New-York tribune., 1885-02-20
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE RATE OF WAGES.


those on banking and on railroads, have been pre-
viouslv publislec and have elected much comment.
Tho treotse on WAGES was submitted at the meeting
of tins British Association for the Advancement Oh
Science last August, and with numerous appendices
occupies nearly twO-thirds OF the oook' MI hN
k,nson Of Massachusetts,. recognized expert III the
cotton manufacture, Is writer OF no iittie o''s'
nality and force. Branching out from the neiu III
which he has accurate knowledge, he mas i'oni
time to time discussed economic questions In man
ner especially acceptable to free traders. ana MS
ingenuity in combining aud illustrating k'nu VI
information which ordinary statistical taoieS ien
der indigcs,bc to ordinary minds has attracted W
His writinrs much popular attention. He now
endeayors to solve problem which is. by admission
of all students. one OF the most oi'ncui' III '"0
whole range Of economic study.
.What makes the rate of wages Mr. Atkinson
osks The ordinary mind is content to reply, The
conflicting desires of tho worker to get as high
wages as lie can, and of the employer to get as
cheap labor as he cam" Not so, Mr. Atkinson
reasons. Tho employer would inevitably give
moro for labor Of certain standard oil eicency IL
his products were sold for more money. IL Is q
Question of the distribution of the results OF produc
ton if th esc sell at higher prices. or more largely
Mt the same price, the cost of materials and the
proits of capital being deducted, there will remain
a larger sum for labor. Thereupon Mr. Atkinson
assumes, with some approximate support Ill stati.
tcal information, that the gross value OF all
Iolucts of industry at the point of final consump-
ton, is SIC, 900 00),0 900 yearly. Mr. Nlmmo, wnile
including the entire cost of materials of manufact-
ure, makes the value of products about S9,soo-
1000. Mr.. Atkinson assumes that $1,000, ,000,-
900 worth of these products must be consumed
upon the farms by the producers,-the value Is
probably larger-and that SO, 600. 900 900 remain
to be divided He assumes that the interest. rent
and profits of capital do not exceed . per cent OF
this yearly product, or 450,Q00.00O-an estimate
much too low; that the savings of labor amount to
as much more and that there remain $S 100 OOO,OOo
yearly to be divided between workers. In the
census of persons engaged in gainful occupations.
he finds about 100000 who labor mainly with
the mind and to this administrative force Mr..
Atkinson assumes that salaries averaging 81 900
for each are paid. This leaves about $1,000, 900
to be divided among 16,20o,000 workers, or about
1892 10 for each yearly From this sum, when
amounts to about 81 Al for each working day,
three persons must be supported. Mr. Atkinson
assumes, because only one-third of the people are
engaged in gainful occupations. Therefore, he
reasons about 4S cents day for each person must
cover ali expenses of living
No reason is seen for deducting from the wages OF
labor the value of products consumed by labor on
the farms but if that is done, obviously the farm
laborers should not be included with the wage
earners among whom the remaining product is
divided. The other workers do not support TWO
other persons each, for, from the 2o,0oo,OOo per-
sons who do not live on FARMS all those who live
upon money invested are to be deducted, and
8. 721 900 of the remainder are employed. Nor Is
Mr. Atkinson quite accurate in assuming that taxes
amount to over 500. 100000, Or that the entire
amonnt must come from the wages of labor. The
capital invested in farms pays its full share.
UT. Atkinson presents the actual expenditures OF
two boarding houses connected with cotton mills in
and Maryland to prove that the cost
of sufficient supply of wholesome food, II bought
and preparcd with intelligence does not cost over
90 cents per day for adult women in Maryland and
23 cents per day for adults of both sexes in Massa
chnsetts Judicious aud sensible observations are
interposed upon waste in buying and preparing
food and upon the possibility Of great saving by
better methods of distributing supplies to con-
sumers But the main argument is that II the
value of prodncts increases, the proportion Tor
interest and profits of capital relatively decreases
while the wages Of labor being all that is left after
capital has obtained constantly decreasing share,
must steadily increase. Accumulation and com
petition of capital, it is urged will keep down its
share to the minimum, and. as industry advances
and the proportion of product t. the capital en-
ployed increases will cause that share to steadily
diminish The Consequence. Mr.. Atkinson reasons,
is that the sum rem aiming for wages must steadily
increase.
This theory Mr. Atkinson supports by very
interesting statement of the operations OF cotton
mills of which lie has had official knowledge from
1880 to this time. In 1880 the fixed capital en-
ployed to each spindle was $40 so; in 1854, only
$40 OF. But the labor became so much more
efficiently employed that profit of 10 per cent on
the capital amounted in 1880 to 81 10 per 100
yards, and in 1884 to only Al cents per 100 yards
Tie wages of operatives increased from $lGl to
$500 per year. besides reduction in the hours of
labor The details given, aud other statistical in
formation in the book made clear to tho eye by
frequent graphical Illustrations. But the original
thonyht aud useful inform lton given in the treatise
ON wages are presented unhsppiIy. in most wretched
disorder In place of logical arrangement. there IS
most complete arrangement. The absence of con-
secntveness Of thought is trying to the reader At
times, too the writer gives way to attacks OF men
tai dyspepsia, and breaks ont into angry diatribes
about matters quite foreign to his subject:
Mr. Atkinson wishes it understood that bis
reasoungs do not conflict with the belief that
protective tariff has secured better wages for labor.
The development of the manufacture of iron and
,f textile fabrics by protective duties was sus-
tanned, he says upon the ground tDat an ultimate
reduction of cost and of price to a much lower plane
was thereby assured, ana has doubtless been accom-
plished" He continues (pp S0-S1)
1t is not denied that special branches of industry
may be promoted by legislation of this sort 1t is
not denied that wages in that special branch may
be temporarily rlIsed because by means of the
obstruction to foreign import which the duty inter
poses the price of the domestic fabric is for time
maintained at higher point than it would other
wise be; and since the sum from which wages and
10 tbo rraI, Af tHn tn,,,%
product, 1t follows that in these particular arts. SO
long as the protective duty serves to keep up the
price, there may be more money to be divided IN
rates of wages to the operatives who do this special
work. :. In the judgment of the writer. the
source of wages and the law by which they are
determined fail to be comprchended, both by the
al nd fraa fra1 nd