The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1873-10-29
PLEA FOR FREE TRADE AND q
SPECIE CURRENCY.

=
SPECIE CURRENCY.
The last nNmber of the Courier
Journal contains an able speech by
the Hon. J. Proctor Knott, the dis
tineuished kentucky Statesman, Ill
behalf of free trade and hard mon
ey. After paying just tribute to
the agricultural industry of the
country, as forming the basis OF all
othars, he shows clearly that be-
tween it and the manufacturing and
commercial interests, there is a nat
ural and invariable reciprocity,
which, when undistprbcd, will tend
to the mutual development of each !;
and whilst guaranteeing just com
pepsatiop for labor, will secure pro-
portionate profits upon the capital
Invested that labor aud capital
Industry and wagcs-when free to
operate, arc Invariably regulated by
the law of supply and demand, and
will as naturally seek their equilib-
rum, as water will seek its level;
and that the preservation OF this
equilibrium can alone secure the
fast distribution Of wealth, and the
propcs regulation and adjustment
of the interests Of labor and capital
in the various departments of in
dustry. Our country, with its mag
nifccnt domain Of 100000 Of
square miles, afordiag every variety
OF climate and soil, and every aptl-
tude of race, affords a grand op-
portunity for the exercise of our
energies iu any field OF enterprise
that we may select. But, alas, the
Government here comes in to dis
turb the relation between labor and
capital, and, by its protective tariff,
forces US to pay bonus upon al
most every manufactured article,
varying from 10 to 20 per cent.
npon its actual value. The speaker
shows by a reference to the report
of the }ast census, that this protcc-
tioa enables the manufacturer to re-
alize from forty-tive to ninety-two
per cent. npon the money which he
invests, whilst the agriculturist un-
der the most favored circumstances
cannot get ten per cent. Read the
figures which he adduccs:
"iAccording to the report, you will
fud that, in the year 1870, there were
s,922,7!l persons in the United States
engaged in agriculture, while all va
rieLes Of manufactures, Of every kind
and description, employed only 2,0o3,-
096; that the capital invested in the
former, including vaIue Of farrle,
farming implements and live stock on
hand, amounted to sl1, ,l24S3S,7G
while that inves ed in the latter was
only s2.ll8,2OS,79G. Yet you will be
astoundcd ut the fact that, while the
gross products Of Al agricultural la
hor for that year, including fencing.
clearing and other improvements on
The farm, together with the increase
of live stock, amounted to only y S.
447,53S,G5S, tho gross value Of all
manufactured products is estimated at
ST 232 1926, ,442. You will find, how
ever, that there was paid for mate
rials the sum of So, 2,4sS,427, PIP, and, if
YOU deduct that from the gross value,
it will leave sl,743.S9S,2OO, which
represents the value Of the labor be-
slowed, and tho interest on the capt.
tai employed in creating those values
Now, from these ii cures, it appears
for any schoo-boy can make the cal
CulatlOn lOr ntHlSelt--lHRl, VIM e"eh
person engaged in agriculture, on Il
capital of ST SIS per capita, produced
only s4l25s in gross values, each per-
son employed in manufacturing pro-
,uced, on an average capital OF only
$1,2ll, net values to the amount OF
ss4s.20, more than twice as much as
tho gross values produced by the
farmer.
But if you will look little farther
into the matter you will find that,
while the consumer who used the
product of the manufacturer had ac-
tually to pay the sStS.sO, the lqhorer
who did tho work ncither produced
Hor got pay for nything like half that
amount. Now this may seem still
more startling and lnexplicaJ Jlc. But
l..t us see how it. is. While the whole
number employed in manufacturing
was, as I have stated, 2,053, 1876, the
report shows that the aggregate
Mount Of all the wages paid them
was only s775.5S4 343; so that each
Il /,,,1,- .,nI