, 1881-05-01

| u Ct|d4 Ilal IL tlSGu.
, 1t will pay in every way to secure the sery
: lees OF skilled men to compel general com
pl!ance with the new smoke ordinance
5 These men may accomplish more BY persona
instructions than by indiseri1lillate prosccu
; 1lons They should teach the people frs
} that 1t Is in their own interest to consum
| the smoke, anu that this can he done casil.
rs well lis with profit. Neglect to compl,
: with these Instructions should be followed
by persistent prosecution. 1t has beel
abundhntly demonstrated that it Is hott
practicable and cheap to consume the snake
and hence there will be no hardship in com
pelliny unwilling penplr tn tio it.
| & -e.-~..-....=.s-=
EFFECT OF THE RISE In WAGES AMI
PRICES.
Tie general advance in wages now de
nlanded lit all parts of the country should moi
BIZ accepted Us all unlnlxed evidence Of The
prosperity it indicates, BECAUSE it lacks thai
pernla1lellcy which alone assures real prus-
pcrlty.
That community enjoys tile highest degree
OF prosperity whuse lauor places within the
reach of the greatest number of persons the
possession 0f the greatest amount Of the
commodities contributing to tie wants
and comforts Of the human family. This
degree Ut prosperity is not to be meas
| ured BY rates pf wages. beenusc wages are
but the mere agents Tor Which other things
| are exchanged. The nearer the whne popll-
lation can come to tbs enjoyment Of the
greatest abunust.tco Of tile worlds gou.ls, the
nearer they are to tile greatest prosperity
in,
Of an increase Ut prosperity; thus, WHEN
wages advance 10 per cent and the cost Ut
living advances q per cent las the middle
ll'en lnark up their guods), the means Of pur-
! chasing are seriously reduced. During the
last sixty days the demand TOR increased
wages has been general. In MANY employ
n,ents there was undoubtedly Il adisproportion
| of the wages paid to those dependent OH
their daily earnings, and to The extent that this
! il'sutticiency ha5 been corrected. no more
| than justice has been done. While wages are
| largely to be measured by the Gust OF living
| it must alsn and always be remembered TINT
| the great factor III making uu the cost Of Iiy-
| ing is this item Of wages, Wherever there
IS general advance in the cost uf labor.
which, is properly tho cost Of productions. the
cost Of living necessarily adyances in full
proportion. III point Of fact, therefore, the
purchasing power Of wages. after Il general
aud substantial increase, Tails to Keep
on All equality with the increased cost Of
living resuI1iag from that advance. 1t Is,
moreover, attended with scrlsIus drawbacks.
Any increase in the cost Of production is at
tended with reduction in the demand
for consumption OIL the part Of the great
agricultural class, and consequently q IT.
lucton in the amount Of labor employed 10
produce goods. 1t Is possible, tlien, that The
cost Of living and the cost Of production may
be 50 advanced by 4 general rise Of wages
that the purchasing power Of the advanced
wages may be less than it was before the
rise. and that the amount of labor employed
may be reduced as consequence. This is
just what is now happening.
In viewing this matter as an evidence Of
prosperity the fact must not be overlooked
that there have been since January, and are
now, All average of 1000 worklncn landing uu
our shores every day; that, allowing that
onv~hulf Of these seek homes In
the country, there are at least 1.00o |
men daily thrown into the cities :lnd towns !!
seeking employment These men come here !
with limited means; they nil,st fiud work or |
perish, and that they will find work at the |
best wages they can obtain Is 4 practical ;
necessity. They have to support themselves
and families, and 10000 of these abor-seekers
are added to ourclty population every Montl,
who are thus becoming competitors with tie
present population. How long can the rise
in wages continue in the presence Of this
stream Of competitive labor, which soon
must accept employment at whatever wages
it can obtain The tide OF immigration now
pouring into the country is not limited to ul,-
skilled labor; it includes mechanics of every
branch Of trade and oi every: Industry. These
,Aen are at our doors; they ase asking for
work, and asking for work that they may
have bread.
The inevitable consequence Of every gens
cral advance in wages is to so increase the
cost Of all American manufactures that the
is nnuled at once with foreign /
goods The demand being reduced, aud the
supply being far in excess, production mus.
cease, and the goods on hand Must be solu at
a sacrifice. That is a story that has become
familiar by its frequent repetition. Il has
,ut been more than a year since it was most
t1lt&A GApEn5ffEl1 lEPCAttt ~! L!llS !
country. Two years ago there was gen
sral advance in prices and in wages; tnen !
.ame the inflow Of foreign goods; then the
toppagc Of American production, the j
discharge of labor, and the reduction OF
wages. The boom hail been caan.itcus. i'll 1
tead of being beneficial. Wages had re-
urned to their ordinary level, and Industry
nd production were resumed, and now | /
ONES another general demand all along the I
Inc for an advance in prices from 20 to
5 per cent THIS rise is dem md ID in the | |
ace OF the fact that between Jul; /. 1SS), and
uiy /, 1851, no less than lU), ,0Jo abr-bpdied ] /
rorkmen have come into the country and ,
IT. now and will be seeking employment as i
necessity fur bread. and at whatever wages /
hey eau get. The oft-repeated story will e
pillow. The general advance in wages | Y
ill necrssitate 4 reduction OF employ ! t
rent; the Increase In the cost Of i
Wing will leave tile Increased wages less Il
than before; foreign goods i
ill pour in from foreign workshops, and t
-tnerican goods will ce;se to be exported. ! Il