Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1878-12-10
Prom The \. \. Tribune.
"FYdt" Money HOBS the Working
man.


Flood the country with fiat money,
give TO prices an upward tendency and
the wages Of labor will De increased
thus it is that the working people Of this
country are appealed to by the imitation
Yts, both democrats and nStionalists. IL
is undoubtedly true that revival Of bus
mess, even though it should be only tenn
porary-a bubble blown up by specula-
tion and sure TO burst al the very time
when It's collapse will be most disastrous
would. for q time affect the price Of.
wages, as it would that Of almost every
other commodity purchased or sold ir
the market, but it does not, BY any means,
follow that the working man would be
benefited thereby.
The most superficial study Of the laws
governing prices discloses the fact that
the same causes or sets OF causes affect
in greatly differing degrees the market
values Of staple articles OF commerce.
The prices Of some commodities seem to
be remarkably sensitive, while those Of
others are very stable, changing only
when violent disturbances take place, or
when new order Of things affecting val
ues has become firmly established. Fluc-
tuations in rates Of wages the prices
paid for labor are less frequent and less
violent than those Of almost any article
that is bought or sold. The price Of
cotton or wheat may change every day
in the year, and several times in q day /;
il may advance or decline IS per cent on
account Of injury to the crop or an IN
ususl supply abroad, but the wages o.!
the plantation hand and Of the farm la
borer are fixed at the beginning Of the
season, and are not changed with the
varying price Of the articles they help 70
produce. The same Is true Of the wages
Of mechanics and operators employed in
manufactures; their wages remain sub
stantiAlly the same when markets are
brisk and when they are dull, when cap
ital realizes large profits and when it suS-
tains losses. Wages always remain IN.
changed long after the prices Of other
things seem permanently 10 have advan-
ced or declined, unless they are affected
by demand for particular kind Of la
Dor that it is difficult to supply, or BY a
supply that Is greater than the demand
Not only Is the price Of labor less mo-
bile than that Of other things, but It's
fluctuations are invariably less in degree
than those of the necessaries Of life. Ev-
cry one will remember our own experience
during the war and Immediately after It's
close. There was scarcely an article o.
provisions or clothing that did not ad-
vance in price far more rapidly and IL
much greater ratio than the wages OF
labor, although there were from 1861 20
1865 exceptional causes in the Withdraw
o. Of hundreds Of thousands of men from
productive industries 70 push up wages
more rapidly than they would naturally
have advanced. Numerous examples
might be cited TO prove the truth Of this
assertion, but single one will suffice.
thermometers in New England earned
IN 1860 about sll week. Their wages
gradually increased during the war and
the years that succeeded, until. before the
panic in 1873, they were paid SIC q
week, the increase being As per cent
Now they receive sl3 week. In 1873
prices Of commodities were much lower
than they had been in 1865 and 1866,
and . weeks wages would for the first
time purchase about the same quantities
OF the common necessaries Of life az In
1860, although there had been times when
prices had been proportiOnstely much
higher than wages. Indeed. that had
been true most of the time after price
began to advance. Now, e New England
iron-mollder earns Is per cent. more than
ID 1860, while dollar is just as valua.
bic as it was before the war.
Ii a new initiation Of the currency
should now take place there is no reason
10 believe that wages would advance a:
rapidly as the prices Of articles of gen.
eral consumption, and the difference would
represent an actual loss to the working
man
The laborer whose wages are increased
only 10 per cent. gains nsthing ii he ha!
to pay an advance Of % per cent fol
everything ne buys Initiation at FIRST
therefore, will make the lot Of the work
ingman harder, instead Of easier.