Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-11
SAUCE FOR THE GOOSE.
Ahe Commission Warfare Oh the Chicago
Board OF Trade Sensibly Considered.

Board OF Trade Sensibly Considered.
Especial Telegram to the Globe.l
CHICAGO, Dec. 10.-To-day's Tri5nae has
the following editorial:
The Chicago board of trade is now con-
siderably torn up over question which in
its day has been most disturbing one in
all industrial occupations. The board has
rule which states that no member en-
gagged in buying OF selling grain shall
charge less commission than one-fourth
of 4 cent. per bushel. 1t is now satisfac-
torily established that some of the mem
berS OF the board have been doing business
at lower rate of commission, and of
course the question arises, what is
to be done about it? It is
an occasion which calls for
suspension or an expulsion of offending
members?
The county is familiar with the euphoni-
ous, but descriptive, terms applied in GER
tain trades to those members who work
for less than union rates. What term is to
be applied in reproach to the men of the
board of trade who take less than the board
rates? Besides the punishment of expul-
sion resorted to by trades unions in cases
OF men working for less than union rates,
there is social stigma cast upon them in
the way of publishing to the world the
names of those who are willing to accept
less than the standard compensation for
their services. How would it do for
union commission men to send to their
customers the names OF those persons who
perform commission business at less than
one-fourth of a cent! How would that
Work! The Tribune has discussed this
question practically many times, though
not with reference to the fees on the board
OF trade. The doctrine we have ALWAYS
contended for is that every man is the ex-
elusive judge of the value of his own labor,
and has the exclusive right to demand such
compensation as he thinks proper, leaving
his employer an equal right to determine
whether he will pay that rate of compensa-
ton or not, and the right to employ labor
at the cheapest rate at which he can Obtain
it. Free labor includes of necessity
the undoubted right of every man to ask
whatever wages he may think proper, and
to accept the best wages he can obtain.
The rate OF commission for selling grain
is charge for services performed. If a
man can earn more money by collecting a
quarter of a cent than he can otherwise,
he will continue to ask that rate so long as
his customers will pay it. If, however, he
finds that he can increase his business by
reducing the rate of his commissions and
sell 100000 bushels of grain at one
eighth of cent when he could sell only
100000 bushels at one-quarter of cent,
we know no reason why he should refuse
the greater and more profitable trade
to accept the smaller and less profitable.
It is possible that the number of persons
offering to do commission business in
grain has increased beyond the demand.
and that those employing such merchants
find that they can have their business done
at lower rate, and are availing them
selves of the law of supply and demand,
and are now paying only such rates as they
find offered in the market. We do. not
understand that there is any legal or
moral right to compel merchants to de-
mand commissions at higher rate than
customers are willing to pay, nor do we
understand how the customers can be COM
pelled to pay higher commissions
than are asked by the mer-
chants seeking their business. If
the rates of commission are too high, it is
useless to attempt to force them by any
law, just as it is absurd to try to compel
the payment of certain rates of wages,
when there are men willing and anxious to
Work at lower rates. The law of supply
and demand operates in this case just as
inexorabiy as it does in any other case of
the rate of wages.