Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-07-15
The Labor Cost of an Article . ter.
mines Whether Il IL Cheap or Dear.

mines Whether II IL Cheap or Dear.
Some plain facts from Mr.. Dingley, of
Maine, in ConRress-Now, Mr.. Chair
man.. the gentleman from Nebraska
asked me whether goods are lower
wooden goods worn by the masses of
the people, especially those that are all
wool-than in Great Britain.
/ answer him that while the cheaper
grades of goods that are not all straight
gland, yet all straight wool goods are
not as low here when estimated in
money, but that they are much cheaper
when estimated in labor or service. in
which most men ultimately pay for
their supplies.
I will illustrate what I mean: The
Chinaman gets 10 cents a day in money
for his labor, while the American work.
man gets $3.50 per day for his labor.
Mr.. Scott: Or fifteen times as much.
MI. Dingley: Yes. Now the China
man will take his labor and buy in
China with it less than one-half of that
in this country by the labor of an
American, Notwithstanding the. money
price of the article is muchless in China
than here. We all, or the most of us,
pless we happen to have bonds to clip,
ultimately pay for everything we pur-
chase in whst? In our labor-in our
service. Is that not true? Now, if we
pay ultimately in service, the function
Of money and the part that it plays in
the transaction is simply to make the
medium of exchange. 1t is the medium
OF exchange between the labor and the
product which the laborer seeks to pro-
cure. Money is used for that purpose
as a matter Of convenience; that is all
that it does.
Now, when you say that a coat which
costs in Cork IS is cheaper than one
which costs $40 in lows, you have got
to know another fact before you can de-
termine it, and that is how much does
the man who has to buy the coat get for
his labor or service in the two countries
respectively. An article costing SO cents
IN China, at 10 cents a day for labor, lie
much more expensive than one costing
81 here with labor at $1.5O. There was
alright Hibernian in my state once who
illustrated this point in q way that /
trust my friend from Nebraska will an.
preciate.
He was a Republican and q protec-
ZIONIST. by the way, and he had been
over. in this country for fifteen years.
He had not been able to get ahead any
IN the old country, but he came here to
this country to improve his condition
this country where people ara taxed so
much, where such burdens are imposed
upon them. He came here to improve
his condition, as he did improve it. He
secured himself q little house and paid
for it. He had q little money in the
savings bank, and was getting along
p~rosperously. He went back to pay 3
visit to Cork, and while he was gone he
bethought him that as he had to get q
new coat he would guy one there. He
did 80, and he paid S. for it, and when
be returned some Of my Democratic
friends, having heard that he bought
the coat and paid s. for it. and that the
price of the same coat was So here. IN.
dertook before q crowd of fellow Dem.
ocrats, one day, to rally him ON the
point. So they said: mike, you are .
pr~otectionist, yet see what you have
done. You have paid 81 more for that
coat on account OF protection than you
could have got it for If We had been nm
der free trade" "Ah, not no." ssid
Mike; ~ can buy that coat in this
country for six days labor, and in Cork
y will take twelve days labor to buy
IT." Applause OF the Republican