer. There men, too, than women:
so would DO fair estimate 10 sconsder the emf
grants divided economically into half male and half
female worth each say Sll25 capital value To TINS
country They bring beside with them-as ia well as
ceanedau average cash property Of $50 70 mat eaea
| emCrant may be considered as importing cdpiIal VI
| 81 .275 into the United States.
NewYOr between May 1871, aud January l, 1862 IS
I099l that from this alone we have derived
an increase OF national wealth IN % years OF S54el3
| Assuming
3O0OO souls per year, have an annual import OF $751;
800 C0O. or gain 0f more than 81 600 per day.
This Ingenious calculation will give us some fesbe con-
cepton the golden tide which flows To shores each
Of our I PRODUCTION tho aud wealth Mr. KapP deserves high
COMMUNICATION for the ingenuity and Industry he has
shown IN thus analyzng emigration statistics, and
proving the economical value Of this current OF popaa
But I'm the light OF science compelled TO point
ont what 10 omissions In these economical rea-
souiugs which will somewhat modify the results The
capital value Of an object Is not determined merely by
the cost OF s production but also by another element
! The demand forM Thus, II hundred new sewiDg-ma-
chimes are produced, they are worth to the community
merely what they cost TO make, but what the demand
for them Will bring II there has been an oyerproduc-
ton OF sewng'machines, OF they are OF poor quay'
their worth sinks and their mOneyvaluo TO the cO1nu-
nifty may fal below the cost OF manufacture The same
is all articles which parts OF tile capital oI
country. Their money. price Is conditioned by
Of production and the relation OF demand TO supply
II Ia true also 0 animals COW OF horoe - ga ot
alone what 10 costs to produce IT, but what tue demand
viii bring Some, from adyenttons circumstances WIN
| fall below the cost OF production; some will rise
! above IL. Many fine horses when cost no
more to raise Than poor ones are MoT i rea aT While
many poor sink below their cost because the demand
Is unreasonably small SO with human beings, we Look
at them purely as Instruments OF producuon an lot
much perhaps more to raise as lhd AZ oru-
Intelligence, but he is Of no capital value farmers
hoy whose brain worked intensely h. broke the sod
though costing no more ~ education tlaI au c'hoP
per m rho hOuse huds himself 10 r. zen Wol IN
double the other market value solely because the
demand Tor his labor Is greater Tue wage, o. sAi oI
men In the professions not measured sof5ly ny NE
cost OF their education, but b. the prlce VINCE ~ i
services will bring u the market aud tins deterlue.
mainly, though not entirely by demand aud supply
When an emigrant lands IN this country his capital
conditioned by these two elements cost OF pro
duction and demand. There are probably every year
among the emigrant few thousand Of poor. Ignorant
and rather weakly women WHO become sewing women ~
/ the great cities These hlr kapps estimate should
be- worth so each But owing 20 the crowded state 0f
the market for such instruments Of production and To
their ignorance, and the consequent sua demand
! for each seamstrrss those wOmcu probably Of
scarceiy aBy pecnhlry value TO the community and
often burden. on the very property Uf the Cummis-
sioners Of Emigration there will be this Winter
| thousands OF abc-ooded men, who not only produce
nothing but supported by the contributions 70 the
! Emigration Fund ui their more industrious fellows
Tnese certainly are not worth capital 70 the nation
Then take the very comfortable number OF the four
million onigrants v ho have been entirely non.prodncers
have as neglected children fallen into the hands OF the
public authoriues, or whose labor as destitute wonen
has supported Themselves When these are all sub
tracted FROM four millions there will be very
| siderable deduction from Mr. Kapp's enthusiastic es
| timatc. OF tho value OF this golden tide.
We do question however, the general conclusion Of
! the Commissioners paper-the immense value OF tins
current 81 labor 10 the pr"dnetoH anu oeNeloeut OF
/ the cOuutry-we would Outy diminish somewhat his
numerical estimate Of the pecunary worth OF each em
grant.
! Articles which are IN universal demand, such gold
aud silver DEPEND for their value mainly on the cost OF
production 80 universal Is the dehand here for ordinary
male labor that its will not vary much from the
OF it, prod8etOn IN this country This cost Mr.
KHpp has probably exaggerated In making double that
of terniay IL would he safe, however. reckoning from
the expense OF supporting aDorers male child IN Ger
many call the capital value Of the most ordinary farm
hand at beast 81. 600 or O0 IA the United States
This e, matc alone would Justify all the commissioners
enthusiasm as % the pcCunidry value ~ emigration.
IT'S little less than the old murtetyaiur Of the
male slaye-fur the reason probably, MIR. Omstead
has shown that tie pccuuiuy value OF slaves was SOME
what speculative based on me erpceIdOH o PT0t from
! the best cotton EiLds. .
| There In another method OF obtaining "the capital
! value" OF the male grant winch We throw out Tor
the consideration " your readers Interested IN questions
| OF political economy.
ZACH aborer is worth fpecuniariy) 10 the country, the
prgut. from his production and above tho expense
az . EXPORT. HIS average cost 10 his employer h, say
so pcr month and keep" about 500 per auuuu. lt
! i believed that ordinary profit ON common labor
! uJuu "A h. from 10 10 lst per cent. inns would
have the gain the country frOm 50 To 80 annually
This seven per cent interest. would represent Just
about the capiin value estimated above or about $1,000
| an 81 100 for an average male labOrcr. C. l.. Is.
| No. " lat FOURTH ST., Nov. 3, 1863.